Lydgate's Fall of Princes :: :: University of Virginia Library

Yiuyng a pris to philisophres thre,
Bochas comendith with gret dilligence
How ech of hem was in his contre
Souereynli be vertuous excellence
Off old comendid for ther pacience,
Which may be set and crownid in his stall
As emperesse among vertues all.

Mong Siciliens first Theodorus,
For pacience hadde in gret reuerence;
Among Grekis, the stori tellith vs,
Anaxerses for his magnificence,
Bi force of vertu groundid on pacience,
Because he was [both] vertuous & wis,
For suffraunce gat hym a souereyn pris.

Among[es] Romey[n]s put in remembrance,
S[c]euola, bothe philisophre & kniht,
For his marcial hardi strong constaunce,
Whan that he heeld amyd the flawmys liht
Hand and fyngres aboue the coles briht,
Til the ioyntes, fallyng heer & yonder,
From the wirste departid wer assonder.

First Theodorus, born in the famous ile,
Be pacience gret peynes enduryng,
Cheeff philisophre callid of Cicile,
With cheynys bounde upon the ground liggyng,
On his bodi leid gaddis red brennyng,
Suffryng this peyne, list it nat refuse,
Bi kyng Iherom, the tiraunt Siracuse.

For comoun proffit suffrid al [t]his peyne,
Long tyme afforn[e] liggyng in prisoun;
Which bassent of mo than on or tueyne

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Was the most cheef be conspiracioun
To brynge the tiraunt to his destruccioun;
For no peyne that he myhte endure,
The coniuracioun he wold nat discure.

Rather he ches in myscheeff for to deie,
Than the name openli declare
Of hym that slouh the tiraunt, soth to seie.
Thouhte of riht no man sholde spare,
For comoun proffit, helthe and weelfare
To slen a tiraunt, deemyng for the beste,
Alle a regioun for to sette at reste.

For which[e] title, he list to suffre deth,
Al [t]his torment took most pacientli
Theodorus, til he yald up the breth,
Gruchched nat with noise nor loude cry;
Amyd whos herte rootid [so] feithfulli
Was comoun proffit, Bochas writ the same,
Among Siciliens to getyn hym a name.

Grekis also comende aboff the sterris
Anaxerses and gretli magnefie,
Cause that he to stynte mortal werris
List nat spare taquiten his partie
In rebukyng manli the tirannye
Of Nicocreoun, tiraunt ful mortall,
Regnyng in Cipre in his estat roiall.

Spared nat nouther for deth nor dreed
Hym to rebuke bi vertuous langage.
The tiraunt badde kutte [out] of his hed
His tunge in haste; but he with strong corage
Saide he sholde haue non auauntage
Of that membre, which, maugre al his miht,
Hadde tolde hym trouthe in [the] peeplis siht.

Off his manace sette litil tale,
Boot of his tunge, of hardi strong corage,
Chewed it al on pecis smale;
Of manli herte thouhte it no damage;
Spit it out into the visage

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Of the tiraunt; gat so the victorie,
To putte his name euermor in memorie.

And S[c]euola, egal to thes tweyne,
For comoun proffit, be iust comparisoun,
Put hym in pres[e]; did his besi peyne
To slen Porsenna, enmy to Roome toun.
For tacomplisshe his entencioun
Took a strong dart, riht passyngli trenchaunt,
With al his myht[e] cast at the tiraunt.

Of his marke cause he dide faille
To slen his enmy aftir his entente,
Which in Tuscan with many strong bataille
[A]geyn[es] Romeyns with his knihtis wente,
This S[c]euola his owne hande brente,
Cause that he failled of his art,
To slen Porsenna be casting of his dart.

To declare the force of his manheede
Vpon hymsilff auengid for to bee,
As I haue told, in briht[e] coles rede
His hand he brente for loue of his cite,
Onli taquite his magnanymyte,
Of feruent loue his cite for tauaille,
To slen the tiraunt cause he did[e] faille.

Thus for to putte the marcial suffrance
Of thes notable philisophres thre
In perpetuel mynde and remembraunce,
How thei hem quite ech lik his degre
For ther purparti vnto the comounte,
Cause al ther ioie and ther inward deliht
Was for avail of the comoun proffit.

First Theodorus put hymsilf in pres
For Ciciliens to deien in prisoun;
And for Grekis noble Anexerses,
His tunge torn, felt gret[e] passioun;
And S[c]euola for Romeyns & ther toun
Suffred his hand, be short auisement,
Tokne of trouthe, in colis to be brent.

A martirdam it was, in ther maneer
Of ther corage to haue so gret constaunce;

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Wer so stable of bodi, hert and cheer,
For comoun proffit, of face & contenaunce,
Vnto the deth withoute variaunce;
Gat the tryumphe be souereyn excellence,
With laureer crownid for ther pacience.

Lik as Phebus passeth a litil sterre,
Hiest vpreised in his mydday speere,
So this vertu, in trouble, pes & werre,
Cald pacience most fresshli doth appeere
Among vertues to shewe his bemys cleere;
For pacience knet with humylite,
Wher thei abide ther may non erour bee.

Tirauntis hertis this vertu doth appese,
Modefieth ther cruel fell woodnesse.
Rage of leouns, who list lyue in ese,
Of folk prostrat his malis doth represse.
Al our ioie began first with meeknesse;
For of Iuda the hardi strong leoun
A maidnes meeknesse from heuene brouht doun.

In bataille & myhti strong sheltrouns,
Avys with suffraunce wynneth the victorie;
Pacience venquissheth champiouns;
Lownesse in vertu be many old historie,
And meeknesse, perpetuel of memorie,—
Al to conclude, groundid on resoun,—
A maidnes meeknesse wrouhte our redempcioun.