Читать книгу The History of the Seven Wise Masters of Rome - Various - Страница 12

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This tree mylorde betokeneth your moste noble persone / that with your counseyll and helpe many pore ⁊ seke folke are gretly holpen ⁊ conforted. And the yonge ympe that vnder the grete tre is vp growen is your cursed sone that now by his cunnynge begȳnith to growe and studyeth how he fyrste may the armes and bowes of your myght cutte of / and to wynne too hym the londe ⁊ praysynge of the people, and ouer y^t he ymagyneth to destroy your person that he may hȳselfe reygne. But what shall fall than therof come, all poore and feble people shall curse all them the whiche myght haue destroyed your sone ⁊ haue not done it / I counseyll you whyles ye are in your power ⁊ helth y^t ye destroye hym leste y^t the curse of the people fall vpon you. Tho sayde the Emperour, ye haue gyuen me good counseyll. Tomorowe I shall condempne hym to the moost vylest deth that can be thought. Whan y^e daye was come / y^e Emperour went ⁊ sate in Jugemēte, ⁊ commaunded his seruauntes y^t they sholde lede his sone to be hanged w^t trompettes blowynge in to kenynge of deth. And as themperours sone was lad throughe the Cyte, the comen people began too wepe ⁊ crye alas y^e onely sone of themperour is lad towardes his deth / ⁊ therwithal came Pancyllas rydyng vpon a hors y^e fyrste mayster. Whan the chylde sawe hym / he bowed his hede to hym, as though he had sayde, Haue mynde vpon me whan ye come afore my fader, se how I am lad towardes the galowes. Than y^e mayster sayd to the seruauntes / make no haste, for I hope by the grace of god this day to delyuer hym frō the deth. Then sayde all the people, O good mayster haste you to y^e palays and saue your dyscyple. he smote his hors with y^e spores tyll he came to the palays ⁊ kneled before the Emperour ⁊ dyde hym reuerence / To whome themperour sayd, It shall neuer be to the good, which answerd I haue deserued a better rewarde. The Emperour sayd there lyest y^u, for I delyuered to the ⁊ thy felowes my sone well spekynge / ⁊ in alle thyng well manered, ⁊ now he is dompe / ⁊ that wors is, he wolde haue oppressed my wyf, therfore this day he shall dye, ⁊ ye all shall dye a shameful dethe. The mayster sayd, O lord as for your sone y^t ye saye that he speketh not, y^t knoweth god, ⁊ without a cause it is not as ye shall vnderstande. And that ye saye more y^t he your Empresse wolde haue befowled. I shall saye you of a trouth, he hath ben in our company by y^e space of xvi yeres ⁊ we neuer coude perceyue suche thinges by hym. And therfore my dere lorde I shall shew you one thynge that yf ye put your sone to deth for y^e wordes of your wyfe, it sholde happen too you wors than to a knyght the whiche that kylled his best grey hounde thrugh the wordes of his wyfe whiche saued his sone from y^e deth. Tho sayd themperour to y^e mayster tell me y^t example. The Mayster sayd, Lorde that shall I not do / for afore or I coude make an ende therof your sone myght be dede ⁊ thenne in vayne ⁊ without fruyte I sholde reherce it, but yf it please you this notable example to here / call ayen her sone tyll to morowe ⁊ as ye thynke by reason then do with hym youre pleasure. As themperour that herde anone he lete the chylde too be called ayen ⁊ in the meane tyme he sette hym in pryson whyles the mayster sholde fynisshe his tale. And then he beganne to saye in suche maner as folowith.