[Here begynneth the table of a book entytled the book of good maners.]

¶The fyrst chapytre treateth how prynces oughten to be pyetous and mercyfull cap^o. ••mo

APrynce wythont pyte putteth his seygnorye in pe∣ryll / And doth not as a naturel lord / but as a cruel tyrannt / And he ought to remembre the condi∣••••nn of thauncyent prynces / For we rede how pyte ma∣••••th kynges and prynces to lyue in surete / And to this purpos reciteth valere in his fyfthe boke how Marcelli∣••us toke the cyte of Syracuse. But whan he sawe how the prysoners wepte he began to wepe. Semblably we rede in the same boke / how Cezar seeyng the hede of his enemye mortal Pompeus. he was moche sory. And had grete pyte. we rede also how Cezar seeyng that Cathon his aduersarye had slayn hym self. he was therfore mo∣the troubled. And in dede he gaf to his thyldernalle the goodis of theyr fader Cathon. and loued them And defen∣ded them right diligeutly. More our. valere recounteth in the ••••ke aforsaid the v chapytre how pompens dyde to the kyng

of Armenye the whiche was his enemye / and desmyssed of his estate. But whā he sawe that the said kyng was mo¦che sorouful thēne he had grete pyte of hym in so moche that he remysed hym in to his fyrst estate And crowned hym in resto¦ring to hym all his Royame / by the whiche historyes hit appe¦rith how the prynces oughten to be pietous. For as ysydore sayth in his iij boke de summo bono / The Iuge that is venge¦able. is not wortly to Iuge ne to haue seygnorie. And to this purpoos recounteth seneke in his fyrst toke of yre. how som∣tyme a Iuge by his cruelte caused three knyghtes to deye whi¦che were Innocentes. And thistorye saith how to one of these thre knyghtes he sayde / thou shalt deye by cause thou hast not brought thy felawe wyth the. For I doubte that thou haste slayn hym. Thenne he commanded to one of his knyghtes / that he sholde wrthout taryeng put that knyght to deth. but anon after cam the felaw of the same knyght that was damp¦ned. And thenne retorned the knyght whiche was comman̄∣ded tosle the sayd knyght and sayd to the prynce that he shold reuoke his sentence. who as a tyran̄t ansuerde. that alle 〈◊〉〈◊〉 shold be deed / For he sayde that the fyrst shold deye by cause 〈◊〉〈◊〉 was dāpned ones to the deth. & that he ought not to chaunge his sentence. And to the second knyght he sayde / that he shold also deye by cause he was cause of the dampnacōn of his fela∣we / Aud to the thyrde he sayd that he shold deye. by cause he had not prestly put the fyrst knyght to deth lyke as he had co∣manded / And me semeth by thys historye it appereth that cruelte is to a prynce gretely peryllous / And therfore sa••••h Seneque. that it is grete force. And noble chyualrye to con••∣ne foryene / & therfore ther is nothyng more necessarye thā to be pyetous and endyned to mercy / And to thys purpoos in his boke of clemence the fyfte chapytre he recyteth of a vengeable man / The whyche all hys lyf had taken vengeance of alle his enemyes. But on a tyme it happed that he myght not aduēge hym of his enemy. For he was moche

myghty / thenne he demānded of his wyf how he myght aduē¦ge hym. The whiche ansuerd sayeng / Fayr frende ye haue euer vnto now alle way taken vengeance of alle men. & now ye see that ye muste chānge your manere. Thēne I counseylle you that ye essaye yf pyte and mercy shal doo you as moche good. as vengeance hath doon / For me semeth that ye may not adueuge you on euery mā. But ye maye well doo to e••y man pardō And pyte. so I counseylle you take the waye of pyte & to leue vengeance. By whyche counseyll this man be∣cam pyetous and apperceyued clerly. that it avaylle••h. nothīg to a man that wyll aduenge hym on all thyng / And therfor saith Seneque in the boke aforsaid the x chapytre that the kyn¦ges and the prynces owē to be pietons. For the kynge of the ••ees that make hony haue no pricke of their nature. in signe∣fyānce that suche shold be their kynges / And in the iiij chapy∣tre he saith that the prynce that wyll ensiewe god / ought to be moche pietous. to thende that god be to hym mercyful / More¦ouer Solinus rehereeth how Cezar conquerde moo contrees by pyte than by strengthe & force. And valere in the boke afor¦sayd saith that Alexander seeyng one of his knyghtes to ha∣ue colde descended fro his siege and sette hym therin. And of Tytus we rede / that he wold not aduenge hym of them that myssayd of hym & spacke enyll as it apperith in thystorye of Troye. we rede also how seynt Ambrose commanded to the∣••dose / that he shold neuer gyue sentence agaynst a man that was his enemye. to thende that he shold not haue cause to Iu∣ge ouer fauourably for hym self /