The chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Vol. 01 [of 13] : $b containing an account of the cruel civil wars between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy, of the possession of Paris and Normandy by the English, their expulsion thence, and of other memorable events that happened in the kingdom of France, as well as in other countriesMonstrelet, Enguerrand de
History
The chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet, Vol. 01 [of 13] : $b containing an account of the cruel civil wars between the houses of Orleans and Burgundy, of the possession of Paris and Normandy by the English, their expulsion thence, and of other memorable events that happened in the kingdom of France, as well as in other countries
Monstrelet, Enguerrand de
Europe -- History -- 476-1492 -- Sources; France -- History -- House of Valois, 1328-1589; Hundred Years' War, 1339-1453
‘The same author says, in one of his orations before he went into
banishment,—‘Nemo tam facinorosus inventus est vita, ut non tamen
judicum prius sententiis convinceretur, quam suppliciis applicaretur.’
No one has led so wicked a life but that a verdict has been passed upon
his case before he was put to the torture.
‘Thou art bounden, most potent king, to do justice; and should any evil
result from it, it will fall on the adverse party, on account of his
crimes, as I shall show to you hereafter. The judgment of our LORD JESUS
CHRIST will not certainly fail of having its effect: ‘Qui de gladio
percutit, gladio peribit.’ Whoso kills with the sword shall die by the
sword. And Ovid, in his Art of Love, says, ‘Neque lex est æquior ulla,
quam necis artifices arte perire sua.’ No law is more just than that
murderers should perish by their own arts.
‘O, my lord king! open the gates of justice, and listen to the very
reasonable complaints which my lady of Orleans makes to thee, that thou
mayest verify in thyself the words of the prophet, ‘Dilexisti justitiam
et odisti iniquitatem propterea unxit te Deus tuus oleo leticiæ præ
consortibus tuis;’ that is to say, Thou hast loved justice, and hast
hated iniquity, wherefore the Lord thy God has anointed thee with the
oil of gladness above thy fellows;—and this finishes my fifth argument.
‘My sixth and last argument, for the present, is founded on the conduct
and demeanour of our opponent after this cruel and detestable crime.
‘There is nothing in this world a king should so much dread and check as
the overbearing pride of any subject in regard to his government; and
thou, O king! oughtest to follow, in thy governance, the example of the
King of kings, of whom holy writ says, ‘Deus superbis resistit,
humilibus autem dat gratiam.’ God humbles the proud, and raises up the
weak-hearted. Thou art therefore bound to humble the pride of our
opponent, which has increased to such a pitch as to make him resist thy
power in the support of this his wicked deed.
‘Oh! king of France, and all ye my lords, weigh well then the rebellion
and disobedience of our adversary, not only against the commands of the
king, but contrary to the orders of the whole royal council. It is a
well known fact, that the king of Sicily, my lord of Berry, and several
others, went lately to Amiens, notwithstanding the great severity of the
season, to attempt bringing about a reconciliation between the parties,
for the general good of the king and kingdom; but these lords, in truth,
could not effect this, though they signified to our opponent the king’s
commands,—but he contended that he would not wait upon his sovereign
until he should be sent for by the king himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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