Cæs. Enter EUPHROnius. Approach, and speak. Eup. Such as I am, I come from Antony: I was of late as petty to his ends, As is the morn-dew on the myrtle leaf Be it so; Declare thine office. Eup. Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and Requires to live in Egypt: which not granted, He lessens his requests; and to thee sues To let him breathe between the heavens and earth, A private man in Athens: This for him. Next Cleopatra does confess thy greatness; Submits her to thy might; and of thee craves The circle of the Ptolemies for her heirs, Now hazarded to thy grace. Cæs. For Antony, I have no ears to his request. The queen Of audience, nor desire, shall fail: so she From Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend*, Or take his life there: This if she perform, She shall not sue unheard. So to them both. Eup. Fortune pursue thee! Cæs. Bring him through the bands. [Exit EUPHRonius. To try thy eloquence, now 'tis time: Despatch; From Antony win Cleopatra: promise, [To THYREUS. And in our name, what she requires; add more, From thine invention, offers: women are not, In their best fortunes, strong; but want will perjure 2 His grand sea' appears to mean the sea from which the dew-drop is exhaled. The poet may have considered the sea as the source of dews as well as rain. His we find frequently used for its. 3 The diadem, the crown. A Friend here means paramour. See Cymbeline, Acti. Sc. 5. The ne'er-touch'd vestal5: Try thy cunning, Thyreus; Make thine own edict for thy pains, which we Will answer as a law. Thyr. Cas. Observe how Antony becomes his flaw®; Cæsar, I go. action speaks Thyr. Cæsar, I shall. [Exeunt. In every power that moves. SCENE XI. Alexandria. A Room in the Palace. Enter CLEOPATRA, ENOBARBUS, CHARMIAN, and IRAS. Cleo. What shall we do, Enobarbus? Eno. Think, and die1. Cleo. Is Antony, or we, in fault for this? Eno. Antony only, that would make his will Lord of his reason. What though you fled From that great face of war, whose several ranges Frighted each other? why should he follow? The itch of his affection should not then Have nick'd his captainship; at such a point, 5 O opportunity! thy guilt is great, Thou mak'st the vestal violate her oath." Rape of Lucrece. 6 Note how Antony conforms himself to this breach in his fortune.' 1 To think, or take thought, was anciently synonymous with to grieve. Thus in Julius Cæsar, Act ii. Sc. 1: all that he can do Is to himself take thought, and die for Cæsar.' So Viola pined in thought." And in The Beggar's Bush of Beaumont and Fletcher: "Can I not think away myself and die?' 2 i. e. set the mark of folly upon it. So in The Comedy of Errors: and the while His man with scissars nicks him like a fool.' • When half to half the world oppos'd, he being Cleo. Pr'ythee, peace. Enter ANTONY, with EUPHROnius. Ant. Is this his answer? Eup. Ay, my lord. Ant. The queen shall then have courtesy, so she Will yield us up. Eup. He says so, Ant. Let her know it. To the boy Cæsar send this grizled head, Cleo. That head, my lord? Ant. To him again; Tell him, he wears the rose Of youth upon him; from which the world should note Something particular: his coin, ships, legions May be a coward's; whose ministers would prevail Under the service of a child, as soon As i'the command of Cæsar: I dare him therefore And answer me declin'd1, sword against sword, [Exeunt ANTONY and EUPHRONIUS. 3 i. e. he being the object to which this great contention is limited, or by which it is bounded. So in Hamlet, Act i. Sc. 1: the king That was and is the question of these wars.' + His gay comparisons may mean those circumstances of splendour and power in which he, when compared with me, so much exceeds me. I require of Cæsar not to depend on that superiority which the comparison of our different fortunes may exhibit, but to answer me man to man in this decline of my age and power.' Eno. Yes, like enough, high-battled Cæsar will Unstate his happiness, and be stag'd to the show", Against a sworder.-I see, men's judgments are A parcel of their fortunes; and things outward To draw the inward quality after them, To suffer all alike. That he should dream, Knowing all measures, the full Cæsar will Answer his emptiness!-Cæsar, thou hast subdu'd His judgment too. Enter an Attendant. Att. A messenger from Cæsar. Cleo. What, no more ceremony?-See, my men! WO Against the blown rose may they stop their nose, That kneel'd unto the buds.-Admit him, sir. Eno. Mine honesty, and I, begin to square?. [Aside. The loyalty, well held to fools, does make Thyr. So, haply, are they friends to Antony. 5 i. e. be exhibited, like conflicting gladiators, to the public gaze. 6 i. e. are of a piece with them. 7 To square is to quarrel. See vol. i. p. 236, note 8. Enobarbus is deliberating upon desertion, and finding it is more prudent to forsake a fool, and more reputable to be faithful to him, makes no positive conclusion. Or needs not us. If Cæsar please, our master Thyr. So.Thus then, thou most renown'd; Cæsar entreats, Not to consider in what case thou stand'st, Further than he is Cæsar 8. Go on: Right royal. Cleo. Cleo. O! Thyr. The scars upon your honour, therefore, he Does pity, as constrain'd blemishes, Not as deserv'd. Cleo. He is a god, and knows What is most right: Mine honour was not yielded, Eno. To be sure of that, [Aside. Thy dearest quit thee 10. Thyr. [Exit ENOBARBUS. Shall I say to Cæsar What you require of him? for he partly begs To be desir'd to give. It much would please him 8 Thus the second folio. The first folio has," than he is Cæsar's,' which brings obscurity with it. We have a clear meaning in the present reading: Cæsar entreats, that at the same time you consider your desperate fortunes, you would consider he is Cæsar: that is, generous and forgiving, able and willing to restore them.' I think with Malone that the previous speech, which is given to Enobarbus, was intended for Cleopatra. 9 Shakspeare probably wrote embrac'd. 10 So in The Tempest: A rotten carcass of a boat- Instinctively had quit it.' N |