The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (335 page)

Holy seems the quarrel

Upon your grace's part; black and fearful

On the opposer.

Your grace's reasons seem

justified; your enemy's seem

to be totally wrong.

DUKE

Therefore we marvel much our cousin France

Would in so just a business shut his bosom

Against our borrowing prayers.

That's why I'm so amazed that my French cousin

would close his ears, given how right we are,

to our pleas for help.

Second Lord

Good my lord,

The reasons of our state I cannot yield,

But like a common and an outward man,

That the great figure of a council frames

By self-unable motion: therefore dare not

Say what I think of it, since I have found

Myself in my incertain grounds to fail

As often as I guess'd.

My good lord,

I cannot argue against my country's policy,

I am just like an ordinary man,

and I am bound to follow the great decisions

of the Council: so I do not dare

to say what I think of it, because

my opinions are often wrong.

DUKE

Be it his pleasure.

He must do what he thinks best.

First Lord

But I am sure the younger of our nature,

That surfeit on their ease, will day by day

Come here for physic.

But I am sure that our younger men,

who become ill from too much leisure, will daily

come here for a cure.

DUKE

Welcome shall they be;

And all the honours that can fly from us

Shall on them settle. You know your places well;

When better fall, for your avails they fell:

To-morrow to the field.

They shall be welcome;

and all the honours I have to give

will be theirs. You know your places;

when better men fall, they fell to make room for you:

tomorrow we go to the battlefield.

Flourish. Exeunt

Enter COUNTESS and Clown

COUNTESS

It hath happened all as I would have had it, save

that he comes not along with her.

Everything has happened as I wanted, except

that he has not come with her.

Clown

By my troth, I take my young lord to be a very

melancholy man.

I swear, I think that my young lord is a very

unhappy man.

COUNTESS

By what observance, I pray you?

And what makes you say this, may I ask?

Clown

Why, he will look upon his boot and sing; mend the

ruff and sing; ask questions and sing; pick his

teeth and sing. I know a man that had this trick of

melancholy sold a goodly manor for a song.

Well, when he looks at his boot he sings; he mends

his ruff and sings; asks questions and sings; picks his

teeth and sings. I knew a man with this sort of

depression who sold a good estate for a song.

COUNTESS

Let me see what he writes, and when he means to come.

Opening a letter

Let me see what is written, and when he means to come here.

Clown

I have no mind to Isbel since I was at court: our

old ling and our Isbels o' the country are nothing

like your old ling and your Isbels o' the court:

the brains of my Cupid's knocked out, and I begin to

love, as an old man loves money, with no stomach.

I haven't thought of Isbel since I was at the court: our

old trouts and the Isbels of the country are nothing

compared to the old trouts and the Isbels at court:

my love has been murdered, and now I love

with no appetite, the way an old man loves money.

COUNTESS

What have we here?

What have we here?

Clown

E'en that you have there.

Exit

Whatever it is that you have there.

COUNTESS

[Reads] I have sent you a daughter-in-law: she hath

recovered the king, and undone me. I have wedded

her, not bedded her; and sworn to make the 'not'

eternal. You shall hear I am run away: know it

before the report come. If there be breadth enough

in the world, I will hold a long distance. My duty

to you. Your unfortunate son,

BERTRAM.

This is not well, rash and unbridled boy.

To fly the favours of so good a king;

To pluck his indignation on thy head

By the misprising of a maid too virtuous

For the contempt of empire.

Re-enter Clown

I have sent you a daughter-in-law; she has

saved the King, and ruined me. I have married her,

not slept with her, and I don't intend that I ever

should. You will hear that I have run away: this is

to let you know before you hear from someone else. If there is enough space

in the world I'll keep my distance. My respects

to you. Your unlucky son,

Bertram.

This is not good, you foolish headstrong boy.

You should not upset such a good king;

you will bring his anger down upon you

for misusing such a good girl

and for defying his authority.

Clown

O madam, yonder is heavy news within between two

soldiers and my young lady!

Oh madam, there is bad news in there, brought by

two soldiers and my young lady!

COUNTESS

What is the matter?

What's the matter?

Clown

Nay, there is some comfort in the news, some

comfort; your son will not be killed so soon as I

thought he would.

Well, there is some good news, some

comfort; your son will not be killed as quickly

as I thought he would be.

COUNTESS

Why should he be killed?

Why would he be killed?

Clown

So say I, madam, if he run away, as I hear he does:

the danger is in standing to't; that's the loss of

men, though it be the getting of children. Here

they come will tell you more: for my part, I only

hear your son was run away.

I say the same, madam, if he runs away, as I hear he has:

the danger is in standing up; that's what brings

men down, though it's how children are made. Here

come the ones who can tell you more: as for me,

all I hear is that your son has run away.

Exit

Enter HELENA, and two Gentlemen

First Gentleman

Save you, good madam.

Blessings on you, good lady.

HELENA

Madam, my lord is gone, for ever gone.

Madam, my lord is gone, gone forever.

Second Gentleman

Do not say so.

Don't say so.

COUNTESS

Think upon patience. Pray you, gentlemen,

I have felt so many quirks of joy and grief,

That the first face of neither, on the start,

Can woman me unto't: where is my son, I pray you?

Be patient. Please gentlemen,

I have felt so many twists of joy and grief,

that I do not know which one

to believe: please tell me, where is my son?

Second Gentleman

Madam, he's gone to serve the duke of Florence:

We met him thitherward; for thence we came,

And, after some dispatch in hand at court,

Thither we bend again.

Madam, he's gone to serve the Duke of Florence:

we met him on his way there; for that's where we came from,

and, after delivering our messages at the court

we're going back there.

HELENA

Look on his letter, madam; here's my passport.

Reads

When thou canst get the ring upon my finger which

never shall come off, and show me a child begotten

of thy body that I am father to, then call me

husband: but in such a 'then' I write a 'never.'

This is a dreadful sentence.

Look at his letter, madam; this is my dismissal.

(reads)

When you can put a ring on my finger which

I can't take off, and show me a child from

your womb that I am the father of, then you can call me

husband: but I tell you such a thing will never happen.

This is terrible sentence.

COUNTESS

Brought you this letter, gentlemen?

Did you bring this letter, gentlemen?

First Gentleman

Ay, madam;

And for the contents' sake are sorry for our pain.

Yes, madam;

and now we hear it we're sorry we did.

COUNTESS

I prithee, lady, have a better cheer;

If thou engrossest all the griefs are thine,

Thou robb'st me of a moiety: he was my son;

But I do wash his name out of my blood,

And thou art all my child. Towards Florence is he?

 Please, lady, be more cheerful;

if you take all the grief for yourself,

you will rob me of my share: he was my son;

but I disown him

and you are my only child. He's going to Florence is he?

Second Gentleman

Ay, madam.

Yes, madam.

COUNTESS

And to be a soldier?

To be a soldier?

Second Gentleman

Such is his noble purpose; and believe 't,

The duke will lay upon him all the honour

That good convenience claims.

That is his noble purpose; and I assure you