Coriolanus: Act 4, Scenes 1-4
Volumnia and Virgilia bite back at Coriolanus’s banishers. Also, Coriolanus turns to an (un)likely ally.
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ACT 4
Scene 1
Enter Coriolanus, Volumnia, Virgilia, Menenius,
Cominius, with the young nobility of Rome.
CORIOLANUS
Come, leave your tears. A brief farewell. The beast
With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother,
Where is your ancient courage? You were used
To say extremities was the trier of spirits;
That common chances common men could bear; 5
That when the sea was calm, all boats alike
Showed mastership in floating; fortune’s blows
When most struck home, being gentle wounded
craves
A noble cunning. You were used to load me 10
With precepts that would make invincible
The heart that conned them.
VIRGILIA
O heavens! O heavens!
CORIOLANUS Nay, I prithee,
woman— 15
VOLUMNIA
Now the red pestilence strike all trades in Rome,
And occupations perish!
CORIOLANUS What, what, what!
I shall be loved when I am lacked. Nay, mother,
Resume that spirit when you were wont to say 20
If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labors you’d have done and saved
Your husband so much sweat.—Cominius,
Droop not. Adieu.—Farewell, my wife, my mother.
I’ll do well yet.—Thou old and true Menenius, 25
Thy tears are salter than a younger man’s
And venomous to thine eyes.—My sometime
general,
I have seen thee stern, and thou hast oft beheld
Heart-hard’ning spectacles. Tell these sad women 30
’Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes
As ’tis to laugh at ’em.—My mother, you wot well
My hazards still have been your solace, and—
Believe ’t not lightly—though I go alone,
Like to a lonely dragon that his fen 35
Makes feared and talked of more than seen, your
son
Will or exceed the common or be caught
With cautelous baits and practice.
VOLUMNIA My first son, 40
Whither wilt thou go? Take good Cominius
With thee awhile. Determine on some course
More than a wild exposure to each chance
That starts i’ th’ way before thee.
VIRGILIA O the gods! 45
COMINIUS
I’ll follow thee a month, devise with thee
Where thou shalt rest, that thou mayst hear of us
And we of thee; so if the time thrust forth
A cause for thy repeal, we shall not send
O’er the vast world to seek a single man 50
And lose advantage, which doth ever cool
I’ th’ absence of the needer.
CORIOLANUS Fare you well.
Thou hast years upon thee, and thou art too full
Of the wars’ surfeits to go rove with one 55
That’s yet unbruised. Bring me but out at gate.—
Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, and
My friends of noble touch. When I am forth,
Bid me farewell, and smile. I pray you, come.
While I remain above the ground, you shall 60
Hear from me still, and never of me aught
But what is like me formerly.
MENENIUS That’s worthily
As any ear can hear. Come, let’s not weep.
If I could shake off but one seven years 65
From these old arms and legs, by the good gods,
I’d with thee every foot.
CORIOLANUS Give me thy hand.
Come.
They exit.
Scene 2
Enter the two Tribunes, Sicinius, and Brutus,
with the Aedile.
SICINIUS
Bid them all home. He’s gone, and we’ll no further.
The nobility are vexed, whom we see have sided
In his behalf.
BRUTUS Now we have shown our power,
Let us seem humbler after it is done 5
Than when it was a-doing.
SICINIUS Bid them home.
Say their great enemy is gone, and they
Stand in their ancient strength.
BRUTUS Dismiss them home. 10
Aedile exits.
Here comes his mother.
Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Menenius.
SICINIUS Let’s not meet her.
BRUTUS Why?
SICINIUS They say she’s mad.
BRUTUS
They have ta’en note of us. Keep on your way. 15
VOLUMNIA
O, you’re well met. The hoarded plague o’ th’ gods
Requite your love!
MENENIUS Peace, peace! Be not so loud.
VOLUMNIA, to the Tribunes
If that I could for weeping, you should hear—
Nay, and you shall hear some. (To Sicinius.) Will 20
you be gone?
VIRGILIA, to Brutus
You shall stay too. I would I had the power
To say so to my husband.
SICINIUS, to Volumnia Are you mankind?
VOLUMNIA
Ay, fool, is that a shame? Note but this, fool. 25
Was not a man my father? Hadst thou foxship
To banish him that struck more blows for Rome
Than thou hast spoken words?
SICINIUS O blessèd heavens!
VOLUMNIA
More noble blows than ever thou wise words, 30
And for Rome’s good. I’ll tell thee what—yet go.
Nay, but thou shalt stay too. I would my son
Were in Arabia and thy tribe before him,
His good sword in his hand.
SICINIUS What then? 35
VIRGILIA What then?
He’d make an end of thy posterity.
VOLUMNIA Bastards and all.
Good man, the wounds that he does bear for Rome!
MENENIUS Come, come, peace. 40
SICINIUS
I would he had continued to his country
As he began, and not unknit himself
The noble knot he made.
BRUTUS I would he had.
VOLUMNIA
“I would he had”? ’Twas you incensed the rabble. 45
Cats, that can judge as fitly of his worth
As I can of those mysteries which heaven
Will not have Earth to know.
BRUTUS, to Sicinius Pray, let’s go.
VOLUMNIA Now, pray, sir, get you gone. 50
You have done a brave deed. Ere you go, hear this:
As far as doth the Capitol exceed
The meanest house in Rome, so far my son—
This lady’s husband here, this, do you see?—
Whom you have banished, does exceed you all. 55
BRUTUS
Well, well, we’ll leave you.
SICINIUS Why stay we to be baited
With one that wants her wits? Tribunes exit.
VOLUMNIA Take my prayers with
you. 60
I would the gods had nothing else to do
But to confirm my curses. Could I meet ’em
But once a day, it would unclog my heart
Of what lies heavy to ’t.
MENENIUS You have told them home, 65
And, by my troth, you have cause. You’ll sup with
me?
VOLUMNIA
Anger’s my meat. I sup upon myself
And so shall starve with feeding.
(To Virgilia.) Come, let’s go. 70
Leave this faint puling, and lament as I do,
In anger, Juno-like. Come, come, come. They exit.
MENENIUS Fie, fie, fie!
He exits.
Scene 3
Enter a Roman (Nicanor) and a Volsce (Adrian).
ROMAN I know you well, sir, and you know me. Your
name I think is Adrian.
VOLSCE It is so, sir. Truly, I have forgot you.
ROMAN I am a Roman, and my services are, as you are,
against ’em. Know you me yet? 5
VOLSCE Nicanor, no?
ROMAN The same, sir.
VOLSCE You had more beard when I last saw you, but
your favor is well approved by your tongue.
What’s the news in Rome? I have a note from the 10
Volscian state to find you out there. You have well
saved me a day’s journey.
ROMAN There hath been in Rome strange insurrections,
the people against the senators, patricians,
and nobles. 15
VOLSCE Hath been? Is it ended, then? Our state thinks
not so. They are in a most warlike preparation and
hope to come upon them in the heat of their
division.
ROMAN The main blaze of it is past, but a small thing 20
would make it flame again; for the nobles receive
so to heart the banishment of that worthy Coriolanus
that they are in a ripe aptness to take all power
from the people and to pluck from them their tribunes
forever. This lies glowing, I can tell you, and 25
is almost mature for the violent breaking out.
VOLSCE Coriolanus banished?
ROMAN Banished, sir.
VOLSCE You will be welcome with this intelligence,
Nicanor. 30
ROMAN The day serves well for them now. I have heard
it said the fittest time to corrupt a man’s wife is
when she’s fall’n out with her husband. Your noble
Tullus Aufidius will appear well in these wars, his
great opposer Coriolanus being now in no request 35
of his country.
VOLSCE He cannot choose. I am most fortunate thus
accidentally to encounter you. You have ended my
business, and I will merrily accompany you home.
ROMAN I shall between this and supper tell you most 40
strange things from Rome, all tending to the good
of their adversaries. Have you an army ready, say
you?
VOLSCE A most royal one. The centurions and their
charges, distinctly billeted, already in th’ entertainment, 45
and to be on foot at an hour’s warning.
ROMAN I am joyful to hear of their readiness and am
the man, I think, that shall set them in present action.
So, sir, heartily well met, and most glad of
your company. 50
VOLSCE You take my part from me, sir. I have the most
cause to be glad of yours.
ROMAN Well, let us go together.
They exit.
Scene 4
Enter Coriolanus in mean apparel, disguised,
and muffled.
CORIOLANUS
A goodly city is this Antium. City,
’Tis I that made thy widows. Many an heir
Of these fair edifices ’fore my wars
Have I heard groan and drop. Then, know me not,
Lest that thy wives with spits and boys with stones 5
In puny battle slay me.
Enter a Citizen.
Save you, sir.
CITIZEN
And you.
CORIOLANUS Direct me, if it be your will,
Where great Aufidius lies. Is he in Antium? 10
CITIZEN
He is, and feasts the nobles of the state
At his house this night.
CORIOLANUS Which is his house, beseech
you?
CITIZEN
This here before you. 15
CORIOLANUS Thank you, sir. Farewell.
Citizen exits.
O world, thy slippery turns! Friends now fast sworn,
Whose double bosoms seems to wear one heart,
Whose hours, whose bed, whose meal and exercise
Are still together, who twin, as ’twere, in love 20
Unseparable, shall within this hour,
On a dissension of a doit, break out
To bitterest enmity; so fellest foes,
Whose passions and whose plots have broke their
sleep 25
To take the one the other, by some chance,
Some trick not worth an egg, shall grow dear friends
And interjoin their issues. So with me:
My birthplace hate I, and my love’s upon
This enemy town. I’ll enter. If he slay me, 30
He does fair justice; if he give me way,
I’ll do his country service.
He exits.