My persecutions have brought it unto
"It is unclear who first proposed the venture. In his Relation [Anthony] Sherley naturally claimed that it was his idea, sanctioned by Essex, who, he wrote, ‘proposed unto me (after a small relation, which I made unto him from Venice) the voyage of Persia’... He could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs, which my fortune, being of the condition, which my persecutions have brought it unto, counselleth me not to speak of’. (Jerry Brotton, This Orient Isle- Elizabethan England and the Islamic World)
Can you paraphrase the last sentence?
Top answer
alibey1917 He could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs, which my fortune, being of the condition, which my persecutions have brought it unto, counselleth me not to speak of He (Shirley, sic ) could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs (some personal plans), which my fortune (his personal finances), being of the condition (considering their state), (this comma is wrong in modern style) which my persecutions have brought it unto (that recent acts against him by the government have resulted in), counselleth me not to speak of (make him believe that it is better to keep his personal plans secret). He was imprisoned by England for accepting a French knighthood, and I guess that cost him a lot of money. The grammar of this passage is not consistent with modern usage.
- alibey1917 He could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs, which my fortune, being of the condition, which my persecutions have brought it unto, counselleth me not to speak of He (Shirley, sic ) could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs (some personal plans), which my fortune (his personal finances), being of the condition (considering their state), (this comma is wrong in modern style) which my persecutions have brought it unto (that recent acts against him by the government have resulted in), counselleth me not to speak of (make him believe that it is better to keep his personal plans secret).
- He was imprisoned by England for accepting a French knighthood, and I guess that cost him a lot of money.
- The grammar of this passage is not consistent with modern usage.
- The "being" clause especially is applied strangely.
- He means that the cause of the depleted condition of his fortune was his imprisonment (persecutions), and he is afraid that they will come after him again if they find out what he intends to do now.
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alibey1917He could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs, which my fortune, being of the condition, which my persecutions have brought it unto, counselleth me not to speak of
He (Shirley, sic) could not resist adding that he was plotting ‘some more private designs (some personal plans), which my fortune (his personal finan
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