184 Ideals in the Modern World
augmented by the need for the middle class, having stepped into
the space opened out by Shakespeare and Cervantes and their own
ferocious energies, to answer the question: Who exactly are we?
By the time the de mo li tion is close to over, Shakespeare can
even aff ord a tear for Antony, who is not only noble and wild but also
an instance of the greatest of dramatic fi gures, the man of honor.
Even Augustus at one point seems to be half in love with him, com-
paring Antony to a potent stag browsing the bark from trees “when
snow the pasture sheets” (I.iv.65). But that transient admiration
is as nothing compared with the force of destiny, and destiny is
not with Antony, as Hercules, the god who leaves Antony when
his fortunes turn, and Enobarbus (Shakespeare’s gruff Reality
Princi ple) both show. Now the world has changed, and even the
dice obey Caesar.