hombre iracundo, ¡que Dios le dé poca valía! Es gran daño, y por cierto gran piedad, Dar a un hombre iracundo alta autoridad.
“Whilom there was an irous potestatë, As saith Senec, that during his estate Upon a day out rodë knightës two; And, as fortunë would that it were so, The one of them came home, the other not. Anon the knight before the judge is brought, That saidë thus; ‘Thou hast thy fellow slain, For which I doom thee to the death certáin.’ And to another knight commanded he; ‘Go, lead him to the death, I chargë thee.’ And happened, as they went by the way Toward the placë where as he should dey, The knight came, which men weened had been dead. Then thoughtë they it was the bestë rede To lead them both unto the judge again. They saidë, ‘Lord, the knight hath not y-slain His fellow; here he standeth whole alive.’ ‘Ye shall be dead,’ quoth he, ‘so may I thrive, That is to say, both one, and two, and three.’ And to the firstë knight right thus spake he: ‘I damned thee, thou must algate be dead: And thou also must needës lose thine head, For thou the cause art why thy fellow dieth.’ And to the thirdë knight right thus he sayeth, ‘Thou hast not done that I commanded thee.’ And thus he did do slay them allë three. Irous Cambyses was eke dronkelew, And aye delighted him to be a shrew. And so befell, a lord of his meinie, That loved virtuous moralitý, Said on a day betwixt them two right thus: ‘A lord is lost, if he be vicious. [An irous man is like a frantic beast, In which there is of wisdom none arrest;] And drunkenness is eke a foul record Of any man, and namely of a lord. There is full many an eye and many an ear Awaiting on a lord, he knows not where. For Goddë’s love, drink more attemperly: Wine maketh man to losë wretchedly His mind, and eke his limbës every one.’ ‘The réverse shalt thou see,’ quoth he, ‘anon, And prove it by thine own experience, That winë doth to folk no such offence. There is no wine bereaveth me my might Of hand, nor foot, nor of mine eyen sight.’ And for despite he drankë muchë more A hundred part than he had done before, And right anon this cursed irous wretch This knightë’s sonë let before him fetch, Commanding him he should before him stand: And suddenly he took