A   Kynge Darius made a greate feast vnto his serua&ubar;tes, vnto all his courte, ∧ to all the officers of Media and Persia, yee and to all the debytes ∧ rulers that were vnder him, from India vnto Ethiopia, an hundreth ∧ xxvij, countrees. So whan they had eaten, and dronken beinge satisfied, and were gone home agayne, Darius the kynge wente in to his chambre, layed him downe to slepe, and so awaked.

Then the thre yonge men, that kepte the kynges personne, and watched his body, commoned amonge them selues, and spake one to another: Let euery one of vs saye some thinge, and loke whose sentence is wyser and more excellent then the other, vnto him shal kinge Darius geue greate giftes, and clothe him

with purple. He shal geue him vessels of golde to drynke in, clothes of golde and coueringes: he shall make him a costly charett ∧ a brydle of golde, he shall geue him a bonet of whyte sylke and a chayne of golde aboute his neck: yee he shal be the seconde ∧ pryncipall nexte vnto kynge Darius, ∧ that because of his wy&esset;dome, and shalbe called þe; kynges kynsman.

B   So euery one wrote his meaninge, sealed it and layed it vnder the kinges pelowe, and sayde: whan the kynge aryseth, we will geue him oure wrytinges: and loke whose worde the kynge and his chefe lordes iudge to be the most wysely spoken, the same shall haue the victory. One wrote: wyne is a stronge thinge. The sec&obar;de wrote: The kynge is str&obar;ger. The thirde wrote: wemen haue yet more strength, but aboue all thinges þe; trueth beareth awaye the victory. Now whan the kynge was rysen vp, they toke their wrytinges and delyuered them vnto him, and so he red them. Then sent he forth to call all his chefe lordes, all the debytes ∧ rulers of the countrees of Media and Persia. And whan they were sett downe in the councell, the wrytinges were red before them. And he commaunded to call for þe; yonge m&ebar;, þt; they might declare their meanynges th&ebar; selues by mouth. So when they were sent for, and came in, þe; kynge sayde vnto them: shew vs and make vs to vnderst&obar;de, what the thinges are that ye haue wrytten.

C   Then beganne the first (which had spok&ebar; of the strength of wyne) ∧ sayde: ^note O ye men, wyne is maruelous str&obar;ge, and ouerc&obar;meth them þe; drynke it: it disceaueth the mynde, ∧ bryngeth both the poore man ∧ þe; kynge to dotage and vanite. Thus doth it also &wt; the bondman and with the fre, with the poore ∧ rych: it taketh awaye their vnderstondinge, and maketh them careles and mery, so that none of them remembreth eny heuynes, dett or dewtie: It causeth a man to thinke also that þe; thinge which he doth, is honest and good: and remembreth not that he is a kynge, nor þt; he is in auctorite, ∧ þt; he ought not to do soch thinges. Morouer, whan men are drynckinge, they forgett all frendshipe, all brotherly faithfulnes ∧ loue: but as soone as they are dronck&ebar;, they drawe out the swerde ∧ wil fight: ∧ wh&abar; they are layed downe fr&obar; the wyne, ∧ so rysen vp agayne, they can not tell what they dyd. Iudge ye now, Is not wyne the strongest? For who wolde els take in hande, to do soch thinges? And whan he had spoken this, he helde his tonge.

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