Antonius ja Kleopatra: Näytös 5, kohtaus 2

Cleopatra

My desolation does begin to makeA better life. ’Tis paltry to be Caesar;Not being Fortune, he’s but Fortune’s knave,A minister of her will. And it is greatTo do that thing that ends all other deeds,Which shackles accidents and bolts up change,Which sleeps and never palates more the dung,The beggar’s nurse and Caesar’s.

My utter misery is beginning to lead me toward a better life. Being Caesar is a petty thing. He is not Fortune herself, only Fortune’s servant, carrying out her wishes. It is a great thing to perform the act that ends all other actions, that chains up chance and locks out change, that sleeps and never again tastes the filth that feeds both beggars and Caesar.

Proculeius

Caesar sends greetings to the queen of Egypt,And bids thee study on what fair demandsThou mean’st to have him grant thee.

Caesar sends greetings to the queen of Egypt and asks you to consider what reasonable requests you would like him to grant.

Cleopatra

What’s thy name?

What is your name?

Proculeius

My name is Proculeius.

My name is Proculeius.

Cleopatra

AntonyDid tell me of you, bade me trust you, butI do not greatly care to be deceivedThat have no use for trusting. If your masterWould have a queen his beggar, you must tell himThat majesty, to keep decorum, mustNo less beg than a kingdom. If he pleaseTo give me conquered Egypt for my son,He gives me so much of mine own as IWill kneel to him with thanks.

Antony told me about you and urged me to trust you. But I do not much care whether I am deceived, since I have no use for trust. If your master wants a queen to beg from him, you must tell him that, to preserve her dignity, a queen must ask for nothing less than a kingdom. If he chooses to give conquered Egypt to my son, he gives me enough of what is already mine for me to kneel before him in thanks.

Proculeius

Be of good cheer.You are fallen into a princely hand; fear nothing.Make your full reference freely to my lord,Who is so full of grace that it flows overOn all that need. Let me report to himYour sweet dependency, and you shall findA conqueror that will pray in aid for kindnessWhere he for grace is kneeled to.

Take heart. You are in the hands of a noble ruler; fear nothing. Freely place your whole case before my lord. He is so full of kindness that it overflows to everyone in need. Let me tell him how willingly you depend on him, and you will find a conqueror who asks for help in showing kindness when people kneel to him for mercy.

Cleopatra

Pray you tell himI am his fortune’s vassal and I send himThe greatness he has got. I hourly learnA doctrine of obedience, and would gladlyLook him i’ th’ face.

Please tell him I am a subject of his good fortune, and I surrender to him the royal power he has won. Every hour I learn another lesson in obedience, and I would gladly meet him face-to-face.

Proculeius

This I’ll report, dear lady.Have comfort, for I know your plight is pitiedOf him that caused it.

I will report this, dear lady. Take comfort, for I know the man who caused your suffering feels pity for you.

Iras

Royal queen!

My royal queen!

Charmian

O Cleopatra, thou art taken, queen!

Oh, Cleopatra, you have been captured, my queen!

Cleopatra

Quick, quick, good hands.

Quickly, quickly, my faithful hands.

Proculeius

Hold, worthy lady, hold!

Stop, noble lady, stop!

Cleopatra

What, of death too,That rids our dogs of languish?

What, are you robbing me even of death, which frees our dogs from suffering?

Proculeius

Cleopatra,Do not abuse my master’s bounty byTh’ undoing of yourself. Let the world seeHis nobleness well acted, which your deathWill never let come forth.

Cleopatra, do not repay my master's generosity by destroying yourself. Let the world see him put his nobility into action. Your death would prevent him from showing it.

Cleopatra

Where art thou, Death?Come hither, come! Come, come, and take a queenWorth many babes and beggars!

Where are you, Death? Come here, come! Come, come and take a queen worth many babies and beggars!

Proculeius

O, temperance, lady!

Oh, control yourself, lady!

Cleopatra

Sir, I will eat no meat; I’ll not drink, sir;If idle talk will once be necessary,I’ll not sleep neither. This mortal house I’ll ruin,Do Caesar what he can. Know, sir, that IWill not wait pinioned at your master’s court,Nor once be chastised with the sober eyeOf dull Octavia. Shall they hoist me upAnd show me to the shouting varletryOf censuring Rome? Rather a ditch in EgyptBe gentle grave unto me! Rather on Nilus’ mudLay me stark-naked, and let the water-fliesBlow me into abhorring! Rather makeMy country’s high pyramides my gibbetAnd hang me up in chains!

Sir, I will eat no food. I won't drink, sir. If idle talk ever becomes necessary, I won't sleep either. I'll destroy this mortal body, whatever Caesar may do. Know, sir, that I will not wait with my arms tied at your master's court, or be scolded even once by dull Octavia's stern look. Will they lift me up and display me to the shouting rabble of judgmental Rome? I'd rather have a ditch in Egypt for a gentle grave! I'd rather lie completely naked on the mud of the Nilus and let the flies lay eggs on me until I become disgusting! I'd rather have my country's tall pyramids serve as my gallows and hang there in chains!

Proculeius

You do extendThese thoughts of horror further than you shallFind cause in Caesar.

These horrors you imagine go far beyond anything Caesar will give you reason to fear.

Dolabella

Proculeius,What thou hast done thy master Caesar knows,And he hath sent for thee. For the queen,I’ll take her to my guard.

Proculeius, your master Caesar knows what you have done, and he has sent for you. As for the queen, I will take charge of guarding her.

Proculeius

So, Dolabella,It shall content me best. Be gentle to her.[To Cleopatra.] To Caesar I will speak what you shall please,If you’ll employ me to him.

That suits me best, Dolabella. Be gentle with her.
[To Cleopatra.] I will tell Caesar whatever you wish, if you want me to speak to him for you.

Cleopatra

Say I would die.

Tell him I want to die.

Dolabella

Most noble empress, you have heard of me?

Most noble empress, have you heard of me?

Cleopatra

I cannot tell.

I cannot say.

Dolabella

Assuredly you know me.

Surely you know me.

Cleopatra

No matter, sir, what I have heard or known.You laugh when boys or women tell their dreams;Is’t not your trick?

It does not matter, sir, what I have heard or known. You laugh when boys or women tell you their dreams. Isn't that your habit?

Dolabella

I understand not, madam.

I do not understand, madam.

Cleopatra

I dreamt there was an Emperor Antony.O, such another sleep, that I might seeBut such another man!

I dreamed there was an Emperor Antony. Oh, if only I could sleep like that again and see another man like him!

Dolabella

If it might please you—

If you would please—

Cleopatra

His face was as the heavens, and therein stuckA sun and moon, which kept their course, and lightedThe little O, the earth.

His face was like the heavens, with a sun and moon set in it, moving in their orbits and lighting that little circle, the earth.

Dolabella

Most sovereign creature—

Most royal lady—

Cleopatra

His legs bestrid the ocean; his reared armCrested the world; his voice was propertiedAs all the tuned spheres, and that to friends;But when he meant to quail and shake the orb,He was as rattling thunder. For his bounty,There was no winter in’t; an autumn ’twasThat grew the more by reaping. His delightsWere dolphin-like; they showed his back aboveThe element they lived in. In his liveryWalked crowns and crownets; realms and islands wereAs plates dropped from his pocket.

His legs stretched across the ocean, and his raised arm towered above the world. To his friends, his voice had all the harmony of the heavenly spheres. But when he meant to frighten and shake the world, it was like crashing thunder. His generosity knew no winter. It was a harvest that grew larger the more you gathered. His pleasures were like dolphins, lifting his back above the waters they lived in. Kings and princes wore his servants' uniforms. Kingdoms and islands were like coins dropped from his pocket.

Dolabella

Cleopatra—

Cleopatra—

Cleopatra

Think you there was or might be such a manAs this I dreamt of?

Do you think there ever was, or could be, a man like the one I dreamed of?

Dolabella

Gentle madam, no.

Dear madam, no.

Cleopatra

You lie up to the hearing of the gods!But if there be nor ever were one such,It’s past the size of dreaming. Nature wants stuffTo vie strange forms with fancy; yet t’ imagineAn Antony were nature’s piece ’gainst fancy,Condemning shadows quite.

You are lying, and the gods can hear you! But if no such man exists or ever did, then this is beyond the power of dreams. Nature lacks the materials to rival imagination's strange creations. Yet to imagine an Antony would be to picture nature's masterpiece defeating imagination and making all its inventions seem like mere shadows.

Dolabella

Hear me, good madam.Your loss is, as yourself, great; and you bear itAs answering to the weight. Would I might neverO’ertake pursued success, but I do feel,By the rebound of yours, a grief that smitesMy very heart at root.

Listen to me, good madam. Your loss is as great as you are, and the grief you show matches its weight. May I never achieve the success I pursue if I do not truly feel your sorrow echo in me, striking at the very roots of my heart.

Cleopatra

I thank you, sir.Know you what Caesar means to do with me?

Thank you, sir. Do you know what Caesar means to do with me?

Dolabella

I am loath to tell you what I would you knew.

I am reluctant to tell you something I wish you knew.

Cleopatra

Nay, pray you, sir.

No, please tell me, sir.

Dolabella

Though he be honourable—

Though he is honorable—

Cleopatra

He’ll lead me, then, in triumph.

He will parade me in his victory procession, then.

Dolabella

Madam, he will. I know it.

Madam, he will. I know it.

All

Make way there! Caesar!

Make way there! Caesar!

Caesar

Which is the Queen of Egypt?

Which one is the Queen of Egypt?

Dolabella

It is the Emperor, madam.

It is the Emperor, madam.

Caesar

Arise, you shall not kneel.I pray you, rise. Rise, Egypt.

Stand up. You must not kneel. Please, get up. Rise, Queen of Egypt.

Cleopatra

Sir, the godsWill have it thus. My master and my lordI must obey.

Sir, the gods have decided it must be this way. I must obey my master and my lord.

Caesar

Take to you no hard thoughts.The record of what injuries you did us,Though written in our flesh, we shall rememberAs things but done by chance.

Do not worry. Though the harm you did us has left wounds in our flesh, we will remember it as nothing more than an accident.

Cleopatra

Sole sir o’ th’ world,I cannot project mine own cause so wellTo make it clear, but do confess I haveBeen laden with like frailties which beforeHave often shamed our sex.

Sole ruler of the world, I cannot present my case well enough to prove my innocence. But I admit I have been weighed down by the same weaknesses that have so often brought shame on women before.

Caesar

Cleopatra, knowWe will extenuate rather than enforce.If you apply yourself to our intents,Which towards you are most gentle, you shall findA benefit in this change; but if you seekTo lay on me a cruelty by takingAntony’s course, you shall bereave yourselfOf my good purposes, and put your childrenTo that destruction which I’ll guard them fromIf thereon you rely. I’ll take my leave.

Cleopatra, understand that we will make less of your faults, not press them against you. If you cooperate with our plans, which treat you very gently, you will find an advantage in this change. But if you try to make me seem cruel by following Antony's example, you will lose the kindness I intend for you and bring your children to destruction. I will protect them from that if you trust me. I will leave you now.

Cleopatra

And may, through all the world. ’Tis yours, and we,Your scutcheons and your signs of conquest, shallHang in what place you please. Here, my good lord.

And you may go anywhere in the world. It is yours, and we, your trophies and symbols of conquest, will hang wherever you please. Here, my good lord.

Caesar

You shall advise me in all for Cleopatra.

You shall advise me on everything concerning Cleopatra.

Cleopatra

This is the brief of money, plate, and jewelsI am possessed of. ’Tis exactly valued,Not petty things admitted. Where’s Seleucus?

This is a list of the money, silverware, and jewels I own. Everything is valued exactly, with small items left out. Where is Seleucus?

Seleucus

Here, madam.

Here, madam.

Cleopatra

This is my treasurer. Let him speak, my lord,Upon his peril, that I have reservedTo myself nothing. Speak the truth, Seleucus.

This is my treasurer. Let him declare, my lord, at the risk of punishment, that I have kept nothing for myself. Speak the truth, Seleucus.

Seleucus

Madam, I had rather seal my lipsThan to my peril speak that which is not.

Madam, I would rather keep my lips sealed than risk punishment by saying something untrue.

Cleopatra

What have I kept back?

What have I held back?

Seleucus

Enough to purchase what you have made known.

Enough to buy everything you have listed.

Caesar

Nay, blush not, Cleopatra. I approveYour wisdom in the deed.

No, do not blush, Cleopatra. I approve of your wisdom in doing this.

Cleopatra

See, Caesar! O, behold,How pomp is followed! Mine will now be yoursAnd should we shift estates, yours would be mine.The ingratitude of this Seleucus doesEven make me wild. O slave, of no more trustThan love that’s hired! What, goest thou back? Thou shaltGo back, I warrant thee! But I’ll catch thine eyesThough they had wings. Slave, soulless villain, dog!O rarely base!

Look, Caesar! Oh, look at the loyalty that follows power! My servants will now be yours, and if we exchanged fortunes, yours would be mine. This Seleucus's ingratitude drives me mad. You slave, no more trustworthy than love bought with money! What, are you backing away? I'll make you back away, I promise you! But I'll get at your eyes even if they have wings. Slave, soulless villain, dog! What extraordinary low behavior!

Caesar

Good queen, let us entreat you.

Good queen, please, let us calm you.

Cleopatra

O Caesar, what a wounding shame is this,That thou vouchsafing here to visit me,Doing the honour of thy lordlinessTo one so meek, that mine own servant shouldParcel the sum of my disgraces byAddition of his envy! Say, good Caesar,That I some lady trifles have reserved,Immoment toys, things of such dignityAs we greet modern friends withal; and saySome nobler token I have kept apartFor Livia and Octavia, to induceTheir mediation, must I be unfoldedWith one that I have bred? The gods! It smites meBeneath the fall I have.[To Seleucus.] Prithee go hence,Or I shall show the cinders of my spiritsThrough th’ ashes of my chance. Wert thou a man,Thou wouldst have mercy on me.

Oh, Caesar, what a painful humiliation this is! You graciously visit me here, honoring someone brought so low with your noble presence, and my own servant increases the total of my disgrace by adding his malice! Suppose, good Caesar, I have kept a few feminine trinkets, worthless little things, only fine enough to give to ordinary friends. And suppose I have set aside some finer gifts for Livia and Octavia, to persuade them to speak on my behalf. Must someone I raised expose me? By the gods! This strikes me down lower than I have already fallen.
[To Seleucus.] Please leave, or I will show you the glowing embers of my spirit beneath the ashes of my ruined fortunes. If you were a man, you would have mercy on me.

Caesar

Forbear, Seleucus.

Leave her alone, Seleucus.

Cleopatra

Be it known that we, the greatest, are misthoughtFor things that others do; and when we fall,We answer others’ merits in our name,Are therefore to be pitied.

Understand that we who hold the highest positions are judged badly for things others do. And when we fall, we bear the blame for what others deserve, so we deserve pity.

Caesar

Cleopatra,Not what you have reserved nor what acknowledgedPut we i’ th’ roll of conquest. Still be’t yours;Bestow it at your pleasure, and believeCaesar’s no merchant to make prize with youOf things that merchants sold. Therefore be cheered;Make not your thoughts your prisons. No, dear queen;For we intend so to dispose you asYourself shall give us counsel. Feed and sleep.Our care and pity is so much upon youThat we remain your friend; and so, adieu.

Cleopatra, neither what you have held back nor what you have declared will go on our list of spoils. Let it remain yours. Give it away as you please, and believe that Caesar is no merchant, bargaining with you for things that merchants sold. So take heart. Do not let your thoughts imprison you. No, dear queen, we intend to arrange your future as you yourself advise us. Eat and sleep. We care for you and pity you so much that we remain your friend. And so, goodbye.

Cleopatra

My master and my lord!

My master and my lord!

Caesar

Not so. Adieu.

Not so. Goodbye.

Cleopatra

He words me, girls, he words me, that I should notBe noble to myself. But hark thee, Charmian!

He is soothing me with words, girls, just words, so I won't do the honorable thing for myself. But listen, Charmian!

Iras

Finish, good lady. The bright day is done,And we are for the dark.

Finish it, good lady. Our bright day is over, and darkness awaits us.

Cleopatra

Hie thee again.I have spoke already, and it is provided.Go put it to the haste.

Hurry back. I have already given instructions, and everything is arranged. Go and hurry it along.

Charmian

Madam, I will.

Madam, I will.

Dolabella

Where’s the Queen?

Where is the Queen?

Charmian

Behold, sir.

Here, sir.

Cleopatra

Dolabella!

Dolabella!

Dolabella

Madam, as thereto sworn by your command,Which my love makes religion to obey,I tell you this: Caesar through SyriaIntends his journey, and within three daysYou with your children will he send before.Make your best use of this. I have performedYour pleasure and my promise.

Madam, as I swore at your command, which my love makes it a sacred duty to obey, I tell you this: Caesar intends to travel through Syria, and within three days he will send you and your children ahead of him. Make the best use of this news. I have carried out your wishes and kept my promise.

Cleopatra

Dolabella,I shall remain your debtor.

Dolabella, I will remain in your debt.

Dolabella

I your servant.Adieu, good queen. I must attend on Caesar.

And I remain your servant. Goodbye, good queen. I must attend Caesar.

Cleopatra

Farewell, and thanks.

Goodbye, and thank you.

Iras

The gods forbid!

May the gods forbid it!

Cleopatra

Nay, ’tis most certain, Iras. Saucy lictorsWill catch at us like strumpets, and scald rhymersBallad us out o’ tune. The quick comediansExtemporally will stage us and presentOur Alexandrian revels; AntonyShall be brought drunken forth, and I shall seeSome squeaking Cleopatra boy my greatnessI’ th’ posture of a whore.

No, it is quite certain, Iras. Insolent guards will grab at us as if we were prostitutes, and lousy poets will sing off-key ballads about us. Quick-witted comic actors will improvise plays about us and perform our parties in Alexandria. They will bring Antony onstage drunk, and I will see some squeaky-voiced boy playing the great Cleopatra, posing like a whore.

Iras

O the good gods!

Oh, merciful gods!

Cleopatra

Nay, that’s certain.

Yes, it is certain.

Iras

I’ll never see’t, for I am sure mine nailsAre stronger than mine eyes.

I will never see it, because I know my nails are stronger than my eyes.

Cleopatra

Why, that’s the wayTo fool their preparation and to conquerTheir most absurd intents.

Yes, that is the way to ruin their preparations and defeat their utterly ridiculous plans.

Guardsman

Here is a rural fellowThat will not be denied your highness’ presence.He brings you figs.

There is a countryman here who insists on seeing your Highness. He brings you figs.

Cleopatra

Let him come in.

Let him come in.

Guardsman

This is the man.

This is the man.

Cleopatra

Avoid, and leave him.

Go, and leave him here.

Clown

Truly, I have him, but I would not be the party that should desire you to touch him, for his biting is immortal. Those that do die of it do seldom or never recover.

Yes, I have him, but I wouldn't want to be the person who asks you to touch him, because his bite is immortal. Those who die from it seldom or never recover.

Cleopatra

Remember’st thou any that have died on’t?

Do you remember anyone who has died from it?

Clown

Very many, men and women too. I heard of one of them no longer than yesterday—a very honest woman, but something given to lie; as a woman should not do but in the way of honesty—how she died of the biting of it, what pain she felt. Truly she makes a very good report o’ th’ worm; but he that will believe all that they say shall never be saved by half that they do. But this is most falliable, the worm’s an odd worm.

Very many, both men and women. Just yesterday I heard about one of them—a very respectable woman, but rather fond of lying, which a woman should only do for a respectable purpose—and how she died from its bite, and what pain she felt. Really, she gives the snake a very good review. But anyone who believes everything women say will never be saved by half of what they do. But this is most likely to be wrong: the snake is a strange snake.

Cleopatra

Get thee hence. Farewell.

Go now. Goodbye.

Clown

I wish you all joy of the worm.

I wish you every happiness with the snake.

Cleopatra

Farewell.

Goodbye.

Clown

You must think this, look you, that the worm will do his kind.

You must remember, you see, that the snake will do what comes naturally.

Cleopatra

Ay, ay, farewell.

Yes, yes, goodbye.

Clown

Look you, the worm is not to be trusted but in the keeping of wise people; for indeed there is no goodness in the worm.

You see, the snake can only be trusted in the care of sensible people, because there really is no goodness in him.

Cleopatra

Take thou no care; it shall be heeded.

Don't worry. We will take care.

Clown

Very good. Give it nothing, I pray you, for it is not worth the feeding.

Very good. Please don't give him anything to eat. He's not worth feeding.

Cleopatra

Will it eat me?

Will it eat me?

Clown

You must not think I am so simple but I know the devil himself will not eat a woman. I know that a woman is a dish for the gods if the devil dress her not. But truly, these same whoreson devils do the gods great harm in their women, for in every ten that they make, the devils mar five.

You mustn't think I'm so stupid that I don't know the devil himself won't eat a woman. I know a woman is a dish fit for the gods, unless the devil prepares her. But really, these bastard devils do the gods a great deal of harm with their women. For every ten the gods make, the devils ruin five.

Cleopatra

Well, get thee gone. Farewell.

Well, go now. Goodbye.

Clown

Yes, forsooth. I wish you joy o’ th’ worm.

Yes, certainly. I wish you happiness with the snake.

Cleopatra

Give me my robe. Put on my crown. I haveImmortal longings in me. Now no moreThe juice of Egypt’s grape shall moist this lip.Yare, yare, good Iras; quick. Methinks I hearAntony call. I see him rouse himselfTo praise my noble act. I hear him mockThe luck of Caesar, which the gods give menTo excuse their after wrath. Husband, I come!Now to that name my courage prove my title!I am fire and air; my other elementsI give to baser life.—So, have you done?Come then, and take the last warmth of my lips.Farewell, kind Charmian. Iras, long farewell.

Give me my robe. Put my crown on me. I long for immortal life. The wine of Egypt will never wet these lips again. Hurry, hurry, good Iras. Be quick. I think I hear Antony calling. I see him rise to praise my noble deed. I hear him mock Caesar's good fortune, which the gods give men to justify their later anger. Husband, I am coming! Now let my courage prove my right to call you that! I am fire and air. I leave my other elements to lower forms of life.—Well, have you finished? Come, then, and take the last warmth of my lips. Goodbye, kind Charmian. Iras, goodbye forever.

Charmian

Dissolve, thick cloud, and rain, that I may sayThe gods themselves do weep!

Break open, heavy cloud, and pour down rain, so I can say the gods themselves are weeping!

Cleopatra

This proves me base.If she first meet the curled Antony,He’ll make demand of her, and spend that kissWhich is my heaven to have.—Come, thou mortal wretch,

This makes me look cowardly. If she meets curly-haired Antony first, he'll ask her for news and give her the kiss that would be heaven for me to receive.—Come, you deadly little creature,

Charmian

O eastern star!

Oh, star of the East!

Cleopatra

Peace, peace!Dost thou not see my baby at my breastThat sucks the nurse asleep?

Quiet, quiet! Don't you see my baby at my breast, sucking its nurse to sleep?

Charmian

O, break! O, break!

Oh, break, my heart! Break!

Cleopatra

As sweet as balm, as soft as air, as gentle—O Antony!—Nay, I will take thee too.

As sweet as soothing ointment, as soft as air, as gentle—Oh, Antony!—Yes, I'll take you too.

Charmian

In this vile world? So, fare thee well.Now boast thee, Death, in thy possession liesA lass unparalleled. Downy windows, close,And golden Phœbus never be beheldOf eyes again so royal! Your crown’s awry;I’ll mend it and then play.

In this wretched world? Well, goodbye. Now boast, Death: you possess a woman without equal. Close, soft eyelids. Never again will eyes so royal look upon golden Phœbus! Your crown is crooked. I'll straighten it, and then I'll be free to play.

First Guard

Where’s the queen?

Where is the queen?

Charmian

Speak softly. Wake her not.

Speak softly. Don't wake her.

First Guard

Caesar hath sent—

Caesar has sent—

Charmian

Too slow a messenger.

A messenger who is too late.

First Guard

Approach, ho! All’s not well. Caesar’s beguiled.

Come here, quickly! Something is wrong. Caesar has been deceived.

Second Guard

There’s Dolabella sent from Caesar. Call him.

There’s Dolabella, sent by Caesar. Call him.

First Guard

What work is here, Charmian? Is this well done?

What has happened here, Charmian? Is this right?

Charmian

It is well done, and fitting for a princessDescended of so many royal kings.Ah, soldier!

It is right, and fitting for a princess descended from so many royal kings. Ah, soldier!

Dolabella

How goes it here?

How are things here?

Second Guard

All dead.

They’re all dead.

Dolabella

Caesar, thy thoughtsTouch their effects in this. Thyself art comingTo see performed the dreaded act which thouSo sought’st to hinder.

Caesar, your fears have come true here. You yourself are coming to see the dreadful act carried out that you tried so hard to prevent.

All

A way there, a way for Caesar!

Make way there, make way for Caesar!

Dolabella

O sir, you are too sure an augurer:That you did fear is done.

Oh, sir, your predictions are all too accurate. What you feared has happened.

Caesar

Bravest at the last,She levelled at our purposes and, being royal,Took her own way. The manner of their deaths?I do not see them bleed.

At the last, she was her bravest. She struck at our plans and, as a queen, took her own way. How did they die? I see no bleeding.

Dolabella

Who was last with them?

Who was the last person with them?

First Guard

A simple countryman that brought her figs.This was his basket.

A simple countryman who brought her figs. This was his basket.

Caesar

Poisoned then.

Poisoned, then.

First Guard

O Caesar,This Charmian lived but now; she stood and spake.I found her trimming up the diademOn her dead mistress; tremblingly she stood,And on the sudden dropped.

Oh, Caesar, this woman, Charmian, was alive just now. She stood and spoke. I found her adjusting the crown on her dead mistress. She stood there trembling, then suddenly fell.

Caesar

O noble weakness!If they had swallowed poison ’twould appearBy external swelling; but she looks like sleep,As she would catch another AntonyIn her strong toil of grace.

Oh, noble frailty! If they had swallowed poison, their bodies would show swelling. But she looks as if she’s sleeping, ready to capture another Antony in the powerful net of her charm.

Dolabella

Here on her breastThere is a vent of blood, and something blown.The like is on her arm.

Here on her breast is a spot that has bled and is slightly swollen. There’s another like it on her arm.

First Guard

This is an aspic’s trail, and these fig leavesHave slime upon them, such as th’ aspic leavesUpon the caves of Nile.

This is an asp’s trail, and these fig leaves have slime on them like the slime an asp leaves in the caves along the Nile.

Caesar

Most probableThat so she died, for her physician tells meShe hath pursued conclusions infiniteOf easy ways to die. Take up her bed,And bear her women from the monument.She shall be buried by her Antony.No grave upon the earth shall clip in itA pair so famous. High events as theseStrike those that make them; and their story isNo less in pity than his glory whichBrought them to be lamented. Our army shallIn solemn show attend this funeral,And then to Rome. Come, Dolabella, seeHigh order in this great solemnity.

That is most likely how she died. Her doctor tells me she has tested countless painless ways to die. Lift her bed and carry her women out of the tomb. She will be buried beside her Antony. No grave on earth will hold a pair so famous. Great events like these wound even those who cause them. Their story inspires as much pity as it brings glory to the man who made them objects of mourning. Our army will attend this funeral in solemn procession, and then we will go to Rome. Come, Dolabella, see that this great ceremony is carried out with all due dignity.