Not Cæsar's valour hath o'erthrown Antony,
But Antony's hath triumph'd on itself.
CLEO. So it should be, that none but Antony
Should conquer Antony; but woe 't is so!

ANT. I am dying,-Egypt,-dying; only
I here impórtune death a while, until
Of many thousand kisses the poor last
I lay upon thy lips.-

CLEO.

I dare not, dear,
(Dear my lord, pardon,) I dare not,
Lest I be taken: not the imperious show
Of the full-fortun'd Cæsar ever shall

Be brooch'd with me; if knife, drugs, serpents, have

Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe:
Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes
And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour
Demuring upon me.-But come, come, Antony,-
Help me, my women,-
,—we must draw thee up ;-
Assist, good friends.

ANT.

O, quick, or I am gone! CLEO. Here's sport, indeed!-How heavy weighs my lord!

Our strength is all gone into heaviness;
That makes the weight. Had I great Juno's

That the false housewife, Fortune," break her wheel,

Provok'd by my offence. ANT.

One word, sweet queen: Of Cæsar seek your honour, with your safety.-O!

CLEO. They do not go together.

ANT.

Gentle, hear me ; None about Cæsar trust but Proculeius. CLEO. My resolution and my hands I'll trust; None about Cæsar.

ANT. The miserable change now at my end, Lament nor sorrow at; but please your thoughts, In feeding them with those my former fortunes Wherein I liv'd, the greatest prince o' the world, The noblest; and do now not basely die, Not cowardly put off my helmet to My countryman,-a Roman by a Roman Valiantly vanquish'd. (3) Now, my spirit is going;I can no more.CLEO. Noblest of men, woo 't die? Hast thou no care of me? shall I abide In this dull world, which in thy absence is No better than a sty?-O, see, my women, [ANTONY dies. The crown o' the earth doth melt!- My lord!O, wither'd is the garland of the war! The soldier's pole is fall'n: young boys and girls Are level now with men; the odds is gone, And there is nothing left remarkable Beneath the visiting moon.

CHAR.

[Faints.

O, quietness, lady!

CHAR. Peace, peace, Iras!

[commanded

CLEO. No more, but e'en * a woman, and 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? [Charmian! What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, My noble girls!-Ah, women, women! look, Our lamp is spent, it's out!-Good sirs, take heart:[noble, We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's 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.

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

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,

64 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 Wailing-women."

DER.
I am call'd 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!
CES. The breaking of so great a thing should
make

tell him, that he mocks us By-"

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

A moiety of the world.

ᎠᎬᎡ.

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.
Look you sad, friends?
The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.

AGR.*
And strange it is
That nature must compel us to lament

Our most persisted deeds.

MEC.

His taints and honours

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

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! [Exit. CES. Come hither, Proculeius. Go, and say, We purpose her no shame: give her what

comforts

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. Cæsar, I shall.

Cæs. Gallus, go you along.

To second Proculeius? AGR., MEC.

[Exit. [Exit GALLUS. Where's Dolabella,

Dolabella!

CES. Let him alone, for I remember 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;

(*) Old text, leave. Corrected by Southern.

In the old copies we have,

and never palates more the dung," &c.

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

579

PP 2

And bids thee study on what fair demands

Thou mean'st to have him grant thee. CLEO.

What's thy name?

Antony

PRO. My name is Proculeius.
CLEO.

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.

Pray you, tell him

CLEO.
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 d 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.

[Drawing a dagger. Hold, worthy lady, hold! [Seizes and disarms her,

Do not yourself such wrong, who are in this

Reliev'd, but not betray'd.

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,

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 pyramids my gibbet,
And hang me up in chains!

PRO.

You do extend

a 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.

b If idle talk will once be accessary, -] We adopt here Hanmer's substitution "accessary" 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."

for the queen,-] The second folio reads, "as for "