Imatges de pàgina
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From flaves that apes would beat? Pluto and hell!
All hurt behind; backs red, and faces pale

With flight and agued fear! Mend, and charge home,
Or, by the fires of heaven, I'll leave the foe,
And make my wars on you; look to't: Come on;
If you'll stand faft, we'll beat them to their wives,
As they us to our trenches followed.

Another Alarum. The Volcians and Romans re-enter, and the fight is renewed. The Volcians retire into Corioli, and MARCIUS follows them to the gates.

So, now the gates are ope :-Now prove good feconds: 'Tis for the followers fortune widens them,

Not for the fliers: Mark me, and do the like.

[He enters the gates, and is fhut in.

1. Sol. Fool-hardiness; not I.

2. Sol. Nor I.

3. Sol. See, they have shut him in. [Alarum continues. All. To the pot, I warrant him.

Enter TITUS LARTIUS.

Lart. What is become of Marcius?
All. Slain, fir, doubtlefs.

1. Sol. Following the fliers at the very heels,
With them he enters: who, upon the fudden,
Clapp'd to their gates; he is himself alone,
To answer all the city.

Lart. O noble fellow !

Who, fenfible, outdares his senseless sword,

And, when it bows, ftands up! Thou art left, Marcius:

9 Who fenfible, out-dares-] The old editions read:

Who fenfibly out-dares

Thirlby reads:

Who, fenfible, outdoes bis fenfelefs fword.

A car.

He is followed by the later editors, but I have taken only half his correction. JOHNSON.

Senfible is here, having fenfation. So before: "I would, your cambrick were fenfible as your finger." Though Coriolanus has the feeling of pain like other men, he is more hardy in daring exploits than his fenfelefs word, for after it is bent, he yet ftands firm in the field.

MALONE. The thought feems to have been adopted from Sidney's Arcadia, edit. 1633, P. 293:

M 4

<< Their

A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art,
Were not fo rich a jewel. Thou waft a foldier
Even to Cato's wish: not fierce and terrible
Only in ftrokes 2; but, with thy grim looks, and
The thunder-like percuffion of thy founds,

Thou mad'ft thine enemies fhake, as if the world
Were feverous, and did tremble '.

Re-enter

"Their very armour by piece-meale fell away from them: and yet their flesh abode the wounds conftantly, as though it were leffe fenfible of smart than the fenfeleffe armour," &c. STEEVENS.

A carbuncle entire, &c.] So, in Othello:

24

"If heaven had made me fuch another woman,

"Of one entire and perfect chryfolite,

"I'd not have ta'en it for her." MALONE.
Thou waft a foldier

Even to Cato's with: not fierce and terrible

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Only in ftrokes, &c.] The old copy reads-Calues with. The correction was made by Theobald, and is fully juftified by the paffage in Plutarch, which Shakspeare had in view: Martius, being there [before Corioli] at that time, ronning out of the campe with a fewe men with him, he flue the first enemies he met withall, and made the reft of them staye upon a fodaine; crying out to the Romaines that had turned their backes, and calling them againe to fight with a lowde voyce. For he was even fuch another as Cato would have a fouldier and a captaine to be; not only terrible and fierce to lay about him, but to make the enemie afeard with the founde of bis voyce and grimnes of bis countenance." North's Tranflation of Plutarch, 1579, p. 240.

Mr. Mafon fuppofes that Shakspeare, to avoid the chronological impropriety, put this faying of the elder Cato "into the mouth of a certain Calvus, who might have lived at any time." Had Shakspeare known that Cato was not contemporary with Coriolanus, (for there is nothing in the foregoing paffage to make him even fufpect that was the cafe,) and in confequence made this alteration, he would have attended in this particular inftance to a point, of which almoft every page of his works fhows that he was totally negligent; a fuppofition which is fo improbable, that I have no doubt the correction that has been adopted by the modern editors, is right. In the first act of this play, we have Lucius and Marcius printed inftead of Lartius, in the original and only authentick ancient copy. The fubftitution of Calues, instead of Cato's, is, eafily accounted for. Shakspeare wrote, according to the mode of his time, Catoes with; (So, in Beaumont's Mafque, 1613:

"And what will Junoes iris do for her?")

omitting to draw a line across the t, and writing the o inaccurately, the tranfcriber or printer gave us Calues. See a fubfequent paflage in Act 11. fc. ult. in which our author has been led by another paffage in Plutarch into a fimilar anachronifm. MALONE.

3-as if the world

Were feverous, and did tremble.] So, in Macbeth:

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Re-enter MARCIUS, bleeding, affaulted by the enemy.

1. Sol. Look, fir.

Lart. O, 'tis Marcius:

Let's fetch him off, or make remain alike.

[They fight, and all enter the city.

[blocks in formation]

1. Rom. This will I carry to Rome.

2. Rom. And I this.

3. Rom. A murrain on't! I took this for filver.

[Alarum continues ftill afar off.

Enter MARCIUS, and TITUS LARTIUS, with a trumpet.

Mar. See here these movers, that do prize their hours $
At a crack'd drachm! Cufhions, leaden fpoons,

Irons of a doit, doublets that hangmen would
Bury with those that wore them, these base flaves,
Fre yet the fight be done, pack up :-Down with them.-
And hark, what noife the general makes!-To him :-
There is the man of my foul's hate, Aufidius,
Piercing our Romans: Then, valiant Titus, take
Convenient numbers to make good the city;

fome fay, the earth

"Was feverous, and did shake." STEEVENS.

4make remain] is an old manner of fpeaking, which means no more than remain. HANMER.

5-prize their hours] Mr. Pope arbitrarily changed the word bours to bonours, and Dr. Johnson, too haftily I think, approves of the alteration. Every page of Mr. Pope's edition abounds with fimilar innovations. MALONE.

Coriolanus blames the Roman foldiers only for wafting their time in packing up trifles of fuch fmall value. So, in fir Thomas North's Tranflation of Plutarch: "Martius was marvellous angry with them, and cried out on them, that it was no time now to looke after fpoyle, and to ronne ftraggling here and there to enrich themselves, whilft the other conful and their fellow citizens peradventure were fighting with their enemies." STEEVENS.

6 - doublets that bangmen would

Bury with those that wore them,] Inftead of taking them as their lawful perquisite. See Vol. II. p. 9, n 6. MALONE.

Whilf

Whilft I, with thofe that have the fpirit, will hafte
To help Cominius.

Lart. Worthy fir, thou bleed'ft;

Thy exercife hath been too violent for
A fecond courfe of fight.

Mar. Sir, praise me not:

My work hath yet not warm'd me: Fare you well. 'The blood I drop is rather physical

Than dangerous to me: To Aufidius thus

I will appear, and fight.

Lart. Now the fair goddess, Fortune,

Fall deep in love with thee; and her great charms
Mifguide thy oppofers' fwords! Bold gentleman,
Prosperity be thy page!

Mar. Thy friend no lefs

Than thofe the places higheft! So, farewel.
Lart. Thou worthieft Marcius!-

[Exit Marcius.

Go, found thy trumpet in the market-place;
Call thither all the officers of the town,
Where they shall know our mind: Away.

SCENE VI.

Near the Camp of Cominius.

Enter COMINIUs and forces, retreating.

[Exeunt.

Com. Breathe you, my friends; well fought: we are

come off

Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands,

Nor cowardly in retire: believe me, firs,

We fhall be charg'd again. Whiles we have ftruck,
By interims, and conveying gufts, we have heard
The charges of our friends :-The Roman gods,
Lead their fucceffes as we wish our own 7;

That both our powers, with fmiling fronts encount'ring,

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- The Roman gods,

Lead their fuccefjes as we wish our own;] i. e. May the Roman

gods, &c.

MALONE.

Enter

Enter a Meffenger.

May give you thankful facrifice!-Thy news?
Mej. The citizens of Corioli have issued,
And given to Lartius and to Marcius battle:
I faw our party to their trenches driven,

And then I came away.

Com. Though thou fpeak'ft truth,

Methinks, thou fpeak'ft not well. How long is't fince?
Mef. Above an hour, my lord.

Com. 'Tis not a mile; briefly we heard their drums:
How could't thou in a mile confound an hour,

And bring thy news fo late?

Mef. Spies of the Volces

Held me in chafe, that I was forc'd to wheel

Three or four miles about; elfe had I, fir,

Half an hour fince brought my report.

Enter MARCIUS.

Com. Who's yonder,

That does appear as he were flay'd? O gods!
He has the ftamp of Marcius; and I have
Before-time feen him thus.

Mar. Come I too late?

Com. The thepherd knows not thunder from a tabor, More than I know the found of Marcius' tongue

From every meaner man 9.

Mar. Come I too late?

Com. Ay, if you come not in the blood of others,

But mantled in your own.

8

Mar. O! let me clip you

confound an hour,] Confound is here ufed not in its common acceptation, but in the fenfe of-to expend. Conterere tempus. MALONE. So, in K. Henry IV. Part I. Act I. fc. iii:

"He did confound the best part of an hour," &c, STEEVENS. 9 From every meaner man.] That is, from that of every meaner man. This kind of phrafeology is found in many places in thefe plays; and as the peculiarities of our author, or rather the language of his age, ought to be fcrupulously attended to, Hanmer and the fubfequent editors who read here every meaner man's, ought not in my apprehenfion to be followed, though we should now write fo. MALONE.

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