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MA RK ANTON Y'S SPE ECH .
249
MARK ANTONY'S SPEE CH.
plark An ton y occupies th e rostrum a fte r Brutus has left it . H is
speech is a very ski lfu l piece of pleading. H e works on t he sen.se of
justice of the citizens, on their cupidity, on their pity, on their vengean ce,
and, whil e professing to ha ve no such pu rpose, stirs the m up to mutiny.I
1. Antony. Friend s! R oman s, count rymen, lend me
your ears ;
I come to bury Ceesar, not to pra ise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft inte rred with th eir bones ;
So let it be with Cresar, Th e noble Brutus
H ath told you Cresar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a gri evous faul t,
AmI gri evously hath Cresar an swered it.
H ere, und er leave of Brutus and the rest, ­
Fo r Brutus is an hono urable man ;
So are they all, all honoura ble men,­
Come I to speak in Cresar's fu neral.
2. H e was Illy fr iend, faith ful an d j ust to me:
But Brutu s says he was ambitious;
A nd Bru tu s is an honoura ble man.
H e hath broug ht many captives home to R ome,
Whose ran soms did th e general coffers fill :
Did thi s in Cresar seem ambitious 1
W hen t hat the poor hav e cried, Cresar hath wept :
A mbition should be mad e of sterner stuff :
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
3. You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thr ice presented him a kingly crown,
W hich he did thrice refuse: was thi s amb ition!
Yet Brutu s says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honoura ble man.