The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (679 page)

THESEUS

It is true; and I will give you comfort

To give your dead lords graves; the which to do

Must make some work with Creon.

It is true; and I will bring you peace

by making sure your dead lords are buried;

to do this I'll have to take on Creon.

FIRST QUEEN.

And that work presents itself to th’ doing:

Now ’twill take form, the heats are gone tomorrow.

Then, bootless toil must recompense itself

With its own sweat; now he’s secure,

Not dreams we stand before your puissance

Wrinching our holy begging in our eyes

To make petition clear.

And the best chance of success is to do it now:

strike while the iron's hot.

Tomorrow, fruitless work will only

bring sweat; at the moment he thinks he's safe,

and doesn't dream we are standing before

your majesty, weeping as we explain

the holy task we want you to perform.

SECOND QUEEN.

Now you may take him

Drunk with his victory.

Now you could beat him,

while he's drunk with celebrating victory.

THIRD QUEEN.

And his army full

Of bread and sloth.

And his army

are stuffed and lazy.

THESEUS

Artesius, that best knowest

How to draw out, fit to this enterprise,

The prim’st for this proceeding, and the number

To carry such a business, forth and levy

Our worthiest instruments, whilst we dispatch

This grand act of our life, this daring deed

Of fate in wedlock.

Artesius, you know best

how to choose the best men for this business,

and what numbers we will need

to carry it out; go out and raise

our finest soldiers, while I finish

this great act of my life, this brave

act of committing to marriage.

FIRST QUEEN.

Dowagers, take hands,

Let us be widows to our woes; delay

Commends us to a famishing hope.

Dowagers, join hands.

Let us go on with our mourning;

delay starves our hopes.

ALL QUEENS.

Farewell.

Farewell.

SECOND QUEEN.

We come unseasonably; but when could grief

Cull forth, as unpang’d judgment can, fitt’st time

For best solicitation?

We have come at a bad time, but how can grief

choose, as emotionless judgement can, the best time

to put itself forward?

THESEUS

Why, good ladies,

This is a service, whereto I am going,

Greater than any war; it more imports me

Than all the actions that I have foregone,

Or futurely can cope.

Why, good ladies,

the business I am undertaking now

is greater than any war; it's more important to me

than anything I've ever done,

or will do.

FIRST QUEEN.

The more proclaiming

Our suit shall be neglected. When her arms,

Able to lock Jove from a synod, shall

By warranting moonlight corslet thee—O, when

Her twinning cherries shall their sweetness fall

Upon thy tasteful lips, what wilt thou think

Of rotten kings or blubber’d queens? What care

For what thou feel’st not? What thou feel’st being able

To make Mars spurn his drum. O, if thou couch

But one night with her, every hour in’t will

Take hostage of thee for a hundred, and

Thou shalt remember nothing more than what

That banquet bids thee to!

This tells us

our requests will not be answered.  When her arms,

which could keep Jove from a meeting, are

wrapped round you in the sweet moonlight -

oh, when her cherry red lips give their sweetness

to yours, what thought will you give

to rotting kings or weeping queens? What will you

care about things you can't feel?  What you'll be

feeling would be enough to make Mars give up war.

Oh, if you sleep just one night with her, every hour

of it will make you stay for a hundred more,

and you'll be thinking of nothing but

the feast you're enjoying there!

HIPPOLYTA

Though much unlike

You should be so transported, as much sorry

I should be such a suitor; yet I think

Did I not by th’ abstaining of my joy,

Which breeds a deeper longing, cure their surfeit

That craves a present med’cine, I should pluck

All ladies’ scandal on me. Therefore, sir,

Kneels.

As I shall here make trial of my pray’rs,

Either presuming them to have some force,

Or sentencing for aye their vigor dumb,

Prorogue this business we are going about, and hang

Your shield afore your heart, about that neck

Which is my fee, and which I freely lend

To do these poor queens service.

Though it's very unlikely

that you would forget your duty like this, I would

be very sorry to be the cause of it; but I think

that if I didn't hold back from my pleasure,

which can only make desire stronger,

to cure their illness which needs medicine at once,

all women would be horrified with me.  Therefore, sir,

[kneels]

I shall now test what value my pleas have,

either thinking that they have some influence,

or letting me know never to ask again,

I ask you to postpone our current business, and place

your shield in front of your heart, round the neck

which belongs to me, and which I freely lend

to help these poor queens.

ALL QUEENS

To Emilia.

O, help now!

Our cause cries for your knee.

Oh, help us now!

Our cause needs you to plead for us.

EMILIA

Kneels.

If you grant not

My sister her petition, in that force,

With that celerity and nature, which

She makes it in, from henceforth I’ll not dare

To ask you any thing, nor be so hardy

Ever to take a husband.

If you do not give

my sister what she's asking for, with the same

strength, speed and spirit with which

she's asking, from now on I won't dare

ask you for anything, or be so foolish

as to ever get married.

THESEUS

Pray stand up.

They rise.

I am entreating of myself to do

That which you kneel to have me. Pirithous,

Lead on the bride; get you and pray the gods

For success and return; omit not any thing

In the pretended celebration. Queens,

Follow your soldier.

To Artesius.

As before, hence you,

And at the banks of Aulis meet us with

The forces you can raise, where we shall find

The moi’ty of a number for a business

More bigger-look’d.

Exit Artesius.

To Hippolyta.

Since that our theme is haste,

I stamp this kiss upon thy currant lip.

Sweet, keep it as my token. Set you forward,

For I will see you gone.

Exeunt slowly towards the temple.

Farewell, my beauteous sister. Pirithous,

Keep the feast full, bate not an hour on’t.

Please stand up.

I am pleading with myself to do

the thing which you are begging me.  Pirithous,

you lead the bride; go and pray to the gods

for our success and safe return; don't omit any element

of our intended celebration.  

Queens, follow me.

[To Artesius]

As we've done before, you go,

and meet me at the banks of the Aulis with

what forces you can gather, while I shall gather

another group for a business

that's bigger than it looks.

[To Hippolyta]

Since we have to hurry,

I kiss your true lips.

Darling, keep this as a symbol of my love.  Get going,

I want to see you go.

Farewell, my beautiful sister.  Pirithous,

follow all the plans for the celebrations, don't cut it short by an hour.

PIRITHOUS

Sir,

I’ll follow you at heels; the feast’s solemnity

Shall want till your return.

Sir,

I'll follow you; the celebration of the feast

can wait until you return.

THESEUS

Cousin, I charge you

Boudge not from Athens. We shall be returning

Ere you can end this feast, of which I pray you

Make no abatement. Once more, farewell all.

Cousin, I order you

not to move from Athens.  We shall be coming back

before the end of this feast, which I'm asking you

not to cut short.  Once more, farewell to all.

FIRST QUEEN.

Thus dost thou still make good

The tongue o’ th’ world.

So you live up to

your reputation.

SECOND QUEEN.

And earn’st a deity

Equal with Mars.

And make yourself a god,

equal to Mars.

THIRD QUEEN.

If not above him, for

Thou being but mortal makest affections bend

To godlike honors; they themselves, some say,

Groan under such a mast’ry.

If not greater than him, for

being just a mortal that makes the mind

offer you the honours due to gods; some say the gods

could not bear such tasks as you do.

THESEUS

As we are men

Thus should we do, being sensually subdu’d

We lose our human title. Good cheer, ladies.

Now turn we towards your comforts.

Flourish. Exeunt.

This is what we should do,

being men, if we lose our sympathy

we stop being human.  Be in good spirits, ladies.

We're now coming to your aid.