The Chronicle History of Henry the Fifth, with his battle fought at Agincourt in France, together with Ancient Pistol

4Shall I call in th'ambassadors, my liege?

Not yet, my cousin, till we be resolved

1.31506Of some serious matters 151touching us and France.

God and his angels guard your sacred throne,

1.51548And make you long become it.

Sure we thank you. 156And good my lord, proceed:

1.715810Why the law Salic which they have in France

1.815911Or should or should not stop us in our claim;

1.916012And God forbid, my wise and learned lord,

1.1016113That you should fashion, frame, or wrest the same.

1.1116514For God doth know how many now in health

1.1216615Shall drop their blood in approbation

1.1316716Of what your reverence shall incite us to.

1.1416817Therefore take heed how you impawn our person,

1.1516918How you awake the sleeping sword of war;

1.1617019We charge you in the name of God, take heed.

1.1717620After this conjuration speak, my lord,

1.1817721And we will judge, note, and believe in heart

1.1917822That what you speak is washed 179as pure

1.2023As sin in baptism.

Then hear me, gracious sovereign, and you peers,

1.2218126Which owe your lives, your faith, and services

1.2318227To this imperial throne.

1.2428There is no bar 183to stay your highness' claim to France

1.2518429But one, which they produce from Pharamond:

1.2618630"No female shall succeed in Salic land."

1.2718731Which Salic land the French unjustly gloss

1.2818832To be the realm of France, 33and Pharamond

1.29189The founder of this law and female bar.

1.3019034Yet their own writers faithfully affirm

1.3119135That the land Salic lies in Germany,

1.3219236Between the floods of Saale and of Elbe,

1.3319337Where Charles the Fifth, having subdued the Saxons,

1.3419438There left behind and settled certain French,

1.3519539Who, holding in disdain the German women

1.3619640For some dishonest manners of their lives,

1.3719741Established there this law: to wit,

1.3842No female 198shall succeed in Salic land.

1.3919943Which Salic land, as I said before,

1.4020044Is at this time in Germany called Meissen.

1.4120145Thus doth it well appear the Salic law

1.4220246Was not devisèd for the realm of France,

1.4320347Nor did the French possess the Salic land

1.4420448Until four hundred one-and-twenty years

1.4520549After the function of King Pharamond,

1.4620650Godly supposed the founder of this law.

1.4721651Hugh Capet also, that usurped the crown,

1.4821952To fine his title with some show of truth --

1.4922053When in pure truth it was corrupt and naught --

1.5022154Conveyed himself as heir to the Lady Inger,

1.5123055Daughter to Charles, the foresaid Duke of Lorraine.

1.5223356So that as clear as is the summer's sun,

1.5323457King Pepin's title and Hugh Capet's claim,

1.5423558King Charles his satisfaction, all appear

1.5523659To hold in right and title of the female;

1.5623760So do the lords of France until this day,

1.5723861Howbeit they would hold up this Salic law

1.5823962To bar your highness claiming from the female,

1.5924063And rather choose to hide them in a net

1.6024164Than amply to embase their crooked causes,

1.6124265Usurped from you and your progenitors.

May we with right and conscience make this claim?

The sin upon my head, dread sovereign.

1.6424568For in the book of Numbers is it writ:

1.6524669"When the son dies, let the inheritance

1.6624770Descend unto the daughter." Noble lord,

1.6724871Stand for your own. 72Unwind your bloody flag.

1.6825073Go, my dread lord, to your great-grandsire's grave,

1.6925174From whom you claim,

1.7025275And your great-uncle, Edward the Black Prince,

1.7125376Who on the French ground played a tragedy,

1.7225477Making defeat on the full power of France

1.7325578Whilst his most mighty father on a hill

1.7425679Stood smiling to behold his lion's whelp

1.7525780Foraging blood of French nobility.

1.7625881Oh, noble English, that could entertain

1.7725982With half their forces the full power of France

1.7826083And let another half stand laughing by,

1.7926184All out of work and cold for action!

We must not only arm us against the French,

1.8128486But lay down our proportion 285for the Scot,

1.8287Who will make road upon us 286with all advantages.

The Marches, gracious sovereign, 288shall be sufficient

1.8489To guard 289your England from the pilfering borderers.

We do not mean the coursing sneakers only,

1.8629191But fear the main intendment of the Scot,

1.8729392For you shall read, never my great-grandfather

1.8829493Unmasked his power for France,

1.8929594But that the Scot on his unfurnished kingdom

1.9029695Came pouring like the tide into a breach,

1.9130096That England, being empty of defenses,

1.9230197Hath shook and trembled at the bruit hereof.

She hath been then more feared than hurt, my lord,

1.9430399For hear her but exemplified by herself:

1.95304100When all her chivalry hath been in France

1.96305101And she a mourning widow of her nobles,

1.97306102She hath herself not only well defended,

1.98307103But taken and impounded as a stray 308the king of Scots,

1.99104Whom like a caitiff she did lead to France,

1.100310105Filling your chronicles as rich with praise

1.101311106As is the ooze and bottom of the sea

1.102312107With sunken wreck and shipless treasury.

There is a saying very old and true:

1.104314109"If you will France win,

1.105110Then with Scotland first begin."

1.106315111For once the eagle England being in prey,

1.107316112To his unfurnished nest the weasel Scot

1.108317113Would suck her eggs, 318playing the mouse in absence of the cat,

1.109319114To spoil and havoc more than she can eat.

It follows then the cat must stay at home,

1.111321116Yet that is but a cursed necessity,

1.112322117Since we have 323traps to catch the petty thieves.

1.113324118Whilst that the armèd hand doth fight abroad,

1.114325119The advisèd head controls at home:

1.115326120For government, though high or low 327being put into parts,

1.116328121Congrueth with a mutual content

1.117Like music.

Like music. True: therefore doth heaven divide

1.118331123The fate of man in divers functions,

1.119333124Whereto is added as an aim or butt, 334obedience.

1.120125For so live the honey bees, 335creatures that by awe

1.121126Ordain 336an act of order to a peopled kingdom.

1.122337127They have a king and officers of sort,

1.123338128Where some like magistrates correct at home;

1.124339129Others like merchants venture trade abroad;

1.125340130Others, like soldiers armèd in their stings,

1.126341131Make boot upon the summer's velvet bud,

1.127342132Which pillage they with merry march bring home

1.128343133To the tent-royal of their emperor,

1.129344134Who, busied in his majesty, behold

1.130345135The singing masons building roofs of gold,

1.131346136The civil citizens lading up the honey,

1.132349137The sad-eyed justice with his surly hum

1.133350138Delivering up to executors pale 351the lazy caning drone.

1.134139This I infer: 351.1that twenty actions once afoot

1.135140May all end in one moment.

1.136354141As many arrows loosèd several ways 355fly to one mark,

1.137142As many several ways meet in one town,

1.138356143As many fresh streams run in one self sea,

1.139357144As many lines close in the dial center,

1.140358145So may a thousand actions once afoot

1.141359146End in one moment, and be all well borne

1.142360Without defect. 147Therefore my liege, to France.

1.143361148Divide your happy England into four,

1.144362149Of which take you one quarter into France,

1.145363150And you withal shall make all Gallia shake.

1.146364151If we, with thrice that power left at home,

1.147365152Cannot defend our own door from the dog,

1.148366153Let us be beaten, and from henceforth lose

1.149367154The name of policy and hardiness.

Call in the messenger sent from the dauphin, --

1.151370156And by your aid, the noble sinews of our land,

1.152371157France being ours, we'll bring it to our awe,

1.153372158Or break it all in pieces.

1.154377159Either our chronicles shall with full mouth 378speak

1.155160Freely of our acts,

1.156379161Or else like tongueless mutes;

1.157380162Not worshipped with a paper epitaph.

1.158382164Now are we well prepared to know the dauphin's pleasure,

1.159383165For we hear 384your coming is from him.

Pleaseth your majesty to give us leave

1.161386167Freely to render what we have in charge,

1.162387168Or shall I sparingly show, afar off,

1.163388169The dauphin's pleasure and our embassage?

We are no tyrant, but a Christian king,

1.165390171To whom our spirit is as subject,

1.166391172As are our wretches fettered in our prisons.

1.167392173Therefore freely and with uncurbed boldness

1.168393174Tell us the dauphin's mind.

Then this in fine the dauphin saith:

1.170396176Whereas you claim certain towns in France

1.171397177From your predecessor King Edward the Third,

1.172400178This he returns: he saith there's naught in France

1.173401179That can be with a nimble galliard won;

1.174402180You cannot revel into dukedoms there.

1.175403181Therefore he sendeth, meeter for your study,

1.176404182This tun of treasure, and in lieu of this,

1.177405183Desires to let the dukedoms that you crave

1.178406184Hear no more from you. This the dauphin saith.

What treasure, uncle?

What treasure, uncle? Tennis balls, my liege.

We are glad the dauphin is so pleasant with us.

1.181410188Your message and his present we accept.

1.182411189When we have matched our rackets to these balls,

1.183412190We will, by God's grace, play such a set

1.184413191Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard.

1.185414192Tell him he hath made a match with such a wrangler

1.186415193That all the courts of France shall be disturbed

1.187416194With chases. And we understand him well,

1.188417195How he comes o'er us with our wilder days,

1.189418196Not measuring what use we made of them.

1.190419197We never valued this poor seat of England,

1.191420198And therefore gave ourselves 421to barbarous license,

1.192199As 'tis common seen 422that men are merriest when they are 200from home.

1.193423201But tell the dauphin we will keep our state,

1.194424202Be, like a king, mighty, and command

1.195425203When we do rouse us in throne of France.

1.196426204For this have we laid by our majesty

1.197427205And plodded like a man for working days,

1.198428206But we will rise there with so full of glory,

1.199429207That we will dazzle all the eyes of France,

1.200430208Ay, strike the dauphin blind to look on us.

1.201431209And tell him this: his mock 432hath turned his balls to gunstones,

1.202210And his soul 433shall sit sore charged for the wasteful vengeance

1.203434211That shall fly from them: for this his mock

1.204435212Shall mock many a wife out of their dear husbands,

1.205436213Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down.

1.206437214Ay, some are yet ungotten and unborn

1.207438215That shall have cause to curse the dauphin's scorn.

1.208439216But this lies all within the will of God,

1.209440217To whom we do appeal, and in whose name

1.210441Tell you the dauphin we are coming on

1.211442218To venge us as we may, and to put forth 443our hand

1.212219In a rightful cause. 444So get you hence and tell your prince

1.213445220His jest will savor but of shallow wit,

1.214446221When thousands weep more than did laugh at it. --

1.215447222Convey them with safe conduct; see them hence.

This was a merry message.

We hope to make the sender blush at it.

1.218455225Therefore let our collection for the wars

1.219456Be soon provided, 458for, God before,

1.220459226We'll check the dauphin at his father's door.

1.221460227Therefore let every man now task his thought

1.222461228That this fair action may on foot be brought.