CJTranslations

QUOTES BY TOPIC

All the regions do smilingly revolt

PLAY: Coriolanus ACT/SCENE: 4.6 SPEAKER: Cominus CONTEXT: COMINIUS
Ay; and you’ll look pale
Before you find it other. All the regions
Do smilingly revolt; and who resist
Are mock’d for valiant ignorance,
And perish constant fools. Who is’t can blame him?
Your enemies and his find something in him.
MENENIUS
We are all undone, unless
The noble man have mercy.
COMINIUS
Who shall ask it?
The tribunes cannot do’t for shame; the people
Deserve such pity of him as the wolf
Does of the shepherds: for his best friends, if they
Should say ‘Be good to Rome,’ they charged him even
As those should do that had deserved his hate,
And therein show’d like enemies. DUTCH: Ja wis; gij zult verbleeken;
Maar ‘t anders vinden, — neen. Elk wingewest
Valt lachend af; en elk, die weerstand biedt,
Wordt om zijn dapp’re domheid fel bespot,
En sterft als trouwe nar. MORE: Pale=White with fear
Smilingly=Happily, willingly
Undone=Ruined
Compleat:
Pale=Bleek, doodsch
Smiling=Grimlaching, toelaching, smyling, smylende
Undone=Ontdaan, losgemaakt Topics: appearance, courage, blame, mercy

And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Portia
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.
It is an attribute to God himself.
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this—
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.

DUTCH:
En aardsche macht zweemt meest naar die van God,
Wanneer genade ‘t recht doortrekt

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
United States v. Magalong, 2002 CCA LEXIS 141, (2002)
United States v. Brownd, 6 M.J. 338, 345 (1979)
De La Garza Perales v. Casillas, 903 F.2d 1043 (1990).
United States v. Healy, 26 M.J. 394, 395 (1988): “Shakespeare made this distinction when, in the “Merchant of Venice,” he wrote, “And earthly power doth then show likest God’s, When mercy seasons justice.” Act IV, Scene 1, line 184. See United States v. Lanford, supra at 378, 20 C.M.R. at 94. Both the Old and the New Testaments contain exhortations to be just and merciful; but, apparently there, too, these qualities are viewed as distinct. See, e.g., Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23.”

Sway=Rule, dominion
Compleat:
Sway=Macht, gezach, heerschappy
Scepter=Een ryksstaf.
To bear sway or rule=Heerschen, regeeren, ‘t bewind hebben
To sway the scepter=Den Scepter zwaaijen.
To season a denial with kind words=Eene weigering met vriendelyke woorden temperen.

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

And that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy

DUTCH:
Daarom,
Beroept ge u, jood, op ‘t recht, bedenk ook dit,
Dat, naar gerechtigheid, geen onzer ooit
Behouden wordt; wij bidden om genade;
En de eigen bede leert ons, zelf aan and’ren
Genade te oef’nen.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Monroe v. United Air Lines, Inc., Docket No. 79 C 360, 3 slip opinion (Ill., 1983)

The justice=the justness, merit (of your argument)
Needs (always used with must or will): indispensably, absolutely
Compleat:
Salvation=Zaligheid, behoudenis
It must needs be so=Het moet noodzaakelyk zo zyn
Do it no more than needs must=Doet het niet meer als volstrekt noodzaakelyk is.

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

And when that time comes, afflict me with thy mocks, pity me not

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Phoebe
CONTEXT:
PHOEBE
But till that time
Come not thou near me. And when that time comes,
Afflict me with thy mocks, pity me not,
As till that time I shall not pity thee.
ROSALIND
And why, I pray you? Who might be your mother,
That you insult, exult, and all at once,
Over the wretched? What though you have no beauty—
As, by my faith, I see no more in you
Than without candle may go dark to bed—
Must you be therefore proud and pitiless?
Why, what means this? Why do you look on me?
I see no more in you than in the ordinary
Of nature’s sale-work.— ‘Od’s my little life,
I think she means to tangle my eyes, too.
—No, faith, proud mistress, hope not after it.
‘Tis not your inky brows, your black silk hair,
Your bugle eyeballs, nor your cheek of cream
That can entame my spirits to your worship.
—You foolish shepherd, wherefore do you follow her,
Like foggy south puffing with wind and rain?
You are a thousand times a properer man
Than she a woman. ‘Tis such fools as you
That makes the world full of ill-favoured children.
‘Tis not her glass but you that flatters her,
And out of you she sees herself more proper
Than any of her lineaments can show her.
—But, mistress, know yourself. Down on your knees
And thank heaven, fasting, for a good man’s love,
For I must tell you friendly in your ear,
Sell when you can; you are not for all markets.
Cry the man mercy, love him, take his offer.
Foul is most foul, being foul to be a scoffer.
—So take her to thee, shepherd. Fare you well.

DUTCH:
Wijk tot dien tijd
Van mij, blijf verre; en als die tijd eens komt,
Houd dan uw spot niet in, ken geen erbarming,
Maar wacht die vóór dien tijd ook niet van mij.

MORE:
All at once=In one breath
Ordinary=Ordinary run
Sale-work=Ready made retail goods (of inferior quality)
Bugle=Beads, usually black
Wind and rain=Sighs and tears
Properer=More handsome
Tangle=Ensnare
Cry mercy=Take mercy on
Scoffer=Mocker. Scoffer was used for political and religious abuse.
Compleat:
At once=Op een reis, teffens, te gelyk, ten eersten
Ordinary=Gewoonlyk, gemeen
To scoff=Spotten, schimpen. To scoff at=Bespotten beschimpen.
Buggle=Een glaze kraal
Proper=Bequaam, van een bequaame lengte
To tangle=Verwarren
Mercy=Barmhartifheid, genade
To cry mercy=Om genade roepen

Topics: pity, appearance, mercy

And when thou find’st a man that’s like thyself. Good Murder, stab him; he’s a murderer

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Look round about the wicked streets of Rome;
And when thou find’st a man that’s like thyself.
Good Murder, stab him; he’s a murderer.
Go thou with him; and when it is thy hap
To find another that is like to thee,
Good Rapine, stab him; he’s a ravisher.
Go thou with them; and in the emperor’s court
There is a queen, attended by a Moor;
Well mayst thou know her by thy own proportion,
for up and down she doth resemble thee:
I pray thee, do on them some violent death;
They have been violent to me and mine.
TAMORA
Well hast thou lessoned us; this shall we do.
But would it please thee, good Andronicus,
To send for Lucius, thy thrice-valiant son,
Who leads towards Rome a band of warlike Goths,
And bid him come and banquet at thy house;
When he is here, even at thy solemn feast,
I will bring in the empress and her sons,
The emperor himself and all thy foes;
And at thy mercy shalt they stoop and kneel,
And on them shalt thou ease thy angry heart.
What says Andronicus to this device?

DUTCH:
Zie dan in Homes booze straten rond,
En vindt ge een man daar, die op u gelijkt,
Doorsteek hem, lieve Moord; hij is een moord’naar.

MORE:
Hap=Chance
When it is thy hap=If by chance
Proportion=Shape, dimension
Lessoned=Taught
Device=Plan
Compleat:
Hap=Het luk, geval, toeval
Proportion=Evenredigheid, regelmaat
Device (cunning trick)=Een listige streek

Topics: offence, good and bad, mercy

As ending anthem of my endless dolour

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
Ay, ay; and she hath offered to the doom—
Which, unreversed, stands in effectual force—
A sea of melting pearl, which some call tears:
Those at her father’s churlish feet she tendered;
With them, upon her knees, her humble self;
Wringing her hands, whose whiteness so became them
As if but now they waxed pale for woe:
But neither bended knees, pure hands held up,
Sad sighs, deep groans, nor silver-shedding tears,
Could penetrate her uncompassionate sire;
But Valentine, if he be ta’en, must die.
Besides, her intercession chafed him so,
When she for thy repeal was suppliant,
That to close prison he commanded her,
With many bitter threats of biding there.
VALENTINE
No more; unless the next word that thou speak’st
Have some malignant power upon my life:
If so, I pray thee, breathe it in mine ear,
As ending anthem of my endless dolour.

DUTCH:
En dan, haar voorspraak heeft hem zoo vergramd,
Toen ze om herroeping van het vonnis smeekte,
Dat hij beval, zeer nauw haar op te sluiten,
Met scherpe dreiging, zoo ze ontsnapping waagt.

MORE:
Doom=Judgment
Offered=Sacrificed, dedicated
Effectual=Operative
Tendered=Offered
Waxed=Became
Penetrate=Reach the heart of
Chafed=Irritated, angered
Thy repeal=Repeal of your sentence
Biding=Staying permanently
Ending anthem=Requiem
Dolour=Sadness
Compleat:
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
Effectual=Krachtig, uitwerkelyk
To tender=Aanbieden, van harte bezinnen, behartigen
To wax (grow)=Worden
To penetrate=Doordringen, doorgronden, doorbooren
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
Repeal=Een herroeping, afschaffing, intrekking
Dolor=Droefheid, smarte

Topics: judgment, punishment, mercy

Desire not to ally my rages and revenges with your colder reasons

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
Even he, your wife, this lady, and myself,
Are suitors to you.
CORIOLANUS
I beseech you, peace:
Or, if you’ld ask, remember this before:
The thing I have forsworn to grant may never
Be held by you denials. Do not bid me
Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate
Again with Rome’s mechanics: tell me not
Wherein I seem unnatural: desire not
To ally my rages and revenges with
Your colder reasons.
VOLUMNIA
O, no more, no more!
You have said you will not grant us any thing;
For we have nothing else to ask, but that
Which you deny already: yet we will ask;
That, if you fail in our request, the blame
May hang upon your hardness: therefore hear us.
CORIOLANUS
Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark; for we’ll
Hear nought from Rome in private. Your request?

DUTCH:
Vraag mij niet,
Dit heer te ontbinden of nog eens met Rome’s
Handwerkers te onderhand’len; zeg mij niet,
Dat ik mij onnatuurlijk toon; beproef niet
Met uwe koele gronden mijne woede
En wraak te leen’gen.

MORE:
Forsworn=Denied
Held=Regarded as
Mechanics=Labourers
Compleat:
To forswear one’s self=Eenen valschen eed doen, meyneedig zyn
To forswear a thing=Zweeren dat iets zo niet is
Forsworn=Meyneedig
Mechanick=Handwerkman

Topics: mercy, reason, justification, revenge

For those that were, it is not square to take in those that are, revenges: crimes, like lands, are not inherited

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 5.6
SPEAKER: Second senator
CONTEXT:
SECOND SENATOR
Nor are they living
Who were the motives that you first went out;
Shame that they wanted cunning, in excess
Hath broke their hearts. March, noble lord,
Into our city with thy banners spread:
By decimation, and a tithed death—
If thy revenges hunger for that food
Which nature loathes—take thou the destined tenth,
And by the hazard of the spotted die
Let die the spotted.
FIRST SENATOR
All have not offended;
For those that were, it is not square to take
On those that are, revenges: crimes, like lands,
Are not inherited. Then, dear countryman,
Bring in thy ranks, but leave without thy rage:
Spare thy Athenian cradle and those kin
Which in the bluster of thy wrath must fall
With those that have offended: like a shepherd,
Approach the fold and cull the infected forth,
But kill not all together.
SECOND SENATOR
What thou wilt,
Thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile
Than hew to’t with thy sword.

DUTCH:
Onbillijk waar’ ‘t, voor dooden hen, die leven,
Te laten boeten; zonden gaan niet over
Bij erf’nis, als een land.

MORE:
Motives=Reason
Went out=Were banished
Cunning=Skill
Decimation=Killing one in ten
Tithe=Levy one tenth part
Die=Singular form of dice
Compleat:
Motive=Beweegreden, beweegoorzaak
To decimate=Vertienen, den tienden soldaat by lotinge verstraffen
Decimation=Heffing van tienden, vertienen, straffen van den tienden man
Cunning=Loosheid, listigheid; Behendigheid
Tithe=Tiende
To gather tithes=Tienden inzamelen
Die=Dobbelsteen

Topics: mercy, revenge, reason

He has, as much as in him lies, from time to time envied against the people, seeking means to pluck away their power

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
CORIOLANUS
I know no further:
Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian death,
Vagabond exile, raying, pent to linger
But with a grain a day, I would not buy
Their mercy at the price of one fair word;
Nor cheque my courage for what they can give,
To have’t with saying ‘Good morrow.’
SICINIUS
For that he has,
As much as in him lies, from time to time
Envied against the people, seeking means
To pluck away their power, as now at last
Given hostile strokes, and that not in the presence
Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers
That do distribute it; in the name o’ the people
And in the power of us the tribunes, we,
Even from this instant, banish him our city,
In peril of precipitation
From off the rock Tarpeian never more
To enter our Rome gates: i’ the people’s name,
I say it shall be so.
CITIZENS
It shall be so, it shall be so; let him away:
He’s banish’d, and it shall be so.
COMINIUS
Hear me, my masters, and my common friends,—
SICINIUS
He’s sentenced; no more hearing.

DUTCH:
Ik zou mij hun genade
Niet koopen tot den prijs van één goed woord,
Mijn hart niet dwingen om een gunst van hen,
Al waar’ zij voor een „Goeden morgen” veil.

MORE:
Steep death=Being thrown from the ‘steep Tarpeian rock’
Vagabond=Vagrant, wandering
Linger=Protracted suffering
Envied=Showed malice
Strokes=Blows
Precipitation=Being thrown headlong off the rock
Compleat:
Vagabond=Een landlooper, schooijer, zwerver
To linger=Leuteren, draalen
Envy=Nyd, afgunst
Stroke=Een slag, trek
To precipitate=(throw down) Plotseling van boven neer storten of werpen, haastig voortdryven, onbedachtelyk verhaasten

Topics: mercy

He hath resisted law, and therefore law shall scorn him further trial than the severity of the public power which he so sets at naught

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
Where is this viper
That would depopulate the city and
Be every man himself?
MENENIUS
You worthy tribunes,—
SICINIUS
He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian rock
With rigorous hands: he hath resisted law,
And therefore law shall scorn him further trial
Than the severity of the public power
Which he so sets at naught.
FIRST CITIZEN
He shall well know
The noble tribunes are the people’s mouths,
And we their hands.

DUTCH:
Hij heeft de wet getrotst;
Wat zou de wet dan meer getuig’nis eischen ?
Hem richte heel de strengheid van de macht,
Die hij zoo nietig acht.

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

Sets at=Values. Sets at naught=Considers worthless.
Tarpeian rock=Murderers and traitors were thrown off this rock in Rome
Scorn=To disdain, to refuse or lay aside with contempt
Severity=Strength
Compleat:
To scorn=Verachten, verfooijen

Topics: law/legal, justice, mercy

How angerly I taught my brow to frown, when inward joy enforced my heart to smile

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Julia
CONTEXT:
JULIA
And yet I would I had o’erlooked the letter:
It were a shame to call her back again
And pray her to a fault for which I chid her.
What a fool is she, that knows I am a maid,
And would not force the letter to my view!
Since maids, in modesty, say ‘no’ to that
Which they would have the profferer construe ‘ay.’
Fie, fie, how wayward is this foolish love
That, like a testy babe, will scratch the nurse
And presently all humbled kiss the rod!
How churlishly I chid Lucetta hence,
When willingly I would have had her here!
How angerly I taught my brow to frown,
When inward joy enforced my heart to smile!
My penance is to call Lucetta back
And ask remission for my folly past.
What ho! Lucetta!

DUTCH:
Hoe vinnig keef ik daar Lucetta weg,
Toen ik haar innig gaarne bij mij hield;
Hoe toornig plooide ik mijn gelaat tot rimpels,
Terwijl de vreugd mijn hart tot lachen dwong!

MORE:
Overlooked=Examined
Shame=Shameful
Pray to=Beg, entreat
Chid=Scolded
Testy=Irritable
Remission=Pardon
Compleat:
Shame (reproach, ignominy)=Schande
Shamefull=Schandelyk, snood; Op een schandelyke wyze
Pray=Verzoeken
Chide=Kyven, bekyven
Testy=Korzel, kribbig, gramsteurig, gemelyk
Remission=Vergiffenis, vergeeving, quytschelding

Topics: love, emotion and mood, appearance, mercy, regret

I am a man more sinned against than sinning

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

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

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

Topics: mercy, offence, conspiracy, secrecy, blame

I do not shame to tell you what I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Oliver
CONTEXT:
OLIVER
‘Twas I, but ’tis not I. I do not shame
To tell you what I was, since my conversion
So sweetly tastes, being the thing I am.
ROSALIND
But for the bloody napkin?
OLIVER
By and by.
When from the first to last betwixt us two
Tears our recountments had most kindly bathed—
As how I came into that desert place—
In brief, he led me to the gentle duke,
Who gave me fresh array and entertainment,
Committing me unto my brother’s love,
Who led me instantly unto his cave,
There stripped himself, and here upon his arm
The lioness had torn some flesh away,
Which all this while had bled. And now he fainted,
And cried in fainting upon Rosalind.
Brief, I recovered him, bound up his wound,
And after some small space, being strong at heart,
He sent me hither, stranger as I am,
To tell this story, that you might excuse
His broken promise, and to give this napkin
Dyed in his blood unto the shepherd youth
That he in sport doth call his Rosalind.

DUTCH:
Ik was ‘t, doch ben ‘t niet meer. Ik schaam mij niet,
Te zeggen wat ik was, daar mijn bekeering
Zoo zoet mij is, nu ik een ander ben.

MORE:
Do not shame=Am not ashamed
By and by=In a moment
Recountments=Accounts, narratives
Entertainment=Hospitality
Recovered=Revived
In sport=In jest
Compleat:
Shame=Beschaamen, beschaamd maaken, schande aandoen
By and by=Zo aanstonds, op ‘t oogenblik
To recount=Verhaalen
Entertainment=Huysvesting, onderhoud
To recover=Weder bekomen, weer krygen, weer opkomen
To make sport=Lachen, speelen

Topics: guilt, promise, mercy

I should be guiltier than my guiltiness,
To think I can be undiscernible

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Angelo
CONTEXT:
O my dread lord,
I should be guiltier than my guiltiness,
To think I can be undiscernible,
When I perceive your grace, like power divine,
Hath look’d upon my passes. Then, good prince,
No longer session hold upon my shame,
But let my trial be mine own confession:
Immediate sentence then and sequent death
Is all the grace I beg.

DUTCH:
k Zou schuldiger nog worden dan ik ben,
Wanneer ik dacht mij schuil to kunnen houden

MORE:

Topics: law/legal, justice, conscience, mercy

I should not seek an absent argument of my revenge, thou present

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Duke Frederick
CONTEXT:
DUKE FREDERICK
Not see him since? Sir, sir, that cannot be.
But were I not the better part made mercy,
I should not seek an absent argument
Of my revenge, thou present. But look to it:
Find out thy brother, wheresoe’er he is.
Seek him with candle. Bring him, dead or living,
Within this twelvemonth or turn thou no more
To seek a living in our territory.
Thy lands and all things that thou dost call thine
Worth seizure, do we seize into our hands
Till thou canst quit thee by thy brother’s mouth
Of what we think against thee.
OLIVER
Oh, that your Highness knew my heart in this:
I never loved my brother in my life.
DUKE FREDERICK
More villain thou.— Well, push him out of doors
And let my officers of such a nature
Make an extent upon his house and lands.
Do this expediently, and turn him going.

DUTCH:
Sinds niet gezien? Heer, heer, dit kan niet zijn;
Was ‘t meeste van mijn wezen niet genade,
Dan zocht mijn wraak zich niet veraf een doel,
Nu gij in mijn bereik zijt.

MORE:
Made=Composed of
Argument=Subject
Seek him with candle=Look everywhere
Turn=Return
Quit=Acquit
Of such a nature=Appropriate
Extent=Writ of seizure
Expediently=Expeditiously
Compleat:
Made=Gemaakt
Argument=Bewys, bewysreden, dringreden; kort begrip der zaak die te bewyzen staat; inhoud
To turn=Draaien, keeren, wenden
To quit=Verschoonen, ontslaan
Expedient=Nuttelyk, dienstig, vorderlyk, noodig

Topics: poverty and wealth, revenge, mercy

I will; and like thee, Nero, Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Lord Talbot
CONTEXT:
Yet livest thou, Salisbury?
Though thy speech doth fail,
One eye thou hast, to look to heaven for grace:
The sun with one eye vieweth all the world.
Heaven, be thou gracious to none alive,
If Salisbury wants mercy at thy hands!
Bear hence his body; I will help to bury it.
Sir Thomas Gargrave, hast thou any life?
Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to him.
Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort;
Thou shalt not die whiles—
He beckons with his hand and smiles on me.
As who should say ‘When I am dead and gone,
Remember to avenge me on the French.’
Plantagenet, I will; and like thee, Nero,
Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn:
Wretched shall France be only in my name.

DUTCH:
Hij wenkt mij met de hand en lacht mij toe,
Alsof hij zeggen wilde: „Ben ik dood,
Herdenk dan mij te wreken op de Franschen !”
Plantagenet, ik wil ‘t; ik wil, als Nero,
De luit slaan bij ‘t zien branden van hun steden;
Mijn naam alleen maakt Frankrijk reeds ellendig.

MORE:
Wants=Lacks (mercy)
Whiles=Whilst, during the time that
Only in=At the very sound of

Compleat:
Between whiles (from time to time)=Van tyd tot tyd, by tusschenpoozing

Burgersdijk notes:
Plantagenet. Talbot noemt Salisbury met den familienaam van het koninklijk geslacht, omdat hij een afstammeling was van Koning Edward I11 en de schoone gravin van Salisbury.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, neglect, mercy

I would I could Quit all offences with as clear excuse.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Prince Hal
CONTEXT:
So please your Majesty, I would I could
Quit all offences with as clear excuse
As well as I am doubtless I can purge
Myself of many I am charged withal.
Yet such extenuation let me beg
As, in reproof of many tales devised,
Which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear,
By smiling pickthanks and base newsmongers,
I may for some things true, wherein my youth
Hath faulty wandered and irregular,
Find pardon on my true submission.

DUTCH:
Veroorloof, uwe hoogheid! ‘k Wenschte, dat ik
Van iedre smet mij zoo bevrijden kon,
Als ik mij buiten twijfel rein kan wasschen
Van meen’ge zonde, mij te last gelegd;

MORE:
I am doubtless=I doubt not
Quit=acquit, clear oneself
Purge=clear
Charged withal=Accused of now
Extenuation= Considerations, allowance
Devised= Invented, made up
Smiling pickthanks=Flatterers who think flattery will earn the King’s gratitude
True submission= Confession
Newsmongers=Gossips
Compleat:
Purge=Zuyveren, reynigen

Topics: nlame, innocence, reputation, mercy, judgment

I would not buy their mercy at the price of one fair word

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
CORIOLANUS
I know no further:
Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian death,
Vagabond exile, raying, pent to linger
But with a grain a day, I would not buy
Their mercy at the price of one fair word;
Nor chcek my courage for what they can give,
To have’t with saying ‘Good morrow.’
SICINIUS
For that he has,
As much as in him lies, from time to time
Envied against the people, seeking means
To pluck away their power, as now at last
Given hostile strokes, and that not in the presence
Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers
That do distribute it; in the name o’ the people
And in the power of us the tribunes, we,
Even from this instant, banish him our city,
In peril of precipitation
From off the rock Tarpeian never more
To enter our Rome gates: i’ the people’s name,
I say it shall be so.
CITIZENS
It shall be so, it shall be so; let him away:
He’s banish’d, and it shall be so.
COMINIUS
Hear me, my masters, and my common friends,—
SICINIUS
He’s sentenced; no more hearing.

DUTCH:
Ik zou mij hun genade
Niet koopen tot den prijs van één goed woord,
Mijn hart niet dwingen om een gunst van hen,
Al waar’ zij voor een „Goeden morgen” veil.

Topics: mercy

If little faults proceeding on distemper Shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chewed, swallowed, and digested, Appear before us?

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
GREY
Sir, you show great mercy if you give him life
After the taste of much correction.
KING HENRY
Alas, your too much love and care of me
Are heavy orisons ‘gainst this poor wretch.
If little faults proceeding on distemper
Shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye
When capital crimes, chewed, swallowed, and digested,
Appear before us? We’ll yet enlarge that man,
Though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, in their dear care
And tender preservation of our person,
Would have him punished. And now to our French causes.
Who are the late commissioners?

DUTCH:
Indien men ‘t oog hij dronkenschaps-vergrijpen
Niet sluiten mag, hoe moet men ‘t openspalken,
Zoo hoogverraad, gekauwd, geslikt, verteerd,
Zich voor ons opdoet.

MORE:

Proverb: To wink at small faults
Proverb: He that corrects not small faults cannot control great ones
Proverb: To look through one’s ﬁngers

Correction=Punishment
Heavy orisons=Weighty pleas
Distemper=Illness, confusion (esp. drunkenness)
Stretch our eye=Open our eyes

Compleat:
Correction=Verbetering, tuchtiging, berisping
Orisons=Zekere geboden
Distemper: (disease)=Krankheid, ziekte, kwaal; (troubles of the state)=Wanorder in den Staat

Topics: proverbs and idioms, punishment, mercy, justice

Is there any cause in nature that makes these hard hearts?

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 3.6
SPEAKER: King Lear
CONTEXT:
Then let them anatomise Regan; see what breeds about her
heart. Is there any cause in nature that makes these hardhearts?
[To Edgar] You, sir, I entertain for one of my hundred,
only I do not like the fashion of your garments. You will say
they are Persian; but let them be changed.

DUTCH:
Is er een natuurlijke oorzaak die harten zo hard maakt?

MORE:
Schmidt:
Anatomize = dissect
Compleat:
Anatomize=Opsnyding, ontleeden

Topics: life, nature, mercy, appearance, fashion/trends

It boots thee not to be compassionate: After our sentence plaining comes too late.

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
THOMAS MOWBRAY
(…) Doubly portcullis’d with my teeth and lips;
And dull unfeeling barren ignorance
Is made my gaoler to attend on me.
I am too old to fawn upon a nurse,
Too far in years to be a pupil now:
What is thy sentence then but speechless death,
Which robs my tongue from breathing native breath?
KING RICHARD II
It boots thee not to be compassionate:
After our sentence plaining comes too late.

DUTCH:
Vergeefsch dat roerend jamm’ren; ‘t geeft geen baat;
Uw klacht is, nu ons vonnis viel, te laat.

MORE:

A semi-literal allusion to a proverb of the time, ‘Good that the teeth guard the tongue’ (1578) and the virtue of silence. Ben Jonson recommended a ‘wise tongue’ that should not be ‘licentious and wandering’. (See also the Lucio in Measure for Measure: “’tis a secret must be locked within the
teeth and the lips”.)

Cunning=Skilful
Sentence=Verdict (punning on language)
Breathing native breath=Speaking native English (and breathing English air)
No boot=No point, profit, advantage
Compassionate=Pitiful
Plaining=Making a formal complaint

Compleat:
Cunning=Behendig
No boot=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos

Topics: mercy, regret, pity, punishment

Many will swoon when they do look on blood

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Oliver
CONTEXT:
OLIVER
By and by.
When from the first to last betwixt us two
Tears our recountments had most kindly bathed—
As how I came into that desert place—
In brief, he led me to the gentle duke,
Who gave me fresh array and entertainment,
Committing me unto my brother’s love,
Who led me instantly unto his cave,
There stripped himself, and here upon his arm
The lioness had torn some flesh away,
Which all this while had bled. And now he fainted,
And cried in fainting upon Rosalind.
Brief, I recovered him, bound up his wound,
And after some small space, being strong at heart,
He sent me hither, stranger as I am,
To tell this story, that you might excuse
His broken promise, and to give this napkin
Dyed in his blood unto the shepherd youth
That he in sport doth call his Rosalind.
CELIA
Why, how now, Ganymede, sweet Ganymede?
OLIVER
Many will swoon when they do look on blood.

DUTCH:
Ja, velen vallen flauw, wanneer zij bloed zien.

Topics: guilt, promise, mercy

Mend when thou canst. Be better at thy leisure.

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: King Lear
CONTEXT:
I do not bid the thunder-bearer shoot,
Nor tell tales of thee to high-judging Jove.
Mend when thou canst. Be better at thy leisure.
I can be patient. I can stay with Regan,
I and my hundred knights.

DUTCH:
Herzie je als het kan en jou dat schikt.
Ik heb geduld.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Thunder-bearer=Jove, the god of sky and thunder
Compleat:
Jove, chief god of the heathens=Jovus of Jupiter
Cloud-compelling Jove=De Bliksemende Jupiter

Topics: mercy, patience, wellbeing

Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Prince
CONTEXT:
But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fine
That you shall all repent the loss of mine.
I will be deaf to pleading and excuses.
Nor tears nor prayers shall purchase out abuses,
Therefore use none. Let Romeo hence in haste,
Else, when he’s found, that hour is his last.
Bear hence this body and attend our will.
Mercy but murders, pardoning those that kill.

DUTCH:
Genâ voor moord’naars is zoo goed als moord.

MORE:
Amerce = To punish, penalised
Purchase out=redeem
Abuses= offences, transgressions
But = only. Showing mercy (by pardoning murderers) will only lead to more killing.
Compleat:
Redeem=Verlossen, vrykoopen, lossen
Redeemed=Verlost, vrygekogt, gelost

Topics: mercy, pity, punishment

Mercy is not itself, that oft looks so

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Escalus
CONTEXT:
JUSTICE
Lord Angelo is severe.
ESCALUS
It is but needful:
Mercy is not itself, that oft looks so;
Pardon is still the nurse of second woe:
But yet,—poor Claudio! There is no remedy.
Come, sir.

DUTCH:
Genade is, vaak betoond, niet meer genade;
Vergiff’nis wordt staag voedster van het kwade.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Needful=Requisite, indispensable, necessary
Nurse=Metaphorically, that which brings up, nourishes, or causes to grow
Woe=Extreme calamity and grief (second=secondary, follow-up)
Compleat:
Severe=streng, straf
A severe judge=Een gestreng Rechter

Topics: mercy, proverbs and idioms, remedy

Mine enemy’s meanest dog,
Though he had bit me, should have stood
that night Against my fire.

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Cordelia
CONTEXT:
To stand against the deep dread-bolted thunder
In the most terrible and nimble stroke
Of quick cross lightning? To watch—poor perdu!—
With this thin helm? Mine enemy’s meanest dog,
Though he had bit me, should have stood that night
Against my fire.

DUTCH:
De wolfshond van mijn vijand,
al had hij mij gebeten, had die nacht
tegen mijn haard gestaan./
Had de hond van mijn vijand mij gebeten,
Ik had hem bij mijn vuur een plaats gegeven
Dien nacht.

MORE:
Perdu= (1) Lost soul; (2) Sentry in an advanced and dangerous position

Topics: mercy, pity

My brother killed no man; his fault was thought, and yet his punishment was bitter death

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD
Have I a tongue to doom my brother’s death,
And shall the tongue give pardon to a slave?
My brother killed no man; his fault was thought,
And yet his punishment was bitter death.
Who sued to me for him? Who, in my wrath,
Kneeled at my feet, and bade me be advised?
Who spoke of brotherhood? Who spoke of love?
Who told me how the poor soul did forsake
The mighty Warwick and did fight for me?
Who told me, in the field by Tewkesbury,
When Oxford had me down, he rescued me,
And said “Dear brother, live, and be a king?”
Who told me, when we both lay in the field
Frozen almost to death, how he did lap me
Even in his garments and did give himself,
All thin and naked, to the numb-cold night?
All this from my remembrance brutish wrath
Sinfully plucked, and not a man of you
Had so much grace to put it in my mind.
But when your carters or your waiting vassals
Have done a drunken slaughter and defaced
The precious image of our dear Redeemer,
You straight are on your knees for pardon, pardon,
And I, unjustly too, must grant it you. (…)

DUTCH:
Mijn broeder deed geen doodslag; in gedachte
Bestond zijn schuld; toch leed hij bitt’ren dood.

MORE:
Proverb: Thought is free

Doom=Judge
Lap=Wrap
Vassals=Servants
Compleat:
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
A heavy doom=een zwaar vonnis
To doom=Veroordelen, verwyzen, doemen
To lap up=Bewinden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, judgment, punishment, mercy

O deadly sin! O rude unthankfulness!

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Friar Lawrence
CONTEXT:
O deadly sin! O rude unthankfulness!
Thy fault our law calls death, but the kind Prince,
Taking thy part, hath rushed aside the law,
And turned that black word “death” to “banishment.”
This is dear mercy, and thou seest it not.

DUTCH:
O zware zonde, o, zwarte ondankbaarheid!

MORE:
Schmidt:
To rush=vb. to move with suddenness and eager impetuosity
Metaphorically: “the prince hath –ed aside the law,”
Compleat:
To rush in=Invallen, instuiven, met een vaart inloopen, inrennen

Topics: ingratitude, law/legal offence, mercy, punishment

Or I shall show the cinders of my spirit through th’ ashes of my chance

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Cleopatra
CONTEXT:
CLEOPATRA
O Caesar, what a wounding shame is this,
That thou, vouchsafing here to visit me,
Doing the honour of thy lordliness
To one so meek, that mine own servant should
Parcel the sum of my disgraces by
Addition of his envy! Say, good Caesar,
That I some lady trifles have reserved,
Immoment toys, things of such dignity
As we greet modern friends withal, and say
Some nobler token I have kept apart
For Livia and Octavia, to induce
Their mediation, must I be unfolded
With one that I have bred? The gods! It smites me
Beneath the fall I have. Prithee, go hence,
Or I shall show the cinders of my spirit
Through th’ ashes of my chance. Wert thou a man,
Thou wouldst have mercy on me.

DUTCH:
k Bid u, weg;
Of de oude gloed mijns geestes vlamt nog eens
Uit de asch mijns onheils op! waart gij een man,
Gij hadt erbarmen met mij.

MORE:
Vouchsafe=Deign, condescend
Parcel=Enumerate, specify; add to
Envy=Malice
Lady=Feminine
Immoment=Worthless, insignificant
Modern=Ordinary
Nobler=More valuable
Unfolded with=Exposed by
Cinders=Burning coals
Compleat:
To vouchsafe=Gewaardigen, vergunnen
To parcel=In hoopen verdeelen, in partyen deelen
Envy=Nyd, afgunst
Moment=gewicht, belang. Of great moment=Van groot gewicht.
Modern=Hedendaags
Noble=Edel, adelyk
Unfold=Ontvouwen, open leggen
Cinders=Uytgebrande smitskoolen, koolassche

Topics: fate/destiny, independence, mercy

Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Tamora
CONTEXT:
TAMORA
Stay, Roman brethren! Gracious conqueror,
Victorious Titus, rue the tears I shed,
A mother’s tears in passion for her son:
And if thy sons were ever dear to thee,
O, think my son to be as dear to me!
Sufficeth not that we are brought to Rome,
To beautify thy triumphs and return,
Captive to thee and to thy Roman yoke,
But must my sons be slaughtered in the streets,
For valiant doings in their country’s cause?
O, if to fight for king and commonweal
Were piety in thine, it is in these.
Andronicus, stain not thy tomb with blood:
Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods?
Draw near them then in being merciful:
Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge:
Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Patient yourself, madam, and pardon me.
These are their brethren, whom you Goths beheld
Alive and dead, and for their brethren slain
Religiously they ask a sacrifice:
To this your son is marked, and die he must,
To appease their groaning shadows that are gone.

DUTCH:
Wilt gij in aard den goden nader komen,
Zoo kom hun nader in barmhartigheid;
Want deernis is des adels echtste merk;
Hoogeed’le Titus , spaar mijn eerstgeboor’ne!

MORE:
Rue=Pity
Passion=Grief
Sufficeth not=Is not enough
Commonweal=The common good (‘commonwealth’, community)
Patient yourself=Calm down
Brethren=Brothers
Religiously=Solemnly
Growning shadows that are gone=Ghosts of the dead
Compleat:
Passion=Lyding, hartstogt, drift, ingenomenheyd, zydigheyd, zucht
Suffice=Genoeg zyn
It suffices that it is so=’t Is genoeg dat het zo is
Commonwealth=Gemeenebest

Topics: grief, sorrow, mercy, revenge

The quality of mercy is not strain’d.

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Portia
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes
The thron d monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.
It is an attribute to God himself.
And earthly power doth then show likest God’s
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this—
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy,
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea,
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence ‘gainst the merchant there.

DUTCH:
Genade wordt verleend, niet afgedwongen;
Zij drupt, als zachte regen, uit den hemel
Op de aarde neer, en dubblen zegen brengt ze,
Zij zegent hem, die geeft, en die ontvangt

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW – some examples:
People v. Willett, 44 Ill. App. 3d 545, 547 (1976). Decision of the reviewing court after an ‘unintelligible’ brief (‘When the defendant first appeared in Court, it was involuntarily, he being already in the custody of a fellow Shakespeare would probably have called old ‘Bottom’ the weaver, but who we all know as the Sheriff from down there at the County Slammer’): “We would be perfectly justified in striking defendant’s brief, but, as Shakespeare would probably have said, ‘The quality of mercy is not strain’d.’ The State’s motion is denied.”;
Clinton Mun. Separate Sch. Dist. v. Byrd, 477 So. 2d 237, 242 (Miss., 1985);
In re Freligh, 894 F.2d 881, 886 (1989);
Hector Costa Del Moral v. Servicios Legales De Puerto Rico, 63 F. Supp. 2d 165, 172-173 (1999);
Perales v. Casillas, 903 F.2d 1043, 1053 (5th Cir. 1990);
In the Matter of Grand Jury Proceedings Empaneled May 1988, 894 F.2d 881, 886 (7th Cir. 1990);
US v. France, 886 F.2d 22.3, 228 (9th Cir. 1989);
Johnson v. State, 501 So.2d 158, 159 (Fla. Ct. App. 1987);
In Re Green, 1988 III. LEXIS, at 142;
TKU-Queens Corp., Inc. v. Mabel Food Corp., 90 Misc.2d 48, 393 NYS.2d 272, 273 (NY Civ.Ct. 1977);
Miceli v. Parisi, 44 Misc.2d 712,714,255 NYS 2d 377, 379 (NY Sup. Ct. 1964)(Fitzpatrick, J.): “Were this court able to communicate with Shakespeare, it would be bound to inform him that while mercy cannot be strained in quality, it certainly can be strained in practice. The defendant again defaulted in obeying the directions of the court…”.

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

The rarer action is In virtue than in vengeance

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Prospero
CONTEXT:
And mine shall.
Hast thou, which art but air, a touch, a feeling
Of their afflictions, and shall not myself,
One of their kind, that relish all as sharply
Passion as they, be kindlier moved than thou art?
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to th’ quick,
Yet with my nobler reason ‘gainst my fury
Do I take part. The rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance. They being penitent,
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel.
My charms I’ll break, their senses I’ll restore,
And they shall be themselves.

DUTCH:
Mijn rede is eed’ler dan mijn wrok, en neemt
Partij er tegen. Een verheev’ner doen
Is deugd dan wraak. Nu zij berouwvol zijn,
Ben ik aan ‘t doel en reikt mijn streven thans
Geen fronsblik verder. Ga, bevrijd hen, Ariel.
Ik breek mijn tooverboei, herstel hun geest;
Zij mogen weer zichzelf zijn.

MORE:
Proverb: To be able to do harm and not to do it is noble
Proverb: Touched to the quick
See also LLL:
“Of all that virtue love for virtue loved: Most power to do most harm, least knowing ill;”
High wrongs=Serious offences such as treason and attempted murder
Rarer=Unusual, exceptional
Virtue=Forgiveness, mercy
Compleat:
Rare (that happens but seldom)=Zeldzaam; (or scarce)=Schaars, raar; (excellent)=Uitmuntend
Virtue (an habit of the soul, whereby a man is inclined to do good and to shun evil)=Deugd

Topics: mercy, virtue, regret

There is a devilish mercy in the judge

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Claudio
CONTEXT:
ISABELLA
Yes, brother, you may live:
There is a devilish mercy in the judge,
If you’ll implore it, that will free your life,
But fetter you till death.
CLAUDIO
Perpetual durance?

DUTCH:
Ja, broeder, gij kunt leven; ja, er woont
Een duivelsch medelijden in den rechter;
Roept gij het in, dan redt u dit het leven,
Maar boeit u tot den dood .

MORE:
Schmidt:
Durance=Imprisonment
Compleat:
Durance=Duurzaamheid, gevangkenis
To be in durance=In hechtenisse zyn

Topics: punishment, judgment, law/legal, mercy

There is no more mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Menenius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
Yes, mercy, if you report him truly.
MENENIUS
I paint him in the character. Mark what mercy his
mother shall bring from him: there is no more mercy
in him than there is milk in a male tiger; that
shall our poor city find: and all this is long of
you.
SICINIUS
The gods be good unto us!
MENENIUS
No, in such a case the gods will not be good unto
us. When we banished him, we respected not them;
and, he returning to break our necks, they respect not us.

DUTCH:
Ik schilder hem naar ‘t leven. Geef acht, welke goedertierenheid zijn moeder van hem thuis zal brengen; er is in hem niet meer goedertierenheid, dan melk in een mannetjestijger. Dit zal onze arme stad ondervinden en dit
alles komt door u.

MORE:
Truly=Honestly, accurately
Paint=Describe, represent
Bring from=Elicit
Compleat:
Truly=Warlyk, degelyk, zo als het behoort
Elicit=(Extract): Uittrekken, verkorten

Topics: mercy, revenge, punishment

There is not now a rebel’s sword unsheathed But peace puts forth her olive everywhere.

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Westmorland
CONTEXT:
Mowbray, the Bishop Scroop, Hastings, and all
Are brought to the correction of your law.
There is not now a rebel’s sword unsheathed
But peace puts forth her olive everywhere.
The manner how this action hath been borne
Here at more leisure may your Highness read
With every course in his particular.

DUTCH:
Niet één rebellenzwaard is meer ontbloot;
De vrede doet de’ olijf alom ontspruiten.

MORE:

Schmidt:
Correction=Chastisement
Peace puts forth her olive=The olive branch of peace is extended

Topics: mercy, justice, resolution

We are all undone, unless the noble man have mercy

DUTCH:
Wij allen zijn verloren, toont niet die eed’le erbarmen

MORE:
Pale=White with fear
Smilingly=Happily, willingly
Undone=Ruined
Compleat:
Pale=Bleek, doodsch
Smiling=Grimlaching, toelaching, smyling, smylende
Undone=Ontdaan, losgemaakt

Topics: appearance, courage, blame, mercy

What thou wilt, thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile than hew to ’t with thy sword

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Second senator
CONTEXT:
SECOND SENATOR
Nor are they living
Who were the motives that you first went out;
Shame that they wanted cunning, in excess
Hath broke their hearts. March, noble lord,
Into our city with thy banners spread:
By decimation, and a tithed death—
If thy revenges hunger for that food
Which nature loathes—take thou the destined tenth,
And by the hazard of the spotted die
Let die the spotted.
FIRST SENATOR
All have not offended;
For those that were, it is not square to take
On those that are, revenges: crimes, like lands,
Are not inherited. Then, dear countryman,
Bring in thy ranks, but leave without thy rage:
Spare thy Athenian cradle and those kin
Which in the bluster of thy wrath must fall
With those that have offended: like a shepherd,
Approach the fold and cull the infected forth,
But kill not all together.
SECOND SENATOR
What thou wilt,
Thou rather shalt enforce it with thy smile
Than hew to’t with thy sword.

DUTCH:
Wat gij wenscht,
Dwingt gij veel eerder met een glimlach af,
Dan dat uw zwaard het wint.

Topics: mercy, revenge, reason

What you have charged me with, that have I done,
And more, much more

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Edmund
CONTEXT:
What you have charged me with, that have I done,
And more, much more; the time will bring it out.
‘Tis past, and so am I. But what art thou
That hast this fortune on me? If thou’rt noble,
I do forgive thee.
EDGAR
Let’s exchange charity.
I am no less in blood than thou art, Edmond.
If more, the more th’hast wronged me.
My name is Edgar, and thy father’s son.
The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices
Make instruments to plague us.
The dark and vicious place where thee he got
Cost him his eyes.

DUTCH:
Al wat gij mij verweet, ik heb ‘t gedaan,
En meer, veel meer; de tijd zal ‘t openbaren;
‘t Is al voorbij, ik ook. Maar wie zijt gij,
Die mij versloegt ? Zijt gij van adel, dan
Vergeef ik u.

MORE:
Schmidt;
Charity=That disposition of heart which inclines men to think favourably of their fellow-men, and to do them good.

Topics: blame, offence, mercy, civility, fate/destiny, status

You have often Begun to tell me what I am;
but stopp’d. And left me to a bootless inquisition

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Miranda
CONTEXT:
PROSPERO
‘Tis tIme
I should inform thee further. Lend thy hand
And pluck my magic garment from me. So,
Lie there my art. Wipe thou thine eyes, have comfort;
The direful spectacle of the wreck which touched
The very virtue of compassion in thee,
I have with such provision in mine art
So safely ordered, that there is no soul –
No, not so much perdition as an hair,
Betid to any creature in the vessel
Which thou heard’st cry, which thou sawst sink.
Sit down, For thou must now know further.
MIRANDA
You have often
Begun to tell me what I am; but stopp’d.
And left me to a bootless inquisition,
Concluding “Stay: not yet.”

DUTCH:
Vaak begont gij
Mij te vertellen, wie ik ben, doch telkens
Hieldt ge op, en al mijn vragen was vergeefsch;
Het eind was steeds: „Nog niet.”

MORE:
Provision=Prevision, foresight
Perdition=Loss
Bootless inquisition=Fruitless inquiry
Compleat:
Provision=Voorzorg
Perdition=Verderf, verlies, ondergang
Bootless=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos

Topics: sorrow, grief, mercy, discovery, truth