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

¶How they that leden euyl lyf owen to deye euyll cap^o. x^•.

GOd is a trewe Iuge. And Iugeth euery man Iustely. whefor it foloweth / that he that ledyth an euyl lyf. mus∣te deye an euyl deth. And herof we haue many examples in thys present tyme. For the lytyl tyme that I haue lyued. I haue none remembrance that an euyl man hath deyed a good deth. Trouthe it is that by an enyl man I mene not euery man that is a synner. but I vnderstonde hym to be an euyl man. that lyueth contynuelly in synne / And in doyng werse and werse withont repentanuce. and without wyll to amende hym / More ouer. yf we rede thystoryes of tyme passed / we shal fyude clerely how they that haue lyued euyl / ben also hor∣rybly deed / how was caym deed whiche slewe his brother / was he not slayn of lameth whiche was blynde and sawe nothyng. And neuertheles he slewe hym in huntyng. as it apperith in the boke of genesis More ouer pharao the kynge of Egypte whiche caused to doowne the yong chyldren of the Iewes / how deyde he. Certaynly he was drowned in the rede see and alle his peple as is apperith the xxiiij chapytre of Ex¦ode. we rede also how zebee and Salmana slewen the brethern of Gedeon / but after Gedeon slewe them / as it apperith the viij chapytre of the boke of Iuges / Semblably Abymelech that slew lxx brethern vpon one stone / was after slayn of

a woman as it apprith the ix chapytre of the boke aforsayd / And generelly a man that sleeth a man ought to dye an euyl deth. Rede we not how the yong man that sayde he had slayn Saul. was afterward slayn by the com̄andament of dauid. as it apperith the secōd boke of kynges the fyrst chapytre. Sem¦blably we rede that the theues that slewen ys••seth camen to dauid for to make to hym feste / but dauid condempned them to deth. Therfore ought they to be wel aduysed that doo wron¦ge to other. and make them to deye wythoute cause. For by thexamples aforsayd it apperith clerely how homycides owen to dye an euyl deth. Semblably they that ben tyrannts & that greuen the people And the poure Innocentes oughten right well to be aduysed For it is reason that they deye an euyl deth And to this purpoos we rede how sysara whiche was a right cruel tyrannt was fynably slayn of a woman as it apperith the iiij chapitre of the boke of Iudges. & Saul whiche was a right grete tyrannt and persecutour of dauid. after he slewe hym self with his propre knyf as it apperith the first boke of kynges the last chapytre. And Benedab whiche was so cruel fynably was byheded by one of his serun̄tes by the cōmādem̄t of god / as it is wreton the iiij boke of kynges the vij chapy∣tre / Thenne by these examples oughten the prynces and the lordes take hede / the whyche by theyr tyrannyes doon many euyllis to theyr subgettis / And by theyr cruelnesse make ma∣ny men to deye. by venegeance for to haue theyr good. For certaynly theyr euyl lyf by right requyreth an euyl deth /