The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 406
What is the best way to carry the ladder there?
VALENTINE
It will be light, my lord, that you may bear it
It won’t be heavy, my lord, so that you can carry itUnder a cloak that is of any length.
Under a clock if the cloak is a bit long.
DUKE
A cloak as long as thine will serve the turn?
A cloak as long as yours will work for that?
VALENTINE
Ay, my good lord.
Yes, my good lord.
DUKE
Then let me see thy cloak:
Then let me see your cloak:I'll get me one of such another length.
I’ll get myself one of the same length.
VALENTINE
Why, any cloak will serve the turn, my lord.
Well, any cloak will work for the purpose, my lord.
DUKE
How shall I fashion me to wear a cloak?
How will I get myself used to to wearing a cloak?I pray thee, let me feel thy cloak upon me.
Please, let me try on your cloak.
“[DUKE opens VALENTINE’s cloak and finds the rope ladder and a letter]”
What letter is this same? What's here? 'To Silvia'!
What is this letter here? What’s written here? ‘To Silvia’!
And here an engine fit for my proceeding.
And here is the tool fit for my plan of action.I'll be so bold to break the seal for once.
I’ll overstep my place and break the seal just this once.
Reads
'My thoughts do harbour with my Silvia nightly,
‘My thoughts are all about Silvia every night,And slaves they are to me that send them flying:
And they are like my slaves that I send flying off to her:O, could their master come and go as lightly,
Oh, if only I, their master, could come and go as easily,Himself would lodge where senseless they are lying!
I would stay there with her where my thoughts lie down being unaware!My herald thoughts in thy pure bosom rest them:
My thoughts are messengers that rest in your pure heart:While I, their king, that hither them importune,
While I, their master, who urged them to go to you,Do curse the grace that with such grace hath bless'd them,
Curse their success that they have been blessed with such an honor,Because myself do want my servants' fortune:
Because I want my servant’s good fortune for myself:I curse myself, for they are sent by me,
I curse myself, because they were sent by me,That they should harbour where their lord would be.'
And they are able to rest where their master should be.’What's here?
What’s this all about?'Silvia, this night I will enfranchise thee.'
‘Silvia, tonight I will set you free.’'Tis so; and here's the ladder for the purpose.
It’s true; and here’s the ladder to do it with.Why, Phaeton,--for thou art Merops' son,--
Why, Phaeton—because I will call you that since you are like Merops’ son in myth—Wilt thou aspire to guide the heavenly car
Do you also seek to drive the sun’s chariotAnd with thy daring folly burn the world?
And because of your brave foolishness burn the whole world?Wilt thou reach stars, because they shine on thee?
Would you fly up to the stars just because they shine down on you?Go, base intruder! overweening slave!
Go away, you dishonorable burglar! You arrogant scoundrel!Bestow thy fawning smiles on equal mates,
Give your flirting smiles to women who are of your same social rank,And think my patience, more than thy desert,
And consider my patience with you, which was more than you deserved,Is privilege for thy departure hence:
To be a privilege for allowing you to simply leave here:Thank me for this more than for all the favours
Thank me for this more than you thank me for all the other favorsWhich all too much I have bestow'd on thee.
That I have give to you all too often.But if thou linger in my territories
But if you stay in my landsLonger than swiftest expedition
For longer than it takes for the quickest departureWill give thee time to leave our royal court,
That still gives you enough time to leave my royal court,By heaven! my wrath shall far exceed the love
By heaven! My wrath will by far surpass the loveI ever bore my daughter or thyself.
I ever had for my daughter or for you.Be gone! I will not hear thy vain excuse;
Be gone! I won’t listen to your useless excuse;But, as thou lovest thy life, make speed from hence.
Only, if you value your life, get away from here quickly.
Exit
VALENTINE
And why not death rather than living torment?
And why is death not better than living in torture?To die is to be banish'd from myself;
To die means to be exiled from myself;And Silvia is myself: banish'd from her
And Silvia is the same as myself: being exiled from herIs self from self: a deadly banishment!
Is the same as being exiled from myself: a deadly exile!What light is light, if Silvia be not seen?
What light is still light, if I can’t see Silvia?What joy is joy, if Silvia be not by?
What joy is still joy, if Silvia is not nearby?Unless it be to think that she is by
Unless it is just so that I think she is nearbyAnd feed upon the shadow of perfection.
And take pleasure in the illusion of her perfect presence.Except I be by Silvia in the night,
Unless I am with Silvia at night,There is no music in the nightingale;
There is no music in the nightingale’s song;Unless I look on Silvia in the day,
Unless I look at Silvia during the day,There is no day for me to look upon;
There isn’t a day that is really a day for me to see at all;She is my essence, and I leave to be,
She is my very life, and I will stop existing,If I be not by her fair influence
If her beautiful power doesn’t
Foster'd, illumined, cherish'd, kept alive.
Care for me, light me up, treasure me, and keep me alive.I fly not death, to fly his deadly doom:
I am not escaping death by escaping the duke’s deadly sentence:Tarry I here, I but attend on death:
If I stay here, I am only waiting for death:But, fly I hence, I fly away from life.
But if I escape from here, I am escaping from life.
Enter PROTEUS and LAUNCE
PROTEUS
Run, boy, run, run, and seek him out.
Run, boy, run, run, and find him.
LAUNCE
Soho, soho!
Tally-ho!
PROTEUS
What seest thou?
What do you see?
LAUNCE
Him we go to find: there's not a hair on's head
I see the man we’re trying to find: there’s not a hair on his headbut 'tis a Valentine.
Unless this is Valentine.
PROTEUS
Valentine?
Valentine?
VALENTINE
No.
I’m not Valentine.
PROTEUS
Who then? his spirit?
Who are you then? His ghost?
VALENTINE
Neither.
Not that either.
PROTEUS
What then?
Who are you then?
VALENTINE
Nothing.
I am nothing.
LAUNCE
Can nothing speak? Master, shall I strike?
And nothing is able to speak? Master, should I hit him?
PROTEUS
Who wouldst thou strike?
Who would you hit?
LAUNCE
Nothing.
Nothing.
PROTEUS
Villain, forbear.
You scoundrel, stop it.
LAUNCE
Why, sir, I
'll strike nothing: I pray you,--
Well, sir, I’ll hit nothing: please—
PROTEUS
Sirrah, I say, forbear. Friend Valentine, a word.
Man, I said, stop it. My friend Valentine, I would like to speak with you.
VALENTINE
My ears are stopt and cannot hear good news,
My ears are stopped up and cannot hear good news,So much of bad already hath possess'd them.
Since so much bad news has already taken them over.
PROTEUS
Then in dumb silence will I bury mine,
Then I will relate my news in complete silence,For they are harsh, untuneable and bad.
For it is harsh, terrible and bad.
VALENTINE
Is Silvia dead?
Is Silvia dead?
PROTEUS
No, Valentine.
No, Valentine.
VALENTINE
No Valentine, indeed, for sacred Silvia.
There will be no Valentine, indeed, for heavenly Silvia.Hath she forsworn me?
Has she rejected me?
PROTEUS
No, Valentine.
No, Valentine.
VALENTINE
No Valentine, if Silvia have forsworn me.
There would be no more Valentine if Silvia rejected me.What is your news?
What’s your news?
LAUNCE
Sir, there is a proclamation that you are vanished.
Sir, there was a public announcement that you vanished.
PROTEUS
That thou art banished--O, that's the news!—
He means that your are banished—Oh, that’s the news!—From hence, from Silvia and from me thy friend.
From here, from Silvia, and from my your friend.
VALENTINE
O, I have fed upon this woe already,
Oh, I have found out this terrible news already,And now excess of it will make me surfeit.
And now too much of it will make me be sick.Doth Silvia know that I am banished?
Does Silvia know that I am banished?
PROTEUS
Ay, ay; and she hath offer'd to the doom—
Yes, yes; and she has responded to the sentence—Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force—
Which, if it isn’t reversed, is in full effect—A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:
With a stream of melted pearls, which some call tears:Those at her father's churlish feet she tender'd;
She let those fall at her father’s ugly feet;With them, upon her knees, her humble self;
With her tears, and on her knees, she humiliated herself;Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became them
Wringing her hands, whose whiteness was so fitting for themAs if but now they waxed pale for woe:
That they seemed to turn pale from sadness;But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,
But not her kneeling before him, or her pure hands held up to him,Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,
Her sad signs, deep groans, nor tears of falling silver,Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;
Could break through to her uncaring father;But Valentine, if he be ta'en, must die.
But Valentine will be killed, if you are taken in.Besides, her intercession chafed him so,
Besides, her prayer for you angered him so much,When she for thy repeal was suppliant,
When she was begging for your forgiveness,That to close prison he commanded her,
That he sent her to a private prison,With many bitter threats of biding there.
With many terrible threats of remaining there.
VALENTINE
No more; unless the next word that thou speak'st
Say no more; unless the next word that you speakHave some malignant power upon my life:
Has some deadly power to end my life:If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,
If it does, please, whisper it in my ear,As ending anthem of my endless dolour.
As the last song of my endless grief.
PROTEUS
Cease to lament for that thou canst not help,
Stop grieving for what you cannot change,And study help for that which thou lament'st.
And think of what you can do about what you’re grieving for.Time is the nurse and breeder of all good.
Time heals all wounds.Here if thou stay, thou canst not see thy love;
If you stay here, you cannot see your love;Besides, thy staying will abridge thy life.
Besides, if you stay you will cut your life short.Hope is a lover's staff; walk hence with that
A lover’s walking stick is made of hope; walk from here with thatAnd manage it against despairing thoughts.
And use it against your thoughts of despair.Thy letters may be here, though thou art hence;
Your letter will be here, though you are away;Which, being writ to me, shall be deliver'd
Which, if you write them to me, I will deliverEven in the milk-white bosom of thy love.
To the milky-white chest of your love.The time now serves not to expostulate:
We don’t have the time now to discuss:Come, I'll convey thee through the city-gate;
Come on, I’ll take you through the city-gate;And, ere I part with thee, confer at large
And, before I part with you, discuss in fullOf all that may concern thy love-affairs.
Of everything that may concern your love affair.As thou lovest Silvia, though not for thyself,
Since you love Silvia, even though you don’t love yourself,Regard thy danger, and along with me!
Take notice of your danger, and come along with me!
VALENTINE
I pray thee, Launce, an if thou seest my boy,
Please, Launce, if you see my servant boy,Bid him make haste and meet me at the North-gate.
Tell him to hurry and meet me at the North-gate.
PROTEUS
Go, sirrah, find him out. Come, Valentine.
Go, man, find him. Come on, Valentine.
VALENTINE
O my dear Silvia! Hapless Valentine!
Oh, my dear Silvia! Miserable Valentine!
Exeunt VALENTINE and PROTEUS
LAUNCE
I am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit to
I am just a fool, you know; and still I have the sense tothink my master is a kind of a knave: but that's
Think my master is a kind of scoundrel: but that’s all one, if he be but one knave. He lives not now
Alright, if he’s only a knave in this one instance. Not a man livesthat knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a
That knows that I am in love; but I am in love; anything less than ateam of horse shall not pluck that from me; nor who
Team of horses will not get that secret out of me; nor who'tis I love; and yet 'tis a woman; but what woman, I
It is that I love; but I’ll say she’s a a woman; and what a woman she is, Iwill not tell myself; and yet 'tis a milkmaid; yet
Won’t even tell myself; but I’ll say she’s a milkmaid; but'tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet 'tis
She’s not a virgin, for she has had children; but she isa maid, for she is her master's maid, and serves for
A maid, because she is her master’s maid, and works forwages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel;
Pay. She has more accomplishments than a water-spaniel;which is much in a bare Christian.
Which is a lot for a mere Christian.
Pulling out a paper
Here is the cate-log of her condition.
Here is the list of her qualities.'Imprimis: She can fetch and carry.' Why, a horse
‘In the first place: she can fetch and carry things.’ Well, a horsecan do no more: nay, a horse cannot fetch, but only
Can’t even do that: no, a horse can’t fetch, but can onlycarry; therefore is she better than a jade. 'Item:
Carry; so she is better than an old nag. ‘Next point:She can milk;
' look you, a sweet virtue in a maid
She can milk a cow;’ you know, which is a good ability in a maidwith clean hands.
With clean hands
Enter SPEED
SPEED
How now, Signior Launce! what news with your
How are you, Mister Launce! What news do you have of yourmastership?
Lordship?
LAUNCE
With my master's ship? why, it is at sea.
Of my lord’s ship? Well, it’s out at sea.
SPEED
Well, your old vice still; mistake the word. What
Well, always with your old bad habit of misunderstanding words. What’snews, then, in your paper?
That paper there say, then?
LAUNCE
The blackest news that ever thou heardest.
The blackest news that you have ever heard.
SPEED
Why, man, how black?
Why, man, is it so black?
LAUNCE
Why, as black as ink.
Well, as black as ink.
SPEED
Let me read them.
Let me read them.
LAUNCE
Fie on thee, jolt-head! thou canst not read.
Shame on you, blockhead! You can’t read.
SPEED
Thou liest; I can.
You’re lying; I can read.
LAUNCE
I will try thee. Tell me this: who begot thee?
I will test you. Tell me this: who gave birth to you?
SPEED
Marry, the son of my grandfather.
By Mary, it was the son of my grandfather.
LAUNCE
O illiterate loiterer! it was the son of thy
Oh, illiterate beggar! It was the son of yourgrandmother: this proves that thou canst not read.
Grandmother: this proves that you can’t read.