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Thus comes the English with full power upon us; And more than carefully it us concerns To answer royally in our defences. Therefore the Dukes of Berri and of Bretagne, Of Brabant and of Orleans, shall make forth, And you, Prince Dauphin, with all swift dispatch, To line and new repair our towns of war With men of courage and with means defendant; For England his approaches makes as fierce As waters to the sucking of a gulf. It fits us then to be as provident As fear may teach us out of late examples Left by the fatal and neglected English Upon our fields.
Here come the English, coming at us with full force; And it’s even more important for us to make sure We respond properly to defend ourselves. So, the Dukes of Berri and of Bretagne, Of Brabant and of Orleans, shall set out, And you, Prince Dauphin, with all speed, To reinforce and repair our towns of war With brave men and the necessary means to defend them; For England is coming at us with all the fury Of waves crashing into a whirlpool. We must therefore be as careful As fear teaches us, based on recent examples Left by the disastrous and careless English On our own fields.
My most redoubted father, It is most meet we arm us ’gainst the foe; For peace itself should not so dull a kingdom, Though war nor no known quarrel were in question, But that defences, musters, preparations, Should be maintain’d, assembled and collected, As were a war in expectation. Therefore, I say ’tis meet we all go forth To view the sick and feeble parts of France: And let us do it with no show of fear; No, with no more than if we heard that England Were busied with a Whitsun morris-dance: For, my good liege, she is so idly king’d, Her sceptre so fantastically borne By a vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth, That fear attends her not.
My most respected father, It’s only right that we arm ourselves against the enemy; Even if there’s no war or no specific quarrel to fight, The kingdom must still be prepared, With defences, troops, and supplies gathered, As though a war were expected. Therefore, I say we should all go out To inspect the weakest and most vulnerable parts of France: And let’s do it without showing any fear; No, not even if we heard that England Was busy with a Whitsun morris dance: For, my good lord, she is so poorly ruled, Her sceptre held so foolishly By a vain, reckless, shallow, silly young king, That fear is not something she knows.
O peace, Prince Dauphin! You are too much mistaken in this king: Question your grace the late ambassadors, With what great state he heard their embassy, How well supplied with noble counsellors, How modest in exception, and withal How terrible in constant resolution, And you shall find his vanities forespent Were but the outside of the Roman Brutus, Covering discretion with a coat of folly; As gardeners do with ordure hide those roots That shall first spring and be most delicate.
Oh, be quiet, Prince Dauphin! You are wrong about this king: Ask the recent ambassadors, About the great respect he showed them, How well he was supported by wise counselors, How modest in his responses, and at the same time How terrifying in his unwavering decisions, And you’ll see that his apparent foolishness Was just a mask, like that of the Roman Brutus, Hiding wisdom under a layer of folly; Like gardeners who cover delicate roots With compost, so they can grow strong first.
Well, ’tis not so, my lord high constable; But though we think it so, it is no matter: In cases of defence ’tis best to weigh The enemy more mighty than he seems: So the proportions of defence are fill’d; Which of a weak or niggardly projection Doth, like a miser, spoil his coat with scanting A little cloth.
Well, that’s not how I see it, my lord high constable; But even if we’re wrong, it doesn’t matter: In times of defence, it’s better to assume The enemy is stronger than he appears: That way, our defences will be properly prepared; Otherwise, a weak or stingy defence Will, like a miser, ruin everything by skimping On the necessary resources.
Think we King Harry strong; And, princes, look you strongly arm to meet him. The kindred of him hath been flesh’d upon us; And he is bred out of that bloody strain That haunted us in our familiar paths: Witness our too much memorable shame When Cressy battle fatally was struck, And all our princes captiv’d by the hand Of that black name, Edward, Black Prince of Wales; Whiles that his mountain sire, on mountain standing, Up in the air, crown’d with the golden sun, Saw his heroical seed, and smiled to see him, Mangle the work of nature and deface The patterns that by God and by French fathers Had twenty years been made. This is a stem Of that victorious stock; and let us fear The native mightiness and fate of him.
Let’s think of King Henry as strong; And princes, make sure you arm yourselves well to face him. His family has been tested on us; And he’s from that bloody line That has haunted us for years: Remember our shameful defeat When the battle of Cressy was lost, And all our princes were captured By the hand of that infamous man, Edward, Black Prince of Wales; While his father, on a mountain, standing tall, Under the golden sun, looked down and smiled To see his son, the hero, destroy The legacy that by God and by French fathers Had been created for twenty years. This is the root Of that victorious bloodline; and we must fear The raw strength and fate of him.
Ambassadors from Harry King of England Do crave admittance to your majesty.
Ambassadors from Harry King of England Ask to speak with your majesty.
We’ll give them present audience. Go, and bring them.
We’ll give them immediate audience. Go, and bring them in.
You see this chase is hotly follow’d, friends.
You see this chase is being pursued intensely, friends.
Turn head, and stop pursuit; for coward dogs Most spend their mouths when what they seem to threaten Runs far before them. Good my sovereign, Take up the English short, and let them know Of what a monarchy you are the head: Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin As self-neglecting.
Turn around, and stop the pursuit; because cowardly dogs Only waste their breath when what they threaten Is already far ahead of them. Good my king, Stop the English short, and let them know What kind of monarchy you rule over: Loving yourself, my lord, is not as bad a sin As neglecting yourself.
From our brother England?
From our brother in England?
From him; and thus he greets your majesty. He wills you, in the name of God Almighty, That you divest yourself, and lay apart The borrow’d glories that by gift of heaven, By law of nature and of nations, ’long To him and to his heirs; namely, the crown And all wide-stretched honours that pertain By custom and the ordinance of times Unto the crown of France. That you may know ’Tis no sinister nor no awkward claim, Pick’d from the worm-holes of long-vanish’d days, Nor from the dust of old oblivion raked, He sends you this most memorable line, In every branch truly demonstrative; Willing to overlook this pedigree: And when you find him evenly derived From his most famed of famous ancestors, Edward the Third, he bids you then resign Your crown and kingdom, indirectly held From him the native and true challenger.
Yes, from him; and here is how he greets your majesty. He asks you, in the name of God Almighty, To give up and lay aside The borrowed glories that, by God’s gift, By the law of nature and of nations, belong To him and his heirs; specifically, the crown And all the wide-ranging honors that come By custom and the laws of the time To the crown of France. So that you may understand This is not a dishonest or improper claim, Not something pulled from the distant past, Or from the forgotten dust of history, He sends you this clear, undeniable line, In every way truly evident; Willing to overlook his ancestry: And when you see he’s properly descended From his most famous ancestor, Edward the Third, he asks you then to give up Your crown and kingdom, which you hold indirectly From him, the rightful and true challenger.
Or else what follows?
And then what happens?
Bloody constraint; for if you hide the crown Even in your hearts, there will he rake for it: Therefore in fierce tempest is he coming, In thunder and in earthquake, like a Jove, That, if requiring fail, he will compel; And bids you, in the bowels of the Lord, Deliver up the crown, and to take mercy On the poor souls for whom this hungry war Opens his vasty jaws; and on your head Turning the widows’ tears, the orphans’ cries The dead men’s blood, the pining maidens groans, For husbands, fathers and betrothed lovers, That shall be swallow’d in this controversy. This is his claim, his threatening and my message; Unless the Dauphin be in presence here, To whom expressly I bring greeting too.
Bloody force; because if you hide the crown Even in your hearts, he will search for it: So, he’s coming in a fierce storm, In thunder and earthquake, like a god, That, if negotiations fail, he will force you; And he commands you, by the mercy of God, To give up the crown, and show mercy To the poor souls for whom this brutal war Opens its terrible jaws; and on your head Will fall the widows’ tears, the orphans’ cries, The blood of the dead, the cries of suffering young women, For husbands, fathers, and betrothed lovers, Who will be swallowed up in this conflict. This is his claim, his threat, and my message; Unless the Dauphin is here with us, To whom I am also bringing my greeting.
For us, we will consider of this further: To-morrow shall you bear our full intent Back to our brother England.
As for us, we will consider this matter further: Tomorrow, you will carry our full response Back to our brother in England.
For the Dauphin, I stand here for him: what to him from England?
I’m here on behalf of the Dauphin, What does England want from him?
Scorn and defiance; slight regard, contempt, And any thing that may not misbecome The mighty sender, doth he prize you at. Thus says my king; an’ if your father’s highness Do not, in grant of all demands at large, Sweeten the bitter mock you sent his majesty, He’ll call you to so hot an answer of it, That caves and womby vaultages of France Shall chide your trespass and return your mock In second accent of his ordnance.
Scorn and defiance; little respect, contempt, And anything that might seem unworthy of The powerful one who sent it, that’s what he thinks of you. This is what my king says; and if your father Doesn’t grant all his demands fully, Sweeten the bitter mock you sent to his majesty, He will reply so fiercely, That the caves and deep vaults of France Will scold you for your offense and throw back your mockery In the second echo of his cannons.
Say, if my father render fair return, It is against my will; for I desire Nothing but odds with England: to that end, As matching to his youth and vanity, I did present him with the Paris balls.
Say, if my father gives a fair answer, It’s against my will; because I want nothing but conflict with England. To that end, To match his youth and pride, I gave him the balls of Paris.
He’ll make your Paris Louvre shake for it, Were it the mistress-court of mighty Europe: And, be assured, you’ll find a difference, As we his subjects have in wonder found, Between the promise of his greener days And these he masters now: now he weighs time Even to the utmost grain: that you shall read In your own losses, if he stay in France.
He’ll make your Paris Louvre shake for it, Even if it were the most powerful court in Europe: And, be sure, you’ll notice a difference, Just as we, his subjects, have noticed it in awe, Between the promise of his younger days And these days he now controls: now he measures time Even down to the smallest detail: you’ll see this In your own losses, if he stays in France.
To-morrow shall you know our mind at full.
Tomorrow you will know our full decision.
Dispatch us with all speed, lest that our king Come here himself to question our delay; For he is footed in this land already.
Hurry us up with all speed, or our king Will come here himself to question our delay; Because he is already in this land.
You shall be soon dispatch’s with fair conditions: A night is but small breath and little pause To answer matters of this consequence.
You will be quickly dispatched with fair terms: A night is just a short break and a little pause To deal with matters of this importance.