King Philip's Camp.
 Enter CONSTANCE, ARTHUR, and SALISBURY.

Constance	Gone to be married? Gone to swear a peace?
	False blood to false blood joined? Gone to be friends?
	Shall Lewis have Blanche, and Blanche those provinces?
	It is not so; thou hast misspoke, misheard;
	Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again.
	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.
	Thou shalt be punished for thus frighting me,
	For I am sick and capable of fears;
	Oppressed 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
	With my vexed 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?
	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.

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
	As doth the fury of two desperate men
	Which in the very meeting fall, and die.
	Lewis marry Blanche?
			[To ARTHUR.]	O boy, then where art thou?
	France friend with England -  what becomes of me?
	Fellow, be gone; I cannot brook thy sight:
	This news hath made thee a most ugly man.

Salisbury	What other harm have I, good lady, done,
	But spoke the harm that is by others done?

Constance	Which harm within itself so heinous is
	As it makes harmful all that speak of it.

Arthur	I do beseech you, madam, be content.

Constance	If thou, that bidd'st me be content, wert grim,
	Ugly, and sland'rous to thy mother's womb,
	Full of unpleasing blots and sightless stains,
	Lame, foolish, crooked, swart, prodigious,
	Patched with foul moles and eye-offending marks,
	I would not care, I then would be content,
	For then I should not love thee, no, nor thou
	Become thy great birth, nor deserve a crown.
	But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy,
	Nature and fortune joined to make thee great:
	Of Nature's gifts thou mayst with lilies boast
	And with the half-blown rose. But fortune, O,
	She is corrupted, changed, and won from thee;
	Sh' adulterates hourly with thine uncle John,
	And with her golden hand hath plucked on France
	To tread down fair respect of sovereignty,
	And made his majesty the bawd to theirs.
	France is a bawd to fortune and King John-
	That strumpet fortune, that usurping John!
	Tell me, thou fellow, is not France forsworn?
	Envenom him with words, or get thee gone
	And leave those woes alone which I alone
	Am bound to underbear.

Salisbury								Pardon me, madam,
	I may not go without you to the kings.

Constance	Thou mayst, thou shalt; I will not go with thee.
	I will instruct my sorrows to be proud,
	For grief is proud and makes his owner stoop.
													[Sits down on the ground.
	To me and to the state of my great grief
	Let kings assemble; for my grief's so great
	That no supporter but the huge firm earth
	Can hold it up: here I and sorrows sit,
	Here is my throne; bid kings come bow to it.
													[Exit SALISBURY.

                         [+ + + + + +  Scene 2.]

        Enter KING JOHN, KING PHILIP of France, DAUPHIN, BLANCHE,
                ELEANOR, Philip the BASTARD, and AUSTRIA.

King Philip	'Tis true, fair daughter, and this blessd day
	Ever in France shall be kept festival.
	To solemnize this day the glorious sun
	Stays in his course and plays the alchemist,
	Turning with splendour of his precious eye
	The meagre cloddy earth to glittering gold.
	The yearly course that brings this day about
	Shall never see it but a holy day.

Constance	[Rising.] A wicked day, and not a holy day!
	What hath this day deserved? What hath it done
	That it in golden letters should be set
	Among the high tides in the calendar?
	Nay, rather turn this day out of the week,
	This day of shame, oppression, perjury.
	Or, if it must stand still, let wives with child
	Pray that their burdens may not fall this day,
	Lest that their hopes prodigiously be crossed;
	But on this day let seamen fear no wrack;
	No bargains break that are not this day made;
	This day, all things begun come to ill end,
	Yea, faith itself to hollow falsehood change.

King Philip	By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause
	To curse the fair proceedings of this day.
	Have I not pawned to you my majesty?

Constance	You have beguiled me with a counterfeit
	Resembling majesty, which, being touched and tried,
	Proves valueless. You are forsworn, forsworn!
	You came in arms to spill mine enemies' blood,
	But now in arms you strengthen it with yours.
	The grappling vigour and rough frown of war
	Is cold in amity and painted peace,
	And our oppression hath made up this league.
	Arm, arm, you heavens, against these perjured kings;
	A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens;
	Let not the hours of this ungodly day
	Wear out the day in peace, but, ere sunset,
	Set armd discord 'twixt these perjured kings.
	Hear me, O, hear me.

Austria							Lady Constance, peace.

Constance	War, war! No peace: peace is to me a war.
	O Limoges, O Austria, thou dost shame
	That bloody spoil; thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward;
	Thou little valiant, great in villainy;
	Thou ever strong upon the stronger side;
	Thou Fortune's champion, that dost never fight
	But when her humorous ladyship is by
	To teach thee safety - thou art perjured too,
	And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thou,
	A ramping fool, to brag, and stamp, and swear,
	Upon my party! Thou cold-blooded slave,
	Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side,
	Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend
	Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength?
	And dost thou now fall over to my foes?
	Thou wear a lion's hide! Doff it for shame,
	And hang a calfskin on those recreant limbs.

Austria	O, that a man should speak those words to me!

Bastard	And hang a calfskin on those recreant limbs.

Austria	Thou dar'st not say so, villain, for thy life.

Bastard	And hang a calfskin on those recreant limbs.

King John	We like not this; thou dost forget thyself.

                             Enter PANDULPH.

King Philip	Here comes the holy legate of the Pope.

Pandulph	Hail, you anointed deputies of heaven.
	To thee, King John, my holy errand is.
	I Pandulph, of fair Milan cardinal,
	And from Pope Innocent the legate here,
	Do in his name religiously demand
	Why thou against the church, our holy mother,
	So wilfully dost spurn, and force perforce
	Keep Stephen Langton, chosen archbishop
	Of Canterbury, from that holy see?
	This, in our foresaid holy father's name,
	Pope Innocent, I do demand of thee.

King John	What earthy name to interrogatories
	Can taste the free breath of a sacred king?
	Thou canst not, cardinal, devise a name
	So slight, unworthy and ridiculous,
	To charge me to an answer, as the Pope.
	Tell him this tale; and from the mouth of England
	Add thus much more: that no Italian priest
	Shall tithe or toll in our dominions;
	But as we, under God, are supreme head,
	So, under him, that great supremacy
	Where we do reign, we will alone uphold,
	Without th' assistance of a mortal hand.
	So tell the Pope, all reverence set apart
	To him and his usurped authority.

King Philip	Brother of England, you blaspheme in this.

King John	Though you and all the kings of Christendom
	Are led so grossly by this meddling priest,
	Dreading the curse that money may buy out,
	And, by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust,
	Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
	Who in that sale sells pardon from himself;
	Though you and all the rest so grossly led
	This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish,
	Yet I alone, alone do me oppose
	Against the Pope, and count his friends my foes.

Pandulph	Then, by the lawful power that I have,
	Thou shalt stand cursed and excommunicate;
	And blessd shall he be that doth revolt
	From his allegiance to an heretic;
	And meritorious shall that hand be called,
	Canonizd and worshipped as a saint,
	That takes away by any secret course
	Thy hateful life.

Constance							O, lawful let it be
	That I have room with Rome to curse awhile.
	Good father cardinal, cry thou amen
	To my keen curses, for without my wrong
	There is no tongue hath power to curse him right.

Pandulph	There's law and warrant, lady, for my curse.

Constance	And for mine too. When law can do no right
	Let it be lawful that law bar no wrong.
	Law cannot give my child his kingdom here,
	For he that holds his kingdom holds the law;
	Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong,
	How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?

Pandulph	Philip of France, on peril of a curse,
	Let go the hand of that arch-heretic,
	And raise the power of France upon his head,
	Unless he do submit himself to Rome.

Eleanor	Look'st thou pale, France? Do not let go thy hand.

Constance	Look to that, devil, lest that France repent,
	And by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul.

Austria	King Philip, listen to the cardinal.

Bastard	And hang a calfskin on his recreant limbs.

Austria	Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs,
	Because-

Bastard				Your breeches best may carry them.

King John	Philip, what sayst thou to the cardinal?

Constance	What should he say, but as the cardinal?

Dauphin	Bethink you, father, for the difference
	Is purchase of a heavy curse from Rome,
	Or the light loss of England for a friend:
	Forego the easier.

Blanche						That's the curse of Rome.

Constance	O Lewis, stand fast. The devil tempts thee here,
	In likeness of a new untrimmd bride.

Blanche	The Lady Constance speaks not from her faith,
	But from her need.

Constance							O, if thou grant my need,
	Which only lives but by the death of faith,
	That need must needs infer this principle:
	That faith would live again by death of need.
	O, then tread down my need, and faith mounts up;
	Keep my need up, and faith is trodden down.

King John	The king is moved, and answers not to this.

Constance	O, be removed from him, and answer well!

Austria	Do so, King Philip; hang no more in doubt.

Bastard	Hang nothing but a calfskin, most sweet lout.

King Philip	I am perplexed, and know not what to say.

Pandulph	What canst thou say but will perplex thee more,
	If thou stand excommunicate and cursed?

King Philip	Good reverend father, make my person yours,
	And tell me how you would bestow yourself.
	This royal hand and mine are newly knit,
	And the conjunction of our inward souls
	Married in league, coupled and linked together
	With all religious strength of sacred vows;
	The latest breath that gave the sound of words
	Was deep-sworn faith, peace, amity, true love,
	Between our kingdoms and our royal selves.
	And even before this truce, but new before,
	No longer than we well could wash our hands
	To clap this royal bargain up of peace,
	Heaven knows, they were besmeared and overstained
	With slaughter's pencil, where revenge did paint
	The fearful difference of incensd kings:
	And shall these hands, so lately purged of blood,
	So newly joined in love, so strong in both,
	Unyoke this seizure and this kind regreet,
	Play fast and loose with faith, so jest with heaven,
	Make such unconstant children of ourselves,
	As now again to snatch our palm from palm,
	Unswear faith sworn, and on the marriage-bed
	Of smiling peace to march a bloody host,
	And make a riot on the gentle brow
	Of true sincerity? O, holy sir,
	My reverend father, let it not be so;
	Out of your grace, devise, ordain, impose
	Some gentle order, and then we shall be blest
	To do your pleasure and continue friends.

Pandulph	All form is formless, order orderless,
	Save what is opposite to England's love.
	Therefore to arms! Be champion of our church,
	Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse,
	A mother's curse, on her revolting son.
	France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue,
	A chafd lion by the mortal paw,
	A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
	Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.

King Philip	I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith.

Pandulph	So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith,
	And like a civil war sett'st oath to oath,
	Thy tongue against thy tongue. O, let thy vow
	First made to heaven, first be to heaven performed;
	That is, to be the champion of our church.
	What since thou swor'st is sworn against thyself,
	And may not be performd by thyself;
	For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss
	Is not amiss 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 mistook
	Is to mistake again; though indirect,
	Yet indirection thereby grows direct,
	And falsehood falsehood cures, as fire cools fire
	Within the scorchd veins of one new-burned.
	It is religion that doth make vows kept,
	But thou hast sworn against religion
	By what thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st,
	And mak'st an oath the surety for thy truth.
	Against an oath the truth thou art unsure
	To swear swears only not to be forsworn;
	Else what a mockery should it be to swear!
	But thou dost swear only to be forsworn;
	And most forsworn to keep what thou dost swear.
	Therefore thy later vows against thy first
	Is in thyself rebellion to thyself;
	And better conquest never canst thou make
	Than arm thy constant and thy nobler parts
	Against these giddy loose suggestions;
	Upon which better part our prayers come in,
	If thou vouchsafe them. But if not, then know
	The peril of our curses light on thee
	So heavy as thou shalt not shake them off,
	But in despair die under their black weight.

Austria	Rebellion, flat rebellion!

Bastard									Will't not be?
	Will not a calfskin stop that mouth of thine?

Dauphin	Father, to arms!

Blanche						Upon thy wedding-day?
	Against the blood that thou hast marrid?
	What, shall our feast be kept with slaughtered men?
	Shall braying trumpets and loud churlish drums,
	Clamours of hell, be measures to our pomp?
	O husband, hear me! Ay, alack, how new
	Is 'husband' in my mouth! Even 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.

Constance							O, upon my knee,
	Made hard with kneeling, I do pray to thee,
	Thou virtuous Dauphin, alter not the doom
	Forethought by heaven.

Blanche	Now shall I see thy love: what motive may
	Be stronger with thee than the name of wife?

Constance	That which upholdeth him that thee upholds,
	His honour. O, thine honour, Lewis, thine honour!

Dauphin	I muse your majesty doth seem so cold,
	When such profound respects do pull you on.

Pandulph	I will denounce a curse upon his head.

King Philip	Thou shalt not need. England, I will fall from thee.

Constance	O fair return of banished majesty!

Eleanor	O foul revolt of French inconstancy!

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

Bastard	Old Time the clock-setter, that bald sexton Time,
	Is it as he will? Well then, France shall rue.

Blanche	The sun's o'ercast with blood: fair day, adieu!
	Which is the side 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 asunder and dismember me.
	Husband, I cannot pray that thou mayst win;
	Uncle, I needs must pray that thou mayst lose;
	Father, I may not wish the fortune thine;
	Grandam, I will not wish thy wishes thrive.
	Whoever wins, on that side shall I lose;
	Assurd loss before the match be played.

Dauphin	Lady, with me; with me thy fortune lies.

Blanche	There where my fortune lives, there my life dies.

King John	Cousin, go draw our puissance together.
													[Exit BASTARD.
	France, I am burned up with inflaming wrath;
	A rage whose heat hath this condition:
	That nothing can allay, nothing but blood,
	The blood, and dearest-valued blood of France.

King Philip	Thy rage shall burn thee up and thou shalt turn
	To ashes, ere our blood shall quench that fire.
	Look to thyself, thou art in jeopardy.

King John	No more than he that threats. To arms let's hie!
													[Exeunt.
