The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (419 page)

MERCADE God save you, madam!
God save you, madam!

PRINCESS Welcome, Mercade;

Welcome in, Mercade;
But that thou interrupt'st our merriment.

But you’re interrupting our enjoyment.
MERCADE I am sorry, madam; for the news I bring

I am sorry, madam; but the news I have
Is heavy in my tongue. The king your father--
is hard to say.  The king your father--

PRINCESS Dead, for my life!

Is he dead? Oh my life!
MERCADE Even so; my tale is told.
I’m afraid so; now you know.  

BIRON Worthies, away! the scene begins to cloud.

Actors, get out of here! This is not a good time.  

DON ADRIANO DE ARMADO For mine own part, I breathe free breath. I have

For myself, I am a free man. I now
seen the day of wrong through the little hole of

Perceive my true situation
discretion, and I will right myself like a soldier.
and will carry on like a trooper.  

Exeunt WorthiesFERDINAND How fares your majesty?

How are you doing princess?
PRINCESS Boyet, prepare; I will away tonight.

Prepare yourself, Boyet; I need to leave tonight.
FERDINAND Madam, not so; I do beseech you, stay.

Madam, you do not; I beg of you, please stay.  
PRINCESS Prepare, I say. I thank you, gracious lords,

Get ready, I say.  Thank you, gracious lords,
For all your fair endeavors; and entreat,

For all the fun; and allow me
Out of a new-sad soul, that you vouchsafe

With my broken heart, that you promise
In your rich wisdom to excuse or hide

In your wisdom to let me be excused or overlook
The liberal opposition of our spirits,

Our disagreeing,
If over-boldly we have borne ourselves

If we have portrayed ourselves too boldly
In the converse of breath: your gentleness

In our conversation: you
Was guilty of it. Farewell worthy lord!
were guilty too.  Farewell worthy lord!

A heavy heart bears not a nimble tongue:
A heavy heart can’t stand a quick talker:

Excuse me so, coming too short of thanks
Excuse me, for being so ungrateful

For my great suit so easily obtain'd.
but my mission was already accomplished.  

FERDINAND The extreme parts of time extremely forms

When time is short, it
All causes to the purpose of his speed,

requires quick decisions,
And often at his very loose decides
And often at time’s very release a decision is reached

That which long process could not arbitrate:
That if I had thought about it a long time I would not be able to decide:

And though the mourning brow of progeny
And though the princess is in mourning

Forbid the smiling courtesy of love

And will not see my love’s argument
The holy suit which fain it would convince,

And the love which I would like to give her,
Yet, since love's argument was first on foot,

Yet, since the argument was running first,
Let not the cloud of sorrow justle it

Don’t allow sorrow to obstruct it
From what it purposed; since, to wail friends lost
From what it wanted; since, to cry about lost friends

Is not by much so wholesome-profitable
is not good for anything

As to rejoice at friends but newly found.
as it is to rejoice at making new friends.  

PRINCESS I understand you not: my griefs are double.
I don’t understand you: that doubles my grief.  

BIRON Honest plain words best pierce the ear of grief;

If you want to reach her through her grief use simple words
And by these badges understand the king.
when you do so she will understand you.  

For your fair sakes have we neglected time,
For your sake, we have forgotten about time,

Play'd foul play with our oaths: your beauty, ladies,
and nearly broke our promises: your beauty, ladies

Hath much deform'd us, fashioning our humours
Has greatly deformed us, making our moods

Even to the opposed end of our intents:
Opposite from what we intended:

And what in us hath seem'd ridiculous,--
And what to us seemed ridiculous,--

As love is full of unbefitting strains,
as love gives you strange impulses,

All wanton as a child, skipping and vain,
As carefree as a child, skipping and vain,

Form'd by the eye and therefore, like the eye,
Formed by the eye and therefore, like the eye

Full of strange shapes, of habits and of forms,

It is full of strange shapes, habits and forms,
Varying in subjects as the eye doth roll

From one thing to the other as the eye rolls
To every varied object in his glance:

To every object the eye can see:
Which parti-coated presence of loose love

With the foolish appearance that love
Put on by us, if, in your heavenly eyes,
gives us, if, in your heavenly eyes,

Have misbecomed our oaths and gravities,
We have become unsuitable for our promises and positions,

Those heavenly eyes, that look into these faults,
Your heavenly eyes, that see these mistakes

Suggested us to make. Therefore, ladies,
tempted us to make.  Therefore, ladies,

Our love being yours, the error that love makes
Since our love is yours, the mistakes love makes

Is likewise yours: we to ourselves prove false,
is also yours: we prove ourselves false,

By being once false for ever to be true
If we are false once we will forever be true

To those that make us both,--fair ladies, you:
to those that make us both false and true,-- fair ladies, that means you:

And even that falsehood, in itself a sin,
And even that falsehood, which is in itself a sin,

Thus purifies itself and turns to grace.
will purify itself and turn in to grace.  

PRINCESS We have received your letters full of love;

We have received your love letters;
Your favours, the ambassadors of love;
Your tokens, the symbols of love;

And, in our maiden council, rated them
And, when we spoke about it privately, decided it

At courtship, pleasant jest and courtesy,
Was only dating, pleasant jokes and manners

As bombast and as lining to the time:
As a way to fill time,

But more devout than this in our respects
But serious in this respect

Have we not been; and therefore met your loves
we have not been; and for this reason saw your loves

In their own fashion, like a merriment.
In that way, as a joke or a pleasant way to pass time.  

DUMAIN Our letters, madam, show'd much more than jest.

Our letters, madam, were more than just joking around.  
LONGAVILLE So did our looks.

And our looks were serious as well.  
ROSALINE We did not quote them so.

That’s not how we perceived it.  
FERDINAND Now, at the latest minute of the hour,
Now, before we are out of time,

Grant us your loves.
Give us your loves.

PRINCESS A time, methinks, too short
I think there’s not enough time

To make a world-without-end bargain in.
To make that kind of everlasting bargain.  

No, no, my lord, your grace is perjured much,
No, no, my lord, your grace has been betrayed,

Full of dear guiltiness; and therefore this:
you are full of guilt; and therefore I say this:

If for my love, as there is no such cause,
If you would, for my love, as there is nothing like it,

You will do aught, this shall you do for me:
do anything, then do this for me:

Your oath I will not trust; but go with speed
I can’t trust your promise; but go quickly

To some forlorn and naked hermitage,
to some lonely and barren hermitage,

Remote from all the pleasures of the world;
Far away from all the modern pleasures of the world;

There stay until the twelve celestial signs
And stay there until twelve months

Have brought about the annual reckoning.
Have gone buy to mark one year.  

If this austere insociable life
If this severe nonsocial life

Change not your offer made in heat of blood;
won’t change the offer you made in passion;

If frosts and fasts, hard lodging and thin weeds
If frost and hunger, rough shelter and thin garments

Nip not the gaudy blossoms of your love,
Don’t degrade the intensity of your love,

But that it bear this trial and last love;
But if you can bear this trial and love remains;

Then, at the expiration of the year,
Then, after one year

Come challenge me, challenge me by these deserts,
Come claim me, claim me by the merit of these actions,

And, by this virgin palm now kissing thine
And, by my virgin hand, which you are now kissing

I will be thine; and till that instant shut
I will be yours; and until a year has passed I will shut

My woeful self up in a mourning house,
my woeful self up in my house to mourn,

Raining the tears of lamentation
Raining tears in lament

For the remembrance of my father's death.
Over my father’s death.

If this thou do deny, let our hands part,
If you won’t do this, then let us not touch,

Neither entitled in the other's heart.
Neither of us has a right to the other.  

FERDINAND If this, or more than this, I would deny,

If this request, or more than this request, I would refuse
To flatter up these powers of mine with rest,

And instead pamper up myself with rest,
The sudden hand of death close up mine eye!

Then the hand of death will take me!
Hence ever then my heart is in thy breast.
So my heart will forever be in your chest.  

DUMAIN But what to me, my love? but what to me? A wife?

What do I get, my love? What do I get? A wife?
KATHARINE A beard, fair health, and honesty;

A beard, good health, and honesty;
With three-fold love I wish you all these three.
With all my love I wish for you to have these three things.

DUMAIN O, shall I say, I thank you, gentle wife?

O, should I say, I thank you, wife?
KATHARINE Not so, my lord; a twelvemonth and a day

No, my lord; not fore twelve months and a day
I'll mark no words that smooth-faced wooers say:
I won’t listen to any words beardless suitors say

Come when the king doth to my lady come;
Come to me when the king comes to the princess;

Then, if I have much love, I'll give you some.
Then, if I feel like it, I’ll love you.  

DUMAIN I'll serve thee true and faithfully till then.
I’ll wait for you true and faithfully until then.  

KATHARINE Yet swear not, lest ye be forsworn again.
Don’t swear it, unless you break another promise.  

LONGAVILLE What says Maria?
What do you say Maria?

MARIA At the twelvemonth's end
At the end of twelve months

I'll change my black gown for a faithful friend.
I’ll take of my black dress for a faithful lover.  

LONGAVILLE I'll stay with patience; but the time is long.

I’ll remain with patience; but it is such a long time.
MARIA The liker you; few taller are so young.
Just like you; there are few young people who are so tall.  

BIRON Studies my lady? mistress, look on me;
What are you thinking my lady? Mistress, look at me;