CJTranslations - Shakespeare quotes on achievement

QUOTES BY TOPIC

A kind of conquest Caesar made here, but made not here his brag of “came, and saw, and overcame.”

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
There be many Caesars,
Ere such another Julius. Britain is
A world by itself; and we will nothing pay
For wearing our own noses.
QUEEN
That opportunity
Which then they had to take from ‘s, to resume
We have again. Remember, sir, my liege,
The kings your ancestors, together with
The natural bravery of your isle, which stands
As Neptune’s park, ribbed and paled in
With rocks unscalable and roaring waters,
With sands that will not bear your enemies’ boats,
But suck them up to the topmast. A kind of conquest
Caesar made here; but made not here his brag
Of ‘Came’ and ‘saw’ and ‘overcame: ‘ with shame—
That first that ever touch’d him—he was carried
From off our coast, twice beaten; and his shipping—
Poor ignorant baubles!— upon our terrible seas,
Like egg-shells moved upon their surges, crack’d
As easily ‘gainst our rocks: for joy whereof
The famed Cassibelan, who was once at point—
O giglot fortune!—to master Caesar’s sword,
Made Lud’s town with rejoicing fires bright
And Britons strut with courage.

DUTCH:
Caesar
Heeft, ja, ‘t veroverd, maar kon hier niet zwetsen
Van “kwam en zag en overwon”;

MORE:
Proverb: I came, saw, and overcame

Made not here his brag=His conquest didn’t live up to (wasn’t the basis for) the boast of “came, and saw, and overcame”
Lud’s town=London
Giglet (or giglot)=Wanton woman (See Hamlet 2.2 re. Fortune: “she is a strumpet”.)
Giglet fortune=Fickle, inconstant
Rejoicing fires=Bonfires
Compleat:
To brag=Pochen, roemen, opsnyen
Upon the point of doing=Op het punt staan van iets te doen
To strut=Prat daar heen treeden, treeden als een paauw

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, achievement, conflict

All’s well that ends well

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
HELEN
Nor you, mistress,
Ever a friend whose thoughts more truly labour
To recompense your love: doubt not but heaven
Hath brought me up to be your daughter’s dower,
As it hath fated her to be my motive
And helper to a husband. But, O strange men!
That can such sweet use make of what they hate,
When saucy trusting of the cozened thoughts
Defiles the pitchy night: so lust doth play
With what it loathes for that which is away.
But more of this hereafter. You, Diana,
Under my poor instructions yet must suffer
Something in my behalf.
DIANA
Let death and honesty
Go with your impositions, I am yours
Upon your will to suffer.
HELEN
Yet, I pray you:
But with the word the time will bring on summer,
When briers shall have leaves as well as thorns,
And be as sweet as sharp. We must away;
Our wagon is prepared, and time revives us:
All’s well that ends well; still the fine’s the crown;
Whate’er the course, the end is the renown.

DUTCH:
Komt, wij moeten heen;
De wagen staat gereed; de tjd baart rozen;
Eind goed, al goed; aan ‘t einde hangt de kroon;
De loop zij zwaar, het einde brengt het loon.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
In Re San Juan Dupont Plaza Hotel Fire Litigation, 907 F.2d 4, 6 (1st Cir. 1990)(per
curiam); Collett v. State, 133 Ga. App. 318, 211 S.E.2d 198 (Ga. Ct. App: 1974).

Proverb: All’s Well that Ends Well
Proverb: The end crowns (tries) all

Objective achieved; problems experienced along the way can be forgotten.
Shakespeare didn’t invent this; the earliest known version in print is from the 13th century, in The proverbs and idioms of Hendyng.
Fine=End, conclusion
Revive=To bring again to life, to reanimate
Compleat:
In fine=Eindelyk, ten laatsten
Revive=Herleeven, doen herleeven, weder bekomen, verquikken

Topics: cited in law, purpose, achievement, time, nature, proverbs and idioms, still in use

And that would set my teeth nothing an edge.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Hotspur
CONTEXT:
GLENDOWER
I can speak English, lord, as well as you,
For I was trained up in the English court,
Where being but young I framèd to the harp
Many an English ditty lovely well
And gave the tongue a helpful ornament—
A virtue that was never seen in you
HOTSPUR
Marry,
And I am glad of it with all my heart:
I had rather be a kitten and cry “mew”
Than one of these same meter balladmongers.
I had rather hear a brazen can’stick turned,
Or a dry wheel grate on the axletree,
And that would set my teeth nothing an edge,
Nothing so much as mincing poetry.
Tis like the forced gait of a shuffling nag.

DUTCH:
k Wil liever koop’ren luchters hooren draaien,
Of ongesmeerde wagenraadren knarsen;
Daar klemde ik zoo mijn tanden niet van saâm,
Als van die lisp’lend zoete poëzie;
Die is me, als ’t draven van een stijven knol.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Can’stick=candlestick
Axle-tree=Piece of timber on which the wheel turns
Mincing=Affectation
Virtue= Accomplishment
Compleat:
Mincing=Een trappelende gang

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, skill/talent, achievement, learning/education

And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg, which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
It must be by his death, and for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn at him
But for the general. He would be crowned.
How that might change his nature, there’s the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,
And then I grant we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power. And, to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But ’tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber upward turns his face.
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities.
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—
And kill him in the shell.

DUTCH:
En daarom, acht hem als een slangenei,
Dat, uitgekomen, boos wordt naar zijn aard ;
En doodt hem in den dop!

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Craves=Requires
Wary=Carefully
Sting=Stinger
Remorse=Compassion
Affection=Passion
Swayed=Ruled
Proof=Experience
Lowliness=Affected humility, obsequiousness
Mischievous=Harmful
Fashion=Shape
Compleat:
Craving=Smeeking, bidding; happig, greetig
Wary=Voorzigtig, omzigtig, behoedzaam
Sting=Angel, steekel
Remorse=Knaaging, wroeging, berouw
Affection=Hartstogt, geneegenheyd
To sway=(govern) Regeeren
Proof=Proeven
Lowliness=Nederigheyd; ootmoedigheyd
Mischievous=Boos, boosardig, schaadelyk, quaadstokend, verderflyk, schelms
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

Fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
When we grow stronger, then we’ll make our claim:
Till then, ’tis wisdom to conceal our meaning.
HASTINGS
Away with scrupulous wit! Now arms must rule.
GLOUCESTER
And fearless minds climb soonest unto crowns.
Brother, we will proclaim you out of hand:
The bruit thereof will bring you many friends.
KING EDWARD IV
Then be it as you will; for ’tis my right,
And Henry but usurps the diadem.

DUTCH:
Wie moedig klimt, bereikt het eerst de kroon.

MORE:

Meaning=Intention
Scrupulous=Full of doubt and perplexity, too nice in determinations of conscience (Schmidt)
Wit=Reasoning, intellect
Out of hand=Immediately
Bruit=News, rumour
Diadem=Crown

Compleat:
Out of hand=Terstond, op staande voet
He came with a bad meaning=Hy kwam met een kwaad opzet
Wit (wisdom, judgement)=Wysheid, oordeel
Out of hand=Op staande voet, terstond
Bruit=Gerucht, geraas
Diadem=Een kroon, wrongkroon

Topics: claim, courage, achievement, wisdom

Had they been ruled by me, You should have won them dearer than you have.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
LANCASTER
A famous rebel art thou, Colevile.
FALSTAFF
And a famous true subject took him.
COLEVILE
I am, my lord, but as my betters are
That led me hither. Had they been ruled by me,
You should have won them dearer than you have.
FALSTAFF
I know not how they sold themselves, but thou, like a kind fellow, gavest thyself away gratis, and I thank thee for thee.

DUTCH:
Ik weet niet, waarvoor zij zich verkocht hebben; maar
gij, goede jongen, gaaft uzelven voor niet weg, en ik
dank u voor u.

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You should have won them dearer=Victory would have cost you more

Topics: life, dispute, achievement

Haply a woman’s voice may do some good, When articles too nicely urged be stood on.

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
QUEEN ISABEL
Our gracious brother, I will go with them.
Haply a woman’s voice may do some good,
When articles too nicely urged be stood on.
KING HENRY
Yet leave our cousin Katherine here with us.
She is our capital demand, comprised
Within the fore-rank of our articles.

DUTCH:
Doorluchte broeder, ik wil met hen gaan.
Wellicht bewerkt een vrouwestem iets goeds,
Als eenige eisch te sterk wordt aangedrongen.

MORE:

Schmidt:
Haply=Perhaps
Capital=Chief, principal
Nicely=Putiliously, scrupulously
Forerank=Priority, first rank, front

Compleat:
Haply=Misschien
To be nice in something=Keurig

Topics: civility, manipulation, achievement

He felt himself, and found the blessedness of being little

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Griffith
CONTEXT:
GRIFFITH
This cardinal,
Though from an humble stock, undoubtedly
Was fashion’d to much honour from his cradle.
He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one;
Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading:
Lofty and sour to them that loved him not;
But to those men that sought him sweet as summer.
And though he were unsatisfied in getting,
Which was a sin, yet in bestowing, madam,
He was most princely: ever witness for him
Those twins of learning that he raised in you,
Ipswich and Oxford! one of which fell with him,
Unwilling to outlive the good that did it;
The other, though unfinish’d, yet so famous,
So excellent in art, and still so rising,
That Christendom shall ever speak his virtue.
His overthrow heap’d happiness upon him;
For then, and not till then, he felt himself,
And found the blessedness of being little:
And, to add greater honours to his age
Than man could give him, he died fearing God.

DUTCH:
Want toen, en toen eerst, voelde hij zichzelf,
En vond het zalig waarlijk klein te zijn.

MORE:
Fashioned=Moulded, raised
Ripe=Mature
Lofty=Proud, haughty
Art=Learning
Little=Humble, unimportant
Compleat:
Fashioned=Gevormd, gefatsoeneerd
Ripe=Ryp
Lofty=Verheven, hoog, hoogdraavend, moedig, verwaand, opgeblaazen, fier

Burgersdijk notes:
Die tweelingscholen Ipswich en Oxford. In 1525 stichtte Wolsey eene Latijnsche school in zijne geboortestad Ipswich, en een College in Oxford; hij doteerde deze inrichtingen met het vermogen van eenige kleine, door hem opgeheven kloosters. Na zijn val hief Hendrik VIII de school te Ipswich op; het College te Oxford hield hij in stand, doch eigende zichzelf de eer der stichting toe door het the King’s college te noemen, welken naam het nog ten huidigen dage draagt.

Topics: learning/education, intellect, persuasion, achievement

He that of greatest works is finisher oft does them by the weakest minister

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
HELEN
What I can do can do no hurt to try,
Since you set up your rest ‘gainst remedy.
He that of greatest works is finisher
Oft does them by the weakest minister:
So holy writ in babes hath judgment shown,
When judges have been babes; great floods have flown
From simple sources, and great seas have dried
When miracles have by the greatest been denied.
Oft expectation fails and most oft there
Where most it promises, and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest and despair most fits.
KING
I must not hear thee; fare thee well, kind maid;
Thy pains not used must by thyself be paid:
Proffers not took reap thanks for their reward.

DUTCH:
Brengt wat ik kan, geen baat, het schaadt ook niet,
Daar ge elke hoop in u hebt uitgewied.

MORE:
To set up one’s rest=To have fully made up one’s mind, to be resolved, stake everything (taken from gambling, where the rest was a large sum wagered by a very confident player)
Flown=Flowed
Hits=Hits the mark
Pains=Efforts
Proffers not took=Offers not taken up
To fit=To be fitting, appropriate: “oft it hits where hope is coldest and despair most fits”
Hope is coldest=Most hopeless
Hear=Listen to
Pains=Efforts
Proffers=Offers
Took=Accepted
Compleat:
To flow=Vloeijen, vlieten
To hit the mark=Het wit treffen
To fit=Passen, pas maaken, gereed maaken, voegen
You must fit your humour to it=Gy moet ‘er uw humeur toe schikken
To hear=Hooren, verhooren, toehooren
To take pains=Moeite doen, arbeid aanwenden
Proffer=Aanbieding

Topics: still in use, invented or popularised, achievement, hope/optimism

He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one; Exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading.

DUTCH:
Hij was geleerd, en rijk in diepe kennis;
Zeer schrander, wijs, welsprekend, overtuigend..

Topics: learning/education, intellect, persuasion, achievement

I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon when it was less expected

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Cominius
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
Why, so: you have made good work!
A pair of tribunes that have rack’d for Rome,
To make coals cheap,—a noble memory!
COMINIUS
I minded him how royal ’twas to pardon
When it was less expected: he replied,
It was a bare petition of a state
To one whom they had punish’d.
MENENIUS
Very well: Could he say less?
COMINIUS
I offer’d to awaken his regard
For’s private friends: his answer to me was,
He could not stay to pick them in a pile
Of noisome musty chaff: he said ’twas folly,
For one poor grain or two, to leave unburnt,
And still to nose the offence.

DUTCH:
Ik stelde in ‘t licht, hoe koninklijk vergift nis
Zou wezen, onverwacht verleend; dit noemde
Hij recht armzalig smeeken van een staat
Tot een, nog onlangs door dien staat bestraft

MORE:
Rack=Stretch, strain, make huge effort
Make coals cheap=Burning Rome will make coal plentiful
A noble memory=A great way to be remembered
The less expected (the pardon), the more royal it is to give it
A bare petition=Unsubstantiated plea, without justification or excuse for the pardon
Nose the offence=Smell the offending material
Compleat:
Racked=Gerekt, gepynigd; gezuiverd
Bare=Bloot, naakt, kaal
Petition=Verzoek, smeekschrift, request

Topics: achievement, friendship, value

I would your highness would depart the field:
The queen hath best success when you are absent

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Clifford
CONTEXT:
CLIFFORD
I would your highness would depart the field:
The queen hath best success when you are absent.
QUEEN MARGARET
Ay, good my lord, and leave us to our fortune.
KING HENRY VI
Why, that’s my fortune too; therefore I’ll stay.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Be it with resolution then to fight.

DUTCH:
Ik wenschte, dat mijn vorst het veld verliet;
De koningin slaagt beter in uw afzijn.

MORE:

Would=Wish
Fortune=Fate
With resolution=With a determination

Topics: achievement, independence

If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain; if lost, why then a grievous labour won

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Valentine
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans,
Coy looks with heartsore sighs, one fading moment’s mirth
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights.
If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain;
If lost, why then a grievous labour won;
However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or else a wit by folly vanquishèd.
PROTEUS
So, by your circumstance, you call me fool.
VALENTINE
So, by your circumstance, I fear you’ll prove.
PROTEUS
‘Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.

DUTCH:
Bij zoete zege steeds een neêrlaag wint,
Bij neêrlaag zure moeite als overwinst
Liefde is een dwaasheid, door vernuft gekocht,
Of wel vernuft, door dwaasheid overmocht.

MORE:
Haply=By chance
Hapless=Unhappy, unfortunate
Circumstance=Argument, logic
Folly=Perversity of judgment, absurdity, foolishness
Compleat:
Haply=Misschien
Circumstance=Omstandigheyd
Circumstanced=Met omstandigheden belegd, onder omstandigheden begreepen
Folly=Ondeugd, buitenspoorigheid, onvolmaaktheid

Topics: fate/destiny, love, achievement

If I should tell thee o’er this thy day’s work, thou’ldst not believe thy deeds

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.9
SPEAKER: Cominius
CONTEXT:
COMINIUS
If I should tell thee o’er this thy day’s work,
Thou’ldst not believe thy deeds: but I’ll report it
Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles,
Where great patricians shall attend and shrug,
I’ the end admire, where ladies shall be frighted,
And, gladly quaked, hear more; where the dull tribunes,
That, with the fusty plebeians, hate thine honours,
Shall say against their hearts ‘We thank the gods
Our Rome hath such a soldier.’
Yet camest thou to a morsel of this feast,
Having fully dined before.

DUTCH:
Verhaalde ik u, wat gij op heden deedt,
Gelooven zoudt ge uw daden niet. Ik meld het,
Waar Senatoren lachend tranen storten,
Patriciërs luist’ren zullen, eerst de schouders
Optrekkend, maar in ‘t eind bewond’rend.

MORE:
Against their hearts=Unwillingly
Gladly quaked=Enjoy being frightened, thrown into grateful trepidation
Fusty=Smelling of mould
Compleat:
Fusty=Muffig, muf, vermuft.
To have a fusty smell=Een vunze lucht hebben

Topics: achievement, courage, respect

If it were done, when ’tis done,
then ’twere well It were done quickly.

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 1.7
SPEAKER: Macbeth
CONTEXT:
If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly. If th’ assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease, success: that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all

DUTCH:
Ware ‘t gedaan, als ‘t is gedaan, dan waar’
Het goed, zoo ‘t ras gedaan werd

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb “The thing done has an end” (c1380). Also Chaucer, “But that is don, is not to be done” (c1380).
Be-all and end-all (OED hyphenates)=the whole thing, perfection, ultimate goal.
Dyce:
Trammel up= To tie up or net up (a trammel is both a kind of draw net and a contrivance for teaching horses to pace or amble).
Compleat:
Tramel=Zekere slach van een vischnet
Trammel=Een beugel

Topics: offence, death, consequence, achievement, risk

If you can, pace your wisdom
In that good path that I would wish it go,

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Duke Vincentio
CONTEXT:
If you can, pace your wisdom
In that good path that I would wish it go,
And you shall have your bosom on this wretch,
Grace of the duke, revenges to your heart,
And general honour.

DUTCH:
Wees wijs, en volg, indien gij kunt, den weg,
Dien ik als goed u toon, dan zal de snoodaard
Ontvangen wat uw boezem wenscht

MORE:
Schmidt:
Pace=Train
Wisdom=The quality of being wise; applied with great latitude to any degree of the faculty of discerning and judging what is most just and proper, from the sapience of the sage to the sound discretion of policy or common sense
Bosom=desires, inmost thoughts and wishes
Compleat:
To pace=Een pas gaan
Wisdom (Prudence, discretion)=Voorzichtigheid, bescheidenheid

Topics: wisdom, judgment, learning/education, ambition, achievement

It is the bright day that brings forth the adder and that craves wary walking

DUTCH:
De warme dag lokt de adders uit haar hol;
Dan zie de wand’laar scherp!

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

Men prize the thing ungained more than it is

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
CRESSIDA
By the same token, you are a bawd.
Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love’s full sacrifice,
He offers in another’s enterprise;
But more in Troilus thousand fold I see
Than in the glass of Pandar’s praise may be;
Yet hold I off. Women are angels, wooing:
Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.
That she beloved knows nought that knows not this:
Men prize the thing ungained more than it is:
That she was never yet that ever knew
Love got so sweet as when desire did sue.
Therefore this maxim out of love I teach:
Achievement is command; ungained, beseech:
Then though my heart’s content firm love doth bear,
Nothing of that shall from mine eyes appear.

DUTCH:
O, niets weet die beminde, die niet weet,
Dat, wat de man niet wint, hem kostlijkst heet; (…)

MORE:
Bawd=Procurer (pimp)
Glass=Mirror
Achievement=After a woman is won (she can be commanded)
Ungained=Not won (must be asked)
Compleat:
Baud (or she-Bawd)=Een Hoerewaardin, koppelaarster
Glass=Spiegel
Achievement=Verrichting, daad, bedryf
Gained=Gewonnen

Topics: achievement, satisfaction

No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Norfolk
CONTEXT:
NORFOLK
(…) Then you lost
The view of earthly glory: men might say,
Till this time pomp was single, but now married
To one above itself. Each following day
Became the next day’s master, till the last
Made former wonders its. To-day the French,
All clinquant, all in gold, like heathen gods,
Shone down the English; and, to-morrow, they
Made Britain India: every man that stood
Show’d like a mine. Their dwarfish pages were
As cherubins, all guilt: the madams too,
Not used to toil, did almost sweat to bear
The pride upon them, that their very labour
Was to them as a painting: now this masque
Was cried incomparable; and the ensuing night
Made it a fool and beggar. The two kings,
Equal in lustre, were now best, now worst,
As presence did present them; him in eye,
Still him in praise: and, being present both
‘Twas said they saw but one; and no discerner
Durst wag his tongue in censure. When these suns—
For so they phrase ’em—by their heralds challenged
The noble spirits to arms, they did perform
Beyond thought’s compass; that former fabulous story,
Being now seen possible enough, got credit,
That Bevis was believed.§

DUTCH:
Beide vorsten,
Gelijk in pracht, zij waren eerste of laatste
Naar ieder zichtbaar was; die in het oog was,
Was de eerste in lof; en waren beiden zichtbaar,
Dan zeide een elk er éen te zien; geen kenner,
Wiens tong een oordeel waagde

MORE:
Pomp=Ceremony
Following=Successive
Bevis=Bevis of Hampton, famed for incredible feats of chivalry in romance stories of the time
Its=Its own
Clinquant=Glittering
To shine down=Outshine
Madams=Ladies (high born)
Pride=Adornment
Masque=Masquerade, entertainment
Discerner=Observer
Censure=Criticism
Fabulous=Mythical or invented
Credit=Credibility
Compleat:
Pomp=Pracht, praal, staatsi
To out-shine=Meerder uytschynen, meerblinken, glansiger zyn
Censure=Bestraffing, berisping, oordeel, toets
Credit=Geloof, achting, aanzien, goede naam

Burgersdijk notes:
Tot Bevis’ daden toe. Bevis was een held der oud-Engelsche ridderromances, die den reus Ascapart overwon en, hoewel hij een Saks was, wegens zijne dapperheid door Willem den Veroveraar tot graaf van Southampton verheven werd.

Topics: achievement, work, rivalry

Now is this golden crown like a deep well That owes two buckets, filling one another, The emptier ever dancing in the air,

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here cousin:
On this side my hand, and on that side yours.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes two buckets, filling one another,
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.

DUTCH:
Nu is de goudhand als een diepe put,
Een met twee emmers, die elkander vullen;
De ledige altijd dansend in de lucht,
De tweede omlaag en ongezien, vol water;
Ik hen die eene omlaag, vol, uit het oog,
Ik drink mijn kommer en hef u omhoog.

MORE:

Proverb: Like two buckets of a well, if one go up the other must go down

Topics: proverbs and idioms, judgment, equality, achievement, value

Oft expectation fails, and most oft there where most it promises

DUTCH:
Verwachting faalt niet zelden, ‘t meest, wanneer
Zij ‘t meest belooft; en vaak maakt ze alles goed,
Als hoop, verkild, voor wanhoop wijken moet.

Topics: still in use, invented or popularised, achievement, hope/optimism

Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie which we ascribe to heaven

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
HELEN
Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie,
Which we ascribe to heaven: the fated sky
Gives us free scope, only doth backward pull
Our slow designs when we ourselves are dull.
What power is it which mounts my love so high,
That makes me see, and cannot feed mine eye?
The mightiest space in fortune nature brings
To join like likes and kiss like native things.
Impossible be strange attempts to those
That weigh their pains in sense and do suppose
What hath been cannot be: who ever strove
To show her merit, that did miss her love?
The king’s disease—my project may deceive me,
But my intents are fixed and will not leave me.

DUTCH:
Vaak vinden we in onszelf de hulp en baat,
Die wij den hemel vragen. ‘t Noodlot laat
Den weg ons vrij, en spert dien enkel dan,
Wanneer wij loom en traag zijn, zonder plan.

MORE:
Proverb: Like will to like (“To join like likes”)

Fated=Fateful (see also King Lear “The plagues that hang fated over men’s faults”, 3.2)
Mightiest space in fortune=Greatest difference in social rank
Weigh their pains=Count the cost
In sense=In advance
Miss=Fail to gain
Compleat:
Fated=Door ‘t noodlot beschooren
Sense=Het gevoel; gevoeligheid; besef; reden
To take pains=Moeite doen, arbeid aanwenden

Topics: independence, fate/destiny , remedy, satisfaction, achievement, proverbs and idioms

Proffers not took reap thanks for their reward

DUTCH:
Verloren moeite moet zichzelf betalen;
Slechts dank wordt voor versmaden dienst verkregen.

Topics: still in use, invented or popularised, achievement, hope/optimism

The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power

DUTCH:
Aan misbruik schuldig wordt de grootheid, die
‘t Geweten scheidt van macht ; en ‘k weet van Caesar,
Naar waarheid, niet, dat ooit bij hem zijn hartstocht
Meer heerschte dan zijn rede.

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

The sun shines hot; and, if we use delay,
Cold biting winter mars our hop’d-for hay.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.8
SPEAKER: King Edward IV
CONTEXT:
Seize on the shame-faced Henry! Bear him hence:
And once again proclaim us King of England.
You are the fount that makes small brooks to flow:
Now stops thy spring; my sea shall suck them dry,
And swell so much the higher by their ebb.
Hence with him to the Tower! let him not speak.
And, lords, towards Coventry bend we our course,
Where peremptory Warwick now remains:
The sun shines hot; and, if we use delay,
Cold biting winter mars our hop’d-for hay.

DUTCH:
Heet schijnt de zon, verzuim gaav’ licht het hooi,
‘t Gehoopte, aan snerpend winterweer ter prooi.

MORE:

Proverb: Make hay while the sun shines

Another reference to the York family symbol of the sun (see 2.6, ‘gnats to the sun’).
Shamefaced=Ashamed, bashful (also shamefast)
Peremptory=Positive, bold
Hoped-for hay=Anticipated harvest

Compleat:
Shame-faced=Schaamachtig, beschaamd, bloode
Peremptory=Volstrekt, uitvoerig, volkomen, uiteindig

Topics: delay, proverbs and idioms, still in use, achievement, preparation

The very dice obey him, and in our sports my better cunning faints under his chance

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
SOOTHSAYER
To none but thee, no more but when to thee.
If thou dost play with him at any game,
Thou art sure to lose, and of that natural luck
He beats thee ’gainst the odds. Thy lustre thickens
When he shines by. I say again, thy spirit
Is all afraid to govern thee near him,
But, he away, ’tis noble.
ANTONY
Get thee gone.
Say to Ventidius I would speak with him.
He shall to Parthia. Be it art or hap,
He hath spoken true. The very dice obey him,
And in our sports my better cunning faints
Under his chance. If we draw lots, he speeds.
His cocks do win the battle still of mine
When it is all to naught, and his quails ever
Beat mine, inhooped, at odds. I will to Egypt.
And though I make this marriage for my peace,
I’ th’ East my pleasure lies.

DUTCH:
Het is zoo; zelfs de dobbelsteenen dwingt hij;
In ieder spel schiet mijne kunst te kort
Bij zijn geluk; bij loting treft hij ‘t steeds.

MORE:
Lustre=Brightness
Thickens=Becomes dull, dim
Art=Skill
Hap=Luck
Better=Superior
Cunning=Skill
Faints under=Surrenders to
Speed=Succeed
Cocks=Fighting cocks
All to naught=Against the odds
Inhooped=Confined in hoops
Compleat:
Luster=Luyster, glans
Art (cunning or industry)=Behendigheid, Schranderheid, Naarstigheid
Hap=Het luk, geval, toeval
Betters=Meerderen
Cunning=Behendigheid, Schranderheid, Naarstigheid; Listigheid
Faint=Bezwyken
To speed=Voortspoeden, voorspoedig zyn, wel gelukken
Cock=Haan. Cock-fighting=Haanekamp
Nought=Niets, niet met al
Hooped=Met hoepels beleyd

Topics: fate/destiny, corruption, achievement, failure

The wealth I have waits on my consent, and my consent goes not that way

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Page
CONTEXT:
HOST
What say you to young Master Fenton? he capers, he
dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses, he
speaks holiday, he smells April and May: he will
carry’t, he will carry’t; ’tis in his buttons; he
will carry’t.
PAGE
Not by my consent, I promise you. The gentleman is
of no having: he kept company with the wild prince
and Poins; he is of too high a region; he knows too
much. No, he shall not knit a knot in his fortunes
with the finger of my substance: if he take her,
let him take her simply; the wealth I have waits on
my consent, and my consent goes not that way.
FORD
I beseech you heartily, some of you go home with me
to dinner: besides your cheer, you shall have
sport; I will show you a monster. Master doctor,
you shall go; so shall you, Master Page; and you, Sir
Hugh.

DUTCH:
Neen, hij zal met den vinger van mijn
vermogen geen knoop leggen op zijn geluk; wil hij haar
hebben, dan moet hij haar nemen zonder bruidschat;
mijn have en goed luistert naar mijn toestemming en
mijn toestemming gaat dien kant niet uit.

MORE:
Capers=Leaps, dances
Holiday=Cheerfully
Carry=Succeed
Having=Property, assets
Region=Rank
Knit a knot=Prevent further losses
Simply=Without a dowry
Cheer=Food
Sport=Entertainment
Compleat:
To caper=Sprongen doen
To carry it=De overhand behouden, iets doorhalen, overhaalen
To carry the cause=De zaak winnen
To carry the day, the bell=De overwinning wegdraagen, den prys behaalen
Sumptuous chear=Prachtige opdissching
Cold chear=Koel onthaal
To make sport=Lachen, speelen

Topics: achievement|status|marriage

They did perform beyond thought’s compass.

DUTCH:
Toen die zonnen, —
Zoo heetten zij, — ten kamp door hun herauten
Alle eed’le geesten riepen, zag men daden,
Ver boven denkbaarheid; en de oude fabel,
Die nu eerst moog’lijk bleek, vond thans geloof’,
Tot Bevis’ daden toe.

Topics: achievement, work, rivalry

Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
CRESSIDA
Words, vows, gifts, tears, and love’s full sacrifice,
He offers in another’s enterprise;
But more in Troilus thousand fold I see
Than in the glass of Pandar’s praise may be;
Yet hold I off. Women are angels, wooing:
Things won are done; joy’s soul lies in the doing.
That she beloved knows nought that knows not this:
Men prize the thing ungained more than it is:
That she was never yet that ever knew
Love got so sweet as when desire did sue.
Therefore this maxim out of love I teach:
Achievement is command; ungained, beseech:
Then though my heart’s content firm love doth bear,
Nothing of that shall from mine eyes appear

DUTCH:
Bezit verzaadt, de vreugd is in ‘t bejagen

Topics: achievement, satisfaction

Think’st thou I am so shallow, so conceitless, to be seduced by thy flattery…?

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Silvia
CONTEXT:
SILVIA
You have your wish; my will is even this:
That presently you hie you home to bed.
Thou subtle, perjured, false, disloyal man!
Think’st thou I am so shallow, so conceitless,
To be seduced by thy flattery,
That hast deceived so many with thy vows?
Return, return, and make thy love amends.
For me, by this pale queen of night I swear,
I am so far from granting thy request
That I despise thee for thy wrongful suit,
And by and by intend to chide myself
Even for this time I spend in talking to thee.

DUTCH:
Gelooft gij mij zoo ijdel, zoo onnoozel,
Dat mij uw vleitaal ooit verlokken zou,
Hoe menigeen uw eeden ook bedrogen?

MORE:
Hie=Hasten
Subtle=Cunning
Conceitless=Witless
Queen of night=Moon
Suit=Courtship
Compleat:
To hie (hye)=Reppen, haasten
Hie thee=Rep u, haast u
Subtle=Listig, loos, sneedig, spitsvindig
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding

Topics: achievement, insult, betrayal

Thou art not for the fashion of these times, where none will sweat but for promotion

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Orlando
CONTEXT:
ORLANDO
O good old man, how well in thee appears
The constant service of the antique world,
When service sweat for duty, not for meed.
Thou art not for the fashion of these times,
Where none will sweat but for promotion,
And having that do choke their service up
Even with the having. It is not so with thee.
But, poor old man, thou prun’st a rotten tree
That cannot so much as a blossom yield
In lieu of all thy pains and husbandry.
But come thy ways. We’ll go along together,
And ere we have thy youthful wages spent,
We’ll light upon some settled low content.
ADAM
Master, go on, and I will follow thee
To the last gasp, with truth and loyalty.
From seventeen years till now almost fourscore
Here livèd I, but now live here no more.
At seventeen years, many their fortunes seek,
But at fourscore, it is too late a week.
Yet fortune cannot recompense me better
Than to die well, and not my master’s debtor.

DUTCH:
Gij volgt niet, neen, de mode dezer dagen,
Nu niemand zwoegen wil, dan om wat winst,
En hij, die winst bekomt, in ‘t voordeel zelf
Zijn ijver smoort

MORE:
Constant=Faithful
Antic=Ancient; (O. Edd. promiscuously antick and antique, but always accented on the first syllable), adj. belonging to the times, or resembling the manners of antiquity
Sweat=Toil, labour
Constant=Faithful
Choke up (Reflectively)=Oppress, make away with, kill; Stop, cease
Low content=Humble contentment
Meed=Reward, recompense, hire
Compleat:
Meed=Belooning, vergelding, verdiensten
Constant=Standvastig, bestending, gestadig
To choke=Verstkken, verwurgen
Contentment=Vergenoeging, vergenoegdheyd, voldoening

Topics: duty, age/experience, work, loyalty, achievement, fashion/trends

Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat
And made our footstool of security.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.6
SPEAKER: King Edward IV
CONTEXT:
Once more we sit in England’s royal throne,
Re-purchased with the blood of enemies.
What valiant foemen, like to autumn’s corn,
Have we mow’d down, in tops of all their pride!
Three Dukes of Somerset, threefold renown’d
For hardy and undoubted champions;
Two Cliffords, as the father and the son,
And two Northumberlands; two braver men
Ne’er spurr’d their coursers at the trumpet’s sound;
With them, the two brave bears, Warwick and Montague,
That in their chains fetter’d the kingly lion
And made the forest tremble when they roar’d.
Thus have we swept suspicion from our seat
And made our footstool of security.
Come hither, Bess, and let me kiss my boy.
Young Ned, for thee, thine uncles and myself
Have in our armours watch’d the winter’s night,
Went all afoot in summer’s scalding heat,
That thou mightst repossess the crown in peace;
And of our labours thou shalt reap the gain.

DUTCH:
Zoo vaagden we argwaan weg van onzen troon,
En maakten veiligheid tot onze voetbank

MORE:

Re-purchased=Regained
In tops=At the height of
Threefold=All three
Courser=Horse
Suspicion=Trepidation, anxiety

Compleat:
Courser=Een looper, renner
Suspicion=Vermoeden, agterdogt, argwaan

Topics: achievement, security

Tis well said again, And ’tis a kind of good deed to say well. And yet words are no deeds.

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VIII
You have said well.
WOLSEY
And ever may your Highness yoke together,
As I will lend you cause, my doing well
With my well saying.
KING
’Tis well said again,
And ’tis a kind of good deed to say well.
And yet words are no deeds. My father loved you;
He said he did; and with his deed did crown
His word upon you. Since I had my office,
I have kept you next my heart; have not alone
Employ’d you where high profits might come home,
But pared my present havings, to bestow
My bounties upon you.

DUTCH:
Weder goed gesproken;
Goed spreken is een soort, ja, van goed doen;
En toch is woord geen daad.

MORE:
Proverb: It is better to do well than to say well
Said=Spoken
Yoke together=Join, couple
Pared=Cut down on
Compleat:
Said=Gezegd
Yoked together=’t Zaamen gekoppeld, onder een jok gevoegd
To pare=Afsnyden, schillen, afknippen, besnoeijen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, achievement

Twere a concealment worse than a theft, no less than a traducement to hide your doings

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.9
SPEAKER: Cominius
CONTEXT:
COMINIUS
You shall not be
The grave of your deserving; Rome must know
The value of her own: ’twere a concealment
Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement,
To hide your doings; and to silence that,
Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch’d,
Would seem but modest: therefore, I beseech you
In sign of what you are, not to reward
What you have done—before our army hear me.
MARTIUS
I have some wounds upon me, and they smart
To hear themselves remember’d.

DUTCH:
Gij moogt het graf
Niet zijn van uw verdienste; Rome wete,
Wat het in u bezit; het waar’ verraad,
‘t Ware erger dan een diefstal, te verhelen,
Wat gij volbracht hebt; dat te zwijgen, wat,
Door welken lof ook hemelhoog verheven,
Toch nog bescheiden klinkt

MORE:
Be the grave of=Bury, swallow up as in a grave
Traducement=Censure, obloquy
Vouch=Maintain, assert
Compleat:
Traduce=Kwaadspreeken, lasteren; (accuse) beschuldigen
To vouch=Staande houden, bewyzen, verzekeren

Topics: merit, flattery, value, achievement

Upon your sword sit laurel victory, and smooth success be strewed before your feet

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Cleopatra
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
But that your royalty
Holds idleness your subject, I should take you
For idleness itself.
CLEOPATRA
’Tis sweating labour
To bear such idleness so near the heart
As Cleopatra this. But, sir, forgive me,
Since my becomings kill me when they do not
Eye well to you. Your honour calls you hence.
Therefore be deaf to my unpitied folly,
And all the gods go with you! Upon your sword
Sit laurel victory, and smooth success
Be strewed before your feet.
ANTONY
Let us go. Come.
Our separation so abides and flies
That thou, residing here, goes yet with me,
And I, hence fleeting, here remain with thee.
Away!

DUTCH:
Der Goden gunst geleide u en met lauw’ren
Bekrans’ de zege uw zwaard, en krijgsgeluk
Bestrooie en eff ne uw ‘weg!

MORE:
Idleness=Flippancy
My becomings=Transformations
Eye well to=Seem pleasing to
Laurel victory=Romans who were victorious in battle received a crown made out of laurel leaves
Abides and flies=Staying and going
Compleat:
Idleness=Luyheyd, traagheyd, leediggang, ledigheyd
Becoming=Wordende
To eye=Beoogen
Crowned with laurel=Met laurier bekranst; gelaurierd

Topics: achievement, plans/intentions, courage

What I can do can do no hurt to try, since you set up your rest ‘gainst remedy

DUTCH:
Brengt wat ik kan, geen baat, het schaadt ook niet,
Daar ge elke hoop in u hebt uitgewied.

Topics: still in use, invented or popularised, achievement, hope/optimism

What impossible matter will he make easy next?

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
GONZALO
I assure you, Carthage.
SEBASTIAN
His word is more than the miraculous harp. He hath raised the wall and houses too.
ANTONIO
What impossible matter will he make easy next?
SEBASTIAN
I think he will carry this island home in his pocket and give it his son for an apple.
ANTONIO
And sowing the kernels of it in the sea, bring forth more islands.
GONZALO
Ay.
ANTONIO
Why, in good time.

DUTCH:
Wat voor een onmogelijkheid zal hij den volgenden
keer uithalen.?

MORE:
Miraculous harp: In Greek mythology, Amphion used a harp to raise the walls of Thebes. Sebastian
suggests that Gonzalo rebuilt all of Carthage by conflating it with Tunis. (Arden)
Compleat:
Miraculous=Wonderbaarlyk
Kernel=Pit, kern, korrel
Burgersdijk notes:
Dan Amphion’s wonderharp. In het oorspronkelijke staat alleen: „dan de wonderharp” of „dan de wonderdoende harp”; de harp, of lier, van Amphion wordt bedoeld, op wier klanken de steenen zich samenvoegden tot den opbouw van Thebe’s muren.

Topics: achievement, ambition, purpose, fate/destiny

What shalt thou expect, to be depender on a thing that leans

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Queen
CONTEXT:
QUEEN
Weeps she still, say’st thou? Dost thou think in time
She will not quench and let instructions enter
Where folly now possesses? Do thou work:
When thou shalt bring me word she loves my son,
I’ll tell thee on the instant thou art then
As great as is thy master, greater, for
His fortunes all lie speechless and his name
Is at last gasp: return he cannot, nor
Continue where he is: to shift his being
Is to exchange one misery with another,
And every day that comes comes to decay
A day’s work in him. What shalt thou expect,
To be depender on a thing that leans,
Who cannot be new built, nor has no friends,
So much as but to prop him?
Thou takest up
Thou know’st not what; but take it for thy labour:
It is a thing I made, which hath the king
Five times redeem’d from death: I do not know
What is more cordial. Nay, I prethee, take it;
It is an earnest of a further good
That I mean to thee. Tell thy mistress how
The case stands with her; do’t as from thyself.
Think what a chance thou changest on, but think
Thou hast thy mistress still, to boot, my son,
Who shall take notice of thee: I’ll move the king
To any shape of thy preferment such
As thou’lt desire; and then myself, I chiefly,
That set thee on to this desert, am bound
To load thy merit richly. Call my women:
Think on my words.
A sly and constant knave,
Not to be shaked; the agent for his master
And the remembrancer of her to hold
The hand-fast to her lord. I have given him that
Which, if he take, shall quite unpeople her
Of liegers for her sweet, and which she after,
Except she bend her humour, shall be assured
To taste of too.
So, so: well done, well done:
The violets, cowslips, and the primroses,
Bear to my closet. Fare thee well, Pisanio;
Think on my words.

DUTCH:
Want zijn geluk ligt spraak’loos neer, zijn naam
Is stervende. Hij kan niet wederkeeren,
Niet blijven waar hij is.

MORE:
Quench=Grow cool, lose zeal
Shift his being=Relocate, change abode
Leans=Inclining, about to fall
Prop=Support, prop up
Compleat:
Quench=Blusschen, uytblusschen, lesschen, dempen
To lean=Leunen, leenen, steunen
Prop=Een stut, steun. To prop=Ondersteunen, stutten

Topics: sorrow, intellect, remedy, fate/fortune, achievement

Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Troilus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally tisick so
troubles me, and the foolish fortune of this girl;
and what one thing, what another, that I shall
leave you one o’ these days: and I have a rheum
in mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones
that, unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what
to think on’t. What says she there?
TROILUS
Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart:
The effect doth operate another way.
Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together.
My love with words and errors still she feeds;
But edifies another with her deeds.

DUTCH:
Slechts woorden, woorden, uit het harte niets.

MORE:
Proverb: Words are but wind

Tisick=Complaint, cough, perhaps from consumption (also phthisic or hectic)
Rheum=Discharge
Matter=Substance, meaning
Effect=Performance, outcome
Errors=Untruths
Edify=Strengthen, support
Compleat:
Tisick=Longziekte, teering
Rheum or rhume=Een zinking op de oogen
Matter=Stoffe, zaak, oorzaak
Effect=Uitkomst, uitwerking, gewrocht
Error=Fout, misslag, dwaaling, dooling
Edify=Stichten, opbouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, achievement