Shall fall you for refusing him at sea,
Being prepar’d for land.
ANTONY.
By sea, by sea.
ENOBARBUS.
Most worthy sir, you therein throw away
The absolute soldiership you have by land;
Distract your army, which doth most consist
Of war-mark’d footmen; leave unexecuted
Your own renowned knowledge; quite forgo
The way which promises assurance; and
Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard
From firm security.
ANTONY.
I’ll fight at sea.
CLEOPATRA.
I have sixty sails, Caesar none better.
ANTONY.
Our overplus of shipping will we burn;
And, with the rest full-mann’d, from the head of Actium
Beat the approaching Caesar. But if we fail,
We then can do’t at land.
[Enter a Messenger.]
Thy business?
MESSENGER.
The news is true, my lord: he is descried;
Caesar has taken Toryne.
ANTONY.
Can he be there in person? ‘tis impossible—
Strange that his power should be.—Canidius,
Our nineteen legions thou shalt hold by land,
And our twelve thousand horse.—We’ll to our ship:
Away, my Thetis!
[Enter a SOLDIER.]
How now, worthy soldier?
SOLDIER.
O noble emperor, do not fight by sea;
Trust not to rotten planks: do you misdoubt
This sword and these my wounds? Let the Egyptians
And the Phoenicians go a-ducking: we
Have us’d to conquer standing on the earth
And fighting foot to foot.
ANTONY.
Well, well:—away.
[Exeunt ANTONY, CLEOPATRA, and ENOBARBUS.]
SOLDIER.
By Hercules, I think I am i’ the right.
CANIDIUS.
Soldier, thou art: but his whole action grows
Not in the power on’t: so our leader’s led,
And we are women’s men.
SOLDIER.
You keep by land
The legions and the horse whole, do you not?
CANIDIUS.
Marcus Octavius, Marcus Justeius,
Publicola, and Caelius are for sea:
But we keep whole by land. This speed of Caesar’s
Carries beyond belief.
SOLDIER.
While he was yet in Rome
His power went out in such distractions as
Beguil’d all spies.
CANIDIUS.
Who’s his lieutenant, hear you?
SOLDIER.
They say one Taurus.
CANIDIUS.
Well I know the man.
[Enter a Messenger.]
MESSENGER.
The Emperor calls Canidius.
CANIDIUS.
With news the time’s with labour; and throes forth
Each minute some.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VIII. A plain near Actium.
[Enter CAESAR, TAURUS, Officers, and others.]
CAESAR.
Taurus,—
TAURUS.
My lord?
CAESAR.
Strike not by land; keep whole; provoke not battle
Till we have done at sea. Do not exceed
The prescript of this scroll: our fortune lies
Upon this jump.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IX. Another part of the Plain.
[Enter ANTONY and ENOBARBUS.]
ANTONY.
Set we our squadrons on yon side o’ the hill,
In eye of Caesar’s battle; from which place
We may the number of the ships behold,
And so proceed accordingly.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE X. Another part of the Plain.
[Enter CANIDIUS, marching with his land Army one way; and
TAURUS, the Lieutenant of CAESAR, with his Army, the other way.
After their going in, is heard the noise of a sea-fight.]
[Alarum. Enter ENOBARBUS.]
ENOBARBUS.
Naught, naught, all naught! I can behold no longer:
The Antoniad, the Egyptian admiral,
With all their sixty, fly and turn the rudder:
To see’t mine eyes are blasted.
[Enter SCARUS.]
SCARUS.
Gods and goddesses,
All the whole synod of them!
ENOBARBUS.
What’s thy passion?
SCARUS.
The greater cantle of the world is lost
With very ignorance; we have kiss’d away
Kingdoms and provinces.
ENOBARBUS.
How appears the fight?
SCARUS.
On our side like the token’d pestilence,
Where death is sure. Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,—
Whom leprosy o’ertake!—i’ the midst o’ the fight,
When vantage like a pair of twins appear’d,
Both as the same, or rather ours the elder,—
The breese upon her, like a cow in June,—
Hoists sails and flies.
ENOBARBUS.
That I beheld:
Mine eyes did sicken at the sight, and could not
Endure a further view.
SCARUS.
She once being loof’d,
The noble ruin of her magic, Antony,