Till Norfolk be repeal'd-repeal'd he shall be
And, though mine enemy, restor'd again
To all his lands and signories. When he is return'd,
Against Aumerle we will enforce his trial.
These arguments will all wait under the challenge
until Norfolk is recalled–he shall be recalled
and, although he is my enemy, he shall be given back
all his lands and estates. When he comes back,
he shall take up this challenge of Aumerle's.
CARLISLE.
That honourable day shall never be seen.
Many a time hath banish'd Norfolk fought
For Jesu Christ in glorious Christian field,
Streaming the ensign of the Christian cross
Against black pagans, Turks, and Saracens;
And, toil'd with works of war, retir'd himself
To Italy; and there, at Venice, gave
His body to that pleasant country's earth,
And his pure soul unto his captain, Christ,
Under whose colours he had fought so long.
That honourable day will never be seen.
Many times the exiled Norfolk fought
for Jesus Christ in glorious Christian battles,
carrying the sign of the Christian cross
against black pagans, Turks and Saracens;
and, exhausted with battle, he retired
to Italy; and there, at Venice, he gave
his body to the pleasant earth of that country
and his pure soul to his captain, Christ,
for whom he had fought for so long.
BOLINGBROKE.
Why, Bishop, is Norfolk dead?
Why, Bishop, is Norfolk dead?
CARLISLE.
As surely as I live, my lord.
As surely as I'm alive, my lord.
BOLINGBROKE.
Sweet peace conduct his sweet soul to the bosom
Of good old Abraham! Lords appellants,
Your differences shall all rest under gage
Till we assign you to your days of trial.
May his sweet soul go in peace to join
good old Abraham! You accusing lords,
all your arguments wait under their challenges
until I set a date for their trials.
Enter YORK, attended
YORK.
Great Duke of Lancaster, I come to thee
From plume-pluck'd Richard, who with willing soul
Adopts thee heir, and his high sceptre yields
To the possession of thy royal hand.
Ascend his throne, descending now from him-
And long live Henry, fourth of that name!
Great Duke of Lancaster, I have come to you
from crestfallen Richard, who has willingly
appointed you as his heir, and he hands his glorious sceptre
into your royal hand.
Climb onto his throne, now you are his successor–
and long live Henry, fourth king of that name!
BOLINGBROKE.
In God's name, I'll ascend the regal throne.
In the name of God, I will take the royal throne.
CARLISLE.
Marry, God forbid!
Worst in this royal presence may I speak,
Yet best beseeming me to speak the truth.
Would God that any in this noble presence
Were enough noble to be upright judge
Of noble Richard! Then true noblesse would
Learn him forbearance from so foul a wrong.
What subject can give sentence on his king?
And who sits here that is not Richard's subject?
Thieves are not judg'd but they are by to hear,
Although apparent guilt be seen in them;
And shall the figure of God's majesty,
His captain, steward, deputy elect,
Anointed, crowned, planted many years,
Be judg'd by subject and inferior breath,
And he himself not present? O, forfend it, God,
That in a Christian climate souls refin'd
Should show so heinous, black, obscene a deed!
I speak to subjects, and a subject speaks,
Stirr'd up by God, thus boldly for his king.
My Lord of Hereford here, whom you call king,
Is a foul traitor to proud Hereford's king;
And if you crown him, let me prophesy-
The blood of English shall manure the ground,
And future ages groan for this foul act;
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels,
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars
Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound;
Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny,
Shall here inhabit, and this land be call'd
The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls.
O, if you raise this house against this house,
It will the woefullest division prove
That ever fell upon this cursed earth.
Prevent it, resist it, let it not be so,
Lest child, child's children, cry against you woe.
No, God forbid!
Although I may be the lowest ranked person here,
I may be the most suitable to tell the truth.
I wish to God that there was anyone in this noble gathering
who was noble enough to be a fair judge
of noble Richard! Then true nobility would
show him not to commit such a terrible wrong.
What subject can pass sentence on his king?
And who is there here who is not Richard's subject?
Even thieves aren't judged when they are absent,
however guilty they appear,
so will the representative of God's majesty,
his captain, steward, chosen deputy,
anointed, crowned, in office for many years,
be judged by his subjects and the words of his inferiors,
when he himself is not present? Oh forbid it, God,
don't let these refined souls in a Christian country
do such a hateful, black, obscene deed!
I am a subject, speaking to subjects,
inspired by God to speak out for his king.
My Lord of Hereford here, whom you call King,
is a foul traitor to the proud king of Hereford,
and if you crown him, this is what I predict:
the blood of the English will fertilise the ground,
and future times will suffer for this foul act,
peace will find its place with Turks and infidels,
and, in this home of peace, terrible wars
will set brother against brother, countryman against countryman.
Disorder, horror, fear and mutiny
will live here, and this land shall be called
the plain of Golgotha, covered in dead men's skulls.
Oh, if you raise this family above that one
that will prove to be the deadliest division
that ever fell upon this cursed earth.
Prevent it, resist it, don't do it,
otherwise your children and your grandchildren will cry out against you in sorrow.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
Well have you argued, sir; and, for your pains,
Of capital treason we arrest you here.
My Lord of Westminster, be it your charge
To keep him safely till his day of trial.
May it please you, lords, to grant the commons' suit?
You have argued well, sir; and, for your efforts,
I arrest you on a charge of capital treason.
My Lord of Westminster, make it your duty
to keep him safe until the day of his trial.
Do you agree, my lords, to grant the request of the Commons?
BOLINGBROKE.
Fetch hither Richard, that in common view
He may surrender; so we shall proceed
Without suspicion.
Bring Richard here, so that he can surrender
in open view; that way we can proceed
without any suspicion.
YORK.
I will be his conduct.
I shall bring him here.
Exit
BOLINGBROKE.
Lords, you that here are under our arrest,
Procure your sureties for your days of answer.
Little are we beholding to your love,
And little look'd for at your helping hands.
Lords, you who are here under my arrest,
find your bail against the day of your trial.
I owe little to your love,
and I didn't ask you for much help.
Re-enter YORK, with KING RICHARD, and OFFICERS
bearing the regalia
KING RICHARD.
Alack, why am I sent for to a king,
Before I have shook off the regal thoughts
Wherewith I reign'd? I hardly yet have learn'd
To insinuate, flatter, bow, and bend my knee.
Give sorrow leave awhile to tutor me
To this submission. Yet I well remember
The favours of these men. Were they not mine?
Did they not sometime cry 'All hail!' to me?
So Judas did to Christ; but he, in twelve,
Found truth in all but one; I, in twelve thousand, none.
God save the King! Will no man say amen?
Am I both priest and clerk? Well then, amen.
God save the King! although I be not he;
And yet, amen, if heaven do think him me.
To do what service am I sent for hither?
Alas, why have I been summoned by a King
before I have thrown off the royal habits
I had when I ruled? I have hardly learned yet
to manoeuvre, flatter, bow, and bend my knee.
Give sorrow time to teach me how to
be so submissive. But I clearly remember
the faces of these men. Weren't they mine?
Didn't they sometimes call out ‘We salute you!’ to me?
That's what Judas did to Christ; but out of twelve men
all but one were loyal to him; out of twelve thousand I don't have one.
God save the King! Will no man agree to that?
Do I have to be the priest and the responder? Well then, amen.
God save the King! Although I am not him;
and yet, amen, if heaven thinks I am.
What have you summoned me for?
YORK.
To do that office of thine own good will
Which tired majesty did make thee offer-
The resignation of thy state and crown
To Henry Bolingbroke.
To willingly perform the task which you
offered through your royal exhaustion–
tohand over your country and your crown
to Henry Bolingbroke.
KING RICHARD.
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown.
Here, cousin,
On this side my hand, and on that side thine.
Now is this golden crown like a deep well
That owes two buckets, filling one another;
The emptier ever dancing in the air,
The other down, unseen, and full of water.
That bucket down and full of tears am I,
Drinking my griefs, whilst you mount up on high.
Give me the crown. Here, cousin, take the crown.
Here, cousin,
my hand is on this side, yours on that.
Now this golden crown is like a deep well
that has two buckets, filling each other;
the empty one always swinging in the air,
the other low down, unseen, and full of water.
I am the lower bucket, full of tears,
drowning in grief, while you climb up high.
BOLINGBROKE.
I thought you had been willing to resign.
I thought you were willing to resign.
KING RICHARD.
My crown I am; but still my griefs are mine.
You may my glories and my state depose,
But not my griefs; still am I king of those.
Yes, to resign my crown; but my sorrows are still mine.
You may overthrow my glory and my position,
but not my sorrows; I'm still king of those.
BOLINGBROKE.
Part of your cares you give me with your crown.
You hand some of your cares to me with your crown.
KING RICHARD.
Your cares set up do not pluck my cares down.
My care is loss of care, by old care done;
Your care is gain of care, by new care won.
The cares I give I have, though given away;
They tend the crown, yet still with me they stay.
You taking on cares does not take them from me.
My sorrow is that I have lost care by finishing with old cares;
your sorrow is that you've gained care, being loaded with new cares.
The cares I give away still stay with me;
they go with the crown, but they stay with me.
BOLINGBROKE.
Are you contented to resign the crown?
Are you content to resign the crown?
KING RICHARD.
Ay, no; no, ay; for I must nothing be;
Therefore no no, for I resign to thee.
Now mark me how I will undo myself:
I give this heavy weight from off my head,
And this unwieldy sceptre from my hand,
The pride of kingly sway from out my heart;
With mine own tears I wash away my balm,
With mine own hands I give away my crown,
With mine own tongue deny my sacred state,
With mine own breath release all duteous oaths;
All pomp and majesty I do forswear;
My manors, rents, revenues, I forgo;
My acts, decrees, and statutes, I deny.
God pardon all oaths that are broke to me!
God keep all vows unbroke are made to thee!
Make me, that nothing have, with nothing griev'd,
And thou with all pleas'd, that hast an achiev'd.
Long mayst thou live in Richard's seat to sit,
And soon lie Richard in an earthly pit.
God save King Henry, unking'd Richard says,
And send him many years of sunshine days!
What more remains?
Yes, no; no, yes; for I must be nothing;
therefore no ' no', for I resign to you.
Now, see how I undermine myself.
I give you this heavy weight from off my head,
and this clumsy sceptre from my hand,
the pride of royal power from out of my heart;
I wash away the anointing oil with my tears,
with my own hands I give you my crown,
with my own tongue I reject my holy position,
with my own breath I release all who have sworn oaths to me;
I give up all ceremony and majesty;
I give up my manors, rents and revenues;
I reject all my acts, decrees and statutes.
May God pardon all the promises to me that have been broken,
and keep all the promises that are made to you unbroken!
Make me, who has nothing, be grieved with nothing,
and may you who has won everything be pleased with everything.
May you live long sitting in Richard's seat,
and soon bury Richard in his grave.
God save King Henry, no longer king Richard says,
and give him many years of sunny days!
What is left?
NORTHUMBERLAND.
No more; but that you read
These accusations, and these grievous cr
imes
Committed by your person and your followers
Against the state and profit of this land;
That, by confessing them, the souls of men
May deem that you are worthily depos'd.
That's enough; all you need to do now is read out
these accusations, these grievous crimes
committed by you and your followers
against the state and best interest of this land;
so that men, hearing you confess to them
can judge that you are rightly overthrown.
KING RICHARD.
Must I do so? And must I ravel out
My weav'd-up follies? Gentle Northumberland,
If thy offences were upon record,
Would it not shame thee in so fair a troop
To read a lecture of them? If thou wouldst,
There shouldst thou find one heinous article,
Containing the deposing of a king
And cracking the strong warrant of an oath,
Mark'd with a blot, damn'd in the book of heaven.
Nay, all of you that stand and look upon me
Whilst that my wretchedness doth bait myself,
Though some of you, with Pilate, wash your hands,
Showing an outward pity-yet you Pilates
Have here deliver'd me to my sour cross,
And water cannot wash away your sin.
Do I have to? And must I unravel
all my intertwined foolishness? Sweet Northumberland,
if everything you've done wrong was written down,
wouldn't you be ashamed to read them out
in such fair company? If you did
you would find one awful item there
concerning the overthrow of a king
and the breaking of a strong oath,
marked with a blot, damned in the book of heaven.
No, all of you who stand looking at me
as I am tormented with my wretchedness,
although some of you, like Pilate, wash your hands
and pretend to show pity–yet you Pilates
have delivered me to my bitter cross,
and water cannot wash away your sins.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
My lord, dispatch; read o'er these
articles.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) Page 31