The glorious ceptre and real magesté, With tonge unnethes may descryved be. He twyes wan Jerusalem that cité; The vessel out of the temple he with him ladde; In which his glorie and his delyt he ladde. The fairest children of the blood roial Of Israel he dede gelde anoon, And made ylk of hem to ben his thral; This proude king let make a statu of gold, He schulde be brent that wolde not obeye. This king of kinges preu was and elate; Ne might him nought bireve of his estate. But sodeynly he left his dignité, 15630 15640 15650 15653-preu was and elate. I have added the conjunction from Tyrwhitt, who reads, proud was and elate. I-lik a best him semed for to be, And eet hay as an oxe, and lay ther-oute And lik an eglis fetheres were his heres, Til God relessed him a certeyn yeres, And gaf him witte, and thanne with many a tere To doon amys or more to trespace. His sone, which that highte Balthazar, A fest he made unto his lordes alle Upon a tyme, he made hem blithe be; 156 15670 15662-hondes. The Lansd. MS. reads nayles, which is adopted by Tyrwhitt. 15665 he is afere. The Lansd. MS., which is followed by Tyrwhitt, reads, 15669-His sone. and his life in fere Was he to doon amys. This story and the preceding are taken from Daniel, i, 5; the latter only is given in Boccaccio. 66 'Goth, bringeth forth the vessealx,” quod he, Of honours that oure eldres with us laft!" His wif, his lordes, and his concubines Ay dronken, whiles her arriont last, In al the lond magicien was noon And sayde, "King, God to thy fader sent And him biraft the regne that he hadde. "He was out cast of mannes compaignye, With asses was his habitacioun, And eete hay in wet and eek in drye, Til that he knew by grace and by resoun Over every regne and every creature ; 15680 15690 15700 15686-arriont. This is the reading of the Harl. MS.; it is a word which occurs nowhere else as far as I am aware, but I have not ventured to alter it. The Lansd. MS. reads appetites, which Tyrwhitt adopts. And than had God of him compassioun, "Eke thou that art his sone art proud also, And knowest al this thing so verrayly, And art rebel to God and art his fo; Thou dronk eek of his vessel bodily, Thy wyf eek and thy wenche sinfully “This hond was send fro God, that on the wal Sche bereth away his regne and his richesse, Zenobia. Cenobia, of Palmire the queene, 15710 15720 15730 15719-weyist. This reading is taken from the Lansd. MS. The Harl. MS. reads wenist. 15733-Cenobia. The story of Zenobia is taken chiefly from Boccaccio's work, De claris mulieribus. As writen Perciens of hir noblesse, So worthy was in armes and so keene, Of the kinges blood of Pers sche is descendid; Fro hir childhod I fynde that sche fledde And in hir armes weld hem at hir wille, Sche dorste wilde bestes dennes seke, 15740 And renne in the mounteyns al the night, 15750 Wrastil by verray fors and verray might With eny yong man, were he never so wight. But atte last hir frendes han hir maried Al were it so that sche him longe taried. 15780 |