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QUOTES FROM THE BARD

I do condemn mine ears that have so long attended thee

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.6
SPEAKER: Imogen
CONTEXT:
IMOGEN
Away! I do condemn mine ears that have
So long attended thee. If thou wert honourable,
Thou wouldst have told this tale for virtue, not
For such an end thou seek’st,—as base as strange.
Thou wrong’st a gentleman, who is as far
From thy report as thou from honour, and
Solicit’st here a lady that disdains
Thee and the devil alike. What ho, Pisanio!
The king my father shall be made acquainted
Of thy assault: if he shall think it fit,
A saucy stranger in his court to mart
As in a Romish stew and to expound
His beastly mind to us, he hath a court
He little cares for and a daughter who
He not respects at all. What, ho, Pisanio!
IACHIMO
O happy Leonatus! I may say
The credit that thy lady hath of thee
Deserves thy trust, and thy most perfect goodness
Her assured credit. Blessed live you long!
A lady to the worthiest sir that ever
Country call’d his! and you his mistress, only
For the most worthiest fit! Give me your pardon.
I have spoke this, to know if your affiance
Were deeply rooted; and shall make your lord,
That which he is, new o’er: and he is one
The truest manner’d; such a holy witch
That he enchants societies into him;
Half all men’s hearts are his.
IMOGEN
You make amends.

DUTCH:
Van hier! — Mijn oor is schuldig, dat zoo lang
Geluisterd heeft! — Waart gij een man van eer,
Dan hadt ge uit lust tot deugd mij dit gemeld,
Niet met een doel, zoo snood en ongehoord.

MORE:
Saucy=Impudent
To mart=Do business
Stew=Brothel
Credit=Good opinion
Assured credit=Loyalty
Affiance=Faith
Societies=Groups
Compleat:
Saucy=Stout, onbeschaamd, baldaadig
Mart=Jaarmarkt
Stew, stew-house=Hoerhuys
Credit=Geloof, achting, aanzien, goede naam
Affiance=Vertrouwen, hoop
Society=Gezelschap, gemeenschap, gezelligheyd, genootschap, maatschap

Topics: anger, virtue, honour, plans/intentions, trust

Categories: anger, Cymbeline, honour, plans/intentions, trust|

That such a crafty devil as is his mother should yield the world this ass!

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Second Lord
CONTEXT:
SECOND LORD
You are a fool granted; therefore your
issues, being foolish, do not derogate.
be foolish, it won’t lower people’s
opinions any further.
CLOTEN
Come, I’ll go see this Italian: what I have lost
to-day at bowls I’ll win to-night of him. Come, go.
SECOND LORD
I’ll attend your lordship.
That such a crafty devil as is his mother
Should yield the world this ass! A woman that
Bears all down with her brain, and this her son
Cannot take two from twenty, for his heart,
And leave eighteen. Alas, poor princess,
Thou divine Imogen, what thou endur’st,
Betwixt a father by thy step-dame governed,
A mother hourly coining plots, a wooer
More hateful than the foul expulsion is
Of thy dear husband, than that horrid act
Of the divorce he’d make! The heavens hold firm
The walls of thy dear honour, keep unshaked
That temple, thy fair mind, that thou mayst stand
T’ enjoy thy banished lord and this great land.

DUTCH:
Dat zulk een sluwe duivelin, zijn moeder,
Der wereld zulk een ezel schonk! Een vrouw,
Die met haar slimheid alles dwingt; en hij
Trekt, schoon ‘t den hals hem kostte, twee van twintig
Niet af, en houdt er achttien

MORE:
Crafty=Cunning, devious
To coin=To fabricate, in a good as well as bad sense: “coining plots”
Step-dame=Stepmother
Expulsion=A driving away, banishment
Stand=To remain upright, not to fall, not to be lost, not to perish
Compleat:
Crafty=Loos, listig, schalk, doortrapt, leep
To coin (new words)=Smeeden, verzinnen
Expulsion=Uitdryving, verdryving

Topics: marriage, intellect, relationship, plans/intentions

Categories: Cymbeline, marriage, plans/intentions, relationship|

Twere good you leaned unto his sentence with what patience your wisdom may inform you

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Queen
CONTEXT:
QUEEN
No, be assured you shall not find me, daughter,
After the slander of most stepmothers,
Evil-eyed unto you: you’re my prisoner, but
Your jailer shall deliver you the keys
That lock up your restraint. For you, Posthumus,
So soon as I can win the offended king,
I will be known your advocate: marry, yet
The fire of rage is in him, and ’twere good
You lean’d unto his sentence with what patience
Your wisdom may inform you.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Please your highness,
I will from hence to-day.
QUEEN
You know the peril.
I’ll fetch a turn about the garden, pitying
The pangs of barr’d affections, though the king
Hath charged you should not speak together.

DUTCH:
Doch gij weet,
Thans vlamt zijn toorn te fel; en ‘t ware goed,
Voor ‘t vonnis u te buigen, zoo gedwee,
Als uw verstand u raden moet.

MORE:
After=According to
Evil-eyed=Malevolent
Win=Win over
Lean unto=Accept
Compleat:
After=Volgens
To look with an evil eye=Met nydige oogen aanzien
He leans to that opinion=Hij helt naar dat gevoelen

Topics: plans/intentions, patience, love

Categories: Cymbeline, love, plans/intentions|

I must excuse what cannot be amended

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
LIEUTENANT
I do not know what witchcraft’s in him, but
Your soldiers use him as the grace ’fore meat,
Their talk at table, and their thanks at end;
And you are darken’d in this action, sir,
Even by your own.
AUFIDIUS
I cannot help it now,
Unless, by using means, I lame the foot
Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier,
Even to my person, than I thought he would
When first I did embrace him: yet his nature
In that’s no changeling; and I must excuse
What cannot be amended.

DUTCH:
Doch zijn wezen
Verzaakt hij hierin niet; ik moet verschoonen,
Wat ik niet beet’ren kan.

MORE:
Proverb: What cannot be altered must be borne not blamed
Proverb: To be no changeling

Changeling=Sense shifter, inconstant, turncoat, fickle (Arden)
Darkened=Eclipsed, put into the shade
For your particular=For you personally
Compleat:
Changeling=Een wissel-kind, verruild kind
Particular=Byzonder, zonderling, byzonderheid
To darken=Verduisteren, verdonkeren

Topics: remedy, understanding, regret, plans/intentions, proverbs and idioms

Categories: Coriolanus, plans/intentions, proverbs and idioms, regret, remedy|

Be thou sure, when he shall come to his account, he knows not what I can urge against him

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
AUFIDIUS
I cannot help it now,
Unless, by using means, I lame the foot
Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier,
Even to my person, than I thought he would
When first I did embrace him: yet his nature
In that’s no changeling; and I must excuse
What cannot be amended.
LIEUTENANT
Yet I wish, sir,—
I mean for your particular,— you had not
Join’d in commission with him; but either
Had borne the action of yourself, or else
To him had left it solely.
AUFIDIUS
I understand thee well; and be thou sure,
When he shall come to his account, he knows not
What I can urge against him. Although it seems,
And so he thinks, and is no less apparent
To the vulgar eye, that he bears all things fairly.
And shows good husbandry for the Volscian state,
Fights dragon-like, and does achieve as soon
As draw his sword; yet he hath left undone
That which shall break his neck or hazard mine,
Whene’er we come to our account.

DUTCH:
Maar ‘k zeg u: als hij rekenschap moet geven,
Dan weet hij niet, wat ik nog tegen hem
Te berde brengen kan.

MORE:
Means=Methods, tactics
Design=Plot
Changeling=Changeable, fickle
For your particular=With respect to you personally
Have=Could have
Account=Reckoning
Urge=Use, bring to bear
Compleat:
Means=Middelen; Toedoen
Design=Opzet, voorneemen, oogmerk, aanslag, toeleg, ontwerp
Changeling=Een wissel-kind, verruild kind
Particular=Byzonder, zonderling, byzonderheid
To darken=Verduisteren, verdonkeren
To account=Rekenen, achten
To urge=Dringen, pressen, aandringen, aanstaan

Topics: plans/intentions, regret, authority

Categories: authority, Coriolanus, plans/intentions|

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