The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (117 page)

[Enter King Henry, Prince Henry, and Lords.]

KING.

Lords, give us leave; the Prince of Wales and I

Must have some private conference: but be near at hand,

For we shall presently have need of you.

[Exeunt Lords.]

I know not whether God will have it so,

For some displeasing service I have done,

That, in His secret doom, out of my blood

He'll breed revengement and a scourge for me;

But thou dost, in thy passages of life,

Make me believe that thou art only mark'd

For the hot vengeance and the rod of Heaven

To punish my mistreadings. Tell me else,

Could such inordinate and low desires,

Such poor, such base, such lewd, such mean attempts,

Such barren pleasures, rude society,

As thou art match'd withal and grafted to,

Accompany the greatness of thy blood,

And hold their level with thy princely heart?

Lords, excuse us; the Prince of Wales and I

must have a private talk: but stay close by,

for I shallneed you soon.

I don't know whether God has arranged it like this,

thanks to something I have done wrong,

and that he has passed sentence that my own flesh and blood

should be the instrument of revenge and a whip for me;

but the way you live your life

makes me believe that you have been chosen

as the instrument of revenge and the rod of heaven,

to punish my errors. Tell me otherwise

how such unworthy and low desires,

such wretched base exploits,

such empty pleasures andvulgar society

such as you associate with can

be matched with the greatness of your blood,

and find a place within your princely heart.

PRINCE.

So please your Majesty, I would I could

Quit all offences with as clear excuse

As well as I am doubtless I can purge

Myself of many I am charged withal:

Yet such extenuation let me beg,

As, in reproof of many tales devised

By smiling pick-thanks and base news-mongers,--

Which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear,--

I may, for some things true, wherein my youth

Hath faulty wander'd and irregular,

Find pardon on my true submission.

If you please, your Majesty, I wish I could

acquit myself of all offences with as good an excuse

as I am sure that I can supply for

many of the ones I'm charged with:

but let me ask for this forgiveness,

perhaps when I prove that many of the tales

were invented by malicious and low gossips–

they are always present around royalty–

I might be forgiven for some of the things

I have done wrong due to my wayward youth

by making a clean breast of everything.

KING.

God pardon thee! Yet let me wonder, Harry,

At thy affections, which do hold a wing

Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors.

Thy place in Council thou hast rudely lost,

Which by thy younger brother is supplied;

And art almost an alien to the hearts

Of all the Court and princes of my blood:

The hope and expectation of thy time

Is ruin'd; and the soul of every man

Prophetically does forethink thy fall.

Had I so lavish of my presence been,

So common-hackney'd in the eyes of men,

So stale and cheap to vulgar company,

Opinion, that did help me to the crown,

Had still kept loyal to possession,

And left me in reputeless banishment,

A fellow of no mark nor likelihood.

By being seldom seen, I could not stir

But, like a comet, I was wonder'd at;

That men would tell their children, This is he;

Others would say, Where, which is Bolingbroke?

And then I stole all courtesy from Heaven,

And dress'd myself in such humility,

That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts,

Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths,

Even in the presence of the crowned King.

Thus did I keep my person fresh and new;

My presence, like a robe pontifical,

Ne'er seen but wonder'd at:and so my state,

Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast,

And won by rareness such solemnity.

The skipping King, he ambled up and down

With shallow jesters and rash bavin wits,

Soon kindled and soon burnt; carded his state,

Mingled his royalty, with capering fools;

Had his great name profaned with their scorns;

And gave his countenance, against his name,

To laugh at gibing boys, and stand the push

Of every beardless vain comparative;

Grew a companion to the common streets,

Enfeoff'd himself to popularity;

That, being dally swallow'd by men's eyes,

They surfeited with honey, and began

To loathe the taste of sweetness, whereof a little

More than a little is by much too much.

So, when he had occasion to be seen,

He was but as the cuckoo is in June,

Heard, not regarded; seen, but with such eyes

As, sick and blunted with community,

Afford no extraordinary gaze,

Such as is bent on sun-like majesty

When it shines seldom in admiring eyes;

But rather drowsed, and hung their eyelids down,

Slept in his face, and render'd such aspect

As cloudy men use to their adversaries,

Being with his presence glutted, gorged, and full.

And in that very line, Harry, stand'st thou;

For thou hast lost thy princely privilege

With vile participation:not an eye

But is a-weary of thy common sight,

Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more;

Which now doth that I would not have it do,

Make blind itself with foolish tenderness.

May God pardon you! But I must say I'm astonished, Harry,

at the things you like, which are quite different to those

preferred by all your ancestors.

Through rudeness you lost your place in the Council,

which is filled by your younger brother,

and you are completely alienated from the hearts

of the whole court and your own brothers:

the hopes and expectations we had of you

have vanished, and every man secretly thinks

he can predict your downfall.

If I had appeared so much in public,

been such a workaday person in men's eyes,

the public, who helped me gain the Crown,

would have stayed loyal to Richard,

and left me to live as an unknown exile,

a fellow of no fame or promise.

By only being seen seldom, I couldn't move

without being wondered at like a comet,

so men would tell their children, “This is him!"

Others would say, “Where, which one is Bolingbroke?"

Then I assumed a courtly demeanour from heaven,

and make myself look so humble

that I took loyalty from men's hearts,

loud shouts and praise from their mouths,

even in the presence of the crowned King.

So I kept myself fresh and new,

for me to appear was like an archbishop's robe,

always marvelled at when seen, and so my royalty,

not seen often but always magnificent when it was,

was like a feast, and won respect through being rare.

The frivolous king, he wandered up and down,

with shallow gestures, superficial wits,

quick with a joke but quickly out of jokes, he degraded his dignity,

mixed his royalty with capering fools,

had his great name disgraced with their scorn,

and ruined his authority by laughing at the jokes

of foolish boys, and tolerating the impudence

of every vain young insulter,

he became well known in the common streets,

surrendering himself to popularity,

so that, being seen daily by everybody,

they had too much of him, like honey, they began

to hate the taste of sweetness, of which a little

more than a little is far too much.

So, when he wanted to appear as King,

he was like the cuckoo in June,

heard, but not noted; seen, but with eyes that,

made stale through constant association,

gave him no wondering gaze,

like the ones given to sunlike Majesty

when it only shines rarely an admiring eyes,

instead they were drowsy and close their eyes,

slept in front of him, and behaved towards him

as argumentative men behave to their enemies,

having already had far too much of seeing him.

And that is exactly the way you are, Harry,

you have lost your princely dignity

by joining in with the lowest. Everybody

is sick of seeing you all the time,

apart from me, who wanted to see you more,

and now I'm doing what I don't want to do,

clouding my eyes with the tears of foolish tenderness.

PRINCE.

I shall hereafter, my thrice-gracious lord,

Be more myself.

From now on, my triply–gracious lord,

I shall remember my position.

KING.

For all the world,

As thou art to this hour, was Richard then

When I from France set foot at Ravenspurg;

And even as I was then is Percy now.

Now, by my sceptre, and my soul to boot,

He hath more worthy interest to the state

Than thou, the shadow of succession;

For, of no right, nor colour like to right,

He doth fill fields with harness in the realm,

Turns head against the lion's armed jaws;

And, being no more in debt to years than thou,

Leads ancient lords and reverend bishops on

To bloody battles and to bruising arms.

What never-dying honour hath he got

Against renowned Douglas! whose high deeds,

Whose hot incursions, and great name in arms,

Holds from all soldiers chief majority

And military title capital

Through all the kingdoms that acknowledge Christ:

Thrice hath this Hotspur, Mars in swathing-clothes,

This infant warrior, in his enterprises

Discomfited great Douglas; ta'en him once,

Enlarged him, and made a friend of him,

To fill the mouth of deep defiance up,

And shake the peace and safety of our throne.

And what say you to this? Percy, Northumberland,

Th' Archbishop's Grace of York, Douglas, and Mortimer

Capitulate against us, and are up.

But wherefore do I tell these news to thee?

Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes,

Which art my near'st and dearest enemy?

Thou that art like enough,--through vassal fear,

Base inclination, and the start of spleen,--

To fight against me under Percy's pay,

To dog his heels, and curtsy at his frowns,

To show how much thou art degenerate.

You are exactly the same