Mef. Cæfar, I bring thee word, Make the fea ferve them; which they ear and wound Lack blood to think on't, and flush'd youth revolt: Caf. Antony, Leave thy lafcivious waffails;-When thou once Did famine follow, whom thou fought'ft against Which beasts would cough at. Thy palate then did deign Yea, like the ftag, when fnow the pafture fheets, Lep. 'Tis pity of him. Caf. Let his fhames quickly Drive him to Rome; time is it, that we twain How can a Flag, or Rush, floating upon a Stream, and that has no Motion but what the Fluctuation of the Water gives it, be faid to Jash the Tide? This is making a Scourge of a weak ineffective Thing, All the old and giving it an active Vio'ence in its own Power. Editions read lacking. It is true, there is no Senfe in that Reading; "but the Addition of a fingle Letter will not only give us good Senfe, but the genuine Word of our Author into the Bargain. Lacquing the varying Tide. i. e. floating backwards and forwards with the Variation of the Tide, like a Page, or Lacquey, at his Master's Heels. Did fhew ourselves i'th' field; and to that end Lep. To-morrow, Cafar, I fhall be furnifh'd to inform you rightly, Caf. 'Till which encounter, It is my business too. Farewel. Lep. Farewel, my Lord: What you fhall know mean time of ftirs abroad, Caf. Doubt it not, Sir; I knew it for my bond. Farewel. [Exeunt. SCENE changes to the Palace in Alexandria. Enter Cleopatra, Charmian, Iras, and Mardian. Cleo. Ha, ha-give me to drink Mandagoras. Clo. That I might fleep out this great gap of time, My Antony is away. Char. You think of him too much. Cleo. O, 'tis treafon.. Char, Madam, I truft not fo. Cleo. Thou, eunuch, Mardian, Mar. What's your Highnefs' pleasure? Cleo. Not now to hear thee fing. I take no pleafure In aught an eunuch has; 'tis well for thee, That, being unfeminar'd, thy freer thoughts May not fly forth of Egypt. Haft thou affections ? Cleo. Indeed? Mar. Not in deed, Madam; for I can do nothing But what indeed is honeft to be done: Yet have I fierce affections, and think, What Venus did with Mars. Cleo. Oh Charmian! Where think'ft thou he is now? ftands he, or fits he? Or does he walk? or is he on his horfe? Oh happy horfe, to bear the weight of Antony! Do bravely, horfe; for, wot'ft thou, whom thou mov'st? ̧ The demy Atlas of this earth, the arm And burgonet of man. He's fpeaking now, Or murmuring, "where's my ferpent of old Nile ?”- Enter Alexas. Alex. Sovereign of Egypt, hail! Cleo. How much art thou unlike Mark Antony? Yet coming from him, that great med'cine hath .. With his tinct gilded thee. How goes it with my brave Mark Antony? Alex. Laft thing he did, dear Queen, This orient pearl.His fpeech fticks in my heart. Say, the firm Roman to great Ægypt sends Her opulent throne with Kingdoms. All the east, So, he nodded; And foberly did mount an arm-gaunt fteed, Who neigh'd fo high, that what I would have spoke (7) (7) Who neigh'd fo high, that what I would have spoke Was beafly dumb by kim.] Was Was beaftly dumb'd by him. Cleo. What, was he fad or merry? Alex. Like to the time o' th' year, between th' ex treams Of hot and cold, he was nor fad, nor merry. Note him, good Charmian, 'tis the man; but note him; So does it no man elfe. Met'ft thou my posts? Cleo. Who's born that day, When I forget to fend to Antony, Shall die a beggar. Ink and paper, Charmian. Char. Oh, that brave Cæfar! Cleo. Be choak'd with fuch another emphafis! Say, the brave Antony. Char. The valiant Cafar. Cleo. By Ifis, I will give thee bloody teeth, If thou with Cæfar paragon again My man of men. Char. By your moft gracious pardon, I fing but after you. Cleo. My fallad days! When I was green in judgment, cold in blood! To fay, as I faid then, But come away, Alexas means, the Horfe made fuch a neighing, that if he had fpoke, he could not have been heard. Was beaftly dumb'd by him. fufpect, the Poet wrote: i. e. put to filence. It is very ufual, as have more than once obferv'd, with Shakespeare, to coin Verbs out of Adjectives. E 4 Get Get me ink and paper; J He fhall have every day feveral greetings, or I'll un people Ægypt. [Exeunt. I' F the great Gods be juft, they fhall affift Mene. Know, worthy Pompey, That what they do delay, they not deny. Pomp. While we are fuitors to their Throne, decays The thing we fue for. Men. We, ignorant of ourfelves, Beg often our own harms, which the wife powers By lofing of our prayers. Pomp. I fhall do well: The people love me, and the sea is mine; My pow'r's a crefcent, and my auguring hope (8) In Egypt fits at dinner, and will make (8) My Powers are crefcent, and my auguring Hope Says, it will come to th' full.] Thus the Editors implicitly one after another, with very peculiar Indolence. If one might afk them a Queftion in Grammar, what does the Relative it belong to? It cannot in Sense relate to Hope, nor in Concord to Powers. It is evident beyond a Doubt, that the Poet's Allufion is to the Moon: and that Pompey would fay, he is yet but a half-Moon, or Crefcent; but his Hopes tell him, that Crefcent will come to a full Orb. To this Effect, therefore, I have ventur'd to reform the Text. No |