CJTranslations - Shakespeare quotes on conspiracy

QUOTES BY TOPIC

A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen As you are toss’d with.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1 ACT/SCENE: 2.3 SPEAKER: Lady Percy CONTEXT: Out, you mad-headed ape!
A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen
As you are tossed with. In faith,
I’ll know your business, Harry, that I will.
I fear my brother Mortimer doth stir
About his title, and hath sent for you
To line his enterprise; DUTCH: Och kom, wat apenfratsen!
Een wezel zelfs heeft zooveel grillen niet,
Als die ù plagen. Op mijn woord, ik wil
Uw plannen weten, Hendrik; ja, ik wil ’t. MORE: The spleen was viewed as a a source of passion and emotion, both positive and negative.
See Cymbeline 3.4: “As quarrelous as the weasel”.
Schmidt:
Toss (metaphorically)=To throw up and down, to cause to rise and fall, to move to and fro.
To line=To fill on the inside; used for money (financial aid, support)
Enterprise= Attempt, undertaking
Compleat:
Spleen=De milt
Spleen (Spite, hatred or grudge)=Spyt, haat, wrak
Enterprise=Onderneemen, onderwinden, bestaan, aanvangen Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions, insult, , suspicion, discovery

All is not well. I doubt some foul play.

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
All is not well.
I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come!
Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.

DUTCH:
Iets is mis;
‘k Vermoed iets laags. ‘k Verlang al naar den nacht.

MORE:
Doubt=suspect
Foul deeds will rise=offences will be discovered
Said to be the first use of foul play

Compleat:
A foul copy (a copy full of insertions under erasements)=Een lordige kopy
A foul action=Een slechte daad
To play foul play=Valsch speelen, bedriegelyk speelen
Foul dealing or practices=Kwaade praktyken
Foul means=Kwaade middelen
Never seek that by foul means which thou canst get by fair=Zoekt nooit langs kwaade wegen dat gy langs de goede niet kunt verkrygen

Topics: suspicion, still in use, invented or popularised, foul play, conspiracy

And from th’ extremest upward of thy head To the descent and dust below thy foot A most toad-spotted traitor.

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Edgar
CONTEXT:
Despite thy victor sword and fire-new fortune,
Thy valor and thy heart—thou art a traitor,
False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father,
Conspirant ‘gainst this high illustrious prince,
And from th’ extremest upward of thy head
To the descent and dust below thy foot
A most toad-spotted traitor. Say thou “No,”
This sword, this arm, and my best spirits are bent
To prove upon thy heart, whereto I speak,
Thou liest.

DUTCH:
Verrader van uw schedel tot aan ‘t stof,
Dat onder uwe voeten is, gevlekt
Gelijk de vuilste pad

MORE:
Proverb: From the crown of his head to the soul of his foot (c.1300)
Schmidt:
Fire-new=Brand new, freshly minted
Toad-spotted=Tainted and polluted with venom like the toad
Compleat:
Fire-new (brand new)=Vlinder nieuw
Spotted=Bevlekt, gevlakt

Topics: insult, truth, honesty, conspiracy

Be but duteous, and true preferment shall tender itself to thee

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Pisanio
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
Bring this apparel to my chamber; that is the
second thing that I have commanded thee. The
third is that thou wilt be a voluntary mute to my design.
Be but duteous, and true preferment shall
tender itself to thee. My revenge is now at Milford.
Would I had wings to follow it! Come, and be true.
PISANIO
Thou bidd’st me to my loss, for true to thee
Were to prove false, which I will never be,
To him that is most true. To Milford go,
And find not her whom thou pursuest. Flow, flow,
You heavenly blessings, on her. This fool’s speed
Be crossed with slowness. Labour be his meed.

DUTCH:
Doe je plicht maar, en een goede bevordering zal van zelf volgen

MORE:
Proverb: He has his labour for his pains

Preferment=Preference given, precedence granted
Design=A work in hand, enterprise, cause
Compleat:
Preferment=Verhooging, voortrekking, bevordering tot Staat
Design=Opzet, voorneemen, oogmerk, aanslag, toeleg, ontwerp
He had labour for his pains=Hy had zyn moeite tot een belooning

Topics: proverbs and idioms, duty, plans/intentionsauathority, corruption, conspiracy

Be it my wrong you are from me exempt, but wrong not that wrong with a more contempt

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Adriana
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
I never spake with her in all my life.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
How can she thus then call us by our names—
Unless it be by inspiration?
ADRIANA
How ill agrees it with your gravity
To counterfeit thus grossly with your slave,
Abetting him to thwart me in my mood.
Be it my wrong you are from me exempt,
But wrong not that wrong with a more contempt.
Come, I will fasten on this sleeve of thine.
Thou art an elm, my husband, I a vine
Whose weakness, married to thy stronger state,
Makes me with thy strength to communicate.
If aught possess thee from me, it is dross,
Usurping ivy, brier, or idle moss,
Who, all for want of pruning, with intrusion
Infect thy sap and live on thy confusion.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
To me she speaks; she moves me for her theme.
What, was I married to her in my dream?
Or sleep I now and think I hear all this?
What error drives our eyes and ears amiss?
Until I know this sure uncertainty
I’ll entertain the offered fallacy.

DUTCH:
Hoe kwalijk strookt het met uw waardigheid ,
Dit guichelspel te spelen met uw slaaf,
Hem aan te zetten, dat hij dus mij terg’!
Lijd ik het onrecht, dat gij mij verlaat,
Hoop niet op onrecht onrecht door uw smaad.

MORE:
Proverb: The vine embraces the elm

Be it=Accepting that it is
To counterfeit=To feign
Thus grossly=So evidently
Exempt=Separated; not subject to my control; relieved from duty (also denoting a person or institution not subject to the jurisdiction of a particular bishop) (OED)
Compleat:
Ill at ease=Onpasselyk, kwaalyk te pas
Gross=Grof, plomp, onbebouwen
You grossly mistake my meaning=Gy vergist u grootelyks omtrent myn meening
To counterfeit (feign)=(Zich) Veinzen
A counterfeit friendship=Een gemaakte of geveinsde vriendschap

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, conspiracy, deceit

But in this point all his tricks founder, and he brings his physic after his patient’s death

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Chamberlain
CONTEXT:
SUFFOLK
The Cardinal’s letters to the Pope miscarried
And came to th’ eye o’ th’ King, wherein was read
How that the Cardinal did entreat his Holiness
To stay the judgment o’ th’ divorce; for if
It did take place, “I do,” quoth he, “perceive
My king is tangled in affection to
A creature of the Queen’s, Lady Anne Bullen.”
SURREY
Has the King this?
SUFFOLK
Believe it.
SURREY
Will this work?
CHAMBERLAIN
The King in this perceives him how he coasts
And hedges his own way. But in this point
All his tricks founder, and he brings his physic
After his patient’s death: the King already
Hath married the fair lady.

DUTCH:
Nu merkt de koning, hoe de paap zijn wegen
Omsluipt, doorsnuffelt; doch thans helpen hem
Zijn treken niets; thans komt hij met zijn drankjen
Na ‘s lijders dood.

MORE:
Proverb: After death the doctor
Miscarried=Wrongly delivered
Creature=Servant
To coast=Wander, change course (in allegance)
To hedge=Shift
Compleat:
Miscarry=Mislukken, quaalyk uytvallen
The letter was miscarry’d=De brief was niet wel besteld
To coast along=Langs de strand (of kust) vaaren
To hedge=Beheynen, omheynen

Topics: conspiracy, discovery, truth, proverbs and idioms

But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we’ll not fail.

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 1.7
SPEAKER: Lady Macbeth
CONTEXT:
We fail?
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep—
Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey
Soundly invite him—his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so convince
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep
Their drenchèd natures lie as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
The unguarded Duncan? What not put upon
His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?

DUTCH:
Mislukken!
Schroef slechts uw moed tot aan het hoogste punt,
En het mislukt ons niet.

MORE:
There are several definitions of ‘sticking place’: Samuel Johnson descibes it as the place of being stopped, unable to proceed. It is also described as the point at which a tuning peg is set in its hole and the mark to which a soldier screwed up the cord of a crossbow (OED).
Schmidt:
Sticking-place= the place in which the peg of a stringed instrument remains fast; the proper degree of tension
Convince=Overcome, defeat
Warder=A guard, a keeper, a sentinel “Memory, the warder of the brain”
A fume=A delusion, a phantasm, anything hindering, like a mist, the function of the brain
Limbeck=An alembic (alchemical still)
Onions:
Sticking-place=Point at which (it) remains firm
The rather=The more quickly
Compleat:
Limbeck=Een afzyphelm
Alembick=Een Destilleerhelm, in de Scheikonst

Topics: invented or popularised, still in use, plans/intentions, conspiracy, deceit, offence

Complots of mischief, treason, villainies ruthful to hear, yet piteously performed

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
AARON
And if it please thee! why, assure thee, Lucius,
‘Twill vex thy soul to hear what I shall speak;
For I must talk of murders, rapes and massacres,
Acts of black night, abominable deeds,
Complots of mischief, treason, villainies
Ruthful to hear, yet piteously performed:
And this shall all be buried by my death,
Unless thou swear to me my child shall live.
LUCIUS
Tell on thy mind; I say thy child shall live.
Swear that he shall, and then I will begin.
AARON
Swear that he shall, and then I will begin.
LUCIUS
Who should I swear by? thou believest no god:
That granted, how canst thou believe an oath?

DUTCH:
Ik moet van doodslag spreken, moord en schennis,
Van daden, zwart gelijk de nacht, afschuw’lijk,
Van samenspanning, schurkerij, verraad,
Voor ‘t hooren wreed, toch deerniswaard volvoerd;
Wat alles in mijn dood begraven wordt,
Tenzij, naar uwen eed, mijn kind blijft leven.

MORE:
Assure thee=Be assured
Complots=Conspiracies
Ruthful=Lamentable
Piteously=Causing pity
Tell on=Speak
Compleat:
To assure=Verzekeren
Complot=Saamenrotten
Ruthfull=(compassionate) Mededoogend; (pitifull) Medoogens waardig
Piteously=Elendiglyk

Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions, discovery, promise

Foul whisperings are abroad

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Doctor
CONTEXT:
Foul whisp’rings are abroad. Unnatural deeds
Do breed unnatural troubles. Infected minds
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.
More needs she the divine than the physician.

DUTCH:
Men fluistert gruw’len. Onnatuurlijk doen
Baart onnatuurlijk wee.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Foul=Disgraceful, derogatory, detractive
Whisperings = rumours
Unnatural = supernatural (sleepwalkers were considered to be cursed; sleepwalking a sign of demonic possession)

Topics: madness, guilt, conspiracy, language

Full of ambition, an envious emulator of every man’s good parts

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Oliver
CONTEXT:
OLIVER
Charles, I thank thee for thy love to me, which thou
shalt find I will most kindly requite. I had myself
notice of my brother’s purpose herein and have by
underhand means laboured to dissuade him from it; but he
is resolute. I’ll tell thee, Charles: it is the
stubbornest young fellow of France, full of ambition, an
envious emulator of every man’s good parts, a secret
and villainous contriver against me his natural brother.
Therefore use thy discretion. I had as lief thou didst
break his neck as his finger. And thou wert best look to
’t, for if thou dost him any slight disgrace or if he
do not mightily grace himself on thee, he will practice
against thee by poison, entrap thee by some treacherous
device and never leave thee till he hath ta’en thy life
by some indirect means or other. For I assure thee—and
almost with tears I speak it—there is not one so young
and so villainous this day living. I speak but brotherly
of him, but should I anatomise him to thee as he is, I
must blush and weep, and thou must look pale and wonder.
CHARLES
I am heartily glad I came hither to you. If he come
tomorrow, I’ll give him his payment. If ever he go alone
again, I’ll never wrestle for prize more. And so God
keep your Worship.

DUTCH:
Ik moet u zeggen, Charles, dat hij de koppigste knaap is van geheel Frankrijk, vol eerzucht, vol nijdigen naijver op ieders gaven, een geniepige en boosaardige belager van mij, zijn lijflijken broeder

MORE:
Requite=Reward
Underhand=Unobtrusive, unnoticed
Envious=Jealous; Spiteful, malicious
Emulator=Envier
Parts=Qualities
Contriver=Plotter
As lief=Would be as happy to
Grace himself on thee=Gain honour or credit at your expense
Practice=Plot
Device=Trick
Anatomise=Analyse, dissect
Compleat:
To requite=Vergelden
Underhand=Heimelyk, onder de hand, ter sluik
Envious=Nydig, afgunstig, wangunstig
Emulator=Een na-yveraar
Parts=Deelen, hoedaanigheden, begaafdheden
To contrive=Bedenken, verzinnen
I had as lief=Ik wilde al zo lief
To grace=Vercieren, bevallig maaken
Practice=(underhand dealing, intrigue, plot) Praktyk, bedekten handel, list

Topics: ambition, purpose, conspiracy, deceit, plans/intentions

I am a man more sinned against than sinning

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Lear
CONTEXT:
Caitiff, to pieces shake,
That under covert and convenient seeming
Hast practised on man’s life. Close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents and cry
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man
More sinned against than sinning.

DUTCH:
Een man meer gezondigd tegen dan zondigend/
Ik ben een man tegen wie meer gezondigd is dan hij zelf gezondigd heeft

MORE:
Sometimes mistranslated, e.g. “tegen wie je meer gezondigd hebt dan je gezondigd hebt” or “Ik ben een man die meer heeft gezondigd dan de zondigen”
Seeming=Hypocrisy
Caitiff=Wretch
Continent=Container, cover.
Close pent-up guilts=Concealed crimes
Practised on=Plotted against
Rive=open up
Summoner=official who summoned offenders to appear before ecclesiastical courts
Compleat:
To rive asunder=Opscheuren, opsplyten, opbarsten
Summoner=Een gerechtsboode

Topics: mercy, offence, conspiracy, secrecy, blame

I mean the whispered ones, for they are yet but ear-kissing arguments.

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Curan
CONTEXT:
Nay, I know not. You have heard of the news abroad?— I mean the whispered ones, for they are yet but ear-kissing arguments.

DUTCH:
Ik bedoel de zaken waarover gefluisterd wordt, want het zijn onderwerpen die je alleen maar heel voorzichtig kunt aanroeren.

MORE:
Schmidt:
News abroad=Talk going around
Ear-kissing (or ear-bussing)= Whispered
Arguments=Subjects, topics
Compleat:
To set a story abroad=Een gerucht verspreiden

Topics: conspiracy

I shall not want false witness to condemn me

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
Sharp Buckingham unburthens with his tongue
The envious load that lies upon his heart;
And dogged York, that reaches at the moon,
Whose overweening arm I have pluck’d back,
By false accuse doth level at my life:
And you, my sovereign lady, with the rest,
Causeless have laid disgraces on my head,
And with your best endeavour have stirr’d up
My liefest liege to be mine enemy:
Ay, all you have laid your heads together–
Myself had notice of your conventicles–
And all to make away my guiltless life.
I shall not want false witness to condemn me,
Nor store of treasons to augment my guilt;
The ancient proverb will be well effected:
‘A staff is quickly found to beat a dog.’

DUTCH:
Ja, ja, gij allen staakt uw hoofden saam, —
Ik kreeg bericht van uwe samenkomsten, —
Om naar mijn schuldloos leven mij te staan.
Het valsch getuignis, dat mij oordeelt, komt wel;
Door tal van listen groeit mijn schuld wel aan;
Bewaarheid zal het oude spreekwoord worden,
Dat, wie een hond wil slaan, den stok wel vindt.

MORE:

Proverb: A staff is quickly found to beat a dog. Other versions are “It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog”; or “It is easy to find a stone to throw at a dog”.

Unburthen=To unload, to free from a burden
Overween=Overreach, be arrogant or presumptuous
Accuse=Accusation
Level at=Aim at
Causeless=Groundless
Liefest=Dearest
Conventicles=Secret meetings, plotting
Want=Lack
Augment=Increase

Compleat:
Unburden=Ontlasten, ontheffen
Overween=Al te veel van zich zelven houden, zich vleijen
Overweening=Laatdunkendheid, verwaandheid, eigenliefde
Accusation=Beschuldiging, aanklaagingn, betichting, aantyging
Level at=Mikken, doelen, bestryken, beschieten
Causeless=Zonder oorzaak
Liefest=Liefst
Conventicle=Een kleine vergadering, doch wordt doorgaans genomen voor een sluipvergadering, or saamenrotting
Want=Gebrek, nood
Augment=Vermeerderen, vergrooten, toeneemen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, justice, conspiracy

If I do not gull him into a nayword and make him a common recreation, do not think I have wit enough to liestraight in my bed

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Maria
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
Do ’t, knight. I’ll write thee a challenge. Or I’ll
deliver thy indignation to him by word of mouth.
MARIA
Sweet Sir Toby, be patient for tonight. Since the youth
of the count’s was today with thy lady, she is much out
of quiet. For Monsieur Malvolio, let me alone with him.
If I do not gull him into a nayword and make him a
common recreation, do not think I have wit enough to lie
straight in my bed. I know I can do it.

DUTCH:
Wat dien sinjeur
Malvolio betreft, laat mij maar met hem begaan;
als ik hem er niet zoo in laat loopen, dat hij tot
een spreekwoord wordt en tot een verlustiging voor het
volk, geloof dan van mij, dat ik geen verstand genoeg
heb om rechtuit in mijn bed te liggen; ik weet zeker,
dat ik het kan.

MORE:
Gull=Trick
Nayword=Watchword
Common recreation=Source of general amusement
Compleat:
Gull=Bedrieger
To gull=Bedriegen, verschalken. You look as if you had a mind to gull me=Hete schynt of gy voorneemens waart om my te foppen
Recreation=Vermaak, uytspanning, verlustiging

Topics: deceit, insults, conspiracy, skill/talent

It is now high suppertime, and the night grows to waste

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
RODERIGO
And that you would have me to do!
IAGO
Ay, if you dare do yourself a profit and a right. He
sups tonight with a harlotry, and thither will I go to
him. He knows not yet of his honourable fortune. If you
will watch his going thence (which I will fashion to
fall out between twelve and one) you may take him at
your pleasure. I will be near to second your attempt,
and he shall fall between us. Come, stand not amazed at
it, but go along with me. I will show you such a
necessity in his death that you shall think yourself
bound to put it on him. It is now high suppertime, and
the night grows to waste. About it!
RODERIGO
I will hear further reason for this.
IAGO
And you shall be satisfied.

DUTCH:
Ja, als gij den moed hebt om uzelven voordeel te verschaffen en
recht. Hij eet van avond bij een lichtekooi, en daar zal ik bij hem komen; hij weet nog niets van zijn eervol geluk

MORE:
Harlotry=Harlot
Honourable fortune=Good luck
Fashion=Arrange
Fall out=Happen
Second=Support
Show you such a necessity=Persuade you of the need for
Night grows to waste=Time is wasting
Compleat:
Harlotry=Hoerery
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren
To fall out=Uytvallen
To second=Bystaan, byspringen, ondersteunen; te hulp komen

Topics: risk, advantage, benefit, conspiracy, justification

King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Bedford
CONTEXT:
BEDFORD
Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night!
Comets, importing change of times and states,
Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky,
And with them scourge the bad revolting stars
That have consented unto Henry’s death!
King Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!
England ne’er lost a king of so much worth.

DUTCH:
Tot Hendriks dood vereend, des vijfden Hendriks,
Die al te roemrijk was om lang te leven!
England verloor geen koning ooit, zoo groot.

MORE:
Importing=Portending, signifying
States=Conditions, circumstances
Brandish=Flourish
Crystal=Bright
Tresses=The ‘long hair’ (Comet being from the Greek ‘kometes’, meanng long-haired)
Revolting=Rebellious
Consented unto=Conspired to cause

Compleat:
To import=Medebrengen, betekenen
State=Staat (conditoin, disposition)(State)
Brandish=Zwenken, zwaaien, doen schitteren
Crystal=Kristalayne
Tresses=Lokken, tuiten

Topics: conspiracy, nature

Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Hamlet is of the faction that is wronged.
His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy.
Sir, in this audience,
Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts
That I have shot mine arrow o’er the house
And hurt my brother.

DUTCH:
Laat mijn ontkenning van opzetlijk kwaad Me ontheffen in uw ridderziel tot op: Dat ik mijn pijl schoot over ‘t huis en trof
Mijn broeder. /
Laat mijn ontkenning hier van kwaad bedoelen Mijn vrijspraak zijn in uw grootmoedig denken, Dat ik mijn pijl heb over ‘t huis geschoten En trof mijn broeder.

MORE:
Cited in Shakespeare’s Legal Maxims (William Lowes Rushton)
Schmidt:
Disclaiming= disavowal
To purpose= plan, design
Compleat:
To disclaim=Otkennen, verzaaken, afstaan
To purpose=Voornemen, voor hebben

Topics: madness, innocence, law/legal, conspiracy

Let not our looks put on our purposes

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
CASSIUS
The morning comes upon ’s. We’ll leave you, Brutus.
—And, friends, disperse yourselves. But all remember
What you have said, and show yourselves true Romans.
BRUTUS
Good gentlemen, look fresh and merrily.
Let not our looks put on our purposes,
But bear it as our Roman actors do,
With untired spirits and formal constancy.
And so good morrow to you every one.
BRUTUS
Boy! Lucius!—Fast asleep? It is no matter.
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber.
Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies,
Which busy care draws in the brains of men.
Therefore thou sleep’st so sound.

DUTCH:
En, wakk’re mannen, vroolijk rondgeblikt;
Draagt op uw voorhoofd niet uw plan ten toon;
Neen, zet het door, als helden op ‘t tooneel,
Met onbezweken geest en kalm gemoed.

MORE:
Put on=Show
Bear it=Carry ourselves
Formal=Dignified
Constancy=Firm mind
Figures=Illusions
Compleat:
To put on=Aandoen
+G84
Formal=Gestaltig, vormelyk, naauwgezet, gemaakt
Constancy=Standvastigheid, volharding, bestendigheid
Figure=Voorbeeldsel, afbeeldsel

Topics: purpose, appearance, conspiracy, conscience

Let us assay our plot; which, if it speed, is wicked meaning in a lawful deed

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
WIDOW
I have yielded:
Instruct my daughter how she shall persever,
That time and place with this deceit so lawful
May prove coherent. Every night he comes
With musics of all sorts and songs composed
To her unworthiness: it nothing steads us
To chide him from our eaves; for he persists
As if his life lay on’t.
HELEN
Why then to-night
Let us assay our plot; which, if it speed,
Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed
And lawful meaning in a lawful act,
Where both not sin, and yet a sinful fact:
But let’s about it.

DUTCH:
Nu dan, deze’ avond
De zaak beproefd; en zoo ‘t gelukt, begaat
Een boosgezind gemoed een goede daad.

MORE:
Persever=Persevere
Coherent=Fitting
Stead=Assist (we have nothing to gain)
Lay=Depended
Assay=Attempt
Speed=Succeed
Fact=Deed, crime
Compleat:
Persevere=Volharden, volstandig blyven
Coherent=’t Zamenhangende
To stand in good stead=Dienstelyk zyn, goeden dienst doen
That will not stand them in stead=Dat zal hen niet te passe komen; ‘t zal hen niet baaten
To speed=Voortspoeden, voorspoedig zyn, wel gelukken
The business speeds well=Die zaak spoeit wel voort
Fact=Daad, feyt

Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions

Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders
follow us disquietly to our graves

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
This villain of mine comes under the prediction—there’s son against father. The king falls from bias of nature—there’s father against child. We have seen the best of our time. Machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorders follow us disquietly to our graves.

DUTCH:
De tijd onthult, wat slinksche list ook heel’;
Aan heim’lijk kwaad valt schande in ‘t eind ten deel.
Het ga u wel.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Hollowness= Emptiness and insincerity
Disquietly= In a manner destroying tranquillity and ease (unquietly)
Bias of nature= Natural course or tendency
Compleat:
Hollow=Hol. A hollow heart=Een geveynsd hart
Treachery=Trouwloosheyd, verraadery
Unquietly=Onrustiglyk

Topics: deceit, reputation, legacy, conspiracy, betrayal

My duty pricks me on to utter that which else no worldly good should draw from me

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
My gracious lord, that which I would discover
The law of friendship bids me to conceal;
But when I call to mind your gracious favours
Done to me, undeserving as I am,
My duty pricks me on to utter that
Which else no worldly good should draw from me.
Know, worthy prince, Sir Valentine, my friend,
This night intends to steal away your daughter:
Myself am one made privy to the plot.
I know you have determined to bestow her
On Turio, whom your gentle daughter hates;
And should she thus be stol’n away from you,
It would be much vexation to your age.
Thus, for my duty’s sake, I rather chose
To cross my friend in his intended drift
Than, by concealing it, heap on your head
A pack of sorrows which would press you down,
Being unprevented, to your timeless grave.

DUTCH:
Doorluchtig heer, wat ik moet openbaren,
Gebiedt de wet der vriendschap mij te heien;
Maar roep ik voor mijn geest de groote goedheid,
Door u aan mij, onwaardige, betoond,
Dan spoort mijn plicht mij aan, u mee te deelen,
Wat mij geen goed ter wereld hadde ontlokt.

MORE:
Discover=Reveal
Pricks me on=Compels
Made privy to=Told about
Drift=Plan
Sorrows to your timeless grave=Genesis: Ye shall bring my grey head with sorrow unto the grave.
Compleat:
Discover=Ontdekken, bespeuren, aan ‘t licht brengen
To prick=Prikken, steeken, prikkelen
Privy to=Meeuwustig
Drift=Oogmerk, opzet, vaart

Topics: friendship, secrecy, conspiracy

Now, good my lord, give me the scope of justice.
My patience here is touch’d.

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Angelo
CONTEXT:
I did but smile till now:
Now, good my lord, give me the scope of justice.
My patience here is touch’d. I do perceive
These poor informal women are no more
But instruments of some more mightier member
That sets them on: let me have way, my lord,
To find this practise out.

DUTCH:
Tot nu toe glimlachte ik;
Thans smeek ik, heer, vergun aan ‘t recht zijn loop;
Voorbij is mijn geduld.

MORE:
Touched=Tested
Member=One of a community
Practise=Plot

Topics: law/legal, justice, patience, conspiracy

O, what may man within him hide,
Though angel on the outward side!

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
O, what may man within him hide,
Though angel on the outward side!
How may likeness made in crimes,
Making practise on the times,
To draw with idle spiders’ strings
Most ponderous and substantial things!

DUTCH:
O, hoe boos kan ‘t harte zijn,
Schoon de mensch een engel schijn’ !

MORE:
Schmidt:
Likeness=Semblance, resembling form. (Specious or seeming virtue)
Corrupt passage: how may likeness made in crimes etc.
Spiders’ strings=webs (flimsiness)
Ponderous=Heavy

Topics: deceit, appearance, integrity, conspiracy, corruption

Stop, or all will fall in broil

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
FIRST SENATOR
Tribunes, give way; he shall to the market-place.
BRUTUS
The people are incensed against him.
SICINIUS
Stop,
Or all will fall in broil.
CORIOLANUS
Are these your herd?
Must these have voices, that can yield them now
And straight disclaim their tongues? What are your offices?
You being their mouths, why rule you not their teeth?
Have you not set them on?
MENENIUS
Be calm, be calm.
CORIOLANUS
It is a purposed thing, and grows by plot,
To curb the will of the nobility:
Suffer’t, and live with such as cannot rule
Nor ever will be ruled.
BRUTUS
Call’t not a plot:
The people cry you mock’d them, and of late,
When corn was given them gratis, you repined;
Scandal’d the suppliants for the people, call’d them
Time-pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness.

DUTCH:
Staat,
Of alles raakt in roer.

MORE:
Broil=Turmoil
Voices=Votes
Straight=Immediately
Disclaim=Disavow
Offices=Duties
Purposed=Planned
Repined=Complained
Scandalled=Slandered
Time-pleasers=Opportunists
Compleat:
Broil=Oproer, beroerte, gewoel
Voice=Stem, recht van stemmen
Straightway=Eenswegs, terstond, opstaandevoet
To disclaim=Otkennen, verzaaken, afstaan
Office=Een ampt, dienst
To purpose=Voorneemen, voorhebben
To repine=Moeijelyk zyn, misnoegd weezen, berouw hebben; benyden
To scandal=Lasteren, onteeren

Topics: conspiracy, poverty and wealth

That is good deceit
Which mates him first that first intends deceit.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Suffolk
CONTEXT:
Madam, ’tis true; and were’t not madness, then,
To make the fox surveyor of the fold?
Who being accused a crafty murderer,
His guilt should be but idly posted over,
Because his purpose is not executed.
No; let him die, in that he is a fox,
By nature proved an enemy to the flock,
Before his chaps be stain’d with crimson blood,
As Humphrey, proved by reasons, to my liege.
And do not stand on quillets how to slay him:
Be it by gins, by snares, by subtlety,
Sleeping or waking, ’tis no matter how,
So he be dead; for that is good deceit
Which mates him first that first intends deceit.

DUTCH:
Want dat is goed bedrog,
Dat eerst hèm velt, die ‘t eerst zon op bedrog.

MORE:

Proverb: Give not the wolf (fox) the wether (sheep) to keep
Proverb: Make not the wolf your shepherd

Idly=Foolishly
Posted over=Disregarded
Chaps=Jaws
Quillet=Tricks in argument, distinctions, subtleties
Gins=Traps
Mate=Confound, surprise, catch out

Compleat:
Idly=Zottelyk
To talk idly=Ydelyk of gebrekkelyk praaten; zotte klap uitslaan
Quillet=(The querks and quillets of the law): De kneepen en draaijen der Rechtsgeleerden
Gin=Een strik, valstrik
To mate=Verbaazen, verwonderen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, conspiracy, plans/intentions

That which I would discover the law of friendship bids me to conceal

Topics: friendship, secrecy, conspiracy

The best persuasions to the contrary Fail not to use, and with what vehemency The occasion shall instruct you

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VIII
Be of good cheer;
They shall no more prevail than we give way to.
Keep comfort to you; and this morning see
You do appear before them: if they shall chance,
In charging you with matters, to commit you,
The best persuasions to the contrary
Fail not to use, and with what vehemency
The occasion shall instruct you: if entreaties
Will render you no remedy, this ring
Deliver them, and your appeal to us
There make before them. Look, the good man weeps!
He’s honest, on mine honour. God’s blest mother!
I swear he is true-hearted; and a soul
None better in my kingdom. Get you gone,
And do as I have bid you

DUTCH:
Zoo laat niet na, uw beste tegengronden
Te ontvouwen, met al ‘t vuur en al de kracht,
Die ‘t oogenblik u ingeeft.

MORE:
Give way=Permit
Chance=Happen to, if it so happens that
Instruct=Requires, is appropriate
Compleat:
To give way=Wyken, plaats maaken
To chance=Voorvallen, gebeuren
If any man chance to ask=Byaldien iemand zou moogen vraagen

Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions, rivalry

The love of wicked men converts to fear; That fear to hate, and hate turns one or both To worthy danger and deserved death.

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD II
Northumberland, thou ladder wherewithal
The mounting Bolingbroke ascends my throne,
The time shall not be many hours of age
More than it is ere foul sin gathering head
Shalt break into corruption: thou shalt think,
Though he divide the realm and give thee half,
It is too little, helping him to all;
And he shall think that thou, which know’st the way
To plant unrightful kings, wilt know again,
Being ne’er so little urged, another way
To pluck him headlong from the usurped throne.
The love of wicked men converts to fear;
That fear to hate, and hate turns one or both
To worthy danger and deserved death.

DUTCH:
Bij snoode vrienden wordt licht liefde vrees,
De vrees tot haat, en haat brengt éen van beiden,
Of beiden, welverdiend gevaar en dood.

MORE:
Wherewithal=With which, by means of which (he is using your ladder)
Gathering head=Coming to a head
Sin=Transgression of the divine law
Helping=Having helped
Unrightful=Illegitimate
So little urged=With only the slightest encouragement
Headlong=Unceremoniously

Compleat:
Now my designs gathering to a head=Nu beginnen myn voornemens ryp te worden
Urged=Gedrongen, geprest, aangedrongen
Headlong=Vlak voorover, plotseling

Topics: loyalty, betrayal, conspiracy, corruption, consequence

The net has fall’n upon me! I shall perish under device and practice.

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Lo, you, my lord,
The net has fall’n upon me! I shall perish
Under device and practice.
BRANDON
I am sorry
To see you ta’en from liberty, to look on
The business present: ’tis his highness’ pleasure
You shall to the Tower.
BUCKINGHAM
It will help me nothing
To plead mine innocence; for that dye is on me
Which makes my whitest part black. The will of heaven
Be done in this and all things! I obey.

DUTCH:
Zie, mylord,
Daar valt het net reeds op mij; ‘k ben verloren
Door list en loos bedrog.

MORE:
Device=Plots
Practice=Artifice, stratagem, insidious device
Compleat:
Practice (underhand dealing, intrigue, way of proceeding)=Praktyk, bedekten handel, list
Device=List; uytvindsel, gedichtsel

Topics: conspiracy, innocence

The time shall not be many hours of age More than it is ere foul sin gathering head Shalt break into corruption.

DUTCH:
De tijd zal niet veel ouder zijn dan nu,
Eer booze zonde rijpt en zich verzamelt
En openbreekt

Compleat:
Now my designs gathering to a head=Nu beginnen myn voornemens ryp te worden
Urged=Gedrongen, geprest, aangedrongen
Headlong=Vlak voorover, plotseling

Topics: loyalty, betrayal, conspiracy, corruption, time

There is but one mind in all these men

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Artemidorus
CONTEXT:
ARTEMIDORUS
“Caesar, beware of Brutus. Take heed of Cassius. Come not near Casca. Have an eye to Cinna. Trust not Trebonius. Mark well Metellus Cimber. Decius Brutus loves thee not. Thou hast wronged Caius Ligarius. There is but one mind in all these men, and it is bent against Caesar. If thou beest not immortal, look about you. Security gives way to conspiracy. The mighty gods defend thee!
Thy lover,
Artemidorus”
Here will I stand till Caesar pass along,
And as a suitor will I give him this.
My heart laments that virtue cannot live
Out of the teeth of emulation.
If thou read this, O Caesar, thou mayst live.
If not, the Fates with traitors do contrive.

DUTCH:
Slechts een geest leeft in al deze mannen,
en die is tegen Caesar gekeerd.

MORE:
Look about you=Keep your eyes open, take care
Security=Over-confidence
Suitor=Petitioner
Out of the teeth=Beyond the reach
Emulation=Rivalry, envy
Contrive=Conspire
Compleat:
To look about=Rondom zien, omkyken
Secure (fearless or careless)=Onbevreest, zorgeloos
Suiter in chancery=een Pleiter in de Kanselarij
Emulation=Haayver, volgzucht, afgunst
To contrive=Bedenken, verzinnen, toestellen

Burgersdijk notes:
Caesar, neem u in acht enz. Plutarchus bericht, dat zekere Artemidorus, een rhetor uit Cnidos, die van de samenzwering kennis had gekregen, aan Caesar bij zijn gang naar de Senaatszitting een klein geschrift overreikte, waarin hij hem de noodigste inlichtingen gaf en zeer aandrong, dat Caesar, dit onmiddellijk lezen zou. Deze beproefde het verscheidene keeren, maar werd er in verhinderd door de menigte volks, dat hem begroette.

Topics: conspiracy, defence, envy, unity/collaboration

These days are dangerous.
Virtue is choked with foul ambition

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
Ah, gracious lord, these days are dangerous.
Virtue is choked with foul ambition,
And charity chased hence by rancor’s hand;
Foul subornation is predominant,
And equity exiled your Highness’ land.
I know their complot is to have my life;
And if my death might make this island happy
And prove the period of their tyranny,
I would expend it with all willingness.
But mine is made the prologue to their play;
For thousands more, that yet suspect no peril,
Will not conclude their plotted tragedy.

DUTCH:
0, beste heer, de tijden zijn gevaarlijk.
Door schandlijke eerzucht wordt de deugd verstikt,
Door hoozen wrok barmhartigheid verjaagd;

MORE:

Subornation=Instigation to perjury
Predominant=Prevalent, in the ascendant (astrolology)
Equity=Justice
Complot=Conspiracy

Compleat:
Subornation=Besteeking, een bestoken werk, omkooping
To suborn a witness=Eenen getuige opmaaken of omkoopen
Equity=Billijkheid
Complot=Saamenrotten
Predominant=’t Geene het hoogste gebied voert, opperheerschend, heerschappy voerend

Topics: virtue, ambition, envy, justice, conspiracy, plans/intentions

This fool’s speed be crossed with slowness. labour be his meed

DUTCH:
Daal, ‘s hemels zegen, daal
Op haar, en worde dezen dwaas zijn spoed
Door tegenspoed gestremd, met leed begroet!

MORE:
Proverb: He has his labour for his pains

Topics: proverbs and idioms, duty, plans/intentionsauathority, corruption, conspiracy

Thou hast no figures nor no fantasies which busy care draws in the brains of men; therefore thou sleep’st so sound

DUTCH:
Knaap! Lucius! – Vast in slaap? Nu, ‘t is om ‘t even ;
Geniet den honig-zwaren dauw der sluim’ring;
Uw waan ziet geen gedaanten, geene spooksels,
Die drukke zorg in ‘t brein van mannen wekt;
Dies slaapt gij zoo gezond.

MORE:
Put on=Show
Bear it=Carry ourselves
Formal=Dignified
Constancy=Firm mind
Figures=Illusions
Compleat:
To put on=Aandoen
To bear=Draagen, verdraagen, voeren
Formal=Gestaltig, vormelyk, naauwgezet, gemaakt
Constancy=Standvastigheid, volharding, bestendigheid
Figure=Voorbeeldsel, afbeeldsel

Topics: purpose, appearance, conspiracy, conscience

Though other things grow fair against the sun, yet fruits that blossom first will first be ripe

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
Thou know’st we work by wit and not by witchcraft,
And wit depends on dilatory time.
Does’t not go well? Cassio hath beaten thee.
And thou, by that small hurt, hath cashiered Cassio.
Though other things grow fair against the sun,
Yet fruits that blossom first will first be ripe.
Content thyself awhile. In troth, ’tis morning.
Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.
Retire thee, go where thou art billeted.
Away, I say, thou shalt know more hereafter.
Nay, get thee gone.
Two things are to be done:
My wife must move for Cassio to her mistress.
I’ll set her on.
Myself, the while, to draw the Moor apart
And bring him jump when he may Cassio find
Soliciting his wife. Ay, that’s the way.
Dull not device by coldness and delay.

DUTCH:
Hoe veel ook goed gedije in ‘t licht der zon,
Die vrucht, die ‘t eerst gebloeid heeft, rijpt het eerst;

MORE:
Proverb: He that has no patience has nothing

Cashiered=Dismissed
Depends on dilatory time=Time moves slowly
Other things grow fair=Long-term plans blossom slowly
Fruits that blossom first=Preliminary plans (have already borne fruit)
Move for=Plead for
Jump=At that precise time
Device=Plot
When=At the point when
Device=Plan
To dull=To incapacitate, make inert
Coldness=Lack of enthusiasm or energy
Compleat:
To move (to stir up, to egg on, to solicit or persuade)=Aanstooken, oprokkenen
To move to compassion=Tot medelyden beweegen
Dilatory=Uitstel-zoekende
Dull=Bot, stomp, dof, dom, loom, vadsig, doodsch
It dulls my brains=Het maakt myn verstand stomp

Topics: time, plans/intentions, conspiracy, patience, purpose, proverbs and idioms

Though the truth of it stands off as gross As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it.

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop, thou cruel,
Ingrateful, savage, and inhuman creature?
Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels,
That knew’st the very bottom of my soul,
That almost mightst have coined me into gold,
Wouldst thou have practiced on me for thy use—
May it be possible that foreign hire
Could out of thee extract one spark of evil
That might annoy my finger? ‘Tis so strange
That, though the truth of it stands off as gross
As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it.
Treason and murder ever kept together
As two yoke-devils sworn to either’s purpose,
Working so grossly in a natural cause
That admiration did not whoop at them.

DUTCH:
Het is zoo vreemd,
Dat, schoon de waarheid scherp en duid’lijk afsteek
Als wit en zwart, mijn oog ze nauw’lijks zien wil.

MORE:

Use=Advantage
Grossly=Palpably, evidently
Admiration=Astonishment
Key=Control, mastery or knowledge of the inner workings

Compleat:
Gross=Grof, plomp, onbebouwen
You grossly mistake my meaning=Gy vergist u grootelyks omtrent myn meening
Admiration=Verwondering

Topics: evidence, good and bad, deceit, truth, conspiracy, loyalty

What is the course and drift of your compact?

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ADRIANA
By thee; and this thou didst return from him:
That he did buffet thee and, in his blows,
Denied my house for his, me for his wife.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Did you converse, sir, with this gentlewoman?
What is the course and drift of your compact?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
I, sir? I never saw her till this time.ƒ
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Villain, thou liest; for even her very words
Didst thou deliver to me on the mart.

DUTCH:
Dus hebt ge met deze edelvrouw gesproken?
Van waar die afspraak? en wat wilt ge er mee?

MORE:
Course=Gist
Drift=Scope, aim, intention or drive
Compact=Covenant, contract or collusion, alliance
Compleat:
Course (way or means)=Wegen of middelen
To take bad courses=Kwaade gangen gaan
Drift=Oogmerk, opzet, vaart
Compact=Verdrag, verding, verbond
It was done by compact=Het geschiede met voorbedachten raad (or door een hemelyk verdrag)

Topics: purpose, contract, plans/intentions, conspiracy

Where we are There’s daggers in men’s smiles

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Donalbain
CONTEXT:
Our separated fortune
Shall keep us both the safer. Where we are,
There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood,
The nearer bloody.

DUTCH:
Naar Ierland ik; het veiligst voor ons beiden
Is, dat we uiteengaan; in een glimlach schuilt
Hier licht een dolk. Hoe nader in den bloede,
Des te eerder bloedig.

MORE:
An allusion to a ‘received truth’/proverb, “The nearer in kin the less in kindness” (1565).

Topics: conspiracy, deceit, appearance, betrayal, relationship, proverbs and idioms

Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough to mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy. Hide it in smiles and affability.

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Lucius
CONTEXT:
LUCIUS
No, sir. Their hats are plucked about their ears,
And half their faces buried in their cloaks,
That by no means I may discover them
By any mark of favour.
BRUTUS
Let ’em enter.
They are the faction. O conspiracy,
Shamest thou to show thy dangerous brow by night
When evils are most free? O, then by day
Where wilt thou find a cavern dark enough
To mask thy monstrous visage? Seek none, conspiracy.
Hide it in smiles and affability.
For if thou path, thy native semblance on,
Not Erebus itself were dim enough
To hide thee from prevention.

DUTCH:
O gij, samenzwering!
Schroomt gij uw dreigend voorhoofd ‘s nachts to toonen,
Wanneer het kwaad vrij omgaat? Waar dan vindt gij
Bij dag een grot, wier zwart uw monsteraanschijn
Genoeg vermomt? O zoek niet, samenzwering ;
Een glimlach zij uw mom en vriend’lijkheid

MORE:
Proverb: Fair face foul heart

Plucked about=Pulled down over
Discover=Identify
Mark of favour=Feature, identifying mark
Dangerous=Threatening
Native semblance=True appearance
Prevention=Being stopped (recognised)
Compleat:
Plucked=Gerukt
Discover=Ontdekken, bespeuren, aan ‘t licht brengen
Semblance=Gelykenis, schyn
Prevention=Voorkoming, verhoeding, verhinderen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit, appearance, conspiracy

While you here do snoring lie,
Open-eyed conspiracy His time doth take.

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Ariel
CONTEXT:
My master through his art foresees the danger
That you, his friend, are in, and sends me forth
(For else his project dies) to keep them living.
While you here do snoring lie,
Open-eyed conspiracy
His time doth take.
If of life you keep a care,
Shake off slumber and beware.
Awake, awake!

DUTCH:
„Slaapt gij? Wakker is ‘t verraad;
‘t Waart hier; weet, dat euveldaad
U dreigend naakt.
Is nog iets u ‘t leven waard,
Springt dan op, de hand aan ‘t zwaard;
Ontwaakt! ontwaakt !”

MORE:
Project=Plan
Open-eyed=waking, watchful
Open-eyed conspiracy=Ever watchful conspiracy, waiting for an opportunity
Compleat:
Project=Voorneemen
To project(design or contrive)=Ontwerpen, smeeden, voorhebben, uitvinden
“Open-eyed Conspiracy” is the title of a book about American author William Dean Howells.

Topics: conspiracy, preparation, caution, negligence

Who cannot be crushed with a plot?

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
FIRST SOLDIER
You are undone, captain, all but your scarf; that has a knot on’t yet
PAROLLES
Who cannot be crushed with a plot?
FIRST SOLDIER
If you could find out a country where but women were
that had received so much shame, you might begin an
impudent nation. Fare ye well, sir; I am for France too: we shall speak of you there.
PAROLLES
Yet am I thankful if my heart were great
‘Twould burst at this. Captain I’ll be no more;
But I will eat and drink, and sleep as soft
As captain shall: simply the thing I am
Shall make me live. Who knows himself a braggart,
Let him fear this; for it will come to pass
That every braggart shall be found an ass.
Rust, sword! cool, blushes! and, Parolles, live
Safest in shame! being fooled, by foolery thrive!
There ‘s place and means for every man alive.
I’ll after them.

DUTCH:
Wie kan niet door een complot vernietigd worden?

MORE:
Impudent=Shameless
Braggart=Boaster
Found an ass=Shown to be an ass
Shame=Dishonour, disgrace
Compleat:
Impudent=Onbeschaamd, schaamteloos
Braggart, braggard or Braggadochio=Een pocher, Blaaskaak
Shame (reproach, ignominy)=Schande

Topics: conspiracy, loyalty

You take a precipice for no leap of danger, And woo your own destruction.

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
CRANMER
Most dread liege,
The good I stand on is my truth and honesty:
If they shall fail, I, with mine enemies,
Will triumph o’er my person; which I weigh not,
Being of those virtues vacant. I fear nothing
What can be said against me.
KING HENRY VIII
Know you not
How your state stands i’ the world, with the whole world?
Your enemies are many, and not small; their practices
Must bear the same proportion; and not ever
The justice and the truth o’ the question carries
The due o’ the verdict with it: at what ease
Might corrupt minds procure knaves as corrupt
To swear against you? such things have been done.
You are potently opposed; and with a malice
Of as great size. Ween you of better luck,
I mean, in perjured witness, than your master,
Whose minister you are, whiles here he lived
Upon this naughty earth? Go to, go to;
You take a precipice for no leap of danger,
And woo your own destruction.

DUTCH:
Ga, ga voort!
Een afgrond schijnt u geen gewaagde sprong;
Gij zoekt het onheil!

MORE:
Dread=Revered
Weigh=Value
Vacant=Without, lacking
Practice=Plot
Due=Right, benefit
At=With
Procure=Buy, bribe
Potently opposed=Powerful opponents
Ween=Think
Minister=Agent
Compleat:
Dread sovereign=Geduchte Vorst
Weigh very much with me=Zyn van groot gewigt by my
To procure=Te wege brengen, verkrygen, bekomen, erlangen
Potent=Magtig

Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions, rivalry