CHAPTER III.
1 The rulers in En. 3 Concerning Herbert. 8 Concerning David. 11 Concerning Winston. 13 Concerning Walter. 14 Concerning Reginald. 19 Concerning Samuel. 20 Concerning Simon. 25 Concerning Masterman. 26 Concerning Augustine. 29 Concerning Grey. 33 Concerning John. 34 Concerning Haldane. 41 Concerning Tennant. 42 Concerning the other rulers.
Now these were the rulers in the land of En in the days when George that was the Fifth did reign and the Great War was begun.
2 There was Herbert, and David, and Winston, and Walter, and Reginald, and Samuel, and Simon, and Masterman, and Augustine, and Grey, and John, and Haldane, and Tennant; and there were also others, whereof the number was great beyond computation.
3 ¶ And Herbert was the man that was responsible unto the people, and he did take the head place at the table whereat the rulers did sit. And there was in him an abundance of patience such as no man did ever have before; and he did keep the rulers together, all in one body.
4 And in time of discord he was like unto a gentle shepherd when the rams do fight, and them that spake angrily in the council chamber he did soften with honeyed words.
5 Nevertheless, there were some that did say wicked things concerning him, and they did compare him unto a woman that is advanced in years.
6 And Herbert had taken unto himself a wife.
7 And when the time came, he did leave the head place at the table whereat the rulers did sit, and he did go.
8 ¶ Now before that it was war, David was an hated man; yet was he also loved. And afterwards it came to pass that he was a much loved man, yet was he also hated.
9 And David did many things so that men spake about him, saying, Behold, he is like unto a skeleton key that fitteth all locks. And whatsoever there is need of, that thing will he surely do.
10 But because he was new made and did carry on, therefore he lost favour with certain of the Pharisees, and his name did become an abomination unto them. Yet, when the time came, he went up unto the head place at the table whereat the rulers did sit.
11 ¶ Now Winston was a wild youth and rash, hot of the tongue and venturous in his undertakings. Nevertheless, he was not lacking in understanding.
12 And because he was like unto new wine when the vintage is good, therefore did they set him down in a place that was cool, saying, Peradventure, in a little time, there will be maturity.
13 ¶ And Walter was over all them that did deal in merchandise, and he sojourned amongst the rulers during many months. And the things that he did do, what man knoweth thereof? And when the time came, he did go.
14 ¶ Now Reginald was blessed with an heart that was overflowing with the milk of human kindness, and the lot of the immigrants from the land of Hu did move him mightily, so that he did weep tears.
15 And there were many of these men in the land of En, some of them being there that they might make money, and some of them were come for to spy out the land.
16 But Reginald did scorn to make him a distinction between them, fearing lest some man should say, See, there is one that he favoureth.
17 Neither would he lay himself out to hinder any man that was earning his bread; and the spies that were in the land, it was their means of livelihood.
18 Therefore did he uphold them, each man in his place, because he was Reginald. Wherefore there were many that conceived him weak unto foolishness. And when the time came, he did go.
19 ¶ And unto Samuel was given power over all the cities of En. And this man's name was not for ever in the mouths of the people, neither did they concern themselves at all with the things that he did do. Nevertheless, he was not an idle man. But when the time came, he did go.
20 ¶ Now Simon was a man that was strange in his beliefs, neither was he an help in time of trouble. And there were some that, seeking the reason for his falling away in the time of his country's tribulation, did say he was possessed of a devil.
21 And he was a man peaceable beyond all reason, so that he did put himself against the patriots of the land of En when they did set them out for to wage war in a cause that was just.
22 And because he and those that were with him were as a voice that crieth in the wilderness, therefore he did get him out from the inner chamber wherein did sit the rulers of the land, and he did make one cause with them that did for ever carp and cavil.
23 And when the counsellors assembled together for to make them ordinances for the salvation of the country, then would Simon rise upon his feet and he would make him an objection; therefore was he an hindrance unto them that did strive against the perils that beset the land.
24 And Simon was not loved in the country of En. Yet was he earnest in the things that he did do, being a man with a conviction that is founded amiss.
25 ¶ And he that was chief amongst all the rulers did say, on an occasion, Find thou me the man; then will I find the office. So they found him Masterman. And when the time came, he did go.
26 ¶ Now Augustine was a great sage, and there was no man in all the land of En that did surpass him in the knowledge that is gotten of books. Therefore they did make him to rule over the land of Ire.
27 And on a time when he was deep in engagement with the words of the ancient Greeks, behold, the men of Ire stole up secretly and they fell upon his servants so that many of them did die.
28 And when it was told unto Augustine what the men of Ire had done unto his servants, he was filled with a great wonder and his breast was torn with sorrow. And because it was a thing that liked him not, therefore did he remove himself from amongst the seats of the rulers, neither returned he thither again.
29 ¶ Now the chief of the scribes that did write unto the rulers of the nations concerning matters, his name was Grey, And he did send him epistles unto the four corners of the earth, saying this and saying that.
30 And to him there were given many tasks that were difficult, and he did not always find favour with the people; for there are some that look from afar towards the end, but the stones that are upon the way, them do they count not at all.
31 And it was said concerning him that he was a man of strength in time of stress, but in the leading up and afterwards, then was he weak as twine that is boiled, and slow as water standing in a pond.
32 But many of the things that he did do were good, and his name was not without honour in the land. Yet when the time came, he did go.
33 ¶ John, that was also called Honest, was another of them that believed not in war. Therefore he did hide himself away in the shadows of oblivion; but he hindered not the rulers in their endeavour.
34 ¶ Now Haldane was the Keeper of the King's Conscience in the land of En, and he was a man that was learned in the ways of the men of Hu, for his spirit abode amongst them; and the King of Hu, he did love him as a brother.
35 And the time came when all the people cried out with a loud voice, saying, Haldane must go! But because the winds did blow in an high quarter, he heard them not.
36 And there was a certain man and his name was Northcliffe. And it came to pass that when he cried out, behold, his voice did rise even as the winds, and it was above the shouts of all the other people.
37 And when Northcliffe had raised his voice for a long time so that his throat was raw, being like unto the flesh of a kid that is newly killed,
38 And when all the people had joined with him, shouting in a mighty voice that did shake the seats of the rulers with the violence of its clamour,
39 Then did Haldane hear, and he hearkened unto them.
40 And the people rejoiced them exceedingly, thinking it not good for one that had been in with the men of Hu to hold an high position in the land.
41 ¶ Now Tennant was adroit of the tongue. And when certain of the counsellors questioned him closely, seeking that they might entrap him, he would answer them with a multitude of words; nevertheless would he not say anything. And when the time came, he did go.
42 ¶ And concerning the other rulers of the land of En at the beginning of the Great War, is it not written in the Book of Stubbs? Both their names and the streets wherein they did have their habitations, thou shalt find them in that Book in the order that is of the alphabet.