The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 672
CRESSIDA.
Why sigh you so profoundly? Where's my lord? Gone? Tell
me, sweet uncle, what's the matter?
Why do you sigh so deeply? Where is my lord? Gone? Tell
me, sweet uncle, what's the matter?
PANDARUS.
Would I were as deep under the earth as I am above!
I wish I was as deep under the earth as I am above it!
CRESSIDA.
O the gods! What's the matter?
By the gods! What's the matter?
PANDARUS.
Pray thee, get thee in. Would thou hadst ne'er been born!
I knew thou wouldst be his death! O, poor gentleman! A plague
upon Antenor!
Please, get inside. I wish you had never been born!
I knew you would be the death of him! Oh, poor gentleman! A plague
on Antenor!
CRESSIDA.
Good uncle, I beseech you, on my knees I beseech you,
what's the matter?
Good uncle, I beg you, on my knees I beg you,
what's the matter?
PANDARUS.
Thou must be gone, wench, thou must be gone; thou art
chang'd for Antenor; thou must to thy father, and be gone from
Troilus. 'Twill be his death; 'twill be his bane; he cannot bear
it.
You must go, wench, you must go; you are to be
exchanged for Antenor; you must go to your father, and leave
Troilus. It will be the death of him; it will ruin him; he won't be able to
bear it.
CRESSIDA.
O you immortal gods! I will not go.
Oh you immortal gods! I will not go.
PANDARUS.
Thou must.
You must.
CRESSIDA.
I will not, uncle. I have forgot my father;
I know no touch of consanguinity,
No kin, no love, no blood, no soul so near me
As the sweet Troilus. O you gods divine,
Make Cressid's name the very crown of falsehood,
If ever she leave Troilus! Time, force, and death,
Do to this body what extremes you can,
But the strong base and building of my love
Is as the very centre of the earth,
Drawing all things to it. I'll go in and weep-
I will not, uncle. I have forgotten my father;
I feel no sense of blood relations,
no kinship, no love, no blood, no soul, is so dear to me
as the sweet Troilus. Oh you divine gods,
make Cressida's name proverbial for falsehood,
if she ever leaves Troilus! Time, compulsion, and death,
do whatever you can to this body,
but the strong foundation and building of my love
is like the very centre of the earth,
drawing all things to it. I'll go in and weep-
PANDARUS.
Do, do.
Yes, do that.
CRESSIDA.
Tear my bright hair, and scratch my praised cheeks,
Crack my clear voice with sobs and break my heart,
With sounding 'Troilus.' I will not go from Troy.
Tear my shining hair, and scratch my admired cheeks,
crack my sweet voice with sobs and break my heart,
saying ‘Troilus.’ I will not leave Troy.
Exeunt
Enter PARIS, TROILUS, AENEAS, DEIPHOBUS, ANTENOR, and DIOMEDES
PARIS.
It is great morning; and the hour prefix'd
For her delivery to this valiant Greek
Comes fast upon. Good my brother Troilus,
Tell you the lady what she is to do
And haste her to the purpose.
It's well on into the morning; and the time set
to hand her over to this brave Greek
is almost here. My good brother Troilus,
tell the lady what she is to do
and tell her to hurry.
TROILUS.
Walk into her house.
I'll bring her to the Grecian presently;
And to his hand when I deliver her,
Think it an altar, and thy brother Troilus
A priest, there off'ring to it his own heart.
Go in to her house.
I'll bring her to the Greek shortly;
and when I give her over to his hand,
think of it as an altar, with your brother Troilus
as a priest, sacrificing his own heart.
Exit
PARIS.
I know what 'tis to love,
And would, as I shall pity, I could help!
Please you walk in, my lords.
I know what it's like to love,
and I wish I could give as much help as I will pity!
Please go in, my lords.
Exeunt
Enter PANDARUS and CRESSIDA
PANDARUS.
Be moderate, be moderate.
Calm down, calm down.
CRESSIDA.
Why tell you me of moderation?
The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste,
And violenteth in a sense as strong
As that which causeth it. How can I moderate it?
If I could temporize with my affections
Or brew it to a weak and colder palate,
The like allayment could I give my grief.
My love admits no qualifying dross;
No more my grief, in such a precious loss.
Why are you telling me to calm down?
This grief is fine, great, perfect, I can taste it,
and it's as terrible and violent
as the thing which is causing it. How can I calm it?
If I could negotiate with my passion,
or dilute it to suit someone with a weaker and colder appetite,
then I could do the same with my grief.
My love is absolutely pure;
so my grief is the same, when I suffer such a terrible loss.
Enter TROILUS
PANDARUS.
Here, here, here he comes. Ah, sweet ducks!
Here, here, here he comes. Ah, sweet ducks!
CRESSIDA.
O Troilus! Troilus! [Embracing him]
Oh Troilus! Troilus!
PANDARUS.
What a pair of spectacles is here! Let me embrace too. 'O
heart,' as the goodly saying is,
O heart, heavy heart,
Why sigh'st thou without breaking?
where he answers again
Because thou canst not ease thy smart
By friendship nor by speaking.
There was never a truer rhyme. Let us cast away nothing, for we
may live to have need of such a verse. We see it, we see it. How
now, lambs!
What a sight this is! Let me be hugged too.
‘Oh heart,’ as the proverb has it,
‘O heart, heavy heart,
why do you sigh without breaking?
And he answers
because you cannot ease your pain
with friendship or with talk.’
There was never a truer song. Let's not throw anything away, for we
may need a verse such as this someday. I've seen it happen. What
shall you do, lambs!
TROILUS.
Cressid, I love thee in so strain'd a purity
That the bless'd gods, as angry with my fancy,
More bright in zeal than the devotion which
Cold lips blow to their deities, take thee from me.
Cressida, Ilove you in such a pure way
that the blessed gods, angry with my love,
because it is brighter than the prayers
they get from cold lips, are taking you from me.
CRESSIDA.
Have the gods envy?
Are the gods jealous?
PANDA
RUS.
Ay, ay, ay; 'tis too plain a case.
Yes, yes, yes; it's obvious.
CRESSIDA.
And is it true that I must go from Troy?
And is it true that I must leave Troy?
TROILUS.
A hateful truth.
A horrible truth.
CRESSIDA.
What, and from Troilus too?
What, and leave Troilus as well?
TROILUS.
From Troy and Troilus.
You must leave Troy and Troilus.
CRESSIDA.
Is't possible?
Is this really happening?
TROILUS.
And suddenly; where injury of chance
Puts back leave-taking, justles roughly by
All time of pause, rudely beguiles our lips
Of all rejoindure, forcibly prevents
Our lock'd embrasures, strangles our dear vows
Even in the birth of our own labouring breath.
We two, that with so many thousand sighs
Did buy each other, must poorly sell ourselves
With the rude brevity and discharge of one.
Injurious time now with a robber's haste
Crams his rich thievery up, he knows not how.
As many farewells as be stars in heaven,
With distinct breath and consign'd kisses to them,
He fumbles up into a loose adieu,
And scants us with a single famish'd kiss,
Distasted with the salt of broken tears.
It is, and suddenly; where bad luck
prevents saying goodbye, pushes roughly through
any delay, rudely blocks the chance of our lips
ever meeting again, violently stops
our intertwined embraces, strangles our precious vows
even as we say them.
We two, who spent so many thousand sighs
on each other, must now split
with time for only one.
Harmful Time now shoves all his plunder in a bag
with the haste of a burglar, any old way.
As many goodbyes as there are stars in heaven,
each one with its own words and kisses,
he screws them all up into a careless farewell
and rations us to a single hungry kiss,
whose taste is ruined with the salt of sobbing tears.
AENEAS.
[Within] My lord, is the lady ready?
My lord, is the lady ready?
TROILUS.
Hark! you are call'd. Some say the Genius so
Cries 'Come' to him that instantly must die.
Bid them have patience; she shall come anon.
Listen! They are calling you. Some say your guardian angel
calls ‘come’ like that to someone who is about to die.
Tell them to be patient; she'll be coming soon.
PANDARUS.
Where are my tears? Rain, to lay this wind, or my heart
will be blown up by th' root.
Where are my tears? I need rain to calm this wind, or my heart
will be torn up by the roots.
Exit
CRESSIDA.
I must then to the Grecians?
So I must go to the Greeks?
TROILUS.
No remedy.
There's noalternative.
CRESSIDA.
A woeful Cressid 'mongst the merry Greeks!
When shall we see again?
What an unhappy Cressida amongst the merry Greeks!
When shall we meet again?
TROILUS.
Hear me, my love. Be thou but true of heart-
Listen to me, my love.If you just remain faithful -
CRESSIDA.
I true! how now! What wicked deem is this?
Me faithful!What's this?What wicked thoughts are you having?
TROILUS.
Nay, we must use expostulation kindly,
For it is parting from us.
I speak not 'Be thou true' as fearing thee,
For I will throw my glove to Death himself
That there's no maculation in thy heart;
But 'Be thou true' say I to fashion in
My sequent protestation: be thou true,
And I will see thee.
No, we must discuss this calmly,
as soon we won't have the chance.
I didn't say "be faithful" because I doubted you,
for I would take on Death himself
to prove you have no inconstancy;
I say, "Be faithful" to lead into
what I was going to say: be faithful
and I will see you.
CRESSIDA.
O, you shall be expos'd, my lord, to dangers
As infinite as imminent! But I'll be true.
Oh, my lord, you will be exposed to dangers
as great as they will be swift!But I will be faithful.
TROILUS.
And I'll grow friend with danger. Wear this sleeve.
And I'll welcome the danger.Wear this cuff.
CRESSIDA.
And you this glove. When shall I see you?
And you wear this glove.When will I see you?
TROILUS.
I will corrupt the Grecian sentinels
To give thee nightly visitation.
But yet be true.
I'll bribe the Greek sentries
to let me see you every night.
But still be faithful.
CRESSIDA.
O heavens! 'Be true' again!
Oh heavens, 'be faithful' again!
TROILUS.
Hear why I speak it, love.
The Grecian youths are full of quality;
They're loving, well compos'd with gifts of nature,
And flowing o'er with arts and exercise.
How novelties may move, and parts with person,
Alas, a kind of godly jealousy,
Which I beseech you call a virtuous sin,
Makes me afeard.
Listen to why I say it, love.
The Greek youths are full of good breeding;
they're loving, nice looking,
and full of well practised skills.
The way new things can interest one, combined
with personal attractiveness, starts a kind
of divine jealously in me, which
makes me worried;
I hope you'll call this a good sin.
CRESSIDA.
O heavens! you love me not.
Oh heavens!You don't love me.
TROILUS.
Die I a villain, then!
In this I do not call your faith in question
So mainly as my merit. I cannot sing,
Nor heel the high lavolt, nor sweeten talk,
Nor play at subtle games-fair virtues all,
To which the Grecians are most prompt and pregnant;
But I can tell that in each grace of these
There lurks a still and dumb-discoursive devil
That tempts most cunningly. But be not tempted.
Then may I die as a villain!
I'm not calling your fidelity into question
as much as my virtues.I can't sing,
or dance fashionable dances, or talk sweetly,
nor play games which require skill - these are all good accomplishments,
which the Greeks are extremely good at;
and I know that in each of them
there is lurking a silent but persuasive devil
that tempts very cunningly.But don't be tempted.
CRESSIDA.
Do you think I will?
Do you think I will be?
TROILUS.
No.
But something may be done that we will not;
And sometimes we are devils to ourselves,
When we will tempt the frailty of our powers,
Presuming on their changeful potency.
No.
But sometimes things happen we don't want;
sometimes we are devils to ourselves,
when we rely to much on our own strength,
not realising we are all too unreliable.
AENEAS.
[Within] Nay, good my lord!
Enough, my good lord!
TROILUS.
Come, kiss; and let us part.
Come, kiss and let us part.
PARIS.
[Within] Brother Troilus!
Brother Troilus!
TROILUS.
Good brother, come you hither;
And bring Aeneas and the Grecian with you.
Good brother, come here;
and bring Aeneas and the Greek with you.
CRESSIDA.
My lord, will you be true?
My lord, will you be true?
TROILUS.
Who, I? Alas, it is my vice, my fault!
Whiles others fish with craft for great opinion,
I with great truth catch mere simplicity;
Whilst some with cunning gild their copper crowns,
With truth and plainness I do wear mine bare.
Enter AENEAS, PARIS, ANTENOR, DEIPHOBUS, and DIOMEDES
Fear not my truth: the moral of my wit
Is 'plain and true'; there's all the reach of it.
Welcome, Sir Diomed! Here is the lady
Which for Antenor we deliver you;
At the port, lord, I'll give her to thy hand,