As they would hang them on the horns o' the moon,2 Shouting their emulation.3 MEN. What is granted them? MAR. Five tribunes, to defend their vulgar wif doms, Of their own choice: One's Junius Brutus, Win upon power, and throw forth greater themes 2 MEN. This is ftrange. MAR. Go, get you home, you fragments! hang them on the horns o' the moon,] So, in Antony and Cleopatra: "Let me lodge Lichas on the horns o' the moon." STEEVENS. 3 Shouting their emulation.] Each of them ftriving to shout louder than the reft. MALONE. Emulation, in the prefent inftance, I believe, fignifies faction. Shouting their emulation, may mean, expressing the triumph of their faction by fhouts. Emulation, in our author, is fometimes used in an unfavourable fenfe, and not to imply an honest contest for superior excellence. Thus, in King Henry V1. P. I: 66 the truft of England's honour Keep off aloof with worthiefs emulation." Again, in Troilus and Creffida: "While emulation in the i. e. faction. STEEVENS. 4 Mr. Rowe. army crept." unroof'd the city,] Old copy-unrooft. Corrected by MALONE. 5 For infurrection's arguing.] For infurgents to debate upon. MALONE. Enter a Meffenger. MESS. Where's Caius Marcius? MAR. Here: What's the matter? MESS. The news is, fir, the Volces are in arms. MAR. I am glad on't; then we shall have means to vent Our musty superfluity :-See, our best elders. Enter COMINIUS, TITUS LARTIUS, and other Senators; JUNIUS BRUTUS, and SICINIUS VE LUTUS. 1 SEN. Marcius, 'tis true, that you have lately told us; The Volces are in arms." MAR. And were I any thing but what I am, Сом. You have fought together." MAR. Were half to half the world by the ears, and he Upon my party, I'd revolt, to make Only my wars with him: he is a lion That I am proud to hunt. 'tis true, that you have lately told us ; The Volces are in arms.] Coriolanus had been just told himfelf that the Volces were in arms. The meaning is, The intelligence which you gave us fome little time ago of the defigns of the Volces is now verified; they are in arms. JOHNSON. And I am conftant.7-Titus Lartius, thou TIT. MEN. O, true bred! 1 SEN. Your company to the Capitol; where, I know, Our greatest friends attend us. TIT. Lead you on Follow, Cominius; we must follow you; COM. 1 SEN. Hence! To your homes, be gone. MAR. Noble Lartius !9 [To the Citizens. Nay, let them follow : The Volces have much corn; take these rats thither, gnaw their garners: Worshipful mutineers, To 7 conftant.] i. e. immoveable in my refolution. So, in Julius Cæfar: "But I am conftant as the northern star." STEEVENS. Right worthy you priority.] You being right worthy of precedence. MALONE. 8 Mr. M. Mason would read-your priority. STEEVENS. Noble Lartius!] Old copy-Martius. Corrected by Mr. Theobald. I am not fure that the emendation is neceffary. Perhaps Lartius in the latter part of the preceding speech addreffes Marcius, MALONE. Your valour puts well forth: pray, follow. [Exeunt Senators, Coм. MAR. TIT. and MENEN. Citizens fteal away. SIC. Was ever man fo proud as is this Marcius? BRU. He has no equal. Õ SIC. When we were chofen tribunes for the peo ple, BRʊ. Mark'd you his lip, and eyes? SIC. Nay, but his taunts. BRU. Being mov'd, he will not fpare to gird the gods. Sic. Be-mock the modeft moon. 2 BRU. The present wars devour him: he is grown Too proud to be so valiant.3 1 Your valour puts well forth :] That is, You have in this mutiny shown fair blossoms of valour. JOHNSON. So, in King Henry VIII: 2 -To-day he puts forth "The tender leaves of hope, to-morrow bloffoms," &c. MALONE. JOHNSON. to gird-] To fneer, to gibe. So Falftaff ufes the noun, when he says, every man has a gird at me. Again, in The Taming of the Shrew: "I thank thee for that gird, good Tranio.” Many inftances of the use of this word, might be added. STEEVENS. To gird, as an anonymous correfpondent observes to me, “in fome parts of England means to push vehemently. So, when a ram pufhes at any thing with his head, they fay he girds at it." To gird likewife fignified, to pluck or twinge. Hence probably it was metaphorically used in the sense of to taunt, or annoy by a Stroke of farcafm. Cotgrave makes gird, nip, and twinge, fynonymous. MALONE. 3 The prefent wars devour him; he is grown Too proud to be fo valiant.] Mr. Theobald fays, This is obfcurely expreffed, but that the poet's meaning muft certainly be, that Marcius is fo confcious of, and fo elate upon the notion of SIC. Such a nature, Tickled with good fuccefs, difdains the fhadow Under Cominius. BRU. Fame, at the which he aims,— In whom already he is well grac'd,-cannot Better be held, nor more attain'd, than by A place below the first for what miscarries his own valour, that he is eaten up with pride, &c. According to this critick then, we must conclude, that when Shakspeare had a mind to fay, A man was eaten up with pride, he was fo great a blunderer in expreffion, as to fay, He was eaten up with war. But our poet wrote at another rate, and the blunder is his critick's. The prefent wars devour him, is an imprecation, and fhould be fo pointed. As much as to fay, May he fall in thofe wars! The reafon of the curfe is fubjoined, for (fays the fpeaker) having fo much pride with fo much valour, his life, with increase of honours, is dangerous to the republick. WARBURTON. I am by no means convinced that Dr. Warburton's punctuation, or explanation, is right. The fenfe may be, that the present wars annihilate his gentler qualities. To eat up, and confequently to devour, has this meaning. So, in The Second Part of King Henry IV. A& IV. fc. iv: "But thou [the crown] most fine, most honour'd, most renown'd, "Haft eat thy bearer up." To be eat up with pride, is ftill a phrase in common and vulgar ufe. He is grown too proud to be fo valiant, may fignify, his pride iş fuch as not to deferve the accompanyment of fo much valour. STEEVENS. I concur with Mr. Steevens. "The prefent wars," Shakspeare ufes to express the pride of Coriolanus grounded on his military prowefs; which kind of pride Brutus fays devours him. So, in Troilus and Creffida, A& II. sc. iii : He that's proud, eats up himself." Perhaps the meaning of the latter member of the fentence is, "he is grown too proud of being fo valiant, to be endured." MALONE. |