When with his Amazonian chin he drove
The bristled lips before him: he beftrid
An o'er-prefs'd Roman ", and i' the conful's view
Slew three oppofers: Tarquin's felf he met,
And ftruck him on his knee: in that day's feats,
When he might act the woman in the scene 7,
He prov'd beft man i' the field, and for his meed
Was brow-bound with the oak. His pupil age
Man-enter'd thus, he waxed like a fea;

And, in the brunt of feventeen battles fince3,
He lurch'd all fwords o'the garland. For this laft,
Before and in Corioli, let me fay,

5- bis Amazonian chin -] i. e. his chin on which there was no beard. The players read, finne. STEEVENS.

The correction was made in the third folio. MALONE.

An o'er-prefs'd Roman,] This was an action of fingular friendship in our old English armies; [fee Vol. V. 245, n. 9, and Vol. VI. p. 256, n. 9.] but there is no proof that any fuch practice prevailed among the legionary foldiers of Rome, nor did our author give himself any trouble on that fubject. He was led into the error by North's tranflation of Plutarch, where he found these words: "The Roman fouldier being thrown unto the ground even hard by him, Martius straight beftrid him, and flew the enemy." The tranflation ought to have been, Martius haftened to his affiftance, and fanding before bim, flew his aflailant." See the next note, where there is a fimilar inaccuracy. See alfo p. 199, n. 8. MALONE.

7 When be might at the woman in the feene,] It has been more than once mentioned, that the parts of women were, in Shakspeare's time, reprefented by the most smooth-faced young men to be found among the players. STEEVENS.

And, in the brunt of feventeen battles fince,-] The number feventeen, for which there is no authority, was fuggefted to Shakspeare by North's tranflation of Plutarch: "Now Martius followed this cuftome, fhewed many woundes and cutts upon his bodie, which he had received in feventeene yeeres fervice at the warres, and in many fundry battells." So alfo the original Greek; but it is undoubtedly erroneous; for from Coriolanus's first campaign to his death, was only a period of eight years. MALONE.

9 He lurch'd all fwords o' the garland.] To lurch is properly to purloin; hence Shakspeare ufes it in the fenfe of to deprive. So, in Chrift's Tears over Jerufalem, by Tho. Nafhe, 1594: "I fee others of them sharing halfe with the bawdes, their hofteffes, and laughing at the punies they had lurched." MALONE.

Ben Jonfon has the fame expreffion in the Silent Woman: "-you have lurch'd your friends of the better balf of the garland." STEEVENS. I cannot

I cannot speak him home: He stopp'd the fliers;
And, by his rare example, made the coward
Turn terror into fport: as weeds before

A veffel under fail, fo men obey'd,

And fell below his ftem: his fword (death's ftamp)
Where it did mark, it took2; from face to foot
He was a thing of blood, whofe every motion
Was tim'd with dying cries 3: alone he enter'd
The mortal gatel o' the city, which he painted
With fhunless deftiny; aidlefs came off,
And with a fudden re-inforcement ftruck
Corioli, like a planet: Now all's his:
When by and by the din of war 'gan pierce
His ready fenfe: then ftraight his doubled fpirit
Re-quicken'd what in flesh was fatigate,
And to the battle came he; where he did
Run reeking o'er the lives of men, as if
'Twere a perpetual spoil: and, till we call'd
Both field and city ours, he never stood

I -as weeds before

A veffel under fail, fo men obey'd,

And fell below bis ftem:] The editor of the fecond folio, for weeds fubftituted waves, and this capricious alteration has been adopted in all the fubfequent editions. In the fame page of that copy, which has been the fource of at least one half of the corruptions that have been introduced in our author's works, we find defamy for deftiny, fir Coriolanus, for "fit, Coriolanus," trim'd for tim'd, and painting for panting: but luckily none of the latter fophiftications have found admiflion into any of the modern editions, except Mr. Rowe's. Rushes falling below a veffel paffing over them is an image as expreffive of the prowess of Coriolanus as well can be conceived. MALONE.

The fem is that end of the fhip which leads. From filem to fiern is an expreffion ufed by Dryden in his translation of Virgil:

"Orontes' bark

"From fem to fern by waves was over-borne." STEEVENS. 2 Where it did mark, it took ;] In the old copy there is no point after the word took, and a colon at the end of this line. The true pun&tuation was fuggefted by Mr. Tyrwhitt. MALONE.

3

every motion

Was tim'd with dying cries :] The cries of the slaughter'd regularly followed his motions, as mufick and a dancer accompany each other.

JOHNSON.

The mortal gate-] The gate that was made the fcene of death.

JOHNSON.

To

To eafe his breaft with panting.

Men. Worthy man!

1. Sen. He cannot but with measure fit the honours s Which we devife him.

Com. Our fpoils he kick'd at;

And look'd upon things precious, as they were
The common muck o' the world: he covets lefs
Than mifery itself would give; rewards
His deeds with doing them; and is content
To spend the time, to end it 7.

Men. He's right noble;

Let him be call'd for.

1. Sen. Call Coriolanus.

Off. He doth appear.

Re-enter CORIOLANUS.

Men. The fenate, Coriolanus, are well pleas'd

To make thee conful.

Cor. I do owe them still

My life, and fervices.

Men. It then remains,

That you do speak to the people.

Cor.

5 He cannot but with measure fit the bonours-] That is, no honour will be too great for him; he will fhew a mind equal to any elevation.

JOHNSON.

6 Tban mifery itfelf would give;] Mifery for avarice; because a miser signifies an avaricious, WARBURTON.

7

and is content

To spend the time to end it.] I know not whether my conceit will be approved, but I cannot forbear to think that our authour wrote thus:

he rewards

His deeds with doing them, and is content

To fpend his time, to spend it.

To do great acts, for the fake of doing them; to fpend his life, for the fake of spending it. JOHNSON.

I think the words afford this meaning, without any alteration.

8 It then remains,

MALONE.

That you do fpeak to the people.] Dr. Warburton obferves, that at this time both the confuls were chofen by the Senate, and that it

was

Cor. I do beseech you,

Let me o'er-leap that cuftom; for I cannot

Put on the gown, stand naked, and entreat them,
For my wounds' fake, to give their fuffrage: please you,
That I may pass this doing.

Sic. Sir, the people

Muft have their voices; neither will they bate

One jot of ceremony.

Men. Put them not to't

Pray you, go fit you to the cuftom; and

Take to you, as your predeceffors have,
Your honour with your

Cor. It is a part

form.

That I fhall blush in acting, and might well
Be taken from the people.

Bru. Mark you that?

Cor. To brag unto them,-Thus I did, and thus ;-
Shew them the unaking fcars which I fhould hide,
As if I had receiv'd them for the hire

Of their breath only :

Men. Do not stand upon't.

We recommend to you, tribunes of the people,
Our purpose to them;-and to our noble conful
With we all joy and honour.

Sen. To Coriolanus come all joy and honour!

[Flourish Then Exeunt Senators. Bru. You fee how he intends to use the people. Sic. May they perceive his intent! He will require them,

was not till 131 years afterwards that one of them was elected by the people, But the inaccuracy is to be attributed, not to our author, but to Plutarch, who exprefsly fays, in his life of Coriolanus, that "it was the cuftome of Rome at that time, that fuch as dyd fue for any office, should for certen dayes before be in the market-place, only with a poor gowne on their backes, and without any coate underneath, to praye the people to remember them at the day of election." North's tranflation, p. 244. MALONE.

9 We recommend to you, tribunes of the people,

Our purpoje to them.] We entreat you, tribunes of the people, to recommend and enforce to the plebeians, what we propofe to them for their approbation; namely the appointment of Coriolanus to the confulthip.

MALONE.
As

As if he did contemn what he requested
Should be in them to give.

Bru. Come, we'll inform them

Of our proceedings here: on the market-place.
I know, they do attend us.

SCENE III.

The fame. The Forum.

Enter feveral Citizens.

[Exeunt

1. Cit. Once, if he do require our voices, we ought not to deny him.

2. Git. We may, fir, if we will.

3. Cit. We have power in ourselves to do it, but it is a power that we have no power to do: for if he fhew us his wounds, and tell us his deeds, we are to put our tongues into thofe wounds, and fpeak for them; fo, if he tell us his noble deeds, we muft alfo tell him our noble acceptance of them. Ingratitude is monftrous: and for the multitude to be ingrateful, were to make a monster of the multitude; of the which, we being members, should bring ourselves to be monftrous members.

1. Cit. And to make us no better thought of, a little help will ferve: for once we flood up about the

Once,] Once here means the fame as when we fay, once for all.

WARBURTON. This ufe of the word once is found in the Suppofes by Gascoigne : "Once, twenty-four ducattes he coft me."

FARMER.

I doubt whether once here fignifies once for all. I believe, it means, "if he do but fo much as require our voices;" as in the following paffage in Holinfhed's Chronicle: "they left many of their fervants and men of war behind them, and fome of them would not once ftay for their ftandards." MALONE.

2 We bave power in ourselves to do it, but it is a power that we have no power to do:] Power first fignifies natural power or force, and then moral power or right. Davies has ufed the fame word with great variety of meaning:

"Ufe all thy powers that heavenly power to praife,
"That gave thee power to do."

JOHNSON.

corn,