To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
COntynuynge our purpose that in olde tyme the auncy∣entes loued better worshyp than ryches lyke as euery worshypful mā ought to do / Ualere speketh of y• last Sypyon Auffrycan. I say y• last for bycause there were two Sypyons whiche were bothe so worthy y• no man coude well deserne the
one from the other in worthynes. And for bocause that bothe of them conquered Affryke by grete trauayle & many batayles wherof the fyrst conquered it for the Romayns / and after that it was rebelled. The other conquered it agayne with grete dyf fyculte / Neuertheles they were bothe called Affrykans / But this last destroyed the Cyte of Cartage / & the cyte also of Mu nya••••ce / and helde warre ayenst the gaules whiche ben called nowe Frensshe men. And he warred also ayenst the Lumbar des & had the vyctory of them. So after all these vyctoryes he wolde departe the honoures & the goodes to the knyghtes whi che had ben at ye conquestes. Then he cōmaunded lyke as was the vsage at y• tyme yt men sholde brynge vnto the cheuetayne or to ye prynce of the batayle all ye worshypfull actes that ye wor shypful knyghtes & men of warre dyde / for there were certay ne men lyke as we may say herawdes nowe a dayes / whiche were ordeyned to do suche thynges / & they had greate charge for to take good hede whiche mē dyde theyr deuoyre to y• enten te y• they myght be wel rewarded after theyr del••rtes / & suche as dyde not theyr parte sholde be rebuked / so amonge all other there was one knyght y• quyt hymselfe so well in y• felde yt so∣me sayd he had wel deserued a certayne Iewel of golde y• was ordeyned to be worne vpon y• arme of suche folkes as had done suche semblable prowesses as he had done / & this Iewell was called Armel••es. Thā Sypyon made enquyre of this knyght whyder he had done on y grete prowesse before y• tyme / or elles y• suche aduenture happened fall to hȳ at y• season / thā it was foūde y• it was ye fyrst grete prowesse yt euer he dyde before / but they sayd y• hym semed to be of good wyl & of manly courage. Sypyon thought he wolde assay hym / & lete call hym vnto his ••lence & made to gyue hym a some of golde / lyke as we myght say of Florynts / ryght largely & plenteously / & sayd to hym y• shalte ••e payde lryches for thy good dede / but not in worshyp
when this knyght whiche had receyued ye golde herde hym say so / he was shamefast & passynge sory. And anone he toke ye gol∣de and cast it downe at ye fete of Stypyon▪ ••hen it was asked hym whyther he had leuer to be rewarded and worshyped by the sygnes of manhode and prowesse / or elles to be rewarded in money for his noble dedes / he sayd he had leuer haue worshyp than the rewarde of money▪ ••hen Stypyon praysed hym gre tely and loued hym better than he dyde before▪ And for bycau∣se that he sholde be constaunt and perseuerynge in armes ma de gyue hym y• sygne of syluer whiche was ordeyned for them y• had done semblable actes of the prowesse y• he had done hym∣selfe at y• ••ournay / and had hym that he sholde contynewe & gete another y• was made of golde / & other sygnes also y• was ordeyned for them y• were worshypfull. And Stypyon shewed this / for bycause y• honoure ought not to be gyuen entyerly for one good dede / whiche by aduenture cometh at some one tyme but he wolde y• it sholde parseuer in māly dedes & good werkes