Aust.

Bast.

O, that a man should speak those words to me
And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs.
Thou dar'st not say so, villain, for thy life.

Aust.
Bast.

And hang a calf's-skin on those recreant limbs.
K. John. We like not this; thou dost forget thyself.

Enter PANDulph.

K. Phi. Here comes the holy legate of the pope.
Pand. 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.

K. John. What earthly 34 name to interrogatories

Can task 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 35 in our dominions;
But as we under heaven are supreme head,
So, under him, that great supremacy,
Where we do reign, we will alone uphold,
Without the assistance of a mortal hand:

So tell the pope; all reverence set apart

To him, and his usurp'd authority.

K. Phi. Brother of England, you blaspheme in this.

K. 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 vild gold, dross, dust,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,

34) earthly verbesserte Pope das earthy der Fol., und in der folgenden Zeile änderte Theobald das tast der Fol. in task um.

35) to tihe ist das Besondere, den Zehnten erheben, to toll das Allgemeinere,

oder Steuern jeder Art auflegen.

Abgaben

Who, in that sale, sells pardon from himself; 36
Though you, and all the rest, so grossly led,
This juggling witchcraft 37 with revenue cherish,
Yet I alone, alone 38 do me oppose

Against the pope, and count his friends my foes.

Pand. Then, by the lawful power that I have,
Thou shalt stand curs'd, and excommunicate. 39
And blessed shall he be that doth revolt
From his allegiance to an heretic;
And meritorious shall that hand be call'd,
Canonized, 40 and worshipp'd as a saint,
That takes away by any secret course
Thy hateful life.

That I have room with Rome 41 to curse a while.

Good father cardinal, cry thou amen

To my keen curses; for, without my wrong,

There is no tongue hath power to curse him right.

Pand. There 's law and warrant, lady, for my curse.
Const. 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?

Pand. 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.

Eli. Look'st thou pale, France? do not let go thy hand.
Const. Look to that, devil, lest that France repent,

And, by disjoining hands, hell lose a soul. 42

Aust. King Philip, listen to the cardinal.

36) Der Papst, indem er einen durch Bestechung zu gewinnenden Ablass verkauft, bringt sich durch diesen Verkauf um die Sündenverzeihung, deren er für sich selber bedarf. 37) witchcraft, ist hier das Papstthum selbst, eigentlich eine Hexenkunst, die auf Blend

werk beruht.

Sh. bildet die Participia der Verba auf ate häufig so.

to canonize betont Sh. bald auf der ersten, bald auf der zweiten Sylbe.

*1) Das Wortspiel zwischen room und Rome hat Sh. auch sonst; so in Julius Caesar

42)

(A. 1, Sc. 2) Now is it Rome indeed, and room enough.

der Teufel muss es verhüten, dass der König von Frankreich seine Hand abziehe von dem englischen Bündnisse, weil damit der Hölle die Seele verloren ginge, welche ihr durch den päpstlichen Bann:fluch verfallen muss.

Bast.

Aust. Because

And hang a calf's-skin on his recreant limbs.
Well, ruffian, I must pocket up these wrongs,

Bast. Your breeches best may carry them. 43

K. John. Philip, what say'st thou to the cardinal?
Const. What should he say, but as the cardinal?
Lew. 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. 44

Const. O Lewis, stand fast! the devil tempts thee here, In likeness of a new-uptrimmed 45 bride.

Blanch. The lady Constance speaks not from her faith, But from her need.

Const.

46

O! if thou grant my need,
Which only lives but by the death of faith,
That need must needs 47 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.

K. John. The king is mov'd, and answers not to this.
Const. O be remov'd 48 from him, and answer well.
Aust. Do so, king Philip: hang no more in doubt.
Bast. Hang nothing but a calf's-skin, most sweet lout.
K. Phi. I am perplex'd, and know not what to say.
Pand. What canst thou but will perplex thee more,

say,

If thou stand excommunicate, and curs'd?

K. Phi. Good reverend father, make my person yours,

And tell me how you would bestow yourself. 49

43) Der Bastard fasst to pocket up einstecken, wörtlich = in die Tasche stecken, und knüpft pocket an breeches an. So kommt in dem alten Schauspiel King Leir vor: Well, I have a pair of slops for the nonce || Will hold all your mocks.

44) Der Verlust von Englands Freundschaft ist leichter zu ertragen, als der Erwerb (purchase) eines römischen Bannfluchs.

45) new-uptrimmed frisch aufgeputzt, eben erst mit dem bräutlichen Schmucke angethan. So steht to trim up in Romeo and Juliet (A. 4, Sc. 4) Go, waken Juliet, go and trim her up. Die Fol. hat new untrimmed, wofür manche Hgg. mit Theobald new and trimmed lesen.

46) Die Noth der Constanze rührt eben von der Wortbrüchigkeit und Treulosigkeit her, deren Opfer sie hat werden müssen.

49) to bestow one's self sich unterbringen, eine sichere, geschützte Stellung einnehmen.

This royal hand and mine are newly knit,
And the conjunction of our inward souls
Married in league, coupled and link'd 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, 50
No longer than we well could wash our hands,
To clap this royal bargain up of peace,
Heaven knows, they were besmear'd and overstain'd
With slaughter's pencil; where revenge did paint
The fearful difference of incensed kings.

And shall these hands, so lately purg'd of blood,
So newly join'd in love, so strong in both, 51
Unyoke this seizure, and this kind regreet? 52
Play fast and loose 53 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 54 a bloody host,
And make a riot on the gentle brow

Of true sincerity ? 55 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 bless'd
To do your pleasure, and continue friends,

Pand. 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,

50 but new before nur eben vorher. Der Satz bleibt, in Folge der eingeschobenen Zwischensätze, unvollendet, wie solche Anakoluthien bei Sh. häufig sind.

51) strong in both ist entweder Apposition zu love: Freundschaft, die in beiden, Philipp und Johann, so stark ist; oder es bezieht sich strong auf hands, both auf blood und love. Die letztere Deutung scheint die vorzüglichere zu sein.

52) regreet, eigentlich ein Gegengruss, ist dann

auch einfach Begrüssung.

= Austausch von Begrüssungen, oder

53) to play fast and loose ist ein Spiel treiben, das auf Sinnentäuschung beruht, indem der Getäuschte das, was er fest zu halten glaubt, in der That nicht festhält.

Eine Anspielung auf ein solches Spiel, das mit Bindfäden oder Bändern auf den Jahrmärkten gespielt wurde, kommt auch in Antony and Cleopatra (A. 4, Sc. 10) vor. 54) to march ist hier transitiv marschiren lassen.

=

55) Das freundliche Aussehen ächter Herzlichkeit soll durch Hader und wilde Leidenschaft getrübt werden.

A mother's curse, 56 on her revolting son.

France, thou may'st hold a serpent by the tongue,
A chafed lion 57 by the mortal paw,

A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,

Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.

K. Phi. I may disjoin my hand, but not my faith.
Pand. So mak'st thou faith an enemy to faith;
And, like a civil war, set'st oath to oath,
Thy tongue against thy tongue. O! let thy vow,
First made to heaven, first be to heaven perform'd;
That is, to be the champion of our church.
What since thou swor'st is sworn against thyself,
And may not be performed by thyself:

For that which thou hast sworn to do amiss,

Is not amiss when it is truly done; 58
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, 59

Yet indirection thereby grows direct,

And falsehood falsehood cures; as fire cools fire,

Within the scorched veins of one new burn'd. 60

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, 61
And mak'st an oath the surety for thy truth

Against an oath: The truth, thou art unsure

56) Der Fluch der Kirche erhält dadurch sein Gewicht, dass er der Fluch einer Mutter ist. 57) chafed lion ist eine Conjectur der Hgg., wie in K. Henry VIII. (A. 3, Sc. 2) 80

looks the chafed lion || Upon the daring huntsman that has gail'd him.
suchen die Lesart der Fol., cased lion, zu retten, indem sie cased
confinement erklären.

Andere ver

irritated by

58) Das, was du Unrechtes zu thun geschworen hast, ist kein Unrecht mehr, wenn du es auf rechtliche Weise nämlich in entgegengesetzter Art ausführst. Dass

-

der Legat diesen versteckten Sinn mit seinen anscheinend widersprechenden Worten verbindet, geht aus den folgenden Zeilen hervor.

59) though indirect geht auf das to mistake again: obwohl es unrecht ist, fehlzugreifen, so wird doch die frühere Ungerechtigkeit durch ein solches abermaliges Fehlgreifen gerecht.

60) Anspielung auf die Heilung von Brandwunden durch ein wundärztliches Brennen. 61) Zu swear'st ist aus dem Vorigen ein hy zu ergänzen, wie Sh. häufig eine Präposition, die am Schlusse des relativen Satzes noch folgen sollte, weglässt, als sei sie schon vorangegangen. Unter against the thing by which thou swearest ist eben religion zu verstehen.