whome he may slee Therfore Joab ordeyned whan absalom
was slayn/ he sowned a trompette/ that his peple shold
no more renne & slee theyr aduersaryes. For ther
were slayn aboute .xx. thousand of them/ and in lyke
wyse dide he whan he faught ayenst Abner And Abner
was vaynquysshid and fledde. For where that he
wente in the chaas he comanded to spare the peple
The knyghtes ought to kepe the peple/ For whan the
peple ben in theyr tentes or castellis/ the knyghtes
ought to kepe the wacche/ For this cause the romayns
callyd them legyons And they were made of dyuerce
prouynces and of dyuerce nacyons to thentente to kepe
the peple/ And the peple shold entende to theyre werke/
For no crafty man may bothe entende to his craft &
to fighte/ how may a crafty man entende to hys werke
sewrely in tyme of warre but yf he be kept And right
in suche wyse as the knyghtes shold kepe y’e
peple in tyme of peas in lyke wise the peple ought
to pourveye for theyr dispensis/ how shold a plowman
be sewre in the felde/ but yf the knyghtes made dayly
wacche to kepe hem/ For lyke as the glorye of a kynge
is vpon his knyghtis/ so hit is necessarye to the
knyghtes that the marchantis craftymen and comyn peple
be defended and kepte/ therfore late the knyghtes kepe
the peple in suche wyse that they maye enioye pees
and gete and gadre the costis and expensis of them
bothe/ we rede that Athis sayd to dauid whiche was
a knyght/ I make the my kepar and defendar alleway.
Thus shold the knightes haue grete zele that the lawe
be kept/ For the mageste ryall ought not only to be
garnysshid wyth armes but also wyth good lawes/ And
therfore shold they laboure that they shold be well
kept Turgeus pompeyus reherceth of a noble knyght
named Ligurgyus that had made auncyent lawes the whiche
the peple wold not kepe ne obserue/ For they semed
hard for them to kepe And wold constrayne hym to rapele
& sette hem a part whan the noble knight sawe that
He dyde the peple to vnderstande that he had not made
them/ but a god that was named Apollo delphynus. had
made them/ And had comanded hym that he shold do the
peple kepe them/ Thise wordes auayled not/ they wold
in no wyse kepe them/ And than he sayd to them that
hit were good that er the said lawes shold be broken
that he had gyuen to them that he shold goo and speke
wyth the god Appollo/ For to gete of hym a dispensacion
to breke hem/ And that the peple shold kepe & obserue
them tyll that he retorned agayn/ The peple acorded
therto & swore that they shold kepe them to the tyme
he retorned Than the knighte wente in to grece in exyle
& dwellid ther alle his lyf/ And whan he shold dye
he comanded that his body shold be cast in the see/
For as moche as yf his body shold be born theder/
the people shold wene to be quyt of theyr oth/ And
shold kepe no lenger his lawes that were so good &
resonable/ & so the knight had leuer to forsake his
owne centre & to dye so than to repele his lawes And
his lawes were suche/ The first lawe was that y’e
peple shold obeye & serue the princes/ And the princes