Antium. Before AUFIDIUS’ House. | |
| |
Enter CORIOLANUS, in mean apparel, disguised and muffled. | |
| Cor. A goodly city is this Antium. City, | |
| ’Tis I that made thy widows: many an heir | 4 |
| 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 | |
| In puny battle slay me. | 8 |
| |
Enter a Citizen. | |
| Save you, sir. | |
| Cit. And you. | |
| Cor. Direct me, if it be your will, | 12 |
| Where great Aufidius lies. Is he in Antium? | |
| Cit. He is, and feasts the nobles of the state | |
| At his house this night. | |
| Cor. Which is his house, beseech you? | 16 |
| Cit. This, here before you. | |
| Cor. Thank you, sir. Farewell. [Exit Citizen. | |
| O world! thy slippery turns. Friends now fast sworn, | |
| Whose double bosoms seem to wear one heart, | 20 |
| Whose hours, whose bed, whose meal, and exercise, | |
| Are still together, who twin, as ’twere, in love | |
| Unseparable, shall within this hour, | |
| On a dissension of a doit, break out | 24 |
| To bitterest enmity: so, fellest foes, | |
| Whose passions and whose plots have broke their sleep | |
| To take the one the other, by some chance, | |
| Some trick not worth an egg, shall grow dear friends | 28 |
| And interjoin their issues. So with me: | |
| My birth-place hate I, and my love’s upon | |
| This enemy town. I’ll enter: if he slay me, | |
| He does fair justice; if he give me way, | 32 |
| I’ll do his country service. [Exit. | |
