Original: Now for our mountain sport. Up to yond hill;
Modern: Now let’s enjoy our mountain adventure. Go up to that hill over there;

Original: Your legs are young; I’ll tread these flats. Consider,
Modern: Your legs are young and strong; I’ll walk on this flat ground. Think about this:

Original: When you above perceive me like a crow,
Modern: When you’re up there and I look as small as a crow to you,

Original: That it is place which lessens and sets off;
Modern: Remember that it’s just distance that makes me appear smaller and emphasizes the difference;

Original: And you may then revolve what tales I have told you
Modern: And then you can think over the stories I’ve told you

Original: Of courts, of princes, of the tricks in war;
Modern: About royal courts, about princes, about the schemes and strategies of war;

Original: This service is not service, so being done,
Modern: This kind of work isn’t really serving others just by doing it,

Original: But being so allow’d; to apprehend thus
Modern: But only when it’s done with permission; to understand things this way

Original: Draws us a profit from all things we see,
Modern: Helps us gain wisdom from everything we observe,

Original: And often, to our comfort, shall we find
Modern: And often, to our relief, we’ll discover

Original: The sharded beetle in a safer hold
Modern: The humble beetle with its hard shell is in a safer position

Original: Than is the full-wing’d eagle. O! this life
Modern: Than the mighty eagle with its powerful wings. Oh! this life

Original: Is nobler than attending for a check,
Modern: Is more honorable than waiting around to be scolded by superiors,

Original: Richer than doing nothing for a bribe,
Modern: More rewarding than being lazy in exchange for money,

Original: Prouder than rustling in unpaid-for silk;
Modern: More dignified than showing off in fancy clothes you can’t afford;

Original: Such gain the cap of him that makes ‘em fine,
Modern: Such people only win the respect of their tailors,

Original: Yet keeps his book uncross’d; no life to ours.
Modern: Who keep their accounts unpaid; no life compares to ours.

Cymbeline, Act III, Scene 3

In this scene, an old man named Belarius emerges from a cave in the mountains of Wales, accompanied by two young men, Guiderius and Arviragus. Belarius speaks admiringly of their humble mountain life, contrasting it with the corrupt and treacherous nature of court life, from which he was once banished. He describes the cave’s low entrance as a kind of teacher, requiring them to bow as they exit, as if paying reverence to the morning. Guiderius and Arviragus, however, express frustration with their isolated existence, longing for adventure and the opportunity to prove themselves in battle and in the wider world. Belarius cautions them, warning that the glittering life of courts and cities is far more dangerous than it appears.

Belarius then reveals, in a soliloquy spoken aside to the audience, that the two young men are not actually his sons, but are in fact the stolen sons of King Cymbeline — Guiderius and Arviragus — whom he kidnapped as infants years ago as an act of revenge after being falsely accused and banished by the king. He has raised them in the wilderness under the assumed names of Polydore and Cadwal. Despite their remote upbringing, Belarius marvels at how their royal nature continually asserts itself through their noble bearing and their hunger for honor and valor.

Cymbeline tells the story of King Cymbeline of Britain, whose daughter Imogen secretly marries Posthumus Leonatus against her father’s wishes. Cymbeline banishes Posthumus to Rome, where he boasts of Imogen’s virtue and fidelity. The cunning Iachimo wagers that he can seduce Imogen and prove her unfaithful. When his direct attempts fail, Iachimo hides in a trunk in Imogen’s bedchamber, emerges while she sleeps, and steals her bracelet while noting intimate details of her body and room.

Returning to Rome with his false evidence, Iachimo convinces Posthumus that Imogen has been unfaithful. Enraged, Posthumus orders his servant Pisanio to kill Imogen. Instead, Pisanio reveals the plot to Imogen and helps her escape by disguising her as a young man named Fidele. She flees to the Welsh mountains, where she unknowingly encounters her long-lost brothers, Guiderius and Arviragus, who were kidnapped as infants and raised by the banished lord Belarius.

Meanwhile, Cymbeline’s evil Queen (Imogen’s stepmother) plots to poison Imogen and place her own son Cloten on the throne. Cloten pursues Imogen to Wales, where Guiderius kills him in combat. The Queen’s physician Cornelius has secretly given her a sleeping potion instead of poison, but when Imogen takes it believing it to be medicine, she falls into a death-like sleep beside Cloten’s headless corpse, whom she mistakes for Posthumus upon awakening.

The play culminates when Roman forces invade Britain. During the battle, the disguised Imogen serves the Romans while her unknown brothers and Belarius fight for Britain. After Britain’s victory, all deceptions are revealed: Iachimo confesses his lies, the Queen dies after admitting her evil plots, Imogen’s true identity and virtue are established, the royal brothers are restored to their father, and Posthumus and Imogen are reunited. Cymbeline makes peace with Rome and pardons all offenders.