Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Capitulum tricesimum octavum.

PTHOLOMEUS other Sother, son of Cleopatra, reignede at Egipte xvij. yere. Marchus Tullius Cithero, þe philosophre of

the kynde of Vulsconnes, was borne þis tyme. Valerius. The adolescency of whom was occupiede in kepenge bestes. After that he gouernede thempyr of Rome. Hit was meruayle of hym that he was the despiser of connynge men, sithe that he was a pregnante and plentuous welle of connynge, instructe in alle langages of sapience. Orosius. This Cithero polischede and onornede alle rethorikke; whiche inquirede of a man how that he come to the noble eloquency and connynge that he hade, answerede in this wise, seyenge that the connynge of eloquency is the grete ȝifte of God, and that a man of grete intellecte myȝte speke welle. This Cithero did write so sub|tily alle the batelle of Troy that hit semede as inclusede with|ynne the schelle of a nutte. Policronicon, libro quinto, capitulo sexto. Cithero beenge in the palice wyllenge to bye an howse, and wontenge money, borowede a certeyne summe of a man [folio 181b] callede Silla, a trespassoure of the cite, whiche thynge was expressede or þat Cithero hade bouȝhte the howse. Whiche

reprouede of the senate denyede that he was in that purpose, and after that he did bye that howse. The senate reprovenge hym þerfore, he answerede in this wise: "Ye be not wise, for ye knewe the byers and sellers to dissimilate that matter that thei wolde bye and selle;" and so he turnede hit to a dis|porte and to a game. For the seide Tullius other Cithero hade this condicion, that if there were a fowle thynge obiecte to hym, he wolde avoide hit soone and make a disporte of hit. This Tullius made mony bookes, as iiij. bokes de hortensibus, v. bookes of Questiones Tusculane, and vj. bookes of lordeschippe, of senectute, of frendeschippe, of rethorikke, of office, and of the commune vtilite. Titus. In the vj.^c. yere after the edifienge of

the cite of Rome a batelle was movede betwene Stertorius and Pompeius, in whom vj.^c. knyȝhtes were sleyne on that oon parte, and vj.^c. on that other parte, and so nyȝhte causede theyme to departe from the firste batelle. In the morowe folowenge a knyȝhte of Pompeius perceyvenge hym to haue sleyne his awne brother, did sle hym selfe, and felle downe on the body of his broþer for sorowe. Petrus, capitulo tertio. Iohn Hircan dyede after that he hade gouernede the Iewery xxxiij. yere, levenge after hym his wife, a woman of grete discrecion, with v. childer. Aristobolus, his eldeste son, hauenge grete appetite [The realme of Iuda was re|stored by wyckede|nesse.] and affeccion to reigne, pereschede his moder for hungre in prison with thre yonger breþer, wherefore he lyvede but oone yere after that kynge and bischoppe more then his broþer Antigonus, whom he luffede in so moche that he made hym as secunde person in his realme; whom he causede after that to be sleyne commenge from the Iewery, in that he despisede the

pleasure of the flesche with his sustyr. And so the realme of Iuda was restorede, whiche was interrupte from Sedechias vn to this Aristobolus by cccclxxv. [Sic.] Petrus, capitulo quinto. This Aristobolus dedde, his wife toke his ij. brether owte of prison, and made Alexander, the elder brother, kynge of Iuda, [folio 182a] in that Aristobolus hade noo childe. This wikkede and vn|happy man Alexander did sle the secunde broþer to hym and causede the thridde to lyve priuately by the space of v. yere. Also the seide Alexander did sle l^ti m^l of seniours for cause thei reprovede hym of his wickede lyvenge; whiche inquirenge how he myȝhte please the Iewes, hit was answerede, if that he diede: he hongede also iiij^xx wedede men with theire wyfes and childre. Þe seide Alexander diede after the þe xxvij. yere of his reigne, after Iosephus, levenge after him ij. sonnes, Hircanus and Aristobolus, whiche knowenge theym to exercise grete crudelite, made Alexandria his wife gouernoure, whiche

pleasede the peple moche. Marcus, a gouernoure of the Romanes and consul vj. tymes, after the victory hade of Iugurta in Numidia, did sle ij.^c. m^l of men callede Cumbres commenge ageyne the Romanes, and toke lxxx. m^l. Also þer felle of theyme with a man callede Catulus a cxl^ti m^l. Ptho|lomeus other Alexander reignede in Egipte x. yere, for Ptho|lomeus Sother was expulsede by his moder Cleopatra vnto Ciprus. Lucrecias the poete was borne this tyme, whiche was distracte afterwarde þro a drynke of luffe, whiche wrote diuerse bookes whom Cithero did correcte, and after that did sle hym selfe in the xliiij. yere of his age. Eutropius, libro quinto. The realme of Siria failede, and was obediente to the Romanes. A batelle was mouede in the londe of Ytaly ageyne

the Romanes by iiij. yere, in whiche batelles ij. consulles were sleyne, Porcius and Cato; but at the laste thei were overcommen by Marius, Pompeius, and Silla.