Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 2.djvu/295

 KINGS OF NORWAY. 287 mitted any depredation, or did what the king con- saga vii. sidered against law, he did not spare them at all, but they must suffer in life or limbs ; and no man's en- treaties, and no offer of money -penalties, could help them. So says Sigvat : — " They who on viking cruises drove With gifts of red gold often strove To buy their safety — but our chief Had no compassion for the thief. He made the bravest lose his head Who robbed at sea, and pirates led; And his just sword gave peace to all, Sparing no robber, great or small." And he also says : — " Great king ! whose sword on many a field Food to the wandering wolf did yield, And then the thief and pirate band Swept wholly off by sea and land — Good king ! who for the people's sake Set hands and feet upon a stake, When plunderers of great name and bold Harried the country as of old. ei The country's guardian showed his might When oft he made his just sword bite Through many a viking's neck and hair, And never would the guilty spare. King Magnus' father, I must say, Did many a good deed in his day. Olaf the Thick was stern and stout, Much good his victories brought out." He punished great and small with equal severity, which appeared to the chief people of the country too severe ; and animosity rose to the highest when they lost relatives by the king's just sentence, although they were in reality guilty. This was the origin of the hostility of the great men of the country to King Olaf, that they could not bear his just judgments. He again would rather renounce his dignity than omit righteous judgment. The accusation against him, of being stingy with his money, was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his friends ; but that alone was the cause of the discontent raised