“Quartus Philosophus dixit, Wille is red; unde per Psalmistam dicitur: Noluit intelligere ut bene aget. Prover. 12: Via stulti recta in oculis ejus; qui autem sapiens est audit consilium. Wytte is qued; unde P.: Erit enim tempus cum sanam doctrinam non sustinebunt. Augus.: Juventuti malorum hominum venenum est quidquid virtus præcipit, esca vero quidquid diabolus suggerit. Good is ded; unde in psalmo: Universa vanitas omnis homo vivens, i. vivens secundum hominem, non secundum Deum. Augus.: Sicut mors corporalis separat animum a corpore, ita peccatum mortale animam a vera vita, quæ est Deus.”
In the following, which is taken from the common printed Gesta Romanorum, cap. 144, the English is translated.
“Fertur de quodam Rege cujus regnum in tam subitam devenit mutationem, quod bonum in malum, verum in falsum, forte in debile, justum in injustum est mutatum. Quam mutationem Rex admirans, a quattuor Philosophis sapientissimis causam hujus quæsivit; qui, inquam, Philosophi post sanam deliberationem ad quattuor portas civitates pergentes quilibet eorum tres causas ibi scripsit. Primus scripsit, Potentia est justitia, ideo terra sine lege; dies est nox, ideo terra sine via; fuga est in pugna, ideo regnum sine honore. Secundus scripsit, Unum est duo, ideo regnum sine veritate; amicus est inimicus, ideo regnum sine fidelitate; malum est bonum, ideo terra sine pietate. Tertius scripsit, Ratio habet licentiam, ideo regnum sine nomine; fur est præpositus, ideo regnum sine pecunia; corabola vult esse aquila, ideo nulla discretio in patria. Quartus scripsit, Voluntas est consiliarius, ideo terra male disponitur; denarius dat sententiam, ideo terra male regitur; Deus est mortuus, ideo totum regnum peccatoribus est repletum.”
In the moralisation, these sentences are applied to the time in which it was written. In the English Gesta Romanorum (edited by Sir Frederick Madden for the Roxburghe Club in 1838, and which it is to be regretted is not published in a popular form), p. 397, we have the following version of the story.
“This is redde in the Cronycles of Rome, that in the tyme of Antynyane the Emperour, in the citie of Rome befille a grete pestilence of men and bestes, and grete hungre in alle the empire. The comons risene agayne her lordes, and agayne her Emperour. The Emperour desirede to wete the cause of the tribulacions and diseases, and disposede hym for to putte a remedie agayne the foresaide disease. He callede to hym .iiij. wise Philisophers, for to shew hym the cause of the grete vengeaunce; of the whiche Philisophers the first saide thus, ‘Gifte is domesman, and Gile is chapman; the grete holde no lawe, and servauntes have none awe.’ The seconde saide, ‘Witte is turnede to trechery, and love into lechery; the holy day into glotonye, and gentrie into vilanie.’ The thirde saide, ‘Wise men are but scornede, and wedowes be sore yernede; grete men are but glosede, and smale men borne downe and myslovede.’ The fourthe saide, ‘Lordes wexen blynde, and kynnesmen ben unkynde; dethe out of mynde, and trewthe may no man fynde.’”
The sentences in this last version are also found frequently in MSS. in a separate form. An imperfect copy of them will be found in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ, (Pickering, 1839,) p. 58. I have met recently with a much more complete copy, agreeing closely with the sentences in the above tale from the English Gesta, but I have also unfortunately lost the reference to it, and cannot recall it to mind at the present moment. In MS. Cotton. Vespas. E. XII. fol. 100, ro., of the end of the fourteenth century, is given another Latin version of this story, where the scene is laid at Carthage, the King is Hannibal, and instead of the four wise men we have Virgil, and the sayings are again different from the others. This version is important both for the history of the story, and for its connexion with the fable of the legendary Virgilius.
[P. 256], l. 9, god is ded.—It will have been observed in the foregoing note that one of the versions of the story interprets god by Deus;—God is dead,—which is most probably right, and the former editors have very properly given the word with a capital.
[P. 258]. Songs on the Death of Peter de Gaveston.—Both these songs are parodies upon hymns in the Romish ritual.
[P. 260], l. 1, Vult hic comes, et non Petrus, dici.—The favourite was, indeed, extremely angry because people persisted in calling him Peter, and obtained a Royal decree that no one should be permitted to call him otherwise than Earl of Cornwall in future.
[P. 262]. The Battle of Bannockburn.—The text of this poem is extremely corrupt. It appears, from Mr. Halliwell’s description of the MS., that there is another copy of it at Oxford, MS. Rawl. B. 214. This poem is attributed to Robert Baston, a carmelite, who, according to a popular story, was present at the battle, and was taken prisoner by the Scots. We are told that he was liberated on condition of composing a poem to celebrate the valour of the Scots: the song here printed is of quite a different character.