The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (653 page)

An open place.

Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS

VALENTINE

Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus:

Stop trying to convince me, my dear Proteus:
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.

Young people who stay at home have very dull minds.
Were't not affection chains thy tender days

If passion didn’t chain your youthful days
To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love,

To the sweet glances of the woman you love,
I rather would entreat thy company

I would ask for your company
To see the wonders of the world abroad,

To see the wonders of the world abroad,
Than, living dully sluggardized at home,

Instead of you living lazily and idly at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.

And wearing out your youth with aimless spare time.
But since thou lovest, love still and thrive therein,

But since you are in love, continue to love and let your love flourish,
Even as I would when I to love begin.

Just as I would when I fall in love.

PROTEUS

Wilt thou be gone? Sweet Valentine, adieu!

Are you leaving? Sweet Valentine, farewell!
Think on thy Proteus, when thou haply seest

Think of your friend Proteus, who you see by chance
Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel:

Something rare and note-worthy in your travels:
Wish me partaker in thy happiness

Wish that I could join in on your happiness
When thou dost meet good hap; and in thy danger,

When you meet with good fortune; and in your danger,
If ever danger do environ thee,

If ever danger surrounds you,
Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,

Entrust your suffering to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy beadsman, Valentine.

For I will pray for you, Valentine.

VALENTINE

And on a love-book pray for my success?

And will you pray on a book of love that I will succeed?

PROTEUS

Upon some book I love I'll pray for thee.

I’ll pray for you on some book that I love.

VALENTINE

That's on some shallow story of deep love:

That would be the silly story of true love:
How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont.

Of young Leander who swam across the Hellespont, which connects the Aegean and Marmara Seas.

PROTEUS

That's a deep story of a deeper love:

That’s a deep story of a truer love:
For he was more than over shoes in love.

For he was more than shoe deep in love.

VALENTINE

'Tis true; for you are over boots in love,

It’s true; for you more than boot deep in love,
And yet you never swum the Hellespont.

And you still have never swum across the Hellespont.

PROTEUS

Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots.

More than boot deep? No, don’t make fun of me.

VALENTINE

No, I will not, for it boots thee not.

No, I won’t, because it won’t help you.

PROTEUS

What?

What?

VALENTINE

To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans;

To be in love is to be where whimpers lead to ridicule;
Coy looks with heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth

Heart-sick sighs are given disdainful looks; where one brief moment of happiness
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights:

Is paired with twenty wide-awake, sleepless and tedious nights:
If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain;

If by chance your love is won, perhaps it is an unfortunate achievement;
If lost, why then a grievous labour won;

And if it is lost, then he has only achieved a sorrowful struggle;
However, but a folly bought with wit,

Whatever happens, it’s only a mistake gained with wisdom,
Or else a wit by folly vanquished.

Or else wisdom destroyed by a mistake.

PROTEUS

So, by your circumstance, you call me fool.

So, by your descriptions, you think that I’m a fool.

VALENTINE

So, by your circumstance, I fear you'll prove.

So, in your situation, I’m afraid you will prove yourself to be one.

PROTEUS

'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.

It’s love itself that you dispute with: I am not Love.

VALENTINE

Love is your master, for he masters you:

Love is your master, because he control you:
And he that is so yoked by a fool,

And man that is controlled by a fool,
Methinks, should not be chronicled for wise.

I think, should not be labeled as being wise.

PROTEUS

Yet writers say, as in the sweetest bud

But writers say that just as in the sweetest flower
The eating canker dwells, so eating love

Lives a destructive worm, so does destructive love
Inhabits in the finest wits of all.

Live in the finest minds of all.

VALENTINE

And writers say, as the most forward bud

And writers say that just as the earliest flower
Is eaten by the canker ere it blow,

Is destroyed by the worm before it blossoms,
Even so by love the young and tender wit

So does love turn the young and tender mind
Is turn'd to folly, blasting in the bud,

Into a fool, withering in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime

Losing his vitality just at his prime
And all the fair effects of future hopes.

And all the excellent outcomes that the future might bring.
But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee,

But why do I waste my time giving you advice,
That art a votary to fond desire?

You who are a worshipper of foolish desire?
Once more adieu! my father at the road

Once more, farewell! At the harbor, my father
Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd.

Is waiting for my arrival, to see me off to sea.

PROTEUS

And thither will I bring thee, Valentine.

And I will bring you there, Valentine.

VALENTINE

Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave.

Sweet Proteus, no; let us say our goodbyes now.
To Milan let me hear from thee by letters

While I’m in Milan, send me letters to tell me
Of thy success in love, and what news else

Of your fortune in love, and what other news
Betideth here in absence of thy friend;

Takes place here in the absence of your friend;
And likewise will visit thee with mine.

And I will send you letters with news of my endeavors.

PROTEUS

All happiness bechance to thee in Milan!

May you only have happiness happen to you in Milan!

VALENTINE

As much to you at home! and so, farewell.

And the same to you at home! And now, good bye.

Exit

PROTEUS

He after honour hunts, I after love:

He hunts after honor, and I hunt after love:
He leaves his friends to dignify them more,

He leaves his friends to bring more honor to them,
I leave myself, my friends and all, for love.

And I leave myself, my friends and everyone, for love.
Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me,

You, Julia, you have transformed me,
Made me neglect my studies, lose my time,

Made me neglect my studies, waste my time,
War with good counsel, set the world at nought;

Argue with good advice, and consider the world worthless;
Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.

It’s made my mind weak from pondering, and my heart sick from worry.

Enter SPEED

SPEED

Sir Proteus, save you! Saw you my master?

Sir Proteus, God save you! Have you seen my master?

PROTEUS

But now he parted hence, to embark for Milan.

Just now he left here to set off for Milan.

SPEED

Twenty to one then he is shipp'd already,

Twenty to one odds that he has boarded the ship already then,
And I have play'd the sheep in losing him.

And I have made a big mistake in losing him.

PROTEUS

Indeed, a sheep doth very often stray,

It’s true, a sheep might very often wander off,
An if the shepherd be a while away.

If the shepherd isn’t near.

SPEED

You conclude that my master is a shepherd, then,

Are you saying that my master is a shepherd, then,
and I a sheep?

And I am a sheep?

PROTEUS

I do.

I am.

SPEED

Why then, my horns are his horns, whether I wake or sleep.

Well then, since he is my master, my horns are his horns, whether I am awake or asleep.

PROTEUS

A silly answer and fitting well a sheep.

That’s a silly answer and one that fits a sheep well.

SPEED

This proves me still a sheep.

This still shows me to be a sheep.

PROTEUS

True; and thy master a shepherd.

True; and your master is a shepherd.

SPEED

Nay, that I can deny by a circumstance.

No, that I can refute with a good explanation.

PROTEUS

It shall go hard but I'll prove it by another.

It will go badly, but I’ll prove it to be so by another explanation.

SPEED

The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the

The shepherd seeks the sheep, and the sheep doesn’t seek the
shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master seeks

Shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master doesn’t seek
not me: therefore I am no sheep.

Me: therefore I am not a sheep.

PROTEUS

The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd; the

The sheep follows the shepherd for food; the
shepherd for food follows not the sheep: thou for

Shepherd doesn’t follow the sheep for food: you
wages followest thy master; thy master for wages

Follow your master for your pay; the master
follows not thee: therefore thou art a sheep.

Doesn’t follow you for pay: therefore you are a sheep.

SPEED

Such another proof will make me cry 'baa.'

Another explanation like that one will make me ‘baa’ like a sheep.

PROTEUS

But, dost thou hear? gavest thou my letter to Julia?

But are you listening? Did you give my letter to Julia?

SPEED

Ay sir: I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her,

Yes sir: I, just a lost sheep, gave your letter to her,
a laced mutton; and she, a laced mutton, gave me, a

A lacy whore; and she, a lacy whore, gave me, a
lost mutton, nothing for my labour.

Lost sheep, nothing for my efforts.

PROTEUS

Here's too small a pasture for such store of muttons.