William Shakespeare's
Antony and Cleopatra

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Act III. Scene xii.
Egypt. CASEAR'S camp.

Enter CAESAR, AGRIPPA, DOLABELLA and THIDIAS, with others.

CAESAR

Let him appear that's come from Antony.
Know you him?

DOLABELLA

Caesar, 'tis his schoolmaster -
An argument that he is plucked, when hither
He sends so poor a pinion of his wing,
Which had superfluous kings for messengers
Not many moons gone by.

Enter AMBASSADOR from ANTONY

CAESAR

Approach, and speak.

AMBASSADOR

Such as I am, I come from Antony.
I was of late as petty to his ends
As is the morn-dew on the myrtle leaf
To his grand sea.¹

CAESAR

Be't so. Declare thine office.

AMBASSADOR

Lord of his fortunes he salutes thee, and
Requires to live in Egypt, which not granted,
He lessons² his requests, and to thee sues
To let him breathe between the heavens and the earth,
A private man in Athens. This for him.
Next, circle of the Ptolemies for her heirs,
Now hazarded to thy grace.

CAESAR

For Antony,
I have no ears to his request. The Queen
Of audience nor desire shall fail, so she
From Egypt drive her all-disgraced friend,
Or take his life there. This if she perform,
She shall not sue unheard. So to them both.

AMBASSADOR

Fortune pursue thee!

CAESAR

Bring him through the bands.³

Exit AMBASSADOR.

(To Thidias) To try thy eloquence now 'tis time. Dispatch.
From Antony win Cleopartra: promise,
And in our name, what she requires; add more,
From thine invention, offers. Women are not
In their best fortunes strong, but want will perjure
The ne'er touched vestal. Try thy cunning, Thidias;
Make thine own edict for thy pains, which we
Will answer as a law.

THIDIAS

Caesar, I go.

CAESAR

Observe how Antony becomes his flaw
And what thou think'st his very action speaks
In every power that moves.⁴

THIDIAS

Caesar, I shall.

Exeunt.

Next

Notes:
1. I was...grand sea: I was of late irrelevent to him
2. lessons: A pun - lessens, disciplines, learns a lesson
3. bring...bands: conduct him safely through our troops
4. observe...moves: observe how Antony adapts himself to his situation, and what his behaviour reveals about his mental state

Summary:
The schoolmaster arrives at Ceasar's camp bearing messages from Antony and Cleopatra. Dolabella remarks that Antony must be doing badly to send such a low-ranking follower, which the schoolmaster confirms. Casear denies Antony's requests to either be allowed to reside in Egypt or to live as a private man in Athens (that Antony expected them to be granted points to further deterioration in his mental state) but says that Cleopatra will be listened to and her desires granted if she drives Antony out of Egypt. It is obvious that this will result in great pain for the lovers and seems uneccesarily cruel, aside from the fact that Caesar likely has no plans to honour any agreements he makes with her. As usual Caesar's speech is clipped and precise - even on the brink of victory he is cold and calm. He is generally a pretty nasty character, though a gifted politician and strategist, and when the messenger departs he instructs Thidias to travel to Cleopatra and cement her loyalty using any means possible, saying that this should be an easy task as women are weak and easily corrupted.

I transcribed this by hand from the 1998 edition of the New Swan Shakespeare, which is published by the Longman Group and edited by John Ingledew. Hence, any errors are my own. Also mine is the scene summary, though footnotes rely mostly on the New Swan. In no way do I make the claim that my interpretation is the only valid one.
dustfromamoth started this project, I have ripped off her format.