| GRECIANS AND ROMANS | |
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| their lives, waying with him selfe the greatnesse of the | MARCUS |
| daunger: when he was out of his house, he did so frame | BRUTUS |
| and facion his countenaunce and lookes, that no man coulde | |
| discerne he had any thing to trouble his minde. But when | |
| night came that he was in his owne house, then he was | |
| cleane chaunged. For, either care did wake him against | |
| his will when he woulde have slept, or else oftentimes of him | |
| selfe he fell into suche deepe thoughtes of this enterprise, | |
| casting in his minde all the daungers that might happen: | |
| that his wife lying by him, founde that there was some | |
| marvelous great matter that troubled his minde, not beinge | |
| wont to be in that taking, and that he coulde not well deter- | |
| mine with him selfe. His wife Porcia (as we have tolde you | Procia, Catoes |
| before) was the daughter of Cato, whome Brutus maried | daughter, wife |
| being his cosin, not a maiden, but a younge widowe after | unto Brutus. |
| the death of her first husbande Bibulus, by whome she | |
| had also a younge sonne called Bibulus, who afterwardes | Bibulus booke |
| wrote a booke of the actes and jeastes*
of Brutus, extant at | of Brutus |
| this present day. This young Ladie being excellentlie well | actes. |
| seene in Philosophie, loving her husbande well, and being | |
| of a noble courage, as she was also wise: bicause she woulde | Porcia |
| not aske her husbande what he ayled before she had made | studied in |
| some proofe by her selfe, she tooke a litle rasor suche as | Philosophie. |
| barbers occupie to pare mens nayles, and causinge all | |
| her maydes and women to goe out of her chamber, gave | The corage of |
| her selfe a greate gashe withall in her thigh, that she was | Procia. |
| straight all of a gore bloode, and incontinentlie after, a | |
| vehement fever tooke her, by reason of the payne of her | |
| wounde. Then perceiving her husbande was marvelouslie | |
| out of quiet, and that he coulde take no rest: even in her | |
| greatest payne of all, she spake in this sorte unto him: ‘I | Great differ- |
| ‘being, O Brutus, (sayed she) the daughter of Cato, was | ence betwixt |
| ‘maried unto thee, not to be thy beddefellowe and com- | a wife and a |
| ‘panion in bedde and at borde onelie, like a harlot: but to | harlot. |
| ‘be partaker also with thee, of thy good and evill fortune. | |
| ‘Nowe for thy selfe, I can finde no cause of faulte in thee | Porcias |
| ‘touchinge our matche: but for my parte, howe may I showe | words unto |
| ‘my duetie towardes thee, and howe muche I woulde doe for | her husband |
| ‘thy sake, if I can not constantlie beare a secret mischaunce | Brutus. |
| | 193 | |