and the house in which they have been shall be carried without the town and burned. And each sheriff shall swear that he will observe this, and shall cause all his servitors to swear this, and the stewards of the barons, and all the knights and free tenants of the counties.
22. And the lord king wills that this assize shall be kept in his kingdom as long as it shall please him.
V.
THE DIALOGUE CONCERNING THE EXCHEQUER.
(Stubbs' " Charters," p. 168.)
Preface.
It is necessary to subject one's self in all fear to the powers ordained by God, and likewise to serve them. For every power is from God the Lord. Nor does it therefore seem absurd or foreign to ecclesiastics, by serving kings who are, as it were, pre-eminent, and other powers, to uphold their rights; especially in matters which are not contrary to divine Truth or honesty. But one should serve them not alone in preserving those dignities through which the glory of the royal majesty shines forth, but also in preserving the abundance of worldly wealth which pertains to them by reason of their station: for the former cast a halo round them, the latter aid them. For indeed abundance of means, or the lack of them, exalts or humbles the power of princes. For those who lack them will be a prey to their enemies, to those who have them their enemies will fall a prey. But although it may come about that these accrue to kings for the most part, not by some right that has been thoroughly examined into, but at times through paternal customs, at times through the secret designs of their own hearts, or occasionally through the arbitrariness of their own sole will, nevertheless their acts are not to be discussed or condemned by their subjects. For the cause of those
