LEPIDUS                     Time calls upon’s.

Of us must Pompey presently be sought,

Or else he seeks out us.

ANTONY                     Where lies he?

CAESAR          About the Mount Misena.

ANTONY                     What is his strength

By land?

CAESAR          Great and increasing, but by sea

He is an absolute master.

ANTONY                     So is the fame.

Would we had spoke together. Haste we for it;

Yet ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we

The business we have talked of.

CAESAR                      With most gladness,

And do invite you to my sister’s view,

Whither straight I’ll lead you.

ANTONY                     Let us, Lepidus,

Not lack your company.

LEPIDUS                     Noble Antony,

Not sickness should detain me.

Flourish. Exit omnes. Manent Enobarbus, Agrippa, Maecenas

(2.2.159-171)

 

A functional little transition, at first glance, but packed with nuance and clever dramaturgy. Lepidus, who has been almost entirely sidelined, at least manages to move them on and remind them that matters are getting urgent: time calls upon’s. We need to get moving. Of us must Pompey presently be sought, or else he seeks out us. If we don’t get on with it right now, if we don’t go out and find him, chase him down, he’ll be after us, snapping at our heels, even here on the doorstep. Antony’s businesslike: what’s the sitrep? Where is Pompey at the moment, where lies he? And Caesar’s on top of the intel (his information-gathering networks, as has been seen, are excellent): Pompey’s in the Bay of Naples, about the Mount Misena. And what about his troops: what is his strength by land? Well, it’s great and increasing, but it’s by sea that he is an absolute master; he’s already superior to us in terms of naval power. Yeah I’d heard that, says Antony, so is the fame. (He too has been listening, gathering information.) Would we had spoke together! We here is slightly ambiguous, but it seems likely that Antony is expressing regret that it’s only now that he and Caesar are pooling their intelligence and their resources. So, haste we for it; we’d better get on with it, and fast. But, oh yes—and there can be a laugh here—ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we the business we have talked of. I’m going to marry your sister, aren’t I, so I guess we’d better get that fixed up too, before we head into battle? With most gladness (Caesar can claw back a little bit of status here, by being smooth and courteous)—and do invite you to my sister’s view, whither straight I’ll lead you. Come and meet my sister straight away (and in some productions, she can be right there waiting, outside the door). Caesar’s more formal—sticking to you rather than thee, thou—but the apparent newfound understanding between him and Antony is underlined by the number of shared lines here, which also gives considerable urgency to their exchange. Lepidus, however, remains an afterthought and a third wheel; Antony can get a laugh when he says—perhaps even already on his way out—let us, Lepidus, not lack your company. You might as well come along for the ride, nearly forgot you there for a moment. But Lepidus retains a bit of dignity with his courteous response (although it could also be delivered with a touch of sarcasm, or indeed total naivety): noble Antony, not sickness should detain me. Nothing could stop me coming with you, to see Octavia, to this wedding, or even to this battle.

 

And so the triumvirs head off, with a fanfare, leaving their entourage, Maecenas and Agrippa (who’ve been supporting Caesar) and Enobarbus, Antony’s wingman, perhaps visibly exhaling and relaxing now this tense little episode is apparently, and satisfactorily, resolved.