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 [Tholomeus, Cx.] [Sother, the sonne of Cleopatra,] [From β. and Cx.] regnede in Egipt seventene ȝere. Marcus Tullius Cithero is i-bore

of [in, Cx.] [þe] [From α., γ., and Cx.] Vulcene kynde. Valerius. He kepte bestes in his ȝouþe, and rulede þe empere [empyre, Cx.] of Rome in his elde; it is wonder þat he despisede lettres, and was hym self a plentevous [plentuos, γ.] welle of lettres. Þat [This, β. and Cx.] was a noble spekere in all manere tonges of witt [wytte, Cx.] and of wisdom, and cheef [chyef, Cx.] spekere wiþ tonge. He assoillede alle doutes cleerliche [clerely, Cx.] at wille, and clensed and hiȝte [enorned, Cx.] al rethorike. Me axede hym somtyme how he come to þe faire [fayre, α.; fair, γ.; fayr, Cx.] spekynge þat he hadde. "Noble facounde," quod [facunde, sayd, Cx.] he, "is a gret ȝifte of God almyȝty. Who þat knewe how, he schulde have faire manere of spekynge." He wroot alle þe gestes of Troye sotelliche, [subtylly, Cx.] as it myȝte be closed in a note schale. [shale, Cx.] Policratica, libro 5^o, capitulo 6^o. Cithero wolde somtyme bigge [bye, β. and Cx.; bugge, γ.] an hous in the paleys, [palys, β.; palays, Cx.] and hadde no money, and borwede of oon Silla, [Sillareus, γ.; Scilla, Cx.] but he was bewryed [ywryed, α.; wryed, β. and Cx.] or [er, Cx.] þe bar|gayn was i-made. Þan Cithero was i-meoved, and denyed

al þat he hadde i-fonge, [receyved, Cx.] and seide þat he wolde bygge [bye, Cx., et infra.] non hous. "And ȝif I bigge an hous," quod [sayd, Cx., et infra.] he, "I schal know|leche þe soþe of þat ȝe putteþ [putte, Cx.] to me." And afterward whanne he hadde i-bouȝt þe hous it was i-putte aȝenst hym. "ȝe beeþ [be, Cx.] unwys," quod he, "ȝif ȝe knoweþ nouȝt þat biggers forsakeþ ȝif þey willeþ ouȝt bigge, and makeþ [knowe not that byers forsake yf they wole ought bye and make, Cx.] it as þouȝ þey wolde nouȝt [no thinge, Cx.] þerof to have þe bettre chepe;" and so what he myȝte nouȝt denye he wolde torne [teurne, γ.] hit to bourde and [to] [From β., γ., and Cx.] lawȝhynge, and nouȝt to blame and to trespas." He hadde alway þat manere of [of] om. Cx.] doynge, þat as ofte as eny [ony, Cx.] foule dede was put aȝenst hym, þat he myȝte nouȝt denye, he wolde putte it of wiþ a mery answere. Ieronimus ad Nepocianum. Me seide som|tyme of oon to Tullius in þis manere: "Demostenes [Demostenes] om. α. It is written twice over in the MS.] bynam þe þat þou nere nat [nouȝt, α.; not, Cx.] first pledere, and þou hast bynome [bynom, Cx.] hym þat he is nouȝt pledere allone." Þis Tullius made meny bookes, as he telleþ [sayth, Cx.] hym self, [hym self] om. Cx.] libro 2^o de divinatione. Liber Hortensibus, foure Achademicis, [Archademicis, Cx.] fyve Tusculanus, [Tusculanis, γ. and Cx.] sixe Annunciandi, De divinatione, de Senectute, de Amicicia, de Rethorica, de Officiis, de Republica. Titus. Sexe [Sixe, β. and γ.; Six, Cx.] hondred

ȝere and fyve and fourty after þe buldynge [byldyng, Cx.] of Rome, was a batayle bytwene Sertorius and Pompeus. In þat bataille were deed sixe hondred knyȝtes in þe [that, β. and Cx.] oon side, and sixe hondred in þe [that, β. and Cx.] oþer side. Þe firste bataille durede [endured, Cx.] fourtene nyȝt. [fourtenyȝt, α; fort nyȝt, γ.; unto nyght, Cx.] A morwe a knyȝt of Pompeus his side [his side] om. Cx.] come among þe dede bodyes þat schulde be buried, and parceyved [perceyved, Cx.] þat he hadde i-slawe [slayne, Cx.] his owne broþer, and despised þe ba|taille, and slowȝ hymself for sorwe of þat dede, [and fylle [fil, β.] downe dede] [From β. and Cx.] uppon his broþer body. Petrus, capitulo 13^o. [3^o, α. and Cx.] Iohn [Johan, Cx.] Hircanus deyde after þre and þritty ȝere of his duche|rie, and lefte after hym his wif, þat was a noble spekere, and fyve sones to rule þe Iewerye. [Jewry, Cx.] Þe eldest heet [was called, Cx.] Aristobolus, and [that, β. and Cx.] myȝt nouȝt suffre his moder to regne over hym. Þerfore he prisoned his moder and his þre ȝonger [yong, Cx.] breþeren, and slowȝ hem wiþ honger. Þerfore he lyvede afterward but oo [one, Cx.] ȝere kyng and bisshop, and made his broþer Antigonus, þat he lovede, secounde in þe kyngdom. [þat . . . kyngdom] om. Cx. wrongly.] But he lete slee hym whan he come in armes out of þe Iewerie, [Jewry, Cx.] and þat made his

owne [owne] om. β. and Cx.] suster, ffor he wolde nouȝt ligge [lye, Cx.] by here. And so þe kyngdom of Iuda was restored aȝen, þat hadde be wiþdrawe from Sedechias his tyme anon [unto, Cx.] to þis [the, Cx.] Aristobolus, foure hon|dred ȝere þre score and fiftene. Petrus, capitulo 5^o. Whan þis Aristobolus was dede, his wif þat hadde no childe by hym took [toke, Cx.] his eldere [elþer, γ.] broþer Alisaundre Ianuneus [Iammeus, β. and Cx.; Iam|neus, γ.] out of bondes, [bandes, Cx.] and made hym kyng. Þis was a wel evel [ful evil, β. and Cx.] man, and slowȝ his owne secounde broþer, and kepte þe þridde broþer to lyve priveliche. [pryvely, Cx.] In [In] β. has the and the full stop after ȝere.] space of fyve ȝere he slowȝ fifty þowsand of olde men, for they wiþseide his vices and his [his] om. Cx.] evel [evyl, Cx.] doynge. He axede in [on, Cx.] a tyme how he schulde plese the Iewes, and was i-answered þat he schulde plese hem and þey [and he, β.; yf he, Cx.] were dede. Þanne he henge foure score wedded men, and here wyfes and here [here] om. Cx.] children. [childre, Cx.] Iosephus seiþ þat he deide at þe laste, þe sevene and twenty ȝere of his kyngdom, and lefte tweie sones on [α, β. and Cx.] lyve, Hircanus and Aristobolus, and wiste [weste, γ.] þat þey were odious to the Iewes, and made his wif Alexandria

lady of þe Iewes. Sche [heo, β.] hadde ofte to forehonde i-wonne [bifore wonne, Cx.] love of þe peple, for sche [heo, β.] abated ofte þe malys [malyce, Cx.] and þe ty|rauntise [tyrannye, Cx.] of here housebonde while he was on [α, β. and Cx.] lyve. Marius, duke [duc, Cx.] of Rome, and sixe siþes consul, after þat he hadde overcome Iugurta [in] [From γ.] Numidia, [Munidia, γ. and Cx.] he slowȝ [slew, Cx.] two hondred þowsand of Cumbres [Cimbres, β. and Cx.] þat come aȝenst þe Romayns, and he took foure score þowsand prisoners, and eft wiþ oon Catalus [Catulus, Cx.] were dede of hem [of hem] om, Cx.] seven score þowsand. Ptholomeus [Tholomeus, Cx., et infra.] Alexander regned in Egipt ten ȝere; for Ptholomeus [Tholomeus, Cx., et infra.] Sother was put out by his moder Cleopatra, and i-chased [chasid, Cx.] in to Cipres. [Ciprys, β.; Cyprys, Cx.] Lucrecius þe poete is i-bore, [yborn, Cx.] þat drank afterward love drynkes and worþe [werþ, α., β., γ., and Cx.] wood. [wode, Cx.] Noþeles he wroot som bokes bytwene þe reses of his woodnesse, [wodenese, Cx.] and slowȝ hym self wiþ his owne hond þe ȝere of his lif foure and fourty, and Cithero [Cythero, Cx.] amendede his bookes. Eutropius, libro 5^o. Þe kyngdom of Siria faillede, [faylyd, Cx.] and fel [fil, β.; ful γ.] to þe lordschipe [fyl to the lordship, Cx.] of þe Romayns. Þe bataille þat was i-cleped Sociale bellum bygan in Italy, for the Pycens, Marces, [Marses, β. and Cx.] Pelignes werrede strong|liche

foure ȝere aȝenst þe Romayns. In þat werre [were, Cx.] deyde tweye consuls and Porcius Cato, but þey [he, α.] were overcome at the laste of Silla [Scylla, Cx.] and of Marius Pompeus. [Pompeius, Cx.]