The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (151 page)

But this is mere digression from my purpose.

Here come I from our princely general

To know your griefs; to tell you from his grace

That he will give you audience; and wherein

It shall appear that your demands are just,

You shall enjoy them, everything set off

That might so much as think you enemies.

You speak, Lord Mowbray, of things you don't understand.

The Earl of Hereford was then thought of

as the most valiant gentleman in England:

who knows whom fortune would have favoured?

But if your father had won that joust

his victory wouldn't have lasted outside Coventry:

for the whole nation unanimously cried out

hatred against him; and all their prayers and love

were offered to Hereford, whom they loved

and blessed and honoured, more than the king.

But this is wandering from the point.

I have come here from our princely general

to hear your grievances; to tell you that his Grace

will listen to you; and if

you have justifiable demands

they will be granted, anything

that stops you behaving like enemies.

MOWBRAY.

But he hath forc'd us to compel this offer;

And it proceeds from policy, not love.

But he has been forced to make us this offer,

and it is motivated by politics, not love.

WESTMORELAND.

Mowbray, you overween to take it so;

This offer comes from mercy, not from fear:

For, lo! within a ken our army lies,

Upon mine honour, all too confident

To give admittance to a thought of fear.

Our battle is more full of names than yours,

Our men more perfect in the use of arms,

Our armour all as strong, our cause the best;

Then reason will our hearts should be as good:

Say you not then our offer is compell'd.

Mowbray, you interpret that arrogantly;

this offer comes from mercy, not from fear:

look! Our army is within earshot,

and I can swear that we are so confident

that we don't even think of fear.

We have more noble men on our side than yours,

our men are better trained in arms,

our armour is just as strong, our cause is better;

so logically our hearts are just as good.

Do not say that you have forced us to make this offer.

MOWBRAY.

Well, by my will we shall admit no parley.

Well, I say that we will have no negotiations.

WESTMORELAND.

That argues but the shame of your offence:

A rotten case abides no handling.

All that indicates is how shameful your crimes are:

a weak case cannot tolerate examination.

HASTINGS.

Hath the Prince John a full commission,

In very ample virtue of his father,

To hear and absolutely to determine

Of what conditions we shall stand upon?

Has Prince John got proper orders,

with the full authority of his father,

to listen and make the final decision

about the conditions we insist upon?

WESTMORELAND.

That is intended in the general's name:

I muse you make so slight a question.

That's what the title of general means:

I'm surprised that you even have to ask.

ARCHBISHOP.

Then take, my Lord of Westmoreland, this schedule,

For this contains our general grievances:

Each several article herein redress'd,

All members of our cause, both here and hence,

That are insinew'd to this action,

Acquitted by a true substantial form

And present execution of our wills

To us and to our purposes confined,

We come within our awful banks again

And knit our powers to the arm of peace.

Then, my Lord Westmorland, take this list,

for it contains our general grievances:

if each matter on the list is addressed,

if all the members of our party, both here and elsewhere,

who have committed to this action,

are given full and guaranteed pardons

and prompt satisfaction for all our demands

we will retreat to our proper boundaries,

only interfere in our own affairs,

and we will support the cause of peace.

WESTMORELAND.

This will I show the general. Please you, lords,

In sight of both our battles we may meet;

And either end in peace, which God so frame!

Or to the place of difference call the swords

Which must decide it.

I will show this to the general. If you please, Lords,

we shall meet in sight of both of our armies;

we shall either end in peace, which please God grant!

Or we shall summon together these swords

which must decide our differences.

ARCHBISHOP.

My lord, we will do so.

My Lord, we will do so.

[Exit Westmoreland.]

MOWBRAY.

There is a thing within my bosom tells me

That no conditions of our peace can stand.

The feeling within my heart tells me

that they cannot uphold the conditions of our peace.

HASTINGS.

Fear you not that: if we can make our peace

Upon such large terms and so absolute

As our conditions shall consist upon,

Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.

Don't worry about that: if we make peace

on such generous terms and so watertight

as our demands insist on

our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.

MOWBRAY.

Yea, but our valuation shall be such

That every slight and false-derived cause,

Yea, every idle, nice and wanton reason

Shall to the king taste of this action;

That, were our royal faiths martyrs in love,

We shall be winnow'd with so rough a wind

That even our corn shall seem as light as chaff

And good from bad find no partition.

Yes, but the value placed on us will be such

that every insignificant or false cause,

every useless and greedy reason,

will make the King think of us;

so if we were to die for the King

we would still be attacked so roughly

that the wheat will not be distinguished from the chaff

and the good will not be separated from the bad.

ARCHBISHOP.

No, no, my lord. Note this; the king is weary

Of dainty and such picking grievances:

For he hath found to end one doubt by death

Revives two greater in the heirs of life,

And therefore will he wipe his tables clean

And keep no tell-tale to his memory

That may repeat and history his loss

To new remembrance; for full well he knows

He cannot so precisely weed this land

As his misdoubts present occasion:

His foes are so enrooted with his friends

That, plucking to unfix an enemy,

He doth unfasten so and shake a friend:

So that this land, like an offensive wife

That hath enraged him on to offer strokes,

As he is striking, holds his infant up

And hangs resolved correction in the arm

That was uprear'd to execution.

No, no, my lord. Think about this; the King is tired

of entertaining these fussy suspicions:

for he has discovered that killing one source of fear

will create two more amongst their heirs,

and so he will wipe the slate clean

and banish anything from his memory

that can bring the story of his loss

back to mind; for he knows full well

he can't completely clear the land of everything

which gives cause for suspicion:

his enemies and friends are so entwined

that, trying to uproot an enemy,

he uproots and harms a friend.

So this land is like an offensive wife,

who has angered him to the point of violence,

and that, as he is striking, holds up his child,

and thereby stops the arm

that was drawn back to give out punishment.

HASTINGS.

Besides, the king hath wasted all his rods

On late offenders, that he now doth lack

The very instruments of chastisement:

So that his power, like to a fangless lion,

May offer, but not hold.

Besides, the King has used up all his forces

on punishing previous offenders, so that he now lacks

the power he needs for punishment:

so his power is like a toothless lion,

which can threaten but cannot act.

ARCHBISHOP.

'Tis very true:

And therefore be assured, my good lord marshal,

If we do now make our atonement well,

Our peace will, like a broken limb united,

Grow stronger for the breaking.

It's very true:

and so rest assured, my good lord marshal,

that if we now make a good reconciliation

the peace will be like a broken limb reset,

stronger because it was broken.

MOWBRAY.

Be it so.

Here is return'd my Lord of Westmoreland.

May it be so.

My Lord of Westmorland has come back.

[Re-enter Westmoreland.]

WESTMORELAND.

The prince is here at hand:  pleaseth your lordship

To meet his grace just distance 'tween our armies.

The prince is nearby: would your lordship please come

to meet his grace in between our armies.

MOWBRAY.

Your grace of York, in God's name then, set forward.

Your grace of York then, go forward in the name of God.

ARCHBISHOP.

Before, and greet his grace:  my lord, we come.

Go on, and greet his grace: my Lord, we are coming.

[Exeunt.]

[Enter, from one side, Mowbray, attended; afterwards, the