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Ant. Where is he?

Luc. Safe, Antony; Brutus is safe enough. I dare assure thee, that no enemy

Shall ever take alive the noble Brutus.

The gods defend him from so great a shame!
When you do find him, or alive, or dead,
He will be found like Brutus, like himself.

Ant. This is not Brutus, friend; but, I assure you,

A prize no less in worth; keep this man safe;
Give him all kindness. I had rather have
Such men my friends, than enemies. Go on,
And see whe'r Brutus be alive or dead;
And bring us word, unto Octavius' tent,
How every thing is chanced.

[Exeunt.

SCENE V. Another Part of the Field.

Enter BRUTUS, DARDANIUS, CLITUS, STRATO, and VOLUMNIUS.

Bru. Come, poor remains of friends, rest on this rock. Cli. Statilius showed the torch-light; but, my lord, He came not back; he is or ta'en or slain.'

1 A passage from Plutarch will illustrate this scene:-" Furthermore, Brutus thought that there was no great number of men slaine in battell, and to know the truth of it there was one called Statilius, that promised to goe through his enemies, (for otherwise it was impossible to goe see their campe,) and from thence, if all were well, that he would lift up a torchelight in the aire, and then returne againe with speed to him. The torchelight was lift up as he had promised, for Statilius went thither. Nowe Brutus seeing Statilius tarie long after, and that he came not againe, he sayd: If Statilius be alive, he will come againe. But his evil fortune was suche that, as he came backe, he lighted in his enemies' hands, and was slaine. Now the night being farre spent, Brutus, as he sate, bowed towards Clitus, one of his men, and told him somewhat in his care; the other aunswered him not, but fell a weeping. Thereupon he proved Dardanius, and sayd somewhat also to him: at length he came to Volumnius him selfe, and speaking to him in Greeke, prayed him for the studies sake which brought them acquainted together, that he would helpe him to put his hande to his sword, to thrust it in him to kill him. Volumnius denied his request, and so did many others: and amongest the rest one of them said there was no tarrying for them there, but that they must needes flie. Then Brutus rising up, We must flie in deede, sayd he; but it must be with our hands, not with our feete. Then taking every man by the hand, he sayd these words unto them with a cheerful countenance :-It re

Luc. So Brutus should be found.-I thank thee,

Brutus,

That thou hast proved Lucilius' saying true.

Oct. All that served Brutus, I will entertain them. Fellow, wilt thou bestow thy time with me? Stra. Ay, if Messala will prefer1 me to you. Oct. Do so, good Messala.

Mes.

How died my master, Strato? Strat. I held the sword, and he did run on it. Mes. Octavius, then take him to follow thee, That did the latest service to my master.

Ant. This was the noblest Roman of them all.
All the conspirators, save only he,

Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar;
He, only, in a general, honest thought,
And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle; and the elements
So mixed in him, that nature might stand up,
And say to all the world, This was a man!

Oct. According to his virtue let us use him,
With all respect and rites of burial.
Within my tent his bones to-night shall lie,
Most like a soldier, ordered honorably.-
So, call the field to rest; and let's away,
To part the glories of this happy day.

[Exeunt.

1 To prefer seems to have been the general term for recommending a

servant.

Or this tragedy many particular passages deserve regard, and the contention and reconcilement of Brutus and Cassius is universally celebrated; but I have never been strongly agitated in perusing it; and I think it somewhat cold and unaffecting, compared with some other of Shakspeare's plays: his adherence to the real story, and to Roman manners, seems to have impeded the natural vigor of his genius. JOHNSON.

[graphic]

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

AFTER a perusal of this play, the reader will, I doubt not, be surprised when he sees what Johnson has asserted-that "its power of delighting is derived principally from the frequent changes of the scene;"--and that "no character is very strongly discriminated." If our great Poet has one supereminent dramatic quality in perfection, it is that of being able "to go out of himself at pleasure, to inform and animate other existences." It is true, that, in the number of characters, many persons of historical importance are merely introduced as passing shadows in the scene; but "the principal personages are most emphatically distinguished by lineament and coloring, and powerfully arrest the imagination." The character of Cleopatra is indeed a masterpiece; though Johnson pronounces that she is "only distinguished by feminine arts, some of which are too low." It is true that her seductive arts are in no respect veiled over; but she is still the gorgeous Eastern queen, remarkable for the fascination of her manner, if not for the beauty of her person; and though she is vain, ostentatious, fickle, and luxurious, there is that heroic, regal dignity about her, which makes us, like Antony, forget her defects:"Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale

Her infinite variety. Other women cloy

Th' appetites they feed; but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies."

The mutual passion of herself and Antony is without moral dignity, yet it excites our sympathy:-they seem formed for each other. Cleopatra is no less remarkable for her seductive charms, than Antony for the splendor of his martial achievements. Her death, too, redeems one part of her character, and obliterates all faults.

Warburton has observed that Antony was Shakspeare's hero; and the defects of his character, a lavish and luxurious spirit, seem almost virtues when opposed to the heartless and narrow-minded littleness of Octavius Cæsar. But the ancient historians, his flatterers, had delivered the latter down ready cut and dried for a hero; and Shakspeare has extricated himself with great address from the dilemma. He has admitted all those great strokes of his character as he found them, and yet has made him a very unamiable character, deceitful, mean-spirited, proud, and revengeful.

Schlegel attributes this to the penetration of Shakspeare, who was not to be led astray by the false glitter of historic fame, but saw through the disguise thrown around him by his successful fortunes, and distinguished in Augustus a man of little mind.

Malone places the composition of this play in 1608. No previous edition to that of the folio of 1623 has been hitherto discovered; but there is an entry of" A Booke called Antony and Cleopatra," to Edward Blount, in 1608, on the Stationers' books.

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