Cormac then asked of Flahari why he had suffered himself to be
brought into this trouble. "I did so," said Flahari, "to prove the
four counsels which my father gave them ere he died, and I have proved
them and found them to be wise. In the first place, it is not wise for
any man that is not a king to take the fosterage of a king's son, for
if aught shall happen to the lad, his own life is in the king's hands
and with his life he shall answer for it. Secondly, the keeping of a
secret, said my father, is not in the nature of women in general,
therefore no dangerous secret should be entrusted to them. The third
counsel my father gave me was not to raise up or enrich the son of a
serf, for such persons are apt to forget benefits conferred on them,
and moreover it irks them that he who raised them up should know the
poor estate from which they sprang. And good, too, is the fourth
counsel my father gave me, not to entrust my treasure to my sister,
for it is the nature of most women to regard as spoil any valuables
that are entrusted to them to keep for others."
VII
THE JUDGMENT CONCERNING CORMAC'S SWORD
When Cormac, son of Art, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles, was High
King in Erinn, great was the peace and splendour of his reign, and no
provincial king or chief in any part of the country lifted up his
head against Cormac.
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