hat soo doo/ but they doo lyke as anastasius saith that the
lawes of some ben lyke vnto the nettis of spyncoppis that take no grete
bestes & fowles but lete goo & flee thurgh. But they take flyes &
gnattes & suche smale thynges/ In lyke wise the lawes now a dayes ben
not executed but vpon the poure peple/ the grete and riche breke hit &
goo thurgh with all And for this cause sourden bataylles & discordes/
and make y'e grete & riche men to take by force and strengthe
lordshippis & seignouries vpon the smale & poure peple/ And this doon
they specially that ben gentill of lignage & poure of goodes And causeth
them to robbe and reue And yet constrayned them by force to serue them
And this is no meruayll/ for they that drede not to angre god/ ner to
breke the lawe and to false hit/ Falle often tymes by force in moche
cursednes and wikkidnes/ but whan the grete peple doo acordinge to the
lawe/ and punysh the tr[=a]nsgressours sharply The comyn peple abstayne and
withdrawe hem fro dooyng of euyll/ and chastiseth hem self by theyr
example/ And the Iuges ought to entende for to studie/ for y't yf
smythes the carp[=e]ntiers y'e vignours and other craftymen saye that it is
most necessarye to studye for the comyn prouffit And gloryfye them in
their connyng and saye that they ben prouffitable Than shold the Iuges
studie and contemplaire moche more than they in that/ that shold be for
the comyn wele/ wherfore sayth seneke beleue me that they seme that they
do no thynge they doo more than they that laboure For they doo
spirytuell and also corporall werkis/ and therfore amonge Artificers
ther is no plesant reste/ But that reson of the Iuges hath maad and
ordeyned hit/ And therfore angelius in libro actiui atticatorum de
socrate sayth That socrates was on a tyme so pensyf that in an hole
naturell daye/ He helde one estate that he ne meuyd mouth ne eye ne
foote ne hand but was as he had ben ded rauyshyd. And whan one demanded
hym wherfore he was fo pensyf/ he answerd in alle worldly thynges and
labours of the fame And helde hym bourgoys and cytezeyn of the world And
valerius reherceth that carnardes a knyght was so age wye and laborous
in pensifnes of the comyn wele/ that whan he was sette at table for to
ete/ he forgate to put his hande vnto the mete to fede hymself. And
therfore his wys y't was named mellye whom he had taken more to haue her
companye & felawship than for ony other thynge/ Fedde hym to thende that
he shold not dye for hon