Page 2955 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1

Fear, and not love, begets his penitence. [55]
Forget to pity him lest thy pity prove
A serpent that will sting thee to the heart.

BOLINGBROKE

O, heinous, strong, and bold conspiracy!
O loyal father of a treacherous son,
Thou sheer immaculate and silver fountain [60]
From whence this stream through muddy passages
Hath held his current and defil’d himself -
Thy overflow of good converts to bad,
And thy abundant goodness shall excuse
This deadly blot in thy digressing son. [65]

Y ORK

So shall my virtue be his vice’s bawd
And he shall spend mine honour with his shame,
As thriftless sons their scraping fathers’ gold.
Mine honour lives when his dishonour dies,
Or my sham’d life in his dishonour lies. [70]
Thou kill’st me in his life - giving him breath,
The traitor lives, the true man’s put to death.

DUCHESS

(within)
What ho, my liege, for God’s sake let me in!

BOLINGBROKE

What shrill-voic’d suppliant makes this eager cry?

DUCHESS

A woman, and thy aunt, great King. ’Tis I. [75]
Speak with me, pity me, open the door!
A beggar begs that never begg’d before.

BOLINGBROKE

Our scene is alt’red from a serious thing,
And now chang’d to “The Beggar and the King”.
My dangerous cousin, let your mother in. [80]
I know she’s come to pray for your foul sin.