King. I prithee, give no limits to my tongue:
I am a king, and privileg'd to speak. 120
Clif. My liege, the wound that bred this meeting here
Cannot be cur'd by words; therefore be still.
Rich. Then, executioner, unsheathe thy sword.
By him that made us all, I am resolv'd 124
That Clifford's manhood lies upon his tongue.
Edw. Say, Henry, shall I have my right or no?
A thousand men have broke their fasts to-day,
That ne'er shall dine unless thou yield the crown. 128
War. If thou deny, their blood upon thy head;
For York in justice puts his armour on.
Prince. If that be right which Warwick says is right,
There is no wrong, but everything is right. 132
Rich. Whoever got thee, there thy mother stands;
For well I wot thou hast thy mother's tongue.
Queen. But thou art neither like thy sire nor dam,
But like a foul misshapen stigmatic, 136
Mark'd by the destinies to be avoided,
As venom toads, or lizards' dreadful stings.
Rich. Iron of Naples hid with English gilt,—
Whose father bears the title of a king, 140
As if a channel should be call'd the sea,—
Sham'st thou not, knowing whence thou art extraught,
To let thy tongue detect thy base-born heart?
Edw. A wisp of straw were worth a thousand crowns, 144
To make this shameless callet know herself.
119 limits: limitation
124 resolv'd: convinced
129 deny: refuse
130 in . . . on: fights in a just cause
133 got: begot
136 stigmatic: one branded by deformity
138 venom: poisonous
139 You whose cheap Neapolitan origin is gilded by your English rank
141 channel: gutter
142 extraught: extracted
144 wisp of straw; cf. n.
145 callet: lewd woman
