Octavius: Not that we love words better, as you do.

You see, Octavius starts it.

Brutus lays himself open:

Brutus: Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius.
Antony: In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words:
Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart,
Crying, "Long live! hail, Caesar!"

This is one for Brutus, though it contains a lie. But Cassius comes to
the rescue:

Cassius: Antony,
The posture of your blows are yet unknown,
But, for your words, they rob the Hybla bees
And leave them honeyless.

Antony: Not stingless too.

Brutus: O, yes, and soundless too;
For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony,
And very wisely threat before you sting.

That was one for Antony, and he gets mad. "Villains!" he yells, and he
abuses them about their vile daggers hacking one another in the sides
of Caesar (a little matter that ought to be worn threadbare by now),
and calls them apes and hounds and bondmen and curs, and O, flatterers
(which seems to be worst of all in his opinion--for he isn't one, you
know), and damns 'em generally.

Old Cassius remarks, "Flatterers!"

Then Octavius breaks loose, and draws his Roman chopper and waves
it round, and spreads himself out over Caesar's three-and-thirty
wounds--which ought to be given a rest by this time, but only seem to
be growing in number--and swears that he won't put up said chopper till
said wounds are avenged,

Or till another Caesar
Have added slaughter to the sword of traitors.

Brutus says quietly that he cannot die by traitors unless he brings 'em
with him. (He sent one to Egypt later on.) Octavius says he hopes he
wasn't born to die on Brutus's sword; and Brutus says, in effect, that
even if he was any good he couldn't die more honourably.

Brutus: O, if thou wert the noblest of thy strain,
Young man, thou couldst not die more honourable.

Cassius: A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such honour,
Join'd with a masker and a reveller!

Octavius calls off his dogs, and tells them to come on to-day if they
dare, or if not, when they have stomachs.

Cassius: Why, now, blow wind, swell billow, and swim bark!
The storm is up, and all is on the hazard.

Yes, I reckon old Cassius ("old" in an affectionate sense) and Brutus
came out top d