ACT 2
Act 2, Prologue
Enter Discord.
Flashes of fire.
Discord:
Now, Caesar, hath thy flattering fortune heaped
Those golden gifts and promised victories,
By fatal signs at Rubicon[85] foretold.[86]
Then triumph in thy glorious greatest pride
And boast thou cast the lucky die so well.[87] 5
Now let the triton[88] that did sound alarm
In his shrill trump resound the victory,
That heaven and earth may echo of thy fame.
Yet think, in this thy fortune's jollity,
Though Caesar be as great as great may be, 10
Yet Pompey once was e'en as great as he;
And how he rode clad in Setorius' spoils,[89]
And the Sicilian pirates overthrew;[90]
Ruling like Neptune[91] in the midland seas,
Who basely now by land and sea doth fly 15
The heavenly rector's[92] prosecuting wrath.
Yet sea nor land can shroud him from this jar.
O how it joys my discord-thirsting thoughts
To see them wait, that whilom[93] flowed in bliss,
To see like banners, unlike quarrels have, 20
And Roman weapons sheathed in Roman blood.
For this I left the deep infernal shades
And passed the sad Avernus' ugly jaws,[94]
And in the world came I being Discord hight,[95]
Discord the daughter of the grisly night, 25
To make the world a hell of plagues and woes.
'Twas I that did the fatal apple fling
Betwixt the three Idean[96] goddesses,
That so much blood of Greeks and Trojans spilt.[97]
'Twas I that caused the deadly Thebans' war 30
And made the brothers swell with endless hate.[98]
And now, O Rome, woe, woe to thee I cry
Which to the world do bring all misery.
Act 2, Scene 1
[An Egyptian beach.]
Enter Achillas, and Sempronius.
Achillas:
Here are we placed, by Ptolomey's command,
To murder Pompey when he comes on shore.
Then brave Sempronius prepare thy self
To execute the charge thou hast in hand.
Sempronius:
I am a Roman, and have often served 5
Under his colours when, in former state,
Pompey hath been the general of the field:
But 'cause I see that now the world is changed
And, likewise, feel some of King Ptolomey's gold,
I'll kill him were he twenty generals 10
And send him packing to his longest home.
I marvel of what metal was the French man made
Who, when he should have stabbèd Marius,
They say he was astonished with his looks.
Marius, had I been there, thou ne'er had'st liv'd 15
To brag thee of thy seven consulships.[99]
Achillas:
Bravely resolved, noble Sempronius.
[Aside]
The damnedest villain that e'er I heard speak:
But great men still must have such instruments
To bring about their purpose which, once done, 20
The deed they love, but do the doer hate.
[To Sempronius]
Thou shalt no less (stout Roman) be renowned
For being Pompey's deaths-man, than was he
That fired the fair Egyptian goddess' church.[100]
Sempronius:
Nay that's all one, report say what she list. 25
'Tis for no shadows I adventure for:
Here are the crowns, here are the wordly goods:
This between princes doth contention bring;
Brothers this sets at odds; turns love to hate;
It makes the son to wish his father hanged 30
That he thereby might revel with his bags;[101]
And did I know that in my mother's womb
There lurked a hidden vein of sacred gold,
This hand, this sword, should rape and rip it out.
Achillas:
Compassion would that greediness restrain. 35
Sempronius:
Aye, that's my fault, I'm too compassionate!
Why man, art thou a soldier and dost talk
Of womanish pity and compassìon?
Men's eyes must millstones drop when fools shed tears -
But soft, here's Pompey. I'll about my work. 40
Enter Pompey.
Pompey:
Trusting upon King Ptolomey's promised faith
And hoping succour, I am come to shore
In Egypt here awhile to make abode.
Sempronius:
[Aside] Faith, longer, Pompey, than thou dost expect!
Pompey:
See now world's monarchs, whom your state makes proud 45
That think your honours to be permanent,
Of fortune's change see here a precedent:
Who whilom did command, now must entreat
And sue for that which to accept of late,
Unto the giver was thought fortunate. 50
Sempronius:
[Aside] I pray thee, Pompey, do not spend thy breath
In reck'ning up these rusty titles now
Which thy ambition graced thee with before.
I must confess thou wert my general,
But that cannot avail to save thy life. 55
Talk of thy fortune while thou list: [Draws Dagger]
There is thy fortune, Pompey, in my fist.
Pompey:
O you that know what height of honour means -
What 'tis for men that lulled in fortune's lap
Have climbed the highest top of sovereignty: 60
From all that pomp to be cast headlong down -
You may conceive what Pompey doth sustain.
I was not wont to walk thus all alone,
But to be met with troops of horse and men,
With plays and pageants to be entertained. 65
A courtly train in royal rich array,
With spangled plumes that dancèd in the air,
Mounted on steeds with brave caparisons[102] decked
That in their gaits did seem to scorn the earth
Was wont my entertainment beautify. 70
But now thy coming is in meaner sort.
They, by thy fortune, will thy welcome rate.
Sempronius:
[Aside] What! dost thou for such entertainment look?
Pompey, how e'er thy coming hither be,
I have provided for thy going hence. 75
Achillas:
I will draw near and, with fair pleasing show,
Welcome great Pompey as the siren doth
The wandering shipman with her charming song.[103]
Pompey:
O how it grieves a noble haughty mind,
Framed up in honour's uncontrollèd school, 80
To serve and sue who erst did rule and sway.
What? Shall I go and stoop to Ptolomey?
Nought to a noble mind more grief can bring
Than be a beggar where thou wert a king.
Achillas:
Welcome ashore, most great and gracious prince. 85
Welcome to Egypt and to Ptolomey.
The King my master is at hand, my Lord,
To gratulate[104] your safe arrival here.
Sempronius:
[Aside]
This is the king, and here is the gentleman, [Gesturing to self and dagger.]
Which must thy coming gratulate anon. 90
Pompey:
Thanks, worthy Lord, unto your king and you.
It joys me much that in extremity
I found so sure a friend as Ptolomey.
Sempronius:
Now is the date of thy proud life expired
To which my poniard[105] must a full point put. 95
Pompey, from Ptolomey I come to thee,
From whom a present and a gift I bring.
This is the gift and this my message is.
Stabs him.
Pompey:
O villain! Thou hast slain thy general
And with thy base hand gored my royal heart. 100
Well I have lived till to that height I came,
That all the world did tremble at my name.
My greatness, then, by fortune being envied,
Stabbed by a murderous villain's hand I died.
[Dies.]
Achillas:
What? Is he dead? Then straight cut off his head, 105
That whilom mounted with ambition's wings.
Caesar, no doubt, with praise and noble thanks
Regarding well this well deservèd deed,[106]
Whom we'll present with this most pleasing gift.
Sempronius: [Addressing the audience]
Lo you my masters, he that kills but one 110
Is straight a villain and a murderer called:
But they that use to kill men by the great
And thousands slay through their ambitìon,
They are 'brave champions' and 'stout warriors' called.
'Tis like that he that steals a rotten sheep 115
That in a ditch would else have cast his hide:
He for his labour hath the halter's hire.[107]
But kings and mighty princes of the world,
By letters patent[108] rob[109] both sea and land.
Do not then Pompey of thy murder 'plain, 120
Since thy ambition half the world hath slain.
[Both exit, dragging the body]
Act 2, Scene 2
[The same beach.]
Enter Cornelia.
Cornelia:
O traitorous villains! Hold your murdering hands,
Or if that needs they must be washed in blood,
Imbrue them here - here in Cornelia's breast.
Ay me! As I stood looking from the ship
(Accursèd ship that did not sink and drown, 5
And so have saved me from so loathed a sight)
Thee to behold what did betide, my Lord,
My Pompey dear (nor Pompey now nor Lord).
I saw those villains that but now were here
Butcher my love, and then with viòlence, 10
To draw his dear belovèd body hence.
What! Dost thou stand to play the oratrix,[110]
And tell a tale of thy dear husband's death?
Doth Pompey, doth thy love move thee no more?
Go cursed Cornelia: rent thy wretched hair, 15
Drown blubbered cheeks in seas of saltest tears,
And, if't be true that sorrow's feeling power
Could turn poor Niobe into a weeping stone,[111]
O let me weep alike, and like stone be!
And you poor lights,[112] that saw this tragic sight, 20
Be blind and punished with eternal night!
Unhappy, long to speak, be ne'er so bold
Since that thou this so heavy tale hast told!
These are but womanish exclamatìons -
Light sorrow makes such lamentatìons. 25
Pompey no words my true grief can declare:
This for thy love shall be my best welfare.
Stabs herself.
Act 2, Scene 3
[Alexandria.]
Enter Caesar, Cleopatra, Anthony, Dolobella, a Lord.
Caesar:
There stern Achillas and Fortunius[113] lie,
Traitorous Sempronius and proud Ptolomey:
Go plead your cause 'fore the angry Rhadamanth,[114]
And tell him why you basely Pompey slew;
And let your guilty blood appease his ghost, 5
That now sits wandring by the stygian banks,[115]
Unworthy sacrifice to 'quite his worth.
For Pompey, though thou wert mine enemy
And vain ambition moved us to this strife,
Yet now in death, when strife and envy cease, 10
Thy princely virtues and thy noble mind
Move me to rue thy undeservèd death,
That found a greater danger than it fled.
Unhappy man, to 'scape so many wars
And to protract thy glorious day so long, 15
Here for to perish in a barbarous soil,
And end life's date stabbed by a bastard's hand,
But yet with honour shalt thou be entombed.
I will embalm thy body with my tears
And put thy ashes in an urn of gold 20
And build with marble a deservèd grave,
Whose worth indeed a temple ought to have.
Dolobella:
See how compassion draws forth princely tears
And virtue weeps her enemy's funeral.
So sorrowed the mighty Alexander 25
When Bessus' hand caused Darius to die.[116]
Anthony:
[Aside] These grieved sorrowing princes do with me
Jointly agree in contrariety.
Alack we mourn, grieved is our mind alike,
Our gait is discontented, heavy our looks, 30
Our sorrows all alike - but dislike[117] cause.
Their foe is their grief's causer which my friend;
It is the loss of one that makes them wail;
But I, that one there is a cruel one,
Do wail and grieve and unregarded moan. 35
Fair beams cast forth from these dismay-full eyes
Chain my poor heart in love, and sorrow's gyves.[118]
Cleopatra:
Forget, sweet prince, these sad perplexèd thoughts.
Withdraw thy mind in cloudy discontent
And with Egyptian pleasures feed thine eyes. 40
Wilt thou behold the sepulchre of kings,
And monuments that speak the workmen's praise?
I'll bring thee to great Alexander's tomb,[119]
Where he, whom all the world could not suffice,
In bare six foot of earth intombèd lies, 45
And show thee all the cost and curious art,
Which either Cheops[120] or our Memphis boast.
Would you command a banquet in the Court?
I'll bring you to a royal golden bower
Fairer than that wherein great Jove doth sit, 50
And heaves up bowls of nectar to his queen:[121]
A stately palace, whose fair double gates
Are wrought with garnishèd carved ivory,[122]
And stately pillars of pure bullion[123] framed,
With Orient pearls and Indian stones embossed, 55
With golden roofs that glister[124] like the sun
Shall be prepared to entertain my love.
Or wilt thou see our academic schools,
Or hear our priests to reason of the stars?
Hence Plato fetched his deep philosophy,[125] 60
And here in heavenly knowledge they excel.
Anthony:
[Aside] More than most fair, another heaven to me:
The stars whereon I'll gaze shall be thy face,
Thy moral deeds my sweet philosophy.
Venus the muse whose aid I must implore: 65
O let me profit in this study best,
For beauty's scholar I am now professed.
Lord:
See how this fair Egyptian sorceress
Enchants these noble warriors' man-like minds,
And melts their hearts in love and wantonness. 70
Caesar:
Most glorious queen, whose cheerful smiling words
Expel these clouds that overcast my mind,
Caesar will joy in Cleopatra's joy,
And think his fame no whit disparagèd
To change his arms and deadly sounding drums 75
For love's sweet lays and Lydian[126] harmony.
And now hang up these idle instruments,
My warlike spear and uncontrollèd crest,
My mortal wounding sword and silver shield,
And under thy sweet banners bear the brunt 80
Of peaceful wars and amorous alarms.
Why Mars himself, his bloody rage allayed,
Dallying in Venus' bed hath often played,
And great Alcides, when he did return
From Juno's tasks and Nemean victories,[127] 85
From monsters fell and Nemean[128] toils,
Reposed himself in Deianira's arms.[129]
Here will I pitch the pillars of my fame,
Here the non ultra of my labours write,
And with these cheeks of roses, locks of gold, 90
End my life's date and travails manifold.
Dolobella:
How many lets do hinder virtuous minds
From the pursuit of honour's due reward,
Besides Charybdis, and fell Scylla's spite:[130]
More dangerous Circe and Calypso's cup, [131] 95
Than pleasant gardens of Alcionus:[132]
And thousand lets voluptuousness doth offer.
Caesar:
I will regard no more these murderous spoils
And bloody triumphs that I liked of late,
But in love's pleasures spend my wanton days. 100
I'll make thee garlands of sweet smelling flowers
And with fair rosal[133] chaplets[134] crown thy head:
The purple hyacinth of Phoebus' land,
Fresh amarinthus that doth never die,
And fair narcissus' dear resplendent shores,[135] 105
And violets and daffodils so sweet
Shall beautify the temples[136] of my love,
Whilst I will still gaze on thy beauteous eyes,
And with ambrosian kisses bathe thy cheeks.
Cleopatra:
Come now, fair prince, and feast thee in our Courts 110
Where liberal Ceres[137] and Liaeus[138] fat
Shall pour their plenty forth and fruitful store;
The sparkling liquor shall o'erflow his banks
And Meroe learn to bring forth pleasant wine;[139]
Fruitful Arabia, and the furthest Ind 115
Shall spend their treasuries of spicery;[140]
With nardus[141] coronets we'll gird our heads;
And all the while melodious warbling notes,
Passing the sevenfold harmony of heaven,[142]
Shall seem to ravish our enchanted thoughts. 120
Thus is the fear of unkind Ptolomey
Changèd by thee to feast in jollity.
Anthony:
[Aside] O how mine ears suck up her heavenly words
The whilst mine eyes do prey upon her face.
Caesar:
Wind we then, Anthony, with this royal queen. 125
This day we'll spend in mirth and banqueting.
Anthony:
[Aside] Had I Queen Juno's herd-man's hundred eyes[143]
To gaze upon these two bright suns of hers,
Yet would they all be blinded instantly.
Caesar:
What hath some melancholy discontent 130
O'ercome thy mind with troubled passìons?
Anthony:
[Aside] Yet being blinded with the sunny beams,
Her beauty's pleasing colours would restore
Decayèd sight with fresh variety.
Lord:
Lord Anthony, what means this troubled mind? 135
Caesar invites thee to the royal feast
That fair Queen Cleopatra hath prepared.
Anthony:
Pardon me worthy Caesar and you Lords
In not attending your most gracious speech.
Thoughts of my country and return to Rome 140
Somewhat distemperèd my busy head.
Caesar:
Let no such thoughts distemper now thy mind.
This day to Bacchus[144] will we consecrate,
And in deep goblets of the purest wine
Drink healths unto our several friends at home. 145
Anthony:
[Aside] If of my country or of Rome I thought,
'Twas that I never meant for to come there,
But spend my life in this sweet paradise.
Exeunt [Omnes].
Act 2, Scene 4
[Rome.]
Enter Cicero, Brutus, Casca, Camber, Trebonius.
Cicero:
Most prudent heads that with your counsels wise
The pillars of the mighty Rome sustain,
You see how civil brawls have torn our state
And private strife hath wrought a public woe.
Thessalia boasts that she hath seen our fall, 5
And Rome, that whilom wont to tyrannize
And in the necks of all the world hath ranged
Loosing her rule, to serve is now constrained.
Pompey the hope and stay of common weal,[145]
Whose virtues promised Rome security, 10
Now flies distressed, disconsolate, forlorn:
Reproach of fortune, and the victor's scorn.
[Casca:][146]
What now is left for wretched Rome to hope,
But in laments and bitter future woe
To weigh the downfall of her former pride? 15
Again Porsenna brings in Tarquin's names,[147]
And Rome again doth smoke with furious flames.
In Pompey's fall we all are overthrown
And subject made to conqueror tyranny.
Brutus:
Most noble Cicero and you Roman peers, 20
Pardon the author of unhappy news,
And then prepare to hear my tragic tale
With that same look that great Atrides[148] stood
At cruel altar stained with daughter's blood.[149]
When Pompey fled pursuing Caesar's sword 25
And thought to shun his following destiny.
And then began to think on many a friend
(And many a one recalled he to mind
Who, in his fortune's pride, did leave their lives
And vowed service at his princely feet) 30
From out the rest, the young Egyptian King
(Whose father of an exiled banished man
He seated had in throne of majesty)
Him chose, to whom he did commit his life.
But O, who doth remember good turns past: 35
The rising sun, not setting, doth men please.[150]
Too ill committed was so great a trust
Unto so base a fortune-favouring mind.
For he, the conqueror's favour to obtain,
By treason caused great Pompey to be slain. 40
Casca:
O damned deed!
Camber:
O traitorous Ptolomey!
Trebonius:
O most unworthy and ungrateful fact!
Camber:
What plagues may serve to expiate this act?
The rolling stone[151] or everturning wheel,[152]
The quenchless flames of fiery Phlegeton,[153] 45
Or endless thirst[154] of which the poets talk
Are all too gentle for so vile[155] a deed.
Casca:
Well did the Sybil's[156] unrespected verse.
Bid thee beware of crocadilish Nile.
Trebonius:
And art thou in a barbarous soil betrayed, 50
Defrauded, Pompey, of thy funeral rites?
There none could weep upon thy funeral hearse,
None could thy consulships and triumphs tell,
And in thy death set forth thy living praise:
None would erect to thee a sepulchre, 55
Or put thine ashes in a precious urn.
Cicero:
Peace Lords! Lament not noble Pompey's death,
Nor think him wretched, 'cause he wants a tomb.
Heaven covers him whom earth denies a grave:
Think you a heap of stones could him enclose 60
Who in the ocean's circuit buried is,
And every place where Roman names are heard;
The world is his grave, where living fame doth blaze
His funeral praise through his immortal trump,
And o'er his tomb virtue and honour sits, 65
With rented hair and eyes bespent with tears,
And wail and weep their dear son Pompey's death.
Brutus:
But now, my Lords, for to augment this grief:
Caesar, the Senate's deadly enemy,
Aims eke to us, and means to triumph here 70
Upon poor conquered Rome and commonwealth.
Casca:
This was the end at which he always aimed.
Trebonius:
Then end all hope of Romans' liberty!
Rise noble Roman, rise from rotten tombs,
And with your swords recover that again 75
Which[157] your brave prowess won, our baseness lost!
Cicero:
Renownèd Lords, content your troubled minds.
Do not add fuel to the conqueror's fire
Which, once inflamed, will burn both Rome and us.
Caesar, although of high aspiring thoughts 80
And uncontrolled ambitious majesty,
Yet is of nature fair and courteous.
You see he commeth conqueror of the East,
Clad in the spoils of the Pharsalian fields:
Then we, unable to resist such power, 85
By gentle peace and meek submissìon
Must seek to pacify the victor's wrath.
Exeunt [Omnes].
Act 2, Scene 5
[Rome: the Cato household. Table with a book on it.]
Enter Cato Senior, and Cato Junior.
Cato Senior:
My son thou seest how all are overthrown
That sought their country's freedom to maintain.
Egypt forsakes us: Pompey found his grave
Where he most succour did expect to have.
Scipio is overthrown[158] and with his hapless fall 5
Affrick[159] to us doth former aid deny.
O, who will help men in adversity!
Yet let us show in our declining state
That strength of mind, that virtues' constancy,
That erst we did in our felicity. 10
Though fortune fails us, let's not fail ourselves.
Remember boy, thou art a Roman born,
And Cato's son: of me do virtue learn;
Fortune of others; above all things see
Thou prize thy country's love and liberty. 15
All blessings fathers to their sons can wish,
Heavens pour on thee, and now my son withdraw
Thyself a while and leave me to my book.
Cato Junior:
What means my father by this solemn leave?
First he remembered me of my fortune's change, 20
And then more earnestly did me exhort
To country's love, and constancy of mind
Than he was wont: somewhat's the cause,
But what I know not. O! I fear, I fear
His too courageous heart, that cannot bear 25
The thrall of Rome and triumph of his foe,
By his own hand threats danger to his life.
Howe'er it be, at hand I will abide,
Waiting the end of this that shall betide.
Exit.
Cato Senior with a book in his hand.
Cato Senior:
Plato that promised immortality 30
Doth make my soul resolve it self to mount
Unto the bower of those celestial joys
Where, freed from loathèd prison of my soul,
In heavenly notes to Phoebus which shall sing:
And Paean Io, Paean loudly ring.[160] 35
Then fail not, hand, to execute this deed,
Nor faint not,[161] heart, for to command my hand,
Waver not, mind, to counsel this resolve,
But with a courage and thy life's last act,
Now do I give thee, Rome, my last farewell, 40
Who 'cause thou fearest ill do therefore die.
O talk not now of Canna's[162] overthrow,
And raze out of thy lasting calendars
Those bloody songs of Hilias'[163] dismal sight:
And note with black, that black and cursèd day 45
When Caesar conquered in Pharsalia.
Yet will not I his conquest glorify:
My overthrow shall ne'er his triumph grace,
For by my death to the world I'll make that known:
No hand could conquer Cato but his own. 50
Stabs himself.
Enter Cato Junior running to him.
Cato Junior:
O this it was my mind told me before!
What means my father? Why with naked blade
Dost thou assault that faithful princely hand
And mak'st the base earth to drink thy noble blood?
Be not more stern, and cruèl 'gainst thy self 55
Than thy most hateful enemies would be:
No Parthian, Gaul, Moor, no not Caesar's self,
Would with such cruelty thy worth repay.
O stay thy hand! Give me thy fatal blade
Which turns his edge and waxeth blunt to wound 60
A breast so fraught with virtue excellent.
Cato Senior:
Why dost thou let me of my firm resolve?
Unkind boy, hinderer of thy father's joy,
Why dost thou slay me, or wilt thou betray
Thy father's life unto his foe-men's hands? 65
And yet I wrong thy faith, and love too much:
In thy soul's kindness 'tis thou art unkind.
Cato Junior:
If for yourself you do this life reject,
Yet you your son's and country's sake respect.
Rob not my young years of so sweet a stay, 70
Nor take from Rome the pillar of her strength.
Cato Senior:
Although I die, yet do I leave behind
My virtue's favour to be thy youth's guide:
But for my country, could my life it profit
I'll not refuse to live that died for it. 75
Now doth but one small snuff of breath remain,
And that to keep, should I mine honour stain?
Cato Junior:
Where you do strive to show your virtue most,
There more you do disgrace it: cowards use
To shun the woes and troubles of this life, 80
Basely to fly to death's safe sanctuary,
When constant virtues doth the hottest brunts
Of grief's assaults unto the end endure.
Cato Senior:
Thy words prevail. Come lift me up my son,
And call some help to bind my bleeding wounds. 85
Cato Junior:
Father, I go with a more willing mind
Then did Aeneas when from Trojan fire
He bore his father, and did so restore
The greatest gift he had received before.[164]
Exit.
Cato Senior:
Now have I freed me of that hurtful love 90
Which interrupted my resolvèd will,
Which all the world can never stay nor change:
Caesar, whose rule commands both sea and land,
Is not of power to hinder this weak hand,
And time succeeding shall behold that I, 95
Although not live, yet died courageously.
Stabs himselfe [and dies].
Enter Cato Junior.
Cato Junior:
O hast thou thus to thine own harm deceived me?
Well I perceive thy noble dauntless heart,
Because it would not bear the conqueror's insolence,
Used on it self this cruel violence. 100
I know not whether I should more lament
That by thine own hand thou thus slaughtered art,
Or joy that thou so nobly didst depart.
Exit.
[85] Line 3: Rubicon - a border river between Italy and Cisalpine Gaul in Roman times. Crossing the Rubicon committed Caesar and his troops to the civil war against Pompey.
[86] Line 3: foretold - Suetonius in his De Vita Caesarum, Divus Iulius describes Caesar hesitating on the brink of crossing the Rubicon, when an apparition of great beauty appeared, playing a reed pipe. As the soldiers gathered to listen, it snatched a trumpet from one of them and strode across the river sounding the war note.
[87] Line 5: cast the lucky die so well - Suetonius reports Caesar saying "Alea iacta est", meaning "the die is cast" or that things were now in the hands of the fates.
[88] Line 6: triton - Tritons were a race of inferior sea deities or semi-human sea monsters (OED: n1 1.a.). This term is also used figuratively or allusively to describe a seaman, waterman or person connected with the sea (OED: n1 1.c.). I am unsure as to whom this refers. Pompey ruled the seas but it seems unlikely to be him in this instance.
[89] Line 12: Setorius' spoils - Setorius rebelled against Rome. Pompey fought him in Gaul and eventually defeated him in Spain. Setorius was then murdered by his own officers.
[90] Line 13: Sicilian pirates overthrew - Appian explains that when the pirate situation became impossible to live with, Pompey was granted special powers to create a navy and fight them. He was so effective that he managed to chase them back to their lairs in Cilicea (modern Turkey). They all surrendered, their ships were burned and they were sent back to their original homes or resettled in sparsely populated towns.
[91] Line 14: Ruling like Neptune - Neptune is the God who rules the oceans. The powers the Senate granted Pompey were commander by law for three years, with absolute power over the whole sea within the Pillars of Hercules, and of the land for a distance of 400 stadia {perhaps 80 km or 50 miles} from the coast. They also granted him the power and resources to raise the troops necessary to carry out the job effectively.
[92] Line 16: heavenly rector's - this can mean God (OED: n 1.c.) and so may refer to divine retribution via the furies. However, in this case it may apply to Caesar (as someone who has or exercises supreme or directive control in any sphere, OED: n 2.a.) whom Pompey is fleeing, and at this point is practically in charge of the Roman Empire.
[93] Line 19: whilom - at some time past (OED: adv 2.).
[94] Line 23: Avernus' ugly jaws - A crater and lake in Campania, Italy. It was thought to be an entrance to the underworld, and also is sometimes used as the name of the underworld.
[95] Line 25: hight - to call or name oneself (OED: v1 B.II.5.).
[96] Line 28: Idean - Mount Ida on Crete was the birthplace of Zeus (Jove). Paris pronounced his judgement (as to which goddess was the fairest) whilst living as a shepherd on Mount Ida's slopes.
[97] Lines 27-29: fatal apple - At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris (Discord), who had not been invited, flung a golden apple inscribed "for the fairest" in the middle of the gathering, sparking off a dispute between Hera (Juno), Athena (Diana) and Aphrodite (Venus) which set in motion the Trojan War.
[98] Line 31: Thebans' war - Eteocles and Polynices were the sons of Oedipus, and inherited Thebes jointly. However, they fought, Eteocles expelled his brother from Thebes. Polynices then engaged the help of the neighbouring town of Argos, and attacked Thebes. The brothers killed each other in the ensuing battle.
[99] Lines12-16: Marius - This refers to Gaius Marius, one of Rome's greatest generals, who ended his 6th consulship in disgrace and shame, and he was forced to flee Rome, declared an enemy of the state and orders were issued for his capture and execution. The authorities of Minturnae imprisoned him, but were unable to find anyone who would carry out the sentence on a man who had repeatedly saved Rome. Eventually, a Gallic or Cimbrian horse soldier undertook the duty but, scared by the old man's burning eyes and terrible voice, ran from the house. The town reversed its decision and set Marius free (Plutarch's Life of Marius).
[100] Line 24: Egyptian goddess' church - In occasional bouts of purging Rome of anti-Roman ideals, the Senate outlawed the cult of Isis and ruled that the temple should be destroyed. In 50BC workmen were uneasy about destroying the temple, so the consul Aemilius Paulus took up an axe and delivered the first blow (Valerius Maximum 1, 3).
[101] Line 31: bags - money bags, purse (OED: n II 3.). In this case it may refer to general inheritance, eg, "worldly goods" in Line 27.
[102] Line 68: caparisons - A cloth or covering spread over the saddle or harness of a horse, often gaily ornamented (OED: n 1.).
[103] Lines 77-78: siren...song - In Homer's Odyssey, Odysseus is warned by Circe about the seductive song of the sirens who lure sailors to their deaths on the rocky shores of their island.
[104] Line 88: gratulate - To express joy at the coming or appearance of; to welcome, hail; to greet, salute (OED v 1.).
[105] Line 95: poniard - A small, slim dagger (OED: n 1.a.).
[106] Lines 107-8: F S Boas suggests a lacuna here. The central point of the sentence seems to be missing.
[107] Line 117: halter's hire - A rope with a noose for hanging malefactors (OED: n1 2.a. and b.). There is a tendency to talk of "buying" a halter, getting one for free or a specific price. The use of "hire" suggests the short-term reusable nature of the item.
[108] Line 119: letters patent - an open letter or document (see quot. 1891) issued by a monarch or government to record a contract, authorize or command an action, or confer a privilege, right, office, title, or property (OED: patent adj I.1.a.). Implicit to this is that kings and princes are using the law, which should protect property and rights, to steal.
[109] Line 119: rob - To plunder, pillage, rifle (OED: v 3.a.). Encoded in this is also to steal the seas and lands themselves.
[110] Line 12: oratrix - a female plaintiff or petitioner (OED n 1.) or a female public speaker (OED: n 2.). Either could be true in this case, although her audience are the audience, as she is alone on stage. They have no power to help her case, but can be moved by her words, so probably the latter is the correct usage.
[111] Line 17: Niobe into a weeping stone - Niobe compares herself to the goddess of motherhood, Leto (Latona), pointing out her 14 children in comparison to Leto's paltry 2. Leto sends her children, Apollo and Artemis (Diana) to punish Niobe which they do by killing all her children. Her husband either committed suicide or was killed by Apollo for swearing revenge. Inconsolable, Niobe cries unceasingly and finally turns to stone; her tears form a stream, the Achelous.
[112] Line 20: poor lights - presumably it is evening, and the lights mentioned are the stars and the moon.
[113] Line 1: Fortunius - This may be a trace of an extra character who was removed, perhaps an extra murderer or a lone bodyguard for Pompey.
[114] Line 3: Rhadamanth - ("Rhadamant" in original text but changed in line with p 46) Rhadamanthus is one of the three judges of the dead in Greek mythology. The other two are Minos and Aeacus: Rhadamanthus ruled on those from Asia, Aeacus on those from Europe, and Minos ruled over the court of appeal.
[115] Line 6: stygian banks - "Stygian" refers to the River Styx; crossing it was a way of entering the afterlife.
[116] Lines 25-6: Darius to die - When Alexander the Great defeated Darius III, the retreating Darius was murdered by his satrap Bessus who then set himself up as Artaxerxes V. Bessus tried to rally the empire against Alexander, but failed and was executed by Alexander for regicide. Alexander later married Darius's daughter; he had wanted Darius captured alive and gave him a sumptuous funeral.
[117] Line 31: dislike - should be read as "un-like" or "different".
[118] Line 37: gyves - leg shackles.
[119] Line 43: Alexander's tomb - Alexander the Great's mummified body was being transported to be buried with his ancestors in Aigai when it was hi-jacked by Ptolomey (shortly to become Ptolomey I of Egypt) who wanted it for his own dynastic claims. He is supposed to have entombed it in Memphis, while later Ptolomeys added to the confusion by moving it to Alexandria, and then rehousing it with his relocated ancestors in a new mausoleum in Alexandria. No information exist regarding the exact location of either tomb.
[120] Line 47: Cheops - text originally gives "Cleops", perhaps a confusion with Cleopatra. Cheops built the Great Pyramid at Giza.
[121] Lines 50-51: Jove's nectar - This has a sexual connotation which has been connected with Ganymede, Jove's cup-bearer.
[122] Lines 52-53: Gates of carved ivory - The gates of horn and ivory are the portals through which dreams travel from the underworld. The gate of ivory is the portal of false dreams.
[123] Line 54: bullion - a solid amount of gold or silver (OED: n2 II.2.c.).
[124] Line 56: glister - To sparkle; to glitter; to be brilliant.
[125] Line 60: Plato - After the death of Socrates Plato travelled to Egypt and Italy and studied with students of Pythagoras.
[126] Line 76: Lydian - An ancient Greek musical mode characterized as soft and effeminate (OED: a 2.a.).
[127] Line 85: Juno's tasks - Because he was a sign of Jove's (Zeus's) infidelity, Juno (Hera) hated Hercules and drove him mad. In his maddened state he killed his wife and children, and his punishment/atonement, 12 almost impossible tasks, was set by his arch-enemy Eurystheus. The first task was to kill the Nemean Lion.
[128] Line 86: Nemean - this repetition of Nemean is incorrect as it doesn't fit in with the metre: "Herculean" (of Hercules) or "Hyrcanean" (Hyrcania being the wildest location in the ancient Greek world, renowned for its tigers) would fit better.
[129] Line 87: Deianira's arms - Hercules' second wife, a princess of Calydon, with whom he had several children. When Hercules killed Nessus with a poisoned arrow, the dying centaur told Deianira that his blood would win Hercules back should she fear she was losing him to another woman. When this time came, she washed Hercules' shirt in the blood of Nessus, which led to his death.
[130] Line 94: Scylla and Charybdis - see note 62.
[131] Line 95: Circe and Calypso's cup - Circe was the enchantress encountered by Odysseus who turned his men into pigs. Circe gives Odysseus wine in a golden cup. Calypso was the nymph who loved him and kept him on her island for seven years until Zeus asked her to let him go. She equipped him well and then died of loneliness after he left.
[132] Line 96: Alcionus - King Alcinous of the Phaiakians. It is to him that Odysseus recounts most of the story of the Odyssey. The description of his garden in the Odyssey is one of the oldest textual descriptions of a garden. I have not corrected his name as it would spoil the metre.
[133] Line 102: rosal - Rosy, roseate, ruddy (OED: a 1l).
[134] Line 102: chaplets - A wreath for the head, usually a garland of flowers or leaves (OED: n 1.).
[135] Lines 103-5: hyacinth, amarinthus, narcissus - these flowers are all named after lovers who came to untimely ends: Hyacinth, a beautiful young man loved by Apollo was having a discus throwing competition with him, and in running forward to catch the discus to impress Apollo, he was struck in the head and killed; Amaranthus, a hunter loved by Artemis (Diana), offended Posiedon (Neptune) and was drowned by a huge wave; and Narcissus, a beautiful youth who rejected his suitors (there are several variations on who they were), was cursed to suffer unrequited love, fell in love with his reflection and killed himself.
[136] Line 107: temples - presumably a pun intended here between The flattened region on each side of the (human) forehead (OED: n2 1.) and a place to worship a goddess (OED: n1 I.1.).
[137] Line 111: Ceres - (Demeter in Greek) goddess of growing plants (particularly corn) and motherly love.
[138] Line 111: Liaeus - An Indian god mentioned by William Camden in his The Smaller Ilands in the British Ocean.
[139] Line 114: Meroe and wine - Meroe is on the banks of the Nile in present day Sudan. Lucan in Book 10 of his Pharsalia praises the wine that Cleopatra gives Caesar as good Falernian wine which had been mellowed for a few years in Meroe's vats until it reached maturity, a process not dissimilar to that for creating Madeira. He disparages the local vintage.
[140] Line 116: spicery - collective noun for spices (OED: n 1.).
[141] Line 117: nardus - a grass-like plant which can be distilled to produce an insect repellent.
[142] Line 118: seven fold harmony of heaven - Pythagoreans believed that the number seven was sacred and represented divine order and harmony in nature. Just as the seven planets turning through space on their crystal spheres created the perfect harmony of the universe, man too could create a lesser harmony through music utilising the ever-recurring seven tones.
[143] Line 127: Juno's herd-man's hundred eyes - Jove (Zeus) turned Io into a heifer to fool Juno (Hera) when she tried to catch him being unfaithful. Undeceived, Juno took the cow and put her under the guard of Argus who had eyes all over his body, two of which always stayed open. Jove sent Mercury (Hermes) to free Io. Mercury told Argos such a long and boring tale that eventually all his eyes closed. Mercury then cut off his head and freed Io.
[144] Line 143: Bacchus - Also known as Dionysis, he is the god of wine. His parents were Jupiter and Semele. He represents not just the wine but also the inhibition-discarding behaviour associated with drunkenness.
[145] Line 9: common weal - see note 17.
[146] Speech Direction is originally "Caes.". Caesar is in Egypt and this is a scene showing his enemies in Rome. I have presumed that Casca is the intended speaker here as his is the closest name to Caesar, and Cassius has just spoken.
[147] Line 16: Porsenna brings in Tarquin's name - Lars Porsenna was the King of the Etruscans. When expelled from Rome, Tarquin fled to him at Clusium. Porsenna then besieged Rome demanding they reinstate Tarquin. However, he was eventually overcome by his admiration for Roman values and became their ally.
[148] Line 23: Atrides - Meaning "descended from Atreus". Agamemnon and Menelaus were descendants of the cursed House of Atreus.
[149] Line 24: stained with daughter's blood - The Greek fleet could not sail for Troy because the wind was against them. Agamemnon sacrificed the life of his daughter, Iphigenia, in order to persuade Artemis (Diana) to grant them fair winds.
[150] Line 36: The rising sun, not setting, doth men please - This is the philosophy which delayed Queen Elizabeth I from naming a successor.
[151] Line 44: rolling stone - Sisyphus, the King of Corinth, as punishment for his swindling and trickery in life was sent to Tartarus (the hell of the underworld) where he was condemned to eternally roll a rock up a steep hill only to have it fall down just before he reaches the top each time.
[152] Line 44: everturning wheel - Ixion, King of Thessaly, murdered his father-in-law and tried to seduce Juno. His punishment in Tartarus was to be attached to an everspinning burning wheel for eternity.
[153] Line 45: Phlegeton - One of the rivers of the underworld; this one is of flames.
[154] Line 46: endless thirst - Tantalus, King of Lydia, murdered his own son and revealed some of the gods' secrets to mortals. His punishment was to be in water which receded from reach as he stooped to drink and to have a branch of fruit over his head which the wind blows from his grasp as he reaches up for it.
[155] Line 47: vile - Original text is "vilde". This is an archaic form of "vile" (OED: a A.1.a.).
[156] Line 48: Sybil - She was the priestess of Apollo at Cumae, and prophesied over a tripod. He offered her immortal life which she accepted, but she forgot to ask for immortal youth, and so withered away to nothing but a voice. She accompanied Aeneas into the underworld.
[157] Line 76: Which - Original text is "With", but "Which" makes better sense in this context.
[158] Line 5: Scipio is overthrown - Survivors of Pompey's forces at Pharsalus fled to join Metellus Scipio in Africa. They were later defeated by Julius Caesar at Thapsus, to the south of ancient Carthage.
[159] Line 6: Affrick - To update this to "Africa" would disrupt the metre.
[160] Line 35: Paean Io, Paean - This is an exclamation of joy or triumph addressed to Apollo (Phoebus) (OED: n 1.).
[161] Line 37: not - Original text has "nor" but "not" makes more sense here.
[162] Line 42: Canna - In 216BC Hannibal beat the Romans despite being badly out-numbered.
[163] Line 44: Hilias - Probably the Allia in 387BC. A hastily assembled Roman army are defeated by the Gallic Senones 11 miles from Rome. The enemy then went on to burn the city.
[164] Lines 87-88 Aeneas and father - During the sack of Troy, Aeneas carried his old crippled father to safety out of Troy on his back. The gift he gave back was life.