Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 20

by Peter Alphonse

 

XX.^[1] Concerning Marianus

"Plato the philosopher rehersith^[2] that suche anold kyng was in Grece cruel to his peple. This grew and encreised in grete werre of many of his elders.^[3] Of whiche that he myght knowe the comyng and hap therof he sent for al the philosophres of the Regioun. Whiche whan thei wern gadred he saide: 'See yee a how moche and how grete batail is to yow and to me, that for my synne I trowe it is come to vs. But if any thyng is in me that is reprehensible sey yee, and I shal hast me in yowre jugement to be corrected.' Than the philosophers saiden: 'Of any crymes in yowr body we knowe non, neither what to vs and to yow so comen we wote nat. But here nygh vs^[4] dwellith suche an old man whos name is Maryne^[5] whiche spekith with the holigost. To hym therfor send yee sum men^[6] by whom to vs what in al our lif is to come he shal declare.' Thiese thynges don, he sent vnto hym vii philosophres; whiche Citee in which he bifore dwelled thei entred. of the whiche thei fond the most part desert. But they seekyng his house, that is to say of Maryne, it was saide and told that he and many of the Citezeins wern gon in to [the] wildernes. The philosophers heryng this went vnto hym; whiche and whom [when] the wise man sawe he saide: 'Com yee. Com yee ambassatours and legatis of the vnobedient kyng. Forsoth god hath yeven hym in to the ward and kepyng of dyuers naciouns, forwhi he is no Right Ruler nor gouernour but an enemy. God forsoth whiche hym and his subiectis of the same and nat of dyvers matiers hath made and formed, but his vnmoderate wikkidnes long while hath suffred and with many correcciouns he hath monysshed and warned, as to be torned and conuerted. But al vttirly only to the evil of his froward soule of no noysaunce in to mercy of the barbaryus people and nacioun hath areised.^[7] And this saide the wiseman stilled. That the philosophres heryng woundred and al tho that ther weren. The iii day after the philosophers asked (f. 132) licence to go ageyn; than that Reuerent with a spirite of prophecie saide vnto hem: 'Torne ye now ageyn forwhi yowre kyng is dede, and god now ther hath set another kyng whiche shalbe a Rightful gouernour and meke to al his people and subiectis.' Suche thynges herd of the vii philosophers that com, iii of theym remayned and abode with this wise man in [the] wildernes and iiii of theym went home ageyn in to their cuntrey; whiche fonde al thynges as it was theym told and saide."^[8]

---

1. No. XXV of the original, I, 34, l. 25.
2. Lat. retulit in libro de prophetiis.
3. Multis e partibus.
4. Lat. Sed hic prope viam trium dierum.
5. The four words beginning with 'whos' inserted on the margin of the Ms.
6. Lat. de philosophis vestris aliquos.
7. This sentence is not at all clear in the translation because it is so inexact: Sed tandem omnino ad malum eius pertinaci animo in illius necem immisericordes et barbaras suscitavit gentes. See I, 35, l. 13.
8. Tale XXVI in the Latin is in reality about the wise merchant who refused to settle in the country of a king whose expenses were as great as his income, which the English translation reproduces as No. XXIV instead of XXI, as it would be in the natural order of the dialogues. But No. XXI of the English version does reproduce a part of the lengthy discussion between the Arab and his son concerning the proper etiquette to be observed by any one in the service of a king, which follows No. XXVI in the Latin (I, 36, l. 26—p. 28, l. 9.)