Page:The Life of Sir Thomas More (William Roper, ed by Samuel Singer).djvu/189

 daughter, so shal I for my pastime, aunswer them to thee. Megge, that art mine other. The fyrst fable of the rayne that washte away al their wittes that stode abrode when it fell, I hane heard oft ere this: It was a tale so often told among the kinges counsel by my Lorde Cardinall, when hys grace was chauncellour, that [ cannot lightlye forgeatte it. For of trouth in tymes past, when variance began to fall betwene the emperour and the Frenche king, in such wise that they were lykely and dyd in dede, fall together at warre, and that ther wer in the counsayle here sometime sundry opinions, in which some were of the mynde that they thoughte it wisedome, that we should sit stil and let them alone: but evermore against that way, my lord vsed this fable of those wyse men, that because they would not be washed with the rayn that shold make all the people fooles, went themself in caves and hid them vnder the ground. But when the rayne had once made all the remenant fooles, and that they came out of theyr caues and wold vtter their wisdome, the fooles agreed together agaynst them, and there all to bet them. And so sayd his grace, that if we woulde be so wise that we woulde sitte in peace whyle the fooles foughte, they woulde not fayle after to make peace and agree, and fall at length all vpon us. I will not dispute vpon hys graces counsayle, and I truste we netier made warre but as reason woulde. But yet this fable for hys parte, dydde in hys dayes help the king and the realme to spend manyea fayre penye. But that grace is passed, and hys grace is gone, our lord assoyle his soule. And therefore shall I nowe come to this Esope's fable, as my Lorde full merelye layde it furth for me. If those wyse men, Megge, when the rayn was gone at theyr coming abrode, where they found all menne fooles, wished themselves fooles too, because they could not rule them, than seemceth it that the foolish rayne was so sore a showre, that euen thorowe the grounde it sanke into theyr caues, and powred downe vppon theyr heades, and wette theim to the skynne, and made theim more nodies than them that stodeabrode. For if they had had anye witte, they myght well see, that though they had been fooles too, that thing wold not have suffyced to make theim the rulers over the other fooles, no more than the tother fooles ouer them: and of so manye