CJTranslations - misquoted

QUOTES BY TOPIC

A horse! a horse! My kingdom for a horse!

PLAY: Richard III ACT/SCENE: 5.4 SPEAKER: King Richard III CONTEXT: KING RICHARD A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse! CATESBY Withdraw, my lord. I’ll help you to a horse. KING RICHARD Slave, I have set my life upon a cast, And I will stand the hazard of the die. I think there be six Richmonds in the field; Five have I slain today instead of him. A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!

DUTCH: Een paard ! een paard! gansch Eng’land voor een paard!

MORE: One of Shakespeare’s best known lines and quoted as a classic example of Iambic Pentameter, ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’ is still used today (often replacing ‘horse’ with another small item that is desperately needed).

Cast=Throw of the dice Die=Singular of dice Compleat: Die=Een dobbelsteen To cast=Werpen, smyten, gooijen

Burgersdijk notes: Een paard! een paard! gansch Eng’land voor een paard ! In ‘t Engelsch : A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse! In het andere stuk, dat in 1594 werd uitgegeven (zie boven blz . 448) roept Richard eveneens: A horse! a horse! a fresh horse! Het zou kunnen zijn, dat deze uitroep Shakespeare heeft voorgezweefd, toen hij den diepen indruk makenden regel schreef. – lets anders schijnt hij aan het oudere stuk niet ontleend te hebben.

Topics: misquoted, still in use, courage, fate/destiny

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her laugh at that.

DUTCH:
Laas, arme Yorick! – Ik heb hem gekend, Horatio /
Ach, arme Yorick ! Ik heb hem gekend, Horatio

MORE:
One of Shakespeare’s best-known speeches.
Often misquoted as “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.”

Topics: misquoted, still in use, friendship

Lay on, Macduff, and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold! enough!

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 5.8
SPEAKER: Macbeth
CONTEXT:
I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet,
And to be baited with the rabble’s curse.
Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou opposed, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,
And damned be him that first cries, “Hold, enough!”

DUTCH:
Ik waag het uiterst; val dus uit, Macduff;
‘k Werp voor mij ‘t schild, dat meen’gen houw verdroeg;
Verdoemd wie ‘t eerste roept: „Houd op, genoeg!”

MORE:
Frequently misquoted as “Lead on, Macduff!”
Schmidt:
Bait=To harass in a manner like that of dogs
Rabble=the mean people, populace
Compleat:
Bait=Aas leggen, lokken lokaazen
Rabble=Het graauw, jan hagel, jan-rap en zyn maat, het gespuis
CITED IN EU LAW:
ECLI:EU:C:2011:254 Case C-53/10 Land Hessen v Franz Mūksch OHG
Opinion of A-G Sharpston
“It is common ground that Merck’s establishment was originally situated at a greater distance from the city, parts of which have crept towards it – reminding the agent for the German Government, as he stated at the hearing, of Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane (Macbeth, Act 5).”

Topics: misquoted, still in use

Now is the winter of our discontent

PLAY: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 1.1
SPEAKER: Richard, Duke of Gloucester
CONTEXT:
RICHARD
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this son of York,
And all the clouds that loured upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths,
Our bruisèd arms hung up for monuments,
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visaged war hath smoothed his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barbèd steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady’s chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking glass;
I, that am rudely stamped and want love’s majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them—
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to see my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity.
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determinèd to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate, the one against the other;
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false, and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mewed up
About a prophecy which says that “G”
Of Edward’s heirs the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul. Here Clarence comes.

DUTCH:
Nu werd de winter onzer wreev’le stemming
Tot blijden zomer door de zon van York ;
De zware wolken, die ons huis bedreigden,
Verzwolg de diepe schoot des oceaans .

MORE:
Often misquoted or semi-quoted as “Now is the winter of our discontent” to announce the start of something bleak or ominous, but he is in fact describing the end of something. in context, it is actually positive. The sun is on its way!
Shakespeare is punning here with the son and sun, both in the context of the weather metaphor and the sun emblem of the House of York. Edward IV, son of Richard Duke of York, has replaced Henry VI on the throne.

House=Family, Dynasty
Measures=Stately dances
Weak-piping times=When people amused themselves with peaceful, pastoral music instead of marching drums
Wrinkled front=Frown
Barbed=Horse armour with studs and spikes
Capers=Dances involving leaping around
Court an amorous looking glass=Spend time looking in the mirror
Wanton-ambling=Sexy walk
Determined=Resolved
Idle=Frivolous
Induction=Preparation
Mewed up=Caged
Compleat:
House=Een Huys
Piping=Pypenspel
Wrinkled=Gerimpeld, gerfronseld, gekrinkeld
Barbed javeline=Een Schicht met weerhaaken
Caper=Een sprong
An ambling pace=Een telgang, pas-gang
Induction=In ‘t bezit stelling
Mewed up=Opgeslooten

Burgersdijk notes:
Nu werd de winter enz . De woorden “zon van York” zinspelen op het wapen der familie York, een door de wolken brekende zon; zie 3 Koning Hendrik VI, II. 1.
Doch ik, geenszins gevormd enz. Men vergelijke 3 Koning Hendrik VI, V. 6

Topics: misquoted, still in use, adversity, plans/intentions

Now is the winter of our discontent

DUTCH:
Nu werd de winter onzer wreev’le stemming
Tot blijden zomer door de zon van York ;
De zware wolken, die ons huis bedreigden,
Verzwolg de diepe schoot des oceaans .

Topics: misquoted, still in use, adversity, plans/intentions

The better part of valour is discretion

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Falstaff
CONTEXT:
Counterfeit? I lie. I am no counterfeit. To die is to be a counterfeit, for he is but the counterfeit of a man who hath not the life of a man; but to counterfeit dying when a man thereby liveth is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life. Zounds, I am afraid of this gunpowder Percy, though he be dead. How if he should counterfeit too and rise? By my faith, I am afraid he would prove the better counterfeit.

DUTCH:
Het beste deel van moed is voorzichtigheid./ Het betere deel van de dapperheid is voorzichtigheid.

MORE:
Frequently misquoted, or rearranged, as “Discretion is the better part of valour”.

Topics: misquoted, proverbs and idioms, risk, courage, caution

The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.

PLAY: King Henry VI Part 2
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Dick the Butcher
CONTEXT:

CADE
Be brave, then; for your captain is brave, and vows
reformation. There shall be in England seven
halfpenny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped
pot; shall have ten hoops and I will make it felony
to drink small beer: all the realm shall be in
common; and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to
grass: and when I am king, as king I will be,—
ALL
God save your majesty!
CADE
I thank you, good people. There will be no money. Everyone
will eat and drink on me, and I will dress them all in one
uniform, so that they may get on like brothers and worship
me, their lord.
DICK
The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.
CADE
Nay, that I mean to do. Is not this a lamentable
thing, that of the skin of an innocent lamb should
be made parchment? that parchment, being scribbled
o’er, should undo a man? Some say the bee stings:
but I say, ’tis the bee’s wax; for I did but seal
once to a thing, and I was never mine own man
since. How now! who’s there?

DUTCH:
Als het eerste wat wij doen, willen wij alle advocaten
doodslaan.

MORE:

NYT: June 1990:
Shakespeare’s exact line ”The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,” was stated by Dick the Butcher in ”Henry VI,” Part II, act IV, Scene II, Line 73. Dick the Butcher was a follower of the rebel Jack Cade, who thought that if he disturbed law and order, he could become king. Shakespeare meant it as a compliment to attorneys and judges who instill justice in society.

CITED IN E&W LAW: Miller, R (On the Application Of) v The College of Policing & Anor [2020] EWHC 225 (Admin) (14 February 2020)
CITED IN USE LAW;
Walters v. Nat’l Ass’n of Radiation Survivors, 473 U.S. 305 (U.S. 1985)
[The] statement (“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”) was spoken by a rebel, not a friend of liberty. … As a careful reading of that text will reveal, Shakespeare insightfully realized that disposing of lawyers is a step in the direction of a totalitarian form of government;
Williams v. First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Arlington, 651 F.2d 910, 926 (4th Cir. 1981);
First Wisconsin Mortgage Trust v. First Wisconsin Corporation, 571 F.2d 390, 399 (7th Cir. 1978); Wagoner v. Wagoner, 176 Cal. App.3d 936, 943, 222 Cal. Rptr. 479, 483 (1986); Glenbrook Road Association v. District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment, 605 A.2d 22 n.5 (D.C. 1992)(“In spite of the oft-quoted declaration by a follower of the outlaw Jack Cade that … we are not prepared to equate a reputable law school with a junk yard or with some other trade or industry ‘commonly known as objectionable and obnoxious.'”);
Thompson v. U.S., 546 A.2d 414 n.24 (D.C. 1988);
Greene v. Greene, 56 N.Y.2d 86, 96,436 N.E.2d 496,502,451 N.Y.S.2d 46 (1982);
People v. Hobson, 39 N.Y.2d 479, 485, 348 N.E.2d 894, 384 N.Y.S.2d 419, 42.3 (1976);
People v. Ryan, 204 Mise. 861,867, 124 N.Y.S.2d 690,696 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1953).

Three-looped=Ref to the hoops on a beer pot, often used as a measure
Small beer=Weak, diluted beer

Compleat:
Small beer=Dun bier

Topics: cited in law, , law/legal, misquoted, justice, evidence

The lady doth protest too much, methinks

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Gertrude
CONTEXT:
HAMLET
Madam, how like you this play?
GERTRUDE
The lady protests too much, methinks.
HAMLET
O, but she’ll keep her word.
CLAUDIUS
Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in ’t?

DUTCH:
De dame verzekert te veel, dunkt me. /
De dame, dunkt mij, protesteert te gul. /
Ik vind dat de koningin veel te veel belooft.

MORE:
Often misquoted starting with “methinks”. Also because in Shakespeare’s time the word ‘protest’ meant a solemn declaration (Asseveration), so in Hamlet this implied that the Queen was too excessive to be believable. Modern usage: for overly emphatic objections or denials.

CITED IN US LAW:

Sigma Financial Corp v Gotham Insurance Co. (2016 WL 7508172 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 22, 2016)).
Harris v. Reeves, 946 F.2d 214, 226 (3d Cir. 1991)(dissent);
Collazo v. Estelle. 940 F.2d 411,434 (9th Cir. 1991)(dissent);
Jenkins v. State of Missouri, 807 F.2d 657, 667 (8th Cir. 1986)(complaining of dissenter);
Rosen v. Aristocrat Angus Ranch, 639 F.2d 8~1 87 (2d Cir. 1980);
U.S. v. Chaffen, 587 F.2d 920, 923 (8th Cir. 1978);
Refco, Inc. v. Troika Investment Limited, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9508, at 32 (N.D.Ill.);
Hudson v. Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 101 F.R.D. 349, 354 lN.D.Ind. 1984); VanHuss v. Associated Milk Producers, Inc., 415 F.Supp. 356, 361 N.D.Tex. 1976);
McCormick v. Carnett-Partsnett System, Ine., 396 F.Supp. 251, 255 M.D.Fla.1975);
Jackson v. State, 452P.2d 104 (Alaska 1982);
Meyering v. General Motors Corporation, 232 Cal. App.3d 1163, 275 Cal. Rptr. 346 (1990);
People v. Santey, 220 Cal. App.3d 651, 661, 270 Cal. Rptr. 53 (1990);
Ogozalek v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act, 22 Conn. Sup. 100, 163 A.2d 114 (Super.Ct. 1960);
Kunz v. Utah Power & Light Company, 117 Idaho 901, 908, 792 P.2d 926 (1990);
Jolley v. Puregro, 94 Idaho 702, 496 P.2d 939 (1972);
Benson v. Custer, 236 lowa 345, 17 N.W.2d 889, 895 (1945);
Parish v. Casner, 282 S.W.2d 392 (Mo. 1926).

Topics: misquoted, still in use, cited in law

There are more things in Heaven and Earth,
Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.5
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

DUTCH:
Er is meer tussen hemel en aarde dan uw filosofie vermoedt /
Er is op aarde en in den hemel meer, Dan waar uw schoolsche kennisleer van droomt /
Daar is meer in de hemel en op aarde, vriend Horatio, dan waarvan uw wijsheid droomt.

MORE:
Perhaps one of the most widely debated quotations from Hamlet.
Often misquoted as “between heaven and earth”.

Topics: misquoted, still in use

To the manner born

PLAY: Hamlet
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Hamlet
CONTEXT:
But to my mind, though I am native here
And to the manner born,

DUTCH:
Schoon ik hier thuis behoor /
Al ben ik er van kindsbeen af vertrouwd mee

MORE:
Meaning “with a natural skill/the traditional skill/heritage”.
Often misquoted as “To the manor born” (as in the TV series), meaning to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth.

Topics: misquoted, still in use

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep

PLAY: The Tempest
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Prospero
CONTEXT:
You do look, my son, in a moved sort,
As if you were dismayed. Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air.
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself—
Yea, all which it inherit—shall dissolve,
And like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. Sir, I am vexed.
Bear with my weakness. My old brain is troubled.
Be not disturbed with my infirmity.
If you be pleased, retire into my cell
And there repose. A turn or two I’ll walk
To still my beating mind.

DUTCH:
Wij zijn van de stof, Waar droomen van gevormd zijn; ‘t korte leven Is van een slaap omringd./
Van dezelfde stof zijn wij als onze dromen; en ons kleine leven is door de slaap omringd

MORE:
Frequently misquoted as “Such stuff as dreams are made of”
These our actors…not a rack behind. This passage is often extracted from its context and treated as farewell to his art; Al Pacino recited it in his 1996 film ‘Looking for Richard’.
In a moved sort=Agitated, upset
Revels=Courtly entertainment
Insubstantial pageant=imagined pageant
Baseless fabric of this vision=Having no basis in reality
Rack=’driving mist or fog’ (OED): scarcely a trace
Compleat:
Pageant=Een grootsche vertooning. Pageantry+Praal, pracht, triiomfelyke vertooning. Het is but meer (sic) pageantry=Het is maar klatergoud, niets anders dan een ydele vertooning.
Moved=Bewoogen, verroerd, ontroerd

Topics: life, age/experience, misquoted