Antony and Cleopatra
| ACT III SCENE IV | Athens. A room in Mark Antony’s house. | |
| [Enter MARK ANTONY and OCTAVIA] | ||
| MARK ANTONY | Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that,– | |
| That were excusable, that, and thousands more | ||
| Of semblable import,–but he hath waged | ||
| New wars ‘gainst Pompey; made his will, and read it | ||
| To public ear: | 5 | |
| Spoke scantly of me: when perforce he could not | ||
| But pay me terms of honour, cold and sickly | ||
| He vented them; most narrow measure lent me: | ||
| When the best hint was given him, he not took’t, | ||
| Or did it from his teeth. | 10 | |
| OCTAVIA | O my good lord, | |
| Believe not all; or, if you must believe, | ||
| Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady, | ||
| If this division chance, ne’er stood between, | ||
| Praying for both parts: | 15 | |
| The good gods me presently, | ||
| When I shall pray, ‘O bless my lord and husband!’ | ||
| Undo that prayer, by crying out as loud, | ||
| ‘O, bless my brother!’ Husband win, win brother, | ||
| Prays, and destroys the prayer; no midway | 20 | |
| ‘Twixt these extremes at all. | ||
| MARK ANTONY | Gentle Octavia, | |
| Let your best love draw to that point, which seeks | ||
| Best to preserve it: if I lose mine honour, | ||
| I lose myself: better I were not yours | 25 | |
| Than yours so branchless. But, as you requested, | ||
| Yourself shall go between ‘s: the mean time, lady, | ||
| I’ll raise the preparation of a war | ||
| Shall stain your brother: make your soonest haste; | ||
| So your desires are yours. | 30 | |
| OCTAVIA | Thanks to my lord. | |
| The Jove of power make me most weak, most weak, | ||
| Your reconciler! Wars ‘twixt you twain would be | ||
| As if the world should cleave, and that slain men | ||
| Should solder up the rift. | 35 | |
| MARK ANTONY | When it appears to you where this begins, | |
| Turn your displeasure that way: for our faults | ||
| Can never be so equal, that your love | ||
| Can equally move with them. Provide your going; | ||
| Choose your own company, and command what cost | 40 | |
| Your heart has mind to. | ||
| [Exeunt] | ||
Antony and Cleopatra, Act 3, Scene 5
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Explanatory Notes for Act 3, Scene 4
From Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company.
(Line numbers have been altered.)
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3. Semblable. Similar, the same.
6. Scantly. Slightingly, grudgingly.
9. Took’t. Refused to take it.
10. From his teeth. That is, took it only in a half-hearted way, for form’s sake, not with sincerity.
13. Stomach. Receive with anger, resent.
16. Presently. At once, immediately.
23. Best. That is, is best able to preserve it — his honor.
27. Between’s. Act as mediator between us.
28. Preparation. That is, a force prepared for war.
29. Stain. Throw into the shade, outshine.
29. Soonest. Utmost.
30. Desires are yours. In this way you have what you desire.
35. Solder. That is, the rift could only be closed by an appalling amount of bloodshed.
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How to cite the explanatory notes:Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. M. Eaton. Boston: Educational Publishing Company, 1908.