Julius Caesar — Act 5, Scene 3

original text and modern English, side by side

Another part of the field · Cassius, Titinius, Pindarus, Messala, Brutus, Cato

Cassius, driven back by Antony and unable to see clearly, sends Titinius to identify a body of troops and has Pindarus watch from a hill. Pindarus wrongly reports that Titinius has been captured, and Cassius — on his own birthday — makes Pindarus kill him with the same sword that stabbed Caesar. Titinius returns wearing a victory wreath from Brutus's men, finds Cassius dead, and kills himself too; Brutus arrives, calls Cassius "the last of all the Romans," and orders the army back into a second fight.

Alarum. Enter Cassius and Titinius.

Cassius

O, look, Titinius, look, the villains fly!

Look, Titinius, look — the cowards are running!

Myself have to mine own turn’d enemy:

I've become an enemy to my own men.

This ensign here of mine was turning back;

My standard-bearer here was turning to flee;

I slew the coward, and did take it from him.

I killed the coward and took the flag off him.

Titinius

O Cassius, Brutus gave the word too early,

Cassius, Brutus gave the order to attack too soon.

Who, having some advantage on Octavius,

Took it too eagerly: his soldiers fell to spoil,

Whilst we by Antony are all enclos’d.

He had a small advantage over Octavius and pressed it too eagerly, and his soldiers broke off to loot — while we've been completely surrounded by Antony.

Enter Pindarus.

Pindarus

Fly further off, my lord, fly further off;

Get further away, my lord, further away.

Mark Antony is in your tents, my lord.

Mark Antony is inside your camp.

Fly, therefore, noble Cassius, fly far off.

Run, noble Cassius, get well clear.

Cassius

This hill is far enough.

Look, look, Titinius;

Are those my tents where I perceive the fire?

Look there, Titinius — are those my tents I can see burning?

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 assur’d

Whether yond troops are friend or enemy.

Titinius, if you care for me, get on my horse and drive your spurs into him until he's carried you up to those troops over there and back again, so I can be certain whether they're friends or enemies.

Titinius

I will be here again, even with a thought.

I'll be back before you can think it.

Exit.

Cassius

Go, Pindarus, get higher on that hill,

Pindarus, go higher up that hill.

My sight was ever thick.

My eyesight was always poor.

Regard Titinius,

And tell me what thou notest about the field.

Keep your eye on Titinius and tell me what you see happening on the field.

Pindarus goes up.

Cassius

This day I breathed first.

Today is the day I was born.

Time is come round,

And where I did begin, there shall I end.

Time has come full circle, and I'll end where I began.

My life is run his compass.

My life has run its course.

Sirrah, what news?

Well, what's the news?

Above.

Pindarus

O my lord!

(From above) My lord!

Cassius

What news?

What's the news?

Above.

Pindarus

Titinius is enclosed round about

With horsemen, that make to him on the spur,

Yet he spurs on.

(From above) Titinius is completely surrounded by horsemen who are riding hard at him — and he's still spurring on.

Now they are almost on him.

Now they're almost on top of him.

Now, Titinius!

Now some light.

Some of them are dismounting.

O, he lights too.

And he's dismounting too.

He’s ta’en!

He's captured!

Shout.

Pindarus

And, hark! they shout for joy.

Listen — they're cheering.

Cassius

Come down;

Come down.

behold no more.

Don't watch any more.

O, coward that I am, to live so long,

To see my best friend ta’en before my face!

What a coward I am, to have lived long enough to see my best friend taken prisoner in front of me.

Pindarus descends.

Cassius

Come hither, sirrah.

Come here, man.

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.

In Parthia I took you prisoner, and when I spared your life I made you swear that whatever I told you to do, you would do it.

Come now, keep thine oath.

Now keep that oath.

Now be a freeman; and with this good sword,

That ran through Caesar’s bowels, search this bosom.

Be a free man from this moment — and with this good sword, the one that went through Caesar's guts, go into my chest.

Stand not to answer.

Don't stop to argue.

Here, take thou the hilts;

And when my face is cover’d, as ’tis now,

Guide thou the sword.

Here, take the hilt, and when my face is covered, as it is now, drive the blade home.

—Caesar, thou art reveng’d,

Even with the sword that kill’d thee.

Caesar, you're avenged, and with the very sword that killed you.

Dies.

Pindarus

So, I am free, yet would not so have been,

Durst I have done my will.

So I'm free — though I'd rather not have been freed this way, if I'd dared do what I wanted.

O Cassius!

Cassius!

Far from this country Pindarus shall run,

Where never Roman shall take note of him.

Pindarus will run far away from this country, somewhere no Roman will ever notice him again.

Exit.

Enter Titinius with Messala.

Messala

It is but change, Titinius; for Octavius

Is overthrown by noble Brutus’ power,

As Cassius’ legions are by Antony.

It's only an even exchange, Titinius: Octavius has been beaten by noble Brutus's forces, just as Cassius's legions have been beaten by Antony's.

Titinius

These tidings would well comfort Cassius.

That news would be a great comfort to Cassius.

Messala

Where did you leave him?

Titinius

All disconsolate,

With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.

Utterly wretched, on this hill, with his servant Pindarus.

Messala

Is not that he that lies upon the ground?

Isn't that him lying on the ground?

Titinius

He lies not like the living.

He isn't lying like a living man.

O my heart!

My heart.

Messala

Is not that he?

Isn't that him?

Titinius

No, this was he, Messala,

No — this was him, Messala.

But Cassius is no more.

Cassius is gone.

O setting sun,

As in thy red rays thou dost sink to night,

So in his red blood Cassius’ day is set.

Setting sun, as you sink into night in your red rays, so Cassius's day has set in his own red blood.

The sun of Rome is set.

Rome's sun has gone down.

Our day is gone;

Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done.

Our day is over; clouds and damp and danger are coming, and our work is finished.

Mistrust of my success hath done this deed.

It was doubt about how I'd done that caused this.

Messala

Mistrust of good success hath done this deed.

It was doubt about the good news that caused this.

O hateful Error, Melancholy’s child!

Why dost thou show to the apt thoughts of men

The things that are not?

Hateful Mistake, child of Depression — why do you show men's ready minds things that aren't there?

O Error, soon conceiv’d,

Thou never com’st unto a happy birth,

But kill’st the mother that engender’d thee!

Mistake, so easily conceived, you're never delivered safely; you always kill the mind that gave birth to you.

Titinius

What, Pindarus!

Pindarus!

where art thou, Pindarus?

Where are you, Pindarus?

Messala

Seek him, Titinius, whilst I go to meet

The noble Brutus, thrusting this report

Into his ears.

Go and find him, Titinius, while I go to noble Brutus and drive 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.

I say drive it, because sharp steel and poisoned arrows would be no less welcome to Brutus than news of this sight.

Titinius

Hie you, Messala,

And I will seek for Pindarus the while.

Hurry, Messala, and I'll look for Pindarus in the meantime.

Exit Messala.

Titinius

Why didst thou send me forth, brave Cassius?

Why did you send me out, brave Cassius?

Did I not meet thy friends?

Didn't I reach your friends?

And did not they

Put on my brows this wreath of victory,

And bid me give it thee?

And didn't they put this victory wreath on my head and tell me to bring it to you?

Didst thou not hear their shouts?

Didn't you hear them cheering?

Alas, thou hast misconstrued everything!

You misread every bit of it.

But, hold thee, take this garland on thy brow;

Here — let me put this garland on your head.

Thy Brutus bid me give it thee, and I

Will do his bidding.

Your friend Brutus told me to give it to you, and I'll carry out his order.

Brutus, come apace,

And see how I regarded Caius Cassius.

Brutus, come quickly, and see what I thought of Caius Cassius.

By your leave, gods.

By your leave, gods —

This is a Roman’s part.

this is what a Roman does.

Come, Cassius’ sword, and find Titinius’ heart.

Come, Cassius's sword, and find Titinius's heart.

Dies.

Alarum. Enter Brutus, Messala, young Cato, Strato, Volumnius and Lucilius.

Brutus

Where, where, Messala, doth his body lie?

Where, Messala? Where is his body?

Messala

Lo, yonder, and Titinius mourning it.

Over there, with Titinius mourning over it.

Brutus

Titinius’ face is upward.

Titinius is lying face up.

Cato

He is slain.

He's dead.

Brutus

O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet!

Julius Caesar, you're still powerful.

Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords

In our own proper entrails.

Your spirit is loose in the world, and it turns our own swords into our own guts.

Low alarums.

Cato

Brave Titinius!

Look whether he have not crown’d dead Cassius!

Look — he crowned the dead Cassius before he died.

Brutus

Are yet two Romans living such as these?

Are there two Romans still alive to match these?

The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!

Farewell, last of all the Romans.

It is impossible that ever Rome

Should breed thy fellow.

Rome will never produce your equal.

Friends, I owe more tears

To this dead man than you shall see me pay.

Friends, I owe this dead man more tears than you'll see me pay.

I shall find time, Cassius, I shall find time.

I'll find the time, Cassius. I'll find the time.

Come therefore, and to Thassos send his body.

Come, then, and send his body to Thassos.

His funerals shall not be in our camp,

Lest it discomfort us.

We won't hold the funeral in camp, in case it demoralizes the men.

Lucilius, come;

And come, young Cato; let us to the field.

Lucilius, come. Come, young Cato. Back to the field.

Labeo and Flavius, set our battles on.

Labeo and Flavius, get our units moving.

’Tis three o’clock; and Romans, yet ere night

We shall try fortune in a second fight.

It's three o'clock, and Romans, before nightfall we'll test our luck in a second battle.

Exeunt.

Julius Caesar Act 5, Scene 3 summary

Who appears in this scene

Cassius, Titinius, Pindarus, Messala, Brutus, Cato — Another part of the field.

Famous lines in Julius Caesar Act 5, Scene 3, explained

“O Julius Caesar, thou art mighty yet! / Thy spirit walks abroad, and turns our swords / In our own proper entrails.” (line 100): Standing over Cassius's body, Brutus recognizes that Caesar is winning the war after his death: no enemy killed Cassius or Titinius — the conspirators' own blades, in their own hands, did it. It is the fulfilment of Antony's prophecy in Act 3 and of the ghost's visit, and it reframes the whole battle as Caesar's revenge rather than Antony's victory. Brutus will die the same way two scenes later, on his own sword.
“The last of all the Romans, fare thee well!” (line 106): Brutus's eulogy for Cassius says that the type of man Cassius represented — the old republican, formed by a Rome that no longer exists — has died out with him. Coming from the man who quarrelled bitterly with him a day earlier, it also completes their reconciliation. Brutus notably refuses to grieve properly now, promising he will "find time" later, and the play never gives him that time.

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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 5, Scene 3. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/julius-caesar/act-5-scene-3.”

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