The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (797 page)

CORIOLANUS.

You want to know about wheat?

Tell me of corn!

That’s what I said, and I’ll say it again—

This was my speech, and I will speak't again,--

MENENIUS.

Not now, not now.

Not now, not now.

FIRST SENATOR.

Not now, in this heat, sir.

Not in this heat, sir, now.

CORIOLANUS.

Now, I will speak. My nobler friends,

Now, as I live, I will.--My nobler friends,

I beg your pardon.

I crave their pardons:

As for the fickle, smelly masses, let them

For the mutable, rank-scented meiny, let them

listen to me, because I will not flatter them, and

Regard me as I do not flatter, and

they will hear what they’re truly like. I repeat:

Therein behold themselves: I say again,

by humoring them we give fuel to this weed-like rebellion

In soothing them we nourish 'gainst our senate

against the Senate (along with insolence and treason),

The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition,

which we have brought upon ourselves,

Which we ourselves have plough'd for, sow'd, and scatter'd,

by allowing them to mix with us socially, even though

By mingling them with us, the honour'd number,

we are way better, and have all the power, except for the power that

Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but that

we gave to the beggars.

Which they have given to beggars.

MENENIUS.

Well, never again.

Well, no more.  

FIRST SENATOR.

Stop talking, please!

No more words, we beseech you.

CORIOLANUS.

What are you talking about, never again?

How! no more!

I have been wounded for my country,

As for my country I have shed my blood,

fearlessly, and now I will speak so much

Not fearing outward force, so shall my lungs

that my lungs will get sick from the nasty common people,

Coin words till their decay against those measles

and covered with pustules, and I’ll still

Which we disdain should tetter us, yet sought

keep talking.

The very way to catch them.

BRUTUS.

You speak about the people

You speak o' the people

as if you were an angry go, not

As if you were a god, to punish, not

mortal man.

A man of their infirmity.

SICINIUS.

We should tell

'Twere well

the people that.

We let the people know't.

MENENIUS.

What? Tell them about these words he spoke in anger?

What, what? his choler?

CORIOLANUS.

Anger?

Choler!

Even if I were as calm as a sleeping person,

Were I as patient as the midnight sleep,

that’s what I would think.

By Jove, 'twould be my mind!

SICINIUS.

That’s an opinion

It is a mind

that is terrible, but it isn’t going to spread

That shall remain a poison where it is,

any further.

Not poison any further.

CORIOLANUS.

You’re giving orders now?

Shall remain!—

Do you hear this guy pretending to be powerful?

Hear you this Triton of the minnows? mark you

Hear how he’s trying to give orders?

His absolute 'shall'?

COMINIUS.

You don’t have that authority.

'Twas from the canon.

CORIOLANUS.

Orders!

'Shall'!

Oh you good but stupid rich men! Silly senators,

O good, but most unwise patricians! why,

why have you allowed

You grave but reckless senators, have you thus

the monster of a mob to choose a representative

Given Hydra leave to choose an officer,

who thinks that though he’s just the voice of

That with his peremptory 'shall,' being but

the monster, he can

The horn and noise o' the monster, wants not spirit

steal your water

To say he'll turn your current in a ditch,

and make it his? If he has power,

And make your channel his? If he have power,

then bow your silly heads to him, if not wake up

Then vail your ignorance: if none, awake

and stop him! If you are wise,

Your dangerous lenity. If you are learn'd,

don’t act like fools. If you are fools,

Be not as common fools; if you are not,

the common people join you in the senate. If they become senators,

Let them have cushions by you. You are plebeians,

you become peasants, and they are no less than senators

If they be senators: and they are no less

then when you work together on policy, it will represent their interests

When, both your voices blended, the great'st taste

more than your own. They choose a representative

Most palates theirs. They choose their magistrate;

like Sicinius, who tries to issue orders

And such a one as he, who puts his 'shall,'

in opposition to a more powerful authority

His popular 'shall,' against a graver bench

than ever existed in Greece. By God,

Than ever frown'd in Greece. By Jove himself,

it lessens the office of consulship. I hate to

It makes the consuls base: and my soul aches

see what will happen when two competing parts of

To know, when two authorities are up,

the government are in rebellion against each other, and how soon destruction

Neither supreme, how soon confusion

will enter into the power vacuum between the two of them

May enter 'twixt the gap of both and take

and attack one through the agency of the other.

The one by the other.

COMINIUS.

Well, let’s go to the market place.

Well, on to the market-place.

CORIOLANUS.

Whoever made the decision to give

Whoever gave that counsel, to give forth

the people grain for free, like the Greeks used

The corn o' the storehouse gratis, as 'twas us'd

to do once—

Sometime in Greece,--

MENENIUS.

Well, well, no more of that.

Well, well, no more of that.

CORIOLANUS.

Though in Greece the people had more absolute power—

Though there the people had more absolute power,--

I think whoever made that decision created this rebellion, and contributed

I say they nourish'd disobedience, fed

to the ruin of the government.

The ruin of the state.

BRUTUS.

Why should the people vote for someone who

Why shall the people give

talk like this?

One that speaks thus their voice?

CORIOLANUS.

I’ll tell you my reasons,

I'll give my reasons,

which are worth more than their votes. They know the grain

More worthier than their voices. They know the corn

was not a reward, though they never did

Was not our recompense, resting well assur'd

any military service to deserve it. When they were forced to fight in the war,

They ne'er did service for't; being press'd to the war,

even when the heart of the country was threatened,

Even when the navel of the state was touch'd,

they would not leave Rome to go fight. That kind of service

They would not thread the gates,--this kind of service

did not deserve free grain. When they were in the war,

Did not deserve corn gratis: being i' the war,

their mutinies and revolts, in which they were bravest,

Their mutinies and revolts, wherein they show'd

did not speak well for them, either. The accusation they often make

Most valour, spoke not for them. The accusation

against the Senate [that the poor were left to starve while the rich had plenty],

Which they have often made against the senate,

without any justification, would hardly be the reason for

All cause unborn, could never be the motive

us to give them such a generous gift. So why do we give them grain?

Of our so frank donation. Well, what then?

How can the hungry mob understand

How shall this bosom multitude digest

the senate’s kindness? Let our actions answer the stupid

The senate's courtesy? Let deeds express

claims they will probably make: “We asked for it,

What's like to be their words:--'We did request it;

we are the majority, and they gave in to our demands

We are the greater poll, and in true fear

out of fear.” That’s how we lower the

They gave us our demands:'-- Thus we debase

worth of the senate, and cause the mob

The nature of our seats, and make the rabble

call our concerns fears. The mob will eventually

Call our cares fears; which will in time

break into the senate house and bring in

Break ope the locks o' the senate and bring in

nasty poor people to pick our bones.

The crows to peck the eagles.--

MENENIUS.

That’s enough.

Come, enough.

BRUTUS.

More than enough.

Enough, with over-measure.

CORIOLANUS.

No, there’s more.

No, take more:

May God and man

What may be sworn by, both divine and human,

confirm my final point! This problem of split authority,

Seal what I end withal!--This double worship,--

where one faction looks down on the other with good reason, and the other

Where one part does disdain with cause, the other

hates us for no good reason, where the rich, well-born and wise people

Insult without all reason; where gentry, title, wisdom,

cannot make a decision without the input of

Cannot conclude but by the yea and no

ordinary stupid people—this split government will neglect

Of general ignorance--it must omit

important problems and focus on

Real necessities, and give way the while

trivial nothings. With bad logic like that,

To unstable slightness: purpose so barr'd, it follows,

nothing will be done logically. Therefore, I beg you—

Nothing is done to purpose. Therefore, beseech you,--

you who aren’t afraifd, but are prudent,

You that will be less fearful than discreet;

who love the existing system of government

That love the fundamental part of state

more than you fear a change to it, who prefer

More than you doubt the change on't; that prefer

to die for what you believe in then be safe, and want

A noble life before a long, and wish