The History of the Anglo-Saxons

But yet every man
That is by all

His vices subdued
First abandons

His origin of life,

And his own

Nobility from himself;

And also which the Father

At the beginning made for him. For this, will

The Almighty God

Unnoble him;

That he noble no more

Thenceforth might be,
In the world;

Nor come to glory. P. 171.

They threaten

every where

Boetius.

The surrounding

Other nations ;

And the lord careth not,

That governs this army,

For either friends' or enemies'

Life or possessions;

But he, a fierce mind,

Rests on every one,
Likest of any thing

To a fierce hound.
He is exalted

Within in his mind

For that power

That to him every one
Of his dear princes
Gives and supports.

If men then would
Wind off from him
These kingly ornaments,
Each of his garments,
And him then divest

Of that retinue

If from these proud ones any one should draw aside the covering of their gaudy apparel, he will see that the lords are bound with chains within.

And that power

That he before had,

Then thou shouldest see

That he would be very like

Some of those men

That most diligently

Now, with their services,

Press round about him.

If he be not worse

I think he will be no better.

If to him then ever,

Unexpectedly, chance should

happen

That he should be deprived
Of that glory, and garments,
And retinue, and that power
That we have spoken about;
If from him any of these things

That from this excess of every venom on their hearts: here
thing
turbid anger, raising its waves,

Of food and clothes, wine, lashes the mind; or sorrow wea-
drinks,
ries her captives; or deceitful
hope torments them.

And sweetmeats,

Most strongly would increase

Of that luxuriousness

The great furious course.
Much disturbed would be
His intellectual mind.

Το

every man

Thence must come
Extraordinary evils,

And useless quarrels ;
Then they become angry.
To them it happens in their
hearts

That within are afflicted,
Their thoughts in their minds

With this strong fire

Of hot-heartedness,

And afterwards fierce sorrow

Also bindeth them

Hard imprisoned.

Then afterwards beginneth

Hope to some

Greatly to lie

About that revenge of battle
Which the anger desireth
Of one and of the other,
It promises them all
Which their contempt
Of right may enjoin.

I told thee before
In this same book,

Since, then, you see that one

head has so many tyrants, press

BOOK

That of the various creatures ed by their iniquitous sway, it

performs not what it wishes. Lib. iv. met. 2.

From his own
Ancient nature;

But the unrighteous
Kings of the earth
Cannot ever

Accomplish any good

From the evil

That I have mentioned.

It is no wonder,

Because they love the vices
Which I named before,
And to which only

They are always subject. P.186.

ON COVETOUSNESS.

What will the rich man be,
The worldly, covetous one,
In his mind the better,

Though the rich miser should be in a flowing whirlpool of gold he could not satisfy his

Though he should much pos- appetite for wealth. Let him

sess

Of gold and gems
And of every good :
Possessions innumerable;
And for him men
Should plough every day
A thousand acres?

Though this world

And this race of men
Should be under the sun
South, west, and east,
To his power
All subjected,

He could not

Of these acquisitions
Hence lead away

From this world
Any thing more

adorn his neck with the berries of the Red Sea, and cleave his rich soils with a hundred oxen.

Biting cares will not quit him while he lives, nor can his trivial riches accompany him when dead. Lib. iii. met 3.

« Previous Continue »

Books

The History of the Anglo-Saxons: Comprising the History of ..., Volumes 1-2