The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (669 page)

Third Outlaw

Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye:

Stop, sir, and throw us whatever you have on you:
If not: we'll make you sit and rifle you.

If you don’t: we’ll put you on the ground and rob you.

SPEED

Sir, we are undone; these are the villains

Sir, we are ruined; these are the criminals
That all the travellers do fear so much.

That all the travelers are so afraid of.

VALENTINE

My friends,--

My friends—

First Outlaw

That's not so, sir: we are your enemies.

We aren’t your friends, sir: we are your enemies.

Second Outlaw

Peace! we'll hear him.

Quiet! Let’s listen to him.

Third Outlaw

Ay, by my beard, will we, for he's a proper man.

Yeah, by my beard, we’ll listen to him, because he’s a handsome man.

VALENTINE

Then know that I have little wealth to lose:

Then be aware that I have very little money for your to take:
A man I am cross'd with adversity;

I am a man plagued by misfortune;
My riches are these poor habiliments,

My only riches are these poor clothes,
Of which if you should here disfurnish me,

And if you should strip me of these,
You take the sum and substance that I have.

You will be taking everything single thing that I have.

Second Outlaw

Whither travel you?

Where are you traveling to?

VALENTINE

To Verona.

To Verona.

First Outlaw

Whence came you?

Where did you come from?

VALENTINE

From Milan.

From Milan.

Third Outlaw

Have you long sojourned there?

How long were you staying here?

VALENTINE

Some sixteen months, and longer might have stay'd,

About sixteen months, and I might have stayed longer,
If crooked fortune had not thwarted me.

If tricky chance had not stood in my way.

First Outlaw

What, were you banish'd thence?

What, were you banished from there?

VALENTINE

I was.

I was.

Second Outlaw

For what offence?

For what crime?

VALENTINE

For that which now torments me to rehearse:

For one that now pains me to repeat:
I kill'd a man, whose death I much repent;

I killed a man, whose death I regret;
But yet I slew him manfully in fight,

But still I killed him bravely in a fight,
Without false vantage or base treachery.

Without an unfair advantage or dishonorable trickery.

First Outlaw

Why, ne'er repent it, if it were done so.

Well, don’t regret it, if that’s how it happened.
But were you banish'd for so small a fault?

But you were banished for such a small crime?

VALENTINE

I was, and held me glad of such a doom.

I was, and was glad to have such a sentence.

Second Outlaw

Have you the tongues?

Do you speak foreign languages?

VALENTINE

My youthful travel therein made me happy,

My youthful travel has made me accomplished with them,
Or else I often had been miserable.

Or else I would have often been unhappy.

Third Outlaw

By the bare scalp of Robin Hood's fat friar,

By the bald head of Robin Hood’s fat friar,
This fellow were a king for our wild faction!

This fellow could be king of our wild group!

First Outlaw

We'll have him. Sirs, a word.

We’ll have him. Men, let’s talk.

SPEED

Master, be one of them; it's an honourable kind of thievery.

Master, become on of them; it’s an honorable kind of robbery.

VALENTINE

Peace, villain!

Quiet, scoundrel!

Second Outlaw

Tell us this: have you any thing to take to?

Tell us this: do have any resources?

VALENTINE

Nothing but my fortune.

Nothing but my luck.

Third Outlaw

Know, then, that some of us are gentlemen,

Be aware, then, that some of us are gentlemen,
Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth

The kind that in the fury of reckless youth
Thrust from the company of awful men:

Were sent away from the company of respectful men:
Myself was from Verona banished

I was banished from Verona
For practising to steal away a lady,

For plotting to steal away a lady,
An heir, and near allied unto the duke.

An heiress, and closely related to the duke.

Second Outlaw

And I from Mantua, for a gentleman,

And I was banished from Mantua, because of a gentlemen
Who, in my mood, I stabb'd unto the heart.

Who I stabbed in the heart in anger.

First Outlaw

And I for such like petty crimes as these,

And I was too for little crimes like these,
But to the purpose--for we cite our faults,

But to the point—since we mention our crimes,
That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives;

So that they may justify our lives outside of the law;
And partly, seeing you are beautified

And in part, since we see that your are handsome
With goodly shape and by your own report

With a good figure and by your own claims
A linguist and a man of such perfection

A man of languages and such perfection
As we do in our quality much want—

Like we want in our companions—

Second Outlaw

Indeed, because you are a banish'd man,

Indeed, and because you have been banished,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:

Because of that, above all other reasons, are we negotiating with you:
Are you content to be our general?

Are you willing to be our leader?
To make a virtue of necessity

To turn necessity into an advantage
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

And live, like we do, in the wilderness?

Third Outlaw

What say'st thou? wilt thou be of our consort?

What do you say? Will you be part of our company?
Say ay, and be the captain of us all:

Say yes, and you’ll be the leader of us all:
We'll do thee homage and be ruled by thee,

We’ll pay our respects to you and be ruled by you,
Love thee as our commander and our king.

And love you as our commander and our king.

First Outlaw

But if thou scorn our courtesy, thou diest.

But if you reject our offer, you will die.

Second Outlaw

Thou shalt not live to brag what we have offer'd.

You will not live to brag about what we have offered you.

VALENTINE

I take your offer and will live with you,

I will take your offer and live with you,
Provided that you do no outrages

Provided that you don’t harm
On silly women or poor passengers.

Helpeless women or poor travelers.

Third Outlaw

No, we detest such vile base practises.

No, we hate such terrible, dishonorable practices.
Come, go with us, we'll bring thee to our crews,

Come on, come with us, and we’ll bring you to our company,
And show thee all the treasure we have got,

And show you all the treasure we have gotten,
Which, with ourselves, all rest at thy dispose.

Which, along with ourselves, is all under your control.

Exeunt

Outside the DUKE's palace, under SILVIA's chamber.

Enter PROTEUS

PROTEUS

Already have I been false to Valentine

Already I have been disloyal to Valentine
And now I must be as unjust to Thurio.

And now I must be unjust to Thurio.
Under the colour of commending him,

While pretending to speak well of him,
I have access my own love to prefer:

I have an opporunity to promote my own love instead:
But Silvia is too fair, too true, too holy,

But Silvia, is too beautiful, too honest, and too virtuous,
To be corrupted with my worthless gifts.

To be won over with my worthless gifts.
When I protest true loyalty to her,

When I swear true loyalty to her,
She twits me with my falsehood to my friend;

She criticizes me for my disloyalty to my friend;
When to her beauty I commend my vows,

When I declare my promises to her beauty,
She bids me think how I have been forsworn

She tells me to think of how I have broken my word
In breaking faith with Julia whom I loved:

By being disloyal to Julia whom I loved:
And notwithstanding all her sudden quips,

And in spite of all her biting insults,
The least whereof would quell a lover's hope,

The smallest of which would put out a lover’s hope,
Yet, spaniel-like, the more she spurns my love,

Still, like a puppy, the more she rejects my love,
The more it grows and fawneth on her still.

The more my love grows and I continue to worship her.
But here comes Thurio: now must we to her window,

But here comes Thurio: now we must go to her window,
And give some evening music to her ear.

And play some evening music for her ear.

Enter THURIO and Musicians

THURIO

How now, Sir Proteus, are you crept before us?

What’s this, Sir Proteus, have you sneakily gotten here before us?

PROTEUS

Ay, gentle Thurio: for you know that love

Yes, noble Thurio: because you know that love
Will creep in service where it cannot go.

Will sneak where it cannot openly walk.

THURIO

Ay, but I hope, sir, that you love not here.

Yes, but I hope, sir, that your love isn’t here.