Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ...

Howe kinge astryages laboured to disherite cirus But god suffred his malice nat to preuayle

AFter these kynges one folowed in the pres And to bochas his compleynt discure And he was called the greate as••riages Which tolde in ordre his vncouth auenture Lorde of Asye as bokes vs assure And had of tresure durynge all his life Aboue all kinges a prerogatife

Moost infortunate in all his gouernaile Felte of fortune none aduersite Saue an heir male no thinge dyd him fayle For he moost glorious sat in his glorious se Of wordly welth he lackyd no plentye Except only as clerkes of him write He had no son his kingdome to enherite

Which to his welth was greate discres Lest succession fayled in his lyne A doughter had he called mundanes Oute of whoos wombe as bokes determyne He drempte on a night howe he sawe a vyne In his auision with him so it stode Ouer all asie his braunchis spred abrode

He had also a reuelacion Slepynge a night after his soupeere Thoughe he nat knewe the exposicion He thought he sawe a cristallyn ryuere With lusty waters as any beryll clere Out of her wombe with his stremys fresshe The soyle of asye make tendre and nesshe

Touchinge this ryuer and this lusty vyne To him shewyd in his auision Within him silfe he coude nat termyne Therof to finde no clere conclusion Withoute some maner exposicion To him declared by folkes in sentence Which of such dremys had experience

To him he called his astronomers His philophers and his dyuynours That knewe the menynge of the nyne speers Vmages of sterres their houses and theyr toures And such as were expert expositours And they were assembled euerichon Touchinge his dreme they cordyd all in one

To tell him trouth they were nat recles Sayde his doughter fro whom there cam a vyne She that by name was called mundanes Shuld haue descendynge from his lyne Whoos noble fame through asye shulde shyne Which shulde put through his renowne Him by force of his armys oute of his region

This was his fate he might it nat refuse The heuenly cours but it dyd fayle Wherupon he sore gan to muse Such fantasies dyd his herte assayle Fyll in greate doubte of their dyuynayle Thought he wolde make puru••aunce For to withstonde goddes ordenaunce

Full harde it is to make resistence Ageyn thinge ordeyned whan god woll that it be And namely there where as influence Of heuyn aboue hath shape a destyne Some men recorde that no man may it flee The dome of this where it holde or flytte To astronomers all hooly I cōmytte

This saide kinge of whome I spake but lote Cast he wolde for his auauntage The ordenaunce reuerse and the fate Of the heuyn with all the surplusage And yeue his doughter as in marige To some vnworthy pore infortunate That neuer were lykly to rise to hye estate

And in this wise kinge astriages Maried his doughter as in his entent To one worthy called cambyses Demynge therby by short auisement Within him silf that he was right prudent Wenynge that noblesse cam by discent of blode And nat by grace nor as the heuyn stode

In his reason was nat comprehended Howe socrates mayster of platon Of full lowe bed by birth was descendyd And nat tenher••te kindome nor region But for to haue fully possession Of morall vertue and philosofye Durynge his life his wyt he dyd applye

He sought contrees for wysdam and science And secret cūnynges to serch he dyd his peyne And he fonde out through his dyligence This philosophre as bokes acerteyne To ioy reserued outher to peyne By grace of god which is eternall Howe mennys soules be founde ay inmortall

The greate appollo in bokys it is founde Gaue iugement of equyte and right That socrattes in vertue moost habounde And moost preferred in euery mannys sight Was called of wysdom the lanterne and the light And wisest named at euyn and at Pryme Of philosophers that were in his tyme

The poete also called Euripides Moost honourable called in that age All be his moder of life was recheles And contagious through vicious outrage Yit was this poete for al his vile lynage Moost vertuous founde at assayes Of all poetes that were in his dayes

Called in his tyme a greate tragicien Bycause he wrote many tragedies And wolde of toruth spare no maner man But theym rebuke in his peotries Touchinge the vices of flesshly fantasies Compleyne in princes their dedes moost horryble And eche thinge punisshe that was ••dyble

Another called clerke domestenes The moost subtyll rethorician And moost Inuentif amonge all the pres That euer was sith the worlde began Albe of birth he was a pore man Yit had he moost souereyne excellence Amonge philophers of spech and eloquence

By which exaumple me semeth doutles That roial blode nor hye lynage To mennys birth yeueth but smale encres Nor vnto vertue but litell auauntage For hye nobles toketh nat his corage Of rich nor pore nor statys souereyne But of his grace as god list ordeyne

Wherfore of foly kinge astriages Contrariously ageyne all gentrye Bad that his doughter called mundanes First whan folke with childe hir dyd espye For to accomphissh his frowarde fantasie Whan it were borne chargynge aboue all thinge Of archanye to bere it to the kinge

Which in that tyme was called arpagus And as I fynde he dyd in vertue floure And spyte had the story telleth thus That bestes shulde the lytell childe deuoure But god that may in myscheef best socoure To kepe the childe was nat recheles Ageyne the malice of kinge astriages

Which had cāmaundyd of malyce and hatred Howe that this childe grene and tentre of age By arpagus shulde be cast in dede To be deuoured of bestes moost sauage But for he dred to do so greate outrage To his shepeherde him silf to stonde at large The childe to sle he fully yaue the charge

This herdman all be that he was loth To execute this woful auenture Into a forest forth with the childe he goth And gaue to bestes that lytell creature Whom to fostre by grace ageyne nature A wylde bitch hir whilpes there forsake And to her pappes the litell childe she toke

And with hir milke she made him sup and dyne And besy was for him to enchace Wylde f••u••ys and bestes sauagyne That none ne durst neygh to that place Loo howe that god dispose can his grace Innocentes fro myscheef to preserue Ageyne fals enuye which wolde make theym sterue

O blode vnkinde founde in kinrede For couetise / o blode disnaturall Of fals malyce / o blode full of hatrede To murdre a childe borne of the stok royall Where mannys reason is turned bestyall Falsly transfourmed vnto cruelte To sle a chylde where bestes haue pyte

The cely heerde hath tolde his wife the cas And she anone of pyte dyd aryse With hir husbonde went a ful greate pas Into the forest beholdinge all the guyse As heretofore ye haue herde deuyse Seynge the childe with lyppes tendre and softe The bytches pappes howe he sook f••ll ofte

The sayde heerde called Sparag•• His wife also of whome tofore I 〈◊〉〈◊〉 This yonge childe toke in their dep•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 And in hir armes she softly gan it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 And he full goodly hir face gan beholde And on his maner the same while In childly wise on hir gan to smyle

The childes laughtre whan she dyd aduerte With all hir hole feithful diligence She gan to cherisshe it and with all hir herte She yaue it soke with ful greate reuerence Albe the bitch made resistence Compleynynge stode fully at abaye The lytell childe whan she sawe lad away

Full pitously she gan to houl and crye At their departynge doolfully compleyne And after theym full fast gan to hye The childe to lete she felt so greate a peyne Lo howe that god of mercy can ordeyne A cruell best such sorowe for to make And so to mourne for a childes sake

But euery thinge that god wyll haue preseruyd May nat fayle to stonde in sekernesse Hys secre domys been to him silf reserued There can no man expowne theym as I gesse For he sh••pe first that this sheperdesse Of sparagos the true pore wife For to be mene to saue the childys life

Home to hir house the childe she ledde ••••one And it to fostre dyd her besynesse Of other salary god wote knewe she none Saue that her herte therto dyd hir dresse And moore enteerly the story beryth w••tnesse She tendryd him and with more besy 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Than him that was hir childe borne of nature

And as the story playnly doth expresse This yonge childe as he wexe in age Fro day to day encresyd in noblesse Lyke for to be right manly of corage Cirus he was called in that langage To saye in latyn playnly in substaunce A man yborne to greate enheritaunce

And whan the renoun of his excellence By longe processe and of his greate encresse Cam by the report vnto the audience Of his a••ell the greate astriages And howe the kinge was founde recles Called arpagus for to do vengeaunce On yonge cirus he fyll in displesaunce

This is to mene astriages was wroth That arpagus was founde merciable Cyrus to saue and for that he was loth Ageyns all right for to be vengeable To sle a childe a thinge nat comendable Demynge of trouth in his conscience God was nat payde to murdre Innocence

Astriages cast him to be wreke On arpagus by fals collusion Bycause that his byddynge he dyd breke And was contrarye to his intencion Cirus to sle ageyne all reason And for that cause astriages I rede Of arpagus lete sle the childe in dede

This to say by fals compassinge And couert mordre wrought by astriages The sonne was slayne of arpagus the kinge And after rostyd alas full causeles And sith presented amonge all the pres To sore his fader a thinge moost lamentable With astriages he sate at the table

But whan this kinge called arpagus Conceyued hath this mordre moost terrible And howe his son and heire was slayne thus In his Ire moost furious and odible In all the hast that it was possible He is repayred home to his housholde And all the cas to Cirus he hath tolde

And howe his sonne was slayne for his sake In the moost hatful odious crueltye Excitynge him with him to vndertake On this fals mordre auengyd for to be To him declarynge of trouth and equyte Howe he was borne by discent in dede As right heire to regne in perce and mede

To him declarynge the story by and by First of the dreme of astriages And howe that he by fraude full falsly Made his doughter called Mundanes Poorly to be wedded vnto cambyses Which was his moder and howe in tendre age He was oute cast to bestes full sauage

By a shepperde and shepperdesse Fosteryd he was in greate pouerte And brought from bestes oute of wildernesse By cause god wolde he sauyd shuld be For thilke lorde which euery thinge may se Whan that he hath a thinge afore disposed Nedys it must fall and may nat be deposed

This sayde Cirus at his natiuyte Ordeyned was by reuolucion Of the heuenly sperys in noumbre thries thre So stode that tyme his constellacion That he shulde haue the domynacion Ouer all asie by influence dyuyne Afore figured by spredynge of the vyne

What may the fraude of slayghty folke auayle Innocentes to put out of their right Though trouth be hyd amonges the parayle Hard brought forth and dare nat shewe his light Yit god wyll ordeyne that the bemys bright Shall some one day shewe out his cleernesse Maugre all tho that wolde his title oppres••

For this Cirus as clerkes of him write Was by the title of his moders syde Borne to be kinge all asie to enherite Albe his aiel from him wolde it diuyde But god that can for trouth best prouide Hath for Cirus by processe so ordeyned That he of asie the lordshyp hath atteyned

Cirus that tyme was growen vp well of length Well proporcioned of membres and stature Wonder delyuer and passynge of greate strength Straunge emprises proudly to endure And to Iupart and put in auenture His owne persone the fame was of him so Was none more lykly where men shulde haue adoo

And by the counseyle of kinge arpagus Whan this Cirus was well waxe in age With perciens proude and surquedous And archanytes cruell of corage For to recure his rightfull heritage Began with cirus armyd with plate and mayle With astriages to holde batayle

And he ag••ynewarde gan to take hede And with him toke many a worthy knyght With all the puissaunce of the londe of meede Hath take the felde the same day forth right To disherite cirus of his right But god and trouth was atwene theym tweyne Egall iuge their quarell to dareyne

The feeld ordeyned and splayed their baners On outher party full proudly on they set At thassemblynge like lions of their cheres In the face as they fresshly mette With rounde speres sharpe ground and w••et Tyll that Cirus of grace more than noumbre Of his aiel the partye dyd encombre

This mighty Cirus this yonge champion Throughoute the feeld gan such a slaughter make With his knightis as he went vp and doun That as the deth his fomen him forsake Astriages vnder his baner take The feelde venquesshed for all his false veynglorye To shewe that right hath alwey the victorye

A man of malice may a thinge purpose By a maner frowarde prouydence But god aboue can graciously dispose ••geyne such malyce to make resistence ••en for a whyle may suffre violence ••nd wronges greate where so that they wende ••ut trouth alwey venquessheth atte ende

Astriages fonde ful soth his dreme Though he ageyne it made purueaunce To haue depryu••d Cirus of his rem He was deceyued of his ordenaunce For where that god th••ugh his myghty puissaunce List for heiris iustfy to prouide Sleight in such cas of man is set asyde

Maugre the might of astriages Cirus on him made a disconfiture And all asie reioysed eke in pees Of very right as was his aduenture And by iust title he dyd also recure The loude of mede like as was his fate And into perce he dyd it hole translate

Ageyne his a••l he was nat vengeable Which had wrought to his distruccion But was to him benigne and merciable And grauntyd him of hole affection The forte part of the region Of archanye of which afore I tolde Him to susteyne in his dayes olde

For kinge Cirus wolde nat his lyue Suffre his a••l of very gentilnesse That men shulde him fynally depryue Of kingly honour for none vnkindnesse To yeue exaumple to princes in sothnesse Though god in erth haue y••uyn theym myghte They shulde ay mercy medle with the right

Lenuoye.

NOble princes youre erys do enclyne And considre in your discrecions Howe dremys shewed by influence byuyne Be nat lyke sweuenys but like auysions Or resemble to reuolucions Which though men wolde distourbe and make fayle. God wyll nat suffre their malice to preuaile

A stragies dempt he sawe a vyne Shewed of trouth and none illusions From his doughters wombe right alyne Spred in asie ouer the regions But to disherite by fals collusions Yonge Cirus the kinge dyd his trauaile But god nat suffred his malice to preuayle

Princes remembre that in honoure shyne Vpon this story in youre entencions And be wel wyllyd where god list forthre a lyne Outher to riches or dominacions To fauour theym to their promocions Be nat contrarye in youre acquytaile Syth god will suffre no malice to preuayle