Cleopatra Page #5

that I haven't seen?

Egypt itself. The reason for Egypt.

My responsibility is Rome.

Alexander understood it...

...that from Egypt

he could rule the world.

He was very young.

And you, even younger.

At your age, such dreams have a

reality which grows less in time.

Caesar no longer dreams?

Dangerous to a man of my calling.

Necessary, I would have thought.

I can't stay away from Rome too long.

There are problems.

Messages from Marc Antony

endlessly demanding my return.

And on my way back, wars

to be fought in the east and north.

Even in Rome itself

I'm not without opposition.

Do to them

what you did to Achillas.

This is opposition

of a different sort.

They weave it cleverly, lightly,

like a cobweb.

You know what happens when cobwebs

are not regularly swept away.

Do you trust this Marc Antony?

If anyone in the world,

I trust Antony.

Let him brush away the cobwebs

for you and stay with me.

You've been declared

dictator for a year.

You can do what you want

with your time.

Everything but make it stand still.

If... When you return to Rome...

...these wars that have to be fought

on the way, are they important?

Well, there's no such thing

as an unimportant war.

I've been reading in your commentaries

about your campaigns in Gaul.

How does my writing

compare with Catullus?

Well, it's different.

Dull.

Perhaps a little

too much description.

You're being tactful.

Some of my critics, Brutus, for one...

...tell me my Latin is not only

ungrammatical, but common.

You spared his life more than once.

People say it's because

Brutus is your son.

Is that true?

I have no son.

- Calpurnia, your third wife...

- Fourth.

...married to you how long?

12 years?

And still, Caesar has no son,

no child at all.

It is well-known that

Calpurnia is barren.

A woman who cannot bear children...

...is like a river that is dry.

I see no purpose in discussing

the subject further.

A woman, too, must make

the barren land fruitful.

She must make life grow

where there was no life.

Just as the Mother Nile feeds

and replenishes the earth.

I am the Nile.

I will bear many sons.

Isis has told me.

My breasts are filled

with love and life.

My hips are rounded

and well apart.

Such women, they say...

...have sons.

That first time

when you stood here alone...

...why did you cry?

Will you tell me now?

Because I had lost something.

- What?

- A lifetime.

- Mine.

- Nonsense.

Having conquered the world,

he died at 32.

I am 52.

My remaining ambition is to keep

the world from conquering me.

Your ambitions

must always have been his.

They still must be.

Shall I tell you something?

When I was 32 in Spain...

...I came upon a statue of Alexander.

I wept then too.

Even then.

I want you to have his sword

to take back with you.

- Too deeply embedded.

- It can be removed.

It's buried in time.

- And Alexander's mantle?

- Too heavy for Caesar.

His dream then.

Make his dream yours, Caesar.

His grand design.

Pick it up where he left off.

Out of the patchwork of conquests...

...one world.

And out of one world, one nation.

One people on earth living in peace.

So you have told me at last

what it is you want of me.

Of us!

At the center, the capital of this

world, one people, one nation...

...Alexandria?

- He chose it.

- I am Roman.

He was Greek! What will it matter

when we're all one people?

I am 52. He was 32 and failed.

We will succeed.

Your dreams, your ambitions.

One lifetime is not enough

for such dreams, such ambitions.

The cloak of Alexander

cannot be too heavy...

...for Rome and Egypt

to carry together.

And what if his sword

is too deeply embedded?

Yours will replace it, Caesar.

You have a way of mixing

politics and passion.

Where does one begin

and the other leave off?

That did not start,

nor will it end with me.

Cleopatra, whatever it is,

however it comes out...

...leave me my destiny.

Your destiny

is no longer just yours.

It's mine too.

Soon, there will be someone to

carry both the cloak of Alexander...

...and the sword of Caesar...

...and the name of Caesar.

And in that name he will rule Egypt.

And whatever part or all

of the world that we give him...

...our child...

...will be a son for you, Caesar.

By Isis, I swear it.

Could you put off

your return to Rome...

...just long enough?

I came as quickly as I could.

Antony is welcome to Caesar's house

as often and as quickly as he likes.

As Caesar's wife, before truth

is distorted into vicious gossip...

...I wanted you to hear...

- That my husband has married Cleopatra.

There's some fresh wine.

One of your many favorites.

The ceremony, according to vicious

gossip, was in the Egyptian religion.

Even if true, that can't be

taken seriously.

During which he was formally

declared an Egyptian god.

Officially divine, at last.

That must have pleased Caesar.

Calpurnia, we know Caesar, you and I.

This so-called marriage

has no validity under Roman law.

There must be political purpose.

Perhaps a symbolic ceremony

to ratify our bond with Egypt.

Perhaps merely

indulging some barbaric custom.

You've been loyal and kind.

You came as quickly

as you could.

Unhappily, vicious gossip

travels even faster than you...

...and the truth.

Have you heard, for instance, that

Cleopatra is carrying Caesar's child?

Yes, Antony.

We know him...

...you and I.

There shall be...

There shall be...

...Rome.

Mighty and alone and unloved.

A mistress.

A mistress shall raise thee again

from earth to heaven...

...and all the world shall know

a golden age of justice and of love.

A son shall be born to Isis!

A son shall be born to Isis!

Rome shall know him in cloth of gold.

The East shall see him laden

with jewels and treasure.

A son of Egypt and of Rome!

Here shall he find his destiny!

Do exactly as I tell you.

When the child is born...

...after he is anointed

and named royal prince...

...take him to Caesar.

Bring Caesar here.

No. Exactly as I tell you.

Take the child to Caesar,

in front of his men.

Do you understand?

In front of all the Romans.

Lay him at Caesar's feet.

At Caesar's feet.

I will do just as you say.

Fear not.

We have never lost a Caesar.

That remark was insubordinate

and in bad taste!

Caesar, remember Roman law.

If you pick up this child

you acknowledge it's yours...

...and a citizen of Rome,

as your heir.

A son.

I have a son!

- Hail Caesar!

- Hail Caesar!

He's been made king of Egypt.

They have named their bastard

Caesarion.

Prince Caesarion.

What better name for the heir

to the throne of Rome.

There is no throne of Rome.

Nor shall there be,

nor would Caesar tolerate one.

But a son!

We know how much he's wanted one.

I am happy for Caesar.

Your happiness

is understandable enough.

Now that Caesar has

publicly recognized a son...

...one need no longer

wonder about Brutus.

Is it a relief not to be

wondered about, Casca?

To be known openly

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