The only reference in English with which I am acquainted is by Harry Morgan Ayres in the June, 1910, number of the Proceedings of the Am. Modern Language Association. In his article, “Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the Light of some other Versions” he makes a brief mention of this play. But see Preface.
A careful search of the forty volumes of Jahrbücher, published by the “Deutsche Shakespeare Gesellschaft”, failed to reveal any mention of Pescetti. A search of the registers of the very complete collection of German literary periodicals contained in the library of New York University was equally unproductive.
For a brief sketch of Pescetti see G. B. Gerini, Gli scrittori pedagogici italiani nel secolo decimo settimo. 1900. In addition to the above the following are the only works known to me which mention Pescetti’s “Cesare”:
Fonte, Michelangelo, [Paolo Beni], Il Cavalcanti, 1614.
Quadrio, Fr. Saverio, Della storia e della ragione d’ogni poesia, 1739.
Fontanini, Giusto, Biblioteca dell’eloquenza italiana con le annotazioni del Sig. Apostolo Zeno, 1753.
Tiraboschi, Girolamo, Storia della letteratura italiana, 1822.
Ginguené, P. L., Histoire Littéraire d’Italie, 1824.
De Sanctis, Natale, G. Cesare e M. Bruto nei poeti tragici, 1895.
Salvioli, Bibliografia universale del teatro drammatico italiano, 1903.
Neri, Ferdinando, La tragedia italiana nel Cinquecento, 1904.
Flamini, Francesco, A History of Italian Literature. Translated by Evangeline O’Connor, 1907.
Of the above only Bertana has more than a brief mention. He alone attempts an analysis of the play.
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The following is a list of the persons in the drama, called by Pescetti, “Interlocutori.”
Marte } Venere } Fanno il Prologo Giove } Bruto Cassio Sacerdote Porzia moglie di Bruto Calpurnia moglie di Cesare Cameriera di Calpurnia Cesare Marc’Antonio Consolo Decimo Bruto Lenate Messo primo Messo secondo Coro di Matrone Romane Coro di Donne di Corte Coro di Cittadini Coro di Soldati
The tragedy proper is preceded by a prologue in which Mars, Venus, and Jove are the actors. Pescetti, probably following Ovid’s account in Book XV. of the “Metamorphoses,” represents Venus as bewailing the destined death of Caesar, the last of her earthly descendants. Mars extends his consolation and proffers his aid. She informs him that Jove is responsible, and indulges in a denunciation of the Thunderer that must have made his celestial ears tingle. All further discussion of the matter is terminated by the appearance of the Father of the gods, who reproves Venus for her blasphemous utterances, assures her that his ways are inscrutable, and consoles her by promising Caesar immortality among the gods, and the infliction of dire punishment upon his assassins. Venus bows to his will, and impatient Mars hurries at Jove’s command to sow the seeds of civil strife throughout the Roman world.