QUOTES FROM THE BARD

Be not as extreme in submission as in offence

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Page
CONTEXT:
PAGE
And did he send you both these letters at an instant?
MISTRESS PAGE
Within a quarter of an hour.
FORD
Pardon me, wife. Henceforth do what thou wilt;
I rather will suspect the sun with cold
Than thee with wantonness: now doth thy honour stand
In him that was of late an heretic,
As firm as faith.
PAGE
‘Tis well, ’tis well; no more:
Be not as extreme in submission
As in offence.
But let our plot go forward: let our wives
Yet once again, to make us public sport,
Appoint a meeting with this old fat fellow,
Where we may take him and disgrace him for it.
FORD
There is no better way than that they spoke of.

DUTCH:
Goed, goed, niet meer;
Want de onderwerping zij niet overdreven,
Gelijk voorheen de krenking.


MORE:
At an instant=Simultaneously
With=Of being
Submission=|Confession, seeking forgiveness
Use=Treat
Compleat:
An instant=Een oogenblik
At this very instant=Op dit eygenste oogenblik
Submission=Nederigheid, onderwerping, overgegeevendheid, onderdaanigheid
To use (treat) one well or ill=Iemand wel of kwaalyk behandelen

Topics: offence|regret|guilt

Weep your tears into the channel till the lowest stream do kiss the most exalted shores of all

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Flavius
CONTEXT:
FLAVIUS
Go, go, good countrymen, and for this fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort,
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.
See whether their basest metal be not moved.
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.
Go you down that way towards the Capitol.
This way will I. Disrobe the images
If you do find them decked with ceremonies.
MURELLUS
May we do so?
You know it is the feast of Lupercal.
FLAVIUS
It is no matter. Let no images
Be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about
And drive away the vulgar from the streets.
So do you too, where you perceive them thick.
These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness.

DUTCH:
Voert ze aan des Tibers oevers, en vergiet
Uw tranen in zijn bedding, tot de stroom
Van ‘t laagste deel de hoogste boorden kust.

MORE:
Sort=Rank
Kiss=Touch
Most exalted=Highest river level
Metal=Punning on mettle: spirit, disposition
Disrobe=Undress
Ceremonies=Caesar’s supporters would decorate statues in his honour
Trophies=Symbols of the ruler
Lupercal=A fertility festival
Vulgar=Common people
Pitch=Height, highest point of flight. Plucking feathers would prevent Caesar from rising above ordinary Roman citizens.
Compleat:
Exalted=Verhoogd, verheven
Full of mettle=Vol vuurs, moedig
To disrobe=Den tabberd uitschudden; zich ontkleeden
Ceremony=Plegtigheyd
Trophy=Een zeegeteken, trofee
Vulgar=(common) Gemeen
Pitch=Pik

Burgersdijk notes:
Laat met Caesar’s zegeteek’nen enz. Plutarchus vermeldt, dat er beelden van Caesar werden opgericht met diademen op het hoofd, en dat de volkstribunen, Flavius en Marullus, die omverhaalden.
Ruk Caesar’s vleugels deze veed’ren uit. Namelijk de gunst van het gepeupel – the vulgar – een paar regels vroeger genoemd. In ‘t Engelsch wordt gesproken van ‘These growing feathers’, „dit wassend gevederte”; in de vertaling is het woord “wassend” weggevallen.

Topics: guilt, ingratitude, order/society, status, leadership

These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Flavius
CONTEXT:
FLAVIUS
Go, go, good countrymen, and for this fault,
Assemble all the poor men of your sort,
Draw them to Tiber banks, and weep your tears
Into the channel till the lowest stream
Do kiss the most exalted shores of all.
See whether their basest metal be not moved.
They vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness.
Go you down that way towards the Capitol.
This way will I. Disrobe the images
If you do find them decked with ceremonies.
MURELLUS
May we do so?
You know it is the feast of Lupercal.
FLAVIUS
It is no matter. Let no images
Be hung with Caesar’s trophies. I’ll about
And drive away the vulgar from the streets.
So do you too, where you perceive them thick.
These growing feathers plucked from Caesar’s wing
Will make him fly an ordinary pitch,
Who else would soar above the view of men
And keep us all in servile fearfulness.

DUTCH:
Ruk Caesar’s vleugels deze veeren uit ;
Dit houdt zijn vlucht wat lager bij den grond.

MORE:
Sort=Rank
Kiss=Touch
Most exalted=Highest river level
Metal=Punning on mettle: spirit, disposition
Disrobe=Undress
Ceremonies=Caesar’s supporters would put diadems on statues
Trophies=Symbols of the ruler
Lupercal=A fertility festival
Vulgar=Common people
Pitch=Height, highest point of flight. Plucking feathers would prevent Caesar from rising above ordinary Roman citizens.
Compleat:
Sort=Soort
Exalted=Verhoogd, verheven
Full of mettle=Vol vuurs, moedig
To disrobe=Den tabberd uitschudden; zich ontkleeden
Ceremony=Plegtigheyd
Trophy=Een zeegeteken, trofee
Vulgar=(common) Gemeen
Pitch=Pik

Burgersdijk notes:
Laat met Caesar’s zegeteek’nen enz. Plutarchus vermeldt, dat er beelden van Caesar werden opgericht met diademen op het hoofd, en dat de volkstribunen, Flavius en Marullus, die omverhaalden.
Ruk Caesar’s vleugels deze veed’ren uit. Namelijk de gunst van het gepeupel – the vulgar – een paar regels vroeger genoemd. In ‘t Engelsch wordt gesproken van ‘These growing feathers’, „dit wassend gevederte”; in de vertaling is het woord “wassend” weggevallen.

Topics: guilt, ingratitude, order/society, status, leadership

My conscience hath a thousand several tongues, and every tongue brings in a several tale

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD
Give me another horse! Bind up my wounds!
Have mercy, Jesu!—Soft, I did but dream.
O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!
The lights burn blue. It is now dead midnight.
Cold fearful drops stand on my trembling flesh.
What do I fear? Myself? There’s none else by.
Richard loves Richard; that is, I and I.
Is there a murderer here? No. Yes, I am.
Then fly! What, from myself? Great reason why:
Lest I revenge. What, myself upon myself?
Alack, I love myself. Wherefore? For any good
That I myself have done unto myself?
O, no! Alas, I rather hate myself
For hateful deeds committed by myself.
I am a villain. Yet I lie. I am not.
Fool, of thyself speak well. Fool, do not flatter.
My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,
And every tongue brings in a several tale,
And every tale condemns me for a villain.
Perjury, perjury, in the highest degree;
Murder, stern murder, in the direst degree;
All several sins, all used in each degree,
Throng to the bar, crying all, “Guilty! guilty!”
I shall despair. There is no creature loves me,
And if I die no soul will pity me.
And wherefore should they, since that I myself
Find in myself no pity to myself?
Methought the souls of all that I had murdered
Came to my tent, and every one did threat
Tomorrow’s vengeance on the head of Richard.

DUTCH:
O, mijn geweten heeft veel duizend tongen,
En ied’re tong vertelt een ander stuk,
En ieder stuk veroordeelt mij als schurk.

MORE:
Fly=Flee
Several=Separate
Burn blue=Indicating spirits
Compleat:
Flee=Vlieden, vlugten
Several=Verscheyden

Topics: conscience, imagination, punishment, guilt, pity

T’o avoid the censures of the carping world

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
LORD MAYOR
Now fair befall you! He deserved his death,
And your good Graces both have well proceeded
To warn false traitors from the like attempts.
I never looked for better at his hands
After he once fell in with Mrs Shore.
RICHARD
Yet had we not determined he should die
Until your Lordship came to see his end
(Which now the loving haste of these our friends,
Something against our meaning, have prevented),
Because, my lord, I would have had you heard
The traitor speak, and timorously confess
The manner and the purpose of his treasons,
That you might well have signified the same
Unto the citizens, who haply may
Misconstrue us in him, and wail his death.
LORD MAYOR
But, my good lord, your Graces’ words shall serve
As well as I had seen and heard him speak;
And do not doubt, right noble princes both,
But I’ll acquaint our duteous citizens
With all your just proceedings in this case.
RICHARD
And to that end we wished your Lordship here
T’ avoid the censures of the carping world.
BUCKINGHAM
Which since you come too late of our intent,
Yet witness what you hear we did intend.
And so, my good Lord Mayor, we bid farewell.

DUTCH:
Juist hierom wenschten wij uw lordschap hier,
Om elk verwijt te ontgaan der booze wereld.

MORE:
Fair befall=Good fortune to you
The like=Similar
Looked for=Expected
Meaning=Intention
Timorously=Timidly
Haply=Perhaps
Misconster us in him=Misconstrue what we did to him
Case=Business, affair
Carping=Critical, complaining
In all post=In all haste
Compleat:
Befall=Gebeuren, overkomen
I never saw the like=Ik heb diergelyk nooit gezien
Not looked for=Onverwacht, onverhoeds
Meaning=Opzet
Timorous=Vreesachtig, bevreesd, vervaard
Haply=Misschien
Misconstrue=Misduyden, verkeerd uytleggen
To carp=Plukken, pluyzen, bedillen, muggeziften

Topics: fate/destiny, adversity, guilt, betrayal

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