ENOBARBUS  Alexas did revolt, and went to Jewry on

Affairs of Antony, there did persuade

Great Herod to incline himself to Caesar

And leave his master, Antony. For this pains,

Caesar hath hanged him. Canidius and the rest

That fell away have entertainment but

No honourable trust. I have done ill,

Of which I do accuse myself so sorely

That I will joy no more.        (4.6.11-19)

No one has spoken to Enobarbus, and for a moment he’s been left alone. His reading of his situation is grim, as he considers the fate of others who have, like him, deserted Antony and come over to Caesar. Alexas did revolt, he says (Alexas, familiar from the scenes of Alexandrian banter and levity, the benign butt of jokes!?) He went to Jewry, to the kingdom of Jerusalem on affairs of Antony, as his ambassador—but once there, he did persuade great Herod to incline himself to Caesar and leave his master, Antony. Rather than acting on Antony’s behalf, he took the opportunity to persuade King Herod to ally himself with Caesar, when previously he’d been on Antony’s side. For this pains, Caesar hath hanged him. Brutal, shocking. This remains a world in which the messengers get shot, even the ones with names, like Alexas. Caesar has no time for the disloyal, even if they are betraying others on his behalf. Canidius—Canidius, too—and the rest that fell away (so many, it seems, have deserted Antony)—they have entertainment, they’re tolerated, they’re on the payroll, fed and housed, but they have no honourable trust. Caesar’s not going to reward them, and he’s never going to give them the benefit of the doubt as honourable men; he’ll always regard them with suspicion, and treat them accordingly. (He’ll put them on the front lines of the battle, cannon fodder.) It’s a hard realisation for Enobarbus: Caesar is not like Antony, he is cold and ruthless and trusts no one; he is an autocrat, not first among equals. (The setting up of this stark contrast is one of the reasons for Antony’s warm, comradely interactions with servants and soldiers in the previous scenes.) I have done ill, Enobarbus says, I have made a terrible mistake, and committed a terrible wrong, of which I do accuse myself so sorely that I will joy no more. I’ve screwed up so badly, I hate myself so much for what I’ve done—there’s no coming back from this. I can’t see a way of ever being happy again. Enobarbus, saying this? the joker, the wingman, the drinker, the cynic, the soldier—now the glass isn’t even half empty, it’s shattered.