  Alexander, Sir William. Poetical Works—Glasgow, Maurice Ogle & Co., 1872. 3 vols. Anders, R. H. D. Shakespeare’s Books—A Dissertation on Shakespeare’s Reading and the Immediate Sources of his Works. Berlin, 1904. Appian. Appiani Alexandrini Romanarum Historiarum quae Supersunt Graece et Latine cum Indicibus. Didot. Paris, 1877. The Roman History of Appian of Alexandria. Translated from the Greek by Horace White. 2 vols. London, George Bell & Sons, 1899. Civil Wars. 1578. Extract from the Second Book. (New Shakespeare Society Trans. 1875–6. Part 2. Append. 4. London, 1877.) An Auncient Historie and exquisite Chronicle of the Romanes warres, both Civile and Foren Written in Greeke by the noble Orator and Historiographer, Appian of Alexandria.... Translated out of divers languages, and now set forth in Englishe, according to the Greeke text, taken out of a Royall Librarie: by W. B.... Imprinted at London by Raulfe Newberrie and Henrie Bynniman, Anno 1578. Ayres, Harry Morgan. Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in the Light of Some other Versions. In American Modern Language Association Publications, June, 1910. Vol. 25, No. 2. Beumelberg, Hugo. Sir William Alexander, Graf von Stirling als Dramatischer Dichter. Dissertation, Halle, 1870. Bertana, Emilio. La tragedia. Milano, Vallardi, 1904. Brandes, George. William Shakespeare. A Critical Study. Two vols. New York, Macmillan & Co., 1898. Cambridge History of English Literature. Ed. by A. W. Ward and A. R. Waller. Vol. IV. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1910. Coleridge, Samuel T. Lectures and Notes on Shakespeare and other English Poets. Now first collected by T. Ashe. London, G. Bell & Sons, 1884. Collins, J. Churton. Studies in Shakespeare. London, Archibald, Constable & Co., 1904. Craik, George L. The English of Shakespeare, illustrated in a Philological Commentary on his “Julius Caesar.” London, Chapman & Hall, 1857. Cunliffe, John W. Early English Classical Tragedies. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1912. The Influence of Seneca on Elizabethan Tragedy. London, Macmillan & Co., 1893; New York, reprint by G. E. Stechert, 1907. De Sanctis, Natale. G. Cesare e M. Bruto nei poeti tragici. Palermo, Reber, 1895. Dion Cassius. Dio’s Rome. Translated by Herbert Baldwin Foster. Troy, N. Y., Pafaeto Book Co., 1905. Dowden, Edward. Shakespeare, a Critical Study of his Mind and Art. Harper & Bros., 1903. Farmer, Richard. On the Learning of Shakespeare; addressed to Joseph Craddock. London, printed for T. Longman, 1789. Flamini, Francesco. A History of Italian Literature, (1265–1907)—translated by Evangeline M. O’Connor, with an Introduction by William Michael Rossetti. Published 1907, by the National Alumni. Fleay, Frederick Gard. A Chronicle History of the Life and Work of William Shakespeare. New York, Scribner and Welford, 1886. Article on “Julius Caesar” in Shakespeare Society Publications for 1874. London, TrÜbner and Co. Fontanini, Giusto. Biblioteca dell’ eloquenza italiana con le annotazioni del Sig. Apostolo Zeno. Pasquali, 1753. 4 vols. Fonte, Michelangelo (Paolo Beni). Il Cavalcanti. In Padova, per Francesco Bolzetta, 1614. Fowler, William Warde. The Tragic Element in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” In Trans. Royal Society of Literature. Second Series. Vol. XXX, Part 2. London, Asher & Co. Garnier, Robert. Cornelie—In Sammlung FranzÖsischer NeudrÜcke, herausgegeben von Karl VollmÖller. Heilbronn, Verlag von Gebr. Henninger, 1881. Gaspary, Adolf. Geschichte der Italienischen Litteratur. 2 vols. GinguenÉ, P. L. Histoire LittÉraire d’Italie. Paris. L. G. Michaud—2d Ed.—1824. Gervinus, G. C. Shakespeare Commentaries. Trans. by F. E. Bunnett. New York, Scribner, Wilford & Armstrong, 1875. Gerini, G. B. Gli scrittori pedagogici italiani nel secolo decimo settimo. Collezione di libri d’instruzione e di educazione. Torino, G. B. Paravia e Comp, 1900. Jahrbuch der Deutschen Shakespeare Gesellschaft. Weimar & Berlin. Jameson, Anna. Shakespeare’s Heroines—Characteristics of Women: Moral, Poetical and Historical. London. Kreyssig, Friedrich. Vorlesungen Über Shakespeare, seine Zeit und seine Werke. Dritte Auflage. 2 vols. Berlin, Nicolaische Verlags-Buchhandlung, 1877. Lee, Sidney. A Life of William Shakespeare. New York, Macmillan & Co., 1889. The French Renaissance in England. An Account of the Literary Relations of England and France in the Sixteenth Century. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1910. Foreign Influences on Shakespeare—in Great Englishmen of the 16th Century. London, 1904. Lydgate, John. A treatise, excellent and compendious, showing and declaring in manner of Tragedy, the falls of sundry most notable Princes and Princesses.... First compyled in Latin by the excellent Clerke Bocatius an Italian borne, and sence that tyme translated into our English and Vulgare tong by Dan John Lidgate, Monke of Butye. And more newly imprynted, corrected and augmented out of diverse and sundry olde writen copies in parchment. In aedibus Richard Tottelli cum privelegio. No date, but apparently the edition printed by John Wayland, 1558. Lucan. Pharsalia. Rowe’s Translation. In Works of English Poets by Alexander Chalmers. Vol. XX. Pharsalia. Edited with English notes by C. E. Haskins, with an introduction by W. E. Heitland. London, George Bell and Sons, 1887. MacCallum, M. W. Shakespeare’s Roman Plays and their Background. London, Macmillan & Co., 1910. Moulton, Richard G. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. Third Edition. Revised and enlarged. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1893 Neri, Ferdinando. La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento. Firenze, Calletti e Cocci, 1904. Ovid. Metamorphoses. In Works of the English Poets. Collected by Alexander Chalmers. Vol. XX. Dryden’s Translation. P. Ovidius Naso ex recognitione Rudolphi Merkelii. Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, MDCCCLXXXIV. The XV Bookes of P. Ovidius Naso, entytuled Metamorphoses, translated oute of Latin into English meeter by Arthur Golding, 1575. Pescetti, Orlando. “Il Cesare.” Girolamo Discepolo. Verona, 1594. Plutarch. Shakespeare’s Plutarch. Being a Selection from the Lives in North’s Plutarch which illustrate Shakespeare’s Plays. With a Preface, Notes, Index of Names and Glossarial Index. By Rev. Walter W. S. Keat. London, Macmillan & Co., 1892. Scott, Mary A. Elizabethan Translations from the Italian. In Pub. of Modern Lang. Asso. of America. Vols. X., XI., XIII., and XIV. Schelling, Felix E. Elizabethan Drama. 1558–1642. 2 vols. New York, Houghton-Mifflin & Co., 1908. English Literature during the Lifetime of Shakespeare. New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1910. SchÖne, R. Ueber Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” mit besonderer BerÜcksichtigung des VerhÄltnisses zur Quelle des StÜckes. Dresden, E. Blochmann und Sohn, 1873. SegrÉ, Carlo. Relazioni letterarie fra Italia e Inghilterra. Florence, 1911. Seneca. The Tragedies of Seneca. Translated into English Verse by Frank Justus Miller. Introduced by an Essay on the Influence of the Tragedies of Seneca upon Early English Drama, by John Matthews Manley. Chicago University Press, 1907. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Edited with Introduction and Notes by Frederick Henry Sykes. New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1909. The “Globe” Edition. Edited by William Aldis Wright and William George Clark. London, Macmillan & Co., 1891. Skeat, Walter W. Shakespeare’s Plutarch. Being a Selection from the Lives in North’s Plutarch which illustrate Shakespeare’s Plays. With a Preface, Notes, Index of Names and Glossarial Index. London, Macmillan & Co., 1892. Stapfer, Paul. Shakespeare and Classical Antiquity. Greek and Latin Antiquity as presented in Shakespeare’s Plays. Translated from French by Emily Carey. London, Kegan Paul & Co., 1880. Suetonius. Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Trans. by Alexander Thomson. Revised by T. Forester. London, G. Bell & Sons, 1903. Symonds, John Addington. The Renaissance in Italy. Italian Literature. New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1888. Tiraboschi, Girolamo. Storia della letteratura italiana. Milano, SocietÀ Tipografica dei Classici Italiani, 1822. Vergil. A Literal Translation by A. Hamilton Bryce. London, George Bell & Sons, 1894. P. Vergili Maronis Opera cum appendice in usum scholarum iterum recognovit Otto Ribbeck. Lipsiae, MCMX in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. 1.A second edition followed in 1604 from the same press (Girolamo Discepolo) in 4º. This is exceedingly rare; the only copy which I have traced is in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. I use the 1594 text, following the copy in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale at Florence. 2.The only reference in English with which I am acquainted is by Harry Morgan Ayres in the June, 1910, number of the Proceedings of the Am. Modern Language Association. In his article, “Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Light of some other Versions” he makes a brief mention of this play. But see Preface. 3.A careful search of the forty volumes of JahrbÜcher, published by the “Deutsche Shakespeare Gesellschaft”, failed to reveal any mention of Pescetti. A search of the registers of the very complete collection of German literary periodicals contained in the library of New York University was equally unproductive. 4.For a brief sketch of Pescetti see G. B. Gerini, Gli scrittori pedagogici italiani nel secolo decimo settimo. 1900. In addition to the above the following are the only works known to me which mention Pescetti’s “Cesare”: Fonte, Michelangelo, [Paolo Beni], Il Cavalcanti, 1614. Quadrio, Fr. Saverio, Della storia e della ragione d’ogni poesia, 1739. Fontanini, Giusto, Biblioteca dell’eloquenza italiana con le annotazioni del Sig. Apostolo Zeno, 1753. Allaci, Leone, Drammaturgia, 1755. Tiraboschi, Girolamo, Storia della letteratura italiana, 1822. GinguenÉ, P. L., Histoire LittÉraire d’Italie, 1824. De Sanctis, Natale, G. Cesare e M. Bruto nei poeti tragici, 1895. Salvioli, Bibliografia universale del teatro drammatico italiano, 1903. Bertana, Emilio, La tragedia, 1904. Neri, Ferdinando, La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento, 1904. Flamini, Francesco, A History of Italian Literature. Translated by Evangeline O’Connor, 1907. Of the above only Bertana has more than a brief mention. He alone attempts an analysis of the play. 5.In parts of the Brutus-Cassius dialogue in the first act; in his attempted contrast of Calpurnia and Portia; in his inclusion of the portents; and above all, in the scene wherein Lenate addresses Caesar, and the ensuing panic among the conspirators. 6.Pharsalia, Bk. II., where the Chorus of Matrons bewails Caesar’s approach. 7.Emilio Bertana in “La tragedia,” 1904, and Francesco Neri in “La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento,” 1904. 8.Inflate is perhaps more accurate in Pescetti’s case. 9.He says, “E di qui È che preso animo e fatto cuore, poco dipoi compose, o piÙ tosto tradusse in volgare, una Tragedia del Mureto detta il Cesare. . . . È vero che per alquanto ampliarla e ricoprir’ insieme il furto, vi andÒ inserendo, e qua e lÀ traponendo, varie leggierezze e vanitÀ di sua testa. In modo tale che almen per queste meriterebbe d’esserne stimato Autore.” From “Il Cavalcanti,” by Michelangelo Fonte (Paolo Beni). In Padova per Francesco Bolzetta, 1614. Page 107 ff. The animus back of such a charge may be inferred from the fact that Muretus has but little over eight hundred lines, and that Pescetti introduces much effective material not found in the former’s tragedy. Fr. Saverio Quadrio in “Della storia e della ragione d’ogni poesia,” Milano, 1739, Vol. IV, p. 72, says of “Cesare:” “FiorÌ questo poeta celebre per altre opere circa il 1590; e questa fu la prima tragedia di tale argomento che in lingua volgare si componesse: nÈ ha che fare con quella del Mureto, come ha malamente scritto il Fontanini, togliendolo da Paolo Beni.” In Fontanini, Giusto, “Biblioteca dell’eloquenza italiana con le annotazioni del Sig. Apostolo Zeno,” Venezia, Pasquali, 1753 (4 vols.), Vol. I, p. 483, we read of Pescetti’s work: “Nel Cavalcanti del Beni si fa nuovo stragio di Cesare per colpa di questo autore, come di plagiario del Mureto nella Tragedia latina del Cesare. Si vede, che i ladri letterari, colti in flagranti come succede, si rendono poi scherniti e ridicoli; e che poco giova l’andarsi rampicando per forza, quasi erba parietaria, sulle industrie degli altri, come se fossero loro proprie, con cercar poi di occultarlo, quando per conoscerlo di primo aspetto, ci vuole assai poco, mentre le cose o presto or tardi si scoprono.” In a note Zeno says: “Il Cesare del Mureto, e’l Cesare del Pescetti poco piÙ di commune han fra loro, che l’argomento, la storia, ed il titolo; e perÒ l’accusa di plagiario data del Beni al Pescetti, contra del quale scrisse il suo Cavalcanti per difesa della sua Anticrusca, È anzi dettata dalla passione che dalla veritÀ.” It is interesting to note that Fontanini, like Allaci, speaks only of a 1604 edition of “Cesare.” Zeno, however, is careful to point out the error. 10.There are portions of the speeches of the principal characters decidedly reminiscent of Muretus, but the similarity is more in content than in expression, and seldom enter those portions of “Cesare” which parallel those in “Julius Caesar.” 11.Especially by Prof. Frederick H. Sykes in his notes to “Julius Caesar,” Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1909. 12.Appian (1578), p. 153. ?? d? ??? ????a? p??s?tatte?, ?? t? pa?e????ta ???? ??se?? ????at??, ???? d???e?se?? ?? t? ????? ????ta?, t? ?? ?p?a?a? ?? ??? ?p????e???te? ???? ??? ?? ???, ??ta? ?e ??a????, ??a? p??????? ?p??a?e?? ???s?a? ?????, ? d???e?e?? ????ta? ?p? ????. Appian, Ed. Didot. P. 403. 13.“Shakespeare’s Roman Plays and their Background,” p. 646. MacMillan & Company, London and New York. 1910. 14.As in the case of the supposed loan in the oration of Brutus, a careful comparison of Plutarch and Appian reveals nothing which Shakespeare could not have obtained from the former, if not directly, at least as a natural consequence of Plutarch’s various accounts. Even the matter of the display of the corpse is mentioned by the biographer (Julius Caesar, p. 102, Skeat’s Edition). As a matter of history, not the corpse itself, but a waxen image showing the mutilations, was exhibited to the populace. It is true that from Plutarch’s direct accounts of the oration, Shakespeare could have obtained very little. The whole matter illustrates the great difficulty encountered by the investigator who seeks to disentangle Appian’s contribution from that of Plutarch. This is especially difficult in view of the transformation inseparable from a dramatic treatment. In many passages covering the life of Caesar the marked similarity between the two writers has given rise to the theory that both worked from a common Greek source now lost. The minutiae necessary to a positive declaration in favor of Appian are lacking in Shakespeare’s treatment of this particular scene, but as will be noted from the main argument, they are evident in Pescetti. 15.If we except the display of the corpse. 16.Especially in those founded on material derived from Italian sources. 17.It is found in Plutarch and in Cicero’s letters, but not in connection with this scene. See Sykes’ “Julius Caesar,” Notes, pp. 151–2. 18.And when he wente from his house to the Senate, he was wayted on with manye of the magistrates, and great number of people, as wel Citizens as straungers, and servantes and free men in great multitude; all the which fleeing away by heapes, only three seruantes taried, which layd his body in the litter. Thus three men not suteable, did carie him home that a little before was Lorde of sea and lande. (Appian, 1578, p. 142.) ?a? a? p????e? ???a? ?a? p???? ????? ????? ?st??, ?a? ?????, ?a? p???? ?e??p?? ?a? ??e?e??e??? a?t?? ?p? t? ???e?t????? ?? t?? ????a? pa?epep?fe?sa?? ?? ?????? d?af????t??, t?e?? ?e??p??te? ???? pa??e??a?, ?? t? s?a ?? t? f??e??? ????e???, d?e???sa? ???ade ???????, ??a t?e??, t?? p?? ?????? ??? ?a? ?a??ss?? p??st?t??. Appian, Ed. Didot. P. 394. Suetonius has a similar account. 19.It seems that the matter of the display of the corpse in Shakespeare is as readily traceable to Plutarch as to Appian. 20.But, it should be noted, not quite in the same connection as in Shakespeare. The Messenger warns the women to fly the terrors sure to follow the assassination. 21.??t????? te t?? ????a? ??????, te?a???e??? s??ep????e?es?a? t? ?a?sa??. Appian, Ed. Didot. P. 394. 22.?? d? sfa?e?? ??????t? ?? t? e?pe?? ?? t? ???e?t????. ??de??? d? pa?ae??a?t??, t? ??t?a ta?? ?a?a??, ?spe? ?sp?da?, pe??p?e??e???, ?a? t? ??f? et? t?? a?at?? ????te?, ???d????? as???a ?a? t??a???? ??e?e??? ?a? p???? t?? ?p? d??at?? ?fe?e, s????? ??e??e??se??? ?p? te t?? p?t???? p???te?a? pa?e??????, ?a-????t?? t?? p??a? ?a? t?? t?te sf?s?? ???s???? ?p? t??? p??a? as??e?s?? ??e? ???s???. Appian, Edition Didot, Paris, 1877. P. 395. 23.Indicated in Plutarch also—Marcus Brutus—p. 119. He speaks of the eagerness of the conspirators to plunge their swords into Caesar, and records that every one of them was stained with blood. 24.Also regarded as a supposedly ironical answer to Decimus’ interpretation of the dream. 25.In Pescetti the Priest’s recital of the omens consists of some one hundred and three lines. Muretus has Calpurnia’s recital to the nurse of the dream wherein she beheld Caesar’s bleeding body, and the following:
Hereupon D. Brutus protests to Caesar and the latter yields. GrÉvin has substantially the same account. For Muretus and GrÉvin I use Collischonn’s reprint. See Bibliography. 26.Life of Caesar, p. 98, Skeat’s edition. 27.Op. cit., p. 194. 28.Rather Appian’s almost parallel account. 29.In the “CornÉlie” of Garnier (1574) he also warns Caesar. 30.Pharsalia, Book IX., lines 1–23. 31.J. C., Act I., Sc. III, L. 1–32. 32.In Hamlet I, I, 113 seq. we read.
The text is obviously corrupt. These lines do not appear in the Folio, nor is there any trace of them in the earliest quarto. It has been conjectured that the poet suppressed this passage in representation, after he had written “Julius Caesar.” Certainly the similarity to Pescetti is striking. The “dews of blood” are again mentioned; also the eclipse of the moon, neither occurring in Plutarch. 33.In an account of a visit to London written by Thomas Platter, a merchant of Basle, he mentions a performance of “Julius Caesar,” Sept. 21, 1599. (Ency. Brit., XI. ed., Art. Shakespeare.) 34.See “Georgics,” Book I., lines 463–488, for Vergil’s account of the omens. 35.Lucan’s account is found in the Pharsalia, Bk. I., lines 523–583; Ovid’s in the Metamorphoses, Bk. XV., lines 783–798. 36.Lydgate’s “Fall of Princes,” Boke Sixte, Chap. XI., Leaf CXLVI., Edition of 1558 (see Bibliography). 37.Translation by Golding, Ed. 1575. 38.Works of Christopher Marlowe. Edited by Alexander Dyce. London. Wm. Pickering, 1850. 39. Tethys maioribus undis Hesperiam Calpen summumque impleuit Atlanta. Phar. Bk. I, L. 555. 40. Proluit insano contorquens vertice silvas Fluviorum rex Eridanus, camposque per omnes Cum stabulis armenta tulit. Geo. Bk. 1, L. 481 ff. Ed. Teubner. 41.Translation by Davidson. Harper’s Classical Library, New York, 1896. 42.Lydgate says: Another token pitous for here Which astonied many a proude Romayne Dead bodies dyd in the feldes appere Which in battayle had afore be slayne, Fro their tombes rising where they layne, 43. Obscenaeque canes importunaeque volucres Signa dabant. Georgics, Bk. I., line 470. 44.Tristia mille locis Stygius dedit omina bubo. Met., Bk. XV. Ed. Teubner. L. 791. This Golding quaintly translates, The Screeche owle sent from hell, Did with her tune unfortunate in every corner yell. 45. et simulacra modis pallentia miris Visa sub obscurum noctis. L. 477. Georg. I. 46. umbrasque silentum Erravisse ferunt. L. 797. Met., XV. 47. Arma ferunt inter nigras crepitantia nubes, Terribilesque tubas, auditaque cornua caelo. Met., XV. Ll. 783–4. 48. Insonuere tubae et quanto clamore cohortes Miscentur tantum nox astra silentibus umbris Phar., Bk. I., 578–80. Edidit. Vergil has, Armorum sonitum toto Germania caelo Audiit. Georg., Bk. I., l. 474. 49. Saepe inter nimbos guttae cecidere cruentae. Met., Bk. XV., l. 788. Appian mentions the rain of blood in connection with the crossing of the Rubicon. 50. . . . . . . . .; et altae Per noctem resonare lupis ululantibus urbes. Geo., Bk. I., l. 486. 51. Siluisque feras sub nocte relictis Audaces media posuisse cubilia Roma. Phar., Bk. I, ll. 559–60. 52.Translation by Marlowe. 53.Falls of Princes, Bk. VI. 54.Julius Obsequens, CXV., mentioned by Sykes in op. cit. 55.Neither does Appian. 56.Shakespeare’s Plutarch. Ed. by W. W. Skeat, page 164. 57.Appian says: “Some of the Conspirators” (1578 Ed.). 58.Plutarch, page 119. Skeat. 59.This scene goes far beyond Muret and GrÉvin. In Muretus the scene is confined to the following lines:
GrÉvin differs but slightly. Cassius says: Mais j’ay je ne sÇay quoy qui mi detient pensif. N’estes vous pas d’advis que de force pareille Nous abordions Antoine, À fin qu’il ne resveille, L’orgueil de ce Tyran en ses nouveaux amis? M. Brute. Je vous ay tousjours dict que ce n’est mon advis. Cassius. Si seroit-ce bien faict, arrachans la racine, Avecque le gros tronc de tout ceste vermine, De peur qu’ell’ ne revive, ou que le pied laissÉ, Ne resemble celuy qui l’auroit devancÉ. M. Brute. C’est assez, soyez prest, pendant que je regarde, Que chascun de mes gens se tienne sur sa garde. Lines 508 ff. Cassius exults in the prospect of liberty and the scene closes. It is curious to remark the simile regarding Antony’s relations to Caesar which runs through Muretus, GrÉvin, Pescetti and Shakespeare. In all Caesar is likened to a trunk of which Antony is simply an appendage. 60.Julius Caesar, II, I, ll. 154–191. 61.Particularly in “Marcus Antonius,” page 161. 63.“Marcus Antonius,” p. 119. Skeat. 64.“Marcus Antonius,” p. 164. Skeat. 65.Pescetti throughout this scene follows Appian rather than Plutarch. Appian says: “Some thought that Antony ought to be killed also because he was consul with Caesar, and was his most powerful friend, and the one of the most repute with the army; but Brutus said that they would win the glory of tyrannicide from the death of Caesar alone, because that would be the killing of a king. If they should kill his friends also, the deed would be imputed to private enmity and to the Pompeian faction.” (Civil Wars, Bk. II, Ch. XVI., White’s Trans.) 66.This parallel is noted by Ayres (in work cited before). 67.Noted by Ayres. 68.Substantially the same in Appian. 69.Marcus Brutus, p. 117–118. 70.J. C., Act. III., Sc. I, ll. 14–27. 72.In the monograph to which reference has already been made. 74.Compare Antony’s outburst: Thou art the ruins of the noblest man That ever lived in the tide of times. J. C. III., 1, 257–58. 75.This is a detail which Pescetti derived from Appian’s “Civil Wars,” Bk. II., Ch. XVI., wherein it is stated that the conspirators had to hasten, as Caesar contemplated departing for Parthia within four days and would thereupon have a bodyguard. (White’s translation, p. 176.) 77.I., ii. 199. 79. “Have I in conquest stretch’d mine arm so far, To be afeard to tell graybeards the truth?” 80.He taught grammar and rhetoric in Verona. See Gerini, “Gli scrittori pedagogici nel secolo decimo settimo.” 81.Paolo Beni was quick to seize upon this feature of Pescetti’s characterization of Caesar. He says: “Che se pur volesse alcuno che non perciÒ restasse suo Cesare di esser furto, almen convien confessare ch’egli solo fosse vero Autore dell’ingiuria la quale con tanta sciocchezza e temeritÀ fece in tal Tragedia a quell’Altezza et a tutta la serenissima Casa d’Este, poscia che havendo pubblicato e celebrato Alfonso per congiuntissimo di sangue con la Casa Giulia, e con Giulio Cesare, finalmente si adduce a dedicarli la sua Tragedia; (che sua chiamerolla per hora) quella Tragedia dico nella qual Cesare vien com’empio tiranno e traditor della patria bruttamente trucidato. Vedi imprudenza estrema di quest’huomo: vedi sciocchezza et audacia incomparabile: ricordare che questo serenissimo Principe sia per sangue strettamente congiunto con Giulio Cesare, e disceso da Giulio Cesare, e poi immantinente far che il Theatro per ogni parte risuoni l’impietÀ, la perfidia, la tirannia di Cesare: e che su gli occhi di quell’Altezza ne venga quasi pernitioso mostro co’l ferro trucidato et estinto. E forse che non supplica il Serenissimo Alfonso (vedi nuova imprudenza et ardire) che faccia rappresentar questa Tragedia in publico con nobil pompa, e dia spettacolo sÌ horrendo d’un suo antenato al Mondo.” Il Cavalcanti, 1614, p. 107 et seq. 82.It is interesting to note the fascination which this remark of Caesar’s had for the dramatists of his fortunes. No doubt they drew their direct inspiration from Plutarch, who relates that Caesar, on being urged to have a bodyguard, retorted, “It is better to die once, than always to be afraid of death.” (J. C., p. 92.) Skeat. Thus Muretus says (Act III., verse 386): “Sed tamen quando semel Vel cadere praestat, quam metu longo premi.” And GrÉvin, Act III., v. 791: “. . . . . . . et si j’aime bien mieux Mourir tout en un coup, qu’estre tousjours paoureux.” Also Act I., v. 13: “Il vault bien mieux mourir Asseure de tout poinct, qu’incessamment perir. Faulsement par la peur.” In Garnier’s “Cornelie” (Kyd’s trans.) we read: “The fear of evil doth afflict us more Than the evil itself, though it be neer so sore.” 84.This is not the case in Muretus or GrÉvin, nor is it found in Plutarch. 85.True, the conspirators have suspected that the portents and the auspices might persuade him, and Trebonius has prepared for this. But how was Caesar to know? 86.I., ii, 182. 87.MacCallum, op. cit., p. 228. 88.“Shakespeare, A Critical Study of his Mind and Art,” by Edward Dowden, Harper & Bros., 1903, pp. 253–54. 89.E per non fare ora qui (che nÈ il luogo, nÈ l’occasione il ricerca) un catalogo di tutti, chi dell’ antico, Ò del moderno secolo possiam noi trovare, che a Cesare somigli piÙ, e faccia meglio parallelo di quel, che fa la Sereniss. Altezza Vostra? Sol che quelli fosse stato Cristiano, e avesse saputo contentarsi d’esser il primo della sua CittÀ, senza voler esser anche della stessa CittÀ piÙ potente, Ò Signor legittimo fosse suto; . . . “Cesare,” Dedication, p. 2. 90.In the classic drama it is not unusual for the Chorus to speak in the first person, but this instance is unique in Pescetti. It strikes the reader with all the force of an individual opinion of the author. 91.In the Prologue, Jove comforts Venus, saying: “Giulio, della cui morte tanto lutto Meni, e cordoglio, e sÌ ti lagni, e duoli, RisplenderÀ doman in ciel al pari Della tua stella; . . .” Prologue, p. 10. 92.As is well known, Plutarch nowhere condemns Brutus for his murder of Caesar. Appian, however, while he recognizes Brutus’ virtues, is strong in condemnation of his act. He says: “Against all these virtues and merits must be set down the crime against Caesar, which was not an ordinary or a small one, for it was committed unexpectedly against a friend, ungratefully against a benefactor who has spared them in war, and nefariously against the head of the state, in the senate house, against a pontiff clothed in his sacred vestments, against a ruler without an equal, who was most useful above all other men to Rome and its empire.” Civil Wars, White’s Trans., p. 381. It is curious to note how Pescetti here abandons Appian in favor of Plutarch. 93.Just before the discussion concerning Antony, already quoted. 94.From these words the reader may believe that the conspirators feared that very courage of which Caesar himself proves deficient. But by courage, Cassius here means sheer physical bravery, an attribute which no reader either of Pescetti or of Shakespeare can deny him. The courage Caesar lacked was that of his own convictions. Like Macbeth, the known had no terrors for him, but like the Scottish king, he is confounded by the unseen. No Roman could have found fault with a man for heeding the warning of the gods. The historical Caesar, it is true, oft expressed his contempt for omens, while the Caesar of the drama professes to disregard them. But his disregard is superficial, and apparently the result of an attitude which we cannot but attribute to a belief in his own semi-divine being. Rather than be suspected of feelings common enough to ordinary mortals, Caesar deludes himself by a process of self-hypnotism, and is led to his doom, a victim of his lack of true courage, a sacrifice to his own inordinate vanity. 95.P. 24. Is this perhaps the hint from which Shakespeare built up the entire scheme of physical comparisons dwelt upon by Cassius? The swimming of the Tiber, for instance? 96.I., ii, 95. 97.I., ii, 308. 98.I., ii, 33–34. 99.I., ii, 89–90. 100.I., ii, 54–61. 101.I., iii, 157. 102.II., i, 90. 103.II., i, 321. 104.II., i, 332. 105.Probably because it involved a profanation of the sacred precincts of the Senate. But one might expect such an ardent patriot to regard Caesar’s death here as a very acceptable sacrifice to the gods he supposedly outraged. But see Appian. 106.II., i, 77. 107.II., i, 61. 108.II., i, 124. 110.III., i, 22. 111.V., i, 109. 112.P. 216–217, MacCallum. 113.The conclusion is irresistible that Pescetti was very much under the influence of Lucan. This is true not alone of the supernatural element, but also of the general attitude of Brutus and Cassius, who talk of Caesar very much in the spirit of the Pharsalia. In Book IX. Lucan describes how the soul of Pompey leaving the tomb soars to the abodes of the Blessed and thence looking down upon the earth inspires the breasts of Brutus and Cato. (Lines 1–23.) 116.In Muretus the case against Caesar is also weak. In GrÉvin, Brutus in his speech to the citizens makes definite charges: “Ce Tyran, ce Cesar, enemi du Senat, Oppresseur du pays, qui de son Consulat Avoit faict heritage, e de la Republique Une commune vente en sa seule practique, Ce bourreau d’innocens, ruine de nos loix, La terreur des Romains, e le poison des droicts, Ambitieux d’honneur, qui monstrant son envie, S’estoit faict appeler Pere de la patrie, E Consul À jamais, À jamais Dictateur, Et pour comble de tout, du surnom d’Empereur. Il est mort ce meschant, qui decelant sa rage, Se feit impudemment eslever un image Entre les Rois, aussi il a eu le loyer Par une mesme main qu’eut Tarquin le dernier.” (Lines 1017 ff.) 117.There is no doubt that Pescetti found in Muretus the hints for some of Brutus’ speeches, but his loans from his predecessor do not affect the argument. 118.But, as usual, Pescetti fails to take full advantage of this motif. During the wordy progress of the drama we lose sight of Antony, and only a few lines at the end suggest him as the Nemesis of the conspirators. 119.See section on Portia. 120.In regard to Antony and the Popilius Lena episode. 121.In Muretus she has no place in the action. Brutus refers to her in his soliloquy: Act II., lines 107 ff.
This is the only reference to Portia throughout the drama. GrÉvin makes no mention of her, while Garnier, in his “Porcie” (1568) treats of events following the death of Caesar. 122.I know of but two notices of these scenes, neither being much more than a mere mention. Neri says: “Su tutte ancora primeggia il Cesare d’Orlando Pescetti, che per il rilievo della figura di Bruto, tratta da Plutarco—vedi la bella scena di Porzia nel secondo atto, etc.” (La Tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento, Ferdinando Neri, Firenze, 1904, p. 158.) It is also referred to by Emilio Bertana in “La tragedia,” Milano, 1904, p. 75 ff. 123.Plutarch notes that she was of a “noble courage.” 124.That is, Fortune. 125.Marcus Brutus, p. 116. Skeat. In the “Julius Caesar” of Sir William Alexander, (Earl of Stirling) written a few years after Shakespeare’s play, there is a decided similarity between some portions of the Brutus-Portia scenes and those in Pescetti. The prologue seems an echo of Pescetti’s. Nor do these portions have anything verbally in common with Seneca, the model of both tragedies. See Conclusion, page 121. 126.Many of the motifs of the Calpurnia-Nurse scene in Pescetti are derived from Muretus. Others are reminiscent of GrÉvin. 127.Malone long ago suggested that this scene probably refers to the popularity of the play on the stage, and that it points to other contemporary dramas on the same subject. Prolegomena, II, ff. 448–9. Ed. 1823. Prof. Sykes sees in it a dramatic device to emphasize the reality of the presentation. “Julius Caesar” note, page 142. 128.“Connections between the Drama of France and Great Britain, particularly in the Elizabethan Period.” Harvard Dissertation, 1900 (unpublished), quoted by Ayres. 129.Alexander’s Prologue is the first act of the drama. Juno delivers a long monologue and the chorus closes the act. In Muretus, Caesar and the chorus occupy the first act. In GrÉvin, it is Caesar, Antony and the Chorus of Soldiers. In Pescetti, the Prologue is separate, but like in Alexander the actors therein do not appear in the drama proper. 130.Of the above only the fact that the conspiracy was revealed to her is recorded by Plutarch in this connection. 131.Fortune. 132.Alexander, in his younger days, travelled in France, Spain and Italy. He was high in the favor of James VI. of Scotland and accompanied him to London in 1603, where he became an intimate of Prince Henry. That he was well and favorably known to the authors of the day may be inferred from the dedication of a sonnet to him by Michael Drayton. 133.In Shakespeare Soc. Pub., 1874, p. 357. Also his Life of Shakespeare, 1886, p. 215–6. 134.The allusion to the phrase Act III, Sc. 1. “Know, Caesar doth not wrong, nor without cause Will he be satisfied.” This originally stood: “Caesar did never wrong but with just cause” and is ridiculed by Jonson in his “Discoveries.” It is quite likely that the Caesar in the play as originally written was an even more self-important individual than he is at present. Possibly Shakespeare saw no absurdity in the line when he first penned it. Caesar, in his own estimation, is semi-divine. The cause of things is in his will. What might seem wrong to the mob was not so to Caesar, for he felt that the cause was just, no matter what the world thought. That was sufficient. The apparent contradiction in terms thus seems capable of explanation. 135.Appendix to Vol. IV of the Cambridge History of English Literature. Also M. A. Scott, Elizabethan Translations from the Italian. Mod. Lang. Assoc. Pub., X. to XIV., 1895–99. 136.Sidney Lee, The French Renaissance in England, 1910. Phoebe Sheavyn, The Literary Profession in the Elizabethan Age, 1909. 137.Shakespeare: A Critical Study, George Brandes—London, William Heineman, 1902, p. 444–45. 138.“Relazioni Litterarie fra Italia e Inghilterra,” Florence, 1911. Reviewed in article, “The Italian Sources of Othello,” by Ethel M. de Fonblanque, Fortnightly Review, Nov., 1911, p. 907. 139.Ethel M. de Fonblanque in Fortnightly Review, Nov., 1911. 140.“Studies in Shakespeare.” 141.In his discussion of the state of the Italian drama during the sixteenth century, Symonds says: “At the same time, we may question whether the Despots would have welcomed tragic shows which dramatized their deeds of violence; whether they would have suffered the patriotism of a Brutus, the vengeance of Virginius, the plots of Catiline, or the downfall of Sejanus to be displayed with spirit-stirring pomp in the theatres of Milan and Ferrara, when conspiracies like that of Olgaiti were frequent.” John Addington Symonds, “The Renaissance in Italy, Italian Literature,” Vol. II., p. 119. Henry Holt & Co., 1888. 142.“The Monarchicke Tragedies” of Alexander by 1617 had gone through three editions, besides several single quartos. |
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