Tony and Cleop Act Two Scene Seven Sub-Scene One

 Act Two

Scene Seven

Sub-Scene One

The sense of loyalty and honour

 

“They will eat in here, Paco. Some of them are unsteady on their feet already. The smallest breeze in the world would knock them over.” The servant, named Carlos, carried the tray with the dirty dishes.

“I can see the one named Lepidus is flushed. They made him drink extra rounds.” The second servant entered bearing more dirty dishes. “Hey, Paco, your cooking is an absolute gem.”

“Yea, Paco. Where did you learn to cook like that? You are not from the old country. You do not look like any Romans.” Carlos smiled at the cook who was in the oven.

“I am Puerto Rican, but I worked at the restaurant serving those dishes. Cooking is not difficult; you just need the passion for it.” Paco defended his origin,

“The one drunk, he cries, "No more quarrelling." That was when I ducked, and I heard they were the hitmen. They may shoot each other. He urges them to be friends and resigns himself to another drink.” Carlos laughed.

“The drinking makes him lose his judgment.” Paco sighed. “They are not eating my food well. Waste of time to cook it.”

“We are the nobodies. This is what comes from keeping company with great men. I'd rather have a small job that I had the power to carry out than an important position I was not appreciated for.” Paco added.

“To be given appreciation, you need to be like them'—a p person of important position or like us—not able to do anything with it. Like having empty sockets where your eyes should be, which deforms the face.” Carlos said.

“Well, buckle up.” The butler arrived. “There are dishes to be cleared there. And that old man puked on the floor. Clean it up now.”

"I would rather be deaf than blind.” Carlos sighed.

The feast was still on in the chamber. They were all there, literally in their physical form, except Agrippa; he may be seeing his wife dancing naked on the table.

“I am telling you that in Egypt, they do it differently.” Mark was drunk. He was explaining to the people standing there looking at him. “This is what they do, sir. They measure the depth of the Nile by certain markings on the barge. They know how low it goes by measuring how high it goes, and they know by the middle position whether they can sail on.”

“The Plimsol Line.” Pompey Jr was versed with the sea vessel.

“Whatever ……” Mark “There they are to measure the river. The higher the Nile floods, the more fertile the land will be. As it ebbs, the farmer goes out on the wet, slimy ground and scatters his seeds, and he soon has a harvest.”

“Wow!” Enobarbus moved his hips. “There goes my serpent.”

“You have strange serpents in Egypt?” Lepidus asked.

“Yes, Lepidus.” Mark replied. “The serpents in Egypt are bred out of mud by the working of the sun. So are the crocodiles. They are hidden until they are to strike. They are named Asps.”

“Sit down and have some wine.” Pompey Jr brought the bottle with him. They all sat and drank.

“I am not as well as I ought to be, but I'll never miss a round.” Agrippa smiled.

“Not till you fall asleep. I am afraid you will be in a drunken stupor when you meet your wife.” Enobarbus told Agrippa.

“How many wives do I have?” Agrippa was trying to think.

“Pompey Jr, let me have a word with you.” Menas tapped the other on the shoulder.

“Whisper it to me. What is it?” Pompey Jr was agitated that he was to be dragged aside. The conversation with the elderly was taxing onto him. He drank the wines to pass the moment.

“Get up; I ask you, boss, and listen to me for a moment.” Menas told the other, but Pompey Jr was too drunk to stand.

“Leave me alone for a while.” Pompey Jr said. He then turned to the others. “This wine is for Lepidus!”

“What kind of thing is a crocodile?” Lepidus asked. “Is it liking a lion?”

“It is shaped like a... crocodile, sir, and it is as long as its own length. It is just as tall as it is, and it moves by using its own body. It lives off what it eats, and when it dies, its soul moves on.” Mark said.

“She sounded like my mother.” Lepidus roared out. “What colour is it?”

“Colour? I do not know. I only saw the eyes.” Mark said.

“That is a strange creature.” Lepidus says.

“It is. And tears are wet.” Mark smiled. “It cries for its victim, I guess.”

Menas whispers to Pompey Jr again, but the latter is not keen to listen.

“Go to Hell, Menas. Do as I have told you.” Pompey Jr whispered back.

“Boss, if you will listen to me for the sake of your own greatness, get up from your seat.” Menas was insistent.

“I think you're crazy.” Pompey Jr gets up, but Menas has him walk to the side where the others cannot hear them.

“What is it?” Pompey asked.

“I have always done my best to help you.” Menas looked at his boss.

“Yes, you have served me faithfully. What else do you have to say?”

“Do you want to win? Be the ruler of the whole world.” Menas asked.

“How could that come about? Of course I do.”

“Boss, listen to what I have to say, and even though you think I am a poor man, I will be the person who gave you the whole world.”

“Are you drunk?” Pompey Jr asked. “I am.”

“No, Pompey, I have not hit my limit with the drinks tonight. You could, if you dared, be the King of the World if you wished. Including Rome.” Menas pressed on.

“Tell me how.” Pompey Jr staggered on his feet.

“Your competitors, the three men who govern Rome, are here. Let me cut the feast, and let me kill them. Then all the world will be yours.”

“Oh, you should have done this and not told me beforehand!” Pompey looked at Menas. “Now when I had agreed to the truce and the lands down south,”

“It would be villainous of me to do it. I cannot vouch for you; it would just have been the act of a good soldier, but you should know I am a man of honour. My words are sacrilege. nor for anything else, not for profit; rather, I give up profit for the sake of my honour.”

“You should regret that you ever mentioned this plan to me. If you had done it without my knowledge, I would have said afterwards that you had done well. My honour tells me otherwise. I must condemn the action. Put the thought of it aside, and drink.”

Pompey Jr returns to the feast.

“Honour? I beg you to stop being stupid. I will no longer follow you and hope for your success. Whoever seeks power and does not take it when it is offered will never find the opportunity again.” Menas excused himself, but he was pulled back.