The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (661 page)

My follower, you are welcome to follow an unworthy mistress.

PROTEUS

I'll die on him that says so but yourself.

I’ll die fighting whoever that, except for you, yourself.

SILVIA

That you are welcome?

Anyone who says that you’re welcome?

PROTEUS

That you are worthless.

Anyone who says that you are worthless.

Re-enter THURIO

THURIO

Madam, my lord your father would speak with you.

Madam, my lord, your father the duke, would like to speak with you.

SILVIA

I wait upon his pleasure. Come, Sir Thurio,

I will grant his wish. Come on, Sir Thurio,
Go with me. Once more, new servant, welcome:

Come with me. Once more, new follower, welcome:
I'll leave you to confer of home affairs;

I’ll leave you two to discuss news from home;
When you have done, we look to hear from you.

When you are done, we’d like to hear from you.

PROTEUS

We'll both attend upon your ladyship.

We’ll both follow you, your lady.

Exeunt SILVIA and THURIO

VALENTINE

Now, tell me, how do all from whence you came?

Now, tell me, how is everything back home?

PROTEUS

Your friends are well and have them much commended.

Your friends are all doing well and have asked me to send you their greetings.

VALENTINE

And how do yours?

And how are yours?

PROTEUS

I left them all in health.

I left them all doing well.

VALENTINE

How does your lady? and how thrives your love?

How is your lady? And how has your love blossomed?

PROTEUS

My tales of love were wont to weary you;

My tales of love used to annoy you;
I know you joy not in a love discourse.

I know you don’t enjoy talking about love.

VALENTINE

Ay, Proteus, but that life is alter'd now:

Yes, Proteus, but life is changed now:
I have done penance for contemning Love,

I have paid the price for despising Love,
Whose high imperious thoughts have punish'd me

Who has punished me with those commanding passions,
With bitter fasts, with penitential groans,

With terrible lack of appetite, with remorseful moaning,
With nightly tears and daily heart-sore sighs;

With tears every night, and heart-aching sighs every day;
For in revenge of my contempt of love,

For in revenge of my contempt of love
Love hath chased sleep from my enthralled eyes

Love has kept my captivated eyes from sleeping
And made them watchers of mine own heart's sorrow.

And made them stay wide-awake to see my own heart ache.
O gentle Proteus, Love's a mighty lord,

Oh, gentle Proteus, Love is a mighty lord,
And hath so humbled me, as, I confess,

And he has brought me so low, that, I admit,
There is no woe to his correction,

There is no punishment worse than that of Love,
Nor to his service no such joy on earth.

Neither is there any other joy on earth that compares to following him.
Now no discourse, except it be of love;

Now, we’ll talk of nothing except love;
Now can I break my fast, dine, sup and sleep,

Now I can stop my hunger, and have dinner, supper and sleep,
Upon the very naked name of love.

Talking of the mere name of love.

PROTEUS

Enough; I read your fortune in your eye.

Enough; I could tell what had happened to you from your eyes.
Was this the idol that you worship so?

Who is the woman that you love so much?

VALENTINE

Even she; and is she not a heavenly saint?

The one just here; and isn’t she a heavenly angel?

PROTEUS

No; but she is an earthly paragon.

No; she is only a mortal without equals.

VALENTINE

Call her divine.

Call her divine.

PROTEUS

I will not flatter her.

I won’t flatter her.

VALENTINE

O, flatter me; for love delights in praises.

Oh, flatter me; since love enjoys compliments.

PROTEUS

When I was sick, you gave me bitter pills,

When I was love-sick, you treated me with harsh comments,
And I must minister the like to you.

And I will give you the same.

VALENTINE

Then speak the truth by her; if not divine,

Then tell the truth about her; if she isn’t a goddess,
Yet let her be a principality,

Still she is among the angels,
Sovereign to all the creatures on the earth.

Ruler of all the creatures on the earth.

PROTEUS

Except my mistress.

Except my mistress.

VALENTINE

Sweet, except not any;

Sweet man, there are no exceptions;
Except thou wilt except against my love.

Except the one you take against my love.

PROTEUS

Have I not reason to prefer mine own?

Don’t I have a reason to prefer my own love?

VALENTINE

And I will help thee to prefer her too:

And I will help you promote your love too:
She shall be dignified with this high honour—

She will be privileged with this great honor—
To bear my lady's train, lest the base earth

To carry my lady’s train, so that the lowly earth
Should from her vesture chance to steal a kiss

Doesn’t have the chance to touch her dress
And, of so great a favour growing proud,

And so that, growing proudly from such a great favor,
Disdain to root the summer-swelling flower

Flowers cannot take root in her clothing
And make rough winter everlastingly.

And rough winter will last forever.

PROTEUS

Why, Valentine, what braggardism is this?

Why, Valentine, what I are you bragging about?

VALENTINE

Pardon me, Proteus: all I can is nothing

Forgive me, Proteus: everything I can say means nothing
To her whose worth makes other worthies nothing;

To the woman whose worth makes everything else worth nothing;
She is alone.

She is without equal.

PROTEUS

Then let her alone.

Then leave her alone.

VALENTINE

Not for the world: why, man, she is mine own,

I wouldn’t for the world.: why, man, she is mine,
And I as rich in having such a jewel

And I am as rich by having her
As twenty seas, if all their sand were pearl,

As I would be if I had twenty seas with beaches were made of pearls,
The water nectar and the rocks pure gold.

With water made of the drink of the gods, and with rocks of pure gold.
Forgive me that I do not dream on thee,

Forgive me for not paying you too much attention,
Because thou see'st me dote upon my love.

Because you are watching me worshiping my love.
My foolish rival, that her father likes

My foolish rival, who her father likes
Only for his possessions are so huge,

Only because he is rich,
Is gone with her along, and I must after,

Has gone along with her, and I must follow after them,
For love, thou know'st, is full of jealousy.

For love, as you know, is full of jealousy.

PROTEUS

But she loves you?

But does she love you?

VALENTINE

Ay, and we are betroth'd: nay, more, our marriage-hour,

Yes, and we are promised to be married: no, it’s rather that, the hour of our marriage,
With all the cunning manner of our flight,

Along with the clever way we will escape,
Determined of; how I must climb her window,

Has been decided; how I will climb to her window on
The ladder made of cords, and all the means

A ladder made of ropes, and all the necessary things
Plotted and 'greed on for my happiness.

For my happiness have been planned for and agreed on.
Good Proteus, go with me to my chamber,

Good Proteus, come with me to my room,
In these affairs to aid me with thy counsel.

And give me your advice on these happenings.

PROTEUS

Go on before; I shall inquire you forth:

Go on ahead of me; I will seek you out:
I must unto the road, to disembark

I must go to the harbor, to send off
Some necessaries that I needs must use,

Some personal necessities that I need,
And then I'll presently attend you.

And then I’ll follow you immediately after.

VALENTINE

Will you make haste?

Will you hurry?

PROTEUS

I will.

I will.

Exit VALENTINE

Even as one heat another heat expels,

Just as one fire puts out another,
Or as one nail by strength drives out another,

Or just as one nail knocks out another by force,
So the remembrance of my former love

So the memory of my former love
Is by a newer object quite forgotten.

Is forgotten as a never love takes it’s place.
Is it mine, or Valentine's praise,

Is it my praise, or Valentine’s,
Her true perfection, or my false transgression,

Or her actual perfection, or me breaking my loyalty,
That makes me reasonless to reason thus?

That makes me think like this without a cause?
She is fair; and so is Julia that I love—

She is pretty, and is Julia who I love—
That I did love, for now my love is thaw'd;

Who I used to love, for now that lave has melted away;
Which, like a waxen image, 'gainst a fire,

And, like a figure made from wax, when held near a fire,
Bears no impression of the thing it was.

Looks nothing like the thing it used to be.
Methinks my zeal to Valentine is cold,

It seems to me that my loyalty to Valentine has gone stale,
And that I love him not as I was wont.

And that I don’t love him as I used to.
O, but I love his lady too too much,

Oh, but I love his lady way too much,
And that's the reason I love him so little.

And that is why I love him so little.
How shall I dote on her with more advice,

How will I give adoring her more thought,
That thus without advice begin to love her!

When I began to love her without thinking!
'Tis but her picture I have yet beheld,

I have only seen her appearance,
And that hath dazzled my reason's light;

And that has stunned my ability to reason;
But when I look on her perfections,

But when I look later at her perfect qualities of character,
There is no reason but I shall be blind.

There is no doubt that I will be blind.
If I can cheque my erring love, I will;