The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (400 page)

victory is to conquer men. Goodbye, valour! Collect rust, sword!
be still, drum! for your manager is in love; yea,

be still, war drum! Because your owner is in love; truly
he loveth. Assist me, some extemporal god of rhyme,

he loves. If there’s some god of impromptu poetry, help me,
for I am sure I shall turn sonnet. Devise, wit;

I’m sure I will be writing a sonnet. Think, wits;
write, pen; for I am for whole volumes in folio.

Write, pen; I’m ready to write whole volumes of pages.
Exit

Enter the PRINCESS of France, ROSALINE, MARIA, KATHARINE, BOYET, Lords, and other Attendants 

BOYET Now, madam, summon up your dearest spirits:

Now, madam, summon up your most affectionate mood:
Consider who the king your father sends,

Think about who the king, your father is sending,
To whom he sends, and what's his embassy:

Who he sends, and what’s his mission:
Yourself, held precious in the world's esteem,

You yourself, held precious and well-regarded by the world,
To parley with the sole inheritor

To negotiate with the sole inheritor
Of all perfections that a man may owe,

Of all perfections that a man can own,

Matchless Navarre; the plea of no less weight

Navarre, there is nothing like it; and the plea has no less weight
Than Aquitaine, a dowry for a queen.

Thank Aquitaine, a dowry for a queen.
Be now as prodigal of all dear grace

Be as lavish with affection and grace
As Nature was in making graces dear

As Nature was in making graces dear
When she did starve the general world beside

When she starved the whole world of them
And prodigally gave them all to you.

And lavishly gave them all to you.
PRINCESS Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean,

My good Lord Boyet, though I have very little beauty,
Needs not the painted flourish of your praise:

You don’t need to paint it with the flourish of your praise:
Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye,

Beauty is bought by the judgement of others’ eyes,
Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues:

Not by the cheap selling of a peddler’s tongue:
I am less proud to hear you tell my worth

I am less proud to hear you talk about my worth
Than you much willing to be counted wise

Than you are proud to be called wise
In spending your wit in the praise of mine.

For spending your wit in the praise of mine.
But now to task the tasker: good Boyet,

But now to give the dutiful a duty: good Boyet,
You are not ignorant, all-telling fame

You are not ignorant, fame which tells all
Doth noise abroad, Navarre hath made a vow,

Has been making noise abroad, I have heard that Navarre has made a vow,
Till painful study shall outwear three years,

To painfully study for three years,
No woman may approach his silent court:

And until then no woman can approach his silent court:
Therefore to's seemeth it a needful course,

So it seems that what we need to do,
Before we enter his forbidden gates,
Before we enter his forbidden gates,

To know his pleasure; and in that behalf,

To know what he wants us to do: and for that purpose,

Bold of your worthiness, we single you

Assured of your worthiness, we have singled you out
As our best-moving fair solicitor.

To be the most moving solicitor to our cause.
Tell him, the daughter of the King of France,

Tell him, the daughter of the King of France,
On serious business, craving quick dispatch,

On serious business, craves a quick word,
Importunes personal conference with his grace:

Begs a personal conference with his grace:
Haste, signify so much; while we attend,

Go quickly, tell him this; while we await,
Like humble-visaged suitors, his high will.

Like humble-faced suitors, his high will.
BOYET Proud of employment, willingly I go.

Proud to have been chosen, I go willingly.
PRINCESS All pride is willing pride, and yours is so.

All pride is willing and eager, and yours is too.
Exit BOYETWho are the votaries, my loving lords,

Who are the avowed, my loving lords,
That are vow-fellows with this virtuous duke?

Who are the men who also took oaths with this virtuous duke?
First Lord Lord Longaville is one.

One of them is Lord Longaville.
PRINCESS Know you the man?

Do you know him?
MARIA I know him, madam: at a marriage-feast,

I know him, madam: at a wedding
Between Lord Perigort and the beauteous heir

Between Lord Perigort and the beautiful heir
Of Jaques Falconbridge, solemnized

Of Jaques Falconbridge, officiated

In Normandy, saw I this Longaville:

In Normandy, I saw this Longaville:
A man of sovereign parts he is esteem'd;

A man of royal parts he is well-respected:
Well fitted in arts, glorious in arms:

Skilled at the arts, glorious in combat:
Nothing becomes him ill that he would well.

Nothing makes him look bad if he doesn’t want it to.
The only soil of his fair virtue's gloss,

The only stain on his honest virtue’s gloss
If virtue's gloss will stain with any soil,

If virtue’s gloss can be stained,
Is a sharp wit matched with too blunt a will;

Is that his sharp wit is matched with self-control that is too blunt;
Whose edge hath power to cut, whose will still wills

The edge of which can still cut, if he wills,
It should none spare that come within his power.

It will spare no one that comes within his power.
PRINCESS Some merry mocking lord, belike; is't so?

He sounds like a cheerful, mocking sort of lord; is that right?

MARIA They say so most that most his humours know.

The people that know him most say so.
PRINCESS Such short-lived wits do wither as they grow.

Short-lived wits like that wither as they grow.
Who are the rest?

Who are the rest?
KATHARINE The young Dumain, a well-accomplished youth,

The young Dumain, a well-accomplished young man.
Of all that virtue love for virtue loved:

He is everything that the virtuous love:
Most power to do most harm, least knowing ill;

He has the most power to do the most harm, least knowing wrong;
For he hath wit to make an ill shape good,

For he has wit to make something bad seem good,
And shape to win grace though he had no wit.

And has the form to win grace if he has no wit.

I saw him at the Duke Alencon's once;

I saw him at the Duke Alencon’s once;
And much too little of that good I saw

And I saw much too little of that good
Is my report to his great worthiness.

That is my report on his great worthiness.

ROSALINE Another of these students at that time

Another of these students at the same time
Was there with him, if I have heard a truth.

Was there with him, if I have heard true.
Biron they call him; but a merrier man,

Biron, they call him; but a more cheerful man,
Within the limit of becoming mirth,

Withing the limit of becoming laughter,
I never spent an hour's talk withal:

I never spent an hour’s talk with in my whole life:
His eye begets occasion for his wit;

His eye brings about the cause for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch

For every object that the eye catches
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest,

His wit turns into a laughter-inducing joke,
Which his fair tongue, conceit's expositor,

Which his fine tongue, which is like a commentator of fanciful expressions,
Delivers in such apt and gracious words

Delivers with such apt and gracious words
That aged ears play truant at his tales

That older ears cannot keep up with his tales
And younger hearings are quite ravished;

And younger listeners are completely carried away by
;So sweet and voluble is his discourse.

So sweet and talkative is his conversation.
PRINCESS God bless my ladies! are they all in love,

God bless my ladies! Are they all in love,
That every one her own hath garnished

So that every one has decorated her own
With such bedecking ornaments of praise?

With such ornaments and compliments of praise?

First Lord Here comes Boyet.

Here comes Boyet.
Re-enter BOYETPRINCESS Now, what admittance, lord?

Are we to be admitted, lord?
BOYET Navarre had notice of your fair approach;

Navarre was notified of your approach;
And he and his competitors in oath

And he and the others who took oaths together
Were all address'd to meet you, gentle lady,

Were all addressed to meet you, gentle lady,
Before I came. Marry, thus much I have learnt:

Before I came. This is as much as I have learned:
He rather means to lodge you in the field,

It seems he means to let you stay in the field,
Like one that comes here to besiege his court,

Like someone who comes here to take over his court,
Than seek a dispensation for his oath,

Than to make an exception for his oath,
To let you enter his unpeopled house.

So that he can let you enter his empty house.
Here comes Navarre.

Here comes Navarre.
Enter FERDINAND, LONGAVILLE, DUMAIN, BIRON, and AttendantsFERDINAND Fair princess, welcome to the court of Navarre.

Fair princess, welcome to the court of Navarre.
PRINCESS 'Fair' I give you back again; and 'welcome' I have

You can take back ‘fair’: and as for ‘welcome’ I have
not yet: the roof of this court is too high to be