Hath virgin'd it e'er since. You gods! I prate,
And the most noble mother of the world
Leave unsaluted: sink, my knee, i' the earth; 50
(Kneels.

Kneels.

Of thy deep duty more impression show
Than that of common sons.
Vol.
O, stand up blest!
Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint,
I kneel before thee; and unproperly
Show duty, as mistaken all this while
Between the child and parent.
Cor.
What is this?
Your knees to me? to your corrected son?
Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach
Fillip the stars; then let the mutinous winds
Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun; 60
Murdering impossibility, to make
What cannot be, slight work.
Vol.
Thou art my warrior;
I holp to frame thee. Do you know this lady?
Cor. The noble sister of Publicola,
The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle
That's curdied by the frost from purest snow
And hangs on Dian's temple: dear Valeria !
Vol. This is a poor epitome of yours,
Which by the interpretation of full time
May show like all yourself.

Cor.
The god of soldiers, 70
With the consent of supreme Jove, inform
Thy thoughts with nobleness; that thou mayst
prove

To shame unvulnerable, and stick 1' the wars
Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw,
And saving those that eye thee!
Vol.
Your knee, sirrah.
Cor. That's my brave boy!
Vol. Even he, your wife, this lady, and my-
self,

Are suitors to you.

Cor. I beseech you, peace: Or, if you'ld ask, remember this before: The thing I have forsworn to grant may never 80 Be held by you denials. Do not bid me Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate Again with Rome's mechanics: tell me not Wherein I seem unnatural: desire not To allay my rages and revenges with Your colder reasons.

O, no more, no more!

Vol.
You have said you will not grant us any thing;
For we have nothing else to ask, but that
Which you deny already: yet we will ask:
That, if you fail in our request, the blame 90
May hang upon your hardness: therefore hear us.
Cor. Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark; for
we'll
[quest?
Hear nought from Rome in private. Your re-
Vol. Should we be silent and not speak, our
raiment

And state of bodies would bewray what life
We have led since thy exile. Think with thyself
How more unfortunate than all living women
Are we come hither: since that thy sight,

which should

| The son, the husband and the father tearing
His country's bowels out. And to poor we
Thine enmity's most capital: thou barr'st us
Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort
That all but we enjoy; for how can we
Alas, how can we for our country pray,
Whereto we are bound, together withthy victory,
Whereto we are bound? alack, or we must lose
The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person,
Our comfort in the country. We must find 111
An evident calamity, though we had
Our wish, which side should win: for either thou
Must, as a foreign recreant, be led

With manacles through our streets, or else
Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin,
And bear the palm for having bravely shed
Thy wife and children's blood. For myself, son,
I purpose not to wait on fortune till
These wars determine: if I cannot persuade thee
Rather to show a noble grace to both parts
Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no sooner
March to assault thy country than to tread-
Trust to't, thou shalt not-on thy mother's womb,
That brought thee to this world.

121

Vir. Ay, and mine, That brought you forth this boy, to keep your

name

Living to time.

Young Mar. A' shall not tread on me;
I'll run away till I am bigger, but then I'll fight.
Cor. Not of a woman's tenderness to be,
Requires nor child nor woman's face to see. 130
I have sat too long.
[Rising.
Vol.
Nay, go not from us thus.
If it were so that our request did tend
To save the Romans, thereby to destroy
The Volsces whom you serve, you might con-
demn us,

As poisonous of your honor: no; our suit
Is, that you reconcile them: while the Volsces
May say, 'This mercy we have show'd,' the
Romans,

'This we received:' and each in either side
Give the all-hail to thee, and cry, 'Be blest
For making up this peace!' Thou know'st,

great son,

140

The end of war's uncertain, but this certain,
That, if thou conquer Rome, the benefit
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name,
Whose repetition will be dogg'd with curses:
Whose chronicle thus writ: "The man was noble,
But with his last attempt he wiped it out;
Destroy'd his country, and his name remains
To the ensuing age abhorr'd.' Speak to me. son:
Thou hast affected the fine strains of honor,
To imitate the graces of the gods;
150
To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' the air,
And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt
That should but rive an oak. Why dost not
speak?

Think'st thou it honorable for a noble man
Still to remember wrongs? Daughter, speak you;
He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy:
Perhaps thy childishness will move him more
Than can our reasons. There's no man in the

world More bound to's mother; yet here he lets me prate 159 Like one i' the stocks. Thou hast never in thy life

Accept my thankfulness.

Sec. Mess.

Sir, we have all

Unshout the noise that banish'd Marcius,
Repeal him with the welcome of his mother;
Cry, Welcome, ladies, welcome!'
All.
Welcome!

Welcome, ladies, [A flourish with drums and trumpets. Exeunt.

SCENE VI. Antium. A public place. Enter TULLUS AUFIDIUS with Attendants. Auf. Go tell the lords o' the city I am here: Deliver them this paper: having read it, Bid them repair to the market-place; where I, Even in theirs and in the commons' ears, Will vouch the truth of it. Him I accuse, The city ports by this hath enter'd, and Intends to appear before the people, hoping To purge himself with words: despatch. [Exeunt Attendants. Euter three or four Conspirators of AUFIDIUS'

Most welcome!

faction.

30

40

Presented to my knife his throat: I took him;
Made him joint servant with me: gave him way
In all his own desires; nay, let him choose
Out of my files, his projects to accomplish,
Mybest and freshest men; served his designments
In mine own person; holp to reap the fame
Which he did end all his; and took some pride
To do myself this wrong: till, at the last,
I seem'd his follower, not partner, and
He waged me with his countenance, as if
I had been mercenary.
First Con
So he did, my
lord :
The army marvell'd at it, and, in the last,
When he had carried Rome and that we look'd
For no less spoil than glory,-
Auf
There was it:
For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon him.
At a few drops of women's rheum, which are
As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labor
Of our great action: therefore shall he die,
And I'll renew me in his fall. But, hark!
[Drums and trumpets sound, with great
shouts of the People.
First Con. Your native town you enter'd like
a post,
50
And had no welcomes home; but he returns,
Splitting the air with noise.

Sec. Con.
And patient fools,
Whose children he hath slain, their base throats

All the lords. You are most welcome home. Auf. I have not deserved it. But, worthy lords, have you with heed perused What I have written to you?

Lords.

First Lord.

We have.

And grieve to hear't.
What faults he made before the last, I think
Might have found easy fines: but there to end
Where he was to begin and give away
The benefit of our levies, answering us
With our own charge, making a treaty where
There was a yielding,-this admits no excuse.
Auf. He approaches: you shall hear him. 70
Enter CORIOLANUS, marching with drum and
colors; Commoners being with him.
Cor. Hail, lords! I am return'd your soldier,
No more infected with my country's love
Than when I parted hence, but still subsisting
Under your great command. You are to know
That prosperously I have attempted and
With bloody passage led your wars even to
The gates of Rome. Our spoils we have brought
home

Do more than counterpoise a full third part
The charges of the action. We have made peace
With no less honor to the Antiates,
80