Act 4, Scene 1

Rome. A room in Antony's house.

[Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, seated at a table.]
Mark Antony
1751 These many then shall die; their names are prick'd.
Octavius Caesar
1752 Your brother too must die: consent you, Lepidus?
Lepidus
1753 I do consent,—
Octavius Caesar
1754 Prick him down, Antony.
Lepidus
1755 —Upon condition Publius shall not live,
1756 Who is your sister's son, Mark Antony.
Mark Antony
1757 He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him.
1758 But, Lepidus, go you to Caesar's house;
1759 Fetch the will hither, and we shall determine
1760 How to cut off some charge in legacies.
Lepidus
1761 What, shall I find you here?
Octavius Caesar
1762 Or here, or at the Capitol.
[Exit Lepidus.]
Mark Antony
1763 This is a slight unmeritable man,
1764 Meet to be sent on errands: is it fit,
1765 The three-fold world divided, he should stand
1766 One of the three to share it?
Octavius Caesar
1767 So you thought him;
1768 And took his voice who should be prick'd to die,
1769 In our black sentence and proscription.
Mark Antony
1770 Octavius, I have seen more days than you:
1771 And, though we lay these honors on this man,
1772 To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads,
1773 He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold,
1774 To groan and sweat under the business,
1775 Either led or driven, as we point the way;
1776 And having brought our treasure where we will,
1777 Then take we down his load and turn him off,
1778 Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears
1779 And graze in commons.
Octavius Caesar
1780 You may do your will;
1781 But he's a tried and valiant soldier.
Mark Antony
1782 So is my horse, Octavius; and for that
1783 I do appoint him store of provender:
1784 It is a creature that I teach to fight,
1785 To wind, to stop, to run directly on,
1786 His corporal motion govern'd by my spirit.
1787 And, in some taste, is Lepidus but so;
1788 He must be taught, and train'd, and bid go forth:
1789 A barren-spirited fellow; one that feeds
1790 On objects, arts, and imitations,
1791 Which, out of use and staled by other men,
1792 Begin his fashion: do not talk of him
1793 But as a property. And now, Octavius,
1794 Listen great things. Brutus and Cassius
1795 Are levying powers: we must straight make head;
1796 Therefore let our alliance be combined,
1797 Our best friends made, our means stretch'd;
1798 And let us presently go sit in council,
1799 How covert matters may be best disclosed,
1800 And open perils surest answered.
Octavius Caesar
1801 Let us do so: for we are at the stake,
1802 And bay'd about with many enemies;
1803 And some that smile have in their hearts, I fear,
1804 Millions of mischiefs.
[Exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 1751historical topical
“their names are prick'd”
To 'prick' a name is to mark it with a pin or stylus on a wax tablet, signifying that the person is condemned to death. The three men at the table are drawing up a proscription list -- the official Triumviral death-lists of 43 BCE, by which Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus sentenced hundreds of political enemies and seized their property.
historical The Proscriptions of the Triumvirate
TLN 1757archaic vocab
“with a spot I damn him”
A 'spot' here is a mark made on the tablet beside a name -- the physical act of pricking or dotting that condemns a man. 'Damn' means to doom or sentence to death, not merely to curse. Antony is casually sentencing his own nephew Publius to death in exchange for Lepidus's consent to kill his own brother.
TLN 1769historical topical
“our black sentence and proscription”
A 'proscription' (Latin: proscriptio) was a formal Roman notice posted in public places listing the names of men declared outlaws: anyone could kill them and claim a reward; their property was confiscated. 'Black sentence' reinforces the idea of a death-warrant written in ink. The Second Triumvirate's proscriptions of 43 BCE were among the bloodiest in Roman history.
historical The Proscriptions of the Triumvirate
TLN 1789archaic vocab
“feeds / On objects, arts, and imitations, / Which, out of use and staled by other men, / Begin his fashion”
Antony calls Lepidus a man who picks up other people's cast-off fashions and novelties: 'objects' are curiosities or trinkets; 'arts' are tricks or accomplishments; 'imitations' are copies of what is stylish. 'Staled' means made stale or worn out by use -- when something has gone out of fashion with everyone else, that is when Lepidus adopts it. The whole phrase paints him as an intellectual follower, never a leader.
TLN 1793archaic vocab
“But as a property”
A 'property' in Elizabethan usage is a tool, instrument, or stage prop -- something owned and used by another person to accomplish their ends, with no agency of its own. Antony is saying Lepidus should be thought of as an object to be handled, not a person to be respected. The theatrical sense of the word (a stage property = a prop) would have been vivid to Shakespeare's audience.
TLN 1795archaic vocab
“Are levying powers: we must straight make head”
'Levying powers' means raising troops -- conscripting or recruiting an army. 'Make head' means to advance in force or gather strength for an offensive march. Antony is telling Octavius that Brutus and Cassius are already assembling their army in Macedonia, so the Triumvirs must immediately counter-mobilize. This line marks the scene's pivot from cold political calculation to open war.
TLN 1801cultural context
“we are at the stake, / And bay'd about with many enemies”
Octavius uses bear-baiting as his metaphor: a bear is chained to a stake in the arena while dogs (mastiffs) bay -- bark and attack -- from all sides. The 'stake' is the post the bear is tied to; 'bay'd about' means surrounded by baying hounds. Bear-baiting was a popular public spectacle in Elizabethan London, often held at arenas near the Globe Theatre. Octavius casts the Triumvirs as the bear, outnumbered but tethered and fighting back.