Lancelot of the Laik Part 22

Now may yhow ?e {and} ?uth is my recorde; For by hyme now is makith this accord; 1592 And by non vthir worldly p{ro}videns, Sauf only grant of his bynewolans, To ?e if that the lykith to amend, And to p{ro}uid thi c.u.n.tre to defend. 1596 Wharfor yow ?halt in to thi lond home fair, And gowerne the as that I ?hall declaire.

[Sidenote: "First, serve G.o.d with humble heart, and let the wand of law pa.s.s through the land.]

Fir?t, thi G.o.d with humble hart yow ?erfe, [Fol. 20b.]

And his comand at al thi my{ch}t ob?erf; 1600 And ?yne, lat pa the ilk ble??it wonde Of lowe w{i}t{h} m{er}cy Iu?tly throw thi londe; And y be?eich--to quhome yow ?al direke The rewle vpone, the wrang{is} to correk-- 1604 That yow be no{ch}t in thi electioune blynde; For writin It Is and yow ?al trew It fynde.

That, be thei for to thonk or ell{is} blame, And towart G.o.d thi p{ar}t ?hal be the ?am; 1608 Of Ignorans ?halt yow no{ch}t be excu?it, Bot in ther werk{is} ?orly be accu?it, For thow ?huld eu{er} che apone ?ich wy [Sidenote: Thus shalt thou choose the ministers of justice.]

The mi{ni}?teris[T37] that rewll haith of Iustice:-- 1612

[Headnote: HOW TO CHOOSE JUDGES.]

Fir?t, that he be de?cret til wnd{er}?tond And lowe and ek the mat{er} of the londe; And be of my{ch}t and ek Autoritee, (For puple ay {con}tempnith low degre,) 1616 And that of trouth he folow furth the way; That is als mych as he louyth trewth alway, And hait.i.th al them the wich ?al pas therfro.

Syne, that he G.o.d dreid and lowe al-so. 1620 [Sidenote: Avoid avaricious and wrathful men.]

Of auerice be-war with the de?yre, And of hyme full of ha?tynes {and} fyre; Be-war thar-for of malice and de?ire, And hyme al?o that lowith no medyre; 1624 For al this abhomi{n}able was hold, When Iu?tice was in to the tymis olde.

For qwho that is of an of thir by-know, The le?t of them ?ubu{er}t.i.th all the low, 1628 And makith It w[n]Iustly[T38] to p{ro}cede;

[Footnote T37: MS. "mi?teris."]

[Footnote T38: MS. "w Iustly."]

[Headnote: KINGS MUST BE JUST AND TRUE.]

[Sidenote: Eschew unfit men, for this shall be thy meed in the day of judgment.]

E?chew tharfor, for this ?al be thi meid Apone the day when al thing goith aright, Whar none excu hidyng ?chal ye lyght; 1632 But he the Iug, that no man may ?u??pek, Eu{er}y thing ful Iu?tly ?al correk.

Be-war thar-w{i}t{h}, as before have I told, And che them wy?ly that thi low ?hal hold. 1636 And als I will that it well oft be sen, Richt to thi-self how thei thi low {con}ten; [Sidenote: Be diligent to inquire how judgment is given.]

And how the Right, and how the dom is went, For to Inquer that yow be delygent. 1640 And puny for, for o thing ?hal yow know, [Fol. 21.]

The most tre?pas is to ?ubuert the low, So that yow be not in thar gilt accu?it, And frome the froit of bli??it folk refu?it. 1644 [Sidenote: Visit every chief town throughout the bounds of thy kingdom.]

And pas yow ?halt to euery chef toune, Throw-out the boundis of thi Regioune Whar yow ?all be, that Iu?tice be Elyk With-out diui?ione baith to pur {and} ryk. 1648 And that thi puple have [ane] awdiens W{i}t{h} thar complant{is}, and al?o thi p{rese}ns; For qwho his eris frome the puple ?tekith, And not his hond in ther ?upport furth rekith, 1652 His dom ?all be ful grewous & ful hard, When he ?al cry and he ?al no{ch}t be hard.

[Sidenote: Give thine ears to the poor.]

Wharfor thyne eris ifith to the pwre, Bot in redre of ned, & not of i{n}Iure; 1656 Thus ?all thei don of Re??one & knawlag.

[Sidenote: Kings, while minors, may be excused; but, when of age, they must punish those that have wrested justice.]

++But king{is} when thei ben of tend{er} ag, Y wil not ?ay I tra?t thei ben excu?it, Bot ?chortly thei ?all be ?ar accu?it, 1660 When ?o thei c.u.m to yheris of Re?one, If thei tak not full contri?ioune, And pwny them that hath ther low my?gyit.

That this is trouth it may not be denyit; 1664 For vther ways thei ?al them not di?charg, [Excep thei pwny them that have the charg][T39]

One e?tatis of ther realm, that ?hold W{i}t{h}-in his ?outh ?e that his low be hold.[T40] 1668 [Sidenote: Temper justice with mercy.]

And thus thow the, w{i}t{h} mercy, kep alway Of Iu?tice furt{h} the ilk ble??it way.

[Footnote T39: A blank s.p.a.ce here occurs, just sufficient to contain one line.]

[Footnote T40: MS. "behold."]

[Sidenote: Be true and stable in thy words.]

++And of thi wordis beis trew and ?table, Spek not to mych, nore be not vareable. 1672 O king{is} word ?huld be o king{is} bonde, And ?aid It is, a king{is} word ?huld ?tond; O king{is} word, among our fad{er}is old, Al-out more p{re}cious & more ?ur was hold 1676 Than was the oth or ?eel of any wight; [Sidenote: A king should be the very light of truth.]

O king of trouth ?uld be the werray lyght, So treuth and Iu?tice to o king accordyth.

And als, as thir clerk{is} old recordith, 1680 [T41] ++In tyme is larges and humilitee Right well according vnto hie dugre, And ple??ith boith to G.o.d and man al-so; Wharfor I wil, in{con}tine{n}t thow go, 1684 [Fol. 21b.]

And of thi lond in euery p{ar}t abide, Whar yow gar fet and clep one eu{er}y ?id Out of thi c.u.n.treis, and ek out of thi tovnis, [Sidenote: Invite thy dukes, earls, great barons, thy poor knights, and thy bachelors, and welcome them severally.]

Thi duk{is}, erlis, and thi gret baronis, 1688 Thi pur kny{ch}t{is}, and thi bach[e]ler{is}, And them re?auf als hartly as afferis, And be them-?elf yow welc.u.m them ilkon: Syne, them to glaid and cheris, thee di?pone 1692 With fe?ting and with humyll {con}tynans.

[Footnote T41: The initial I is illuminated; rather because there is here a change of subject than because it begins a new sentence.]

[Headnote: KINGS SHOULD CHERISH ALL MEN.]

Be not pen?yve, nore proud in arrogans, [Sidenote: Keep company not with the rich man only, but with the poor worthy man also.]

Bot w{i}t{h} them hold in gladnes c.u.mpany; Not with the Rich nor myghty an{er}ly, 1696 Bot with the pure worthi man al?o, W{i}t{h} them thow ?it, w{i}t{h} them yow ryd and go.

I ?ay not to be our fameliar, For, as the mo?t philo?ephur can duclar, 1700 [Sidenote: Yet remember that familiarity breeds contempt.]

To mych to oy familiaritee Contempnyng bryngith one to hie dugre; Bot cherice them w{i}t{h} wordis fair depay{n}t, So with thi pupelle ?al yow the aquay{n}t. 1704 [Sidenote: Choose out of each district an aged knight to be thy counsellor.]

Than of ilk c.u.n.tre wy?ly yow enquere An agit kny{ch}t to be thi con?ulere, That haith ben hold in armys Richt fam{us}, Wy and di?cret, & no thing Inwy{us}; 1708 For there is non that knowith ?o wel, I-wy, O worthy man as he that worthi Is.

[Headnote: KINGS MUST BE LIBERAL.]

[Sidenote: When thou hast sojourned long in a place, then provide thee with plenty of horses, armour, gold, silver, and clothing;]

When well long haith yow ?wiornyt i{n} a place, And well acqueynt the v{i}t{h} thi puple has, 1712 Than ?halt thow ordand & p{ro}wid the Of hor and ek of armour gret plente; Of gold, and ?ilu{er}, tressore, and cleithing, And euery Riches that lo{n}gith to o king; 1716 [Sidenote: and, before leaving, distribute gifts liberally.]

And when the lykith for to tak thi leif, By large thus yow thi reward geif, First to the pure worthy honorable, That is til armys and til ma{n}hed able; 1720 (Set he be pur, ?hit wor?chip in hyme bidith); [Sidenote: Give to the poor worthy man the horse thou thyself ridest.]

If hyme the hor one wich thi-?elwyne Ridith, And bid hyme that he Rid hyme for yhour ?ak; Syne til hyme gold and ?ilu{er} yow betak; 1724 The hor to hyme for wor?chip and prowes, The tre?or for his fredome and larges.

If mo?t of Riches and of Cheri?ing; [Fol. 22a.]

Eftir this gud kny{ch}t berith vitne?ing. 1728 [Sidenote: Give to thy tenants and vavasours easy hackneys, palfries, and coursers.]

Syne to thi te{n}nand{is} & to thi wawa?ouris If e??y haknays, palfrais, and cur?ouris, And robis ?ich as ple?and ben and fair; Syne to thi lord{is}, wich at my{ch}ty aire, 1732 [Sidenote: Give to thy lords things strange and uncouth.]

As duk{is}, erlis, princ{is}, and ek king{is}, Yow if them ?trang, yow if them vncout{h} thing{is}, As diu{er} iowell{is}, and ek p{re}ciou ?tonis, Or halk{is}, hundis, ordinit for the nonis, 1736 Or wantone hor that can no{ch}t ?tand in ?table; Thar gift{is} mot be fair and delitable.

Thus, fir?t vn to the vorthi pur yow if Giftis, that may ther pouerte Releif; 1740 And to the rich ift{is} of ple?ans, That thei be fair, ?et no{ch}t of gret ?ub?tans; For riches a?kith no thing bot delyt, And powert haith ay ane appetyt 1744 For to support ther ned and Indigens: Thus ?hall yow if and makith thi di?pens.

[Sidenote: So, too, shall the queen give to maidens and ladies,]

And ek the quen, my lady, ?halt al?o To madenis and to ladeis, quhar ?he go, 1748 If, and cheri one the ?amyne wy; [Sidenote: for all thy welfare lies in liberality.]

For in to large al thi welfar lyis.

And if thy gift{is} with ?ich {con}tinans That thei be ?en ay gifyne v{i}t{h} ple?ans; 1752 The wy man ?ais, and ?uth it is app{ro}uit, Thar is no thonk, thar is no ift alowit, Bot It be ifyne In to ?ich manere, [Sidenote: Remember that the giver should be as glad in his cheer as the receiver.]

(That is to ?ay, als glaid i{n} to his chere), 1756 As he the wich the ift of hyme Re?auith; And do he not, the gifar is di??auith.

[Headnote: LIBERAL KINGS ARE LOVED IN LIFE,]

For who that iff{is}, as he not if wald, Mor p{ro}fit war his ift for to w{i}t{h}-hald; 1760 His thonk he tynith, and his ift al?o.

Bot that thow ifith, if w{i}t{h} boith two, [Sidenote: Give with both hand and heart at once;]

That is to ?ay, vith hart and hand atonis; And ?o the wy?man ay ye ift di?ponis. 1764 Beith larg and iff{is} frely of thi thing; [Sidenote: for liberality is the treasure of a king.]

For large is the tre?our of o king, And not this other Iowell{is} nor this gold That is in to thi tre?ory with-holde. 1768 Who gladly iffith, be vertew of larges [Fol. 22b.]

[Sidenote: Whoso gives liberally, his treasury increases.]

His tre?ory encre?is of Riche?, And ?al a?ane the mor al-out re?awe.

[Sidenote: For the receiver shall place his goods at the king's disposal,]

For he to quhome he ?ewith ?all hawe, 1772 Fir?t his body, ?yne his hart with two, His gudis al for to di?pone also [Sidenote: who shall gain, moreover, both wors.h.i.+p and praise.]

In his ?{er}uice; and mor atour he ?hall Have O thing, and that is be?t of all; 1776 That is to ?ay, the wor?chip and the lo That vpone larges in this world furth go.

And yow ?hal knaw the lawbour & the pre In to this erth about the gret Riche. 1780 [Sidenote: Is there any labour except for meat and clothing?

All the remnant is for fame.]

Is ony, bot[T42] apone the cau we see Of met, of cloth, & of p{ro}?peritee?

All the remanant ?tant apone the name Of purches, furth apone this world{is} fame. 1784 And well yow wot, in thyne allegians Ful many Is, the wich haith ?ufficians Of euery thing that longith to ther ned; 1787 What haith yow more, qwich [haith] them al to lede, For al thi Realmys and thi gret Riches, If that yow lak of wor?chip the encre?

Well le, al-out; for eft{er} thar e?tate Thei have vor?chip, and kepith It al-gat; 1792 And yow degradith al thyne hie dugree, That ?o ?chuld ?hyne In to n.o.belitee, Throuch wys and throw the wrechitne of hart.

[Footnote T42: MS. "Is ony bout bot;" "bout" being defaced.]

[Headnote: AND COMMENDED AFTER DEATH.]

[Sidenote: Knowest thou not what shall be thy part, when thou pa.s.sest away from this world?]

And knowis yow not what ?all be[T43] thi part, 1796 Out of this world when yow ?al pa the cour?

Fair well, I-wy! yow neu{er} ?hall Recour Whar no prince more ?hall the subiet[T44] have, But be als dep in to the erd y-grave, 1800 [Sidenote: Virtue and honour will alone remain.]

Sauf vertew only and wor?chip wich abidith; W{i}t{h} them the world apone the laif dewidith; [Sidenote: And if thy successor be liberal, he will be commended of the world;]

And if he, wich ?hal eftir the ?ucced, By larges ?pend, of quhich that yhow had dreid, 1804 He of the world comendit is and pri?it, And yow ?tant furth of euery thing di?pi?it; The puple ?aith and demyth thus of thee, "Now is he gone, a werray vrech was hee, 1808 And he the wich that is our king and lord Boith wertew haith & larges in accorde; Welc.u.m be he!" and ?o the puple ?oundith.

Thus through thi vi his wertew mor aboundith, 1812 [Fol. 23a.]

[Sidenote: and his virtue will abound through thy vice.]