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FAMOUS AFFINITIES OF HISTORY
THE ROMANCE OF DEVOTION
BY
LYNDON ORR
VOLUME I OF IV.
CONTENTS
THE STORY OF ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA ABELARD AND HELOISE QUEEN ELIZABETH AND THE EARL OF LEICESTER MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS AND LORD BOTHWELL QUEEN CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN AND THE MARQUIS MONALDESCHI KING CHARLES II. AND NELL GWYN MAURICE OF SAXONY AND ADRIENNE LECOUVREUR THE STORY OF PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD STUART
THE STORY OF ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Of all love stories that are known to human history, the love story ofAntony and Cleopatra has been for nineteen centuries the mostremarkable. It has tasked the resources of the plastic and the graphicarts. It has been made the theme of poets and of prose narrators. Ithas appeared and reappeared in a thousand forms, and it appeals as muchto the imagination to-day as it did when Antony deserted his almostvictorious troops and hastened in a swift galley from Actium in pursuitof Cleopatra.
The wonder of the story is explained by its extraordinary nature. Manymen in private life have lost fortune and fame for the love of woman.Kings have incurred the odium of their people, and have cared nothingfor it in comparison with the joys of sense that come from thelingering caresses and clinging kisses. Cold-blooded statesmen, such asParnell, have lost the leadership of their party and have gone down inhistory with a clouded name because of the fascination exercised uponthem by some woman, often far from beautiful, and yet possessing themysterious power which makes the triumphs of statesmanship seem slightin comparison with the swiftly flying hours of pleasure.
But in the case of Antony and Cleopatra alone do we find a man flingingaway not merely the triumphs of civic honors or the headship of astate, but much more than these--the mastery of what was practicallythe world--in answer to the promptings of a woman's will. Hence thestory of the Roman triumvir and the Egyptian queen is not like anyother story that has yet been told. The sacrifice involved in it was sooverwhelming, so instantaneous, and so complete as to set thisnarrative above all others. Shakespeare's genius has touched it withthe glory of a great imagination. Dryden, using it in the finest of hisplays, expressed its nature in the title "All for Love."
The distinguished Italian historian, Signor Ferrero, the author of manybooks, has tried hard to eliminate nearly all the romantic elementsfrom the tale, and to have us see in it not the triumph of love, butthe blindness of ambition. Under his handling it becomes almost asordid drama of man's pursuit of power and of woman's selfishness. Letus review the story as it remains, even after we have taken fullaccount of Ferrero's criticism. Has the world for nineteen hundredyears been blinded by a show of sentiment? Has it so absolutely beenmisled by those who lived and wrote in the days which followed closelyon the events that make up this extraordinary narrative?
In answering these questions we must consider, in the first place, thescene, and, in the second place, the psychology of the two centralcharacters who for so long a time have been regarded as the veryembodiment of unchecked passion.
As to the scene, it must be remembered that the Egypt of those days wasnot Egyptian as we understand the word, but rather Greek. Cleopatraherself was of Greek descent. The kingdom of Egypt had been created bya general of Alexander the Great after that splendid warrior's death.Its capital, the most brilliant city of the Greco-Roman world, had beenfounded by Alexander himself, who gave to it his name. With his ownhands he traced out the limits of the city and issued the mostperemptory orders that it should be made the metropolis of the entireworld. The orders of a king cannot give enduring greatness to a city;but Alexander's keen eye and marvelous brain saw at once that the siteof Alexandria was such that a great commercial community planted therewould live and flourish throughout out succeeding ages. He was right;for within a century this new capital of Egypt leaped to the forefrontamong the exchanges of the world's commerce, while everything that artcould do was lavished on its embellishment.
Alexandria lay upon a projecting tongue of land so situated that thewhole trade of the Mediterranean centered there. Down the Nile therefloated to its gates the barbaric wealth of Africa. To it came thetreasures of the East, brought from afar by caravans--silks from China,spices and pearls from India, and enormous masses of gold and silverfrom lands scarcely known. In its harbor were the vessels of everycountry, from Asia in the East to Spain and Gaul and even Britain inthe West.
When Cleopatra, a young girl of seventeen, succeeded to the throne ofEgypt the population of Alexandria amounted to a million souls. Thecustoms duties collected at the port would, in terms of modern money,amount each year to more than thirty million dollars, even though theimposts were not heavy. The people, who may be described as Greek atthe top and Oriental at the bottom, were boisterous andpleasure-loving, devoted to splendid spectacles, with horse-racing,gambling, and dissipation yet at the same time they were an artisticpeople, loving music passionately, and by no means idle, since one partof the city was devoted to large and prosperous manufactories of linen,paper, glass, and muslin.
To the outward eye Alexandria was extremely beautiful. Through itsentire length ran two great boulevards, shaded and diversified bymighty trees and parterres of multicolored flowers, amid whichfountains plashed and costly marbles gleamed. One-fifth of the wholecity was known as the Royal Residence. In it were the palaces of thereigning family, the great museum, and the famous library which theArabs later burned. There were parks and gardens brilliant withtropical foliage and adorned with the masterpieces of Greciansculpture, while sphinxes and obelisks gave a suggestion of Orientalstrangeness. As one looked seaward his eye beheld over the blue waterthe snow-white rocks of the sheltering island, Pharos, on which wasreared a lighthouse four hundred feet in height and justly numberedamong the seven wonders of the world. Altogether, Alexandria was a cityof wealth, of beauty, of stirring life, of excitement, and of pleasure.Ferrero has aptly likened it to Paris--not so much the Paris of to-dayas the Paris of forty years ago, when the Second Empire flourished inall its splendor as the home of joy and strange delights.
Over the country of which Alexandria was the capital Cleopatra came toreign at seventeen. Following the odd custom which the Greek dynasty ofthe Ptolemies had inherited from their Egyptian predecessors, she wasbetrothed to her own brother. He, however, was a mere child of lessthan twelve, and was under the control of evil counselors, who, in hisname, gained control of the capital and drove Cleopatra into exile.Until then she had been a mere girl; but now the spirit of a woman whowas wronged blazed up in her and called out all her latent powers.Hastening to Syria, she gathered about herself an army and led itagainst her foes.
But meanwhile Julius Caesar, the greatest man of ancient times, hadarrived at Alexandria backed by an army of his veterans. Against him noresistance would avail. Then came a brief moment during which theEgyptian king and the Egyptian queen each strove to win the favor ofthe Roman imperator. The king and his advisers had many arts, and sohad Cleopatra. One thing, however, she possessed which struck thebalance in her favor, and this was a woman's fascination.
According to the story, Caesar was unwilling to receive her. There cameinto his presence, as he sat in the palace, a group of slaves bearing along roll of matting, bound carefully and seeming to contain someprecious work of art. The slaves made signs that they were bearing agift to Caesar. The master of Egypt bade them unwrap the gift that hemight see it. They did so, and out of the wrapping came Cleopatra--aradiant vision, appealing, irresistibl
e. Next morning it became knowneverywhere that Cleopatra had remained in Caesar's quarters through thenight and that her enemies were now his enemies. In desperation theyrushed upon his legions, casting aside all pretense of amity. Thereensued a fierce contest, but the revolt was quenched in blood.
This was a crucial moment in Cleopatra's life. She had sacrificed allthat a woman has to give; but she had not done so from any love ofpleasure or from wantonness. She was queen of Egypt, and she hadredeemed her kingdom and kept it by her sacrifice. One should notcondemn her too severely. In a sense, her act was one of heroism likethat of Judith in the tent of Holofernes. But beyond all question itchanged her character. It taught her the secret of her own great power.Henceforth she was no longer a mere girl, nor a woman of the ordinarytype. Her contact with so great a mind as Caesar's quickened herintellect. Her knowledge that, by the charms of sense, she had masteredeven him transformed her into a strange and wonderful creature. Shelearned to study the weaknesses of men, to play on their emotions, toappeal to every subtle taste and fancy. In her were blended mentalpower and that illusive, indefinable gift which is called charm.
For Cleopatra was never beautiful. Signor Ferrero seems to think thisfact to be discovery of his own, but it was set down by Plutarch in avery striking passage written less than a century after Cleopatra andAntony died. We may quote here what the Greek historian said of her:
Her actual beauty was far from being so remarkable that none could becompared with her, nor was it such that it would strike your fancy whenyou saw her first. Yet the influence of her presence, if you lingerednear her, was irresistible. Her attractive personality, joined with thecharm of her conversation, and the individual touch that she gave toeverything she said or did, were utterly bewitching. It was delightfulmerely to hear the music of her voice, with which, like an instrumentof many strings, she could pass from one language to another.
Caesar had left Cleopatra firmly seated on the throne of Egypt. For sixyears she reigned with great intelligence, keeping order in herdominions, and patronizing with discrimination both arts and letters.But ere long the convulsions of the Roman state once more caused herextreme anxiety. Caesar had been assassinated, and there ensued aperiod of civil war. Out of it emerged two striking figures which wereabsolutely contrasted in their character. One was Octavian, the adoptedson of Caesar, a man who, though still quite young and possessed ofgreat ability, was cunning, cold-blooded, and deceitful. The other wasAntony, a soldier by training, and with all a soldier's bluntness,courage, and lawlessness.
The Roman world was divided for the time between these two men, Antonyreceiving the government of the East, Octavian that of the West. In theyear which had preceded this division Cleopatra had wavered between thetwo opposite factions at Rome. In so doing she had excited thesuspicion of Antony, and he now demanded of her an explanation.
One must have some conception of Antony himself in order to understandthe events that followed. He was essentially a soldier, of excellentfamily, being related to Caesar himself. As a very young man he wasexceedingly handsome, and bad companions led him into the pursuit ofvicious pleasure. He had scarcely come of age when he found that heowed the enormous sum of two hundred and fifty talents, equivalent tohalf a million dollars in the money of to-day. But he was much morethan a mere man of pleasure, given over to drinking and to dissipation.Men might tell of his escapades, as when he drove about the streets ofRome in a common cab, dangling his legs out of the window while heshouted forth drunken songs of revelry. This was not the whole ofAntony. Joining the Roman army in Syria, he showed himself to be asoldier of great personal bravery, a clever strategist, and also humaneand merciful in the hour of victory.
Unlike most Romans, Antony wore a full beard. His forehead was large,and his nose was of the distinctive Roman type. His look was so boldand masculine that people likened him to Hercules. His democraticmanners endeared him to the army. He wore a plain tunic covered with alarge, coarse mantle, and carried a huge sword at his side, despisingostentation. Even his faults and follies added to his popularity. Hewould sit down at the common soldiers' mess and drink with them,telling them stories and clapping them on the back. He spent money likewater, quickly recognizing any daring deed which his legionariesperformed. In this respect he was like Napoleon and, like Napoleon, hehad a vein of florid eloquence which was criticized by literary men,but which went straight to the heart of the private soldier. In a word,he was a powerful, virile, passionate, able man, rough, as were nearlyall his countrymen, but strong and true.
It was to this general that Cleopatra was to answer, and with a firmreliance on the charms which had subdued Antony's great commander,Caesar, she set out in person for Cilicia, in Asia Minor, sailing upthe river Cydnus to the place where Antony was encamped with his army.Making all allowance for the exaggeration of historians, there can beno doubt that she appeared to him like some dreamy vision. Her bargewas gilded, and was wafted on its way by swelling sails of Tyrianpurple. The oars which smote the water were of shining silver. As shedrew near the Roman general's camp the languorous music of flutes andharps breathed forth a strain of invitation.
Cleopatra herself lay upon a divan set upon the deck of the bargebeneath a canopy of woven gold. She was dressed to resemble Venus,while girls about her personated nymphs and Graces. Delicate perfumesdiffused themselves from the vessel; and at last, as she drew near theshore, all the people for miles about were gathered there, leavingAntony to sit alone in the tribunal where he was dispensing justice.
Word was brought to him that Venus had come to feast with Bacchus.Antony, though still suspicious of Cleopatra, sent her an invitation todine with him in state. With graceful tact she sent him acounter-invitation, and he came. The magnificence of his receptiondazzled the man who had so long known only a soldier's fare, or at mostthe crude entertainments which he had enjoyed in Rome. A marvelousdisplay of lights was made. Thousands upon thousands of candles shonebrilliantly, arranged in squares and circles; while the banquet itselfwas one that symbolized the studied luxury of the East.
At this time Cleopatra was twenty-seven years of age--a period of lifewhich modern physiologists have called the crisis in a woman's growth.She had never really loved before, since she had given herself toCaesar, not because she cared for him, but to save her kingdom. She nowcame into the presence of one whose manly beauty and strong passionswere matched by her own subtlety and appealing charm.
When Antony addressed her he felt himself a rustic in her presence.Almost resentful, he betook himself to the coarse language of the camp.Cleopatra, with marvelous adaptability, took her tone from his, andthus in a moment put him at his ease. Ferrero, who takes a mostunfavorable view of her character and personality, neverthelessexplains the secret of her fascination:
Herself utterly cold and callous, insensitive by nature to the flame oftrue devotion, Cleopatra was one of those women gifted with an unerringinstinct for all the various roads to men's affections. She could bethe shrinking, modest girl, too shy to reveal her half-unconsciousemotions of jealousy and depression and self-abandonment, or a womancarried away by the sweep of a fiery and uncontrollable passion. Shecould tickle the esthetic sensibilities of her victims by rich andgorgeous festivals, by the fantastic adornment of her own person andher palace, or by brilliant discussions on literature and art; shecould conjure up all their grossest instincts with the vilestobscenities of conversation, with the free and easy jocularity of awoman of the camps.
These last words are far too strong, and they represent only Ferrero'spersonal opinion yet there is no doubt that she met every mood ofAntony's so that he became enthralled with her at once. No such womanas this had ever cast her eyes on him before. He had a wife at home--amost disreputable wife--so that he cared little for domestic ties.Later, out of policy, he made another marriage with the sister of hisrival, Octavian, but this wife he never cared for. His heart and soulwere given up to Cleopatra, the woman who could be a comrade in thecamp and a fount of tenderness in their hour
s of dalliance, and whopossessed the keen intellect of a man joined to the arts andfascinations of a woman.
On her side she found in Antony an ardent lover, a man of vigorousmasculinity, and, moreover, a soldier whose armies might well sustainher on the throne of Egypt. That there was calculation mingled with herlove, no one can doubt. That some calculation also entered intoAntony's affection is likewise certain. Yet this does not affect thetruth that each was wholly given to the other. Why should it havelessened her love for him to feel that he could protect her and defendher? Why should it have lessened his love for her to know that she wasqueen of the richest country in the world--one that could supply hisneeds, sustain his armies, and gild his triumphs with magnificence?
There are many instances in history of regnant queens who loved and yetwhose love was not dissociated from the policy of state. Such were Anneof Austria, Elizabeth of England, and the unfortunate Mary Stuart.Such, too, we cannot fail to think, was Cleopatra.
The two remained together for ten years. In this time Antony wasseparated from her only during a campaign in the East. In Alexandria heceased to seem a Roman citizen and gave himself up wholly to the charmsof this enticing woman. Many stories are told of their good fellowshipand close intimacy. Plutarch quotes Plato as saying that there are fourkinds of flattery, but he adds that Cleopatra had a thousand. She wasthe supreme mistress of the art of pleasing.
Whether Antony were serious or mirthful, she had at the instant somenew delight or some new charm to meet his wishes. At every turn she waswith him both day and night. With him she threw dice; with him shedrank; with him she hunted; and when he exercised himself in arms shewas there to admire and applaud.
At night the pair would disguise themselves as servants and wanderabout the streets of Alexandria. In fact, more than once they were setupon in the slums and treated roughly by the rabble who did notrecognize them. Cleopatra was always alluring, always tactful, oftenhumorous, and full of frolic.
Then came the shock of Antony's final breach with Octavian. EitherAntony or his rival must rule the world. Cleopatra's lover once morebecame the Roman general, and with a great fleet proceeded to the coastof Greece, where his enemy was encamped. Antony had raised a hundredand twelve thousand troops and five hundred ships--a force far superiorto that commanded by Octavian. Cleopatra was there with sixty ships.
In the days that preceded the final battle much took place which stillremains obscure. It seems likely that Antony desired to become againthe Roman, while Cleopatra wished him to thrust Rome aside and returnto Egypt with her, to reign there as an independent king. To her Romewas almost a barbarian city. In it she could not hold sway as she couldin her beautiful Alexandria, with its blue skies and velvet turf andtropical flowers. At Rome Antony would be distracted by the cares ofstate, and she would lose her lover. At Alexandria she would have himfor her very own.
The clash came when the hostile fleets met off the promontory ofActium. At its crisis Cleopatra, prematurely concluding that the battlewas lost, of a sudden gave the signal for retreat and put out to seawith her fleet. This was the crucial moment. Antony, mastered by hislove, forgot all else, and in a swift ship started in pursuit of her,abandoning his fleet and army to win or lose as fortune might decide.For him the world was nothing; the dark-browed Queen of Egypt,imperious and yet caressing, was everything. Never was such a prize andnever were such great hopes thrown carelessly away. After waiting sevendays Antony's troops, still undefeated, finding that their commanderwould not return to them, surrendered to Octavian, who thus became themaster of an empire.
Later his legions assaulted Alexandria, and there Antony was twicedefeated. At last Cleopatra saw her great mistake. She had made herlover give up the hope of being Rome's dictator, but in so doing shehad also lost the chance of ruling with him tranquilly in Egypt. Sheshut herself behind the barred doors of the royal sepulcher; and, lestshe should be molested there, she sent forth word that she had died.Her proud spirit could not brook the thought that she might be seizedand carried as a prisoner to Rome. She was too much a queen in soul tobe led in triumph up the Sacred Way to the Capitol with golden chainsclanking on her slender wrists.
Antony, believing the report that she was dead, fell upon his sword;but in his dying moments he was carried into the presence of the womanfor whom he had given all. With her arms about him, his spirit passedaway; and soon after she, too, met death, whether by a poisoned draughtor by the storied asp no one can say.
Cleopatra had lived the mistress of a splendid kingdom. She hadsuccessively captivated two of the greatest men whom Rome had everseen. She died, like a queen, to escape disgrace. Whatever moderncritics may have to say concerning small details, this story stillremains the strangest love story of which the world has any record.