KING RICHARD III. William Shakespeare

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.

       SECOND 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 reconcil’d 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 pronounc’d

       The bitter sentence of poor Clarence’ death?

       Before I be convíct 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

       Unripp’dst the bowels of thy sovereign’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 you not to murder me for this;

       For in that sin he is as deep as I.

       If God will be avengèd for the deed,

       O, know you yet He doth it publicly.

       Take not the quarrel from His powerful 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 hir’d for meed, go back again,

       And I will send you to my brother Gloster,

       Who shall reward you better for my life

       Than Edward will for tidings of my death.

       SECOND MURDERER

       You are deceiv’d, your brother Gloster 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

       Bless’d his three sons with his victorious arm

       And charg’d us from his soul to love each other,

       He little thought of this divided friendship:

       Bid Gloster think of this, and he will weep.

       FIRST MURDERER

       Ay, millstones; as he lesson’d us to weep.

       CLARENCE

       O, do not slander him, for he is kind.

       FIRST MURDERER

       Right, 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 hugg’d 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.