Act I.]
CORIOLANUS.
269
Which you do live upon : and Jit it is;
Because I am the storehouse, and the shopOf the whole body: But if you do remember ,
I send it through the rivers of your blood,
Even to the court, the heart,—to the seat o’thebrain ;
And, through the cranks and offices of man,
The strongest nerves, and small inferior veins,From me receive that natural competency,Whereby they live : And though that all at once,You, my good friends, (this says the belly.,) markme,—
1 Cit. Ay, sir; well, well.
Men. Though all at once cannotSee what I do deliver out to each ;
Yet I can make my audit up, that allFrom me do back receive the flower of all,
And leave me but the bran. What say you to’t ?
1 Cit. It was an answer: How apply you this ?Men. The senators of Rome are this goodbelly,
And you the mutinous members : For examineTheir counsels, and their cares; digest thingsrightly,
Touching the weal o’the common ; you shall find,No public benefit which you receive,
But it proceeds, or comes, from them to you,And no way from yourselves.—What do youthink ?
You, the great toe of this assembly ?—
1 Cit. I the great toe ? Why the great toe ?Men. For that being one o’the lowest, basest,poorest,
Of this most wise rebellion, thou go’st foremost:Thou rascal, that art worst in blood, to runLead’st first to win some vantage.—
But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs;Rome and her rats are at the point of battle,The one side must have bale.—Hail, noble Mar-cius!
Mar. Thanks.—What’s the matter, you dis-sentious rogues,
That rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,Make yourselves scabs ?
1 Cit. We have ever your good word.
Mar. He, that will give good words to thee,will flatter
Beneath abhorring.—What would you have,you curs,
That like nor peace, nor war ? the one affrightsyou,
The other makes you proud. He that trusts you,Where he should find you lions, finds you hares;Where foxes, geese: You are no surer, no.Than is the coal of fire upon the ice,
Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is,
To make him worthy, whose offence subdues him,And curse that justice did it. Who deservesgreatness,
Deserves your hate: and your affections areA sick man’s appetite, who desires most that,
Which would increase his evil. He, that de-pends
Upon your favours, swims with fins of lead,And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye!Trust ye ?
With every minute you do change a mind;
And call him noble, that was now your hate,Him vile, that was your garland. What’s thematter,
That in these several places of the cityYou cry against the noble senate, who,
Under the gods, keep you in awe, which elseWould feed on one another ?—What’s theirseeking ?
Men. For corn at their own rates; whereof)they say,
The city is well stor’d.
Mar. Hang ’em ! They say ?
They’ll sit by the fire, and presume to knowWhat’s done i’the Capitol: who’s like to rise,Who thrives, and who declines: side factions,and give out
Conjectural marriages: making parties strong,And feebling such as stand not in their liking,Below their cobbled shoes. They say, there’sgrain enough ?
Would the nobility lay aside their ruth,
And let me use my sword, I’d make a quarryWith thousands of these quarter’d slaves, as highAs I could pick my lance.
Men. Nay, these are almost thoroughly per-suaded ;
For though abundantly they lack discretion,Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseechyou,
What says the other troop ?
Mar. They are dissolv’d : Hang ’em !
They said, they were an-hungry ; sigh’d forthproverbs;—
That, hunger broke stone walls; that, dogsmust eat;
That, meat was made for mouths; that, thegods sent not
Corn for the rich men only:—With these shredsThey vented their complainings; which beinganswer’d,
And a petition granted them, a strange one,
(To break the heart of generosity,
And make bold power look pale,) they threwtheir caps
As they would hang them on the horns o’themoon,
Shouting their emulation.
Men. What is granted them ?
Mar. Five tribunes, to defend their vulgarwisdoms,
Of their own choice : One’s Junius Brutus ,Sicinius Velutus, and I know not—’Sdeath !The rabble should have first unroof’d the city,Ere so prevail’d with me: it will in timeWin upon power, and throw forth greater themesFor insurrection’s arguing.
Men. This is strange.