The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (21 page)

To understand a law; to know the meaning

Of dangerous majesty, when perchance it frowns

More upon humour than advis'd respect.

It is the curse of kings that they are surrounded

by slaves who think that their moods are orders

to attack the bodies of others,

and that the wink of a person in authority

is the same as a law; they think they know what

a dangerous king means, when he might be frowning

just because of his mood rather than what he wants.

HUBERT.

Here is your hand and seal for what I did.

Here are your sealed written orders for what I did.

KING JOHN.

O, when the last account 'twixt heaven and earth

Is to be made, then shall this hand and seal

Witness against us to damnation!

How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds

Make deeds ill done! Hadst not thou been by,

A fellow by the hand of nature mark'd,

Quoted and sign'd to do a deed of shame,

This murder had not come into my mind;

But, taking note of thy abhorr'd aspect,

Finding thee fit for bloody villainy,

Apt, liable to be employ'd in danger,

I faintly broke with thee of Arthur's death;

And thou, to be endeared to a king,

Made it no conscience to destroy a prince.

Oh, when Judgement Day comes,

this writing and this seal

will be the evidence which sends me to hell!

How often the presence of the means to do wrong

encourages one to do wrong! If you hadn't been standing by,

a fellow marked out by the hand of nature

as one designed to do shameful deeds,

I would not have thought of this murder;

but, observing your horrible face,

seeing that you were suited to bloody villainy,

good to be used for dangerous purposes,

I faintly mentioned Arthur's death to you;

and you, to get the favour of a king,

didn't care about killing a prince.

HUBERT.

My lord-

My lord–

KING JOHN.

Hadst thou but shook thy head or made pause,

When I spake darkly what I purposed,

Or turn'd an eye of doubt upon my face,

As bid me tell my tale in express words,

Deep shame had struck me dumb, made me break off,

And those thy fears might have wrought fears in me.

But thou didst understand me by my signs,

And didst in signs again parley with sin;

Yea, without stop, didst let thy heart consent,

And consequently thy rude hand to act

The deed which both our tongues held vile to name.

Out of my sight, and never see me more!

My nobles leave me; and my state is braved,

Even at my gates, with ranks of foreign pow'rs;

Nay, in the body of the fleshly land,

This kingdom, this confine of blood and breath,

Hostility and civil tumult reigns

Between my conscience and my cousin's death.

If you had just shaken your head or paused,

when I hinted at what I planned,

or turned a doubtful eye to my face,

telling me to say what I meant outright,

deep shame would have struck me down, made me stop,

and your worries might have created worries in me.

But you understood what I was hinting at,

and you hinted that you were ready to do this sin;

without a pause you let your heart agree to,

and after that your rough hand to do,

the deed which both of us dared not speak aloud.

Get out of my sight, I don't want to see you again!

My nobles have left me; my country is under attack

even at my gates with foreign armies;

and within my body,

this prison of blood and breath,

there is a civil war going on

between my conscience and the death of my cousin.

HUBERT.

Arm you against your other enemies,

I'll make a peace between your soul and you.

Young Arthur is alive. This hand of mine

Is yet a maiden and an innocent hand,

Not painted with the crimson spots of blood.

Within this bosom never ent'red yet

The dreadful motion of a murderous thought

And you have slander'd nature in my form,

Which, howsoever rude exteriorly,

Is yet the cover of a fairer mind

Than to be butcher of an innocent child.

Arm yourself against your other enemies,

I will make peace between you and your soul.

Young Arthur is alive. This hand of mine

is still unsullied and innocent,

not covered in blood.

My heart has never entertained

the dreadful notion of committing murder

and you have wronged my nature,

for however rough the outside looks

it covers a mind that is too good

to become the butcher of an innocent child.

KING JOHN.

Doth Arthur live? O, haste thee to the peers,

Throw this report on their incensed rage

And make them tame to their obedience!

Forgive the comment that my passion made

Upon thy feature; for my rage was blind,

And foul imaginary eyes of blood

Presented thee more hideous than thou art.

O, answer not; but to my closet bring

The angry lords with all expedient haste.

I conjure thee but slowly; run more fast.

Is Arthur alive? Oh, hurry to the peers,

confront their anger with this news

and make them obedient again!

Forgive the comments that I made in anger

against your appearance; my anger made me blind,

and imagining the bloodshed I thought you had done

made you look more hideous than you are.

Oh, do not answer me; but bring the angry lords

to my room as quick as you can.

I am wasting time with my request; run faster than I ask you.

Exeunt

England. Before the castle

Enter ARTHUR, on the walls

ARTHUR.

The wall is high, and yet will I leap down.

Good ground, be pitiful and hurt me not!

There's few or none do know me; if they did,

This ship-boy's semblance hath disguis'd me quite.

I am afraid; and yet I'll venture it.

If I get down and do not break my limbs,

I'll find a thousand shifts to get away.

As good to die and go, as die and stay.

[Leaps down]

O me! my uncle's spirit is in these stones.

Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones!

[Dies]

The wall is high, but I will still jump down.

Good ground, pity me and don't hurt me!

Hardly anyone knows me; if they did

this sailor boy's disguise makes me unknowable.

I am afraid; and yet I'll risk it.

If I get down and don't break my limbs,

there are a thousand ways for me to escape.

I might just as well die escaping as die staying.

[Leaps down]

Alas! The spirit of my uncle is in the stones.

Heaven receive my soul, and England keep my bones!

Enter PEMBROKE, SALISBURY, and BIGOT

SALISBURY.

Lords, I will meet him at Saint Edmundsbury;

It is our safety, and we must embrace

This gentle offer of the perilous time.

Lords, I will meet him at St Edmundsbury;

this will make us safe, and we must accept

this kind offer in this dangerous time.

PEMBROKE.

Who brought that letter from the Cardinal?

Who brought that letter from the cardinal?

SALISBURY.

The Count Melun, a noble lord of France,

Whose private with me of the Dauphin's love

Is much more general than these lines import.

Count Melun, a noble lord of France,

who privately told me that the Dauphin's love

is much more comprehensive than is written down.

BIGOT.

To-morrow morning let us meet him then.

Then let us meet him tomorrow morning.

SALISBURY.

Or rather then set forward; for 'twill be

Two long days' journey, lords, or ere we meet.

Or rather let us set out then; it will be

a journey of two long days, lords, before we meet.

Enter the BASTARD

BASTARD.

Once more to-day well met, distemper'd lords!

The King by me requests your presence straight.

Good to see you once again today, upset lords!

Through me the king asks you to go and see him at once.

SALISBURY.

The King hath dispossess'd himself of us.

We will not line his thin bestained cloak

With our pure honours, nor attend the foot

That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks.

Return and tell him so. We know the worst.

The King has lost us.

We will not line his thin stained cloak

with our honour, nor shall we wait on the foot

that leaves a bloody footprint wherever it walks.

Go back and tell him so. We know the worst.

BASTARD.

Whate'er you think, good words, I think, were best.

Whatever you think, I think that good words are the best.

SALISBURY.

Our griefs, and not our manners, reason now.

We are being guided by our sorrows, not our manners.

BASTARD.

But there is little reason in your grief;

Therefore 'twere reason you had manners now.

But there is no reason for your sorrow;

therefore you should be showing some manners now.

PEMBROKE.

Sir, sir, impatience hath his privilege.

Sir, allowances can be made for anger.

BASTARD.

'Tis true-to hurt his master, no man else.

That's true–allowing it to hurt his master, and no one else.

SALISBURY.

This is the prison. What is he lies here?