Gesta Romanorum

by Charles Swan

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the emperor is Christ, who delights in fair gardens; that is, in religious men, in whom our Lord planted many virtues. The keeper is a prelate; the boar is any worldly-minded man who sins, and is punished for his transgressions. The abscission of the left ear represents the decease of a beloved relation; the right, of a son or daughter; and the tail, of a wife. At last Death, that is Jonathan, transfixes the sinner himself. The heart here emblems the soul, which never would have transgressed had it retained its reason.

  * [There is a confusion between the keeper and the cook.—ED.]

  TALE LXXXIV.

  OF GOD’S BENEFITS.

  IN the reign of Pompey there lived a fair and amiable lady; and near to her residence dwelt a handsome and noble knight. He was in the habit of visiting her frequently, and was much beloved by her. The knight coming once to see her, observed a falcon upon her wrist, which he greatly admired. “Dear lady,” said he, “if you love me, give me that beautiful bird.” “I consent,” returned she, “but on one condition: that you do not attach yourself so much to it as to rob me of your society.” “Far be such ingratitude from your servant,” cried the knight; “I would not forsake you on whatever emergency. And believe me, this generosity binds me more than ever to love you.” The lady presented the falcon to him; and bidding her farewell, he returned to his own castle. But he derived so much satisfaction from the bird, that he forgot his promise to the lady, and thought but little of her, while every day he sported with the falcon. She sent messengers to him, but it was of no use; he came not: and at last she wrote a very urgent letter entreating him, without the least delay, to hasten to her and bring the falcon along with him. He acquiesced; and the lady, after salutation, requested him to let her touch the bird. No sooner was it in her possession, than she wrenched its head from the body. “Madam,” said the knight, not a little grieved, “what have you done?” To which the lady answered, “Be not offended, but rather rejoice at what I have done. That falcon was the oceasion of your absence, and I killed him that I might enjoy your company as I was wont.” The knight, satisfied with the reason, became once more a regular visitant.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the king is our heavenly Father; the lady, our human nature joined to the divinity in Christ. The knight is any Christian, and the falcon temporal prosperity.

  TALE LXXXV.

  OF PRAYER, WHICH IS AS HARMONY BEFORE GOD.

  WHEN Tiberius reigned he was passionately fond of music. It happened that, as he once pursued the chase, he was struck with the sound of a harp, whose sweetness so delighted him, that he turned his horse’s head and rode to the place from which it issued. When he arrived there, he perceived a broad sheet of water, and near it a certain poor man seated on the ground, having a harp in his hand. From hence arose the melody; and the emperor was refreshed and exhilarated by the delicious tones the harp gave forth. “My friend,” said the king, “inform me how it is that your harp sounds so sweetly.” “My lord,” answered the other, “for more than thirty years I have sat by this stream, and God has bestowed upon me such grace, that the moment I touch the chords of my harp, the very fishes, enchanted with the harmony, come even into my hand, and afford sustenance to my wife and family. But, unhappily for me, a certain whistler has arrived within these few days from another country; and he whistles so admirably, that the fishes forsake me and go over to him. Therefore, my lord, since you are powerful, and the ruler of this kingdom, give me some aid against this abominable whistler.” “My friend,” returned the king, “I can help you only in one thing; but I hope this will be enough. I have in my hunting-bag a golden hook, which I will give you: fasten it on the top of a rod, and then strike your harp. The sound will inveigle the fishes, and as soon as they approach, by the means of the hook draw them to land. If you follow my advice, the whistler will depart in great trouble.” The poor man did as he was directed; and before the fishes could arrive at the place where the whistler was stationed, the hook brought them to land. The whistler, perceiving himself outdone, retired in much tribulation.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the emperor is Christ; the harmony which delights him is prayer. The water is the world; the fishes are sinners. The poor man is a preacher; and the harp is the Sacred Writings. The whistler is the devil ; and the golden hook is divine grace.

  * There is a fable of a fisherman piping to the fishes in the Latin Æsop; but the story is different.

  TALE LXXXVI.

  OF SINNERS, WHO RECEIVE THE DIVINE GRACE ON EARNESTLY SEEKING IT.

  A CERTAIN emperor made a law by which, if any woman were taken in adultery, she should be condemned to perpetual imprisonment. It happened that a knight espoused a noble lady, to whom he was greatly attached. The knight having been called by some emergency into foreign parts, his wife fell under the sentence of the law. She was accordingly cast into a dungeon, and there brought forth a remarkably handsome boy. The child grew, and was beloved by all, who saw him. But the mother consumed her hours in groans and tears, nor experienced the smallest comfort. The boy, observing the continual lamentation of his mother, said to her, “For what reason, dearest mother, do you afflict yourself in this manner ?” “Oh, my son!” returned she, “I have much reason to weep. Above our heads is an intercourse with mankind; and there the sun shines in his splendour. Here we are kept in utter darkness, and light never blesses our sight.” “I am ignorant of all this,” said the boy, “because I was born in prison. As long as I receive a sufficiency of meat and drink, I shall willingly remain here.” As they thus conversed, the emperor and his guards were standing near the door of the prison. One of them solicited his sovereign to liberate the mother and son; and he, compassionating their distress, and in consideration of the entreaties of his attendants, set them at liberty, and absolved them from future punishment.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the emperor is our heavenly Father, the wife is the soul, and the husband is Christ. The prison is hell; the child is the powerful and wealthy of the world, who are satisfied with sensual delights. The intercessor is any good prelate.

  TALE LXXXVII.

  OF CHRIST, WHO GAVE HIMSELF TO DEATH FOR US.

  AN emperor, engaged in mortal war, was in imminent peril of death. A zealous knight, perceiving his danger, placed himself between the emperor and his enemies, and thus saved him from destruction. But in the attempt the knight was grievously wounded, and not until after a tedious and dangerous illness, healed. The scars, however, remained, and gave occasion to many commendations upon the valour and loyalty which he had exhibited. It happened that the same knight was in danger of being defrauded of his inheritance. He went, therefore, to the emperor, and entreated that he would assist him and give sentence in his favour. “My good friend,” replied the emperor, “I cannot attend to you at present; but I will appoint a judge who shall examine into your case, and do you every justice.” “My lord,” cried the other, “how can you say so?” And immediately tearing open his vesture, he exposed the scars left by his wounds. “See what I have borne for you—yet you will neither vindicate nor assist me! Is it not unjust that, after I have undergone so much, another should be deputed to judge and advocate my cause?” The emperor, hearing this, instantly replied, “My friend, you say true; when I was in peril you, and not another, preserved me.” Then, ascending the tribunal, he gave judgment in his favour.*

  APPLICATION.

  My “beloved, the knight is Christ, who received many wounds in our behalf. Let us not depute another to show our gratitude, but exert ourselves in the most earnest manner.

  * We have here the well-known anecdote of Augustus Cæsar, and of the Roman soldier who fought in the battle of Actium.

  TALE LXXXVIII.

  OF THE CUNNING OF THE DEVIL.

  IT is related of a certain prince that, with all his power, he could not subdue his enemies. At length he made use of the following stratagem. He feigned a flight, and resigned his ca
stles, with the provisions they contained, into the hands of his foes. Now, the castles were furnished with casks of wine empoisoned with the seed of a certain herb; insomuch that whosoever drank of it immediately fell asleep. He knew that his opponents were hunger-starved and gluttonous; and that, overjoyed to find such excellent quarters, they would drink to excess, and fall into a death-like sleep. They did so, and the prince returning put them all to death.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the prince is the devil: let us beware of what he leaves.

  TALE LXXXIX.

  OF THE TRIPLE STATE OF THE WORLD.

  A CERTAIN knight had three sons, and on his death-bed he bequeathed the inheritance to his first-born; to the second, his treasury; and to the third, a very valuable ring, of more worth indeed than all he had left to the others. But the two former had also rings; and they were all apparently the same. After their father’s death the first son said, “I possess that precious ring of my father.” The second said, “You have it not—I have.” To this the third son answered, “That is not true. The elder of us hath the estate, the second the treasure, and therefore it is but meet that I should have the most valuable ring.” The first son answered, “Let us prove, then, whose claims to it have the pre-eminence.” They agreed, and several sick men were made to resort to them for the purpose. The two first rings had no effect, but the last cured all their infirmities.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the knight is Christ: the three sons are the Jews, Saracens, and Christians. The most valuable ring is faith, which is the property only of the younger; that is, of the Christians.

  * This story is in the Decameron, first day, Nov. 3, with some considerable variations.

  “There was a very wealthy man who, among other precious jewels of his own, had a goodly ring of great value; the beauty and estimation whereof made him earnestly desirous to leave it as a perpetual memory and honour to his successors. Whereupon, he willed and ordained that he among his male children with whom this ring (being left by the father) should be found in custody after his death, he, and none other, was to be reputed his heir, and to be honoured and reverenced by all the rest, as being the prime and worthiest person.”

  In process of time the ring fell to one who had three sons, and doubtful who should have it, he caused two other rings to be constructed exactly similar. “Lying upon his death-bed, and his sons then plying him by their best opportunities, he gave to each of them a ring. And they (after his death), presuming severally upon their right to the inheritance and honour grew to great contradiction and square; each man producing then his ring, which were so truly all alike in resemblance, as no one could know the right ring from the other.” “In like manner, my very good lord, concerning those three laws given by God the Father, to three such people as you have propounded” (the Jews, Saracens, and Christians), “each of them do imagine that they have the heritage of God, and his true law, and also duly perform his commandments, but which of them do so, indeed, the question (as of the three rings) is yet remaining.”

  It also occurs in the Cento Novelle Antiche, Nov. 71, and perhaps in Swift’s Tale of a Tub. Tyrwhitt, however, thinks otherwise.

  TALE XC.

  OF FREE WILL.

  THERE was formerly a king, in whose reign a law was enacted that the elder brother should divide the inheritance, and then that the younger should have the choice; the reason of which was that they considered it a greater proof of discretion to apportion than to select, and the elder ought to be the wiser. There was also another law, which permitted a son by a slave woman to receive an inheritance as well as the lawfully begotten sons. Now, there were two brothers, the one born of a handmaid, and the other of a free woman, between whom an estate was to be divided. The elder, therefore, divided it in this manner. On one side he placed the whole inheritance, and on the other his brother’s mother. The latter reflected that he ought to love his parent beyond all else; and consequently chose her, trusting to the kindness and liberality of his brother. But here he was deceived; for he would supply him with nothing. Upon which he hastened to the judge, and complained that his brother had excluded him from his inheritance. The brother made answer that the matter rested not with him, since he who chose, not he who divides, is secure of his portion.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the two sons are Christ and man; the elder, that is Christ, divided the inheritance; the mother is the earth, which the younger chose, and thereby lost heaven.

  TALE XCI.

  OF SLOTH.

  THE Emperor Pliny had three sons, to whom he was extremely indulgent. He wished to dispose of his kingdom, and calling the three into his presence, spoke thus: “The most slothful of you shall reign after my decease.” “Then,” answered the elder, “the kingdom must be mine; for I am so lazy, that sitting once by the fire, I burnt my legs, because I was too indolent to withdraw them.” The second son observed, “The kingdom should properly be mine, for if I had a rope round my neck, and held a sword in my hand, my idleness is such, that I should not put forth my hand to cut the rope.” “But I,” said the third son, “ought to be preferred to you both; for I outdo both in indolence. While I lay upon my bed, water dropped from above upon my eyes; and though, from the nature of the water, I was in danger of becoming blind, I neither could nor would turn my head ever so little to the right hand or to the left.” The emperor hearing this, bequeathed the kingdom to him, thinking him the laziest of the three.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the king is the devil; and the three sons, different classes of corrupt men.

  * There is in the Latin Æsop a story of a Father and his three Children, of which the latter part resembles the present tale.

  “And the mill, how was it demised by your father, to be parted among you three? They answered the judge, he that shall be the most lyar, most evil, and most slow, ought to have it. Then said the eldest son, I am most slothful, for many years past I have dwelled in a great house, and lay under the conduits of the same, where fell upon me all the foul waters, as dish-water and other filth, that most wonderfully stank, insomuch that all my flesh was rotten therewith, and mine eyes blind, and the durt under my back was a foot high, and yet by sioth I had rather abide there than rise up. The second said I suppose, that the mill shall be mine, for if I came to a table covered with all manner of delicate meats, wherof I might eat if I would take of the best; I am so slothful that I may not eat, unless one should put the meat in my mouth. The third sayd, the mill shall be mine, for I am yet a greater lyar, and more slothful than any of you both, for if I had thirst unto the death, and if I found then myselfe within a fair water up to the neck, I would rather dye, than move myselfe to drink one drop thereof. Then said the judge, Ye wot not what ye say; for neither I, nor any other, may well understand you; but the cause I remit among you.”

  TALE XCII.

  OF CHRIST, WHO DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE.

  A CERTAIN king had a wife named Cornelia. It happened that, under a wall in one of the king’s castles, two serpents were discovered; one male, and the other female. The king, hearing of this, interrogated his learned men as to the signification; and they assured him that they were hidden there to predict the death of a man or woman. They further declared that if the male were killed, a man should die; if the female, a woman and a wife. “If this be so,” said the king, “kill the male serpent, and let the female live; for a man ought more willingly to die himself than permit the death of his wife.” And he gave this reason for it: “If my wife live, she may bring forth many sons who may succeed to my throne; but if she should die, the kingdom would want an heir.”

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the king is Christ; the wife, our human nature, for which He gave himself to death.

  TALE XCIII.

  OF THE INHERITANCE AND JOY OF A FAITHFUL SOUL.