Yet cannot hold this vifible fhape, my knave.
I made thefe wars for Egypt; and the queen,The courage of a woman, lefs noble mind
Whofe heart, I thought, I had, for the had mine;
Which, whilft it was mine, had annex'd unto 't
A million more, now loft,-the, Eros, has
Pack'd cards with Cæfar, and falfe play'd my glory
Unto an enemy's triumph -

With hips made cities, condemn myself, to lack

Nay, weep not, gentle Eros; there is left us
Ourselves to end ourselves.-O, thy vile lady!
Enter Mardian.

She has robb'd me of my fword.

Mar. No, Antony 5

Than fhe, which, by her death, our Cæfar tells,
I am conqueror of myself. Thou art fworn, Eros,
That, when the exigent should come, (which now
| Is come, indeed) when I fhould fee behind me
The inevitable profecution of

Difgrace and horror, that, on my command,
Thou then would'ft kill me: do 't, the time is comez
Thou ftrik'ft not me, 'tis Cæfar thou defeat'ft.
Put colour in thy cheek.

Eras. The gods withhold me!

My mistress lov'd thee, and her fortunes mingled Shall I do that, which all the Parthian darts, With thine entirely.

fides

Ant. Unarm, Eros; the long day's task is done,
And we must fleep:-That thou departit hence fafe,
Does pay thy labour richly; Go.-Off, pluck off,
[Exit Mardian.
The feven-fold fhield of Ajax cannot keep
The battery from my heart. O, cleave, my
Heart, once be ftronger than thy continent 2,
Crack thy frail cafe Apace, Eros, apace.—
No more a foldier :-Bruifed pieces, go;
You have been nobly borne.-From me a while.
[Exit Eros.

I will o'ertake thee, Cleopatra, and
Weep for my pardon. So it mutt be, for now
All length is torture :-Since the torch is out,
Lie down, and itray no further: Now all labour
Marrs what it does; yea, very force entangles
Itfelf with strength: Seal then 3, and all is done.--
Eros!-I come, my queen :-Eros !-Stay for me:
Where fouls do ccuch on flowers, we'll hand in hand,
And with our sprightly port make the gholts gaze;
Dido and her Æneas fhall want troops,
And all the haunt be ours.-Come, Eros, Fros!
Re-enter Eros.

Eres. What would my lord?

Ant. Since Cleopatra dy'd,

I have liv'd in fuch difhonour, that the gods
Deteft my bafenefs. I, that with my fword
Quarter'd the world, and o'er green Neptune's back |

Though enemy, loft aim, and could not?

Ant. When I did make thee free, fwor'ft thou not
To do this when I bade thee? Do it at once;
Or thy precedent fervices are all
But accidents unpurpos'd. Draw, and come.
Eros. Turn from me then that noble countenance,
Wherein the worthip 6 of the whole world lies.
Ant. Lo thee.—
[Turning from bim.

Fras. My fword is drawn.

Ant. Then let it do at once
The thing why thou haft drawn it.

Eros, My dear master,

My captain, and my emperor! let me fay,
Before I ftrike this bloody ftroke, farewel.
Ant. 'Tis faid, man ;-and farewel.
Eros. Farewel, great chief. Shall I ftrike now?
Ant. Now, Eros.

Eros. Why, there then :-Thus do I escape the
forrow
[Eros kills bimfelf.
[Dies.

Of Antony's death.

Ant, Thrice nobler than myfelf!
Thou teacheft me, O valiant Eros, what

I should, and thou could'ft not. My queen and Eros
Have, by their brave inftruction, got upon me
A nobleness in record: But I will be

A bridegroom in my death, and run into❜t
As to a lover's bed. Come then; and, Eros, ".
Thy mafter dies thy fcholar; to do thus
[Falling on bis fword.

1 Shakspeare has here (Dr. Warburton fays), as ufual, taken his metaphor from a low trivial fubje&; but has ennobled it with much art, by so contriving that the principal term in the fubject from whence the metaphor was taken, fhould belong to, and fuit the dignity of, the fubject to which the metaphor is transferred; thereby providing at once for the integrity of the figure, and the noblenefs of the thought and this by the word triumph, which either fignifies Octavius's conquest, or what we now call, contractedly, the trump at cards, then called the triumph or the triumphing fort. 2 i. e. the thing that contains thee. 3 Dr. Johnson thinks we should read, "Seel then, and all is done" i. e. Ciofe thine eyes for ever, and be quiet. To feel hawks is to clofe their eyes. folded in each other. 5 Corrigible for corrected, and afterwards penetrative for penetrating. is the dignity, the authority.

4 Arms

6

Worfhip

learn'd

[phefying fear
She had a pro-

Dio. Lock'd in her monument.
Of what hath come to pafs: for when the faw
(Which never shall be found) you did fufpect
She had difpos'd with Cæfar, and that your rage
Would not be purg'd, fhe fent you word fhe was
dead;

But, fearing fince how it might work, hath fent
Me to proclaim the truth; and I am come,
I dread, too late.

Ant. Too late, good Diomed :-Call my guard,
I pr'ythee.
[guard, what, ho!
Dio. What, ho! the emperor's guard! The
Come, your lord calls.

Enter a Guard.

Ant. Bear me, good friends, where Cleopatra
bides;

'Tis the last service that I fhall command you.
I Guard. Woe, woe, are we, fir, you may not

live to wear

All your true followers out.
All. Moft heavy day!

[have

Dear, dear, my lord, pardon; I dare not,
Left I be taken: not the imperious thew
Of the full-fortun'd Cæfar ever shall
Be brooch'd with me; if knife, drugs, ferpents,
Edge, fting, or operation, I am safe.
Your wife Octavia, with her modeft eyes,
And still conclufion 5, fhall acquire no honour
Demurring upon me. But come, come, Antony,—
Help me, my women,we mult draw thee up ;-
Affift, good friends.

Ant. O, quick, or I am gone.

[my lord! Cico. Here's fport, indeed!-How heavy weighs Our ftrength is all gone into heaviness, That makes the weight: Had I great Juno's power, The ftrong-wing'd Mercury fhould fetch thee up, And fet thee by Jove's fide. Yet come a little,Withers were ever fools ;-O, come, come, come ;-[fate [They draw Antony up to Cleopatra. And welcome, welcome! die, where thou haft

Ant. Nay, good my fellows, do not pleafe tharp
To grace it with your forrows: 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.

liv'd: Quicken with kiffing 7;-had my lips that power, Thus would I wear them out.

3 She

4 1. c.

To difpofe may here fignify to make terms, to fettle matters. 2 i. e. without light. defires the fun to burn his own orb, the vehicle of light, and then the earth will be dark. adorn'd. A brooch was an ornament formerly worn in the bat. Brooches in the North are buckles fet with flones, fuch as thofe with which thirt-bofoms and handkerchiefs are clafped. lent coolness of refolution. 6 Dr. Johnfon fuppofes the meaning of thefe ftrange words to be, "Here's trifling! You do not work in carnefi,” 7 That is, Revive by my kifs.

si. e.

Cleo. No, let me fpeak; and let me rail fo high, That the falfe hufwife Fortune break her wheel, Provok'd by my offence..

Ant. One word, sweet queen:

Of Cæfar feek your honour, with your fafety.-O!-
Cleo. They do not go together.
Ant. Gentle, hear me :---

None about Cæfar truft, but Proculeius.

Cleo. My refolution, and my hands, I'll truft,
None about Cæfar.

Ant. The miferable change now at my end,
Lament nor forrow at: but please your thoughts
In feeding them with those my former fortunes
Wherein 1 liv'd, the greateft prince o' the world,
The nobleft and do now not bafely die,
Nor cowardly; put off my helmet to
My countryman, a Roman, by a Roman
Valiantly vanquifh'd. Now, my spirit is going;
I can no more.

[Antony dies.

Cleo. Nobleft of men, woo't die?
Haft thou no care of me? fhall I abide
In this dull world, which in thy abfence is
No better than a ftye ?-O, fee, my women,
The crown of the earth doth melt :-My lord!
O, wither'd is the garland of the war,
The foldier's pole is fallen ; young boys, and girls,
Are level now with men: the odds is gone,
And there is nothing left remarkable
Beneath the vifiting moon.

Char. O, quietnefs, lady!

[She faints.

Char. O madam, madam, madam,-
Iras. Royal Egypt ! emprefs!

Char. Peace, peace, Iras.

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

By fuch poor paffion as the maid that milks,
And does the meanest chares.-It were for me
To throw my fcepter at the injurious gods;
To tell them, that this world did equal theirs,
'Till they had ftolen our jewel. All's but naught
Patience is fottith; and impatience does
Become a dog that's mad: Then is it fin,
To rush into the fecret house of death,

Ere death dare come to us ?-How do you, women?
What, what? good cheer! Why, how now, Char-

mian ?

My noble girls!—Ah, women, women! look,
Our lamp is fpent, it's out :- -Good firs, take

heart :-
[noble,
We'll bury him: and then, what's brave, what's
Let's do it after the high Roman fashion,
And make death proud to take us. Come, away
This cafe of that huge spirit now is cold.
Ah, women, women! come; we have ho friend
But refolution, and the briefest end.

[Exeunt, bearing off Antony's body.

SCENE I

Cæfar's Camp.

ACT V.

Enter Cefar, Agrippa, Dolabella, Mecænas, lus, Proculeius, and train.

Caf.

GR

Caf. The breaking of fo great a thing should make A greater crack: The round world

Should have fhook lions into civil streets,

Gal-And citizens to their dens 4:—The death of Antony

O to him, Dolabella, bid him yield; Being fo fruftrated, tell him, he mocks The paufes that he makes 3.

Dol. Cæfar, I fhall.
[Exit Dolabella.
Enter Dercetas, with the fword of Antony.
Caf. Wherefore is that? and what art thou,
Appear thus to us?
[that dar'ft

Der. I am call'd Dercetas ;
Mark Antony I ferv'd, who beft was worthy
Beft to be ferv'd: whilft he ftood up, and fpoke,
He was my master; and I wore my life,
To spend upon his haters: If thou please

To take me to thee, as I was to him

I'll be to Cæfar; if thou pleasest not,

I yield thee up my life.

Caef. What is 't thou fay'st?

Der. I fay, O Cæfar, Antony is dead.

Is not a fingle doom; in the name lay
A moiety of the world.

Der. He is dead, Cæfar;

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 fword,

I robb'd his wound of it; behold it ftain'd
With his moft noble blood.

Cef. Look you fad, friends?

The gods rebuke me, but it is a tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.

Agr. And ftrange it is,

That nature must compel us to lament
Our most perfifted deeds.

Mec. His taints and honours

He at whom the foldiers pointed, as at a pageant held high for observation. work. Hence the modern term chare-woman. 2 i. c. tafk3 i. e. he trifles with us. jectures, that a line is loft here. 4 Dr. Johnfon con Mr. Malone, however, believes that only two words are wanting,. and propofes to read, "The round world should have shook, Thrown raging liens into civil fireets, And citizens to their dens.” 5 But for if not.

Waged

Cleo. Pray you, tell him

I am his fortune's vaffal, and I fend him
The greatness he has got 6. 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 pity'd
Of him that caus'd it.
Dola-[fide.] You fee how eafily fhe may be furpriz'd;
[Here Gallus and guard afcend the mo-
nument, and enter behind.
Guard her, 'till Cæfar come.
Iras. Royal queen!

i. e. his taints and honours were an equal match; were oppofed to each other in juft proportions, like the counterparts of a wager. 2 That is, fhould have made us, in our equality of fortune, difagree to a pitch like this, that one of us mult die. 3 i. e. the fervant of fortune. 4 i. e. Voluntary death produces a ftate which has no longer need of the grofs and terrene luftenance, in the use of which Cæfar and the beggar are on a level. 5 Praying in aid is a law term, ufed for a petition made in a court of juftice for the calling in of help from another that hath an interest in the caule in queftion. • I allow him to be my conqueror.

Pro. Hold, worthy lady, hold:
Do not yourself fuch wrong, who are in this
Reliev'd, but not betray'd,

[languifh Cles. What, of death too, that rids our dogs of Pro. Cleopatra,

Dol. Moft fovereign creature,

Cleo. His legs beftrid the ocean; his rear'd arm Crefted the world: his voice was property'd As all the tuned spheres, and that to friends; But when he meant to quail and shake the orb, He was as rattling thunder. For his bounty, There was no winter in't; an autumn 'twas, That grew the more by reaping: His delights Were dolphin-like; they fhew'd his back above [queen The element they liv'd in: In his livery [were Come hither, come! come, come, and take a Walk'd crowns, and crownets; realms and islands Worth many babes and beggars!

Do not abufe our master's bounty, by
The undoing of yourfelf: let the world fee
His nobleness well acted, which your death
Will never let come forth.

Cleo. Where art thou, death?

Pre. O, temperance, lady!

Cien. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, fir;
If idle talk will once be neceffary',
I'll not fleep neither: This mortal houfe I'll ruin,
Do Cæfar what he can. Know, fir, that I
Will not wait pinion'd at your master's court;
Nor once be chaftis'd with the fober eye
Of dull Octavia, Shall they hoift me up,
And thew me to the fhouting varletry
Of cenfuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Ægypt
Be gentle grave unto me! rather on Nilus' mud
Lay me ftark 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!

Pro. You do extend

Thefe thoughts of horror further than you shall
Find caufe in Cæfar.

Enter Dolabella.

Dol. Proculeius,

What thou haft done thy mafter Cæfar knows,
And he hath fent for thee: as for the queen,
I'll take her to my guard.

Pro. So, Dolabella,

It shall content me best: be gentle to her.-
To Cæfar I will speak what you fhall please,

If you'll employ me to him,

Cleo. Say, I would die.

As plates 3 dropt from his pocket.
Dol. Cleopatra,-

[man

Cleo. Think you there was, or might be, fuch a As this I dream'd of?

Dol. Gentle madam, no.

Cleo. You lye, up to the hearing of the gods.
But, if there be, or ever were one fuch,
It's paft the fize of dreaming: Nature wants ftuff
To vie ftrange forms with fancy; yet, to imagine
An Antony, were nature's piece 'gainst fancy,
Condemning fhadows quite 4.

Dol. Hear me, good madam:

Your lofs is as yourfeif, great; and you bear it
As anfwering to the weight: 'Would I might never
O'ertake purfu'd fuccefs, but I do feel,

By the rebound of yours, a grief that shoots
My very heart at root,

Cleo. I thank you, fir.

[To Cleopatra.

Dol. It is the emperor, madam.

[Exit Proculeius.

I

pray you, rife; rife, Ægypt.

Dol. Moft noble emprefs, you have heard of me?
Cleo. I cannot tell.

Dol. Affuredly, you know me.

Cles. No matter, fir, what I have heard or known.

[dreams;

Caf. Arife, you fhall not kneel:

Cleo. Sir, the gods

[Cleo, kneels.

Will have it thus; my mafter and my lord
I must obey.

Caf. Take to you no hard thoughts:
The record of what injuries you did uș,
Though written in our flefh, we fhall remember
As things but done by chance.

Cleo. Sole fir o' the world,

I cannot project 5 mine own cause fo well
To make it clear; but do confefs, I have
Been laden with like frailties, which before
Have often fham'd our fex.

Cf. Cleopatra, know,

We will extenuate rather than enforce :
If you apply yourself to our intents,

1 Once may mean fometimes. The meaning of Cleopatra feems to be this: If idle talking be fome-, times neceffary to the prolongation of life, why I will not fleep, for fear of talking idly in my fleep.' 3 Plates probably mean, fluer money. 4 The word piece is a term appropriated to works of art. Here Nature and Fancy produce each their pie e, and the piece done by Nature had the preference. Antony was in reality past the fize of dreaming; he was more by Nature than Fancy could prefent in fleep. 5 To project à caufe is to reprefent a caule; to project is well, is to plan or contrive a scheme of defence.