Act 4, Scene 2

Before Brutus' tent, in the camp near Sardis.

[Drum. Enter Brutus, Lucilius, Titinius, and Soldiers; Pindarus meeting them; Lucius at some distance.]
Marcus Brutus
1805 Stand, ho!
Lucilius
1806 Give the word, ho! and stand.
Marcus Brutus
1807 What now, Lucilius! is Cassius near?
Lucilius
1808 He is at hand; and Pindarus is come
1809 To do you salutation from his master.
[Pindarus gives a letter to Brutus.]
Marcus Brutus
1810 He greets me well.—Your master, Pindarus,
1811 In his own change, or by ill officers,
1812 Hath given me some worthy cause to wish
1813 Things done, undone: but, if he be at hand,
1814 I shall be satisfied.
Pindarus
1815 I do not doubt
1816 But that my noble master will appear
1817 Such as he is, full of regard and honour.
Marcus Brutus
1818 He is not doubted.—A word, Lucilius:
1819 How he received you, let me be resolved.
Lucilius
1820 With courtesy and with respect enough;
1821 But not with such familiar instances,
1822 Nor with such free and friendly conference,
1823 As he hath used of old.
Marcus Brutus
1824 Thou hast described
1825 A hot friend cooling: ever note, Lucilius,
1826 When love begins to sicken and decay,
1827 It useth an enforced ceremony.
1828 There are no tricks in plain and simple faith;
1829 But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
1830 Make gallant show and promise of their mettle;
1831 But, when they should endure the bloody spur,
1832 They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades
1833 Sink in the trial. Comes his army on?
Lucilius
1834 They meant his night in Sard is to be quarter'd:
1835 The greater part, the Horse in general,
1836 Are come with Cassius.
[March within.]
Marcus Brutus
1837 Hark! he is arrived.
1838 March gently on to meet him.
[Enter Cassius and Soldiers.]
Caius Cassius
1839 Stand, ho!
Marcus Brutus
1840 Stand, ho! Speak the word along.
First Soldier
1841 Stand!
Second Soldier
1842 Stand!
Third Soldier
1843 Stand!
Caius Cassius
1844 Most noble brother, you have done me wrong.
Marcus Brutus
1845 Judge me, you gods! wrong I mine enemies?
1846 And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother?
Caius Cassius
1847 Brutus, this sober form of yours hides wrongs;
1848 And when you do them—
Marcus Brutus
1849 Cassius, be content;
1850 Speak your griefs softly, I do know you well.
1851 Before the eyes of both our armies here,
1852 Which should perceive nothing but love from us,
1853 Let us not wrangle; bid them move away;
1854 Then in my tent, Cassius, enlarge your griefs,
1855 And I will give you audience.
Caius Cassius
1856 Pindarus,
1857 Bid our commanders lead their charges off
1858 A little from this ground.
Marcus Brutus
1859 Lucilius, do you the like; and let no man
1860 Come to our tent till we have done our conference.—
1861 Lucius and Titinius, guard our door.
[Exeunt.]

Reading mode

Word definitions on hover

Notes

TLN 1806cultural context
“Give the word, ho! and stand.”
A military watchword (password) was passed down the line so sentries could identify friend from foe. Lucilius relays Brutus's 'Stand, ho!' along the picket line, a standard Roman camp drill. The exchange shows the army operating under formal military discipline.
TLN 1811syntax grammar
“In his own change, or by ill officers,”
Brutus is saying: Cassius has either changed personally ('his own change') or has been badly served by corrupt subordinates ('ill officers'). He is being diplomatically generous, leaving open the possibility that Cassius is not personally to blame for whatever offense has caused Brutus to wish 'things done, undone.'
classical Plutarch's Lives (North's Translation)
TLN 1819archaic vocab
“let me be resolved”
'Resolved' here means 'fully informed' or 'given a clear account.' Brutus is asking Lucilius to tell him exactly how Cassius received him. The modern sense of 'resolved' as determined or decided is not what Shakespeare means.
TLN 1821archaic vocab
“such familiar instances, / Nor with such free and friendly conference,”
'Familiar instances' means 'tokens or signs of intimacy' -- gestures, looks, small courtesies that mark close friendship. 'Conference' means 'conversation,' not a formal meeting. Lucilius is telling Brutus that Cassius was polite but no longer warm, which Brutus immediately reads as a danger sign.
TLN 1826archaic vocab
“When love begins to sicken and decay, / It useth an enforced ceremony.”
'Enforced ceremony' means strained or forced formality -- politeness that has to be manufactured because the genuine warmth is gone. Brutus's maxim: when a friendship is dying, people compensate with elaborate courtesy to cover the emptiness beneath it.
TLN 1829rhetorical device
“hollow men, like horses hot at hand, / Make gallant show and promise of their mettle; / But, when they should endure the bloody spur, / They fall their crests, and, like deceitful jades”
Brutus uses an extended horse simile to describe false friends: 'hot at hand' means eager and spirited when the pace is easy; 'mettle' means spirit (with a pun on 'metal,' the stuff a person is made of); 'fall their crests' means droop their necks in exhaustion; 'jades' are worn-out, worthless horses. The simile says hollow men look impressive at first but collapse under real pressure.
TLN 1835historical topical
“the Horse in general,”
'The Horse' is the cavalry -- all the mounted troops, taken as a body. 'In general' means 'as a whole' or 'for the most part.' Lucilius is reporting that the bulk of Cassius's cavalry has arrived with him, a significant piece of military intelligence before a major battle.
classical Plutarch's Lives (North's Translation)
TLN 1844historical topical
“Most noble brother, you have done me wrong.”
Cassius calls Brutus 'brother' because they are brothers-in-law: Cassius married Junia, the sister of Brutus. The word carries both its literal meaning and its political weight -- these two men are not merely allies but family, which makes their quarrel all the more serious. Cassius opens with an accusation the moment the armies meet, before a word of greeting.
classical Plutarch's Lives (North's Translation)
TLN 1854archaic vocab
“enlarge your griefs, / And I will give you audience.”
'Enlarge' here means 'speak at full length about' or 'set free, give full expression to.' Brutus is inviting Cassius to say everything he needs to say once they are inside the tent and away from the troops. 'Give you audience' means 'listen to you formally' -- the idiom treats Cassius as a petitioner who deserves a hearing.