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Enter CÆSAR, ANTONY, and DOLABELLA.
Ant. The tumult still encreases.
Casar. Oh, my fortune!

My lustful folly rather! But 'tis well,
And worthily I'm made a bondman's prey,
That (after all my glorious victories,

In which I passed so many seas of dangers,
When all the elements conspired against me)
Would yield up the dominion of this head
To any mortal power; so blind and stupid,
To trust these base Egyptians, that proclaimed
Their perjuries in noble Pompey's death,
And yet that could not warn me!

Dol. Be still Cæsar,

Who ever loved to exercise his fate,
Where danger looked most dreadful.
Ant. If you fall,

Fall not alone: let the king and his sister
Be buried in your ruins: On my life,

They both are guilty! Reason may assure you,
Photinus nor Achillas durst attempt you,

Or shake one dart, or sword, aimed at your safety,

Without their warrant.

Casar. For the young king, I know not How he may be misled; but for his sister, Unequalled Cleopatra, 'twere a kind

Of blasphemy to doubt her: Ugly treason Durst never dwell in such a glorious building; Nor can so clear and great a spirit as her's is Admit of falsehood.

Ant. Let us seize on him then; And leave her to her fortune.

Dol. If he have power,

Use it to your security, and let

His honesty acquit him; if he be false,
It is too great an honour he should die
By your victorious hand.

Cæsar. He comes, and I Shall do as I find cause.

Enter PTOLOMY, ACHOREUS, and APOLLODO

RUS.

Ptol. Let not great Cæsar
Impute the breach of hospitality

To you my guest, to me! I am contemned,
And my rebellious subjects lift their hands
Against my head; and 'would they aimed no furt
ther,

Provided that I fell a sacrifice

To gain you safety! That this is not feigned,
The boldness of my innocence may confirm you
Had I been privy to their bloody plot,

I now had led them on, and given fair gloss
To their bad cause, by being present with them;
But I, that yet taste of the punishment
In being false to Pompey, will not make
A second fault to Cæsar, uncompelled :
With such as have not yet shook off obedience,
I' yield myself to you, and will take part
In all your dangers.

Casar. This pleads your excuse,
And I receive it.

Achor. If they've any touch
Of justice, or religion, I will use

The authority of our gods, to call them back
From their bad purpose.

Apol. This part of the palace

Is yet defensible; we may make it good 'Till your powers rescue us.

Casar. Cæsar besieged?

Oh, stain to my great actions! 'Twas my custom
An army routed, as my feet had wings,

To be first in the chase; nor walls, nor bulwark
Could guard those, that escaped the battle's fury
From this strong arm; and I to be enclosed!
My heart! my heart! But 'tis necessity,
To which the gods must yield, and I obey,
'Till I redeem it by some glorious way. [Exeunt.

SCENE II.

Enter PHOTINUS, Achillas, SEPTIMIUS, and Soldiers.

Pho. There's no retiring now; we are broke in;

The deed past hope of pardon. If we prosper,
'Twill be stiled lawful, and we shall give laws
To those, that now command us: Stop not at
Or loyalty, or duty; bold ambition

To dare, and power to do, gave the first difference
Between the king and subject. Cæsar's motto,
Aut Cæsar aut nihil, each of us must claim,
And use it as our own.

Achil. The deed is bloody,

If we conclude in Ptolomy's death.

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Had her walls watered with a crimson shower, Drained from a brother's heart; nor was she raised

To this prodigious height, that overlooks
Three full parts of the earth, that pay her tribute,
But by enlarging of her narrow bounds,
By the sack of neighbour cities, not made hers
'Till they were cemented with the blood of those,
That did possess them: Cæsar, Ptolomy,
Now I am steeled, to me are empty names,
Esteemed as Pompey's was.

Pho. Well said, Septimius!

Thou now art right again.

Achil. But what course take we For the princess Cleopatra ?

Pho. Let her live

A while, to make us sport; she shall authorize
Our undertakings to the ignorant people,
As if what we do were by her command:
But, our triumvirate government once confirmed,
She bears her brother company: That's my pro-
vince;

Leave me to work her.

Achil. I will undertake

For Ptolomy.

Sept. Cæsar shall be my task;
And as in Pompey I began a name,
I'll perfect it in Cæsar!

Enter above, CÆSAR, PTOLOMY, ACHOREUS,
APOLLODORUS, ANTONY, and Dolabella.
Pho. 'Tis resolved then;
We'll force our passage.
Achil. See, they do appear,

As they desired a parley.

Pho. I am proud yet

I have brought them to capitulate.

Ptol. Now, Photinus?

Pho. Now, Ptolomy!

Ptol. No addition!

Pho. We are equal,

ODL

Though Cæsar's name were put into the scale, In which our worth is weighed.

Casar. Presumptuous villain!

Upon what grounds hast thou presumed to raise
Thy servile hand against the king? or me,
That have a greater name?

Pho. On those, by which

Thou didst presume to pass the Rubicon
Against the laws of Rome; and, at the name
Of traitor, smile, as thou didst, when Marcellus,
The consul, with the senate's full consent,
Pronounced thee for an enemy to thy country:
Yet thou went'st on, and thy rebellious cause
Was crowned with fair success. Why should we
fear, then?

Think on that, Cæsar!

Cæsar. Oh, the gods! be braved thus? And be compelled to bear this from a slave, That would not brook great Pompey his superior! Achil. Thy glories now have touched the highest point, And must descend.

Pho. Despair, and think we stand The champions of Rome, to wreak her wrongs, Upon whose liberty thou hast set thy foot.

Sept. And that the ghosts of all those noble
Romans,

That by thy sword fell in this civil war,
Expect revenge.

Ant. Darest thou speak, and remember
There was a Pompey?

Pho. There's no hope to 'scape us!

If that, against the odds we have upon you,
You dare come forth and fight, receive the honour
To die like Romans; if ye faint, resolve
To starve like wretches! I disdain to change
Another syllable with you.

Ant. Let us die nobly;

[Exeunt PHO. ACHIL. SEPT And rather fall upon each other's sword, Than come into these villains' hands.

Casar. That fortune,

Which to this hour hath been a friend to Cæsar, Though for a while she cloathe her brow with frowns,

Will smile again upon me: Who will pay her
Or sacrifice, or vows, if she forsake

Her best of works in me? or suffer him,
Whom with a strong hand she hath led triumphant
Through the whole western world, and Rome ac-
knowledged

Her sovereign lord, to end ingloriously
A life admired by all? The threaten'd danger
Must, by a way more horrid, be avoided,
And I will run the hazard. Fire the palace,
And the rich magazines that neighbour it,
In which the wealth of Egypt is contained!
Start not; it shall be so; that while the people
Labour in quenching the ensuing flames,
Like Cæsar, with this handful of my friends,
Through fire, and swords, I force a passage to
My conquering legions. King, if thou darest, fol-

low,

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SCENE III.

Enter SEPTIMIUS.

Sept. I feel my resolution melts again, And that I am not knave alone, but fool, In all my purposes. This devil Photinus Employs me as a property, and, grown useless, Will shake me off again: He told me so, When I killed Pompey; nor can I hope better, When Cæsar is dispatched. Services done For such as only study their own ends, Too great to be rewarded, are returned With deadly hate: I learned this principle In his own school. Yet still he fools me; well; And yet he trusts me: Since I in my nature Was fashioned to be false, wherefore should I, That killed my general, and a Roman, one To whom I owed all nourishments of life, Be true to an Egyptian? To save Cæsar, And turn Photinus' plots on his own head, (As it is in my power) redeem my credit, And live, to lie, and swear again in fashion, Oh, 'twere a master-piece! Ha! curse me! Cæsar? How's he got off?

Enter CESAR, PTOLOMY, ANTONY, DOLABELLA, ACHOReus, ApollodoRUS, and Soldiers.

Casar. The fire has took,

And shews the city like a second Troy ;
The navy too is scorched; the people greedy
To save their wealth and houses, while their
soldiers

Make spoil of all: Only Achillas' troops
Make good their guard; break through them, we
are safe.

I'll lead you like a thunderbolt!

Sept. Stay, Cæsar.

Casar. Who's this? the dog Septimius?
Ant. Cut his throat.

Dol. You barked but now; fawn you so soon?
Sept. Oh, hear me !

What I'll deliver is for Cæsar's safety,
For all your good.

Ant. Good from a mouth like thine,

That never belched but blasphemy and treason,

On festival days!

Sept. I'm an altered man,

Altered indeed; and I will give you cause

To say I am a Roman.

Dol. Rogue, I grant thee.

To me alone, but bound by terrible oaths
Not to discover it, he hath revealed

A dismal vault, whose dreadful mouth does open
A mile beyond the city: In this cave
Lie but two hours concealed.

Ant. If you believe him,

He'll bury us alive.

Dol. I'll fly in th' air first.

Sept. Then in the dead of night, I'll bring you back

Into a private room, where you shall find
Photinus, and Achillas, and the rest
Of their commanders, close at counsel.
Cæsar. Good;

What follows?

Sept. Fall me fairly on their throats: Their heads cut off and shorn, the multitude Will easily disperse.

Casar. Oh, devil! away with him!
Nor true to friend nor enemy? Cæsar scorns
To find his safety, or revenge his wrongs,
So base a way; or owe the means of life.
To such a leprous traitor! I have towered
For victory, like a falcon in the clouds,
Not digged for't, like a mole. Our swords, and
cause,

Make way for us: And that it may appear
We took a noble course, and hate base treason,
Some soldiers, that would merit Cæsar's favour,
Hang him on yonder turret, and then follow
The lane, this sword makes for you.

1 Sold. Here's a belt; Though I die for it, I'll use it. 2 Sold. 'Tis too good

To truss a cur in.

Sept. Save me! here is gold.

1 Sold. If Rome.

[Exit.

Were offered for thy ransom, it could not help thee.

2 Sold. Hang not an arse!

1 Sold. Goad him on with thy sword! Thou dost deserve a worser end; and may All such conclude so, that their friends betray! [Exeunt,

SCENE IV.

Enter severally, Arsinoe, Eros, and CLEO

PATRA.

Ars. We are lost!

Eros. Undone !

Ars. Confusion, fire and swords,

Sept. Trust me, I'll make the passage smooth And fury in the soldiers' face more horrid,

and easy,

For your escape.

Ant. I'll trust the devil sooner,

And make a safer bargain.

Sept. I am trusted

With all Photinus' secrets.

Ant. There's no doubt then,

Thou wilt be false.

Sept. Still to be true to you.
Dol. And very likely.
Casar. Be brief; the means?
Sept. Thus, Cæsar:

Circle us round!

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And with a masculine constancy deride
Fortune's worst malice, as a servant to
My virtues, not a mistress: Then we forsake
The strong fort of ourselves, when we once yield,
Or shrink at her assaults; I'm still myself,
And though disrobed of sovereignty, and ravished
Of ceremonious duty, that attends it:

Nay, grant they had slaved my body, my free mind,

Like to the palm-tree walling fruitful Nile, Shall grow up straighter, and enlarge itself, Spite of the envious weight that loads it with. Think of thy birth, Arsinoe; common burdens Fit common shoulders: Teach the multitude, By suffering nobly what they fear to touch at, The greatness of thy mind does soar a pitch, Their dim eyes, darkned by their narrow souls, Cannot arrive at.

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Enter PHOTINUS.

Eros. Oh, a man in arms!

His weapon drawn too!

Cleo. Though upon the point

Death sat, I'll meet it, and out-dare the danger. Pho. Keep the watch strong; and guard the passage sure,

That leads unto the sea.

Cleo. What sea of rudeness

Breaks in upon us? or what subject's breath
Dare raise a storm, when we command a calm?
Are duty and obedience fled to heaven,
And, in their room, ambition and pride
Sent into Egypt? That face speaks thee Photinus,
A thing, thy mother brought into the world
My brother's and my slave: But thy behaviour,
Opposed to that, an insolent intruder

Upon that sovereignty, thou shouldst bow to!
If in the gulph of base ingratitude,
All loyalty to Ptolomy the king

Be swallowed up, remember who I am,
Whose daughter, and whose sister; or, suppose
That is forgot too, let the name of Cæsar
(Which nations quake at) stop thy desperate mad-

ness

From running headlong on to thy confusion.
Throw from thee quickly those rebellious arms,
And let me read submission in thine eyes;
Thy wrongs to us we will not only pardon,
But be a ready advocate to plead for thee
To Cæsar and my brother.

Pho. Plead my pardon!

To you I bow; but scorn as much to stoop thus
To Ptolomy, to Cæsar, nay the gods,
As to put off the figure of a man,
And change my essence with a sensual beast:
All my designs, my counsels, and dark ends,
Were aimed to purchase you.

Cleo. How durst thou, being

The scorn of baseness, nourish such a thought! Pho. They, that have power, are royal; and those base,

That live at the devotion of another.

What birth gave Ptolomy, or fortune Cæsar,
By engines fashioned in this Protean anvil,
I have made mine; and only stoop at you,
Whom I would still preserve free, to command me.
For Cæsar's frowns, they are below my thoughts;
And, but in these fair eyes I still have read
The story of a supreme monarchy,

To which all hearts, with mine, gladly pay tri bute,

Photinus' name had long since been as great
As Ptolomy's e'er was, or Cæsar's is.
This made me, as a weaker tie, to unloose
The knot of loyalty, that chained my freedom,
And slight the fear, that Cæsar's threats might

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Hymen, tho' blessing a new married pair,
Shall blush to think on, and our certain issue,
The glorious splendor of dread majesty ;
Whose beams shall dazzle Rome, and awe the
world.

My wants in that kind others shall supply,
And I give way to't.

Cleo. Baser than thy birth!

Can there be gods and hear this, and no thunder Ram thee into the earth!

Pho. They are asleep,

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Religious fools shake at. Yet to assure thee,
If Nemesis, that scourges pride and scorn,
Be any thing but a name, she lives in me;
For, by myself (an oath to me more dreadful
Than Styx is to your gods) weak Ptolomy dead,
And Cæsar, both being in my toil, remov❜d,
The poorest rascals that are in my camp
Shall, in my presence, quench their lustful heat
In thee, and young Arsinoe, while I laugh
To hear you howl in vain. I deride those gods,
That you think can protect you!
Cleo. To prevent thee,

In that I am the mistress of my fate,
So hope I of my sister: to confirm it,
I spit at thee, and scorn thee!

Pho. I will tame

That haughty courage, and make it stoop too.
Cleo. Never!

I was born to command, and I will die so.

Enter ACHILLAS, and Soldiers, with the body of PTOLOMY.

Pho. The king dead? This is a fair entrance to Our future happiness.

Ars. Oh, my dear brother!

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Cæsar. Look on your Cæsar! banish fear, my fairest ;

Cleo. Weep not, Arsinoe, (common women do You now are safe!

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But still pursued by us: When, on the sudden, He turned his head, and from his eyes flew terror, Which struck in us no less fear and amazement, Than if we had encounter'd with the lightning, Hurled from Jove's cloudy brow.

Cleo. 'Twas like my Cæsar!

Achil. We fallen back, he made on; and, as our fear

Had parted from us with his dreadful looks,
Again we followed: But, got near the sea,
On which his navy anchored, in one hand
Holding a scroll he had above the waves,
And in the other grasping fast his sword,
As it had been a trident forged by Vulcan
To calm the raging ocean, he made away,
As if he had been Neptune; his friends, like
So many Tritons, followed, their bold shouts

Sce. By Venus, not a kiss

'Till our work be done! The traitors once dispatched,

To it, and we'll cry aim.
Casar. I will be speedy.

[Exeunt CESAR and train. Cleo. Farewell again!-Arsinoe! How now, Eros?

Ever faint-hearted?

Eros. But that I am assured
Your excellency can command the general,
I fear the soldiers, for they look as if
They would be nibbling too.

Cleo. He is all honour;

Nor do I now repent me of my favours,
Nor can I think nature e'er made a woman,
That in her prime deserved him.

Enter CESAR, SCEVA, ANTONY, DOLABELLA, and Soldiers, with the heads.

Ars. He's come back.

Casar. Pursue no further; curb the soldiers"

fury!

See, beauteous mistress, their accursed heads, That did conspire against us.

Sce. Furies plague them!

They had too fair an end, to die like soldiers: Pompey fell by the sword; the cross or halter Should have dispatched them.

Cæsar. Ail's but death, good Sceva; Be therefore satisfied. And now, my dearest, Look upon Cæsar, as he still appeared,

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