Gesta Romanorum

by Charles Swan

  * The application is long and uninteresting, and incapable of abridgment; I have therefore thought it best to omit it entirely. It contains, however, what may lead us to suspect that certain of these tales (though very few, I believe) are of German derivation. “Corabola,” says the original, “vulgariter: die schnock wil fliegen also hoch als der adler. Ideo non est discretio,” &c. So one edition; two others read, “Der weul wylt vlyegen also Iwge als der arnt aquila, Ideo, &c.; and two (one of which belonged to Mr. Tyrwhitt, now in the British Museum) have the Latin translation, “Culex cnpit tarn alte volare, sicut ipsa aquilla.” Corabola above, I apprehend, should be Parabola.

  [Oesterley, who has examined an enormous number of MSS., states that the proverb does not appear in one of them, but is an addition made by the editors of the printed copies: “Das sprichwort kommt in den handschriften gar nicht vor “(Oest. p. 262).—ED.]

  TALE CXLV.

  OF SALVATION.

  ALBERTUS* relates that in the time of Philip there was a pathway lying between two mountains of Armenia, which had long been unused. For the air of that country was so pestilential, that whosoever breathed it died. The king, therefore, was desirous of ascertaining the cause of the evil, but no one could discover it. At length Socrates was sent for, who requested him to build a mansion equal in loftiness with the mountains. This was done; and the philosopher then constructed a mirror of steel, with a perfectly pure and polished surface, so that from every part the appearance of the mountains was reflected in it. Entering the edifice, Socrates beheld two dragons, one upon the mountain and the other in the valley, which simultaneously opened their mouths and drew in the air. As he looked, a youth on horseback, ignorant of the danger, wished to pass that way: suddenly he fell from his horse and died incontinently. Socrates went without delay to the king, and declared what he had seen. The dragons were afterwards taken by a cunning trick, and instantly slain. Thus the path over these mountains became safe and easy to all who passed by.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the mountains are the noble and powerful of the world; the dragons are pride and luxury. The mirror is our Saviour Christ; and the edifice, a good life. The young man who perished is a man killed by vanity. Socrates is a good prelate.

  * Albertus was an abbot of Stade, and author of a chronicle from Adam to 1256.

  TALE CXLVI.

  OF REBUKES TO PRINCES.

  AUGUSTINE tells us in his book, De Civitate Dei, that Diomedes, in a piratical galley, for a long time infested the sea, plundering and sinking many ships. Being captured by command of Alexander, before whom he was brought, the king inquired how he dared to molest the seas. “How darest thou,” replied he,” molest the earth ? Because I am master only of a single galley, I am termed a robber; but you, who oppress the world with huge squadrons, are called a king and a conqueror. Would my fortune change, I might become better; and were you more unlucky, you too would have so much the worse name.” “I will change thy fortune,” said Alexander, “lest Fortune should be blamed by thy malignity.” Thus he became rich; and from a robber was made a prince and a dispenser of justice.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the pirate in his galley is a sinner in the world; Alexander is a prelate.

  * “St. Austin’s CITY OF GOD is quoted for an answer of Diomedes the pirate to king Alexander.”—WARTON.

  TALE CXLVII.

  OF THE POISONOUS NATURE OF SIN.

  THE enemies of a certain king wished to slay him, and since he was powerful they resolved to destroy him by poison. Some of them came to the city where he abode, arrayed in humble garments. Now, there was a fountain of water, from which the king frequently drank, and they impregnated it with the poison. The king, ignorant of their treason, drank according to custom, and died.

  APPLICATION.

  The king is Adam; his enemies are the devils; and the fountain is the human heart.

  TALE CXLVIII.

  OF THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN.

  AULTTS GELLIUS says of Amon,* who was extremely rich, that when he wished to pass from one kingdom to another, he hired a ship. The sailors designed to kill him for his wealth; but he obtained from them, that first he should sing in honour of the dolphins, which are said to be much delighted with the songs of men. When, therefore, he was cast overboard, a dolphin caught him up, and carried him to land; and while the sailors believed him drowned, he was accusing them to the king, by whom they were condemned to death.†

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the rich man is any virtuous person; the sailors are devils; and the king is God.

  * [It is very strange that all the printed editions should read Amon, except one which has Amor, when the story is that of Arion. The likeness between the three names is so close that we are almost forced to suppose that some of the early MSS. must have had the name correctly. None of those examined by Oesterley have it. The ed. princ. has Amor.—ED.]

  † Aulus Gellius relates this story (Noot. Attic, lib. xvi. cap. xix.) from Herodotus, in whom it is now extant (lib. viii.) This character of the dolphin has been often alluded to.

  “Sweet sir, ’tis nothing;

  Straight comes a dolphin, playing near your ship,

  Having his crooked back up, and presents

  A feather bed to waft ye to the shore

  As easily as if you slept i’ th’ court.”

  FORD, The Lover’s Melancholy, Act i. Sc. 3.

  [The reference to Herodotus is erroneously given. It should be Herod, i. 23, 24, —ED.]

  TALE CXLIX.

  OF VAIN GLORY.

  VALERIUS records that a certain nobleman inquired of a philosopher how he might perpetuate his name. He answered that if he should kill an illustrious personage, his name would be eternally remembered. Hearing this, he slew Philip, the father of Alexander the Great. But he afterwards came to a miserable end.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the nobleman is any one who seeks a worldly name by bad means.

  * This curious anecdote is recorded of Pausanias, in the eighth book of Valerius Maximus, De Cupiditate Gloriæ, cap. xiv. Exter. 4.

  “Nam dum Hermocles percontatus esset, quonam modo subito clarus posset evadere, atque is respondisset, si illustrem virum aliquem occidisset, futurum ut gloria ejus ad ipsum redundaret: continuò Philippum interemit. Et quidem quod petierat, assecutus est. Tam enim se parricidio, quam Philippus virtute, notum posteris reddidit.”

  TALE CL.

  OF CELESTIAL DEW.

  PLINY says that there is a certain land in which neither dew nor rain falls. Consequently, there is a general aridness; but in this country there is a single fountain, from which, when people would draw water, they are accustomed to approach with all kinds of musical instruments, and so march around it for a length of time. The melody which they thus produce causes the water to rise to the mouth of the spring, and makes it flow forth in great abundance, so that all men are able to obtain as much as they will.*

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the arid land is man; the fountain, God; the musical instruments, devotional exercises.

  * I am unable to find this account in Pliny. In the second book, cap. ciii., and in the thirty-first, cap. ii., the reader will find many wonderful properties of fountains, but that of gushing forth to musical sounds appeareth not.

  TALE CLI.

  OF A SINFUL AND LEPROUS SOUL.

  IN the kingdom of a certain prince there were two knights, one of whom was avaricious, and the other envious. The former had a beautiful wife, whom every one admired and loved. But the spouse of the latter was ugly and disagreeable. Now, the envious knight had a piece of land adjoining the estate of his covetous neighbour, of which the last exceedingly desired possession. He made him many offers, but the envious person invariably refused to sell his inheritance for silver or gold. At last, in the envy of his soul, he meditated how to destroy the beauty of the wife of the covetous knight, and offered him the land on condition of enjoying his wife for one
night. The covetous wretch immediately assented; and bade his wife submit herself to his will. This diabolical contract adjusted, the envious knight instantly infected himself with the leprosy, and communicated the disease to the lady, for which he assigned the following reason. He said that, being filled with envy at the beauty and grace which he observed in his neighbour’s wife, while his own was so deformed and hateful, he had resolved to remove the disparity. The lady wept exceedingly; and related to her husband what had happened. This troubled him, but he bethought himself of a remedy. “As yet,” said he, “no symptoms of the disorder are perceptible. At a short distance from hence, there is a large city, and in it a university. Go there; stand in the public way, and entice every passenger to you. By this means, you will free yourself from the distemper.” * The lady did as she was directed; and the emperor’s son, passing by, fell violently in love with her. Afraid to infect a person so near the throne, she resisted his advances, and informed him that she was a leper. This, however, altered not the feelings of the young man; and accordingly the leprosy of the woman adhered to him. Ashamed of what had befallen, and at the same time fearful of discovery, he went to his mistress, and abode with her. This circumstance she stated to her husband, and he, much troubled, set his bed-chamber in order, and there the prince dwelt in the strictest seclusion, attended upon only by the lady. Here he continued seven years.

  It chanced in the seventh year that there was an intolerable heat, and the leprous man had a vessel of wino standing by his side, designed to refresh his exhausted spirits. At this moment a serpent came out of the garden, and, after bathing itself in the vessel, lay down at the bottom. The prince, awaking from sleep, under the influence of an excessive drought, took up the vessel and drank; and, without knowing it, swallowed the serpent. The creature, finding itself thus unexpectedly imprisoned, began to gnaw his bowels so grievously as to put the leper to inconceivable anguish. The lady greatly-compassionated him; and, indeed, for three days, he was an object of pity. On the fourth, however, an emetic being administered, he vomited, and cast up, together with the inward disease, the serpent which had tormented him. Immediately the pain ceased; and by little and little the leprosy left him. In seven days his flesh was as free from the disorder as the flesh of a child; and the lady, much delighted, clothed him in sumptuous apparel, and presented him a beautiful war-horse, on which he returned to the emperor. He was received with all honour, and after his father’s death ascended the throne, and ended his days in peace.

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the two knights are the devil and the first man. The first, envious of human happiness, possesses a deformed wife, that is, pride; the second had a beautiful wife, which is the soul. The leprosy is iniquity, which drove us from Paradise into the university of the world. The son of the emperor is Christ, who took upon Himself our nature, but by His sufferings freed us from the consequence of sin. As the leper thirsted, so did Christ thirst upon the cross; but not for wine: it was for the salvation of our souls. The serpent is His crucifixion; the war-horse, the divine and human nature, with which He ascended into heaven.

  * For an account of the leprosy see Note 13; the qualities attributed to it are as whimsical as fabulous.

  TALE CLII.

  OF ETERNAL DESTRUCTION.

  A PRINCE, named Cleonitus, wishing to give instructions to certain of his subjects who were beleaguered by an enemy, ordered a soldier to go to the place attacked. In order to insult the beleaguerers, he directed an inscription, skilfully fastened upon some arrows, to be prepared, and shot amongst the hostile armies. It ran thus: “Have hope in the Lord, and be faithful; Cleonitus comes in person to raise the siege.”

  APPLICATION.

  My beloved, the prince is Christ; the people besieged are sinners; and the beleaguerers, the devils. The messenger is a preacher.

  TALE CLIII.

  OF TEMPORAL TRIBULATION.

  ANTIOCHUS, the king of Antioch (from whom the city takes its name), had a daughter of such uncommon beauty, that when she came of marriageable years, she was sought after with the greatest eagerness. But on whom to bestow her was a source of much anxiety to the king; and, from frequently contemplating the exquisite loveliness of her face, the delicacy of her form, and the excellence of her disposition, he began to love her with more than a father’s love. He burned with an unhallowed flame, and would have excited a simultaneous feeling in his daughter.* She, however, courageously persevered in the path of duty, until at length violence accomplished what persuasion had in vain struggled to effect. Thus situated, she gave a loose to her tears, and wept in an agony of the bitterest sorrow. At this moment her nurse entered, and asked the occasion of her uneasiness; she replied, “Alas, my beloved nurse, two noble names have just perished.” “Dear lady,” returned the other, “why do you say so ?” She told her. “And what accursed demon has been busy?” asked the nurse. “Where,” replied the lady, “where is my father? I have no father; in me that sacred name has perished. But death is a remedy for all, and I will die.” The nurse, alarmed at what she heard, soothed her into a less desperate mood, and engaged her word not to seek so fearful a relief.

  In the mean time the impious parent, assuming the specious garb of hypocrisy, exhibited to the citizens the fair example of an honest life. In secret he exulted at the success of his iniquity, and reflected upon the best means of freeing his unhappy daughter from the numerous suitors who honourably desired her hand. To effect this, he devised a new scheme of wickedness. He proposed certain questions, and annexed to them a condition, by which whosoever furnished an appropriate answer should espouse the lady; but failing, should be instantly decapitated. A multitude of crowned heads from every quarter, attracted by her unmatchable beauty, presented themselves : but they were all put to death. For, if any one chanced to develop the horrid secret, he was slain equally with him who failed, in order to prevent its being divulged. Then the head of the victim blackened upon the gate. The suitors, therefore, naturally grew less; for, perceiving so many ghastly countenances peering above them, their courage quailed, and they returned hastily to their several homes.

  Now, all this was done that he who had produced this scene of wickedness might continue in uninterrupted possession. After a short time, the young prince of Tyre, named Apollonius, well-lettered and rich, sailing along the coast, disembarked and entered Antioch. Approaching the royal presence, he said, “Hail, oh king! I seek thy daughter in marriage.” The king unwillingly heard him communicate his wishes, and fixing an earnest look upon the young man, said, “Dost thou know the conditions ?” “I do,” answered he boldly, “and find ample confirmation at your gates.” * The king, enraged at his firmness, returned, “Hear, then, the question—‘I am transported with wickedness; I live upon my mother’s flesh. I seek my brother, and find him not in the offspring of my mother.’” * The youth received the question, and went from the presence of the king; and after duly considering the matter, by the good providence of God, discovered a solution. He immediately returned, and addressing the incestuous wretch, said, “Thou hast proposed a question, oh king! attend my answer. Thou hast said, ‘I am transported with wickedness, and thou hast not lied: look into thy heart. ‘I live upon my mother’s flesh,’— look upon thy daughter.” The king, hearing this explication of the riddle, and fearing the discovery of his enormities, regarded him with a wrathful eye. “Young man,” said he, “thou art far from the truth, and deservest death; but I will yet allow thee the space of thirty days. Recollect thyself. In the mean while, return to thy own country: if thou findest a solution to the enigma, thou shalt marry my daughter; if not, thou shalt die.”† The youth, much disturbed, called his company together, and hastening on board his own vessel, immediately set sail.

  No sooner had he departed, than the king sent for his steward, whose name was Taliarchus, and spoke to him in this manner: “Taliarchus, you are the most faithful repository of my secrets; you know, therefore, that the Apollonius of Tyre has found out my rid
dle. Pursue him instantly to Tyre, and destroy him either with the sword or with poison. When you return, you shall receive a liberal recompense.” Taliarchus, arming himself, and providing a sum of money, sailed into the country of the young man.*

  When Apollonius reached his own home, he opened his coffers, and searched a variety of books upon the subject in question, but he still adhered to the same idea. “Unless I am much deceived,” said he to himself, “king Antiochus entertains an impious love for his daughter.” And continuing his reflections, he went on, “What art thou about, Apollonius ? thou hast resolved his problem, and still he has not given thee his daughter. Therefore, God will not have thee die.” Commanding his ships to be got ready, and laden with a hundred thousand measures of com, and a great weight of gold and silver, with many changes of garments, he hastily embarked during the night, in company with a few faithful followers. They put to sea immediately; and much wonder and regret arose the next day among the citizens respecting him. For he was greatly beloved amongst them; and such was their sorrow, that the barbers, for a length of time, lost all their occupation ; public spectacles were forbidden; the baths were closed, and no one entered either the temples or tabernacles.