STAUFF.
We swore that we should wait till Christmastide.
RUDENZ.
I was not there—I did not take the oath.
If you delay, I will not!
MELCHTHAL.
What! You would—
RUDENZ.
I count me now among the country's chiefs,
And my first duty is to guard your rights.
FÜRST.
Your nearest and your holiest duty is
Within the earth to lay these dear remains.