Chapter: SCENE III. Another part of the field.

[Alarum. Enter Cassius and Titinius.]

CASSIUS.
O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!
Myself have to mine own turn'd enemy:
This ensign here of mine was turning back;
I slew the coward, and did take it from him.

TITINIUS.
O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early;
Who, having some advantage on Octavius,
Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil,
Whilst we by Antony are all enclosed.

[Enter Pindarus.]

PINDARUS.
Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;
Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord:
Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far' off.

CASSIUS.
This hill is far enough.--Look, look, Titinius;
Are those my tents where I perceive the fire?

TITINIUS.
They are, my lord.

CASSIUS.
Titinius, if thou lovest me,
Mount thou my horse and hide thy spurs in him,
Till he have brought thee up to yonder troops
And here again; that I may rest assured
Whether yond troops are friend or enemy.

TITINIUS.
I will be here again, even with a thought.

[Exit.]

CASSIUS.
Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill:
My sight was ever thick: regard Titinius,
And tell me what thou notest about the field.--

[Pindarus goes up.]

This day I breathed first: time is come round,
And where I did begin, there shall I end;
My life is run his compass.--Sirrah, what news?

PINDARUS.
[Above.] O my lord!

CASSIUS.
What news?

PINDARUS.
[Above.] Titinius is enclosed round about
With horsemen, that make to him on the spur:
Yet he spurs on. Now they are almost on him.--
Now, Titinius!--Now some 'light. O, he 'lights too:
He's ta'en; [Shout.] and, hark! they shout for joy.

CASSIUS.
Come down; behold no more.--
O, coward that I am, to live so long,
To see my best friend ta'en before my face!

[Pindarus descends.]

Come hither, sirrah:
In Parthia did I take thee prisoner;
And then I swore thee, saving of thy life,
That whatsoever I did bid thee do,
Thou shouldst attempt it. Come now, keep thine oath;
Now be a freeman; and with this good sword,
That ran through Caesar's bowels, search this bosom.
Stand not to answer: here, take thou the hilts;
And when my face is cover'd, as 'tis now,
Guide thou the sword.--Caesar, thou art revenged,
Even with the sword that kill'd thee.

[Dies.]

PINDARUS.
So, I am free, yet would not so have been,
Durst I have done my will.--O Cassius!
Far from this country Pindarus shall run,
Where never Roman shall take note of him.

[Exit.]

[Re-enter Titinius with Messala.]

MESSALA.
It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius
Is overthrown by noble Brutus' power,
As Cassius' legions are by Antony.

TITINIUS.
These tidings would well comfort Cassius.

MESSALA.
Where did you leave him?

TITINIUS.
All disconsolate,
With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.

MESSALA.
Is not that he that lies upon the ground?

TITINIUS.
He lies not like the living. O my heart!

MESSALA.
Is not that he?

TITINIUS.
No, this was he, Messala,
But Cassius is no more.--O setting Sun,
As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night,
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set,
The sun of Rome is set! Our day is gone;
Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done!
Mistrust of my success hath done this deed.

MESSALA.
Mistrust of good success hath done this deed.
O hateful Error, Melancholy's child!
Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men
The things that are not? O Error, soon conceived,
Thou never comest unto a happy birth,
But kill'st the mother that engender'd thee!

TITINIUS.
What, Pindarus! where art thou, Pindarus?

MESSALA.
Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet
The noble Brutus, thrusting this report
Into his ears: I may say, thrusting it;
For piercing steel and darts envenomed
Shall be as welcome to the ears of Brutus
As tidings of this sight.

TITINIUS.
Hie you, Messala,
And I will seek for Pindarus the while.--

[Exit Messala.]
Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius?
Did I not meet thy friends? And did not they
Put on my brows this wreath of victory,
And bid me give it thee? Didst thou not hear their shouts?
Alas, thou hast misconstrued every thing!
But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow;
Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I
Will do his bidding.--Brutus, come apace,
And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.--
By your leave, gods: this is a Roman's part:
Come, Cassius' sword, and find Titinius' heart.

[Dies.]

[Alarum. Re-enter Messala, with Brutus, young Cato,
Strato, Volumnius, and Lucilius.]

BRUTUS.
Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie?

MESSALA.
Lo, yonder, and Titinius mourning it.

BRUTUS.
Titinius' face is upward.

CATO.
He is slain.

BRUTUS.
O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!
Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords
In our own proper entrails.

[Low alarums.]

CATO.
Brave Titinius!
Look whether he have not crown'd dead Cassius!

BRUTUS.
Are yet two Romans living such as these?--
The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!
It is impossible that ever Rome
Should breed thy fellow.--Friends, I owe more tears
To this dead man than you shall see me pay.--
I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.--
Come therefore, and to Thassos send his body:
His funerals shall not be in our camp,
Lest it discomfort us.--Lucilius, come;--
And come, young Cato;--let us to the field.--
Labeo and Flavius, set our battles on:--
'Tis three o'clock; and Romans, yet ere night
We shall try fortune in a second fight.

[Exeunt.]

 Cassius and Titinius watch the battle from another part of the field. When Cassius' standard-bearer tried to run away, Cassius killed him and took up the flag himself. This guy is merciless! Titinius doesn't comment on this behavior but points out that Brutus came down on Octavius's army too early. Though they were initially weaker, Octavius's men now appear to be overtaking Brutus's, and Antony is enclosing Cassius's. The situation is looking pretty dire for Cassius and Brutus. Pindarus comes to Cassius and Titinius with the news that Antony has invaded Cassius's tents. He tries to get Cassius to run away, but Cassius is distracted by a set of fire in the distance. Cassius sends Titinius off on horseback to see whether the troops are friends or enemies. He also sends Pindarus higher up the hill to watch and report on Titinius' progress. Cassius notes to himself that his birthday is a good day to die, his life having come full circle. Cassius is resigned to his fate, but he still fights on. Pindarus reports on Titinius play by play. A horde of horsemen has surrounded Titinius. Now they've overtaken him. And now they're shouting with joy. It looks like the worst has happened. Cassius calls for Pindarus to stop watching. He laments that he's such a coward to have sent his best friend Titinius to his death. Pindarus returns to Cassius' side, and Cassius speaks to him. Cassius reminds Pindarus how he took him prisoner at Parthia and spared his life on the condition that he do whatever Cassius asked him to. Cassius then tells Pindarus how to make himself a free man: he should kill him with the very blade he used to kill Caesar. Pindarus stabs Cassius, who dies declaring that Caesar is avenged by the same sword that killed him. Pindarus, now hovering around Cassius' body, claims that this wasn't the way he wanted to gain his freedom, and that if he had his own will , he wouldn't have done it. He declares that he'll run far away so no Roman will ever see him again. Messala then enters the scene with Titinius , announcing the new state of the battle: they're basically even on both sides. Brutus has overtaken Octavius' forces, while Antony's forces have beaten Cassius' men. The men are stoked to tell Cassius that all isn't lost, but then they see his dead body, which is in no condition to accept good news. Messala is more Action Jackson than super-sleuth; he goes off unhappily to inform Brutus of Cassius' death. Meanwhile, Titinius is left to find Pindarus. While he looks around, Titinius realizes that Cassius must have misunderstood what had happened on the hilltop. It doesn't matter where Pindarus is, and Titinius doesn't even look for him. Instead, Titinius explains what actually happened in the scene that Cassius killed himself over. Titinius was indeed overtaken, but by friends of Brutus and Cassius on horseback. The shouts Pindarus heard were shouts of joy for Cassius' side. They overtook Titinius to put a wreath of victory on his head, which Brutus then wanted the rider to give to Cassius. Titinius still has the doomed crown, which, in a dramatic moment, he places on dead Cassius' head. Titinius then cries, "By your leave, gods! - this is a Roman's part," and proceeds to stab himself with Cassius' sword. Titinius dies beside his friend. Messala and Brutus arrive just in time to find that Titinius has played Ultimate Mourning and killed himself. Brutus cries out, "Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!" Brutus laments that two of Rome's bravest men should lie here this way. He prophetically calls Cassius "the last of all the Romans," meaning the last of the old school Romans that prefer death to subjugation. Brutus says he knows he ought to cry over Cassius, but now is not the time for crying. In the meantime, they decide not to hold the funerals in the camp, as funerals are no way to boost troop morale. Still, it's only 3 o'clock, which means there's time to try their luck against the enemy again, in the hopes something might be accomplished before dinnertime. Brutus gathers his remaining friends for the fight.

