Antony and Cleopatra TranslationAct 1, Scene 1

Original Translation
Enter DEMETRIUS and PHILO
DEMETRIUS and PHILO enter.
PHILO
Nay, but this dotage of our general’sO’erflows the measure. Those his goodly eyes,That o’er the files and
musters of the warHave glowed like plated Mars, now bend, now turn5The office and devotion of their
viewUpon a tawny front. His captain’s heart,Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burstThe buckles on his
breast, reneges all temperAnd is become the bellows and the fan10To cool a gypsy’s lust.
PHILO
I'm telling you, our general's ridiculous infatuation goes beyond the limits of reasonable behavior. Those
handsome eyes of his, that used to shine like Mars's when he looked over the lines of troops, now turn away
and give their duty and love to a woman with a dark complexion. He used to have the heart of a military
commander, which swelled so much during the battles of great wars that it split open the armor on his chest, but
now he abandons all self-restraint and only lives to stir up and then satisfy an Egyptian's sexual desire.
Flourish. Enter ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, her ladies, the train, with eunuchs fanning her
A flourish of trumpets sounds. ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, and CLEOPATRA'S female attendants and
followers enter, with eunuchs fanning her.
Look where they come.Take but good note, and you shall see in himThe triple pillar of the world
transformedInto a strumpet’s fool. Behold and see.
See, here they come. Pay attention, and you'll see one of the three most powerful men in the world behaving
like a fool to entertain a strumpet. Look and see.
CLEOPATRA
15If it be love indeed, tell me how much.
CLEOPATRA
If you really love me, tell me how much.

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ANTONY
There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned.
ANTONY
My love for you could not be very great if I could tell you how much I love you.
CLEOPATRA
I’ll set a bourn how far to be beloved.
CLEOPATRA
I'll mark off boundaries to see how far your love extends.
ANTONY
Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.
ANTONY
If you want to see how far my love extends, you'll need to discover a new world, because my love extends
beyond this one.
A MESSENGER enters.
MESSENGER
News, my good lord, from Rome.
MESSENGER
I have news from Rome, my good lord.
ANTONY
20Grates me, the sum.
ANTONY
That irritates me. Summarize it for me.
CLEOPATRA
Nay, hear them, Antony.Fulvia perchance is angry. Or who knowsIf the scarce-bearded Caesar have not sentHis
powerful mandate to you, “Do this, or this.25Take in that kingdom, and enfranchise that.Perform ’t, or else we
damn thee.”
CLEOPATRA
No, listen to him, Antony. Maybe Fulvia is angry. Or perhaps the young Caesar has sent a stern command,
ordering you, "Do this, or this. Conquer that kingdom, and free that one. Do it, or I'll be very angry with you."
ANTONY
How, my love?
ANTONY
Why are you talking like this, my love?
CLEOPATRA
Perchance? Nay, and most like.You must not stay here longer. Your dismission30Is come from
Caesar. Therefore hear it, Antony.Where’s Fulvia’s process? Caesar’s, I would say—both?Call in the
messengers. As I am Egypt’s queen,Thou blushest, Antony, and that blood of thineIs Caesar’s homager. Else so
thy cheek pays shame35When shrill-tongued Fulvia scolds. The messengers!
CLEOPATRA
Maybe? No, this is definitely the news. You shouldn't stay here any longer. Caesar has given you your
orders. So, pay attention, Antony. Where's the summons from Fulvia? From Caesar, I should say—or both? Call
in the messengers. As sure as I'm Egypt's queen, I say you're blushing, Antony, and your blush shows your
loyalty to Caesar. Either that, or it shows you're shame when Fulvia scolds you with her shrill tongue. Call in
the messengers!
ANTONY
Let Rome in Tiber melt and the wide archOf the ranged empire fall. Here is my space.Kingdoms are clay. Our
dungy earth alikeFeeds beast as man. The nobleness of life40Is to do thus, when such a mutual pairAnd such a
twain can do ’t, in which I bind,On pain of punishment, the world to weetWe stand up peerless.
ANTONY
Let Rome collapse into the Tiber River and the whole extent of the wide empire fall. The only empire I want is
right here. Conquering foreign lands is worthless. Land is just something that animals feed off of, the same way
humans do. The noble way to live is like this when there are two people like us who share the same greatness
and the same great feelings—and I order the world to recognize, on pain of punishment, that no one else comes
close to our greatness.
CLEOPATRA
Excellent falsehood!45Why did he marry Fulvia, and not love her?I’ll seem the fool I am not. AntonyWill be
himself.
CLEOPATRA
[To the court] What an eloquent lie! Why did Antony marry Fulvia if he didn't love her? I'll pretend to believe
him. I know that Antony will keep acting so foolishly.
ANTONY
But stirred by Cleopatra.Now, for the love of Love and her soft hours,50Let’s not confound the time with
conference harsh.There’s not a minute of our lives should stretchWithout some pleasure now. What sport
tonight?
ANTONY
Yes, but only because of you. Now, since we love Love and the relaxing hours it brings, let's not ruin our time
together by arguing. We shouldn't let a minute pass without pleasure. How shall we entertain ourselves tonight?
CLEOPATRA
Hear the ambassadors.
CLEOPATRA
Listen to the messengers.
ANTONY
Fie, wrangling Queen!55Whom every thing becomes—to chide, to laugh,To weep, whose every passion fully
strivesTo make itself, in thee, fair and admired!No messenger but thine, and all aloneTonight we’ll wander
through the streets and note60The qualities of people. Come, my Queen,Last night you did desire it.— [To the
MESSENGER] Speaknot to us.
ANTONY
Don't talk like that, you stubborn Queen! But everything you do is endearing, whether you criticize, laugh, or
cry; every emotion you express becomes attractive and admirable! The only messages I want to hear are yours,
and tonight we'll wander through the streets alone and observe the people we meet. Come, my Queen, this was
what you wanted last night.
[To the MESSENGER] Don't talk to me.
Exeunt ANTONY and CLEOPATRA with the train
ANTONY and CLEOPATRA exit along with her followers.
DEMETRIUS
Is Caesar with Antonius prized so slight?
DEMETRIUS
Does Antony care so little about Caesar's orders?
PHILO
Sir, sometimes when he is not Antony65He comes too short of that great propertyWhich still should go with
Antony.
PHILO
Sir, sometimes he doesn't behave like Antony, and he doesn't care about the things that the Antony we know
should care about.
DEMETRIUS
I am full sorryThat he approves the common liar, whoThus speaks of him at Rome, but I will hope70Of better
deeds tomorrow. Rest you happy!
DEMETRIUS
There are people back in Rome who say he's not acting the way he should, and I'm sorry that he's proving them
right. But I hope he'll behave better tomorrow. Sleep well!
Exeunt
PHILO and DEMETRIUS exit.
 Act 1, Scene 2
CHARMIAN
Lord Alexas, sweet Alexas, most anything Alexas, almostmost absolute Alexas, where’s the
soothsayer that youpraised so to th’ Queen? Oh that I knew this husband,which, you say, must
charge his horns with garlands!
CHARMIAN
Lord Alexas, sweet Alexas, Alexas whom I could give almost any compliment, almost perfect Alexas,
where's that soothsayer that you praised so much when you were talking to the Queen? Oh, I wish I
knew who you were referring to when you talked about a husband who had been cuckolded!
ALEXAS
5Soothsayer!
SOOTHSAYER
What do you want?

CHARMIAN
[To ALEXAS] Is this the man? [To SOOTHSAYER] Is ’t you,sir, that know things?
CHAIRMAN
[To ALEXAS] Is this the person you were talking about?
[To the SOOTHSAYER] Are you the one, sir, who has supernatural knowledge?
SOOTHSAYER
In nature’s infinite book of secrecy10A little I can read.
SOOTHSAYER
I know a little about the world's many secrets.
ALEXAS
[To CHARMIAN] Show him your hand.
ENOBARBUS
[To servants within] Bring in the banquet quickly. WineenoughCleopatra’s health to drink.
ENOBARBUS
[To servants inside] Bring in the banquet quickly. Bring in enough wine to toast to Cleopatra's health.
CHARMIAN
15[giving hand to SOOTHSAYER] Good sir, give me goodfortune.
CHARMIAN
[Giving her hand to the SOOTHSAYER] Good sir, give me a good fortune.
SOOTHSAYER
I make not, but foresee.
SOOTHSAYER
I don't give fortunes, I just tell people what they are going to be.
CHARMIAN
Pray, then, foresee me one.
CHARMIAN
Then please tell me what mine is going to be.
SOOTHSAYER
You shall be yet far fairer than you are.
SOOTHSAYER
You'll be more beautiful in the future than you are right now.
CHARMIAN
20[To the others] He means in flesh.
CHARMIAN
[To the others] He means that I'll get fatter.
IRAS
No, you shall paint when you are old.
IRAS
No, he means that you'll use makeup when you get old.
CHARMIAN
Wrinkles forbid!
CHARMIAN
God forbid I get wrinkles!
ALEXAS
Don't annoy this wise man. Pay attention to him.
CHARMIAN
Hush!
SOOTHSAYER
25You shall be more beloving than beloved.
SOOTHSAYER
You'll love other people more than they love you.
CHARMIAN
I had rather heat my liver with drinking.
CHARMIAN
I would rather drink than love.
ALEXAS
No, listen to him.
CHARMIAN
Good now, some excellent fortune! Let me be married tothree kings in a forenoon and widow them
all. Let me30have a child at fifty, to whom Herod of Jewry may dohomage. Find me to marry me with
Octavius Caesar, andcompanion me with my mistress.
CHARMIAN
Come on, tell me some good news now! Let me marry three kings in a single day and let all of them
die and leave me a rich widow. When I'm fifty years old, let me give birth to a child so great that
even King Herod would honor him. Look at my palm and tell me that I'm destined to marry Octavius
Caesar and become as great as my mistress Cleopatra.
SOOTHSAYER
You shall outlive the lady whom you serve.
SOOTHSAYER
You will live longer than your mistress.
CHARMIAN
Oh, excellent! I love long life better than figs.
CHARMIAN
Oh, excellent! I love long life even better than figs.
SOOTHSAYER
35You have seen and proved a fairer former fortuneThan that which is to approach.
SOOTHSAYER
Your life up until now has been happier than it will be in the future.
CHARMIAN
Then belike my children shall have no names. Prithee,how many boys and wenches must I have?
CHARMIAN
Then maybe all my children will be illegitimate. Tell me, how many little boys and girls will I have?
SOOTHSAYER
If every of your wishes had a womb,40And fertile every wish, a million.
SOOTHSAYER
If every one of your wishes were a child, you would have a million children.
CHARMIAN
Out, fool! I forgive thee for a witch.
CHARMIAN
Get out of here, fool! Because you're a fortune teller, I won't bring charges of witchcraft against you.
ALEXAS
You think none but your sheets are privy to yourwishes.
ALEXAS
You think no one knows your wishes but your bed.
CHARMIAN
[To SOOTHSAYER] Nay, come, tell Iras hers.
CHARMIAN
[To the SOOTHSAYER] No, come on, tell Iras her fortune.
ALEXAS
45We’ll know all our fortunes.
ALEXAS
We'll all have our fortunes told.
ENOBARBUS
Mine, and most of our fortunes tonight, shall be—drunkto bed.
ENOBARBUS
My fortune, and most of ours, tonight will be—that we go to bed drunk.
IRAS
[giving her hand to the SOOTHSAYER] There’s a palmpresages chastity, if nothing else.
IRAS
[Giving her hand to the SOOTHSAYER] My palm tells you that I'm chaste, if nothing else.
CHARMIAN
50E’en as the o’erflowing Nilus presageth famine.
CHARMIAN
Yes, just like the Nile tells you that there will be a famine when it overflows.
IRAS
Go, you wild bedfellow, you cannot soothsay.
IRAS
Go away, you lusty friend, you can't tell fortunes.
CHARMIAN
Nay, if an oily palm be not a fruitful prognostication,I cannot scratch mine ear.—Prithee, tell her but
aworkaday fortune.
CHARMIAN
No, if I don't know the meaning of a sweaty palm, I can't scratch my ear.

[To the SOOTHSAYER] Please, just tell her an ordinary, everyday kind of fortune.
SOOTHSAYER
55Your fortunes are alike.
SOOTHSAYER
You have the same fortunes.
IRAS
But how, but how? Give me particulars.
IRAS
But how, but how? Give me details.
SOOTHSAYER
I have said.
SOOTHSAYER
I've said what I have to say.
IRAS
Am I not an inch of fortune better than she?
IRAS
Don't I have at least a slightly better fortune than she does?
CHARMIAN
Well, if you were but an inch of fortune better than I,60where would you choose it?
CHARMIAN
Well, if you had just an inch more fortune than me, where would you want it?
IRAS
Not in my husband’s nose.
IRAS
Not in my husband's nose.
CHARMIAN
Our worser thoughts heavens mend. Alexas! [ToSOOTHSAYER] Come, his fortune, his fortune! Oh,
let himmarry a woman that cannot go, sweet Isis, I beseech65thee, and let her die too, and give him a
worse, and letworse follow worse, till the worst of all follow himlaughing to his grave, fifty-fold a
cuckold! Good Isis,hear me this prayer, though thou deny me a matter ofmore weight, good Isis, I
beseech thee!
CHARMIAN
May God correct our inappropriate thoughts. Alexas!

[To the SOOTHSAYER] Come on, his fortune, tell his fortune! Oh, let him marry a woman who is
infertile, sweet Isis, I pray, and let her die too, and then have him marry a worse wife, and let every
wife be worse after that, until the very worst one laughs next to his grave after she has cuckolded him
fifty times! Good Isis, hear this prayer of mine, even if you don't grant my prayers about more
important things. Good Isis, I beg you!
IRAS
70Amen, dear goddess, hear that prayer of the people!For, as it is a heartbreaking to see a
handsome manloose-wived, so it is a deadly sorrow to behold a foulknave uncuckolded. Therefore,
dear Isis, keep decorum,and fortune him accordingly.
IRAS
Amen, dear goddess, hear that prayer from the people! Because, just as it's a tragedy to see a
handsome man with an unfaithful wife, it's also a tragedy to see an ugly scoundrel with a faithful
wife. Therefore, Isis, respect what's appropriate and treat him accordingly.
CHARMIAN
75Amen.
CHARMIAN
Amen.
ALEXAS
[To himself] Lo now, if it lay in their hands to makeme a cuckold, they would make themselves
whores butthey’d do ’t.
ALEXAS
[To himself] Honestly, if they had it in their power to make me a cuckold, they would be willing to
make themselves whores to do it.
ENOBARBUS
Hush! Here comes Antony.
ENOBARBUS
Hush! Here comes Antony.
CHARMIAN
80Not he. The Queen.
CHARMIAN
It's not him, it's the Queen.
Enter CLEOPATRA
CLEOPATRA enters.
CLEOPATRA
Saw you my lord?
CLEOPATRA
Have you seen my lord?
ENOBARBUS
No, lady.
ENOBARBUS
No, lady.
CLEOPATRA
Was he not here?
CLEOPATRA
Wasn't he here?
CHARMIAN
No, madam.
CHARMIAN
No, madam.
CLEOPATRA
85He was disposed to mirth, but on the suddenA Roman thought hath struck him.—Enobarbus!
CLEOPATRA
He was in the mood for fun and games, but then he suddenly started thinking about Rome.
Enorbarbus!
ENOBARBUS
Madam?
ENOBARBUS
Madam?
CLEOPATRA
Seek him and bring him hither.—Where’s Alexas?
CLEOPATRA
Find him and bring him here. Where's Alexas?
ALEXAS
90Here at your service. My lord approaches.
ALEXAS
I'm at your service. My lord approaches.
Enter ANTONY with the FIRST MESSENGER
ANTONY enters with the FIRST MESSENGER.
CLEOPATRA
We will not look upon him. Go with us.
CLEOPATRA
I won't look at him. Go with us.
Exeunt all but ANTONY and the FIRST MESSENGER
All characters exit except for ANTONY and the FIRST MESSENGER.
FIRST MESSENGER
Fulvia thy wife first came into the field.
FIRST MESSENGER
Your wife Fulvia first entered the battlefield.
ANTONY
Against my brother Lucius?
ANTONY
She was fighting against my brother Lucius?
FIRST MESSENGER
Ay.95But soon that war had end, and the time’s stateMade friends of them, joining their force
’gainstCaesar,Whose better issue in the war from ItalyUpon the first encounter drave them.
FIRST MESSENGER
Yes, but that fight was soon over, and the situation forced them to make friends and combine forces
to fight against Caesar. But Caesar won the very first battle and drove them out of Italy.
ANTONY
100Well, what worst?
ANTONY
Well, what worse news could you have than that?
FIRST MESSENGER
The nature of bad news infects the teller.
FIRST MESSENGER
When a messenger delivers bad news, people usually hate him for it.
ANTONY
When it concerns the fool or coward. On.Things that are past are done, with me. ’Tis thus:Who tells
me true, though in his tale lie death,105I hear him as he flattered.
ANTONY
Only if they're fools or cowards. Continue with your news. I don't get upset about things that are
already over and done with. This is how it is: if someone tells me the truth, then I appreciate what he
has to say, even if he brings terrible news.
FIRST MESSENGER
Labienus—This is stiff news—hath with his Parthian forceExtended Asia: from EuphratesHis
conquering banner shook, from Syria110To Lydia and to Ionia,Whilst—
FIRST MESSENGER
Labienus—this is terrible news—has seized Asia with his Parthian army. He has conquered all the
territory from the Euphrates and Syria to Lydia and to Ionia. And he did all this while—
ANTONY
“Antony,” thou wouldst say.
ANTONY
You were about to say "While Antony."
FIRST MESSENGER
O my lord!
FIRST MESSENGER
Oh my lord!
ANTONY
Speak to me home. Mince not the general tongue.115Name Cleopatra as she is called in Rome.Rail
thou in Fulvia’s phrase, and taunt my faultsWith such full license as both truth and maliceHave power
to utter. Oh, then we bring forth weedsWhen our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us120Is as our
earing.
ANTONY
Tell me the truth. Don't downplay the common people's poor opinion of me. Speak about Cleopatra
the way they speak about her in Rome. Scold me using the same words my wife uses, and mock my
faults as fully possible, whether you want to speak the truth or want to be malicious. Oh, we create all
kinds of problems when we sit back and do not use our abilities, and when other people criticize us,
they help us become productive again.
Enter SECOND MESSENGER
The SECOND MESSENGER enters.
Fare thee well awhile.
Goodbye for now.
FIRST MESSENGER
At your noble pleasure.
FIRST MESSENGER
I'll see you again when you please.
Exit FIRST MESSENGER
The FIRST MESSENGER exits.
ANTONY
From Sicyon, how, the news? Speak there.
ANTONY
What news do you have from Sicyon? You there, speak.
SECOND MESSENGER
The man from Sicyon—
SECOND MESSENGER
The messenger from Sicyon—
ANTONY
125Is there such an one?
ANTONY
Is there one?
SECOND MESSENGER
He stays upon your will.
SECOND MESSENGER
He's outside waiting for you to call him in.
ANTONY
Let him appear.
ANTONY
Let him come in.
Exit SECONDMESSENGER
The SECOND MESSENGER exits.
These strong Egyptian fetters I must break,Or lose myself in dotage.
I must break free from my strong attachment to Cleopatra, or I will become so slavishly devoted to her
that I will cease to be myself.
Enter THIRD MESSENGER, with a letter
A THIRD MESSENGER enters with a letter.
130What are you?
Who are you?
THIRD MESSENGER
Fulvia thy wife is dead.
THIRD MESSENGER
Your wife Fulvia is dead.
ANTONY
Where died she?
ANTONY
Where did she die?
THIRD MESSENGER
In Sicyon.Her length of sickness, with what else more serious135Importeth thee to know, this bears.
THIRD MESSENGER
In Sicyon. This letter tells you how long she was sick, along with more important matters.
He gives ANTONY a letter
He gives ANTONY a letter.
ANTONY
Forbear me.
ANTONY
Leave me.
The THIRD MESSENGER exits.
[To himself] There’s a great spirit gone! Thus did Idesire it.What our contempts doth often hurl from
us140We wish it ours again. The present pleasure,By revolution lowering, does becomeThe opposite
of itself. She’s good, being gone.The hand could pluck her back that shoved her on.I must from this
enchanting Queen break off.145Ten thousand harms, more than the ills I knowMy idleness doth
hatch. —How now, Enobarbus!
[To himself] A great person is gone! And yet that's what I wanted. When we're feeling scornful, we
wish we could get rid of something, but later on we wish we could get it back. What is pleasurable in
the moment becomes less pleasant as time goes on and eventually becomes downright painful. I
value her now that she's gone. I could want her back, even though I was the one that wanted her
gone. I must break away from this enchanting queen. My lying around lazily in Egypt will cause ten
thousand problems, even more than the ones I already know about.

ENOBARBUS
What’s your pleasure, sir?
ENOBARBUS
What do you want, sir?
ANTONY
I must with haste from hence.
ANTONY
I must leave here quickly.
ENOBARBUS
Why, then, we kill all our women. We see how mortal an150unkindness is to them. If they suffer our
departure,death’s the word.
ENOBARBUS
Why, that would kill all our women. We see that unkindness is fatal to them. They'll die if we leave.
ANTONY
I must be gone.
ANTONY
I must leave.
ENOBARBUS
Under a compelling occasion, let women die. It werepity to cast them away for nothing, though
between them155and a great cause they should be esteemed nothing.Cleopatra, catching but the
least noise of this, diesinstantly. I have seen her die twenty times upon farpoorer moment. I do think
there is mettle in death,which commits some loving act upon her, she hath such a160celerity in dying.
ENOBARBUS
If it's absolutely necessary, then let women die. But it would be a shame to kill them for nothing—
even if it's true that we should treat them as worthless if they get in the way of our goals. Cleopatra
would die instantly if she even suspected that you would leave. I've seen her die twenty times for a
much smaller reason. I think death must have some kind of sexual power that acts on her, because
she's so quick to die.
ANTONY
She is cunning past man’s thought.
ANTONY
She is too cunning for a man to outwit.
ENOBARBUS
Alack, sir, no, her passions are made of nothing butthe finest part of pure love. We cannot call her
windsand waters sighs and tears. They are greater storms and165tempests than almanacs can
report. This cannot becunning in her. If it be, she makes a shower of rain aswell as Jove.
ENOBARBUS
No, sir, no, her passions aren't cunning performances, they arise from the best part of pure love. We
can't refer to her storms and floods as sighs and tears. Her sighs and tears are bigger storms and
tempests than any book could describe. It would be impossible for her to fake them. If they come from
her scheming, then she must be able to control the rain like Jove.
ANTONY
Would I had never seen her!
ANTONY
I wish I had never met her!
ENOBARBUS
O sir, you had then left unseen a wonderful piece of170work which not to have been blessed withal
would havediscredited your travel.
ENOBARBUS
Oh sir, then you would have missed a wonderful sight, which would have reduced the glory of your
adventures while traveling.
ENOBARBUS
Why, sir, give the gods a thankful sacrifice. When itpleaseth their deities to take the wife of a man
fromhim, it shows to man the tailors of the earth,180comforting therein, that when old robes are worn
out,there are members to make new. If there were no morewomen but Fulvia, then had you indeed a
cut, and thecase to be lamented. This grief is crowned withconsolation . Your old smock brings forth a
new185petticoat, and indeed the tears live in an onion thatshould water this sorrow.
ENOBARBUS
Why, sir, give a sacrifice to the gods in thanks. When the gods decide to take a man's wife from him,
a man takes comfort from realizing that there are tailors on earth who can make a new robe when
the old one is worn out. If there were no other women but Fulvia, then you would really have
suffered a great loss, and your situation would be terrible. As it is, you have a consolation for your
grief. In exchange for your old clothes, you get new ones, and so it makes as much sense to cry over
losing Fulvia as to cry when you cut an onion.
ANTONY
The business she hath broached in the stateCannot endure my absence.
ANTONY
She has started some business in Rome that makes it necessary for me to return.
ENOBARBUS
And the business you have broached here cannot be190without you, especially that of Cleopatra’s,
whichwholly depends on your abode.
ENOBARBUS
And the business you have started here makes it necessary for you to stay here, especially
Cleopatra's business, which depends entirely on your presence.
ANTONY
No more light answers. Let our officersHave notice what we purpose. I shall breakThe cause of our
expedience to the Queen195And get her leave to part. For not aloneThe death of Fulvia, with more
urgent touches,Do strongly speak to us, but the letters tooOf many our contriving friends in
RomePetition us at home. Sextus Pompeius200Hath given the dare to Caesar and commandsThe
empire of the sea. Our slippery people,Whose love is never linked to the deserverTill his deserts are
past, begin to throwPompey the Great and all his dignities205Upon his son, who—high in name and
power,Higher than both in blood and life—stands upFor the main soldier, whose quality, going on,The
sides o’ th’ world may danger. Much is breedingWhich, like the courser’s hair, hath yet but life,210And
not a serpent’s poison. Say our pleasure,To such whose place is under us, requiresOur quick remove
from hence.
ANTONY
No more of these jokes. Tell my officers what I intend to do. I will let the Queen know why we have to
leave so quickly and get her permission to go. For Fulvia's death is not the only thing on my mind—
letters from my friends back in Rome also urge me to go home. Sextus Pompeius has challenged
Caesar's authority and commands the empire around the island of Sicily. Our citizens are fickle, and
never acknowledge service until the service is over. And so they give the title "Pompey the Great"
and all the honors associated with it to Pompey's son, who has a great name and great power, and
even greater vitality and force. Now he acts like the chief soldier, and if his abilities go unchecked, he
will endanger the whole arrangement of the world. Many troubles are beginning to form that, right
now, only have the potential for disaster. Tell my subordinates that I wish to leave here quickly.
ENOBARBUS
I shall do ’t.