All 5 Uses of
scruples
in
Henry VIII
- Either the Cardinal, Or some about him near, have, out of malice To the good Queen, possess'd him with a scruple That will undo her.†
Scene 2.1 *scruple = an ethical or moral principle that discourages certain kinds of action
- Your Grace has given a precedent of wisdom Above all princes, in committing freely Your scruple to the voice of Christendom.†
Scene 2.2
- Most gracious sir, In humblest manner I require your Highness, That it shall please you to declare, in hearing Of all these ears,—for, where I am robb'd and bound, There must I be unloos'd, although not there At once and fully satisfied,—whether ever I Did broach this business to your Highness, or Laid any scruple in your way, which might Induce you to the question on't?†
Scene 2.4
- Thus it came; give heed to't: My conscience first receiv'd a tenderness, Scruple, and prick, on certain speeches utter'd By the Bishop of Bayonne, then French ambassador; Who had been hither sent on the debating A marriage 'twixt the Duke of Orleans and Our daughter Mary.†
Scene 2.4
- The Archbishop Of Canterbury, accompanied with other Learned and reverend fathers of his order, Held a late court at Dunstable, six miles off From Ampthill where the Princess lay; to which She was often cited by them, but appear'd not; And, to be short, for not appearance and The King's late scruple, by the main assent Of all these learned men she was divorc'd, And the late marriage made of none effect; Since which she was remov'd to Kimbolton, Where she remains now sick.†
Scene 4.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(scruples) ethical or moral principles that discourage certain kinds of action
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, scruple can be used as a verb meaning "hesitate on moral grounds" as in "He lied and did not even scruple about it."
Even more rarely and archaically, at one time a scruple was a measure of weight equal to 20 grains (about 1.3 grams).