The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 479
The shepherd knows not thunder from a tabor
as Marcius’ voice is from a
More than I know the sound of Marcius' tongue
lesser man’s voice.
From every meaner man.
[Enter MARCIUS.]
MARCIUS.
Am I too late?
Come I too late?
COMINIUS.
Yes, you are too late if you’re covered in your own blood
Ay, if you come not in the blood of others,
instead of the enemy’s.
But mantled in your own.
MARCIUS.
Let me give a hug
O! let me clip ye
like the ones I have girls I used to date.
In arms as sound as when I woo'd; in heart
I’m as happy as I was on my wedding night,
As merry as when our nuptial day was done,
when it was getting on towards bed-time.
And tapers burn'd to bedward.
COMINIUS.
You’re the best soldier ever!
Flower of warriors,
How is Titus Lartius?
How is't with Titus Lartius?
MARCIUS.
He’s like a man who’s busy passing judgement:
As with a man busied about decrees:
Condemning some people to death and some to exile,
Condemning some to death and some to exile;
letting some people go, and threatening others.
Ransoming him or pitying, threat'ning the other;
Holding Corioli in the name of Rome,
Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash,
To let him slip at will.
COMINIUS.
Where’s that idiot
Where is that slave
who told me they were beating you back to your trenches?
Which told me they had beat you to your trenches?
Where is he? Get him over here!
Where's he? call him hither.
MARCIUS.
Leave him alone.
Let him alone;
He told you the truth: as for our “gentlemen,”
He did inform the truth: but for our gentlemen,
the common, poor men—curse them! I can’t believe we’re giving them tribunes!—
The common file,--a plague!--tribunes for them!--
no mouse was ever as scared of cats as those fools
The mouse ne'er shunned the cat as they did budge
were of the Volscians.
From rascals worse than they.
COMINIUS.
So how did you win?
But how prevail'd you?
MARCIUS.
Is there time to tell you about it? I don’t think so.
Will the time serve to tell? I do not think.
Where is the enemy? Do you control the battlefield?
Where is the enemy? are you lords o' the field?
If not, why stop fighting until you do?
If not, why cease you till you are so?
COMINIUS.
Marcius,
Marcius,
we’ve been fighting against the odds, and then
We have at disadvantage fought, and did
we made a strategic retreat, in order to save our strength and win the day.
Retire, to win our purpose.
MARCIUS.
How is the battle going? Do you know where
How lies their battle? know you on which side
they’re deploying their best men?
They have placed their men of trust?
COMINIUS.
I’m guessing, Marcius,
As I guess, Marcius,
that on the front line they’ll be putting the Antiates,
Their bands in the vaward are the Antiates,
their best unit. Their commander is Aufidius,
Of their best trust; o'er them Aufidius,
their best hope.
Their very heart of hope.
MARCIUS.
I’m begging you,
I do beseech you,
in the name of all the battles we’ve fought together,
By all the battles wherein we have fought,
and the blood we lost together, and the vows
By the blood we have shed together, by the vows
of friendship we’ve made to each other, that you send
We have made to endure friends, that you directly
me right away to fight Aufidius and his Antiates,
Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates;
and that you not delay the fight, but
And that you not delay the present, but,
raising your swords and arrows,
Filling the air with swords advanc'd and darts,
get the battle started right now!
We prove this very hour.
COMINIUS.
Though I wish
Though I could wish
you would go take a nice bath,
You were conducted to a gentle bath,
and take some medicine, I just can’t
And balms applied to you, yet dare I never
say no to you. Take your choice of men
Deny your asking: take your choice of those
who you think would be best in action.
That best can aid your action.
MARCIUS.
The best men are the ones
Those are they
who are most willing to fight. If there are any men here—
That most are willing. If any such be here,--
and it’s wrong to doubt it—who love
As it were sin to doubt,--that love this painting
blood, who are less afraid for their lives
Wherein you see me smear'd; if any fear
than for their reputations,
Lesser his person than an ill report;
who prefer to die bravely than live badly,
If any think brave death outweighs bad life,
who love their country more than themselves—
And that his country's dearer than himself;
if there are many of you like that,
Let him alone, or so many so minded,
wave like this [waving his hand], to express your opinion,
Wave thus [waving his hand], to express his disposition,
and follow me!
And follow Marcius.
[They all shout and wave their swords; take him up in their arms
and cast up their caps.]
Why do praise me above others?
O, me alone! Make you a sword of me?
If these displays are genuine, which of you
If these shows be not outward, which of you
isn’t worth four Volscians? All of you
But is four Volsces? none of you but is
could give the great Aufidius
Able to bear against the great Aufidius
at least as good as you got. Some of you
A shield as hard as his. A certain number,
must be selected for a special mission. The rest of you
Though thanks to all, must I select from all: the rest
will fight somewhere else,
Shall bear the business in some other fight,
as conditions require. Please march,
As cause will be obey'd. Please you to march;
and four of you will choose the men I will command in a special detail,
And four shall quickly draw out my command,
whichever of you are inclined to come.
Which men are best inclin'd.
COMINIUS.
Keep marching, men.
March on, my fellows;
Win this battle and you will
Make good this ostentation, and you shall
share the booty with us.
Divide in all with us.
[Exeunt.]
[TITUS LARTIUS, having set a guard upon Corioli, going with
drum
and trumpet toward COMINIUS and CAIUS MARCIUS, enters with a
LIEUTENANT, a party of Soldiers, and a Scout.]
LARTIUS.
So, guard the gates, and do all the other things
So, let the ports be guarded: keep your duties
I told you to do. If I ask for them, send
As I have set them down. If I do send, dispatch
those units to help us. The rest of the army will only
Those centuries to our aid; the rest will serve
be able to occupy the town for a short while. If we lose the battle
For a short holding: if we lose the field
we cannot keep the town.
We cannot keep the town.
LIEUTENANT.
Don’t worry about us, sir.
Fear not our care, sir.
LARTIUS.
Come here and close the gates behind us.
Hence, and shut your gates upon's.—
Guide, take us to the Roman camp.
Our guider, come; to the Roman camp conduct us.
[Exeunt.]
[Alarum. Enter, from opposite sides, MARCIUS and AUFIDIUS.]
MARCIUS.
I won’t fight with anyone but you, because I hate you
I'll fight with none but thee, for I do hate thee
worse than a promise-breaker.
Worse than a promise-breaker.
AUFIDIUS.
I hate you too.
We hate alike:
There isn’t a nasty snake in Africa I hate
Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor
more than you. Get ready to fight me.
More than thy fame and envy. Fix thy foot.
MARCIUS.
Let the first one who retreats die as the other’s slave,
Let the first budger die the other's slave,
and then burn in hell!
And the gods doom him after!
AUFIDIUS.
If I retreat, Marcius,
If I fly, Marcius,
hunt me like a rabbit.
Halloo me like a hare.
MARCIUS.
Just a few hours ago, Tullus [Aufidius],
Within these three hours, Tullus,
I fought alone inside Corioles’ walls,
Alone I fought in your Corioli walls,
and did whatever I wanted there. This isn’t my blood
And made what work I pleas'd: 'tis not my blood
you see me covered in.
Wherein thou seest me mask'd: for thy revenge
Hit me with your best shot.
Wrench up thy power to the highest.
AUFIDIUS.
If you were Hector,
Wert thou the Hector
the best fighter among your ancestors [the Trojans],
That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,
you still wouldn’t get out of here alive.
Thou shouldst not scape me here.--
[They fight, and certain Volsces come to the aid of AUFIDIUS.]
You interfering cowards! [to the Volscian soldiers] You have shamed me
Officious, and not valiant,--you have sham'd me
with your damn help.
In your condemned seconds.
[Exeunt fighting, driven in by MAR.]
[Alarum. A retreat is sounded. Flourish. Enter, at one side,
COMINIUS and Romans; at the other side, MARCIUS, with his arm
in a scarf, and other Romans.]
COMINIUS.
If I told you what you did today,
If I should tell thee o'er this thy day's work,
you wouldn’t believe it yourself. But I’m going to tell everyone about it:
Thou't not believe thy deeds: but I'll report it
Senators who will weep with joy,
Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles;
rich men who won’t believe it, but who in the end
Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug,
will admire you, women who will be scared to hear about it,
I' the end admire; where ladies shall be frighted
but want to hear more, the stupid representatives of the people,
And, gladly quak'd, hear more; where the dull tribunes,
who hate you like all the other peasants,
That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine honours,
but who’ll say despite themselves, “Thank God
Shall say, against their hearts 'We thank the gods
we have a soldier that that on our side.”
Our Rome hath such a soldier.'
But you were only involved at the end of this last battle,
Yet cam'st thou to a morsel of this feast,
having already fought one [at the siege of Corioles] just before.
Having fully dined before.
[Enter TITUS LARTIUS, with his power, from the pursuit.]
LARTIUS.
Oh General,
O general,
this guy is the real hero, we’re just window dressing.
Here is the steed, we the caparison:
If you had seen—
Hadst thou beheld,--
MARCIUS.
Please, no more praise. Even my mother,
Pray now, no more: my mother,
who praises her children like it’s her job,
Who has a charter to extol her blood,
embarrasses me when she praises me. I did the same
When she does praise me grieves me. I have done
as you all did—what I could. And I did it for the same reason
As you have done,--that's what I can; induced
as you—for my country.
As you have been,--that's for my country:
Anyone who has put his own intentions into action
He that has but effected his good will
has done more than me.
Hath overta'en mine act.
COMINIUS.
You are not going to
You shall not be
cover up the great things you’ve done. Rome must know
The grave of your deserving; Rome must know
the value of her own native son. It would be a lie worse than
The value of her own: 'twere a concealment
stealing, no less than slander,
Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement,
to hide your actions. To not mention those brave deeds
To hide your doings; and to silence that
after they’ve been praised and you’ve been adored in Rome,
Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch'd,
would be an acceptable level of modesty. So, please,
Would seem but modest: therefore, I beseech you,--
as a token of who you are, not as a reward for what you’ve
In sign of what you are, not to reward
done, let me praise you in front of the whole army.
What you have done,--before our army hear me.
MARCIUS.
I have some wounds, and they hurt
I have some wounds upon me, and they smart
when you talk about them.
To hear themselves remember'd.
COMINIUS.
If they didn’t,
Should they not,
they might fester because they haven’t been praised,
Well might they fester 'gainst ingratitude,
and kill you. Out of all the horses we captured in battle
And tent themselves with death. Of all the horses,--
(and we took lots of good ones), and out of all
Whereof we have ta'en good, and good store,--of all
the gold and jewels we captured in battle and while looting the city,
The treasure in this field achiev'd and city,
we’ll give you a tenth of the total, and you
We render you the tenth; to be ta'en forth
can pick what you want before
<
br /> Before the common distribution at
anyone else gets a choice.
Your only choice.
MARCIUS.
Thank you, General,
I thank you, general,
but I cannot accept payment
But cannot make my heart consent to take
for fighting. I refuse any extra reward,
A bribe to pay my sword: I do refuse it;
and I’ll just take the same share of the booty as
And stand upon my common part with those
all of the other soldiers.
That have beheld the doing.
[A long flourish. They all cry 'Marcius, Marcius!', cast up their
caps and lances. COMINIUS and LARTIUS stand bare.]
I hope those trumpets that you’re ruining by playing them in my honor
May these same instruments which you profane
will never make another sound! When good, manly military instruments
Never sound more! When drums and trumpets shall
are used just to flatter people, palaces and cities must be
I' the field prove flatterers, let courts and cities be
entirely full of deceptive flattery.
Made all of false-fac'd soothing.
When manly weapons get as useless as a flattering courtiers clothing,
When steel grows soft as the parasite's silk,
then you prase him as the best soldier in the war.
Let him be made a overture for the wars.
No more, I say! Because I haven’t cleaned
No more, I say! for that I have not wash'd
my bloody nose, or because I beat some pitiful weakling
My nose that bled, or foil'd some debile wretch,--
(which many others here have done without being noticed for it),
Which, without note, here's many else have done,--
you’re cheering wildly for me,
You shout me forth in acclamations hyperbolical;
as if I wanted to be fed on a diet
As if I loved my little should be dieted
of praises in a sauce of lies.
In praises sauc'd with lies.
COMINIUS.
You are too modest.
Too modest are you;
You’re cruel, rather than grateful, to us who are only trying to