us pompeyus reherceth of a noble knyght named Ligurgyus that had
made auncyent lawes the whiche the peple wold not kepe ne obserue/ For
they semed hard for them to kepe And wold constrayne hym to rapele &
sette hem a part whan the noble knight sawe that He dyde the peple to
vnderstande that he had not made them/ but a god that was named Apollo
delphynus. had made them/ And had comanded hym that he shold do the
peple kepe them/ Thise wordes auayled not/ they wold in no wyse kepe
them/ And than he sayd to them that hit were good that er the said lawes
shold be broken that he had gyuen to them that he shold goo and speke
wyth the god Appollo/ For to gete of hym a dispensacion to breke hem/
And that the peple shold kepe & obserue them tyll that he retorned
agayn/ The peple acorded therto & swore that they shold kepe them to the
tyme he retorned Than the knighte wente in to grece in exyle & dwellid
ther alle his lyf/ And whan he shold dye he comanded that his body shold
be cast in the see/ For as moche as yf his body shold be born theder/
the people shold wene to be quyt of theyr oth/ And shold kepe no lenger
his lawes that were so good & resonable/ & so the knight had leuer to
forsake his owne centre & to dye so than to repele his lawes And his
lawes were suche/ The first lawe was that y'e peple shold obeye & serue
the princes/ And the princes shold kepe the peple & do Iustice on the
malefactours The second lawe that they shold be all sobre/ For he wiste
well that the labour of cheualrye is most stronge whan they lyue
sobrely/ The thirde was y't noman shold bye ony thynge for money but
they shold change ware for ware & one marchandyse for an other/ The
fourthe was that men shold sette no more by money ner kepe hit more than
they wold donge or fylthe/ The fyfthe he ordeyned for the comyn wele
alle thynge by ordre/ that the prynces myght meue and make bataylle by
her power, to the maistres counceillours he comysid the Iugementis. And
the Annuell rentes/ to the senatours the kepynge of the lawe/ And to the
comyn peple he gaf power to chese suche Iuges as they wold haue/ The
sixte he ordeyned that all thinge shold be departid egally & all thinge
shold be comyn And none richer than other in patry-monye/ The seuenth
that euery man shold ete lyke well in comen openly/ that riches shold
not be cause of luxurye whan they ete secretly/ The eygthe that the
yonge peple shold not haue but o[=n] gowne or garment in the yere/ The
nynth that