Swell with the touches of those flower-foft hands, Agr. Rare Egyptian! Eno. Upon her landing, Antony fent to her, It should be better, he became her gueft; Agr. Royal wench! . She made great Cæfar lay his fword to bed; Eno. I faw her once Hop forty paces through the publick street: of cloth of gold of tiffue, apparelled and attired like the Goddeffe Venus, commonly drawn in picture; and hard by her, on either hand of her, pretie faire boyes apparelled as painters do fet forth God Cupide, with little fannes in their hands, with the which they fanned vpon her. Her ladies and gentlewomen alfo, the fairest of them were apparelled like the nymphes Nereides (which are the mermaides of the waters,) and like the Graces, fome ftearing the helme, others tending the tackle and ropes of the barge, out of the which there came a wonderfull paffing fweete fauor of perfumes, that perfumed the wharfes fide, peftered with innumerable multitudes of people, Some of them followed the barge all alongst the riuer fide: others alfo ranne out of the citie to fee her coming in. So that in thend, there ranne fuch multitudes of people one after another to fee her, that Antonius was left poft alone in the market place, in his imperiall feate to geve audience:" &c. STEEV. which, but for vacancy,] Alluding to an axiom in the peripatetic philofophy then in vogue, that Nature abbors a vacuum. WARBURTON. 3 For vacancy, means, for fear of a vacuum. MALONE. And And having loft her breath, fhe spoke, and panted, And, breathlefs, power breathe forth. Mec. Now Antony must leave her utterly. Age cannot wither her, nor cuftom ftale 4 Mec. If beauty, wisdom, modefty, can settle A blessed lottery to him. Agr. 4-nor custom ftale] This verbis ufed by Heywood in the Iron Age 1632: "One that hath fidl'd his courtly tricks at home." STEEVENS. , Other women clay The appetites they feed; but he makes hungry, Where moft fhe fatisfies.] Almoft the fame thought, cloathed neatly in the fame expreffions, is found in the old play of Pericles: "Who ftarves the ears fhe feeds, and makes them hungry, "The more fhe gives them fpeech." 6 Again, in our authour's Venus and Adonis: "And yet not cloy thy lips with loath'd fatiety, - for vileft things MALONE. Become themselves in her ;] So, in our authour's 150th Sonnet: "Whence haft thou this becoming of things ill 2" MALONE. when he is riggish.] Rigg is an ancient word meaning a strumpet. So, in Whetstone's Cafile of Delight, 1576: 7 "Immodeft rigg, I Ovid's counsel ufde." STEEVENS. Again, in J. Davies's Scourge of Folly, printed about the year 1611: "When wanton rig, or lecher diffolute, 8 "Doftand at Paules Crofs in a-fuite." MALONE. Octavia is A bleffed lottery to him.] Dr. Warburton fays, the poet wrote allottery: but there is no reafon for this affertion. The ghost of Andrea in the Spanish Tragedy, fays: Minos in graven leaves of lottery "Drew forth the manner of my life and death. FARMER. So, in Stanyhurst's tranflation of Virgil, 1582: "By this hap efcaping the filth of lottarye carnal." Again, Agr. Let us go.— Good Enobarbus, make yourself my guest, Whilft you abide here. Eno. Humbly, fir, I thank you. [Exeunt. Enter CESAR, ANTONY, OCTAVIA between them; Attendants, and a Soothsayer. Ant. The world, and my great office, will fometimes Divide me from your bofom. Octa. All which time, Before the gods my knee shall bow my prayers Ant. Good night, fir.-My Octavia, Read not my blemishes in the world's report: Shall all be done by the rule. Good night, dear lady.- Caf. Good night. [Exeunt CESAR, and OCTAVIA. Ant. Now, firrah! you do wish yourself in Egypt? Sooth. 'Would I had never come from thence, nor you Thither! Ant. If you can, your reason? Sooth. I fee it in My motion2, have it not in my tongue: But yet Again, in the Honeft Man's Fortune, By B. and Fletcher : 9 11 fainting under "Fortune's falfe lottery." STEEVENS. Hie - fhall bow my prayers] The fame construction is in Coriolanus, A& I. fc. i: "Shouting their emulation." Again, in K. Lear, A&t II. fc. ii: "Smile you my fpeeches ?" STIEVENS. Good night, dear lady. Good night, Sir.] Thefe laft words, which in the only authentick copy of this play are given to Antony, the modern editors have affigned to Octavia. I fee no need of change. He addresses himself to Cæfar, who immediately replies, Good night. MALONE. a I fee it in My motion,] i. e. the divinitory agitation. WARBURTON. Mr. Hie you to Egypt again. Ant. Say to me, Whose fortunes fhall rife higher, Cæfar's, or mine? Sooth. Cæfar's. Therefore, O Antony, ftay not by his fide: Thy dæmon, that's thy fpirit which keeps thee, is Where Cæfar's is not; but, near him, thy angel Ant. Speak this no more. Mr. Theobald reads, with some probability, I fee it in my notion. MALONE. 3 Becomes a Fear,-] Our authour has a little lower expreffed his meaning more plainly: 66- -I fay again, thy fpirit "Is all afraid to govern thee near him. We have this fentiment again in Macbeth: near him, "My genius is rebuk'd; as, it is faid, "Mark Antony's was by Cæfar's." MALONE. Mr. Upton reads: Becomes afear'd, The common reading is more poetical. JOHNSON. A Fear was a perfonage in fome of the old moralities. Fletcher alludes to it in the Maid's Tragedy, where Afpafia is inftructing her fervants how to defcribe her fituation in needle-work: 66 and then a Fear: "Do that Fear bravely, wench." The whole thought is borrowed from fir T. North's tranflation of Plutarch: "With Antonius there was a foothfayer or aftronomer of Egypt, that coulde caste a figure, and judge of mens natiuities, to tell them what fhould happen to them. He, either to please Cleopatra, or elfe that he founde it fo by his art, told Antonius plainly, that his fortune (which of it felfe was excellent good, and very great) was altogether bleamished, and obfcured by Cæfar's fortune: and therefore he counselled him vtterly to leave his company, and to get him as farre from him as he could. For thy Demon faid he, (that is to fay, the good angell and fpirit that keepeth thee) is affraied of his: and being coragious and high when he is alone, becometh fearfull and timerous when he commeth neere vnto the other." STEEVENS. The old copy reads that thy fpirit. The correction, which was made in the fecond folio, is fupported by the foregiong paffage in Plutarch, but I doubt whether it is neceffary. MALONE. Sooth Sooth. To none but thee; no more, but when to thee. Thou art fure to lofe; and, of that natural luck, But, he away, 'tis noble. Ant. Get thee gone: Say to Ventidius, I would fpeak with him : [Exit Soothfayer. He shall to Parthia.-Be it art, or hap, He hath spoken true: The very dice obey him; And, in our sports, my better cunning faints Under his chance: if we draw lots, he speeds: His cocks do win the battle still of mine, When it is all to nought; and his quails 5 ever Beat mine, inhoop'd, at odds. I will to Egypt: And though I make this marriage for my peace, Enter VENTIDIUS. I' the eaft my pleasure lies.-O, come, Ventidius, 4 5 But, be away,] Old Copy—alway. Corrected by Mr. POPE. bis quails-] The ancients used to match quails as we match cocks. JOHNSON. So, in the old tranflation of Plutarch: "For, it is faid, that as often as they drew cuts for paftime, who should haue any thing, or whether they plaied at dice, Antonius alway loft. Oftentimes when they were difpofed to fee cockfight, or quailes that were taught to fight one with an other, Cæfars cockes or quailes did euer ouercome." STEEVENS. 6inhoop'd, at odds.] Thus the old copy. Inboop'd is inclefed, confined, that they may fight. The modern editors read: Beat mine in whoop'd-at odds. JOHNSON. Shakspeare gives us the practice of his own time: and there is no occafion for in whoop'd at, or any other alteration. John Davies begins one of his epigrams upon proverbs:, "He fets cocke on the hoope, in, you would fay ; "For cocking in boopes is now all the play." FARMER. At odds was the phrafeology of Shakspeare's time. So, in Mortime riados, by Michael Drayton, no date: She straight begins to bandy him about, "At thoufand odds, before the fet goes out." MALONE. You |