King John & Henry VIII (11 page)

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    Then by the lawful power that I have,

    Thou shalt stand cursed and
excommunicate
¹⁰⁰
:

    And blessèd shall he be that doth revolt

    From his allegiance to an
heretic
¹⁰²
:

    And meritorious shall that hand be called,

    Canonizèd and worshipped as a saint,

    That takes away by any secret course

    Thy hateful life.

CONSTANCE
    O, lawful let it be

    That I have
room
¹⁰⁸
with Rome to curse awhile:

    Good Father Cardinal, cry thou ‘Amen’

    To my
keen
curses; for without
my wrong
¹¹⁰

    There is no tongue hath power to curse him
right
¹¹¹
.

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    There’s law and
warrant
¹¹²
, lady, for my curse.

CONSTANCE
    And for mine too: when law can do no right,

    Let it be lawful that law
bar no wrong
¹¹⁴
:

    Law cannot give my child his kingdom here;

    For he that
holds
¹¹⁶
his kingdom holds the law:

    Therefore, since law itself is
perfect
¹¹⁷
wrong,

    How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    Philip of France, on peril of a curse,

    Let go the hand of that
arch-heretic
¹²⁰
,

    And raise the
power of France
upon
his head
¹²¹
,

    Unless he do submit himself to Rome.

QUEEN ELINOR
    Look’st thou pale, France? Do not let go thy hand.

CONSTANCE
    
Look to that
¹²⁴
, devil, lest that France repent,

    And by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul.

AUSTRIA
    King Philip, listen to the cardinal.

BASTARD
    And hang a calf’s-skin on his recreant limbs.

AUSTRIA
    Well, ruffian, I must
pocket up
¹²⁸
these wrongs,

    Because—

BASTARD
    Your breeches best may carry them.

KING JOHN
    Philip, what say’st thou to the cardinal?

CONSTANCE
    What should he say, but
as the cardinal
¹³²
?

LEWIS
    
Bethink you
, father, for the
difference
¹³³

    Is
purchase
¹³⁴
of a heavy curse from Rome,

    Or the
light
¹³⁵
loss of England for a friend:

    Forgo the easier.

BLANCHE
    That’s the curse of Rome.

CONSTANCE
    O Lewis, stand fast: the devil tempts thee here

    In likeness of a new
untrimmèd
¹³⁹
bride.

BLANCHE
    The lady Constance speaks not from her faith,

    But from her need.

CONSTANCE
    O, if thou grant my
need
¹⁴²
,

    Which only lives
but by
the death of
faith
¹⁴³
,

    That need must
needs
¹⁴⁴
infer this principle,

    That faith would live again by death of need:

    O then tread down my need, and faith mounts up:

    Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down.

KING JOHN
    The king is
moved
¹⁴⁸
, and answers not to this.

CONSTANCE
    O,
be removed
¹⁴⁹
from him, and answer well!

AUSTRIA
    Do so, King Philip, hang no more in doubt.

BASTARD
    
Hang
¹⁵¹
nothing but a calf’s-skin, most sweet lout.

KING PHILIP
    I am perplexed, and know not what to say.

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    What canst thou say but will perplex thee more,

    If thou stand excommunicate and cursed?

KING PHILIP
    Good reverend father,
make my person yours
¹⁵⁵
,

    And tell me how you would
bestow yourself
¹⁵⁶
.

    This royal hand and mine are newly knit,

    And the conjunction of our inward souls

    Married in league, coupled and linked together

    With all religious strength of sacred vows:

    The
latest
¹⁶¹
breath that gave the sound of words

    Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love

    Between our kingdoms and our royal selves,

    And
even
before this truce,
but new
¹⁶⁴
before,

    No longer than we well could wash our hands

    To
clap
this royal
bargain
¹⁶⁶
up of peace,

    Heaven knows, they were besmeared and
overstained
¹⁶⁷

    With slaughter’s
pencil
¹⁶⁸
, where revenge did paint

    The
fearful
difference
¹⁶⁹
of incensèd kings:

    And shall these hands, so lately purged of blood,

    So newly joined in love, so strong in both,

    
Unyoke this seizure
and this kind
regreet
¹⁷²
?

    Play
fast and loose
with faith,
so
¹⁷³
jest with heaven,

    Make such
unconstant
¹⁷⁴
children of ourselves,

    As now again to snatch our palm from palm?

    
Unswear faith sworn, and on the marriage-bed

    Of smiling peace to march a
bloody
host
¹⁷⁷
,

    And make a riot on the gentle
brow
¹⁷⁸

    Of true sincerity? O holy sir,

    My reverend father, let it not be so:

    Out of your grace, devise,
ordain
¹⁸¹
, impose

    Some gentle order, and then we shall be blest

    To do your pleasure and continue friends.

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    All form is formless, order orderless,

    Save what is opposite to England’s love.

    Therefore to arms, be champion of our Church,

    Or let the Church, our mother, breathe her curse,

    A mother’s curse, on her
revolting
¹⁸⁸
son:

    France, thou mayst
hold a serpent by the tongue
¹⁸⁹
,

    A
casèd
lion by the
mortal
¹⁹⁰
paw,

    A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,

    Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.

KING PHILIP
    I may disjoin my hand, but not my
faith
¹⁹³
.

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    So mak’st thou
faith
¹⁹⁴
an enemy to faith,

    And like a civil war set’st oath
to
¹⁹⁵
oath,

    Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow

    First made to heaven, first be to heaven performed,

    That is, to be the champion of our Church:

    What
since
thou
swor’st
¹⁹⁹
is sworn against thyself,

    And may not be performèd by thyself,

    For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss

    Is not amiss when it is
truly done
²⁰²
:

    And being not done, where doing tends
to
²⁰³
ill,

    The truth is then most done not doing it:

    The better
act
of
purposes mistook
²⁰⁵

    
Is to
mistake again
: though
indirect
²⁰⁶
,

    Yet indirection thereby grows direct,

    And falsehood falsehood cures, as
fire cools fire
²⁰⁸

    Within the scorchèd veins of one new burned:

    It is
religion
²¹⁰
that doth make vows kept,

    But thou hast sworn against religion:

    
By what thou swear’st against the thing thou swear’st
²¹²
,

    
And mak’st an oath the surety for thy truth
²¹³

    Against an oath the truth: thou art
unsure
²¹⁴

    To swear,
swears only not to be forsworn
²¹⁵
,

    Else what a mockery should it be to swear?

    But thou dost swear only to be forsworn,

    And most forsworn, to keep what thou dost swear:

    Therefore thy later vows against thy first

    Is in thyself rebellion to thyself:

    And better conquest never canst thou make

    Than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts

    Against these giddy loose suggestions:

    Upon which better
part
²²⁴
our prayers come in,

    If thou vouchsafe them. But if not, then know

    The peril of our curses
light
²²⁶
on thee

    So heavy
as
²²⁷
thou shalt not shake them off,

    But in despair die under their
black
²²⁸
weight.

AUSTRIA
    
Rebellion
,
flat
²²⁹
rebellion!

BASTARD
    Will’t not
be
²³⁰
?

    Will not a calf’s-skin
stop
²³¹
that mouth of thine?

LEWIS
    Father, to arms!

BLANCHE
    Upon thy wedding day?

    Against the
blood that thou hast marrièd
²³⁴
?

    
What, shall our feast be
kept
²³⁵
with slaughtered men?

    Shall braying trumpets and loud churlish drums,

    Clamours of hell, be
measures
²³⁷
to our pomp?

    O husband, hear me: ay, alack, how new

    Is ‘husband’ in my mouth! Even for that name,

    Which till this time my tongue did ne’er pronounce,

    Upon my knee I beg, go not to arms

    Against mine uncle.

CONSTANCE
    O, upon my knee made hard with kneeling,

    I do pray to thee, thou virtuous dauphin,

    Alter not the
doom
forethought
²⁴⁵
by heaven.

BLANCHE
    Now shall I see thy love: what motive may

    Be stronger with thee than the name of wife?

CONSTANCE
    That which upholdeth him
that thee upholds
²⁴⁸
:

    His honour:— O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour!

LEWIS
    I
muse
²⁵⁰
your majesty doth seem so cold,

    When such
profound respects
²⁵¹
do pull you on.

CARDINAL PANDULPH
    I will
denounce
²⁵²
a curse upon his head.

KING PHILIP
    Thou shalt not need. England, I will
fall from
²⁵³
thee.

CONSTANCE
    O, fair return of banished majesty!

QUEEN ELINOR
    O, foul revolt of French inconstancy!

KING JOHN
    France, thou shalt
rue
²⁵⁶
this hour within this hour.

BASTARD
    Old Time the clock-setter, that
bald
²⁵⁷
sexton Time,

    Is it as he will? Well then, France shall rue.

BLANCHE
    The sun’s o’ercast with blood: fair day,
adieu
²⁵⁹
!

    Which is the side that I must go withal?

    I am with both, each army hath a hand,

    And in their rage, I having hold of both,

    They whirl asunder and
dismember
²⁶³
me.

    Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win:—

    Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose:—

    
Father
²⁶⁶
, I may not wish the fortune thine:—

    Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive:

    Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose:

    Assurèd loss before the match be played.