The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (38 page)

Is not Gaunt dead? and doth not Hereford live?

Was not Gaunt just? and is not Harry true?

Did not the one deserve to have an heir?

Is not his heir a well-deserving son?

Take Hereford's rights away, and take from Time

His charters and his customary rights;

Let not to-morrow then ensue to-day;

Be not thyself-for how art thou a king

But by fair sequence and succession?

Now, afore God-God forbid I say true!-

If you do wrongfully seize Hereford's rights,

Call in the letters patents that he hath

By his attorneys-general to sue

His livery, and deny his off'red homage,

You pluck a thousand dangers on your head,

You lose a thousand well-disposed hearts,

And prick my tender patience to those thoughts

Which honour and allegiance cannot think.

Oh my lord,

please excuse me; if not, I'm pleased

not to be excused, I'll be happy whatever.

Do you want to grab into your hands

the property and titles of exiled Hereford?

Isn't Gaunt dead? And isn't Hereford alive?

Wasn't Gaunt fair? Isn't Harry good?

Didn't the one deserve to have an heir?

Isn't his heir a son who deserved his inheritance?

Take Hereford's rights away, and remove

all thethings he is due by custom from history;

then don't let tomorrow follow on from today:

don't be who you are. For how are you a king

except by the fair rules of inheritance?

Now before God–may God forbid this happens!–

If you wrongly seize Hereford's rights,

revoke the legal permission that he has

to claim his father's lands

and reject his offers of loyalty,

you are calling down a thousand dangers on your head,

you will lose a thousand well disposed hearts,

and you will make my sensitive mind think

things which honour and loyalty should not.

KING RICHARD.

Think what you will, we seize into our hands

His plate, his goods, his money, and his lands.

Think what you like, I am taking

his plate, his goods, his money and his lands.

YORK.

I'll not be by the while. My liege, farewell.

What will ensue hereof there's none can tell;

But by bad courses may be understood

That their events can never fall out good.

I won't stand by and watch. My lord, farewell.

Nobody can tell what will come of this;

but we can clearly see that bad behaviour

never leads to a good outcome.

Exit

KING RICHARD.

Go, Bushy, to the Earl of Wiltshire straight;

Bid him repair to us to Ely House

To see this business. To-morrow next

We will for Ireland; and 'tis time, I trow.

And we create, in absence of ourself,

Our Uncle York Lord Governor of England;

For he is just, and always lov'd us well.

Come on, our queen; to-morrow must we part;

Be merry, for our time of stay is short.

Bushy, go straight to the Earl of Wiltshire;

tell him to come to us at Ely House

to see to this business. Tomorrow

I shall go to Ireland, I think it's time.

In my absence I appoint

my uncle York Lord Governor of England;

he is fair, and has always been good to me.

Come on, my queen; tomorrow we must part;

let's be jolly, for we don't have long.

Flourish. Exeunt KING, QUEEN, BUSHY, AUMERLE,

GREEN, and BAGOT

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Well, lords, the Duke of Lancaster is dead.

Well, lords, the Duke of Lancaster is dead.

ROSS.

And living too; for now his son is Duke.

And living too; for his son is now Duke.

WILLOUGHBY.

Barely in title, not in revenues.

Hardly in name, not in income.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Richly in both, if justice had her right.

If there was any justice he would be rich in both.

ROSS.

My heart is great; but it must break with silence,

Ere't be disburdened with a liberal tongue.

My heart is full; but it must remain silent,

in case, speaking, it would say too much.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Nay, speak thy mind; and let him ne'er speak

more

That speaks thy words again to do thee harm!

No, say what you're thinking; don't let anyone

repeat your words to do you harm!

WILLOUGHBY.

Tends that thou wouldst speak to the Duke of

Hereford?

If it be so, out with it boldly, man;

Quick is mine ear to hear of good towards him.

Do you have something to say about the Duke of Hereford?

If that's the case, spit it out, man;

I'm eager to hear good things about him.

ROSS.

No good at all that I can do for him;

Unless you call it good to pity him,

Bereft and gelded of his patrimony.

I can't do any good for him;

unless you think it's good to pity him,

stripped of all his inheritance.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Now, afore God, 'tis shame such wrongs are

borne

In him, a royal prince, and many moe

Of noble blood in this declining land.

The King is not himself, but basely led

By flatterers; and what they will inform,

Merely in hate, 'gainst any of us all,

That will the King severely prosecute

'Gainst us, our lives, our children, and our heirs.

Now, I swear to God, it's shameful that such wrongs are suffered

by him, a royal prince, and many others

of his noble blood in this declining country.

The King is not himself, he is led astray

by flatterers; and what they will say to him

out of pure hate, against any of us,

will make the King launch harsh attacks

against us, our lives, our children and our heirs.

ROSS.

The commons hath he pill'd with grievous taxes;

And quite lost their hearts; the nobles hath he find

For ancient quarrels and quite lost their hearts.

He has piled exorbitant taxes on the common people;

he has completely lost their hearts; he has fined the

noblemen for ancient quarrels and lost them too.

WILLOUGHBY.

And daily new exactions are devis'd,

As blanks, benevolences, and I wot not what;

But what, a God's name, doth become of this?

And every day new taxes are invented,

blank cheques, forced loans, I don't know what else;

what in God's name will all this lead to?

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Wars hath not wasted it, for warr'd he hath

not,

But basely yielded upon compromise

That which his noble ancestors achiev'd with blows.

More hath he spent in peace than they in wars.

It hasn't gone on wars, for he hasn't been to war,

he has cravenly won through negotiation

what his ancestors achieved with force.

He has spent more on peace than they did on war.

ROSS.

The Earl of Wiltshire hath the realm in farm.

The Earl of Wiltshire is farming the country.

WILLOUGHBY.

The King's grown bankrupt like a broken man.

The King has gone bankrupt like a ruined man.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Reproach and dissolution hangeth over him.

Criticism and disillusionment hang over him.

ROSS.

He hath not money for these Irish wars,

His burdenous taxations notwithstanding,

But by the robbing of the banish'd Duke.

He can't afford these Irish wars,

despite his excessive taxation,

except by robbing the exiled Duke.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

His noble kinsman-most degenerate king!

But, lords, we hear this fearful tempest sing,

Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm;

We see the wind sit sore upon our sails,

And yet we strike not, but securely perish.

His noble relative–what a degenerate king!

But, lords, we hear this terrible storm blowing,

and yet we don't try to find shelter;

we see the wind about to tear down our sails,

and yet we don't take them down, we die through our arrogance.

ROSS.

We see the very wreck that we must suffer;

And unavoided is the danger now

For suffering so the causes of our wreck.

We can see exactly the calamity coming to us;

and the danger is now unavoidable,

the crash is inevitable.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Not so; even through the hollow eyes of death

I spy life peering; but I dare not say

How near the tidings of our comfort is.

It is not, where there's life

there's still hope; but I can't say

how close our rescue is.

WILLOUGHBY.

Nay, let us share thy thoughts as thou dost ours.

No, let us share your thoughts as you share ours.

ROSS.

Be confident to speak, Northumberland.

We three are but thyself, and, speaking so,

Thy words are but as thoughts; therefore be bold.

Speak with confidence, Northumberland.

We three are just like you, and so speaking to us

is just like thinking; so speak out.

NORTHUMBERLAND.

Then thus: I have from Le Port Blanc, a bay

In Brittany, receiv'd intelligence

That Harry Duke of Hereford, Rainold Lord Cobham,

That late broke from the Duke of Exeter,

His brother, Archbishop late of Canterbury,

Sir Thomas Erpingham, Sir John Ramston,

Sir John Norbery, Sir Robert Waterton, and Francis Quoint-

All these, well furnish'd by the Duke of Britaine,

With eight tall ships, three thousand men of war,

Are making hither with all due expedience,

And shortly mean to touch our northern shore.

Perhaps they had ere this, but that they stay

The first departing of the King for Ireland.

If then we shall shake off our slavish yoke,

Imp out our drooping country's broken wing,

Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown,

Wipe off the dust that hides our sceptre's gilt,

And make high majesty look like itself,

Away with me in post to Ravenspurgh;

But if you faint, as fearing to do so,

Stay and be secret, and myself will go.

Then this is it: I have received from Port le Blanc,