Famous Affinities of History | Page 3

name, gained control of the capital and drove
Cleopatra into exile. Until then she had been a mere girl; but now the
spirit of a woman who was wronged blazed up in her and called out all
her latent powers. Hastening to Syria, she gathered about herself an
army and led it against her foes.
But meanwhile Julius Caesar, the greatest man of ancient times, had
arrived at Alexandria backed by an army of his veterans. Against him
no resistance would avail. Then came a brief moment during which the
Egyptian king and the Egyptian queen each strove to win the favor of
the Roman imperator. The king and his advisers had many arts, and so
had Cleopatra. One thing, however, she possessed which struck the
balance in her favor, and this was a woman's fascination.
According to the story, Caesar was unwilling to receive her. There
came into his presence, as he sat in the palace, a group of slaves

bearing a long roll of matting, bound carefully and seeming to contain
some precious work of art. The slaves made signs that they were
bearing a gift to Caesar. The master of Egypt bade them unwrap the gift
that he might see it. They did so, and out of the wrapping came
Cleopatra--a radiant vision, appealing, irresistible. Next morning it
became known everywhere that Cleopatra had remained in Caesar's
quarters through the night and that her enemies were now his enemies.
In desperation they rushed upon his legions, casting aside all pretense
of amity. There ensued a fierce contest, but the revolt was quenched in
blood.
This was a crucial moment in Cleopatra's life. She had sacrificed all
that a woman has to give; but she had not done so from any love of
pleasure or from wantonness. She was queen of Egypt, and she had
redeemed her kingdom and kept it by her sacrifice. One should not
condemn her too severely. In a sense, her act was one of heroism like
that of Judith in the tent of Holofernes. But beyond all question it
changed her character. It taught her the secret of her own great power.
Henceforth she was no longer a mere girl, nor a woman of the ordinary
type. Her contact with so great a mind as Caesar's quickened her
intellect. Her knowledge that, by the charms of sense, she had mastered
even him transformed her into a strange and wonderful creature. She
learned to study the weaknesses of men, to play on their emotions, to
appeal to every subtle taste and fancy. In her were blended mental
power and that illusive, indefinable gift which is called charm.
For Cleopatra was never beautiful. Signor Ferrero seems to think this
fact to be discovery of his own, but it was set down by Plutarch in a
very striking passage written less than a century after Cleopatra and
Antony died. We may quote here what the Greek historian said of her:
Her actual beauty was far from being so remarkable that none could be
compared with her, nor was it such that it would strike your fancy when
you saw her first. Yet the influence of her presence, if you lingered near
her, was irresistible. Her attractive personality, joined with the charm of
her conversation, and the individual touch that she gave to everything
she said or did, were utterly bewitching. It was delightful merely to

hear the music of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many
strings, she could pass from one language to another.
Caesar had left Cleopatra firmly seated on the throne of Egypt. For six
years she reigned with great intelligence, keeping order in her
dominions, and patronizing with discrimination both arts and letters.
But ere long the convulsions of the Roman state once more caused her
extreme anxiety. Caesar had been assassinated, and there ensued a
period of civil war. Out of it emerged two striking figures which were
absolutely contrasted in their character. One was Octavian, the adopted
son of Caesar, a man who, though still quite young and possessed of
great ability, was cunning, cold- blooded, and deceitful. The other was
Antony, a soldier by training, and with all a soldier's bluntness, courage,
and lawlessness.
The Roman world was divided for the time between these two men,
Antony receiving the government of the East, Octavian that of the West.
In the year which had preceded this division Cleopatra had wavered
between the two opposite factions at Rome. In so doing she had excited
the suspicion of Antony, and he now demanded of her an explanation.
One must have some conception of Antony himself in order to
understand the events that followed. He was essentially a soldier, of
excellent family, being related to Caesar himself. As a very young man
he