The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (308 page)

Who dares to disagree with them,

as they come directly from the King's mouth?

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Till I find more than will or words to do it,

I mean your malice, know, officious lords,

I dare and must deny it. Now I feel

Of what coarse metal ye are moulded, envy:

How eagerly ye follow my disgraces,

As if it fed ye! and how sleek and wanton

Ye appear in every thing may bring my ruin!

Follow your envious courses, men of malice;

You have Christian warrant for 'em, and, no doubt,

In time will find their fit rewards. That seal,

You ask with such a violence, the king,

Mine and your master, with his own hand gave me;

Bade me enjoy it, with the place and honours,

During my life; and, to confirm his goodness,

Tied it by letters-patents: now, who'll take it?

I will and I must deny it, until it is

backed up by more than strength or words,

for I know your malice towards me, officious lords.

Now I see that you are made of the base metal of malice:

how eagerly you pursue my disgrace,

as if it does you good! How quickly and energetically

you work for everything that can bring my ruin!

Follow your jealous paths, hateful men;

you have Christian excuses for them and, no doubt,

in time you will get your just reward. That seal,

which you demand with such violence, the King,

your master and mine, gave to me with his own hand;

he told me to enjoy it, with the position and honour which goes with it,

during my life; and, to confirm his goodness,

he gave me a contract for it. Now, who will take it?

SURREY

The king, that gave it.

The King who gave it.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

It must be himself, then.

He must do it himself, then.

SURREY

Thou art a proud traitor, priest.

You are an arrogant traitor, priest.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Proud lord, thou liest:

Within these forty hours Surrey durst better

Have burnt that tongue than said so.

Arrogant lord, you are lying:

within the last forty hours you would have wished you had

burnt your tongue out rather than said that.

SURREY

Thy ambition,

Thou scarlet sin, robb'd this bewailing land

Of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law:

The heads of all thy brother cardinals,

With thee and all thy best parts bound together,

Weigh'd not a hair of his. Plague of your policy!

You sent me deputy for Ireland;

Far from his succor, from the king, from all

That might have mercy on the fault thou gavest him;

Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,

Absolved him with an axe.

Your ambition,

you scarlet sinner, robbed this unhappy land

of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law:

the heads of all your brother cardinals,

added together with you and all your best qualities

don't add up to a hair of his head. Damn your politics!

You sent me to be  governor of Ireland,

where I couldn't help him, far from the King, from

anything that might have gained mercy for the sin you accused him of;

whilst in your great goodness, with your holy pity,

you forgave him with an axe.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

This, and all else

This talking lord can lay upon my credit,

I answer is most false. The duke by law

Found his deserts: how innocent I was

From any private malice in his end,

His noble jury and foul cause can witness.

If I loved many words, lord, I should tell you

You have as little honesty as honour,

That in the way of loyalty and truth

Toward the king, my ever royal master,

Dare mate a sounder man than Surrey can be,

And all that love his follies.

This, and anything else

this chattering lord blames on me,

I say is most false. The Duke got his

lawful punishment: his noble jury

and his foul behaviour are witness to

how innocent I was of any private malice.

If I loved talking, oh lord, I should tell you

that you are as dishonest as you are dishonourable,

and that in terms of loyalty and truth

towards the King, my always royal master,

I am a much better man than Surrey can be,

or any followers of his foolishness.

SURREY

By my soul,

Your long coat, priest, protects you; thou

shouldst feel

My sword i' the life-blood of thee else. My lords,

Can ye endure to hear this arrogance?

And from this fellow? if we live thus tamely,

To be thus jaded by a piece of scarlet,

Farewell nobility; let his grace go forward,

And dare us with his cap like larks.

Upon my soul,

your priestly robes protect you; otherwise you would feel

my sword inside you. My lords,

can you tolerate listening to this arrogance?

And from this fellow? If we live so meekly

that we can be cowed by a piece of scarlet cloth,

farewell to nobility; let his Grace carry on

and frighten us with his cap, like larks.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

All goodness

Is poison to thy stomach.

All goodness

is poisonous to you.

SURREY

Yes, that goodness

Of gleaning all the land's wealth into one,

Into your own hands, cardinal, by extortion;

The goodness of your intercepted packets

You writ to the pope against the king: your goodness,

Since you provoke me, shall be most notorious.

My Lord of Norfolk, as you are truly noble,

As you respect the common good, the state

Of our despised nobility, our issues,

Who, if he live, will scarce be gentlemen,

Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles

Collected from his life. I'll startle you

Worse than the scaring bell, when the brown wench

Lay kissing in your arms, lord cardinal.

Yes, the goodness

of gathering the wealth of the whole land into one pile,

into your own hands, cardinal, through extortion;

the goodness of your intercepted letters

in which you wrote to the Pope against your king: your goodness,

since you have angered me, shall be notorious.

My Lord of Norfolk, as you are truly noble,

as you  respect the common good, the state

of our despised nobility, our children,

who, if he lives, will hardly be even gentlemen,

take out the indictment, the charges

gathered from his life. I'll make you jump

more than the bell for morning service did, when you were lying

kissing a slut in your arms, lord cardinal.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

How much, methinks, I could despise this man,

But that I am bound in charity against it!

How much I could despise this man,

if I wasn't bound by charity not to!

NORFOLK

Those articles, my lord, are in the king's hand:

But, thus much, they are foul ones.

The charges, my lord, are held by the King:

but I can tell you this much, they are filthy ones.

CARDINAL WOLSEY

So much fairer

And spotless shall mine innocence arise,

When the king knows my truth.

So by contrast my innocence will appear

much fairer and more spotless

when the King knows the truth.

SURREY

This cannot save you:

I thank my memory, I yet remember

Some of these articles; and out they shall.

Now, if you can blush and cry 'guilty,' cardinal,

You'll show a little honesty.

This cannot save you:

thanks to my memory I can still remember

some of the charges; and they shall be revealed.

Now, cardinal, you could show a little honesty

by blushing and crying out ‘I am guilty.’

CARDINAL WOLSEY

Speak on, sir;

I dare your worst objections: if I blush,

It is to see a nobleman want manners.

Go on, sir;

I can take your worst: if I blush,

it is because I can see a nobleman lacking in manners.

SURREY

I had rather want those than my head. Have at you!

First, that, without the king's assent or knowledge,

You wrought to be a legate; by which power

You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops.

I'd rather lack those than lack my head. Damn you!

Firstly you manoeuvred to become the Pope's representative

without the agreement or knowledge of the King;

and with that power you overthrew

the powers of all the bishops.

NORFOLK

Then, that in all you writ to Rome, or else

To foreign princes, 'Ego et Rex meus'

Was still inscribed; in which you brought the king

To be your servant.

Then, everything you wrote to Rome, or otherwise

to foreign princes, had ‘my King and I’

still written on it; so you pretended

the King was your servant.

SUFFOLK

Then that, without the knowledge

Either of king or council, when you went

Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold

To carry into Flanders the great seal.

And also that without the knowledge

of the King or the council, when you went

as ambassador to the Emperor, you were so bold

as to take the great seal into Flanders.

SURREY

Item, you sent a large commission

To Gregory de Cassado, to conclude,

Without the king's will or the state's allowance,

A league between his highness and Ferrara.

As well, you sent a large commission

to Gregory de Cassado to arrange,

without permission from the King or the State,

an alliance between his Highness and Ferrara.

SUFFOLK

That, out of mere ambition, you have caused

Your holy hat to be stamp'd on the king's coin.

And, out of simple ambition, you issued coins

with your image in place of the King's.

SURREY

Then that you have sent innumerable substance--

By what means got, I leave to your own conscience--

To furnish Rome, and to prepare the ways

You have for dignities; to the mere undoing

Of all the kingdom. Many more there are;

Which, since they are of you, and odious,

I will not taint my mouth with.