(_Hamlet_, I., iii., 65-7.)]
But although Henry's patriotic instinct can drive him into battle, it
keeps him faithful there to the paths of humanity. Always alive to the
horrors of war, he sternly forbids looting or even the use of
insulting language to the enemy. It is only when a defeated enemy
declines to acknowledge the obvious ruin of his fortunes that a sane
and practical patriotism defends resort on the part of the conqueror
to the grimmest measure of severity. The healthy instinct stiffens the
grip on the justly won fruits of victory. As soon as Henry V. sees
that the French wilfully deny the plain fact of their overthrow, he is
moved, quite consistently, to exclaim:--
What is it then to me if impious war,
Arrayed in flames like to the prince of fiends,
Do with his smirched complexion all fell feats,
Enlinked to waste and desolation?
The context makes it clear that there is no confusion here between the
patriotic instinct and mere bellicose ecstasy.
The confusion of patriotism with militant aggressiveness is as
familiar to the Shakespearean drama as to the external world; but it
is always exhibited by Shakespeare in its proper colours.
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