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STRAFFORD:
That which would be ambition in a subject
Is duty in a sovereign; for on him,
As on a keystone, hangs the arch of life,
Whose safety is its strength. Degree and form, 155
And all that makes the age of reasoning man
More memorable than a beast’s, depend on this–
That Right should fence itself inviolably
With Power; in which respect the state of England
From usurpation by the insolent commons 160
Cries for reform.
Get treason, and spare treasure. Fee with coin
The loudest murmurers; feed with jealousies
Opposing factions,–be thyself of none;
And borrow gold of many, for those who lend 165
Will serve thee till thou payest them; and thus
Keep the fierce spirit of the hour at bay,
Till time, and its coming generations
Of nights and days unborn, bring some one chance,

…

Or war or pestilence or Nature’s self,– 170
By some distemperature or terrible sign,
Be as an arbiter betwixt themselves.
Nor let your Majesty
Doubt here the peril of the unseen event.
How did your brother Kings, coheritors 175
In your high interest in the subject earth,
Rise past such troubles to that height of power
Where now they sit, and awfully serene
Smile on the trembling world? Such popular storms
Philip the Second of Spain, this Lewis of France, 180
And late the German head of many bodies,
And every petty lord of Italy,
Quelled or by arts or arms. Is England poorer
Or feebler? or art thou who wield’st her power
Tamer than they? or shall this island be– 185
[Girdled] by its inviolable waters–
To the world present and the world to come
Sole pattern of extinguished monarchy?
Not if thou dost as I would have thee do.

KING:
Your words shall be my deeds: 190
You speak the image of my thought. My friend
(If Kings can have a friend, I call thee so),
Beyond the large commission which [belongs]
Under the great seal of the realm, take this:
And, for some obvious reasons, let there be 195
No seal on it, except my kingly word
And honour as I am a gentleman.
Be–as thou art within my heart and mind–
Another self, here and in Ireland:
Do what thou judgest well, take amplest licence, 200
And stick not even at questionable means.
Hear me, Wentworth. My word is as a wall
Between thee and this world thine enemy–
That hates thee, for thou lovest me.

STRAFFORD:
I own
No friend but thee, no enemies but thine: 205
Thy lightest thought is my eternal law.
How weak, how short, is life to pay–