"'Unfirm' is not
firm; while 'infirm' is weak."--Clar.]

[Note 11-13: Either the gods are fighting among themselves, or
else they are making war on the world for being overbearing in
its attitude towards them. For Shakespeare's use of 'saucy,'
see Century.]

[Note 13: /destruction./ Must be pronounced as a
quadrisyllable.]

[Page 31]

CICERO. Why, saw you any thing more wonderful?

[Note 14: /any thing more wonderful./ This may be interpreted
as 'anything that was more wonderful,' or 'anything more that
was wonderful.' The former seems the true interpretation. For
the 'wonderful' things that Casca describes, Shakespeare was
indebted to the following passage from Plutarch's _Julius
Caesar_, which North in the margin entitles "Predictions and
foreshews of Caesar's death": "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 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 divers men
were seen going up and down in fire, and furthermore, that
there was a slave of the soldiers that did cast a marvellous
burning flame out of his hand, insomuch as they that saw it
thought he had been burnt; 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: and that was a strange thing in nature, how a
beast could live without a heart." This passage is worth
special attention, as Shakespeare uses many of the details
again in II, ii, 17-24, 39-40. Cf. _Hamlet_, I, i, 113-125.]

[Page 32]

CASCA. A common slave--you know him well by sight-- 15
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn
Like twenty torches join'd, and yet his hand,
Not sensible of fire, remain'd unscorch'd.
Besides--I ha' not since put up my sword--
Against the Capitol I met a lion, 20
Who glaz'd upon me and went surly by
Without annoying me: and there were drawn
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women,
Transformed with their fear, who swore they saw
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets. 25
And yesterday the bi