This part of his conjoins with my disease, And helps to end me.-See, sons, what things you are; How quickly nature falls into revolt, When gold becomes her object. For this the foolish over-careful fathers Have broke their sleeps with thoughts, Their brains with care, their bones with industry: Our thighs pack'd with wax, our mouths with honey, Re-enter WARWICK. Now, where is he that will not stay so long, War. My lord, I found the prince in the next room, K. Hen. But wherefore did he take away the crown? Re-enter Prince HENRY. Lo, where he comes.-Come hither to me, Harry. The virtuous sweets ;] The folio has culling for "tolling," by which the image of the bee taking toll from each flower is lost. The words "The virtuous sweets" are from the folio. Till his friend sickness' HANDS determined me ?] i. e. "Until the hands of his friend, sickness, ended me." The folio poorly substitutes hath for "hands,” and injures the personification. All the modern editors follow the misreading of the folio, and take no notice of the variation in the text. VOL. IV. Ff Depart the chamber, leave us here alone. [Exeunt CLARENCE, Prince HUMPHREY, Lords, &c. P. Hen. I never thought to hear you speak again. K. Hen. Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought: I stay too long by thee, I weary thee. Dost thou so hunger for mine empty chair, That thou wilt needs invest thee with mine honours Thou seek'st the greatness that will overwhelm thee. Is held from falling with so weak a wind, That it will quickly drop: my day is dim. Thou hast stol'n that, which, after some few hours, Thy life did manifest thou lov'dst me not, What! canst thou not forbear me half an hour? For now a time is come to mock at form. Down, royal state! all you sage counsellors, hence; Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum: The oldest sins the newest kind of ways? P. Hen. O, pardon me, my liege! but for my tears, [Kneeling. The moist impediments unto my speech, I spake unto the crown, as having sense, And thus upbraided it: "The care on thee depending, Hath fed upon the body of my father; Therefore, thou, best of gold, art worst of gold. Other, less fine in carat, is more precious, Preserving life in medicine potable: But thou, most fine, most honour'd, most renown'd, Hast eat thy bearer up." Thus, my most royal liege, Accusing it, I put it on my head; To try with it, as with an enemy That had before my face murder'd my father, But if it did infect my blood with joy, Did, with the least affection of a welcome, That doth with awe and terror kneel to it! K. Hen. O my son! God put it in thy mind' to take it hence, That thou might'st win the more thy father's love, Come hither, Harry; sit thou by my bed, But as an honour snatch'd with boisterous hand, My gain of it by their assistances; 4 O MY SON ! God put IT in thy mind-] “O my son" is from the folio; and the quarto, in the following line, omits "it." In the next line the folio misprints "win" join. Above, it omits "most before "royal liege;" perhaps, because the editor thought it injured the line. Which daily grew to quarrel, and to bloodshed, For all my reign hath been but as a scene Changes the mode: for what in me was purchas'd3, So, thou the garland wear'st successively. Yet, though thou stand'st more sure than I could do, By whose fell working I was first advanc'd, I cut them off; and had a purpose now Lest rest, and lying still, might make them look With foreign quarrels; that action, hence borne out, You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me; 5 - for what in me was PURCHAS'D,] We have already seen that the word "purchase" was used of old for booty obtained by plunder. The king here uses the verb in a kindred sense, meaning that he had obtained the crown by undue means-by robbing the right owner. And all THY friends,] Tyrwhitt suggests plausibly that we ought to read 66 my friends;" but still the difficulty of the passage is not removed, inasmuch as five lines lower the king states that he has "cut off" those persons whom he advises his son to make his friends. Monck Mason, therefore, for "I cut them off," would read "I cut some off." The old copies agree in both places, and we, of course, have followed them. 7 My gracious liege,] This hemistich is only found in the folio. |