Act 2, Scene 1

Westminster. A street.

[Enter two Gentlemen at several doors.]
First Gentleman
766 Whither away so fast?
Second Gentleman
767 O, God save ye!
768 Even to the hall, to hear what shall become
769 Of the great Duke of Buckingham.
First Gentleman
770 I'll save you
771 That labour, sir. All's now done, but the ceremony
772 Of bringing back the prisoner.
Second Gentleman
773 Were you there?
First Gentleman
774 Yes, indeed, was I.
Second Gentleman
775 Pray, speak what has happen'd.
First Gentleman
776 You may guess quickly what.
Second Gentleman
777 Is he found guilty?
First Gentleman
778 Yes, truly is he, and condemn'd upon't.
Second Gentleman
779 I am sorry for't.
First Gentleman
780 So are a number more.
Second Gentleman
781 But, pray, how pass'd it?
First Gentleman
782 I'll tell you in a little. The great Duke
783 Came to the bar; where to his accusations
784 He pleaded still not guilty and alleged
785 Many sharp reasons to defeat the law.
786 The King's attorney on the contrary
787 Urg'd on the examinations, proofs, confessions
788 Of divers witnesses; which the Duke desir'd
789 To have brought viva voce to his face;
790 At which appear'd against him his surveyor;
791 Sir Gilbert Peck his chancellor; and John Car,
792 Confessor to him, with that devil-monk,
793 Hopkins, that made this mischief.
Second Gentleman
794 That was he
795 That fed him with his prophecies?
First Gentleman
796 The same.
797 All these accus'd him strongly; which he fain
798 Would have flung from him, but, indeed, he could not.
799 And so his peers, upon this evidence,
800 Have found him guilty of high treason. Much
801 He spoke, and learnedly, for life; but all
802 Was either pitied in him or forgotten.
Second Gentleman
803 After all this, how did he bear himself?
First Gentleman
804 When he was brought again to the bar, to hear
805 His knell rung out, his judgment, he was stirr'd
806 With such an agony, he sweat extremely,
807 And something spoke in choler, ill, and hasty.
808 But he fell to himself again, and sweetly
809 In all the rest show'd a most noble patience.
Second Gentleman
810 I do not think he fears death.
First Gentleman
811 Sure, he does not;
812 He never was so womanish. The cause
813 He may a little grieve at.
Second Gentleman
814 Certainly
815 The Cardinal is the end of this.
First Gentleman
816 'Tis likely,
817 By all conjectures: first, Kildare's attainder,
818 Then deputy of Ireland; who remov'd,
819 Earl Surrey was sent thither, and in haste too,
820 Lest he should help his father.
Second Gentleman
821 That trick of state
822 Was a deep envious one.
First Gentleman
823 At his return
824 No doubt he will requite it. This is noted,
825 And generally, whoever the King favours,
826 The Cardinal instantly will find employment,
827 And far enough from court too.
Second Gentleman
828 All the commons
829 Hate him perniciously, and, o' my conscience,
830 Wish him ten fathom deep. This duke as much
831 They love and dote on; call him bounteous Buckingham,
832 The mirror of all courtesy,—
[Enter Buckingham from his arraignment; tipstaves before him; the axe with the edge towards him; halberds on each side; accompanied with Sir Thomas Lovell, Sir Nicholas Vaux, Sir William Sandys, and common people.]
First Gentleman
833 Stay there, sir,
834 And see the noble ruin'd man you speak of.
Second Gentleman
835 Let's stand close, and behold him.
Duke of Buckingham
836 All good people,
837 You that thus far have come to pity me,
838 Hear what I say, and then go home and lose me.
839 I have this day receiv'd a traitor's judgement,
840 And by that name must die; yet, Heaven bear witness,
841 And if I have a conscience, let it sink me,
842 Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful!
843 The law I bear no malice for my death;
844 'T has done, upon the premises, but justice;
845 But those that sought it I could wish more Christians.
846 Be what they will, I heartily forgive 'em;
847 Yet let 'em look they glory not in mischief,
848 Nor build their evils on the graves of great men,
849 For then my guiltless blood must cry against 'em.
850 For further life in this world I ne'er hope,
851 Nor will I sue, although the King have mercies
852 More than I dare make faults. You few that lov'd me
853 And dare be bold to weep for Buckingham,
854 His noble friends and fellows, whom to leave
855 Is only bitter to him, only dying,
856 Go with me, like good angels, to my end;
857 And, as the long divorce of steel falls on me,
858 Make of your prayers one sweet sacrifice,
859 And lift my soul to heaven. Lead on, o' God's name.
Sir Thomas Lovell
860 I do beseech your Grace, for charity,
861 If ever any malice in your heart
862 Were hid against me, now to forgive me frankly.
Duke of Buckingham
863 Sir Thomas Lovell, I as free forgive you
864 As I would be forgiven. I forgive all.
865 There cannot be those numberless offences
866 'Gainst me, that I cannot take peace with; no black envy
867 Shall mark my grave. Commend me to his Grace;
868 And, if he speak of Buckingham, pray, tell him
869 You met him half in heaven. My vows and prayers
870 Yet are the King's; and, till my soul forsake,
871 Shall cry for blessings on him. May he live
872 Longer than I have time to tell his years!
873 Ever belov'd and loving may his rule be!
874 And when old Time shall lead him to his end,
875 Goodness and he fill up one monument!
Sir Thomas Lovell
876 To the water side I must conduct your Grace;
877 Then give my charge up to Sir Nicholas Vaux,
878 Who undertakes you to your end.
Sir Nicholas Vaux
879 Prepare there,
880 The Duke is coming. See the barge be ready;
881 And fit it with such furniture as suits
882 The greatness of his person.
Duke of Buckingham
883 Nay, Sir Nicholas,
884 Let it alone; my state now will but mock me.
885 When I came hither, I was Lord High Constable
886 And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun.
887 Yet I am richer than my base accusers,
888 That never knew what truth meant. I now seal it;
889 And with that blood will make 'em one day groan for't.
890 My noble father, Henry of Buckingham,
891 Who first rais'd head against usurping Richard,
892 Flying for succour to his servant Banister,
893 Being distress'd, was by that wretch betray'd,
894 And without trial fell; God's peace be with him!
895 Henry the Seventh succeeding, truly pitying
896 My father's loss, like a most royal prince,
897 Restor'd me to my honours, and, out of ruins,
898 Made my name once more noble. Now his son,
899 Henry the Eighth, life, honour, name, and all
900 That made me happy, at one stroke has taken
901 For ever from the world. I had my trial,
902 And, must needs say, a noble one; which makes me
903 A little happier than my wretched father.
904 Yet thus far we are one in fortunes: both
905 Fell by our servants, by those men we lov'd most;
906 A most unnatural and faithless service.
907 Heaven has an end in all; yet, you that hear me,
908 This from a dying man receive as certain:
909 Where you are liberal of your loves and counsels
910 Be sure you be not loose; for those you make friends
911 And give your hearts to, when they once perceive
912 The least rub in your fortunes, fall away
913 Like water from ye; never found again
914 But where they mean to sink ye. All good people,
915 Pray for me! I must now forsake ye. The last hour
916 Of my long weary life is come upon me.
917 Farewell!
918 And when you would say something that is sad,
919 Speak how I fell. I have done; and God forgive me!
[Exeunt Duke and train.]
First Gentleman
920 O, this is full of pity! Sir, it calls,
921 I fear, too many curses on their heads
922 That were the authors.
Second Gentleman
923 If the Duke be guiltless,
924 'Tis full of woe; yet I can give you inkling
925 Of an ensuing evil, if it fall,
926 Greater than this.
First Gentleman
927 Good angels keep it from us!
928 What may it be? You do not doubt my faith, sir?
Second Gentleman
929 This secret is so weighty, 'twill require
930 A strong faith to conceal it.
First Gentleman
931 Let me have it.
932 I do not talk much.
Second Gentleman
933 I am confident;
934 You shall, sir. Did you not of late days hear
935 A buzzing of a separation
936 Between the King and Katherine?
First Gentleman
937 Yes, but it held not;
938 For when the King once heard it, out of anger
939 He sent command to the Lord Mayor straight
940 To stop the rumour, and allay those tongues
941 That durst disperse it.
Second Gentleman
942 But that slander, sir,
943 Is found a truth now; for it grows again
944 Fresher than e'er it was; and held for certain
945 The King will venture at it. Either the Cardinal,
946 Or some about him near, have, out of malice
947 To the good Queen, possess'd him with a scruple
948 That will undo her. To confirm this too,
949 Cardinal Campeius is arriv'd, and lately;
950 As all think, for this business.
First Gentleman
951 'Tis the Cardinal;
952 And merely to revenge him on the Emperor
953 For not bestowing on him, at his asking,
954 The archbishopric of Toledo, this is purpos'd.
Second Gentleman
955 I think you have hit the mark; but is't not cruel
956 That she should feel the smart of this? The Cardinal
957 Will have his will, and she must fall.
First Gentleman
958 'Tis woeful.
959 We are too open here to argue this;
960 Let's think in private more.
[Exeunt.]

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Notes

TLN 783historical topical
“Came to the bar; where to his accusations”
'The bar' was the physical barrier in a law court behind which a prisoner stood to be charged. Coming to the bar meant appearing before the judges to hear the accusation read aloud and to enter a plea. Buckingham's trial before his peers in 1521 — on charges of treasonably intending to kill the king, based partly on his surveyor's testimony — followed the formal procedure shown here.
TLN 789archaic vocab
“brought viva voce to his face”
'Viva voce' is Latin for 'by living voice' — that is, in person and speaking aloud rather than through written statements. Buckingham wanted his accusers brought before him so he could challenge them face to face. Under Tudor treason law a defendant had no guaranteed right to confront witnesses; the Crown could proceed on written depositions alone, which made the accused nearly helpless.
TLN 790historical topical
“his surveyor; Sir Gilbert Peck his chancellor; and John Car, Confessor to him, with that devil-monk, Hopkins”
These four witnesses are the informers whose testimony condemned Buckingham. His surveyor (estate manager) had been dismissed and bore a grudge; his chancellor and confessor were men of his own household who turned against him. Nicholas Hopkins, a Carthusian monk of Hinton, had been feeding the Duke prophecies that he would one day be king — the core of the treason charge against him.
TLN 804archaic vocab
“brought again to the bar, to hear His knell rung out, his judgment”
A 'knell' is a bell tolled slowly to announce a death. The First Gentleman is saying that hearing the verdict of death felt like hearing the death-bell — the formal sentencing was, to Buckingham, the same as the ringing of his funeral bell. 'His knell rung out' is the sentence of execution, spoken before it is carried out.
TLN 807archaic vocab
“something spoke in choler, ill, and hasty”
'Choler' was one of the four bodily humors believed to govern temperament; an excess of choler (yellow bile) produced anger, rashness, and irascibility. To 'speak in choler' means to burst out in hot, uncontrolled anger. The First Gentleman is noting that Buckingham briefly lost composure before recovering his dignity.
TLN 815historical topical
“The Cardinal is the end of this”
'The end of this' means the true cause, the one who brought it about. The Second Gentleman voices the widely held contemporary view that Cardinal Wolsey engineered Buckingham's destruction. Buckingham had publicly challenged Wolsey's authority, and the Cardinal was thought to have arranged his surveyor's damning testimony in revenge.
historical Cardinal Wolseyhistorical The fall of princes (de casibus tragedy)
TLN 829archaic vocab
“Hate him perniciously, and, o' my conscience, Wish him ten fathom deep”
'Perniciously' means intensely, destructively, with deep hostility. 'Ten fathom deep' (a fathom is six feet) means sixty feet under the sea — the commons wish Wolsey drowned and buried far beyond reach. The Second Gentleman is contrasting the people's love of Buckingham with their hatred of the Cardinal who brought him down.
TLN 831rhetorical device
“bounteous Buckingham, The mirror of all courtesy”
A 'mirror' in Elizabethan usage meant a perfect pattern or model to imitate, not merely a reflective glass. To call Buckingham 'the mirror of all courtesy' is to call him the supreme exemplar of noble, generous, well-mannered behavior. The phrase establishes the popular mourning for him and recalls a traditional de casibus topos: the great man's virtues make his fall more terrible.
historical The fall of princes (de casibus tragedy)
TLN 833stage direction note
“Stay there, sir, And see the noble ruin'd man you speak of”
The stage direction specifies that Buckingham enters with 'tipstaves before him' and 'the axe with the edge towards him.' Tipstaves were officers who carried a white-tipped staff as a badge of authority; they escorted condemned prisoners. The axe was the symbol of an attainted lord's imminent execution: carried with the blade pointing toward the prisoner, it showed the death sentence had been passed. Turned the other way it would have meant acquittal.
TLN 841rhetorical device
“if I have a conscience, let it sink me, Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful”
Buckingham swears his innocence by invoking his own conscience against himself: if he is guilty of treason, let his conscience destroy him at the very moment of execution. This is a formal oath on his own soul — the highest available pledge — designed to convince the watching crowd that the trial was unjust. The construction 'let [X happen to me] if [I am lying]' is a standard self-curse formula.
TLN 849biblical allusion
“my guiltless blood must cry against 'em”
Buckingham alludes to the biblical idea that innocent blood 'cries' to God for vengeance. In Genesis, after Cain murders Abel, God tells Cain that his brother's blood 'crieth unto me from the ground' (Genesis 4:10, Geneva 1599). Buckingham is warning his enemies that if he is indeed innocent, his blood will call down divine punishment on those who arranged his death.
biblical Cain and Abel: the first murder
TLN 866archaic vocab
“no black envy Shall mark my grave”
'Black envy' is envy characterized as a moral stain or darkness — Shakespeare often uses 'black' to mean wicked, sinister, or corrupting. Buckingham says that even though his enemies acted out of envy toward him, he will not let envy mark or taint his memory. He will die without that particular sin on his soul.
TLN 885historical topical
“I was Lord High Constable And Duke of Buckingham; now, poor Edward Bohun”
The Lord High Constable was one of the great officers of state — responsible for military justice and precedence at royal ceremonies. Convicted of treason, Buckingham loses all his titles and falls back to a plain personal style, 'Edward Bohun.' His actual family surname was Stafford; 'Bohun' was the ancient dynastic line through which the Staffords claimed the hereditary constableship, and the play uses it for the stripped-down man. The attainder for treason automatically forfeited a peer's title and lands and 'corrupted' his blood, erasing his noble rank.
TLN 890historical topical
“My noble father, Henry of Buckingham, Who first rais'd head against usurping Richard, Flying for succour to his servant Banister, Being distress'd, was by that wretch betray'd”
Buckingham's father, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, supported Richard III's seizure of the throne, then turned against him and led a failed rebellion in 1483. Fleeing with a price on his head, he took shelter with a retainer named Ralph Banister — who betrayed him to Richard for a reward. He was executed without trial. Henry VII then restored the family honors to the surviving son, the Duke in this scene.
historical The fall of princes (de casibus tragedy)
TLN 904rhetorical device
“we are one in fortunes: both Fell by our servants, by those men we lov'd most; A most unnatural and faithless service”
Buckingham draws a formal parallel between his own fate and his father's: both dukes of Buckingham were brought down not by enemies but by trusted servants. This is a classic de casibus reflection — the fall of the mighty, brought low by those closest to them rather than by open foes. The word 'unnatural' carries moral weight: a servant's loyalty was a quasi-filial bond, so betrayal by a servant was as monstrous as treachery within a family.
historical The fall of princes (de casibus tragedy)
TLN 912archaic vocab
“The least rub in your fortunes, fall away Like water from ye”
A 'rub' was a term from the game of bowls for any obstacle or imperfection on the green that deflected the bowl from its course; by extension, any setback or check in one's affairs. Buckingham is warning the crowd: the moment your luck turns, friends 'fall away' (desert you) like water, slipping off without leaving any trace. The water simile turns fair-weather friendship into something slippery and without grip.
TLN 935historical topical
“a buzzing of a separation Between the King and Katherine”
'Buzzing' meant a whispered rumor, a murmur circulating through the crowd like bees. A 'separation' here is the first public hint of what will become the central crisis of the play: Henry's campaign to dissolve his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. The two gentlemen treat it as dangerous gossip — the king himself had a rumor-monger silenced — but the Second Gentleman knows it is now confirmed fact.
historical The King's Great Matter (Henry's divorce)
TLN 947archaic vocab
“possess'd him with a scruple That will undo her”
To 'possess' someone in this sense means to fill their mind with an idea or feeling, as if taking possession of it — not literally to own a person. A 'scruple' was a tiny unit of weight (one-twenty-fourth of an ounce), and hence any very small doubt or nagging unease of conscience. The Second Gentleman is saying that someone has planted in Henry's mind a nagging doubt about the lawfulness of his marriage that, small as it seems, will destroy Katherine.
historical The King's Great Matter (Henry's divorce)
TLN 949historical topical
“Cardinal Campeius is arriv'd, and lately; As all think, for this business”
Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio (Campeius in the play) arrived in England in October 1528, sent by Pope Clement VII as papal legate to co-preside with Wolsey over a legatine court to judge the validity of Henry's marriage. The fact that a papal legate has arrived signals to the two gentlemen that the divorce proceeding is now real, not rumor. Campeggio adjourned the court to Rome in 1529 without giving a verdict, infuriating Henry.
historical The King's Great Matter (Henry's divorce)historical The break with Rome and the English Reformation