‘In the first place, our king and sovereign lord is bounden particularly by the commands of God, to whom he cannot be disobedient without sinning, to execute judgment, according to the words of Jeremiah in the chapter before mentioned,--‘In memetipso juravi, dicit Dominus, quia in solitudine erit domus vestra.’ And this is conformable to the reply made by St Remy to king Clovis when he baptised him. The king asked him how long the kingdom of France would endure. The saint answered, that it would last so long as justice should reign there. The converse of which is, that when justice shall cease to be administered, the kingdom will fall. To the king therefore may be applied what is written in the canon law, ‘Quod justitia est illud quod suum firmat imperium.’
‘O, duke of Acquitaine! thou art he who, after the king, art bound to do justice according to the words of the Psalmist, ‘Deus judicium tuum regi da et justitiam tuam filio regis.’ Thou art the eldest son to the king, to whom, by the grace of God, thou wilt succeed, and be our lord: attend to our case for the love of God, for to thee more particularly does it belong; and if thou dost not lay thy hand on it, when thou shalt come to reign, thou mayest find thy kingdom desolate and destroyed,--for each will in his turn seize parts of it, and be the master, should this atrocious crime remain unpunished.
‘Ye also, my lords, princes, dukes and counts of the royal blood, relations of the late duke, and ye other nobles, who have an affection for the king’s crown and honour, what ought to be your conduct on this occasion? Why, certainly, if the king will not interfere in this matter, ye ought to take up the business and execute judgment; for ye are bound by oath to guard and defend the king’s honour against all who may infringe upon it. This ye have done in former times, through God’s grace, and for which this kingdom has gained greater glory than any other realm in Christendom: insomuch that the English, the Germans, and other foreigners, have come hither to seek for justice.
‘My lords, for the love of God, let your loyalty burst forth, according to your oaths, in behalf of my lady of Orleans, as she has the fullest confidence it will; for, after God and the king, you are her only refuge. Let no one fear to do justice, from the scandal or persecution that may ensue, for it is a maxim of law, ‘Utilius est scandalum nasci ac permitti, quam ut veritas relinquatur,’--although it were certain the doing justice in this case would cause much grievous persecution to ensue. Yet for all this justice should not be neglected; for in that case you would be indeed reproachable, if, through fear of the offender, you shall not dare to decree justice. On no occasion should justice be neglected: therefore, my lords, act according to what the prophet says, ‘Viriliter agite, et confortetur cor vestrum et sustinete Dominum.’