As thou'rt a man, Give me the cup: let go; by heaven I'll have it. 310 315 O good Horatio, what a wounded name, Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me! If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart, And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain, 320 [March afar off, and shot without. To tell my story. What warlike noise is this? OSR. Young Fortinbras, with conquest come from Poland, To the ambassadors of England gives This warlike volley. HAM. O, I die, Horatio; The potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit; I cannot live to hear the news from England; On Fortinbras; he has my dying voice; 325 So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less, [Dies. 330 HOR. Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! [March within. Why does the drum come hither? Enter FORTINBRAS, the English Ambassadors and others. FORT. Where is this sight? What is it ye would see ? HOR. That thou so many princes at a shot So bloodily hast struck? FIRST AMB. The sight is dismal; And our affairs from England come too late: 335 340 The ears are senseless that should give us hearing, That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead: HOR. Not from his mouth Had it the ability of life to thank you : 345 He never gave commandment for their death. But since, so jump upon this bloody question, You from the Polack wars, and you from England, 350 And let me speak, to the yet unknowing world How these things came about: so shall you hear Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, 355 Fall'n on the inventors' heads: all this can I FORT. Let us haste to hear it, And call the noblest to the audience. 360 For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune; I have some rights of memory in this kingdom, And from his mouth whose voice will draw on more: 365 Even while men's minds are wild; lest more mischance FORT. Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage; Let four captains For he was likely, had he been put on, 370 To have proved most royally: and, for his passage, Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. 375 Go, bid the soldiers shoot. [A dead march. Exeunt, bearing off the bodies: after which a peal of ordnance is shot off. CORIOLANUS. DRAMATIS PERSONÆ. CAIUS MARCIUS, afterwards CAIUS MAR- Two Volscian Guards. COMINIUS, TITUS LARTIUS, VOLUMNIA, mother to Coriolanus. Roman and Volscian Senators, Patri- SCENE: Partly in Rome and its neighbourhood; partly Corioli and its neighbourhood; and partly Antium. ACT I. SCENE I. Rome. A street. Enter a company of mutinous Citizens, with staves, clubs and FIRST CIT. Before we proceed any further, hear me speak. FIRST CIT. You are all resolved rather to die than to famish? FIRST CIT. First, you know, Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the 5 people. ALL. We know't, we know't. FIRST CIT. Let us kill him, and we'll have corn at our own price. Is't a verdict? ALL. No more talking on't; let it be done away, away! FIRST CIT. We are accounted poor citizens; the patricians good. What authority surfeits on would relieve us if they would yield us but the superfluity while it were wholesome, we might 10 guess they relieved us humanely; but they think we are too dear: 15 the leanness that afflicts us, the object of our misery, is as an inventory to particularize their abundance; our sufferance is a gain to them. Let us revenge this with our pikes, ere we become rakes: for the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge. SEC. CIT. Would you proceed especially against Caius Marcius? ALL. Against him first: he's a very dog to the commonalty. SEC. CIT. Consider you what services he has done for his country? FIRST CIT. Very well; and could be content to give him good report for't, but that he pays himself with being proud. SEC. CIT. Nay, but speak not maliciously. FIRST CIT. I say unto you, what he hath done famously, he did it to that end: though soft-conscienced men can be content to say it was for his country, he did it to please his mother, and to be partly proud; which he is, even to the altitude of his virtue. SEC. CIT. What he cannot help in his nature, you account a vice in him. You must in no way say he is covetous. FIRST CIT. If I must not, I need not be barren of accusations; he hath faults, with surplus, to tire in repetition. [Shouts within.] 20 25 30 What shouts are these? The other side o' the city is risen: why 35 stay we prating here? to the Capitol! ALL. Come, come. FIRST CIT. Soft! who comes here? SEC. CIT. Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one that hath always loved the people. Enter MENENIUS AGRIPPA. FIRST CIT. He's one honest enough: would all the rest were so ! Where go you With bats and clubs? The matter? Speak, I pray you. 40 FIRST CIT. Our business is not unknown to the senate they have had inkling, this fortnight, what we intend to do, which now 45 we'll show 'em in deeds. They say poor suitors have strong breaths : they shall know we have strong arms too. MEN. Why, masters, my good friends, mine honest neighbours, Will you undo yourselves? FIRST CIT. We cannot, sir; we are undone already. Have the patricians of you. For your wants, Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well 50 55 Appear in your impediment. For the dearth, Your knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack! Thither where more attends you; and you slander 60 FIRST CIT. Care for us! True, indeed! They ne'er cared for 65 us yet suffer us to famish, and their storehouses crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act established against the rich, and provide more piercing statutes daily to chain up and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and there's all the love they bear 70 us. MEN. Either you must Confess yourselves wondrous malicious, Or be accused of folly. I shall tell you A pretty tale it may be, you have heard it; 75 But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture To stale't a little more. FIRST CIT. Well, I'll hear it, sir: yet you must not think to fob off our disgrace with a tale: but, and't please you, deliver. MEN. There was a time when all the body's members 80 Rebelled against the belly; thus accused it: That only like a gulf it did remain I' th' midst o' th' body, idle and unactive, Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing Like labour with the rest; where the other instruments 85 FIRST CIT. Well, sir, what answer made the belly? Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even thus— To the discontented members, the mutinous parts They are not such as you. FIRST CIT. Your belly's answer? What! The kingly-crowned head, the vigilant eye, 90 95 100 |