Read Antony and Cleopatra Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
CAESAR
Be’t so.
Declare thine office
13
.
AMBASSADOR
Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and
Requires
15
to live in Egypt, which
not granted
,
He lessens his requests, and to thee
sues
16
To let him
breathe
17
between the heavens and earth,
A private man in Athens: this for him.
Next, Cleopatra does confess thy greatness,
Submits her to thy might, and of thee craves
The
circle of the Ptolemies
21
for her heirs,
Now
hazarded to thy grace
22
.
CAESAR
For Antony,
I have no ears to his request. The queen
Of audience nor desire shall fail, so
25
she
From Egypt drive her all-disgracèd
friend
26
Or take his life there. This if she perform,
She shall not sue unheard. So to them both.
AMBASSADOR
Fortune pursue thee!
CAESAR
Bring
30
him through the
bands
.—
[
Exit Ambassador, attended
]
To Thidias
To try thy eloquence now ’tis time.
Dispatch
31
.
From Antony win Cleopatra
32
. Promise,
And
in our name
33
, what she requires:
add more,
From thine invention, offers
.
Women are not
In their best fortunes strong, but want will perjure
The ne’er touched vestal
34
. Try thy
cunning
36
, Thidias:
Make thine own edict for thy pains
37
, which we
Will
answer
38
as a law.
THIDIAS
Caesar, I go.
CAESAR
Observe how Antony
becomes his flaw
40
,
And what thou think’st his
very action speaks
41
In every
power that moves
42
.
THIDIAS
Caesar, I shall.
Exeunt
Location: Alexandria
Enter Cleopatra, Enobarbus, Charmian and Iras
CLEOPATRA
What shall we do, Enobarbus?
ENOBARBUS
Think
2
, and die.
CLEOPATRA
Is Antony or
we
3
in fault for this?
ENOBARBUS
Antony only, that would make his
will
4
Lord of his reason. What though you fled
From that great face of war, whose
several ranges
6
Frighted each other? Why should he follow?
The itch of his
affection
8
should not then
Have
nicked
9
his
captainship
, at such a point,
When half to half the world opposed, he being
The
meerèd question
11
. ’Twas a shame no less
Than was his loss, to
course
12
your
flying
flags
And leave his navy
gazing
13
.
CLEOPATRA
Prithee, peace.
Enter the Ambassador with Antony
ANTONY
Is that his answer?
AMBASSADOR
Ay, my lord.
ANTONY
The queen shall then have courtesy, so she
Will yield us up
17
.
AMBASSADOR
He says so.
ANTONY
Let her know’t.
To the boy Caesar send this grizzled head,
And he will fill thy wishes to the brim
With principalities.
CLEOPATRA
That head, my lord?
ANTONY
To him again. Tell him
he wears the rose
Of youth upon him, from which the world should note
Something particular
25
: his coin, ships, legions,
May be a coward’s, whose
ministers
28
would prevail
Under the service of a child as soon
As i’th’command of Caesar. I dare him therefore
To lay his
gay caparisons
31
apart
And
answer me declined
32
, sword against sword,
Ourselves alone
33
. I’ll write it: follow me.
[
Exeunt Antony and Ambassador
]
ENOBARBUS
Yes, like enough,
high-battled
34
Caesar will
Aside
Unstate his happiness
35
, and be
staged to th’show
Against a
sworder
36
. I see men’s judgements are
A parcel of
37
their fortunes, and
things outward
Do draw the inward quality after them
To suffer all alike
. That he should dream,
Knowing
40
all
measures
, the
full
Caesar will
Answer
41
his emptiness. Caesar, thou hast subdued
His judgement too.
Enter a Servant
SERVANT
A messenger from Caesar.
CLEOPATRA
What, no more ceremony? See, my women,
Against the
blown
45
rose may they stop their nose
That kneeled unto the buds. Admit him, sir.
[
Exit Servant
]
ENOBARBUS
Mine
honesty
47
and I begin to
square
.
Aside
The loyalty well held to fools does make
Our
faith
49
mere folly. Yet
he that can endure
To follow with allegiance a fall’n lord
Does conquer him that did his master conquer,
And earns a place
i’th’story
52
.
Enter Thidias
CLEOPATRA
Caesar’s will?
THIDIAS
Hear it
apart
54
.
CLEOPATRA
None but friends
55
: say boldly.
THIDIAS
So,
haply
56
, are they friends to Antony.
ENOBARBUS
He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has,
Or needs not us
58
. If Caesar please, our master
Will leap to be his friend:
for
59
us, you know,
Whose he is we are, and that is Caesar’s
60
.
THIDIAS
So.
Thus then, thou most renowned: Caesar entreats
Not to consider in what case thou stand’st,
Further than he is Caesar
63
.
CLEOPATRA
Go on:
right royal
65
.
THIDIAS
He knows that you embrace not Antony
As you did love, but as you feared him.
CLEOPATRA
O!
THIDIAS
The scars upon your honour, therefore, he
Does pity as
constrainèd
70
blemishes,
Not as deserved.
CLEOPATRA
He is a god and knows
What is most
right
73
: mine honour was not yielded,
But conquered
merely
74
.
ENOBARBUS
To be sure of that,
Aside
I will ask Antony. Sir, sir, thou art so leaky
That we must leave thee to thy sinking, for
Thy dearest
quit
78
thee.
Exit Enobarbus
THIDIAS
Shall I say to Caesar
What you
require
80
of him? For he partly begs
To be
desired
81
to give. It much would please him
That of his fortunes you should make a staff
To lean upon. But it would warm his spirits
To hear from me you had left Antony
And put yourself under
his shroud,
The universal landlord
85
.
CLEOPATRA
What’s your name?
THIDIAS
My name is Thidias.
CLEOPATRA
Most kind messenger,
Say to great Caesar this
in deputation
90
:
I kiss his conqu’ring hand: tell him I am prompt
To lay my crown at’s feet, and there to kneel:
Tell him from his
all-obeying breath
93
I hear
The
doom
94
of
Egypt
.
THIDIAS
’Tis your noblest course:
Wisdom and fortune combating together,
If that the former dare but what it
97
can,
No chance may shake it. Give me grace to lay
My duty on your hand.
CLEOPATRA
Your Caesar’s
father
100
oft —
Offers him her hand
When he hath
mused of taking kingdoms in
101
—
Bestowed his lips on that unworthy place
As
103
it rained kisses.
Enter Antony and Enobarbus
ANTONY
Favours?
104
By Jove that thunders!
What art thou,
fellow
105
?
THIDIAS
One that but performs
The bidding of the
fullest
107
man and worthiest
To have command obeyed.
ENOBARBUS
You will be whipped.
Aside
Calls for Servants
ANTONY
Approach there!—Ah, you
kite
110
!—
Now, gods and devils,
Authority melts from me of late. When I cried ‘Ho!’,
Like boys unto a
muss
112
, kings would start forth
And cry ‘Your will?’ Have you no ears? I am
Antony yet.—Take hence this
jack
114
and whip him.
Enter a Servant
Other Servants follow
ENOBARBUS
’Tis better playing with a lion’s
whelp
115
Aside
Than with an old one dying.
ANTONY
Moon and stars!
Whip him. Were’t twenty of the greatest
tributaries
118
That do acknowledge Caesar, should I find them
So
saucy
120
with the hand of she here — what’s her name,
Since she was
121
Cleopatra? Whip him, fellows,
Till like a boy you see him
cringe
122
his face
And whine aloud for mercy. Take him hence.
THIDIAS
Mark Antony!
ANTONY
Tug him away: being whipped,
Bring him again. The jack of Caesar’s shall
Bear us an errand to him.
Exeunt
[
Servants
]
with Thidias
You were half
blasted
128
ere I knew you: ha?
Have I my pillow left unpressed in Rome,
Forborne
130
the
getting
of
a lawful race
,
And by a gem of women, to be abused
By one that looks on
feeders
132
?
CLEOPATRA
Good my lord—
ANTONY
You have been a
boggler
134
ever,
But when we in our viciousness grow hard —
O, misery on’t! — the wise gods
seel
136
our eyes,
In our own filth drop our clear judgements, make us
Adore our errors, laugh at’s while we strut
To our
confusion
139
.
CLEOPATRA
O, is’t come to this?
ANTONY
I found you as a morsel cold upon
Dead Caesar’s
trencher
142
: nay, you were a
fragment
Of
Gneius Pompey
143
’s, besides what
hotter
hours
Unregistered in
vulgar fame
144
you have
Luxuriously
145
picked out
. For I am sure,
Though you can guess what
temperance
146
should be,
You know not what it is.
CLEOPATRA
Wherefore is this?
ANTONY
To let a fellow that will take rewards
And say
‘God
150
quit
you!’ be familiar with
My playfellow, your hand, this kingly
seal
151
And
plighter
152
of
high
hearts! O, that I were
Upon the
hill of Basan
153
, to
outroar
The hornèd herd! For I have
savage cause
154
,
And to proclaim it
civilly
155
, were like
A
haltered neck
156
which does the hangman thank
For being
yare
157
about him.—Is he whipped?