The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra: Act 5, Scene 1 Translation

A side-by-side translation of Act 5, Scene 1 of The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra from the original Shakespeare into modern English.

Original Text	Translated Text
Source: Folger Shakespeare Library
Enter Caesar with Agrippa, Dolabella, Maecenas, Gallus, and Proculeius, his council of war. CAESAR, aside to Dolabella Go to him, Dolabella, bid him yield. Being so frustrate, tell him, he mocks The pauses that he makes. DOLABELLA Caesar, I shall. Dolabella exits.	Back at Caesar’s camp, Caesar sends Dolabella off to tell Antony to yield. (Clearly Caesar hasn't read Act 4 yet...)
Enter Dercetus with the sword of Antony. CAESAR Wherefore is that? And what art thou that dar’st 5 Appear thus to us? DERCETUS I am called Dercetus. Mark Antony I served, who best was worthy Best to be served. Whilst he stood up and spoke, He was my master, and I wore my life 10 To spend upon his haters. If thou please To take me to thee, as I was to him I’ll be to Caesar; if thou pleasest not, I yield thee up my life. CAESAR What is ’t thou say’st? 15 DERCETUS I say, O Caesar, Antony is dead.	Just then, Decretas, one of Antony’s men, enters with Antony’s sword. He announces he served Mark Antony while the good man lived and will serve Caesar now, if Caesar will have him. Caesar asks for clarification, and gets out of the woebegone Decretas that Antony is dead.
CAESAR The breaking of so great a thing should make A greater crack. The round world Should have shook lions into civil streets And citizens to their dens. The death of Antony 20 Is not a single doom; in the name lay A moiety of the world.	Caesar is shocked and says the world should mourn, as Antony’s death is not a single one, but cause for grief on the part of half of the world (over which he was ruler).
DERCETUS He is dead, Caesar, Not by a public minister of justice, Nor by a hirèd knife, but that self hand 25 Which writ his honor in the acts it did Hath, with the courage which the heart did lend it, Splitted the heart. This is his sword. I robbed his wound of it. Behold it stained With his most noble blood. 30	Decretas explains Antony took his own life, adding honor to the final act of suicide, just as those same hands had added honor to so many acts before this one.
CAESAR Look you sad, friends? The gods rebuke me, but it is tidings To wash the eyes of kings. AGRIPPA And strange it is That nature must compel us to lament 35 Our most persisted deeds. MAECENAS His taints and honors Waged equal with him. AGRIPPA A rarer spirit never Did steer humanity, but you gods will give us 40 Some faults to make us men. Caesar is touched.	Caesar weeps, and excuses himself, saying it is only befitting to weep over the death of kings, even if it’s the king you were trying to kill two minutes ago. (These guys have some seriously strange rationalizations for their actions.)
MAECENAS When such a spacious mirror’s set before him, He needs must see himself.	Maecenas insightfully contends that Antony was a mirror to Caesar, that Caesar saw part of himself in Antony.
CAESAR O Antony, I have followed thee to this, but we do lance 45 Diseases in our bodies. I must perforce Have shown to thee such a declining day Or look on thine. We could not stall together In the whole world. But yet let me lament With tears as sovereign as the blood of hearts 50 That thou my brother, my competitor In top of all design, my mate in empire, Friend and companion in the front of war, The arm of mine own body, and the heart Where mine his thoughts did kindle—that our stars 55 Unreconciliable should divide Our equalness to this. Hear me, good friends— Enter an Egyptian. But I will tell you at some meeter season. The business of this man looks out of him. We’ll hear him what he says.—Whence are you? 60	Just as Caesar launches into a speech over what a disaster it is that the two brothers in fate have come to this end, he’s interrupted by a messenger from Cleopatra.
EGYPTIAN A poor Egyptian yet, the Queen my mistress, Confined in all she has, her monument, Of thy intents desires instruction, That she preparedly may frame herself To th’ way she’s forced to. 65 CAESAR Bid her have good heart. She soon shall know of us, by some of ours, How honorable and how kindly we Determine for her. For Caesar cannot live To be ungentle. 70 EGYPTIAN So the gods preserve thee. He exits.	The Queen wants to know what Caesar will do with her, so she can prepare herself. Caesar claims to the messenger that he’ll be gentle with her, and cause her no shame.
CAESAR Come hither, Proculeius. Go and say We purpose her no shame. Give her what comforts The quality of her passion shall require, Lest, in her greatness, by some mortal stroke 75 She do defeat us, for her life in Rome Would be eternal in our triumph. Go, And with your speediest bring us what she says And how you find of her. PROCULEIUS Caesar, I shall. 80 Proculeius exits.	As soon as the messenger leaves, Caesar calls Proculeius to him. Caesar instructs him to go to Cleopatra and give her what she wants to keep her comfortable. Proculeius’s real job, though, is to make sure Cleopatra doesn’t kill herself, as Caesar’s plan is to put her in his triumphant march through Rome, as a symbol of how great his victory is.
CAESAR Gallus, go you along. Gallus exits. Where’s Dolabella, To second Proculeius? ALL Dolabella! CAESAR Let him alone, for I remember now 85 How he’s employed. He shall in time be ready. Go with me to my tent, where you shall see How hardly I was drawn into this war, How calm and gentle I proceeded still In all my writings. Go with me and see 90 What I can show in this. They exit.	Caesar asks his men to follow him to his tent, where he’ll show them writings that prove he was reluctant to go into this war, and further, that when in the war, he proceeded calmly and gently.