ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Act 4 Scene 15

(Enter Antony and Eros)
l1l	Antony	 Eros, thou yet behold’st me?
	Eros	Ay, noble lord.
l2l	Antony	Sometime we see a cloud that’s dragonish,
l3l		A vapour sometime like a bear or lion,
l4l		A towered citadel, a pendent rock,
l5l		A forkèd mountain, or blue promontory
l6l		With trees upon ’t that nod unto the world
l7l		And mock our eyes with air. Thou hast seen these signs#
l8l		They are black vesper’s pageants.
	Eros	Ay, my lord.
l9l	Antony	That which is now a horse even with a thought
l10l		The rack distains, and makes it indistinct
l11l		As water is in water.
	Eros	It does, my lord.
l12l	Antony	My good knave Eros, now thy captain is
l13l		Even such a body. Here I am Antony,
l14l		Yet cannot hold this visible shape, my knave.
l15l		I made these wars for Egypt, and the Queen—
l16l		Whose heart I thought I had, for she had mine,
l17l		Which whilst it was mine had annexed unto ’t
l18l		A million more, now lost—she, Eros, has
l19l		Packed cards with Caesar, and false-played my glory
l20l		Unto an enemy’s triumph.
l21l		Nay, weep not, gentle Eros. There is left us
l22l		Ourselves to end ourselves.
		(Enter Mardian)
		 O thy vile lady,
l23l		She has robbed me of my sword!
	Mardian	No, Antony,
l24l		My mistress loved thee, and her fortunes mingled
l25l		With thine entirely.
	Antony	Hence, saucy eunuch, peace!
l26l		She hath betrayed me, and shall die the death.
l27l	Mardian	Death of one person can be paid but once,
l28l		And that she has discharged. What thou wouldst do
l29l		Is done unto thy hand. The last she spake
l30l		Was “Antony, most noble Antony!”
l31l		Then in the midst a tearing groan did break
l32l		The name of Antony. It was divided
l33l		Between her heart and lips. She rendered life,
l34l		Thy name so buried in her.
	Antony	Dead, then?
	Mardian	Dead.
l35l	Antony	Unarm, Eros. The long day’s task is done,
l36l		And we must sleep.
		(To Mardian)
		 That thou depart’st hence safe
l37l		Does pay thy labour richly. Go.
		(Exit Mardian)
		 Off, pluck off.
		(Eros helps Antony to unarm)
l38l		The seven-fold shield of Ajax cannot keep
l39l		The battery from my heart. O, cleave, my sides!
l40l		Heart, once be stronger than thy continent#
l41l		Crack thy frail case. Apace, Eros, apace.
l42l		No more a soldier. Bruisèd pieces, go#
l43l		You have been nobly borne.—From me a while.
		(Exit Eros)
l44l		I will o’ertake thee, Cleopatra, and
l45l		Weep for my pardon. So it must be, for now
l46l		All length is torture. Since the torch is out,
l47l		Lie down, and stray no farther. Now all labour
l48l		Mars what it does# yea, very force entangles
l49l		Itself with strength. Seal, then, and all is done.
l50l		Eros!—I come, my queen.—Eros!—Stay for me.
l51l		Where souls do couch on flowers we’ll hand in hand,
l52l		And with our sprightly port make the ghosts gaze.
l53l		Dido and her Aeneas shall want troops,
l54l		And all the haunt be ours. Come, Eros, Eros!
		(Enter Eros)
l55l	Eros	 What would my lord?
	Antony	Since Cleopatra died
l56l		I have lived in such dishonour that the gods
l57l		Detest my baseness. I, that with my sword
l58l		Quartered the world, and o’er green Neptune’s back
l59l		With ships made cities, condemn myself to lack
l60l		The courage of a woman# less noble mind
l61l		Than she which by her death our Caesar tells
l62l		“I am conqueror of myself.” Thou art sworn, Eros,
l63l		That when the exigent should come, which now
l64l		Is come indeed—when I should see behind me
l65l		Th’ inevitable prosecution of
l66l		Disgrace and horror—that on my command
l67l		Thou then wouldst kill me. Do ’t. The time is come.
l68l		Thou strik’st not me# ’tis Caesar thou defeat’st.
l69l		Put colour in thy cheek.
	Eros	The gods withhold me!
l70l		Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts,
l71l		Though enemy, lost aim and could not?
	Antony	Eros,
l72l		Wouldst thou be windowed in great Rome and see
l73l		Thy master thus with pleached arms, bending down
l74l		His corrigible neck, his face subdued
l75l		To penetrative shame, whilst the wheeled seat
l76l		Of fortunate Caesar, drawn before him, branded
l77l		His baseness that ensued?
	Eros	I would not see ’t.
l78l	Antony	Come then# for with a wound I must be cured.
l79l		Draw that thy honest sword, which thou hast worn
l80l		Most useful for thy country.
	Eros	O sir, pardon me!
l81l	Antony	When I did make thee free, swor’st thou not then
l82l		To do this when I bade thee? Do it at once,
l83l		Or thy precedent services are all
l84l		But accidents unpurposed. Draw, and come.
l85l	Eros	Turn from me then that noble countenance
l86l		Wherein the worship of the whole world lies.
l87l	Antony	(turning away)
		 Lo thee!
l88l	Eros	My sword is drawn.
	Antony	Then let it do at once
l89l		The thing why thou hast drawn it.
	Eros	My dear master,
l90l		My captain, and my Emperor: let me say,
l91l		Before I strike this bloody stroke, farewell.
l92l	Antony	’Tis said, man# and farewell.
l93l	Eros	Farewell, great chief. Shall I strike now?
	Antony	Now, Eros.
		(Eros stabs himself)
l94l	Eros	 Why, there then, thus I do escape the sorrow
l95l		Of Antony’s death.
		(He dies)
		
	Antony	 Thrice nobler than myself,
l96l		Thou teachest me, O valiant Eros, what
l97l		I should and thou couldst not. My queen and Eros
l98l		Have by their brave instruction got upon me
l99l		A nobleness in record. But I will be
l100l		A bridegroom in my death, and run into ’t
l101l		As to a lover’s bed. Come then, and, Eros,
l102l		Thy master dies thy scholar. To do thus
l103l		I learned of thee.
		(He stabs himself)
		 How, not dead? Not dead?
l104l		The guard, ho! O, dispatch me!
		(Enter a guard and Decretas)
		
	First Guard	 What’s the noise?
l105l	Antony	I have done my work ill, friends. O, make an end
l106l		Of what I have begun!
	Second Guard	The star is fall’n.
l107l	First Guard	And time is at his period.
	All The Guards	Alas
l108l		And woe!
	Antony	Let him that loves me strike me dead.
l109l	First Guard	Not I.
	Second Guard	Nor I.
	Third Guard	Nor anyone.
		(Exeunt the guard)
l110l	Decretas	 Thy death and fortunes bid thy followers fly.
		(He takes Antony's sword)
l111l		This sword but shown to Caesar, with this tidings,
l112l		Shall enter me with him.
		(Enter Diomedes)
		
	Diomedes	 Where’s Antony?
l113l	Decretas	There, Diomed, there.
	Diomedes	Lives he? Wilt thou not answer, man?
		(Exit Decretas)
l114l	Antony	 Art thou there, Diomed? Draw thy sword, and give me
l115l		Sufficing strokes for death.
	Diomedes	Most absolute lord,
l116l		My mistress Cleopatra sent me to thee.
l117l	Antony	When did she send thee?
	Diomedes	Now, my lord.
	Antony	Where is she?
l118l	Diomedes	Locked in her monument. She had a prophesying fear
l119l		Of what hath come to pass# for when she saw—
l120l		Which never shall be found—you did suspect
l121l		She had disposed with Caesar, and that your rage
l122l		Would not be purged, she sent word she was dead#
l123l		But fearing since how it might work, hath sent
l124l		Me to proclaim the truth# and I am come,
l125l		I dread, too late.
l126l	Antony	Too late, good Diomed. Call my guard, I prithee.
l127l	Diomedes	What ho, the Emperor’s guard! The guard, what ho!
l128l		Come, your lord calls.
		(Enter four or five of the guard of Antony)
l129l	Antony	 Bear me, good friends, where Cleopatra bides.
l130l		’Tis the last service that I shall command you.
l131l	First Guard	Woe, woe are we, sir, you may not live to wear
l132l		All your true followers out.
	All The Guards	Most heavy day!
l133l	Antony	Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp fate
l134l		To grace it with your sorrows. Bid that welcome
l135l		Which comes to punish us, and we punish it,
l136l		Seeming to bear it lightly. Take me up.
l137l		I have led you oft# carry me now, good friends,
l138l		And have my thanks for all.
		(Exeunt bearing Antony and Eros)