not let him partake in the glory of the action: and not resting here, accuses him of letters he had formerly wrote to Pompey; upon his own appeal,3 seizes him: So the poor third is up, till death enlarge his confine.

Eno. Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more; And throw, between them all the food thou hast, They'll grind the one the other. Where 's Antony ?4 Eros. He's walking in the garden-thus; and spurns The rush that lies before him; cries, Fool, Lepidus! And threats the throat of that his officer,

That murder'd Pompey.

Eno.

Our great navy 's rigg'd. Eros. For Italy, and Cæsar. More, Domitius;5 My lord desires you presently: my news

I might have told hereafter.

Eno.

'Twill be naught:

[Exeunt.

But let it be.-Bring me to Antony.

Eros. Come, sir.

SCENE VI.

Rome. A Room in Cæsar's House.

Enter CESAR, AGRIPPA, and MECENAS.

Cas. Contemning Rome, he has done all this: And

more;

In Alexandria, here's the manner of it,—
I' the market-place, on a tribunal silver'd,

3 upon his own appeal,] To appeal, in Shakspeare, is to accuse; Cæsar seized Lepidus without any other proof than Casar's accusation. Johnson.

4 Then, world, &c.] Old copy-Then 'would thou hadst a pair of chaps, no more; and throw between them all the food thou hast, they'll grind the other. Where's Antony? This is obscure, I read it thus:

Then, world, thou hast a pair of chaps, no more; And throw between them all the food thou hast, They'll grind the one the other. Where's Antony? Cæsar and Antony will make war on each other, though they have the world to prey upon between them. Johnson.

5

More, Domitius;] I have something more to tell you, which I might have told at first, and delayed my news. Antony requires your presence. Johnson.

I' the market-place,] So, in the old translation of Plutarch: "For he assembled all the people in the show place, where

Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold
Were publickly enthron'd: at the feet, sat
Cæsarion, whom they call my father's son;
And all the unlawful issue, that their lust
Since then hath made between them. Unto her
He gave the 'stablishment of Egypt; made her
Of lower Syria, Cyprus, Lydia,7

Absolute queen.

Mec.

This in the public eye?

Ces. I' the common show-place, where they exercise. His sons he theres proclaim'd, The kings of kings: Great Media, Parthia, and Armenia,

He gave to Alexander; to Ptolemy he assign'd
Syria, Cilicia, and Phoenicia: She

In the habiliments of the goddess Isis9

younge men doe exercise them selues, and there vpon a high tribunall siluered, he set two chayres of gold, the one for him selfe, and the other for Cleopatra, and lower chaires for his children: then he openly published before the assembly, that first of all he did establish Cleopatra queene of Egypt, of Cyprvs, of Lydia, and of the lower Syria, and at that time also, Cæsarion king of the same realmes. This Cæsarion was supposed to be the sonne of Julius Cæsar, who had left Cleopatra great with child. Secondly, he called the sonnes he had by her, the kings of kings, and gaue Alexander for his portion, Armenia, Media, and Parthia, when had conquered the country: and vnto Ptolemy for his portion, Phenicia, Syria, and Cilicia." Steevens.

7 For Lydia, Mr. Upton, from Plutarch, has restored Lybia. Johnson. In the translation from the French of Amyot, by Tho. North, in folio, 1597,* will be seen at once the origin of this mistake: "First of all he did establish Cleopatra queen of Egypt, of Cyprus, of Lydia, and the lower Syria. Farmer.

The present reading is right: for in page 297, where Cæsar is recounting the several kings whom Antony had assembled, he gives the kingdom of Lybia to Bocchus. M. Mason.

8 he there-] The old copy has-hither. The correction was made by Mr. Steevens. Malone.

9

the goddess Isis -] So, in the old translation of Plutarch: "Now for Cleopatra, she did not onely weare at that time (but at all other times els when she came abroad) the apparell of the goddesse Isis, and so gaue audience vnto all her subjects, as a new Isis." Stevens.

* I find the character of this work pretty early delineated:
""Twas Greek at first, that Greek was Latin made,
"That Latin French, that French to English straid:
"Thus 'twixt one Plutarch there 's more difference,
"Than i' th' same Englishman return'd from France."

Farmer

That day appear'd; and oft before gave
As 'tis reported, so.

audience

Mec.

Inform'd.

Let Rome be thus

*

Agr. Who, queasy with his insolence

Already, will their good thoughts call from him.
Cas. The people know it; and have now received
His accusations.

Agr.

Whom does he accuse?

Ces. Cæsar: and that, having in Sicily

Sextus Pompeius spoil'd, we had not rated him
His part o' the isle: then does he say, he lent me
Some shipping unrestor'd: lastly, he frets,
That Lepidus of the triumvirate

Should be depos'd; and, being, that we detain
All his revenue.

Agr.

Sir, this should be answer'd.

Cas. 'Tis done already, and the messenger goną.

I have told him, Lepidus was grown too cruel;

That he his high authority abus'd,

And did deserve his change; for what I have conquer'd, I grant him part; but then, in his Armenia,

And other of his conquer'd kingdoms, I

Demand the like.

Mec.

He'll never yield to that.

Cas. Nor must not then be yielded to in this.

Enter OCTAVIA.

Oct. Hail, Cæsar, and my lord! hail, most dear Cæsar! Cas. That ever I should call thee, cast-away!

Oct. You have not call'd me so, nor have you cause. Cas. Why have you stol'n upon us thus? You come not Like Cæsar's sister: The wife of Antony

Should have an army for an usher, and

The neighs of horse to tell of her approach,
Long ere she did appear; the trees by the way,
Should have borne men; and expectation fainted,
Longing for what it had not: nay, the dust
Should have ascended to the roof of heaven,
Rais'd by your populous troops: But you are come
A market-maid to Rome; and have prevented

The ostent of our love, which, left unshown

*

queasy-] Nauseated-sick. Am. Ed.

The ostent of our love,] Old copy-ostentation. But the me

Is often left unlov'd: we should have met you
By sea, and land; supplying every stage
With an augmented greeting.

Good my lord,

Oct.
To come thus was I not constrain'd, but did it
On my free-will. My lord, Mark Antony,
Hearing that you prepar'd for war, acquainted
My grieved ear withal; whereon, I begg'd
His pardon for return.

Cas.
Being an obstruct 'tween his lust and him.2
Oct. Do not say so, my lord.

Which soon he granted,

Cas.

I have eyes upon him,

And his affairs come to me on the wind.

Where is he now?

Oct.

My lord, in Athens.3

Cas. No, my most wronged sister; Cleopatra

tre, and our author's repeated use of the former word in The Merchant of Venice: ". Such fair ostents of love," sufficiently authorize the slight change I have made. Ostent occurs also in King Henry V:

"Giving full trophy, signal, and ostent -" Steevens.

2 Which soon be granted,

Being an obstruct 'tween his lust and him.] [Old copy-abstract.] Antony very soon complied to let Octavia go at her request, says Cæsar; and why? Because she was an abstract between his inordinate passion and him. This is absurd. We must read:

Being an obstruct 'tween his lust and him.

i. e. his wife being an obstruction, a bar to the prosecution of his wanton pleasures with Cleopatra. Warburton.

I am by no means certain that this change was necessary. Mr. Henley pronounces it to be "needless, and that it ought to be rejected, as perverting the sense." One of the meanings of abstracted is-separated, disjoined, and therefore our poet, with his usual licence, might have used it for a disjunctive. I believe there is no such substantive as obstruct: besides, we say, an obstruction to a thing, but not between one thing and another.

As Mr. Malone, however, is contented with Dr. Warburton's reading, I have left it in our text. Steevens.

3 My lord, in Athens.] Some words, necessary to the metre, being here omitted Sir Thomas Hanmer reads:

My lord, he is in Athens.

But I rather conceive the omission to have been in the former hemistich, which might originally have stood thus:

Where is he, pray you, now?

Oct.

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:5 He hath assembled
Bocchus, the king of Lybia; 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 Amintas,
The kings of Mede, and Lycaonia, with a
More larger list of scepters.

Oct.

Ah me, most wretched,

That have my heart parted betwixt two friends,
That do afflict each other!

Cæs.
Welcome hither:
Your letters did withhold our breaking forth;
Till we perceiv'd, 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 determin'd things to destiny

Hold unbewail'd their way. Welcome to Rome:
Nothing more dear to me. You are abus'd
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;"

4 who now are levying-] That is, which two persons now are levying, &c. Malone.

5 The kings o' the earth for war:] Mr. Upton remarks, that there are some errors in this enumeration of the auxiliary kings: but it is probable that the author did not much wish to be accurate. Johnson.

Mr. Upton proposes to read:

· Polemon and Amintas

Of Lycaonia; and the king of Mede."

And this obviates all impropriety." Steevens.

6

them ministers-] Old copy-his ministers. Corrected by Mr. Capell. Malone.

Best of comfort;] Thus the original copy. The connecting particle, and, seems to favour the old reading.-According to the modern innovation, Be of comfort, (which was introduced by Mr. Rowe) it stands very aukwardly. "Best of comfort" may mean-Thou best of comforters! a phrase which we meet with again in The Tempest: