Cleo. Quick, quick, good hands.

[Drawing a dagger. The Monument is open'd; Proculeius rushes in, and

difarms the Queen.

Pro. Hold, worthy lady, hold;

Do not yourself fuch wrong, (7) who are in this
Reliev'd, but not betray'd.

Cleo. What, of death too, that rids our dogs of (8) languish?

Pro. Do not abuse my mafter's bounty, by Th' undoing of yourself: let the world fee His Noblenefs well acted, which your death Will never let come forth.

Cleo. Where art thou, Death?

Come hither, come: oh come, and take a Queen (9) Worth many babes and beggars.

Pro. Oh, temperance, lady!

Cleo. Sir, I will eat no meat, I'll not drink, Sir: (1) If idle talk will once be necessary,

(7)

who are in this

I'll

RELIEV'D, but not betray'd.] As plaufible as this reading is, it is corrupt. Had Shakespeare ufed the word reliev'd, he would have added, and not betray'd. But that he ufed another word the reply fhews, What, of death too: which will not agree with relieved; but will direct us to the genuine word, which is, BEREAV'D, but not betray'd.

i. e. bereav'd of death, or of the means of deftroying yourself, but not betray'd to your deftruction. By the particle too, in her reply, the alludes to her being before bereav'd of Antony. And thus his fpeech becomes correct, and her reply pertinent.

WARBURTON.

I do not think the emendation neceffary, fince the fenfe is not made better by it, and the abruptnefs of Cleopatra's answer is more forcible in the old reading.

(8) For languifb, I think we may read anguifb.

(9) Worth many babes and beggars.] Why, death, wilt thou not rather feize a Queen, than employ thy force upon babes and beggars.

(1) If idle TALK will once be necessary,] This nonfense should be reform'd thus,

If idle TIME will once be neceffary,

i, e. if repose be necessary to cherish life, I will not fleep.

WARB.

I do

I'll not fleep neither. This mortal houfe I'll ruin,
Do Cafar what he can. Know, Sir, that I
Will not wait pinion'd at your mafter's Court,
Nor once be chaftis'd with the fober eye
Of dull Octavia. Shall they hoift me up,
And fhew me to the fhouting varletry

Of cens'ring Rome? rather a ditch in Egypt
Be gentle Grave unto me! rather on Nilus' mud
Lay me ftark naked, and let the water-flies
Blow me into abhorring! rather make
My Country's high Pyramides my gibbet,
And hang me up in chains!

Pro. You do extend

Thefe thoughts of horror further than

Find caufe in Cafar.

SCENE III.

Enter Dolabella.

Dol. Proculeius,

What thou haft done thy mafter Cafar knows,
And he hath fent for thee; as for the Queen,
I'll take her to my guard.

Pro. So, Dolabella,

It fhall content me beft. Be gentle to her.
To Cafar I will fpeak what you fhall pleafe,

If you'll employ me to him.

Cleo. Say, I would die.

[To Cleopatra.

[Exit Proculeius.

Dol. Moft noble Emprefs, you have heard of me.
Cleo. I cannot tell.

I do not fee that the nonfenfe is made fenfe by the change. Sir T. Hanmer reads,

If idle talk will once be acceffary;

Neither is this better. I know not what to offer better than an eafy explanation. That is, I will not eat, and if it will be receffary now for once to waste a moment in idle talk of my purpofe, I will not fleep neither. In common converfation we often ufe will be, with as little relation to futurity. As, Now I am going it will be fit for me to dine first. K 3

Dol.

Dol. Affuredly, you know me.

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

Dol. I underftand not, Madam.

Cleo. I dreamt, there was an Emp'ror Antony; Oh fuch another fleep, that I might fee

But fuch another man!

Dol. If it might please ye

Cleo. His face was as the heav'ns; and therein stuck (2) A Sun and Moon, which kept their course, and lighted

The little O o' th' Earth.

Dol. Moft fovereign creature ;

Cleo. His legs beftrid the ocean, his rear'd arm
Crefted the world, his voice was propertied
As all the tuned Spheres, when that to friends;
But when he meant to quail, and shake the Orb,
He was as ratling thunder. (3) For his bounty,
There was no winter in't: An Autumn 'twas,
That grew the more by reaping. His delights

(2) A Sun and Moon, which kept their courfe, and lighted
The little o' th' Earth.

Dol. Moft fovereign creature!] What a bleffed limping verfe thefe hemiftichs give us! Had none of the editors an ear to find the hitch in its pace? There is but a fyllable wanting, and that, I believe verily, was but of a fingle letter. I restore, The little Oo' th' Earth.

i. e. the little orb or circle.

to exprefs himself thus.
(3)- -For his bounty,

Our poet in other paffages chufes
THEOBALD.

There was no winter in't: an Antony it was, That grew the more by reaping.] There was certainly a contraft, both in the thought and terms, defign'd here, which is loft in an accidental corruption. How could an Antony grow the more by reaping? I'll venture, by a very eafy change, to restore an exquifite fine allufion; which carries its reafon with it too, why there was no winter in his bounty.

-For his bounty,

There was no Winter in't: an Autumn 'twas,
That grew the more by reaping.

I ought to take notice, that the ingenious Dr. Thirlby likewife ftarted this very emendation, and had mark'd it in the margin of his book.

THEO.

Were

Were dolphin-like, they fhew'd his back above
The element they liv'd in; in his livery

Walk'd Crowns and Coronets, realms and islands were As plates dropt from his pocket.

Dol. Cleopatra

Cleo. Think you, there was, or might be, fuch a

man

As this I dreamt of?

Dol. Gentle Madam, no.

Cleo. You lye, up to the hearing of the Gods.
But if there be, or ever were one fuch,

It's paft the fize of dreaming; Nature wants ftuff
To vie ftrange forms with Fancy, (4) yet t' imagine
An Antony, were Nature's Piece 'gainst Fancy,
Condemning fhadows quite.

Dol. Hear me, good Madam.

Your lofs is as yourfelf, great and you bear it,
As anfw'ring to the weight: 'would, I might never

(4)

- yet t'imagine

An Antony were Nature's PIECE 'gainst Fancy,
Condemning fbadows quite."

This is a fine fentiment; but by the falfe reading and pointing become unintelligible. Though when fet right, obfcure enough to deferve a comment. Shakespeare wrote,

yet t'imagine

An Antony, were Nature's PRIZE Igainst Fancy,
Condemning fhadows quite.

The fenfe of which is this, Nature, in general, has not materials enough to furnish out real forms, for every model that the boundlefs power of the imagination can sketch out: [Nature wants matter to vie ftrange forms with Fancy.] But though this be true in general, that nature is more poor, narrow, and confined than fancy, yet it must be owned, that when nature prefents an Antony to us, be then gets the better of fancy, and makes even the imagination appear poor and narrow: Or, in our author's phrafe, condemns fbadows quite.] The word PRIZE, which I have reitored, is very pretty, as figuring a contention between nature and imagination about the larger extent of their powers; and nature gaining the PRIZE by producing Antony. WARB.

In this paffage I cannot difcover any temptation to critical experiments. The word piece, is a term appropriated to works of art. Here Nature and Fancy produce each their piece, and the piece done by Nature had the preference. Antony was in reality paft the fize of dreaming; he was more by Nature than Fancy could prefent in fleep.

K 4

O'er-take

O'er-take purfu'd fuccefs, but I do feel,

By the rebound of yours, a grief that shoots
My very heart at root.

Cleo. I thank you, Sir.

Know you, what Cæfar means to do with me?
Dol. I'm loth to tell you what I would you knew.
Cleo. Nay, pray you, Sir.

Dol. Though he be honourable-
Cleo. He'll lead me in triumph?
Dol. Madam, he will. I know 't.
All. Make way there-Cæfar.

SCENE IV.

Enter Cæfar, Gallus, Mecænas, Proculeius, and

Attendants.

Caf. Which is the Queen of Egypt?

Dol. It is the Emperor, Madam.
Caf. Arife, you shall not kneel.

I pray you, rife. Rife, Egypt.
Cleo. Sir, the Gods

Will have it thus; my mafter and my
I must obey.

Caf. Take to you no hard thoughts.
The record of what injuries you did us,

[Cleo. kneels.

Lord

Though written in our flesh, we shall remember
As things but done by chance.

Cleo. Sole Sir o' th' world,

(5) I cannot project mine own cause fo well To make it clear, but do confefs, I have

(5) I cannot project mine own cause so well-] Project signifies invent a caufe, not to plead it; which is the fenfe here required. It is plain then we fhould read,

I cannot PROCTER my own cause fo well. The technical term, to plead by an advocate. Sir T. Hanmer reads,

I cannot parget my own cause

WARE.

Meaning, I cannot whitewash, varnish, or glofs my caufe. I believe the prefent reading to be right. To project a caufe, is to reprefent a caufe; to project it well, is to plan or contrive a fcheme of defence.

Been