The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (607 page)

ANTONIO

Let's all sink with the king.

Let’s all sink with the kind.

SEBASTIAN

Let's take leave of him.

Let’s say good bye to him.

Exeunt ANTONIO and SEBASTIAN

GONZALO

Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an

Right now I would trade a hundred and twenty-five miles of sea for an
acre of barren ground, long heath, brown furze, any

Acre of dry ground, with tall heather, brown evergreen shrubs, any
thing. The wills above be done! but I would fain

Thing. The lord’s wish will be done! But I would desire
die a dry death.

To die a dry death.

Exeunt

The island. Before PROSPERO'S cell.

Enter PROSPERO and MIRANDA

MIRANDA

If by your art, my dearest father, you have

If with your skills, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them.

Made the wild waters into this storm, call it off.
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,

The sky, it seems, would like to pour down black tar,
But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,

Except for the sea, rising up to heaven,
Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffered

Puts the fire out. Oh, I have suffered
With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel,

Along side those that I saw suffering: a well-crafted vessel
Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,

Who had, no doubt, some great person on board,
Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock

Crashed into pieces. Oh, the cry hit me
Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd.

To my very core. Poor souls, they died.
Had I been any god of power, I would

If I were any god of power, I would
Have sunk the sea within the earth or ere

Have buried the sea within the earth before
It should the good ship so have swallow'd and

It could have swallowed up that good ship and
The fraughting souls within her.

The people carried on board.

PROSPERO

Be collected:

Calm yourself:
No more amazement: tell your piteous heart

Don’t be distracted by it: tell your upset heart
There's no harm done.

That no harm has been done.

MIRANDA

O, woe the day!

Oh, no harm you call it!

PROSPERO

No harm.

No harm.
I have done nothing but in care of thee,

I have nothing except to care for you,
Of thee, my dear one, thee, my daughter, who

For you, my dear one, you, my daughter, who
Art ignorant of what thou art, nought knowing

Don’t know who you are, don’t know
Of whence I am, nor that I am more better

Where I am from, or that I am much better
Than Prospero, master of a full poor cell,

Than Prospero, in control of an entire small cell,
And thy no greater father.

And a position no more powerful than simply your father.

MIRANDA

More to know

Knowing more than that
Did never meddle with my thoughts.

Never concerned my thoughts.

PROSPERO

'Tis time

it’s timet that
I should inform thee farther. Lend thy hand,

I told you more. Give me your hand,
And pluck my magic garment from me. So:

And take my magic cloak from me. So:

Lays down his mantle (cloak)

Lie there, my art. Wipe thou thine eyes; have comfort.

Lie there, my magic. Wipe your eyes; and take comfort in this.
The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touch'd

The terrible scene of the wreck, which touched
The very virtue of compassion in thee,

That most compassionate heart of yours,
I have with such provision in mine art

I have with careful thinking ahead in my magic
So safely ordered that there is no soul—

Safely arranged so that there is no soul—
No, not so much perdition as an hair

No, not even the loss of an hair
Betid to any creature in the vessel

Happened to any creature aboard that ship
Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. Sit down;

Which you heard cry out, which you saw sink. Sit down;
For thou must now know farther.

For you must now learn more.

MIRANDA

You have often

You have often
Begun to tell me what I am, but stopp'd

Begun to tell me who I am, but stopped
And left me to a bootless inquisition,

And left me with useless questions,
Concluding 'Stay: not yet.'

Concluding ‘Wait: not yet.’

PROSPERO

The hour's now come;

The hour has come;
The very minute bids thee ope thine ear;

The very minute askes you to open you ears;
Obey and be attentive. Canst thou remember

Listen and be attentive. Can you remember
A time before we came unto this cell?

A time before we came to this cell?
I do not think thou canst, for then thou wast not

I don’t think you cant, for you were not
Out three years old.

Yet three years old then.

MIRANDA

Certainly, sir, I can.

Certainly, sir, I can.

PROSPERO

By what? by any other house or person?

By what means? Was it any other house or person?
Of any thing the image tell me that

Tell me about the image of any thing that
Hath kept with thy remembrance.

Has stayed in your memory.

MIRANDA

'Tis far off

It’s far off
And rather like a dream than an assurance

And more like a dream than a certainty
That my remembrance warrants. Had I not

That my memory sustains.  Didn’t I have
Four or five women once that tended me?

Four or five women who once took care of me?

PROSPERO

Thou hadst, and more, Miranda. But how is it

You had that, and more, Miranda. But how is it
That this lives in thy mind? What seest thou else

That you remember this? What else do you see
In the dark backward and abysm of time?

In the dark past and deep chasm of time?
If thou remember'st aught ere thou camest here,

If you remember anything before you came here,
How thou camest here thou mayst.

Then you may remember how you came here.

MIRANDA

But that I do not.

But I do not remember that.

PROSPERO

Twelve year since, Miranda, twelve year since,

Twelve years ago, Miranda, twelve years ago,
Thy father was the Duke of Milan and

Your father was the Duke of Milan and
A prince of power.

A prince of power.

MIRANDA

Sir, are not you my father?

Sir, aren’t you my father?

PROSPERO

Thy mother was a piece of virtue, and

Your mother was a model of virtue, and
She said thou wast my daughter; and thy father

She said you were my daughter; and your father
Was Duke of Milan; and thou his only heir

Was Duke of Milan; and you were his only heir
And princess no worse issued.

And princess of no lower position.

MIRANDA

O the heavens!

Oh, good heavens!
What foul play had we, that we came from thence?

What evil conspiracy was there against us that we came from there?
Or blessed was't we did?

Or was it a good thing that we did?

PROSPERO

Both, both, my girl:

Both, it was both, my girl:
By foul play, as thou say'st, were we heaved thence,

It was an evil conspiracy, as you said, that we were cast out of there,
But blessedly holp hither.

But fortunately helped to get here.

MIRANDA

O, my heart bleeds

Oh my heart aches
To think o' the teen that I have turn'd you to,

To think of the grief that I have brought up again,
Which is from my remembrance! Please you, farther.

From my memories! Please, continue.

PROSPERO

My brother and thy uncle, call'd Antonio—

My brother, your uncle, named Antonio--
I pray thee, mark me--that a brother should

Please. Pay attention—how could a brother
Be so perfidious!--he whom next thyself

Be so deceitful!—he, who, next to you
Of all the world I loved and to him put

Out of everyone in the world, I love and to him I gave
The manage of my state; as at that time

The task of managing of my government; since at the time
Through all the signories it was the first

Out of all the provinces it was the highest
And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed

And I, Prospoer, the chief duke, had a reputation
In dignity, and for the liberal arts

Of honor, and for the arts and sciences
Without a parallel; those being all my study,

That was without parallel; those took up all my studying,
The government I cast upon my brother

And the governing I threw on to my brother
And to my state grew stranger, being transported

And I became a foreigner to my province, being captivated
And rapt in secret studies. Thy false uncle—

And absorbed in my magical studies. Your deceitful uncle—
Dost thou attend me?

Are you listening to me?

MIRANDA

Sir, most heedfully.

Sir, most attentively.

PROSPERO

Being once perfected how to grant suits,

Having been instructed on how to grant formal petitions,
How to deny them, who to advance and who

How to deny them, who to promote and who
To trash for over-topping, new created

To hold back for getting ahead of themselves, having newly appointed
The creatures that were mine, I say, or changed 'em,

The officials that were mine, or, I say, having replaced them,
Or else new form'd 'em; having both the key

Or else retrained them, having both the power
Of officer and office, set all hearts i' the state