QUOTES FROM THE BARD

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cardinal Wolsey
CONTEXT:
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear
In all my miseries; but thou hast forced me,
Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman.
Let’s dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell;
And, when I am forgotten, as I shall be,
And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention
Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee,
Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour,
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in;
A sure and safe one, though thy master miss’d it.
Mark but my fall, and that that ruin’d me.
Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition:
By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then,
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it?
Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee;
Corruption wins not more than honesty.
Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:
Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s,
Thy God’s, and truth’s; then if thou fall’st,
O Cromwell,
Thou fall’st a blessed martyr! Serve the king;
And,—prithee, lead me in:
There take an inventory of all I have,
To the last penny; ’tis the king’s: my robe,
And my integrity to heaven, is all
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell!
Had I but served my God with half the zeal
I served my king, he would not in mine age
Have left me naked to mine enemies.

DUTCH:
Omkooping helpt niet meer dan eerlijkheid.
Draag steeds in uwe rechte zoeten vrede,
Om haat te dempen.

MORE:
Play the woman=Weep (common expression at the time)
Sounded=Fathomed (as in depth sounding, i.e. measuring the depth of a body of water)
Shoal=Shallow place
Mark=Consider
Charge=Exhort
Still=Always
Ends=Goals, objectives
Compleat:
To sound=Peilen
Mark=Let er op
Charge=Belasten

Topics: cited in law, loyalty, age/experience, ambition