Meditations on the Supper of our Lord and the Hours of the Passion, by Cardinal John Bonaventura the Seraphic Doctor. Drawn into English verse by Robert Manning of Brunne. (About 1315-1330.) Edited ... with introduction and glossary by J. Meadows Cowper |
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The medytacyun of syxte oure of none.
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 | Meditations on the Supper of our Lord |  |
The medytacyun of syxte oure of none.
Thenk now, man, how hyt ys downYn þe oure of syxte of none.
Beholde þe peynes of þy sauyour,
And crucyfye þyn herte with grete dolour.
Whan he to caluarye mounte was broȝt,
Beholde what werkmen þere wykkedly wroȝt:
Some dyggen, sum deluyn, sum erþe oute kast,
Some pycchen þe cros yn þe erþe fast;
On euery syde sum laddres vpp sette,
Sum renne aftyr hamers, some nayles fette;
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Hys cloþys cleuyn on hys swete body;
Þey rente hem of as þey were wode:
Hys body aȝen ran alle on blode.
A! with what sorow hys modyr was fedde,
Whan she say hym so naked and alle bled!
Fyrþer more, þan gan she to seche,
And say þat þey had left hym no breche.
She ran þan þurgh hem, and hastyly hyde,
And with here kercheues hys hepys she wryde.
She wulde do more, but she ne myȝt,
For fersly here swete sone ys from her plyȝt.
To þe cros fote þey drowe hym hyyng.
Se now þe maner of crucyfyyng.
Twey laddres ben sette þe cros behynde,
Twey enmyes on hem smartly gun glymbe,
With hamers and nayles sharply whet:
A shorte ladder before was fet.
Þere as þe fete shorte weren,
Beholde þys syȝte with ruly teren,
Cryst Ihesu hys body vpp stey,
By þat short ladder, þat cros an hy;
Withoute ȝenseyyng he gan vp wende,
And whan he com to þe laddres ende,
Toward þe cros hys bak he layde,
And hys real armes oute he dysplayde;
Hys fayre handys oute he streyȝte,
And to þe crucyfyers oute he reyȝte;
And to hys fadyr he kast hys yen,
And seyd, “here am y, fadyr myn:
Vnto þys cros þou mekest me,
Me for mankynde y offre to þe;
My breþren and sustryn þou hast made hem;
For my loue, fadyr, beþ mercyable to hem;
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And graunte hem blys with vs for to lyue:
Derwurþe fadyr, saue alle mankynne,
Lo here y am offred for here synne.”
Whyle he þus preyd yn hys herte,
The too Iew a nayle yn hys hand gerte,
Þe touþer þey drowe tyl þe veynes braste,
And nayled þe touþer hand þer fyne faste.
Anone þey com down with alle here gere,
And alle þe laddres þan remouede were.
Beholde, man, now a grete angwys!
For by þe armes hys body alle hangys.
To hys fete anone þan þey straked,
Þey haled hem harde, tyl þe cros kraked;
Alle þe ioyntes þan brasten atwynne.
A, Ihesu! why suffrest þou þus for oure synne!
Hys fete þey nayled as tree to lede;
Þan myȝt nat he moue more but hys hede.
Beholde þese nayles beren alle hys lemes,
Loke, alle aboute hym renne blody stremes.
He suffred sorowes byttyr and fele,
Mo þan any tunge may rede or telle.
Betwene þeues tweyn þey hange hym yn samen,
A, what wrong, what peyne, & also what shamen!
Some dyspyseþ hys lore, and seyþ,
“Fy! þat goddes temple dystroyþ!”
Sum seyþ, “saue þy selfe, ȝyf þou kunne;
Com adowne, ȝyf þou be goddes sone.”
Also þe Iewes, þat crucyfyed hym,
Þe cloþes of hym þey parted atwynne.
Sum seyd, “ouþer coude he weyl saue,
But now hym owne self may he nat saue.”
Þus whyl hys modyr þe cros stant nye,
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A! here sorow, here angwys, here pyne,
Y may sum þenk, but nat alle seyn;
Truly yn herte she ys crucyfyed,
Ful feyn for sorow she wulde ha deyd.
Here sones peyne was eke moche þe more,
Þat he here peynes say be so sore;
And to hys fadyr stylly he pleynes:
“Fadyr! seest þou nat my modyr peynes?
On þys cros she ys with me,
Y shulde be crucyfyed, and nat she;
My crucyfyyng suffyseþ for alle mankynne,
For now y bere alle here synne;
Yn to þy kepyng y here betake,
Derwurþe fadyr, here peynes þou slake.”
Also she preyde, with byttyr wepyng,
And seyd, “my fadyr, euer lastyng,
Shal my dere sone deye algate?
Hym now for to saue me þenkeþ to late.
Se, fadyr, what angwys now yn hym ys,
Y prey þe sumdele hys peyne þou lys.”
By here stant Iohne, and maryes þre,
Iacobe, maudeleyn, and cleophe.
Wundyr ys to telle what sorowe þey make,
For here swete mayster ys from hem take.
| Meditations on the Supper of our Lord | |