Chapter: SCENE VIII.
A field of battle between the Roman and the Volscian camps

Alarum, as in battle. Enter MARCIUS and AUFIDIUS at several doors

  MARCIUS. I'll fight with none but thee, for I do hate thee
    Worse than a promise-breaker.
  AUFIDIUS. We hate alike:
    Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor
    More than thy fame and envy. Fix thy foot.
  MARCIUS. Let the first budger die the other's slave,
    And the gods doom him after!
  AUFIDIUS. If I fly, Marcius,
    Halloa me like a hare.
  MARCIUS. Within these three hours, Tullus,
    Alone I fought in your Corioli walls,
    And made what work I pleas'd. 'Tis not my blood
    Wherein thou seest me mask'd. For thy revenge
    Wrench up thy power to th' highest.
  AUFIDIUS. Wert thou the Hector
    That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny,
    Thou shouldst not scape me here.

       Here they fight, and certain Volsces come in the aid
        of AUFIDIUS. MARCIUS fights till they be driven in
                             breathless

    Officious, and not valiant, you have sham'd me
    In your condemned seconds.                            Exeunt

 This scene depicts the critical encounter between Caius Marcius and Aufidius. An alarum is sounded, and Marcius and Aufidius enter from opposite sides. Marcius proclaims that he will fight with none except Aufidius, whom he hates worse than a person who breaks promises. Aufidius rejoins with equal scorn, saying he hates Marcius more than a serpent. Both of them swear that they will not stop fighting until one of them is defeated. Marcius tells Aufidius that the blood covering his body is that of the Volscian soldiers whom he had slain while capturing Corioli only three hours earlier. As the duel progresses, Marcius has the upper hand and Aufidius, breaking his promise, retreats.

