To say extremity was the trier of spirits; 4
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 8
A noble cunning: you were us'd to load me
With precepts that would make invincible
The heart that conn'd them.
Vir. O heavens! O heavens!
Cor. Nay, I prithee, woman,— 12
Vol. Now the red pestilence strike all trades in Rome,
And occupations perish!
Cor. What, what, what!
I shall be lov'd when I am lack'd. Nay, mother,
Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say, 16
If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labours you'd have done, and sav'd
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius,
Droop not; adieu. Farewell, my wife! my mother! 20
I'll do well yet. Thou old and true Menenius,
Thy tears are salter than a younger man's,
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime general,
I have seen thee stern, and thou hast oft beheld 24
Heart-hardening spectacles; tell these sad women
'Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes
As 'tis to laugh at em. My mother, you wot well
My hazards still have been your solace; and 28
Believe 't not lightly—though I go alone
Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen
Makes fear'd and talk'd of more than seen,—your son
7–9 fortune's . . . cunning; cf. n.
13 red pestilence: plague
14 occupations: mechanical employments
16 Resume: recover
26 fond: as fond, as foolish
