The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated)
Page 679
Troilus, I say! Where's Troilus?
Troilus, I say! Where's Troilus?
AJAX.
What wouldst thou?
What do you want?
DIOMEDES.
I would correct him.
I want to punish him.
AJAX.
Were I the general, thou shouldst have my office
Ere that correction. Troilus, I say! What, Troilus!
If I were the general, I would give you my job
rather than let you have that pleasure. Troilus, I say! What, Troilus!
Enter TROILUS
TROILUS.
O traitor Diomed! Turn thy false face, thou traitor,
And pay thy life thou owest me for my horse.
Oh you traitor Diomedes! Turn and face me, you traitor,
and pay the life you owe me for my horse.
DIOMEDES.
Ha! art thou there?
Ha! Is that you?
AJAX.
I'll fight with him alone. Stand, Diomed.
I'll fight him single-handed. Stand aside, Diomedes.
DIOMEDES.
He is my prize. I will not look upon.
He's my prize. I won't stand by and watch.
TROILUS.
Come, both, you cogging Greeks; have at you!
Come on, both of you, you deceitful Greeks. Take that!
Exeunt fighting
Enter HECTOR
HECTOR.
Yea, Troilus? O, well fought, my youngest brother!
Is that Troilus? Oh, well fought, my youngest brother!
Enter ACHILLES
ACHILLES.
Now do I see thee, ha! Have at thee, Hector!
Now I see you! Take that, Hector!
HECTOR.
Pause, if thou wilt.
Wait, if you will.
ACHILLES.
I do disdain thy courtesy, proud Troyan.
Be happy that my arms are out of use;
My rest and negligence befriends thee now,
But thou anon shalt hear of me again;
Till when, go seek thy fortune.
Exit
I refuse you politeness, arrogant Trojan.
Be glad that I'm out of training;
my rest and laziness is in your favour,
but soon you will hear from me again;
until then, good luck.
HECTOR.
Fare thee well.
I would have been much more a fresher man,
Had I expected thee.
Farewell.
I would have kept myself fresher,
if I'd known you were coming.
Re-enter TROILUS
How now, my brother!
Hello, my brother!
TROILUS.
Ajax hath ta'en Aeneas. Shall it be?
No, by the flame of yonder glorious heaven,
He shall not carry him; I'll be ta'en too,
Or bring him off. Fate, hear me what I say:
I reck not though thou end my life to-day.
Exit
Ajax has captured Aeneas.Shall this happen?
No, I swear by the sun,
he shan't take him, either I'll be captured too
or I'll rescue him.Fate, hear what I say;
I don't care if you take my life today.
Enter one in armour
HECTOR.
Stand, stand, thou Greek; thou art a goodly mark.
No? wilt thou not? I like thy armour well;
I'll frush it and unlock the rivets all
But I'll be master of it. Wilt thou not, beast, abide?
Why then, fly on; I'll hunt thee for thy hide.
Exeunt
Stand and fight, Greek; you are a good target.
No? You won't?I like your armour.
I'll smash it and burst all its rivets,
but I shall own it.Won't you wait, you animal?
Well then, run away; I'll seek you out in your den.
Enter ACHILLES, with Myrmidons
ACHILLES.
Come here about me, you my Myrmidons;
Mark what I say. Attend me where I wheel;
Strike not a stroke, but keep yourselves in breath;
And when I have the bloody Hector found,
Empale him with your weapons round about;
In fellest manner execute your arms.
Follow me, sirs, and my proceedings eye.
It is decreed Hector the great must die.
Exeunt
Gather round me, my Myrmidons;
pay attention.Follow my actions;
don't strike any blows, save your breath;
and when I have found bloody Hector,
make a fence around him with your spears;
use your weapons in the cruellest manner.
Follow me sirs, watch what I do.
The great Hector is fated to die.
Enter MENELAUS and PARIS, fighting; then THERSITES
THERSITES.
The cuckold and the cuckold-maker are at it. Now, bull!
now, dog! 'Loo, Paris, 'loo! now my double-horn'd Spartan! 'loo,
Paris, 'loo! The bull has the game. Ware horns, ho!
Exeunt PARIS and MENELAUS
The cuckold and the one who made him one are fighting.Now, bull!
Go, dog!Go to it, Paris!Now, my cuckolded Spartan!Go on, Paris!
The bull is winning.Watch out for the horns!
Enter MARGARELON
MARGARELON.
Turn, slave, and fight.
Turn and fight, you slave.
THERSITES.
What art thou?
Who are you?
MARGARELON.
A bastard son of Priam's.
A bastard son of Priam's.
THERSITES.
I am a bastard too; I love bastards. I am a bastard
begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, bastard in valour, in
everything illegitimate. One bear will not bite another, and
wherefore should one bastard? Take heed, the quarrel's most
ominous to us: if the son of a whore fight for a whore, he tempts
judgment. Farewell, bastard.
Exit
I am a bastard too; I love bastards.I was fathered by a bastard,
taught by a bastard, I'm a bastard in mind, a bastard in courage,
illegitimate in everything.One bear won't attack another, so
why would a bastard?Look out, this fight would be very
terrible for us:if the son of a whore fights on behalf of a whore,
he's risking heaven's anger.Farewell, bastard.
MARGARELON.
The devil take thee, coward!
Exit
Damn you, coward!
Enter HECTOR
HECTOR.
Most putrified core so fair without,
Thy goodly armour thus hath cost thy life.
Now is my day's work done; I'll take good breath:
Rest, sword; thou hast thy fill of blood and death!
[Disarms]
Rotten insides, so fair outside,
your fine armour has cost your life.
Now my day's work is done; I'll catch my breath:
rest, sword; you've had enough blood and death!
Enter ACHILLES and his Myrmidons
ACHILLES.
Look, Hector, how the sun begins to set;
How ugly night comes breathing at his heels;
Even with the vail and dark'ning of the sun,
To close the day up, Hector's life is done.
See, Hector, how the sun begins to set;
how ugly night comes creeping in on his heels;
as the darkness starts to cover the sun,
to finish the day, Hector's life is finished.
HECTOR.
I am unarm'd; forego this vantage, Greek.
I am unarmed; don't take advantage, Greek.
ACHILLES.
Strike, fellows, strike; this is the man I
seek.
[HECTOR falls]
So, Ilion, fall thou next! Come, Troy, sink down;
Here lies thy heart, thy sinews, and thy bone.
On, Myrmidons, and cry you an amain
'Achilles hath the mighty Hector slain.'
[A retreat sounded]
Hark! a retire upon our Grecian part.
Strike, you men, strike; this is the man I was looking for.
[Hector falls]
So, Ilium, you fall next!Come, Troy, sink down;
here is your heart, your muscles and your bones.
Go on, you Myrmidons, and cry across the field,
'Achilles has killed mighty Hector!'
[A retreat sounds]
Listen!Our Greeks are retiring.
MYRMIDON.
The Troyan trumpets sound the like, my lord.
The Trojans are sounding the same call, my lord.
ACHILLES.
The dragon wing of night o'erspreads the earth
And, stickler-like, the armies separates.
My half-supp'd sword, that frankly would have fed,
Pleas'd with this dainty bait, thus goes to bed.
[Sheathes his sword]
Come, tie his body to my horse's tail;
Along the field I will the Troyan trail.
Exeunt
The dragon's wing of night spreads over the earth
and separates the armies like an umpire.
My half-fed sword, that could have eaten more,
is pleased with this dainty treat, and so goes to bed.
[Sheathes his sword]
Come, tie his body to my horse's tail;
I'll drag this Trojan around the battlefield.
Sound retreat. Shout. Enter AGAMEMNON, AJAX, MENELAUS, NESTOR,
DIOMEDES, and the rest, marching
AGAMEMNON.
Hark! hark! what shout is this?
Listen!Listen!What is this shouting?
NESTOR.
Peace, drums!
Stop the drums!
SOLDIERS.
[Within] Achilles! Achilles! Hector's slain. Achilles!
Achilles!Achilles!Hector's killed.Achilles!
DIOMEDES.
The bruit is Hector's slain, and by Achilles.
The rumour is that Hector has been killed, by Achilles.
AJAX.
If it be so, yet bragless let it be;
Great Hector was as good a man as he.
If it's true, there should be no bragging about it;
Great Hector was just as good a man as him.
AGAMEMNON.
March patiently along. Let one be sent
To pray Achilles see us at our tent.
If in his death the gods have us befriended,
Great Troy is ours, and our sharp wars are ended.
Exeunt
March along quietly.Let someone go
and ask Achilles to come to our tent.
If the gods have favoured us with his death,
we have won great Troy, and these fierce wars are over.
Enter AENEAS, PARIS, ANTENOR, and DEIPHOBUS
AENEAS.
Stand, ho! yet are we masters of the field.
Never go home; here starve we out the night.
Wait, there!We are still masters of the field.
Don't go home; we shall spend the night out here.
Enter TROILUS
TROILUS.
Hector is slain.
Hector has been killed.
ALL.
Hector! The gods forbid!
Hector!Heaven forbid!
TROILUS.
He's dead, and at the murderer's horse's tail,
In beastly sort, dragg'd through the shameful field.
Frown on, you heavens, effect your rage with speed.
Sit, gods, upon your thrones, and smite at Troy.
I say at once let your brief plagues be mercy,
And linger not our sure destructions on.
He's dead, and he has been dragged across the horrible
field in a foul way at the tail of the murderer's horse.
Frown on it, gods, and take quick revenge.
Sit on your thrones, and attack Troy.
I say attack us with a quick plague,
don't make us wait for our inevitable deaths.
AENEAS.
My lord, you do discomfort all the host.
My lord, you're unsettling the whole army.
TROILUS.
You understand me not that tell me so.
I do not speak of flight, of fear of death,
But dare all imminence that gods and men
Address their dangers in. Hector is gone.
Who shall tell Priam so, or Hecuba?
Let him that will a screech-owl aye be call'd
Go in to Troy, and say there 'Hector's dead.'
There is a word will Priam turn to stone;
Make wells and Niobes of the maids and wives,
Cold statues of the youth; and, in a word,
Scare Troy out of itself. But, march away;
Hector is dead; there is no more to say.
Stay yet. You vile abominable tents,
Thus proudly pight upon our Phrygian plains,
Let Titan rise as early as he dare,
I'll through and through you. And, thou great-siz'd coward,
No space of earth shall sunder our two hates;
I'll haunt thee like a wicked conscience still,
That mouldeth goblins swift as frenzy's thoughts.
Strike a free march to Troy. With comfort go;
Hope of revenge shall hide our inward woe.
If you tell me that you don't understand me.
I'm not talking about running away, or being scared of death,
but I'm daring to face all the impending dangers
that gods or men can give me.Hector is dead.
Who's going to tell Priam, or Hecuba?
Let the person who wants to be called a bad omen forever
go in to Troy, and tell them, 'Hector's dead.'
That is a word which will turn Priam to stone;
it will make springs and fountains of the girls and wives,
turn all the youths into statues; in a word,
it will scare Troy to death.But, march away;
Hector is dead; there is no more to say.
Wait.You revolting tents,
so arrogantly pitched on our Phyrigian plains,
as soon as the sun rises
I'll charge through the lot of you.And you, huge coward,
there is no space on earth wide enough to divide our mutual hatred;
I'll haunt you like a guilty conscience,
that conjures up goblins in guilty thoughts.
Quick march to Troy.Go happily;
the hope of revenge shall cover our sorrow.
Enter PANDARUS
PANDARUS.
But hear you, hear you!
Listen, listen!
TROILUS.
Hence, broker-lackey. Ignominy and shame
Pursue thy life and live aye with thy name!
Get away, you go-between servant.May disgrace and shame
follow you all your life, and make your name proverbial!
Exeunt all but PANDARUS
PANDARUS.
A goodly medicine for my aching bones! world! world! thus
is the poor agent despis'd! traitors and bawds, how earnestly are
you set a work, and how ill requited! Why should our endeavour be
so lov'd, and the performance so loathed? What verse for it? What
instance for it? Let me see-
Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing
Till he hath lost his honey and his sting;
And being once subdu'd in armed trail,
Sweet honey and sweet notes together fail.
Good traders in the flesh, set this in your painted
cloths. As many as be here of pander's hall,
Your eyes, half out, weep out at Pandar's fall;
Or, if you cannot weep, yet give some groans,
Though not for me, yet for your aching bones.
Brethren and sisters of the hold-door trade,
Some two months hence my will shall here be made.
It should be now, but that my fear is this,
Some galled goose of Winchester would hiss.
Till then I'll sweat and seek about for eases,
And at that time bequeath you my diseases.
Exit
A nice medicine for my aching bones!What a world! This
is how the poor helper is despised!Traitors and pimps, how they love
to employ you, and how poorly you are paid!Why should they love
our work so much, then hate us for the results?What song can describe it?
What example is there?Let me see:
The bumble bee sings happily
until he's lost his honey and his sting;
once he's lost his weapon,
the music and the honey are gone.
Good traders in the flesh, write this on your
wall hangings.As many of you come from Pandar's hall,
your failing eyes should weep at Pandar's fall;
or, if you can't weep, then give me some groans,
even if not for me, for your aching bones.
Brothers and sisters who guard the brothel doors,
Two months from now you'll see what happened here.