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.

¶ Howe the olde auncyentes guerdoned y^e good dedes of wor∣thy men after theyr desertes / and not after tauoure. And also •••• the honoures that they dyde vnto hym. Capitulo. xlv.

NOwe to come agayne to our fyrste purpose that y^e good men of armes ought rather to loue worshyp than ony other thynges / we haue proued ryght ynough / and haue shewed by dyuers ensamples howe the olde worshypfull men were courtyse for to gete worshyp / and also howe they were rewarded for theyr good dedes: And yet we wyll shewe one ensample howe these rewardes were gyuen without fauoure. Ualere sayth y^• whā

a noble mā of Rome y^• was called ••alpurynus ••yse / was ma de consule & prynce of a grete hoost / & by his manhode & prow esse had delyuered ••••cyle by dyuers grete batayles / & sholde come to gyue y^• rewardes to his people after y^• Romayne custo mes euery mā after his deseruynge. This sayd ••alpurynus had a sone whiche was ryght a worthy knyght / & for the good dedes y^• he had done in the batayle / they y^• were reportours of y^• worshypfull actes y^• men dyde / Iuged hym a crowne of gol∣de & sayd that he had ryght well deserued it. But the fader dy de longe debate ayenst it / and sayd that the other had deserued▪ it better than he / notwithstondynge at the last thoughe the fa∣der were neuer so sore ayenst it / yet of very ryght was Iuged, hym to be rewarded with the crowne by the comon voyce / and▪ trust truely he had leuer haue worne that crowne as they vsed to were them in those dayes than to haue ben rewarded with a grete some of golde. ¶ yet more of the honoure that men dyde in that tyme to suche as were worshypfull warryoures / whi∣che worshyp was more desyred than ony other thynge in the worlde at that tyme. Ualere telleth whan y^• ony man had done ony dede in armes passynge ony other men in valyaunce and worthynesse. The Romaynes caused to make his ymage ry∣ght nobly and set it in a certayne place of worshyp whiche was ordeyned for the nones / and vnder them made wryte theyr na mes and theyr sure names and the grete pryncypall dedes y^• they had done / & thus they dyde for bycause they sholde alway be had in mynde / & y^• other men sholde take ensample of theyr worthynesse / to that entente that they sholde payne themselfe for to gete worshyppes & honoures / & in lyke wyse they dyde by y^e clerkes. For & there were ony solempne phylosophre or ony man or woman that passed other soueraynely in shotynge or in ony scyence lyke as y^• sage sybyle / or elles a werke man y^• cou ••e ••arue ymages y^t neuer was sene none suche before they had▪

certayne thynges ordeyned for the nones / whiche was gret•• worshyp to them & caused them to set theyr attendaunce more ententyfely vpō theyr occupacyon. ¶ And thus as ye here they were set in those dayes all in couetyse of worshyp / whiche coue tyse Ualere preueth by ensample that the vertuous man wyl certaynly that honour•• lawde / and reuerence be gyuen to hym lyke as we may say by Sypyon Affrycan y^• ryght vertuous man whiche made sette the ymage and the fygure of Enn••us the poete amonge the ymages of the noble men of his lygnage for bycause that he had commended in his dytees the noble ac tes of this Sypyon Affrycan. ¶ And for bycause that some men myght say ayenst this opynyon arguynge that honoure and glory ought not to be desyred in this worlde / but be holdē as for nought. Ualere sheweth howe they whiche in theyr boo∣kes techeth / that glory and honoure 〈…〉〈…〉de be sette at nought / desyre it themselfe and wolde haue it as other haue / and say∣th in this wyse that glory is not dyspysed of them that enforce themselfe to teche the dyspysynge o•• the same / for they set the names of them dylygently in theyr volumes and bookes whi che they haue drawne out and wryten and cōmendeth the dys∣pysynge of glorye, in lowynge them that sette not therby / yet notwithstondynge they wolde haue glory / for bycause y^t they wolde drawe to mynde theyr names by wrytynge in theyr bo∣kes▪ And so to conclude this chapytre we saye that the good & worshypfull men ought and may desyre glory / and in dede they wyll haue it & they may / notwithstōdynge y^• ••oece in y^• thyrde boke of cōsolacyon / in y^•. •••••• prose holdeth ayenst & dyscōmende th thē y^• to inordynately secheth worldely glory / & not w^tout cau se as to y^• spyrytuall lyfe. But for to lyue morally after y^• actyfe lyuynge it is no vyce who that desyreth it for a Iuste cause.