.

To do your pleasure, and continue friends.

Pand. All form is formlefs, order orderlefs,
Save what is oppofite to England's love.

Therefore, to arms! be champion of our Church!
Or let the Church our mother breathe her curse,
A mother's curfe on her revolting fon.

France, thou may'st hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafed lyon by the mortal paw,

A fafting tyger fafer by the tooth,

Than keep in peace that hand, which thou doft hold.
K. Phil. I may dif-join my hand, but not my faith.
Pand. So mak'ft thou faith an enemy to faith;
And, like a civil war, fet'ft oath to oath,

Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow
First made to heav'n, firft be to heav'n perform'd;
That is, to be the champion of our Church.
What fince thou fwor'ft, is fworn against thyself;
And may not be performed by thyfelf.

For that, which thou haft fworn to do amiss,

8

* Is't not amifs, when it is truly done?

And being not done, where doing tends to ill,
The truth is then most done, not doing it.
The better act of purposes miftook

Is to mistake again; tho' indirect,

Yet indirection thereby grows direct,

And falfhood falfhood cures; as fire cools fire,
Within the fcorched veins of one new-burn'd.
It is religion that doth make vows kept,

But what thou haft fworn against religion:

But what thou fwear'ft, against the thing thou fwear'ft:

And mak'ft an oath the furety for thy truth,
Against an oath. The truth thou art unfure
To swear, fwear only not to be forsworn;

fhew his fkill in cafuiftry; and the ftrange heap of quibble and nonfenfe of which it confifts, was intended to ridicule that of the fchools. For when he affumes the politician, at the conclufion of the third act, the author makes him talk at another rate. I mean in that beautiful paffage where he speaks of the mifchiefs following the King's lofs of his fubjects hearts. This conduct is remarkable, and was intended, I fuppofe, to fhew us how much better politicians the Roman courtiers are, than divines. WARBURTON.

I am not able to discover here any thing inconfequent or ridiculoufly Tubtle. The propofitions that the voice of the church is the voice of heaven, and that the Pope utters the voice of the church, neither of which Pandulph's auditors would deny, being once granted, the argument here used is irrefiftible; nor is it easy, notwithstanding the gingle, to enforce it with greater brevity or propriety.

But thou haft fworn against re-
ligion:
By what thou fwear'ft, against

the thing thou fwear'ft:
And mak't an oath the furety
for thy truth,
Again an oath the truth thou
art unfure

To fwear, fwear only not to be forfworn.] By what. Sir T. Hanmer reads, by that. I think it fhould be rather by

which. That is, thou fear f against the thing, by which thou fwear'ft; that is, against religion.

The moft formidable difficulty is in these lines. And mak'ft an oath the furety for thy truth,

Against an oath the truth thou
art unfure
To fwear, &c.

This Sir T. Hanmer reforms thus,

this truth

And makt an oath the Surety
for thy truth,
Against an oath;
thou art unfure
To fwear, &c.

Dr. Warburton writes it thus, .
Against an oath the truth thou
art unfure

which leaves the paffage to me as obfcure as before.

I know not whether there is any corruption beyond the omiffion of a point. The sense, after I had confidered it, appeared to me only this: In wearing by religion against religion, to which thou hast already fworn, thou makeft an oath the fecurity for thy faith against an oath already taken. I will give, fays he, a rule for confcience in thefe cafes. Thou mayft be in doubt about the matter of an oath; when thou fweareft thou may not be always fure to fwear righlty, but let this be thy fettled principle, car only not to be forfworn; let not thy latter oaths be at variance with thy former.

Truth, through this whole fpeech, means reditude of conduct.

Elfe

Elfe what a mockery fhould it be to fwear?
But thou doft fwear, only to be forfworn,
And moft forfworn, to keep what thou doft fwear.
Therefore thy latter vows, against thy first,
Is in thyfelf rebellion to thyself,

And better conqueft never canft thou make,
Than arm thy conftant and thy nobler parts
Against thefe giddy, loofe fuggeftions:
Upon which better part, our pray'rs come in,
If thou vouchfafe them. But if not, then know,
The peril of our curfes light on thee

So heavy, as thou shalt not shake them off;
But, in defpair, die under their black weight.
Auft. Rebellion, flat rebellion.

Faulc. Will't not be?

Will not a calve's-skin stop that mouth of thine?
Lewis. Father, to arms!

Blanch. Upon thy wedding day?

Against the blood that thou haft married?
What, fhall our feast be kept with flaughter'd men?
Shall braying trumpets, and loud churlish drums,
Clamours of hell, be measures to our pomp ?
O husband, hear me; (ah! alack, how new
Is hufband in my mouth?) ev'n for that name,
Which till this time my tongue did ne'er pronounce,
Upon my knee I beg, go not to arms

Against mine uncle.

Conft. O, upon my knee,

Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee,
Thou virtuous Dauphin, alter not the doom
Forethought by heav'n.

Blanch. Now fhall I fee thy love; what motive may Be stronger with thee than the name of wife?

Conft. That which upholdeth him, that thee upholds, His honour. Oh, thine honour, Lewis, thine ho

nour!

Lewis. I mufe, your Majefty doth feem fo cold, When fuch profound refpects do pull you on?

Gg 2

Pand.

Pand. I will denounce a curfe upon his head.

K. Phil. Thou shalt not need. England, I'll fall from thee.

Conft. O fair return of banish'd Majesty!

Eli. O foul revolt of French inconftancy!

K. John. France, thou shalt rue this hour within this hour,

Faul. Old time the clock-fetter, that bald fexton time,

Is it, as he will? well then, France fhall rue.

Blanch. The fun's o'ercaft with blood: fair day, adieu!

Which is the fide that I must go withal?
I am with both, each army hath a hand,
And in their rage, I having hold of both,
They whirl afunder, and difmember me.
Hufband, I cannot pray that thou may'st win:
Uncle, I needs must pray that thou may'st lose:
Father, I may not with the fortune thine:
Grandam, I will not wifh thy wifḥes thrive:
Whoever wins, on that fide fhall I lofe:
Affured lofs, before the match be play'd.

Lewis. Lady, with me, with me thy fortune lies. Blanch. There where my fortune lives, there my life dies.

K. John. Coufin, go draw our puiffance together. [Exit Faulconbridge. France, I am burn'd up with inflaming wrath,

A rage, whofe heat hath this condition

That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,
The blood, and deareft-valu'd blood of France.

K. Phil. Thy rage fhall burn thee up, and thou

fhalt turn

To afhes, ere our blood shall quench that fire:

Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy.

K. John. No more than he that threats. To arms,

I

let's hie.

[Exeunt. SCENE

Alarms, Excurfions: Enter Faulconbridge, with
Auftria's Head.

Faulc. NOW

OW, by my life, this day grows wond'rous hot;

Some airy devil hovers in the sky,

And pours down mischief. Auftria's head lie there.Thus hath King Richard's fon perform'd his vow, And offer'd Auftria's blood for facrifice

Unto his father's ever-living foul.

Enter King John, Arthur, and Hubert.

K. John. There, Hubert, keep this boy. Richard,

make up;

My mother is a failed in our tent,
And ta'en, I fear.

Faul. My Lord, I refcu'd her :
Her highness is in fafety, fear you not.
But on, my Liege; for very little pains
Will bring this labour to an happy end.

[Exeunt.

juftify them. Not that of this change the propriety is out of controversy. Dr. Warburton will have the devil fiery, because he makes the day hot; the author makes him airy, because he. bovers in the fky, and the heat and mischief are natural confequences of his malignity.