King John & Henry VIII (37 page)

    Or God will punish me. I do believe,

    Induced by potent circumstances, that

    You are mine enemy, and make my
challenge
⁸⁴

    You shall not be my judge. For it is you

    Have
blown this coal
⁸⁶
betwixt my lord and me,

    Which God’s dew quench. Therefore, I say again,

    
I utterly
abhor
⁸⁸
, yea, from my soul,

    Refuse you for my judge, whom yet once more

    I hold my most malicious foe, and think not

    At all a friend to truth.

CARDINAL WOLSEY
    I do profess

    You speak not like yourself, who ever yet

    Have
stood to
⁹⁴
charity, and displayed th’effects

    Of disposition gentle, and of wisdom

    O’ertopping woman’s power. Madam, you do me wrong:

    I have no
spleen
⁹⁷
against you, nor injustice

    For you or any: how far I have proceeded,

    Or how far further shall, is warranted

    By a commission from the consistory,

    Yea, the whole consistory of Rome. You charge me

    That I have blown this coal: I do deny it:

    The king is present: if it be known to him

    That I
gainsay
¹⁰⁴
my deed, how may he wound,

    And
worthily
¹⁰⁵
, my falsehood: yea, as much

    As you have done my truth. If he know

    That I am
free
of your
report
¹⁰⁷
, he knows

    I am not of
your wrong
¹⁰⁸
. Therefore in him

    It lies to cure me, and the cure is to

    Remove these thoughts from you: the which before

    His highness shall speak
in
¹¹¹
, I do beseech

    You, gracious madam, to unthink your speaking

    And to say so no more.

QUEEN KATHERINE
    My lord, my lord,

    I am a simple woman, much too weak

    T’oppose your cunning. You’re meek and humble-mouthed:

    You
sign
your place and calling,
in full seeming
¹¹⁷
,

    With meekness and humility: but your heart

    Is crammed with arrogancy, spleen and pride.

    You have by fortune and his highness’ favours,

    
Gone
slightly
¹²¹
o’er low steps, and now are mounted

    Where
powers
are your
retainers
¹²²
, and your words,

    
Domestics
to you, serve your will
as’t please
¹²³

    Yourself pronounce their office. I must tell you,

    You
tender
¹²⁵
more your person’s honour than

    Your high profession spiritual,
that
¹²⁶
again

    I do refuse you for my judge, and here,

    Before you all, appeal unto the Pope,

    To bring my whole
cause
¹²⁹
’fore his holiness,

    And to be judged by him.

CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
    The queen is obstinate,

    
Stubborn
to justice,
apt
¹³²
to accuse it, and

    Disdainful to be tried by’t: ’tis not well.

    She’s going away.

KING HENRY VIII
    Call her again.

CRIER
    Katherine, Queen of England, come into the court.

GRIFFITH
    Madam, you are called back.

QUEEN KATHERINE
    What need you note it? Pray you
keep your way
¹³⁸
:

    When you are called, return. Now the Lord help:

    They vex me past my patience. Pray you, pass on:

    I will not
tarry
¹⁴¹
: no, nor ever more

    Upon this business my appearance make

    In any of their courts.

KING HENRY VIII
    Go thy ways, Kate.

    That man i’th’world who shall report he has

    A better wife, let him in nought be trusted

    For speaking false in that: thou art alone —

    If thy
rare
¹⁴⁸
qualities, sweet gentleness,

    Thy meekness saint-like, wife-like
government
¹⁴⁹
,

    
Obeying in commanding
, and thy
parts
¹⁵⁰

    
Sovereign
and pious else, could
speak thee out
¹⁵¹
—

    The queen of earthly queens: she’s noble born:

    And like her true nobility, she has

    
Carried
¹⁵⁴
herself towards me.

CARDINAL WOLSEY
    Most gracious sir,

    In humblest manner I
require
¹⁵⁶
your highness,

    That it shall please you to declare in hearing

    Of all these ears — for where I am robbed and bound,

    There must I be unloosed, although not there

    At once and fully
satisfied
¹⁶⁰
— whether ever I

    Did broach this business to your highness, or

    Laid any scruple in your way, which might

    Induce you to the question on’t, or ever

    Have to you, but with thanks to God for such

    A royal lady, spake one the least word that might

    Be to the
prejudice
of her present
state
¹⁶⁶
,

    Or
touch
¹⁶⁷
of her good person?

KING HENRY VIII
    My lord cardinal,

    I do
excuse
¹⁶⁹
you: yea, upon mine honour,

    I free
you from’t: you are not to be taught
¹⁷⁰

    That you have many enemies, that know not

    Why they are so, but like to village
curs
¹⁷²
,

    Bark when their fellows do. By some of these

    The queen is put in anger. You’re excused:

    But will you be more justified? You ever

    Have wished the sleeping of this business, never desired

    It to be stirred, but oft have hindered, oft,

    The
passages
¹⁷⁸
made toward it: on my honour,

    I
speak
¹⁷⁹
my good lord card’nal to this point,

    And thus far clear him. Now, what moved me to’t,

    
I will be bold with time and your attention:

    Then
mark th’inducement
¹⁸²
. Thus it came: give heed to’t:

    My conscience first received a
tenderness
¹⁸³
,

    Scruple, and prick, on certain speeches uttered

    By th’Bishop of Bayonne, then French ambassador,

    Who had been hither sent on the debating

    A marriage
’twixt
¹⁸⁷
the Duke of Orléans and

    Our daughter Mary: i’th’progress of this business,

    Ere a
determinate resolution
¹⁸⁹
, he,

    I mean the bishop, did require a respite,

    Wherein he might the king his lord
advertise
¹⁹¹

    Whether our daughter were legitimate,

    Respecting this our marriage with the
dowager
¹⁹³
,

    
Sometimes
¹⁹⁴
our brother’s wife. This respite shook

    The bosom of my conscience, entered me,

    Yea, with a
spitting
¹⁹⁶
power, and made to tremble

    The region of my breast, which forced such way,

    That many
mazed considerings
¹⁹⁸
did throng

    And pressed in with this caution. First, methought

    I stood not in the
smile
²⁰⁰
of heaven, who had

    Commanded nature that my lady’s womb,

    If it conceived a male child by me, should

    Do no more
offices
²⁰³
of life to’t than

    The grave does
to th’dead: for her male issue
^2.4

    
Or
²⁰⁵
died where they were made, or shortly after

    
This world had aired them
²⁰⁶
. Hence I took a thought,

    This was a judgement on me, that my kingdom,

    Well worthy the best heir o’th’world, should not

    Be
gladded
²⁰⁹
in’t by me. Then follows that

    I weighed the danger which my realms stood in

    By this my
issue’s
²¹¹
fail, and that gave to me

    
Many a groaning
throe
: thus
hulling
²¹²
in

    The wild sea of my conscience, I did steer

    Toward this remedy, whereupon we are

    Now present here together: that’s to say,

    I meant to rectify my conscience, which

    I then did feel
full
sick, and
yet
²¹⁷
not well,

    By all the reverend fathers of the land

    And
doctors
²¹⁹
learned. First I began in private

    With you, my lord of Lincoln: you remember

    How under my
oppression
I did
reek
²²¹

    When I first
moved
²²²
you.

LINCOLN
    Very well, my liege.

KING HENRY VIII
    I have spoke long: be pleased yourself to say

    How far you
satisfied
²²⁵
me.

LINCOLN
    So please your highness,

    The question did at first so stagger me,

    
Bearing a state of mighty moment in’t
²²⁸

    And consequence of dread, that I
committed
²²⁹

    The daring’st counsel which I had to doubt,

    And did entreat your highness to this course

    Which you are running here.

KING HENRY VIII
    I then moved you,

    My lord of Canterbury, and got your leave

    To make this present summons: unsolicited

    I left no reverend person in this court,

    But by
particular
²³⁷
consent proceeded

    
Under your
hands
²³⁸
and seals: therefore, go on:

    For no dislike i’th’world against the person

    Of the good queen, but the sharp thorny points

    Of my alleged reasons, drives this forward:

    
Prove but
²⁴²
our marriage lawful, by my life

    
And kingly dignity, we are contented

    To
wear our mortal state to come
²⁴⁴
with her,

    Katherine our queen, before the
primest
²⁴⁵
creature

    That’s
paragoned
²⁴⁶
o’th’world.

CARDINAL CAMPEIUS
    So please your highness,

    The queen being absent, ’tis
a needful fitness
²⁴⁸

    That we adjourn this court till
further
²⁴⁹
day:

    Meanwhile must be an earnest
motion
²⁵⁰

    Made to the queen, to call back her appeal

    She intends unto
his holiness
²⁵²
.

KING HENRY VIII
    I may perceive

    These cardinals trifle with me: I abhor

    This
dilatory
²⁵⁵
sloth and tricks of Rome.

    My learned and well-belovèd servant, Cranmer,

    Prithee
return
²⁵⁷
: with thy approach, I know,

    My comfort comes along.— Break up the court:

    I say,
set on
²⁵⁹
.

QUEEN KATHERINE
    Take thy
lute
¹
, wench: my soul grows sad with troubles:

    Sing, and disperse ’em, if thou canst:
leave
²
working.

WOMAN
    
Orpheus
with his lute
made
³
trees,

    And the mountain tops that freeze,

    Bow themselves when he did sing.

    To his music plants and flowers

    
Ever sprung,
as
⁷
sun and showers

    There had made a lasting spring.

    Every thing that heard him play,

    Even the
billows
¹⁰
of the sea,

    Hung their heads, and then
lay by
¹¹
.

    In sweet music is such art,

    
Killing
¹³
care and grief of heart

    Fall asleep, or hearing, die.