Their most assured intents. Re-enter CHARMIAN. Now, Charmian ! Show me, my women, like a queen. Go fetch My best attires: I am again for Cydnus, Now, noble Charmian, we'll dispatch indeed; [Exit IRAS. A noise within. Guard. Enter one of the Guard. Here is a rural fellow That will not be denied your Highness' presence: He brings you figs. Cleo. Let him come in. [Exit Guard. What poor an instrument 27 May do a noble deed! he brings me liberty. I'm marble-constant; now the fleeting 28 Moon Re-enter one of the Guard, with Clown, bringing in a basket. This is the man. 26 Sirrah was not anciently an appellation either reproachful or injurious; being applied, with a sort of playful kindness, to children, friends, and servants, and, what may seem more extraordinary, as in the present case, to women. See I Henry the Fourth, page 67, note 30. 27 Our usage would require "What a poor instrument," or " How poor an instrument." The Poet has many similar exclamatives. See Julius Cæsar, page 65, note 14. 28 Fleeting is but another form of flitting; changeable or inconstant. Hast thou the pretty worm 29 of Nilus there, That kills and pains not? [Exit Guard. Clown. Truly I have him; but I would not be the party that should desire you to touch him, for his biting is immortal: those that do die of it do seldom or never recover. Cleo. Remember'st thou any that have died on't? Clown. Very many, men and women too. I heard of one of them no longer than yesterday: a very honest woman, but something given to lie; as a woman should not do, but in the way of honesty: how she died of the biting of it, what pain she felt, — truly, she makes a very good report o' the worm; but he that will believe all that they say shall never be saved by half that they do: 30 but this is most fallible, the worm's an odd worm. Cleo. Get thee hence; farewell. Clown. I wish you all joy of the worm. Cleo. Farewell. [Sets down his basket. Clown. You must think this, look you, that the worm will do his kind.31 29 Worm was used for serpent. The word is pure Saxon. We have it still in blind-worm and slow-worm. Shakespeare uses it several times. The notion of a serpent that caused death without pain was an ancient fable, and is here adopted with propriety. The worm of the Nile was the asp of the ancients, which is wholly unknown to us. 30 Warburton observes that "Shakespeare's clowns are always jokers, and deal in sly satire." A part of the Clown's humour here seems to stand in a transposition of the words all and half, so as to cause a little confusion. 31 Will act out, or according to, his nature. This use of kind in its primitive sense is quite frequent. See Hamlet, page 59, note 18.- Plutarch: "Now, whilst she was at dinner, there came a countryman and brought her a basket. The soldiers that warded at the gates asked him straight what he had in his basket. He opened his basket, and took out the leaves that Cleo. Ay, ay; farewell. Clown. Look you, the worm is not to be trusted but in the keeping of wise people ; for, indeed, there is no goodness in the worm. Cleo. Take thou no care; it shall be heeded. Clown. Very good. Give it nothing, I pray you, for it is not worth the feeding. Cleo. Will it eat me? Clown. You must not think I am so simple but I know the Devil himself will not eat a woman: I know that a woman is a dish for the gods, if the Devil dress her not. But, truly, these same whoreson devils do the gods great harm in their women; for, in every ten that they make, the devils mar five. Cleo. Well, get thee gone; farewell. Clown. Yes, forsooth; I wish you joy o' the worm. [Exit. Re-enter IRAS, with a robe, crown, &c. Cleo. Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have The juice of Egypt's grape shall moist this lip: To praise my noble act; I hear him mock Now to that name my courage prove my title! I'm fire and air; my other elements covered the figs, and showed them that they were figs he brought. They all of them marvelled to see so goodly figs. The countryman laughed to hear them, and bade them take some, they would. They believed he told them truly, and so bade him carry them in." I give to baser life.32 So; have you done? Come then, and take the last warmth of my lips. [Kisses them. IRAS falls and dies.33 Have I the aspic in my lips? Dost fall? Which hurts, and is desired. Dost thou lie still? If thus thou vanishest, thou tell'st the world It is not worth leave-taking. Char. Dissolve, thick cloud, and rain; that I may say The gods themselves do weep! Cleo. This proves me base : If she first meet the curlèd Antony, He'll make demand of her, and spend that kiss Which is my Heaven to have. -Come, thou mortal wretch,34 [To an asp, which she applies to her breast. With thy sharp teeth this knot intrinsicate 35 Of life at once untie: poor venomous fool, 32 According to the old philosophy there were four elements, fire, air, earth, and water, of which all things were composed. In King Henry V., iii. 7, the Dauphin describes his horse thus: "He is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him." See, also, Julius Cæsar, page 174, note 9. 33 Iras must be supposed to have applied an asp to her arm while her mistress was settling her dress, to account for her falling so soon. 34 Mortal, here, is deadly; that which kills, not that which dies. See Macbeth, page 68, note 6.- Wretch is used as a familiar term of endearment.— Plutarch: "Some report that this aspic was brought unto her in the basket with figs, and that she had commanded them to hide it under the fig-leaves, that, when she should think to take out the figs, the aspic should bite her before she should see her; howbeit, that, when she would have taken away the leaves for the figs, she perceived it, and said, 'Art thou here, then?' And So, her arm being naked, she put it to the aspic to be bitten." 35 Intrinsicate is intricate or involved. See King Lear, page 105, note 16. Be angry, and dispatch. O, couldst thou speak, Unpolicied! Char. O eastern star ! Cleo. Peace, peace! Dost thou not see my baby at my breast, That sucks the nurse asleep? O, break! O, break! Char. [Applying another asp to her arm. Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies Of eyes again so royal! - Your crown's awry ; Enter the Guard, rushing in. I Guard. Where is the Queen? Char. I Guard. Cæsar hath sent - Speak softly, wake her not. Too slow a messenger. [Applies an asp. – O, come apace, dispatch: I partly feel thee. 1 Guard. Approach, ho! All's not well; Cæsar's beguiled. 2 Guard. There's Dolabella sent from Cæsar; call him. I Guard. What work is here! done? - Charmian, is this well Char. It is well done, and fitting for a princess 36 Charmian remembers the words of Cleopatra, "When thou hast done this chare, I'll give thee leave to play till doomsday." |