That daughter there of Spain, the Lady Blanche,
Is near to England: look upon the years
Of Lewis the Dolphin and that lovely maid:
425
If lusty love should go in quest of beauty,
Where should he find it fairer than in Blanche?
If zealous love should go in search of virtue,
Where should he find it purer than in Blanche?
If love ambitious sought a match of birth,
430
Whose veins bound richer blood than Lady Blanche?
Such as she is, in beauty, virtue, birth,
Is the young Dolphin every way complete:
If not complete of, say he is not she;
And she again wants nothing, to name want,
435
If want it be not that she is not he:
He is the half part of a blessed man,
Left to be finished by such as she;
And she a fair divided excellence,
Whose fulness of perfection lies in him.
440
O, two such silver currents, when they join,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in;
And two such shores, to two such streams made one,
Two such controlling bounds shall you be, kings,
To these two princes, if you marry them.
445
This union shall do more than battery can
To our fast-closed gates; for at this match,
With swifter spleen than powder can enforce,
The mouth of passage shall we fling wide ope,
And give you entrance: but without this match
450
The sea enraged is not half so deaf,
Lions more confident, mountains and rocks
More free from motion, no, not death himself
In mortal fury half so peremptory,
As we to keep this city.
BASTARD Here’s a stay
455
That shakes the rotten carcass of old death
Out of his rags! Here’s a large mouth indeed,
That spits forth death and mountains, rocks and seas,
Talks as familiarly of roaring lions
As maids of thirteen do of puppy-dogs!
460
What cannoneer begot this lusty blood?
He speaks plain cannon, fire, and smoke, and bounce;
He gives the bastinado with his tongue;
Our ears are cudgell’d; not a word of his
But buffets better than a fist of France.
465
Zounds! I was never so bethump’d with words
Since I first call’d my brother’s father dad.
ELEANOR
Son, list to this conjunction, make this match;
Give with our niece a dowry large enough:
For by this knot thou shalt so surely tie
470
Thy now unsur’d assurance to the crown,
That yon green boy shall have no sun to ripe
The bloom that promiseth a mighty fruit.
I see a yielding in the looks of France;
Mark, how they whisper: urge them while their souls
475
Are capable of this ambition,
Lest zeal, now melted by the windy breath
Of soft petitions, pity and remorse,
Cool and congeal again to what it was.
HUBERT Why answer not the double majesties
480
This friendly treaty of our threat’ned town?
KING PHILIP
Speak England first, that hath been forward first
To speak unto this city: what say you?
KING JOHN If that the Dolphin there, thy princely son,
Can in this book of beauty read ‘I love’,
485
Her dowry shall weigh equal with a queen:
For Anjou, and fair Touraine, Maine, Poictiers,
And all that we upon this side the sea –
Except this city now by us besieg’d –
Find liable to our crown and dignity,
490
Shall gild her bridal bed, and make her rich
In titles, honours and promotions,
As she in beauty, education, blood,
Holds hand with any princess of the world.
KING PHILIP
What say’st thou, boy? look in the lady’s face.
495
LEWIS I do, my lord; and in her eye I find
A wonder, or a wondrous miracle,
The shadow of myself form’d in her eye;
Which, being but the shadow of your son,
Becomes a sun and makes your son a shadow:
500
I do protest I never lov’d myself
Till now infixed I beheld myself
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye.
[Whispers with Blanche.]
BASTARD [aside]
Drawn in the flattering table of her eye!
Hang’d in the frowning wrinkle of her brow!
505
And quarter’d in her heart! he doth espy
Himself love’s traitor: this is pity now,
That, hang’d and drawn and quarter’d, there should be
In such a love so vile a lout as he!
BLANCHE [to Lewis]
My uncle’s will in this respect is mine:
510
If he see aught in you that makes him like,
That any thing he sees, which moves his liking,
I can with ease translate it to my will;
Or if you will, to speak more properly,
I will enforce it eas’ly to my love.
515
Further I will not flatter you, my lord,
That all I see in you is worthy love,
Than this: that nothing do I see in you,
Though churlish thoughts themselves should be your judge,
That I can find should merit any hate.
520
KING JOHN
What say these young ones? What say you, my niece?
BLANCHE That she is bound in honour still to do
What you in wisdom still vouchsafe to say.
KING JOHN
Speak then, prince Dolphin: can you love this lady?
LEWIS Nay, ask me if I can refrain from love;
525
For I do love her most unfeignedly.
KING JOHN
Then do I give Volquessen, Touraine, Maine,
Poictiers, and Anjou, these five provinces,
With her to thee; and this addition more,
Full thirty thousand marks of English coin.
530
Philip of France, if thou be pleas’d withal,
Command thy son and daughter to join hands.
KING PHILIP
It likes us well; young princes, close your hands.
AUSTRIA And your lips too; for I am well assur’d
That I did so when I was first assur’d.
535
KING PHILIP Now, citizens of Angiers, ope your gates,
Let in that amity which you have made;
For at Saint Mary’s chapel presently
The rites of marriage shall be solemniz’d.
Is not the Lady Constance in this troop?
540
I know she is not, for this match made up
Her presence would have interrupted much:
Where is she and her son? tell me, who knows.
LEWIS She is sad and passionate at your highness’ tent.
KING PHILIP
And, by my faith, this league that we have made
545
Will give her sadness very little cure.
Brother of England, how may we content
This widow lady? In her right we came;
Which we, God knows, have turn’d another way,
To our own vantage.
KING JOHN We will heal up all;
550
For we’ll create young Arthur Duke of Britain
And Earl of Richmond; and this rich fair town
We make him lord of. Call the Lady Constance;
Some speedy messenger bid her repair
To our solemnity: I trust we shall,
555
If not fill up the measure of her will,
Yet in some measure satisfy her so
That we shall stop her exclamation.
Go we, as well as haste will suffer us,
To this unlook’d for, unprepared pomp.
560
Exeunt all but the Bastard.
BASTARD Mad world! mad kings! mad composition!
John, to stop Arthur’s title in the whole,
Hath willingly departed with a part:
And France, whose armour conscience buckled on,
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field
565
As God’s own soldier, rounded in the ear
With that same purpose-changer, that sly divel,
That broker, that still breaks the pate of faith,
That daily break-vow, he that wins of all,
Of kings, of beggars, old men, young men, maids,
570
Who, having no external thing to lose
But the word ‘maid’, cheats the poor maid of that,
That smooth-fac’d gentleman, tickling commodity,
Commodity, the bias of the world,
The world, who of itself is peised well,
575
Made to run even upon even ground,
Till this advantage, this vile drawing bias,
This sway of motion, this commodity,
Makes it take head from all indifferency,
From all direction, purpose, course, intent:
580
And this same bias, this commodity,
This bawd, this broker, this all-changing word,
Clapp’d on the outward eye of fickle France,
Hath drawn him from his own determin’d aid,
From a resolv’d and honourable war,
585
To a most base and vile-concluded peace.
And why rail I on this commodity?
But for because he hath not woo’d me yet:
Not that I have the power to clutch my hand,
When his fair angels would salute my palm;
590
But for my hand, as unattempted yet,
Like a poor beggar, raileth on the rich.
Well, whiles I am a beggar, I will rail
And say there is no sin but to be rich;
And being rich, my virtue then shall be
595
To say there is no vice but beggary.
Since kings break faith upon commodity,
Gain, be my lord, for I will worship thee! Exit.
2.2 Enter CONSTANCE, ARTHUR and SALISBURY.
CONSTANCE
Gone to be married! gone to swear a peace!
False blood to false blood join’d! gone to be friends!
Shall Lewis have Blanche, and Blanche those
provinces?
It is not so; thou hast misspoke, misheard;
Be well advis’d, tell o’er thy tale again.
5
It cannot be; thou dost but say ’tis so.
I trust I may not trust thee, for thy word
Is but the vain breath of a common man;
Believe me, I do not believe thee, man:
I have a king’s oath to the contrary.
10
Thou shalt be punish’d for thus frighting me,
For I am sick and capable of fears,
Oppress’d with wrongs and therefore full of fears,
A widow, husbandless, subject to fears,
A woman, naturally born to fears;
And though thou now confess thou didst but jest
15
With my vex’d spirits I cannot take a truce,
But they will quake and tremble all this day.
What dost thou mean by shaking of thy head?
Why dost thou look so sadly on my son?
What means that hand upon that breast of thine?
20
Why holds thine eye that lamentable rheum,
Like a proud river peering o’er his bounds?
Be these sad signs confirmers of thy words?
Then speak again; not all thy former tale,
But this one word, whether thy tale be true.
25
SALISBURY As true as I believe you think them false
That give you cause to prove my saying true.
CONSTANCE O, if thou teach me to believe this sorrow,
Teach thou this sorrow how to make me die,
And let belief and life encounter so
30
As doth the fury of two desperate men
Which in the very meeting fall, and die.
The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works Page 265
