I Esdras 3

¹Kyng Darius made a gret soper to alle his seruauntis, and to alle the maister iuges of Medes and of Persis,

²and to alle that wereden purpre, and to gouernours, and to counselers, and to prefectis vndir him, fro Ynde vn to Ethiope, to an hundrid and seuen and twenty prouyncis.

³And whanne thei hadden eten and drunken, and weren fulfillid, thei turneden ayen. Thanne kyng Darius stiede vp in his litil bed place, and slepte, and was waken.

⁴Thanne thilke thre younge men, kepers of the bodi, the whiche kepten the bodi of the kyng, seiden oon to an oother,

⁵Sey we ech of us a word, that bifore passe in kunnyng; and whos euer word seme wiser than of an oother, kyng Darius schal yiue to him grete yiftis,

⁶and to be kouered with purpre, and to drynke in gold, and to slepe upon gold; and he schal yiue him a golden chare, with the bridil, and a mytre of bijs, and a bie aboute the necke;

⁷and he schal sitte in the secounde place fro Darius, for his wisdom; and he schal be clepid Daryus cosyn.

⁸Thanne ech of hem thre writinge his word, seleden, and putten tho vndir the pelewe of kyng Daryus;

⁹and seiden, Whanne the king hath risen, thei wil take to him her thingis writen, and what euer thing the kyng shall deme of thre, and the maistir iuges of Persis, forsothe the word of him is wiser than of the othere, to him schal be youen the victorie, as it is writen.

¹⁰Oon wrot, Wyn is strong.

¹¹An oother wrot, The kyng is strenger.

¹²The thridde wrot, Wymmen ben strengiste; treuthe ouercomith forsothe ouer alle thingis.

¹³And whanne the kyng had resen up, thei token her thingis writen, and youen tho to him, and he radde.

¹⁴And he sende and clepede alle the maistre iuges of Persis, and of the lond Medis, and the clothid men in purpre, and the rewlers of prouynces, and prefectis;

¹⁵and thei seten in counsel, and the writingis weren red bifore hem.

¹⁶And the kyng seide, Clepeth the younge men, and thei schul schewe her wordis. And thei weren clepid, and thei camen yn.

¹⁷And Darius seide to hem, Schewe ye to us of thes thingis that ben writen. And the firste, that had seid of the strengthe of wyn, he biganne, and seide to hem, Men!

¹⁸ful passynge strong is wyn; to alle men that drynken it it berith doun the mynde; also it makith the mynde veyn,

¹⁹bothe of kyng and of the fadirles child; also of seruaunt and of fre men, of pore and of riche; and it turnith al the mynde in to sikirnesse,

²⁰and to gladnesse; and it remembrith not ony serewe and dette;

²¹and it makith alle the entrailes honest; and it remembrith not kyng, ne maistir iuge; and alle thingis it makith speke bi talent;

²²and whanne thei han drunken, thei remembren not frendschip ne brotherhed, and not longe aftir thei taken swerdis;

²³and whanne thei han be drowned of wyn, and rijsen, thei han no mynde what thinges thei diden.

²⁴O men! whether wyn is not passyngly strong, that thus constreynith men to do? And this thing seid, he hilde his pes.

I Esdras 3

¹Now when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all his household, and unto all the princes of Media and Persia,

²And to all the governors and captains and lieutenants that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred twenty and seven provinces.

³And when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied were gone home, then Darius the king went into his bedchamber, and slept, and soon after awaked.

⁴Then three young men, that were of the guard that kept the king’s body, spake one to another;

⁵Let every one of us speak a sentence: he that shall overcome, and whose sentence shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall the king Darius give great gifts, and great things in token of victory:

⁶As, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with bridles of gold, and an headtire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck:

⁷And he shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called Darius his cousin.

⁸And then every one wrote his sentence, sealed it, and laid it under king Darius his pillow;

⁹And said that, when the king is risen, some will give him the writings; and of whose side the king and the three princes of Persia shall judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as was appointed.

¹⁰The first wrote, Wine is the strongest.

¹¹The second wrote, The king is strongest.

¹²The third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory.

¹³Now when the king was risen up, they took their writings, and delivered them unto him, and so he read them:

¹⁴And sending forth he called all the princes of Persia and Media, and the governors, and the captains, and the lieutenants, and the chief officers;

¹⁵And sat him down in the royal seat of judgment; and the writings were read before them.

¹⁶And he said, Call the young men, and they shall declare their own sentences. So they were called, and came in.

¹⁷And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning the writings. Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine;

¹⁸And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it:

¹⁹It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

²⁰It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

²¹And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents:

²²And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:

²³But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they have done.

²⁴O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.