Page:Works of Heinrich Heine 01.djvu/319

Rh In the habiliments of the goddess Isis

That day appear'd; and oft before gave audience,

As 'tis reported, so. The Egyptian sorceress holds not only his hand captive, but even his brain, and bewilders his talent as a general. Instead of fighting on firm land where he had always conquered, he gives battle on the treacherous sea, where his bravery was of less avail; and there, where the capricious woman obstinately followed him, she fled with all her ships in the critical instant of the combat, and Anthony, "like a doting mallard," with out-spread sail-wings fled after her, leaving fortune and honour in the lurch. But it was not merely from the womanish caprices of Cleopatra that the unfortunate hero suffered the most disgraceful defeat; for she afterwards treated him with the blackest treason, and in complicity with Octavius went with her whole fleet over to the enemy. She betrayed him in the most despicable manner, either to save her own goods in the shipwreck of his fortunes, or to fish some greater advantage for herself out of the troubled waters. She drives him to despair and death by deceit and lies, and yet to the very last he loves her with all his heart—yes, after every treachery his love flashes up the more wildly.