The King's Mirror (Speculum regale-Konungs skuggsjá)
Philosophy
The King's Mirror (Speculum regale-Konungs skuggsjá)
Education of princes; Encyclopedias and dictionaries -- Early works to 1600; Scandinavia -- Civilization
When the prosecutors heard that this indictment had failed, they shouted
even more loudly, saying that they had still greater charges against
Stephen. So they set forth that a Roman whose name was Tarquin had come
to Athens, and since he was an alien and had no kindred there, he
thought that he might need help from Stephen in his important affairs,
seeing that Stephen was judge and ruler over the whole city; and he gave
Stephen a fine horse on condition that he was to have justice and
equity. Then the Judge decreed that, if Stephen had sold justice for
money, he should follow that profit to destruction. But when Stephen was
questioned whether this charge was true or not, he denied the accusation
and declared that he could not remember ever having taken fee or gift
for justice. Now since Stephen had denied the charge, it was ordered
that Tarquin himself should be called to straighten the matter. When
Tarquin came, he declared that this was not a true charge against
Stephen; for he asserted that Stephen had never taken fees for justice
so far as he knew. “But having come there a stranger,” said Tarquin, “I
thought that I might need the good will of such a man and gave him the
horse on my own volition and not at his request.” When the accusers
heard that they would surely fail in this indictment too, they cried
even more loudly, saying that they had a new charge against Stephen,
much greater than either of the others. They asserted that he had
arbitrarily and illegally saved three men from the death penalty, whom
both law and equity and a just sentence would have condemned. When
Stephen was asked whether he was guilty of this charge, he admitted that
he had saved the men from death, but declared that he had always
regretted having saved them by arbitrary and illegal means. Then the
Judge decreed that, if he had rescued men from death by violence whom
justice had condemned to die, he must suffer death for it, unless he
would do penance where the offence was committed. Then the priest Justin
asked Saint Lawrence to help in Stephen’s defense, seeing that he had
forgiven him the matter that he had against him and no indictment had
been found true except the one that was now being considered. So
Lawrence and Justin went in haste to the queen and, falling at her feet,
begged her to request this favor, that the verdict be modified so that
Stephen might be allowed to do penance in the place where he had
offended. When the queen interceded for Stephen, her request was
granted. Thereupon he was brought back to Athens, and he arose at the
moment when his body was to be carried to the grave. He lived three
winters after that and did penance for his guilt according to the
instruction of the bishop who was in charge of that city.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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