by Charles Swan
* The examination of the false witnesses in this story will remind the reader of the mode by which the wickedness of the elders was discovered in the Apocrypha.
TALE CXXIX.
OF REAL FRIENDSHIP.
A CERTAIN king had an only son, whom he much loved. The young man was desirous of seeing the world and making friends for himself, and obtained his father’s permission to this end. After an absence of seven years,† he returned, and his father, overjoyed at his arrival, asked what friends he had acquired. “Three,” said the son; “the first of whom I love more than myself; the second, equally with myself; and the third, little or nothing.” “You say well,” returned the father; “but it is a good thing to prove them before you stand in need of their assistance. Therefore kill a pig, put it into a sack, and go at night to the house of him whom you love best, and say that you have accidentally killed a man, and if the body should be found you will be condemned to an ignominious death. Entreat him, if he ever loved you, to give his assistance in this extremity.” The son did so; and the friend answered, “Since yon have rashly destroyed a man, you must pay the penalty: for if the “body were found in my house I should very likely be crucified. Now, because you were my friend, I will go with you to the cross, and bestow upon you three or four ells of cloth, to wrap your body in when you are dead.” The youth, hearing this, went in much indignation to the second of his friends, and related the same story. He received him like the first, and said, “Do you believe me mad, that I should expose myself to such peril? But, since I have called you my friend, I will accompany you to the cross, and console you as much as possible upon the way. The prince then went to the third, and said, “I am ashamed to address you, for I have never benefited you in any way: but, alas! I have accidentally slain a man, and must hide the body or perish.” “My friend,” answered the other, “I will readily do what you wish, and take the crime on myself; and, should it be necessary, I will be crucified for your sake.” This man, therefore, proved that he was his friend.*
APPLICATION.
My beloved, the king is God; the only son is any Christian. The first friend is the world; and if it gives, in your necessity, two or three ells of cloth, it is much indeed. The second friend is your wife, and sons, and daughters; they will bewail you to your sepulchre, but soon forget you after you are laid there.† The third friend is Christ, for whom we have done little, who loves us even upon the cross, and joyfully gave away His life for our preservation.
† The moral says twelve; meaning, however, the term of human life.
* This story is in Alphonsus. “It is remarkable that Le Grand, as well as Barbazan, seems to have known nothing about Petrus Alphonsus, whom he classes, under his Frenchified name of Pierre Anfors, amongst the Norman fableours.”—DOUCE.
† Massinger has a sentiment so similar, that if the experience of all ages were not alike, one might fancy that the poet had borrowed from the monk.
“When dead, we are
With solemn pomp brought hither, and our heirs,
Masking their joy in false dissembled tears,
Weep o’er the hearse: but earth no sooner covers
The earth brought hither, but they turn away
With inward smiles—the dead no more remembered.”
The Maid of Honour, Act ii. Sc. 3.
TALE CXXX.
OF WISDOM, WHICH EXCELS STRENGTH.
THERE was a king who promoted a poor man to great wealth, and committed to him the custody of one of his castles. Thus elevated, he became proud to an excess, and conspired against the king, and surrendered his castle into the hands of the enemy. This conduct gave the king great concern; and he deliberated upon the best means of regaining what he had lost. But he was told that this could not be done but by the possession of three things, viz. bravery, wisdom, and the love of his subjects. Now, there were at that time in the kingdom three knights, of whom the first was the bravest of all men; the second, the wisest; and the third, the most attached to the king. These knights were severally sent with large armies to besiege the castle. The bravest knight conducted his troops through a forest, in which the king’s enemies awaited him; but while he was performing prodigies of valour, an arrow from a cross-bow struck him in the groin, and he died of the wound. In the mean time the wise knight brought up his forces and began to speak of right and law, hoping by these means to draw them to surrender the castle. But while he spoke, an arrow penetrated between the lungs and the stomach, and killed him. The third knight perceiving the death of his comrades, entered the forest, and spoke so eloquently and wittily to the insurgents, that they listened gladly, and at last permitted him to enter the castle. And he so ordered matters that the opposing armies joined with him, and gave him entire possession; so that he planted his standard on the top. When the king understood how prudently he had obtained the disputed fortress, he promoted him to great honours.
APPLICATION.
My beloved, the king is Christ; the poor man who was raised to honour is Adam, appointed the seneschal of a castle, that is, of Paradise. The first and bravest knight is the rich and powerful of the world, whom the arrow of pride spiritually slays. The second knight denotes the wise or prudent of this world, and they are slain by the arrow of avarice. The third knight is any Christian who loves God with all his heart; and who, in his simplicity, is often a match for the more cunning of mankind.
TALE CXXXI.
OF RICHES.
A KING issued a proclamation that whosoever would come to him should obtain all they asked. The noble and the rich desired dukedoms, or counties, or knighthood; and some, treasures of silver and gold. But whatsoever they desired they had. Then came the poor and the simple, and solicited a like boon. “Te come tardily,” said the king; “the noble and the rich have already been, and have carried away all I possess.” This reply troubled them exceedingly; and the king, moved with a feeling of pity, said, “My friends, though I have given away all my temporal possessions, I have still the sovereign power; for no one required this. I appoint ye, therefore, to be their judges and masters.” When this came to the ears of the rich, they were extremely disturbed, and said to the king, “My lord, we are greatly troubled at your appointing these poor wretches our rulers; it were better for us to die, than admit such servitude.” “Sirs,” answered the king, “I do you no wrong: * whatever you asked I gave; insomuch that nothing remains to me but the supreme power. Nevertheless, I will give you counsel. Whosoever of you has enough to support life, let him “bestow the superfluity upon these poor people. They will then live honestly and comfortably, and upon these conditions I will Resume the sovereignty and keep it, while you avoid the servitude ye apprehend.” And thus it was done.*
APPLICATION.
My beloved, the king is God; the herald is a preacher; the rich, etc., are the men of this world, and the poor are the poor in spirit.
* We are here reminded of our Lord’s parable of the labourers in the vineyard; in fact, it is clearly the prototype of this tale.
* [It may be doubted whether the author of this remarkable fable had any intention of putting forward a political theory by means of it. Nevertheless a communistic ideal was by no means contrary to the spirit of the Church in the Middle Ages. The Church of Borne being, so to speak, a theocratized Cæsarism, has always had considerable sympathy with the mass of the people. It was until the Reformation a despotism with democratic leanings and republican institutions ; tor any priest, however poor, might become pope, if an able man. But it certainly sounds strange to find a 14th century monk at one with Dr. Karl Marx.—ED.]
TALE CXXXII.
OF ENVY TOWARD THE GOOD.
THERE once lived in the same city four physicians, well skilled in medicine. The younger of them, however, excelled the other three; insomuch that the sick went only to him. This excited the envy of the rest, and talking together upon this subject, they said, “How shall we get rid of that troublesome fellow? everybody runs to him, and our gains are a mere trifle.�
�� “Why,” said one, “you know he goes every week on a visit to the duke, about three leagues off, and he will pay a visit there to-morrow. Now, I will go a league beyond the city, and there await his coming. You shall be stationed at the second league, and our fellow here at the third. And when he has advanced the first league, I will meet him and make the sign of the cross before him. Both of you must do the like. He will then ask the reason of this, and we will answer, ‘Because you ate a leper;’ and his fear will certainly occasion it: ‘for,’ says Hippocrates, ‘he who fears leprosy will through fear become a leper.’ Thus diseased, no one will approach him.” And so it was done.*
APPLICATION.
My beloved, by the three physicians, who infected the fourth, three vices are signified—the devil, the world, and the flesh. The fourth physician is a good Christian.
* [Compare the story in the Hitopadesa, entitled “The Brahman and the Goat” in which three knaves obtain a goat from a Brahmin who was carrying it on his shoulders by successively asking him why he carried a dog (the dog being an unclean animal). See the Book of Good Counsels, by Edwin Arnold, p. 130.—ED.]
TALE CXXXIII
OF SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP.
A KING had two greyhounds, whom he kept alternately chained up. As long as they were thus fastened they mutually loved and fawned upon each other, but no sooner were they unloosed than they exhibited the most deadly signs of mutual hostility. The king was much concerned at this; because when he would have coursed with them, and for that purpose set them at liberty, they fought so fiercely that he was unable to follow his sport. This led him to consult some learned man, who recommended that the first of the dogs should be encountered by a strong and savage wolf; and then the second should be encouraged to the attack when his companion was in danger of being defeated. For when the first saw how the other aided him, they would in future be friends. This was accordingly done; and as the strength of the first dog failed, the second was let loose, who, after a severe struggle, killed the wolf. From this time, bound or unbound, they lived together in the most perfect friendship.
APPLICATION.
My beloved, the king is Christ; the two dogs are the soul and body. If loosed by mortal sin, they are at war. The wolf is the devil, which being overcome, they live together in peace.
TALE CXXXIV.
OF CHRIST, WHO DIED INNOCENT.
SENECA* relates that there was a law in some city, by which a knight was obliged to be buried in armour; and further, that it was ordained if any one deprived the dead man of this armour, he should be put to death. It happened that a certain city was besieged by a tyrannical despot, who, planting ambuscades and pitfalls around the city, destroyed an indefinite number of the inhabitants. Fear made them incapable of longer resistance; and, while thus situated, a noble and valiant knight entered the city, and compassionated the distresses of the despairing citizens. They humbly petitioned him to undertake their defence, and free them from the imminent peril in which they stood. “My friends,” replied he, “this cannot be done, except by a strong hand; and you perceive I am unarmed. It is in vain, therefore, to expect that I should go out to fight.” “My lord,” observed one of the citizens, “but a few days since a knight was buried in this sepulchre, clad in most admirable armour; take it, and save our city.” The knight assented, received the arms of the deceased, and, encountering the enemy, put them to flight. He then restored the arms to their original position. But certain men, envious of the fame which he acquired by the exploit, accused him before the judge of having despoiled the dead of his armour contrary to law. “My lord,” answered he, “of two evils, the greater is to be avoided.* Now, I could not defend your city without armour; and having taken that of the deceased, I returned it when the exigence had ceased. A thief would not have acted in this manner; he would have kept the arms, which I did not, and therefore merit rather recompense than charges of such a nature. Besides, if a house be on fire in the midst of a city, would it not be better that that single dwelling should be, without delay, completely destroyed, before other houses catch fire and the whole city is burnt to the ground? Apply this in my case. Was it not more beneficial that I should preserve your town by borrowing the armour than, by not borrowing, endanger all your lives?” “Away with him, away with him,” shouted they who were jealous and envious of his fame; “he deserves death; away with him!” The judge could not resist their urgent petition, and condemned him to death. The sentence was accordingly executed, and the whole state lamented him with unfeigned regret.
APPLICATION.
My beloved, the besieged city is the world. The knight without arms is Christ; the armour is His humanity. The envious men are Jews, who put Him to death.
* Seneca is cited here, but I can give no reference. The story is a very singular one. In the old English Gesta [see the Introduction] it forms the “Seventh Hystory;” although the termination is somewhat different. The knight’s pleading is successful with the judge; but the accusers, taking upon themselves the execution of the law, slay him in opposition to all justice.
* “De duobus malis majus malum est vitandum.” Here is another English proverb, “Of two evils, chuse the least.”
TALE CXXXV.
OF CONSCIENCE.
AUGUSTINE relates, in his work De Civitate Dei, that Lucretia, a noble Roman lady, was the wife of Calatinus.† The latter invited to his castle Sextus, the son of the Emperor Tarquinius, who became violently enamoured of his beautiful wife. Selecting a seasonable opportunity, when both Calatinus and the emperor had departed from Rome, he returned to the above-mentioned castle, and slept there. During the night, not as a friend but foe, he secretly entered the bed-chamber of Lucretia, and putting one hand upon her breast, while he held a drawn sword in the other, said, “Comply with my wishes, or I will kill you.” But she resolutely repelled him; and Sextus, enraged, assured her that he would stab a slave and place him in her bed, so that the world should believe her guilty of the most low-lived and flagrant wickedness. At last Sextus, accomplishing his villainy, went away; and the lady, full of the deepest grief, despatched letters to her father and husband, to her brothers, to the emperor, together with the proconsuls; and when they were all present she spoke thus: “Not as a friend, but as a foe, Sextus entered my house. Calatinus, your bed has known the garments of a stranger;* but though my body is violated, my mind is innocent. Acquit me of crime, and I will provide my own punishment.” At these words, snatching a sword which she had hidden beneath her robe, she plunged it into her breast. The assembled friends, taking up the weapon, swore by the blood of the injured Lucretia to drive the family of the Tarquins from Rome. And they did so. As for Sextus, the author of this tragedy, he was miserably slaughtered not long after, †
APPLICATION.
My beloved, Lucretia is the soul; Sextus is the devil; and the castle represents the heart, into which he enters. The sword is penitence.
† Meaning Collatinus.
* “Scias tu, O Calatine, vestimenta viri alieni in lecto tuo fuisse;” a refined expression, and little according with the usual indelicacy of the age.
[If Mr. Swan had turned to his Livy he would there have found the cause of this unusual “refinement.” The passage is nothing but a distorted echo of the well-known “vestigia viri alieni, Collatine, in lecto sunt tuo” (Liv. i. 57, 58).—ED.]
† This story is from St. Austin’s City of God.
“A more classical authority for this story, had it been at hand,. would have been slighted for St. Austin’s CITY OP GOD, which was the favourite spiritual romance; and which, as the transition from religion to gallantry was anciently very easy, gave rise to the famous old French romance, called the CITY OF LADIES.”—WARTON.
TALE CXXXVI.
OF VIGILANCE IN OUR CALLING.
A THIEF went one night to the house of a rich man, and scaling the roof, peeped through a hole to examine if any part of the family were yet stirring. The master of the house, suspecting something, said secretly to his
wife, “Ask me in a loud voice how I acquired the property I possess, and do not desist until I bid you.” The woman complied, and began to vociferate, “My dear husband, pray tell me, since you never were a merchant, how you obtained all the wealth which you have now collected.” “Foolish woman,” answered her husband, “do not ask such questions.” But she persisted in her inquiries; and at length, as if overcome by her urgency, he said, “Keep what I am going to tell you a secret, and your curiosity shall be gratified.”
“Oh, trust me.”
“Well, then, you must know that I was a thief, and obtained what I now enjoy by nightly depredations.” “It is strange,” said the wife, “that you were never taken.” “Why,” replied he, “my master, who was a skilful clerk, taught me a particular word, which, when I ascended the tops of people’s houses, I pronounced seven times, and then got down into the house by the rays of the moon and took what I wanted, and then in like manner ascended again without danger and departed.” “Tell me, I conjure you,” returned the lady, “what that powerful word was.” “Hear, then; but never mention it again, or we shall lose all our property.” “Be sure of that,” said the lady; “it shall never be repeated.”
