[III.40] "Cæsar being slain in this manner, Brutus, standing in the middest of the house, would have spoken, and stayed the other Senators that were not of the conspiracy, to have told them the reason why they had done this fact. But they, as men both afraid and amazed, fled one upon another's neck in haste to get out at the door, and no man followed them."—Plutarch, Marcus Brutus.
[III.41] abide: pay for, suffer for. So in [III, ii, 114]. "Through confusion of form with 'abye,' when that verb was becoming archaic, and through association of sense between abye (pay for) a deed, and abide the consequences of a deed, 'abide' has been erroneously used for 'abye'=pay for, atone for, suffer for."—Murray.
[III.42] Scene II Pope.—Re-enter ... Capell | Enter ... Ff.
[III.43] "But Antonius and Lepidus, which were two of Cæsar's chiefest friends, secretly conveying themselves away, fled into other men's houses and forsook their own."—Plutarch, Julius Cæsar.
[III.44] "When the murder was newly done, there were sudden outcries of people that ran up and down."—Plutarch, Marcus Brutus.
[III.45] stand upon: concern themselves with. Cf. [II, ii, 13]. What men are chiefly concerned about is how long they can draw out their little period of mortal life. Cf. Sophocles, Ajax, 475-476: "What joy is there in day following day, as each but draws us on towards or keeps us back from death?"—J. Churton Collins.
[III.46] Casca | Cask. Ff | Cas. Pope Camb Globe.
[III.47] Many modern editors have followed Pope and given this speech to Cassius. But there is no valid reason for this change from the text of the Folios. In the light of Casca's sentiments expressed in [I, iii, 100-102], this speech is more characteristic of him than of Cassius. Pope also gave Casca ll. 106-111.
[III.48] states F2F3F4 | State F1.
[III.49] Brutus | Casc. Pope.