Not Africk owns a serpent, I abhor More than thy fame and envy: Fix thy foot. Mar. Let the first budger die the other's slave, And the gods doom him after! Auf. Halloo me like a hare. Mar. If I fly, Marcius, Within these three hours, Tullus, Alone I fought in your Corioli walls, And made what work I pleas'd; "Tis not my blood, Wherein thou seest me mask'd: for thy revenge, Wrench up thy power to the highest. Auf. Wert thou the Hector, That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,' Thou should'st not scape me here. [They fight, and certain Volces come to the aid of AUFIDIUS. Officious, and not valiant-you have sham'd me [Exeunt fighting, driven in by MARCIUS. That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,] Whip might anciently be used, as crack is now, to denote any thing peculiarly boasted of; as the crack house in the county-the crack boy of a school, &c. Modern phraseology, perhaps, has only passed from the whip, to the crack of it. STEEVENS. you have sham'd me In your condemned seconds.] i. e. You have, to my shame, sent me help, which I must condemn as intrusive, instead of applauding it as necessary. SCENE IX. The Roman Camp. Alarum. A Retreat is sounded. Flourish. Enter at one side, COMINIUS, and Romans; at the other side, MARCIUS, with his Arm in a Scarf, and other Romans. Com. If I should tell thee o'er this thy day's work, Thou❜lt not believe thy deeds: but I'll report it, Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles; Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug, I' the end, admire; where ladies shall be frighted, And, gladly quak'd, hear more; where the dull Tribunes, That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine honours, Yet cam'st thou to a morsel of this feast, Enter TITUS LARTIUS, with his Power from the Lart. pursuit. Here is the steed, we the caparison:" . Hadst thou beheld Mar. O general, Pray now, no more: my mother, Who has a charter to extol her blood, When she does praise me, grieves me. I have done, As you have done that's what I can; induc'd And, gladly quak'd,] i. e. thrown into grateful trepidation. Here is the steed, we the caparison;] This is an odd encomium. The meaning is, this man performed the action, and we only filled the show. JOHNSON. up a charter to extol-] A privilege to praise her own son. As you have been; that's for my country: Com. You shall not be The grave of your deserving: Rome must know The value of her own: 'twere a concealment Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement, To hide your doings; and to silence that, Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch'd, Would seem but modest: Therefore, I beseech you, (In sign of what you are, not to reward What you have done,) before our army hear me. Mar. I have some wounds upon me, and they smart To hear themselves remember'd. Com. Should they not, Well might they fester 'gainst ingratitude, And tent themselves with death. Of all the horses, (Whereof we have ta'en good, and good store,) of all The treasure, in this field achiev'd, and city, We render you the tenth; to be ta'en forth, Your only choice. Mar. [A long Flourish. They all cry, Marcius! He, that hath but effected his good will, Hath overta'en mine act.] That is, has done as much as I have done, inasmuch as my ardour to serve the state is such that I have never been able to effect all that I wish'd. Should they not,] That is, not be remembered. Mar. May these same instruments, which you profane, Never sound more! When drums and trumpets shall As if I loved my little should be dieted Com. With all the applause and clamour of the host, Bear the addition nobly ever! [Flourish. Trumpets sound, and Drums. All Caius Marcius Coriolanus! Cor. I will go wash; And when my face is fair, you shall perceive To the fairness of my power. 9 To undercrest your good addition, To the fairness of my power.] I understand the meaning to be, Com. So, to our tent: Lart. I shall, my lord. Cor. The gods begin to mock me. I that now Refus'd most princely gifts, am bound to beg Of my lord general. Com. Take it 'tis yours.-What is't? Cor. I sometime lay, here in Corioli, At a poor man's house; he us'd me kindly: And wrath o'erwhelm'd my pity: I request you Com. O, well begg'd! Were he the butcher of my son, he should Be free, as is the wind. Deliver him, Titus. Lart. Marcius, his name? Cor. I am weary; yea, my memory is tir'd.- By Jupiter, forgot : Go we to our tent: Com. [Exeunt. to illustrate this honourable distinction you have conferred on me by fresh deservings to the extent of my power. To undercrest, I should guess, signifies properly, to wear beneath the crest as a part of a coat of arms. The name or title now given seems to be considered as the crest; the promised future achievements as the future additions to that coat. HEATH. 1 The best,] The chief men of Corioli. with whom we may articulate,] i. e. enter into articles. |