Chapter III: The Buke of the Gouernance of Princes (5)

Alexander, gif thou may change the nature of the erde, the water, and the aire of that regioun, and the disposicioun of the citeis of the landis of Perse, than counsale I that thou do thy will hardily; and gif thou may nocht do as foresaid is, sla thame nocht, bot gouerne thame in all gudelynes, with clemence, benignitee, and sueteness, put honour to thaim, and graciously demayne thame in graciouse justice and equitee; the quhilk gif thou dois, I traist, that with the grace of God, that thai sal be gude subjectis to thé, and sall gouerne thame at thy plesaunce and commandement: ffor than for the lufe that thai sall haue to thé for thy nobless, thou sall haue the dominacioun apon thame with peis and tranquilitie.

The quhilkis lettres the Prince ressauit with benignitee, and fulfillit his counsale vtterly; throu the quhilkis thingis the peple of Perse gafe sik a luferent till Alexander, that thai lufit him better, and was mare obeysand till him, na ony othir pepele of ony of his othir conquestis.

HERE FOLLOWIS A PISTLE SEND FRA ARISTOTIL TILL ALEXANDER excusand him
for sore elde and waykenes he mycht na mare byde with him na hald the
court; and tharfore he send him a Regement in wrytt, how and in quhat
maner he suld gouerne him ay furth; the quhilk begynnis in this maner
as efter folowis:--

ALEXANDER, faire Sone, gloriouss Emperour, the Souerane preciouss God Almychty mot confirme thé, and send thé knaulege to fauour the wayis of vertu, and of veritee, and that he wald refreyne in thé all bestiale appetitis, and that he wald illumyn thyne engyne, and conferme thy spirit of thy gouernaunce till his honour and service, honourably to be ressauit as efferis. And I have vnderstandin, how thou desyris that I war with thé; and that thou sais thou art amaruailit that I may abstene fra thy presence; thinkand that I am not sa besy and diligent of thy gouernaunce as I was wont to be: And be this cause I haue vndertane to make litil Reugles callit Cannonet, that is to say, A lytil buke, the quhilk salbe as a balaunce in the quhilk thou sall payss all thy werkis in; and to be a supplee to thé in my absence, rycht as I war present: &c.

* * * * *

XL.--CAPITULUM.

[Fol. 129.]

HERE DECLARIS THE NOBLE PHILOSOPHOUR HOW THAT THE SUBJECTIS OF PRINCIS THAT AR THE VPHALD OF THE WARLDE, AR COMPERIT TILL A FAIRE GARDYN, OR TILL A LORDIS TRESOURE, AND THAT THAI SULD BE KEPIT AS TRESOURE.

Alexander, faire Sone, [gh]it will I that thow witt, that thy subjectis suld be kepit as thy tresouris, ffor thai ar thy tresoure. For thai may be comperit till a Lord that has a faire and gude gardyn quhare thare is grete quantitee of fruyte treis, herbis, and othir gresis, richess, and nedefull till mannis behufe, the quhilkis [gh]erely and contynualy beris grete plentee of fruytis for mannis sustenaunce quhen thai ar well grathit, scroubbit, and demaynit, and wele gudit, kepit, sustenit, and gouernyt at rycht, and suld be wele sene to, and socourit at thair nedis. And kepit wele in gude reugle of justice and saufit fra injuris and oppressins, and that thare be bot thou allane gardener upon thame, and nocht mony maister gardenaris; ffor quhare mony maister gardeneris ar the gardyn is nocht commounly all prouffitably gouernyt, the quhilk suld be of gude gouernaunce that stent him nocht to spill thy treis, na gader thy fruytis, that is to say, thy subjectis gudis wrangwisely; and sa may thy realme left, and be wele defendit and conseruit, sa that thou kepe thé nocht to haue mony dispensaris in thy gardyn, that is thy realme. Ffor quhy, for couatise and gredynes of thy fruytis, thar may enter corrupcioun in thy gardyn, and syne apon thyself, quhen ilk ane pressis oure otheris to be masteris of thi gudis, and of thy counsaile, and thi gouernaunce. Bot thare is mony that will hecht and say thai sall do wele, and quhen thai mount in gouernaunce thai do all othir wayis. And sum corrumpis be giftis and hechtis Princis Counsailouris, and peruertis all gude gouernaunce throu thair gredyness of gudis, gevand giftis to Lordis of the Counsale for to maneteine thame lang in thaire officis and in thaire malicis. And traist wele, ALEXANDER, that thy Peple and thy Barouns, thy Bacheleris and thy Commons ar the stuf and the multiplicacioun and furnyssing of thy realme, and be thame mon thou be crownyt, and thy croun vphaldyn and mayntenyt, and be thai nocht throu thé manetenyt and sustenyt in thair rychtis and richess, thai will nocht lufe thé, na honoure thé, na tho court, na help to sustene thyne estate; ffor bot gyf thou mak thaim cause to be fyablez and traist to thé, and thy worschip and prouffit, and to hald lufe and lautee betuix thé and thy peple, thou fall neuer be seker na seure a day in thy realme. And will thou vmbethink thé wele of all that I haue said, and gouerne thé efter my deuise and counsale beforesaid, thou sal be haldyn as wyse and worthy King, and doubtit and lufit of thy peple, and of all otheris: And thou sall cum aboue of all thyne vndertakingis and desyris: Quhilkis gif thou faillis to do, thou sall se that thare sall cum greuouse mischeif and mysfortune, bathe upon thé and thy realme, and thy gouernaunce, and it sall nocht be in thy powar to sett remede, na thou can nocht, na may nocht estymy the paynis that suld be injunct to thé tharfore. Bot here I pray hertfully to the hye and mychty God, makare of Hevyn and Erde, to geue thé grace, as he is gudely Gouernoure of Hevin and Erde, and of all the Warlde to gouerne thé sa in vertu and in veritee, in justice and leautee, that God and man be payit of the end: And rycht sa mote it be of oure worthy King, and graciouse Prince, and all his welewillaris, I pray to God Almichti, IN NOMINE PATRIS ET FILII, ET SPIRITUS SANCTI. Amen.

EXPLICIT LE GOUERNEMENT DES PRINCES.

[Decoration]

* * * * *

NOTES.

[1] Dunbar's Poems, by Laing, vol. i. pp. 42, 214, Edin. 1834, 2 vols. post 8vo.

[2] This work extends to 3 volumes in folio. Vol. I. was published at Edinburgh in 1708; Vol. II. in 1711; Vol. III. in 1722. This volume contains a List of nearly 600 Subscribers. On the title of a MS. which belonged to Robert Myln, the Genealogist, he makes a reference to a Life of Dr Thomas Reid, among "the schedules of Dr Mackenzie's 4th Volume of Lives." Whether such "schedules" still exist, is uncertain.

[3] Dr George Mackenzie, was born on the 10th December 1669. He was the son of the Hon. Colin Mackenzie, second son of George, second Earl of Seaforth, and of Jean, daughter of Dr Robert Laurie, Bishop of Brechin. He died at Fortrose, on the 28th November 1725.--(Caledonian Mercury, Dec. 16, 1725.)

[4] The last three leaves contain a transcript of two articles unconnected with the rest of the volume, viz.--"The Ordour of the processioun and bering of the Sacrament in Antuarpe the first day of Junij the [gh]eir of God I^m V^c lxij." And a Letter or Testimonial from Thomas Bishop of Orknoy in 1446, addressed to the King of Norwege, respecting the Genealogy of William of Sanctclare, Erle of Orchadie, &c. (the ancestor of the St Clairs of Roslin,) "Translatit out of Latin into Scottis, be me, Deine Thomas Gwld, Monk of Newbothill," in the year 1554.

[5] Les Manuscrits François de la Bibliothéque du Roi: par A. Paulin Paris, vol. v. p. 103.

[6] See Lewis's Life of Caxton, p. 81.

[7] Catalogue des Livres imprimés sur Vélin, de la Bibliothéque du Roi, tome iii. p. 81.

[8] Edinburgh, 1801, p. 65.

[9] In Maidment's Analecta Scotica, vol. ii. p. 1, is a curious Indenture betwixt Sir William the Hay, Knight, Lorde of the Nauchtane, and Alan of Kynnarde Lord of that ilke, and Dame Mary of Murray his wife, for the marriage of their children, dated 7th December 1420.

[10] At a latter period, among the Determinants at St Andrews, in 1449, we find "Gilbertus Hay, cujus bursa, viij^s. vj^d;" and again "M. Gilbertus Hay," as having taken his degree as a Licentiate in 1451. But this obviously could not have been Sir Gilbert Hay. In the "Compot. Magist. Roberti Pantre receptoris facultatis arcium anni [M.CCCC.]LII. datum iiii^o die Decembris," at the end of a long list of contributions is this entry--"Item, per Magistrum Gilbertum Hay, xxv^s. Debitor Thomas Hay licentiatus, frater ejusdem Gilberti." The name of Thomas Hay stands first in the list of Licentiates in 1452-3.

[11] Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn, by Father Richard Augustin Hay, p. 26. Edin. 1835, 4to.

[12] Lord Hailes's Additional Case of the Countess of Sutherland, pp. 110, 128.

[13] Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn, p. 91-98.

[14] "Extracts from The Buike of King Alexander the Conquerour, a Manuscript in the Library at Taymouth Castle." (1831). 4to. Privately printed by the Secretary of the Bannatyne Club.

[15] See _supra_, page 1.

[16] The Number of the Chapters, in both the Second and Third Parts or Books, are omitted in the Original Manuscript.

[17] In the MS. the Numbers of the Chapters in this Fourth Part, are marked, Primum Capitulum, II. Ca^m., III. Ca^m. &c.

[18] Although each chapter at the beginning is marked with a rubric, the number of the chapter is not given in the Original Manuscript. The following selection will be found to differ somewhat in the divisions, but it represents the whole portion of the Manuscript which corresponds with the titles of chapters 138 to 153, in the preceding Table; along with the conclusion of the Work.

[19] In the original, "Car toutes comparaisons sont haynneuses."

[20] [It will be observed, that in the Prologue or dedication, at page 64, this "Buke" was addressed by the Author to Charles the Sixth, King of France.]

End of Project Gutenberg's The Buke of the Order of Knyghthood, by Ramon Llull