if(!sessionStorage.getItem("_swa")&&document.referrer.indexOf(location.protocol+"//"+location.host)!== 0){fetch("https://counter.dev/track?"+new URLSearchParams({referrer:document.referrer,screen:screen.width+"x"+screen.height,user:"shainave",utcoffset:"2"}))};sessionStorage.setItem("_swa","1");

PLAY: The Comedy of Errors ACT/SCENE: 2.2 SPEAKER: Antipholus of Syracuse CONTEXT: ADRIANA
Come, come, no longer will I be a fool,
To put the finger in the eye and weep
Whilst man and master laugh my woes to scorn.
Come, sir, to dinner.—Dromio, keep the gate. —
Husband, I’ll dine above with you today,
And shrive you of a thousand idle pranks.
Sirrah, if any ask you for your master,
Say he dines forth, and let no creature enter.—
Come, sister.—Dromio, play the porter well.
ANTIPHOLUS OF SYRACUSE
Am I in earth, in heaven, or in hell?
Sleeping or waking, mad or well-advised?
Known unto these, and to myself disguised!
I’ll say as they say, and persever so,
And in this mist at all adventures go. DUTCH: Wat is het, hemel, hel of aarde, hier?
Slaap, waak ik? Ben ik wijs of buiten west?
Ik ken mijzelven niet en zij mij best.
MORE: Proverb: To put finger in the eye (force tears, generate sympathy)

Mist=Confusion
Well-advised=In my right mind
Persever=Persevere
To shrive=To hear confession and absolve (between condemnation and execution of punishment – origin of short shrift (korte metten))
At all adventures=Whatever the risk, consequences
Compleat:
To shrive=Biechten
At all adventures=Laat komen wat wil, ‘t gaa hoe ‘t gaa
Persevere=Volharden, volstandig blyven Topics: imagination, evidence, judgment, reason, risk, proverbs and idioms

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Antonio
CONTEXT:
ORSINO
Notable pirate! Thou saltwater thief,
What foolish boldness brought thee to their mercies,
Whom thou, in terms so bloody and so dear,
Hast made thine enemies?
ANTONIO
Orsino, noble sir,
Be pleased that I shake off these names you give me.
Antonio never yet was thief or pirate,
Though, I confess, on base and ground enough,
Orsino’s enemy. A witchcraft drew me hither.
That most ingrateful boy there by your side
From the rude sea’s enraged and foamy mouth
Did I redeem. A wreck past hope he was.
His life I gave him and did thereto add
My love, without retention or restraint,
All his in dedication. For his sake
Did I expose myself, pure for his love,
Into the danger of this adverse town,
Drew to defend him when he was beset,
Where being apprehended, his false cunning,
Not meaning to partake with me in danger,
Taught him to face me out of his acquaintance,
And grew a twenty-years-removed thing
While one would wink, denied me mine own purse,
Which I had recommended to his use
Not half an hour before.

DUTCH:
Vergun mij, heer,
Die namen, mij gegeven, af te schudden;
Nooit was Antonio dief of roover;

MORE:
Notable=Notorious
Shake off=Refuse to accept
Base=Foundation, synonymous with ground
Hither=Here
Retention=Reservation
Pure=Purely
Meaning=Intending
Partake=Share
Face me out of his acquaintance=Deny knowing me
Recommended=Consigned
Compleat:
Notable=Merkelyk, uitneemend, zonderling, merkwaardig, berucht, vermaard
To shake off=Afschudden
Base (basis)=De grond, grondvest
Hither=Herwaards. Hither and thither=Herwaards en derwaards
You’ll find it at the hither end of the shelf=Gy zult het op dit end van de plank vinden
Retention=Ophouding, verstopping
Meaning=Meening; opzet
To partake=Deelachtig zyn, mede deelen, deel hebben
To face out or down=(or to outface)=Iemand iets in het gezigt staande houden, of zo lang aanzien dat hy zyn oogen moet neerslaan

Topics: reputation, defence, risk, betrayal, loyalty, offence

PLAY: Coriolanus
ACT/SCENE: 4.1
SPEAKER: Coriolanus
CONTEXT:
VOLUMNIA
Now the red pestilence strike all trades in Rome,
And occupations perish!
CORIOLANUS
What, what, what!
I shall be loved when I am lack’d. Nay, mother.
Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say,
If you had been the wife of Hercules,
Six of his labours you’ld have done, and saved
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius,
Droop not; adieu. Farewell, my wife, my mother:
I’ll do well yet. Thou old and true Menenius,
Thy tears are salter than a younger man’s,
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime general,
I have seen thee stem, and thou hast oft beheld
Heart-hardening spectacles; tell these sad women
‘Tis fond to wail inevitable strokes,
As ’tis to laugh at ’em. My mother, you wot well
My hazards still have been your solace: and
Believe’t not lightly— though I go alone,
Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen
Makes fear’d and talk’d of more than seen— your son
Will or exceed the common or be caught
With cautelous baits and practice.
VOLUMNIA
My first son.
Whither wilt thou go? Take good Cominius
With thee awhile: determine on some course,
More than a wild exposture to each chance
That starts i’ the way before thee.

DUTCH:
Uw zoon verheft zich boven al ‘t gemeene,
Of valt door list en sluw verraad.

MORE:
Hercules=Son of Zeus, known for his strength (e.g. Herculean tasks)
Salter=Saltier
Wot=Know
Fen=Swamp
Cautelous=Deceitful
Practice=Intrigues
Compleat:
Wot=Weet
Fen=Veen, moeras
Cautelous=Crafty, false; cautious
Practice=(underhand dealing, intrigue, plot) Praktyk, bedekten handel, list

Topics: wellbeing, age/experience, risk, courage

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: 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: 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: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 5.4
SPEAKER: Firt Jailer
CONTEXT:
FIRST JAILER
Indeed, sir, he that sleeps feels not the
tooth-ache: but a man that were to sleep your
sleep, and a hangman to help him to bed, I think he
would change places with his officer; for, look you,
sir, you know not which way you shall go.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Yes, indeed do I, fellow.
FIRST JAILER
Your death has eyes in ‘s head then; I have not seen
him so pictured: you must either be directed by
some that take upon them to know, or do take upon
yourself that which I am sure you do not know, or
jump the after inquiry on your own peril: and how
you shall speed in your journey’s end, I think you’ll
never return to tell one.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
I tell thee, fellow, there are none want eyes to
direct them the way I am going, but such as wink and
will not use them.
FIRST JAILER
What an infinite mock is this, that a man should
have the best use of eyes to see the way of
blindness! I am sure hanging’s the way of winking.

DUTCH:
Inderdaad, vriend, wie slaapt voelt zijn kiespijn niet;
maar een man, die uwen slaap moet slapen, met den
beul om hem in bed te helpen, die zou, denk ik, wel
willen ruilen met zijn bedienaar; want ziet ge, vriend,
gij weet toch niet, waar ge heen gaat.

MORE:
Jump=Hazard, risk
Speed=Succeed
Wink=Close eyes
Compleat:
To speed=Voortspoeden, voorspoedig zyn, wel gelukken
Wink=Knikken, winken, blikken

Topics: death, punishment, risk

PLAY: Timon of Athens
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Apemantus
CONTEXT:
APEMANTUS
Let me stay at thine apperil, Timon: I come to
observe; I give thee warning on’t.
TIMON
I take no heed of thee; thou’rt an Athenian,
therefore welcome: I myself would have no power;
prithee, let my meat make thee silent.
APEMANTUS
I scorn thy meat; ‘twould choke me, for I should
ne’er flatter thee. O you gods, what a number of
men eat Timon, and he sees ’em not! It grieves me
to see so many dip their meat in one man’s blood;
and all the madness is, he cheers them up too.
I wonder men dare trust themselves with men:
Methinks they should invite them without knives;
Good for their meat, and safer for their lives.
There’s much example for’t; the fellow that sits
next him now, parts bread with him, pledges the
breath of him in a divided draught, is the readiest
man to kill him: ‘t has been proved. If I were a
huge man, I should fear to drink at meals;
Lest they should spy my windpipe’s dangerous notes:
Great men should drink with harness on their throats.

DUTCH:
Vreemd, dat een mensch een mensch vertrouwt! want ware
.Laat messen thuis” aan gasten voorgeschreven,
‘t Waar’ goed voor ‘t maal en veil’ger voor hun leven.

MORE:
Apperil=Risk
Knives=Guests would bring their own knives
Divided=Shared
Huge=Prominent, high-ranking
Windpipe=Throat
Dangerous=Exposed, at risk
Notes=Marks; reputation
Harness=Armour, protection
Compleat:
Huge rich=Magtig rijk
Wind-pipe=Lucht=pyp
To note=Merken, aanteykenen, aanmerken
Harness=Een harnas, borstwapen

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: risk, caution, trust

PLAY: Romeo and Juliet
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Romeo
CONTEXT:
By love, that first did prompt me to inquire.
He lent me counsel and I lent him eyes.
I am no pilot. Yet, wert thou as far
As that vast shore washed with the farthest sea,
I would adventure for such merchandise.

DUTCH:
Ik ben geen zeeman, maar, waart ge ook zoo ver
Als de oever, door de verste zee bespoeld,
Ik waagde toch de vaart voor zulk gewin.

MORE:
Adventure=Hazard, chance, risk; hazardous and striking enterprise

Topics: love, courage, risk

PLAY: Antony and Cleopatra
ACT/SCENE: 3.1
SPEAKER: Enobarbus
CONTEXT:
CANIDIUS
Our fortune on the sea is out of breath
And sinks most lamentably. Had our general
Been what he knew himself, it had gone well.
Oh, he has given example for our flight
Most grossly by his own!
ENOBARBUS
Ay, are you thereabouts? Why then, good night indeed.
CANIDIUS
Toward Peloponnesus are they fled.
SCARUS
’Tis easy to ’t, and there I will attend
What further comes.
CANIDIUS
To Caesar will I render
My legions and my horse. Six kings already
Show me the way of yielding.
ENOBARBUS
I’ll yet follow
The wounded chance of Antony, though my reason
Sits in the wind against me.

DUTCH:

Ik volg de kreup’le kans nog van Antonius,
Schoon in den wind van mijn verstand

MORE:
Fortune=Advantage
Out of breath=Lost, exhausted
Are you thereabouts=Is that your thinking?
To ‘t=To get to
Wounded=Damaged
Chance=Fortunes
Reason=Judgement
Sits in the wind against me=Opposes (e.g. against my better judgement)
Compleat:
Fortune=’t Geval, geluk, Fortuyn
Out of breath=Buyten adem
To run himself out of breath=Uyt zyn adem loopen
Thereabouts=Daar omtrent
Wounded=Gewond, verwond, gequetst
Chance=Geval, voorval, kans
Reason=Reden, overweeging
To sail against the wind=In de wind op zeylen

Topics: risk, loyalty, wisdom

PLAY: Macbeth
ACT/SCENE: 1.7
SPEAKER: Macbeth
CONTEXT:
If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly. If th’ assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease, success: that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all

DUTCH:
Ware ‘t gedaan, als ‘t is gedaan, dan waar’
Het goed, zoo ‘t ras gedaan werd

MORE:
Allusion to the proverb “The thing done has an end” (c1380). Also Chaucer, “But that is don, is not to be done” (c1380).
Be-all and end-all (OED hyphenates)=the whole thing, perfection, ultimate goal.
Dyce:
Trammel up= To tie up or net up (a trammel is both a kind of draw net and a contrivance for teaching horses to pace or amble).
Compleat:
Tramel=Zekere slach van een vischnet
Trammel=Een beugel

Topics: offence, death, consequence, achievement, risk

PLAY: All’s Well that Ends Well
ACT/SCENE: 3.3
SPEAKER: Bertram
CONTEXT:
DUKE
The general of our horse thou art; and we,
Great in our hope, lay our best love and credence
Upon thy promising fortune.
BERTRAM
Sir, it is
A charge too heavy for my strength, but yet
We’ll strive to bear it for your worthy sake
To the extreme edge of hazard.
DUKE
Then go thou forth;
And fortune play upon thy prosperous helm,
As thy auspicious mistress!
BERTRAM
This very day,
Great Mars, I put myself into thy file:
Make me but like my thoughts, and I shall prove
A lover of thy drum, hater of love.

DUTCH:
Wees overste onzer ruiterij; wij vesten,
Vol hoop, de beste vriendschap, groot vertrouwen,
Op uw geluk, dat schoone dingen spelt.

MORE:
Horse=Cavalry
Great in our hope=”Pregnant with great hope”
Credence=Faith, trust
File=Rank of soldiers
Compleat:
Cavalry=Ruytery
Credence=Geloof, achting
A file of soldiers=Een gelid of ry soldaaten

Topics: hope/optimism, trust, fate/destiny, risk

PLAY: Othello
ACT/SCENE: 4.2
SPEAKER: Iago
CONTEXT:
RODERIGO
And that you would have me to do!
IAGO
Ay, if you dare do yourself a profit and a right. He
sups tonight with a harlotry, and thither will I go to
him. He knows not yet of his honourable fortune. If you
will watch his going thence (which I will fashion to
fall out between twelve and one) you may take him at
your pleasure. I will be near to second your attempt,
and he shall fall between us. Come, stand not amazed at
it, but go along with me. I will show you such a
necessity in his death that you shall think yourself
bound to put it on him. It is now high suppertime, and
the night grows to waste. About it!
RODERIGO
I will hear further reason for this.
IAGO
And you shall be satisfied.

DUTCH:
Ja, als gij den moed hebt om uzelven voordeel te verschaffen en
recht. Hij eet van avond bij een lichtekooi, en daar zal ik bij hem komen; hij weet nog niets van zijn eervol geluk

MORE:
Harlotry=Harlot
Honourable fortune=Good luck
Fashion=Arrange
Fall out=Happen
Second=Support
Show you such a necessity=Persuade you of the need for
Night grows to waste=Time is wasting
Compleat:
Harlotry=Hoerery
To fashion=Een gestalte geeven, vormen, fatzoeneeren
To fall out=Uytvallen
To second=Bystaan, byspringen, ondersteunen; te hulp komen

Topics: risk, advantage, benefit, conspiracy, justification

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: King Henry VI Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 4.6
SPEAKER: Lord Talbot
CONTEXT:
Here, purposing the Bastard to destroy,
Came in strong rescue. Speak, thy father’s care,
Art thou not weary, John? how dost thou fare?
Wilt thou yet leave the battle, boy, and fly,
Now thou art seal’d the son of chivalry?
Fly, to revenge my death when I am dead:
The help of one stands me in little stead.
O, too much folly is it, well I wot,
To hazard all our lives in one small boat!
If I to-day die not with Frenchmen’s rage,
To-morrow I shall die with mickle age:
By me they nothing gain an if I stay;
‘Tis but the shortening of my life one day:
In thee thy mother dies, our household’s name,
My death’s revenge, thy youth, and England’s fame:
All these and more we hazard by thy stay;
All these are saved if thou wilt fly away.

DUTCH:
Voorwaar, ‘t zou dwaasheid zijn, ons aller leven
In éene kleine boot nu prijs te geven.

MORE:
Proverb: Venture not all in one bottom

Purposing=Intending
Sealed=Confirmed
Stands me in little stead=Is of little use to me
Wot=Know
Mickle=Great
Household=Family

Compleat:
To purpose=Voorneemen, voorhebben
Sealed=Gezegeld, verzegeld
To stand in stead=Dienstig zijn, baatig
I wot=Ik weet
Mickle=Veel, een woord dat in ‘t Noorden van Engeland zeer gemeen is
Many a little makes a mickle=Veele kleintjes maaken een groot
House=(family) Huisgezin

Topics: risk, fate/destiny, caution

PLAY: King Henry VIII
ACT/SCENE: 1.2
SPEAKER: Cardinal Wolsey
CONTEXT:
SURVEYOR
First, it was usual with him, every day
It would infect his speech, that if the king
Should without issue die, he’ll carry it so
To make the sceptre his: these very words
I’ve heard him utter to his son-in-law,
Lord Abergavenny; to whom by oath he menaced
Revenge upon the cardinal.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Please your highness, note
This dangerous conception in this point.
Not friended by his wish, to your high person
His will is most malignant; and it stretches
Beyond you, to your friends.

DUTCH:
Gelieve uw hoogheid al ‘t gevaar te erkennen,
Dat die gezindheid brengen kan.

MORE:
Carry=Carry out, arrange
Conception=Plan, idea
Friended=Supported
Compleat:
To carry=Draagen, voeren, brengen; aanstellen
To carry it=De overhand behouden, iets doorhaalen, overhaalen
Conception=Bevatting

Topics: advantage/benefit, revenge, risk

PLAY: Twelfth Night
ACT/SCENE: 5.1
SPEAKER: Fool
CONTEXT:
ORSINO
Thou shalt not be the worse for me: there’s gold.
FOOL
But that it would be double-dealing, sir, I would you
could make it another.
ORSINO
O, you give me ill counsel.
FOOL
Put your grace in your pocket, sir, for this once, and
let your flesh and blood obey it.
ORSINO
Well, I will be so much a sinner, to be a double-dealer.
There’s another.
FOOL
Primo, secundo, tertio is a good play, and the old
saying is, the third pays for all. The triplex, sir, is
a good tripping measure, or the bells of Saint Bennet,
sir, may put you in mind—one, two, three.

DUTCH:
Steek uwe genade voor dezen keer eens in uw zak,
en laat uw vleesch en bloed er gehoor aan geven.

MORE:
Proverb: Put your grace in your pocket
Proverb: Flesh is frail
Proverb: The third time pays for all

But that=Except for the fact that
Double-dealing=Duplicity
Pocket=Conceal
Triplex=Triple time in music
Tripping=Dancing
Measure=Rhythm, beat
Compleat:
But=Maar, of, dan, behalven, maar alleen
A false or double dealer=Een dobbelhertig man
False or treacherous dealing=Een bedriegelyken handel
To pocket=Zakken, in de zak steeken
To trip=Trippelen
Measure (music)=Zang-maat. To beat the measure=De maat slaan

Topics: advice, deceit, money, risk

PLAY: Cymbeline
ACT/SCENE: 1.4
SPEAKER: Iachimo
CONTEXT:
IACHIMO
Either your unparagoned mistress is dead, or she’s
outprized by a trifle.
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
You are mistaken: the one may be sold, or given, if
there were wealth enough for the purchase, or merit
for the gift: the other is not a thing for sale,
and only the gift of the gods.
IACHIMO
Which the gods have given you?
POSTHUMUS LEONATUS
Which, by their graces, I will keep.
IACHIMO
You may wear her in title yours: but, you know,
strange fowl light upon neighbouring ponds. Your
ring may be stolen too: so your brace of unprizable
estimations; the one is but frail and the other
casual; a cunning thief, or a that way accomplished
courtier, would hazard the winning both of first and
last.

DUTCH:
Ook uw ring kan u gestolen worden;
en zoo is van uwe twee onwaardeerbare schatten de een
slechts zwak, de ander verliesbaar; een geslepen dief of
een in dit opzicht uitgeleerd hoveling kunnen het wagen
u zoowel den een’ als den anderen te ontfutselen.

MORE:
In title=As in title to an estate
So=In such a manner, thus
Unprizable=Invaluable, inestimable
Casual=Accidental, by chance
Frail=Weak, in a physical as well as moral sense
Hazard=To venture, to risk, take a bet on
Compleat:
Title=Recht, eisch
He has no good title to it=Hy heeft geen goed recht daar toe
Title=Papieren, geschriften om zyn recht to bewyzen
Hazard=Waagen, aventuuren, in de waagschaal stellen
Casual=Gevallig, toevallig
Frail=Bros

Topics: loyalty, betrayal, value, risk

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: 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: 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

PLAY: King Henry IV Part 1
ACT/SCENE: 2.3
SPEAKER: Hotspur
CONTEXT:
The purpose you undertake is dangerous. Why, that’s certain. ‘Tis dangerous to take a cold, to sleep, to drink; but I tell you, my lord fool, out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety. The purpose you undertake is dangerous, the friends you have named uncertain, the time itself unsorted, and your whole plot too light for the counterpoise of so great an opposition.

DUTCH:
De onderneming, die gij op touw zet, is gevaarlijk; de vrienden, die gij noemt, zijn onzeker; de tijd zelf is slecht gekozen en geheel uw plan te licht voor het tegenwicht van zulk een grooten wederstand.

MORE:
Schmidt:
Purpose=That which a person intends to do, design, plan, project
Compleat:
Nettle=Netel, brandnetel
To nettle=Branden of steeken als netelen, quellen, ontrusten, onthutselen, plaagen

Topics: purpose, courage, plans/intentions, risk

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: Richard III
ACT/SCENE: 3.2
SPEAKER: Hastings
CONTEXT:
MESSENGER
Then certifies your Lordship that this night
He dreamt the boar had razèd his helm.
Besides, he says there are two councils kept,
And that may be determined at the one
Which may make you and him to rue at th’ other.
Therefore he sends to know your Lordship’s pleasure,
If you will presently take horse with him
And with all speed post with him toward the north
To shun the danger that his soul divines.
HASTINGS
Go, fellow, go. Return unto thy lord.
Bid him not fear the separated council.
His honour and myself are at the one,
And at the other is my good friend Catesby,
Where nothing can proceed that toucheth us
Whereof I shall not have intelligence.
Tell him his fears are shallow, without instance.
And for his dreams, I wonder he’s so simple
To trust the mock’ry of unquiet slumbers.
To fly the boar before the boar pursues
Were to incense the boar to follow us
And make pursuit where he did mean no chase.
Go, bid thy master rise and come to me,
And we will both together to the Tower,
Where he shall see, the boar will use us kindly.
MESSENGER
I’ll go, my lord, and tell him what you say.

DUTCH:
Voor de’ ever vluchten, eer ons de ever aanvalt ,
Dit waar’, den ever tot vervolging prikk’len,
Tot jagen , als hijzelf er niet aan denkt .

MORE:
Certifies=Assures
Boar=Richard’s symbol was the boar and characters in the play also refer to him as a boar
Rue=Grieve
Presently=Immediately
Divines=Senses
Toucheth=Concerns
Intelligence=Secret information
Shallow=Naive
Instance=Evidence
Use us kindly=Treat us gently
Compleat:
To certify=Verzekeren; voor de waarheyd verklaaren, bewaarheyden
Boar=Een beer-zwyn, ‘t mannetje van een verken
To rue=Beklaagen, betreuren, rouwig zyn
Presently=Terstond, opstaandevoet
To divine=Waarzeggen, voorzeggen, raaden, raaamen
To touch=Aanraaken, aanroeren, tasten
Intelligence=Kundschap, verstandhouding
To give intelligence=Kundschap geeven, overbrieven
Shallow=Ondiep
Shallowness, shallow wit=Kleinheid van begrip, dommelykheid
Instance=Een voorval, voorbeeld, exempel; aandringing, aanhouding; blyk

Burgersdijk notes:
Dan meldt hij u, dat hij van nacht een droom had. De inhoud van dit tooneel: de boodschap van Stanley betreffende zjn droom, de gerustheid van Hastings, zijn bescheid aan Catesby, zijn spreken met een heraut en zijne vreugde over het lot der gevangenen in Pomfret, zijn gesprek met een geestelijke, het zeggen van Gloster’s bode, dat hij geen priester noodig heeft, het is alles overeenkomstig de kronieken.

Topics: risk, imagination, caution, evidence

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: Julius Caesar
ACT/SCENE: 2.2
SPEAKER: Calpurnia
CONTEXT:
CALPHURNIA
Alas, my lord,
Your wisdom is consumed in confidence.
Do not go forth today. Call it my fear
That keeps you in the house, and not your own.
We’ll send Mark Antony to the senate house,
And he shall say you are not well today.
Let me, upon my knee, prevail in this.
CAESAR
Mark Antony shall say I am not well,
And for thy humour I will stay at home.

DUTCH:
Uw wijsheid wordt verteerd door zelfvertrouwen.

MORE:
Consumed=Overtaken by
Confidence=Over-confidence
Humour=Whim
Compleat:
Confidence=Betrouwen, vertrouwen, vrymoedigheyd, verzekerdheyd
Over-confident=Al te stout
Humour (or disposition of the mind)=Humeur, gemoeds gesteldheid

Topics: risk, caution, wisdom

Go to Top