And the ebb'd man ne'er lov'd, till ne'er worth love, Goes to, and back, lackeying the varying tide, To rot itself with motion. Mess. Cæsar, I bring thee word, Menecrates and Menas, famous pirates, Make the sea serve them; which they ears and wound With keels of every kind: many hot inroads Lack blood to think on't, and flush youth revolt: No vessel can peep forth, but 'tis as soon Taken as seen; for Pompey's name strikes more, Cæs. Antony, Leave thy lascivious wassails. When thou once Hirtius and Pansa, consuls, at thy heel Did famine follow; whom thou fought'st against, Which beasts would cough at: thy palate then did deign 3 Comes FEAR'D by being lack'd.] So all the old copies; but since Theobald's time the reading has been dear'd for "fear'd." The alteration is plausible, but does not seem necessary. Cæsar may mean, that Pompey, by being so much backed by the people, has become powerful, and is therefore " fear'd." 4 Goes to, and back, LACKEYING the varying tide,] "Lackeying" is Theobald's change, for lacking of the old copies, and not for lashing, as he erroneously asserts: no folio has lashing. The corruption of lacking for "lackeying" was very easy. Southern, in his folio, 1685, altered lacking to backing; but we much prefer Theobald's emendation. 6 Leave thy lascivious WASSAILS.] The question here is, whether vassailes, as the word is printed in the folios, 1623 and 1632, be meant for "wassails," or merely for vassals. Either reading may be right; but vassal was not usually, though sometimes, spelt vassaile, and nothing is more likely than that the old compositor should use o for w. Cæsar has previously accused Antony of "tippling with a slave," and "reeling the streets at noon," which countenances "wassails" as an old drinking term. It is curious to see modern editors disputing how the word is spelt in the folio, 1623, and all giving it wrongly. The roughest berry on the rudest hedge; So much as lank'd not. Lep. 'Tis pity of him. Cæs. Let his shames quickly Drive him to Rome. 'Tis time we twain Thrives in our idleness. Lep. To-morrow, Cæsar, I shall be furnish'd to inform you rightly To front this present time. Till which encounter, It is my business too. Farewell. Lep. Farewell, my lord. What you shall know mean time Of stirs abroad, I shall beseech you, sir, To let me be partaker. Cæs. Doubt not, sir; I knew it for my bond. [Exeunt. SCENE V. Alexandria. A Room in the Palace. Enter CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, IRAS, and MARDIAN. Cleo. Charmian, Char. Madam. 7 Assemble we immediate council :) an error corrected by the second folio. the latter would hardly address to him council." The first folio misprints me for "we;" Lepidus was the equal of Cæsar, and the mandate, " Assemble me immediate 8 Give me to drink MANDRAGORA.] A strong opiate. See "Othello,” Vol. vii. p. 571. Cleo. Ha, ha! Give me to drink mandragora. Char. Why, madam? Cleo. That I might sleep out this great gap of time, Cleo. Not now to hear thee sing: I take no plea sure In aught an eunuch has. 'Tis well for thee, May not fly forth of Egypt. Hast thou affections? Mar. Yes, gracious madam. Cleo. Indeed? Mar. Not in deed, madam; for I can do nothing, But what in deed is honest to be done; Yet have I fierce affections, and think What Venus did with Mars. Cleo. O, Charmian! Where think'st thou he is now? Stands he, or sits he? Or does he walk? or is he on his horse? O happy horse to bear the weight of Antony! Do bravely, horse, for wot'st thou whom thou mov'st? The demi-Atlas of this earth, the arm And burgonet of men. - He's speaking now, دو 9 And BURGONET of men.] A "burgonet" was a kind of helmet: by " arm in the preceding line is probably to be understood weapon. On the next page we meet with the epithet "arm-gaunt," as applied to a horse, which had perhaps become gaunt by bearing arms. However, this is doubtful, and Sir T. Hanmer would substitute arm-girt, and Monck Mason, termagant. And wrinkled deep in time? Broad-fronted Cæsar, With looking on his life. Alex. Enter ALEXAS. Sovereign of Egypt, hail! Cleo. How much unlike art thou Mark Antony; Yet, coming from him, that great medicine hath How goes it with my brave Mark Antony? Alex. Last thing he did, dear queen, Cleo. Mine ear must pluck it thence. Alex. Good friend, quoth he, Say, "the firm Roman to great Egypt sends To mend the petty present, I will piece Her opulent throne with kingdoms: all the east," Say thou, "shall call her mistress." So he nodded, And soberly did mount an arm-gaunt steed, Who neigh'd so high, that what I would have spoke Was beastly dumb'd by him. Cleo. What! was he sad, or merry? Aler. Like to the time o' the year between the ex tremes Of hot and cold: he was nor sad, nor merry. Cleo. O well-divided disposition !-Note him, Note him, good Charmian, 'tis the man; but note him: He was not sad, for he would shine on those That make their looks by his: he was not merry, Which seem'd to tell them, his remembrance lay In Egypt with his joy; but between both: O heavenly mingle!-Be'st thou sad, or merry, 10 So does it no man else1o.- Met'st thou my posts? Why do you send so thick? Cleo. Who's born that day When I forget to send to Antony, Ever love Cæsar so? Char. O, that brave Cæsar! Cleo. Be chok'd with such another emphasis ! Say, the brave Antony. Char. The valiant Cæsar! Cleo. By Isis, I will give thee bloody teeth, If thou with Cæsar paragon again When I was green in judgment :-cold in blood', To say as I said then!-But come, away; Get me ink and paper: He shall have every day a several greeting, Or I'll unpeople Egypt. [Exeunt. 10 So does it no man else.] The folio, 1623, "no man's else:" corrected in the folio, 1632. "So" is here used as in a previous passage (p. 17) for as-" So Antony loves." 1 cold in blood,] Boswell would make these words apply to Cleopatra, as if she had been "cold in blood" when she was young, and hot in blood now she had grown older: "cold in blood" is clearly addressed to Charmian, by way of reproof, and so Warburton considered, varying judiciously from the old punctuation, which affords, not only a tame and spiritless, but an inconsistent, meaning. |