act 3, scene 2
Rome. An Ante-chamber in CAESAR'S house.

[Enter AGRIPPA and ENOBARBUS, meeting.]

AGRIPPA.
What, are the brothers parted?

ENOBARBUS.
They have despatch'd with Pompey; he is gone;
The other three are sealing. Octavia weeps
To part from Rome: Caesar is sad; and Lepidus,
Since Pompey's feast, as Menas says, is troubled
With the green sickness.

AGRIPPA.
'Tis a noble Lepidus.

ENOBARBUS.
A very fine one: O, how he loves Caesar!

AGRIPPA.
Nay, but how dearly he adores Mark Antony!

ENOBARBUS.
Caesar? Why he's the Jupiter of men.

AGRIPPA.
What's Antony? The god of Jupiter.

ENOBARBUS.
Spake you of Caesar? How! the nonpareil!

AGRIPPA.
O, Antony! O thou Arabian bird!

ENOBARBUS.
Would you praise Caesar, say 'Caesar'--go no further.

AGRIPPA.
Indeed, he plied them both with excellent praises.

ENOBARBUS.
But he loves Caesar best;--yet he loves Antony:
Hoo! hearts, tongues, figures, scribes, bards, poets, cannot
Think, speak, cast, write, sing, number--hoo!--
His love to Antony. But as for Caesar,
Kneel down, kneel down, and wonder.

AGRIPPA.
Both he loves.

ENOBARBUS.
They are his shards, and he their beetle.

[Trumpets within.]

So,--
This is to horse.--Adieu, noble Agrippa.

AGRIPPA.
Good fortune, worthy soldier; and farewell.

[Enter CAESAR, ANTONY, LEPIDUS, and OCTAVIA.]

ANTONY.
No further, sir.

CAESAR.
You take from me a great part of myself;
Use me well in't.--Sister, prove such a wife
As my thoughts make thee, and as my furthest band
Shall pass on thy approof.--Most noble Antony,
Let not the piece of virtue which is set
Betwixt us as the cement of our love,
To keep it builded, be the ram to batter
The fortress of it; for better might we
Have lov'd without this mean if on both parts
This be not cherish'd.

ANTONY.
Make me not offended
In your distrust.

CAESAR.
I have said.

ANTONY.
You shall not find,
Though you be therein curious, the least cause
For what you seem to fear: so, the gods keep you,
And make the hearts of Romans serve your ends!
We will here part.

CAESAR.
Farewell, my dearest sister, fare thee well:
The elements be kind to thee, and make
Thy spirits all of comfort! Fare thee well.

OCTAVIA.
My noble brother!--

ANTONY.
The April's in her eyes: it is love's spring,
And these the showers to bring it on.--Be cheerful.

OCTAVIA.
Sir, look well to my husband's house; and--

CAESAR.
What,
Octavia?

OCTAVIA.
I'll tell you in your ear.

ANTONY.
Her tongue will not obey her heart, nor can
Her heart inform her tongue,--the swan's down feather,
That stands upon the swell at the full of tide,
And neither way inclines.

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside to AGRIPPA.] Will Caesar weep?

AGRIPPA.
[Aside to ENOBARBUS.] He has a cloud in's face.

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside to AGRIPPA.] He were the worse for that, were he a horse;
So is he, being a man.

AGRIPPA.
[Aside to ENOBARBUS.] Why, Enobarbus,
When Antony found Julius Caesar dead,
He cried almost to roaring; and he wept
When at Philippi he found Brutus slain.

ENOBARBUS.
[Aside to AGRIPPA.] That year, indeed, he was troubled with a
rheum;
What willingly he did confound he wail'd:
Believe't till I weep too.

CAESAR.
No, sweet Octavia,
You shall hear from me still; the time shall not
Out-go my thinking on you.

ANTONY.
Come, sir, come;
I'll wrestle with you in my strength of love:
Look, here I have you; thus I let you go,
And give you to the gods.

CAESAR.
Adieu; be happy!

LEPIDUS.
Let all the number of the stars give light
To thy fair way!

CAESAR.
Farewell, farewell!

[Kisses OCTAVIA.]

ANTONY.
Farewell!

[Trumpets sound within. Exeunt.]

gradesaver
Rome. Caesar's house. Enobarbus and Agrippa enter from different sides. Enobarbus informs Agrippa that Pompey has departed, and the triumvirs are making final arrangements before leaving. Caesar seems sad, Octavia is weeping, and Lepidus has been ill since the feasting. Both men mock Lepidus' weak position in the triumvirate. Enobarbus and Agrippa part. Octavia and the triumvirs enter. Octavius and his sister are extremely emotional as they part. Quietly, Enobarbus asks Agrippa if Caesar will weep, mocking the idea of a man who cries. When Agrippa points out that Antony wept openly after Julius Caesar's and Brutus' deaths, Enobarbus mockingly says Antony had a cold. He wept that year for things he'd tried to destroy
cliffnotes
As this scene opens, in Rome, Agrippa and Enobarbus enter and discuss recent events. Octavia is to leave Rome with her new husband, Antony. Caesar is sad to see her go, and, for the moment, Lepidus is the butt of everyone's joking. For example, they discuss Lepidus's excessive devotion to both Caesar and Antony and his futile attempts to act as a mediator between them. This is a fittingly ironic, foreshadowing what is soon to happen, for Caesar, Antony, Lepidus, and Octavia enter, and they begin to discuss Octavia's imminent departure with Antony. Like Lepidus, she too is a mediator who loves both her brother and her husband, but she senses a conflict that she feels is somehow tragic. Caesar admonishes Antony to take good care of his sister, and Antony says he must not seek fault where none exists. He promises that Caesar will find no "cause . . . for what to fear"; Antony will be kind to Octavia. Enobarbus and Agrippa, meanwhile, make asides concerning Caesar, comparing his appearance to that of an ill-tempered horse. They wonder if Caesar will cry , yet even Antony has wept before, they note, and he is certainly no less masculine for having done so. The two men make their farewells, and Antony and Caesar embrace briefly.
The gossipy tone in the first part of the scene, where Agrippa and Enobarbus make fun of the futile efforts of Lepidus to be loyal to both Antony and Caesar, foreshadows the fact that Octavia's role as a mediator will also prove ultimately unsuccessful. Yet, for now, the key focus is on Lepidus; he is described by Enobarbus as suffering from the "green-sickness" ever since Pompey's feast, described earlier. "Green-sickness" was an ailment supposedly suffered by adolescent girls when they fell in love; they became wan and weak from worry about their lovers. In this context, it probably refers to the painful hangover that Lepidus probably suffered the day after he was encouraged to drink too much at the banquet. Lepidus is said to love both Caesar and Antony, and to be totally devoted to both men. Of course, this is impossible. The two men are rivals. Yet it is true that Lepidus is very much like a young girl -- that is, he is unable to decide to whom he should give his loyalty. And in comparison to both Antony and Caesar, Lepidus has so little power that all he can do is fret and worry. Agrippa says bluntly, "both he loves," to which Enobarbus retorts, "They are his shards, and he their beetle." This figure of speech refers to the shiny wing-cases of beetles which were called "shards" because of their resemblance to fragments of shiny pottery or glass. Figuratively, Lepidus is like a beetle in that he is helpless without his bright wings -- Antony and Caesar. In addition, Lepidus can be compared to the dull-colored insect whose bright wings are far more noticeable than the small little body to which the wings are attached. Agrippa and Enobarbus leave then, as the others enter, and Caesar tells Antony: Let not the piece of virtue which is setBetwixt us as the cement of our love,To keep it builded, be the ram to batterThe fortress of it; for better might weHave loved without this mean, if on both partsThis be not cherish'd  The image here that Caesar evokes is of a building, and the love of the two men for the virtuous Octavia is the cement. . But were Octavia to be ill-treated, or if she were to be considered as a hostage, she would be the battering ram that would cause the whole structure of their precarious alliance to crumble. Thus, Caesar says that he would hate Antony more if Octavia were to be misused than he would hate Antony if Octavia had never been given to him to "cement" their peace. Antony warns Caesar not to pursue this mistrust any further, lest he  take offense at it. Caesar then says goodbye to Octavia, who is weeping; her tears, Antony gallantly describes as being like "April's  in her eyes; it is love's spring." He suggests that like the spring rains that water the ground, her tears commemorate the beginning of the growth of their love for one another. When Octavia says that she wishes to whisper in Caesar's ear, perhaps to give some private message or ask that he not forget her, he is touched by her grief. Antony too is affected, and again he tries to be gallant. He suggests that she is too filled with emotion to speak clearly, and like "the swan's down-feather / That stands upon the swell at full of tide," she cannot clearly express her loyalty and love to either Caesar or Antony -- that she is torn by her devotion to both, and thus she turns first one way and then another, like a feather fluttering on the water. This image aptly sums up her helplessness as an object who will be used later by both men in their competing for power. Enobarbus and Agrippa observe Caesar and Antony, and they comment that Caesar "has a cloud in his face," meaning that he is either frowning or attempting to suppress tears. Agrippa notes that Antony, in contrast, was not too proud to weep when Julius Caesar was killed, nor later when Brutus was slain; in neither case was he considered less manly for having wept. Enobarbus quips that Antony did indeed have a lot of "rheumy colds" that year, meaning that he wept a lot, and he suggests that Antony perhaps wept because of what he had destroyed -- meaning Brutus. The soldiers' comments are not very complimentary to either of the triumvirs. It is hinted that Caesar refrains from crying because he is too insecure to permit himself to show any weakness, while Antony almost too willingly expresses emotions that perhaps he doesn't actually feel. Thus, his gallantry towards Octavia may rest on a questionable basis -- that is, his devotion to her is likely to be short-lived.
sparknotes
Ventidius, fighting for Antony, defeats the Parthians, killing their king's son. One of Ventidius's soldiers urges him to push on into Parthia and win more glory, but Ventidius says he should not. If he were too successful in war, he explains, he would fall out of Antony's favor and not be able to advance as a member of Antony's forces. Instead, Ventidius halts his army and writes to Antony, informing him of his victory
Act II, scene vii; Act III, scenes i-iii Both Ventidius's speech after the victory over Parthia and the events of the party challenge and complicate our understanding of honor. Ventidius's contemplation of his performance in battle in Act II, scene i offers a definition of honor based on prowess in battle. Ventidius explains that it would not be honorable to conquer too extensively, since eclipsing his captain's fame would reflect poorly on himself. Whereas Pompey's definition of honor has to do with appearance, Ventidius's has to do with ambition. Ultimately, it is clear that Ventidius contemplates his honorable leading of the army as a way of achieving greater status; he ends his speech describing the perils of overachievement with the words, "I could do more to do Antonius good, / But 'twould offend him, and in his offence / Should my performance perish" . Ventidius seems to care at least as much about Antony's opinion of his performance in war as about his sense of honor. Pompey's sense of honor, however, is based on surface appearances. His desire that the triumvirate be deposed might easily be seen as dishonorable, since he appears to be making peace with them. However, he believes that he retains his honor by not acting on his dishonorable feelings. When Menas suggests that he be allowed to assassinate the triumvirs in order to deliver world power into Pompey's hands, Pompey's reasoning for condemning Menas's plan shows that it is not the act itself that would challenge Pompey's public honor, but rather its appearance: Ah, this thou shouldst have doneAnd not have spoke on't. In me 'tis villainy,In thee 't had been good service. Thou must know'Tis not my profit that does lead mine honour;Mine honour it. Repent that e'er thy tongueHath so betrayed thine act. Being done unknown,I should have found it afterwards well done, But must condemn it now.           Pompey does not condemn the assassination of his unsuspecting--indeed, helplessly drunken--guests as treacherous or morally irresponsible. Instead, he complains that Menas shared the plan with him, a divulgence that, if discovered, would affect the way that the world sees him. Pompey would no longer be looked upon as an honorable man if he murdered his guests. In a play that invests so much in surface, even qualities such as honor and nobility have more to do with spectacle than with deeper human emotions. Lepidus's drunkenness symbolizes his physical and political weakness: indeed, he makes only one more appearance before being eliminated by Caesar, fulfilling the servants' prophesy that even world leaders can be easily overthrown. That Caesar proves the wind that blows Lepidus  down should not come as any surprise, given his behavior aboard Pompey's ship. Caesar alone manages to elevate duty above pleasure; he alone interrupts the night's carousing to remind Antony that their more serious business conflicts with the extended revelry. Perhaps the most telling phrase Antony utters in this scene comes as he tries to persuade Caesar to forget duty for the night. While urging his men to drink until "the conquering wine hath steeped our sense / In soft and delicate Lethe," he bids Caesar to "e a child o'th' time"--to live, in other words, strictly for the moment, for the pleasure of the present . Antony's propensity to live according to the moment, with little regard for the future or the consequences of his actions, is one of the greatest factors in his demise.