Of present death. Sic. Therefore, lay hold of him; Bear him to the rock Tarpeian, and from thence Into destruction cast him. Bru. Cit. Yield, Marcius, yield. Men. Ediles, seize him. Hear me one word. Beseech you, tribunes, hear me but a word. Edi. Peace, peace. Men. Be that you seem, truly your country's friend, And temperately proceed to what you would Thus violently redress. Bru. Sir, those cold ways, That seem like prudent helps, are very poisonous4 Where the disease is violent:-Lay hands upon him, And bear him to the rock. Cor. No; I'll die here. [Drawing his Sword. There's some among you have beheld me fighting; while. Bru. Lay hands upon him. Help, help Marcius! help, You that be noble; help him, young, and old! [In this Mutiny, the Tribunes, the Ediles, and the Men. Go, get you to your house ;5 be gone, away, All will be naught else. 2 Sen. Cor. We have as many friends as enemies. 5 get you to your house;] Old copy-our house. Corrected by Mr. Rowe. So below: "I pr'ythee, noble friend, home to thy house." Malone. 6 Stand fast; &c.] [Old copy-Com. Stand fast; &c.] This speech certainly should be given to Coriolanus; for all his friends persuade him to retire. So, Cominius presently after: "Come, sir, along with us." Warburton. VOL. XIII. I pr'ythee, noble friend, home to thy house; For 'tis a sore upon us,7 Men. Cor. I would they were barbarians, (as they are, Though in Rome litter'd) not Romans, (as they are not, Though calv'd i' the porch o' the Capitol,) Men. Cor. I could beat forty of them. On fair ground, Be gone;8 7 For 'tis a sore upon us,] The two last impertinent words, which destroy the measure, are an apparent interpolation. 8 Cor. I would they were barbarians (as they are, Steevens. Though in Rome litter'd,) not Romans, (as they are not, Be gone; &c.] The beginning of this speech, [attributed in the old copy to Menenius] I am persuaded, should be given to Coriolanus. The latter part only belongs to Menenius: "Be gone; "Put not your worthy rage" &c. Tyrwhitt. I have divided this speech according to Mr. Tyrwhitt's direction. Seevens. The word, begone, certainly belongs to Menenius, who was very anxious to get Coriolanus away.—In the preceding page he says: "Go, get you to your house; begone, away, And, in a few lines after, he repeats the same request: "Pray you, be gone; "I'll try whether my old wit be in request وو 9 One time will owe another.] I know not whether to owe in this place means to possess by right, or to be indebted. Either sense may be admitted. One time, in which the people are seditious, will give us power in some other time: or, this time of the people's predominance will run them in debt: that is, will lay them open to the law, and expose them hereafter to more servile subjection. Johnson. I believe Menenius means, "This time will owe us one more fortunate." It is a common expression to say, " This day is yours, the next may be mine." M. Mason. The meaning seems to be, One time will compensate for another. Our time of triumph will come hereafter: time will be in our debt, will owe us a good turn, for our present disgrace. Let us trust to futurity. Malone. Men. I could myself Take up a brace of the best of them; yea, the two tri bunes. Com. But now 'tis odds beyond arithmetick; Men. Pray you, be gone: With those that have but little; this must be patch'd Com. Nay, come away. [Exeunt CoR. COM. and Others. 1 Pat. This man has marr'd his fortune. Men. His nature is too noble for the world: He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, Or Jove for his power to thunder. His heart 's his mouth: What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent; And, being angry, does forget that ever He heard the name of death. Here 's goodly work! 2 Pat. [A Noise within. I would they were a-bed! Men. I would they were in Tyber!-What, the ven geance, Could he not speak them fair? Re-enter BRUTUS and SICINIUS, with the Rabble. Sic. That would depopulate the city, and Be every man himself? Where is this viper, You worthy tribunes, Sic. He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian rock And therefore law shall scorn him further trial Which he so sets at nought. 1 Cit. He shall well know, The noble tribunes are the people's mouths, 1 Before the tag return?] The lowest and most despicable of the populace are still denominated by those a little above them, Tag, rag, and bobtail. Johnson. Men. Do not cry, havock, where you should but hunt With modest warrant. 2 He shall, sure on 't.] The meaning of these words is not very obvious. Perhaps they mean, He shall, that 's sure. I am inclined to think that the same error has happened here and in a passage in Antony and Cleopatra, and that in both places sure is printed instead of sore. He shall suffer for it, he shall rue the vengeance of the people.-The editor of the second folio reads He shall, sure out; and u and n being often confounded, the emendation might be admitted, but that there is not here any question concerning the expulsion of Coriolanus. What is now proposed, is, to throw him down the Tarpeian rock. It is absurd, therefore, that the rabble should by way of confirmation of what their leader Sicinius had said, propose a punishment he has not so much as mentioned, and which, when he does afterwards mention it, he disapproved of: 66 to eject him hence, "Were but one danger." I have therefore left the old copy undisturbed. Malone. Perhaps our author wrote-with reference to the foregoing speech: He shall, be sure on 't. i.e. be assured that he shall be taught the respect due to both the tribunes and the people. Steevens. 3 Sir,] Old copy, redundantly— Sir, sir. Steevens. 4 Do not cry, havock, where you should but hunt With modest warrant.] i. e. Do not give the signal for unlimited slaughter, &c. See Vol. VII, p. 320, n. 1. Steevens. To cry havock, was, I believe, originally a sporting phrase, from hafoc, which in Saxon signifies a hawk. It was afterwards used in war. So, in King John: Cry havock, kings." And in Julius Cæsar: 66 Cry havock, and let slip the dogs of war." It seems to have been the signal for general slaughter, and is expressly forbid in The Ordinances des Battailles, 9 R. ii, art. 10: "Item, que nul soit si hardy de crier havok sur peine d'avoir la test coupe." The second article of the same Ordinances seems to have been fatal to Bardolph. It was death even to touch the pix of little price. "Item, que nul soit si hardy de toucher le corps de nostre Seigneur, i le vessel en quel il est, sur peyne d'estre trainez et pendu, et le teste avoir coupe." MS. Cotton. Nero D. VI. Tyrwhitt. Again: "For them that crye hauoke. Also that noo man be so Sic. Sir, how comes 't, that you Have holp to make this rescue? Men. Hear me speak:— As I do know the consul's worthiness, I Sic. Men. The consul Coriolanus. Cit. No, no, no, no, no. Consul!-what consul? He a consul! Men. If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, good people, may be heard, I'd crave a word or two; The which shall turn you to5 no further harm, Than so much loss of time. Sic. Speak briefly then; For we are peremptory, to despatch This viperous traitor: to eject him hence, Men. Sic. He's a disease, that must be cut away. hardy to crye hauoke, vpon payne of hym that so is founde begynner, to dye therefore, and the remenaunt to be emprysoned, and theyr bodyes to be punyshed at the kynges wyll." Certayne Statutes and Ördenaunces of Warre made &c. by Henry the VIII, bl. 1. 4to. emprynted by R. Pynson, 1513. Todd. 5 - shall turn you to -] This singular expression has already occurred in The Tempest: my heart bleeds "To think o' the teen that I have turn'd you to." Steevens. 6 Towards her deserved children-] Deserved, for deserving. So, delighted for delighting. So, in Othello: "If virtue no delighted beauty lack —. Malone. |