The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Part 84

CORIOLa.n.u.s. My name is Caius Marcius, who hath done To thee particularly, and to all the Volsces, Great hurt and mischief; thereto witness may My surname, Coriola.n.u.s. The painful service, The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood Shed for my thankless country, are requited But with that surname- a good memory And witness of the malice and displeasure Which thou shouldst bear me. Only that name remains; The cruelty and envy of the people, Permitted by our dastard n.o.bles, who Have all forsook me, hath devour'd the rest, An suffer'd me by th' voice of slaves to be Whoop'd out of Rome. Now this extremity Hath brought me to thy hearth; not out of hope, Mistake me not, to save my life; for if I had fear'd death, of all the men i' th' world I would have 'voided thee; but in mere spite, To be full quit of those my banishers, Stand I before thee here. Then if thou hast A heart of wreak in thee, that wilt revenge Thine own particular wrongs and stop those maims Of shame seen through thy country, speed thee straight And make my misery serve thy turn. So use it That my revengeful services may prove As benefits to thee; for I will fight Against my cank'red country with the spleen Of all the under fiends. But if so be Thou dar'st not this, and that to prove more fortunes Th'art tir'd, then, in a word, I also am Longer to live most weary, and present My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice; Which not to cut would show thee but a fool, Since I have ever followed thee with hate, Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country's breast, And cannot live but to thy shame, unless It be to do thee service.

AUFIDIUS. O Marcius, Marcius!

Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my heart A root of ancient envy. If Jupiter Should from yond cloud speak divine things, And say ''Tis true,' I'd not believe them more Than thee, all n.o.ble Marcius. Let me twine Mine arms about that body, where against My grained ash an hundred times hath broke And scarr'd the moon with splinters; here I clip The anvil of my sword, and do contest As hotly and as n.o.bly with thy love As ever in ambitious strength I did Contend against thy valour. Know thou first, I lov'd the maid I married; never man Sigh'd truer breath; but that I see thee here, Thou n.o.ble thing, more dances my rapt heart Than when I first my wedded mistress saw Bestride my threshold. Why, thou Mars, I tell the We have a power on foot, and I had purpose Once more to hew thy target from thy brawn, Or lose mine arm for't. Thou hast beat me out Twelve several times, and I have nightly since Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me- We have been down together in my sleep, Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat- And wak'd half dead with nothing. Worthy Marcius, Had we no other quarrel else to Rome but that Thou art thence banish'd, we would muster all From twelve to seventy, and, pouring war Into the bowels of ungrateful Rome, Like a bold flood o'erbeat. O, come, go in, And take our friendly senators by th' hands, Who now are here, taking their leaves of me Who am prepar'd against your territories, Though not for Rome itself.

CORIOLa.n.u.s. You bless me, G.o.ds!

AUFIDIUS. Therefore, most. absolute sir, if thou wilt have The leading of thine own revenges, take Th' one half of my commission, and set down- As best thou art experienc'd, since thou know'st Thy country's strength and weakness- thine own ways, Whether to knock against the gates of Rome, Or rudely visit them in parts remote To fright them ere destroy. But come in; Let me commend thee first to those that shall Say yea to thy desires. A thousand welcomes!

And more a friend than e'er an enemy; Yet, Marcius, that was much. Your hand; most welcome!

Exeunt CORIOLa.n.u.s and AUFIDIUS

The two SERVINGMEN come forward

FIRST SERVANT. Here's a strange alteration!

SECOND SERVANT. By my hand, I had thought to have strucken him with a cudgel; and yet my mind gave me his clothes made a false report of him.

FIRST SERVANT. What an arm he has! He turn'd me about with his finger and his thumb, as one would set up a top.

SECOND SERVANT. Nay, I knew by his face that there was something in him; he had, sir, a kind of face, methought- I cannot tell how to term it.

FIRST SERVANT. He had so, looking as it were- Would I were hang'd, but I thought there was more in him than I could think.

SECOND SERVANT. So did I, I'll be sworn. He is simply the rarest man i' th' world.

FIRST SERVANT. I think he is; but a greater soldier than he you wot on.

SECOND SERVANT. Who, my master?

FIRST SERVANT. Nay, it's no matter for that.

SECOND SERVANT. Worth six on him.

FIRST SERVANT. Nay, not so neither; but I take him to be the greater soldier.

SECOND SERVANT. Faith, look you, one cannot tell how to say that; for the defence of a town our general is excellent.

FIRST SERVANT. Ay, and for an a.s.sault too.

Re-enter the third SERVINGMAN

THIRD SERVANT. O slaves, I can tell you news- news, you rascals!

BOTH. What, what, what? Let's partake.

THIRD SERVANT. I would not be a Roman, of all nations; I had as lief be a condemn'd man.

BOTH. Wherefore? wherefore?

THIRD SERVANT. Why, here's he that was wont to thwack our general- Caius Marcius.

FIRST SERVANT. Why do you say 'thwack our general'?

THIRD SERVANT. I do not say 'thwack our general,' but he was always good enough for him.

SECOND SERVANT. Come, we are fellows and friends. He was ever too hard for him, I have heard him say so himself.

FIRST SERVANT. He was too hard for him directly, to say the troth on't; before Corioli he scotch'd him and notch'd him like a carbonado.

SECOND SERVANT. An he had been cannibally given, he might have broil'd and eaten him too.

FIRST SERVANT. But more of thy news!

THIRD SERVANT. Why, he is so made on here within as if he were son and heir to Mars; set at upper end o' th' table; no question asked him by any of the senators but they stand bald before him.

Our general himself makes a mistress of him, sanctifies himself with's hand, and turns up the white o' th' eye to his discourse.

But the bottom of the news is, our general is cut i' th' middle and but one half of what he was yesterday, for the other has half by the entreaty and grant of the whole table. He'll go, he says, and sowl the porter of Rome gates by th' ears; he will mow all down before him, and leave his pa.s.sage poll'd.

SECOND SERVANT. And he's as like to do't as any man I can imagine.

THIRD SERVANT. Do't! He will do't; for look you, sir, he has as many friends as enemies; which friends, sir, as it were, durst not- look you, sir- show themselves, as we term it, his friends, whilst he's in direct.i.tude.

FIRST SERVANT. Direct.i.tude? What's that?

THIRD SERVANT. But when they shall see, sir, his crest up again and the man in blood, they will out of their burrows, like conies after rain, and revel an with him.

FIRST SERVANT. But when goes this forward?

THIRD SERVANT. To-morrow, to-day, presently. You shall have the drum struck up this afternoon; 'tis as it were parcel of their feast, and to be executed ere they wipe their lips.

SECOND SERVANT. Why, then we shall have a stirring world again.

This peace is nothing but to rust iron, increase tailors, and breed ballad-makers.

FIRST SERVANT. Let me have war, say I; it exceeds peace as far as day does night; it's spritely, waking, audible, and full of vent.

Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy; mull'd, deaf, sleepy, insensible; a getter of more b.a.s.t.a.r.d children than war's a destroyer of men.

SECOND SERVANT. 'Tis so; and as war in some sort may be said to be a ravisher, so it cannot be denied but peace is a great maker of cuckolds.

FIRST SERVANT. Ay, and it makes men hate one another.

THIRD SERVANT. Reason: because they then less need one another. The wars for my money. I hope to see Romans as cheap as Volscians.

They are rising, they are rising.

BOTH. In, in, in, in! Exeunt

SCENE VI.

Rome. A public place

Enter the two Tribunes, SICINIUS and BRUTUS

SICINIUS. We hear not of him, neither need we fear him.

His remedies are tame. The present peace And quietness of the people, which before Were in wild hurry, here do make his friends Blush that the world goes well; who rather had, Though they themselves did suffer by't, behold Dissentious numbers pest'ring streets than see Our tradesmen singing in their shops, and going About their functions friendly.

Enter MENENIUS

BRUTUS. We stood to't in good time. Is this Menenius?

SICINIUS. 'Tis he, 'tis he. O, he is grown most kind Of late. Hail, sir!

MENENIUS. Hail to you both!

SICINIUS. Your Coriola.n.u.s is not much miss'd But with his friends. The commonwealth doth stand, And so would do, were he more angry at it.

MENENIUS. All's well, and might have been much better He could have temporiz'd.

SICINIUS. Where is he, hear you?

MENENIUS. Nay, I hear nothing; his mother and his wife Hear nothing from him.

Enter three or four citizens

CITIZENS. The G.o.ds preserve you both!

SICINIUS. G.o.d-den, our neighbours.

BRUTUS. G.o.d-den to you all, G.o.d-den to you an.

FIRST CITIZEN. Ourselves, our wives, and children, on our knees Are bound to pray for you both.

SICINIUS. Live and thrive!

BRUTUS. Farewell, kind neighbours; we wish'd Coriola.n.u.s Had lov'd you as we did.

CITIZENS. Now the G.o.ds keep you!

BOTH TRIBUNES. Farewell, farewell. Exeunt citizens SICINIUS. This is a happier and more comely time Than when these fellows ran about the streets Crying confusion.

BRUTUS. Caius Marcius was A worthy officer i' the war, but insolent, O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking, Self-loving- SICINIUS. And affecting one sole throne, Without a.s.sistance.

MENENIUS. I think not so.

SICINIUS. We should by this, to all our lamentation, If he had gone forth consul, found it so.

BRUTUS. The G.o.ds have well prevented it, and Rome Sits safe and still without him.

Enter an AEDILE

AEDILE. Worthy tribunes, There is a slave, whom we have put in prison, Reports the Volsces with several powers Are ent'red in the Roman territories, And with the deepest malice of the war Destroy what lies before 'em.

MENENIUS. 'Tis Aufidius, Who, hearing of our Marcius' banishment, Thrusts forth his horns again into the world, Which were insh.e.l.l'd when Marcius stood for Rome, And durst not once peep out.

SICINIUS. Come, what talk you of Marcius?

BRUTUS. Go see this rumourer whipp'd. It cannot be The Volsces dare break with us.

MENENIUS. Cannot be!

We have record that very well it can; And three examples of the like hath been Within my age. But reason with the fellow Before you punish him, where he heard this, Lest you shall chance to whip your information And beat the messenger who bids beware Of what is to be dreaded.