OCTAVIUS CAESAR No, my most wronged sister; Cleopatra
Hath nodded him to her. He hath given his empire
Up to a whore; who now are levying
The kings o’ the earth for war; he hath assembled
Bocchus, the king of Libya; Archelaus,
Of Cappadocia; Philadelphos, king
Of Paphlagonia; the Thracian king, Adallas;
King Malchus of Arabia; King of Pont;
Herod of Jewry; Mithridates, king
Of Comagene; Polemon and Amyntas,
The kings of Mede and Lycaonia,
With a more larger list of sceptres.
OCTAVIA Ay me, most wretched,
That have my heart parted betwixt two friends
That do afflict each other!
OCTAVIUS CAESAR Welcome hither:
Your letters did withhold our breaking forth;
Till we perceived, both how you were wrong led,
And we in negligent danger. Cheer your heart;
Be you not troubled with the time, which drives
O’er your content these strong necessities;
But let determined things to destiny
Hold unbewail’d their way. Welcome to Rome;
Nothing more dear to me. You are abused
Beyond the mark of thought: and the high gods,
To do you justice, make them ministers
Of us and those that love you. Best of comfort;
And ever welcome to us.
AGRIPPA Welcome, lady.
MECAENAS Welcome, dear madam.
Each heart in Rome does love and pity you:
Only the adulterous Antony, most large
In his abominations, turns you off;
And gives his potent regiment to a trull,
That noises it against us.
OCTAVIA Is it so, sir?
OCTAVIUS CAESAR Most certain. Sister, welcome: pray you,
Be ever known to patience: my dear’st sister!
Exeunt
Scene 7
Near Actium. MARK ANTONY’s camp.
Enter CLEOPATRA and DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
CLEOPATRA I will be even with thee, doubt it not.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS But why, why, why?
CLEOPATRA Thou hast forspoke my being in these wars,
And say’st it is not fit.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Well, is it, is it?
CLEOPATRA If not denounced against us, why should not we
Be there in person?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS [Aside]
Well, I could reply:
If we should serve with horse and mares together,
The horse were merely lost; the mares would bear
A soldier and his horse.
CLEOPATRA What is’t you say?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Your presence needs must puzzle Antony;
Take from his heart, take from his brain,
from’s time,
What should not then be spared. He is already
Traduced for levity; and ’tis said in Rome
That Photinus an eunuch and your maids
Manage this war.
CLEOPATRA Sink Rome, and their tongues rot
That speak against us! A charge we bear i’ the war,
And, as the president of my kingdom, will
Appear there for a man. Speak not against it:
I will not stay behind.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Nay, I have done.
Here comes the emperor.
Enter MARK ANTONY and CANIDIUS
MARK ANTONY Is it not strange, Canidius,
That from Tarentum and Brundusium
He could so quickly cut the Ionian sea,
And take in Toryne? You have heard on’t, sweet?
CLEOPATRA Celerity is never more admired
Than by the negligent.
MARK ANTONY A good rebuke,
Which might have well becomed the best of men,
To taunt at slackness. Canidius, we
Will fight with him by sea.
CLEOPATRA By sea! what else?
CANIDIUS Why will my lord do so?
MARK ANTONY For that he dares us to’t.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS So hath my lord dared him to single fight.
CANIDIUS Ay, and to wage this battle at Pharsalia.
Where Caesar fought with Pompey: but these offers,
Which serve not for his vantage, be shakes off;
And so should you.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Your ships are not well mann’d;
Your mariners are muleters, reapers, people
Ingross’d by swift impress; in Caesar’s fleet
Are those that often have ‘gainst Pompey fought:
Their ships are yare; yours, heavy: no disgrace
Shall fall you for refusing him at sea,
Being prepared for land.
MARK ANTONY By sea, by sea.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Most worthy sir, you therein throw away
The absolute soldiership you have by land;
Distract your army, which doth most consist
Of war-mark’d footmen; leave unexecuted
Your own renowned knowledge; quite forego
The way which promises assurance; and
Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard,
From firm security.
MARK ANTONY I’ll fight at sea.
CLEOPATRA I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.
MARK ANTONY Our overplus of shipping will we burn;
And, with the rest full-mann’d, from the head of Actium
Beat the approaching Caesar. But if we fail,
We then can do’t at land.
Enter a Messenger
Thy business?
Messenger The news is true, my lord; he is descried;
Caesar has taken Toryne.
MARK ANTONY Can he be there in person? ’tis impossible;
Strange that power should be. Canidius,
Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land,
And our twelve thousand horse. We’ll to our ship:
Away, my Thetis!
Enter a Soldier
How now, worthy soldier?
Soldier O noble emperor, do not fight by sea;
Trust not to rotten planks: do you misdoubt
This sword and these my wounds? Let the Egyptians
And the Phoenicians go a-ducking; we
Have used to conquer, standing on the earth,
And fighting foot to foot.
MARK ANTONY Well, well: away!
Exeunt MARK ANTONY, QUEEN CLEOPATRA, and DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
Soldier By Hercules, I think I am i’ the right.
CANIDIUS Soldier, thou art: but his whole action grows
Not in the power on’t: so our leader’s led,
And we are women’s men.
Soldier You keep by land
The legions and the horse whole, do you not?
CANIDIUS Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius,
Publicola, and Caelius, are for sea:
But we keep whole by land. This speed of Caesar’s
Carries beyond belief.
Soldier While he was yet in Rome,
His power went out in such distractions as
Beguiled all spies.
CANIDIUS Who’s his lieutenant, hear you?
Soldier They say, one Taurus.
CANIDIUS Well I know the man.
Enter a Messenger
Messenger The emperor calls Canidius.
CANIDIUS With news the time’s with labour, and throes forth,
Each minute, some.
Exeunt
Scene 8
A plain near Actium.
Enter OCTAVIUS CAESAR, and TAURUS, with his army, marching
OCTAVIUS CAESAR Taurus!
TAURUS My lord?
OCTAVIUS CAESAR Strike not by land; keep whole: provoke not battle,
Till we have done at sea. Do not exceed
The prescript of this scroll: our fortune lies
Upon this jump.
Exeunt
Scene 9
Another part of the plain.
Enter MARK ANTONY and DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
MARK ANTONY Set we our squadrons on yond side o’ the hill,
In eye of Caesar’s battle; from which place
We may the number of the ships behold,
And so proceed accordingly.
Exeunt
Scene 10
Another part of the plain.
CANIDIUS marcheth with his land army one way over the stage; and TAURUS, the lieutenant of OCTAVIUS CAESAR, the other way. After their going in, is heard the noise of a sea-fight
Alarum. Enter DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Naught, naught all, naught! I can behold no longer:
The Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral,
With all their sixty, fly and turn the rudder:
To see’t mine eyes are blasted.
Enter SCARUS
SCARUS Gods and goddesses,
All the whole synod of them!
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS What’s thy passion!
SCARUS The greater cantle of the world is lost
With very ignorance; we have kiss’d away
Kingdoms and provinces.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS How appears the fight?
SCARUS On our side like the token’d pestilence,
Where death is sure. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,–
Whom leprosy o’ertake!–i’ the midst o’ the fight,
When vantage like a pair of twins appear’d,
Both as the same, or rather ours the elder,
The breese upon her, like a cow in June,
Hoists sails and flies.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS That I beheld:
Mine eyes did sicken at the sight, and could not
Endure a further view.
SCARUS She once being loof’d,
The noble ruin of her magic, Antony,
Claps on his sea-wing, and, like a doting mallard,
Leaving the fight in height, flies after her:
I never saw an action of such shame;
Experience, manhood, honour, ne’er before
Did violate so itself.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Alack, alack!
Enter CANIDIUS
CANIDIUS Our fortune on the sea is out of breath,
And sinks most lamentably. Had our general
Been what he knew himself, it had gone well:
O, he has given example for our flight,
Most grossly, by his own!
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS Ay, are you thereabouts?
Why, then, good night indeed.
CANIDIUS Toward Peloponnesus are they fled.
SCARUS ‘Tis easy to’t; and there I will attend
What further comes.
CANIDIUS To Caesar will I render
My legions and my horse: six kings already
Show me the way of yielding.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS I’ll yet follow
The wounded chance of Antony, though my reason
Sits in the wind against me.
Exeunt
Scene 11
Alexandria. CLEOPATRA’s palace.
Enter MARK ANTONY with Attendants
MARK ANTONY Hark! the land bids me tread no more upon’t;
It is ashamed to bear me! Friends, come hither:
I am so lated in the world, that I
Have lost my way for ever: I have a ship
Laden with gold; take that, divide it; fly,
And make your peace with Caesar.
All Fly! not we.
MARK ANTONY I have fled myself; and have instructed cowards