SCENE IV. Athens. A Room in Antony's House.

Enter ANTONY and OCTAVIA.

Ant. Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that,— That were excusable, that, and thousands more Of semblable import,—but he hath waged

New wars 'gainst Pompey; made his will, and read it
To public ear;

Spoke scantly of me; when perforce he could not
But pay me terms of honor, cold and sickly

He vented them; most narrow measure lent me.
When the best hint was given him, he not took't,
Or did it from his teeth.1

Oct.
O my good lord,
Believe not all; or, if you must believe,

Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady,

If this division chance, ne'er stood between,

Praying for both parts; the good gods will mock me presently,

When I shall pray, O, bless my lord and husband!
Undo that prayer, by crying out as loud,

O, bless my brother! Husband win, win brother,
Prays, and destroys the prayer; no midway
"Twixt these extremes at all.

Ant.

Gentle Octavia,

Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks
Best to preserve it. If I lose mine honor,

I lose myself; better I were not yours,

Than yours so branchless. But, as you requested, Yourself shall go between us. The mean time, lady, I'll raise the preparation of a war

Shall stain your brother. Make your soonest haste; So your desires are yours.

1 i. e. to appearance only, not seriously. Thus Dryden, in his Wild Gallant::-"I am confident she is only angry from the teeth outward."

2 Mr. Boswell suggests that, perhaps, we should read, "Shall stay your brother." To stain is not here used for to shame or disgrace, as Johnson supposed; but for to eclipse, extinguish, throw into the shade, to put out; from the old French esteindre.

Oct. Thanks to my lord.

The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak,
Your reconciler! Wars 'twixt you twain would be
As if the world should cleave, and that slain men
Should solder up the rift.

Ant. When it appears to you where this begins,
Turn your displeasure that way; for our faults
Can never be so equal, that your love

Can equally move with them. Provide your going;
Choose your own company, and command what cost
Your heart has mind to.

[Exeunt.

SCENE V. The same.

Another Room in the same.

Enter ENOBARBUS and EROS, meeting.

Eno. How now, friend Eros?

Eros. There's strange news come, sir.

Eno. What, man?

Eros. Cæsar and Lepidus have made wars upon Pompey.

Eno. This is old; what is the success?

Eros. Cæsar, having made use of him in the wars 'gainst Pompey, presently denied him rivality;1 would not let him partake in the glory of the action; and not resting here, accuses him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey; upon his own appeal,2 seizes him. So the poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine. Eno. Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more; 3

And throw between them all the food thou hast,
They'll grind the one the other. Where's Antony?
Eros. He's walking in the garden-thus; and spurns
The rush that lies before him; cries, Fool, Lepidus!
And threats the throat of that his officer,
That murdered Pompey.

1 i. e. equal rank.

2 Appeal here means accusation; Cæsar's accusation.

3 The old copy reads would instead of world, and omits one the in the third line of this speech.

Eno.

Our great navy's rigged.

Eros. For Italy and Cæsar. More, Domitius; My lord desires you presently: my news

I might have told hereafter.

Eno.

"Twill be naught;

[Exeunt.

But let it be.-Bring me to Antony.

Eros. Come, sir.

SCENE VI. Rome.
Rome. A Room in Cæsar's House.

Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, and MECENAS.

Cæs. Contemning Rome, he has done all this; and

more.

In Alexandria,-here's the manner of it,-
I'the market-place, on a tribunal silvered,1
Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold
Were publicly enthroned. At the feet, sat
Cæsarion, whom they call my father's son;
And all the unlawful issue, that their lust
Since then hath made between them. Unto her
He gave the 'stablishment of Egypt; made her
Of Lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,

Absolute queen.

Mec.

This in the public eye?

Cæs. I'the common show-place, where they exercise. His sons he there proclaimed, The kings of kings;

Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia,

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assigned
Syria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia. She

In the habiliments of the goddess Isis

That day appeared; and oft before gave audience,
As 'tis reported, so.

Mec. Informed.

Let Rome be thus

Agr. Who, queasy with his insolence

Already, will their good thoughts call from him.

1 This is closely copied from the old translation of Plutarch.

Cas. The people know it; and have now received His accusations.

Agr.

Whom does he accuse?

Cæs. Cæsar; and that, having in Sicily

Sextus Pompeius spoiled, we had not rated him
His part o'the isle: then does he say, he lent me
Some shipping unrestored; lastly, he frets
That Lepidus of the triumvirate

Should be deposed; and, being, that we detain
All his revenue.

Agr.

Sir, this should be answered.

Cæs. 'Tis done already, and the messenger gone. I have told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel; That he his high authority abused,

And did deserve his change: for what I have conquered, grant him part; but then, in his Armenia,

I

And other of his conquered kingdoms, I

Demand the like.

Mec.

He'll never yield to that.

Cæs. Nor must not then be yielded to in this.

Enter OCTAVIA.

Oct. Hail, Cæsar, and my lord! hail, most dear
Cæsar!

Cæs. That ever I should call thee, cast-away!
Oct. You have not called me so, nor have you cause.

Cæs. Why have you stolen upon us thus? You

come not

Like Cæsar's sister. The wife of Antony

Should have an army for an usher, and
The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere she did appear. The trees by the way,
Should have borne men; and expectation fainted,
Longing for what it had not. Nay, the dust
Should have ascended to the roof of heaven,
Raised by your populous troops. But you are come
A market-maid to Rome; and have prevented
The ostentation of our love, which, left unshown,
Is often left unloved. We should have met you

By sea and land; supplying every stage
With an augmented greeting.

Good my lord,

Oct.
To come thus was I not constrained, but did it
On my free will. My lord, Mark Antony,
Hearing that you prepared for war, acquainted
My grieved ear withal; whereon, I begged
His pardon for return.

Cæs.

Being an obstruct' 'tween his lust and him.
Oct. Do not say so, my lord.

Cæs.

Which soon he granted,

I have eyes upon him,

And his affairs come to me on the wind.

Where is he now ?

Oct.

My lord, in Athens.

Cæs. No, my most wronged sister; Cleopatra Hath nodded him to her. He hath given his empire Up to a whore; who now are levying 2

The kings o' the earth for war.

He hath assembled

Bocchus, the king of Libya; Archelaus,
Of Cappadocia; Philadelphos, king

Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas;
King Malchus of Arabia; king of Pont;
Herod of Jewry; Mithridates, king
Of Comagene; Polemon and Amintas,
The kings of Mede, and Lycaonia, with a
More larger list of sceptres.

Oct.

Ah me, most wretched,

That have my heart parted betwixt two friends,

That do afflict each other!

Cæs.

Welcome hither.

Your letters did withhold our breaking forth;

⚫ 1 The old copy reads, abstract. The alteration was made by Warburton.

2 That is, which two persons are now levying, &c. Upton observes, that there are some errors in the enumeration of the auxiliary kings: but it is probable that the Poet did not care to be scrupulously accurate. He proposed to read :—

-Poleman and Amintus,

Of Lycaonia, and the king of Mede,"

which obviates all impropriety.