Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.
Ver. 20. Curse not the king, no not in thy thought.] Or, In thy conscience; but in this or any other kind,
“Turpe quid acturus, te sine teste time.” - Auson.
The present government is ever grievous, and nothing more usual than to grudge against it; a but take heed of wishing hurt to rulers (thought is not free), much more of uttering it, though in hugger mugger. Kings have long ears, heavy hands; walls also and hedges have ears. Some may overhear thee, as Mordecai did the two traitors, Est 2:22 or thou mayest unwittingly and unwillingly betray thyself, as our gunpowder plotters.
That which hath wing, &c.] It was a quill, a piece of a wing, that discovered that hellish plot. Wilful murder and treason will out by one means or other. Those two traitors sent by Mohammed to kill Scanderbeg, falling out between themselves, let fall something that brought all to light and themselves to punishment. b The like befell that gentleman of Normandy that confessed to a priest his intent to have killed King Francis. c
a ' Aει το παρον, βαπυ - Thucyd.
b Turkish History, fol. 460.
c French History.