The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, William Shakespeare [book recommendations based on other books txt] 📗

come indeed-when I should see behind me Th’ inevitable prosecution of

Disgrace and horror, that, on my command, Thou then wouldst kill me. Do’t; the time is come.

Thou strik’st not me; ‘tis Caesar thou defeat’st.

Put colour in thy cheek.

EROS. The gods withhold me!

Shall I do that which all the Parthian darts, Though enemy, lost aim and could not?

ANTONY. Eros,

Wouldst thou be window’d in great Rome and see Thy master thus with pleach’d arms, bending down His corrigible neck, his face subdu’d To penetrative shame, whilst the wheel’d seat Of fortunate Caesar, drawn before him, branded His baseness that ensued?

EROS. I would not see’t.

ANTONY. Come, then; for with a wound I must be cur’d.

Draw that thy honest sword, which thou hast worn Most useful for thy country.

EROS. O, sir, pardon me!

ANTONY. When I did make thee free, swor’st thou not then To do this when I bade thee? Do it at once, Or thy precedent services are all

But accidents unpurpos’d. Draw, and come.

EROS. Turn from me then that noble countenance, Wherein the worship of the whole world lies.

ANTONY. Lo thee! [Turning from him]

EROS. My sword is drawn.

ANTONY. Then let it do at once

The thing why thou hast drawn it.

EROS. My dear master,

My captain and my emperor, let me say, Before I strike this bloody stroke, farewell.

ANTONY. ‘Tis said, man; and farewell.

EROS. Farewell, great chief. Shall I strike now?

ANTONY. Now, Eros.

EROS. Why, there then! Thus do I escape the sorrow Of Antony’s death. [Kills himself ANTONY. Thrice nobler than myself!

Thou teachest me, O valiant Eros, what I should, and thou couldst not. My queen and Eros Have, by their brave instruction, got upon me A nobleness in record. But I will be

A bridegroom in my death, and run into’t As to a lover’s bed. Come, then; and, Eros, Thy master dies thy scholar. To do thus [Falling on his sword]

I learn’d of thee. How? not dead? not dead?-

The guard, ho! O, dispatch me!

 

Enter DERCETAS and a guard FIRST GUARD. What’s the noise?

ANTONY. I have done my work ill, friends. O, make an end Of what I have begun.

SECOND GUARD. The star is fall’n.

FIRST GUARD. And time is at his period.

ALL. Alas, and woe!

ANTONY. Let him that loves me, strike me dead.

FIRST GUARD. Not I.

SECOND GUARD. Nor I.

THIRD GUARD. Nor any one. Exeunt guard DERCETAS. Thy death and fortunes bid thy followers fly.

This sword but shown to Caesar, with this tidings, Shall enter me with him.

 

Enter DIOMEDES

 

DIOMEDES. Where’s Antony?

DERCETAS. There, Diomed, there.

DIOMEDES. Lives he?

Wilt thou not answer, man? Exit DERCETAS

ANTONY. Art thou there, Diomed? Draw thy sword and give me Sufficing strokes for death.

DIOMEDES. Most absolute lord,

My mistress Cleopatra sent me to thee.

ANTONY. When did she send thee?

DIOMEDES. Now, my lord.

ANTONY. Where is she?

DIOMEDES. Lock’d in her monument. She had a prophesying fear Of what hath come to pass; for when she saw-Which never shall be found-you did suspect She had dispos’d with Caesar, and that your rage Would not be purg’d, she sent you word she was dead; But fearing since how it might work, hath sent Me to proclaim the truth; and I am come, I dread, too late.

ANTONY. Too late, good Diomed. Call my guard, I prithee.

DIOMEDES. What, ho! the Emperor’s guard! The guard, what ho!

Come, your lord calls!

 

Enter four or five of the guard of ANTONY

 

ANTONY. Bear me, good friends, where Cleopatra bides; ‘Tis the last service that I shall command you.

FIRST GUARD. Woe, woe are we, sir, you may not live to wear All your true followers out.

ALL. Most heavy day!

ANTONY. Nay, good my fellows, do not please sharp fate To grace it with your sorrows. Bid that welcome Which comes to punish us, and we punish it, Seeming to bear it lightly. Take me up.

I have led you oft; carry me now, good friends, And have my thanks for all. Exeunt, hearing ANTONY

ACT_4|SC_15

SCENE XV.

Alexandria. A monument Enter CLEOPATRA and her maids aloft, with CHARMIAN

and IRAS

 

CLEOPATRA. O Charmian, I will never go from hence!

CHARMIAN. Be comforted, dear madam.

CLEOPATRA. No, I will not.

All strange and terrible events are welcome, But comforts we despise; our size of sorrow, Proportion’d to our cause, must be as great As that which makes it.

 

Enter DIOMEDES, below

 

How now! Is he dead?

DIOMEDES. His death’s upon him, but not dead.

Look out o’ th’ other side your monument; His guard have brought him thither.

 

Enter, below, ANTONY, borne by the guard CLEOPATRA. O sun,

Burn the great sphere thou mov’st in! Darkling stand The varying shore o’ th’ world. O Antony, Antony, Antony! Help, Charmian; help, Iras, help; Help, friends below! Let’s draw him hither.

ANTONY. Peace!

Not Caesar’s valour hath o’erthrown Antony, But Antony’s hath triumph’d on itself.

CLEOPATRA. So it should be, that none but Antony Should conquer Antony; but woe ‘tis so!

ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying; only

I here importune death awhile, until

Of many thousand kisses the poor last I lay upon thy lips.

CLEOPATRA. I dare not, dear.

Dear my lord, pardon! I dare not,

Lest I be taken. Not th’ imperious show Of the full-fortun’d Caesar ever shall Be brooch’d with me. If knife, drugs, serpents, have Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe.

Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour Demuring upon me. But come, come, Antony-Help me, my women-we must draw thee up; Assist, good friends.

ANTONY. O, quick, or I am gone.

CLEOPATRA. Here’s sport indeed! How heavy weighs my lord!

Our strength is all gone into heaviness; That makes the weight. Had I great Juno’s power, The strong-wing’d Mercury should fetch thee up, And set thee by Jove’s side. Yet come a little.

Wishers were ever fools. O come, come, [They heave ANTONY aloft to CLEOPATRA]

And welcome, welcome! Die where thou hast liv’d.

Quicken with kissing. Had my lips that power, Thus would I wear them out.

ALL. A heavy sight!

ANTONY. I am dying, Egypt, dying.

Give me some wine, and let me speak a little.

CLEOPATRA. No, let me speak; and let me rail so high That the false huswife Fortune break her wheel, Provok’d by my offence.

ANTONY. One word, sweet queen:

Of Caesar seek your honour, with your safety. O!

CLEOPATRA. They do not go together.

ANTONY. Gentle, hear me:

None about Caesar trust but Proculeius.

CLEOPATRA. My resolution and my hands I’ll trust; None about Caesar

ANTONY. The miserable change now at my end Lament nor sorrow at; but please your thoughts In feeding them with those my former fortunes Wherein I liv’d the greatest prince o’ th’ world, The noblest; and do now not basely die, Not cowardly put off my helmet to

My countryman-a Roman by a Roman

Valiantly vanquish’d. Now my spirit is going I can no more.

CLEOPATRA. Noblest of men, woo’t die?

Hast thou no care of me? Shall I abide In this dull world, which in thy absence is No better than a sty? O, see, my women, [Antony dies]

The crown o’ th’ earth doth melt. My lord!

O, wither’d is the garland of the war, The soldier’s pole is fall’n! Young boys and girls Are level now with men. The odds is gone, And there is nothing left remarkable

Beneath the visiting moon. [Swoons]

CHARMIAN. O, quietness, lady!

IRAS. She’s dead too, our sovereign.

CHARMIAN. Lady!

IRAS. Madam!

CHARMIAN. O madam, madam, madam!

IRAS. Royal Egypt, Empress!

CHARMIAN. Peace, peace, Iras!

CLEOPATRA. No more but e’en a woman, and commanded By such poor passion as the maid that milks And does the meanest chares. It were for me To throw my sceptre at the injurious gods; To tell them that this world did equal theirs Till they had stol’n our jewel. All’s but nought; Patience is sottish, and impatience does Become a dog that’s mad. Then is it sin To rush into the secret house of death Ere death dare come to us? How do you, women?

What, what! good cheer! Why, how now, Charmian!

My noble girls! Ah, women, women, look, Our lamp is spent, it’s out! Good sirs, take heart.

We’ll bury him; and then, what’s brave, what’s noble, Let’s do it after the high Roman fashion, And make death proud to take us. Come, away; This case of that huge spirit now is cold.

Ah, women, women! Come; we have no friend But resolution and the briefest end.

Exeunt; those above hearing off ANTONY’S body ACT_5|SC_1

ACT V. SCENE I.

Alexandria. CAESAR’S camp Enter CAESAR, AGRIPPA, DOLABELLA, MAECENAS, GALLUS, PROCULEIUS, and others, his Council of War CAESAR. Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield; Being so frustrate, tell him he mocks The pauses that he makes.

DOLABELLA. Caesar, I shall. Exit Enter DERCETAS With the sword of ANTONY

 

CAESAR. Wherefore is that? And what art thou that dar’st Appear thus to us?

DERCETAS. I am call’d Dercetas;

Mark Antony I serv’d, who best was worthy Best to be serv’d. Whilst he stood up and spoke, He was my master, and I wore my life

To spend upon his haters. If thou please To take me to thee, as I was to him

I’ll be to Caesar; if thou pleasest not, I yield thee up my life.

CAESAR. What is’t thou say’st?

DERCETAS. I say, O Caesar, Antony is dead.

CAESAR. The breaking of so great a thing should make A greater crack. The round world

Should have shook lions into civil streets, And citizens to their dens. The death of Antony Is not a single doom; in the name lay A moiety of the world.

DERCETAS. He is dead, Caesar,

Not by a public minister of justice,

Nor by a hired knife; but that self hand Which writ his honour in the acts it did Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it, Splitted the heart. This is his sword; I robb’d his wound of it; behold it stain’d With his most noble blood.

CAESAR. Look you sad, friends?

The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings To wash the eyes of kings.

AGRIPPA. And strange it is

That nature must compel us to lament

Our most persisted deeds.

MAECENAS. His taints and honours

Wag’d equal with him.

AGRIPPA. A rarer spirit never

Did steer humanity. But you gods will give us Some faults to make us men. Caesar is touch’d.

MAECENAS. When such a spacious mirror’s set before him, He needs must see himself.

CAESAR. O Antony,

I have follow’d thee to this! But we do lance Diseases in our bodies. I must perforce Have shown to thee such a declining day Or look on thine; we could not stall together In the whole world. But yet let me lament, With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts, That thou, my brother, my competitor

In top of all design, my mate in empire, Friend and companion in the front of war, The arm of mine own body, and the heart Where mine his thoughts did kindle-that our stars, Unreconciliable, should divide

Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends-Enter an EGYPTIAN

 

But I will tell you at some meeter season.

The business of this man looks out of him; We’ll hear him what he says. Whence are you?

EGYPTIAN. A poor Egyptian, yet the Queen, my mistress, Confin’d in all she has, her monument, Of thy intents desires instruction,

That she preparedly may frame herself To th’ way she’s forc’d to.

CAESAR. Bid her have good heart.

She soon shall know of us, by some of ours, How honourable and how kindly we

Determine for her;