ACT IIISCENE I. A plain in Syria.EnterVentidiusas it were in triumph, withSiliusand other Romans, Officers and Soldiers; the dead body ofPacorusborne before him.VENTIDIUS.Now, darting Parthia, art thou struck, and nowPleased Fortune does of Marcus Crassus’ deathMake me revenger. Bear the king’s son’s bodyBefore our army. Thy Pacorus, Orodes,Pays this for Marcus Crassus.SILIUS.Noble Ventidius,Whilst yet with Parthian blood thy sword is warm,The fugitive Parthians follow. Spur through Media,Mesopotamia, and the shelters whitherThe routed fly. So thy grand captain AntonyShall set thee on triumphant chariots, andPut garlands on thy head.VENTIDIUS.O Silius, Silius,I have done enough. A lower place, note well,May make too great an act. For learn this, Silius:Better to leave undone than by our deedAcquire too high a fame when him we serve’s away.Caesar and Antony have ever wonMore in their officer, than person. Sossius,One of my place in Syria, his lieutenant,For quick accumulation of renown,Which he achieved by th’ minute, lost his favour.Who does i’ th’ wars more than his captain canBecomes his captain’s captain; and ambition,The soldier’s virtue, rather makes choice of lossThan gain which darkens him.I could do more to do Antonius good,But ’twould offend him, and in his offenceShould my performance perish.SILIUS.Thou hast, Ventidius, thatWithout the which a soldier and his swordGrants scarce distinction. Thou wilt write to Antony?VENTIDIUS.I’ll humbly signify what in his name,That magical word of war, we have effected;How, with his banners, and his well-paid ranks,The ne’er-yet-beaten horse of ParthiaWe have jaded out o’ th’ field.SILIUS.Where is he now?VENTIDIUS.He purposeth to Athens, whither, with what hasteThe weight we must convey with ’s will permit,We shall appear before him.—On there, pass along![Exeunt.]SCENE II. Rome. An Ante-chamber in Caesar’s house.EnterAgrippaat one door,Enobarbusat another.AGRIPPA.What, are the brothers parted?ENOBARBUS.They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone.The other three are sealing. Octavia weepsTo part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus,Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubledWith the greensickness.AGRIPPA.’Tis a noble Lepidus.ENOBARBUS.A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!AGRIPPA.Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!ENOBARBUS.Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.AGRIPPA.What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.ENOBARBUS.Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!AGRIPPA.O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!ENOBARBUS.Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.AGRIPPA.Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.ENOBARBUS.But he loves Caesar best, yet he loves Antony.Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannotThink, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!—His love to Antony. But as for Caesar,Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.AGRIPPA.Both he loves.ENOBARBUS.They are his shards, and he their beetle.[Trumpets within.]So,This is to horse. Adieu, noble Agrippa.AGRIPPA.Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.EnterCaesar, Antony, LepidusandOctavia.ANTONY.No further, sir.CAESAR.You take from me a great part of myself.Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wifeAs my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bondShall pass on thy approof. Most noble Antony,Let not the piece of virtue which is setBetwixt us, as the cement of our loveTo keep it builded, be the ram to batterThe fortress of it. For better might weHave loved without this mean, if on both partsThis be not cherished.ANTONY.Make me not offendedIn your distrust.CAESAR.I have said.ANTONY.You shall not find,Though you be therein curious, the least causeFor what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you,And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends.We will here part.CAESAR.Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well.The elements be kind to thee, and makeThy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.OCTAVIA.My noble brother!ANTONY.The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring,And these the showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.OCTAVIA.Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—CAESAR.What, Octavia?OCTAVIA.I’ll tell you in your ear.ANTONY.Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor canHer heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather,That stands upon the swell at the full of tide,And neither way inclines.ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] Will Caesar weep?AGRIPPA.[Aside to Enobarbus.] He has a cloud in ’s face.ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] He were the worse for that were he a horse;So is he, being a man.AGRIPPA.[Aside to Enobarbus.] Why, Enobarbus,When Antony found Julius Caesar dead,He cried almost to roaring, and he weptWhen at Philippi he found Brutus slain.ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] That year, indeed, he was troubled with a rheum;What willingly he did confound he wailed,Believe ’t, till I weep too.CAESAR.No, sweet Octavia,You shall hear from me still. The time shall notOutgo my thinking on you.ANTONY.Come, sir, come,I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love.Look, here I have you, thus I let you go,And give you to the gods.CAESAR.Adieu, be happy!LEPIDUS.Let all the number of the stars give lightTo thy fair way!CAESAR.Farewell, farewell![KissesOctavia.]ANTONY.Farewell![Trumpets sound. Exeunt.]SCENE III. Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.EnterCleopatra, Charmian, IrasandAlexas.CLEOPATRA.Where is the fellow?ALEXAS.Half afeared to come.CLEOPATRA.Go to, go to.Enter aMessengeras before.Come hither, sir.ALEXAS.Good majesty,Herod of Jewry dare not look upon youBut when you are well pleased.CLEOPATRA.That Herod’s headI’ll have! But how, when Antony is gone,Through whom I might command it?—Come thou near.MESSENGER.Most gracious majesty!CLEOPATRA.Didst thou behold Octavia?MESSENGER.Ay, dread queen.CLEOPATRA.Where?MESSENGER.Madam, in RomeI looked her in the face, and saw her ledBetween her brother and Mark Antony.CLEOPATRA.Is she as tall as me?MESSENGER.She is not, madam.CLEOPATRA.Didst hear her speak? Is she shrill-tongued or low?MESSENGER.Madam, I heard her speak. She is low-voiced.CLEOPATRA.That’s not so good. He cannot like her long.CHARMIAN.Like her? O Isis! ’Tis impossible.CLEOPATRA.I think so, Charmian: dull of tongue and dwarfish!What majesty is in her gait? Remember,If e’er thou look’dst on majesty.MESSENGER.She creeps.Her motion and her station are as one.She shows a body rather than a life,A statue than a breather.CLEOPATRA.Is this certain?MESSENGER.Or I have no observance.CHARMIAN.Three in EgyptCannot make better note.CLEOPATRA.He’s very knowing;I do perceive’t. There’s nothing in her yet.The fellow has good judgment.CHARMIAN.Excellent.CLEOPATRA.Guess at her years, I prithee.MESSENGER.Madam,She was a widow.CLEOPATRA.Widow! Charmian, hark!MESSENGER.And I do think she’s thirty.CLEOPATRA.Bear’st thou her face in mind? Is’t long or round?MESSENGER.Round even to faultiness.CLEOPATRA.For the most part, too, they are foolish that are so.Her hair, what colour?MESSENGER.Brown, madam, and her foreheadAs low as she would wish it.CLEOPATRA.There’s gold for thee.Thou must not take my former sharpness ill.I will employ thee back again; I find theeMost fit for business. Go make thee ready;Our letters are prepared.[ExitMessenger.]CHARMIAN.A proper man.CLEOPATRA.Indeed, he is so. I repent me muchThat so I harried him. Why, methinks, by him,This creature’s no such thing.CHARMIAN.Nothing, madam.CLEOPATRA.The man hath seen some majesty, and should know.CHARMIAN.Hath he seen majesty? Isis else defend,And serving you so long!CLEOPATRA.I have one thing more to ask him yet, good Charmian.But ’tis no matter; thou shalt bring him to meWhere I will write. All may be well enough.CHARMIAN.I warrant you, madam.[Exeunt.]SCENE IV. Athens. A Room in Antony’s House.EnterAntonyandOctavia.ANTONY.Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that—That were excusable, that and thousands moreOf semblable import—but he hath wagedNew wars ’gainst Pompey; made his will, and read itTo public ear;Spoke scantly of me; when perforce he could notBut pay me terms of honour, cold and sicklyHe vented them; most narrow measure lent me;When the best hint was given him, he not took ’t,Or did it from his teeth.OCTAVIA.O, my good lord,Believe not all, or if you must believe,Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady,If this division chance, ne’er stood between,Praying for both parts.The good gods will mock me presentlyWhen I shall pray “O, bless my lord and husband!”Undo that prayer by crying out as loud“O, bless my brother!” Husband win, win brother,Prays and destroys the prayer; no midway’Twixt these extremes at all.ANTONY.Gentle Octavia,Let your best love draw to that point which seeksBest to preserve it. If I lose mine honour,I lose myself; better I were not yoursThan yours so branchless. But, as you requested,Yourself shall go between’s. The meantime, lady,I’ll raise the preparation of a warShall stain your brother. Make your soonest haste,So your desires are yours.OCTAVIA.Thanks to my lord.The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak,Your reconciler! Wars ’twixt you twain would beAs if the world should cleave, and that slain menShould solder up the rift.ANTONY.When it appears to you where this begins,Turn your displeasure that way, for our faultsCan never be so equal that your loveCan equally move with them. Provide your going;Choose your own company, and command what costYour heart has mind to.[Exeunt.]SCENE V. Athens. Another Room in Antony’s House.EnterEnobarbusandErosmeeting.ENOBARBUS.How now, friend Eros?EROS.There’s strange news come, sir.ENOBARBUS.What, man?EROS.Caesar and Lepidus have made wars upon Pompey.ENOBARBUS.This is old. What is the success?EROS.Caesar, having made use of him in the wars ’gainst Pompey, presently denied him rivality; would not let him partake in the glory of the action, and, not resting here, accuses him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey; upon his own appeal, seizes him. So the poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine.ENOBARBUS.Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more,And throw between them all the food thou hast,They’ll grind the one the other. Where’s Antony?EROS.He’s walking in the garden, thus, and spurnsThe rush that lies before him; cries “Fool Lepidus!”And threats the throat of that his officerThat murdered Pompey.ENOBARBUS.Our great navy’s rigged.EROS.For Italy and Caesar. More, Domitius:My lord desires you presently. My newsI might have told hereafter.ENOBARBUS.’Twill be naught,But let it be. Bring me to Antony.EROS.Come, sir.[Exeunt.]SCENE VI. Rome. A Room in Caesar’s House.EnterAgrippa, MaecenasandCaesar.CAESAR.Contemning Rome, he has done all this, and moreIn Alexandria. Here’s the manner of ’t:I’ th’ market-place, on a tribunal silvered,Cleopatra and himself in chairs of goldWere publicly enthroned. At the feet satCaesarion, whom they call my father’s son,And all the unlawful issue that their lustSince then hath made between them. Unto herHe gave the stablishment of Egypt; made herOf lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,Absolute queen.MAECENAS.This in the public eye?CAESAR.I’ th’ common showplace where they exercise.His sons he there proclaimed the kings of kings:Great Media, Parthia, and ArmeniaHe gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assignedSyria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia. SheIn th’ habiliments of the goddess IsisThat day appeared, and oft before gave audience,As ’tis reported, so.MAECENAS.Let Rome be thus informed.AGRIPPA.Who, queasy with his insolence already,Will their good thoughts call from him.CAESAR.The people knows it and have now receivedHis accusations.AGRIPPA.Who does he accuse?CAESAR.Caesar, and that, having in SicilySextus Pompeius spoiled, we had not rated himHis part o’ th’ isle. Then does he say he lent meSome shipping, unrestored. Lastly, he fretsThat Lepidus of the triumvirateShould be deposed and, being, that we detainAll his revenue.AGRIPPA.Sir, this should be answered.CAESAR.’Tis done already, and messenger gone.I have told him Lepidus was grown too cruel,That he his high authority abused,And did deserve his change. For what I have conqueredI grant him part; but then in his ArmeniaAnd other of his conquered kingdoms, IDemand the like.MAECENAS.He’ll never yield to that.CAESAR.Nor must not then be yielded to in this.EnterOctaviawith her train.OCTAVIA.Hail, Caesar, and my lord! Hail, most dear Caesar!CAESAR.That ever I should call thee castaway!OCTAVIA.You have not called me so, nor have you cause.CAESAR.Why have you stolen upon us thus? You come notLike Caesar’s sister. The wife of AntonyShould have an army for an usher, andThe neighs of horse to tell of her approachLong ere she did appear. The trees by th’ wayShould have borne men, and expectation fainted,Longing for what it had not. Nay, the dustShould have ascended to the roof of heaven,Raised by your populous troops. But you are comeA market-maid to Rome, and have preventedThe ostentation of our love, which, left unshown,Is often left unloved. We should have met youBy sea and land, supplying every stageWith an augmented greeting.OCTAVIA.Good my lord,To come thus was I not constrained, but did itOn my free will. My lord, Mark Antony,Hearing that you prepared for war, acquaintedMy grieved ear withal, whereon I beggedHis pardon for return.CAESAR.Which soon he granted,Being an abstract ’tween his lust and him.OCTAVIA.Do not say so, my lord.CAESAR.I have eyes upon him,And his affairs come to me on the wind.Where is he now?OCTAVIA.My lord, in Athens.CAESAR.No, my most wronged sister. CleopatraHath nodded him to her. He hath given his empireUp to a whore, who now are levyingThe kings o’ th’ earth for war. He hath assembledBocchus, the king of Libya; ArchelausOf Cappadocia; Philadelphos, kingOf Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas;King Manchus of Arabia; King of Pont;Herod of Jewry; Mithridates, kingOf Comagene; Polemon and Amyntas,The kings of Mede and Lycaonia,With a more larger list of sceptres.OCTAVIA.Ay me, most wretched,That have my heart parted betwixt two friendsThat does afflict each other!CAESAR.Welcome hither.Your letters did withhold our breaking forthTill we perceived both how you were wrong ledAnd we in negligent danger. Cheer your heart.Be you not troubled with the time, which drivesO’er your content these strong necessities,But let determined things to destinyHold unbewailed their way. Welcome to Rome,Nothing more dear to me. You are abusedBeyond the mark of thought, and the high gods,To do you justice, make their ministersOf us and those that love you. Best of comfort,And ever welcome to us.AGRIPPA.Welcome, lady.MAECENAS.Welcome, dear madam.Each heart in Rome does love and pity you.Only th’ adulterous Antony, most largeIn his abominations, turns you offAnd gives his potent regiment to a trullThat noises it against us.OCTAVIA.Is it so, sir?CAESAR.Most certain. Sister, welcome. Pray youBe ever known to patience. My dear’st sister![Exeunt.]SCENE VII. Antony’s Camp near the Promontory of Actium.EnterCleopatraandEnobarbus.CLEOPATRA.I will be even with thee, doubt it not.ENOBARBUS.But why, why, why?CLEOPATRA.Thou hast forspoke my being in these warsAnd say’st it is not fit.ENOBARBUS.Well, is it, is it?CLEOPATRA.Is ’t not denounced against us? Why should not weBe there in person?ENOBARBUS.Well, I could reply:If we should serve with horse and mares together,The horse were merely lost. The mares would bearA soldier and his horse.CLEOPATRA.What is’t you say?ENOBARBUS.Your presence needs must puzzle Antony,Take from his heart, take from his brain, from ’s time,What should not then be spared. He is alreadyTraduced for levity, and ’tis said in RomeThat Photinus, an eunuch, and your maidsManage this war.CLEOPATRA.Sink Rome, and their tongues rotThat speak against us! A charge we bear i’ th’ war,And, as the president of my kingdom, willAppear there for a man. Speak not against it.I will not stay behind.EnterAntonyandCanidius.ENOBARBUS.Nay, I have done.Here comes the Emperor.ANTONY.Is it not strange, Canidius,That from Tarentum and BrundusiumHe could so quickly cut the Ionian seaAnd take in Toryne?—You have heard on ’t, sweet?CLEOPATRA.Celerity is never more admiredThan by the negligent.ANTONY.A good rebuke,Which might have well becomed the best of menTo taunt at slackness.—Canidius, weWill fight with him by sea.CLEOPATRA.By sea, what else?CANIDIUS.Why will my lord do so?ANTONY.For that he dares us to ’t.ENOBARBUS.So hath my lord dared him to single fight.CANIDIUS.Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia,Where Caesar fought with Pompey. But these offers,Which serve not for his vantage, he shakes off,And so should you.ENOBARBUS.Your ships are not well manned,Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, peopleEngrossed by swift impress. In Caesar’s fleetAre those that often have ’gainst Pompey fought.Their ships are yare, yours heavy. No disgraceShall fall you for refusing him at sea,Being prepared for land.ANTONY.By sea, by sea.ENOBARBUS.Most worthy sir, you therein throw awayThe absolute soldiership you have by land;Distract your army, which doth most consistOf war-marked footmen; leave unexecutedYour own renowned knowledge; quite forgoThe way which promises assurance; andGive up yourself merely to chance and hazardFrom firm security.ANTONY.I’ll fight at sea.CLEOPATRA.I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.ANTONY.Our overplus of shipping will we burn,And with the rest full-manned, from th’ head of ActiumBeat th’ approaching Caesar. But if we fail,We then can do ’t at land.Enter aMessenger.Thy business?MESSENGER.The news is true, my lord; he is descried.Caesar has taken Toryne.ANTONY.Can he be there in person? ’Tis impossible;Strange that his power should be. Canidius,Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land,And our twelve thousand horse. We’ll to our ship.Away, my Thetis!Enter aSoldier.How now, worthy soldier?SOLDIER.O noble emperor, do not fight by sea.Trust not to rotten planks. Do you misdoubtThis sword and these my wounds? Let th’ EgyptiansAnd the Phoenicians go a-ducking. WeHave used to conquer standing on the earthAnd fighting foot to foot.ANTONY.Well, well, away.[ExeuntAntony, CleopatraandEnobarbus.]SOLDIER.By Hercules, I think I am i’ th’ right.CANIDIUS.Soldier, thou art. But his whole action growsNot in the power on ’t. So our leader’s led,And we are women’s men.SOLDIER.You keep by landThe legions and the horse whole, do you not?CANIDIUS.Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius,Publicola, and Caelius are for sea,But we keep whole by land. This speed of Caesar’sCarries beyond belief.SOLDIER.While he was yet in Rome,His power went out in such distractions asBeguiled all spies.CANIDIUS.Who’s his lieutenant, hear you?SOLDIER.They say one Taurus.CANIDIUS.Well I know the man.Enter aMessenger.MESSENGER.The Emperor calls Canidius.CANIDIUS.With news the time’s with labour, and throes forthEach minute some.[Exeunt.]SCENE VIII. A plain near Actium.EnterCaesarwith his army andTaurusmarching.CAESAR.Taurus!TAURUS.My lord?CAESAR.Strike not by land; keep whole; provoke not battleTill we have done at sea. Do not exceedThe prescript of this scroll. Our fortune liesUpon this jump.[Exeunt.]SCENE IX. Another part of the Plain.EnterAntonyandEnobarbus.ANTONY.Set we our squadrons on yon side o’ th’ hillIn eye of Caesar’s battle, from which placeWe may the number of the ships beholdAnd so proceed accordingly.[Exeunt.]SCENE X. Another part of the Plain.Canidiusmarching with his land army one way over the stage, andTaurus,the Lieutenant ofCaesar,with his Army, the other way. After their going in, is heard the noise of a sea fight.Alarum. EnterEnobarbus.ENOBARBUS.Naught, naught, all naught! I can behold no longer.Th’ Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral,With all their sixty, fly and turn the rudder.To see ’t mine eyes are blasted.EnterScarus.SCARUS.Gods and goddesses,All the whole synod of them!ENOBARBUS.What’s thy passion?SCARUS.The greater cantle of the world is lostWith very ignorance. We have kissed awayKingdoms and provinces.ENOBARBUS.How appears the fight?SCARUS.On our side, like the tokened pestilence,Where death is sure. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,Whom leprosy o’ertake, i’ th’ midst o’ th’ fight,When vantage like a pair of twins appeared,Both as the same—or, rather, ours the elder—The breeze upon her, like a cow in June,Hoists sails and flies.ENOBARBUS.That I beheld.Mine eyes did sicken at the sight and could notEndure a further view.SCARUS.She once being loofed,The noble ruin of her magic, Antony,Claps on his sea-wing and, like a doting mallard,Leaving the fight in height, flies after her.I never saw an action of such shame.Experience, manhood, honour, ne’er beforeDid violate so itself.ENOBARBUS.Alack, alack!EnterCanidius.CANIDIUS.Our fortune on the sea is out of breathAnd sinks most lamentably. Had our generalBeen what he knew himself, it had gone well.O, he has given example for our flightMost grossly by his own!ENOBARBUS.Ay, are you thereabouts?Why, then, good night indeed.CANIDIUS.Toward Peloponnesus are they fled.SCARUS.’Tis easy to’t, and there I will attendWhat further comes.CANIDIUS.To Caesar will I renderMy legions and my horse. Six kings alreadyShow me the way of yielding.ENOBARBUS.I’ll yet followThe wounded chance of Antony, though my reasonSits in the wind against me.[Exeunt.]SCENE XI. Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.EnterAntonywith attendants.ANTONY.Hark, the land bids me tread no more upon’t.It is ashamed to bear me. Friends, come hither.I am so lated in the world that IHave lost my way for ever. I have a shipLaden with gold. Take that, divide it. Fly,And make your peace with Caesar.ALL.Fly? Not we.ANTONY.I have fled myself, and have instructed cowardsTo run and show their shoulders. Friends, be gone.I have myself resolved upon a courseWhich has no need of you. Be gone.My treasure’s in the harbour. Take it. O,I followed that I blush to look upon.My very hairs do mutiny, for the whiteReprove the brown for rashness, and they themFor fear and doting. Friends, be gone. You shallHave letters from me to some friends that willSweep your way for you. Pray you, look not sad,Nor make replies of loathness. Take the hintWhich my despair proclaims. Let that be leftWhich leaves itself. To the sea-side straightway.I will possess you of that ship and treasure.Leave me, I pray, a little—pray you, now,Nay, do so; for indeed I have lost command.Therefore I pray you. I’ll see you by and by.[Sits down.]EnterCleopatraled byCharmian, IrasandEros.EROS.Nay, gentle madam, to him! Comfort him.IRAS.Do, most dear queen.CHARMIAN.Do! Why, what else?CLEOPATRA.Let me sit down. O Juno!ANTONY.No, no, no, no, no.EROS.See you here, sir?ANTONY.O, fie, fie, fie!CHARMIAN.Madam.IRAS.Madam, O good empress!EROS.Sir, sir!ANTONY.Yes, my lord, yes. He at Philippi keptHis sword e’en like a dancer, while I struckThe lean and wrinkled Cassius, and ’twas IThat the mad Brutus ended. He aloneDealt on lieutenantry, and no practice hadIn the brave squares of war. Yet now—no matter.CLEOPATRA.Ah, stand by.EROS.The Queen, my lord, the Queen!IRAS.Go to him, madam; speak to him.He is unqualitied with very shame.CLEOPATRA.Well then, sustain me. O!EROS.Most noble sir, arise. The Queen approaches.Her head’s declined, and death will seize her butYour comfort makes the rescue.ANTONY.I have offended reputation,A most unnoble swerving.EROS.Sir, the Queen.ANTONY.O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt? SeeHow I convey my shame out of thine eyesBy looking back what I have left behind’Stroyed in dishonour.CLEOPATRA.O my lord, my lord,Forgive my fearful sails! I little thoughtYou would have followed.ANTONY.Egypt, thou knew’st too wellMy heart was to thy rudder tied by th’ strings,And thou shouldst tow me after. O’er my spiritThy full supremacy thou knew’st, and thatThy beck might from the bidding of the godsCommand me.CLEOPATRA.O, my pardon!ANTONY.Now I mustTo the young man send humble treaties, dodgeAnd palter in the shifts of lowness, whoWith half the bulk o’ th’ world played as I pleased,Making and marring fortunes. You did knowHow much you were my conqueror, and thatMy sword, made weak by my affection, wouldObey it on all cause.CLEOPATRA.Pardon, pardon!ANTONY.Fall not a tear, I say; one of them ratesAll that is won and lost. Give me a kiss.Even this repays me.We sent our schoolmaster. Is he come back?Love, I am full of lead. Some wineWithin there, and our viands! Fortune knowsWe scorn her most when most she offers blows.[Exeunt.]SCENE XII. Caesar’s camp in Egypt.EnterCaesar, Agrippa, Dolabellawith others.CAESAR.Let him appear that’s come from Antony.Know you him?DOLABELLA.Caesar, ’tis his schoolmaster—An argument that he is plucked, when hitherHe sends so poor a pinion of his wing,Which had superfluous kings for messengersNot many moons gone by.EnterAmbassadorfrom Anthony.CAESAR.Approach, and speak.AMBASSADOR.Such as I am, I come from Antony.I was of late as petty to his endsAs is the morn-dew on the myrtle leafTo his grand sea.CAESAR.Be’t so. Declare thine office.AMBASSADOR.Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, andRequires to live in Egypt, which not granted,He lessens his requests, and to thee suesTo let him breathe between the heavens and earth,A private man in Athens. This for him.Next, Cleopatra does confess thy greatness,Submits her to thy might, and of thee cravesThe circle of the Ptolemies for her heirs,Now hazarded to thy grace.CAESAR.For Antony,I have no ears to his request. The queenOf audience nor desire shall fail, so sheFrom Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend,Or take his life there. This if she perform,She shall not sue unheard. So to them both.AMBASSADOR.Fortune pursue thee!CAESAR.Bring him through the bands.[ExitAmbassador, attended.][To Thidias.] To try thy eloquence now ’tis time. Dispatch.From Antony win Cleopatra. Promise,And in our name, what she requires; add more,From thine invention, offers. Women are notIn their best fortunes strong, but want will perjureThe ne’er-touch’d vestal. Try thy cunning, Thidias;Make thine own edict for thy pains, which weWill answer as a law.THIDIAS.Caesar, I go.CAESAR.Observe how Antony becomes his flaw,And what thou think’st his very action speaksIn every power that moves.THIDIAS.Caesar, I shall.[Exeunt.]SCENE XIII. Alexandria. A Room in the Palace.EnterCleopatra, Enobarbus, CharmianandIras.CLEOPATRA.What shall we do, Enobarbus?ENOBARBUS.Think, and die.CLEOPATRA.Is Antony or we in fault for this?ENOBARBUS.Antony only, that would make his willLord of his reason. What though you fledFrom that great face of war, whose several rangesFrighted each other? Why should he follow?The itch of his affection should not thenHave nicked his captainship, at such a point,When half to half the world opposed, he beingThe mered question. ’Twas a shame no lessThan was his loss, to course your flying flagsAnd leave his navy gazing.CLEOPATRA.Prithee, peace.Enter theAmbassadorwithAntony.ANTONY.Is that his answer?AMBASSADOR.Ay, my lord.ANTONY.The Queen shall then have courtesy, so sheWill yield us up.AMBASSADOR.He says so.ANTONY.Let her know’t.—To the boy Caesar send this grizzled head,And he will fill thy wishes to the brimWith principalities.CLEOPATRA.That head, my lord?ANTONY.To him again. Tell him he wears the roseOf youth upon him, from which the world should noteSomething particular: his coin, ships, legions,May be a coward’s; whose ministers would prevailUnder the service of a child as soonAs i’ th’ command of Caesar. I dare him thereforeTo lay his gay comparisons apart,And answer me declined, sword against sword,Ourselves alone. I’ll write it. Follow me.[ExeuntAntonyandAmbassador.]ENOBARBUS.Yes, like enough high-battled Caesar willUnstate his happiness, and be staged to th’ showAgainst a sworder! I see men’s judgments areA parcel of their fortunes, and things outwardDo draw the inward quality after themTo suffer all alike. That he should dream,Knowing all measures, the full Caesar willAnswer his emptiness! Caesar, thou hast subduedHis judgment too.Enter aServant.SERVANT.A messenger from Caesar.CLEOPATRA.What, no more ceremony? See, my women,Against the blown rose may they stop their noseThat kneeled unto the buds. Admit him, sir.[ExitServant.]ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] Mine honesty and I begin to square.The loyalty well held to fools does makeOur faith mere folly. Yet he that can endureTo follow with allegiance a fallen lordDoes conquer him that did his master conquer,And earns a place i’ th’ story.EnterThidias.CLEOPATRA.Caesar’s will?THIDIAS.Hear it apart.CLEOPATRA.None but friends. Say boldly.THIDIAS.So haply are they friends to Antony.ENOBARBUS.He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has,Or needs not us. If Caesar please, our masterWill leap to be his friend. For us, you knowWhose he is we are, and that is Caesar’s.THIDIAS.So.—Thus then, thou most renowned: Caesar entreatsNot to consider in what case thou stand’stFurther than he is Caesar.CLEOPATRA.Go on; right royal.THIDIAS.He knows that you embrace not AntonyAs you did love, but as you feared him.CLEOPATRA.O!THIDIAS.The scars upon your honour, therefore, heDoes pity as constrained blemishes,Not as deserved.CLEOPATRA.He is a god and knowsWhat is most right. Mine honour was not yielded,But conquered merely.ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] To be sure of that,I will ask Antony. Sir, sir, thou art so leakyThat we must leave thee to thy sinking, forThy dearest quit thee.[ExitEnobarbus.]THIDIAS.Shall I say to CaesarWhat you require of him? For he partly begsTo be desired to give. It much would please himThat of his fortunes you should make a staffTo lean upon. But it would warm his spiritsTo hear from me you had left Antony,And put yourself under his shroud,The universal landlord.CLEOPATRA.What’s your name?THIDIAS.My name is Thidias.CLEOPATRA.Most kind messenger,Say to great Caesar this in deputation:I kiss his conqu’ring hand. Tell him I am promptTo lay my crown at’s feet, and there to kneel.Tell him, from his all-obeying breath I hearThe doom of Egypt.THIDIAS.’Tis your noblest course.Wisdom and fortune combating together,If that the former dare but what it can,No chance may shake it. Give me grace to layMy duty on your hand.CLEOPATRA.Your Caesar’s father oft,When he hath mused of taking kingdoms in,Bestowed his lips on that unworthy placeAs it rained kisses.EnterAntonyandEnobarbus.ANTONY.Favours, by Jove that thunders!What art thou, fellow?THIDIAS.One that but performsThe bidding of the fullest man and worthiestTo have command obeyed.ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] You will be whipped.ANTONY.Approach there.—Ah, you kite!—Now, gods and devils,Authority melts from me. Of late when I cried “Ho!”Like boys unto a muss, kings would start forthAnd cry “Your will?” Have you no ears? I amAntony yet.EnterServants.Take hence this jack and whip him.ENOBARBUS.’Tis better playing with a lion’s whelpThan with an old one dying.ANTONY.Moon and stars!Whip him. Were’t twenty of the greatest tributariesThat do acknowledge Caesar, should I find themSo saucy with the hand of she here—what’s her nameSince she was Cleopatra? Whip him, fellows,Till like a boy you see him cringe his faceAnd whine aloud for mercy. Take him hence.THIDIAS.Mark Antony—ANTONY.Tug him away. Being whipp’d,Bring him again. This jack of Caesar’s shallBear us an errand to him.[Exeunt Servants withThidias.]You were half blasted ere I knew you. Ha!Have I my pillow left unpressed in Rome,Forborne the getting of a lawful race,And by a gem of women, to be abusedBy one that looks on feeders?CLEOPATRA.Good my lord—ANTONY.You have been a boggler ever.But when we in our viciousness grow hard—O misery on’t!—the wise gods seal our eyes,In our own filth drop our clear judgments, make usAdore our errors, laugh at’s while we strutTo our confusion.CLEOPATRA.O, is’t come to this?ANTONY.I found you as a morsel cold uponDead Caesar’s trencher; nay, you were a fragmentOf Gneius Pompey’s, besides what hotter hours,Unregistered in vulgar fame, you haveLuxuriously pick’d out. For I am sure,Though you can guess what temperance should be,You know not what it is.CLEOPATRA.Wherefore is this?ANTONY.To let a fellow that will take rewardsAnd say “God quit you!” be familiar withMy playfellow, your hand, this kingly sealAnd plighter of high hearts! O that I wereUpon the hill of Basan, to outroarThe horned herd! For I have savage cause,And to proclaim it civilly were likeA haltered neck which does the hangman thankFor being yare about him.Enter aServantwithThidias.Is he whipped?SERVANT.Soundly, my lord.ANTONY.Cried he? And begged he pardon?SERVANT.He did ask favour.ANTONY.If that thy father live, let him repentThou wast not made his daughter; and be thou sorryTo follow Caesar in his triumph, sinceThou hast been whipped for following him. HenceforthThe white hand of a lady fever thee;Shake thou to look on’t. Get thee back to Caesar;Tell him thy entertainment. Look thou sayHe makes me angry with him; for he seemsProud and disdainful, harping on what I am,Not what he knew I was. He makes me angry,And at this time most easy ’tis to do’t,When my good stars that were my former guidesHave empty left their orbs and shot their firesInto th’ abysm of hell. If he mislikeMy speech and what is done, tell him he hasHipparchus, my enfranched bondman, whomHe may at pleasure whip, or hang, or torture,As he shall like, to quit me. Urge it thou.Hence with thy stripes, be gone.[ExitThidias.]CLEOPATRA.Have you done yet?ANTONY.Alack, our terrene moon is now eclipsed,And it portends alone the fall of Antony.CLEOPATRA.I must stay his time.ANTONY.To flatter Caesar, would you mingle eyesWith one that ties his points?CLEOPATRA.Not know me yet?ANTONY.Cold-hearted toward me?CLEOPATRA.Ah, dear, if I be so,From my cold heart let heaven engender hailAnd poison it in the source, and the first stoneDrop in my neck; as it determines, soDissolve my life! The next Caesarion smite,Till, by degrees the memory of my womb,Together with my brave Egyptians all,By the discandying of this pelleted storm,Lie graveless, till the flies and gnats of NileHave buried them for prey!ANTONY.I am satisfied.Caesar sits down in Alexandria, whereI will oppose his fate. Our force by landHath nobly held; our severed navy tooHave knit again, and fleet, threat’ning most sea-like.Where hast thou been, my heart? Dost thou hear, lady?If from the field I shall return once moreTo kiss these lips, I will appear in blood.I and my sword will earn our chronicle.There’s hope in’t yet.CLEOPATRA.That’s my brave lord!ANTONY.I will be treble-sinewed, hearted, breathed,And fight maliciously. For when mine hoursWere nice and lucky, men did ransom livesOf me for jests. But now I’ll set my teethAnd send to darkness all that stop me. Come,Let’s have one other gaudy night. Call to meAll my sad captains. Fill our bowls once moreLet’s mock the midnight bell.CLEOPATRA.It is my birthday.I had thought t’have held it poor, but since my lordIs Antony again, I will be Cleopatra.ANTONY.We will yet do well.CLEOPATRA.Call all his noble captains to my lord.ANTONY.Do so; we’ll speak to them; and tonight I’ll forceThe wine peep through their scars. Come on, my queen,There’s sap in’t yet. The next time I do fightI’ll make Death love me, for I will contendEven with his pestilent scythe.[Exeunt all butEnobarbus.]ENOBARBUS.Now he’ll outstare the lightning. To be furiousIs to be frighted out of fear, and in that moodThe dove will peck the estridge; and I see stillA diminution in our captain’s brainRestores his heart. When valour preys on reason,It eats the sword it fights with. I will seekSome way to leave him.[Exit.]
EnterVentidiusas it were in triumph, withSiliusand other Romans, Officers and Soldiers; the dead body ofPacorusborne before him.
VENTIDIUS.Now, darting Parthia, art thou struck, and nowPleased Fortune does of Marcus Crassus’ deathMake me revenger. Bear the king’s son’s bodyBefore our army. Thy Pacorus, Orodes,Pays this for Marcus Crassus.
SILIUS.Noble Ventidius,Whilst yet with Parthian blood thy sword is warm,The fugitive Parthians follow. Spur through Media,Mesopotamia, and the shelters whitherThe routed fly. So thy grand captain AntonyShall set thee on triumphant chariots, andPut garlands on thy head.
VENTIDIUS.O Silius, Silius,I have done enough. A lower place, note well,May make too great an act. For learn this, Silius:Better to leave undone than by our deedAcquire too high a fame when him we serve’s away.Caesar and Antony have ever wonMore in their officer, than person. Sossius,One of my place in Syria, his lieutenant,For quick accumulation of renown,Which he achieved by th’ minute, lost his favour.Who does i’ th’ wars more than his captain canBecomes his captain’s captain; and ambition,The soldier’s virtue, rather makes choice of lossThan gain which darkens him.I could do more to do Antonius good,But ’twould offend him, and in his offenceShould my performance perish.
SILIUS.Thou hast, Ventidius, thatWithout the which a soldier and his swordGrants scarce distinction. Thou wilt write to Antony?
VENTIDIUS.I’ll humbly signify what in his name,That magical word of war, we have effected;How, with his banners, and his well-paid ranks,The ne’er-yet-beaten horse of ParthiaWe have jaded out o’ th’ field.
SILIUS.Where is he now?
VENTIDIUS.He purposeth to Athens, whither, with what hasteThe weight we must convey with ’s will permit,We shall appear before him.—On there, pass along!
[Exeunt.]
EnterAgrippaat one door,Enobarbusat another.
AGRIPPA.What, are the brothers parted?
ENOBARBUS.They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone.The other three are sealing. Octavia weepsTo part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus,Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubledWith the greensickness.
AGRIPPA.’Tis a noble Lepidus.
ENOBARBUS.A very fine one. O, how he loves Caesar!
AGRIPPA.Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
ENOBARBUS.Caesar? Why he’s the Jupiter of men.
AGRIPPA.What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
ENOBARBUS.Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
AGRIPPA.O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
ENOBARBUS.Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar”. Go no further.
AGRIPPA.Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
ENOBARBUS.But he loves Caesar best, yet he loves Antony.Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannotThink, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!—His love to Antony. But as for Caesar,Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.
AGRIPPA.Both he loves.
ENOBARBUS.They are his shards, and he their beetle.
[Trumpets within.]
So,This is to horse. Adieu, noble Agrippa.
AGRIPPA.Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
EnterCaesar, Antony, LepidusandOctavia.
ANTONY.No further, sir.
CAESAR.You take from me a great part of myself.Use me well in’t. Sister, prove such a wifeAs my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bondShall pass on thy approof. Most noble Antony,Let not the piece of virtue which is setBetwixt us, as the cement of our loveTo keep it builded, be the ram to batterThe fortress of it. For better might weHave loved without this mean, if on both partsThis be not cherished.
ANTONY.Make me not offendedIn your distrust.
CAESAR.I have said.
ANTONY.You shall not find,Though you be therein curious, the least causeFor what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you,And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends.We will here part.
CAESAR.Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well.The elements be kind to thee, and makeThy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
OCTAVIA.My noble brother!
ANTONY.The April’s in her eyes. It is love’s spring,And these the showers to bring it on.—Be cheerful.
OCTAVIA.Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
CAESAR.What, Octavia?
OCTAVIA.I’ll tell you in your ear.
ANTONY.Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor canHer heart inform her tongue—the swan’s-down feather,That stands upon the swell at the full of tide,And neither way inclines.
ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] Will Caesar weep?
AGRIPPA.[Aside to Enobarbus.] He has a cloud in ’s face.
ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] He were the worse for that were he a horse;So is he, being a man.
AGRIPPA.[Aside to Enobarbus.] Why, Enobarbus,When Antony found Julius Caesar dead,He cried almost to roaring, and he weptWhen at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
ENOBARBUS.[Aside to Agrippa.] That year, indeed, he was troubled with a rheum;What willingly he did confound he wailed,Believe ’t, till I weep too.
CAESAR.No, sweet Octavia,You shall hear from me still. The time shall notOutgo my thinking on you.
ANTONY.Come, sir, come,I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love.Look, here I have you, thus I let you go,And give you to the gods.
CAESAR.Adieu, be happy!
LEPIDUS.Let all the number of the stars give lightTo thy fair way!
CAESAR.Farewell, farewell!
[KissesOctavia.]
ANTONY.Farewell!
[Trumpets sound. Exeunt.]
EnterCleopatra, Charmian, IrasandAlexas.
CLEOPATRA.Where is the fellow?
ALEXAS.Half afeared to come.
CLEOPATRA.Go to, go to.
Enter aMessengeras before.
Come hither, sir.
ALEXAS.Good majesty,Herod of Jewry dare not look upon youBut when you are well pleased.
CLEOPATRA.That Herod’s headI’ll have! But how, when Antony is gone,Through whom I might command it?—Come thou near.
MESSENGER.Most gracious majesty!
CLEOPATRA.Didst thou behold Octavia?
MESSENGER.Ay, dread queen.
CLEOPATRA.Where?
MESSENGER.Madam, in RomeI looked her in the face, and saw her ledBetween her brother and Mark Antony.
CLEOPATRA.Is she as tall as me?
MESSENGER.She is not, madam.
CLEOPATRA.Didst hear her speak? Is she shrill-tongued or low?
MESSENGER.Madam, I heard her speak. She is low-voiced.
CLEOPATRA.That’s not so good. He cannot like her long.
CHARMIAN.Like her? O Isis! ’Tis impossible.
CLEOPATRA.I think so, Charmian: dull of tongue and dwarfish!What majesty is in her gait? Remember,If e’er thou look’dst on majesty.
MESSENGER.She creeps.Her motion and her station are as one.She shows a body rather than a life,A statue than a breather.
CLEOPATRA.Is this certain?
MESSENGER.Or I have no observance.
CHARMIAN.Three in EgyptCannot make better note.
CLEOPATRA.He’s very knowing;I do perceive’t. There’s nothing in her yet.The fellow has good judgment.
CHARMIAN.Excellent.
CLEOPATRA.Guess at her years, I prithee.
MESSENGER.Madam,She was a widow.
CLEOPATRA.Widow! Charmian, hark!
MESSENGER.And I do think she’s thirty.
CLEOPATRA.Bear’st thou her face in mind? Is’t long or round?
MESSENGER.Round even to faultiness.
CLEOPATRA.For the most part, too, they are foolish that are so.Her hair, what colour?
MESSENGER.Brown, madam, and her foreheadAs low as she would wish it.
CLEOPATRA.There’s gold for thee.Thou must not take my former sharpness ill.I will employ thee back again; I find theeMost fit for business. Go make thee ready;Our letters are prepared.
[ExitMessenger.]
CHARMIAN.A proper man.
CLEOPATRA.Indeed, he is so. I repent me muchThat so I harried him. Why, methinks, by him,This creature’s no such thing.
CHARMIAN.Nothing, madam.
CLEOPATRA.The man hath seen some majesty, and should know.
CHARMIAN.Hath he seen majesty? Isis else defend,And serving you so long!
CLEOPATRA.I have one thing more to ask him yet, good Charmian.But ’tis no matter; thou shalt bring him to meWhere I will write. All may be well enough.
CHARMIAN.I warrant you, madam.
[Exeunt.]
EnterAntonyandOctavia.
ANTONY.Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that—That were excusable, that and thousands moreOf semblable import—but he hath wagedNew wars ’gainst Pompey; made his will, and read itTo public ear;Spoke scantly of me; when perforce he could notBut pay me terms of honour, cold and sicklyHe vented them; most narrow measure lent me;When the best hint was given him, he not took ’t,Or did it from his teeth.
OCTAVIA.O, my good lord,Believe not all, or if you must believe,Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady,If this division chance, ne’er stood between,Praying for both parts.The good gods will mock me presentlyWhen I shall pray “O, bless my lord and husband!”Undo that prayer by crying out as loud“O, bless my brother!” Husband win, win brother,Prays and destroys the prayer; no midway’Twixt these extremes at all.
ANTONY.Gentle Octavia,Let your best love draw to that point which seeksBest to preserve it. If I lose mine honour,I lose myself; better I were not yoursThan yours so branchless. But, as you requested,Yourself shall go between’s. The meantime, lady,I’ll raise the preparation of a warShall stain your brother. Make your soonest haste,So your desires are yours.
OCTAVIA.Thanks to my lord.The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak,Your reconciler! Wars ’twixt you twain would beAs if the world should cleave, and that slain menShould solder up the rift.
ANTONY.When it appears to you where this begins,Turn your displeasure that way, for our faultsCan never be so equal that your loveCan equally move with them. Provide your going;Choose your own company, and command what costYour heart has mind to.
[Exeunt.]
EnterEnobarbusandErosmeeting.
ENOBARBUS.How now, friend Eros?
EROS.There’s strange news come, sir.
ENOBARBUS.What, man?
EROS.Caesar and Lepidus have made wars upon Pompey.
ENOBARBUS.This is old. What is the success?
EROS.Caesar, having made use of him in the wars ’gainst Pompey, presently denied him rivality; would not let him partake in the glory of the action, and, not resting here, accuses him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey; upon his own appeal, seizes him. So the poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine.
ENOBARBUS.Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more,And throw between them all the food thou hast,They’ll grind the one the other. Where’s Antony?
EROS.He’s walking in the garden, thus, and spurnsThe rush that lies before him; cries “Fool Lepidus!”And threats the throat of that his officerThat murdered Pompey.
ENOBARBUS.Our great navy’s rigged.
EROS.For Italy and Caesar. More, Domitius:My lord desires you presently. My newsI might have told hereafter.
ENOBARBUS.’Twill be naught,But let it be. Bring me to Antony.
EROS.Come, sir.
[Exeunt.]
EnterAgrippa, MaecenasandCaesar.
CAESAR.Contemning Rome, he has done all this, and moreIn Alexandria. Here’s the manner of ’t:I’ th’ market-place, on a tribunal silvered,Cleopatra and himself in chairs of goldWere publicly enthroned. At the feet satCaesarion, whom they call my father’s son,And all the unlawful issue that their lustSince then hath made between them. Unto herHe gave the stablishment of Egypt; made herOf lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,Absolute queen.
MAECENAS.This in the public eye?
CAESAR.I’ th’ common showplace where they exercise.His sons he there proclaimed the kings of kings:Great Media, Parthia, and ArmeniaHe gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assignedSyria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia. SheIn th’ habiliments of the goddess IsisThat day appeared, and oft before gave audience,As ’tis reported, so.
MAECENAS.Let Rome be thus informed.
AGRIPPA.Who, queasy with his insolence already,Will their good thoughts call from him.
CAESAR.The people knows it and have now receivedHis accusations.
AGRIPPA.Who does he accuse?
CAESAR.Caesar, and that, having in SicilySextus Pompeius spoiled, we had not rated himHis part o’ th’ isle. Then does he say he lent meSome shipping, unrestored. Lastly, he fretsThat Lepidus of the triumvirateShould be deposed and, being, that we detainAll his revenue.
AGRIPPA.Sir, this should be answered.
CAESAR.’Tis done already, and messenger gone.I have told him Lepidus was grown too cruel,That he his high authority abused,And did deserve his change. For what I have conqueredI grant him part; but then in his ArmeniaAnd other of his conquered kingdoms, IDemand the like.
MAECENAS.He’ll never yield to that.
CAESAR.Nor must not then be yielded to in this.
EnterOctaviawith her train.
OCTAVIA.Hail, Caesar, and my lord! Hail, most dear Caesar!
CAESAR.That ever I should call thee castaway!
OCTAVIA.You have not called me so, nor have you cause.
CAESAR.Why have you stolen upon us thus? You come notLike Caesar’s sister. The wife of AntonyShould have an army for an usher, andThe neighs of horse to tell of her approachLong ere she did appear. The trees by th’ wayShould have borne men, and expectation fainted,Longing for what it had not. Nay, the dustShould have ascended to the roof of heaven,Raised by your populous troops. But you are comeA market-maid to Rome, and have preventedThe ostentation of our love, which, left unshown,Is often left unloved. We should have met youBy sea and land, supplying every stageWith an augmented greeting.
OCTAVIA.Good my lord,To come thus was I not constrained, but did itOn my free will. My lord, Mark Antony,Hearing that you prepared for war, acquaintedMy grieved ear withal, whereon I beggedHis pardon for return.
CAESAR.Which soon he granted,Being an abstract ’tween his lust and him.
OCTAVIA.Do not say so, my lord.
CAESAR.I have eyes upon him,And his affairs come to me on the wind.Where is he now?
OCTAVIA.My lord, in Athens.
CAESAR.No, my most wronged sister. CleopatraHath nodded him to her. He hath given his empireUp to a whore, who now are levyingThe kings o’ th’ earth for war. He hath assembledBocchus, the king of Libya; ArchelausOf Cappadocia; Philadelphos, kingOf Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas;King Manchus of Arabia; King of Pont;Herod of Jewry; Mithridates, kingOf Comagene; Polemon and Amyntas,The kings of Mede and Lycaonia,With a more larger list of sceptres.
OCTAVIA.Ay me, most wretched,That have my heart parted betwixt two friendsThat does afflict each other!
CAESAR.Welcome hither.Your letters did withhold our breaking forthTill we perceived both how you were wrong ledAnd we in negligent danger. Cheer your heart.Be you not troubled with the time, which drivesO’er your content these strong necessities,But let determined things to destinyHold unbewailed their way. Welcome to Rome,Nothing more dear to me. You are abusedBeyond the mark of thought, and the high gods,To do you justice, make their ministersOf us and those that love you. Best of comfort,And ever welcome to us.
AGRIPPA.Welcome, lady.
MAECENAS.Welcome, dear madam.Each heart in Rome does love and pity you.Only th’ adulterous Antony, most largeIn his abominations, turns you offAnd gives his potent regiment to a trullThat noises it against us.
OCTAVIA.Is it so, sir?
CAESAR.Most certain. Sister, welcome. Pray youBe ever known to patience. My dear’st sister!
[Exeunt.]
EnterCleopatraandEnobarbus.
CLEOPATRA.I will be even with thee, doubt it not.
ENOBARBUS.But why, why, why?
CLEOPATRA.Thou hast forspoke my being in these warsAnd say’st it is not fit.
ENOBARBUS.Well, is it, is it?
CLEOPATRA.Is ’t not denounced against us? Why should not weBe there in person?
ENOBARBUS.Well, I could reply:If we should serve with horse and mares together,The horse were merely lost. The mares would bearA soldier and his horse.
CLEOPATRA.What is’t you say?
ENOBARBUS.Your presence needs must puzzle Antony,Take from his heart, take from his brain, from ’s time,What should not then be spared. He is alreadyTraduced for levity, and ’tis said in RomeThat Photinus, an eunuch, and your maidsManage this war.
CLEOPATRA.Sink Rome, and their tongues rotThat speak against us! A charge we bear i’ th’ war,And, as the president of my kingdom, willAppear there for a man. Speak not against it.I will not stay behind.
EnterAntonyandCanidius.
ENOBARBUS.Nay, I have done.Here comes the Emperor.
ANTONY.Is it not strange, Canidius,That from Tarentum and BrundusiumHe could so quickly cut the Ionian seaAnd take in Toryne?—You have heard on ’t, sweet?
CLEOPATRA.Celerity is never more admiredThan by the negligent.
ANTONY.A good rebuke,Which might have well becomed the best of menTo taunt at slackness.—Canidius, weWill fight with him by sea.
CLEOPATRA.By sea, what else?
CANIDIUS.Why will my lord do so?
ANTONY.For that he dares us to ’t.
ENOBARBUS.So hath my lord dared him to single fight.
CANIDIUS.Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia,Where Caesar fought with Pompey. But these offers,Which serve not for his vantage, he shakes off,And so should you.
ENOBARBUS.Your ships are not well manned,Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, peopleEngrossed by swift impress. In Caesar’s fleetAre those that often have ’gainst Pompey fought.Their ships are yare, yours heavy. No disgraceShall fall you for refusing him at sea,Being prepared for land.
ANTONY.By sea, by sea.
ENOBARBUS.Most worthy sir, you therein throw awayThe absolute soldiership you have by land;Distract your army, which doth most consistOf war-marked footmen; leave unexecutedYour own renowned knowledge; quite forgoThe way which promises assurance; andGive up yourself merely to chance and hazardFrom firm security.
ANTONY.I’ll fight at sea.
CLEOPATRA.I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.
ANTONY.Our overplus of shipping will we burn,And with the rest full-manned, from th’ head of ActiumBeat th’ approaching Caesar. But if we fail,We then can do ’t at land.
Enter aMessenger.
Thy business?
MESSENGER.The news is true, my lord; he is descried.Caesar has taken Toryne.
ANTONY.Can he be there in person? ’Tis impossible;Strange that his power should be. Canidius,Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land,And our twelve thousand horse. We’ll to our ship.Away, my Thetis!
Enter aSoldier.
How now, worthy soldier?
SOLDIER.O noble emperor, do not fight by sea.Trust not to rotten planks. Do you misdoubtThis sword and these my wounds? Let th’ EgyptiansAnd the Phoenicians go a-ducking. WeHave used to conquer standing on the earthAnd fighting foot to foot.
ANTONY.Well, well, away.
[ExeuntAntony, CleopatraandEnobarbus.]
SOLDIER.By Hercules, I think I am i’ th’ right.
CANIDIUS.Soldier, thou art. But his whole action growsNot in the power on ’t. So our leader’s led,And we are women’s men.
SOLDIER.You keep by landThe legions and the horse whole, do you not?
CANIDIUS.Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius,Publicola, and Caelius are for sea,But we keep whole by land. This speed of Caesar’sCarries beyond belief.
SOLDIER.While he was yet in Rome,His power went out in such distractions asBeguiled all spies.
CANIDIUS.Who’s his lieutenant, hear you?
SOLDIER.They say one Taurus.
CANIDIUS.Well I know the man.
Enter aMessenger.
MESSENGER.The Emperor calls Canidius.
CANIDIUS.With news the time’s with labour, and throes forthEach minute some.
[Exeunt.]
EnterCaesarwith his army andTaurusmarching.
CAESAR.Taurus!
TAURUS.My lord?
CAESAR.Strike not by land; keep whole; provoke not battleTill we have done at sea. Do not exceedThe prescript of this scroll. Our fortune liesUpon this jump.
[Exeunt.]
EnterAntonyandEnobarbus.
ANTONY.Set we our squadrons on yon side o’ th’ hillIn eye of Caesar’s battle, from which placeWe may the number of the ships beholdAnd so proceed accordingly.
[Exeunt.]
Canidiusmarching with his land army one way over the stage, andTaurus,the Lieutenant ofCaesar,with his Army, the other way. After their going in, is heard the noise of a sea fight.
Alarum. EnterEnobarbus.
ENOBARBUS.Naught, naught, all naught! I can behold no longer.Th’ Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral,With all their sixty, fly and turn the rudder.To see ’t mine eyes are blasted.
EnterScarus.
SCARUS.Gods and goddesses,All the whole synod of them!
ENOBARBUS.What’s thy passion?
SCARUS.The greater cantle of the world is lostWith very ignorance. We have kissed awayKingdoms and provinces.
ENOBARBUS.How appears the fight?
SCARUS.On our side, like the tokened pestilence,Where death is sure. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,Whom leprosy o’ertake, i’ th’ midst o’ th’ fight,When vantage like a pair of twins appeared,Both as the same—or, rather, ours the elder—The breeze upon her, like a cow in June,Hoists sails and flies.
ENOBARBUS.That I beheld.Mine eyes did sicken at the sight and could notEndure a further view.
SCARUS.She once being loofed,The noble ruin of her magic, Antony,Claps on his sea-wing and, like a doting mallard,Leaving the fight in height, flies after her.I never saw an action of such shame.Experience, manhood, honour, ne’er beforeDid violate so itself.
ENOBARBUS.Alack, alack!
EnterCanidius.
CANIDIUS.Our fortune on the sea is out of breathAnd sinks most lamentably. Had our generalBeen what he knew himself, it had gone well.O, he has given example for our flightMost grossly by his own!
ENOBARBUS.Ay, are you thereabouts?Why, then, good night indeed.
CANIDIUS.Toward Peloponnesus are they fled.
SCARUS.’Tis easy to’t, and there I will attendWhat further comes.
CANIDIUS.To Caesar will I renderMy legions and my horse. Six kings alreadyShow me the way of yielding.
ENOBARBUS.I’ll yet followThe wounded chance of Antony, though my reasonSits in the wind against me.
[Exeunt.]
EnterAntonywith attendants.
ANTONY.Hark, the land bids me tread no more upon’t.It is ashamed to bear me. Friends, come hither.I am so lated in the world that IHave lost my way for ever. I have a shipLaden with gold. Take that, divide it. Fly,And make your peace with Caesar.
ALL.Fly? Not we.
ANTONY.I have fled myself, and have instructed cowardsTo run and show their shoulders. Friends, be gone.I have myself resolved upon a courseWhich has no need of you. Be gone.My treasure’s in the harbour. Take it. O,I followed that I blush to look upon.My very hairs do mutiny, for the whiteReprove the brown for rashness, and they themFor fear and doting. Friends, be gone. You shallHave letters from me to some friends that willSweep your way for you. Pray you, look not sad,Nor make replies of loathness. Take the hintWhich my despair proclaims. Let that be leftWhich leaves itself. To the sea-side straightway.I will possess you of that ship and treasure.Leave me, I pray, a little—pray you, now,Nay, do so; for indeed I have lost command.Therefore I pray you. I’ll see you by and by.
[Sits down.]
EnterCleopatraled byCharmian, IrasandEros.
EROS.Nay, gentle madam, to him! Comfort him.
IRAS.Do, most dear queen.
CHARMIAN.Do! Why, what else?
CLEOPATRA.Let me sit down. O Juno!
ANTONY.No, no, no, no, no.
EROS.See you here, sir?
ANTONY.O, fie, fie, fie!
CHARMIAN.Madam.
IRAS.Madam, O good empress!
EROS.Sir, sir!
ANTONY.Yes, my lord, yes. He at Philippi keptHis sword e’en like a dancer, while I struckThe lean and wrinkled Cassius, and ’twas IThat the mad Brutus ended. He aloneDealt on lieutenantry, and no practice hadIn the brave squares of war. Yet now—no matter.
CLEOPATRA.Ah, stand by.
EROS.The Queen, my lord, the Queen!
IRAS.Go to him, madam; speak to him.He is unqualitied with very shame.
CLEOPATRA.Well then, sustain me. O!
EROS.Most noble sir, arise. The Queen approaches.Her head’s declined, and death will seize her butYour comfort makes the rescue.
ANTONY.I have offended reputation,A most unnoble swerving.
EROS.Sir, the Queen.
ANTONY.O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt? SeeHow I convey my shame out of thine eyesBy looking back what I have left behind’Stroyed in dishonour.
CLEOPATRA.O my lord, my lord,Forgive my fearful sails! I little thoughtYou would have followed.
ANTONY.Egypt, thou knew’st too wellMy heart was to thy rudder tied by th’ strings,And thou shouldst tow me after. O’er my spiritThy full supremacy thou knew’st, and thatThy beck might from the bidding of the godsCommand me.
CLEOPATRA.O, my pardon!
ANTONY.Now I mustTo the young man send humble treaties, dodgeAnd palter in the shifts of lowness, whoWith half the bulk o’ th’ world played as I pleased,Making and marring fortunes. You did knowHow much you were my conqueror, and thatMy sword, made weak by my affection, wouldObey it on all cause.
CLEOPATRA.Pardon, pardon!
ANTONY.Fall not a tear, I say; one of them ratesAll that is won and lost. Give me a kiss.Even this repays me.We sent our schoolmaster. Is he come back?Love, I am full of lead. Some wineWithin there, and our viands! Fortune knowsWe scorn her most when most she offers blows.
[Exeunt.]
EnterCaesar, Agrippa, Dolabellawith others.
CAESAR.Let him appear that’s come from Antony.Know you him?
DOLABELLA.Caesar, ’tis his schoolmaster—An argument that he is plucked, when hitherHe sends so poor a pinion of his wing,Which had superfluous kings for messengersNot many moons gone by.
EnterAmbassadorfrom Anthony.
CAESAR.Approach, and speak.
AMBASSADOR.Such as I am, I come from Antony.I was of late as petty to his endsAs is the morn-dew on the myrtle leafTo his grand sea.
CAESAR.Be’t so. Declare thine office.
AMBASSADOR.Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, andRequires to live in Egypt, which not granted,He lessens his requests, and to thee suesTo let him breathe between the heavens and earth,A private man in Athens. This for him.Next, Cleopatra does confess thy greatness,Submits her to thy might, and of thee cravesThe circle of the Ptolemies for her heirs,Now hazarded to thy grace.
CAESAR.For Antony,I have no ears to his request. The queenOf audience nor desire shall fail, so sheFrom Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend,Or take his life there. This if she perform,She shall not sue unheard. So to them both.
AMBASSADOR.Fortune pursue thee!
CAESAR.Bring him through the bands.
[ExitAmbassador, attended.]
[To Thidias.] To try thy eloquence now ’tis time. Dispatch.From Antony win Cleopatra. Promise,And in our name, what she requires; add more,From thine invention, offers. Women are notIn their best fortunes strong, but want will perjureThe ne’er-touch’d vestal. Try thy cunning, Thidias;Make thine own edict for thy pains, which weWill answer as a law.
THIDIAS.Caesar, I go.
CAESAR.Observe how Antony becomes his flaw,And what thou think’st his very action speaksIn every power that moves.
THIDIAS.Caesar, I shall.
[Exeunt.]
EnterCleopatra, Enobarbus, CharmianandIras.
CLEOPATRA.What shall we do, Enobarbus?
ENOBARBUS.Think, and die.
CLEOPATRA.Is Antony or we in fault for this?
ENOBARBUS.Antony only, that would make his willLord of his reason. What though you fledFrom that great face of war, whose several rangesFrighted each other? Why should he follow?The itch of his affection should not thenHave nicked his captainship, at such a point,When half to half the world opposed, he beingThe mered question. ’Twas a shame no lessThan was his loss, to course your flying flagsAnd leave his navy gazing.
CLEOPATRA.Prithee, peace.
Enter theAmbassadorwithAntony.
ANTONY.Is that his answer?
AMBASSADOR.Ay, my lord.
ANTONY.The Queen shall then have courtesy, so sheWill yield us up.
AMBASSADOR.He says so.
ANTONY.Let her know’t.—To the boy Caesar send this grizzled head,And he will fill thy wishes to the brimWith principalities.
CLEOPATRA.That head, my lord?
ANTONY.To him again. Tell him he wears the roseOf youth upon him, from which the world should noteSomething particular: his coin, ships, legions,May be a coward’s; whose ministers would prevailUnder the service of a child as soonAs i’ th’ command of Caesar. I dare him thereforeTo lay his gay comparisons apart,And answer me declined, sword against sword,Ourselves alone. I’ll write it. Follow me.
[ExeuntAntonyandAmbassador.]
ENOBARBUS.Yes, like enough high-battled Caesar willUnstate his happiness, and be staged to th’ showAgainst a sworder! I see men’s judgments areA parcel of their fortunes, and things outwardDo draw the inward quality after themTo suffer all alike. That he should dream,Knowing all measures, the full Caesar willAnswer his emptiness! Caesar, thou hast subduedHis judgment too.
Enter aServant.
SERVANT.A messenger from Caesar.
CLEOPATRA.What, no more ceremony? See, my women,Against the blown rose may they stop their noseThat kneeled unto the buds. Admit him, sir.
[ExitServant.]
ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] Mine honesty and I begin to square.The loyalty well held to fools does makeOur faith mere folly. Yet he that can endureTo follow with allegiance a fallen lordDoes conquer him that did his master conquer,And earns a place i’ th’ story.
EnterThidias.
CLEOPATRA.Caesar’s will?
THIDIAS.Hear it apart.
CLEOPATRA.None but friends. Say boldly.
THIDIAS.So haply are they friends to Antony.
ENOBARBUS.He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has,Or needs not us. If Caesar please, our masterWill leap to be his friend. For us, you knowWhose he is we are, and that is Caesar’s.
THIDIAS.So.—Thus then, thou most renowned: Caesar entreatsNot to consider in what case thou stand’stFurther than he is Caesar.
CLEOPATRA.Go on; right royal.
THIDIAS.He knows that you embrace not AntonyAs you did love, but as you feared him.
CLEOPATRA.O!
THIDIAS.The scars upon your honour, therefore, heDoes pity as constrained blemishes,Not as deserved.
CLEOPATRA.He is a god and knowsWhat is most right. Mine honour was not yielded,But conquered merely.
ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] To be sure of that,I will ask Antony. Sir, sir, thou art so leakyThat we must leave thee to thy sinking, forThy dearest quit thee.
[ExitEnobarbus.]
THIDIAS.Shall I say to CaesarWhat you require of him? For he partly begsTo be desired to give. It much would please himThat of his fortunes you should make a staffTo lean upon. But it would warm his spiritsTo hear from me you had left Antony,And put yourself under his shroud,The universal landlord.
CLEOPATRA.What’s your name?
THIDIAS.My name is Thidias.
CLEOPATRA.Most kind messenger,Say to great Caesar this in deputation:I kiss his conqu’ring hand. Tell him I am promptTo lay my crown at’s feet, and there to kneel.Tell him, from his all-obeying breath I hearThe doom of Egypt.
THIDIAS.’Tis your noblest course.Wisdom and fortune combating together,If that the former dare but what it can,No chance may shake it. Give me grace to layMy duty on your hand.
CLEOPATRA.Your Caesar’s father oft,When he hath mused of taking kingdoms in,Bestowed his lips on that unworthy placeAs it rained kisses.
EnterAntonyandEnobarbus.
ANTONY.Favours, by Jove that thunders!What art thou, fellow?
THIDIAS.One that but performsThe bidding of the fullest man and worthiestTo have command obeyed.
ENOBARBUS.[Aside.] You will be whipped.
ANTONY.Approach there.—Ah, you kite!—Now, gods and devils,Authority melts from me. Of late when I cried “Ho!”Like boys unto a muss, kings would start forthAnd cry “Your will?” Have you no ears? I amAntony yet.
EnterServants.
Take hence this jack and whip him.
ENOBARBUS.’Tis better playing with a lion’s whelpThan with an old one dying.
ANTONY.Moon and stars!Whip him. Were’t twenty of the greatest tributariesThat do acknowledge Caesar, should I find themSo saucy with the hand of she here—what’s her nameSince she was Cleopatra? Whip him, fellows,Till like a boy you see him cringe his faceAnd whine aloud for mercy. Take him hence.
THIDIAS.Mark Antony—
ANTONY.Tug him away. Being whipp’d,Bring him again. This jack of Caesar’s shallBear us an errand to him.
[Exeunt Servants withThidias.]
You were half blasted ere I knew you. Ha!Have I my pillow left unpressed in Rome,Forborne the getting of a lawful race,And by a gem of women, to be abusedBy one that looks on feeders?
CLEOPATRA.Good my lord—
ANTONY.You have been a boggler ever.But when we in our viciousness grow hard—O misery on’t!—the wise gods seal our eyes,In our own filth drop our clear judgments, make usAdore our errors, laugh at’s while we strutTo our confusion.
CLEOPATRA.O, is’t come to this?
ANTONY.I found you as a morsel cold uponDead Caesar’s trencher; nay, you were a fragmentOf Gneius Pompey’s, besides what hotter hours,Unregistered in vulgar fame, you haveLuxuriously pick’d out. For I am sure,Though you can guess what temperance should be,You know not what it is.
CLEOPATRA.Wherefore is this?
ANTONY.To let a fellow that will take rewardsAnd say “God quit you!” be familiar withMy playfellow, your hand, this kingly sealAnd plighter of high hearts! O that I wereUpon the hill of Basan, to outroarThe horned herd! For I have savage cause,And to proclaim it civilly were likeA haltered neck which does the hangman thankFor being yare about him.
Enter aServantwithThidias.
Is he whipped?
SERVANT.Soundly, my lord.
ANTONY.Cried he? And begged he pardon?
SERVANT.He did ask favour.
ANTONY.If that thy father live, let him repentThou wast not made his daughter; and be thou sorryTo follow Caesar in his triumph, sinceThou hast been whipped for following him. HenceforthThe white hand of a lady fever thee;Shake thou to look on’t. Get thee back to Caesar;Tell him thy entertainment. Look thou sayHe makes me angry with him; for he seemsProud and disdainful, harping on what I am,Not what he knew I was. He makes me angry,And at this time most easy ’tis to do’t,When my good stars that were my former guidesHave empty left their orbs and shot their firesInto th’ abysm of hell. If he mislikeMy speech and what is done, tell him he hasHipparchus, my enfranched bondman, whomHe may at pleasure whip, or hang, or torture,As he shall like, to quit me. Urge it thou.Hence with thy stripes, be gone.
[ExitThidias.]
CLEOPATRA.Have you done yet?
ANTONY.Alack, our terrene moon is now eclipsed,And it portends alone the fall of Antony.
CLEOPATRA.I must stay his time.
ANTONY.To flatter Caesar, would you mingle eyesWith one that ties his points?
CLEOPATRA.Not know me yet?
ANTONY.Cold-hearted toward me?
CLEOPATRA.Ah, dear, if I be so,From my cold heart let heaven engender hailAnd poison it in the source, and the first stoneDrop in my neck; as it determines, soDissolve my life! The next Caesarion smite,Till, by degrees the memory of my womb,Together with my brave Egyptians all,By the discandying of this pelleted storm,Lie graveless, till the flies and gnats of NileHave buried them for prey!
ANTONY.I am satisfied.Caesar sits down in Alexandria, whereI will oppose his fate. Our force by landHath nobly held; our severed navy tooHave knit again, and fleet, threat’ning most sea-like.Where hast thou been, my heart? Dost thou hear, lady?If from the field I shall return once moreTo kiss these lips, I will appear in blood.I and my sword will earn our chronicle.There’s hope in’t yet.
CLEOPATRA.That’s my brave lord!
ANTONY.I will be treble-sinewed, hearted, breathed,And fight maliciously. For when mine hoursWere nice and lucky, men did ransom livesOf me for jests. But now I’ll set my teethAnd send to darkness all that stop me. Come,Let’s have one other gaudy night. Call to meAll my sad captains. Fill our bowls once moreLet’s mock the midnight bell.
CLEOPATRA.It is my birthday.I had thought t’have held it poor, but since my lordIs Antony again, I will be Cleopatra.
ANTONY.We will yet do well.
CLEOPATRA.Call all his noble captains to my lord.
ANTONY.Do so; we’ll speak to them; and tonight I’ll forceThe wine peep through their scars. Come on, my queen,There’s sap in’t yet. The next time I do fightI’ll make Death love me, for I will contendEven with his pestilent scythe.
[Exeunt all butEnobarbus.]
ENOBARBUS.Now he’ll outstare the lightning. To be furiousIs to be frighted out of fear, and in that moodThe dove will peck the estridge; and I see stillA diminution in our captain’s brainRestores his heart. When valour preys on reason,It eats the sword it fights with. I will seekSome way to leave him.
[Exit.]