Flourish. Enter Agrippa, Caesar, with Enobarbus and Dolabella
CAESAR Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight.
Our will is Antony be took alive.
Make it so known.
AGRIPPA Caesar, I shall.
[Exit]
CAESAR The time of universal peace is near.
Prove this a prosp’rous day, the three-nooked world
Shall bear the olive freely.
Enter a Messenger
MESSENGER Antony
Is come into the field.
CAESAR Go charge Agrippa
Plant those that have revolted in the van,
That Antony may seem to spend his fury
Upon himself.
Exeunt [Messenger at one door, Caesar and Dolabella at another] (4.6.1-10)
Battle time, or almost: cut to Caesar, giving orders as ever—and yes, Enobarbus is there. Go forth, Agrippa, and begin the fight. It’s time; let’s get this started, and finished. Is Caesar even going to fight himself, or is this all going to be conducted by remote control? Our will is Antony be took alive—this isn’t merciful, it’s calculation, as is always the case with Caesar: he wants to humiliate Antony, and to lead him in triumph through Rome before executing him. Make it so known, he says, take him alive: that’s my order and I expect everyone to follow it. Agrippa is obedient as ever: Caesar, I shall. And he’s off to launch the first wave of missiles.
Caesar can be statesmanlike now, and this is the clip that he’s intending is going to lead on the evening news; he puts his serious, trustworthy, magnanimous leader face on, and looks into the camera: the time of universal peace is near. This is the final battle; after this, the war is over, and peace will reign! (He’s invoking prophecies, the pax Romana, anticipating his future identity as Augustus. He will win this battle not simply because of politics, but because of fate, because it is divinely ordained and part of the divine plan.) Prove this a prosp’rous day, the three-nooked world shall bear the olive freely. If all goes well, if we prosper and come out on top, then the three-nooked world (he imagines it as divided by rivers in ancient geography, a ‘T and O’ map, into Africa, Europe, and Asia) will all be at peace. Peace shall break out everywhere!
Unfortunately Caesar’s little oration is interrupted with news (always the case in this play): Antony is come into the field. He’s already there, ready to give battle. Further orders for Agrippa, therefore: go charge Agrippa plant those that have revolted in the van, that Antony may seem to spend his fury upon himself. Not quite so statesmanlike, but rather calculatingly cruel: the order is that those who have formerly fought on Antony’s side, and who have now deserted to Caesar, are to be put in the front lines, so that Antony is both confronted with those who have all too recently abandoned him, and immediately put in the position where he must try to kill them. And also, Caesar really doesn’t like traitors, even if they’re now on his side. They’re expendable.