The final scene of Act II begins with Pompey and the Triumvirate celebrating their peace treaty in Pompey’s ship. All of them have been drinking heavily, and Lepidus especially is quite drunk. The opening dialogue between two servants provides a criticism of Pompey (lines 10-15). Even the lowly servants recognize that Pompey is making a huge mistake in signing a peace treaty with the Triumvirate. They know that Pompey will end up losing his power and position in society. The first servant uses a metaphor comparing Pompey to a head without eyes. Pompey is blind to the mistake that he is making. Moreover, the servant comments that the cheeks in a head without eyes will shrivel (dry up) and make the face look hideous. He is suggesting that Pompey is ruining or destroying himself.
As the drinking continues, Antony teases the drunken Lepidus by speaking nonsense (lines 39-42). Meanwhile, the pirate Menas leads Pompey away from the others to speak with him privately. Menas asks Pompey, “Wilt thou be lord of all the world?” (58-59). Menas then informs Pompey that since the three members of the Triumvirate are so drunk, he can very easily release the ship, sail it off to the sea, and then cut the throats of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus. But Pompey becomes angry at Menas and rejects the offer. He tells Menas that it is a matter of honor (line 73). Pompey respects the sacred traditions regarding hospitality. He is a host, and the others are his guests. To betray them in such a manner was considered a wicked act of treachery. Later, with the supremacy of Christianity, Dante in his Divine Comedy would place sinners of treachery in the ninth level of hell. That is the lowest level of hell reserved for the worst sinners. Satan himself is punished in the middle of this level. Even men living before Christian times considered such treachery as a terrible crime and an insult to their own honor. And, of course, Shakespeare and his audience are living in Christian times. So, they would readily understand Pompey’s viewpoint.
Somewhat ironically, Pompey adds that if Menas had murdered the members of the Triumvirate without telling him first, that would have been acceptable. Menas is not their host, and he has not agreed to any treaty with the Triumvirate. Thus, Menas would not have lost any honor in acting in such a treacherous way. But now that Pompey knows what Menas wants to do, Pompey must stop him. His sense of honor cannot allow him to agree with Menas’ plan.
After Pompey leaves him, Menas speaks an aside (lines 78-80). He decides that he will no longer follow Pompey. Menas knows that fate or destiny will never offer Pompey such a splendid opportunity again. In turning down the offer made by Menas, Pompey has turned down an offer of good fortune.
This scene provides an intriguing philosophical question. If a man of honor might lose his property, his position, and even his own life, should he then consider acting dishonorably in one instance? Is one’s honor more important than one’s own life? Pompey, in this scene, values his own sense of honor and integrity over all other aspects of his life. Not many men, in Pompey’s day or Shakespeare’s day or today, would act so honorably. Shakespeare’s audiences would, of course, know that Pompey would lose to the Triumvirate. And perhaps many of them, maybe even most of them, might have considered Pompey to be a fool. Menas certainly did.