Part 23 (1/2)

And his vertew the more thi wice furth ?chawith.

Wharfor ?he, wich that princes ben y-knawith, Lat not yhour vrechit hart so yhow dant, That he that cu{m}myth next yhow may awant 1816 To be mor larg, nore more to be co{m}mendit;

[Footnote T43: MS. has ”by.”]

[Footnote T44: MS. has ”subei^et.”] [[superscript e only]]

[Headnote: LIBERAL KINGS WIN SUBJECTS,]

[Sidenote: Riches well spent are the best kept.]

Best kepit Is the Riches well di?pendit.

O ?he, the wich that king{is} ben, fore ?ham Remembrith yhow, this world hath bot o naam 1820 Of good or ewill, eft{er} ?he ar gone!

And wy?ly tharfor che??ith yhow the ton Wich mo?t accordith to n.o.bilitee, And knyt.i.th larges to yhour hie degre. 1824 For qwhar that fredome In O p{ri}nce Ri{n}gnis, It bryngith In the victory of king{is}, And makith realmys and puple boith to dout, And ?ubect{is}[T45] of the c.u.n.tre al about. 1828 [Sidenote: Whoso will be a conqueror, let him not reck to give largely.]

And qwho that thinkith ben o co{n}querour, Suppos his large ?umquhat pas my?our, Ne rak he nat, bot frely iffith ay; And as he wynyth, beis var al-way 1832 To mych nor ?hit to gredy that he hold, Wich ?al the hart{is} of the puple colde.

[Sidenote: Both love and fear spring from liberality.]

And low and radour cu{m}myth boith two Of larges; Reid and ?he ?al fynd It ?o. 1836 Alex{ander} this lord the warld that wan, Fir?t w{i}t{h} the ?uerd of larges he began, [Sidenote: Alexander gave so liberally,]

And as he wynith ifith largely, He rakith No thing bot of cheuelry; 1840 Wharfor of hyme ?o pa??ith the Renown, [Sidenote: that many cities desired to have such a lord,]

That many o cetee, and many o ?trang town Of his wor?chip that herith the Recorde, Di??irith ?o to haveing ?ich o lorde; 1844 [Sidenote: and offered themselves peaceably to him, though they were manly men of war.]

And offerith them w{i}t{h}-outen ?trok of ?pere, Suppos that thei war manly men of were, But only for his gentille that thei Have hard; and ?o he louit was al-way 1848 For his larges, humilitee, and manhed, W{i}t{h} his awn folk, that neu{er}more, we Reid, For al his weris nor his gret trawell, [Fol. 23b.]

In al his tym that thei hyme onys faill; 1852 Bot in his wor?chip al thar be?ynes Thei ?et, and lewith in to no di?tres; Whar-throw the ?uerd of victory he berith.

[Footnote T45: Or ”subett{is}.”]

[Headnote: BUT UNJUST ONES DESPOIL THEM.]

[Sidenote: Many princes bear the palm of victory, through liberality;]

And many prince full oft the palm werith, 1856 As has ben hard, by large, of before, In conqueringe of Rignis & of glore.

[Sidenote: while miserliness hath made realms desolate.]

And wrechitnes Richt ?o, in the contrar, Haith Realmys maid ful de?olat & bare, 1860 And king{is} broght doun from ful hie e?tat; And who that Red ther old buk{is}, wat The vicis lef, the wertew have in mynde, And takith larges In his awn kynd; 1864 [Sidenote: Choose the mean between prodigality and avarice.]

A-myd ?tanding of the vicis two, Prodegalitee and awerice al?o.

Wharfor her-of It nedith not to more, So mych ther-of haith clerk{is} vrit to-fore. 1868 [Sidenote: Whoso chooses to be liberal,]

Bot who the wertw of larges & the law Sal che, mot ned con?idir well & knaw [Sidenote: must understand three things: the _amount he has_, to _whom_ he giveth, and the _fit time_ for giving.]

In to hyme-?elf, and thir thre wnd{er}?tande, The ?ub?tans fir?t, the powar of his land, 1872 Whome to he iffith, and the cau wharfore, The nedful tyme awat.i.th eu{er}more.

Kepith thir thre; for qwho that ?al exced His rent, he fallith ?odandly in nede. 1876 [Sidenote: (1) The king that becomes _indigent_ overthrows his subjects.]

And ?o the king, that on to my?t{er} drowis, His subiett{is} and his puple he our-thrawis, And them di?pol?eith boith of lond and Rent; So is the king, ?o is the puple ?chent. 1880 [Sidenote: For the voice of the oppressed shrieketh up ceaselessly to heaven;]

For-quhi the woice It ?crik[i]th vp ful ewyne W{i}t{h}-out abaid, and pa??ith to the hewyne, Whar G.o.d hyme-?elf re?auith ther the crye Of the oppre?ioune and the teranny, 1884 [Sidenote: and G.o.d smiteth down with the sword of vengeance.]

And vith the ?uerd of wengans dou{n} y-?myt.i.th, The wich that caruith al to ?or, and bit.i.th, And hyme di?troyth, as has ben hard or this Of euery king that wirkith ?ich o mys. 1888 For ther is few e?chapith them, It ?all [Sidenote: For G.o.d hath given the king the wand of justice:]

Boith vpone hyme & his ?ucce??ione fall; For he for?uth haith ifyne hyme the wond To Iu?tefy and Reull in pece his lond, 1892 [Fol. 24a.]

The puple all ?ubmyt.i.t to his cure; And he a?an one to no creatur Save only ?hall vn to his G.o.de obey.

[Headnote: BEWARE OF INJUSTICE AND FLATTERY.]

And if he pa??ith ?o far out of the wey, 1896 [Sidenote: and if he oppresses them whom he should rule,]

Them to oppre, that he ?huld reul & gid, Ther heritag, there gwdis to dewide, Ye, wnd{er} whome that he mo?t nedis ?tond, [Sidenote: G.o.d shall stretch His mighty hand for correction.]

At correccioune ?al ?trek his my{ch}ty hond, 1900 Not euery day, bot ?hal at onys fall On hyme, mayhap, and his ?ucce?cione all.

[Sidenote: Herein, alas! is the blindness of kings.]

In this, allace! the blynd{is} of the king{is}, And Is the fall of princ{is} and of Rygnis. 1904 The mo?t wertew, the gret Intellegens, [Sidenote: The blessed token of a king's wisdom is for him to restrain his hand from his people's riches.]

The ble??it tokyne of wy?dom and prudens I?, in o king, for to re?tren his honde Frome his pupleis Riches & ther lond. 1908 Mot euery king have this wice i{n} mynd In tyme, and not when that he ned fynde!

And in thi larges beith war, I pray, [Sidenote: (2) Choose a _fitting time_.]

Of nedful tyme, for than is be?t alway. 1912 [Sidenote: (3) Take care _to whom_ you give.]

Awy the ek quhome to that thow ?alt if, Of there fam, and ek how that thei leif; [Sidenote: Let not the virtuous and the vicious stand in the same degree.]

And of the wertws and wicious folk al?o, I the be?eich dewidith well thir two, 1916 So that thei ?tond no{ch}t in[to] o degree; Di?creccioune ?all mak the diu{er}?itee, Wich clepith the mod{er} of al vertewis.