Pericles, Prince of Tyre: Act 2, Scene 2 Translation

Enter King Simonides, with Lords, Attendants,
and Thaisa.

SIMONIDES
Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?

FIRST LORD They are, my liege,
And stay your coming to present themselves.

SIMONIDES
Return them we are ready, and our daughter here,
In honor of whose birth these triumphs are, 5
Sits here like Beauty’s child, whom Nature gat
For men to see and, seeing, wonder at.

An Attendant exits.

THAISA
It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
My commendations great, whose merit’s less.

SIMONIDES
It’s fit it should be so, for princes are 10
A model which heaven makes like to itself.
As jewels lose their glory if neglected,
So princes their renowns if not respected.
’Tis now your honor, daughter, to entertain
The labor of each knight in his device. 15

THAISA
Which to preserve mine honor, I’ll perform.

The first Knight passes by. His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.

SIMONIDES
Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

THAISA
A knight of Sparta, my renownèd father,
And the device he bears upon his shield
Is a black Ethiop reaching at the sun; 20
The word: Lux tua vita mihi.

SIMONIDES
He loves you well that holds his life of you.

The second Knight passes by. His Squire presents a
shield to Thaisa.

Who is the second that presents himself?

THAISA
A prince of Macedon, my royal father,
And the device he bears upon his shield 25
Is an armed knight that’s conquered by a lady.
The motto thus, in Spanish: Pue per doleera kee per
forsa.

The third Knight passes by. His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.

SIMONIDES
And what’s the third?

THAISA The third, of Antioch; 30
And his device a wreath of chivalry;
The word: Me pompae provexit apex.

The fourth Knight passes by. His Squire presents a
shield to Thaisa.

SIMONIDES What is the fourth?

THAISA
A burning torch that’s turnèd upside down;
The word: Qui me alit me extinguit. 35

SIMONIDES
Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
Which can as well inflame as it can kill.

The fifth Knight passes by. His Squire presents a shield
to Thaisa.

THAISA
The fifth, an hand environèd with clouds,
Holding out gold that’s by the touchstone tried;
The motto thus: Sic spectanda fides. 40

The sixth Knight, Pericles, passes by. He presents a
shield to Thaisa.

SIMONIDES
And what’s the sixth and last, the which the knight
himself
With such a graceful courtesy delivered?

THAISA
He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
A withered branch that’s only green at top, 45
The motto: In hac spe vivo.

SIMONIDES A pretty moral.
From the dejected state wherein he is,
He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

FIRST LORD
He had need mean better than his outward show 50
Can any way speak in his just commend,
For by his rusty outside he appears
To have practiced more the whipstock than the lance.

SECOND LORD
He well may be a stranger, for he comes
To an honored triumph strangely furnishèd. 55

THIRD LORD
And on set purpose let his armor rust
Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

SIMONIDES
Opinion’s but a fool that makes us scan
The outward habit by the inward man.
But stay, the knights are coming. 60
We will withdraw into the gallery.
They exit.

Great shouts offstage, and all cry, “The mean knight.”