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PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Diana
CONTEXT:
BERTRAM
How have I sworn!
DIANA
‘Tis not the many oaths that makes the truth,
But the plain single vow that is vowed true.
What is not holy, that we swear not by,
But take the High’st to witness: then, pray you, tell me,
If I should swear by God’s great attributes,
I loved you dearly, would you believe my oaths,
When I did love you ill? This has no holding,
To swear by him whom I protest to love,
That I will work against him: therefore your oaths
Are words and poor conditions, but unsealed,
At least in my opinion.
BERTRAM
Change it, change it;
Be not so holy-cruel: love is holy;
And my integrity ne’er knew the crafts
That you do charge men with. Stand no more off,
But give thyself unto my sick desires,
Who then recover: say thou art mine, and ever
My love as it begins shall so persever.

DUTCH:
Een tal van eeden maakt de trouw niet hecht;
Een eed, eenvoudig, waar en trouw, volstaat;
Men zweert slechts bij wat heilig is, vooral
Bij de’ Allerhoogste;


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

The many=The number of
Single=One; sincere
Ill=Poorly; not at all
Unsealed=Without a (validating) seal
Compleat:
Ill=Quaad, ondeugend, onpasselijk
Sealed=Gezegeld, verzegeld
To set a seal to a thing=Een zegel aan iets steeken/hangen

Topics: truth, honesty, love, promise

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Volumnia
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
I prithee now, my son,
Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand;
And thus far having stretch’d it—here be with them—
Thy knee bussing the stones—for in such business
Action is eloquence, and the eyes of the ignorant
More learned than the ears—waving thy head,
Which often, thus, correcting thy stout heart,
Now humble as the ripest mulberry
That will not hold the handling: or say to them,
Thou art their soldier, and being bred in broils
Hast not the soft way which, thou dost confess,
Were fit for thee to use as they to claim,
In asking their good loves, but thou wilt frame
Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs, so far
As thou hast power and person.

DUTCH:
Want gebaren
Zijn reed’naars bij onnooz’len, daar hun oog
Min stomp is dan hun oor

MORE:
Bonnet=Take off a bonnet (sign of respect, courtesy)
To buss=To kiss
Broil=War, combat, battle
Hold=Bear, stand up to
Compleat:
To buss=Zoenen, kussen
Broil=Oproer, beroerte, gewoel

Topics: language, appearance, flattery, manipulation, promise

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

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

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

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

Topics: legacy, law/legal, contract, promise

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
To the king I’ll say’t; and make my vouch as strong
As shore of rock. Attend. This holy fox,
Or wolf, or both,— for he is equal ravenous
As he is subtle, and as prone to mischief
As able to perform’t; his mind and place
Infecting one another, yea, reciprocally—
Only to show his pomp as well in France
As here at home, suggests the king our master
To this last costly treaty, the interview,
That swallow’d so much treasure, and like a glass
Did break i’ the rinsing.

DUTCH:
Want hij is vraatzuchtig
Niet min dan sluw, en even tuk op boosheid,
Als tot het doen in staat.

MORE:
Vouch=Assertion, allegation
Place=Position, rank
Pomp=Magnificence, splendour
Suggest=Tempt
Interview=Meeting
Compleat:
To vouch=Staande houden, bewyzen, verzekeren
Place=Plaats
Pomp=Pracht, praal, staatsi
Suggest=Ingeeven, insteeken, inluysteren, inblaazen
Interview=Een t’Zamenkomst, mondeling gesprek

Topics: promise, appearance, ambition, manipulation

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Alas, it is the baseness of thy fear
That makes thee strangle thy propriety.
Fear not, Cesario. Take thy fortunes up.
Be that thou know’st thou art, and then thou art
As great as that thou fear’st.
O, welcome, father!
Father, I charge thee, by thy reverence,
Here to unfold (though lately we intended
To keep in darkness what occasion now
Reveals before ’tis ripe) what thou dost know
Hath newly passed between this youth and me.
PRIEST
A contract of eternal bond of love,
Confirmed by mutual joinder of your hands,
Attested by the holy close of lips,
Strengthened by interchangement of your rings,
And all the ceremony of this compact
Sealed in my function, by my testimony,
Since when, my watch hath told me, toward my grave
I have travelled but two hours.

DUTCH:
Helaas, het is de lafheid van uw angst,
Die u uw eigen ik verlooch’nen doet;
Vrees niets, Cesario; grijp slechts uw geluk;
Wees wat gij weet te zijn, dan zijt gij ook
Zoo groot als wat gij ducht.

MORE:
Strangle=Disguise
Propriety=Identity
Unfold=Explain
Occasion=Events
Joinder=Joining
Compact=Contract
Compleat:
Strangle=Verwurgen
Propriety=Eigenschap, eigendom
Unfold=Ontvouwen, open leggen
Occasion=Gelegenheyd, voorval, oorzaak
Compact=Verdrag, verding, verbond

Topics: deceit, identity, fate/destiny, promise

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
ORSINO
And what’s her history?
VIOLA
A blank, my lord. She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i’ the bud,
Feed on her damask cheek. She pined in thought,
And with a green and yellow melancholy
She sat like patience on a monument,
Smiling at grief. Was not this love indeed?
We men may say more, swear more, but indeed
Our shows are more than will, for still we prove
Much in our vows, but little in our love.

DUTCH:
Is wit papier. Nooit sprak zij van haar liefde; —
‘t Verbergen mocht, gelijk een worm de knop,
Haar wangen knagen, haar verdriet was stom.

MORE:
CITED IN LAW: In a direct quotation or ‘borrowed eloquence’ in Porter v Magill, Weeks v Magill [2001] UKHL 67, Lord Scott’s opening remarks (at [132]) noted that political corruption like “Like Viola’s ‘worm i’th bud” feeds upon democratic institutions from within” (Twelfth Night).
https://www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/quote-or-not-quote-…

Proverb: Grief pent up will break the heart
Proverb: Grief is lessened when imparted to others
Proverb: When shared, joy is doubled and sorrow halved

Damask=Pink and white (damask rose)
Patience on a monument=A statue depicting patience
Will=Passion
Still=Always
Compleat:
Damask=Damast. A Damask rose=Roos van Damast
Patience=Geduld, lydzaamheid, verduldigheid
Still=Steeds, gestadig, altyd

Topics: cited in law, proverbs and idioms, patience, appearance, promise, debt/obligation

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Imogen
CONTEXT:
IMOGEN
Good morrow, sir. You lay out too much pains
For purchasing but trouble; the thanks I give
Is telling you that I am poor of thanks
And scarce can spare them.
CLOTEN
Still, I swear I love you.
IMOGEN
If you but said so, ’twere as deep with me:
If you swear still, your recompense is still
That I regard it not.
CLOTEN
This is no answer.
IMOGEN
But that you shall not say I yield being silent,
I would not speak. I pray you, spare me: ‘faith,
I shall unfold equal discourtesy
To your best kindness: one of your great knowing
Should learn, being taught, forbearance.
CLOTEN
To leave you in your madness, ’twere my sin:
I will not.
IMOGEN
Fools are not mad folks.

DUTCH:
Zoudt ge, als ik zweeg, niet denken, dat ik toegaf,
Dan sprak ik niet

MORE:
Proverb: Silence is (gives) consent

Deep=Weighty, serious
Equal discourtesy=Discourtesy equal to your kindness
Compleat:
Deep=Diepzinnig
Discourtesy=Onbeleefdheid, onheusheid
You have done me a great discourtesy=Gy hebt my daar mede een groote ondienst gedaan

Topics: promise, reply, perception, law/legal, proverbs and idioms

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

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

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

Topics: conspiracy, plans/intentions, discovery, promise

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Ephesus
CONTEXT:

ANGELO
Nay, come, I pray you, sir, give me the chain.
Both wind and tide stays for this gentleman,
And I, to blame, have held him here too long.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Good Lord! You use this dalliance to excuse
Your breach of promise to the Porpentine.
I should have chid you for not bringing it,
But, like a shrew, you first begin to brawl.
SECOND MERCHANT
The hour steals on. I pray you, sir, dispatch.
ANGELO
You hear how he importunes me. The chain!
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Why, give it to my wife, and fetch your money.
ANGELO
Come, come. You know I gave it you even now.
Either send the chain, or send me by some token.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Fie, now you run this humour out of breath.
Come, where’s the chain? I pray you, let me see it.
SECOND MERCHANT
My business cannot brook this dalliance.
Good sir, say whe’er you’ll answer me or no.
If not, I’ll leave him to the Officer.

DUTCH:
O foei, dat is geen scherts meer; ‘t gaat te ver;
Waar is de ketting? ‘k Bid u, toon hein mij.

MORE:
Proverb: Time and tide (The tide) tarries (stays for) no man
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint (I should have chid you for not bringing it, But like a shrew you first begin to brawl)

Chid (impf., to chide.)=To rebuke, to scold at
Run this humour out of breath=Taking the joke too far
Token=A sign or attestion of a right
Compleat:
Importune=Lastig vallen, zeer dringen, gestadig aanhouden, overdringen, aandringen
To sail with wind and tide=Voor wind and stroom zeilen
Chide=Kyven, bekyven
Token=Teken, getuigenis; een geschenkje dat men iemand tot een gedachtenis geeft
Dalliance=Gestoei, dartelheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, money, promise, patience

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
Nay, that’s past praying for. I have peppered two of them. Two I am sure I have paid, two rogues in buckram suits. I tell thee what, Hal, if I tell thee a lie, spit in my face, call me horse. Thou knowest my old ward. Here I lay, and thus I bore my point.

DUTCH:
Ik zal je wat zeggen, Hein;—als ik je iets voorlieg, spuw me dan in het gezicht, noem mij een paard. Je kent mijn oude parade: zoo lag ik, en zoo hield ik mijn kling.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Buckram=Coarse linen stiffened with glue
Pepper=To serve out, to finish, to make an end of
Ward=Guard made in fencing, posture of defence
Compleat:
Buckram=Gewascht doek, trilje
Forswear (or renounce)=afzweeren
To ward off a blow=Eenen slag afweeren
Burgersdijk:
Buckram=Stijflinnen

Topics: honesty, truth, promise

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Boy
CONTEXT:
For indeed three such antics do not amount to a man: for Bardolph, he is white-livered and red-faced, by the means whereof he faces it out but fights not; for Pistol, he hath a killing tongue and a quiet sword, by the means whereof he breaks words and keeps whole weapons; for Nym, he hath heard that men of few words are the best men, and therefore he scorns to say his prayers, lest he should be thought a coward, but his few bad words are matched with as few good deeds, for he never broke any man’s head but his own, and that was against a post when he was drunk. They will steal anything and call it purchase.

DUTCH:
Pistool, die heeft een moorddadige tong en
een vreedzaam zwaard; en daarom breekt hij woorden
den nek, maar houdt zijn wapens heel

MORE:

Antic=Buffoon, practising odd gesticulations
White-livered=Cowardly (White livers used to signify cowardice. Hence lily-livered (Macbeth, 5.3) and milk-livered (King Lear, 4.2), both compounds coined by Shakespeare)
Face it out=To get through one’s business by effrontery
Scorn=To disdain, to refuse or lay aside with contempt
Words=Also in the sense of promises

Compleat:
To scorn=Verachten, verfooijen
White-livered=Een die er altijd bleek uitziet; een bleek-neus, kwaadaardig, nydig
To face out=Iemand iets in ‘t gezigt staande houden

Topics: reputation, honour, language, promise

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Stephano
CONTEXT:
STEPHANO
How didst thou ’scape? How camest thou hither? Swear by this bottle how thou camest hither. I escaped upon a butt of sack which the sailors heaved o’erboard, by this bottle, which I made of the bark of a tree with mine own hands since I was cast ashore.
CALIBAN
I’ll swear upon that bottle to be thy true subject, for the liquor is not earthly.
STEPHANO
Here. Swear then how thou escapedst.
TRINCULO
Swum ashore, man, like a duck. I can swim like a duck, I’ll be sworn.
STEPHANO
Here, kiss the book. Though thou canst swim like a duck, thou art made like a goose.

DUTCH:
Nu, kus het boek. Maar al kun je zwemmen als een
eend, je hebt toch nog meer van een gans.

MORE:

Kiss the book=Sign of fealty, akin to kissing the Bible when swearing an oath. (Here metaphor for take another drink.)
Butt of sack=Cask of wine
Compleat:
Butt=Wynvat, wynkuip, houdende honderd zes-en-twintig gallons
Burgersdijk notes:
Nu, kus het boek. De flesch moet hier het boek, den bijbel, vervangen, die in Engeland bij het afleggen van een eed gekust wordt.

Topics: promise, truth, honesty

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHERINE
So may he rest; his faults lie gently on him!
Yet thus far, Griffith, give me leave to speak him,
And yet with charity. He was a man
Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking
Himself with princes; one that, by suggestion,
Tied all the kingdom: simony was fair-play;
His own opinion was his law: i’ the presence
He would say untruths; and be ever double
Both in his words and meaning: he was never,
But where he meant to ruin, pitiful:
His promises were, as he then was, mighty;
But his performance, as he is now, nothing:
Of his own body he was ill, and gave
The clergy in example

DUTCH:
Simonie was eerlijk doen; zijn eigen wil zijn wet;
Voor ‘s konings aanschijn sprak hij logens; dubbel
Was hij van tong en hart.

MORE:
Speak=Speak of
Stomach=Pride, greed
Tied=Ruled, subjected
Simony=Trading of ecclesiastical privileges (after Simon the Sorcerer)
Presence=In the presence of the king
Be ever double=Equivocal
Pitiful=Having pity
Compleat:
Stomach=Gramsteurigheyd
Tied=Gebonden
Simony=Geestelyke amptkooping, koophandel van geestelyke dingen (naar Simon den Toveraar)
Presence=Tegenwoordigheyd, byzyn, byweezen
The Presence Chamber=De Koninklyke voorkamer, de gehoor-zaal
Pitifull=Vol medelyden

Topics: death, legacy, reputation, law/legal, promise

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHERINE
So may he rest; his faults lie gently on him!
Yet thus far, Griffith, give me leave to speak him,
And yet with charity. He was a man
Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking
Himself with princes; one that, by suggestion,
Tied all the kingdom: simony was fair-play;
His own opinion was his law: i’ the presence
He would say untruths; and be ever double
Both in his words and meaning: he was never,
But where he meant to ruin, pitiful:
His promises were, as he then was, mighty;
But his performance, as he is now, nothing:
Of his own body he was ill, and gave
The clergy in example

DUTCH:
Grootsch, als hijzelf eens, was wat hij beloofde,
Doch wat hij hield, was, als hijzelf nu, niets.
Hij zondigde in den vleesche, en ging alzoo
De geest’lijkheid slecht voor.

MORE:
Speak=Speak of
Stomach=Pride, greed
Tied=Ruled, subjected
Simony=Trading of ecclesiastical privileges (after Simon the Sorcerer)
Presence=In the presence of the king
Be ever double=Equivocal
Pitiful=Having pity
Compleat:
Stomach=Gramsteurigheyd
Tied=Gebonden
Simony=Geestelyke amptkooping, koophandel van geestelyke dingen (naar Simon den Toveraar)
Presence=Tegenwoordigheyd, byzyn, byweezen
The Presence Chamber=De Koninklyke voorkamer, de gehoor-zaal
Pitifull=Vol medelyden

Topics: death, legacy, reputation, law/legal, promise

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

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.6
SPEAKER: Iachimo
CONTEXT:
IACHIMO
Yes, I beseech; or I shall short my word
By lengthening my return. From Gallia
I cross’d the seas on purpose and on promise
To see your grace.
IMOGEN
I thank you for your pains:
But not away to-morrow!
IACHIMO
O, I must, madam:
Therefore I shall beseech you, if you please
To greet your lord with writing, do’t to-night:
I have outstood my time; which is material
To the tender of our present.
IMOGEN
I will write.
Send your trunk to me; it shall safe be kept,
And truly yielded you. You’re very welcome.

DUTCH:
En daarom, mocht gij wenschen uw gemaal
Te schrijven, doe het, bid ik, heden nog.
Mijn tijd is om; ‘t is van belang te zorgen,
Dat ons geschenk bijtijds er is.

MORE:
Gallia=Roman province, roughly equal to modern-day France
Short my word=Not keep my word
Outstood=Outstayed
Material=Relevant
Tender=Offering
Compleat:
To come or fall short=Te kort komen
He came short of his promise=Hy quam zyne belofte niet naa
Material=Stoffelyk, voornaam
The material cause=De stoffelyke of weezendlyke oorzaak
To tender=Aanbieden, van harte bezinnen, behartigen

Topics: promise, security

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

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

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

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

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Slender
CONTEXT:
FORD
By my faith, a good knot: I have good cheer at home;
and I pray you all go with me.
SHALLOW
I must excuse myself, Master Ford.
SLENDER
And so must I, sir: we have appointed to dine with
Mistress Anne, and I would not break with her for
more money than I’ll speak of.
SHALLOW
We have lingered about a match between Anne Page and
my cousin Slender, and this day we shall have our
answer.

DUTCH:
Ik zou haar mijn woord niet
willen breken, zelfs voor meer geld niet dan ik noemen kan.

MORE:
Knot=Crowd of people
Break with=Break my word, appointment
Compleat:
Knot=Een rist of trop
To break=Breeken, verbreeken, kneuzen
To break with one=De vrindschap met iemand afbreeken

Topics: promise|delay|marriage

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Now, my lord, what shall we do, if we perceive
Lord Hastings will not yield to our complots?
RICHARD
Chop off his head. Something we will determine.
And look when I am king, claim thou of me
The earldom of Hereford, and all the moveables
Whereof the king my brother was possessed.
BUCKINGHAM
I’ll claim that promise at your Grace’s hands.
RICHARD
And look to have it yielded with all kindness.
Come, let us sup betimes, that afterwards
We may digest our complots in some form.

DUTCH:
Ik zal me op uwer hoogheid woord beroepen.

MORE:
Yield to=Go along with
Complots=Plots
Moveables=Movable goods
Betimes=Early, on time
Digest=Arrange, concoct
Compleat:
Yield=Overgeeven, toegeeven, geeven
Complot=Saamenrotten
Moveables=Roerelyke goederen, tilbaare goederen,inboel
Betimes=Bytyds, vroeg
To digest=Verteeren, verdouwen, verkroppen, opkroppen; in orde schikken
Look to=Toezien, toezigt hebben, acht op neemen, gade slaan, bezorgen

Burgersdijk notes:
Den kop hem af. Gloster komt wat al te haastig met zijn eigen meening voor den dag en trekt daarom
zijne woorden eenigszins in, door er bij te voegen, dat hij met Buckingham de zaak wil overleggen .

Topics: promise, debt/obligation

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Desdemona
CONTEXT:
DESDEMONA
I know ’t, I thank you. You do love my lord.
You have known him long, and be you well assured
He shall in strangeness stand no farther off
Than in a polite distance.
CASSIO
Ay, but, lady,
That policy may either last so long,
Or feed upon such nice and waterish diet,
Or breed itself so out of circumstances,
That, I being absent and my place supplied,
My general will forget my love and service.
DESDEMONA
Do not doubt that. Before Emilia here
I give thee warrant of thy place. Assure thee,
If I do vow a friendship, I’ll perform it
To the last article. My lord shall never rest,
I’ll watch him tame and talk him out of patience.
His bed shall seem a school, his board a shrift,
I’ll intermingle everything he does
With Cassio’s suit. Therefore be merry, Cassio,
For thy solicitor shall rather die
Than give thy cause away.

DUTCH:
Ducht dit geenszins; hier, voor Emilia, blijf ik
U borg voor uw herplaatsing. Wees verzekerd,
Beloof ik iets uit vriendschap, ik volbreng het
Ten einde toe; ik laat mijn gá geen rust;

MORE:
Strangeness=Reserve, distance
Breed=Perpetuate
Doubt=Fear
Friendship=Friendly act
Place supplied=Position filled
Board a shrift=Dinner table, confessional, place of penance
Solicitor=Advocate
Give cause away=Fail the cause
Compleat:
Strangeness=Vreemdheid
Breed=Teelen, werpen; voortbrengen; veroorzaaken; opvoeden
Doubt=Twyffel
Shrive=Biechten
Solicitor (solicitour)=Een verzoeker, vervorderaar, rechtsbevorderaar, solliciteur

Topics: civility, order/society, friendship, loyalty, promise

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
SECOND CITIZEN
I promise you I scarcely know myself.
Hear you the news abroad?
FIRST CITIZEN
Yes, that the king is dead.
SECOND CITIZEN
Ill news, by ‘r Lady. Seldom comes the better.
I fear, I fear, ’twill prove a giddy world.

DUTCH:
Slecht nieuws, ja; zelden baart de toekomst rozen.
Ik vrees, ik vrees, er komt een tijd van storm .

MORE:
Proverb: Seldom comes the better

Promise=Assure
Abroad=Going around
By’r Lady=By the Virgin May
Giddy=Unstable
Compleat:
To promise=Belooven, toezeggen
To noise abroad=Uitbrommen, uittrompetten

Topics: news, communication, proverbs and idioms, promise

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Duchess
CONTEXT:
DUCHESS
Was never mother had so dear a loss.
Alas, I am the mother of these griefs.
Their woes are parcelled; mine are general.
She for an Edward weeps, and so do I;
I for a Clarence weep; so doth not she.
These babes for Clarence weep and so do I;
I for an Edward weep; so do not they.
Alas, you three, on me, threefold distressed,
Pour all your tears. I am your sorrow’s nurse,
And I will pamper it with lamentations.
DORSET
Comfort, dear mother. God is much displeased
That you take with unthankfulness, his doing.
In common worldly things, ’tis called ungrateful
With dull unwillingness to repay a debt
Which with a bounteous hand was kindly lent;
Much more to be thus opposite with heaven,
For it requires the royal debt it lent you.

DUTCH:
Ondankbaar beet het steeds in ‘s werelds doen
Met tragen onwil golden weer te geven,
Met milde hand weiwillend ons geleend ;
Veel meer dan, zoo te twisten met den hemel,
Wijl die zijn vorst’lijk leengoed weder eischt.

MORE:
Parcelled=Specific, single
Pamper=Overindulge
Compleat:
To parcel=In hoopen verdeelen, in partyen deelen
To pamper=Mesten, wel onthaalen

Topics: debt/obligation, ingratitude, trust, promise

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

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

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

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

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Boy
CONTEXT:
For indeed three such antics do not amount to a man: for Bardolph, he is white-livered
and red-faced, by the means whereof he faces it out but fights not; for Pistol, he hath a killing tongue and a quiet sword, by the means whereof he breaks words and keeps whole weapons; for Nym, he hath heard that men of few words are the best men, and therefore he scorns to say his prayers, lest he should be thought a coward, but his few bad words are matched with as few good deeds, for he never broke any man’s head but his own, and that was against a post when he was drunk.

DUTCH:
Nym, die heeft wel eens gehoord, dat menschen van weinig woorden de besten zijn, en daarom verdraait hij het, ooit te bidden, opdat men hem niet voor een lafaard zou houden, maar naast zijn weinige en slechte woorden staan even weinige goede daden.

MORE:

Antic=Buffoon, practising odd gesticulations
White-livered=Cowardly (White livers used to signify cowardice. Hence lily-livered (Macbeth, 5.3) and milk-livered (King Lear, 4.2), both compounds coined by Shakespeare)
Face it out=To get through one’s business by effrontery
Scorn=To disdain, to refuse or lay aside with contempt
Words=Also in the sense of promises

Compleat:
To scorn=Verachten, verfooijen
White-livered=Een die er altijd bleek uitziet; een bleek-neus, kwaadaardig, nydig
To face out=Iemand iets in ‘t gezigt staande houden

Topics: reputation, honour, language, promise

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Orlando
CONTEXT:
CELIA
Gentle cousin,
Let us go thank him and encourage him.
My father’s rough and envious disposition
Sticks me at heart. Sir, you have well deserved.
If you do keep your promises in love
But justly, as you have exceeded all promise,
Your mistress shall be happy.
ROSALIND
Gentleman,
Wear this for me—one out of suits with fortune
That could give more but that her hand lacks means.
Shall we go, coz?
CELIA
Ay. Fare you well, fair gentleman.
ORLANDO
Can I not say “I thank you”? My better parts
Are all thrown down, and that which here stands up
Is but a quintain, a mere lifeless block.

DUTCH:
Mijn beter deel
Ligt neergeveld, en wat nog overeind staat,
Is als een pop bij ‘t steekspel, roerloos, dood.

MORE:
Disposition=Temperament
Quintain=a post or figure set up for beginners in tilting to run at.
Out of suits=Out of favour (with fortune)
Compleat:
Quintain=Een bruilofts steekspel, alwaar men met zwaare speeren tegen een eike plank rent
Disposition of mind=Gesteltenis van gemoed

Burgersdijk notes:
Een pop bij ‘t steekspel. A quintain: een houten figuur, die vooral bij oefeningen in het toernooirijden als doel voor de lans diende. Volgens Douce was dit doel, in zijn meest volkomen vorm, een afgezaagde boomstam, waarop een menschelijke figuur geplaatst was, die aan den linkerarm een schild, in de rechterhand een zak met zand vasthield. De toernooiruiters poogden in galop met hun lans den kop of het lijf van de pop te treffen; mislukte dit en raakten zij het schild, dan draaide de pop snel om en gaf hun, tot groot vermaak der toeschouwers, een slag met den zandzak.

Topics: emotion and mood, civility, merit, promise, respect

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Ephesus
CONTEXT:

ANGELO
Nay, come, I pray you, sir, give me the chain.
Both wind and tide stays for this gentleman,
And I, to blame, have held him here too long.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Good Lord! You use this dalliance to excuse
Your breach of promise to the Porpentine.
I should have chid you for not bringing it,
But, like a shrew, you first begin to brawl.
SECOND MERCHANT
The hour steals on. I pray you, sir, dispatch.
ANGELO
You hear how he importunes me. The chain!
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Why, give it to my wife, and fetch your money.
ANGELO
Come, come. You know I gave it you even now.
Either send the chain, or send me by some token.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Fie, now you run this humour out of breath.
Come, where’s the chain? I pray you, let me see it.
SECOND MERCHANT
My business cannot brook this dalliance.
Good sir, say whe’er you’ll answer me or no.
If not, I’ll leave him to the Officer.

DUTCH:
Mijn zaken dulden die vertraging niet.
Spreek, heer, hoe is ‘t? betaalt gij mij of niet?
Zoo niet, dan neem’ die dienaar hem gevangen.

MORE:
Proverb: Time and tide (The tide) tarries (stays for) no man
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint (I should have chid you for not bringing it, But like a shrew you first begin to brawl)

Chid (impf., to chide.)=To rebuke, to scold at
Run this humour out of breath=Taking the joke too far
Token=A sign or attestion of a right
Compleat:
Importune=Lastig vallen, zeer dringen, gestadig aanhouden, overdringen, aandringen
To sail with wind and tide=Voor wind and stroom zeilen
Chide=Kyven, bekyven
Token=Teken, getuigenis; een geschenkje dat men iemand tot een gedachtenis geeft
Dalliance=Gestoei, dartelheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, money, promise, patience

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
JULIA
Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths
And entertained ’em deeply in her heart.
How oft hast thou with perjury cleft the root!
O Proteus, let this habit make thee blush!
Be thou ashamed that I have took upon me
Such an immodest raiment, if shame live
In a disguise of love.
It is the lesser blot, modesty finds,
Women to change their shapes than men their minds.
PROTEUS
Than men their minds! ’Tis true. O heaven! Were man
But constant, he were perfect. That one error
Fills him with faults, makes him run through all th’ sins;
Inconstancy falls off ere it begins.
What is in Sylvia’s face but I may spy
More fresh in Julia’s with a constant eye?

DUTCH:
De man zijn eed! ‘t is waar. O bleef de man
Steeds trouw; hij waar’ volmaakt; die Gene feil
Wekt tal van zonden, maakt hem ziende blind;

MORE:
Gave aim=Was the object of
Entertained=Kept, accepted
Cleft=Split, broke
Root=Heart
Raiment=Costume
Inconstancy=Being unfaithful
Compleat:
Aim=Oogmerk, doel, beooging
Entertain (receive or believe) a principle, an opinion, etc.=Een stelling, een gevoelen aanneemen, koesteren’ gelooven of voorstaan
Cleft=Gekloofd, gespleeten
Raiment=Kleedindg, gewaad
Inconstancy=Onstandvastigheyd, onbestendigheyd, wispeltuurigheyd

Topics: promise, looyalty, flaw/fault

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Juliet
CONTEXT:
O Swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon,
That monthly changes in her circled orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise variable

DUTCH:
O zweer niet bij de maan; ze is ongestadig,
En eeuwig wisselt ze in haar schijf;

MORE:

Topics: promise, uncertainty

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Clarence
CONTEXT:
CLARENCE
Look here, I throw my infamy at thee
I will not ruinate my father’s house,
Who gave his blood to lime the stones together,
And set up Lancaster. Why, trow’st thou, Warwick,
That Clarence is so harsh, so blunt, unnatural,
To bend the fatal instruments of war
Against his brother and his lawful king?
Perhaps thou wilt object my holy oath:
To keep that oath were more impiety
Than Jephthah’s, when he sacrificed his daughter.
I am so sorry for my trespass made
That, to deserve well at my brother’s hands,
I here proclaim myself thy mortal foe,
With resolution, wheresoe’er I meet thee—
As I will meet thee, if thou stir abroad—
To plague thee for thy foul misleading me.

DUTCH:
Gij houdt wellicht mijn heil’gen eed mij voor?

MORE:

Proverb: An unlawful oath is better broken than kept

Ruinate=Ruin
Lime=Bond (glue together)
Jephthah=A warrior and judge whose story can be found in the Book of Judges. Jephthah swore to God that in excange for victory over the Ammonites, he would sacrifice the first person to greet him after the battle; the first person he saw was his daughter.
Trow=Think, believe
Bend=Used of instruments of war (Schmidt)
Were more impiety=Would be more of a sin, more wicked

Compleat:
Bird-lime=Vogellym
I trow=Ik denk, ik acht
To bend a sword=Een zwaard buigen
Impiety=Ongodvruchtigheid, godloosheid

Topics: promise, conflict, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Troilus
CONTEXT:
TROILUS
Nothing, but our undertakings; when we vow to weep
seas, live in fire, eat rocks, tame tigers; thinking
it harder for our mistress to devise imposition
enough than for us to undergo any difficulty imposed.
This is the monstruosity in love, lady, that the will
is infinite and the execution confined, that the
desire is boundless and the act a slave to limit.
CRESSIDA
They say all lovers swear more performance than they
are able and yet reserve an ability that they never
perform, vowing more than the perfection often and
discharging less than the tenth part of one. They
that have the voice of lions and the act of hares,
are they not monsters?
TROILUS
Are there such? such are not we: praise us as we
are tasted, allow us as we prove; our head shall go
bare till merit crown it: no perfection in reversion
shall have a praise in present: we will not name
desert before his birth, and, being born, his addition
shall be humble. Few words to fair faith: Troilus
shall be such to Cressid as what envy can say worst
shall be a mock for his truth, and what truth can
speak truest not truer than Troilus.

DUTCH:
Zijn er zulke wezens? Wij behooren daar niet toe.
Schat ons naarmate wij smaken; beoordeel ons naar wat
wij blijken te zijn; ons hoofd blijve onbedekt, tot verdienste het kroont.

MORE:

Proverb: Where many words are, the truth goes by
Proverb: Few words to fair faith

Undertakings=Promises
Tasted=Tried and tested
Allow=Praise
Reversion=By right of succession
Desert=Merit
Addition=Title
To fair faith=To swear loyalty
Envy can say worst=The most malicious thing envy can say
Compleat:
To undertake for one=Voor iemand borg staan
To allow=Toestaan, goedkeuren, veroorloven, toeleggen, inschikken
Reversion=Wegschenking; wedervervalling van eenig bezit op den voorigen eigenaar of zyne erven
Desert=Verdienste
Addition=Bydoening, byvoegsel
Addition=Bydoening, byvoegsel
Envy=Nyd, afgunst

Burgersdijk notes:
Als wij de gelofte doen enz. In de ridderromans worden door de ridders de geloften gedaan der onmogelijkste waagstukken ter eere der schoonen.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, promise

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Ariel
CONTEXT:
PROSPERO
How now? Moody?
What is ’t thou canst demand?
ARIEL
My liberty.
PROSPERO
Before the time be out? No more!
ARIEL
I prithee,
Remember I have done thee worthy service,
Told thee no lies, made thee no mistakings, served
Without or grudge or grumblings. Thou didst promise
To bate me a full year.

DUTCH:
Bedenk, ik bid u, ‘k deed u trouwen dienst,
Beloog u nooit, deed niets verkeerd, en diende
U willig zonder klacht. Een vol jaar afslag
Hebt gij mij toegezegd.

MORE:
Moody=Ill- humoured; discontented, peevish, angry
Time=Period of indenture
Bate (abate)=Reduce length of indenture
Mistakings=Mistakes
Grudge=Grudging; ill-will
Compleat:
In an ill mood=In een kwaade luim
Moody=Eenzinnig, eigenzinnig
The mood of a verb=De wyze van een werkwoord
Worthy=Waardig
Bate=Verminderen, afkorten, afslaan

Topics: work, contract, promise, claim, loyalty

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Cleopatra
CONTEXT:
CLEOPATRA
Why should I think you can be mine, and true—
Though you in swearing shake the thronèd gods—
Who have been false to Fulvia? Riotous madness,
To be entangled with those mouth-made vows
Which break themselves in swearing!
ANTONY
Most sweet Queen—
CLEOPATRA
Nay, pray you, seek no colour for your going,
But bid farewell and go. When you sued staying,
Then was the time for words. No going then!
Eternity was in our lips and eyes,
Bliss in our brows’ bent, none our parts so poor
But was a race of heaven. They are so still,
Or thou, the greatest soldier of the world,
Art turned the greatest liar.

DUTCH:
Hoe kon ik u ooit trouw , den mijnen, denken,
Wiens meineed jegens Fulvia de eeuw’ge Goden
Deed rillen op hun tronen? Welk een waanzin,
Verstrikt te zijn door lippeneeden, die
Bij ‘t zweren breken.

MORE:
Mouth-made=Not from the heart, insincere
Swearing=Taking oaths
Colour=Pretext
Sued=Begged to
Parts=Attributes
Compleat:
To swear=Zweeren, beëedigen
Colour=Koleur, schyn, dekmantel
Under colour of=Onder den schyn van
To sue=Voor ‘t recht roepen, in recht vervolgen; iemand om iets aanloopen
Parts=Deelen, hoedaanigheden, begaafdheden

Topics: promise, honour, integrity

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
That can hardly be, Master Shallow. Do not you grieve at this. I shall be sent for in private to him. Look you, he must seem thus to the world. Fear not your advancements. I will be the man yet that shall make you great.
SHALLOW
I cannot well perceive how, unless you should give me your doublet and stuff me out with straw. I beseech you, good Sir John, let me have five hundred of my thousand.
FALSTAFF
Sir, I will be as good as my word. This that you heard was but a color.

DUTCH:
Heer, ik zal zoo goed als mijn woord zijn; wat gij
daar gehoord hebt, was maar voor den schijn.

MORE:
Proverb: An honest man is as good as his word

Topics: promise, appearance

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

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Lucetta
CONTEXT:
JULIA
Lucetta, as thou lovest me, let me have
What thou thinkest meet and is most mannerly.
But tell me, wench, how will the world repute me
For undertaking so unstaid a journey?
I fear me, it will make me scandalized.
LUCETTA
If you think so, then stay at home and go not.
JULIA
Nay, that I will not.
LUCETTA
Then never dream on infamy, but go.
If Proteus like your journey when you come,
No matter who’s displeased when you are gone.
I fear me he will scarce be pleased withal.
JULIA
That is the least, Lucetta, of my fear.
A thousand oaths, an ocean of his tears,
And instances of infinite of love,
Warrant me welcome to my Proteus.
LUCETTA
All these are servants to deceitful men.

DUTCH:
Laat dan de wereld praten en ga heen.
Roemt Proteus uwe reis, wanneer gij komt,
Dan lake u hier wie wil, wanneer gij weg zijt;
Ik vrees slechts, dat gij hem niet welkom zijt.

MORE:
Scarce be pleased=Won’t be very pleased
Instances=Proofs
Warrant=Guarantee
Compleat:
Scarce=Naauwlyks
There was scarce a day but he came=Daar was kwaalyk een dag dat hy niet kwam
Instance=Een voorval, voorbeeld, exempel; aandringing, aanhouding; blyk
Warrant (assure, promise)=Verzekeren, belooven, ervoor instaan

Topics: promise, satisfaction

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 4.6
SPEAKER: King Lear
CONTEXT:
They flattered me like a dog and told me I had white hairs in my beard ere the black ones were there. To say “Ay” and “No” to everything that I said “Ay” and “No” to was no good divinity. When the rain came to wet me once, and the wind to make me chatter, when the thunder would not peace at my bidding—there I found ’em, there I smelt ’em out. Go to, they are not men o’ their words. They told me I was everything. ‘Tis a lie, I am not ague-proof.

DUTCH:
Zij zeiden mij, dat ik alles en nog wat was ;
gelogen is ‘t – ik kan niet eens tegen de koorts op./
Loop heen, hun woorden betekenden
niets, ze zeiden dat ik alles voor hen was. Dat is een leugen.
Ik ben niet onvatbaar voor koorts.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Ague-proof=Able to resist the causes which produce agues (also: Immune to severe chill)
Divinity=Theology
Compleat:
Ague=Koorts die met koude komt, een verpoozende koorts

Topics: flattery, deceit, truth, promise, betrayal

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

DUTCH:
Om waarlijk recht te doen, pleeg luttel onrecht,
En toom dien boozen duivel in zijn vaart.

MORE:
Curb=restrain from
Wrest=Turn the worng way, misinterpret
Malice=Hate, enmity, ill will.
To bear down=Overturn, overwhelm, crush
Compleat:
To curb=Betoomen, intoomen, bedwingen, beteugelen
To curb the licentiousness of the stage-Poets=De moedwilligheid van de Toneeldichters beteugelen
To curb one’s ambition=Iemands hoogmoed fnuiken
To wrest=Verdraaijen, wringen
To wrest one’s words maliciously=Iemands woorden kwaardaardig verdraaijen
To bear malice=Iemand nydig zyn, iemand een kwaad hart toedraagen
CITED IN US LAW:
People v. Hampton, 384 Mich. 669, 685 (1971).

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
No, not an oath. If not the face of men,
The sufferance of our souls, the time’s abuse—
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed.
So let high-sighted tyranny range on
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these—
As I am sure they do—bear fire enough
To kindle cowards and to steel with valour
The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen,
W hat need we any spur but our own cause
To prick us to redress? What other bond
Than secret Romans that have spoke the word
And will not palter? And what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engaged,
That this shall be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs. Unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt. But do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor th’ insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath, when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears—and nobly bears—
Is guilty of a several bastardy
If he do break the smallest particle
Of any promise that hath passed from him.

DUTCH:
Beeedigt priesters, lafaards, sluwe reek’naars,
Stokoude stumperds, of het slaafsch geboefte,
Dat bij verguizing dankt; vergt onbetrouwb’ren
Een eed voor slechte zaken af.

MORE:
Faces=Expressions
Sufferance=Suffering
Time’s abuse=Corruption of the time
Betimes=Immediately
High-sighted=Arrogant, looking down
Lottery=Chance
Palter=Equivocate
Engaged=Pledged
Cautelous=Crafty, false; cautious
Even=Honest, unstained
Insuppressive=Undefeatable
Guilty of bastardy=Adulterated
Compleat:
Face=’t Aangezigt, gelaat, gedaante
Sufferance=Verdraagzaamheid, toegeevendheid
Betimes=Bytyds, vroeg
High-minded=Hoogmoedig, verwaand
Lottery=Lotery
To palter=Weyfelen, leuteren, haperen, achteruyt kruypen, aerzelen, bedektelyk handelen
To engage=Verbinden, verplichten, verpanden
Cautelous=Omzigtig, zorgvuldig
To even=Effenen, vereffenen, effenmaaken, gelykmaaken
To suppress=(to stifle, stop) Beletten, verhinderen, sluiten
Bastardy=Onechtheid

Burgersdijk notes:

Indien niet onze trekken. Het Engelsch heeft: If not the face of men, ,zoo niet der menschen gelaat”. Het gelaat is natuurlijk, wat op het gelaat te lezen staat, de droef heid om Rome’s vernedering; wat door het woord trekken genoegzaam is uitgedrukt. Dat er bij deze zamenzwering geen eed werd afgelegd, vond Sh. in Plutarchus; evenzoo dat zjj aan Cicero de zaak niet mededeelden, en wel omdat
zij vreesden, dat hij door de bedachtzaamheid van den ouderdom het vuur, voor de uitvoering noodig, zou trachten te temperen’ alsmede, dat Marcus Antonius op Brutus’ aandrang gespaard bleef.

Topics: promise, courage, honesty

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Helena
CONTEXT:
LYSANDER
Why should you think that I should woo in scorn?
Scorn and derision never come in tears.
Look, when I vow, I weep. And vows so born,
In their nativity all truth appears.
How can these things in me seem scorn to you,
Bearing the badge of faith to prove them true?
HELENA
You do advance your cunning more and more.
When truth kills truth, O devilish holy fray!
These vows are Hermia’s. Will you give her o’er?
Weigh oath with oath, and you will nothing weigh.
Your vows to her and me, put in two scales,
Will even weigh, and both as light as tales.

DUTCH:
Uw dubbelhartigheid wordt zonneklaar;
Doodt trouwe trouwe, o booze heil’genstrijd !
Uw eed heeft Hermia; verzaakt gij haar?
‘t Weegt niets, die eeden, haar en mij gewijd;
Leg de’ eed aan haar, aan mij elk in een schaal,
Beide even licht, licht als een droomverhaal !

MORE:
In scorn=In mockery
Badge of faith=Tears
Advance=Increase
Cunning=Deceit
Truth kills truth=One truth cancels out another
Tales=Lies
Compleat:
In scorn=Spotswyze
Badge=Teken
Advance=Vordering, voortgang
Cunning=Loosheyd, listigheyd, behendigheyd
To tell tales=Verklikken, sprookjes vertellen

Topics: truth, appearance, love, promise, honesty

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Antipholus
CONTEXT:
ADRIANA
And are not you my husband?
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
No, I say nay to that.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
And so do I, yet did she call me so,
And this fair gentlewoman, her sister here,
Did call me brother. What I told you then
I hope I shall have leisure to make good,
If this be not a dream I see and hear.
ANGELO
That is the chain, sir, which you had of me.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I think it be, sir. I deny it not.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
And you, sir, for this chain arrested me.
ANGELO
I think I did, sir. I deny it not.

DUTCH:
Wat ik u toen zeide,
Dit worde, wensch ik vurig, dra vervuld,
Zoo niet al wat ik zie en hoor, een droom is.

MORE:
Leisure=Opporunity
Of=From
Compleat:
Leisure=Ledigen tyd

Topics: promise

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
No, not an oath. If not the face of men,
The sufferance of our souls, the time’s abuse—
If these be motives weak, break off betimes,
And every man hence to his idle bed.
So let high-sighted tyranny range on
Till each man drop by lottery. But if these—
As I am sure they do—bear fire enough
To kindle cowards and to steel with valour
The melting spirits of women, then, countrymen,
W hat need we any spur but our own cause
To prick us to redress? What other bond
Than secret Romans that have spoke the word
And will not palter? And what other oath
Than honesty to honesty engaged,
That this shall be, or we will fall for it?
Swear priests and cowards and men cautelous,
Old feeble carrions and such suffering souls
That welcome wrongs. Unto bad causes swear
Such creatures as men doubt. But do not stain
The even virtue of our enterprise,
Nor th’ insuppressive mettle of our spirits,
To think that or our cause or our performance
Did need an oath, when every drop of blood
That every Roman bears—and nobly bears—
Is guilty of a several bastardy
If he do break the smallest particle
Of any promise that hath passed from him.

DUTCH:
Doch dragen zij,
Gelijk ik vast vertrouw, het vuur in zich
Om lafaards te doorgloeien, weeke vrouwen
Door moed te stalen, waartoe, medeburgers,
Dan nog een and’re spoor dan onze zaak
Als prikkel, dat wij redden?

MORE:
Faces=Expressions
Sufferance=Suffering
Time’s abuse=Corruption of the time
Betimes=Immediately
High-sighted=Arrogant, looking down
Lottery=Chance
Palter=Equivocate
Engaged=Pledged
Cautelous=Crafty, false; cautious
Even=Honest, unstained
Insuppressive=Undefeatable
Guilty of bastardy=Adulterated
Compleat:
Face=’t Aangezigt, gelaat, gedaante
Sufferance=Verdraagzaamheid, toegeevendheid
Betimes=Bytyds, vroeg
High-minded=Hoogmoedig, verwaand
Lottery=Lotery
To palter=Weyfelen, leuteren, haperen, achteruyt kruypen, aerzelen, bedektelyk handelen
To engage=Verbinden, verplichten, verpanden
Cautelous=Omzigtig, zorgvuldig
To even=Effenen, vereffenen, effenmaaken, gelykmaaken
To suppress=(to stifle, stop) Beletten, verhinderen, sluiten
Bastardy=Onechtheid

Burgersdijk notes:

Indien niet onze trekken. Het Engelsch heeft: If not the face of men, ,zoo niet der menschen gelaat”. Het gelaat is natuurlijk, wat op het gelaat te lezen staat, de droef heid om Rome’s vernedering; wat door het woord trekken genoegzaam is uitgedrukt. Dat er bij deze zamenzwering geen eed werd afgelegd, vond Sh. in Plutarchus; evenzoo dat zjj aan Cicero de zaak niet mededeelden, en wel omdat
zij vreesden, dat hij door de bedachtzaamheid van den ouderdom het vuur, voor de uitvoering noodig, zou trachten te temperen’ alsmede, dat Marcus Antonius op Brutus’ aandrang gespaard bleef.

Topics: promise, courage, honesty

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
STEWARD
I am Saint Jaques’ pilgrim, thither gone:
Ambitious love hath so in me offended,
That barefoot plod I the cold ground upon,
With sainted vow my faults to have amended.
Write, write, that from the bloody course of war
My dearest master, your dear son, may hie:
Bless him at home in peace, whilst I from far
His name with zealous fervor sanctify:
His taken labours bid him me forgive;
I, his despiteful Juno, sent him forth
From courtly friends, with camping foes to live,
Where death and danger dogs the heels of worth:
He is too good and fair for death and me:
Whom I myself embrace, to set him free.
COUNTESS
Ah, what sharp stings are in her mildest words!
Rinaldo, you did never lack advice so much,
As letting her pass so: had I spoke with her,
I could have well diverted her intents,
Which thus she hath prevented.
STEWARD
Pardon me, madam:
If I had given you this at over-night,
She might have been o’erta’en; and yet she writes,
Pursuit would be but vain.

DUTCH:
Wat scherpe doornen in haar zachtste woorden! –
Rinaldo, nooit waart gij zoo onbedacht,
Als toen gij haar liet gaan; had ik met haar
Gesproken, ‘k had haar afgebracht van ‘t plan,
Wat zij aldus voorkwam.

MORE:
Sainted vow=Sacred vow (to a saint)
Amended=Made amends, pardoned
Hie=Hurry
In peace=Not at war
Taken=Undertaken
Despiteful=Cruel
To dog=To hunt, pursue
Compleat:
Sanctified=Geheyligd
To hie (hye)=Reppen, haasten
Hie thee=Rep u, haast u
To undertake=Onderneemen, by der hand vatten
Despiteful=Spytig, boosaardig
To dog one=Iemand van achteren volgen

Topics: status, order/society, love, error, promise

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Player King
CONTEXT:
What to ourselves in passion we propose,
The passion ending, doth the purpose lose.
The violence of either grief or joy
Their own enactures with themselves destroy.

DUTCH:
Wat wij onszelf hartstochtelijk beloofden,Verwaait zodra die hartstocht is gedoofd. /
Wat door onszelf hartstochtlijk werd bedoeld, Te loor gaat als de hartstocht is verkoeld. /
Als hij vol ijver tot een daad besluit, Wordt deze onnuttig, heeft die ijver uit.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Enacture=Action, representation (Ff enactors)
Compleat:
To enact=Vaststellen, bezluiten.
Enacter=Een vaststeller, wetmaaker

Topics: promise, contract, purpose, negligence, plans/intentions

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.6
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
FIRST LORD
You do not know him, my lord, as we do: certain it
is that he will steal himself into a man’s favour and
for a week escape a great deal of discoveries; but
when you find him out, you have him ever after.
BERTRAM
Why, do you think he will make no deed at all of
this that so seriously he does address himself unto?
SECOND LORD
None in the world; but return with an invention and
clap upon you two or three probable lies: but we
have almost embossed him; you shall see his fall
to-night; for indeed he is not for your lordship’s
respect.
FIRST LORD
We’ll make you some sport with the fox ere we case
him. He was first smoked by the old lord LAFEW:
when his disguise and he is parted, tell me what a
sprat you shall find him; which you shall see this
very night.
SECOND LORD
I must go look my twigs: he shall be caught.

DUTCH:
Wij zullen een grap met den vos hebben, eer wij hem
het vel aftrekken. De oude heer Lafeu was de eerste,
die de lucht van hem heeft gekregen; als zijn vermomming hem is afgerukt, zeg mij dan eens, welk een katvisch gij hem bevindt ; gij zult het nog deze nacht zien .

MORE:
Steal himself=Creep furtively, insinuate himself
Make no deed=Do nothing
Embossed=Ambushed, cornered (hunting term)
Smoked=Scented, smoked from its hole
Twigs=Trap (often smeared with bird lime)
Compleat:
Steal=Doorsluypen
Emboss=Dryven
To emboss a deer=Een hart in ‘t woud jaagen
Bird-lime=Vogellym

Topics: truth, discovery, promise, debt/obligation, work

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Lucius
CONTEXT:
LUCIUS
Who should I swear by? thou believest no god:
That granted, how canst thou believe an oath?
AARON
What if I do not? as, indeed, I do not;
Yet, for I know thou art religious
And hast a thing within thee called conscience,
With twenty popish tricks and ceremonies,
Which I have seen thee careful to observe,
Therefore I urge thy oath; for that I know
An idiot holds his bauble for a god
And keeps the oath which by that god he swears,
To that I’ll urge him: therefore thou shalt vow
By that same god, what god soe’er it be,
That thou adorest and hast in reverence,
To save my boy, to nourish and bring him up;
Or else I will discover nought to thee.

DUTCH:
Waarbij? voor u, die aan geen god gelooft?
Is dit zoo, kunt gij dan een eed gelooven?

MORE:
Popish=A term for Catholic practices
Urge=Insist on
For that=Because
Bauble=Jester’s stick
Compleat:
Popish=Pauzelyk; paapsch
Urge=Dringen, pressen, aandringen, aanstaan
Bauble=Spulletje, grol

Topics: promise, conscience

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Gower
CONTEXT:
Go, go. You are a counterfeit cowardly knave. Will you mock at an ancient tradition begun upon an honorable respect and worn as a memorable trophy of predeceased valour, and dare not avouch in your deeds any of your words? I have seen you gleeking and galling at this gentleman twice or thrice. You thought because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could not therefore handle an English cudgel. You find it otherwise, and henceforth let a Welsh correction teach you a good English condition. Fare you well.

DUTCH:
Wilt gij spotten over een oud gebruik, dat uit een eervolle aanleiding ontsproot en als een gedenkwaardig teeken van vroegere dapperheid gedragen wordt, en waagt gij het niet, zelfs éen uwer woorden door daden waar te maken?

MORE:

To gleek=Scoff, sneer
Schmidt:
To gall (with at)=To quiz, to scoff: “gleeking and galling at this gentleman”
Predeceased valour=Brave men who have died
Garb=Fashion
Correction=Chastisement
Condition=Disposition

Compleat:
Condition=Staat, gesteltenis
Good-conditioned=Goedaardig
Correction=Verbetering, tuchtiging, berisping
Garb=Kleeding; (carriage)=houding

Topics: betrayal, language, promise, appearance, intellect

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Ephesus
CONTEXT:

ANGELO
Nay, come, I pray you, sir, give me the chain.
Both wind and tide stays for this gentleman,
And I, to blame, have held him here too long.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Good Lord! You use this dalliance to excuse
Your breach of promise to the Porpentine.
I should have chid you for not bringing it,
But, like a shrew, you first begin to brawl.
SECOND MERCHANT
The hour steals on. I pray you, sir, dispatch.
ANGELO
You hear how he importunes me. The chain!
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Why, give it to my wife, and fetch your money.
ANGELO
Come, come. You know I gave it you even now.
Either send the chain, or send me by some token.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Fie, now you run this humour out of breath.
Come, where’s the chain? I pray you, let me see it.
SECOND MERCHANT
My business cannot brook this dalliance.
Good sir, say whe’er you’ll answer me or no.
If not, I’ll leave him to the Officer.

DUTCH:
Mijn hemel! wis moet deze scherts bewimp’len,
Dat gij mij in den Egel zitten liet.
Het was aan mij u daarom hard te vallen,
Maar als een feeks zoekt gij het eerste twist.

MORE:
Proverb: Time and tide (The tide) tarries (stays for) no man
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint (I should have chid you for not bringing it, But like a shrew you first begin to brawl)

Chid (impf., to chide.)=To rebuke, to scold at
Run this humour out of breath=Taking the joke too far
Token=A sign or attestion of a right
Compleat:
Importune=Lastig vallen, zeer dringen, gestadig aanhouden, overdringen, aandringen
To sail with wind and tide=Voor wind and stroom zeilen
Chide=Kyven, bekyven
Token=Teken, getuigenis; een geschenkje dat men iemand tot een gedachtenis geeft
Dalliance=Gestoei, dartelheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, money, promise, patience

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Phoebe
CONTEXT:
ROSALIND
By my life I do, which I tender dearly, though I say I
am a magician. Therefore put you in your best array, bid
your friends; for if you will be married tomorrow, you
shall, and to Rosalind, if you will.
Look, here comes a lover of mine and a lover of hers.
PHOEBE
Youth, you have done me much ungentleness
To show the letter that I writ to you.
ROSALIND
I care not if I have. It is my study
To seem despiteful and ungentle to you.
You are there followed by a faithful shepherd.
Look upon him, love him; he worships you.
PHOEBE
Good shepherd, tell this youth what ’tis to love.
SILVIUS
It is to be all made of sighs and tears,
And so am I for Phoebe.

DUTCH:
Jonkman, dat was niet hupsch van u gedaan,
Dien brief, dien ik u schreef, te laten zien.

MORE:
Best array=Finest clothes
Bid=Invite
Ungentleness=Unkindness, discourtesy
Study=Purposeful endeavour
Despiteful=Contemptuous
Ungentle=Rude
Compleat:
Bidding=Gebieding, noodiging
To bid=Gebieden, beveelen, belasten, heeten, noodigen, bieden
Ungentle= (untractable) Ontembaar, onhandelbaar; (severe, hard) Gestreng, hard
To study (endeavour)=Trachten, poogen
Despiteful=Spytig, boosaardig

Topics: promise, marriage, appearance, communication

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