And as Caton writithe that it is one of the principalle dedis of a prince to maynteyne, kepe, and avaunce labourage of the londe, and of all tho that bee laboureris of the londe, whiche men soo cherisshed most of verray necessite cause a roiaume, countree, or cite to be plenteous, riche, and well at ease. And the philosophur Socrates writithe that Cirus king of Perse was excellent in wit, glorious in seignorie terrien; in the daies [of] whiche Cirus one Lisander, of the cite of Lacedemone in Grece, a man halden of gret vertew and noblesse, came owt of ferre contrees to see the saide king Cirus, being in the cite of Sardes, and presented hym withe clothis of golde, juellis, and othir ricchesses sent by the citezeins of Lacedemonois; the whiche king Cirus received the saide Li[gh]ander full worshiplie in his palais, and, for the grettist ricchesse roialle and pleasure that the said {70} king Cirus had to doo hym worship and pleasure and chier, he broughte the saide Lisander to see his gardins and herbers, whiche gardins were so proporcionallie in a convenient distaunce sett and planted withe treis of verdure of divers fructis, the gardyns so welle aleyed to walke upon, and rengid withe beddis bering fulle many straunge and divers herbis, and the herbers of so soote smyllis of flouris and herbis of divers colours, that it was the joieust and plesaunt sighte that ever the saide citesyn Lisander had see beforne. And the saide Cirus saide unto Lisander that he had devised and ordeined the herbers to be compassed, rengid, and made, and many of the treis planted it withe his owne hande. And the saide Lisander, beholding the gret beaute, semlinesse of his parson, [and] the riche clothis he ware of tissue and precious stones, he saide that fortune and felicite mondeyne was joyned and knyt withe his vertue and noblesse roiall, forasmoche as the saide Cirus emploied and intentife[160] besynesse in tymes oportune in tilieng, ering, and labourage of his londis to bere corne and fruit, whiche is the principalle partie of beneurte and felicite mondeyne, that is to wete the naturelle richesse of worldlie joie. Also Tullius writithe that Valerius Corvinus, an auncien citesyn Romayne, did his gret peyne and diligence to laboure londes and make it riche withe labourage and tilieng upon the londe for the comon wele of the cite of Rome, that in tyme and yeris of scarsete the garners in Rome shulde be alway furnisshed and stuffid withe greyn, that a meane price of corne shulde be alway hadde. [Sidenote: De re publica.] How the noble cenatours of Rome avaunced here parsones in gret perille and jubardie ayenst theire adversaries for the comon welfare of the Romains. [Sidenote: Lucius Brutus.] [Sidenote: Lucius Romanus.] [Sidenote: Non est laudendum secundum legem Christianorum.]