Tho' loyalty, well held, to fools does make Enter Thyreus. Cleo. Cafar's will? Thyr. Hear it apart. Cleo. None but friends; fay boldly. Thus then, thou most renown'd, Cafar intreats, Further than he is Cæfar. Cleo. Go on ; right royal. Thyr. He knows, that you embrace not Antony As you did love, but as you fear'd him. Cleo. Oh! [Afide. Thyr. The fears upon your honour, therefore, he Does pity, as constrained blemishes, Not as deferv'd. Cleo. He is a God, and knows What is most right. Mine honour was not yielded, Our Faith meer Folly: &c. If I fee any thing of the Poet's Sentiment in this Paffage, both the Text and Pointing are flightly deprav'd; and, I think, I have reform'd both justly. After Enobarbus has faid, that his Honesty and he begin to quarrel, (í. e. that his Reafon fhews him to be miftaken. in his firm Adherence to Antony;) he immediately falls into this generous Reflection: "Tho' Loyalty, ftubbornly preferv'd to a Mafter in his declin'd Fortunes, feems Folly in the Eyes of "Fools; (i. e. Men, who have not Honour enough to think more "wifely ;) yet he, who can be fo obftinately loyal, will make as great a Figure on Record, as the Conqueror. G 5 But But conquer'd meerly. Eno. To be fure of that, I will ask Antony-Sir, thou'rt fo leaky, Thyr. Shall I fay to Cafar What you require of him? he partly begs, [Exit Eno. To be defir'd to give. It much would please him, To lean upon. But it would warm his spirits, To hear from me you had left Antony, And put yourfelf under his fhroud, the univerfal landlord. Cleo. What's your name! Thyr. My name is Thyreus. Cleo. Most kind meffenger, (25) Say to great Cæfar this; in deputation I kifs his conqu❜ring hand: tell him, I'm prompt I hear the doom of Ægypt. Thyr. 'Tis your noblest course : Cleo. Your Cafar's father oft, When he hath mus'd of taking Kingdoms in, (25) Moft kind Meffenger; Say to great Cæfar this in Difputation, I kifs bis conqu' ring band:] Again, the Pointing and Text must be corrected. If the Sagacious Editors can reasonably expound Disputation here, I allow them to fee farther into a Milftone than I pretend to do. The Poet certainly wrote, (as Mr. Warburton likewife faw, we must restore ;) Moft kind Meffenger, Say to great Cæfar this; in Deputation I kifs bis conqu'ring band: 3. e. by Proxy; I depute you to pay him that Duty in my Name. 5 Beftow'd Beftow'd his lips on that unworthy place, As it rain'd kiffes. Enter Antony, and Enobarbus. Ant. Favours! by Jove, that thunders. What art thou, fellow? [Seeing Thyreus kifs her hand. Thyr. One that but performs The bidding of the fullest man, and worthieft To have command obey'd. Eno. You will be whipp'd. Ant. Approach there and Devils! ah, you kite! now, Gods Authority melts from me of late.-When I cry'd, hoa! Like boys unto a mufs, Kings would start forth, And cry, your will? have you no ears? I'm Antony yet. Take hence this Jack, and whip him. Enter Servants. Eno. 'Tis better playing with a lion's whelp, Than with an old one dying. Ant. Moon and ftars! Whip him :-Were't twenty of the greatest Tributaries Ant. Tug him away; being whipp'd, Bring him again: this Jack of Cafar's fhall [Exeunt with Thyreus. You were half blafted, ere I knew you: ha! Cleo. Good my Lord, Ant. You have been a boggler ever. But But when we in our viciousness grow hard, Cleo. Oh, is't come to this? Ant. I found you as a morfel, cold upon Cleo. Wherefore is this? Ant. To let a fellow that will take rewards, -Othat 1 were Upon the hill of Bafan, to out-roar The horned herd, for I have favage cause! And to proclaim it civilly, were like A halter'd neck, which does the hangman thank Re-enter a Servant, with Thyreus Serv. Soundly, my Lord. Ant. Cry'd he? and begg'd a 'pardon? Serv. He did ask favour. Ant. If that thy father live, let him repent Thou waft not made his daughter; and be thou forry To follow Cafar in his triumph, fince Thou haft been whipp'd for following him. Henceforth, Shake to look on't.-Go, get thee back to Cafar, Have empty left their orbs, and fhot their fires My fpeech, and what is done, tell him, he has Cleo. Have you done yet? Ant. Alack, our terrene moon is now eclips'd, Ant. To flatter Cafar, would you mingle eyes Cleo. Not know me yet? Ant. Cold-hearted toward me! Cleo. Ah, dear, if I be fo, From my cold heart let heav'n ingender hail, Ant. I'm fatisfied: Cafar fets down in Alexandria, where I will oppofe his fate. Our force by land Have knit again, and float, threatning moft fea-like. (26) By the difcattering of this pelletted Storm,] This Reading we ewe first, I prefume, to Mr. Rowe: and Mr. Pope has very faithfully fall'n into it. The old Folio's read, difcandering: from which Corruption both Dr. Thirlby and I faw, we muft retrieve the Word with which I have reform'd the Text. Cleopatra's Wish is this; that the Gods would ingender Hail, and poifon it; and that as it fell upon her and her fubjects, and melted, their Lives might determine, as that diffolv'd and difcandied: the congealing of the Water into Hail he metaphorically calls candying and it is an Image he is fond of, in several other Paffages. Where |