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          After the defeat at the Battle of Actium, caused by Cleopatra's retreat, followed by that of<hr>
Antony, he suspected her of betrayal, expressing his anger. But this beautiful and cunning<hr>
Egyptian, wanting to erase this bad impression, addressed him with this speech to defend her innocence. I rely at least on historical conjectures for the words I attribute to this queen, and here is what she could have said in this situation, to this angry lover.<hr>
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                                      Cleopatra to Mark Antony<hr>
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          So, it is true that Antony could have suspected me of betraying him and plotting against him. He could have believed that with my own hand, I wanted to snatch the crown from him, let victory slip through his fingers, leaving the sound of treachery ringing. If this is the case, and if by my words I cannot reason with him, giving him a different impression of my loyalty, I no longer wish to live, death is my ultimate desire. No, Antony, if I am dead in your heart, I no longer want to live in this world, and perhaps my loss will show you that I did not seek your own. But tell me by what means, what generosities, what hopes could Octavian have corrupted my fidelity? It cannot be a new passion that has taken hold of my heart, as we are both strangers to each other. It also could not be through gifts, for what could I receive from him that I have not already received from you who have offered me entire kingdoms, and made me rule over most of Asia? But even if it were true that I could have resolved to abandon you to follow his side, what security could I have found in his words? Where, then, are the offerings he sent me to ensure our agreement? Where are the territories he has returned to me? What, Antony, could I have trusted Octavian’s word? He, who has publicly declared war on me at Rome, and knows me more under the name of that famous Egyptian, renowned more for her sorcery than her beauty, rather than as Cleopatra. What, Antony, could I have believed in him? Would I have shackled myself? Would Cleopatra have tied her own arms to the triumphal chariot of her enemy and that of Antony? By an unprecedented imprudence and ingratitude, would she have betrayed a man who himself betrayed his own nation out of love for her? A man who has become an enemy of his country out of love for her? A man who renounced Octavian’s sister to stay with her? A man who shared his power with her? A man who has put his own interests before those of the Roman Empire? A man who has offered her his heart unreservedly? Ah! No, Antony, all this is improbable.<hr>
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