Ant. And shall, sir: give 's your hand.

Pom.

O Antony,

You have my father's house,-But, what? we

are friends.

Come, down into the boat.

Eno.

Take heed you fall not.

[Exeunt all but Enobarbus and Menas.

Menas, I'll not on shore.

Men.

140

No, to my cabin.
These drums! these trumpets, flutes! what!
Let Neptune hear we bid a loud farewell
To these great fellows: sound and be hang'd,
[Sound a flourish, with drums.

sound out!

Eno. Hoo! says a'. There's my cap.
Men. Hoo! Noble captain, come.

[Exeunt.

ACT THIRD

SCENE I

A plain in Syria.

Enter Ventidius as it were in triumph, with Silius, and other Romans, Officers, and soldiers; the dead body of Pacorus borne before him.

Ven. Now, darting Parthia, art thou struck; and

Sil.

now

Pleased fortune does of Marcus Crassus' death
Make me revenger. Bear the king's son's
body

Before our army. Thy Pacorus, Orodes,
Pays this for Marcus Crassus.

Noble Ventidius,

Whilst yet with Parthian blood thy sword is

warm,

The fugitive Parthians follow; spur through
Media,

Mesopotamia, and the shelters whither

The routed fly: so thy grand captain Antony

1. "struck" alludes to darting. Thou, whose darts have often struck others, art struck now thyself.-H. N. H.

4. "Orodes"; the king of Parthia, Pacorus' father.-C. H. H.

5. "Marcus Crassus"; Crassus, with Pompey and Cæsar, had formed the First Triumvirate. He ruled the province of Syria. He had been routed, taken prisoner, and put to death by the forces of Orodes, the Parthian king.-C. H. H.

Shall set thee on triumphant chariots and 10
Put garlands on thy head.

Ven.

Sil.

O Silius, Silius,

I have done enough: a lower place, note well,
May make too great an act; for learn this, Silius,
Better to leave undone than by our deed

Acquire too high a fame when him we serve 's
away.

Cæsar and Antony have ever won

More in their officer than person: Sossius,
One of my place in Syria, his lieutenant,
For quick accumulation of renown,

Which he achieved by the minute, lost his fa

vor.

20

Who does i' the wars more than his captain can
Becomes his captain's captain: and ambition,
The soldier's virtue, rather makes choice of loss
Than gain which darkens him.

I could do more to do Antonius good,

But 'twould offend him, and in his offense
Should my performance perish.

Thou hast, Ventidius, that
Without the which a soldier and his sword
Grants scarce distinction. Thou wilt write to

Antony?

Ven. I'll humbly signify what in his name,

Sil.

30

That magical word of war, we have effected;
How, with his banners and his well-paid ranks,
The ne'er-yet-beaten horse of Parthia

We have jaded out o' the field.

Where is he now?

Ven. He purposeth to Athens: whither, with what

haste

The weight we must convey with 's will permit,
We shall appear before him. On, there; pass
along!
[Exeunt.

SCENE II

Rome. An ante-chamber in Cæsar's house.

Enter Agrippa at one door, and Enobarbus at another.

Agr. What, are the brothers parted?

Eno. They have dispatch'd with Pompey; he is gone;

The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps

To part from Rome; Cæsar is sad, and Lepidus
Since Pompey's feast, as Mena says, is troubled
With the green sickness.

Agr.

'Tis a noble Lepidus. Eno. A very fine one: O, how he loves Cæsar! Agr. Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!

10

Eno. Cæsar? Why, he's the Jupiter of men.
Agr. What's Antony? The god of Jupiter.
Eno. Spake you of Cæsar? How! the nonpareil!
Agr. O Antony! O thou Arabian bird!

6. "'Tis a noble Lepidus"; alluding, perhaps, ironically, to the signification of the word lepidus."-H. N. H.

12. Of course it must be understood that in this dialogue the speakers are but travestying the flights of Lepidus in praise of his colleagues.-H. N. H.

Eno. Would you praise Cæsar, say 'Cæsar': go no

further.

Agr. Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.

Eno. But he loves Cæsar best; yet he loves Antony: Ho! hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot

Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number-ho!-
His love to Antony. But as for Cæsar,
Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.

Agr.

Both he loves.

Eno. They are his shards, and he their beetle. [Trumpet within.] So;

This is to horse. Adieu, noble Agrippa. Agr. Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.

Enter Cæsar, Antony, Lepidus, and Octavia. Ant. No further, sir.

20

Cæs. You take from me a great part of myself;
Use me well in 't. Sister, prove such a wife
As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest
band

Shall pass on thy approof. Most noble An-
tony,

Let not the piece of virtue which is set
Betwixt us as the cement of our love,

To keep it builded, be the ram to batter
The fortress of it; for better might we

30

16, 17. "hearts, tongues," etc.; a parody of the so-called "reporting sonnet."-C. H. H.

20. That is, they are the wings that raise this lumpish insect from the ground. So in Macbeth, "The shard-borne beetle."-H. N. H.