William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition (576 page)
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Authors: William Shakespeare
Tags: #Drama, #Literary Criticism, #Shakespeare
BOOK: William Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition
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CARDINAL WOLSEY What should this mean?
What sudden anger’s this? How have I reaped it?
He parted frowning from me, as if ruin
Leaped from his eyes. So looks the chafed lion
Upon the daring huntsman that has galled him,
Then makes him nothing. I must read this paper—
I fear, the story of his anger.
He parted frowning from me, as if ruin
Leaped from his eyes. So looks the chafed lion
Upon the daring huntsman that has galled him,
Then makes him nothing. I must read this paper—
I fear, the story of his anger.
He reads one of the papers
’Tis so.
This paper has undone me. ’Tis th‘account
Of all that world of wealth I have drawn together
For mine own ends—indeed, to gain the popedom,
And fee my friends in Rome. O negligence,
Fit for a fool to fall by! What cross devil
Made me put this main secret in the packet
I sent the King? Is there no way to cure this?
No new device to beat this from his brains?
I know ’twill stir him strongly. Yet I know
A way, if it take right, in spite of fortune
Will bring me off again. What’s this?
Of all that world of wealth I have drawn together
For mine own ends—indeed, to gain the popedom,
And fee my friends in Rome. O negligence,
Fit for a fool to fall by! What cross devil
Made me put this main secret in the packet
I sent the King? Is there no way to cure this?
No new device to beat this from his brains?
I know ’twill stir him strongly. Yet I know
A way, if it take right, in spite of fortune
Will bring me off again. What’s this?
He reads the other paper
‘To th’ Pope’?
The letter, as I live, with all the business
I writ to’s holiness. Nay then, farewell.
I have touched the highest point of all my greatness,
And from that full meridian of my glory
I haste now to my setting. I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
And no man see me more.
I writ to’s holiness. Nay then, farewell.
I have touched the highest point of all my greatness,
And from that full meridian of my glory
I haste now to my setting. I shall fall
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
And no man see me more.
Enter to Cardinal Wolsey the Dukes of Norfolk and
Suffolk, the Earl of Surrey, and the Lord Chamberlain
NORFOLK
Hear the King’s pleasure, Cardinal, who commands you
To render up the great seal presently
Into our hands, and to confine yourself
To Ashen House, my lord of Winchester’s,
Till you hear further from his highness.
To render up the great seal presently
Into our hands, and to confine yourself
To Ashen House, my lord of Winchester’s,
Till you hear further from his highness.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Stay—
Where’s your commission, lords? Words cannot carry
Authority so weighty.
Authority so weighty.
SUFFOLK
Who dare cross ’em
Bearing the King’s will from his mouth expressly?
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 everything 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 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 everything 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?
SURREY
The King that gave it.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
It must be himself then.
SURREY
Thou art a proud traitor, priest.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Proud lord, thou liest.
Within these forty hours Surrey durst better
Have burnt that tongue than said so.
Have burnt that tongue than said so.
SURREY
Thy ambition,
Thou scarlet sin, robbed 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
Weighed not a hair of his. Plague of your policy,
You sent me deputy for Ireland,
Far from his succour, from the King, from all
That might have mercy on the fault thou gav’st him;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,
Absolved him with an axe.
Of noble Buckingham, my father-in-law.
The heads of all thy brother cardinals
With thee and all thy best parts bound together
Weighed not a hair of his. Plague of your policy,
You sent me deputy for Ireland,
Far from his succour, from the King, from all
That might have mercy on the fault thou gav’st him;
Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity,
Absolved 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.
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.
SURREY
By my soul,
Your long coat, priest, protects you; thou shouldst feel
My sword i’th’ 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.
My sword i’th’ 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.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
All goodness
Is poison to thy stomach.
SURREY
Yes, that goodness
Of gleaning all the land’s wealth into one,
Into your own hands, Card’nal, by extortion;
The goodness of your intercepted packets
You writ to th’ 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—
Whom if he live will scarce be gentlemen—
Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles
Collected from his life. (
To Wolsey
) I’ll startle you
Worse than the sacring-bell when the brown wench
Lay kissing in your arms, lord Cardinal.
Into your own hands, Card’nal, by extortion;
The goodness of your intercepted packets
You writ to th’ 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—
Whom if he live will scarce be gentlemen—
Produce the grand sum of his sins, the articles
Collected from his life. (
To Wolsey
) I’ll startle you
Worse than the sacring-bell when the brown wench
Lay kissing in your arms, lord Cardinal.
CARDINAL WOLSEY ⌈
aside
⌉
aside
⌉
How much, methinks, I could despise this man,
But that I am bound in charity against it.
But that I am bound in charity against it.
NORFOLK (
to Surrey
)
to Surrey
)
Those articles, my lord, are in the King’s hand;
But thus much—they are foul ones.
But thus much—they are foul ones.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So much fairer
And spotless shall mine innocence arise
When the King knows my truth.
When the King knows my 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.
Some of these articles, and out they shall.
Now, if you can blush and cry ‘Guilty’, Cardinal,
You’ll show a little honesty.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Speak on, sir;
I dare your worst objections. If I blush,
It is to see a nobleman want manners.
It is to see a nobleman want 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 maimed the jurisdiction of all bishops.
First, that without the King’s assent or knowledge
You wrought to be a legate, by which power
You maimed the jurisdiction of all bishops.
NORFOLK (
to Wolsey
)
to Wolsey
)
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.
To foreign princes, ‘
Ego et Rex meus’
Was still inscribed—in which you brought the King
To be your servant.
SUFFOLK (
to Wolsey
) Then, that without the knowledge
to Wolsey
) 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.
Ambassador to the Emperor, you made bold
To carry into Flanders the great seal.
SURREY (
to Wolsey
)
to Wolsey
)
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,
To Gregory de Cassado, to conclude,
Without the King’s will or the state’s allowance,
A league between his highness and Ferrara,
SUFFOLK (
to Wolsey
)
to Wolsey
)
That out of mere ambition you have caused
Your holy hat to be stamped on the King’s coin.
Your holy hat to be stamped on the King’s coin.
SURREY (
to Wolsey
)
to Wolsey
)
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.
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.
LORD CHAMBERLAIN
O, my lord,
Press not a falling man too far. ’Tis virtue.
His faults lie open to the laws. Let them,
Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him
So little of his great self.
His faults lie open to the laws. Let them,
Not you, correct him. My heart weeps to see him
So little of his great self.
SURREY
I forgive him.
SUFFOLK
Lord Cardinal, the King’s further pleasure is—
Because all those things you have done of late,
By your power legantine within this kingdom,
Fall into th’ compass of a praemunire—
That therefore such a writ be sued against you,
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be
Out of the King’s protection. This is my charge.
Because all those things you have done of late,
By your power legantine within this kingdom,
Fall into th’ compass of a praemunire—
That therefore such a writ be sued against you,
To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements,
Chattels, and whatsoever, and to be
Out of the King’s protection. This is my charge.
NORFOLK (
to Wolsey
)
to Wolsey
)
And so we’ll leave you to your meditations
How to live better. For your stubborn answer
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The King shall know it and, no doubt, shall thank you.
So fare you well, my little good lord Cardinal.
How to live better. For your stubborn answer
About the giving back the great seal to us,
The King shall know it and, no doubt, shall thank you.
So fare you well, my little good lord Cardinal.
Exeunt all but Wolsey
CARDINAL WOLSEY
So farewell—to the little good you bear me.
Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man. Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth; my high-blown pride
At length broke under me, and now has left me
Weary, and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye!
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have,
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!
This is the state of man. Today he puts forth
The tender leaves of hopes; tomorrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his root,
And then he falls, as I do. I have ventured,
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders,
This many summers in a sea of glory,
But far beyond my depth; my high-blown pride
At length broke under me, and now has left me
Weary, and old with service, to the mercy
Of a rude stream that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye!
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes’ favours!
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have,
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.
Enter Cromwell, who then stands amazed
Why, how now, Cromwell?
CROMWELL
I have no power to speak, sir.
CARDINAL WOLSEY What, amazed
At my misfortunes? Can thy spirit wonder
A great man should decline?
A great man should decline?
⌈
Cromwell begins to weep
⌉
Nay, an you weep
I am fall’n indeed.
CROMWELL
How does your grace?
CARDINAL WOLSEY
Why, well—
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell.
I know myself now, and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. The King has cured me.
I humbly thank his grace, and from these shoulders,
These ruined pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy—too much honour.
O, ’tis a burden, Cromwell, ’tis a burden
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven.
I know myself now, and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
A still and quiet conscience. The King has cured me.
I humbly thank his grace, and from these shoulders,
These ruined pillars, out of pity, taken
A load would sink a navy—too much honour.
O, ’tis a burden, Cromwell, ’tis a burden
Too heavy for a man that hopes for heaven.
CROMWELL
I am glad your grace has made that right use of it.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
I hope I have. I am able now, methinks,
Out of a fortitude of soul I feel,
To endure more miseries and greater far
Than my weak-hearted enemies dare offer.
What news abroad?
Out of a fortitude of soul I feel,
To endure more miseries and greater far
Than my weak-hearted enemies dare offer.
What news abroad?
CROMWELL
The heaviest and the worst
Is your displeasure with the King.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
God bless him.
CROMWELL
The next is that Sir Thomas More is chosen
Lord Chancellor in your place.
Lord Chancellor in your place.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
That’s somewhat sudden.
But he’s a learnèd man. May he continue
Long in his highness’ favour, and do justice
For truth’s sake and his conscience, that his bones,
When he has run his course and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans’ tears wept on him.
What more?
Long in his highness’ favour, and do justice
For truth’s sake and his conscience, that his bones,
When he has run his course and sleeps in blessings,
May have a tomb of orphans’ tears wept on him.
What more?
CROMWELL
That Cranmer is returned with welcome,
Installed lord Archbishop of Canterbury.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
That’s news indeed.
CROMWELL
Last, that the Lady Anne,
Whom the King hath in secrecy long married,
This day was viewed in open as his queen,
Going to chapel, and the voice is now
Only about her coronation.
This day was viewed in open as his queen,
Going to chapel, and the voice is now
Only about her coronation.
CARDINAL WOLSEY
There was the weight that pulled me down. O,
Cromwell,
The King has gone beyond me. All my glories
In that one woman I have lost for ever.
No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours,
Or gild again the noble troops that waited
Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Cromwell.
I am a poor fall’n man, unworthy now
To be thy lord and master. Seek the King—
That sun I pray may never set—I have told him
What and how true thou art. He will advance thee.
Some little memory of me will stir him.
I know his noble nature not to let
Thy hopeful service perish too. Good Cromwell,
Neglect him not. Make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety.
Cromwell,
The King has gone beyond me. All my glories
In that one woman I have lost for ever.
No sun shall ever usher forth mine honours,
Or gild again the noble troops that waited
Upon my smiles. Go, get thee from me, Cromwell.
I am a poor fall’n man, unworthy now
To be thy lord and master. Seek the King—
That sun I pray may never set—I have told him
What and how true thou art. He will advance thee.
Some little memory of me will stir him.
I know his noble nature not to let
Thy hopeful service perish too. Good Cromwell,
Neglect him not. Make use now, and provide
For thine own future safety.
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