“Consider most intently for what sins thy predecessors have lost their kingdom and their life, and take exceeding care that thou do not the like, lest the same judgement fall on thee. The perjuries of some God has condemned; the adulteries of others He has punished; the avarice and deceits of others He has avenged; the injustice of others has displeased Him. God is no respecter of persons, and those who do such things shall not possess the kingdom of God. Instruct first thyself in all goodness and soberness, and afterwards the people over whom thou art set, in all modesty of life and of raiment, in all truth of faith and of judgements, in keeping the Commandments of God and in probity of morals. So wilt thou both stablish thy kingdom, and save thy people, and rescue them from the wrath of God, which by sure signs has long been hanging over them. “Never would so much blood of nobles and of rulers be poured forth in your nation, never would the pagans lay waste holy places, never would such injustice and arrogance prevail among the people, if it were not that the manifest vengeance of God hangs over the inhabiters of the land. Do thou, preserved as I believe for better times, kept to set thy country right, do thou, by God’s grace aiding thee, work out with full intent, in God’s will, the safety of thine own soul and the prosperity of the country and the people committed to thy charge; so that out of the setting-right of those subject to thy rule, thy kingdom here on earth may be stablished, and the glory of the kingdom to come be granted to thee and thy descendants. “Let this letter, I pray you, be kept with you, and very often read, for the sake of thy welfare and of my love, that the omnipotent God may deign to preserve thee in the increase of His holy church for the welfare of our race, flourishing long time in thy kingdom and advancing in all that is good.” That letter finished, Alcuin proceeded next to write to the expelled usurper Osbald. He did not mince matters; he dealt, as people say, very faithfully with him. [Sidenote: Ep. 66. A.D. 796.] “To my loved friend Osbald,[143] Alchuine the deacon sends greeting. “I am displeased with thee, that thou didst not obey me when I urged thee in my letter of more than two years ago to abandon the lay life and serve God according to thy vow. And now a worse, a more disastrous fate has come upon thy life. Turn again, turn again and fulfil thy vow. Seek an opportunity for entering upon the service of God, lest thou perish with those infamous men, if indeed thou art innocent of the blood of thy lord.[144] But if thou art guilty, by consent or design, confess thy sin; be reconciled with God, and leave the company of the murderers. The love of God and of the saints is better for thee than that of evil-doers.