thynge to expose hym self to the deth for to deffende his contrey. But no man wold doo so/ but yf he hopyd to haue a better thynge therfore/ Therfore the lawe sayth that they lyue in her sowles gloriously that ben slain in the warre for the comyn wele A knyght ought also to be mercifull and pyetous For ther is nothynge y't maketh a knyght so renomed as is whan he sauyth the lyf of them that he may slee/ For to shede and spylle blood is the condicion of a wylde beste and not the condicion of a good knyght Therfore we rede that scylla that was Duc of the Romayns wyth oute had many fayr victoyres agaynst the Romayns wyth Inne that were contrayre to hym/ In so moche that in the batayll of puylle he slewe .xviii. thousand men/ And in champanye .lxx. thousand. And after in the cyte he slewe thre thousand men vnarmed And whan one of his knyghtes that was named Quyntus catulus sawe this cruelte sayd to hym/ Sesse now and suffre them to lyue and be mercyfull to them wyth whom we haue ben victorious And wyth whom we ought to lyue/ For hit is the most hyest and fayr vengeance that a man may doo/ as to spare them & gyue hem her lyf whome he may slee Therfore Joab ordeyned whan absalom was slayn/ he sowned a trompette/ that his peple shold no more renne & slee theyr aduersaryes. For ther were slayn aboute .xx. thousand of them/ and in lyke wyse dide he whan he faught ayenst Abner And Abner was vaynquysshid and fledde. For where that he wente in the chaas he comanded to spare the peple The knyghtes ought to kepe the peple/ For whan the peple ben in theyr tentes or castellis/ the knyghtes ought to kepe the wacche/ For this cause the romayns callyd them legyons And they were made of dyuerce prouynces and of dyuerce nacyons to thentente to kepe the peple/ And the peple shold entende to theyre werke/ For no crafty man may bothe entende to his craft & to fighte/ how may a crafty man entende to hys werke sewrely in tyme of warre but yf he be kept And right in suche wyse as the knyghtes shold kepe y'e peple in tyme of peas in lyke wise the peple ought to pourveye for theyr dispensis/ how shold a plowman be sewre in the felde/ but yf the knyghtes made dayly wacche to kepe hem/ For lyke as the glorye of a kynge is vpon his knyghtis/ so hit is necessarye to the knyghtes that the marchantis craftymen and comyn peple be defended and kepte/ therfore late the knyghtes kepe the peple in suche wyse that they maye enioye pees and gete and gadre the costis and expensis of them bothe/ we rede that Athis sayd to dauid whiche was a knyght/ I make the my kepar and defendar alleway. Thus shold the knightes haue grete zele that the lawe be kept/ For the mageste ryall ought not only to be garnysshid wyth armes but also wyth good lawes/ And therfore shold they laboure that they shold be well kept Turgeus pompeyus reherceth of a noble knyght named Ligurgyus that had made auncyent lawes the whiche the peple wold not kepe ne obserue/ For