Our care and pity is fo much upon you, That we remain your friend; And fo, adieu. Caf. Not fo: Adieu. [Exeunt CESAR, and his trair. Cleo. He words me, girls, he words me, that I should not Be noble to myfelf: but hark thee, Charmian. [whispers Charmian. Iras. Finish, good lady; the bright day is done, And we are for the dark, Cleo. Hie thee again: I have spoke already, and it is provided; Go, put it to the hafte. Char. Madam, I will. Re-enter DOLABELLA. Dol. Where is the queen? Char. Behold, fir. [Exit CHARMIAN. Cleo. Dolabella? Dol. Madam, as thereto fworn by your command, Which my love makes religion to obey, I tell you this: Cæfar through Syria Intends his journey; and, within three days, Make your beft ufe of this: I have perform'd Cleo. Dolabella, I shall remain your debtor. Dol. I your fervant. Adieu, good queen; I must attend on Cæfar. Cleo. Farewel, and thanks. [Exit Dola.] Now, Iras, what think'ft thou? Thou, an Egyptian puppet, fhalt be shewn In Rome, as well as I: mechanick flaves With greafy aprons, rules, and hammers, fhall Uplift us to the view; in their thick breaths, Iras. The gods forbid! Cleo. Nay, 'tis moft certain, Iras: Saucy lictors Will catch at us, like ftrumpets; and scald rhimers Ballad 8 Ballad us out o' tune?: the quick comedians Shall be brought drunken forth, and I fhall fee Iras. O the good gods! Cleo. Nay, that's certain. Iras. I'll never fee it; for, I am fure, my Are ftronger than mine eyes. Cleo. Why, that's the way To fool their preparation, and to conquer nails Their most abfurd intents'.-Now, Charmian ?— Shew me, my women, like a queen ;-Go fetch 7-and fcald rhimers Ballad us out o' tune:] So, in the Rape of Lucrece: thou "Shalt have thy trefpafs cited up in rbimes, "And fung by children in fucceeding times." MALONE. Scald was a word of contempt implying poverty, disease, and filth. JOHNSON 8 the quick comedians-] The lively, inventive, quick-witted come dians. So, "(ut meos quoque attingam,") in an ancient tract, entitled A briefe description of Ireland, made in this yeare, 1589, by Robert Payne, &c. 8vo. 1589: "They are quick-witted, and of good conftitution of bodie." See p. 434, n. 7; and Vol. II. p. 349, n. 2. MALONE. 9-boy my greatness-] The parts of women were acted on the stage by boys. HANMER. To obviate this impropriety of men reprefenting women, T. Goff, in his tragedy of the Raging Turk, 1631, has no female character. STEEVENS. 1 Their most abfurd intents.-] Mr. Theobald reads,—Their most effur'd intents. Cleopatra, he fays, "could not think Cæfar's intent of carrying her in triumph abfurd, with regard to his own glory; and her finding an expedient to disappoint him, could not bring it under that predicament.' " MALONE. I have preferved the old reading. The defign certainly appeared abfurd enough to Cleopatra, both as the thought it unreasonable in itself, and as she knew it would fail. JoHNSON. VOL. VII. Now, Now, noble Charmian, we'll difpatch indeed: And, when thou haft done this chare, I'll give thee leave To play till dooms-day.-Bring our crown and all. Wherefore's this noife? [Exit Iras. A noife within. Enter one of the Guard. Guard. Here's a rural fellow, That will not be deny'd your highness' presence; Cleo. Let him come in. What poor an inftrument [Exit Guard. May do a noble deed! he brings me liberty. Re-enter Guard, with a Clown bringing a basket. Cleo. Avoid, and leave him. Haft thou the pretty worm of Nilus3 there, [Exit Guard. That 2 now the fleeting moon No planet is of mine.] Alluding to the Egyptian devotion paid to the moon under the name of Ifis. WARBURTON. I really believe that our poet was not at all acquainted with the devotion that the Egyptians paid to this planet under the name of Ifis; but that Cleopatra having faid, I bave nothing of woman in me, added, by way of amplification, that she had not even the changes of difpofition peculiar to the fex, and which sometimes happen as frequently as those of the moon; or that he was not, like the fea, governed by the moon. in Richard III:-"I being govern'd by the watry moon, &c." Why fhould fhe fay on this occafion that the no longer made use of the forms of worship peculiar to her country? So, Fleeting is inconftant. So in Greene's Metamorphofis, 1617 :—“ to thew the world he was not fleeting." STEEVENS. 5. Our authour will himself furnifh us with a commodious interpretation of this paffage. I am now "whole as the marble, founded as the rock," and no longer changeable and fluctuating between different purpofes, like the fleeting and inconftant moon, 3 - "That monthly changes in her circled orb." MALONE. the pretty worm of Nilus-} Worm is the Teutonick word for ferpent; we have the blind-worm and flow-worm still in our language, and That kills and pains not? Clown. Truly I have him: but I would not be the party that should defire you to touch him, for his biting is immortal; thofe, that do die of it, do feldom or never recover. Cleo. Remember'ft thou any that have died on't? Clown. Very many, men and women too. I heard of one of them no longer than yesterday: a very honest woman, but fomething given to lie; as a woman fhould not do, but in the way of honefty: how fhe died of the biting of it, what pain the felt,-Truly, fhe makes a very good report o' the worm: But he that will believe all that they fay, fhall never be faved by half that they do: But this is moft fallible, the worm's an odd worm. Cleo. Get thee hence; farewel. Clown. I wish you all joy of the worm. [Clown fets down the basket. Clown. You must think this, look you, that the worm will do his kind3. Cleo. Ay, ay; farewel. Clown. Look you, the worm is not to be trufted, but and the Norwegians call an enormous monfter, feen fometimes in the northern ocean, the fea-worm. JOHNSON. So, in the Dumb Knight, 1633: "Thofe coals the Roman Porcia did devour, "Are not burnt out, nor have th' Ægyptian worms Again, in the old verfion of the New Teftament, A&s, xxviii. "Now In the Northern counties, the word worm is still given to the ferpent fpecies in general. PERCY. 4 But be that will believe all that they say, shall never be faved by half that they do :] Shakspeare's clowns are always jokers, and deal in fly fatire. It is plain this must be read the contrary way, and all and balf change places. WARBURTON. Probably Shakspeare defigned that confufion which the critick would difentangle. STEEVENS.. swill do bis kind.] The ferpent will act according to his nature. JOHNSON. So, in the ancient black letter romance of Syr Tryamoure, no date: "He dyd full gentylly bis kinde." STEEVENS. Again, in The Tragicall Hyflory of Romeus and Juliet, 1562: "For tickle Fortune deth, in changing, but her kind," MALONE: in the keeping of wife people; for, indeed, there is no goodness in the worm. Cleo. Take thou no care; it fhall be heeded. Clown. Very good: give it nothing, I pray you, for it is not worth the feeding. Cleo. Will it eat me? Clown. You must not think I am so fimple, but I know the devil himself will not eat a woman: I know, that a woman is a dish for the gods, if the devil dress her not. But, truly, these same whorefon devils do the gods great harm in their women; for in every ten that they make, the devils mar five. Cleo. Well, get thee gone; farewel. Clown. Yes, forfooth; I wish you joy of the worm. Re-enter IRAS, with robe, crown, &c. [Exit. Cleo. Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have To praise my noble act; I hear him mock I give to bafer life.-So,-have you done? • Yare, yare,—] i. e. make hafte, be nimble, be ready. So in the old bl. romance of Syr Eglamoure of Artoys: "Ryght foone he made him yare." STEEVENS. A preceding paffage precisely afcertains the meaning of the word; ❝ to proclaim it civilly, were like "A halter'd neck, which does the hangman thank "For being yare about him." See alfo p. 575, n. 5. MALONE. 7 I am fire and air; my other elements I give to bafer life.] So, in K. Henry V. « He is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him." "Do not our lives, (fays Sir Andrew Aguecheek,) confift of the four ele. ments?" MALONE. Come |