SCENE IV. Character of Coriolanus. His nature is too noble for this world: (4) He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, Or Jove for's power to thunder: his heart's his mouth; What his breast forges that his tongue must vent, SCENE V. Honour and Policy. Honour and policy, like unfever'd friends, The Method to gain Popular Favour. Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand, And thus far having ftretch'd it, (here be with them) Thy knee buffing the ftones: (for in fuch bufiness Action is eloquence, and the eyes of th' ignorant More (4) He, &c.] Thomfon, who hath written a tragedy on this subject, tho' with little fuccefs, his dramatic genius being utterly incapable of treading in the steps of Shakespear, puts this character of Coriolanus into the mouth of Galefus; Spite of my love to Marcius I must own it, His rage, if once offended, knows no bounds, Mere menial hands by nature meant to serve him. A&t 2. Sc. ra The reader will be agreeably entertained by reading the life of this hero, written by Plutarch, which will add many beauties to this compofition of Shakespear. More learned than the ears;) (5) waving thy head, That wilt not hold the handling; [or] fay to them. In asking their loves; but thou wilt frame Thyfelf (5) Waving thy head, &c.] Mr. Warburton and Sir Thomas Hanmer after him, thinking this paffage corrupt and abfurd, alter it thus ; Waving thy band, Which foften thus correcting, &c. We have nothing more to do than explain the paffage, to fhew their mistake the mother defires her fon to go to the populace with all tokens of humility, "with his bonnet in his band, which he was to ftretch forth, and to buss the stones with his knee, and to wave his head in token of contrition (a most common and daily-obfervable method) which [or the doing of which] often thus correcting his ftout heart [by thus waving, in fign of fubmiffion, correcting and chastifing that pride, and fubduing that erroneous obftinacy by this humiliation, he confeffes to punish and bring under, &c.] then, fhe adds, fay, fo and fo, &c. We may fuppofe, often thus, is fpoken danTixws, as the rhetoricians fay, the herself, while speaking, being supposed to wave her head, in the manner fhe would have Coriolanus do it. Mr. Warburton aiks" Where is the fenfe or grammar of, Which often thus, c." I would answer one queftion by another-Where is the fenfe or grammar of, Waving thy hand, which foften thus? .. -The reader may obferve, hand and foft, are both used in the fpeech, not far from this place, which is fome objection to the critic's emendation. The fecond line is a proof she uses that action fhe would recom mend to her fon: the reader will obferve, or, in the 8th line is quite unneceffary, the verfe and fenfe being compleat without it; for which reason 1 have put it in crotchets, as a perplexing and idle expletive. (6) Haft not, &c.] So Othello tells the fenate of Venice; Rude am I in my fpeech, And little blefs'd with the foft phrafe of peace, &c. Thyfelf (forfooth) hereafter theirs fo far, Coriolanus, his Abhorrence of Flattery. Some harlot's fpirit! my throat of war be turn'd, His Mother's Refolution on his stubborn Pride. (7) At thy choice then; To beg of thee, it is my more difhonour, Than thou of them. Come all to ruin, let Thy (7) At thy, &c.] Daughter rife, Let us no more before the Volfcian people It is in vain we try to melt a breast, Prefers the worst. Hear me, proud man, I have [Drawing from a robe a dagger. Tread Thy mother rather feel thy pride, than fear SCENE VI. His Deteftation of the Vulgar. You common cry of curs whofe breath I hate, That do currupt my air: I banish ACT VI. SCENE I. Precepts against Ill-fortune. You were us'd To fay, extremity was the trier of fpirits; Tread on the bleeding breast of her to whom Thou ow'ft thy life. With Thomson's Coriolanus, A&t 5. Sc. I. See the page following. With precepts, that wou'd make invincible SCENE III. On common Friendships. Oh world, thy flippery turns! Friends now fast Whofe double bofoms feem to wear one heart, (8) On a diffenffion of a doit, break out, Whofe paffions and whofe plots have broke their fleep To take the one the other, by fome chance, Some (8) On a diffenfion, &c.] This is a beautiful picture of the trivial accidents that break and contract common friendships: I remember a paffage in a poem called, An Effay on Conver fation, (which is written, if I am not miftaken, by Mr. Stillingfleet, and may be found in Dodley's Mifcellany,) where he excellently fets forth the little follies that occafion fatal breaches in friendship, than which, as Manilius long fince obferved, nothing in nature is more noble, and nothing in nature more rare. Nihil ex femet natura creavit Pectore amicitiae majus, nec rarius unquam. I have not the poem by me, but fo far as I can recollect the paffage, will give it my reader. Panthus and Euclio link'd in friendship's tye, Liv'd each for each, as each for each wou'd die: I believe the ingenious author ufes this example with a different defign from that for which I have quoted it; however, it will ferve very well to cast a light on the prefent topic. |