IRAS. She is dead too, our sovereign!

CHAR.

IRAS.

CHAR. O madam, madam, madam!—

IRAS.

Empress!—

CHAR. Peace, peace, Iras!

Lady!

Madam!

Royal Egypt!

CLEO. No more, but e'en* a woman, and commanded
By such poor passion as the maid that milks,

And does the meanest chares.-It were for me
To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods;
To tell them that this world did equal theirs,
Till they had stol'n our jewel.-All's but nought;
Patience is sottish, and impatience does
Become a dog that's mad: then is it sin

To rush into the secret house of death,

Ere death dare come to us?-How do you, women?
What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian!
My noble girls!-Ah, women, women! look,

Our lamp is spent, it's out!-Good sirs,a take heart:-
We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's noble,
Let's do it after the high Roman fashion,

And make Death proud to take us. Come, away :—
This case of that huge spirit now is cold.—

Ah, women, women!-come; we have no friend

But resolution, and the briefest end.

[Exeunt; those above bearing off ANTONY's body.

ACT V.

SCENE I.-Cæsar's Camp before Alexandria.

Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, DOLABELLA, MECENAS, Gallus,
PROCULEIUS, and others.

CAS. Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield;

(*) First folio, in; corrected by Capell.

66

Good sirs, take heart:-]Mr. Dyce has shown that this form of addressing women was not unusual; and, consequently, that the modern stage direction here, [To the Guard below," is improper. Thus, as quoted by Mr. Dyce from Beaumont and Fletcher's play of "The Coxcomb," Act IV. Sc. 3, the mother, speaking to Viola, Nan, and Madge, says,

"Sirs, to your tasks, and shew this little novice
How to bestir herself," &c.

Again, as quoted by Mr. Dyce from the same authors' "A King and No King," Act III.
Sc. 1,-

"Spa. I do beseech you, madam, send away
Your other women, and receive from me

A few sad words, which, set against your joys,
May make 'em shine the more.

Pan. Sirs, leave me all.

[Exeunt Waiting-women."

Enter DERCETAS, with the sword of ANTONY.

CES. Wherefore is that? and what art thou that dar'st
Appear thus to us?

DER.
I am called Dercetas ;
Mark Antony I serv'd, who best was worthy
Best to be serv'd: whilst he stood up and spoke,
He was my master; and I wore my life
To spend upon his haters. If thou please
To take me to thee, as I was to him
I'll be to Cæsar; if thou pleasest not,
I yield thee up my life.

CES.

What is 't thou say'st?

DER. I say, O, Cæsar, Antony is dead!

CAS. The breaking of so great a thing should make

A greater crack: the round world'

Should have shook lions into civil streets,

And citizens to their dens :-the death of Antony
Is not a single doom; in the name lay

A moiety of the world.

DER.

He is dead, Cæsar,

Not by a public minister of justice,

Nor by a hired knife; but that self hand,

Which writ his honour in the acts it did,

Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it,
Splitted the heart.-This is his sword;

I robb'd his wound of it; behold it, stain'd

With his most noble blood.

CES.

The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings

To wash the eyes of kings.

AGR.*

Look you sad, friends?

And strange it is

His taints and honours

That nature must compel us to lament

Our most-persisted deeds.

MEC.

Wag'd equal with him.

[Exit.

AGR.*

A rarer spirit never

(*) First folio, Dol.

Being so frustrate, tell him, he mocks.

The pauses that he makes.]

Malone reads, "- tell him, he mocks us by -" &c. Steevens proposed, frustrated, or to read,

66

tell him that he mocks -" &c.

Mr. Collier's annotator,

tell him, that he mocks us

By-"

and Mr. Sidney Walker would adhere to the old text, but, as was not unsual with the poet's contemporaries, pronounce "frustrate" trisyllabically.

11

the round world-] Something has evidently been lost here.

Did steer humanity: but you, gods, will give us
Some faults to make us men.-Cæsar is touch'd.

MEC. When such a spacious mirror's set before him,
He needs must see himself.

1

I have follow'd thee to this;-but we do lance
Diseases in our bodies: I must perforce
Have shown to thee such a declining day,
Or look on thine; we could not stall together
In the whole world. But yet let me lament,
With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts,
That thou, my brother, my competitor
In top of all design, my mate in empire,
Friend and companion in the front of war,
The arm of mine own body, and the heart

Where mine his thoughts did kindle, that our stars,
Unreconciliable, should divide

Our equalness to this.-Hear me, good friends,—

Enter a Messenger.

But I will tell you at some meeter season;

The business of this man looks out of him,

We'll hear him what he says.-Whence are you?

MESS. A poor Egyptian yet. The queen my mistress, Confin'd in all she has, her monument,

Of thy intents desires instruction,

That she preparedly may frame herself
To the way she's forc'd to.

CES.

Bid her have good heart;

She soon shall know of us, by some of ours,
How honourable and how kindly we

Determine for her: for Cæsar cannot live*
To be ungentle.

MESS.

So the gods preserve thee!

CAS. Come hither, Proculeius. Go, and say, purpose her no shame give her what comforts

We

The quality of her passion shall require,

Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke
She do defeat us; for her life in Rome
Would be eternal in our triumph: go,

And with your speediest bring us what she says,
And how you find of her.

PRO.

CES. Gallus, go you along.

To second Proculeius?

AGR., MEC.

[Exit

Cæsar, I shall.

[Exit.

[Exit GALLUS.

Where's Dolabella,

Dolabella!

CAS. Let him alone, for I remember now

(*) Old text, leave; corrected by Southern.

-yet.] That is, now.

How he's employed: he shall in time be ready.
Go with me to my tent; where you shall see
How hardly I was drawn into this war;
How calm and gentle I proceeded still

In all my writings. Go with me, and see
What I can show in this.

[Exeunt.

SCENE II.-Alexandria. A Room in the Monument.

Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, and IRAS.

CLEO. My desolation does begin to make
A better life. 'Tis paltry to be Cæsar;
Not being Fortune, he's but Fortune's knave,
A minister of her will: and it is great
To do that thing that ends all other deeds;
Which shackles accidents, and bolts up change;
Which sleeps, and never palates more the dug,"
The beggar's nurse and Cæsar's.

Enter, to the gates of the Monument, PROCULEIUS, GALLUS,
and Soldiers.

PRO. Cæsar sends greeting to the queen of Egypt,

And bids thee study on what fair demands.

Thou mean'st to have him grant thee.

CLEO.

PRO. My name is Proculeius.
CLEO.

What's thy name?

Antony

Did tell me of you, bade me trust you; but

I do not greatly care to be deceiv'd,

That have no use for trusting. If your master
Would have a queen his beggar, you must tell him
That majesty, to keep decorum, must

No less beg than a kingdom: if he please
To give me conquer'd Egypt for my son,
He gives me so much of mine own, as I
Will kneel to him with thanks.

PRO.
Be of good cheer;
You're fall'n into a princely hand, fear nothing:
Make your full reference freely to my lord,
Who is so full of grace, that it flows over
On all that need. Let me report to him
Your sweet dependency, and you shall find
A conqueror that will pray' in aid for kindness,
Where he for grace is kneel'd to.

an obvious misprint, though not wanting defenders, which was corrected by Warburton.

CLEO.

Pray you, tell him

I am his fortune's vassal, and I send him
The greatness he has got. I hourly learn
A doctrine of obedience; and would gladly
Look him i' the face.

PRO.

This I'll report, dear lady. Have comfort, for I know your plight is pitied

Of him that caus'd it.

GAL. You see how easily she may be surpris'd;

[Here PROCULEIUS and two of the Guard ascend the Monument by a ladder placed against a window, and, having descended, come behind CLEOPATRA. Some of the Guard unbar and open the gates.

Guard her till Cæsar come. [TO PROCULEIUS and the Guard. Exit. IRAS. Royal queen!

CHAR. O, Cleopatra! thou art taken, queen!

CLEO. Quick, quick, good hands.
PRO.

Hold, worthy lady, hold!

Do not yourself such wrong, who are in this
Reliev'd, but not betray'd.

CLEO.

[Drawing a dagger.

[Seizes and disarms her.

What, of death too,

Cleopatra,

That rids our dogs of languish?

PRO.

Do not abuse my master's bounty by
The undoing of yourself: let the world see
His nobleness well acted, which your death
Will never let come forth.

CLEO.
Where art thou, Death
Come hither, come! come, come, and take a queen
Worth many babes and beggars!

PRO.

O, temperance, lady!
CLEO. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, sir;
If idle talk will once be accessary,

b

I'll not sleep neither: this mortal house I'll ruin,
Do Cæsar what he can. Know, sir, that I

Will not wait pinion'd at your master's court;
Nor once be chástis'd with the sober eye

Of dull Octavia. Shall they hoist me up,

And show me to the shouting varletry

Of censuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Egypt

Be gentle grave unto me! Rather on Nilus' mud

Lay me stark nak'd, and let the water-flies

Blow me into abhorring! Rather make

My country's high pyramides my gibbet,
And hang me up in chains!

GAL.] The prefix in the first folio is "Pro.." in the second "Char." Malone first assigned the speech to Gallus, and added the stage direction which follows.

acces

b If idle talk will once be accessary,-] We adopt here Hanmer's substitution sary" in place of necessary, the reading of the old copies. The sense is plainly,-"I'll neither eat nor drink, and, if idle talk will, for the nonce, be assistant. I'll not sleep."