MAECENAS                            Caesar must think,

When one so great begins to rage, he’s hunted

Even to falling. Give him no breath, but now

Make boot of his distraction. Never anger

Made good guard for itself.              (4.1.6-10)

The loyal Maecenas picks up from Caesar with economy and efficiency; the sense is that Caesar runs not just a tight ship, but a well-oiled machine; everyone is on the same page and of the same mind. He’s not afraid here to speak for Caesar, but he does it formally, in the third person, and he’s simply articulating what they all know already. Caesar must think, it is self-evidently the case, that when one so great begins to rage—Antony! behaving so irrationally, so passionately, as if he’s gone mad—he’s hunted even to falling. He’s cornered and he knows it, he’s grasping at straws, flailing around; he’s like a stag at bay, on the point of collapse, on the point of being utterly overcome. We’ve got him. So, now, give him no breath. No breathing space at all; we’ve got to press home the advantage. Now make boot of his distraction: exploit his weakness, his loss of control, this apparent madness and folly (in sending a challenge). For never anger made good guard for itself. Antony’s not thinking straight; he’s so enraged he’ll be incapable of mounting a proper defence. We’ve got him. And of course there’s a contrast here between the cold, clinical, ruthless response of Caesar and his officers and Antony’s passion, his rage, his love, his warmth—unreasonable, yes, foolish, certainly, but far more compelling, far more attractive. It does interesting things to the scene’s dynamic if Octavia is silently present…