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PLAY: Richard II ACT/SCENE: 3.4 SPEAKER: Queen CONTEXT: QUEEN
What sport shall we devise here in this garden,
To drive away the heavy thought of care?
LADY
Madam, we’ll play at bowls.
QUEEN
’Twill make me think the world is full of rubs,
And that my fortune rubs against the bias. DUTCH: k Herdenk dan al den aanstoot -in de wereld,
En mijn geluk, dat zijwaarts rolt en stuit.139
MORE:
Proverb: To run against the bias

Rub=Cause of difficulty, hindrance, obstacle (Originally from the game of bowls, meaning any impediment that would deflect the bowl from its course.)
Bias=That which draws to a particular direction, preponderant tendency (and following the bowls theme, the lead weight in the bowl that turns it in a certain way)

Compleat:
Rub (obstacle, hindrance)=Beletsel, hinderpaal
Rub (word used by way of interjection at bowls)=Zoetjes aan, met gemak
Bias=Hellen van een kloot
Bias=Overhelling, overzwaaijing, neiging
To run bias=Schuin loopen Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Malvolio
CONTEXT:
MARIA
How do you, Malvolio?
MALVOLIO
At your request! Yes, nightingales answer daws!
MARIA
Why appear you with this ridiculous boldness before my lady?
MALVOLIO
“Be not afraid of greatness.” ‘Twas well writ.

DUTCH:
“Wees niet schroomhartig voor grootheid.” Dat was
mooi gezegd.

MORE:
Proverb: I am no wiser than a daw

Daw=Jackdaw (thought to be a foolish bird)
Answer=Answer to
Boldness=Impudence
Compleat:
Jack daw=Een Bontekraay, met roode bek en pooten
Answer=Beantwoorden; antwoord geven
Boldness=Stoutheyd, koenheyd, vrymoedigheyd, onvertsaagheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wisdom, order/society, civility

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
RATCLIFFE
He smiled and said “The better for our purpose.”
KING RICHARD
He was in the right, and so indeed it is.
Tell the clock there. Give me a calendar.
Who saw the sun today?
RATCLIFFE
Not I, my lord.
KING RICHARD
Then he disdains to shine, for by the book
He should have braved the east an hour ago
A black day will it be to somebody. Ratcliffe!
RATCLIFFE
My lord.
KING RICHARD
The sun will not be seen today.
The sky doth frown and lour upon our army.
I would these dewy tears were from the ground.
Not shine today? Why, what is that to me
More than to Richmond, for the selfsame heaven
That frowns on me looks sadly upon him.

DUTCH:
Dan weigert ze ons haar licht, want, naar het boek,
Moest zij een uur reeds in het oosten prijken.
Een zwarte dag zal dit voor iemand zijn.
Ratcliff!

MORE:
Proverb: It will be a black (bloody) day to somebody

Disdains=Refuses
Book=Almanac
Lour=Scowl
Compleat:
To disdain=Versmaaden, verachten, zich verontwaaardigen
To loure (lowr)=Donker uytzien’ stuursch kyken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Quintus
CONTEXT:
QUINTUS
I am surprised with an uncouth fear;
A chilling sweat o’er-runs my trembling joints:
My heart suspects more than mine eye can see.
MARTIUS
To prove thou hast a true-divining heart,
Aaron and thou look down into this den,
And see a fearful sight of blood and death.
QUINTUS
Aaron is gone; and my compassionate heart
Will not permit mine eyes once to behold
The thing whereat it trembles by surmise;
O, tell me how it is; for ne’er till now
Was I a child to fear I know not what.

DUTCH:
Een vreemde schrik beving mij; ‘t kille zweet
Loopt tapp’lings langs mijn bevende gewrichten;
Mijn hart vermoedt meer dan mijn oog kan zien.

MORE:
Proverb: Much water goes by the mill that the miller knows not of

Surprised=Overcome by
Uncouth=Unfamiliar
Surmise=Imagining
Compleat
To surprise=Overval, verrassing, overyling, ontsteltenis, onverwacht voorval
Uncouth=Onbekend, ongebruikelyk, onbeschaafd, onbeschoft, onverstaanbaar
Surmise=Een vermoeden, waan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, suspicion

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
Approach, Sir Andrew. Not to be abed after midnight is to be up betimes, and diluculo surgere, thou know’st,—
SIR ANDREW
Nay, my troth, I know not. But I know to be up late is to be up late.
SIR TOBY BELCH
A false conclusion. I hate it as an unfilled can. To be up after midnight and to go to bed then, is early, so that to go to bed after midnight is to go to bed betimes. Does not our life consist of the four elements?
SIR ANDREW
Faith, so they say, but I think it rather consists of eating and drinking.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Thou’rt a scholar. Let us therefore eat and drink. Marian,
I say! A stoup of wine!

DUTCH:
Een verkeerde redeneering; ik haat die als een leêge
wijnkan. Op te zijn na middernacht en dan naar bed
te gaan, is vroeg; dus na middernacht naar bed te gaan
is tijdig naar bed te gaan. Bestaat ons leven niet uit
de vier elementen?

MORE:
Diluculo surgere=Part of a Latin proverb (‘diluculo surgere saluberrimum est’), meaning to get up at dawn is most healthy
Can=Mug, tankard
Four elements=Water, air, fire, earth
Stoup=Tankard
Compleat:
Cann=Kan
Element=Hoofdstoffe

Burgersdijk notes:
Diluculo surgere. De spreuk: „Diluculo surgere est saluberrimum”, ,Met het morgenkrieken opstaan is allergezondst”, komt in de spraakkunst van Lilly voor, en hieruit was zij Sh. wellicht bekend.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, life, order/society

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Silvia
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
Give him leave, madam; he is a kind of chameleon.
THURIO
That hath more mind to feed on your blood than live in your air.
VALENTINE
You have said, sir.
THURIO
Ay, sir, and done too, for this time.
VALENTINE
I know it well, sir; you always end ere you begin.
SYLVIA
A fine volley of words, gentlemen, and quickly shot off.

DUTCH:
Een fraai geweervuur van woorden, edele heeren; en
wakker losgebrand!

MORE:
Proverb: Saying and doing are two things

Chameleon=Colour-shifting lizard, believed in Sh’s time to live on air
You have said=So you say (you have yet to do)
For this time=For the moment
Compleat:
Chamelion or camelion=Een kamelion [zeker dier]

Topics: language, appearance, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Orleans
CONTEXT:
CONSTABLE
By my faith, sir, but it is; never anybody saw it but his lackey. ‘Tis a hooded valour, and when it appears, it will bate.
ORLÉANS
Ill will never said well.
CONSTABLE
I will cap that proverb with “There is flattery in friendship.”
ORLÉANS
And I will take up that with “Give the devil his due.”
CONSTABLE
Well placed; there stands your friend for the devil. Have at the very eye of that proverb with “A pox of the devil.”
ORLÉANS
You are the better at proverbs, by how much “A fool’s bolt is soon shot.”
CONSTABLE
You have shot over.
ORLÉANS
‘Tis not the first time you were overshot.

DUTCH:
Gij zijt in spreekwoorden de baas, en waarom? Een
narrenpijl is ras verschoten./
De pijl van een dwaas is spoedig afgeschoten

MORE:

Proverb: Ill will never speaks well (1566)
Proverb: There is flattery in friendship
A series of proverbs in this quote. “Give the devil his due”, “There is flattery in friendship”, “A pox of the devil” and “A fool’s bolt is soon shot”.

A fool’s bolt is soon shot meaning fools act rashly, alluding to bowmen in battle. Good soldiers take aim, foolish soldiers shoot at random.
Lackey (or lacquey)=Footboy, servant
Hooded valour and it will bate=Allusion to falconry; falcons are kept hooded when at rest and when unhooded they ‘bait’ (beat or flap the wings).

Compleat:
Lackey (or footman)=een Lyfknecht, lakey
Hooded=Gekaperd, bekaperd, gekapt
Overshoot=Voorbyschieten.
To overshoot the mark=Het doel voorbyschieten, voorby ‘t merk schieten
I have overshot myself=Ik heb my vergist, het is my ontschooten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, haste, caution

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
I do not like your faults.
CASSIUS
A friendly eye could never see such faults.
BRUTUS
A flatterer’s would not, though they do appear
As huge as high Olympus.
CASSIUS
Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come,
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius,
For Cassius is aweary of the world—
Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother;
Checked like a bondman, all his faults observed,
Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote
To cast into my teeth. Oh, I could weep
My spirit from mine eyes.

DUTCH:
Een vriendenoog zou nooit die feilen zien.

MORE:
Proverb: To cast (hit) in the teeth

Checked=Rebuked
Braved=Defied
Bondsman=Slave
Cast into my teeth=Thrown in my face
Compleat:
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten
Brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren
To lay in the teeth=Verwyten, braaveren

Topics: flaw/fault, friendship, proverbs and idioms, flattery

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
There be many Caesars,
Ere such another Julius. Britain is
A world by itself; and we will nothing pay
For wearing our own noses.
QUEEN
That opportunity
Which then they had to take from ‘s, to resume
We have again. Remember, sir, my liege,
The kings your ancestors, together with
The natural bravery of your isle, which stands
As Neptune’s park, ribbed and paled in
With rocks unscalable and roaring waters,
With sands that will not bear your enemies’ boats,
But suck them up to the topmast. A kind of conquest
Caesar made here; but made not here his brag
Of ‘Came’ and ‘saw’ and ‘overcame: ‘ with shame—
That first that ever touch’d him—he was carried
From off our coast, twice beaten; and his shipping—
Poor ignorant baubles!— upon our terrible seas,
Like egg-shells moved upon their surges, crack’d
As easily ‘gainst our rocks: for joy whereof
The famed Cassibelan, who was once at point—
O giglot fortune!—to master Caesar’s sword,
Made Lud’s town with rejoicing fires bright
And Britons strut with courage.

DUTCH:
Caesar
Heeft, ja, ‘t veroverd, maar kon hier niet zwetsen
Van “kwam en zag en overwon”;

MORE:
Proverb: I came, saw, and overcame

Made not here his brag=His conquest didn’t live up to (wasn’t the basis for) the boast of “came, and saw, and overcame”
Lud’s town=London
Giglet (or giglot)=Wanton woman (See Hamlet 2.2 re. Fortune: “she is a strumpet”.)
Giglet fortune=Fickle, inconstant
Rejoicing fires=Bonfires
Compleat:
To brag=Pochen, roemen, opsnyen
Upon the point of doing=Op het punt staan van iets te doen
To strut=Prat daar heen treeden, treeden als een paauw

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, achievement, conflict

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
HAMLET
Ay, sir, that soaks up the king’s countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the king best service in the end. He keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed to be last swallowed. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you and, sponge, you shall be dry again.
ROSENCRANTZ
I understand you not, my lord.
HAMLET
I am glad of it. A knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear.

DUTCH:
Een schelmsch gezegde slaapt in ‘t stump’rig. /
De oren van een dwaas zijn doof voor scherts. /
In zotte ooren valt een schalksch gezegde in slaap.

MORE:
Knavish = sly, villainous

Topics: dignity, deceit, proverbs and idioms, status, order/society

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Dromio of Ephesus
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
You would say so, master, if your garments were thin.
Your cake there is warm within; you stand here in the cold.
It would make a man mad as a buck to be so bought and sold.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Go, fetch me something: I’ll break ope the gate.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Break any breaking here, and I’ll break your knave’s pate.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
A man may break a word with you, sir, and words are but wind,
Ay, and break it in your face, so he break it not behind.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
It seems thou want’st breaking. Out upon thee, hind!
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Here’s too much “out upon thee!” I pray thee, let me
in.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Ay, when fowls have no feathers and fish have
no fin.

DUTCH:
Nu wacht maar, wij zullen dat schelden en razen wel stuiten ,
En spoedig genoeg u een ander deuntjen doen fluiten.

MORE:
Proverbs: Words are but wind

Break a word with=Talk to
Thou want’st breaking=You need a thrashing
Hind=Servant

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Touchstone
CONTEXT:
TOUCHSTONE
Amen. A man may, if he were of a fearful heart, stagger
in this attempt, for here we have no temple but the
wood, no assembly but horn-beasts. But what though?
Courage. As horns are odious, they are necessary. It is
said, “Many a man knows no end of his goods.” Right:
many a man has good horns and knows no end of
them. Well, that is the dowry of his wife; ’tis none of
his own getting. Horns? Even so. Poor men alone? No, no.
The noblest deer hath them as huge as the rascal. Is
the single man therefore blessed? No. As a walled town
is more worthier than a village, so is the forehead of a
married man more honourable than the bare brow of a
bachelor. And by how much defence is better than no
skill, by so much is a horn more precious than to want.
Here comes Sir Oliver.—Sir Oliver Martext, you are well
met. Will you dispatch us here under this tree, or
shall we go with you to your chapel?

DUTCH:
Amen! Een man van vreesachtigen aard zou bij deze
onderneming allicht aarzelen, want wij hebben hier geen
tempel dan het woud, geen andere gemeente dan hoornvee.

MORE:
Proverb: He knows no end of his goods (good)

Fearful=Cowardly
Stagger=Falter
Horns=It was a common joke that cuckolds grew horns
Defence=Self-defence
Horn=Used as a weapon
To want=The lack of one
Dispatch=Marry
Compleat:
Fearful=Vreesachtig, vreeslyk, schroomelyk
Stagger=Waggelen, wankelen, doen wankelen
Want=Gebrek

Topics: marriage, respect, loyalty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Suffolk
CONTEXT:
Well hath your highness seen into this duke;
And, had I first been put to speak my mind,
I think I should have told your grace’s tale.
The duchess, by his subornation,
Upon my life, began her devilish practises:
Or, if he were not privy to those faults,
Yet, by reputing of his high descent,
As next the king he was successive heir,
And such high vaunts of his nobility,
Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess
By wicked means to frame our sovereign’s fall.
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;
And in his simple show he harbours treason.
The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.
No, no, my sovereign; Gloucester is a man
Unsounded yet and full of deep deceit.

DUTCH:
Neen, neen, mijn koning; Gloster is een man,
Die ondoorgrondlijk is, vol diep bedrog.

MORE:

Still waters run deep. Proverb of Latin origin meaning a placid exterior hiding a passionate nature.
Proverb: The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.

Seen into=Penetrated, understood
Subornation=Crime of procuring one to offend, specially to bear false witness
Repute=(+of): Setting great store by, prize
Bedlam=Nickname for Bethlem hospital, for the treatment of mental illness, which has become a byword for chaos and mayhem
Unsounded=Unfathomed (as in depth sounding, i.e. measuring the depth of a body of water)

Compleat:
To see into a thing=Een inzigt in eene zaak hebben, ‘er den grond van beschouwen
Subornation=Besteeking, een bestoken werk, omkooping
To repute=Achten
Bedlam (Bethlem)=Een dolhuis, dulhuis, krankzinnighuis; (mad bodey)=Een dul mensch, een uitzinnige
To sound=Peilen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, deceit

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
GRATIANO
You look not well, Signor Antonio.
You have too much respect upon the world.
They lose it that do buy it with much care.
Believe me, you are marvelously changed.
ANTONIO
I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano—
A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one.

DUTCH:
Gij ziet er niet goed uit, Antonio,
Gij trekt te veel u ‘s werelds zaken aan;
Die daar zijn hart op zet, verliest zijn rust.
Geloof me, uw uitzicht is geheel veranderd.

MORE:
A stage where every man must play a part=Still in use today.
Too much respect upon=Too much regard/concern for the world, worldly care
Marvelously=Extraordinarily, very much
To hold=To consider; to regard; to judge with regard to praise or blame

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Why, tis no matter, man; if they did hear,
They would not mark me, or if they did mark,
They would not pity me, yet plead I must;
Therefore I tell my sorrows to the stones;
Who, though they cannot answer my distress,
Yet in some sort they are better than the tribunes,
For that they will not intercept my tale:
When I do weep, they humbly at my feet
Receive my tears and seem to weep with me;
And, were they but attired in grave weeds,
Rome could afford no tribune like to these.
A stone is soft as wax,—tribunes more hard than stones;
A stone is silent, and offendeth not,
And tribunes with their tongues doom men to death.

DUTCH:
Een steen is zacht als was, harder dan steen tribunen;
Een steen is stom en krenkt niet, doch tribunen,
Zij hebben tongen, die ten doode doemen.

MORE:
Proverb: As hard as a stone (flint, rock)
Proverb: Pliable as wax

Mark=Take notice, heed
In some sort=Somehow
Intercept=Interrupt
Grave weeds=Somber clothes
Afford=Provide
Doom=Condemn
Compleat:
To mark=Merken, tekenen, opletten
To intercept=Onderscheppen
Grave=Deftig, stemmig, staatig
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad
Afford=Verschaffen, uytleeveren
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, sorrow

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
Now He that made me knows I see thee ill;
Ill in myself to see, and in thee seeing ill.
Thy death-bed is no lesser than thy land
Wherein thou liest in reputation sick;
And thou, too careless patient as thou art,
Commit’st thy anointed body to the cure
Of those physicians that first wounded thee:
A thousand flatterers sit within thy crown,
Whose compass is no bigger than thy head;
And yet, incaged in so small a verge,
The waste is no whit lesser than thy land.
O, had thy grandsire with a prophet’s eye
Seen how his son’s son should destroy his sons,
From forth thy reach he would have laid thy shame,
Deposing thee before thou wert possess’d,
Which art possess’d now to depose thyself.

DUTCH:
Een duizend vleiers zitten in uw kroon,
Haar omtrek is niet grooter dan uw hoofd,
En toch, gesperd in zulk een enge ruimte,
Verbrassen zij niet minder dan uw land.

MORE:

Proverb: Better in health than in good conditions

Punning on ‘Ill’=Sick (a); wrongly, blamefully (b)
Lesser=Less
Physicians=The flatterers, who harm with their flattery rather than heal
Grandsire=Edward III
Deposing=Removing from the throne
Possessed=In possession of; posssessed by (an evil spirit)
Whit=Point, jot (used negatively)(not in the least, not at all)

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wellbeing, flattery

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Adriana
CONTEXT:
LUCIANA
Ere I learn love, I’ll practice to obey.
ADRIANA
How if your husband start some otherwhere?
LUCIANA
Till he come home again, I would forbear.
ADRIANA
Patience unmoved! No marvel though she pause;
They can be meek that have no other cause.
A wretched soul, bruised with adversity
We bid be quiet when we hear it cry,
But were we burdened with like weight of pain,
As much or more we should ourselves complain.
So thou, that hast no unkind mate to grieve thee,
With urging helpless patience would relieve me;
But, if thou live to see like right bereft,
This fool-begged patience in thee will be left.

DUTCH:
Een armen mensch, door ‘t nijdig lot geplaagd,
Vermanen wij tot kalm zijn, als hij klaagt;
Maar drukte eens ons hetzelfde leed als hem,
Niet min, licht meer, verhieven we onze stem

MORE:
Proverb: All commend patience but none can endure to suffer
Proverb: Let him be begged for a fool

Begging for a fool refers to the practice of petitioning for custody of the mentally ill or minors so as to gain control of their assets
Pause=Pause to consider marriage
Like=Similar
Like right bereft=To have rights similarly taken from you
Helpless=Receiving no aid, wanting support
Bereave (bereft)=Taken from, spoiled, impaired
Compleat:
Bereft, bereaved=Beroofd
To beg one for a fool, to beg his estate of the King=Het bestier der goederen van een Krankzinnig mensch, van den Koning verzoeken

Topics: adversity, law/legal, patience, poverty and wealth, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Enobarbus
CONTEXT:
MAECENAS
Now Antony must leave her utterly.
ENOBARBUS
Never. He will not.
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale
Her infinite variety. Other women cloy
The appetites they feed, but she makes hungry
Where most she satisfies, for vilest things
Become themselves in her, that the holy priests
Bless her when she is riggish.
MAECENAS
If beauty, wisdom, modesty, can settle
The heart of Antony, Octavia is
A blessèd lottery to him.

DUTCH:
Dit doet hij nimmer! — Haar kan ouderdom
Niet doen verwelken, noch gewoonte’s sleur
Haar ‘t eeuwig nieuw ontrooven.

MORE:
Proverb: As stale as custom

Cloy=Satiate, glut
Custom=Habit, regular use or practice
Stale=Render common or worthless
Riggish=Wanton
Lottery=Prize
Compleat:
To cloy=Verkroppen, overlaaden
To cloy with words=Met woorden overlaaden
Custom=Gewoonte, neering
To grow stale=Oud worden
Rig=Vermaak, spel, pret, vrolykheid
Lottery=Lotery

Topics: love, age/experience, loyalty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Adriana
CONTEXT:

ADRIANA
I cannot, nor I will not hold me still;
My tongue, though not my heart, shall have his will.
He is deformèd, crooked, old, and sere,
Ill-faced, worse-bodied, shapeless everywhere,
Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind,
Stigmatical in making, worse in mind.
LUCIANA
Who would be jealous, then, of such a one?
No evil lost is wailed when it is gone.
ADRIANA
Ah, but I think him better than I say,
And yet would herein others’ eyes were worse.
Far from her nest the lapwing cries away.
My heart prays for him, though my tongue do curse.

DUTCH:
O, maar ik acht hem beter, dan ik zeg;
Als and’rer oog hem maar zoo haatlijk vond!
De kieviet schreeuwt, is hij van ‘t nest ver weg;
Mijn harte bidt voor hem, al vloekt mijn mond.

MORE:
Proverb: The lapwing cries most when farthest from her nest

Hold me still=Stay quiet
Sere=Withered
Stigmatical=Ugly, deformed
Lapwing=Bird that deceives predators by faking the location of its nest
Compleat:
Still=Stil
Stigmatical=Gebrandmerkt, eerloos
Lapwing=Kievit

Burgersdijk notes:
De kievit schreeuwt, enz. In Sh’s. tijd werd de kievit meermalen hiervoor aangehaald, ja de uitdrukking schijnt spreekwoordelijk geweest te zijn. In LILY’s Campaspe leest men:
„You resemble the lapwing, who crieth most where her nest is not.” Shakespeare zelf herhaalt het beeld in ,Maat voor Maat,” I.4.

Topics: deceit, perception, insult, proverbs and idioms, envy, manipulation

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
Ah, what’s more dangerous than this fond affiance!
Seems he a dove? His feathers are but borrowed,
For he’s disposed as the hateful raven:
Is he a lamb? His skin is surely lent him,
For he’s inclined as is the ravenous wolf.
Who cannot steal a shape that means deceit?
Take heed, my lord; the welfare of us all
Hangs on the cutting short that fraudful man.

DUTCH:
Ach, hoe gevaarlijk is dit blind vertrouwen!
Schijnt hij een duif? zijn veed’ren zijn geborgd
Want als een booze raaf is hij gezind.

MORE:

Proverb: A wolf in sheep’s clothing (‘His skin is surely lent him’)

Raven=Symbolic of a bad omen
Fond=Foolish
Affiance=Confidence
Steal a shape=Create a false impression or appearance
Hateful=Deserving hate
Hangs on=Depends on

Compleat:
Fond (foolish)=Dwaas
Affiance=Vertrouwen, hoop
Hatefull=Haatelyk
These things seem to hang one upon the other=Deeze zaaken schynen van malkander af te hangen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, deceit

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Anne Page
CONTEXT:
MISTRESS QUICKLY
That’s my master, master doctor.
ANNE PAGE
Alas, I had rather be set quick i’ the earth
And bowl’d to death with turnips!
MISTRESS PAGE
Come, trouble not yourself. Good Master Fenton,
I will not be your friend nor enemy:
My daughter will I question how she loves you,
And as I find her, so am I affected.
Till then farewell, sir: she must needs go in;
Her father will be angry.
FENTON
Farewell, gentle mistress: farewell, Nan.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
This is my doing, now: ‘Nay,’ said I, ‘will you cast
away your child on a fool, and a physician? Look on
Master Fenton:’ this is my doing.

DUTCH:
O liever tot aan ‘t hoofd in de aard bedolven,
En dan met knoIIen doodgegooid!

MORE:
Proverb: Every man is either a fool or a physician

Set quick=Half buried alive
Affected=Inclined
Compleat:
Quick=Levendig
To set=Planten; Zetten, stellen
Affected=Geneigd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, loverelationship

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
All places that the eye of heaven visits
Are to a wise man ports and happy havens.
Teach thy necessity to reason thus;
There is no virtue like necessity.
Think not the king did banish thee,
But thou the king. Woe doth the heavier sit,
Where it perceives it is but faintly borne.

DUTCH:
Elk oord, welk ook, waar ‘s hemels oog op neêrblikt,
Is voor den wijze een haven van geluk.

MORE:

Proverb: A wise man may live anywhere
Proverb: Make a virtue of necessity
Proverb: Injuries slighted become none at all
Proverb: A wise (valiant) man make every country his own

Topics: virtue, neccessity, wisdom, proverbs and idioms, still in use, sorrow

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Morocco
CONTEXT:
MOROCCO
O hell, what have we here?
A carrion death, within whose empty eye
There is a written scroll. I’ll read the writing.
[reads]“All that glisters is not gold—
Often have you heard that told.
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold.
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscrolled.
Fare you well. Your suit is cold—
Cold, indeed, and labor lost.”
Then, farewell, heat, and welcome, frost!
Portia, adieu. I have too grieved a heart
To take a tedious leave. Thus losers part.

DUTCH:
Al wat blinkt, is nog geen goud

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Deborah Leslie, Ltd. v. Rona, Inc., 630 F. Supp. 1250, 1251 (R.I.,1986) on the marking of items containing silver; “The Bard of Avon, dealing with a somewhat different (but equally suspect) precious metal, captured the essence of the plaintiff’s jeremiad poetically: ‘All that glitters is not gold/ Often have you heard that told.”;
B. F. Hirsch, Inc. v. Enright Ref. Co., 617 F. Supp. 49 (N.J., 1985).
Johnson v. Commissioner, T. C. Memo 1992-369 (1992) (Ref to “All that glitters is not gold” when referring to a failure to demand and recover bad debts).
‘Glisters’ is sometimes replaced by glistens or glitters in more modern versions.
The idea already existed, but this expression as still used today was coined by Shakespeare.
Samuel Johnson:

Proverb: All is not gold that glisters (glitters)
To Glister=To shine, to be bright. Elsewhere in Shakespeare: “A glistering grief”; “in his glist’ring coach”; “All that glisters”.
Compleat:
Glister=Glinsteren, blinken.
*All is not gold that glisters*=Is al geen goud dat ‘er blinkt.
Carrion death=Skull
Tedious=Long drawn out
Part=Depart
Suit is cold=unwelcome, disagreeable
Inscroll=recorded on a scroll (registered)

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Hippolyta
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
More strange than true. I never may believe
These antique fables nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact.
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold—
That is the madman. The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to Earth, from Earth to heaven.
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy.
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!
HIPPOLYTA
But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy’s images
And grows to something of great constancy,
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.

DUTCH:
Maar al wat zij vertellen van deez’ nacht,
En hun gezindheid, zoo gelijk veranderd,
Moet meer zijn dan een spel der phantasie.
Het toont verband, het wordt tot werkelijkheid;
Doch altijd blijft het vreemd en wonderbaar.

MORE:
Proverb: He thinks every bush a bugbear (bear)
Proverb: Great wits (poets) to madness sure are near allied
Proverb: It is no more strange than true

More witnesseth=Is evidence of more (than imagination)
Constancy=Consistency
Howsoever=In any case
Admirable=Unbelievable
Antique=Strange, ancient
Toys=Trifles
Apprehend=Perceive
Comprehends=1) Understands; 2) Deduces, imagines
Compact=Composed
Helen=Helen of Troy
Bringer=Source
Compleat:
A mere toy=Een voddery
Comprehend=Begrypen, bevatten, insluyten
To compact=In een trekken, dicht t’zamenvoegen
To witness=Getuygen, betuygen
Constancy=Standvastigheyd, volharding, bestendigheyd
Howsoever=Hoedaanig ook, hoe ook

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent, madness, imagination, memory, evidence

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD
Her life is safest only in her birth.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
And only in that safety died her brothers.
KING RICHARD
Lo, at their births good stars were opposite.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
No, to their lives ill friends were contrary.
KING RICHARD
All unavoided is the doom of destiny.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
True, when avoided grace makes destiny.
My babes were destined to a fairer death
If grace had blessed thee with a fairer life.
KING RICHARD
You speak as if that I had slain my cousins.

DUTCH:
Niet af te wenden is de wil van ‘t lot.

MORE:
Proverb: It is impossible to avoid (undo) fate (destiny)

Opposite=Opposed to
Contrary=Opposed
Unavoided=Unavoidable
Doom=Judgment, sentence
Avoided=Rejected
Compleat:
Opposite=Tegen over, tegen strydig
Contrary=Tegenstrydig, strydig, tegendeel
Unavoidable=Onvermydelyk
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
A heavy doom=een zwaar vonnis
To doom=Veroordelen, verwyzen, doemen

Topics: fate/destiny, order/society, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
HOST
Let me see thee froth and lime: I am at a word; follow.
FALSTAFF
Bardolph, follow him. A tapster is a good trade:
an old cloak makes a new jerkin; a withered
serving-man a fresh tapster. Go; adieu.
BARDOLPH
It is a life that I have desired: I will thrive.

DUTCH:
Bardolf, volg hem. Tappen is een goed ambacht;
een oude rok levert een nieuw wambuis, een verweerd
dienstman een verschen tapper. Ga, vaarwel!

MORE:
Proverb: Old brass will make a new pan
Proverb: An old cloak makes a new jerkin
Proverb: An old servingman, a young beggar

Froth and lime was a way of swindling customers: froth on beer and lime to disguise a bad wine
I am at a word=I mean what I say
Tapster=Bartender
Compleat:
To froth=Opschuymen
Lime=Kalk
Tapster=Een tapper, biertapper

Burgersdijk notes:
Schuimen en kalken. Men schaafde, volgens Steevens, zeep op den bodem van een bierkan om het bier te laten schuimen; met sek werd kalk gemengd om die te klaren.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit, business, offence

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Thomas Mowbray
CONTEXT:
The language I have learn’d these forty years,
My native English, now I must forego:
And now my tongue’s use is to me no more
Than an unstringed viol or a harp,
Or like a cunning instrument cased up,
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony:
Within my mouth you have engaol’d my tongue,
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?

DUTCH:
En maakt tot stokbewaarder, ter bewaking,
Onwetendheid, die dof is, stomp, gevoelloos.
Ik ben reeds te oud tot staam’len met een voedster,
Te veel op jaren om ter school te gaan;

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)

Compleat:
Cunning=Behendig

Topics: language, understanding, identity, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Because that I familiarly sometimes
Do use you for my fool and chat with you,
Your sauciness will jest upon my love
And make a common of my serious hours.
When the sun shines, let foolish gnats make sport,
But creep in crannies when he hides his beams.
If you will jest with me, know my aspect,
And fashion your demeanour to my looks,
Or I will beat this method in your sconce.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
“Sconce” call you it? So you would leave battering,
I had rather have it a “head.” An you use these blows long, I must get a sconce for my head and ensconce it too, or else I shall seek my wit in my shoulders. But I pray, sir, why am I beaten?

DUTCH:
Omdat ik soms gemeenzaam scherts en keuvel,
Als met een nar, misbruikt ge in overmoed
Mijn vriendlijkheid en neemt mijn ernstige uren,
Alsof ze u toebehoorden, in beslag.
Maar dans’ de mug ook in den zonneschijn,
Zij kruipt in reten, als de lucht betrekt

MORE:
Proverb: He has more wit in his head than you in both your shoulders

Jest upon=Trifle with
Sauciness=Impertinence, impudence
Make a common of my serious hours=Treat my hours of business as common property (reference to property law, where racts of ground were allocated to common use and known as “commons”)
Aspect=Look, glance; possible reference to astrology, with the aspect being the position of one planet in relation to others and its potential to exert influence
Sconce=(1) Head; (2) Fortification, bulwark
Fashion your demeanour to my looks=Check my mood and act accordingly
Compleat:
To jest=Boerten, schertsen, jokken, gekscheeren
Sconce=(Sconse) Een bolwerk of blokhuis
To sconce (university word to signify the setting up so much in the buttery-book, upon one’s head, to be paid as a punishment for a duty neglected or an offence committed)=In de boete beslaan, eene boete opleggen, straffen
Sconsing=Beboeting, beboetende
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Burgersdijk notes:
Op mijn bol? In ‘t Engelsch een woordspeling met sconce, dat „bol” of „hoofd” beteekent, en ook, schans”, waarom ook het woord ensconce, ,,verschansen” volgt. Bij het maken der aanteekeningen komt het mij voor, dat het woord bolwerk had kunnen dienen om het origineel nauwkeuriger terug te geven: „Mijn bol noemt gij dit, heer? als gij het slaan wildet laten, zou ik het liever voor een hoofd houden, maar als gij met dat ranselen voortgaat, moet ik een bolwerk voor mijn hoofd zien te krijgen en het goed dekken (of versterken), of mijn verstand in mijn rug gaan zoeken.”

Topics: respect, misunderstanding, punishment, emotion and mood, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Jaques
CONTEXT:
JAQUES
O worthy fool!— One that hath been a courtier
And says, “If ladies be but young and fair,
They have the gift to know it.” And in his brain,
Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit
After a voyage, he hath strange places crammed
With observation, the which he vents
In mangled forms. Oh, that I were a fool!
I am ambitious for a motley coat.
DUKE SENIOR
Thou shalt have one.
JAQUES
It is my only suit
Provided that you weed your better judgements
Of all opinion that grows rank in them
That I am wise. I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind,
To blow on whom I please, for so fools have.
And they that are most gallèd with my folly,
They most must laugh. And why, sir, must they so?
The “why” is plain as way to parish church:
He that a fool doth very wisely hit
Doth very foolishly, although he smart,
Not to seem senseless of the bob. If not,
The wise man’s folly is anatomized
Even by the squand’ring glances of the fool.
Invest me in my motley. Give me leave
To speak my mind, and I will through and through
Cleanse the foul body of th’ infected world,
If they will patiently receive my medicine

DUTCH:
Een noob’le nar! — Hij was weleer een hoov’ling,
En zegt, dat, zijn de vrouwen jong en schoon,
Zij ook de gaaf bezitten van ‘t te weten.
Zijn brein, zoo droog als restjens scheepsbeschuit,
Heeft hij gepropt met vreemde spreuken, vol
Opmerkingsgeest; en geeft die wijsheid lucht,
Verminkt, bij stukjens

MORE:
Proverb: As dry as a biscuit
Proverb: Who is nettled at a jest seems to be in earnest

Remainder biscuit=Dry ship’s biscuit
Observation=Experience
Motley=Multicoloured jester outfit
Suit=Petition
Rank=Wild
Charter=Scope, privilege
Gallèd=Irritated
Senseless=Unaware, not feeling
Wisely=Skilfully, successfully
Bob=A rap, a dry wipe, jibe
Anatomised=Analysed, dissected
Squandering=Random
Glances=Hits
Invest=Dress, clothe
Cleanse=Purge
Compleat:
Observation=Waarneeming, gebruyk, onderhouding, aanmerking
Motley=Een grove gemengelde
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding
Rank (that shoots too many leaves or branches)=Weelig, dat te veel takken of bladen schiet
To grow rank=Al te weelit groeien
Charter=Handvest, voorrecht
To gall (or vex)=Tergen, verbitteren
Senseless=Gevoeleloos, ongevoelig, zinneloos
Bob=Begekking, boert
To bob=Begekken, bedriegen, loeren, foppen
Anatomize=Opsnyding, ontleeden
Glance=Eventjes raaken
Invest=Omcingelen, inhuldigen; in ‘t bezit stellen; rondom insluiten

Elizabethans believed that the three main organsi were the heart, liver and brain. The brain had to be cool and moist to sleep; someone with a ‘cool and moist’ humour would be able to sleep, unlike a choleric person of hot and dry humour. Dryness was also associated with capacity for learning.

Topics: insult, intellect, reason, fashion/trends, proverbs and idioms, language, authority, wisdom

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Jaques
CONTEXT:
JAQUES
A fool, a fool, I met a fool i’ th’ forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!
As I do live by food, I met a fool,
Who laid him down and basked him in the sun
And railed on Lady Fortune in good terms,
In good set terms, and yet a motley fool.
“Good morrow, fool,” quoth I. “No, sir,” quoth he,
“Call me not ‘fool’ till heaven hath sent me fortune.”
And then he drew a dial from his poke
And, looking on it with lackluster eye,
Says very wisely, “It is ten o’clock.
Thus we may see,” quoth he, “how the world wags.
‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more ’twill be eleven.
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale.” When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer
That fools should be so deep-contemplative,
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley’s the only wear.

DUTCH:
En keek er op met somb’ren, doffen blik

MORE:
Proverb: Thereby hangs (lies) a tale
Proverb: Fortune favours fools

Motley=Multicoloured jester outfit
Set=Composed
Rail=To use reproachful language, to scold in opprobrious terms
Poke=Pouch or pocket
Lacklustre=Lacking radiance, gloss or brightness (Latin lustrare).
Dial=(Fob)watch
Poke=Pouch, pocket
Moral=Moralise
Deep=Profoundly
Chanticleer=Rooster
Compleat:
Motley=Een grove gemengelde
To rail=Schelden
To wag (to move or stir)=Schudden, beweegen
Poke=Zak
Lustre=Luyster
Dial=Wysplaat
To moralize=Een zedelyke uitlegging of toepassing op iets maaken
Deep=Diepzinnig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, blame, nature, time

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lance
CONTEXT:
SPEED
‘Item: She hath more hair than wit,’—
LANCE
More hair than wit? It may be; I’ll prove it. The
cover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it
is more than the salt; the hair that covers the wit
is more than the wit, for the greater hides the
less. What’s next?
SPEED
‘And more faults than hairs,’—
LANCE
That’s monstrous: O, that that were out!
SPEED
‘And more wealth than faults.’
LANCE
Why, that word makes the faults gracious. Well,
I’ll have her; and if it be a match, as nothing is
impossible,—

DUTCH:
O, dat woord maakt de gebreken bekoorlijk! Goed,
ik wil haar hebben; en als wij een paar worden, zooals
geen ding onmoog’lijk is.

MORE:
Proverb: Nothing is impossible (hard, difficult) to a willing heart (mind)
Proverb: Bush natural, more hair than wit
Salt=Salt-cellar
Gracious=Acceptable
Compleat:
Salt seller=Een zout-vat
Gracious=Genadig, genadenryk, aangenaam, lieftallig, gunstig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, intellect, flaw/fault, moneyinsult

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Hotspur
CONTEXT:
GLENDOWER
I can speak English, lord, as well as you,
For I was trained up in the English court,
Where being but young I framèd to the harp
Many an English ditty lovely well
And gave the tongue a helpful ornament—
A virtue that was never seen in you
HOTSPUR
Marry,
And I am glad of it with all my heart:
I had rather be a kitten and cry “mew”
Than one of these same meter balladmongers.
I had rather hear a brazen can’stick turned,
Or a dry wheel grate on the axletree,
And that would set my teeth nothing an edge,
Nothing so much as mincing poetry.
Tis like the forced gait of a shuffling nag.

DUTCH:
k Wil liever koop’ren luchters hooren draaien,
Of ongesmeerde wagenraadren knarsen;
Daar klemde ik zoo mijn tanden niet van saâm,
Als van die lisp’lend zoete poëzie;
Die is me, als ’t draven van een stijven knol.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Can’stick=candlestick
Axle-tree=Piece of timber on which the wheel turns
Mincing=Affectation
Virtue= Accomplishment
Compleat:
Mincing=Een trappelende gang

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, skill/talent, achievement, learning/education

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Puck
CONTEXT:
PUCK
(…)
When thou wakest,
Thou takest
True delight
In the sight
Of thy former lady’s eye.
And the country proverb known—
That every man should take his own—
In your waking shall be shown.
Jack shall have Jill.
Nought shall go ill.
The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be
well.

DUTCH:
Wat de boerenspreuk beweert,
„Elk het zijne” is niet verkeerd.

MORE:
Proverb: Let every man have his own
Proverb: All is well and the man has his mare again
Proverb: All shall be well and Jack shall have his Jill

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
It must be by his death, and for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn at him
But for the general. He would be crowned.
How that might change his nature, there’s the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,
And then I grant we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power. And, to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But ’tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber upward turns his face.
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities.
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—
And kill him in the shell.

DUTCH:
En daarom, acht hem als een slangenei,
Dat, uitgekomen, boos wordt naar zijn aard ;
En doodt hem in den dop!

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Craves=Requires
Wary=Carefully
Sting=Stinger
Remorse=Compassion
Affection=Passion
Swayed=Ruled
Proof=Experience
Lowliness=Affected humility, obsequiousness
Mischievous=Harmful
Fashion=Shape
Compleat:
Craving=Smeeking, bidding; happig, greetig
Wary=Voorzigtig, omzigtig, behoedzaam
Sting=Angel, steekel
Remorse=Knaaging, wroeging, berouw
Affection=Hartstogt, geneegenheyd
To sway=(govern) Regeeren
Proof=Proeven
Lowliness=Nederigheyd; ootmoedigheyd
Mischievous=Boos, boosardig, schaadelyk, quaadstokend, verderflyk, schelms
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Nay, this was but his dream.
OTHELLO
But this denoted a foregone conclusion.
IAGO
‘Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream.
And this may help to thicken other proofs
That do demonstrate thinly.
OTHELLO
I’ll tear her all to pieces!
IAGO
Nay, yet be wise, yet we see nothing done,
She may be honest yet. Tell me but this,
Have you not sometimes seen a handkerchief
Spotted with strawberries in your wife’s hand?

DUTCH:
Maar die toch wijst op een gepleegde daad;
Dit scherpt den argwaan, zij ‘t ook slechts een droom.
– En dienen kan ‘t om gronden te versterken,
Die zwakker zijn.

MORE:

Still in use: A foregone conclusion=a decision made before (‘afore’) evidence is known; or a certainty, an inevitable result. According to David Franklin (in Of Bench & Bard), this was the first occurrence of foregone conclusion.

Foregone=Gone before, previous
Shrewd=Bad, evil, mischievous
Compleat:
Fore-conceived=Vooraf bevat
A fore-conceived=Voor-opgevatte waan, vooroordeel
Fore-deem=Raamen, gissen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, suspicion, reason, evidence

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl.
The secret mischiefs that I set abroach
I lay unto the grievous charge of others.
Clarence, whom I indeed have cast in darkness,
I do beweep to many simple gulls,
Namely, to Derby, Hastings, Buckingham,
And tell them ’tis the queen and her allies
That stir the king against the duke my brother.
Now they believe it and withal whet me
To be revenged on Rivers, Dorset, Grey;
But then I sigh and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil;
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen out of Holy Writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.

DUTCH:
En zoo bekleed ik steeds mijn naakte boosheid
Met dwaze vodden, uit de Schrift gekaapt,
En schijn een heil’ge, als ik echt duivelsch ben.

MORE:
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint

Brawl=Quarrel
Mischief=Wicked deed
Set abroach=Carried out (the harm I have done)
Lay unto the charge=Accuse
Simple gulls=Simpletons
Stir=Incite
Stout=Resolute
Compleat:
Brawl=Gekyf
To brawl=Kyven
Mischief=onheil, dwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
To set abroach=Een gat booren om uyt te tappen, een vat opsteeken. Ook Lucht of ruymte aan iets geven
To lay a thing to one’s charge=Iemand met iets beschuldigen, iets tot iemands laste brengen
Gull=Bedrieger
To stir=Beweegen, verroeren
Stout=Stout, koen, dapper, verwaand, lustig

Topics: good and bad, conscience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
And what’s he then that says I play the villain?
When this advice is free I give and honest,
Probal to thinking and indeed the course
To win the Moor again? For ’tis most easy
Th’ inclining Desdemona to subdue
In any honest suit. She’s framed as fruitful
As the free elements. And then for her
To win the Moor, were to renounce his baptism,
All seals and symbols of redeemèd sin,
His soul is so enfettered to her love,
That she may make, unmake, do what she list,
Even as her appetite shall play the god
With his weak function. How am I then a villain
To counsel Cassio to this parallel course,
Directly to his good? Divinity of hell!
When devils will the blackest sins put on
They do suggest at first with heavenly shows
As I do now. For whiles this honest fool
Plies Desdemona to repair his fortune
And she for him pleads strongly to the Moor,
I’ll pour this pestilence into his ear:
That she repeals him for her body’s lust.
And by how much she strives to do him good
She shall undo her credit with the Moor.
So will I turn her virtue into pitch
And out of her own goodness make the net
That shall enmesh them all.

DUTCH:
En wie beweert, dat ik den schurk hier speel?
De raad, dien ik hem geef, is goed en eerlijk,
Verstandig en de ware weg om weder
Den Moor te winnen.

MORE:
Proverb: The devil can transform himself into an angel of light.

Put on=Incite
Repeal=Recall from exile
Credit=A good opinion entertained of a p. and influence derived from it: Reputation
Pitch=1) Something odious; 2) blackness; 3) with power to ensnare
Compleat:
Pitch=Pik
Credit=Geloof, achting, aanzien, goede naam
Repeal=Herroepen, afschaffen, weer intrekken

Topics: advice, honesty, manipulation, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Cleopatra
CONTEXT:
CLEOPATRA
And when good will is showed, though ’t come too short,
The actor may plead pardon. I’ll none now.
Give me mine angle. We’ll to th’ river. There,
My music playing far off, I will betray
Tawny-finned fishes. My bended hook shall pierce
Their slimy jaws, and as I draw them up
I’ll think them every one an Antony
And say, “Aha! You’re caught.”
CHARMIAN
’Twas merry when
You wagered on your angling, when your diver
Did hang a salt fish on his hook, which he
With fervency drew up.
CLEOPATRA
That time—Oh, times!—
I laughed him out of patience, and that night
I laughed him into patience. And next morn,
Ere the ninth hour, I drunk him to his bed,
Then put my tires and mantles on him, whilst
I wore his sword Philippan.

DUTCH:
Waar goede wil is, neemt men dien voor lief;
Al schiet hij ook te kort.

MORE:
Proverb: To take the will for the deed

Come too short=Not be up to the mark
Plead pardon=Seek forgiveness
Angle=Fishing rod
Betray=Deceive
With fervency=Enthusiastically
Tires=Clothes
Philippan=The sword used by Antony to defeat Brutus and Cassius at Philippi (see “Julius Caesar”)
Compleat:
To fall short=Te kort schieten
Pardon=Vergiffenis
Angling-rod=Een hengel-roded; hengel-ried
To betray=Verraaden, beklappen
Fervency=Vuurigheyd; yver
To tire=Optooijen, de kap zetten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Petruchio
CONTEXT:
PETRUCHIO
Why, that is nothing. For I tell you, father,
I am as peremptory as she proud-minded;
And where two raging fires meet together,
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.
Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all.
So I to her and so she yields to me,
For I am rough and woo not like a babe.
BAPTISTA
Well mayst thou woo, and happy be thy speed.
But be thou armed for some unhappy words.
PETRUCHIO
Ay, to the proof, as mountains are for winds,
That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.

DUTCH:
O, dat is niets; want ik verklaar u, vader,
‘k Ben even kort van stof als zij hooghartig;
En als een heftig vuur een ander vindt,
Dan wordt, wat hunne woede voedt, verteerd.

MORE:

Proverb: The wind puts out small lights but enrages great fires
Proverb: A little wind kindles, much puts out the fire

Peremptory=Positive, absolute
Speed=Success
To the proof=Properly armed
Compleat:
Peremptory=Volstrekt, uitvoerig, volkomen, uiteindig
Speed=Voortgang

Topics: independence, conflict, proverbs and idioms, conflict, anger

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.6
SPEAKER: Edward
CONTEXT:
Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies,
Which, whiles it lasted, gave King Henry light.
O Lancaster, I fear thy overthrow
More than my body’s parting with my soul!
My love and fear glued many friends to thee;
And, now I fall, thy tough commixture melts.
Impairing Henry, strengthening misproud York,
The common people swarm like summer flies;
And whither fly the gnats but to the sun?
And who shines now but Henry’s enemies?
O Phoebus, hadst thou never given consent
That Phaethon should check thy fiery steeds,
Thy burning car never had scorch’d the earth!
And, Henry, hadst thou sway’d as kings should do,
Or as thy father and his father did,
Giving no ground unto the house of York,
They never then had sprung like summer flies;
I and ten thousand in this luckless realm
Had left no mourning widows for our death;
And thou this day hadst kept thy chair in peace.
For what doth cherish weeds but gentle air?

DUTCH:
Maar nu ik val, nu smelt die taaie menging,
Maakt Hendrik zwak, versterkt den driesten York.
Waar vliegen muggen heen, dan in de zon?

MORE:

Proverb: His candle burns within the socket

Commixture=Compound (the ‘glued’ friends)
Misproud=Arrogant, viciously proud (Schmidt)
Phoebus=Apollo
Check=Control
Car=Chariot
Swayed=Governed, ruled
Give ground=Yield, recede
Chair=Throne
Cherish=Encourage (growth)

Compleat:
To keep a check on one=Iemand in den teugel houden
Sway=(power, rule, command) Macht, gezach, heerschappy
To bear sway=Heerschappy voeren
To sway=(govern) Regeeren. To sway the scepter=Den schepter zwaaijen
To cherish=Koesteren, opkweeken, streelen, aankweeken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, uthority, leadership

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Sir Hugh Evans
CONTEXT:
SIR HUGH EVANS
It is marring indeed, if he quarter it.
SHALLOW
Not a whit.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Yes, py’r lady; if he has a quarter of your coat,
there is but three skirts for yourself, in my
simple conjectures: but that is all one. If Sir
John Falstaff have committed disparagements unto
you, I am of the church, and will be glad to do my
benevolence to make atonements and compromises
between you.
SHALLOW
The council shall bear it; it is a riot.

DUTCH:
Maar dat is alles hetselfde; — als Sir John Falstaff u onaangenaamheids pechaan heeft, dan pen ik van de kerk en wil recht chaarne mijn welwillendheid u aandoen en versoeningen en kompremiesen tusschen u maken.

MORE:
Proverb: Marrying is marring

Disparage=Vilify, be contemptuous of
Quarter=Incorporate another coat of arms in a heraldic coat of arms
Marring=Marring in marrying
Not a whit=Not at all
Py’r lady=By our Lady (Virgin Mary)
Skirt=Coat tail
Do my benevolence=Perform a friendly service
Compleat:
Marr=Bederven, verknoeijen
Not a whit displeased=Niet een zier misnoegd
Disparagement=Verachting, verkleining, kleinachting
Benevolence=Gunst, goedwilligheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, abuse, remedy, resolution

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Northumberland
CONTEXT:
Believe me, noble lord,
I am a stranger here in Gloucestershire:
These high wild hills and rough uneven ways
Draws out our miles, and makes them wearisome,
And yet your fair discourse hath been as sugar,
Making the hard way sweet and delectable.
But I bethink me what a weary way
From Ravenspurgh to Cotswold will be found
In Ross and Willoughby, wanting your company,
Which, I protest, hath very much beguiled
The tediousness and process of my travel:
But theirs is sweetened with the hope to have
The present benefit which I possess;
And hope to joy is little less in joy
Than hope enjoy’d: by this the weary lords
Shall make their way seem short, as mine hath done
By sight of what I have, your noble company.

DUTCH:
Dit land vol wilde heuvels, ruwe wegen,
Rekt tot vermoeinis toe ons elke mijl;
Maar uw schoon onderhoud was suiker; ‘t maakte
Den zuren weg ons zoet en recht verkwikk’lijk.

MORE:

Proverb: Good company makes short miles

Discourse=Conversation
Beguiled=To deceive pleasingly, to drive away by an agreeable delusion, charm
Process=Course, the act of going on and passing by (of time)
Hope to=Anticipation of

Compleat:
Discourse=Gesprek
Beguile=Bedriegen, om den tuin leiden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, friendship

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Bolingbroke
CONTEXT:
Let’s march without the noise of threatening drum,
That from this castle’s tottered battlements
Our fair appointments may be well perused.
Methinks King Richard and myself should meet
With no less terror than the elements
Of fire and water, when their thundering shock
At meeting tears the cloudy cheeks of heaven.
Be he the fire, I’ll be the yielding water:
The rage be his, whilst on the earth I rain
My waters; on the earth, and not on him.
March on, and mark King Richard how he looks.
See, see, King Richard doth himself appear,
As doth the blushing discontented sun
From out the fiery portal of the east,
When he perceives the envious clouds are bent
To dim his glory and to stain the track
Of his bright passage to the occident.

DUTCH:
Ziet, ziet daar, koning Richard zelf verschijnt,
Zooals de blakende en verstoorde zon
Vooruit treedt uit de vuur’ge poort van ‘toosten

MORE:

Proverb: A red morning foretells a stormy day

Tottered=Jagged, irregular, ragged
Occident=West
Fair appointments=Fine equipment, furniture, appearance
Be he=Allow him to be
Yielding=Submissive, giving way, not opposing
Discontented=Dissatisfied

Compleat:
Tattered=Gescheurd, haveloos
Occident=Het westen
Yielding=Overgeeving, toegeeving, toegeeflyk, meegeeflyk
Discontented=Misnoegd, knyzig, ‘t onvreede

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, nature

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Lord cardinal, I will follow Eleanor,
And listen after Humphrey, how he proceeds:
She’s tickled now; her fume needs no spurs,
She’ll gallop far enough to her destruction.
GLOUCESTER
Now, lords, my choler being over-blown
With walking once about the quadrangle,
I come to talk of commonwealth affairs.
As for your spiteful false objections,
Prove them, and I lie open to the law:
But God in mercy so deal with my soul,
As I in duty love my king and country!
But, to the matter that we have in hand:
I say, my sovereign, York is meetest man
To be your regent in the realm of France.

DUTCH:
Nadat ik, lords, mijn gal heb afgekoeld,
Door eens het binnenhof in ‘t rond te gaan,
Isom ik de staatsbelangen weer bespreken.
Wat gij mij fel en valsch heb aangetegen,
Bewijst dit, en ik wacht de rechtspraak af;

MORE:

Proverb: Nothing is well said or done in a passion (in anger)

Listen after=Ask after
Tickled=Irritated
Fume=Irritation, anger
Choler=Anger, bile
Overblown=Blown over, gone away
Spiteful=Malignant
Meetest=Most suitable

Compleat:
Ticklish (touchy, exceptious)=Kittelig, schielyk geraakt
To be in a fume=In een woede zyn
Cholerick=Oploopend, haastig, toornig. To be in choler=Toornig zyn
Spitefull=Spytig, nydig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, anger

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Cloten
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
Was there ever man had such luck! when I kissed the
jack, upon an up-cast to be hit away! I had a
hundred pound on’t: and then a whoreson jackanapes
must take me up for swearing; as if I borrowed mine
oaths of him and might not spend them at my pleasure.
FIRST LORD
What got he by that? You have broke his pate with
your bowl.
SECOND LORD
If his wit had been like him that broke it,
it would have run all out.
CLOTEN
When a gentleman is disposed to swear, it is not for
any standers-by to curtail his oaths, ha?
SECOND LORD
No my lord; nor crop the ears of them.

DUTCH:
Ik had er honderd pond op staan;
en dan stuift me zoo’n hondsvot van een aap nog op,
omdat ik hem uitvloek; alsof ik m’n vloeken van hem
geborgd had, en ze niet kon uitgeven, zooals ikzelf verkies!

MORE:
Proverb: May we not do with our own what we list?

Pate=The head; used in contempt or in ridicule
Curtail=Curtal, having a docked tail (followed by ‘crop the ears’)
Upcast=A throw at the game of bowls
Take up=Rebuke
Kissed the jack … away=The jack being the small ball in bowls, the closest to the jack at the end of the game wins. If the bowl ends up close to it, it is ‘kissing the jack’ (a great advantage). Cloten’s bowl is then hit away by the ‘upcast’ (throw of an opponent).
Compleat:
Jack (in bowling)=Honk, in de klosbaan
To take one up sharply (check, reprimand)=Iemand scherpelyk berispen
Pate=De kop, het hoofd
He threatened to break his pate=Hy dreigde hem den kop in te slaan

Burgersdijk notes:
Had ooit een mensch zulk een geluk?
Cloten spreekt van het geluk, dat zijn tegenspeler gehad heeft.

Topics: language, civility, patience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
AARON
Now climbeth Tamora Olympus’ top,
Safe out of fortune’s shot; and sits aloft,
Secure of thunder’s crack or lightning flash;
Advanced above pale envy’s threatening reach.
As when the golden sun salutes the morn,
And, having gilt the ocean with his beams,
Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach,
And overlooks the highest-peering hills;
So Tamora:
Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait,
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.
Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts,
To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,
And mount her pitch, whom thou in triumph long
Hast prisoner held, fettered in amorous chains
And faster bound to Aaron’s charming eyes
Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
Away with slavish weeds and servile thoughts!
I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold,
To wait upon this new-made empress.
To wait, said I? to wanton with this queen,
This goddess, this Semiramis, this nymph,
This siren, that will charm Rome’s Saturnine,
And see his shipwreck and his commonweal’s.
Holloa! what storm is this?

DUTCH:
Weg, slaafsche dracht en need’rige gedachten!
In goud en paarlen wil ik schitt’rend stralen,
Der nieuwe keizerin ten dienste staan.

MORE:
Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain

Olympus=Highest mountain in Greece, mythological home of the gods.
Prometheus=Demigod who stold fire from Olympus and give it to mankind. Allusively applied to something that inspires or infuses life (although he was chained to a rock where his liver was eaten every day by an eagle).
Semiramis=The wife of King Nimrod of Assyria, famed for her bravery and cruelty
Sirens=Mythical creatures who use their voices to lure sailors to their deaths
Envy=Malice
Pitch=Highest point of soaring flight for a hawk or falcon, peak before swooping
Weeds=Clothing
Commonweal=The common good (‘commonwealth’, community)
Compleat:
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad
Siren=Sireene; To sirenize=Verlokken, verleiden
Envy=Nyd, benyd, afgunst
Pitch=Pik
Commonwealth=Gemeenebest

Burgersdijk notes:
Haar baan doorrent. In ‘t Engelsch wordt als baan de Dierenriem, Zodiak, genoemd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, manipulation, persuasion

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Prithee, no more prattling; go. I’ll hold. This is
the third time; I hope good luck lies in odd
numbers. Away I go. They say there is divinity in
odd numbers, either in nativity, chance, or death.
Away!
MISTRESS QUICKLY
I’ll provide you a chain; and I’ll do what I can to
get you a pair of horns.
FALSTAFF
Away, I say; time wears: hold up your head, and mince.

DUTCH:
Ga heen, zeg ik; de tijd vervliegt; houd de kin op en
dribbel weg.

MORE:
Proverb: There is luck in odd numbers
Proverb: All things thrive at thrice
Proverb: The third time pays for all

Herne the Hunter supposedly had horns and shook a chain
Good luck lies in odd numbers
Divinity=Divination, divine power
Chance=Luck
Wears=Passes
Compleat:
Divinity=Godgeleerdheyd, Godheyd
Chance=Geval, voorval, kans

Topics: proverbs and idioms|fate/destiny

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Warwick
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
The duke! Why, Warwick, when we parted,
Thou call’dst me king.
WARWICK
Ay, but the case is alter’d:
When you disgraced me in my embassade,
Then I degraded you from being king,
And come now to create you Duke of York.
Alas! How should you govern any kingdom,
That know not how to use ambassadors,
Nor how to be contented with one wife,
Nor how to use your brothers brotherly,
Nor how to study for the people’s welfare,
Nor how to shroud yourself from enemies?

DUTCH:
Ja, maar ‘t is nu anders.
Toen gij mij als gezant beschaamd deed staan,
Toen heb ik u als koning afgezet,
En thans benoem ik u tot hertog York.

MORE:

Proverb: The case is altered, quoth Plowden

Embassade=Diplomatic mission
Study for=Work to ensure
Shroud=Shelter, protect
Use=Treat

Compleat:
To shroud (shrowd)=Bedekken; beschutten; to shrowd one’s self=Zich verbergen, in veiligheid stellen
To use (or treat) one well or ill=Iemand wel of kwaalyk behandelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, satisfaction, wellbeing

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Ay, sir, but “While the grass grows—” The proverb is something musty—O, the recorders! Let me see one.

DUTCH:
Ja, mijnheer, maar van de lip tot den beker …. het spreekwoord is wat schimmelig. /
Ja, menheer, maar: ‘Eer ‘t gras gewassen is’, – ‘t spreekwoord is eenigszins duf.

MORE:
Musty=stale
Reference to the proverb, “While the grass grows, the horse starves”.
(Dreams and expectations may be realised too late if you sit and wait for too long.)
Compleat:
Musty=Muf, muffig
Musty (out of humour)=Gemelyk, knorrig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, plans/intentions, disappointment

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

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

MORE:
Proverb: He has his labour for his pains

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

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

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
If the living be enemy to the grief, the excess
makes it soon mortal.
BERTRAM
Madam, I desire your holy wishes.
LAFEW
How understand we that?
COUNTESS
Be thou blest, Bertram ; and succeed thy father
In manners, as in shape! Thy blood and virtue
Contend for empire in thee; and thy goodness
Share with thy birthright ! Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use, and keep thy friend
Under thy own life’s key: be checked for silence.
But never taxed for speech. What heaven more will
That thee may furnish, and my prayers pluck down,
Fall on thy head! Farewell, my lord;
‘Tis an unseasoned courtier; good my lord,
Advise him.

DUTCH:
Heb allen lief; schenk wein’gen uw vertrouwen;
Doe niemand onrecht; houd uw vijand eer
Door macht dan door haar uiting in bedwang;
Hoed als uw eigen leven dat uws vriends;
Dat men uw zwijgen, nooit uw spreken gispe!

MORE:
Proverb: Blood is inherited but Virtue is achieved
Proverb: Have but few friends though much acquaintance
Proverb: Keep under lock and key
Proverb: Keep well thy friends when thou has gotten them

Mortal=Fatal
Able=Have power to daunt (Be able for thine enemy)
Manners=Conduct
Blood=Inherited nature
Contend=Compete
Empire=Dominance
Rather than in power than in use=By having the power to act rather than acting
Checked=Rebuked
Taxed=Blamed
Furnish=Supply
Compleat:
Able=Sterk, robust
Manners=Zeden, manieren, manierlykheid
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten
To tax (to blame)=Mispryzen, berispen
To furnish=Verschaffen, voorzien, verzorgen, stoffeeren, toetakelen

Topics: caution, trust, proverbs and idioms, still in use

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

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

MORE:
Proverb: The vine embraces the elm

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

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

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Luciana
CONTEXT:
LUCIANA
And may it be that you have quite forgot
A husband’s office? Shall, Antipholus,
Even in the spring of love thy love-springs rot?
Shall love, in building, grow so ruinous?
If you did wed my sister for her wealth,
Then for her wealth’s sake use her with more kindness.
Or if you like elsewhere, do it by stealth—
Muffle your false love with some show of blindness.
Let not my sister read it in your eye;
Be not thy tongue thy own shame’s orator;
Look sweet, be fair, become disloyalty;
Apparel vice like virtue’s harbinger.
Bear a fair presence, though your heart be tainted.
Teach sin the carriage of a holy saint.
Be secret-false. What need she be acquainted?
What simple thief brags of his own attaint?
‘Tis double wrong to truant with your bed
And let her read it in thy looks at board.
Shame hath a bastard fame, well managèd;
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word.
Alas, poor women, make us but believe,
Being compact of credit, that you love us.
Though others have the arm, show us the sleeve;
We in your motion turn, and you may move us.
Then, gentle brother, get you in again.
Comfort my sister, cheer her, call her wife.
‘Tis holy sport to be a little vain
When the sweet breath of flattery conquers strife.

DUTCH:
Blik zacht, spreek vleiend, huichel, ban haar vrees;
Hul in het vlekk’loos kleed der deugd uw zonde

MORE:
Proverb: Fair face foul heart
Proverb: It is an ill thing to be wicked (wretched) but a worse to be known so (to boast of it)

Become disloyalty=Wear disloyalty in a becoming fashion
Harbinger=Forerunner
Apparel=Dress up, cloak (vice as the forerunner of virtue)
Compleat:
Disloyalty=Ongetrouwigheid, trouwloosheid
Harbinger=Een bestelmeester, voorloper
To apparel=Optooijen, kleeden,
Apparelled=Gekleed, gedoft, opgetooid

Topics: deceit, appearance, honesty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Miranda
CONTEXT:
MIRANDA
Be of comfort.
My father’s of a better nature, sir,
Than he appears by speech. This is unwonted
Which now came from him.
PROSPERO
Thou shalt be free
As mountain winds. But then exactly do
All points of my command.
ARIEL
To th’ syllable.

DUTCH:
Houd goeden moed!
Mijn vader, heer, is zachter van natuur,
Dan nu zijn taal verraadt; wat hij daar zeide,
Is ongewoon in hem.

MORE:
Proverb: As free as the air (wind). Shakespeare refers to this again in AYL (“I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind”, 2.7) and Coriolanus (“Be free as is the wind.”, 1.9).
Unwonted=Uncommon, unusual
Compleat:
Ebb=De eb, ebbe; afvlooijen
The lowest ebb of its authority=Genoegzaam haar gezach veloren
My soul hs never ebbed from its constant principles=Myn ziel is nooit van haare grondbeginzels afgeweeken

Topics: language, civility, proverbs and idioms, still in use, free will

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Luciana
CONTEXT:
LUCIANA
And may it be that you have quite forgot
A husband’s office? Shall, Antipholus,
Even in the spring of love thy love-springs rot?
Shall love, in building, grow so ruinous?
If you did wed my sister for her wealth,
Then for her wealth’s sake use her with more kindness.
Or if you like elsewhere, do it by stealth—
Muffle your false love with some show of blindness.
Let not my sister read it in your eye;
Be not thy tongue thy own shame’s orator;
Look sweet, be fair, become disloyalty;
Apparel vice like virtue’s harbinger.
Bear a fair presence, though your heart be tainted.
Teach sin the carriage of a holy saint.
Be secret-false. What need she be acquainted?
What simple thief brags of his own attaint?
‘Tis double wrong to truant with your bed
And let her read it in thy looks at board.
Shame hath a bastard fame, well managèd;
Ill deeds is doubled with an evil word.
Alas, poor women, make us but believe,
Being compact of credit, that you love us.
Though others have the arm, show us the sleeve;
We in your motion turn, and you may move us.
Then, gentle brother, get you in again.
Comfort my sister, cheer her, call her wife.
‘Tis holy sport to be a little vain
When the sweet breath of flattery conquers strife.

DUTCH:
Blik zacht, spreek vleiend, huichel, ban haar vrees;
Hul in het vlekk’loos kleed der deugd uw zonde

MORE:
Proverb: Fair face foul heart
Proverb: It is an ill thing to be wicked (wretched) but a worse to be known so (to boast of it)

Become disloyalty=Wear disloyalty in a becoming fashion
Harbinger=Forerunner
Apparel=Dress up, cloak (vice as the forerunner of virtue)
Compleat:
Disloyalty=Ongetrouwigheid, trouwloosheid
Harbinger=Een bestelmeester, voorloper
To apparel=Optooijen, kleeden,
Apparelled=Gekleed, gedoft, opgetooid

Topics: deceit, appearance, honesty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Demetrius
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
Listen, fair madam: let it be your glory
To see her tears; but be your heart to them
As unrelenting flint to drops of rain.
LAVINIA
When did the tiger’s young ones teach the dam?
O, do not learn her wrath; she taught it thee;
The milk thou suckedst from her did turn to marble;
Even at thy teat thou hadst thy tyranny.
Yet every mother breeds not sons alike:
Do thou entreat her show a woman pity.
CHIRON
What, wouldst thou have me prove myself a bastard?
LAVINIA
‘Tis true; the raven doth not hatch a lark:
Yet have I heard,—O, could I find it now!—
The lion moved with pity did endure
To have his princely paws pared all away:
Some say that ravens foster forlorn children,
The whilst their own birds famish in their nests:
O, be to me, though thy hard heart say no,
Nothing so kind, but something pitiful!

DUTCH:
Hoor haar, vorstin; het zij uw roem, haar tranen
Te aanschouwen; doch voor deze zij uw hart,
Wat harde keien zijn voor regendroppels.

MORE:
Proverb: Constant dropping will wear the stone
Proverb: An eagle does not hatch a dove
Proverb: He sucked evil from the dug
Proverb: The lion spares the suppliant

Glory=Pride
Learn her=Teach her
Hadst=Took in
Children=Chicks
Forlorn=Wretched, abandoned
Compleat:
Glory=Heerlykheid, gloori, roem
Learn=Leren
Forlorn=Wanhoopig, neerslagtig door een mislukking; Verlaaten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride, life, pity

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Quince
CONTEXT:
PUCK
I’ll follow you. I’ll lead you about a round
Through bog, through bush, through brake, through
brier.
Sometime a horse I’ll be, sometime a hound,
A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire.
And neigh, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn,
Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn.
BOTTOM
Why do they run away? This is a knavery of them to make
me afeard.
SNOUT
O Bottom, thou art changed! What do I see on thee?
BOTTOM
What do you see? You see an ass head of your own, do
you?
QUINCE
Bless thee, Bottom, bless thee. Thou art translated.

DUTCH:
God bewaar je, Spoel! je bent verfigureerd!

MORE:
Proverb: An asshead of your own

Translated=Transformed
Compleat:
To translate=Overzetten, vertaalen, overvoeren, verplaatsen
Knavery=Guitery, boertery

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
GLOUCESTER
Why, Suffolk, England knows thine insolence.
QUEEN MARGARET
And thy ambition, Gloucester.
KING HENRY VI
I prithee, peace, good queen,
And whet not on these furious peers;
For blessed are the peacemakers on earth.

DUTCH:
Lieve vrouw,
Zwijg stil en zet die woeste pairs niet aan;
Gezegend zij, die vrede op aarde stichten.

MORE:

Proverb: To make peace with a sword in his hand
Proverb: Blessed are the peacemakers

Insolence=Pride
Whet not on=Don’t encourage

Compleat:
Insolence=Moedwilligheid, verwaandheid, baldaadigheid, trotsheid
Whet=Wetten, slypen, scherp maaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, resolution

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lance
CONTEXT:
SPEED
[Reads] ‘Imprimis: She can milk.’
LANCE
Ay, that she can.
SPEED
‘Item: She brews good ale.’
LANCE
And thereof comes the proverb: ‘Blessing of your
heart, you brew good ale.’
SPEED
‘Item: She can sew.’
LANCE
That’s as much as to say, ‘Can she so?’

DUTCH:
En daar vandaan het zeggen: „Gods zegen hier; gij
brouwt goed bier.”

MORE:
Proverb: Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale

Imprimis=Introduction to inventory; subsequent clauses starting with ‘item’
Jade=A term of contempt or pity for a woman; worthless or maltreated horse
Compleat:
Jade=Een lompig paerd, knol, jakhals

Burgersdijk notes:
Zij kan naaien. In ‘t Engelsch: she can sew, waarvoor in de folio- uitgave soave geschreven wordt, zoodat de volgende vraag can slee so het woord herhaalt. Hier moest de vertaler zich anders helpen; evenzoo bij het volgende, waar het woord stock eerst in de beteekenis van kapitaal,”geld”, daarna in die van ,sok” wordt opgevat.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, value, work, virtue

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
TROILUS
What should they grant? what makes this pretty
abruption? What too curious dreg espies my sweet
lady in the fountain of our love?
CRESSIDA
More dregs than water, if my fears have eyes.
TROILUS
Fears make devils of cherubims; they never see truly.
CRESSIDA
Blind fear, that seeing reason leads, finds safer
footing than blind reason stumbling without fear: to
fear the worst oft cures the worse.

DUTCH:
Blinde angst, door het ziend verstand geleid, treedt op
een veiliger grond, dan het blind verstand, dat zonder
angst struikelt; angst te voeden voor het ergste redt dikwijls
voor het ergste.

MORE:
Proverb: It is good to fear the worst

Abruption=Breaking off
Curious=Requiring attention
Dreg=Impurity
Have eyes=Are perceptive
Compleat:
Abrupt=Afgebroken, onbesuist, woest
Curious=Aardig, keurlyk, keurig, nieuwsgierig, weetgierig, net, kurieus
Curious meat=Keurlyke spyze
Dregs=Droessem, grondsop
To draw off the dregs=Zuiveren, klaar maaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, reason, good and bad

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Macbeth
CONTEXT:
It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood.
Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak.
Augurs and understood relations have
By magot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
The secret’st man of blood.—What is the night?

DUTCH:
t Wil bloed, is ‘t zeggen; bloed wil bloed.

MORE:
Blood will have blood is an allusion to the proverb of retribution, “Blood will have blood” (c. 1395)

Topics: death, revenge, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Norfolk
CONTEXT:
ABERGAVENNY
A proper title of a peace; and purchased
At a superfluous rate
BUCKINGHAM
Why, all this business
Our reverend cardinal carried.
NORFOLK
Like it your grace,
The state takes notice of the private difference
Betwixt you and the cardinal. I advise you—
And take it from a heart that wishes towards you
Honour and plenteous safety—that you read
The cardinal’s malice and his potency
Together; to consider further that
What his high hatred would effect wants not
A minister in his power. You know his nature,
That he’s revengeful, and I know his sword
Hath a sharp edge: it’s long and, ‘t may be said,
It reaches far, and where ’twill not extend,
Thither he darts it. Bosom up my counsel,
You’ll find it wholesome. Lo, where comes that rock
That I advise your shunning.

DUTCH:
Neem mijn raad ter harte,
En ‘t zal u goed doen. Zie, daar komt de rots,
Die ik u ried te ontwijken.

MORE:
Proverb: Kings have long arms
Purchased=Gained
Rate=Cost
To carry=To manage
Difference=Dispute
Read=Consider, view
High=Haughty
Bosom up=Take to heart, heed
Wholesome=Beneficial
Compleat:
Purchase=Verkrygen
Rate=Prys, waardy
To carry=Draagen, voeren, brengen
Difference=Verschhil, onderscheyd
Read=Leezen
High=Hoog, verheven
Wholesom=Gezond, heylzaam, heelzaam

Topics: proverbs and idioms, caution, dispute, authority

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
I could be well moved if I were as you.
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me.
But I am constant as the Northern Star,
Of whose true-fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks.
They are all fire and every one doth shine,
But there’s but one in all doth hold his place.
So in the world. ‘Tis furnished well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive,
Yet in the number I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank,
Unshaked of motion. And that I am he
Let me a little show it even in this:
That I was constant Cimber should be banished,
And constant do remain to keep him so.

DUTCH:
Ware ik aan u gelijk, ik liet mij roeren ;
Mij roerde smeeking, smeekte ikzelf tot roering ;
Doch wank’len is mij vreemd, als aan de noordster,
Wier eeuwig vaste, rustige natuur
Aan ‘t firmament geen wedergade heeft.

MORE:
Proverb: My own flesh and blood

Be well=Easily be
Pray to move=Try to persuade others to change
Resting=Constant, unchanging
Fellow=Equal
Holds on=Maintains
Unshaked of motion=Immovable
Constant=Firm, resolute
Compleat:
Pray=Verzoeken
To move=Verroeren, gaande maaken; voorstellen
Resting=Verblyving; rustende
Fellow=Gezel, medegezel, maat, vennoot, makker, weergade
To hold on=Aanhouden, volharden
Unshaken=Ongeschud, onbeweegd, onbewoogen
Constant=Standvastig, bestending, gestadig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, persuasion, resolution

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
SUFFOLK
Hath he not twit our sovereign lady here
With ignominious words, though clerkly couch’d,
As if she had suborned some to swear
False allegations to o’erthrow his state?
QUEEN MARGARET
But I can give the loser leave to chide.
GLOUCESTER
Far truer spoke than meant: I lose, indeed;
Beshrew the winners, for they play’d me false!
And well such losers may have leave to speak.
BUCKINGHAM
He’ll wrest the sense and hold us here all day:
Lord cardinal, he is your prisoner.

DUTCH:
Hem, die verliest, vergun ik ‘t wel, te schimpen.

MORE:

Proverb: Give losers leave to speak (talk)

Twit=To reproach
Clerkly couched=Cleverly expressed, articulated
Suborn=Institgate to perjury
Wrest=Distort, spin, misinterpret
Beshrew=(or beshrow): mild curse

Compleat:
To suborn a witness=Eenen getuige opmaaken of omkoopen
To twit in the teeth=Verwyten
He ever twits me in the teeth with it=Hy werpt het my gestadig voor de scheenen
Twitting=Verwyting, verwytende
To suborn a witness=Eenen getuige opmaaken of omkoopen
To wrest=Verdraaijen, wringen
To wrest one’s words maliciously=Iemands woorden kwaadaardig verdraaijen
Beshrew=Bekyven, vervloeken

Topics: truth, manipulation, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
O sir, content you.
I follow him to serve my turn upon him.
We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
Cannot be truly followed. You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave
That (doting on his own obsequious bondage)
Wears out his time much like his master’s ass
For naught but provender, and when he’s old, cashiered.
Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are
Who, trimmed in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them. And when they have lined their coats,
Do themselves homage. These fellows have some soul,
And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago.
In following him, I follow but myself.
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end.
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.

DUTCH:
In mijn uitwendig doen of mijn gebaren
Zich toont, dan wil ik fluks daarop mijn hart
Ronddragen op de mouw, opdat er kraaien
Naar pikken; dan ben ik mijzelf niet meer.

MORE:
Proverb: Every man cannot be a master (lord)
Proverb: To wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve (1604)

Whipping was a cruel punishment. In the days of Henry VIII an Act decreed that vagrants were to be carried to some market town, or other place, and there tied to the end of a cart, naked, and beaten with whips throughout such market-town, or other place, till the body should be bloody by reason of such whipping. The punishment was mitigated in Elizabeth’s reign, to the extent that vagrants need only to be “stripped naked from the middle upwards and whipped till the body should be bloody”

Content you=Don’t worry
Knave=Servant
Cashiered=Dismissed
Peculiar=Private, personal
End=Purpose
Complement extern=External show, form
Daws: Jackdaws
Not what I am=Not what I seem to be
Doting=to be fond, to love to excess
Knee-crooking=Flattering
Obsequious=Zealous, officious, devoted
Wear out=To spend all of, to come to the end of
Provender=Dry food for beasts
Compleat:
Dote upon=Op iets verzot zyn; zyne zinnen zeer op iets gezet hebben
Obsequious=Gehoorzaam, gedienstig
To cashiere=Den zak geeven, afdanken, ontslaan
Jack daw=Een exter of kaauw
Extern=Uitwendig, uiterlyk
End=Voorneemen, oogmerk

Topics: deceit, appearance, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms, still in use, purpose

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Gremio
CONTEXT:
GRUMIO
Fie, fie on all tired jades, on all mad masters, and
all foul ways! Was ever man so beaten? Was ever man so
‘rayed? Was ever man so weary? I am sent before to make
a fire, and they are coming after to warm them. Now,
were not I a little pot and soon hot, my very lips might
freeze to my teeth, my tongue to the roof of my mouth,
my heart in my belly, ere I should come by a fire to
thaw me. But I with blowing the fire shall warm myself.
For, considering the weather, a taller man than I will
take cold.—Holla, ho! Curtis!

DUTCH:
Ja, was ik niet zoo ‘n
kleine pot, die gauw heet wordt, dan zouden waarachtig
mijn lippen aan de tanden vastvriezen, mijn tong aan
mijn gehemelte, mijn hart in mijn lijf, eer ik vuur genoeg
had om mij te ontdooien; – maar ik zal mijzelf
warm maken door het vuur aan te blazen.

MORE:
Proverb: Let them that be acold blow at the coal
Proverb: A ltitle pot is soon hot

Jade=Old horse; nag
Rayed=(Raied, raide) Defiled
Taller=Bolder, more valiant
Hot=Angry
Compleat:
Jade=Een lompig paerd, knol, jakhals

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, anger

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Ford
CONTEXT:
MISTRESS FORD
Go, sirs, take the basket again on your shoulders:
your master is hard at door; if he bid you set it
down, obey him: quickly, dispatch.
FIRST SERVANT
Come, come, take it up.
SECOND SERVANT
Pray heaven it be not full of knight again.
FIRST SERVANT
I hope not; I had as lief bear so much lead.
FORD
Ay, but if it prove true, Master Page, have you any
way then to unfool me again? Set down the basket,
villain! Somebody call my wife. Youth in a basket!
O you panderly rascals! there’s a knot, a ging, a
pack, a conspiracy against me: now shall the devil
be shamed. What, wife, I say! Come, come forth!
Behold what honest clothes you send forth to bleaching!

DUTCH:
Ja, maar als het toch waar blijkt te zijn, vriend Page,
weet gij dan een middel, om mij zotskap-af te doen
zijn?

MORE:
Proverb: Speak the truth and shame the devil

Hard at=Close by
Youth in a basket=Exclamation
Knot=Group, crowd
Ging=Gang
Compleat:
Knot=Een rist of trop
Gang=Gezelschap, rot, trop

Topics: proverbs and idioms|remedy|truth

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

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

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

Topics: conspiracy, discovery, truth, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.6
SPEAKER: Warwick
CONTEXT:
MESSENGER
He was convey’d by Richard Duke of Gloucester
And the Lord Hastings, who attended him
In secret ambush on the forest side
And from the bishop’s huntsmen rescued him;
For hunting was his daily exercise.
WARWICK
My brother was too careless of his charge.
But let us hence, my sovereign, to provide
A salve for any sore that may betide.

DUTCH:
Mijn broeder was te zorgloos in die zaak. —
Doch gaan wij, heer; wij willen kruiden lezen,
Om elke wond, die voorkomt, te genezen.

MORE:

Proverb: There is a salve for every sore

Conveyed=Carried off
Attended=Awaited
Betide=Occur

Compleat:
To convey=Voeren, leiden, overvoeren, overdraagen
To attend=Opwachten, verzellen
To betide=Aankomen, overkomen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, remedy

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Touch me not so near.
I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth
Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio.
Yet I persuade myself to speak the truth
Shall nothing wrong him. This it is, general:
Montano and myself being in speech,
There comes a fellow crying out for help
And Cassio following him with determined sword
To execute upon him. Sir, this gentleman
Steps in to Cassio and entreats his pause,
Myself the crying fellow did pursue,
Lest by his clamour—as it so fell out—
The town might fall in fright. He, swift of foot,
Outran my purpose, and I returned then rather
For that I heard the clink and fall of swords
And Cassio high in oath, which till tonight
I ne’er might say before. When I came back—
For this was brief— I found them close together
At blow and thrust, even as again they were
When you yourself did part them.
More of this matter cannot I report.
But men are men, the best sometimes forget.
Though Cassio did some little wrong to him,
As men in rage strike those that wish them best,
Yet surely Cassio, I believe, received
From him that fled some strange indignity
Which patience could not pass.
OTHELLO
I know, Iago,
Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee,
But never more be officer of mine.

DUTCH:
Meer kan ik van ‘t voorval
U niet berichten. — Doch, steeds blijft de mensch
Een mensch, en zich vergeten kan de beste.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Lindros v. Governing Board of the Torrance Unified School District, 9 Cal.3d 524, 540, 510 P.2d 361, 371, 108 Cal. Rptr. 185, 195 (1973)(Torriner, J.)(en banc).

Proverb: To mince the matter (Tell sparingly or by halves)

Forget=Forget themselves
Indignity=Contemptuous injury, insult
Patience=Self-control
Pass=Overlook
Compleat:
Indignity=Smaad
Pass, pass by=Passeren, voorbygaan, overslaan
Mince=Kleyn kappen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, cited in law, truth, error, disappointment

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Cicero
CONTEXT:
CASCA
A common slave—you know him well by sight—
Held up his left hand, which did flame and burn
Like twenty torches joined, and yet his hand,
Not sensible of fire, remained unscorched.
Besides—I ha’ not since put up my sword—
Against the Capitol I met a lion,
Who glaz’d upon me and went surly by,
Without annoying me. And there were drawn
Upon a heap a hundred ghastly women,
Transformèd with their fear, who swore they saw
Men all in fire walk up and down the streets.
And yesterday the bird of night did sit
Even at noon-day upon the marketplace,
Hooting and shrieking. When these prodigies
Do so conjointly meet, let not men say,
“These are their reasons; they are natural.”
For I believe they are portentous things
Unto the climate that they point upon.
CICERO
Indeed, it is a strange-disposèd time.
But men may construe things after their fashion,
Clean from the purpose of the things themselves.
Comes Caesar to the Capitol tomorrow?

DUTCH:
Gewis, de tijd is wondervreemd geluimd;
Maar menigeen legt op zijn eigen wijs
De dingen uit en vaak geheel verkeerd.

MORE:
Proverb: The croaking raven bodes misfortune (death)

Sensible of=Feeling
Put up=Put away
Against=Opposite
Glazed=Stared
Heap=Crowd
Ghastly=White, ghostly
Bird of night=Owl (a bad omen)
Conjointly meet=Coincide
Climate=Region
Construe=Interpret
After their fashion=In their own way
Compleat:
Sensible=Gevoelig, voelbaar
To put up a sword=Een zwaard in de scheede steeken
Against=Tegen, tegens
Heap=Menigte; hoop, stapel
Conjointly=t’Zaamengevoegt, vereenigt
Climate=Streek, luchtstreek, gewest
Construe (conster)=Woordenschikken; t’Zamenschikken, t’zamenstellen
After the French fashion=Naar de Fransche zwier

Topics: language, understanding, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Cassius
CONTEXT:
CASSIUS
Now, most noble Brutus,
The gods today stand friendly that we may,
Lovers in peace, lead on our days to age.
But since the affairs of men rest still incertain,
Let’s reason with the worst that may befall.
If we do lose this battle, then is this
The very last time we shall speak together.
What are you then determinèd to do?
BRUTUS
Even by the rule of that philosophy
By which I did blame Cato for the death
Which he did give himself — I know not how,
But I do find it cowardly and vile,
For fear of what might fall, so to prevent
The time of life — arming myself with patience
To stay the providence of some high powers
That govern us below.

DUTCH:
Doch wijl der menschen lot onzeker blijft,
Zij ‘t ergste, wat gebeuren kan, voorzien!
Verliezen wij den slag, dan is het thans
De laatste maal, dat we ooit elkander spreken.
Wat hebt gij voorgenomen, dan te doen?

MORE:
Proverb: It is good to fear the worst

Rests still=Remains
Reason with=Anticipate the possibility of
Determined=Resolved
Fall=Befall, happen
Prevent=Anticipate
Time=Natural liit
Stay=Await
Providence=Fate decreed
Compleat:
Determined=Bepaald, gesloten
Befall=Gebeuren, overkomen
To prevent=Voorkomen, eerstkomen; afkeeren; verhoeden
To stay=Wagten
Providence=(wariness or foresight) Voorzigtigheid, wysheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, preparation, hope/optimism, fate/destiny

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Second Gentleman
CONTEXT:
SECOND GENTLEMAN
I am confident,
You shall, sir: did you not of late days hear
A buzzing of a separation
Between the king and Katharine?
FIRST GENTLEMAN
Yes, but it held not:
For when the king once heard it, out of anger
He sent command to the lord mayor straight
To stop the rumour, and allay those tongues
That durst disperse it.
SECOND GENTLEMAN
But that slander, sir,
Is found a truth now: for it grows again
Fresher than e’er it was; and held for certain
The king will venture at it. Either the cardinal,
Or some about him near, have, out of malice
To the good queen, possess’d him with a scruple
That will undo her: to confirm this too,
Cardinal Campeius is arrived, and lately;
As all think, for this business.

DUTCH:
Maar die lastertaal
Blijkt waarheid nu; zij groeit op nieuw, en frisscher
Dan ooit, weer aan.

MORE:
Proverb: It may be a slander but it is no lie
Buzzing=Rumours
Durst=Ventured to, dared to
Fresher=Stronger (than ever)
Possessed with a scruple=Sowed suspicion
Compleat:
Durst=Durfde
Scruple=Zwaarigheyd, schroom

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conscience, truth

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: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Casca
CONTEXT:
CASSIUS
Did Cicero say anything?
CASCA
Ay, he spoke Greek.
CASSIUS
To what effect?
CASCA
Nay, an I tell you that, I’ll ne’er look you i’ th’ face again. But those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads. But, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too. Murellus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar’s images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
CASSIUS
Will you sup with me tonight, Casca?
CASCA
No, I am promised forth.
CASSIUS
Will you dine with me tomorrow?
CASCA
Ay, if I be alive and your mind hold and your dinner worth the eating.

DUTCH:
Maar die hem verstonden, glimlachten
tegen elkaar en schudden het hoofd; maar wat mij aangaat,
voor mij was het Grieksch.

MORE:
Proverb: It is Greek to me

Forth=Elsewhere
Hold=Stays the same
Compleat:
Forth=Uyt, na buyten
Hold on=Aanhouden, volharden

Burgersdijk notes:
Ja, lets in bet Grieksch. Er werd onder de voorname Romeinen zeer veel Grieksch gesproken; hier zou men kunnen vermoeden , dat Cicero het deed, opdat het volk hem niet zou verstaan, doch men behoeft er dit niet achter te zoeken. Casca had het zeker ook kunnen verstaan, als hij er dicht genoeg bij was geweest; wat hij laat volgen: „voor mij was het Grieksch”, is als een spreekwoordelijk gezegde op te vatten voor iets onverstaanbaars.

Topics: langage, understanding, still in use, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
Why, and I challenge nothing but my dukedom,
As being well content with that alone.
GLOUCESTER
But when the fox hath once got in his nose,
He’ll soon find means to make the body follow.
HASTINGS
Why, master mayor, why stand you in a doubt?
Open the gates; we are King Henry’s friends.

DUTCH:
Doch heeft de vos maar eerst zijn neus er binnen,
Dan zorgt hij ras, dat ook het lichaam volgt.

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Proverb: When the fox has got in his head (nose) he will soon make the body follow

In a doubt=Uncertain, irresolute, undecided

Compleat:
To be in doubt=In tryffel staan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, satisfaction

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Valentine
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
Yet writers say, as in the sweetest bud
The eating canker dwells, so eating love
Inhabits in the finest wits of all.
VALENTINE
And writers say, as the most forward bud
Is eaten by the canker ere it blow,
Even so by love the young and tender wit
Is turned to folly, blasting in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime
And all the fair effects of future hopes.
But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee,
That art a votary to fond desire?
Once more adieu! My father at the road
Expects my coming, there to see me shipped.

DUTCH:
Doch wat spil ik mijn tijd met raad aan u,
Die u verpand hebt aan den minnewaan?
Nog eens, vaarwel! want aan de haven wacht
Mijn vader reeds om mij aan boord te brengen.

MORE:
Canker=Canker worm
Blow=Blossom
Blasting=Withering
Verdure=Freshness
Prime=Spring
Votary=One who takes a vow
Fond=Foolish
Shipped=Aboard
Compleat:
Canker=Kanker
To blow=Bloeijen
To blast=Doen verstuyven, wegblaazen, verzengen, door ‘t weer beschaadigen
Verdure=Groente, groenheyd
Prime=Eerste, voornaamste
Votary=Een die zich door een (religieuse) belofte verbonden heeft; die zich ergens toe heeft overgegeeven
Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt
To ship=Scheepen, inscheepen

Burgersdijk notes:
Want aan de haven wacht enz. In ‘t Engelsch staat at the road, aan de reede; men zou dus zeggen, dat Verona hier als een zeestad beschoowd worden. Er zijn bewijzen genoeg, dat Shakespeare met de geographie van Italië zeer goed vertrouwd was; men behoeft hem volstrekt niet van onwetendheid te verdenken. De toeschouwers waren Londenaars; bij grootere reizen naar een anderen staat moesten waterwegen gevolgd worden; de dichter maakt er voor zijne personen daarom ook gebruik van en stelt hiermede de reis zijnen toeschouwers aanschouwelijk voor oogen; al ontleent hij de namen van personen en plaatsen aan Italië, Engelsche toestanden staan hem voor den geest; hier geeft hem weldra het nagenoeg eveneens klinken van ship en scheep (schip en schaap) aanleiding tot een woordspeling; later wil Lans (I1. 3. es.) het stroombed met tranen vullen, waarbij den toeschouwers de Theems voor den geest kwam; bij struikroovers dachten deze terstond aan de bekende roovers van Sherwood-forest, bij wie broeder Tuck kapelaan was; daarom laat de dichter (IV. 1. 36.) Italiaansche roovers hij de geschoren kruin van dien pater zweren. Zulk een dichterlijke vrijheid, die de voorgestelde zaken recht aanschouwelijk maakte, veroorloofden zich in de middeleeuwen de dichters algemeen, en dit gebruik was tot den tijd van Shakespeare in zwang gebleven. Aan onwetendheid des dichters behoeft men niet te denken.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, intellect

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Prologue (Quince)
CONTEXT:
PROLOGUE
Gentles, perchance you wonder at this show.
But wonder on, till truth make all things plain.
This man is Pyramus, if you would know.
This beauteous lady Thisbe is certain.
This man, with lime and roughcast, doth present
Wall, that vile wall which did these lovers sunder.
And through Wall’s chink, poor souls, they are content
To whisper. At the which let no man wonder.
This man, with lanthorn, dog, and bush of thorn,
Presenteth Moonshine. For, if you will know,
By moonshine did these lovers think no scorn
To meet at Ninus’ tomb—there, there to woo.
This grisly beast, which “Lion” hight by name,
The trusty Thisbe, coming first by night,
Did scare away, or rather did affright.
And, as she fled, her mantle she did fall,
Which Lion vile with bloody mouth did stain.
Anon comes Pyramus, sweet youth and tall,
And finds his trusty Thisbe’s mantle slain.
Whereat, with blade, with bloody blameful blade,
He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.
And Thisbe, tarrying in mulberry shade,
His dagger drew, and died. For all the rest,
Let Lion, Moonshine, Wall, and lovers twain
At large discourse, while here they do remain.

DUTCH:
Blijf dan verwonderd, tot wij ‘t duid’lijk maken.

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Proverb: Truth will come to light (break out)

Think no scorn=Consider it no shame
Hight=Called
Fall=Drop
Tall=Valiant
Compleat:
Scorn=Versmaading, verachting, bespotting
Hight=Geheeten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Go you before, and I will follow you.
He cannot live, I hope, and must not die
Till George be packed with post-horse up to heaven.
I’ll in, to urge his hatred more to Clarence
With lies well steeled with weighty arguments,
And, if I fail not in my deep intent,
Clarence hath not another day to live;
Which done, God take King Edward to His mercy,
And leave the world for me to bustle in.
For then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter.
What though I killed her husband and her father?
The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her father;
The which will I, not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent
By marrying her which I must reach unto.
But yet I run before my horse to market.
Clarence still breathes; Edward still lives and reigns.
When they are gone, then must I count my gains.

DUTCH:
Doch ik wil koopen, voor er iets te koop is ;
Nog ademt Clarence; koning Edward leeft ;
Zijn zij weg, dan bereek’nen, wat het geeft!

MORE:
Proverb: I will not go (run) before my mare to market

In=Enter
Deep=Cunning
Urge=Incite
Run before my horse to market=Counting my chickens before they’re hatched
Compleat:
Urge=Dringen, pressen, aandringen, aanstaan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, impatience, caution

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Go you before, and I will follow you.
He cannot live, I hope, and must not die
Till George be packed with post-horse up to heaven.
I’ll in, to urge his hatred more to Clarence
With lies well steeled with weighty arguments,
And, if I fail not in my deep intent,
Clarence hath not another day to live;
Which done, God take King Edward to His mercy,
And leave the world for me to bustle in.
For then I’ll marry Warwick’s youngest daughter.
What though I killed her husband and her father?
The readiest way to make the wench amends
Is to become her husband and her father;
The which will I, not all so much for love
As for another secret close intent
By marrying her which I must reach unto.
But yet I run before my horse to market.
Clarence still breathes; Edward still lives and reigns.
When they are gone, then must I count my gains.

DUTCH:
Doch ik wil koopen, voor er iets te koop is ;
Nog ademt Clarence; koning Edward leeft ;
Zijn zij weg, dan bereek’nen, wat het geeft!

MORE:
Proverb: I will not go (run) before my mare to market

In=Enter
Deep=Cunning
Urge=Incite
Run before my horse to market=Counting my chickens before they’re hatched
Compleat:
Urge=Dringen, pressen, aandringen, aanstaan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, impatience, caution

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Third Citizen
CONTEXT:
THIRD CITIZEN
When clouds are seen, wise men put on their cloaks;
When great leaves fall, then winter is at hand;
When the sun sets, who doth not look for night?
Untimely storms make men expect a dearth.
All may be well; but if God sort it so,
‘Tis more than we deserve or I expect.
SECOND CITIZEN
Truly, the hearts of men are full of fear.
Ye cannot reason almost with a man
That looks not heavily and full of dread.
THIRD CITIZEN
Before the days of change, still is it so.
By a divine instinct, men’s minds mistrust
Ensuing dangers, as by proof we see
The water swell before a boist’rous storm.
But leave it all to God. Whither away?
SECOND CITIZEN
Marry, we were sent for to the justices.
THIRD CITIZEN
And so was I. I’ll bear you company.

DUTCH:
Zoo is het altijd, voor verand’ring komt ;
Door hoog’ren aandrang ducht des menschen geest
Gevaar, dat naakt ; zoo zien wij immers ook
De waat’ren zwellen voor een wilden storm.

MORE:
Proverb: A man’s mind often gives him warning of evil to come

Sort=Ordain
Proof=Experience
Ensuing=Imminent
Compleat:
To sort=Uytschieten, elk by ‘t zyne leggen, sorteeren
Proof (mark or testimony)=Getuigenis
Proof=Beproeving
Ensuing=Volgende

Burgersdijk notes:
Door hoog’ren aandrang enz. De gedachte van dezen zin en de vermelding van het zwellen der wateren
voor een storm vond Sh. in de kroniek van Holinshed. Daarin wordt de ongerustheid van edelen en burgers, die op de straten samenstroomden, geschilderd; lord Hastings, dien zij als vriend des vorigen konings kenden, wist hen gerust te stellen met de verzekering, dat de gevangen edelen verraad hadden beraamd en dat zij in hechtenis waren genomen opdat hunne zaak naar behooren zou kunnen onderzocht worden. Nog meer werden zij gerustgesteld, toen Edward V in Londen aankwam en zij zagen, hoe Gloster hem met allen eerbied behandelde. Iedereen prees Gloster en hij werd door den Staatsraad tot Lord Protector benoemd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, caution, wisdom, preparation

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

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

MORE:

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

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

Topics: proverbs and idioms, sill in use, honour

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Hostess
CONTEXT:
BOY
Mine host Pistol, you must come to my master and your hostess. He is very sick and would to bed.—Good Bardolph, put thy face between his sheets, and do the office of a warming-pan. Faith, he’s very ill.
BARDOLPH
Away, you rogue!
HOSTESS
By my troth, he’ll yield the crow a pudding one of these days. The king has killed his heart. Good husband, come home presently.

DUTCH:
Waarachtig, hij wordt dezer dagen een gebraad voor
de kraaien; de koning heeft zijn hart gedood

MORE:

Proverb: To make the crow a pudding (c. 1598)
Yield the crow a pudding=Feed the crows after his death

Compleat:
To give the crow a pudding=Sterven

Topics: proverbs and idioms, death, nature

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Dromio of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
By what rule, sir?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Marry, sir, by a rule as plain as the plain bald pate of Father
Time himself.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Let’s hear it.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
There’s no time for a man to recover his hair that grows bald by nature.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
May he not do it by fine and recovery?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Yes, to pay a fine for a periwig, and recover the lost hair of another man.

DUTCH:
Wel, heer, op een grond zoo glad als de gladde kale
kop van Vader Tijd zelf.

MORE:
Proverb: Take time (occasion) by the forelock, for she is bald behind

Father Time, the personification of Time as a more ‘friendly’ version than personification with a scythe or the Grim Reaper.
Plain (1) open, clear, simplet; (2) even, level, smooth
Fine and recovery. In old English law, “fine” meant “an amicable composition or agreement of astute, either actual or fictitious, by leave of the King or his justices”. Fines and Recoveries were used to circumvent the Statute of Entail, which tended to restrict the free transfer of land, by “suffering a feigned recovery” or “levying a fine”. There was a particular appeal for theatre audiences in the farcicality of the process (alluded to by Shakespeare in three plays: The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Comedy
of Errors and Hamlet).
Compleat:
Plain (even, smooth, flat)=Vlak, effen
A plain superficies=Een gelyke oppervlakte
Plain (clear)=Klaar, duidelyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, invented or popularised, still in use, law/legal

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: First Outlaw
CONTEXT:
FIRST OUTLAW
And I for such like petty crimes as these,
But to the purpose—for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excused our lawless lives;
And partly, seeing you are beautified
With goodly shape and by your own report
A linguist and a man of such perfection
As we do in our quality much want—
SECOND OUTLAW
Indeed, because you are a banished man,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:
Are you content to be our general?
To make a virtue of necessity
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

DUTCH:
En daar wij zien, dat gij met kloeken bouw
Begaafd zijt, en, zooals gij zelf daar meldt,
De talen spreekt, kortom, geheel de man,
Die ons bij dit beroep recht welkom ware

MORE:
Proverb: To make a virtue of necessity (before 1259)
Parley=Speech, language
To the purpose=Get to the point
Hold excused=Pardon
Quality=Profession
Parley to=Negotiate with
Compleat:
Parley=Een gesprek over voorwaarden, onderhandeling, gesprekhouding
To the purpose=Ter zaake
Excused=Ontschuldigd, verschoond

Sometimes the quote “Lawless are they that make their wills the law” is attributed to Shakespeare, but this is a misattribution.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, virtue, law, punishment, offence

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Joan la Pucelle
CONTEXT:
JOAN LA PUCELLE
Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
We ‘ll pull his plumes and take away his train,
If Dauphin and the rest will be but ruled.
CHARLES
We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no diffidence:
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust

DUTCH:
Verlies om ‘t ongeval den moed niet, prinsen,
‘t Bedroeve u niet, dat wij Rouaan verloren;
Want smart om dingen, die onheelbaar zijn,
Is geen arts’nij, maar bijtend, knagend gif.

MORE:
Proverb: Care is no cure
Proverb: Past cure past care

Dismay not=Do not be dismayed
Recovered=Taken back
Frantic=Mad
Train=Followers
Diffidence=Suspicion, mistrust

Compleat:
To dismay=Verslagen maaken, beanstigen
To recover=Weder bekomen, weer krygen, weer opkomen
Frantick=Zinneloos, hersenloos, ylhoofdig
Train (retinue)=rein, stoet, gevolg
Diffidence (distrust)=Wantrouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, remedy

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Timon
CONTEXT:
TIMON
Ceremony was but devised at first
To set a gloss on faint deeds, hollow welcomes,
Recanting goodness, sorry ere ’tis shown;
But where there is true friendship, there needs none.
Pray, sit; more welcome are ye to my fortunes
Than my fortunes to me.
FIRST LORD
My lord, we always have confessed it.
APEMANTUS
Ho, ho, confessed it! hanged it, have you not?

DUTCH:

Plichtplegingen zijn enkel uitgedacht
Om koele daden, holle vriend’lijkheid
Met glans te sieren; om berouwde goedheid
Vóor ‘t hand’len te herroepen, zijn zij noodig

MORE:
Proverb: Ceremony was but devised at first to set a gloss on faint deeds
Proverb: Full of courtesy full of craft

Ceremony=Rituals, formalities
Set a gloss=Give meaning, make something look good
Recanting=Denying
Hollow=Meaningless
Confessed=Said so, known (not confessed in a criminal or religious sense)
Compleat:
Ceremony=Plegtigheyd
To set a gloss upon a thing=Iets een schoonen opschik geeven
To recant=Herroepen, wederroepen, weer in zyn hals haalen, verzaaken
Hollow=Hol, uytgehold; Hollow-hearted=Geveinst

Burgersdijk notes:
En niet gehangen. Toespeling op het spreekwordelijk zeggen, tegen spitsboeven in gebruik: Confess and be hanged, „Beken en laat je hangen.”

Topics: honesty, manipulation, proverbs and idioms, appearance

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
Away! for thou hast stayed us here too long.
LAVINIA
No grace? no womanhood? Ah, beastly creature!
The blot and enemy to our general name!
Confusion fall—
CHIRON
Nay, then I’ll stop your mouth. Bring thou her husband:
This is the hole where Aaron bid us hide him.
TAMORA
Farewell, my sons: see that you make her sure.
Ne’er let my heart know merry cheer indeed,
Till all the Andronici be made away.
Now will I hence to seek my lovely Moor,
And let my spleenful sons this trull deflow’r.
AARON
Come on, my lords, the better foot before:
Straight will I bring you to the loathsome pit
Where I espied the panther fast asleep.
QUINTUS
My sight is very dull, whate’er it bodes.
MARTIUS
And mine, I promise you; were’t not for shame,
Well could I leave our sport to sleep awhile.

DUTCH:
Treedt, heeren, voort, den besten voet vooruit!
Terstond wijs ik den vuilen kuil u aan,
Waar ik den panther zag in diepen slaap.

MORE:
Proverb: To set the best (better) foot (leg) forward (before)

Grace=Favour, forgiveness
General name=Reputation of all women
Confusion=Destruction
Make her sure=Fix her
Made away=Killed
Spleenful=Eager
Trull=Worthless woman
Compleat:
Grace=Genade, gunst, bevalligheyd, fraajigheyd, aardige zwier
Confusion (ruin)=Verwoesting, bederf, ruine
To make one away=Iemand van kant maaken
Trull=Een smots, snol

Topics: proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: First Citizen
CONTEXT:
FIRST CITIZEN
So stood the state when Henry the Sixth
Was crowned in Paris but at nine months old.
THIRD CITIZEN
Stood the state so? No, no, good friends, God wot,
For then this land was famously enriched
With politic grave counsel; then the king
Had virtuous uncles to protect his Grace.
FIRST CITIZEN
Why, so hath this, both by the father and mother.
THIRD CITIZEN
Better it were they all came by his father,
Or by the father there were none at all,
For emulation who shall now be nearest
Will touch us all too near if God prevent not.
O, full of danger is the duke of Gloucester,
And the queen’s sons and brothers haught and proud,
And were they to be ruled, and not to rule,
This sickly land might solace as before.
FIRST CITIZEN
Come, come, we fear the worst. All will be well.

DUTCH:
Kom, kom, to zwaar getild! het zal wel gaan .

MORE:
Proverb: It is good to fear the worst

Wot=Knows
Politic=Wily
Counsel=Advisers
By his father=On his father’s side
Emulation=Conflict
Nearest=Closest, with most influence
Touch=Affect
Solace=Be happy
Compleat:
I wot=Ik weet
Politick=Burgerlyk, staatkundig; (cunnning)=Slim, schrander, doorsleepen
Counsel=Raad, onderrechting
Emulation=Naayver, volgzucht, afgunst
Nearest=de Naaste, het naast
To touch=Aanraaken, aanroeren, tasten
Solace=Troost, vertroosting, vermaaak

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, caution, preparation

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Master Page
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Mistress Ford, by my troth, you are very well met:
by your leave, good mistress.
PAGE
Wife, bid these gentlemen welcome. Come, we have a
hot venison pasty to dinner: come, gentlemen, I hope
we shall drink down all unkindness.

DUTCH:
Heeren, ik hoop, dat wij alle verbittering zullen
afdrinken.

MORE:
Proverb: Drink and be friends

Well met=Welcome, it is good to see you
Pasty=Pie
Compleat:
Pasty=Een groote pastij
Well met=Wel van pas ontmoet, wel t’zamen passende

Burgersdijk notes:
Met uw verlof, lieve juffrouw! Kussen was in oud-Engeland een. zeer gewone begroeting.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, friendship

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: Richard
CONTEXT:
NORFOLK
A good direction, warlike sovereign.
This found I on my tent this morning.
KING RICHARD
Jockey of Norfolk, be not so bold.
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold.
A thing devisèd by the enemy.—
Go, gentlemen, every man unto his charge.
Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls.
Conscience is but a word that cowards use,
Devised at first to keep the strong in awe.
Our strong arms be our conscience, swords our law.
March on. Join bravely. Let us to it pell mell
If not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
What shall I say more than I have inferred?
Remember whom you are to cope withal,
A sort of vagabonds, rascals, and runaways,
A scum of Bretons and base lackey peasants,
Whom their o’er-cloyèd country vomits forth
To desperate ventures and assured destruction.
You sleeping safe, they bring to you unrest;
You having lands and blessed with beauteous wives,
(…)

DUTCH:
Geweten is een lafaardswoord, een vond,
Die sterken, geeft men toe, in banden legt;
De vuist zij ons geweten, ‘t zwaard ons recht .

MORE:
Proverb: To be bought and sold

Direction=Plan
Dickon=Richard (Dick)
Bought and sold=Betrayed
Strong arms=Might, power
Be our conscience=Makes us right
Join=Join battle
Compleat:
Direction=Het bestier, aanwijzing
The directing of one’s intentions=Het bestieren van iemands voorneemen
Conscience=Het geweeten

Burgersdijk notes:
Hans Norfolk, tijdig heil gezocht, enz . Dit rijmpjen, waarmede men Norfolk, die aan Richard trouw bleef, hoewel hij zjjn handelingen laakte, tot afval trachtte te bewegen, luidt in de kroniek:
Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold .
De folio heeft ten onrechte so in plaats van too; Jocky staat voor John, zooals Dickon voor Richard.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, conscience, order/society

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD II
Mine ear is open and my heart prepared;
The worst is worldly loss thou canst unfold.
Say, is my kingdom lost? why, ’twas my care
And what loss is it to be rid of care?
Strives Bolingbroke to be as great as we?
Greater he shall not be; if he serve God,
We’ll serve Him too and be his fellow so:
Revolt our subjects? that we cannot mend;
They break their faith to God as well as us:
Cry woe, destruction, ruin and decay:
The worst is death, and death will have his day.
SIR STEPHEN SCROOP
Glad am I that your highness is so arm’d
To bear the tidings of calamity.
Like an unseasonable stormy day,
Which makes the silver rivers drown their shores,
As if the world were all dissolved to tears,
So high above his limits swells the rage
Of Bolingbroke, covering your fearful land
With hard bright steel and hearts harder than steel.
White-beards have arm’d their thin and hairless scalps
Against thy majesty; boys, with women’s voices,
Strive to speak big and clap their female joints
In stiff unwieldy arms against thy crown:
The very beadsmen learn to bend their bows
Of double-fatal yew against thy state;
Yea, distaff-women manage rusty bills
Against thy seat: both young and old rebel,
And all goes worse than I have power to tell.

DUTCH:
Roep wee, verlies, vernieling, val en nood;
De dood is ‘t ergst, en komen moet de dood.

MORE:

Proverb: All men must die (The worst is death, and death will have his day.)

Care=Worry, responsibillity
His fellow=Equal
Mend=Remedy
Bear the tidings of calamity=Cope with calamitous news
Women’s voices=High, shrill voices
Double-fatal=Dangerous or deadly in two ways (on account of the poisonous quality of the leaves, and of the wood being used for instruments of death)
Billls=Weapons
Distaff=The staff from which the flax is drawn in spinning

Compleat:
Care=Zorg, bezorgdheid, zorgdraagendheid, zorgvuldigheid, vlytigheid
He has not his fellow=Hy heeft zyns gelyk niet, hy heeft zyn weerga niet
Bill=Hellebaard, byl
Distaff=Een spinrok, spinrokken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, death, life

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Reignier
CONTEXT:
REIGNIER
Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends,
Enter and cry “The Dauphin!” presently,
And then do execution on the watch.
TALBOT
France, thou shalt rue this treason with thy tears,
If Talbot but survive thy treachery.
Pucelle, that witch, that damned sorceress,
Hath wrought this hellish mischief unawares,
That hardly we escaped the pride of France.

DUTCH:
Thans niet getalmd! Elk uitstel eindigt boos;
Dringt binnen; roept terstond dan: „De Dauphijn!”
En slaat de wachters aan de poort ter neer.

MORE:
Proverb: Delay breeds danger (is dangerous)

The watch=The sentinels
Do execution on=Kill
Unawares=Undetected
Hardly=With difficulty

Compleat:
Unawares=Onverhoeds verrassen; Onbedacht, onvoorzigtig, by vergissing
The watch=De wacht
Hardly=(with much ado) Bezwaarlyk, met veel moeiten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, consequence

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
RATCLIFFE
Bad news, my lord. Morton is fled to Richmond,
And Buckingham, backed with the hardy Welshmen,
Is in the field, and still his power increaseth.
RICHARD
Ely with Richmond troubles me more near
Than Buckingham and his rash-levied strength.
Come, I have learned that fearful commenting
Is leaden servitor to dull delay;
Delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary;
Then fiery expedition be my wing,
Jove’s Mercury, and herald for a king.
Go, muster men. My counsel is my shield.
We must be brief when traitors brave the field.

DUTCH:
Dit heb ik geleerd, dat angstig wikken
De looden dienaar is van traag verzuim,
Verzuim slaktrage, macht’looze armoe brengt .

MORE:
Proverb: As slow as a snail

Troubles me more near=Is a more immediate concern
Rash-levied=Hastily recruited
Strength=Army
Leaden=Slow
Beggary=Ruin
Expedition=Speed
Counsel is my shield=My shield is my advisor
Brief=Act quickly
Brave the field=Go to battle
Compleat:
Rash=Voorbaarig, haastig, onbedacht, roekeloos
To levy=(soldiers) Soldaaten ligten, krygsvolk werven
Strength=Sterkte, kracht
To gather strength=Zyne krachten weer krygen
Beggary=Bedelaary
Expeditious=Vaerdig, afgerecht
Brief=Kort
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren; moedig treeden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, haste, advice, defence

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
Full well hath Clifford play’d the orator,
Inferring arguments of mighty force.
But, Clifford, tell me, didst thou never hear
That things ill-got had ever bad success?
And happy always was it for that son
Whose father for his hoarding went to hell?
I’ll leave my son my virtuous deeds behind;
And would my father had left me no more!
For all the rest is held at such a rate
As brings a thousand-fold more care to keep
Than in possession and jot of pleasure.
Ah, cousin York! Would thy best friends did know
How it doth grieve me that thy head is here!

DUTCH:
Schoon toonde Clifford daar zijn redekunst
En voerde gronden aan van groot gewicht.
Maar, Clifford, zeg mij, hebt gij nooit gehoord,
Dat slecht verworven goed steeds slecht gedijt?

MORE:

Proverb: Evil-gotten (ill-gotten) goods never prove well (prosper, endure)
Proverb: Happy is the child whose father goes to the devil

Full well=Very well
Inferring=Adducing
Success=Result
Happy=Fortunate
Rate=Price

Compleat:
Jot=Zier
To hord up=Opstapelen, vergaaren, byeenschraapen

Burgersdijk notes:
II.2.48. Wiens vader om zijn schrapen voer ter helle. Het spreekwoord, waarop hier gezinspeeld wordt, luidt : Happy the child, whose father went to the devil; „Gelukkig het kind, welks vader door den duivel is gehaald!” Als een vader, die op zondige wijze rijk geworden is, sterft, erft de zoon wel het goed, maar heeft voor de zonden niet meer te boeten. Koning Hendrik betwijfelt blijkbaar de juistheid van het spreekwoord.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, corruption, fate/destiny

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Earl of Salisbury
CONTEXT:
Nor near nor farther off, my gracious lord,
Than this weak arm: discomfort guides my tongue
And bids me speak of nothing but despair.
One day too late, I fear me, noble lord,
Hath clouded all thy happy days on earth:
O, call back yesterday, bid time return,
And thou shalt have twelve thousand fighting men!
To-day, to-day, unhappy day, too late,
O’erthrows thy joys, friends, fortune and thy state:
For all the Welshmen, hearing thou wert dead.
Are gone to Bolingbroke, dispersed and fled.

DUTCH:
Ontroostbaarheid
Bestuurt mijn tong en slechts van wanhoop spreekt zij.

MORE:

Proverb: It is too late to call again yesterday

Discomfort=Want of hope, discouragement
State=Rank, position

Compleat:
Discomfort=Mistroostigheid, mismoedigheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, regret

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Claudius
CONTEXT:
This sudden sending him away must seem
Deliberate pause. Diseases desperate grown,
By desperate appliance are relieved,
Or not at all.

DUTCH:
Wanhopige ziekten worden door wanhopige middelen genezen, of in het geheel niet genezen. /
Maar, zooals iemand met een gore ziekte, Bevreesd voor ruchtbaarheid, wij lieten juist De kwaal het merg aantasten.

MORE:
“A desperate disease must have a desperate cure.” Or “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Topics: still in use, caution, patience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Oh, what a deal of scorn looks beautiful
In the contempt and anger of his lip!
A murderous guilt shows not itself more soon
Than love that would seem hid. Love’s night is noon.

Cesario, by the roses of the spring,
By maidhood, honor, truth, and everything,
I love thee so, that, maugre all thy pride,
Nor wit nor reason can my passion hide.
Do not extort thy reasons from this clause,
For that I woo, thou therefore hast no cause,
But rather reason thus with reason fetter.
Love sought is good, but given unsought better.

DUTCH:
O zij aan dezen grond geen stem gegund,
Dat gij, nu ik u aanzoek, zwijgen kunt.
Neen, zeg veeleer: wie zoekend liefde erlangt,
Smaakt heil, doch meer, wie ze ongevraagd ontvangt.

MORE:
Proverb: Love cannot be hid
Proverb: Murder will out

Maugre=Despite
Extort=Be forced to draw (a conclusion)
Reason with reason fetter=Win one argument with another
Compleat:
Maugre=In spyt van, tegen dank, ondanks
Extort=Afpersen, afdwingen, afknevelen, ontwringen
To fetter=Boeijen, in boeijen slaan, kluisteren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, love, reason

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
Out o’ tune, sir. You lie. Art any more than a steward?
Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall
be no more cakes and ale?
FOOL
Yes, by Saint Anne, and ginger shall be hot i’ the
mouth too.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Thou’rt i’ the right. Go, sir, rub your chain with
crumbs. A stoup of wine, Maria!.
Go rub your steward’s chain in some crumbs, sir. Maria, bring us more wine!
MALVOLIO
Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favour at
anything more than contempt, you would not give means
for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by this
hand.

DUTCH:
Uit de maat, kerel? Gelogen. Zijt gij hier iets meer
dan hofmeester? Denkt gij, dat er, omdat gij zoo vroom
zijt, geen koeken en geen bier meer zullen zijn?

MORE:
CITED IN LAW: by UK Lord Justice Keene reflecting on a smoking ban, noting the reduction in patient enjoyment: “Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?”…

Proverb: Without ceres and bacchus Venus grows cold
Proverb: He may go shake his ears

Out o’ tune=False (words, not singing voice)
Cakes and ale=Used in church festivals, not liked by Puritans
Ginger=Used to spice ale
Rub crumbs=Metalware was cleaned by rubbing with crumbs
Means=Alcohol
Rule=Behaviour
Compleat:
To be out of tune=Van de wys zyn
Ginger=Gember, gengher
Crum or crumb=Kruym of kruym van brood
Crums=Kruymels

Burgersdijk notes:
Denkt gij, omdat gij zoo vroom zijt, enz. Er staat eigenlijk: „omdat gij deugdzaam zijt”, maar de plaats bevat duidelijk een aanval tegen de vromen, de puriteinen, die tegen de volksfeesten op oude heiligendagen, waarbij steeds koek en bier genuttigd werd, ijverden en ze als papistischeinstellingen wilden afschaffen. — De „gember”, die de Nar daarop, trots de puriteinen, in gebruik wil zien blijven, werd in de hoogere kringen veel gebezigd om wijn of bier, alsook taarten en pastijen te kruiden.
Schuur uw keten. De gouden keten, die Malvolio als hofmeester droeg.

Topics: cited in law, excess, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
FIRST LORD
He hath out-villained villany so far, that the
rarity redeems him.
BERTRAM
A pox on him, he’s a cat still.
FIRST SOLDIER
His qualities being at this poor price, I need not
to ask you if gold will corrupt him to revolt.
PAROLLES
Sir, for a quart d’ecu he will sell the fee-simple
of his salvation, the inheritance of it; and cut the
entail from all remainders, and a perpetual
succession for it perpetually.
FIRST SOLDIER
What’s his brother, the other Captain Dumain?
SECOND LORD
Why does he ask him of me?
FIRST SOLDIER
What’s he?
PAROLLES
E’en a crow o’ the same nest; not altogether so
great as the first in goodness, but greater a great
deal in evil: he excels his brother for a coward,
yet his brother is reputed one of the best that is:
in a retreat he outruns any lackey; marry, in coming
on he has the cramp.

DUTCH:
Geheel en al een kraai uit hetzelfde nest; niet volkomen
zoo groot als de andere in het goede, maar een good
deel slechter in bet booze.

MORE:
Proverb: A bird (egg) of the same nest

To stand seised in fee simple=A feudal term that meant to have both possession and title of property, a form of freehold ownership. (Absolute and perpetual ownership.) Shakespeare sometimes used the phrase to mean absoluteness.
Entail=Succession
Remainders=Possible future heirs (residual property rights)
Lackey=Footman (who would run in front of the master’s coach)
Come on=Advance
Compleat:
Seised=Beslagen, aangetast, gevat
Fee-simple=Een onbepaald leen ons en onze erfgenaamen voor altoos toehehoorende
Entail=By erfenisse vast gemaakt
Lackey (lacquey)=Een voetjongen, volgdienaar, lakkey

Topics: good and bad, law/legal, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Bottom
CONTEXT:
BOTTOM
Not a word of me. All that I will tell you is that the
duke hath dined. Get your apparel together, good strings
to your beards, new ribbons to your pumps. Meet
presently at the palace. Every man look o’er his part.
For the short and the long is, our play is preferred. In
any case, let Thisbe have clean linen. And let not him
that plays the lion pair his nails, for they shall hang
out for the lion’s claws. And most dear actors, eat no
onions nor garlic, for we are to utter sweet breath. And
I do not doubt but to hear them say, “It is a sweet
comedy.” No more words. Away, go away!

DUTCH:
En, mijn allerliefste spelers, eet toch geen uien of knoflook, want wij moeten een liefelijken adem uitblazen en ik twijfel er niet aan, of we zullen ze hooren zeggen, het is een liefelijke komedie! Nu geen woord meer; voort! gaat! voort!

MORE:
Proverb: The long and the short of it

Strings=To attach beards
Presently=Immediately
Preferred=Selected
Compleat:
Presently=Terstond, opstaandevoet
Preferred=Voorgetrokken, meer geacht, bevorderd, verhoogd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, preparation

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Fairy
CONTEXT:
FAIRY
Either I mistake your shape and making quite,
Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite
Called Robin Goodfellow. Are not you he
That frights the maidens of the villagery,
Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern
And bootless make the breathless housewife churn,
And sometime make the drink to bear no barm,
Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm?
Those that “Hobgoblin” call you, and “sweet Puck,”
You do their work, and they shall have good luck.
Are not you he?

DUTCH:
Erken ik wèl uw wijs van doen, uw leest,
Dan zijt ge wis die sluwe, plaagsche geest,
‘t Kahoutertjen.

MORE:
Proverb: Robin Goodfellow

Making=Substance
Shrewd=Mischievous
Villagery=Villages
Skim=Steal
Quern=Mill
Bootless=Pointless
Barm=Froth on beer
Compleat:
A good fellow=Een Vrolyke quant
Making=Maaksel
Shrewd=Loos, doortrapt, sneedig, vinnig, fel
Skim=Schuymen, de schuym afneemen
Quern=een Hand meulen
Bootless=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos
Barm=Gest

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, manipulation, deceit

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
Even as one heat another heat expels,
Or as one nail by strength drives out another,
So the remembrance of my former love
Is by a newer object quite forgotten.
Is it mine, or Valentine’s praise,
Her true perfection, or my false transgression,
That makes me reasonless to reason thus?
She is fair; and so is Julia that I love—
That I did love, for now my love is thawed;
Which, like a waxen image, ‘gainst a fire,
Bears no impression of the thing it was.
Methinks my zeal to Valentine is cold,
And that I love him not as I was wont.
O, but I love his lady too too much,
And that’s the reason I love him so little.
How shall I dote on her with more advice,
That thus without advice begin to love her!
‘Tis but her picture I have yet beheld,
And that hath dazzled my reason’s light;
But when I look on her perfections,
There is no reason but I shall be blind.
If I can check my erring love, I will;
If not, to compass her I’ll use my skill.

DUTCH:
Gelijk een gloed een and’ren gloed verdringt,
Een spijker met geweld een and’ren uitdrijft,
Zoo is de heug’nis van mijn vroeg’re min
Nu door een nieuwen aanblik gansch verdoofd.

MORE:
Proverb: One fire (heat) drives out another, referring to the belief that heat takes away the pain of a burn

Remembrance=Memory
By a newer object=Because of a newer object
Wont=Wont to do
Advice=Consideration
Check=Control
No reason but=No doubt that
Compass=Encompass, win
Compleat:
Remembrance=Gedachtenis, geheugenis
Wont=Gewoonte
Advice=Raad, vermaaning, goedvinden
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten

Burgersdijk notes:
Is ‘t nu mijn oog. Het Engelsch is hier onvolledig; Is it mine or enz. Het is waarschijnlijker dat hier gelezen moet worden met Warburton: Is it mine eye or enz. dan, met Malone, Is it her mien or enz.

Zooals een wassen beeld hij ‘t vuur. Men vergelijke Koning Jan” V. 4. Er wordt gedacht aan wassen beelden, die door toovenaars hij het vuur werden gehouden, om door smelten van het beeld de persoon, die er door werd voorgesteld, te doen wegkwijnen.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, memory, love

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Posthumus
CONTEXT:
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Yea, bloody cloth, I’ll keep thee, for I wish’d
Thou shouldst be colour’d thus. You married ones,
If each of you should take this course, how many
Must murder wives much better than themselves
For wrying but a little! O Pisanio!
Every good servant does not all commands:
No bond but to do just ones. Gods! if you
Should have ta’en vengeance on my faults, I never
Had lived to put on this: so had you saved
The noble Imogen to repent, and struck
Me, wretch more worth your vengeance. But, alack,
You snatch some hence for little faults; that’s love,
To have them fall no more: you some permit
To second ills with ills, each elder worse,
And make them dread it, to the doers’ thrift.
But Imogen is your own: do your best wills,
And make me blest to obey! I am brought hither
Among the Italian gentry, and to fight
Against my lady’s kingdom: ’tis enough
That, Britain, I have kill’d thy mistress; peace!
I’ll give no wound to thee. Therefore, good heavens,
Hear patiently my purpose. I’ll disrobe me
Of these Italian weeds and suit myself
As does a Briton peasant. So I’ll fight
Against the part I come with; so I’ll die
For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life
Is every breath a death. And thus, unknown,
Pitied nor hated, to the face of peril
Myself I’ll dedicate. Let me make men know
More valour in me than my habits show.
Gods, put the strength o’ th’ Leonati in me.
To shame the guise o’ th’ world, I will begin
The fashion: less without and more within.

DUTCH:
Een goede dienaar volgt niet elk bevel; Slechts aan ‘t gerechte is hij gehouden.

MORE:
Proverb: Yours to command in the way of honesty
Proverb: Appearances are deceitful

Just=Moral
Wrying=Swerving, deviating from the right course
Put on=Instigate
Weeds=Garment
Purpose=Something spoken of or to be done, matter, question, subject
Compleat:
Just (righteous)=Een rechtvaardige
Just=Effen, juist, net
Wry=Scheef, verdraaid
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honesty, marriage, work, flaw/fault, appearance

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lucullus
CONTEXT:
LUCULLUS
La, la, la, la! ‘nothing doubting,’ says he? Alas,
good lord! a noble gentleman ’tis, if he would not
keep so good a house. Many a time and often I ha’
dined with him, and told him on’t, and come again to
supper to him, of purpose to have him spend less,
and yet he would embrace no counsel, take no warning
by my coming. Every man has his fault, and honesty
is his: I ha’ told him on’t, but I could ne’er get
him from’t.

DUTCH:
Iedereen heeft zijn zwak, en grootmoedigheid
is het zijne; ik heb het hem gezegd, maar
ik kon hem er nooit van afbrengen.

MORE:
Proverb: Every man has (no man is without) his faults

Honesty=Decency, propriety
Of purpose=With the aim of
Embrace=Accept
Counsel=Advice
Compleat:
Honesty=Eerbaarheid, vroomheid
Purpose (design, resolution, project)=Voorneemen, besluit, ontwerp
Embrace=(to receive or embrace an opinion): Een gevoelen omhelzen
Embrace=(to receive or approve of an excuse)=Een verschooning aannemen, voor goed houden
Counsel=Raad, onderrechting

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, flaw/fault, honesty

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
Excellent! I smell a device.
SIR ANDREW
I have ’t in my nose too.
SIR TOBY BELCH
He shall think, by the letters that thou wilt drop, that they come from my niece, and that she’s in love with him.
MARIA
My purpose is, indeed, a horse of that colour.

DUTCH:
Uitmuntend! ik krijg het in den neus.

MORE:
Proverb: A horse of another (that) colour
Proverb: A good horse cannot be of a bad colour (is never of an ill colour)

Smell=Sense
Device=Plot
Compleat:
To smell=Ruiken
I smell a rat (distrust)=Ik zie een slang in ‘t gras schuilen
To smell out=Uitvorschen, gewaar worden
Device=List; uytvindsel, gedichtsel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, plans/intentions, purpose

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Witches
CONTEXT:
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.

DUTCH:
Eerlijk is vals en vals is eerlijk/
Eerlijk is vuil en vuil is eerlijk/
Eerlijk is fout en fout is eerlijk/

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb “Fair without but foul within” (c1200). (Macbeth also alludes to the same proverb in Act 1.3: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”

Topics: appearance, deceit, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Shylock
CONTEXT:
SHYLOCK
The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder,
Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day
More than the wildcat. Drones hive not with me.
Therefore I part with him, and part with him
To one that would have him help to waste
His borrowed purse. Well, Jessica, go in.
Perhaps I will return immediately.
Do as I bid you. Shut doors after you.
Fast bind, fast find.
A proverb never stale in thrifty mind.

DUTCH:
Doe wat ik zeide en sluit de deuren goed;
„Een dichte kast, weert meen’gen gast ;”
Zoo spreekt een elk, die op zijn zaken past.

MORE:
Proverb: fast bind, fast find. (Also: Safe bind, safe find.)
According to the 1917 Dictionary of Proverbs, this Proverb teaches that people being generally ‘loose and perfidious’, it is a great Point of Prudence to be upon our Guard against Treachery and Impositions, in all our Dealings and Transactions, either in Buying, Selling, Borrowing, or Lending, in order to preserve a good Understanding and a lasting Friendship among natural Correspondents

Patch=Fool
Profit=Advancement
Compleat:
To bind=Binden, knoopen, verbinden.
To bind with benefits=Verbinden of verpligten door weldaaden
To bind one by covenant=Iemand door een verdrag verbinden
To bind with an earnest=Verpanden, een koop sluiten met een Gods penning

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
Now, York, or never, steel thy fearful thoughts
And change misdoubt to resolution.
Be that thou hop’st to be, or what thou art
Resign to death; it is not worth th’ enjoying.
Let pale-faced fear keep with the mean-born man
And find no harbor in a royal heart.
Faster than springtime showers comes thought on
thought,
And not a thought but thinks on dignity.
My brain, more busy than the labouring spider,
Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies.
Well, nobles, well, ’tis politicly done
To send me packing with an host of men.
I fear me you but warm the starvèd snake,
Who, cherished in your breasts, will sting your
hearts.

DUTCH:
Als voorjaarsbuien komt mij denk- bij denkbeeld,
Doch niet éen denkbeeld, dat niet grootheid denkt.

MORE:

Proverb: To nourish a viper (snake) in one ‘s bosom
Proverb: Ill putting (put not) a naked sword in a madman’s hand

Steel=Harden, strengthen
Politicly=For political reasons
Misdoubt=Forebodings
That=That which
Mean-born=Lowly
Dignity=High rank
Tedious=Laborious
The starved snake=Frozen snake (reference to Aesop’s Fable of the Farmer and the Snake)
Fell=Strong; Vicious, intense, savage

Compleat:
To steel=(harden): Hardmaaken, verharden; To steel one’s self in any sin=Zich in eene zonde verharden; To steel one against another=Den een tegen den ander ophitzen
Fell=(cruel) Wreed, fel
Starve=(of cold) Van koude sterven
Politickly=Staatkundiglyk
Of mean descent=Van een laage afkomst
Dignity (greatness, nobleness)=Grootheid, adelykheid; (merit, importance)=Waardigheid, staat-empot, verdiensten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, mercy, ambiiton, satisfaction

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: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Duke Senior
CONTEXT:
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
“This is no flattery. These are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.”
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
AMIENS
I would not change it. Happy is your Grace,
That can translate the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a style.

DUTCH:
Dit leven, vrij van ‘s werelds woelen, vindt
In boomen tongen, spreuken in de sprengen,
In steenen lessen, goeds in ieder ding.

MORE:
Proverb: Adversity makes men wise
Proverb: Full as a toad of poison
Proverb: Custom makes all things easy

“Sermons in Stones” is still in use.
In folklore, poisonous toads had jewels with medcinal properties in their foreheads

Custom=Habit, regular practice
Painted=Specious, feigned, unreal
Pomp=Magnificence, splendour
Feelingly=So as to be felt or leave an impression
Churlish=Rough, violent, brutal
Public haunt=A place much frequented (see also ‘public haunt of men’, Romeo & Juliet 3.1)
Stubbornness=Roughness, harshness
Compleat:
Pomp=Pracht, praal, staatsi
Feelingly=Gevoeliglyk
Haunt=Gewoonte, aanwendsel. He returns to his old haunt=Hij keert weer tot zyne oud nukken.
Churlish=Woest, boersch, onbeschoft
Stubbornness=Hardnekkigheid, hansterrigheid

Burgersdijk notes:
De pad. Van den fabelachtigen steen, die naar het volksgeloof soms in den kop van een pad voorkwam, werd beweerd, dat hij vergif krachteloos maakte en een uitmuntend geneesmiddel was, vooral tegen den steen of het graveel. Fenton schrijft er van in zijne „Secrete Wonders of Nature” (1569):
That there is found in the heades of old and great toades a stone which they call Borax or Stelon: it is most commonly founde in the head of a hee toad, of power to repulse poysons, and that it is a most sovereigne medicine for the stone.

Topics: fate/destiny, adversity, proverbs and idioms, life

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun. It
shines everywhere. I would be sorry, sir, but the fool
should be as oft with your master as with my mistress: I
think I saw your wisdom there.
VIOLA
Nay, an thou pass upon me, I’ll no more with thee.
Hold, there’s expenses for thee.

DUTCH:
Narrerij, heerschap, reist de wereld rond, evenals de
zon: zij schijnt overal. Het zou mij spijten, als de nar
niet even zoo dikwijls bij uwen meester was, als bij
mijne meesteres. Het komt mij voor, dat ik uwe wijsheid
daar heb gezien.

MORE:
Proverb: The sun shines upon all alike

Orb=Globe, earth (the Ptolemaic view of the universe where the sun orbited the Earth, was still loosely accepted at the time, although there was mounting evidence to the contrary)
An=If
Pass upon=Give an opinion of
Compleat:
Orb=Een kloot, rond, hemelkring
To pass judgment upon=Veroordeelen
To pass approbation=Goedkeuren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, equality, nature

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,
As my true service shall deserve your love.
KING RICHARD II
Well you deserve: they well deserve to have,
That know the strong’st and surest way to get.
Uncle, give me your hands: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.
Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I’ll give, and willing too;
For do we must what force will have us do.
Set on towards London, cousin, is it so?

DUTCH:
Wij moeten doen, wat overmacht gebiedt. —
Naar Londen; — neef, niet waar, daar gaan wij heen

MORE:

Proverb: They that are bound must obey

Redoubted=Feared, respected (often used to address a monarch)
Want=Fail to provide (a remedy)

Compleat:
Redoubted=Geducht, ontzaglyk
Want=Gebrek

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, status, remedy, merit

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King Edward IV
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
Thus far our fortune keeps an upward course,
And we are graced with wreaths of victory.
But, in the midst of this bright-shining day,
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud,
That will encounter with our glorious sun,
Ere he attain his easeful western bed:
I mean, my lords, those powers that the queen
Hath raised in Gallia have arrived our coast
And, as we hear, march on to fight with us.
CLARENCE
A little gale will soon disperse that cloud
And blow it to the source from whence it came:
The very beams will dry those vapours up,
For every cloud engenders not a storm.

DUTCH:
Een kleine storm verstrooit welras die wolk,
En blaast haar naar de bron, vanwaar zij kwam;
Uw stralen zelf verdrogen ras die dampen;
Niet ied’re wolk verwekt een onweersbui.

MORE:

Proverb: All clouds bring not rain

Our glorious sun=Edward returns again to the image of the sun that represents the House of York.
Gallia=France
Easeful=Comfortable
Beams=Sunbeams (another reference to the sun emblem)

Topics: fate/destiny, conflict, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
Now, brother Richard, Lord Hastings, and the rest,
Yet thus far fortune maketh us amends,
And says that once more I shall interchange
My waned state for Henry’s regal crown.
Well have we pass’d and now repass’d the seas
And brought desired help from Burgundy:
What then remains, we being thus arrived
From Ravenspurgh haven before the gates of York,
But that we enter, as into our dukedom?
GLOUCESTER
The gates made fast! Brother, I like not this
For many men that stumble at the threshold
Are well foretold that danger lurks within.

DUTCH:
De poort gesloten! Dit bevalt mij niet;
Voor menigeen is struik’len aan den drempel
Een teeken van ‘t gevaar, dat binnen loert.

MORE:

Proverb: To stumble at the threshold

Make amends=Atone, compensate
Interchange=Exchange
Waned state=Decline, dimnished circumstances
Are well foretold=Have an omen

Compleat:
To make amends=Vergoeding doen, vergoeden
To interchange=Verwisselen, beurt houden
In the wane=Afneemende, afgaande
Foretold=Voorzegd, voorzeid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, caution, risk, wisdom

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Queen Elizabeth
CONTEXT:
QUEEN ELIZABETH
I am inform’d that he comes towards London,
To set the crown once more on Henry’s head:
Guess thou the rest; King Edward’s friends must down,
But, to prevent the tyrant’s violence,—
For trust not him that hath once broken faith,—
I’ll hence forthwith unto the sanctuary,
To save at least the heir of Edward’s right:
There shall I rest secure from force and fraud.
Come, therefore, let us fly while we may fly:
If Warwick take us we are sure to die.

DUTCH:
Want die eens trouwe brak, zij nooit vertrouwd

MORE:

Proverb: Trust not him that hath once broken faith (broken his word)
Proverb: he that once deceives is ever suspected

Down=Fall, be defeated

Compleat:
To bring down=Beneden brengen, onderbrengen, vernederen

Topics: trust, suspicion, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
Here is my hand for my true constancy;
And when that hour o’erslips me in the day
Wherein I sigh not, Julia, for thy sake,
The next ensuing hour some foul mischance
Torment me for my love’s forgetfulness!
My father stays my coming; answer not;
The tide is now: nay, not thy tide of tears;
That tide will stay me longer than I should.
Julia, farewell!
PROTEUS
What, gone without a word?
Ay, so true love should do: it cannot speak;
For truth hath better deeds than words to grace it.

DUTCH:
Ja, zoo doet trouwe liefde; zwijgen moet zij,
Want daden zijn de tooi der trouw, niet woorden.

MORE:
Proverb: Actions speak louder than words

True constancy=Fidelity
O’erslips=Passes
Mischance=Misfortune
Stays=Awaits
Stay=Delay
Grace=Adorn
Compleat:
Constancy=Standvastigheid, volharding, bestendigheid
Overslip=Laaten duurslippen
Mischance=Misval, mislukking, ongeval, ongeluk
To stay=Wachten, stil staan, stil houden, vertoeven; stuyten
To grace=Vercieren, bevallig maaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, time, love

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Isabella
CONTEXT:
It is not truer he is Angelo
Than this is all as true as it is strange:
Nay, it is ten times true; for truth is truth
To the end of reckoning.

DUTCH:
Niet warer is het, dat hij Angelo,
Dan dat dit alles even waar als vreemd is;
Ja, het is tienmaal waar, want waar is waar,
Als eind van alle reek’ning.

MORE:
Still in use.

Topics: truth, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Make your proof.
FOOL
I must catechise you for it, madonna. Good my mouse of
virtue, answer me.
OLIVIA
Well, sir, for want of other idleness, I’ll bide your
proof.
FOOL
Good madonna, why mournest thou?
OLIVIA
Good fool, for my brother’s death.
FOOL
I think his soul is in hell, madonna.
OLIVIA
I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
FOOL
The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother’s
soul being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen.

DUTCH:
Nu, sinjeur, ik heb op ‘t oogenblik niets beters te
doen, daarom wil ik mij uw bewijs getroosten.

MORE:
Proverb: He is well since he is in heaven

Catechise=Question (Catechism is a summary of doctrine, taught through question and answer)
Idleness=Pastime
Bide=Await
Compleat:
To catechize=In ‘t geloof onderwijzen
Idleness=Luyheyd, traagheyd, leediggang, ledigheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, evidence, wisdom

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
The mercy that was quick in us but late
By your own counsel is suppressed and killed.
You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy,
For your own reasons turn into your bosoms,
As dogs upon their masters, worrying you.
—See you, my princes and my noble peers,
These English monsters. My Lord of Cambridge here,
You know how apt our love was to accord
To furnish him with all appurtenants
Belonging to his honor, and this man
Hath, for a few light crowns, lightly conspired,
And sworn unto the practices of France,
To kill us here in Hampton; to the which
This knight, no less for bounty bound to us
Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn.

DUTCH:
Wat vroeger in ons van genade leefde,
Werd door uw eigen raad verstikt, gedood.

MORE:

Proverb: A man may cause his own dog to bite him

Quick=Alive
Accord=Agree
Appurtenants=Belongings
Lightly=Casually
Practices=Plots

Compleat:
Quick=Levendig
Accord=Eendragt, toestemming, verdrag, overeekomst
Appurtenance (appertinances)=Toebehooren, toebehoorigheden; afhangkelykheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conspiracy

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
Wrath-kindled gentlemen, be ruled by me.
Let’s purge this choler without letting blood.
This we prescribe, though no physician.
Deep malice makes too deep incision.
Forget, forgive; conclude and be agreed.
Our doctors say this is no month to bleed.—
Good uncle, let this end where it begun;
We’ll calm the Duke of Norfolk, you your son.

DUTCH:
Gramstorige edellieden, volgt mijn raad.
Verdrijft de galzucht zonder aderlating.
Ofschoon geen arts, schrijf ik u dit toch voor: —
Een diepe wrok snijdt al te diep, snijdt door, —
Vergeeft, vergeet, houdt op elkaar te haten;
Het is, zegt de arts, geen maand van aderlaten

MORE:

Proverb: Forgive and forget

Wrath-kindled=Furious
Be ruled=To prevail on, to persuade (used only passively)
Choler=Anger, bile
Purge=To cure, to restore to health
Month to bleed=Physicians would consult the almanac to determine best time for bloodletting

Compleat:
Wrath=Toorn, gramschap
Wrathfull=Toornig, vertoornd, vergramd, grimmig
Cholerick=Oploopend, haastig, toornig. To be in choler=Toornig zyn
Purge=Zuiveren, reinigen, den buik zuiveren, purgeeren
To purge (clear) one’s self of a crime=Zich van eene misdaad zuiveren
To bleed one=Iemand bloed aftappen, laaten; bloedlaating, bloeding

Burgersdijk notes:
Het is, zegt de arts, geen maand van aderlaten. Vroeger lieten ook gezonden zich op geregelde
tijden sferlaten om te zekerder gezond te blijven. In de almanakken van dien tijd, — er is zulk een Engelsche almanak bekend van 1386, — werd aangegeven, welke maanden er het best voor
waren.

Topics: resolution, remedy, anger, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
CORIOLANUS
Come, leave your tears. A brief farewell. The beast
With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother,
Where is your ancient courage? You were used
To say extremities was the trier of spirits;
That common chances common men could bear;
That when the sea was calm, all boats alike
Showed mastership in floating; fortune’s blows
When most struck home, being gentle wounded craves
A noble cunning. You were used to load me
With precepts that would make invincible
The heart that conned them.
VIRGILIA
O heavens! O heavens!
CORIOLANUS
Nay! prithee, woman,—
VOLUMNIA
Now the red pestilence strike all trades in Rome,
And occupations perish!

DUTCH:
Gij zeidet steeds,
Dat overmaat van leed de geesten toetst;
‘t Gewone draagt ook de gewone mensch;
Bij kalme zee toont elke boot in ‘t zeilen
Gelijke kunst; doch, als des noodlots slagen
Fel treffen, kalm te blijven, eischt een geest
Van eed’len aard; gij gaaft mij steeds een schat
Van grootsche lessen, die, in ‘t hart geprent,
Dit onverwinn’lijk moesten maken.

MORE:
Proverb: Calamity (extremity) is the touchstone of a brave mind (unto wit)
Proverb: In a calm sea every man may be a pilot

Beast with many heads=The multitude, the people
Gentle wounded=Bearing damage/wounds with dignity
Cunning=Skill
Load=To furnish or provide in abundance, to adorn, to reward
Precept=Instruction, direction
To con=Learn by heart
Compleat:
Cunning=Behendig
Precept=(instruction) Onderwys; (commandment) Bevel, gebod
To conn=Zyne lesse kennen, of van buiten leeren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, order/society, authority, failure

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Katherine
CONTEXT:
PETRUCHIO
Now, by my mother’s son, and that’s myself,
It shall be moon, or star, or what I list,
Or e’er I journey to your father’s house.
Go on, and fetch our horses back again.—
Evermore crossed and crossed, nothing but crossed!
HORTENSIO
Say as he says, or we shall never go.
KATHERINE
Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,
And be it moon, or sun, or what you please.
An if you please to call it a rush candle,
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.
PETRUCHIO
I say it is the moon.
KATHERINE
I know it is the moon.
PETRUCHIO
Nay, then you lie. It is the blessèd sun.
KATHERINE
Then God be blessed, it is the blessèd sun.
But sun it is not, when you say it is not,
And the moon changes even as your mind.
What you will have it named, even that it is,
And so it shall be so for Katherine.

DUTCH:
O voorwaarts toch; wij zijn nu eens zoo ver;
En zij het maan of zon of wat go wilt;
Al wildet gij het ook een nachtlicht noemen,
Ik zweer, voortaan zal ‘t ook voor mij zoo zijn.

MORE:
Proverb: As changeful (inconstant) as the moon

List=Please
Crossed=Challenged
Rush candle=Cheap candle made of a rush dipped in tallow
Compleat:
To list=Genegen zijn, lust hebben
To cross=Tegenstreeven, dwars voor de boeg komen, dwarsboomen, wederestreeven, kruisen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, free will, independence, language

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Ariel
CONTEXT:
Full fathom five thy father lies.
Of his bones are coral made.
Those are pearls that were his eyes.
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.

DUTCH:
Vijf vadem diep uw vader rust,
Zijn gebeente werd koraal,
De oogen paarlen; ongebluscht
Is hun gloed; geen zegepraal
Viert verderf; uit ieder deel
Schept de zee een rijk juweel.

MORE:

“Full fathom five” has become a catchphrase in the English language and has been used as a title for books, songs and even a Jackson Pollock painting. Also referenced by James Joyce in Ulysses and used as a title for at least two books in Dutch (“Vijf vadem diep”)
Fathom=six feet
Fade=Decay, decompose
Sea change=Undergo a radical change, transformation
Compleat:
Fathom (Fadom)=Een vadem, vaam
Fade=Verwelken, verzwakken
Knell=De doodklok

Topics: proverbs and idioms, death

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VI
Full well hath Clifford play’d the orator,
Inferring arguments of mighty force.
But, Clifford, tell me, didst thou never hear
That things ill-got had ever bad success?
And happy always was it for that son
Whose father for his hoarding went to hell? I
‘ll leave my son my virtuous deeds behind;
And would my father had left me no more!
For all the rest is held at such a rate
As brings a thousand-fold more care to keep
Than in possession and jot of pleasure.
Ah, cousin York!
Would thy best friends did know
How it doth grieve me that thy head is here!

DUTCH:
Schoon toonde ClifTord daar zijn redekunst
En voerde gronden aan van groot gewicht.

MORE:

Proverb: Evil-gotten (ill-gotten) goods never prove well (prosper, endure)
Proverb: Happy is the child whose father goes to the devil

Full well=Very well
Inferring=Adducing
Success=Result
Happy=Fortunate
Rate=Price

Compleat:
Jot=Zier
To hord up=Opstapelen, vergaaren, byeenschraapen

Burgersdijk notes:
II.2.48. Wiens vader om zijn schrapen voer ter helle. Het spreekwoord, waarop hier gezinspeeld wordt, luidt : Happy the child, whose father went to the devil; „Gelukkig het kind, welks vader door den duivel is gehaald!” Als een vader, die op zondige wijze rijk geworden is, sterft, erft de zoon wel het goed, maar heeft voor de zonden niet meer te boeten. Koning Hendrik betwijfelt blijkbaar de juistheid van het spreekwoord.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, corruption, fate/destiny

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Polonius
CONTEXT:
Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear ’t that th’ opposèd may beware of thee.
Give every man thy ear but few thy voice.
Take each man’s censure but reserve thy judgment.

DUTCH:
Geef elk uw oor, maar enk’len slechts uw oordeel /
Leen iedereen het oor, uw stem slechts enklen

MORE:
Oft-quoted list of maxims in Polonius’ ‘fatherly advice’ monologue to Laertes. Many of these nuggets have acquired proverb status today, although they weren’t invented by Shakespeare (here, for example, Hear much but speak little, 1532,).

Topics: proverbs and idioms, perception, judgment

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Speed
CONTEXT:
SPEED
Truly, sir, I think you’ll hardly win her.
PROTEUS
Why, couldst thou perceive so much from her?
SPEED
Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from her; no,
not so much as a ducat for delivering your letter:
and being so hard to me that brought your mind, I
fear she’ll prove as hard to you in telling your
mind. Give her no token but stones; for she’s as
hard as steel.

DUTCH:
Geeft haar als liefdepanden enkel steenen, want zij is zoo hard als staal.

MORE:
Proverb: As hard (tough, stiff, strong) as steel

Perceive=Mistake for receive
Ducat=Silver coin
Token=Gift, love-token
Stones=Jewels
Compleat:
Perceive=Bermerking, gewaar worden
Receive=Ontvangen
Token=Teken, getuigenis; een geschenkje dat men iemand tot een gedachtenis geeft
A precious stone=Een edel gesteente

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
A better head her glorious body fits
Than his that shakes for age and feebleness:
What should I don this robe, and trouble you?
Be chosen with proclamations to-day,
To-morrow yield up rule, resign my life,
And set abroad new business for you all?
Rome, I have been thy soldier forty years,
And led my country’s strength successfully,
And buried one and twenty valiant sons,
Knighted in field, slain manfully in arms,
In right and service of their noble country:
Give me a staff of honour for mine age,
But not a sceptre to control the world:
Upright he held it, lords, that held it last.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
Titus, thou shalt obtain and ask the empery.
SATURNINUS
Proud and ambitious tribune, canst thou tell?

DUTCH:
Reik aan mijn ouderdom een eerestaf,
Geen scepter om de wereld te regeeren;
Die ‘t laatst hem voerde, mannen, hield hem hoog.

MORE:
Proverb: Ask and have
Proverb: A man must ask excessively to get a little
Proverb: Speak and speed, ask and have
Proverb: He who serves well needs not be afraid to ask his wages

Set abroad=Initiate
Proclamation=Open declaration
In right=On behalf
Obtain and ask=Obtain simply by asking
Canst thou tell=How do you know?
Compleat:
Proclamation=Eene afkondiging, afleezing, uytroep, plakkaat

Topics: proverbs and idioms, merit, ambition

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Jaques
CONTEXT:
JAQUES
O worthy fool!— One that hath been a courtier
And says, “If ladies be but young and fair,
They have the gift to know it.” And in his brain,
Which is as dry as the remainder biscuit
After a voyage, he hath strange places crammed
With observation, the which he vents
In mangled forms. Oh, that I were a fool!
I am ambitious for a motley coat.
DUKE SENIOR
Thou shalt have one.
JAQUES
It is my only suit
Provided that you weed your better judgements
Of all opinion that grows rank in them
That I am wise. I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind,
To blow on whom I please, for so fools have.
And they that are most gallèd with my folly,
They most must laugh. And why, sir, must they so?
The “why” is plain as way to parish church:
He that a fool doth very wisely hit
Doth very foolishly, although he smart,
Not to seem senseless of the bob. If not,
The wise man’s folly is anatomized
Even by the squand’ring glances of the fool.
Invest me in my motley. Give me leave
To speak my mind, and I will through and through
Cleanse the foul body of th’ infected world,
If they will patiently receive my medicine

DUTCH:
Geef mij verlof,
Vrij uit te spreken, en ik zal de wereld,
Hoe voos, bedorven en onrein, doorzuiv’ren,
Als zij mijn midd’len maar geduldig neemt.

MORE:
Proverb: As dry as a biscuit
Proverb: Who is nettled at a jest seems to be in earnest

Remainder biscuit=Dry ship’s biscuit
Observation=Experience
Motley=Multicoloured jester outfit
Suit=Petition
Rank=Wild
Charter=Scope, privilege
Gallèd=Irritated
Senseless=Unaware, not feeling
Wisely=Skilfully, successfully
Bob=A rap, a dry wipe, jibe
Anatomised=Analysed, dissected
Squandering=Random
Glances=Hits
Invest=Dress, clothe
Cleanse=Purge
Compleat:
Observation=Waarneeming, gebruyk, onderhouding, aanmerking
Motley=Een grove gemengelde
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding
Rank (that shoots too many leaves or branches)=Weelig, dat te veel takken of bladen schiet
To grow rank=Al te weelit groeien
Charter=Handvest, voorrecht
To gall (or vex)=Tergen, verbitteren
Senseless=Gevoeleloos, ongevoelig, zinneloos
Bob=Begekking, boert
To bob=Begekken, bedriegen, loeren, foppen
Anatomize=Opsnyding, ontleeden
Glance=Eventjes raaken
Invest=Omcingelen, inhuldigen; in ‘t bezit stellen; rondom insluiten

Elizabethans believed that the three main organsi were the heart, liver and brain. The brain had to be cool and moist to sleep; someone with a ‘cool and moist’ humour would be able to sleep, unlike a choleric person of hot and dry humour. Dryness was also associated with capacity for learning.

Topics: insult, intellect, reason, fashion/trends, proverbs and idioms, language, authority, wisdom

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Malcolm
CONTEXT:
What, man! Ne’er pull your hat upon your brows.
Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak
Whispers the o’erfraught heart and bids it break.

DUTCH:
Geef verdriet woorden: Het verdriet dat niet spreekt fluistert in het overbelaste hart, en vraagt het te breken./
Geef jammer woorden; ingehouden smart, breekt door zijn fluisteren het overladen hart./
Geef Uw jammer woorden! Ingehouden smart Breekt door zijn fluist’ren ‘t overladen hart.

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb: “Grief pent up will break the heart” (1589)
CITED IN US LAW:
Baxter v. State, 503 S.W.2d 226,228 (Tenn. 1973): The court observes that “Shakespeare was right, as students of emotion know, when he advised, ‘give sorrows words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’erfraught heart and bids it break'”.

Topics: grief, cited in law, emotion and mood, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Maria
CONTEXT:
MALVOLIO
Mistress Mary, if you prized my lady’s favour at
anything more than contempt, you would not give means
for this uncivil rule. She shall know of it, by this
hand.
MARIA
Go shake your ears!
SIR ANDREW
‘Twere as good a deed as to drink when a man’s
a-hungry, to challenge him the field and then to break
promise with him and make a fool of him.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Do ’t, knight. I’ll write thee a challenge. Or I’ll
deliver thy indignation to him by word of mouth.

DUTCH:
Ga en schud uw ooren, zooveel gij wilt.

MORE:

Proverb: Without ceres and bacchus Venus grows cold
Proverb: He may go shake his ears

Means=Alcohol
Rule=Behaviour
The field=A duel
Compleat:
Contempt=Verachting, versmaading, versmaadheyd
To take the field=Te velde trekken of gaan, ten stryde gaan

Topics: cited in law, excess, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
Why, then, build me thy fortunes upon the basis of
valour. Challenge me the count’s youth to fight with him.
Hurt him in eleven places. My niece shall take note of
it, and assure thyself, there is no love-broker in the
world can more prevail in man’s commendation with woman
than report of valour.
FABIAN
There is no way but this, Sir Andrew.
SIR ANDREW
Will either of you bear me a challenge to him?
SIR TOBY BELCH
Go, write it in a martial hand. Be curst and brief. It
is no matter how witty, so it be eloquent and full of
invention. Taunt him with the licence of ink. If thou
“thou”-est him some thrice, it shall not be amiss; and
as many lies as will lie in thy sheet of paper, although
the sheet were big enough for the bed of Ware in
England, set ’em down. Go, about it. Let there be gall
enough in thy ink, though thou write with a goose-pen,
no matter. About it.

DUTCH:
Ga, schrijf ze met een martiale hand; wees vinnig en
kort; op geestigheid komt het niet aan, als zij maar welsprekend en vol vinding is; beleedig hem zooveel als
de inkt maar toelaat;

MORE:
Proverb: A curst cur must be tied short

Curst=Terse
Brief=Short, succinct
Invention=Originality, ideas
Licence of ink=Freedom afforded by writing
Gall=Oak-gall, used in ink
Goose-pen=Quill (the goose being regarded as cowardly)
Compleat:
Curst=Vervloekt
Brief=Kort
Invention=Vinding
Gall=Gal. (1) Bitter as gall=Zo bitter als gal (2) To gall=Benaauwen (Den vyand benaauwen…)

Burgersdijk notes:
Op uw stuk papier, al ware dit zoo groot als het laken van het familiebed te Ware in Engeland. In eene herberg te Ware, in het graafschap Hartfordshire, stond een bed, waarin tegelijk twaalf mannen en twaalf vrouwen konden liggen; liet wordt ook elders als een merkwaardigheid genoemd. In ‘t Engelsch beteekent sheet zoowel een vel papier als een beddelaken; deze woordspeling was natuur
niet over te brengen.
Gal in uw inkt. Ossegal was een hoofdbestanddeel van inkt, zie “Cymbeline” 1.1.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, clarity/precision, language, reputation

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

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

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

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

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

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Words before blows. Is it so, countrymen?
OCTAVIUS
Not that we love words better, as you do.
BRUTUS
Good words are better than bad strokes, Octavius.
ANTONY
In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good words.
Witness the hole you made in Caesar’s heart,
Crying “Long live, hail, Caesar!”
CASSIUS
Antony,
The posture of your blows are yet unknown.
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees
And leave them honeyless.

DUTCH:
Goed woord gaat boven boozen slag, Octavius .

MORE:
Proverb: As sweet as honey
Proverb: Words before blows

Posture=Quality
Hybla=Hyblean. Reputed for excellent honey
Compleat:
Posture=Stand, gestalte

Burgersdijk notes:
Hybla’s bijen . De bijen van Hybla, een berg in Sicilils, waren bij de ouden om haar honig beroemd .

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, conflict

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Flow this way! A brave fellow! he keeps his tides
well. Those healths will make thee and thy state
look ill, Timon. Here’s that which is too weak to
be a sinner, honest water, which ne’er left man i’ the
mire:
This and my food are equals; there’s no odds:
Feasts are too proud to give thanks to the gods.

Immortal gods, I crave no pelf;
I pray for no man but myself:
Grant I may never prove so fond,
To trust man on his oath or bond;
Or a harlot, for her weeping;
Or a dog, that seems a-sleeping:
Or a keeper with my freedom;
Or my friends, if I should need ’em.
Amen. So fall to’t:
Rich men sin, and I eat root.

DUTCH:
Geeft, dat ik niemand dwaas vertrouw,
Geen woord noch eed, van man noch vrouw

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Sims v. Manson, 25 Wis.2d 110, 130 N.W.2d 200 (1964)(Gordon, J.).

Proverb: Trust not a woman when she weeps

Tides=Time
Healths=Toasts
Mire=Mud, stain
No odds=No difference
Pelf=Wealth
Fond=Foolish
Compleat:
Tide=Tyd, stond
To drink a health=Een gezondheyd drinken
Mire=Slyk, slik
He is deep in the mire=Hy steekt diep in schulden; hy heeft veel op zyne hoorens
To stick in the mire=In de stik steeken
Odds=Verschil
Pelf=Prullen, slechte goederen [Men gebruykt dit woord als men verachtelyk van goederen spreekt]Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt

Topics: cited in law, contract, honesty, trust, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
CASSIO
It hath pleased the devil drunkenness to give place to the devil wrath; one unperfectness shows me another, to make me frankly despise myself.
IAGO
Come, you are too severe a moraler. As the time, the place, and the condition of this country stands, I could heartily wish this had not befallen; but since it is as it is, mend it for your own good.
CASSIO
I will ask him for my place again; he shall tell me I am a drunkard. Had I as many mouths as Hydra, such an answer would stop them all. To be now a sensible man, by and by a fool, and presently a beast! O strange! Every inordinate cup is unblessed, and the ingredience is a devil.
IAGO
Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well used ; exclaim no more against it.

DUTCH:
Verzoek ik hem mijn plaats terug, dan zal hij zeggen:
„gij zijt een dronkaard.” En al had ik zooveel monden
als de Hydra, met dit antwoord waren zij allen gestopt.
Een verstandig mensch zijn, kort daarna een dwaas, en
plotseling een beest!

MORE:
Proverb: As many heads as Hydra

Hydra=Serpent in Greek mythology. When one head was cut off, two would grow in its place
Severe=Harsh
Moraler=Moraliser
Ingredience=Content
Familiar=Pertaining to the house and family, attached and serviceable to men
Inordinate=Improper, immoderate
Compleat:
Severe=Streng, straf
A severe judge=Een gestreng Rechter
Befallen=Gebeurd, overgekomen
Moraliser=Een zeedelyke uitlegger
Familiar=Gemeenzaam
Inordinate=Ongeschikt, onmaatig, onordentlyk

Topics: excess, reply, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
Hang thyself in thine own heir-apparent garters! If I be ta’en, I’ll peach for this. An I have not ballads made on you all and sung to filthy tunes, let a cup of sack be my poison—when a jest is so forward, and afoot too! I hate it

DUTCH:
Nu dan, hang je zelven op aan je eigen vermoedelijke-troonopvolgers-kousebanden! Als zij mij krijgen, verklik ik alles.

MORE:
Proverb:
He may go hang himself in his own garters
Schmidt:
Peach=Impeach, accuse, denounce
Appeach=Beschuldigen, bedraagen

Topics: proverbs and idioms

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Amiens
CONTEXT:
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
“This is no flattery. These are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.”
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
AMIENS
I would not change it. Happy is your Grace,
That can translate the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a style.

DUTCH:
t Is u een groote zegen,
Mijn vorst, in ‘t harde vonnis van Fortuin
Een zin, zoo zacht en zoet, te kunnen lezen.

MORE:
Proverb: Adversity makes men wise
Proverb: Full as a toad of poison
Proverb: Custom makes all things easy

“Sermons in Stones” is still in use.
In folklore, poisonous toads had jewels with medcinal properties in their foreheads

Custom=Habit, regular practice
Painted=Specious, feigned, unreal
Pomp=Magnificence, splendour
Feelingly=So as to be felt or leave an impression
Churlish=Rough, violent, brutal
Public haunt=A place much frequented (see also ‘public haunt of men’, Romeo & Juliet 3.1)
Stubbornness=Roughness, harshness
Compleat:
Pomp=Pracht, praal, staatsi
Feelingly=Gevoeliglyk
Haunt=Gewoonte, aanwendsel. He returns to his old haunt=Hij keert weer tot zyne oud nukken.
Churlish=Woest, boersch, onbeschoft
Stubbornness=Hardnekkigheid, hansterrigheid

Burgersdijk notes:
De pad. Van den fabelachtigen steen, die naar het volksgeloof soms in den kop van een pad voorkwam, werd beweerd, dat hij vergif krachteloos maakte en een uitmuntend geneesmiddel was, vooral tegen den steen of het graveel. Fenton schrijft er van in zijne „Secrete Wonders of Nature” (1569):
That there is found in the heades of old and great toades a stone which they call Borax or Stelon: it is most commonly founde in the head of a hee toad, of power to repulse poysons, and that it is a most sovereigne medicine for the stone.

Topics: fate/destiny, adversity, proverbs and idioms, life

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Hortensio
CONTEXT:
GREMIO
I cannot tell. But I had as lief take her dowry with
this condition: to be whipped at the high cross every
morning.
HORTENSIO
Faith, as you say, there’s small choice in rotten
apples. But come, since this bar in law makes us
friends, it shall be so far forth friendly maintained
till by helping Baptista’s eldest daughter to a husband
we set his youngest free for a husband, and then have to
’t afresh. Sweet Bianca! Happy man be his dole! He that
runs fastest gets the ring. How say you, Signior
Gremio?
GREMIO
I am agreed, and would I had given him the best horse
in Padua to begin his wooing that would thoroughly woo
her, wed her, and bed her, and rid the house of her!
Come on.

DUTCH:
Die ‘t gelukkigst is, brengt de bruid thuis. Wie ‘t beste paard berijdt, steekt den ring.

MORE:
Proverb: There is a small choice in rotten apples (1594)
Proverb: Happy man happy dole (be his dole)
Proverb: He that hops best (runs fases) gets the ring

As lief=As happily
Bar in law=Legal obstacle
Afresh=Anew
Compleat:
I had as lief=Ik wilde al zo lief
Bar=Een dwarsboom, draaiboom, sluytboom, boom, hinderpaal, diefeyzer, traali, beletsel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, rivalry, friendship

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Richard
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Harp not on that string, madam; that is past.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Harp on it still shall I till heart-strings break.
RICHARD
Now by my George, my Garter, and my crown—
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Profaned, dishonoured, and the third usurped.
RICHARD
I swear—
QUEEN ELIZABETH
By nothing, for this is no oath.
Thy George, profaned, hath lost his lordly honour;
Thy garter, blemished, pawned his knightly virtue;
Thy crown, usurped, disgraced his kingly glory.
If something thou wouldst swear to be believed,
Swear then by something that thou hast not wronged.

DUTCH:
KONING RICHARD
Roer die snaar niet meer aan, dat is voorbij .
KONINGIN ELIZABETH
Ik roer die aan, tot hartesnaren springen .

MORE:
Proverb: Harp no more on that string

Profane=Desecrate
Compleat:
To profane=Ontheyligen, schenden, ontwyen
To pawn=Verpanden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, dispute, ruin

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.13
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
SERVANT
He did ask favour.
ANTONY
If that thy father live, let him repent
Thou wast not made his daughter, and be thou sorry
To follow Caesar in his triumph, since
Thou hast been whipped for following him. Henceforth
The white hand of a lady fever thee;
Shake thou to look on ’t. Get thee back to Caesar.
Tell him thy entertainment. Look thou say
He makes me angry with him, for he seems
Proud and disdainful, harping on what I am,
Not what he knew I was. He makes me angry,
And at this time most easy ’tis to do ’t,
When my good stars, that were my former guides,
Have empty left their orbs and shot their fires
Into th’ abysm of hell. If he mislike
My speech and what is done, tell him he has
Hipparchus, my enfranchèd bondman, whom
He may at pleasure whip, or hang, or torture,
As he shall like, to quit me. Urge it thou.
Hence with thy stripes, begone!

DUTCH:
Ga weer tot Caesar,
Zeg, hoe gij werdt onthaald; en zeg hem, — hoort gij? —
Dat hij mij toornig maakt, omdat hij trotsch,
Minachtend steeds herhaalt, wat ik nu ben,
Niet wat ik vroeger was. Hij maakt mij toornig;
En dit is licht te doen in dezen tijd,
Nu ied’re goede ster, die eens mij leidde,
Haar hemelbaan verliet en al haar gloed
In de’ afgrond schoot der hel.

MORE:
Proverb: To harp upon one (the same) string

Fever thee=Make you feverish (break into a sweat); Frighten
Entertainment=Reception, treatment
Harp on=Dwell on, repeat incessantly
Orbs=Spheres
Enfranchised=Released, liberated
Bondman=Slave
Quit=Repay, have revenge on
Stripes=Wounds from whip lashing
Compleat:
To entertain=Onthaalen, huysvesten, plaats vergunnen
Entertainment=Onthaal
To enfranchise=Tot eenen burger of vry man maaken, vryheyd vergunnen
Bond-man, Bond-slave=Een Slaaf
To quit=Verschoonen, ontslaan
Stripe=Een slag, streep. Worthy of stripes=Slaagen waardig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, regret, merit, revenge

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
Now, brother of Clarence, how like you our choice,
That you stand pensive, as half malcontent?
CLARENCE
As well as Lewis of France, or the Earl of Warwick,
Which are so weak of courage and in judgment
That they’ll take no offence at our abuse.
KING EDWARD IV
Suppose they take offence without a cause,
They are but Lewis and Warwick: I am Edward,
Your king and Warwick’s, and must have my will.
GLOUCESTER
And shall have your will, because our king:
Yet hasty marriage seldom proveth well.

DUTCH:
Dit doet hij, wijl gij onze koning zijt;
Maar toch, een haastige echt blijkt zelden best.

MORE:

Proverb: Marry in haste and repent at leisure

Malcontent=Disaffected
Weak of courage=Lacking in courage

Compleat:
Pensive=Peinzend, peinsachtig, beducht, bedrukt, zwaarmoedig, suf
Malecontent=Misnoegd, ‘t onvrede

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, marriage, courage

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
TIMON
Look thee, ’tis so! Thou singly honest man,
Here, take: the gods out of my misery
Have sent thee treasure. Go, live rich and happy;
But thus conditioned: thou shalt build from men;
Hate all, curse all, show charity to none,
But let the famished flesh slide from the bone,
Ere thou relieve the beggar; give to dogs
What thou deny’st to men; let prisons swallow ’em,
Debts wither ’em to nothing; be men like
blasted woods,
And may diseases lick up their false bloods!
And so farewell and thrive.

DUTCH:
Haat allen, vloek een elk; doe niemand wel;
Schenk aan den beed’laar niets, schoon ‘t maag’re vleesch
Hem van ‘t gebeente valle;

MORE:
Proverb: Hate all, curse all, show charity to none

Singly=Uniquely
Thus conditioned=On one condition
Build from=Take advantage of
Blasted=Withered
Lick up=Drink
Compleat:
Singly=Enkelyk
Fair conditioned=Fraai gesteld
To condition=Bespreeken, bedinge, afspreeken
To condition with one=Met iemand een verdrag maaken
I build upon your word=Ik steun op uw woord
To blast=Doen verstuiven, wegblaazen, verzengen, door ‘t weer beschaadigen
To blast one’s reputation=Iemands goeden naam bezwalken
To lick up=Oplikken
To lick up a piece of work=Een werk beschaaven

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny, money, poverty and wealth, good and bad

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Duke Senior
CONTEXT:
DUKE SENIOR
Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile,
Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp? Are not these woods
More free from peril than the envious court?
Here feel we not the penalty of Adam,
The seasons’ difference, as the icy fang
And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind,
Which, when it bites and blows upon my body,
Even till I shrink with cold, I smile and say,
“This is no flattery. These are counsellors
That feelingly persuade me what I am.”
Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.
AMIENS
I would not change it. Happy is your Grace,
That can translate the stubbornness of fortune
Into so quiet and so sweet a style.

DUTCH:
Maakt niet gewoonte reeds dit leven zoeter
Dan dat van glimp en praal?

MORE:
Proverb: Adversity makes men wise
Proverb: Full as a toad of poison
Proverb: Custom makes all things easy

“Sermons in Stones” is still in use.
In folklore, poisonous toads had jewels with medcinal properties in their foreheads

Custom=Habit, regular practice
Painted=Specious, feigned, unreal
Pomp=Magnificence, splendour
Feelingly=So as to be felt or leave an impression
Churlish=Rough, violent, brutal
Public haunt=A place much frequented (see also ‘public haunt of men’, Romeo & Juliet 3.1)
Stubbornness=Roughness, harshness
Compleat:
Pomp=Pracht, praal, staatsi
Feelingly=Gevoeliglyk
Haunt=Gewoonte, aanwendsel. He returns to his old haunt=Hij keert weer tot zyne oud nukken.
Churlish=Woest, boersch, onbeschoft
Stubbornness=Hardnekkigheid, hansterrigheid

Burgersdijk notes:
De pad. Van den fabelachtigen steen, die naar het volksgeloof soms in den kop van een pad voorkwam, werd beweerd, dat hij vergif krachteloos maakte en een uitmuntend geneesmiddel was, vooral tegen den steen of het graveel. Fenton schrijft er van in zijne „Secrete Wonders of Nature” (1569):
That there is found in the heades of old and great toades a stone which they call Borax or Stelon: it is most commonly founde in the head of a hee toad, of power to repulse poysons, and that it is a most sovereigne medicine for the stone.

Topics: fate/destiny, adversity, proverbs and idioms, life

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Page
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Have I laid my brain in the sun and dried it, that
it wants matter to prevent so gross o’erreaching as
this? Am I ridden with a Welsh goat too? shall I
have a coxcomb of frize? ‘Tis time I were choked
with a piece of toasted cheese.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Seese is not good to give putter; your belly is all
putter.
FALSTAFF
‘Seese’ and ‘putter’! have I lived to stand at the
taunt of one that makes fritters of English? This
is enough to be the decay of lust and late-walking
through the realm.
MISTRESS PAGE
Why Sir John, do you think, though we would have the
virtue out of our hearts by the head and shoulders
and have given ourselves without scruple to hell,
that ever the devil could have made you our delight?

DUTCH:
Kaas en poter! moet ik het beleven, het mikpunt te
zijn van iemand, die ons Engelsch tot piesjens hakt? Dit
is genoeg om alle wulpschheid en nachtlooperij in het
geheele koninkrijk in verval te brengen.

MORE:
Proverb: To thrust out (in) by the head and shoulders

Fritters=Fragments
By shoulders=Headlong
Compleat:
Scrupule=Zwaarigheid, schroom

Topics: proverbs and idioms|language

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Page
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Have I laid my brain in the sun and dried it, that
it wants matter to prevent so gross o’erreaching as
this? Am I ridden with a Welsh goat too? shall I
have a coxcomb of frize? ‘Tis time I were choked
with a piece of toasted cheese.
SIR HUGH EVANS
Seese is not good to give putter; your belly is all
putter.
FALSTAFF
‘Seese’ and ‘putter’! have I lived to stand at the
taunt of one that makes fritters of English? This
is enough to be the decay of lust and late-walking
through the realm.
MISTRESS PAGE
Why Sir John, do you think, though we would have the
virtue out of our hearts by the head and shoulders
and have given ourselves without scruple to hell,
that ever the devil could have made you our delight?

DUTCH:
Kaas en poter! moet ik het beleven, het mikpunt te
zijn van iemand, die ons Engelsch tot piesjens hakt? Dit
is genoeg om alle wulpschheid en nachtlooperij in het
geheele koninkrijk in verval te brengen.

MORE:
Proverb: To thrust out (in) by the head and shoulders

Fritters=Fragments
By shoulders=Headlong
Compleat:
Scrupule=Zwaarigheid, schroom

Topics: proverbs and idioms|language

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Warwick
CONTEXT:
WARWICK
Henry now lives in Scotland at his ease,
Where having nothing, nothing can he lose.
And as for you yourself, our quondam queen,
You have a father able to maintain you;
And better ’twere you troubled him than France.
QUEEN MARGARET
Peace, impudent and shameless Warwick, peace,
Proud setter up and puller down of kings!
I will not hence, till, with my talk and tears,
Both full of truth, I make King Lewis behold
Thy sly conveyance and thy lord’s false love;
For both of you are birds of selfsame feather.

DUTCH:
Recht naar zijn wensch leeft Hendrik thans in Schotland,
Waar hij, niets hebbend, niets verliezen kan.

MORE:

Proverb: Birds of a feather flock (fly) together

Will not hence=Won’t go elsewhere
Quondam=Former, as was
Sly conveyance=Underhand dealing, trickery, dishonest actions
Behold=See, recognize

Compleat:
Hence=Van hier, hier uit
Conveyance=Een overwyzing, overvoering, overdragt
To behold=Aanschouwen, zien, aanzien; ziet, let wel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, status, relationship, deceit

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

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

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

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

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

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
PAROLLES
He will steal, sir, an egg out of a cloister: for rapes and ravishments he parallels Nessus: he professes not keeping of oaths; in breaking ’em he is stronger than Hercules: he will lie, sir, with such volubility, that you would think truth were a fool: drunkenness is his best virtue, for he will be swine-drunk; and in his sleep he does little harm, save to his bed-clothes about him; but they know his conditions and lay him in straw. I have but little more to say, sir, of his honesty: he has every thing that an honest man should not have; what an honest man should have, he has nothing.

DUTCH:
[H]ij heeft alles, wat een rechtgeaard man niet moest hebben; en van wat een deugdzaam man wel moet hebben, heeft hij niets.

MORE:
Proverb: Dispraise by evil men is praise
Proverb: As drunk as a swine
Proverb: Honest is a fool

Egg=Eggs being worthless, of no value (so untrustworthy that he would steal something worthless from a sacred place)
Nessus=Centaur who attempted to rape Hercules’ wife
Professes=Claims (not to believe in)
Truth were a fool=To be honest is foolish
With such volubility=So fluently, easily
Compleat:
To profess=(hold a doctrine) Een leer belyden, gelooven, belydenis doen
Volubility=Raddigheyd, vloeijendheyd, rollendheyd

Topics: honesty, reputation, insult, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Pistol
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
No quips now, Pistol! Indeed, I am in the waist two
yards about; but I am now about no waste; I am about
thrift. Briefly, I do mean to make love to Ford’s
wife: I spy entertainment in her; she discourses,
she carves, she gives the leer of invitation: I
can construe the action of her familiar style; and
the hardest voice of her behavior, to be Englished
rightly, is, ‘I am Sir John Falstaff’s.’
PISTOL
He hath studied her will, and translated her will,
out of honesty into English.

DUTCH:
Hij heeft haar goed bestudeerd en goed vertaald, uit
de eerbaarheid in het Engelsch.

MORE:
Proverb: To be one’s own carver

Honest=(wives) Faithful
About=Circumference
Carves=Carves the meat; pleases herself
Construe=Interpret
Familiar=Domestic; intimate
Will=1) Desire 2) Will and testament
Compleat:
Honest=Eerlyk, oprecht, vroom
Construe=t’Zamenschikken, t’zamenstellen
Familiar=Gemeenzaam

Burgersdijk notes:
Zij lacht toe. In ‘t Engelsch staat letterlijk: she carves. To carve is eigenlijk „voorsnijden”, „trancheeren”, een kunst die een welopgevoed mensch, man en vrouw, moest verstaan. Als een vrouw aan een man voorsneed, hem bediende, kon dit een teeken van welwillendheid of gunst gerekend worden, en dat Falstaff, die van zijn buik zijn afgod maakte, het zoo opvatte, kan niet verwonderen. Men kan hier het woord dus opvatten in letterlijken zin, maar ook eenvoudig als voorkomend zijn; evenzoo is het in Veel gemin, geen gewin “, 5.2.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, loyalty, language, honesty

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
Would he were fatter! But I fear him not.
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much.
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony. He hears no music.
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything.
Such men as he be never at heart’s ease
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be feared
Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar.
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,
And tell me truly what thou think’st of him.

DUTCH:
Veel neemt hij waar en goed, en hij doorschouwt
Volkomen ‘s menschen doen ;

MORE:
Proverb: An envious man grows lean
Proverb: To turn (give) a deaf ear

Quite=Entirely
Looks through=Sees through
Sort=Manner
Heart’s ease=Heart’s content
This ear is deaf=Proverbially, this ear doesn’t want to hear/accept this message
Compleat:
Quite=t’Eenemaal, geheelendal, geheel, ganschelyk
Sort=Slach, wyze

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, risk, loyalty, skill/talent

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Alexander
CONTEXT:
ALEXANDER
They say he is a very man per se,
And stands alone.
CRESSIDA
So do all men, unless they are drunk, sick, or have no
legs.
ALEXANDER
This man, lady, hath robbed many beasts of their
particular additions; he is as valiant as the lion,
churlish as the bear, slow as the elephant: a man
into whom nature hath so crowded humours that his
valour is crushed into folly, his folly sauced with
discretion: there is no man hath a virtue that he
hath not a glimpse of, nor any man an attaint but he
carries some stain of it: he is melancholy without
cause, and merry against the hair: he hath the
joints of every thing, but everything so out of joint
that he is a gouty Briareus, many hands and no use,
or purblind Argus, all eyes and no sight.

DUTCH:
Hij is zwaarmoedig zonder
oorzaak, en vroolijk tegen alle reden in.

MORE:
Proverb: It goes against the hair

Stands alone=Is unrivalled
Additions=Attributes
Humours=Inclinations, moods
Glimpse=Glimmer
Attaint=Taint, defect
Against the hair=Against the grain
Out of joint=Confused, not as it should be
Purblind=Partially blind
Argus=Deprived of his eyes for falling asleep when on guard
Compleat:
Addition=Bydoening, byvoegsel
The humours=De humeuren van het lichaam; grillen
Humour (dispositon of the mind)=Humeur, of gemoeds gesteldheid
Glimpse=Een Blik, flikkering, schemering
To attaint=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Attainted=Overtuigd van misdaad, misdaadig verklaard
Purblind=Stikziende

Topics: proverbs and idioms, leadership, skill/talent, dignity

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Portia
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
He is well paid that is well satisfied;
And I, delivering you, am satisfied,
And therein do account myself well paid:
My mind was never yet more mercenary.
I pray you, know me when we meet again:
I wish you well, and so I take my leave.

DUTCH:
Die weltevreden is, is wel betaald;
Ik ben tevreden, dat ik u bevrijdde,
En reken daardoor reeds mij wel betaald

MORE:
Job satisfaction is payment enough
Satisfied=contented
Exposition=interpretation
Compleat:
To satisfy, content=Voldoen
I will content him for his pains=Ik zal hem voor zyne moeite voldoen
Satisfaction, content=Voldoening
Exposition=Uitlegging

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Dromio of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
It is the devil.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Nay, she is worse; she is the devil’s dam, and here she comes in the habit of a light wench. And thereof comes that the wenches say “God damn me” that’s as much to say “God make me a light wench.” It is written they appear to men like angels of light. Light is an effect of fire, and fire will burn: ergo, light wenches will burn. Come not near her.
COURTESAN
Your man and you are marvellous merry, sir.
Will you go with me? We’ll mend our dinner here.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Master, if you do, expect spoon meat; or bespeak a long spoon.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Why, Dromio?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Marry, he must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil.

DUTCH:
Daar staat geschreven, dat zij aan mannen zich voordoen als licht; Iicht is een uitwerksel van vuur, en vuur verzengt en steekt aan; dus, lichte deernen steken aan. Kom haar niet te na.

MORE:
Proverb: The devil and his dam
Proverb: The devil can transform himself into an angel of light
Proverb: He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon

Devil’s dam=The devil’s mother
Mend=To set right, to correct, to repair what is amiss
Spoon-meat=Meat for toddlers or invalids
Bespeak=Order, reserve, engage
Compleat:
Mend=Beteren, verbeteren
Spoon-meat=Lepel-kost
Bespeak=Bespreeken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, caution, good and mad, risk

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Duchess of York
CONTEXT:
Pleads he in earnest? look upon his face;
His eyes do drop no tears, his prayers are in jest;
His words come from his mouth, ours from our breast:
He prays but faintly and would be denied;
We pray with heart and soul and all beside:
His weary joints would gladly rise, I know;
Our knees shall kneel till to the ground they grow:
His prayers are full of false hypocrisy;
Ours of true zeal and deep integrity.
Our prayers do out-pray his; then let them have
That mercy which true prayer ought to have.

DUTCH:
Hij spreekt slechts met den mond, wij met het hart;
Hij wenscht een weig’ring op zijn zwakke bede,

MORE:

Proverb: He that asks faintly begs a denial

In jest=Not serious
Hypocrisy=False seeming, deceitful appearance, dissimulation

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Jeweller
CONTEXT:
JEWELLER
What, my lord! dispraise?
TIMON
A more satiety of commendations.
If I should pay you for’t as ’tis extolled,
It would unclew me quite.
JEWELLER
My lord, ’tis rated
As those which sell would give: but you well know,
Things of like value differing in the owners
Are prized by their masters: believe’t, dear lord,
You mend the jewel by the wearing it.
TIMON
Well mocked.
MERCHANT
No, my good lord; he speaks the common tongue,
Which all men speak with him.
TIMON
Look, who comes here: will you be chid?

DUTCH:
Neen, beste heer, hij zegt slechts
Wat heel de wereld zegt.

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Proverb: The worth of a thing is as it is esteemed (valued)

Dispraise=Censure
Satiety=Excess
Extolled=Praised
Unclew=Unravel, ruin (a clew was a ball of thread)
Rated=Valued
Mend=Increase the value
Chid=Reprimanded
Compleat:
Dispraise=Mispryzen, hoonen, verachten, laaken
Satiety=Zotheyd, verzaadigdheyd
To extoll=Verheffen, pryzen, looven
Clew=Een kluwen
To rate=Waardeeren, schatten, op prys stellen
Mend=Beteren, verbeteren
Chide=Kyven, bekyven

Topics: flattery, business, value, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Agamemnon
CONTEXT:
AGAMEMNON
No, noble Ajax; you are as strong, as valiant, as
wise, no less noble, much more gentle, and altogether
more tractable.
AJAX
Why should a man be proud? How doth pride grow? I
know not what pride is.
AGAMEMNON
Your mind is the clearer, Ajax, and your virtues the
fairer. He that is proud eats up himself: pride is
his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle;
and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours
the deed in the praise.
AJAX
I do hate a proud man, as I hate the engendering of
toads.
NESTOR
Yet he loves himself: is’t not strange?

DUTCH:
Wie trotsch is , eet zichzelf op; trots is zijn
spiegel, zijn trompet, zijn kroniek; en wie zich anders
prijst dan door daden, doet zijn daden door zijn eigenlof
te niet.

MORE:
Proverb: A man’s praise in his own mouth does stink
Proverb: He that praises himself spatters himself
Proverb: Neither praise nor dispraise thyself, thy actions serve the turn
Proverb: To be eat up with pride
Proverb: To sound one’s own trumpet

Tractable=Cooperative, malleable
Glass=Mirror
Devour=Annihilate
Toads=Considered venomous
Compleat:
Tractable=Handelbaar, leenig, buygzaam, zachtzinnnig
Glass=Spiegel
To devour=Verslinden; verteeren; verscheuren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride, vanity

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
OTHELLO
Avaunt! Be gone! Thou hast set me on the rack.
I swear ’tis better to be much abused
Than but to know ’t a little.
IAGO
How now, my lord!
OTHELLO
What sense had I in her stol’n hours of lust?
I saw ’t not, thought it not, it harmed not me.
I slept the next night well, fed well, was free and merry.
I found not Cassio’s kisses on her lips.
He that is robbed, not wanting what is stol’n,
Let him not know’t, and he’s not robbed at all.

DUTCH:
Wat iemand ook ontroofd zij, weet hij ‘t niet,
Verzwijg het hem en hij is niet beroofd.

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Proverb: He that is not sensible of his loss has lost nothing

Wanting=Missing
Abused=Betrayed
Sense=Mental power, faculty of thinking and feeling, spirit, mind
Compleat:
Sense=Het gevoel; gevoeligheid; besef; reden
Wanting=In gebreeke
To abuse=Misbruiken, mishandelen, kwaalyk bejegenen, beledigen, verongelyken, schelden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, emotion and mood, satisfaction

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Art not a poet?
POET
Yes.
APEMANTUS
Then thou liest: look in thy last work, where thou
hast feigned him a worthy fellow.
POET
That’s not feigned; he is so.
APEMANTUS
Yes, he is worthy of thee, and to pay thee for thy
labour: he that loves to be flattered is worthy o’
the flatterer. Heavens, that I were a lord!

DUTCH:
Ja, hij is u waardig, en waardig, dat hij u voor uw
werk betaalt; hij, die zich gaarne laat vleien, is zijn
vleier waardig. 0 hemel, ware ik eens een groot heer!

MORE:
Proverb: Painters and poets have leave to lie
Proverb: He that loves to be flattered is worthy of the flatterer

Feigned=Misrepresented
That I were=If only I were
Compleat:
To feign=Voorwenden, veinzen; beraadslaan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, insult, flattery

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Pandarus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
Well, I have told you enough of this: for my part,
I’ll not meddle nor make no further. He that will
have a cake out of the wheat must needs tarry the grinding.
TROILUS
Have I not tarried?
PANDARUS
Ay, the grinding; but you must tarry the bolting.
TROILUS
Have I not tarried?
PANDARUS
Ay, the bolting, but you must tarry the leavening.
TROILUS
Still have I tarried.
PANDARUS
Ay, to the leavening; but here’s yet in the word
‘hereafter’ the kneading, the making of the cake, the
heating of the oven and the baking; nay, you must
stay the cooling too, or you may chance to burn your lips.

DUTCH:
Wie een koek wil hebben van weitemeel, moet het malen afwachten.

MORE:
Proverb: I will neither meddle nor make

Bolting=Sifting (also ‘boulting’)
Tarry=Wait for
Compleat:
Meddle=Bemoeijen, moeijen
To bolt=Builen, ziften; betwisten
Bolting=Builende
Bolting (an exercise at Grays Inn)=Een redentwist in de Rechtsgeleerdheid
To tarry=Sukkelen, zammelen, leuteren
Tarried=Vertoefd, gewagt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, advice, preparation

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Tranio
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced
To give my hand, opposed against my heart,
Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen,
Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior,
And, to be noted for a merry man,
He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage,
Make friends, invite, and proclaim the banns,
Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.
Now must the world point at poor Katherine
And say, “Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife,
If it would please him come and marry her!”
TRANIO
Patience, good Katherine, and Baptista too.
Upon my life, Petruchio means but well,
Whatever fortune stays him from his word:
Though he be blunt, I know him passing wise;
Though he be merry, yet withal he’s honest.

DUTCH:
Ik zeide ‘t wel, ‘t was een bezeten zot;
Die bitt’re scherts verbergt in lompheids schijn,

MORE:

Proverb: Marry in haste, repent at leisure

Forsooth=In truth
Rudesby=Boorish man
Full of spleen=Fickle, changeable moods
Frantic=Insane
Blunt=Coarse
Noted=Reputed
Fortune=Events
Stays=Prevents him (from keeping his word)
Compleat:
Forsooth=Zeker, trouwens
Blunt=Stomp, bot, plomp, onbebouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, marriage, haste, manipulation

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Prince Hal
CONTEXT:
POINS
Good morrow, sweet Hal.—What says Monsieur Remorse? What says Sir John Sack-and-Sugar? Jack, how agrees the devil and thee about thy soul that thou soldest him on Good Friday last for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon’s leg?
PRINCE HAL
Sir John stands to his word. The devil shall have his bargain, for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs. He will give the devil his due.

DUTCH:
Sir John houdt zijn woord; den duivel zal zijn recht geworden, want hij heeft nog nooit een spreekwoord gebroken; hij geeft zelfs den duivel het zijne.

MORE:
The proverb ‘Give the devil his due’ (1589) is generally an acknowledgement that something or somebody bad has a redeeming feature or has done something worthwhile.
Schmidt:
Stand to=To side with, to assist, to support; to maintain, to guard, to be firm in the cause of
Breaker=Transgressor
Compleat:
We must give the devil his due=Men moet den duivel niet erger afmaalen dan hy is.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
OTHELLO
Some of your function, mistress,
Leave procreants alone and shut the door.
Cough or cry “hem” if any body come.
Your mystery, your mystery! Nay, dispatch!
DESDEMONA
Upon my knee, what doth your speech import?
I understand a fury in your words,
But not the words.
OTHELLO
Why, what art thou?
DESDEMONA
Your wife, my lord. Your true and loyal wife.
OTHELLO
Come, swear it, damn thyself.
Lest, being like one of heaven, the devils themselves
Should fear to seize thee. Therefore be double damned,
Swear thou art honest!
DESDEMONA
Heaven doth truly know it.
OTHELLO
Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.
DESDEMONA
To whom, my lord? With whom? How am I false?

DUTCH:
God weet, ja, dat gij valsch zijt als de hel.

MORE:
Proverb: As false as hell

Some of your function=Do your work (on look out duty)
Mystery=Trade (brothel)
Motive=Cause
Import=Mean
Compleat:
False (not true)=Valsch, onwaar
False (counterfeit)=Nagemaakt
False (treacherous)=Verraderlyk
To import=Medebrengen, betekenen; invoeren
Motive=Beweegreden, beweegoorzaak
Mystery or mistery (trade)=Handel, konst, ambacht

Topics: honesty, truth, deceit, proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: First Lord
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
I would they had not come between us.
SECOND LORD
So would I, till you had measured how long
a fool you were upon the ground.
CLOTEN
And that she should love this fellow and refuse me!
SECOND LORD
If it be a sin to make a true election, she
is damned.
FIRST LORD
Sir, as I told you always, her beauty and her brain
go not together: she’s a good sign, but I have seen
small reflection of her wit.
SECOND LORD
She shines not upon fools, lest the
reflection should hurt her.

DUTCH:
Zooals ik u altijd zeide, heer, haar verstand houdt
geen gelijken tred met haar schoonheid.

MORE:
Proverb: Beauty and folly are often matched together

In Shakespeare’s time beauty was seen as a signifier of virtue. See Thomas Hoby’s translation of the Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier (1561). Fourth Book: True beauty, the reflection of goodness.
Her beauty and her brain go not together=Her brain can’t match her beauty.
A good sign=Semblance. (Fig.: something of a deceptive semblance, not answering the promise)
Reflection=Shining back AND thoughtful consideration
Compleat:
Reflection=Terugkaatzing
Reflection=Overdenking, overpeinzing

Topics: appearance, intellect, perception, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Maria
CONTEXT:
MARIA
Get you all three into the boxtree. Malvolio’s coming down this walk. He has been yonder i’ the sun practising behavior to his own shadow this half hour. Observe him, for the love of mockery, for I know this letter will make a contemplative idiot of him. Close, in the name of jesting!
Lie thou there (throwing down a letter), for here comes the trout that must be caught with tickling.
MALVOLIO
‘Tis but fortune, all is fortune. Maria once told me she did affect me, and I have heard herself come thus near, that, should she fancy, it should be one of my complexion. Besides, she uses me with a more exalted respect than anyone else that follows her. What should I think on ’t?

DUTCH:
Doodstil, in den naam van alles wat potsig is! (De mannen verbergen zich.) Lig daar, gij! (Zij werpt een brief neer.) want hier komt de forel, die door kitteling gevangen moet worden.

MORE:
Proverb: To catch one like a trout with tickling

Boxtree=Box hedge (buxus sempervirens)
Behaviour=Gestures
Contemplative=Staring vacantly
Tickling=Flattering
Affect=Fond of
Complexion=Temperament
Follow=Serve
Compleat:
Box-tree=Box-boom, palm
Behaviour=Gedrag, handel en wandel, ommegang, aanstelling
Contemplative=Beschouwelyk
To tickle (please or flatter)=Streelen, vleijen
Affect=Liefde toedragen, ter harte gaan, beminnen
Complexion=Aardt, gesteltenis, gesteldheyd
To follow (wait upon)=Volgen, vergezellen, van ‘t gevolg zyn

Burgersdijk notes:
De forel, die door kitteling gevangen moet worden. Steevens haalt hierbij de volgende plaats aan uit Cogan’s Haven of Health (1595): This fish of nature loveth flatterie: for being in the water it will suffer it selfe to be rubbed and clawed , and so to be taken.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, patience, plans/intentions, vanity

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Lucentio
CONTEXT:
LUCENTIO
Tranio, since for the great desire I had
To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
I am arrived for fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy,
And by my father’s love and leave am armed
With his goodwill and thy good company.
My trusty servant, well approved in all,
Here let us breathe and haply institute
A course of learning and ingenious studies.
Pisa, renownèd for grave citizens,
Gave me my being and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio, come of the Bentivolii.
Vincentio’s son, brought up in Florence,
It shall become to serve all hopes conceived
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds.
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study
Virtue, and that part of philosophy
Will I apply that treats of happiness
By virtue specially to be achieved.
Tell me thy mind, for I have Pisa left
And am to Padua come, as he that leaves
A shallow plash to plunge him in the deep
And with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.

DUTCH:
Hier zijn we aan ‘t doel en willen ‘t pad der kennis,
Der eed’le studien inslaan, ons tot heil.

MORE:
Proverb: Lombardy is the garden of the world

Padua=Known for its university
Leave=Permission
Haply=Perhaps
Institute=Begin
Traffic=Commercial trade
Come of=Originated from
Become=Is fitting
Plash=Pool
Compleat:
To give leave=Verlof geeven, veroorloven
Give me leave to do it=Vergun het my te doen
Haply=Misschien
To institute=Instellen, inzetten
To traffic=Handel dryven, handelen
Become=Betaamen

Burgersdijk notes:
Padua, der kunsten wieg . De universiteit van Padua, in 1228 gesticht, was in Sh .’s tijd de beroemdste en meest bezochte van Italie, Petrarca, Columbus en Galilei hadden er gestudeerd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, virtue, satisfaction, hope/optimism

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Quickly
CONTEXT:
MISTRESS QUICKLY
What, John Rugby! I pray thee, go to the casement,
and see if you can see my master, Master Doctor
Caius, coming. If he do, i’ faith, and find any
body in the house, here will be an old abusing of
God’s patience and the King’s English.
RUGBY
I’ll go watch.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
Go; and we’ll have a posset for’t soon at night, in
faith, at the latter end of a sea-coal fire.
An honest, willing, kind fellow, as ever servant
shall come in house withal, and, I warrant you, no
tell-tale nor no breed-bate: his worst fault is,
that he is given to prayer; he is something peevish
that way: but nobody but has his fault; but let
that pass. Peter Simple, you say your name is?

DUTCH:
Want, waarachtig, als hij komt,
en hij vindt iemand in zijn huis, dan heeft Gods lankmoedigheid en des konings Engelsch het zwaar te verantwoorden.

MORE:
Proverb: Every man has (no man is without) his faults

Old abusing=A lot of bad language
Casement=Part of a window that opens on a hinge
Posset=Hot drink made of milk with wine or ale and added spices
Sea-coal=Mineral coal, not charcoal
Withal=With
Breed-bate=Troublemaker
Peevish=Foolish
Compleat:
Casement=Een kykvernstertje, een glaze venster dat men open doet
Abuzing=Quaade bejegening
Posset=Wey van gekookte melk met bier geschift
Sea-coal=Steenkoolen, smitskoolen
Posset=Wey van gekookte melk met bier geschift
Withall=Daar beneeven, mede, met eene
Make-bate=Twiststooker, ophitser
Peevish=Kribbig, gemelyk, korzel, wrantig, ligt geraakt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, friendship, civility, flaw/fault

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Flow this way! A brave fellow! he keeps his tides
well. Those healths will make thee and thy state
look ill, Timon. Here’s that which is too weak to
be a sinner, honest water, which ne’er left man i’ the
mire:
This and my food are equals; there’s no odds:
Feasts are too proud to give thanks to the gods.
Immortal gods, I crave no pelf;
I pray for no man but myself:
Grant I may never prove so fond,
To trust man on his oath or bond;
Or a harlot, for her weeping;
Or a dog, that seems a-sleeping:
Or a keeper with my freedom;
Or my friends, if I should need ’em.
Amen. So fall to’t:
Rich men sin, and I eat root.

DUTCH:
Hier heb ik, wat geen kracht tot zonde heeft;
Braaf water, dat nooit iemand in het slijk wierp.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Sims v. Manson, 25 Wis.2d 110, 130 N.W.2d 200 (1964)(Gordon, J.).

Proverb: Trust not a woman when she weeps

Tides=Time
Healths=Toasts
Mire=Mud, stain
No odds=No difference
Pelf=Wealth
Fond=Foolish
Compleat:
Tide=Tyd, stond
To drink a health=Een gezondheyd drinken
Mire=Slyk, slik
He is deep in the mire=Hy steekt diep in schulden; hy heeft veel op zyne hoorens
To stick in the mire=In de stik steeken
Odds=Verschil
Pelf=Prullen, slechte goederen [Men gebruykt dit woord als men verachtelyk van goederen spreekt]Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt

Topics: cited in law, contract, honesty, trust, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
What, doth my Lord of Suffolk comfort me?
Came he right now to sing a raven’s note,
Whose dismal tune bereft my vital powers;
And thinks he that the chirping of a wren,
By crying comfort from a hollow breast,
Can chase away the first-conceived sound?
Hide not thy poison with such sugar’d words;
Lay not thy hands on me; forbear, I say;
Their touch affrights me as a serpent’s sting.
Thou baleful messenger, out of my sight!
Upon thy eye-balls murderous tyranny
Sits in grim majesty, to fright the world.
Look not upon me, for thine eyes are wounding:
Yet do not go away: come, basilisk,
And kill the innocent gazer with thy sight;
For in the shade of death I shall find joy;
In life but double death, now Gloucester’s dead.

DUTCH:
Verberg uw gif niet zoo met suikerwoorden

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Proverb: The basilisk’s eye is fatal

Raven’s note=Bad news (the raven was symbolic of a bad omen)
Bereft=Deprived me of, spoiled, impaired
Hollow=Faint, insincere, deceitful
First-conceived=Initially heard
Forbear=Abstain, refrain from doing
Affright=Terrify

Compleat:
Bereft, bereaved=Beroofd
Forbear=Zich van onthouden
Hollow=Hol; Hollow-hearted=Geveinst
To affright=Verschrikken, vervaard maaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, honesty, deceit

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Stephano
CONTEXT:
STEPHANO
Come on your ways. Open your mouth. Here is that which will give language to you, cat. Open your mouth. This will shake your shaking, I can tell you, and that soundly. You cannot tell who’s your friend. Open your chaps again.
TRINCULO
I should know that voice. It should be—But he is drowned, and these are devils. Oh, defend me!
STEPHANO
Four legs and two voices—a most delicate monster. His forward voice now is to speak well of his friend. His backward voice is to utter foul speeches and to detract. If all the wine in my bottle will recover him, I will help his ague. Come.
(CALIBAN drinks)
Amen! I will pour some in thy other mouth.

DUTCH:
Vier beenen en twee stemmen! een allerkostelijkst
monster. Zijn voorstem dient zeker om goed te spreken
van zijn vriend, zijn achterstem voor achterklap en laster.

MORE:
Cat=Reference to the proverb ‘Good liquor (ale) will make a cat speak’.
Chaps=Jaws, chops
Delicate=Pleasant, delightful
Compleat:
To turn cat in pan=Overloopen, van party veranderen
The chaps=’t Bakkus
Delicate=Teer, zacht, lekker

Topics: proverbs and idioms, excess, truth

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
Methinks I am a prophet new inspired
And thus expiring do foretell of him:
His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last,
For violent fires soon burn out themselves;
Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short;
He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes;
With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder:
Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,
Consuming means, soon preys upon itself.

DUTCH:
Zijn dol en wulpsch geflakker kan niet duren,
Want ieder heftig vuur brandt schielijk uit

MORE:

Proverb: Nothing violent can be permanent
Proverb: Untimeous [untimely] spurring spoils the steed

Expiring=(a) Dying; (b) Expiration
Riot=Dissolute behaviour
Betimes=Early, at an early hour

Compleat:
Expiration=Eindiging, uitgang, verloop, uitblaazing van den laatsten adem
To expire=Den geest geeven, sterven
To riot=Optrekken, rinkinken, pypestellen
Betimes=Bytyds,vroeg

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, fate/destiny, haste

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Second Lord
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
If my shirt were bloody, then to shift it. Have I
hurt him?
SECOND LORD
No, faith, not so much as his patience.
FIRST LORD
Hurt him? His body’s a passable carcass if he be not hurt.
It is a thoroughfare for steel if it be not hurt.
SECOND LORD
His steel was in debt; it went o’ th’ backside the town.
CLOTEN
The villain would not stand me.
SECOND LORD
No, but he fled forward still, toward your face.
FIRST LORD
Stand you? You have land enough of your
own, but he added to your having, gave you some
ground.

DUTCH:
Zijn staal bleef in gebreke te betalen; het liep achteraf straten om.

MORE:
Proverb: He dares not show his head (himself) for debt

Passable=Can be passed through, in this case referring to the pass of a rapier.
Stand=Resist
Not so much as=Not even
The backside of the town=Like a debtor hiding in the back alleys to avoid a creditor. Also (from “An Account of King James I’s Visit to Cambridge”), certain Jesuits were not suffered to come through Cambridge, but were “by the Sheriff carried over the backe side of the town to Cambridge castle.”
Compleat:
Thorough-fare=Een doorgang
Passable=Doorganklyk, inschikkelyk, middelmaatig, schappelyk
Money that is passable=Gangbaar geld
A passable hand=Een tamelyke hand
Stand (against or before)=Tegen houden, tegenstaan, verweeren

Burgersdijk notes:
Zijn staal bleef in gebreke te betalen; het liep achterafstraten om. Er staat woordelijk: „Zijn staal had schulden en liep de stad achterom,” evenals een schuldenaar, die zich niet vrij door de stad bewegen durft; Posthumus’ staal spaarde Cloten. — De meening zou ook kunnen zijn: Cloten’s staal trof Posthumus niet.

Topics: debt/obligation, reason, law/legal, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Pistol
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
I am glad I am so acquit of this tinderbox: his
thefts were too open; his filching was like an
unskilful singer; he kept not time.
NYM
The good humour is to steal at a minute’s rest.
PISTOL
‘Convey,’ the wise it call. ‘Steal!’ foh! a fico
for the phrase!
FALSTAFF
Well, sirs, I am almost out at heels.
PISTOL
Why, then, let kibes ensue.
FALSTAFF
There is no remedy; I must cony-catch; I must shift.
PISTOL
Young ravens must have food.

DUTCH:
Ik ben blij, dat ik zoo van die tondeldoos afkom; zijn
diefstallen waren al te zichtbaar; in het kapen was hij
als een onbedreven zanger, hij hield de maat niet.

MORE:
Proverb: A fig for him (it)
Proverb: Small birds must have meat

Acquit=Rid
Tinderbox=Fire-starting equipment (re. Bardolph’s irritability)
Open=Obvious, visible
Good humour=Trick
A minute’s rest=Within a minute
Convey=Steal
Fico=Fig
Out at heels=Destitute
Kibes=Sores
Cony-catch=Swindle
Shift=Live by my wits
Compleat:
Acquit=Quyten, ontslaan
Tinderbox=Een tondeldoosje
I don’t care a fig for it=Ik geef ‘er niet een boon om
Kibe=Kakhiel, winterhiel
Cony=Konijn
Shift=Zichzelve redden

Burgersdijk notes:
Een figo. Een teeken van verachting.
Gaan stroopen. Er staat eigenlijk konijnen vangen.

Topics: poverty and wealth, offence, adversity, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Julia
CONTEXT:
LUCETTA
All these are servants to deceitful men.
JULIA
Base men, that use them to so base effect!
But truer stars did govern Proteus’ birth
His words are bonds, his oaths are oracles,
His love sincere, his thoughts immaculate,
His tears pure messengers sent from his heart,
His heart as far from fraud as heaven from earth.
LUCETTA
Pray heaven he prove so, when you come to him!
JULIA
Now, as thou lovest me, do him not that wrong
To bear a hard opinion of his truth:
Only deserve my love by loving him;
And presently go with me to my chamber,
To take a note of what I stand in need of,
To furnish me upon my longing journey.
All that is mine I leave at thy dispose,
My goods, my lands, my reputation;
Only, in lieu thereof, dispatch me hence.
Come, answer not, but to it presently!
I am impatient of my tarriance.

DUTCH:
Zijn woord is eed, zijn eed orakeltaal,
Zijn liefde waar, zijn denken rein, zijn tranen
Steeds boden van zijn hart, zijn hart zoo ver
Van elk bedrog, als de aard is van den hemel.

MORE:
Proverb: An honest man’s word is as good as his bond

Servants to=Assist, are a help to
Base=Lowly
Hard=Harsh
Presently=Immediately
Dispose=Disposal
Dispatch me hence=Speed me on my way
Tarriance=Delay
Compleat:
A base fellow=Een slechte vent, oolyke boef
Base=Ondergeschikt
Hard=(rigorous): Gestreng
Presently=Terstond, opstaandevoet
Dispose=Beschikken, schikken
To dispatch=(make haste) Haast maaken
To tarry=Sukkelen, zammelen, leuteren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, status, order/society

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Quickly
CONTEXT:
MISTRESS QUICKLY
What, John Rugby! I pray thee, go to the casement,
and see if you can see my master, Master Doctor
Caius, coming. If he do, i’ faith, and find any
body in the house, here will be an old abusing of
God’s patience and the King’s English.
RUGBY
I’ll go watch.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
Go; and we’ll have a posset for’t soon at night, in
faith, at the latter end of a sea-coal fire.
An honest, willing, kind fellow, as ever servant
shall come in house withal, and, I warrant you, no
tell-tale nor no breed-bate: his worst fault is,
that he is given to prayer; he is something peevish
that way: but nobody but has his fault; but let
that pass. Peter Simple, you say your name is?

DUTCH:
Zijn ergste gebrek is, dat hij aan het bidden
wat te veel verslaafd is, van dien kant is hij wel
wat zielig; maar zoo heeft ieder zijn gebrek; dus dat
mag wel zoo wezen. Je naam is Peter Simpel, zegt ge?

MORE:
Proverb: Every man has (no man is without) his faults

Old abusing=A lot of bad language
Casement=Part of a window that opens on a hinge
Posset=Hot drink made of milk with wine or ale and added spices
Sea-coal=Mineral coal, not charcoal
Withal=With
Breed-bate=Troublemaker
Peevish=Foolish
Compleat:
Casement=Een kykvernstertje, een glaze venster dat men open doet
Abuzing=Quaade bejegening
Posset=Wey van gekookte melk met bier geschift
Sea-coal=Steenkoolen, smitskoolen
Posset=Wey van gekookte melk met bier geschift
Withall=Daar beneeven, mede, met eene
Make-bate=Twiststooker, ophitser
Peevish=Kribbig, gemelyk, korzel, wrantig, ligt geraakt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, friendship, civility, flaw/fault

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Henry Bolingbroke
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD II
Uncle, even in the glasses of thine eyes
I see thy grieved heart: thy sad aspect
Hath from the number of his banish’d years
Pluck’d four away.
Six frozen winter spent,
Return with welcome home from banishment.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
How long a time lies in one little word!
Four lagging winters and four wanton springs
End in a word: such is the breath of kings.

DUTCH:
Wat tijd en macht ligt in een enkel woord!
Vier trage winters en vier dartle Mei’s
Zijn adem, niets, — doet hun een vorst dien eisch.

MORE:

Proverb: The eye is the window of the heart (mind)

Schmidt:
Glasses of thine eyes=Eyeballs
Aspect=Look, glance; possible reference to astrology, with the aspect being the position of one planet in relation to others and its potential to exert influence
Wanton=Bountiful, luxuriant

Compleat:
Aspect=Gezigt, gelaat, aanschouw, stargezigt
Of fierce aspect=Van een straf gelaat

Topics: time, nature, punishment, appearance, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Hermia
CONTEXT:
HERMIA
“Puppet”? Why so? Ay, that way goes the game.
Now I perceive that she hath made compare
Between our statures. She hath urged her height,
And with her personage, her tall personage,
Her height, forsooth, she hath prevailed with him.
And are you grown so high in his esteem
Because I am so dwarfish and so low?
How low am I, thou painted maypole? Speak.
How low am I? I am not yet so low
But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

DUTCH:
Hoe klein ben ik, gij bonte hoonenstaak?
Hoe klein ben ik? zoo klein toch niet, dat ik
Uw oogen met mijn nagels niet bereik!

MORE:
Proverb: As tall as a maypole

Puppet=Counterfeit; doll
Painted=Wearing makeup
Maypole=Tall and thin person
Compleat:
Puppet=een Poppetje, pop
Puppet-play=een Spel van poppetjes, gelyk hier in ‘t Dool-hof of de Marionetten
May-pole=een May-paal, meyboom

Burgersdijk notes:
Bonte boonenstaak. In ‘t Engelsch wordt de lange Helena met een meiboom vergeleken, die, met bloemen en linten bont gesierd werd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance

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

DUTCH:
Armzalig zij, wien ‘t aan geduld ontbreekt!
Geneest een wond ooit anders dan allengskens?

MORE:
Proverb: He that has no patience has nothing

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

Topics: intellect, patience, proverbs and idioms, purpose

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Valentine
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
How use doth breed a habit in a man!
This shadowy desert, unfrequented woods,
I better brook than flourishing peopled towns:
Here can I sit alone, unseen of any,
And to the nightingale’s complaining notes
Tune my distresses and record my woes.
O thou that dost inhabit in my breast,
Leave not the mansion so long tenantless,
Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall
And leave no memory of what it was!
Repair me with thy presence, Silvia;
Thou gentle nymph, cherish thy forlorn swain!
What halloing and what stir is this to-day?
These are my mates, that make their wills their law,
Have some unhappy passenger in chase.
They love me well; yet I have much to do
To keep them from uncivil outrages.
Withdraw thee, Valentine: who’s this comes here?

DUTCH:
Wat maakt gewoonte ras den mensch iets eigen!
Deez’ donkere eenzaamheid, dit stille woud,
Behaagt mij meer dan rijke woel’ge steden.

MORE:
Proverb: Once a use and ever a custom

Unfrequented=Deserted
Brook=Bear, endure; put up with
Record=Sing
Mansion=Dwelling
Growing ruinous=Falling into ruin
Swain=Young lover
Stir=Commotion
Passenger=Traveller
Compleat:
To frequent=Steeds bywonen, verkeeren, omgaan
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To record=Overhands zingen, gelyk vogelen
A mansion=Een wooning, woonplaats; ‘t huys van een hofstede of heerlykheyd
Ruining=Bederving, verwoesting; bedervende
Ruinous=Bouwvallig
Stir=Gewoel, geraas, beroerte, oproer
Passenger=Een reyzer, reyziger; passagier

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, custom

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.9
SPEAKER: Thersites
CONTEXT:
MARGARELON
A bastard son of Priam’s.
THERSITES
I am a bastard too; I love bastards: I am a bastard
begot, bastard instructed, bastard in mind, bastard
in valour, in every thing illegitimate. One bear will
not bite another, and wherefore should one bastard?
Take heed, the quarrel’s most ominous to us: if the
son of a whore fight for a whore, he tempts judgement:
farewell, bastard.

DUTCH:
Ik ben ook een bastaard. Ik houd van bastaards; ik
ben als bastaard verwekt, als bastaard opgevoed, bastaard
in mijn geest, bastaard in moed, in alle opzichten onecht.

MORE:
Proverb: One wolf (bear) will not eat (bite, prey upon) another

Quarrel=Fight
Ominous=Fatal, pernicious
Tempt=Provoke
Compleat:
Quarrel=Krakeel; twist
Ominous=Voorduydende, een quaad voorteken
To tempt=Aanvechten, verzoeken, bekooren, bestryden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, respect, relationship

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
CHIEF JUSTICE
To punish you by the heels would amend the attention of your ears, and I care not if I do become your physician.
FALSTAFF
I am as poor as Job, my lord, but not so patient. Your Lordship may minister the potion of imprisonment to me in respect of poverty, but how I should be your patient to follow your prescriptions, the wise may make some dram of a scruple, or indeed a scruple itself.

DUTCH:
Ik ben zoo arm als Job, mylord, maar zulk een lijdzaam lijder zou ik niet zijn. Uwe lordschap kan mij den drank der gevangenschap opdringen; maar of ik als lijder uwe voorschriften zou opvolgen, daarover kan de wijze wel een grein van een scrupel koesteren, ja geheel scrupuleus zijn.

MORE:

Proverb: To have the patience of Job

“To punish you by the heels” is another reference to the punishment of baffling. This was formally a punishment of infamy inflicted on recreant nights, which included hanging them up by the heels.

Schmidt:
Minister to=Administer (medicines), to prescribe, to order
Scruple=The third part of a dram; proverbially a very small quantity
Make a dram of a scruple=Quibble
Potion=Medicine, remedy

Compleat:
Dram=Vierendeel loods; een zoopje, een borrel
Scruple=Een gewigtje van xx greinen
To scrupule=Zwaarigheid maaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised, patience

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Macbeth
CONTEXT:
By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good,
All causes shall give way. I am in blood
Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.
Strange things I have in head, that will to hand,
Which must be acted ere they may be scanned.

DUTCH:
k Heb in bloed
Zoo ver gewaad, dat, als ik nu bleef staan,
Mij de omkeer zwaarder viel, dan ‘t voorwaarts gaan.

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb: “Go forward and fall, go backward and mar all” (1580)

Topics: purpose, uncertainty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
He looks well on’t.
KING
I am not a day of season,
For thou mayst see a sunshine and a hail
In me at once: but to the brightest beams
Distracted clouds give way; so stand thou forth;
The time is fair again.
BERTRAM
My high-repented blames,
Dear sovereign, pardon to me.

DUTCH:
Ik ben geen dag van dit seizoen,
Want tegelijk zijn zonneschijn en hagel
In mij te zien; doch held’re stralen banen
Een weg zich door de wolken; treed dus voor;
Het weder is weer schoon.

MORE:
Proverb: After black clouds clear weather
Proverb: After rain (showers) comes air weather (the sun)
Proverb: After a storm comes a calm

Day of season=Seasonable day, sunshine and showers
Distracted=Agitated, divided
High-repented=Much repented
Compleat:
Distracted=Van een gescheurd, ontroerd
Distracted with one thing or another=Door de eene of de andere zaak weggeerukt, of verrukt
Repentant=Boetvaerdig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, emotion and mood, regret, optimism

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Poet
CONTEXT:
TIMON
Have I once lived to see two honest men?
POET
Sir,
Having often of your open bounty tasted,
Hearing you were retired, your friends fall’n off,
Whose thankless natures—O abhorred spirits!—
Not all the whips of heaven are large enough:
What! to you,
Whose star-like nobleness gave life and influence
To their whole being! I am rapt and cannot cover
The monstrous bulk of this ingratitude
With any size of words.
TIMON
Let it go naked, men may see’t the better:
You that are honest, by being what you are,
Make them best seen and known.
PAINTER
He and myself
Have travailed in the great shower of your gifts,
And sweetly felt it.

DUTCH:
Ik ben mijzelf niet, en bezit geen woorden
Om zulk een monsterachtig grooten ondank
Naar eisch er in te kleeden.

MORE:
Proverb: The truth shows best being naked

Open bounty=Great generosity
Tasted=Enjoyed
Fallen off=Defected, estranged
Rapt=Speechless
Size=Quantity
Compleat:
Bounty=Goedertierenheid, mildheid
Rapt=Met geweld ontnoomen of afgerukt
Tasted=Geproefd, gesmaakt
Rapt=Met geweld ontnoomen of afgerukt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, ruin, truth, discovery

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Puck
CONTEXT:
PUCK
Now the hungry lion roars
And the wolf behowls the moon,
Whilst the heavy ploughman snores,
All with weary task fordone.
Now the wasted brands do glow,
Whilst the screech-owl, screeching loud,
Puts the wretch that lies in woe
In remembrance of a shroud.
Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the churchway paths to glide.
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate’s team
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic. Not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallowed house.
I am sent with broom before
To sweep the dust behind the door.

DUTCH:
Niet een muis
Store dit gewijde huis;
‘k Veeg het met den bezem schoon,
Dat geen smetjen zich vertoon’!

MORE:
Proverb: The dog (wolf) barks in vain at the moon

Triple Hecate=Greek goddess of moon and light with the realms of heaven, hell and earth. Sometimes with three faces
Behowls=Howls at
Fordone=Exhausted
Wasted brands=Burned logs
Frolic=Merry
Broom=One of Puck’s emblems as he was said to help good housekeepers
Compleat:
Fore-do=Benaadeelen
Howl=Huylen, gieren
Wasted=Verwoest, verquist, verteerd
Brand=Brand-hout
Frolick=Vrolyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, nature, preparation

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
What a plague means my niece, to take the death of her brother thus? I am sure care’s an enemy to life.
MARIA
By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o’ nights. Your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Why, let her except, before excepted.
MARIA
Ay, but you must confine yourself within the modest limits of order.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Confine? I’ll confine myself no finer than I am. These clothes are good enough to drink in, and so be these boots too. An they be not, let them hang themselves in their own straps.

DUTCH:
Wat weêrgá, welk een inval toch van mijn nicht, zich
den dood van haren broeder zoo aan te trekken? Ik
ben overtuigd, dat kommer het leven verkort.

MORE:
Proverb: Care will kill a cat
Proverb: Care brings grey hair
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint

Except before excepted=With the stated exceptions (Exceptis excipiendis)
Modest=Moderate, reasonable
Limits of order=Bounds of behaviour
Confine=Limit
Finer=More refined
Compleat:
Except=Uytzonderen, uytsluyten
Modest=Zeedig, eerbaar
Quite out of order=Geheel uyt zyn schik
Confined=Bepaald, bedwongen; gevangen
Fine=Mooi, fraai, fyn, schoon

Burgersdijk notes:
Het hindert niet. Natuurlijk moesten de woordspelingen met eenige vrijheid overgebracht worden. Hier staat in ‘t Engelsen, in antwoord op het door Maria gebezigde woord exception: ,Let her except, before excepted.” Except is de rechtsuitdrukking voor het wraken van getuigen. Verkiest men het woord afkeuren, dat alsdan ook door Maria gebruikt moet zijn, dan wordt dit: ,Laat haar afkeuren, voor zijzelf afgekeurd wordt “; dan is de vertaler iets nader gebleven aan het oorspronkelijke, maar daarentegen had jonker Tobias dan de woorden niet in een anderen zin gebruikt dan Maria, en dus ware de vertaling uit dit oogpunt weer minder getrouw. Nihil ex omni parte beatum.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, concern , order/societyvirtue

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
I cannot tell if to depart in silence
Or bitterly to speak in your reproof
Best fitteth my degree or your condition.
If not to answer, you might haply think
Tongue-tied ambition, not replying, yielded
To bear the golden yoke of sovereignty,
Which fondly you would here impose on me.
If to reprove you for this suit of yours,
So seasoned with your faithful love to me,
Then on the other side I checked my friends.
Therefore, to speak, and to avoid the first,
And then, in speaking, not to incur the last,
Definitively thus I answer you:
Your love deserves my thanks, but my desert
Unmeritable shuns your high request.
First, if all obstacles were cut away
And that my path were even to the crown
As the ripe revenue and due of birth,
Yet so much is my poverty of spirit,
So mighty and so many my defects,
That I would rather hide me from my greatness,
Being a bark to brook no mighty sea,
Than in my greatness covet to be hid
And in the vapor of my glory smothered.
But, God be thanked, there is no need of me,
And much I need to help you, were there need.
The royal tree hath left us royal fruit,
Which, mellowed by the stealing hours of time,
Will well become the seat of majesty,
And make, no doubt, us happy by his reign.
On him I lay what you would lay on me,
The right and fortune of his happy stars,
Which God defend that I should wring from him.

DUTCH:
Ik weet niet, of stilzwijgend heen te gaan,
Of u met scherpe reed’nen te bestraffen,
Met mijnen rang en uwen staat best strookt.

MORE:
Proverb: Silence is (gives) consent

Fitteth=Is appropriate to
Degree=Status
Condition=Position
Tongue-tied ambition.. Yielded=Silence indicated consent
Fondly=Foolishly
Check=Rebuke
Unmeritable=Without merit
Ripe revenue=Overdue debt
Poverty=Lack
Barque=Sailing vessel
Brook=Endure
Stealing=Advancing
Happy=Auspicious
Defend=Forfend
Compleat:
To fit=Passen, pas maaken, gereed maaken, voegen
Degree=Een graad, trap
Condition=Staat, gesteltenis. gelegenheyd
To be tongue-tied=Niet spreeken kunnen, of durven
Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten
Poverty=Armoede
Bark=Scheepje
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To steal=Doorsluypen
To steal away=Ontsteelen, wegsluypen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, reply, claim

PLAY:
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
I could be well moved if I were as you.
If I could pray to move, prayers would move me.
But I am constant as the northern star,
Of whose true-fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks.
They are all fire and every one doth shine,
But there’s but one in all doth hold his place.
So in the world. ‘Tis furnished well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and apprehensive,
Yet in the number I do know but one
That unassailable holds on his rank,
Unshaked of motion . And that I am he
Let me a little show it even in this:
That I was constant Cimber should be banished,
And constant do remain to keep him so.

DUTCH:
Ware ik aan u gelijk, ik liet mij roeren ;
Mij roerde smeeking, smeekte ikzelf tot roering ;
Doch wank’len is mij vreemd, als aan de noordster,
Wier eeuwig vaste, rustige natuur
Aan ‘t firmament geen wedergade heeft.

MORE:
Proverb: My own flesh and blood

Be well=Easily be
Pray to move=Try to persuade others to change
Resting=Constant, unchanging
Fellow=Equal
Holds on=Maintains
Unshaked of motion=Immovable
Constant=Firm, resolute
Compleat:
Pray=Verzoeken
To move=Verroeren, gaande maaken; voorstellen
Resting=Verblyving; rustende
Fellow=Gezel, medegezel, maat, vennoot, makker, weergade
To hold on=Aanhouden, volharden
Unshaken=Ongeschud, onbeweegd, onbewoogen
Constant=Standvastig, bestending, gestadig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, persuasion, resolution

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Pompey
CONTEXT:
POMPEY
I could have given less matter
A better ear.—Menas, I did not think
This amorous surfeiter would have donned his helm
For such a petty war. His soldiership
Is twice the other twain. But let us rear
The higher our opinion, that our stirring
Can from the lap of Egypt’s widow pluck
The ne’er lust-wearied Antony.
MENAS
I cannot hope
Caesar and Antony shall well greet together.
His wife that’s dead did trespasses to Caesar.
His brother warred upon him, although, I think,
Not moved by Antony.
POMPEY
I know not, Menas,
How lesser enmities may give way to greater.
Were ’t not that we stand up against them all,
’Twere pregnant they should square between themselves,
For they have entertained cause enough
To draw their swords. But how the fear of us
May cement their divisions and bind up
The petty difference, we yet not know.
Be ’t as our gods will have ’t. It only stands
Our lives upon to use our strongest hands.
Come, Menas.

DUTCH:
Iets min belangrijks
Waar’ beter welkom. — Menas, ik dacht nooit
Dat zulk een nietige oorlog den wellust’ling
De wapens zou doen grijpen; zijne krijgskunst
Is dubbel die der and’re twee.

MORE:
Proverb: The greater grief (sorrow) drives out the less

Surfeiter=Reveller
Rear=Raise
Did trespasses to=Offended against
Moved=Prompted
Pregnant=Probable, clear, evident
Square=Fight
Entertained=Maintained
Cement=Join
Compleat:
To surfeit=Ergens zat van worden; zich overlaaden
Trespass=Overtreeden, zondigen
Moved=Bewoogen, verroerd, ontroerd
Pregnant=Krachtig, dringend, naadrukkelyk
Entertain=Onthaalen, huysvesten, plaats vergunnen
To cement=Dicht t’zamenvoegen, vastgroeijen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict, rivalry

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Ford
CONTEXT:
FORD
Sir, I am a gentleman that have spent much; my name is
Brook.
FALSTAFF
Good Master Brook, I desire more acquaintance of you.
FORD
Good Sir John, I sue for yours: not to charge you;
for I must let you understand I think myself in
better plight for a lender than you are: the which
hath something emboldened me to this unseasoned
intrusion; for they say, if money go before, all
ways do lie open.
FALSTAFF
Money is a good soldier, sir, and will on.
FORD
Troth, and I have a bag of money here troubles me:
if you will help to bear it, Sir John, take all, or
half, for easing me of the carriage.
FALSTAFF
Sir, I know not how I may deserve to be your porter.

DUTCH:
Beste heer Beek, ik hoop nader met u bekend te
worden.

MORE:
Proverb: If money go before, all ways lie open
Proverb: An ass laden with gold climbs to the top of the castle
Proverb: Gold goes in at any gate except heaven’s
Proverb: No lock will hold against the power of gold

Desire more acquaintance=Ied like to get to know you better
Unseasoned=Untimely
Carriage=Burden
Compleat:
Seasonably=Recht van pas
Acquaintance=Kennis, verkeering, ommegang, een bekende
Carriage=Wagenvragt, voerloon, handell en wandel

Topics: proverbs and idioms|money|invented or popularised

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Jaques
CONTEXT:
JAQUES
A fool, a fool, I met a fool i’ th’ forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!
As I do live by food, I met a fool,
Who laid him down and basked him in the sun
And railed on Lady Fortune in good terms,
In good set terms, and yet a motley fool.
“Good morrow, fool,” quoth I. “No, sir,” quoth he,
“Call me not ‘fool’ till heaven hath sent me fortune.”
And then he drew a dial from his poke
And, looking on it with lackluster eye,
Says very wisely, “It is ten o’clock.
Thus we may see,” quoth he, “how the world wags.
‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more ’twill be eleven.
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale.” When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer
That fools should be so deep-contemplative,
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley’s the only wear.

DUTCH:
Toen die nar
Zoo tijdsbespiegelingen hield, begonnen
Mijn longen luid te kraaien als een haan,
Dat narren soms zoo diepe denkers zijn;
En ‘k lachte, lachte, lachte, op ‘t uurwerk af,
Wel ruim een uur.

MORE:
Proverb: Thereby hangs (lies) a tale
Proverb: Fortune favours fools

Motley=Multicoloured jester outfit
Set=Composed
Rail=To use reproachful language, to scold in opprobrious terms
Poke=Pouch or pocket
Lacklustre=Lacking radiance, gloss or brightness (Latin lustrare).
Dial=(Fob)watch
Poke=Pouch, pocket
Moral=Moralise
Deep=Profoundly
Chanticleer=Rooster
Compleat:
Motley=Een grove gemengelde
To rail=Schelden
To wag (to move or stir)=Schudden, beweegen
Poke=Zak
Lustre=Luyster
Dial=Wysplaat
To moralize=Een zedelyke uitlegging of toepassing op iets maaken
Deep=Diepzinnig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, blame, nature, time

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Boy
CONTEXT:
I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart. But the saying is true: “The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.” Bardolph and Nym had ten times more valour than this roaring devil i’ th’ old play, that everyone may pare his nails with a wooden dagger, and they are both hanged, and so would this be if he durst steal any thing adventurously. I must stay with the lackeys with the luggage of our camp. The French might have a good prey of us if he knew of it, for there is none to guard it but boys.

DUTCH:
Van mijn leven heb ik zulk een volle stem niet hooren
komen uit een ledig hart; maar het zeggen is waar: in
holle vaten zit de meeste klank

MORE:

Proverb: Empty vessels sound most, empty vessels make the greatest sound (most noise)

Paring nails would have been an affront to the Devil, who chose not to pare his own (Malone)
Adventurously=Daringly, boldly
Luggage=Army baggage

Burgersdijk notes:
Dan deze brullende duivel. In de oude moraliteiten zag de duivel er wel vreeselijk uit en brulde
geweldig, maar hij was toch zeer laf en liet zich door den hansworst met zijn houten zwaard ongestraft op de vingers slaan.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, integrity, honesty

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Lafew
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
I did think thee, for two ordinaries, to be a pretty wise fellow: thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel; it might pass: yet the scarfs and the bannerets about thee did manifoldly dissuade me from believing thee a vessel of too great a burthen.
I have now found thee; when I lose thee again, I care not; yet art thou good for nothing but taking up, and that thou’rt scarce worth.
PAROLLES
Hadst thou not the privilege of antiquity upon thee
LAFEW
Do not plunge thyself too far in anger, lest thou
hasten thy trial; which if—Lord have mercy on thee
for a hen! So, my good window of lattice, fare thee
well: thy casement I need not open, for I look
through thee. Give me thy hand.
PAROLLES
My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.

DUTCH:
Ik hield u, nadat ik een paar maal met u aan een open tafel gezeten had, voor een redelijk verstandigen knaap; gij maaktet tamelijk veel ophef van uw reizen;
dit kon er mee door; maar die wimpels en vlaggen aan u weerhielden mij telkens, u voor een schip met al te
groote lading te houden.

MORE:
Proverb: As good (better) lost as (than) found

Ordinaries=Mealtimes
Tolerable vent=Reasonable account
Banneret=Little flag
Taking up=Contradict
Window of lattice=Transparent like a latticed window (punning on Lettice, used for ruffs and caps)
Casement=Part of a window that opens on a hinge
Egregious=Extraordinary, enormous
Indignity=Contemptuous injury, insult
Compleat:
Ordinary=Drooggastery, Gaarkeuken, Ordinaris
Vent=Lugt, togt, gerucht
To eat ant an ordinary=In een ordinaris eten
Take up=Berispen; bestraffen
Lattice=Een houten traali
Casement=Een kykvernstertje, een glaze venster dat men open doet
Egregious=Treffelyk, braaf, heerlyk
Indignity=Smaad

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wisdom, appearance, discovery, understanding

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Thou art a soldier only. Speak no more.
ENOBARBUS
That truth should be silent, I had almost forgot.
ANTONY
You wrong this presence. Therefore speak no more.
ENOBARBUS
Go to, then. Your considerate stone.
CAESAR
I do not much dislike the matter, but
The manner of his speech, for ’t cannot be
We shall remain in friendship, our conditions
So diff’ring in their acts. Yet if I knew
What hoop should hold us stanch, from edge to edge
O’ th’ world I would pursue it.

DUTCH:
Ik acht, in wat hij zegt heeft hij geen onrecht,
Slechts in de wijze hoe. Het is onmoog’lijk,
Dat wij, in aard en doen zoozeer verscheiden,
Steeds vrienden blijven. Doch, indien ik wist,
Wat band ons stevig saam kon houden, ‘k zou
De wereld door hem zoeken.

MORE:
Proverb: The truth should be silent

Presence=Company
Considerate stone=Still, silent and capable of thought
Conditions=Dispositions
Staunch=Strong, watertight
Compleat:
Presence=Tegenwoordigheyd, byzyn, byweezen
Considerate=Omzigtig, bedachtzaam
Condition=Aardt, gesteltenis

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, perception, friendship

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Duchess of York
CONTEXT:
DUCHESS OF YORK
Nay, do not say, ‘stand up;’
Say, ‘pardon’ first, and afterwards ‘stand up.’
And if I were thy nurse, thy tongue to teach,
‘Pardon’ should be the first word of thy speech.
I never long’d to hear a word till now;
Say ‘pardon,’ king; let pity teach thee how:
The word is short, but not so short as sweet;
No word like ‘pardon’ for kings’ mouths so meet.
DUKE OF YORK
Speak it in French, king; say, ‘pardonnez-moi.’
DUCHESS OF YORK
Dost thou teach pardon pardon to destroy?
Ah, my sour husband, my hard-hearted lord,
That set’st the word itself against the word!
Speak ‘pardon’ as ’tis current in our land;
The chopping French we do not understand.
Thine eye begins to speak; set thy tongue there;
Or in thy piteous heart plant thou thine ear;
That hearing how our plaints and prayers do pierce,
Pity may move thee ‘pardon’ to rehearse.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Good aunt, stand up.
DUCHESS OF YORK
I do not sue to stand;
Pardon is all the suit I have in hand.

DUTCH:
Ik vraag niet op te staan;
Neen, enkel om vergeving houd ik aan.

MORE:

Proverb: Short and sweet

Meet=Fitting, appropriate
Chopping=Changing the meaning of words
Plaints=Complaints
Sue=Beg
Suit=A request made to a prince, a court-solicitation
Nurse=Nanny

Compleat:
To chop=Ruilen, ruitebuiten
To chop at a thing=Iets aangrypen, vasthouden
Plaint=Klagte, aanklagte
Sue=Voor ‘t recht roepen, in rechte vervolgen
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, language

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl.
The secret mischiefs that I set abroach
I lay unto the grievous charge of others.
Clarence, whom I indeed have cast in darkness,
I do beweep to many simple gulls,
Namely, to Derby, Hastings, Buckingham,
And tell them ’tis the queen and her allies
That stir the king against the duke my brother.
Now they believe it and withal whet me
To be revenged on Rivers, Dorset, Grey;
But then I sigh and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil;
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen out of Holy Writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
But, soft! here come my executioners.—
How now, my hardy, stout, resolvèd mates?
Are you now going to dispatch this thing?

DUTCH:
Ik doe het booze, en roep het eerst om wraak.
Hot onheil, dat ik heim’lijk heb gesticht,
Leg ik als zwaren last op vreemde schouders.

MORE:
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint

Brawl=Quarrel
Mischief=Wicked deed
Set abroach=Carried out (the harm I have done)
Lay unto the charge=Accuse
Simple gulls=Simpletons
Stir=Incite
Stout=Resolute
Compleat:
Brawl=Gekyf
To brawl=Kyven
Mischief=onheil, dwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
To set abroach=Een gat booren om uyt te tappen, een vat opsteeken. Ook Lucht of ruymte aan iets geven
To lay a thing to one’s charge=Iemand met iets beschuldigen, iets tot iemands laste brengen
Gull=Bedrieger
To stir=Beweegen, verroeren
Stout=Stout, koen, dapper, verwaand, lustig

Topics: persuasion, offence, manipulation, conflict, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Puck
CONTEXT:
OBERON
About the wood go swifter than the wind,
And Helena of Athens look thou find—
All fancy-sick she is and pale of cheer,
With sighs of love, that costs the fresh blood dear.
By some illusion see thou bring her here.
I’ll charm his eyes against she do appear.
PUCK
I go, I go. Look how I go,
Swifter than arrow from the Tartar’s bow.

DUTCH:
Ik ijl, ik ijl, zie hoe ik ijl:
Sneller dan ooit van Parthers hoog een pijl.

MORE:
Proverb: As swift as an arrow

Fancy-sick=Lovesick
Against=In preparation for
Tartars were renowned for their skill at archery, hence Tartar’s bow.
Compleat:
Against tomorrow=Tegens morgen
Fancy=Inbeelding, verbeelding, neyging

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, love, emotion and mood

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
ANTONIO
I must entreat of you some of that money.
VIOLA
What money, sir?
For the fair kindness you have showed me here,
And part being prompted by your present trouble,
Out of my lean and low ability
I’ll lend you something. My having is not much.
I’ll make division of my present with you.
Hold, there’s half my coffer.
ANTONIO
Will you deny me now?
Is ’t possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion? Do not tempt my misery,
Lest that it make me so unsound a man
As to upbraid you with those kindnesses
That I have done for you.
VIOLA
I know of none,
Nor know I you by voice or any feature.
I hate ingratitude more in a man
Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness,
Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption
Inhabits our frail blood—

DUTCH:
Ik haat ondankbaarheid meer in een man,
Dan valschheid, trots, praatziekte, dronkenschap,
Of een’ge boosheid, die ons zwak gemoed
Vergiftigt en bederft.

MORE:
Proverb: Ingratitude comprehends all faults

Part=In part, partly
Present=Current (money) trouble
Coffer=Money chest
Persuasion=Persuasiveness
Unsound=Unprincipled
Upbraid=Reproach
Compleat:
Part=Een deel, gedeelte
Coffer=Een koffer, kist
Persuasion=Overreeding, overtuiging, overstemming, aanraading, wysmaaking
Unsound (corrupt, rotten)=Bedurve, verrot, ongaaf
To upbraid=Verwyten, smaadelyk toedryven

Topics: proverbs and idioms, money, debt/obligation, ingratitude

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Ulysses
CONTEXT:
ULYSSES
I have a young conception in my brain;
Be you my time to bring it to some shape.
NESTOR
What is’t?
ULYSSES
This ’tis:
Blunt wedges rive hard knots: the seeded pride
That hath to this maturity blown up
In rank Achilles must or now be cropped,
Or, shedding, breed a nursery of like evil,
To overbulk us all.
NESTOR
Well, and how?
ULYSSES
This challenge that the gallant Hector sends,
However it is spread in general name,
Relates in purpose only to Achilles.

DUTCH:
Een jong ontwerp is in mijn brein verwekt;
Wees gij de tijd, die het tot rijpheid brengt.

MORE:
Proverb: A knotty piece of timber must have sharp wedges
Proverb: Blunt edges rive hard knots

Young conception=Germ of an idea
Blown=Swelled
Rank=Overgrown
Shedding=Dispersing its seeds
Compleat:
Conception=Bevatting
Rank (that shoots too many leaves or branches)=Weelig, dat te veel takken of bladen schiet
To grow rank=Al te weelit groeien
Shedding=Storting, vergieting

Topics: proverbs and idioms, plans/intentions, pride

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
CLOWN
Truly, madam, if God have lent a man any manners, he may easily put it off at court: he that cannot make a leg, put off’s cap, kiss his hand, and say nothing, has neither leg, hands, lip, nor cap; and indeed such a fellow, to say precisely, were not for the court. But for me, I have an answer will serve all men.
COUNTESS
Marry, that’s a bountiful answer that fits all questions.
CLOWN
It is like a barber’s chair that fits all buttocks, the pin-buttock, the quatch-buttock, the brawnbuttock, or any buttock.

DUTCH:
COUNTESS
Nu voorwaar, dat is een rijk antwoord, dat voor alle vragen passend is.
CLOWN
Het is als een scheerdersstoel, die voor alle achterstevens passend is, voor de spitse, voor de platte, voor de ronde, kortom voor alle achterstevens.

MORE:
Proverb: As common a a barber’s chair

Make a leg=A bow, an obeisance made by drawing one leg backward
Lent=To bestow on, to endow with, to adorn, to arm with
Put off=Doff
Bountiful=Of rich contents, full of meaning
Quatch=Squat
Compleat:
To make a leg=Buigen
To put off one’s hat=Zyn hoed afneemen
Bountiful=Milddaadig, goedertieren

Topics: reply, reason, understanding, loyalty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
KING
We lost a jewel of her; and our esteem
Was made much poorer by it: but your son,
As mad in folly, lacked the sense to know
Her estimation home.
COUNTESS
‘Tis past, my liege;
And I beseech your majesty to make it
Natural rebellion, done i’ the blade of youth;
When oil and fire, too strong for reason’s force,
O’erbears it and burns on.
KING
My honoured lady,
I have forgiven and forgotten all;
Though my revenges were high bent upon him,
And watched the time to shoot.

DUTCH:
Eed’le vrouw,
Vergeven heb ik alles en vergeten,
Hoe straf mijn toorn op hem gespannen waar’,
Den tijd voor ‘t schot bespiedend.

MORE:
Esteem=Worth (own worth)
Estimation=Value
Home=To the full
Make=Consider
Blade=Green shoot, callowness of youth
High bent=Bent to breaking point
Watch the time=Wait patiently
Compleat:
Esteem=Achting, waarde
Estimation=Waardering, schatting
Blade=Blad van een gewas; een Jonker
I have got the bent of his bow=Ik weet wel waar hy heen wil
Watch=Waaken, bespieden
Bent=Buiging, neiging

Topics: value, mercy, revenge, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Pandarus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
Faith, I’ll not meddle in ‘t. Let her be as she is:
if she be fair, ’tis the better for her; an she be
not, she has the mends in her own hands.
TROILUS
Good Pandarus, how now, Pandarus!
PANDARUS
I have had my labour for my travail; ill-thought on of
her and ill-thought on of you; gone between and
between, but small thanks for my labour.
TROILUS
What, art thou angry, Pandarus? what, with me?
PANDARUS
Because she’s kin to me, therefore she’s not so fair
as Helen: an she were not kin to me, she would be as
fair on Friday as Helen is on Sunday. But what care
I? I care not an she were a black-a-moor; ’tis all one
to me.

DUTCH:
Nu, ik wil er mij niet mede bemoeien. Zij moge zijn
zooals zij is; is zij schoon, des te beter voor haar; is zij
het niet, nu dan staat het wel in haar macht, dit te
verhelpen.

MORE:
Proverb: I will neither meddle nor make
Proverb: The mends (amends) is in his own hands

Mends=Remedy
My labour for my travail=Efforts as their own reward
Friday and Sunday=Everyday dress or Sunday best
Blackamoor=A generic name for a black African person.
All one=All the same
Compleat:
Meddle=Bemoeijen, moeijen
To mend=Verbeteren, beteren; verstellen, lappen
Labour=Arbeid, moeite, werk
Black-moor or Blackamore=Een Moriaan, Zwart
It is all one to me=’t Scheelt my niet

Burgersdijk notes:
Dit te verhelpen. Door blanketsel, valsch haar enz.
Helena op Zondag. In ‘t Fransch zegt men ook: beauté des dimanches.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, remedy, anger, ingratitude, work

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Richard
CONTEXT:
RATCLIFFE
Bad news, my lord. Morton is fled to Richmond,
And Buckingham, backed with the hardy Welshmen,
Is in the field, and still his power increaseth.
RICHARD
Ely with Richmond troubles me more near
Than Buckingham and his rash-levied strength.
Come, I have learned that fearful commenting
Is leaden servitor to dull delay;
Delay leads impotent and snail-paced beggary;
Then fiery expedition be my wing,
Jove’s Mercury, and herald for a king.
Go, muster men. My counsel is my shield.
We must be brief when traitors brave the field.

DUTCH:
Dit heb ik geleerd, dat angstig wikken
De looden dienaar is van traag verzuim,
Verzuim slaktrage, macht’looze armoe brengt .

MORE:
Proverb: As slow as a snail

Troubles me more near=Is a more immediate concern
Rash-levied=Hastily recruited
Strength=Army
Leaden=Slow
Beggary=Ruin
Expedition=Speed
Counsel is my shield=My shield is my advisor
Brief=Act quickly
Brave the field=Go to battle
Compleat:
Rash=Voorbaarig, haastig, onbedacht, roekeloos
To levy=(soldiers) Soldaaten ligten, krygsvolk werven
Strength=Sterkte, kracht
To gather strength=Zyne krachten weer krygen
Beggary=Bedelaary
Expeditious=Vaerdig, afgerecht
Brief=Kort
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren; moedig treeden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, haste, advice, defence

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Lucetta
CONTEXT:
LUCETTA
Then thus: of many good I think him best.
JULIA
Your reason?
LUCETTA
I have no other, but a woman’s reason;
I think him so because I think him so.

DUTCH:
JULIA
Om welke reden?
LUCETTA
Ik heb geen and’re, dan een meisjensreden:
Ik vind hem zoo, omdat ik hem zoo vind.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Tackett v. Bolling, 172 Va. 326,339, 1 S.E.2d 285, 291 (1939)(Spratly J.).

Proverb: Because is woman’s reason

Topics: cited in law, reason, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Poet
CONTEXT:
POET
I have not seen you long: how goes the world?
PAINTER
It wears, sir, as it grows.
POET
Ay, that’s well known:
But what particular rarity? what strange,
Which manifold record not matches? See,
Magic of bounty! all these spirits thy power
Hath conjured to attend. I know the merchant.

DUTCH:
t Is lang sinds ik u zag. ‘Hoe gaat de wereld?

MORE:
Proverb: How goes the world?

Wears as it grows=Diminshing and expanding; Up and down
Bounty=Charity, generosity
Spirits=People
Conjured=Summoned
Compleat:
To wear=Slyten, verslyten
Bounty=Goedertierenheid, mildheid
To conjure=t’Zamenzweeren, bezweeren, bemaanen, nadrukkelyk vermaanen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lance
CONTEXT:
LANCE
I am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit to
think my master is a kind of a knave: but that’s
all one, if he be but one knave. He lives not now
that knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a
team of horse shall not pluck that from me; nor who
’tis I love; and yet ’tis a woman; but what woman, I
will not tell myself; and yet ’tis a milkmaid; yet
’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet ’tis
a maid, for she is her master’s maid, and serves for
wages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel;
which is much in a bare Christian.

DUTCH:
Ik ben slechts een domme kerel, ziet gij, maar ik heb
toch het verstand om te merken, dat mijn meester een
soort van schurk is; maar dat doet er niet toe, als hij
maar geen dubbele schurk is

MORE:
Proverb: Two false knaves need no broker

Gossips=(Steevens) “Gossips not only signify those who answer for a child in baptism, but the tattling women who attend lyings-in.” She hath had gossips=She has given birth.
(Compleat: ‘To gossip: te Kindermaal gaan’
Look you=You know
Qualities=Accomplishments
Compleat:
Gossip=Een doophefster, gemoeder, peet
A tattling gossip=Een Labbey, kaekelaarster
Qualities=Aart, hoedanigheid, eigenschap van een ding

Burgersdijk notes:
Dubbele schurk, In meer dan éen opzicht een schurk.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, honesty, kill/talent

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
KING EDWARD IV
My love, forbear to fawn upon their frowns:
What danger or what sorrow can befall thee,
So long as Edward is thy constant friend,
And their true sovereign, whom they must obey?
Nay, whom they shall obey, and love thee too,
Unless they seek for hatred at my hands;
Which if they do, yet will I keep thee safe,
And they shall feel the vengeance of my wrath.
GLOUCESTER
[Aside] I hear, yet say not much, but think the more.

DUTCH:
Ik hoor, doch zeg niet veel; maar denk te meer.

MORE:

Proverb: Though he said little he thought the more

Forbear=Avoid, refrain from
Fawn=Wheedle, act in a servile manner

Compleat:
Forbear=Zich van onthouden
To fawn upon=Vleijen, streelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, loyalty, leadership

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

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

MORE:

Proverb: Kings have long arms

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

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

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

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.6
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
PAROLLES
I’ll about it this evening: and I will presently
pen down my dilemmas, encourage myself in my
certainty, put myself into my mortal preparation;
and by midnight look to hear further from me.
BERTRAM
May I be bold to acquaint his grace you are gone about
it?
PAROLLES
I know not what the success will be, my lord; but
the attempt I vow.
BERTRAM
I know thou’rt valiant; and, to the possibility of
thy soldiership, will subscribe for thee. Farewell.
PAROLLES
I love not many words.
SECOND LORD
No more than a fish loves water. Is not this a
strange fellow, my lord, that so confidently seems
to undertake this business, which he knows is not to
be done; damns himself to do and dares better be
damned than to do’t?

DUTCH:
Niet meer dan de visch van het water . – Is dat niet
een kostelijke kerel, graaf, die schijnbaar zoo vol vertrouwen deze zaak op zich neemt, schoon hij weet, dat
zij onuitvoerbaar is, zich verdoemt om haar te volbrengen
en toch eer verdoemd zou willen zijn dan haar uitvoeren?

MORE:
Proverb: To love it no more than (as well as) a fish loves water

Subscribe=Surety, guarantee
Steal himself=Creep furtively, insinuate himself
Compleat:
Subscribe=Onderschryven
Steal=Doorsluypen

Topics: language, work, trust, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 4.8
SPEAKER: Williams
CONTEXT:
FLUELLEN
My liege, here is a villain and a traitor, that, look your Grace, has struck the glove which your Majesty is take out of the helmet of Alençon.
WILLIAMS
My liege, this was my glove; here is the fellow of it. And he that I gave it to in change promised to wear it in his cap. I promised to strike him if he did. I met this man with my glove in his cap, and I have been as good as my word.
FLUELLEN
Your Majesty, hear now, saving your Majesty’s manhood, what an arrant, rascally, beggarly, lousy knave it is. I hope your Majesty is pear me testimony and witness, and will avouchment that this is the glove of Alençon that your Majesty is give me, in your conscience now.

DUTCH:
Ik ontmoette dezen man met mijn handschoen op zijn muts,
en ik ben zoo goed als mijn woord geweest.

MORE:

Proverb: An honest man is as good as his word

Avouchment=Avouch, testify

Compleat:
Rascally=Schelmsch, schelmachtig
An arrant knave=Een overgegeven guit
To avouch=Vastelyk verzekeren, bewaarheden, zyn onschuld doen blyken
To bear testimony=Tegen iemand getuigen
To bear witness=Getuigenis geeven, getuigen

Topics: proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
I will bestow him and will answer well
The death I gave him. So, again, good night.
I must be cruel only to be kind.
Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.
One word more, good lady

DUTCH:
Wreed moet ik zijn, om liefderijk te wezen. /
Ik ben slechts wreed uit liefde. /
Wreed moet ik zijn terwille van mijn liefde; slecht is dë aanvang, slechter het verschiet.

MORE:
Cruel to be kind was invented by Shakespeare and is still in use today.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
LIEUTENANT
I do not know what witchcraft’s in him, but
Your soldiers use him as the grace ’fore meat,
Their talk at table, and their thanks at end;
And you are darken’d in this action, sir,
Even by your own.
AUFIDIUS
I cannot help it now,
Unless, by using means, I lame the foot
Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier,
Even to my person, than I thought he would
When first I did embrace him: yet his nature
In that’s no changeling; and I must excuse
What cannot be amended.

DUTCH:
Doch zijn wezen
Verzaakt hij hierin niet; ik moet verschoonen,
Wat ik niet beet’ren kan.

MORE:
Proverb: What cannot be altered must be borne not blamed
Proverb: To be no changeling

Changeling=Sense shifter, inconstant, turncoat, fickle (Arden)
Darkened=Eclipsed, put into the shade
For your particular=For you personally
Compleat:
Changeling=Een wissel-kind, verruild kind
Particular=Byzonder, zonderling, byzonderheid
To darken=Verduisteren, verdonkeren

Topics: remedy, understanding, regret, plans/intentions, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
PROTEUS
What said she? Nothing?
SPEED
No, not so much as ‘Take this for thy pains.’ To
testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testerned
me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your
letters yourself: and so, sir, I’ll commend you to my
master.
PROTEUS
Go, go, be gone, to save your ship from wreck,
Which cannot perish having thee aboard,
Being destined to a drier death on shore.
I must go send some better messenger:
I fear my Julia would not deign my lines,
Receiving them from such a worthless post.

DUTCH:
Ik moet een beet’ren bode tot haar zenden,
Mijn Julia, vrees ik, acht mijn regels niets,.
Die haar een knaap, zoo diep onwaardig, brengt

MORE:
Proverb: He that is born to be hanged (drowned) will never be drowned (hanged)

Testify=Witness
Testerned=Gave a tip of sixpence
Requital=Repayment
Commend=Recommend
Deign=Condescend to read
Post=Messenger; blockhead
Compleat:
Testify=Getuygen, betuygn
Tester=Een stukje van zes stuyvers
Requital=Vergelding
To commend=Pryzen, aanbeloolen, aanpryzen
Deign=Genadiglyk verleenen, gehengen
Post=(Messenger) Post, bode; (Post) Paal

Burgersdijk notes:
De grootte uwer mildheid enz. Hier heeft het Engelsch een woordspeling met testify, betuigen, en testern, met een tester, — een geldstukje van een halven shilling waarde, waar een kop, testa, tëte, op gestempeld was, — begiftigen; een woord van Sh’s maaksel.

Gij zijt de veiligheid van ‘t schip. Op het zeggen, dat wie voor de galg bestemd is , niet verdrinkt, zinspeelt Sh. ook in den „Storm”.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, intellect

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Orsino
CONTEXT:
ORSINO
Dear lad, believe it.
For they shall yet belie thy happy years
That say thou art a man. Diana’s lip
Is not more smooth and rubious. Thy small pipe
Is as the maiden’s organ, shrill and sound,
And all is semblative a woman’s part.
I know thy constellation is right apt
For this affair.
Some four or five attend him.
All, if you will, for I myself am best
When least in company. Prosper well in this,
And thou shalt live as freely as thy lord,
To call his fortunes thine.

DUTCH:
Hoe min gewoel hoe liever; ‘t allerbest
Is de eenzaamheid. — Heb voorspoed op uw tocht,
En noem dan, vrij gelijk uw vorst, al ‘t zijne
Het uwe.

MORE:
Proverb: Never less alone than when alone
Proverb: He is never alone who is accompanied by noble thoughts

Belie=Misrepresent
Pipe=Voice
Semblative=Like
Constellation=Character, talent
Freely=Independently
Compleat:
Belie (bely)=Beliegen
Constellation=Gesternte, ‘t zamensterring, Hemelteken
Freely=Vryelyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, imagination, independence, appearance, nature

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
And now is this Vice’s dagger become a squire, and talks as
familiarly of John o’ Gaunt as if he had been sworn brother
to him, and I’ll be sworn he ne’er saw him but once in the
tilt-yard, and then he burst his head for crowding among the
Marshal’s men. I saw it and told John o’ Gaunt he beat his
own name, for you might have thrust him and all his apparel
into an eel-skin; the case of a treble hautboy was a mansion
for him, a court. And now has he land and beefs. Well, I’ll
be acquainted with him, if I return, and ’t shall go hard but
I’ll make him a philosopher’s two stones to me. If the young
dace be a bait for the old pike, I see no reason in the law of
nature but I may snap at him. Let time shape, and there an
end.

DUTCH:
Als de jonge voren een hapjen is voor een ouden
snoek, dan zie ik naar het natuurrecht geen reden, waarom
ik niet naar hem zou mogen happen. Komt tijd, komt
raad, — en daarmee uit.

MORE:

Proverb: The great fish eat up the small

Sworn brother=Comrade in arms
Hautboy=Musical instrument similar to modern oboe
But I’ll=If I don’t
Trussed=Packed (some versions have thrust …into)
Dace=The fish Cyprinus Leuciscus

Compleat:
Sworn-brothers=Eedgenooten, vloekverwanten
To truss=Inpakken
Dace=Een zekere visch, een daas

Topics: proverbs and idioms, achievement, poverty and wealth, time

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

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

MORE:

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

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

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

Topics: proverbs and idioms, betrayal, justice, conspiracy

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: First Citizen
CONTEXT:
FIRST CITIZEN
Let us kill him, and we’ll have corn at our own price.
Is’t a verdict?
ALL
No more talking on’t; let it be done: away, away!
SECOND CITIZEN
One word, good citizens.
FIRST CITIZEN
We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians good.
What authority surfeits on would relieve us: if they
would yield us but the superfluity, while it were
wholesome, we might guess they relieved us humanely;
but they think we are too dear: the leanness that
afflicts us, the object of our misery, is as an
inventory to particularise their abundance; our
sufferance is a gain to them. Let us revenge this with
our pikes, ere we become rakes: for the gods know I
speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for
revenge.
SECOND CITIZEN
Would you proceed especially against Caius Marcius?
ALL
Against him first: he’s a very dog to the commonalty.

DUTCH:
Laat ons dit wreken met onze pieken, eer wij dun als harken worden! Want de goden weten het, ik zeg dit uit honger naar brood, niet uit dorst naar wraak.

MORE:
Proverb: As lean as a rake

The patricians good=Good (mercantile), meaning wealthy, well monied
Guess=Think, suppose
Object=Spectacle, sight
Accounted=Thought of as
To particularise=Specify
Sufferance=Suffering, misery
Rake=A lean person (as thin as a rake)
Compleat:
As lean as a rake=Zo mager als een hout
Abundance=Overvloed
Sufferance=Verdraagzaamheid, toegeevendheid

Burgersdijk notes:
De patriciërs als goede. Omdat zij arm zijn, worden de plebejers niet voor vol geteld, niet „goed” gerekend. Vergelijk: Koopman v. Venetië”, 1. 3. 16.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, poverty and wealth, order/society, fate/destiny

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Suffolk
CONTEXT:
CRANMER
Stay, good my lords,
I have a little yet to say. Look there, my lords;
By virtue of that ring, I take my cause
Out of the grips of cruel men and give it
To a most noble judge, the King my master.
CHAMBERLAIN
This is the King’s ring.
SURREY
’Tis no counterfeit.
SUFFOLK
’Tis the right ring, by heaven! I told you all,
When we first put this dangerous stone a-rolling,
’Twould fall upon ourselves.
NORFOLK
Do you think, my lords,
The king will suffer but the little finger
Of this man to be vex’d?

DUTCH:
t Is de echte ring, bij God! Ik zeide ‘t wel,
Toen wij den boozen steen aan ‘t rollen brachten,
Dat hij op ons zou vallen.

MORE:
Proverb: The stone you throw will fall on your own head
Suffer=Permit, tolerate
But=Even
Vexed=Harmed
Compleat:
Suffer=Toelaaten, gedoogen
But=Maar alleen
To vex=Quellen, plaagen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, consequence, judgment

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Desdemona
CONTEXT:
OTHELLO
Some of your function, mistress,
Leave procreants alone and shut the door.
Cough or cry “hem” if any body come.
Your mystery, your mystery! Nay, dispatch!
DESDEMONA
Upon my knee, what doth your speech import?
I understand a fury in your words,
But not the words.
OTHELLO
Why, what art thou?
DESDEMONA
Your wife, my lord. Your true and loyal wife.
OTHELLO
Come, swear it, damn thyself.
Lest, being like one of heaven, the devils themselves
Should fear to seize thee. Therefore be double damned,
Swear thou art honest!
DESDEMONA
Heaven doth truly know it.
OTHELLO
Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.
DESDEMONA
To whom, my lord? With whom? How am I false?

DUTCH:
Ach, op mijn knieën, wat beduidt die taal?
De razernij versta ik van uw woorden,
De woorden niet.

MORE:
Proverb: As false as hell

Some of your function=Do your work (on look out duty)
Mystery=Trade (brothel)
Motive=Cause
Import=Mean
Compleat:
False (not true)=Valsch, onwaar
False (counterfeit)=Nagemaakt
False (treacherous)=Verraderlyk
To import=Medebrengen, betekenen; invoeren
Motive=Beweegreden, beweegoorzaak
Mystery or mistery (trade)=Handel, konst, ambacht

Topics: anger, language, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
I would all the world might be cozened; for I have
been cozened and beaten too. If it should come to
the ear of the court, how I have been transformed
and how my transformation hath been washed and
cudgelled, they would melt me out of my fat drop by
drop and liquor fishermen’s boots with me; I warrant
they would whip me with their fine wits till I were
as crest-fallen as a dried pear. I never prospered
since I forswore myself at primero. Well, if my
wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would
repent.

DUTCH:
Ik wed, dat zij mij met hun kwinkslagen
zouden geeselen, tot ik ingeschrompeld was als
een gedroogde peer.

MORE:
Proverb: Fat drops from fat flesh

Cozened=Cheated, tricked
Liquor=Grease
Crestfallen=Dispirited
Compleat:
Cozen=Bedriegen
To liquor boots=Laarzen smeeren
Crest-fallen=Die de kuyf laat hangen, die de moed opgeeft, neerslagtig

Burgersdijk notes:
Primero. Een kaartspel, thans onbekend, ook in K, Hendrik VIII, 5.1, vermeld.

Topics: proverbs and idioms|intellect|appearance|deceit

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Desdemona
CONTEXT:
DESDEMONA
I prithee, do so.
Something, sure, of state,
Either from Venice, or some unhatched practice
Made demonstrable here in Cyprus to him,
Hath puddled his clear spirit, and in such cases
Men’s natures wrangle with inferior things,
Though great ones are their object. ‘Tis even so,
For let our finger ache and it endues
Our other healthful members even to that sense
Of pain. Nay, we must think men are not gods,
Nor of them look for such observances
As fit the bridal. Beshrew me much, Emilia,
I was, unhandsome warrior as I am,
Arraigning his unkindness with my soul,
But now I find I had suborned the witness,
And he’s indicted falsely.
EMILIA
Pray heaven it be
State matters, as you think, and no conception
Nor no jealous toy concerning you.

DUTCH:
k Liet, tegen alle krijgstucht in, daar toe,
Dat wegens stuurschheid hem mijn ziel verklaagde;
Thasn ken ik die getuige als omgekocht
En hem als valsch beticht.

MORE:
Proverb: We are but men, not gods

Unhandsome=Unskilled, unfair, illiberal
Suborned=Influenced to bear false witness
Observancy=Homage
Arraigning=Accusing
Member=Limb
Compleat:
Member=Lid, Lidmaat. Member of the body=Een lid des lichaams
Arraign=Voor ‘t recht ontbieden; voor ‘t recht daagen
To suborn a witness=Eenen getuige opmaaken of omkoopen
Unhandsomly=Op een fatsoenlyke wyze
Abuser=Misbruiker, belediger, smyter en vegter

Topics: proverbs and idioms, nature, life, manipulation

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Roderigo
CONTEXT:

RODERIGO
Every day thou daff’st me with some device, Iago, and rather, as it seems to me now, keep’st from me all conveniency than suppliest me with the least advantage of hope.
I will indeed no longer endure it, nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what already I have foolishly suffered.
IAGO
Will you hear me, Roderigo?
RODERIGO
I have heard too much, and your words and performances are no kin together.
IAGO
You charge me most unjustly.
RODERIGO
With naught but truth. I have wasted myself out of my means. The jewels you have had from me to deliver Desdemona would half have corrupted a votaress. You have told me she hath received them and returned me expectations and comforts of sudden respect and acquaintance, but I find none.
IAGO
Well, go to. Very well.
RODERIGO
“Very well,” “go to”! I cannot go to, man, nor ’tis not very well. Nay, I think it is scurvy, and begin to find myself fopped in it.

DUTCH:
Ik wil dit bepaald niet langer verdragen, en ben volstrekt
niet gezind, verder kalm mij te laten welgevallen, wat
ik tot nog toe dwaas genoeg verduurd heb.

MORE:
Proverb: ‘Great promise small performance’ (your words and performances are no kin together.)

Conveniency=Opportunity
Advantage=Increase
Device=Scheme
Daff’st=Fob off (Daff=to put off (clothes)) Variation of doff, do off
Put up in peace=Endure silently
Votaress/Votarist=Nun
Comfort=Encouragement
Fopped=To make a fool of, to dupe
Compleat:
Conveniency=Bequaamheyd, gelegenheyd, geryflykheyd
Votary=Een die zich door een (religieuse) belofte verbonden heeft; die zich ergens toe heeft overgegeeven
Device (cunning trick)=Een listige streek
Device (invention or contrivance)=Uitvinding, vinding
Comfort=Vertroosting, troost, verquikking, vermaak, verneugte
To fob one off=Iemand te leur stellen; voor de gek houden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, perception, language, blame

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
YORK
O Clifford, but bethink thee once again,
And in thy thought o’errun my former time;
And, if though canst for blushing, view this face,
And bite thy tongue, that slanders him with cowardice
Whose frown hath made thee faint and fly ere this!
CLIFFORD
I will not bandy with thee word for word,
But buckler with thee blows, twice two for one.
QUEEN MARGARET
Hold, valiant Clifford! for a thousand causes
I would prolong awhile the traitor’s life.
Wrath makes him deaf: speak thou, Northumberland.
NORTHUMBERLAND
Hold, Clifford! do not honour him so much
To prick thy finger, though to wound his heart:
What valour were it, when a cur doth grin,
For one to thrust his hand between his teeth,
When he might spurn him with his foot away?
It is war’s prize to take all vantages;
And ten to one is no impeach of valour.

DUTCH:
1k wil niet woord voor woord u wedergeven,
Maar slagen wiss’len tweemaal twee voor een.

MORE:

Idiom: To bite one’s tongue

Bethink thee=Reconsider
Bandy=To beat to and fro (fig. of words, looks); exchange words, squabble
Buckler=Ward off (with a buckler, a sort of shield)
O’errun=Review
Cur=Dog
Grin=Bare his teeth
Vantage=Opportunity
Impeach=Discredit

Compleat:
Bandy=Een bal weer toeslaan; een zaak voor en tegen betwisten
To bethink one’s self=Zich bedenken
To buckle together=Worstelen, schermutselen
Cur=Hond (also Curr)
Vantage=Toegift, toemaat, overmaat, overwigt
To impeach=Betichten, beschuldigen, aanklaagen

Topics: anger, caution, wisdom, proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Clown
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
Come on, sir; I shall now put you to the height of
your breeding.
CLOWN
I will show myself highly fed and lowly taught:
I know my business is but to the court.
COUNTESS
To the court! why, what place make you special,
when you put off that with such contempt? But to the
court!
CLOWN
Truly, madam, if God have lent a man any manners, he
may easily put it off at court: he that cannot make
a leg, put off’s cap, kiss his hand and say nothing,
has neither leg, hands, lip, nor cap; and indeed
such a fellow, to say precisely, were not for the
court; but for me, I have an answer will serve all
men.

DUTCH:
Ik zal mij ten hoogste gevoed en diep geleerd betoonen. Ik weet, dat mijn zending maar naar het hof is .

MORE:
Proverb: Better fed than taught

Put you to=Make you show
Height=Extent
Compleat:
“He is better fed than taught”=Hy is beter vegoed dan onderwezen
Business=Bezigheid, werk, zaak

Topics: order/society, learning/education, proverbs and idioms, civility

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

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
VIOLA
Most radiant, exquisite and unmatchable beauty—I pray you, tell me if this be the lady of the house, for I never saw her. I would be loath to cast away my speech, for besides that it is excellently well penned, I have taken great pains to con it. Good beauties, let me sustain no scorn. I am very comptible, even to the least sinister usage.
OLIVIA
Whence came you, sir?
VIOLA
I can say little more than I have studied, and that question’s out of my part. Good gentle one, give me modest assurance if you be the lady of the house, that I may proceed in my speech.

DUTCH:
Ik zou niet gaarne mijne toespraak tot de verkeerde
richten, want, behalve dat zij meesterlijk gesteld is, heb
ik er veel werk aan besteed om ze van buiten te leeren.

MORE:
Penned=Written, composed
Con=Learn, memorize
Sustain=Suffer
Comptible=Sensitive (accurate in accounting)
Studied=Learned by heart
Sinister usage=Lack of civility
Modest=Adequate
Compleat:
Penned=In geschrifte gesteld, beschreeven
The letter was very ill penned=De brief was zeer qualyk ingesteld of bewoord
To penn well=Wel schryven, wel instellen
To conn=Zyne lesse kennen, of van buiten leeren
To sustain=Lyden, uytstaan, verdraagen
Sinister=Slinksch, averechts, valsch
Modest=Zeedig, eerbaar

Burgersdijk notes:
Ik ben zeer susceptibel. Ook in ‘t oorspronkelijke bezigt Viola eene gezochte uitdrukking: 1 am very
comptible, eigenlijk: precies in ‘t rekenen; van plan om iedere beleediging nauwkeurig terug te geven.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, civility, communication, intellect, learning/education

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Quickly
CONTEXT:
DOCTOR CAIUS
Peace-a your tongue. Speak-a your tale.
[To Simple] Tell me what happened.
SIMPLE
To desire this honest gentlewoman, your maid, to
speak a good word to Mistress Anne Page for my
master in the way of marriage.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
This is all, indeed, la! but I’ll ne’er put my
finger in the fire, and need not.

DUTCH:
Dat is alles, inderdaad, ja; maar ik zal er geen vinger
voor in de asch steken, zooveel niet.

MORE:
Proverb: To put one’s finger in the fire

Peace a your tongue=Be still
An need not=If I don’t have to
To desire=Verlangen, verzoeken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, risk

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Slender
CONTEXT:
PAGE
By cock and pie, you shall not choose, sir! come, come.
SLENDER
Nay, pray you, lead the way.
PAGE
Come on, sir.
SLENDER
Mistress Anne, yourself shall go first.
ANNE PAGE
Not I, sir; pray you, keep on.
SLENDER
I’ll rather be unmannerly than troublesome.
You do yourself wrong, indeed, la!

DUTCH:
Voorwaar niet; ik zal niet voorgaan, voorwaar niet;
die onbeleefdheid doe ik u niet aan.

MORE:
Proverb: Better be unmannerly than troublesome

Cock and pie=Oath: Cock=God, Pie=Service book
Shall not choose=Must (you have no choice)
Compleat:
There is no choice=Men heeft ‘er geen keur, daar is geen verschiet

Topics: understanding, civility, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: Ind 1
SPEAKER: Sly
CONTEXT:
SLY
Y’are a baggage, the Slys are no rogues. Look in the
chronicles—we came in with Richard Conqueror. Therefore
paucas pallabris: let the world slide. Sessa!
HOSTESS
You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?
SLY
No, not a denier. Go by, Saint Jeronimy. Go to thy cold
bed and warm thee.
HOSTESS
I know my remedy. I must go fetch the thirdborough.
SLY
Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I’ll answer him by law.
I’ll not budge an inch, boy. Let him come, and kindly.

DUTCH:
Doe dat, en zijn moer en zijn grootjen er bij; ik zal hem
naar de wet te woord staan; ik ga geen duimbreed van
mijn plaats, jongen; laat hem maar komen, en fatsoenlijk
ook.

MORE:
Proverb: He came in with the Conqueror

Slide=Take its course
Denier=French coin of little value
Richard=Mistake for William the Conqueror
Jeronimy=Mistake for St. Jerome (Hieronymous) or cross between St Jerome and Hieronimo
Thirdborough=Peace keeping officer
Fifth borough=Paris officer
Kindly=Welcome
Compleat:
Rogue=Een Schelm, fielt
To play the rogue=Guytery aanrechten
Slide=Glyen

Burgersdijk notes:
Richard den Veroveraar . Hij meent natuurljjk Willem den Veroveraar, met wien zoovelen van den oudsten adel in bet land kwamen . – Het paucas pallabris is verdraaid uit het Spaansche pocas palabras, weinig woorden! evenals sessa uit het Spaansche cesa, houd op, stil! twee uitheemsche
uitdrukkingen, toen, blijkens andere tooneelspelen van dien tjjd, in zwang; ook Brummel gebruikt het woord palabras in „Veel leven om niets”, 3.5

Ga weg, Jeronimus. Deze woorden zijn genomen uit KYD’S Spaansche Tragedie, toen ter tijd aan ieder schouwburgbezoeker bekend, zoodat zeker de aanhaling dadelijk opgemerkt werd. In de folio staat „S . Ieronimie”; de S wordt door de uitgevers der Cambridge- en Globe-edition voor een vraagteeken gehouden, dat voor uitroepingsteeken gebezigd werd, en
zoo is hier vertaald. Doch misschien is het beter de S als eene werkelijke S, dus als eene verkorting van Saint, te beschouwen en te vertalen : „ga weg, Sint Jeronimus!” zoodat de dronkaard den held der Sp . Tragedie met den heiligen Hieronymus verwart.

Ik ga den schout halen. In de folio staat : I must go fetch the Headborough . Headborough is een konstabel, een policie-agent. Blijkbaar moet dit woord vervangen worden, zooals in alle uitgaven geschiedt, door thirdborough;
dit blijkt uit Sly’s antwoord Third or fourth, or fifth borough.
Thirdborough was een onderkonstabel, of nagenoeg gelijk met headborough. In The Constable’s Guide (1771) leest men : „There are in several counties of this realm other officers ; that is, by other titles, but not much inferior to our constables ; as, in Warwickshire, a thirdborough . – In de vertaling moest bet antwoord van Sly gewijzigd worden ; hij spreekt hier van den schout als van
een soort van duivel . – Hij richt verder in zijn dronkenschap het woord tot den knecht van het bierhuis.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, remedy

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Menenius
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
Pray you, be gone:
I’ll try whether my old wit be in request
With those that have but little: this must be patch’d
With cloth of any colour.
COMINIUS
Nay, come away.
A PATRICIAN
This man has marr’d his fortune.
MENENIUS
His nature is too noble for the world:
He would not flatter Neptune for his trident,
Or Jove for’s power to thunder. His heart’s his mouth:
What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent;
And, being angry, does forget that ever
He heard the name of death.

DUTCH:
Hij is voor de aard te grootsch; hij zou Neptunus
Niet om zijn drietand vleien, Jupiter
Niet om zijn dondermacht. Zijn hart en tong
Zijn één; wat de eene smeedt, moet de ander uiten;
En wordt hij toornig, dan vergeet hij steeds,
Dat hij den naam van dood ooit hoorde

MORE:
Proverb: The heart of a fool is in his tongue (mouth)
Proverb: What the heart thinks the tongue speaks

Wit=Sound sense or judgement, understanding. Intelligence
In request=To be of use

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honour, intellect, reason, honesty

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Go to, you’re a dry fool. I’ll no more of you.
Besides, you grow dishonest.
FOOL
Two faults, madonna, that drink and good counsel will
amend. For give the dry fool drink, then is the fool not
dry. Bid the dishonest man mend himself. If he mend, he
is no longer dishonest. If he cannot, let the botcher
mend him. Anything that’s mended is but patched. Virtue
that transgresses is but patched with sin, and sin that
amends is but patched with virtue. If that this simple
syllogism will serve, so. If it will not, what remedy?
As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty’s a
flower. The lady bade take away the fool. Therefore, I
say again, take her away.

DUTCH:
Alles wat verbeterd wordt, is maar gelapt:
de deugd, die uit het spoor raakt, wordt maar met zonde
gelapt, en de zonde, die zich verbetert, wordt maar met
deugd gelapt.

MORE:
Proverb: Beauty fades like a flower

Go to=Term of impatience
Dry=Dull
Mend=Reform
Botcher=Cobbler or mender of old clothes (See Coriolanus, 2.1)
Syllogism=Reasoning (from two different premises)
Compleat:
Dry=Droog
To mend=Verbeteren, beteren; verstellen, lappen
To mend a fault=Een fout verbeteren
Botcher=Een lapper, knoeijer, boetelaar, broddelaar
Syllogism=Een sluytreden, bewysreeden, zynde een besluit ‘t welk uyt twee voorgaande stellingen getrokken wordt, gelyk als:
Alle ondeugd is zonde
Bedrog is een ondeugd
Derhalven in bedrog zonde.

Burgersdijk notes:
Twee gebreken, madonna. Alleen in dit stuk komt bij Sh. de titel madonna voor.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, advice, remedy, flaw/fault

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Emilia
CONTEXT:
OTHELLO
Ay, ’twas he that told me on her first.
An honest man he is, and hates the slime
That sticks on filthy deeds.
EMILIA
My husband!
OTHELLO
What needs this iterance, woman? I say thy husband.
EMILIA
O mistress, villainy hath made mocks with love!
My husband say that she was false!
OTHELLO
He, woman.
I say “thy husband”—dost understand the word?
My friend, thy husband, honest, honest Iago..
EMILIA
If he say so, may his pernicious soul
Rot half a grain a day! He lies to th’ heart.
She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.

DUTCH:
Als hij dat zegt, dan moog’ zijn onheilsziel
Bij greinen daags verrotten! liegen doet hij ‘t;
Zij was te dol op haar begroesden koop.

MORE:
Proverb: He lies to th’heart (Cf. Macbeth 2.3: “That it did, sir, i’ th’ very throat on me; but I requited him for his lie’)

Iterance=Repetition
Made mocks with=Derided
Grain=The smallest weight
Pernicious=Mischievous, malicious, wicked
Compleat:
Iteration=Herhaaling, hervatting
Pernicious=Schadelyk, verderflyk
Grain=Een greyn

Topics: insult, truth, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Shallow
CONTEXT:
SHALLOW
He hath wronged me, Master Page.
PAGE
Sir, he doth in some sort confess it.
SHALLOW
If it be confessed, it is not redress’d: is not that
so, Master Page? He hath wronged me; indeed he
hath, at a word, he hath, believe me: Robert
Shallow, esquire, saith, he is wronged.
PAGE
Here comes Sir John.
FALSTAFF
Now, Master Shallow, you’ll complain of me to the king?

DUTCH:
Bekend is nog niet geboet; is het zoo niet, mijnheer
Page? Hij heeft mij beleedigd; inderdaad, dat heeft
hij; — in een woord, dat heeft hij; — geloof mij; —
Robert Zielig, esquire, zegt, dat hij beleedigd is.

MORE:
Proverb: Confession of a fault is half amends

In some sort=To some extent
At a word=In short
Compleat:
In a word=In ‘t kort, in weynig woorden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, blame, justice, offence, punishment, secrecy

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Rosalind
CONTEXT:
ROSALIND
It is not the fashion to see the lady the epilogue, but
it is no more unhandsome than to see the lord the
prologue. If it be true that good wine needs no bush,
’tis true that a good play needs no epilogue. Yet to
good wine they do use good bushes, and good plays prove
the better by the help of good epilogues. What a case am
I in, then, that am neither a good epilogue nor cannot
insinuate with you in the behalf of a good play. I am
not furnished like a beggar; therefore to beg will not
become me. My way is to conjure you, and I’ll begin with
the women. I charge you, O women, for the love you bear
to men, to like as much of this play as please you. And
I charge you, O men, for the love you bear to women—as
I perceive by your simpering, none of you hates
them—that between you and the women the play may please.
If I were a woman, I would kiss as many of you as had
beards that pleased me, complexions that liked me, and
breaths that I defied not. And I am sure as many as have
good beards, or good faces, or sweet breaths will, for
my kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.

DUTCH:
Is ‘t waar, dat goede wijn geen krans behoeft, even waar is het, dat een goed stuk geen epiloog behoeft maar waar goede wijn is, hangt men fraaie kransen uit, en goede stukken doen zich beter voor met behulp van goede epilogen.

MORE:
Proverb “Good wine needs no bush”
“A good bush” here refers to Ivy, which was hung out at vintners’ doors and in windows to advertise that the hostelry had a good wine.
Also from Sir John Harington’s Epigrams (1618)
“And with this prouerbe proued it labour lost:
Good Ale doth need no signe, good Wine no bush,
Good verse of praisers, need not passse a rush.”

Unhandsome=Unbecoming
Insinuate=To ingratiate one’s self (in a bad sense); to intermeddle
Case=Situation, plight, legal dilemma or actionable state
Furnished=Dressed
Liked=Pleased
Defied=Rejected
Compleat:
Unhandsome=Niet fraai
Insinuate=Inboezemen, inflyen, indringe, inschuyven
Case=Zaak, geval
Furnished=Verzorgd, voorzien, gestoffeerd

Topics: reputation, skill/talent, value, proverbs and idioms

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

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Clown
CONTEXT:
CLOWN
I am out o’ friends, madam; and I hope to have
friends for my wife’s sake.
COUNTESS
Such friends are thine enemies, knave.
CLOWN
You’re shallow, madam, in great friends; for the
knaves come to do that for me which I am aweary of.
He that ears my land spares my team and gives me
leave to in the crop; if I be his cuckold, he’s my
drudge: he that comforts my wife is the cherisher
of my flesh and blood; he that cherishes my flesh
and blood loves my flesh and blood; he that loves my
flesh and blood is my friend: ergo, he that kisses
my wife is my friend. If men could be contented to
be what they are, there were no fear in marriage;
for young Charbon the Puritan and old Poysam the
Papist, howsome’er their hearts are severed in
religion, their heads are both one; they may jowl
horns together, like any deer i’ the herd.

DUTCH:
Als de mannen tevreden waren met te zijn wat ze zijn, zou niemand in het huwelijk iets duchten.

MORE:
Proverb: Young flesh and old fish are best
Proverb: Hearts may agree though heads differ

Shallow=Shallow of understanding
In great friends=About great friends; ingrate friends
Charbon (Chair bonne) (for Puritans who were opposed to fasting)
Poysam (Poisson) (appropriate for Roman Catholics)
Ears=Ploughs
To in=Gather, collect: “to in the crop”
Howsome’er=Howsoever
Jowl=Lock horns
Compleat:
Shallow=Ondiep
Shallowness, shallow wit=Kleinheid van begrip, dommelykheid
To ear=Land bouwen
Cuckold=Hoorndraager
Drudge=Iemand die het vuilste en slobbigste werk doet

Topics: marriage, friendship, satisfaction, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Ford
CONTEXT:
FORD
Sir, I am a gentleman that have spent much; my name is
Brook.
FALSTAFF
Good Master Brook, I desire more acquaintance of you.
FORD
Good Sir John, I sue for yours: not to charge you;
for I must let you understand I think myself in
better plight for a lender than you are: the which
hath something emboldened me to this unseasoned
intrusion; for they say, if money go before, all
ways do lie open.
FALSTAFF
Money is a good soldier, sir, and will on.
FORD
Troth, and I have a bag of money here troubles me:
if you will help to bear it, Sir John, take all, or
half, for easing me of the carriage.
FALSTAFF
Sir, I know not how I may deserve to be your porter.

DUTCH:
Beste Sir John, ik wensch dit als gunst van u; niet
om u lastig te vallen, want ik moet u doen opmerken,
dat ik mijzelven beter in staat acht om geld uit te leenen
dan gij het zijt; en dit heeft mij ook eenigszins
moed gegeven tot dit ontijdig binnendringen, want waar
geld vooruitgaat, zegt men, staan alle wegen open.

MORE:
Proverb: If money go before, all ways lie open
Proverb: An ass laden with gold climbs to the top of the castle
Proverb: Gold goes in at any gate except heaven’s
Proverb: No lock will hold against the power of gold

Desire more acquaintance=Ied like to get to know you better
Unseasoned=Untimely
Carriage=Burden
Compleat:
Seasonably=Recht van pas
Acquaintance=Kennis, verkeering, ommegang, een bekende
Carriage=Wagenvragt, voerloon, handell en wandel

Topics: proverbs and idioms|money|invented or popularised

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
I cannot tell if to depart in silence
Or bitterly to speak in your reproof
Best fitteth my degree or your condition.
If not to answer, you might haply think
Tongue-tied ambition, not replying, yielded
To bear the golden yoke of sovereignty,
Which fondly you would here impose on me.
If to reprove you for this suit of yours,
So seasoned with your faithful love to me,
Then on the other side I checked my friends.
Therefore, to speak, and to avoid the first,
And then, in speaking, not to incur the last,
Definitively thus I answer you:
Your love deserves my thanks, but my desert
Unmeritable shuns your high request.
First, if all obstacles were cut away
And that my path were even to the crown
As the ripe revenue and due of birth,
Yet so much is my poverty of spirit,
So mighty and so many my defects,
That I would rather hide me from my greatness,
Being a bark to brook no mighty sea,
Than in my greatness covet to be hid
And in the vapor of my glory smothered.
But, God be thanked, there is no need of me,
And much I need to help you, were there need.
The royal tree hath left us royal fruit,
Which, mellowed by the stealing hours of time,
Will well become the seat of majesty,
And make, no doubt, us happy by his reign.
On him I lay what you would lay on me,
The right and fortune of his happy stars,
Which God defend that I should wring from him.

DUTCH:
Antwoord ik niet, misschien zoudt gij vermoeden,
Dat schuilende eerzucht, stom, bereid zich toont
Om ‘t gulden juk van ‘t koningschap to dragen,
Waar gij mij dwaaslijk mee beladen wilt.

MORE:
Proverb: Silence is (gives) consent

Fitteth=Is appropriate to
Degree=Status
Condition=Position
Tongue-tied ambition.. Yielded=Silence indicated consent
Fondly=Foolishly
Check=Rebuke
Unmeritable=Without merit
Ripe revenue=Overdue debt
Poverty=Lack
Barque=Sailing vessel
Brook=Endure
Stealing=Advancing
Compleat:
To fit=Passen, pas maaken, gereed maaken, voegen
Degree=Een graad, trap
Condition=Staat, gesteltenis. gelegenheyd
To be tongue-tied=Niet spreeken kunnen, of durven
Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten
Poverty=Armoede
Bark=Scheepje
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To steal=Doorsluypen
To steal away=Ontsteelen, wegsluypen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, reply, claim

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Go to, you’re a dry fool. I’ll no more of you.
Besides, you grow dishonest.
FOOL
Two faults, madonna, that drink and good counsel will
amend. For give the dry fool drink, then is the fool not
dry. Bid the dishonest man mend himself. If he mend, he
is no longer dishonest. If he cannot, let the botcher
mend him. Anything that’s mended is but patched. Virtue
that transgresses is but patched with sin, and sin that
amends is but patched with virtue. If that this simple
syllogism will serve, so. If it will not, what remedy?
As there is no true cuckold but calamity, so beauty’s a
flower. The lady bade take away the fool. Therefore, I
say again, take her away.

DUTCH:
Kan deze eenvoudige gevolgtrekking helpen,
goed! zoo niet, wat te doen? Zoo waar er geen
echte hoorndrager is behalve de ellende, zoo is de schoonheid een bloem. —
De jonkvrouw wilde den zotskap weg
hebben, daarom, zeg ik nog eens, brengt haar weg.

MORE:
Proverb: Beauty fades like a flower

Go to=Term of impatience
Dry=Dull
Mend=Reform
Botcher=Cobbler or mender of old clothes (See Coriolanus, 2.1)
Syllogism=Reasoning (from two different premises)
Compleat:
Dry=Droog
To mend=Verbeteren, beteren; verstellen, lappen
To mend a fault=Een fout verbeteren
Botcher=Een lapper, knoeijer, boetelaar, broddelaar
Syllogism=Een sluytreden, bewysreeden, zynde een besluit ‘t welk uyt twee voorgaande stellingen getrokken wordt, gelyk als:
Alle ondeugd is zonde
Bedrog is een ondeugd
Derhalven in bedrog zonde.

Burgersdijk notes:
Twee gebreken, madonna. Alleen in dit stuk komt bij Sh. de titel madonna voor.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, advice, remedy, flaw/fault

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Porter
CONTEXT:
PORTER
An ’t please Your Honour,
We are but men, and what so many may do,
Not being torn a-pieces, we have done.
An army cannot rule ’em
CHAMBERLAIN
As I live,
If the King blame me for ’t, I’ll lay you all
By th’ heels, and suddenly — and on your heads
Clap round fines for neglect. You’re lazy knaves,
And here you lie baiting of bombards, when
You should do service.

DUTCH:
Zoo waar ik leef,
Berispt de koning mij er om, dan leg ik
Uw voeten in het blok, en op uw hoofd
Een goed rond boetgeld.

MORE:
Proverb: Men are but men
Lay by the heels=To punish, i.e. send to prison or put in the stocks
Clap round=Impose
Bombard=Leather wine jug; a drunk
Compleat:
Lay by the heels=Iemand in de boeijen sluiten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, life, punishment

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Is not my sorrow deep, having no bottom?
Then be my passions bottomless with them.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
But yet let reason govern thy lament.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
If there were reason for these miseries,
Then into limits could I bind my woes:
When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o’erflow?
If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad,
Threatening the welkin with his big-swoln face?
And wilt thou have a reason for this coil?
I am the sea; hark, how her sighs do blow!
She is the weeping welkin, I the earth:
Then must my sea be moved with her sighs;
Then must my earth with her continual tears
Become a deluge, overflowed and drowned;
For why my bowels cannot hide her woes,
But like a drunkard must I vomit them.
Then give me leave, for losers will have leave
To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues.

DUTCH:
Indien er reden waar’ voor deze ellenden,
Dan kerkerde ik in perken al mijn wee.

MORE:
Proverb: Give losers leave to speak (talk)

Coil=Turmoil
Bind into limits=Confine
Forwhy=Because
Ease=Relieve
Bowels=Thought of as the seat of emotions
Compleat:
Coil=Geraas, getier
To bind=Binden, knoopen, verbinden.
To ease=Verligten, ontlasten, zyn gevoeg doen; verzagten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, grief, regret

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Lucius
CONTEXT:
AARON
Lucius, save the child,
And bear it from me to the empress.
If thou do this, I’ll show thee wondrous things,
That highly may advantage thee to hear:
If thou wilt not, befall what may befall,
I’ll speak no more but ‘Vengeance rot you all!’
LUCIUS
Say on: an if it please me which thou speak’st
Thy child shall live, and I will see it nourished.

DUTCH:
Wilt gij dit niet, gebeure dan wat wil,
En delge wraak u allen; ik zwijg stil!

MORE:
Proverb: Come (hap) what come (hap) may

Befall=Happen
An if=If
Nourished=Supported, maintained
Compleat:
Befall=Gebeuren, overkomen
To nourish a child=Een kind opvoeden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.7
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
What tongueless blocks were they! Would not they speak?
Will not the mayor then and his brethren come?
BUCKINGHAM
The Mayor is here at hand. Intend some fear;
Be not you spoke with but by mighty suit.
And look you get a prayer book in your hand
And stand between two churchmen, good my lord,
For on that ground I’ll make a holy descant.
And be not easily won to our requests.
Play the maid’s part: still answer “nay,” and take it.
RICHARD
I go. An if you plead as well for them
As I can say “nay” to thee for myself,
No doubt we bring it to a happy issue.

DUTCH:
Want op dien grond vertrouw ik, hen te stichten .
Goof ook aan hun verzoek niet snel gehoor,
Maar speel een meisjesrol: zeg „neen”, en grijp het .

MORE:
Proverb: Maids say nay and take it

Brethren=The aldermen
Intend=Pretend
Mighty=Important, weighty
Suit=Petition
Descant=Commentary
Won to=Persuaded by
Compleat:
Brethren=Broeders
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding
Mighty=Magtig
Descant=Uytbreyding in een reede

Burgersdijk notes:
Want op dien grond vertrouw ik hen te stichten. In het Engelsch bevat de tekst een muzikale
woordspeling: For on that ground I’ll make a holy descant. Ground beteekent zoowel grond als grondtoon, bas; descant zoowel een toelichting, breedvoerige uiteenzetting als hooge stem, discant.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, insult, persuasion, appearance

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Hold, sir, for God’s sake! Now your jest is earnest.
Upon what bargain do you give it me?
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Because that I familiarly sometimes
Do use you for my fool and chat with you,
Your sauciness will jest upon my love
And make a common of my serious hours.
When the sun shines, let foolish gnats make sport,
But creep in crannies when he hides his beams.
If you will jest with me, know my aspect,
And fashion your demeanour to my looks,
Or I will beat this method in your sconce.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
“Sconce” call you it? So you would leave battering,
I had rather have it a “head.” An you use these blows long, I must get a sconce for my head and ensconce it too, or else I shall seek my wit in my shoulders. But I pray, sir, why am I beaten?

DUTCH:
Maar dans’ de mug ook in den zonneschijn,
Zij kruipt in reten, als de lucht betrekt;
Begluur, als gij wilt schertsen, mijn gelaat,
En richt uw doen naar mijnen blik, of ik
Leer op uw bol u beter maat te houën.

MORE:
Proverb: He has more wit in his head than you in both your shoulders

Jest upon=Trifle with
Sauciness=Impertinence, impudence
Make a common of my serious hours=Treat my hours of business as common property (reference to property law, where racts of ground were allocated to common use and known as “commons”)
Aspect=Look, glance; possible reference to astrology, with the aspect being the position of one planet in relation to others and its potential to exert influence
Sconce=(1) Head; (2) Fortification, bulwark
Fashion your demeanour to my looks=Check my mood and act accordingly
Compleat:
To jest=Boerten, schertsen, jokken, gekscheeren
Sconce=(Sconse) Een bolwerk of blokhuis
To sconce (university word to signify the setting up so much in the buttery-book, upon one’s head, to be paid as a punishment for a duty neglected or an offence committed)=In de boete beslaan, eene boete opleggen, straffen
Sconsing=Beboeting, beboetende
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Burgersdijk notes:
Op mijn bol? In ‘t Engelsch een woordspeling met sconce, dat „bol” of „hoofd” beteekent, en ook, schans”, waarom ook het woord ensconce, ,,verschansen” volgt. Bij het maken der aanteekeningen komt het mij voor, dat het woord bolwerk had kunnen dienen om het origineel nauwkeuriger terug te geven: „Mijn bol noemt gij dit, heer? als gij het slaan wildet laten, zou ik het liever voor een hoofd houden, maar als gij met dat ranselen voortgaat, moet ik een bolwerk voor mijn hoofd zien te krijgen en het goed dekken (of versterken), of mijn verstand in mijn rug gaan zoeken.”

Topics: respect, misunderstanding, punishment, emotion and mood, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Then be your eyes the witness of their evil.
Look how I am bewitched! Behold mine arm
Is like a blasted sapling withered up;
And this is Edward’s wife, that monstrous witch,
Consorted with that harlot, strumpet Shore,
That by their witchcraft thus have markèd me.
HASTINGS
If they have done this deed, my noble lord—
RICHARD
If? Thou protector of this damnèd strumpet,
Talk’st thou to me of “ifs?” Thou art a traitor—
Off with his head. Now by Saint Paul I swear
I will not dine until I see the same.
Lovell and Ratcliffe, look that it be done.
The rest that love me, rise and follow me.

DUTCH:
„Als” ! gij beschermer van die vloekb’re snol,
Spreekt gij van „Als” ? – Gij zijt een aartsverrader ;
Het hoofd hem of !

MORE:
Proverb: If’s and and’s

Blasted=Damaged
Consorted=In an alliance with
Compleat:
To blast=Doen verstuyven, wegblaazen, verzengen, door ‘t weer beschaadigen
To blast one’s reputation=Iemands goeden naam doen verstuyven

Topics: proverbs and idioms, good and bad, fate/destiny

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
There’s one grape yet; I am sure thy father drunk
wine: but if thou be’st not an ass, I am a youth
of fourteen; I have known thee already.
HELEN
I dare not say I take you; but I give
Me and my service, ever whilst I live,
Into your guiding power. This is the man..
KING
Why, then, young Bertram, take her; she’s thy wife.
BERTRAM
My wife, my liege! I shall beseech your highness,
In such a business give me leave to use
The help of mine own eyes.
KING
Know’st thou not, Bertram,
What she has done for me?

DUTCH:
Dat is ten minste een druif; – ik wed, dat uw vader
wijn dronk. – Maar als gij geen ezel zijt, wil ik een
bengel zijn van veertien; ik heb u reeds doorzien.

MORE:
Proverb: Good wine makes good blood
Proverb: A falser water-drinker there lives not

Grape=Man (fruit of noble stock)
Drunk wine=Passed on good blood
Known=Found out
Compleat:
Known=Bekend, gekend

Topics: relationship, status, marriage, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Son
CONTEXT:
Ill blows the wind that profits nobody.
This man, whom hand to hand I slew in fight,
May be possessed with some store of crowns ;
And I, that haply take them from him now,
May yet ere night yield both my life and them
To some man else, as this dead man doth me.
Who’s this? O God! It is my father’s face,
Whom in this conflict I unwares have kill’d.
O heavy times, begetting such events!
From London by the king was I press’d forth;
My father, being the Earl of Warwick’s man,
Came on the part of York, press’d by his master;
And I, who at his hands received my life, him
Have by my hands of life bereaved him.
Pardon me, God, I knew not what I did!
And pardon, father, for I knew not thee!
My tears shall wipe away these bloody marks;
And no more words till they have flow’d their fill.

DUTCH:
Een kwade wind, die niemand voordeel aanbrengt!

MORE:

Proverb: It’s an ill wind that blows no body no good (Also Henry IV Part 2, 5.3)

Be possessed with=Own (possessed of)
Haply=By chance
Beget=To cause, lead to
Unwares=Unwittingly
Pressed forth=Pressed (forced) into military service
Bereave=To rob, take from

Compleat:
Possessed (or prepossessed) with=Ergens mede vooringenomen zyn, veel mede op hebben
Beget=Gewinnen, teelen, voortbrengen, verkrygen
Idleness begets beggary=Luiheid veroorzaakt bederlaary
Unawares=Onverhoeds
Press (or force) soldiers=Soldaaten pressen, dat is hen dwingen om dienst te neemen
Bereave=Berooven
Haply=Misschien

Burgersdijk notes:
II.5.61. Wie is ‘t? —O God, het is ‘t gelaat mijns vaders! Men denke, dat de zoon de behnklep van den
doode oplicht.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, claim

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: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
ANTONIO
Let me speak a little. This youth that you see here
I snatched one half out of the jaws of death,
Relieved him with such sanctity of love,
And to his image, which methought did promise
Most venerable worth, did I devotion.
FIRST OFFICER
What’s that to us? The time goes by. Away!
ANTONIO
But oh, how vile an idol proves this god!
Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame.
In nature there’s no blemish but the mind.
None can be called deformed but the unkind.
Virtue is beauty, but the beauteous evil
Are empty trunks o’erflourished by the devil.

DUTCH:
Natuur schept alles goed;
Doch wat misvormt, dat is een boos gemoed;
De deugd is schoon; ‘t schoonbooze een leêge kist,
Een vorm slechts, door den duivel gevernist!

MORE:
Proverb: He is handsome that handsome does

Sanctity=Devotion
The mind=Character, in the mind
O’erflourished=Decorated, varnished over
Compleat:
Sanctity=Heiligheid
The mind=Het gemoed, de zin, meening, gevoelen
To flourish=Bloeijen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, virtue, good and bad, manipulation

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Duke of York
CONTEXT:
In war was never lion raged more fierce,
In peace was never gentle lamb more mild,
Than was that young and princely gentleman.
His face thou hast, for even so look’d he,
Accomplish’d with the number of thy hours;
But when he frown’d, it was against the French
And not against his friends; his noble hand
Did win what he did spend and spent not that
Which his triumphant father’s hand had won;
His hands were guilty of no kindred blood,
But bloody with the enemies of his kin.
O Richard! York is too far gone with grief,
Or else he never would compare between.

DUTCH:
In vrede geen geduldig lam ooit zachter,
Dan deze jonge, vorstlijke edelman.

MORE:

Proverb: As gentle (quiet, meek, mild) as a lamb (1530)

With the number of thy hours=At (when he was) your age
Win=Earn

Topics: proverbs and idioms, achievement

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
There’s one grape yet; I am sure thy father drunk
wine: but if thou be’st not an ass, I am a youth
of fourteen; I have known thee already.
HELEN
I dare not say I take you; but I give
Me and my service, ever whilst I live,
Into your guiding power. This is the man..
KING
Why, then, young Bertram, take her; she’s thy wife.
BERTRAM
My wife, my liege! I shall beseech your highness,
In such a business give me leave to use
The help of mine own eyes.
KING
Know’st thou not, Bertram,
What she has done for me?

DUTCH:
Mijn vrouw, mijn leenheer! ‘k Moet uw hoogheid smeeken,
Vergun ‘t gebruik mij van mijn eigen oogen
In zulk een zaak.

MORE:
Proverb: Good wine makes good blood
Proverb: A falser water-drinker there lives not

Grape=Man (fruit of noble stock)
Drunk wine=Passed on good blood
Known=Found out
Compleat:
Known=Bekend, gekend

Topics: relationship, status, marriage, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Charmian
CONTEXT:
CLEOPATRA
Thou teachest like a fool the way to lose him.
CHARMIAN
Tempt him not so too far. I wish, forbear.
In time we hate that which we often fear.
CLEOPATRA
I am sick and sullen.
ANTONY
I am sorry to give breathing to my purpose—
CLEOPATRA
Help me away, dear Charmian! I shall fall.
It cannot be thus long. The sides of nature
Will not sustain it.

DUTCH:
Beproef hem niet te zeer; ik zeg, houd maat!
Wat telkens vrees ons wekt, wordt dra gehaat.
Op de duur haten we waar we altijd bang voor waren./
Na verloop van tijd haten we waar we steeds angst voor hebben

MORE:
Tempt=Try, test
Sullen=Depressed
Breathing=Words
Sides of nature=Body, frame
Compleat:
To tempt=Aanvechten, verzoeken, bekooren, bestryden
Sullen=Kribbig, korzel, nors

Topics: patience, caution, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Curtis
CONTEXT:
CURTIS
Is she so hot a shrew as she’s reported?
GRUMIO
She was, good Curtis, before this frost. But thou
knowest winter tames man, woman and beast, for it hath
tamed my old master and my new mistress and myself,
fellow Curtis.
CURTIS
Away, you three-inch fool! I am no beast.

DUTCH:
Is zij wezenlijk zoo ‘n heetgebakerde feeks, als men
vertelt?

MORE:
Proverb: Age and wedlock tame both man and beast
Proverb: Age and wedlock bring a man to his nightcap

Hot=Angry, fiery

Topics: proverbs and idioms, age/experience, marriage

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Ford
CONTEXT:
FORD
Hum! ha! is this a vision? is this a dream? do I
sleep? Master Ford awake! awake, Master Ford!
there’s a hole made in your best coat, Master Ford.
This ’tis to be married! this ’tis to have linen
and buck-baskets! Well, I will proclaim myself
what I am: I will now take the lecher; he is at my
house; he cannot ‘scape me; ’tis impossible he
should; he cannot creep into a halfpenny purse,
nor into a pepper-box: but, lest the devil that
guides him should aid him, I will search
impossible places. Though what I am I cannot avoid,
yet to be what I would not shall not make me tame:
if I have horns to make one mad, let the proverb go
with me: I’ll be horn-mad.

DUTCH:
Wat! hoe! is dit een vizioen? is dit een droom? slaap
ik?

MORE:
Proverb: To pick a hole in a man’s coat
Proverb: He is horn-mad

Hole made in your best coat=Reputation is damaged
Take=Catch
Horn-mad=Especially insane form of anger; especially at being cuckolded (given horns)
Compleat:
To beat one’s coat=Iemand wat op zyn rokje geeven, iemand afsmeeren
She bestows a pair of horns upon her husband=Zy zet haaren man een paar hoorns op ‘t hoofd; Zy kroont hem met het wapen van Boksbergen
Horn-mad=Minnenydig, jaloers

Topics: proverbs and idioms|imagination|marriage|madness

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
BUTTS
There, my lord:
The high promotion of his Grace of Canterbury,
Who holds his state at door, ’mongst pursuivants,
Pages, and footboys.
KING
Ha! ’Tis he indeed.
Is this the honour they do one another?
’Tis well there’s one above ’em yet. I had thought
They had parted so much honesty among ’em—
At least good manners—as not thus to suffer
A man of his place, and so near our favor,
To dance attendance on their Lordships’ pleasures,
And at the door, too, like a post with packets.
By holy Mary, Butts, there’s knavery!
Let ’em alone, and draw the curtain close.
We shall hear more anon.

DUTCH:
Is dit dus de eer, die zij elkander aandoen?
Eén staat er boven hen, gelukkig.

MORE:
Proverb: To dance attendance
Pursuivant=Low-ranking officer
Parted=Distributed
Suffer=Allow, tolerate
Place=Position, rank
Post=Messenger
Compleat:
Pursuivant=Een ‘s Konings boode
Parted=Gedeelt, gescheyden, geschift
Suffer=Toelaaten, gedoogen
Place=Plaats
Post=Een post, boode

Topics: proverbs and idioms, order/society, status

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
FIRST MESSENGER
Thy biddings have been done, and every hour,
Most noble Caesar, shalt thou have report
How ’tis abroad. Pompey is strong at sea,
And it appears he is beloved of those
That only have feared Caesar. To the ports
The discontents repair, and men’s reports
Give him much wronged.
CAESAR
I should have known no less.
It hath been taught us from the primal state
That he which is was wished until he were,
And the ebbed man, ne’er loved till ne’er worth love,
Comes deared by being lacked. This common body,
Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream,
Goes to and back, lackeying the varying tide
To rot itself with motion.

DUTCH:
O, dit kon ik wachten.
Van de’ oudsten tijd af weten wij ‘t: wie klimt,
Hem hangt, zoolang hij klimt, de wereld aan;
Wie valt en, eer hij niets was, nooit geliefd werd,
Hem schat men om ‘t gemis.

MORE:
Proverb: He will be missed when he is gone

Biddings=Orders
Discontents=Malcontents
Give him=Say he is
State=Government
Deared=Valued
Common body=Common people, plebeians
Vagabond flag=Drifting leaf, iris
Compleat:
Bidding=Gebieding, noodiging
To bid=Gebieden, beveelen, belasten, heeten, noodigen, bieden
A discontent=Een misnoegde
The common people=’t Gemeene Volk
Vagabond=Een landlooper, schooijer, zwerver

Topics: proverbs and idioms, value, leadership

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
It is a custom
More honoured in the breach than the observance.
This heavy-headed revel east and west
Makes us traduced and taxed of other nations.

DUTCH:
Het is een gebruik, meer eervol voor die het schendt, dan voor die het volgt /
Is ‘t een zede, Meer eerbiedwaard, als men haar schendt, dan volgt. /
Is het een zede Eervoller om te laten dan te volgen.

MORE:
Misquoted in that the meaning has moved nowadays to regretting the falling out of use of a custom or tradition, i.e. a custom more often ignored and observed; whereas Hamlet meant the opposite: if his uncle’s drinking and making promises is a tradition, it is one they can well do without.
CITED IN US LAW
The above point is made by Judge Posner, who wrote that a reader frequently thinks that this means custom that is not observed, which is what the expression viewed in isolation seems plainly to mean. “But if you go back to the passage in Hamlet from which the expression comes (Act I, Sc. iv, lines 8-20), you will see that the custom referred to is that of getting drunk on festive occasions. The point is general: context, in the broadest sense, is the key to understanding language”. (Alliance to End Repression v United States Department of Justice, 742 F 2d 1007, 1013 (7th Cir. 1983)(Posner, J);
U.S. v. Smith, 812 F.2d 161, 167 (4th Cir. 1987);
Calley v. Callaway, 382 F.Supp. 650, 666 (M.D.Ga. 1974);
Arthur v. Nyquist, 415 F.Supp. 904, 959 (W.D.N.Y. 1976);
State v. Griffin, 347 So.2d 692, 694 (Fla. Ct. App. 1977).

Topics: language, still in use, cited in law, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Portia
CONTEXT:
PORTIA
Good sentences, and well pronounced.
NERISSA
They would be better if well followed.
PORTIA
If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do,
chapels had been churches and poor men’s cottages
princes’ palaces. It is a good divine that follows his
own instructions. I can easier teach twenty what were
good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine
own teaching. The brain may devise laws for the blood,
but a hot temper leaps o’er a cold decree. Such a hare
is madness the youth—to skip o’er the meshes of good
counsel the cripple. But this reasoning is not in the
fashion to choose me a husband. O me, the word “choose!”
I may neither choose whom I would nor refuse whom I
dislike—so is the will of a living daughter curbed by
the will of a dead father. Is it not hard, Nerissa, that
I cannot choose one nor refuse none?

DUTCH:
Hij is een goed preeker die zijn eigen voorschriften nakomt /
Het is een goed geestelijke, die zijn eigen voorschriften opvolgt

MORE:
Proverb: Practice what you preach
Divine=Priest
Compleat:
A divine=Een Godgeleerde

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
It must be by his death, and for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn at him
But for the general. He would be crowned.
How that might change his nature, there’s the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,
And then I grant we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power. And, to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But ’tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber upward turns his face.
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities.
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—
And kill him in the shell.

DUTCH:
De warme dag lokt de adders uit haar hol;
Dan zie de wand’laar scherp!

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Craves=Requires
Wary=Carefully
Sting=Stinger
Remorse=Compassion
Affection=Passion
Swayed=Ruled
Proof=Experience
Lowliness=Affected humility, obsequiousness
Mischievous=Harmful
Fashion=Shape
Compleat:
Craving=Smeeking, bidding; happig, greetig
Wary=Voorzigtig, omzigtig, behoedzaam
Sting=Angel, steekel
Remorse=Knaaging, wroeging, berouw
Affection=Hartstogt, geneegenheyd
To sway=(govern) Regeeren
Proof=Proeven
Lowliness=Nederigheyd; ootmoedigheyd
Mischievous=Boos, boosardig, schaadelyk, quaadstokend, verderflyk, schelms
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Cassandra
CONTEXT:
CASSANDRA
The gods are deaf to hot and peevish vows:
They are polluted offerings, more abhorred
Than spotted livers in the sacrifice.
ANDROMACHE
O, be persuaded! do not count it holy
To hurt by being just: it is as lawful,
For we would give much, to use violent thefts,
And rob in the behalf of charity.
CASSANDRA
It is the purpose that makes strong the vow;
But vows to every purpose must not hold:
Unarm, sweet Hector.
HECTOR
Hold you still, I say;
Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate:
Life every man holds dear; but the brave man
Holds honour far more precious-dear than life.

DUTCH:
t Is de inhoud, die een eed verbindend maakt;
Niet iedere eed, van eiken inhoud, bindt.
Ontwapen u, mijn Hector!

MORE:
Proverb: Either live or die with honour

Peevish=Headstrong
Polluted=Defiled
Must not=Need not
Hold=Be binding
Keeps the weather=Has the advantage of (ref to being windward in sailing)
Compleat:
Peevish=Kribbig, gemelyk
To pollute=Bevlekken, besmetten, bezoedelen

Burgersdijk notes:
Te kwetsen uit lout’re zucht tot recht. D.i. uit zucht om een te lichtzinnig gezworen eed te houden. De folio heeft hier drie regels, die in de quarto ontbreken, doch een er van is bedorven of er is een regel verloren gegaan. De zin is echter duidelijk genoeg.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, promise, debt/obligation

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Thersites
CONTEXT:
THERSITES
Why, he stalks up and down like a peacock,—a stride
and a stand: ruminates like an hostess that hath no
arithmetic but her brain to set down her reckoning:
bites his lip with a politic regard, as who should
say ‘There were wit in this head, an ‘twould out;’
and so there is, but it lies as coldly in him as fire
in a flint, which will not show without knocking.
The man’s undone forever; for if Hector break not his
neck i’ the combat, he’ll break ‘t himself in
vain-glory. He knows not me: I said ‘Good morrow,
Ajax;’ and he replies ‘Thanks, Agamemnon.’ What think
you of this man that takes me for the general? He’s
grown a very land-fish, language-less, a monster.
A plague of opinion! a man may wear it on both
sides, like a leather jerkin.

DUTCH:
Het huist zoo koud in hem als vuur in een
keisteen en komt alleen door slaan voor den dag

MORE:
Proverb: In the coldest flint there is hot fire

Ruminate=To muse, to meditate, to ponder
Arithmetic=Table or other aid for multiplication
Set down=Determine
Reckoning=Bill
Politic=Judicious
Undone=Ruined
Vain-glory=Vanity
Opinion=Self-regard
Compleat:
To ruminate upon (to consider of) a thing=Eene zaak overweegen
Arithmetick=Rekenkonst
Reckoning=Rekenen
Politick (or cunning)=Slim, schrander, doorsleepen
Undone=Ontdaan, losgemaakt
Vain-glory=Ydele glorie
Opinion=Goeddunken, meening, gevoelen, waan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride, vanity, intellect, reputation

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Parolles
CONTEXT:
PAROLLES
Ten o’clock: within these three hours ’twill be
time enough to go home. What shall I say I have
done? It must be a very plausive invention that
carries it: they begin to smoke me; and disgraces
have of late knocked too often at my door. I find
my tongue is too foolhardy; but my heart hath the
fear of Mars before it and of his creatures, not
daring the reports of my tongue.
SECOND LORD
This is the first truth that e’er thine own tongue
was guilty of.

DUTCH:
Wat zal ik zeggen, dat ik gedaan heb? Het meet een zeer waarschijnlijke vond zijn, als zij mij helpen zal.

MORE:
Proverb: I will smoke you

Plausive=Plausible
Smoke=Scent (suspect)
Creatures=Soldiers
Daring=Daring to do
Compleat:
Plausible=Op een schoonschynende wyze, met toejuyghinge

Topics: proverbs and idioms, suspicion, honesty, courage

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
She-wolf of France, but worse than wolves of France,
Whose tongue more poisons than the adder’s tooth!
How ill-beseeming is it in thy sex
To triumph, like an Amazonian trull,
Upon their woes whom fortune captivates!
But that thy face is, visor-like, unchanging,
Made impudent with use of evil deeds,
I would assay, proud queen, to make thee blush.
To tell thee whence thou camest, of whom derived,
Were shame enough to shame thee, wert thou not
shameless.
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch taught thee to insult?
It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen,
Unless the adage must be verified,
That beggars mounted run their horse to death.

DUTCH:
Maar, fiere koningin, het baat u niets,
Dan dat het spreekwoord waar blijkt: „Als een beed’laar
Te paard ooit komt, hij jaagt zijn rijdier dood.”

MORE:

Proverb: Set a beggar on horseback and he will ride a gallop (run his horse out of breath): newfound power will go to their heads

Ill-beseeming=Unbecoming, unattractive
Trull=A drab, lewd woman
Captivate=Subdue
Visor=(Vizor, Vizard): Mask
Impudent=Shameless
Assay=Try
Type=Title
Yeoman=Landowner
Needs not=Is unnecessary
Boots not=Is futile
Adage=Proverb

Compleat:
To beseem=Betaamen, voegen, passen
Trull=Een smots, snol
Captivate=Overmeesteren, gevangen neemen
Vizard=Een momaanzigt, mombakkus, masker
Impudent=Onbeschaamd
to assay=Beproeven, toetsen, onderstaan, keuren
Yeoman=Een welgegoed landman, een ryke boer, een Landjonker
It is to no boot=Het doet geen nut, het is te vergeefs
Adage=Spreekwoord

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, civility, language, dignity

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Lucentio
CONTEXT:
LUCENTIO
Tranio, since for the great desire I had
To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
I am arrived for fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy,
And by my father’s love and leave am armed
With his goodwill and thy good company.
My trusty servant, well approved in all,
Here let us breathe and haply institute
A course of learning and ingenious studies.
Pisa, renownèd for grave citizens,
Gave me my being and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio, come of the Bentivolii.
Vincentio’s son, brought up in Florence,
It shall become to serve all hopes conceived
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds.
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study
Virtue, and that part of philosophy
Will I apply that treats of happiness
By virtue specially to be achieved.
Tell me thy mind, for I have Pisa left
And am to Padua come, as he that leaves
A shallow plash to plunge him in the deep
And with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.

DUTCH:
t Betaamt Vincentio’s zoon, die in Florence
Werd opgevoed, dat hij, zooals men wacht,
Door edel doen zijn rijkdom glans verleen’.

MORE:
Proverb: Lombardy is the garden of the world

Padua=Known for its university
Leave=Permission
Haply=Perhaps
Institute=Begin
Traffic=Commercial trade
Come of=Originated from
Become=Is fitting
Plash=Pool
Compleat:
To give leave=Verlof geeven, veroorloven
Give me leave to do it=Vergun het my te doen
Haply=Misschien
To institute=Instellen, inzetten
To traffic=Handel dryven, handelen
Become=Betaamen

Burgersdijk notes:
Padua, der kunsten wieg . De universiteit van Padua, in 1228 gesticht, was in Sh .’s tijd de beroemdste en meest bezochte van Italie, Petrarca, Columbus en Galilei hadden er gestudeerd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, virtue, satisfaction, hope/optimism

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Dromio of Ephesus
CONTEXT:
ANGELO
Here is neither cheer, sir, nor welcome. We would
fain have either.
BALTHASAR
In debating which was best, we shall part with neither.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
They stand at the door, master. Bid them welcome
hither.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
There is something in the wind, that we cannot get in.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
You would say so, master, if your garments were thin.
Your cake there is warm within; you stand here in the cold.
It would make a man mad as a buck to be so bought and sold.

DUTCH:
Gelukkig is er wind, want anders stondt ge in den regen.
Uw maal daarbinnen is warm en gij staat hier in de kou ,
Verraden en verkocht; wie, die niet dol worden zou?

MORE:
Proverbs: Words are but wind

Break a word with=Talk to
Thou want’st breaking=You need a thrashing
Hind=Servant

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, friendship

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Puck
CONTEXT:
PUCK
(…)
When thou wakest,
Thou takest
True delight
In the sight
Of thy former lady’s eye.
And the country proverb known—
That every man should take his own—
In your waking shall be shown.
Jack shall have Jill.
Nought shall go ill.
The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be
well.

DUTCH:
Als ge ontwaakt, want, ziet!
Hans krijgt zijn Griet.

MORE:
Proverb: Let every man have his own
Proverb: All is well and the man has his mare again
Proverb: All shall be well and Jack shall have his Jill

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
That Cassio loves her, I do well believe ’t.
That she loves him, ’tis apt and of great credit.
The Moor, howbeit that I endure him not,
Is of a constant, loving, noble nature,
And I dare think he’ll prove to Desdemona
A most dear husband. Now, I do love her too,
Not out of absolute lust—though peradventure
I stand accountant for as great a sin—
But partly led to diet my revenge,
For that I do suspect the lusty Moor
Hath leaped into my seat. The thought whereof
Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards,
And nothing can or shall content my soul
Till I am evened with him, wife for wife.
Or, failing so, yet that I put the Moor
At least into a jealousy so strong
That judgment cannot cure. Which thing to do,
If this poor trash of Venice, whom I trace
For his quick hunting, stand the putting on,
I’ll have our Michael Cassio on the hip,
Abuse him to the Moor in the right garb
(For I fear Cassio with my night-cape too)
Make the Moor thank me, love me, and reward me
For making him egregiously an ass
And practicing upon his peace and quiet
Even to madness. ‘Tis here, but yet confused.
Knavery’s plain face is never seen till used.

DUTCH:
Toont schurkerij haar kenn’lijk, waar gelaat.

MORE:
Proverb: To have one on the hip
On the hip=Have the advantage over; have at one’s mercy (See MoV, 1.3 “If I can catch him once upon the hip”)

Apt=Likely
Of great credit=Very believable
Accountant=Accountable
Diet=Feed
Jealousy=Suspicion
Trace=Put in harnass (use for my purposes)
Abuse=Slander
Garb=Manner
Egregiously=In an enormous, shameful manner
Plain=Open, clear, easily understood, evident
Compleat:
Apt=Bequaam, gevoeglyk, gereed
Egregiously=Befaamd, berucht, aankerkelyk (in an ill sense)
An egregious knave=Een beruchte boef
Credit=Geloof, achting, aanzien, goede naam
To abuse=Misbruiken, mishandelen, kwaalyk bejegenen, beledigen, verongelyken, schelden
Diet=Spys, kost, het eeten
Jealousy (Jealoesie)(or suspicion)=Agterdogtig
Full of jealousies=Zeer agterdenkend
To abuse=Misbruiken, mishandelen, kwaalyk bejegenen, beledigen, verongelyken, schelden
Garb=Gewaad, dragt
Egregiously=Treffelyk
Plain=Vlak, effen, klaar, duydelyk, slecht, eenvoudig, oprecht

Topics: deceit, appearance, proverbs and idioms, advantage/benefit

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: Cymbeline
CONTEXT:
CYMBELINE
The forlorn soldier, that so nobly fought,
He would have well becomed this place, and graced
The thankings of a king.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
I am, sir,
The soldier that did company these three
In poor beseeming; ’twas a fitment for
The purpose I then follow’d. That I was he,
Speak, Iachimo: I had you down and might
Have made you finish.
IACHIMO
I am down again:
But now my heavy conscience sinks my knee,
As then your force did. Take that life, beseech you,
Which I so often owe: but your ring first;
And here the bracelet of the truest princess
That ever swore her faith.
POSTHUMUS
Kneel not to me.
The power that I have on you is to spare you;
The malice towards you to forgive you. Live
And deal with others better.
CYMBELINE
Nobly doomed.
We’ll learn our freeness of a son-in-law:
Pardon’s the word to all.

DUTCH:
Kniel niet voor mij;
De macht, die ‘k op u heb, is u te sparen,
En heel mijn wrok, u te vergeven. Leef,
Behandel and’ren beter.

MORE:
Proverb: To be able to harm and not to do it is noble

Doomed=Judged
Malice=Malignity, disposition to injure others
Freeness=Generosity
Compleat:
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
To doom=Veroordelen, verwyzen, doemen
Doomed=Veroordeeld, verweezen.

Topics: life/experience, appearance, language, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
If it be, sir, I pray you, eat none of it.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Your reason?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Lest it make you choleric and purchase me another dry basting.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Well, sir, learn to jest in good time. There’s a time for all things.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
I durst have denied that before you were so choleric.

DUTCH:
Het mocht u de gal doen overloopen en mij een tweede klopping bezorgen,

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Griffith v. City of Trenton, 76 N.J.L. 23, 69 A. 29 (1908)

Proverb: There is a time for all things (Everything has its time)

Choleric=According to the four humours the four complexions were: sanguine, melancholic, choleric and phlegmatic. Choler was credited with being hot and dry and the choleric man was hot-tempered or irritable
Basting=(1) Keep meat covered with fat or juices to avoid drying out; (2)=Beating with a stick. Dry basting=Severe drubbing
Compleat:
Cholerick=Oploopend, haastig, toornig. To be in choler=Toornig zyn
To jest=Boerten, schertsen, jokken, gekscheeren
Basting=Met een stok slaan, afroffing
Basting of meat=Het bedruipen van ‘t vleesch

Topics: cited in law, caution, time, proverbs and idioms, misunderstanding, emotion and mood

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Thersites
CONTEXT:
AENEAS
I have been seeking you this hour, my lord:
Hector, by this, is arming him in Troy;
Ajax, your guard, stays to conduct you home.
TROILUS
Have with you, prince. My courteous lord, adieu.
Farewell, revolted fair! and, Diomed,
Stand fast, and wear a castle on thy head!
ULYSSES
I’ll bring you to the gates.
TROILUS
Accept distracted thanks.
THERSITES
Would I could meet that rogue Diomed! I would
croak like a raven; I would bode, I would bode.
Patroclus will give me any thing for the
intelligence of this whore: the parrot will not
do more for an almond than he for a commodious drab.
Lechery, lechery; still, wars and lechery; nothing
else holds fashion: a burning devil take them!

DUTCH:
Ontucht, ontucht; niets dan oorlog en ontucht! niets anders
blijft in de mode. Een verschroeiende duivel pakke hen
allen!

MORE:
Proverb: An almond for parrot
Proverb: Crack me that nut, quoth Bumstead

Bode=Predict evil
Intelligence=Information on
Raven=Regarded as a bad omen
Commodious=Accommodating
Drab=Strumpet
Compleat:
To bode=Voorzeggen, voorspellen
Intelligence=Kundschap, verstandhouding
To give intelligence=Kundschap geeven, overbrieven
Commodious=Gemaaklyk, geryflyk
Drab=Een openbaare hoer, straathoer

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Belarius
CONTEXT:
GUIDERIUS
Why, worthy father, what have we to lose
But that he swore to take, our lives? The law
Protects not us. Then why should we be tender
To let an arrogant piece of flesh threat us,
Play judge and executioner all himself,
For we do fear the law? What company
Discover you abroad?
BELARIUS
No single soul
Can we set eye on, but in all safe reason
He must have some attendants. Though his humour
Was nothing but mutation—ay, and that
From one bad thing to worse—not frenzy,
Not absolute madness could so far have raved
To bring him here alone. Although perhaps
It may be heard at court that such as we
Cave here, hunt here, are outlaws, and in time
May make some stronger head, the which he hearing—
As it is like him—might break out and swear
He’d fetch us in, yet is ’t not probable
To come alone, either he so undertaking
Or they so suffering. Then on good ground we fear,
If we do fear this body hath a tail
More perilous than the head.
ARVIRAGUS
Let ordinance
Come as the gods foresay it: howsoe’er,
My brother hath done well.

DUTCH:
Laat komen, wat
De wil der goden is; hoe ‘t zij, mijn broeder
Heeft wel gedaan.

MORE:
Proverb: To go from bad to worse

For (we do fear)=Because
Humour=Disposition
Mutation=Change (as an effect of inconsistency)
Stronger head=Gather strength
Fetch us in=Capture us
Tender=Delicate, in a physical and moral sense: easily impressed
Compleat:
Humour (or disposition of the mind)=Humeur, gemoeds gesteldheid
Mutation=Verandering, verwisseling
To draw to a head=Zich tot dragt zetten, de verhaaalde zaaken in een trekken
Tender=Teder, week, murw

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, law/legal, life, flaw/fault

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: Ind 2
SPEAKER: Sly
CONTEXT:
MESSENGER
Your Honour’s players, hearing your amendment,
Are come to play a pleasant comedy,
For so your doctors hold it very meet,
Seeing too much sadness hath congealed your blood,
And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy.
Therefore they thought it good you hear a play
And frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.
SLY
Marry, I will. Let them play it. Is not a comonty a
Christmas gambol or a tumbling-trick?
PAGE
No, my good lord, it is more pleasing stuff.
SLY
What, household stuff?
PAGE
It is a kind of history.
SLY
Well, we’ll see ’t. Come, madam wife, sit by my side
and let the world slip. We shall ne’er be younger.

DUTCH:
Nu, we willen het zien. Kom, Madame vrouw, zet u
naast mij veer en laat de wereld haar gang gaan; wij
kunnen het nooit jonger doen.

MORE:
Proverb: You shall never be younger

Amendment=Recovery
Hold=Regard
Meet=Appropriate
Frenzy=Madness
Bars=Prevents
Comonty=Comedy
Gambol=Game
History=Story
Slip=Slip by
Compleat:
Amendment=Beterschap; verbeterming
Amendment of life=Verbetering van leeven
Hold=Houden, vatten
Meet=Dienstig, bequaam, gevoeglyk
Frenzy=Ylhoofdigheid, uitzinnigheid
To bar=Dwarsboom, draaiboom, hinderpaal, beletsel, traali
To gambol=Springe, huppelen
History=Een geschiedenis, verhaal, geschiedboek, historie
To slip (or let slip)=Laaten ontslippen

Topics: time, age/experience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Touchstone
CONTEXT:
TOUCHSTONE
Come, shepherd, let us make an honourable retreat,
though not with bag and baggage, yet with scrip and
scrippage.
CELIA
Didst thou hear these verses?
ROSALIND
Oh, yes, I heard them all, and more too, for some of
them had in them more feet than the verses would bear.
CELIA
That’s no matter. The feet might bear the verses.
ROSALIND
Ay, but the feet were lame and could not bear
themselves without the verse, and therefore stood lamely
in the verse.

DUTCH:

Kom, scheper, een eervollen terugtocht! zoo niet met
pak en zak, toch met tasch en staf!

MORE:
Bag and baggage=The necessaries of an army, as the phrase “”with bag and b.”
Clear out bag and baggage=Leave nothing behind
Scrippage=Coins, contents of scrip (shepherds’s pouch)
Feet=Punning on metrical units in verse
Compleat:
March away bag and baggage=Met pak en zak weg trekken
Scrip (a budget or bag=Tasch

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, language

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Our course will seem too bloody, Caius Cassius,
To cut the head off and then hack the limbs,
Like wrath in death and envy afterwards,
For Antony is but a limb of Caesar.
Let us be sacrificers but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar,
And in the spirit of men there is no blood.
Oh, that we then could come by Caesar’s spirit
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it. And, gentle friends,
Let’s kill him boldly but not wrathfully.
Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods,
Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.
And let our hearts, as subtle masters do,
Stir up their servants to an act of rage
And after seem to chide ’em. This shall make
Our purpose necessary and not envious,
Which so appearing to the common eyes,
We shall be called purgers, not murderers.
And for Mark Antony, think not of him,
For he can do no more than Caesar’s arm
When Caesar’s head is off.

DUTCH:
Laat ons hem moedig dooden, niet in toorn ;
Laat ons hem off’ren, als een spijs voor goden,

MORE:
Idiom: A dish for the gods
Proverb: A king (prince) loves the treason but hates the traitor

Course=Action (also punning on ‘corse’, meaning corpse)
Head and limbs=Fig., body politic
Envy=Hatred
Subtle=Insidious
Envious=Malicious
Purgers=Healers
Compleat:
To take a course=Een gang gaan
To take bad courses=Quaade gangen gaan
Envy=Nyd, afgunst
Subtle=Listig, loos, sneedig, spitsvindig
Envious=Nydig, afgunstig, wangunstig
Purger=Een zuyveraar, reyniger

Burgersdijk notes:
En later schijnbaar gispen. And after seem to chide ’em . Het woord sluwe meesters, subtle masters, heeft Sh. het woord dienaars in plaats van “handen” doen gebruiken en ook deze woorden doen bezigen. Zoo zal het hart later de daad, die noodzakelijk geacht wordt, betreuren. Dat de gedachte aan huichelarij hier verre moet bljjven, spreekt wel van zelve.

Topics: still in use, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
BERTRAM
My high-repented blames,
Dear sovereign, pardon to me.
KING
All is whole;
Not one word more of the consumed time.
Let’s take the instant by the forward top;
For we are old, and on our quick’st decrees
The inaudible and noiseless foot of Time
Steals ere we can effect them. You remember
The daughter of this lord

DUTCH:
t Is alles goed ;
Geen woord meer van ‘t verleed’ne. ‘t Oogenblik
Zij bij de voorhoofdslok door ons gegrepen;
Want wij zijn oud, en wat wij ras ontwerpen,
Besluipt de zachte onhoorb’re voet des tijds,
Eer ‘t is volvoerd .

MORE:
Proverb: Take time (occasion) by the forelock, for she is bald behind

Take the instant by the forward top=Seize the moment
Quickest=Most keenly felt
Compleat:
At this very instant=Op dit eygenste Oogenblik
Quick=Scherp
Cut to the quick=Tot aan ‘t leeven snyden

Topics: time, risk, caution, purpose, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
VIRGILIA
The sorrow that delivers us thus changed
Makes you think so.
CORIOLANUS
Like a dull actor now,
I have forgot my part, and I am out,
Even to a full disgrace. Best of my flesh,
Forgive my tyranny; but do not say
For that ‘Forgive our Romans.’ O, a kiss
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge!
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss
I carried from thee, dear; and my true lip
Hath virgin’d it e’er since. You gods! I prate,
And the most noble mother of the world
Leave unsaluted: sink, my knee, i’ the earth;
VOLUMNIA
O, stand up blest!
Whilst, with no softer cushion than the flint,
I kneel before thee; and unproperly
Show duty, as mistaken all this while
Between the child and parent.

DUTCH:
Als een verbijsterd speler
Ken ik mijn rol niet meer, blijf steken, sta hier
Tot ieders spot.

MORE:
Proverb: Revenge is sweet

Disgrace=A state of being abashed, of being exposed to contempt; discredit
Tyranny=Cruelty
Dull=Not bright, dim, clouded; awkward, stupid
Compleat:
Disgrace (discredit, dishonour or reproach)=Smaadheid, schande, hoon
Tyranny=Geweldenary, tyranny, dwingelandy
Dull=Lui, traag; lomp, ongevoelig
A dull wit=Een dof verstand

Topics: regret, language, revenge, proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
So wise so young, they say, do never live long.
PRINCE
What say you, uncle?
RICHARD
I say, without characters fame lives long.
Thus, like the formal Vice, Iniquity,
I moralize two meanings in one word.
PRINCE
That Julius Caesar was a famous man.
With what his valour did enrich his wit,
His wit set down to make his valour live.
Death makes no conquest of this conqueror,
For now he lives in fame, though not in life.
I’ll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham—

DUTCH:
k Zeg, roem wordt, ongeboekt, toch immer oud .
(Ter zijde) Ik spreek, als Boosheid in mysteriespelen,
Een woord gebruikend, tweederlei moraal.

MORE:
Proverb: Too soon wise to live long
Proverb: Sharp frosts bite forward springs
Proverb: Those that God loves does not live long
Proverb: Soon ripe soon rotten
Proverb: Too soon wise to be long old

Justice and Iniquity (also Sin or Vice) were common characters in medieval morality plays, with personifications of vices and virtues seeking to gain control of the ‘everyman’ main character.
Justice (personified as female)=equal distribution of right, conformity to the laws and the principles of equity, either as a quality or as a rule of acting.
See also
“Sparing justice feeds iniquity” (The Rape of Lucrece)
“Which is the wiser here? Justice or Iniquity?” (Measure for Measure, 2.1)

Vice (wickedness, buffoon, comic character).
Characters=Written records
Moralize=Interpret to mean two things (i.e. the survival of life and fame (reputation))
Formal=Customary
Wit=Intellect
Compleat:
Vice=Ondeugd
To moralize=Een zédelyke uitlegging of toepassing op iets maaken
Formal=Gestaltig, vormelyk, naauwgezet, gemaakt
Wit (understanding)=Vinding, schranderheid, verstand

Topics: proverbs and idioms, justice, understanding

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.6
SPEAKER: Orlando
CONTEXT:
ADAM
Dear master, I can go no further. Oh, I die for food.
Here lie I down and measure out my grave. Farewell, kind master.
ORLANDO
Why, how now, Adam? No greater heart in thee? Live a
little, comfort a little, cheer thyself a little. If
this uncouth forest yield anything savage, I will either
be food for it or bring it for food to thee. Thy
conceit is nearer death than thy powers. For my sake, be
comfortable. Hold death awhile at the arm’s end. I will
here be with thee presently, and if I bring thee not
something to eat, I will give thee leave to die. But if
thou diest before I come, thou art a mocker of my labour.
Well said. Thou look’st cheerly, and I’ll be with thee
quickly. Yet thou liest in the bleak air. Come, I will
bear thee to some shelter, and thou shalt not die for
lack of a dinner if there live anything in this desert.
Cheerly, good Adam.

DUTCH:
Komaan, Adam, hoe is het? hebt gij niet meer hart
in ‘t lijf? Leef nog wat, verman u wat, vervroolijk u
wat! Als dit woeste woud iets wilds voortbrengt, zal
ik er spijs voor zijn, of het u als spijze brengen.

MORE:
Conceit=Conception, idea, image in the mind
Power=Vital organ, physical or intellectual function
Comfortable=Comforted
Well said=Well done
Cheerly=Cheerful
Anything savage=Game
Compleat:
Conceit=Waan, bevatting, opvatting, meening
Power (ability or force)=Vermogen, kracht
Comfortable=Vertroostelyk, troostelyk
Cheerful (chearfull)=Blymoedig, blygeestig
Savage=Wild

Topics: life, wellbeing, imagination, nature, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: King Richard III
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD
Look what is done cannot be now amended.
Men shall deal unadvisedly sometimes,
Which after-hours give leisure to repent.
If I did take the kingdom from your sons,
To make amends I’ll give it to your daughter.
If I have killed the issue of your womb,
To quicken your increase I will beget
Mine issue of your blood upon your daughter.
A grandam’s name is little less in love
Than is the doting title of a mother.
They are as children but one step below,
Even of your mettle, of your very blood,
Of all one pain, save for a night of groans
Endured of her for whom you bid like sorrow.
Your children were vexation to your youth,
But mine shall be a comfort to your age.
The loss you have is but a son being king,
And by that loss your daughter is made queen.
I cannot make you what amends I would;
Therefore accept such kindness as I can.
Dorset your son, that with a fearful soul
Leads discontented steps in foreign soil,
This fair alliance quickly shall call home
To high promotions and great dignity.
The king that calls your beauteous daughter wife
Familiarly shall call thy Dorset brother. (…)

DUTCH:
Zie, ‘t eens gedane is niet meer te herdoen;
De mensch gaat somtijds overijld te werk,
Zoodat zijn doen in later uur hem rouwt;
Heb ik uw zoons het koningschap ontroofd,
Ik wil ten zoen het aan uw dochter geven.

MORE:

Proverb: Things done cannot be undone

Look what=Whatever
Mettle=Spirit
All one=All the same
Compleat:
Full of mettle=Vol vuurs, moedig
It is all one to me=’t Scheelt my niet

Topics: error, regret, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Celia
CONTEXT:
CELIA
O Lord, Lord, it is a hard matter for friends to meet,
but mountains may be removed with earthquakes and so
encounter.
ROSALIND
Nay, but who is it?
CELIA
Is it possible?
ROSALIND
Nay, I prithee now, with most petitionary vehemence,
tell me who it is.
CELIA
O wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful wonderful,
and yet again wonderful, and after that, out of all
whooping!
ROSALIND
Good my complexion, dost thou think though I am
caparisoned like a man, I have a doublet and hose in my
disposition? One inch of delay more is a South Sea of
discovery. I prithee, tell me who is it quickly, and
speak apace. I would thou couldst stammer, that thou
might’st pour this concealed man out of thy mouth as
wine comes out of a narrow-mouthed bottle—either too
much at once, or none at all. I prithee take the cork
out of thy mouth, that I may drink thy tidings.
CELIA
So you may put a man in your belly.
ROSALIND
Is he of God’s making? What manner of man? Is his head
worth a hat or his chin worth a beard?

DUTCH:
O Heere, Heere, ‘t is voor vrienden wel een moeilijk
ding elkaar te treffen; maar bergen worden wel door
aardbevingen verzet en komen dan samen.

MORE:
Proverb: Friends may meet but mountains never greet

Removed with=Moved by
Petitionary=Supplicatory
Vehemence=Passion, eagerness
Out of=Beyond
Whooping=Shouts of amazement
Good my complexion=Mild oath
Caparisoned=Dressed
Apace=Fast
Compleat:
Remove=Een verschuiving, verstooting, afzetting, verplaatsing
Petition=Verzoek, smeekschrift, request
Vehemence=Heftigheid
Whooping=Geroep
Caparison=Kaperson

Topics: friendship, patience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Is not my sorrow deep, having no bottom?
Then be my passions bottomless with them.
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
But yet let reason govern thy lament.
TITUS ANDRONICUS
If there were reason for these miseries,
Then into limits could I bind my woes:
When heaven doth weep, doth not the earth o’erflow?
If the winds rage, doth not the sea wax mad,
Threatening the welkin with his big-swoll’n face?
And wilt thou have a reason for this coil?
I am the sea; hark, how her sighs do blow!
She is the weeping welkin, I the earth:
Then must my sea be moved with her sighs;
Then must my earth with her continual tears
Become a deluge, overflowed and drowned;
Forwhy my bowels cannot hide her woes,
But like a drunkard must I vomit them.
Then give me leave, for losers will have leave
To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues.

DUTCH:
Vergunt mij dit; vergund wordt den verliezer,
Dat hij met bitt’re tong zich lucht verschaff’.

MORE:
Proverb: Give losers leave to speak (talk)

Coil=Turmoil
Bind into limits=Confine
Forwhy=Because
Ease=Relieve
Bowels=Thought of as the seat of emotions
Compleat:
Coil=Geraas, getier
To bind=Binden, knoopen, verbinden.
To ease=Verligten, ontlasten, zyn gevoeg doen; verzagten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, grief, regret

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
If the living be enemy to the grief, the excess
makes it soon mortal.
BERTRAM
Madam, I desire your holy wishes.
LAFEW
How understand we that?
COUNTESS
Be thou blest, Bertram; and succeed thy father
In manners, as in shape! Thy blood and virtue
Contend for empire in thee; and thy goodness
Share with thy birthright ! Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none: be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use, and keep thy friend
Under thy own life’s key: be checked for silence.
But never taxed for speech. What heaven more will
That thee may furnish, and my prayers pluck down,
Fall on thy head! Farewell, my lord;
‘Tis an unseasoned courtier; good my lord,
Advise him.

DUTCH:
Heb allen lief; schenk wein’gen uw vertrouwen;
Doe niemand onrecht; houd uw vijand eer
Door macht dan door haar uiting in bedwang;
Hoed als uw eigen leven dat uws vriends;
Dat men uw zwijgen, nooit uw spreken gispe!

MORE:
Proverb: Blood is inherited but Virtue is achieved
Proverb: Have but few friends though much acquaintance
Proverb: Keep under lock and key
Proverb: Keep well thy friends when thou has gotten them

Mortal=Fatal
Able=Have power to daunt (Be able for thine enemy)
Manners=Conduct
Blood=Inherited nature
Contend=Compete
Empire=Dominance
Rather than in power than in use=By having the power to act rather than acting
Checked=Rebuked
Taxed=Blamed
Furnish=Supply
Compleat:
Able=Sterk, robust
Manners=Zeden, manieren, manierlykheid
Check=Berispen, beteugelen, intoomen, verwyten
To tax (to blame)=Mispryzen, berispen
To furnish=Verschaffen, voorzien, verzorgen, stoffeeren, toetakelen

Topics: caution, trust, proverbs and idioms, still in use, nature

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Messenger
CONTEXT:
Environed he was with many foes,
And stood against them, as the hope of Troy
Against the Greeks that would have enter’d Troy.
But Hercules himself must yield to odds;
And many strokes, though with a little axe,
Hew down and fell the hardest-timber’d oak.
By many hands your father was subdued;
But only slaughter’d by the ireful arm
Of unrelenting Clifford and the queen,
Who crown’d the gracious duke in high despite,
Laugh’d in his face; and when with grief he wept,
The ruthless queen gave him to dry his cheeks
A napkin steeped in the harmless blood
Of sweet young Rutland, by rough Clifford slain:
And after many scorns, many foul taunts,
They took his head, and on the gates of York
They set the same; and there it doth remain,
The saddest spectacle that e’er I view’d.

DUTCH:
En, zij de bijl ook klein, een tal van slagen
Houwt om en velt den sterksten, hardsten eik.

MORE:

Proverb: Hercules himself cannot deal with two
Proverb: Many strokes fell great oaks

Environed=Surrounded
In high despite=Contemptuously
Yield to odds=Be outnumbered

Compleat:
Environed=Omringd, omcingeld
Despite=Spyt, versmaading

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, strength

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.6
SPEAKER: Warwick
CONTEXT:
WARWICK
From off the gates of York fetch down the head,
Your father’s head, which Clifford placed there;
Instead whereof let this supply the room:
Measure for measure must be answered.
EDWARD
Bring forth that fatal screech-owl to our house,
That nothing sung but death to us and ours:
Now death shall stop his dismal threatening sound,
And his ill-boding tongue no more shall speak.

DUTCH:
Want maat voor maat moet de vergelding zijn.

MORE:

Proverb: Measure for measure (1595)
Matthew 7.1-2: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.’

Supply the room=Replace it
Screech-owl=Hooting owl, an unlucky omen
Dismal-threatening=Ominous
Ill-boding=Doom-laden

Compleat:
To supply=Vervullen, verzorgen, toereiken
To supply one’s place=Iemands plaats bekleeden
Screech-owl=Zeker slach van een uil
Ill-boding=Kwaad voorspellende

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Touch me not so near.
I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth
Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio.
Yet I persuade myself to speak the truth
Shall nothing wrong him. This it is, general:
Montano and myself being in speech,
There comes a fellow crying out for help
And Cassio following him with determined sword
To execute upon him. Sir, this gentleman
Steps in to Cassio and entreats his pause,
Myself the crying fellow did pursue,
Lest by his clamour—as it so fell out—
The town might fall in fright. He, swift of foot,
Outran my purpose, and I returned then rather
For that I heard the clink and fall of swords
And Cassio high in oath, which till tonight
I ne’er might say before. When I came back—
For this was brief— I found them close together
At blow and thrust, even as again they were
When you yourself did part them.
More of this matter cannot I report.
But men are men, the best sometimes forget.
Though Cassio did some little wrong to him,
As men in rage strike those that wish them best,
Yet surely Cassio, I believe, received
From him that fled some strange indignity
Which patience could not pass.
OTHELLO
I know, Iago,
Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee,
But never more be officer of mine.

DUTCH:
Zooals in woede een mensch zijn vriend kan slaan,
Ik houd voor zeker: Cassio ondervond
Van hem, die mij ontkwam, een krenking, dieper
Dan zelfs ‘t Geduld zou dragen.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Lindros v. Governing Board of the Torrance Unified School District, 9 Cal.3d 524, 540, 510 P.2d 361, 371, 108 Cal. Rptr. 185, 195 (1973)(Torriner, J.)(en banc).

Proverb: To mince the matter (Tell sparingly or by halves)

Forget=Forget themselves
Indignity=Contemptuous injury, insult
Patience=Self-control
Pass=Overlook
Compleat:
Indignity=Smaad
Pass, pass by=Passeren, voorbygaan, overslaan
Mince=Kleyn kappen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, cited in law, language, honour, truth, error, anger

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Men should be what they seem;
Or those that be not, would they might seem none!
OTHELLO
Certain, men should be what they seem.
IAGO
Why then, I think Cassio’s an honest man.
OTHELLO
Nay, yet there’s more in this.
I prithee speak to me as to thy thinkings,
As thou dost ruminate, and give thy worst of thoughts
The worst of words.
IAGO
Good my lord, pardon me;
Though I am bound to every act of duty,
I am not bound to that all slaves are free to.
Utter my thoughts! Why, say they are vile and false?
As where’s that palace, whereinto foul things
Sometimes intrude not? Who has a breast so pure,
But some uncleanly apprehensions
Keep leets and law-days, and in session sit
With meditations lawful?

DUTCH:
Een mensch zij, wat hij schijnt;
En die ‘t niet is, neme ook den schijn niet aan.

MORE:
Proverb: Be what thou would seem to be
Proverb: Thought is free

Ruminate=To muse, to meditate, to ponder
Leet=A manor court, court-leet, private jurisdiction; a day on which such court is held
Apprehensions=Ideas
Compleat:
To ruminate upon (to consider of) a thing=Eene zaak overweegen
Leet, Court leet=Een gerechtshof
Leet-days=Recht-dagen
Apprehension=Bevatting, begryping; jaloezy, achterdogt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, duty, betrayal, appearance

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Hey-day, what a sweep of vanity comes this way!
They dance! they are mad women.
Like madness is the glory of this life.
As this pomp shows to a little oil and root.
We make ourselves fools, to disport ourselves;
And spend our flatteries, to drink those men
Upon whose age we void it up again,
With poisonous spite and envy.
Who lives that’s not depraved or depraves?
Who dies, that bears not one spurn to their graves
Of their friends’ gift?
I should fear those that dance before me now
Would one day stamp upon me: ‘t has been done;
Men shut their doors against a setting sun.

DUTCH:
k Zou vreezen: die thans voor mij dansen, treden
Mij eens op ‘t hart; dit is niet ongehoord;
Men sluit voor de ondergaande zon de poort.

MORE:
Proverb: The rising, not the setting, sun is worshipped by most men
Proverb: Men more worship the rising than the setting sun

Hey-day=Expression of surprise
Sweep=Elegance
Oil and root=Plain eating, contrast with pomp
Disport=Amuse
Void=Vomit
Compleat:
Disport=Kortswyl
To void=Ontleedigen, leedigen, lossen, afgaan

Burgersdijk notes:
Bereid om hem te vermoorden. Wie een ander zijn goed helpt verkwisten, werkt mede om hem tot wanhoop en zelfmoord te brengen.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, vanity, madness, legacy

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Griffith
CONTEXT:
GRIFFITH
Noble madam,
Men’s evil manners live in brass; their virtues
We write in water. May it please your Highness
To hear me speak his good now?
KATHERINE
Yes, good Griffith;
I were malicious else.

DUTCH:
Des menschen boosheid leeft in brons, zijn deugd
Schrijft men in ‘t water

MORE:
Often misquoted as “People’s good deeds we write in water. The evil deeds are etched in brass”
Proverb: Injuries are written in brass
Live=Live on (are etched)
Manners=Conduct, actions
Speak his good=Speak of his goodness, virtue, charitable deeds

Topics: proverbs and idioms, reputation, legacy

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Moreover, he hath left you all his walks,
His private arbours and new-planted orchards,
On this side Tiber. He hath left them you
And to your heirs forever—common pleasures,
To walk abroad and recreate yourselves.
Here was a Caesar! When comes such another?
FIRST PLEBEIAN
Never, never.—Come, away, away!
We’ll burn his body in the holy place,
And with the brands fire the traitors’ houses.
Take up the body.
SECOND PLEBEIAN
Go fetch fire.
THIRD PLEBEIAN
Pluck down benches.
FOURTH PLEBEIAN
Pluck down forms, windows, anything.
ANTONY
Now let it work. Mischief, thou art afoot.
Take thou what course thou wilt!

DUTCH:
Nu werk’ het voort! Verderf, gij zijt op weg;
Neem welken loop gij wilt !

MORE:
Idiom: There’s mischief afoot

Arbour=Garden
Common pleasures=Public recreation
Windows=Shutters
Compleat:
Arbour=Prieeltje
Common=Gemeen

Topics: fate/destiny, consequence, still in use, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Trinculo
CONTEXT:
TRINCULO
(…) Were I in England now, as once I was, and had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver. There would this monster make a man. Any strange beast there makes a man. When they will not give a doit to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian. Legged like a man and his fins like arms! Warm, o’ my troth. I do now let loose my opinion, hold it no longer: this is no fish, but an islander that hath lately suffered by a thunderbolt.
Alas, the storm is come again! My best way is to creep under his gaberdine. There is no other shelter hereabouts. Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past.

DUTCH:
Ellende laat een man kennis maken met vreemde kameraden./
De nood brengt een mensch al bij vreemde slaapkameraden.

MORE:
Proverb:Misery makes strange bedfellows
Gaberdine=Cloak
Doit=A former Dutch coin, equivalent to half a farthing
Compleat:
Doit=Een duit (achtste deel van een stuiver)
He is not worth a doit or doitkin=Het is geen duit waard
Fellow ( or companion)=Medgezel
A bed-fellow=Een byslaap, bedgenoot

Topics: fate/destiny, relationship, proverbs and idioms, still in use, adversity

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Gertrude
CONTEXT:
GERTRUDE
More matter, with less art.
POLONIUS
Madam, I swear I use no art at all.
That he is mad, ’tis true. Tis true, ’tis pity,
And pity ’tis ’tis true—a foolish figure,
But farewell it, for I will use no art.
Mad let us grant him then..

DUTCH:
Meer zaaks met minder woordkunst! /
Zaakrijker, minder kunst /
Meer inhoud, minder franje!

MORE:
More substance, less rhetoric: Response to Polonius’ rhetoric (ironically including ‘brevity is the soul of wit”)

Art= Synonymous to cunning, artifice, craft (Schmidt)

Compleat:
Art (cunning or industry)=Behendigheid, Schranderheid, Naarstigheid
A cunning fellow=Een doortrapte vent, een looze gast
To cast a cunning look=Iemand snaaks aanzien

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Demetrius
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
Why makest thou it so strange?
She is a woman, therefore may be wooed;
She is a woman, therefore may be won;
She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved.
What, man! more water glideth by the mill
Than wots the miller of; and easy it is
Of a cut loaf to steal a shive, we know:
Though Bassianus be the emperor’s brother.
Better than he have worn Vulcan’s badge.
AARON
Ay, and as good as Saturninus may.
DEMETRIUS
Then why should he despair that knows to court it
With words, fair looks and liberality?
What, hast not thou full often struck a doe,
And borne her cleanly by the keeper’s nose?
AARON
Why, then, it seems, some certain snatch or so
Would serve your turns.

DUTCH:
Kom, man, meer water loopt den molen langs,
Dan ooit de mool’naar weet; en ‘t is gemakk’lijk
Van aangesneden brood een brok te stelen.

MORE:
Proverb: It is safe taking a shive of a cut loaf
Proverb: All women may be won
Proverb: Much water goes by the mill that the miller knows not of

Shive=Slice
Worn Vulcan’s badge=Cuckolded
Knows to=Knows how to
Snatch=Quick burst
Turns=Purposes
Compleat:
Snatch=Een ruk, hap, beet
Turn (office)=Dienst, trek, poets; She did it only to serve a turn=Zy deed het enkelyk uit eigenbaat

Burgersdijk notes:
Vulkanus’ tool. Shakespeare maakt ook elders van Venus en Mars gewag; men zie Antonius en Cleopatra, en Venus en Adonis.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, trust, secrecy

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
LADY GREY
What you command, that rests in me to do.
KING EDWARD IV
But you will take exceptions to my boon.
LADY GREY
No, gracious lord, except I cannot do it.
KING EDWARD IV
Ay, but thou canst do what I mean to ask.
LADY GREY
Why, then I will do what your grace commands.
GLOUCESTER
[to CLARENCE] He plies her hard; and much rain
wears the marble.

DUTCH:
Hij dringt haar sterk, veel regen holt den steen.

MORE:

Proverb: Constant dropping will wear the stone

Rests in me=Is within my power
My boon=Favour (that I will ask)
Except=Unless
Plies=Keeps working on, persists with

Compleat:
Boon=Een verzoek, geschenk, gunst, voordeel
To ply=Wakker op iets aanvallen
He plies me too hard=Hy valt my al te hard hy wil al te veel werks van my hebben

Topics: proverbs and idioms, authority, remedy

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

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 Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Gremio
CONTEXT:
VINCENTIO
Fear not, Baptista, we will content you. Go to. But I
will in to be revenged for this villainy..
BAPTISTA
And I, to sound the depth of this knavery.
LUCENTIO
Look not pale, Bianca. Thy father will not frown.
GREMIO
My cake is dough, but I’ll in among the rest,
Out of hope of all but my share of the feast.

DUTCH:
Mijn koek ligt in de asch, maar ik ga mee naar binnen;
Want buiten het maal heb ik niets meer to winnen .

MORE:
Proverb: My cake is dough (cake that isn’t properly baked)

Content=Satisfy
Go to=Don’t worry
Sound=Find out
Compleat:
To content=Voldoen, te vreede stellen, genoegen geeven
Go to=Wel aan, wakker
To sound=Peilen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, satisfaction, revenge, failure

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cardinal Wolsey
CONTEXT:
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So farewell to the little good you bear me.
Farewell? A long farewell to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth. My high-blown pride
At length broke under me and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream that must forever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate you.
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favors!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.

DUTCH:
Ik waagde mij,
Als dart’le knaapjes, die op blazen zwemmen,
Nu meen’gen zomer op een zee van glans,
Ver boven mijne diepte; en eind’lijk berstte
Mijn opgeblazen trots en gaf mij, moede,
Oud in den dienst, een fellen stroom nu prijs,
Die mij voor eeuwig overdekken moet.

MORE:
Proverb: He is now become a new man
Blushing=Glowing
Easy=Complacent, trusting
Wanton=Carefree
Bladders=Floats
High-blown=Inflated
Rude=Rough, turbulent (current)
Blushing=Glowing
Easy=Gemaklyk
Wanton=Dartel, weeldrig, brooddronken
High-flown=Hoogmoedig, grootsch, verwaand
Rude=Ruuw, onbeschouwen, plomp

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride, authority

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Clown
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
Wilt thou needs be a beggar?
CLOWN
I do beg your good will in this case.
COUNTESS
In what case?
CLOWN
In Isbel’s case and mine own. Service is no
heritage: and I think I shall never have the
blessing of God till I have issue o’ my body; for
they say barnes are blessings.
COUNTESS
Tell me thy reason why thou wilt marry.
CLOWN
My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on
by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil
drives.

DUTCH:
Mijn arm lichaam, doorluchte vrouw, verlangt het; ik
word door het vleesch er toe gedreven; en wien de duivel aandrijft, die moet loopen.

MORE:
Proverb: He must needs go that the devil drives
Proverb: Service is no heritage (inheritance)

Issue=Offspring
Compleat:
He must needs go that the devil drives=Hy moet wel loopen die door de duivel gedreven word

Topics: marriage, reason, proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised, necessity

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
ANTONIO
Believe me, no. I thank my fortune for it—
My ventures are not in one bottom trusted,
Nor to one place, nor is my whole estate
Upon the fortune of this present year.
therefore my merchandise makes me not sad.

DUTCH:
Geloof mij, neen, want, dank zij mijn geluk,
Ik heb mijn goed niet aan een schip vertrouwd,
Niet aan een plaats, en mijn vermogen hangt

MORE:
Proverb: Venture not all in one bottom
Bottom=ship.
Merchandise=trade, business.
Compleat:
Bottom=Een Schip
Merchandize=Koopmanschappen, koopmanschap doen, dingen
Merchantly=Als een koopman

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

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

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

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

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

Topics: honour, honesty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Norfolk
CONTEXT:
NORFOLK
All this was order’d by the good discretion
Of the right reverend Cardinal of York.
BUCKINGHAM
The devil speed him! no man’s pie is freed
From his ambitious finger. What had he
To do in these fierce vanities? I wonder
That such a keech can with his very bulk
Take up the rays o’ the beneficial sun
And keep it from the earth.
NORFOLK
Surely, sir,
There’s in him stuff that puts him to these ends;
For, being not propp’d by ancestry, whose grace
Chalks successors their way, nor call’d upon
For high feats done to the crown; neither allied
For eminent assistants; but, spider-like,
Out of his self-drawing web, he gives us note,
The force of his own merit makes his way
A gift that heaven gives for him, which buys
A place next to the king.

DUTCH:
De duivel haal’ hem! Zijn eergier’ge vinger
Wil ieders brijpan roeren

MORE:
Often misquoted as “People’s good deeds we write in water. The evil deeds are etched in brass”
Proverb: Injuries are written in brass
Live=Live on (are etched)
Manners=Conduct, actions
Speak his good=Speak of his goodness, virtue, charitable deeds
Compleat:
Manners=Manierlykheid

Topics: merit, ambition, work, status, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Emilia
CONTEXT:
EMILIA
Oh, heaven! Oh, heavenly powers!
IAGO
Zounds, hold your peace.
EMILIA
‘ Twill out, ’twill out.—I peace?
No, I will speak as liberal as the north.
Let heaven and men and devils, let them all,
All, all cry shame against me, yet I’ll speak.
IAGO
Be wise, and get you home.

DUTCH:
Het moet, het moet er uit; — ik zwijgen? neen, man,
Neen, ik wil spreken, vrij als noordervlagen

MORE:

Liberal=Freely
North=North wind
Compleat:
Liberal=Mild, milddaadig, goedertieren, gulhartig, openhartig
Northerly wind=Een Noordelyke wind

Topics: truth, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Lucio
CONTEXT:
No, pardon; ’tis a secret must be locked within the
teeth and the lips: but this I can let you
understand, the greater file of the subject held the
duke to be wise.

DUTCH:
Neen, vergeef mij, dat is een geheim, dat achter tanden
en lippen besloten moet blijven

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 Thomas Mowbray in Richard II: “Within my mouth you have engaol’d my tongue, / Doubly portcullis’d with my teeth and lips”.)

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.8
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
MARTIUS
I’ll fight with none but thee; for I do hate thee
Worse than a promise-breaker.
AUFIDIUS
We hate alike:
Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor
More than thy fame and envy. Fix thy foot.
MARTIUS
Let the first budger die the other’s slave,
And the gods doom him after!

DUTCH:
Gelijk is onze haat;
‘k Verfoei geen Afrikaansch gedrocht zoo diep,
Als uw gehaten roem. Sta vast.

MORE:
Proverb: Africa is always producing something new (monsters, serpents)

Budger=One who gives way
Compleat:
Promise-breaker=Een belofte-breeker
To budge=Schudden, omroeren, beweegen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, dispute, envy

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: First Senator
CONTEXT:
FIRST SENATOR
My lord, you have my voice to it; the fault’s
Bloody; ’tis necessary he should die:
Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.
SECOND SENATOR
Most true; the law shall bruise him.
ALCIBIADES
Honour, health, and compassion to the senate!
FIRST SENATOR
Now, captain?

DUTCH:
Ik geef mijn stem er toe; ‘t vergrijp is bloedig;
‘t Is noodig, dat de dader sterv’;
Niets maakt de zonde driester dan erbarmen.

MORE:
Proverb: Pardon makes offenders

Voice=Vote, support
Emboldens=Encourages
Bruise=Crush, destroy
Compleat:
Voice=Stem, recht van stemmen
To embolden (imbolden)=Verstouten, moed inspreeken, aanmoedigen
To bruise=Kneuzen, verpletteren, stooten, blutzen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, mercy, offence, law/legal

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: King Lear
CONTEXT:
LEAR
(…) To thee and thine hereditary ever
Remain this ample third of our fair kingdom,
No less in space, validity, and pleasure
Than that conferred on Goneril.—But now, our joy,
Although our last and least, to whose young love
The vines of France and milk of Burgundy
Strive to be interessed. What can you say to draw
A third more opulent than your sisters? Speak.
CORDELIA
Nothing, my lord.
LEAR
Nothing?
CORDELIA
Nothing.
LEAR
How? Nothing will come of nothing. Speak again.
CORDELIA
Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave
My heart into my mouth. I love your majesty
According to my bond, no more nor less.
LEAR
How, how, Cordelia? Mend your speech a little,
Lest you may mar your fortunes.

DUTCH:
Door niets wordt niets verkregen; spreek nog eens.

MORE:
Proverb: Nothing will come of nothing (Ex nihilo nihil fit)
Mend your speech=revise your statement, think about what you’ve said
In the context of King Lear telling Cordelia she’ll be disinherited if she doesn’t speak more kindly.
Schmidt:
Heave=Raise, lift (Poss. ref. to Eccles. 21:26 = The heart of fools is in their mouth: but the mouth of the wise is in their heart.)
Bond=(Filial) obligation
To be interessed=To have a right or share (OED). Often amended to ‘interested’ in more modern versions.
Draw=Win (gambling metaphor)
A third more opulent=not equal thirds
Compleat:
Bond=Verbinding, obligatie
Interessed=Betrokken, gegreepen, een part in hebbende.
To interess oneself in a matter=Zich aan eene zaak laaten gelegen zyn.

Topics: honesty, truth, duty, relationship, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Ulysses
CONTEXT:
ULYSSES
What glory our Achilles shares from Hector,
Were he not proud, we all should share with him:
But he already is too insolent;
And we were better parch in Afric sun
Than in the pride and salt scorn of his eyes,
Should he ‘scape Hector fair: if he were foiled,
Why then, we did our main opinion crush
In taint of our best man. No, make a lottery;
And, by device, let blockish Ajax draw
The sort to fight with Hector: among ourselves
Give him allowance for the better man;
For that will physic the great Myrmidon
Who broils in loud applause, and make him fall
His crest that prouder than blue Iris bends.
If the dull brainless Ajax come safe off,
We’ll dress him up in voices: if he fail,
Yet go we under our opinion still
That we have better men. But, hit or miss,
Our project’s life this shape of sense assumes:
Ajax employed plucks down Achilles’ plumes.
NESTOR
Ulysses,
Now I begin to relish thy advice;
And I will give a taste of it forthwith
To Agamemnon: go we to him straight.
Two curs shall tame each other: pride alone
Must tarre the mastiffs on, as ’twere their bone.

DUTCH:
Uw raad begint, Ulysses, mij te smaken;
En onverwijld wil ik dien Agamemnon
Te proeven geven;

MORE:
Proverb: Two curs shall tame (bite) each other
Proverb: Hit or miss

Salt=Bitter
Opinion=Reputation
Allowance=Acknowledgment
Taint of=Discrediting
Broils in=Is excited by
Dress up in voices=Sing the praises of
Tarre on=Incite
Compleat:
Opinion=Goeddunken, meening, gevoelen, waan
Allowance=Inschikkelykheid, toegeeflykheid
To attaint=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verlaaren, betichten’ bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Broil=Oproer, beroerte, gewoel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, pride, manipulation, advantage/benefit, conspiracy

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown;
Here cousin:
On this side my hand, and on that side yours.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes two buckets, filling one another,
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen and full of water:
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.

DUTCH:
Nu is de goudhand als een diepe put,
Een met twee emmers, die elkander vullen;
De ledige altijd dansend in de lucht,
De tweede omlaag en ongezien, vol water;
Ik hen die eene omlaag, vol, uit het oog,
Ik drink mijn kommer en hef u omhoog.

MORE:

Proverb: Like two buckets of a well, if one go up the other must go down

Topics: proverbs and idioms, judgment, equality, achievement, value

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
I stay too long by thee; I weary thee.
Dost thou so hunger for mine empty chair
That thou wilt needs invest thee with my honours
Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth,
Thou seek’st the greatness that will overwhelm thee.

DUTCH:
Uw wensch was vader dier gedachte, Hendrik./
Je wens is de vader van de gedachte

MORE:

Proverb: The wish is father to the thought

Hunger for =Longing to see
Wilt needs=Must

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cardinal Wolsey
CONTEXT:
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So farewell to the little good you bear me.
Farewell? A long farewell to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth. My high-blown pride
At length broke under me and now has left me,
Weary and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream that must forever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate you.
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favors!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.

DUTCH:
0, rampzalig
Die arme, die aan vorstengunsten hangt!

MORE:
Proverb: He is now become a new man
Blushing=Glowing
Easy=Complacent, trusting
Wanton=Carefree
Bladders=Floats
High-blown=Inflated
Rude=Rough, turbulent (current)
Blushing=Glowing
Easy=Gemaklyk
Wanton=Dartel, weeldrig, brooddronken
High-flown=Hoogmoedig, grootsch, verwaand
Rude=Ruuw, onbeschouwen, plomp

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride, authority

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
VIOLA
I left no ring with her. What means this lady?
Fortune forbid my outside have not charmed her!
She made good view of me, indeed so much
That sure methought her eyes had lost her tongue,
For she did speak in starts distractedly.
She loves me, sure! The cunning of her passion
Invites me in this churlish messenger.
None of my lord’s ring? Why, he sent her none.
I am the man. If it be so, as ’tis,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
How easy is it for the proper false
In women’s waxen hearts to set their forms!
Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we,
For such as we are made of, such we be.
How will this fadge? My master loves her dearly,
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him,
And she, mistaken, seems to dote on me.
What will become of this? As I am man,
My state is desperate for my master’s love.
As I am woman, now, alas the day,
What thriftless sighs shall poor Olivia breathe!
O time, thou must untangle this, not I.
It is too hard a knot for me to untie!

DUTCH:
Hoe vruchtloos moet gij dan om liefde zuchten!
O, Tijd! war gij deez’ draden uit elkaar ;
‘t Ontbinden van deez’ knoop is mij te zwaar.

MORE:
Proverb: You are ipse (he, the man)
Proverb: Time reveals (discloses) all things

Outside=Appearance
Made good view=Inspected closely
Lost=Made her lose
Cunning=Craftiness
Invites me in=Invites me by way of
Pregnant=Ready to move, prepared
Proper false=Attractive (but) deceitful
Set forms=Impress (as a seal in wax)
Fadge=Turn out
Fond=Dote
Thriftless=Wasted
Compleat:
Outside=De buytenkant, het buytenste
It has a fair outside=Het toont mooi van buyten
Cunning=Listigheid
Pregnant=Klaar, krachtig
Proper=Bequaam, van een bequaame lengte
To be fond of=Zeer met iets ingenomen zyn
Thrift=Zuynigheyd

Burgersdijk notes:
Arm onding. Poor monster; noch man, noch vrouw.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, suspicion

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
What’s here? A scroll; and written round about?
Let’s see;
‘Integer vitae, scelerisque purus,
Non eget Mauri jaculis, nec arcu.’
CHIRON
O, ’tis a verse in Horace; I know it well:
I read it in the grammar long ago.
AARON
Ay, just; a verse in Horace; right, you have it.
Now, what a thing it is to be an ass!
Here’s no sound jest! the old man hath found their
guilt;
And sends them weapons wrapped about with lines,
That wound, beyond their feeling, to the quick.
But were our witty empress well afoot,
She would applaud Andronicus’ conceit:
But let her rest in her unrest awhile.
And now, young lords, was’t not a happy star
Led us to Rome, strangers, and more than so,
Captives, to be advanced to this height?
It did me good, before the palace gate
To brave the tribune in his brother’s hearing.

DUTCH:
Een vers is ‘t uit Horatius; ik ken het;
Ik las het in mijn spraakkunst, lang geleên.

MORE:
Proverb: He touches him to the quick

“The man who is of pure life and free from crime needs not the bows and arrows of the Moor” (Horace)
Grammar=Latin grammar book. This is quoted in William Lily’s grammar, which was popular in Elizabethan schools
Just=Precisely
Sound=Straightforward
Afoot=Up and about
Conceit=Design, plan
Stranger=Foreigner
Brave=Confront, defy
Compleat:
Cut to the quick=Tot aan ‘t leeven snyden
Conceit=Waan, bevatting, opvatting, meening
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren, moedig treden
Sound=Gaaf
Stranger=Vreemdeling

Burgersdijk notes:
Integer vitae enz. Daar de regels uit Horatius (Od. 1. 22. 1.) zeggen, dat de reine en schuldelooze geen Mauretanische pijl en boog, met andere woorden, geen wapenen behoeft, is door de toezending van wapenen uitgedrukt, dat Tamora’s zonen niet rein en schuldeloos zijn. Als de slimme Tamora niet juist wegens hare zwangerschap onwel was, zou zij de schranderheid van den vond toelachen. — Men merke op, dat het adjectivische Manris van Horatius hier in Mauri “van den Moor”, veranderd is.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, learning/education, intellect, dignity, wisdom

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Cassandra
CONTEXT:
CASSANDRA
The gods are deaf to hot and peevish vows:
They are polluted offerings, more abhorred
Than spotted livers in the sacrifice.
ANDROMACHE
O, be persuaded! do not count it holy
To hurt by being just: it is as lawful,
For we would give much, to use violent thefts,
And rob in the behalf of charity.
CASSANDRA
It is the purpose that makes strong the vow;
But vows to every purpose must not hold:
Unarm, sweet Hector.
HECTOR
Hold you still, I say;
Mine honour keeps the weather of my fate:
Life every man holds dear; but the brave man
Holds honour far more precious-dear than life.

DUTCH:
0, laat u raden; ‘t is niet vroom, te kwetsen
Uit lout’re zucht tot recht; ‘t ware even lof lijk ,
Om veel te geven, and’ren te berooven,
En door een zucht tot weldoen, dief te zijn.

MORE:
Proverb: Either live or die with honour

Peevish=Headstrong
Polluted=Defiled
Must not=Need not
Hold=Be binding
Keeps the weather=Has the advantage of (ref to being windward in sailing)
Compleat:
Peevish=Kribbig, gemelyk
To pollute=Bevlekken, besmetten, bezoedelen

Burgersdijk notes:
Te kwetsen uit lout’re zucht tot recht. D.i. uit zucht om een te lichtzinnig gezworen eed te houden. De folio heeft hier drie regels, die in de quarto ontbreken, doch een er van is bedorven of er is een regel verloren gegaan. De zin is echter duidelijk genoeg.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, promise, debt/obligation

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Menenius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
He’s a disease that must be cut away.
MENENIUS
O, he’s a limb that has but a disease;
Mortal, to cut it off; to cure it, easy.
What has he done to Rome that’s worthy death?
Killing our enemies, the blood he hath lost—
Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he hath,
By many an ounce—he dropp’d it for his country;
And what is left, to lose it by his country,
Were to us all, that do’t and suffer it,
A brand to the end o’ the world.
SICINIUS
This is clean kam.

DUTCH:
Hij is een edel lid, met een gezwel;
Wegsnijding brengt den dood; en ‘t is genees’lijk.

MORE:
Proverb: To go clean cam (awry)

Mortal=Fatal, deadly
Brand=Mark of infamy, stigma
To the end of the world=Eternal
Kam=Awry, twisted. Crooked. Topsy turvy. Perverse or extraordinary (Irish and Welsh cam)
Compleat:
To cast a brand upon one=Iemands eer brandmerken
Mortal=Sterflyk, doodlyk

Burgersdijk notes:
Gebazel! Het Engelsch heeft This is clean kam. “Dit is geheel verkeerd”, tegen den draad in, à contrepoil.

Topics: remedy, understanding, regret, plans/intentions, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Metellus
CONTEXT:
CASSIUS
But what of Cicero? Shall we sound him?
I think he will stand very strong with us.
CASCA
Let us not leave him out.
CINNA
No, by no means.
METELLUS
O, let us have him, for his silver hairs
Will purchase us a good opinion
And buy men’s voices to commend our deeds.
It shall be said his judgment ruled our hands.
Our youths and wildness shall no whit appear,
But all be buried in his gravity.
BRUTUS
O, name him not. Let us not break with him,
For he will never follow anything
That other men begin.
CASSIUS
Then leave him out.

DUTCH:
Hij moet er bij zijn, want zijn zilv’ren haar
Koopt ons een goede meening bij het volk,
En werft ons stemmen om ons doen te prijzen.

MORE:
Proverb: In young men to err is less shame

Sound=Sound out
Strong=Firmly
Opinion=Reputation
Silver hairs=Denoting age/experience
No whit=Not at all
Gravity=Stability, dignity
Break with=Disclose plans to
Compleat:
To sound=Peilen
Strong=Sterk, krachtig
Whit=Point, jot (used negatively)(not in the least, not at all)
Gravity=Deftigheyd, Stemmigheyd, Ernsthaftigheyd, staataigheyd
To break a business=Een zaak voordraagen of op ‘t tapyt brengen

Topics: age/experience, intellect, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Marcus
CONTEXT:
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
O, that delightful engine of her thoughts
That blabbed them with such pleasing eloquence,
Is torn from forth that pretty hollow cage,
Where, like a sweet melodious bird, it sung
Sweet varied notes, enchanting every ear!
LUCIUS
O, say thou for her, who hath done this deed?
MARCUS ANDRONICUS
O, thus I found her, straying in the park,
Seeking to hide herself, as doth the deer
That hath received some unrecuring wound.

DUTCH:
Helaas! dat lieflijk werktuig der gedachten,
Dat die zoo zoet en zoo welsprekend uitte,
Is weggereten uit de schoone kooi,
Waar ‘t als een vogel melodiën zong,
Toonrijk, welluidend, ieder oor betoov’rend.

MORE:
Proverb: As the stricken deer withdraws himself to die

Engine=Instrument
Blabbed=Spoke
Unrecuring=Incurable
Compleat:
Engine=Een konstwerk, gereedschap, werktuig; Een list, konstgreep
To blab out=Uitlabben,, snabben, snateren

Topics: proverbs and idioms, punishment, suspicion

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
Thy father bears the type of King of Naples,
Of both the Sicils and Jerusalem,
Yet not so wealthy as an English yeoman.
Hath that poor monarch taught thee to insult?
It needs not, nor it boots thee not, proud queen,
Unless the adage must be verified,
That beggars mounted run their horse to death.
‘Tis beauty that doth oft make women proud;
But, God he knows, thy share thereof is small:
‘Tis virtue that doth make them most admired;
The contrary doth make thee wonder’d at:
‘Tis government that makes them seem divine;
The want thereof makes thee abominable:
Thou art as opposite to every good
As the Antipodes are unto us,
Or as the south to the septentrion.
O tiger’s heart wrapt in a woman’s hide!
How couldst thou drain the life-blood of the child,
To bid the father wipe his eyes withal,
And yet be seen to bear a woman’s face?
Women are soft, mild, pitiful and flexible;
Thou stern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.
Bids’t thou me rage? why, now thou hast thy wish:
Wouldst have me weep? why, now thou hast thy will:
For raging wind blows up incessant showers,
And when the rage allays, the rain begins.
These tears are my sweet Rutland’s obsequies:
And every drop cries vengeance for his death,
‘Gainst thee, fel Clifford, and thee, false
Frenchwoman.”

DUTCH:
O tijgerhart, in vrouwehuid gehuld!
Hoe kondt gij ‘t levensbloed des kinds verzaam’len,
Opdat de vader daar zijn tranenvloed
Meê droogde, en ‘t uitzicht hebben van een vrouw?

MORE:

CITED IN US LAW:
In the Matter of Sedita v. Kissinger, City Manager of the City of New Rochelle, 66 A.D.2d 357, 359, 413 N.Y.S.2d 25 (1979)(O’Connor, J.).

Proverb: Set a beggar on horseback and he will ride a gallop (run his horse out of breath): newfound power will go to their heads

Type=Title
Yeoman=Landowner
Needs not=Is unnecessary
Boots not=Is futile
Government=Self-control
Obsequies=Funeral rites

Compleat:
Yeoman=Een welgegoed landman, een ryke boer, een Landjonker
It is to no boot=Het doet geen nut, het is te vergeefs
Adage=Spreekwoord
Government=Heersching
Obsequies=Lykplichten, laatste diensten aan den overleedenen

Topics: appearance, status, cited in law, proverbs and idioms, dignity

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.9
SPEAKER: Cominius
CONTEXT:
CORIOLANUS
I sometime lay here in Corioli
At a poor man’s house; he used me kindly:
He cried to me; I saw him prisoner;
But then Aufidius was with in my view,
And wrath o’erwhelm’d my pity: I request you
To give my poor host freedom.
COMINIUS
O, well begg’d!
Were he the butcher of my son, he should
Be free as is the wind. Deliver him, Titus.

DUTCH:
O eed’le bede!
Al had hij mijnen zoon geveld, hij zou
Zoo vrij zijn als de wind. Ontsla hem, Titus!

MORE:
Proverb: As free as the air (wind). Shakespeare refers to this again in AYL (“I must have liberty
Withal, as large a charter as the wind”, 2.7) and The Tempest (“Thou shalt be free
As mountain winds.”, 1.2).

Used=Treated
Sometime lay=Lodged for a while
Compleat:
To use one unkindly=Iemand stuursch bejegenen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, pity, anger

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Malvolio
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
What kind o’ man is he?
MALVOLIO
Why, of mankind.
OLIVIA
What manner of man?
MALVOLIO
Of very ill manner. He’ll speak with you, will you or
no.

DUTCH:
Hij is recht ongemanierd; hij wil u spreken, of gij
wilt of niet.

MORE:
Proverb: He is (is not) a man of God’s making

Kind=Type, manner
Mankind=The man kind – like any other man
Compleat:
Kind=Soort, slach
Man-kind=Het menschelyk geslacht, de menschen, ‘t menschdom

Topics: proverbs and idioms, order/society, status

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
CASSIUS
Forever and forever farewell, Brutus.
If we do meet again, we’ll smile indeed.
If not, ’tis true this parting was well made.
BRUTUS
Why then, lead on. Oh, that a man might know
The end of this day’s business ere it come!
But it sufficeth that the day will end,
And then the end is known.—Come, ho! Away!

DUTCH:
O waar’ ‘t den mensch gegeven,
Voor ‘t einde van dit dagwerk ‘t eind te weten !
Doch ‘t is genoeg; het eind des dags zal komen;
Dan weten wij het eind.

MORE:
Proverb: Every day the night comes

Topics: proverbs and idioms, friendship

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Phoebe
CONTEXT:
PHOEBE
Think not I love him, though I ask for him.
‘Tis but a peevish boy—yet he talks well—
But what care I for words? Yet words do well
When he that speaks them pleases those that hear.
It is a pretty youth—not very pretty—
But sure he’s proud—and yet his pride becomes him.
He’ll make a proper man. The best thing in him
Is his complexion; and faster than his tongue
Did make offence, his eye did heal it up.
He is not very tall—yet for his years he’s tall.
His leg is but so-so—and yet ’tis well.
There was a pretty redness in his lip,
A little riper and more lusty red
Than that mixed in his cheek: ’twas just the difference
Betwixt the constant red and mingled damask.
There be some women, Silvius, had they marked him
In parcels as I did, would have gone near
To fall in love with him; but for my part
I love him not nor hate him not; and yet
I have more cause to hate him than to love him.
For what had he to do to chide at me?
He said mine eyes were black and my hair black
And, now I am remembered, scorned at me.
I marvel why I answered not again.
But that’s all one: omittance is no quittance.
I’ll write to him a very taunting letter,
And thou shalt bear it. Wilt thou, Silvius?

DUTCH:
Doch laat dit wezen; uitstel is geen afstel.
Ik schrijf hem nu een brief, vol spot en hoon;
En gij bezorgt dien, Sylvius, niet waar?

MORE:
“Quod differtur, non aufertur”. [What is deferred is not relinquished.]Found in Heywood’s Proverbs (1546):
“Leave off this ! Be it, (quoth he), fall wee to our food.
But sufferance is no quittans in this daiment.
No, (quoth she), nor misreckning is no payment.
But even reckoning maketh longfrendes; my frend.
For alway owne is owne, at the recknings end.
This reckning once reckned, and dinner once doone,
We three from them twaine, departed very soone. . “
1592 Arden of Fevers, ii. ii Arden escaped us. . . . But forbearance is no acquittance; another time we’ll do it of the claim.”

Peevish=Foolish
Constant=Uniform
Quittance=Discharge from a debt, acquittance: “in any bill, warrant, q. or obligation”
Taunting=Subst. scoff, insulting mockery
Compleat:
Peevish=Kribbig, gemelyk
Quittance=Kwytschelding, kwytingsbrief, quitancie
To cry quitancie (or be even)=Met gelyke munt betaalen
Taunting=Beschimping

Topics: law, /legal, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Under your pardon. You must note beside,
That we have tried the utmost of our friends,
Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe.
The enemy increaseth every day.
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves
Or lose our ventures.

DUTCH:
Bedien u van den vloed, gij hebt geluk ;
Verzuim dien en de gansche levensvaart
Wordt eng en hach’lijk, banken, nooden dreigen;
Wij vlotten thans op zulk een volle zee
En moeten varen, nu het tij ons dient,
Of schipbreuk volgt.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
A.F.A. Tanker Corp. v. Reinauer Transportation Company, 594 F.Supp. 598, 599, n. 1 (S.D.N.Y. 1984)(Tenney, J.);
Prevatt v. Penwalt Corporation, 192 Cal. App.3d 438, 237 Cal. Rptr. 488, 500, n. 26 (1987)(Perren, J.)(“…it became clear that the flood of settlements in which the case was now engulfed either led on to his fortune or if bypassed left him wallowing in the shallows and the miseries of trial.”).

Proverb: The tide must be taken when it comes
Proverb: And wealth with me was never yet afloate (1616)

Under your pardon=Begging your pardon, allow me (to continue)
Tried the utmost=Strained to the limit
Omitted=Missed
Bound=Confined
Ventures=Investment
Compleat:
Beg your pardon=Ik bid u om vergiffenis
Tried=Beproefd, te recht gesteld, verhoord
Omitted=Nagelaaten, overgeslagen, verzuymd
Venture=’t Gene men ter zee waagt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/fortune, cited in law

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Aufidius
CONTEXT:
AUFIDIUS
All places yield to him ere he sits down;
And the nobility of Rome are his:
The senators and patricians love him too:
The tribunes are no soldiers; and their people
Will be as rash in the repeal, as hasty
To expel him thence. I think he’ll be to Rome
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it
By sovereignty of nature. First he was
A noble servant to them; but he could not
Carry his honours even: whether ’twas pride,
Which out of daily fortune ever taints
The happy man; whether defect of judgment,
To fail in the disposing of those chances
Which he was lord of; or whether nature,
Not to be other than one thing, not moving
From the casque to the cushion, but commanding peace
Even with the same austerity and garb
As he controll’d the war; but one of these—
As he hath spices of them all, not all,
For I dare so far free him— made him fear’d,
So hated, and so banish’d: but he has a merit,
To choke it in the utterance. So our virtues
Lie in the interpretation of the time:
And power, unto itself most commendable,
Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair
To extol what it hath done.
One fire drives out one fire; one nail, one nail;
Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths do fail.
Come, let’s away. When, Caius, Rome is thine,
Thou art poor’st of all; then shortly art thou mine.

DUTCH:
Voor nagels wijken nagels, gloed voor gloed;
Door rechten struik’len rechten, moed breekt moed.

MORE:
Proverb: Fire drives out fire (1592)
Proverb: One fire (or one nail or one poison) drives out another.

Casque=Battlefield
Cushion=Senate
Austerity and garb=Modest attire
In the interpretation of the time=Evaluation according to prevailing standards
Unto itself most commendable=Having a very high opinion of itself
Extol=Praise, magnify
Chair=A seat of public authority
Compleat:
Chair of state=Zetel
Extoll=Verheffen, pryzen, looven
To extol one, raise him up to the sky=Iemand tot den Hemel toe verheffen
Highly commendable=Ten hoogste pryselyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, merit, virtue, reputation, ruin, remedy

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
O Antony, beg not your death of us.
Though now we must appear bloody and cruel—
As by our hands and this our present act
You see we do—yet see you but our hands
And this the bleeding business they have done.
Our hearts you see not. They are pitiful.
And pity to the general wrong of Rome—
As fire drives out fire, so pity pity—
Hath done this deed on Caesar. For your part,
To you our swords have leaden points, Mark Antony.
Our arms in strength of malice and our hearts
Of brothers’ temper do receive you in
With all kind love, good thoughts, and reverence.
CASSIUS
Your voice shall be as strong as any man’s
In the disposing of new dignities.
BRUTUS
Only be patient till we have appeased
The multitude, beside themselves with fear,
And then we will deliver you the cause,
Why I, that did love Caesar when I struck him,
Have thus proceeded.

DUTCH:
Alleen geduld geoefend, totdat de onrust
Van ‘t yolk, van angst zichzelf niet, is gestild.

MORE:
Proverb: One fire (heat) drives out another

Pitiful=Full of pty
Fire drives out fire=Proverbial
Leaden=Blunt, heavy
Unstrung of malice=Limbs were thought to be controlled by internal strings, like a puppet
Temper=Disposition
Disposing=Conferring
Dignities=Government positions
Appeased=Calmed
Deliver=Explain, report
Compleat:
Pitifull=Vol medelyden
Leaden=Looden
Temper=Gesteltenis. To be in a good temper=In een goede gesteltenis zyn.
Dispose=Beschikken, schikken
Dignities=Waardigheyd, staat, een staatelyk ampt
Appease=Bevreedigen, stillen, verzoenen
To deliver a message=Een boodschap afleggen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, resolution

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Countess
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
Yes, Helen, you might be my daughter-in-law:
God shield you mean it not! daughter and mother
So strive upon your pulse. What, pale again?
My fear hath catched your fondness: now I see
The mystery of your loneliness, and find
Your salt tears’ head: now to all sense ’tis gross
You love my son; invention is ashamed,
Against the proclamation of thy passion,
To say thou dost not: therefore tell me true;
But tell me then, ’tis so ; for, look, thy cheeks
Confess it, th’ one to th’ other; and thine eyes
See it so grossly shown in thy behaviours,
That in their kind they speak it: only sin
And hellish obstinacy tie thy tongue,
That truth should be suspected. Speak, is ‘t so ?
If it be so, you have wound a goodly clew;
If it be not, forswear ‘t : howe’er, I charge thee,
As heaven shall work in me for thine avail,
To tell me truly.

DUTCH:
Slechts zonde
En wederspannige onwil boeit uw tong,
Dat die de waarheid heel’.

MORE:
Proverb: In being your own foe, you spin a fair thread
Proverb: You have spun a fine (fair) thread

Gross=Palpable
Grossly=Conspicuously
Clew=Ball of thread
Compleat:
Gross=Grof, plomp, onbebouwen
You grossly mistake my meaning=Gy vergist u grootelyks omtrent myn meening
Clew=Een kluwen (garen)

Topics: truth, deceit, love, appearance, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
More strange than true. I never may believe
These antique fables nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact.
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold—
That is the madman. The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to Earth, from Earth to heaven.
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy.
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!
HIPPOLYTA
But all the story of the night told over,
And all their minds transfigured so together,
More witnesseth than fancy’s images
And grows to something of great constancy,
But, howsoever, strange and admirable.

DUTCH:
Als ‘s nachts haar angst bekruipt in ‘t woud,
Zij licht een ruigte voor een ondier houdt.

MORE:
Proverb: He thinks every bush a bugbear (bear)
Proverb: Great wits (poets) to madness sure are near allied
Proverb: It is no more strange than true

More witnesseth=Is evidence of more (than imagination)
Constancy=Consistency
Howsoever=In any case
Admirable=Unbelievable
Antique=Strange, ancient
Toys=Trifles
Apprehend=Perceive
Comprehends=1) Understands; 2) Deduces, imagines
Compact=Composed
Helen=Helen of Troy
Bringer=Source
Compleat:
A mere toy=Een voddery
Comprehend=Begrypen, bevatten, insluyten
To compact=In een trekken, dicht t’zamenvoegen
To witness=Getuygen, betuygen
Constancy=Standvastigheyd, volharding, bestendigheyd
Howsoever=Hoedaanig ook, hoe ook

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent, madness, imagination, memory, evidence

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
By the consent of all, we were establish’d
The people’s magistrates.
CITIZENS
You so remain.
MENENIUS
And so are like to do.
COMINIUS
That is the way to lay the city flat;
To bring the roof to the foundation,
And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges,
In heaps and piles of ruin.
SICINIUS
This deserves death.
BRUTUS
Or let us stand to our authority,
Or let us lose it. We do here pronounce,
Upon the part o’ the people, in whose power
We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy
Of present death.

DUTCH:
Geen and’re keus: wij moeten voor ons ambt
Pal staan of vallen.

MORE:
Proverb: Men (Men’s love), not walls, make the city (prince) safe

Or=Either
Stand to=Exercise, be firm with
Present=Immediate
Compleat:
Magistrate=Overheid, Overheer, Magistraat

Topics: order/society, law/legaldispute, , proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Gremio
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
Why, and I trust I may go too, may I not? What, shall I
be appointed hours as though, belike, I knew not what
to take and what to leave, ha?
GREMIO
You may go to the devil’s dam! Your gifts are so good
here’s none will hold you.—Their love is not so great,
Hortensio, but we may blow our nails together and fast
it fairly out. Our cake’s dough on both sides. Farewell.
Yet for the love I bear my sweet Bianca, if I can by
any means light on a fit man to teach her that wherein
she delights, I will wish him to her father.
HORTENSIO
So will I, Signior Gremio. But a word, I pray. Though
the nature of our quarrel yet never brooked parle, know
now upon advice, it toucheth us both, that we may yet
again have access to our fair mistress and be happy
rivals in Bianca’s love, to labour and effect one thing
specially.

DUTCH:
Loop naar des duivels grootmoeder! – Uwe gaven zijn
zoo goed, dat niemand van u gediend is. – Zoo groot
is de liefde tusschen Katharina en haar vader niet, Hortensio,
of wij mogen wel op onze nagels gaan blazen
en geduldig vasten; onze koek is aan geen van beide
zijden nog gaar.

MORE:
Proverb: My cake is dough (cake that isn’t properly baked)

Belike=Perhaps
Dam=Mother
Wish=Commend
Brooked=Endured (also abrook)
Parle=Discussion
Compleat:
Dam=Een dam; de moer van sommige beesten
Wish=Wenschen
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To brook an affront=Een leed verkroppen
Parley=Gesprek over voorwaarden, onderhandeling, gesprekhouding

Burgersdijk notes:
Zoo groot is de liefde tusschen Katharina en haar vader niet. Er staat eigenlijk alleen: „Hun liefde is zoo groot niet”; doch dit moet beteekenen, wat in de vertaling is uitgedrukt : de liefde tusschen hen beiden is zoo groot niet, dat zij op den duur een echtverbintenis van Bianca tegenhoudt, al moeten de twee medevrijers nu rustig wachten, daar zij op ‘t oogenblik teleurgesteld zijn . Dit Iaatste wordt uitgedrukt door ‘t ongaar zijn van den koek.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, love, rivalry

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Poet
CONTEXT:
PAINTER
You are rapt, sir, in some work, some dedication
To the great lord.
POET
A thing slipped idly from me.
Our poesy is as a gum, which oozes
From whence ’tis nourished: the fire i’ the flint
Shows not till it be struck; our gentle flame
Provokes itself and like the current flies
Each bound it chafes. What have you there?
PAINTER
A picture, sir. When comes your book forth?
POET
Upon the heels of my presentment, sir.
Let’s see your piece.

DUTCH:
Och, iets, geheel van zelf mijn geest ontweld.
Als hars is onze poëzie, ze ontvloeit
Waar zij gevoed wordt; vuur ontspringt den steen
Door slaan eerst, doch onze eed’le vlam ontsteekt
Zichzelf, en vliedt gramstorig, als een stroom,
Al wat haar boeien wil.

MORE:
Proverb: In the coldest flint there is hot fire
Proverb: The stream (current, tide) stopped swells the higher

Rapt=Captivated
Idly=Carelessly, without effort
Poesy=Poetry
Fire from the flint=Spark of inspiration
Gentle flame=Poetry
Provokes itself=Ignites
Bound=Riverbank
Chafe=Rage against, surge (current of the river)
Presentment=Presentation
Upon the heels=Immediately after
Compleat:
Rapt=Met geweld ontnoomen of afgerukt
Idly=Luyachtig, ydelyk
Poesy=Dichtkunst, dichtkunde, poëzy
Flint=Een keisteen, vuursteen, keizel, flint
To provoke=Tergen, verwekken, aanprikkelen, opscherpen, gaande maaken, ophitsen
Bound=Een grens, landperk
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
Presentment=Een bloote verklaaring der Gezwoorene Mannen of der Gerechtsdienaaren wegens eenige misdaad; een aanklaaging voor ‘t Gerecht; een Vertooning

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
ANTONIO
I must entreat of you some of that money.
VIOLA
What money, sir?
For the fair kindness you have showed me here,
And part being prompted by your present trouble,
Out of my lean and low ability
I’ll lend you something. My having is not much.
I’ll make division of my present with you.
Hold, there’s half my coffer.
ANTONIO
Will you deny me now?
Is ’t possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion? Do not tempt my misery,
Lest that it make me so unsound a man
As to upbraid you with those kindnesses
That I have done for you.
VIOLA
I know of none,
Nor know I you by voice or any feature.
I hate ingratitude more in a man
Than lying, vainness, babbling, drunkenness,
Or any taint of vice whose strong corruption
Inhabits our frail blood—

DUTCH:
En ook omdat uw ongeval mij treft,
Wil ik, hoe schraal mijn midd’len mogen zijn,
U graag wat leenen

MORE:
Proverb: Ingratitude comprehends all faults

Part=In part, partly
Present=Current (money) trouble
Coffer=Money chest
Persuasion=Persuasiveness
Unsound=Unprincipled
Upbraid=Reproach
Compleat:
Part=Een deel, gedeelte
Coffer=Een koffer, kist
Persuasion=Overreeding, overtuiging, overstemming, aanraading, wysmaaking
Unsound (corrupt, rotten)=Bedurve, verrot, ongaaf
To upbraid=Verwyten, smaadelyk toedryven

Topics: proverbs and idioms, money, debt/obligation, ingratitude

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHERINE
Speak it here.
There’s nothing I have done yet, o’ my conscience,
Deserves a corner. Would all other women
Could speak this with as free a soul as I do.
My lords, I care not, so much I am happy
Above a number, if my actions
Were tried by ev’ry tongue, ev’ry eye saw ’em,
Envy and base opinion set against ’em,
I know my life so even. If your business
Seek me out, and that way I am wife in,
Out with it boldly. Truth loves open dealing

DUTCH:
Wenscht gij hier
Mij na te gaan, en hoe ik ben als vrouw,
Spreekt vrij; de waarheid mint den rechten weg.

MORE:
Proverb: Truth seeks no corners
Proverb: Truth’s tale is simple (Truth is plain)
Would=If only
Above a number=More than many
Even=Pure, flawless
Compleat:
Would=’t was te wenschen dat; it zou ‘t wel willen
Even=Effen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, honesty

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: Cymbeline
CONTEXT:
CYMBELINE
The forlorn soldier, that so nobly fought,
He would have well becomed this place, and graced
The thankings of a king.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
I am, sir,
The soldier that did company these three
In poor beseeming; ’twas a fitment for
The purpose I then follow’d. That I was he,
Speak, Iachimo: I had you down and might
Have made you finish.
IACHIMO
[Kneeling] I am down again:
But now my heavy conscience sinks my knee,
As then your force did. Take that life, beseech you,
Which I so often owe: but your ring first;
And here the bracelet of the truest princess
That ever swore her faith.
POSTHUMUS
Kneel not to me.
The power that I have on you is to spare you;
The malice towards you to forgive you. Live
And deal with others better.
CYMBELINE
Nobly doomed.
We’ll learn our freeness of a son-in-law:
Pardon’s the word to all.

DUTCH:
Mijn schoonzoon doet mij zien, wat edel is;
Vergiffenis voor allen!

MORE:
Proverb: To be able to harm and not to do it is noble

Doomed=Judged
Malice=Malignity, disposition to injure others
Freeness=Generosity
Compleat:
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
To doom=Veroordelen, verwyzen, doemen
Doomed=Veroordeeld, verweezen.

Topics: life/experience, appearance, language, proverbs and idioms

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: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Queen Elizabeth
CONTEXT:
YORK
Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast
That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old.
‘Twas full two years ere I could get a tooth.
Grandam, this would have been a biting jest.
DUCHESS
I prithee, pretty York, who told thee this?
YORK
Grandam, his nurse.
DUCHESS
His nurse? Why, she was dead ere thou wast born.
YORK
If ’twere not she, I cannot tell who told me.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
A parlous boy! Go to, you are too shrewd.
DUCHESS
Good madam, be not angry with the child.
QUEEN ELIZABETH
Pitchers have ears.

DUTCH:
Ook kleine kruikjes hebben ooren .

MORE:
Proverb: Little (small) pitchers have wide (great) ears

Parlous=Mischievous, precocious
Shrewd=Sharp
Pitchers have ears=Proverbial, caution about speaking in earshot of others
Compleat:
Parlous=Onvergelykelyk, weergaloos
Shrewd=Loos, doortrapt, sneedig, vinnig, fel
Pitcher=Een aarden kruyk meet een handvatsel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, secrecy, trust

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
HECTOR
Paris and Troilus, you have both said well,
And on the cause and question now in hand
Have glozed, but superficially: not much
Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philosophy:
The reasons you allege do more conduce
To the hot passion of distempered blood
Than to make up a free determination
‘Twixt right and wrong, for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice
Of any true decision. Nature craves
All dues be rendered to their owners: now,
What nearer debt in all humanity
Than wife is to the husband? If this law
Of nature be corrupted through affection,
And that great minds, of partial indulgence
To their benumbed wills, resist the same,
There is a law in each well-ordered nation
To curb those raging appetites that are
Most disobedient and refractory.

DUTCH:
The reasons you allege do more conduce
To the hot passion of distempered blood
Than to make up a free determination
‘Twixt right and wrong, for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice
Of any true decision.

MORE:
Proverb: Give everyone his due
Proverb: As deaf as an adder

To gloze=Expand, expound. Veil with specious comments (OED)
Glozes=Pretentious talk
Conduce=Contribute, cite
Affection=Emotion; partiality
Partial=Prejudiced
Distempered=Ill-humoured; deranged
Benumbed=Dulled, inured
Refractory=Unmanageable
Compleat:
To gloze=Vleijen, flikflooijen
To conduce=Vorderlyk zyn, dienstig zyn, baaten
Affection=Toegeneegenheid, aandoening
Partial=Eenzydig, partydig
Distempered=Niet wel te pas, kwaalyk gesteld, uit zyn schik
To benum=Verstyven
Refractory=Wederspannig

Burgersdijk notes:
Door Aristoteles. Nu Shakespeare een Griekschen wijsgeer wil vermelden, kiest hij een algemeen bekenden, zonder te vragen, of deze niet vele eeuwen na den Trojaanschen oorlog leefde en of hij inderdaad de jeugd onvatbaar heeft genoemd voor de beoefening der moraal -philosophie.
Zijn doover nog dan slangen. Dat slangen voor doof gehouden werden, blijkt ook uit 2 K. Hendrik IV, en uit Sonnet CXII.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, judgment, debt/obligation

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Poor and content is rich, and rich enough,
But riches fineless is as poor as winter
To him that ever fears he shall be poor.
Good heaven, the souls of all my
OTHELLO
Why, why is this?
Think’st thou Ied make a life of jealousy,
To follow still the changes of the moon
With fresh suspicions? No, to be once in doubt
Is once to be resolved. Exchange me for a goat
When I shall turn the business of my soul
To such exsufflicate and blown surmises
Matching thy inference. ‘Tis not to make me jealous
To say my wife is fair, feeds well, loves company,
Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well :
Where virtue is, these are more virtuous. tribe defend
From jealousy!

DUTCH:
Arm en tevreên is rijk, en rijk genoeg;
Maar als de winter arm is de allerrijkste,
Als staag de vrees hem nijpt van arm te worden

MORE:
Proverb: The greatest wealth is contentment with a little

Fineless=Infinite, boundless
Resolved=Convinced, Fixed in a determination
Once=Once and for all
Exsufflicate (Exufflicate)=From exsufflare, probably synonymous to blown=`puffed jup, inflated; empty, unsubstantial, frivolous. Also (morally) diseased; blown, swollen, ulcerated
Doubt=Suspicion
Revolt=Gross departure from duty; unfaithfulness
Inference=Allegations
Compleat:
Resolve (untie, decide, determine a hard question, difficulty etc.)=Oplossen, ontwarren, ontknoopten
Doubt=Twyffel
Resolve (deliberation, decision)=Beraad, beslissing, uitsluitsel
Revolt=Afvallen, oproerig worden, aan ‘t muiten slaan
Inference=Gevolg, besluyt

Topics: poverty and wealth, satisfaction, proverbs and idioms, virtue, envy

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: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
This I must say,
But first I beg my pardon, the young lord
Did to his majesty, his mother and his lady
Offence of mighty note; but to himself
The greatest wrong of all. He lost a wife
Whose beauty did astonish the survey
Of richest eyes, whose words all ears took captive,
Whose dear perfection hearts that scorn’d to serve
Humbly call’d mistress.
LAFEW
Praising what is lost
Makes the remembrance dear. Well, call him hither;
We are reconciled, and the first view shall kill
All repetition: let him not ask our pardon;
The nature of his great offence is dead,
And deeper than oblivion we do bury
The incensing relics of it: let him approach,
A stranger, no offender; and inform him
So ’tis our will he should.

DUTCH:
Lofprijzingen van het verleden laten ons verdrinken in dierbare herinneringen./
‘t Verloor’ne hoog te roemen, Maakt ons ‘t herdenken dierbaar.

MORE:
Proverb: Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear

‘The first view shall kill all repetition’=after the first meeting the past will be forgotten
Incensing relics=Relics that “receive a perfuming with or offering of incense” (OED)
Compleat:
Praising=Pryzing
Remembrance=Gedachtenis, geheugenis

Topics: value, mercy, friendship, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Prithee, no more prattling; go. I’ll hold. This is
the third time; I hope good luck lies in odd
numbers. Away I go. They say there is divinity in
odd numbers, either in nativity, chance, or death.
Away!
MISTRESS QUICKLY
I’ll provide you a chain; and I’ll do what I can to
get you a pair of horns.
FALSTAFF
Away, I say; time wears: hold up your head, and mince.

DUTCH:
Kom, kom, geen praatjens meer; ga maar; ik houd
woord. Dit is de derde keer; ik hoop, dat oneven getallen
geluk brengen.

MORE:
Proverb: There is luck in odd numbers
Proverb: All things thrive at thrice
Proverb: The third time pays for all

Herne the Hunter supposedly had horns and shook a chain
Good luck lies in odd numbers
Divinity=Divination, divine power
Chance=Luck
Wears=Passes
Compleat:
Divinity=Godgeleerdheyd, Godheyd
Chance=Geval, voorval, kans

Topics: proverbs and idioms|fate/destiny

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
WARWICK
Henry now lives in Scotland at his ease,
Where having nothing, nothing can he lose.
And as for you yourself, our quondam queen,
You have a father able to maintain you;
And better ’twere you troubled him than France.
QUEEN MARGARET
Peace, impudent and shameless Warwick, peace,
Proud setter up and puller down of kings!
I will not hence, till, with my talk and tears,
Both full of truth, I make King Lewis behold
Thy sly conveyance and thy lord’s false love;
For both of you are birds of selfsame feather.

DUTCH:
Zwijg, onbeschaamde, drieste Warwick, zwijg,
Gij trotsche koningsschepper en verdelger!

MORE:

Proverb: Birds of a feather flock (fly) together

Will not hence=Won’t go elsewhere
Quondam=Former, as was
Conveyance=Underhand dealing, trickery, dishonest actions
Behold=See, recognize

Compleat:
Hence=Van hier, hier uit
Conveyance=Een overwyzing, overvoering, overdragt
To behold=Aanschouwen, zien, aanzien; ziet, let wel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, status, relationship, deceit

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: First Jailer
CONTEXT:
FIRST JAILER
A heavy reckoning for you, sir. But the comfort
is, you shall be called to no more payments, fear
no more tavern bills, which are often the sadness
of parting as the procuring of mirth. You come in
faint for want of meat, depart reeling with too
much drink; sorry that you have paid too much,
and sorry that you are paid too much; purse and
brain both empty; the brain the heavier for being
too light; the purse too light, being drawn of heaviness:
of this contradiction you shall now be
quit. O, the charity of a penny cord! It sums up
thousands in a trice: you have no true debitor and
creditor but it; of what’s past, is, and to come,
the discharge: your neck, sir, is pen, book and
counters; so the acquittance follows.

DUTCH:
Hoofd en beurs
beide leeg, het hoofd des te zwaarder, naarmate het
lichter is, de beurs des te opgeruimder, naarmate zij
meer zwaarte verloren heeft.

MORE:
Proverb: A heavy purse makes a light heart
Proverb: In a trice

Heavier=Sleepier with drink
Drawn=Emptied
Drawn of heaviness=Lighter, being emptied of coins
Paid too much=Punished by excess drinking
To quit=To set at liberty, to free, to deliver
Acquittance=Receipt in full
Compleat:
To quit (dispense with, excluse)=Bevryden, verschoonen, ontslaan
I quit you from it=Ik ontsla ‘er u van
Forbearance is no acquittance=Uitstellen is geen quytschelden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, intellect, excess, money, debt/obligation

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Ophelia
CONTEXT:
My honoured lord, you know right well you did,
And with them, words of so sweet breath composed
As made the things more rich. Their perfume lost,
Take these again, for to the noble mind
Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

DUTCH:
Overvloedige gaven worden armzalig als gevers liefdeloos blijken. /
Neem ze terug : voor hem, die edel denkt, Is ‘t rijkste poover, als een nurk het schenkt. /
Want voor hen die edel denken, Wordt arm het rijkst geschenk, als hartloos zijn die ‘t schenken.

MORE:
The phrase “Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind” was coined by Shakespeare and is still in use today.

Topics: appearance, honesty, value, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 1 Prologue
SPEAKER: Rumour
CONTEXT:
And who but Rumour, who but only I,
Make fearful musters and prepared defense,
Whiles the big year, swoll’n with some other grief,
Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures,
And of so easy and so plain a stop
That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wav’ring multitude,
Can play upon it.

DUTCH:
Een fluit is het Gerucht,
Waar gissing, argwaan, ijverzucht op blaast,
Met kleppen, zoo gemakk’lijk voor den greep,
Dat zelfs het stomp, ontelbaar-hoofdig monster,
De wisselzieke, steeds verdeelde menigt’,
Er op kan spelen

MORE:

Proverb: As many heads as Hydra
Proverb: A multitude of people is a beast of many heads

Blunt monster with uncounted heads=Hydra, a many-headed monster (used to describe the common people)

Schmidt:
Stop=In music, the holes in a flute or pipe to regulate the sounds
Still=Continuously
Discordant=Disagreeing
Blunt=Dull in understanding

Compleat:
Discordant=Tweedragtig, oneenig; – wanluidende.
Blunt=Stomp, bot, plomp, onbebouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, good and bad, consequence

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Romeo
CONTEXT:
Oh my, time goes by slowly when you’re sad. Was that my father who left here in such a hurry?

DUTCH:
Ach, tijd valt lang door zorgen.

MORE:
The idiom today would say the oppposite: ‘Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself”.

Topics: time, emotion and mood, proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Edward IV
CONTEXT:
GLOUCESTER
Come, Warwick, take the time; kneel down, kneel down:
Nay, when? Strike now, or else the iron cools.
WARWICK
I had rather chop this hand off at a blow,
And with the other fling it at thy face,
Than bear so low a sail, to strike to thee.
KING EDWARD IV
Sail how thou canst, have wind and tide thy friend,
This hand, fast wound about thy coal-black hair
Shall, whiles thy head is warm and new cut off,
Write in the dust this sentence with thy blood,
‘Wind-changing Warwick now can change no more.’

DUTCH:
Zeil hoe ge wilt, heb wind en tij te vriend, —
De hand hier grijpt u dra in ‘t koolzwart haar,
En zal, terwijl uw afgehouwen hoofd
Nog warm is, met uw bloed in ‘t stof hier schrijven:
De windhaan Warwick draait nu nimmermeer.

MORE:

Proverb: Strike while the iron’s hot

Take the time=Take the opportunity
So low a sail=Bow so low (as in lowering sails – striking the colours – in the sense of surrender)
Wind-changing=Inconstant, changeable, unreliable

Compleat:
Opportunity stands not still=De gelegenheid staaat niet stil
To strike sail=’t Zeil stryken
He turns with every wind=Hy waait met alle winden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
YORK
‘Tis York that hath more reason for his death.
But, my lord cardinal, and you, my Lord of Suffolk,
Say as you think, and speak it from your souls,
Were’t not all one, an empty eagle were set
To guard the chicken from a hungry kite,
As place Duke Humphrey for the king’s protector?
QUEEN MARGARET
So the poor chicken should be sure of death.
SUFFOLK
Madam, ’tis true; and were’t not madness, then,
To make the fox surveyor of the fold?
Who being accused a crafty murderer,
His guilt should be but idly posted over,
Because his purpose is not executed.

DUTCH:
Doch spreekt, lord kardinaal en gij, lord Suffolk,
Zegt eens ronduit, spreekt zooals ‘t in uw hart is

MORE:

Proverb: To speak as one thinks
Proverb: Give not the wolf (fox) the wether (sheep) to keep
Proverb: Make not the wolf your shepherd

For his death=To want him dead
Idly=Foolishly
Posted over=Disregarded

Compleat:
Idly=Zottelyk
To talk idly=Ydelyk of gebrekkelyk praaten; zotte klap uitslaan

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honesty, truth

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Dromio of Ephesus
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Say what you will, sir, but I know what I know.
That you beat me at the mart I have your hand to show;
If the skin were parchment and the blows you gave were ink,
Your own handwriting would tell you what I think.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
I think thou art an ass.
DROMIO OF EPHESUS
Marry, so it doth appear
By the wrongs I suffer and the blows I bear.
I should kick being kicked; and, being at that pass,
You would keep from my heels and beware of an ass.

DUTCH:
Zeg wat gij wilt, heer, maar ik weet, wat ik weet,
Dat uw groete bestond in het slaan, dat gij deedt;
Waar’ mijn vel perkament en waren uwe slagen inkt,
‘k Had een schrift’lijk bewijs, dat gij zoo mij ontvingt

MORE:
Proverb: I know (wot) what I know (wot) / I wot what I wot, though I few words make

Mart=Marketplace
At that pass=In those circumstances
Compleat:
Mart=Jaarmarkt
Letters of mart=Brieven van wederneeminge of van verhaal; Brieven van Represailes

Topics: claim, evidence, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
And these are not fairies? I was three or four
times in the thought they were not fairies: and yet
the guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of my
powers, drove the grossness of the foppery into a
received belief, in despite of the teeth of all
rhyme and reason, that they were fairies. See now
how wit may be made a Jack-a-Lent, when ’tis upon
ill employment!

DUTCH:
Nu blijkt het, hoe het verstand tot een vastenavondzot kan worden, als het op booze wegen wandelt.

MORE:
Proverb: Neither rhyme nor reason
Proverb: In spite of one’s teeth

Surprise=Bewilderment
Foppery=Foolishness
Jack-a-Lent was a puppet that people would throw stones at
Compleat:
Surprise=Overval, verrassing, overyling, ontsteltenis, onverwacht voorval
Foppery=Zottte kuuren, grollen, snaakery

Topics: proverbs and idioms|reason|intellect

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Lavatch
CONTEXT:
COUNTESS
Wilt thou needs be a beggar?
CLOWN
I do beg your good will in this case.
COUNTESS
In what case?
CLOWN
In Isbel’s case and mine own. Service is no
heritage: and I think I shall never have the
blessing of God till I have issue o’ my body; for
they say barnes are blessings.
COUNTESS
Tell me thy reason why thou wilt marry.
CLOWN
My poor body, madam, requires it: I am driven on
by the flesh; and he must needs go that the devil
drives.

DUTCH:
In Bella’s en mijn eigen zaak. Dienst is geen erfdeel, en ik geloof, dat ik Gods zegen nimmer bezitten zal, voor ik telgen mijns lichaams rijk ben; want het zeggen is, kinderen zijn een zegen .

MORE:
Proverb: Service is no inheritance

Barnes (bairns)=Children
Service=Place and office of a servant
Compleat:
Service=Dienstbaarheid
Service is no inheritance=Den dienst is geen erfgoed
Barn (or bearn)=Een kind

Topics: work, order/society, poverty and wealth, value, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
It is a mind
That shall remain a poison where it is,
Not poison any further.
CORIOLANUS
Shall remain!
Hear you this Triton of the minnows? mark you
His absolute ‘shall’?
COMINIUS
’Twas from the canon.

DUTCH:
„Blijven moet!” —
Hoort gij dien katvisch-Triton? merkt gij daar
‘t Gebiedend,,moet”?

MORE:
Proverb: A Triton among the minnows

Canon=Rule, law
Absolute=Positive, certain, decided, not doubtful
Compleat:
Canonical=Regelmaatig
Triton=De trompetter van Neptunus; (weather-cock)=Een weerhaan, windwyzer

Burgersdijk notes:
Dien kat visch-Triton. Triton is een mindere zeegod, die dus alleen over de kleine vischjes gebied voert.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, intellect, authority, judgment, law/legal

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Remember March, the ides of March remember.
Did not great Julius bleed for justice’ sake?
What villain touched his body, that did stab,
And not for justice? What, shall one of us
That struck the foremost man of all this world
But for supporting robbers, shall we now
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
And sell the mighty space of our large honours
For so much trash as may be graspèd thus?
I had rather be a dog and bay the moon
Than such a Roman.

DUTCH:
Denk gij aan Maart, aan de’ Idusdag van Maart ;
Stierf niet de groote Julius om het recht?
Zou een, die toestiet, schurk geweest zijn? treffend,
En niet om ‘t recht? Wat! spreek, zou een van ons,
Die de’ eersten man der wereld nederstieten,
Slechts wijl hij roovers steunde, zouden wij
Door lage giften onze hand bezoed’len,
Der eereposten groot gewicht verkoopen
Voor zooveel slijks als grijpbaar is? Veel liever
Ware ik een hond, die bast bij ‘t zien der maan,
Dan zoo Romein.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW: Re. definition of “contaminate”: Hi-G, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 283 F.Supp. 211 (D. Mass. 1967)

Proverb: The dog (wolf) barks in vain at the moon

What villain=Who was so villainous
Contaminate our fingers=Dirty our hads
Base=Bowly
Honours=Reputations
Trash=Money
Compleat:
Contaminate=Besmetten
Base=Ondergeschikt
Trash=Lompige waar, ondeugend goed

Topics: proverbs and idioms, cited in law, corruption

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Speed
CONTEXT:
SPEED
‘Item: She is too liberal.’
LANCE
Of her tongue she cannot, for that’s writ down she
is slow of; of her purse she shall not, for that
I’ll keep shut: now, of another thing she may, and
that cannot I help. Well, proceed.
SPEED
‘Item: She hath more hair than wit, and more faults
than hairs, and more wealth than faults.’
LANCE
Stop there; I’ll have her: she was mine, and not
mine, twice or thrice in that last article.
Rehearse that once more.
SPEED
‘Item: She hath more hair than wit,’—
LANCE
More hair than wit? It may be; I’ll prove it. The
cover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it
is more than the salt; the hair that covers the wit
is more than the wit, for the greater hides the
less. What’s next?

DUTCH:
Item: “Zij heeft meer haar dan verstand, en meer
gebreken dan haren, en meer geld dan gebreken.”

MORE:
Proverb: Bush natural, more hair than wit

Liberal=Unrestrained, uncontrolled
Rehearse=Repeat
Salt=Salt-cellar
Compleat:
Liberal=Mild, milddaadig, goedertieren, gulhartig, openhartig
To rehearse=Verhaalen, vertellen, opzeggen
Salt seller=Een zout-vat

Topics: proverbs and idioms, intellect, flaw/fault, moneyinsult

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lance
CONTEXT:
LANCE
I am but a fool, look you; and yet I have the wit to
think my master is a kind of a knave: but that’s
all one, if he be but one knave. He lives not now
that knows me to be in love; yet I am in love; but a
team of horse shall not pluck that from me; nor who
’tis I love; and yet ’tis a woman; but what woman, I
will not tell myself; and yet ’tis a milkmaid; yet
’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips; yet ’tis
a maid, for she is her master’s maid, and serves for
wages. She hath more qualities than a water-spaniel;
which is much in a bare Christian.

DUTCH:
Zij verstaat meer kunststukjens dan een hond, die te water gaat, en dat is veel voor een eenvoudig christenmensch.

MORE:
Proverb: Two false knaves need no broker

Gossips=(Steevens) “Gossips not only signify those who answer for a child in baptism, but the tattling women who attend lyings-in.” She hath had gossips=She has given birth.
(Compleat: ‘To gossip: te Kindermaal gaan’
Look you=You know
Qualities=Accomplishments
Compleat:
Gossip=Een doophefster, gemoeder, peet
A tattling gossip=Een Labbey, kaekelaarster
Qualities=Aart, hoedanigheid, eigenschap van een ding

Burgersdijk notes:
Dubbele schurk, In meer dan éen opzicht een schurk.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, honesty, kill/talent

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:

PRINCE
That Julius Caesar was a famous man.
With what his valour did enrich his wit,
His wit set down to make his valour live.
Death makes no conquest of this conqueror,
For now he lives in fame, though not in life.
I’ll tell you what, my cousin Buckingham—
BUCKINGHAM
What, my gracious lord?
PRINCE
An if I live until I be a man,
I’ll win our ancient right in France again
Or die a soldier, as I lived a king.
RICHARD
Short summers lightly have a forward spring.

DUTCH:
Vroeg wordt na vroege lent de groei geschorst .

MORE:
Proverb: Too soon wise to live long
Proverb: Sharp frosts bite forward springs
Proverb: The good die young
Proverb: Soon ripe soon rotten

Wit=Intellect
Right=Claim (to the French throne)
Compleat:
Wit (understanding)=Vinding, schranderheid, verstand
Birth-right=Geboorte-recht

Topics: time, life, proverbs and idioms, intellect

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Pisanio
CONTEXT:
PISANIO
O gracious lady,
Since I received command to do this business
I have not slept one wink.
IMOGEN
Do’t, and to bed then.
PISANIO
I’ll wake mine eye-balls blind first.
IMOGEN
Wherefore then
Didst undertake it? Why hast thou abused
So many miles with a pretence? this place?
Mine action and thine own? our horses’ labour?
The time inviting thee? the perturb’d court,
For my being absent? whereunto I never
Purpose return. Why hast thou gone so far,
To be unbent when thou hast ta’en thy stand,
The elected deer before thee?
PISANIO
But to win time
To lose so bad employment; in the which
I have consider’d of a course. Good lady,
Hear me with patience.

DUTCH:
O, eed’le vrouw,
Sinds ik bevel ontving dit werk te doen,
Sloot ik geen oog.

MORE:
Modern usage: I haven’t slept a wink (not coined by Shakespeare. First recorded use in 14th century)
Wake mine eye-balls blind=Stay awake until I’m blind
Purpose=Intend to
Unbent=Bow not taut
Stand=Position
Elected=Selected (prey)
Compleat:
The ball of the eye=De oogappel
Purpose (design, resolution, project)=Voorneemen, besluit, ontwerp
Unbent=Ontspannen, geslaakt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, authority, work, status, duty, debt/obligation

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Celia
CONTEXT:
CELIA
My father’s love is enough to honour him. Enough. Speak
no more of him; you’ll be whipped for taxation one of these days.
TOUCHSTONE
The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise
men do foolishly.
CELIA
By my troth, thou sayest true. For, since the little
wit that fools have was silenced, the little foolery
that wise men have makes a great show. Here comes
Monsieur Le Beau.
ROSALIND
With his mouth full of news.
CELIA
Which he will put on us as pigeons feed their young.
ROSALIND
Then shall we be news-crammed.

DUTCH:
Inderdaad, gij hebt gelijk; want sedert het beetjen wijsheid, dat dwazen hebben, tot zwijgen gebracht werd, maakt het beetjen dwaasheid, dat wijzen hebben, een groote vertooning.

MORE:
Proverb: The wise man knows himself to be a fool, the fool thinks he is wise

‘Silenced’ is probably a topical reference, either to new restraints imposed on theatrical companies or to the burning of satirical books in 1599.

Whipping was a cruel punishment. In the days of Henry VIII an Act decreed that vagrants were to be carried to some market town, or other place, and there tied to the end of a cart, naked, and beaten with whips throughout such market-town, or other place, till the body should be bloody by reason of such whipping. The punishment was mitigated in Elizabeth’s reign, to the extent that vagrants need only to be “stripped naked from the middle upwards and whipped till the body should be bloody”.

Whipped=Censure, satire, invective “You’ll be whipped for taxation one of these days”.
Foolery=Absurdity
News-crammed=Full of news (and therefore valuable on the market)
Compleat:
Whipped=Gegeesseld
Foolery=Malligheid
Cram=Kroppen, proppen, mesten, overladen

Topics: intellect, wisdom, appearance, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Balthazar
CONTEXT:
BALTHASAR
Have patience, sir. O, let it not be so.
Herein you war against your reputation,
And draw within the compass of suspect
Th’ unviolated honour of your wife.
Once this: your long experience of her wisdom,
Her sober virtue, years, and modesty
Plead on her part some cause to you unknown.
And doubt not, sir, but she will well excuse
Why at this time the doors are made against you.
Be ruled by me; depart in patience,
And let us to the Tiger all to dinner,
And about evening come yourself alone
To know the reason of this strange restraint.
If by strong hand you offer to break in
Now in the stirring passage of the day,
A vulgar comment will be made of it;
And that supposèd by the common rout
Against your yet ungallèd estimation
That may with foul intrusion enter in
And dwell upon your grave when you are dead;
For slander lives upon succession,
Forever housèd where it gets possession.

DUTCH:
Want laster, eens gezaaid, is schielijk groot,
En blijft aan ‘t groeien, waar zij wortel schoot.

MORE:
Proverb: Envy never dies

Compass of suspect=Realm of suspicion
Doors made against you=Doors closed to you
Possession had a strong meaning, akin to ‘infect’
Ungallèd=unsullied, untarnished
Estimation=Reputation
Vulgar=Public
Foul=Forced
Compleat:
Vulgar=(common) Gemeen
To gall (vex)=Tergen, verbitteren
Estimation=Waardering, schatting

Topics: proverbs and idioms, envy, patience, caution, reputation, suspicion

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Balthazar
CONTEXT:
BALTHASAR
I hold your dainties cheap, sir, and your welcome dear.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
O Signior Balthasar, either at flesh or fish
A table full of welcome make scarce one dainty dish.
BALTHASAR
Good meat, sir, is common; that every churl affords.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
And welcome more common, for that’s nothing but words.
BALTHASAR
Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Ay, to a niggardly host and more sparing guest.
But though my cates be mean, take them in good part.
Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart.
But soft! My door is lock’d. Go, bid them let us in.

DUTCH:
Zij de spijs ook gering, bij een vriendlijken waard ga ik gaarne te gast.

MORE:
Proverb: Good will and welcome is your best cheer

Cheer=Food, entertainment
Churl=Peasant, rude and ill-bred fellow
Scarce=Barely
Niggardly=Miserly
Cates=Delicacies
Mean=Low, humble, poor
Compleat:
Dainty=Lekkerny
Welcome=Onthaal; welkomst
A hearty welcome=Een hartelyke maaltyd
Churl=Een plompe hoer, als mede een vrek
Churlish=Woest, boersch, onbeschoft
To make good cheer (chear)=Goede cier maaken
Sumptuous chear=Prachtige opdissching
Cold chear=Koel onthaal
Niggardly=Vrëkachtig
To cater=Spys verzorgen
Mean=Het midden, de middelmaat; gering, slecht

Topics: friendship, civility, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
Methinks I am a prophet new inspired
And thus expiring do foretell of him:
His rash fierce blaze of riot cannot last,
For violent fires soon burn out themselves;
Small showers last long, but sudden storms are short;
He tires betimes that spurs too fast betimes;
With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder:
Light vanity, insatiate cormorant,
Consuming means, soon preys upon itself.

DUTCH:
Kort duurt een stortbui, zachte regens lang;
Wie vroeg te haastig spoort, is weldra moe;
Wie al te gulzig eet, hij stikt in ‘t eten;
Dwaze ijdelheid, die onverzaadbre gier,
Verslindt haar buit en aast dán op zich zelf.

MORE:

Proverb: Nothing violent can be permanent
Proverb: Untimeous [untimely] spurring spoils the steed

Expiring=(a) Dying; (b) Expiration
Riot=Dissolute behaviour
Betimes=Early, at an early hour

Compleat:
Expiration=Eindiging, uitgang, verloop, uitblaazing van den laatsten adem
To expire=Den geest geeven, sterven
To riot=Optrekken, rinkinken, pypestellen
Betimes=Bytyds,vroeg

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, fate/destiny, haste

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Suffolk
CONTEXT:
Well hath your highness seen into this duke;
And, had I first been put to speak my mind,
I think I should have told your grace’s tale.
The duchess, by his subornation,
Upon my life, began her devilish practices:
Or, if he were not privy to those faults,
Yet, by reputing of his high descent,
As next the king he was successive heir,
And such high vaunts of his nobility,
Did instigate the bedlam brain-sick duchess
By wicked means to frame our sovereign’s fall.
Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep;
And in his simple show he harbours treason.
The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.
No, no, my sovereign; Gloucester is a man
Unsounded yet and full of deep deceit

DUTCH:
Glad stroomt, het water van een diepe beek

MORE:

Still waters run deep. Proverb of Latin origin meaning a placid exterior hiding a passionate nature.
Proverb: The fox barks not when he would steal the lamb.

Seen into=Penetrated, understood
Subornation=Crime of procuring one to offend, specially to bear false witness
Repute=(+of): Setting great store by, prize
Bedlam=Nickname for Bethlem hospital, for the treatment of mental illness, which has become a byword for chaos and mayhem
Unsounded=Unfathomed (as in depth sounding, i.e. measuring the depth of a body of water)

Compleat:
To see into a thing=Een inzigt in eene zaak hebben, ‘er den grond van beschouwen
Subornation=Besteeking, een bestoken werk, omkooping
To repute=Achten
Bedlam (Bethlem)=Een dolhuis, dulhuis, krankzinnighuis; (mad bodey)=Een dul mensch, een uitzinnige
To sound=Peilen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
ALEXANDER
They say he is a very man per se,
And stands alone.
CRESSIDA
So do all men, unless they are drunk, sick, or have no
legs.
ALEXANDER
This man, lady, hath robbed many beasts of their
particular additions; he is as valiant as the lion,
churlish as the bear, slow as the elephant: a man
into whom nature hath so crowded humours that his
valour is crushed into folly, his folly sauced with
discretion: there is no man hath a virtue that he
hath not a glimpse of, nor any man an attaint but he
carries some stain of it: he is melancholy without
cause, and merry against the hair: he hath the
joints of every thing, but everything so out of joint
that he is a gouty Briareus, many hands and no use,
or purblind Argus, all eyes and no sight.

DUTCH:
Dat doen alle mannen, als zij niet beschonken, ziek
of zonder beenen zijn.

MORE:
Proverb: It goes against the hair

Stands alone=Is unrivalled
Additions=Attributes
Humours=Inclinations, moods
Glimpse=Glimmer
Attaint=Taint, defect
Against the hair=Against the grain
Out of joint=Confused, not as it should be
Purblind=Partially blind
Argus=Deprived of his eyes for falling asleep when on guard
Compleat:
Addition=Bydoening, byvoegsel
The humours=De humeuren van het lichaam; grillen
Humour (dispositon of the mind)=Humeur, of gemoeds gesteldheid
Glimpse=Een Blik, flikkering, schemering
To attaint=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Attainted=Overtuigd van misdaad, misdaadig verklaard
Purblind=Stikziende

Topics: proverbs and idioms, leadership, skill/talent, dignity

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Lysander
CONTEXT:
LYSANDER
Or, if there were a sympathy in choice,
War, death, or sickness did lay siege to it,
Making it momentary as a sound,
Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,
Brief as the lightning in the collied night;
That, in a spleen, unfolds both heaven and Earth,
And ere a man hath power to say “Behold!”
The jaws of darkness do devour it up.
So quick bright things come to confusion.

DUTCH:
Of, was ook ziel met ziel aaneengesmeed,
Dan heeft haar ziekte, krijg of dood belaagd,
Voorbijgaand, vluchtig als een klank gemaakt,
Kort als een droombeeld, ijdel als een schim,
Snel als het weerlicht in koolzwarte nacht

MORE:
Proverb: As swift as lightning

Collied=Coal black
Sympathy=Equality
Spleen=Fit of rage
Quick=Lively, alive
Confusion=Ruin
Compleat:
To colly=Zwart maaken, besmodderen
Collyed=Zwart gemaakt, besmodderd
Sympathy=Onderlinge trek
Spreen=Wrok
Quick=Leevendig, snel, rad, dra, scherp
Bate=Verminderen, afkorten, afslaan
Confusion (ruin)=Verwoesting, bederf, ruine

Topics: proverbs and idioms, equality, still in use, fate/destiny, ruin

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Abergavenny
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Why the devil,
Upon this French going out, took he upon him,
Without the privity o’ the king, to appoint
Who should attend on him? He makes up the file
Of all the gentry; for the most part such
To whom as great a charge as little honour
He meant to lay upon: and his own letter,
The honourable board of council out,
Must fetch him in [t]he papers.
ABERGAVENNY
I do know
Kinsmen of mine, three at the least, that have
By this so sickened their estates, that never
They shall abound as formerly.
BUCKINGHAM
O, many
Have broke their backs with laying manors on ’em
For this great journey. What did this vanity
But minister communication of
A most poor issue?

DUTCH:
Neven ken ik,
Ten minste drie, die door den tocht hun midd’len
Zoo hebben uitgeput, dat zij nooit meer
Tot welstand komen.

MORE:
Proverb: To break one’s back
Privity=Knowledge (as in privy to)
File=List
Out=Not meeting
Sickened=Diminished, depleted
Abound=Prosper
Manors=Estates
Vanity=Folly
Minister communication=Put into effect
Issue=Outcome
Compleat:
Privity=Een bewustheyd van iets
To abound=Overvloeijen
Mannor-house=Een huys of slot van den ambachtsheer
Vanity=Ydelheyd
To minister=Bedienen
Issue=Een uytgang, uytslag, uytkomst

Topics: ruin, poverty and wealth, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Malvolio
CONTEXT:
MALVOLIO
“M.O.A.I.” This simulation is not as the former, and
yet to crush this a little, it would bow to me, for
every one of these letters are in my name. Soft, here
follows prose.
[reads]“If this fall into thy hand, revolve. In my stars I am
above thee, but be not afraid of greatness. Some are
born great, some achieve greatness, and some have
greatness thrust upon ’em. Thy Fates open their hands.
Let thy blood and spirit embrace them. And, to inure
thyself to what thou art like to be, cast thy humble
slough and appear fresh. Be opposite with a kinsman,
surly with servants. Let thy tongue tang arguments of
state. Put thyself into the trick of singularity. She
thus advises thee that sighs for thee. Remember who
commended thy yellow stockings and wished to see thee
ever cross-gartered. I say, remember. Go to, thou art
made, if thou desir’st to be so; if not, let me see thee
a steward still, the fellow of servants, and not worthy
to touch Fortune’s fingers. Farewell. She that would
alter services with thee,
The Fortunate Unhappy”
Daylight and champaign discovers not more. This is
open. I will be proud, I will read politic authors, I
will baffle Sir Toby, I will wash off gross
acquaintance, I will be point- devise the very man. I do
not now fool myself, to let imagination jade me, for
every reason excites to this, that my lady loves me. She
did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise
my leg being cross-gartered, and in this she manifests
herself to my love, and with a kind of injunction,
drives me to these habits of her liking. I thank my
stars I am happy. I will be strange, stout, in yellow
stockings, and cross-gartered, even with the swiftness
of putting on. Jove and my stars be praised! Here is yet
a postscript.
[reads]“Thou canst not choose but know who I am. If thou
entertainest my love, let it appear in thy smiling. Thy
smiles become thee well. Therefore in my presence still
smile, dear my sweet, I prithee.”
Jove, I thank thee! I will smile. I will do everything
that thou wilt have me.

DUTCH:
Mijn gesternte heeft mij boven u verheven, maar wees niet schroomhartig voor grootheid; sommigen worden groot geboren, anderen worden groot door inspanning, aan enkelen wordt de grootheid in den schoot geworpen.

MORE:
Proverb: To wear yellow stockings and cross garters

Simulation=Disguise, puzzle
Crush=Force
Bow=Yield
Revolve=Consider, reflect
Stars=Fortunes
Inure=Accustom
Like=Likely
Slough=Cast off, like a snake’s skin
Opposite=Openly hostile
Tang=Announce loudly
Arguments of state=Important political topics
Into the trick of=Make a habit of
Singularity=Originality, uniqueness
Cross-gartered=Laces tied up the leg
Fellow=Companion
Alter services=Change places
Compleat:
Simulation=Veinzing, bewimpeling
Crush=Pletteren, kneuzen, verbryzelen, pla duurwen, neerdrukken; verderven, ‘t onderbrengen
Bow=Buigen, bukken
Revolve=Overleggen, overdenken, omwentelen, ontuimelen
To inure=Gewennen, verharden, hard worden, vereelten
Like=Waarschynelyk, verkoedelyk
Slough (cast skin of a sname)=De oude huid die een slang afgeworpen heeft
Opposite=Tegen over, tegenstrydig
Tang=Kwaade smaak
Singularity=(uncommonness, excellence) Zeldzaamheid, uitmuntendheid; (affected way of being particular) Eigenzinnigheid, vreemdheid
Gartered=Gekouseband
Fellow=Medegezel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, custom, leadership, fate/destiny/achievement

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

DUTCH:
Die knaap, die niet kan zeggen wat hij wenscht,
Maar met ons meeknielt en de handen heft,
Bepleit ons smeekgebed met meerder kracht,
Dan gij tot weig’ren hebt!

MORE:
Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain
Proverb: To forget a wrong is best revenge (remedy)

Restrain’st=Legal use: keep back, withhold. Among examples in the New Eng. Dict, is: “The rents, issues, and profites thereof [they] have wrongfully restreyned, perceyved, and taken to their owne use.”
‘Longs=Belongs
An end=Let that be an end to it
Reason=Argue for, plead for
Dispatch=Decisive answer
Compleat:
Restrain (sting, limit or confine)=Bepaalen, kort houden
Restrain (repress or curb)=Fnuiken, beteugelen
To restrain one from a thing=Zich ergens van onthouden
To restrain a word to a signification=Een woord tot eene betekenis bekorten
Dispatch=Afvaardiging, verrichting, beschikking, vervaardiging
He is a man of quick dispatch=Het is een vaardig man

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict, reason, revenge, risk

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
FIRST MESSENGER
O my lord!
ANTONY
Speak to me home. Mince not the general tongue.
Name Cleopatra as she is called in Rome.
Rail thou in Fulvia’s phrase, and taunt my faults
With such full licence as both truth and malice
Have power to utter. Oh, then we bring forth weeds
When our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us
Is as our earing.
Fare thee well awhile.

DUTCH:
Spreek vrij; verbloem niet wat het volk zegt; noem
Cleopatra zooals haar Rome noemt.

MORE:
Proverb: To mince the matter
Proverb: Weeds come forth on the fattest soil if it is untilled

Speak home=Speak plainly
Mince=To extenuate, make light of (tone down)
Tongue=Manner of speaking
Rail=Reproach, scold
Licence=Freedom
Quick=Alert, live
Ills=Faults
Earing=Ploughing
Compleat:
Home-reason, home-argument=Een overtuigende drang-reden
Home expression=Een klemmend uitdruksel, een zeggen ‘t welk raakt, een boeren slag
Mince=Kleyn kappen
To rail=Schelden
Licence=Verlof, oorlof, vergunning, toelaating, vrygeeving, goedkeuring; vryheid
Quick=Levendig
Ill=Quaad, ondeugend, onpasselijk, slegt
To ear=Land bouwen

Topics: communication, language, error, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHARINE
No, my lord,
You know no more than others; but you frame
Things that are known alike; which are not wholesome
To those which would not know them, and yet must
Perforce be their acquaintance. These exactions,
Whereof my sovereign would have note, they are
Most pestilent to the bearing; and, to bear ’em,
The back is sacrifice to the load. They say
They are devised by you; or else you suffer
Too hard an exclamation.
KING HENRY VIII
Still exaction!
The nature of it? in what kind, let’s know,
Is this exaction?

DUTCH:
Steeds lasten! zware lasten!
De vorm er van? van wat natuur, laat hooren,
Zijn deze lasten?

MORE:
Proverb: To break one’s back
Frame=Devise, shape
Exactions=Extortion of tax, compulsion to pay
Pestilent=Pernicious, harmful
Sacrifice=Broken by
Compleat:
To frame=Een gestalte geeven, ontwerpen, schikken, beraamen
To exact=Afeysschen, afvorderen
Pestilent=Pestig, pestachtig, besmettelijk
To sacrifice=Offeren, opofferen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, work, value

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Messenger
CONTEXT:
SUFFOLK
Here is my hand, the deed is worthy doing.
QUEEN MARGARET
And so say I.
YORK
And I and now we three have spoke it,
It skills not greatly who impugns our doom.
POST
Great lords, from Ireland am I come amain,
To signify that rebels there are up
And put the Englishmen unto the sword:
Send succours, lords, and stop the rage betime,
Before the wound do grow uncurable;
For, being green, there is great hope of help.

DUTCH:
Zendt hulp, mylords, en stuit bijtijds hun woede,
Aleer de wond gansch ongeneeslijk wordt;
Nu zij nog versch is, is er hoop op heeling.

MORE:

Proverb: A green wound is still healed

Amain=In haste
Skills not=Doesn’t matter
Impugn=Challenge, question
Doom=Judgment (‘doom’ or ‘dome’) was a statute or law (doombooks were codes of laws)
Succours=Military reinforcement and support
Betime=Promptly
Green=Fresh, recent, new

Compleat:
Amain=Zeer geweldig, heftig
Impugn=Bestryden, bevechten, tegenstaan
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing
A heavy doom=Een zwaar vonnis
Succours=Hulpbenden, krygshulpe
Green=Versch

Topics: proverbs and idioms, hope/optimism

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
Be-mock the modest moon.
BRUTUS
The present wars devour him: he is grown
Too proud to be so valiant.
SICINIUS
Such a nature,
Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow
Which he treads on at noon: but I do wonder
His insolence can brook to be commanded
Under Cominius.
BRUTUS
Fame, at the which he aims,
In whom already he’s well graced, can not
Better be held nor more attain’d than by
A place below the first: for what miscarries
Shall be the general’s fault, though he perform
To the utmost of a man, and giddy censure
Will then cry out of Marcius ‘O if he
Had borne the business!’

DUTCH:
Een aard als deze,
Door voorspoed nog geprikkeld, zet den voet
Niet op zijn eigen middagschaduw

MORE:
Proverb: When the sun is highest he casts the least shadow

Tickled with=Pleased, excited by (still in use)
Disdain=To think unworthy, to scorn, to treat with contempt
Brook=Bear, endure; put up with
Compleat:
To disdain=Versmaaden, verachten, zich verontwaaardigen
To tickle (pleaes or flatter)=Streelen, vleijen
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To brook an affront=Een leed verkroppen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, insult, ambition, authority, invented or popularised

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Henry Bolingbroke
CONTEXT:
KING RICHARD II
Uncle, even in the glasses of thine eyes
I see thy grieved heart: thy sad aspect
Hath from the number of his banish’d years
Pluck’d four away.
Six frozen winter spent,
Return with welcome home from banishment.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
How long a time lies in one little word!
Four lagging winters and four wanton springs
End in a word: such is the breath of kings.

DUTCH:
Wat tijd en macht ligt in een enkel woord!
Vier trage winters en vier dartle Mei’s
Zijn adem, niets, — doet hun een vorst dien eisch.

MORE:

Proverb: The eye is the window of the heart (mind)

Schmidt:
Glasses of thine eyes=Eyeballs
Aspect=Look, glance; possible reference to astrology, with the aspect being the position of one planet in relation to others and its potential to exert influence
Wanton=Bountiful, luxuriant

Compleat:
Aspect=Gezigt, gelaat, aanschouw, stargezigt
Of fierce aspect=Van een straf gelaat

Topics: time, nature, punishment, appearance, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
Would he were fatter! But I fear him not.
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much.
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony. He hears no music.
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mocked himself and scorned his spirit
That could be moved to smile at anything.
Such men as he be never at heart’s ease
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be feared
Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar.
Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf,
And tell me truly what thou think’st of him.

DUTCH:
Nooit is bij zulke mannen ‘t hart voldaan,
Zoolang zij iemand grooter zien dan zij;
En dat is ‘t, wat hen zoo gevaarlijk maakt.

MORE:
Proverb: An envious man grows lean
Proverb: To turn (give) a deaf ear

Quite=Entirely
Looks through=Sees through
Sort=Manner
Heart’s ease=Heart’s content
This ear is deaf=Proverbially, this ear doesn’t want to hear/accept this message
Compleat:
Quite=t’Eenemaal, geheelendal, geheel, ganschelyk
Sort=Slach, wyze

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, risk, loyalty, skill/talent

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
More strange than true. I never may believe
These antique fables nor these fairy toys.
Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover, and the poet
Are of imagination all compact.
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold—
That is the madman. The lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt.
The poet’s eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to Earth, from Earth to heaven.
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.
Such tricks hath strong imagination,
That if it would but apprehend some joy,
It comprehends some bringer of that joy.
Or in the night, imagining some fear,
How easy is a bush supposed a bear!

DUTCH:
Verbeelding is in grillen overrijk;
Zoodra zij iets gevoelt, dat haar verheugt,
Staat haar voor ‘t oog een brenger van de vreugd;

MORE:
Proverb: He thinks every bush a bugbear (bear)
Proverb: Great wits (poets) to madness sure are near allied
Proverb: It is no more strange than true

More witnesseth=Is evidence of more (than imagination)
Constancy=Consistency
Howsoever=In any case
Admirable=Unbelievable
Antique=Strange, ancient
Toys=Trifles
Apprehend=Perceive
Comprehends=1) Understands; 2) Deduces, imagines
Compact=Composed
Helen=Helen of Troy
Bringer=Source
Compleat:
A mere toy=Een voddery
Comprehend=Begrypen, bevatten, insluyten
To compact=In een trekken, dicht t’zamenvoegen
To witness=Getuygen, betuygen
Constancy=Standvastigheyd, volharding, bestendigheyd
Howsoever=Hoedaanig ook, hoe ook

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent, madness, imagination, memory, evidence

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Nerissa
CONTEXT:
NERISSA
You would be, sweet madam, if your miseries were in the
same abundance as your good fortunes are. And yet for
aught I see, they are as sick that surfeit with too much
as they that starve with nothing. It is no mean
happiness, therefore, to be seated in the mean.
Superfluity comes sooner by white hairs, but competency
lives longer.
PORTIA
Good sentences, and well pronounced.
NERISSA
They would be better if well followed.

DUTCH:
Het is daarom geen middelmatig geluk juist in de middelmaat
te zijn; overvloed krijgt vroeger grijze haren, maar juist van pas leeft langer.

MORE:
Superfluity=Surplus
Comes sooner by=Acquires sooner (to come by something)
Sentences=Maxims
Compleat:
Superfluity=Overtolligheyd, overvloedigheyd
Sentence=Spreuk, zinspreuk

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.6
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
GLOUCESTER
Suspicion always haunts the guilty mind;
The thief doth fear each bush an officer.
KING HENRY VI
The bird that hath been limed in a bush,
With trembling wings misdoubteth every bush;
And I, the hapless male to one sweet bird,
Have now the fatal object in my eye
Where my poor young was limed, was caught and kill’d.

DUTCH:
Argwaan waart in het schuldig hart steeds om;
De dief vermoedt in elke ruigte een rakker.

MORE:

Proverb: Birds once snared (limed) fear all bushes
Proverb: The escaped mouse ever feels the taste of the bait

Birdlime=Sticky substance put on trees to catch small birds
To lime=To smear with birdlime, seek to catch
Misdoubt=To suspect, be apprehensive about; have dounts as to
Hapless=Unfortunate

Compleat:
Bird-lime=Vogellym
Misdoubt=’t Onrecht twyffelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, suspicion, guilt

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Sebastian
CONTEXT:
SEBASTIAN
This is the air, that is the glorious sun.
This pearl she gave me, I do feel ’t and see ’t,
And though ’tis wonder that enwraps me thus,
Yet ’tis not madness. Where’s Antonio, then?
I could not find him at the Elephant.
Yet there he was, and there I found this credit,
That he did range the town to seek me out.
His counsel now might do me golden service.
For though my soul disputes well with my sense
That this may be some error, but no madness,
Yet doth this accident and flood of fortune
So far exceed all instance, all discourse,
That I am ready to distrust mine eyes
And wrangle with my reason that persuades me
To any other trust but that I am mad—
Or else the lady’s mad. Yet if ’twere so,
She could not sway her house, command her followers,
Take and give back affairs and their dispatch
With such a smooth, discreet, and stable bearing
As I perceive she does. There’s something in ’t
That is deceivable. But here the lady comes.

DUTCH:
Of dat de jonkvrouw ‘t is; en toch, dan kon
Zij niet haar huis en dienaars zoo regeeren,
Haar zaken nagaan en met vaste hand
Besturen, kalm en zacht in al haar doen,
Zooals ik opmerk, dat zij is. Hoe ‘t zij,
Begooch’lend is het. Maar daar komt de jonkvrouw.

MORE:
Proverb: Seeing is believing
Proverb: As true as touch
Proverb: To catch one like a trout with tickling

Credit=Report
Range=Roam, wander
Disputes=Reasons (disputes well=concurs with)
Instance=Precedent
Discourse=Reasoning, argument
Trust=Belief
Sway=Manage, run, rule
Dispatch=Disposal, winding up
Deceivable=Deceptive
Compleat:
Range (ramble or jaunt)=Reize
To dispute=Twistredenen, betwisten, zintwisten, disputeeren
To dispute=(Agitate, or maintain a question) Een verschil verdedigen, handhaven
Instance=Een voorval, voorbeeld, exempel; aandringing, aanhouding; blyk
Discourse=Redeneering, reedenvoering, gesprek, vertoog
Trust=Vertrouwen, betrouwen, toeverlaat, belang
To sway=(govern) Regeeren. To sway the scepter=Den schepter zwaaijen
Dispatch=Afvaardiging, verrichting, beschikking, vervaardiging
Deceivable=Bedriegbaar, ligt om te bedriegen, verleidelyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, truth, evidence, perception

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
[Reads]“The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp.”
We’ll none of that. That have I told my love,
In glory of my kinsman Hercules.
“The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,
Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.”
That is an old device, and it was played
When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.
“The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceased in beggary.”
That is some satire, keen and critical,
Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony.
“A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus
And his love Thisbe. Very tragical mirth.”
“Merry” and “tragical?” “Tedious” and “brief?”
That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord?

DUTCH:
Een treurspel en een klucht? kort en gerekt?
Dat klinkt als gloeiend ijs en heete sneeuw.
Wie wijst mij de eenheid van die tweeheid aan?

MORE:
Proverb: He that lives with the muses shall die in the straw (Learning ever dies in beggary)

The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals=The murder of Orpheus
Device=Show
Thrice-three=Nine
Sorting with=Befitting
Compleat:
Bacchanals=’t Feest van Bacchus, een slempfeest
Tipsy=Verbuysd

Burgersdijk notes:
Hercules. Hercules was zelf de held in den strijd met de Kentauren. — De zanger van Thracië is Orpheus. Men heeft vermoed, dat De negen Muzen enz. zou doelen op een gedicht van Spenser, The Teares of the Muses (1591), waarin de Muzen achtereenvolgens optreden om over het verval en de geringschatting van kunsten en wetenschappen te klagen. Ht gedicht is echter elegisch en niet een streng bijtende satyre.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, clarity/precision, learning/education

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Belarius
CONTEXT:
BELARIUS
O thou goddess,
Thou divine Nature, thou thyself thou blazon’st
In these two princely boys! They are as gentle
As zephyrs blowing below the violet,
Not wagging his sweet head; and yet as rough,
Their royal blood enchafed, as the rud’st wind
That by the top doth take the mountain pine
And make him stoop to th’ vale. ’Tis wonder
That an invisible instinct should frame them
To royalty unlearned, honour untaught,
Civility not seen from other, valour
That wildly grows in them but yields a crop
As if it had been sowed. Yet still it’s strange
What Cloten’s being here to us portends,
Or what his death will bring us.

DUTCH:
t Is wonderbaar,
Hoe een verborgen aandrift hun verleent
Een vorstenwaardigheid, hun nooit getoond,
Een zucht naar eer, nooit bij hen opgewekt,
Wellevendheid, van niemand afgezien,
Een dapperheid, die, wild, van zelf, ontkiemd,
Toch rijk’lijk vruchten geeft, als ware zij
Zorgvuldig aangekweekt!

MORE:
Proverb: He must stoop that has a low door

Unlearned=Not learned, not acquired by instruction
Enchafed=Excited, heated
Wonder=wonderful
Compleat:
Unlearned=Ongeleerd, ontleerd
He is apt to chafe=Hy is zeer oploopend
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
In a chafe=Hy brandt van toorn

Topics: age/experiencelife, nature, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Westmorland
CONTEXT:
WESTMORELAND
Mowbray, you overween to take it so.
This offer comes from mercy, not from fear.
For, lo, within a ken our army lies,
Upon mine honor, all too confident
To give admittance to a thought of fear.
Our battle is more full of names than yours,
Our men more perfect in the use of arms,
Our armor all as strong, our cause the best.
Then reason will our hearts should be as good.
Say you not then our offer is compelled.
MOWBRAY
Well, by my will, we shall admit no parley.
WESTMORELAND
That argues but the shame of your offence.
A rotten case abides no handling.

DUTCH:
Dit tuigt slechts van de schendigheid uws doens;
Een etterbuil laat geen betasting toe.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Overween=To be arrogant or presumptuous
Within a ken=In sight, within eyeshot
Parley=A conversation or conference tending to come to an agreement
Admit no parley=We will not negotiate
A ken=Boundary of sight

Compleat:
Overwean or overween=Al te veel van zich zelven houden, zich vleijen
Parley=Een gesprek over voorwaarden, onderhandeling, gesprekhouding
Beyond the ken (or keen) of vulgar understanding=Het begrip des gemeenen volks te boven

Topics: evidence, dispute, still in use, proverbs and idioms

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

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

MORE:

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

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

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

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

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
“The battle with the Centaurs, to be sung
By an Athenian eunuch to the harp.”
We’ll none of that. That have I told my love,
In glory of my kinsman Hercules.
“The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals,
Tearing the Thracian singer in their rage.”
That is an old device, and it was played
When I from Thebes came last a conqueror.
“The thrice three Muses mourning for the death
Of learning, late deceased in beggary.”
That is some satire, keen and critical,
Not sorting with a nuptial ceremony.
“A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus
And his love Thisbe. Very tragical mirth.”
“Merry” and “tragical?” “Tedious” and “brief?”
That is hot ice and wondrous strange snow.
How shall we find the concord of this discord?

DUTCH:
Dat is een strenge, bijtende satyre,
Volstrekt niet passend op een bruiloftsfeest.

MORE:
Proverb: He that lives with the muses shall die in the straw (Learning ever dies in beggary)

The riot of the tipsy Bacchanals=The murder of Orpheus
Device=Show
Thrice-three=Nine
Sorting with=Befitting
Compleat:
Bacchanals=’t Feest van Bacchus, een slempfeest
Tipsy=Verbuysd

Burgersdijk notes:
Hercules. Hercules was zelf de held in den strijd met de Kentauren. — De zanger van Thracië is Orpheus. Men heeft vermoed, dat De negen Muzen enz. zou doelen op een gedicht van Spenser, The Teares of the Muses (1591), waarin de Muzen achtereenvolgens optreden om over het verval en de geringschatting van kunsten en wetenschappen te klagen. Ht gedicht is echter elegisch en niet een streng bijtende satyre.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, clarity/precision, learning/education

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Bishop of Carlisle
CONTEXT:
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
Fear not, my lord: that Power that made you king
Hath power to keep you king in spite of all.
The means that heaven yields must be embraced,
And not neglected; else, if heaven would,
And we will not, heaven’s offer we refuse,
The proffer’d means of succours and redress.
DUKE OF AUMERLE
He means, my lord, that we are too remiss;
Whilst Bolingbroke, through our security,
Grows strong and great in substance and in power.

DUTCH:
Ducht niets, mijn vorst; Die u ten troon verhief,
Heeft macht uw troon te hoeden, tegen allen.

MORE:

Proverb: Help thyself and God will help thee

Succours and redress=Military reinforcement and support

Compleat:
Succour=Te hulp komen, bystaan
Succours=Hulpbenden, krygshulpe

Topics: conflict, authority, proverbs and idioms, security

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Gregory
CONTEXT:
GREGORY
That shows thee a weak slave, for the weakest goes to the wall.
SAMPSON
‘Tis true, and therefore women, being the weaker vessels, are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall.

DUTCH:
Dat doet je alweer als een zwakken bloed kennen; want de
zwakste houdt zich aan alles vast.

MORE:
Vessel = person
To go to the wall=be pushed aside, succumb in conflict or struggle
Current use=A business that fails, goes bankrupt.
Even in Shakespeare’s time, the phrases were often confused. In the first scene of Romeo and Juliet, two characters engage in wordplay over meanings of the phrase “goes to the wall.” Gregory’s explanation is that being close to the wall is a sign of weakness as they were allowed to walk ‘inside’ to avoid being splashed or jostled. Sampson later describes how women “being the weaker vessels”) are thrust to the wall. The phrase, which dates back to around 1500, may also have its origins from the installation of seating in churches in the Middle Ages.
To give the wall means to allow someone else to walk on the safer side (i.e. the walled side of the street)
Compleat:
The wall (a place of honour in walking the streets)=De muur, de zyde der huizen, zynde in Engeland de hooger hand, als men langs de straat gaat
To give one the wall=Iemand aan de hoogerhand zetten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, status, order/society

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Enobarbus
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Thou art a soldier only. Speak no more.
ENOBARBUS
That truth should be silent, I had almost forgot.
ANTONY
You wrong this presence. Therefore speak no more.
ENOBARBUS
Go to, then. Your considerate stone.
CAESAR
I do not much dislike the matter, but
The manner of his speech, for ’t cannot be
We shall remain in friendship, our conditions
So diff’ring in their acts. Yet if I knew
What hoop should hold us stanch, from edge to edge
O’ th’ world I would pursue it.

DUTCH:
Dat de waarheid zwijgen moet, had ik bijna vergeten./
Ik had haast vergeten, dat de waarheid moet zwijgen.

MORE:
Proverb: The truth should be silent

Presence=Company
Considerate stone=Still, silent and capable of thought
Conditions=Dispositions
Staunch=Strong, watertight
Compleat:
Presence=Tegenwoordigheyd, byzyn, byweezen
Considerate=Omzigtig, bedachtzaam
Condition=Aardt, gesteltenis

Topics: truth, status, honesty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Nay, nay, Octavia, not only that—
That were excusable, that and thousands more
Of semblable import —but he hath waged
New wars ’gainst Pompey; made his will, and read it
To public ear;
Spoke scantly of me; when perforce he could not
But pay me terms of honour, cold and sickly
He vented them, most narrow measure lent me.
When the best hint was given him, he not took ’t,
Or did it from his teeth.
OCTAVIA
O my good lord,
Believe not all, or, if you must believe,
Stomach not all. A more unhappy lady,
If this division chance, ne’er stood between,
Praying for both parts.
The good gods will mock me presently,
When I shall pray “O bless my lord and husband!”
Undo that prayer by crying out as loud
“O bless my brother!” Husband win, win brother
Prays and destroys the prayer; no midway
’Twixt these extremes at all.

DUTCH:
Neen, neen, Octavia; ‘t is niet enkel dit, —
Dit waar’ verschoonlijk, dit, en duizend dingen
Van soortgelijk gewicht, — maar met Pompeius
Voert hij op nieuw weer krijg, en leest aan ‘t volk
Zijn testament voor, pas door hem gemaakt…

MORE:
Proverb: Run not from one extreme to another

Semblable=Similar
Import=Significance
To public ear=Announced in public
Scantly=Meanly, badly
Perforce=Compelled
Vented=Expressed
Cold and sickly=Relucantly
From his teeth=Not from the heart, not meant
Stomach=Resent
Chance=Happens, comes to pass
Presently=Immediately
Compleat:
Semblable=Gelijk. Semblably=Desgelyks
Of dear import=Van betekenis
Scant=Bekrompen, schaars
Perforce=Met geweld
Vent=Lugt, togt, gerucht
To stomach=Vergramd zyn, kroppen
To chance=Voorvallen, gebeuren
Presently=Terstond, opstaandevoet

Topics: proverbs and idioms, offence, dispute, resolution

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Captain
CONTEXT:
CAPTAIN
And so is now, or was so very late.
For but a month ago I went from hence,
And then ’twas fresh in murmur —as, you know,
What great ones do the less will prattle of—
That he did seek the love of fair Olivia.
VIOLA
What’s she?
CAPTAIN
A virtuous maid, the daughter of a count
That died some twelvemonth since, then leaving her
In the protection of his son, her brother,
Who shortly also died, for whose dear love,
They say, she hath abjured the company
And sight of men.
VIOLA
Oh, that I served that lady
And might not be delivered to the world,
Till I had made mine own occasion mellow,
What my estate is.
CAPTAIN
That were hard to compass,
Because she will admit no kind of suit,
No, not the duke’s.

DUTCH:
t Zal niet gaan;
Aan geen verzoeken geeft zij ooit gehoor,
Zelfs niet aan die des hertogs.

MORE:
Proverb: The face is the index of the heart (mind)

Prattle=Discuss
Fresh in murmur=New rumours
Delivered=Revealed
Shortly=Soon after
Abjure=Renounce
Occasion=Opportunity
Mellow=Ripe
Estate=Social status
Compass=Bring about
Suit=Petition
Compleat:
Prate and prattle=Keffen en snappen
To murmur=Morren, murmureeren
To murmur against=Tegen morren
Shortly=Kortelyk, in ‘t kort, binnen korten
To abjure=Afzweeren
Occasion=Gelegenheyd, voorval, oorzaak
Mellow=Murw, rijp
To mellow=Rypen, ryp of murw worden
Estate=Bezit, middelen
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding

Burgersdijk notes:
Ik wil dien vorst als jonkman dienen. In het oorspronkelijke staat, dat Viola ,””als eunuuk”” aan den hertog wenscht voorgesteld te worden. — Daarom zegt dan ook de kapitein, aan de eunuken en stommen van het serail en aan de daar gebruikelijke straf van verblinden denkende, in zijn antwoord: Wees gij zijn eunuuk, en ik zal uw stomme zijn; zoo mijn tong klapt, laat dan mijne oogen niet meer zien””. Geheel juist en volledig waren deze twee regels, die op de woorden “”als eunuuk”” slaan, niet terug te geven. Daarom zijn deze twee woorden weggelaten, wat te eerder veroorloofd scheen, daar Sh. later op deze uitdrukking niet meer gelet heeft en Viola aan het hof des hertogs geenszins de voorgenomen rol speelt, maar door allen als een jonkman behandeld wordt, zoodat men zich verwonderen kan, dat Shakespeare in dit met zooveel zorg bewerkte stuk de woorden niet gewijzigd heeft.”

Topics: proverbs and idioms, appearance, relationship, loyalty, death

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Lucetta
CONTEXT:
JULIA
Is ’t near dinner time?
LUCETTA
I would it were,
That you might kill your stomach on your meat
And not upon your maid.

DUTCH:
Ik wenschte ‘t wel,
Opdat ge uw moed mocht koelen op uw maal,
En niet op uwe maagd.

MORE:
Proverb: A hungry man is an angry man

Kill your stomach=1) Satisfy appetite 2) stop being angry

Topics: proverbs and idioms, anger

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
It must be by his death, and for my part
I know no personal cause to spurn at him
But for the general. He would be crowned.
How that might change his nature, there’s the question.
It is the bright day that brings forth the adder
And that craves wary walking. Crown him that,
And then I grant we put a sting in him
That at his will he may do danger with.
Th’ abuse of greatness is when it disjoins
Remorse from power. And, to speak truth of Caesar,
I have not known when his affections swayed
More than his reason. But ’tis a common proof
That lowliness is young ambition’s ladder,
Whereto the climber upward turns his face.
But when he once attains the upmost round,
He then unto the ladder turns his back,
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees
By which he did ascend. So Caesar may.
Then, lest he may, prevent. And since the quarrel
Will bear no colour for the thing he is,
Fashion it thus: that what he is, augmented,
Would run to these and these extremities.
And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg—
Which, hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous—
And kill him in the shell.

DUTCH:
Aan misbruik schuldig wordt de grootheid, die
‘t Geweten scheidt van macht ; en ‘k weet van Caesar,
Naar waarheid, niet, dat ooit bij hem zijn hartstocht
Meer heerschte dan zijn rede.

MORE:
Proverb: To turn one’s back on the ladder (ut down the stairs) by which one rose

Craves=Requires
Wary=Carefully
Sting=Stinger
Remorse=Compassion
Affection=Passion
Swayed=Ruled
Proof=Experience
Lowliness=Affected humility, obsequiousness
Mischievous=Harmful
Fashion=Shape
Compleat:
Craving=Smeeking, bidding; happig, greetig
Wary=Voorzigtig, omzigtig, behoedzaam
Sting=Angel, steekel
Remorse=Knaaging, wroeging, berouw
Affection=Hartstogt, geneegenheyd
To sway=(govern) Regeeren
Proof=Proeven
Lowliness=Nederigheyd; ootmoedigheyd
Mischievous=Boos, boosardig, schaadelyk, quaadstokend, verderflyk, schelms
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Topics: achievement, status, loyalty, ambition, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Polonius
CONTEXT:
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man

DUTCH:
Kleed u zo kostbaar als uw beurs het lijdt, maar gekk’lijk nooit, wel rijk, nooit overladen, want aan de kleren kent men vaak de man

MORE:
Oft-quoted list of maxims in Polonius’ ‘fatherly advice’ monologue to Laertes. Many of these nuggets have acquired proverb status today, although they weren’t invented by Shakespeare (here, for example, Apparel (clothes) makes the man, c1500, Let every man cut his coat according to his cloth).
The apparel oft proclaims the man is still in use today.
De kleren maken de man, also a Dutch proverb in the 16th century (‘de cleederen maken den man, diese heeft doese aen’), is still in use in Dutch.

Topics: appearance, still in use, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Carlisle
CONTEXT:
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
Go, some of you convey him to the Tower.
KING RICHARD II
O, good! convey? conveyers are you all,
That rise thus nimbly by a true king’s fall.
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
On Wednesday next we solemnly set down
Our coronation: lords, prepare yourselves.
ABBOT
A woeful pageant have we here beheld.
BISHOP OF CARLISLE
The woe’s to come; the children yet unborn.
Shall feel this day as sharp to them as thorn.

DUTCH:
Nog volgt het wee; de thans nog ongeboor’nen
Zal deze dag eens steken, fel als doornen.

MORE:

Proverb: As sharp as a thorn

Convey=Carry, transport; to carry away mysteriously (and hence used to mean ‘steal’)
Conveyer=Thief
Pageant=Spectacle

Compleat:
Convey=Voeren, leiden, overvoeren, overdraagen (rechten)
Convey away=Wegvoeren
Conveyer=Overvoerder, vervoerder
Pageant=Een trioomfboog; grootsche vertooning, pracht

Burgersdijk notes:
Inhalen? goed! — Inhalig zijt gij allen. In ‘t Engelsch staat: O, good! convey? conveyers are you all. Convey beteekent: wegbrengen , weggeleiden, maar ook stelen.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny, consequence

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 2.6
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
Here burns my candle out; ay, here it dies,
Which, whiles it lasted, gave King Henry light.
O Lancaster, I fear thy overthrow
More than my body’s parting with my soul!
My love and fear glued many friends to thee;
And, now I fall, thy tough commixture melts.
Impairing Henry, strengthening misproud York,
The common people swarm like summer flies;
And whither fly the gnats but to the sun?
And who shines now but Henry’s enemies?
O Phoebus, hadst thou never given consent
That Phaethon should check thy fiery steeds,
Thy burning car never had scorch’d the earth!
And, Henry, hadst thou sway’d as kings should do,
Or as thy father and his father did,
Giving no ground unto the house of York,
They never then had sprung like summer flies;
I and ten thousand in this luckless realm
Had left no mourning widows for our death;
And thou this day hadst kept thy chair in peace.
For what doth cherish weeds but gentle air?

DUTCH:
Maar nu ik val, nu smelt die taaie menging,
Maakt Hendrik zwak, versterkt den driesten York.
Waar vliegen muggen heen, dan in de zon?

MORE:

Proverb: His candle burns within the socket

Commixture=Compound (the ‘glued’ friends)
Misproud=Arrogant, viciously proud (Schmidt)
Phoebus=Apollo
Check=Control
Car=Chariot
Swayed=Governed, ruled
Give ground=Yield, recede
Chair=Throne
Cherish=Encourage (growth)

Compleat:
To keep a check on one=Iemand in den teugel houden
Sway=(power, rule, command) Macht, gezach, heerschappy
To bear sway=Heerschappy voeren
To sway=(govern) Regeeren. To sway the scepter=Den schepter zwaaijen
To cherish=Koesteren, opkweeken, streelen, aankweeken

Topics: leadership, rivalry, friendship, loyalty, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Lysander
CONTEXT:
LYSANDER
How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale?
How chance the roses there do fade so fast?
HERMIA
Belike for want of rain, which I could well
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.
LYSANDER
Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth.
But either it was different in blood—

DUTCH:
Wee mij; naar alles wat ik las en ooit
Uit sagen of geschiedenis vernam,
Vloot nooit de stroom van ware liefde zacht;
Nu was zij te verschillend door geboort’.

MORE:
Proverb: The course of true love never did run smooth

Belike=Probably
Beteem=Grant, afford
Tempest=Flood of tears
Blood=Birthright
Compleat:
Tempest=Omweer, storm

Topics: wellbeing, sorrow, love, proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Katherine
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
Nay, then,
Do what thou canst, I will not go today,
No, nor tomorrow, not till I please myself.
The door is open, sir. There lies your way.
You may be jogging whiles your boots are green.
For me, I’ll not be gone till I please myself.
‘Tis like you’ll prove a jolly surly groom,
That take it on you at the first so roundly.
PETRUCHIO
O Kate, content thee. Prithee, be not angry.
KATHERINE
I will be angry. What hast thou to do?—
Father, be quiet. He shall stay my leisure.

DUTCH:
De deur is open, heer, daar ligt uw weg;
Hots gij maar weg, als gij op spelden staat;

MORE:
Proverb: Here is the door and there is the way
Proverb: Be jogging while your boots are green

You may be jogging=Youed better get going
Green=New
Take it on you=Be responsible for
Roundly=Openly
What hast thou to do=What’s it to do with you?
Stay my leisure=Wait until I’m ready
Compleat:
Jogging=Stooting
Will ye be jogging?=Wil je wel gaan?
To take on=Aanneemen
Roundly=Rondelyk, rond uyt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, independence, anger

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 4.6
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
ULYSSES
Sir, I foretold you then what would ensue:
My prophecy is but half his journey yet;
For yonder walls, that pertly front your town,
Yond towers, whose wanton tops do buss the clouds,
Must kiss their own feet.
HECTOR
I must not believe you:
There they stand yet, and modestly I think,
The fall of every Phrygian stone will cost
A drop of Grecian blood: the end crowns all,
And that old common arbitrator, Time,
Will one day end it.

DUTCH:
Het einde kroont;
En wis zal eens de Tijd, die ‘t al beslecht,
Het einde brengen.

MORE:
Proverb: The end crowns (tries) all
Proverb: Time tries all things

Foretold=Predicted
Half his journey=Half fulfilled
Pertly=Provocatively
Front=Fortify
Buss=Kiss
Common arbitrator=Judge of everything
Compleat:
Foregold=Voorzegd, voorzeyd
Pert=Wakker, vrypostig, moedig, vol vuurs
Front=(army) Voorste gelederen; (building) voorgevel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time, age/experience

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Poet
CONTEXT:
PAINTER
You are rapt, sir, in some work, some dedication
To the great lord.
POET
A thing slipped idly from me.
Our poesy is as a gum, which oozes
From whence ’tis nourished: the fire i’ the flint
Shows not till it be struck; our gentle flame
Provokes itself and like the current flies
Each bound it chafes. What have you there?
PAINTER
A picture, sir. When comes your book forth?
POET
Upon the heels of my presentment, sir.
Let’s see your piece.

DUTCH:
Och, iets, geheel van zelf mijn geest ontweld.
Als hars is onze poëzie, ze ontvloeit
Waar zij gevoed wordt; vuur ontspringt den steen
Door slaan eerst, doch onze eed’le vlam ontsteekt
Zichzelf, en vliedt gramstorig, als een stroom,
Al wat haar boeien wil.

MORE:
Proverb: In the coldest flint there is hot fire
Proverb: The stream (current, tide) stopped swells the higher

Rapt=Captivated
Idly=Carelessly, without effort
Poesy=Poetry
Fire from the flint=Spark of inspiration
Gentle flame=Poetry
Provokes itself=Ignites
Bound=Riverbank
Chafe=Rage against, surge (current of the river)
Presentment=Presentation
Upon the heels=Immediately after
Compleat:
Rapt=Met geweld ontnoomen of afgerukt
Idly=Luyachtig, ydelyk
Poesy=Dichtkunst, dichtkunde, poëzy
Flint=Een keisteen, vuursteen, keizel, flint
To provoke=Tergen, verwekken, aanprikkelen, opscherpen, gaande maaken, ophitsen
Bound=Een grens, landperk
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
Presentment=Een bloote verklaaring der Gezwoorene Mannen of der Gerechtsdienaaren wegens eenige misdaad; een aanklaaging voor ‘t Gerecht; een Vertooning

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Touchstone
CONTEXT:
TOUCHSTONE
“Thank God.” A good answer. Art rich?
WILLIAM
‘Faith, sir, so-so.
TOUCHSTONE
“So-so” is good, very good, very excellent good. And
yet it is not: it is but so-so. Art thou wise?
WILLIAM
Ay, sir, I have a pretty wit.
TOUCHSTONE
Why, thou sayst well. I do now remember a saying: “The
fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows
himself to be a fool.” The heathen philosopher, when he
had a desire to eat a grape, would open his lips when he
put it into his mouth, meaning thereby that grapes were
made to eat and lips to open.

DUTCH:
Zoo, goed gezegd! Ik herinner mij daar een spreuk:
„De dwaas denkt, dat hij wijs is, maar de wijze weet,
dat hij een dwaas is

MORE:
Proverb:
The wise man knows himself to be a fool, the fool thinks he is wise

Topics: intellect, appearance, wisdom, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
AARON
Now climbeth Tamora Olympus’ top,
Safe out of fortune’s shot; and sits aloft,
Secure of thunder’s crack or lightning flash;
Advanced above pale envy’s threatening reach.
As when the golden sun salutes the morn,
And, having gilt the ocean with his beams,
Gallops the zodiac in his glistering coach,
And overlooks the highest-peering hills;
So Tamora:
Upon her wit doth earthly honour wait,
And virtue stoops and trembles at her frown.
Then, Aaron, arm thy heart, and fit thy thoughts,
To mount aloft with thy imperial mistress,
And mount her pitch, whom thou in triumph long
Hast prisoner held, fettered in amorous chains
And faster bound to Aaron’s charming eyes
Than is Prometheus tied to Caucasus.
Away with slavish weeds and servile thoughts!
I will be bright, and shine in pearl and gold,
To wait upon this new-made empress.
To wait, said I? to wanton with this queen,
This goddess, this Semiramis, this nymph,
This siren, that will charm Rome’s Saturnine,
And see his shipwreck and his commonweal’s.
Holloa! what storm is this?

DUTCH:
Zooals de gouden zon den morgen groet
En met haar stralen de’ oceaan verguldt,
Daarna op vuur’ge kar haar baan doorrent
En neerblikt op de hoogste heuveltoppen,
Zoo Tamora.

MORE:
Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain

Olympus=Highest mountain in Greece, mythological home of the gods.
Prometheus=Demigod who stold fire from Olympus and give it to mankind. Allusively applied to something that inspires or infuses life (although he was chained to a rock where his liver was eaten every day by an eagle).
Semiramis=The wife of King Nimrod of Assyria, famed for her bravery and cruelty
Sirens=Mythical creatures who use their voices to lure sailors to their deaths
Envy=Malice
Pitch=Highest point of soaring flight for a hawk or falcon, peak before swooping
Weeds=Clothing
Commonweal=The common good (‘commonwealth’, community)
Compleat:
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad
Siren=Sireene; To sirenize=Verlokken, verleiden
Envy=Nyd, benyd, afgunst
Pitch=Pik
Commonwealth=Gemeenebest

Burgersdijk notes:
Haar baan doorrent. In ‘t Engelsch wordt als baan de Dierenriem, Zodiak, genoemd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, manipulation, persuasion

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Pistol
CONTEXT:
NYM
He was gotten in drink: is not the humour conceited?
FALSTAFF
I am glad I am so acquit of this tinderbox: his
thefts were too open; his filching was like an
unskilful singer; he kept not time.
NYM
The good humour is to steal at a minute’s rest.
PISTOL
‘Convey,’ the wise it call. ‘Steal!’ foh! a fico
for the phrase!
FALSTAFF
Well, sirs, I am almost out at heels.
PISTOL
Why, then, let kibes ensue.
FALSTAFF
There is no remedy; I must cony-catch; I must shift.
PISTOL
Young ravens must have food.

DUTCH:
De beste humour is, in een kwart tellens te stelen.

MORE:
Proverb: A fig for him (it)
Proverb: Small birds must have meat

Acquit=Rid
Tinderbox=Fire-starting equipment (re. Bardolph’s irritability)
Open=Obvious, visible
Good humour=Trick
A minute’s rest=Within a minute
Convey=Steal
Fico=Fig
Out at heels=Destitute
Kibes=Sores
Cony-catch=Swindle
Shift=Live by my wits
Compleat:
Acquit=Quyten, ontslaan
Tinderbox=Een tondeldoosje
I don’t care a fig for it=Ik geef ‘er niet een boon om
Kibe=Kakhiel, winterhiel
Cony=Konijn
Shift=Zichzelve redden

Burgersdijk notes:
Een figo. Een teeken van verachting.
Gaan stroopen. Er staat eigenlijk konijnen vangen.

Topics: poverty and wealth, offence, adversity, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Lance
CONTEXT:
SPEED
‘Item: She is too liberal.’
LANCE
Of her tongue she cannot, for that’s writ down she
is slow of; of her purse she shall not, for that
I’ll keep shut: now, of another thing she may, and
that cannot I help. Well, proceed.
SPEED
‘Item: She hath more hair than wit, and more faults
than hairs, and more wealth than faults.’
LANCE
Stop there; I’ll have her: she was mine, and not
mine, twice or thrice in that last article.
Rehearse that once more.
SPEED
‘Item: She hath more hair than wit,’—
LANCE
More hair than wit? It may be; I’ll prove it. The
cover of the salt hides the salt, and therefore it
is more than the salt; the hair that covers the wit
is more than the wit, for the greater hides the
less. What’s next?

DUTCH:
Meer haar dan verstand, — dat mag wel: ik wil het
bewijzen: het deksel van het zoutvat overdekt het
zout, en daarom is het meer dan het zout; het haar,
dat het verstand bedekt, is meer dan het verstand, want
het grootere overdekt het kleinere. Wat volgt?

MORE:
Proverb: Bush natural, more hair than wit
Liberal=Unrestrained, uncontrolled
Rehearse=Repeat
Salt=Salt-cellar
Compleat:
Liberal=Mild, milddaadig, goedertieren, gulhartig, openhartig
To rehearse=Verhaalen, vertellen, opzeggen
Salt seller=Een zout-vat

Topics: proverbs and idioms, intellect, flaw/fault, moneyinsult

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: King Edward IV
CONTEXT:
GLOUCESTER
Thou and thy brother both shall buy this treason
Even with the dearest blood your bodies bear.
KING EDWARD IV
The harder match’d, the greater victory:
My mind presageth happy gain and conquest.

DUTCH:
Hoe sterker weerpartij, te grootscher zege;
En overwinning, heil spelt mij mijn hart.

MORE:

Proverb: The more danger the more honour

Matched=Opposition
My mind presageth=I foresee

Compleat:
To match=Paaren, passen, samenkoppelen
To presage=Gissen, voorzeggen, voorspellen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Helen
CONTEXT:
HELEN
O, were that all! I think not on my father;
And these great tears grace his remembrance more
Than those I shed for him. What was he like?
I have forgot him: my imagination
Carries no favour in’t but Bertram’s.
I am undone: there is no living, none,
If Bertram be away. ‘Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me:
In his bright radiance and collateral light
Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.
The ambition in my love thus plagues itself:
The hind that would be mated by the lion
Must die for love. ‘Twas pretty, though plague,
To see him every hour; to sit and draw
His arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls,
In our heart’s table; heart too capable
Of every line and trick of his sweet favour:
But now he’s gone, and my idolatrous fancy
Must sanctify his relics. Who comes here?
HELEN
One that goes with him: I love him for his sake;
And yet I know him a notorious liar,
Think him a great way fool, solely a coward;
Yet these fixed evils sit so fit in him,
That they take place, when virtue’s steely bones
Look bleak i’ the cold wind: withal, full oft we see
Cold wisdom waiting on superfluous folly.

DUTCH:
De hinde, die den leeuw als gade wenscht,
Komt om door liefde

MORE:
Proverb: One may point at a star but not pull at it

Radiance=Rays of light
Undone=Ruined
Sphere=Orbit
Plague=Punish
Hawking=Sharp
Sanctify=Worship
Compleat:
Undone=Ontdaan, losgemaakt
Plague=Plaagen, quellen
Sanctify=Heyligen, heylig maaken

Topics: relationship, order/society, love, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: First Senator
CONTEXT:
FIRST SENATOR
My lord, you have my voice to it; the fault’s
Bloody; ’tis necessary he should die:
Nothing emboldens sin so much as mercy.
SECOND SENATOR
Most true; the law shall bruise him.
ALCIBIADES
Honour, health, and compassion to the senate!
FIRST SENATOR
Now, captain?

DUTCH:
t Is juist; de wet moet hem vergruiz’len.

MORE:
Proverb: Pardon makes offenders

Voice=Vote, support
Emboldens=Encourages
Bruise=Crush, destroy
Compleat:
Voice=Stem, recht van stemmen
To embolden (imbolden)=Verstouten, moed inspreeken, aanmoedigen
To bruise=Kneuzen, verpletteren, stooten, blutzen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, mercy, offence, justice

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: King Henry
CONTEXT:
Good God, why should they mock poor fellows thus?
The man that once did sell the lion’s skin
While the beast lived was killed with hunting him.
A many of our bodies shall no doubt
Find native graves, upon the which, I trust,
Shall witness live in brass of this day’s work.
And those that leave their valiant bones in France,
Dying like men though buried in your dunghills,
They shall be famed; for there the sun shall greet them
And draw their honours reeking up to heaven,
Leaving their earthly parts to choke your clime,

DUTCH:
De man, die eens de huid des leeuws verkocht,
Toen ‘t beest nog leefde, kwam bij ‘t jagen om.

MORE:

Proverb: Sell not the bear’s skin before you have bought him (for those who promise, or dispose of a thing that is not in their Power)
Proverb: Counting chickens before they are hatched.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
The middle of humanity thou never knewest, but the
extremity of both ends: when thou wast in thy gilt
and thy perfume, they mocked thee for too much
curiosity; in thy rags thou knowest none, but art
despised for the contrary. There’s a medlar for
thee, eat it.
TIMON
On what I hate I feed not.
APEMANTUS
Dost hate a medlar?
TIMON
Ay, though it look like thee.
APEMANTUS
An thou hadst hated meddlers sooner, thou shouldst
have loved thyself better now. What man didst thou
ever know unthrift that was beloved after his means?

DUTCH:
Het middendeel der menschheid hebt gij nooit gekend,
alleen de beide uiterste einden.

MORE:
Proverb: Virtue is found in the middle (mean)

Middle=Moderation, mean
Gilt=Gold
Curiosity=Fastidiousness
Medlar=A fruit cultivated since Roman times
Meddler=Interfering type
Unthrift=Wastefulness
After his means=After losing his money
Compleat:
Middle=Het midden
Gilt=Verguld
Curiosity=Keurigheid
Medlar=Een mispel
Meddler=Een bemoei al, albeschik
Thrift=Zuinigheid
Spendthrift=Een verquister

Burgersdijk notes:
Is een mispel u gehaat? In ‘t Engelsch : Dost hate a medlar? Het woord medlar beteekent zoowel “mispel” als “middelaar”, koppelaar”. De beteekenis van het zeggen wordt verder duidelijk, als men “Elk wat wils” (As you like it) opslaat. Met het oog hierop is ook het volgende zeggen “it looks like thee” met “haar binnenste is als gij” vertaald.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, virtue, money, order/society

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Touchstone
CONTEXT:
CELIA
My father’s love is enough to honour him. Enough. Speak
no more of him; you’ll be whipped for taxation one of these days.
TOUCHSTONE
The more pity that fools may not speak wisely what wise
men do foolishly.
CELIA
By my troth, thou sayest true. For, since the little
wit that fools have was silenced, the little foolery
that wise men have makes a great show. Here comes
Monsieur Le Beau.
ROSALIND
With his mouth full of news.
CELIA
Which he will put on us as pigeons feed their young.
ROSALIND
Then shall we be news-crammed.

DUTCH:
Des te erger, als dwazen niet meer in hun wijsheid mogen zeggen, wat wijze lui in hun dwaasheid doen.

MORE:
Proverb: The wise man knows himself to be a fool, the fool thinks he is wise

‘Silenced’ is probably a topical reference, either to new restraints imposed on theatrical companies or to the burning of satirical books in 1599.

Whipping was a cruel punishment. In the days of Henry VIII an Act decreed that vagrants were to be carried to some market town, or other place, and there tied to the end of a cart, naked, and beaten with whips throughout such market-town, or other place, till the body should be bloody by reason of such whipping. The punishment was mitigated in Elizabeth’s reign, to the extent that vagrants need only to be “stripped naked from the middle upwards and whipped till the body should be bloody”.

Whipped=Censure, satire, invective “You’ll be whipped for taxation one of these days”.
Foolery=Absurdity
News-crammed=Full of news (and therefore valuable on the market)
Compleat:
Whipped=Gegeesseld
Foolery=Malligheid
Cram=Kroppen, proppen, mesten, overladen

Topics: pity, wisdom, language, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Dromio of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
The plainer dealer, the sooner lost. Yet he loseth it in a kind of jollity.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
For what reason?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
For two, and sound ones too.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Nay, not sound, I pray you.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Sure ones, then.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Nay, not sure, in a thing falsing.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Certain ones, then.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Name them.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
The one, to save the money that he spends in tiring; the other, that at dinner they should not drop in his porridge.

DUTCH:
Hoe onnoozeler iemand is, des te eer zorgt hij het
kwijt te raken; maar hij verliest het met een soort van
genot.

MORE:
Proverb: The properer (honester) man the worse luck

Falsing=Deceptive
Tiring=Hairdressing
Sound=Both ‘valid’ and ‘healthy’
Compleat:
Plain dealing=Oprechte handeling
To tire=Optoooijen, de kap zetten
Sound (healthful)=Gezond
Sound (whole)=Gaaf
Sound (judicious)=Verstandig, schrander, gegrond

Topics: honesty, gullibility, satisfaction, fate/destiny, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Thomas Mowbray
CONTEXT:
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Myself I throw, dread sovereign, at thy foot.
My life thou shalt command, but not my shame:
The one my duty owes; but my fair name,
Despite of death that lives upon my grave,
To dark dishonour’s use thou shalt not have.
I am disgraced, impeach’d and baffled here,
Pierced to the soul with slander’s venom’d spear,
The which no balm can cure but his heart-blood
Which breathed this poison.
KING RICHARD II
Rage must be withstood:
Give me his gage: lions make leopards tame.
THOMAS MOWBRAY
Yea, but not change his spots: take but my shame.
And I resign my gage. My dear dear lord,
The purest treasure mortal times afford
Is spotless reputation: that away,
Men are but gilded loam or painted clay.
A jewel in a ten-times-barr’d-up chest
Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast.

DUTCH:
De vlekken blijven. ‘k Gaav’ dit pand u, nam
Uw macht mij eerst den smaad af. Hoor mij, heer;
De reinste schat des levens is onze eer,
Die vlekk’loos blijven moet; want ja, ontneem
Den man zijn eer, hij is geschilderd leem.

MORE:

Proverb: A leopard (panther) cannot change his spots

No boot=No point, profit, advantage
Impeached=Accused of an offence
Baffle=Originally a punishment of infamy, inflicted on recreant knights, one part of which was hanging them up by the heels” (Nares).
Gage=Pledge, pawn pledge (usu. a glove thrown on the ground) of a person’s appearance to do battle in support of his assertions, challenge
Gilded loam or painted clay=Mere earth with a decorative coating

Compleat:
No boot=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos
To impeach=Betichten, beschuldigen, aanklagen
To impeach (or oppose) the truth of a thing=Zich tegen de waarheid van een zaak aankanten
Gage=Pand, onderpand
To baffle=Beschaamd maaken

Burgersdijk notes:
De leeuw maakt panthers tam. De koningen van Engeland voeren den leeuw, de Norfolks gouden
panthers in hun wapen.

Topics: reputation, honour, appearance, integrity, proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Ulysses
CONTEXT:
AJAX
If I go to him, with my armed fist I’ll pash him o’er
the face.
AGAMEMNON
O, no, you shall not go.
AJAX
An a’ be proud with me, I’ll pheeze his pride:
Let me go to him.
ULYSSES
Not for the worth that hangs upon our quarrel.
AJAX
A paltry, insolent fellow!
NESTOR
How he describes himself!
AJAX
Can he not be sociable?
ULYSSES
The raven chides blackness.
AJAX
I’ll let his humour’s blood.

DUTCH:
Daar scheldt een raaf het zwartzijn uit!

MORE:
Proverb: The raven chides blackness

Pash=Smash
Feeze or pheeze=Sort out
Let his humour’s blood=Ref to medicinal blood-letting
Compleat:
To pash=Te pletteren slaan, kneuzen, verbryzelen
To let blood=Ader laaten, laaten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, pride

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
HECTOR
Paris and Troilus, you have both said well,
And on the cause and question now in hand
Have glozed, but superficially: not much
Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philosophy:
The reasons you allege do more conduce
To the hot passion of distempered blood
Than to make up a free determination
‘Twixt right and wrong, for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice
Of any true decision. Nature craves
All dues be rendered to their owners: now,
What nearer debt in all humanity
Than wife is to the husband? If this law
Of nature be corrupted through affection,
And that great minds, of partial indulgence
To their benumbed wills, resist the same,
There is a law in each well-ordered nation
To curb those raging appetites that are
Most disobedient and refractory.

DUTCH:
De gronden, die gij bijbrengt, voeren meer
Tot heete opbruising van ontstoken bloed,
Dan tot het onbevangen, juist erkennen
Van recht en onrecht.

MORE:
Proverb: Give everyone his due
Proverb: As deaf as an adder

To gloze=Expand, expound. Veil with specious comments (OED)
Glozes=Pretentious talk
Conduce=Contribute, cite
Affection=Emotion; partiality
Partial=Prejudiced
Distempered=Ill-humoured; deranged
Benumbed=Dulled, inured
Refractory=Unmanageable
Compleat:
To gloze=Vleijen, flikflooijen
To conduce=Vorderlyk zyn, dienstig zyn, baaten
Affection=Toegeneegenheid, aandoening
Partial=Eenzydig, partydig
Distempered=Niet wel te pas, kwaalyk gesteld, uit zyn schik
To benum=Verstyven
Refractory=Wederspannig

Burgersdijk notes:
Door Aristoteles. Nu Shakespeare een Griekschen wijsgeer wil vermelden, kiest hij een algemeen bekenden, zonder te vragen, of deze niet vele eeuwen na den Trojaanschen oorlog leefde en of hij inderdaad de jeugd onvatbaar heeft genoemd voor de beoefening der moraal -philosophie.
Zijn doover nog dan slangen. Dat slangen voor doof gehouden werden, blijkt ook uit 2 K. Hendrik IV, en uit Sonnet CXII.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, judgment, debt/obligation, good and bad

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
BRABANTIO
God be with you. I have done.
Please it your grace, on to the state affairs.
I had rather to adopt a child than get it.—
Come hither, Moor.
I here do give thee that with all my heart
Which, but thou hast already, with all my heart
I would keep from thee. For your sake, jewel,
I am glad at soul I have no other child.
For thy escape would teach me tyranny,
To hang clogs on them.— I have done, my lord.
DUKE
Let me speak like yourself and lay a sentence
Which as a grise or step may help these lovers
Into your favour.
When remedies are past the griefs are ended
By seeing the worst which late on hopes depended.
To mourn a mischief that is past and gone
Is the next way to draw new mischief on.
What cannot be preserved when fortune takes,
Patience her injury a mock’ry makes.
The robbed that smiles steals something from the thief,
He robs himself that spends a bootless grief.

DUTCH:
Wie, schoon bestólen, lacht, besteelt den dief,
Wie nutt’loos treurt, zichzelf, tot nieuwe grief.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Dykes v. State, 264 So.2d 65, 66 n. 1 (Fla. Ct. App. 1972)(Howell, J.).

Proverb: Never grieve for that you cannot help

Grise (grize) (also grice, greese)=Step, degree
Lay a sentence=Apply a maxim
Patience=Endurance
Mockery=Subject of laughter and derision
Bootless=Futile, unavailing
Compleat:
Mockery=Bespotting, spotterny
Bootless=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos
Patience=Geduld, lydzaamheid, verduldigheid

Topics: adversity, regret, cited in law, proverbs and idioms, remedy

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
I do the wrong, and first begin to brawl.
The secret mischiefs that I set abroach
I lay unto the grievous charge of others.
Clarence, whom I indeed have cast in darkness,
I do beweep to many simple gulls,
Namely, to Derby, Hastings, Buckingham,
And tell them ’tis the queen and her allies
That stir the king against the duke my brother.
Now they believe it and withal whet me
To be revenged on Rivers, Dorset, Grey;
But then I sigh and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil;
And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stolen out of Holy Writ,
And seem a saint when most I play the devil.
But, soft! here come my executioners.—
How now, my hardy, stout, resolvèd mates?
Are you now going to dispatch this thing?

DUTCH:
Ik doe het booze, en roep het eerst om wraak.
Hot onheil, dat ik heim’lijk heb gesticht,
Leg ik als zwaren last op vreemde schouders.

MORE:
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint

Brawl=Quarrel
Mischief=Wicked deed
Set abroach=Carried out (the harm I have done)
Lay unto the charge=Accuse
Simple gulls=Simpletons
Stir=Incite
Stout=Resolute
Compleat:
Brawl=Gekyf
To brawl=Kyven
Mischief=onheil, dwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
To set abroach=Een gat booren om uyt te tappen, een vat opsteeken. Ook Lucht of ruymte aan iets geven
To lay a thing to one’s charge=Iemand met iets beschuldigen, iets tot iemands laste brengen
Gull=Bedrieger
To stir=Beweegen, verroeren
Stout=Stout, koen, dapper, verwaand, lustig

Topics: persuasion, offence, manipulation, conflict, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Enobarbus
CONTEXT:
ENOBARBUS
Why, sir, give the gods a thankful sacrifice. When it
pleaseth their deities to take the wife of a man from
him, it shows to man the tailors of the earth,
comforting therein, that when old robes are worn out,
there are members to make new. If there were no more
women but Fulvia, then had you indeed a cut, and the
case to be lamented. This grief is crowned with
consolation. Your old smock brings forth a new
petticoat, and indeed the tears live in an onion that
should water this sorrow.
ANTONY
The business she hath broached in the state
Cannot endure my absence.

DUTCH:
Waren er geen vrouwen meer
dan Fulvia, dan waart gij er inderdaad erg aan toe en
wegens uw lot te beklagen; maar dit leed wordt met
troost gekroond; uw oud vrouwenhemd levert een nieuwen
onderrok; en, waarachtig, in een ui schuilen de
tranen, die dezen kommer moeten besproeien.

MORE:
Proverb: The tailor makes the man
Proverb: Nine (three) tailors make a man

Tailors=Tailors were proverbially the makers of men
Members=Limbs
Cut=Slash
Tears live in an onion=Not real tears
Broached=Started, opened
Compleat:
Tailor=Snyder, kleermaker
Member=Lid, Lidmaat. Member of the body=Een lid des lichaams
To broach=Aan ‘t spit steeken, speeten; voortbrengen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, grief, sorrow

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Saye
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
Trust nobody, for fear you be betray’d.
SAYE
The trust I have is in mine innocence,
And therefore am I bold and resolute.

DUTCH:
Het volst vertrouwen stel ik op mijn onschuld,
En daarom ben ik moedig en gerust.

MORE:

Proverb: Innocence is bold

Schmidt:
Bold=Daring, insolent
Resolute=Having a fixed purpose, determined, full of bold decision

Compleat:
Bold=Stout, koen, vrymoedig, onbevreesd, onverslaagd, vrypostig
Resolute=Onbeschroomd, onbeteuterd, onversaagd

Topics: trust, betray, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Aeneas
CONTEXT:
AENEAS
Ay;
I ask, that I might waken reverence,
And bid the cheek be ready with a blush
Modest as morning when she coldly eyes
The youthful Phoebus:
Which is that god in office, guiding men?
Which is the high and mighty Agamemnon?
AGAMEMNON
This Trojan scorns us; or the men of Troy
Are ceremonious courtiers.
AENEAS
Courtiers as free, as debonair, unarmed,
As bending angels; that’s their fame in peace:
But when they would seem soldiers, they have galls,
Good arms, strong joints, true swords; and,
Jove’s accord,
Nothing so full of heart. But peace, Aeneas,
Peace, Trojan; lay thy finger on thy lips!
The worthiness of praise distains his worth,
If that the praised himself bring the praise forth:
But what the repining enemy commends,
That breath fame blows; that praise, sole sure,
transcends.

DUTCH:
Wees stil, Trojaan! den vinger op den mond!
De lof verliest de waarde, die hij heeft,
Zoo de gepreez’ne zelf den lof zich geeft;
Doch zoo de vijand prijzen moet, diens woord
Verbreidt de faam; ‘t leeft, vlekk’loos rein, steeds voort.

MORE:
Proverb: Lay thy finger on thy lips

Phoebus=Apollo, the sun God
Free=Generous
Bending=Ministering
Would seem=Wish to appear
Galls=Spirit to resist
Action=Military action
Distains=Stains
Repining=Grudging
Compleat:
Free=Vry, openhartig
To gall=’t Vel afschuuren, smarten
To gall the enemy=Den vyand benaauwen
Action=Een daad, handeling, rechtzaak, gevecht
Distain=Bevlekken, besmetten, bezwalken
To repine=Moeijelyk zyn, misnoegd weezen, berouw hebben; benyden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, civility, respect, reputation

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
HECTOR
Though no man lesser fears the Greeks than I
As far as toucheth my particular,
Yet, dread Priam,
There is no lady of more softer bowels,
More spongy to suck in the sense of fear,
More ready to cry out ‘Who knows what follows?’
Than Hector is: the wound of peace is surety,
Surety secure; but modest doubt is called
The beacon of the wise, the tent that searches
To the bottom of the worst. Let Helen go:
Since the first sword was drawn about this question,
Every tithe soul, ‘mongst many thousand dimes,
Hath been as dear as Helen; I mean, of ours:
If we have lost so many tenths of ours,
To guard a thing not ours nor worth to us,
Had it our name, the value of one ten,
What merit’s in that reason which denies
The yielding of her up?

DUTCH:
Zorgelooze zekerheid
Is vredes wonde; maar bezonnen twijfel
Des wijzen baak, de vlaswiek, die het diepst
Der wonde peilt.

MORE:
Proverb: The way to be safe is never to be secure
Proverb: He that is secure is not safe

My particular=Me personally
Softer bowels=More compassion
Spongy to suck in=Absorbent
Surety=Over-confidence, feeling of safety
Doubt=Apprehension
Tent=Surgical probe
Tithe=Tenth (reference to taxation)
Compleat:
Particular=Byzonder, zonderling, byzonderheid
Spungy=Sponsachtig, voos
Surety=Borg, vastigheyd
Doubt=Twyffel
Tent=Tentyzer
Tithe=Tiende; To gather tithes=Tienden inzamelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, security, adversity

PLAY: King Lear
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
Mark it, nuncle.
Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest,
Leave thy drink and thy whore
And keep in-a-door,
And thou shalt have more
Than two tens to a score
KENT
This is nothing, Fool.
FOOL
Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer. You gave me nothing for ’t.—Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle?

DUTCH:
Dan is het als het pleidooi van een gratis advocaat: u hebt me
er niets voor betaald.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
From William Domnarski, Shakespeare in the Law: “In a bankruptcy case in which the lawyers are trying to keep their legal fees from being discharged, “tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer” seems to be a great quotation to use to describe what the court characterizes as the “fuming outrage” of the lawyers, especially if we misread “unfee’ d” for “fetid,” hut on examination the quotation does not wash. Shakespeare, knowing lawyers as he did, uses the quotation to describe the emptiness of a lawyer’s advice when he is not being paid for it.” (In Re Samuel Homyak, 40 Bankr. 99, 100 (S.D.N.Y. 1984).
Reference to the proverb: ‘A lawyer will not plead but for a fee’
Schmidt:
Breath= Speech, i.e. pleading

Topics: lawyers, cited in law, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Poins
CONTEXT:
PRINCE HAL
Sir John stands to his word. The devil shall have his bargain, for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs. He will give the devil his due.
POINS
(to FALSTAFF )Then art thou damned for keeping thy word with the devil.

DUTCH:
Dan zijt gij vervloekt, omdat gij den duivel uw woord houdt.

MORE:
The proverb ‘Give the devil his due’ (1589) is generally an acknowledgement that something or somebody bad has a redeeming feature or has done something worthwhile.
Schmidt:
Stand to=To side with, to assist, to support; to maintain, to guard, to be firm in the cause of
Breaker=Transgressor
Compleat:
We must give the devil his due=Men moet den duivel niet erger afmaalen dan hy is.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Belarius
CONTEXT:
GUIDERIUS
Why, worthy father, what have we to lose
But that he swore to take, our lives? The law
Protects not us. Then why should we be tender
To let an arrogant piece of flesh threat us,
Play judge and executioner all himself,
For we do fear the law? What company
Discover you abroad?
BELARIUS
No single soul
Can we set eye on, but in all safe reason
He must have some attendants. Though his humour
Was nothing but mutation—ay, and that
From one bad thing to worse—not frenzy,
Not absolute madness could so far have raved
To bring him here alone. Although perhaps
It may be heard at court that such as we
Cave here, hunt here, are outlaws, and in time
May make some stronger head, the which he
hearing—
As it is like him—might break out and swear
He’d fetch us in, yet is ’t not probable
To come alone, either he so undertaking
Or they so suffering. Then on good ground we fear,
If we do fear this body hath a tail
More perilous than the head.
ARVIRAGUS
Let ordinance
Come as the gods foresay it: howsoe’er,
My brother hath done well.

DUTCH:
k Vrees met grond,
Dat deze romp nog wel een nasleep heeft,
Gevaarlijker dan ‘t hoofd.

MORE:
Proverb: To go from bad to worse

For (we do fear)=Because
Humour=Disposition
Mutation=Change (as an effect of inconsistency)
Stronger head=Gather strength
Fetch us in=Capture us
Tender=Delicate, in a physical and moral sense: easily impressed
Compleat:
Humour (or disposition of the mind)=Humeur, gemoeds gesteldheid
Mutation=Verandering, verwisseling
To draw to a head=Zich tot dragt zetten, de verhaaalde zaaken in een trekken
Tender=Teder, week, murw

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, law/legal, life, flaw/fault

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Gratiano
CONTEXT:
GRATIANO
(…) I tell thee what, Antonio—
I love thee, and ’tis my love that speaks—
There are a sort of men whose visages
Do cream and mantle like a standing pond,
And do a willful stillness entertain
With purpose to be dressed in an opinion
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit,
As who should say, “I am Sir Oracle,
And when I ope my lips, let no dog bark!”
O my Antonio, I do know of these
That therefore only are reputed wise
For saying nothing, when I am very sure
If they should speak, would almost damn those ears
Which, hearing them, would call their brothers fools.
I’ll tell thee more of this another time.
But fish not with this melancholy bait
For this fool gudgeon, this opinion.—
Come, good Lorenzo.—Fare ye well awhile.
I’ll end my exhortation after dinner.

DUTCH:
Er is een slag van lieden, wier gelaat
Steeds ondoorschijnend is als stilstaand water,
Die eigenzinnig zwijgen altijd door,
Met doel om zich een dunk en roep te geven
Van wijsheid, waardigheid en diepen zin,

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Jaszai et al. v. Christie’s et al., 279 A.D. 2d 186, 188-189 (2001).

Proverb: All dogs bark not (no dogs shall bark) at him
Proverb: Fools are wise as long as silent
Proverb: Few words show men wise

Cream=To gather a covering on a surface, to mantle.
Mantle=A green surface on a standing pool. To mantle=to cloak.
Standing pond=stagnant pond
Gudgeon=Small fish
Compleat:
Mantle=Deken
To mantle=Schuimen of werken. The hawk mantles=De valk spreidt zyne wieken uit.
Gudgeon=Een Grundel [zekere visch]To swallow a gudgeon=Een hoon verdraagen

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
He greets me well.—Your master, Pindarus,
In his own change or by ill officers
Hath given me some worthy cause to wish
Things done, undone. But if he be at hand
I shall be satisfied.
PINDARUS
I do not doubt
But that my noble master will appear
Such as he is, full of regard and honour.
BRUTUS
He is not doubted.—A word, Lucillius.
How he received you, let me be resolved.
LUCILLIUS
With courtesy and with respect enough.
But not with such familiar instances
Nor with such free and friendly conference
As he hath used of old.
BRUTUS
Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling. Ever note, Lucillius,
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforcèd ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith.
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle.

DUTCH:
Gij teekent daar
Een warmen vriend, die koel wordt. Geef steeds acht,
Als vriendschap kwijnen en verwelken gaat,
Dan bezigt zij gedwongen hoflijkheid .
De slechte rechte trouw weet niets van kunsten.

MORE:
Proverb: Full of courtesy full of craft
Proverb: Things done cannot be undone

Greets me well=Sends greetings through a worthy emissary
Change=Changed mind
Ill=Bad, untrustworthy
Worthy=Justifiable, respectable
Satisfied=Receive a satisfactory explanation
Regard=Respect
Resolved=Informed
Familiar instances=Signs of affection
Conference=Conversation
Enforcèd=Strained
Hot friend=Previously close friend
Trick=Artifice
Compleat:
Change=Verschiet, verscheydenheyd, verandering, verwisseling
Ill=Quaad, ondeugend, onpasselijk
Worthy=Waardig, eerwaardig, voortreffelyk, uytmuntend, deftig
Satisfaction, content=Voldoening
Regard=Opzigt, inzigt, omzigtigheyd, zorg, acht, achting
Resolve (untie, decide, determine a hard question, difficulty etc.)=Oplossen, ontwarren, ontknoopten
Resolve (deliberation, decision)=Beraad, beslissing, uitsluitsel
Familiar=Gemeenzaam
Conference=Onderhandeling, t’zamenspraak, mondgemeenschap
Enforcèd=Gedwongen, opgedrongen
Trick=Een looze trek, greep, gril

Topics: respect, civility, proverbs and idioms, reply, judgment, resolution

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Under your pardon. You must note beside,
That we have tried the utmost of our friends,
Our legions are brim-full, our cause is ripe.
The enemy increaseth every day.
We, at the height, are ready to decline.
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves
Or lose our ventures.

DUTCH:
In menschenzaken is er eb en vloed;
Bedien u van den vloed, gij hebt geluk.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
A.F.A. Tanker Corp. v. Reinauer Transportation Company, 594 F.Supp. 598, 599, n. 1 (S.D.N.Y. 1984)(Tenney, J.);
Prevatt v. Penwalt Corporation, 192 Cal. App.3d 438, 237 Cal. Rptr. 488, 500, n. 26 (1987)(Perren, J.)(“…it became clear that the flood of settlements in which the case was now engulfed either led on to his fortune or if bypassed left him wallowing in the shallows and the miseries of trial.”).

Proverb: The tide must be taken when it comes
Proverb: And wealth with me was never yet afloate (1616)

Under your pardon=Begging your pardon, allow me (to continue)
Tried the utmost=Strained to the limit
Omitted=Missed
Bound=Confined
Ventures=Investment
Compleat:
Beg your pardon=Ik bid u om vergiffenis
Tried=Beproefd, te recht gesteld, verhoord
Omitted=Nagelaaten, overgeslagen, verzuymd
Venture=’t Gene men ter zee waagt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/fortune, cited in law

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
Madman, thou errest. I say, there is no darkness but ignorance, in which thou art more puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog.
MALVOLIO
I say, this house is as dark as ignorance, though ignorance were as dark as hell. And I say, there was never man thus abused. I am no more mad than you are. Make the trial of it in any constant question.
FOOL
What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning wildfowl?
MALVOLIO
That the soul of our grandam might haply inhabit a bird.

DUTCH:
Waanzinnige, gij dwaalt. Ik zeg, er is geen donkerheid
dan de onwetendheid; waarin gij meer bevangen
zijt, dan de Egyptenaars in hun nevel.

MORE:
Proverb: The hood (habit, cowl) makes not the monk
Puzzled=Bewildered
Fog=One plague in Egypt was the ‘black darkness’ (Exodus)
Haply=Perhaps
Constant=Logical, common sense
Question=Consideration, discussion
Compleat:
Puzzled=In ‘t naauw gebragt, verbysterd
Foggy=Mistig, mistachtig; log, loom
Haply=Misschien
Constant=Standvastig, bestending, gestadig
Question=Verschil, twyfel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, learning/education, madness

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Fluellen
CONTEXT:
There is occasions and causes why and
wherefore in all things. I will tell you ass my
friend, Captain Gower. The rascally, scald, beggarly,
lousy, pragging knave Pistol, which you and
yourself and all the world know to be no petter than
a fellow, look you now, of no merits, he is come to
me and prings me pread and salt yesterday, look
you, and bid me eat my leek. It was in a place where
I could not breed no contention with him, but I will
be so bold as to wear it in my cap till I see him once
again, and then I will tell him a little piece of my
desires.

DUTCH:
Er is aanleidingen en oorzaken, waarom en waarvoor,
in alle dingen

MORE:

Proverb: Every why has a wherefore/There is never a why but there is a wherefore
Proverb: My stomach has struck dinnertime/twelve (rung noon)

Scald (scault, scalled)=Scabby, scurvy (scalled=afflicted with the ‘scale’ or scall)

Compleat:
Why and wherefore both translated as waarom

Topics: proverbs and idioms, reason, justification

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Hortensio
CONTEXT:
GREMIO
I cannot tell. But I had as lief take her dowry with
this condition: to be whipped at the high cross every
morning.
HORTENSIO
Faith, as you say, there’s small choice in rotten
apples. But come, since this bar in law makes us
friends, it shall be so far forth friendly maintained
till by helping Baptista’s eldest daughter to a husband
we set his youngest free for a husband, and then have to
’t afresh. Sweet Bianca! Happy man be his dole! He that
runs fastest gets the ring. How say you, Signior
Gremio?
GREMIO
I am agreed, and would I had given him the best horse
in Padua to begin his wooing that would thoroughly woo
her, wed her, and bed her, and rid the house of her!
Come on.

DUTCH:
Ik geef toe, uit rotte appels is het kwaad kiezen.

MORE:
Proverb: There is a small choice in rotten apples (1594)
Proverb: Happy man happy dole (be his dole)
Proverb: He that hops best (runs fases) gets the ring

As lief=As happily
Bar in law=Legal obstacle
Afresh=Anew
Compleat:
I had as lief=Ik wilde al zo lief
Bar=Een dwarsboom, draaiboom, sluytboom, boom, hinderpaal, diefeyzer, traali, beletsel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, rivalry, friendship

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Yes, to pay a fine for a periwig, and recover the lost
hair of another man.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Why is Time such a niggard of hair, being, as it is, so
plentiful an excrement?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Because it is a blessing that he bestows on beasts, and what he hath scanted men in hair, he hath given them in wit.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Why, but there’s many a man hath more hair than wit.

DUTCH:
Zoo, maar er zijn menschen genoeg, die meer haar hebben dan verstand.

MORE:
Proverb: Bush natural, more hair; than wit
Proverb: An old goat is never themore revered for his beard
Proverb: Wisdom consists not in a beard

Scanted=Been miserly with
Compleat:
Scant=Bekrompen, schaars
I was scanted in time=Ik had er naauwlyks tyd toe

Topics: intellect, appearance, insult, proverbs and idioms, wisdom

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHERINE
Speak it here.
There’s nothing I have done yet, o’ my conscience,
Deserves a corner. Would all other women
Could speak this with as free a soul as I do.
My lords, I care not, so much I am happy
Above a number, if my actions
Were tried by ev’ry tongue, ev’ry eye saw ’em,
Envy and base opinion set against ’em,
I know my life so even. If your business
Seek me out, and that way I am wife in,
Out with it boldly. Truth loves open dealing

DUTCH:
Spreekt vrij hier.
Op mijn geweten, niets wat ik ooit deed
Behoeft een schuilhoek.

MORE:
Proverb: Truth seeks no corners
Proverb: Truth’s tale is simple (Truth is plain)
Would=If only
Above a number=More than many
Even=Pure, flawless
Compleat:
Would=’t was te wenschen dat; it zou ‘t wel willen
Even=Effen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, honesty

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Jaques
CONTEXT:
JAQUES
A fool, a fool, I met a fool i’ th’ forest,
A motley fool. A miserable world!
As I do live by food, I met a fool,
Who laid him down and basked him in the sun
And railed on Lady Fortune in good terms,
In good set terms, and yet a motley fool.
“Good morrow, fool,” quoth I. “No, sir,” quoth he,
“Call me not ‘fool’ till heaven hath sent me fortune.”
And then he drew a dial from his poke
And, looking on it with lackluster eye,
Says very wisely, “It is ten o’clock.
Thus we may see,” quoth he, “how the world wags.
‘Tis but an hour ago since it was nine,
And after one hour more ’twill be eleven.
And so from hour to hour we ripe and ripe,
And then from hour to hour we rot and rot,
And thereby hangs a tale.” When I did hear
The motley fool thus moral on the time,
My lungs began to crow like chanticleer
That fools should be so deep-contemplative,
And I did laugh sans intermission
An hour by his dial. O noble fool!
A worthy fool! Motley’s the only wear.

DUTCH:
En dit geeft dan een sprookjen

MORE:
Proverb: Thereby hangs (lies) a tale
Proverb: Fortune favours fools

Motley=Multicoloured jester outfit
Set=Composed
Rail=To use reproachful language, to scold in opprobrious terms
Poke=Pouch or pocket
Lacklustre=Lacking radiance, gloss or brightness (Latin lustrare).
Dial=(Fob)watch
Poke=Pouch, pocket
Moral=Moralise
Deep=Profoundly
Chanticleer=Rooster
Compleat:
Motley=Een grove gemengelde
To rail=Schelden
To wag (to move or stir)=Schudden, beweegen
Poke=Zak
Lustre=Luyster
Dial=Wysplaat
To moralize=Een zedelyke uitlegging of toepassing op iets maaken
Deep=Diepzinnig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, blame, nature, time

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Valentine
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
How use doth breed a habit in a man!
This shadowy desert, unfrequented woods,
I better brook than flourishing peopled towns:
Here can I sit alone, unseen of any,
And to the nightingale’s complaining notes
Tune my distresses and record my woes.
O thou that dost inhabit in my breast,
Leave not the mansion so long tenantless,
Lest, growing ruinous, the building fall
And leave no memory of what it was!
Repair me with thy presence, Silvia;
Thou gentle nymph, cherish thy forlorn swain!
What halloing and what stir is this to-day?
These are my mates, that make their wills their law,
Have some unhappy passenger in chase.
They love me well; yet I have much to do
To keep them from uncivil outrages.
Withdraw thee, Valentine: who’s this comes here?

DUTCH:
Mijn makkers, die hun wil als wet beschouwen,
Zijn wis een armen zwerver op het spoor.
Ik word van hen bemind; toch valt het zwaar,
Altijd hun lust tot ruw geweld te teug’len.
Verberg u, Valentijn; wie kan daar zijn?

MORE:
Proverb: Once a use and ever a custom

Unfrequented=Deserted
Brook=Bear, endure; put up with
Record=Sing
Mansion=Dwelling
Growing ruinous=Falling into ruin
Swain=Young lover
Stir=Commotion
Passenger=Traveller
Compleat:
To frequent=Steeds bywonen, verkeeren, omgaan
Brook=Verdraagen, uitstaan
To record=Overhands zingen, gelyk vogelen
A mansion=Een wooning, woonplaats; ‘t huys van een hofstede of heerlykheyd
Ruining=Bederving, verwoesting; bedervende
Ruinous=Bouwvallig
Stir=Gewoel, geraas, beroerte, oproer
Passenger=Een reyzer, reyziger; passagier

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, custom

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Hortensius
CONTEXT:
HORTENSIUS
‘Faith, I perceive our masters may throw their caps
at their money: these debts may well be called
desperate ones, for a madman owes ’em.
TIMON
They have e’en put my breath from me, the slaves.
Creditors? devils!

DUTCH:
Waarachtig, ik merk, dat onze meesters hun mutsen
naar hun geld kunnen gooien; die schulden kan men
wel wanhopig noemen, want een radelooze is ze schuldig.

MORE:
Proverb: He may cast his cap after him for every overtaking him

Throw their caps=Give up
Desperate=Irremediable
Put my breath from=Deprived me of air
Compleat:
Desperate=Wanhopende
To cast one’s cap at one=Zich verwonnen bekennen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, debt/obligation, money, ruin

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
Get you hence instantly, and tell those friends,
They have chose a consul that will from them take
Their liberties; make them of no more voice
Than dogs that are as often beat for barking
As therefore kept to do so.
SICINIUS
Let them assemble,
And on a safer judgment all revoke
Your ignorant election; enforce his pride,
And his old hate unto you; besides, forget not
With what contempt he wore the humble weed,
How in his suit he scorn’d you; but your loves,
Thinking upon his services, took from you
The apprehension of his present portance,
Which most gibingly, ungravely, he did fashion
After the inveterate hate he bears you.
BRUTUS
Lay
A fault on us, your tribunes; that we laboured,
No impediment between, but that you must
Cast your election on him.
SICINIUS
Say, you chose him
More after our commandment than as guided
By your own true affections, and that your minds,
Preoccupied with what you rather must do
Than what you should, made you against the grain
To voice him consul: lay the fault on us.

DUTCH:
Gaat, spoedt u tot die vrienden; maakt hun duid’lijk,
Dat zij een consul kozen, die hun rechten
Hun nemen zal, hun zooveel stem zal laten
Als honden, die men ranselt om hun blaffen
En toch voor ‘t blaffen houdt.

MORE:
Proverb: Goes against the grain

Took from you the apprehension …portance=Blinded you to his behaviour
Ungravely=Without appropriate gravity or seriousness
Fashion after=Frame to conform with
Gibingly=Mockingly
Portance=Carriage, demeanour
Weeds=Clothing
Inveterate=Long-standing
Compleat:
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad
Inveterate=Verouderd, ingeworteld
The inveterate hatred=Een ingeworteld haat
To gibe=Boerten, gekscheeren
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren

Topics: appearance, deceit, blame, gullibility, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Lucetta
CONTEXT:
LUCETTA
Yet he, of all the rest, I think, best loves ye.
JULIA
His little speaking shows his love but small.
LUCETTA
Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all.
JULIA
They do not love that do not show their love.
LUCETTA
O, they love least that let men know their love.

DUTCH:
Hij mint niet, die er altijddoor van praat.

MORE:
Proverb: Fire that’s closest kept burns most of all
Proverb: Whom we love best to them we say least

Little speaking=Taciturnity
Shows but small=Isn’t a great sign
Compleat:
Taciturnity=Stilzwygendheyd
Show=Vertooning

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Martius
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
Nay, these are almost thoroughly persuaded;
For though abundantly they lack discretion,
Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech you,
What says the other troop?
MARTIUS
They are dissolved: hang ’em!
They said they were an-hungry; sigh’d forth proverbs,
That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat,
That meat was made for mouths, that the gods sent not
Corn for the rich men only: with these shreds
They vented their complainings; which being answer’d,
And a petition granted them, a strange one—
To break the heart of generosity,
And make bold power look pale—they threw their caps
As they would hang them on the horns o’ the moon,
Shouting their emulation.

DUTCH:
Zij schreeuwden over honger, kermden spreuken,
Als: nood breekt wet; ook honden moeten eten;
De spijs is voor den mond; de goden zenden
Niet enkel rijken graan; — met zulke lappen
Omhingen zij hun klachten.

MORE:
Proverb: Cast your cap at the moon
Other proverbs:
Dogs must eat
Small birds must have meat
Hunger breaks down (pierces) stone walls (Hunger is made of gunpowder of gunpowder of hunger; for they both eat through stone walls.)
Meat was made for mouths

An-hungry (or a-hungry). Very hungry (anhungered=very hungry, 1300)
Dissolved=Dispersed
Vented their complainings=Aired their grievances
Answered=Granted (petitions)
Generosity=Nobility
Emulation=Endeavour or ambition to equal or excel, envious rivalry
Shreds=Fragments, patches
Compleat:
Dissolve=Ontbinden, gescheiden
Vent=Uiten
Generosity=Edelmoedigheid, grootmoedigheid
Emulation=Volgzucht, afgunst

Burgersdijk notes:
Of zij wierpen hun mutsen. Sh. wilde voor zijn publiek verstaanbaar zijn, en sprak, zonder schroom,
van de mutsen der Romeinen. Zoo wordt ook bij het smeeken de muts afgenomen, zie 3.2.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or poularised, poverty and wealth

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Hume
CONTEXT:
They, knowing Dame Eleanor’s aspiring humour,
Have hired me to undermine the duchess
And buzz these conjurations in her brain.
They say ‘ A crafty knave does need no broker;’
Yet am I Suffolk and the cardinal’s broker.
Hume, if you take not heed, you shall go near
To call them both a pair of crafty knaves.
Well, so its stands; and thus, I fear, at last
Hume’s knavery will be the duchess’ wrack,
And her attainture will be Humphrey’s fall.
Sort how it will, I shall have gold for all.

DUTCH:
Geen sluwe schelm, zoo zegt men, neemt een helper;

MORE:

Proverb: A cunning (crafty) knave needs no broker

Modern usage: Mum’s the word
Not invented by Shakespeare: the word was first used in the 14th century, although Shakespeare probably helped to make it popular. The word ‘mum’ may refer to the humming sound made by a closed mouth.
Asketh=Demands, requires
Buz=(or buzz) Whisper
Conjurations=Incantations; obsecration
Wrack=Ruin
Attainture=Shame; conviction

Compleat:
Knave=Een guit, boef
To buzz into one’s ears=Iemand in ‘t oor blaazen
Conjuration=Samenzweering, eedgespan, vloekverwantschap, bezweering
Wrack=(a ship): Een schip aan stukken stooten
To go to wrack=Verlooren gaan, te gronde gaan
To attaint=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Attainture (of blood)=Bederving of aansteeking des bloeds

Topics: proverbs and idioms, ambition, corruption, ruin

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Alexander
CONTEXT:
ALEXANDER
They say he is a very man per se,
And stands alone.
CRESSIDA
So do all men, unless they are drunk, sick, or have no
legs.
ALEXANDER
This man, lady, hath robbed many beasts of their
particular additions; he is as valiant as the lion,
churlish as the bear, slow as the elephant: a man
into whom nature hath so crowded humours that his
valour is crushed into folly, his folly sauced with
discretion: there is no man hath a virtue that he
hath not a glimpse of, nor any man an attaint but he
carries some stain of it: he is melancholy without
cause, and merry against the hair: he hath the
joints of every thing, but everything so out of joint
that he is a gouty Briareus, many hands and no use,
or purblind Argus, all eyes and no sight.

DUTCH:
Nu, die man is, zoo zegt men, zonder weêrgâ;
Hij staat alleen.

MORE:
Proverb: It goes against the hair

Stands alone=Is unrivalled
Additions=Attributes
Humours=Inclinations, moods
Glimpse=Glimmer
Attaint=Taint, defect
Against the hair=Against the grain
Out of joint=Confused, not as it should be
Purblind=Partially blind
Argus=Deprived of his eyes for falling asleep when on guard
Compleat:
Addition=Bydoening, byvoegsel
The humours=De humeuren van het lichaam; grillen
Humour (dispositon of the mind)=Humeur, of gemoeds gesteldheid
Glimpse=Een Blik, flikkering, schemering
To attaint=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten
Attainted=Overtuigd van misdaad, misdaadig verklaard
Purblind=Stikziende

Topics: proverbs and idioms, leadership, skill/talent, dignity

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Queen Katherine
CONTEXT:
QUEEN KATHARINE
Pray their graces
To come near.
What can be their business
With me, a poor weak woman, fall’n from favour?
I do not like their coming, now I think on ’t.
They should be good men, their affairs as righteous.
But all hoods make not monks.

DUTCH:
Mij bevalt,
Nu ik er over denk, hun komen niet.
Zij moesten goed zijn, hun bedrijf rechtschapen;
Maar elke kap maakt nog geen monnik.

MORE:
Proverb: The hood (habit, cowl) makes not the monk
Proverb: A holy habit cleanses not a foul soul

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honesty, deceit, appearance

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Boy
CONTEXT:
They will steal anything and call it purchase. Bardolph stole a lute case, bore it twelve leagues, and sold it for three halfpence. Nym and Bardolph are sworn brothers in filching, and in Calais they stole a fire shovel. I knew by that piece of service the men would carry coals. They would have me as familiar with men’s pockets as their gloves or their handkerchers, which makes much against my manhood, if I should take from another’s pocket to put into mine, for it is plain pocketing up of wrongs. I must leave them and seek some better service. Their villainy goes against my weak stomach, and therefore I must cast it up.

DUTCH:
Zij stelen alles, wat voor de hand komt,
en dat noemen zij zaken doen

MORE:

Proverb: He will carry (bear) no coals
Proverb: To pocket up an injury (wrong)
Pocket up=To put away out of sight, (hence) conceal or leave unheeded

Purchase=Procurement (and slang for spoils)
Makes against=Goes against
Wrongs=Insults
Cast it up=Vomit it up

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honesty, offence, integrity

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Ross
CONTEXT:
I pray you school yourself. But for your husband,
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows
The fits o’ th’ season. I dare not speak much further;But cruel are the times when we are traitors
And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear,
But float upon a wild and violent sea
Each way and none. I take my leave of you.
Shall not be long but I’ll be here again.
Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward
To what they were before.

DUTCH:
Wat in den afgrond zonk, is weg, of stijgt,
En drijft, als ‘t vroeger deed.

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb, “When things are at the worst they will mend” (1582).
Onions:
Fits of the season=paroxysms, formerly regarded as a periodic disease; applied to critical times – “The violent fits o’ the time” (Cor, 3.2); “The fits o’ the season” (Macbeth, 4.2)
Schmidt:
School=To set to rights, to reprimand
Fits of the season= Any irregular and violent affection of the mind
Compleat:
To school=Bedillen, berispen
A Fit=Een vlaag, bui, overval, stoot
A Mad fits, a fit of madness=Een vlaag van dolheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised, fate/destiny,

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Jeweller
CONTEXT:
JEWELLER
What, my lord! dispraise?
TIMON
A more satiety of commendations.
If I should pay you for’t as ’tis extolled,
It would unclew me quite.
JEWELLER
My lord, ’tis rated
As those which sell would give: but you well know,
Things of like value differing in the owners
Are prized by their masters: believe’t, dear lord,
You mend the jewel by the wearing it.
TIMON
Well mocked.
MERCHANT
No, my good lord; he speaks the common tongue,
Which all men speak with him.
TIMON
Look, who comes here: will you be chid?

DUTCH:
De prijs is, heer,
Zooals een koopman zou betalen. Doch
Gij weet, naar de bezitters stijgt of daalt
Der dingen waarde. Ja, zoo gij ‘t juweel
Wilt dragen, beste heer, dan wordt het eed’ler.

MORE:
Proverb: The worth of a thing is as it is esteemed (valued)

Dispraise=Censure
Satiety=Excess
Extolled=Praised
Unclew=Unravel, ruin (a clew was a ball of thread)
Rated=Valued
Mend=Increase the value
Chid=Reprimanded
Compleat:
Dispraise=Mispryzen, hoonen, verachten, laaken
Satiety=Zotheyd, verzaadigdheyd
To extoll=Verheffen, pryzen, looven
Clew=Een kluwen
To rate=Waardeeren, schatten, op prys stellen
Mend=Beteren, verbeteren
Chide=Kyven, bekyven

Topics: flattery, business, value, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
Things sweet to taste prove in digestion sour.
You urged me as a judge; but I had rather
You would have bid me argue like a father.
O, had it been a stranger, not my child,
To smooth his fault I should have been more mild:
A partial slander sought I to avoid,
And in the sentence my own life destroy’d.
Alas, I look’d when some of you should say,
I was too strict to make mine own away;
But you gave leave to my unwilling tongue
Against my will to do myself this wrong.

DUTCH:
Wat zoet smaakt, is vaak moeilijk te verteren.

MORE:

Proverb: What is sweet in the mouth is oft sour (bitter) in the maw (stomach)

Urge=To press (here: for an opinion)
Partial slander=Accusation of bias, reproach of partiality
Strict=Severe, proceeding by exact rules

Compleat:
Partial=Eenzydig, partydig
Slander=Laster, lasterkladde

Topics: proverbs and idioms, judgment, justice, resolution, error

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Lady Macbeth
CONTEXT:
How now, my lord! Why do you keep alone,
Of sorriest fancies your companions making,
Using those thoughts which should indeed have died
With them they think on? Things without all remedy
Should be without regard. What’s done is done.

DUTCH:
Aan wien zij denken? Naar het onherstelb’re
Niet omgezien! ‘t Gedane blijft gedaan

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb “Things done cannot be undone” (c1460). Earlier version, “What is done may not be undone” (1300). perhaps also the proverb “Past cure, past care” (1567)

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, invented or popularised, fate/destiny,

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Nay, you shall hear, Master Brook, what I have
suffered to bring this woman to evil for your good.
Being thus crammed in the basket, a couple of Ford’s
knaves, his hinds, were called forth by their
mistress to carry me in the name of foul clothes to
Datchet Lane: they took me on their shoulders; met
the jealous knave their master in the door, who
asked them once or twice what they had in their
basket: I quaked for fear, lest the lunatic knave
would have searched it; but fate, ordaining he
should be a cuckold, held his hand. Well: on went he
for a search, and away went I for foul clothes. But
mark the sequel, Master Brook: I suffered the pangs
of three several deaths; first, an intolerable
fright, to be detected with a jealous rotten
bell-wether; next, to be compassed, like a good
bilbo, in the circumference of a peck, hilt to
point, heel to head; and then, to be stopped in,
like a strong distillation, with stinking clothes
that fretted in their own grease: think of that,—a
man of my kidney,—think of that,—that am as subject
to heat as butter; a man of continual dissolution
and thaw: it was a miracle to scape suffocation.
And in the height of this bath, when I was more than
half stewed in grease, like a Dutch dish, to be
thrown into the Thames, and cooled, glowing hot,
in that surge, like a horse-shoe; think of
that,—hissing hot,—think of that, Master Brook.

DUTCH:
Bedenk dit, — een man van mijn slag, — bedenk dit, —
die voor de hitte zooveel als boter is, een man van
voortdurend dooien en smelten

MORE:
Proverb: He is of the same (a strange) kidney

Compassed=Bent
Bilbo=1) Shackles used for mutinous sailors and to confine prisoners at sea. 2) A bilbo was also a rapier or flexed sword.
Bell-wether=Castrated ram leading the flock of ewes, wearing a bell around its neck; a clamourous person; a cuckold
Kidney=Constitution, temperament
Of my kidney=Having the same character
Dutch dish=Dutch food was considered to be especially greasy
Compleat:
To compass=Omvatten, omringen, bereyken
Bilboes=Zeekere straffe van ‘t bootsvolk
Bell-weather=Een Hamel met een bel aan

Topics: proverbs and idioms|punishment|fate/destiny

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
DUKE OF YORK
(…) If you do wrongfully seize Hereford’s rights,
Call in the letters patent that he hath
By his attorneys-general to sue
His livery, and deny his offer’d homage,
You pluck a thousand dangers on your head,
You lose a thousand well-disposed hearts
And prick my tender patience, to those thoughts
Which honour and allegiance cannot think.
KING RICHARD II
Think what you will, we seize into our hands
His plate, his goods, his money and his lands.
DUKE OF YORK
I’ll not be by the while: my liege, farewell:
What will ensue hereof, there’s none can tell;
But by bad courses may be understood
That their events can never fall out good.

DUTCH:
Denk, wat gij wilt; toch leggen wij de hand
Op al wat zijn was, geld en goed en land.

MORE:

Proverb: Take it as you will (list, please)

Seize=Act of seizure
Gripe=Grasp
Royalties=Rights and prerogatives granted by the King

Compleat:
Seised=Beslagen, aangetast
Seizing=Gryping, aangryping
Seizure=Arrest, op bevel van’t Gerecht
To gripe=Grypen, vatten, nypen
Royalties (royal rights)=De koninglyke rechten, voorrechten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, law/legal, rights

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

DUTCH:
Die knaap, die niet kan zeggen wat hij wenscht,
Maar met ons meeknielt en de handen heft,
Bepleit ons smeekgebed met meerder kracht,
Dan gij tot weig’ren hebt!

MORE:
Proverb: The chance of war is uncertain
Proverb: To forget a wrong is best revenge (remedy)

Restrain’st=Legal use: keep back, withhold. Among examples in the New Eng. Dict, is: “The rents, issues, and profites thereof [they] have wrongfully restreyned, perceyved, and taken to their owne use.”
‘Longs=Belongs
An end=Let that be an end to it
Reason=Argue for, plead for
Dispatch=Decisive answer
Compleat:
Restrain (sting, limit or confine)=Bepaalen, kort houden
Restrain (repress or curb)=Fnuiken, beteugelen
To restrain one from a thing=Zich ergens van onthouden
To restrain a word to a signification=Een woord tot eene betekenis bekorten
Dispatch=Afvaardiging, verrichting, beschikking, vervaardiging
He is a man of quick dispatch=Het is een vaardig man

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conflict, reason, revenge, risk

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
This butcher’s cur is venom-mouth’d, and I
Have not the power to muzzle him; therefore best
Not wake him in his slumber. A beggar’s book
Outworths a noble’s blood.
NORFOLK
What, are you chafed?
Ask God for temperance; that’s the appliance only
Which your disease requires.
BUCKINGHAM
I read in’s looks
Matter against me; and his eye reviled
Me, as his abject object: at this instant
He bores me with some trick: he’s gone to the king;
I’ll follow and outstare him.

DUTCH:
Een giftmuil heeft die slagershond en ik
De macht niet hem te breid’len; ‘t best is dus
Zijn slaap te ontzien

MORE:
Proverb: It is evil (ill, not good) waking of a sleeping dog
Proverb: As surly as a butcher’s dog
Cur=Dog (term of abuse)
Book=Learning
Outworths=Is worth more than
Chafed=Irritated
Temperance=Self-control
Appliance=Remedy (application)
Matter=Substance of a complaint
Abject object=Object of contempt
Bore=To bore into, wound
Trick=Art, knack, contrivance
Outstare=Face down
Compleat:
Cur=Hond (also Curr)
Chafed=Verhit, vertoornd, gevreeven
Temperance=Maatigheyd
Matter=Stoffe, zaak, oorzaak
Abject=Veragt, gering, snood, lafhartig, verworpen
Bore=Booren, doorbooren
Trick=Een looze trek, greep, gril

Burgersdijk notes:
Een giftmuil heeft die slagershond. Wolsey was uit Ipswich geboortig, en, zooals verhaald werd, eens slagers zoon. Twee regels later wordt gesproken van eens beed’laars boekgeleerdheid; het oorspronkelijke heeft, met deze beteekenis : a beggar’s book. — Hij was in 1470 geboren, ontving in Oxford zijne opleiding, werd in 1500 te Lymington als geestelijke geplaatst, in 1505 op aanbeveling van den bisschop van Winchester door koning Hendrik VII tot zijn kapelaan benoemd en in 1507 naar keizer Maximiliaan te Brugge afgevaardigd. De tevredenheid des konings over zijne diensten bleek uit de gunsten, die hem ten deel vielen. Na den dood van Hendrik VII, in 1509, ging Wolsey als aalmoezenier in dienst van Hendrik VIII over, wist zich door zijn geest, geleerdheid en welsprekendheid weldra bij zijn meester onontbeerlijk te maken en steeg ras in rang; in 1514 werd hij aartsbisschop van York en in liet volgend jaar werd hem door paus Leo X de kardinaalshoed verleend. Hij werd rijkskanselier en in 1516 ook pauselijk legaat; later werden hem nog drie andere bisdommen toegekend; bovendien was hem reeds in 1512 de abdij van Sint Albaan verleend. Zijne ruime inkomsten veroorloofden hem een vorstelijken staat te voeren en aan zijne neiging hiervoor gaf hij ruimschoots toe. Zijn trots kende geen grenzen; hertogen en graven des rijks behandelde hij als zijne minderen; als hij de mis las, moesten zij dienst doen. Vertoonde hij zich in het openbaar, dan was hij geheel in het scharlaken, met marterbont om den hals, en droeg in de hand een uitgeholden oranjeappel, die eene in azijn en fijne geurige wateren gedoopte spons bevatte, als voorhoedmidel tegen de slechte lucht in volle zalen; hij liet zijn kardinaalshoed en zijne bisschopskruisen voor zich uitdragen, alsook een beurs met het rijkszegel; een paar edellieden volgden om plaats voor hem te maken, en na dezen trawanten met vergulde hellebaarden; dan kwam hijzelf op een muildier met roodfluweelen schabrak en gouden stijgbeugels, gevolgd door een langen stoet van edellieden. Sh.’s tooneelaanwijzing op blz. 174 is dus ten volle gerechtvaardigd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, learning/education, order/society

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
FOOL
The matter, I hope, is not great, sir, begging but a
beggar. Cressida was a beggar. My lady is within, sir. I
will construe to them whence you come. Who you are and
what you would are out of my welkin, I might say
“element,” but the word is overworn.
VIOLA
This fellow is wise enough to play the fool;
And to do that well craves a kind of wit:
He must observe their mood on whom he jests,
The quality of persons, and the time,
And, like the haggard, check at every feather
That comes before his eye. This is a practice
As full of labour as a wise man’s art
For folly that he wisely shows is fit;
But wise men, folly-fall’n, quite taint their wit.

DUTCH:
Die knaap is wijs genoeg om nar te spelen;
En ja, dit goed te zijn, eischt schranderheid,
Hij moet de luim van hen, met wie hij schertst,
Persoon en tijd met scherpen blik bespién,
En als de valk op ied’re veder stooten,
Die voor zijn oogen kom

MORE:
Proverb: He is out of his element
Proverb: To be in one’e element
Proverb: No man can play the fool as well as the wise man

Overworn=Spoiled by too much use
Welkin=Sky
Construe=Explain (also ‘conster’)
Wit=Intelligence
Haggard=Hawk
Check=Start, be startled
Feather=Fig., birds in general
Practice=Skill
Wisely=Deliberately
Fit=Appropriate
Taint=Discredit
Compleat:
Overworn=Gantsch afgesleeten, uitgesleeten, afgeleefd
Construe (conster)=Woordenschikken; t’Zamenschikken, t’zamenstellen
Wit (understanding)=Vinding, schranderheid, verstand
Hagard=Wild. A hagard hawk=Een wilde valk
To take check a a thing=Zich aan iets stooten, of ergeren
Practize=Oeffening, bewerking, praktyk
Well practised in the Law=Wel in de Rechten geoeffend
Wisely=Wyslyk
Fit=Bequaam, dienstig, betaaamelyk, raadzaam
To taint (attaint)=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, skill/talent, language, intellect, appearance

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

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

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Proverb: He has his labour for his pains

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

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

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Stephano
CONTEXT:
Doth thy other mouth call me? Mercy, mercy! This is a devil, and no monster. I will leave him. I have no long spoon.

DUTCH:
Dit is geen monster, maar een duivel!
Ik wil wegloopen; ik heb geen langen lepel.

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Proverb: He must have a long spoon that will eat with the devil/He who sups with the devil should take a long spoon (See Comedy of Errors, 4.3)
In the Morality plays the Devil and the Vice would take food from opposite sides of the same dish with a spoon of great length. (Arden)
Burgersdijk notes:
Ik wil wegloopen; ik heb geen langen lepel. Zinspeling op het oud-Engelsche spreekwoord: „Wie met den duivel wil eten, moet een langen lepel hebben.”

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, good and bad

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
EMILIA
Oh, fie upon thee, strumpet!
BIANCA
I am no strumpet, but of life as honest
As you that thus abuse me.
EMILIA
As I! Fie upon thee!
IAGO
Kind gentlemen, let’s go see poor Cassio dressed.—
Come, mistress, you must tell ’s another tale.—
Emilia, run you to the citadel
And tell my lord and lady what hath happed.—
Will you go on afore? Aside. This is the night
That either makes me or fordoes me quite.

DUTCH:
Dra blijkt, of deze nacht
Mij hoog verhief of diepen val mij bracht.

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Proverb: To make one tell another tale

Dressed=Wounds are dressed
Fordoes=Ruins
Tell ‘s another tale=Give us a different account
Compleat:
To dress a wound=Een wond verbinden
To fore-do=Benaadeelen
Tale=Vertelling

Topics: fate/destiny, risk, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
No remedy, my lord, when walls are so wilful to hear
without warning.
HIPPOLYTA
This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard.
THESEUS
The best in this kind are but shadows, and the worst
are no worse if imagination amend them.
HIPPOLYTA
It must be your imagination then, and not theirs.
THESEUS
If we imagine no worse of them than they of themselves,
they may pass for excellent men. Here come two noble
beasts in, a man and a lion.

DUTCH:
Dit is wel het onzinnigste ding, dat ik ooit gehoord heb.

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Proverb: Walls (hedges) have ears (eyes)

Shadows=Without substance, illusions
Compleat:
Shadow=een Schaduw, schim

Topics: proverbs and idioms, communication, language

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
FALSTAFF
Prithee, no more prattling; go. I’ll hold. This is
the third time; I hope good luck lies in odd
numbers. Away I go. They say there is divinity in
odd numbers, either in nativity, chance, or death.
Away!
MISTRESS QUICKLY
I’ll provide you a chain; and I’ll do what I can to
get you a pair of horns.
FALSTAFF
Away, I say; time wears: hold up your head, and mince.

DUTCH:
Kom, kom, geen praatjens meer; ga maar; ik houd
woord. Dit is de derde keer; ik hoop, dat oneven getallen
geluk brengen.

MORE:
Proverb: There is luck in odd numbers
Proverb: All things thrive at thrice
Proverb: The third time pays for all

Herne the Hunter supposedly had horns and shook a chain
Good luck lies in odd numbers
Divinity=Divination, divine power
Chance=Luck
Wears=Passes
Compleat:
Divinity=Godgeleerdheyd, Godheyd
Chance=Geval, voorval, kans

Topics: proverbs and idioms|fate/destiny

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
You are at point to lose your liberties:
Marcius would have all from you; Marcius,
Whom late you have named for consul.
MENENIUS
Fie, fie, fie!
This is the way to kindle, not to quench.
FIRST SENATOR
To unbuild the city and to lay all flat.
SICINIUS
What is the city but the people?
CITIZENS
True,
The people are the city.
BRUTUS
By the consent of all, we were establish’d
The people’s magistrates.
CITIZENS
You so remain.
MENENIUS
And so are like to do.
COMINIUS
That is the way to lay the city flat;
To bring the roof to the foundation,
And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges,
In heaps and piles of ruin.
SICINIUS
This deserves death.
BRUTUS
Or let us stand to our authority,
Or let us lose it. We do here pronounce,
Upon the part o’ the people, in whose power
We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy
Of present death.

DUTCH:
Dit is om aan te stoken, niet te blusschen.

MORE:
Proverb: Do not blow the fire thou wouldst quench
Proverb: Men (Men’s love), not walls, make the city (prince) safe

Unbuild=To raze, to destroy
Compleat:
Unbuilt=Ongebouwd
Magistrate=Overheid, Overheer, Magistraat

Topics: order/society, law/legaldispute, , proverbs and idioms

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Bottom
CONTEXT:
BOTTOM
I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me, to
fright me if they could. But I will not stir from this
place, do what they can. I will walk up and down here
and I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid.
The ouzel cock, so black of hue
With orange-tawny bill,
The throstlewith his note so true,
The wren with little quill—
TITANIA
[Waking] What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?
BOTTOM
[Sings]The finch, the sparrow, and the lark,
The plainsong cuckoo grey,
Whose note full many a man doth mark
And dares not answer “Nay”—
For indeed, who would set his wit to so foolish a bird?
Who would give a bird the lie, though he cry “cuckoo”
never so?

DUTCH:
Ik ruik hun schelmerij; ze zouden een ezel van me
willen maken; me schrik willen aanjagen, als ze maar
konden.

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Proverb: Do not set your wit against a fool’s (a child)

Pun on ass=animal or burden and ass=dolt
A current saying it still ‘to make an ass (fool) of oneself’.
Ouzel or ousel cock=Blackbird
Throstle=Thrush
Quill=Reed pipe
Set wit to=Argue with
Give the lie=Call a liar
Compleat:
Owzel=een Meerl
Ass=Ezel. Een ezelachtig domheid=Dullness, great ignorance
He talks like an ass=Hy praat als een gek
Quill=een Schaft, pen
To give the lie=Loogenstraffen

Burgersdijk notes:
De koekoek, met dat woord. De woordspeling van cuckoo en cuckold, horendrager, komt bij Sh. meermalen voor.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, dignity, nature, deceit

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
OLIVIA
Why, this is very midsummer madness.
SERVANT
Madam, the young gentleman of the Count Orsino’s is returned. I could hardly entreat him back. He attends your ladyship’s pleasure.

DUTCH:
Nu, dit is echte midzomer-dolheid!

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Proverb: It is midsummer moon with you

Madness was said to be prevalent at the time of the Midsummer moon.
Midsummer madness=Height of insanity

Topics: proverbs and idioms, madness

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Fabian
CONTEXT:
FABIAN
Now, as thou lovest me, let me see his letter.
FOOL
Good Master Fabian, grant me another request.
FABIAN
Anything.
FOOL
Do not desire to see this letter.
FABIAN
This is, to give a dog and in recompense desire my dog
again.

DUTCH:
Dat is, mij een hond ten geschenke geven en tot beboning
mijn hond terugvragen.

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Proverb: Give a thing and take again and you shall ride in hell’s wain

Also a reference to an anecdote that Queen Elizabeth requested a dog and the donor asked for its return as his reward

Topics: proverbs and idioms, claim

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Why, I have not another tear to shed:
Besides, this sorrow is an enemy,
And would usurp upon my watery eyes
And make them blind with tributary tears:
Then which way shall I find Revenge’s cave?
For these two heads do seem to speak to me,
And threat me I shall never come to bliss
Till all these mischiefs be returned again
Even in their throats that have committed them.
Come, let me see what task I have to do.
You heavy people, circle me about,
That I may turn me to each one of you,
And swear unto my soul to right your wrongs.
The vow is made. Come, brother, take a head;
And in this hand the other I will bear.
Lavinia, thou shalt be employed: these arms!
Bear thou my hand, sweet wench, between thy teeth.
As for thee, boy, go get thee from my sight;
Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay:
Hie to the Goths, and raise an army there:
And, if you love me, as I think you do,
Let’s kiss and part, for we have much to do.

DUTCH:
Ik heb geen tranen meer te storten over;
En dan, die jammer is een vijand, die
Mijn vochtige oogen overmeest’ren wil,
Ze door een cijns van tranen blind wil maken;

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Proverb: Care will kill a cat

Usurp upon=Encroach on, intrude
Tributary=Paying tribute
Mischiefs=Calamity, misfortune
Returned=Turned back on
Heavy=Sad
Hie=Hasten
Compleat:
Mischief=Onheil, kwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
To usurp=’t Onrecht aanmaatigen, met geweld in ‘t bezit dringen, overweldigen
Usurpation=Een onrechtmaatige bezitneeming, of indrang, dwinggebruik, overweldiging
Tributary=Cynsbaar
Mischief=Onheil, kwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
Returned=Wedergekeerd, weergekomen
Heavy=(sad) Droevig, verdrietig
Hie thee=Rep u, haast u

Topics: proverbs and idioms, sorrow, revenge

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Polonius
CONTEXT:
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware / Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear ’t that th’ opposèd may beware of thee.

DUTCH:
Hebt gij een vriend beproeft en trouw bevonden, zo klem hem aan uw ziel met stalen band /
Hebt gij een vriend en is diens keus beproefd, Klamp hem met stalen hoepels aan uw ziel.

MORE:
Oft-quoted list of maxims in Polonius’ ‘fatherly advice’ monologue to Laertes. Many of these nuggets have acquired proverb status today, although they weren’t invented by Shakespeare (in this case, for example, Keep well thy friends when thou hast gotten them, (1580). Try your friends before you trust, (c1536), Give not thy right hand to every man (c1535) Have but few friends though much acquaintance, (c1535)).
Adoption=receiving or choosing some something as one’s own. Grapple=close fight. Unfledged=new, young, unripe.
Compleat:
Adopt=Aannemen. He adopt his brother’s works=Hy neemt zyns broeders werken voor de zyne aan.

Topics: wisdom, friendship, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Host
CONTEXT:
HOST
Thou art clerkly, thou art clerkly, Sir John. Was
there a wise woman with thee?
FALSTAFF
Ay, that there was, mine host; one that hath taught
me more wit than ever I learned before in my life;
and I paid nothing for it neither, but was paid for
my learning.

DUTCH:
Gij zijt een geleerde, gij zijt een geleerde, Sir John.
Was er daar een wijze vrouw bij u?

MORE:
Proverb: Bought wit is best

Clerkly=Learned
Was paid=Rewarded
Compleat:
Bought wit is best=Door schaade wordt men wys
Clerkship=Klerkschap, schryverschap
Rewarded=Beloond, vergolden

Topics: proverbs and idioms|learning/education

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Prince Hal
CONTEXT:

PRINCE HENRY
Thou didst well, for wisdom cries out in the streets and no man regards it.
FALSTAFF
O, thou hast damnable iteration, and art indeed able to corrupt a saint. Thou hast done much harm upon me, Hal, God forgive thee for it. Before I knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing, and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. I must give over this life, and I will give it over. By the Lord, an I do not, I am a villain. I’ll be damned for never a king’s son in Christendom.

DUTCH:
Gij deedt wel; want de wijsheid verheft hare stem op de straten, en niemand slaat acht op haar.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Damnable=Odious, detestable
Iteration=Allegation, quotation
An I do not=If I do not
Compleat:
Damnable=Verfoeijelyk, verdoemelyk
Arden
See Overbury, Characters, A Button-Maker of Amsterdam: “though most of the
wicked (as he calls them) be there.” And Overbury, Characters, A Button-Maker
of Amsterdam: ‘he cries out, ‘Tis impossible for any man to be damn’d that lives in his Religion.”
“Wisdom cries out in the streets” refers to Proverbs 1:20 (King James):
“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets”

Topics: wisdom, truth, , proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Thersites
CONTEXT:
THERSITES
Ay, do, do; thou sodden-witted lord! thou hast no
more brain than I have in mine elbows; an assinego
may tutor thee: thou scurvy-valiant ass! thou art
here but to thrash Trojans; and thou art bought and
sold among those of any wit, like a barbarian slave.
If thou use to beat me, I will begin at thy heel, and
tell what thou art by inches, thou thing of no
bowels, thou!
AJAX
You dog!
THERSITES
You scurvy lord!
AJAX
You cur!
THERSITES
Mars his idiot! do, rudeness; do, camel; do, do.

DUTCH:
Ja ja, goed zoo, goed zoo, gij groote heer met afgekookten
geest! Gij hebt niet meer hersens, dan ik in
mijn elboog heb; een molenaarsezel kon uw leermeester
wel zijn, gij schurftig-dappere ezel!

MORE:
Proverb: To be bought and sold
Proverb: He has more wit in his head than you in both your shoulders

Assinego (also asnico)=Donkey
Bought and sold=Manipulated
Use=Continue
By inches=Inch by inch

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, conflict, insult

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

DUTCH:
Door sluwheid werk ik, niet door tooverij,
Niet waar? en sluwheid wacht op ‘t dralend uur.

MORE:
Proverb: He that has no patience has nothing

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

Topics: intellect, patience, proverbs and idioms, purpose

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 4.7
SPEAKER: Fluellen
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY
It may be his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree.
FLUELLEN
Though he be as good a gentleman as the devil is, as Lucifer and Beelzebub himself, it is necessary, look your Grace, that he keep his vow and his oath. If he be perjured, see you now, his reputation is as arrant a villain and a Jack Sauce as ever his black shoe trod upon God’s ground and His earth, in my conscience, la.

DUTCH:
Al was hij een zoo goede edelman, als de tuifel het
is, als Lucifer en Pelzepup zelf, toch is het noodig, versta
uwe genade, dat hij zijn gelofte houdt en zijn eed.

MORE:

Proverb: As good a man as ever trod on shoe (neat’s) leather (as ever went on legs)
The answer of his degree=A question of rank (knights were only bound to fight with one of equal rank)

Arrant=Arch
Good=important

Compleat:
An arrant knave=Een overgegeven guit

Topics: status, promise, debt/obligation, reputation, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Tranio
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced
To give my hand, opposed against my heart,
Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen,
Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior,
And, to be noted for a merry man,
He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage,
Make friends, invite, and proclaim the banns,
Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.
Now must the world point at poor Katherine
And say, “Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife,
If it would please him come and marry her!”
TRANIO
Patience, good Katherine, and Baptista too.
Upon my life, Petruchio means but well,
Whatever fortune stays him from his word:
Though he be blunt, I know him passing wise;
Though he be merry, yet withal he’s honest.

DUTCH:
Zij hij wat ruw, verstandig is hij zeer;
Drijv’ hij den spot, hij is een man van eer.

MORE:

Proverb: Marry in haste, repent at leisure

Forsooth=In truth
Rudesby=Boorish man
Full of spleen=Fickle, changeable moods
Frantic=Insane
Blunt=Coarse
Noted=Reputed
Fortune=Events
Stays=Prevents him (from keeping his word)
Compleat:
Forsooth=Zeker, trouwens
Blunt=Stomp, bot, plomp, onbebouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, marriage, haste, manipulation

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Ephesus
CONTEXT:
BALTHASAR
I hold your dainties cheap, sir, and your welcome dear.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
O Signior Balthasar, either at flesh or fish
A table full of welcome make scarce one dainty dish.
BALTHASAR
Good meat, sir, is common; that every churl affords.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
And welcome more common, for that’s nothing but words.
BALTHASAR
Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.
ANTIPHOLUS OF EPHESUS
Ay, to a niggardly host and more sparing guest.
But though my cates be mean, take them in good part.
Better cheer may you have, but not with better heart.
But soft! My door is lock’d. Go, bid them let us in.

DUTCH:
Voorwaar, dan zijt gij een gast, die een vrekkigen gastheer past.
Maar is een eenvoudig maal u goed, neem dan voor lief, wat ik bied;
Vindt gij elders ook lekkerder schotels, een vriend’lijker welkomst niet.
Doch zie, mijn deur gesloten! knaap, roep eens, en klop aan!

MORE:
Proverb: Good will and welcome is your best cheer

Cheer=Food, entertainment
Churl=Peasant, rude and ill-bred fellow
Scarce=Barely
Compleat:
Dainty=Lekkerny
Welcome=Onthaal; welkomst
A hearty welcome=Een hartelyke maaltyd
Churl=Een plompe hoer, als mede een vrek
Churlish=Woest, boersch, onbeschoft
To make good cheer (chear)=Goede cier maaken
Sumptuous chear=Prachtige opdissching
Cold chear=Koel onthaal

Topics: friendship, civility, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.13
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
You have been a boggler ever.
But when we in our viciousness grow hard—
Oh, misery on ’t!— the wise gods seel our eyes,
In our own filth drop our clear judgments, make us
Adore our errors, laugh at ’s while we strut
To our confusion.
CLEOPATRA
Oh, is ’t come to this?
ANTONY
I found you as a morsel cold upon
Dead Caesar’s trencher. Nay, you were a fragment
Of Gneius Pompey’s, besides what hotter hours,
Unregistered in vulgar fame, you have
Luxuriously picked out. For I am sure,
Though you can guess what temperance should be,
You know not what it is.

DUTCH:
Ik vond u als een koud geworden bete
Op Caesar’s bord; gij waart een kliekjen van
Cneus Pompeius’ tafel, om van uren
Van hartstocht nu te zwijgen, die ge in stilte
Wellustig hebt besteed; want, dit is zeker,
Hoewel gij gissen moogt, wat kuischheid is,
Gekend hebt gij ze nooit.

MORE:
Proverb: When God will punish he will first take away the understanding

Boggler=Equivocator, swerver, waverer
Seel=Close, blind
Confusion=Ruin
Trencher=Wooden plate
Fragment=Remnant, scrap
Vulgar fame=Common gossip
Luxuriously=Lustfully
Temperance=Modesty, chastity
Compleat:
To boggle=Haperen, stameren
He did not boggle at all at it=Hij stond ‘er niet verzet voor
To seel a hawk=Eenen valk een kap voor de oogen doen
Trencher=Tafelbord, houten tafelbord
Fragment=Een brok, stuk, afbreeksel
Vulgar=(common) Gemeen
Luxuriously=Weeldriglyk; overdaadiglyk
Temperance=Maatigheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, excess, reputation, judgment, ruin

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VI
CONTEXT:
What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted!
Thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just,
And he but naked, though lock’d up in steel
Whose conscience with injustice is corrupted.

DUTCH:
Welk harnas is er als een vlekk’loos hart?
Driewerf gepantserd is wie ‘t recht verdedigt,
En hij is naakt, hoe ‘t staal hem ook omsluit’,
Wien ongerechtigheid het hart verpest.

MORE:

Proverb: Innocence bears its defence with it

Quarrel just=Has a just cause
Locked up in steel=Wearing armour

Compleat:
Quarrel=Krakeel; twist
Just (righteous)=Een rechtvaardige

Topics: proverbs and idioms, dispute, guilt

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.
Our sport shall be to take what they mistake,
And what poor duty cannot do, noble respect
Takes it in might, not merit.
Where I have come, great clerks have purposèd
To greet me with premeditated welcomes,
Where I have seen them shiver and look pale,
Make periods in the midst of sentences,
Throttle their practiced accent in their fears,
And in conclusion dumbly have broke off,
Not paying me a welcome. Trust me, sweet,
Out of this silence yet I picked a welcome,
And in the modesty of fearful duty
I read as much as from the rattling tongue
Of saucy and audacious eloquence.
Love, therefore, and tongue-tied simplicity
In least speak most, to my capacity.

DUTCH:
Hoe velen zag ik sidd’ren en verbleeken,
Ophouden in het midden van een zin;
Angst kneep den anders ruimen gorgel toe;
In ‘t eind verstomden zij en braken af,
En zonder welkomstgroet

MORE:
Proverb: Whom we love best to them we can say least
Proverb: To be tongue-tied
Proverb: To take the will for the deed

Respect=Consideration, generosity
Rightly=Properly
In might, not merit=In terms of quality of giving not performance
Clerk=Scholar
Practised=Rehearsed
Simplicity=Sincerity
To my capacity=In my view
Compleat:
Respect=Aanzien, opzigt, inzigt, ontzag, eerbiedigheyd
Rightly=Billyk
Might=Magt, vermoogen, kracht
Merit=Verdienste
Clerk=Klerk, schryver; sekretaris
Simplicity=Eenvoudigheyd
Capacity=Bevattelykheyd, begryp, bequaamheyd, vatbaarheyd, vermoogen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, appearance

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

DUTCH:
t Geweten des maakt ieder onzer laf /
Dus maakt bewustzijn bloodaards van ons allen /
Zo maakt bespiegeling lafaards van ons allen

MORE:
The phrases”Conscience does make cowards of us all” and “enterprises of great pith and moment” were both invented by Shakespeare and are still in use today.
Schmidt:
Enterprise= Attempt, undertaking
Pith (also pitch)= Strength, force; at first undertaken with great energy
Moment=Important, of momentous significance
Current (fig.)=flow, action (turn awry=diverted)
Compleat:
Pith==Pit. Pithly=Sterk, krachtig, nnadrukkelyk. A pithy sentence=Een pit-spreuk
Moment=gewicht, belang. Of great moment=Van groot gewicht. Of no moment=Van geen belang.
CITED IN US LAW:
State v. Patterson, 516 S.W.2d 571, 574 (Mo. Ct. App. 1974) (“Despite his protestations of justification the statement, in its entirety and each of its parts taken in context, evinces a consciousness of guilt. As Shakespeare says … The statement was incriminating and admissible”).

Burgersdijk notes:
Zoo maakt het peinzen enz. In ‘t Engelsch: Thus conscience does make etc. Hier wordt conscience gebezigd in den zin van het Latijnsche conscientia, „bewustzijn van zichzelf”, ,denkvermogen”, niet in dien van ,geweten”, veeleer ais consciousness, inmost thoughts.

Topics: still in use, cited in law, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Orlando
CONTEXT:
LE BEAU
Neither his daughter, if we judge by manners,
But yet indeed the smaller is his daughter
The other is daughter to the banished duke,
And here detained by her usurping uncle
To keep his daughter company, whose loves
Are dearer than the natural bond of sisters.
But I can tell you that of late this duke
Hath ta’en displeasure ‘gainst his gentle niece,
Grounded upon no other argument
But that the people praise her for her virtues
And pity her for her good father’s sake;
And, on my life, his malice ‘gainst the lady
Will suddenly break forth. Sir, fare you well.
Hereafter, in a better world than this,
I shall desire more love and knowledge of you.
ORLANDO
I rest much bounden to you. Fare you well.
Thus must I from the smoke into the smother,
From tyrant duke unto a tyrant brother.
But heavenly Rosalind!

DUTCH:
Thans voort, uit smook naar ‘t hol, waar smoring wacht,
Uit vorstendwang in ‘s boozen broeders macht!

MORE:
Proverb: Shunning the smoke, he fell into the fire (Tilley 570)
Fumum fugiens, in ignem incidi – Fleeing from the smoke I fell into the fire

Smother=Thick, suffocating smoke (From the frying pan into the fire.)
Manners=Morals, character
Argument=Reason
Bounden=Obliged, indebted
Compleat:
Manners=Zeden, manieren, manierlykheid
Argument=Bewys, bewysreden, dringreden; kort begrip der zaak die te bewyzen staat; inhoud
Bounden=Schuldig. Bounden duty=Schuldigen pligt

Topics: fate/destiny, relationship, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
Thoughts tending to content flatter themselves
That they are not the first of fortune’s slaves,
Nor shall not be the last; like silly beggars
Who sitting in the stocks refuge their shame,
That many have and others must sit there;
And in this thought they find a kind of ease,
Bearing their own misfortunes on the back
Of such as have before endured the like.
Thus play I in one person many people,
And none contented: sometimes am I king;
Then treasons make me wish myself a beggar,
And so I am: then crushing penury
Persuades me I was better when a king;
Then am I king’d again: and by and by
Think that I am unking’d by Bolingbroke,
And straight am nothing: but whate’er I be,
Nor I nor any man that but man is
With nothing shall be pleased, till he be eased
With being nothing. Music do I hear?

DUTCH:
Zoo speel ik veel personen, gansch alleen,
Nooit een tevreed’ne

MORE:

Proverb: I am not the first and shall not be the last

Refuge=Protection from danger, expedient in distress

Compleat:
Refuge=Toevlugt, wyk, schuilplaats

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, poverty and wealth, money, satisfaction

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Lafew
CONTEXT:
LAFEW
I did think thee, for two ordinaries, to be a pretty wise fellow: thou didst make tolerable vent of thy travel; it might pass: yet the scarfs and the bannerets about thee did manifoldly dissuade me from believing thee a vessel of too great a burthen.
I have now found thee; when I lose thee again, I care not; yet art thou good for nothing but taking up, and that thou’rt scarce worth.
PAROLLES
Hadst thou not the privilege of antiquity upon thee
LAFEW
Do not plunge thyself too far in anger, lest thou
hasten thy trial; which if—Lord have mercy on thee
for a hen! So, my good window of lattice, fare thee
well: thy casement I need not open, for I look
through thee. Give me thy hand.
PAROLLES
My lord, you give me most egregious indignity.

DUTCH:
En daarmee, mijn good tralievenster, vaarwel! ik behoef uw luik niet te openen, want ik zie u door en door. Geef mij de hand.

MORE:
Proverb: As good (better) lost as (than) found

Ordinaries=Mealtimes
Tolerable vent=Reasonable account
Banneret=Little flag
Taking up=Contradict
Window of lattice=Transparent like a latticed window (punning on Lettice, used for ruffs and caps)
Casement=Part of a window that opens on a hinge
Egregious=Extraordinary, enormous
Indignity=Contemptuous injury, insult
Compleat:
Ordinary=Drooggastery, Gaarkeuken, Ordinaris
Vent=Lugt, togt, gerucht
To eat ant an ordinary=In een ordinaris eten
Take up=Berispen; bestraffen
Lattice=Een houten traali
Casement=Een kykvernstertje, een glaze venster dat men open doet
Egregious=Treffelyk, braaf, heerlyk
Indignity=Smaad

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wisdom, appearance, discovery, understanding

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Othello
CONTEXT:
IAGO
Touch me not so near.
I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth
Than it should do offence to Michael Cassio.
Yet I persuade myself to speak the truth
Shall nothing wrong him. This it is, general:
Montano and myself being in speech,
There comes a fellow crying out for help
And Cassio following him with determined sword
To execute upon him. Sir, this gentleman
Steps in to Cassio and entreats his pause,
Myself the crying fellow did pursue,
Lest by his clamour—as it so fell out—
The town might fall in fright. He, swift of foot,
Outran my purpose, and I returned then rather
For that I heard the clink and fall of swords
And Cassio high in oath, which till tonight
I ne’er might say before. When I came back—
For this was brief— I found them close together
At blow and thrust, even as again they were
When you yourself did part them.
More of this matter cannot I report.
But men are men, the best sometimes forget.
Though Cassio did some little wrong to him,
As men in rage strike those that wish them best,
Yet surely Cassio, I believe, received
From him that fled some strange indignity
Which patience could not pass.
OTHELLO
I know, Iago,
Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter,
Making it light to Cassio. Cassio, I love thee,
But never more be officer of mine.

DUTCH:
Uw trouw, vriendschapp’lijk hart verkleint de zaak
En Cassio’s schuld. — ‘k Ben u genegen, Cassio;
Doch wees voortaan mijn officier niet meer.

MORE:
CITED IN US LAW:
Lindros v. Governing Board of the Torrance Unified School District, 9 Cal.3d 524, 540, 510 P.2d 361, 371, 108 Cal. Rptr. 185, 195 (1973)(Torriner, J.)(en banc).

Proverb: To mince the matter (Tell sparingly or by halves)

Forget=Forget themselves
Indignity=Contemptuous injury, insult
Patience=Self-control
Pass=Overlook
Compleat:
Indignity=Smaad
Pass, pass by=Passeren, voorbygaan, overslaan
Mince=Kleyn kappen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, still in use, cited in law, language, honour, truth, error, anger

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
No pains, sir. I take pleasure in singing, sir.
ORSINO
I’ll pay thy pleasure then.
FOOL
Truly, sir, and pleasure will be paid, one time or
another.
ORSINO
Give me now leave to leave thee.
FOOL
Now, the melancholy god protect thee, and the tailor
make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is
a very opal. I would have men of such constancy put to
sea, that their business might be everything and their
intent everywhere, for that’s it that always makes a
good voyage of nothing. Farewell.

DUTCH:
Nu, de god der zwaarmoedigheid bescherme u, en de
kleermaker make u een kleed van kameleonzijde, want
uw gemoed is een echte opaal

MORE:
Proverb: There is no pleasure without pain
Proverb: Every dram of delight has a pound of pain
Proverb: No joy without annoy

Melancholy god=Saturn, god of melancholy
Changeable=Colours that change in a different light
Opal=Iridiscent
Nothing=Lack of activity
Compleat:
Melancholy=Zwaarmoedigheyd, zwartgalligheyd, droefgeestigheyd, zwarte gal
Opal=Opaalsteen, een edel gesteente

Topics: proverbs and idioms, achievement, work, fate/destiny

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.3
SPEAKER: King
CONTEXT:
Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
I stay too long by thee; I weary thee.
Dost thou so hunger for mine empty chair
That thou wilt needs invest thee with my honours
Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth,
Thou seek’st the greatness that will overwhelm thee.

DUTCH:
Uw wensch was vader dier gedachte, Hendrik./
Je wens is de vader van de gedachte

MORE:

Proverb: The wish is father to the thought

Hunger for =Longing to see
Wilt needs=Must

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Ulysses
CONTEXT:
ULYSSES
Achilles stands i’ the entrance of his tent:
Please it our general to pass strangely by him,
As if he were forgot; and, princes all,
Lay negligent and loose regard upon him:
I will come last. ‘Tis like he’ll question me
Why such unplausive eyes are bent on him:
If so, I have derision medicinable,
To use between your strangeness and his pride,
Which his own will shall have desire to drink:
It may be good: pride hath no other glass
To show itself but pride, for supple knees
Feed arrogance and are the proud man’s fees.

DUTCH:
Ik kom het laatst. Waarschijnlijk vraagt hij mij,
Wat de oorzaak is van die misnoegde blikken;

MORE:
Proverb: To sound one’s own trumpet

Strangely=Like a stranger
Loose=Casual
Unplausive=Disapproving
Derision=Scorn
Compleat:
Strangely=Misselyk, wonderlyk; To look strange upon one=Iemand met geen goed oog aanzien
Plausible=Toejuichelyk, aangenaam, bevallig, pryslyk, schoonschynend
Derision=Uitlaching, belaching, bespotting

Topics: proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Pompey
CONTEXT:
MENAS
These three world-sharers, these competitors,
Are in thy vessel. Let me cut the cable,
And, when we are put off, fall to their throats.
All there is thine.
POMPEY
Ah, this thou shouldst have done
And not have spoke on ’t! In me ’tis villainy,
In thee ’t had been good service. Thou must know,
’Tis not my profit that does lead mine honour;
Mine honour, it. Repent that e’er thy tongue
Hath so betrayed thine act. Being done unknown,
I should have found it afterwards well done,
But must condemn it now. Desist, and drink.
MENAS
For this,
I’ll never follow thy palled fortunes more.
Who seeks and will not take when once ’tis offered
Shall never find it more.

DUTCH:
Let wel,
De baatzucht mag mijn eer den weg niet wijzen,
Mijn eer zij haar ten gids.

MORE:
Proverb: He that will not when he may, when he would he shall have nay (shall not when he will)

In me=If I were to do it
Good service=The action of a good servant
Lead=Guide
Mine honour, it=My honour takes precedence over it
Betrayed=Disclosed
Act=Intention
Pall=Diminish
More=Again
Compleat:
Service=Dienstbaarheid
To lead=Leyden
To betray=Verraaden, beklappen
Act=Daad, bedryf
To pall=Verslaan, verschaalen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honour, deception

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VIII
You have said well.
WOLSEY
And ever may your Highness yoke together,
As I will lend you cause, my doing well
With my well saying.
KING
’Tis well said again,
And ’tis a kind of good deed to say well.
And yet words are no deeds. My father loved you;
He said he did; and with his deed did crown
His word upon you. Since I had my office,
I have kept you next my heart; have not alone
Employ’d you where high profits might come home,
But pared my present havings, to bestow
My bounties upon you.

DUTCH:
Weder goed gesproken;
Goed spreken is een soort, ja, van goed doen;
En toch is woord geen daad.

MORE:
Proverb: It is better to do well than to say well
Said=Spoken
Yoke together=Join, couple
Pared=Cut down on
Compleat:
Said=Gezegd
Yoked together=’t Zaamen gekoppeld, onder een jok gevoegd
To pare=Afsnyden, schillen, afknippen, besnoeijen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, achievement

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.6
SPEAKER: Imogen
CONTEXT:
IMOGEN
Two beggars told me
I could not miss my way. Will poor folks lie,
That have afflictions on them, knowing ’tis
A punishment or trial? Yes. No wonder,
When rich ones scarce tell true. To lapse in fullness
Is sorer than to lie for need, and falsehood
Is worse in kings than beggars. My dear lord,
Thou art one o’ th’ false ones. Now I think on thee,
My hunger’s gone; but even before, I was
At point to sink for food. But what is this?
Here is a path to ’t. ’Tis some savage hold.
I were best not call; I dare not call. Yet famine,
Ere clean it o’erthrow nature, makes it valiant.
Plenty and peace breeds cowards; hardness ever
Of hardiness is mother.—Ho! Who’s here?
If anything that’s civil, speak; if savage,
Take or lend. Ho!—No answer? Then I’ll enter.
Best draw my sword; an if mine enemy
But fear the sword like me, he’ll scarcely look on ’t.

DUTCH:
Liegen zij,
Die armoe, nooddruft lijden, ‘t weten, dat
De ellende een straf of een beproeving is?
Ach ja, geen wonder; want de rijken zelfs
Verdraaien meest de waarheid; en in weelde
Te struik’len is veel erger kwaad, dan slechts
Uit nood te liegen; valschheid is in vorsten
Veel boozer dan in beed’laars

MORE:
Proverb: Afflictions are sent us by God for our good (Will poor folks lie…)

Trial=Test of virtue
To lapse in fullness=Fall from truth in a state of prosperity
Even before=Just before
Hardiness=Bravery
Compleat:
Trial (temptation)=Beproeving
Even=Even. Just now=Zo even
Hardiness=Onvertzaagdheid, stoutheid, koenheid
Hardiness of constitution=Hardheid van gesteltenis

Topics: integrity, honesty, status, proverbs and idioms,

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Second outlaw
CONTEXT:
FIRST OUTLAW
And I for such like petty crimes as these,
But to the purpose—for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excused our lawless lives;
And partly, seeing you are beautified
With goodly shape and by your own report
A linguist and a man of such perfection
As we do in our quality much want—
SECOND OUTLAW
Indeed, because you are a banished man,
Therefore, above the rest, we parley to you:
Are you content to be our general?
To make a virtue of necessity
And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

DUTCH:
En dan vooral, wijl gij een balling zijt,
Daarom voornaam’lijk spreken wij tot u.
Neemt gij ons voorstel aan, ons hoofd te zijn,
En met ons van den nood een deugd te maken,
En in de wildernis , als wij, te leven?

MORE:
Proverb: To make a virtue of necessity (before 1259)

Parley=Speech, language
To the purpose=Get to the point
Hold excused=Pardon
Quality=Profession
Parley to=Negotiate with
Compleat:
Parley=Een gesprek over voorwaarden, onderhandeling, gesprekhouding
To the purpose=Ter zaake
Excused=Ontschuldigd, verschoond

Sometimes the quote “Lawless are they that make their wills the law” is attributed to Shakespeare, but this is a misattribution.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, virtue, law, punishment, offence

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Hector
CONTEXT:
HECTOR
Paris and Troilus, you have both said well,
And on the cause and question now in hand
Have glozed, but superficially: not much
Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philosophy:
The reasons you allege do more conduce
To the hot passion of distempered blood
Than to make up a free determination
‘Twixt right and wrong, for pleasure and revenge
Have ears more deaf than adders to the voice
Of any true decision. Nature craves
All dues be rendered to their owners: now,
What nearer debt in all humanity
Than wife is to the husband? If this law
Of nature be corrupted through affection,
And that great minds, of partial indulgence
To their benumbed wills, resist the same,
There is a law in each well-ordered nation
To curb those raging appetites that are
Most disobedient and refractory.
If Helen then be wife to Sparta’s king,
As it is known she is, these moral laws
Of nature and of nations speak aloud
To have her back returned: thus to persist
In doing wrong extenuates not wrong,
But makes it much more heavy. Hector’s opinion
Is this in way of truth; yet ne’ertheless,
My spritely brethren, I propend to you
In resolution to keep Helen still,
For ’tis a cause that hath no mean dependance
Upon our joint and several dignities.

DUTCH:
“Men zende haar terug; zoo te volharden
In ‘t onrecht, maakt het onrecht wis niet minder,
Neen, eer veel zwaarder.”

MORE:
Proverb: Give everyone his due
Proverb: As deaf as an adder

To gloze=Expand, expound. Veil with specious comments (OED)
Glozes=Pretentious talk
Conduce=Contribute, cite
Affection=Emotion; partiality
Partial=Prejudiced
Distempered=Ill-humoured; deranged
Benumbed=Dulled, inured
Refractory=Unmanageable
Compleat:
To gloze=Vleijen, flikflooijen
To conduce=Vorderlyk zyn, dienstig zyn, baaten
Affection=Toegeneegenheid, aandoening
Partial=Eenzydig, partydig
Distempered=Niet wel te pas, kwaalyk gesteld, uit zyn schik
To benum=Verstyven
Refractory=Wederspannig

Burgersdijk notes:
Door Aristoteles. Nu Shakespeare een Griekschen wijsgeer wil vermelden, kiest hij een algemeen bekenden, zonder te vragen, of deze niet vele eeuwen na den Trojaanschen oorlog leefde en of hij inderdaad de jeugd onvatbaar heeft genoemd voor de beoefening der moraal -philosophie.
Zijn doover nog dan slangen. Dat slangen voor doof gehouden werden, blijkt ook uit 2 K. Hendrik IV, en uit Sonnet CXII.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, judgment, debt/obligation

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: First Senator
CONTEXT:
FIRST SENATOR
You cannot make gross sins look clear:
To revenge is no valour, but to bear.
ALCIBIADES
My lords, then, under favour, pardon me,
If I speak like a captain.
Why do fond men expose themselves to battle,
And not endure all threats? sleep upon’t,
And let the foes quietly cut their throats,
Without repugnancy? If there be
Such valour in the bearing, what make we
Abroad? why then, women are more valiant
That stay at home, if bearing carry it,
And the ass more captain than the lion, the felon
Loaden with irons wiser than the judge,
If wisdom be in suffering. O my lords,
As you are great, be pitifully good:
Who cannot condemn rashness in cold blood?
To kill, I grant, is sin’s extremest gust;
But, in defence, by mercy, ’tis most just.
To be in anger is impiety;
But who is man that is not angry?
Weigh but the crime with this.
SECOND SENATOR
You breathe in vain.

DUTCH:
Uw spreken maakt geen grove zonden goed,
Niet wraakzucht, maar geduld is ware moed.

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

Proverb: Who is man that is not angry?

Bear=Endure
Fond=Foolish
Repugnancy=Opposition
Irons=Shackles
Gust=Conception (murder is the greatest sin)
Impiety=Transgression
Compleat:
To bear=Draagen, voeren, verdraagen; dulden
Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt
Repugnance=Strydigheid, tegenstrydigheid
Gust=Begeerlykheid, lust
Impiety=Ongodvruchtigheid, godloosheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, wisdom, anger, defence

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Posthumus
CONTEXT:
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Yea, bloody cloth, I’ll keep thee, for I wish’d
Thou shouldst be colour’d thus. You married ones,
If each of you should take this course, how many
Must murder wives much better than themselves
For wrying but a little! O Pisanio!
Every good servant does not all commands:
No bond but to do just ones. Gods! if you
Should have ta’en vengeance on my faults, I never
Had lived to put on this: so had you saved
The noble Imogen to repent, and struck
Me, wretch more worth your vengeance. But, alack,
You snatch some hence for little faults; that’s love,
To have them fall no more: you some permit
To second ills with ills, each elder worse,
And make them dread it, to the doers’ thrift.
But Imogen is your own: do your best wills,
And make me blest to obey! I am brought hither
Among the Italian gentry, and to fight
Against my lady’s kingdom: ’tis enough
That, Britain, I have kill’d thy mistress; peace!
I’ll give no wound to thee. Therefore, good heavens,
Hear patiently my purpose. I’ll disrobe me
Of these Italian weeds and suit myself
As does a Briton peasant. So I’ll fight
Against the part I come with; so I’ll die
For thee, O Imogen, even for whom my life
Is every breath a death. And thus, unknown,
Pitied nor hated, to the face of peril
Myself I’ll dedicate. Let me make men know
More valour in me than my habits show.
Gods, put the strength o’ th’ Leonati in me.
To shame the guise o’ th’ world, I will begin
The fashion: less without and more within.

DUTCH:
Men zie meer heldenmoed
Van mij, dan mijn gewaad vermoeden doet.
Schenkt, goden, mij de kracht der Leonaten!
O, schaam u, wereld! thans wil ik beginnen,
Deez’ dracht: van buiten arm en rijk van binnen.

MORE:
Proverb: Yours to command in the way of honesty
Proverb: Appearances are deceitful

Just=Moral
Wrying=Swerving, deviating from the right course
Put on=Instigate
Weeds=Garment
Purpose=Something spoken of or to be done, matter, question, subject
Compleat:
Just (righteous)=Een rechtvaardige
Just=Effen, juist, net
Wry=Scheef, verdraaid
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad

Topics: proverbs and idioms, honesty, marriage, work, flaw/fault, appearance

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
WESTMORELAND
He is, Sir John. I fear we shall stay too long.
FALSTAFF
Well,
To the latter end of a fray and the beginning of a feast
Fits a dull fighter and a keen guest.

DUTCH:
Nu goed.
Het laatst in ‘t veld, en de eersten bij een feest,
Lijkt tragen vechters, gragen gasten ‘t meest.

MORE:
Heywood proverbs (1546):
“And it is ill coming, I have heard say,
To th’ end of a shot and beginning of a fray.”
A hungry guest will come early for a meal, a reluctant soldier will arrive late in the battle..

Topics: proverbs and idioms, time

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Polonius
CONTEXT:
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

DUTCH:
Wees eerlijk tegenover jezelf /
Wees voor u zelf waarachtig /
Blijf aan jezelf getrouw

MORE:
Oft-quoted list of maxims in Polonius’ ‘fatherly advice’ monologue to Laertes. Many of these nuggets have acquired proverb status today, although they weren’t invented by Shakespeare (here, for example, After night comes the day, c1475)

Quoted by Margaret Thatcher in 1989 conference speech:
Mr President, politicians come in many colours, but if you aspire to lead this nation: ‘This, above all, to thine own self be true.’ You don’t reach Downing Street by pretending you’ve travelled the road to Damascus when you haven’t even left home (Thatcher, 1989).

To thine own self be true. Current meaning=be honest with yourself
Wees eerlijk tegenover jezelf dan kun je tegen niemand oneerlijk zijn, dat staat als een paal boven water.

Topics: honesty, still in use, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Grumio
CONTEXT:
CURTIS
Away, you three-inch fool! I am no beast.
GRUMIO
Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot, and so
long am I, at the least. But wilt thou make a fire, or
shall I complain on thee to our mistress, whose hand,
she being now at hand, thou shalt soon feel, to thy cold
comfort, for being slow in thy hot office?
GRUMIO
A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine, and
therefore fire! Do thy duty, and have thy duty, for my
master and mistress are almost frozen to death.

DUTCH:
Maar wilt ge nu het vuur eens aanmaken, of zal ik over u klagen
bij onze meesteres? dan zult ge haar hand, – en ze is
bij de hand, – gauw voelen, tot uw kouden troost, omdat
ge zoo lauw zijt in uw warmen dienst.

MORE:
Proverb: Cold comfort

Horn=Horn of a cuckold
Hot office=Fire-making duty
Have thy duty=Receive your reward
Compleat:
To wear horns=Hoornen dragen
She bestows a pair of horns upon her husband=Zy zet haaren man een paar hoorns op ‘t hoofd; Zy kroont hem met het wapen van Boksbergen
A cuckold’s horn=Het hoorn, van een hoorndraager
To pay one’s duty=Zyn plicht betrachten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, loyalty

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
BRABANTIO
A maiden never bold,
Of spirit so still and quiet that her motion
Blushed at herself. And she, in spite of nature,
Of years, of country, credit, everything,
To fall in love with what she feared to look on?
It is a judgment maimed and most imperfect
That will confess perfection so could err.
Against all rules of nature, and must be driven
To find out practices of cunning hell
Why this should be. I therefore vouch again
That with some mixtures powerful o’er the blood
Or with some dram, conjured to this effect,
He wrought upon her.
DUKE
To vouch this is no proof,
Without more wider and more overt test
Than these thin habits and poor likelihoods
Of modern seeming do prefer against him.
FIRST SENATOR
But, Othello, speak.
Did you by indirect and forcèd courses
Subdue and poison this young maid’s affections?
Or came it by request and such fair question
As soul to soul affordeth?

DUTCH:
Betuigd is niet bewezen,
Tenzij gij beter gronden hebt, meer klemmend,
Dan ‘t los vermoeden, dat, met krachtloos uitzicht,
En dun gekleed, nu optreedt tegen hem.

MORE:
Proverb: Accusation is no proof

Vouch again=Reaffirm expressly
Wider=Fuller
Test=Testimony, evidence
Thin habits=Scant, insubstantial exterior
Poor=Tenuous
Likelihood=Circumstantial evidence, somethng from which inferences may be drawn, indication, sign
Indirect=Underhand
Forced=Constrained, unnatural, false (against the will of)
Modern seeming=Common assumption
Compleat:
To vouch=Staande houden, bewyzen, verzekeren
Testable=Die volgens de rechten getuigen mag
Indirect=Niet rechts weegs, zydelings. Indirect means=Slinksche middelen
Directly or indirectly=Middelyk of onmiddelyk, voor de vuist of heimelyk
Forced=Gedwongen, aangedrongen
Seeming=Schynende

Topics: proverbs and idioms, nature, error, evidence

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Theseus
CONTEXT:
THESEUS
What say you, Hermia? Be advised, fair maid:
To you your father should be as a god,
One that composed your beauties, yea, and one
To whom you are but as a form in wax,
By him imprinted and within his power
To leave the figure or disfigure it.
Demetrius is a worthy gentleman.
HERMIA
So is Lysander.
THESEUS
In himself he is.
But in this kind, wanting your father’s voice,
The other must be held the worthier.

DUTCH:
Wat zegt gij, Hermia? wees wijs, schoon kind;
Uw vader moet u gelden voor een god,
Die uwe schoonheid schiep;

MORE:
Proverb: Soft wax will take any impression

Be advised=Think carefully
A form in wax=The impression of a seal in wax
Voice=Consent, support
Compleat:
Advised=Geraaden, beraaden, bedacht
Voice=Stem, recht van stemmen
To wax (grow)=Worden

Topics: advice, relationship, respect, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 2.6
SPEAKER: Friar Lawrence
CONTEXT:
The sweetest honey
Is loathsome in his own deliciousness
And in the taste confounds the appetite.
Therefore love moderately. Long love doth so.
Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow.

DUTCH:
Te snel komt even laat aan als te traag./
Te haastig en te traag komt even laat./
Te haastig komt even laat aan als te langzaam.

MORE:
Moderately = in moderation
‘All things in moderation’.
Compleat:
Wine is a good liquor but it must be used moderately=Wyn is een goede drank, maar by moet matigheid gebruikt worden.

Topics: still in use, time, proverbs and idioms, haste

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
The ripest fruit first falls, and so doth he;
His time is spent, our pilgrimage must be.
So much for that. Now for our Irish wars:
We must supplant those rough rug-headed kerns,
Which live like venom where no venom else
But only they have privilege to live.
And for these great affairs do ask some charge,
Towards our assistance we do seize to us
The plate, corn, revenues and moveables,
Whereof our uncle Gaunt did stand possess’d.

DUTCH:
Zoo trekken wij tot onze hulp aan ons
Al ‘t zilverwerk, geld, renten, alles, wat
Aan tilb’re have onze oom van Gent bezat.

MORE:

Proverb: Life is a pilgrimage
Proverb: Soon ripe soon rotten

Ask some charge=Will involve expense
Where no venom else=St. Patrick had driven all snakes out of Ireland
Kerns=Irish foot soldiers

Topics: death, money, law/legal, conflict, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
EMILIA
If it be not for some purpose of import,
Give ’t me again. Poor lady, she’ll run mad
When she shall lack it.
IAGO
Be not acknown on ’t,
I have use for it. Go, leave me.
I will in Cassio’s lodging lose this napkin
And let him find it. Trifles light as air
Are to the jealous confirmations strong
As proofs of holy writ. This may do something.
The Moor already changes with my poison.
Dangerous conceits are in their natures poisons
Which at the first are scarce found to distaste,
But with a little act upon the blood
Burn like the mines of sulphur.
I did say so.
Look, where he comes. Not poppy nor mandragora
Nor all the drowsy syrups of the world,
Shall ever medicine thee to that sweet sleep
Which thou owedst yesterday.

DUTCH:
k Verlies in Cassio’s woning dezen zakdoek,
En zorg, dat hij hem vindt. Voor de ijverzucht
Zijn dingen, ijl als lucht, bewijzen, sterker
Dan spreuken uit de Schrift

MORE:
Proverb: As light as air

Napkin=Handkerchief
Conceits=Conceptions, ideas
To distaste=To be distasteful, unsavoury
Drowsy=Sleep-inducing
Mandragora=Opiate
Compleat:
Conceit=Waan, bevatting, opvatting, meening
Distaste=Weersmaak, weerzin, misnoegen
To give distaste=Misnoegen veroorzaaken
To distaste=Geen smaak in iets vinden; (to take distaste)=Een walg krygen
Drowsy=Slaaperig, vaakerig, vadsig, druyloorig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, envy, perception, imagination

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Holland
CONTEXT:
HOLLAND
True; and yet it is said, labour in thy vocation; which is as much to say as, let the magistrates be labouring men; and therefore should we be magistrates.
BEVIS
Thou hast hit it; for there’s no better sign of a brave mind than a hard hand.

DUTCH:
Zoo is het; en toch is het zeggen: „werk in uw beroep”;
wat zoo veel wil zeggen als: „laat de overheden
werklieden zijn “; en daarom moesten wij eigenlijk overheden
zijn.

MORE:

Proverb: Everyone must walk (labour) in his own calling (vocation)

Labouring=Working
Hit it=Hit the nail on the head
Hard=Calloused

Topics: proverbs and idioms, work, satisfaction

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Cobbler
CONTEXT:
COBBLER
Why, sir, cobble you.
FLAVIUS
Thou art a cobbler, art thou?
COBBLER
Truly, sir, all that I live by is with the awl. I
meddle with no tradesman’s matters nor women’s matters,
but withal I am indeed, sir, a surgeon to old shoes.
When they are in great danger, I recover them. As proper
men as ever trod upon neat’s leather have gone upon my
handiwork.

DUTCH:
Om de waarheid te zeggen, ja, mijn els is mijn alles .
Ik meng mij niet met koopmanszaken, noch met koopvrouwen, maar mijn els lapt mij alles.

MORE:
Proverb: As good a man as ever trod on shoe (beat’s) leather. (See also The Tempest 2.2: ‘he’s a present for any emperor that ever trod on neat’s leather’).
Proverb: Without awl (all) the cobbler’s nobody
Proverb: As good a man as ever trod on shoe leather, stressing the quality and reliability of the cobbler’s craft as well as character. Other relevant proverbs from the time are “Meddle not with another man’s matter” (1584) and “Let not the cobbler go beyond his last” (1539), “Cobbler, stick to thy last” (still in use today).
The origins of the proverb actually existed in Latin when Pliny the Elder composed ‘Naturalis Historia’. Pliny’s original text (ne supra crepidam sutor iudicaret) meant ‘the cobbler should not judge beyond his shoe’. (Erasmus omitted the verb ‘judicaret in ‘Adagia’).
The word ‘ultracrepidarian’ also originated from this proverb!

Cobbler=Punning on (1) shoemender and (2) bungler
Neat’s leather=Cowhide.
Awl=Punning on (1) punch for holes in leather and (2) all
Compleat:
To cobble=Flikken, lappen, brodden; schoenlappen
Cobbler=(Cobler) Een schoenlapper, schoenflikker, broddelaar
Last=Leest. Last-maker=een Leestemaaker
Awl=Een els
Neat=Een rund, varre (os of koe)

Burgersdijk notes:
Mijn els lapt mij alles. Het Engelsch heeft een woordspeling met awl en all.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, status, order/society, work

PLAY: King Henry V
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Pistol
CONTEXT:
Come, let’s away.—My love, give me thy lips.
Look to my chattels and my movables.
Let senses rule. The word is “Pitch and pay.”
Trust none, for oaths are straws, men’s faiths are wafer-cakes,
And Holdfast is the only dog, my duck.
Therefore, caveto be thy counselor.
Go, clear thy crystals.—Yoke-fellows in arms,
Let us to France, like horse-leeches, my boys,
To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck

DUTCH:
Een eed is stroo; geloof en -trouw zijn wafels,
En slechts „Hou vast” de ware hond, mijn duifjen

MORE:

Proverb: Pitch and pay (pay ready money) (15th century)
Proverb: Touch pot, touch penny
Proverb: Promises and pie-crusts are made to be broken (1599)
Proverb: Brag is a good dog, but holdfast is a better

Let senses rule=Be governed by prudence
Men’s faiths are wafer-cakes=Faith crumbles
Clear thy crystals=Dry your eyes (or clean your glasses (Johnson))
Look to=Look after
Caveto=Caution
Yoke-fellow=Companion

Topics: proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, business, money, caution

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Troilus
CONTEXT:
TROILUS
O that I thought it could be in a woman—
As, if it can, I will presume in you—
To feed for aye her lamp and flames of love;
To keep her constancy in plight and youth,
Outliving beauty’s outward, with a mind
That doth renew swifter than blood decays!
Or that persuasion could but thus convince me,
That my integrity and truth to you
Might be affronted with the match and weight
Of such a winnowed purity in love;
How were I then uplifted! but, alas!
I am as true as truth’s simplicity
And simpler than the infancy of truth.
CRESSIDA
In that I’ll war with you.
TROILUS
O virtuous fight,
When right with right wars who shall be most right!
True swains in love shall in the world to come
Approve their truths by Troilus: when their rhymes,
Full of protest, of oath and big compare,
Want similes, truth tired with iteration,
As true as steel, as plantage to the moon,
As sun to day, as turtle to her mate,
As iron to adamant, as earth to the centre,
Yet, after all comparisons of truth,
As truth’s authentic author to be cited,
‘As true as Troilus’ shall crown up the verse,
And sanctify the numbers.

DUTCH:
Bij Troilus niet zweert, wanneer zijn lied,
Vol eeden reeds en prachtgelijkenissen ,
Een beeld behoeft, daar trouw die oude wraakt:

MORE:
Proverb: As true as truth itself

Affronted=Confronted
Winnowed=Separated, sifted grain from chaff
Uplifted=Overjoyed
War=Argue
Approve=Attest
Protest=Protestation
Big compare=Exaggerated comparison
Wants=Lacks
Turtle=Turtle dove
Adamant=Magnet
Compleat:
To affront=Hoonen, beschimpen; trotseeren
To winnow corn=Koorn wannen
To war=Oorlogen, kryg voeren
To approve=Beproeven, goedkeuren
Protestation=Betuyging, aantuyging, aankondiging, opentlyke verklaaring, vrybetuyging, tegeninlegging
Want=Gebrek
Adamant=Een diamant

Burgersdijk notes:
Als groeikracht aan de maan. Aan de maan werd groote invloed op den groei der planten toegeschreven.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, integrity, truth

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Come, cousin, canst thou quake and change thy colour,
Murder thy breath in the middle of a word,
And then begin again, and stop again,
As if thou wert distraught and mad with terror?
BUCKINGHAM
Tut, I can counterfeit the deep tragedian,
Speak, and look back, and pry on every side,
Tremble and start at wagging of a straw,
Intending deep suspicion. Ghastly looks
Are at my service, like enforcèd smiles,
And both are ready in their offices,
At any time to grace my stratagems.
But what, is Catesby gone?
RICHARD
He is; and see, he brings the mayor along.

DUTCH:
Gerust ! den besten speler boots ik na,
Zie om bij ‘t spreken, gluur naar elken kant,
Ik beef en staar, wanneer een stroohalm trilt,
En teeken diepen argwaan ; holle blikken
Staan mij ten dienst en ook gedwongen lachjes,

MORE:
Proverb: To be angry at (laugh at, be afraid of) the wagging of a strraw

Murder thy breath=Stop talking
Counterfeit=Imitate
Deep tragedian=Cunning actor
Tremble=Be afraid (at wagging of a straw: proverbial0
Intending=Pretending
Ghastly=Dismal
Offices=Positions
Compleat:
Counterfeit=Naamaaksel
Tragedian=Een treurspel-dichter
To tremble=Beeven, sidderen, trillen
Office=Een ampt, dienst

Topics: deceit, appearance, emotion and mood, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: First Murderer
CONTEXT:
FIRST MURDERER
We are, my lord, and come to have the warrant
That we may be admitted where he is.
RICHARD
Well thought upon. I have it here about me.
When you have done, repair to Crosby Place.
But, sirs, be sudden in the execution,
Withal obdurate; do not hear him plead,
For Clarence is well-spoken and perhaps
May move your hearts to pity if you mark him.
FIRST MURDERER
Tut, tut, my lord, we will not stand to prate.
Talkers are no good doers. Be assured
We go to use our hands and not our tongues.
RICHARD
Your eyes drop millstones, when fools’ eyes drop tears.
I like you lads. About your business straight.
Go, go, dispatch.
MURDERERS
We will, my noble lord.

DUTCH:
Gerust, mylord; wij maken daar geen praats;
Wie babbelt, leutert meest; wees gij verzekerd,
Wij roeren onze handen, niet de tong.

MORE:
Proverb: The greatest talkers are not always the wisest men
Proverb: The greatest talkers are the least (not the greatest) doers
Proverb: He weeps millstones

Repair=Return
Well-spoken=Eloquent
Stand to prate=Stand gossiping
Eyes drop millstones=Weep millstones (proverb)
Compleat:
To repair unto=Zich na toe begeeven
Well spoken=Wel bespraakt
Prate=Praaten

Burgersdijk notes:
Naar Crosby-hof. In de folio-uitgave staat Crosby-house, in de quarto’s Crosby place. Een prachtige woning in Londen, thans nog in wezen , gebouwd door Sir John Crosby, een aanzienlijk burger, die in 1470 sheriff was. Dat Richard, die in de city veel aanhangers bad, er tijdelijk gewoond heeft, wordt
door de geschiedenis vermeld.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, perception, wisdom

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Olivia
CONTEXT:
VIOLA
Cesario is your servant’s name, fair princess.
OLIVIA
My servant, sir! ‘Twas never merry world
Since lowly feigning was call’d compliment.
You’re servant to the Count Orsino, youth.
VIOLA
And he is yours, and his must needs be yours:
Your servant’s servant is your servant, madam.
OLIVIA
For him, I think not on him. For his thoughts,
Would they were blanks, rather than fill’d with me.
VIOLA
Madam, I’ve come on his behalf to improve your feelings
towards him.

DUTCH:
Mijn dienaar? Ach, het ziet er treurig uit,
Sinds laffe vleierij beleefdheid heet.

MORE:
Proverb: He is out of his element
Proverb: To be in one’e element
Proverb: No man can play the fool as well as the wise man

Overworn=Spoiled by too much use
Welkin=Sky
Construe=Explain (also ‘conster’)
Wit=Intelligence
Haggard=Hawk
Check=Start, be startled
Feather=Fig., birds in general
Practice=Skill
Wisely=Deliberately
Fit=Appropriate
Taint=Discredit
Compleat:
Overworn=Gantsch afgesleeten, uitgesleeten, afgeleefd
Construe (conster)=Woordenschikken; t’Zamenschikken, t’zamenstellen
Wit (understanding)=Vinding, schranderheid, verstand
Hagard=Wild. A hagard hawk=Een wilde valk
To take check a a thing=Zich aan iets stooten, of ergeren
Practize=Oeffening, bewerking, praktyk
Well practised in the Law=Wel in de Rechten geoeffend
Wisely=Wyslyk
Fit=Bequaam, dienstig, betaaamelyk, raadzaam
To taint (attaint)=Overtuigen van misdaad, schuldig verklaaren, betichten; bevlekken, bederf aanzetten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, skill/talent, language, intellect, appearance, flattery

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
SHALLOW.
Knight, you have beaten my men, killed my deer, and broke open my lodge.
FALSTAFF.
But not kissed your keeper’s daughter?
SHALLOW.
Tut, a pin! this shall be answered.
FALSTAFF.
I will answer it straight: I have done all this.
That is now answered.
SHALLOW.
The Council shall know this.
FALSTAFF.
‘Twere better for you if it were known in counsel:
you’ll be laughed at.

DUTCH:
Gij deedt beter, het in uw geheime lade te houden;
men zal u uitlachen.

MORE:
Proverb: Few words show men wise

Lodge=Hunting or gamekeeper’s lodge
Pin=Small insignificant thing
Known in counsel=Kept quiet, a secret
Compleat:
Lodge=Herberg
Pin=Speld
Not worth a pin=’t is niet een speld waard

Topics: intellect, language, excess, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Aaron
CONTEXT:
AARON
Why, so, brave lords! when we join in league,
I am a lamb: but if you brave the Moor,
The chafed boar, the mountain lioness,
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms.
But say, again; how many saw the child?
NURSE
Cornelia the midwife and myself;
And no one else but the delivered empress.
AARON
The empress, the midwife, and yourself:
Two may keep counsel when the third’s away:
Go to the empress, tell her this I said.

DUTCH:
De keizerin, de vroedvrouw en gijzelf;
Twee zwijgen wel, wanneer de derde ontbreekt.

MORE:
Proverb: Three (two) may keep counsel if two (one) be away
Proverb: Two people can keep a secret when one is subtracted

Brave=Confront, defy
Chafed=Enraged
Swells not=Doesn’t rage
Compleat:
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren, moedig treden
To chafe=Verhitten, tot toorn ontsteeken, verhit zyn van gramschap, woeden
In a chafe=Hy brandt van toorn
To swell=Opblaazen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, secrecy, trust

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Bedford
CONTEXT:
BURGUNDY
Is it even so? Nay, then, I see our wars
Will turn unto a peaceful comic sport,
When ladies crave to be encounter’d with.
You may not, my lord, despise her gentle suit.
TALBOT
Ne’er trust me then; for when a world of men
Could not prevail with all their oratory,
Yet hath a woman’s kindness over-ruled:
And therefore tell her I return great thanks,
And in submission will attend on her.
Will not your honours bear me company?
BEDFORD
No, truly; it is more than manners will:
And I have heard it said, unbidden guests
Are often welcomest when they are gone.
TALBOT
Well then, alone, since there’s no remedy,
I mean to prove this lady’s courtesy.
Come hither, captain.

DUTCH:
Gewis niet, dit ware onbeleefd en laakbaar;
‘k Heb wel gehoord, dat ongenoode gasten
‘t Meest welkom zijn, wanneer zij weder gaan.

MORE:
Proverb: An unbidden guest is welcome when gone

Gentle suit=Polite, well-mannered petition
Manners will=Etiquette permits
Mean=Intend

Compleat:
Gentle=Aardig, edelmoedig
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding
Manners=Zeden, manieren, manierlykheid
Mean=Meenen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, civility, language

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
To me she speaks; she moves me for her theme.
What, was I married to her in my dream?
Or sleep I now and think I hear all this?
What error drives our eyes and ears amiss?
Until I know this sure uncertainty
I’ll entertain the offered fallacy.
LUCIANA
Dromio, go bid the servants spread for dinner.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
O, for my beads! I cross me for a sinner.
This is the fairy land. O spite of spites!
We talk with goblins, ouphs, and sprites:
If we obey them not, this will ensue:
They’ll suck our breath, or pinch us black and blue.

DUTCH:
Het is tot mij, dat zij die reed’nen houdt!
Wat! ben ik in den droom met haar getrouwd?
Of slaap ik nu en meen ik, dat ik hoor?
Wat vreemde waan verdwaast mijn oog en oor?
Maar kom, tot mij dit raadsel wordt verklaard,
Zij de opgedrongen dwaling thans aanvaard

MORE:
Proverb: To beat (pinch) one black and blue. Pinching was a traditional punishment associated with fairies

Move=To urge, incite, instigate, make a proposal to, appeal or apply to (a person)
Error=Mistake, deception, false opinion
Ouph=Elf, goblin
Uncertainty=A mystery, the unknown
Entertain=Accept (the delusion)
Compleat:
To move=Verroeren, gaande maaken; voorstellen
Error=Fout, misslag, dwaaling, dooling
To lie under a great errour=In een groote dwaaling steeken
Beadsman=een Bidder, Gety=leezer, Gebed-opzegger

Topics: imagination, evidence, judgment, punishment, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
QUEEN MARGARET
Warwick, these words have turn’d my hate to love;
And I forgive and quite forget old faults,
And joy that thou becomest King Henry’s friend.
WARWICK
So much his friend, ay, his unfeigned friend,
That, if King Lewis vouchsafe to furnish us
With some few bands of chosen soldiers,
I’ll undertake to land them on our coast
And force the tyrant from his seat by war.
‘Tis not his new-made bride shall succour him:
And as for Clarence, as my letters tell me,
He’s very likely now to fall from him,
For matching more for wanton lust than honour,
Or than for strength and safety of our country.

DUTCH:
Warwick, die taal verkeert mijn hart in liefde;
En ik vergeef, vergeet alle oude schuld,
Verheugd, dat gij de vriend van Hendrik zijn wilt.

MORE:

Proverb: Forgive and forget (1526)

Unfeigned=Genuine
Vouchsafe=Condescend, deign to
Furnish=Equip
Succour=Support, assist

Compleat:
Unfeigned=Ongeveinsd
To vouchsafe=Gewaardigen, vergunnen
To furnish=Veschaffen, vorzien, verozrgen, stoffeeren, toetakelen
Succour=Te hulp komen, bystaan
Succours=Hulpbenden, krygshulpe

Topics: proverbs and idioms, flaw/fault, friendship

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.2
SPEAKER: Chancellor
CONTEXT:
CHANCELLOR
My good lord Archbishop, I’m very sorry
To sit here at this present and behold
That chair stand empty. But we all are men,
In our own natures frail, and capable
Of our flesh—few are angels—out of which frailty
And want of wisdom you, that best should teach us,
Have misdemeaned yourself, and not a little,
Toward the King first, then his laws, in filling
The whole realm, by your teaching and your
chaplains’—
For so we are informed—with new opinions,
Divers and dangerous, which are heresies
And, not reformed, may prove pernicious.

DUTCH:
Doch allen zijn wij menschen,
Zwak van nature, en luist’rend naar ons vleesch;
Slechts wein’gen zijn als eng’len

MORE:
Proverb: Flesh is frail
Capable=Susceptible (to)
Want=Lack
Misdemeaned=Misbehave, acted improperly
Pernicious=Ruinous
Compleat:
Capable=Vatbaar, bevattelyk, ontvangbaar, ontvanklyk
Want=Gebrek, behoeftigheyd
To misdemean=Zich quaalyk draagn
Pernicious=Schaadelyk, verderflyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, temptation, wisdom

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
FIRST MESSENGER
O my lord!
ANTONY
Speak to me home. Mince not the general tongue.
Name Cleopatra as she is called in Rome.
Rail thou in Fulvia’s phrase, and taunt my faults
With such full licence as both truth and malice
Have power to utter. Oh, then we bring forth weeds
When our quick minds lie still, and our ills told us
Is as our earing. Fare thee well awhile.

DUTCH:
Ja, dan brengen we onkruid voort,
Als frissche wind ons spaart; en wie ons gispt,
Doet ons den dienst van ploeg. — Vaarwel, tot later!

MORE:
Proverb: To mince the matter
Proverb: Weeds come forth on the fattest soil if it is untilled

Speak home=Speak plainly, be straightforward
Mince=To extenuate, make light of (tone down)
Tongue=Manner of speaking
Rail=Reproach, scold
Licence=Freedom
Quick=Alert, live
Ills=Faults
Earing=Ploughing
Compleat:
Home-reason, home-argument=Een overtuigende drang-reden
Home expression=Een klemmend uitdruksel, een zeggen ‘t welk raakt, een boeren slag
Mince=Kleyn kappen
To rail=Schelden
Licence=Verlof, oorlof, vergunning, toelaating, vrygeeving, goedkeuring; vryheid
Quick=Levendig
Ill=Kwaad; slegt
To ear=Land bouwen

Topics: communication, language, error, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Ford
CONTEXT:
MISTRESS PAGE
What? thou liest! Sir Alice Ford! These knights
will hack; and so thou shouldst not alter the
article of thy gentry.
MISTRESS FORD
We burn daylight: here, read, read; perceive how I
might be knighted. I shall think the worse of fat
men, as long as I have an eye to make difference of
men’s liking: and yet he would not swear; praised
women’s modesty; and gave such orderly and
well-behaved reproof to all uncomeliness, that I
would have sworn his disposition would have gone to
the truth of his words; but they do no more adhere
and keep place together than the Hundredth Psalm to
the tune of ‘Green Sleeves.’ What tempest, I trow,
threw this whale, with so many tuns of oil in his
belly, ashore at Windsor? How shall I be revenged
on him? I think the best way were to entertain him
with hope, till the wicked fire of lust have melted
him in his own grease. Did you ever hear the like?

DUTCH:
Wij branden licht bij dag; — lees hier, lees; — zie
eens, hoe ik geridderd kan worden.

MORE:
Proverb: You burn daylight
Proverb: He stews (fries) in his own grease

Burn daylight=Wasting time
Make difference of=Differentiate between
Liking=Appearance
Uncomeliness=Inappropriate conduct
Gone to=Corresponded with
Trow=Wonder
Tun=Barrel, cask
Compleat:
To burn day-light=By dage een kaers branden
Comeliness=Bevalligheyd
Trow=Denk, acht
Tun=Ton

Topics: time, urgency, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
IAGO
O sir, content you.
I follow him to serve my turn upon him.
We cannot all be masters, nor all masters
Cannot be truly followed. You shall mark
Many a duteous and knee-crooking knave
That (doting on his own obsequious bondage)
Wears out his time much like his master’s ass
For naught but provender, and when he’s old, cashiered.
Whip me such honest knaves. Others there are
Who, trimmed in forms and visages of duty,
Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves
And, throwing but shows of service on their lords,
Do well thrive by them. And when they have lined their
coats,
Do themselves homage. These fellows have some soul,
And such a one do I profess myself. For, sir,
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago.
In following him, I follow but myself.
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end.
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at. I am not what I am.

DUTCH:
Niet elk kan meester zijn, noch ieder meester
Oprecht gediend zijn. Zie, wat vindt gij meen’gen
Recht lagen kruiper, slovend in zijn juk,
Die, op zijn eigen slavenboei verzot,
Gedwee, als de ezel van zijn heer, om ‘t voêr

MORE:
Proverb: Every man cannot be a master (lord)
Proverb: To wear one’s heart upon one’s sleeve (1604)

Whipping was a cruel punishment. In the days of Henry VIII an Act decreed that vagrants were to be carried to some market town, or other place, and there tied to the end of a cart, naked, and beaten with whips throughout such market-town, or other place, till the body should be bloody by reason of such whipping. The punishment was mitigated in Elizabeth’s reign, to the extent that vagrants need only to be “stripped naked from the middle upwards and whipped till the body should be bloody”

Content you=Don’t worry
Knave=Servant
Cashiered=Dismissed, discarded from service
Peculiar=Private, personal
End=Purpose
Complement extern=External show, form
Daws: Jackdaws
Not what I am=Not what I seem to be
Doting=to be fond, to love to excess
Knee-crooking=Flattering
Obsequious=Zealous, officious, devoted
Wear out=To spend all of, to come to the end of
Provender=Dry food for beasts
Compleat:
To content=Voldoen, te vreede stellen, genoegen geeven
Dote upon=Op iets verzot zyn; zyne zinnen zeer op iets gezet hebben
Obsequious=Gehoorzaam, gedienstig
To cashiere=Den zak geeven, afdanken, ontslaan
Jack daw=Een exter of kaauw
Extern=Uitwendig, uiterlyk
End=Voorneemen, oogmerk

Topics: loyalty, deceit, proverbs and idioms, leadership, duty

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Quickly
CONTEXT:
DOCTOR CAIUS
It is no matter-a ver dat: do not you tell-a me
dat I shall have Anne Page for myself? By gar, I
vill kill de Jack priest; and I have appointed mine
host of de Jarteer to measure our weapon. By gar, I
will myself have Anne Page.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
Sir, the maid loves you, and all shall be well. We
must give folks leave to prate: what, the goodyear!

DUTCH:
Het meisjen, heer, mag u wel lijden en alles komt
terecht. Wij moeten de menschen laten praten, wat
drommel!

MORE:
Proverb: Give losers leave to speak (talk)

Jack=Knave
Measure our weapon=Referee
Leave to prate=Allow to talk
What the goodyear=Light curse, what the devil?
Compleat:
To prate=Praaten
Crafty Jack=Een Looze boef
Give me leave to speak=Vergun my (staa my toe) te spreeken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, communication

PLAY: The Merchant of Venice
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
DUKE
With all my heart.—Some three or four of you
Go give him courteous conduct to this place.—
Meantime the court shall hear Bellario’s letter.
[reads]“Your grace shall understand that at the receipt of
your letter I am very sick, but in the instant that your
messenger came, in loving visitation was with me a
young doctor of Rome. His name is Balthazar. I
acquainted him with the cause in controversy between the
Jew and Antonio the merchant. We turned o’er many books
together. He is furnished with my opinion,
which—bettered with his own learning, the greatness
whereof I cannot enough commend—comes with him at my
importunity to fill up your grace’s request in my stead.
I beseech you, let his lack of years be no impediment to
let him lack a reverend estimation, for I never knew so
young a body with so old a head. I leave him to your
gracious acceptance, whose trial shall better publish
his commendation.”

DUTCH:
Wij hebben samen vele rechtsgeleerde werken nageslagen;
hij is volkomen met mijn inzichten bekend

MORE:
Proverb: An old head on young shoulders

Reverend=Testifying veneration, humble
Estimation=Value, worth
Turned o’er=Consulted
Publish=bring to light, show
Commendation=Value
Let=Cause (him to)
Compleat:
Reverent=Eerbiedig
Estimation=Waardeering, schatting
Publish=Openbaarmaken, bekendmaken

Topics: emotion and mood, misquoted

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: First Goth
CONTEXT:
LUCIUS
Approved warriors, and my faithful friends,
I have received letters from great Rome,
Which signify what hate they bear their emperor
And how desirous of our sight they are.
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious and impatient of your wrongs,
And wherein Rome hath done you any scath,
Let him make treble satisfaction.
FIRST GOTH
Brave slip, sprung from the great Andronicus,
Whose name was once our terror, now our comfort;
Whose high exploits and honourable deeds
Ingrateful Rome requites with foul contempt,
Be bold in us: we’ll follow where thou lead’st,
Like stinging bees in hottest summer’s day
Led by their master to the flowered fields,
And be avenged on cursed Tamora.
ALL THE GOTHS
And as he saith, so say we all with him.

DUTCH:
Vertrouw op ons; wij volgen waar ge ons leidt,
Als angelbijën, die op ‘t heetst des zomers
De koningin naar bloemenbeemden voert;
En wreek u op de vloekb’re Tamora.

MORE:
Proverb: He is like the master bee that leads forth the swarm

Approved=Proven, tested
Scath=Harm
Slip=Offspring
Bold in=Have confidence in
Requite=Repays
Master=The queen bee was thought to be a male at the time
Compleat:
Approved=Beproefd; goedgekeurd
Scathe=Quetsuur, ongemak. To do scathe=Bezeeren
Bold=Stout, koen, vrymoedig, onbevreesd, onverslaagd, vrypostig
To requite=Vergelden
To requite a man in his own way=Iemand met gelyke munt betaalen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, leadership, loyalty

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Valentine
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus:
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.
Were’t not affection chains thy tender days
To the sweet glances of thy honoured love,
I rather would entreat thy company
To see the wonders of the world abroad,
Than, living dully sluggardized at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
But since thou lovest, love still and thrive therein,
Even as I would when I to love begin.

DUTCH:
Staak vrij uw overreding, lieve Proteus;
Thuiszitten maakt een jonkman tot een huishen.
Ja, hield de liefde uw lente niet geketend
Aan ‘t lieflijk lonken van uw aangebeed’ne,
Dan drong ik u, veeleer te zaam met mij
Der wijde wereld wond’ren te gaan zien,
Dan zoo uw jeugd, in duffe droomerij
En lendenlamme lediggang te slijten.
Doch wijl gij mint, — blijf minnen, groei er in,
Zooals mijn wensch zal zijn, als ik eens min.

MORE:
Proverb: home-keeping youths have ever homely wits (1591)

Home-keeping=Not travelling, staying at home
Homely=Plain, unsophisticated
Tender=Young
Sluggardized=Made lazy
Shapeless=Undisciplined, aimless
Compleat:
Persuade=Overreeden, overstemmen, overtuigen, aanraaden, wysmaaken, dietsmaaken
Homely=Leelyk [minder beledigende gezegt als Ugly]; Plomp, boersch; Eenvoudig; Ongeleerd
Tender=Teder, week, murw
Sluggard=Een luiaard
To slug it=Luijeren, traag zyn
Shapeless=Wanstallig, zonder fatsoen

Burgersdijk notes:
Thuiszitten maakt een jonkman tot een huishen.Die niet verder ziet dan de muren van zijn
huis. In ‘t Engelsch: Homekeeping youth have ever homely wits.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, life, age/experience

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
CRESSIDA
Let me go and try:
I have a kind of self resides with you;
But an unkind self, that itself will leave,
To be another’s fool. I would be gone:
Where is my wit? I know not what I speak.
TROILUS
Well know they what they speak that speak so wisely.
CRESSIDA
Perchance, my lord, I show more craft than love;
And fell so roundly to a large confession,
To angle for your thoughts: but you are wise,
Or else you love not, for to be wise and love
Exceeds man’s might; that dwells with gods above.

DUTCH:
Wie zoo verstandig spreekt, weet wat hij spreekt.

MORE:
Proverb: It is impossible to love and be wise

Reside=Dwell
Unkind=Unnatural
Craft=Cunning
Roundly=Openly
Large=Full
Angle=Fish
Compleat:
To reside=Verhouden, zich onthouden, verblyven
Craft=List, loosheyd
Roundly=Rondelyk, rond uyt
To angle=Hengelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wisdom, emotion and mood, love

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
HENRY BOLINGBROKE
So far be mine, my most redoubted lord,
As my true service shall deserve your love.
KING RICHARD II
Well you deserve: they well deserve to have,
That know the strong’st and surest way to get.
Uncle, give me your hands: nay, dry your eyes;
Tears show their love, but want their remedies.
Cousin, I am too young to be your father,
Though you are old enough to be my heir.
What you will have, I’ll give, and willing too;
For do we must what force will have us do.
Set on towards London, cousin, is it so?

DUTCH:
0, veel verdient gij; — hij verdient te ontvangen,
Die vast en goed den weg weet om te erlangen. —

MORE:

Proverb: They that are bound must obey

Redoubted=Feared, respected (often used to address a monarch)
Want=Fail to provide (a remedy)

Compleat:
Redoubted=Geducht, ontzaglyk
Want=Gebrek

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, statys, remedy, merit

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Petruchio
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
Then God be blessed, it is the blessèd sun.
But sun it is not, when you say it is not,
And the moon changes even as your mind.
What you will have it named, even that it is,
And so it shall be so for Katherine.
HORTENSIO
Petruchio, go thy ways; the field is won.
PETRUCHIO
Well, forward, forward! Thus the bowl should run,
And not unluckily against the bias.
But, soft! Company is coming here.

DUTCH:
Vooruit dan, voort; zoo rolt de bal wel goed
En poedelt niet meer zijwaarts aan ‘t beschot. –
Maar kijk, wie komt ons daar gezelschap houden?

MORE:
Proverb: As changeful (inconstant) as the moon

List=Please
Crossed=Challenged
Rush candle=Cheap candle made of a rush dipped in tallow
Compleat:
To list=Genegen zijn, lust hebben
To cross=Tegenstreeven, dwars voor de boeg komen, dwarsboomen, wederestreeven, kruisen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, free will, independence, language

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
Well, God give them wisdom that have it. And those that
are fools, let them use their talents.
MARIA
Yet you will be hanged for being so long absent. Or to
be turned away, is not that as good as a hanging to
you?
FOOL
Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage, and, for
turning away, let summer bear it out.

DUTCH:
Nu, God verleene wijsheid aan die wijs zijn; en zij,
die narren zijn, mogen hunne talenten gebruiken.

MORE:
Proverb: Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage

Turned away=Dismissed
Hanging=Execution
Bear it out=Endure it
Compleat:
To bear out=Uythouden, uytsteeken, uytschieten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, marriage

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Mistress Quickly
CONTEXT:
FENTON
Yes, marry, have I; what of that?
MISTRESS QUICKLY
Well, thereby hangs a tale: good faith, it is such another Nan; but, I detest, an honest maid as ever broke bread: we had an hour’s talk of that wart. I shall never laugh but in that maid’s company! But indeed she is given too much to allicholy and musing: but for you—well, go to.
FENTON
Well, I shall see her to-day. Hold, there’s money for thee; let me have thy voice in my behalf: if thou seest her before me, commend me.
MISTRESS QUICKLY
Will I? i’faith, that we will; and I will tell your
worship more of the wart the next time we have
confidence; and of other wooers.

DUTCH:
Wel, daar is een heel verhaal aan vast. — Goede
hemel, dat is mij een Anneken! maar, dat verzweer ik,
een meisjen zoo zedig, als er ooit een brood gesneden
heeft; — wij hebben wel een uur lang over die wrat
gepraat.

MORE:
Proverb: As honest a man as ever broke bread
Proverb: Thereby hangs a tale

Detest=Prconfotest (malapropism)
Allicholy=Melancholy
Have confidence=Confide in each other
Compleat:
Confidence=Betrouwen, vertrouwen, vrymoedigheyd, verzekerdheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, flattery, still in use, invented or popularised, honesty

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Hey-day, what a sweep of vanity comes this way!
They dance! they are mad women.
Like madness is the glory of this life.
As this pomp shows to a little oil and root.
We make ourselves fools, to disport ourselves;
And spend our flatteries, to drink those men
Upon whose age we void it up again,
With poisonous spite and envy.
Who lives that’s not depraved or depraves?
Who dies, that bears not one spurn to their graves
Of their friends’ gift?
I should fear those that dance before me now
Would one day stamp upon me: ‘t has been done;
Men shut their doors against a setting sun.

DUTCH:
Ha! welk een zwerm van ijdelheid komt daar!
Daar dansen zij! waanzinnig is dat vrouwvolk!
Juist zulk een waanzin is de glans des levens,
Als deze praal bij mijnen schralen kost.

MORE:
Proverb: The rising, not the setting, sun is worshipped by most men
Proverb: Men more worship the rising than the setting sun

Hey-day=Expression of surprise
Sweep=Elegance
Oil and root=Plain eating, contrast with pomp
Disport=Amuse
Void=Vomit
Compleat:
Disport=Kortswyl
To void=Ontleedigen, leedigen, lossen, afgaan

Burgersdijk notes:
Bereid om hem te vermoorden. Wie een ander zijn goed helpt verkwisten, werkt mede om hem tot wanhoop en zelfmoord te brengen.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, vanity, madness, legacy

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Lucullus
CONTEXT:
LUCILIUS
What a wicked beast was I to disfurnish myself
against such a good time, when I might ha’ shown
myself honourable! how unluckily it happened, that I
should purchase the day before for a little part,
and undo a great deal of honoured! Servilius, now,
before the gods, I am not able to do,—the more
beast, I say:—I was sending to use Lord Timon
myself, these gentlemen can witness! but I would
not, for the wealth of Athens, I had done’t now.
Commend me bountifully to his good lordship; and I
hope his honour will conceive the fairest of me,
because I have no power to be kind: and tell him
this from me, I count it one of my greatest
afflictions, say, that I cannot pleasure such an
honourable gentleman. Good Servilius, will you
befriend me so far, as to use mine own words to him?
SERVILIUS
Yes, sir, I shall.
LUCILIUS
I’ll look you out a good turn, Servilius.

DUTCH:
Welk een snood schepsel ben ik geweest, dat ik mij
van middelen ontbloot heb, nu ik zulk eene gelegenheid
had om mij een man van eer te betoonen!

MORE:
Proverb: One good turn asks (requires, deserves) another

Disfurnish=Deprive
Purchase for a little part=Invest
Undo=Damage
Honoured=Reputation
To use=To borrow from; lend with interest
Conceive the fairest=Think well
Affliction=Shortcoming; misery, suffering of the mind
Compleat:
To undo=Ontdoen; ontbinden, bederven
Honour=Aanzien, glorie, roem
Affliction=Verdrukking, moeijelykheid, wederwaardigheid, verdriet, pyn

Topics: proverbs and idioms, debt/obligation, friendship, money

PLAY: The Merry Wives of Windsor
ACT/SCENE:
SPEAKER: Page
CONTEXT:
FORD
Stand not amazed; here is no remedy:
In love the heavens themselves do guide the state;
Money buys lands, and wives are sold by fate.
FALSTAFF
I am glad, though you have ta’en a special stand to
strike at me, that your arrow hath glanced.
PAGE
Well, what remedy? Fenton, heaven give thee joy!
What cannot be eschewed must be embraced.

DUTCH:
Wat nu? — ‘t Zij. — Fenton, zegene u de hemel!
Wat niet te ontgaan is, nu, dat moet men dragen.

MORE:
Proverb: What cannot be cured must be endured

Amazed=Bewildered
Glanced=Missed the mark
Compleat:
Amazed=Ontzet, verbaasd, ontsteld
Glance=Eventjes raaken

Topics: proverbs and idioms|fate/destiny|love|remedy

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Buckingham
CONTEXT:
BUCKINGHAM
O, many
Have broke their backs with laying manors on ’em
For this great journey. What did this vanity
But minister communication of
A most poor issue?
NORFOLK
Grievingly I think
The peace between the French and us not values
The cost that did conclude it.
BUCKINGHAM
Every man,
After the hideous storm that followed, was
A thing inspired and, not consulting, broke
Into a general prophecy: that this tempest,
Dashing the garment of this peace, aboded
The sudden breach on ’t.

DUTCH:
En wat deed die pronk,
Dan dat hij diende voor een samenkomst,
Die luttel vruchts droeg?

MORE:
Proverb: To break one’s back
Manors=Estates
Vanity=Folly
Minister communication=Put into effect
Issue=Outcome
Not values the cost=Isn’t worth the price paid
Dashing=Battering
To abode=To be a (bad) omen
Compleat:
Manor-house=Een huys of slot van den ambachtsheer
Vanity=Ydelheyd
To minister=Bedienen
Issue=Een uytgang, uytslag, uytkomst
Value=Waarderen, achten, schatten
To dash=Slaan, stooten, verbryzelen, spatten
To bode=Voorzeggen, voorspellen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, consequence, value

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
VIOLA
There is a fair behavior in thee, captain,
And though that nature with a beauteous wall
Doth oft close in pollution, yet of thee
I will believe thou hast a mind that suits
With this thy fair and outward character.
I prithee—and I’ll pay thee bounteously—
Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
For such disguise as haply shall become
The form of my intent. I’ll serve this duke.
Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him.
It may be worth thy pains, for I can sing
And speak to him in many sorts of music
That will allow me very worth his service.
What else may hap to time I will commit.
Only shape thou thy silence to my wit.

DUTCH:
De tijd moog’ leeren, wat gebeuren kan,
Steun gij door uw stilzwijgendheid mijn plan.

MORE:
Proverb: The face is the index of the heart (mind)

Prattle=Discuss
Fresh in murmur=New rumours
Delivered=Revealed
Shortly=Soon after
Abjure=Renounce
Occasion=Opportunity
Mellow=Ripe
Estate=Social status
Compass=Bring about
Suit=Petition
Compleat:
Prate and prattle=Keffen en snappen
To murmur=Morren, murmureeren
To murmur against=Tegen morren
Shortly=Kortelyk, in ‘t kort, binnen korten
To abjure=Afzweeren
Occasion=Gelegenheyd, voorval, oorzaak
Mellow=Murw, rijp
To mellow=Rypen, ryp of murw worden
Estate=Bezit, middelen
Suit=Een verzoek, rechtsgeding

Burgersdijk notes:
Ik wil dien vorst als jonkman dienen. In het oorspronkelijke staat, dat Viola ,””als eunuuk”” aan den hertog wenscht voorgesteld te worden. — Daarom zegt dan ook de kapitein, aan de eunuken en stommen van het serail en aan de daar gebruikelijke straf van verblinden denkende, in zijn antwoord: Wees gij zijn eunuuk, en ik zal uw stomme zijn; zoo mijn tong klapt, laat dan mijne oogen niet meer zien””. Geheel juist en volledig waren deze twee regels, die op de woorden “”als eunuuk”” slaan, niet terug te geven. Daarom zijn deze twee woorden weggelaten, wat te eerder veroorloofd scheen, daar Sh. later op deze uitdrukking niet meer gelet heeft en Viola aan het hof des hertogs geenszins de voorgenomen rol speelt, maar door allen als een jonkman behandeld wordt, zoodat men zich verwonderen kan, dat Shakespeare in dit met zooveel zorg bewerkte stuk de woorden niet gewijzigd heeft.”

Topics: proverbs and idioms, good and bad, appearance, plans/intentions

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Faint-hearted boy, arise, and look upon her.
Speak, Lavinia, what accursed hand
Hath made thee handless in thy father’s sight?
What fool hath added water to the sea,
Or brought a faggot to bright-burning Troy?
My grief was at the height before thou camest,
And now like Nilus, it disdaineth bounds.
Give me a sword, I’ll chop off my hands too;
For they have fought for Rome, and all in vain;
And they have nursed this woe, in feeding life;
In bootless prayer have they been held up,
And they have served me to effectless use:
Now all the service I require of them
Is that the one will help to cut the other.
‘Tis well, Lavinia, that thou hast no hands;
For hands, to do Rome service, are but vain.

DUTCH:
Zwakhartig jongling, rijs, en zie haar aan. —
Lavinia, spreek! wat vloekb’re hand heeft u
HandIoos gemaakt voor de oogen van uw vader?
En welke dwaas goot water in de zee,
En wierp in Troja’s laaien brand een mutsaard?

MORE:
Proverb: To cast water into the sea (Thames)

Faint-hearted=Weak
Bootless=Futile, pointless
Martyred=Mutilated
Compleat:
Faint-hearted=Flaauwhartig, lafhartig, slaphartig
Bootless=Te vergeefs, vruchteloos
Martyred=Gemarteld, gepynigd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, fate/destiny, punishment

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Troilus
CONTEXT:
TROILUS
What is aught, but as ’tis valued?
HECTOR
But value dwells not in particular will;
It holds his estimate and dignity
As well wherein ’tis precious of itself
As in the prizer: ’tis mad idolatry
To make the service greater than the god
And the will dotes that is inclinable
To what infectiously itself affects,
Without some image of the affected merit.

DUTCH:
HECTOR
Ze is, broeder, wat het kost haar hier te houden,
Niet waard.
TROILUS
Iets is dat waard, waar wij ‘t op schatten.

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

Proverb: The worth of a thing is as it is esteemed (valued)

Dwells=Lies in
Prizer=Valuer
Dotes=Is excessively devoted
Inclinable=Partial (some versions have attributive)
Itself affects=What it fancies
Image=Concept
Affected=Admired object’s
Merit=Worth
Compleat:
To dwell=Verblyven
Prizer=Een schatter, waardeerder
To dote upon=Op iets verzot zyn; zyne zinnen zeer op iets gezet hebben
Inclinable=Geneigd
Affect=Liefde toedragen, ter harte gaan, beminnen
Merit=Verdienste

Topics: law/legal, value, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Sicinius
CONTEXT:
SICINIUS
You are at point to lose your liberties:
Marcius would have all from you; Marcius,
Whom late you have named for consul.
MENENIUS
Fie, fie, fie!
This is the way to kindle, not to quench.
FIRST SENATOR
To unbuild the city and to lay all flat.
SICINIUS
What is the city but the people?
CITIZENS
True,
The people are the city.
BRUTUS
By the consent of all, we were establish’d
The people’s magistrates.
CITIZENS
You so remain.
MENENIUS
And so are like to do.
COMINIUS
That is the way to lay the city flat;
To bring the roof to the foundation,
And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges,
In heaps and piles of ruin.
SICINIUS
This deserves death.
BRUTUS
Or let us stand to our authority,
Or let us lose it. We do here pronounce,
Upon the part o’ the people, in whose power
We were elected theirs, Marcius is worthy
Of present death.

DUTCH:
Is dan de stad iets anders dan het volk?

MORE:
Proverb: Do not blow the fire thou wouldst quench
Proverb: Men (Men’s love), not walls, make the city (prince) safe

Unbuild=To raze, to destroy
Compleat:
Unbuilt=Ongebouwd
Magistrate=Overheid, Overheer, Magistraat

Topics: order/society, law/legaldispute, , proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
Madman, thou errest. I say, there is no darkness but ignorance, in which thou art more puzzled than the Egyptians in their fog.
MALVOLIO
I say, this house is as dark as ignorance, though ignorance were as dark as hell. And I say, there was never man thus abused. I am no more mad than you are. Make the trial of it in any constant question.
FOOL
What is the opinion of Pythagoras concerning wildfowl?
MALVOLIO
That the soul of our grandam might haply inhabit a bird.

DUTCH:
Wat is de leer van Pythagoras ten opzichte van het
wild gevogelte ?

MORE:
Proverb: The hood (habit, cowl) makes not the monk

Puzzled=Bewildered
Fog=One plague in Egypt was the ‘black darkness’ (Exodus)
Haply=Perhaps
Constant=Logical, common sense
Question=Consideration, discussion
Compleat:
Puzzled=In ‘t naauw gebragt, verbysterd
Foggy=Mistig, mistachtig; log, loom
Haply=Misschien
Constant=Standvastig, bestending, gestadig
Question=Verschil, twyfel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, learning/education, madness

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Thomas Mowbray
CONTEXT:
The language I have learn’d these forty years,
My native English, now I must forego:
And now my tongue’s use is to me no more
Than an unstringed viol or a harp,
Or like a cunning instrument cased up,
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony:
Within my mouth you have engaol’d my tongue,
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?

DUTCH:
Wat is uw vonnis, dan een stomme dood,
Nu ‘t mij mijn levensademklank verbood?

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)

Compleat:
Cunning=Behendig

Topics: language, understanding, identity, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Viola
CONTEXT:
VIOLA
Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp yourself,
for what is yours to bestow is not yours to reserve. But
this is from my commission. I will on with my speech in
your praise and then show you the heart of my message.
OLIVIA
Come to what is important in ’t. I forgive you the
praise.
VIOLA
Alas, I took great pains to study it, and ’tis
poetical.
OLIVIA
It is the more like to be feigned. I pray you, keep it
in. I heard you were saucy at my gates and allowed your
approach rather to wonder at you than to hear you. If
you be not mad, be gone. If you have reason, be brief.
‘Tis not that time of moon with me to make one in so
skipping a dialogue.
MARIA
Will you hoist sail, sir? Here lies your way.
VIOLA
No, good swabber, I am to hull here a little longer.
Some mollification for your giant, sweet lady.

DUTCH:
Zeker, als gij het zijt, matigt gij u uw eigen ik aan;
want wat gij het recht hebt weg te schenken, hebt gij
daarom nog het recht niet voor u te houden.

MORE:
Proverb: Here is the door and there is the way

Usurp=Counterfeit, steal from (supplant)
My commission=Errand
Forgive=Pardon
Saucy=Impertinent
Be not mad=Have any sense
Skipping=Insignificant
Compleat:
To usurp=’t Onrecht aanmaatigen, met geweld in ‘t bezit dringen, overweldigen
Usurpation=Een onrechtmaatige bezitneeming, of indrang, dwinggebruik, overweldiging
Usurping=Een onrechtmaatige bezitting; ‘t onrecht aanmaatigende
Commission=Last, volmagt, lastbrief, provisie
To forgive=Vergeeven, quytshelden
Saucy=Stout, onbeschaamd, baldaadig
Skipping=Springende

Burgersdijk notes:
Uw reus. De kleine Maria gedraagt zich als een grimmige reus, die, zooals in de sprookjes, een schoone princes te bewaken heeft. De twee volgende gezegden worden in de Folio-, en ook in de Globe- editie, aan Viola in den mond gelegd. Zeker onjuist. Op de vraag van Olivia antwoordt Viola,
dat zij geen eigen verlangen te melden heeft, maar slechts een bode is.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, civility, value

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
Forbear me.
There’s a great spirit gone! Thus did I desire it.
What our contempts doth often hurl from us
We wish it ours again. The present pleasure,
By revolution lowering, does become
The opposite of itself. She’s good, being gone.
The hand could pluck her back that shoved her on.
I must from this enchanting Queen break off
Ten thousand harms, more than the ills I know
My idleness doth hatch. —How now, Enobarbus!

DUTCH:
Daar scheidde een groote geest! Dit was mijn wensch;
Doch wat wij vaak verachtend van ons stieten,
Wij wenschen ‘t weer terug; wat thans ons streelt,
Wordt door der tijden ommezwaai verkeerd
In ‘t tegendeel;

MORE:
Proverb: The worth of a thing is best known by the want

Forbear=Avoid, leave alone
Lowering=Reduction
By revolution=With every turn of the wheel (fig.)
Idleness=Lack of occupation, responsibility
Compleat:
Forbear=Zich van onthouden
Revolution=Loop, omwenteling
Idleness=Luyheyd, traagheyd, leediggang, ledigheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, regret, value

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

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

MORE:
Proverb: The devil and his dam

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

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, communication, honour

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: First Goth
CONTEXT:
AARON
Indeed, I was their tutor to instruct them:
That codding spirit had they from their mother,
As sure a card as ever won the set;
That bloody mind, I think, they learned of me,
As true a dog as ever fought at head.
Well, let my deeds be witness of my worth.
I trained thy brethren to that guileful hole
Where the dead corpse of Bassianus lay:
I wrote the letter that thy father found
And hid the gold within the letter mentioned,
Confederate with the queen and her two sons:
And what not done, that thou hast cause to rue,
Wherein I had no stroke of mischief in it?
I played the cheater for thy father’s hand,
And, when I had it, drew myself apart
And almost broke my heart with extreme laughter:
I pryed me through the crevice of a wall
When, for his hand, he had his two sons’ heads;
Beheld his tears, and laughed so heartily,
That both mine eyes were rainy like to his:
And when I told the empress of this sport,
She swooned almost at my pleasing tale,
And for my tidings gave me twenty kisses.
FIRST GOTH
What, canst thou say all this, and never blush?
AARON
Ay, like a black dog, as the saying is.

DUTCH:
Kunt gij dit alles zeggen zonder blozen ?

MORE:
Proverb: To blush like a black dog (shamelessness)

Codding=Lecherous
Set=Game, trick
Trained=Lured
Pried or pryed=Peered
Compleat:
Set=Zetsel, stelsel
Train (trap or wheedle)=Agterlaage, strik, val
To prie=Verspieden, doorsnuffelen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, conscience, betrayal

PLAY: Measure for Measure
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Duke
CONTEXT:
Forgive him, Angelo, that brought you home
The head of Ragozine for Claudio’s:
The offence pardons itself. Dear Isabel,
I have a motion much imports your good;
Whereto if you’ll a willing ear incline,
What’s mine is yours and what is yours is mine.
So, bring us to our palace; where we’ll show
What’s yet behind, that’s meet you all should know.

DUTCH:
Ik heb een wensch, die uw geluk beoogt;
Vind ik gehoor, wilt gij de mijne zijn,
Dan is al ‘t mijne ‘t uwe, ‘t uwe mijn.

MORE:
A motion much imports your good=A proposal that will benefit you

Topics: offence, equality, value, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Cloten
CONTEXT:
CLOTEN
Was there ever man had such luck! when I kissed the
jack, upon an up-cast to be hit away! I had a
hundred pound on’t: and then a whoreson jackanapes
must take me up for swearing; as if I borrowed mine
oaths of him and might not spend them at my pleasure.
FIRST LORD
What got he by that? You have broke his pate with
your bowl.
SECOND LORD
If his wit had been like him that broke it,
it would have run all out.
CLOTEN
When a gentleman is disposed to swear, it is not for
any standers-by to curtail his oaths, ha?
SECOND LORD
No my lord; nor crop the ears of them.

DUTCH:
Als een man van rang verkiest te vloeken, behoeft
niemand het hart te hebben zijn vloeken te kortstaarten;
hè?

MORE:
Proverb: May we not do with our own what we list?

Pate=The head; used in contempt or in ridicule
Curtail=Curtal, having a docked tail (followed by ‘crop the ears’)
Upcast=A throw at the game of bowls
Take up=Rebuke
Kissed the jack … away=The jack being the small ball in bowls, the closest to the jack at the end of the game wins. If the bowl ends up close to it, it is ‘kissing the jack’ (a great advantage). Cloten’s bowl is then hit away by the ‘upcast’ (throw of an opponent).
Compleat:
Jack (in bowling)=Honk, in de klosbaan
To take one up sharply (check, reprimand)=Iemand scherpelyk berispen
Pate=De kop, het hoofd
He threatened to break his pate=Hy dreigde hem den kop in te slaan

Burgersdijk notes:
Had ooit een mensch zulk een geluk?
Cloten spreekt van het geluk, dat zijn tegenspeler gehad heeft.

Topics: language, civility, patience, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Third Citizen
CONTEXT:
THIRD CITIZEN
When clouds are seen, wise men put on their cloaks;
When great leaves fall, then winter is at hand;
When the sun sets, who doth not look for night?
Untimely storms make men expect a dearth.
All may be well; but if God sort it so,
‘Tis more than we deserve or I expect.
SECOND CITIZEN
Truly, the hearts of men are full of fear.
Ye cannot reason almost with a man
That looks not heavily and full of dread.
THIRD CITIZEN
Before the days of change, still is it so.
By a divine instinct, men’s minds mistrust
Ensuing dangers, as by proof we see
The water swell before a boist’rous storm.
But leave it all to God. Whither away?
SECOND CITIZEN
Marry, we were sent for to the justices.
THIRD CITIZEN
And so was I. I’ll bear you company.

DUTCH:
Zoo is het altijd, voor verand’ring komt ;
Door hoog’ren aandrang ducht des menschen geest
Gevaar, dat naakt ; zoo zien wij immers ook
De waat’ren zwellen voor een wilden storm.

MORE:
Proverb: A man’s mind often gives him warning of evil to come

Sort=Ordain
Proof=Experience
Ensuing=Imminent
Compleat:
To sort=Uytschieten, elk by ‘t zyne leggen, sorteeren
Proof (mark or testimony)=Getuigenis
Proof=Beproeving
Ensuing=Volgende

Burgersdijk notes:
Door hoog’ren aandrang enz. De gedachte van dezen zin en de vermelding van het zwellen der wateren
voor een storm vond Sh. in de kroniek van Holinshed. Daarin wordt de ongerustheid van edelen en burgers, die op de straten samenstroomden, geschilderd; lord Hastings, dien zij als vriend des vorigen konings kenden, wist hen gerust te stellen met de verzekering, dat de gevangen edelen verraad hadden beraamd en dat zij in hechtenis waren genomen opdat hunne zaak naar behooren zou kunnen onderzocht worden. Nog meer werden zij gerustgesteld, toen Edward V in Londen aankwam en zij zagen, hoe Gloster hem met allen eerbied behandelde. Iedereen prees Gloster en hij werd door den Staatsraad tot Lord Protector benoemd.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, caution, wisdom, preparation

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: Proteus
CONTEXT:
VALENTINE
O, flatter me; for love delights in praises.
PROTEUS
When I was sick, you gave me bitter pills,
And I must minister the like to you.
VALENTINE
Then speak the truth by her; if not divine,
Yet let her be a principality,
Sovereign to all the creatures on the earth.

DUTCH:
Mij gaaft gij, toen ik krank was, bitt’re pillen,
En ik verorden u dezelfde kuur.

MORE:
Proverb: To swallow (digest) a bitter pill

By her=To her
Minister the like=Treat equally
Principality=One of the nine orders of angels
Sovereign=Superior, ruler
Compleat:
To minister=Bedienen, toebedienen
Sovereign=Volstrekt, onafhangkelyk, oppermachtig
Principality=Een vorstendom, prinsdom

Topics: proverbs and idioms, equality, learning/education

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Dromio of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Shall I tell you why?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Ay, sir, and wherefore, for they say every why hath a wherefore.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
“Why” first: for flouting me; and then “wherefore”: for urging it the second time to me.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season,
When in the “why” and the “wherefore” is neither rhyme nor reason?
Well, sir, I thank you.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Thank me, sir, for what?
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Marry, sir, for this something that you gave me for nothing.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I’ll make you amends next, to give you nothing for something. But say, sir, is it dinnertime?

DUTCH:
In geen van deze twee daaroms is rijm noch slot noch zin.
Toch, heer, dank ik u.

MORE:
Proverb: Neither rhyme nor reason
Proverb: Every why has a wherefore/There is never a why but there is a wherefore
Proverb: My stomach has struck dinnertime/twelve (rung noon)

Out of season=Unfairly, unseasonably
Dinnertime: shortly before noon
Compleat:
Why and wherefore=Waarom
Out of season=Uit de tyd
To make amends=Vergoeding doen, vergoeden
To flout=Bespotten, beschimpen

Topics: invented or popularised, still in use, reason, proverbs and idioms, remedy

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Brutus
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
He greets me well.—Your master, Pindarus,
In his own change or by ill officers
Hath given me some worthy cause to wish
Things done, undone. But if he be at hand
I shall be satisfied.
PINDARUS
I do not doubt
But that my noble master will appear
Such as he is, full of regard and honour.
BRUTUS
He is not doubted.—A word, Lucillius.
How he received you, let me be resolved.
LUCILLIUS
With courtesy and with respect enough.
But not with such familiar instances
Nor with such free and friendly conference
As he hath used of old.
BRUTUS
Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling. Ever note, Lucillius,
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforcèd ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith.
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle.

DUTCH:
Gij teekent daar
Een warmen vriend, die koel wordt. Geef steeds acht,
Als vriendschap kwijnen en verwelken gaat,
Dan bezigt zij gedwongen hoflijkheid .
De slechte rechte trouw weet niets van kunsten.

MORE:
Proverb: Full of courtesy full of craft
Proverb: Things done cannot be undone

Greets me well=Sends greetings through a worthy emissary
Change=Changed mind
Ill=Bad, untrustworthy
Worthy=Justifiable, respectable
Satisfied=Receive a satisfactory explanation
Regard=Respect
Resolved=Informed
Familiar instances=Signs of affection
Conference=Conversation
Enforcèd=Strained
Hot friend=Previously close friend
Trick=Artifice
Compleat:
Change=Verschiet, verscheydenheyd, verandering, verwisseling
Ill=Quaad, ondeugend, onpasselijk
Worthy=Waardig, eerwaardig, voortreffelyk, uytmuntend, deftig
Satisfaction, content=Voldoening
Regard=Opzigt, inzigt, omzigtigheyd, zorg, acht, achting
Resolve (untie, decide, determine a hard question, difficulty etc.)=Oplossen, ontwarren, ontknoopten
Resolve (deliberation, decision)=Beraad, beslissing, uitsluitsel
Familiar=Gemeenzaam
Conference=Onderhandeling, t’zamenspraak, mondgemeenschap
Enforcèd=Gedwongen, opgedrongen
Trick=Een looze trek, greep, gril

Topics: respect, civility, proverbs and idioms, reply, judgment, resolution

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Countess§
CONTEXT:
KING
We lost a jewel of her; and our esteem
Was made much poorer by it: but your son,
As mad in folly, lacked the sense to know
Her estimation home.
COUNTESS
‘Tis past, my liege;
And I beseech your majesty to make it
Natural rebellion, done i’ the blade of youth;
When oil and fire, too strong for reason’s force,
O’erbears it and burns on.
KING
My honoured lady,
I have forgiven and forgotten all;
Though my revenges were high bent upon him,
And watched the time to shoot.

DUTCH:
t Is voorbij, mijn vorst;
En ik verzoek uw hoogheid: in uw oogen
Zij ‘t oproer van het jeugdig bloed, dat blaakt,
Als vuur en olie, sterker dan de rede,
Haar overheert en voortbrandt.

MORE:
Esteem=Worth (own worth)
Estimation=Value
Home=To the full
Make=Consider
Blade=Green shoot, callowness of youth
High bent=Bent to breaking point
Watch the time=Wait patiently
Compleat:
Esteem=Achting, waarde
Estimation=Waardering, schatting
Blade=Blad van een gewas; een Jonker
I have got the bent of his bow=Ik weet wel waar hy heen wil
Watch=Waaken, bespieden
Bent=Buiging, neiging

Topics: value, mercy, revenge, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 4.5
SPEAKER: Claudius
CONTEXT:
O Gertrude, Gertrude,
When sorrows come, they come not single spies
But in battalions. First, her father slain.
Next, your son gone, and he most violent author
Of his own just remove.

DUTCH:
Als zorgen komen, komen ze niet als enkele verspieders, maar bij troepen tegelijk. /
Als smarten komen, komen ze als verspreide Verkenners niet, maar in bataljons. /
Als zorgen komen, komt niet de enk’le spie, Maar dichte drommen.

MORE:
“Not in single spies, but in battalions” still in use today

Topics: sorrow, grief, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Cressida
CONTEXT:
CRESSIDA
Prophet may you be!
If I be false, or swerve a hair from truth,
When time is old and hath forgot itself,
When waterdrops have worn the stones of Troy,
And blind oblivion swallowed cities up,
And mighty states characterless are grated
To dusty nothing, yet let memory,
From false to false, among false maids in love,
Upbraid my falsehood! when they’ve said ‘as false
As air, as water, wind, or sandy earth,
As fox to lamb, as wolf to heifer’s calf,
Pard to the hind, or stepdame to her son,’
‘Yea,’ let them say, to stick the heart of falsehood,
‘As false as Cressid.’

DUTCH:
O, wees een profeet!
Word ik ooit valsch, wijk ik een haar van trouwe, —
Als tijd van ouderdom zichzelf vergat,
Als waterdruppels Troja’s steenen sloopten,
En ‘t blind vergeten steden heeft verzwolgen,
En wereldrijken spoorloos zijn vergruisd
Tot stof en niets, dan moge nog herinn’ring,
Waar valschheid wordt genoemd en valsche maagden,
Mijn valschheid smaden!

MORE:
Proverb: As good (false, unstable) as water ever wet

Swerve=Stray
Hair=Hair’s breadth
Grated=Worn away
Pard=Leopard
Stick=Hit
Compleat:
To swerve=Afdwaalen, afdoelen, afzwerven
Within a hair’s breadth=Het scheelde niet een haar
To swerve from the truth=Van de waarheid afwyken
Pard=Een pardel

Topics: proverbs and idioms, loyalty

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: First Lord
CONTEXT:
FIRST LORD
Sir, I would advise you to shift a shirt; the
violence of action hath made you reek as a
sacrifice: where air comes out, air comes in:
there’s none abroad so wholesome as that you vent.
CLOTEN
If my shirt were bloody, then to shift it. Have I hurt him?
SECOND LORD
No, ‘faith; not so much as his patience.
FIRST LORD
Hurt him! his body’s a passable carcass, if he be
not hurt: it is a thoroughfare for steel, if it be not hurt.
SECOND LORD
His steel was in debt; it went o’ the backside the town.

DUTCH:
Ik zou u toch raden, prins, van linnen te wisselen; de
heftigheid van het gevecht heeft gemaakt, dat gij dampt
als een brandoffer; waar lucht uitgaat, komt lucht in,
en die daarbuiten is niet zoo gezond als die gij van u geeft.

MORE:
Proverb: He dares not show his head (himself) for debt

Shift=Change
Reek=Stink
Wholesome=Salubrious
Vent=Give off
Passable=Can be passed through, in this case referring to the pass of a rapier.
Stand=Resist
Not so much as=Not even
The backside of the town=Like a debtor hiding in the back alleys to avoid a creditor. Also (from “An Account of King James I’s Visit to Cambridge”), certain Jesuits were not suffered to come through Cambridge, but were “by the Sheriff carried over the backe side of the town to Cambridge castle.”
Compleat:
Thorough-fare=Een doorgang
Passable=Doorganklyk, inschikkelyk, middelmaatig, schappelyk
Money that is passable=Gangbaar geld
A passable hand=Een tamelyke hand
Stand (against or before)=Tegen houden, tegenstaan, verweeren

Burgersdijk notes:
Zijn staal bleef in gebreke te betalen; het liep achterafstraten om. Er staat woordelijk: „Zijn staal had schulden en liep de stad achterom,” evenals een schuldenaar, die zich niet vrij door de stad bewegen durft; Posthumus’ staal spaarde Cloten. — De meening zou ook kunnen zijn: Cloten’s staal trof Posthumus niet.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, debt/obligation

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Katherine
CONTEXT:
PETRUCHIO
Did ever Dian so become a grove
As Kate this chamber with her princely gait?
Oh, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate,
And then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful.
KATHERINE
Where did you study all this goodly speech?
PETRUCHIO
It is extempore, from my mother wit.
KATHERINE
A witty mother! Witless else her son.
PETRUCHIO
Am I not wise?
KATHERINE
Yes, keep you warm.

DUTCH:
Waar hebt gij al dien schoonen praat geleerd?

MORE:
Proverb: He is wise enough that can keep himself warm

Dian=Goddess Diana
Grove=Wood
Extempore=Improvised, off the cuff
Mother wit=Natural intelligence
Compleat:
Grove=Een kleyn bosch, een hout
Extempore=Voor de vuyst, opstaandevoet

Burgersdijk notes:
Nu, houd dien geest maar warm. Yes, keep you warm. Een spreekwoordelijk zeggen, vollediger uitgedrukt in “Veel leven om niets”, 1.1: If he have wit enough to keep himself warm, „als hij geest genoeg heeft om zich warm te houden”.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, wisdom, intellect, language, skill/talent

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

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

MORE:
Proverb: Fair face foul heart

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

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit, appearance, conspiracy

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: John of Gaunt
CONTEXT:
DUKE OF YORK
Vex not yourself, nor strive not with your breath;
For all in vain comes counsel to his ear.
JOHN OF GAUNT
O, but they say the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention like deep harmony:
Where words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain,
For they breathe truth that breathe their words in pain.
He that no more must say is listen’d more
Than they whom youth and ease have taught to glose;
More are men’s ends mark’d than their lives before:
The setting sun, and music at the close,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past:
Though Richard my life’s counsel would not hear,
My death’s sad tale may yet undeaf his ear

DUTCH:
Vaak klemt het woord van hem, wiens stemme breekt,
Want waarheid ademt, wie zwaar-aad’mend spreekt.

MORE:

Proverb: Dying mean speak true (prophesy)

CITED IN US LAW: People v. Smith 214 Cal. App. 3d 904, 907 (Cal. Ct. App 1989)(Arabian, J).

Must=Can
Listened more=Heard, listened to more closely
Gloze=To make tirades, to make mere words. Veil with specious comments (OED)
Close=Closing phrase (musical)
Remembrance=In memory
Undeaf=To free from deafness

Compleat:
Remembrance=Gedachtenis, geheugenis
To gloze=Vleijen, flikflooijen

Topics: language, value, death, proverbs and idioms, cited in law

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Old Lady
CONTEXT:
OLD LADY
An hundred marks? By this light, I’ll ha’ more.
An ordinary groom is for such payment.
I will have more or scold it out of him.
Said I for this the girl was like to him?
I’ll have more or else unsay ’t. And now,
While ’tis hot, I’ll put it to the issue.

DUTCH:
Want nu het heet is , wil ik ‘t ijzer smeden.

MORE:
Proverb: It is good to strike while the iron is hot
Scold=Admonish
Issue=Action
Compleat:
Scold=Kyven, schelden
Matter in issue=De zaak in geschil

Topics: proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 3.5
SPEAKER: Alcibiades
CONTEXT:
ALCIBIADES
My lords, then, under favour, pardon me,
If I speak like a captain.
Why do fond men expose themselves to battle,
And not endure all threats? sleep upon’t,
And let the foes quietly cut their throats,
Without repugnancy? If there be
Such valour in the bearing, what make we
Abroad? why then, women are more valiant
That stay at home, if bearing carry it,
And the ass more captain than the lion, the felon
Loaden with irons wiser than the judge,
If wisdom be in suffering. O my lords,
As you are great, be pitifully good:
Who cannot condemn rashness in cold blood?
To kill, I grant, is sin’s extremest gust;
But, in defence, by mercy, ’tis most just.
To be in anger is impiety;
But who is man that is not angry?
Weigh but the crime with this.
SECOND SENATOR
You breathe in vain.

DUTCH:
O, waarde heeren,
Weest niet slechts groot, maar deernisvol en goed;
Wie gispt den toorn niet licht bij rustig bloed?

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

Proverb: Who is man that is not angry?

Bear=Endure
Fond=Foolish
Repugnancy=Opposition
Irons=Shackles
Gust=Conception (murder is the greatest sin)
Impiety=Transgression
Compleat:
To bear=Draagen, voeren, verdraagen; dulden
Fond=Zot, dwaas, ongerymt
Repugnance=Strydigheid, tegenstrydigheid
Gust=Begeerlykheid, lust
Impiety=Ongodvruchtigheid, godloosheid

Topics: proverbs and idioms, law/legal, wisdom, anger, defence

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Katherina
CONTEXT:
KATHERINE
No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced
To give my hand, opposed against my heart,
Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen,
Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior,
And, to be noted for a merry man,
He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage,
Make friends, invite, and proclaim the banns,
Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.
Now must the world point at poor Katherine
And say, “Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife,
If it would please him come and marry her!”

DUTCH:
t Is smaad op mij! Ja, ‘k werd genoopt, de hand
Met tegenzin te reiken aan een dollen,
Grilzieken wildeman, die vliegensvlug
Verloofd wil zijn, maar trouwen, als ‘t hem lust.

MORE:
Proverb: Marry in haste, repent at leisure

Forsooth=In truth
Rudesby=Boorish man
Full of spleen=Fickle, changeable moods
Frantic=Insane
Blunt=Coarse
Noted=Reputed
Compleat:
Forsooth=Zeker, trouwens
Frentick=Ylhoofdig, uitzinnig, zinneloos
Frantick=Zinneloos, hersenloos, ylhoofdig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, marriage, haste, manipulation

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
FOOL
The matter, I hope, is not great, sir, begging but a
beggar. Cressida was a beggar. My lady is within, sir. I
will construe to them whence you come. Who you are and
what you would are out of my welkin, I might say
“element,” but the word is overworn.
VIOLA
This fellow is wise enough to play the fool,
And to do that well craves a kind of wit.
He must observe their mood on whom he jests,
The quality of persons, and the time,
And, like the haggard, check at every feather
That comes before his eye. This is a practise
As full of labor as a wise man’s art,
For folly that he wisely shows is fit.
But wise men, folly-fall’n, quite taint their wit.

DUTCH:
Ik wil haar beduiden, van waar gij komt; wie gij zijt en wat gij wilt, ligt buiten mijn uitspansel; ik kon zeggen „sfeer”, maar dit woord is versleten.

MORE:

Overworn=Spoiled by too much use
Welkin=Sky
Construe=Explain (also ‘conster’)
Compleat:
Construe (conster)=Woordenschikken; t’Zamenschikken, t’zamenstellen
Overworn=Gantsch afgesleeten, uitgesleeten, afgeleefd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, skill/talent, language, intellect, appearance

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Petruchio
CONTEXT:
PETRUCHIO
Why came I hither but to that intent?
Think you a little din can daunt mine ears?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar?
Have I not heard the sea, puffed up with winds,
Rage like an angry boar chafèd with sweat?
Have I not heard great ordnance in the field,
And heaven’s artillery thunder in the skies?
Have I not in a pitchèd battle heard
Loud ‘larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets’ clang?
And do you tell me of a woman’s tongue
That gives not half so great a blow to hear
As will a chestnut in a farmer’s fire?
Tush, tush! Fear boys with bugs.

DUTCH:
Waarvoor kwam ik dan hier, dan met dit doel?
Denkt gij mijn oor vervaard voor wat geruchts?
Hoorde ik dan nooit het brullen van den leeuw?

MORE:
Proverb: Bugbears (bugs) to scare babies
Proverb: You fray an old knave with a bugbear

Intent=Purpose
Din=Noise
Daunt=Intimidate
Ordnance=Cannon
Field=Battlefield
‘Larums=Call to battle
Bugs=Bugbears
Compleat:
Intent=Oogmerk, einde, opzet
Dinn=Geklink, geraas
To daunt=Verschrukken, vrees aanjaagen, verbaazen
Ordinance=Geschut

Topics: proverbs and idioms, courage

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 3.4
SPEAKER: Pisanio
CONTEXT:
PISANIO
O gracious lady,
Since I received command to do this business
I have not slept one wink.
IMOGEN
Do’t, and to bed then.
PISANIO
I’ll wake mine eye-balls blind first.
IMOGEN
Wherefore then
Didst undertake it? Why hast thou abused
So many miles with a pretence? this place?
Mine action and thine own? our horses’ labour?
The time inviting thee? the perturb’d court,
For my being absent? whereunto I never
Purpose return. Why hast thou gone so far,
To be unbent when thou hast ta’en thy stand,
The elected deer before thee?
PISANIO
But to win time
To lose so bad employment; in the which
I have consider’d of a course. Good lady,
Hear me with patience.

DUTCH:
Waarom
Ontspant ge uw boog, nu ‘t uitgekozen wild
Juist binnenscheuts is?

MORE:
Modern usage: I haven’t slept a wink (not coined by Shakespeare. First recorded use in 14th century)
Wake mine eye-balls blind=Stay awake until I’m blind
Purpose=Intend to
Unbent=Bow not taut
Stand=Position
Elected=Selected (prey)
Compleat:
The ball of the eye=De oogappel
Purpose (design, resolution, project)=Voorneemen, besluit, ontwerp
Unbent=Ontspannen, geslaakt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, authority, work, status, duty, debt/obligation

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 3
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Gloucester
CONTEXT:
O monstrous fault, to harbour such a thought!
Then, since this earth affords no joy to me,
But to command, to check, to o’erbear such
As are of better person than myself,
I’ll make my heaven to dream upon the crown,
And, whiles I live, to account this world but hell,
Until my mis-shaped trunk that bears this head
Be round impaled with a glorious crown.
And yet I know not how to get the crown,
For many lives stand between me and home:
And I,—like one lost in a thorny wood,
That rends the thorns and is rent with the thorns,
Seeking a way and straying from the way;
Not knowing how to find the open air,
But toiling desperately to find it out,—
Torment myself to catch the English crown:
And from that torment I will free myself,
Or hew my way out with a bloody axe.
Why, I can smile, and murder whiles I smile,
And cry ‘Content’ to that which grieves my heart,
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears,
And frame my face to all occasions.

DUTCH:
Glimlachen kan ik en glimlachend moorden,
En roepen: „mooi!” bij wat mijn ziele grieft,

MORE:

Proverb: To laugh (smile) in one’s face and cut one’s throat

Check=Rebuke, punish
Overbear=Dominate
Home=My objective
Artificial=Fake, feigned
Rends=Tears

Compleat:
Check=Berisping, beteugeling, intooming
To over-bear=Overtreffen, onderkrygen; (oppress) Onderdrukken
Artificial=Konstig, behendig, aardig, dat niet natuurlyk is
To rend=Scheuren, van een ryten

Topics: proverbs and idioms, deceit, appearance, flaw/fault, ambition

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Sir Toby
CONTEXT:
SIR TOBY BELCH
What a plague means my niece, to take the death of her brother thus? I am sure care’s an enemy to life.
MARIA
By my troth, Sir Toby, you must come in earlier o’ nights. Your cousin, my lady, takes great exceptions to your ill hours.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Why, let her except, before excepted.
MARIA
Ay, but you must confine yourself within the modest limits of order.
SIR TOBY BELCH
Confine? I’ll confine myself no finer than I am. These clothes are good enough to drink in, and so be these boots too. An they be not, let them hang themselves in their own straps.

DUTCH:
Wel, het hindert haar niet; zij kan zelf op haar eigen
tijd gaan liggen.

MORE:
Proverb: Care will kill a cat
Proverb: Care brings grey hair
Proverb: Some complain to prevent complaint

Except before excepted=With the stated exceptions (Exceptis excipiendis)
Modest=Moderate, reasonable
Limits of order=Bounds of behaviour
Confine=Limit
Finer=More refined
Compleat:
Except=Uytzonderen, uytsluyten
Modest=Zeedig, eerbaar
Quite out of order=Geheel uyt zyn schik
Confined=Bepaald, bedwongen; gevangen
Fine=Mooi, fraai, fyn, schoon

Burgersdijk notes:
Het hindert niet. Natuurlijk moesten de woordspelingen met eenige vrijheid overgebracht worden. Hier staat in ‘t Engelsen, in antwoord op het door Maria gebezigde woord exception: ,Let her except, before excepted.” Except is de rechtsuitdrukking voor het wraken van getuigen. Verkiest men het woord afkeuren, dat alsdan ook door Maria gebruikt moet zijn, dan wordt dit: ,Laat haar afkeuren, voor zijzelf afgekeurd wordt “; dan is de vertaler iets nader gebleven aan het oorspronkelijke, maar daarentegen had jonker Tobias dan de woorden niet in een anderen zin gebruikt dan Maria, en dus ware de vertaling uit dit oogpunt weer minder getrouw. Nihil ex omni parte beatum.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, concern , order/society, excess, virtue

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Iden
CONTEXT:
CADE
Here’s the lord of the soil come to seize me for a
stray, for entering his fee-simple without leave.
Ah, villain, thou wilt betray me, and get a thousand
crowns of the king carrying my head to him: but
I’ll make thee eat iron like an ostrich, and swallow
my sword like a great pin, ere thou and I part.
IDEN
Why, rude companion, whatsoe’er thou be,
I know thee not; why, then, should I betray thee?
Is’t not enough to break into my garden,
And, like a thief, to come to rob my grounds,
Climbing my walls in spite of me the owner,
But thou wilt brave me with these saucy terms?
CADE
Brave thee! Ay, by the best blood that ever was
broached, and beard thee too. Look on me well: I
have eat no meat these five days; yet, come thou and
thy five men, and if I do not leave you all as dead
as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more.

DUTCH:
Gij onbeschofte knaap, wie ge ook moogt zijn,
Ik ken u niet; wat zou ik u verraden?

MORE:

Proverb: As dead (deaf, dumb) as a doornail.

Dead as a doornail wasn’t coined by Shakespeare but can be traced back to the 14th century.

To stand seised in fee simple=A feudal term that meant to have both possession and title of property, a form of freehold ownership. Shakespeare sometimes used the phrase to mean absoluteness.

Stray=Trespass, straying animals
Ostriches were believed to eat iron
Brave=Challenge
Terms=Language
Beard=Defy, challenge (e.g. ‘beard the lion in his den’)

Compleat:
To stray=Verdwaalen, doolen
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren, moedig treden
Term=Woord, uitdrukking
To beard (outbrave)=Uittarten, eenen anderen by den baard trekken, braveeren
Fee-simple (or fee absolute)=Een onbepaald leen, ons en onze erfgenaamen voor altoos toebehorende

Topics: law/legal, dispute, language, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Demetrius
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
Why makest thou it so strange?
She is a woman, therefore may be wooed;
She is a woman, therefore may be won;
She is Lavinia, therefore must be loved.
What, man! more water glideth by the mill
Than wots the miller of; and easy it is
Of a cut loaf to steal a shive, we know:
Though Bassianus be the emperor’s brother.
Better than he have worn Vulcan’s badge.
AARON
Ay, and as good as Saturninus may.
DEMETRIUS
Then why should he despair that knows to court it
With words, fair looks and liberality?
What, hast not thou full often struck a doe,
And borne her cleanly by the keeper’s nose?
AARON
Why, then, it seems, some certain snatch or so
Would serve your turns.

DUTCH:
Nu, ‘t.schijnt dan, dat een schaking of zoo iets
U dienstig waar?

MORE:
Proverb: It is safe taking a shive of a cut loaf
Proverb: All women may be won
Proverb: Much water goes by the mill that the miller knows not of

Shive=Slice
Worn Vulcan’s badge=Cuckolded
Knows to=Knows how to
Snatch=Quick burst
Turns=Purposes
Compleat:
Snatch=Een ruk, hap, beet
Turn (office)=Dienst, trek, poets; She did it only to serve a turn=Zy deed het enkelyk uit eigenbaat

Burgersdijk notes:
Vulkanus’ tool. Shakespeare maakt ook elders van Venus en Mars gewag; men zie Antonius en Cleopatra, en Venus en Adonis.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, trust, secrecy

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Why, tis no matter, man; if they did hear,
They would not mark me, or if they did mark,
They would not pity me, yet plead I must;
Therefore I tell my sorrows to the stones;
Who, though they cannot answer my distress,
Yet in some sort they are better than the tribunes,
For that they will not intercept my tale:
When I do weep, they humbly at my feet
Receive my tears and seem to weep with me;
And, were they but attired in grave weeds,
Rome could afford no tribune like to these.
A stone is soft as wax,—tribunes more hard than stones;
A stone is silent, and offendeth not,
And tribunes with their tongues doom men to death.

DUTCH:
t Is eender, knaap; al hoorden ze ook, zij zouden
Er niet op letten; letten zij er op,
Er niet geroerd door zijn; toch moet ik spreken,
Hoe nutt’loos ook.

MORE:
Proverb: As hard as a stone (flint, rock)
Proverb: Pliable as wax

Mark=Take notice, heed
In some sort=Somehow
Intercept=Interrupt
Grave weeds=Somber clothes
Afford=Provide
Doom=Condemn
Compleat:
To mark=Merken, tekenen, opletten
To intercept=Onderscheppen
Grave=Deftig, stemmig, staatig
Weeds (habit or garment)=Kleederen, gewaad
Afford=Verschaffen, uytleeveren
Doom=Vonnis, oordeel, verwyzing

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, sorrow

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Friar Lawrence
CONTEXT:
ROMEO
Oh, let us hence. I stand on sudden haste.
FRIAR LAWRENCE
Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast.

DUTCH:
Al zacht, mijn zoon! wie voortholt, struikelt licht.

MORE:
Still in use
Compleat:
Haste=Haast, spoed
He made too much hast=Hy maakte al te groot een haast
The more haste the worse speed=Hoe meerder haast hoe minder spoed

Topics: patience, caution, proverbs and idioms, invented or popularised, wisdom, haste, still in use

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 4.15
SPEAKER: Cleopatra
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
I am dying, Egypt, dying. Only
I here importune death awhile, until
Of many thousand kisses the poor last
I lay upon thy lips.
CLEOPATRA
I dare not, dear,
Dear my lord, pardon, I dare not,
Lest I be taken. Not th’ imperious show
Of the full-fortuned Caesar ever shall
Be brooched with me. If knife, drugs, serpents, have
Edge, sting, or operation, I am safe.
Your wife Octavia, with her modest eyes
And still conclusion, shall acquire no honour
Demuring upon me. But come, come, Antony—
Help me, my women—We must draw thee up.
Assist, good friends.
ANTONY
Oh, quick, or I am gone.
CLEOPATRA
Here’s sport indeed! How heavy weighs my lord!
Our strength is all gone into heaviness,
That makes the weight. Had I great Juno’s power,
The strong-winged Mercury should fetch thee up
And set thee by Jove’s side. Yet come a little.
Wishers were ever fools. Oh, come, come, come!

DUTCH:
Wie wenscht, was immer dwaas!

MORE:
Importune=Urge, impel
Imperious=Imperial
Brooch=Pin a brooch/badge on
Still=Silent
Conclusion=Judgment
Demuring=Looking demurely
Heavy=(1) Large material weight or (2) sadness
Mercury=Winged messenger god
Compleat:
Importune=Lastig vallen, zeer dringen, gestadig aanhouden, overdringen, aandringen
Imperious=Heerschzuchtig
Still=Stil
Conclusion=Het besluit
Demure=Stemmig, staatig, bedaard, ernstig, deftig
Heavy=(sad) Droevig, verdrietig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, death, hope/optimism

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Orlando
CONTEXT:
ROSALIND
Or else she could not have the wit to do this. The wiser, the waywarder. Make the doors upon a woman’s wit, and it will out at the casement. Shut that, and ’twill out at the keyhole. Stop that, ’twill fly with the smoke out at the chimney.
ORLANDO
A man that had a wife with such a wit, he might say “Wit, whither wilt?”
ROSALIND
Nay, you might keep that check for it, till you met your wife’s wit going to your neighbour’s bed.
ORLANDO
And what wit could wit have to excuse that?
ROSALIND
Marry, to say she came to seek you there. You shall
never take her without her answer unless you take her
without her tongue. Oh, that woman that cannot make her
fault her husband’s occasion, let her never nurse her
child herself, for she will breed it like a fool.

DUTCH:
Een man, die een vrouw had met zulk een geest,
mocht wel zeggen: „Geest, geest, waar wilt gij heen ?”

MORE:
Proverb: Wit, whither wilt thou?

Wit=Intellect
Wayward=Capricious and obstinate
Check=Rebuke, reproof; “patience bide each check”.
Compleat:
Wit (understanding)=Vinding, schranderheid, verstand
Wayward=Kribbig, korsel, nors, boos
Check=Berisping, beteugeling, intooming

Topics: intellect, wisdom, marriage, proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Lucillius
CONTEXT:
BRUTUS
He greets me well.—Your master, Pindarus,
In his own change or by ill officers
Hath given me some worthy cause to wish
Things done, undone. But if he be at hand
I shall be satisfied.
PINDARUS
I do not doubt
But that my noble master will appear
Such as he is, full of regard and honour.
BRUTUS
He is not doubted.—A word, Lucillius.
How he received you, let me be resolved.
LUCILLIUS
With courtesy and with respect enough.
But not with such familiar instances
Nor with such free and friendly conference
As he hath used of old.
BRUTUS
Thou hast described
A hot friend cooling. Ever note, Lucillius,
When love begins to sicken and decay,
It useth an enforcèd ceremony.
There are no tricks in plain and simple faith.
But hollow men, like horses hot at hand,
Make gallant show and promise of their mettle.

DUTCH:
Beleefd genoeg, met ieder blijk van achting;
Maar niet met blijken van vertrouwlijkheid,
Diet op een wijs, zoo hart’lijk en vriendschapp’lijk,
Als hij ‘t wel plach to doen.

MORE:
Proverb: Full of courtesy full of craft
Proverb: Things done cannot be undone

Greets me well=Sends greetings through a worthy emissary
Change=Changed mind
Ill=Bad, untrustworthy
Worthy=Justifiable, respectable
Satisfied=Receive a satisfactory explanation
Regard=Respect
Resolved=Informed
Familiar instances=Signs of affection
Conference=Conversation
Enforcèd=Strained
Hot friend=Previously close friend
Trick=Artifice
Compleat:
Change=Verschiet, verscheydenheyd, verandering, verwisseling
Ill=Quaad, ondeugend, onpasselijk
Worthy=Waardig, eerwaardig, voortreffelyk, uytmuntend, deftig
Satisfaction, content=Voldoening
Regard=Opzigt, inzigt, omzigtigheyd, zorg, acht, achting
Resolve (untie, decide, determine a hard question, difficulty etc.)=Oplossen, ontwarren, ontknoopten
Resolve (deliberation, decision)=Beraad, beslissing, uitsluitsel
Familiar=Gemeenzaam
Conference=Onderhandeling, t’zamenspraak, mondgemeenschap
Enforcèd=Gedwongen, opgedrongen
Trick=Een looze trek, greep, gril

Topics: respect, civility, proverbs and idioms, reply, judgment, resolution

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Fabian
CONTEXT:
FABIAN
She did show favour to the youth in your sight only to
exasperate you, to awake your dormouse valor, to put
fire in your heart and brimstone in your liver. You
should then have accosted her, and with some excellent
jests, fire-new from the mint, you should have banged
the youth into dumbness. This was looked for at your
hand, and this was balked. The double gilt of this
opportunity you let time wash off, and you are now
sailed into the north of my lady’s opinion, where you
will hang like an icicle on a Dutchman’s beard, unless
you do redeem it by some laudable attempt either of
valour or policy.
SIR ANDREW
An ’t be any way, it must be with valour, for policy I
hate. I had as lief be a Brownist as a politician.

DUTCH:
Gij hadt haar toen moeten aanklampen, en door eenige schitterende kwinkslagen, fonkelnieuw van de munt, den jongen mensch met stomheid moeten slaan.

MORE:
Proverb: New out of the mint

Dormouse=Sleeping, timid
Brimstone=Sulphur (association with hell)
Fire-new=Brand new
Balked=Neglected
North of the opinion=Out of favour, cold disfavour
Dutchman=Sailor, supposedly reference to Arctic explorer Willem Barentsz
Brownist=Member of Puritan sect
Politician=Strategist
Compleat:
Dormouse=Hazelmuis (Hy slaapt als een hazelmuis)
Brimstone=Zwavel, sulfer
Fire-new (brand new)=Vlinder nieuw
To balk=Voorby gaan, daar over heen stappen, zyn woord niet houden, verongelyken, te leur stellen
He balked him not a whit=Hy zweeg niet voor hem, hy bleef hem niet schuldig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, clarity/precision, language

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Pandarus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
Come, come, what need you blush? shame’s a baby.
Here she is now: swear the oaths now to her that
you have sworn to me. What, are you gone again?
you must be watched ere you be made tame, must you?
Come your ways, come your ways; an you draw backward,
we’ll put you i’ the files. Why do you not speak to
her? Come, draw this curtain, and let’s see your
picture. Alas the day, how loath you are to offend
daylight! an ’twere dark, you’d close sooner.
So, so; rub on, and kiss the mistress. How now!
a kiss in fee-farm! build there, carpenter; the air
is sweet. Nay, you shall fight your hearts out ere
I part you. The falcon as the tercel, for all the
ducks i’ the river: go to, go to.
TROILUS
You have bereft me of all words, lady.
PANDARUS
Words pay no debts, give her deeds: but she’ll
bereave you o’ the deeds too, if she call your
activity in question. What, billing again? Here’s
‘In witness whereof the parties interchangeably’—
Come in, come in: I’ll go get a fire.

DUTCH:
Woorden betalen geen schulden, geef haar daden;
maar zij zal u ook van de daden berooven, als zij uwe
werkzaamheid op de proef stelt.

MORE:
Proverb: Not words but deeds
Proverb: Words pay no debts

Shame’s a baby=Blushing is for babies
Watched=Hawks were kept awake at night to tame them
Tamed=Imagery common to training hawks
Keen=Another hawking reference
Files or fills=Shafts (ponies were backed into the shafts of carts)
Close=Agree
Rub on=Move on, slowing down (bowling term)
Tercel=Male falcon
Compleat:
Shame=Schaamte
To shame=Beschamen, beschaamd maaken, schande aandoen
Keen=Scherp, bits, doordringend
To close=Overeenstemmen; besluiten
Things rub on bravely=Men vordert geweldig, men gaat er braaf mede voort
Tercel or tassel-hawk=Mannetje van een valk

Burgersdijk notes:
Iets verder geschoven, dicht bijeen! Het oorspronkelijke is onvertaalbaar: Rub on, kiss the mistress. Een uitdrukking aan het kegelspel ontleend: to rub on, de kegels even aanraken en voortgaan”, to kiss the mistress, “de koningin”, d. i. den koning van het kegelspel, “kussen, raken, omwerpen”.
Valkentersel. ,”Tersel” mannetjes-jachtvalk. Het is een derde kleiner dan het wijfjen; van daar tiercelet, in den mond der Hollandsche. valkeniers tot tersel geworden.
Al weder trekkebekken! In ‘t Engelsch: billing again? Here’s, In witness thereof etc. To bill beteekent
“trekkebekken”, kussen”, maar ook “bij contract vaststellen”.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, debt/obligation

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 5.3
SPEAKER: Troilus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
A whoreson tisick, a whoreson rascally tisick so
troubles me, and the foolish fortune of this girl;
and what one thing, what another, that I shall
leave you one o’ these days: and I have a rheum
in mine eyes too, and such an ache in my bones
that, unless a man were cursed, I cannot tell what
to think on’t. What says she there?
TROILUS
Words, words, mere words, no matter from the heart:
The effect doth operate another way.
Go, wind, to wind, there turn and change together.
My love with words and errors still she feeds;
But edifies another with her deeds.

DUTCH:
Slechts woorden, woorden, uit het harte niets.

MORE:
Proverb: Words are but wind

Tisick=Complaint, cough, perhaps from consumption (also phthisic or hectic)
Rheum=Discharge
Matter=Substance, meaning
Effect=Performance, outcome
Errors=Untruths
Edify=Strengthen, support
Compleat:
Tisick=Longziekte, teering
Rheum or rhume=Een zinking op de oogen
Matter=Stoffe, zaak, oorzaak
Effect=Uitkomst, uitwerking, gewrocht
Error=Fout, misslag, dwaaling, dooling
Edify=Stichten, opbouwen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, achievement

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 5.5
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
GROOM
I was a poor groom of thy stable, king,
When thou wert king; who, travelling towards York,
With much ado at length have gotten leave
To look upon my sometimes royal master’s face.
O, how it yearn’d my heart when I beheld
In London streets, that coronation-day,
When Bolingbroke rode on roan Barbary,
That horse that thou so often hast bestrid,
That horse that I so carefully have dress’d!
KING RICHARD II
Rode he on Barbary? Tell me, gentle friend,
How went he under him?
GROOM
So proudly as if he disdain’d the ground.
KING RICHARD II
So proud that Bolingbroke was on his back!
That jade hath eat bread from my royal hand;
This hand hath made him proud with clapping him.
Would he not stumble? would he not fall down,
Since pride must have a fall, and break the neck
Of that proud man that did usurp his back?
Forgiveness, horse! why do I rail on thee,
Since thou, created to be awed by man,
Wast born to bear? I was not made a horse;
And yet I bear a burthen like an ass,
Spurr’d, gall’d and tired by jouncing Bolingbroke.

DUTCH:
Hij struikelde dus niet? hij stortte niet, —
Trots komt toch vóór den val!

MORE:

Proverb: Pride will have a fall

Yearn=Grieve, vex (O. Edd. ‘yern’ and ‘ern’)
Jade=A term of contempt or pity for a worthless or maltreated horse
Bestrid=Sat astride, mounted
Spur-galled=Wounded by spurs

Compleat:
Jade=Een lompig paerd, knol, jakhals
To bestride=Op een paerd zitten
Galled=’t Vel afgseschaafd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: Ind 1
SPEAKER: Lord
CONTEXT:
LORD
O monstrous beast, how like a swine he lies!
Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image!
Sirs, I will practice on this drunken man.
What think you: if he were conveyed to bed,
Wrapped in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,
A most delicious banquet by his bed,
And brave attendants near him when he wakes,
Would not the beggar then forget himself?
FIRST HUNTSMAN
Believe me, lord, I think he cannot choose.
SECOND HUNTSMAN
It would seem strange unto him when he waked.

DUTCH:
Wist dan de beed’laar zelf wel, wie hij was?

MORE:
Proverb: Beggars should be no choosers

Practise on=Trick, persuade
Brave=Finely dressed
Compleat:
To practise upon others=Anderen omzetten, of overhaalen, of in zyn belang wikkelen
Practice=(underhand dealing, intrigue) Praktyk, bedekten handel, list
To brave=Trotsen, braveeren, trotseeren; moedig treeden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, deceitpoverty and wealth

PLAY: Richard II
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: King Richard II
CONTEXT:
Wrath-kindled gentlemen, be ruled by me.
Let’s purge this choler without letting blood.
This we prescribe, though no physician.
Deep malice makes too deep incision.
Forget, forgive; conclude and be agreed;
Our doctors say this is no month to bleed.
Good uncle, let this end where it begun;
We’ll calm the Duke of Norfolk, you your son.

DUTCH:
Gramstorige edellieden, volgt mijn raad.
Verdrijft de galzucht zonder aderlating.
Ofschoon geen arts, schrijf ik u dit toch voor: —
Een diepe wrok snijdt al te diep, snijdt door, —
Vergeeft, vergeet, houdt op elkaar te haten;
Het is, zegt de arts, geen maand van aderlaten

MORE:

Proverb: Forgive and forget

Wrath-kindled=Furious
Be ruled=To prevail on, to persuade (used only passively)
Choler=Anger, bile
Purge=To cure, to restore to health
Month to bleed=Physicians would consult the almanac to determine best time for bloodletting

Compleat:
Wrath=Toorn, gramschap
Wrathfull=Toornig, vertoornd, vergramd, grimmig
Cholerick=Oploopend, haastig, toornig. To be in choler=Toornig zyn
Purge=Zuiveren, reinigen, den buik zuiveren, purgeeren
To purge (clear) one’s self of a crime=Zich van eene misdaad zuiveren
To bleed one=Iemand bloed aftappen, laaten; bloedlaating, bloeding

Topics: proverbs and idioms, anger, dispute, justice

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Yea, dost thou jeer and flout me in the teeth?
Think’st thou I jest? Hold, take thou that and that.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Hold, sir, for God’s sake! Now your jest is earnest.
Upon what bargain do you give it me?
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Because that I familiarly sometimes
Do use you for my fool and chat with you,
Your sauciness will jest upon my love
And make a common of my serious hours.
When the sun shines, let foolish gnats make sport,
But creep in crannies when he hides his beams.
If you will jest with me, know my aspect,
And fashion your demeanor to my looks,
Or I will beat this method in your sconce.

DUTCH:
Antipholus van Syracuse.
Zoo, waagt gij ‘t weer, den draak met mij te steken?
Acht gij dat scherts? Hier, neem dan dit, en dat!
Dromio van Syracuse.
Om gods wil, heer! houd op, uw jok wordt ernst,
Wat jokte ik dan, dat gij mij zoo betaalt?

MORE:
Proverb: Leave jesting while it pleases lest it turn to earnest
Proverb: To cast (hit) in the teeth

Bargain=Mercantile transaction

Compleat:
Bargain=Een verding, verdrag, koop
To flout=Bespotten, beschimpen
To flout and jeer at one=Iemand uitjouwen
To lay in the teeth=Verwyten, braaveren
To trow something in one’s teeth=Iemand iets in de neus wryven, voor de scheenen werpen, verwyten
To jest=Boerten, schertsen, jokken, gekscheeren
To speak a thing betwixt jest and earnest=Iets zeggen half jok half ernst

Topics: misunderstanding, money, debt/obligation, dispute, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Lady Macbeth
CONTEXT:
Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great,
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win.

DUTCH:
doch ik ducht uw hart;
Dat is te vol van melk der menschlijkheid,
Om ‘t naaste pad te nemen.

MORE:
Milk of human kindness was invented by Shakespeare as a metaphor for a gentle human nature. (Shakespeare also refers to “milky gentleness” in King Lear.)
Schmidt:
Illness= Iniquity, wickedness
Holily=Piously, virtuously, agreeably to the law of God
Compleat:
Ill nature=Kwaadaardigheid

Topics: nature, ambition, invented or popularised, proverbs and idioms, still in use, good and bad

PLAY: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
Let me have men about me that are fat,
Sleek-headed men and such as sleep a-nights.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.
He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous.
ANTONY
Fear him not, Caesar. He’s not dangerous.
He is a noble Roman and well given.

DUTCH:
Die Cassius ziet er schraal en hong’rig uit;
Hij denkt te veel; die mannen zijn gevaarlijk.

MORE:
Proverb: An envious man grows lean

Yond=Pronoun, used in pointing to a person or thing at a distance, not always within view; yonder. (Yon is generally within view)
Sleek-headed=Smooth haired
Well given=Well-disposed
Compleat:
Yon=Gins
Yonder=Ginder
Sleek=Glad, gelekt. To sleen linnen=Linnen lekken

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, risk, loyalty, skill/talent

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Fabian
CONTEXT:
FABIAN
She did show favor to the youth in your sight only to
exasperate you, to awake your dormouse valor, to put
fire in your heart and brimstone in your liver. You
should then have accosted her, and with some excellent
jests, fire-new from the mint, you should have banged
the youth into dumbness. This was looked for at your
hand, and this was balked. The double gilt of this
opportunity you let time wash off, and you are now
sailed into the north of my lady’s opinion, where you
will hang like an icicle on a Dutchman’s beard, unless
you do redeem it by some laudable attempt either of
valor or policy.
SIR ANDREW
An ’t be any way, it must be with valor, for policy I
hate. I had as lief be a Brownist as a politician.

DUTCH:
(…) gij liet het dubbel verguldsel dezer gelegenheid door den tijd afwasschen; en thans zijt gij in de goede meening van de jonkvrouw geheel naar het noorden verzeild, waar gij zult blijven hangen als een ijskegel in den baard van een Hollander, tenzij gij het weer goed maakt door de een of andere lofwaardige onderneming, of van uw dapperheid, of van uw staatkunde.

MORE:
Proverb: New out of the mint

Dormouse=Sleeping, timid
Brimstone=Sulphur (association with hell)
Fire-new=Brand new
Balked=Neglected
North of the opinion=Out of favour, cold disfavour
Dutchman=Sailor, supposedly reference to Arctic explorer Willem Barentsz
Brownist=Member of Puritan sect
Politician=Strategist
Compleat:
Dormouse=Hazelmuis (Hy slaapt als een hazelmuis)
Brimstone=Zwavel, sulfer
Fire-new (brand new)=Vlinder nieuw
To balk=Voorby gaan, daar over heen stappen, zyn woord niet houden, verongelyken, te leur stellen
He balked him not a whit=Hy zweeg niet voor hem, hy bleef hem niet schuldig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, clarity/precision, language

PLAY: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Speed
CONTEXT:
SPEED
They are all perceived without ye.
VALENTINE
Without me? They cannot.
SPEED
Without you? Nay, that’s certain, for, without you
were so simple, none else would: but you are so
without these follies, that these follies are within
you and shine through you like the water in an
urinal, that not an eye that sees you but is a
physician to comment on your malady.
VALENTINE
But tell me, dost thou know my lady Silvia?

DUTCH:
Niets is zekerder, want buiten u is en zal
niemand zoo argeloos zijn; maar gij zijt zoo buiten uzelven
van die dwaasheden, dat die dwaasheden in u zijn
en door u heenschijnen als het water in een urinaal,
zoodat geen oog u kan aanzien, of het wordt een dokter,
die uw kwaal herkent.

MORE:
Fleming, A Panoplie of Epistles (1576), 357: Considering that whatsoever is uttered in such men’s hearing, must be done in print, as we say in our common proverb.

Without ye=In your absence
Without you were=Unless you were
Without these follies=In the absence of
Urinal=Testing bottle

Topics: proverbs and idioms, innocent, love

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER:
CONTEXT:
MENENIUS
You know neither me, yourselves nor any thing. You are ambitious for poor knaves’ caps and legs: you wear out a good wholesome forenoon in hearing a cause between an orange wife and a fosset-seller; and then rejourn the controversy of three pence to a second day of audience. When you are hearing a matter between party and party, if you chance to be pinched with the colic, you make faces like mummers; set up the bloody flag against all patience; and, in roaring for a chamber-pot, dismiss the controversy bleeding the more entangled by your hearing: all the peace you make in their cause is calling both the parties knaves. You are a pair of strange ones.
BRUTUS
Come, come, you are well understood to be a
perfecter giber for the table than a necessary
bencher in the Capitol.

DUTCH:
Kom, kom, het is overbekend, dat gij veeleer een onverbeterlijk grappenmaker aan tafel zijt, dan een onontbeerlijk bijzitter op het Kapitool.

MORE:
Proverb: Know thyself

Ambitious for caps and legs=Wanting people to bow and doff caps
Bencher=member of a court or council
Set up the bloody flag=Declare war on (patience)
Fosset, forset, faucet=Kind of tap for drawing liquor from a barrel; only in “faucet-seller”
Giber=entertainer, (aftr-dinner) jester
Mummer=Someone wearing a mask
The more entangled=To make (the dispute) more confused and intricate
Compleat:
To gibe=Boerten, gekscheeren
Bencher=Een byzitter, Raad, een Rechtsgeleerde van den eersten rang in ‘t Genootschap
Mummer=Een vermomde
Faucet (or peg)=Zwikje, pennetje tot een vat

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, intellect, reputation, judgment, dispute

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Caesar
CONTEXT:
CAESAR
I wrote to you
When rioting in Alexandria. You
Did pocket up my letters and with taunts
Did gibe my missive out of audience.
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.

DUTCH:
Terwijl Alexandrië
U brassen zag , zond ik u brieven; gij
Staakt ze ongelezen bij u, hebt mijn bode
Met hoon gehoor geweigerd.

MORE:
Proverb: To pocket up an injury (a wrong)

Gibe=Mock
Missive=Messsenger
Pocket up=To put away out of sight, conceal or leave unheeded; (metaphor) Disregard
Fell upon=Burst in on
Newly=Recently
Feasted=Entertained with dinner
Strife=Quarrel, dispute
Article=Terms
Compleat:
To gibe=Boerten, gekscheeren
To pocket=Zakken, in de zak steeken
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: proverbs and idioms, news, understanding, dispute

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Paris
CONTEXT:
DIOMEDES
She’s bitter to her country: hear me, Paris:
For every false drop in her bawdy veins
A Grecian’s life hath sunk; for every scruple
Of her contaminated carrion weight,
A Trojan hath been slain: since she could speak,
She hath not given so many good words breath
As for her Greeks and Trojans suffered death.
PARIS
Fair Diomed, you do as chapmen do,
Dispraise the thing that you desire to buy:
But we in silence hold this virtue well,
We’ll but commend what we intend to sell.
Here lies our way.

DUTCH:
Vriend Diomedes, als een kooper doet gij,
En smaalt op iets, dat gij te koopen wenscht;
Maar ik ken hare waarde en zwijg dus stil;
Ik roem alleen, wat ik verkoopen wil. —

MORE:
Proverb: He that blames would buy

Bawdy=Unchaste
Carrion=Rotted
Chapmen=Salesmen
Dispraise=Censure
But=Only
Compleat:
Bawdy=Ontuchtig, eerloos
Carrion=Kreng; pry, karonje
Chapman=Een kooper, koopman, kalant
Chap=Een kooper, bieder
Dispraise=Mispryzen, hoonen, verachten, laaken
But=Maar, of, dan, behalven, maar alleen

Topics: proverbs and idioms, value, business

PLAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
ACT/SCENE: 2.1
SPEAKER: Helena
CONTEXT:
DEMETRIUS
I love thee not, therefore pursue me not.
Where is Lysander and fair Hermia?
The one I’ll slay, the other slayeth me.
Thou told’st me they were stol’n unto this wood.
And here am I, and wood within this wood,
Because I cannot meet my Hermia.
Hence, get thee gone, and follow me no more.
HELENA
You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant.
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel. Leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.

DUTCH:
Gij trekt mij aan, gij zeilsteen, hard van hart;
Niet ijzer trekt gij aan; voorwaar, mijn hart
Is deugdlijk staal; leg af de kracht, die trekt;
Dan is de kracht, waarmeê ik volg, voorbij.

MORE:
Proverb: As true (trusty, sure) as steel

And wood=And mad
Adamant=Hard stone, purportedly magnetic
Compleat:
Adamant=een Diamant

Burgersdijk notes:
Gij zeilsteen, hard van hart. You hard-hearted adamant. Adamant beteekent zoowel diamant als magneet en kan dus tegelijk de hardheid en de aantrekkingskracht van Demetrius aanduiden. In een boek van Fenton (1569) leest men: Er is tegenwoordig een soort van diamant, die vleesch aantrekt en wel zoo sterk, dat hij de macht heeft om de twee monden van verschillende personen aan elkaar te hechten en eenen mensch het hart uit het lijf te trekken, zonder dat het lichaam aan eenig
deel beschadigd wordt.”

Topics: proverbs and idioms, truth, trust, love

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VIII
My Lord Cardinal,
I do excuse you; yea, upon mine honour,
I free you from ’t. You are not to be taught
That you have many enemies that know not
Why they are so but, like to village curs,
Bark when their fellows do. By some of these
The Queen is put in anger. You’re excused.
But will you be more justified? You ever
Have wished the sleeping of this business, never desired
It to be stirred, but oft have hindered, oft,
The passages made toward it. On my honour
I speak my good Lord Cardinal to this point
And thus far clear him. Now, what moved me to ’t,
I will be bold with time and your attention:
Then mark the inducement. (…)

DUTCH:
Doch wenscht gij meer rechtvaardiging? steeds hebt gij
Gewenscht, dat deze zaak bleef slapen, nooit
Dat zij werd opgerakeld; vaak belettet
Gij ‘t doen der eerste stappen

MORE:
Proverb: Like dogs, if one barks they all bark
Not to be taught=Already know
Excused=Exonerated
Justified=Vindicated
Sleeping=Put (this matter) to bed
Compleat:
Excused=Ontschuldigd, verschoond
Justified=Gerechtvaardigd, verdeedigd, gebillykt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, justification, independence

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.13
SPEAKER: Antony
CONTEXT:
ANTONY
You have been a boggler ever.
But when we in our viciousness grow hard—
Oh, misery on ’t!— the wise gods seel our eyes,
In our own filth drop our clear judgments, make us
Adore our errors, laugh at ’s while we strut
To our confusion.
CLEOPATRA
Oh, is ’t come to this?
ANTONY
I found you as a morsel cold upon
Dead Caesar’s trencher. Nay, you were a fragment
Of Gneius Pompey’s, besides what hotter hours,
Unregistered in vulgar fame, you have
Luxuriously picked out. For I am sure,
Though you can guess what temperance should be,
You know not what it is.

DUTCH:
Steeds waart ge een weerhaan; —
Maar, ach! verstokken wij ons in de boosheid,
Dan blinden ons de wijze goden de oogen,
Zij domp’len ‘t klaar verstand in onze onreinheid,
En lachen, als wij, onzen waan aanbiddend,
Trotsch in ‘t verderf ons storten.

MORE:
Proverb: When God will punish he will first take away the understanding

Boggler=Equivocator, swerver, waverer
Seel=Close, blind
Trencher=Wooden plate
Fragment=Remnant, scrap
Vulgar fame=Common gossip
Luxuriously=Lustfully
Temperance=Modesty, chastity
Compleat:
To boggle=Haperen, stameren
He did not boggle at all at it=Hij stond ‘er niet verzet voor
To seel a hawk=Eenen valk een kap voor de oogen doen
Trencher=Tafelbord, houten tafelbord
Fragment=Een brok, stuk, afbreeksel
Vulgar=(common) Gemeen
Luxuriously=Weeldriglyk; overdaadiglyk
Temperance=Maatigheyd

Topics: proverbs and idioms, excess, reputation, judgment, ruin

PLAY: Troilus and Cressida
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Pandarus
CONTEXT:
PANDARUS
Come, come, what need you blush? shame’s a baby.
Here she is now: swear the oaths now to her that
you have sworn to me. What, are you gone again?
you must be watched ere you be made tame, must you?
Come your ways, come your ways; an you draw backward,
we’ll put you i’ the fills. Why do you not speak to
her? Come, draw this curtain, and let’s see your
picture. Alas the day, how loath you are to offend
daylight! an ’twere dark, you’d close sooner.
So, so; rub on, and kiss the mistress. How now!
a kiss in fee-farm! build there, carpenter; the air
is sweet. Nay, you shall fight your hearts out ere
I part you. The falcon as the tercel, for all the
ducks i’ the river: go to, go to.
TROILUS
You have bereft me of all words, lady.
PANDARUS
Words pay no debts, give her deeds: but she’ll
bereave you o’ the deeds too, if she call your
activity in question. What, billing again? Here’s
‘In witness whereof the parties interchangeably’—
Come in, come in: I’ll go get a fire.

DUTCH:
Gij hebt mij van alle woorden beroofd, jonkvrouw.

MORE:
Proverb: Not words but deeds
Proverb: Words pay no debts

Shame’s a baby=Blushing is for babies
Watched=Hawks were kept awake at night to tame them
Tamed=Imagery common to training hawks
Keen=Another hawking reference
Files or fills=Shafts (ponies were backed into the shafts of carts)
Close=Agree
Rub on=Move on, slowing down (bowling term)
Tercel=Male falcon
Compleat:
Shame=Schaamte
To shame=Beschamen, beschaamd maaken, schande aandoen
Keen=Scherp, bits, doordringend
To close=Overeenstemmen; besluiten
Things rub on bravely=Men vordert geweldig, men gaat er braaf mede voort
Tercel or tassel-hawk=Mannetje van een valk

Burgersdijk notes:
Iets verder geschoven, dicht bijeen! Het oorspronkelijke is onvertaalbaar: Rub on, kiss the mistress. Een uitdrukking aan het kegelspel ontleend: to rub on, de kegels even aanraken en voortgaan”, to kiss the mistress, “de koningin”, d. i. den koning van het kegelspel, “kussen, raken, omwerpen”.
Valkentersel. ,”Tersel” mannetjes-jachtvalk. Het is een derde kleiner dan het wijfjen; van daar tiercelet, in den mond der Hollandsche. valkeniers tot tersel geworden.
Al weder trekkebekken! In ‘t Engelsch: billing again? Here’s, In witness thereof etc. To bill beteekent
“trekkebekken”, kussen”, maar ook “bij contract vaststellen”.

Topics: proverbs and idioms, language, debt/obligation

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 2.5
SPEAKER: Lafew
CONTEXT:
BERTRAM
I have writ my letters, casketed my treasure,
Given order for our horses; and to-night,
When I should take possession of the bride,
End ere I do begin.
LAFEW
A good traveller is something at the latter end of a
dinner; but one that lies three thirds and uses a
known truth to pass a thousand nothings with, should
be once heard and thrice beaten. God save you, captain.
BERTRAM
Is there any unkindness between my lord and you,
monsieur?
PAROLLES
I know not how I have deserved to run into my lord’s
displeasure.
LAFEW
You have made shift to run into ‘t, boots and spurs
and all, like him that leaped into the custard; and
out of it you’ll run again, rather than suffer
question for your residence.
BERTRAM
It may be you have mistaken him, my lord.
LAFEW
And shall do so ever, though I took him at ‘s
prayers. Fare you well, my lord; and believe this
of me, there can be no kernel in this light nut; the
soul of this man is his clothes. Trust him not in
matter of heavy consequence; I have kept of them
tame, and know their natures. Farewell, monsieur:
I have spoken better of you than you have or will to
deserve at my hand; but we must do good against evil.

DUTCH:
BERTRAM.
Bestaat er eenig misverstand tusschen dezen edelman
en u, monsieur?
PAROLLES
Ik weet niet, hoe ik het verdiend heb, de ongenade
van dezen heer te beloopen .
LAFEW
Gij hebt het er op toegelegd, om er in te loopen, gelaarsd,
gespoord en al, zooals de nar van den Lord-Mayor, die in de pastei sprong; en gij zult er wel eer weder uitspringen, dan verslag geven over uw verblijf er in.

MORE:
Proverb: A traveller may lie with authority
Proverb: Set good against evil (Do good for evil)

Made shift=Managed, contrived
Leaped into the custard=Reference to the custom at the Lord Mayor of London’s show, of a jester leaping into an enormous custard
Residence=Presence
Compleat:
To make a shift=Zich behelpen, zich redden

Topics: preparation, dispute, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 2.4
SPEAKER: King Henry VIII
CONTEXT:
KING HENRY VIII
My Lord Cardinal,
I do excuse you; yea, upon mine honour,
I free you from ’t. You are not to be taught
That you have many enemies that know not
Why they are so but, like to village curs,
Bark when their fellows do. By some of these
The Queen is put in anger. You’re excused.
But will you be more justified? You ever
Have wished the sleeping of this business, never desired
It to be stirred, but oft have hindered, oft,
The passages made toward it. On my honour
I speak my good Lord Cardinal to this point
And thus far clear him. Now, what moved me to ’t,
I will be bold with time and your attention:
Then mark the inducement. (…)

DUTCH:
Dat gij veel haters hebt, die zelf niet weten,
Waarom zij ‘t zijn , maar die, als honden, blaffen
Zoodra geblaft wordt; zulke lieden dreven
De koningin tot toorn

MORE:
Proverb: Like dogs, if one barks they all bark
Not to be taught=Already know
Excused=Exonerated
Justified=Vindicated
Sleeping=Put (this matter) to bed
Compleat:
Excused=Ontschuldigd, verschoond
Justified=Gerechtvaardigd, verdeedigd, gebillykt

Topics: proverbs and idioms, justification, independence

PLAY: Titus Andronicus
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Titus Andronicus
CONTEXT:
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Why, I have not another tear to shed:
Besides, this sorrow is an enemy,
And would usurp upon my watery eyes
And make them blind with tributary tears:
Then which way shall I find Revenge’s cave?
For these two heads do seem to speak to me,
And threat me I shall never come to bliss
Till all these mischiefs be returned again
Even in their throats that have committed them.
Come, let me see what task I have to do.
You heavy people, circle me about,
That I may turn me to each one of you,
And swear unto my soul to right your wrongs.
The vow is made. Come, brother, take a head;
And in this hand the other I will bear.
Lavinia, thou shalt be employed: these arms!
Bear thou my hand, sweet wench, between thy teeth.
As for thee, boy, go get thee from my sight;
Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay:
Hie to the Goths, and raise an army there:
And, if you love me, as I think you do,
Let’s kiss and part, for we have much to do.

DUTCH:
Gij zwaar bezochten, schaart u om mij heen,
Opdat ik mij tot ieder uwer keere
En aan mijn ziele zweer’, uw leed te wreken.

MORE:
Proverb: Care will kill a cat

Usurp upon=Encroach on, intrude
Tributary=Paying tribute
Mischiefs=Calamity, misfortune
Returned=Turned back on
Heavy=Sad
Hie=Hasten
Compleat:
Mischief=Onheil, kwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
To usurp=’t Onrecht aanmaatigen, met geweld in ‘t bezit dringen, overweldigen
Usurpation=Een onrechtmaatige bezitneeming, of indrang, dwinggebruik, overweldiging
Tributary=Cynsbaar
Mischief=Onheil, kwaad, ongeluk, ramp, verderf, heilloosheid
Returned=Wedergekeerd, weergekomen
Heavy=(sad) Droevig, verdrietig
Hie thee=Rep u, haast u

Topics: proverbs and idioms, sorrow, revenge

PLAY: The Taming of the Shrew
ACT/SCENE: 4.4
SPEAKER: Baptista
CONTEXT:
BAPTISTA
Sir, pardon me in what I have to say.
Your plainness and your shortness please me well.
Right true it is your son Lucentio here
Doth love my daughter and she loveth him,
Or both dissemble deeply their affections.
And therefore, if you say no more than this,
That like a father you will deal with him
And pass my daughter a sufficient dower,
The match is made, and all is done.
Your son shall have my daughter with consent.
TRANIO
I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best
We be affied and such assurance ta’en
As shall with either part’s agreement stand?
BAPTISTA
Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know
Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants.
Besides, old Gremio is heark’ning still,
And happily we might be interrupted.

DUTCH:
Niet hier, Lucentio ; potten hebben ooren,
Zooals ge weet, en ‘k heb vrij wat bedienden;
En de oude Gremio ligt er niet voor niets
Steeds op den loer ; licht werden wij gestoord.

MORE:

Proverb: Little (small) pitchers have wide (great) ears (caution about speaking in earshot of others)

Affied=Affianced, betrothed
Such assurance=Legal guarantee
With either part’s agreement=By mutual agreement
Pitcher=Water jug with handles
Hearkening still=Always eavesdropping
Happily=Haply, perhaps
Compleat:
Pitcher=Een aarden kruyk meet een handvatsel
Still=Steeds, gestadig, altyd
Assurance=Verzekering, verzekerdheid, een vast vertrouwen
Pitcher=Een aarden kruyk meet een handvatsel
Hearken=Toeluysteren, toehooren
Haply=Misschien

Topics: proverbs and idioms, caution, secrecy, trust

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: York
CONTEXT:
Well, nobles, well, ’tis politicly done,
To send me packing with an host of men:
I fear me you but warm the starved snake,
Who, cherish’d in your breasts, will sting
your hearts.
‘Twas men I lack’d and you will give them me:
I take it kindly; and yet be well assured
You put sharp weapons in a madman’s hands.
Whiles I in Ireland nourish a mighty band,
I will stir up in England some black storm
Shall blow ten thousand souls to heaven or hell;
And this fell tempest shall not cease to rage
Until the golden circuit on my head,
Like to the glorious sun’s transparent beams,
Do calm the fury of this mad-bred flaw.

DUTCH:
Ik zeg u dank, maar weet, een’ dolhuis-man
Drukt gij recht scherpe wapens in de hand.

MORE:

Proverb: To nourish a viper (snake) in one ‘s bosom
Proverb: Ill putting (put not) a naked sword in a madman’s hand

Politicly=For political reasons
The starved snake=Frozen snake (reference to Aesop’s Fable of the Farmer and the Snake)
Fell=Strong; Vicious, intense, savage

Compleat:
Fell=(cruel) Wreed, fel
Starve=(of cold) Van koude sterven
Politickly=Staatkundiglyk

Topics: proverbs and idioms, ingratitude, leadership

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: The Comedy of Errors
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse
CONTEXT:
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
The one, to save the money that he spends in tiring; the other, that at dinner they should not drop in his porridge.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
You would all this time have proved there is no time for all things.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Marry, and did, sir: namely, e’en no time to recover hair lost by nature.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
But your reason was not substantial why there is no time to recover.
DROMIO OF SYRACUSE
Thus I mend it: Time himself is bald and therefore, to the world’s end, will have bald followers.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
I knew ’twould be a bald conclusion:
But soft, who wafts us yonder?

DUTCH:
Gij hadt mij nu al dezen tijd moeten bewijzen, dat er niet voor alles een tijd is.

MORE:
Proverb: There is a time for everything (or for all things). (1399) Allusion to Ecclesiastes 3:1.

Tiring=Clothing, attire
Porridge=Dinner, lentil or bean soup
Substantial=Proven, established
Bald=Unfounded, unsubstantiated
Conclusion=Decision, judgment
Compleat:
Attiring=Verciering, optooijijng
Porridge=Vleeschnat, bry
Substantial=(real, solid) Wezendlyk, vast
Bald=Kaal
Conclusion=Het besluit

Topics: proverbs and idioms, still in use, judgment, reason

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
QUEEN MARGARET
To serve me well, you all should do me duty:
Teach me to be your queen, and you my subjects.
O, serve me well, and teach yourselves that duty!
DORSET
Dispute not with her; she is lunatic.
QUEEN MARGARET
Peace, Master Marquess, you are malapert.
Your fire-new stamp of honour is scarce current.
O, that your young nobility could judge
What ’twere to lose it and be miserable!
They that stand high have many blasts to shake them,
And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.

DUTCH:
Stil, jonge marktgraaf, gij zijt ingebeeld ;
Nauw gangbaar is uw pasgemunte rang.

MORE:
Proverb: The higher standing (up) the lower (greater) fall

Duty=Reverence
Malapert=Impertinent
Fire new=Brand new
Scarce current=Is very recent
Compleat:
Duty=Eerbiedenis
Malapert=Moedwillig, stout, baldaadig
Current=Loopende, gangbaar

Topics: proverbs and idioms, vanity, merit, status

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.3
SPEAKER: Queen Margaret
CONTEXT:
QUEEN MARGARET
To serve me well, you all should do me duty:
Teach me to be your queen, and you my subjects.
O, serve me well, and teach yourselves that duty!
DORSET
Dispute not with her; she is lunatic.
QUEEN MARGARET
Peace, Master Marquess, you are malapert.
Your fire-new stamp of honour is scarce current.
O, that your young nobility could judge
What ’twere to lose it and be miserable!
They that stand high have many blasts to shake them,
And if they fall, they dash themselves to pieces.

DUTCH:
Stil, jonge marktgraaf, gij zijt ingebeeld ;
Nauw gangbaar is uw pasgemunte rang.

MORE:
Proverb: The higher standing (up) the lower (greater) fall

Duty=Reverence
Malapert=Impertinent
Fire new=Brand new
Scarce current=Is very recent
Compleat:
Duty=Eerbiedenis
Malapert=Moedwillig, stout, baldaadig
Current=Loopende, gangbaar

Topics: proverbs and idioms, vanity, merit, status

PLAY: As You Like It
ACT/SCENE: 2.7
SPEAKER: Duke Senior
CONTEXT:

DUKE SENIOR
Art thou thus boldened, man, by thy distress
Or else a rude despiser of good manners,
That in civility thou seem’st so empty?
ORLANDO
You touched my vein at first. The thorny point
Of bare distress hath ta’en from me the show
Of smooth civility, yet am I inland bred
And know some nurture. But forbear, I say.
He dies that touches any of this fruit
Till I and my affairs are answerèd.
JAQUES
An you will not be answered with reason, I must die.
DUKE SENIOR
What would you have? Your gentleness shall force
More than your force move us to gentleness.

DUTCH:
Doch vriend’lijkheid dwingt meer,
Dan ooit uw dwang tot vriend’lijkheid ons stemt.

MORE:
Proverb: There is a great force hidden in a sweet command (1581).

Empty=Void, destitute
Touched=Identified
Vein=Disposition, temper, humour
Thorny point=(fig.) Piercing
Bare distress=Pure pain and misery
Inland=A word of a very vague signification, not so much denoting remoteness from the sea or the frontier, as a seat of peace and peaceful civilization; (perhaps opposite to ‘outlandish’)
Nurture=Good breeding, humanity
Answered=Satisfied, settled
Gentleness=Gentility; kindness, mild manners
Compleat:
Emtpy=Ledig
An empty hope=Een ydele hoop
Thorny=Doornig
Distress=Benaauwdheyd, verlegenheyd; beslag an goederen, panding
Nurture=Opvoeding
Answer=Beantwoorden; antwoord geven
Gentle=(mild or moderate) Zagtmoedig, maatig

Topics: proverbs and idioms, order/society, language, civility, learning/education

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Roderigo
CONTEXT:
RODERIGO
Every day thou daff’st me with some device, Iago, and rather, as it seems to me now, keep’st from me all conveniency than suppliest me with the least advantage of hope.
I will indeed no longer endure it, nor am I yet persuaded to put up in peace what already I have foolishly suffered.
IAGO
Will you hear me, Roderigo?
RODERIGO
I have heard too much, and your words and performances are no kin together.
IAGO
You charge me most unjustly.
RODERIGO
With naught but truth. I have wasted myself out of my
means. The jewels you have had from me to deliver
Desdemona would half have corrupted a votaress. You have
told me she hath received them and returned me
expectations and comforts of sudden respect and
acquaintance, but I find none.

DUTCH:
Waarachtig, ik heb te veel naar u geluisterd, want
uw woorden en uw daden zijn elkaar niet verwant.

MORE:
Proverb: ‘Great promise small performance’ (your words and performances are no kin together.)

Conveniency=Opportunity
Advantage=Increase
Device=Scheme
Daff’st=Fob off (Daff=to put off (clothes)) Variation of doff, do off
Put up in peace=Endure silently
Votaress/Votarist=Nun
Comfort=Encouragement
Fopped=To make a fool of, to dupe
Compleat:
Conveniency=Bequaamheyd, gelegenheyd, geryflykheyd
Votary=Een die zich door een (religieuse) belofte verbonden heeft; die zich ergens toe heeft overgegeeven
Device (cunning trick)=Een listige streek
Device (invention or contrivance)=Uitvinding, vinding
Comfort=Vertroosting, troost, verquikking, vermaak, verneugte
To fob one off=Iemand te leur stellen; voor de gek houden

Topics: proverbs and idioms, perception, language, blame

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