EROS                                       O, sir, pardon me!

ANTONY         When I did make thee free, swor’st thou not then

To do this when I bade thee? Do it at once,

Or thy precedent services are all

But accidents unpurposed. Draw, and come.

EROS   Turn from me then that noble countenance

Wherein the worship of the whole world lies.

ANTONY         [turning away] Lo thee!         (4.15.81-7)

O, sir, pardon me! Please don’t make me do this, pleads Eros, politely, as ever. But Antony’s adamant: when I did make thee free, swor’st thou not then to do this when I bade thee? A reminder of an oath, and an obligation: this was a condition, it seems, of Eros’s manumission, his freedom from slavery, or as good as, that he promise to kill Antony should that ever be required of him. An oath, yes, but also a kind of emotional blackmail, given Eros’s obvious loyalty and conscientiousness as a servant. Do it at once, continues Antony, right now, immediately, or else thy precedent services are all but accidents unpurposed. More emotional blackmail: if you don’t obey me on this occasion, then I’ll assume that all your previous service to me, all your apparent loyalty, was just a kind of accident, incidental, casual, rather than something properly considered and genuinely meant. You’ll ruin everything, retrospectively. So draw, and come. Get on with it. Eros seems to acquiesce, but with a condition: turn from me then that noble countenance wherein the worship of the whole world lies. I can’t bear to look at you as I do this, at your majesty, your honour which commanded the loyalty and the service of the whole world, or at least half an empire; you’ve been a god to me, and to them. Please turn your face from me. Antony sees the logic of that, and in any case just wants it done, wants it over: lo thee! OK, yes, behold. I’ve turned away. Now do it.