The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 205
Will she leave tonight?
PAROLLES
As you'll have her.
As you have ordered.
BERTRAM
I have writ my letters, casketed my treasure,
Given order for our horses; and to-night,
When I should take possession of the bride,
End ere I do begin.
I have written my farewells, crated up my valuables,
ordered our horses; and tonight,
when I should be consummating my marriage
I'll be back where I started.
LAFEU
A good traveller is something at the latter end of a
dinner; but one that lies three thirds and uses a
known truth to pass a thousand nothings with, should
be once heard and thrice beaten. God save you, captain.
A well travelled man can be entertaining at the end
of dinner; but one who tells nothing but lies and uses
one truth to backup a thousand fantasies should be
listened to once and beaten three times. God bless you, captain.
BERTRAM
Is there any unkindness between my lord and you, monsieur?
Is there any bad feeling between my lord and you, sir?
PAROLLES
I know not how I have deserved to run into my lord's
displeasure.
I don't know what I've done to deserve my lord's disapproval.
LAFEU
You have made shift to run into 't, boots and spurs
and all, like him that leaped into the custard; and
out of it you'll run again, rather than suffer
question for your residence.
You made an effort to run into it, boots and spurs
and all, like the one who leaped into the custard; and
you will run out of it again, rather than
answer questions about why you are there.
BERTRAM
It may be you have mistaken him, my lord.
Maybe you misunderstood him, my lord.
LAFEU
And shall do so ever, though I took him at 's
prayers. Fare you well, my lord; and believe this
of me, there can be no kernel in this light nut; the
soul of this man is his clothes. Trust him not in
matter of heavy consequence; I have kept of them
tame, and know their natures. Farewell, monsieur:
I have spoken better of you than you have or will to
deserve at my hand; but we must do good against evil.
And I always will do, even if I found him
praying. Farewell, my lord; and mark my words,
there is no heart to this fellow; his soul
is all his clothes. Don't trust him for
any important matters; I've kept men like this
as pets, and I know what they're like. Farewell, monsieur:
I have spoken better of you than you deserve from me;
but we must all do our best to be good.
Exit
PAROLLES
An idle lord. I swear.
A useless lord, I swear
BERTRAM
I think so.
I think so.
PAROLLES
Why, do you not know him?
Why, don't you know him?
BERTRAM
Yes, I do know him well, and common speech
Gives him a worthy pass. Here comes my clog.
Yes, I do know him well, and he has
a good reputation. Here is my ball and chain.
Enter HELENA
HELENA
I have, sir, as I was commanded from you,
Spoke with the king and have procured his leave
For present parting; only he desires
Some private speech with you.
Sir, as you have ordered I have
spoken with the King and got his permission
to leave at once; but he wants
to have a private word with you.
BERTRAM
I shall obey his will.
You must not marvel, Helen, at my course,
Which holds not colour with the time, nor does
The ministration and required office
On my particular. Prepared I was not
For such a business; therefore am I found
So much unsettled: this drives me to entreat you
That presently you take our way for home;
And rather muse than ask why I entreat you,
For my respects are better than they seem
And my appointments have in them a need
Greater than shows itself at the first view
To you that know them not. This to my mother:
Giving a letter
'Twill be two days ere I shall see you, so
I leave you to your wisdom.
I shall do as he asks.
You mustn't be surprised, Helen, at what I do,
which may not seem appropriate for the time
and does not fit with me fulfilling
my obligations. I was not ready
for this business; so I am
rather in a whirl: so I'm asking you
to go home at once;
and you should wonder, rather than ask me, why I ask you to do this,
for I am being more respectful than it might seem
and my appointments are more pressing than may appear
to you, knowing nothing about them. Give this to my mother:
I will see you in two days; until then I leave you to your own devices.
HELENA
Sir, I can nothing say,
But that I am your most obedient servant.
Sir, I can say nothing,
except that I am your most obedient servant.
BERTRAM
Come, come, no more of that.
Now now, that's enough of that.
HELENA
And ever shall
With true observance seek to eke out that
Wherein toward me my homely stars have fail'd
To equal my great fortune.
And I shall always
try to behave properly to make up the deficiencies
of my humble birth, which does not match
my great fortune.
BERTRAM
Let that go:
My haste is very great: farewell; hie home.
Never mind that:
I'm in a great hurry: farewell, hurry home.
HELENA
Pray, sir, your pardon.
Excuse me, sir.
BERTRAM
Well, what would you say?
Well, what do you want to say?
HELENA
I am not worthy of the wealth I owe,
Nor dare I say 'tis mine, and yet it is;
But, like a timorous thief, most fain would steal
What law does vouch mine own.
I do not deserve the riches I have got,
nor do I dare believe they're mine, but they are;
but, like a cowardly thief, I want to steal
my own property.
BERTRAM
What would you have?
What do you want?
HELENA
Something; and scarce so much: nothing, indeed.
I would not tell you what I would, my lord:
Faith yes;
Strangers and foes do sunder, and not kiss.
Something; hardly anything: nothing in fact.
I won't tell you what I want, my lord:
actually I will;
strangers and enemies do not kiss when they part.
BERTRAM
I pray you, stay not, but in haste to horse.
I'm telling you, don't stop here, hurry to your horse.
HELENA
I shall not break your bidding, good my lord.
I shall follow your orders, my good lord.
BERTRAM
<
br /> Where are my other men, monsieur? Farewell.
Exit HELENA
Go thou toward home; where I will never come
Whilst I can shake my sword or hear the drum.
Away, and for our flight.
Where are my other men, sir? Farewell.
(Exit Helena)
Go off home; the place I will never go
while I can still hold a sword or hear the drum.
Come on, let's make our escape.
PAROLLES
Bravely, coragio!
Bravely, with courage!
Exeunt
Flourish. Enter the DUKE of Florence attended; the two Frenchmen, with a troop of soldiers.
DUKE
So that from point to point now have you heard
The fundamental reasons of this war,
Whose great decision hath much blood let forth
And more thirsts after.
So you have now heard from start to finish
the principal reasons for this war,
which has caused so much blood to be spilt
and it seems there is more to come.
First Lord
Holy seems the quarrel
Upon your grace's part; black and fearful
On the opposer.
Your grace's reasons seem
justified; your enemy's seem
to be totally wrong.
DUKE
Therefore we marvel much our cousin France
Would in so just a business shut his bosom
Against our borrowing prayers.
That's why I'm so amazed that my French cousin
would close his ears, given how right we are,
to our pleas for help.
Second Lord
Good my lord,
The reasons of our state I cannot yield,
But like a common and an outward man,
That the great figure of a council frames
By self-unable motion: therefore dare not
Say what I think of it, since I have found
Myself in my incertain grounds to fail
As often as I guess'd.
My good lord,
I cannot argue against my country's policy,
I am just like an ordinary man,
and I am bound to follow the great decisions
of the Council: so I do not dare
to say what I think of it, because
my opinions are often wrong.
DUKE
Be it his pleasure.
He must do what he thinks best.
First Lord
But I am sure the younger of our nature,
That surfeit on their ease, will day by day
Come here for physic.
But I am sure that our younger men,
who become ill from too much leisure, will daily
come here for a cure.
DUKE
Welcome shall they be;
And all the honours that can fly from us
Shall on them settle. You know your places well;
When better fall, for your avails they fell:
To-morrow to the field.
They shall be welcome;
and all the honours I have to give
will be theirs. You know your places;
when better men fall, they fell to make room for you:
tomorrow we go to the battlefield.
Flourish. Exeunt
Enter COUNTESS and Clown
COUNTESS
It hath happened all as I would have had it, save
that he comes not along with her.
Everything has happened as I wanted, except
that he has not come with her.
Clown
By my troth, I take my young lord to be a very
melancholy man.
I swear, I think that my young lord is a very
unhappy man.
COUNTESS
By what observance, I pray you?
And what makes you say this, may I ask?
Clown
Why, he will look upon his boot and sing; mend the
ruff and sing; ask questions and sing; pick his
teeth and sing. I know a man that had this trick of
melancholy sold a goodly manor for a song.
Well, when he looks at his boot he sings; he mends
his ruff and sings; asks questions and sings; picks his
teeth and sings. I knew a man with this sort of
depression who sold a good estate for a song.
COUNTESS
Let me see what he writes, and when he means to come.
Opening a letter
Let me see what is written, and when he means to come here.
Clown
I have no mind to Isbel since I was at court: our
old ling and our Isbels o' the country are nothing
like your old ling and your Isbels o' the court:
the brains of my Cupid's knocked out, and I begin to
love, as an old man loves money, with no stomach.
I haven't thought of Isbel since I was at the court: our
old trouts and the Isbels of the country are nothing
compared to the old trouts and the Isbels at court:
my love has been murdered, and now I love
with no appetite, the way an old man loves money.
COUNTESS
What have we here?
What have we here?
Clown
E'en that you have there.
Exit
Whatever it is that you have there.
COUNTESS
[Reads] I have sent you a daughter-in-law: she hath
recovered the king, and undone me. I have wedded
her, not bedded her; and sworn to make the 'not'
eternal. You shall hear I am run away: know it
before the report come. If there be breadth enough
in the world, I will hold a long distance. My duty
to you. Your unfortunate son,
BERTRAM.
This is not well, rash and unbridled boy.
To fly the favours of so good a king;
To pluck his indignation on thy head
By the misprising of a maid too virtuous
For the contempt of empire.
Re-enter Clown
I have sent you a daughter-in-law; she has
saved the King, and ruined me. I have married her,
not slept with her, and I don't intend that I ever
should. You will hear that I have run away: this is
to let you know before you hear from someone else. If there is enough space
in the world I'll keep my distance. My respects
to you. Your unlucky son,
Bertram.
This is not good, you foolish headstrong boy.
You should not upset such a good king;
you will bring his anger down upon you
for misusing such a good girl
and for defying his authority.
Clown
O madam, yonder is heavy news within between two
soldiers and my young lady!
Oh madam, there is bad news in there, brought by
two soldiers and my young lady!
COUNTESS
What is the matter?
What's the matter?
Clown
Nay, there is some comfort in the news, some
comfort; your son will not be killed so soon as I
thought he would.
Well, there is some good news, some
comfort; your son will not be killed as quickly
as I thought he would be.
COUNTESS
Why should he be killed?
Why would he be killed?
Clown
So say I, madam, if he run away, as I hear he does:
the danger is in standing to't; that's the loss of
men, though it be the getting of children. Here
t
hey come will tell you more: for my part, I only
hear your son was run away.
I say the same, madam, if he runs away, as I hear he has:
the danger is in standing up; that's what brings
men down, though it's how children are made. Here
come the ones who can tell you more: as for me,
all I hear is that your son has run away.
Exit
Enter HELENA, and two Gentlemen
First Gentleman
Save you, good madam.
Blessings on you, good lady.
HELENA
Madam, my lord is gone, for ever gone.
Madam, my lord is gone, gone forever.
Second Gentleman
Do not say so.
Don't say so.
COUNTESS
Think upon patience. Pray you, gentlemen,
I have felt so many quirks of joy and grief,
That the first face of neither, on the start,
Can woman me unto't: where is my son, I pray you?
Be patient. Please gentlemen,
I have felt so many twists of joy and grief,
that I do not know which one
to believe: please tell me, where is my son?
Second Gentleman
Madam, he's gone to serve the duke of Florence:
We met him thitherward; for thence we came,