In Act 4, Pothinus approaches Caesar, seeking a private audience with him to discuss Cleopatra's machinations. Unfortunately for Pothinus, Cleopatra appears before he can speak to Caesar. Nonetheless, the young king's caretaker presses onward, determined to share the information he came with the purpose of disclosing. Caesar responds to Pothinus' persistence with verbal irony:
POTHINUS: [his temper overcoming his prudence] I will speak.
CAESAR: [to Cleopatra] You see. Torture would not have wrung a word from him.
Caesar responds thusly because Cleopatra has, prior to the above exchange, been threatening Pothinus with torture if he does not reveal to her his reasons for seeking an audience with Caesar. Pothinus wishes to speak—though he no longer has the comfort of a private audience—thus rendering the threats of torture completely unnecessary. Caesar's statement in the above passage is ironic, given that Pothinus is already predisposed to speak. Caesar makes this quip for the purposes of teasing Cleopatra.
This ironic statement sheds light on the nature of Caesar and Cleopatra's relationship: Cleopatra is eager to rule with an iron fist and make her power known to those around her—at times, a need that makes her impulsive and irrational. Caesar views it as his job to reel her back in when she goes too far, signaling to her through his irony that this impulsive violence is entirely unnecessary
