Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
When he had drunk, he advised her to bring her own affairs, so
far as might be honorably done, to a safe conclusion, and that,
among all the friends of Caesar, she should rely on Proculeius;
that she should not pity him in this last turn of fate, but
rather rejoice for him in remembrance of his past happiness, who
had been of all men the most illustrious and powerful, and, in
the end, had fallen not ignobly, a Roman by a Roman overcome.
Just as he breathed his last, Proculeius arrived from Caesar;
for when Antony gave himself his wound, and was carried in to
Cleopatra, one of his guards, Dercetaeus, took up Antony's sword
and hid it; and, when he saw his opportunity, stole away to
Caesar, and brought him the first news of Antony's death, and
withal showed him the bloody sword. Caesar, upon this, retired
into the inner part of his tent, and, giving some tears to the
death of one that had been nearly allied to him in marriage, his
colleague in empire, and companion in so many wars and dangers,
he came out to his friends, and, bringing with him many letters,
he read to them with how much reason and moderation he had
always addressed himself to Antony, and in return what
overbearing and arrogant answers he received. Then he sent
Proculeius to use his utmost endeavors to get Cleopatra alive
into his power; for he was afraid of losing a great treasure,
and, besides, she would be no small addition to the glory of his
triumph. She, however, was careful not to put herself in
Proculeius's power; but from within her monument, he standing on
the outside of a door, on the level of the ground, which was
strongly barred, but so that they might well enough hear one
another's voice, she held a conference with him; she demanding
that her kingdom might be given to her children, and he bidding
her be of good courage, and trust Caesar for everything.
Having taken particular notice of the place, he returned to
Caesar, and Gallus was sent to parley with her the second time;
who, being come to the door, on purpose prolonged the
conference, while Proculeius fixed his scaling-ladders in the
window through which the women had pulled up Antony. And so
entering, with two men to follow him, he went straight down to
the door where Cleopatra was discoursing with Gallus. One of
the two women who were shut up in the monument with her cried
out, "Miserable Cleopatra, you are taken prisoner!" Upon which
she turned quick, and, looking at Proculeius, drew out her
dagger, which she had with her to stab herself. But Proculeius
ran up quickly, and, seizing her with both his hands, "For
shame," said he, "Cleopatra; you wrong yourself and Caesar much,
who would rob him of so fair an occasion of showing his
clemency, and would make the world believe the most gentle of
commanders to be a faithless and implacable enemy." And so,
taking the dagger out of her hand, he also shook her dress to
see if there were any poison hid in it. After this, Caesar sent
Epaphroditus, one of his freedmen, with orders to treat her with
all the gentleness and civility possible, but to take the
strictest precautions to keep her alive.
In the meanwhile, Caesar made his entry into Alexandria, with
Areius the philosopher at his side, holding him by the hand and
talking with him; desiring that all his fellow-citizens should
see what honor was paid to him, and should look up to him
accordingly from the very first moment. Then, entering the
exercise-ground, he mounted a platform erected for the purpose,
and from thence commanded the citizens (who, in great fear and
consternation, fell prostrate at his feet) to stand up, and told
them, that he freely acquitted the people of all blame, first,
for the sake of Alexander, who built their city; then, for the
city's sake itself, which was so large and beautiful; and,
thirdly, to gratify his friend Areius.
Such great honor did Areius receive from Caesar; and by his
intercession many lives were saved, amongst the rest that of
Philostratus, a man, of all the professors of logic that ever
were, the most ready in extempore speaking, but quite destitute
of any right to call himself one of the philosophers of the
Academy. Caesar, out of disgust at his character, refused all
attention to his entreaties. So, growing a long, white beard,
and dressing himself in black, he followed behind Areius,
shouting out the verse,
The wise, if they are wise, will save the wise.
Which Caesar hearing, gave him his pardon, to prevent rather any
odium that might attach to Areius, than any harm that
Philostratus might suffer.
Of Antony's children, Antyllus, his son by Fulvia, being
betrayed by his tutor, Theodorus, was put to death; and while
the soldiers were cutting off his head, his tutor contrived to
steal a precious jewel which he wore about his neck, and put it
into his pocket, and afterwards denied the fact, but was
convicted and crucified. Cleopatra's children, with their
attendants, had a guard set on them, and were treated very
honorably. Caesarion, who was reputed to be the son of Caesar
the Dictator, was sent by his mother, with a great sum of money,
through Ethiopia, to pass into India; but his tutor, a man named
Rhodon, about as honest as Theodorus, persuaded him to turn
back, for that Caesar designed to make him king. Caesar
consulting what was best to be done with him, Areius, we are
told, said,
Too many Caesars are not well.
So, afterwards, when Cleopatra was dead, he was killed.
Many kings and great commanders made petition to Caesar for the
body of Antony, to give him his funeral rites; but he would not
take away his corpse from Cleopatra, by whose hands he was
buried with royal splendor and magnificence, it being granted to
her to employ what she pleased on his funeral. In this
extremity of grief and sorrow, and having inflamed and ulcerated
her breasts with beating them, she fell into a high fever, and
was very glad of the occasion, hoping, under this pretext, to
abstain from food, and so to die in quiet without interference.
She had her own physician, Olympus, to whom she told the truth,
and asked his advice and help to put an end to herself, as
Olympus himself has told us, in a narrative which he wrote of
these events. But Caesar, suspecting her purpose, took to
menacing language about her children, and excited her fears for
them, before which engines her purpose shook and gave way, so
that she suffered those about her to give her what meat or
medicine they pleased.
Some few days after, Caesar himself came to make her a visit and
comfort her. She lay then upon her pallet-bed in undress,
and, on his entering in, sprang up from off her bed, having
nothing on but the one garment next her body, and flung herself
at his feet, her hair and face looking wild and disfigured, her
voice quivering, and her eyes sunk in her head. The marks of
the blows she had given herself were visible about her bosom,
and altogether her whole person seemed no less afflicted than
her soul. But, for all this, her old charm, and the boldness of
her youthful beauty had not wholly left her, and, in spite of
her present condition, still sparkled from within, and let
itself appear in all the movements of her countenance. Caesar,
desiring her to repose herself, sat down by her; and, on this
opportunity, she said something to justify her actions,
attributing what she had done to the necessity she was under,
and to her fear of Antony; and when Caesar, on each point, made
his objections, and she found herself confuted, she broke off at
once into language of entreaty and deprecation, as if she
desired nothing more than to prolong her life. And at last,
having by her a list of her treasure, she gave it into his
hands; and when Seleucus, one of her stewards, who was by,
pointed out that various articles were omitted, and charged her
with secreting them, she flew up and caught him by the hair, and
struck him several blows on the face. Caesar smiling and
withholding her, "Is it not very hard, Caesar," said she, "when
you do me the honor to visit me in this condition I am in, that
I should be accused by one of my own servants of laying by some
women's toys, not meant to adorn, be sure, my unhappy self, but
that I might have some little present by me to make your Octavia
and your Livia, that by their intercession I might hope to find
you in some measure disposed to mercy?" Caesar was pleased to
hear her talk thus, being now assured that she was desirous to
live. And, therefore, letting her know that the things she had
laid by she might dispose of as she pleased, and his usage of
her should be honorable above her expectation, he went away,
well satisfied that he had overreached her, but, in fact, was
himself deceived.
There was a young man of distinction among Caesar's companions,
named Cornelius Dolabella. He was not without a certain
tenderness for Cleopatra, and sent her word privately, as she
had besought him to do, that Caesar was about to return through
Syria, and that she and her children were to be sent on within
three days. When she understood this, she made her request to
Caesar that he would be pleased to permit her to make oblations
to the departed Antony; which being granted, she ordered herself
to be carried to the place where he was buried, and there,
accompanied by her women, she embraced his tomb with tears in
her eyes, and spoke in this manner: "O, dearest Antony," said
she, "it is not long since that with these hands I buried you;
then they were free, now I am a captive, and pay these last
duties to you with a guard upon me, for fear that my just griefs
and sorrows should impair my servile body, and make it less fit
to appear in their triumph over you. No further offerings or
libations expect from me; these are the last honors that
Cleopatra can pay your memory, for she is to be hurried away far
from you. Nothing could part us whilst we lived, but death
seems to threaten to divide us. You, a Roman born, have found a
grave in Egypt; I, an Egyptian, am to seek that favor, and none
but that, in your country. But if the gods below, with whom
you now are, either can or will do anything (since those above
have betrayed us), suffer not your living wife to be abandoned;
let me not be led in triumph to your shame, but hide me and bury
me here with you, since, amongst all my bitter misfortunes,
nothing has afflicted me like this brief time that I have lived
away from you."
Having made these lamentations, crowning the tomb with garlands
and kissing it, she gave orders to prepare her a bath, and,
coming out of the bath, she lay down and made a sumptuous meal.
And a country fellow brought her a little basket, which the
guards intercepting and asking what it was, the fellow put the
leaves which lay uppermost aside, and showed them it was full of
figs; and on their admiring the largeness and beauty of the
figs, he laughed, and invited them to take some, which they
refused, and, suspecting nothing, bade him carry them in. After
her repast, Cleopatra sent to Caesar a letter which she had
written and sealed; and, putting everybody out of the monument
but her two women, she shut the doors. Caesar, opening her
letter, and finding pathetic prayers and entreaties that she
might be buried in the same tomb with Antony, soon guessed what
was doing. At first he was going himself in all haste, but,
changing his mind, he sent others to see. The thing had been
quickly done. The messengers came at full speed, and found the
guards apprehensive of nothing; but on opening the doors, they
saw her stone-dead, lying upon a bed of gold, set out in all her
royal ornaments. Iras, one of her women, lay dying at her feet,
and Charmion, just ready to fall, scarce able to hold up her