Prolicionycion [sic]

¶ Capitulum 29

AFter this Alysaunder toke the clothyng and the dyademe of the kynge of pers as thaugh he wold passe in to the ma∣ner and vsage of macedonia ¶And for it shold not seme that all one he trespassed in that doyng· he. bade his frendes also vse longe clothes of gold / Also he deled the tymes and stempnes of the nyghtes amonge companye of strompettes and put to noble mete & drynk lest fastyng destroyed lechery he highted his meels with dyuers playes and hadde no mynde that grete Rychesse is lost by suche maner doyng and not gete ne wonne. Therfore men began to haue indygnacion of hym for he forsoke the vsage and the maners of his forfaders / He lette knyghtes wedde women that were taken prysonners / for they shold take and suffre more easily the trauaylle of chiualrye and thynke the lasse of theyr owne countrey / he helde that macedonia shold be strenger / yf yong knightes come after old faders and vsed dedes of knyghtes with in the boundes of theyr owne byrth / And shold be the more stal worth afterward yf they pyght her tentes as it were in her ow∣ne cradels / Also Alysaunder ordeyned fedyng for childre· hers· and armour for the yonglynges hire & wages for the faders / & yf the faders dyed the sonnes shold receyue the wages of the fa¦ders and so her childhode shold be as it were knyghthode & cheual¦rye / than whan the partyes were chased Alysaunder waye cruel amonge his owne men and hated moost yf ony of his men with saide him of ony maner dede· There he slough one permenion an old man that was next the kyng and permenyons sonne phil••∣ta also / for they tolde hym that he ouertourned and destroyed the maners and the vsages of the countray and of his fornfaders Than Alysaunder drad lest tydynges of that dede shold come in to macedonia. he made it as he wold sende somme of his frendes in to macedonia to. telle there tydynges of the vyctoryes and of the grete dedes that he had doo and bade that men shold wryte lettres al that wold tydynges sende and made the messagers brynge him the lettres pryuately for he wold knowe al mennes wylle that wold lettres sende owther for he wold rewarde hem that we¦re true owther sende hem that were fals in to ferre londes Pol· Alysander was ofte dronken and than he was cruel amōg his meyny / And soo it happed on a tyme that he yaue dome a∣yenst one the grettest of his palays that his heed shold of / And

he appeled anone right· ¶ But for me vsed to appele from the lasse to the more. the tyraunt that was wyne dronke torned in to more wodenesse and sayde from whome and to whom appellyst thou / I appelle sayd he from Alysaunder the dronke to alysaun¦der the sober / By that answer Alysaunder abated his wrath & put of the sentence and dome / and fully foryaue hym the trespas ¶ Trogus Than he subdued the peple that dwellyd atte fote of the hille cancasus and bylde the cyte Alexandria vpon the ry¦uer thanays ¶R Here take hede that Alysaunder buyld xij· cytees euery of hem callyd Allexandria in dyuers kyngdomes and landes / ¶Atte Ryuer thanays Pontus Shiciā mesagetes Egypt Troada at Tigris and at Staurus. and made wryte in the walles of the cytees in lettres of grue Alisander Iupiters cosyn ¶ Trogus libro duodecimo ¶ The men that be closed with in the watres that be callyd Palludes meotydes sente a letter to Alisander in this maner· Yf goddes wolde that the hauyng of thy body were euen to the coueitese of thy sowle the world myght not receyue the· whether thou knowe not that trees that growe long tyme be roted vp in a litel while / than take hede and bewar that thou falle not with the tre while thou takest to the the bow¦es Ofte the lion is mete to smale beestes and to fowles and rust destroyed yren / there is no thyng so strong and stydfast that may not be brought in to peryll and that by a feble thyng and wele litel worth / ¶ What cyleth the at vs / we cam neuer in thy lond we may serue no man and we kepe not to regne ¶ And thou hast ioye to pursue theues and thou art euery nacions thef What nede hastow to ryches that maketh the the more nedy to de¦sire moore riches To the vyctory is cause of bataylle / no man suf¦freth gladly an alien lord / And yf thou art god thou sholdest yeue men benefyce and yeftes and take fro no man his owne If thou be a man thynke what thou art / thou myght haue fren¦des of hem that thou hast not greued / and them that thou hast ouercome thou myght haue hem euer in suspect. bitwene a bon¦de man and his lord is no maner frendship though they be in pe¦as / One day at a fest amonge Alisandres trusty frendes was speche of the dedes of philip the kyngis fader Ther Alysaun∣dre began to booste and make him self more worthy than his fa∣der and a grete dele that were atte feste helde vp Alisandres oy∣le But olitus an old man and wyse trust in the kynges frend∣ship and praysed the fader and anone Alisandre slough hym

for that grete preysyng but afterward whan the kynges wo∣denesse was cessed he bithought hym of the persone / that was slayne of the cause of his deth and of the fest tyme and made soo grete sorowe that he desired to dye. the teeres brake oute of his eyen and he wept ful soore Than he biclypped the dede corps and gropeth the woundes and drewe oute the shafte and profe∣reth to stycke him self therwith ¶For this olitus sister was ali∣sandres norse / this sorowe dured four dayes and one calystenes alisaundres scole fere vnder aristotle alayed this sorow vnneth with grete besynesse ¶Trogus libro duodecimo ¶But not long afterward for this calystenes the Philosopher wold not vse the maner and the araye of pers Alysaunder bare hym on hande that he was a fals espye and heete smyte of his lymmes and threwe the stoke of the body in to a pyt and an hand with hym· But one lysimachus a gentilman and a noble made him dryn∣ke venym for remedye of his sorowe ¶ Than Alysaunder was wroth for that dede and put this lysimachus to a lyon to be eten but he wrapped a cloth aboute his hande and put in to the lyons mouth / whan the lyon resed and rased of the tong and slough the lyon. Alysaunder sawe that and loued him the more afterward ¶Solinus ¶After this Alisander cam to the hilles of caspy the¦re the childer of boundage of the ten lygnages of Israel were closed and prayd for lycence to Alisander to goo oute of that clo¦syng / And whan Alysaunder had vnderstande that they were closed there for her synne / and that it was prophecied of hem that they shold not goo thens / Alisaunder closed them· faster & stopped her oute goyng with stones and glue and he sawe that mannes wytte was not suffisaunt to doo that dede and prayde god of Israel that he wold fulfylle that werk. and dede than the coppes of the hilles wente and closed to geder / and soo the place was closed that noman myght come therto ¶R But they shal go oute atte worldes ende and slee many men so sayth Iosephus After this Alisander aboute the tenth yere of his kyngdom wēt to Inde and keuered the armour of his knyghtes with siluer and wēt vp in to the noble cyte nysa / thens he ledde his hooste toward the holy hille where men heele ther preuy harnays with yuy leues· there with a sodayn doyng of the hill his hoost was moeued to crye to god almyghty with holy cryes· ¶ Than he went to the hilles called montes dedaly that be in the kyngdome of the quene cleofilis· and for she myghte not withstande hym

with Armour in fyghtyng / she lette the kyng lye by hir and she raunsomed the kyngdome / The sonne that she had by alisander was named alysaunder and was Emperour of Inde after his moder / ¶But the quene was cleped the kynges harlatte whi¦le she was a lyue / than Alysaunder cam to a stone of a wonder sharpnesse· moche peple were fledde theder for socoure / At that stone hercules was forboden forther passage for he shold passe noo ferther But Alysaunder wold passe hercules dedes and gate that place with grete trauaylle and perille and made the peple yelde them to his mageste ¶ After that Alysaunder faught with porrus kyng of Inde / he slough Alisaunders hors that hete bucyfall / Netheles porrus was wounded al aboute and take pry¦sonner And Alysaunder restored hym ayene to his kyngdom Netheles this porrus was so sory that he was ouercome that he wold not ete ne suffre men hele his woundes