Antony and Cleopatra, Act 1, Scene 5

Cleopatra

Charmian!

Charmian!

Charmian

Madam?

Madam?

Cleopatra

Ha, ha!Give me to drink mandragora.

Ha, ha! Give me some mandrake juice to drink.

Charmian

Why, madam?

Why, madam?

Cleopatra

That I might sleep out this great gap of timeMy Antony is away.

So I can sleep through this long stretch of time while my Antony is away.

Charmian

You think of him too much.

You think about him too much.

Cleopatra

O, ’tis treason!

Oh, that’s treason!

Charmian

Madam, I trust not so.

Madam, I hope not.

Cleopatra

Thou, eunuch Mardian!

You there, Mardian, you eunuch!

Mardian

What’s your highness’ pleasure?

What would your Highness like?

Cleopatra

Not now to hear thee sing. I take no pleasureIn aught an eunuch has. ’Tis well for theeThat, being unseminared, thy freer thoughtsMay not fly forth of Egypt. Hast thou affections?

Not to hear you sing just now. Nothing a eunuch has gives me pleasure. It’s lucky for you that, being castrated, your thoughts are free from desires that might carry them out of Egypt. Do you feel passion?

Mardian

Yes, gracious madam.

Yes, gracious madam.

Cleopatra

Indeed?

Really? In practice?

Mardian

Not in deed, madam, for I can do nothingBut what indeed is honest to be done.Yet have I fierce affections, and thinkWhat Venus did with Mars.

Not in practice, madam, since I can do nothing that isn’t respectable. Still, I have fierce desires, and I think about what Venus did with Mars.

Cleopatra

O, Charmian,Where think’st thou he is now? Stands he, or sits he?Or does he walk? Or is he on his horse?O happy horse, to bear the weight of Antony!Do bravely, horse, for wot’st thou whom thou mov’st?The demi-Atlas of this earth, the armAnd burgonet of men. He’s speaking now,Or murmuring “Where’s my serpent of old Nile?”For so he calls me. Now I feed myselfWith most delicious poison. Think on meThat am with Phœbus’ amorous pinches black,And wrinkled deep in time? Broad-fronted Caesar,When thou wast here above the ground, I wasA morsel for a monarch. And great PompeyWould stand and make his eyes grow in my brow;There would he anchor his aspect, and dieWith looking on his life.

Oh, Charmian, where do you think he is now? Is he standing or sitting? Is he walking? Or is he on his horse? Oh, lucky horse, carrying Antony’s weight! Carry yourself proudly, horse. Do you know whom you carry? One of the two men who hold up this world like Atlas, humanity’s sword arm and protective helmet. He’s speaking now, or murmuring, “Where’s my serpent of the ancient Nile?” That’s what he calls me. Now I’m feeding myself the sweetest poison. Would he think of me, darkened by Phœbus’ loving pinches and deeply wrinkled by time? Broad-browed Caesar, when you were alive, I was a delicacy fit for a king. And great Pompey would stand with his eyes fixed on my face as if they had taken root there. He would anchor his gaze there and look himself to death at me, the love of his life.

Alexas

Sovereign of Egypt, hail!

Greetings, ruler of Egypt!

Cleopatra

How much unlike art thou Mark Antony!Yet, coming from him, that great medicine hathWith his tinct gilded thee.How goes it with my brave Mark Antony?

How unlike Mark Antony you are! Still, since you come from him, that great elixir has touched you and turned you to gold. How is my brave Mark Antony?

Alexas

Last thing he did, dear queen,He kissed—the last of many doubled kisses—This orient pearl. His speech sticks in my heart.

The last thing he did, dear queen, was to kiss this lustrous pearl—the last of many repeated kisses. His words are lodged in my heart.

Cleopatra

Mine ear must pluck it thence.

My ears must draw them out.

Alexas

“Good friend,” quoth he,“Say, the firm Roman to great Egypt sendsThis treasure of an oyster; at whose foot,To mend the petty present, I will pieceHer opulent throne with kingdoms. All the east,Say thou, shall call her mistress.” So he noddedAnd soberly did mount an arm-gaunt steed,Who neighed so high that what I would have spokeWas beastly dumbed by him.

“Good friend,” he said, “tell her that her faithful Roman sends this oyster’s treasure to the great queen of Egypt. To improve this small gift, I will lay kingdoms at her feet and add them to her wealthy throne. Tell her that all the East will call her its ruler.” Then he nodded and solemnly mounted a lean, muscular horse. It neighed so loudly that the beast drowned out what I was about to say.

Cleopatra

What, was he sad or merry?

Well, was he sad or cheerful?

Alexas

Like to the time o’ th’ year between the extremesOf hot and cold, he was nor sad nor merry.

Like the season between the extremes of heat and cold, he was neither sad nor cheerful.

Cleopatra

O well-divided disposition!—Note him,Note him, good Charmian, ’tis the man; but note him:He was not sad, for he would shine on thoseThat make their looks by his; he was not merry,Which seemed to tell them his remembrance layIn Egypt with his joy; but between both.O heavenly mingle!—Be’st thou sad or merry,The violence of either thee becomes,So does it no man else.—Met’st thou my posts?

Oh, what a perfectly balanced mood! Notice that, good Charmian. That’s the man he is. Just notice: he wasn’t sad, because he wanted to shine on those who take their mood from his. He wasn’t cheerful, which seemed to tell them that his thoughts remained in Egypt, with his happiness. He was between the two. Oh, what a heavenly mixture! Whether you’re sad or cheerful, Antony, even the extremes suit you as they suit no other man. Did you meet my messengers?

Alexas

Ay, madam, twenty several messengers.Why do you send so thick?

Yes, madam, twenty separate messengers. Why do you send them so often?

Cleopatra

Who’s born that dayWhen I forget to send to AntonyShall die a beggar.—Ink and paper, Charmian.—Welcome, my good Alexas.—Did I, Charmian,Ever love Caesar so?

Anyone born on a day when I forget to send a message to Antony will die a beggar. Ink and paper, Charmian. Welcome, my good Alexas. Charmian, did I ever love Caesar this much?

Charmian

O that brave Caesar!

Oh, that brave Caesar!

Cleopatra

Be choked with such another emphasis!Say “the brave Antony.”

May you choke if you praise him like that again! Say “the brave Antony.”

Charmian

The valiant Caesar!

The heroic Caesar!

Cleopatra

By Isis, I will give thee bloody teethIf thou with Caesar paragon againMy man of men.

By Isis, I’ll bloody your teeth if you compare Caesar again with my man above all men.

Charmian

By your most gracious pardon,I sing but after you.

With your gracious permission, I’m only repeating your own tune.

Cleopatra

My salad days,When I was green in judgment, cold in blood,To say as I said then. But come, away,Get me ink and paper.He shall have every day a several greeting,Or I’ll unpeople Egypt.

Those were my youthful days, when my judgment was immature and my passions still cold, when I said those things. But come on, go get me ink and paper. He’ll have a separate greeting every day, even if I have to send everyone in Egypt.