Antony and Cleopatra (17 page)

Enter Antony and Cleopatra with others

ANTONY
    Eros! Mine armour, Eros!

CLEOPATRA
    Sleep a little.

ANTONY
    No, my
chuck
³
. Eros! Come, mine armour, Eros!

Enter Eros
With armor

    Come, good fellow, put
thine iron
⁴
on.
        If fortune be not ours today, it is
        Because we
brave
⁶
her. Come.

CLEOPATRA
    Nay, I’ll help too, Antony.
        What’s this for?
Picks up a piece of armor

ANTONY
    Ah, let be, let be! Thou art
        The armourer of my heart.
False
¹⁰
, false: this, this!

CLEOPATRA
    
Sooth
¹¹
,
la
, I’ll help: thus it must be.
She helps arm him

ANTONY
    
Well
¹²
, well,
        We shall thrive now. See’st thou, my good fellow?
        Go, put on
thy defences
¹⁴
.

EROS
    
Briefly
¹⁵
, sir.

CLEOPATRA
    Is not this buckled well?

ANTONY
    
Rarely
¹⁷
, rarely:
        He that unbuckles this, till
we do please
        To
doff’t
¹⁹
for our repose
¹⁸
, shall hear a
storm
.
        Thou fumblest, Eros, and my queen’s a
squire
²⁰
        More
tight
²¹
at this than thou:
dispatch
!—O love,
        That thou couldst see my wars today, and
knew’st
²²
        The
royal occupation
²³
, thou shouldst see
        A
workman
²⁴
in’t.—

Enter an armed Soldier

                Good morrow to thee! Welcome!
        Thou look’st like
him
²⁵
that
knows a warlike charge
:
        To business that we love we rise
betime
²⁶
        And go to’t with delight.

SOLDIER
    A thousand, sir,
        Early though’t be, have on their
riveted trim
²⁹
        And at the
port
³⁰
expect you.

Shout. Trumpets flourish

Enter Captains and Soldiers

CAPTAIN
    The morn is fair. Good morrow, general.

ALL
    Good morrow, general.

ANTONY
    
’Tis well blown
³³
, lads.
        This morning, like the spirit of a youth
        That means to be
of note
³⁵
, begins betimes.—
        So, so. Come, give me that. This way, well said.
To Cleopatra

    Fare thee well,
dame
³⁷
. Whate’er becomes of me,
        This is a soldier’s kiss: rebukable
Kisses her

    And worthy shameful
check
³⁹
it were, to
stand
        On more
mechanic compliment
⁴⁰
. I’ll leave thee
        Now, like a man of steel.—You
that will
⁴¹
fight,
        Follow me close. I’ll bring you to’t.—Adieu.

Exeunt
. [
Cleopatra and Charmian remain
]

CHARMIAN
    Please you retire to your
        chamber?

CLEOPATRA
    Lead me.
        He goes forth gallantly.
That
⁴⁵
he and Caesar might
        
Determine
⁴⁶
this great war in single fight!
        Then Antony — but now … Well, on.
Exeunt

Location: Antony’s camp outside Alexandria
  

Trumpets sound. Enter Antony and Eros
A Soldier meets them

SOLDIER
    The gods make this a
happy
¹
day to Antony!

ANTONY
    
Would
²
thou and those thy scars had once
prevailed
        To make me fight at land!

SOLDIER
    Hadst thou done so,
        The kings that have
revolted
⁵
and the soldier
        That has this morning left thee would have still
        Followed thy heels.

ANTONY
    Who’s gone this morning?

SOLDIER
    Who?
        One ever near thee: call for Enobarbus,
        He shall not hear thee, or from Caesar’s camp
        Say ‘I am none of thine.’

ANTONY
    What say’st thou?

SOLDIER
    Sir,
        He is with Caesar.

EROS
    Sir, his chests and treasure
        He has not with him.

ANTONY
    Is he gone?

SOLDIER
    Most certain.

ANTONY
    Go, Eros, send his treasure after: do it:
        Detain no jot, I
charge
²¹
thee. Write to him —
        I will
subscribe
²²
— gentle adieus and greetings;
        Say that I wish he never find more cause
        To change a master. O, my fortunes have
        Corrupted honest men!
Dispatch
²⁵
.—Enobarbus!

Exeunt

Location: Caesar’s camp outside Alexandria
  

Flourish. Enter Agrippa, Caesar, with Enobarbus and Dolabella

CAESAR
    Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight.
        Our will is Antony be
took
²
alive:
        Make it so known.

AGRIPPA
    Caesar, I shall.
[
Exit
]

CAESAR
    The time of
universal peace
⁵
is near:
        Prove this a prosp’rous day, the
three-nooked
⁶
world
        Shall
bear the olive
⁷
freely
.

Enter a Messenger

MESSENGER
    Antony is come into the field.

CAESAR
    Go charge Agrippa
        Plant those that have revolted in the
van
¹⁰
        That Antony may seem to spend his fury
        Upon himself.
Exeunt
. [
Enobarbus remains
]

ENOBARBUS
    Alexas did revolt, and went to
Jewry
¹³
on
        Affairs of Antony, there did
dissuade
¹⁴
        
Great Herod
¹⁵
to incline himself to Caesar
        And leave his master Antony. For this pains
        Caesar hath hanged him. Canidius and the rest
        That
fell away
¹⁸
have
entertainment
but
        No honourable trust. I have done ill,
        Of which I do accuse myself so sorely,
        That I will joy no more.

Enter a Soldier of Caesar’s

SOLDIER
    Enobarbus, Antony
        Hath after thee sent all thy treasure, with
        His
bounty overplus
²⁴
. The messenger
        Came
on my guard
²⁵
, and at thy tent is now
        Unloading of his mules.

ENOBARBUS
    I give it you.

SOLDIER
    Mock not, Enobarbus.
        I tell you true: best you
safed
²⁹
the bringer
        Out of the
host
³⁰
. I must attend mine
office
        Or would have done’t myself. Your emperor
        Continues still a Jove.
Exit

ENOBARBUS
    I am
alone
³³
the villain of the earth,
        And feel I am so
most
³⁴
. O Antony,
        Thou mine of bounty, how wouldst thou have paid
        My better service, when my
turpitude
³⁶
        Thou dost so crown with gold! This
blows
³⁷
my heart.
        If
swift thought
³⁸
break it not, a swifter
mean
        Shall
outstrike
³⁹
thought, but thought will do’t, I feel.
        I fight against thee? No, I will go seek
        Some ditch wherein to die: the
foul’st
⁴¹
best fits
        My latter part of life.
Exit

Location: the battlefield outside Alexandria
  

Alarum
. Drums and trumpets. Enter Agrippa
[
and others
]

AGRIPPA
    
Retire
¹
, we have engaged ourselves too far:
        Caesar himself
has work
²
, and
our oppression
        Exceeds what we expected.
Exit

Alarums. Enter Antony, and Scarrus wounded

SCARRUS
    O my brave emperor, this is fought indeed!
        Had we done so at first, we had
droven
⁵
them home
        With
clouts
⁶
about their heads.
Far off
    A retreat sounds

ANTONY
    Thou bleed’st apace.

SCARRUS
    I had a wound here that was like a T,
        But now ’tis made an
H
⁹
.

ANTONY
    They do retire.

SCARRUS
    We’ll beat ’em into
bench-holes
¹¹
. I have yet
        Room for six
scotches
¹²
more.

Enter Eros

EROS
    They are beaten, sir, and our advantage
serves
¹³
        For a fair victory.

SCARRUS
    Let us
score
¹⁵
their backs
        And
snatch ’em up, as we take hares behind
¹⁶
!
        ’Tis sport to maul a
runner
¹⁷
.

ANTONY
    I will reward thee
        Once for thy
sprightly comfort
¹⁹
, and tenfold
        For thy good valour. Come thee on.

SCARRUS
    I’ll
halt
²¹
after.
Exeunt

Alarum. Enter Antony again, in a march, Scarrus with others

ANTONY
    We have beat him to his camp: run one before
        And let the queen know of our
gests
²
. Tomorrow,

[
Exit a Soldier
]

    Before the sun shall see’s, we’ll spill the blood
        That has today escaped. I thank you all,
        For
doughty-handed
⁵
are you, and have fought
        Not
as you served the cause
⁶
, but
as’t had been
        Each man’s like mine
: you have
shown all Hectors
⁷
.
        Enter the city,
clip
⁸
your wives, your friends,
        Tell them your feats, whilst they with joyful tears
        Wash the
congealment
¹⁰
from your wounds, and kiss
        The honoured gashes
whole
¹¹
.—

Enter Cleopatra

                Give me thy hand.
To Scarrus
        To this great
fairy
¹²
I’ll commend thy acts,
        Make her thanks bless thee.—
                O thou
day
¹³
o’th’world,
To Cleopatra

    
Chain mine armed neck
¹⁴
, leap thou, attire and all,
        Through
proof of harness
¹⁵
to my heart, and there
        Ride on the
pants triumphing
¹⁶
!
They embrace

CLEOPATRA
    Lord of lords!
        O infinite
virtue
¹⁸
, com’st thou smiling from
        The world’s great snare uncaught?

She offers Scarrus her hand

ANTONY
    My nightingale,
        We have beat them to their beds. What, girl! Though grey
        Do
something
²²
mingle with our younger brown, yet ha’ we
        A brain that nourishes our
nerves
²³
and can
        
Get goal for goal of youth
²⁴
. Behold this man:
        
Commend
²⁵
unto his lips thy favouring hand.
        Kiss it, my warrior: he hath fought today
        As if a god in hate of mankind had
        Destroyed in
such a shape
²⁸
.

CLEOPATRA
    I’ll give thee, friend,
        An armour all of gold: it was a king’s.

ANTONY
    He has deserved it, were it
carbuncled
³¹
        Like
holy Phoebus’ car
³²
. Give me thy hand:
        Through Alexandria make a jolly march,
        Bear our hacked
targets
³⁴
like the men that
owe
them.
        Had our great palace the capacity
        To
camp
³⁶
sup
this host, we all would sup together
        And drink
carouses
³⁷
to the next day’s fate
        Which promises
royal peril
³⁸
. Trumpeters,
        With
brazen
³⁹
din blast you the city’s ear,
        
Make mingle
⁴⁰
with rattling
taborins
,
        
That heaven and earth may strike their sounds together
⁴¹
,
        Applauding our approach.
Exeunt
    
Trumpets sound