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Cor. Hence, rotten thing, or I shall shake thy

bones

Out of thy garments.

Sic. Help, ye citizens.

Re-enter BRUTUS, with the ÆDILES, and a Rabble of

CITIZENS.

Men. On both sides more respect.

Sic. Here's he, that would

Take from you all your power.

Bru. Seize him, Ædiles,

Cit. Down with him, down with him!

[Several speak.

2 Sen. Weapons, weapons, weapons!

1

They all bustle about Coriolanus.

Tribunes, patricians, citizens!-What, ho!-
Sicinius, Brutus, Coriolanus, citizens!

Cit. Peace, peace, peace; stay, hold, peace! Men. What is about to be? I am out of breath; Confusion's near: I cannot speak:-You, tribunes To the people, -Coriolanus, patience :

Speak, good Sicinius.

Sic. Hear me, people; -Peace.

Cit. Let's hear our tribune:-Peace. Speak,

speak, speak.

Sic. You are at point to lose your liberties: Marcius would have all from you; Marcius, Whom late you have named for consul.

Men. Fie, fie, fie!

This is the way to kindle, not to quench.

1 Sen. To unbuild the city, and to lay all flat. Sic. What is the city, but the people?

Cit. True,

The people are the city.

Bru. By the consent of all, we were establish'd

The people's magistrates.

Cit. You so remain.

Men. And so are like to do.

Cor. That is the way to lay the city flat;

To bring the roof to the foundation;

And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges,
In heaps and piles of ruins.
Sic. This deserves death.

Bru. Or let us stand to our authority,
Or let us lose it:-We do here pronounce,
Upon the part o' the people, in whose power
We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy
Of present death.

Sic. Therefore, lay hold of him;
Bear him to the rock Tarpeian, and from thence

Into destruction cast him.

Bru. Ædiles, seize him.

Cit. Yield, Marcius, yield.

Men. 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 poisonbus
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;
Come, try upon yourselves what you have seen me.
Men. Down with that sword; -Tribunes, with-

draw a while.

Bru. Lay hands upon him.

Men. Help, Marcius! Help,

You that be noble; help him, young, and old!
Cit. Down with him, down with him!

[In this Mutiny, the Tribunes, the Ædiles,
and the People, are all beat in.

Men. Go, get you to your house; be gone away,

All will be naught else.

2 Sen. Get you gone.

Cor. Stand fast;

We have as many friends as enemies.

Men. Shall it be put to that?

1 Sen. The gods forbid !

I pr'ythee, noble friend, home to thy house;
Leave us to cure this cause.

Men. For 'tis a sore upon us,

You cannot tent yourself: Begone, 'beseech you.
Com. Come, Sir, along with us.

Cor. I would they were barbarians (as they are,
Though in Rome litter'd), not Romans (as they are

not,

Though calved i' the porch o' the Capitol),

• From whence criminals were thrown, and dashed to pieces.

1

Men. Be gone;

Put not your worthy rage into your tongue;

One time will owe another.

Cor. On fair ground,

I could beat forty of them.

Men. I could myself

Take up a brace of the best of them; yea, the two

tribunes.

Com. But now 'tis odds beyond arithmetic;

And manhood is call'd foolery, when it stands
Against a falling fabric.-Will you hence,
Before the tag return? whose rage doth rend
Like interrupted waters, and overbear

What they are used to bear.

Men. Pray you, be gone.

I'll try whether my old wit be in request
With those that have but little; this müst be patch'd

With cloth of any colour.

Com. Nay, come away.

[Exeunt Cor. Com. and others.

1 Put. 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. I would they were a-bed!

[A Noise within.

Men. I would they were in Tyber!-What, the

vengeance,

Could he not speak them fair?

Re-enter BRUTUS and SICINIUS, with the Rabble.

Sic. Where is this viper,

That would depopulate the city, and

Be every man himself?

Men. You worthy tribunes,

Sic. He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian rock

With rigorous hands; he hath resisted law,
And therefore law shall scorn him further trial
Than the severity of the public power,
Which he so sets at nought.

• The lowest of the populace; tag, rag, and bob1 Cit. He shall well know, The noble tribunes are the people's mouths, And we their hands.

tail

Cit. He shall, sure on't*.

Men. Sir,

Sic. Peace.

[Several speak together.

Men. Do not cry, havockt, where you should but

hunt

With modest warrant.

Sic. Sir, how comes it, that you
Have holp to make this rescue ?
Men. Hear me speak:-

As I do know the consul's worthiness,
So can I name his faults:-

Sic. Consul!---What consul?
Men. The consul Coriolanus.
Bru. He a consul!

Cit. No, no, no, no, no.

Men. If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, good

people,

I may be heard, I'd crave a word or two:
The which shall turn you to 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,
Were but one danger; and, to keep him here,
Our certain death; therefore it is decreed,
He dies to-night.

Men. Now the good gods forbid,
That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude
Towards her deserved children is enroll'd
In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam
Should now eat up her own!

Sic. He's a disease, that must be cut away.
Men. O, he's a limb, that has but a disease;

Mortal, to cut it off; to cure it, easy.
What has he done to Rome, that's worthy death?
Killing our enemies? The blood he hath lost,
(Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he hath,
By many an ounce), he dropp'd it for his country,
And, what is left, to lose it by his country,
Were to us all, that do't, and suffer it,

A brand to the end o' the world.

* Be sure on't.
Deserving.

VOL. IV.

+ The signal for slaughter.

Hhh

Sic. This is clean kam*.

Bru. Merelyt awry: when he did love his country,

It honour'd him.

Men. The service of the foot

Being once gangrened, is not then respected
For what before it was?

Bru. We'll hear no more :

Pursue him to his house, and pluck him thence; Lest his infection, being of catching nature, Spread further.

Men. One word more, one word.

This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find

The harm of unscann'd swiftnesst, will, too late, Proceed by proTie leaden pounds to his heels. Proceed

cess;

Lest parties (as he is beloved) break out,
And sack great Rome with Romans.

Bru. If it were so,

Sic. What do ye talk?

Have we not had a taste of his obedience?
Our Ediles smote? Ourselves resisted ?-Come:-
Men. Consider this;-He has been bred i' the

wars

Since he could draw a sword, and is ill school'd
In boulted language; meal and bran together
He throws without distinction. Give me leave,
I'll go to him, and undertake to bring him
Where he shall answer, by a lawful form,
(In peace) to his utmost peril.

1 Sen. Noble tribunes,

It is the humane way: the other course
Will prove too bloody; and the end of it
Unknown to the beginning.

Sic. Noble Menenius,

Be you then as the people's officer:
Masters, lay down your weapons.

Bru. Go not home.

Sic. Meet on the market-place:-We'll atten you there:

Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll proceed In our first way.

Men. I'll bring him to you :

Let me desire your company. [To the Senators. He must come.

Quite awry.
Inconsiderate haste,

+ Absolutely.

Finely sifted.

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