SCENE VI.

Rome. A Room in Cæfar's Houfe.

Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, and MECENAS.

CES. Contemning Rome, he has done all this:
And more;

In Alexandria, here's the manner of it,-
I' the market-place, on a tribunal filver'd,
Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold
Were publickly enthron'd: at the feet, fat
Cæfarion, whom they call my father's fon;
And all the unlawful iffue, that their luft
Since then hath made between them. Unto her
He the 'stablishment of Egypt; made her
Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,

gave

"I' the market-place,] So, in the old tranflation of Plutarch. For he affembled all the people in the fhow place, where younge men doe exercise them felues, and there vpon a high tribunall filuered, he fet two chayres of gold, the one for him felfe, and the other for Cleopatra, and lower chaires for his children: then he openly published before the affembly, that firft of all he did eftablish Cleopatra queene of Egypt, of Cyprvs, of Lydia, and of the lower Syria, and at that time alfo, Cæfarion king of the fame realmes. This Cæfarion was fuppofed to be the fonne of Julius Cæfar, who had left Cleopatra great with child. Secondly, he called the fonnes he had by her, the kings of kings, and gaue Alexander for his portion, Armenia, Media, and Parthia, when he had conquered the country: and vnto Ptolemy for his portion, Phenicia, Syria, and Cilicia." STEEVENS.

For Lydia, Mr. Upton, from Plutarch, has reftored Lybia. JOHNSON. In the tranflation from the French of Amyot, by Tho. North,

Abfolute queen.

MEC.

This in the publick eye?

CES. I' the common fhow-place, where they ex

ercife.

8

His fons he there proclaim'd, The kings of kings:
Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia,`

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he affign'd
Syria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia: She
In the habiliments of the goddess Ifis
That day appear'd; and oft before
As 'tis reported, fo.

MEC. Inform'd.

gave

Let Rome be thus

audience

AGR. Who, queafy with his infolence.

Already, will their good thoughts call from him.

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

in folio, 1597,* will be feen at once the origin of this mistake.First of all he did eftablish Cleopatra queen of Egypt, of Cyprus, of Lydia, and the lower Syria." FARMER.

The prefent reading is right,-for in page 545, where Cæfar is recounting the feveral kings whom Antony had affembled, he gives the kingdom of Lybia to Bocchus. M. MASON.

8

be there. ] The old copy has-hither. The correc tion was made by Mr. Steevens. MALONE.

9 the goddess Ifis-] So, in the old translation of Plutarch: "Now for Cleopatra, fhe did not onely weare at that time (but at all other times els when he came abroad) the apparell of the goddeffe Ifis, and fo gaue audience vnto all her fubjects, as a new Ifis." STEEVENS.

* I find the character of this work pretty early delineated:

"'Twas Greek at firft, that Greek was Latin made,
"That Latin French, that French to English straid:
"Thus 'twixt one Plutarch there's more difference,
"Than i' th' fame Englishman return'd from France."

FARMIR.

AGR.

Whom does he accufe?

CAS. Cæfar: and that, having in Sicily

Sextus Pompeius fpoil'd, we had not rated him
His part o' the ifle: then does he fay, he lent me
Some shipping unreftor'd: laftly, he frets,
That Lepidus of the triumvirate

Should be depos'd; and, being, that we detain
All his revenue.

AGR.

Sir, this fhould be anfwer'd.

CAS. 'Tis done already, and the meffenger 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.

CAS. Nor must not then be yielded to in this.

Enter OCTAVIA.

OCTA. Hail, Cæfar, and my lord! hail, most dear Cæfar!

CAS. That ever I fhould call thee, caft-away! OCTA. You have not call'd me fo, nor have you caufe.

CAS. Why have you ftol'n upon us thus? You

come not

Like Cæfar's fifter: The wife of Antony
Should have an army for an usher, and
The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere fhe 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 afcended to the roof of heaven,
Rais'd by your populous troops: But you are come
A market-maid to Rome; and have prevented
The oftent of our love, which, left unshown
Is often left unlov'd: we should have met you
By fea, and land; fupplying every stage
With an augmented greeting.

Good my lord,

Остл.
To come thus was I not conftrain'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.

CES.
Being an obftruct 'tween his luft and him.*

Which foon he granted,

OCTA. Do not fay fo, my lord.

The oftent of our love,] Old copy-oftentation. But the metre, and our author's repeated ufe of the former word in The Merchant of Venice: " -Such fair oftents of love," fufficiently authorize the flight change I have made. Oftent occurs alfo in King Henry V : "Giving full trophy, fignal, and oftent-. STEEVENS.

a Which foon be granted,

Being an obftruct 'tween his luft and him.] [Old copy-abfract] Antony very foon comply'd to let Octavia go at her request, fays Cæfar; and why? Because she was an abftract between his inordinate paffion and him; this is abfurd. We muft read:

Being an obftru&t 'tween his luft and him.

i. e. his wife being an obstruction, a bar to the prosecution of his wanton pleasures with Cleopatra. WARBURTON.

I am by no means certain that this change was neceffary. Mr. Henley pronounces it to be " needlefs and that it ought to be rejected, as perverting the fenfe." One of the meanings of abstracted is-feparated, disjoined; and therefore our poet, with his ufual licenfe, might have used it for a disjunctive. I believe there is no fuch fubftantive as obftruct: Befides we fay, an obstruction to a thing, but not between one thing and another.

As Mr. Malone, however, is contented with Dr. Warburton's reading, I have left it in our text. STEEVENS.

And his affairs come to me on the wind.

Where is he now ?

Ости. !...

My lord, in Athens.*

CES. No, my moft wronged fifter; 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 affembled

Bocchus, the king of Lybia; 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 Amintas,
The kings of Mede, and Lycaonia, with a
More larger list of scepters.

Оста.

Ah me, most wretched,

My lord, in Athens.] Some words, neceffary to the metre, being here omitted, Sir Thomas Hanmer reads:

My lord, he is in Athens.

But I rather conceive the omiffion to have been in the former hemiftich, which might originally have ftood thus:

Where is he, 'pray you, now?

Octa.

3 who now are levying-] That is, which two perfons now are levying, &c. MALONE.

4 The kings o' the earth for war:] Mr. Upton remarks, that there are fome errors in this enumeration of the auxiliary kings: but it is probable that the author did not much wish to be accurate. JOHNSON.

Of Lycaonia; and the king of Mede." And this obviates all impropriety. STEEVENS.