Upon what cause, wrong you? alas! our places, The way of our profession is against it; We are to cure such sorrows, not to sow 'eni. For goodness' sake, consider what you do; How you may hurt yourself, ay, utterly Grow from the king's acquaintance, by this car- The hearts of princes kiss obedience, [riage. So much they love it; but, to stubborn spirits, They swell, and grow as terrible as storms. I know, you have a gentle, noble temper, A soul as even as a calm; Pray, think us Those we profess, peace-makers, friends, and
[virtues Cam.Madam, you'll find it so. You wrong your With these weak woman's fears. A noble spirit, As yours was put into you, ever casts Such doubts, as false coin, from it. The king
Beware, you lose it not: For us, if you please To trust us in your business, we are ready To use our utmost studies in your service. Queen. Do what ye will, my lords: And, pray, forgive me,
If I have us'd myself unmannerly; You know, I am a woman, lacking wit To make a seemly answer to such persons. Pray, do my service to his majesty:
His spell in that is out: the king hath found Matter against him, that for ever mars
The honey of his language. No, he's settled, Not to come off, in his displeasure.
I should be glad to hear such news as this Once every hour.
Nor. Believe it, this is true.
In the divorce, his 3 contrary proceedings Are all unfolded; wherein he appears, As I would wish mine enemy.
Sur. How came
His practices to light? Suf. Most strangely. Sur. O, how, how?
Suf.The cardinal's letter to the pope miscarried, And came to the eye o' the king: whereinwas read, How that the cardinal did entreat his holiness To stay the judgement o' the divorce; For if 25 It did take place, I do, quoth he, perceive, My king is tangled in affection to
He has my heart yet; and shall have my prayers, 30 While I shall have my life. Come, reverend fa-
A creature of the queen's, lady Anne Bullen. Sur. Has the king this? Suf. Believe it.
[coasts, Cham. The king in this perceives him, how he And hedges, his own way. But in this point All his tricks founder, and he brings his physick After his patient's death; the king already 35 Hath married the fair lady.
Enter Duke of Norfolk, Duke of Suffolk, the Earl 40 Trace the conjunction!
of Surrey, and the Lord Chamberlain. Nor. If you will now unite in your complaints, And force them with a constancy, the cardinal Cannot stand under them: If you omit The offer of this time, I cannot promise, But that you shall sustain more new disgraces, With these you bear already.
3 i. e. his private practices opposite to his To hedge, is to creep along by the hedge: not to take the direct and open To memorize is to make memorable.
path. To trace is to follow.
To second all his plot. I do assure you, The king cry'd ha! at this.
Cham. Now, God incense him, And let him cry ha! louder. Nor. But, my lord,
When returns Cranmer?
Suf. He is return'd, in his opinions; which Have satisfy'd the king for his divorce, Together with all famous colleges Almost in Christendom: shortly, I believe, His second marriage shall be publish'd, and Her coronation. Katharine no more Shall be call'd queen; but princess dowager, And widow to prince Arthur.
Nor. This same Cranmer's
A worthy fellow, and hath ta'en much pain In the king's business.
Suf. He has; and we shall see him
For it, an archbishop.
Nor. So I hear.
Suf. 'Tis so.
The cardinal
Crom. I think, by this he is. Wol. Leave me a while.-
Hath crawl'd into the favour of the king, And is his oracle.
Nor. He is vex'd at something.
Sur. I would, 'twere something that would fret the string,
The master-cord of his heart!
Enter the King, reading a schedule2; and Lovel. Suf. The king, the king.
King. What piles of wealth hath he accumulated To his own portion! and what expence by the hour Seems to flow from him! How, i' the name of thrift,
Does he rake this together!-Now, my lords; 15 Saw you the cardinal?
Nor. My lord, we have [tion Stood here observing him: Some strange commo- Is in his brain: he bites his lip, and starts; Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground, 20 Then, lays his finger on his temple; straight, Springs out into fast gait; then, stops again, Strikes his breast hard; and anon, he casts His eye against the moon: in most strange postures We have seen him set himself.
25 King. It may well be;
There is a mutiny in his mind. This morning, Papers of state he sent me to peruse,
As I requir'd; And, wot you, what I found There; on my conscience, put unwittingly? 30 Forsooth, an inventory, thus importing,
[Exit Cromwell. It shall be to the dutchess of Alençon, The French king's sister: he shall marry her.-40 Anne Bullen! No; I'll no Anne Bullens for him : There's more in't than fair visage.—Bullen! No, we'll no Bullens!-Speedily I wish
To hear from Rome.-The marchioness of Pem- broke!-
Nor. He's discontented.
Suf. May be, he hears the king
Does whet his anger to him.
Sur. Sharp enough,
Lord, for thy justice!
The several parcels of his plate, his treasure, Rich stuffs, and ornaments of household; which I find at such proud rate, that it out-speaks Possession of a subject.
Nor. It is heaven's will; Some spirit put this paper in the packet, To bless your eye withal.
King. If we did think
His contemplations were above the earth, And fix'd on spiritual objects, he should still Dwell in his musings; but, I am afraid, His thinkings are below the moon, not worth His serious considering.
[He takes his seat; and whispers Lovel, who goes to Wolsey.
Wol. Heaven forgive me!→→
Ever God bless your highness!
You are full of heavenly stuff, and bear the inven
[daughter, 50 Of your best graces in your mind; the which You were now running o'er: you have scarce
Wol. The late queen's gentlewoman; a knight's To be her mistress' mistress! the queen's queen!- This candle burns not clear: 'tis I must snuff it; Then, out it goes.-What though I know her virtuous,
And well-deserving? yet I know her for A spleeny Lutheran; and not wholesome to Our cause, that she should lie i' the bosom of Our hard-rul'd king. Again, there is sprung up An heretic, an arch one, Cranmer; one
To steal from spiritual leisure a brief span, To keep your earthly audit: sure, in that' 551 deem you an ill husband; and am glad To have you therein my companion. Wol, Sir,
For holy offices I have a time; a time To think upon the part of business, which 60li bear i' the state; and nature does require
i. e. with the same sentiments he entertained before he went abroad, which sentiments justify the king's divorce, * Mr. Steevens on this passage remarks thus: "That the cardinal gave the king an inventory of his own private wealth, by mistake, and thereby ruined himself, is a known variation from the truth of history. Shakspeare, however, has not injudiciously represented the fall of that great man, as owing to a similar incident which he had once improved to the destruction of another." See Holinshed, vol. ii. p. 796.
Her times of preservation, which, perforce, 1 her frail son, amongst my brethren mortal, Must give my tendance to.
King. You have said well.
Wol.Andever may your highness yoke together, As I will lend you cause, my doing well With my well saying!
King. 'Tis well said again;
And 'tis a kind of good deed, to say well: And yet words are no deeds. My father lov'd you: He said, he did; and with his deed did crown His word upon you. Since I had my office, I have kept you next my heart; have not alone Employ'd you where high profits might come home,
But par'd my present havings, to bestow My bounties upon you.
Wol. What should this mean? Sur. The Lord increase this business! [Aside. King. Have I not made you
The prime man of the state? I pray you, tell me, If what I now pronounce, you have found true: And, if you may confess it, say withal,
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast, For you have seen him open't.-[Read o'er this; [Giving him papers. 5 And, after, this: and then to breakfast, with What appetite you have.
[Exit King, frowing upon Cardinal Wolsey; the Nobles throng after him, whispering and smiling.
Wol. What should this mean?
What sudden anger's this? how have I reap'd it? He parted frowning from me, as if ruin Leap'd from his eyes: So looks the chafed lion Upon the daring huntsman that has gall'd him; 15Then makes him nothing. I must read this paper; I fear, the story of his anger.-'Tis so:
This paper has undone me:-Tis the account Of all that world of wealth I've drawn together For mine own ends: indeed, to gain the popedom, 20 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? 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-To the Pope? The letter, as I live, with all the business
If you are bound to us, or no. What say you? Wol. My sovereign, I confess, your royal graces, 25 Shower'd on me daily, have been more than could My studied purposes requite; which went Beyond all man's endeavours': my endeavours Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet, fil'd' with my abilities: Mine own ends Have been mine so, that everinore they pointed To the good of your most sacred person, and The profit of the state. For your great graces Heap'd upon me, poor undeserver, I Can nothing render but allegiant thanks; My prayers to heaven for you; my loyalty, Which ever has, and ever shall be growing, 'Till death, that winter, kill it.
King, Fairly answer'd:
A loyal and obedient subject is Therein illustrated: the honour of it
Does pay the act of it;as, i' the contrary, The foulness is the punishment. I presume, That, as my hand has open'd bounty to you,
I writ to his holiness. Nay then, farewell! 30 have touch'd the highest point of all my greatness; And, from that full ineridian of any glory, I haste now to my setting: I shall fall Like a bright exhalation in the evening, And no man see me more.
35 Re-enter the Dukes of Norfolk, and Suffolk, the Earl of Surrey, and the Lord Chamberlain. Nor. Hear the king's pleasure, cardinal: who commands you
To render up the great seal presently
40 Into our hands; and to confine yourself To Esher house, my lord of Winchester's, Till you hear further from his highness. Wol. Stay,
Where's your commission, lords? words cannot
My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour, 45 Authority so mighty.
That for your highness' good I ever labour'd More than mine own; that am, have, and will be. Though all the world should crack their duty 55
And throw it from their soul; though perils did Abound, as thick as thought could inake 'em, and Appear in forms more horrid; yet my duty, As doth a rock against the chiding flood,. Should the approach of this wild river break, And stand unshaken yours,
Suf. Who dare cross 'em?
Bearing the king's will from his mouth expressly? Wol. Till I find more than will, or words, to
SCI 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 disgrace, 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 them, and no doubt, In time will find their fit rewards. That seal, You ask with such a violence, the king [me; 6C(Mine, and your master) with his own hand gave Bade me enjoy it, with the place and honours, During my life; and, to confirm his goodness,
The sense is, my purposes went beyond all human endeavour. equal pace with my abilities.
2 i. e. ranked, or have gone an
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 succour, from the king, from all That might have mercyon the fault thougav'st him; Whilst your great goodness, out of holy pity, Absolv'd him with an axe.
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 lov'd many words, lord, I should tell you, You have as little honesty as honour; That I, 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 dare your worst objections: if I blush,
It is, to see a nobleman want manners. [at you. Sur. I'd rather want those, than my head. Have 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.
Nor. Then, that, in all you writ to Rome, or else 20 To foreign princes, Ego et Rex meus Was still inscrib'd; in which you brought the king To be your servant.
Suf. Then, that, without the knowledge Either of king or council, when you went 25 Ambassador to the emperor, you made bold To carry into Flanders the great seal.
Sur. Item, you sent a large commission To Gregory de Cassalis, to conclude, Without the king's will, or the state's allowance, 30A league between his highness and Ferrara.
Suf. That,out of mere ambition, you have caus'd Your holy hat to be stampt on the king's coin. Sur. Then, that you have sent innumerable sub-
35 (Bywhat means got, I leave to yourownconscience) 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, 40I will not taint my mouth with.
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 45 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 your despis'd nobility, our issues,
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.
Suf. Lord cardinal, the king's further pleasure Because all those things, you have done of late By your power legatine within this kingdom, 50 Fall into the compass of a Pramunire,
Who, if he live, will scarce be gentlemen,- Produce the grand sun of his sins, the articles Collected from his life :-I'll startle you [wench Worse than the sacring bell, when the brown Lay kissing in your arms, lord cardinal. [man, 55 Wol. How much, methinks, I could despise this But that I am bound in charity against it!
That therefore such a writ be su'd against you; To forfeit all your goods, lands, tenements, Castles, and whatsoever, and to be Out of the king's protection*:-This is my charge, Nor. 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 hat of a cardinal was scarlet; and the method of daring larks was by small mirrors fastened on scarlet cloth, which engaged the attention of these birds while the fowler drew his net over them. 'The little bell, which is rung to give notice of the Host approaching when it is carried in procession, 25 also in other offices of the Romish church, is called the sacring or consecration bell; from the French word, sacrer. 3 i, e. absolute. 4 The judgement in a writ of Præmunire is, that the defendant shall be out of the king's protection; and his lands and tenements, goods and chattels, forfeited to the king; and that his body shall remain in prison at the king's pleasure.
So fare you well, my little good lord cardinal. [Exeunt all but Wolsey.
Install'd lord archbishop of Canterbury. Wol. That's news indeed.
Crom. Last, that the lady Anne, Whom the king hath in secrecy long marry'd, This day was view'd in open, as his queen, Going to chapel; and the voice is now
Only about her coronation.
Wol. There was the weight that pull'd me down. O Cromwell,
10 The king has gone beyond me, all my glories In that one woman I have lost for eyer: 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; 15I am a poor fallen 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 Some little memory of me will stir him, [thee;
Wol. So farewell to the little good you bear me. Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness! This is the state of man; To-day he puts forth The tender leayes of hope, to-morrow 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 ventur'd, Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, These 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 open'd: 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 our ruin, More pangs and fears than wars or women have; 25 And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, Never to hope again.—
Enter Cromwell, amazedly.
Why, how now, Cromwell?
Crom. I have no power to speak, sir. Wol. What, amaz'd
At my misfortunes? can thy spirit wonder,
A great man should decline? Nay, an you weep,
I am fallen indeed.
Crom. How does your grace?
Wol. Why, well;
Never so truly happy, my good Cromwell. I know myself now; and I feel within me
A peace above all earthly dignities,
20I 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.
Must I then leave you? must I needs forego So good, so noble, and so true a master?— Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron, With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord.— The king shall have my service; but my prayers 30 For ever, and for ever, shall be yours.
Wol. Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear In all my miseries; but thou hast forc'd me, Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman. Let's dryour eyes:And thus far hearme, Cromwell; And,-when I am forgotten, as I shall be;. And sleep in dull cold marble, where no mention Of me more must be heard of,—say, I taught thee, Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour, Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in; A sure and safe one, though thy master miss'd it. Mark but my fall, and that that ruiu'd me. Cromwell, I'charge thee, fling away ambition; By that sin fell the angels, how can man then, 45 The image of his Maker,hope to win by 't? [thee; Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate Corruption wins not more than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not: 50 Let all the ends, thou aim'st at, be thy country's Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,
A still and quiet conscience. The king has cur'd 40 I humblythank his grace; and from these shoulders, These ruin'd 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. Crom. I am glad your grace has made that right use of it.
Wol. 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?
Crom. The heaviest and the worst,
Is your displeasure with the king. Wol. God bless him!
Thou fall'st a blessed martyr. Serve the king; And,-Pr'ythee, lead me in:
55 There take an inventory of all I have,
Crom. The next is, that SirThomas More is chosen To the last penny; 'tis the king's: my robe,
Lord chancellor in your place.
Wol. That's somewhat sudden : But he's a learned 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?
And my integrity to heaven, is all
I dare now call mine own. O Cromwell, Cromwell Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal 60I serv'd my king, He would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies'. Crom. Good sir, have patience. Wol. So I have. Farewell
Crom. That Cranmer is return'd with welcome,J65|
The hopes of court! my hopes in heaven do dwell. [Exeunt.
! The chancellor is the general guardian of orphans. This sentence was really uttered by Wolsey.
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