The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (781 page)

Should by the cormorant belly be restrain'd,

which is the sewer of the body—

Who is the sink o' the body,--

MENENIUS.

Well, what then?

Well, what then?

FIRST CITIZEN.

If all those organs complained,

The former agents, if they did complain,

what could the belly actually say?

What could the belly answer?  

MENENIUS.

I’ll tell you;

I will tell you;

If you could just have a little—and I know you only have a little—

If you'll bestow a small,--of what you have little,--

patience for a while, you’ll hear the belly’s answer.

Patience awhile, you'll hear the belly's answer.

FIRST CITIZEN.

You’re taking too long.

You are long about it.

MENENIUS.

Listen close, my good friend:

Note me this, good friend;

This belly was careful,

Your most grave belly was deliberate,

not reckless like the other organs, and so he answered:

Not rash like his accusers, and thus answer'd:

“It’s true, my friends,” he said,

'True is it, my incorporate friends,' quoth he,

“That I’m the one that gets the food first,

'That I receive the general food at first

“though you all live on it; and it’s only fair,

Which you do live upon; and fit it is,

“because I’m the warehouse and the factory

Because I am the storehouse and the shop

“of the whole body: but, as you may recall,

Of the whole body: but, if you do remember,

“I send it out through the arteries of your blood,

I send it through the rivers of your blood,

“and even to the heart, to the brain;

Even to the court, the heart,--to the seat o' the brain;

“and down the winding paths and through the workshops of a body,

And, through the cranks and offices of man,

“the tendons and the smallest veins

The strongest nerves and small inferior veins

“all get a supply adequate to their natural needs,

From me receive that natural competency

“which they live on. And even though all of you organs,

Whereby they live: and though that all at once

“you, my good friends—” This is all still the belly talking, mind you—

You, my good friends,'--this says the belly,--mark me,--

FIRST CITIZEN.

Yes, we get it, go on.

Ay, sir; well, well.

MENENIUS.

“…Even though all of you organs can’t

'Though all at once cannot

“tell how I deliver all the food to each of you,

See what I do deliver out to each,

“I can prove that all of you

Yet I can make my audit up, that all

“get your food from me,

From me do back receive the flour of all,

“and leave me with the scraps.” What do you think of that?

And leave me but the bran.' What say you to't?

FIRST CITIZEN.

I admit it was answer, but what does it have to do anything?

It was an answer: how apply you this?

MENENIUS.

The Senators of Rome are like the belly,

The senators of Rome are this good belly,

and you are like the rebellious organs; take a look at

And you the mutinous members; for, examine

their advice and their concerns: they deal with

Their counsels and their cares; digest things rightly

the welfare of the public; you won’t find

Touching the weal o' the common; you shall find

any benefit that you receive

No public benefit which you receive

that doesn’t come from them to you,

But it proceeds or comes from them to you,

and from you yourselves.—What do you think,

And no way from yourselves.--What do you think,

you there, the big toe of this crowd?

You, the great toe of this assembly?

FIRST CITIZEN.

I’m the big toe? Why the big toe?

I the great toe? why the great toe?

MENENIUS.

Because, even though you are one of the lowest, worst, poorest members

For that, being one o' the lowest, basest, poorest,

of this wise rebellion, you are leading this whole group:

Of this most wise rebellion, thou go'st foremost:

You, the hunting dog with the worst breeding,

Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run,

are in the lead in this hunt, trying to win some advantage.

Lead'st first to win some vantage.—

Anyway, get ready with your big bats and clubs:

But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs:

Rome and her rats are about to do battle,

Rome and her rats are at the point of battle;

and one side is going to lose—

The one side must have bale.--

[Enter CAIUS MARCIUS.]

Hail, noble Marcius!

Hail, noble Marcius!

MARCIUS.

Thanks.—What’s the matter, you disagreeable bastards?

Thanks.--What's the matter, you dissentious rogues

Have you complained so much

That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion,

that you’ve made yourselves ugly?

Make yourselves scabs?

FIRST CITIZEN.

We trust you’re dealing in good faith.

We have ever your good word.

MARCIUS.

He who treats you with good faith will flatter

He that will give good words to thee will flatter

anything. What do you want, you dogs,

Beneath abhorring.--What would you have, you curs,

who don’t like peace or war? Peace scares you,

That like nor peace nor war? The one affrights you,

and war makes you proud. Whoever puts his trust in you,

The other makes you proud. He that trusts to you,

expecting to find that you are brave as lions, instead finds out you are cowardly rabbits;

Where he should find you lions, finds you hares;

Instead of being like cunning foxes, you’re like stupid geese; you are no more dependable

Where foxes, geese: you are no surer, no,

than a fire burning on top of ice,

Than is the coal of fire upon the ice,

or a snowball in hell. You think highly of people

Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is

who have gotten in trouble for breaking the law,

To make him worthy whose offence subdues him,

and curse the good people who enforced those laws.

And curse that justice did it. Who deserves greatness  

You hate great people, and the things you like

Deserves your hate; and your affections are

are the things a sick man would want if he wanted

A sick man's appetite, who desires most that

to make himself worse. Whoever depends on you

Which would increase his evil. He that depends

is going to sink like a metal fish,

Upon your favours swims with fins of lead,

and he might as well try to chop down a tree with a blade of grass. Screw you!

And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye! Trust ye!

You change your minds every minute,

With every minute you do change a mind;

you praise people you used to hate,

And call him noble that was now your hate,

and hate people you used to love. What’s the matter?

Him vile that was your garland. What's the matter,

All over town

That in these several places of the city

you’re complaining about the senate,

You cry against the noble senate, who,

which keeps you all in line, because otherwise

Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else

you would eat each other? What do they want?

Would feed on one another?--What's their seeking?

MENENIUS.

They want to buy grain at their own prices, and they say

For corn at their own rates; whereof they say

the city is full of it.

The city is well stor'd.

MARCIUS.

Screw ‘em! “They say…”!

Hang 'em! They say!

They sit around at home and think they know

They'll sit by th' fire and presume to know

what’s going on in high politics: who’s on his way up,

What's done i' the Capitol; who's like to rise,

who is doing well, and who is headed downhill; they join political parties

Who thrives and who declines; side factions, and give out

and try to join parties together (in a bad way); they make some parties strong,

Conjectural marriages; making parties strong,

and weaken the ones they don’t like by

And feebling such as stand not in their liking

trampling them underfoot. They say there’s enough grain!  

Below their cobbled shoes. They say there's grain enough!

If only the noblemen would stop being so nice

Would the nobility lay aside their ruth

and let me get violent, I’d make a pile of dead bodies

And let me use my sword, I'd make a quarry

out of thousands of these slaves, a pile as high off the ground

With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high

as I can lift my spear.

As I could pick my lance.

MENENIUS.

No, don’t worry about these idiots here.

Nay, these are almost thoroughly persuaded;

They may be stupid,

For though abundantly they lack discretion,

but they’re also a bunch of cowards. But, please tell me,

Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech you,

what does the other gang of rioters want?

What says the other troop?

MARCIUS.

They dispersed: damn ‘em!

They are dissolved: hang 'em!

They said they were hungry. They babbled on in hick clichés:

They said they were an-hungry; sigh'd forth proverbs,--

“Hunger is strong enough to break stone wall,” “Even dogs have to eat,”

That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat,

“Food was made to be eaten,” “The gods didn’t make

That meat was made for mouths, that the gods sent not

food only for rich people.” They complained

Corn for the rich men only:--with these shreds

using those silly old sayings, and when they heard the government’s response,

They vented their complainings; which being answer'd,

that a new law had been made in their favor—a strange law,

And a petition granted them,--a strange one,

that’s going to destroy the generous noblemen,

To break the heart of generosity,

and make the powerful look weak—they threw their hats up in celebration,

And make bold power look pale,--they threw their caps

so high that it was as if they wanted to hang them on the crescent moon,

As they would hang them on the horns o' the moon,

all while shouting in support of the new law.

Shouting their emulation.  

MENENIUS.

What did the law give them?

What is granted them?

MARCIUS.

Five representatives of the people, who will talk all kinds of ghetto nonsense.