CJTranslations - Shakespeare quotes on contract

QUOTES BY TOPIC

Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Portia
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
Tarry a little. There is something else.
This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood.
The words expressly are “a pound of flesh.”
Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh,
But in the cutting it if thou dost shed
One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods
Are by the laws of Venice confiscate
Unto the state of Venice.

DUTCH:
De schuldbrief hier geeft u geen druppel bloeds; De woorden zijn uitdrukk’lijk: een pond vleesch.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
United States Aviation Underwriters, Inc. v. Fitchburg-Leominster, 42 F.3d 84, 86 (1994);
Jones v. Jones, 189 Misc. 186, 70 N.Y.S.2d 111, 112 (N.Y. Civ. Ct. 1947)(Panken, J.)

Tarry a little=Just one moment
Confiscate=Confiscated
Compleat:
To confiscate=Verbeurd maaken, verbeurd verklaaren

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

All his successors – gone before him – hath done’t, and all his ancestors – that come after him – may

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Slender
CONTEXT:
SHALLOW
Ay, cousin Slender, and ‘Custalourum’.
SLENDER
Ay, and ‘Rato-lorum’ too; and a gentleman born,
master parson; who writes himself ‘Armigero,’ in any
bill, warrant, quittance, or obligation, ‘Armigero.’
SHALLOW
Ay, that I do; and have done any time these three
hundred years.
SLENDER
All his successors gone before him hath done’t; and
all his ancestors that come after him may: they may
give the dozen white luces in their coat.

DUTCH:
Al zijn afstammelingen, die voor hem waren, hebben het gedaan; en al zijn stamvaders, die na hem komen, mogen het doen; zij mogen hun dozijn zilveren pietermannen op hun riddermantel dragen.

MORE:
“Rato-lorum” is another mistake for the term “custos rotulorum.” a name for the keeper of the rolls, the principal justice in the county.
Luce=Pike symbol (fleur de lys)
Bill=Indictment
Obligation=Contract, bond
Quittance=Discharge from a debt, acquittance: “in any bill, warrant, q. or obligation”
Compleat:
Luce=A flower de luce, Fransche lely
Quittance=Kwytschelding, kwytingsbrief, quitancie

Burgersdijk notes:
Coram, custalorum, ratolorum, armigero. Zielig (Shallow) heeft zich even te voren reeds esquire genoemd, wat hier met „zijn edelgeboren” vertaald is; – de rang van esquire is een graad lager dan die van ridder, – en nu wedijvert hij met zijn neef om zijn titels voluit op te geven. – Als vrederechter onderteekende Zielig de getuigenverhooren met de woorden: Jurat coram me, Roberto Shallow, armigero; „ hij zweert in tegenwoordigheid van (coram) mij, Robert Shallow, esquire.”
Zielig blijkt ook custos rotulorum, bewaarder der archieven van het graafschap, geweest te zijn; alsdan kon de formule worden: jurat coram me, custode rotulorum, R. S., armigero. Als verkorting kon wel geschreven worden cust-ulorum, wat door Zielig voor een woord wordt gehouden en eenigszins verkeerd uitgesproken. Zijn neef vat coram als een titel op, daarom brengt Zielig zijn waardigheid van „custalorum” in herinnering, en Slapperman meent dien te moeten aanvullen met ratolorum, waarvan hij toch ook wel eens gehoord heeft. — Met zeer weinige trekken zijn aldus Zielig en zijn neef Slapperman (Slender) geteekend.

Topics: legacy, law/legal, contract, promise

And many suchlike “as’s” of great charge

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
An earnest conjuration from the king,
As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them like the palm might flourish,
As peace should stiff her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma ’tween their amities,
And many suchlike “as’s” of great charge,
That, on the view and knowing of these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving time allowed.

DUTCH:
Zoo waar de vrede met haar arenkrans
Hun beider handen innig saam zou voegen,
En menig ander zwaar „Zoo waar” nog meer, –
Dat hij, na kennismaking van ‘t geschrift,
Fluks, zonder overwegen, zonder dralen,
Ja, zonder biechttijd toe te staan, de brengers
Zou doen onthoofden.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Conjuration=Obsecration
Shriving=To hear confession and absolve (between condemnation and execution of punishment – origin of short shrift (korte metten))
Compleat:
Conjuration=Zamenzweering, eedgespan, vloekerwantschap, bezweering
To shrive=Biechten

Burgersdijk notes:
Hun beider handen innig saam zou voegen. In ‘t Engelsch: And stand a comma ‘tween their amities. Woorden of zinsdeelen, die alleen door een comma gescheiden zijn, behooren bij elkaar, staan met elkander in nauw verband. Men heeft voor comma ook wel cement of co-mate vermoed. Hoe ‘t zij, de beteekenis is in de vertaling uitgedrukt.
In den volgenden regel staat het woord Ases, meervoudsvorm van het woordeken As; een woordspeling met asses, „ezels”, is bedoeld.
De s van As wordt in Warwickshire steeds hard uitgesproken, en zoo deed Sh. ongetwijfeld ook.

Topics: contract, language, relationship, friendship

And our indentures tripartite are drawn, Which being sealèd interchangeably—

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Mortimer
CONTEXT:
And our indentures tripartite are drawn,
Which being sealèd interchangeably—
A business that this night may execute—
Tomorrow, cousin Percy, you and I
And my good Lord of Worcester will set forth
To meet your father and the Scottish power,
As is appointed us, at Shrewsbury.

DUTCH:
Drievoudig zijn de stukken opgemaakt; En,hebhen wij die wederzijds bezegeld, Wat heden avond nog gebeuren kan, Dan trekken wij, neef Percy, gij en ik, Alsook mylord van Worcester, morgen op, Om uwen vader en het Schotsche leger Te Shrewsbury, naar afspraak, aan te treffen

MORE:
Indenture=Contract
The contracts were drawn up in triplicate but on a single piece of parchment which were then separated with a jagged cut so that only the original three contracts could be fitted together, to detect any attempts at forgery. Each contract carried three wax seals, with each signatory impressing his own seal (often with a ring) on the wax of all three copies.

Topics: contract, law/legal

Furnish you fairly for this interchange

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Agamemnon
CONTEXT:
CALCHAS
You have a Trojan prisoner, called Antenor,
Yesterday took: Troy holds him very dear.
Oft have you—often have you thanks therefore—
Desired my Cressid in right great exchange,
Whom Troy hath still denied: but this Antenor,
I know, is such a wrest in their affairs
That their negotiations all must slack,
Wanting his manage; and they will almost
Give us a prince of blood, a son of Priam,
In change of him: let him be sent, great princes,
And he shall buy my daughter; and her presence
Shall quite strike off all service I have done,
In most accepted pain.
AGAMEMNON
Let Diomedes bear him,
And bring us Cressid hither: Calchas shall have
What he requests of us. Good Diomed,
Furnish you fairly for this interchange:
Withal bring word if Hector will to-morrow
Be answered in his challenge: Ajax is ready.
DIOMEDES
This shall I undertake; and ’tis a burden
Which I am proud to bear.

DUTCH:
En, Diomedes,
Zorg voor die zaak u waardig uit te rusten;
Bericht ons ook, of Hector nu op morgen
Den kamp laat doorgaan; Ajax is bereid.

MORE:

Wrest=Tuning key
Slack=Slow down, flag
Manage=Guidance
Change of=Exchange for
Accepted=Willingly endured
Furnish=Equip
Compleat:
Wrest=Strykstok
To slack=Losmaaken, ontbinden, bot geeven; (retard) Zammelen, agter blyven
Manage=De bestiering
To furnish=Verschaffen, voorzien, verzorgen, stoffeeren, toetakelen

Topics: value, business, resolution, contract

Good wombs have borne bad sons.

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Miranda
CONTEXT:
MIRANDA
I should sin
To think but nobly of my grandmother;
Good wombs have borne bad sons.
PROSPERO
Now the condition.
This King of Naples, being an enemy
To me inveterate, hearkens my brother’s suit,
Which was that he, in lieu o’th’ premises
Of homage, and I know not how much tribute,
Should presently extirpate me and mine
Out of the dukedom and confer fair Milan,
With all the honours, on my brother. Whereon –
A treacherous army levied – one midnight
Fated to th’ purpose did Antonio open
The gates of Milan and i’th’ dead of darkness
The ministers for th’ purpose hurried thence
Me and thy crying self.

DUTCH:
t Waar’ zonde, zoo ik
Zelfs in gedachte een blaam wierp op uw moeder;
Reeds menig eed’le schoot droeg slechte zoons.

MORE:
In lieu o’th’ premises=In exchange for the stipulations (of the agreement with the King of Naples)
Schmidt:
Homage=Fealty and service professed to a superior lord
Tribute=Stated payment made in acknowledgment of submission, or as the price of peace, or by virtue of a treaty
Extirpate=To root out, to remove completely
Fated=Destined by fate
Ministers=Agents (assigned to the task)
Compleat:
Homage=Hulde, hulding, manschap, onderdaanigheid
Tribute=Cynsgeld, schatting; Tol, impost
He was the principal minister (or instrument) of his revenge=Hy was het voornaamste werktuig van zyne wraak
Fated=Door’t noodlot beschooren

Topics: contract, promise, fate/destiny, good and bad, envy, honour, revenge

I crave the law,
The penalty, and forfeit of my bond.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SHYLOCK
My deeds upon my head. I crave the law,
The penalty, and forfeit of my bond.
PORTIA
Is he not able to discharge the money?
BASSANIO
Yes, here I tender it for him in the court—
Yea, twice the sum. If that will not suffice,
I will be bound to pay it ten times o’er,
On forfeit of my hands, my head, my heart.
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down truth.—
And I beseech you,
Wrest once the law to your authority.
To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will.

DUTCH:
Mijn daden op mijn hoofd; ik eisch de wet,
De boete, de voldoening van mijn schuldbrief

MORE:
Cited in Shakespeare’s Legal Maxims (William Lowes Rushton).

Bond=A deed by which one binds oneself to another to make a payment or fulfil a contract
Compleat:
Bond=een Bond, verbinding, verbindschrift, obligatie
Bond of appearance=een Borgstelling van voor ‘t Recht te zullen verschynen
Enter into a bond=In een verband treeden, zich verbinden

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

I give thee thanks in part of thy deserts, and will with deeds requite thy gentleness

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Saturninus
CONTEXT:
SATURNINUS
Titus Andronicus, for thy favours done
To us in our election this day,
I give thee thanks in part of thy deserts,
And will with deeds requite thy gentleness:
And, for an onset, Titus, to advance
Thy name and honourable family,
Lavinia will I make my empress,
Rome’s royal mistress, mistress of my heart,
And in the sacred Pantheon her espouse:
Tell me, Andronicus, doth this motion please thee?
TITUS ANDRONICUS
It doth, my worthy lord; and in this match
I hold me highly honoured of your grace:
And here in sight of Rome to Saturnine,
King and commander of our commonweal,
The wide world’s emperor, do I consecrate
My sword, my chariot and my prisoners;
Presents well worthy Rome’s imperial lord:
Receive them then, the tribute that I owe,
Mine honour’s ensigns humbled at thy feet.
SATURNINUS
Thanks, noble Titus, father of my life!
How proud I am of thee and of thy gifts
Rome shall record, and when I do forget
The least of these unspeakable deserts,
Romans, forget your fealty to me.

DUTCH:
Voor al uw gunsten, Titus Andronicus,
Ons heden bij de keizerskeus betoond,
Wijd ik naar uw verdienste u dank, en wil
Met daden uwe vriend’lijkheid beloonen;

MORE:
In part of=As part of
Deserts=Reward
Gentleness=Nobility
Onset=Start
Pantheon=Temple
Motion=Proposal
Ensign=Token, emblem
Unspeakable=Indescribable
Fealty=Loyalty, obligation
Compleat:
Desert=Verdienste, verdiende loon
Gentleness=Zachtheid, zachtzinnigheid, leenigheid, behendigheid
Onset=Een aanval, bespringing; To give the onset=Den aanval doen
Motion=Beweeging, aandryving
Ensign=Een vandel, vendel, vaan, banier
Unspeakable=Onuytspreekelyk

Topics: contract, loyalty, honour, promise

I have possess’d your grace of what I purpose

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SHYLOCK
I have possessed your grace of what I purpose,
And by our holy Sabbath have I sworn
To have the due and forfeit of my bond.
If you deny it, let the danger light
Upon your charter and your city’s freedom.
You’ll ask me why I rather choose to have
A weight of carrion flesh than to receive
Three thousand ducats. I’ll not answer that
But say it is my humour. Is it answered?
What if my house be troubled with a rat
And I be pleased to give ten thousand ducats
To have it baned? What, are you answered yet?
Some men there are love not a gaping pig,
Some that are mad if they behold a cat,
And others, when the bagpipe sings i’ th’ nose,
Cannot contain their urine. For affection,
Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood
Of what it likes or loathes. Now, for your answer:
As there is no firm reason to be rendered
Why he cannot abide a gaping pig;
Why he, a harmless necessary cat;
Why he, a woollen bagpipe, but of force
Must yield to such inevitable shame
As to offend, himself being offended—
So can I give no reason, nor I will not
(More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing
I bear Antonio), that I follow thus
A losing suit against him. Are you answered?

DUTCH:
Ik deelde uw hoogheid mee wat ik verlang,
En ik bezwoer bij onzen heil’gen sabbath,
Te vord’ren, wat mij toekomt door mijn schuldbrief.

MORE:
To possess=To inform, acquaint (To put one in possession of)
Due and forfeit=Debt and penalty
Humour=Whim
Baned=Poisoned
Affection=Impulse
Of force=Perforce
Lodged=Deep-seated
Bond=A deed by which one binds oneself to another to make a payment or fulfil a contract
Compleat:
To possess one with an opinion=Iemand tot een gevoelen overbaalen, voorinnemen
Light on (his head)=’t zal op zyn kop aankomen
Enter into a bond=In een verband treeden, zich verbinden
Bane=Verderf, vergif

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

I will think you the most pathetical break-promise

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Rosalind
CONTEXT:
ROSALIND
Ay, go your ways, go your ways. I knew what you would
prove. My friends told me as much, and I thought no
less. That flattering tongue of yours won me. ‘Tis but
one cast away, and so, come, death. Two o’clock is your
hour?
ORLANDO
Ay, sweet Rosalind.
ROSALIND
By my troth, and in good earnest, and so God mend me,
and by all pretty oaths that are not dangerous, if you
break one jot of your promise or come one minute behind
your hour, I will think you the most pathetical
break-promise and the most hollow lover and the most
unworthy of her you call Rosalind that may be chosen out
of the gross band of the unfaithful. Therefore beware
my censure, and keep your promise.

DUTCH:
Bij mijn eer en trouw, en in allen ernst, en zoo waar de Hemel mij bijsta, en bij alle kleine eeden, die niet gevaarlijk zijn, als gij een tittel van uw beloften breekt, of één minuut over uw uur komt, dan acht ik u den meest snoevenden eedverkrachter;

MORE:
Go your ways=Go on
So God mend me=A mild oath
Behind your hour=Late
Pathetical=Pathetic (wretched and deplorable)
Gross=Entire
Compleat:
Pathetical=Beweegelyk, hartroerend, zielroerend
Gross=Gros

Topics: debt/obligation, time, contract, duty, promise

I would I had your bond, for I perceive a weak bond holds you. I’ll not trust your word.

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Demetrius
CONTEXT:
LYSANDER
Demetrius, I will keep my word with thee.
DEMETRIUS
I would I had your bond, for I perceive
A weak bond holds you. I’ll not trust your word.
LYSANDER
What, should I hurt her, strike her, kill her dead?
Although I hate her, I’ll not harm her so.
HERMIA
What, can you do me greater harm than hate?
Hate me? Wherefore? O me! What news, my love?
Am not I Hermia? Are not you Lysander?
I am as fair now as I was erewhile.
Since night you loved me. Yet since night you left me.
Why then, you left me—Oh, the gods forbid!—
In earnest, shall I say?

DUTCH:
Uw woord! Wat fraais! Haar hand houdt u terug!
Een zwakke hand! Uw woord, noch hand, zijn iets!

MORE:
Bond=1) Pledge, oath; 2) Restraint
What news=What happened?
Erewhile=A while back
Compleat:
Bond=een Bond, verband, verbinding, verbindschrift, obligatie
Erewhile=Onlangs, niet lang geleeden

Topics: contract, trust

If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not as to thy friends

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
ANTONIO
I am as like to call thee so again,
To spet on thee again, to spurn thee too.
If thou wilt lend this money, lend it not
As to thy friends, for when did friendship take
A breed for barren metal of his friend?
But lend it rather to thine enemy,
Who, if he break, thou mayst with better face
Exact the penalty.
SHYLOCK
Why, look you how you storm!
I would be friends with you and have your love,
Forget the shames that you have stained me with,
Supply your present wants and take no doit
Of usance for my moneys—and you’ll not hear me!
This is kind I offer.
BASSANIO
This were kindness.

DUTCH:
Wilt gij dit geld ons leenen, leen het niet
Als aan uw vrienden, — vriendschap zou geen vrucht
Van dood metaal ooit eischen van zijn vriend, —
Maar leen ‘t veeleer uw vijand uit, want blijft
Die in gebreke, des te scherper kunt gij
Het uiterste eischen.

MORE:
Take a breed for barren metal=Charge interest
For=For the sake of
With better face=With no loss of face
Storm=Rage
Doit=Coin of little value
Usance=Interest
Kind=Kindness, an act of generosity
Compleat:
Face=’t Aangezigt, gelaat, gedaante
To storm=Bestormen, raazen en tieren
He storms and rages mightily=Hy buldert en raast geweldig
Doit=Een duyt (achttste deel van een stuyver)
Usance=Koopmans gebruik, Uso, een woord onder de Koopluiden gebruikelyk omtrent de betaaling der Wisselbrieven, betekenende een maand tyd; en tusschen dit en Spanje, enz. twee maanden.

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

If we can make our peace Upon such large terms and so absolute As our conditions shall consist upon, Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Hastings
CONTEXT:
MOWBRAY
There is a thing within my bosom tells me
That no conditions of our peace can stand.
HASTINGS
Fear you not that. If we can make our peace
Upon such large terms and so absolute
As our conditions shall consist upon,
Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.
MOWBRAY
Yea, but our valuation shall be such
That every slight and false-derivèd cause,
Yea, every idle, nice, and wanton reason,
Shall to the King taste of this action,
That, were our royal faiths martyrs in love,
We shall be winnowed with so rough a wind
That even our corn shall seem as light as chaff,
And good from bad find no partition.

DUTCH:
Vrees dit geenszins! Gelukt het ons, den vrede
Zoo hecht te vesten op zoo breeden grondslag,
Als die, waar onze vord’ring zich aan houdt,
Dan is de vrede onwrikbaar als een rots.

MORE:

Schmidt:
False-derivèd cause=Not based on truth
Wanton=Capricious, frivolous
Winnowed=Sifted, tried. Winnowed opinions: probably truisms

Compleat:
To winnow corn=Koorn wannen

Topics: contract, hope/optimism, good and bad

Let him look to his bond.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SALERIO
There is more difference between thy flesh and hers
than between jet and ivory, more between your bloods
than there is between red wine and rhenish. But tell us,
do you hear whether Antonio have had any loss at sea or
no?
SHYLOCK
There I have another bad match!— a bankrupt, a prodigal
who dare scarce show his head on the Rialto, a beggar
that was used to come so smug upon the mart. Let him
look to his bond. He was wont to call me usurer; let him
look to his bond. He was wont to lend money for a
Christian courtesy; let him look to his bond.
SALERIO
Why, I am sure, if he forfeit thou wilt not take his flesh.
What’s that good for?

DUTCH:
Dat is ook al weer een kwade zaak voor me; een
bankroetier, een verkwister, die te nauwernood zijn gezicht
op den Rialto durft laten kijken; — een bedelaar,
die altijd als een groot heer op de markt kwam, — laat
hem denken aan zijn schuldbrief; hij noemde mij altoos
een woekeraar, — laat hem denken aan zijn schuldbrief;
hij leende altijd geld uit christelijke liefelijkheid , — laat
hem denken aan zijn schuldbrief!

MORE:
Match=bargain. Bad match=bad deal.
Rhenish (“Reinish, Rennish, Renish”)=Rhine wine
Bond=A deed by which one binds oneself to another to make a payment or fulfil a contract.
Usurer=lender of money who charges interest (which was thought disreputable in Shakespeare’s time)
Compleat:
Rhenish=Rinse (of Rhynse) wyn
Usurer=woekeraar
Enter into a bond=In een verband treeden, zich verbinden
To sute with (or agree)=Overeenkomen

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,
Which is not yet performed me.

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Ariel
CONTEXT:
PROSPERO
Ariel, thy charge
Exactly is performed. But there’s more work.
What is the time o’ th’ day?
ARIEL
Past the mid season.
PROSPERO
At least two glasses. The time ’twixt six and now
Must by us both be spent most preciously.
ARIEL
Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains,
Let me remember thee what thou hast promised,
Which is not yet performed me.

DUTCH:
Meer arbeids nog? Nu gij mij zooveel vergt,
Moge ik u ook op uw belofte wijzen,
Die gij nog niet vervuld hebt.

MORE:
Proverb: ‘Great promise small performance’
Two glasses=Two o’clock (Reference to hour glasses)
Pains=Labours
Preciously=Valuably
Compleat:
Burgersdijk notes:
Twee glazen ruim. Twee uren, naar het uurglas, een zandlooper voor een vol uur, berekend. —Bij de zeevaart is een glas een half uur.

Topics: promise, proverbs and idioms, time, work, contract

Let specialties be therefore drawn between us, that covenants may be kept on either hand

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Petruchio
CONTEXT:
PETRUCHIO
Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste,
And every day I cannot come to woo.
You knew my father well, and in him me,
Left solely heir to all his lands and goods,
Which I have bettered rather than decreased.
Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love,
What dowry shall I have with her to wife?
BAPTISTA
After my death, the one half of my lands,
And, in possession, twenty thousand crowns.
PETRUCHIO
And, for that dowry, I’ll assure her of
Her widowhood, be it that she survive me,
In all my lands and leases whatsoever.
Let specialties be therefore drawn between us,
That covenants may be kept on either hand.

DUTCH:
En ik, van mijnen kant, verzeker haar
Een weduwgift , – als zij mij overleeft , –
Van al mijn have en goed, hoe ook genaamd ;
Nauwkeurig zij dit wett’lijk dus omschreven,
Opdat aan weerszij het verdrag ons bind’ .

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW: Brooks v Brooks, 733 P.2d 1044 (Alaska 1987) (Burke, J.) (Presumptive validity of prenuptial agreements in contemplation of death rather than divorce)

Asketh haste=Is urgent
In possession=Immediately
Specialties=Special terms
Covenants=Stipulations
Kept=Observed
On either hand=By both sides
Compleat:
To take (or enter into) possession=Bezit nemen, de bezitting aanvaarden
Specialty=Een verbondschrift, of schuldbekentenis; een al te gemeenzaame kennis
To bind one by covenant=Iemand door een verdrag verbinden

Burgersdijk notes:
Ik kan niet elken dag hier aanzoek doen. Dit zeggen van Petruccio : And everyday I cannot come to woo, wekte zeker veel vroolijkheid bij de toeschouwers op, want het is woordelijk, met een kleine omzetting, het refrein van een oude ballade, The ingenious Bragadoccio betiteld. Ook in een tusschenspel, interlude, van Puttenham komt de regel voor: I cannot come a wooing every day.

Topics: law, poverty and wealth, haste, contract, marriage

None can drive him from the envious plea of forfeiture, of justice, and his bond.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Salerio
CONTEXT:
SALERIO
Not one, my lord.
Besides, it should appear that if he had
The present money to discharge the Jew,
He would not take it. Never did I know
A creature that did bear the shape of man
So keen and greedy to confound a man.
He plies the duke at morning and at night,
And doth impeach the freedom of the state
If they deny him justice. Twenty merchants,
The duke himself, and the magnificoes
Of greatest port have all persuaded with him.
But none can drive him from the envious plea
Of forfeiture, of justice, and his bond.

DUTCH:
De Doge zelf, en de magnifico’s
Die ‘t meest vermogen, deden al hun best,
Maar geen weerhoudt hem van den boozen eisch
Van het verbeurde, ‘t recht en het kontrakt.

MORE:
Discharge=Pay
Keen=Eager
Confound=Destroy
Impeach=Reproach
Persuaded=Tried to convince
Port=Dignity, rank
Envious=Malicious
Magnifico=Venetian grandee
Compleat:
Discharge=Ontslag, oorlof, quytschelding, quitanci
To discharge=Onstlaan, lossen, quytschelden
Keen=Scherp, bits, doordringend
Impeach=Betichten, beschuldigen, aanklaagen
Port=Voorkomen, houding
Envious=Wangunstig

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

Patience once more whiles our compact is urged

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Rosalind
CONTEXT:
DUKE SENIOR
Dost thou believe, Orlando, that the boy
Can do all this that he hath promisèd?
ORLANDO
I sometimes do believe and sometimes do not,
As those that fear they hope, and know they fear.
ROSALIND
Patience once more whiles our compact is urged.
You say, if I bring in your Rosalind,
You will bestow her on Orlando here?
DUKE SENIOR
That would I, had I kingdoms to give with her.

DUTCH:
Een oogenblik, om ons verdrag te staven.

MORE:
Compact=Contract
Urged=Declared, proclaimed
Had I=Even if I had
Compleat:
Compact=Verdrag, verding, verbond

Topics: contract, hope/optimism, marriage

The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SHYLOCK
What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong?
You have among you many a purchased slave,
Which—like your asses and your dogs and mules—
You use in abject and in slavish parts
Because you bought them. Shall I say to you,
“Let them be free! Marry them to your heirs!
Why sweat they under burdens? Let their beds
Be made as soft as yours and let their palates
Be seasoned with such viands”? You will answer,
“The slaves are ours.” So do I answer you.
The pound of flesh which I demand of him
Is dearly bought. ‘Tis mine and I will have it.
If you deny me, fie upon your law—
There is no force in the decrees of Venice.

DUTCH:

Zie, dit pond vleesch, dat ik van hem verlang, ’t Is duur gekocht.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
By 1993, “pound of flesh” had been used 120 times in courts without reference to Shakespeare. (See William Domnarski, Shakespeare in the Law)
Gates v. United States 33 Fed. Cl. 9 , 13 (1995);
Leasing Service Corporation v. Justice, 673 F.2d 70, 71 (2d Cir. 198l)(Kaufman,J.);
Eldridge v. Burns, 76 Cal. App.3d 396, 432, 142 Cal. Rptr. 845,868 (1978);
Jones v. Jones, 189 Mise. 186, 70 N.Y.S.2d lll, 112 (N.Y. C1v. Ct.1947).

Fie=Exclamation of contempt or dislike
Force=validity
Viands=Dressed meat, food
Compleat:
Fie (or fy)=Foei
Fy upon it! Fy for shame!=Foei ‘t is een schande!

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

The sooner to effect
And surer bind this knot of amity

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VI
Ay, marry, uncle; for I always thought
It was both impious and unnatural
That such immanity and bloody strife
Should reign among professors of one faith.
GLOUCESTER
Beside, my lord, the sooner to effect
And surer bind this knot of amity,
The Earl of Armagnac, near knit to Charles,
A man of great authority in France,
Proffers his only daughter to your grace
In marriage, with a large and sumptuous dowry.

DUTCH:
Om zulk verbond des te eerder te bewerken
En vaster vriendschapsknoop te leggen, biedt
Graaf Armagnac, een naverwant van Karel,
Een man van veel en groot gezag in Frankrijk
Zijn een’ge dochter, heer, aan uwe hoogheid
Ten echt aan, met een grooten, rijken bruidschat.

MORE:

Schmidt:
Immanity=Ferocity
Professor=One who makes declaration of his sentiments
Surer=More firmly
Near knit=Closely related

Compleat:
Immanity=Gruwelykheid, yslykheid
To profess=(hold a doctrine) Een leer belyden, gelooven, belydenis doen
Sure=Zeker, vast
To knit friendship=Vriendschap aangaan
To link together in a bond of amity=Zich door den band der vriendschap vereenigen

Topics: marriage, friendship, contract

The sweat of industry would dry and die but for the end it works to

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.6
SPEAKER: Belarius
CONTEXT:
BELARIUS
You, Polydore, have proved best woodman and
Are master of the feast: Cadwal and I
Will play the cook and servant; ’tis our match:
The sweat of industry would dry and die,
But for the end it works to. Come; our stomachs
Will make what’s homely savoury: weariness
Can snore upon the flint, when resty sloth
Finds the down pillow hard. Now peace be here,
Poor house, that keep’st thyself!
GUIDERIUS
I am thoroughly weary.
ARVIRAGUS
I am weak with toil, yet strong in appetite.
GUIDERIUS
There is cold meat i’ the cave; we’ll browse on that,
Whilst what we have kill’d be cook’d.

DUTCH:
Het loon verzoet den arbeid; zonder dat
Zou ‘t vuur allicht verdooven

MORE:
Resty is an obsolete form of restive (Century Dictionary: “By transition through the sense ‘impatient under restraint,’ and partly by confusion with ‘restless,’ the word has taken in present use the additional sense ‘restless.'”)
Onions defines restive as inactive, inert and sluggish (rusty).
Schmidt explains resty sloth as “stiff with too much rest”, comparing “resty-stiff” in Edward III

Woodman=Hunter
Match=Compact
Compleat:
Wood-men=Oppassers in des Konings bosschaagie, boomsnoeijers
Match (bargain)=Koop, onderhandeling, overeenstemming
Restive/Resty (froward, stubborn)=Stug, koppig
A resty horse=Een paerd dat niet voort wil of zich niet wil laaten regeeren

Topics: contract, work, satisfaction

This kindness will I show.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SHYLOCK
This kindness will I show.
Go with me to a notary, seal me there
Your single bond, and—in a merry sport—
If you repay me not on such a day,
In such a place, such sum or sums as are
Expressed in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me.

DUTCH:
Ik doe die vriendlijkheid.— Ga mee naar den notaris, teeken daar Uw schuldbrief op uw naam.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Miller v. Niedzielska, 176 Pa. 409, 411 (1896): “An examination of the records now before us leads us to the conclusion that this is a proper case for the application of the principle enunciated by Portia in a celebrated case reported by Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice. The plaintiff was permitted in that case to secure the pound of flesh, ‘nominated in the bond,’ if he could do so without taking a drop of blood. Blood had not been stipulated for in the covenant on which the plaintiff sued. This limitation did not deny the right, but it affected the remedy. This case presents a somewhat similar question.”
Henslee v. D. M. Cent. Transp., Inc., 870 F. Supp. 764 (1994): “This is a suit by a law firm to recover under a contingent fee agreement. The underlying lawsuit was settled for cash and a promise of re-employment by the client acting alone and against the firm’s advice. The contract states that the law firm is entitled to 25% of “the gross amount … realize[d] on this claim.” With Shakespearian “kindness,” the law firm argues that “the gross amount” includes not only the cash settlement received, but also the dollar value of all compensation connected with the re-employment.”
In re Keniston, 60 Bankr., 742 (1986): “In question is the fortuitous circumstance that he is now remarried to a fairly wealthy woman. The record of the trial of this matter, involving the literal language of the “document you signed” as opposed to the underlying intent of the parties, has a good bit of the flavor of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” in that regard.”
In re Estate of Shoptaw, 54 Wash. 2d 602, 606 (1959): “What makes this result particularly irksome is the realization that in some areas the United States does not exact the pound of flesh merely because it is “so nominated in the bond” (Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene 1).”.
Queen City Coach Co. v. Carolina Coach Co., 237 N.C. 697, 705 (1953): “We turn to the courtroom scene in The Merchant of Venice for the conclusive answer to the argument of Virginia that the policies and endorsements imposed on Liberty and Lloyds contractual duties to make good to Queen the loss arising out of the collision of the Queen bus and the Perkins car.It was not ‘so nominated in the bond.'”
CITED IN HONG KONG LAW:
Tins’ Industrial Co Ltd v Kono Insurance Ltd (CACV 136/1987)

Seal=authenticate, attest or confirm or final addition to complete and secure
In a merry sport=just for fun
Compleat:
To set his seal to a thing=Zyn zégel aan iets steeken (of hangen)
To put the seal upon=Zégelen
A private seal for letters=Een byzonder signet voor brieven

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

We will have these things set down by lawful counsel, and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain should catch cold and starve

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Iachimo
CONTEXT:
POSTHUMUS
I embrace these conditions. Let us have
articles betwixt us. Only thus far you shall answer:
if you make your voyage upon her and give me directly
to understand you have prevailed, I am no
further your enemy; she is not worth our debate.
If she remain unseduced, you not making it appear
otherwise, for your ill opinion and th’ assault you
have made to her chastity, you shall answer me
with your sword.
IACHIMO
Your hand; a covenant.
We will have these things set down by lawful counsel,
and straight away for Britain, lest the bargain
should catch cold and starve. I will fetch my gold
and have our two wagers recorded.

DUTCH:
Uwe hand; ‘t is afgesproken. Wij zullen dit alles in
wettelijken vorm laten opschrijven; en dan fluks naar
Brittannië, opdat de onderneming niet verkleumt en
sterft;

MORE:
Debate=Quarrel
Starve=Sterve (perish from the cold)
Make your voyage=Press home your advantage (vauntage, vantage) (Collier)
Compleat:
Debate=Twist, verschil, krakkeel
Vantage=Toegift, toemaat, overmaat, overwigt
To starve with hunger or cold=Van honger of koude sterven
To lay a wager=Wedden, een wedspel aan gaan
Wager of law=Aanbieding van te beedigen, dat men zynen eyscher niets schuldig is

Topics: delay, urgency, contract

Weariness can snore upon the flint when resty sloth finds the down pillow hard

DUTCH:
Komt, de honger
Kruide ons eenvoudig maal; vermoeidheid snurkt
Gerust op harde rots, en loome luiheid
Vindt donzen bedden hard.

Topics: contract, work, satisfaction

Who by a sealed compact
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Horatio
CONTEXT:
That can I.
At least, the whisper goes so: our last king,
Whose image even but now appeared to us,
Was, as you know, by Fortinbras of Norway,
Thereto pricked on by a most emulate pride,
Dared to the combat; in which our valiant Hamlet
(For so this side of our known world esteemed him)
Did slay this Fortinbras, who by a sealed compact
Well ratified by law and heraldry,
Did forfeit, with his life, all those his lands
Which he stood seized of to the conqueror,
Against the which a moiety competent
Was gagèd by our king, which had returned
To the inheritance of Fortinbras
Had he been vanquisher, as, by the same covenant
And carriage of the article designed,
His fell to Hamlet. Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimprovèd mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes,

DUTCH:
Maar onze dapp’re Hamlet, –
Want heel deez’ zijde der bekende wereld
Geeft hem dien roem, – versloeg dien Fortinbras,
Die, bij verdrag, gczegeld en bekrachtigd
Door wet en kamprecht, met het leven tevens
Den overwinnaar heel zijn land verbeurde

MORE:
Pricked=incited
Sealed compact=Signed and sealed agreement
Well ratified=In full accordance with
Law and heraldry=Law and the rules of combat
Seized of=Possessed of

Topics: law/legal, inheritance, dispute, conflict, contract

You have broken the article of your oath, which you shall never have tongue to charge me with

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
You have broken
The article of your oath, which you shall never
Have tongue to charge me with.
LEPIDUS
Soft, Caesar.
ANTONY
No, Lepidus, let him speak.
The honour is sacred which he talks on now,
Supposing that I lacked it.—But, on, Caesar.
The article of my oath?
CAESAR
To lend me arms and aid when I required them,
The which you both denied.
ANTONY
Neglected, rather,
And then when poisoned hours had bound me up
From mine own knowledge. As nearly as I may
I’ll play the penitent to you, but mine honesty
Shall not make poor my greatness nor my power
Work without it. Truth is that Fulvia,
To have me out of Egypt, made wars here,
For which myself, the ignorant motive, do
So far ask pardon as befits mine honour
To stoop in such a case.

DUTCH:
Gij hebt een hoofdpunt
Gebroken van uw eed; en nimmer vindt gij
Grond tot gelijk verwijt aan mij.

MORE:
Proverb: Know thyself

Article=Terms
Bound me up=Prevented me
Poisoned hours=Period of illness
Make poor=Diminish
Ignorant=Unknowing
Motive=Cause, reason
Compleat:
Article=Een lid, artykel, verdeelpunt
To surrender upon articles=Zich by verdrag overgeeven
Bound=Gebonden, verbonden, verpligt, dienstbaar
Poisoned=Vergeeven, vergiftigd
Poison=Vergift, gift, fenyn
Ignorant=Onweetend, onkundig, onbewust
Motive=Beweegreden, beweegoorzaak

Topics: contract, promise, betrayal, honour, authority

You know the law. Your exposition hath been most sound.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
Why, this bond is forfeit!
And lawfully by this the Jew may claim
A pound of flesh to be by him cut off
Nearest the merchant’s heart.— Be merciful.
Take thrice thy money. Bid me tear the bond.
SHYLOCK
When it is paid according to the tenor.
It doth appear you are a worthy judge.
You know the law. Your exposition
Hath been most sound. I charge you by the law,
Whereof you are a well-deserving pillar,
Proceed to judgment. By my soul I swear
There is no power in the tongue of man
To alter me. I stay here on my bond.

DUTCH:
Gij kent de wet, en uw betoog was juist
En bondig; ik bezweer u bij de wet,
Waarvan ge een hechte steunpilaar u toont,
Sla ‘t vonnis nu.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
State of South Dakota v. Allison, 607 N.W. 2d 1, 20, n.4 (S.D. Sup. Ct., 2000) (The court’s position being that the most appropriate course of action was a civil remedy): “Even Shakespeare’s creditor in The Merchant of Venice was denied his pound of flesh nearest the heart.”

According to the tenor=To the letter
Bond=A deed by which one binds oneself to another to make a payment or fulfil a contract
Tenor=Conditions
Exposition=Interpretation, explanation
Compleat:
According to the tenor=Naar uitwyzen des briefs
Enter into a bond=In een verband treeden, zich verbinden

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted