BECKET.
At their peril, at their peril--
WALTER MAP.
--For tho' the drop may hollow out the dead stone,
doth not the living skin thicken against perpetual whippings?
This is the second grain of good counsel I
ever proffered thee, and so cannot suffer by the rule of
frequency. Have I sown it in salt? I trust not, for
before God I promise you the King hath many more
wolves than he can tame in his woods of England, and
if it suit their purpose to howl for the King, and you
still move against him, you may have no less than to
die for it; but God and his free wind grant your lordship
a happy home-return and the King's kiss of peace
in Kent. Farewell! I must follow the King.
[_Exit_.
HERBERT.
Ay, and I warrant the customs. Did the King
Speak of the customs?
BECKET.
No!--To die for it--
I live to die for it, I die to live for it.
The State will die, the Church can never die.
The King's not like to die for that which dies;
But I must die for that which never dies.
It will be so--my visions in the Lord:
It must be so, my friend! the wolves of England
Must murder her one shepherd, that the sheep
May feed in peace.
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