treangle as a shelde wherof the heyght extended vnto the lengthe of .vii. thousand paas/ whiche is .vii. myle english And this tour was callyd the tour of Babell/ The walles aboute the tour made a woman whos name was semiranus as sayth virgilius/ As to the thirde wherfore the comyn peple ben sette to fore the nobles in the felde of the bataylle in one renge First for as moche as they ben necessarye to alle nobles For the rooke whiche standeth on the ryght syde and is vicaire of the kynge what may he doo yf the labourer were not sette to fore hym and labourid to mynystre to hym suche temporell thynges as be necessary for hym/ And what may the knyght doo yf he ne had to fore hym the smyth for to forge his armours. sadellis. axis and spores and suche thynges as apperteyneth to hym/ And what is a knyght worth wyth oute hors and armes/ certaynly nothynge more than on of the peple or lasse pauenture And in what maner shold the nobles lyue yf no man made cloth and bought and solde marchandyse/ And what shulde kynges and quenes and the other lordes doo yf they had no phisicyens ne cyrurgiens/ than I saye that the peple ben the glorye of the Crowne And susteyne. the lyf of the nobles And therfore thou that art a lord or a noble man or knyght/ despise not the comyn peple for as moche as they ben sette to fore the in y'e pleye The seconde cause is why the peple ben sette to fore the nobles and haue the table wyde to fore them/ is be cause they begyn the bataylle/ They ought to take hede and entende to do theyr offices and theyr craftes/ In suche wyse that they suffre the noble men to gouerne the cytees and to counceylle and make ordenances of the peple of the batayll how shold a labourer a plowman or a craftyman counceylle and make ordenance of suche thynges as he neuer lerned/ And wote ne knoweth the mater vpon what thynge the counceylle ought to be taken/ Certes the comyn peple ought not to entende to none other thynge but for to do their seruyse and the office whiche is couenable vnto hem/ And hyt apperteyneth not to hem to be of counceyllys ne at the aduocacions/ ne to menace ne to threte noman/ for ofte tymes by menaces and by force good counceylle is distroublid/ And where good counceyll faylleth/ there ofte tymes the cytees ben betrayed and destroyed/ And Plato sayth That the comyn thynges and the cytees ben blessid whan they ben gouerned by wyse men/ or whan the gouernours studye in wisedom/ And so hit apperteyneth to the comyn to lerne to vttre the maters & the maner of procuracion to fore they be counceyllours/ For hit happeth oftetymes that he that maketh hym wyser that he vnderstandeth is made more foole than he is/ And the fourth cause wherfore y't ther ben in the tabler as many poynts wyde as ben full. hit is to wete for that they what euer they be that haue peple to gouerne/ ought tenforce to haue cytees & caftellis & possessions for to sette his peple theryn/ And for to laboure & doo their ocupacion/ For