Then they become angry.

I told thee before

To them it happens in their hearts

That within are afflicted,

Their thoughts in their minds
With this strong fire
Of hot-heartedness,

And afterwards fierce sorrow
Also bindeth them
Hard imprisoned.

Then afterwards beginneth
Hope to some
Greatly to lie

About that revenge of battle
Which the anger desireth
Of one and of the other,
It promises them all

Which their contempt
Of right may enjoin.

In this same book,

That of the various creatures

Each single one
Some good
Always desired
From his own
Ancient nature;

But the unrighteous
Kings of the earth
Cannot ever

Accomplish any good

From the evil

That I have mentioned.

It is no wonder,

Because they love the vices

Which I named before,

And to which only

They are always subject.*

King Alfred's notion of Kingly Power.

"If then it should ever happen, as it very seldom happens, that power and dignity come to good men, and to wise ones, what is there then worthy of pleasing is the goodness and dignity of these persons of the good king, not of the power. Hence power is never a good, unless he be good that has it; and that is the good

of the man, not of the power. If power be goodness, why then is

it that no man, by his dominion can come to the virtues, and to merit; but by his virtues and merit he comes to dominion and power? Thus no man is better for his power; but if he be good, it is from his virtues that he is good. From his virtues he becomes worthy of power, if he be worthy of it."

Alfred's notions of the Principles of Government.

"O Reason! thou knowest that covetousness, and the possession of this earthly power, I did not well like, nor strongly desired at all this earthly kingdom, except-Oh! I desired materials for the

* See Turner's Hist. of the Anglo-Saxons.

work that I was commanded to do. This was that I might unfractiously, and becomingly steer and rule the power that was committed to me-What! thou knowest that no man may know any craft nor rule, or steer any power without tools and materials. There are materials for every craft, without which a man cannot work in that craft.

"These are the materials of a king's work, and his tools to govern with; that he have his land fully peopled; that he should have prayer-men, and army-men, and work-men. What! thou knowest that without these tools no king may show his skill.

"These are also his materials, that with these tools he should have provision for these three classes; and their provision then is, land to inhabit, and gifts, and weapons, and meat, and ale, and clothes, and what else that these three classes need; nor can he without these keep his tools; nor without these tools can he work any of those things that it is commended to him to do.

"For this purpose I desired materials to govern that power with, that my skill and power might not be given up and concealed. But every virtue and every power will soon become oldened and silenced if they be without wisdom. Therefore no man can bring forth any virtue without wisdom hence whatsoever is done through folly, man can never make that to be virtue.

"This I can now most truly say, that I have desired to live worthily while I lived, and after my life to leave to the men that should be after me a remembrance in good works.”*

"Alfred, like another Theodosius, collected the various customs that he found dispersed in the kingdom, and reduced and digested them into one uniform system or code of laws, in his dome-book, or liber judicialis.”– Blackstone.

P

CHAPTER IX.

ON THE ILLUSTRATION OF THE POLITICS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.

As an interesting item in the history of political literature in the middle ages, we shall here hazard a few brief observations and statements on the commentaries of the celebrated Maimonides on the Laws of Moses, in the middle of the twelfth century. A few introductory remarks will be required to bring the historical sketch of the Jewish law before the reader's attention in a connected form, from the days of our Saviour, where we left it, at the termination of our first chapter, to the time when this learned Jewish writer and commentator undertook his great work of a revision of the entire code of Jewish jurisprudence.

In the first century of the Christian era, considerable additions were made to the Oral-Law. The historian, Abendana, gives a copious account of the heads of colleges, who ingrafted on this system of law, a multitude of mystical, allegorical, and cabalistical fictions and comments. Rabbi Nathan, the Babylonian, wrote a work, entitled "Pirke avoth," which combined a large body of the moral apophthegms, and pious sayings of the Fathers of the Jewish Church, and

which was so highly esteemed, that it was deemed worthy of insertion in the body of the Talmud itself.

In the reign of the Roman Emperor, Antoninus Pius, and in the year 153, Rabbi Juda was elevated to the two-fold dignity of Ruler of the Synagogue, and President of the Synedrim. The Jewish people being afterwards exposed to the cruelties of Vespasian, and to the heartless edicts of Adrian, the study of the law fell into desuetude; so much so, that this learned Doctor was apprehensive, that the force of persecution would entirely efface the remembrance of Oral Tradition from the minds of his brethren. He, therefore, determined to digest and reduce the whole to writing. He commenced his labours from the period in which the great synagogue was established by Ezra, and with incredible labour and patience, collected and methodised all the "Constitutions," "Interpretations," and "Decisions," that had hitherto been recognised by the bulk of the nation, and carefully amalgamated them into one code, which he termed the Misna, or Mischna. This important compilation was completed in the year 218.* It is distributed into six general heads called Sedarim, or Orders or Classes.

On its publication, this interesting code was received with enthusiastic admiration by a select body of the learned; and was universally recognised both in the land of Judea, and in Babylonia, as a full and authentic body of the whole Jewish law. Being, however, chiefly composed of Aphorisms, and brief sententious statements, it began to be considered as improvable by giving explanations of them. This opened the door to great abuse, and soon led to the Lardner and Prideaux say it was finished in the year 150.