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

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The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) Page 105

by William Shakespeare


  I’m sure everyone will, since we are all in agreement and desire success and conquest.

  Cambridge

  Never was monarch better fear'd and lov'd Than is your Majesty. There's not, I think, a subject That sits in heart-grief and uneasiness Under the sweet shade of your government.

  There has never been a king more feared or loved than you. Plus, there’s never been an issue before the government wanted more than this.

  GREY

  True; those that were your father's enemies Have steep'd their galls in honey, and do serve you With hearts create of duty and of zeal.

  King

  We therefore have great cause of thankfulness, And shall forget the office of our hand Sooner than quittance of desert and merit According to the weight and worthiness.

  We should be very thankful and remember the importance of our mission.

  Scroop

  So service shall with steeled sinews toil, And labour shall refresh itself with hope, To do your Grace incessant services.

  Every man in your service should work hard and with hope.

  King

  We judge no less. Uncle of Exeter, Enlarge the man committed yesterday, That rail'd against our person. We consider It was excess of wine that set him on, And on his more advice we pardon him.

  We will accept nothing less. Uncle Exeter, pardon the man who talked poorly about me yesterday. I think he just drank too much.

  Scroop

  That's mercy, but too much security. Let him be punish'd, sovereign, lest example Breed, by his sufferance, more of such a kind.

  That’s merciful, but don’t be too soft. Let him be punished and set forth as an example or else others may follow suit.

  King

  O, let us yet be merciful.

  Oh, let’s be merciful.

  CAMBRIDGE

  So may your Highness, and yet punish too.

  Grey

  Sir, You show great mercy if you give him life After the taste of much correction.

  Sir, you show him mercy, if you allow him to live after he has been corrected.

  King

  Alas, your too much love and care of me Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch! If little faults, proceeding on distemper, Shall not be wink'd at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chew'd, swallow'd, and digested, Appear before us? We'll yet enlarge that man, Though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, in their dear care And tender preservation of our person, Would have him punish'd. And now to our French causes. Who are the late commissioners?

  You love and care for me so much. Don’t hold it against this poor man! If we can’t overlook such trivial crimes, how are we going to act when faced with capital crimes? Free this man, although Cambridge, Scroop and Grey would like to have him punished. Now, to our French dilemma: Who are the late commissioners?

  Cambridge

  I one, my lord. Your Highness bade me ask for it to-day.

  I am, my lord. You asked me to come today.

  Scroop

  So did you me, my liege.

  Me too, my liege.

  Grey

  And I, my royal sovereign.

  And me, my king.

  King

  Then, Richard Earl of Cambridge, there is yours; There yours, Lord Scroop of Masham; and, sir knight, Grey of Northumberland, this same is yours. Read them, and know I know your worthiness. My Lord of Westmoreland, and uncle Exeter, We will aboard to-night.--Why, how now, gentlemen! What see you in those papers that you lose So much complexion?--Look ye, how they change! Their cheeks are paper.--Why, what read you there, That have so cowarded and chas'd your blood Out of appearance?

  Then here you go. Read them and know I know you are capable of this. My Lord Westmoreland ad Uncle Exeter, we will leave tonight. Now, gentlemen, what is in those papers that make you so pale? Look at how your faces have turned white as paper. What have you read that has made your blood disappear?

  Cambridge

  I do confess my fault, And do submit me to your Highness' mercy.

  I confess my fault and appeal to your mercy.

  Grey and Scroop

  To which we all appeal.

  We all appeal.

  King

  The mercy that was quick in us but late, By your own counsel is suppress'd and kill'd. You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy, For your own reasons turn into your bosoms, As dogs upon their masters, worrying you.

  See you, my princes and my noble peers, These English monsters! My Lord of Cambridge here, You know how apt our love was to accord To furnish him with an appertinents Belonging to his honour; and this man Hath, for a few light crowns, lightly conspir'd And sworn unto the practices of France To kill us here in Hampton; to the which This knight, no less for bounty bound to us Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn. But, O What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop? thou cruel, Ingrateful, savage, and inhuman creature! Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels, That knew'st the very bottom of my soul, That almost mightst have coin'd me into gold, Wouldst thou have practis'd on me for thy use,-- May it be possible that foreign hire Could out of thee extract one spark of evil That might annoy my finger? 'Tis so strange, That, though the truth of it stands off as gross As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it. Treason and murder ever kept together, As two yoke-devils sworn to either's purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause That admiration did not whoop at them; But thou, 'gainst all proportion, didst bring in Wonder to wait on treason and on murder; And whatsoever cunning fiend it was That wrought upon thee so preposterously Hath got the voice in hell for excellence; And other devils that suggest by treasons Do botch and bungle up damnation With patches, colours, and with forms being fetch'd From glist'ring semblances of piety. But he that temper'd thee bade thee stand up, Gave thee no instance why thou shouldst do treason, Unless to dub thee with the name of traitor. If that same demon that hath gull'd thee thus Should with his lion gait walk the whole world, He might return to vasty Tartar back, And tell the legions, "I can never win A soul so easy as that Englishman's." O, how hast thou with jealousy infected The sweetness of affiance! Show men dutiful? Why, so didst thou. Seem they grave and learned?

  Why, so didst thou. Come they of noble family? Why, so didst thou. Seem they religious? Why, so didst thou. Or are they spare in diet, Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger, Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood, Garnish'd and deck'd in modest complement, Not working with the eye without the ear, And but in purged judgement trusting neither? Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem. And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot To mark the full-fraught man and best indued With some suspicion. I will weep for thee; For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like Another fall of man. Their faults are open. Arrest them to the answer of the law; And God acquit them of their practices!

  Like the mercy you would have shown before. It is too late, and you shouldn’t dare talk of mercy. You are like dogs that turn on their masters. See here, my princes and noble peers, the Lord of Cambridge whom we have lavished with honor has sold us out to France for a few little crowns. He swore as well as this knight to kill us here in Hampton. What should I say to you, Lord Scroop? You are a cruel, ungrateful, and inhumane creature! You, who have been the closest to me and knew my heart and soul, would sell me out to murderers. I can barely comprehend it, but here it is in black and white, treason and murder. You have no reason to do this other than to be called a traitor. The devil could walk the entire earth and say, “An Englishman’s soul is easy to win.” You are infected with jealousy. You seemed serious and educated. You came from a noble family. You seemed religious and pious. You seemed to act justly and judiciously, but here you are fallen. I will cry for you. Arrest them and hold them to the full extent of the law. May God forgive you.

  Exeter

  I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Richard Earl of Cambridge. I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Henry Lord Scroop of Masham. I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas Grey, kn
ight, of Northumberland.

  I arrest you and charge you with high treason, Richard Earl of Cambridge, Henry Lord Scroop of Masham, and Thomas Grey, Knight of Northumberland.

  Scroop

  Our purposes God justly hath discover'd, And I repent my fault more than my death, Which I beseech your Highness to forgive, Although my body pay the price of it.

  God has seen fit to reveal our purposes and I repent my actions and pay with my life. I ask you to forgive me.

  Cambridge

  For me, the gold of France did not seduce, Although I did admit it as a motive The sooner to effect what I intended. But God be thanked for prevention, Which I in sufferance heartily will rejoice, Beseeching God and you to pardon me.

  The gold of France didn’t seduce me, although it was a motivation. I am thankful we didn’t succeed and I ask God and you to forgive me.

  Grey

  Never did faithful subject more rejoice At the discovery of most dangerous treason Than I do at this hour joy o'er myself, Prevented from a damned enterprise. My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign.

  I rejoice at the discovery of this treason and the prevention of such a crime. Please forgive me, king.

  King

  God quit you in his mercy! Hear your sentence. You have conspir'd against our royal person, Join'd with an enemy proclaim'd, and from his coffers Received the golden earnest of our death; Wherein you would have sold your king to slaughter, His princes and his peers to servitude, His subjects to oppression and contempt, And his whole kingdom into desolation. Touching our person seek we no revenge; But we our kingdom's safety must so tender, Whose ruin you have sought, that to her laws We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence, Poor miserable wretches, to your death, The taste whereof God of his mercy give You patience to endure, and true repentance Of all your dear offences! Bear them hence.

  May God have mercy on you! Hear your sentence. You have conspired against this royal throne and joined with an enemy. You have taken the enemy’s money and conspired to kill your king, place his princes and peers in servitude, and oppress his subjects to live in desolation. We do not seek revenge, but hold you to the law of our kingdom. Go, you poor miserable wretches, to your death and may God have mercy and give you patience to endure and truly repent all of your offences. Take them away.

  Exit Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey guarded.

  Now, lords, for France; the enterprise whereof Shall be to you, as us, like glorious. We doubt not of a fair and lucky war, Since God so graciously hath brought to light This dangerous treason lurking in our way To hinder our beginnings. We doubt not now But every rub is smoothed on our way. Then forth, dear countrymen! Let us deliver Our puissance into the hand of God, Putting it straight in expedition. Cheerly to sea! The signs of war advance! No king of England, if not king of France!

  Now, lords, as for France, I am sure we will be victorious, since God saw fit to bring this treachery to light. We should have no more trouble here on out. Let’s put ourselves in God’s hands and set sail for France.

  Exit.

  Enter Pistol, Hostess, Nym, Bardolph, and Boy.

  Hostess

  Prithee, honey, sweet husband, let me bring thee to Staines.

  Let me go with you to Staines, dear husband.

  Pistol

  No; for my manly heart doth yearn. Bardolph, be blithe; Nym, rouse thy vaunting veins; Boy, bristle thy courage up; for Falstaff he is dead, And we must yearn therefore.

  No, because Falstaff is dead. Bardolph, Nym, Boy prepare yourselves.

  Bardolph

  Would I were with him, wheresome'er he is, either in heaven or in hell!

  I wish I was with him, in heaven or hell.

  Hostess

  Nay, sure, he's not in hell. He's in Arthur's bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. 'A made a finer end and went away an it had been any christom child. 'A parted even just between twelve and one, even at the turning o' the tide: for after I saw him fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers, and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew there was but one way; for his nose was as sharp as a pen, and 'a babbled of green fields. "How now, Sir John!" quoth I; "what, man! be o' good cheer." So 'a cried out, "God, God, God!" three or four times. Now I, to comfort him, bid him 'a should not think of God; I hop'd there was no need to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet. So 'a bade me lay more clothes on his feet. I put my hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as any stone; then I felt to his knees, [and they were as cold as any stone;] and so upward and upward, and all was as cold as any stone.

  I’m sure he’s not in hell. He was a christened as a child and in the end he babbled on and cried out to God. I tried to tell him not to think of God, and then he asked me to put more clothes on him. From his feet on up, he was cold as stone.

  Nym

  They say he cried out of sack.

  They say he cried about alcohol.

  Hostess

  Ay, that 'a did.

  Yes.

  Bardolph

  And of women.

  And he asked for women.

  Hostess

  Nay, that 'a did not.

  No, he didn’t do that.

  Boy

  Yes, that 'a did; and said they were devils incarnate.

  Yes, he did, and he said they were reincarnated devils.

  Hostess

  'A could never abide carnation; 'twas a colour he never liked.

  He never would bear carnations. He didn’t like the color.

  Boy

  'A said once, the devil would have him about women.

  He said the devil would get him due to women.

  Hostess

  'A did in some sort, indeed, handle women; but then he was rheumatic, and talk'd of the whore of Babylon.

  He did say something about women, mostly the whore of Babylon, but he was feverish.

  Boy

  Do you not remember, 'a saw a flea stick upon Bardolph's nose, and 'a said it was a black soul burning in hell-fire?

  Do you remember when he saw a flea on Bardolph’s nose and he said it was a black soul burning in hell?

  Bardolph

  Well, the fuel is gone that maintain'd that fire. That's all the riches I got in his service.

  Well, the fuel that burned that fire is gone. That’s about all I ever got from him, was a drink.

  Nym

  Shall we shog? The King will be gone from Southampton.

  Should we get going? The king will be gone from Southampton.

  Pistol

  Come, let's away. My love, give me thy lips. Look to my chattels and my movables. Let senses rule; the word is "Pitch and Pay." Trust none; For oaths are straws, men's faiths are wafer-cakes And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck; Therefore, Caveto be thy counsellor. Go, clear thy crystals. Yoke-fellows in arms, Let us to France; like horse-leeches, my boys, To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck!

  Let’s go. Kiss me, my love. Look after my property and possessions. Use common sense, and the rule is “Everyone must pay.” Don’t trust anyone, because oaths are as easily broken as straws. Men’s faith is broken as easily as wafers, so the only thing you can trust is what you can hold in your hand, my love. Go dry your eyes. Fellows-in-arms, let’s go to France and be like leeches, sucking their blood!

  Boy

  And that's but unwholesome food, they say.

  That’s not wholesome food, they say.

  Pistol

  Touch her soft mouth, and march.

  Kiss her so we can leave.

  Bardolph

  Farewell, hostess.

  Goodbye, hostess.

  Kissing her.

  Nym

  I cannot kiss; that is the humour of it; but, adieu.

  I can’t kiss anymore, and that’s that, but oh well. Goodbye.

  Pistol

  Let housewifery appear. Keep close, I thee command.

  Be careful and stay true, I command you.

  Hostess

  Farewell; adieu.<
br />
  Goodbye, farewell.

  Exit.

  Flourish. Enter the French King, the Dauphin, the Dukes of Berri and Bretagne, the Constable, and Others.

  French King

  Thus comes the English with full power upon us, And more than carefully it us concerns To answer royally in our defences. Therefore the Dukes of Berri and of Bretagne, Of Brabant and of Orleans, shall make forth, And you, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch, To line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant; For England his approaches makes as fierce As waters to the sucking of a gulf. It fits us then to be as provident As fears may teach us out of late examples Left by the fatal and neglected English Upon our fields.

  Therefore, the English are coming with all of their forces. So, we must answer them with our defenses. Dukes of Berri and Bretagne, and Brabant and Orleans, quickly prepare our defense with courageous men. England is a fierce enemy and we must be ready. We can’t delay, as we have before and neglect the English in our fields.

 

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