ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Act 4 Scene 16

(Enter Cleopatra and her maids aloft, with Charmian and Iras)
l1l	Cleopatra	 O Charmian, I will never go from hence.
l2l	Charmian	Be comforted, dear madam.
	Cleopatra	No, I will not.
l3l		All strange and terrible events are welcome,
l4l		But comforts we despise. Our size of sorrow,
l5l		Proportioned to our cause, must be as great
l6l		As that which makes it.
		(Enter Diomedes below)
		 How now? Is he dead?
l7l	Diomedes	His death’s upon him, but not dead.
l8l		Look out o’ th’ other side your monument.
l9l		His guard have brought him thither.
		(Enter below Antony, borne by the guard)
		
	Cleopatra	 O sun,
l10l		Burn the great sphere thou mov’st in# darkling stand
l11l		The varying shore o’ th’ world! O Antony,
l12l		Antony, Antony! Help, Charmian,
l13l		Help, Iras, help, help, friends below!
l14l		Let’s draw him hither.
	Antony	Peace. Not Caesar’s valour
l15l		Hath o’erthrown Antony, but Antony’s
l16l		Hath triumphed on itself.
	Cleopatra	So it should be,
l17l		That none but Antony should conquer Antony.
l18l		But woe ’tis so!
l19l	Antony	I am dying, Egypt, dying. Only
l20l		I here importune death awhile until
l21l		Of many thousand kisses the poor last
l22l		I lay upon thy lips.
	Cleopatra	I dare not, dear,
l23l		Dear, my lord, pardon. I dare not,
l24l		Lest I be taken. Nor th’ imperious show
l25l		Of the full-fortuned Caesar ever shall
l26l		Be brooched with me, if knife, drugs, serpents, have
l27l		Edge, sting, or operation. I am safe.
l28l		Your wife, Octavia, with her modest eyes
l29l		And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour
l30l		Demuring upon me. But come, come, Antony.—
l31l		Help me, my women.—We must draw thee up.
l32l		Assist, good friends.
	Antony	O quick, or I am gone!
l33l	Cleopatra	Here’s sport indeed. How heavy weighs my lord!
l34l		Our strength is all gone into heaviness,
l35l		That makes the weight. Had I great Juno’s power
l36l		The strong-winged Mercury should fetch thee up
l37l		And set thee by Jove’s side. Yet come a little.
l38l		Wishers were ever fools. O come, come, come!
		(They heave Antony aloft to Cleopatra)
l39l		And welcome, welcome! Die when thou hast lived,
l40l		Quicken with kissing. Had my lips that power,
l41l		Thus would I wear them out.
		(They kiss)
l42l	All The Lookers-On	 A heavy sight.
l43l	Antony	I am dying, Egypt, dying.
l44l		Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.
l45l	Cleopatra	No, let me speak, and let me rail so high
l46l		That the false hussy Fortune break her wheel,
l47l		Provoked by my offence.
	Antony	One word, sweet queen.
l48l		Of Caesar seek your honour, with your safety. O!
l49l	Cleopatra	They do not go together.
	Antony	Gentle, hear me.
l50l		None about Caesar trust but Proculeius.
l51l	Cleopatra	My resolution and my hands I’ll trust,
l52l		None about Caesar.
l53l	Antony	The miserable change now at my end
l54l		Lament nor sorrow at, but please your thoughts
l55l		In feeding them with those my former fortunes,
l56l		Wherein I lived the greatest prince o’ th’ world,
l57l		The noblest# and do now not basely die,
l58l		Not cowardly put off my helmet to
l59l		My countryman# a Roman by a Roman
l60l		Valiantly vanquished. Now my spirit is going#
l61l		I can no more.
	Cleopatra	Noblest of men, woot die?
l62l		Hast thou no care of me? Shall I abide
l63l		In this dull world, which in thy absence is
l64l		No better than a sty?
		(Antony dies)
		 O see, my women,
l65l		The crown o’ th’ earth doth melt. My lord!
l66l		O, withered is the garland of the war.
l67l		The soldier’s pole is fall’n. Young boys and girls
l68l		Are level now with men. The odds is gone,
l69l		And there is nothing left remarkable
l70l		Beneath the visiting moon.
		(She falls)
l71l	Charmian	 O, quietness, lady!
l72l	Iras	She’s dead, too, our sovereign.
l73l	Charmian	Lady!
	Iras	Madam!
	Charmian	O, madam, madam, madam!
l74l	Iras	Royal Egypt, Empress!
	Charmian	Peace, peace, Iras!
l75l	Cleopatra	(recovering)
		 No more but e’en a woman, and commanded
l76l		By such poor passion as the maid that milks
l77l		And does the meanest chores. It were for me
l78l		To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods,
l79l		To tell them that this world did equal theirs
l80l		Till they had stol’n our jewel. All’s but naught.
l81l		Patience is sottish, and impatience does
l82l		Become a dog that’s mad. Then is it sin
l83l		To rush into the secret house of death
l84l		Ere death dare come to us? How do you, women?
l85l		What, what, good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian?
l86l		My noble girls! Ah, women, women! Look,
l87l		Our lamp is spent, it’s out. Good sirs, take heart#
l88l		We’ll bury him, and then what’s brave, what’s noble,
l89l		Let’s do it after the high Roman fashion,
l90l		And make death proud to take us. Come, away.
l91l		This case of that huge spirit now is cold.
l92l		Ah, women, women! Come. We have no friend
l93l		But resolution, and the briefest end.
		(Exeunt, those above bearing off Antony's body)