The arden shakespeare co.., p.266
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works, page 266
Lewis marry Blanche! O boy, then where art thou?
France friend with England, what becomes of me?
Fellow, be gone: I cannot brook thy sight.
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This news hath made thee a most ugly man.
SALISBURY What other harm have I, good lady, done,
But spoke the harm that is by others done?
CONSTANCE Which harm within itself so heinous is
As it makes harmful all that speak of it.
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ARTHUR I do beseech you, madam, be content.
CONSTANCE
If thou, that bid’st me be content, wert grim,
Ugly, and sland’rous to thy mother’s womb,
Full of unpleasing blots and sightless stains,
Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,
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Patch’d with foul moles and eye-offending marks,
I would not care, I then would be content,
For then I should not love thee: no, nor thou
Become thy great birth, nor deserve a crown.
But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy,
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Nature and fortune join’d to make thee great:
Of nature’s gifts thou mayst with lilies boast
And with the half-blown rose. But fortune, O,
She is corrupted, chang’d and won from thee;
Sh’ adulterates hourly with thine uncle John,
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And with her golden hand hath pluck’d on France
To tread down fair respect of sovereignty,
And made his majesty the bawd to theirs.
France is a bawd to fortune and King John,
That strumpet fortune, that usurping John!
60
Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn?
Envenom him with words, or get thee gone,
And leave those woes alone which I alone
Am bound to underbear!
SALISBURY Pardon me, madam,
I may not go without you to the kings.
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CONSTANCE
Thou mayst, thou shalt; I will not go with thee:
I will instruct my sorrows to be proud,
For grief is proud an’t makes his owner stoop.
To me and to the state of my great grief
70
Let kings assemble; for my grief’s so great
That no supporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold it up: here I and sorrows sit;
Here is my throne, bid kings come bow to it.
[Throws herself on the ground.] Exit Salisbury.
3.1 CONSTANCE and ARTHUR, seated. Enter KING JOHN, KING PHILIP, LEWIS, BLANCHE, ELEANOR, the BASTARD, AUSTRIA, SALISBURY and attendants.
KING PHILIP
’Tis true, fair daughter; and this blessed day
Ever in France shall be kept festival:
To solemnize this day the glorious sun
Stays in his course and plays the alchemist,
Turning with splendour of his precious eye
5
The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold:
The yearly course that brings this day about
Shall never see it but a holy day.
CONSTANCE A wicked day, and not a holy day! [rising]
What hath this day deserv’d? what hath it done,
10
That it in golden letters should be set
Among the high tides in the calendar?
Nay, rather turn this day out of the week,
This day of shame, oppression, perjury.
Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child
15
Pray that their burthens may not fall this day,
Lest that their hopes prodigiously be cross’d:
But on this day let seamen fear no wrack;
No bargains break that are not this day made;
This day, all things begun come to ill end,
20
Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change!
KING PHILIP By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause
To curse the fair proceedings of this day:
Have I not pawn’d to you my majesty?
CONSTANCE You have beguil’d me with a counterfeit
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Resembling majesty, which, being touch’d and tried,
Proves valueless: you are forsworn, forsworn!
You came in arms to spill mine enemies’ blood,
But now in arms you strengthen it with yours.
The grappling vigour and rough frown of war
30
Is cold in amity, and painted peace,
And our oppression hath made up this league.
Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjur’d kings!
A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens!
Let not the hours of this ungodly day
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Wear out the day’s in peace; but, ere sunset,
Set armed discord ’twixt these perjur’d kings!
Hear me, O, hear me!
AUSTRIA Lady Constance, peace!
CONSTANCE War! war! no peace! peace is to me a war.
O Limoges! O Austria! thou dost shame
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That bloody spoil: thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward!
Thou little valiant, great in villainy!
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side!
Thou fortune’s champion, that dost never fight
But when her humorous ladyship is by
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To teach thee safety! thou art perjur’d too,
And sooth’st up greatness. What a fool art thou,
A ramping fool, to brag, and stamp, and swear
Upon my party! Thou cold-blooded slave,
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side,
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Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend
Upon thy stars, thy fortune and thy strength,
And dost thou now fall over to my foes?
Thou wear a lion’s hide! doff it for shame,
And hang a calve’s-skin on those recreant limbs.
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AUSTRIA
O, that a man should speak those words to me!
BASTARD
And hang a calve’s-skin on those recreant limbs.
AUSTRIA Thou dar’st not say so, villain, for thy life.
BASTARD
And hang a calve’s-skin on those recreant limbs.
KING JOHN We like not this; thou dost forget thyself.
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Enter PANDULPH.
KING PHILIP Here comes the holy legate of the pope.
PANDULPH Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven!
To thee, King John, my holy errand is.
I Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal,
And from Pope Innocent the legate here,
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Do in his name religiously demand
Why thou against the church, our holy mother,
So wilfully dost spurn; and force perforce
Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop
Of Canterbury, from that holy see:
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This, in our foresaid holy father’s name,
Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.
KING JOHN What earthy name to interrogatories
Can taste the free breath of a sacred king?
Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name
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So slight, unworthy and ridiculous,
To charge me to an answer, as the pope.
Tell him this tale; and from the mouth of England
Add thus much more, that no Italian priest
Shall tithe or toll in our dominions;
80
But as we, under God, are supreme head,
So under Him that great supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold
Without th’ assistance of a mortal hand:
So tell the pope, all reverence set apart
85
To him and his usurp’d authority.
KING PHILIP
Brother of England, you blaspheme in this.
KING JOHN
Though you and all the kings of Christendom
Are led so grossly by this meddling priest,
Dreading the curse that money may buy out;
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And by the merit of vild gold, dross, dust,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
Who in that sale sells pardon from himself;
Though you and all the rest so grossly led
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish,
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Yet I alone, alone do me oppose
Against the pope, and count his friends my foes.
PANDULPH Then, by the lawful power that I have,
Thou shalt stand curs’d and excommunicate:
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt
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From his allegiance to an heretic;
And meritorious shall that hand be call’d,
Canonized and worshipp’d as a saint,
That takes away by any secret course
Thy hateful life.
CONSTANCE O, lawful let it be
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That I have room with Rome to curse awhile!
Good father cardinal, cry thou amen
To my keen curses; for without my wrong
There is no tongue hath power to curse him right.
PANDULPH
There’s law and warrant, lady, for my curse.
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CONSTANCE
And for mine too: when law can do no right
Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong!
Law cannot give my child his kingdom here,
For he that holds his kingdom holds the law;
Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong,
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How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?
PANDULPH Philip of France, on peril of a curse,
Let go the hand of that arch-heretic;
And raise the power of France upon his head,
Unless he do submit himself to Rome.
120
ELEANOR
Look’st thou pale, France? do not let go thy hand.
CONSTANCE
Look to that, devil, lest that France repent,
And by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul.
AUSTRIA King Philip, listen to the cardinal.
BASTARD
And hang a calve’s-skin on his recreant limbs.
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AUSTRIA Well, ruffian, I must pocket up 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?
LEWIS Bethink you, father; for the difference
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Is purchase of a heavy curse from Rome,
Or the light 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 untrimmed bride.
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BLANCHE
The Lady Constance speaks not from her faith,
But from her need.
CONSTANCE O, if thou grant my need,
Which only lives but by the death of faith,
That need must needs infer this principle,
That faith would live again by death of need.
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O then tread down my need, and faith mounts up:
Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down!
KING JOHN The king is mov’d, and answers not to this.
CONSTANCE O, be remov’d from him, and answer well!
AUSTRIA Do so, King Philip; hang no more in doubt.
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BASTARD
Hang nothing but a calve’s-skin, most sweet lout.
KING PHILIP I am perplex’d, and know not what to say.
PANDULPH
What canst thou say but will perplex thee more,
If thou stand excommunicate and curs’d?
KING PHILIP
Good reverend father, make my person yours,
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And tell me how you would bestow yourself.
This royal hand and mine are newly knit,
And the conjunction of our inward souls –
Married in league, coupled and link’d together
With all religious strength of sacred vows;
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The latest breath that gave the sound of words –
Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love
Between our kingdoms and our royal selves.
