Original: I have done enough; a lower place, note well,
Modern: I’ve done enough; remember that someone in a lesser position

Original: May make too great an act: for learn this, Silius;
Modern: Can accomplish too much: understand this, Silius;

Original: Better to leave undone, than by our deed
Modern: It’s better to leave things unfinished than by our actions

Original: Acquire too high a fame when him we serve’s away.
Modern: To gain too much fame when the man we serve is absent.

Original: Caesar and Antony have ever won
Modern: Caesar and Antony have always won

Original: More in their officer than person: Sossius,
Modern: More through their officers than by themselves: Sossius,

Original: One of my place in Syria, his lieutenant,
Modern: Someone of my rank in Syria, his lieutenant,

Original: For quick accumulation of renown,
Modern: Because he gained fame too quickly,

Original: Which he achieved by the minute, lost his favour.
Modern: Which he won constantly, lost the leader’s favor.

Original: Who does i’ the wars more than his captain can
Modern: Whoever accomplishes more in war than his captain

Original: Becomes his captain’s captain: and ambition,
Modern: Becomes his captain’s superior: and ambition,

Original: The soldier’s virtue, rather makes choice of loss,
Modern: A soldier’s greatest quality, chooses to hold back

Original: Than gain which darkens him.
Modern: Rather than achieve success that overshadows his commander.

Original: I could do more to do Antonius good,
Modern: I could do more to help Antony,

Original: But ‘twould offend him; and in his offence
Modern: But it would insult him; and because of his anger

Original: Should my performance perish.
Modern: All my accomplishments would be destroyed.

In Act III, Scene 1 of “Antony and Cleopatra,” Ventidius enters with Silius and other Roman soldiers, having achieved a significant military victory against the Parthians in Syria. They carry the body of Pacorus, the Parthian king’s son, whom Ventidius has slain in battle, thus avenging the earlier Roman defeat at the hands of the Parthians where Marcus Crassus and his son were killed. Silius urges Ventidius to pursue the fleeing Parthian forces further into Media and Mesopotamia to maximize their advantage, but Ventidius deliberately declines to do so.

Ventidius explains to Silius that winning too much glory as a subordinate officer can be dangerous, as it may provoke jealousy in one’s superior. He points out that Sossius, another of Antony’s lieutenants, lost favor by achieving too great a success, and Ventidius fears the same fate if he exceeds expectations too dramatically. He decides instead to write to Antony about the victory and await further orders, choosing to accomplish enough to gain recognition but not so much that he overshadows his commander. The two officers then prepare to meet with Antony, who is currently in Athens.

Antony and Cleopatra follows the tragic downfall of Mark Antony, one of Rome’s three ruling triumvirs, who becomes consumed by his passionate love affair with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The play opens with Antony already established in Alexandria, neglecting his Roman duties while reveling in the exotic pleasures of Cleopatra’s court. When news arrives that his wife Fulvia has died and that Pompey threatens Roman territories, Antony reluctantly returns to Rome, where he reconciles with Octavius Caesar and marries Caesar’s sister Octavia to strengthen their political alliance, temporarily abandoning Cleopatra.

Despite his marriage to Octavia, Antony cannot resist returning to Egypt and Cleopatra, effectively declaring war on Rome and Caesar. The political and personal tensions culminate in the naval Battle of Actium, where Cleopatra’s fleet flees mid-battle, and Antony, following her, seals both their military defeat and political doom. Back in Egypt, as Caesar’s forces close in, the lovers face their inevitable destruction with a series of miscommunications and desperate acts.

The tragedy reaches its climax when Cleopatra, fearing Antony’s rage, sends word that she has died. Devastated, Antony falls on his sword but survives long enough to be carried to Cleopatra’s monument, where he dies in her arms. Rather than face the humiliation of being paraded through Rome as Caesar’s prisoner, Cleopatra takes her own life by allowing an asp (cobra) to bite her. The play ends with Caesar’s arrival to find both lovers dead, and his recognition of their tragic grandeur, ordering them to be buried together with full honors.