Original
Modern English
Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye, The day to cheer, and night’s dank dew to dry, I must upfill this osier cage of ours With baleful weeds and precious-juiced flowers.
Now before the sun rises, shining bright and drying the dew, I must fill my basket with poisonous weeds and nectars of flowers.
The earth that’s nature’s mother, is her tomb; What is her burying grave, that is her womb:
The earth is nature’s mother as well as its tomb. Plants are born from earth and when they die, they are buried in the earth.
And from her womb children of divers kind We sucking on her natural bosom find. Many for many virtues excellent, None but for some, and yet all different.
All these different plants and animals come from the earth’s womb. All of these children find nourishment from the earth and they all have their unique virtue.
O, mickle is the powerful grace that lies In plants, herbs, stones, and their true qualities.
A large amount of power resides in these herbs, plants and stones.
For naught so vile that on the earth doth live But to the earth some special good doth give;
For there is nothing so evil on this earth that it does not provide the earth with something good.
Nor aught so good but, strain’d from that fair use, Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Nor there is anything so good that it can’t be turned bad if it is abused and used in a wrong way.
Virtue itself turns vice being misapplied, And vice sometime’s by action dignified.
Virtue itself turns to vice, when misused and vice sometimes become virtue through dignified action.
Within the infant rind of this weak flower Poison hath residence, and medicine power:
Inside this rind of flower, there is both poison and powerful medicine.
For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part;
Its smell makes you feel good all over your body.
Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.
But if you taste it, you will die.
Two such opposed kings encamp them still In man as well as herbs,—grace and rude will;
There are always two opposite elements in everything, in men as well as plants - good and evil.
And where the worser is predominant, Full soon the canker death eats up that plant.
And wherever the evil is dominant, death soon kills the body like cancer.
Good morrow, father.
Good morning, father.
Benedicite!
God bless you!
What early tongue so sweet saluteth me?
Whose sweet voice greets me early in the morning?
Young son, it argues a distemper’d head So soon to bid good morrow to thy bed.
Young man, if you are up this early, something ought to be wrong.
Care keeps his watch in every old man’s eye, And where care lodges sleep will never lie;
All old men are ridden with worries and these worries never let them sleep.
But where unbruised youth with unstuff’d brain Doth couch his limbs, there golden sleep doth reign.
But young men should be carefree and without worry and their sleep should be restful and long.
Therefore thy earliness doth me assure Thou art uprous’d with some distemperature;
Therefore, the fact that you are awake so early assures me that you are upset with some anxiety.
Or if not so, then here I hit it right, Our Romeo hath not been in bed tonight.
And if that’s not the case, then my only guess is that you never went to bed tonight.
That last is true; the sweeter rest was mine.
That is correct. The rest I had was sweeter than sleep.
God pardon sin. Wast thou with Rosaline?
God forgive all your sins. Were you with Rosaline?
With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No.
With Rosaline, my ghostly father? No.
I have forgot that name, and that name’s woe.
I have forgotten that name, and the sadness she gave me.
That’s my good son. But where hast thou been then?
That’s good, my son. But, Where were you, then?
I’ll tell thee ere thou ask it me again.
I will tell you before you ask me again about it.
I have been feasting with mine enemy, Where on a sudden one hath wounded me That’s by me wounded.
I have been at a feast with our enemy, where someone suddenly wounded me and in turn, got wounded by me.
Both our remedies Within thy help and holy physic lies.
But both of us can be helped with your holy powers.
I bear no hatred, blessed man; for lo, My intercession likewise steads my foe.
I bear no hatred, blessed man, because my request will also help my enemy.
Be plain, good son, and homely in thy drift;
Speak straight, my son and do not drift.
Riddling confession finds but riddling shrift.
A convoluted confession will only lead to confused absolution.
Then plainly know my heart’s dear love is set On the fair daughter of rich Capulet.
Here it is - plain and simple. I am in love with the beautiful daughter of Capulet.
As mine on hers, so hers is set on mine;
I love her and she loves me too.
And all combin’d, save what thou must combine By holy marriage.
We are already bound to each other and now we need you to complete our bond by marrying us.
When, and where, and how We met, we woo’d, and made exchange of vow, I’ll tell thee as we pass;
I will tell you later more about when, and where, and how we met and how we fell in love and how we exchanged our vows.
but this I pray, That thou consent to marry us today.
But I pray you now to please get us married today.
Holy Saint Francis! What a change is here!
Holy Saint Francis! What a drastic change!
Is Rosaline, that thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken?
Have you forsaken Rosaline so quickly, the girl you claimed to love so much.
Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes.
If that is true, young men do not love with their hearts but only with their eyes.
Jesu Maria, what a deal of brine Hath wash’d thy sallow cheeks for Rosaline!
Jesu and Mary, how many tears you cried for Rosaline.
How much salt water thrown away in waste, To season love, that of it doth not taste.
How many salty teardrops did you waste salting a love you never tasted?
The sun not yet thy sighs from heaven clears,
The sun has not cleared the fog from all your sighs.
Thy old groans yet ring in mine ancient ears.
Your groans are still ringing in my ears.
Lo here upon thy cheek the stain doth sit Of an old tear that is not wash’d off yet.
Look, here on your cheek, there is a stain from your old tear which has not been washed yet.
If ere thou wast thyself, and these woes thine, Thou and these woes were all for Rosaline,
If you were ever yourself, and this sorrow belonged to you, you and your sorrow are all for Rosaline.
And art thou chang’d?
And have you changed now?
Pronounce this sentence then, Women may fall, when there’s no strength in men.
Pronounce this sentence then, women can be unfaithful when the men turn out to be so unreliable.
Thou chidd’st me oft for loving Rosaline.
You so often scolded me for loving Rosaline.
For doting, not for loving, pupil mine.
For obsessing, not for loving, my student.
And bad’st me bury love.
And you told me to bury my love.
Not in a grave To lay one in, another out to have.
But do not bury it in a grave just in order to wake another one.
I pray thee chide me not,
I request you not to scold me.
her I love now Doth grace for grace and love for love allow. The other did not so.
The one I love now loves me back. The other one did not.
O, she knew well Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell.
Oh, Rosaline knew well that you were acting out your love and did not actually understand it.
But come young waverer, come go with me,
But come along with me, my young unreliable friend.
In one respect I’ll thy assistant be; For this alliance may so happy prove, To turn your households’rancour to pure love.
I will help you with this secret marriage of yours. This might turn the hatred between your families into pure love.
O let us hence; I stand on sudden haste.
Oh let us go now. I am in a hurry.
Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.
Be Wise and slow; those who run fast, stumble and fall.