make thee wings and flye away And death withdraw thy hastie hand againe Whiles with aduantage I their debts repay How now Octauia whither wilt thou flye Not what thou maist but do thou what is iust Shall these same hands attempt impietie I may I can I will I ought I must Reuenge this high disgrace this Caesar will Byrthe nature reason all require the same Yet vertue will not haue me to do ill Yeeld all things yeeld to vertues sacred name Howthen euen thus with patience make thee strong The heauens are iust let them reuenge thy wrong Cruell to me selfe-wronging Antony Thy follie shall not make Octauia sinne I le be as true in vertuous constancie As thou art false and infamous therein I le be as famous for a vertuous wife As thou notorious for so leawd a life Caesar. As is a sweet pearle dropping siluer showre Which some milde cloud down from the shadie skies Vpon the parched flowrie fields dooth power Such is Octauiaes sight to Caesars eyes Hath â—…asons trauaile gaind the goulden fleece Or hath Octauia faild of hir entent Is Antony within the bounds of Greece Or dooth he stay at Blanckbourg malecontent Oct. O Caesar how my now distracted minde Vnites it selfe to render worthy thanks But woe is me no way no meanes I finde No hope to hide Antonius lustful prankes I him besought by all that words might say By this same ring that knit the Gord aâ—… knot By all the rights past on our wedding day But all in vaine for all is now forgot Looke how some proude hard harted mighty rocke Which makes the sea a mirrour for his face Repell's the waters with a churlish stroake Which mildely striue his body to imbrace So his indurate minde reiects my words And rudely makes me and my hopes forlorne His flinty heart naught but repulse affoords And my deserts returne me naught but scorne Caesar. Were not Octauia precious in my sight Whose will withstood what I did most desire The bloudy lynes had not been now to wrighte Of such reuenge as his leawd deeds require But worthy branch of braue Octauius lyne In Caesars thoughts liue and predominate Yours is my kingdome and what els is mine My selfe my scepter and my royal state Then sith I euer graunted your request And let you prooue al meanes his loue to winne Since you and we in vaine haue done our best To stay his foote out of the sincke of sinne Now for my sake if I may ought preuaile For dead Octauius neuer stained worth For deare Anchariaes loue and your auaile Excuse no more his faithlesnesse hencefoorth Yeeld but to this liue heere and banish care Forget his name that traytor-like is fled Liue like a Queene remember who you are And let me rouse him from his Lemmans bed Leaue you this house of his and what is his Stand of your selfe since he entends your fall Dishonor not your name with others misse If loue cannot recall him terror shall Oct. Dishonor not my name O Caesar no My miserie is not of that degree Wrought by my follie or forc'd by my foe Which mought attribute that disgrace to me T is paine and greefe to beare and suffer wrong But shame and sinne to him that dooth the same True patience can mildly suffer long Where rage and furie do our liues defame T is fortitude which scornes the force of wrong And temperance not to be moou'd withall T is constancie makes vs continue strong And wisdoms worke to free our selues from thrall But I am wrong'd you say and t is base feare Without reuenge to suffer iniurie Its cowardize vnworthy wrongs to beare And madnesse to giue way to trecherie Well then reuenge but what Octauiaes wrong Of whom of Antony And who is he Ah my deere Lord that will returne ere long And hate his fall and be most true to me If not I le then reuenge but how with death He is my selfe his greefe procures my paine With spoile and losse O no that were not good By certaine losse to hope for doubtfull gaine How then 〈◊〉 be false as he is most vntrue One wound doth not an others balme procure Flame is not quencht with flame but both renue A double force not easie to endure Whence springs reuenge from malice and disdaine Then speake not of it for it is in vaine Earth'open first thine vndeuided Iawes And swallow me in thine infernall wombe Eare willingly I swarue from vertues lawes Truthe my loues childbed was truthe be his tombe Caef. Were Antony as loyall in his loue As he is false forsworne and fondly bent Then would I thinke it reason to approoue And highly praise your vertuous entent But sith he willingly doth you forsake And wilfully persistes to do vs wrong High honor dooth require our swords to take Most iust reuenge which we may not prolong Oct. His falshood dooth not malice raise in me But rather shewes how fraile mans nature is An argument which bids me carefull be Least I my selfe should like wise do amisse Caes. Can my perswasions then no whâ—…t preuaile Can my request no thought of yeelding finde Can you esteeme of him whose truth dooth faile There are few women of Octauiaes minde Octa. Too few I grant and therefore am I such And though alone yet will perseuer still We imitate the multitude too much Most do as do the most and most do ill The number of the vertuous is so small That few delight to tread that loanely way But wisdomes heires are iealious of their fall And thinke it shamefull all should goe astray A vertuous act seemes strange in some mens sight Because they seldome saw the like before But noble mindes are carefull of the right And others errors make them feare the more How sencelesly we sleepe in follies bedde How few there are indeed how all would seeme Wife honest iust how fondly are we led To vse that least which we do most esteeme Then ought a prince to feare much more then any Least his fault be a president to many Caes. And is it vertue then to be misused Octa. To giue no cause why we should be abused Caes. Do but consent I le act and beare the blame Octa. To giue consent to sinne is sinne shame Caes. And is it sinne to punish leawdnesse then Octa. Sinne to exulte vpon repentant men Caes. But he persists in hatefull trecherie Oct. True loue may spring from pardoned iniurie Cae. How may they loue whoÌ„ worlds of distance part Octa. He is not far that 's lodg'd within the heart Cae. But time and absence will consume all loue Oct. Soner the hart which doth those passions proue Caes. Not so no mortall darte neare loue is found Oct. But we are mortall which endure the wound Caes. Yet leaue this house if not his loue deny Oct. First let this soule out of his lodging flye Caes. Can nature then no priuiledge obtaine Are his deserts in such aboundant store Must all I do be
Cleopatra sent A messenger Fonteius was his name Whose swiftnes did euen hast it selfe preuent More then we knew not but within short space Came Cleopatra royally attended And met directly at th' appointed place Which for their stay they had before pretended There did they sporte a time in great excesse Of all delights which any eye hath seene And there Antonius his great loue t' expresse Did frankely giue to this Aegyptian queene Phoenicia Cyprus and Cylicia Part of Arabia where those people dwell Cald Nabatheians part of Syria And finding that she could preuaile so well With Antony she further 〈◊〉 proceed And begd part of that land we Iewry call From whence mought be transported at hir neede True balme for to preserue hir grace withall This donâ—… my Lord to'ards Parthia tooke his way Which we with fier and sworde did waste and burne But in those confines did not long time stay But backe againe to Blanckbourge we returne From whence a poste was speedily addrest For to conduct this Cleopatra thither She kindly condiscends to his request Thus there they met and there they liue togither Octa. O what hart-piercing greefe doth theÌ„ tormeÌ„â—… That are thus countercheckt with riualles loue What worlds of horror do themselues present Vnto their mindes that do like passions proue O Ielousâ—…e when truthe once takes thy part What mercy-wanting tyrant so seuere What Sylâ—…a what Charibdiâ—… can impart But halfe those horrors which in thee appeare Poore Pluto why do we thy rigour dread All torments are containde within my brest Alecto doth whole troupes of furieâ—… leade Within my soule with endlesse greefe opprest O deserts now you deserts are indeed Your common-wealths are coucht within my hart Within my hart all rauening beasts do feede And with mad furie still encrease my smart O greefe I feele the worst that thou canst doe I taste the powerfull force of mischieses pride I proue the worst that chance can put me to The deepest wound of fortune I abide But staye Octauia if this be a lye If thy deare Lord do constant yet remaine Whom doost thou wrong is it not Antony O fault too great recall it back againe Canst thou be so vnkinde nay so vniust To censure iudge condemne without a cause Shall flying tales make thee so much mistrust Him bound to thee by Gods and natures lawes O traytor passion if thou couldst subdue Thy soueraigne reason what ill tragedies Wouldst thou soone acte but Ielousie adieu My Lord is constant and these are but lyes Did not he sweare on that our nuptiall day By all the sacred rights we holy deeme By those immortall powers which we obaye By all things els which dearly we esteeme By his right hand by this our wedding ring By all that mought a perfect truthe entend One time one day one houre should surely bring His life and loue vnto a finall end Did not he say the starres from heauen should fall The fishes should vpon the mountaines range And Tyber should his flowing streames recall Before his loue should euer thinke on change But what of this these are but onely words And so are those which do his faith impeache O poore Octauta how thy state affordes Nought but despaire to stand within thy reache The seate of truthe is in our secret harts Not in the tongue which falsehood oft imparts Hast back then Tyber to thy fountaines head Descend ye starres and this base earth adorne Let Neptunes people on these hilles be fed For Antony is fled false and forsworne But t is not so my Antony is true His honor will not let him basely fall Octauies name will faithfull loue renew His Inâ—…ate vertue will his minde recall As feare of torment houlds the wicked in So vertues loue makes good men loath their sinne Byl. Madam I cannot force you to beleeue That which I speake but that I speake is true I knew too well it would your highnesse greeue And would be lothe your sorrowes to tenew But would to God that all my words were lyes So my disgrace mought worke your sweete content Would this my soule mought be the sacrifice To reconcile his loue thus fondly bent O vertue thou that didst my good assure Arme now my soule against proude fortunes might Without thy succour I may not endure But this strong tempest will destroy me quite O sacred lampe pure vertues liuing flame That neuer failes sweet comfort to impart I feele thy power and glory in the same I heare thee say in closset of my heart Octauta liue and shew thy selfe a Queene Tread thou my path make constancy thy guide Let no base feare within thy minde be seene Let thine owne foote into no errour slide Make thine owne thoughts no witnes of thy misse Let thine owne conscience know no cause of blame A bulwarke stronge a brazen wall this is That will resist both sorrow griefe and shame Antonius fall his owne disgrace procures His is the fault and on his head shall fall The storme of mischiefes deep-reuenging showers When thine own worth in heauen shal thee enstall His is the fault but what mine is the wronge The errour his but I endure the smart O vertue if thou be so passing stronge Yet once againe remooue this from my heart Why vertue grieues but at his owne disgrace And mindes distrest with patience doth relieue With wisedomes light it stil directs his pace And cannot fall and therefore cannot grieue Well griefe I feele that thou art griefe indeed But patience is a prince and must not yeeld O sacred vertue help me at my need Repulse my foes with thy all mastering shield But what I must not heere stand and lament Thy deeds Octauta must approoue thy worth T is wisedome must these iniuries preuent I will no more excuse thy wrongs hencefoorth I le seeke by all meanes thee to reconcile And in my thoughts reuenge shall finde no place But if thou needes wilt worke a thing so vile To seeke my ruine and thine owne disgrace If nothing can preuaile I le make it seene Thou wrongst an Empresse and a Romaine queene Iulia. Camilla Syluia O deare Camilla what a wofull sight Ti 's to beholde the Empresse dolefull state Though others burthens in our eyes seeme light Death in my heart her griefe doth intimate O what exceeding pitty t' is to see Such noble vertues nurst in wisedomes brest Snar'd in the trap of humaine misery By others basenes thus to be distrest Cam. Madame the case is pittifull indeed And such as may relent a flinty heart A patient minde must stand her grace insteed Till time and wisedome may his loue conuert Iul. But who dares tell a Prince he goes aside Cam. His conscience best if wisdome were his guide Iul. But they are great and may do what they will Cam. Great if much good not great if they do ill Iul. But we must yeeld to what the Prince will haue Cam. He is no Prince that is affections slaue Iul. Be
fruitlesse and in vaine Antonius be your guide I say no more Oct. If that my words so much offend your minde O silent death thou my best refuge art O breake my heart for Caesar is vnkinde In silent greefe O breake my wounded heart Caes. What in a traunce O sister sister deare Light of my life deare modell of my soule Hurt not your selfe O banish needlesse feare Woe woe to me that did you thus controule O deare Octauia I spake but to prooue How farre your thoughts were bent with iealousie To see if malice had exilde your loue To finde how you esteemed of Antony Oct. O Caesar more belou'd then these same eyes More then the light which glads my tired life Do not my truly louing minde despise Kill not my heart with this your factious strife Alasse t is not his house that I respect His wealth or trypartite high regiment I would the worlds great treasurie neglect Rather then hazard Caesars discontent T is not affection that enchaines my minde Or partiall loue that makes my faith so strong Too well alasse my selfe abusde I finde And this my hart too sensible of wrong And what is worse this wrong so full of scorne As mought incense the mildest minde aliue To see my Lord a gracelesse Queene suborne And my dishonour carelesly contriue Nay worse then that if worse then that may be No creature euer felt the like disgrace Each wronged wight may hope for remedie My shamefull storie nothing may deface For if my Lord would cure this wound againe Yet woe is me the scarre will still remaine In these respects perhaps I could be brought To strike reuenge as deepe as any could I want no meanes whereby it mought be wrought For many thousands wish it if I would And what is more my selfe can scarcely let But Caesars sworde for me would pay the debt But when I finde in closet of my heart How I haue paun'd my faith to Antony How I haue vow'd that nought but death should part From him my loue and my fidelitie When that I see the vulgar peoples eyes Make my designes the patterne of their deeds How with my thoughts they striue to simpathize And how my misse their certaine errour breedes When that I finde how my departure were The opening of a gate to cruill warres Then Atlas-like I am constrain'd to beare A hated hell though not the happie starres I le rather dye then witnesse with these eyes In mortall wounds and bloudie lines enrowled The argument of my calamities Whom proud mischance vniustly thus controwled Shall neuer two such noble Emperours Their dearest liues aduenture for my sake Shall neuer for my sake such mightie powers The doubtfull chaunce of battle vndertake Shall neuer tongue recount Octauiaes errour An instance of his faithlesse periurie I le rather dye the world vnspotted myrrour And with my faith surmount his iniurie Caes. Well sister then I see that constancie Is sometimes seated in a womans brest Your strange designes euen from your infancie Can neuer without wonder be exprest Oct. I know not what you thinke of woman kinde That they are faithlesse and vnconstant euer For me I thinke all women striue to finde The perfect good and therein to perseuer Euen as a Torche or Sulphure poudered light Whiles any nourishment maintaines his flame Fayles not to burne and burning shineth bright Till aâ—…te obscure or force put out the same Such is the minde in womans brest contained With the true zeale of vertues loue enflam'd We may be dead but liuing neuer stained We may be wrongd but neuer rightly blam'd Caes. Wel for your selfe proceed as you thinke best Time and the heauens must see these wrongs redrest Caesar. Titius Plancus Great peeres that striue with wisdoms sacred fame To ouer liue all humaine memory Shew me for what entent you hither came What causde you to reuoult from Antony Tit. By our accesse we nothing else entend But humbly to beseech your maiestie Vnder your gracious fauour to defend Our wronged selues from hatefull iniurie Proud Cleopatrae Aegypts craftie Queene Rules Antony and wrongs she cares not where So insolent hir late attempts haue been As no pride-scorning Romaine heart can beare She is become our Queene and gouernour And we whose courage feares the force of no man By seruile basenesse of our Emperour Must be content to stoope vnto a woman Caes. What Angel Queen rules those Nyleian coasts Whose beautie can so ouer-rule mens mindes What goddesse can command the man that boasts To equall Iuâ—…ius in his high designes Plan. If in those guifts by nature we enioy Vnto Octauiaes sacred maiestie Shee be but comparable any way Be neuer Romaines so disgrac'd as we But for hir artificiall ornaments For pompe for pride for superfluitie For all excesse that folly represents She doth exceed the height of vanitie Hir sunne-burnt beautie cannot please his sight That hath a minde with any reason fraught But t is hir Syren tongue that dooth delight Hir craftie Cyrces wit which hath him caught As when from Athens Niger made returne And did relate the Emperesse entent Which he of purpose had in charge to learne And did hir princely guifts to him present And further did with truth discouering words Octauiaes well deserued praises frame An argument which to that Queene affords A furious blast to raise a Iealious flame Then did she nothing vnattempted leaue That art mought frame or wit mought well deuizâ—… Which mought his minde of reason quite bereaue And thus she straight began to Syrenize Shee pines hir body with the want of food That she mought seeme to languish for his sake And by hir gestures would be vnderstood How from his absence she hir death should take Hir deepe lamenting lookes fixt in his face In silent termes present an earnest sute As who should say O pitty my hard case Whom violence of passion maketh mute Then would she stand of purpose in his way In any place where he should passage make And there as though vnwilling to bewray What bitter griefe she inwardly did take Downe from her eyes distils a Christall tyde Which at his comming she would dry againe And sodainly would turne her head a side As though vnwilling to reueale her paine Thus in his presence rauished with ioy She smiles and shewes what mirth she can deuize But in his absence drowned with annoy She seemes to take her life from those his eyes Then Meeremaid-like his scences she inuades With sweetest nectar of a sugered tongue Vnto her will she euer him perswades The force of her words witch-craft is so strong Then came the kenell of her flattering crew Who largely paint the story of her death Like feede Atturneys they her sute renue And hunt Antonius spirits out of breath Wherewith assayl'd he like a man enchaunted To make her know she need not to misdoubt him Or like to one with some mad fury haunted Assembleth all the people round about him In that fayre Citty