The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (425 page)

Your brother and his lover embraced:
As those that feed grow full, as blossoming time

As those that grow food, at blossoming time
That from the seedness the bare fallow brings

From the seeds planted in the bare earth grow
To teeming foison, even so her plenteous womb

A bountiful harvest, like this her ample womb
Expresseth his full tilth and husbandry.

Shows his work in planting his seed.

ISABELLA

Some one with child by him? My cousin Juliet?

Some one pregnant by him? My cousin Juliet?

LUCIO

Is she your cousin?

Is she your cousin?

ISABELLA

Adoptedly; as school-maids change their names

By adoption; as school girls may change their names
By vain though apt affection.

In silliness because of great fondness for each other.

LUCIO

She it is.

It is her.

ISABELLA

O, let him marry her.

Oh, he can marry her.

LUCIO

This is the point.

That is the point.
The duke is very strangely gone from hence;

The duke is very strangely absent from here;
Bore many gentlemen, myself being one,

Misled many men, including myself,
In hand and hope of action: but we do learn

Waiting in hope for military action: but we did learn
By those that know the very nerves of state,

From those that know important people in government
His givings-out were of an infinite distance

That his words were very far
From his true-meant design. Upon his place,

From his real intentions. Instead of him,
And with full line of his authority,

And with all of his authority,
Governs Lord Angelo; a man whose blood
Lord Angelo is govenor; a man whose blood

Is very snow-broth; one who never feels

Is cold like melted snow; one who never feels
The wanton stings and motions of the sense,

The unrestrained itching and urges of the senses
But doth rebate and blunt his natural edge

But instead suppresses and blunts his natural desire
With profits of the mind, study and fast.

With improving his mind, studying and fasting.
He--to give fear to use and liberty,

He—to put fear into our customs and freedoms,
Which have for long run by the hideous law,

Which have long by-passed the frightening law,
As mice by lions--hath pick'd out an act,

As mice run by lions—has picked out a crime,
Under whose heavy sense your brother's life

Whose grave sentence is that your brother’s life
Falls into forfeit: he arrests him on it;

Is to be given as punishment: he arrests him because of it;
And follows close the rigour of the statute,

And closely follows the rigorous laws,
To make him an example. All hope is gone,

In order to make him an example.  All hope is gone,
Unless you have the grace by your fair prayer

Unless you have the good fortune from your prayers
To soften Angelo: and that's my pith of business

Needed to soften Angelo: and that is the reason of problem
'Twixt you and your poor brother.

Between you and your poor brother

ISABELLA

Doth he so seek his life?

Does he beg for his life?

LUCIO

Has censured him

He is condemned
Already; and, as I hear, the provost hath

Already; and, as I hear, the provost has
A warrant for his execution.

A warrant for his execution.

ISABELLA

Alas! what poor ability's in me

Oh no! what power do I have
To do him good?

to do him any good?

LUCIO

Assay the power you have.

Try what power you do have.

ISABELLA

My power? Alas, I doubt--

My power? But, I don’t know--

LUCIO

Our doubts are traitors

We do harm by doubting ourselves
And make us lose the good we oft might win

And lose the benefits we often might win
By fearing to attempt. Go to Lord Angelo,

Because we are afraid to try.  Go to Lord Angelo,
And let him learn to know, when maidens sue,

And let him learn that when maidens plead,
Men give like gods; but when they weep and kneel,

Men give in like gods; but when they weep and kneel,
All their petitions are as freely theirs

All their requests are granted exactly
As they themselves would owe them.

As they wanted them to be.

ISABELLA

I'll see what I can do.

I’ll see what I can do.

LUCIO

But speedily.

But do it quickly.

ISABELLA

I will about it straight;
I will do it immediately;

No longer staying but to give the mother
Not staying any longer than to give the head of the nunnery

Notice of my affair. I humbly thank you:

Notice of my business.  I humbly thank you:
Commend me to my brother: soon at night

Pass my good wishes onto my brother: early this evening
I'll send him certain word of my success.

I’ll send him news of the result of my attempts.

LUCIO

I take my leave of you.

I bid you good bye.

ISABELLA

Good sir, adieu.

Good sir, farewell.

Exeunt

Enter ANGELO, ESCALUS, and a Justice, Provost, Officers, and other Attendants, behind

ANGELO

We must not make a scarecrow of the law,

We cannot make the law into a scarecorw,
Setting it up to fear the birds of prey,

Set up to frighten the birds of prey,
And let it keep one shape, till custom make it

And let it do only this one thing, until this routine turns it into
Their perch and not their terror.

Their habitat and not something they fear.

ESCALUS

Ay, but yet

Yes, but still
Let us be keen, and rather cut a little,

Let us be careful, and rather change a little at a time,
Than fall, and bruise to death. Alas, this gentleman

Than let it fall heavily and get bashed to death.  Sadly, this gentleman
Whom I would save, had a most noble father!

Whom I would save, had a most noble father!
Let but your honour know,

Only let your honorableness consider,
Whom I believe to be most strait in virtue,

Which I believe to be very proper in virtue,
That, in the working of your own affections,

That, in the functioning of your own desires,
Had time cohered with place or place with wishing,

Had a point in time come together with a place, or a place with a desire,
Or that the resolute acting of your blood

Or with the purposeful action of your own passion
Could have attain'd the effect of your own purpose,

You could have achieved the object of your desire,
Whether you had not sometime in your life

Would you not, at some point in your life,
Err'd in this point which now you censure him,

Make the mistake for which you now punish him,
And pull'd the law upon you.

And have brought the law down on yourself.

ANGELO

'Tis one thing to be tempted, Escalus,

It is one thing to be tempted, Escalus,
Another thing to fall. I not deny

And another thing to give in to the temptation. I do not deny
The jury, passing on the prisoner's life,

That the jury, which passes judgement on the prisoner’s life,
May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two

May have thief or two in the twelve that are sworn in
Guiltier than him they try. What's open made to justice,

That are more guilty than those they try.  It is what is made known to the law,
That justice seizes: what know the laws

That the law tries: what knowledge can the laws take
That thieves do pass on thieves? 'Tis very pregnant,

About the possibility that thieves may pass sentence on other thieves? It is clear that
The jewel that we find, we stoop and take't

When we find a gem, we stoop and take it
Because we see it; but what we do not see

Because we see it; but what we do not see
We tread upon, and never think of it.

We walk over, and never think of it.
You may not so extenuate his offence

You may not make allowances for his offence
For I have had such faults; but rather tell me,

Because I have had similar mistakes; but instead tell me
When I, that censure him, do so offend,

When I, that punish him, make the same mistake,
Let mine own judgment pattern out my death,

Let my own sentence serve as a model for my death,
And nothing come in partial. Sir, he must die.

And let there be no mitigation.  Sir, he must die.

ESCALUS

Be it as your wisdom will.

Be it as your wisdom wills it.

ANGELO

Where is the provost?

Where is the provost?

PROVOST

Here, if it like your honour.

I am here if it is pleases you, your honor.

ANGELO

See that Claudio

See to it that Claudio
Be executed by nine to-morrow morning:

Be executed by nine in the morning tomorrow:
Bring him his confessor, let him be prepared;