The New Hudson Shakespeare: Julius Cæsar   By: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

JULIUS CÆSAR

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY HENRY NORMAN HUDSON, LL.D.

EDITED AND REVISED BY EBENEZER CHARLTON BLACK LL.D. (GLASGOW) WITH THE COÖPERATION OF ANDREW JACKSON GEORGE LITT.D. (AMHERST)

GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO LONDON ATLANTA DALLAS COLUMBUS SAN FRANCISCO

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL

COPYRIGHT, 1908

BY GINN AND COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

424.12

The Athenæum Press GINN AND COMPANY PROPRIETORS BOSTON U.S.A.

[Illustration:

THE LIVES OF THE NOBLE GRECIANS AND ROMAINES, COMPARED TOGETHER BY THAT GRAVE LEARNED PHILOSOPHER AND HISTORIOGRAPHER, Plutarke of Chæronea. Translated out of Greeke into French by IAMES AMIOT Abbot and great Amner of France. With the liues of HANNIBAL and of SCIPIO AFRICAN: translated out of Latine into French by CHARLES de l'ESCLVSE, and out of French into English, By Sir Thomas North Knight. Hereunto are also added the lives of Epaminondas, of Philip of Macedon, of Dionysius the elder, tyrant of Sicilia, of Augustus Cæsar, of Plutarke, and of Seneca: with the liues of nine other excellent Chiefetaines of warre: collected out of Æmylius Probus, by S. G. S. and Englished by the aforesaid Translator. Imprinted at London by RICHARD FIELD for GEORGE BISHOP 1603.

]

TITLE PAGE OF NORTH'S PLUTARCH, THIRD EDITION

Reproduced from the copy in the Boston Public Library

PREFACE

The text of this edition of Julius Cæsar is based upon a collation of the seventeenth century Folios, the Globe edition, and that of Delius. As compared with the text of the earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare, it is conservative. Exclusive of changes in spelling, punctuation, and stage directions, very few emendations by eighteenth century and nineteenth century editors have been adopted; and these, with every variation from the First Folio, are indicated in the textual notes. These notes are printed immediately below the text so that a reader or student may see at a glance the evidence in the case of a disputed reading and have some definite understanding of the reasons for those differences in the text of Shakespeare which frequently surprise and very often annoy. A consideration of the more poetical, or the more dramatically effective, of two variant readings will often lead to rich results in awakening a spirit of discriminating interpretation and in developing true creative criticism. In no sense is this a textual variorum edition. The variants given are only those of importance and high authority.

The spelling and the punctuation of the text are modern, except in the case of verb terminations in ed , which, when the e is silent, are printed with the apostrophe in its place. This is the general usage in the First Folio. Modern spelling has to a certain extent been followed in the text variants; but the original spelling has been retained wherever its peculiarities have been the basis for important textual criticism and emendation.

With the exception of the position of the textual variants, the plan of this edition is similar to that of the old Hudson Shakespeare. It is impossible to specify the various instances of revision and rearrangement in the matter of the Introduction and the interpretative notes, but the endeavor has been to retain all that gave the old edition its unique place and to add the results of what seems vital and permanent in later inquiry and research.