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Act 2, Scene 1
Henry V Translation Act 2, Scene 2
Enter EXETER, BEDFORD, and WESTMORELAND
BEDFORD
'Fore God, his grace is bold to trust these traitors.
BEDFORD
By God, the king is brave to trust these traitors.
EXETER
They shall be apprehended by and by.
EXETER
They will be arrested soon.
WESTMORELAND
How smooth and even they do bear themselves, As if allegiance in their bosoms sat Crownèd with faith and constant loyalty.
WESTMORELAND
They're acting so calmly, as if Patriotism sat in their hearts crowned with faithfulness and loyalty.
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BEDFORD
The king hath note of all that they intend,By interception which they dream not of.
BEDFORD
They have no idea that the king found out what they mean to do, or how he did it.
EXETER
Nay, but the man that was his bedfellow, Whom he hath dulled and cloyed with gracious favors— That he should, for a foreign purse, so sell His sovereign’s life to death and treachery!
EXETER
Even the man who used to share a bed with him and who received so many gifts from him—how could he traitorously sell out his king for foreign money?
Trumpets sound. Enter KING HENRY, SCROOP, CAMBRIDGE, GREY, and attendants
KING HENRY
Now sits the wind fair, and we will aboard. —My Lord of Cambridge, and my kind Lord of Masham, And you, my gentle knight, give me your thoughts. Think you not that the powers we bear with us Will cut their passage through the force of France, Doing the execution and the act For which we have in head assembled them?
KING HENRY
Now the wind is blowing in the right direction so we'll board our ships. My lord of Cambridge and my kind Lord of Masham, and you, my dear knight, tell me your thoughts. Don't you think the troops I'm bringing with me will cut their way through the French army, doing exactly what I assembled them here to do?
SCROOP
No doubt, my liege, if each man do his best.
SCROOP
No doubt, my king, if each man does his best.
KING HENRY
I doubt not that, since we are well-persuaded We carry not a heart with us from hence That grows not in a fair consent with ours, Nor leave not one behind that doth not wish Success and conquest to attend on us.
KING HENRY
I don't doubt that, since we all believe we're not bringing a single heart with us that doesn't wish the same thing we do. Nor do we leave a single one behind that doesn't want us to win.
CAMBRIDGE
Never was monarch better feared and loved Than is your Majesty. There’s not, I think, a subject That sits in heart-grief and uneasiness Under the sweet shade of your government.
CAMBRIDGE
No monarch was ever more feared and loved than you, your majesty. I don't think there's a single subject who sits sad or uneasy under the cool shade of your government.
GREY
True. Those that were your father’s enemies Have steeped their galls in honey, and do serve you With hearts create of duty and of zeal.
GREY
True. Those who were your father's enemies have become friends, and obey you with hearts full of duty and eagerness.
KING HENRY
We therefore have great cause of thankfulness And shall forget the office of our hand Sooner than quittance of desert and merit According to the weight and worthiness.
KING HENRY
That's why I have so much reason to be thankful and would sooner forget what my own hand did than forget to give everyone exactly what they deserved.
SCROOP
So service shall with steelèd sinews toil, And labor shall refresh itself with hope To do your Grace incessant services.
SCROOP
So those working for you will work even harder, and fuel themselves with the hope to be able to do you constant services.
KING HENRY
We judge no less.— Uncle of Exeter, Enlarge the man committed yesterday That railed against our person. We consider It was excess of wine that set him on, And on his more advice we pardon him.
KING HENRY
I think so too. [To EXETER] Uncle Exeter, free the man arrested yesterday for complaining about me. I think it was too much wine that made him do it, and I pardon him now he's had time to think.
SCROOP
That’s mercy, but too much security. Let him be punished, sovereign, lest example Breed, by his sufferance, more of such a kind.
SCROOP
That's mercy, but you're too confident. Punish him so that other people won't follow his example, when they see you let him go.
KING HENRY
Oh, let us yet be merciful.
KING HENRY
Oh, let me be merciful.
CAMBRIDGE
So may Your Highness, and yet punish, too.
CAMBRIDGE
You can be, but you should also punish.
GREY
Sir, you show great mercy if you give him lifeAfter the taste of much correction.
GREY
Sir, you would show great mercy by allowing him to live after punishing him terribly.
KING HENRY
Alas, your too much love and care of me Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch. If little faults proceeding on distemper Shall not be winked at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chewed, swallowed, and digested, Appear before us? We’ll yet enlarge that man, Though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, in their dear care And tender preservation of our person, Would have him punished. And now to our French causes. Who are the late commissioners?
KING HENRY
You love and care for me too much, and that makes you speak against this poor man. If small faults that come from drunkenness are not forgiven, how unmerciful will I have to be when I judge capital crimes planned in cold blood? I'll let that man go anyway, even though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, with all their care and sweet concern for me, want him punished. Now, to the French business. Who was recently given a commission?
CAMBRIDGE
I one, my lord.Your Highness bade me ask for it today.
CAMBRIDGE
I was, my lord. You told me to ask for that today.
SCROOP
So did you me, my liege.
SCROOP
And you told me the same, my king.
GREY
And I, my royal sovereign.
GREY
And me, my royal king.
KING HENRY
Then, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, there is yours. —There yours, Lord Scroop of Masham. —And, sir knight, Grey of Northumberland, this same is yours. [gives each of them a paper] —Read them, and know I know your worthiness. —My Lord of Westmoreland and uncle Exeter, We will aboard tonight. —Why, how now, gentlemen? What see you in those papers, that you lose So much complexion? —Look you, how they change. Their cheeks are paper. —Why, what read you there That have so cowarded and chased your blood Out of appearance?
KING HENRY
Then, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, there's yours. [Gives him a paper] There's yours, Lord Scroop of Masham.[Gives him a paper] And, sir, Grey of Northumberland, this one is yours. [Gives him a paper] Read them, and know that I know what you deserve.
[To WESTMORELAND and EXETER] My lord of Westmoreland and uncle Exeter, we'll board our ships tonight.
[To CAMBRIDGE, SCROOP and NORTHUMBERLAND]What is it, gentlemen? What do you see on those papers that makes you look so pale?
[To WESTMORELAND and EXETER] Look how pale they are. Their cheeks are as white as paper.
[To CAMBRIDGE, SCROOP and EXETER] What do you read there that made your blood a coward and chased it away?
CAMBRIDGE
I do confess my fault,And do submit me to Your Highness' mercy.
CAMBRIDGE
I confess my crime and beg Your Highness's mercy.
GREY, SCROOP
To which we all appeal.
GREY, SCROOP
We all appeal to it.
KING HENRY
The mercy that was quick in us but late By your own counsel is suppressed and killed. You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy, For your own reasons turn into your bosoms, As dogs upon their masters, worrying you. —See you, my princes and my noble peers, These English monsters. My Lord of Cambridge here, You know how apt our love was to accord To furnish him with all appurtenants Belonging to his honor, and this man Hath, for a few light crowns, lightly conspired, And sworn unto the practices of France, To kill us here in Hampton; to the which This knight, no less for bounty bound to us Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn. —But Oh, What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop, thou cruel, Ingrateful, savage, and inhuman creature? Thou that didst bear the key of all my counsels, That knew’st the very bottom of my soul, That almost mightst have coined me into gold, Wouldst thou have practiced on me for thy use— May it be possible that foreign hire Could out of thee extract one spark of evil That might annoy my finger? 'Tis so strange That, though the truth of it stands off as gross As black and white, my eye will scarcely see it. Treason and murder ever kept together As two yoke-devils sworn to either’s purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause That admiration did not whoop at them. But thou, 'gainst all proportion, didst bring in Wonder to wait on treason and on murder, And whatsoever cunning fiend it was That wrought upon thee so preposterously Hath got the voice in hell for excellence. All other devils that suggest by treasons Do botch and bungle up damnation With patches, colors, and with forms being fetched From glist'ring semblances of piety. But he that tempered thee bade thee stand up, Gave thee no instance why thou shouldst do treason, Unless to dub thee with the name of traitor. If that same demon that hath gulled thee thus Should with his lion gait walk the whole world, He might return to vasty Tartar back And tell the legions “I can never win A soul so easy as that Englishman’s.” Oh, how hast thou with jealousy infected The sweetness of affiance! Show men dutiful? Why, so didst thou. Seem they grave and learnèd? Why, so didst thou. Come they of noble family? Why, so didst thou. Seem they religious? Why, so didst thou. Or are they spare in diet, Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger, Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood, Garnished and decked in modest complement, Not working with the eye without the ear, And but in purgèd judgment trusting neither? Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem. And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot To mark the full-fraught man and best endued With some suspicion. I will weep for thee, For this revolt of thine methinks is like Another fall of man. —Their faults are open. Arrest them to the answer of the law, And God acquit them of their practices.
KING HENRY
According to your own advice, the mercy that was alive in me lately has been suppressed and killed. Shame on you! You shouldn't dare to talk about mercy because your own arguments turn on you like dogs turning on their masters and attack you.
[To others] My princes and noblemen, look at these English monsters. See the Lord of Cambridge: you know how quick I was to give him everything that his honor deserved, and for a few light coins this man lightly plotted and swore to do what France wanted and kill me here in Hampton. Which this knight, who owes me no less than Cambridge does for everything I've given him, has also sworn to do.
[To SCROOP, CAMBRIDGE and NORTHUMBERLAND] But oh, what will I say to you, Lord Scroop, you cruel, ungrateful, savage, and inhuman animal? I always went to you for advice, you knew me to the bottom of my soul, I was so generous to you that you could almost have sold me to get money if you needed to, would you have betrayed me for profit? Could it be possible that foreign money drew one spark of evil out of you to harm even my finger? It's so strange that even though the truth of these accusations is as clear as black and white, I can hardly see it. Treason and Murder always walked like two devils chained together, each promising to help the other, working so naturally together that it's not strange to see them like that. But you, against all reason, brought Amazement in to serve Treason and Murder. Whatever clever devil it was that convinced you do this strange thing has been voted the most excellent one in hell. All other devils that get people to commit treason botch up and bungle damnation by painting on it patches and colors and forms that suggest the glittering appearance of virtue. But the one who convinced you to stand up and do it gave you no reason why you should engage in treason—unless it's that you wanted to be called a traitor. Even if that same devil that made a fool of you this way walked like a lion across the whole world, he would come back to Hell and tell the mob, "I can never win another soul as easily as that Englishman's". Oh, you've infected sweet friendship with jealousy! Do men seem like they do their duty? So did you. Do they seem serious and wise? So did you. Do they come from noble families? So did you. Do they seem religious? So did you. Do they eat moderately, avoid intense emotions, act consistently, dress modestly, not let appearances deceive them, and only trust their eyes and ears when their brains tell them to? You seemed to have exactly those good qualities. And so your downfall has left a blot to mark the most virtuous man as suspicious. I will cry for you, and this rebellion of yours feels like another Fall of man.
[To EXETER] Their crimes are revealed. Arrest them so the law can deal with them, and may God forgive them.
EXETER
I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Richard, Earl of Cambridge. —I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Henry, Lord Scroop of Masham. —I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland.
EXETER
I arrest you of high treason, Richard, Earl of Cambridge. I arrest you of high treason, Henry, Lord Scroop of Masham. I arrest you of high treason, Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland.
SCROOP
Our purposes God justly hath discovered, And I repent my fault more than my death, Which I beseech Your Highness to forgive, Although my body pay the price of it.
SCROOP
God has justly revealed our plots and I repent my crime more than my death. I beg Your Highness to forgive it, although my body will pay the price of it.
CAMBRIDGE
For me, the gold of France did not seduce, Although I did admit it as a motive The sooner to effect what I intended; But God be thankèd for prevention, Which I in sufferance heartily will rejoice, Beseeching God and you to pardon me.
CAMBRIDGE
The French gold didn't seduce me, although I took it as an excuse to do what I wanted sooner. But may God be thanked for preventing us from acting. I will be happy about that while being tortured, asking God and you to pardon me.
GREY
Never did faithful subject more rejoice At the discovery of most dangerous treason Than I do at this hour joy o'er myself, Prevented from a damnèd enterprise. My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign.
GREY
No faithful subject was more joyful at the discovery of dangerous treason than I now am joyful that I was prevented from a damned action. Pardon my crime, not my body, king.
KING HENRY
God quit you in His mercy. Hear your sentence: You have conspired against our royal person, Joined with an enemy proclaimed, and from his coffers Received the golden earnest of our death, Wherein you would have sold your king to slaughter, His princes and his peers to servitude, His subjects to oppression and contempt, And his whole kingdom into desolation. Touching our person, seek we no revenge, But we our kingdom’s safety must so tender, Whose ruin you have sought, that to her laws We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence, Poor miserable wretches, to your death, The taste whereof God of His mercy give You patience to endure, and true repentance Of all your dear offences. —Bear them hence.
KING HENRY
May God be merciful on you. Hear your sentence: you plotted against me, joined with a declared enemy, and from him received money to kill me. You would have sold your king to death, his princes and nobles to slavery, his subjects to oppression and hatred, and his whole kingdom to destruction. I don't look for revenge for myself, but I have to take care of the safety of my kingdom, which you wanted to ruin. So I deliver you over to its laws. Go to your deaths, poor miserable men. May God in His mercy give you patience to bear it, and true repentance for all your terrible sins.
[To guards] Take them away.
Exeunt CAMBRIDGE, SCROOP, and GREY, guarded
Now, lords, for France, the enterprise whereof Shall be to you as us, like glorious. We doubt not of a fair and lucky war, Since God so graciously hath brought to light This dangerous treason lurking in our way To hinder our beginnings. We doubt not now But every rub is smoothèd on our way. Then forth, dear countrymen. Let us deliver Our puissance into the hand of God, Putting it straight in expedition. Cheerly to sea. The signs of war advance. No king of England if not king of France.
Now, lords, let's go to France, where you and I will win glory. I don't doubt it will be a beautiful and lucky war, since God so kindly has brought this terrible treason to light that was lurking in our way to stop us before we could begin. I don't doubt that every impediment has been removed from our journey. So, dear countrymen, let's go. Let's put our war into God's hands, and leave immediately. Let's go cheerfully to sea. The war-flags are advancing. I'm no king of England if not also a king of France.
Exeunt
