HISTORY OF KING HENRY VII. 291 



&quot; offence by all laws, but to counterfeit the living 

 &quot; image of a king in his person, exceedeth all falsifi- 

 &quot; cations, except it should be that of a Mahomet, or 

 &quot; an Antichrist, that counterfeit divine honour. The 

 &quot; king hath too great an opinion of this sage coun- 

 &quot; cil, to think that any of you is caught with this 

 &quot; fable, though way may be given by you to the 

 &quot; passion of some, the thing in itself is so improba- 

 &quot; ble. To set testimonies aside of the death of Duke 

 &quot; Richard, which the king hath upon record, plain 

 &quot; and infallible, because they may be thought to be 

 &quot; in the king s own power, let the thing testify for 

 &quot; itself. Sense and reason no power can command. 

 &quot; Is it possible, trow you, that King Richard should 

 &quot; damn his soul, and foul his name with so abomin- 

 &quot; able a murder, and yet not mend his case ? Or do 

 &quot; you think that men of blood, that were his instru- 

 &quot; ments, did turn to pity in the midst of their exe- 

 &quot; cution ? Whereas in cruel and savage beasts, and 

 &quot; men also, the first draught of blood doth yet make 

 &quot; them more fierce and enraged. Do you not know 

 ( that the bloody executioners of tyrants do go to 

 &quot; such errands with an halter about their neck ; so 

 &quot; that if they perform not they are sure to die for it? 

 &quot; And do you think that these men would hazard 

 &quot; their own lives for sparing another s ? Admit they 

 &quot; should have saved him, what should they have 

 &quot; done with him ? Turn him into London streets, 

 that the watchmen, or any passenger that should 

 &quot; light upon him, might carry him before a justice, 

 &quot; and so all come to light ? Or should they have kept 



