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A Stanzaic Life of Christ

Compiled from Higden's Polychronicon and the Legenda Aurea

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Quarto velociter, quoniam tantum spacium in momento percurrit.

Also Crist stegh hastely
in one stounde so fer to go,
as Dauid in his prophecy
told before hit suld be so:

Exultauit vt gigas ad currendam &c.

But how fer he lepe ȝe schun se,
as the philosopher sais her,
Raby Moyses, leue ȝe me,
that writes of hit in this maner.

300

he sais, ‘seuen heuenes ther bien,
and seuen planetes eke also,
and vche planete a heuen betwene
as muche space as a mon wil go
‘of playne way in fiue hundret ȝer,
and space betwene vchone of tho
as muche as vche heuen that is cler,
of one widenes byn both two,
‘So that the space that betwene is
from heuen to heuen, as sais he,
of as grete widenes i-wis
as is vche heuen of quantite.
‘then seuen heuens to acompt
and seuen spaces hom betwene
to seuen thousand h[it wol] Amovnt,
ȝif thai trwle meten bene.
‘and for to reken wol oright
from middes of the vrthe her
to the heghchip and light
of the seuent boute wer,
‘the whiche Saturnes callet is,
seuen thousand hunderth and seuen space,
as muche as mon schulde go i-wis
in so long while and he hade grace.
‘and to acompt vche iovrne
to fourty mile of heuen way,
as vche mile, as leue ȝe me,
two thousand [cubitus] leue ȝe me,
‘And putte also to vche ȝer
thre hundreth dayes & sixte,’
thus haue I acomptet her
how hegh Crist lepe thurgh his merce.