Act 5
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Entrance of the Volscian camp before Rome. Two Sentinels on guard.
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An advanced post of the Volscian camp, outside Rome. Two guards at their station.
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Enter to them, MENENIUS
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MENENIUS enters.
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FIRST SENTINEL Stay: whence are you?
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FIRST GUARD Stop there. Who are you?
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SECOND SENTINEL Stand, and go back.
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SECOND GUARD Stop and go back.
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MENENIUS You guard like men; ’tis well: but, by your leave,
I am an officer of state, and come
5To speak with Coriolanus.
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MENENIUS You’re good guards, but I assure you that I’m an officer of the state, and I’ve come to speak with Coriolanus.
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FIRST SENTINEL From whence?
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FIRST GUARD Where are you from?
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MENENIUS From Rome.
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MENENIUS From Rome.
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FIRST SENTINEL You may not pass, you must return: our general
Will no more hear from thence.
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FIRST GUARD You may not pass. You must return. Our general won’t listen to Romans anymore.
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SECOND SENTINEL
10You’ll see your Rome embraced with fire before
You’ll speak with Coriolanus.
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SECOND GUARD You’ll see your Rome consumed with fire before you’ll speak with Coriolanus.
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MENENIUS Good my friends,
If you have heard your general talk of Rome,
And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks,
15My name hath touch’d your ears. It is Menenius.
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MENENIUS Good men, if you’ve heard your general talk of Rome and of his friends there, you’ve undoubtedly heard my name: Menenius.
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FIRST SENTINEL Be it so; go back: the virtue of your name
Is not here passable.
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FIRST GUARD Even if that’s true, go back. You can’t get in here by virtue of your name.
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MENENIUS I tell thee, fellow,
The general is my lover: I have been
20The book of his good acts, whence men have read
His name unparallel’d, haply amplified;
For I have ever verified my friends,
Of whom he’s chief, with all the size that verity
Would without lapsing suffer: nay, sometimes,
25Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground,
I have tumbled past the throw; and in his praise
Have almost stamp’d the leasing: therefore, fellow,
I must have leave to pass.
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MENENIUS I tell you, fellow, the general is my close friend. I’ve recorded his brave acts and proclaimed, perhaps exaggeratedly, his greatness as unparalleled. I’ve always supported my friends, of whom he’s the closest, with the highest possible praise I could give without slipping into lies. Although it’s true that sometimes, like bowling on an uneven surface, I’ve thrown the ball too far and nearly praised him beyond his actual accomplishments. So you see, fellow, you must let me pass.
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