QUOTES FROM THE BARD

PLAY: Coriolanus ACT/SCENE: 5.3 SPEAKER: Volumnia CONTEXT: VOLUMNIA
The end of war’s uncertain, but this certain,
That, if thou conquer Rome, the benefit
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name,
Whose repetition will be dogg’d with curses;
Whose chronicle thus writ: ‘The man was noble,
But with his last attempt he wiped it out;
Destroy’d his country, and his name remains
To the ensuing age abhorr’d.’ Speak to me, son:
Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour,
To imitate the graces of the gods;
To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o’ the air,
And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt
That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak?
Think’st thou it honourable for a noble man
Still to remember wrongs? Daughter, speak you:
He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy:
Perhaps thy childishness will move him more
Than can our reasons. There’s no man in the world
More bound to ’s mother; yet here he lets me prate
Like one i’ the stocks. Thou hast never in thy life
Show’d thy dear mother any courtesy,
When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood,
Has cluck’d thee to the wars and safely home,
Loaden with honour. Say my request’s unjust,
And spurn me back: but if it be not so,
Thou art not honest; and the gods will plague thee,
That thou restrain’st from me the duty which
To a mother’s part belongs. He turns away:
Down, ladies; let us shame him with our knees.
To his surname Coriolanus ’longs more pride
Than pity to our prayers. Down: an end;
This is the last: so we will home to Rome,
And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold ’s:
This boy, that cannot tell what he would have
But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship,
Does reason our petition with more strength
Than thou hast to deny ’t. Come, let us go:
This fellow had a Volscian to his mother;
His wife is in Corioli and his child
Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch:
I am hush’d until our city be a-fire,
And then I’ll speak a little. DUTCH: Die knaap, die niet kan zeggen wat hij wenscht,
Maar met ons meeknielt en de handen heft,
Bepleit ons smeekgebed met meerder kracht,
Dan gij tot weig’ren hebt! MORE: Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain
Proverb: To forget a wrong is best revenge (remedy)

Restrain’st=Legal use: keep back, withhold. Among examples in the New Eng. Dict, is: “The rents, issues, and profites thereof [they] have wrongfully restreyned, perceyved, and taken to their owne use.”
‘Longs=Belongs
An end=Let that be an end to it
Reason=Argue for, plead for
Dispatch=Decisive answer
Compleat:
Restrain (sting, limit or confine)=Bepaalen, kort houden
Restrain (repress or curb)=Fnuiken, beteugelen
To restrain one from a thing=Zich ergens van onthouden
To restrain a word to a signification=Een woord tot eene betekenis bekorten
Dispatch=Afvaardiging, verrichting, beschikking, vervaardiging
He is a man of quick dispatch=Het is een vaardig man Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict, reason, revenge, risk

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Volumnia
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
The end of war’s uncertain, but this certain,
That, if thou conquer Rome, the benefit
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name,
Whose repetition will be dogg’d with curses;
Whose chronicle thus writ: ‘The man was noble,
But with his last attempt he wiped it out;
Destroy’d his country, and his name remains
To the ensuing age abhorr’d.’ Speak to me, son:
Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour,
To imitate the graces of the gods;
To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o’ the air,
And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt
That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak?
Think’st thou it honourable for a noble man
Still to remember wrongs? Daughter, speak you:
He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy:
Perhaps thy childishness will move him more
Than can our reasons. There’s no man in the world
More bound to ’s mother; yet here he lets me prate
Like one i’ the stocks. Thou hast never in thy life
Show’d thy dear mother any courtesy,
When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood,
Has cluck’d thee to the wars and safely home,
Loaden with honour. Say my request’s unjust,
And spurn me back: but if it be not so,
Thou art not honest; and the gods will plague thee,
That thou restrain’st from me the duty which
To a mother’s part belongs. He turns away:
Down, ladies; let us shame him with our knees.
To his surname Coriolanus ’longs more pride
Than pity to our prayers. Down: an end;
This is the last: so we will home to Rome,
And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold ’s:
This boy, that cannot tell what he would have
But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship,
Does reason our petition with more strength
Than thou hast to deny ’t. Come, let us go:
This fellow had a Volscian to his mother;
His wife is in Corioli and his child
Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch:
I am hush’d until our city be a-fire,
And then I’ll speak a little.

DUTCH:
Die knaap, die niet kan zeggen wat hij wenscht,
Maar met ons meeknielt en de handen heft,
Bepleit ons smeekgebed met meerder kracht,
Dan gij tot weig’ren hebt!

MORE:
Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain
Proverb: To forget a wrong is best revenge (remedy)

Restrain’st=Legal use: keep back, withhold. Among examples in the New Eng. Dict, is: “The rents, issues, and profites thereof [they] have wrongfully restreyned, perceyved, and taken to their owne use.”
‘Longs=Belongs
An end=Let that be an end to it
Reason=Argue for, plead for
Dispatch=Decisive answer
Compleat:
Restrain (sting, limit or confine)=Bepaalen, kort houden
Restrain (repress or curb)=Fnuiken, beteugelen
To restrain one from a thing=Zich ergens van onthouden
To restrain a word to a signification=Een woord tot eene betekenis bekorten
Dispatch=Afvaardiging, verrichting, beschikking, vervaardiging
He is a man of quick dispatch=Het is een vaardig man

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict, reason, revenge, risk