Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte Edited from the Fairfax MS. 16 (Bodleian) and the additional MS. 29,729 (Brit. Mus.) by Ernst Sieper |
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Her sheweth thauctour, how venus repleyed ageyn. |
 | Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte |  |
Her sheweth thauctour, how venus repleyed ageyn.
“My frend,” quod she, “I the ensure,How that I and eke nature
Be so ful of oon accorde
That ther may be no discorde
Fynally atwene vs two,
In no thing, what so we do,
For I am guyed by hir reyne,
And she as lady souereyne,
And I mynistre hir to serve,
Fully her byddyng to ob[s]erve,
Humble of port and eke of chere,
Louly as hir chamburere,
By goddys disposicion
Ordeyned, by comyssion,
To be next hir, in special,
In hir paleys principal.
And thus, by goddys ordynaunce,
Vnder natures obeysaunce,
I stonde hir lustes to obey,
And shal neuer dysobey
To serven hir[e] to plesaunce.
And touching eke our aqueyntaunce,
Who that kan the trouth espye,
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Dyssendyd eke of oon kynrede,
As men may in bookys rede.
I take recorde of thise clerkys,
That the forge of al hir werkys,
Without[e] me, in certeyn,
Was nat maked but in veyn,
For but I put[te] to my cure
Hir forgyng myghte nat endure,
To hyr I am so knyt by bonde
Necessarie to hir honde.
I make redy alle thing
Pertynent to hir forgyng,
And pleynly, lyke to hir desire,
In hir forge I make the fire,
Ordeyn for hamer and for stith;
For she hath noon so crafty smyth,
With-out[e] me, that forgeth ought.
For which, my frende, dred the nought
Euery hour and euery space
After my weyes for to trace;
For I kan preven, in sentence,
By a maner consequence,
That nature And also I
Be conbyned so Iustly,
In al[le] weyes accordable,
That be in kynde resonable.
And sith I make the this offre,
Be war refuse nat my profre,
Sith that I hit do the to queme,
As thou maist thy selve deme;
And profre made to thy delyt,
Which concludeth to thy profyt,
Ne sholde nat, as semeth me,
To oft[e] sythe rehersed be;
For, by doctryne of the wyse,
Oones ought y-nowgh suffise.”
| Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte | |