Part 4: Elvis: The Book of the King, in King James English

THE BOOK OF THE KING, IN KING JAMES ENGLISH: BOOK FOUR: ROMANS

Chapter 1

1     Now after that Caesar was murdered - for he was slain by Roman senators who struck him with knives twenty and three times -

2     Augustus became leader of Rome, and again sent legions into the Barbarian lands.

3     But they went not unto the island as Caesar had done, but instead into the land to the South and East of the Isle, wherein the Barbarians were much rebellious - the very land of the forefathers of the king.

4     And the Barbarians spake saying, We can not stand against the Romans face to face, as they are many.

5     But perchance we may deceive them to their harm.

6     Then sent they one of their princes unto the Roman leader saying, Suffer me to guide thee, and I shall deliver all the other princes into thy hands - if thou wilt but make me king of my own people.

7     And another Barbarian among the Romans told the leader, saying, Set no faith in this man, for he seeketh thy harm.

8     But the Roman would not listen to him, saying, Art not thou of the Barbarians as well as he? Why should I trust thee and not he? And so the man said, Thence I say unto thee, I wash my hands of this matter. Thy blood is on thine own hands.

9    Then the Roman legions began to follow the prince into the Barbarian lands, and they put their faith wholly in him, and he learned their ways, and how they might be defeated.

10   And he spake unto the Roman leader saying, If thou now goest not by the broad road, but by the narrow, thy march shall not be long, but quick - and our enemy shall be caught not aware.

11   And the Roman leader spake saying, Guide on.   

12   And the prince led them through a forest of oak.

13   And when they came to where the way was the most narrow, between a hill and and much water,

14   The prince gave a signal and the Barbarians that lay in wait fell upon the Roman Soldiers

15   And slaughtered them with a great slaughter,

16   As the Romans had always done unto the Barbarians.

17   For in their time the Roman Legions had slain a thousand times a thousand Barbarians

18   And made slaves of a thousand times a thousand more.

19   And now slew the Barbarians the Romans for three days.

20   And the number of soldiers slain was nigh fifteen thousand... some being burned upon altars.

21   And the Roman leader seeing his defeat, fell on his sword, as did all of the officers -

22   For never had Roman Legions been so defeated - for one in ten of all Roman soldiers in the empire died those three days.

23   And word went forth to Rome that for the first time had the Barbarians been the victor.

24   And the very gates of Rome were shut, the people knowing not if the Barbarians would now soon come into the very city.

24   And word went forth to all the Barbarians, that for the first time three mighty Roman Legions had fallen before them.

25   And now knew they the Romans were not gods.

26   But men such as they themselves.

Chapter 2

1     Then it came to pass that after six years Rome again sent legions into the land of those Barbarians.

2     And they found the bones of their fellow soldiers still lying in the forest

3     and their skulls nailed onto the trees therein.

4     And their hearts were hardened against the Barbarians.

5    Then sought they the prince who had betrayed them,

6     but lo, he was already dead at the hand of his own family.

Chapter 3

1  And the Romans pushed forth into these lands

2   Until the Barbarians would suffer them to go no more.

3   And there across the land the Romans built seventy and five forts and many great walls of earth, and kept as well a great river between themselves and their enemy, suffering no bridges across the water

4   So that the Barbarians could not enter the land which had been taken from them.

5   But the Barbarians waited with patience for the day

6   When they could regain their lost lands.

7   And never did the Romans conquer this whole land -

8   The land of the forefathers of the king.

End of Part Four.

To Go to Part Five please click on the following link:

http://my.nowpublic.com/strange/part-five-elvis-book-king-king-james-english

To Return to the Introduction and List of Current Chapters, use the following link:

http://my.nowpublic.com/strange/unique-elvis-book-being-published-internet-one-chapter-weekly

Writer's Blog for Part Four:

Most of us are lucky if we know who our ancestors are for just a few generations back. But we all have ancestors that we know nothing about, going back to the first days of mankind.

And if we think about those people at all, we feel that they probably weren't as smart as we are.

That's wrong. They were just as smart as we are... but they did not have what we have.  For what we have all came gradually unto us, not all at once.

But the people themselves were just as smart as we are... and they lived their lives as we do, one day at a time, doing the best with what they had at the time.

And they died as we do, too.  Sometimes suddenly, just as happens to some of us.

But we do not know their stories... but only in broad terms... such as so and so's ancestors were French - as some of my own were - or German, as some of Elvis' were.

But these were living, loving, working, people.

The more famous a person is of course, the more we know not only about him or her, but of their ancestors.

Take this little piece of information for example. Julius Caesar's father died suddenly one morning... while tieing his shoe.

Caesar was only sixteen at the time... and had to take over being the man of the family.

Tragedy helped to create the man he became.  The tragedy of a father dying, while just tieing his shoe.

There are incredible stories in the past, a few that we know - but most we will never know.

I'm trying to take the reader quickly on a journey through Elvis' distant past, showing how his forefather's never surrendered to authority...

And show you that those days were very real.  And the people who lived them felt them fully.

They felt fear of the Roman War Machine... and overcame that fear.

And were not overcome by the Romans permanently.

Those are charachter traits of the Presley's. They were poor... but overcame.

To me, the journey of this book is worth the labor.

I have learned more about the past this week alone, than is worth much in gold or silver.

I know that we didn't just arrive where we are at from nowhere.

Everything has led up to this moment...

where I write this and you read it.

And all of us are changed ever so slightly in the process.

Knowing more about how not only Elvis got to be where he was...

but how we got here as well.

Will Bevis