The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 219
Sir, you have wrestled well and overthrown
More than your enemies.
He is calling towards us to come back. My luck fell, and like it my pride did too.
I’ll ask him what he wanted. Did you call to us, sir?
Sir, you have fought well, and you have conquered
more than your enemies.
CELIA
Will you go, coz?
Can we go now, cousin?
ROSALIND
Have with you. Fare you well.
Fine, fine. Good luck, sir.
Exeunt ROSALIND and CELIA
ORLANDO
What passion hangs these weights upon my tongue?
I cannot speak to her, yet she urged conference.
O poor Orlando, thou art overthrown!
Or Charles or something weaker masters thee.
What are these passionate feelings that are blocking my tongue?
I can’t seem to say anything to her, and she even sought to talk to me.
O poor me! I have been conquered!
Either Charles or else something weaker and prettier has overcome me.
Re-enter LE BEAU
LE BEAU
Good sir, I do in friendship counsel you
To leave this place. Albeit you have deserved
High commendation, true applause and love,
Yet such is now the duke's condition
That he misconstrues all that you have done.
The duke is humorous; what he is indeed,
More suits you to conceive than I to speak of.
Sir, in friendship I advise you
to leave this place. While it is true that you have deserved
high praise, applause, and love,
the duke is now of a strange mood
and he misconstrues your actions.
He is very moody, and I’m sure
you can imagine what I mean without me putting words to it.
ORLANDO
I thank you, sir: and, pray you, tell me this:
Which of the two was daughter of the duke
That here was at the wrestling?
Thank you sir, and please, tell me:
which girl is the duke’s daughter
of the two who were at the match?
LE BEAU
Neither his daughter, if we judge by manners;
But yet indeed the lesser is his daughter
The other is daughter to the banish'd duke,
And here detain'd by her usurping uncle,
To keep his daughter company; whose loves
Are dearer than the natural bond of sisters.
But I can tell you that of late this duke
Hath ta'en displeasure 'gainst his gentle niece,
Grounded upon no other argument
But that the people praise her for her virtues
And pity her for her good father's sake;
And, on my life, his malice 'gainst the lady
Will suddenly break forth. Sir, fare you well:
Hereafter, in a better world than this,
I shall desire more love and knowledge of you.
If you are judging by their manners, neither –
but in fact the smaller one is the duke’s daughter,
and the other is the daughter of the banished duke,
kept here by her uncle after usurping the throne
to keep his daughter company. Their love
is stronger than the natural bond of sisters.
But lately, the duke
has become displeased with his niece
for no other reason
than the fact that she is praised by everyone for her virtues,
and pitied for the sake of her good father.
I swear on my life, his ill will towards her
will become manifest soon. Sir, best of luck to you.
Some time later, in a better world than this one,
I would like to get to know you better.
ORLANDO
I rest much bounden to you: fare you well.
Exit LE BEAU
Thus must I from the smoke into the smother;
From tyrant duke unto a tyrant brother:
But heavenly Rosalind!
I owe you much, Goodbye.
So I must go from the smoke to the fire –
from the tyrant duke to his tyrant brother.
But heavenly Rosalind!
Exit
Enter CELIA and ROSALIND
CELIA
Why, cousin! why, Rosalind! Cupid have mercy! not a word?
Dear cousin! Dear Rosalind! Cupid have mercy! You won’t say a single word??
ROSALIND
Not one to throw at a dog.
I don’t even have one to throw to a dog.
CELIA
No, thy words are too precious to be cast away upon
curs; throw some of them at me; come, lame me with reasons.
Your words are worth too much to be thrown away
at dogs. Throw some at me instead. Hit me with your reasoning like you would hit a dog with stones.
ROSALIND
Then there were two cousins laid up; when the one
should be lamed with reasons and the other mad
without any.
If I did that, then the two of us would be sick and injured: one
made lame from being hit with reasons, and the other made crazy
from no reason.
CELIA
But is all this for your father?
Is this about your father?
ROSALIND
No, some of it is for my child's father. O, how
full of briers is this working-day world!
No, but some is for my future child’s father. How
injurious and thorny is this working-day, wearisome world!
CELIA
They are but burs, cousin, thrown upon thee in
holiday foolery: if we walk not in the trodden
paths our very petticoats will catch them.
The thorns are just burrs, cousin, that you have caught
from taking a foolish holiday from the right path: if you don’t walk on the
paths that are already well-trodden, then of course they will attach to our petticoats.
ROSALIND
I could shake them off my coat: these burs are in my heart.
I could shake them off of my coat – but these burrs are in my heart.
CELIA
Hem them away.
Cough them up.
ROSALIND
I would try, if I could cry 'hem' and have him.
I would try, as long as crying “hem” would allow me to have him.
CELIA
Come, come, wrestle with thy affections.
Come on, now. Fight against your feelings.
ROSALIND
O, they take the part of a better wrestler than myself!
But they are for such a better fighter than myself!
CELIA
O, a good wish upon you! you will try in time, in
despite of a fall. But, turning these jests out of
service, let us talk in good earnest: is it
possible, on such a sudden, you should fall into so
strong a liking with old Sir Rowland's youngest son?
That’s a good wish then! You will fight him in time
and then falling to him will be good. But let’s not only joke
about this. Let’s talk sincerely: is it
possible that you so quickly have fallen
in love with old Sir Rowland’s youngest son?
ROSALIND
The duke my father loved his father dearly.
My father, the old duke, loved his father a lot.
CELIA
Doth it therefore ensue that you should love his son
dearly? By this kind of chase, I should hate him,
for my father hated his father dearly; yet I hate
not Orlando.
Does it follow that you would thus love his son
a lot? By this logic, I should hate him,
since my father hated his father a lot. Yet, I don’t hate
Orlando.
ROSALIND
No, faith, hate him not, for my sake.
No, please, do not hate him, for my sake.
CELIA
Why should I not? doth he not deserve well?
Why shouldn’t I? Doesn’t he deserve it?
ROSALIND
Let me love him for that, and do you love him
because I do. Look, here comes the duke.
Let me love him, because he deserves that, and then you can love him
because I do. Look, here comes the Duke.
CELIA
With his eyes full of anger.
And his eyes look angry.
Enter DUKE FREDERICK, with Lords
DUKE FREDERICK
Mistress, dispatch you with your safest haste
And get you from our court.
Mistress, get your things together as quickly as possible
and leave my court.
ROSALIND
Me, uncle?
Me, uncle?
DUKE FREDERICK
You, cousin
Within these ten days if that thou be'st found
So near our public court as twenty miles,
Thou diest for it.
You, niece.
If in ten days you are found
within twenty miles of my court,
you will die as punishment.
ROSALIND
I do beseech your grace,
Let me the knowledge of my fault bear with me:
If with myself I hold intelligence
Or have acquaintance with mine own desires,
If that I do not dream or be not frantic,--
As I do trust I am not--then, dear uncle,
Never so much as in a thought unborn
Did I offend your highness.
I beg you, my grace,
Tell me what faults you have with me.
If I know myself
and my own desires well,
and as long as I am not dreaming or crazy –
which I don’t think I am – then, dear uncle,
I cannot find even a thought
that was against your highness.
DUKE FREDERICK
Thus do all traitors:
If their purgation did consist in words,
They are as innocent as grace itself:
Let it suffice thee that I trust thee not.
Spoken like a true traitor.
If a traitor’s salvation was due to words only,
then they would all be as innocent as divine grace itself.
Just be certain: I don’t trust you.
ROSALIND
Yet your mistrust cannot make me a traitor:
Tell me whereon the likelihood depends.
But you can’t call me a traitor only from mistrust:
please tell me what your suspicion comes from.
DUKE FREDERICK
Thou art thy father's daughter; there's enough.
You are your father’s daughter – that’s enough for me.
ROSALIND
So was I when your highness took his dukedom;
So was I when your highness banish'd him:
Treason is not inherited, my lord;
Or, if we did derive it from our friends,
What's that to me? my father was no traitor:
Then, good my liege, mistake me not so much
To think my poverty is treacherous.
I was his daughter when your highness took over his position,
and I was also when your highness banished.
My lord, treason is not inherited,
but even if it is and can come from our friends or family,
what would that matter? My father wasn’t a traitor.
Good duke, do not make the mistake
that because my father is gone, I have become treacherous.
CELIA
Dear sovereign, hear me speak.
Dear duke, let me say something.
DUKE FREDERICK
Ay, Celia; we stay'd her for your sake,
Else had she with her father ranged along.
Yes, Celia. We kept her here for you.
Otherwise she would have gone with her father.
CELIA
I did not then entreat to have her stay;
It was your pleasure and your own remorse:
I was too young that time to value her;
But now I know her: if she be a traitor,
Why so am I; we still have slept together,
Rose at an instant, learn'd, play'd, eat together,
And wheresoever we went, like Juno's swans,
Still we went coupled and inseparable.
I did not beg you to make her stay.
No, you wanted to, and you felt bad about separating us.
I was too young then to truly value her,
but know I know her well, and if she is a traitor,
than so am I. After all, we have slept together,
gotten up together, learned and played and ate together.
Wherever we went we were like Juno’s swans,
together as a couple, and inseparable.
DUKE FREDERICK
She is too subtle for thee; and her smoothness,
Her very silence and her patience
Speak to the people, and they pity her.
Thou art a fool: she robs thee of thy name;
And thou wilt show more bright and seem more virtuous
When she is gone. Then open not thy lips:
Firm and irrevocable is my doom
Which I have pass'd upon her; she is banish'd.
She is too clever and tricky for you. Her smoothness,
her patience, and her very silence
all speak to the people and maker them pity her.
You are a fool and she is ruining your name –
after all, you will look brighter and more virtuous
when she is gone. Don’t say anything else.
The fate that I have decided for her
is firm and unchangeable: she is banished.
CELIA
Pronounce that sentence then on me, my liege:
I cannot live out of her company.
Then banish me as well, my liege:
I can’t live without her.
DUKE FREDERICK
You are a fool. You, niece, provide yourself:
If you outstay the time, upon mine honour,
And in the greatness of my word, you die.
You are a fool. Niece, prepare yourself.
I swear by my honor and my word, if you stay longer than I allow,
you will die.
Exeunt DUKE FREDERICK and Lords
CELIA
O my poor Rosalind, whither wilt thou go?
Wilt thou change fathers? I will give thee mine.
I charge thee, be not thou more grieved than I am.
My poor Rosalind, where will you go?
Can you change fathers? You can have mine.
Please, do not be sadder than me.
ROSALIND
I have more cause.
But I have more reason to be.
CELIA
Thou hast not, cousin;
Prithee be cheerful: know'st thou not, the duke
Hath banish'd me, his daughter?
No you don’t, cousin.
Please, be cheerful. Don’t you know that the duke
has banished me, his own daughter, also?
ROSALIND
That he hath not.
No, he hasn’t.
CELIA
No, hath not? Rosalind lacks then the love
Which teacheth thee that thou and I am one:
Shall we be sunder'd? shall we part, sweet girl?
No: let my father seek another heir.
Therefore
devise with me how we may fly,
Whither to go and what to bear with us;
And do not seek to take your change upon you,
To bear your griefs yourself and leave me out;
For, by this heaven, now at our sorrows pale,
Say what thou canst, I'll go along with thee.
He hasn’t? Then you still do not know about the love
that says that you and I are one:
Can we be split? Can we be parted?
No. My father can seek another heir.
Therefore let’s plan how we should leave,
where we should go, and what we should bring with us.
Don’t try to take this change of fortune on yourself,
to bear your sadness alone and leave me out of it.
I swear by heaven that, even now, as our sorrows make us pale,
no matter what you say, I will go with you.
ROSALIND
Why, whither shall we go?
Where would we go?
CELIA
To seek my uncle in the forest of Arden.
To find my uncle in the forest of Arden.
ROSALIND
Alas, what danger will it be to us,
Maids as we are, to travel forth so far!
Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.
Oh, it is so dangerous for us,
single, pretty women, to travel so far alone!
Our beauty will provoke thieves to steal much quicker than gold will.