My sister Lynnellen's son, Drew, is leaving the nest. He left today to teach sailing in the Bahamas.
My dad wrote a translation from Hamlet to send him off:
My dad's translation is in bold and in italics.
Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3
LORD POLONIUS
Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee!
It’s time to leave, and here is my blessing.
And these few precepts in thy memory
Here’s a few things that I’d like to suggest to you, and they may help you in life.
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue.
Don’t tell everybody everything that comes into your head. Hold back a little bit.
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Don’t jump and do something extravagant before you’ve thought about it.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Be friendly and warm, but keep your dignity.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade.
The friends that you have had and know very well. Keep them close to you. They are a wonderful asset. However, don’t just take anyone as a new friend until you really get to know about him or her.
Beware of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Try not to get into quarrels if you can avoid them. However, if you have to get into a quarrel, do it in a way that you stand up for yourself when necessary. The people on the other side should know not to fool around with you.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Listen caarefullyy to others when they speak, but don’t be too free with what you say to others. Think out your opinions before you speak of them.
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Observe people, but hold off on judging them until you know the whole story.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Wear the best clothes that you can afford, but don’t be ostentatious. People will judge you by how you dress. Also, the people in special places like where you are going may be used to judging people by how they dress and wear their hair, etc.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Don’t borrow or lend things. It just leads to trouble and loss of friendships. This is a very famous line.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
(This is another very famous line, perhaps the most famous of all. ) If you are honest and true to yourself, then everything else will follow. If you do that with your self, then you’ll be the same when you deal with other people. In other words, don’t be tempted to do things that you know are wrong even if it leads to personal disadvantage. (I can think of many famous examples in history that exemplify this. You might want to read about Sir Thomas More who faced death rather than give up his principles. This is the subject matter or the movie “A Man for All Seasons.”)
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!
Goodbye. My blessings go with you.
My dad wrote a translation from Hamlet to send him off:
My dad's translation is in bold and in italics.
Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3
LORD POLONIUS
Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee!
It’s time to leave, and here is my blessing.
And these few precepts in thy memory
Here’s a few things that I’d like to suggest to you, and they may help you in life.
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue.
Don’t tell everybody everything that comes into your head. Hold back a little bit.
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.
Don’t jump and do something extravagant before you’ve thought about it.
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Be friendly and warm, but keep your dignity.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade.
The friends that you have had and know very well. Keep them close to you. They are a wonderful asset. However, don’t just take anyone as a new friend until you really get to know about him or her.
Beware of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Try not to get into quarrels if you can avoid them. However, if you have to get into a quarrel, do it in a way that you stand up for yourself when necessary. The people on the other side should know not to fool around with you.
Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Listen caarefullyy to others when they speak, but don’t be too free with what you say to others. Think out your opinions before you speak of them.
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Observe people, but hold off on judging them until you know the whole story.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Wear the best clothes that you can afford, but don’t be ostentatious. People will judge you by how you dress. Also, the people in special places like where you are going may be used to judging people by how they dress and wear their hair, etc.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
Don’t borrow or lend things. It just leads to trouble and loss of friendships. This is a very famous line.
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
(This is another very famous line, perhaps the most famous of all. ) If you are honest and true to yourself, then everything else will follow. If you do that with your self, then you’ll be the same when you deal with other people. In other words, don’t be tempted to do things that you know are wrong even if it leads to personal disadvantage. (I can think of many famous examples in history that exemplify this. You might want to read about Sir Thomas More who faced death rather than give up his principles. This is the subject matter or the movie “A Man for All Seasons.”)
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!
Goodbye. My blessings go with you.
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