The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Part 41

DIOMEDES. His death's upon him, but not dead.

Look out o' th' other side your monument; His guard have brought him thither.

Enter, below, ANTONY, borne by the guard

CLEOPATRA. O sun, Burn the great sphere thou mov'st in! Darkling stand The varying sh.o.r.e o' th' world. O Antony, Antony, Antony! Help, Charmian; help, Iras, help; Help, friends below! Let's draw him hither.

ANTONY. Peace!

Not Caesar's valour hath o'erthrown Antony, But Antony's hath triumph'd on itself.

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

ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying; only I here importune death awhile, until Of many thousand kisses the poor last I lay upon thy lips.

CLEOPATRA. I dare not, dear.

Dear my lord, pardon! I dare not, Lest I be taken. Not th' imperious show Of the full-fortun'd Caesar 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; a.s.sist, good friends.

ANTONY. O, quick, or I am gone.

CLEOPATRA. Here's sport indeed! How heavy weighs my lord!

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, [They heave ANTONY aloft to CLEOPATRA]

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!

ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying.

Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.

CLEOPATRA. No, let me speak; and let me rail so high That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel, Provok'd by my offence.

ANTONY. One word, sweet queen: Of Caesar seek your honour, with your safety. O!

CLEOPATRA. They do not go together.

ANTONY. Gentle, hear me: None about Caesar trust but Proculeius.

CLEOPATRA. My resolution and my hands I'll trust; None about Caesar ANTONY. The miserable change now at my end Lament nor sorrow at; but please your thoughts In feeding them with those my former fortunes Wherein I liv'd the greatest prince o' th' world, The n.o.blest; and do now not basely die, Not cowardly put off my helmet to My countryman- a Roman by a Roman Valiantly vanquish'd. Now my spirit is going I can no more.

CLEOPATRA. n.o.blest of men, woo't die?

Hast thou no care of me? Shall I abide In this dull world, which in thy absence is No better than a sty? O, see, my women, [Antony dies]

The crown o' th' earth doth melt. My lord!

O, wither'd is the garland of the war, The soldier's pole is fall'n! Young boys and girls Are level now with men. The odds is gone, And there is nothing left remarkable Beneath the visiting moon. [Swoons]

CHARMIAN. O, quietness, lady!

IRAS. She's dead too, our sovereign.

CHARMIAN. Lady!

IRAS. Madam!

CHARMIAN. O madam, madam, madam!

IRAS. Royal Egypt, Empress!

CHARMIAN. Peace, peace, Iras!

CLEOPATRA. No more but e'en a woman, and commanded By such poor pa.s.sion as the maid that milks And does the meanest chares. It were for me To throw my sceptre at the injurious G.o.ds; To tell them that this world did equal theirs Till they had stol'n our jewel. All's but nought; 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, Charmian!

My n.o.ble girls! Ah, women, women, look, Our lamp is spent, it's out! Good sirs, take heart.

We'll bury him; and then, what's brave, what's n.o.ble, Let's do it after the high Roman fashion, And make death proud to take us. Come, away; This case of that huge spirit now is cold.

Ah, women, women! Come; we have no friend But resolution and the briefest end.

Exeunt; those above hearing off ANTONY'S body

ACT_5|SC_1 ACT V. SCENE I.

Alexandria. CAESAR'S camp

Enter CAESAR, AGRIPPA, DOLABELLA, MAECENAS, GALLUS, PROCULEIUS, and others, his Council of War

CAESAR. Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield; Being so frustrate, tell him he mocks The pauses that he makes.

DOLABELLA. Caesar, I shall. Exit

Enter DERCETAS With the sword of ANTONY

CAESAR. Wherefore is that? And what art thou that dar'st Appear thus to us?

DERCETAS. I am call'd Dercetas; Mark Antony I serv'd, who best was worthy Best to be serv'd. Whilst he stood up and spoke, 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 Caesar; if thou pleasest not, I yield thee up my life.

CAESAR. What is't thou say'st?

DERCETAS. I say, O Caesar, Antony is dead.

CAESAR. The breaking of so great a thing should make A greater crack. The round world Should have shook 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.

DERCETAS. He is dead, Caesar, Not by a public 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 n.o.ble blood.

CAESAR. Look you sad, friends?

The G.o.ds rebuke me, but it is tidings To wash the eyes of kings.

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

MAECENAS. His taints and honours Wag'd equal with him.

AGRIPPA. A rarer spirit never Did steer humanity. But you G.o.ds will give us Some faults to make us men. Caesar is touch'd.

MAECENAS. When such a s.p.a.cious mirror's set before him, He needs must see himself.

CAESAR. O Antony, 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 compet.i.tor 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- that our stars, Unreconciliable, should divide Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends-

Enter an EGYPTIAN

But I will tell you at some meeter season.

The business of this man looks out of him; We'll hear him what he says. Whence are you?

EGYPTIAN. A poor Egyptian, yet the Queen, my mistress, Confin'd in all she has, her monument, Of thy intents desires instruction, That she preparedly may frame herself To th' way she's forc'd to.

CAESAR. Bid her have good heart.

She soon shall know of us, by some of ours, How honourable and how kindly we Determine for her; for Caesar cannot learn To be ungentle.

EGYPTIAN. So the G.o.ds preserve thee! Exit CAESAR. Come hither, Proculeius. Go and say We purpose her no shame. Give her what comforts The quality of her pa.s.sion shall require, Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke She do defeat us; for her life in Rome Would be eternal in our triumph. Go, And with your speediest bring us what she says, And how you find her.

PROCULEIUS. Caesar, I shall. Exit CAESAR. Gallus, go you along. Exit GALLUS Where's Dolabella, to second Proculeius?

ALL. Dolabella!

CAESAR. Let him alone, for I remember now How he's employ'd; 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. Exeunt

ACT_5|SC_2 SCENE II.

Alexandria. The monument

Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, IRAS, and MARDIAN

CLEOPATRA. My desolation does begin to make A better life. 'Tis paltry to be Caesar: 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 dug, The beggar's nurse and Caesar's.

Enter, to the gates of the monument, PROCULEIUS, GALLUS, and soldiers

PROCULEIUS. Caesar sends greetings to the Queen of Egypt, And bids thee study on what fair demands Thou mean'st to have him grant thee.

CLEOPATRA. What's thy name?

PROCULEIUS. My name is Proculeius.

CLEOPATRA. 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.

PROCULEIUS. Be of good cheer; Y'are fall'n 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 dependency, and you shall find A conqueror that will pray in aid for kindness Where he for grace is kneel'd to.

CLEOPATRA. Pray you tell him I am his fortune's va.s.sal and I send him The greatness he has got. I hourly learn A doctrine of obedience, and would gladly Look him i' th' face.

PROCULEIUS. This I'll report, dear lady.

Have comfort, for I know your plight is pitied Of him that caus'd it.