ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Act 2 Scene 7

(Music plays. Enter two or three Servants with a banquet)
l1l	First Servant	 Here they’ll be, man. Some o’ their plants
l2l		are ill rooted already# the least wind i’ th’ world will
l3l		blow them down.
l4l	Second Servant	Lepidus is high-coloured.
l5l	First Servant	They have made him drink alms-drink.
l6l	Second Servant	As they pinch one another by the
l7l		disposition, he cries out “No more!”—reconciles them
l8l		to his entreaty and himself to th’ drink.
l9l	First Servant	But it raises the greater war between him
l10l		and his discretion.
l11l	Second Servant	Why, this it is to have a name in great
l12l		men’s fellowship. I had as lief have a reed that will do
l13l		me no service as a partisan I could not heave.
l14l	First Servant	To be called into a huge sphere and not
l15l		to be seen to move in ’t, are the holes where eyes should
l16l		be which pitifully disaster the cheeks.
		(A sennet sounded. Enter Caesar, Antony, Pompey, Lepidus, Agrippa, Maecenas, Enobarbus, and Menas, with other captains and a boy)
l17l	Antony	(to Caesar)
		 Thus do they, sir: they take the flow o’ th’ Nile
l18l		By certain scales i’ th’ pyramid. They know
l19l		By th’ height, the lowness, or the mean, if dearth
l20l		Or foison follow. The higher Nilus swells
l21l		The more it promises# as it ebbs, the seedsman
l22l		Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain,
l23l		And shortly comes to harvest.
l24l	Lepidus	You’ve strange serpents there?
l25l	Antony	Ay, Lepidus.
l26l	Lepidus	 Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud
l27l		by the operation of your sun# so is your crocodile.
l28l	Antony	They are so.
l29l	Pompey	 Sit, and some wine. A health to Lepidus!
		( 29 Antony, Pompey, and Lepidus sit)
l30l	Lepidus	 I am not so well as I should be, but I’ll ne’er out.
l31l	Enobarbus	Not till you have slept—I fear me you’ll be in
l32l		till then.
l33l	Lepidus	Nay, certainly, I have heard the Ptolemies’
l34l		pyramises are very goodly things: without contradiction
l35l		I have heard that.
l36l	Menas	(aside to Pompey)
		 Pompey, a word.
	Pompey	
		(aside to Menas)
		 Say in mine ear# what is ’t?
l37l	Menas	(aside to Pompey)
		 Forsake thy seat, I do beseech thee, captain,
l38l		And hear me speak a word.
	Pompey	
		(aside to Menas)
		 Forbear me till anon.
l39l		(Aloud)
		 This wine for Lepidus!
		(Menas whispers in Pompey's ear)
l40l	Lepidus	 What manner o’ thing is your crocodile?
l41l	Antony	It is shaped, sir, like itself, and it is as broad as
l42l		it hath breadth. It is just so high as it is, and moves
l43l		with it own organs. It lives by that which nourisheth
l44l		it, and the elements once out of it, it transmigrates.
l45l	Lepidus	What colour is it of?
l46l	Antony	Of it own colour, too.
l47l	Lepidus	’Tis a strange serpent.
l48l	Antony	’Tis so, and the tears of it are wet.
l49l	Caesar	(to Antony)
		 Will this description satisfy him?
l50l	Antony	 With the health that Pompey gives him# else he
l51l		is a very epicure.
l52l	Pompey	(aside to Menas)
		 Go hang, sir, hang! Tell me of that? Away,
l53l		Do as I bid you.
		(Aloud)
		 Where’s this cup I called for?
l54l	Menas	(aside to Pompey)
		 If for the sake of merit thou wilt hear me,
l55l		Rise from thy stool.
	Pompey	
		(rising)
		 I think thou’rt mad. The matter?
		(Menas and Pompey stand apart)
l56l	Menas	 I have ever held my cap off to thy fortunes.
l57l	Pompey	Thou hast served me with much faith. What’s else to say?
l58l		Be jolly, lords.
	Antony	These quicksands, Lepidus,
l59l		Keep off them, for you sink.
l60l	Menas	Wilt thou be lord of all the world?
	Pompey	What sayst thou?
l61l	Menas	Wilt thou be lord of the whole world? That’s twice.
l62l	Pompey	How should that be?
	Menas	But entertain it
l63l		And, though thou think me poor, I am the man
l64l		Will give thee all the world.
	Pompey	Hast thou drunk well?
l65l	Menas	No, Pompey, I have kept me from the cup.
l66l		Thou art, if thou dar’st be, the earthly Jove.
l67l		Whate’er the ocean pales or sky inclips
l68l		Is thine, if thou wilt ha ’t.
	Pompey	Show me which way!
l69l	Menas	These three world-sharers, these competitors,
l70l		Are in thy vessel. Let me cut the cable#
l71l		And when we are put off, fall to their throats.
l72l		All there is thine.
	Pompey	Ah, this thou shouldst have done
l73l		And not have spoke on ’t. In me ’tis villainy,
l74l		In thee ’t had been good service. Thou must know
l75l		’Tis not my profit that does lead mine honour#
l76l		Mine honour, it. Repent that e’er thy tongue
l77l		Hath so betrayed thine act. Being done unknown,
l78l		I should have found it afterwards well done,
l79l		But must condemn it now. Desist, and drink.
		(He returns to the others)
l80l	Menas	(aside)
		 For this, I’ll never follow thy palled fortunes more.
l81l		Who seeks and will not take when once ’tis offered,
l82l		Shall never find it more.
	Pompey	This health to Lepidus!
l83l	Antony	Bear him ashore.—I’ll pledge it for him, Pompey.
l84l	Enobarbus	Here’s to thee, Menas!
	Menas	Enobarbus, welcome.
l85l	Pompey	Fill till the cup be hid.
		(One lifts Lepidus, drunk, and carries him off)
		
	Enobarbus	 There’s a strong fellow, Menas.
l86l	Menas	Why?
l87l	Enobarbus	A bears the third part of the world, man# seest not?
l88l	Menas	The third part then is drunk. Would it were all,
l89l		That it might go on wheels.
	Enobarbus	Drink thou, increase the reels.
l90l	Menas	Come.
l91l	Pompey	This is not yet an Alexandrian feast.
l92l	Antony	It ripens towards it. Strike the vessels, ho!
l93l		Here’s to Caesar!
	Caesar	I could well forbear ’t.
l94l		It’s monstrous labour when I wash my brain,
l95l		An it grow fouler.
l96l	Antony	Be a child o’ th’ time.
l97l	Caesar	Possess it, I’ll make answer.
l98l		But I had rather fast from all, four days,
l99l		Than drink so much in one.
	Enobarbus	
		(to Antony)
		 Ha, my brave Emperor,
l100l		Shall we dance now the Egyptian bacchanals,
l101l		And celebrate our drink?
l102l	Pompey	Let’s ha ’t, good soldier.
l103l	Antony	Come, let’s all take hands
l104l		Till that the conquering wine hath steeped our sense
l105l		In soft and delicate Lethe.
	Enobarbus	All take hands.
l106l		Make battery to our ears with the loud music.
l107l		The while I’ll place you, then the boy shall sing.
l108l		The holding every man shall beat as loud
l109l		As his strong sides can volley.
		(Music plays. Enobarbus places them hand in hand)
l110l	[Boy]	(sings)
		> Come, thou monarch of the vine,
l111l		Plumpy Bacchus, with pink eyne!
l112l		In thy vats our cares be drowned,
l113l		With thy grapes our hairs be crowned!
l114l		Cup us till the world go round,
l115l		Cup us till the world go round!
l116l	Caesar	 What would you more? Pompey, good night.
		( 116B To Antony)
		 Good-brother,
l117l		Let me request you off. Our graver business
l118l		Frowns at this levity. Gentle lords, let’s part.
l119l		You see we have burnt our cheeks. Strong Enobarb
l120l		Is weaker than the wine, and mine own tongue
l121l		Splits what it speaks. The wild disguise hath almost
l122l		Anticked us all. What needs more words? Good night.
l123l		Good Antony, your hand.
	Pompey	I’ll try you on the shore.
l124l	Antony	And shall, sir. Give ’s your hand.
	Pompey	O Antony,
l125l		You have my father’s house. But what, we are friends!
l126l		Come down into the boat.
		(Exeunt all but Enobarbus and Menas)
l127l	Enobarbus	 Take heed you fall not, Menas.
	Menas	I’ll not on shore.
l128l		No, to my cabin. These drums, these trumpets, flutes, what!
l129l		Let Neptune hear we bid a loud farewell
l130l		To these great fellows. Sound and be hanged, sound out!
		(Sound a flourish, with drums)
l131l	Enobarbus	(throwing his cap in the air)
		 Hoo, says a! There’s my cap.
	Menas	Ho, noble captain, come!
		( 131B Exeunt)