And, if you may confess it, say withal, If you are bound to us or no. What say you? CARDINAL WOLSEY My sovereign, I confess your royal graces, 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 filed with my abilities: mine own ends Have been mine so that evermore 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, ICan 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 HENRY VIII 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, My heart dropp'd love, my power rain'd honour, more On you than any; so your hand and heart, Your brain, and every function of your power, Should, notwithstanding that your bond of duty, As 'twere in love's particular, be more To me, your friend, than any. CARDINAL WOLSEY I do profess 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 to you, And throw it from their soul; though perils did Abound, as thick as thought could make '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. KING HENRY VIII 'Tis nobly spoken:
Take notice, lords, he has a loyal breast, For you have seen him open't. Read o'er this;Giving him papers And after, this: and then to breakfast with What appetite you have.
Exit KING HENRY VIII, frowning upon CARDINAL WOLSEY: the Nobles throng after him, smiling and whispering CARDINAL WOLSEY 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;Then 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 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? 'To the Pope!'
The letter, as I live, with all the business I writ to's holiness. Nay then, farewell!
I have touch'd 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 m the evening, And no man see me more.
Re-enter to CARDINAL WOLSEY, NORFOLK and SUFFOLK, SURREY, and the 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 Asher 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. 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 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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.