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Act 3, Scene 1
Antony and Cleopatra Translation Act 3, Scene 2
Enter AGRIPPA at one door, ENOBARBUS at another
AGRIPPA
What, are the brothers parted?
AGRIPPA
What, have the brothers left?
ENOBARBUS
They have dispatched with Pompey; he is gone. The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps To part from Rome. Caesar is sad, and Lepidus, 5 Since Pompey’s feast, as Menas says, is troubled With the greensickness.
ENOBARBUS
They have settled their affairs with Pompey; he is gone. The other three are signing the agreement. Octavia weeps that she has to leave Rome. Caeasar is sad, and Menas says that Lepidus, since Pompey's feast, is suffering from a hangover.
AGRIPPA
’Tis a noble Lepidus.
AGRIPPA
Lepidus is a noble man.
ENOBARBUS
A very fine one. Oh, how he loves Caesar!
ENOBARBUS
A very fine one. Oh, how he loves Caesar!
AGRIPPA
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!
AGRIPPA
Yes, but how dearly he loves Mark Antony!
ENOBARBUS
10 Caesar? Why, he’s the Jupiter of men.
ENOBARBUS
Caesar? Why, he's like the king of the gods among men.
AGRIPPA
What’s Antony? The god of Jupiter.
AGRIPPA
Then what is Antony? He is the king of the king of the gods.
ENOBARBUS
Spake you of Caesar? How, the nonpareil!
ENOBARBUS
Did you insult Caesar? Why, he is without equal!
AGRIPPA
O Antony, O thou Arabian bird!
AGRIPPA
Oh Antony, you phoenix!
ENOBARBUS
Would you praise Caesar, say “Caesar.” Go no further.
ENOBARBUS
If you want to praise Caesar, simply say "Caesar." The name alone conveys all his great qualities.
AGRIPPA
15 Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.
AGRIPPA
Indeed, Lepidus praised both of them highly.
ENOBARBUS
But he loves Caesar best; yet he loves Antony. Hoo! Hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number—hoo!— 20 His love to Antony. But as for Caesar, Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.
ENOBARBUS
But he loves Caesar most; still, he does love Antony. Ha! Hearts, tongues, letters, writers, singers, poets, cannot think, speak, calculate, write, sing, or make verses—ha!—that can adequately convey his love for Antony. But as for Caesar, the only appropriate reaction is to kneel down, kneel down, and be in awe.
AGRIPPA
Both he loves.
AGRIPPA
He loves both of them.
ENOBARBUS
They are his shards, and he their beetle.
ENOBARBUS
He is a beetle, and they are the wings he uses to fly.
Trumpets within
So,25This is to horse. Adieu, noble Agrippa.
So, I must get going. Goodbye, noble Agrippa.
AGRIPPA
Good fortune, worthy soldier, and farewell.
AGRIPPA
Good luck, worthy soldier, and goodbye.
Enter CAESAR, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, and OCTAVIA
ANTONY
No further, sir.
ANTONY
Speak no more, sir.
CAESAR
You take from me a great part of myself; Use me well in ’t. —Sister, prove such a wife 30 As my thoughts make thee, and as my farthest bond Shall pass on thy approof. —Most noble Antony, 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 35 The fortress of it. For better might we Have loved without this mean, if on both parts This be not cherished.
CAESAR
[To CAESAR] You take a part of me away from myself by taking her; treat me well by treating her well.
[To OCTAVIA] Sister, be as good a wife as I believe you capable of being, so that the great commitment I have made will be justified by your behavior.
[To ANTONY] Most noble Antony, do not let this good woman—who joins us as brothers to secure our love and keep it firm—become the instrument that will destroy our love. For we might have been better friends without this intermediary, if she is not cherished by both of us.
ANTONY
Make me not offendedIn your distrust.
ANTONY
Don't offend me by distrusting me.
CAESAR
40 I have said.
CAESAR
I've said what I have to say.
ANTONY
You shall not find, Though you be therein curious, the least cause For what you seem to fear. So the gods keep you And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends. 45 We will here part.
ANTONY
You won't find any reason to be afraid, even though you seem quite anxious about it. May the gods protect you and bring the Roman people to serve you loyally. We will part here.
CAESAR
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well.The elements be kind to thee and makeThy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.
CAESAR
Goodbye, dearest sister, take care. May you have good fortune so that your feelings will be ones of comfort! Take care.
OCTAVIA
My noble brother!
OCTAVIA
My noble brother!
She weeps
ANTONY
50 The April’s in her eyes; it is love’s spring,And these the showers to bring it on. [To OCTAVIA] Be cheerful.
ANTONY
She weeps. April is the beginning of love, and she cries in order to bring it on.
[To OCTAVIA] Be cheerful.
OCTAVIA
[To CAESAR] Sir, look well to my husband’s house, and—
OCTAVIA
[To CAESAR] Sir, take care of my husband's house, and—
CAESAR
What, Octavia?
CAESAR
What, Octavia?
OCTAVIA
55 I’ll tell you in your ear.
OCTAVIA
I'll whisper it to you.
She and CAESAR walk aside
ANTONY
Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can Her heart inform her tongue —the swan’s-down feather That stands upon the swell at the full of tide And neither way inclines.
ANTONY
She cannot speak her true feelings, neither can her feelings tell her what she should say. She is so torn between her feelings for her brother and her feelings for her husband that she cannot speak.
ENOBARBUS
60 [aside to AGRIPPA] Will Caesar weep?
ENOBARBUS
[So only AGRIPPA can hear] Will Caesar weep?
AGRIPPA
[aside to ENOBARBUS] He has a cloud in ’s face.
AGRIPPA
[So only ENOBARBUS can hear] His face is clouded over with emotion.
ENOBARBUS
[aside to AGRIPPA] He were the worse for that, were he a horse;So is he, being a man.
ENOBARBUS
[To AGRIPPA] That would be bad for him if he were a horse. It's also bad for him as a man.
AGRIPPA
65 [aside to ENOBARBUS] Why, Enobarbus, When Antony found Julius Caesar dead, He cried almost to roaring, and he wept When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.
AGRIPPA
[To ENOBARBUS] Why, Enobarbus, when Antony found Julius Caesar's dead body, he cried so much he was almost roaring, and he wept at Philippi when he found Brutus dead.
ENOBARBUS
[aside to AGRIPPA] That year indeed he was troubled70 with a rheum.What willingly he did confound he wailed,Believe ’t, till I wept too.
ENOBARBUS
[To AGRIPPA] That year, he was indeed struck with the flu. He cried at the death of a man he willingly brought down, so much that I wept too—believe it.
CAESAR
[coming forward with OCTAVIA] No, sweet Octavia,You shall hear from me still. The time shall not75Outgo my thinking on you.
CAESAR
[Joining the others with OCTAVIA] No, sweet Octavia, you will always hear from me. Time will stop before I stop thinking about you.
ANTONY
Come, sir, come,I’ll wrestle with you in my strength of love.Look, here I have you.
ANTONY
Come, sir, come, I'll challenge you to see who can love the most. Look, I'll show you.
Embraces him
Thus I let you go80And give you to the gods.
Thus I let you depart and commend you to the gods.
CAESAR
Adieu. Be happy.
CAESAR
Farewell. Be happy.
LEPIDUS
[To ANTONY] Let all the number of the stars give lightTo thy fair way.
LEPIDUS
[To ANTONY] May all the stars light an easy path before you.
CAESAR
Farewell, farewell.
CAESAR
Farewell, farewell.
Kisses OCTAVIA
ANTONY
85 Farewell.
ANTONY
Farewell.
Trumpets sound. Exeunt
About the Translator: Maria Devlin
Maria Devlin received her Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard University, where she specialized in Renaissance drama. She has worked as a bibliographical and editorial assistant for The Norton Anthology of English Literature and for The Norton Shakespeare. She is currently working with Stephen Greenblatt to design online courses on Shakespeare, including the modules "Hamlet's Ghost" and "Shylock's Bond" offered through HarvardX. She is writing a book on Renaissance comedy.
Maria Devlin wishes to credit the following sources, which she consulted extensively in composing her translations and annotations:
William Shakespeare. The New Oxford Shakespeare: Modern Critical Edition. Eds. Gary Taylor et al. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
William Shakespeare. The Norton Shakespeare, 3rd ed. Eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. New York: W.W. Norton& Company, Inc., 2016.
