Cleo. Why is my lord enrag'd against his love? Ant. Vanish; or I shall give thee thy deserving, And blemish Cæsar's triumph. Let him take thee. And hoist thee up to the shouting Plebeians: Follow his chariot, like the greatest spot Of all thy sex; most monster-like, be shown For poor'st diminutives, to dolts; and let Patient Octavia plough thy visage up

thou'rt gone,

If it be well to live: But better 'twere

Thou fell'st into my fury, for one death
Might have prevented many. — Eros, ho!
The shirt of Nessus is upon me: Teach me,
Alcides, thou mine ancestor, thy rage:

Let me lodge Lichas on the horns o'the moon ;
And with those hands, that grasp'd the heaviest
club,

Subdue my worthiest self. The witch shall die; To the Roman boy she hath sold me, and I fall Under this plot : she dies for't. Eros, ho! [Erit.

I will o'ertake thee, Cleopatra, and
Weep for my pardon. So it must be, for now
All length is torture: - Since the torch is out,
Lie down, and stray no further: Now all labour
Mars what it does; yea, very force entangles
Itself with strength: Seal then, and all is done.
Eros! I come, my queen :
Eros! Stay for

me:

-

Where souls do couch on flowers, we'll hand in

hand,

And with our sprightly port make the ghosts gaze:
Dido and her Æneas shall want troops,
And all the haunt be ours. — Come, Eros, Eros!
Re-enter EROS.

Eros. What would my lord?
Ant.

Since Cleopatra died,
I have liv'd in such dishonour, that the gods
Detest my baseness. I, that with my sword
Quarter'd the world, and o'er green Neptune's back
With ships made cities, condemn myself, to lack
The courage of a woman; less noble mind
Than she, which, by her death, our Cæsar tells,

'Tis the last service that I shall command you.

1 Guard. Woe are we, sir, you may not live to

To grace it with your sorrows: bid that welcome Which comes to punish us, and we punish it Seeming to bear it lightly. Take me up:

I have led you oft; carry me now, good friends,

And have my thanks for all.

[Exeunt, bearing ANTONY.

SCENE XIII.. The same. A Monument.

Enter above, CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, and IRAS.

Cleo. O Charmian, I will never go from hence. Char. Be comforted, dear madam. Cleo. No, I will not All strange and terrible events are welcome, But comforts we despise; our size of sorrow, Proportion'd to our cause, must be as great

Enter DIOMEDES.

As that which makes it. How now? is he dead?
Dio. His death's upon him, but not dead.
Look out o'the other side your monument,
His guard have brought him thither.

Cleo.

Enter ANTONY, borne by the Guard.

O thou sun, Burn the great sphere thou mov'st in ! — darkling stand

The varying shore o'the world! O Antony !

Cleo. So it should be, that none but Antony Should conquer Antony; but woe 'tis 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.

O, quick, or I am gone.

Our strength is all gone into heaviness,
That makes the weight: Had I great Juno's power,
The strong-wing'd Mercury should fetch thee up,
And set thee by Jove's side. Yet come a little,
Wishers were ever fools;-O, come, come, come;
[They draw ANTONY up.
And welcome, welcome! die, where thou hast
liv'd:

Quicken with kissing; had my lips that power,
Thus would I wear them out.
All.

A heavy sight!
Ant. I am dying, Egypt, dying:
Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.

Cleo. No, let me speak; and let me rail so high,

That the false housewife Fortune break her wheel, Provok'd by my offence.

Ant.

One word, sweet queen: Of Caesar 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,

Char. Peace, peace, Iras.

Cleo. No more, but e'en a woman; and com

manded

By such poor passion as the maid that milks,
And does the meanest chares. It were for me
To throw my scepter at the injurious gods;
To tell them, that this world did equal theirs,
Till they had stolen our jewel. All's but naught;
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?
What, what? good cheer! Why, how now, Char

mian?

Lions into civil streets,

And citizens to their dens : :

The death of Antony Is not a single doom; in the name lay A moiety of the world. Der.

He is dead, Cæsar;
Not by a publick 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.

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

And strange it is, That nature must compel us to lament Our most persisted deeds.

His taints and honours

Mec.

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, tha

our

Hear me, good friends,But I will tell you at some meeter season;

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 dung,
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;
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
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 are fallen 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 dependancy and you shall find
A conqueror, that will pray in aid for kindness,
Where he for grace is kneel'd to.

Clo. [Within.]

Pray you, tell him 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 surpriz'd; [Here PROCULEIUS, and two of the Guard, ascend the Monument by a ladder placed against a 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 GALLUS. 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.

Pro.

O, temperance, lady! Clea. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, sir; If idle talk will once be necessary,

I'll not sleep neither: This mortal house I'll ruir
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 to me! rather on Nilus' mud
Lay me stark naked, and let the water-flies
Blow me into abhorring! rather make
My country's high pyramides my gibbet,
And hang me up in chains!

The element they liv'd in: In his livery
Walk'd crowns, and crownets; realms and islands

were

As plates dropp'd from his pocket. Dol.

Cleopatra,

Cleo. Think you, there was, or might be, such a

man

As this I dream'a of?

Gentle madam, no.

Dol.
Cleo. You lie, up to the hearing of the gods.
But, if there be, or ever were one such,

It's past the size of dreaming: Nature wants stuff
To vie strange forms with fancy; yet, to imagine
An Antony, were nature's piece 'gainst fancy,
Condemning shadows quite.

Though he be honourable, — Cleo. He'll lead me then in triumph?

Dol.

I know it.

Within. Make way there,

Madam, he will;

Cæsar.

Enter CESAR, GALLUS, PROCULEIUS, MECENAS SELEUCUS, and Attendants.

Cas. Of Egypt?

Which is the queen

Dol.

'Tis the emperor, madam.

[CLEOPATRA neds

We will extenuate rather than enforce :

If you apply yourself to our intents,
(Which towards you are most gentle,) you shall find
A benefit in this change; but if you seek
To lay on me a cruelty, by taking
Antony's course, you shall bereave yourself
Of my good purposes, and put your children
To that destruction which I'll guard them from,
If thereon you rely. I'll take my leave.

Cleo. And may, through all the world: 'tis yours; and we

Your 'scutcheons, and your signs of conquest, shall

Hang in what place you please. Here, my good

lord.