And, with your speediest, bring us what she says, Pro. Cæsar, I shall. [Exit PROCULEIUS. To second Proculeius? Agr. Mec. Dolabella! [Exit GALLUS. Cæs. 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. SCENE II. [Exeunt. Alexandria. A Room in the Monument. Enter CLEOPATRA1, 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 knave2, 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 dung; The beggar's nurse and Cæsar's 3. 1 The poet here has attempted to exhibit at once the outside and the inside of a building. It would be difficult to represent this scene on the stage in any other way than making Cleopatra and her attendants speak all their speeches, till the queen i seized, within the monument. 2 Servant. 3 Voluntary death (says Cleopatra) is an act which bolts up change; produces a state 'Which sleeps, and never palates more the dung, The beggar's nurse and Cæsar's.' Which has no longer need of the gross and terrene sustenance, 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. [Within.] Pro. My name is Proculeius. Cleo. [Within.] 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 Pro. 4 Be of good cheer; You are fallen into a princely hand, fear nothing: Make full reference freely to my lord, your Who is so full of grace, that it flows over On all that need: Let me report to him in the use of which Cæsar and the beggar are on a level. It has been already said in this play, that our dungy earth Feeds man as beast.' 'The Ethiopian king (in Herodotus, b. iii.) upon hearing a description of the nature of wheat, replied, that he was not at all surprised if men, who eat nothing but dung, did not attain a longer life.' 4 Mason would change as I, to and I; but I have shown in another place that as was used by Shakspeare and his contemporaries for that. 5 Praying in aid is a term used for a petition made in a court of justice for the calling in of help from another that hath an interest in the cause in question. Y Y 2 Cleo. [Within.] Pray you, tell him Pro. This I'll report, dear lady. Gal. You see how easily she may be surpris'd; [TO PROCULEIUS and the Guard. Exit GALLUS. 6 By these words Cleopatra means—' In yielding to him I only give him that honour which he himself achieved.' A kindred idea seems to occur in The Tempest: ‹ Then as my gift, and thy own acquisition Worthily purchased, take thou my daughter.' 7 There is no stage direction in the old copy, that which is now inserted is formed on the old translation of Plutarch:‹ Proculeius came to the gates that were very thicke and strong, and surely barred; but yet there were some cranews through the which her voyce might be heard, and so they without understood that Cleopatra demaunded the kingdome of Egypt for her sonnes: and that Proculeius aunswered her, that she should be of good cheere, and not be affrayed to refer all unto Cæsar. After he had viewed the place very well, he came and reported her auns were unto Cæsar: who immediately sent Gallus to speak once againe with her, and bad him purposely hold her with talk, whilst Proculeius did set up a ladder against that high windowe, by the which Antonius was tressed up, and came down into the monument with two of his men, hard by the gate, where Cleopatra stood to hear what Gallus said unto her. One of her women shrieked out, 0 - poore Cleopatra, thou art taken. Then when she sawe Proculeius behind her, as she came from the gate, she thought to have stabbed herself with a short dagger she wore of purpose by her -side. But Proculeius came sodainly upon her, and taking her by both the hands, sayd unto her, Cleopatra, first thou shalt doe thy Iras. Royal queen! Char. O Cleopatra! thou art taken, queen!- Pro. [Drawing a Dagger. Hold, worthy lady, hold: [Seizes and disarms her. What, of death too Cleopatra, Do not yourself such wrong, who are in this Cleo. That rids our dogs of languish? Pro. Do not abuse my master's bounty, by Cleo. Pro. O, temperance, lady! Cleo. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, sir (If idle talk will once be necessary3); I'll not sleep neither: This mortal house I'll ruin, selfe greate wrong, and secondly unto Cæsar, to deprive him of the occasion and opportunitie openlie to shew his vauntage and mercie, and to give his enemies cause to accuse the most courteous and noble prince that ever was, and to appeach him as though he were a cruel and mercilesse man that were not to be trusted. So even as he spake the word he tooke her dagger from her, and shooke her clothes for fear of any poison hid aboute her.' The speech given to Gallus here is given by mistake to Proculeius in the old copy. 8 It should be remembered that once is used as once for all by Shakspeare. I take the meaning of this line, which is evidently parenthetical, to be, Once for all, if idle talk be necessary about my purposes.' Johnson has shown that will be is often used in conversation without relation to the future. I have placed this line in a parenthesis, by which the sense of the passage is now rendered sufficiently clear, without having recourse to supplementary words, as Malone and Ritson proposed. Do Cæsar what he can. Know, sir, that I Pro. You do extend These thoughts of horror further than you shall Dol. Enter DOLABella. Proculeius, What thou hast done thy master Cæsar knows, And he hath sent for thee: for the queen, I'll take her to my guard. Pro. So, Dolabella, If you'll employ me to him. Cleo. [TO CLEOPATRA. Say, I would die. [Exeunt PROCULEIUS, and Soldiers. Dol. Most noble empress, you have heard of me? Cleo. I cannot tell. Dol. Assuredly, you know me. Cleo. No matter, sir, what I have heard, or known. You laugh, when boys, or women, tell their dreams; Is't not your trick? Dol. I understand not, madam. quadrisyllable by 9 Pyramides is so written and used as a Sandys and by Drayton. |