The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 497
I will go greet the ladies. Volumnia
I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia
is worth more than all Rome’s politicians put together!
Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians,
Definitely more than you,
A city full: of tribunes such as you,
or even the whole world. You have prayed well today.
A sea and land full. You have pray'd well to-day:
This morning I was sure you would
This morning for ten thousand of your throats
be killed. Look, how happy everyone is!
Ied not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy!
[Shouting and music.]
SICINIUS.
[To the SECOND MESSENGER.] God bless you,
First, the gods bless you for your tidings; next,
and thank you.
Accept my thankfulness.
SECOND MESSENGER.
We all have
Sir, we have all
good reason to be thankful.
Great cause to give great thanks.
SICINIUS.
Are they near the city?
They are near the city?
MESSENGER.
They’re about to enter.
Almost at point to enter.
SICINIUS.
We’ll meet them
We'll meet them,
and help celebrate.
And help the joy.
[Exeunt.]
[Enter VOLUMNIA, VIRGILIA, VALERIA, &c., accompanied by Senators,
Patricians, and Citizens.]
FIRST SENATOR.
Look at our benefactor, the savior of Rome!
Behold our patroness, the life of Rome!
Call all the social groups together, praise the gods,
Call all your tribes together, praise the gods,
and make a victory fire. Throw flowers in their path.
And make triumphant fires; strew flowers before them:
Take back the votes that banished Marcius
Unshout the noise that banish'd Marcius,
and recall him from exile to be welcomed by his mother.
Repeal him with the welcome of his mother;
Everyone say: “Welcome, ladies, welcome!”
Cry, 'Welcome, ladies, welcome!'--
ALL.
Welcome, ladies,
Welcome, ladies,
welcome!
Welcome!
[Exeunt.]
[Enter TULLUS AUFIDIUS, with attendants.]
AUFIDIUS.
Go tell the leaders of Antium that I am here.
Go tell the lords o' the city I am here:
Give them this letter, and when they’ve read it,
Deliver them this paper; having read it,
tell them to go to the market place, where I
Bid them repair to the market-place: where I,
will swear in front of everyone that the contents of the letter are true.
Even in theirs and in the commons' ears,
He whom I accuse [Coriolanus]
Will vouch the truth of it. Him I accuse
has already entered the city, and
The city ports by this hath enter'd and
intends to appear before the people, hoping
Intends t' appear before the people, hoping
establish his innocence with his words. Go do it.
To purge himself with words: despatch.
[Exeunt attendants.]
[Enter three or four CONSPIRATORS of AUFIDIUS' faction.]
Welcome!
Most welcome!
FIRST CONSPIRATOR.
How are you?
How is it with our general?
AUFIDIUS.
Like
Even so
a man poisoned by his own good deeds,
As with a man by his own alms empoison'd,
and killed by his charity.
And with his charity slain.
SECOND CONSPIRATOR.
Good sir,
Most noble sir,
if you still have the plan you had when
If you do hold the same intent wherein
you asked us to be your partners, we’ll save you
You wish'd us parties, we'll deliver you
from your danger.
Of your great danger.
AUFIDIUS.
I can’t tell.
Sir, I cannot tell:
We’ll have to make it up as we go along, depending on how people react.
We must proceed as we do find the people.
THIRD CONSPIRATOR.
The people will remain uncertain while
The people will remain uncertain whilst
you two are arguing with each other. But when one of you loses,
'Twixt you there's difference: but the fall of either
the other wins everything.
Makes the survivor heir of all.
AUFIDIUS.
I know.
I know it;
And my excuse to attack him can be
And my pretext to strike at him admits
interpreted favorable. I promoted him, and I sold
A good construction. I rais'd him, and I pawn'd
my honor on the basis of his guarantee. And once I had so exalted him,
Mine honour for his truth: who being so heighten'd,
we flattered the Volscians,
He water'd his new plants with dews of flattery,
seducing my friends. And in order to accomplish this ingratiation,
Seducing so my friends; and to this end
he concealed his true nature, which was always
He bow'd his nature, never known before
rough, obstinate and uninhibited.
But to be rough, unswayable, and free.
THIRD CONSPIRATOR.
His stubbornness
Sir, his stoutness
when he was running for consul, which he lost
When he did stand for consul, which he lost
because he wouldn’t give the people what they wanted—
By lack of stooping,--
AUFIDIUS.
I would have said that if you hadn’t interrupted me.
That I would have spoken of:
Having been banished, he came to my home,
Being banish'd for't, he came unto my hearth;
and gave me the chance to kill him. I took him in,
Presented to my knife his throat: I took him;
made him my equal in the service of the government, let him have
Made him joint-servant with me; gave him way
whatever he desired, even let him choose his own soldiers
In all his own desires; nay, let him choose
out of my ranks, so that he could do what he wanted
Out of my files, his projects to accomplish,
using my best men. I helped him achieve his goals
My best and freshest men; serv'd his designments
myself, helped to make him famous
In mine own person; holp to reap the fame
when he’d done all this, and I took pride in
Which he made all his; and took some pride
hurting myself by helping him. Until, finally,
To do myself this wrong: till, at the last,
I seemed like his follower, not his partner, and
I seem'd his follower, not partner; and
he paid me with his kind looks as if
He wag'd me with his countenance as if
I were a soldier of fortune.
I had been mercenary.
FIRST CONSPIRATOR.
That’s true.
So he did, my lord:
The army marveled at it. And, at last,
The army marvell'd at it; and, in the last,
when he had defeated Rome, and we looked
When he had carried Rome, and that we look'd
for glory more than booty—
For no less spoil than glory,--
AUFIDIUS.
That was it.
There was it;--
That’s why I will fight him with all my strength.
For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon him.
After a few women’s tears, which are
At a few drops of women's rheum, which are
as common as their lies, he betrayed our dead and our work
As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour
in that campaign, and for that he will die,
Of our great action: therefore shall he die,
and I’ll renew myself with his defeat. But, look!
And I'll renew me in his fall. But, hark!
[Drums and trumpets sound, with great shouts of the people.]
FIRST CONSPIRATOR.
You entered Antium like a messenger,
Your native town you enter'd like a post,
and no one welcomed you home. But when Coriolanus returns,
And had no welcomes home; but he returns
everyone makes a big fuss.
Splitting the air with noise.
SECOND CONSPIRATOR.
And long-suffering fools,
And patient fools,
whose children he killed, go hoarse from shouting
Whose children he hath slain, their base throats tear
his praise.
With giving him glory.
THIRD CONSPIRATOR.
So, when you have an opportunity,
Therefore, at your vantage,
before he can speak publicly or persuade the people
Ere he express himself or move the people
with his speech, stab him,
With what he would say, let him feel your sword,
and then we’ll stab him, too. When he’s dead,
Which we will second. When he lies along,
and you have told his story as you would have it told, we’ll bury him
After your way his tale pronounc'd shall bury
with his justifications.
His reasons with his body.
AUFIDIUS.
Shut up!
Say no more:
Here come the leaders of Antium.
Here come the lords.
[Enter the LORDS of the city.]
LORDS.
Welcome home.
You are most welcome home.
AUFIDIUS.
I don’t deserve to be welcomed home.
I have not deserv'd it.
But, my lords, have you read my letter
But, worthy lords, have you with heed perus'd
carefully?
What I have written to you?
LORDS.
We have.
We have.
FIRST LORD.
And we were sorry to read it.
And grieve to hear't.
Whatever he did wrong before the end, I think
What faults he made before the last, I think
could have been punished with only small penalties. But then to
Might have found easy fines: but there to end
call of the war before it really began, and give away the advantage we
Where he was to begin, and give away
gained by mustering a large army, and defending himself to us
The benefit of our levies, answering us
with the authority we gave him, and making a peace treaty when the other side
With our own charge: making a treaty where
hadn’t even surrendered—for that there’s no excuse.
There was a yielding.--This admits no excuse.
AUFIDIUS.
Here he comes, let’s see what he has to say.
He approaches: you shall hear him.
[Enter CORIOLANUS, with drum and colours; a crowd of Citizens
with him.]
CORIOLANUS.
Hello! I am back, still as your soldier,
Hail, lords! I am return'd your soldier;
not influenced by my love for my country
No more infected with my country's love
any more than when I left here, but still remaining
Than when I parted hence, but still subsisting
under your command. You must have heard
Under your great command. You are to know
how successful my efforts were, and
That prosperously I have attempted, and
how we fought our way violently all the way to
With bloody passage led your wars even to
the gates of Rome. The booty we brought home
The gates of Rome. Our spoils we have brought home
will pay for at least a third of
Do more than counterpoise a full third part
the cost of the war. We have made peace
The charges of the action. We have made peace
with no less honor for the Volscians
With no less honour to the Antiates
than shame for the Romans, and I now give you
Than shame to the Romans: and we here deliver,
the treaty, signed by the consuls and noblemen,
Subscribed by the consuls and patricians,
together with the stamp of approval of the senate,
Together with the seal o' the senate, what
which we have agreed on.
We have compounded on.
AUFIDIUS.
Don’t read it, lords.
Read it not, noble lords;
Tell the traitor how much
But tell the traitor, in the highest degree
he has abused the powers you gave him.
He hath abus'd your powers.
CORIOLANUS.
Traitor? What now?
Traitor!--How now?
AUFIDIUS.
Yes, traitor, Marcius.
Ay, traitor, Marcius.
CORIOLANUS.
Marcius!
Marcius!
AUFIDIUS.
Yes, Marcius, Caius Marcius! Do you think
Ay, Marcius, Caius Marcius! Dost thou think
I’d honor you with that stolen name of yours,
I'll grace thee with that robbery, thy stol'n name
Coriolanus, in Corioles?
Coriolanus, in Corioli?—
[There is some ambiguity as to whether this scene takes place in Antium or Corioles.]
You leaders of the Volscian government, he has betrayed you
You lords and heads o' the state, perfidiously
treacherously, and given up,
He has betray'd your business, and given up,
for a few tears, the city of Rome
For certain drops of salt, your city Rome,--
(which should have been your), to his wife and mother,
I say your city,--to his wife and mother;
breaking his oath and his sworn purpose like
Breaking his oath and resolution, like
a thread of rotten silk. He never accepted
A twist of rotten silk; never admitting
military advice, but at his mother’s tears
Counsel o' the war; but at his nurse's tears
he cried and gave away your victory,
He whin'd and roar'd away your victory;
so that servant boys blush in shame for him, and brave men
That pages blush'd at him, and men of heart
were amazed.
Look'd wondering each at others.
CORIOLANUS.
Do you here this, god of war?
Hear'st thou, Mars?
AUFIDIUS.
Don’t talk about that god, you cry-baby!
Name not the god, thou boy of tears,--
CORIOLANUS.
Ha!
Ha!
AUFIDIUS.
That’s enough.
No more.
CORIOLANUS.
You big liar, you have made my heart sound like
Measureless liar, thou has
t made my heart
it were bigger than my chest. Cry-baby? Oh, you slave!
Too great for what contains it. Boy! O slave!—
I’m sorry, my lords, this is the first time I ever
Pardon me, lords, 'tis the first time that ever
had to use violent language to rebuke someone in public. You, my lords,
I was forc'd to scold. Your judgments, my grave lords,
must accuse this dog to his face of lying. Aufidius’ understanding
Must give this cur the lie: and his own notion,--
(who carries the mark of my beating on his body, and must carry
Who wears my stripes impress'd upon him; that must bear
that beating to the grave) will take part in proving
My beating to his grave,--shall join to thrust
himself a liar.
The lie unto him.
FIRST LORD.
Quiet, both of you, and listen to me.
Peace, both, and hear me speak.
CORIOLANUS.
But me to pieces, Volscians. Men and boys,
Cut me to pieces, Volsces; men and lads,
cut me with your swords. Cry-baby? You lying dog!
Stain all your edges on me.--Boy! False hound!
If I remember correctly,
If you have writ your annals true, 'tis there,
I beat you Volscians in Corioles
That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I
like a fox in a hen house.
Flutter'd your Volscians in Corioli:
And I did it alone. Some cry-baby!
Alone I did it.--Boy!
AUFIDIUS.
Why
Why, noble lords,
does this braggart remind you of that piece of pure luck,
Will you be put in mind of his blind fortune,
which was your shame,
Which was your shame, by this unholy braggart,
right in front of your faces?
'Fore your own eyes and ears?
CONSPIRATORS.
Kill him for it.
Let him die for't.
CITIZENS.
Tear him pieces, do it now! He killed my son; my daughter;
Tear him to pieces, do it presently:--he killed my son; my
he killed my cousin Marcus; he killed my father…