The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (194 page)

[Re-enter the Bastard of Orleans, with Joan La Pucelle.]

REIGNIER.

Fair maid, is 't thou wilt do these wondrous feats?

Fair maid, is it you who can do these remarkable things?

PUCELLE.

Reignier is 't thou that thinkest to beguile me?

Where is the Dauphin? Come, come from behind;

I know thee well, though never seen before.

Be not amazed, there's nothing hid from me.

In private will I talk with thee apart.

Stand back, you lords, and give us leave awhile.

Reignier, do you think you can trick me?

Where is the Dauphin? Come out from hiding;

I recognise you, though I've never seen you before.

Don't be astonished, there's nothing I can't see.

I will talk to you in private and alone.

Stand back, you lords, and give us some time.

REIGNIER.

She takes upon her bravely at first dash.

She carries herself well, from first impressions.

PUCELLE.

Dauphin, I am by birth a shepherd's daughter,

My wit untrain'd in any kind of art.

Heaven and our Lady gracious hath it pleased

To shine on my contemptible estate:

Lo, whilst I waited on my tender lambs

And to sun's parching heat display'd my cheeks,

God's mother deigned to appear to me,

And in a vision full of majesty

Will'd me to leave my base vocation,

And free my country from calamity:

Her aid she promised and assured success:

In complete glory she reveal'd herself;

And, whereas I was black and swart before,

With those clear rays which she infused on me

That beauty am I bless'd with which you may see.

Ask me what question thou canst possible,

And I will answer unpremeditated:

My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st,

And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex.

Resolve on this, thou shalt be fortunate,

If thou receive me for thy warlike mate.

Dauphin, I was born the daughter of a shepherd,

and I have had no sort of education;

Heaven and our gracious Lady have been pleased

to shed their light on my low position.

So, while I tended to my lambs

and exposed my cheeks to the burning sun,

the mother of God condescended to come to me

and in a majestic vision,

told me to leave my low occupation

and save my country from disaster:

she promised her help and that we would definitely win.

She revealed herself in all her glory,

and, where I was black and swarthy before,

she shone her clear rays upon me, to give me

the beauty I now have, which you can see.

Ask me any question you want

and I will answer without thinking;

you can test my bravery through single combat, if you dare,

and you will find that I am greater than a woman.

You must know this: you will be lucky,

if you take me on as your partner in war.

CHARLES.

Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms;

Only this proof I 'll of thy valour make,

In single combat thou shalt buckle with me,

And if thou vanquishest, thy words are true;

Otherwise I renounce all confidence.

 You have amazed me with your elevated language;

I'll just ask for this proof of your bravery,

that you take me on in single combat,

and if you win, what you say is true;

otherwise I won't believe a word.

PUCELLE.

I am prepared:  here is my keen-edg'd sword,

Deck'd with five flower-de-luces on each side,

The which at Touraine, in Saint Katharine's church-yard,

Out of a great deal of old iron I chose forth.

I am ready: here is my sharp sword,

decorated with five fleur-de-lis on each side,

which I selected from amongst a great deal of old iron

at Touraine, in Saint Katherine's churchyard.

CHARLES.

Then come, o' God's name; I fear no woman.

Then attack, in the name of God; I'm not afraid of any woman.

PUCELLE.

And while I live, I 'll ne'er fly from a man.

And while I live, I'll never run from any man.

Here they fight, and Joan La Pucelle overcomes.

CHARLES.

Stay, stay thy hands; thou art an Amazon,

And fightest with the sword of Deborah.

That's enough; you are an Amazon,

and you fight with the sword of Deborah.

PUCELLE.

Christ's Mother helps me, else I were too weak.

The mother of Christ helps me, or I could never do this.

CHARLES.

Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must help me:

Impatiently I burn with thy desire;

My heart and hands thou hast at once subdued.

Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so,

Let me thy servant and not sovereign be:

'Tis the French Dauphin sueth to thee thus.

Whoever is helping you, you must tell me:

I am burning with desire for you;

you have conquered my heart and my hands at once.

Excellent Maid, if that is your name,

let me be your servant and not your king:

this is the French Dauphin who begs this from you.

PUCELLE.

I must not yield to any rites of love,

For my profession's sacred from above:

When I have chased all thy foes from hence,

Then will I think upon a recompense.

I must not give into any sort of love,

for I am a servant of those in heaven:

when I have driven all your enemies away,

then I will think of a reward.

CHARLES.

Meantime look gracious on thy prostrate thrall.

In the meantime look favourably on your kneeling worshipper.

REIGNIER.

My lord, methinks, is very long in talk.

My lord seems to be talking for very long time.

ALENCON.

Doubtless he shrives this woman to her smock;

Else ne'er could he so long protract his speech.

No doubt he's hearing this woman's confession;

otherwise he could never speak for so long.

REIGNIER.

Shall we disturb him, since he keeps no mean?

Shall we interrupt, since he has no moderation?

ALENCON.

He may mean more than we poor men do know:

These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues.

He may be up to more than we poor men can know:

these women can be very tempting with their tongues.

REIGNIER.

My lord, where are you? what devise you on?

Shall we give over Orleans, or no?

My lord, where are you? What are you planning?

Shall we give up on Orleans, or not?

PUCELLE.

Why, no, I say; distrustful recreants!

Fight till the last gasp; I will be your guard.

Why, no, I say; faceless cowards!

Fight to the last breath; I will protect you.

CHARLES.

What she says I'll confirm:  we'll fight it out.

I agree with what she says: we'll fight it out.

PUCELLE.

Assign'd am I to be the English scourge.

This night the siege assuredly I 'll raise:

Expect Saint Martin's summer, halcyon days,

Since I have entered into these wars.

Glory is like a circle in the water,

Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself

Till by broad spreading it disperse to nought.

With Henry's death the English circle ends;

Dispersed are the glories it included.

Now am I like that proud insulting ship

Which Caesar and his fortune bare at once.

I have been given the task of whipping the English.

I shall certainly lift the siege tonight:

expect a late Saint Martin's summer, wonderful days,

now that I have come into these walls.

Glory is like the ripples on the water,

which never ceases to grow bigger,

until it has spread so far it disappears to nothing.

With the death of Henry the English ripples end;

the glories it encompassed are gone.

Now I am like the proud invading ship

which carried Caesar and his fate at once.

CHARLES.

Was Mahomet inspired with a dove?

Thou with an eagle art inspired then.

Helen, the mother of great Constantine,

Nor yet Saint Philip's daughters, were like thee.

Bright star of Venus, fall'n down on the earth,

How may I reverently worship thee enough?

Was Muhammad inspired by a dove?

Then you are inspired by an eagle.

Neither Helen, the mother of great Constantine,

nor the daughters of Saint Philip, were like you.

Bright star of Venus, fallen down to earth,

how can I worship you enough?

ALENCON.

Leave off delays, and let us raise the siege.

No more delay, let us lift the siege.

REIGNIER.

Woman, do what thou canst to save our honors;

Drive them from Orleans and be immortalized.

Woman, do what you can to save our honour;

drive them out of Orleans and become famous throughout history.

CHARLES.

Presently we 'll try:  come, let's away about it:

No prophet will I trust, if she prove false.

We'll try at once: come, let's start:

if she is false  I will never trust any prophet.

[Exeunt.]

London. Before the Tower.

[Enter the Duke of Gloucester, with his Serving-men

in blue coats.]

GLOUCESTER.

I come to survey the Tower this day:

Since Henry's death, I fear, there is conveyance.

Where be these warders that they wait not here?

Open the gates; 'tis Gloucester that calls.