QUOTES FROM THE BARD

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
AUFIDIUS
All places yield to him ere he sits down;
And the nobility of Rome are his:
The senators and patricians love him too:
The tribunes are no soldiers; and their people
Will be as rash in the repeal, as hasty
To expel him thence. I think he’ll be to Rome
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it
By sovereignty of nature. First he was
A noble servant to them; but he could not
Carry his honours even: whether ’twas pride,
Which out of daily fortune ever taints
The happy man; whether defect of judgment,
To fail in the disposing of those chances
Which he was lord of; or whether nature,
Not to be other than one thing, not moving
From the casque to the cushion, but commanding peace
Even with the same austerity and garb
As he controlled the war; but one of these—
As he hath spices of them all, not all,
For I dare so far free him—made him fear’d,
So hated, and so banish’d: but he has a merit,
To choke it in the utterance. So our virtues
Lie in the interpretation of the time:
And power, unto itself most commendable,
Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair
To extol what it hath done.
One fire drives out one fire; one nail, one nail;
Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths do fail.
Come, let’s away. When, Caius, Rome is thine,
Thou art poor’st of all; then shortly art thou mine.

DUTCH:
In der menschen oordeel
Ligt onze kracht; lofwaarde en echte grootheid
Heeft geen zoo zeker graf als een gestoelte,
Waarop verkond wordt, wat zij heeft verricht.

MORE:
Proverb: Fire drives out fire (1592)
Proverb: One fire (or one nail or one poison) drives out another.

In the interpretation of the time=Evaluation according to prevailing standards [referring to the fluctuation of the popular opinion of Coriolanus, from denunciation to acclaim]
Unto itself most commendable=Having a very high opinion of itself, self-justified
Spices of them all, not all=Not complete, in their full extent
Popular=Of the people, vulgar (a vulgar station=standing place with the crowd)
Extol=Praise, magnify
Chair=A seat of public authority
Compleat:
Chair of state=Zetel
Extoll=Verheffen, pryzen, looven
To extol one, raise him up to the sky=Iemand tot den Hemel toe verheffen
Highly commendable=Ten hoogste pryselyk

Topics: time, reputation, honesty, integrity, authority, ruin