The poems and fables of Robert Henryson :: :: University of Virginia Library

Quhen endit wer thir songis lamentable,
he tuk his harp and on his breist can hing,
Syne passit to the hevin, as sayis the fable,
To seik his wyfe, bot that welyeid no thing:
By wedlingis streit he went but tareing,
Syne come doun throw the speir of saturne ald,
Quhilk fadir is to all the stormis cald.

26

Quhen scho wes socht outhrow that cauld regioun,
Till Jupiter his grandschir can he wend,
quhilk rewit soir his Lamentatioun,
and gart his spheir be socht fro end to end;
Scho was nocht thair; and doun he can descend
Till mars, the god of battell and of stryfe,
and socht his spheir, yit gat he nocht his wyfe.

27

Than went he doun till his fadir phebus,
god of the sone, with bemis brycht and cleir;
bot quhen he saw his awin sone orpheuss
In sic a plicht, that changit all his cheir,
and gart annone ga seik throw all his spheir;
bot all in vane, his lady come nocht thair:
he tuk his leif and to venus can fair.

136

28

Quhen he hir saw, he knelit and said thuss:
‘wait ye nocht weill I am your awin trew knycht?
In luve none leler than schir orpheuss;
And ye of luve goddass, and most of micht,
of my lady help me to get a sicht.’
‘fforsur,’ quod scho, ‘ye mone seik nedirmair.’
Than fra venus he tuk his leif but mair.

29

Till mercury but tary is he gone,
quhilk callit is the god of eloquens,
bot of his wyfe thair gat he knawlege none.
with wofull hairt he passit doun frome thens;
on to the mone he maid no residens:
Thus from the hevin he went onto the erd,
Yit be the way sum melody he lerd.

30

In his passage amang the planeitis all,
he hard a hevinly melody and sound,
passing all instrumentis musicall,
causit be rollyn of the speiris round;
Quhilk armony of all this mappamound,
Quhilk moving seiss unyt perpetuall,
Quhilk of this warld pluto the saule can call.

31

Thair leirit he tonis proportionat,
as duplare, triplare, and emetricus,
enolius, and eik the quadruplait,
Epoddeus rycht hard and curius;
off all thir sex, sueit and delicius,
rycht consonant fyfe hevinly symphonyss
componyt ar, as clerkis can devyse.

32

ffirst diatesserone, full sueit, I wiss
And dyapasone, semple and dowplait,
And dyapenty, componyt with the dyss;
Thir makis fyve of thre multiplicat:
This mirry musik and mellefluat,
Compleit and full of nummeris od and evin,
Is causit be the moving of the hevin.

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33

Off sic musik to wryt I do bot doit,
Thairfoir of this mater a stray I lay,
For in my lyfe I cowth nevir sing a noit;
bot I will tell how orpheus tuk the way,
To seik his wyfe attour the gravis gray,
hungry and cauld, with mony wilsum wone,
Withouttin gyd, he and his harp allone.

34

he passit furth the space of twenty dayis,
fer and full fer, and ferrer than I can tell,
and ay he fand streitis and reddy wayis;
Till at the last unto the yet of hell
he come, and thair he fand a porter fell,
with thre heidis, wes callit serberus,
a hound of hell, a monstour mervellus.

35

Than orpheus began to be agast,
Quhen he beheld that ugly hellis hound;
he tuk his harp and on it playit fast,
Till at the last, throw sueitnes of the sound,
This dog slepit and fell doun on the ground;
Than orpheus attour his wame install,
and neddirmair he went, as ye heir sall.

36

He passit furth ontill a ryvir deip,
our it a brig, and on it sisteris thre,
quhilk had the entre of the brig to keip,
Electo, mygra, and thesaphone,
Turnit a quheill wes ugly for to se,
and on it spred a man hecht exione,
Rolland about rycht windir wo begone.

37

Than orpheus playd a Joly spring,
The thre susteris full fast thay fell on sleip,
The ugly quheill seisit of hir quhirling;
Thus left wes none the entre for to keip.
Thane exione out of the quheill gan creip,
And stall away; and orpheus annone,
Without stopping, atour the brig is gone.

138

38

Nocht far frome thyne he come unto a flude,
Drubly and deip, and rythly doun can rin,
Quhair tantelus nakit full thristy stude,
And yit the wattir yeid aboif his chin;
quhen he gaipit thair wald no drop cum In;
quhen he dowkit the watter wald discend;
Thus gat he nocht his thrist [to slake] no[r] mend.

39

Befoir his face ane naple hang also,
fast at his mowth upoun a twynid [threid],
quhen he gaipit, It rollit to and fro,
and fled, as it refusit him to feid.
Quhen orpheus thus saw him suffir neid,
he tuk his harp and fast on it can clink:
The wattir stud, and tantalus gat a drink.

40

Syne our a mure, with thornis thik and scherp,
Wepand allone, a wilsum way he went,
And had nocht bene throw suffrage of his harp,
With fell pikis he had bene schorne and schent;
As he blenkit, besyd him on the bent
he saw lyand speldit a wofull wycht,
nalit full fast, and titius he hecht.

41

And on his breist thair sat a grisly grip,
quhilk with his bill his belly throw can boir,
both maw, myddret, hart, lever, and trip,
he ruggit out—his panis was the moir.
Quhen orpheus thus saw him suffir soir,
he tuke his herp and maid sueit melody—
The grip is fled, and titius left his cry.

139

42

Beyond this mure he fand a feir full streit,
myrk as the nycht, To pass rycht dengerus,
ffor sliddreness skant mycht he hald his feit,
In quhilk thair wes a stynk rycht odiuss,
That gydit him to hiddouss hellis houss,
Quhair rodomantus and proserpina
Wer king and quene; and orpheus in can ga.

43

O dully place, [and] grundles deip dungeoun,
furness of fyre, and stink intollerable,
pit of dispair, without remissioun,
Thy meit wennome, Thy drink is pusonable,
Thy grit panis and to compte unnumerable;
Quhat creature cumis to dwell in the
Is ay deand, and nevirmoir sall de.

44

Thair fand he mony cairfull king and quene,
With croun on heid, with brass full birnand,
quhilk in thair lyfe full maisterfull had bene,
and conquerouris of gold, richess, and land.
hectore of troy, and priame, thair he fand;
and alexander for his wrang conqueist;
antiochus als for his foull incest.

45

And Julius cesar for his foull crewaltie;
and herod with his brudiris wyfe he saw;
and nero for his grit Iniquitie;
And pilot for his breking of the law;
Syne undir that he lukit, and cowth knaw
Cresus, that king none mychtiar on mold
ffor cuvatyse, yet full of birnand gold.

46

Thair saw he pharo, for the oppressioun
of godis folk on quhilk the plaigis fell;
and sawll, for the grit abusioun
Was Justice to the folk of Israell;
Thair saw he acob and quene Jesabell,
Quhilk silly nabot, that wes a propheit trew,
For his wyne yaird withouttin mercy slew.

140

47

Thair saw he mony paip and cardynall,
In haly kirk quhilk did abusioun,
and bischopis in thair pontificall,
Be symonie and wrang Intrusioun;
abbottis and all men of religioun,
ffor evill disponyng of thair place and rent,
In flame of fyre wer bittirly torment.

48

Syne neddirmair he went quhair pluto was,
and proserpyne, and hiddirwart he drew,
Ay playand on his harp quhair he cowth pass;
Till at the last erudices he knew,
Lene and deidlyk, and peteouss paill of hew,
Rycht warsche and wane, and walluid as the weid,
hir Lilly lyre wes lyk unto the leid.

49

Quod he, ‘my lady leill, and my delyt,
ffull wo is me to se yow changit thus;
quhair is your rude as ross with cheikis quhyte,
your cristell ene with blenkis amorus,
your Lippis reid to kiss delicius?’
quod scho, ‘as now I der nocht tell, perfay;
Bot ye sall wit the causs ane uthir day.’

50

Quod pluto, ‘schir, thocht scho be lyk ane elf,
Scho hes no causs to plenye, and for quhy?
Scho fairis alsweill daylie as dois my self,
or king herod for all his chevelry:
It is langour that putis hir in sic ply;
War scho at hame in hir cuntre of trace,
Scho wald rewert full sone in [fax] and face.’

141

51

Than orpheus befoir pluto sat doun,
And in his handis quhit his herp can ta,
And playit mony sueit proportioun,
With baiss tonis in Ipotdorica,
With gemilling in yporlerica;
quhill at the last for rewth and grit petie,
Thay weipit soir, that cowth him heir or se.

52

Than proserpene and pluto bad him ass
his waresoun—And he wald haif rycht nocht
Bot Licience with his wyfe away to pass
To his cuntre, that he so far had socht.
Quod proserpyne, ‘sen I hir hiddir brocht,
We sall nocht pairte without conditioun.’
Quod he, ‘thairto I mak promissioun.’

53

‘Euridices than be the hand thow tak,
and pass thi way, bot undirneth this pane:
Gife thow turnis or blenkis behind thy bak,
We sall hir haif to hell for evir agane.’
Thocht this was hard, yit orpheus was fane,
and on thay went, talkand of play and sport,
Till thay almost come to the outwart port.

54

Thus orpheus, with inwart lufe repleit,
So blindit was with grit effectioun,
pensyfe in hart apone his lady sueit,
Remembrit nocht his hard conditioun.
Quhat will ye moir? in schort conclusioun,
he blent bakwart, And pluto come annone,
And on to hell with hir agane is gone.

55

Allace! it wes grit pety for to heir
of orpheus the weping and the wo,
how his lady, that he had bocht so deir,
Bot for a luk so sone wes tane him fro.
flatlingis he fell, and micht no fordir go,
And Lay a quhyle in swoun and extasy;
Quhen he ourcome, this out of lufe gan cry:

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56

‘Quhat art thow, luve, how sall I the defyne?
Bittir and sueit, crewall and merciable,
plesand to sum, to uthir plent and pyne,
Till sum constant, to uthir wariable;
hard is thy law, thy bandis unbrekable;
Quho sservis the, thocht thay be nevir so trew,
Perchance sum tyme thay sall haif causs to rew.

57

‘Now find I weill this proverb trew,’ quod he,
‘“hart on the hurd, and handis on the soir;
Quhair Luve gois, on forss mone turne the E.”
I am expart, and wo is me thairfoir,
Bot for a Luke my lady is forloir.’
Thus chydand on with luve, our burne and bent,
A wofull wedo hamewart is he went.