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BOOK

V.

"Thinkest thou that a great company of thy servants will make thee happy ?23 Not so, not so. But if they be evil, then are they more dangerous to thee; and more troublesome, if bound to you, than if you had them not, because evil thegns will always be their lord's enemies. If they be good and faithful to their lord, and not of double mind — How! Is not this their virtue? It is not thine. How canst thou then possess their virtue? If thou now gloriest in this How! Dost thou not glory in their merit? It is not thine.'

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ALFRED has added the following remarks of his own on the intrinsic value of worldly advantages:

"Now then, now, every creature shunneth that which is contrary to it, and toils very diligently that it be removed from him. But what two are more contrary between themselves than good and evil? They never will be harmonious together.

"By this thou mayest understand, that if the prosperities of this present life, through themselves, possessed power of themselves, and were good from their own nature; they would then always cleave to those who work with them good, and not evil.

"But there, where they be a good, then are they good through the goodness of the good man that doth good with them; and he is good through God. If then a bad man hath them, then are they evil through the badness of that man who doeth evil with them; and through the devil." 24

He has followed up these remarks by adding to Boetius's metrum on Nero, the following ob

servations:

"What cruelties; what adulteries; and what crimes; and what impiety, that unrighteous Cesar Nero committed! "He commanded at some time that all Rome city should be

23" But will a long train of servants make you happy? who, if they be vicious in morals, are the pernicious_burthen of a house, and grievously an enemy to their lord himself. If honest, how can another's probity be reckoned among your wealth?" Ibid. 24 Alfred, p. 34, 35.

II.

be burnt after the example, formerly, when Troy's city burnt. CHA P. It pleased him also to see how it burnt, and how long, and how light, compared with that other.

"Thinkest now that the Divine power could not have removed the dominion from this unrighteous Cesar, and have restrained him from that evil if he would? Yes. Oh yes! I know that he might, if he had willed. Oh! how heavy a yoke he slipped on all that in his times were living on the earth, and how oft his sword was sullied with guiltless blood! How! Was it not there clear enough that power, of its own worth, is not good, when he is not good to whom it comes ?" 25

He has enlarged on the remark of Boetius on power, so as to exhibit his own sentiments in addition to those of his original.

BOETIUS had only said

“If ever, which is very rare, honours are conferred on the upright, what is pleasing in them but the integrity of those who use them? Thus honour accrues not to the virtues from the dignity, but to the dignity from the virtues." 26

ALFRED, a king, expands this to insert his own feelings on this subject.

"If then it should ever happen, as it very seldom happens, On power. that power and dignity come to good men, and to wise ones, what is there then worthy of pleasing but the goodness and dignity of these persons: of the good king, not of the power. Hence power is never a good, unless he be good that has it; and that is the good of the man, not of the power. If power be goodness, why then is it that no man by his dominion can come to the virtues, and to merit; but by his virtues and merit he comes to dominion and power. Thus no man is better for his power; but if he be good, it is from his virtues that he is good. From his virtues he becomes worthy of power, if he be worthy of it." 27

He adds to this, entirely his own, and as if he intended it to be the annunciation to his people of his own principle of government : —

25 Alfred, p. 36.

VOL. II.

26 Boet. lib. ii. pr. 6.

27 Alfred, p. 31.

D

BOOK

V.

On the inind.

"Learn therefore wisdom, and when ye have learned it, do not neglect it. I tell you then, without any doubt, that by that you may come to power, though you should not desire the power. You need not be solicitous about power, nor strive after it. If you be wise and good, it will follow you, though you should not wish it." 28

CONNECTED With the subject of power, Alfred has in another place inserted these passages of his

own:

"If thou now saw some very wise man that had very good qualities, but was nevertheless very poor, and very unhappy, whether wouldst thou say that he was unworthy of power and dignity?'

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"Then answered Boetius and said Not so, Oh, not so. If I found him such, I would never say that he was unworthy of power and dignity, for me thinketh that he would be worthy of every honour that is in this world.'" 29

WITH the same freedom he amplifies another idea of Boetius, and applies it to express his own high estimate of the human mind.

His author says

"If you saw among mice, one claiming a right to himself, and power over the rest, to what a horse-laugh would you be moved? But if you look at the body, what can you find weaker than man, whom a bite of his flesh or of something within secretly creeping destroys?" 3

ALFRED'S paraphrase:

30

"If you now saw a mouse that was lord over another mouse, and established laws for him, and compelled him to pay taxes, how wonderlike you would think it! What derision you would have of this; and to how much laughter would you not be excited. How much more then would it be so to compare the body of man with the mind, than the mouse with the man? You may easily conceive it. If you will diligently in

quire about it, and investigate, you will find that no creature's

28 Alfred, p. 31, 32.

29 Ibid, p. 59, 60.

30 Boet. lib. ii. pr. 6.

II.

body is tenderer than that of man's. The least fly may hurt CHA P. it, and the gnats with their little stings may injure it; and also the small worms that crawl within and without him, even sometimes nearly kill him. Indeed the little fleas may sometimes destroy him. Every living thing may hurt him, either inside or out." 31

He then adds, partly translating and partly imitating Boetius : —

"But where can a man hurt another except in his body, or in that wealth which we call happiness? No one can injure the reasoning mind, nor make it that it should not be what it is." 32

WE now come to a noble effusion of Alfred's mind and heart, on his own power and govern

ment.

BOETIUS had said

"You know that the ambition of mortal things governed us but little; but we desired materials for acting, that virtue might not grow old in silence.”

ON these few words Alfred has thus expatiated, to express from himself, and on his own situation, his views and feelings as a king, and his principles of conduct. We cannot avoid remembering, on reading this, that he hesitated about accepting the crown at his accession. He seems to allude to this circumstance.

66

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ment.

"O Reason! thou knowest that covetousness and the pos- On his session of this earthly power, I did not well like, nor strongly principles desired at all this earthly kingdom, except-Oh! I desired of governmaterials for the work that I was commanded to do. This was that I might unfractiously and becomingly steer and rule the power that was committed to me What! thou knowest that no man may know any craft nor rule, or steer any power without tools and materials. There are materials for every craft, without which a man cannot work in that craft.

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BOOK

V.

Alfred on

"These are the materials of a king's work, and his tools to govern with; that he have his land fully peopled; that he should have prayer-men, and army-men, and work-men. What! thou knowest that without these tools no king may show his

skill.

"These are also his materials, that with these tools he should have provision for these three classes; and their provision then is, land to inhabit, and gifts, and weapons, and meat, and ale, and clothes, and what else that these three classes need; nor can he without these keep his tools; nor without these tools can he work any of those things that it is commanded to him to do.

"For this purpose I desired materials to govern that power with, that my skill and power might not be given up and concealed. But every virtue and every power will soon become oldened and silenced if they be without wisdom. Therefore no man can bring forth any virtue without wisdom: hence whatsoever is done through folly, man can never make that to be virtue.

"This I can now most truly say, that I HAVE DESIRED TO WORTHILY WHILE I LIVED, AND AFTER MY LIFE TO

LIVE

LEAVE TO THE MEN THAT SHOULD BE AFTER ME A REMEM-
BRANCE IN GOOD WORKS." 33

IT may amuse us to read Alfred's picture of the Golden Age, in which he has added some marking circumstances of his own sentiments to his author's description.

"Oh, how happy was the first age of this world, when every the golden man thought he had enough in the fruits of the earth! 34 There were no rich homes, nor various sweet dainties, nor drinks.

age.

33 Alfred p. 36, 37.

34 Boetius's lines are: "Too happy was the prior age, contented with their faithful ploughs, nor lost in sluggish luxury: it was accustomed to end its late fasts with the ready acorn; nor knew how to confuse the present of Bacchus with liquid honey; nor to mingle the bright fleece of the Seres with the Tyrian poison. The grass gave them healthful slumbers. The gliding river their drink. The loftiest pines their shades. They did not yet cut the depths of the sea; nor did the stranger see new shores with his merchandise collected from every side.

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