Turning your books to graves, your ink to blood,
Your pens to lances; and your tongue divine
To a loud trumpet, and a point of war?

Arch. Wherefore do I this ?-so the question stands.
Briefly to this end:-We are all diseas'd;
And, with our surfeiting, and wanton hours,
Have brought ourselves into a burning fever,
And we must bleed for it: of which disease
Our late king, Richard, being infected, died.
But, my most noble lord of Westmoreland,
I take not on me here as a physician;
Nor do I, as an enemy to peace,
Troop in the throngs of military men:
But, rather, show a while like fearful war,

To diet rank minds, sick of happiness;

And purge the obstructions, which begin to stop
Our very veins of life. Hear me more plainly.

I have in equal balance justly weigh'd

What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer, And find our griefs heavier than our offences.

6

We see which way the stream of time doth run,
And are enforc'd from our most quiet sphere
By the rough torrent of occasion:

And have the summary of all our griefs,
When time shall serve, to show in articles;
Which, long ere this, we offer'd to the king,
And might by no suit gain our audience:

When we are wrong'd, and would unfold our griefs,
We are denied access unto his person

Even by those men that most have done us wrong.
The dangers of the day's but newly gone,

(Whose memory is written on the earth

With yet-appearing blood,) and the examples

5

graves,] For graves Dr. Warburton very plausibly reads glaives, and is followed by Sir Thomas Hanmer. But we might perhaps as plausibly read greaves, i. e. armour for the legs, a kind of boots.

6 our griefs — i. e. our grievances.

Of every minute's instance, (present now,)
Have put us in these ill-beseeming arms:
Not to break peace, or any branch of it;
But to establish here a peace indeed,
Concurring both in name and quality.

West. When ever yet was your appeal denied?
Wherein have you been galled by the king?
What peer hath been suborn'd to grate on you?
That you should seal this lawless bloody book
Of forg'd rebellion with a seal divine,
And consecrate commotion's bitter edge'?
Arch. My brother general, the commonwealth,
To brother born an household cruelty,

I make my quarrel in particular 3.

West. There is no need of any such redress; Or, if there were, it not belongs to you.

Mowb. Why not to him, in part; and to us all, That feel the bruises of the days before;

And suffer the condition of these times

To lay a heavy and unequal hand
Upon our honours ?

West.
O my good lord Mowbray,
Construe the times to their necessities",
And you shall say indeed,-it is the time,
And not the king, that doth you injuries.

7 commotion's bitter edge?] i. e. the edge of bitter strife and commotion; the sword of rebellion.

* My brother general, &c.

I make my quarrel in particular.] The sense is this:-" My brother general, the commonwealth, which ought to distribute its benefits equally, is become an enemy to those of his own house, to brothers born, by giving all to some, and others none; and this (says he) I make my quarrel or grievance that honours are unequally distributed;" the constant birth of male-contents, and the source of civil commotions. WARBURTON.

Other senses have been attempted by other commentators, but none more probable.

9 Construe the times to their necessities,] That is,-Judge of what is done in these times according to the exigencies that overrule us.

Yet, for your part, it not appears to me,
Either from the king, or in the present time',
That you should have an inch of any ground
To build a grief on: Were you not restor❜d
To all the duke of Norfolk's signiories,
Your noble and right-well-remember'd father's?
Mowb. What thing, in honour, had my father lost,
That need to be reviv'd, and breath'd in me?
The king, that lov'd him, as the state stood then,
Was, force perforce, compell'd to banish him:
And then, when Harry Bolingbroke, and he,-
Being mounted, and both roused in their seats,
Their neighing coursers daring of the spur,
Their armed staves in charge, their beavers down,
Their eyes of fire sparkling through sights of steel*,
And the loud trumpet blowing them together;
Then, then, when there was nothing could have staid
My father from the breast of Bolingbroke,

O, when the king did throw his warder down,

His own life hung upon the staff he threw :

Then threw he down himself; and all their lives,

That, by indictment, and by dint of sword,

Have since miscarried under Bolingbroke.

West. You speak, lord Mowbray, now you know not

what:

5

The earl of Hereford was reputed then

Whether the faults of govern

1 Either from the king, &c.] ment be imputed to the time or the king, it appears not that you have, for your part, being injured either by the king or the time.

2 Their armed staves in charge, &c.] An armed staff is a lance. To be in charge, is to be fixed in the rest for the encounter.

3

their beavers down,] Beaver meant properly that part of the helmet which let down, to enable the wearer to drink; but is confounded both here and in Hamlet with visiere, or used for helmet in general.

sights of steel,] i. e. the perforated part of their helmets, through which they could see to direct their aim.

5 The earl of Hereford —] This is a mistake of our author's. He was duke of Hereford.

In England the most valiant gentleman;

Who knows, on whom fortune would then have smil'd?
But, if your father had been victor there,

He ne'er had borne it out of Coventry:
For all the country, in a general voice,

Cried hate upon him; and all their prayers, and love,
Were set on Hereford, whom they doted on,

And bless'd, and grac'd indeed, more than the king.
But this is mere digression from my purpose.-
Here come I from our princely general,

To know your griefs; to tell you from his grace,
That he will give you audience: and wherein
It shall appear that your demands are just,
You shall enjoy them; every thing set off,
That might so much as think you enemies.
Mowb. But he hath forc'd us to compel this offer;
And it proceeds from policy, not love.

West. Mowbray, you overween, to take it so ;
This offer comes from mercy, not from fear:
For, lo! within a ken, our army lies:
Upon mine honour, all too confident
To give admittance to a thought of fear.
Our battle is more full of names than yours,
Our men more perfect in the use of arms,
Our armour all as strong, our cause the best ;
Then reason wills, our hearts should be as good :-
Say you not then, our offer is compell'd.

Mowb. Well, by my will, we shall admit no parley.
West. That argues but the shame of your offence:
A rotten case abides no handling.

Hast. Hath the prince John a full commission,

In very ample virtue of his father,

To hear, and absolutely to determine

Of what conditions we shall stand upon?

West. That is intended in the general's name :

I muse, you make so slight a question.

Arch. Then take, my lord of Westmoreland, this schedule;

For this contains our general grievances:-
Each several article herein redress'd;

All members of our cause, both here and hence,
That are insinew'd to this action,
Acquitted by a true substantial form';
And present execution of our wills
To us, and to our purposes, consign'd:
We come within our awful banks again',
And knit our powers to the arm of peace.

West. This will I show the general. Please you,

lords,

In sight of both our battles we may meet:

And either end in peace, which heaven so frame!

Or to the place of difference call the swords
Which must decide it.

Arch.

My lord, we will do so.

[Exit WEST. Mowb. There is a thing within my bosom, tells me, That no conditions of our peace can stand.

Hast. Fear you not that: if we can make our peace Upon such large terms, and so absolute,

As our conditions shall consist upon ",

Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains.
Mowb. Ay, but our valuation shall be such,

That every slight and false-derived cause,
Yea, every idle, nice, and wanton reason,
Shall, to the king, taste of this action:
That, were our royal faiths martyrs in love',
We shall be winnow'd with so rough a wind,

6

substantial form ;] That is, by a pardon of due form and

legal validity.

7

8

awful banks again,] i. e. the proper limits of reverence. consist upon,] Perhaps the meaning is, as our conditions shall stand upon, shall make the foundation of the treaty. A Latin

1 That, were our royal faiths martyrs in love,] Royal faith means, the faith due to a king.