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← Eruditio regum et principum (Education of Kings and Princes)/Book 1 · Eruditio regum et principum
Chapter 6ErudR.1.6

Secundum capitulum de expositione hujus partis : Nec reducet populum in Egyptum, et litteraliter et spiritualiter, ubi agitur de captione regis Franciae.

The Royal Prohibition Against Returning to Egypt

The chapter opens by citing the scriptural rule that a king must not lead the people back into Egypt with great cavalry, and announces a twofold literal and spiritual exposition.

The rule for kings goes on to say: He shall not lead the people back into Egypt, with cavalry in great number, subjected under vow.✦ Let us now set this forth both literally and spiritually.

The King's Pride as Spiritual Egypt

Spiritually, a king who relies on cavalry rather than justice leads his people back into the darkness of sin, which Egypt signifies, and the people follow his example into ruin.

Spiritually, then, the meaning is this. A king who leads his people back into Egypt, relying on the size of his cavalry rather than on justice — since it is in pride that you would establish what horses signify, namely the darkness of sins, which Egypt hints at — leads the people under his authority by his own example, just as that distinguished poet Claudius says:✦12

The People Follow the Prince's Example

The world is shaped by the king's example more powerfully than by decrees, and the fickle crowd imitates whatever it sees its ruler pursuing.

The world is shaped according to the example of the King, and in this way decrees are not strong enough to bend human feelings as much as the life of the ruler. The common crowd is always fickle, shifting as the prince shifts. Indeed, each one of us strives to give himself back to his own magistrate, and that is what he gladly pursues—whatever sphere he sees another distinguishing himself in.34

The King of France Sealed by Grace

The French king, healed by God and marked with the cross, set forth like another Constantine in humility; the crusaders were led by the Holy Spirit to victory at Memphis, but the land was soon flooded with sin.

But if these words are taken at face value, you can see, most merciful Lord, that the time has come to repeat what was said above. Let future generations therefore know that the Lord visited my lord the king of France in a desperate illness, and sealed him with the sign of the life-giving cross, so that he might raise his banner among the nations far off.✦5 And that sign turned to good, as the subsequent effect of restored health made clear.6 And as the king set out on his journey, having said farewell to the assembled church, the clergy of Paris could see in him another Constantine — not one raised up on a mountain of pride, but one crucified in heart, marked on his shoulder, diminished in outward bearing, carrying in his hands the wood of the Lord's cross, and out of reverence for the grace of the Lord that followed him.78 The crusaders, exposed to the waves of the sea and heading for another port, were met by an unexpected harbor; and the Holy Spirit led the Christian army into the city of Memphis without the usual shedding of blood in battle, as it is written: "Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and turn the backs of kings, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut."✦910 "I will go before you and humble the great ones of the earth."✦11 For just as the Canaanite army once trembled before the children of Israel, when one pursued a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight,✦12 But cursed lying, theft, and adultery flooded the land, and blood touched blood.✦13

Ungrateful Crusaders and Divine Wrath

Swollen with victory and ungrateful for grace, the crusaders returned to their sins like dogs to vomit; the Lord turned grace to wrath, and Jeremiah's prophecy against Egypt was fulfilled as they perished by sword, famine, and plague.

Swollen with victory and ungrateful for grace — they who had chosen to serve the One to serve whom is to reign — they have returned to their vomit, foaming out their own lusts and proclaiming their own shame like Sodom, enemies of the cross of Christ, when they ought to have been counted as his own household.✦✦✦ From the hand of the Lord they received the wages of their error, as was fitting — the Lord who rejected the tabernacle at Shiloh, who gave a bill of divorce to the old Synagogue, and who chose to live no longer with them.✦✦ For the Lord of vengeance chose to overlook their sins no longer.✦✦ So suddenly, because of the people's irreverence, grace was turned to wrath, calm to storm, providence to judgment, refreshment to affliction, mercy to vengeance. What more need be said? The prophecy of Jeremiah has been fulfilled against those who dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Memphis and in the land of Phatres. There, after their crimes are recounted, it is added: 'I will punish the inhabitants of the land of Egypt as I punished Jerusalem — with sword, with famine, and with plague. None will escape, none will survive from among the remnant who go to sojourn in the land of Egypt. They will not return, except for those who flee.'✦ You spoke, Lord, and it was done.✦ For they were given over to the slaughter of the sword, tortured by famine, and wasted away by the plague of pestilential disease.✦✦

The Mournful Day of Defeat

On that dark day the enemy seized holy things; priests and soldiers fell, yet the king refused flight and chose to weep with his people, remaining fearless and confident in Christ's judgment.

Holy things were handed over to foreigners. On that mournful day, darker than any night, the enemy laid hands on everything precious.✦ Priests and soldiers fell by the sword. Dogs gathered, and with their crown set against the lord king — a king who refused to save himself by fleeing — but chose instead to weep with those who wept, and together with the people under his care, rushed into prison or death like the force of a whirlwind or the onrush of floodwaters.✦ But many waters could not extinguish love.✦ For in the time of necessity, what was truly in the man became clear, when he set forth faith as both his banner and his shield.✦ The grain of mustard seed was crushed so that it might reveal its power through being broken, so that it might stir the army to faith — even among many who were blaspheming.✦ The king's face did not grow pale at Christ's judgment; his blood did not freeze; his hair did not stand on end; his voice did not stick in his throat from a troubled mind. No — he was fearless, more confident than usual, and lost nothing of his royal dignity and standing.

The King's Fearlessness and God's Mercy

Like Moses before Pharaoh, the king did not fear the enemy's fury; God showed mercy by freeing him through the Sultan's death, and his affliction served to correct his sins, edify others, and reveal his virtue.

Against him, threats meant nothing, and the drawn sword they wielded meant nothing — just as we read of Moses, he did not fear the king's fury.1415 I would pursue these things more openly, but modesty holds me back. But look: God has not forgotten how to show mercy, nor has he held back his mercies in his anger.✦ For once the king was handed over to the plunderers for a short time in the camp of the pagans, a spirit of dissension broke out, the Sultan was killed, and the lord king with all the Christians — as it pleased the Lord — was freed from the hands of the pagans.16 And let no one measure a person's worth by fortune, or victory by chance. Let them hear that the same things happen to the good and the wicked alike, and that the Lord scourges both the just and the unjust — but the unjust with the cruel blow of an enemy, in savage indignation; the just, however, if the person is outstanding, so that they may correct their own transgressions, so that by their example they may deter others, so that their virtue may become known, so that affliction may grant understanding leading to caution, and that caution may lead to glory and a crown.✦17 But if the person holds public office, they are generally scourged for the sins of the people — alas!18 Just as the head is afflicted because of the sickness of the limbs, so temporal punishment is inflicted on kings and princes because of the offenses of the people.19 For —20 .21

Israel's Leaders Punished for the People's Sin

The people of Israel fornicated with Midianite women and their leaders were hung on gibbets; Moses himself was barred from the Promised Land because of the people's guilt.

. The people of Israel commit fornication with the Midianite women, and because of it the leaders are ordered to be hung up on gibbets in the sun. Moses does not enter the land of promise, the occasion having been raised because of the guilt of the people.

Victory Belongs to Christ Alone

A king must not trust in cavalry numbers, for Christ's army conquers only by holding fast to Christ; the land that God redeemed with his own blood must be set free from unbelievers forever.

A king will not, then, lead the people back into Egypt, relying on cavalry numbers, because victory for Christ's soldiers is not given through a multitude of armed men or through the valor of those who fight. But in the Lord of virtues the Christian army conquers and will conquer, if it holds fast to Christ. Yours is the power, yours is the kingdom, Lord, so that in devotion of heart and eagerness of spirit the true Catholic may confess and say: Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. Did the sons of Israel possess the land by their own sword, and not rather because the Lord sold them out and the Lord delivered them up? May he himself, therefore, set free that land which the Son of God chose as his inheritance, where he willed to be born in time, which he made bright with his miracles, instructed with his warnings, and reddened with his own blood — set it free from the yoke of unbelievers, who live and reign forever and ever.

Read the original Latin

Sequitur in regula regum : Nec reducet populum in Egyptum, equitatus numero subie vatus. Libet hoc litteraliter et spiritualiter declarare.

Spiritualiter quidem sic. Rex in Egyptum reducit populum, sublevatus equitatus, non aequitatis, numero, cum in superbia constituais, quod equi significant ', ad tenebras peccatorum, quod Egiptus innuit, subditum sibi populum suo ducit exemple Sicut egregius ille Claudius versificator ait :

Componitur orbis Régis ad exemplum, nec sic inflectere sensus Humanos edicta valent quam vita regentis. Mobile mutatur semper cum principe vulgus.

Magistratui siquidem suo se reddere studet unusquisque conformera, et illud libenter appétit in quo alium cernit illustrem.

Si vero haec verba litteraliter exponantur, videtis clementissime domine, quod oportunitas nacta est ut haec a superioribus repetantur. Sciât igitur aetas postuma quod dominum meum regem Franciae in aegritudine desperata Dominus visitavit, et vivificae crucis signaculo consignavit, ut levaret signum in nationibus procul. Et factum est signum illud in bonum, sicut subsecutae sanitatis eftectus ostendit. Et in procinctu itineris valefacto ecclesiae congregatae, videre potuit clerus Parisiensis alterum Constantinum, non in monte superbiae sublevatum, sed crucifixum corde, signatum in humero, minoratum habitu, gestantem in manibus dominicae crucis lignum, et pro reverentia successif gratia Domini. Crucesignatos fluctibus maris expositos alio tendentes portus inopinatus excepit, et christia nura exercitum sine consueta bellorum sanguinis efmsione Spiritus Sanctus in civitatem Mempheos introduxit, sicut scriptum est : Haec dicit Dominus christo meo Cyro, cujus apprehendi dexteram ut subiciam ante faciem ejus gentes, et dorsa regum vertam et aperiam coram eo januas, et portae non claudentur. Ego ante te ibo, et gloriosos terrae humiliabo. Sicut enim olim ante filios Israël tremebat concio Chananaea, quando persequebatur unus mille et duo fugabant X milia. Sed maledictum mendacium, furta, adulteria, inundaverunt, et sanguis sanguinem tetigit.

Insolescentes prae Victoria et ingrati pro gratia, qui servitium ejus elegerant cui servire regnare est, ad vomitum sunt reversi, suas despumantes libidines et sua flagitia sicut Sodoma praedicantes, inimici crucis Christi, cujus videbantur esse debere domestici. Mercedem erroris prout oportuerat de manu Domini, qui repulit tabernaculum Sylo, qui libellum repudii dédit veteri Synagogae, maie vivere receperunt. Nam ulterius dissimulare noluit Dominus ultionum. Subito igitur pro plebis irreverentia gratia comutatur in iracundiam, serenitas in tempestatem, dispensatio in judicium, refrigerium in vexationem, clementia in vindictam. Quid plura ? Compléta est praedicatio Jheremiae ad eos qui habitabant in terra Egypti, in Memphis et in terra Phatures, ubi, commemoratis eorum sceleribus, subinfertur : Visitabo habitatores terrae Egipti sicut visitavi super Jherusalem in gladio, et in famé, et in peste, et non erit qui efïugiat, et sit residuus de reliquis eorum qui vadunt ut peregrinentur in terra Egipti, nec revertentur nisi qui fugerint. Dixisti, Domine, et facta sunt. Nam et in occisione gladii dati sunt, famé cruciati, peste inguinaria lacesciti.

Sancta in manibus exterorum data sunt in illa die lugubri quae facta est tenebrosior omni nocte, quando manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia. Sacerdotes et milites in gladio ceciderunt, convenere canes, et eorum stante corona in dominum regem, qui fugae praesidio saluti consulere noluit, sed flere cum fientibus maluit, et cum sibi subdito populo in carcerem vel in mortem ire, vice turbinis aut impetu aquarum inundantium, irruerunt. Sed aquae multae non potuerunt extinguere caritatem. Nam tempore necessitatis quid esset in homine claruit dum fidei titulum et scutum opposuit. Contritum est granum synapis ut ostenderet ex contritione virtutem, ut animaret ad fidem exercitum in personis pluribus blasphe-, mantem. Non expaluit ad Christi judicium regis faciès, non sanguis congelatus est, non riguere comae, non mente turbata faucibus vox adhaesit, sed intrepidus et solito longe securior nihil omnino de statu regiae dignitatis amisit.

Nihil in eo minae, nihil exerti gladii potuerunt, et sicut de Moyse legitur, non est veritus animositatem regis.

Ecce liquidius ista persequerer, sed verecundia me cohercet. Sed ecce, non est oblitus misereri Deus, nec continuit in ira misericordias suas. Nam dato rege in partem praedantium ad brève, in castris gentilium spiritus dissentionis exoritur, Soldanus occiditur, dominus rex cum omnibus christianis, sicut Domino placuit, de gentilium manibus liberatur. Et ne quis metiatur ex fortuna personam, ex casu victoriam, audiat quoniam eadem bonis et malis eveniunt, et flagellât Dominus justum et impium, sed impium plaga inimici, indignatione crudeli ; justum vero, si persona fuerit singularis, ut excessus proprios corrigat, ut alios exemplo suo deterreat, ut virtus ejus innotescat, ut vexatio intellectum tribuat ad cautelam, et cautela ejus cedat ad gloriam et coronam. Si vero persona publica fuerit, plerumque pro peccatis populi IO fiagellatur. Sic pro membrorum aegritudine caput affligitur, sic pro delictis populi poena temporalis regibus et principibus irrogatur. Nam . .

.

populus Israël cum Madianitis mulieribus fornicatur, et contra solem principes in patibulis suspendi jubentur. Non ingreditur Moyses terrain promissionis suscitata occasione, ex reatu plebis.

Non reducet ergo rex populum in Egyptum, equitatus numero sublevatus, quia non in multitudine armatorum, nec in virtute pugnantium datur Victoria Christi militibus. Sed in Domino virtutum vincit et vincet si Christo inhaeserit exercitus christianus. Tua est potentia, tuum regnum, Domine, ut in devotione cordis et alacritate spiritus verus catholicus confiteatur et dicat : Christus vincit, Christus régnât, Christus imperat. Numquid filii Israël in gladio suo possederunt terram, et non magis quia Dominus vendidit eos et Dominus couclusit illos ? Terram igitur illam quam in haereditatem sibi Dei Filius elegit, ubi et nasci temporaliter voluit, quam suis miraculis illustravit, monitis informavit, sanguine proprio rubicavit, Ipse liberet a jugo infidelium, qui vivit et régnât in saecula saeculorum.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Deut.17.16 — Only, he must not multiply horses for himself, and he must not send the people back to Egypt in order to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, 'You must never go back that way again.'
  2. ↩Deut.17.16 — Only, he must not multiply horses for himself, and he must not send the people back to Egypt in order to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, 'You must never go back that way again.'
  3. ↩Isa.5.26;Isa.13.2 — And he will raise a signal for the nations from far off, and whistle for them from the end of the earth; and behold, swiftly, lightly they will come. Isa.13.2 — Raise a banner on a bare hilltop; lift your voice to them; wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
  4. ↩Isa.45.1-Isa.45.3 — Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: Isa.45.2 — I will go before you and level the exalted places; doors of bronze I will shatter, and bars of iron I will cut through. Isa.45.3 — And I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, the God of Israel.
  5. ↩Isa.45.2 — I will go before you and level the exalted places; doors of bronze I will shatter, and bars of iron I will cut through.
  6. ↩Deut.32.30 — How could one pursue a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them over?
  7. ↩Hos.4.2 — Cursing and lying, murder and stealing and adultery have broken out, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.
  8. ↩Prov.26.11 — As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
  9. ↩2Pet.2.22 — It has happened to them according to the true proverb: 'A dog returns to its own vomit,' and 'A sow, after washing herself, returns to wallowing in the mud.'
  10. ↩Phil.3.18 — For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ—I have often told you, and now I say it again with tears.
  11. ↩Ps.78.60 — He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among mankind.
  12. ↩Jer.3.8 — I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet treacherous Judah her sister was not afraid, but she also went and played the harlot.
  13. ↩Nah.1.2 — A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; the LORD is avenging and full of wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and he reserves wrath for his enemies.
  14. ↩Ps.94.1 — O God of vengeance, LORD, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
  15. ↩Jer.44.13-Jer.44.14 — I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem—by sword, by famine, and by pestilence. Jer.44.14 — So there will be no survivor or fugitive left among the remnant of Judah who have come to take refuge in the land of Egypt, and who long to return to the land of Judah — those who lift up their souls to return and dwell there — for none shall return except the fugitives.
  16. ↩Ps.33.9 — For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
  17. ↩Jer.44.13 — I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem—by sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
  18. ↩Ezek.14.19-Ezek.14.21 — Or if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it human and beast— Ezek.14.20 — even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it—as I live, declares the Lord GOD—they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they alone would be delivered by their righteousness. Ezek.14.21 — For thus says the Lord God: Even when I send my four dreadful judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—against Jerusalem, to cut off from it man and beast,
  19. ↩Lam.1.10 — The enemy has spread his hand over all her precious things, for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary — those you commanded were not to enter your assembly.
  20. ↩Rom.12.15 — Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
  21. ↩Song.8.7 — Many waters cannot quench love, and rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly despised.
  22. ↩Eph.6.16 — In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
  23. ↩Matt.13.31-Matt.13.32 — He put before them another parable, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field." Matt.13.32 — It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.
  24. ↩Ps.77.9 — Has God utterly ceased to be gracious? Has his compassion come to an end? Has he spoken once and for all to generation after generation?
  25. ↩Matt.5.45 — so that you may become sons of your Father who is in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩constituais: form uncertain, possibly 2nd sg. present subjunctive or scribal variant of constituas; translated as 'you would establish' to reflect a subjunctive force.
  2. 2 ↩exemple: medieval Latin ablative for exemplum; rendered as 'by his own example.'
  3. 3 ↩The word conformera is uncertain—possibly a variant or corruption of conformo ('to shape or fashion after a pattern'). The sense seems to be that each person molds or directs himself toward the authority figure he's meant to answer to.
  4. 4 ↩The phrase se reddere magistratui suo ('give himself back to his own magistrate') carries a layered sense: yielding, rendering oneself, or returning oneself to proper authority. The translation keeps that weight without over-interpreting.
  5. 5 ↩vivificae crucis signaculo — 'the sign of the life-giving cross,' a phrase evoking baptismal/seal imagery applied to the king's healing.
  6. 6 ↩eftectus is a normalized correction of a typo for effectus.
  7. 7 ↩alterum Constantinum — 'another Constantine,' comparing the French king to the first Christian emperor, but contrasting worldly triumph with cruciform humility.
  8. 8 ↩successif is a normalized reading; the manuscript form may reflect a variant spelling of successivae/successive.
  9. 9 ↩efmsione is a normalized correction for effusione (shedding). christia nura is a normalized reading of an abbreviated form for Christiana [exercitus].
  10. 10 ↩The king of France is typologically identified with Cyrus, God's anointed instrument, from Isaiah 45:1.
  11. 11 ↩Continuation of the Isaiah 45 prophecy, likely echoing Isaiah 45:2 or a related divine-speech formula.
  12. 12 ↩The reference is to Deuteronomy 32:30 — 'How could one pursue a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight?' — applied to the crusaders' divinely aided victory.
  13. 13 ↩sanguis sanguinem tetigit — 'blood touched blood,' an echo of Hosea 4:2 (Vulgate), describing a land overwhelmed by violence and sin.
  14. 14 ↩Allusion to Moses before Pharaoh (cf. Exodus). The comparison likens the king's courage under threat to Moses standing undaunted before the Egyptian ruler.
  15. 15 ↩Animositas rendered 'fury' to capture the force of royal wrath; alternatives considered: 'anger,' 'wrath.'
  16. 16 ↩dato rege in partem praedantium: the ablative absolute frames the king's capture as a divine permission, not mere misfortune — theologically significant for the chapter's argument about God's governance of rulers
  17. 17 ↩the string of purpose clauses (ut...ut...ut...ut) presents suffering as purposive for the just: correction, public example, revelation of virtue, growth in understanding, and ultimately glory — a compressed theodicy of affliction for leaders
  18. 18 ↩IO: the exclamation is textually uncertain (low confidence 0.7); it may be a marginal gloss that entered the text. Rendered as 'alas' to preserve the emotional force, but the reading remains doubtful
  19. 19 ↩the body metaphor (caput/membra) frames the ruler's suffering as organically connected to the people's sin — the head suffers not for its own ailment but for the limbs, a corporate theology of political suffering
  20. 20 ↩the text as given is a fragment: 'Nam .' with no continuation. The neighboring context (section 10) begins with a period. This appears to be a lacuna or a truncated sentence in the source
  21. 21 ↩the text as given is a bare period with no content. This appears to be a placeholder or lacuna in the source

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