CJTranslations

QUOTES BY TOPIC

’Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim Picked from the wormholes of long-vanished days

PLAY: King Henry V ACT/SCENE: 2.4 SPEAKER: Exeter CONTEXT: From him, and thus he greets your Majesty:
He wills you, in the name of God almighty,
That you divest yourself and lay apart
The borrowed glories that, by gift of heaven,
By law of nature and of nations, ’longs
To him and to his heirs—namely, the crown
And all wide-stretchèd honours that pertain
By custom and the ordinance of times
Unto the crown of France. That you may know
’Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim
Picked from the wormholes of long-vanished days
Nor from the dust of old oblivion raked,
He sends you this most memorable line. DUTCH: Opdat gij weten moogt,
Dat dit geen slinksche, wraakb’re vord’ring is,
Ontdekt in ‘t molm van lang vervlogen dagen,
Gerakeld uit vergetelheids oud stof. MORE:
Ordinance of times=Law of centuries
‘longs=Belongs
Sinister=Unfair, wrong; deceitful
Awkward=Perverse, unbecoming

Compleat:
Awkward=Averechts
Aukward=Averechts, verkeerd
Sinister (or unlawful)=Onbetaamelyk, ongeoorloofd Topics: claim, value, deceit, honour

[W]ere he mealed with that
Which he corrects, then were he tyrannous

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Duke Vincentio
CONTEXT:
Not so, not so; his life is parallel’d
Even with the stroke and line of his great justice:
He doth with holy abstinence subdue
That in himself which he spurs on his power
To qualify in others: were he meal’d with that
Which he corrects, then were he tyrannous;
But this being so, he’s just.

DUTCH:
Doortrok ook hem de deesem,
Door hem gewraakt, dan waar’ hij tyranniek;
Maar nu is hij rechtvaardig.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Stroke=Line (as made with a pen)
Mealed=Sprinkled, tainted
Compleat:
Meal=Meel
Mealed=Tot poejer gemaakt

Topics: justice, good and bad, honour, reputation, temptation, respect

A scar nobly got, or a noble scar, is a good livery of honour; so belike is that

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Lafew
CONTEXT:
CLOWN
O madam! yonder ‘s my lord your son with a
patch of velvet on ‘s face: whether there be a
scar under ‘t or no, the velvet knows; but ’tis a
goodly patch of velvet. His left cheek is a cheek
of two pile and a half, but his right cheek is worn
bare.
LAFEW
A scar nobly got, or a noble scar, is a good livery of honour; so belike is that.
CLOWN
But it is your carbonadoed face.
LAFEW
Let us go see your son, I pray you: I long to talk
with the young noble soldier.
CLOWN
Faith there’s a dozen of ’em, with delicate fine
hats and most courteous feathers, which bow the head
and nod at every man.

DUTCH:
Een roemvol verworven schram, of een roemvolle schram, kleedt den adel goed en zoo doet waarschijnlijk ook deze.

MORE:
Patch of velvet: velvet patches were used to cover scars or marks (cicatrice)
Pile=Measure of the depth of velvet (three pile being the thickest)
Belike=As it seems, it should seem, I suppose
Livery=Uniform
Belike=Probably
Compleat:
Her face was full of patches=Haar aangezigt was vol zwarte pleistertjes
Livery=Lievry

Topics: appearance, dignity, honour

A very tainted fellow, and full of wickedness. My son corrupts a well-derived nature with his inducement

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
Parolles, was it not?
FIRST GENTLEMAN
Ay, my good lady, he.
COUNTESS
A very tainted fellow, and full of wickedness.
My son corrupts a well-derived nature
With his inducement.
FIRST GENTLEMAN
Indeed, good lady,
The fellow has a deal of that too much,
Which holds him much to have.
COUNTESS
You’re welcome, gentlemen.
I will entreat you, when you see my son,
To tell him that his sword can never win
The honour that he loses: more I’ll entreat you
Written to bear along.

DUTCH:
Een recht nietswaardig wezen, vol van slechtheid ;
Mijn zoon verderft zijn eigen goeden aard
Door zijn verleiding .

MORE:
Well-derived=Inherited from birth
Inducement=Power of persuasion
A deal of that too much=An excess (of that inducement)
Holds him much=From which he profits
Compleat:
Derived=Afgeleyd, voortgekomen
Inducement=Aanleyding, beweegreeden
Inducer=Aanleyder, aanvoerder, overreeder

Topics: corruption, manipulation, honour

Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I thank you, and sure, dear friends, my thanks are too dear a halfpenny.

DUTCH:
Bedelaar die ik Ben: ik heb zelfs gebrek aan dank. Maar ik dank jullie, en geloof me, beste vrienden, die dank is nog geen halve stuiver waard./
Schooier die ik ben, ik ben zelfs arm in dank; toch dank ik u; en zeker, beste vrienden, mijn dank is niet veel waarde, geen halve penning.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Dear= bearing a high price

Compleat:
Dear-bought experience=Een duurgekogte ondervinding

Topics: honour, ingratitude

But cannot make my heart consent to take a bribe to pay my sword

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.9
SPEAKER: Marcius
CONTEXT:
MARCIUS
I have some wounds upon me, and they smart
To hear themselves remember’d.
COMINIUS
Should they not,
Well might they fester ‘gainst ingratitude,
And tent themselves with death. Of all the horses,
Whereof we have ta’en good and good store, of all
The treasure in this field achieved and city,
We render you the tenth, to be ta’en forth,
Before the common distribution, at
Your only choice.
MARCIUS
I thank you, general;
But cannot make my heart consent to take
A bribe to pay my sword: I do refuse it;
And stand upon my common part with those
That have beheld the doing.

DUTCH:
Ik zeg u dank, mijn veldheer;
Doch ‘t harte weigert, een geschenk te aanvaarden,
Dat mij mijn zwaard betaalt. Ik moet dit afslaan,
En wil mijn deel alleen als ieder, die
Den strijd heeft bijgewoond.

MORE:
Smart=Sting
‘gainst=Faced with
Tent=Cure
Your only choice=Your discretion
Compleat:
Smart=Pijn, smart of smerte
Tent (for a wound)=Tentyzer
At your discrtion=Gy zyt er meester van

Topics: honour, integrity, money, ingratitude

But why should honour outlive honesty?

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
OTHELLO
I am not valiant neither,
But ever puny whipster gets my sword.
But why should honour outlive honesty?
Let it go all.
EMILIA
What did thy song bode, lady?
Hark, canst thou hear me? I will play the swan.
And die in music.
Willow, willow, willow —
Moor, she was chaste, she loved thee, cruel Moor.
So come my soul to bliss, as I speak true.
So speaking as I think, alas, I die.

DUTCH:
Ik werd een bloodaard,
De zwakste knaap ontweldigt mij mijn zwaard.
Waarom zou de eer de deugd ook overleven ?

MORE:

Whipster=Contemptible fellow (Arden: Whippersnapper)
Puny=Little, petty (meaning invented by Shakespeare)
Compleat:
Valiant=Dapper, kloekmoedig
Puny (a younger brother)=Een jonger broeder
A puny judge=Een jongste rechter (See Puisny. Puisne (or puisny)=a law term for younger; a name given in the house of lords to the youngest baron, and in Westminster hall to the youngest judge. De jongste Lord in ‘t hogerhuis, of de jongste Rechter in de pleitzaal van Westmunster.)

Topics: honesty, strength, honour, reputation

By Jove, I am not covetous for gold Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
If we are marked to die, we are enough
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will, I pray thee wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.

DUTCH:
Bij Jupiter, ik heb geen dorst naar goud,
En vraag niet, wie er op mijn kosten teert.

MORE:

Admiration=Wonder
Prating=Prattling, chattering
Coxcomb=Fool (From fool’s cap)
Meet=Appropriate

Compleat:
Admiration=Verwondering
To prate=Praaten
Coxcomb=Een haanekam; een nar, uilskuiken
An ignorant coxcomb=Een onweetende zotskap
Mee

Topics: proverbs and idioms, sill in use, honour

Dissemble all your griefs and discontents: you are but newly planted in your throne

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Tamora
CONTEXT:
TAMORA
Not so, my lord; the gods of Rome forfend
I should be author to dishonour you!
But on mine honour dare I undertake
For good Lord Titus’ innocence in all;
Whose fury not dissembled speaks his griefs:
Then, at my suit, look graciously on him;
Lose not so noble a friend on vain suppose,
Nor with sour looks afflict his gentle heart.
My lord, be ruled by me; be won at last;
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents:
You are but newly planted in your throne;
Lest, then, the people, and patricians too,
Upon a just survey, take Titus’ part,
And so supplant you for ingratitude,
Which Rome reputes to be a heinous sin,
Yield at entreats; and then let me alone:
I’ll find a day to massacre them all
And raze their faction and their family,
The cruel father and his traitorous sons,
To whom I sued for my dear son’s life,
And make them know what ’tis to let a queen
Kneel in the streets and beg for grace in vain.
Come, come, sweet emperor; come, Andronicus;
Take up this good old man, and cheer the

DUTCH:
Neem raad aan, mijn gemaal, geef eindlijk toe;
Ontveins nu al uw grieven en verdriet, —
Te nauwernood zijt ge op uw troon gezeteld.

MORE:
Author to=Responsible for
Undertake=Vouch
Not dissembled=Clear to see, not concealed
Speaks=Conveys, expresses
Vain suppose=Idle supposition
At entreats=To entreaties
Take up=Lift up
Compleat:
Author=Een stichter, aanvanger, vinder, veroorzaaker, aanrechter, aanlegger
To undertake for one=Voor iemand borg staan
To dissemble=Veybnzen, ontveynzen, verbloemen
Supposition=Onderstelling, waan
To entreat=Bidden, ernstig verzoeken

Topics: honour, revenge

For naught I did in hate, but all in honour

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
LODOVICO
O, thou Othello, that wert once so good,
Fallen in the practice of a damned slave,
What shall be said to thee?
OTHELLO
Why, anything.
An honourable murderer, if you will,
For naught I did in hate, but all in honour.

DUTCH:
Onverschillig.
Noem mij een eervol moord’naar, als gij wilt;
Want nooit deed haat mij hand’len, enkel de eer.

MORE:

In the practice=Through the machinations
Practice=Artifice, stratagem, insidious device
Slave=Abject person, wretch
Compleat:
Practice (underhand dealing, intrigue, way of proceeding)=Praktyk, bedekten handel, list
Machination=Kwaadstooking, kwaadbrouwing, berokkening

Topics: honour, offence

For the inheritance of their loves and safeguard of what that want might ruin

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Volumnia
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
Because that now it lies you on to speak
To the people; not by your own instruction,
Nor by the matter which your heart prompts you,
But with such words that are but rooted in
Your tongue, though but bastards and syllables
Of no allowance to your bosom’s truth.
Now, this no more dishonours you at all
Than to take in a town with gentle words,
Which else would put you to your fortune and
The hazard of much blood.
I would dissemble with my nature where
My fortunes and my friends at stake required
I should do so in honour: I am in this,
Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles;
And you will rather show our general louts
How you can frown than spend a fawn upon ’em,
For the inheritance of their loves and safeguard
Of what that want might ruin.
MENENIUS
Noble lady!
Come, go with us; s peak fair: you may salve so,
Not what is dangerous present, but the loss
Of what is past.

DUTCH:
En toch, gij wilt aan ‘t lomp gemeen veeleer
Uw fronsblik toonen, dan ‘t met vleien winnen,
Om, door hun gunst, te redden, wat hun haat
Te gronde richten zal.

MORE:
General louts=Vulgar clowns in the community, “common clowns” (Johnson)
Bastards=Not truly coming from the heart
Of no allowance… truth=Not reflecting true feelings
Take in=Capture, occupy
Inheritance=Acquisition or merely possession
That want=Absence of that acquisition
Salve=Rescue
Compleat:
Lout=Een boersche ongeschikte vent
Inheritance=Erfenis, erfdeel
Want=Gebrek

Topics: manipulation, deceit, honour, appearance, truth

Good alone is good without a name. Vileness is so: the property by what it is should go, not by the title

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
KING
Good alone
Is good without a name. Vileness is so:
The property by what it is should go,
Not by the title. She is young, wise, fair;
In these to nature she’s immediate heir,
And these breed honour: that is honour’s scorn,
Which challenges itself as honour’s born
And is not like the sire: honours thrive,
When rather from our acts we them derive
Than our foregoers: the mere word’s a slave
Debauched on every tomb, on every grave
A lying trophy, and as oft is dumb
Where dust and damned oblivion is the tomb
Of honoured bones indeed. What should be said?

DUTCH:
Goed is goed,
Ook zonder hoogen naam; en slecht is slecht;
Alleen op wat hij is, gronde elk zijn recht,
Op titels niet.

MORE:
Idiom: “Let’s write good angel on the devil’s horn, ‘Tis not the devil’s crest”

Alone=In and of itself
Name=Title
Property=Quality
Challenges itself=Urges as a right, makes a claim for itself
Foregoers=Forebears
Trophy=Memorial
Compleat:
Property=Eigenschap, natuurlyke hoedaanigheid
He challenges all to himself=Hy eigent zich alles toe
Trophy=Een zeegeteken, trofee

Topics: honour, merit, proverbs and idioms, good and bad, order/society

Hapless Aegeon, whom the fates have marked to bear the extremity of dire mishap

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
DUKE
Hapless Aegeon, whom the fates have marked
To bear the extremity of dire mishap,
Now, trust me, were it not against our laws,
Against my crown, my oath, my dignity,
Which princes, would they, may not disannul,
My soul would sue as advocate for thee.
But though thou art adjudgèd to the death,
And passèd sentence may not be recalled
But to our honour’s great disparagement,
Yet will I favor thee in what I can.
Therefore, merchant, I’ll limit thee this day
To seek thy life by beneficial help.
Try all the friends thou hast in Ephesus;
Beg thou, or borrow, to make up the sum,
And live. If no, then thou art doom’d to die.—
Jailer, take him to thy custody.
JAILER
I will, my lord.
AEGEON
Hopeless and helpless doth Aegeon wend,
But to procrastinate his lifeless end.

DUTCH:
Rampzaal’ge Aegeon, door het lot bestemd
Om zulk een overmaat van leed te dragen!

MORE:
Dignity=Rank
Disannul=Nullify
Sue=Plead
Limit=Permit
Hap=Luck
Wend=Approach
Procrastinate=Delay
Compleat:
Dignity (greatness, nobleness)=Grootheid, adelykheid; (merit, importance)=Waardigheid, staat-empot, verdiensten
To annul=Vernietigen, afschaffen
To sue=Voor ‘t recht roepen, in recht vervolgen; iemand om iets aanloopen
Hap=Het luk, geval, toeval
Procrastinate=Van dag tot dag uytstellen, verschuyven

Topics: fate/destiny, dignity, honour, punishment, delay

He cannot but with measure fit the honours which we devise him

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Cominius
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
Worthy man!
FIRST SENATOR
He cannot but with measure fit the honours
Which we devise him.
COMINIUS
Our spoils he kick’d at,
And look’d upon things precious as they were
The common muck of the world: he covets less
Than misery itself would give; rewards
His deeds with doing them, and is content
To spend the time to end it.
MENENIUS
He’s right noble:
Let him be call’d for.
FIRST SENATOR
Call Coriolanus.

DUTCH:
Onzen buit verstiet hij;
Op kostb’re schatten zag hij neer, als waren
Zij drek en afval., Zijn verlangst is minder,
Dan de armoe zelf zou geven; zijner daden
Belooning is hem ‘t doen; hij is voldaan,
Is zoo zijn tijd besteed

MORE:
Proverb: Muck of the world
Proverb: Virtue is its own reward

Cannot but=Cannot fail to
With measure fit=Measure up to
Misery=Penury
Compleat:
He cannot but know=Hy kan niet anders dan weeeten; hy moet het weeten, hy zal zekerlyk weten
Misery=Elende, armoede

Topics: work, satisfaction, honour, proverbs and idioms, still in use, value

He hath been most notoriously abused

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
FABIAN
Good madam, hear me speak,
And let no quarrel nor no brawl to come
Taint the condition of this present hour,
Which I have wonder’d at. In hope it shall not,
Most freely I confess, myself and Toby
Set this device against Malvolio here,
Upon some stubborn and uncourteous parts
We had conceived against him. Maria writ
The letter at Sir Toby’s great importance,
In recompense whereof he hath married her.
How with a sportful malice it was followed,
May rather pluck on laughter than revenge,
If that the injuries be justly weighed
That have on both sides passed.
OLIVIA
Alas, poor fool, how have they baffled thee!
FOOL
Why, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrown upon them.” I was one, sir, in this interlude, one Sir Topas, sir, but that’s all one.
“By the Lord, fool, I am not mad.”—But do you remember? “Madam, why laugh you at such a barren rascal; an you smile not, he’s gagged?” and thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.
MALVOLIO
I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you.
OLIVIA
He hath been most notoriously abused.

DUTCH:
Voorwaar, hij is verschrikk’lijk boos gefopt.

MORE:
Taint=Blemish
Uncourteous parts=Uncivil aspects
Condition=Situation
Conceived against=Discerned in
Importance=Importuning
Pluck on=Induce
Baffled=Humiliated
Interlude=Comedy
Whirligig=Spinning top, merry-go-round
Compleat:
To taint (attaint)=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Attainted=Overtuigd van misdaad, misdaadig verklaard
Uncourteous=Onbeleefd, onheusch
Condition=Staat, gesteltenis. gelegenheyd
Conceive=Bevatten, begrypen, beseffen, zich inbeelden; scheppen
To importune=Lastig vallen, zeer dringen, gestadig aanhouden, overdringen, aandringen
To pluck=Rukken, plukken
To baffle=Beschaamd maaken
Whirligig=Een kinder meulentje of draaitolletje

To taint (attaint)=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten

Topics: madness, reputation, leadership, status, honour, conspiracy

Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge That no king can corrupt

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
CAMPEIUS
Put your main cause into the King’s protection.
He’s loving and most gracious. ’Twill be much
Both for your honour better and your cause,
For if the trial of the law o’ertake you,
You’ll part away disgraced.
WOLSEY
He tells you rightly.
QUEEN KATHERINE
You tell me what you wish for both: my ruin.
Is this your Christian counsel? Out upon you!
Heaven is above all yet; there sits a judge
That no king can corrupt.
CAMPEIUS
Your rage mistakes us.
QUEEN KATHARINE
The more shame for ye: holy men I thought ye,
Upon my soul, two reverend cardinal virtues;
But cardinal sins and hollow hearts I fear ye:
Mend ’em, for shame, my lords. Is this your comfort?
The cordial that ye bring a wretched lady,
A woman lost among ye, laugh’d at, scorn’d?
I will not wish ye half my miseries;
I have more charity: but say, I warn’d ye;
Take heed, for heaven’s sake, take heed, lest at once
The burthen of my sorrows fall upon ye

DUTCH:
Gij beiden, wat gij wenscht, mijn ondergang.
Is dit uw raad als christen? foei! Nog is er
Een hemel, waar een rechter, door geen koning
Ooit om te koopen, troont!

MORE:
Part away=Leave
Rage mistakes=Anger causes you to misjudge
Cardinal virtues=Alllusion to the four ‘cardinal’ virtues (prudence, justice, courage and temperance)
Cardinal sins=Allusion to the seven ‘cardinal’ sins (envy, gluttony, greed/avarice, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath)
Cordial=Tonic
Compleat:
Rage=Raazerny, woede, dulheyd
Mistake=Misvatting
Cardinal virtues=De vier hoofd-deugden, als Wysheyd, Maatigheyd, Gerechtigheyd en Dapperheyd
Cordial=Hardsterking

Topics: honour, dispute, anger, innocence, evidence

How high a pitch his resolution soars!

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD II
How high a pitch his resolution soars!
Thomas of Norfolk, what say’st thou to this?
THOMAS MOWBRAY
O, let my sovereign turn away his face
And bid his ears a little while be deaf,
Till I have told this slander of his blood,
How God and good men hate so foul a liar.
KING RICHARD II
Mowbray, impartial are our eyes and ears:
Were he my brother, nay, my kingdom’s heir,
As he is but my father’s brother’s son,
Now, by my sceptre’s awe, I make a vow,
Such neighbour nearness to our sacred blood
Should nothing privilege him, nor partialize
The unstooping firmness of my upright soul:
He is our subject, Mowbray; so art thou:
Free speech and fearless I to thee allow.

DUTCH:
Wat vlucht ten wolken neemt zijn koene geest!
Thomas van Norfolk, wat zegt gij hierop?

MORE:

Pitch=Highest point of soaring flight for a hawk or falcon
Neighbour nearness=Extremely close proximity
Partialize=Prejudice
Unstooping=Unbending (Stoop is another falcony ref. meaning to come down or pounce on the prey)
Fearless=Bold
Blood=Ancestry

Compleat:
To stoop=Buigen, bokken of bukken
A hawk that makes a stoop at a partridge=Een valk die op een Patrys valt
Fearless=Schroomeloos, onbevreesd, onvertzaagd, onbeschroomd, onverschrokken

Topics: resolution, strength, truth, relationship, honour

How prove you that in the great heap of your knowledge?

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Celia
CONTEXT:
TOUCHSTONE
No, by mine honour, but I was bid to come for you.
ROSALIND
Where learned you that oath, fool?
TOUCHSTONE
Of a certain knight that swore by his honour they were good pancakes, and swore by his honour the mustard was naught. Now, I’ll stand to it, the pancakes were naught and the mustard was good, and yet was not the knight forsworn.
CELIA
How prove you that in the great heap of your knowledge?
ROSALIND
Ay, marry, now unmuzzle your wisdom.
TOUCHSTONE
Stand you both forth now: stroke your chins and swear by your beards that I am a knave.
CELIA
By our beards (if we had them), thou art.
TOUCHSTONE
By my knavery (if I had it), then I were. But if you
swear by that that is not, you are not forsworn. No more
was this knight swearing by his honour, for he never had
any; or if he had, he had sworn it away before ever he
saw those pancakes or that mustard.

DUTCH:
Hoe kunt gij dit uit den rijken schat van uw geleerdheid bewijzen ?

MORE:
Stand to=Swear to; to maintain, affirm
Naught=Worthless
To forswear=To swear falsely, commit perjury
Unmuzzle=Free from restraint
Compleat:
Stand to=To side with, to assist, to support; to maintain, to guard, to be firm in the cause of
To forswear one’s self=Eenen valschen eed doen, meyneedig zyn
To forswear a thing=Zweeren dat iets zo niet is
Muzzled=Gemuilband
Nought=Niets, niet met al

Topics: honour, promise, evidence, intellect, wisdom

I am an humble suitor to your virtues; for pity is the virtue of the law, and none but tyrants use it cruelly

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Alcibiades
CONTEXT:
ALCIBIADES
I am an humble suitor to your virtues;
For pity is the virtue of the law,
And none but tyrants use it cruelly.
It pleases time and fortune to lie heavy
Upon a friend of mine, who, in hot blood,
Hath stepped into the law, which is past depth
To those that, without heed, do plunge into ‘t.
He is a man, setting his fate aside,
Of comely virtues:
Nor did he soil the fact with cowardice—
An honour in him which buys out his fault—
But with a noble fury and fair spirit,
Seeing his reputation touched to death,
He did oppose his foe:
And with such sober and unnoted passion
He did behave his anger, ere ’twas spent,
As if he had but proved an argument.

DUTCH:
Ik ben een need’rig smeek’ling tot uw deugd;
Want mededoogen is de deugd der wet,
En slechts tyrannen kennen geen verschooning.

MORE:
Am a humble suitor to=Humbly appeal to
Virtue=Morality
Stepped into=Was subjected to, came up against
Past depth=Unfathomable
Without heed=Rashly
Buy out=Redeem
Fact=Crime
Sober=Moderate
Unnoted=Calculating
Compleat:
Humble=Ootmoedig, nederig, deemoedig
Suiter (suitor)=Pleiter
Virtue (an habit of the soul, whereby a man is inclined to do good and to shun evil)=Deugd
To step into an estate=In ‘t bezit van groote middelen treeden
Heedless=Achteloos, onachtzaam
Redeem=Vrykoopen
Fact=Daad, feit
Sober (temperate, modest, wise, staid, grave)=Sober, maatig, zedig, wys, deftig

Topics: friendship, reputation, money, honour, claim, anger

I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
Ay, Edward will use women honourably.
Would he were wasted, marrow, bones and all,
That from his loins no hopeful branch may spring,
To cross me from the golden time I look for!
And yet, between my soul’s desire and me—
The lustful Edward’s title buried—
Is Clarence, Henry, and his son young Edward,
And all the unlook’d for issue of their bodies,
To take their rooms, ere I can place myself:
A cold premeditation for my purpose!
Why, then, I do but dream on sovereignty;
Like one that stands upon a promontory,
And spies a far-off shore where he would tread,
Wishing his foot were equal with his eye,
And chides the sea that sunders him from thence,
Saying, he’ll lade it dry to have his way:
So do I wish the crown, being so far off;
And so I chide the means that keeps me from it;
And so I say, I’ll cut the causes off,
Flattering me with impossibilities.

DUTCH:
Ja, ja, zoo is ‘t, ik droom van kroon en rijk,
Als een, die op een voorgebergte staat

MORE:

That=So that
Hopeful=With potential, prospect of success
Cross=Block
Gold time=Golden age, of wearing a crown
Unlooked-for=Unwelcome
Rooms=Places, positions
Cold=Discouraging
Lade=Ladle
Chide=To scold, curse
Means that keep me from it=Obstacles
Flattering me=Deluding myself

Compleat:
Chide=Kyven, bekyven
Hopefull=Van goede hope; wiens veel belooft
To cros=Tegenstreeven, dwars voor de boeg komen, dwarsboomen, wederestreeven, kruisen
Chide=Kyven, bekyven

Topics: honour, ambition, purpose

I do condemn mine ears that have so long attended thee

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

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

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

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

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 know your daring tongue Scorns to unsay what once it hath deliver’d.

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Bagot
CONTEXT:
BAGOT
My Lord Aumerle, I know your daring tongue
Scorns to unsay what once it hath deliver’d.
In that dead time when Gloucester’s death was plotted,
I heard you say, ‘Is not my arm of length,
That reacheth from the restful English court
As far as Calais, to mine uncle’s head?’
Amongst much other talk, that very time,
I heard you say that you had rather refuse
The offer of an hundred thousand crowns
Than Bolingbroke’s return to England;
Adding withal how blest this land would be
In this your cousin’s death.

DUTCH:
Mylord Aumerle, ik weet, uw stoute tong
Versmaadt, wat ze eenmaal heeft gezegd, te looch’nen.

MORE:

Proverb: Kings have long arms

Unsay=Deny, retract
Dead=(a) deadly; (b) past
Of length=Long enough
Restful=Peaceful, quiet

Compleat:
Unsay=Ontkennen, ontzeggen
To say and unsay=Zeggen en ontkennen
Restful=In ruste, gerust

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, honour, authority

I never heard a man of his place, gravity and learning, so wide of his own respect

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Page
CONTEXT:
PAGE
We are come to you to do a good office, master parson.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Fery well: what is it?
PAGE
Yonder is a most reverend gentleman, who, belike
having received wrong by some person, is at most
odds with his own gravity and patience that ever you
saw.
SHALLOW
I have lived fourscore years and upward; I never
heard a man of his place, gravity and learning, so
wide of his own respect.

DUTCH:
Wij komen van een zeer waardig gentleman, die naar
het schijnt van iemand beleedigd is en daardoor het zoo
te kwaad heeft met zijn eigen waardigheid en bedaardheid,
als iemand maar ooit gezien heeft.

MORE:
Office=Service
Wide of his own respect=Acting out of character
Compleat:
Office=een Ampt, dienst
Wide of the mark=Hy is verre buyten ‘t spoor
Respect=Aanzien, opzigt, inzigt, ontzag, eerbiedigheyd

Topics: honour|abuse|reputation

I will counterfeit the bewitchment of some popular man and give it bountiful to the desirers

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
FOURTH CITIZEN
You have deserved nobly of your country, and you
have not deserved nobly.
CORIOLANUS
Your enigma?
FOURTH CITIZEN
You have been a scourge to her enemies, you have
been a rod to her friends; you have not indeed loved
the common people.
CORIOLANUS
You should account me the more virtuous that I have
not been common in my love. I will, sir, flatter my
sworn brother, the people, to earn a dearer
estimation of them; ’tis a condition they account
gentle: and since the wisdom of their choice is
rather to have my hat than my heart, I will practise
the insinuating nod and be off to them most
counterfeitly; that is, sir, I will counterfeit the
bewitchment of some popular man and give it
bountiful to the desirers. Therefore, beseech you,
I may be consul.
FIFTH CITIZEN
We hope to find you our friend; and therefore give
you our voices heartily.
FOURTH CITIZEN
You have received many wounds for your country.
CORIOLANUS
I will not seal your knowledge with showing them. I
will make much of your voices, and so trouble you no
further.

DUTCH:
En daar zij, in de wijsheid-schap, die hunner keus, van mijn hoed meer gediend zijn dan van mijn hart, wil ik het innemend knikken beoefenen en zooveel mogelijk door naaiping met hen op goeden voet zien te komen; dat wil zeggen, vriend, ik wil de tooverkunsten van den een of anderen volkslieveling naapen, en daar mild mee zijn jegens ieder, die er van gediend is.

MORE:
Enigma=Riddle
Scourge=Torment
Rod=Punishment
Account=Consider, reckon
Dearer=Better
Hat=Cap-doffing
Counterfeit=Imitate
Bewitchment=Charms
Voices=Votes
Seal your knowledge=Confirm what you know
Compleat:
Scourge=Geessel; plaag, pest
To scourge=Kastyden
To account=Rekenen, achten
To doff=Afligen, afdoen
Counterfeit=Naamaaksel, falsch
Bewitching=Betovering
Voice=Stem, recht van stemmen

Topics: honour, loyalty, appearance, deceit, manipulation

Let not your private discord keep away
The levied succours that should lend him aid

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Lucy
CONTEXT:
SOMERSET
How now, Sir William! whither were you sent?
LUCY
Whither, my lord? from bought and sold Lord Talbot;
Who, ring’d about with bold adversity,
Cries out for noble York and Somerset,
To beat assailing death from his weak legions:
And whiles the honourable captain there
Drops bloody sweat from his war-wearied limbs,
And, in advantage lingering, looks for rescue,
You, his false hopes, the trust of England’s honour,
Keep off aloof with worthless emulation.
Let not your private discord keep away
The levied succours that should lend him aid,
While he, renowned noble gentleman,
Yields up his life unto a world of odds:
Orleans the Bastard, Charles, Burgundy,
Alencon, Reignier, compass him about,
And Talbot perisheth by your default.

DUTCH:
Laat toch door uwe tweedracht hem de hulp,
Voor hem, voor zijn ontzet gelicht, niet derven,
Terwijl hij, die beroemde en eed’le held,
Bezwijkt voor een onmeetlijke overmacht!

MORE:
Proverb: To be bought and sold

Bought and sold=Betrayed
Ill-advantaged=Disadvantaged
Trust=Trustee
Keep off aloof=At a distance from a person or action, but in close connection with them
Emulation=Rivalry
Succours=Relief or assistance

Compleat:
Emulation=Naayver, volgzucht, afgunst
Disadvantaged=Benadeelt
Aloof=In de ruimte, van verre
Succours=Hulpbenden, krygshulpe

Topics: honour, betrayal, conflict

Let proof speak

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Caius Lucius
CONTEXT:
CYMBELINE
Thou art welcome, Caius.
Thy Caesar knighted me; my youth I spent
Much under him; of him I gather’d honour;
Which he to seek of me again, perforce,
Behoves me keep at utterance. I am perfect
That the Pannonians and Dalmatians for
Their liberties are now in arms; a precedent
Which not to read would show the Britons cold:
So Caesar shall not find them.
CAIUS LUCIUS
Let proof speak.
CLOTEN
His majesty bids you welcome. Make
pastime with us a day or two, or longer: if
you seek us afterwards in other terms, you
shall find us in our salt-water girdle: if you
beat us out of it, it is yours; if you fall in
the adventure, our crows shall fare the better
for you; and there’s an end.

DUTCH:
De strijd besliss’.

MORE:
Utterance=Extremity (Fr. ‘outrance’), at any price
Perfect=Fully aware
Read=Follow, interpret
Show=Make appear
Proof=The outcome
Adventure=Attempt
Compleat:
Utter=Gansch, geheel, uiterst
To be perfect n a thing=Iets wel van buiten kennen; in wyn hoofd hebben
Adventure=Avontuur, kans, hach; ‘t Gene men ter zee waagt

Topics: order/society, status, honour, dispute, achievent, failure

Mine honesty and I begin to square

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.13
SPEAKER: Enobarbus
CONTEXT:
ENOBARBUS
Mine honesty and I begin to square.
The loyalty well held to fools does make
Our faith mere folly. Yet he that can endure
To follow with allegiance a fall’n lord
Does conquer him that did his master conquer
And earns a place i’ th’ story.
CLEOPATRA
Caesar’s will?
THIDIAS
Hear it apart.
CLEOPATRA
None but friends. Say boldly.
THIDIAS
So haply are they friends to Antony.
ENOBARBUS
He needs as many, sir, as Caesar has,
Or needs not us. If Caesar please, our master
Will leap to be his friend. For us, you know
Whose he is we are, and that is Caesar’s.

DUTCH:
Thans strijden saam mijn plichtgevoel en ik.
Wie dwazen eerlijk trouw blijft, maakt de trouwe
Tot dwaasheid; ja, maar wie zijn lust betoomt
En zijn gevallen heer trouwhartig dient
Die overwint zijns meesters overwinnaar,
Oogst eeuw’gen lof.

MORE:
Honesty=Honour, integrity
Square=Conflict
Endure=Persevere
Mere=Utter
Haply=Perhaps
Compleat:
Honesty=Eerbaarheid, vroomheid
To endure=Verdraagen, harden, duuren
Haply=Misschien

Topics: loyalty, truth, honour, judgment, friendship, honesty

My honour’s at the stake; which to defeat, I must produce my power

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
KING
My honour’s at the stake; which to defeat,
I must produce my power. Here, take her hand,
Proud scornful boy, unworthy this good gift;
That dost in vile misprision shackle up
My love and her desert; that canst not dream,
We, poising us in her defective scale,
Shall weigh thee to the beam; that wilt not know,
It is in us to plant thine honour where
We please to have it grow. Check thy contempt:
Obey our will, which travails in thy good:
Believe not thy disdain, but presently
Do thine own fortunes that obedient right
Which both thy duty owes and our power claims;
Or I will throw thee from my care for ever
Into the staggers and the careless lapse
Of youth and ignorance; both my revenge and hate
Loosing upon thee, in the name of justice,
Without all terms of pity. Speak; thine answer.
BERTRAM
Pardon, my gracious lord; for I submit
My fancy to your eyes: when I consider
What great creation and what dole of honour
Flies where you bid it, I find that she, which late
Was in my nobler thoughts most base, is now
The praised of the king; who, so ennobled,
Is as ’twere born so.

DUTCH:
Mijn eer staat op het spel, en dit gevaar
Verdwijne voor mijn macht .

MORE:
Misprision=1) Contempt; 2) Mistake, wrong or false imprisonment
Desert=Something deserved, either a reward or punishment
Defective=Lighter end (of the scale)
To the beam=Outweigh (raising the lighter end to the crossbeam)
Dropsied=Swollen
Plant=(Figuratively)=To give rise, to create
Check=Control
Staggers=Bewilderment, giddy confusion (a horse disease)
Careless=Reckless
Fancy=Love
Compleat:
Misprision=Verwaarloozing, verzuyming, verachteloozing
Desert=Verdienste
Defective=Gebreklyk, onvolkomen
Dropsy or dropsie=Waterzucht
The staggers=De duyzeling van een paard
Careless=Zorgeloos, kommerloos, achteloos, onachtzaam

Topics: honour, reputation

No legacy is so rich as honesty

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Mariana
CONTEXT:
WIDOW
We have lost our labour; they are gone a contrary
way: hark! you may know by their trumpets.
MARIANA
Come, let’s return again, and suffice ourselves with
the report of it. Well, Diana, take heed of this
French earl: the honour of a maid is her name; and
no legacy is so rich as honesty.
WIDOW
I have told my neighbour how you have been solicited
by a gentleman his companion.

DUTCH:
Geen nalatenschap is zo rijk als eerlijkheid./
De eer van een meisjen is haar schat, en geen erfenis is zoo rijk als haar goede naam.

MORE:
Proverb: He that will not labour must not eat
Proverb: You lose your labour

Honesty also used to mean virginity.
Suffice ourselves=Be satisfied with
Heed=Suspicious watch, caution
Compleat:
Honesty (chastity)=Kuisheid (also a plant)
Heed=Hoede, zorg, acht, toezigt

Topics: honour, honesty, proverbs and idioms

O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Ophelia
CONTEXT:
O, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!
The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword,
Th’ expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
Th’ observed of all observers, quite, quite down!

DUTCH:
O, wat een edele geest is hier verscheurd! /
O, wat een eedle geest ging hier te loor!

MORE:
Noble=Magnanimous, elevated, dignified, generous
Expectancy=Hope
Glass= Mirror, reflection
Compleat:
Nobly (or generously)=Edemoediglyk
Expectance. To be an expectation of something=Iets verwagten, ergens op hoopen

Topics: sorrow, madness, intellect, honour, hope

Pardon me this brag; his insolence draws folly from my lips

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
HECTOR
It would discredit the blest gods, proud man,
To answer such a question: stand again:
Think’st thou to catch my life so pleasantly
As to prenominate in nice conjecture
Where thou wilt hit me dead?
ACHILLES
I tell thee, yea.
HECTOR
Wert thou an oracle to tell me so,
Ied not believe thee. Henceforth guard thee well;
For I’ll not kill thee there, nor there, nor there;
But, by the forge that stithied Mars his helm,
I’ll kill thee every where, yea, o’er and o’er.
You wisest Grecians, pardon me this brag;
His insolence draws folly from my lips;
But I’ll endeavour deeds to match these words,
Or may I never—
AJAX
Do not chafe thee, cousin:
And you, Achilles, let these threats alone,
Till accident or purpose bring you to’t:
You may have every day enough of Hector
If you have stomach; the general state, I fear,
Can scarce entreat you to be odd with him.

DUTCH:
Vergeeft mij, wijze Grieken, dat ik poch;
Zijn hoogmoed lokt die dwaasheid van mijn lippen;
Maar ‘k laat mijn daden strooken met mijn woord,

MORE:
Pleasantly=Like a game
Catch=Charm
Prenominate=Name
Nice=Precise
Stithied=Forged (also stythied)
Chafe=Get irritated, fret
Stomach=Appetite
Compleat:
Pleasantly=Op een vermaakelyke wyze
Catch=Vatten, vangen, opvangen, grypen, betrappen
Nice=Keurig, vies
Stithy=een Aambeeld als ook een zekere quaal …
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
Stomach=Trek (appetite); hart (spirit)

Topics: honour, revenge, anger

Purpose is but the slave to memory,
Of violent birth, but poor validity

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Player King
CONTEXT:
I do believe you think what now you speak,
But what we do determine oft we break.
Purpose is but the slave to memory,
Of violent birth, but poor validity,
Which now, like fruit unripe, sticks on the tree,
But fall, unshaken, when they mellow be.

DUTCH:
Al te vaak verbreekt men zijn beloften. Beloften zijn slechts slaven van ‘t geheugen; in aanleg sterk, doch later krachteloos. /
‘t Plan is de slaaf slechts der herinnering

MORE:
Schmidt:
Validity= Strength, efficacy
Compleat:
Validity=Krachtigheid, bondigheid

Topics: honour, still in use, memory, plans/intentions, language

Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour’s at the stake.

DUTCH:
Waarlijk hoogstaan doet Niet hij, die opbruist zonder hooge reden

MORE:
Schmidt:
Straw=Emblem of weakness and insignificance
Compleat:
A straw man (an insignificant fellow)=Een stroo man, een zwak, kragteloos man

Burgersdijk notes:
Het waarlijk groot zijn Is niet, zich enkel voor iets groots te roeren. In ‘t Engelsch :
Rightly to be great Is not to stir without great argument.
Men kan twijfelen, of de ontkenning ‘not’ behoort hij ‘is’, zoodat men achter ‘not’ eene komma plaatsen moet, of wel bij het volgende ‘to stir’. In het eerste geval is het volgende ‘but’ juist gekozen, in het tweede iets minder goed. Wenscht men ondertusschen, wat mij thans verkieslijker voorkomt, de tweede opvatting, dan luide de vertaling: Echt groot zijn is, Zich niet dan voor een machtig doel te roeren, Maar enz.
Capell en Delius rekenen, dat ‘not’ zoowel bij ‘is’ als bij ‘to stir’ behoort, dus eigenlijk voor ‘not not’ staat:
“Het waarlijk groot zijn bestaat niet daarin, dat men niet dan om eene groote oorzaak in beweging
komt, maar” enz.

Topics: honour, dispute, justification

Sermon me no further

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Timon
CONTEXT:
TIMON
Come, sermon me no further:
No villainous bounty yet hath passed my heart;
Unwisely, not ignobly, have I given.
Why dost thou weep? Canst thou the conscience lack,
To think I shall lack friends? Secure thy heart;
If I would broach the vessels of my love,
And try the argument of hearts by borrowing,
Men and men’s fortunes could I frankly use
As I can bid thee speak.
FLAVIUS
Assurance bless your thoughts!

DUTCH:
Kom, dit sermoen gestaakt! Geen boosheid huisde
Ooit bij mijn mildheid in mijn hart; mijn geven
Mocht onverstandig zijn, onedel niet.

MORE:
Sermon=Lecture
Ignobly=Dishonourably
Vessels of my love=Friends
Argument of hearts=Playing on friendship
Compleat:
Sermon=Een predikatie
Ignoble (or base) action=Een on-edele daad
Ignobly=Laag, snood

Topics: advice, gullibility, honour, friendship

Speaking in deeds and deedless in his tongue

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Ulysses
CONTEXT:
ULYSSES
The youngest son of Priam, a true knight,
Not yet mature, yet matchless, firm of word,
Speaking in deeds and deedless in his tongue;
Not soon provoked nor being provoked soon calmed:
His heart and hand both open and both free;
For what he has he gives, what thinks he shows;
Yet gives he not till judgment guide his bounty,
Nor dignifies an impure thought with breath;
Manly as Hector, but more dangerous;
For Hector in his blaze of wrath subscribes
To tender objects, but he in heat of action
Is more vindicative than jealous love:
They call him Troilus, and on him erect
A second hope, as fairly built as Hector.
Thus says AEneas; one that knows the youth
Even to his inches, and with private soul
Did in great Ilion thus translate him to me.

DUTCH:
De jongste zoon van Priamus: echt ridder;
Schoon niet gerijpt , reeds roemrijk; vast van woord,
Met daden sprekend, daad’loos met de tong;
Niet ras vergramd; vergramd, niet ras bevredigd;

MORE:
Matchless=Unequalled
Deedless in his tongue=Humble, not boastful
Soon=Readily
Free=Generous
Impair=Unworthy
Subscribes=Relents, yields
Vindicative=Vindictive
Even to his inches=In great detail
Private soul=In confidence
Translate=Explain
Compleat:
Matchless=Zonder weerga, gaadeloos
Soon=Haast, vroeg, dra
Free=Vry, openhartig
Impair=Verergeren, besnoeijen, verminderen, verzwakken, verkleynen
Subscribe=Onderschryven
Vindictive=Wraakzuchtig

Topics: honour, revenge

The honour is sacred which he talks on now, supposing that I lacked it

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Sir,
He fell upon me ere admitted, then.
Three kings I had newly feasted, and did want
Of what I was i’ th’ morning. But next day
I told him of myself, which was as much
As to have asked him pardon. Let this fellow
Be nothing of our strife. If we contend,
Out of our question wipe him.
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?

DUTCH:
Neen, Lepidus, hij spreke;
Want de eer is ongeschonden, die hij aanvalt,
Al denkt hij haar door mij gedeerd. Ga voort;
Dat hoofdpunt, Caesar, , van mijn eed

MORE:
Fell upon=Burst in on
Newly=Recently
Feasted=Entertained with dinner
Strife=Quarrel, dispute
Article=Terms
Compleat:
To fall upon=Op vallen, op aan vallen
Newly=Nieuwlyks, onlangs
To feast=Gastmaal houden, vergasten, onthaalen
Strife=Twist, tweedragt, krakkeel, pooging
Article=Een lid, artykel, verdeelpunt
To surrender upon articles=Zich by verdrag overgeeven

Topics: news, understanding, dispute, promise, honour

The over-daring Talbot
Hath sullied all his gloss of former honour
By this unheedful, desperate, wild adventure

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 4.4.
SPEAKER: Somerset
CONTEXT:
It is too late; I cannot send them now:
This expedition was by York and Talbot
Too rashly plotted: all our general force
Might with a sally of the very town
Be buckled with: the over-daring Talbot
Hath sullied all his gloss of former honour
By this unheedful, desperate, wild adventure:
York set him on to fight and die in shame,
That, Talbot dead, great York might bear the name

DUTCH:
Talbots overmoed
Heeft heel den glans van al zijn vroegere eer
Bevlekt door dit onzinnig dolle waagstuk.
York dreef hem aan tot strijd en roemloos sterven,
Om zelf des dooden Talbots glorie te erven.

MORE:

Schmidt:
Expedition=A warlike enterprise
Sally=An issue of troops from a besieged place
Buckled with=Join in close fight, resist
Sullied=Tarnished
The very town=The garrison

Compleat:
Expedition=Een krygsverrichting
Sally=Uitvallen
Buckle=(to buckle together) Worstelen, schermutselen
Sullied=Bemorst, vuil gemaakt, bezoedeld

Topics: haste, preparation, caution, honour, ruin, risk

The rather will I spare my praises towards him: knowing him is enough

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
HELEN
Ay, my good lord.
Gerard de Narbon was my father;
In what he did profess, well found.
KING
I knew him.
HELEN
The rather will I spare my praises towards him:
Knowing him is enough. On’s bed of death
Many receipts he gave me: chiefly one.
Which, as the dearest issue of his practice,
And of his old experience the oily darling,
He bade me store up, as a triple eye,
Safer than mine own two, more dear; I have so;
And hearing your high majesty is touched
With that malignant cause wherein the honour
Of my dear father’s gift stands chief in power,
I come to tender it and my appliance
With all bound humbleness.

DUTCH:
Te minder heb ik noodig hem te roemen;
Genoeg is ‘t hem te kennen.

MORE:
Receipt=Prescription
Dearest issue=Most valuable product
Malignant cause=Disease
Honour=Virtue
Chief in power=Has most effect
Appliance=Treatment
Bound=Dutiful, appropriate
Compleat:
Receipt (receit)=Geneesmiddel
Issue=Uytkomst, uytslag; afkomst, afkomeling
Dear=Waard, lief, dierbaar, dier
Bound=Gebonden, verbonden, verpligt, dienstbaar
Humbleness=Ootmoedigheyd, nederigheyd

Topics: honour, skill

The ruin speaks that sometime it was a worthy building

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Caius Lucius
CONTEXT:
CAIUS LUCIUS
Dream often so,
And never false. Soft, ho! what trunk is here
Without his top? The ruin speaks that sometime
It was a worthy building. How! a page!
Or dead, or sleeping on him? But dead rather;
For nature doth abhor to make his bed
With the defunct, or sleep upon the dead.
Let’s see the boy’s face.
CAPTAIN
He’s alive, my lord.
CAIUS LUCIUS
He’ll then instruct us of this body. Young one,
Inform us of thy fortunes, for it seems
They crave to be demanded. Who is this
Thou makest thy bloody pillow? Or who was he
That, otherwise than noble nature did,
Hath alter’d that good picture? What’s thy interest
In this sad wreck? How came it? Who is it?
What art thou?
IMOGEN
I am nothing: or if not,
Nothing to be were better. This was my master,
A very valiant Briton and a good,
That here by mountaineers lies slain. Alas!
There is no more such masters: I may wander
From east to occident, cry out for service,
Try many, all good, serve truly, never
Find such another master.
CAIUS LUCIUS
‘Lack, good youth!
Thou movest no less with thy complaining than
Thy master in bleeding: say his name, good friend.
IMOGEN
Richard du Champ.
If I do lie and do
No harm by it, though the gods hear, I hope
They’ll pardon it.—Say you, sir?

DUTCH:
Doch, welk een stam is dit ,
Van top beroofd? De puinhoop toont, dat dit
Een trotsch gebouw geweest is.

MORE:
Sometime=Once upon a time
Worthy=Grand
Defunct=Dead
Otherwise=Differently
Wreck=Ruin
Occident=West
Service=Employment
Compleat:
Somewhile=Te eeniger tyd
Worthy=Waardig, eerwaardig, voortreffelyk, uytmuntend, deftig
Defunct=Overleeden
To wreck or go to wrack=Verlooren gaan, te gronde gaan
Occident=Het westen
Service=Dienstbaarheid

Topics: nature, death, honour, virtue, work, loyalty

There lives not three good men unhanged in England, and one of them is fat and grows old.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
You rogue, here’s lime in this sack too.—There is nothing but roguery to be found in villanous man, yet a coward is worse than a cup of sack with lime in it. A villanous coward! Go thy ways, old Jack. Die when thou wilt. If manhood, good manhood, be not forgot upon the face of the earth, then am I a shotten herring. There lives not three good men unhanged in England, and one of them is fat and grows old, God help the while. A bad world, I say. I would I were a weaver. I could sing psalms, or anything. A plague of all cowards, I say still.

DUTCH:
In heel England leven geen drie echte mannen, die niet gehangen zijn, en een van hen is vet en wordt oud.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Manhood=Qualities becoming a man, bravery, fortitude, honour
Shotten=Having spent the roe
Weaver=Weavers were generally Protestant religious exiles from the Low Countries who would sing their psalms at work.
Compleat:
Manhood=Manlykheid, dapperheid, manbaarheid, manbaare staat, menschheid
A shotten herring=Een haring die zyn kuit geschooten heeft
He looks like a shotten herring (or pitifully)=Hy ziet er uit als een kalf dat niet voort wil.
Burgersdijk notes
Daar is nu ook kalk in deze sek.
Er werd kalk gedaan in de Spaansche wijnen om ze duurzamer te maken; bij Sh.’s tijdgenooten vindt men meermalen klachten over deze bijmenging.
Ik wenschte, dat ik een wever was.
De wevers stonden in dien tijd in den reuk van vroomheid; velen van hen waren Calvinistische vluchtelingen uit de Nederlanden, en zongen psalmen bij hun werk.

Topics: honour, courage, honesty

Think’st thou it honourable for a noble man still to remember wrongs?

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Volumnia
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
Nay, go not from us thus.
If it were so that our request did tend
To save the Romans, thereby to destroy
The Volsces whom you serve, you might condemn us,
As poisonous of your honour: no; our suit
Is that you reconcile them: while the Volsces
May say ‘This mercy we have show’d;’ the Romans,
‘This we received;’ and each in either side
Give the all-hail to thee and cry ‘Be blest
For making up this peace!’ Thou know’st, great son,
The end of war’s uncertain, but this certain,
That, if thou conquer Rome, the benefit
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name,
Whose repetition will be dogg’d with curses;
Whose chronicle thus writ: ‘The man was noble,
But with his last attempt he wiped it out;
Destroy’d his country, and his name remains
To the ensuing age abhorr’d.’ Speak to me, son:
Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour,
To imitate the graces of the gods;
To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o’ the air,
And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt
That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak?
Think’st thou it honourable for a noble man
Still to remember wrongs? Daughter, speak you:
He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy:
Perhaps thy childishness will move him more
Than can our reasons. There’s no man in the world
More bound to ‘s mother; yet here he lets me prate
Like one i’ the stocks. Thou hast never in thy life
Show’d thy dear mother any courtesy,
When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood,
Has cluck’d thee to the wars and safely home,
Loaden with honour. Say my request’s unjust,
And spurn me back: but if it be not so,
Thou art not honest; and the gods will plague thee,
That thou restrain’st from me the duty which
To a mother’s part belongs. He turns away:
Down, ladies; let us shame him with our knees.
To his surname Coriolanus ‘longs more pride
Than pity to our prayers. Down: an end;
This is the last: so we will home to Rome,
And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold ‘s:
This boy, that cannot tell what he would have
But kneels and holds up bands for fellowship,
Does reason our petition with more strength
Than thou hast to deny ‘t. Come, let us go:
This fellow had a Volscian to his mother;
His wife is in Corioli and his child
Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch:
I am hush’d until our city be a-fire,
And then I’ll speak a little.

DUTCH:
Nog spreekt gij niet?
Acht gij ‘t een eed’len man betamend , eeuwig
Te wrokken om een krenking?

MORE:
Fine strains=Refinements, niceties
Affect=Aimed at, pretended to have
Bolt=Lightning
Rive=Split
Compleat:
Affect=Naäapen
Affectation=Gemaaktheid
Rive (asunder(=Opscheuren, opsplyten, opbarsten

Topics: honour, appearance

To our honour’s great disparagement

DUTCH:
En, zonder groote schade voor onze eer,
‘t Geslagen vonnis geen herroeping duldt,
Wil ik u gunstig zijn, zooveel ik kan.

Topics: fate/destiny, dignity, honour, punishment, delay

Vanish like hailstones, go

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
NYM
I will run no base humour: here, take the
humour-letter: I will keep the havior of reputation.
FALSTAFF
Hold, sirrah, bear you these letters tightly;
Sail like my pinnace to these golden shores.
Rogues, hence, avaunt! vanish like hailstones, go;
Trudge, plod away o’ the hoof; seek shelter, pack!
Falstaff will learn the humour of the age,
French thrift, you rogues; myself and skirted page.

DUTCH:
Hier, knaap, breng gij de brieven en met zorg.
Zeil als mijn bootjen naar die gouden kusten. —
Weg, schurken! smelt, verdwijnt als hagelsteenen

MORE:
Haviour of reputation=Appearance of respectability
Pinnace=Small fast vessel
Avaunt=Be off
Humour=Spirit
Compleat:
Pinnace=Een Pynas scheepje, pynasje

Topics: appearance, reputation, honour, money

What is honour? A word. What is in that word “honour”?

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
PRINCE HENRY
Why, thou owest God a death.
Tis not due yet. I would be loath to pay Him before His day. What need I be so forward with Him that calls not on me? Well, ’tis no matter. Honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honor set to a leg? no. Or an arm? no. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honour? A word. What is in that word “honour”? What is that “honour”? Air. A trim reckoning. Who hath it? He that died o’ Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. ‘Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore, I’ll none of it. Honour is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.

DUTCH:
Wat is eer? Een woord. Wat is het woord eer? Lucht. De rekening sluit! — Wie Iieeft haar? Die woensdag gestorven is. Voelt hij ze? Neen. Hoort hij ze? Neen. Is ze dus niet waar te nemen? Neen, door de dooden niet. Maar leeft ze dan nooit bij de levenden? Neen. Waarom niet? De afgunst duldt dit niet.

MORE:
Death. Debt. The word-play on “death” and “debt” occurs as early as 1400.
Onions:
Prick on=Encourage, incite
Prick off=to mark or indicate by a ‘prick’ or tick, mark or tick off
Set to a leg=Restore a leg cut off
Insensible=Not to be apprehended by the senses
Scutcheon=A shield with armorial ensigns. Scutcheon is the lowest description of heraldic ensign used for funerals.
Compleat:
Scutcheon=Schild, wapenschild
REFERENCED IN E&W LAW: AM v Local Authority & Anor [2009] EWCA Civ 205 (16 March 2009)
Burgersdijk notes:
De eer is niets dan een wapenschild. Dat bij de begrafenis van een edelman mede rond gedragen wordt, zonder dat de doode er iets aan heeft. — Falstaff noemt, wat hij gezegd heeft, een catechismus, omdat hij in vragen en antwoorden zijn geloofsbelijdenis heeft afgelegd.

Topics: honour, cited in law, skill/talent, life

What phrase is this, ‘He hears with ear’? Why, it is affectations

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Sir Hugh Evans
CONTEXT:
PISTOL
He hears with ears.
SIR HUGH EVANS
The tevil and his tam! what phrase is this, ‘He
hears with ear’? why, it is affectations.
FALSTAFF
Pistol, did you pick Master Slender’s purse?
SLENDER
Ay, by these gloves, did he, or I would I might
never come in mine own great chamber again else, of
seven groats in mill-sixpences, and two Edward
shovel-boards, that cost me two shilling and two
pence apiece of Yead Miller, by these gloves.

DUTCH:
De tuifel en sijn chrootmoeder! Wat is tat foor een
manier van spreken: „Hij hoort met ooren!” Kom, tat
is toch cheaffectioneerd.

MORE:
Proverb: The devil and his dam

Gloves=Formal attire, representation of honour
Great chamber=Great hall
Groat=Fourpenny coin
Mill-sixpence=New method of stamping coins
Shovel-board=Shilling from the reign of Edward VI

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, communication, honour

What’s thy interest in this sad wreck? How came it? Who is it? What art thou?

DUTCH:
En wat is uw verlies
Bij deze droeve schipbreuk? Hoe gebeurde ‘t?
Wie is hij? Wie zijt gij?

Topics: nature, death, honour, virtue, work, loyalty

You are too absolute; though therein you can never be too noble

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Volumnia
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
Repent what you have spoke.
CORIOLANUS
For them! I cannot do it to the gods;
Must I then do’t to them?
VOLUMNIA
You are too absolute;
Though therein you can never be too noble,
But when extremities speak. I have heard you say,
Honour and policy, like unsever’d friends,
I’ the war do grow together: grant that, and tell me,
In peace what each of them by the other lose,
That they combine not there.

DUTCH:
Gij zijt te hoog van taal;
Wel toont gij dus uw adeldom te meer;

MORE:
Absolute=Rigid, inflexible
When extremities speak=In a crisis, extreme situation “give ground” or concede something; when necessity requires
Unsevered=Inseparable
Policy=Stratagem, prudent or dexterous management
Compleat:
Policy (conduct, address, cunning way)=Staatkunde, beleid, behendigheid
Severed=Afgescheiden
Extremity=Uitspoorigheid; uiterste

Topics: conflict, judgment, wisdom, honour

You have as little honesty as honour

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cardinal Wolsey
CONTEXT:
CARDINAL WOLSEY
This, and all else
This talking lord can lay upon my credit,
I answer is most false. The duke by law
Found his deserts: how innocent I was
From any private malice in his end,
His noble jury and foul cause can witness.
If I loved many words, lord, I should tell you
You have as little honesty as honour,
That in the way of loyalty and truth
Toward the king, my ever royal master,
Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be,
And all that love his follies.

DUTCH:
Hield ik van vele woorden,
Dan, graaf, zou ik u zeggen: even luttel
Bezit gij eerlijkheid als eer.

MORE:
Credit=Reputation
From=Of
Noble=Composed of nobles and noble-minded
Cause=Case, crime
Mate=Match
Compleat:
Credit=Geloof, achting, aanzien, goede naam
Noble=Edel, adelyk
Cause=Oorzaak, reden, zaak
Mate=Koppelen, gelykmaaken

Topics: honour, honesty, reputation

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

Your rage mistakes us.

DUTCH:
Gij beiden, wat gij wenscht, mijn ondergang.
Is dit uw raad als christen? foei! Nog is er
Een hemel, waar een rechter, door geen koning
Ooit om te koopen, troont!

Topics: honour, dispute, anger, innocence, evidence