Didn't he ever return to Rome without bringing trophies of his enemies or not being<hr>
coated in their blood or his own? That's who my dear Coriolan was, Volumnia, and my fellow Roman women.<hr>
In all the battles he fought, he was never defeated, except by me.<hr>
Even the Volscians judged him worthy of being their commander thanks, and because of, the fact that it was<hr>
he who had seized victory from them at Corioli when they were on the verge of winning it<hr>
despite the resistance of Lartius. After he attacked the city of Corioles, he was<hr>
gallantly repelled by the besieged, which caused all our troops to flee and threw our army into disarray.<hr>
It was during this battle that his passion for the glory of the Roman Empire<hr>
drove him to exceed his own strengths, and with his enthusiasm and fighters’ spirit, he compelled<hr>
some of our soldiers to confront the enemy. His will was so victorious that he drove back<hr>
the enemy to the city walls. And not yet satisfied with this remarkable action,<hr>
he convinced those who followed him to take advantage of the fact that the gates of Corioles were<hr>
open to welcome the fleeing soldiers, to boldly enter. <hr>
        However, seeing that their fear was stronger than his words and they were thinking more<hr>
of withdrawing than of fighting, the unfortunate one I mourn did not abandon his<hr>
strategy and entered Corioli. There, he found himself almost alone fighting against all<hr>
the inhabitants of a city who fought desperately. It was there that his bravery sowed<hr>
terror among the enemies. His example sparked courage in our troops and his strength<hr>
allowed them to penetrate the fortified city and finally become victorious over<hr>
the ones who had recently ousted them. It was only due to Coriolan's courage that Lartius had<hr>
the time to gather his troops and reap the fruits of victory, by finishing what he had so audaciously begun. Yet aware of the consul<hr>
Cominius, who commanded the other half of the Roman army, he could find himself facing an enemy hr>
coming to support the city he captured, he chastised the soldiers who did not want to share the perils with him and amused in dividing the hr>
spoils he had acquired instead of assisting Cominius. After witnessing the cowardice of the hr>
looters, he abandoned them. He was only followed by those who were willing to accompany him, even though there were not many. He then hurried to seek another opportunity to hr>
display his courage. He arrived at the camp just as Cominius was preparing to hr>
engage in battle with the enemy. His appearance, dusty and bloodstained, caused some hr>
alarm to the consul. But as soon as he recounted the feat he had just achieved, hr>
The news of this first victory foretold the second. All the soldiers recovered their hr>
fighting spirits; hope and joy were written on their faces, and just by looking at them, one could hr>
see that fear had dissipated from their hearts. As for my son, he would hr>
have been pained to see anyone else serve the Republic better that day. <hr>

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                                                            87<hr>