Thou must not take my former fharpness 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 so I harried him.

Why, methinks, by him,

This creature's no fuch thing.

Char. O, nothing, Madam.

Cleo. The man hath feen fome Majesty, and fhould know.

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

Cleo. I've one thing more to ask 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.

[Exeunt.

Ant. Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that, That were excufable, that and thousands more Of femblable import; but he hath wag'd New wars 'gainst 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; moft narrow measure lent me ;
When the best hint was giv'n him, he not took't,
Or did it from his teeth.

Octa. Oh, my good Lord,

Believe not all; or, if you must believe,
Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady,
If this divifion chance, ne'er flood between

Praying for both parts:

The good gods will mock me presently,

When I fhall pray, "Oh, blef's my Lord and husband!"

Undo that prayer, by crying out as loud,

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

Ant. Gentle Octavia,

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

I lofe myfelf; better I were not yours,

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

*

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

Oda. Thanks to my Lord.

The Jove of power make me, most weak, most weak, Your reconciler! Wars 'twixt you twain would be As if the world should 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 coft Your heart has mind to.

Enter Enobarbus and Eros.

Exo. How now, friend Eros?

Eros. There's ftrange news come, Sir.

ENO. What, man ?

[Exeunt.

Eros. Cæfar and Lepidus have made war upon Pompey.

Eno. This is old; what is the fuccefs?

Eros. Cæfar having made ufe of him in the wars 'gainst Pompey, prefently denied him rivalty, would not let him partake in the glory of the action; and not refting here, accufes him of letters he had forerly wrote to Pompey. Upon his own appealt,

• Shall train your brother; that is, force him into difficulties which he will not eafily overcome. Revifal.

To appeal, in Shakespeare, is to accufe; Cæfar feized Lepidus without any other proof than Cæfar's accufation. Johnfan.

feizes him; fo the poor third is up 'till death enlarge his contine.

Eno. Then 'would thou hadft 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 fpurns The rush that lyes before him. Cries, 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. My Lord defires you prefently. I might have told hereafter.

More, Domitius.
My news

Eno. 'Twill be naught; but let it be. Bring me

to Antony.

Eros. Come, Sir.

SCENE V.

Changes to Rome.

[Exeunt.

Enter Cæfar, Agrippa, and Mecenas.

Caf. Contemning Rome, he has done all this, and more,

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 publickly enthron'd; at the feet fat
Cefario, whom they call my father's fon;
And all th' unlawful iffue that their luft
Since then hath made between them. Unto her
He gave the 'ftablishment of Egypt, made her
Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lybia,

Abfolute Queen.

*This is obfcure, I read it thus:

Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more;
And throw between them all the food thou hali,

Where's Antony?

They'll grind the one the other. Cæfar and Antony will make war on each other, though they have the world to prey upon between them. Johnf.

Alec. This in the public eye?

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

His fons he there proclaim'd the kings of kings:
Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia,

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he affign'd
Syria, Cilicia, and Phenicia. She

In the habiliments of the goddess Ifis

That day appear'd, and oft before gave audience, As 'tis reported, so.

Mec. Let Rome be this 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 accuse ?

Caf. Cæfar; and that having in Sicily Sextus Pompeius fpoil'd, we had not rated him His part o' th' Ifle. Then does he fay, he lent me Some fhipping 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 messenger goue.
I told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel;
That he his high authority abus'd,

And did deferve 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 never yield to that.

Caf. Nor must not then be yielded to in this.

Enter Octavia, with her train.

Octa. Hail, Cæfar, and my Lord! hail, most dear Cæfar!

Caf. That ever I fhould call thee caft-away! Oda. You have not call'd me fo, nor have you

cause.

Caf. Why have you stol'n upon us thus? you

come not

Like Cæfar's fifler: the wife of Antony

Should have an army. for an ufher, and
The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere he did appear: the trees by th' way
Should have borne men, and expectation fainted,
Longing for what it had not: nay, the duit
Should have afcended 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 unthewn,
Is often left unlov'd; we fhould have met you.
By fea and land, fupplying every stage
With an augmented grecting.

Octa, 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 obstruct 'tween his luft and him.
Otta. Do not fay fo,, my Lord.

Caf. I have eyes upon him,

And his affairs come to me on the wind.

Where is he now?

Octa. My Lord, in Athens.

Caf. No, my moft wronged fifter. Cleopatra Hath nodded him to her. He hath given his empire

Up to a whore, who now are levying

The kings o' th' earth for war. He hath affembled Bocchus the King of Libya, Archelaus

Of Cappadocia, Philadelphus King

Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian King Adullas,
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 scepters.
Octa. Ay me, moft wretched,

That have my heart parted betwixt two friends
That do afflict each other!