The courtiers, appalled, murmur loudly, and Theodotus and Achillas
appeal mutely to one another against so monstrous a demand.

POTHINUS (aghast). Forty million sesterces! Impossible. There is not so
much money in the King's treasury.

CAESAR (encouragingly). ONLY sixteen hundred talents, Pothinus. Why
count it in sesterces? A sestertius is only worth a loaf of bread.

POTHINUS. And a talent is worth a racehorse. I say it is impossible. We
have been at strife here, because the King's sister Cleopatra falsely
claims his throne. The King's taxes have not been collected for a whole
year.

CAESAR. Yes they have, Pothinus. My officers have been collecting
them all the morning. (Renewed whisper and sensation, not without some
stifled laughter, among the courtiers.)

RUFIO (bluntly). You must pay, Pothinus. Why waste words? You are
getting off cheaply enough.

POTHINUS (bitterly). Is it possible that Caesar, the conqueror of the
world, has time to occupy himself with such a trifle as our taxes?

CAESAR. My friend: taxes are the chief business of a conqueror of the
world.

POTHINUS. Then take warning, Caesar. This day, the treasures of the
temples and the gold of the King's treasury will be sent to the mint to
be melted down for our ransom in the sight of the people. They shall
see us sitting under bare walls and drinking from wooden cups. And their
wrath be on your head, Caesar, if you force us to this sacrilege!

CAESAR. Do not fear, Pothinus: the people know how well wine tastes in
wooden cups. In return for your bounty, I will settle this dispute about
the throne for you, if you will. What say you?

POTHINUS. If I say no, will that hinder you?

RUFIO (defiantly). No.

CAESAR. You say the matter has been at issue for a year, Pothinus. May I
have ten minutes at it?

POTHINUS. You will do your pleasure, doubtless.

CAESAR. Good! But first, let us have Cleopatra here.

THEODOTUS. She is not in Alexandria: she is fled into Syria.

CAESAR. I think not. (To Rufio) Call Totateeta.

RUFIO (calling). Ho there, Teetatota.

Ftatateeta enters the loggia, and stands arrogantly at the top of the
steps.

FTATATEETA. Who pronounces the name of Ftatateeta, the Queen's chief
nurse?

CAESAR. Nobody can pronounce it, Tota, except yourself. Where is your
mistress?

Cleopatra, who is hiding behind Ftafateeta, peeps out at them, laughing.
Caesar rises.

CAESAR. Will the Queen favor us with her presence for a moment?

CLEOPATRA (pushing Ftatateeta aside and standing haughtily on the brink
of the steps). Am I to behave like a Queen?

CAESAR. Yes.

Cleopatra immediately comes down to the chair of state; seizes Ptolemy
and drags him out of his seat; then takes his place in the chair.
Ftatateeta seats herself on the step of the loggia, and sits there,
watching the scene with sybilline intensity.

PTOLEMY (mortified, and struggling with his tears). Caesar: this is
how she treats me always. If I am a King why is she allowed to take
everything from me?

CLEOPATRA. You are not to be King, you little cry-baby. You are to be
eaten by the Romans.

CAESAR (touched by Ptolemy's distress). Come here, my boy, and stand by
me.

Ptolemy goes over to Caesar, who, resuming his seat on the tripod, takes
the boy's hand to encourage him. Cleopatra, furiously jealous, rises and
glares at them.

CLEOPATRA (with flaming cheeks). Take your throne: I don't want it. (She
flings away from the chair, and approaches Ptolemy, who shrinks from
her.) Go this instant and sit down in your place.

CAESAR. Go, Ptolemy. Always take a throne when it is offered to you.

RUFIO. I hope you will have the good sense to follow your own advice
when we return to Rome, Caesar.

Ptolemy slowly goes back to the throne, giving Cleopatra a wide berth,
in evident fear of her hands. She takes his place beside Caesar.

CAESAR. Pothinus--

CLEOPATRA (interrupting him). Are you not going to speak to me?

CAESAR. Be quiet. Open your mouth again before I give you leave; and you
shall be eaten.

CLEOPATRA. I am not afraid. A queen must not be afraid. Eat my husband
there, if you like: he is afraid.

CAESAR (starting). Your husband! What do you mean?

CLEOPATRA (pointing to Ptolemy). That little thing.

The two Romans and the Briton stare at one another in amazement.

THEODOTUS. Caesar: you are a stranger here, and not conversant with our
laws. The kings and queens of Egypt may not marry except with their own
royal blood. Ptolemy and Cleopatra are born king and consort just as
they are born brother and sister.

BRITANNUS (shocked). Caesar: this is not proper.

THEODOTUS (outraged). How!

CAESAR (recovering his self-possession). Pardon him. Theodotus: he is a
barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the
laws of nature.

BRITANNUS. On the contrary, Caesar, it is these Egyptians who are
barbarians; and you do wrong to encourage them. I say it is a scandal.

CAESAR. Scandal or not, my friend, it opens the gate of peace. (He rises
and addresses Pothinus seriously.) Pothiuus: hear what I propose.

RUFIO. Hear Caesar there.

CAESAR. Ptolemy and Cleopatra shall reign jointly in Egypt.

ACHILLAS. What of the King's younger brother and Cleopatra's younger
sister?

RUFIO (explaining). There is another little Ptolemy, Caesar: so they
tell me.

CAESAR. Well, the little Ptolemy can marry the other sister; and we will
make them both a present of Cyprus.

POTHINUS (impatiently). Cyprus is of no use to anybody.

CAESAR. No matter: you shall have it for the sake of peace.

BRITANNUS (unconsciously anticipating a later statesman). Peace with
honor, Pothinus.

POTHINUS (mutinously). Caesar: be honest. The money you demand is the
price of our freedom. Take it; and leave us to settle our own affairs.

THE BOLDER COURTIERS (encouraged by Pothinus's tone and Caesar's
quietness). Yes, yes. Egypt for the Egyptians!

The conference now becomes an altercation, the Egyptians becoming more
and more heated. Caesar remains unruffled; but Rufio grows fiercer and
doggeder, and Britannus haughtily indignant.

RUFIO (contemptuously). Egypt for the Egyptians! Do you forget that
there is a Roman army of occupation here, left by Aulus Gabinius when he
set up your toy king for you?

ACHILLAS (suddenly asserting himself). And now under my command. I am
the Roman general here, Caesar.

CAESAR (tickled by the humor of the situation). And also the Egyptian
general, eh?

POTHINUS (triumphantly). That is so, Caesar.

CAESAR (to Achillas). So you can make war on the Egyptians in the name
of Rome and on the Romans--on me, if necessary--in the name of Egypt?

ACHILLAS. That is so, Caesar.

CAESAR. And which side are you on at present, if I may presume to ask,
general?

ACHILLAS. On the side of the right and of the gods.

CAESAR. Hm! How many men have you?

ACHILLAS. That will appear when I take the field.

RUFIO (truculently). Are your men Romans? If not, it matters not how
many there are, provided you are no stronger than 500 to ten.

POTHINUS. It is useless to try to bluff us, Rufio. Caesar has been
defeated before and may be defeated again. A few weeks ago Caesar was
flying for his life before Pompey: a few months hence he may be flying
for his life before Cato and Juba of Numidia, the African King.

ACHILLAS (following up Pothinus's speech menacingly). What can you do
with 4,000 men?

THEODOTUS (following up Achillas's speech with a raucous squeak). And
without money? Away with you.

ALL THE COURTIERS (shouting fiercely and crowding towards Caesar). Away
with you. Egypt for the Egyptians! Begone.

Rufio bites his beard, too angry to speak. Caesar sits on comfortably
as if he were at breakfast, and the cat were clamoring for a piece of
Finnan-haddie.

CLEOPATRA. Why do you let them talk to you like that Caesar? Are you
afraid?

CAESAR. Why, my dear, what they say is quite true.

CLEOPATRA. But if you go away, I shall not be Queen.

CAESAR. I shall not go away until you are Queen.

POTHINUS. Achillas: if you are not a fool, you will take that girl
whilst she is under your hand.

RUFIO (daring them). Why not take Caesar as well, Achillas?

POTHINUS (retorting the defiance with interest). Well said, Rufio. Why
not?

RUFIO. Try, Achillas. (Calling) Guard there.

The loggia immediately fills with Caesar's soldiers, who stand, sword
in hand, at the top of the steps, waiting the word to charge from their
centurion, who carries a cudgel. For a moment the Egyptians face them
proudly: then they retire sullenly to their former places.

BRITANNUS. You are Caesar's prisoners, all of you.

CAESAR (benevolently). Oh no, no, no. By no means. Caesar's guests,
gentlemen.

CLEOPATRA. Won't you cut their heads off?

CAESAR. What! Cut off your brother's head?

CLEOPATRA. Why not? He would cut off mine, if he got the chance.
Wouldn't you, Ptolemy?

PTOLEMY (pale and obstinate). I would. I will, too, when I grow up.

Cleopatra is rent by a struggle between her newly-acquired dignity as a
queen, and a strong impulse to put out her tongue at him. She takes
no part in the scene which follows, but watches it with curiosity and
wonder, fidgeting with the restlessness of a child, and sitting down on
Caesar's tripod when he rises.

POTHINUS. Caesar: if you attempt to detain us--

RUFIO. He will succeed, Egyptian: make up your mind to that. We hold the
palace, the beach, and the eastern harbor. The road to Rome is open; and
you shall travel it if Caesar chooses.

CAESAR (courteously). I could do no less, Pothinus, to secure the
retreat of my own soldiers. I am accountable for every life among them.
But you are free to go. So are all here, and in the palace.

RUFIO (aghast at this clemency). What! Renegades and all?

CAESAR (softening the expression). Roman army of occupation and all,
Rufio.

POTHINUS (desperately). Then I make a last appeal to Caesar's justice.
I shall call a witness to prove that but for us, the Roman army of
occupation, led by the greatest soldier in the world, would now have
Caesar at its mercy. (Calling through the loggia) Ho, there, Lucius
Septimius (Caesar starts, deeply moved): if my voice can reach you, come
forth and testify before Caesar.

CAESAR (shrinking). No, no.

THEODOTUS. Yes, I say. Let the military tribune bear witness.

Lucius Septimius, a clean shaven, trim athlete of about 40, with
symmetrical features, resolute mouth, and handsome, thin Roman nose, in
the dress of a Roman officer, comes in through the loggia and confronts
Caesar, who hides his face with his robe for a moment; then, mastering
himself, drops it, and confronts the tribune with dignity.

POTHINUS. Bear witness, Lucius Septimius. Caesar came hither in pursuit
of his foe. Did we shelter his foe?

LUCIUS. As Pompey's foot touched the Egyptian shore, his head fell by
the stroke of my sword.

THEODOTUS (with viperish relish). Under the eyes of his wife and child!
Remember that, Caesar! They saw it from the ship he had just left. We
have given you a full and sweet measure of vengeance.

CAESAR (with horror). Vengeance!

POTHINUS. Our first gift to you, as your galley came into the roadstead,
was the head of your rival for the empire of the world. Bear witness,
Lucius Septimius: is it not so?

LUCIUS. It is so. With this hand, that slew Pompey, I placed his head at
the feet of Caesar.

CAESAR. Murderer! So would you have slain Caesar, had Pompey been
victorious at Pharsalia.

LUCIUS. Woe to the vanquished, Caesar! When I served Pompey, I slew as
good men as he, only because he conquered them. His turn came at last.

THEODOTUS (flatteringly). The deed was not yours, Caesar, but ours--nay,
mine; for it was done by my counsel. Thanks to us, you keep your
reputation for clemency, and have your vengeance too.

CAESAR. Vengeance! Vengeance!! Oh, if I could stoop to vengeance, what
would I not exact from you as the price of this murdered man's blood.
(They shrink back, appalled and disconcerted.) Was he not my son-in-law,
my ancient friend, for 20 years the master of great Rome, for 30 years
the compeller of victory? Did not I, as a Roman, share his glory? Was
the Fate that forced us to fight for the mastery of the world, of our
making? Am I Julius Caesar, or am I a wolf, that you fling to me the
grey head of the old soldier, the laurelled conqueror, the mighty Roman,
treacherously struck down by this callous ruffian, and then claim my
gratitude for it! (To Lucius Septimius) Begone: you fill me with horror.

LUCIUS (cold and undaunted). Pshaw! You have seen severed heads before,
Caesar, and severed right hands too, I think; some thousands of them,
in Gaul, after you vanquished Vercingetorix. Did you spare him, with all
your clemency? Was that vengeance?

CAESAR. No, by the gods! Would that it had been! Vengeance at least is
human. No, I say: those severed right hands, and the brave Vercingetorix
basely strangled in a vault beneath the Capitol, were (with shuddering
satire) a wise severity, a necessary protection to the commonwealth,
a duty of statesmanship--follies and fictions ten times bloodier than
honest vengeance! What a fool was I then! To think that men's lives
should be at the mercy of such fools! (Humbly) Lucius Septimius, pardon
me: why should the slayer of Vercingetorix rebuke the slayer of Pompey?
You are free to go with the rest. Or stay if you will: I will find a
place for you in my service.

LUCIUS. The odds are against you, Caesar. I go. (He turns to go out
through the loggia.)

RUFIO (full of wrath at seeing his prey escaping). That means that he is
a Republican.

LUCIUS (turning defiantly on the loggia steps). And what are you?

RUFIO. A Caesarian, like all Caesar's soldiers.

CAESAR (courteously). Lucius: believe me, Caesar is no Caesarian. Were
Rome a true republic, then were Caesar the first of Republicans. But you
have made your choice. Farewell.

LUCIUS. Farewell. Come, Achillas, whilst there is yet time.

Caesar, seeing that Rufio's temper threatens to get the worse of him,
puts his hand on his shoulder and brings him down the hall out of harm's
way, Britannus accompanying them and posting himself on Caesar's right
hand. This movement brings the three in a little group to the place
occupied by Achillas, who moves haughtily away and joins Theodotus on
the other side. Lucius Septimius goes out through the soldiers in the
loggia. Pothinus, Theodotus and Achillas follow him with the courtiers,
very mistrustful of the soldiers, who close up in their rear and go out
after them, keeping them moving without much ceremony. The King is
left in his chair, piteous, obstinate, with twitching face and fingers.
During these movements Rufio maintains an energetic grumbling, as
follows:--

RUFIO (as Lucius departs). Do you suppose he would let us go if he had
our heads in his hands?

CAESAR. I have no right to suppose that his ways are any baser than
mine.

RUFIO. Psha!

CAESAR. Rufio: if I take Lucius Septimius for my model, and become
exactly like him, ceasing to be Caesar, will you serve me still?

BRITANNUS. Caesar: this is not good sense. Your duty to Rome demands
that her enemies should be prevented from doing further mischief.
(Caesar, whose delight in the moral eye-to-business of his British
secretary is inexhaustible, smiles intelligently.)

RUFIO. It is no use talking to him, Britannus: you may save your breath
to cool your porridge. But mark this, Caesar. Clemency is very well for
you; but what is it for your soldiers, who have to fight tomorrow the
men you spared yesterday? You may give what orders you please; but
I tell you that your next victory will be a massacre, thanks to your
clemency. I, for one, will take no prisoners. I will kill my enemies
in the field; and then you can preach as much clemency as you please: I
shall never have to fight them again. And now, with your leave, I will
see these gentry off the premises. (He turns to go.)

CAESAR (turning also and seeing Ptolemy). What! Have they left the boy
alone! Oh shame, shame!

RUFIO (taking Ptolemy's hand and making him rise). Come, your majesty!

PTOLEMY (to Caesar, drawing away his hand from Rufio). Is he turning me
out of my palace?

RUFIO (grimly). You are welcome to stay if you wish.

CAESAR (kindly). Go, my boy. I will not harm you; but you will be safer
away, among your friends. Here you are in the lion's mouth.

PTOLEMY (turning to go). It is not the lion I fear, but (looking at
Rufio) the jackal. (He goes out through the loggia.)

CAESAR (laughing approvingly). Brave boy!

CLEOPATRA (jealous of Caesar's approbation, calling after Ptolemy).
Little silly. You think that very clever.

CAESAR. Britannus: Attend the King. Give him in charge to that Pothinus
fellow. (Britannus goes out after Ptolemy.)

RUFIO (pointing to Cleopatra). And this piece of goods? What is to be
done with HER? However, I suppose I may leave that to you. (He goes out
through the loggia.)

CLEOPATRA (flushing suddenly and turning on Caesar). Did you mean me to
go with the rest?

CAESAR (a little preoccupied, goes with a sigh to Ptolemy's chair,
whilst she waits for his answer with red cheeks and clenched fists). You
are free to do just as you please, Cleopatra.

CLEOPATRA. Then you do not care whether I stay or not?

CAESAR (smiling). Of course I had rather you stayed.

CLEOPATRA. Much, MUCH rather?

CAESAR (nodding). Much, much rather.

CLEOPATRA. Then I consent to stay, because I am asked. But I do not want
to, mind.

CAESAR. That is quite understood. (Calling) Totateeta.

Ftatateeta, still seated, turns her eyes on him with a sinister
expression, but does not move.

CLEOPATRA (with a splutter of laughter). Her name is not Totateeta: it
is Ftatateeta. (Calling) Ftatateeta. (Ftatateeta instantly rises and
comes to Cleopatra.)

CAESAR (stumbling over the name). Ftatafeeta will forgive the erring
tongue of a Roman. Tota: the Queen will hold her state here in
Alexandria. Engage women to attend upon her; and do all that is needful.

FTATATEETA. Am I then the mistress of the Queen's household?

CLEOPATRA (sharply). No: I am the mistress of the Queen's household.
Go and do as you are told, or I will have you thrown into the Nile this
very afternoon, to poison the poor crocodiles.

CAESAR (shocked). Oh no, no.

CLEOPATRA. Oh yes, yes. You are very sentimental, Caesar; but you are
clever; and if you do as I tell you, you will soon learn to govern.

Caesar, quite dumbfounded by this impertinence, turns in his chair and
stares at her.

Ftatateeta, smiling grimly, and showing a splendid set of teeth, goes,
leaving them alone together.

CAESAR. Cleopatra: I really think I must eat you, after all.

CLEOPATRA (kneeling beside him and looking at him with eager interest,
half real, half affected to show how intelligent she is). You must not
talk to me now as if I were a child.

CAESAR. You have been growing up since the Sphinx introduced us the
other night; and you think you know more than I do already.

CLFOPATRA (taken down, and anxious to justify herself). No: that would
be very silly of me: of course I know that. But, (suddenly) are you
angry with me?

CAESAR. No.

CLEOPATRA (only half believing him). Then why are you so thoughtful?

CAESAR (rising). I have work to do, Cleopatra.

CLEOPATRA (drawing back). Work! (Offended) You are tired of talking to
me; and that is your excuse to get away from me.

CAESAR (sitting down again to appease her). Well, well: another minute.
But then--work!

CLFOPATRA. Work! What nonsense! You must remember that you are a King
now: I have made you one. Kings don't work.


CAESAR. Oh! Who told you that, little kitten? Eh?

CLEOPATRA. My father was King of Egypt; and he never worked. But he was
a great King, and cut off my sister's head because she rebelled against
him and took the throne from him.

CAESAR. Well; and how did he get his throne back again?

CLEOPATRA (eagerly, her eyes lighting up). I will tell you. A beautiful
young man, with strong round arms, came over the desert with many
horsemen, and slew my sister's husband and gave my father back his
throne. (Wistfully) I was only twelve then. Oh, I wish he would come
again, now that I am a Queen. I would make him my husband.

CAESAR. It might be managed, perhaps; for it was I who sent that
beautiful young man to help your father.

CLEOPATRA (enraptured). You know him!

CAESAR (nodding). I do.

CLEOPATRA. Has he come with you? (Caesar shakes his head: she is cruelly
disappointed.) Oh, I wish he had, I wish he had. If only I were a little
older; so that he might not think me a mere kitten, as you do! But
perhaps that is because YOU are old. He is many, MANY years younger than
you, is he not?

CAESAR (as if swallowing a pill). He is somewhat younger.

CLEOPATRA. Would he be my husband, do you think, if I asked him?

CAESAR. Very likely.

CLEOPATRA. But I should not like to ask him. Could you not persuade him
to ask me--without knowing that I wanted him to?

CAESAR (touched by her innocence of the beautiful young man's
character). My poor child!

CLEOPATRA. Why do you say that as if you were sorry for me? Does he love
anyone else?

CAESAR. I am afraid so.

CLEOPATRA (tearfully). Then I shall not be his first love.

CAESAR. Not quite the first. He is greatly admired by women.

CLEOPATRA. I wish I could be the first. But if he loves me, I will make
him kill all the rest. Tell me: is he still beautiful? Do his strong
round arms shine in the sun like marble?

CAESAR. He is in excellent condition--considering how much he eats and
drinks.

CLEOPATRA. Oh, you must not say common, earthly things about him; for I
love him. He is a god.

CAESAR. He is a great captain of horsemen, and swifter of foot than any
other Roman.

CLEOPATRA. What is his real name?

CAESAR (puzzled). His REAL name?

CLEOPATRA. Yes. I always call him Horus, because Horus is the most
beautiful of our gods. But I want to know his real name.

CAESAR. His name is Mark Antony.

CLEOPATRA (musically). Mark Antony, Mark Antony, Mark Antony! What a
beautiful name! (She throws her arms round Caesar's neck.) Oh, how I
love you for sending him to help my father! Did you love my father very
much?

CAESAR. No, my child; but your father, as you say, never worked. I
always work. So when he lost his crown he had to promise me 16,000
talents to get it back for him.

CLEOPATRA. Did he ever pay you?

CAESAR. Not in full.

CLEOPATRA. He was quite right: it was too dear. The whole world is not
worth 16,000 talents.

CAESAR. That is perhaps true, Cleopatra. Those Egyptians who work paid
as much of it as he could drag from them. The rest is still due. But as
I most likely shall not get it, I must go back to my work. So you must
run away for a little and send my secretary to me.

CLEOPATRA (coaxing). No: I want to stay and hear you talk about Mark
Antony.

CAESAR. But if I do not get to work, Pothinus and the rest of them will
cut us off from the harbor; and then the way from Rome will be blocked.

CLEOPATRA. No matter: I don't want you to go back to Rome.

CAESAR. But you want Mark Antony to come from it.

CLEOPATRA (springing up). Oh yes, yes, yes: I forgot. Go quickly and
work, Caesar; and keep the way over the sea open for my Mark Antony.
(She runs out through the loggia, kissing her hand to Mark Antony across
the sea.)

CAESAR (going briskly up the middle of the hall to the loggia steps).
Ho, Britannus. (He is startled by the entry of a wounded Roman soldier,
who confronts him from the upper step.) What now?

SOLDIER (pointing to his bandaged head). This, Caesar; and two of my
comrades killed in the market place.

CAESAR (quiet but attending). Ay. Why?

SOLDIER. There is an army come to Alexandria, calling itself the Roman
army.

CAESAR. The Roman army of occupation. Ay?

SOLDIER. Commanded by one Achillas.

CAESAR. Well?

SOLDIER. The citizens rose against us when the army entered the gates.
I was with two others in the market place when the news came. They set
upon us. I cut my way out; and here I am.

CAESAR. Good. I am glad to see you alive. (Rufio enters the loggia
hastily, passing behind the soldier to look out through one of the
arches at the quay beneath.) Rufio, we are besieged.

RUFIO. What! Already?

CAESAR. Now or tomorrow: what does it matter? We SHALL be besieged.

Britannus runs in.

BRITANNUS. Caesar--

CAESAR (anticipating him). Yes: I know. (Rufio and Britannus come down
the hall from the loggia at opposite sides, past Caesar, who waits for
a moment near the step to say to the soldier.) Comrade: give the word
to turn out on the beach and stand by the boats. Get your wound attended
to. Go. (The soldier hurries out. Caesar comes down the hall between
Rufio and Britannus) Rufio: we have some ships in the west harbor. Burn
them.

RUFIO (staring). Burn them!!

CAESAR. Take every boat we have in the east harbor, and seize the
Pharos--that island with the lighthouse. Leave half our men behind to
hold the beach and the quay outside this palace: that is the way home.

RUFIO (disapproving strongly). Are we to give up the city?

CAESAR. We have not got it, Rufio. This palace we have; and--what is
that building next door?

RUFIO. The theatre.

CAESAR. We will have that too: it commands the strand, for the rest,
Egypt for the Egyptians!

RUFIO. Well, you know best, I suppose. Is that all?

CAESAR. That is all. Are those ships burnt yet?

RUFIO. Be easy: I shall waste no more time. (He runs out.)

BRITANNUS. Caesar: Pothinus demands speech of you. It's my opinion he
needs a lesson. His manner is most insolent.

CAESAR. Where is he?

BRITANNUS. He waits without.

CAESAR. Ho there! Admit Pothinus.

Pothinus appears in the loggia, and comes down the hall very haughtily
to Caesar's left hand.

CAESAR. Well, Pothinus?

POTHINUS. I have brought you our ultimatum, Caesar.

CAESAR. Ultimatum! The door was open: you should have gone out through
it before you declared war. You are my prisoner now. (He goes to the
chair and loosens his toga.)

POTHINUS (scornfully). I YOUR prisoner! Do you know that you are in
Alexandria, and that King Ptolemy, with an army outnumbering your little
troop a hundred to one, is in possession of Alexandria?

CAESAR (unconcernedly taking off his toga and throwing it on the chair).
Well, my friend, get out if you can. And tell your friends not to kill
any more Romans in the market place. Otherwise my soldiers, who do not
share my celebrated clemency, will probably kill you. Britannus: Pass
the word to the guard; and fetch my armor. (Britannus runs out. Rufio
returns.) Well?

RUFIO (pointing from the loggia to a cloud of smoke drifting over the
harbor). See there! (Pothinus runs eagerly up the steps to look out.)

CAESAR. What, ablaze already! Impossible!

RUFIO. Yes, five good ships, and a barge laden with oil grappled to
each. But it is not my doing: the Egyptians have saved me the trouble.
They have captured the west harbor.

CAESAR (anxiously). And the east harbor? The lighthouse, Rufio?

RUFIO (with a sudden splutter of raging ill usage, coming down to Caesar
and scolding him). Can I embark a legion in five minutes? The first
cohort is already on the beach. We can do no more. If you want faster
work, come and do it yourself?

CAESAR (soothing him). Good, good. Patience, Rufio, patience.

RUFIO. Patience! Who is impatient here, you or I? Would I be here, if I
could not oversee them from that balcony?

CAESAR. Forgive me, Rufio; and (anxiously) hurry them as much as--

He is interrupted by an outcry as of an old man in the extremity of
misfortune. It draws near rapidly; and Theodotus rushes in, tearing his
hair, and squeaking the most lamentable exclamations. Rufio steps back
to stare at him, amazed at his frantic condition. Pothinus turns to
listen.

THEODOTUS (on the steps, with uplifted arms). Horror unspeakable! Woe,
alas! Help!

RUFIO. What now?

CAESAR (frowning). Who is slain?

THEODOTUS. Slain! Oh, worse than the death of ten thousand men! Loss
irreparable to mankind!

RUFIO. What has happened, man?

THEODOTUS (rushing down the hall between them). The fire has spread from
your ships. The first of the seven wonders of the world perishes. The
library of Alexandria is in flames.

RUFIO. Psha! (Quite relieved, he goes up to the loggia and watches the
preparations of the troops on the beach.)

CAESAR. Is that all?

THEODOTUS (unable to believe his senses). All! Caesar: will you go down
to posterity as a barbarous soldier too ignorant to know the value of
books?

CAESAR. Theodotus: I am an author myself; and I tell you it is better
that the Egyptians should live their lives than dream them away with the
help of books.

THEODOTUS (kneeling, with genuine literary emotion: the passion of the
pedant). Caesar: once in ten generations of men, the world gains an
immortal book.

CAESAR (inflexible). If it did not flatter mankind, the common
executioner would burn it.

THEODOTUS. Without history, death would lay you beside your meanest
soldier.

CAESAR. Death will do that in any case. I ask no better grave.

THEODOTUS. What is burning there is the memory of mankind.

CAESAR. A shameful memory. Let it burn.

THEODOTUS (wildly). Will you destroy the past?

CAESAR. Ay, and build the future with its ruins. (Theodotus, in despair,
strikes himself on the temples with his fists.) But harken, Theodotus,
teacher of kings: you who valued Pompey's head no more than a shepherd
values an onion, and who now kneel to me, with tears in your old eyes,
to plead for a few sheepskins scrawled with errors. I cannot spare you a
man or a bucket of water just now; but you shall pass freely out of the
palace. Now, away with you to Achillas; and borrow his legions to put
out the fire. (He hurries him to the steps.)

POTHINUS (significantly). You understand, Theodotus: I remain a
prisoner.

THEODOTUS. A prisoner!

CAESAR. Will you stay to talk whilst the memory of mankind is burning?
(Calling through the loggia) Ho there! Pass Theodotus out. (To
Theodotus) Away with you.

THEODOTUS (to Pothinus). I must go to save the library. (He hurries
out.)

CAESAR. Follow him to the gate, Pothinus. Bid him urge your people to
kill no more of my soldiers, for your sake.

POTHINUS. My life will cost you dear if you take it, Caesar. (He goes
out after Theodotus.)

Rufio, absorbed in watching the embarkation, does not notice the
departure of the two Egyptians.

RUFIO (shouting from the loggia to the beach). All ready, there?

A CENTURION (from below). All ready. We wait for Caesar.

CAESAR. Tell them Caesar is coming--the rogues! (Calling) Britannicus.
(This magniloquent version of his secretary's name is one of Caesar's
jokes. In later years it would have meant, quite seriously and
officially, Conqueror of Britain.)

RUFIO (calling down). Push off, all except the longboat. Stand by it to
embark, Caesar's guard there. (He leaves the balcony and comes down into
the hall.) Where are those Egyptians? Is this more clemency? Have you
let them go?

CAESAR (chuckling). I have let Theodotus go to save the library. We must
respect literature, Rufio.

RUFIO (raging). Folly on folly's head! I believe if you could bring back
all the dead of Spain, Gaul and Thessaly to life, you would do it that
we might have the trouble of fighting them over again.

CAESAR. Might not the gods destroy the world if their only thought were
to be at peace next year? (Rufio, out of all patience, turns away in
anger. Caesar suddenly grips his sleeve, and adds slyly in his ear.)
Besides, my friend: every Egyptian we imprison means imprisoning two
Roman soldiers to guard him. Eh?

RUFIO. Agh! I might have known there was some fox's trick behind your
fine talking. (He gets away from Caesar with an ill-humored shrug, and
goes to the balcony for another look at the preparations; finally goes
out.)

CAESAR. Is Britannus asleep? I sent him for my armor an hour ago.
(Calling) Britannicus, thou British islander. Britannicus!

Cleopatra, runs in through the loggia with Caesar's helmet and sword,
snatched from Britannus, who follows her with a cuirass and greaves.
They come down to Caesar, she to his left hand, Britannus to his right.

CLEOPATRA. I am going to dress you, Caesar. Sit down. (He obeys.) These
Roman helmets are so becoming! (She takes off his wreath.) Oh! (She
bursts out laughing at him.)

CAESAR. What are you laughing at?

CLEOPATRA. You're bald (beginning with a big B, and ending with a
splutter).

CAESAR (almost annoyed). Cleopatra! (He rises, for the convenience of
Britannus, who puts the cuirass on him.)

CLEOPATRA. So that is why you wear the wreath--to hide it.

BRITANNUS. Peace, Egyptian: they are the bays of the conqueror. (He
buckles the cuirass.)

CLEOPATRA. Peace, thou: islander! (To Caesar) You should rub your head
with strong spirits of sugar, Caesar. That will make it grow.

CAESAR (with a wry face). Cleopatra: do you like to be reminded that you
are very young?

CLEOPATRA (pouting). No.

CAESAR (sitting down again, and setting out his leg for Britannus, who
kneels to put on his greaves). Neither do I like to be reminded that I
am--middle aged. Let me give you ten of my superfluous years. That will
make you 26 and leave me only--no matter. Is it a bargain?

CLEOPATRA. Agreed. 26, mind. (She puts the helmet on him.) Oh! How nice!
You look only about 50 in it!

BRITANNUS (Looking up severely at Cleopatra). You must not speak in this
manner to Caesar.

CLEOPATRA. Is it true that when Caesar caught you on that island, you
were painted all over blue?

BRITANNUS. Blue is the color worn by all Britons of good standing. In
war we stain our bodies blue; so that though our enemies may strip us of
our clothes and our lives, they cannot strip us of our respectability.
(He rises.)

CLEOPATRA (with Caesar's sword). Let me hang this on. Now you look
splendid. Have they made any statues of you in Rome?

CAESAR. Yes, many statues.

CLEOPATRA. You must send for one and give it to me.

RUFIO (coming back into the loggia, more impatient than ever). Now
Caesar: have you done talking? The moment your foot is aboard there
will be no holding our men back: the boats will race one another for the
lighthouse.

CAESAR (drawing his sword and trying the edge). Is this well set to-day,
Britannicus? At Pharsalia it was as blunt as a barrel-hoop.

BRITANNUS. It will split one of the Egyptian's hairs to-day, Caesar. I
have set it myself.

CLEOPATRA (suddenly throwing her arms in terror round Caesar). Oh, you
are not really going into battle to be killed?

CAESAR. No, Cleopatra. No man goes to battle to be killed.

CLEOPATRA. But they DO get killed. My sister's husband was killed in
battle. You must not go. Let HIM go (pointing to Rufio. They all laugh
at her). Oh please, PLEASE don't go. What will happen to ME if you never
come back?

CAESAR (gravely). Are you afraid?

CLEOPATRA (shrinking). No.

CAESAR (with quiet authority). Go to the balcony; and you shall see
us take the Pharos. You must learn to look on battles. Go. (She goes,
downcast, and looks out from the balcony.) That is well. Now, Rufio.
March.

CLEOPATRA (suddenly clapping her hands). Oh, you will not be able to go!

CAESAR. Why? What now?

CLEOPATRA. They are drying up the harbor with buckets--a multitude of
soldiers--over there (pointing out across the sea to her left)--they are
dipping up the water.

RUFIO (hastening to look). It is true. The Egyptian army! Crawling over
the edge of the west harbor like locusts. (With sudden anger he strides
down to Caesar.) This is your accursed clemency, Caesar. Theodotus has
brought them.

CAESAR (delighted at his own cleverness). I meant him to, Rufio. They
have come to put out the fire. The library will keep them busy whilst we
seize the lighthouse. Eh? (He rushes out buoyantly through the loggia,
followed by Britannus.)

RUFIO (disgustedly). More foxing! Agh! (He rushes off. A shout from the
soldiers announces the appearance of Caesar below).

CENTURION (below). All aboard. Give way there. (Another shout.)

CLEOPATRA (waving her scarf through the loggia arch). Goodbye, goodbye,
dear Caesar. Come back safe. Goodbye!




ACT III

The edge of the quay in front of the palace, looking out west over the
east harbor of Alexandria to Pharos island, just off the end of which,
and connected with it by a narrow mole, is the famous lighthouse, a
gigantic square tower of white marble diminishing in size storey by
storey to the top, on which stands a cresset beacon. The island is
joined to the main land by the Heptastadium, a great mole or causeway
five miles long bounding the harbor on the south.

In the middle of the quay a Roman sentinel stands on guard, pilum in
hand, looking out to the lighthouse with strained attention, his left
hand shading his eyes. The pilum is a stout wooden shaft 41 feet long,
with an iron spit about three feet long fixed in it. The sentinel is so
absorbed that he does not notice the approach from the north end of the
quay of four Egyptian market porters carrying rolls of carpet, preceded
by Ftatateeta and Apollodorus the Sicilian. Apollodorus is a dashing
young man of about 24, handsome and debonair, dressed with deliberate
astheticism in the most delicate purples and dove greys, with ornaments
of bronze, oxydized silver, and stones of jade and agate. His sword,
designed as carefully as a medieval cross, has a blued blade showing
through an openwork scabbard of purple leather and filagree. The
porters, conducted by Ftatateeta, pass along the quay behind the
sentinel to the steps of the palace, where they put down their bales
and squat on the ground. Apollodorus does not pass along with them: he
halts, amused by the preoccupation of the sentinel.

APOLLODORUS (calling to the sentinel). Who goes there, eh?

SENTINEL (starting violently and turning with his pilum at the charge,
revealing himself as a small, wiry, sandy-haired, conscientious young
man with an elderly face). What's this? Stand. Who are you?

APOLLODORUS. I am Apollodorus the Sicilian. Why, man, what are you
dreaming of? Since I came through the lines beyond the theatre there, I
have brought my caravan past three sentinels, all so busy staring at the
lighthouse that not one of them challenged me. Is this Roman discipline?

SENTINEL. We are not here to watch the land but the water. Caesar has
just landed on the Pharos. (Looking at Ftatateeta) What have you here?
Who is this piece of Egyptian crockery?

FTATATEETA. Apollodorus: rebuke this Roman dog; and bid him bridle
his tongue in the presence of Ftatateeta, the mistress of the Queen's
household.

APOLLODORUS. My friend: this is a great lady, who stands high with
Caesar.

SENTINEL (not at all impressed, pointing to the carpets). And what is
all this truck?

APOLLODORUS. Carpets for the furnishing of the Queen's apartments in the
palace. I have picked them from the best carpets in the world; and the
Queen shall choose the best of my choosing.

SENTINEL. So you are the carpet merchant?

APOLLODORUS (hurt). My friend: I am a patrician.

SENTINEL. A patrician! A patrician keeping a shop instead of following
arms!

APOLLODORUS. I do not keep a shop. Mine is a temple of the arts. I am
a worshipper of beauty. My calling is to choose beautiful things for
beautiful Queens. My motto is Art for Art's sake.

SENTINEL. That is not the password.

APOLLODORUS. It is a universal password.

SENTINEL. I know nothing about universal passwords. Either give me the
password for the day or get back to your shop.

Ftatateeta, roused by his hostile tone, steals towards the edge of the
quay with the step of a panther, and gets behind him.

APOLLODORUS. How if I do neither?

SENTINEL. Then I will drive this pilum through you.

APOLLODORUS. At your service, my friend. (He draws his sword, and
springs to his guard with unruffled grace.)

FTATATEETA (suddenly seizing the sentinel's arms from behind).
Thrust your knife into the dog's throat, Apollodorus. (The chivalrous
Apollodorus laughingly shakes his head; breaks ground away from the
sentinel towards the palace; and lowers his point.)

SENTINEL (struggling vainly). Curse on you! Let me go. Help ho!

FTATATEETA (lifting him from the ground). Stab the little Roman reptile.
Spit him on your sword.

A couple of Roman soldiers, with a centurion, come running along the
edge of the quay from the north end. They rescue their comrade, and
throw off Ftatateeta, who is sent reeling away on the left hand of the
sentinel.

CENTURION (an unattractive man of fifty, short in his speech and
manners, with a vine wood cudgel in his hand). How now? What is all
this?

FTATATEETA (to Apollodorus). Why did you not stab him? There was time!

APOLLODORUS. Centurion: I am here by order of the Queen to--

CENTURION (interrupting him). The Queen! Yes, yes: (to the sentinel)
pass him in. Pass all these bazaar people in to the Queen, with their
goods. But mind you pass no one out that you have not passed in--not
even the Queen herself.

SENTINEL. This old woman is dangerous: she is as strong as three men.
She wanted the merchant to stab me.

APOLLODORUS. Centurion: I am not a merchant. I am a patrician and a
votary of art.

CENTURION. Is the woman your wife?

APOLLODORUS (horrified). No, no! (Correcting himself politely) Not that
the lady is not a striking figure in her own way. But (emphatically) she
is NOT my wife.

FTATATEETA (to the Centurion). Roman: I am Ftatateeta, the mistress of
the Queen's household.

CENTURION. Keep your hands off our men, mistress; or I will have you
pitched into the harbor, though you were as strong as ten men. (To his
men) To your posts: march! (He returns with his men the way they came.)

FTATATEETA (looking malignantly after him). We shall see whom Isis loves
best: her servant Ftatateeta or a dog of a Roman.

SENTINEL (to Apollodorus, with a wave of his pilum towards the palace).
Pass in there; and keep your distance. (Turning to Ftatateeta) Come
within a yard of me, you old crocodile; and I will give you this (the
pilum) in your jaws.

CLEOPATRA (calling from the palace). Ftatateeta, Ftatateeta.

FTATATEETA (Looking up, scandalized). Go from the window, go from the
window. There are men here.

CLEOPATRA. I am coming down.

FTATATEETA (distracted). No, no. What are you dreaming of? O ye gods,
ye gods! Apollodorus: bid your men pick up your bales; and in with me
quickly.

APOLLODORUS. Obey the mistress of the Queen's household.

FTATATEETA (impatiently, as the porters stoop to lift the bales). Quick,
quick: she will be out upon us. (Cleopatra comes from the palace and
runs across the quay to Ftatateeta.) Oh that ever I was born!

CLEOPATRA (eagerly). Ftatateeta: I have thought of something. I want a
boat--at once.

FTATATEETA. A boat! No, no: you cannot. Apollodorus: speak to the Queen.

APOLLODORUS (gallantly). Beautiful Queen: I am Apollodorus the Sicilian,
your servant, from the bazaar. I have brought you the three most
beautiful Persian carpets in the world to choose from.

CLEOPATRA. I have no time for carpets to-day. Get me a boat.

FTATATEETA. What whim is this? You cannot go on the water except in the
royal barge.

APOLLODORUS. Royalty, Ftatateeta, lies not in the barge but in the
Queen. (To Cleopatra) The touch of your majesty's foot on the gunwale
of the meanest boat in the harbor will make it royal. (He turns to the
harbor and calls seaward) Ho there, boatman! Pull in to the steps.

CLEOPATRA. Apollodorus: you are my perfect knight; and I will always buy
my carpets through you. (Apollodorus bows joyously. An oar appears above
the quay; and the boatman, a bullet-headed, vivacious, grinning fellow,
burnt almost black by the sun, comes up a flight of steps from the water
on the sentinel's right, oar in hand, and waits at the top.) Can you
row, Apollodorus?

APOLLODORUS. My oars shall be your majesty's wings. Whither shall I row
my Queen? To the lighthouse. Come. (She makes for the steps.)

SENTINEL (opposing her with his pilum at the charge). Stand. You cannot
pass.

CLEOPATRA (flushing angrily). How dare you? Do you know that I am the
Queen?

SENTINEL. I have my orders. You cannot pass.

CLEOPATRA. I will make Caesar have you killed if you do not obey me.

SENTINEL. He will do worse to me if I disobey my officer. Stand back.

CLEOPATRA. Ftatateeta: strangle him.

SENTINEL (alarmed--looking apprehensively at Ftatateeta, and brandishing
his pilum). Keep off there.

CLEOPATRA (running to Apollodorus). Apollodorus: make your slaves help
us.

APOLLODORUS. I shall not need their help, lady. (He draws his sword.)
Now soldier: choose which weapon you will defend yourself with. Shall it
be sword against pilum, or sword against sword?

SENTINEL. Roman against Sicilian, curse you. Take that. (He hurls his
pilum at Apollodorus, who drops expertly on one knee. The pilum passes
whizzing over his head and falls harmless. Apollodorus, with a cry of
triumph, springs up and attacks the sentinel, who draws his sword and
defends himself, crying) Ho there, guard. Help!

Cleopatra, half frightened, half delighted, takes refuge near the
palace, where the porters are squatting among the bales. The boatman,
alarmed, hurries down the steps out of harm's way, but stops, with his
head just visible above the edge of the quay, to watch the fight.
The sentinel is handicapped by his fear of an attack in the rear from
Ftatateeta. His swordsmanship, which is of a rough and ready sort, is
heavily taxed, as he has occasionally to strike at her to keep her off
between a blow and a guard with Apollodorus. The Centurion returns with
several soldiers. Apollodorus springs back towards Cleopatra as this
reinforcement confronts him.

CENTURION (coming to the sentinel's right hand). What is this? What now?

SENTINEL (panting). I could do well enough for myself if it weren't for
the old woman. Keep her off me: that is all the help I need.

CENTURION. Make your report, soldier. What has happened?

FTATATEETA. Centurion: he would have slain the Queen.

SENTINEL (bluntly). I would, sooner than let her pass. She wanted to
take boat, and go--so she said--to the lighthouse. I stopped her, as I
was ordered to; and she set this fellow on me. (He goes to pick up his
pilum and returns to his place with it.)

CENTURION (turning to Cleopatra). Cleopatra: I am loath to offend you;
but without Caesar's express order we dare not let you pass beyond the
Roman lines.

APOLLODORUS. Well, Centurion; and has not the lighthouse been within the
Roman lines since Caesar landed there?

CLEOPATRA. Yes, yes. Answer that, if you can.

CENTURION (to Apollodorus). As for you, Apollodorus, you may thank the
gods that you are not nailed to the palace door with a pilum for your
meddling.

APOLLODORUS (urbanely). My military friend, I was not born to be slain
by so ugly a weapon. When I fall, it will be (holding up his sword) by
this white queen of arms, the only weapon fit for an artist. And now
that you are convinced that we do not want to go beyond the lines, let
me finish killing your sentinel and depart with the Queen.

CENTURION (as the sentinel makes an angry demonstration). Peace there.
Cleopatra. I must abide by my orders, and not by the subtleties of this
Sicilian. You must withdraw into the palace and examine your carpets
there.

CLEOPATRA (pouting). I will not: I am the Queen. Caesar does not speak
to me as you do. Have Caesar's centurions changed manners with his
scullions?

CENTURION (sulkily). I do my duty. That is enough for me.

APOLLODORUS. Majesty: when a stupid man is doing something he is ashamed
of, he always declares that it is his duty.

CENTURION (angry). Apollodorus--

APOLLODORUS (interrupting him with defiant elegance). I will make
amends for that insult with my sword at fitting time and place. Who says
artist, says duelist. (To Cleopatra) Hear my counsel, star of the
east. Until word comes to these soldiers from Caesar himself, you are a
prisoner. Let me go to him with a message from you, and a present; and
before the sun has stooped half way to the arms of the sea, I will bring
you back Caesar's order of release.

CENTURION (sneering at him), And you will sell the Queen the present, no
doubt.

APOLLODORUS. Centurion: the Queen shall have from me, without payment,
as the unforced tribute of Sicilian taste to Egyptian beauty, the
richest of these carpets for her present to Caesar.

CLEOPATRA (exultantly, to the Centurion). Now you see what an ignorant
common creature you are!

CENTURION (curtly). Well, a fool and his wares are soon parted (He turns
to his men). Two more men to this post here; and see that no one leaves
the palace but this man and his merchandize. If he draws his sword again
inside the lines, kill him. To your posts. March.

He goes out, leaving two auxiliary sentinels with the other.

APOLLODORUS (with polite goodfellowship). My friends: will you not enter
the palace and bury our quarrel in a bowl of wine? (He takes out his
purse, jingling the coins in it.) The Queen has presents for you all.

SENTINEL (very sulky). You heard our orders. Get about your business.

FIRST AUXILIARY. Yes: you ought to know better. Off with you.

SECOND AUXILIARY (looking longingly at the purse--this sentinel is a
hooknosed man, unlike his comrade, who is squab faced). Do not tantalize
a poor man.

APOLLODORUS (to Cleopatra). Pearl of Queens: the Centurion is at hand;
and the Roman soldier is incorruptible when his officer is looking. I
must carry your word to Caesar.

CLEOPATRA (who has been meditating among the carpets). Are these carpets
very heavy?

APOLLODORUS. It matters not how heavy. There are plenty of porters.

CLEOPATRA. How do they put the carpets into boats? Do they throw them
down?

APOLLODORUS. Not into small boats, majesty. It would sink them.

CLEOPATRA. Not into that man's boat, for instance? (Pointing to the
boatman.)

APOLLODORUS. No. Too small.

CLEOPATRA. But you can take a carpet to Caesar in it if I send one?

APOLLODORUS. Assuredly.

CLEOPATRA. And you will have it carried gently down the steps and take
great care of it?

APOLLODORUS. Depend on me.

CLEOPATRA. Great, GREAT care?

APOLLODORUS. More than of my own body.

CLEOPATRA. You will promise me not to let the porters drop it or throw
it about?