There was in the cyte of rome a knyghte yt had two doughters ⁊ one sone. this knyghte hadde so grete delyte in hauntinge iustynge and turneynge that all thynge that he myght wynne ⁊ gete he layde it and spente it therupon. In that tyme was an emperour named Octauyan, whiche in rychesse of golde ⁊ syluer exceded al other kynges and prynces in so moche that he had a toure full of golde, and ordeyned a knyght to haue ye kepynge ⁊ charge therof. This knyghte that so haunted iustynge ⁊ other ydell games came to so grete pouerte that he was dysposed to sel his herytage, ⁊ called to hym his sone and sayd. My sone it behoueth me of your counseyll, for necessyte and pouerte compelleth me to sell myn herytage, or elles for to fynde an other way by the whiche I maye lyue, for yf I sholde sell myn heritage ye ⁊ your systers sholde perysshe. The sone sayde, fader yf ye can fynde ony other meane without sellynge of the herytage, I sholde be redy to helpe you. To whome ye fader sayd I am bethought vpon a good counseyll. Themperour hath a toure full of golde / by nyght tyme lete vs go thyder with instrumentes and dygge and hewe through the toure, and lete vs take of the golde as moche as shal suffyse us. Therto answered the sone ⁊ sayd, that coūseyl can not be amended, for it is better of themperoures golde to take to helpe vs than our herytage to sell. They rose vp bothe in a nyght and went to the toure and with instrumentes they made there thrugh an hole, and toke as moche golde as they bothe coude cary away at that tyme. The knyght payed his dettes ⁊ haunted ayen iustes as he dyde before tyll all was spēte and consumed. In the meane whyle the keper of ye tresoure went in to the toure ⁊ whan he saw the tresoure stolen, ⁊ a grete hole made through the wall, he began to waxe sore aferde ⁊ went to themperour and shewed how it was befallen. To whome themperour sayd all angrely, what nedest yu to shewe that haue I not delyuered to the my tresoure / ⁊ therfore of the I wyll aske it. Tho anone as the keper herde that went to the toure ayen, ⁊ set afore the hole a grete vessel ful of pytche medled with other gummes so subtely, that noo man myght come in at that hole but that he must nedes fall into that vessell, ⁊ yf he therin fyll he coude no more come out of it. Not longe after the knyghte had all the golde consumed and spent ⁊ went ayen with his sone to the toure to stele more golde. And as the fader went in fyrste, anone he was fallen in ye vessel with pytche to the necke. ⁊ whan he saw that he was taken and coude not gete out he sayd to his sone, folow me not, for yf thou doost thou may not escape to be taken. Than ye sone sayd, god defende it yt I sholde not helpe you: for yf ye are founden we are all but dede, ⁊ yf that ye may not be holpen by me, I shall seke counseyll how that ye may be delyuered ⁊ holpen. The fader sayd / there is none other counseyll, but with thy swerde smyte of myne heed / and as my body is founde without hede, noo man shall knowe me. ⁊ so yu and my doughters may escape ⁊ auoyde this wordly shame ⁊ dethe. The sone sayde, Fader ye haue gyuen ye best counseyll, For yf it were so that ony man myght perceyue ony knolege of you, none of vs sholde escape ye deth ⁊ therfore it is expedient that your hede be smyten of. Anone he drewe out his swerde ⁊ smote of his faders hede ⁊ caste it into a pytte. ⁊ afterwarde hyd it therin and yede and shewed to his systers all the mater, whiche many dayes after pryuely bewayled the dethe of theyr fader. After this ye keper of ye tresour came in to the toure ⁊ founde a body wtout ony hede. whereof he wondred sore, and shewed it to ye emperour. To whome he sayde, byn̄de that body at the tayle of an horse ⁊ so drawe it by al the stretes of the cyte, ⁊ dyligently take good hede yf ye here ony crye or wepynge. wheresoo euer ye here that he is lorde of the house, take all them ⁊ wt the body drawe them to the galowes ⁊ hange them. The whiche themperours seruauntes fulfylled accordinge to his cōmaūdemēt. And as they came ayenst the house of the dede knyght, ⁊ as the doughters sawe ye body of theyre dede fader, they made a merueylous grete shryche ⁊ wept pyteously ⁊ as ther broder that herd, anone he wounded hymself greuously in the mouthe with a knyfe, so that grete plente of bloode came oute of the wounde. The offycers whan the herde that noyse ⁊ crye entred in to the house, and demaunded the cause of theyr noyse ⁊ clamour. Tho answered the sone that I am thus wounded, for whan my systers sawe my bloode so habundauntly go oute as ye see, they began to wepe and crye. And whan the offycers sawe the wounde they byleued his wordes, ⁊ so dysceyued went theyr wayes, and hynge (sic) the body of the knyght vpon the galowes where it hynge long tyme ⁊ his sone wolde neyther take his body downe frome the galowes, ne yet bury his hede. ye Empresse sayd vnderstande ye what I haue sayd. Themperour sayd ye ryght well.
The Declaratyon of the Example.
Tho spake thempresse, thus my lorde I fere me it shalbe of you ⁊ of your sone. This knyght for loue of his sone was made poore. ⁊ fyrste he commytted thefte ⁊ brake the toure, secondary dyde hymself too be heded, that his chyldren sholde haue no shame. After ye sone cast his hede in a dyke, ⁊ buryed it nether in chyrche nor in chyrcheyerde, his body he suffred to hange styll vpon the galowes, yf that he coude not haue taken it downe in the daye he myght wel haue done in ye nyght. In the same maner ye laboure nyght and day that ye maye promote your sone to honoure ⁊ ryches. But without doubte he dayly laboureth for your confusyon ⁊ destructyon that he may regne after you in your empyre. Therfore I aduyse you yt ye do hȳ to be hanged before or he you destroye. Themperour sayd ye haue shewed me a good example. The knyghtes sone whan he had smyten of his faders hede wolde not bury it. Without doute my [son] fader (sic) shall not do so by me, but he communded (sic) anone his offycers that they sholde lede hym to the galowes. ⁊ they obeyed his cōmaūdement hastely. ⁊ as they lad hym thrugh the stretes ye people made grete noyse ⁊ lamentacyon. alas alas the onely sone of the emperour is lad ayen towardes ye galowes / ⁊ as they thus ladde hym the thyrde mayster named Craton came rydȳg vpon an hors / ⁊ as ye chylde sawe hym he bowed downe his hede to hym as though he had sayd, haue mynde vpon me. The pepole cryed saying, O good mayster hast you ⁊ saue youre dyscyple. He smote his horse wt spores ⁊ haysted him to ye palays. And whan he came before themperoure he honourably salued hym, whiche sayd, thy comyng hyther shall neuer auayll the / nor it that yu comest for. The mayster sayd, I hoped in my comynge to haue be welcome ⁊ haue had a better rewarde ⁊ not too haue be rebuked. The emperour sayd / as ye haue deserued so shal it be to you. To whom he sayd, my lord what haue I deserued. Themperour sayde, ye haue ryghte well deserued deth, for why I delyuered to you my sone well spekynge ⁊ wel manered for to enfourme and teche, ⁊ ye haue delyuered hym ayen too me dompe ⁊ a rybaude. To whom the mayster sayd / in that ye say he is dompe yt I commytte to god / for he maketh the dompe to speke ⁊ the defe to here. But in that ye saye yt he wolde haue your wyfe enforced that wolde I gladly knowe yf ony creature haue yt seen, for there is no malyce aboue ye malyce of a woman / and that shall I proue by a good example that wȳmen are full of lesȳges ⁊ decepcōns, ⁊ yf ye put to deth your sone for the wordes of your wyfe / it shall happen to you as it dyd to a noble man of his wyfe ⁊ of his pye, the whiche he loued merueylously. To whome themperour sayd, you tell me how that wymmen are full of malyce ⁊ lesynges / whiche sayd I wyll not do it / but yf ye fyrst calle ayen your sone frome the dethe, ⁊ then at youre pleasure I shall shewe thexample. Than themperour anone made the chylde too be called ayen and put in pryson. Than the mayster began to say this example in this fourme folowynge.
