In a Cronique I finde also
Of Siculus, which was ek so
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 203=]
[Sidenote: Hic loquitur vlterius de crudelitate Siculi
tiranni,[1254] necnon et de Berillo eiusdem Consiliario, qui
ad tormentum populi quendam taurum eneum tirannica coniectura
fabricari constituit; in quo tamen ipse prior, proprio crimine
illud exigente, vsque ad sui interitus expiracionem iudicialiter
torquebatur.]
A cruel king lich the tempeste,
The whom no Pite myhte areste,--[1255]
He was the ferste, as bokes seie,
Upon the See which fond Galeie 3300
And let hem make for the werre,--
As he which al was out of herre (3500*)
Fro Pite and misericorde;
For therto couthe he noght acorde,
Bot whom he myhte slen, he slouh,
And therof was he glad ynouh.
He hadde of conseil manyon,
Among the whiche ther was on,
Be name which Berillus hihte;
And he bethoghte him hou he myhte 3310
Unto the tirant do likinge,
And of his oghne ymaginynge
Let forge and make a Bole of bras,
And on the side cast ther was
A Dore, wher a man mai inne,
Whan he his peine schal beginne
Thurgh fyr, which that men putten under.
And al this dede he for a wonder,
That whanne a man for peine cride,
The Bole of bras, which gapeth wyde, 3320
It scholde seme as thogh it were
A belwinge in a mannes Ere,
And noght the criinge of a man.
Bot he which alle sleihtes can,
The devel, that lith in helle fast,
Him that this caste hath overcast,[1256]
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 204=]
That for a trespas which he dede
He was putt in the same stede,
And was himself the ferste of alle
Which was into that peine falle[1257] 3330
That he for othre men ordeigneth;
Ther was noman which him compleigneth.[1258]
Of tirannie and crualte
Be this ensample a king mai se,
Himself and ek his conseil bothe,
Hou thei ben to mankinde lothe
And to the god abhominable.
Ensamples that ben concordable[1259]
I finde of othre Princes mo,
As thou schalt hiere, of time go.[1260] 3340
The grete tirant Dionys,
Which mannes lif sette of no pris,[1261]
[Sidenote: [DIONYSIUS AND HIS HORSES.]]
Unto his hors fulofte he yaf
The men in stede of corn and chaf,
[Sidenote: Nota hic de Dionisio tiranno, qui mire
crudelitatis seueritate eciam hospites suos ad deuorandum
equis suis tribuit: cui Hercules tandem superueniens victum
impium in impietate sua pari morte conclusit.]
So that the hors of thilke stod
Devoureden the mennes blod;
Til fortune ate laste cam,
That Hercules him overcam,
And he riht in the same wise
Of this tirant tok the juise: 3350
As he til othre men hath do,
The same deth he deide also, (3550*)
That no Pite him hath socoured,
Til he was of hise hors devoured.
[Sidenote: [LICHAON.]]
Of Lichaon also I finde
Hou he ayein the lawe of kinde
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 205=]
[Sidenote: Nota hic de consimili Lichaontis tirannia, qui carnes
hominum hominibus in suo hospicio ad vescendum dedit; cuius
formam condicioni similem Iupiter[1262] coequans ipsum in lupum
transformauit.]
Hise hostes slouh, and into mete
He made her bodies to ben ete
With othre men withinne his hous.
Bot Jupiter the glorious, 3360
Which was commoeved of this thing,
Vengance upon this cruel king
So tok, that he fro mannes forme
Into a wolf him let transforme:
And thus the crualte was kidd,
Which of long time he hadde hidd;
A wolf he was thanne openly,
The whos nature prively
He hadde in his condicion.
And unto this conclusioun, 3370
That tirannie is to despise,
I finde ensample in sondri wise,
And nameliche of hem fulofte,
The whom fortune hath set alofte
Upon the werres forto winne.
Bot hou so that the wrong beginne
Of tirannie, it mai noght laste,
Bot such as thei don ate laste
To othre men, such on hem falleth;
For ayein suche Pite calleth 3380
Vengance to the god above.
For who that hath no tender love
In savinge of a mannes lif,
He schal be founde so gultif,
That whanne he wolde mercy crave
[Sidenote: [NOBLENESS OF THE LION.]]
In time of nede, he schal non have.
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 206=]
Of the natures this I finde,[1263]
[Sidenote: Nota qualiter Leo hominibus stratis parcit.]
The fierce Leon in his kinde,
Which goth rampende after his preie,
If he a man finde in his weie, 3390
He wole him slen, if he withstonde.
Bot if the man coude understonde
To falle anon before his face
In signe of mercy and of grace,
The Leon schal of his nature
Restreigne his ire in such mesure,
As thogh it were a beste tamed,[1264]
And torne awey halfvinge aschamed,
That he the man schal nothing grieve.
Hou scholde than a Prince achieve 3400
The worldes grace, if that he wolde
Destruie a man whanne he is yolde (3600*)
And stant upon his mercy al?
Bot forto speke in special,
Ther have be suche and yit ther be
Tirantz, whos hertes no pite
Mai to no point of mercy plie,
That thei upon her tirannie
Ne gladen hem the men to sle;
And as the rages of the See 3410
Ben unpitous in the tempeste,
Riht so mai no Pite areste[1265]
Of crualte the gret oultrage,
Which the tirant in his corage
Engendred hath: wherof I finde
A tale, which comth nou to mynde.
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 207=]
I rede in olde bokes thus:
[Sidenote: [SPERTACHUS AND THAMARIS.]]
Ther was a Duk, which Spertachus
Men clepe, and was a werreiour,
[Sidenote: Hic loquitur precipue[1266] contra tirannos
illos qui, cum in bello vincere possunt, humani sanguinis
effusione saturari nequiunt. Et narrat in exemplum de
quodam Persarum Rege, cuius nomen Spertachus erat, qui
pre ceteris tunc in Oriente bellicosus et victoriosus,
quoscunque gladio vincere poterat, absque pietate interfici
constituit. Set tandem sub manu Thamaris Marsegetarum
Regine in bello captus, quod a diu quesivit, seueritatem
pro seueritate finaliter inuenit. Nam et ipsa quoddam vas
de sanguine Persarum plenum ante se afferri[1267] decreuit,
in quo caput tiranni vsque ad mortem mergens dixit: ‘O
tirannorum crudelissime, semper esuriens sanguinem sitisti:
ecce iam ad saturitatem sanguinem bibe.’]
A cruel man, a conquerour 3420
With strong pouer the which he ladde.
For this condicion he hadde,
That where him hapneth the victoire,[1268]
His lust and al his moste gloire
Was forto sle and noght to save:
Of rancoun wolde he no good have
For savinge of a mannes lif,
Bot al goth to the swerd and knyf,
So lief him was the mannes blod.[1269]
And natheles yit thus it stod, 3430
So as fortune aboute wente,
He fell riht heir as be descente[1270]
To Perse, and was coroned king.
And whan the worschipe of this thing
Was falle, and he was king of Perse,
If that thei weren ferst diverse,
The tirannies whiche he wroghte,
A thousendfold welmore he soghte
Thanne afterward to do malice.
The god vengance ayein the vice[1271] 3440
Hath schape: for upon a tyde,
Whan he was heihest in his Pride,
In his rancour and in his hete
Ayein the queene of Marsagete,
Which Thameris that time hihte,
He made werre al that he myhte:
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 208=]
And sche, which wolde hir loud defende,
Hir oghne Sone ayein him sende,[1272]
Which the defence hath undertake.
Bot he desconfit was and take; 3450
And whan this king him hadde in honde,
He wol no mercy understonde, (3650*)
Bot dede him slen in his presence.
The tidinge of this violence[1273]
Whan it cam to the moder Ere,
Sche sende anon ay wydewhere
To suche frendes as sche hadde,
A gret pouer til that sche ladde.
In sondri wise and tho sche caste
Hou sche this king mai overcaste; 3460
And ate laste acorded was,
That in the danger of a pass,
Thurgh which this tirant scholde passe,
Sche schop his pouer to compasse[1274]
With strengthe of men be such a weie[1275]
That he schal noght eschape aweie.
And whan sche hadde thus ordeigned,
Sche hath hir oghne bodi feigned,
For feere as thogh sche wolde flee
Out of hir lond: and whan that he 3470
Hath herd hou that this ladi fledde,
So faste after the chace he spedde,
That he was founde out of array.
For it betidde upon a day,
Into the pas whanne he was falle,
Thembuisschementz tobrieken alle[1276]
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 209=]
And him beclipte on every side,
That fle ne myhte he noght aside:
So that ther weren dede and take
Tuo hundred thousend for his sake, 3480
That weren with him of his host.
And thus was leid the grete bost
Of him and of his tirannie:[1277]
It halp no mercy forto crie[1278]
To him which whilom dede non;
For he unto the queene anon
Was broght, and whan that sche him sih,
This word sche spak and seide on hih:
‘O man, which out of mannes kinde
Reson of man hast left behinde 3490
And lived worse than a beste,
Whom Pite myhte noght areste,
The mannes blod to schede and spille
Thou haddest nevere yit thi fille.
Bot nou the laste time is come,
That thi malice is overcome:
As thou til othre men hast do,
Nou schal be do to thee riht so.’
Tho bad this ladi that men scholde
A vessel bringe, in which sche wolde 3500
Se the vengance of his juise,
Which sche began anon devise; (3700*)
And tok the Princes whiche he ladde,
Be whom his chief conseil he hadde,
And whil hem lasteth eny breth,[1279]
Sche made hem blede to the deth
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 210=]
Into the vessel wher it stod:
And whan it was fulfild of blod,
Sche caste this tirant therinne,
And seide him, ‘Lo, thus myht thou wynne[1280] 3510
The lustes of thin appetit.
In blod was whilom thi delit,
Nou schalt thou drinken al thi fille.’
And thus onliche of goddes wille,
He which that wolde himselve strange
To Pite, fond mercy so strange,
That he withoute grace is lore.
So may it schewe wel therfore
That crualte hath no good ende;
Bot Pite, hou so that it wende, 3520
Makth that the god is merciable,
If ther be cause resonable
Why that a king schal be pitous.[1281]
Bot elles, if he be doubtous
To slen in cause of rihtwisnesse,
It mai be said no Pitousnesse,
Bot it is Pusillamite,
[Sidenote: [MERCY MUST BE WITHOUT WEAKNESS.]]
Which every Prince scholde flee.
For if Pite mesure excede,
Kinghode may noght wel procede[1282] 3530
To do justice upon the riht:
For it belongeth to a knyht
Als gladly forto fihte as reste,
To sette his liege poeple in reste,
Whan that the werre upon hem falleth;
For thanne he mote, as it befalleth,
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 211=]
Of his knyhthode as a Leon
Be to the poeple a champioun
Withouten eny Pite feigned.
For if manhode be restreigned, 3540
Or be it pes or be it werre,
Justice goth al out of herre,
So that knyhthode is set behinde.
Of Aristotles lore I finde,
A king schal make good visage,
That noman knowe of his corage
Bot al honour and worthinesse:
For if a king schal upon gesse
Withoute verrai cause drede,
He mai be lich to that I rede; 3550
And thogh that it be lich a fable,[1283]
Thensample is good and resonable. (3750*)
[Sidenote: [THE MOUNTAIN AND THE MOUSE.]]
As it be olde daies fell,
I rede whilom that an hell
[Sidenote: Hic loquitur secundum Philosophum, dicens quod
sicut non decet Principes tirannica impetuositate esse
crudeles, ita nec decet timorosa pusillanimitate esse
vecordes.]
Up in the londes of Archade
A wonder dredful noise made;[1284]
For so it fell that ilke day,
This hell on his childinge lay,
And whan the throwes on him come,
His noise lich the day of dome 3560
Was ferfull in a mannes thoght
Of thing which that thei sihe noght,
Bot wel thei herden al aboute
The noise, of which thei were in doute,
As thei that wenden to be lore
Of thing which thanne was unbore.
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 212=]
The nerr this hell was upon chance
To taken his deliverance,
The more unbuxomliche he cride;
And every man was fledd aside, 3570
For drede and lefte his oghne hous:
And ate laste it was a Mous,
The which was bore and to norrice
Betake; and tho thei hield hem nyce,[1285]
For thei withoute cause dradde.[1286]
Thus if a king his herte ladde
With every thing that he schal hiere,
Fulofte he scholde change his chiere
And upon fantasie drede,
Whan that ther is no cause of drede. 3580
[Sidenote: Nota hic secundum Oracium de magnanimo Yacide et
pusillanime Thersite.]
Orace to his Prince tolde,
That him were levere that he wolde
Upon knihthode Achillem suie
In time of werre, thanne eschuie,
So as Tersites dede at Troie.
Achilles al his hole joie
Sette upon Armes forto fihte;
Tersites soghte al that he myhte
Unarmed forto stonde in reste:[1287]
Bot of the tuo it was the beste 3590
That Achilles upon the nede
Hath do, wherof his knyhtlihiede[1288]
Is yit comended overal.
[Sidenote: Salomon. Tempus belli, tempus pacis.]
King Salomon in special
Seith, as ther is a time of pes,
So is a time natheles
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 213=]
Of werre, in which a Prince algate
Schal for the comun riht debate
And for his oghne worschipe eke.
Bot it behoveth noght to seke 3600
[Sidenote: [THERE IS A TIME FOR WAR.]]
Only the werre for worschipe,
Bot to the riht of his lordschipe, (3800*)
Which he is holde to defende,
Mote every worthi Prince entende.
[Sidenote: Nota qualiter inter duo extrema consistit virtus.]
Betwen the simplesce of Pite
And the folhaste of crualte,
Wher stant the verray hardiesce,[1289]
Ther mote a king his herte adresce,
Whanne it is time to forsake,
And whan time is also to take 3610
The dedly werres upon honde,
That he schal for no drede wonde,
If rihtwisnesse be withal.
For god is myhty overal
To forthren every mannes trowthe,[1290]
Bot it be thurgh his oghne slowthe;
And namely the kinges nede
It mai noght faile forto spede,
For he stant one for hem alle;
So mote it wel the betre falle 3620
And wel the more god favoureth,
Whan he the comun riht socoureth.
And forto se the sothe in dede,
Behold the bible and thou myht rede
Of grete ensamples manyon,
Wherof that I wol tellen on.
[Sidenote: [STORY OF GIDEON.]]
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 214=]
Upon a time as it befell,
Ayein Judee and Irahel[1291]
Whan sondri kinges come were
[Sidenote: Hic dicit quod Princeps iusticie causa bellum
nullo modo timere debet. Et narrat qualiter dux Gedeon cum
solis tricentis viris quinque Reges, scilicet Madianitarum,
Amalechitarum, Amonitarum, Amoreorum et Iebuseorum, cum
eorum excercitu, qui ad lxxxx^{ta} Milia numeratus est,
gracia cooperante diuina, victoriose in fugam conuertit.]
In pourpos to destruie there 3630
The poeple which god kepte tho,--
And stod in thilke daies so,
That Gedeon, which scholde lede
The goddes folk, tok him to rede,
And sende in al the lond aboute,
Til he assembled hath a route
With thritti thousend of defence,
To fihte and make resistence
Ayein the whiche hem wolde assaille:[1292]
And natheles that o bataille 3640
Of thre that weren enemys[1293]
Was double mor than was al his;
Wherof that Gedeon him dradde,
That he so litel poeple hadde.
Bot he which alle thing mai helpe,
Wher that ther lacketh mannes helpe,
To Gedeon his Angel sente,
And bad, er that he forther wente,
Al openly that he do crie
That every man in his partie 3650
Which wolde after his oghne wille
In his delice abide stille[1294] (3850*)
At hom in eny maner wise,
For pourchas or for covoitise,
For lust of love or lacke of herte,
He scholde noght aboute sterte,
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 215=]
Bot holde him stille at hom in pes:
Wherof upon the morwe he les
Wel twenty thousend men and mo,
The whiche after the cri ben go. 3660
Thus was with him bot only left
The thridde part, and yit god eft
His Angel sende and seide this
To Gedeon: ‘If it so is
That I thin help schal undertake,
Thou schalt yit lasse poeple take,
Be whom mi will is that thou spede.
Forthi tomorwe tak good hiede,
Unto the flod whan ye be come,
What man that hath the water nome 3670
Up in his hond and lapeth so,
To thi part ches out alle tho;[1295]
And him which wery is to swinke,
Upon his wombe and lith to drinke,
Forsak and put hem alle aweie.
For I am myhti alle weie,
Wher as me list myn help to schewe[1296]
In goode men, thogh thei ben fewe.’
This Gedeon awaiteth wel,
Upon the morwe and everydel, 3680
As god him bad, riht so he dede.
And thus ther leften in that stede
With him thre hundred and nomo,[1297]
The remenant was al ago:
Wherof that Gedeon merveileth,
And therupon with god conseileth,
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 216=]
Pleignende as ferforth as he dar.
And god, which wolde he were war[1298]
That he schal spede upon his riht,[1299]
Hath bede him go the same nyht 3690
And take a man with him, to hiere
What schal be spoke in his matere[1300]
Among the hethen enemis;
So mai he be the more wys,
What afterward him schal befalle.
This Gedeon amonges alle
Phara, to whom he triste most,
Be nyhte tok toward thilke host,
Which logged was in a valleie,
To hiere what thei wolden seie; 3700
Upon his fot and as he ferde,[1301]
Tuo Sarazins spekende he herde. (3900*)
Quod on, ‘Ared mi swevene ariht,
Which I mette in mi slep to nyht.[1302]
Me thoghte I sih a barli cake,
Which fro the Hull his weie hath take,
And cam rollende doun at ones;
And as it were for the nones,
Forth in his cours so as it ran,
The kinges tente of Madian, 3710
Of Amalech, of Amoreie,
Of Amon and of Jebuseie,
And many an other tente mo
With gret noise, as me thoghte tho,
It threw to grounde and overcaste,
And al this host so sore agaste[1303]
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 217=]
That I awok for pure drede.’
‘This swevene can I wel arede,’
Quod thother Sarazin anon:
‘The barli cake is Gedeon, 3720
Which fro the hell doun sodeinly
Schal come and sette such ascry
Upon the kinges and ous bothe,
That it schal to ous alle lothe:
For in such drede he schal ous bringe,
That if we hadden flyht of wynge,
The weie on fote in desespeir[1304]
We scholden leve and flen in their,[1305]
For ther schal nothing him withstonde.’
Whan Gedeon hath understonde 3730
This tale, he thonketh god of al,
And priveliche ayein he stal,
So that no lif him hath perceived.
And thanne he hath fulli conceived
That he schal spede; and therupon
The nyht suiende he schop to gon
This multitude to assaile.
Nou schalt thou hiere a gret mervaile,
With what voisdie that he wroghte.
The litel poeple which he broghte, 3740
Was non of hem that he ne hath
A pot of erthe, in which he tath
A lyht brennende in a kressette,
And ech of hem ek a trompette
Bar in his other hond beside;
And thus upon the nyhtes tyde
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 218=]
Duk Gedeon, whan it was derk,
Ordeineth him unto his werk,[1306]
And parteth thanne his folk in thre,
And chargeth hem that thei ne fle, 3750
And tawhte hem hou they scholde ascrie
Alle in o vois per compaignie,[1307] (3950*)
And what word ek thei scholden speke,
And hou thei scholde here pottes breke
Echon with other, whan thei herde
That he himselve ferst so ferde;
For whan thei come into the stede,
He bad hem do riht as he dede.
And thus stalkende forth a pas
This noble Duk, whan time was, 3760
His pot tobrak and loude ascride,
And tho thei breke on every side.
The trompe was noght forto seke;[1308]
He blew, and so thei blewen eke
With such a noise among hem alle,
As thogh the hevene scholde falle.
The hull unto here vois ansuerde,
This host in the valleie it herde,
And sih hou that the hell alyhte;
So what of hieringe and of sihte, 3770
Thei cawhten such a sodein feere,
That non of hem belefte there:
The tentes hole thei forsoke,[1309]
That thei non other good ne toke,
Bot only with here bodi bare
Thei fledde, as doth the wylde Hare.
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 219=]
And evere upon the hull thei blewe,
Til that thei sihe time, and knewe
That thei be fled upon the rage;
And whan thei wiste here avantage, 3780
Thei felle anon unto the chace.
Thus myht thou sen hou goddes grace
Unto the goode men availeth;
But elles ofte time it faileth
To suche as be noght wel disposed.
This tale nedeth noght be glosed,
For it is openliche schewed
That god to hem that ben wel thewed
Hath yove and granted the victoire:
So that thensample of this histoire 3790
Is good for every king to holde;
Ferst in himself that he beholde
If he be good of his livinge,
And that the folk which he schal bringe
Be good also, for thanne he may
Be glad of many a merie day,
In what as evere he hath to done.[1310]
For he which sit above the Mone
And alle thing mai spille and spede,
In every cause, in every nede[1311] 3800
His goode king so wel adresceth,
That alle his fomen he represseth, (4000*)
So that ther mai noman him dere;
And als so wel he can forbere,
And soffre a wickid king to falle
In hondes of his fomen alle.
[Sidenote: [SAUL AND AGAG.]]
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 220=]
Nou forthermore if I schal sein
Of my matiere, and torne ayein
[Sidenote: Hic dicit quod vbi et quando causa et tempus
requirunt, princeps illos sub potestate sua, quos iusticie
aduersarios agnouerit, occidere de iure tenetur. Et narrat
in exemplum qualiter, pro eo quod Saul Regem Agag in bello
deuictum iuxta Samuelis consilium occidere noluit, ipse
diuino iudicio non solum a regno Israel priuatus, set et
heredes sui pro perpetuo exheredati sunt.]
To speke of justice and Pite
After the reule of realte, 3810
This mai a king wel understonde,
Knihthode mot ben take on honde,
Whan that it stant upon the nede:
He schal no rihtful cause drede,
Nomore of werre thanne of pes,
If he wol stonde blameles;
For such a cause a king mai have
That betre him is to sle than save,
Wherof thou myht ensample finde.[1312]
The hihe makere of mankinde 3820
Be Samuel to Saül bad,
That he schal nothing ben adrad
Ayein king Agag forto fihte;
For this the godhede him behihte,
That Agag schal ben overcome:
And whan it is so ferforth come,
That Saül hath him desconfit,
The god bad make no respit,
That he ne scholde him slen anon.
Bot Saül let it overgon 3830
And dede noght the goddes heste:
For Agag made gret beheste
Of rancoun which he wolde yive,
King Saül soffreth him to live
And feigneth pite forth withal.
Bot he which seth and knoweth al,
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 221=]
The hihe god, of that he feigneth
To Samuel upon him pleigneth.
And sende him word, for that he lefte
Of Agag that he ne berefte 3840
The lif, he schal noght only dye
Himself, bot fro his regalie
He schal be put for everemo,
Noght he, bot ek his heir also,
That it schal nevere come ayein.
[Sidenote: [DAVID AND JOAB.]]
Thus myht thou se the sothe plein,
[Sidenote: Hic narrat vlterius super eodem, qualiter Dauid
in extremis iusticie causa vt Ioab occideretur absque vlla
remissione filio suo Salomoni iniunxit.]
That of tomoche and of tolyte
Upon the Princes stant the wyte.
Bot evere it was a kinges riht
To do the dedes of a knyht; 3850
For in the handes of a king
The deth and lif is al o thing (4050*)
After the lawes of justice.
To slen it is a dedly vice,[1313]
Bot if a man the deth deserve;
And if a king the lif preserve
Of him which oghte forto dye,
He suieth noght thensamplerie
Which in the bible is evident:
Hou David in his testament, 3860
Whan he no lengere myhte live,[1314]
Unto his Sone in charge hath yive
That he Joab schal slen algate;
And whan David was gon his gate,
The yonge wise Salomon
His fader heste dede anon,
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 222=]
And slouh Joab in such a wise,
That thei that herden the juise
Evere after dradden him the more,
And god was ek wel paid therfore, 3870
That he so wolde his herte plye
The lawes forto justefie.
And yit he kepte forth withal
Pite, so as a Prince schal,
That he no tirannie wroghte;
He fond the wisdom which he soghte,
And was so rihtful natheles,
That al his lif he stod in pes,
That he no dedly werres hadde,
For every man his wisdom dradde. 3880
And as he was himselve wys,
Riht so the worthi men of pris
He hath of his conseil withholde;
For that is every Prince holde,
To make of suche his retenue
Whiche wise ben, and to remue
The foles: for ther is nothing
Which mai be betre aboute a king,
Than conseil, which is the substance
Of all a kinges governance. 3890
[Sidenote: [SOLOMON’S WISDOM.]]
In Salomon a man mai see
What thing of most necessite
[Sidenote: Hic dicit quod populum sibi commissum bene
regere super omnia Principi laudabilius est. Et narrat in
exemplum qualiter, pro eo quod Salomon, vt populum bene
regeret, ab altissimo sapienciam specialius postulauit,
omnia bona pariter cum illa sibi habundancius aduenerunt.]
Unto a worthi king belongeth.
Whan he his kingdom underfongeth,
God bad him chese what he wolde,
And seide him that he have scholde
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 223=]
What he wolde axe, as of o thing.
And he, which was a newe king,
Forth therupon his bone preide
To god, and in this wise he seide: 3900
‘O king, be whom that I schal regne,
Yif me wisdom, that I my regne,[1315] (4100*)
Forth with thi poeple which I have,[1316]
To thin honour mai kepe and save.’
Whan Salomon his bone hath taxed,
The god of that which he hath axed
Was riht wel paid, and granteth sone
Noght al only that he his bone
Schal have of that, bot of richesse,
Of hele, of pes, of hih noblesse, 3910
Forth with wisdom at his axinges,
Which stant above alle othre thinges.
Bot what king wole his regne save,
[Sidenote: Hic dicit secundum Salomonem, quod regie
maiestatis imperium ante omnia sano consilio dirigendum
est.]
Ferst him behoveth forto have
After the god and his believe
Such conseil which is to believe,
Fulfild of trouthe and rihtwisnesse:
Bot above alle in his noblesse
Betwen the reddour and pite
A king schal do such equite 3920
And sette the balance in evene,
So that the hihe god in hevene
And al the poeple of his nobleie
Loange unto his name seie.
For most above all erthli good,
Wher that a king himself is good
[Sidenote: =P. iii. 224=]
It helpeth, for in other weie
If so be that a king forsueie,
[Sidenote: Quicquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achiui.]
Fulofte er this it hath be sein,
The comun poeple is overlein 3930
And hath the kinges Senne aboght,
Al thogh the poeple agulte noght.
Of that the king his god misserveth,
The poeple takth that he descerveth
Hier in this world, bot elleswhere
I not hou it schal stonde there.
Forthi good is a king to triste
Ferst to himself, as he ne wiste
Non other help hot god alone;
So schal the reule of his persone 3940
Withinne himself thurgh providence
Ben of the betre conscience.
And forto finde ensample of this,
A tale I rede, and soth it is.