In his own change, or by ill officers,5 PIN. I do not doubt, But that my noble master will appear BRU. He is not doubted.—A word, Lucilius; How he receiv'd you, let me be resolv'd. In his own change, or by ill officers,] The sense of which is this: Either your master, by the change of his virtuous nature, or by his officers abusing the power he had intrusted to them, hath done some things I could wish undone. This implies a doubt which of the two was the case. Yet, immediately after, on Pindarus's saying, His master was full of regard and honour, he replies, He is not doubted. To reconcile this we should read: In his own charge, or by ill officers. i. e. Either by those under his immediate command, or under the command of his lieutenants, who had abused their trust. Charge is so usual a word in Shakspeare, to signify the forces committed to the trust of a commander, that I think it needless to give any instances. WARBurton. The arguments for the change proposed are insufficient. Brutus could not but know whether the wrongs committed were done by those who were immediately under the command of Cassius, or those under his officers. The answer of Brutus to the Servant is only an act of artful civility: his question to Lucilius proves, that his suspicion still continued. Yet I cannot but suspect a corruption, and would read: In his own change, or by ill offices,-. That is, either changing his inclination of himself, or by the ill offices and bad influences of others. JOHNSON. Surely alteration is unnecessary. In the subsequent conference Brutus charges both Cassius and his officer, Lucius Pella, with corruption. STEEVENS. Brutus immediately after says to Lucilius, when he hears his account of the manner in which he had been received by Cassius: "Thou hast describ'd "A hot friend cooling." That is the change which Brutus complains of. M. MASON. Luc. With courtesy, and with respect enough; But not with such familiar instances, Nor with such free and friendly conference, BRU. Thou hast describ'd A hot friend cooling: Ever note, Lucilius, There are no tricks in plain and simple faith: Luc. They mean this night in Sardis to be quarter'd; The greater part, the horse in general, Are come with Cassius. BRU. [March within. Hark, he is arriv'd :— March gently on to meet him. Enter CASSIUS and Soldiers. CAS. Stand, ho! BRU. Stand, ho! Speak the word along. WITHIN. Stand. WITHIN. Stand. WITHIN. Stand. CAS. Most noble brother, you have done me wrong. BRU. Judge me, you gods! Wrong I mine enemies? And, if not so, how should I wrong a brother? CAS. Brutus, this sober form of yours hides Before the eyes of both our armies here, well: Which should perceive nothing but love from us, CAS. Pindarus, Bid our commanders lead their charges off. A little from this ground. BRU. Lucilius, do the like; and let no man Come to our tent, till we have done our conference. Let Lucius and Titinius guard our door. [Exeunt. your griefs- i. e. your grievances. See Vol. V. p. 314, n. 8; and Vol. XI. p. 392, n. 2. MALONE. 7 do the like;] Old copy-" do you the like;" but without regard to metre. STEEVENS. SCENE III. Within the Tent of Brutus. Lucius and Titinius at some distance from it. Enter BRUTUS and CASSIUS. CAS. That you have wrong'd me, doth appear in this: You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella, case. CAS. In such a time as this, it is not meet That every nice offences should bear his comment. BRU. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm; To sell and mart your offices for gold, To undeservers. CAS. I an itching palm? You know, that you are Brutus that speak this, Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. every nice offence-] i. e. small trifling offence. So, in Romeo and Juliet, Act V: WARBURTON. "The letter was not nice, but full of charge BRU. The name of Cassius honours this tion, corrup And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. CAS. Chastisement ! BRU. Remember March, the ides of March re Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake? CAS. Brutus, bay not me,1 • What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, And not for justice?] This question is far from implying that any of those who touch'd Cæsar's body, were villains. On the contrary, it is an indirect way of asserting that there was not one man among them, who was base enough to stab him for any cause but that of justice. MALONE. 'Cas. Brutus, bay not me,] The old copy-bait not me. Mr. Theobald and all the subsequent editors read-bay not me; and the emendation is sufficiently plausible, our author having in Troilus and Cressida used the word bay in the same sense: "What moves Ajax thus to bay at him!" But as he has likewise twice used bait in the sense required here, the text, in my apprehension, ought not to be disturbed. "I will not yield," says Macbeth: "To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, "And to be baited with the rabble's curse." Again, in Coriolanus: 66 why stay we to be baited "With one that wants her wits??? So also, in a comedy intitled, How to choose a Good Wife from a Bad, 1602: |