CORIOLANUS

Act 5 Scene 3

(Enter Coriolanus and Aufidius, with Volscian soldiers. Coriolanus and Aufidius sit)
l1l	Coriolanus	 We will before the walls of Rome tomorrow
l2l		Set down our host. My partner in this action,
l3l		You must report to th’ Volscian lords how plainly
l4l		I have borne this business.
	Aufidius	Only their ends
l5l		You have respected, stopped your ears against
l6l		The general suit of Rome, never admitted
l7l		A private whisper, no, not with such friends
l8l		That thought them sure of you.
	Coriolanus	This last old man,
l9l		Whom with a cracked heart I have sent to Rome,
l10l		Loved me above the measure of a father,
l11l		Nay, godded me indeed. Their latest refuge
l12l		Was to send him, for whose old love I have—
l13l		Though I showed sourly to him—once more offered
l14l		The first conditions, which they did refuse
l15l		And cannot now accept, to grace him only
l16l		That thought he could do more. A very little
l17l		I have yielded to. Fresh embassies and suits,
l18l		Nor from the state nor private friends, hereafter
l19l		Will I lend ear to.
		(Shout within)
		 Ha, what shout is this?
l20l		Shall I be tempted to infringe my vow
l21l		In the same time ’tis made? I will not.
		(Enter Virgilia, Volumnia, Valeria, Young Martius, with attendants)
l22l		My wife comes foremost, then the honoured mould
l23l		Wherein this trunk was framed, and in her hand
l24l		The grandchild to her blood. But out, affection!
l25l		All bond and privilege of nature break#
l26l		Let it be virtuous to be obstinate.
		(Virgilia curtsies)
l27l		What is that curtsy worth? Or those dove’s eyes
l28l		Which can make gods forsworn? I melt, and am not
l29l		Of stronger earth than others.
		(Volumnia bows)
		 My mother bows,
l30l		As if Olympus to a molehill should
l31l		In supplication nod# and my young boy
l32l		Hath an aspect of intercession which
l33l		Great nature cries “Deny not”.—Let the Volsces
l34l		Plough Rome and harrow Italy! I’ll never
l35l		Be such a gosling to obey instinct, but stand
l36l		As if a man were author of himself
l37l		And knew no other kin.
	Virgilia	My lord and husband.
l38l	Coriolanus	These eyes are not the same I wore in Rome.
l39l	Virgilia	The sorrow that delivers us thus changed
l40l		Makes you think so.
	Coriolanus	Like a dull actor now
l41l		I have forgot my part, and I am out
l42l		Even to a full disgrace.
		(Rising)
		 Best of my flesh,
l43l		Forgive my tyranny, but do not say
l44l		For that “Forgive our Romans”.
		(Virgilia kisses him)
		 O, a kiss
l45l		Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!
l46l		Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss
l47l		I carried from thee, dear, and my true lip
l48l		Hath virgined it e’er since. You gods, I prate,
l49l		And the most noble mother of the world
l50l		Leave unsaluted! Sink, my knee, i’ th’ earth.
		(He kneels)
l51l		Of thy deep duty more impression show
l52l		Than that of common sons.
	Volumnia	O, stand up blest,
		( 52B Coriolanus rises)
l53l		Whilst with no softer cushion than the flint
l54l		I kneel before thee, and unproperly
l55l		Show duty as mistaken all this while
l56l		Between the child and parent.
		(She kneels)
		
	Coriolanus	 What’s this?
l57l		Your knees to me? To your corrected son?
		(He raises her)
l58l		Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach
l59l		Fillip the stars# then let the mutinous winds
l60l		Strike the proud cedars ’gainst the fiery sun,
l61l		Murd’ring impossibility to make
l62l		What cannot be slight work.
	Volumnia	Thou art my warrior.
l63l		I holp to frame thee. Do you know this lady?
l64l	Coriolanus	The noble sister of Publicola,
l65l		The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle
l66l		That’s candied by the frost from purest snow
l67l		And hangs on Dian’s temple—dear Valeria!
l68l	Volumnia	(showing Coriolanus his son)
		 This is a poor epitome of yours,
l69l		Which by th’ interpretation of full time
l70l		May show like all yourself.
	Coriolanus	
		(to Young Martius)
		 The god of soldiers,
l71l		With the consent of supreme Jove, inform
l72l		Thy thoughts with nobleness, that thou mayst prove
l73l		To shame unvulnerable, and stick i’ th’ wars
l74l		Like a great sea-mark standing every flaw
l75l		And saving those that eye thee!
l76l	Volumnia	(to Young Martius)
		 Your knee, sirrah.
		(Young Martius kneels)
l77l	Coriolanus	 That’s my brave boy.
l78l	Volumnia	Even he, your wife, this lady, and myself
l79l		Are suitors to you.
	Coriolanus	I beseech you, peace.
l80l		Or if you’d ask, remember this before:
l81l		The things I have forsworn to grant may never
l82l		Be held by you denials. Do not bid me
l83l		Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate
l84l		Again with Rome’s mechanics. Tell me not
l85l		Wherein I seem unnatural. Desire not t’ allay
l86l		My rages and revenges with your colder reasons.
l87l	Volumnia	O, no more, no more!
l88l		You have said you will not grant us anything—
l89l		For we have nothing else to ask but that
l90l		Which you deny already. Yet we will ask,
l91l		That, if you fail in our request, the blame
l92l		May hang upon your hardness. Therefore hear us.
l93l	Coriolanus	Aufidius and you Volsces, mark, for we’ll
l94l		Hear naught from Rome in private.
		(He sits)
		 Your request?
l95l	Volumnia	Should we be silent and not speak, our raiment
l96l		And state of bodies would bewray what life
l97l		We have led since thy exile. Think with thyself
l98l		How more unfortunate than all living women
l99l		Are we come hither, since that thy sight, which should
l100l		Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with comforts,
l101l		Constrains them weep and shake with fear and sorrow,
l102l		Making the mother, wife, and child to see
l103l		The son, the husband, and the father tearing
l104l		His country’s bowels out# and to poor we
l105l		Thine enmity’s most capital. Thou barr’st us
l106l		Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort
l107l		That all but we enjoy. For how can we,
l108l		Alas, how can we for our country pray,
l109l		Whereto we are bound, together with thy victory,
l110l		Whereto we are bound? Alack, or we must lose
l111l		The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person,
l112l		Our comfort in the country. We must find
l113l		An evident calamity, though we had
l114l		Our wish which side should win. For either thou
l115l		Must as a foreign recreant be led
l116l		With manacles thorough our streets, or else
l117l		Triumphantly tread on thy country’s ruin,
l118l		And bear the palm for having bravely shed
l119l		Thy wife and children’s blood. For myself, son,
l120l		I purpose not to wait on fortune till
l121l		These wars determine. If I cannot persuade thee
l122l		Rather to show a noble grace to both parts
l123l		Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no sooner
l124l		March to assault thy country than to tread—
l125l		Trust to ’t, thou shalt not—on thy mother’s womb
l126l		That brought thee to this world.
	Virgilia	Ay, and mine,
l127l		That brought you forth this boy to keep your name
l128l		Living to time.
	Young Martius	A shall not tread on me.
l129l		I’ll run away till I am bigger, but then I’ll fight.
l130l	Coriolanus	Not of a woman’s tenderness to be
l131l		Requires nor child nor woman’s face to see.
l132l		I have sat too long.
		(He rises and turns away)
		
	Volumnia	 Nay, go not from us thus.
l133l		If it were so that our request did tend
l134l		To save the Romans, thereby to destroy
l135l		The Volsces whom you serve, you might condemn us
l136l		As poisonous of your honour. No, our suit
l137l		Is that you reconcile them: while the Volsces
l138l		May say “This mercy we have showed”, the Romans
l139l		“This we received”, and each in either side
l140l		Give the all-hail to thee and cry “Be blest
l141l		For making up this peace!” Thou know’st, great son,
l142l		The end of war’s uncertain# but this certain,
l143l		That if thou conquer Rome, the benefit
l144l		Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name
l145l		Whose repetition will be dogged with curses,
l146l		Whose chronicle thus writ: “The man was noble,
l147l		But with his last attempt he wiped it out,
l148l		Destroyed his country, and his name remains
l149l		To th’ ensuing age abhorred.” Speak to me, son.
l150l		Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour,
l151l		To imitate the graces of the gods,
l152l		To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o’ th’ air,
l153l		And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt
l154l		That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak?
l155l		Think’st thou it honourable for a noble man
l156l		Still to remember wrongs? Daughter, speak you,
l157l		He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy.
l158l		Perhaps thy childishness will move him more
l159l		Than can our reasons. There’s no man in the world
l160l		More bound to ’s mother, yet here he lets me prate
l161l		Like one i’ th’ stocks. Thou hast never in thy life
l162l		Showed thy dear mother any courtesy,
l163l		When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood,
l164l		Has clucked thee to the wars and safely home,
l165l		Loaden with honour. Say my request’s unjust,
l166l		And spurn me back. But if it be not so,
l167l		Thou art not honest, and the gods will plague thee
l168l		That thou restrain’st from me the duty which
l169l		To a mother’s part belongs.—He turns away.
l170l		Down, ladies. Let us shame him with our knees.
l171l		To his surname “Coriolanus” ’longs more pride
l172l		Than pity to our prayers. Down! An end.
l173l		This is the last.
		(The ladies and Young Martius kneel)
		 So we will home to Rome,
l174l		And die among our neighbours.—Nay, behold ’s.
l175l		This boy, that cannot tell what he would have,
l176l		But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship,
l177l		Does reason our petition with more strength
l178l		Than thou hast to deny ’t.—Come, let us go.
l179l		This fellow had a Volscian to his mother.
l180l		His wife is in Corioles, and this child
l181l		Like him by chance.—Yet give us our dispatch.
l182l		I am hushed until our city be afire,
l183l		And then I’ll speak a little.
		(He holds her by the hand, silent)
		
	Coriolanus	 O mother, mother!
l184l		What have you done? Behold, the heavens do ope,
l185l		The gods look down, and this unnatural scene
l186l		They laugh at. O my mother, mother, O!
l187l		You have won a happy victory to Rome#
l188l		But for your son, believe it, O believe it,
l189l		Most dangerously you have with him prevailed,
l190l		If not most mortal to him. But let it come.
		(The ladies and Young Martius rise)
l191l		Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars,
l192l		I’ll frame convenient peace. Now, good Aufidius,
l193l		Were you in my stead would you have heard
l194l		A mother less, or granted less, Aufidius?
l195l	Aufidius	I was moved withal.
	Coriolanus	I dare be sworn you were.
l196l		And, sir, it is no little thing to make
l197l		Mine eyes to sweat compassion. But, good sir,
l198l		What peace you’ll make, advise me. For my part,
l199l		I’ll not to Rome# I’ll back with you, and pray you
l200l		Stand to me in this cause.—O mother! Wife!
l201l	Aufidius	(aside)
		 I am glad thou hast set thy mercy and thy honour
l202l		At difference in thee. Out of that I’ll work
l203l		Myself a former fortune.
	Coriolanus	
		(to Volumnia and Virgilia)
		 Ay, by and by.
l204l		But we will drink together, and you shall bear
l205l		A better witness back than words, which we
l206l		On like conditions will have counter-sealed.
l207l		Come, enter with us. Ladies, you deserve
l208l		To have a temple built you. All the swords
l209l		In Italy, and her confederate arms,
l210l		Could not have made this peace.
		(Exeunt)