As to fet dogs on fheep,) will be his fire 7 Enter a Meffenger. Bru. What's the matter? 'Tis thought, Mef. You are fent for to the Capitol. As to Jove's ftatue; and the commons made A shower, and thunder, with their caps, and shouts : Bru. Let's to the Capitol; And carry with us ears and eyes for the time", Sic. Haye with you. SCENE II. The fame. The Capitol. Enter two Officers, to lay cushions. [Exeunt 1. Off. Come, come, they are almoft here: How many ftand for confulfhips? 7- will be his fire-] Will be a fire lighted by himself. Perhaps the author wrote-as fire. There is, however, no need of change. MALONE. & Matrons flung gloves Ladies-their fearfs-] Here our author has attributed some of the customs of his own age to a people who were wholly unacquainted with them. Few men of fashion in his time appeared at a tournament without a lady's favour upon his arm: and fometimes when a nobleman had tilted with uncommon grace and agility, fome of the fair fpectators ufed to fling a fearf or glove" upon him as he pafs'd." MALONE. 9- carry with us ears and eyes, &c.] That is, let us obferve what passes, but keep our hearts fixed on our defign of crushing Coriolanus. JOHNSON. * Enter two officers, &c.] The old copy reads: "Enter two officers to lay cushions, as it were, in the capitoll." STEEVENS. This as it were was inferted, because there being no fcenes in the theatres in our author's time, no exhibition of the infide of the capitol could be given. See the Account of our old theatres, Vol. I. MALONE. O 3 2. Of. 2. Off. Three, they say: but 'tis thought of every one, Coriolanus will carry it. 1. Off. That's a brave fellow; but he's vengeance proud, and loves not the common people. 2. Off. 'Faith, there have been many great men that have flatter'd the people, who ne'er loved them; and there be many that they have loved, they know not wherefore: fo that, if they love they know not why, they hate upon no better a ground: Therefore, for Coriolanus neither to care whether they love, or hate him, manifefts the true knowledge he has in their difpofition; and, out of his noble carelessnefs, lets them plainly fee't. 1. Of. If he did not care whether he had their love, or no, he waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good, nor harm; but he feeks their hate with greater devotion than they can render it him; and leaves nothing undone, that may fully discover him their oppofite3. Now, to seem to affect the malice and difpleasure of the people, is as bad as that which he dislikes, to flatter them for their love. 2. Off. He hath deserved worthily of his country: And his afcent is not by fuch easy degrees as thofe *, who, having been fupple and courteous to the people, bonnetted, without any further deed to have them at all into their eftimation and reports: but he hath fo planted his ho 2 be waved-] That is, be would wave indifferently. JOHNSON. their oppofite.] That is, their adversary. See Vol. IV. p. 57, n. 5, and p. 70, n. 3. MALONE. 3 4 -as tbofe-] That is, as the afcent of those. MALONE. 3 -who, having been fupple and courteous to the people, bonnetted, without any further deed to have them at all into their eftimation and Teport:] I have adhered to the original copy in printing this very obfcure paffage, because it appears to me at least as intelligible, as what has been fubftituted in its room. Mr. Rowe, for baving, reads bave, and Mr. Pope, for bave in a subsequent part of the fentence, reads beave. Bonnetted, is, apprehend, a verb, not a participle, here. They humbly took off their bonnets, without any further deed whatfoever done in order to have them, that is, to infinuate themselves into the good opinion of the people. To bave them, for to have themselves or to wind themfelves into, is certainly very harsh; but to beave themselves, &c, is not much lefs fo. MALONE. Bonneter, Fr. is to pull off one's cap. See Cotgrave. STEEVENS. nours 199 nours in their eyes, and his actions in their hearts, that for their tongues to be filent, and not confefs so much, were a kind of ingrateful injury; to report otherwife, were a malice, that, giving itself the lie, would pluck reproof and rebuke from every ear that heard it. 1. Off. No more of him; he is a worthy man: Make way, they are coming. A Sennet. Enter, with Lidors before them, CoмINIUS the Conful, MENENIUS, CORIOLANUS, many other Senators, SICINIUS and BRUTUS. The Senators take their places; the Tribunes take theirs also by themselves. Men. Having determin'd of the Volces, and To fend for Titus Lartius, it remains, As the main point of this our after-meeting, To gratify his noble service, that Hath thus ftood for his country: Therefore, please you, The present conful, and laft general By Caius Marcius Coriolanus; whom We met here, both to thank, and to remember 1. Sen. Speak, good Cominius: Leave nothing out for length; and make us think, Than we to ftretch it out 7. Matters o' the people, 6 - whom We met bere, both to thank, &c.] The conftruction, I think, is, whom to thank, &c. (or, for the purpofe of thanking whom) we met or aflembled here. MALONE. and make us think, Rather our ftate's defective for requital, Than we to ftretch it out.] I once thought the meaning was, And make usimagine that the state rather wants inclination or ability to requite his fervices, than that we are blameable for expanding and expatiating upon them. A more fimple explication, however, is perhaps the And make us think that the republick is rather too niggard than too liberal in rewarding his fervices. MALONE. 8 Your loving motion toward the common body,] Your kind interpofition with the common people. JOHNSON. true one. To yield what paffes here. Sic. We are convented Upon a pleafing treaty; and have hearts Bru. Which the rather We shall be bleft to do, if he remember Men. That's off, that's off'; I would you rather had been filent: Please you Bru. Moft willingly: But yet my caution was more pertinent, Men. He loves your people; But tie him not to be their bedfellow. Worthy Cominius, fpeak.-Nay, keep your place. [CORIOLANUS rifes, and offers to go away. 1. Sen. Sit, Coriolanus; never shame to hear What you have nobly done. Cor. Your honours' pardon; I had rather have my wounds to heal again, got them. 9 The theme of our affembly.] Here is a fault in the expreffion: And had it affected our author's knowledge of nature, I should have adjudg ed it to his tranfcribers or editors; but as it affects only his knowledge in history, I fuppofe it to be his own, He should have faid fembly. For till the Lex Attinia, (the author of which is fuppofed by your afSigonius, [De vetere Italia Jure] to have been contemporary with Quintus Metellus Macedonicus) the tribunes had not the privilege of entering the fenate, but had feats placed for them near the door on the outfide of the houfe. WARBURTON. Had Shakspeare been as learned as his commentator, he could not have conducted this fcene otherwife than as it stands. The presence of Brutus and Sicinius was neceffary: and how was our author to have exhibited the outfide and infide of the fenate-houfe at one and the fame inftant? STEEVENS. He certainly could not. kind in King Henry VIII. That's off, that's off;] Yet he has attempted fomething of the fame JOHNSON Bru. Bru. Sir, I hope, My words dif-bench'd you not? Cor. No, fir: yet oft, When blows have made me stay, I fed from words. Men. Pray now, fit down. Cor. 1 had rather have one scratch my head i' the fun, When the alarum were struck, than idly fit To hear my nothings monster'd. Men. Mafters o' the people, [Exit CORIOLANUS. Your multiplying fpawn how can he flatter 3, (That's thoufand to one good one,) when you now see, Than one of his ears to hear it ?-Proceed, Cominius. Should not be utter'd feebly.-It is held, That valour is the chiefest virtue, and Moft dignifies the haver: if it be, The man I speak of cannot in the world 2 You footb'd not, therefore hurt not :] You did not flatter me, and therefore did not offend me.-Hurt is commonly used by our author for burted. Mr. Pope, not perceiving this, for footb'd reads footb, which was adopted by the fubfequent editors. MALONE. 3 bow can be flatter,] The reafoning of Menenius is this: How can he be expected to practise flattery to others, who abhors it fo much, that he cannot hear it even when offered to himself? JOHNSON. 4 When Tarquin made a head for Rome,] When Tarquin who had been expelled, raised a power to recover Rome. JOHNSON. We learn from one of Cicero's letters, that the confular age in his time was forty three. If Coriolanus was but fixteen when Tarquin endeavoured to recover Rome, he could not now, A. U. C. 263, have been much more than twenty one years of age, and fhould therefore feem to be incapable of standing for the confulfhip. But perhaps the rule mentioned by Cicero, as fubfifting in his time, was not established at this early period of the republick. MALONE. When |