[I.172] A charming invention, though in his Life of Cicero Plutarch refers to the orator's nicknames, 'Grecian' and 'scholer,' due to his ability to "declaim in Greek." Cicero had a sharp, agile tongue, and was fond of using it; and nothing was more natural than that he should snap off some keen, sententious sayings, prudently veiling them, however, in a foreign language from all but those who might safely understand them.
[I.173] and Ff | an (an') Theobald.
[I.174] Greek to me. 'Greek,' often 'heathen Greek,' was a common Elizabethan expression for unintelligible speech. In Dekker's Grissil (1600) occurs "It's Greek to him." So in Dickens's Barnaby Rudge: "this is Greek to me."
[I.175] I am promis'd forth: I have promised to go out. 'Forth' is often used in this way in Elizabethan literature without any verb of motion. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, II, v, 11. See Abbott, § 41.
[I.176] blunt: dull, slow. Or there may be a quibble involved in connection with 'mettle' in the next line. Brutus alludes to the 'tardy form' (l. 296) Casca has just 'put on' in winding so long about the matter before coming to the point.
[I.177] quick mettle: lively spirit. Collier conjectured 'quick-mettl'd.' 'Mettlesome' is still used of spirited horses. Cf. [I, i, 63].
[I.178] However: notwithstanding. Cf. Troilus and Cressida, I, iii, 322.
[I.179] tardy form: appearance of tardiness. The construction in this expression is common in Shakespeare, as 'shady stealth' for 'stealing shadow,' in Sonnets, LXXVII, 7; 'negligent danger' for 'danger from negligence,' in Antony and Cleopatra, III, v, 81.
[I.180] digest F3F4 | disgest F1F2.
[I.181] appetite F1 | appetites F2F3 F4.