Unless thou bring'st them with thee.
Oct. So I hope;
I was not born to die on Brutus' sword.
Bru. O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain,
Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable.60
Cas. A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honour,
Join'd with a masquer and a reveller.
Ant. Old Cassius still!
Oct. Come, Antony; away!
Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth.64
If you dare fight to-day, come to the field;
If not, when you have stomachs.
Cas. Why now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark!
The storm is up, and all is on the hazard.68
Bru. Ho, Lucilius: hark, a word with you.
Lucil. [Standing forth.] My lord?
Cas. Messala.
Mes. [Standing forth.] What says my general?
Cas. Messala,
This is my birth-day; as this very day72
Was Cassius born. Give me thy hand, Messala:
Be thou my witness that against my will,
As Pompey was, am I compell'd to set
Upon one battle all our liberties.76
You know that I held Epicurus strong.
And his opinion; now I change my mind,
59 strain: race
61 peevish: silly
such honour: i.e., that of dying on Brutus' sword
63 Old . . . still: you are still the same old Cassius
66 stomachs: courage
72 as: a colloquial expletive
75 As Pompey: at the battle of Pharsalia, 48 B. C.
77 held . . . strong: believed Epicurus right in disregarding omens
