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. the Tragical History of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In the original language with modernized spelling)
- Scene 3 [~ Thine Own Self ~] (Act 1 Scene 3)
Setting: The docks of the town near Elsinore Castle;- Daytime, afternoon;
A ship is ready to sail.
(Laertes and Ophelia enter)
Laertes: My necessaries are embarked, farewell;- And sister, as the winds give benefit
And convey, in assistant, do not sleep
But let me hear from you.
- Ophelia: Do you doubt that?
- Laer: For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favor,
- Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood,
A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent; sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute,
No more.
- Ophelia: No more but so?
- Laer: Think it no more;
- For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews and bulks, but as this temple waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal; perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will, but you must fear:
His greatness weighed, his will is not his own,
For he, himself, is subject to his birth;
He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself; for on his choice depends
The sanctity and health of this whole state,
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body
Whereof he is the head; then, if he says he loves you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it
As he, in his peculiar sect and force,
May give his saying deed, which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal;
Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain
If with too credent ear you list' his songs,
Or loose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmastered importunity;
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep you in the rear of your affection,
Out of the shot and danger of desire:
The chariest maid is prodigal enough
If she unmask her beauty to the moon;
Virtue, itself, 'scapes not calumnious strokes;
The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft' before their buttons be disclosed,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth,
Contagious blastments are most imminent;
Be wary then, best safety lies in fear,
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
- Ophelia: I shall the good effect of this lesson keep,
- As watchman to my heart; but, good my brother,
Do not as some ungracious pastors do:
Show me the steep and thorny way to Heaven,
While a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself, the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own reed.
(Polonius enters)
Laertes: Oh, fear me not;- I stay too long, but here my father comes;
A double blessing is a double grace,
Occasion smiles upon a second leave.
- Polonius: Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard for shame!
- The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stayed for; there, my blessing with thee,
And these few precepts in thy memory
Look thou character: give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act;
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar;
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged courage; beware
Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear it that the opposed may beware of thee;
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment;
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy: rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft' proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station,
Or of a most select and generous, chief in that . . .
Neither a borrower nor a lender be
For love oft' loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulleth edge of husbandry;
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man;
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee.
- Laer: Most humbly do I take my leave, my Lord.
- Pol: The time invites you go, your servants tend.
- Laer: Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well
- What I have said to you.
- Ophelia: 'Tis in my memory locked
- And you, yourself, shall keep the key of it.
- Laer: Farewell!
(Laertes exits)
Polonius: What is it, Ophelia, he hath said to you?- Ophelia: So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet.
- Pol: Marry, well bethought!
- 'Tis told me he hath very oft', of late,
Given private time to you, and you, yourself,
Have of your audience been most free and bounteous;
If it be so, as so 'tis put on me,
And that in way of caution, I must tell you,
You do not understand yourself so clearly
As it behooves my daughter, and your honor;
What is between you? Give me up the truth!
- Ophelia: He hath, my Lord, of late, made many tenders
- Of his affection to me.
- Pol: Affection, puh, you speak like a green girl,
- Unsifted in such perilous circumstances;
Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?
- Ophelia: I do not know, my Lord, what I should think.
- Pol: Marry, I will teach you; think yourself a baby,
- That you have taken these tenders for true pay
Which are not sterling; tender yourself more dearly,
Or, (not to crack the wind of the poor phrase
Roaming it thus,) you'll tender me a fool.
- Ophelia: My Lord, he hath importuned me with love
- in honorable fashion.
- Pol: Aye, "fashion" you may call it; go to, go to!
- Ophelia: And hath given countenance to his speech,
- My Lord, with almost all the holy vows of Heaven.
- Pol: Aye, springs to catch woodcocks; I do know,
- When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows; these blazes, daughter,
Giving more light than heat, extinct in both
Even in their promise, as it is a making
You must not take for fire; from this time
Be something scanter of your maiden presence;
Set your entreatments at a higher rate
Than a command to parley; for Lord Hamlet,
Believe so much in him: that he is young,
And with a larger tether may he walk
Than may be given you; in few, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows, for they are brokers,
Not of that dye which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
Breathing like sanctified and pious bonds,
The better to beguile; this is for all:
I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,
Have you so slander any moment leisure
As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet;
Look to it, I charge you! Come your ways.
- Ophelia: I shall obey, my Lord.
(they exit)
End of Scene 3
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. The Tragedy of . H A M L E T . Prince of Denmark .
(In simplified modern English translation)
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Scene 3 [~ Thine Ownself ~] (Act 1 Scene 3)
Setting: The docks of the town near Elsinore Castle;- Daytime, afternoon;
A ship is ready to sail.
(Ophelia and Laertes enter)
Laertes: My luggage is on board the ship, farewell.- And, my sister, the way the winds benefit the ship to sail,
To convey me, help me, also, and do not sleep tonight
Before you write me a letter.
- Ophelia: Do you doubt that I will?
- Laer: As for Hamlet, and his flirtation with you,
- Consider it only a temporary thing, an idea from his passion,
Like a violet in the springtime of youthful nature:
Only assertive, not permanent, sweet but not lasting,
The allure and entreaty of the moment.
No more.
- Ophelia: No more than that?
- Laer: Think no more of it than that.
- For nature, as it matures, doesn't grow only
In strength and size, but as the human body grows,
The mind and soul within the body
Grow also. Perhaps Hamlet has true love for you now,
And now no disgracefulness or deceit taints
The virtue of his desire. But be fearful,
Considering his social status, his future is not entirely his own.
For he, himself, is subservient to his high birth.
He cannot do as lower class persons do,
To make his own choice of a wife. His choice involves
The saintliness and health of this entire nation.
Therefore Hamlet's choice must be limited
By the voice and consent of the people
Of whom he is the Prince. If he says he loves you,
Use your wisdom to believe that only as far
As he, in his unusual allegiance and power,
Can prove it by marrying you. That is no farther
Than the consent of the King of Denmark goes.
Then evaluate the loss your honor might suffer
If you believe too readily, as you listen to his pleasant talk,
Or lose your heart, or open your virginity
To his uncontrolled insistence.
Fear this possibility, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep yourself away from the battle of your emotion,
Away from the discharge and danger of lustful desire.
The most concerned maiden is lavish enough
If she only unmasks her beauty to the moon.
Virtue, personified, does not escape slanderous accusations.
Plant disease that causes swelling attacks the innocent buds of springtime
Too often before they even open into flowers,
And in the early and liquid dew of youth,
Contagious swellings are very imminent.
Be wary, then; the best safety is in being fearful.
Youth rebels against its own interests, even if nobody else is near.
- Ophelia: I will take this good advice and remember it
- As a guardian to my heart. But my good brother,
Don't do as some hypocritical preachers do, and
Show me the steep and thorny way to Heaven,
While the preacher, himself, is a puffed-up and reckless libertine
Who walks the flowery path of careless romance,
And doesn't think about where his own "arrows" go.
(Polonius enters)
Laertes: Oh, don't worry about me.- I've stayed too long, just look, here comes father.
A double blessing is a double grace;
Occasion smiles upon a second leave-taking.
- Polonius: You're still here, Laertes? Get aboard, aboard! For shame!
- The wind is right to fill the sails,
And they're waiting for you. There, my blessing goes with you.
Also, here are some precepts, and, within your memory
Be sure to record all this: Keep your thoughts to yourself, and
Don't act on any improper thought.
Be friendly, but certainly not common.
When you find friends, and have proven their friendship,
Embrace their friendship as strongly as steel,
But don't wear a callus on your palm from shaking hands with
Each new-hatched, unfledged soul you meet. Be wary
Of getting into fights, but if you get in a fight
Fight hard so the other person won't bother you again.
Listen to everybody, but don't talk to very many people.
Accept any man's criticism, but reserve your judgment of him.
Buy the most expensive clothes you can afford,
But not fancy things - look elegant, not flashy and cheap,
Because clothes often make the man,
And the French of the best rank and social position,
Or, I mean, the most select and noble of them, chiefly that . . .
Don't borrow money, and don't lend money,
Because lending often loses both the money and the friend,
And borrowing makes for poor management of your finances.
The most important thing is, to be true to yourself,
And it must follow as naturally as the night follows the day,
You will not, then, be false to any man.
Farewell, and may my blessing improve you through this advice.
- Laer: Most humbly, I now take my leave, my Lord.
- Pol: The time tempts you to go, and your servants attend you.
- Laer: Farewell, Ophelia, and remember well
- What I have said to you.
- Ophelia: Your words are locked in my memory,
- And I won't forget, or tell without your permission.
- Laer: Farewell!
(Laertes exits)
Polonius: What is it he said to you, Ophelia?- Ophelia: If it pleases you to know, he said something about Lord Hamlet.
- Pol: Very good, that he thought of that!
- I have been told that Hamlet has very often, recently,
Spent private time with you, and that you, yourself,
Have been very free and generous in giving him attention.
If it's so, as it was expressed to me,
In order to warn me, I must tell you,
You don't understand your position as clearly
As my daughter should, in upholding your honor.
What is going on between you and Hamlet? Let's have the truth!
- Ophelia: My Lord, lately Hamlet has made many tenders
- Of his affection to me.
- Pol: Affection? Bah, you speak like an inexperienced girl,
- Who's untried in difficult situations.
Do you believe his "tenders" as you call them?
- Ophelia: My Lord, I don't know what I should think.
- Pol: Very well, I will teach you. Think of yourself as only a baby,
- That you have accepted these tenders as true pay,
Which are not real money. So, offer yourself at a higher price,
Or, (not to exhaust the poor word, "tender", by
Wandering so much with it,) you'll tender me a fool.
- Ophelia: My Lord, he has urged me with love
- In an honorable fashion.
- Pol: Yes, you may call it "fashion." Go on, keep talking!
- Ophelia: And he has given confirmation to his speech,
- My Lord, with almost all the holy vows of Heaven.
- Polonius: Yes, traps to catch foolish birds. I do know
- That when passion burns, how lavishly the soul
Lends the tongue words to make vows. These flames, daughter,
Give more light than heat, and the heat and light both die out
Just as they look promising. It's something
You must not mistake for "friendly" fire. From this time forward,
Be scarcer to him with your innocent presence.
Set your dealings at a higher rate
Than accepting a mere request to talk. Regarding Lord Hamlet,
Believe only this much about him: that he is young,
And he is allowed to walk on a longer leash
Than you are. In only a few words, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows, for they are not like brokers
Who are proven by the quality of their investments.
Instead his words are pleaders of evil suits
That only sound like blessed and virtuous bonds,
The better to mislead you. In summary,
I will not - plainly speaking - in the future
Have you disgrace any moment of your leisure time
By writing to, or talking with, Lord Hamlet.
See to that, I command you! Come along.
- Ophelia: I shall obey you, my Lord.
(they exit)
End of Scene 3
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(Regained)