Continued from "The Restored Cleopatra", page 15 - Antony has just proclaimed Caesarion King of Egypt, and the scene dissolves to Octavian's villa in Rome. Octavian is seated with Agrippa and a few Senators. He rises as he speaks...
OCTAVIAN
Rome's
greatness lies in what she
gives,
he says, then calmly gives
what
is not his. And Cleopatra
takes,
and will take more - and
war
will come. She knows - and I
know
- that war will come. But
I
will not speak for it - nor will
I
speak against Antony. I must
be
forced into war, the people of
Rome
must force this war upon me -
they
must storm the doors of the
Senate
crying for it! To begin
with,
let it be known everywhere
what
Antony has said - and that
I
have remained silent...
Images of the scenes described by Octavian are seen superimposed with him.
Scene one - the Forum at day - in a secluded spot. Envoys, some mounted, some on foot - are being handed scrolls by Agrippa. They hurry away with them.
OCTAVIAN
(over
scene)
Let
secret envoys be sent to all
the
lands he has ceded to her -
with
word that Rome will not
oppose
revolt against Egypt...
Scene two - The countryside. Mounted couriers riding through various terrains...
OCTAVIAN
(over
scene)
Send
couriers to every garrison
under
Antony's command. Offer
promotion
to his officers, if
they
will come to me...the
men
will follow...
Scene three - Roman streets. Officials tack up proclamations on walls and doors. Angry reactions are seen from citizens of all stations...
OCTAVIAN
(over
scene)
Proclamations
are to be posted
throughout
Rome. In ceding these
lands
to Egypt, Antony has deprived
Rome
of necessary tribute. Taxes
must
therefore be increased for
Roman
citizens...
Scene four - a room in Octavia's house. She is at a writing desk, writing on wax tablets...
OCTAVIAN
(over
scene)
At
my request, Octavia will write
once
more to Antony. Of her love,
her
loneliness and humiliation -
she
will beg for his return to
her,
and for peace with Rome.
Her
message will be taken to
him
by the most noble and
respected
citizens of Rome.
Let
Antony turn his back on her -
and
on them - if he will...
Octavian's face fades from the scene. Only Octavia's remains, tearfully doing as she has been told. The scene dissolves to the forecourt of the Palace in Alexandria. About a half dozen distinguished and venerable Romans wait. About them, and on the steps, Antony's officers. Among them, Rufio. Sosigenes, standing to one side between the pillars, watches. Antony, alone, comes out of the palace, carrying a scroll. The leader of the group approaches the platform respectfully. Antony, dressed in full military regalia, looks down at him. Antony seems remote, deliberately aloof and cold...
LEADER
Mark
Antony, do you have an answer
to
the message we have brought
from
the Lady Octavia?
Antony hands the scroll to rufio, who brings it to the venerable old man...
ANTONY
By
the laws of Rome, bear witness,
all
of you, to what I say. You
are
to tell the Lady Octavia that
I
divorce her...
Reactions from the group. Antony continues, as if by rote, looking not at them but over their heads...
ANTONY
According
to Roman law, therefore,
in
my name say to her: Octavia,
take
what belongs to you and
leave
my house. Take what
belongs
to you and leave my
house.
Take what belongs to
you
and leave my house. It
is
done.
He turns away abruptly and re-enters the palace. The group of senators, saddened and shocked, turn to depart. The eyes of their leader meet those of Rufio. Rufio is the first to look away. Sosigenes has observed the scene with great concern. Thoughtfully, he enters the palace. The scene switches to Cleopatra's sitting room, with Cleopatra, Ramos, Apollodorus, and other Egyptian military personnel. Maps, charts, and particularly, models of ships are seen about the room. Cleopatra is ordering her armies to Greece by ship. Antony is not sure the move should be made - his troops, "... fight on land, they move on land." She answers, "They will do as they are told! As mine will!" He counters, "My men will do as they are told - by me! However, since I do as I am told...". Cleopatra, becoming conscious of the other men waiting, changes her directness by saying the final decision, "...of course, will be Lord Antony's". They leave and she continues with her attempt to convince Antony that with the number of troops at his command, Octavian will not fight. Antony thinks otherwise - Octavian will start the fight immediately - on the spot where they land. Cleopatra is convinced that Rome will not declare war against him. Sosigenes enters hearing the conversation and disagrees. Cleopatra snaps at him and he begs to be heard, saying, "Have three hundred warships ever been built for war - without war?" She answers, "We shall have what we want without it!" Sosigenes convinces Cleopatra that "strings are being pulled, and not by us". That Egypt is being maneuvered, that the message from Octavia, delivered by such highly revered men is a ploy to turn Rome against Egypt. She starts to see what he is saying is the truth and asks what he proposes. He offers to go to Rome and talk to Octavian, to insure him and the Roman people Egypt wants peace. She agrees and sends him to Rome.
ANTONY
He's
very dear to you, that old
man.
Concern and worry are
written
all over you - forgive me,
but
it's a kind of love you're
showing...
CLEOPATRA
Let
them talk. Let them negotiate
all
they want. Time is on our side,
we
can only grow stronger -
(in
sudden concern)
A
man like Sosigenes. A man who
has
made the world better for
his
having lived in it - would
anyone
hurt him?
ANTONY
(smiles)
Come
here...
Cleopatra goes to him and he takes her in his arms.
ANTONY
If
war will come, why then it
will
come. But to decide upon
war
- to choose it as one might
an
entertainment for the night -
this
is no longer possible for
me...
CLEOPATRA
Until
we have what we want. Until
we
can hold it secure -
ANTONY
I
have what I want. I hold it
secure
this minute. And I no
longer
even dream of wanting
more
-
CLEOPATRA
Antony
-
ANTONY
Be
quiet, we're alone now. I'm
speaking.
For the first time, I
cannot
wait to wake from sleep
into
life - my dreams have
become
pitiful and dull. For
the
first time, it seems to me,
I
want terribly to be alive...
The scene dissolves to the Roman Senate. A shouting mob of Romans covers the steps of the Senate, and spills down into the Forum, crying out for war against Egypt. At the bottom of the Senate steps are groups of litters. In one of them, Sosigenes waits patiently. From out of the crowd surrounding the litters, comes a hooded Archesilaus, the sculptor. He moves close to Sosigenes and removes part of his hood. He is wet with fear...
SOSIGENES
There
is no one more stubborn
than
a Roman Greek - except perhaps
an
Egyptian Greek...
ARCHESILAUS
My
learned friend, once more I
beg
of you. The crowd is beyond
reason,
believe me -
(lower)
-
and so is Octavian. If he
would
not see you at his home -
SOSIGENES
He
bid me wait for him outside
the
Senate House...
ARCHESILAUS
And
for more than two weeks he has
passed
you by every day -
SOSIGENES
He
knows I am here. If I should
wait
each day for two more years,
and
he pass me by each day for
two
more years - at least for
that
time there will be no war...
(he
smiles)
...but
there is no need for you
to
wait with me that long. Nor
even
any longer. Thank you for
your
help...
ARCHESILAUS
It's
just that - violence - and
mobs
frighten me...
SOSIGENES
(nods)
As
the center of the earth is
raging
fire - so the center of
man
is anger, covered by a
thin
crust of humanity.
He leans back on his cushioned seat. Archesilaus hesitates, then goes and is lost in the crowd. The scene switches to the interior of the Senate. The great nose from the mob outside, the pounding on the doors, can be heard. Octavian, standing in the corridor leading to the Senate entrance, speaks as he makes his way to his chair.
OCTAVIAN
Hear
them, Noble Fathers! They
are
less patient than you, their
patience
has come to an end - the
Roman
people now cry out - 'enough'!
We
can wait no longer while Egypt
plots
our destruction! Enough!
Cleopatra's
fleet, launched by
her
decision, has sailed for
Greece
- scores of Egyptian
ships,
packed with Roman legions
bribed
and seduced into treason
against
Rome! Just as Antony
was
drugged and deluded - by
whatever
poisons and powers this
witch
can call upon - into
surrendering
Roman territories,
nullifying
Roman laws, desecrating
the
memory of our Divine Caesar
and
the honor of Mark Antony
himself
- as well as that of
Octavia,
my sister.
(he
pauses before the
golden
spear or war,
in
its place)
The
golden spear of war. The people
of
Rome have caused it to be brought
here
- by their Tribunes - from the
Temple
of Mars, and placed before us.
They
ask that, by the will and
command
of the Senate, I carry it
out
to them. As a sign that Rome
is
at war with Egypt.
He pauses. There is complete silence from the Senators. Agrippa is obviously under orders to keep quiet. Germanicus and those about him watch apprehensively. Octavian smiles grimly...
OCTAVIAN
These
walls must not believe their
ears,
to hear such silence. From
the
right - from the left. The
call
of the Roman people can be
clearly
heard: yet the Roman
senate
has no answer...
(he
returns to his
chair)
Shall
we, then, just sit - and
listen..?
He sits calmly. A pause. A Senator rises, somberly - from the right - one of Octavian's supporters...
SENATOR
There
is not one of us, August
Caesar,
who would not willingly
make
war upon Cleopatra. But how?
Without
also making war upon Mark
Antony
- loved by Rome, and loving
Rome..?
Octavian nods, as if in agreement...
OCTAVIAN
Love
by Rome. And loving Rome...
Swiftly, he draws from his toga an ornamental scroll...
OCTAVIAN
I
have here - the last will and
testament
of this Antony who so
loves
Rome...
A murmur spreads among the Senators, as they react and comment to each other. Germanicus rises slowly to his feet...
GERMANICUS
Antony's
will and testament - was
it
not entrusted to the safekeeping
of
the Vestal Virgins? Then to
have
it, you must have taken it
by
force from the holy temple!
The shocked murmur increases among the Senators. Octavian nods...
OCTAVIAN
A
grievous sin for which I pray the
Gods
will forgive me, but which I
admit
freely. I, too, love Rome.
More,
perhaps, as you will see, than
even
Antony. For I have sinned in
the
name of Rome, whereas he -
He rises suddenly to his feet, dramatically unfurling the scroll. It unwinds on the Senate floor, stopping at the feet of Germanicus...
OCTAVIAN
Read
for yourselves how dearly
Antony
loves you, loves Rome! In
this,
his last will - under his
seal!
Only lately brought from
Egypt
and deposited in our Holy
Temple
- at Antony's request - by
the
distinguished Sosigenes. An
extraordinary
mission for an
extraordinary
man - so wise, so
close
to Cleopatra, so trusted by
her.
He
has come - he says in
gentle
tones - to plead for peace,
for
understanding, for time! His
pockets
sagging with Egyptian gold
to
bribe and corrupt and degrade
even
more the glory and honor of
Rome!
(he
yells at Germanicus)
Read
in Antony's will! At the
end!
Commit to memory the last
request
of your beloved Antony -
it
bears witness to his love for
Rome!
Germanicus picks up the will and starts to read the end of the scroll. Octavian continues to the other...
OCTAVIAN
When
he is dead, it says - after
Mark
Antony has died - it is his
wish
that he be buried in - his
beloved
Alexandria!
(a
sensation - the
Senate
to its feet,
expressions
of disbelief
and
shock...)
Can
such treason be charged to any
Roman
in recorded history? When
was
there a Roman who fell for Rome
on
whatever foreign battlefield but
that
his dying prayer was for some
part
of him to be returned to Roman
soil?
But Mark Antony - so beloved
by
his legions and loving them, so
beloved
by Rome and loving Rome -
where
would he lie for all of
eternity?
In Egypt, among
Egyptians,
beside his Egyptian
whore!
(to
Germanicus)
Is
what I say the truth? Do I
speak
the truth!
Slowly, lifelessly, Germanicus nods. He lets the scroll slip from his fingers and sinks to his seat. The rumble in the Senate becomes an angry one...
OCTAVIAN
And
still, my countrymen, I do not
put
the blame upon Antony - for this
request
is not his but Cleopatra's!
Not
Antony's last testament - but
Cleopatra's
ultimate humiliation
of
him and of us! Will you now
command
me to take up this golden
spear
- ? Will you now direct me,
according
to our custom, to hurl
it
toward our enemy to the death -
not
Antony of rome, but Cleopatra
of
Egypt!
AGRIPPA
(a
sudden, savage
shout)
War!
The shout is taken up. Octavian grabs the golden spear of war and leads the Senators outside to the top of the steps of the Senate. Before the Roman people, he asks them to show him, "... where is the enemy. Where is Egypt?" As the people point in the direction of Egypt, Sosigenes leaves his litter and approaches Octavian for one last attempt to speak. Octavian, seeing Sosigenes, speaks over the crowd and screams, "No! No! There! There is Egypt!" He hurls the spear at Sosigenes, striking him. Sosigenes dies at the foot of the Senate steps. The scene dissolves to Actium, in Greece.