The Stormy Night

Scene summary

On a night of storm and portents, Casca rushes sword in hand to meet Cicero and tells what he has seen: a slave with a hand on fire that does not burn, a lion loose near the Capitol, women who swear they see men on fire, and a night bird screeching at noon in the square. Cicero replies that men read events as they wish, asks whether Caesar will go to the Capitol the next day, and withdraws. Cassius arrives bare-chested into the lightning, accuses Casca of apathy, and says the sky warns against a man who has grown too great. On learning that the Senate intends to crown Caesar the next day, he swears to kill himself before accepting servitude, and Casca joins him. Cassius says he has already gathered other men of weight, who await him at Pompey's Portico, and Cinna arrives looking for him: he receives letters to leave on the praetor's chair, at Brutus's window, and on the statue of the elder Brutus. Cassius and Casca decide to visit Brutus before dawn, since three parts of him are already theirs, and Casca notes that Brutus's prestige will turn into virtue what would otherwise look like an offense in them.