The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (942 page)

may your devilish lies swamp your heart;

the lies have only glanced off me and hardly raised a bruise,

I shall cut them  a path into your heart with my sword,

where they will stay forever. Sound the trumpets!

ALBANY

Save him, save him!

Save him, save him!

GONERIL

This is practise, Gloucester:

By the law of arms thou wast not bound to answer

An unknown opposite; thou art not vanquish'd,

But cozen'd and beguiled.

This is treachery, Gloucester:

by the laws of knighthood you are never obliged to accept a challenge

from an unidentified opponent; you are not beaten,

 you have been misled and tricked.

ALBANY

Shut your mouth, dame,

Or with this paper shall I stop it: Hold, sir:

Thou worse than any name, read thine own evil:

No tearing, lady: I perceive you know it.

Gives the letter to EDMUND

Shut your mouth, woman,

or I'll gag you with this paper: wait, sir:

you, too bad to be named, read about your own evil:

don't go tearing it up, lady: I can see you know what is.

GONERIL

Say, if I do, the laws are mine, not thine:

Who can arraign me for't?

So what if I do, I make the law, not you:

who can charge me for it?

ALBANY

Most monstrous! oh!

Know'st thou this paper?

You monster! Oh!

Do you know about this letter?

GONERIL

Ask me not what I know.

Exit

Don't ask me what I know.

ALBANY

Go after her: she's desperate; govern her.

Go after: she's desperate, control her.

EDMUND

What you have charged me with, that have I done;

And more, much more; the time will bring it out:

'Tis past, and so am I. But what art thou

That hast this fortune on me? If thou'rt noble,

I do forgive thee.

What you have accused me of, I admit to;

that and much more; it will be revealed in time:

it's gone,  and so am I. But who are you

who has triumphed over me? If you are noble

I will forgive you.

EDGAR

Let's exchange charity.

I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmund;

If more, the more thou hast wrong'd me.

My name is Edgar, and thy father's son.

The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices

Make instruments to plague us:

The dark and vicious place where thee he got

Cost him his eyes.

If you forgive me I'll forgive you.

I am just as highborn as you, Edmund;

if more so, then you have wronged me even more.

My name is Edgar, and I am your father's son.

The gods are just, and they make tools to attack us

out of our enjoyable vices:

the dark and vicious act of conceiving you

cost him his eyes.

EDMUND

Thou hast spoken right, 'tis true;

The wheel is come full circle: I am here.

You tell it how it is, it's true;

the wheel has come full circle, and here I am.

ALBANY

Methought thy very gait did prophesy

A royal nobleness: I must embrace thee:

Let sorrow split my heart, if ever I

Did hate thee or thy father!

I thought even the way you walked proclaimed

a royal nobility: I must embrace you:

may sorrow split my heart, if I ever

hated you or your father!

EDGAR

Worthy prince, I know't.

Good prince, I know that's true.

ALBANY

Where have you hid yourself?

How have you known the miseries of your father?

Where have you been hiding?

How did you find out about your father's misery?

EDGAR

By nursing them, my lord. List a brief tale;

And when 'tis told, O, that my heart would burst!

The bloody proclamation to escape,

That follow'd me so near,--O, our lives' sweetness!

That we the pain of death would hourly die

Rather than die at once!--taught me to shift

Into a madman's rags; to assume a semblance

That very dogs disdain'd: and in this habit

Met I my father with his bleeding rings,

Their precious stones new lost: became his guide,

Led him, begg'd for him, saved him from despair;

Never,--O fault!--reveal'd myself unto him,

Until some half-hour past, when I was arm'd:

Not sure, though hoping, of this good success,

I ask'd his blessing, and from first to last

Told him my pilgrimage: but his flaw'd heart,

Alack, too weak the conflict to support!

'Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief,

Burst smilingly.

By caring for him, my lord. Listen to a brief tale;

and when I have told it I wish that my heart would burst!

To escape the death sentence

which was following me–oh, our lives are so sweet!

We would rather feel the pain of death every hour

rather than die at once!–I changed myself

into a madman's rags, taking on an appearance

that even dogs hated: dressed like this

I met my father with his bloody sockets,

the eyes just recently torn from them; I became his guide,

led him, begged for him, kept him from giving up;

I never–what a mistake!–told him who I was,

until half an hour ago, when I  had armed myself;

although I was hoping for this good result, I was not certain,

so I asked him for his blessing, and told him about my journey

from beginning to end: but his damaged heart

was too weak to cope with the conflict between

the two extremes of passion, joy and grief,

and it burst with happiness.

EDMUND

This speech of yours hath moved me,

And shall perchance do good: but speak you on;

You look as you had something more to say.

This speech of yours has moved me,

and some good may come of it: but go on,

you look as if you have something else to say.

ALBANY

If there be more, more woeful, hold it in;

For I am almost ready to dissolve,

Hearing of this.

If there is more that is more sad, keep it to yourself;

I am nearly ready to cry

hearing of this.

EDGAR

This would have seem'd a period

To such as love not sorrow; but another,

To amplify too much, would make much more,

And top extremity.

Whilst I was big in clamour came there in a man,

Who, having seen me in my worst estate,

Shunn'd my abhorr'd society; but then, finding

Who 'twas that so endured, with his strong arms

He fastened on my neck, and bellow'd out

As he'ld burst heaven; threw him on my father;

Told the most piteous tale of Lear and him

That ever ear received: which in recounting

His grief grew puissant and the strings of life

Began to crack: twice then the trumpets sounded,

And there I left him tranced.

This would have seemed to be the limit

of sorrow; but something else

far worse created more sorrow

and exceeded it.

While I was loudly mourning a man came in

who, having seen me at my lowest ebb,

rejected my hated society; but then, finding out

who it was who suffered like this, threw his strong arms

around my neck, and cried out as if

he could burst the sky; he threw himself on my father,

and told the saddest tale of him and Lear

that anyone ever heard: as he was telling it

his grief grew strong, and his heartstrings

began to crack: then the trumpets sounded twice,

and I left him there unconscious.

ALBANY

But who was this?

But who was this?

EDGAR

Kent, sir, the banish'd Kent; who in disguise

Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service

Improper for a slave.

Enter a Gentleman, with a bloody knife

Kent, sir, the exiled Kent; disguised

he followed his hostile king, and served him

in a way that would have been improper for a slave.

Gentleman

Help, help, O, help!

Help, help, O, help!

EDGAR

What kind of help?

What kind of help?

ALBANY

Speak, man.

Speak, man.

EDGAR

What means that bloody knife?

Will does that bloody knife signify?

Gentleman

'Tis hot, it smokes;

It came even from the heart of--O, she's dead!

It's hot, it smokes;

it came from the heart of–oh, she's dead!

ALBANY

Who dead? speak, man.

Who is dead? Speak, man.

Gentleman

Your lady, sir, your lady: and her sister

By her is poisoned; she hath confess'd it.

Your lady, sir, your lady: and she has poisoned

her sister; she has admitted to it.

EDMUND

I was contracted to them both: all three

Now marry in an instant.

I was engaged to them both:

now all three are married at once.

EDGAR

Here comes Kent.

Here comes Kent.

ALBANY

Produce their bodies, be they alive or dead:

This judgment of the heavens, that makes us tremble,

Touches us not with pity.

Exit Gentleman

Enter KENT

O, is this he?

The time will not allow the compliment

Which very manners urges.

Bring out their bodies, dead or alive;

this judgement of the gods makes me tremble,

but I have no pity for the victims.

Oh, is this him?

There's no time for the pleasantries

which manners demand.

KENT

I am come

To bid my king and master aye good night:

Is he not here?

I have come

to say goodbye to my King and master;

is he not here?

ALBANY

Great thing of us forgot!

Speak, Edmund, where's the king? and where's Cordelia?