. To do your pleasure, and continue friends. Pand. All form is formlefs, order orderlefs, Therefore, to arms! be champion of our Church! France, thou may'st hold a serpent by the tongue, A fafting tyger fafer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand, which thou doft hold. Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow 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, Is to mistake again; tho' indirect, Yet indirection thereby grows direct, And falfhood falfhood cures; as fire cools fire, 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, 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- the thing thou fwear'ft: 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 This Sir T. Hanmer reforms thus, this truth And makt an oath the Surety Dr. Warburton writes it thus, . 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? And better conqueft never canft thou make, So heavy, as thou shalt not shake them off; Faulc. Will't not be? Will not a calve's-skin stop that mouth of thine? Blanch. Upon thy wedding day? Against the blood that thou haft married? Against mine uncle. Conft. O, upon my knee, Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee, 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? 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, 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 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, Faul. My Lord, I refcu'd her : [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. |