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IL CESARE

TRAGEDIA

D’ORLANDO PESCETTI

Dedicata

AL SERENISS. PRINCIPE

DONNO ALFONSO II. D’ESTE

DVCA DI FERRARA, &C.

IN VERONA,
Nella Stamparia di Girolamo Discepolo.
M D X CIIII.

A PROBABLE ITALIAN SOURCE
OF
SHAKESPEARE’S “JULIUS CÆSAR”

BY

ALEXANDER BOECKER, Ph.D.

INSTRUCTOR IN THE MANUAL TRAINING HIGH SCHOOL, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Submitted to the Faculty of New York University in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

NEW YORK

1913

Press of

The New Era Printing Company

Lancaster, Pa.

PREFACE

This monograph was submitted to the Faculty of New York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, and was accepted by them in May, 1912. Its composition was prompted chiefly by a desire to call attention to the long forgotten work of Orlando Pescetti, because it is at least an open question whether Shakespeare derived from the “Cesare” of the Italian dramatist many hints which he later used in his own “Julius Caesar.” Pescetti’s drama seems to have been entirely overlooked as a possible source, although the many striking similarities to Shakespeare’s tragedy render it well worth investigating. I believe that the present work is the first attempt to demonstrate the possible relation between the two dramas.

“Cesare” seems to be the only play on the subject which has not been exhaustively examined. The only notices in English with which I am acquainted appeared in letters published in the Nation, June 2 and 9, 1910, while this work was in process of preparation. The first, by Miss Lisi Cipriano, called attention to some marked similarities in expression and treatment between the two dramas. In reply, two letters appeared the following week: one from Professor Harry Morgan Ayres of Columbia University, the other from Professor Henry N. McCracken of Yale. Neither seemed to regard the parallels cited by Miss Cipriano as indicative of direct borrowing on the part of Shakespeare. Professor Ayres had previously in the June, 1910, number of the “American Modern Language Association Publications” been the first to make any mention of Pescetti in relation to Shakespeare. In his article, “Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Light of Some other Versions,” he called attention to some parallels, without, however, attaching to them any particular significance.

The above writers seem, however, to have missed the really vital points of contact between the two dramas. These, I trust, will become sufficiently evident in the following pages.

Pescetti has been no more fortunate in his Continental critics. The mere mention of his name from Tiraboschi on is all one finds till Emilio Bertana, in his “La tragedia” (1904), gives a brief analysis and critique of the play. Ferdinando Neri, in his “La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento” (1904) has a brief mention, but none of his countrymen have ever discussed Pescetti’s drama as a possible Shakespearean source. It seems unknown to French and German critics.

Owing to the absence in America of material bearing upon Pescetti, I was compelled to base my study upon a very carefully executed transcript of the 1594 edition of “Cesare” now in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence. Through the courtesy of Professor Ayres, I have been enabled carefully to check all quotations by reference to his own copy of the 1594 edition. The references to “Julius Caesar” are to the Globe Edition. The copy of Lydgate referred to is in the Library of Columbia University, while the quotations from Ovid are taken from Golding’s 1575 translation in the Yale University Library. To the latter I am also indebted for the extracts from the 1578 translation of Appian. The references to Plutarch are to Professor Skeats’ edition.

To Mr. Emilio Bruschi of Florence I am indebted for his careful transcriptions of documents, and to Professor Salomone Morpurgo, the head librarian of the Biblioteca Nazionale, for his courtesy in putting the available material contained therein at my disposal. To Professor Harry Morgan Ayres I wish to express my thanks for permitting me to use his copy of “Cesare.” To Professor Theodore F. Jones and Mr. Arthur H. Nason of New York University I owe many valuable suggestions regarding the arrangement of subject matter. My many obligations to Professor M. W. MacCallum’s “Shakespeare’s Roman Plays and their Background,” and to Professor F. H. Sykes’ edition of “Julius Caesar” are in evidence throughout.

I am above all indebted to my colleague, Dr. Edoardo San Giovanni, for his kind help and encouragement, without which this work would probably never have been consummated.

Alexander Boecker.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

I intend in this monograph to demonstrate the probability of Shakespeare’s indebtedness in the composition of the first three acts of his “Julius Caesar,” to the “Cesare” of Orlando Pescetti, an Italian tragedy on the same theme, first published at Verona in 1594.[^[1]]

This connection has never yet been demonstrated. The work seems almost totally unknown to the English literary world.[^[2]] Shakespearean criticism, eager to investigate the smallest matters in regard to the great poet, is silent on Pescetti. I know of no French or German[^[3]] references. In Italy, Pescetti has received scant notice; few writers have so much as mentioned “Cesare,” while not one has made any suggestion as to a possible connection between this play and “Julius Caesar.”[^[4]]

The inscription upon the title page of the 1594 edition is as follows:

Il Cesare

Tragedia

d’Orlando Pescetti

Dedicata

al Sereniss. Principe

Donno Alfonso II. d’Este

Duca di Ferrara, etc.

(Device)

In Verona

Nella stamparia di Girolamo Discepolo

MDXCIIII

Pescetti’s work is in quarto, and consists of six pages of dedicatory matter, and one hundred and fifty pages of verse, for the most part hendecasyllabic varied with septenarians. In the tragedy proper there are nearly four thousand lines.

The author in his dedication establishes, to his own satisfaction at least, the descent of the family of Este from the mighty Julius, and ventures the belief that Brutus and Cassius, though they could not abide Caesar’s rule, would rejoice in Alfonso’s. At the end of several pages of this sort of flattery we read: “Di Verona il dì 19 di Febraio 1594. Di V.A.S. Divotiss. et umiliss. Servitore Orlando Pescetti.”

THE PLOT OF “CESARE”

The following is a list of the persons in the drama, called by Pescetti, “Interlocutori.”

Marte  }

Venere } Fanno il Prologo

Giove  }

Bruto

Cassio

Sacerdote

Porzia moglie di Bruto

Calpurnia moglie di Cesare

Cameriera di Calpurnia

Cesare

Marc’Antonio Consolo

Decimo Bruto

Lenate

Messo primo

Messo secondo

Coro di Matrone Romane

Coro di Donne di Corte

Coro di Cittadini

Coro di Soldati

The tragedy proper is preceded by a prologue in which Mars, Venus, and Jove are the actors. Pescetti, probably following Ovid’s account in Book XV. of the “Metamorphoses,” represents Venus as bewailing the destined death of Caesar, the last of her earthly descendants. Mars extends his consolation and proffers his aid. She informs him that Jove is responsible, and indulges in a denunciation of the Thunderer that must have made his celestial ears tingle. All further discussion of the matter is terminated by the appearance of the Father of the gods, who reproves Venus for her blasphemous utterances, assures her that his ways are inscrutable, and consoles her by promising Caesar immortality among the gods, and the infliction of dire punishment upon his assassins. Venus bows to his will, and impatient Mars hurries at Jove’s command to sow the seeds of civil strife throughout the Roman world.

This Prologue is a literary curiosity. Its style is at times more reminiscent of the madrigal than of tragedy, while the very earthly flavor which clings to the celestial personages is decidedly humorous to the modern reader. Pescetti undoubtedly was in grim earnest when he wrote the Prologue, but many of the sentences he puts in the mouths of his immortals must have made Melpomene smile. The admonition of Venus to Mars on omniscient Jove’s approach, “Ma e’ vien ver noi, tacciam, ch’egli non ci oda,” despite its Renaissance setting, is delightful for its sheer absurdity.

The tragedy follows immediately after this prologue. In view of the extreme length of Pescetti’s work and the lack of interest for our purpose in many of the speeches, I have thought it advisable not to inflict upon the reader an extended synopsis of the plot, but to confine my efforts to the following outline of the story.

Act I

The scene is not stated, but is evidently, throughout the play, an open space before a temple in the vicinity of Caesar’s house. The time is just before dawn. Brutus is discovered apostrophizing the shade of Pompey. He vows to deliver Rome from the tyrant. Cassius overhears him, and commends this resolution. Brutus relates how the ghost of Pompey had appeared to him during the past night and commanded him to restore the ancient liberties. Together, they enter the temple to pray for the success of their enterprise. The Priest now appears, deplores the prevalent irreligion, urges the observance of the ancient rites, and then goes to prepare the sacrifice commanded by the Dictator. Brutus and Cassius reappear and discuss their plans. Cassius strongly favors the killing of Antony along with Caesar. This Brutus will not tolerate, in spite of the many forceful arguments of his fellow conspirator. He abruptly terminates the discussion by detailing the manner of Caesar’s murder. As he concludes, Portia enters in search of Brutus. She deplores that her sex prevents her taking an active part in the conspiracy. She begs to be favored with their confidence. Cassius hesitates, but finally divulges their plans, and beseeches her to aid the enterprise with her prayers. This, rather reluctantly, she promises. Brutus, who has taken no part in this conversation, now bursts into an ecstatic speech wherein, in imagination, he already hears the rejoicing which the news of the tyrant’s death will cause among Rome’s noblest families. He advises Portia to return home while he and Cassius go to join the other conspirators. Portia invokes the blessing of Heaven on them, and the act concludes as the Chorus of Matrons implores the intercession of Romulus to restore to the city its former peace and happiness.

Act II

Calpurnia and her nurse indulge in the inevitable lengthy and tiresome discussion concerning the former’s terrible dream. The ghost of Caesar, horrible with wounds, had appeared to her that night. Almost half the act is devoted to Calpurnia’s expression of grief and to her nurse’s fruitless efforts at consolation. The Chorus declaims the fickleness of mankind, whereupon Brutus and Portia reappear. The former, believing that his wife has wounded herself in some domestic labor, reproves her for turning her hands to such work. She tells him that she has wounded herself to prove that she could commit suicide were her death necessary. She fears that her husband may perish in his attempt against Caesar and has resolved to restrain him. This dialogue, filled with mutual protestations of love and constancy, is terminated by the appearance of Calpurnia, whose perturbed countenance prompts them to overhear her. Calpurnia, in a long and tiresome speech, condemns the desire of men for dominion over others as the cause of all their sufferings. The nurse interjects the usual advice and consolation. Calpurnia voices her determination to persuade Caesar to abandon his contemplated visit to the Senate. Brutus petitions Jove to steel the tyrant’s heart to the appeals of his wife. Portia retires to pray for her husband’s success, while he goes to rejoin Cassius and the others in the plot. The Chorus sings the mutability of human happiness, and the act ends.

Act III

Caesar and Antony indulge in a lengthy dialogue which is started by the observations of the former regarding the banquet at the house of Lepidus the preceding evening. Caesar, ably seconded by Antony, enlarges upon his glories. His companion warns him against treachery, and advises a bodyguard. Caesar scorns those who would harm him, but resolves after this day to be surrounded by some of his trusty veterans. He orders Antony to prepare for the Parthian campaign. Here follows a soliloquy by Antony, in which, in contrast to Calpurnia, he exalts the pleasures of rulership. He intends so to contrive that in the event of Caesar’s death he can seize the reins of government. Hereupon the Priest in the longest speech in the play recites the many and various portents which have lately occurred. As he concludes, Caesar and Calpurnia join him, and another long scene ensues in which Caesar stands firm against all the arguments brought forward to dissuade him. He is resolved to go to the Senate, and the scene is brought to an end by a final warning from the Priest. The Chorus sings the direful results following the disregard of religion.

Act IV

Brutus and Cassius discuss the probability of a detection of their plot. It seems that Lenate, evidently not of their number, had approached Brutus and whispered his good wishes for the success of their enterprise. Brutus and Cassius engage in a dialogue concerning liberty, but are interrupted by the appearance of Decimus Brutus, who laments the perversity of fortune. It seems that Caesar has yielded to Calpurnia’s entreaties and will stay at home. Worse still, on the morrow he will appear with his bodyguard. Marcus Brutus feels that Jove will yet favor their designs. Caesar enters and condemns those as fools who are guided by the advice of women. Nevertheless, as he fears treachery, he has resolved to heed the entreaties of his wife. He indulges in a panegyric of himself. The conspirators now approach, and Marcus Brutus addresses him, inquiring his reasons for not attending the important session of the Senate. Caesar is in doubt as to the manner of his reply. The prayers of his wife, he asserts, have influenced him. Besides, he has reason to fear treachery. Decimus Brutus, by artfully playing on his vanity, succeeds in overcoming his doubts. Caesar resolves to attend the Senate. Marcus Brutus can hardly find words fit to sing the praises of Jove, who has inspired this determination in the tyrant’s heart. The conspirators indulge in pious prayers and felicitations. Caesar, Calpurnia and Decimus Brutus are the persons in the next scene. Caesar tells Calpurnia that her entreaties are vain; now, as formerly, the gods will protect him. She bows to his will. Decimus, in another useless speech, continues his laudation of Caesar and the belittlement of his fears. Caesar at length starts for the Senate. He is detained by Lenate who addresses him, to the great consternation of the conspirators, who fear the revelation of their plot. Lenate begs a favor of Caesar, which the latter is disposed to grant. The increasing panic of the conspirators is stayed by Brutus, who has watched Lenate and feels confident that he is not talking of the plot. At the conclusion of Lenate’s address Caesar departs for the Senate, and Lenate joins the conspirators and assures them of his silence. In the concluding scene Calpurnia breaks into lamentations while the Chorus of Ladies of the Court comments upon her distress and beseeches Juno to turn aside her wrath and spare Caesar.

Act V

Brutus addresses the citizens and announces the death of the tyrant. He calls on all to rejoice in their reestablished freedom, while the conspirators shout the glad tidings. This is his last appearance. The rest of the act is devoted to the lamentations of Calpurnia, the report of the catastrophe by the First and the Second Messenger, and the comments of the various Choruses.

Pescetti’s tragedy, as will readily be seen from this statement of its plot, is thoroughly Senecan in its construction and perpetuates some of the worst faults of its type. The dramatic unities are strictly observed; there are the same lengthy speeches, the same moralizing, the same absence of action evolved before the spectator, the same lack of life characteristic of this dramatic form. The actors soliloquize, converse, declaim, listen; they do everything but act. Their exits and their entrances constitute the total of visible action. Deeds are carefully excluded, or relegated beyond the stage; the declamatory powers of messengers, the comments of the Chorus, and the speeches and conduct of the actors are relied upon to vitalize them in the imagination of the audience.

Of characterization, in the Shakespearean sense, there is very little. It would be easy to dismiss the whole matter. A careful search is necessary to locate those passages wherein Pescetti displays any decided flashes of dramatic power in his characterizations. Yet there are times when he attempts, and in a measure successfully, to provide adequate motivation for the speeches of his characters; but unfortunately, these are rather few and far between. He almost invariably locates these places in such a rank rhetorical jungle that it requires considerable care to discover them. Yet he reveals at times a true dramatic instinct in his choice of material and in the handling of certain situations.[^[5]]

But the force of convention was too strong for him successfully to resist its insidious influences. Following in the footsteps of his contemporaries, he spins his drama out to some four thousand lines, ninety-nine percent of which are versified prose and the remainder dubiously poetic. Nevertheless, compared with the crudities of Giraldi (Cinthio), or the revolting horrors of Sperone and Cresci, Pescetti’s work marks an advance in Italian drama.

The dramatis personae common both to Shakespeare and Pescetti are Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Marcus Brutus, Cassius, Decius Brutus, Popilius Lena, Calpurnia and Portia. Pescetti calls Decius, Decimo, and Popilius Lena, Lenate. In addition, the Italian mentions incidentally Casca, Cimber, Trebonius and Cicero. Of the others occurring in Shakespeare, there is no trace. Pescetti, however, introduces two new characters: the Servant or Nurse to Calpurnia and the Priest. The former is one of the traditional figures of the Senecan drama, while the latter performs at various times the functions of monitor, mediator and chorus. From non-Plutarchian sources the Italian obtained the names Spurinna and Bucolianus, which occur in the First Messenger’s recital of the assassination. The first he doubtless owes to Suetonius, while the second he obtained from Appian’s account of Caesar’s murder. In obedience to the formal demand of his drama, Pescetti has the first and second Messenger, the Choruses of Roman Matrons (probably suggested by Lucan),[^[6]] of the Ladies of the Court, of Citizens, and of Soldiers. The two latter are merged in the mob of Shakespeare.

As a natural result of the limitations imposed by his model, Pescetti has to confine his action to the events of the day of Caesar’s assassination, and can only inferentially introduce material of which Shakespeare could avail himself to the full. The place is always the same, and, though unmentioned by the dramatist, is presumably an open space before a temple in the immediate vicinity of Caesar’s house. In consequence of these restrictions such hints as Pescetti may have furnished Shakespeare, are, almost exclusively, to be found embodied in the composition of the first three acts of “Julius Caesar.”

Shakespeare’s main source was Plutarch; Pescetti’s was Appian, though he did not hesitate to draw liberally from Plutarch, Suetonius, Lucan, Ovid, and Vergil when the occasion required. In this I disagree with the only two commentators who have given this drama more than passing attention.[^[7]] With the exception of the Brutus-Portia scene, the portents, and his idealization of Brutus’ character, in every one of the main incidents of the first four acts, and in the entire fifth act, the Italian follows Appian faithfully. But, like Shakespeare, he does not hesitate to amplify[^[8]] his material nor to invent such incidents as the exigencies of the situation seem to demand.

That Shakespeare went further than Plutarch for his sources has been the subject of much discussion. He introduces historical touches not found in the biographer. I purpose to show in the course of this work that almost every one of these he could readily have obtained through Pescetti. This Renaissance rhetorician was thoroughly at home in the classics, and his work throughout bears unmistakable evidence of their influence.

It is certain that he was well acquainted with the Latin tragedy “Caesar,” written in 1544 by the French humanist Marc Antoine Muret (Muretus). Pescetti’s enemies were quick to recognize the resemblance between the two plays and openly accused him of plagiarism. While the Italian undoubtedly received many hints from the work of his predecessor, there is no ground for the vicious attack made upon him by Beni.[^[9]] Moreover, his borrowings, such as they are, in no way affect our investigation. Undoubtedly he was also acquainted with the “César” of Jacques Grévin (1561). But, whatever the hints as to treatment Pescetti may have received from Muretus,[^[10]] it is to his minute knowledge of the classic authors that he owes the substance of his drama. He makes a far greater use than do his predecessors of the material later employed by Shakespeare. Very noteworthy is the fact that here we find for the first time in any play on the subject, the Brutus-Portia scene; the suspense occasioned by the suspected discovery of the plot; the panic among the conspirators when Popilius Lena addresses Caesar; the great prominence of the portents.

The material derived from classical sources and used both by Shakespeare and Pescetti includes the conference between Brutus and Cassius; the respect in which the former was held; his relations to his wife, and her demand to share his confidence; the enthusiasm of the conspirators; their sparing of Antony at Brutus’ request; the prodigies and portents that preceded Caesar’s death; Calpurnia’s dream and her efforts to stay her husband at home and the counter efforts of Decimus Brutus; the warning letter given to Caesar (only mentioned in “Cesare” by the Messenger); all the details of the assassination scene, and Brutus’ speech to the people. Both also make use of personal characteristics mentioned either in Plutarch or in Appian. Thus Antony’s friendship for Caesar, his fondness for revelry, his hold on the soldiers; Brutus’ intense patriotism, his hatred for tyranny, his magnanimity, his disinterestedness, his love of study; the caution of Cassius, his hatred of tyrants; Caesar’s lately acquired superstition and arrogance. These are all derived from the above sources. Pescetti refers to Pompey several times, but he says nothing about the actions of the tribunes, nor about their punishment. Nor is there any mention of the prophecy of danger on the Ides of March; of the offer of the Crown on the Lupercal or on any other occasion; of the anonymous letters sent to Brutus; of the conspirators’ contempt for an oath; of their rejection of Cicero as confederate; of Ligarius; of Artimidorus or his attempted intervention; of Antony’s speech.

On the other hand Pescetti introduces material either simply hinted at or altogether omitted in Shakespeare and the histories. Such is the account of the conversation between Antony and Caesar, and Caesar’s opinion of death; the pleas used by Decimus Brutus; the various conversations between Portia and Cassius; between the Priest and Calpurnia, and between Caesar and the Priest; the lamentations of Calpurnia. He gives much prominence to the Priest and to Calpurnia’s servant. He founded his choruses on material partly suggested by Lucan, and perhaps by Muretus, Grévin and Garnier.

While Pescetti drew liberally from Plutarch, yet his indebtedness to Appian is particularly significant for our purpose. There are passages in “Julius Caesar” wherein Shakespeare introduces historical touches which apparently can only be explained upon the supposition that he knew and used the English translation of Appian published in 1578. Owing to the peculiar parallelism often evident in the accounts both of Plutarch and of Appian, and to the absence in “Julius Caesar” of those minutiae necessary to a positive confirmation, the question of Shakespeare’s indebtedness to the Greek historian has remained largely conjectural. Pescetti undoubtedly used Appian, and in his use of the materials, and in the similarity to Shakespeare’s subsequent treatment, the supposition that Appian was the ultimate source of the disputed passages seems to receive its strongest confirmation.

THE INFLUENCE OF APPIAN

The English translation of Appian, by “W. B.,” was published in 1578. This is the work supposedly used by Shakespeare. In his “Julius Caesar” there are four places in which the influence of the historian seems predominant; in a part of the speech of Brutus to the citizens; in the oration of Antony; in the conduct of the conspirators immediately following the murder; and in a detail concerning Antony.

Neither the address of Brutus nor the funeral oration of Antony is recorded in Plutarch. Both are to be found in Appian. It has been suggested[^[11]] that from him Shakespeare got the idea for Brutus’ exclamation, “Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freemen?” Appian’s Brutus says: “We at his desire gaue him security, and as it should seeme, afrayde of himself, seking to make his Tyrany sure, we sware unto it. If he had required us to sware, not only to confirme the things past, but also to haue bene hys slaues in time to come, what woulde they then haue done that nowe lie in wayte for our liues? I suppose verye Romaines indeede, wyll rather choose certaine death as they haue oft done, than by an othe to abyde willing seruitude.”[^[12]]

While it is possible that Shakespeare, following his custom in the composition of this particular play, may have derived this hint from the scattered pages of Plutarch, or indeed conceived it independently as a dramatic consequence of Brutus’ previously expressed attitude, yet the advantage of Appian’s account is manifest. Pescetti knew and used this account, and while the same idea does not occur in Brutus’ address in “Cesare” it is repeatedly expressed throughout the play. If we admit the possibility of Shakespeare’s derivation of the disputed hints through a careful selection from the pages of Plutarch, there can be no strong objection to granting him the exercise of a similar freedom in his perusal of Pescetti. It was a common enough practice of the Elizabethan dramatists to appropriate suitable material wherever and whenever they encountered it, a fact which must be borne in mind throughout this discussion.

Shakespeare could have found his matter in Pescetti. There is nothing more repugnant to the Brutus of “Cesare” than the idea of slavery, and he voices his opinion time and again throughout the play. To quote but one instance: Cassius and Brutus are discussing liberty and Brutus says:

“Il Tiranno è peggior dell’ omicida,

Perchè la vita l’omicida toglie;

Ma con la dignità toglie il possesso

Della vita il Tiranno, e chi ad altrui,

Non à se, vive, è viè peggior, che morte:

Perciò saggio Caton, saggio et ardito,

Ch’anzi morir, che viver servo elesse.”—Ces., p. 89.

The possibility that the address of Antony, as recorded by Appian, furnished Shakespeare hints for the oration in the play, has recently been investigated by Prof. MacCallum.[^[13]] He concludes that while Appian’s account bears little resemblance to the oration, it nevertheless contains some parallels in details. Antony both in the history and in the drama calls attention to his friendship for Caesar; to the honors the latter had bestowed on his murderers; he proclaims his own readiness to avenge his benefactor’s death; he recites Caesar’s triumphs and the spoils he sent to Rome; he uncovers Caesar’s corpse and displays the bloodstained robe; he makes Caesar cite the names of those whom he had pardoned and advanced only to destroy him.

Professor MacCallum confesses that the evidence is not very convincing, but that it is strengthened greatly by the apparent loans from the same author discernible in Shakespeare’s treatment of various passages in “Antony and Cleopatra.” The question at present is not whether the hints in “Julius Caesar” were derived from Appian, but whether they were derived from the English translation. The likelihood that Shakespeare knew and used this translation when he wrote his later tragedy, does not exclude the possibility that he was not acquainted with it when he composed the earlier work, nor that he received the hints attributed to Appian not at first hand, but through his knowledge of Pescetti’s drama.[^[14]]

The Italian’s work contains no funeral oration by Antony, but the entire fifth act is dramatically parallel to the third act of “Julius Caesar.” In it we find Brutus’ speech to the people, the account of the assassination, the various laments for Caesar, a chorus singing Brutus’ praises and another singing those of Caesar. The entire act is founded upon Appian, and despite its comparative inferiority in dramatic treatment, is rich in suggestions which a better dramatist could use to great advantage. Caesar’s victories, his magnanimity to his enemies, their base treachery and Antony’s readiness to avenge his friend’s murder; in short, all the hints[^[15]] presumably derived by Shakespeare from the English translation of Appian are brought before us. Shakespeare could have found his material in Pescetti’s drama, and the supposition that he actually did do so is greatly strengthened by the fact that not only does the material under discussion reappear in “Julius Caesar”, but it reappears accompanied by certain individual touches peculiar alone to Pescetti’s treatment.

Calpurnia’s speeches, the recitals of the Messengers, and the comments of the Chorus are the dramatic counterpart in “Cesare” of the speeches of Antony in “Julius Caesar.” Thus Calpurnia exclaims at the news of Caesar’s death:

“O dolce, ò caro, ò mio fedel consorte,

O di quanti mai Roma

Produsse figli, più possente, e forte,

O della nostra età sovrano pregio,

O domator de’ ribellanti Galli,

Del feroce German, del fier Britanno;

O altrettanto dolce

Al perdonar, quanto al combatter pronto,

O stupor delle genti,

O miracol del mondo,

Le cui maravigliose,

E soprumane prove

Stancheran tutte le più dotte penne,

E con stupor saranno

Cantate, udite e lette

Da quei, che dopo noi

Verran mill’ anni, e mille.”—Ces., pp. 128–29.

“Oimè quel, ch’ai nemici hà perdonato,

Quel, ch’il maggior nemico hà pianto morto,

È stat’ ei da coloro, a cui donata

Avea la vita, indegnamente ucciso.”—Ces., p. 135.

Here Caesar’s kindness to his enemies, his conquests, the sense of Rome’s irreparable loss are emphasized.

“Here was a Caesar! when comes such another?”

To Shakespeare, Pescetti’s work could hardly have been more than a recital of events connected with a notable occurrence in history, and while he needed no “Cesare” to point him towards the aim of Antony’s address, it is noteworthy that Calpurnia openly urges what Antony secretly wished, and towards which he shaped every sentence of his great oration. Shakespeare’s treatment is so vastly superior that attempts at comparison seem well nigh ridiculous; yet, when we consider how the great poet was able to transform the meanest hints into the mighty scenes we find in his greatest dramas,[^[16]] we may well hesitate to overlook similarities, however far removed they may seem from the matter under consideration. Thus Calpurnia exhorts the soldiers to vengeance:

“O robusti, o magnanimi soldati,

Che sotto la felice scorta, sotto

Le fortunate, e gloriose insegne

Del mio Cesare invitto

Mille vittorie riportate avete,

Date di mano all’ arme,

Prendete il ferro, e’l fuoco,

E l’empia, indegna morte, e’l fiero strazio

Vendicate del vostro

Signore, e Capitano:”—Pp. 133–34.

Later on the Chorus of Soldiers exclaims:

“Patirem noi, compagni,

Ch’ invendicato resti

Lui, per cui fatto abbiamo

Di ricchezze e d’onor tanti guadagni?”—P. 143.

“there were an Antony

Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue

In every wound of Caesar, that should move

The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.”—J. C., III., II, 224.

“He hath brought many captives home to Rome,

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill.”

Calpurnia denounces Brutus:

“O Bruto, ò Bruto, veramente Bruto,

Non men d’animo, e d’opre, che di nome,

Come t’è dato il cuor d’uccider quello,

Ch’à te donato avea la vita e in luogo

Preso t’avea di figlio? ahi scelerato,

Ahi d’ogn’ umanità nemico; cuore

Più che d’Orso, e di Tigre Ircana crudo,

Come a ferir quel sacrosanto corpo,

Orrido gel non ti legò le membra?”—P. 133.

Antony specifically mentions Brutus as “the well beloved.” Of special significance is the fact that he makes the same play on the name Brutus[^[17]] as we find in Pescetti:

“O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts

And men have lost their reason.”—III., II, 102.

It is noteworthy that Calpurnia, after the play on the name, proceeds to emphasize the brutality of the murder, not only by referring to the closeness of the relation between Brutus and Caesar, but also by comparing the insensate cruelty of his assassin to that of the most savage beasts. There is no warrant for this touch in the histories. Again, note the parallel:

“For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel;

Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him.”

—III., II, 180.

Another individual touch of Pescetti’s reappears in Antony’s oration. Thus the Chorus in “Cesare,” on hearing that Caesar’s body is being borne to his house by a few slaves, exclaims,

“E quegli, a cui comandamenti presti

Erano i Regi, e le provincie intiere,

Or appena hà trè servi,

Che ’l portin sù le spalle.”[^[18]]—Ces., p. 127.

The Messenger at the sight of the corpse laments,

“Ecco dov’ è ridutto

Il pur dianzi Signor dell’ universo.”—P. 136.

Antony says:

“But yesterday the word of Caesar might

Have stood against the world: now lies he there,

And none so poor to do him reverence.”—III., II, 117.

Also Act III., Sc. I:

“O mighty Caesar! dost thou lie so low?

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,

Shrunk to this small measure?”

Calpurnia exclaims:

“Dunque, oimè, quella destra,

C’hà vinti, e debellati

Potentissimi eserciti, e distrutte

Fortissime Cittadi, or fredda torpe

Ad ogni officio inutile, e impotente?”—Ces., p. 129.

The corpse[^[19]] of Caesar is not displayed upon the stage, but the comments of the Chorus warn the spectator that it is approaching borne by the slaves, and Calpurnia cries:

“Fermate o là, posate

Quel corpo in terra, acciocchè col mio pianto

Lavi dall’ aspre sue ferite il sangue.”—Ces., p. 136.

The familiar,

“If you have tears, prepare to shed them now”

has its parallel in the lines of the speech of the Second Messenger addressed to the Chorus of Women:

“Apparecchiate, o donne, gli occhi al pianto.”[^[20]]—Ces., p. 146.

Calpurnia, in her exhortation to the soldiers referred to before, continues:

“Sù, che fate? stringete

Nell’ una man il ferro

Nell’ altra le facelle,

E correte alle case

De’ traditori ingiusti,

E uccidete, e ardete ciò, ch’avvanti

Vi si para, ond’ al cielo

Salgano le faville, e ’l Tebro porti

L’onde sanguigne al mare.

Che parlo? o dove sono? ahi che ’l soverchio

Dolor t’hà tratta di te stessa fuori,

Infelice Calpurnia.”—Ces., p. 134.

Noteworthy in the above is the touch, “Che parlo? o dove sono?” etc. Thus Antony pauses:

“Bear with me;

My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,

And I must wait till it come back to me.”

Plutarch records the doings of the mob after they had been aroused by Antony’s speech. He recounts that the mob cried “Kill the murderers,” but chronicles no other exclamations. Neither does Appian. In Pescetti, Calpurnia’s speech contains material for the exclamations which interrupt Antony’s discourse, but a direct parallel is to be found in the cry of the soldiers inflamed by the exhortations of Caesar’s wife and the laments of the Chorus. They shout:

“Sù diam di mano all’armi,

E gridando armi, armi, armi,

Alla vendetta gli animi infiammiamo.

Arme, arme, sangue, sangue, ammazza, ammazza,

Degli empi traditor non resti razza.

Altri occupi le porte,

Altri corra alla piazza,

Altri al Tempio di Giove, altri alla Corte,

E per tutti apparisca orrore, e morte.”—Ces., pp. 143–144.

During Antony’s speech the mob cries:

“Revenge! About! Seek! Burn! Fire! Kill! Slay!

Let not a traitor live!”

This is not only a close verbal parallel, but the similarity in the exclamatory treatment is remarkable.

Another personal touch is to be found in the idea that Caesar’s fall was Rome’s fall, which is strong throughout Pescetti, and is not traceable to the influence of the historians. Thus the Second Messenger says:

“Giunto è l’ultimo dì; giunto è la fine

Di questa altiera patria, ò donne; Roma

Fù; noi fummo Romani; or ogni gloria,

Ogni grandezza nostra è posta in fondo.”—Ces., p. 146.

Antony exclaims,

“O, what a fall was there, my countrymen!

Then I, and you, and all of us fell down,

Whilst bloody treason flourished over us.”

But one more point in connection with Antony’s oration remains for discussion. Antony’s friendship for Caesar and his desire for vengeance on the latter’s murderers are matters just as readily derivable from Plutarch’s accounts as from the oration by Antony as recorded in Appian. Pescetti, following Appian’s account of the events immediately following the assassination, puts the following in the mouth of the Second Messenger:

“Antonio ...

Fuggito è a casa, e d’essere credendo

Anch’egli a morte destinato, or cinge

Di ripari fortissimi la casa,

E si prepara alla difesa contra

Chiunque oltraggio, ò scorno fargli tenti.

Lepido s’è nell’ Isola con quattro

Legion ritirato, et ha mandato

Dicendo a Marcantonio, ch’egli è pronto

Co’suoi soldati a far quanto da lui

Gli sarà imposto: Onde si stima ch’egli

Per vendicar la morte dell’ amico

Debba spingergli addosso a congiurati,

E lor tagliar a pezzi, e le lor case

Arder, e rovinar da fondamenti.”—P. 148.

Not only is Antony’s desire for vengeance intimated, but the ultimate fate of the conspirators, and the failure of their cause is distinctly foreshadowed. But most significant is the fact that Pescetti, here almost literally following Appian, makes Antony take refuge in his own house. In Shakespeare Antony is also made to take refuge in his own house. Cassius inquires:

“Where is Antony?

Trebonius—Fled to his house amazed.”—(Act III., Sc. I, 96.)

This touch is certainly not derived from Plutarch. The biographer says (Julius Caesar, p. 101): “But Antonius and Lepidus, which were two of Caesar’s chiefest friends, secretly conveying themselves away, fled into other men’s houses and forsook their own.” Appian says: “Antony went to his owne house, entending to take advice for this case of Cesars.” (Appian, 1578, p. 141.)[^[21]]

But one more supposed loan from Appian remains for investigation. This is to be found in the behavior of the conspirators immediately after the murder. Plutarch’s account is as follows: “Brutus and his confederates on the other side, being yet hot with this murder they had committed, having their swords drawn in their hands, came all in a troup together out of the Senate and went into the market-place, not as men that made countenance to fly, but otherwise boldly holding up their heads like men of courage, and called to the people to defend their liberty, and stayed to speak with every great personage whom they met on their way.” (Julius Caesar, p. 101, Skeat’s Ed.)

In Shakespeare we read:

“Caes.— Et tu Brute? Then fall, Caesar. (Dies) Cinna.— Liberty! freedom! Tyranny’s dead!
Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets. Cas.— Some to the common pulpits and cry out
‘Liberty, freedom and enfranchisement!’”

A little farther on Brutus exclaims:

“Stoop, Romans, stoop,

And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood

Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:

Then walk we forth, even to the market-place,

And waving our red weapons o’er our heads,

Let’s all cry ‘Peace, freedom and liberty!’”—III., I, 106.

Plutarch mentions no sayings of the conspirators; there is no mention of the dripping swords. Shakespeare is here supposed to follow Appian, who says: “The murderers woulde haue sayde somewhat in ye Senate house, but no man would tarry to heare. They wrapt their gowns about their left armes as targets, and hauying their daggers bloudy, cryed they had kylled a King and a Tyranne, and one bare an hatte upon a speare, in token of Libertie. Then they exhorted them to the common wealth of their country and remembered olde Brutus, and the oth mode againste the old kings.” (Appian, 1578, p. 142.)[^[22]] Here we find the matter of the dripping swords, and an intimation of the cry of the Conspirators. But Pescetti, who followed Appian, supplies a still closer parallel. Here Brutus, after announcing the death of the tyrant, and after exhorting the people to rejoice in their reestablished liberties, turns to the conspirators and exclaims:

“Ma scorriam per la terra,
O voi, che fidelissimi compagni,
Mi siete stati all’ onorata impresa,
Con le coltella in mano,
Del Tirannico sangue ancor stillanti
E co’ pilei sù l’aste
E ’l popolo di Marte
Chiamiamo a libertade. Con.— Libertà, libertà, morto è il Tiranno:
Libera è Roma, e rotto è il giogo indegno.”—Ces., pp. 116–17.

Here we have the substance of Appian’s account. Here Brutus, as in Shakespeare, addresses his fellow conspirators. In the one case he refers to them as “most faithful companions,” in the other, as “Romans.” In both he exhorts them to the same purpose. In one they are to rove the streets with their dripping swords still in their hands, and to call the people of Rome to their reestablished liberty; in the other, they are exhorted to walk forth waving their red weapons over their heads, and to cry “Peace, freedom and liberty.” The cry of the chorus in Pescetti seems an answer to this appeal:

“Libertà, libertà, morto è il Tiranno:

Libera è Roma e rotto è il giogo indegno.”

And this again is closely parallel to Cinna’s outburst,

“Liberty! freedom! Tyranny is dead!

Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets!”

The latter part of this seems an echo of

“E ’l popolo di Marte

Chiamiamo a libertade.”—P. 116.

“Cesare” contains no close parallel to Brutus’ exclamation:

“Stoop, Romans, stoop,

And let us bathe our hands in Caesar’s blood

Up to the elbows, and besmear our swords:”

But Pescetti indicates a similar savage desire:

“E fu sì grande del ferir la voglia

Recandosi ciascuno a somma gloria,

Tinger la spada sua nel sacro sangue.”[^[23]]—P. 126.

He does say that the conspirators besmeared their swords, and Shakespeare but intensified the scene by making the murderers literally bathe in the blood of their victim.[^[24]]

In this case, as in the others, the material from Appian is to be found in Pescetti, and reappears in Shakespeare accompanied by touches due to Pescetti alone. We find further, that in all the cases wherein the influence of Appian has been suspected, Shakespeare could have derived his matter from Pescetti, who, we can positively affirm, used Appian as his source. The resemblance in Shakespeare between the scenes under discussion and the corresponding scenes in Pescetti is far stronger than the similarity to their alleged source in the English translation of Appian, for not only does Shakespeare make use of the same historical matter which Pescetti derived from the historian, but he includes individual touches found only in the Italian drama. The conclusion that Shakespeare derived from Pescetti the hints previously attributed to his acquaintance with the English translation of Appian seems, therefore, tentatively justifiable. This conclusion will be greatly strengthened by the evidence adducible from the other similarities existing between the two plays. Among these the treatment of the supernatural element in both dramas offers points of contact which will now be discussed.

THE HANDLING OF THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT

Shakespeare’s skill in the handling of the supernatural element in “Julius Caesar” has been much commended. The omens and prodigies are distributed in such a way as best to emphasize the tragic element and they serve to invest the entire play in an atmosphere of portent. For his material he drew largely upon Plutarch, but he also introduces matter apparently indicating a familiarity with Ovid, Vergil, Lucan, and Suetonius. Pescetti makes use of the supernatural element to a far greater extent than do his predecessors.[^[25]] His recital of the omens and the prodigies embraces almost every item which the industry of a Renaissance scholar could cull from the pages of Plutarch, Ovid, Vergil, Lucan, Suetonius, and Appian. With a single exception, all the omens mentioned by Shakespeare and not directly traceable to Plutarch, can be found in Pescetti, whose treatment of the entire supernatural element affords some interesting parallels.

Plutarch’s account, which furnished Shakespeare the bulk of his material, is as follows:

“Certainly destiny may easier be foreseen than avoided, considering the strange and wonderful signs that were said to be seen before Caesar’s death. For, touching the fires in the element, and spirits running up and down in the night and also of the solitary birds to be seen at noondays sitting in the great market-place, are not all these signs perhaps worth the noting, in such a wonderful chance as happened? But Strabo, the philosopher, writeth, that men were seen going up and down in fire; and, furthermore, that there was a slave of the soldiers that did cast a marvelous burning flame out of his hands, insomuch as they that saw it thought he had been burned; but when the fire was out, it was found he had no hurt. Caesar self also doing sacrifice unto the gods, found that one of the beasts which was sacrificed had no heart: which was a strange thing in nature, how a beast could live without a heart. Furthermore there was a certain soothsayer that had given Caesar warning long time before, to take heed of the day of the Ides of March, (which is the fifteenth of the month), for on that day he should be in great danger. That day being come, Caesar going into the Senate-house, and speaking merrily unto the soothsayer, told him ‘the Ides of March be come’: ‘so they be,’ softly answered the soothsayer, ‘but yet are they not past!’ And the very day before, Caesar, supping with Marcus Lepidus, sealed certain letters, as he was wont to do, at the board: so, talk falling out amongst them, reasoning what death was the best, he, preventing their opinions, cried out aloud, ‘Death unlooked for!’ Then, going to bed the same night, as his manner was, and lying with his wife Calpurnia, all the windows of his chamber flying open, the noise awoke him, and made him afraid when he saw such light; but more, when he heard his wife Calpurnia, being fast asleep, weep and sigh, and put forth many fumbling lamentable speeches; for she dreamed that Caesar was slain, and that she held him in her arms.”[^[26]]

Professor MacCallum, commenting upon this account says: “It is interesting to note how Shakespeare takes this passage to pieces, and assigns those of them for which he has a place to their fitting and effective position. Plutarch’s reflections on destiny and Caesar’s opinion on death he leaves aside. The first warning of the soothsayer he refers back to the Lupercalia, and the second he shifts forward to its natural place. Calpurnia’s outcries in her sleep and her prophetic dream, the apparition of the ghosts mentioned by her among the other prodigies, the lack of the heart in the sacrificial beast, are reserved for the scene of her expostulation with Caesar, and are dramatically distributed among the various speakers; Caesar, the servant, Calpurnia herself.”[^[27]]