The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (800 page)

and face the legal consequences of his actions.

In peace, to his utmost peril.

FIRST SENATOR.

Noble tribunes,

Noble tribunes,

you should do what he said: if we do it the other way

It is the humane way: the other course

it’s going to get ugly

Will prove too bloody; and the end of it

And who knows what could happen?

Unknown to the beginning.

SICINIUS.

Noble Menenius,

Noble Menenius,

you may represent the people on that errand.

Be you then as the people's officer.—

People, put down your weapons.

Masters, lay down your weapons.

BRUTUS.

But don’t go home,

Go not home.

SICINIUS.

Let’s meet at the market place. We’ll wait for you there.

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

But if you don’t bring Coriolanus we’ll go back

Where, if you bring not Marcius, we'll proceed

to our first plan.

In our first way.

MENENIUS.

I’ll bring him to you.

I'll bring him to you.—

[To the SENATORS.] Please come with me. He has to come back with us

[To the SENATORS.] Let me desire your company: he must come,

or the worst will happen.

Or what is worst will follow.

FIRST SENATOR.

Let’s go to him.

Pray you let's to him.

[Exeunt.]

[Enter CORIOLANUS and Patricians.]

CORIOLANUS.

I don’t care if they pull my ears off, or crush me to death under a giant wheel,

Let them pull all about mine ears; present me

or tear me apart by tying my arms and legs to horses running in different directions,

Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels;

or throw me off a really tall cliff,

Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock,

from the top of which you couldn’t

That the precipitation might down stretch

see the bottom. I will still

Below the beam of sight; yet will I still

act the same.

Be thus to them.

FIRST PATRICIAN.

You are very noble.

You do the nobler.

CORIOLANUS.

I wonder that my mother

I muse my mother

does not approve of my intransigence, she who likes

Does not approve me further, who was wont

to call those people poor servants, things created

To call them woollen vassals, things created

to buy and sell for pennies, to take off their hats

To buy and sell with groats; to show bare heads

and bow to their superiors, to gape, be still and marvel

In congregations, to yawn, be still, and wonder,

someone of my rank stood up

When one but of my ordinance stood up

to speak about peace or war.

To speak of peace or war.

[Enter VOLUMNIA.]

I was just talking about you. [To VOLUMNIA.]

I talk of you:  [To VOLUMIA.]

Why do want me to calm down? Do you want me

Why did you wish me milder? Would you have me

to not be true to myself? You should tell me to act like

False to my nature? Rather say, I play

the man I am.

The man I am.

VOLUMNIA.

Oh, sir,

O, sir, sir, sir,

I wish you had established yourself securely in your new position

I would have had you put your power well on

before you wore it out.

Before you had worn it out.

CORIOLANUS.

Leave me alone.

Let go.

VOLUMNIA.

You might have been yourself

You might have been enough the man you are

without trying so hard to do so. You would have been

With striving less to be so: lesser had been

truer to yourself if

The thwartings of your dispositions, if

you hadn’t told them your real opinions

You had not show'd them how ye were dispos'd,

before they couldn’t oppose you [i.e., after you had been confirmed as consul].

Ere they lack'd power to cross you.

CORIOLANUS.

They can all go to hell.

Let them hang.

VOLUMNIA.

Ye, and burn too.

Ay, and burn too.

[Enter MENENIUS with the SENATORS.]

MENENIUS.

Alright, you have been too rough, somewhat too rough.

Come, come, you have been too rough, something too rough;

You must return and fix it.  

You must return and mend it.  

FIRST SENATOR.

There’s no way to fix it.

There's no remedy;

But if you don’t fix it, our city

Unless, by not so doing, our good city

with be split and two, and die.

Cleave in the midst, and perish.

VOLUMNIA.

Please listen to their advice.

Pray be counsell'd;

I am as incompliant as you are

I have a heart as little apt as yours,

but I’m smart enough to use my anger

But yet a brain that leads my use of anger

to greater advantage.

To better vantage.

MENENIUS.

Well said, good woman!

Well said, noble woman!

If it weren’t for the fact the people’s violent fit

Before he should thus stoop to the herd, but that

threatens the whole country,

The violent fit o' the time craves it as physic

I would get ready to fight rather than see Coriolanus humble himself to the mob,

For the whole state, I would put mine armour on,

which I can hardly bear to see.

Which I can scarcely bear.

CORIOLANUS.

What should I do?

What must I do?

MENENIUS.

Return to the tribunes.

Return to the tribunes.

CORIOLANUS.

Well, what then? what then?

Well, what then? what then?

MENENIUS.

Take back what you said.

Repent what you have spoke.

CORIOLANUS.

For them? I cannot take back what I said to the gods,

For them?--I cannot do it to the gods;

but I have to do it for them?

Must I then do't to them?

VOLUMNIA.

You are too inflexible,

You are too absolute;

though that’s a good quality

Though therein you can never be too noble  

except in times of extreme urgency. I have heard you say

But when extremities speak. I have heard you say

that honor and crafty lies, like inseparable friends,

Honour and policy, like unsever'd friends,

grow together in times of war. If you admit that, then

I' the war do grow together: grant that, and tell me

why can’t they coexist

In peace what each of them by th' other lose

in peacetime as well?

That they combine not there.

CORIOLANUS.

Tush, tush!

Tush, tush!

MENENIUS.

She makes a good point.

A good demand.

VOLUMNIA.

If it is honorable in wartime to

If it be honour in your wars to seem

lie (which you do

The same you are not,--which for your best ends

in order to win), how is it worse

You adopt your policy,--how is it less or worse

for lies and honor to go together in

That it shall hold companionship in peace

peacetime as they do in war, since they are

With honour as in war; since that to both

equally sought after in both situations?

It stands in like request?

CORIOLANUS.

Why are you urging this?

Why force you this?

VOLUMNIA.

Because you are now obliged to speak

Because that now it lies you on to speak

to the people, not according to your own direction,

To the people; not by your own instruction,

nor on the subject matter that you sincerely believe,

Nor by the matter which your heart prompts you,

but with such words that you can rattle of from memory,

But with such words that are but rooted in

though they are words you do not claim as your own, and which

Your tongue, though but bastards and syllables

win no approval from your true thoughts.

Of no allowance, to your bosom's truth.  

Now, that would no more dishonor you

Now, this no more dishonours you at all

than to capture a town with slick words,

Than to take in a town with gentle words,

which otherwise you would have had to take by force

Which else would put you to your fortune and

and risk your life and a lot of bloodshed.

The hazard of much blood.

I would lie when

I would dissemble with my nature where

my fortune and my friends at risk required me to

My fortunes and my friends at stake requir'd

me to do so with honor. I’m speaking here on behalf of

I should do so in honour: I am in this

your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles—

Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles;

and you would rather show the common fools

And you will rather show our general louts

how you can scowl than show them a little flattering courtesy

How you can frown, than spend a fawn upon 'em

to win the possession of their love and to protect

For the inheritance of their loves and safeguard

what the lack of their loves might ruin.

Of what that want might ruin.

MENENIUS.

Noble lady!--

Noble lady!--

Come with us to the market place and speak courteously. You may heal

Come, go with us; speak fair: you may salve so,