The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (349 page)

All is whole;

Not one word more of the consumed time.

Let's take the instant by the forward top;

For we are old, and on our quick'st decrees

The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time

Steals ere we can effect them. You remember

The daughter of this lord?

The matter is finished;

we will not waste another moment on it.

Let's seize the moment with both hands;

I am old, and my most urgent orders

can be snatched away by the silent

passage of time before be can be enacted. You remember

the daughter of this lord?

BERTRAM

Admiringly, my liege, at first

I stuck my choice upon her, ere my heart

Durst make too bold a herald of my tongue

Where the impression of mine eye infixing,

Contempt his scornful perspective did lend me,

Which warp'd the line of every other favour;

Scorn'd a fair colour, or express'd it stolen;

Extended or contracted all proportions

To a most hideous object: thence it came

That she whom all men praised and whom myself,

Since I have lost, have loved, was in mine eye

The dust that did offend it.

With admiration, my lord, she was

my first choice, before my heart

made my tongue speak out too rashly

and I began to be full

of contempt which spread to everything;

it rejected a fair appearance, or thought it was faked;

it warped everything and made it look hideous:

and so it happened with she whom all men praised;

since I have lost her I have loved her -

previously my sight was affected by the dust of my stupidity.

KING

Well excused:

That thou didst love her, strikes some scores away

From the great compt: but love that comes too late,

Like a remorseful pardon slowly carried,

To the great sender turns a sour offence,

Crying, 'That's good that's gone.' Our rash faults

Make trivial price of serious things we have,

Not knowing them until we know their grave:

Oft our displeasures, to ourselves unjust,

Destroy our friends and after weep their dust;

Our own love waking cries to see what's done,

While shame full late sleeps out the afternoon.

Be this sweet Helen's knell, and now forget her.

Send forth your amorous token for fair Maudlin:

The main consents are had; and here we'll stay

To see our widower's second marriage-day.

This is well explained:

the fact that you loved her removes some black marks

against your name: but love that comes too late,

like a remorseful apology delivered slowly,

causes great offence to the Almighty,

who cries, ‘That is good that has been wasted.’ Our stupidity

makes us undervalue the best things we have,

and we don't know their value until they are in their graves:

we often let our unfair temper

ruin our friendships and then we weep when they're dead;

we let love sleep while hate does its work, when she wakes she cries to see what's happened,

while to our shame hatred can sleep soundly.

Let this be the funeral bell for sweet Helen, and now forget her.

Send out your love token to fair Maudlin:

all the main characters have given consent; and will stay here

to see our widower's second wedding day.

COUNTESS

Which better than the first, O dear heaven, bless!

Or, ere they meet, in me, O nature, cesse!

Which please, dear heaven, made better than the first!

Or before they meet let me die!

LAFEU

Come on, my son, in whom my house's name

Must be digested, give a favour from you

To sparkle in the spirits of my daughter,

That she may quickly come.

BERTRAM gives a ring

By my old beard,

And every hair that's on't, Helen, that's dead,

Was a sweet creature: such a ring as this,

The last that e'er I took her at court,

I saw upon her finger.

Come on, my son, who is going to swallow up

my family name, give me a token

that will make my daughter's heart leap,

so that she will come quickly.

I swear by my old beard

and every hair in it, Helen, that sweet creature

who's dead, last time I ever saw her court

she had a ring like this on her finger.

BERTRAM

Hers it was not.

It was not hers.

KING

Now, pray you, let me see it; for mine eye,

While I was speaking, oft was fasten'd to't.

This ring was mine; and, when I gave it Helen,

I bade her, if her fortunes ever stood

Necessitied to help, that by this token

I would relieve her. Had you that craft, to reave

her

Of what should stead her most?

Now, please let me see it; while I was speaking

my eye was often drawn to it.

This ring belonged to me; and, when I gave it to Helen,

I told her, that if she ever

needed help, she should send me this as a signal

and I would assist her. Were you so cunning

that you could rob her

of the thing which could help her most?

BERTRAM

My gracious sovereign,

Howe'er it pleases you to take it so,

The ring was never hers.

My gracious king,

whatever you believe,

the ring never belonged to her.

COUNTESS

Son, on my life,

I have seen her wear it; and she reckon'd it

At her life's rate.

Son, I swear on my life,

that I have seen her wearing it; and she

valued it as high is life itself.

LAFEU

I am sure I saw her wear it.

I am sure I saw her wearing it.

BERTRAM

You are deceived, my lord; she never saw it:

In Florence was it from a casement thrown me,

Wrapp'd in a paper, which contain'd the name

Of her that threw it: noble she was, and thought

I stood engaged: but when I had subscribed

To mine own fortune and inform'd her fully

I could not answer in that course of honour

As she had made the overture, she ceased

In heavy satisfaction and would never

Receive the ring again.

You are mistaken, my lord; she never saw it:

it was thrown down from a top window in Florence to me,

wrapped in a piece of paper, on which was written the name

of the one who threw it: she was noble, and thought

I was engaged to her: but when I told her

what my position was and let her know

that I could not honourably return her affections

she sadly accepted what I said and would never

take the ring back.

KING

Plutus himself,

That knows the tinct and multiplying medicine,

Hath not in nature's mystery more science

Than I have in this ring: 'twas mine, 'twas Helen's,

Whoever gave it you. Then, if you know

That you are well acquainted with yourself,

Confess 'twas hers, and by what rough enforcement

You got it from her: she call'd the saints to surety

That she would never put it from her finger,

Unless she gave it to yourself in bed,

Where you have never come, or sent it us

Upon her great disaster.

The god of riches himself,

who knows how to turn base metal into gold

does not have a greater knowledge of nature's mysteries

than I have of this ring: it was mine, it was Helen's,

whoever gave it to you. So, if you know

what is good for you, youshould

admit that it was hers, and confess to whatever rough act

you committed to get it from her: she swore by the saints

that she would never take it off her finger

unless she gave it to you in bed,

which never happened, or sent it to me

when she was in great trouble.

BERTRAM

She never saw it.

She never saw it.

KING

Thou speak'st it falsely, as I love mine honour;

And makest conjectural fears to come into me

Which I would fain shut out. If it should prove

That thou art so inhuman,--'twill not prove so;--

And yet I know not: thou didst hate her deadly,

And she is dead; which nothing, but to close

Her eyes myself, could win me to believe,

More than to see this ring. Take him away.

Guards seize BERTRAM

My fore-past proofs, howe'er the matter fall,

Shall tax my fears of little vanity,

Having vainly fear'd too little. Away with him!

We'll sift this matter further.

You are lying, I swear by my honour;

you make me think of terrible things

which I would rather shut out. Ifit should turn out

that you are so inhuman–I hope it won't–

and yet, I don't know: you had a terrible hate for her,

and she is dead; and there is nothing apart from

having been there myself to see it which makes me believe that

more than seeing this ring. Take him away.

Whatever happens this shows that my previous suspicions

were not the product of imagination,

in fact I was not imaginative enough. Take him away!

We'll investigate this further.

BERTRAM

If you shall prove

This ring was ever hers, you shall as easy

Prove that I husbanded her bed in Florence,

Where yet she never was.

Exit, guarded

If you can prove

this ring ever belonged to her, you can just as easily

prove that I slept with her in Florence,

where she never went.

KING

I am wrapp'd in dismal thinkings.

I am consumed with terrible thoughts.

Enter a Gentleman

Gentleman

Gracious sovereign,

Whether I have been to blame or no, I know not:

Here's a petition from a Florentine,

Who hath for four or five removes come short

To tender it herself. I undertook it,

Vanquish'd thereto by the fair grace and speech

Of the poor suppliant, who by this I know

Is here attending: her business looks in her

With an importing visage; and she told me,

In a sweet verbal brief, it did concern

Your highness with herself.

Gracious king,

whether I have been at fault I do not know:

here's a petition from a Florentine,

who missed her chances at four or five