Thou must not take my former sharpness ill,..
I will employ thee back again; I find thee
Moft fit for bufinefs. Go, make thee ready;
Our letters are prepar'd.

Char. A proper man.

Cleo. Indeed, he is fo: I repent me much, That fo I harried him.

Why, methinks, by him,

This creature's no fuch thing.

Char. O, nothing, Madam.

Cleo. The man hath seen some Majefty, and should know.

Char. Hath he seen Majefty? Ifis else defend! And ferving you fo long?

Cleo. I've one thing more to afk him yet, good

Charmian:

But 'tis no matter, thou shalt bring him to me
Where I will write: all may be well enough.
Char. I warrant you, Madam.

Ant.

SCENE IV.

Changes to Athens.

Enter Antony and Octavia.

NAY, nay, Odavia, not only That,

[Exeunt.

That were excufable, That and thousands

more

Of femblable import, but he hath wag'd

New wars 'gainft Pompey; made his Will and read it To public ear; fpoke fcantily of me;

When perforce he could not

But pay me terms of honour, cold and fickly
He vented them; most narrow measure lent me ;
When the best hint was given him, he not took't,
Or did it from his teeth.

C&. Oh, my good lord,
Believe not all; or, if you
Stomach not all.

muft believe, A more unhappy lady,

If

If this divifion chance, ne'er ftood between,
Praying for both parts: the good Gods will mock me,
When I fhall pray, oh, bless my lord and husband!
Undo that prayer, by crying out as loud,

Oh, blefs my brother! Hufband win, win brother,
Prays, and deftroys the prayer; no midway
'Twixt these extremes at all.

Ant. Gentle Octavia,

Let your best love draw to that point, which feeks: Beft to preserve it; if I lose mine honour,

I lose myself; better I were not yours,

Than yours fo branchlefs. But, as you requested, Yourself fhall go between's; the mean time, lady, I'll raise the preparation of a war,

Shall ftain your brother; make your foonest hafte; So, your defires are yours.

Oct. Thanks to my lord.

The Jove of Power make me, most weak, moft weak, Your reconciler! wars 'twixt you 'twain would be As if the world fhould cleave, and that flain men Should folder up the rift.

Ant. When it appears to you where this begins, Turn your displeasure that way; for our faults Can never be fo equal, that your love

Can equally move with them. Provide your Going; Chufe your own company, and command what cost Your heart has mind to.

[Exeunt.

Enter Enobarbus and Eros.

Eno. How now, friend Eros?

Eros. There's ftrange news, come, Sir.

Eno. What, man?

Eros. Cæfar and Lepidus have made war upon Pompey.

Eno. This is old; what is the fuccefs?

Eros. Cæfar, having made use of him in the wars 'gainst Pompey, prefently denied him rivalty, would not let him partake in the glory of the action; and

not

not refting here, accuses him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey. Upon his own appeal, feizes him; fo the poor Third is up, 'till death enlarge his confine.

Eno. Then 'would thou had'ft a pair of chaps, no more and throw between them all the food thou haft, they'll grind the other. Where's Antony?

Eros. He's walking in the garden thus? and spurns The rush that lies before him. Crys, fool Lepidus!: And threats the throat of that his Officer, That murder'd Pompey.

Eno. Our great Navy's rigg'd.

Eros. For Italy and Cæfar; more, Domitius,
My lord defires you prefently; my news
I might have told hereafter.

Eno. 'Twill be naught; but let it be; bring me to

Antony.

Eros. Come, Sir.

S CE

CEN

[Exeunt.

E V.

Changes to the Palace in Rome.

Enter Cæfar, Agrippa, and Mecænas.

ONTEMNING Rome, he has done all this, and more,

Caf. CONTI

In Alexandria; here's the manner of it :
I'th' market-place on a Tribunal filver'd,
Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold
Were publicly enthron'd; at the feet, sat
Cafario, whom they call my father's fon;
And all the unlawful iffue, that their luft
Since then hath made between them. Unto her
He gave the 'stablishment of Egypt, made her
Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,

Abfolute Queen.

Mec. This in the public eye?

Caf. I'th' common fhew-place, where they exercife,

His fons were there proclaim'd the Kings of Kings;
Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he affign'd'
Syria, Cilicia, and Phænicia: fhe

In the habiliments of the Goddefs Ifis

That day appear`d, and oft before gave audience,

As 'tis reported, fo.

Mec. Let Rome be thus inform'd.

Agr. Who, queafy with his infolence already, Will their good thoughts call from him.

Caf. The people know it, and have now receiv'd His accufations.

Agr. Whom does he accufe?

Caf. Cafar; and that having in Sicily

Sextus Pompeius spoil'd, we had not rated him
His part o'th' Ifle. Then does he fay, he lent me
Some Shipping unreftor'd. Laftly, he frets,
That Lepidus of the Triumvirate

Should be depos'd; and, being, that we detain
All his revenue.

Agr. Sir, this fhould be anfwer'd.

Caf. 'Tis done already, and his meffenger gone: I told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel;

That he his high authority abus'd,

And did deserve his Change. For what I've conquer'd, I grant him part; but then, in his Armenia,

And other of his conquer'd Kingdoms, I

Demand the like

Mec. He'll ne'er yield to that.

Caf. Nor muft he then be yielded to in this.

Enter Octavia, with Attendants.

Oct. Hail, Cæfar, and my lord! hail, moft dear
Cæfar!

Caf. That ever I fhould call thee Caft-away!
Oct. You have not call'd me fo, nor have you cause.
Caf. Why haft thou ftoll'n upon us thus? you come

not

Like Cafar's fifter; the wife of Antony

Should have an army for an usher, and
The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere fhe did appear. The trees by th' way
Should have borne men, and expectation fainted,
Longing for what it had not. Nay, the duft
Should have ascended to the roof of heav'n,
Rais'd by your populous troops; but you are come
A market-maid to Rome, and have prevented
The oftentation of our love; which, left unfhewn,
Is often left unlov'd; we fhould have met you
By fea and land, fupplying every stage
With an augmented greeting.

08. Good my lord,

To come thus was I not conftrain'd, but did it
On my free will. My lord, Mark Antony,
Hearing that you prepar'd for war, acquainted
My grieving ear withal; whereon I begg'd
His pardon for return.

Caf. Which foon he granted,

Being an Obftruct 'tween his luft and him.
Q. Do not fay so, my lord.

Caf. I have eyes upon him,

And his affairs come to me on the wind:
Where is he now?

Cat. My lord, in Athens.

Caf. No, my moft wronged fifter; Cleopatra Hath nodded him to her.

He hath given his empire

He hath affembled

Up to a whore, who now are levying
The Kings o' th' earth for war.
Bocchus the King of Libya, Archelaus
Of Cappadocia, Philadelphos King

Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian King Adullus,
King Malchus of Arabia, King of Pont,
Herod of Jewry, Mithridates King
Of Comagene, Polemon and Amintas,
The King of Mede, and Lycaonia,
With a more larger lift of fcepters.