QUOTES FROM THE BARD

In cruelty will I seek out my fame

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2 ACT/SCENE: 5.2 SPEAKER: Young Clifford CONTEXT: Meet I an infant of the house of York,
Into as many gobbets will I cut it
As wild Medea young Absyrtus did:
In cruelty will I seek out my fame. DUTCH: Mijn wreedheid zij het, die mij roem verwerve. MORE:
CITED IN E&W LAW: Siddiqui v The Chancellor, Masters & Scholars of the University of Oxford [2018] EWHC 184 (QB) (07 February 2018)

Gobbet=Small pieces of flesh
In Greek mythology, Medea cut her brother Absyrtus into small pieces which she scattered to slow her father down Topics: cited in law, ambition, good and bad

That winter lion, who in rage forgets
Agèd contusions and all brush of time

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
Of Salisbury, who can report of him,
That winter lion, who in rage forgets
Aged contusions and all brush of time,
And, like a gallant in the brow of youth,
Repairs him with occasion? This happy day
Is not itself, nor have we won one foot,
If Salisbury be lost.

DUTCH:
Wie weet iets van den ouden Salisbury?
Dien winterleeuw, die in zijn fiere woede
Den storm en al het leed des tijds vergeet

MORE:

Aged contusions=The marks of age
Brow=Prime
Repair=Revive
Occasion=Action

Compleat:
Contusion=Kneuzing, plettering
The brow (of a hill)=De top van een berg
To occasion=Veroorzaaken

Topics: age/experience, conflict, failure

And more than that, he can speak French; and therefore he is a traitor.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Cade
CONTEXT:
CADE
And good reason; for thereby is England mained, and fain to go with a staff, but that my puissance holds it up. Fellow kings, I tell you that that Lord Say hath gelded the commonwealth, and made it an eunuch: and more than that, he can speak French; and therefore he is a traitor.
SIR HUMPHREY
O gross and miserable ignorance!

DUTCH:
En nog erger dan dit: hij kan Fransch
spreken en dus is hij een verrader.

MORE:

(See also Away with him! He speaks Latin)

Mained=Maimed
Fain to=Obliged to
Puissance=Power, strength, force
Geld=Castrate; fig. deprive of an esssential part
Gross=Dull, stupid

Compleat:
Maimed=Verminkt
Fain to=Gaern, genoodzaakt
To geld=Lubben
Gross=Grof, plomp

Topics: learning/education, language, misunderstanding, perception

It is great sin to swear unto a sin,
But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Salisbury
CONTEXT:
It is great sin to swear unto a sin,
But greater sin to keep a sinful oath.
Who can be bound by any solemn vow
To do a murderous deed, to rob a man,
To force a spotless virgin’s chastity,
To reave the orphan of his patrimony,
To wring the widow from her custom’d right,
And have no other reason for this wrong
But that he was bound by a solemn oath?
QUEEN MARGARET
A subtle traitor needs no sophister.

DUTCH:
t Is groote zonde, op zonde een eed te doen,
Doch grooter zonde , een zondige’ eed te houden.

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Cited in Shakespeare’s Legal Maxims (William Lowes Rushton)
Proverb: It is a great sin to swear unto a sin But greater sin to keep a sinful oath

Reave=Rob
Customed right=Rightful portion of her husband’s estate
Sophister=Clever or cunning arguer
Field=Battlefield

Compleat:
Bereave=Rooven
Accustomed=Gewoon, gewend, tot iets geschikt
Sophister (a cunning or sharp man)=Een listing schrander man
Sophistry=Een schalke wyze van redeneeren, woordvittery, haairkloovery, verschalking

Topics: law/legal, proverbs and idioms, good and bad

The trust I have is in mine innocence, and therefore am I bold and resolute

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Saye
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Trust nobody, for fear you be betray’d.
SAYE
The trust I have is in mine innocence,
And therefore am I bold and resolute.

DUTCH:
Het volst vertrouwen stel ik op mijn onschuld,
En daarom ben ik moedig en gerust.

MORE:

Proverb: Innocence is bold

Schmidt:
Bold=Daring, insolent
Resolute=Having a fixed purpose, determined, full of bold decision

Compleat:
Bold=Stout, koen, vrymoedig, onbevreesd, onverslaagd, vrypostig
Resolute=Onbeschroomd, onbeteuterd, onversaagd

Topics: trust, betray, proverbs and idioms

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