The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (240 page)

Make thee beg pardon for thy passed speech

And say it was thy mother that thou meant'st,

That thou thyself was born in bastardy;

And after all this fearful homage done,

Give thee thy hire and send thy soul to hell,

Pernicious blood-sucker of sleeping men!

If it wasn't for the fact that you are guilty of murder,

and I would be robbing the executioner of his fee,

and letting you escape ten thousand shames
,

and that I must behave in the presence of my sovereign,

I would, false murdering coward, make you

beg for my pardon on your knees for what you've said,

and make you admit that you were talking about your own mother,

that you were born a bastard yourself;

and after you had done all this,

I'd give you your deserts and send your soul to hell,

you evil bloodsucker of sleeping men!

SUFFOLK.

Thou shalt be waking while I shed thy blood,

If from this presence thou dar'st go with me.

You'll still be awake when I take your blood,

if you dare to step outside with me.

WARWICK.

Away even now, or I will drag thee hence.

Unworthy though thou art, I'll cope with thee

And do some service to Duke Humphrey's ghost.

Let's go now, or I'll drag you out.

Although you're not worthy, I'll deal with you

to do some kindness to Duke Humphrey's ghost.

[Exeunt Suffolk and Warwick.]

KING.

What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted!

Thrice is he arm'd that hath his quarrel just,

And he but naked, though lock'd up in steel,

Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.

What stronger armour is there than an unstained heart!

He whose quarrel is just is thrice armed,

and a man whose conscience is troubled by injustice

is always naked, even if he's wearing steel armour.

[A noise within.]

QUEEN.

What noise is this?

What's this noise?

[Re-enter Suffolk and Warwick, with their weapons drawn.]

KING.

Why, how now, lords! your wrathful weapons drawn

Here in our presence! dare you be so bold?

Why, what tumultuous clamour have we here?

Why, what's this, lords! You've drawn your angry weapons

in my presence! How can you be so bold?

Why, what is all this terrible racket?

SUFFOLK.

The traitorous Warwick with the men of Bury

Set all upon me, mighty sovereign.

The traitorous Warwick and the men of Bury

all attacked me, great sovereign.

SALISBURY.

[To the Commons, entering.] Sirs, stand apart;

the king shall know your mind.--

Dread lord, the commons send you word by me,

Unless false Suffolk straight be done to death,

Or banished fair England's territories,

They will by violence tear him from your palace

And torture him with grievous lingering death.

They say, by him the good Duke Humphrey died;

They say, in him they fear your highness' death;

And mere instinct of love and loyalty,

Free from a stubborn opposite intent,

As being thought to contradict your liking,

Makes them thus forward in his banishment.

They say, in care of your most royal person,

That if your highness should intend to sleep

And charge that no man should disturb your rest

In pain of your dislike or pain of death,

Yet, notwithstanding such a strait edict,

Were there a serpent seen, with forked tongue,

That slily glided towards your majesty,

It were but necessary you were wak'd,

Lest, being suffer'd in that harmful slumber,

The mortal worm might make the sleep eternal;

And therefore do they cry, though you forbid,

That they will guard you, whether you will or no,

From such fell serpents as false Suffolk is,

With whose envenomed and fatal sting,

Your loving uncle, twenty times his worth,

They say, is shamefully bereft of life.

Gentlemen, stand over there;

I shall tell the king what you want.

Great Lord, the common people send you word through me,

that unless false Suffolk is executed at once,

or exiled from the fair country of England,

they will drag him out of your palace by force

and torture him to a horrible slow death.

They say that he killed good Duke Humphrey;

they say that they fear he will kill your Highness;

and it is their feelings of love and loyalty,

without in any way being against you,

which makes them request that you exile him.

They say, out of care for your most royal person,

that if your Highness said he was going to sleep

and ordered that no man should disturb your rest

on pain of your displeasure or of death,

even if you had given such strict orders,

if the snake was seen, with a forked tongue,

slyly gliding towards your Majesty,

it would be necessary for you to be woken,

in case, being allowed to continue your harmful sleep,

the evil serpent might make your sleep eternal;

and so they shout that even if you forbid them,

they will guard you, whether you want it or not,

from such evil serpents as false Suffolk,

who they say has taken the life of your

loving uncle, who was worth twenty of him,

with his poisonous fatal sting.

COMMONS.

[Within.] An answer from the king, my Lord of Salisbury!

My Lord Salisbury, we want an answer from the King!

SUFFOLK.

'T is like the commons, rude unpolish'd hinds,

Could send such message to their sovereign;

But you, my lord, were glad to be employ'd,

To show how quaint an orator you are.

But all the honour Salisbury hath won

Is that he was the lord ambassador

Sent from a sort of tinkers to the king.

It is like the common people, coarse vulgar animals,

to send a message like that to their sovereign;

but you, my lord, were happy to be used by them,

to show what a great orator you are.

But all the honour Salisbury has won

from this is to say that he was the Lord Ambassador

sent from a set of tramps to the King.

COMMONS.

[Within.] An answer from the king, or we will all break in!

Give us an answer from the King, or we shall break in!

KING.

Go, Salisbury, and tell them all from me,

I thank them for their tender loving care,

And had I not been cited so by them,

Yet did I purpose as they do entreat,

For, sure, my thoughts do hourly prophesy

Mischance unto my state by Suffolk's means;

And therefore, by His majesty I swear,

Whose far unworthy deputy I am,

He shall not breathe infection in this air

But three days longer, on the pain of death.

Go, Salisbury, and tell them all from me

that I thank them for their tender loving care,

and had they not encouraged me to do so,

I still was going to do as they ask,

for I certainly now believe that

Suffolk has plans against me;

and therefore, I swear by God above,

whose greatly unworthy representative I am,

he shan't breathe his poison out into the air

of this country for more than three days, on pain of death.

[Exit Salisbury.]

QUEEN.

O Henry, let me plead for gentle Suffolk!

O Henry, let me plead for kind of Suffolk!

KING.

Ungentle queen, to call him gentle Suffolk!

No more, I say; if thou dost plead for him,

Thou wilt but add increase unto my wrath.

Had I but said, I would have kept my word,

But when I swear, it is irrevocable.--

If, after three days' space, thou here be'st found

On any ground that I am ruler of,

The world shall not be ransom for thy life.--

Come, Warwick, come, good Warwick, go with me;

I have great matters to impart to thee.

Unkind Queen, calling him kind Suffolk!

That's enough, I say; if you plead for him,

all you'll do is make me more angry.

If I'd only said it, I would have kept my word,

but when I swear, it cannot be taken back.

If, after three days from now, you are discovered

on any land that I am ruler of,

the whole world couldn't pay for you to escape execution.

Come, Warwick, come, good Warwick, come with me;

I have great business to discuss with you.

[Exeunt all but Queen and Suffolk.]

QUEEN.

Mischance and sorrow go along with you!

Heart's discontent and sour affliction

Be playfellows to keep you company!

There's two of you; the devil make a third!

And threefold vengeance tend upon your steps!

May bad luck and sorrow follow you!

May unhappiness and horrible illness

be your playmates to keep you company!

There are two of you; may the devil be the third!

And may a triple vengeance follow you!

SUFFOLK.

Cease, gentle queen, these execrations,

And let thy Suffolk take his heavy leave.

Stop these curses, my sweet Queen,

and let your Suffolk take his sorrowful leave.

QUEEN.

Fie, coward woman and soft-hearted wretch,

Has thou not spirit to curse thine enemy?

Why, you cowardly woman and softhearted wretch,

haven't you got enough spirit to curse your enemies?

SUFFOLK.

A plague upon them! wherefore should I curse them?

Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's groan,

I would invent as bitter-searching terms,

As curst, as harsh and horrible to hear,

Deliver'd strongly through my fixed teeth,

With full as many signs of deadly hate,

As lean-fac'd Envy in her loathsome cave.

My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words;

Mine eyes should sparkle like the beaten flint;

Mine hair be fix'd an end, as one distract;

Ay, every joint should seem to curse and ban;

And even now my burthen'd heart would break,

Should I not curse them. Poison be their drink!

Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste!

Their sweetest shade a grove of cypress-trees!

Their chiefest prospect murthering basilisks!

Their softest touch as smart as lizards' stings!

Their music frightful as the serpent's hiss,

And boding screech-owls make the consort full!

All the foul terrors in dark-seated hell--