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.

¶ Of symple labourers. Capitulo. lvi.

Of the state of symple labourers of the Erthe / and what shall I saye of them / for bycause that ma∣ny men dysprayse and greueth theym soore / and yet ••e they of the states before rehersed moost ne cessary and namely suche as be tyllers of the er∣the wherby euery creature lyuynge is nourysshed vppe / and f••d••d•• / and without the same this deedly worlde sholde fayle in ryght shorte tyme / and certaynly they that do them so moche harme take noo hede wherof they serue / For who taketh hede therto euery reasonable creature is bounde •••• them / and therfo re it is pyte that ony man sholde be vnkynde to them seyuge y^• notable seruyce that they do to euery creature / & certaynly the∣se may will be called the fe•••••• that susteyne the body of Polycy for by theyr labour they susteyne y^• body of euery persone / wher

fore suche maner of people ought not too be dyspraysed / & that this offyce is acceptable to god ••yrst it appereth for bycause y^• two of the fyrst heedes of y^• worlde of whome al maner of lygna ges ben ben dyscended they were labourers of the erthe / & the fyrst heede was Adam the tyrst fader of whome is wryten in these conde chapytre of ••••nesis / howe our lorde toke y^• fyrste man & put hym in paradyse of delytes for to worke & tyll & kepe / and out of this scrypture a man maye drawe two maner of argu∣mentes for to preue the honeste of laboure. The fyrst is for ••y∣cause our lorde ordeyned it hymselfe and it was the fyrste of all craftes. And the seconde is this / for bycause it was made in y^• state of innocencye. The seconde heede of the worlde was ••••e of whome after the deluge is dyscended all the worlde / and of hym is wryten in ••enesis in the. ix. chapytre / that ••••e whiche was a labourynge mā after y^• grete flodde toke hym to labou re the erthe and planted a vyne / and in lyke wyse of our other faders as auncyente Patryarkes whiche were erthe tyllers▪ and kepers of beestes / wherof at this tyme ••••eue the storyes▪ for bycause of shortenes of tyme / notwithstondynge in old•• ty∣me it was no foule offyce but an offyce gretely praysed / & ••••lo∣••us telleth in the story of the Romaynes how Dyocl••sya•• the ••mperoure of ••ome after that he had goten many vyctoryes and bataylles of his owne propre wyll▪ He wente and 〈…〉〈…〉 his lyfe in a vyllage that was named Salon, and his occupa cyon was onely in labourynge of the ••rthe. ¶ And longe ry∣me after as the lordeshyppe of ••ome felle in grete defaute for lacke of good gouernaunce of soo worthy a man as he was. •• They sente vnto hym Lentulyus and ••leryus / besechynge hym that he wolde retourne agayne vnto ••ome and too take vpon hym the gouernaunce of the Empyre. ••o whome he an∣swered & sayd. ••a quod he yf ye had sene the fayre wortes that I haue planted with my honde ye wolde not requyre me to re∣tourne

agayne to the Empyre And this is as moche to say as that he was more appeased in his conscyence in that poore offy ce and better toke hyt a worthe / than for too haue the charge of soo grete and so peryllous a thynge as the gouernaunce of the Empyre. ¶ And to this purpose Ualere saythe in his four th boke / in the thyrde chapytre of Actylyus the ryght worshyp full and noble Romayne that was taken frome the labourage to be made Emperoure / and as he wente at the ploughe in the ••elde / the knyghtes founde hym and made hym chefe conduy∣soure and rewler of all the Romayne hoost. And he whiche had his hondes all harde for holdynge of the ploughe after that he lefte the gouernaunce of the hoostes of ••ome establysshed by his noble courage and with his hondes the comon welthe whi∣••he was fallen in grete myschyefe before his comynge / wher∣fore Ualere saythe / the hondes that gouerned the coupled oren at the ploughe▪toke vpō them for to gouerne the ploughe of ba tayles. And after y^• he had gotē many grete vyctoryes he was no•• ashamed to leue the dygnyte of the Emperoure and retour ne agayne to the same laboure whiche he came from before.—¶ By this sayenge maye a man vnderstonde that the state of symple labourers or other of symple estate ought not to be dys∣praysed as some wyll saye / when soo worshypfull men as they were wolde chose for theyr last rest soo poore a lyfe and so sym∣ple estate••y for the moost sure bothe for the body & soule / for they haue sure rychesse that ben wylfull poore / For they be not afer de of no treasons / empryson ynges▪ nor robbynges / ne to be gre tely enuyed / and theyr rychesse is suffycyente▪ For there is no•• man ryche without suffycyent / and also there is none other ry chesse. ¶ And for the affyrmacyon of this thynge I maye call to purpose that Ualere saythe of a ryche man in suffycyaunce as is declared in a story: There was a kynge he sayth in ••yde that was named ••yges / he helde hymselfes o myghty and so••

grete that he wente to the god Appolo / to aske hym wheder the re was ony man more vrouse than he was / the god Appolo an∣swered hym and sayd that Aganyus Sophydyus was mo∣re brouse than he▪ This Aganyus was the poorest man of all Arthadye and was ryght an aged man / and yet he passed ne∣uer his lytell ••eclde / but he was contente with lytell fruytes / wherby he lyued. Thus maye a manse howe Appolo toke po∣uerte for suffycyaunce / and not rychesse / for as moche also as in rychesse maye be no suffycyent reste / ne surete / but grete her∣tes full of feere and trouble / And thus the kynge Gyges whi∣che wente that the god sholde haue affermed y^• there was none so vrouse as he was / happened to be deceyued of his vayne opy nyon and lerned by Appolo where was ferme rychesse and bles sydnesse ¶ This felycyte that is as moche to saye as suffyoy aunce. An asagoras / and also Tholomee proueth in the prolo∣gue of the almageste where he saythe / he is vrouse that car••th neuer in whose hondes the worlde be / And too proue that this sentence is trewe▪lyke as all the wyse men / the poetes / and na∣mely they that haue chosen the clene and pure lyfe of perfecty o•• take pouerte for theyr grete surete▪ For thoughe so be that in all states a man may••••e saued / yet it is an harde thynge too passe thrughe the flambes of fyre without brennynge▪ For it is noo doubte that in the state of pouerte whiche euery man dys∣prayseth ben many good and solempne parsones in clenness•• of lyfe.