CHAR. Hath he seen majesty? Isis else defend,

And serving you so long!

CLEO. I have one thing more to ask him yet, good Charmian : But 't is no matter; thou shalt bring him to me

Where I will write. All may be well enough.

CHAR. I warrant you, madam.

SCENE IV.-Athens. A Room in Antony's House.

Enter ANTONY and OCTAVIA.

ANT. Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that,

That were excusable, that and thousands more

Of semblable import,-but he hath wag'd

New wars 'gainst Pompey; made his will, and read it
To public ear:

Spoke scantly of me: when perforce he could not
But pay me terms of honour, cold and sickly

He vented them:* most narrow measure lent me :
When the best hint was given him, he not took'd,a
Or did it from his teeth.b

ОСТА.
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 presently,

When I shall pray, 0, 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.

ANT.
Gentle Octavia,
Let your best love draw to that point which seeks
Best to preserve it: if.I lose mine honour,

I lose myself: better I were not yours,

Than yours so branchless. But, as you requested,
Yourself shall go between's: the mean time, lady,
I'll raise the preparation of a war

Shall stain your brother: make your soonest haste;
So your desires are yours.

(*) Old text, then.

[Exeunt.

- he not took'd,-] An emendation by Thirlby; the old lection being," he not look' d."

bOr did it from his teeth.] To do any thing from the teeth, was to do it in pretence only, not from the heart; thus Burton,-" friendship from teeth outward, counterfeit." So in "Withal's Dictionary for Children," 1616, quoted by Mr. Singer, “Lingua amicus: A friend from the teeth outward."

e Than yours so, &c.] The text of the second folio, that of 1623, has "Then your so," &c.

4-stain-] Stain, if correct, must mean eclipse or cast in the shade; a sense the word is often found to bear in old literature; but stay, as suggested by Boswell, is more accordant with the context, and may easily have been misprinted stain.

The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak,
Your reconciler! Wars 'twixt you twain would be
As if the world should cleave, and that slain men
Should solder up the rift.

ANT. When it appears to you where this begins,
Turn your displeasure that way; for our faults
Can never be so equal, that your love

Can equally move with them. Provide your going;
Choose your own company, and command what cost
Your heart has† mind to.

[Exeunt.

SCENE V.-The same.

Another Room in the same.

Enter ENOBARBUS and EROS, meeting.

ENO. How now, friend Eros!

EROS. There's strange news come, sir.

ENO. What, man?

EROS. Cæsar and Lepidus have made wars upon Pompey.

ENO. This is old: what is the success?a

EROS. Cæsar, 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 poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine.

the

c

ENO. Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more;
And throw between them all the food thou hast,
They'll grind the oned the other.-Where's Antony?
EROS. He's walking in the garden-thus; and spurns
The rush that lies before him; cries, Fool Lepidus!
And threats the throat of that his officer,
That murder'd Pompey.

ENO.

Our great navy's rigg'd. EROS. For Italy and Cæsar. More, Domitius;

My lord desires you presently: my news

I might have told hereafter.

ENO.

"T will be naught:

But let it be.-Bring me to Antony.
EROS. Come, sir.

(*) First folio, You.

[Exeunt.

(†) First folio, he's.

a

- what is the success?] What follows? what is the upshot?
rivality;] Participation, copartnership.

Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps,-] A restoration by Hanmer; the old text having,

Then would thou hadst a paire," &c.

They'll grind the one the other, &c.] Capell supplied, "the one," which had obviously been omitted in the early copies.

SCENE VI.-Rome. A Room in Cæsar's House.

Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, and MECENAS.

CAS. Contemning Rome, he has done all this, and more; In Alexandria-here's the manner of 't,I' the market-place, on a tribunal silver'd, Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold Were publicly enthron'd: at the feet, sat Cæsarion, whom they call my father's son, And all the unlawful issue that their lust Since then hath made between them. He gave the stablishment of Egypt; made her Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,

Absolute queen.

MEC.

Unto her

This in the public eye?

CES. I' the common show-place, where they exercise.
His sons he there proclaim'd the kings† of kings:
Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia,

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assign'd
Syria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia. She

In the habiliments of the goddess Isis (1)

That day appear'd; and oft before gave audience,
As 't is reported, so.

MEC.

Let Rome be thus inform'd.

AGR. Who, queasy with his insolence already,

Will their good thoughts call from him.

CAS. The people know it; and have now receiv'd His accusations.

AGR.

Who does he accuse?

CES. 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.

AGR.

Sir, this should be answer❜d.

CES. "Tis done already, and the messenger gone.

I have told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel;

That he his high authority abus'd,

And did deserve his change; for what I have conquer'd,

I 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.

CES. Nor must not, then, be yielded to in this.

(*) Old text, hither; corrected by Capell.

(†) Old text, King.

Enter OCTAVIA, with her Train.

OCTA. Hail, Cæsar, and my lord! hail, most dear Cæsar!
CES. That ever I should call thee, cast-away!

OCTA. You have not call'd me so, nor have you cause.
CES. Why have you stol'n upon us thus? You come not
Like Cæsar's sister: the wife of Antony

Should have an army for an usher, and
The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere she did appear; the trees by the way
Should have borne men; and expectation fainted,
Longing for what it had not: nay, the dust
Should have ascended to the roof of heaven,
Rais'd by your populous troops: but you are come
A market-maid to Rome; and have prevented
The ostentation of our love, which, left unshown,
Is often left unlov'd:a we should have met you
By sea and land; supplying every stage
With an augmented greeting.

ОСТА.

Good my lord,

To come thus was I not constrain'd, but did it
On my free-will. My lord, Mark Antony,
Hearing that you prepar'd for war, acquainted
My grieved ear withal; whereon, I begg'd
His pardon for return. (2)

CAS.
Being an obstruct 'tween his lust and him.

Which soon he granted,

b

OCTA. Do not say so, my lord.

CES.

I have eyes upon him,

And his affairs come to me on the wind.

Where is he now?

ОСТА.

My lord, in Athens.

CES. No, my most wronged sister; Cleopatra

Hath nodded him to her. He hath given his empire

Up to a whore; who now are levying

The kings o' the earth for war: he hath assembled
Bocchus, the king of Libya; Archelaus,

Of Cappadocia; Philadelphos, king

Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas;
King Malchus of Arabia; king of Pont;
Herod of Jewry; Mithridates, king
Of Comagene; Polemon and Amyntas,

which, left unshown,

Is often left unlov'd:-]

With more likelihood we should read,—

"Is often left unpriz'd."

Unlov'd is a very problematical expression here, and appears to have been partly formed by the compositor from the word love in the preceding line.

b Being an obstruct, &c.] The old copies read,-"an abstract." For the correction we are indebted to Warburton.

The kings of Mede and Lycaonia,
With a more larger list of sceptres.

ОСТА.
Ay me, most wretched,
That have my heart parted betwixt two friends,
That do afflict each other!

Welcome hither:

CES.
Your letters did withhold our breaking forth;
Till we perceived, both how you were wrong'd,"
And we in negligent danger. Cheer your heart:
Be you not troubled with the time, which drives
O'er your content these strong necessities;
But let determin'd things to destiny

Hold unbewail'd their way. Welcome to Rome!
Nothing more dear to me. You are abus'd
Beyond the mark of thought: and the high gods,
To do you justice, make them ministers

Of us and those that love you. Best of comfort;
And ever welcome to us!

CES. Most certain. Sister, welcome: pray you,

Be ever known to patience. My dear'st sister!

[Exeunt.

SCENE VII.-Antony's Camp near the Promontory of Actium.

Enter CLEOPATRA and ENOBARBUS.

CLEO. I will be even with thee, doubt it not.

ENO. But, why, why, why?

CLEO. Thou hast forspoke my being in these wars;

And say'st, it is not fit.

ENO.

Well, is it, is it?

CLEO. If not denounc'd against us,d why should not we Be there in person?

ENO. [Aside.]

Well, I could reply:

(*) First folio, makes his; corrected by Capell.

Till we perceived, both how you were wrong'd,
And we, &c.]

Capell's emendation of the old text,—“how you were wrong led," &c., and the origir, manifestly, of that proposed by Mr. Collier's annotator,-"how you were wronged.” -regiment-] Directorship, rule, command.

-forspoke-] Prejudiced, spoken against, forbidden.

d If not denounc'd against us,-] This may mean, as Malone expounds it, "If there be no particular denunciation against me," &c.; but, as more emphatic, Shakespeare perhaps wrote,

"If not, denounc't against us why," &c.