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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)

Page 487

by William Shakespeare

I could beat forty of them.

  MENENIUS.

  I could myself

  I could myself

  take on a pair of the best of them—yes, the two tribunes.

  Take up a brace o' the best of them; yea, the two tribunes.

  COMINIUS.

  But now the odds are against us so bad I can’t calculate our disadvantage.

  But now 'tis odds beyond arithmetic;

  And courage is called stupidity when it holds its ground

  And manhood is call'd foolery when it stands

  in a collapsing building. Will you leave

  Against a falling fabric.--Will you hence,

  before the mob returns? Their rage is like a

  Before the tag return? whose rage doth rend

  suddenly flooded stream

  Like interrupted waters, and o'erbear

  that will burst its dam.

  What they are used to bear.

  MENENIUS.

  Please go.

  Pray you be gone:

  I’ll see if my good judgment will be listened to

  I'll try whether my old wit be in request

  by those that have none. This thing has to settled

  With those that have but little: this must be patch'd

  by any means necessary.

  With cloth of any colour.

  COMINIUS.

  No, come away with us.

  Nay, come away.

  [Exeunt CORIOLANUS, COMINIUS, and others.]

  FIRST PATRICIAN.

  Coriolanus has ruined his good luck.

  This man has marr'd his fortune.

  MENENIUS.

  He is just too noble for the world.

  His nature is too noble for the world:

  He wouldn’t flatter the god of the sea even if threatened with death,

  He would not flatter Neptune for his trident,

  of the god of thunder even if he were going to be zapped. He speaks his mind.

  Or Jove for's power to thunder. His heart's his mouth:

  What ever he feels, he has to say.

  What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent;

  And when he’s angry he loses

  And, being angry, does forget that ever

  all fear of death.

  He heard the name of death.

  [A noise within.]

  Here comes good news!

  Here's goodly work!

  SECOND PATRICIAN.

  I wish they would go to bed!

  I would they were a-bed!

  MENENIUS.

  I wish they would drown in the river!

  I would they were in Tiber!

  What the hell, couldn’t he be nice for once?

  What the vengeance, could he not speak 'em fair?

  [Re-enter BRUTUS and SICINIUS, with the rabble.]

  SICINIUS.

  Where is that snake,

  Where is this viper

  That would depopulate the city and

  That would depopulate the city and

  Be every man himself?

  Be every man himself?

  MENENIUS.

  Good tribunes—

  You worthy tribunes,--

  SICINIUS.

  He will be thrown off the cliff

  He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian rock

  with severe hands. He has broken the law, and resisted arrest,

  With rigorous hands: he hath resisted law,

  and therefore the law will not give him a trial

  And therefore law shall scorn him further trial

  other than the judgment of the people,

  Than the severity of the public power,

  which he thinks is worth nothing.

  Which he so sets at nought.

  FIRST CITIZEN.

  He will learn that

  He shall well know

  the tribunes are the voice of the people,

  The noble tribunes are the people's mouths,

  and we do what they say.

  And we their hands.

  CITIZENS.

  He certainly will.

  He shall, sure on't.

  MENENIUS.

  Sir, sir—

  Sir, sir,--

  SICINIUS.

  Quiet!

  Peace!

  MENENIUS.

  Do not use excessive force when

  Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt

  you shouldn’t.

  With modest warrant.

  SICINIUS.

  Sir, why did you

  Sir, how comes't that you

  help to let him escape from legal custody?

  Have holp to make this rescue?

  MENENIUS.

  Listen to me:

  Hear me speak:--

  Though I know the consul good qualities,

  As I do know the consul's worthiness,

  I can also list his flaws—

  So can I name his faults,--

  SICINIUS.

  Consul! What consul?

  Consul!--what consul?

  MENENIUS.

  The consul Coriolanus.

  The consul Coriolanus.

  BRUTUS.

  Is he a consul?

  He consul!

  CITIZENS.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  MENENIUS.

  If the tribunes and the people

  If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, good people,

  will listen to me for a minute, I have something to say

  I may be heard, I would crave a word or two;

  which won’t cause you any further harm

  The which shall turn you to no further harm

  except the waste of your time.

  Than so much loss of time.

  SICINIUS.

  Speak quickly, then,

  Speak briefly, then;

  because we are absolutely determined to kill

  For we are peremptory to dispatch

  that poisonous traitor. To exile him

  This viperous traitor: to eject him hence

  will leave the danger of his violent return, and to keep him here

  Were but one danger; and to keep him here

  will mean our certain death. Therefore it is decided:

  Our certain death: therefore it is decreed

  he dies tonight.

  He dies to-night.

  MENENIUS.

  It would be a sin

  Now the good gods forbid

  for Rome, whose gratitude

  That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude

  towards her deserving citizens is

  Towards her deserved children is enroll'd

  famous, to eat her own pup

  In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam

  like a deranged bitch!

  Should now eat up her own!

  SICINIUS.

  He’s a disease that must be cut out.

  He's a disease that must be cut away.

  MENENIUS.

  He’s like a leg that just has a minor disease:

  O, he's a limb that has but a disease;

  it would be fatal to cut it off, and easy to cure it.

  Mortal, to cut it off; to cure it, easy.

  What has he done to Rome that's worthy of death?

  What has he done to Rome that's worthy death?

  Killing our enemies, the blood he has lost

  Killing our enemies, the blood he hath lost,--

  (which I bet is many ounces more than he has in his veins),

  Which I dare vouch is more than that he hath

  he lost for his country.

  By many an ounce,--he dropt it for his country;

  And if his own country were to make him loose the blood he has left

  And what is left, to lose it by his country

  would make all of us who did it and allowed it

  Were to us all, that do't and suffer it

  guilty until the end of the world.


  A brand to the end o' the world.

  SICINIUS.

  That is completely wrong.

  This is clean kam.

  BRUTUS.

  Entirely wrong. When he loved his country,

  Merely awry: when he did love his country,

  it honored him.

  It honour'd him.

  MENENIUS.

  A foot,

  The service of the foot,

  after its been infected with disease, is no longer respected

  Being once gangren'd, is not then respected

  for what it once was.

  For what before it was.

  BRUTUS.

  We won’t hear any more of this.

  We'll hear no more.—

  Go arrest him at his house,

  Pursue him to his house, and pluck him thence;

  and so keep his nasty, contagious ideas

  Lest his infection, being of catching nature,

  from spreading further.

  Spread further.

  MENENIUS.

  Let me say one more thing.

  One word more, one word.

  This fast-moving rage, when it finds out

  This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find

  the danger of unconsidered speed, will, too late,

  The harm of unscann'd swiftness, will, too late,

  try to slow itself down. Proceed by legal action,

  Tie leaden pounds to's heels. Proceed by process;

  so that factions (since he is also beloved) don’t break out

  Lest parties,--as he is belov'd,--break out,

  and allow the Roman to destroy Rome.

  And sack great Rome with Romans.

  BRUTUS.

  If that were so—

  If it were so,--

  SICINIUS.

  Why do you talk?

  What do ye talk?

  Haven’t we been obedient to him long enough?

  Have we not had a taste of his obedience?

  Our police knocked down? Ourselves resisted? Come now—

  Our aediles smote? ourselves resisted?--come,--

  MENENIUS.

  Think about it—he’s been a soldier

  Consider this:--he has been bred i' the wars

  since he was a kid, and he doesn’t know

  Since 'a could draw a sword, and is ill school'd

  how to talk fancy, he just speaks his mind.

  In bolted language; meal and bran together

  Let me go get to him

  He throws without distinction. Give me leave,

  and try to bring him back here

  I'll go to him and undertake to bring him

  to explain himself

  Where he shall answer, by a lawful form,

  and face the legal consequences of his actions.

  In peace, to his utmost peril.

  FIRST SENATOR.

  Noble tribunes,

  Noble tribunes,

  you should do what he said: if we do it the other way

  It is the humane way: the other course

  it’s going to get ugly

  Will prove too bloody; and the end of it

  And who knows what could happen?

  Unknown to the beginning.

  SICINIUS.

  Noble Menenius,

  Noble Menenius,

  you may represent the people on that errand.

  Be you then as the people's officer.—

  People, put down your weapons.

  Masters, lay down your weapons.

  BRUTUS.

  But don’t go home,

  Go not home.

  SICINIUS.

  Let’s meet at the market place. We’ll wait for you there.

  Meet on the market-place.--We'll attend you there:

  But if you don’t bring Coriolanus we’ll go back

  Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll proceed

  to our first plan.

  In our first way.

  MENENIUS.

  I’ll bring him to you.

  I'll bring him to you.—

  [To the SENATORS.] Please come with me. He has to come back with us

  [To the SENATORS.] Let me desire your company: he must come,

  or the worst will happen.

  Or what is worst will follow.

  FIRST SENATOR.

  Let’s go to him.

  Pray you let's to him.

  [Exeunt.]

  [Enter CORIOLANUS and Patricians.]

  CORIOLANUS.

  I don’t care if they pull my ears off, or crush me to death under a giant wheel,

  Let them pull all about mine ears; present me

  or tear me apart by tying my arms and legs to horses running in different directions,

  Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels;

  or throw me off a really tall cliff,

  Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock,

  from the top of which you couldn’t

  That the precipitation might down stretch

  see the bottom. I will still

  Below the beam of sight; yet will I still

  act the same.

  Be thus to them.

  FIRST PATRICIAN.

  You are very noble.

  You do the nobler.

  CORIOLANUS.

  I wonder that my mother

  I muse my mother

  does not approve of my intransigence, she who likes

  Does not approve me further, who was wont

  to call those people poor servants, things created

  To call them woollen vassals, things created

  to buy and sell for pennies, to take off their hats

  To buy and sell with groats; to show bare heads

  and bow to their superiors, to gape, be still and marvel

  In congregations, to yawn, be still, and wonder,

  someone of my rank stood up

  When one but of my ordinance stood up

  to speak about peace or war.

  To speak of peace or war.

  [Enter VOLUMNIA.]

  I was just talking about you. [To VOLUMNIA.]

  I talk of you: [To VOLUMIA.]

  Why do want me to calm down? Do you want me

  Why did you wish me milder? Would you have me

  to not be true to myself? You should tell me to act like

  False to my nature? Rather say, I play

  the man I am.

  The man I am.

  VOLUMNIA.

  Oh, sir,

  O, sir, sir, sir,

  I wish you had established yourself securely in your new position

  I would have had you put your power well on

  before you wore it out.

  Before you had worn it out.

  CORIOLANUS.

  Leave me alone.

  Let go.

  VOLUMNIA.

  You might have been yourself

  You might have been enough the man you are

  without trying so hard to do so. You would have been

  With striving less to be so: lesser had been

  truer to yourself if

  The thwartings of your dispositions, if

  you hadn’t told them your real opinions

  You had not show'd them how ye were dispos'd,

  before they couldn’t oppose you [i.e., after you had been confirmed as consul].

  Ere they lack'd power to cross you.

  CORIOLANUS.

  They can all go to hell.

  Let them hang.

  VOLUMNIA.

  Ye, and burn too.

  Ay, and burn too.

  [Enter MENENIUS with the SENATORS.]

  MENENIUS.

  Alright, you have been too rough, somewhat too rough.

  Come, come, you have been too rough, something too rough;

  You must return and fix it.

  You must return and mend it.

  FIRST SENATOR.

  There’s no way to fix it.

  There's
no remedy;

  But if you don’t fix it, our city

  Unless, by not so doing, our good city

  with be split and two, and die.

  Cleave in the midst, and perish.

  VOLUMNIA.

  Please listen to their advice.

  Pray be counsell'd;

  I am as incompliant as you are

  I have a heart as little apt as yours,

  but I’m smart enough to use my anger

  But yet a brain that leads my use of anger

  to greater advantage.

  To better vantage.

  MENENIUS.

  Well said, good woman!

  Well said, noble woman!

  If it weren’t for the fact the people’s violent fit

  Before he should thus stoop to the herd, but that

  threatens the whole country,

  The violent fit o' the time craves it as physic

  I would get ready to fight rather than see Coriolanus humble himself to the mob,

  For the whole state, I would put mine armour on,

  which I can hardly bear to see.

  Which I can scarcely bear.

  CORIOLANUS.

  What should I do?

  What must I do?

  MENENIUS.

  Return to the tribunes.

  Return to the tribunes.

  CORIOLANUS.

  Well, what then? what then?

  Well, what then? what then?

  MENENIUS.

  Take back what you said.

  Repent what you have spoke.

  CORIOLANUS.

  For them? I cannot take back what I said to the gods,

  For them?--I cannot do it to the gods;

  but I have to do it for them?

  Must I then do't to them?

  VOLUMNIA.

  You are too inflexible,

  You are too absolute;

  though that’s a good quality

  Though therein you can never be too noble

  except in times of extreme urgency. I have heard you say

  But when extremities speak. I have heard you say

  that honor and crafty lies, like inseparable friends,

  Honour and policy, like unsever'd friends,

 

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