Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/258

He made forthwith a royal decree,
That Seneca should shamefully
Be put to death. Unbridled rule
This monster (mingled knave and fool)
Held o’er the Roman Empire wide,
That stretched its arms from side to side
Of all the earth; north, south, and west
And east, this madman’s sway confessed.6610

Good friend, I hope thou hast the wit,
Hearing my tale, to learn from it
That riches, rule, and honours high,
Full power and great prosperity,
And all the gifts Dame Fortune showers
With lavish hand on those she dowers
With worldly wealth, can never make
Those whom she favoureth to break
With vice and turn to virtuousness,
Proving them worthy to possess6620
The kingly rod; for if abide
Within their bosoms hateful pride,
The germ of every poisonous fruit,
Little to them will honours boot,
For ever as men mount more high,
Their crimes but blaze more openly;
For had they ne’er to power attained,
Their paltry vices had remained
Obscure, but when aloft men rise,
Then comes the crucial test which tries6630
The stuff they’re made of.
Oft I’ve heard
A proverb, which I count absurd
And false, though many a man, forsooth,
Will quote it for unquestioned truth.