FIRST MURDERER ‘Swounds, ’tis even now at my elbow, persuading me not to kill the Duke.

SECOND MURDERER Take the devil in thy mind, and believe him not: he would insinuate with thee but to make thee sigh.

FIRST MURDERER I am strong framed; he cannot prevail with me.

SECOND MURDERER Spoke like a tall man that respects thy reputation. Come, shall we fall to work?

FIRST MURDERER Take him on the costard with the hilts of thy sword, and then throw him into the malmsey butt in the next room.

SECOND MURDERER O excellent device!—and make a sop of him.

FIRST MURDERER Soft, he wakes.

SECOND MURDERER Strike!

FIRST MURDERER No, we’ll reason with him.

CLARENCE

Where art thou, keeper? Give me a cup of wine.

SECOND MURDERER

You shall have wine enough, my lord, anon.

CLARENCE

In God’s name, what art thou?

FIRST MURDERER

A man, as you are.

CLARENCE But not as I am, royal.

FIRST MURDERER Nor you as we are, loyal.

CLARENCE

Thy voice is thunder, but thy looks are humble.

FIRST MURDERER

My voice is now the King’s; my looks, mine own.

CLARENCE

How darkly and how deadly dost thou speak.

Your eyes do menace me. Why look you pale?

Who sent you hither? Wherefore do you come?

SECOND MURDERER

To, to, to—

CLARENCE To murder me.

BOTH MURDERERS Ay, ay.

CLARENCE

You scarcely have the hearts to tell me so,

And therefore cannot have the hearts to do it.

Wherein, my friends, have I offended you?

FIRST MURDERER

Offended us you have not, but the King.

CLARENCE

I shall be reconciled to him again.

SECOND MURDERER

Never, my lord; therefore prepare to die.

CLARENCE

Are you drawn forth among a world of men

To slay the innocent? What is my offence?

Where is the evidence that doth accuse me?

What lawful quest have given their verdict up

Unto the frowning judge, or who pronounced

The bitter sentence of poor Clarence’ death?

Before I be convict by course of law,

To threaten me with death is most unlawful.

I charge you, as you hope to have redemption

By Christ’s dear blood, shed for our grievous sins,

That you depart and lay no hands on me.

The deed you undertake is damnable.

FIRST MURDERER

What we will do, we do upon command.

SECOND MURDERER

And he that hath commanded is our king.

CLARENCE

Erroneous vassals, the great King of Kings

Hath in the table of his law commanded

That thou shalt do no murder. Will you then

Spurn at his edict, and fulfil a man’s?

Take heed, for he holds vengeance in his hand

To hurl upon their heads that break his law.

SECOND MURDERER

And that same vengeance doth he hurl on thee,

For false forswearing, and for murder too.

Thou didst receive the sacrament to fight

In quarrel of the house of Lancaster.

FIRST MURDERER

And, like a traitor to the name of God,

Didst break that vow, and with thy treacherous blade

Unripped‘st the bowels of thy sov’reign’s son.

SECOND MURDERER

Whom thou wast sworn to cherish and defend.

FIRST MURDERER

How canst thou urge God’s dreadful law to us, When thou hast broke it in such dear degree?

CLARENCE

Alas, for whose sake did I that ill deed?

For Edward, for my brother, for his sake.

He sends ye not to murder me for this,

For in that sin he is as deep as I.

If God will be avenged for the deed,

O know you yet, he doth it publicly.

Take not the quarrel from his pow’rful arm;

He needs no indirect or lawless course

To cut off those that have offended him.

FIRST MURDERER

Who made thee then a bloody minister

When gallant springing brave Plantagenet,

That princely novice, was struck dead by thee?

CLARENCE

My brother’s love, the devil, and my rage.

FIRST MURDERER

Thy brother’s love, our duty, and thy faults

Provoke us hither now to slaughter thee.

CLARENCE

If you do love my brother, hate not me.

I am his brother, and I love him well.

If you are hired for meed, go back again,

And I will send you to my brother Gloucester,

Who shall reward you better for my life

Than Edward will for tidings of my death.

SECOND MURDERER

You are deceived. Your brother Gloucester hates you.

CLARENCE

O no, he loves me, and he holds me dear.

Go you to him from me.

FIRST MURDERER

Ay, so we will.

CLARENCE

Tell him, when that our princely father York

Blessed his three sons with his victorious arm,

And charged us from his soul to love each other,

He little thought of this divided friendship.

Bid Gloucester think of this, and he will weep.

FIRST MURDERER

Ay, millstones, as he lessoned us to weep.

CLARENCE

O do not slander him, for he is kind.

FIRST MURDERER

As snow in harvest. Come, you deceive yourself.

‘Tis he that sends us to destroy you here.

CLARENCE

It cannot be, for he bewept my fortune,

And hugged me in his arms, and swore with sobs

That he would labour my delivery.

FIRST MURDERER

Why, so he doth, when he delivers you

From this earth’s thraldom to the joys of heaven.

SECOND MURDERER

Make peace with God, for you must die, my lord.

CLARENCE

Have you that holy feeling in your souls

To counsel me to make my peace with God,

And are you yet to your own souls so blind

That you will war with God by murd’ring me?

O sirs, consider: they that set you on

To do this deed will hate you for the deed.

SECOND MURDERER (to First)

What shall we do?

CLARENCE

Relent, and save your souls.

FIRST MURDERER

Relent? No. ’Tis cowardly and womanish.

CLARENCE

Not to relent is beastly, savage, devilish.—