1 See note, p. 768. SCENE IV. Antony's House at Athens, [Exeunt [it Ant. Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that,- Spoke scantily of me: when perforce he could not Octa. O my good lord, Believe not all; or, if you must believe, When I shall pray, 0, bless my lord and husband! O, bless my brother! Husband win, win brother, 50 Prays, and destroys the prayer; no midway Twixt these extremes at all. Ant. Gentle Octavia, Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks 55I lose myself; better I were not yours, [lady, 2 This scene (says Dr. Grey) is a manifest allusion to the questions put by queen Elizabeth to Sir James Melvil, concerning his mistress, the queen of Scots.-Whoever will give himself the trouble to consult his Memoirs, will probably suppose the resemblance to be more than accidental. 3 Station, in this instance, means the act of standing. To harry, is to use roughly. i. e, disgrace, Sha [haste; Tweak, Shall stain' your brother: Make your soonest Ant. When it appears to you where this begins, SCENE V. The same. Enter Enolarbus, and Eros. Eno. How now, friend Eros? Eros. There's strange news come, sir. Eno. What, man? 2 10 Mec. This in the public eye? [exercise. He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assign'd In the habiliments of the goddess Isis Mec. Let Rome be thus Informed. Agr. Who, queasy with his insolence [Pompey. 20 Eros. Cæsar and Lepidus have made wars upon Eno. This is old; What is the success? Eros. Cæsar, having made use of him in the wars 'gainst Pompey, presently denied him 2 rivality; would not let him partake in the glory of 25 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. Eno. Then 'would thou hadst a pair of chaps, 30 no more; And throw between them all the food thou hast, They'll grind the other. Where is Antony? Eros. He's walking in the garden-thus; and spurns The rush that lies before him: cries, Fool, Lepidus! Eno. Our great navy's rigg'd. 135 Eros. For Italy, and Cæsar. More, Domitius; 40 My lord desires you presently: my news I might have told hereafter. Eno. "Twill be naught: But let it be.-Bring me to Antony. SCENE VI. Rome. Cæsar's House. Agr. Whom does he accuse? Cas. Cæsar: and that, having in Sicily Sextus Pompeius spoil'd, we had not rated him His part o' the isle: then does he say, he lent me Some shipping unrestor'd: lastly, he frets, That Lepidus of the triumvirate Should be depos'd; and, being, that we detain All his revenue.. I Agr. Sir, this should be answer'd. Cas. 'Tis done already, and the messenger gone. have told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel; That he his high authority abus'd, [quer'd, And did deserve his change: for what I have conI grant him part; but then, in his Armenia, And other of his conquer'd kingdoms, I Demand the like. Mec. He'll never yield to that. Cas. Nor must not then be yielded to in this. Enter Octavia. Octa. Hail, Cæsar, and my lord! hail, most dear Cæsar! Cas. That ever I should call thee, cast-away! Octa. You have not call'd me so, nor have you [come not cause. Cas. Why have you stol'n upon us thus? You The neighs of horse to tell of her approach, [Exeunt. 45 Should have borne men; and expectation fainted, Enter Cæsar, Agrippa, and Mecanas. Cas. Contemning Rome, he has done all this: 50 The ostentation of our love, which, left unshewn, i. e. upon Cæsar's accusation. Lydia for Lybia. i. e. an obstruction, a bar to the prosecution of his wanton pleasures with Cleopatra. Octa. T Octa. Do not say so, my lord. Cas. I have eyes upon him. And his affairs come to me on the wind. Octa, My lord, in Athens. Cas, No, my most wronged sister; Cleopatra Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas; Octa. Ah me most wretched, That have my heart parted betwixt two friends, That do afflict each other! Eno. Your presence needs must puzzle Antony. Take from his heart, take from his brain, from his time, What should not then be spar'd. He is already 5 Traduc'd for levity; and 'tis said in Rome, That Photinus an eunuch, and your maids, Manage this war. Cleo. Sink Rome; and their tongues rot, [war, That speak against us! A charge we bear i' the 10 And, as the president of my kingdom, will Appear there for a man. Speak not against it; I will not stay behind. [peror. Eno. Nay, I have done: Here comes the emEnter Antony, and Canidius. 15 20 25 Cas. Welcome hither: Of us, and those that love you. Be of comfort; 35 Ant. Is it not strange, Canidius, That from Tarentum, and Brundusium, He could so quickly cut the Ionian sea, And take in' Toryne? sweet? -You have heard on't, Cleo. Celerity is never more admir'd, Than by the negligent. Ant. A good rebuke, Which might have well becom'd the best of men, Cleo. By sea! What else? Eno. So hath my lord dar'd him to single fight. Can. Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia, Where Casar fought with Pompey: But these offers, Which serve not for his vantage, he shakes off; And so should you. Eno. Your ships are not well mann'd: Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, people. Ingrost by swift impress; in Cæsar's fleet Are those, that often have 'gainst Pompey fought; Their ships are yare'; yours, heavy: No disgrace 40 Shall fall you for refusing him at sea, Being prepar'd for land. 45 [wars; 50 Cleo. Thou hast forspoke my being in these And say'st, it is not fit. Ant. By sea, by sea. Eno. Most worthy sir, you therein throw away The absolute soldiership you have by land; Distract your army, which doth most consist Of war-mark'd footmen; leave unexecuted Your own renowned knowledge; quite forego The way which promises assurance; and Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard, From firm security, Ant. I'll fight at sea. Cleo. I have sixty sails, Cæsar none better. Ant. Our overplus of shipping will we burn; And, with the rest full-mann'd, from the head of Actium Beat the approaching Cæsar. But if we fail, Mes. The news is true, my lord; he is descried; 60 Cæsar has taken Toryne. 2 'Regiment is used for regimen or government, by most of our ancient writers. To forspeak is to contradict, to speak against, as forbid is to order negatively. signifies dextrous, manageable. 3 E ?i.e. conquer. • Yare generally Ant. Ant. Can he be there in person? 'tis impossible ;[ Strange, that his power should be.-Canidius, Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land, Andour twelve thousand horse:--We'll to our ship; Away, my Thetis!-How now, worthy soldier? Enter a Soldier. Sold. O noble emperor, do not fight by sea; And the Phoenicians, go a-ducking; we Ant. Well, well, away. [Exeunt Antony, Cleopatra, and Enobarbus. 15 Sold. You keep by land The legions and the horse whole, do you not? But we keep whole by land. This speed of Cæsar's Sold. While he was yet in Rome, Can. Who's his lieutenant, hear you? Can. Well I know the man. Enter a Messenger. Mes. The emperor calls Canidius. Can. With news the time's with labour; and Scar. The greater cantle of the world is lost With very ignorance; we have kiss'd away Kingdoms and provinces. Eno. How appears the fight? Scar. On our side like the token'd' pestilence, Where death is sure. Yon ribal'd nag of Egypt, Whom leprosy o'ertake! i' the midst of the fight, 7 20 When vantage like a pair of twins appear'd, 8 Eno. That I beheld: 25 Mine eyes did sicken at the sight, and could not Endure a further view. Scar. She once being looft, The noble ruin of her magic, Antony, Claps on his sea-wing, and, like a doating mallard, 35 Eno. Alack, alack! Enter Canidius. Can. Our fortune on the sea is out of breath, [night Eno. Ay, are you thereabouts? Why then, good Can. Towards Peloponnesus are they fled. 45 What further comes. Can. To Cæsar will I render My legions and my horse; six kings already Eno. I'll yet follow 50 The wounded chance of Antony, though my reason Sits in the wind against me. [Exeunt. way over the stage; and Taurus, the lieutenant 55 Enter Antony, with Eros, and other Attendants. of Casar, the other way. After their going in, Ant. Hark,thelandbids me tread no moreupon't, That is, his whole conduct becomes ungoverned by the right, or by reason. i. e. detachments; separate bodies. 3 Which, Plutarch says, was the name of Cleopatra's ship. 4 Cantle is a corner. i. e. spotted. The death of those visited by the plague was certain when particular eruptions appeared on the skin; and these were called God's tokens. A ribald is a lewd fellow. Yon ribald nag means, Yon strumpet, who is common to every wanton fellow. Leprosy was one of the various names by which the Lues venerea was distinguished. The brize is the gad-fly. loof (or luff) is to bring a ship close to the wind. 7 It is asham'd to bear me !-Friends, come hither;[ Have lost my way for ever:-I have a ship [cowards Ant. I have fled myself; and have instructed To run, and shew their shoulders.-Friends, be gone: I have myself resolv'd upon a course, Ant. No, no, no, no, no. Eros. See you here, sir? Char. Madam, Iras. Madam; O good empress!- [him. Ant. Yes, my lord, yes;-He, at Philippi, kept :-0! [ter. Eros. The queen, my lord, the queen. Ant. I have offended reputation; A most unnoble swerving. [es; Ant. O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt? See : 15 20 25 30 35 Cleo. O, my pardon. Ant. Now, I must To the young man send humble treaties, dodge Cleo. Pardon, pardon. Ant. Fall not a tear, I say; one of them rates We scorn her most, when most she offers blows. SCENE X. Casar's Camp, in Egypt. Enter Cæsar, Dolabella, Thyreus, with others. Dol. Cæsar, 'tis his school-master": 40 Which had superfluous kings for messengers, Enter Ambassador from Antony. Cæs. Approach, and speak. Amb. Such as I am, I come from Antony: 45I was of late as petty to his ends, Cæs. Be it so; Declare thine office. Amb. Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and 50 Requires to live in Egypt: which not granted, He lessens his requests; and to thee sues To let him breathe between the heavens and earth, 'Alluding to a benighted traveller. 2 Antony means, that Cæsar never offered to draw his The |