Chapter II

1 _Peace reigneth in En_. 2 _Internal discord is loosed_. 4 _The men of Ire have much power_. 6 _They obtain their demands_. 12 _Petty strife prevaileth_. 14 _The priests see wickedness everywhere_. 19 _The owners of ships raise their hire_. 26 _The rulers are blamed_. 27 _Concerning the war scribes_.

Now there was peace throughout all the land of En, and the noise of battle _was_ afar off. And the merchants of the world did bring their wares for to sell them, even fine cloth and spices _that were_ rare did they bring in their ships.

2 ¶ But he that putteth away the sword doth loosen the tongue; wherefore it came to pass that _there was_ great talk amongst the rulers, and the mighty men _did say_ things, the one against the other.

3 And there were many jealousies amongst them, and they _did_ utter spiteful sayings _concerning_ each other; verily, they were like unto evil-minded children in a quarrel, and _their_ pettiness of spirit was an abomination.

4 ¶ Now an House that is divided against itself _will stand_ anything. And when men from the land of Ire took power into their own hands and did rule over En, _there was_ no one amongst the rulers to say them nay.

5 And the men of Ire exacted tribute from the rulers, and the people of the land rebelled not; for penury _doth_ bring forth wisdom, but prosperity breedeth only fools. And the prosperity of the land of En _was_ great.

6 ¶ And when the men of Ire saw that _all that_ which they demanded was given unto them, they _did_ make them long faces, and _did_ grumble aloud, and _did_ utter groans in the public places _and_ strange noises in the portals of the House. And when they had thus prepared the way _for it_, they did straightways ask for more.

7 And a few that dwelt in the land of En _did make_ them a stand, saying, What we have given unto you, _it is_ enough. Therefore, get ye hence, ye men of Ire.

8 And the men of Ire waxed very wroth, and they did curse the men of En and did swear strange oaths _concerning them_, so that they that were weak amongst the rulers began to shiver in their sandals.

9 And they held them a council together _in_ secret and did agitate themselves greatly, seeking _for a means_ whereby they might escape from the wrath of the men of Ire, for it was a terrible wrath, _being_ very ugly.

10 And after one had said one thing and another had said another thing, then _did_ all them that were gathered together make them an agreement, and they did give unto the men of Ire _all those things_ that they had demanded.

11 And the men of Ire prepared them long faces and did get them ready _for_ another occasion. Neither was the day ever known when any man _that was_ from Ire did render thanks for that _which_ he had received.

12 ¶ And class quarrelled with class, the artisan _with_ the master, the noble _with_ the serf, the priests _with_ the people, and the fools _with_ one another.

13 And all those that thought one thing did contend with them that did think another thing, and the bickering _that was_ between them, it was very great.

14 ¶ And there were those amongst the priests that _did_ travel about the country, crying out in a loud voice, and saying, Wickedness! Wickedness! All _is_ wickedness!

15 And they did say many things _concerning_ the young men and _concerning_ the damsels, and also _concerning_ them both together. And those that listened unto them were amazed that such things should be; and some _there were_ that doubted.

16 And the priests did raise their hands _unto_ heaven, saying, Deliver us from evil. And the people did drop their hands _towards_ the earth, saying, Deliver us from the priests.

17 And notwithstanding all that _which_ was said by the priests and by them that did _grub_ into things, the wickedness of the people was in no wise greater than the wickedness _of the_ other nations of the world.

18 And this was the state of the land of En when Willi did make him the War: but _afterwards_, it was different. For the rulers declared them a truce, and no longer cried out _after_ one another in the public places; nevertheless, the ardour _of the_ priests remained without abatement, and there were those amongst the newsmongers _on both sides_ that did conceal their partisanship in an ill manner.

19 ¶ And because the land of En was built upon an island, therefore was it necessary for the food of the people _to be_ brought unto them in ships.

20 And the men of Hu did sink of these ships a few, and the rulers of the land _did_ seize a great number of _them_ for to carry the armies and the implements of war. Wherefore the number _of them_ that were available for to bring the people's food, it _was_ less than before.

21 And they that did own the ships that remained did make them new rates of freight _that were_ twofold, _and_ threefold, _and_ fourfold greater than those that had been before.

22 And the merchants did make them higher prices for the wares that they did sell; and some did do so because _it was_ forced upon them; and others did do so because they were greedy for the profits, wherefore they spake privily, the one unto the other, saying, See, brother, the opportunity is _upon_ us.

23 And because it was _beyond_ them and they could devise no plan against it, therefore did the rulers of the land hold themselves aloof from all _these things_ for a full two years.

24 Wherefore the people did pay them very dearly for everything that they did eat, and those that did sell merchandise in the market places, these grew fat in a lean time.

25 And when the people murmured, the rulers spake soft words unto them, saying, Assuredly is your lot cast in _an hard_ place; even so, the straits of the men of Hu, are they not worse than yours? And because it _was_ war, therefore _were_ the people easily appeased.

26 ¶ Nevertheless, there were many that complained because the owners of the ships and those that sold the people's food did make them profits such as never before; and many blamed the rulers that did countenance such things at a time when _there was_ war.

27 ¶ Now there were _certain men_ amongst the scribes and they did wage them the war _on_ paper.

28 And, _of these_, Belloc did write him for the great captains and for them in authority, that _they might_ read and learn and receive his commandments.

29 And Blatch did write him for the common soldier, wherefore the violence of his words was _a thing_ for delight, demolishing all contrary argument.

30 And Garv did write him _so that_ all might read. And because _there was_ nothing that this man did leave unwritten, therefore did _those_ that followed him perforce forego their sabbath meal.

31 And there was also Horatio, being he that _did_ for ever step into the breach; yea, even into the breach _that was not_ there did he step; and he wrote _concerning_ righteousness and blood.

32 And there were also others in great number, and all _did_ write them freely and as men that _did_ know.

33 And when the captains did not do those _things_ that had been written down for _their_ instruction, then was there much anger amongst the war scribes, and they did gnash their teeth _in rage_.

34 Wherefore they were continually provoked beyond endurance, and they wrote them _more_ because of _it_.