Original subtitles

worn out now

quite true, Rufio.

Achillas is still in his prime:

Ptolemy is a boy.

Well,

every dog has his day;

and I have had mine: I cannot complain.

These dates are not bad, Rufio.

That's my old Caesar.

That's a great war when you get rid with the women.

You again?

Keep the distance.

Come within a yard of me, you old crocodile; and I will give you this in your jaws.

Peace, Roman fellow: you are now single-handed.

Apollodorus: this carpet is Cleopatra's present to Caesar.

It has rolled up in it ten precious goblets of the thinnest Iberian crystal,

and a hundred eggs of the sacred blue pigeon.

On your honor, let not one of them be broken.

On my head be it.

Load carefully it into the boat.

Those eggs, of which the lady speaks must weigh more than a pound a piece.

This boat is much too small for such a load.

Yes, yes, too small!

Yes, yes.

Oh thou injurious porter! Oh thou unnatural son of a she-camel!

My boat, sir, can carry five men.

Shall it not carry your lordship and a bale of pigeons' eggs?

Thou mangey dromedary,

the gods shall punish thee for this envious wickedness.

I cannot quit this bale now to beat thee;

but another day I will lie in wait for thee.

Peace there, all of you.

In the name of the gods, Apollodorus, run no risks with that bale.

Fear not, thou venerable grotesque: I guess its great worth.

Into the boat, gently, my sons,

my children--gently, ye dogs!

so--'tis well.

Do not step on it, do not step on it.

Be not excited, mistress: all is well.

Oh thou brute beast! Oh, thou hast given my heart a turn!

Here, ye hungry ones.

Robber of the poor. It's not enough!

O bounteous prince!

O lord of the bazaar!

O favored of the gods!

O father to all the porters of the market!

Farewell, Ftatateeta. I shall be at the lighthouse before the Egyptians.

The gods speed thee

Farewell, valiant pilum pitcher.

Caesar!

Caesar!

Our brave mariners have captured a treasure.

Our enemies are delivered into our hands.

In that bag?

Wait till you hear, Caesar. This bag contains all the letters which have passed between our enemies. Well?

Well, we shall now know who your foes are.

The name of every man who has plotted against you

since you crossed the Rubicon may be in these papers, for all we know.

Put them in the fire.

Put them-- In the fire.

Would you have me waste the next three years of my life condemning men

who will be my friends when I have proved

that my friendship is worth more than my enemies.

But your honor--the honor of Rome--

I do not make human sacrifices to my honor, as your Druids do.

Since you will not burn these, at least I can drown them.

Caesar: this is mere eccentricity.

Are traitors to be allowed to go free for the sake of a paradox?

Caesar: when the islander has finished preaching, call me again.

O Caesar, my great master,

if I could but persuade you to regard life seriously, as men do in my country!

Do they truly do so, Britannus?

Have you not been there? Have you not seen them?

What Briton speaks as you do in your moments of levity?

What Briton neglects to attend the services at the sacred grove?

What Briton wears clothes of many colors as you do,

instead of plain blue, as all solid, well esteemed men should?

These are moral questions with us.

Well, well, my friend: some day I shall settle down

and have a blue toga, perhaps.

Meanwhile, I must get on as best I can in my flippant Roman way.

What now?

Hail!

What is this? Who are you? How did you come here?

Calm yourself, my friend:

I am not going to eat you.

Hail, great Caesar!

I am Apollodorus the Sicilian, an artist.

An artist! A vagabond?

Peace, man. Apollodorus

is a famous patrician amateur.

I crave the gentleman's pardon. I understood him to say that he was a professional.

You are welcome, Apollodorus.

What is your business?

First, to deliver to you a present from the Queen of Queens.

Who is that?

Cleopatra of Egypt.

Apollodorus: this is no time for playing with presents.

Pray you, go back to the Queen, and tell her

that if all goes well we shall return to the palace this evening.

Caesar: I cannot return.

As I approached the lighthouse,

some fool threw a great leathern bag into the sea.

It broke the nose of my boat; and I had hardly time to get myself and my charge to the shore

before the poor little cockleshell sank.

I am sorry, Apollodorus. The fool shall be rebuked.

Well, well: what have you brought me?

The Queen will be hurt if I do not look at it.

Caesar, have we time to waste on this trumpery?

The Queen is only a child.

Just so: that is why we must not disappoint her.

Caesar: it is a Persian carpet--

a beauty!

And in it are--so I am told-- pigeons' eggs and crystal goblets and fragile precious things.

I dare not for my head have it carried up that narrow ladder from the causeway.

Swing it up by the crane, then.

The crane!

Caesar: I have sworn to tender this bale of carpet as I tender my own life.

Then let them swing you up at the same time;

and if the chain breaks, you and the pigeons' eggs will perish together.

Is Caesar serious?

His manner is frivolous because he is an Italian; but he means what he says.

Serious or not, he spoke well.

Give me a squad of soldiers to work the crane.

No-no it's worked by elderly Tyrian and his son.

Well conducted youth of ... 14.

What!

An old man and boy work that?

Twenty men, you mean? No, no, two only, I assure you.

They have counterweights, and a machine with boiling water

in it which I do not understand:

it is not of British design.

Leave the crane to me. Go and await the descent of the chain. Good.

You will see me presently there rising like the sun

with my treasure.

Are you really going to wait here for this foolery, Caesar?

Why not?

The Egyptians will let you know why not if they have the sense to make a rush before

our barricade is finished.

And here we are waiting like children to see a carpet full of pigeons' eggs.

Fear not, my son Rufio.

When the first Egyptian takes his first step along the mole,

the alarm will sound;

and we two will reach the barricade before the Egyptians--

we two, Rufio:

I, the old man, and you, his biggest boy. And the old man will be there first.

So peace; and give me some more dates.

Haul away.

Easy there:

Further round!

So. Haul up.

Gently--

slowly, slowly--mind the eggs.

Slowly, slowly.

Haul away.

Stand off, my friends: let Caesar see.

Nothing but a heap of shawls. Where are the pigeons' eggs?

Approach, Caesar; and search for them among the shawls.

Ha, treachery! Keep back, Caesar: I saw the shawl move: there is something alive there.

It is a serpent.

Dares Caesar thrust his hand into the sack where the serpent moves?

Treacherous dog--

Peace. Put up your swords.

Apollodorus: your serpent seems to breathe very regularly.

This is a pretty little snake.

Let us have the rest of you.

Oh, I'm smothered.

Oh, Caesar; a man stood on me in the boat;

and a great sack of something fell upon me out of the sky;

and then the boat sank, and then I was swung up into the air and bumped down.

Well, never mind: here you are safe and sound at last.

Ay; and now that she is here, what are we to do with her?

Caesar, it is not proper.

She cannot stay here, without the companionship of some matron.

Horrible.

Aren't you glad to see me?

Yes, I am very glad. But Rufio is very angry; and Britannus is shocked.

You can have their heads cut off, can't you?

They would not be so useful with their heads cut off as they are now, my sea bird.

We shall have to go away presently and cut some of your Egyptians' heads.

How will you like being left here

with the chance of being captured by that little brother of yours if we are beaten?

But you mustn't leave me alone. Caesar

you will not leave me alone, will you?

What!

Not when the trumpet sounds and all our lives depend on Caesar's

being at the barricade before the Egyptians reach it? Eh?

Let them lose their lives: they are only soldiers.

Cleopatra:

when that trumpet sounds, we must take every man his life in his hand,

and throw it in the face of Death.

And of my soldiers who have trusted me there is not one

whose hand I shall not hold more sacred than your head.

Apollodorus: you must take her back to the palace.

Am I a dolphin, Caesar, to cross the seas with young ladies on my back?

My boat is sunk:

all yours are either at the barricade or have returned to the city.

It does not matter.

I will not go back.

Nobody cares for me. Cleopatra--

You want me to be killed.

My poor child: your life matters little here to anyone but yourself.

Come, Rufio.

Do not leave me, Caesar.

Caesar: we are cut off.

The Egyptians have landed from the west harbor

between us and the barricade!!!

Rufio: my men at the barricade are lost. I have murdered them.

Ay: that comes of fooling with this girl here.

Caesar!

Caesar, the egyptians.

We must defend ourselves here.

I have thrown the ladder into the sea. They cannot get in without it.

Ay; and we cannot get out. Have you thought of that?

Not get out! Why not? You have ships in the east harbor.

The galleys are standing in towards us already.

And by what road are we to walk to the galleys, pray?

By the road that leads everywhere-- the diamond path of the sun and moon.

How far off is the nearest galley?

Fifty fathom.

No, no: Nearly quarter of a mile, Apollodorus.

Good. Defend yourselves here until I send you a boat from that galley.

Have you wings, perhaps?

Water wings, soldier.

Behold!

Bravo, Apollodorus, bravo!

By Jupiter, I will do that too.

Britannus.

You are mad. You shall not.

Why not? Can I not swim as well as he?

Can an old fool dive and swim like a young one?

Old!!! Rufio: you forget yourself.

I will race you to the galley for a week's pay, father Rufio.

But me! Me!! Me!!! What is to become of me?

I will carry you on my back to the galley like a dolphin.

Rufio: when you see me rise to the surface, throw her in:

No, no. I shall be drowned.

And then in with you after her, both of you.

Caesar: I am a man and a Briton, not a fish.

I must have a boat. I cannot swim.

Neither can I.

Stay here, then, Britannus, until I recapture the lighthouse.

I will not forget you. Now, Rufio.

You have made up your mind to this folly?

The Egyptians have made it up for me. And mind where you jump:

I do not want to get you in the small of my back

One last word, Caesar.

Do not let yourself be seen in the fashionable part of Alexandria

until you have changed your clothes.

Ho, Apollodorus: The white upon the blue above--

Is purple on the green below--

Oh, let me see.

He will be drowned.

Ah-ah-ah-ah!

He has got her.

Hold the fort, Briton.

Caesar will not forget you.

Another royal banquet in Caesar's honour.

These Romans are magicians.

For six months a mere handful of them held the palace

against all Egypt's army forces.

And look at their escape from the Pharos.

Who but a magician could swim like a dolphin

at Caesar's age carrying a queen on his back.

May be, it's the Queen's magic.

She rides on Caesar's back on land now as on the sea.

You laugh;

take care,

take care,

I will find out some day how to make myself served

as Caesar is served.

Old hooknose!

Silence.

Do you know why I allow you all to chatter impertinently

just as you please, instead of treating you

as Ftatateeta would treat you if she were Queen?

Because you try to imitate Caesar in everything;

and he lets everybody say what they please to him.

No;

but because I asked him one day why he did so;

and he said "Let your women talk;

and you will learn something from them."

What have I to learn from them? I said.

"What they ARE," said he;

and oh! you should have seen his eye as he said it.

You would have curled up, you shallow things.

At whom are you laughing--

at me or at Caesar?

At Caesar.

If you were not a fool, you would laugh at me;

and if you were not a coward you would not be afraid to tell me so. Heigho!

I wish Caesar were back in Rome.

It will be a bad day for you all when he goes.

Oh, if I were not ashamed to let him see

that I am as cruel at heart as my father,

I would make you repent that speech!

Why do you wish him away?

He makes you so terribly prosy and serious and learned and philosophical.

It is worse than being religious, at OUR ages.

Cease that endless cackling, will you. Hold your tongues.

Well, well: we must try to live up to Caesar.

Pothinus craves the ear of the Queen.

I suppose he has bribed you to admit him to me.

Now, by my father's gods!

Have I not told you not to deny things.

All you sell audiences to the Queen as if I saw

whom you please and not whom I please.

Go, take the bribe; and bring me Pothinus.

But... Don't answer me.

Go.

I want to learn to play the harp with my own hands.

Caesar loves music.

Can you teach me? Assuredly.

I and no one else can teach the Queen.

All the other teachers are quacks:

I have exposed them ... repeatedly.

Good: you shall teach me.

How long will it take?

Not very long: only four years.

Your Majesty must first become proficient in the philosophy of Pythagoras.

Has she become proficient in the philosophy of Pythagoras?

Oh, she is but a slave. She learns as a dog learns.

Well, then, I will learn as a dog learns; for she plays better than you.

You shall give me a lesson every day for a fortnight.

After that, whenever I strike a false note

you shall be flogged; and if I strike so many

that there is not time to flog you, you shall be thrown into the Nile to feed the crocodiles.

Give the girl a gold piece; and send them away.

But true art cannot be thus forced.

What is this?

Answering the Queen, forsooth. Out with you.

Well, Pothinus: what is the latest news from your rebel friends?

I am no friend of rebellion.

And a prisoner does not receive news.

You are no more a prisoner than I am--than Caesar is.

These six months we have been besieged in this palace by my subjects.

You are allowed to walk on the beach among the soldiers.

Can I go further myself, or can Caesar?

You are but a child, Cleopatra, and do not understand these matters.

I see you do not know the latest news, Pothinus.

What is that?

That Cleopatra is no longer a child.

Shall I tell you how to grow much older, and much,

MUCH wiser in one day?

I should prefer to grow wiser without growing older.

Well, go up to the top of the lighthouse;

and get somebody to take you by the hair and throw you into the sea.

She is right, Pothinus:

you will come to the shore with much conceit washed out of you.

Begone, all of you. I will speak with Pothinus alone.

What are YOU waiting for?

It is not meet that the Queen remain alone with--

Must I sacrifice you to your father's gods, Ftatateeta,

to teach you that I am Queen of Egypt, and not you?

You are like the rest of them.

You want to be what these Romans call

a New Woman.

Now, Pothinus: why did you bribe Ftatateeta

to bring you hither?

Cleopatra: what they tell me is true.

You are changed.

Do you speak with Caesar every day for six months: and YOU will be changed.

It is the common talk that you are infatuated with this old man.

Infatuated? What does that mean?

Made foolish, is it not?

Oh no: I wish I were.

You wish you were made foolish! How so?

When I was foolish, I did what I liked,

Now that Caesar has made me wise,

it is no use my liking or disliking;

I do what must be done, and have no time to attend to myself.

That is not happiness; but it is greatness.

I think

If Caesar were gone, I could govern the Egyptians;

Cleopatra: this may be the vanity of youth.

No, no: it is not that I am so clever, but that the others are so stupid.

Truly, that is the great secret.

Now tell me what you came to say?

I! Nothing. Nothing!

At least--to beg for my liberty: that is all.

For that you would have knelt to Caesar.

No, Pothinus: you came with some plan

that depended on Cleopatra being a little nursery kitten.

Now that Cleopatra is a Queen, the plan is upset.

Is Cleopatra then indeed a Queen, and no longer Caesar's prisoner and slave?

Pothinus: we are all Caesar's slaves--

all we in this land of Egypt-- whether we will or no.

And she who is wise enough to know this

will reign when Caesar departs.

You harp on Caesar's departure.

What if I do?

Does he not love you?

Love me!

Pothinus: Caesar loves no one.

He makes friends with everyone as he does with dogs and children.

His kindness to me is a wonder:

neither mother, father, nor nurse have ever taken so much care for me,

or thrown open their thoughts to me so freely.

But how can you be sure that he does not love you as men love women?

Because I cannot make him jealous.

I have tried.

Hm! Perhaps I should have asked, then, do you love him?

Can one love a god?

Besides, I love another Roman: no god,

but a man--one who can love and hate--

one whom I can hurt

and who would hurt me.

Does Caesar know this?

Yes.

And he is not angry.

He promises to send him to Egypt to please me!

I do not understand this man?

YOU understand Caesar! How could you? I do--by instinct.

Your Majesty caused me to be admitted to-day.

What message has the Queen for me?

This. You think that by making my brother king,

you will rule in Egypt, because you are his guardian

and he is a little silly.

The Queen is pleased to say so.

The Queen is pleased to say this also.

That Caesar will eat up you, and Achillas, and my brother,

as a cat eats up mice;

and that he will put on this land of Egypt

as a shepherd puts on his garment.

And when he has done that, he will return to Rome, and leave Cleopatra here as his viceroy.

That he shall never do.

We have a thousand men to his ten;

and we will drive him and his beggarly legions into the sea.

You rant like any common fellow.

Cleopatra-- Enough.

Ftatateeta!

Caesar has spoiled me for talking to weak things like you.

I know to whom I must go now.

Let me go forth from this hateful place.

What angers you?

The curse of all the gods of Egypt be upon her!

She has sold her country to the Roman,

that she may buy it back from him with her kisses.

Fool: did she not tell you that she would have Caesar gone?

You listened?

I took care that some honest woman should be at hand whilst you were with her.

And mark this, mistress. You thought, before Caesar came,

that Egypt should presently be ruled

by you and your crew in the name of Cleopatra.

I set myself against it.

Ay; that it might be ruled by you and YOUR crew in the name of Ptolemy.

Better me, or even you, than a woman with a Roman heart;

and that is what Cleopatra is now become.

Whilst I live, she shall never rule.

So guide yourself accordingly.

Wait here.

Here, your excellency.

The Roman commander will await Caesar here.

That was a climb.

How high have we come?

We are on the palace roof, O Beloved of Victory!

Good!

the Beloved of Victory has no more stairs to get up.

Caesar approaches.

Why, Rufio! A new baldrick! A new golden pommel to your sword!

And you have had your hair cut!

But not your beard--?

Impossible!

Yes, perfumed, by Jupiter Olympus!

Well: is it to please myself?

No, Rufio, my son, but to please me--

to celebrate my birthday.

Your birthday! You always have a birthday when there is a pretty girl to be flattered

or an ambassador to be conciliated.

Rufio ...

We had seven of them in ten months last year.

It is true, Rufio! I shall never break myself of these petty deceits.

Have you noticed that I am before my time?

Aha! I thought that meant something. What is it?

Pothinus wants to speak to you.

I advise you to see him:

there is some plotting going on here among the women.

Who is Pothinus?

Oh, yes!

And has he not escaped? No.

Why not?

Have I not told you always to let prisoners escape

unless there are special orders to the contrary?

Are there not enough mouths to be fed without his?

Yes.

and if you would have a little sense and let me cut his throat,

you would save his rations.

Anyhow, he WON'T escape. He prefers to stay and spy on us.

And you want me to see him?

I don't want anything. I daresay you will do what you like.

Don't put it on to me.

Well, well:

let us have him in.

Ho there, guard! Release your man and send him up.

Who is to dine with us-- besides Cleopatra?

Apollodorus the Sicilian.

That popinjay!

Come! the popinjay is an amusing dog-- tells a story; sings a song;

and saves us the trouble of flattering the Queen.

Well, he can swim a bit and fence a bit:

he might be worse, if he only knew how to hold his tongue.

The gods forbid he should ever learn!

Ah, Pothinus!

You are welcome.

And what is the news this afternoon?

Caesar: I come to warn you of a danger, and to make you an offer.

Never mind the danger. Make the offer.

Never mind the offer. What's the danger?

Caesar: you think that Cleopatra is devoted to you.

My friend: I already know what I think.

Come to your offer.

I will deal plainly.

I know not by what magic you have been enabled to defend the palace

and a few yards of beach against a city and an army.

But we know now that your gods are irresistible,

and that you are a worker of miracles.

I no longer threaten you.

Very handsome of you, indeed.

So be it: you are the master.

Yes, yes, my friend. But what then?

Spit it out, man. What have you to say?

I have to say that you have a traitress in your camp. Cleopatra.

The Queen!

You should have spat it out sooner, you fool. Now it is too late.

What is HE doing here?

Just going to tell me something about you.

You shall hear it.

Proceed, Pothinus.

I ... Caesar!

Well, out with it.

What I have to say is for your ear, not for the Queen's.

There are means of making you speak.

Take care.

Caesar does not employ those means.

My dear: when a man has anything to tell in this world,

the difficulty is not to make him tell it,

but to prevent him from telling it too often.

Let me celebrate my birthday by setting you free.

Farewell: we'll not meet again.

Caesar: this mercy is foolish.

Will you not give me a private audience?

Your life may depend on it.

Ho there, guard! Pass the prisoner out. He is released.

Now off with you. You have lost your chance.

I WILL speak. You see.

Torture would not have wrung a word from him.

Caesar: you have taught Cleopatra the arts by which

Romans govern the world.

Alas! They cannot even govern themselves.

What then? What then?

Are you so besotted with her beauty that you do not see

that she is impatient to reign in Egypt alone,

and that her heart is set on your departure?

Liar! What!

Protestations! Contradictions!

No. I do not deign to contradict.

Let him talk.

From her own lips I have heard it.

You are to be her catspaw:

you are to tear the crown from her brother's head and set it on her own,

delivering us all into her hand-- delivering yourself also.

And then Caesar can return to Rome,

or depart through the gate of death, which is nearer and surer.

Well, and is not this very natural?

Natural!

Then you do not resent treachery?

Resent!

O thou foolish Egyptian, what have I to do with resentment?

Do I resent the wind when it chills me,

or the night when it makes me stumble in the darkness?

To tell me such a story as this is but to tell me that the sun will rise to-morrow.

But it is false--false. I swear it.

It is true,

though you swore it a thousand times, and believed all you swore.

Come, Rufio: let us see Pothinus past the guard. I have a word to say to him.

We must give the Queen a moment to recover herself.

Tell your friends, Pothinus, that they must not think

I am opposed to a reasonable settlement of the country's affairs--

Ftatateeta, Ftatateeta.

Peace, child: be comforted--

Can they hear us?

No, dear heart, no.

If he leaves the Palace alive, never see my face again.

He? Pothinus--

Strike his life out as I strike his name from your lips.

Dash him down from the wall. Break him on the stones. Kill, kill, KILL him.

The dog shall perish.

Fail in this, and you go out from before me forever.

So be it.

You shall not see my face until his eyes are darkened.

Soon--soon.

When the light dies

he shall die.

So you have come back to me, Caesar.

I thought you were angry.

Welcome, Apollodorus.

Cleopatra grows more womanly beautiful from week to week.

Truth, Apollodorus?

Far, far short of the truth! Friend Rufio threw a pearl into the sea:

Caesar fished up a diamond.

Caesar fished up a touch of rheumatism. Come on.

Come: to dinner! To dinner!

I have ordered SUCH a dinner for you, Caesar!

Ay? What are we to have? Peacocks' brains.

Peacocks' brains, Apollodorus!

Not for me. I prefer nightingales' tongues.

Roast boar, Rufio! Good!

What has become of my leathern cushion?

I have got new ones for you.

These cushions, Caesar, are of Maltese gauze,

stuffed with rose leaves.

Rose leaves!

Am I a caterpillar?

What a shame! My new cushions!

What shall we serve to whet Caesar's appetite?

Any oysters? Assuredly.

BRITISH oysters? British oysters, of course.

Oysters, then.

Sea hedgehogs for me.

Is there nothing solid to begin with?

Fieldfares with asparagus--

Fattened fowls! Have some fattened fowls, Rufio.

Ay, that will do.

Fieldfares for me.

Caesar will deign to choose his wine?

Sicilian, Toscan, Macedonian, Chianti

All Greek.

Try the Sicilian, Caesar.

Bring me my barley water.

Ugh! Bring ME my Falernian.

It is waste of time giving you dinners, Caesar.

My scullions would not condescend to your diet.

Well, well: let us try the Falernian. But when I return to Rome,

I will make laws against these extravagances.

I will even get the laws carried out.

Never mind. To-day you are to be like other people:

idle, luxurious, and kind.

Well, for once I will sacrifice my comfort

there! Now are you satisfied?

And you no longer believe that I long for your departure for Rome?

I no longer believe anything.

My brains are asleep.

Besides, who knows whether I shall return to Rome?

How? Eh? What?

One year of Rome is like another,

except that I grow older,

It is no better here in Egypt.

The old men, when they are tired of life, say

"We have seen everything except the source of the Nile."

And why not see that?

Cleopatra:will you come with me and track the flood to its cradle

in the heart of the regions of mystery?

Shall I make you a new kingdom, and build you a holy city

there in the great unknown?

Yes, Yes. You shall.

Ay: now he will conquer Africa with two legions before I finished the roast boar.

Come: no scoffing, this is a noble scheme:

Let us name the holy city,

and consecrate it with Sicilian Wine-- and Cleopatra shall name it herself.

It shall be called Caesar's Gift to his Beloved.

No, no. Something vaster than that--

something universal, like the starry firmament.

Why not simply The Cradle of the Nile?

No:

the Nile is my ancestor; and he is a god.

Oh! I have thought of something.

The Nile shall name it himself.

Let us call upon him all together.

Send for him.

And away with all of you.

Go, I am a priestess, and have power to take your charge from you.

What hocus-pocus is this?

It is NOT hocus-pocus.

To do it properly, we should kill something to please him;

but perhaps he will answer Caesar without that

if we spill some wine to him.

Why not appeal to our hawkheaded friend here?

Sh! He will hear you and be angry.

The source of the Nile is out of his district, I expect.

Now let us call on the Nile all together.

You must say with me

"Send us thy voice, Father Nile."

Send us thy voice, Father Nile.

What was that?

Nothing.

They are beating some slave.

Nothing!

A man with a knife in him, I'll swear.

A murder!

S-sh! Silence. Did you hear that?

Another cry?

No,

a thud.

Something fell on the beach, I think. Something with bones in it, eh?

Rufio.

Will you leave me, Caesar?

Apollodorus: are you going?

Faith, dearest Queen, my appetite is gone.

Apollodorus: go down to the courtyard, and find out what has happened.

Your soldiers have killed somebody, perhaps.

What does it matter? This must be seen to.

Is she drunk?

Not with wine.

The Queen looks again on the face of her servant.

There is some mischief between those two.

Cleopatra: what has happened?

Nothing, dearest Caesar. Nothing.

I am innocent.

Dear Caesar: are you angry with me?

Why do you look at me so?

I have been here with you all the time. How can I know what has happened?

That is true.

Of course it is true.

You know it is true, Rufio.

I shall know --

presently.

Caesar, remember, YOUR bodyguard is within call.

Why do you allow Rufio to speak to me so?

You should teach him his place.

Teach him to be my enemy, and to hide his thoughts from me as you are now hiding yours.

Why do you say that, Caesar?

Indeed, indeed, I am not hiding anything.

You are wrong to treat me like this.

I am only a child; and you turn into stone

because you think someone has been killed.

I cannot bear it.

But there:

I know you hate tears:

you shall not be troubled with them.

Only ...

I am so silly, I cannot help being hurt when you speak coldly.

Of course you are quite right: it is dreadful to think

of anyone being killed or even hurt;

and I hope nothing really serious has--

What has frightened you into this?

What have you done?

Aha! That sounds like the answer.

I have not betrayed you, Caesar: I swear it.

I know that.

I have not trusted you.

The town has gone mad, I think.

They are for tearing the palace down and driving us into the sea straight away.

We laid hold of this renegade in clearing them out of the courtyard.

Release him.

What has offended the citizens, Lucius Septimius?

What did you expect, Caesar?

Pothinus was a favorite of theirs.

What has happened to Pothinus? I set him free, here, not half an hour ago.

Did they not pass him out?

Ay, through the gallery arch sixty feet above ground,

with three inches of steel in his ribs.

He is as dead as Pompey.

We are quits now, as to killing--you and I.

Assassinated!--

our prisoner,

our guest! Rufio--

Whoever did it was a wise man and a friend of yours;

but none of US had a hand in it.

So it is no use to frown at me.

He was slain by order of the Queen of Egypt.

I am not Julius Caesar the dreamer,

who allows every slave to insult him.

Rufio has said I did well:

now the others shall judge me too.

This Pothinus sought to make me conspire with him to betray Caesar.

I refused;

and he cursed me and came privily to Caesar

to accuse me of his own treachery.

he insulted me--ME, the Queen! To my face.

Caesar would not revenge me:

he spoke him fair and set him free.

Was I right to avenge myself?

Speak, Lucius.

I do not gainsay it. But you will get little thanks for it from Caesar.

Apollodorus, speak. Was I wrong?

I have only one word of blame, most beautiful.

You should have called upon me, your knight;

and in fair duel I should have slain the slanderer.

I will be judged by your very slave, Caesar.

Britannus: speak. Was I wrong?

Were treachery, falsehood, and disloyalty

left unpunished, society must become like an arena

full of wild beasts, tearing one another to pieces.

Caesar is in the wrong.

And so the verdict is against me, it seems.

Listen to me, Caesar.

If one man in all Alexandria can be found to say

that I did wrong, I swear to have myself crucified on the door of the palace

by my own slaves.

If one man in all the world can be found,

now or forever, to know that you did wrong,

that man will have either to conquer the world as I have, or be crucified by it.

Do you hear?

These knockers at your gate are also believers in vengeance and in stabbing.

You have slain their leader: it is right that they shall slay you.

And so, to the end of history,

murder shall breed murder,

always in the name of right and honor and peace,

until the gods are tired of blood and create a race

that can understand.

Let the Queen of Egypt now give her orders for vengeance,

and take her measures for defense; for she has renounced Caesar.

You will not desert me, Caesar.

You will defend the palace.

You have taken the powers of life and death upon you.

I am only a dreamer.

But they will kill me.

And why not?

In pity-- Pity! What!

Has it come to this so suddenly, that nothing can save you now but pity?

Did it save Pothinus?

Caesar: enough of preaching.

The enemy is at the gate.

Ay; and what has held him baffled at the gate all these months?

Was it my folly, as you deem it, or your wisdom?

In this Egyptian Red Sea of blood,

whose hand has held all your heads above the waves?

And yet, When Caesar says to such an one,

"Friend, go free," you, clinging for your little life to my sword,

dare steal out and stab him in the back?

By the gods, I am tempted to open my hand

and let you all sink into the flood.

Will you desert us because we are a parcel of fools?

I mean no harm by killing: do it as a dog kills a cat, by instinct.

We are all dogs at your heels; but we have served you faithfully.

Alas, Rufio, my son,

as dogs we are like to perish now in the streets.

Caesar, what you say has an Olympian ring in it:

But I am still on the side of Cleopatra.

If we must die, she shall not want

the devotion of a man's heart nor the strength of a man's arm.

But I don't want to die.

Oh, ignoble, ignoble!

Hearken to me, Caesar.

It may be ignoble; but I too mean to live as long as I can.

Well, my friend, you are likely to outlive Caesar.

Does Caesar despair?

He who has never hoped can never despair.

Caesar, in good or bad fortune, looks his fate in the face.

Look it in the face, now; and it will smile as it always has on Caesar.

Do you presume to encourage me?

I offer you my services.

I will change sides if you will have me.

What! At this point? At this point.

Do you suppose Caesar is mad, to trust you?

I do not ask him to trust me until he is victorious.

I ask for my life, and for a command in Caesar's army.

And since Caesar is a fair dealer, I will pay in advance.

Pay! How? With a piece of good news for you.

What news?

What news!

What news, did you say, my son Rufio?

The relief has arrived.

Mithridates of Pergamos is on the march. Is it not so, Lucius Septimius?

He has taken Pelusium.

Lucius Septimius: you are henceforth my officer.

Rufio: the Egyptians must have sent every soldier from the city

to prevent Mithridates crossing the Nile.

There is nothing in the streets now but mob--mob!

It is so.

Mithridates is marching by the great road to Memphis to cross above the Delta.

Achillas will fight him there.

Achillas shall fight Caesar there.

See, Rufio.

Here is the palace:

here is the theatre.

You take twenty men and pretend to go by THAT street;

and whilst they are stoning you, out go the cohorts by this and this.

My streets are right, are they, Lucius?

Ay, that is the fig market--

I saw them the day we arrived.

Away, Britannus: tell Petronius that within an hour half our forces

must take ship for the western lake. See to my horse and armor.

With the rest I shall march round the lake and up the Nile

and take Achillas at the desert.

Lucius; give the word to start.

Apollodorus, lend me your sword and your right arm for this campaign.

Ay, my heart and life to boot.

I accept both. Are you ready?

Ready for art, the art of war.

Come: this is something like business.

Is it not, my only son?

You understand about the streets, Rufio?

Ay, I think I do. I will get through them, at all events.

Caesar.

Caesar.

Have you forgotten me?

Oh, I am busy now, my child, busy.

When I return your affairs shall be settled.

Farewell;

and be good and patient.

That game is played and lost, Cleopatra.

The woman always gets the worst of it.

Go. Follow your master.

A word first.

Tell your executioner that if Pothinus had been properly killed--

IN THE THROAT-- he would not have called out.

Your man bungled his work.

How do you know it was a man?

It was not you:

you were with us when it happened.

Was it she? With her own hand?

Whoever it was, let my enemies beware of her.

Look to it, Rufio, you who dare make the Queen of Egypt

a fool before Caesar.

I will look to it, Cleopatra.

Hail, Caesar!

Let us teach the egyptians how to fight and how to run.

And then ... home, to Rome.

Hail, Caesar!

Ftatateeta.

Ftatateeta.

It is dark; and I am alone.

Come to me.

Ftatateeta.

The Queen looks again on the face of her servant.

I am he of whose genius you are a symbol

part brute, part woman, and part god.

Hail Caesar...

Here he comes.

Hail Caesar!

I see my ship awaits me.

The hour for Caesar farewell to Egypt has arrived.

Now, Rufio, what remains to be done before I go.

You have not yet appointed a Roman governor for this province.

What say you to Mithridates of Pergamos.

Why, that you will want him elsewhere.

Indeed!

Well, what say you to yourself?

I!

I a governor!

What are you dreaming of?

Do you not know that I am only the son of a freedman?

Has not Caesar called you his son?

Peace awhile there; and hear me.

Hear Caesar.

Hear the service, quality, rank and name of the Roman governor.

By service, Caesar's shield;

by quality, Caesar's friend; by rank, a Roman soldier.

Hail Caesar!

By name, Rufio.

Hail Caesar! Hail Caesar!

Ay: I am Caesar's shield;

but of what use shall I be when I am no longer on Caesar's arm?

Where is that British Islander of mine?

Here, Caesar.

Who bade you, pray, thrust yourself into the battle

of the Delta, uttering the barbarous cries of your native land,

Caesar: I ask you to excuse the language

that escaped me in the heat of the moment.

And how did you, who cannot swim, cross the canal with us

when we stormed the camp?

Caesar: I clung to the tail of your horse.

These are not the deeds of a slave, Britannus, but of a free man.

Caesar: I was born free.

But they call you Caesar's slave.

Only as Caesar's slave have I found real freedom.

Well said.

Ungrateful that I am, I was about to set you free;

but now I will not part from you for a million talents.

This Roman knows how to make men serve him.

Apollodorus: I leave the art of Egypt in your charge.

Remember: Rome loves art and will encourage it.

I understand, Caesar.

Egypt must pay a tribute to Rome in art.

And now, what else have I to do before I embark?

There is something I cannot remember:

I wonder what would can it be?

Well, well: it must remain undone: we must not waste this favorable wind.

Caesar: I am loath to let you go to Rome without your shield.

There are too many daggers there.

It matters not:

I have always disliked the idea of dying:

I had rather be killed.

Farewell Rufio. Farewell.

Farewell, Apollodorus.

The Queen!

Ah, I KNEW there was something.

How could you let me forget her, Rufio?

Has Cleopatra no part in this leave taking?

Had I gone without seeing you,

I should never have forgiven myself.

Is this mourning for me?

NO.

Ah, that was thoughtless of me!

It is for your brother.

No.

For whom, then?

Ask the Roman governor whom you have left us.

Rufio? Yes: Rufio.

He who is to rule here in Caesar's name, in Caesar's way,

according to Caesar's boasted laws of life.

He is to rule as he can, Cleopatra.

He has taken the work upon him, and will do it in his own way.

Not in your way, then? Without punishment. Without revenge. Without judgment.

Ay: that is the right way, the great way, the only possible way in the end.

Believe it, Rufio, if you can.

I believe it, Caesar.

But look you, Cleopatra had a tigress that killed men

at her bidding. I thought she might bid it

kill you some day.

So, without malice, only cut its throat.

And that is why Cleopatra comes to you in mourning.

He has shed the blood of my servant Ftatateeta.

On your head be it Caesar, as upon his ,

if you hold him free of it.

On my head be it, then; for it was well done, Rufio.

Come: do not be angry with me.

I am sorry for that poor Totateeta.

Aha! You are laughing. Does that mean reconciliation?

No, no, NO!!

But it is so ridiculous to hear you call her Totateeta.

What! As much a child as ever, Cleopatra!

Have I not made a woman of you after all?

Oh, it is you, who are a great baby:

you make me seem silly

because you will not behave seriously.

But you have treated me badly; and I do not forgive you.

Bid me farewell.

I will not.

I will send you a beautiful present from Rome.

Beauty from Rome to Egypt indeed!

What can Rome give ME that Egypt cannot give me?

That is true, Caesar.

If the present is to be really beautiful,

I shall have to buy it for you in Alexandria.

You are forgetting the treasures for which Rome is most famous, my friend.

You cannot buy THEM in Alexandria.

What are they, Caesar?

Her sons.

Come, Cleopatra: forgive me and bid me farewell;

and I will send you a man,

not old and ripe for the knife; not hiding a bald head under his conqueror's laurels;

not stooped with the weight of the world on his shoulders;

but brisk and fresh, strong and young, hoping in the morning,

fighting in the day, and reveling in the evening.

Will you take such an one in exchange for Caesar?

His name, his name?

Shall it be Mark Antony?

You are a bad hand at a bargain, mistress, if you will swap Caesar for Antony.

So now you are satisfied.

You will not forget.

I will not forget.

Farewell:

I do not think we shall meet again.

Hail and farewell!

Hail, Caesar; and farewell!

Hail, Caesar; and farewell!

No tears, dearest Queen: they stab your servant to the heart.

He will return some day.

I hope not.

But I can't help crying, all the same.