Chapter I

1 _The Chronicles of Artemas, the scribe_. 3 _The state of the land of Eur_. 4 _Concerning Willi, who ruled over the men of Hu_. 7 _Concerning Mud, that was his son_. 9 _Mud encourageth the ambitions of his father_. 19 _And sendeth in unto him a certain wise man_. 21 _The parable of the oak tree_. 26 _And the interpretation thereof_. 29 _Willi maketh him a war_.

The words of Artemas of the scribes that _were_ in Lon in the land of En.

2 Of the things that were and of the things that were to be: concerning men and the things that men did do.

3 ¶ Now there was peace over all the land of Eur and amongst all the nations that abode there, it was a time of great content.

4 ¶ But Willi, who ruled over the men of Hu, was a crafty man and greedy, and _his ways_ were devious.

5 And when he beheld the prosperity of the land and the industry of those that dwelt round about, and _that_ they did live in peace, the one with the other, his heart grew black within him and his soul vomited envy.

6 _Moreover_, he was a proud man and ambitious withal. His covetousness was like unto a tree, that being planted in fertile ground, flourisheth mightily; and the independence of the peoples _was_ as gall unto his vanity.

7 ¶ Now the son of Willi was a young man, and he was puffed out with pride and his mind was empty; in his living, he was vicious, and his name, _it was_ Mud.

8 And when Mud saw that his father's soul was torn with the violence _of_ his envy and that he coveted that _which_ was not his, it rejoiced him exceedingly.

9 ¶ And he laid _himself_ out to entice his father, and did speak many specious words unto him, and was for ever _at him_.

10 And Mud said unto his father, All Highest, hail! And Willi answered him, saying, Thou _art_ my son: And Mud said unto him, Great art thou above all the kings of the earth, for thou hast served the Lord faithfully throughout the days of thy life.

11 And Willi answered him, _saying_, Verily have I found favour in the sight of the Lord; and in my sight has the Lord _also_ found favour.

12 And Mud looked upon his father _from the side_; he gazed upon his countenance with a furtive look, and _did see_ that his father's vanity was without bounds. So he spake unto him again, saying,

13 Thy shadow is as the sun whose rays bring forth warmth, _giving_ life unto all them that are beneath it.

14 And Willi said, That _which_ thou sayest is indeed true; yet doth the sun shine over all the world whilst my shadow is for ever at two hours _after_ summer noon.

15 And Mud answered him, saying, In the evening of thy days _shall_ thy shadow grow long, and it shall spread its shade over all the world; for _it is_ a good world and deserveth well of thee. And the Lord will surely reward thee for all thy righteousness.

16 And Willi said, Verily, art thou my son, and in wisdom art thou second only to thy father. I will make me a covenant with the Lord, and it shall come to pass that I _shall have_ dominion over all the earth and over all the waters that are on the earth. And whatsoever shall be _left over_, that will I give unto the Lord for _to be_ His own.

17 And I will _make_ might right, and them that bow not down before me, those will I surely slay, both they and their wives and their children and the stranger that is within their gates. And their oxen will I take _as an offering_ unto my Majesty. And their household goods shall be mine by the strength of my sword.

18 And he said unto Mud, _that was_ his son, Send thou unto me a wise man that I _may_ take counsel of him.

19 ¶ And a certain man whose name was Bern was sojourning in the land, and him did Mud bring unto his father, _having_ first instructed him privily.

20 And when he that _was_ called Bern came into the presence of the king, he bowed him low, saying, Hail, O king!

21 ¶ And he began to speak, saying, There was a certain husbandman and he planted him an oak in a place _where_ trees grew;

22 And it came to pass that the oak grew up and its roots spread themselves about. And _there was_ not room enough in that place, and the trees that were planted there _before_ rose up and choked it so that it did languish away until there was no sap remaining _in it_.

23 And when the husbandman saw _how_ it was, he sent his servant with an axe and he told him to cut down _the trees_ that were round about.

24 Yea, every tree except the oak did he command him to cut down, so that there _was_ room, and the oak did flourish as the cedars _that are_ in Lebanon, and its branches did sway them over all the world.

25 And Willi said unto him, Explain unto me the meaning of this parable, thou very wise man. _Of what_ is the oak and _of what_ the trees that were round about?

26 ¶ And Bern answered him, _saying_, The nurseryman is the Lord of Hosts. The oak that He planted, it is thyself, O king; and the trees that would choke it, they are the nations that dwell round _about_.

27 The axe is thine army, and the servant of the husbandman is he whom thou _shalt make_ to be the captain over all thine host.

28 And when Willi heard _the things_ that the wise man did say, he was well pleased; wherefore he gave unto him a cross, and _it was_ made of iron.

29 ¶ And _after_ he had made him secret preparations, he went out with a great multitude of men and much munition, and he made him a war, _the_ like whereof was never known on earth before.