Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene 1

Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, Scene 1

PHILO:

Nay, but this dotage of our General's

O'erflows the measure. Those his goodly eyes

That o'er the files and musters of the war

Have glowed like plated Mars, now bend, now turn

The office and devotion of their view

Upon a tawny front. His captain's heart,

Which in the scuffles of great fights hath burst

The buckles on his breast, reneges all temper,

And is become the bellows and the fan

To cool a gipsy's lust.

Flourish. Enter Antony, Cleopatra, her ladies, the train, with eunuchs fanning her.

Look where they come.

Take but good note and you shall see in him

The triple pillar of the world transformed

Into a strumpet's fool. Behold and see.

CLEOPATRA (to Antony): If it be love indeed, tell me how much.

ANTONY:

There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned.