The opening of act 4, scene 1 of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus. Coriolanus has been exiled from Rome and is leaving the city.
ACT IV. SCENE I.
Rome. Before a gate of the city
Enter CORIOLANUS, VOLUMNIA, VIRGILIA, MENENIUS, COMINIUS, with the young NOBILITY of Rome
CORIOLANUS:
Come, leave your tears; a brief farewell. The beast
With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother,
Where is your ancient courage? You were us'd
To say extremities was the trier of spirits;
That common chances common men could bear;
That when the sea was calm all boats alike
Show'd mastership in floating; fortune's blows,
When most struck home, being gentle wounded craves
A noble cunning. You were us'd to load me
With precepts that would make invincible
The heart that conn'd them.
VIRGILIA.
O heavens! O heavens!
Exploring The Waste Land
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File date: Sunday, September 29, 2002