The familiar,
“If you have tears, prepare to shed them now”
has its parallel in the lines of the speech of the Second Messenger addressed to the Chorus of Women:
“Apparecchiate, o donne, gli occhi al pianto.”[[20]]—Ces., p. 146.
Calpurnia, in her exhortation to the soldiers referred to before, continues:
“Sù, che fate? stringete
Nell’ una man il ferro
Nell’ altra le facelle,
E correte alle case
De’ traditori ingiusti,