The Garden of Wisdom Book 2, Part 2
¶ Alfonsus kynge of Aragon.
A Certayne knyght had ryottously & prodigally wasted al his patrimony & lādes which were very greate, and moreouer had indebteh hym selfe excedyngly moche. His frendes in the courte were suters to ye kynge for hym, yt at least hys bodye myght not be imprisoned for hys debtes. Alfonsus maketh them thys aunswere. Yf he had bestowed this so great ryches eyther in ye seruice of me hys prynce or vpō the cōmune weale of hys coūtrey, or in releuynge of hys kynsfolkes, I coulde heare your sute. Now syth he hath spent so great substaūce vponupon hys body, it is mete, that hys body suffre for it. Let thys be a lesson to all prodigalities chyldren to plucke backe theyr fete betymes ere all be wasted, leaste yf they do not, they happē to be serued as this wyse gentylman was.
When he herd say, that a certayne kynge in Spayne shulde saye, that learnynge was not comly for princes and noble men, he made an exclamation and sayde, thys was neuer no mans voyce but an oxes. Assuredlye althoughe perchaunche all kynde of letters be not mete for prynces: yet the studye of Gods lawes, the politicall sciences, morall letters, and the readynge of Cronicles be so necessarye vntounto them, that wythout these, it shalbe very hard for them, to furnysh and dyscharge the offyces whervnto they be appoynted.
He was accustomed to saye, that wedded persons may thus passe ouer theyr lyues quietly and without complaynynges, yf the husbande become deafe, and the wyfe blynde. Signifyenge, that womankynde is much subiecte to the sycknes of gelousie, wherof vndoubtedly springeth greate variaūce & playntes. Agayne, that the husbande is very sore noyed and greuen wyth the iangelyng and vnquiet tongue of the wyfe, whyche greuaunce he shulde lacke, yf he were deafe, nether shuld she be vexed wyth the suspicion to be made Cokequen, yf she wanted her eye syghte. But to this cōmoditie may wise mē & womē wythout detrimēt & blemishe of their bodye verye well atteyne, yf the husbande will not heare that he heareth, nor the woman see that she seeth.
This kyng Alfonse was wonderful courteouse and familier with all that resorted to his court. Wherfore on a tyme certayne hys specyall frendes coūsailled him to beware, least his ouermuche familiaritie myght breade him cōtempte, & of cōtempte myght ensue great peryll, and consequently destructiō to hys person. He aunswereth. Nay, it is more to befeared, least seueritie and roughnes gette vsus the enuie & grudge of our comons whervpon hangeth a greater peryll of destructiō, than vpō gentle behauiour.
When one of hys knightes was alway crauynge somwhat of hym & neuertheles forthwyth lasshed out agayn what soeuer he receyued at the kynges hande: Uerely ꝙ the kyng, yf I wold cōtinue to gyue ye such thynges as thou askest, I shuld soner beggar my selfe than enriche the. For he that gyueth ye, doth nothyng els but poure water into a botōles tubbe.
Demaunded whom of his subiectes he had moste deare vntounto hym, he answered, those that feare rather for me thā me. He meant, that those only be the hartye frendes, whyche rather louelove theyr prince, then feare hym.
Also when he was asked whether he was more bound to his bokes thā to hys weapōs or armes, he aunswered: Out of my bokes I hauehave learned bothe armes and the lawes of armes knowlegyng by thys sayenge that he myghte impute all togyther vntounto learnynge.
This Kyng Alfonse delited muche in his cognisaūce, which was a Pelecane diggyng her brest with her byll and launchinge out her owne bloude to fede therwyth her yonge. To thys picture he added thys inscriptiō Pro lege & pro grege, that is to say, for the law and for the flocke. Signifyenge, that a prynce ought with a noble courage to vēture vpō al daūgers, aswel for the defence of hys people as for ye auaūcemēt of true godlines & religiō.