~
NORFOLK Thomas, you insult the King and His Council in the person of the Lord Archbishop!~
MORE I insult no one. I will not take the oath. I will not tell you why I will not.~
NORFOLK Then your reasons must be treasonable!~
MORE Not "must be"; may be.~
NORFOLK It's a fair assumption!~
MORE The law requires more than an assumption; the law requires a fact.(CROMWELL looks at him and away again)
~
CRANMER I cannot judge your legal standing in the case; but until I know the ground of your objection, I can only guess your spiritual standing too.~
MORE (For a second furiously affronted; then humor overtakes him) If you're willing to guess at that, Your Grace, it should be a small matter to guess my objections.~
CROMWELL (Quickly) You do have objections to the Act?~
NORFOLK (Happily) Well, we know that, Cromwell!~
MORE You don't, my lord. You may suppose I have objections. All you know is that I will not swear to it. From sheer delight to give you trouble it might be.~
NORFOLK Is it material why you won't?~
MORE It's most material. For refusing to swear, my goods are forfeit and I am condemned to life imprisonment. You cannot lawfully harm me further. But if you were right in supposing I had reasons for refusing and right again in supposing my reasons to be treasonable, the law would let you cut my head off.~
NORFOLK (He has followed with some difficulty) Oh yes.~
CROMWELL (An admiring murmur) Oh, well done, Sir Thomas. I've been trying to make that clear to His Grace for some time.~ from Act II of the play
A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt
* * *
Persevero,
Scribe
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