The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 268
I promised to meet someone here.
MARIANA
You have not been inquired after:
You have not been asked for:I have sat here all day.
I have sat here all day.
Enter ISABELLA
DUKE VINCENTIO
I do constantly believe you. The time is come even
I always believe you. The time has comenow. I shall crave your forbearance a little: may
Now. I shall ask you to have a little patience: maybe be I will call upon you anon, for some advantage to yourself.
I will ask for you later, about something that will be to your advantage.
MARIANA
I am always bound to you.
I am always in your debt.
Exit
DUKE VINCENTIO
Very well met, and well come.
Well, hello and welcomeWhat is the news from this good deputy?
What do you have to tell me?
ISABELLA
He hath a garden circummured with brick,
He was a garden walled around with brick,Whose western side is with a vineyard back'd;
Whose western side is backed with a vineyard;And to that vineyard is a planched gate,
With a planked gate leading into the vineyard,That makes his opening with this bigger key:
That he can open with this bigger key:This other doth command a little door
And this other key opens a little doorWhich from the vineyard to the garden leads;
Which leads from the vineyard to the garden;There have I made my promise
I have promisedUpon the heavy middle of the night
In the middle of the nightTo call upon him.
To meet him there.
DUKE VINCENTIO
But shall you on your knowledge find this way?
But will you be able to find your way?
ISABELLA
I have ta'en a due and wary note upon't:
I have taken care and made note of the way:With whispering and most guilty diligence,
In whispers and with guilty thoroughness,In action all of precept, he did show me
With gestures, he did show meThe way twice o'er.
The way twice.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Are there no other tokens
And there are no other signsBetween you 'greed concerning her observance?
That you agreed on, about what she must do?
ISABELLA
No, none, but only a repair i' the dark;
No, none, but only to go into the dark;And that I have possess'd him my most stay
And I have told him that I can only stayCan be but brief; for I have made him know
For a little while; for I have told himI have a servant comes with me along,
That I have a servant who will come with me,That stays upon me, whose persuasion is
And will wait for me, who believes thatI come about my brother.
I come about my brother.
DUKE VINCENTIO
'Tis well borne up.
It is a well made plan.I have not yet made known to Mariana
I have not yet told MarianaA word of this. What, ho! within! come forth!
A word of this. Hello! Come in here!
Re-enter MARIANA
I pray you, be acquainted with this maid;
I would like you to meet this young lady;She comes to do you good.
She comes to help you.
ISABELLA
I do desire the like.
I do wish to do that.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Do you persuade yourself that I respect you?
Do you believe that I respect you?
MARIANA
Good friar, I know you do, and have found it.
Good friar, I know you do, and have seen it.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Take, then, this your companion by the hand,
Then, take this woman by the hand,Who hath a story ready for your ear.
Who has a story to tell you.I shall attend your leisure: but make haste;
I will wait here for you to return: but hurry;The vaporous night approaches.
The misty night approaches.
MARIANA
Will't please you walk aside?
Would you like to walk aside?
Exeunt MARIANA and ISABELLA
DUKE VINCENTIO
O place and greatness! millions of false eyes
Oh, social rank and power! Millions of treacherous eyesAre stuck upon thee: volumes of report
Stare at you: volumes of statementsRun with these false and most contrarious quests
Are full of these fake and contradictory accountsUpon thy doings: thousand escapes of wit
About what you do: a thousand witty comments Make thee the father of their idle dreams
Seek you in their idle dreamsAnd rack thee in their fancies.
And pester you in their fantasies.
Re-enter MARIANA and ISABELLA
Welcome, how agreed?
Welcome, did you come to an agreement?
ISABELLA
She'll take the enterprise upon her, father,
She’ll do it, father,If you advise it.
If you recommend it.
DUKE VINCENTIO
It is not my consent,
I not only agree,But my entreaty too.
But ask for it aswell.
ISABELLA
Little have you to say
You don’t have much to say, butWhen you depart from him, but, soft and low,
When you leave him, soft and low, say'Remember now my brother.'
“Now, remember my brother.”
MARIANA
Fear me not.
Don’t worry about me.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Nor, gentle daughter, fear you not at all.
Nor should you, gentle daughter, worry at all.He is your husband on a pre-contract:
He is you husband by your betrothal agreement:To bring you thus together, 'tis no sin,
To bring you together in this way, is not a sin,Sith that the justice of your title to him
Since the truthfulness of your relationship to himDoth flourish the deceit. Come, let us go:
Enhances the trickery. Come, let us go:Our corn's to reap, for yet our tithe's to sow.
We will reap the reward, after we put in the work.
Exeunt
Enter PROVOST and POMPEY
PROVOST
Come hither, sirrah. Can you cut off a man's head?
Come here, man. Can you cut of a man’s head?
POMPEY
If the man be a bachelor, sir, I can; but if he be a
If the man is a bachelor, sir, I can; but if he ismarried man, he's his wife's head, and I can never
Married, he is his wife’s head, and I could nevercut off a woman's head.
Cut off a woman’s head.
PROVOST
Come, sir, leave me your snatches, and yield me a
Come, sir, don’t nitpick with me, and give me adirect answer. To-morrow morning are to die Claudio
Direct answer. Tomorrow morning Claudioand Barnardine. Here is in our prison a common
And Barnadine are to die. Here, in our prison we have a commonexecutioner, who in his office lacks a helper: if
Executioner, who lacks an assistant for his position: ifyou will take it on you to assist him, it shall
You will take on the task of assisting him, that willredeem you from your gyves; if not, you shall have
Free you from your jail time; if not, you shall haveyour full time of imprisonment and your deliveranceyour full time of imprisonment and you will receive
with an unpitied whipping, for you have been a
A remorseless whipping, for you have been anotorious bawd.
Disreputable procurer of whores.
POMPEY
Sir, I have been an unlawful bawd time out of mind;
Sir, I have procured whores against the law time and a
gain;but yet I will be content to be a lawful hangman. I
But I would still be happy to be a law-abiding executioner. Iwould be glad to receive some instruction from my
Would be glad to receive instructions from myfellow partner.
New partner.
PROVOST
What, ho! Abhorson! Where's Abhorson, there?
Well then! Abhorson! Where are you, Abhorson?
Enter ABHORSON
ABHORSON
Do you call, sir?
You’re calling for me, sir?
PROVOST
Sirrah, here's a fellow will help you to-morrow in
Man, here’s a fellow who will help you tomorrow withyour execution. If you think it meet, compound with
Your execution. If you think it works, settle an amount withhim by the year, and let him abide here with you; if
Him by the year, and let him live here with you; ifnot, use him for the present and dismiss him. He
Not, use him for now and then dismiss him. Hecannot plead his estimation with you; he hath been a bawd.
Cannot plead his reputation with you; he was a whore procurer.
ABHORSON
A bawd, sir? fie upon him! he will discredit our mystery.
A procurer, sir? Bad for him! He will disgrace our craft.
PROVOST
Go to, sir; you weigh equally; a feather will turn
Go to him, sir; you are a good judge; just a little will changethe scale.
Your mind.
Exit
POMPEY
Pray, sir, by your good favour,--for surely, sir, a
Tell me, sir, by your good face—for surely, sir, agood favour you have, but that you have a hanging
Good face you have, except that you have a hanginglook,--do you call, sir, your occupation a mystery?
Look,--do you call, sir, you occupation a craft?
ABHORSON
Ay, sir; a mystery
Yes, sir; a craft.
POMPEY
Painting, sir, I have heard say, is a mystery; and
Cosmetics, sir, I have heard called a craft; and your whores, sir, being members of my occupation,
Whores, sir, being associates of my kind of work,using painting, do prove my occupation a mystery:Use cosmetics, proving my work to be a craft:
but what mystery there should be in hanging, if I
But what craft there could be in hanging people, if Ishould be hanged, I cannot imagine.
Was to be hanged, I especially could not imagine.
ABHORSON
Sir, it is a mystery.
Sir, it is a craft.
POMPEY
Proof?
Proof?
ABHORSON
Every true man's apparel fits your thief: if it be
Every honest man’s clothing fits a thief: if it istoo little for your thief, your true man thinks itToo small for the thief, the honest man thinks it
big enough; if it be too big for your thief, your
Is valuable enough for him; if it is too big for the thief, thief thinks it little enough: so every true man's
The thief thinks it is worthless enough for him: so every honest man’s apparel fits your thief.
Clothing fits a thief.
Re-enter PROVOST
PROVOST
Are you agreed?
Have you come to an agreement?
POMPEY
Sir, I will serve him; for I do find your hangman is
Sir, I will serve him; for I think that an executioner isa more penitent trade than your bawd; he doth
A more remorseful trade than a procurer of whores; he oftener ask forgiveness.
Asks for forgiveness more often.
PROVOST
You, sirrah, provide your block and your axe
You, man, bring your block and your axeto-morrow four o'clock.
Tomorrow at four o’clock.
ABHORSON
Come on, bawd; I will instruct thee in my trade; follow.
Come on, procurer; I will instruct you in my trade; follow me.
POMPEY
I do desire to learn, sir: and I hope, if you have
I do want to learn, sir: and I hope, if you haveoccasion to use me for your own turn, you shall find
The need to use my help in hanging men, you will findme yare; for truly, sir, for your kindness I owe you
That I am ready; because honestly, sir, for your kindness I owe youa good turn.
A nice favor.
PROVOST
Call hither Barnardine and Claudio:
Call Bernardine and Claudio here:
Exeunt POMPEY and ABHORSON
The one has my pity; not a jot the other,
One of them as my pity; the other one doesn’t at all,Being a murderer, though he were my brother.
Since he is a murderer, even though he was by brother.
Enter CLAUDIO
Look, here's the warrant, Claudio, for thy death:
Look Claudio, here’s the warrant for your death:'Tis now dead midnight, and by eight to-morrow
It is now exactly midnight, and by eight o’clock tomorrowThou must be made immortal. Where's Barnardine?
You must be executed. Where’s Bernardine?
CLAUDIO
As fast lock'd up in sleep as guiltless labour
As dead asleep as when honest hard workWhen it lies starkly in the traveller's bones:
Drags a workingman to rest:He will not wake.
He will not wake up.
PROVOST
Who can do good on him?
Who can do him any good?Well, go, prepare yourself.
Well, go, prepare yourself.
Knocking within
But, hark, what noise?
Hey, what’s that noise?Heaven give your spirits comfort!
May heaven give your souls a blessing!
Exit CLAUDIO
By and by.
Well anyway.I hope it is some pardon or reprieve
I hope that is a pardon or reprieve For the most gentle Claudio.
For the gentle Claudio.
Enter DUKE VINCENTIO disguised as before
Welcome father.
Welcome father.
DUKE VINCENTIO
The best and wholesomest spirts of the night
May the best and most wholesome spirits of the nightEnvelope you, good Provost! Who call'd here of late?
Take you in, good Provost! Who has called here lately?
PROVOST
None, since the curfew rung.
No one, since the curfew bell rang.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Not Isabel?
Not even Isabel?
PROVOST
No.
No.
DUKE VINCENTIO
They will, then, ere't be long.
They will, then, before too long.
PROVOST
What comfort is for Claudio?
What reassurance is there for Claudio?
DUKE VINCENTIO
There's some in hope.
There’s a little hope.
PROVOST
It is a bitter deputy.
He’s such a harsh governor
DUKE VINCENTIO
Not so, not so; his life is parallel'd
No he’s not; he life is mirroredEven with the stroke and line of his great justice:
Exactly with the letter of his law:He doth with holy abstinence subdue
He does with heavenly self-restraint hold backThat in himself which he spurs on his power
In himself the thing for which he uses his powerTo qualify in others: were he meal'd with that
To punish others: if he were guilty of thatWhich he corrects, then were he tyrannous;
Which he punishes, then he would be a tyrant;But this being so, he's just.
But as it is, he’s fair.
Knocking within
Now are they come.
Now they are here.
Exit PROVOST
This is a gentle provost: seldom when
He is a kind provost: it’s not often whenThe steeled gaoler is the friend of men.
A hardened jailer is the friendly to others.
Knocking within
How now! what noise? That spirit's possessed with haste
What’s going on! What’s that noise? That messenger is in a great hurryThat wounds the unsisting postern with these strokes.
Who hammers the unmoving gate with these blows.
Re-enter PROVOST
PROVOST
There he must stay until the officer
He must stay there until an officerArise to let him in: he is call'd up.
Lets him in: I have called him in.
DUKE VINCENTIO
Have you no countermand for Claudio yet,
Do you have a pardon for Claudio yet,But he must die to-morrow?
Or is he still going to die tomorrow?
PROVOST
None, sir, none.
I have none, sir.
DUKE VINCENTIO
As near the dawning, provost, as it is,
As close to sunrise as it is, provost,You shall hear more ere morning.
You will receive one before morning.
PROVOST
Happily
PerhapsYou something know; yet I believe there comes
You know something I don’t; but I believe he will not receiveNo countermand; no such example have we:
a pardon; there are no examples of that:Besides, upon the very siege of justice
Besides, on the very seat of justiceLord Angelo hath to the public ear
Lord Angelo has publiclyProfess'd the contrary.