Julius Caesar — Act 2, Scene 2

original text and modern English, side by side

A room in Caesar’s palace · Caesar, Servant, Calphurnia, Decius, Publius, Brutus, Antony, Trebonius

On the morning of the ides of March, thunder shakes Caesar's house and Calphurnia, who has dreamt three times of his murder, begs him not to leave; the priests find a sacrificed animal with no heart. Caesar agrees to stay home until Decius arrives and reinterprets Calphurnia's dream of his blood-spouting statue as a sign that Rome will be revived by him, adding that the Senate plans to crown him and will mock him if he hides. Caesar changes his mind and leaves for the Capitol with the conspirators, who have come to escort him.

Thunder and lightning. Enter Caesar, in his nightgown.

Caesar

Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight:

Neither heaven nor earth has been quiet tonight.

Thrice hath Calphurnia in her sleep cried out,

“Help, ho! They murder Caesar!”

Three times in her sleep Calphurnia cried out, "Help! They're murdering Caesar!"

Who’s within?

Is anyone there?

Enter a Servant.

Servant

My lord?

Caesar

Go bid the priests do present sacrifice,

Go tell the priests to make a sacrifice at once,

And bring me their opinions of success.

and bring me their reading of how the day will go.

Servant

I will, my lord.

Exit.

Enter Calphurnia.

Calphurnia

What mean you, Caesar?

What do you think you're doing, Caesar?

Think you to walk forth?

You mean to go out?

You shall not stir out of your house today.

You are not leaving this house today.

Caesar

Caesar shall forth.

Caesar is going out.

The things that threaten’d me

Ne’er look’d but on my back;

The things that have threatened me have only ever looked at my back;

when they shall see

The face of Caesar, they are vanished.

once they see Caesar's face, they disappear.

Calphurnia

Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies,

Yet now they fright me.

Caesar, I never used to put any weight on omens, but these frighten me.

There is one within,

Besides the things that we have heard and seen,

Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.

Besides everything we've heard and seen ourselves, there's a man inside describing horrors the night watch saw.

A lioness hath whelped in the streets,

A lioness gave birth in the open street.

And graves have yawn’d, and yielded up their dead;

Graves split open and gave up their dead.

Fierce fiery warriors fight upon the clouds

In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,

Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol;

Fierce warriors of fire fought in the clouds in ranks and squadrons, in proper battle order, and their blood drizzled down on the Capitol.

The noise of battle hurtled in the air,

Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan,

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.

The din of battle crashed through the air, horses whinnied, dying men groaned, and ghosts shrieked and wailed up and down the streets.

O Caesar, these things are beyond all use,

And I do fear them!

Caesar, these things are far outside anything normal, and they terrify me.

Caesar

What can be avoided

Whose end is purpos’d by the mighty gods?

How can anyone avoid what the mighty gods have decided?

Yet Caesar shall go forth;

Caesar will still go out.

for these predictions

Are to the world in general as to Caesar.

These warnings apply to the world at large as much as to Caesar.

Calphurnia

When beggars die, there are no comets seen;

No comets appear when beggars die.

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.

The heavens themselves blaze to announce the death of princes.

Caesar

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

Cowards die many times over before their actual death;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

a brave man tastes death only once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear,

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.

Of all the strange things I've heard, the strangest to me is that men should be afraid of it, when death is a necessary ending that will come whenever it comes.

Enter Servant.

Caesar

What say the augurers?

What do the priests say?

Servant

They would not have you to stir forth today.

They advise you not to go out today.

Plucking the entrails of an offering forth,

They could not find a heart within the beast.

When they pulled the guts out of the sacrificed animal, they couldn't find a heart inside it.

Caesar

The gods do this in shame of cowardice:

The gods are doing that to shame cowardice.

Caesar should be a beast without a heart

If he should stay at home today for fear.

Caesar would be an animal with no heart if he stayed home today out of fear.

No, Caesar shall not.

No, Caesar will not.

Danger knows full well

That Caesar is more dangerous than he.

Danger knows perfectly well that Caesar is the more dangerous of the two of us.

We are two lions litter’d in one day,

And I the elder and more terrible,

And Caesar shall go forth.

We're a pair of lions born on the same day, and I am the elder and the more terrible — and Caesar will go out.

Calphurnia

Alas, my lord,

Your wisdom is consum’d in confidence.

My lord, your good sense has been swallowed by your confidence.

Do not go forth today:

Don't go out today.

call it my fear

That keeps you in the house, and not your own.

Say it's my fear keeping you at home, not your own.

We’ll send Mark Antony to the Senate-house,

And he shall say you are not well today.

We'll send Mark Antony to the Senate house to tell them you're unwell today.

Let me upon my knee prevail in this.

Let me win this on my knees.

Caesar

Mark Antony shall say I am not well,

Mark Antony can say I'm not well,

And for thy humour, I will stay at home.

and to humour you I'll stay at home.

Enter Decius.

Caesar

Here’s Decius Brutus, he shall tell them so.

Here's Decius Brutus — he can tell them so.

Decius

Caesar, all hail!

All hail, Caesar!

Good morrow, worthy Caesar.

Good morning, worthy Caesar.

I come to fetch you to the Senate-house.

I've come to escort you to the Senate house.

Caesar

And you are come in very happy time

To bear my greeting to the Senators,

And tell them that I will not come today.

And you've come at just the right moment to carry my greetings to the senators and tell them I won't be coming today.

Cannot, is false; and that I dare not, falser:

"Cannot" is untrue, and "dare not" is even less true.

I will not come today.

Tell them so, Decius.

Tell them that, Decius.

Calphurnia

Say he is sick.

Say he's ill.

Caesar

Shall Caesar send a lie?

Is Caesar to send a lie?

Have I in conquest stretch’d mine arm so far,

To be afeard to tell grey-beards the truth?

Have I reached this far in conquest only to be afraid of telling a few old men the truth?

Decius, go tell them Caesar will not come.

Decius, go and tell them Caesar will not come.

Decius

Most mighty Caesar, let me know some cause,

Lest I be laugh’d at when I tell them so.

Most mighty Caesar, give me some reason, or I'll be laughed at when I tell them.

Caesar

The cause is in my will;

The reason is that I don't wish to.

I will not come.

That is enough to satisfy the Senate.

That's enough for the Senate.

But for your private satisfaction,

Because I love you, I will let you know:

But for your own private satisfaction, since I'm fond of you, I'll tell you:

Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home.

my wife Calphurnia is keeping me at home.

She dreamt tonight she saw my statue,

Which like a fountain with an hundred spouts

Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans

Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.

She dreamt last night that she saw my statue running with pure blood from a hundred spouts like a fountain, and that plenty of vigorous Romans came up smiling and washed their hands in it.

And these does she apply for warnings and portents

And evils imminent;

She takes all this for a warning, an omen of some disaster about to happen,

and on her knee

Hath begg’d that I will stay at home today.

and she has knelt and begged me to stay home today.

Decius

This dream is all amiss interpreted:

That dream has been completely misread.

It was a vision fair and fortunate.

It was a good and lucky vision.

Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,

In which so many smiling Romans bath’d,

Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck

Reviving blood, and that great men shall press

For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance.

Your statue spouting blood from many pipes, with all those smiling Romans bathing in it, means that great Rome will draw life-giving blood from you, and that important men will crowd in for a token, a stain, a relic, a badge of you to keep.

This by Calphurnia’s dream is signified.

That is what Calphurnia's dream means.

Caesar

And this way have you well expounded it.

That's a very good explanation of it.

Decius

I have, when you have heard what I can say;

It is, once you hear what else I have to say.

And know it now.

So hear it:

The Senate have concluded

To give this day a crown to mighty Caesar.

the Senate have decided to give mighty Caesar a crown today.

If you shall send them word you will not come,

Their minds may change.

If you send word that you won't come, they may change their minds.

Besides, it were a mock

Apt to be render’d, for someone to say,

“Break up the Senate till another time,

When Caesar’s wife shall meet with better dreams.”

Besides, it's the kind of thing that invites a joke — someone could easily say, "Adjourn the Senate until Caesar's wife has better dreams."

If Caesar hide himself, shall they not whisper

“Lo, Caesar is afraid”?

If Caesar hides himself away, won't they whisper, "Look, Caesar's frightened"?

Pardon me, Caesar;

Forgive me, Caesar.

for my dear dear love

To your proceeding bids me tell you this,

And reason to my love is liable.

It's my deep love for your advancement that makes me say this, and my love overrules my discretion.

Caesar

How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia!

How silly your fears look now, Calphurnia.

I am ashamed I did yield to them.

I'm ashamed I gave in to them.

Give me my robe, for I will go.

Bring me my robe — I'm going.

Enter Brutus, Ligarius, Metellus, Casca, Trebonius, Cinna and Publius.

Caesar

And look where Publius is come to fetch me.

And look, here's Publius come to fetch me.

Publius

Good morrow, Caesar.

Good morning, Caesar.

Caesar

Welcome, Publius.

What, Brutus, are you stirr’d so early too?

Brutus — are you up this early too?

Good morrow, Casca.

Good morning, Casca.

Caius Ligarius,

Caesar was ne’er so much your enemy

As that same ague which hath made you lean.

Caius Ligarius, Caesar was never such an enemy to you as that fever that has left you so thin.

What is’t o’clock?

What time is it?

Brutus

Caesar, ’tis strucken eight.

Caesar, it has struck eight.

Caesar

I thank you for your pains and courtesy.

Thank you for the trouble and the courtesy.

Enter Antony.

Caesar

See! Antony, that revels long a-nights,

Is notwithstanding up.

Look — Antony, who stays up half the night celebrating, is awake all the same.

Good morrow, Antony.

Good morning, Antony.

Antony

So to most noble Caesar.

And to you, most noble Caesar.

Caesar

Bid them prepare within.

Tell them inside to get ready.

I am to blame to be thus waited for.

It's my fault you've all been kept waiting.

Now, Cinna; now, Metellus; what, Trebonius!

Now then, Cinna; Metellus; and Trebonius!

I have an hour’s talk in store for you:

I have an hour's conversation saved up for you.

Remember that you call on me today;

Remember to call on me today,

Be near me, that I may remember you.

and stay close to me so I don't forget.

Trebonius

Caesar, I will.

I will, Caesar.

[_Aside._] and so near will I be,

That your best friends shall wish I had been further.

[Aside] And I'll be so close that your best friends will wish I'd kept my distance.

Caesar

Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;

Good friends, come inside and have some wine with me,

And we, like friends, will straightway go together.

and then we'll all set off together like the friends we are.

Aside.

Brutus

That every like is not the same, O Caesar,

The heart of Brutus yearns to think upon.

(Aside) That what looks alike isn't the same thing at all — Caesar, it aches Brutus's heart to dwell on it.

Exeunt.

Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 2 summary

Who appears in this scene

Caesar, Servant, Calphurnia, Decius, Publius, Brutus, Antony, Trebonius — A room in Caesar’s palace.

Famous lines in Julius Caesar Act 2, Scene 2, explained

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; / The valiant never taste of death but once.” (line 33): Caesar's answer to Calphurnia: a frightened man lives through his own death over and over in his imagination, while a brave man only experiences it once, when it actually happens. It is the most quoted line in the scene and reads as genuine courage — but Shakespeare places it minutes before Caesar is talked out of his caution by a flatterer, which makes it fatal bravado as much as wisdom. His follow-up is just as important: death is an unavoidable ending that will arrive when it arrives, so there is no point trying to dodge it.
“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; / The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.” (line 31): Calphurnia argues that the night's freakish omens must be about Caesar specifically, because the universe does not put on a display for ordinary people — only for the great. It reflects a real Elizabethan belief that the natural world mirrors upheavals in the state, which is why the play is stuffed with storms, portents and unnatural events. It is also a piece of flattery that fails: by conceding that the sky is announcing something enormous, she gives Decius the opening to argue that the something is Caesar's glory rather than his murder.
“She dreamt tonight she saw my statue, / Which like a fountain with an hundred spouts / Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans / Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.” (line 80): Calphurnia's dream is a straightforward prophecy of the assassination — the conspirators do wash their hands in Caesar's blood in 3.1 — but Decius immediately reinterprets it as Rome drawing new life from Caesar and Romans collecting relics of him. The exchange is the play's sharpest demonstration of Cicero's warning in 1.3 that men read signs to suit themselves. Decius wins not because his reading is better but because it flatters Caesar, and the dream ends up being true in exactly the way Calphurnia meant it.

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About this translation: the original text follows the public-domain Project Gutenberg Globe edition; the modern English translation was written in-house for Polytranslator and is reviewed on an ongoing basis (last revised August 2026). Free to print and photocopy for classroom use. Cite as: “Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene 2. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/julius-caesar/act-2-scene-2.”

Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.