In the brave fquares of war: yet now-no matter Cleo. Ah, ftand by. Eros. The queen, my lord, the queen Iras. Go to him, madam, fpeak to him; He is unqualitied with very fhame. Cleo. Well then, fuftain me: oh! Eros. Moft noble fir, arife; the queen approaches; Her head's declin'd, and death will feize her; but Your comfort makes the rescue. Ant. I have offended reputation; A most unnoble fwerving, Eros. Sir, the queen. Ant. O whither haft thou led me, Egypt? See, 'How I convey my fhame out of thine eyes; By looking back on what I have left behind, 'Stroy'd in difhonour. Cleo. Oh, my lord, my lord; Forgive my fearful fails! I little thought, Ant. Egypt, thou knew'ft too well, My heart was to thy rudder ty'd by the strings Cleo. Oh, my pardon. Ant. Now I muft To the young man fend humble treaties, dodge With half the bulk o' the world, play'd as I pleas'd, 7 death will feize her, but Your comfort, &c.] But has here, as once before in this play, the force of except, or unless. JOHNSON. 8 How I convey my fhame-] How, by looking another way, I withdraw my ignominy from your fight. 9-ty'd by the firing,] That is by the heart firing. JOHNSON. JOHNSON. How much you were my conqueror; and that Cleo. Pardon, pardon. Ant. Fall not a tear, I fay; one of them rates All that is won and loft: give me a kiss, Even this repays me. We sent our schoolmafter; is he come back? Within there, and our viands. Fortune knows, SCENE X. Cafar's camp, in Egypt. Enter Cæfar, Dolabella, Thyreus, with others. Caf. Let him appear, that's come from Antony.Know you him? Dol. Cæfar, 'tis his fchoolmaster : An argument that he is pluck'd, when hither Which had fuperfluous kings for meffengers, Enter Ambaffador from Antony. Caf. Approach, and speak. Amb. Such as I am, I come from Antony: I was of late as petty to his ends, As is the morn-dew on the myrtle leaf" To his grand fea. as petty to his ends, As is the morn,dew on the myrtle leaf Caf. To his grand fea.] Thus the old copy. To whofe grand fea? I know not. Perhaps we should read, To this grand fea. We Caf. Be it fo. Declare thine office. Amb. Lord of his fortunes he falutes thee, and Requires to live in Egypt: which not granted, He leffens his requests; and to thee fues To let him breathe between the heavens and earth Caf. For Antony, I have no ears to his request. The queen Caf. Bring him through the bands. [Exit Ambaffador. To try thy eloquence now 'tis time: difpatch, From Antony win Cleopatra: promife, [To Thyreus. And in our name, what the requires; add more, From thine invention, offers. Women are not In their best fortunes, ftrong; but want will perjure The ne'er-touch'd veftal. Try thy cunning, Thyreus; Make thine own edict for thy pains, which we Will answer as a law. Thyr. Cæfar, I go. 2 Caf. Obferve, how Antony becomes his flaw; We may suppose that the fea was within view of Cæfar's camp, and at no great distance. T. T. The modern editors arbitrarily read," the grand fea." STEEVENS. The circle of the Ptolomies-] The diadem, the enfign of roy alty. JOHNSON. bow Antony becomes his flaw;] That is, how Antony conforms himself to this breach of his fortune. O 4 JOHNSON. And And what thou think'st his very action speaks [Exeunt. SCENE XI. ALEXANDRI A. Enter Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Charmian, and Iras. Cleo. What fhall we do, Enobarbus? Eno. Think, and die. 3 Think, and die.] Read, Drink, and die. Cleo. This reply of Enobarbus feems grounded upon a peculiarity in the conduct of Antony and Cleopatra, which is related by Plutarch: that, after their defeat at Actium, they inftituted a fociety of friends, who entered into engagement to die with them, not abating, in the mean time, any part of their luxury, excess, and riot, in which they had liv'd before. HANMER. This reading, offered by fir T. Hanmer, is received by Dr. Warburton and Mr. Upton, but I have not advanced it into the page, not being convinced that it is neceffary. Think, and die ; that is, Reflect on your folly, and leave the world, is a natural answer. JOHNSON. Sir T. Hanmer reads, Drink, and die. 66 And his emendation has been approved, it seems, by Dr. Warburton and Mr. Upton. Mr. Johnson, however," has not advanced "it into the page, not being convinced that it is necessary. “Think, and die;" fays he, that is, Reflect on your own felly, " and leave the world, is a natural answer." I grant it would be, according to this explanation, a very proper answer from a moralift or a divine; but Enobarbus, I doubt, was neither the one nor the other. He is drawn as a plain, blunt foldier; not likely, however, to offend fo grofly in point of delicacy as fir T. Hanmer's alteration would make him. I believe the true reading is, Wink, and die. When the ship is going to be caft away, in the Sea-voyage of Beaumont and Fletcher, (Act i. Scene 1.) and Aminta is lamenting, Tibalt fays to her, Go, Cleo. Is Antony, or we, in fault for this? Have nick'd his captainfhip; at fuch a point, Cleo. Pr'ythee, peace. Enter Antony, with the Ambassador. Ant. Is that his anfwer? Amb. Ay, my lord. Ant. The queen fhall then have courtesy, So fhe will yield us up. Amb. He fays fo. Ant. Let her know it. To the boy Cæfar fend this grizled head, Go, take your gilt Prayer-book, and to your bufinefs; wink, and die : infinuating plainly, that' fhe was afraid to meet death with her eyes open. And the fame infinuation, I think, Enobarbus might very naturally convey in his return to Cleopatra's defponding question. Obfervations and Conjectures, &c. printed at Oxford, 1766. be being The meered queftion.- The meered question is a term I do not understand. I know not what to offer, except, The mooted question. That is, the difputed point, the fubject of debate. Mere is indeed a boundary, and the meered question, if it can mean any thing, may, with fome violence of language, mean, the difputed boundary. JOHNSON. |