Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/88

76 "I will sleep elsewhere." The chamberlain, therefore, removed; and the king went privately to another residence, saying to the soldiers about him, "Remain here, if you like; but join me early in the morning." Now while they slept, the old man and his wife arose, and not finding the king, put to death all the soldiers who had remained. In the morning, when the murder was discovered, the emperor gave thanks to God for his escape. "Oh," cried he, "If I had continued here, I should have been destroyed. So the third maxim hath also preserved me." But the old man, and his wife, with the whole of their family, were crucified. The emperor retained the three maxims in memory during life, and ended his days in peace. (11)

My beloved, the emperor is any good Christian; the porter is free will. The merchant represents our Lord Jesus Christ. The florins are virtues, and the maxims received for them