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Are level now with men ; the odds is gone;
And there is nothing left remarkable,"
Beneath the vifiting moon.

Char. Oh, quietness, Lady!

Iras. She's dead too, our fovereign.

Ghar, Lady!

Iras. Madam!

Char. Oh Madam, Madam, Madam

Iras. Royal Egypt! Emprefs!

Char. Peace, peace, Iras.

[She faints.

Cleo, No more but a mere woman, and commanded

By fuch poor paffion as the maid that milks,

And does the meanest chares!

It were for me

To throw my fcepter at th' injurious Gods;

To tell them, that this world did equal theirs,
*Till they had foll'n our jewel. All's but naught:
Patience is fottish, and impatience does

Become a dog that's mad: Then is it fin,
To rush into the fecret houfe of death,
Ere death dare come to us? how do you, women ?
What, what, good cheer! why, how now, Charmian?
My noble girls? -ah, women, women! look,
Our lamp is spent, it's out-good Sirs, take heart,
We'll bury him and then what's brave, what's noble,
Let's do it after the high Roman fashion,

And make death proud to take us. Come away,

This cafe of that huge spirit now is cold.

Ah, women, women! come, we have no friend

But refolution, and the briefeft end.

[Exeunt, bearing off Antony's body,

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ACT V.

SCENE, Cæfar's Camp.

(32) Enter Cæfar, Agrippa, Dolabella, Mecænas, Gallus, and Train.

G

CESAR

O to him, Dolabella, bid him yield;
Being fo fruftrate, tell him,

He mocks the paufes that he makes.
Dol. Cæfar, I fhall. (33)

[Exit Dolabella.

(32) Enter Caefar, Agrippa, Dolabella, and MENAS.] But Menas and Menecrates, we may remember, were the two famous Pirates linked with Sextus Pompeius, and who affifted him to infest the Italian Coaft. We no where learn, exprefly in the Play, that Menas ever attached himself to Octavius's Party. Notwithstanding the old Folio's concur in marking the Entrance thus, yet in the two places in the Scene, where this Character is made to fpeak, they have marked in the Margin, Mec. fo that, as Dr. Thirlby fagaciously conjectured, we muft cafhier Menas, and fubftitute Mecanas in his Room. Menas, indeed, deferted to Cæsar no less than twice, and was preferred by him. But then we are to confider' Alexandria was taken, and Antony killed himself, Anno U¡ C. 723.4 Ments made the fecond Revolt over to Auguftus, U. C. 717: and the next Year was flain at the Siege of Belgrade in Pannonia, five Years before the Death of Antony.

(33) Dol. Cæfar, I fhall. I make no Doubt, but it fhould be mark'd here, that Dolabella goes out. "Tis reafonable to imagine, he fhould prefently depart, upon Cafar's Command; fo that the Speeches, placed to him in the Sequel of this Scene, must be tranfferred to Agrippa, or he is introduced as a Mute. Befides, that Dolabella fhould be gone out, appears from this, that when Cæfar afks for him, he recollects that he had fent him on Bufinefs.

Enter

Enter Dercetas, with the fword of Antony.

Caf. Wherefore is that? and what art thou, that dar’st Appear thus to us?

Der. I am call'd Dercetas ;

Mark Antony I ferv'd, who beft was worthy
Beft to be ferv'd; whilft he ftood 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 Cafar: If thou pleafeft not,
I yield thee up my life.

Caf. What is't thou say'st?

Der. I fay, oh, Cafar, Antony is dead.

Caf. The breaking of fo great a thing fhould make A greater crack. The round world fhould have shook Lions into civil ftreets, and citizens

Into their dens-The death of Antony

Is not a fingle doom, in that name lay
A moiety of the world.

Der. He is dead, Cafar,.

Not by a publick minifter of juftice,

Nor by a hired knife; but that felf-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 fword,

I robb'd his wound of it: behold it ftain'd
With his most noble blood.

Caf. Look you fad,

friends

:

The Gods rebuke me, but it is a tiding

To wash the eyes of Kings!

Agr. And ftrange it is,

That nature muft compel us to lament

Our moft perfifted deeds.

Mec. His taints and honours

Weigh'd equal in him

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Agr. A rarer fpirit never Did fteer humanity; but you Some faults to make us men.

to a
Gods will give us
Cafar is touch'd.

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Mec.

Mec. When fuch a fpacious mirror's fet before him, He needs muft fee himself.

Caf. O Antony!

I've follow'd thee to this-but we do lance
Diseases in our bodies. I muft perforce
Have fhewn to thee fuch a declining day,
Or look on thine; we could not stall together
In the whole world. But yet let me lament
With tears as fovereign as the blood of hearts,
That thou my brother, my competitor
In top of all defign, my mate in Empire,
Friend and companion in the front of war,
The arm of mine own body, and the heart
Where mine its thoughts did kindle; that our ftars,
Unreconcileable, fhould have divided

Our equalnefs to this. Hear me, good friends,
But I will tell you at fome meeter feafon.-
The bufinefs of this man looks out of him,
We'll hear him what he fays. Whence are you?
Enter an Egyptian.

Egypt. A poor Egyptian yet; the Queen my mistress, Confin'd in all fhe has, (her monument)

Of thy intents defires instruction;

That the preparedly may frame herself
To th' way he's forc'd to.

Caf. Bid her have good heart ;

She foon fhall know of us, by fome of ours,
How honourably and how kindly we

Determine for her. For Cafar cannot live,
To be ungentle.

Egypt. May the Gods preferve thee!

Caf. Come hither, Proculeius; go, and fay,

[Exit.

We purpose her no fhame; give her what comforts
The quality of her paffion fhall require;

Left in her greatnefs by fome mortal stroke
She do defeat us: for her life in Rome
Would be eternal in our triumph. Go,

And with your speediest bring us what the fays,
And how you find of her.

Pre

Pro. Cafar, I shall. Dokê dix [Exit Proculeius. Caf. Gallus, go you along; where's Dolabella, " To fecond Proculeius. 421 visor tq = con [Exit Gallus. } OV

All. Dolabella!

Caf. Let him alone; for I remember now?
How he's employ'd he fhall in time be ready.
Go with me to my tent, where you shall fee
How hardly I was drawn into this war;
How calm and gentle I proceeded ftill
In all my writings. Go with me, and fee
What I can fhew in this.

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[Exeunt.

SCENE changes to the Monument.

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Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, Mardian, and Seleucus,

Cleo.

M'

above.

Y defolation does begin to make
A better life; 'tis paltry to be Cafar:
Not being fortune, he's but fortune's knave,
A minister of her will, and it is great

To do that thing, that ends all other deeds;
Which fhackles accidents, and bolts up change;
Which fleeps, and never palates more the dung
The beggar's nurse, and Cafar's.

Enter Proculeius.

Pro. Cafar fends greeting to the Queen of Egypt, And bids thee ftudy on what fair demands

Thou mean'ft to have him

grant thee.

Cleo. What's thy name?
Pro. My name is Proculeius.
Cleo. Antony

Did tell me of you, bade me truft

I do not greatly care to be deceiv'd,

you,

but

That have no ufe for trufting. If your mafter
Would have a Queen his beggar, you must tell him,
That Majefty, to keep decorum, muft

No lefs beg than a kingdom; if he please
To give me conquer'd Egypt for my fon,
He gives me fo much of mine own, as I

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