Here begynneth the booke whiche is called the body of polycye And it speketh of vertues and of good maners, and the sayd boke is deuyded in thre partyes. The fyrst party is adressed to prynces. The seconde to knyghtes and nobles: and the thyrde to the vnyuersal people. The fyrst chapytre speketh of the dyscrypcyon of the body of polycye.

¶ •••• the foureth good condycyon y^• the worthy mā of armes ••ught to haue. Capitulo. xlii.

••Ike as y^• state of noblesse / that is to knowe y^• the noble men be moost set on hyght in the honoures & worshyp pes of this worlde / In lyke wyse it is good reason that they be adourned with vertues / whiche for to say proprely is the most noblesse / for without vertue nothynge is noble / and this wyt∣nesseth Iuenall / whiche sayth / there is nothynge that maketh man noble but vertue / and this sentence appereth well. Boece in his boke of consolacyon whiche saythe▪that the name of no∣blesse is but a vayne thynge / but it be lyghtened with vertue & to this accordeth al the auncyent auctours generally. Then after all these sentences it is a necessary thynge to all theym y^• call themselfe noble / to be vertuous / that is to saye well mane∣red / & also that they hate all vyce & flee frome all vnsyttynge thynges / whiche ben contrary to noblesse / & that they loue & to lowe all goodnesse / and good condycyons. And for bycause y^• I haue declared here tofore some of these vertues concernynge to the same / I wyll no more speke of them at this tyme. But I wyll passe ouer & speke of the fourth good condycyon y^• I haue shewed here tofore / whiche is necessary to all good knyghtes & nobles / and that is this / he ought to be true / in worde▪in sute / & in his othe•• ••nd nowe I had purposed me to speke hereof in this chapytre. ••ut for as moche as other tymes I haue char∣ged myselfe in some of myne other volumes to speke of the bla∣mynge of the ryght lewde vyce of lyenge / whiche is contrary to truthe and maye not suffycyentely ynoughe be reproued by me / nor by none other / •• wyll passe the moore lyghtely ouer. •• ¶ But in as moche as it toucheth the noble men without fay le I maye some what saye nowe that yt ys a thynge that ys euyll syttynge vnto ony noble man / and full dyshonourable.

That is to wete / of them than ben so tought as some ben y^• no trewe worde cometh out of theyr mouthe / nor in theyr promy∣ses / nor in theyr fayth may no man trust no more than the sym plest boye of the worlde / I speke of some suche as call themselfe noble▪ And truely yf suche people consydred well what noblesse were / and howe that they deserue euyll for to haue the dygnyte therof / they ought to be ••hamed and confounded / and haue ly∣tell cause to be proude for the noblesse of theyr kynne / whiche is fayled in theyr owne persones▪ And for to speke of the goodnes of trouthe Iam not worthy to speke suffycyently therof / nor no man elles can saye ynoughe therof. O howe it is gretely alow ed and commended in holy scrypture that god is trouthe / and so he calleth hymselfe / And al the foundacyon of our fayth and byleue is sette vpon that / al the feate of the Phylosophres and theyr study was no thynge elies but for to attayne and serche out the trouthe / And this wytnesseth Arysto. le in his Meta∣physyke / whiche he founded vpon trouthe / in whiche booke he speketh notably therof / for he saythe that all morall Phyloso∣phy is founded vpon trouthe / and without that ••ll that euer we maye do in this morall lyfe maye not profyte vs. Alas the∣se noble auncyentes whiche had at that tyme noo knowlege in the deuyne lawe / loued rather to dye than be false of theyr fay∣the / o•• to lye le••ynges▪ Than what shame sholde it be to them that ben crystened / that for a lytell thynge or nought wyll ye & ••ors w••re themselfe / that is pyte to here: And of this we maye shew dyuers ensamples / as of a duke of Athenes whiche was vp fortune taken in a batayle / notwithstondynge that his per∣tye had the better▪ Than his aduersarye whiche had hym in his pryson / wolde haue constrayned hym that he and his Cyte sholde haue graūted a truage payable yerely to y^• men of Athe nes, so vpon y^• condycyō he sholde be delyuered free & quyte / & ••f he wolde not graut therto / he sholde dye a myscheuous deth

But the worthy duke answered and sayd that he had promy∣sed & swore to them of Rome to maynteyne them & kepe them in theyr ••••rysdyccyon & Fraunch yses / ••••o that by hym they sholde not be am y••ysshed nor brought in worse case And also it sholde not tourne thē to so grete p••••iudyce y^• losse of one man as y^• losse of theyr possessyō▪ ••••r of as good a prynce / or a better thā he was they sholde soner fynde / thā recouerynge of theyr fraū chyse / and it were ones loste▪ And th••s he had suche faythe & lo ue to his subiectes for to holde that he promysed them y^• he cha se rather for to dye thā to be ayenst his promyse. •• There was a greate feate and kepte well his trouthe / the noble Romayne prynce whiche ••alere speketh of y^• was named Actylyus Re∣gulus / whiche after that he had dyscomfyted a batayle and a grete hoost of the ••artagyences / they of ••artage for toauen∣ye themselfe sent for▪ antyperus kynge of Lacedemone & fau ght a newe batayle / whiche batayle fortuned to be ayenst the consule Actylyus / soo that he was dyscomfyted and hymselfe ••aken. So when it came to the ende of fyue yere / Orose sayth that the ••artagyences sente theyr embassadoures to Rome & with them this noble man Actylyus / but they made hym swe∣re vpon his goddes that yf case were that they coude not acco•• •••• that he sholde retourne agayne to pryson / & this was theyr message to the Romaynes that they sholde yelde agayne all y^• prysoners that were taken in the syrst batayle / and they wolde ••••lde them agayne this noble knyght Actylyus / And whan the ••enatours of Rome had well vnderstonde this message / they besought this noble man ••ctylyus that he wolde gyue them counsayle in the sayd matter / as ferre as his wysdome wolde gyue hym ••••ut this noble knyght sette not so moche by h•••• persone that he wolde counsayle them nor aduyse theym / y^• for his persone onely they sholde delyuer so grete a quantyte of enemyes for hym▪ ••••r he sayd it was not for the comon profyte

that so many men sholde be gyuen for one man. And thus this noble man wente home agayne to ••artage where that he ••n•• we well he sholde haue grete tourmentes / for he knewe ful wel y^• grete cruelte of the ••artagyences. But he loued rather to dye thā to lyue and be forsworne of that he had promysed to y^• Romaynes. •• And syth it cometh to the purpose that we spe∣ke of prysoneres for to showe more of the customes of Rome. That is to wete / when the prysoneres of ••ome were yelded in as moche as ony prynce of Rome had goten the playne vycto∣ry of the abuers party whiche helde them in pryson / when the consule / that is to say the prynce was retourned home agayne to Rome / and y^• he sholde entre in to y^• towne / in his tryumphe lyke as it is sayd before / y^• prysoneres sholde go before y^• chay∣re with chapelettes of sylke on theyr heedes / whiche were made of ••elued / and some of B••uers / as ••alere sayth / and ••••tus ••ynyus saythe that theyr hedes was shauen in token y^• they were out of seruage / & bothe myght happen well to be / for they sayd than that the Chapelettes betokened lordshyp & fredome •• ••••t to the purpose that a man sholde kepe his trouthe / and y^• it wyll do harme and a man breke it / It happened that Hany∣ball the Emperoure of Cartage was dyscomfyted by the Ro∣maynes in the seconde batayle / as ••ytus ••••nyus recyteth in the ••nde of his .x. booke. The ••artagyences were constray∣ned to requyre the ••omaynes of peas / for the whiche they sen te theyr embassadoures to Rome. ••nd whan they hadde purpo sed before the ••enatoures the effecte of theyr matter and the cause of theyr comynge. ••hen for bycause that they of ••arta∣ge had quytte them vntruely in theyr promyses before tyme to the Romaynes in theyr couenauntes & othes / whiche they had made before / was sayd vnto them these wordes. ••y what ma nere of goddes d••o ye swere the peas nowe to vs / syth ye haue deceyued and be for sworne by them that ye were sworne vpon

before tyme. ••hen one of the embassadoures whiche was cal∣led ••••sdruball answered and sayd / we swere nowe by theym that we sware before tyme / & them ye ought gretely to than∣ke and owe them good wyl / for as moche as they haue venged you well vpon vs for brekynge of our othe.