general the public good.
craves to be in great need of.
crown him that crown him emperor.
disjoins remorse from power separates conscience from authority.
I have not known when his affections sway'd / More than his reason Brutus is suggesting that Caesar is not ruled by passion but is very calculating in his desire for power.
proof experience.
lowliness false humility.
base degrees the rungs upon the ladder he has just climbed. Caesar will turn on the people beneath him.
And since the quarrel / Will bear no color for the thing he is Brutus recognizes that his argument (quarrel) doesn't work (bears no color) because Caesar has not behaved as Brutus suggests he will.
augmented to become greater, increase. Here, when Caesar gets what he wants (is augmented), he will behave as Brutus has previously described.
as his kind according to his nature.
closet a small, private room for reading and meditation, often a study for men, a place of meditation and solitude for women.
exhalations meteors.
whet to make keen, stimulate.
first motion the first proposal of the murder of Caesar by Cassius.
phantasma an hallucination.
The Genius and the mortal instruments / Are then in council; and the state of a man, / Like to a little kingdom, suffers then / The nature of an insurrection Because of Cassius' suggestions, Brutus' mind (Genius) and body (mortal instruments) are in conflict. Thus, he cannot sleep.
brother Cassius had married a sister of Brutus.
moe more.
discover to reveal, disclose, or expose.
For if thou path, they native semblance on, / Not Erebus itself were dim enough / To hide thee from prevention If you show your true nature in your face, not even the darkness of the underworld will be able to hide you from being recognized and stopped.
watchful cares worries that keep them up at night.
fret interlace.
Here, as I point my sword . . . Stands, as the Capitol, directly here Casca's point here is that the sword he points toward the Capitol will, by the violence it inflicts on Caesar, bring about a new day for Rome.
high-sighted haughty, arrogant.
by lottery as Caesar's eye falls on each man by chance.
palter to talk or act insincerely.
honesty personal honor.
cautelous deceitful.
carrions men near death.
insuppressive irrepressible.
or . . . or either . . . or.
several individual.
break with tell our secret to him.
improve make the most of them.
annoy to harm by repeated attacks.
their servants our passions.
ingrafted established firmly.
Quite from the main opinion he held once in contrast to the way he once thought.
That unicorns may be betray'd with trees The story was that a hunter, standing in front of a tree, could lure a unicorn into running at him and then step aside at the last minute. The unicorn's horn would be stuck in the tree.
bears with glasses bears were thought to be vain and would stop to look at themselves in a mirror.
toils nets for trapping.
bent direction.
break
uttermost at the latest.
rated berated.
by him to his house.
put on our purposes reveal our purposes.
figures dreams.
it is not thus for your health it's not good for you.
with your arms across arms folded, taken as a sign of melancholy.
wafter waving.
physical healthy.
suck up the humors breathe the air.
rheumy dank.
unpurged air that has not been cleansed by the sun.
sick offense an illness, but also a suggestion that Portia knows Brutus is planning to do something wrong.
incorporate and make us one the vows of marriage.
unfold to me reveal, disclose, display, or explain.
excepted unless.
in sort or limitation in a limited way.
suburbs literally outside the walls of the city. The suburbs were often where brothels were situated. Note that Portia refers to herself as a harlot in the second line following.
Cato Cato of Utica, known for his integrity.
counsels secret intentions or resolutions.
constancy steadiness of affections or loyalties.
charactery of my sad brows the sadness that is written on his face.
vouchsafe to be gracious enough or condescend to give or grant.
wear a kerchief to be ill.
exorcist one who summons spirits.
mortified to destroy the vitality or vigor of.
set on your foot take the first step.
