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 wyse burgeyses sholde counsayle the symple peo¦ple in that they sholde do. Capitulo. liii.

ANd as it is sayd before y^e wyse men sholde teche y^e sym¦ple & ygnorannt people to holde theyr peas & speke not of suche thynges y^t longeth not to thē to speke of / for there may gret peryl fal therof & no {pro}fyte / & this is wytnessed ī y^e boke of ••••odi in y^e .xii. chapitre saynge y^t y^e lawe defendeth suche mur¦muracyō & byddeth y^t no mā sholde murmure ayenst y^e grete lordes / & they sholde not curse y^e prynces of y^e people / & Salomō confermeth the same in the booke called Ecclesiastes in the .x.

chapytre and sayth betray not the kynge in thy trouthe / y^t is to say y^e subiecte sholde make no cōspyracyon ayenst his lorde ¶ And also that is grete peryll to murmure or to withstonde the ordynaunce of prynces / Iust yne saythe in the. xii. booke of Alysaundre for the grete vyctoryes y^• he had whan he had won the lordeshyp of Perce he thought than that he wolde be wor∣shypped after y^• maner of the countre whiche was a maner of worshyppynge / as we myght say a mā to kncle downe on his knees when he spake to his souerayne whiche was not custo∣med i Macedone ne mother regyōs at y^• tyme / but for bycause y^• men murmured & also that castylenes y^• phylosophre whiche Arystotle had cōmytted to Alysaundre for as moche as he my∣ght no lenger endure the laboure that he had for to folowe hym aboute repreued Alysaudre ryght egrely for the same / for whi∣che thynge Alysaundre made hym to be slayne / It is to knowe Ualere sayth when Arystotle lefte Alysaundre he set to way to vpon hym in his stede this noble Phylosophre Castylenes whche was his dyscyple and was ryght a wyse man / neuer∣thelesse Arystotle taught this sayd Castylenes that he sholde neuer speke of vyces of prynces behynde theyr backe / for he tol∣de hym it sholde not be doone for two thynges / One is that it longeth not to a subiecte to saye shame of his lorde / The other is that as soone as the wordes ben passed out of his mouthe y^• flatterers ben redy anone to reporte them vnto the souerayne▪ And yet he warned hym that he sholde speke but lytell to Aly saundre and yet before or he spake / he sholde vnderstonde that he were some what mery / too that entente that his language sholde not tourne hym to noo peryll / nor also he sholde not flat∣ter hym / but the wordes that he sayd myght be acceptable. / But this dyscyple helde not well the doctryne of his mayster / wherfore he repented it afterwarde. ¶ yet to the same purpose that a man sholde not stryue ayenst the ordynaunce of y^• prynce

And to the purpose also of the phylosophre that Alysaundre lete slee for bycause that he agayne sayd his ordynaunce. Ualere sayth and telleth of the Phylosophre of Mades / what he sayd to them of Athenes. For when Alysaundre wolde be worshyp∣ped as it is sayd here tofore / he sente vnto them of Athenes and sayd that he wolde in ony wyse be soo worshypped / Than the Athenyences whiche were accustomed more than other people to kepe sermounes & ryght wyse ordynaunces assembled theyr counsayle to knowe what they myght best do therin▪ So the comon oppynyon of them was that they ••olde not do hym that worshyp whiche longed not but onely to goddes / Then thys wyfe phylosophre of Mades / the whiche knewe well ynoughe what myght falle for the dyshobe ysaunce of prynces / sayd vn to them / nowe syrs quod he kepe you well that ye medle not so•• ferre with the heuynes that ye shall loose the erthe▪ ¶ These thynges sayd here tofore maye tourne too ensamples in some londes / but thanked be god we haue no cruell prynces in Fraū ce / nor hatefull ayenst theyr people▪ For of all y^• nacyons in the worlde I dare well saye without ony flatterynge▪ and trewe it is / that there be none so naturall ne so benygne as they ben in Fraunce / wherfore they ought more lowely to be obeyed / and thoughe at some tyme peraduenture the people seme that they be sorer charged than other Royalmes and Londes / and that other londes ben lesse greued than Fraunce. And lette vs sup∣pose that it maye be so by reason in some thynges as by mea∣nes of theyr fraunchyse / yet by other customes and seruages / whiche be more preiudycyable as grete crueltees that ben do∣ne vnto theym / or elles that they slee and murdre eche other for lacke of Iustyce and many other straunge meanes whiche we re to longe for to tell / and what so euer ony man saye / sauynge the grace of theym that wolde withsaye this / for ony thynge that men complayne on in Fraunce / I holde oppynyon that of

all the londes in crystendome it is it where best is to dwell in / as well for the begynnynge of prynces without cruelte / as for the courteysy / ano the louyngnesse of the people of the same na cyon. ¶ And yet I saye not thus for bycause that I was bor∣ne therin. But as god helpe me at the daye of dome I says as I thynke / For I haue enquered moche of the gouernaunce of other londes. And also I wote well this erthe is not Paradyse For I wyll that euery man knowe / that in all royalmes ben trybulacyons ynowe. ¶ And of these cruell prynces in tymes paste I wyll speke of. And namely of the newest / for I maye ••ynde ynowe. But for bycause that I maye not tourne too noo good ensample I wyll the more lyghtly passe ouer / But for as moche as we haue treated of the grete charges of people doone by lordes. There was a meruaylous and a false and vntrewe cautell founde by Denys the tyraunte / for to haue good of his people. ¶ For as this Denys tyraunte was dyscomfyted in a batayle wente and aduysed hym by grete malyce and sleyght howe he myght recouer agayne that he had loste and spended he made cryea noyse ouer all amonge his people / and made thē to byleue that y^e cause of his dyscomfyture was for his synne / where as he hadde made avowe to Uenus for to haue sought her and was not fulfylled. And this was his avowe yf so we∣re that ••he wolde helpe hym in a batayle for to haue the vycto∣ry of his enemyes that the daye of lempnyte of her feest all the ladyes and vyrgynes of the londe to honoure and worshyp of y^• same goddes sholde that daye do al y^• pleasure that ony man wolde requyre theym▪ And for bycause that he had not accom∣plysshed his avowe after the vyctory of the batayle that he had wonne▪ Therfore the goddesse Uenus for the frawde and vn∣truthe that he hadde done vnto her in brekynge of his avowe was ayenst hym at the laste batayle / whiche caused hym to be dyscomfyted and ouercome. And to accomplysshe and satysfy

He goddes of his avowe. He made ordeyne that all the ladyes and maydens at the day of solempnyte of her feest sholde aray themselfe in the moost rychest garmentes that they myght ge te with all the Iewelles that they hadde. And who that hadde noo Iewelles of theyr owne they sholde borowe. And whanne they were thus arayed they sholde goostreyght to the temple. And frome thens they sholde be brought vnto a common pla∣ce. But euery man sholde be made swere before / that they shol de not touche none of all the women in the waye of vylanye. ¶ And for bycause of this othe the folysshe mysbyleuynge peo ple without lawe of the londe byleued certaynely that all was trewe that the kynge had shewed theym / wherfore euery man consented that theyr wyues & theyr doughters sholde be brou∣ght to that place / for they wente that the goddesse Uenus wol∣de haue ben peased and this thynge hadde ben thus done with out empeyrynge the chastyte of theyr wyues and theyr dough ters / where vpon this was ordeyned / lyke as is reherced here tofore. And soo all the ladyes wente in the best arayment that they myght gete to the temple. But Denys theyr kynge thou ghte another manere thynge / whiche dyssembled and tayned this thynge to be done / for as moche as he durst sette no subs••∣dy vpon theym / he thought for to gete good by another meane▪ wherfore he lete ordayne a certayne people for to go to the tem ple and lete dyspoyle all y^e ladyes and other women of all theyr rychesse▪ And they that were olde matrones and ryche compel∣le them by betynge and other duresse for to tell where theyr ry∣chesses were and the treasours of theyr husbondes. ¶ Of this Denys that was kynge of ••esyle men may wel say y^• he was an euyll prynce. But for bycause y^• no man sholde haue enuye to folowe theyr dedes / it is to be knowen lyke as it falleth com monly y^• the euyll lyfe draweth a man to euyll ende. For y^• ende of hym was ryght nought / for after y^• he had done this cursed

dede with other moo / he was slayne vylaynously of his owne people / his sonne whiche succeded after hym / whose name also was called Denyse / was in his laste ende ryght vnhappy / for he was deposed of his lordeshyppe / and after that he wente too ••orynthe / and there he was fayne to teche chyldren for his ly∣uynge. Thus the chylde suffred payne for the trespasse of hys fader / and other whyle it happeneth soo▪ for holy scrypture say th / the faders eteth the bytter grape / and the chyldren haue y^e forenesse in the tethe / And in lyke wyse it is wryten in other pla ces / our faders synned and we sholde suffre theyr inyquytees ¶ yet to the purpose of euyll prynces / whiche I praye god saue vs fro. There was a kynge in Egypte that was called Tho∣lomeus Pheton. And amonge all other vyces he was Leche∣rous and full of delycasye. ¶ And Ualere sayth he was called Pheton / for as moche as an exposytoure saythe that Pheton is as moche to saye / as encreasynge and augmentacyon of vy∣ce. For by his Lechery he put vpon men dyuerse crymes / and made them haue an euyll ende / for whiche cause he dyed a vy∣laynous dethe▪ and after his dethe in grete defame of his good name.