Find favour ne delite therinne.
So is it but a nice finne
Of gold to ben to covetous.
But he is riche and glorious,
Which hath in his fubjection
Tho men, which in poffeffion
Ben riche of gold, and by this skill
For he may all day whan he will
Or be hem lefe or be hem lothe
Justice done upon hem bothe.
Lo, thus he said. And with that worde He threw to-fore hem on the borde
The gold out of his honde anone,
And faid hem, that he wolde none.
So that he kept his liberte
To do justice and equite,
Withoute lucre of such richesse.
There ben now fewe of fuche I geffe.
For it was thilke times ufed,
That every juge was refused,
Which was nought frend to comun right,
But they that wolden ftonde upright
For trouthe only to do justice
Preferred were in thilke office
To deme and juge comun lawe,
Which now men fain is all withdrawe.
To fette a lawe and kepe it nought
There is no comune profit fought.
But above alle netheles
The lawe, which is made for pees,
Is good to kepe for the befte,
For that fet alle men in refte.
The rightful emperour Conrade
To kepe pees fuch lawe made,
That none withinne the cite
In deftorbaunce of unite
Durft ones meven a matere.
For in his time as thou might here,
What point that was for lawe fet
It fhulde for no good be let
To what persone that it were.
And this brought in the comun fere,
Why every man the lawe dradde,
For there was none, which favour hadde.
So as these olde bokes sain,
I finde write, how a Romain,
Which conful was of the pretoire,
Whose name was Carmidotoire,
He fet a lawe for the
That none but he be wepenles
Shall come into the counfeil hous,
And elles as malicious
He shal ben of the lawe dede.
To that statute, and to that rede
Accorden alle, it shall be so,
For certein caufe, which was tho.
Now lift, what fell therafter fone.
This conful hadde for to done
And was into the feldes ride.
And they him hadde longe abide,
Hic narrat de jufticia nuper Conradi imperatoris, cuius tempore alicuius reverencia perfone aliqua feu precum intervencione quacunque vel auri redempcione legum ftatuta commutari feu redimi nullatenus potuerunt.
Nota exemplum de conftancia judicis, ubi narrat de Carmidotiro Rome nu
per confule, qui cum fui ftatuti legem nefcius offendiffet Romanique fuper hoc penam fibi remittere voluiffent, ipfe propria manu, ubi nullus alius in ipfum vindex fuit, fui criminis vindictam executus eft.
Nota, quod falfi judi
ces mortis pena pu
That lordes of the counfeil were,
And for him fende, and he cam there
With fwerd begert and hath foryete,
Till he was in the counfeil fete.
Was none of hem that made speche,
Till he him felf it wolde feche,
And founde out the default him felve.
And than he faide unto the twelve,
Which of the fenate weren wife :
I have deserved the juise
In hafte that it were do.
And they him saiden alle no,
For well they wift it was no vice,
Whan he ne thoughte no malice
But onlich of a litel flouth.
And thus they leften as for routh
To do justice upon his gilte,
For that he shulde nought be fpilte.
And whan he figh the maner how
They wolde him fave, he made a vow
With manful herte and thus he faide,
That Rome fhulde never abraide
His heires, whan he were of dawe,
That her aunceftre brake the lawe.
Forthy er that they weren ware,
Forthwith the fame fwerde he bare
The ftatute of his lawe kepte,
So that all Rome his dethe bewepte.
In other place also I rede,
niendi funt. Narrat Where that a juge his owne dede
He wol nought venge of lawe broke,
The king it hath him felven wroke.
The grete king, which Cambifes
Was hote, a juge laweles
He found, and into remembraunce
He did
him fuch vengeaunce.
upon
Out of his skin he was beflain
All quick, and in that wife flain,
So that his fkin was shape all mete
And nailed on the fame fete,
Where that his fone fhulde fitte,
Avife him if he wolde flitte
The lawe for the covetife,
There figh he redy his juise.
Thus in defalte of other juge
The king mote otherwhile juge
To holden up the righte lawe.
And for to speke of tholde dawe
To take enfample of that was tho,
I finde a tale write alfo,
How that a worthy prince is holde
The lawes of his londe to holde,
First for the highe goddes fake
And eke for that him is betake
The people for to guide and lede,
Which is the charge of his kinghede.
In a cronique I rede thus
Of the rightfull Ligurgius,
Which of Athenes prince was,
How he the lawe in every cas,
enim, qualiter Cambifes rex Perfarum quendam judicem corruptum excoriari vivum fecit eiufque pelle cathedram judicialem operiri conftituit, ita quod filius fuus fuper patris pellem poftea pro tribunali feffurus judicii equitatem evidencius memoraretur.
Hic ponit exemplum de principibus illis, qui non folum legem ftatuentes illam confervant, fed ut commune bonum adaugeant, propriam faculta
tem diminuunt. Et Wherof he shulde his people reule,
thenis princips fubdi- Hath fet upon fo good a reule,
tos fuos in omni prof In all this world that cite none peritatis habundancia
divites et unanimes Of lawe was fo well begone congruis legibus ftare
feciffet volens, ad uti- Forthwith the trouthe of litatem reipublice le
ges illas firmius ob- There was among hem no diftaunce, fervari peregre profi
cifci fe finxit, fed prius But every man hath his encrees. juramentum folemp- There was withoute werre pees, ne a legiis fuis fub
hac forma exegit, Without envie love ftood,
ditum fuum leges fuas Richeffe upon the comune good
rent, quibus juratis And nought upon the finguler
peregrinationem fu-
am in exilium abfque Ordeined was, and the power
reditu perpetuo dele- Of hem, that weren in estate,
Was fauf, wherof upon debate
There stood nothing, fo that in refte
Might every man his herte refte.
And whan this noble rightfull king,
Sigh how it ferde of all this thing,
Wherof the people stood in ese,
He, which for ever wolde plese
The highe god, whofe thank he fought,
A wonder thing than he bethought
And shope, if that it mighte be,
How that his lawe in the cite
Might afterward for ever laste.
And therupon his wit he cafte,
What thing him were beft to feigne,
That he his purpose might atteigne.
A parlement and thus he fet,
His wifdom where that he befet
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