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ACTOR
Chap III.
THE kyng
anchises lamentit the distructione of the
superb troy, exsecutit be the princis of greice.
the queene rosaria regrettit hir spouse kyng
darius quhen he vas venqueist be grite allexander.
the prophet hieremye vepit for the stait of the public
veil of babillone, quhen it vas brocht in captiuite.
kyng dauid lamentit his sone absolon, quhen Ioab sleu
hym. cleopatra vas lyike to dee in melancolie, quhen
hyr loue marcus antonius vas venquest be the empriour
agustus. the consule marcus marcellus regrettit hauyly
the cite of syracuse, quhen he beheld it birnand in ane
bold fyir. Crisp salust regrettit the euyl gouernyng of
the public veil of rome. the patriarche Iacob lamentit
the absens of his sone Ioseph. the kyng demetrius
regrettit hauyly the slauchtir of his fadir antigonus, at
the battel of maraton. zong octouian lamentit hauyly
the slauchtir of his fadir adoptiue cesar that gat .xxii
straikis
<f21r> vitht pen knyuis in the capitol. thir nobil
personagis deplorit the calamiteis that occurrit in ther
dais, bot i hef as grit cause to deploir the calamiteis
that ringis presently vitht in ouer realme throucht the
vice of the pepil. & quhou beit that the thretnyng of
gode contrar vs be verray seueir ande extreme, zit
nochtheles i hope that his auful scurge of aperand
exterminatione sal change in ane faderly correctione sa
that ve vil knau his mageste, ande to retere fra ouer
vice, for he hes promest grace tyl al them that repentis
ande til al them that kepis his command as is vrityn in
the .xxvi.. cheptor of leuitic thir vordis as follouis. Gyf
ze keip my ordinance, i sal send zou rane on zour
grond in conuenient tyme, zour feildis sal bryng furtht
cornis, zour treis sal bayr frute, ze sal eyt zour breyde
in suficiens, ze sal sleipt at zour eyse, i sal sende
pace amang zou, the sourde of vengeance sal nocht pas
throucht zour cuntre, ze sal follou zour enemeis ,ande
zour sourdis sal gar them fal befor zou, fiue of zou sal
follou & chaisse ane hundretht, & ane hundretht of zou sal chaisse ten
thousand, ande zour enemeis sal fal to the grond
<f21v> venquest in zour presens, sa that ze
vil obeye to my command.
O quhat familiar promese is this that god hes
promeist tyl al them that vil obey til his command
quhar for gyf ve refuse this grit promes, i suspect that
his iustice sal extinct oure generatione furtht of rememorance,
ande that he vil permit our ald enemeis, or
sum vthir straynge natione til ocupie & posses our
natural natiue cuntre. bot zit i hope in gode that our
obstinatione sal altir in obediens, quhilk sal be occasione,
that fiue of vs sal chaise ane hundretht of our ald
enemeis, ande ane hundretht of vs sal chaisse ten thousand
of them furtht of our cuntre as is rehersit in the
foir said xxvi cheptour of leuitic. for quhou be it that
god hes permittit the inglis men to scurge vs, as he
permittit sathan to scurge the holy man Iob, it follouis
nocht that god vil tyne vs perpetualye, nor zit it follouis
nocht, that the cruel inglis men ,quhilkis ar
boreaus ande hang men permittit be god to puneis vs,
that thai ar in the fauoir of god, for the exsecutione of
goddis punitione on vs, as i sal explane be ane exempil
of comparisone. ane boreau or hang
<f22r> man is permittit
be ane prince to scurge ande to puneise transgressours,
ande ther efftir that samyn boreau, is stikkit or hangit
eftiruart for his cruel demeritis, as is the end of them
that settis ther felicite to skattir & to skail blude.
Siklyike the cruel inglis men that hes scurgit vs, hes
nocht dune it of manhede or visdome nor of ane gude
zeil: bot rather the supreme plasmator of hauyn ande
eird hes permittit them to be boreaus, to puneis vs, for
the mysknaulage of his magestie. Quhar for i treist,
that his diuine iustice vil permit sum vthir straynge
natione to be mercyles boreaus to them, ande til extinct
that false seid ande that incredule generatione furtht of
rememorance, be cause thai ar, ande alse hes beene, the
special motione, of the iniust veyris that hes trublit
cristianite, thir sex hundretht zeir by past. quha listis
to reide the prophesye of ysaye tha sal fynd ane
exempil conformand to this samyn purpos, quhou that
the realme of the assiriens vas the scurge of gode to
puneise the pepil of israel for ther disobediens. bot fra
tyme that the pepil of israel vas reterit fra ther vice,
gode distroyit there scurge, that is to saye, he distroyt
assure
<f22v> the kyng of the assirriens, ande transportit his
realme, in the subiectione of the kyng of perse ande
meid. Sikliyk the grite toune of babillon vas permittit
be gode to scurge the pepil of israel: ande ther efftir
quhen the israelieteis var reterit fra ther inniquite gode
delyurit them fra the captiuite of babillon ande distroyit
that grite toune, ande maid it ane desert inhabitabil
for serpens ande vthir venesum beystis. Euyrie
thing is corruppit be ane vthir corruppit complexione,
ane file is ane instrument to file doune yrn, ande ane
synnar is maid ane instrument of the diuyne iustice, to
puneise ane vther synnar, the file that filit the yrne is
vorne ande cassin auaye as ane thing onutil to serue to
do ony gude verk: bot the yrn that hes beene filit be
the forgear or be ane smytht is kepit to serue to the
necessite of men, the father takkis the vand or the
scurge to puneise his sonne, that hes brokyn his command,
ande quhen his sonne becummis obedient, the
father brakkis the vand ande castis it in the fyir. bot
zit gyf his sonne rebellis contrar the correctione of the
vand, than the father takkis ane batton or sum vthir
sterk vappin to puneise his sonne, & forzettis
<f23r> fatherly discipline, ande vsis rigorus extreme punitione. ane ox
that repungnis the brod of his hird, he gettis doubil
broddis, & he that misprisis the correctione of his preceptor,
his correctione is changit in rigorus punitione.
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