John

“ Faithful John was his best-beloved servant, and was so called because he had served the King faithfully all his life long. When he came near the bed, the King said to him, "Faithful John, I feel my end drawing near, and my only care is for my son; he is yet of tender years, and does not always know how to shape his conduct; and unless you promise me to instruct him in all his actions and be a true foster-father to him, I shall not be able to close my eyes in peace." Then answered Faithful John, "I will never forsake him, and will serve him faithfully, even though it should cost me my life." ”

“ John
Is this the man? Bastard
It is, my lord. John
Prophet of Pomfret, for so I hear thou art, That calculat’st of many things to come: Who by a power replete with heavenly gift Can’st blab the counsel of thy maker’s will. If fame be true, or truth be wronged by thee, Decide in ciphering what these five moons Portend this clime, if they presage at all. Breathe out thy gift, and if I live to see Thy divination take a true effect, I’ll honor thee above all earthly men. Peter
The sky wherein these moons have residence Presenteth Rome, the great metropolis Where sits the Pope in all his holy pomp. ”

“ John, I say; that John who like John the Evangelist was indeed a disciple of Jesus and an Apostle; and so to speak ever reclined on the breast and heart of the Lord. Remember him, I say. Follow him. Think of his purity, his faith, his doctrine, and holiness. Remember
him ever as your teacher and nurse, in whose bosom and embraces you as it were grew up. Who was the teacher in common both of you and of me: whose disciples and pupils we are. Read his writings. Hold fast his instruction. Embrace his faith and merits. ”

“ John. We do not suffer him to tell us of the Word, and then to tell us how the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among men, and manifested forth His glory. We start from an assumption and speculation of our own; we chain the Apostle, as if he were a Proteus, that we may compel him to give forth, not his own oracles, but those which we have put into his mouth. If I could induce but one student of divinity to abandon this perilous and irreverent course, I should believe that God had permitted me to be an instrument of some good to His Church. ”

“ John, my lord, with all his scattered troops, Flying the fury of your conquering sword, As Pharaoh erst within the bloody sea, So he and his environed with the tide, On Lincoln washes all were overwhelmed, The barons fled, our forces cast away. ”

“ Enter King John, Eleanor, Arthur, the Bastard, Hubert and Lords.
KING JOHN.
[To Eleanor] So shall it be; your grace shall stay behind
So strongly guarded.
[To Arthur] Cousin, look not sad.
Thy grandam loves thee, and thy uncle will
As dear be to thee as thy father was.
ARTHUR.
O, this will make my mother die with grief!
KING JOHN.
[To the Bastard] Cousin, away for England! Haste before,
And, ere our coming, see thou shake the bags
Of hoarding abbots; imprison’d angels
Set at liberty. The fat ribs of peace
Must by the hungry now be fed upon. ”

“ John, the divine, the theologian, does not indulge us in this wish. He is determined that we should understand it to have been an ordinary wedding-feast, at which men drank as at others. 'The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine.' Whatever meaning we may discover in the words when we know who spoke them and to whom they were spoken, they are plain words, the announcement of the plainest fact. ”

“ On being introduced to all those outside his present circle of acquaintance on this evening, and viewing the dazzling glow of splendour which shone, through spectacles of wonder, in all its glory, Sir John felt his past life but a dismal dream, brightened here and there with a crystal speck of sunshine that had partly hidden its gladdening rays of bright futurity until compelled to glitter with the daring effect they soon should produce. ”

“ My great vent is that I can pour out my love upon you, John, without stint. Now that I know you are mine, I have some one whom I can deluge with it. Do you know, John, I believe that when God made me He collected together the requisite portions of reason, imagination, and will,—there was a great plenty of will, John,—and all the other ingredients that go to make a human being. ”

“ King John
Lady, stand up, be patient for awhile; And fellow, say, whose bastard is thy brother? Philip
Not for myself, nor for my mother now, But for the honor of so brave a man, Whom he accuseth with adultery, Here I beseech your grace upon my knees, To count him mad, and so dismiss us hence. Robert
Nor mad, nor mazed, but well advised, I Charge thee before this royal presence here To be a bastard to King Richard’s self, Son to your grace, and brother to your Majesty. Thus bluntly, and— Queen Eleanor
Young man, thou need’st not be ashamed of thy kin, Nor of thy sire. ”

“ John bore witness of Him and cried, saying, This was He of whom I spoke. He that cometh after me is preferred before me because He was before me. We have all received of His fullness, grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, hath declared Him.
And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? ”

“ John comprises all that is in the world, which we are not to love, under three heads: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; and to keep ourselves unspotted from all these is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. ”

“ KING JOHN. Why, what a madcap hath heaven lent us here! ELINOR. He hath a trick of Coeur-de-lion's face; The accent of his tongue affecteth him. Do you not read some tokens of my son In the large composition of this man? KING JOHN. Mine eye hath well examined his parts And finds them perfect Richard. Sirrah, speak, What doth move you to claim your brother's land? BASTARD. Because he hath a half-face, like my father. With half that face would he have all my land: A half-fac'd groat five hundred pound a year! ”

“ Is this the man that doth contemn the pope? Is this the man that robbed the holy church, And yet will fly unto a friary? Is this the king that aims at abbeys’ lands? Is this the man whom all the world abhors, And yet will fly unto a friary? Accursed be Swinstead Abbey, abbot, friars, Monks, nuns, and clerks, and all that dwells therein, If wicked John escape alive away. Now if that thou wilt look to merit heaven, And be canonized for a holy saint, To please the world with a deserving work, Be thou the man to set thy country free, And murder him that seeks to murder thee. ”

“ John wishes to draw our attention. If Christ's other signs testified that there is an invisible power at work in all the springs of our life,—that there is a Fountain of life from which those springs are continually refreshed and renewed,—did not this sign testify that there is a potency and virtue in the very commonest things; that God has stored all nature with instruments for the blessing and healing of His creatures? The mere miracle-worker who draws glory to himself wishes to dispense with these things, lest he should be confounded with the ordinary physician. ”

“ And the holy man John gave the news to her husband, and said unto him, “If thou didst only know the grace of God, for behold, a son hath been born unto thee this day, thou wouldst praise God, for his mother hath suffered in no small degree. Behold, thou shalt go and shalt find the boy to be seven days old on thine arrival, and thou shalt give him the name of John, and when he hath grown up, and hath been instructed, and is seven years of age, thou shalt send him to the solitary monks in the desert.” ”

“ John, on whose breast He leaned, nor the Blessed Virgin, who bore Him in her arms. Is it not permitted to the poorest and the weakest of you to see Him, not in His humility, but in his glory—to converse with Him and dwell with Him in the land of the living? Oh! blessed are they that dwell in Thy house! The world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and do it! Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God! ”

“ Thou shalt 'not be hurt with the second death.' I give thee 'a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written.' I give thee 'the morning star.' 'I will in no wise blot thy name out of the book of life! I make you a pillar in the temple of My God.' O John, rememberest thou thy petition and that of thy brother who has long been with Me,—'Grant unto us that we may sit, one on Thy right hand, and one on Thy left hand in Thy glory'? Thou thoughtest that 'glory' was an earthly throne, which thou never sawest. But thou hast overcome thy pride and ambition, thy jealous and revengeful spirit. ”

“ An ardent, white-toothed, ready youth, One who for aught he did ne’er mourned. This is the eighth day without John, Heir to M’Leod of bluest eye; Like he is in mien and strength To the great house of liberal heart. Cheerful he is, does nought conceal, Such is the fame of sharp-armed John. In battle’s day he takes the lead, Ever ready fame to win. William’s son, my foster child, Son to Janet, royal her race, Did I but hear thou cam’st from the north, All my gloom would disappear. ”

“ John as an historian attain the higher region which is usually reached by genius alone—which has given us narratives and passages whose ideal beauty or awe is so transcendent or solemn, whose pictorial grandeur or pathos is so inexhaustible, whose philosophical depth is so unfathomable. ”

“ What he noticed would furnish a grand subject for the most skilful artist, beneath whose picture might be written, "The disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom He spake." As John gazed upon them, raising themselves on their divans, looking first one way, then another, from one familiar face to another, exchanging glances of inquiry and doubt, each distrustful of himself and his fellow, he beheld what angels might have looked upon with even deeper interest. ”

“ A singular paleness crossed the deeply religious face of John. As the vessel rose on the waves, he passed his hand hurriedly first across his brows and then over his high-buttoned clerical waistcoat, that visible sign of a devoted ascetic life! Then murmuring in his low, deep voice, "Brandy, steward," he disappeared below. ”

“ Art thou John, who said that my Kingdom would speedily be uprooted, and that another King, Jesus, was going to reign instead of me? And John answered and said to him: Thou also shalt reign for many years given to thee by God, and after thee very many others; and when the times of the things upon earth have been fulfilled, out of heaven shall come a King, eternal, true, Judge of living and dead, to whom every nation and tribe shall confess, through whom every earthly power and dominion shall be brought to nothing, and every mouth speaking strange things shall be shut. ”

“ Exeunt FRIAR, RALPH.
ROB. H. Heard'st thou not, Little John, the friar's speech,
Wishing for rescue or a quick reprieve?
LIT. JOHN. He seems like a good fellow, my good lord.
ROB. H. He's a good fellow, John, upon my word.
Lend me thy horn, and get thee in to Much,
And when I blow this horn, come both, and help me.
LIT. JOHN. Take heed, my lord: that villain Warman knows you,
And ten to one he hath a writ against you.
ROB. H. Fear not.
Below the bridge a poor blind man doth dwell,
With him I will change my habit, and disguise:
Only be ready when I call for ye ”

“ Wherever a religious teacher shows that he has John's qualities, as our Lord in His eulogium analysed them—namely, unalterable resolution, like an iron pillar, and not like a reed shaken with the wind, conspicuous superiority to considerations of ease and comfort, a direct vision of the unseen, and a message from God, the crowds will go out to see him; and even if the enthusiasm be shallow and transient, some spasm of conviction will pass across many a conscience, and some will be pointed by him to the King. ”

“ And when Jesus had spoken further to the messengers of John, he turned again to the multitude and said: “Do not think that John doubts the gospel of the kingdom. He makes inquiry only to assure his disciples who are also my disciples. John is no weakling. Let me ask you who heard John preach before Herod put him in prison: What did you behold in John—a reed shaken with the wind? A man of changeable moods and clothed in soft raiment? As a rule they who are gorgeously appareled and who live delicately are in kings' courts and in the mansions of the rich. ”

“ Pembroke
Aye, there’s the way, let’s rather kneel to him, Than to the French that would confound us all. Exeunt.
Scene 19 Enter King John carried between 2 lords.
John
Set down, set down the load not worth your pain, For done I am with deadly wounding grief; Sickly and succorless, hopeless of any good, The world hath wearied me, and I have wearied it. It loathes I live, I live and loathe myself. Who pities me? To whom have I been kind? But to a few; a few will pity me. Why die I not? Death scorns so vile a prey. Why live I not? Life hates so sad a prize. ”

“ It is better to care for the living than for the body of my relative. For I know that by turning to the Lord and saving my soul John will not refuse to raise the dead." And John rose from his place and went to that which the relative of the priest had occupied with these thoughts, and, taking him by the hand, he said, "Were these not thy thoughts, as thou earnest to me, child?" And he answered tremblingly, "Yea, lord!" and fell down at his feet. And John said, "Our Lord is Jesus Christ, who will prove His power on the body of thy relative by raising him." ”