I am conqueror of myself. Thou art sworn, Eros, That, when the exigent should come, (which now Is come, indeed,) when I should see behind me The inevitable prosecution of

This sword but shown to Casar, with this tidings, Shall enter me with him.

Disgrace and horror, that, on my command,
Thou then would'st kill me: do't; the time is

Enter DIOMEDES. Dio. Where's Antony? Der. Dio.

There, Diomed, there. Lives he?

Wilt thou not answer, man? [Exit DERCETAS. Ant. Art thou there, Diomed? Draw thy sword, and give me

Sufficing strokes for death.
Dio.
Most absolute lord,
My mistress Cleopatra sent me to thee.
Ant. When did she send thee?
Dio.
Now, my lord.
Where is she?
She had a pro-

Ant.

Dio. Lock'd in her monument. phesying fear

Of what hath come to pass: for when she saw (Which never shall be found,) you did suspect She had dispos'd with Cæsar, and that your rage Would not be purg'd, she sent you word she was dead;

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

Ant. Too late, good Diomed: -Call my guard,
I pr'ythee.

Dio. What, ho! the emperor's guard! The 'guard, what, ho!

Come, your lord calls.

Enter some of the Guard.

Ant. Bear me, good friends, where Cleopatra bides; 'Tis the last service that I shall command you. 1 Guard. Woe are we, sir, you may not live to

wear

Most heavy day!

All your true followers out.
All.
Ant. Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp
fate

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.

Enter ANTONY, borne by the Guard.

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

The varying shore o'the world! - O Antony!

Not Cæsar's valour hath o'erthrown Antony, But Antony's hath triumphed on itself.

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.

Ant.

O, quick, or I am gone. Cle 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, 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.

:

Lament nor sorrow at: but please your thoughts,
In feeding them with those my former fortunes
Wherein I liv'd, the greatest prince o' the world,
The noblest and do now not basely die,
Nor 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.
[Dies.

SCENE I..
- Cæsar's Camp before Alexandria.
Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, DOLABELLA, MECENAS,
GALLUS, PROCULEIUS, and others.

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

Dol.

Cæsar, I shall. [Erit DOLABELLA. Enter DERCETAS, with the sword of ANTONY. Cas. Wherefore is that? and what art thou, that dar'st Appear thus to us?

Cleo. Noblest 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 stye?- O, see my women, The crown o'the earth doth melt: - My lord! O, wither'd is the garland of the war, The soldier'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 visiting moon.

[She faints. Char. O, quietness, lady! Iras. She is dead too, our sovereign. Char.

Lady,

Iras.

Char. O madam, madam, madam :
Iras.
Empress!

Char. Peace, peace, Iras.

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

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?

Madam,

Royal Egypt!

My noble girls! - Ah, women, women! look, Our lamp is spent, it's out: Good sirs, take [To the Guard below. We'll bury him: and then, what's brave, what's noble,

heart:

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 bearing off ANTONY's body.

Der. I am cail'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 Cæsar; if thou pleasest not, I yield thee up my life.

Cæs. What is't thou say'st? Der. I say, O Cæsar, Antony is dead. Cas. 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.

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.

Agr. Mec.

Dolabella!

Cas. Let him alone, for I remember now How he's employed; 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.

Cæs.
Look you sad, friends?
The gods rebuke me, but it is a tidings
To wash the eyes of kings.
Agr.
That nature must compel us
Our most persisted deeds.
Mec.

And strange it is,
to lament

His taints and honours

Waged equal with him.

Agr. A rarer spirit never Did steer humanity: but you, gods, will give us Some faults to make us men. Cæsar is touch'd. Mec. When such a spacious mirror's set before him,

He needs must see himself.

Cæs.

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 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
stars,

our

Unreconciliable, should divide
Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends,-
But I will tell you at some meeter season;

[Exeunt.

A Room in the

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.

Do not yourself such wrong, who are in this
Reliev'd, but not betray'd

Cleo.

What, of death too

That rids our dogs of languish?
Pro.

Cleopatra,

Do not abuse my master's bounty, by
The undoing of yourself: let the world see
His nobleness well acted, which your death
Will never let come forth.

Cleo.

Where art thou, death? Come hither, come! come, come, and take a

queen

Worth many babes and beggars!

Pro.

O, temperance, lady! Cleo. 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 ruin 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!

Pro.

You do extend These thoughts of horror further than you shall Find cause in Cæsar.

Cæs.

Cleopatra, know,
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.

Go back, I warrant thee; but I'll catch thine eyes,
Though they had wings: Slave, soul-less villain,
dog!
O rarely base!

Cæs.

Good queen, let us entreat you.
Cleo. O Cæsar, what a wounding shame is this;
That thou, vouchsafing here to visit me,
Doing the honour of thy lordliness

To one so meek, that mine own servant shoula
Parcel the sum of my disgraces by
Addition of his envy! Say, good Cæsar,
That I some lady trifles have reserv'd,
Immoment toys, things of such dignity
As we greet modern friends withal; and say,
Some nobler token I have kept apart
For Livia, and Octavia, to induce
Their mediation; must I be unfolded
With one that I have bred? The gods! It smites

Cleo. Farewell, and thanks. [Exit DoL.] Now, Iras, what think'st thou ? Thou, an Egyptian puppet, shalt be shown In Rome, as well as I: mechanick slaves With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers, shall Uplift us to the view; in their thick breaths, Rank of gross diet, shall we be enclouded, And forc'd to drink their vapour.

Iras.

The gods forbid !
Cleo. Nay, 'tis most certain, Iras: Saucy lictors
Will catch at us, like strumpets; and scald rhymers
Ballad us out o'tune: the quick comedians
Extemporally will stage us, and present
Our Alexandrian revels; Antony

Shall be brought drunken forth, and I shall see
Some squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatness
I' the posture of a whore.
Iras.
O the good gods!
Cleo. Nay, that is certain.
Iras. I'll never see it; for, I am sure, my nails
Are stronger than mine eyes.

Cleo.

Why, that's the way To fool their preparation, and to conquer Their most absurd intents. Now, Charmian?

Enter CHARMIAN.

-

Show me, my women, like a queen ;-
Go fetch
My best attires; — I am again for Cydnus,
To meet Mark Antony: :- Sirrah, Iras, go.
Now, noble Charmian, we'll despatch indeed :
And, when thou hast done this chare, I'll give thee
leave

Bring our crown and all. [Exit IRAS. A noise withir Enter one of the Guard.

Guard.
Here is a rural fello
That will not be denied your highness' presence
He brings you figs.

Cleo. Let him come in. How poor an instrume.. [Exit Guard.

To play till dooms-day. Wherefore's this noise?