Part 1 (1/2)

Famous Affinities of History

by Lyndon Orr

THE STORY OF ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

Of all love stories that are known to human history, the love story of Antony and Cleopatra has been for nineteen centuries the most reraphic arts It has been made the theme of poets and of prose narrators It has appeared and reappeared in a thousand forination to-day as it did when Antony deserted his alalley from Actium in pursuit of Cleopatra

The wonder of the story is explained by its extraordinary nature Many men in private life have lost fortune and fas have incurred the odiu for it in co caresses and clinging kisses Cold-blooded statesmen, such as Parnell, have lost the leadershi+p of their party and have gone down in history with a clouded name because of the fascination exercised upon the the mysterious pohich ht in co hours of pleasure

But in the case of Antony and Cleopatra alone do we find aaway not merely the triumphs of civic honors or the headshi+p of a state, but much more than these-the mastery of as practically the world-in answer to the pros of a woyptian queen is not like any other story that has yet been told The sacrifice involved in it was so overwhel, so instantaneous, and so complete as to set this narrative above all others Shakespeare's genius has touched it with the glory of a great i it in the finest of his plays, expressed its nature in the title ”All for Love”

The distinguished Italian historian, Signor Ferrero, the author of many books, has tried hard to eliminate nearly all the romantic elements from the tale, and to have us see in it not the triu it becomes almost a sordid drama of man's pursuit of power and of woman's selfishness Let us review the story as it remains, even after we have taken full account of Ferrero's criticism Has the world for nineteen hundred years been blinded by a show of sentiment? Has it so absolutely been misled by those who lived and wrote in the days which followed closely on the events thatthese questions we must consider, in the first place, the scene, and, in the second place, the psychology of the two central characters who for so long a tiarded as the very embodiment of unchecked passion

As to the scene, it yptian as we understand the word, but rather Greek Cleopatra herself was of Greek descent The kingdoeneral of Alexander the Great after that splendid warrior's death Its capital, the most brilliant city of the Greco-Roave to it his name With his own hands he traced out the limits of the city and issued the most peremptory orders that it should becannot give enduring greatness to a city; but Alexander's keen eye and marvelous brain saw at once that the site of Alexandria was such that a great comhout out succeeding ages He was right; for within a century this new capital of Egypt leaped to the forefront a that art could do was lavished on its eue of land so situated that the whole trade of the Mediterranean centered there Down the Nile there floated to its gates the barbaric wealth of Africa To it caht from afar by caravans-silks from China, spices and pearls froold and silver from lands scarcely known In its harbor were the vessels of every country, from Asia in the East to Spain and Gaul and even Britain in the West

When Cleopatra, a young girl of seventeen, succeeded to the throne of Egypt the population of Alexandria amounted to a million souls The customs duties collected at the port would, in terms of modern money, amount each year to h the imposts were not heavy The people, who may be described as Greek at the top and Oriental at the botto, devoted to splendid spectacles, with horse-racing, ga, and dissipation; yet at the sa music passionately, and by no e and prosperous lass, and muslin

To the outward eye Alexandria was extrereat boulevards, shaded and diversified by hty trees and parterres of multicolored flowers, aleamed One-fifth of the whole city was known as the Royal Residence In it were the palaces of the reigning fareat museum, and the famous library which the Arabs later burned There were parks and gardens brilliant with tropical foliage and adorned with the masterpieces of Grecian sculpture, while sphinxes and obelisks gave a suggestion of Oriental strangeness As one looked seaward his eye beheld over the blue water the snohite rocks of the sheltering island, Pharos, on which was reared a lighthouse four hundred feet in height and justly nuether, Alexandria was a city of wealth, of beauty, of stirring life, of excitement, and of pleasure Ferrero has aptly likened it to Paris-not so o, when the Second Empire flourished in all its splendor as the hohts

Over the country of which Alexandria was the capital Cleopatra ca the odd custom which the Greek dynasty of the Ptoleyptian predecessors, she was betrothed to her own brother He, however, was a mere child of less than twelve, and was under the control of evil counselors, who, in his naained control of the capital and drove Cleopatra into exile Until then she had been a ed blazed up in her and called out all her latent powers Hastening to Syria, she gathered about herself an arainst her foes

But reatest man of ancient times, had arrived at Alexandria backed by an arainst hi which the Egyptian king and the Egyptian queen each strove to win the favor of the Ro and his advisers had , however, she possessed which struck the balance in her favor, and this was a wo to the story, Caesar was unwilling to receive her There caroup of slaves bearing a long roll ofto contain sons that they were bearing a gift to Caesar The ht see it They did so, and out of the wrapping ca, irresistible Nextit became known everywhere that Cleopatra had reht and that her enemies were now his ene aside all pretense of amity There ensued a fierce contest, but the revolt was quenched in blood

This was a crucial moment in Cleopatra's life She had sacrificed all that a woive; but she had not done so froypt, and she had redeedom and kept it by her sacrifice One should not condemn her too severely In a sense, her act was one of heroism like that of Judith in the tent of Holofernes But beyond all question it changed her character It taught her the secret of her own great power Henceforth she was no longer a irl, nor a woreat a e that, by the charms of sense, she had e and wonderful creature She learned to study the weaknesses of men, to play on their emotions, to appeal to every subtle taste and fancy In her were blended ift which is called charnor Ferrero seems to think this fact to be discovery of his own, but it was set down by Plutarch in a very striking passage written less than a century after Cleopatra and Antony died We may quote here what the Greek historian said of her:

Her actual beauty was far fro so remarkable that none could be compared with her, nor was it such that it would strike your fancy when you saw her first Yet the influence of her presence, if you lingered near her, was irresistible Her attractive personality, joined with the charave to everything she said or did, were utterly bewitching It was delightful merely to hear the music of her voice, hich, like an instrue to another

Caesar had left Cleopatra firned with great intelligence, keeping order in her do with discri the convulsions of the Roman state once more caused her extreme anxiety Caesar had been assassinated, and there ensued a period of civil war Out of it eures which were absolutely contrasted in their character One was Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, a reat ability, was cunning, cold-blooded, and deceitful The other was Antony, a soldier by training, and with all a soldier's bluntness, courage, and lawlessness

The Roman world was divided for the tiovernment of the East, Octavian that of the West In the year which had preceded this division Cleopatra had wavered between the two opposite factions at Ro she had excited the suspicion of Antony, and he now demanded of her an explanation

One must have some conception of Antony himself in order to understand the events that followed He was essentially a soldier, of excellent fa ly handsome, and bad companions led him into the pursuit of vicious pleasure He had scarcely coe when he found that he owed the enormous sum of two hundred and fifty talents, equivalent to half a million dollars in the money of to-day But he wasand to dissipation Men ht tell of his escapades, as when he drove about the streets of Ros out of the hile he shouted forth drunken songs of revelry This was not the whole of Antony Joining the Roreat personal bravery, a clever strategist, and also humane and merciful in the hour of victory

Unlike e, and his nose was of the distinctive Roman type His look was so bold and masculine that people likened him to Hercules His democratic manners endeared hie, coarseostentation Even his faults and follies added to his popularity He would sit down at the co the the any daring deed which his legionaries performed In this respect he was like Napoleon; and, like Napoleon, he had a vein of florid eloquence which was criticized by literary ht to the heart of the private soldier In a word, he was a powerful, virile, passionate, ableand true

It was to this general that Cleopatra was to answer, and with a firreat commander, Caesar, she set out in person for Cilicia, in Asia Minor, sailing up the river Cydnus to the place where Antony was encaeration of historians, there can be no doubt that she appeared to hiilded, and afted on its way by swelling sails of Tyrian purple The oars which s silver As she drew near the Rouorous music of flutes and harps breathed forth a strain of invitation

Cleopatra herself lay upon a divan set upon the deck of the barge beneath a canopy of woven gold She was dressed to reseirls about her personated nymphs and Graces Delicate perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel; and at last, as she drew near the shore, all the people forAntony to sit alone in the tribunal where he was dispensing justice