The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 468
When such a great man begins to rage, he is
Even to falling. Give him no breath, but now
Very close to falling. Give him no breath, but now
Make boot of his distraction: never anger
Take advantage of his distraction: anger never
Made good guard for itself.
Guarded itself well.
OCTAVIUS CAESAR
Let our best heads
Let our wisest men
Know, that to-morrow the last of many battles
Know that tomorrow is the last of many battlesWe mean to fight: within our files there are,
That we mean to fight: in our ranks there are,
Of those that served Mark Antony but late,
Of those who until recently served Mark Antony,
Enough to fetch him in. See it done:
Enough to bring him in. See it done:
And feast the army; we have store to do't,
And give the army a feast; we have the supplies to do it,
And they have earn'd the waste. Poor Antony!
And they have earned the indulgence. Poor Antony!
Exeunt
Enter MARK ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS, CHARMIAN, IRAS, ALEXAS, with others
MARK ANTONY
He will not fight with me, Domitius.
He will not fight with me, Domitius.
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
No.
No.
MARK ANTONY
Why should he not?
Why won't he?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
He thinks, being twenty times of better fortune,
He thinks, since his fortune is twenty times better,
He is twenty men to one.
He is twenty men to one.
MARK ANTONY
To-morrow, soldier,
Tomorrow, soldier,By sea and land I'll fight: or I will live,
By sea and land I'll fight: or I will live,Or bathe my dying honour in the blood
Or bathe my dying honor in the blood
Shall make it live again. Woo't thou fight well?
That will make it live again. Will you fight well?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
I'll strike, and cry 'Take all.'
I will order them to take everything.
MARK ANTONY
Well said; come on.
Well said; come on.Call forth my household servants: let's to-night
Tell my household servants to come: tonight let's
Be bounteous at our meal.
Have a generous meal.
Enter three or four Servitors
Give me thy hand,
Give me your hand,
Thou hast been rightly honest;--so hast thou;--
You have been honest as you should be; --so have you;--
Thou,--and thou,--and thou:--you have served me well,
You,--and you, --and you:--you have served me well,
And kings have been your fellows.
And you have been side-by-side with kings.
CLEOPATRA
[Aside to DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS] What means this?
What is this about?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
[Aside to CLEOPATRA] 'Tis one of those odd
It is one of the odd
tricks which sorrow shoots
tricks that sadness shoots
Out of the mind.
Out of the mind.
MARK ANTONY
And thou art honest too.
And you are honest, too.
I wish I could be made so many men,
I wish I could be made into many men,
And all of you clapp'd up together in
And all of you put together into
An Antony, that I might do you service
One Antony, so that I could serve you
So good as you have done.
As well as you have done.
All
The gods forbid!
May the gods forbid!
MARK ANTONY
Well, my good fellows, wait on me to-night:
Well, my good men, wait on my tonight:
Scant not my cups; and make as much of me
Keep my cups filled; and make as big a deal of me
As when mine empire was your fellow too,
As when my empire was yours too,
And suffer'd my command.
And was under my command.
CLEOPATRA
[Aside to DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS] What does he mean?
What does he mean?
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
[Aside to CLEOPATRA] To make his followers weep.
To make his followers cry.
MARK ANTONY
Tend me to-night;
Take care of me tonight;
May be it is the period of your duty:
It might be the last part of your service:
Haply you shall not see me more; or if,
You may not see me again; or if you do,
A mangled shadow: perchance to-morrow
Just a beaten shadow: perhaps tomorrow
You'll serve another master. I look on you
You'll serve another master. I look at you
As one that takes his leave. Mine honest friends,
In the way of someone who is saying goodbye. My honest friends,
I turn you not away; but, like a master
I do not push you away; but, like a master
Married to your good service, stay till death:
Depending on your good service, stay till my death:
Tend me to-night two hours, I ask no more,
Care for me tonight for two hours, I do not ask for more,
And the gods yield you for't!
And may the gods treat you well for it!
DOMITIUS ENOBARBUS
What mean you, sir,
What is the meaning of this, sir,
To give them this discomfort? Look, they weep;
To make them so uncomfortable? Look, they cry;
And I, an ass, am onion-eyed: for shame,
And I myself am teary-eyed: for shame,
Transform us not to women.
Don't make us like women.
MARK ANTONY
Ho, ho, ho!
Hey, hey, hey!
Now the witch take me, if I meant it thus!
Now the witch take me, if I meant it like that!
Grace grow where those drops fall!
May good things grow where those drops fall!
My hearty friends,
My strong friends,
You take me in too dolorous a sense;
You misunderstand me in too sad a way;
For I spake to you for your comfort; did desire you
For I spoke to you for your comfort; I wanted you
To burn this night with torches: know, my hearts,
To fill this night with torches; know, my hearts,
I hope well of to-morrow; and will lead you
I have good hopes of tomorrow; and will lead you
Where rather I'll expect victorious life
Where I expect a victorious life
Than death and honour. Let's to supper, come,
Rather than an honorable death. Let's go to supper, come,
And drown consideration.
And drink away our worries.
Exeunt
Enter two Soldiers to their guard
First Soldier
Brother, good night: to-morrow is the day.
Brother, goodnight: tomorrow is the day.
Second Soldier
It will determine one way: fare you well.
One way or another, yes: farewell.
Heard you of nothing strange about the streets?
Have you not heard anything strange around the streets?
First Soldier
Nothing. What news?
Nothing. What news?
Second Soldier
Belike 'tis but a rumour. Good night to you
.
Probably just a rumor. Goodnight.
First Soldier
Well, sir, good night.
Enter two other Soldiers
Second Soldier
Soldiers, have careful watch.
Soldiers, guard carefully.
Third Soldier
And you. Good night, good night.
They place themselves in every corner of the stage
Fourth Soldier
Here we: and if to-morrow
Here we are: and if tomorrow
Our navy thrive, I have an absolute hope
Our navy does well, I have a firm hopeOur landmen will stand up.
That our infantry will stand up.
Third Soldier
'Tis a brave army,
It is a brave army,
And full of purpose.
With strong conviction.
Music of the hautboys as under the stage
Fourth Soldier
Peace! what noise?
Quiet! What noise?
First Soldier
List, list!
Be still, be still!
Second Soldier
Hark!
Listen!
First Soldier
Music i' the air.
Music in the air.
Third Soldier
Under the earth.
Underground.
Fourth Soldier
It signs well, does it not?
It's a good sign, right?
Third Soldier
No.
No.
First Soldier
Peace, I say!
Enough, I say!
What should this mean?
What does this mean?
Second Soldier
'Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony loved,
It's the god Hercules, whom Antony loved,Now leaves him.
Now leaving him.
First Soldier
Walk; let's see if other watchmen
Walk; let's see if other guardsDo hear what we do?
They advance to another post
Second Soldier
How now, masters!
What's going on, men?
All
[Speaking together] How now!
What?How now! do you hear this?
What? Do you hear this?
First Soldier
Ay; is't not strange?
Yes, isn't it strange?
Third Soldier
Do you hear, masters? do you hear?
Do you hear, men? Do you hear?
First Soldier
Follow the noise so far as we have quarter;
Follow the noise as far as we are able;
Let's see how it will give off.
Let's see how it will go off.
All
Content. 'Tis strange.
Stopped. It's strange.
Exeunt
Enter MARK ANTONY and CLEOPATRA, CHARMIAN, and others attending
MARK ANTONY
Eros! mine armour, Eros!
Eros! Get my armor, Eros!
CLEOPATRA
Sleep a little.
Sleep a little.
MARK ANTONY
No, my chuck. Eros, come; mine armour, Eros!
No, my darling. Eros, come; my armor, Eros!
Enter EROS with armour
Come good fellow, put mine iron on:
Come, my good man, put my armor on:
If fortune be not ours to-day, it is
If fortune is not ours today, it is
Because we brave her: come.
Because we challenger her: come.
CLEOPATRA
Nay, I'll help too.
No, I'll help too.
What's this for?
What's this for?
MARK ANTONY
Ah, let be, let be! thou art
Ah, leave it, leave it! You are
The armourer of my heart: false, false; this, this.
The armorer of my heart: wrong, wrong; this, this.
CLEOPATRA
Sooth, la, I'll help: thus it must be.
All right, now, I'll help: this is how it must be.
MARK ANTONY
Well, well;
Well, well;We shall thrive now. Seest thou, my good fellow?
We will succeed now. Do you see, my good man?
Go put on thy defences.
Go put on your defenses.
EROS
Briefly, sir.
Quickly, sir.
CLEOPATRA
Is not this buckled well?
Isn't this buckled well?
MARK ANTONY
Rarely, rarely:
Unusually well:
He that unbuckles this, till we do please
He that unbuckles this, until we choose
To daff't for our repose, shall hear a storm.
To take if off for rest, will hear a storm.
Thou fumblest, Eros; and my queen's a squire
You fumble, Eros; and my queen's a squire
More tight at this than thou: dispatch. O love,
Who can do this better than you: go on. Oh, love,
That thou couldst see my wars to-day, and knew'st
If only you could see my wars today, and knew
The royal occupation! thou shouldst see
The royal occupoation! You would see
A workman in't.
A workman in it.
Enter an armed Soldier
Good morrow to thee; welcome:
Good morning to you; welcome;
Thou look'st like him that knows a warlike charge:
You look like a man who knows the ways of war:
To business that we love we rise betime,
We get up early to do things we love,
And go to't with delight.
And go to it with delight.
Soldier
A thousand, sir,
A thousand men, sir,
Early though't be, have on their riveted trim,
Even though it is early, have their armor on,
And at the port expect you.
And expect you at the port.
Shout. Trumpets flourish
Enter Captains and Soldiers
Captain
The morn is fair. Good morrow, general.
Beautiful weather. Good morning, general.
All
Good morrow, general.
Good morning, general.
MARK ANTONY
'Tis well blown, lads:
It is well bloomed, boys:
This morning, like the spirit of a youth
This morning, like the spirit of a young man
That means to be of note, begins betimes.
That means to make a good name for himself.
So, so; come, give me that: this way; well said.
So, so; come, give me that: this way; well said.Fare thee well, dame, whate'er becomes of me:
Farewell, lady, whatever happens to me;
This is a soldier's kiss: rebukeable
This is a solider's kiss: a bad
Kisses her
And worthy shameful cheque it were, to stand
Think it would be, to stand
On more mechanic compliment; I'll leave thee
On a more meaningless compliment; I'll leave you
Now, like a man of steel. You that will fight,
Now, like a man of steel. You who will fight,Follow me close; I'll bring you to't. Adieu.
Follow me closely; I'll bring you to it. Farewell.
Exeunt MARK ANTONY, EROS, Captains, and Soldiers
CHARMIAN
Please you, retire to your chamber.
Please, go rest in your room.
CLEOPATRA
Lead me.
Lead me.He goes forth gallantly. That he and Caesar might
He goes out bravely. If only he and Caesar might
Determine this great war in single fight!
Determine this g
reat war in a single battle!Then Antony,--but now--Well, on.
Then Antony, -- but now -- Well, so it goes.
Exeunt
Trumpets sound. Enter MARK ANTONY and EROS; a Soldier meeting them
Soldier
The gods make this a happy day to Antony!
May the gods make this a happy day to Antony!
MARK ANTONY
Would thou and those thy scars had once prevail'd
If only you and your scars had convinced me
To make me fight at land!
To fight at land!
Soldier
Hadst thou done so,
If you had done that,
The kings that have revolted, and the soldier
The kings that have rebelled, and the soldier
That has this morning left thee, would have still
That left you this morning would still have
Follow'd thy heels.
Followed after you.
MARK ANTONY
Who's gone this morning?
Who left this morning?
Soldier
Who!
Who!One ever near thee: call for Enobarbus,
One who was always near you: call for Enobarbus,
He shall not hear thee; or from Caesar's camp
He will not hear you; or from Caesar's camp
Say 'I am none of thine.'
Say 'I am not one of yours.'
MARK ANTONY
What say'st thou?
What do you say?
Soldier
Sir,
Sir,He is with Caesar.
He is with Caesar.
EROS
Sir, his chests and treasure
Sir, his chests and treasureHe has not with him.
He has not taken it with him.
MARK ANTONY
Is he gone?
Has he left?
Soldier
Most certain.
Certainly.
MARK ANTONY