The Minor Poems of John Lydgate edited from all available mss. with an attempt to establish The Lydgate Canon: By Henry Noble MacCracken |
 | I. |
 | II. |
|
|
|
[Narrative Poems.]
|
| 20. |
| 21. |
| 22. |
| 23. |
| 24. |
|
|
|
|
 | The Minor Poems of John Lydgate |  |
468
[Narrative Poems.]
20. THE CHURL AND THE BIRD.
Incipit de Aue & Rustico.
1
Problemys, liknessis & ffiguresWhich previd been fructuous of sentence,
And han auctoritees groundid on scriptures
Bi resemblaunces of notable apparence,
With moralites concludyng in prudence,—
Lik as the Bible reherseth bi writyng,
How trees somtyme ches hem-silf a kyng;
2
First in ther chois they namyd the OliveTo regne among hem, Iudicum doth expresse,
But he hym-silf gan excusen blyve,
He myht nat forsakyn his fatnesse;
Nor the Figge-tre hir amerous swetnesse;
469
Which yeuyth comfort to al maner ages.
3
And semblably poetes laureate,Bi dirk parables ful convenyent,
Feyne that briddis & bestis of estat—
As roial eglis & leones—bi assent
Sent out writtis to hold a parlement,
And maade decrees breffly for to sey,
Som to haue lordship, & som to obey.
4
Eglis in the ayer hihest to take ther fliht,Power of leones on the grounde is seene,
Ceedre of trees hihest is of sight,
And the Laurel of natur is ay grene,
Of floures all Flora, goddes & queene;
Thus of al thyng ther been dyuersites,
Some of estat, & som of lowe degrees.
5
Poetes write wondirful liknessis,And vndir covert kepte hem silf ful cloos;
Bestis thei take, & fowlis, to witnessis,
Of whoos feynyng fables first arroos;—
And heere I cast vnto my purpoos
Out of Frenssh a tale to translate,
Which in a paunflet I radde & sauh but late.
470
6
This tale, which I make of mencioun,In groos rehersid, pleynly to declare,
Thre proverbis paied for raunsoun
Of a fair bird that was take in a snare,
Wondir desirous to scape out of hir care:—
Of myn auctour folwyng the processe,
So as it fill, in ordre I shal expresse.
7
Whilom ther was [in] a smal village,—As my auctour makith rehersail—
A cherl which had[de] lust & gret corage
Withyne hymsilf, bi diligent travaile,
Tarray his gardeyn with notable apparaile,
Off lenghte & brede ilich[e] square & longe,
Hedgid & dichid to make it sewr & strong.
8
Al thaleys were made pleyn with sond,The benchis turved with newe turvis grene,
Sote herbis with condittes at the hond,
That wellid vp ageyn the sonne shene,
Lich siluer stremys, as any cristal cleene,
The burbly wawis in ther vp boylyng
Round as berel, ther bemys out shewyng.
471
9
Mid the gardeyn stood a fressh laurer,Theron a brid syngyng, bothe day & nyht,
With sonnyssh fetheris brihter than gold wer,
Which with hir song makith heuy hertis liht,
That to bihold it was an heuenly siht
How toward evyn & in the daw[e]nyng,
She did hir peyn most amorously to syng.
10
Esperus afforcid hir corage,Toward euyn, whan Phebus gan to weste,
Among the branchis for hir avauntage,
To syng hir complyn & than gon to reste,
And at the risyng of the Queene Alceste
To syng ageyn, as it was to hir dewe,
Erly on morwe the day-sterre to salewe.
11
It was a verray heuenly melodieEuen & morwe to here the briddis song,
And the soote sewgred armonye
Of vncouth warblis & tewnes drawe along,
That al the gardeyn of the noise rong,
Til on a morwe, that Titan shon ful cleere,
The brid was trappid & cauht in a panteere.
12
The cherl was glad that he this brid hath take,Mery of cheer, of look, and of visage,
And in al hast he cast[e] for to make
472
And with hir song to reioissh his corage;
Tyl atte last the cely bryd a-brayde,
And sobirly to the cherl [s]he saide:—
13
“I am now take & stonde vndir daungeer,Hold[e] streite, & I may nat flee;
Adieu my song & al my notis cleer
Now that I haue lost my liberte,
Now am I thral, and somtyme I was fre,
And trust weel now I stonde in distresse,
I can-nat syng, nor make no gladnesse.
14
“And thouh my cage forged were of gold,And the pynaclis of berel & cristall,
I remembre a prouerbe seid of old,
‘Who lesith his fredam, in soth, he lesith all;
For I haue leuer vpon a braunche small
Meryly to syng among the woodis grene,
Than in a cage of siluer briht and shene.
15
“Song & prisoun haue noon accordaunce,Trowistow I wole syngen in prisoun?
Song procedith of ioie & plesaunce,
And prisoun causith deth & destruccioun;
Ryngyng of ffeteris makith no mery soun;
Or how shold he be glad or iocounde,
Ageyn his wil that lith in cheynes bounde?
473
16
“What vaileth it a leon to be a kyngOff bestis all, shet in a tour of ston?
Or an egle vndir streite kepyng,
Callid also kyng of ffoules euerychon?
Fy on lordship whan liberte is gon!
Answer heer-to, & late it nat asterte,
Who syngith mery, that syngith nat of herte?
17
“But if thou wilt reioissh my syngyng,Late me go flee free fro [al] daungeer,
And euery day in the morwenyng
I shal repair vn-to thi laurer
And fresshly syng with lusty notis cleer
Vndir thi chaumbir or aforn thyn halle,
Euery sesoun whan thou list me calle.
18
“To be shet vp & pynned vndir dredeNothyng accordith vn-to my nature;
Thouh I were fed with mylk & wastelbred,
And swete cruddis brouht to my pasture,
Yit hadde I leuer do my besy cure
Erly on morwe to shrape[n] in the vale
To fynde my dyner among the wormes smale.
19
“The labourer is gladder at his plow,Erly on morwe to feede hym on bacoun,
Than som man is, that hath tresour inow
474
And hath no fredam, with his pocessioun,
To gon at large, but as a bere at stake,
To passe his boundis, but if he leve take.
20
“Take this answeer for a ful conclusioun,To syng in prisoun thou shalt me neuer constreyn,
Tyl I have fredam in woodis vp and doun,
To flee at large on bouhis rouh & pleyn;
And of resoun thou shuldist nat disdeyn
Of my desir, but lawhen & haue game,
But who is a cherl wold eche man were the same.”
21
“Weel,” quod the cherl, “sith it wole nat beThat I desir, as be thi talkyng,
Maugre thi wil thou shalt chese oon of three,
Withyn a cage myryly to syng,
Or to the kechen I shal thi body bryng,
Pulle thi ffetherys that be so briht & cleere,
And aftir roste, or bake to my dyneer.”
22
Than quod the brid:—“To resoun sei nat I nay,Touchyng my song a ful resoun thu hast,
And whan my fetheris pullid ben away
Yiff I be rostid othir bake in past,
Thou shalt of me haue a ful small repast;
But yiff thou wilt werkyn bi my counsail,
Thou maist bi me han passyng gret avail.
475
23
“Yiff thou wilt on-to my rede assent,And sofre me gon frely fro prisoun
Without raunsom or any othir rent,
I shal the yeve a notable gret gwerdoun,
Thre greete wisdames, accordyng to resoun,
More of availe, take heed what I do profre,
Than al the gold that is shett in thi coofre.
24
“Trust me weel I shal the nat disseive,Whoo that shal teche, of resoun he shal go fre.”
“Weel,” quod the cherl, “telle on, anoon lat see.”
“Nay,” quod the brid, “thou shalt anon conceyve,
It sitt a mayster to have his liberte,
And at large to have his lessoun,
Have me nat suspectt, I meene no tresoun.”
25
“Weel,” quod the cherl, “I hold me weel content,I trust the promys which thou hast made to me.”
The brid fley forth, the cherl was at assent,
And took hir fliht vp to the lawrer tre.
Than thouht she thus:—“Now that I stond[e] free,
With snarys, panteris, I cast nat al my live,
Nor with no lymetwigges any more to stryve.
476
26
“He is a fool, that skapid is daunger,Hath brooke his ffeteris, & fled is from prisoun,
For to resort; for brent child dredith fyer;
Eche man bewar, of wisdam & resoun,
Of sugre strowid, that hidith fals poisoun;
Ther is no venym so perlious of sharppnesse,
As whan it hath of triacle a liknesse.
27
“Whoo dredith no perel, in perel he shal falle;Smothe watres beth oft-sithis deepe;
The quaile-pipe can most falsly calle,
Til the quaile vndir the nett doth creepe;
A blereyde fowler trust nat, thouh he weepe,
Eschew his thombe, of wepyng take non heed,
That smale briddis can nype bi the hed.
28
“And now that I sich daungers am askapid,I wole bewar, & a-forn provide,
That of no fowler I wole no more be iapid,
From ther lyme-twiggis I wol fleen ferr a-side,
Wher perel is, gret perel is tabide;—
Com nere thou cherl, take heed [vn-]to my speche,
Of thre wisdamys that I wole the teche.
29
“Yiff nat of wisdam to hasty credenceTo euery tale, nor to eche tidyng,
But considre of reson & prudence
477
Hasty credence hath causid gret hyndryng,
[Report of talis, & tydynges brought vp new
Makith many a man to be hold vntrewe.]
30
“For oo party take this for my raunsoun;Lerne the secounde, groundid on Scriptur:
Desir thou nat bi no condicioun
Thyng that is inpossible to recur;
Wordly desires stond al in aventure,
And whoo disireth to clymbe to hih a-loftt,
Bi sodeyn torn, felith often his fal vnsoftt.
31
“The thridde is this, bewar, bothe eue & morwe,Forgete it nat, but lerne this of me:
For tresour lost make nevir to grett sorwe,
Which in no wise may recured be;
For who takith sorwe for losse in that degre,
Rekne first his losse, & aftir rekne his peyne,
Off oo sorwe, he makith sorwis tweyne.”
32
Aftir this lessoun the brid began a song,Off hir escape gretly reioisshi[n]g,
And she, remembring also of the wrong
478
Off hir affray & of hir prisonyng,
Glad that she was at large & out of dreede,
Said on-to hym, houyng above his hede:—
33
“Thou were,” quod she, “a verry natural foole,To sofre me departe of thi lewdnesse,
Thou aughtist of riht to pleyn & makyn deole,
And in [thyn] hert[e] han grett hevynesse
That thou hast lost so passyng gret richesse,
Which myht suffise bi valew in rekeny[n]g
To pay the raunsom of a myhty kyng.
34
“Ther is a ston which callid is iagounce,Off old engendrid withynne my entrayle,
Which of fyne gold peiseth a gret vnce,
Citryne of colour, lik garnetes of entaile,
Which makith men victorious in bataile,
And who-so-euer bere on hym this stoon
Is ful assured of his mortal foon.
35
“Who hath this stoon in poscessioun,Shal sofre no povert, nor non indigence,
But of all tresour haue plente & foisoun,
And euery man shal doon hym reverence,
And noon enmye shal hym doon offence;
But from thyn handis now that I am goon,
Pleyn if þou wilt, for thi part is noon.
479
36
“It causith love, it makith men graciousAnd favorabil in euery mannys siht,
It makith accord attween folk envious,
Comfortith sorweful, makyth hevy hertis liht,
Lik thopasion of colour sonnyssh bright;—
I am a fool to telle þe al attonys,
Or teche a cherl the prys of precious stonys.
37
“Men shuld nat put a precious margariteAs rubies, saphires or othir stonys ynde,
Emeroudes, nor othir perlis whihte
To fore rude swyn, that love draff of kynde;
For a sowe delitith, as I fynde,
Moore in fowle draff hir pyggis for to glade,
Than in all the perre, that cometh of Garnade.
38
“Ech þing drawith vn-to his semblable:Fissh in the see, bestis on the stronde,
The eyr for fowlis of natur is covenable,
To a plowman for [to] tyle his londe,
And to a cherl, a mookfork in his honde;
I lese my tyme any moor to tarye,
[To telle a bovir of the lapidarye].
480
39
“That thou haddist, thou getist no more ageyn,Thy lyme twyggis & panteeris I defye.
To lete me gon thou were fowle ovir-seyn,
To leese thi richesse only for folie;
I am now free, to syngen & to flie
Wher that me list, & he is a fool at all
That goth at large, & makith hym-silf thrall.
40
“To heeryn a wisdam thyn eris ben half deeff,Lik an asse that listeth on a harpe,
Thou maist go pypen in a ivy leeff;
Bett is to me to syngyn on thornes sharpe,
Than in a cage, with a cherl to karpe,
For it was seyd of ffolkis yoore a-goon,
A cherlis cherl ful oft is woo-bigoon!”
41
The cherl felt his hert[e] parte on tweyn,For verry sorwe, and a-sondry rive.
“Allas,” quod he, “I may weel weepe & pleyn
As a wretche nevir lik to thryve,
But for tendewr in povert al my live,
For of foly & of wilfulnesse
I have now lost al holly my richesse.
42
“I was a lord, I crie, ‘Out on fortune!’Hadde gret tresour late in my kepyng,
Which myht haue made me long to contune
481
Yif that I hadde sett it in a ryng,
Born it on me, I hadde had good i-nowh,
I shold no more haue goon on-to the plowh!”
43
Whan the brid sauh the cherl thus moorne,And how that he was hevy of his cheere,
She took hir fliht, and gan ageyn retoorne,
Towardis hym, & seide as ye shal here:—
“O dulle cherl! wisdames for to leere
That I the tauht, al is left bi-hynde,
Racid awey, and cleene out of thi mynde.
44
“Tauht I the nat this wisdam in sentence:To every tale brouht to the of newe,
Nat hastily yeue ther-to credence,
Into tyme thou knowe that it were trewe?
All is nat gold that shewith goldissh hewe,
Nor stoonys all bi natur, as I fynde,
Be nat saphires that shewe colour ynde.
45
“In this doctryne I lost my labour,To teche the sich proverbis of substaunce.
Now maist thou seen thi blynded lewde errour;
For al my body, peised in balaunce,
Weieth nat an vnce, rewde is thi remembraunce,
I to have moore peise closyd in myn entraile,
Than al my body set for the countirtaile.
482
46
“Al my body weieth nat an vnce,How myht I than have in me a stoon,
That peisith more than doth a grett iagounce?
Thi brayn is dul, thi witt is al-most goon,
Off thre wisdamys thou hast forgeten on,
Thou shuldist nat, aftir my sentence,
To euery tale yeue to hasty credence.
47
“I bad al-so, bewar bothe day & morwe,For thyng lost of sodeyn aventur,
Thou sholdist nat make to mych sorwe,
Whan thou seest thou maist it nat recur;
Heer thou failist, which doost thi besi cur
In thi snare to catche me ageyn,
Thou art a fool, thi labour is in veyn.
48
“In the thridde also thou dost rave,I bad thou sholdist in no maner wyse,
Coueite thyng which thou maist nat have,
In which thou hast forgeten myn emprise,
That I may seyn, pleynly to devise,
Thou hast of madnesse forgeten all thre
Notable wisdamys, which I tauht[e] the.
49
“It were but foly with the for to carpe,Or to preche of wisdamys more or lasse,
I hold hym mad that bryngith foorth an harpe,
483
And mad is he that syngith a fool a masse;
And he most mad that dooth his besynesse
To teche a cherl termys of gentilnesse.
50
“And semblably in Aprill and in May,Whan gentil briddis make most melodie,
The cookkow syngen can but o lay,
In othir tymes she hath no fantasye;
Thus euery thyng, as clerkes specifie,
Frute on trees, & folk of euery age,
Fro whens thei cam, [thei taken] a tarage.
51
“The vynteneer tretith of his holsom wynes,Off gentil frute bostith the gardeneer,
The ffissher cast his hookis & his lynes,
To catche ffissh in euery fresh ryveer,
Of tilthe of lond tretith the boveer,
The cherl deliteth to speke of ribaudye,
The hunter to speek of venerye.
52
“All oon to the a ffaucoun & a kyte,As good an oule as a popyngay,
A donghyl doke, as deynte as a snyte;
484
Adieu, Sir Cherl, farwell, I flye my way ;
I cast me nevir hensforth, my lyvyng,
Aforn a cherl anymore to syng!”
Verba auctoris.
Ye folk that shal this fable seen & rede,New forgid talis counceilith yow to flee,
For losse of good takith no gret heede,
Beeth nat to sorwefful for noon aduersite,
Coveitith no-thyng that may nat bee,
And remembrith, wheer that euer ye gon,
A cherlis cherl is alwey woo-begon.
Lenvoie.
54
Vn-to purpoos this proverbe is ful riff,Rad & reportid bi oold remembraunce:
A childis brid. and a knaves wyff
Have oft[e] sithe gret sorwe & myschaunce.
Whoo hath freedam, hath al suffisaunce,
Better is freedam with litel in gladnesse,
Than to be thral in al wordly richesse.
55
Go, litel quaier, & recomaunde meVn-to my maistir with humble affeccioun;
485
Of thi rude makyng to have compassioun;
And as touchyng thi translacioun
Out of the Frenssh, how-euyr the Englysh be,
All thyng is seide vndir correccioun
With supportacioun of your benyngnyte.
Explicit Fabula de Ave & Rustico.
486
21. FABULA DUORUM MERCATORUM.
1
In Egipt whilom, as I reede and fynde,Ther dwellyd a marchaunt of hih & gret estat,
Nat oonly riche, but bountevous and kynde,
As of nature to hym it was innat
(For alle vertues in hym wern aggregat);
Of vices voyd, pitous and merciable,
And of his woord, as any centre, stable.
487
2
But, as me thynkith, it were convenient,Or in this tale I any ferther passe,
For to descryve to you, that be present,
Wher that this contre stant and in what place;
And, if I erre, I put me in your grace:
Forberith me now and heerith paciently;
For, as myn auctour seith, riht so sey I.
3
This riche lond, moost passaunt of plente,With Surry marchith toward thorient,
On which syde is eek the Rede Se;
And Libye stant ful in the occident;
Who castith the coostys of the firmament,
The Grete Se northward shal he fynde
And ferre by south Ethiope and Ynde.
4
As auctours witnesse, this lond is desolatOf cloude and reynes aboute in euery yle,
But yeer by yeer the soil is irrigat
And ouyrflowyd with the fflood of Nyle,
The which endurith but a certeyn whyle,
As for a norshyng, her frutys to fecunde,
With corn and greyn to make the lond habounde.
5
Of sondry frutys and of marchaundiseThoruh out envyroun it is so plentevous,
What mercymony that men list devise,
Is ther ful reedy and ful copious.
I hold it best to be compendious:
Of al richesse ther is such habundaunce,
That euery wiht hath ther[of] suffisaunce.
6
This worthy marchaunt, this Egipcien,Which I of spak, was named ferre and wyde;
For many oon, that hym had [neuer] seen,
488
And in a contre cald Baldac ther besyde
Anothir marchaunt, as by relacioun,
Of hym hadde herd and of his hih renoun.
7
This latter marchaunt was eek a worthy man,Ful weel belovid also in his contre;
In trouthe he hadde al, that euyr he wan,
And hym governyd evirmore in honeste.
From ech to othir the name began to fle,
That by report and by noon othir mene
Of her too lovys was maad a stable chene.
8
Revoluyth ech by contemplaciounAl of his freend the lyknesse and ymage:
Thynkyng hath grave with deep impressioun
Ech othris fourme, stature and visage;
Her hertys eye did alwey her message,
And mynde medleth in the memorial
And fet his foode in the ffantastical.
9
Thorugh-out her erys wellyd of memoryeThe soun of fame of hem so ferre-i-fet
Hath past and wonne the castel of victorye:
Foryetilnesse ne may it nat vnshet;
Love berith the keye and also the cliket,
As trewe porteer, that they mot needys dwelle
(So ar they loke) withyne myndys selle.
10
Vertu goth ferre, he may nat hyde his liht:Withoute feet a gret paas doth he renne,
And, wher he shyneth, no dirknesse of the nyht
His beemys dymmen, nor no cloude of synne.
Withoute smoke fire ne may nat brenne,
489
To seeke his feer in euery coost or place.
11
For, riht as falsnesse anoon fyndith out his feere,So trouthe and trouthe as faste been at accorde;
Tweyne of o kynde togidre drawe neere,
So strong of nature is the myhty corde.
Kynde is in werkyng a ful myhty lorde:
In love he lynketh hem, that be vertuous,
Riht as dissoluen thynges, that be contrarious.
12
For lich of lich is serchyd and enqueerid:To merthe longith to fynden out gladnesse,
And wo can weepe, thouh he be nat leryd,
And dool eek drawith vnto drerynesse;
Honour is weddyd vnto worthynesse.
Vnto his semblable thus euery thyng can drawe,
And nothyng bynde hem, but natur by hir lawe.
13
Repoort of vertu oonly by audienceFrom ech to othir hath brouht the blisful soun
Of thes too marchauntis disseueryd by absence,
That they been oon, as by affeccioun;
Ther may be maad no divisioun.
With-oute siht ech is to othir deere,
Love hath her hertys so soore set affyre.
14
By lond or se the good her chapmen caryeWas entircomownyd by her bothys assent:
Yiff oon hadde ouht plesaunt or necessarye,
Vnto the tothir anoon he hath it sent.
So ful they were of oon accordement,
As oon in too and too in oon for euere,
That nought, but deth, her love may disseuere.
490
15
Ferthere to telle, how it fel of thes too,As fortune wolde and eek necessite,
That he of Baldac to Egipt mvst goo
For marchaundise, that was in that contre.
Ful glad he was, that he his freend shal see:
A blisful wynd in-to his seyl hath blowe
His ship to dryve, ther as he may hym knowe.
16
Whan that he was arryved vnto londe,For ioye hym thouhte, he was in Paradys;
For euery lovere may weel vndirstonde,
That of frenship the moost sovereyn blys
Is for to be withouten any mys
In thilke place, wher rootid is his herte,
For to relese of love his peynes smerte.
17
For, riht as afftir the blake nyht of sorweGladnesse folwith thoruh suyng of the day,
And fressh flourys displayen by the morwe,
That wern toforn in dirknesse and affray,
And afftir wyntir sweth greene May:
Riht so of ffreendys her tristesse for to fyne
Is liht of presence, whan it to them may shyne.
18
O out on absence of hem, that loven trewe!O out on partyng by disseveraunce!
O ground of woo, of her feuere newe
(I meene, of freendys, that langour in distaunce)!
O bittir bale hangyng in ballaunce!
On the a clamour now I wil begynne,
That causist lovers assondir for to twynne.
19
But, as to them, that han i-tastyd galle,Mor aggreable is the hoony soote,
491
Is, whan they heryn kalendys of her boote.
Of lovers art ful bittir is the roote,
But weel is hym, that may the frute atteyne,
As whilom diden thes noble marchauntis tweyne.
20
For, whan that he of Egipt herde seye,How that his freend was entryd in-to the londe,
For verray ioye he felte his herte pleye,
And hym tencontre, he seyde, he wolde fonde,
And, whan they mette, he took hym by the honde
And kist hym aftir, and with vnfeyned cheere
He seide: “Wolcom, my feithful freend so deere.
21
Now haue I found, that I so longe haue souht.”“Wolcom,” he seide by rowe an hundryd sithe,
And to his place anoon he hath hym brouht
And hym receyved with herte glad and blithe.
He maad his menee her deveer doon as swithe,
That al wer reedy, that myht be to hym ese:
So fayn he was his freend to queeme and plese.
22
Vnto a chaumbre ful riche and weel arrayedAnoon he lad hym, which stood somwhat on heihte,
And seide: “Freend, I am ful weel appayed,
That I be grace of you haue cauht a sihte;
For nothyng moore myn herte myht[e] lihte;
Wherfore wolcom, also God me save,
Vn-to your owne, and to al that I have.”
23
Of mete and drynk, deyntees and vitaille,Of divers wynes ther was no skarsete,
Of straunge viaundys in sondry apparaille,
492
To moore and lasse it snowyd doun plente.
To rekken the fare and cours in thrifty wyse
A somerys day ne myht[e] nat suffise.
24
The riche beddyng of swte so weel beseyne,Passaunt and plesyng eek, the roial paramentis,
That for his freend this marchaunt did ordeyne,
With al the soun of dyvers instrumentys,
Revel disguysed with chaung of garnementis,
Of song and musyk the merthe and melodye—
Al to reherse my witt I can nat plye.
25
They ryde aboute with hauk & eek with houndys,He shewith hym maneers, castellis and eek tours;
Thoruh al his lordship he lat hym in the boundys
By park, by forest, by meedwys fressh of flowrs;
And, list he were pryked with paramours,
Ful many a lady and maiden by his side
On white palfreys he made for to ryde.
26
Of al his tresour withyne and withouteNothyng he hidith: of al he hadde a siht.
He saide: “Freend, withouten any doute,
What so I haue, is platly in your myht.
I feffe you fully in al my good and riht.
Beth glad and wolcom: I can sey you no more.
Haue her myn hand for now and evirmore.”
27
This straunge marchaunt thankyth hym with herte:Nay, “straunge” nat; allas, why seid I soo?
I spak amys, this woord now me asterte,
Sith in accord confederat been they too.
The boond is maad bothe for wele and woo.
I erryd foule to speke of straungenesse
Of tweyne allyed, so kneet in stabilnesse.
493
28
But, as I seyde, with al herte entieerHis freend he thankith of entent ful cleene,
For now presence hath maad the wedir cleer,
Of absence chacyd the mystis ful of teene.
Her ioiful somer is tapited al in greene,
Of stable blew is her bothen hewe
To shewe that too in love wer nevir so trewe.
29
This blisful lyff from day to day they leede,Tyl that fortune to them had enmyte.
Allas, for dool myn herte I feele bleede;
For evir vnwarly cometh aduersite.
This straunge marchaunt hath cauht infirmyte:
A brennyng feuere so soore did hym shake,
That fro the deth he trowith nat to skape.
30
A bed in haste was maad ful softely,In which he cowchyd, and gan to sike and groone.
His prayeer was to alle pitously,
That by hym-silf he myhte been alloone:
So kowde he best yeuen issu to his moone.
But than his freend for woo began to melte,
That al his peynes, he seemyd, that he felte.
31
Thus longith it to freendys, entirparteNat oonly merthe, but wo and hevynesse:
Yif oon hath peyne, bothe hertis it doth thoruh-darte,
Yif that her love be set in sikirnesse,
And, yif oon drye, bothe they haue distresse.
This is the ballaunce oonly of freendys riht:
Euenly to deele, wher they be glad or liht.
32
And for tassaye, yif it myht [hym] ese,The chaunbre is voyded, and he is left al sool.
Than to hym-seluen he spak in his disese
494
Now hoot, now coold I erre, as doth a fool.
Allas, and yit the cheffest of my peyne
Is, that I dar to no wiht weel compleyne.
33
“I am [i-] hurt, but closyd is my wounde:My dethis spere strykith in my brest;
My bollyng festrith, that it may nat sounde,
And yit no cicatrice shewith at the lest.
Cupidis darte on me hath maad arrest:
The cleer streemys of castyng of an ye
This is tharwe, me causith for to dye.
34
“And at myn herte is hoolly, that I feele,But aftir cure, God wot, I dar nat seche.
My sweete fo is hard as any steele.
Allas! vnmercy doth to cruel wreche;
For thilke flour, that myhte be my leche,
She wot riht nouht, what wo that I endure,
And to be ded I dar me nat discure.
35
“And eek my freend, whom I love moost of al,Yif that he knewh my secre maladye,
Ful cruel vengaunce shuld vpon me fal
For myn outrage, despiht and velanye,
That I durst evir clymbyn vp so hihe
To love that maiden kept for his owne stoor:
Thus must I deyen; what shuld I pleynen mor?
36
“I sauh ful many ladyes in the rowteSo fayr, so fressh i-brouht for my plesaunce,
But now for oon my liff lith al in dowte,
That of my deth ther is noon avoidaunce:
And yit the thyng, that doth me moost grevaunce,
Is, that I shulde to hym I am so bounde
Disnatural or traitour been i-founde.
495
37
“For thilke goodly, that he lovyd moost,I am abowte falsly hym to reve.
Love can no frenship, I se weel, in no coost.
Allas, Cupide disseyvable for to leve.
Love rechchith nat his freend [to] wrath and greve.
Allas, of love such is the fervent heete,
That litil chargith his freend for to leete.”
38
And, whil he lay in langour thus musyng,His freend wol besy was with al his myht
To serche aboute the lond envirounnyng:
His menee riden bothe day and niht
To founden som man, that wer expert arriht,
Or phisicien, for no cost wold he spare
To haue restoored the sike to weelfare.
39
Assemblyd been of leechis many oon,The beste and wisest, that he coude ffynde.
Vnto the sike they been i-comen echoon
To taste his poorys and for to deeme his kynde.
The[i] were ful besy to fynd out roote and rynde,
Of what humour was causyd his dissese,
And theron werke his accesse to appese.
40
With hem they brouhte, yif they sey[e] neede,Ful goode siropys to make dygestyues,
And therwithal the sonnere for to speede
Pelotes expert for evacuatyues,
Ful precious poudrys and confortatives,
That, whan they knew of maladyes the roote,
Nouht were behynden to werken for his boote.
496
41
Whan they haue serchid by signes his estat,They merveyle gretly what it myht[e] be,
That his fevere was nat interpollat,
But ay contynueth hoot and in oo degre.
They seide, certeyn, it was noon of the thre,
But yif it were oonly effymora;
For neithir etyk it was ne putrida.
42
Effymera hath his originalWhan mannys spiritys been in distemperaunce,
Or in-to excesse yif a wiht be fal
Of mete and drynk thoruh mysgovernaunce:
Of accidentis, of thouht, of perturbaunce,
Of hoot, of cold or greef in any maneer
This feuere cometh, as auctours tellen heer.
43
And putrida is causyd gladly thus:Whan any humour synneth in quantite,
Or whan his flowyng is to plentevous,
That he excedith mesoure in qualite.
Yiff by blood, anoon ye may it see;
Yif quantite ouht erre, espyeth it thus,
The fevere in phisyk is callyd sinochus.
44
And, yiff the humour in qualite exceedith,Or heete or blood passe his temperament,
In-to a fevere anoon a man it leedith
Clepid synocha by putrefaccioun shent.
And, yif of colra he take his groundement,
Pure or vnpure, citryn or vitellyne,
Gyles you techith to iuge it by vryne.
45
Also of etikes ther be kyndes thre,But oon ther is pereilous in special,
The which is, whan by [any] degre
497
In thilke humydite i-callyd radical;
The which ffevere is gladly incurable,
For drye tisyk is withal partable.
46
Off othir humours han thes leechys eekFul deepe enqueeryd to serchen out the trouthe
By every weye, that they cowde seek:
In hem was ffounde defawte noon nor slouthe;
But atte laste of o thyng ha they routhe,
That he were falle, for ouht they cowd espye,
For thouht or love into malencolye.
47
His vryne was remys, attenuatBy resoun gendryd of ffrigidite,
The veyne ryueers, for they wern oppilat,
It was ful thynne and wannyssh for to see;
The streihte passage causyd aquosite,
Withoute substaunce to voyde hym of colour,
That they dispeired been by his socour.
48
For, whan nature of vertu regitiffThoruh malencolye is pressyd and bor doun,
It is to dreede gretly of the liff,
But soone be ordeyned opposicioun;
For it was likly, that this passioun
Was eithir thouht or love, that men calle
Amor ereos, that he was in falle.
49
The roote wherof and the corrupciounIs of thilke vertu callid estimatiff,
As yif a man haue deep impressioun,
That ovirlordshipith his imagynatif,
And that the cours be forth successyf
To trowe a wiht for love mor fayr or pure,
Than evir hym ordeyned hath God or nature.
498
50
This causith man to fallen in manye,So arn his spiritis vexid by travayle.
Allas, that man shuld fallen in ffrenesye
For love of woman, that litil may avayle!
For now thes leechys, as by supposayle,
Konne of this man noon othir ffevir espye,
But that for love was hool his malladye
51
And, whan his freend the sothe gan vndirgropeOf this myscheef, he nat ne wolde abide;
But in to the chaunbyr anoon he is i-lope
And kneelyd adoun by his beddys syde.
He seyd: “Freend, to me nothyng thu hyde:
Telle me your herte, telle me your hevynesse,
And lat no thouht causen your drerynesse.
52
“Yiff loues ffevere do yow ouht to quake,Telle me the soth and rake nat in the fyre.
Out of your slombre, for shame, why nyl ye wake?
To me vncloose the somme of your desyre.
Be what she be, I shal do my deveere.
Allas, mystrust to lokke it vp fro me!
Telle on, for shame, com of and lat me see!
53
“Your freend mystruste, it is an hih repreeff,Or to concele from hym your priuyte.
Parauenture he may to your myscheeff
Fynde remedye sonnere, than may ye.
And sith in feith so deepe i-sworn be we,
I wol it weten withouten mor delay,
What may you helpyn, by God and by my fay.”
54
And alle the ladyes and maydenys of his hous,Bothe oold and yong, were brouht to his presence.
499
That for hir wysdam and hir excellence
Was moost of alle had in reverence,
The which this marchaunt for oon the beste alyve
Kept in his hous in purpoos hir to wyve.
55
Ful wys she was of so tendir age,Prudent and war and ful of honeste,
Devoyde cleene of vices and outrage,
Whos beaute flouryd and virginite,
Plesaunt of poort, roote of humylite,
Of maneer myrour and welle of womanheede,
Goodly abayssht and ffemynyn of dreede.
56
Hool of hir herte, benygne and immvtable,Nat frel, fadyng, but ful of affiaunce,
In moral vertu mesuryd and tretable,
Housoold to guye ful war of governaunce:
To been exaunple, kynde hir lyst avaunce,
That, yif I shal hir shortly comprehende,
In hir was nothyng, that nature myht amende.
57
The sike marchaunt, whan he hir beheeld,With dreedful herte and voys ful tymerous
He seide: “Certis, but mercy be my sheeld
To you, my freend, that ye be gracious,
That on my trespas ye be nat rigerous
To take vengaunce on myn hih folye,
That I was boold to sette myn herte so hihe.
58
“O, mercy, freend, and rewe vpon my liff:Deth fro my gilt, I wot, is resounable.
Love is gynnere and ground of al my striff.
But in o thyng I am inexcusable,
That I so love that fayr incomperable,
Which is to you so plesaunt and so meete:
And, to be slayn, to love I can nat leete.
500
59
“Do, what yow list: for, tyl myn herte ryve,I may nat chesyn, that I am hir man;
For, with my silf thouh I evirmor stryve,
Ther is noon othir, that I love can;
For hir in syknesse I am so pale and wan.
Thus I me confesse and put me in your grace:
My liff, my deeth is portrayed in hir face.”
60
This freendly marchaunt of this nat dysmayed,But with good herte saide, as ye may heere:
“Allas, my freend, why art thu so dismayed
For love, anoon sith thu maist han hir heere
With al hir beaute and cristal eyen cleere?
Betwix yow too in love to make a boond,
I gyf hir the: haue, tak hir by the hond.
61
“And ful and hool, as I haue any riht,I give hir the, which is so wys and sage.
Rys vp anoon and be riht glad and liht,
For I wil makyn between yow the maryage
And bere thexpence fully and costage
Of your weddyng,” and hath a day i-set
Of hir spousayl to see the knotte i-knet.
62
Anoon he ros supportyd by gladnesse,And doun he fel lowly on his kne,
And hym he thankyd for his gentillesse,
That fro the deth hath maad hym skapid fre.
“Allas,” he seide, “whan shal I thanken the,
That hast so freely thyn owne love forsake
Thy freend to save, and hool and sound to make?”
63
The passaunt costys, the feeste of her weddyng,Iustys and revel and al the purveiaunce,
The grete yiftys, the cheer so surmountyng—
501
For Ymeneus, that hath the governaunce
Of such feestys to make accordement,
Therto Fortune was therat present.
64
Thus is the syke of his langour lissyd,The blosme of bounte by frenshipe hath he wonne;
For hertly merthe to hym is now nat myssyd,
No shadwe of sorwe forfarith nat his sonne,
His freend to hym abrochyd hath the tonne
Of freendly triacle; for nevir I radde yit,
O freend to a-nothir that so weel hath hym quyt.
65
To hym relesyd he hath his hertly glorye,Hym silf dismyttid of his inward ioye;
The briht myrour, the liht of his memorye,
Which al his rancour by refut cowde coye,
He hath forsake, the guyere of his ioye,
His lives lanterne, staff of his crokyd age,
To bryng his freend in quiete out of rage.
66
Off this mateer what shuld I write mor?I wil entrete this processe forth in pleyn:
Hir and hir iowellys, hir richesse and hir stor
He hath hym youen, the stoory seith certeyn,
And hom with al repayred is ageyn
And lad hir with hym, as was his freendys wyl,
Which cowde nat feyne his plesaunce to fulfyl.
67
At ther departyng the moornyng for to wite,The wooful teerys, dolour and hevynesse,
Myn herte bleedith, whan I therof endite,
To knowe her trouble, turment and distresse.
But of this marchaunt lyst the kyndenesse:
502
Than love of hir, that sat so nyh his herte.
68
Moornyng for absence he is lefft allone:The tothir streiht to Baldoc, his contre,
With wyff and catel the riht weye is gone
And ther receyved with gret solennyte.
Her lyff they ledde in gret prosperite,
His wif and he of oon herte in quyete:
For with a bettir no man ne myht mete.
69
Ther was no stryff between hem nor debate,But ful accordid they be bothe nyht and day;
She hym obeyeth in al erlich and late:
Whan he seid “ya,” she coud nat sey “nay”,
A bettir wyff was nevir at al assay;
Ioyned in oon thus been her hertys too,
That nouht, but deth, her love may fordoo.
70
For alle wyves, as ferre as evir I kneuh,Withyne her brest hath growyng pacience:
Suffryng and meeke they been ilich[e] new;
But yiff so be, that men hem doon offence,
They love nat, men make experience
Of her lownesse. But lyst I hem displese,
Ye gete no more: passe ovir is an ese.
71
Thus leve I hem in her iolite(I meene thes too), ech lykyng othir weel;
I speke no mor of her felicite:
For no man may such ioye & merthe feel,
But he were expert to telle it euerydeel.
For to the marchaunt of Egipt will I turne,
Which for his freend in woo I lefte moorne.
503
72
But now, allas, who shal my stile guye,Or hen[ne]s forth who shall be my muse?
For verray dool I stond in iupartye:
Al merthe of makyng my mateer mot refuse.
Me in-to stoon transmwed hath Meduse
For verray stonyng of Fortunys fikylnesse,
That for the merveyle no woord I can expresse.
73
Allas, Meggera, I mot now vnto theOf herte calle to helpe me compleyne
And to thy sustir eek, Thesiphone,
That afftir ioye goddessys been of peyne.
O weepyng Mirre, now lat thy teerys reyne
In-to myn ynke so clubbyd in my penne,
That rowthe in swaggyng abrood[e] make it renne.
74
It sitt the nat enlwmyned for to beOf othir colour but oonly al of sable.
O doolful mateer! who so now reede the,
He may weel seyn, this world is ful chaungable;
For, how this marchaunt whilom so worshipable
(I meene of Egipt) Fortune did avale,
Mot be as now [the] remenaunt of my tale.
75
To hym Fortune hir falsnesse hath overt,Hir swift[e] wheel turned vp so doun;
For he is ffallen and plonget in povert
Thoruh vanysshyng of his possessioun.
Now al is brouht in-to destruccioun:
Rychesse and freendys been alle i-feere goon,
And he in myscheef is sool i-lefft aloon.
76
This newe Iob, i-cast in indigence,He weepith, wayleth, soleyn and solitarye;
504
And evir his liff he gan to curse and warye.
“O, out on neede of malys multipharye”:
He gan to crye in his ire and woo,
Lych a man in furye for-poosyd to and froo.
77
For remembraunce of oold prosperiteHath with a darte hym woundid to the herte.
Mor vnkouth was to hym aduersite,
That nevir to-forn no trouble did hym smerte;
For mor despeyred he was for a sterte,
That he ne hadde of woo noon excersise:
Hym thouhte, it was to hym a newe emprise.
78
Thus is the sweete of his tranquylliteFul neewly turned in-to bittirnesse;
Thus is he valyd adoun from hih degre
Ful many a steiher lowe in-to wrechydnesse.
His lyff he leedith al in werynesse;
For now Fortune hath chaungid newe his weede:
Freend nor foo ne took of hym noon heede.
79
But, by hym-silf walkyng in wildirnesse,He gan to pleyne his sodeyn poore estaat
And seide: “Allas, wher is the kyndenesse
Of alle my freendys to me disconsolaat?
I pley[e] sool, I am almoost chek-maat:
That whilom hadde my menee me aboute,
Now destitut I am beshet withoute.
80
“Now am I repreef to my freendys alle,Markyd of many and of the peeple fable.
Now wot I nat, to whom for helpe calle,
That sat so glorious somtyme at my table;
And they, that than wer to me servisable,
Han by despit at myscheef me forsake.
Gret cause haue I an outcry for to make.
505
81
“O out on shame of hauhtesse plongid lowe!O out on dolour of lordship brouht to nouht!
O out on richesse with vanyte forblowe,
Forsakyng soone and with gret travayle souht!
O worldly blisse, of me ful dere abouht,
Thy sodeyn turn now doublith my grevaunce
Mor than of it I nevir hadde had plesaunce.
82
“Now hongir, thrust, vnkouth as vnto me,Vnwarly sweth my passyd habundaunce.
Now cold, now nakyd in necessite
I walke aboute for my sustenaunce.
Whilom in plente and now al in grevaunce!
Allas, my fulle is derkyd in-to wane,
With wynd forwhirlyd as is a mvaunt ffane.
83
“O, in this world what woo and werynesse,What mortal torment assaileth al aboute!
What grevous molest and what besynesse
With many assaut in dreed doth vs to doute!
Now vp, now doun, as doth a curraunt goute,
So ar we travailed with solicitude:
The world with mowhes so weel can vs delude.
84
“But I knowe weel, who trustith on the moost,Shal be deceyued, whan he to the hath neede.
Wher is the clarioun of thy cry and boost,
That to [the] skyes my fame did[e] beede?
Who seruyth the, what shal be his meede:
Whan that he wenyth thu maist hym most availe,
Than in the hand rathest thu wilt hym fayle?”
85
O seely marchaunt, myn hand I feele quakeTo write thy woo in my translacioun;
Ful offte I weepe also for thy sake,
506
Of thy degree and transmutacioun.
Allas, to the I can no bet diffence
Than the to arme strongly in pacience.
86
Nat oonly thu, but euery man on lyve,How hih in throne he sittith exaltat,
Lat hym nat tempte ageyn[e]s God to stryve,
But take his sonde meekly withoute debat;
For who so do, he is infortunat.
No wele is worthy, that may no woo endure,
Wherfor ech man tak paciently his ewre.
87
For Senek seith with ful hih sentenceOf preef in povert, who-so that hym reede,
In thylke book he made of providence,
That he vnhappy is, withouten dreede,
Which nevir ne hadde adversite nor neede,
Of whom the goddys dempten pleynly thus:
“Withouten assay no man is vertuous.”
88
“And yiff a tre with frut be ovirlade,”In his Epistles he seith, as ye may see,
“Both braunche and bouh wol enclyne and fade.
And greyne oppressith to moche vberte.
Riht so it farith of fals felicite,
That yif his weihte mesure do exceede,
Than of a fal gretly is to dreede.”
89
But, why that God this marchaunt list visite,As I suppose, it was hym for to preeve.
Thouh he were wooful, he was the lasse wite,
Sith nevir afforn Fortune did hym greeve.
From his wantrust he was brouht in beleeve,
That he weel kneuh, this world was ful vnstable
And nat abydyng, but evirmor variable.
507
90
And, whan he kneuh the grete vnsikyrnesseOf worldly lust by preef in special,
On knees he fel with devout humblesse,
Ful lowe of herte, and thankyd God of al,
And sayde: “Lord, thouh I haue had a fal,
Ne put me nat fro thy proteccioun,
Sith I it take for my probacioun.
91
“But, goode Lord, lat me Thy grace fyndeAnd guye my wittis, that I be nat despeyred;
But me enspeere, puttyng in my mynde
Som hoope of refut, that am so soore appeyred.
And, thouh to richesse ther be no grees i-steyred
Tascenden vp, as I was wont to doone,
Yit, goode Lord, do confort to my boone.”
92
And, whil he lay thus in his orisoun,Ful poorly clad in ful symple weede,
His herte was brouht in consolacioun,
Which in-to lissyng his langour did leede.
He thouhte, he wolde preeve his freend at neede;
And vnto Baldac, for to make assay,
In pilgrym wise he took the rihte way.
93
And, whan he was comen to that londe,Ful soore afferd he was for to compleyne.
“Allas!” he seide, “myn herte dar nat fonde
Vnto my freend to shewen out my peyne,
That whiloom was in richesse so hauhteyne;
For to be ded, I dar for shamfastnesse;
Nat shewe a poynt to hym of my distresse.”
94
And eek, that it was somwhat late,Whan he was entryd in-to that cite,
Hym liked nat to knocken at the gate
508
And it was nyht: therfor he lefte be,
List of his freend he were anoon refusyd
As man vnknowe or for som spye accusyd.
95
In-to a temple foundid by dayes oldeHe is i-entryd, a place al desolat,
And leyd hym doun by the wallys colde,
So weyk, so wery, forwandryd and for-mat.
O pompe emporisshyd, whilom so elat!
Take heed, ye ryche, of what estat ye bee;
For in this marchaunt your myrour ye may see.
96
How many a man hath Fortune assayled,With sleihte i-cast, whan he best wende ha stonde,
Her habiriownys of steel also vnmayled!
For al her trust she nolde the lasse wonde
To pleye this pleye bothe with free and bonde.
For who stood evir yit in surete,
That in som siht infect was his degre?
97
For by exaumplys nature doth declare,Which is of God mynystir and vikeer;
Withoute tonge she biddith vs beware
By thylke sterrys, that shynen briht and cleer,
Which by her concours and mevyng circuleer,
In her discens westyng vndir wavys
Vs to enfourmen by chaungyng of hir lawys.
98
And fewe of hem alway to vs appeere,But yif it be the bere briht and sheene
In thilke plow, that Arthow doth it steere;
For yit Boetes, that twynkelith wondir keene,
Somwhile is dym, that men may nat hym seene;
509
By nyht hym hidith vndir our empeere.
99
The day doth passe of vanite and glorye,And nyht approchith, whan Titan is gon doun.
But who list wynne the palme by victorye,
The world to venquyssh ful of elacioun,
Lat hym despise as a chaunpioun
Al erthly lustys, that shynen but in dreede,
And of this marchaunt evir among tak heede.
100
Evir entirmedlyd is merthe and heuynesse,Now liht, now soory; now ioiful, now in woo;
Now cleer aloffte, now lowe in dirk[e]nesse,
As Iubiter hath couchyd tonnes too
Withyne his ceeleer, platly and no moo:
That oon is ful of ioye and gladnesse
That othir ful of sorwe and bittirnesse.
101
Who that wil entren to tamen of the sweete,He mvst as weel taken his aventure
To taste in bittir, or he the vessel leete,
And bothe ilich of strong herte endure;
He may nat clense the thykke from the pure:
Fo[r], who that wil swetnesse first abroche,
He mot be war, or bittir wol approche.
102
Of thes too i-dronken at the fulleHath this marchaunt, that I of spake erwhyle;
The laste beuere so maad his hed to dulle,
That he ne lest but litil lawh or smyle;
Expert he was bothe of trust and guyle:
For, wher that he his beddyng whilom chees,
Slept on the ground now nakyd herberwelees.
510
103
And whil that he lay sleepyng in this wise,An hap befel of too men in the toun,
Betwix the which a contek gan to ryse
Riht ther besyde with gret[e] noyse and soun:
That oon his felawe hath slayn and bore doun
Vndir the temple, wher as this marchaunt lay,
And lefft hym ther and fled anoon his way.
104
The toun was reised with rvmour riht anoonAnd to the temple faste gonne renne;
Now heer, now ther, ful swyft[e]ly they goon
To taken hym, that hadde wrouht this synne
Tyl atte laste they souhte han hym withynne
And with the noyse, as they gonne in threste,
The poore marchaunt abrayd out of his reste.
105
Riht sor astonyd, palen gan his hewe,Whan they hym asken, what mystir man he were,
Or yif that he thomycide knewe,
That hadde slayn the man, “that liggith there.”
And he anoon withouten dreed or fere
Seyde: “Certeynly, thouh ye me hange and drawe,
No wiht but I hath this man i-slawe.”
106
His covetise was to ha be ded,That he by deth hys myserye myht fyne;
His woo heeng on hym heuyere than led,
And pouerte did hym so moche pyne
He wolde, that deth had leyd hook and lyne
Tacacchyd hym in to his bittir las:
Therfor on hym he took this hih trespas.
107
“O Deth, desyred in aduersite,Whan thu art callyd, why nylt thu wrecchys heere?
And art so reedy in felicite
511
O com now, Deth, and maak of me thy feere,”
This marchaunt crieth in his wooful herte:
So ful he was of inward peynes smerte.
108
Anoon he was i-taken and i-boundeAnd cast in prisoun tyl on the nexte morwe,
And than i-taken and brouht, as they hym founde,
Afforn the iustice; for no man wold hym borwe.
To seen a fyn he hopith of his sorwe;
For-dempt he was thoruh his owne speche
By iugement to han for deth the wreche.
109
And than, as faste as he to deth was lad,His oold[e] freend happyd forby passe,
The which beheeld hym with cheer demvre & sad
And kneuh the feturys and signes of his face.
And anoon he prayeth leyseer to hym and space
For to been herd of hem in pacience
And stynt a whyle to yive hym audience.
110
“Sires,” he seith, “so it nat yow displese,This man is dampned so ful of innocence,
And gilt[e]les ye don hym this disese;
For I my silf haue wrouht this gret offence:
To me it fallith tencurren the sentence
Of deth, the trouthe weel to founde;
For with myn hand I gaff his dedly wounde!”
111
His herte was meevyd of oold naturesseTo save his freend and for hym for to deye;
And he was hent anoon and pullyd by duresse,
With swre arrest they handys on hym leye,
And al her lust meekly he did obeye;
512
Wher he was dampned by concours of the lawe.
112
Thoo was he lad with weepyng and pite,Toward his deth, of many hym besyde.
His poore freend was loos at liberte,
Which thouhte for woo deth thoruh his herte glyde;
Whyls in the prees the verray homycide,
That sothfastly that deede hadde i-wrouht,
Spak to hym-sylf thus in his owne thouht:
113
“Allas, myn herte, hard as the dyamaunt,How maist thu suffre this cruelte [to] seen!
Allas, thoruh remors why ne were I repentaunt
The southfast trouthe to be confessyd cleen?
Allas, this wrong! how may I thus susteen
To see afore me vngilte thus i-take
And lad to dethward oonly for my sake?
114
“O rihtwys God, to whom ech pryuyteIs pleyn and open to Thy magnyficence,
O Lord, that knowyst myn hyd iniquite:
Beholdyng al, O Sonne of Sapience,
Ne take no vengaunce of myn hih offence,
That I so longe concelyd haue the trouthe;
But of Thy mercy, Lord, haue on me routhe.
115
“For weel I wot, that of Thy rihtwysnesseThu mvst me punysshen at Thy iugement,
And thouh Thu suffre a while in esynesse,
Blood wil haue wreche, that wrongfully is spent.
O blood vngilte, O blood so innocent,
How canst thu gon to deth and nat compleyne,
To wreke the afftir on me with cruel peyne?
513
116
“To the hih God, eternal in His see,Blood crieth out, that is i-shad in wronge,
And seith: ‘O Lord, whan wilt Thu vengyd bee
Vpon our deth? why bydist Thu so longe?’
Of innocentys this is the noote and songe;
Wherfor I wol, whil I haue liff and space,
The sothe be-knowe, and put me in Thy grace.
117
“It is to moche, that I haue slayn oon;And, but I speke, toward is anothir,
The which is domb and stille as ony stoon,
For verray love for to save his brothir:
Everych is reedy to fonge deth for othir.
Now wyl I goon and pleynly me confesse
And for my gilt receyven the redresse.”
118
With open mouth lowde he gan to crye:“O ye disceyved peeple by errour!
That innocent, allas, why shal he dye,
Which nevir ne was his lyve trespasour?
Turneth ageyn and let be this clamour
And let to me her doom been hool reserved:
For I am he, that hath the deth disserved.
119
“Let hym go loos, sith he of gilt is fre:It is my silf, that hath the deede i-do.
Why wyl ye erren and punysshen verite
And let falsnesse at his large go?”
The peeple of this gan for to wondren tho,
And eek the iustices, of this sodeyn chaunce,
That alle here wittis wer hangid in ballaunce.
120
Yit nevirtheles thus they [haue] i-wrouhte:The ffirste the[i] vnbounde and this othir take,
514
Tofore the kyng and ther a processe make,
How ech of thes hath don for othrys sake,
And pray[e]n hym good iuge for to bee
To fynde a wey the trouthe for to see.
121
This worthy kyng to serchyn out the rihtShewith hym-silff bothe wys and eek tretable,
And made mercy to goon afforn his myht,
Shapyng a mene ful iust and resonable:
To alle thre he shewyd hym merciable;
Of al the crym, withyne woordys fewe,
Pardoun he grauntith, so they the trouthe shewe.
122
Of al the cas they haue no poynt i-sparyd(First of her ffrenship, ioye and adversite),
But woord by woord the stoory hool declaryd:
Bothe of thes tweyne the love and vnyte—
Ye han that herd, ye gete no mor of me,—
And how the thrydde hadde a conscience,
For his trespace so dampned innocence.
123
With gret merveile they wondryn on this thyng,To seen in frenship so hool affeccioun,
And specially this wise, worthy kyng
Gan wisshe of herte, that thoruh his regioun
Were ful affermyd an obligacioun
Off such enteernesse fro man to man aboute:
Off tresoun than ful litil wer to doute.
124
Ful hard it were tacomplisshen his desyrOr in his rewm[e] such a bargeyn dryve:
The aeyer infect, the wedir is nat cleer
Ne nevir ne shal, whil tresoun is so ryve;
For now of trowthe no man can contryve
A verray seel or thenpreent i-grave
Withoute a label his armes hool to save.
515
125
But, whan thys kyng hath thus doon hem grace,He let hem goo at her eleccioun,
And he of Baldac hat[h] lad hoom to his place
His poore freend with gret processioun.
He rayeth hym newe with good affeccioun
And seide: “Freend, your pensiffheed asswage
And for pouert ne beeth no more in rage.
126
“But here anoon, as ferre as it may laste,Of al my good halvendeel is youre:
I wyl, that it departyd be as faste
At your devise your pouert to socoure;
For our frenship shal every sesoun floure,
And in short tyme, I telle it you in pleyn,
Ye shul to richesse restooryd be ageyn.
127
“And than at erst avised ye may telle,Vnto your contre whedir ye wil returne
Or heer with me al your lyff[e] dwelle:
The choys is your; look no more ye moorne!
And whersobe ye goon or heer soiourne,
Haue heer my trouthe, our hertys shul been oon,
Whil breeth may laste, and nevir vnsondir goon.”
128
By egal witt his goodys everychonWer tho departyd betwix thes freendys too,
Bycause this marchaunt wold algatys gon
Hom to his contre, that he lovyd soo.
The stoory tellith, withoute woordys moo,
Riht in-to Egipt he is goon ageyn;
Of her frenship what shuld I you moor seyn?
129
I say you platly, so as it seemyth me;Of thyng weel preevyd to maken rehersayl
516
Lest tediouste your erys did assayl,
Sith ye it knowe, it may nothyng avayl
Of her frenship ferther more divyne:
For, as they gonne, so in love they ffyne.
Lenvoye.
Thus of this tale to you I make an eende.On my rewde tellyng of curtesye ye rewe,
And God I prey, that He His grace sende,
That euery freend to othir be as trewe,
As were thes marchauntis alway ilich[e] newe.
This my desyr in al degrees of men:
That it so be, I pray you, seith, “Amen.”
Explicit quod Lidgate.
22. GUY OF WARWICK.
Here gynneth the lyff off Guy of Warwyk.
1
Fro Cristis birthe complet nyne hundrid yeer,Twenty and seuene, by computacioun,
Kyng Ethelstan, as seith the Cronycleer,
Regnyng that tyme in Brutys Albyoun,—
517
Of them of Denmark, wich with myhty hond
Rod, brente, and slouh, made noon excepcioun,
By cruel force, thorugh out al this lond;
2
Spared nouther hih nor louh degre,Chirchis, collegis, but that they bete hem doun;
Myhty castellis, and euery greet cyte
In ther ffurie, by ffals oppressioun,
On-to the boundys of Wynchestre toun,
With suerd & feer they madyn al wast & wylde;
And in ther mortall persecucyoun
Spared nat women greet with chylde:
3
In this brennyng, ffurious cruelte,To Denmark pryncis, pompous & elat,
Lyk woode lyouns, void of all pite,
Did no favour to louh nor hih estaat.
Allas! this lond stood so dysconsolaat,
Froward Fortune hath at hem so dysdeyned,
Mars & Mercurie wer with hem at debaat,
That bothe þe kyng and pryncis wer distreyned
4
By froward force to take hem to the fflyght,Thes Danyssh pryncis ageyn hem wer so wood;
On hih hilles ther ffyres gaff suych lyght,
Fortune of werre in suych disioynt tho stood,
The peple robbed and spoiled of ther good,
For verray dreed of colour ded and pale,
518
Lyk a greet ryver fro mounteyns to þe vale.
5
Paraventure for sum old trespace,As is remembrid of antyquyte,
Of o persone hap, ffortune, and grace
Myhte be with-drawe, in cronycles ye may see;
Reed how þe myhty ffamous Iosue
Was put a-bak thre dayes in batayll,
The theffte of Nachor made Israell to ffle
Out of the ffeld, and in ther conquest faile.
6
Thus by the pryde and veyn ambyciounAnd cruel ffurie of thes pryncis tweyne
This rewm almost brouht to destruccyoun,
The swerd of Bellona gan at hem so disdeyne,
Lordis wer pensiff, þe porail gan compleyne;
Oon of thes tirauntys, callid Anelaphus,
And as myn auctour remembreth in serteyn,
The tother was named Genaphelus.
7
This myscheff, wers than strok of pestilence,God with his punsshyng is ffounde mercyable;
Suerd of a tyraunt punssheth with vyolence,
With ffurious hand mortall and vengable;
Wher ffolk repente, the Lord is ay tretable,
That sit above, wich halt all in his hond,
But thes tirauntys, to sheden blood most able,
With suerd & flawme troubled al this lond.
519
8
God ffor synne, by record of Scripture,Hath chastysed many a greet cyte,
And suffred hem gret myschef to endure,
Record Ierusalem, record on Nynyvee,
Paris in Fraunce hath had his part, parde,
For leccherie and veyn ambucyoun;
Palpable examples, at eye men may see,
Of Rome, Cartage, and of Troie toun.
9
This mater offte hath been exempleffyed,For lak of wisdam and of good consayll,
That peplys hertys wer nat ffull applyed
To sue vertu for ther owne avayll;
Wynd of glad Fortune bleuh nat in ther saill,
For ther dismeritees, God punshed hem of right,
Outrage & vices hath vengaunce at his tayll.
Thouh kyng Ethelstan was a manly knyght,
10
Cruell Danys Inglyssh blood to scheede,Ther swerd was wheet, & ther ffyres lyght;
Ȝit in cronycle, at leyser who lyst reede,
Kyng Ethelstan was a ffull noble knyght,
Though for a tyme eclypsed was his lyght;
Of his noblesse and royall mageste,
The hand of God stood alway in his myght
To chaunge his trouble in-to prosperyte.
11
The sonne is hatter affter sharpe schours,The glade morwe ffolweth the dirke nyght,
520
And affter mystys Phebus schyneth bright,
Affter trouble hertys be maad lyght;—
And, to conclude lyk as I began,
God lyst to caste his mercyable syght
Vpon his knyght, the fforseid Ethelstan.
12
In this mater fforther to procede,Constreynt of werre and gret aduersyte,
Made hym to drawe, in cronycle as I reede,
With alle his lordis of hih and louhe degre,
To haue a counsayll at Wynchestre the cyte,
Som remedye in all haste to provyde
Ageyn the malys and ffurious cruelte
Wrouht by the Danys in ther marcyal pride.
13
Off al the lond gadryd were the statys,Remedye to schapen in this mateere,
Pryncys, barouns, bysshopis and prelatys,
In that cyte assembled wern in ffeere,
Hap and ffortune shewyd hem heuy cheere,
Ther hope turned to dysesperaunce,
Knyghthood of armes had lost the maneere,
So destitute they were of spere and launce.
14
In that party was no remedye,Redres to ffynde, nor consolacyoun,
Mars set a-bak all ther chevalrye,
Thus stood the lond in desolacyoun,
Strong wer the Danys, proud by ambucioun:
521
Held with his lordis a counsayll in that toun
To ffynde a mene his myschef to redresse;
15
By grace of God how this myht ben amendydRecure to ffynde of ther aduersyte.
Breeffly to telle, they were thus condescendyd,
Benbassatrie or mene of som tretee,
Streyghtly driven off necessyte,
The kyng of Denmark with homage for to queme:
Or vnder tribute to haue this liberte,
As a soget reioysshe his dyademe;
16
Or ellis pleynly of partyes covenauntKyng Ethelstan for hym to ffynde a knyght
With Colybrond of Denmark the Geaunt,
Day assigned, to entre with hym in ffyght,
For to darreyne atween hem to the right,
Who shal reioisshe, with strong and myhty hond,
To holde a septre, by manhood and by myght,
And haue poscessioun in quyete of this lond.
17
The kyng, the lordis, beyng there present,Withoute respight, or loud dylacioun,
To yeve answere of ther ffynall entent,
How they list quyten hem, for short conclusioun:
Outher to make a resygnacyoun
Of septre & crowne, outher to ffynde a knyht,
As I seyde erst, to be ther champioun,
Geyn Colybrond, to entryn in-to ffight.
18
The Denmark dukis, of malys importable,Wood and wylful in ther marcyal rage,
522
Requyred in haste, ben bassat or massage,
To haue answere or pleggis for hostage,
Of this convencioun relacioun to sende
How they caste hem to puttyn in morgage
The lyff of tweyne to make a fynal ende.
19
This apoyntement so streitly was forth lad,Of ffurious haste they wolde haue no delay,
Kyng Ethelstan so hard[e] was be-stad,
And alle his pryncis put in gret affray;
Affore Wynchestre the proude dukis lay,
The kyng withinne, astoned in his mende,
And weel þe more, be-cause he knew no way
In his dyffence a champioun to ffynde.
20
Knew no bet mene, as in this mateer,Redres to ffynde, to resoun accordyng,
Than by assent to taken hym to prayeer,
He and his lordis, to wakyng and ffastyng,
Pore and riche, with-oute more tarying;
Alle attonys, as they wern off degre,
With salte teris, resembled in ther wepyng,
By penaunce doyng, to folk of Nynyvee.
21
From hih estatys doun to the porayll,Of alle degrees ffounde was no wyght
To vnderfonge themprise of this batayll,
Ageyn the Geaunt of Denmark ffor to ffight:
Herald of Harderne, þe noble famous knyht,
523
Fader in armes, in euery manhis sight;
Next Guy of Warwyk, of manhood lodesterre—
22
This seide Herald beyng tho absent,Out of this rewm to seke the sone of Guy,
Callid Raynbourne, in contrees adiacent,
And alle þe provyncis that stoode faste by,
Wich in yong age was stole traytourly,
By straunge marchauntis ongoodly lad away,
Felyce, his moder, wepyng tendirly,
For his absence compleynyng nyht and day.
23
Born by dyscent to ben hir ffadris hayr,Hir yonge sone Raynborne to succede,
In hir tyme was holde noon so ffayr,
Callid the example of trouthe and womanhede;
Rowand, hir ffader, for noblesse and manheede,
Erl of Warwyk, named oon the beste knyht
That was tho dayes, in story as I reede,
But he, allas! fflouryng in hys myght
24
Paide his dette of deth on-to nature,By Parcas sustren was sponne his lyves threede.
And, as the story remembreth by scripture,
Whan that Felyce conseyved hadde in deede,
By [this] seyde Guy, sone affter, as I reede,
He lyk a pilgrym endewed with all vertu
The nexte morwe chaunged hath his weede,
And spedde hym forth for love of Crist Ihesu;
524
25
Forsook the world, onknowe to euery wight,Of hih perfeccyoun to leven in penaunce,
Lefft wyff and kyn, and bekam Goddis knyght,
Whom for to serve was set all his plesaunce,
Content with lytel, Crist was his suffysaunce,
In wordly pompe he lyst not to soiourne.—
Callyng ageyn on-to remembraunce
Kyng Ethelstan, my penne I wyll retourne,
26
As I began, in ordre to proceede,Of his compleynt to make mencyoun:
Not clad in purpil, but chaunged hath his weede,
Blak for mornyng and desolacyoun,
Be-cause there was in all his regyoun
Founde no persone his quarell to dyffende;
To God above seyde this orysoun,
Bespreynt with teris, his grace doun to sende:
27
“O Lord,” quod he, “of moost magnyfycence,Cast doun Thyn erys vn-to my prayeere!
Remembre nat vp-on my greet offence
But fro my synnes turne a-way Thy cheere,
Disespeired, stondyng in doubyll were,
To lese my kyngdam, septre, and regalye,
But medyacioun of Thy Moder deere
Be gracious mene to saue my partye.
28
“My feith, myn hope, my trust, myn affyaunceAll hoolly restith in Thy proteccyoun;
525
Be blont and feble, my power is bore doun;
But grace with mercy list be my champioun,
Þorgh Þi support my foon shal me encombre!”
—While Ethelstan seyde this orysoun,
Or he was war, he ffyll in-to a slombre.
29
For wach and trouble lay in an agonye,Devoutly knelyng by his beddys syde;
The Lord above, wich can no man denye
That asketh grace, with meeknesse void of pride,
For His servaunt lyst gracyously provyde,
Which of His goodnesse sente an aungel doun,
Bad hym nat dreede, but set al ffeer a-syde,
Wich of His mercy had herd his orysoun.
30
Toward the kyng cast His look benygne,Bad hym truste al hoolly in His grace,
By a tookene and an entyeer-signe,
Which shal be shewed to hym in riht short space.
Of sleep a-dawed, the kyng lefft vp his fface,
Marked euerythyng, and prudently took heede
To whom the angel his heuynesse tenchase,
These wordis hadde, in story as I reede:
526
31
“From the voide al dyspeir and dreede,Whan Aurora shewith hir pale light,
To-morwen erly arys and take good heede,
For Crist Ihesu of Hys gracyous myght
To thy requeste hath cast doun His sight.
Trust vp-on Hym, and in þi trust be stable,
He shall conserve of equyte and ryght
Thy roiall tytle, ffor He ys mercyable.
32
“At Phebus vpriste set no lenger date,Whan silver deuh doth on the fflours ffleete,
Make thy passage toward the north gate,
Or that the sonne with his ffervent heete,
Hath on the levys dryed vp the weete;
Abide there meekly, and God shal to the sende,
Fyrst among pore a pilgrym thou shalt meete,
Entrete hym goodly, thy quarell to dyffende.
33
“Clad as a pilgrym in a brood sclaveyn,Old and forgrowe amongys the porayll,
Marke hym weell, and be riht weell serteyn,
At thy requeste that he schall nat ffayll
To accomplysshe manly thy batayll.
Trust on hym weell, and for thy purpartye,
With Goddis myht that he schall prevayll
In this mater thyn axing nat denye.”
34
The woordis seid, as ys rehersed heere,On-to the kyng, by revelacyoun,
The aungell dyd onwarly dysapeere,
527
Gaff thank to God off this avysioun.
Neuly reioisshed out off all hevynesse
With too bisshopis, as maad ys mencyoun,
And erlis tweyne, forth he gan hym dresse;
35
Thankyng the Lord of His benygne graunt,As he was bounde, of humble affeccyoun,
With his bisshopis and erlys exspectaunt,
At thilke party northward of the toun,
Lyk as the aungell, for short conclusioun,
Had told the hour on-to the kyng but late,
Whan poore ffolk, ffor sustentacyoun,
Hadde in costom to entren at the gate.
36
As the cronycle breeffly doth compile,Vnto purpos maketh rehersayll,
Of Iohn Baptyst affore in the vygyle,
How Guy of Warwik maad his arryvaylle
At Portysmouth, myn auctour wil nat ffayle,
In his writyng assignyng hour and tyme,
By grace of God, wich may most avaylle,
Tellith how Guy evene at the hour of pryme,
37
Whan briht Phebus, with his gold-tressed bemys,On hillis hih gan shewe his hevenly lyght,
Erly on morwe, and with his hoote stremys
Dried vp the deuh as perlis siluer bright,
Whan seide Guy, the noble famous knyght,
Repeired was from his long pylgrymage,
Fro Portysmouth took his weye right,
To Wynchestre holdyng his vyage.
528
38
By grace of God I deeme trew[e]lyGuy was hom sent in-to thys regyoun,
Here taccomplisshe, in knyghthood ffynally,
The laste empryse of his hih renoun,
He ffor to be the kyngys champioun,
Onknowe of alle; but whan he cam to lond,
To hym was maad pleyn relacyoun
Of his requestis, how it did[e] stond.
39
They told hym firste in ordre ceryously,Harald Harderne, that was so good a knyht,
Was goon to seke the sone off Guy,
Gretly desired of euery maner wight,
Wich by discent was born of verray riht
By tytle of Felyce, famous in womanhede,
At his repair, with grace of Cristis myght,
Erl of Warwyk iustly to succede.
40
They told hym also of the grete stryff,Tween them of Denmark & Ethelstan þe kyng,
And how that Rowand, ffader to hys wyff,
Old erl of Warwik, ful notable of levyng,
Was ded also;—and Guy herd euery thyng,
Of hih prudence kept hym-silff clos,
Lyk a pilgrym his leve there takyng,
Goth to Wynchestre anoon as he aroos.
41
Guy took his loggyng, whan it drouh to nyht,With pore men at an old hospytall,
529
Too hundrid pas withoute the north wall,
Where stondeth now a menstre ful roiall.
The nexte morwe, anoon as Guy a-wook,
God was his guyde, in especyall,
Mong pore men, the riht[e] weie he took
42
To the north gate, as grace did hym guye,By resemblaunce, so entryng in-to toun
As Dauid whilom cam ageyn Golye
To helpen Saul, by grace of God sent doun;
So for reffuge and ffor savacyoun,
Bothe of the kyng and of al this lond,
Guy was provided to be ther champioun
Ageyn the pompe off proude Colybrond.
43
By his habite and his pylgrym weede,Thilke tyme clad in a round sclaveyn,
Of whos array, whan the kyng took heede,
Sauh Goddis promys was nat maad in veyn,
Took vp his herte, and knew riht weel serteyn,
God faileth neuer His frend on see nor lond,
With wepyng teris his chekis spreynt lik reyn,
For verray gladnesse he took Guy by þe hond.
44
Besekyng hym, in moost louly wyse,With sobbyng cheer that routhe was to see,
To vnderfonge this knyhtly hih empryse;
530
To do socour in this necessyte;
In his dyffence that he wyll nat ffayll,
Geyn Colybrond his champioun for to be
For his party darreyne the batayll.
45
Guy, wonder sad of look and of vysage,Feynt and wery, and dulled of travayll,
Made his excuse that he was ffalle in age,
And out of ews more to be clad in mayll.
“My wil,” quod he, “yif it myhte avayll,
The cruell ire of Danys to appeese,
For comoun profit, good wil shal nat ffayll,
My lyf iuparte to set thys lond in ese.”
46
The kyng, the lordys, made greet instaunceTo this pylgrym with language and prayere;
Guy, for to doon vnto the kyng plesaunce
For Ihesus sake, and for His Moder deere,
Ys condescendyd, lyk as ye schall heere,
With Goddys grace, affter the covenaunt,
As the convencyoun iustly doth requere,
At place assigned to mete the Geaunt.
47
Off this empryse was maad no long delay,This convencyoun pleynly to darreyne,
Tyme set of Iule vp-on the xij. day,
Place assigned, and meetyng of thes tweyne,
The accord rehersed, the statute, and the peyne,
531
As the partyes were boundyn in serteyn,
For short conclusioun ther-by to a-byde.
48
Withoute the gate, remembred as I reede,The place callyd of antyquyte,
In Inglyssh tonge named Hyde Meede,
Or ellis Denmark, nat fer from the Cyte:
Meetyng togedre there men myghte see
Terryble strokys lyk the dent of thonder,
Sparklys out off ther harneys fflee,
That to be-holde, it was a verray wonder.
49
The old pylgrym quyt hym lyk a knyght,Spared nat the Geaunt to assaylle,
On his lefft shulder smet at hym with suych myht
Vndir the bordour of his aventayll
A streem of blood gan by his sydes rayll;
The Geaunt wood, this hydous Colybrond,
Thoughte it sholde gretly hym avayll
That Guyes suerd was broke out of his hond.
50
Whan Danys sauh Guy had lost his suerd,They cauhte a maner consolacyoun;
Guy, lyk a knyght in herte nat afferd,
Requered manly of the champioun
Sith he of wepnys hadde so gret foysoun
532
But Colybrond of indyngnacyoun
To his requeste gaff noon audyence.
51
For he was set on malys and on wrak,To execute his purpos set on pryde,
And while that he and Guy to-gedre spak,
All attonys Guy sterte out a-syde,
Cauhte a pollex, lyst no lenger byde,
Smette the Geaunt evene in the firste wounde,
Made his strok so myghtyly to glyde
That his lefft arme and shuldir ffyll to grounde;
52
With wich strok the Geaunt Colybrond,Al his armure and boody was maad reed,
Stoupyng a-syde, gan reche forth his hond,
To take a suerd, wherof Guy took heed.
God and grace that day gaff hym suych speed,
To put his name euer affter in memorie,
Fleih with his ax, smet of the sturdy heed
Of the Geaunt, and hadde of hym vyctorye.
53
This thyng accomplisshed by grace of Goddis hond,And by the prowesse of Guy, this noble knyght,
They of Denmark, as the statute bond,
Han crossed sail, and take ther weye right
Toward ther cuntre, nouther glad nor light,
Ther surquedye and ther pompe oppressed:
Kyng Ethelstan by grace of Goddys myht,
Hadde of Denmark the pompe ful repressed.
533
54
Ther froward pompe with meknesse was repressed,By Guy of Warwyk, as maad is mencioun,—
The kyng, the clergye devoutly haue hem dressed,
Pryncys, barouns and burgeis of the toun,
With al the comounte; for short conclusioun,
Hih and lowe, to speke in generall,
Hym to conveie with proscessioun,
On-to ther chirche callyd Cathedrall.
55
This seide Guy, ther knelyng on his kne,With gret meknesse made his oblacioun
Of thilke ex, with wich afforn that he
Hadde of Danys slayn the champioun,
Wich instrument thorugh al this regyoun;
Is yit callid “the ex of Colybrond,”
Kept among men of relygyoun
In the vestiarie, as ye shall vnderstond.
56
Whan al was doon, ther is no more to seyn,Guy in al haste caste of hys armure,
Lyk a pilgrym put on his sclaveyn.
The kyng ful goodly affter dyd his cure
That he myhte the grace so recure
Of this pilgrym to tellyn and nat spare,
In secre wyse to tellyn his aventure,
What was his name pleynly to declare.
57
“Certys,” quod Guy, “ye must haue me excused.Touchyng your ascyng and your petycioun,
534
In your desire for noon occasioun.
To myn excuse I haue ful greet resoun,
For I shal neuer dyscure this mateer
But vnder bond of a condycyoun,
Assuraunce maad tween yow and me, in feere;
58
“Alle your pryncys avoided by absence,Sool be our-silff, out of this cyte,
Noon but we tweyne beyng in presence,
With trouthe assured that ye shal be secre,
Duryng my lyf—ye gete no more of me—
To no persone, I aske no more avayll,
Of ffeith and oth, to hih nor louh degre,
That ye shall neuer dyscure my counsayll.”
59
This thyng confermed by promys ful roiall,Passed the subbarbys and boundys of the toun,
At a cros that stood ffeer ffrom the wall,
Ful devoutly the pilgrym knelith doun,
To sette asyde all suspecyoun.
“My lord,” quod he, “Of feith with-outen blame,
Your lyge man, of humble affeccyoun,
Guy of Warwyk trewly is my name.”
60
The kyng, astoned, gan chaunge cher and face,And in maner gan wepyn for gladnesse,
And al attonys he gan hym to enbrace
In bothe his armes, of royall gentylnesse,
With offte kyssyng of ffeithfull kyndenesse,
With grete proffres on the tother syde
Of gold, of tresour, and of gret rychesse
With-inne his paleys yif he wolde abyde.
535
61
Alle thes profres meekly he for-sook,And to the kynges royall mageste
Hym recomaundyng, anoon his weie he took.
At his departyng this avouh maad he,
With pitous wepyng, knelyng on his kne,
Vnto the kyng in ffull humble entent:
“Duryng my lyf, it may noon other bee,
Schall I neuer doon of this garnement.”
62
At ther departyng was but smal langage,Sweem of ther speche made interupcyoun;
The kyng goth hom,—Guy took his vyage
Toward Warwyk, his castell and his toun,
No man of hym hauyng suspecyoun.
Where day be day Felyce, his trewe wyf,
Fedde poore folk, of greet devocyoun,
To praie for hir, and for hir lordys lyf—
63
Thrittene in noumbre, myn auctour writeth so.Guy at his comyng forgrowe in his vysage,
Thre daies space he was oon of tho
That took almesse with humble and louh corage;
Thankyng the contesse, in haste took his viage
Nat fer fro Warwyk, the cronycle doth expresse,
Of aventure kam to an hermytage
Where he fond on dwellyng in wyldirnesse.
64
To hym he drouh, besechyng hym of graceFor a tyme to holde there soiour.
536
By deth is passed the ffyn of his labour;
Affter whos day Guy was his successour
Space of too yeer, by grace of Cryst Ihesu,
Dauntyng his flessh by penaunce and rigour,
Ay more and more encresyng in vertu.
65
God made him knowe the day he sholde deie,Thorugh his moost gracyous vysytacyoun,
Be an angel hys spirit to conveye
Affter his bodyly resolucyoun,
For his merites to the hevenly mansioun;
Affter he sente in haste his weddyng ryng
Vn-to his wyf, of trewe affeccyoun,
Praied hir come to been at his deyng.
66
And that she scholde doon hir besy cure,By a maner wyfly dyllygence,
In haste ordeyne for his sepulture
With no gret cost, nor with no gret dyspence.
Gan haste hir faste tyl she kam in presence
Where as he lay dedly and pale of fface;
Bespreynt with teris, knelyng with reuerence,
The dede body swownyng she did enbrace.
67
And as this notable, ffamous, worthy knyghtSente hir to seyne, eek be his massangeer,
In that place to burye hym anoon right,
Where as he lay afforn a smal auhteer,
And that she sholde doon trewly hir deveer,
For hir-silf dyspoce[n] and provyde
The xv day ffolwyng, the same yeer,
To be buryed ffaste be his syde.
537
68
Hys hooly wyf of al this thyng took heedLyk as Guy bad, lyst no lenger tarye,
To quyte hir-silf of trouthe and womanheed
She was ful loth ffrom his desire to varye;
Sente in al haste ffor the ordynarye,
Whiche ocupied in that dyocyse;
She was nat ffounde in o poynt contrarye
Al thyng taccomplisshe as ye han herd devyse.
69
And this mater breefly to conclude,At his exequyes, old and yong of age,
Of dyuerse statys there cam gret multytude
With gret devocyoun to that hermytage;
And lyk a prynce with al the surplusage,
They took hym vp, and leyd hym in his grave,
Ordeyned of God afforn of hih corage
Ageyn the Danys thys regyoun to save.
70
Whos sowle, I hope, restith now in glorye,With hooly spiritis above the ffirmament.
Felyce, his wyf, ay callyng to memorie
The day approchyng of hir enterment,
Afforn ordeyned in hir testament
Hir sone Reynborne be tytle of hir possede,
Heyr trewly born by lyneal dyscent,
In the Erldam of Warwyk to succede.
71
The stok descendyng of antyquyteTo Guy his ffader be tytle of mariage,
Affter whos deth, of lawe and equyte,
538
Affter al this, his mooder, of good age,
Hath yolde hir dette, by deth, vn-to nature.
Beside hir lord in the hermytage,
With a good ende was maad hir sepulture.
72
For more auctorite as of this mateer,Whos translacioun is suych in sentence,
Out of the Latyn maad by the cronycleer
Callyd of old Gerard Cornubyence,
Wich wrot the dedis with gret dilligence,
Of them that wern in Westsex crowned kynges,
Gretly comendyng for knyghtly excellence
Guy of Warwyk in his famous writynges.
73
Of whos noblesse ful gret heed he took,His marcyal name puttyng in remembraunce,
The xi. chapitle of his hystorial book,
The parfight lyf, the vertuous gouernaunce,
His wylful povert, hard goyng, and penaunce
Brought on-to me a chapitle to translate:
Yif ought be wrong in metre or in substaunce,
Putteth the wyte for dulnesse on Lydgate.
74
Meekly compiled vnder correccyoun,Lyf of Sir Guy, by dyllygent labour;
Sette aside pryde and presumpcioun,
Because he hadde of cadence no colour;
In Tullius' gardyn he gadrid neuer fflour,
Nor of Omerus he kam neuer in the meede:
Praying echon of support and ffavour
Nat to dysdeyne the clauses whan they reede.
Explicit.
539
23. THE DEBATE OF THE HORSE, GOOSE, AND SHEEP.
Incipit Disputacio inter Equum, Aucam, & Ouem.
A Disputation between a horse, a sheepe and a goose, for superiotitie
1
Controuersies, pleys & discordisAttween persones, wer it too or thre,
Sought out the ground bi wittnessis of recordis:
This was the costom of antiquyte;
Iuges wer sett that hadde auctor[i]te,
The cas conceyved stondyng indifferent,
Attween parties to yeue a iugement.
2
Parties assemblid of hih or lowe degre,Weren admittid to shewen in sentence
Ground of her quarell; the lawe made hem fre
Without excepcioun to come to audience,
Bi the president comaundid first silence,
540
Bi title of right ther grevis to declare.
3
Vpon this mater shortly to conclude,Nat yoor a-gon as I reherse shall,
I fond to purpos a similitude
Ful craftily depeyntid vpon a wall:
Tweyn sitt in ther estat roiall,
The hardy Leoun famous in al rewmys,
Themperiall Egle pershyng the sonne bemys.
4
These wer the dreedful roiall iugis tweyn,In ther estate sittyng, I took keepe,
That herde the parties bi & bi compleyn,
The Hoors, the Goos, & the symple Sheepe.
The processe was nat to profounde nor deepe,
Off ther debat, but contryued of a fable;
Which of them to man was most profitable.
5
Ech for his partie proudly gan procedeTenforce hym-silf, bi record of scriptur
In philosophie as clerkis seen or rede,
The prerogatives goven hem bi natur;
Which of these thre to euery creatur
In re puplica availeth most to man.
For his partie thus first the hors began:
6
“To procede breffly, & nat [long to] tarie,Fro the trowth that I do nat erre,
541
As is the hors bothe nyh & ferre,
Or so notable to man in pees & werre?
Hors in cronyclis, wo-so looke a-riht,
Hav be savacion to many a worthi knyht.
7
“Marcial prowessis in especiallGod hath bi hors yove to werreiours.
Record of Alisandre whoos hors Busifall
Made hym tascape many sharp[e] shours;
The golden char of old[e] conquerours
Toward the tryumphe for ther knyghtly deedis
Conveied were with four white steedis.
8
“Remembre of Ector the Troian chaumpioun,Whoos hors was callid whilom Galathe;
Vpon whos bak he pleyed the leoun,
And ofte sithe made the Grekis flee.
The stede of Perseus was callid the Pegase,
With swift[e] wengis, poetis seyn the same;
Was, for swifftnesse callid ‘the hors of Fame.’
9
“Eques, ab ‘equo,’ is seid of verray riht,And cheualer is saide of cheualrye;
In Duche, a rudder is a knyght;
Aragon tunge doth also specifie
542
Is name of worship & took bigynnyng
Off spooris of gold & cheeffly of rydyng.
10
“Thes emperours, thes princis & thes kynges,Whan thei been armyd in bright plate & mayle,
Withouten hors what wer her mustrynges,
Ther brode baneres & ther riche apparaile,
To-fore ther enmyes to shew them in bataile?
Withouten hors spere, swerde, no sheld
Miht litel a-vaile for to holde a feeld.
11
“The hardy prikeris vpon hors[e] bakBe sent to-forn what ground is best to take
In that ordynaunce, that ther be no lak
Bi providence the feelde whan thei shal make;
An hors wole weepe for his maistir sake;
Chaunser remembrith the swerd, the ryng, the glas,
Presentid wern vpon a stede of bras.
12
“Tween to hyllis the prophete ZacarieSauh steedis four: the first of hem was red,
In charis four the feeld to magnyfie;
The secunde was blak it is no dreed;
The thrydde was whight, bodi, nek, & hed;
The fourthe was dyuers, & euerichon wer strong:
And to knyghthood alle these colours long.
543
13
“The red hors was tokne of hardynesse,Which apperteneth to euery hardy knyht;
The cole-blak hew a sygne of sobirnesse,
Poraile oppressid to helpe them in ther right;
The mylk-whiht steede that was so glad of siht,
Tokne that knyhthod trewly shuld entende,
Holi chirche & preesthod to deffende.
14
“The many-fold colours, to speke in generall,Been sondry vertues & condiciouns,
As the fower vertues callid cardynall
Longyng to knyhthod tencrece ther hih renouns—
In re publica callid the chaumpiou[n]s,
Treuthe to sustene shewe hem siluen strong,
Bounde bi ther ordre so no man have wrong.
15
“Withouten hors iustis ne turney att allMay nat be holden, in werr ne in pees;
Nor in palestre nor pleyes marciall,
Yiff hors do faile may come to non encres,
Nor no man sothly dar put hym silf in pres
Withouten hors, for short conclusioun,
To atteyn the palme of tryumphal guerdoun.
16
“Lower degrees ther been of hors al-soDo grett profite to euery comounte:
544
Without[en] hors dayly ye may see,
Tilthe wer lost, ne wer hors parde;
The besi marchant to his avauntage
Nar shippis & hors coude make no cariage.
17
“The ship bi liknesse is clepid an hors of tree(Ful notably who can vndirstond)
To leden men & carien ouer see
As don these hors whan thei ar come to lond:
The poor man ledith vpon a lond
His litel capil his corn, his mele, to selle;
Whan it is grounde hors carye it hom melle.
18
“In wyntir seson, for to make bele cheer,Than is neede wode & stuff to carie;
Wyn, frute, & oyle to serve thoruh the yeer
Is brought to vynters, & to the appotecarie
Divers dragges & many a letuarie,
Sondry bales & shortly, al vitaill:
Off the cariage hors have the travaille.
19
“Hey nor otis (playnly who list lerne,)May from the feeld[is] nor the medewis grene
To the garner nothir fro the berne
545
And to purpos (I sei right as I meene)
Ther is no best (to rekne as I be-gan)
So necessarie as hors is on-to man.
20
“August is a seson mery & glad,Whan euery tre with newe frut is lade,
With drauht of hors the shevis been hom lad;
That moneth past, the levis gynne fade,
Which made in somer a plesant lusti shade:
What doon hors than (to speke in wordis pleyn,)?
The secunde crop thei carie hom roweyn.
21
“Bi draught of hors fro rivers & fro wellisBowges be brouht to brewers for good ale;
Leede, ston, & tymbre, cariage eek for bellis,
We bryng to chirches (of trouthe, this is no tale);
We lede cloth sakkis & many a large male,
And gladly somers ar sent euyr to-forn
With gardeviaundis; how myht we be for-born?
22
“Ye prudent iugis, the Egle & the Leoun,What I haue saide doth wisly advertise;
Weieth this mater in your discrecioun,
Whedir Goos or Sheep (pleynly to devise)
Off ther nature may in any wise
(Iustly demyth, lat it nat be sparid)
Vn-to an Hors be likned & comparid.
546
23
“That I have told is trouth, & no feynyng;No wiht of reson may a-geyn replie,
Goos nor Gandir nor no grene Goslyng,
But if he entre the boundis of envie:
Lat hir come forth & say for hir partie.”
“Yis, trust me weel for the I wil nat spar,
Lik as I fele my verdite to declar:
24
“Wher-as thou hast vnto thi pasturBut oo place to make in thi repair,
It is me grauntid pleynly by nature
Tabide in thre, lond, watir, & ayer;
Now a-mong flours & grevis that been fair,
Now bathe in rivers, swymme in many a pond,
For storme & shour as drie as on the lond.
25
“To myn entent mo thynges ye may seen,As expert knowen that been old:
Whan wilde gees hihe in the ayer vp fleen,
A pronostik o[f] snow & wedris colde
With her weenges displayed & vnfolde,
Kalendis bryng pleynly for to seye
A-geyn wyntir how men shal them purueye.
26
“The grees of gandris is good in medicyne,With sundry gummes tempred for the gout,
547
In thextremytes drawe the malice out;
Fethers of goos whan thei falle or mout,
To gadre hem vp heerdis hem delite,
Selle hem to fletchers, the grey with the whihte.
27
“Men plukke stalkes out of my weengis tweyn,Some to portraye, somme to noote & write,
Whan rethoriciens han doon ther besy peyn
Fressh epistolis & lettris to endite.
With-out writyng vaileth nat a myte;
For, yiff pennys & writyng wer a-way,
Off remembraunce we had lost the kay.
28
“Off gees also the deede is previd oftIn many a contre and many a regioun,
To make pilwes & fether-beddis soft,
Of provident men plukkid of the doun:
Thus, to make a pleyn comparisoun,
As pilwes been to chaumbris agreable,
So is hard strauh litteer for the stable.
29
“The fyme of Gees & greene Gos[e]lyngisGadred in May among the herbis soote
A-geyn brennyng, scaldyng, & many othir thynges,
Tempred with oile & buttir doth gret boote
Tasswage the peyn [that] perceth to the roote;
But hors[es] dunge as refus al-way
Is good for forneyssis, temprid with clay.
548
30
“A ded hors is but a fowle careyn,The ayr infectyng, [it] is so corrumpable;
But a fatt goos whan it is new[e] slayn,
In disshis of gold, a morsel agreable,
Is sewid vp atte kyngis table,
Swymmyng on lyve in watris cristallyn;
Tendre rostid requeerith to have good wyn.
31
“Th[r]ouh al the lond of Brutis Albion,For fetherid arwes (as I reherse can)
Goos is the best (as in comparisoun,)
Except fetheris of Pekok or of Swan:
Bi bowe & arwis sith the werr began,
Have Ynglysshmen, as it is red in story,
On her enmyes had many gret victory.
32
“Hors in the feeld may mustre in gret pride,Whan thei of trumpetis her the blody soun;
But whan an arwe hath perced thoruh his side,
To ground he goth & cast his maistir doun:
Entryng the feeld he pleyeth the leoun;
What folwith aftir? his careyn stynkith sore;
Sauf skyn & shoon men leve of hym no more.
33
“Mihty capteyns & knyhtis in the feeldMake her wardis & her ordynaunce:
549
Sett in dew ordre to have the gouernaunce;
Which at Peiters toke the kyng of Fraunce.
Thank to the Goos mote be yove of riht,
Which in that feeld so proudly took her flight.
34
“Slouth of my fliht for hasti necligenceOf presumcion the Goos was left bi-hynde,
Whan the famous worthi Duke of Clarence
Rood on Baiard with his eyn blynde,—
Fliht of my fetheris was put out of mynde;
And, for he sett of me that day no fors,
Ful litel or nouht availed hym his Hors.
35
“Bookis old remembren in sentenceSom tyme whan Rome bi his foon was take,
The Capitoile kept with gret deffence:
Noise of a gandr the Capteyn did awake;
Which thyng remembryd thei sett vp for his sake,
In her templis wondir wide & olde,
A large Gandr forgid of fyn golde.
36
“His wakir noise was the savaciounBi which the Capteyn ran vp to the wall:
Thus, bi a gandr recured was the toun,
Callid of the world cite most roiall,
Cite of Citees that day most principall.
Was euyr Hors in bookis that ye can rede,
Pro re publica that dide sich a deede?
550
37
“In the book of Chyvaler de Lynge.The stori tellith (as in sentement)
Ther wer childre of the roiall ligne
Born with cheynes which, whan thei wern of rent,
Thei turned to swannes by enchantement,
Took her fliht (the cronycle is ful cleer,)
And as swannys the[i] swomme in the riveer.
38
“This story is ful autentik & old,In Frenssh compiled often rad & seyn:
Of the cheynes was made a cuppe of gold
Which is yit kept as somme folkis seyn,
And bi descent it longith (in certeyn)
To the Herfordis; ye shal it fynde in dede
Ceriously who list the story reede.
39
“And semblably nat long her-to-forn,(I telle this tale as for this partie)
Ther was a man, in Lumbardy born,
To a goos turned bi craft of sorcerye,
A-bood so seuene yeer (me list nat to lye);
His writ fill of, tho stood he vp a man,
A-bood with the duke in seruyce of Melan.
40
“And for he was a man of hih degre,Born of good blood & notable in substaunce,
551
The seide merveile to put in remembraunce.
Peise all these thyngis iustly in balaunce,
And lat the Hors leven his boost & roos,
To be comparid othir to Gandir or Goos.
41
“Withynne Rome the Gandr was deified,Set in ther templis of gret affeccioun,
Bi senatours of costom magnyfied
As cheeff protector & saviour of the toun:
Lat Hors & Sheep ley her bost a-doun,
But yiff the Ram, with his brasen belle,
Can for the Sheep any bettir story telle.”
42
The Sheep was symple, loth to mak a-fray,Lik a beste disposid to meeknesse:
The sturdy Ram aduocat was that day:
Be-for the iuges anon he gan hym dresse,
With an exordie in Latyn, this texppresse:
“Verte pupurea, O Egle, & thou Leoun,
Induti sunt Arietes Ouium.
43
“Off this notable roiall hih scriptur,The blissid Doctour Austyn, as I reede,
Be maner [of a] gostly fayr figur
Off a chast Sheep (thus he doth procede,)
552
Brouht forth the Lambe, Lambe of most vertu,
The Lambe of Grace which is callid Ihesu.
44
“Austyn callith this Lambe, in his estat(Bi many-folde recorde of Scriptur,)
The Roial Lambe of colour purpurat,
Which for mankynde list passioun to endur,
Born of a maide bi grace, a-geyn nature,
Whan He, bi mene of hir humylite,
Took the meeke clothyng of our humanyte.
45
“Born bi descent to be bothe Preest & Kyng,Kyng bi successioun fro Dauid doun bi line,
Of purpil red was His roial clothyng,
This Agnus Dei born of a pur virgyne,
Which wessh a-wey all venym serpentyne
On Calvarie whan He for man was ded,
With His pur blood purpurat & red.
46
“This Paschale Lamb withouten spot, al whiht,Bi His passioun in Bosra steyned red,
Which cam from Edom, Lamb of most delite,
That yaff His bodi to man in forme of bred
On Sheerthursday be-forn ar He was ded.
Was euyr founde afore this in scriptur,
Off Hors or Goos so solempne a ffigur?
47
“This Lamb was Crist which lyneali doun cam,Bi descent conveide the peedegre
553
Bi Isaac, Iacob & so doun to Iesse,
Which, bi the vertu of His humylite,
List to be callid the blissid Lord Ihesu,
For His hih meekenesse Lamb of most vertu.
48
“And to reherse worldly comoditees,In re publica make no co[m]parison:
Ther is no best which, in all degrees,
Nouthir Tigre, Olifant, nor Gryffon—
Al thynges rekned thoruh euery region—
Doth so gret profite, Hors, nor Goos, nor Swan,
As doth the Sheep, vn-to the ese of man.
49
“Lat be thi bost, thou Hors, & thi iangelyng!Ley doun thi trapurs forgid of plate & maile!
Cast of thy brydyl of gold so fressh shynyng!
What may thi sadil or bos the availe?
This gostly Lamb hath doon a gret bataile;
Bi His meknesse He offred vp for man,
Clad in pur purpil venquysshid hath Satan.
50
“The Goos may gagle, the Hors may prike & praunce;Neithir of hem in prowes may atteyne
For to be set or put in remembraunce
A-geyn the Lamb, thouh thei ther-at disdeyn:
For comon profite he passith bothe tweyne,
554
To hym in valew be-tween poor & riche.
51
“Off Brutis Albion his wolle is cheeff richesse,In prys surmountyng euery othir thyng
Sauff greyn & corn: marchauntis al expresse,
Wolle is cheeff tresour in this lond growyng:
To riche & poore this beeste fynt clothyng:
Alle naciouns afferme vp to the fulle,
In al the world ther is no bettir wolle.
52
“Of Sheep al-so comyth pilet & eke fell,Gadrid in this lond for a gret marchaundise,
Caried ovir see wher men may it sell:
The wolle skynnys makith men to rise
To gret richesse in many sondry wise;
The Sheep al-so turnyth to gret profite,
To helpe of man berith furris blak & white.
53
“Ther is also made of [the] Sheepis skyn,Pilchis & glovis to dryve awey the cold.
Ther-of also is made good parchemyn,
To write on bookes in quaiers many fold;
The Ram of Colcos bar a flees of gold;
The flees of Gedeon of deuh delectable
Was of Maria a ffigur ful notable.
555
54
“His fleessh is natural restauracioun,As summe men seyn aftir gret siknesse:
Rostid or sodyn, holsom is motoun,
Wellid with growel, phisiciens expresse,
Ful nutritiff aftir a gret accesse.
The Sheep al-so concludyng dout[e]lees
Of his nature louyth rest & pes.
55
“Of the Sheep is cast a-way no thyng:His horn for nokkis, to haftis goth the bon;
To the lond gret profite doth his tirdelyng;
His talwe eke seruyth for plaistres mo than on;
For harp strynges his roppis serue echon;
Of his hed boiled [holl] with wolle & all,
Ther comyth a gelle, an oyneme[n]t ful roiall!
56
“For ache of bonys & also for brosourIt remedieth & dooth [men] ese ful blyve;
Causith men starkid bonys to recur;
Dede synnewis restorith a-geyn to live.
Blak sheepis wolle with fresh oile of olive—
Thes men of armys with charmys previd good,—
At a streiht neede thei can weel staunche blood.
57
“But to the Wolff contrarie of natur,As seyn auctours, it is the humble best,
Louyth no debat, for with eche creature,
556
Wher-fore, ye Iugis, I hold it for the best,
Rem publicam ye must of riht preferre,
Alwey consideryng that pees is bet than werre.
58
“In this mater breffly to conclude,Pees to preferre as to my devis,
Bi many an old previd symylitude:
Makith no delay, yeuyth to the Sheep the pris,
Of oon assent, sith that ye be wis;
Lat al werr & striff be sett a-side,
And vpon pees dooth with the Sheep a-bide.”
59
“Nay,” quod the Hors, “your request is wrong,Al thyng considerid me wer loth to erre:
The Sheep is cause & hath be ful long,
Of newe striff & of mortal werre.
The circumstancis me list nat to defferre:
Thi wolle was cause & gret occasion
Whi that the proude Duke of Burgo[uy]n
60
“Cam befor Caleis with Flemynges nat a fewe,Which yaff the sakkis & sarpleres of the toun
To Gaunt & Brugis his fredam for to shewe,
And of thi wolle hiht hem pocessioun;
But his boistous baistill first was bete doun;
He vnethe escapid with the liff:
What but thi wolle was cause of al this striff?
557
61
“Wher richesse is of wolle & sich good,Men drawe thidir that be rek[e]les,
And soudiours that braynles been, & wood,
To gete baggage put hem silf in prees:
Causist werre, seist thu louest pees.
And yiff ther wer no werre nor bataille,
Lityll or nouht gret Hors[is] shuld availe.”
62
“No,” quod the Goos, “nor my ffetheris white,Withoute werre shuld do non avauntage,
Nor hookid arwis profite but a lite:
To mete our e[n]myes magre ther visage,
And from our enmyes to save vs from damage,
Fliht of my ffetheris despite of Sheep echon,
Shal vs deffende a-geyn our mortal foon.”
63
“Sothe,” quod the Hors, “as in my inward siht,Without[en] werre (be-forn as I yow told),
We may nat save nor keepe [wele] our riht,
Our garisons nor our castelis old.
But her this Sheep rukyng in his fold,
Set litill stoor of swerd or arwis keene,
Whan he, in pees, may pastur on the greene.
64
“Yiff it so stood that no werre were,Lost wer the craft of these armoreres.
What shuld availe pollex, swerd or spere,
558
Bowes, crosbowes arwis or fletcheres?
All these instrumentis for the werre wrouht,
Yif werr stynt shuld[e] serue of nouht.
65
“Her occupacioun shold have non encres;Knyhthod nat flouren shuld in his estat;
In euery contre yiff ther were pees,
No man of armys shold be fortunat:
I preve that pees is grond of all debat,
For on five spookis lik as on a wheel,
Turnyth al the world, who can considre weel.
66
“Gyn first at pees which causith most richesse,And riches is the originall of pride,
Pride causith, for lak of rihtwissnesse,
Werre between rewmys, look, on euery side,
Hertis contrarye in pees can nat a-bide:
Thus, fynally (whoo can considre & see,)
Werre is cheff ground & cause of pouerte.
67
“Pouert bi werr brouht to disencrece,For lak of tresour than he can no more,
Sauff only this he crieth aftir pees.
And compleyneth on the werris sore:
He seith, ‘bi werris he hath goodis lore,’
Can no recur but grutchyng & disdeyn,
Seith he wold fayn have pees a-geyn.
559
68
Thus pride & richesse to conclude in a clause,Betwen thextremytes of pes & pouerte,
Off all debatis & werre be cheeff cause;
And, sith wollis bryngith in gret plente,
Wher thei habounde (as folk expert may se),
Than may I seyn (yiff men wole takyn keepe),
Werr is brouht in al only bi the Sheep.”
69
“Her is a gentil reson of an Hors!I trowe he be fallen in a dotage,
Which of madnesse bi wolle set no fors,
Falsly affermeth it doth non avauntage.
Vertuous plente may do no damage:
Sheep berith his wolle, I told so whan I gan,
Nat for hym-silf, but for profit of man.
70
“Divers comoditees that comen of the SheepCause no werris what men iangle or muse,
As in her gilt, ye Iuges, takith keep
What that I sei her innocence texcuse!
Of coveitise men may falsly mysvse
Her beenfetis & wrongly hem attwite
Of sich occasiouns wher he is nat to wite.
71
“What is the Sheep to blame in your sightWhan she is shoorn & of hir flessh made bare,
560
Causelees to stryve foolis wil nat spare.
Wher pees restith ther is al weelfare;
And sith the Sheep louyth pes of innocence,
Yeuyth to his party diffynytiff sentence.”
72
The roial Egle, the Leon, of assent,Al thyng considerid rehersid heer-to-forn
Of all these thre bi good avisement,
Of Hors, of Goos, of Ram, with his gret horn,
Sauh in re publica myht nat be for-born;
Bi short sentence tavoyde al discorde,
Cast a meene to sett hem at a-corde.
73
This was the meene tavoide first the stryves,And al old rancour with her hertis glade,
Vse her yiftes & her prerogatives
To that eende which that thei wer made,
War, with presu[m]pcioun her bakkis be nat lade,
Vndevidid with hert[e], will & thouht
To doon her office as natur hath hem wrouht.
74
The Hors, bi kynde, to lyve in travayle,Goos, with his Gooslynges [to] swymme in the lake,
The Sheep, whoos wolle doth so myche availe,
561
Her comparisouns bi on assent for-sake,
Al-wey remembryng how God & Natur,
To a good ende made euery creatur.
75
That noon [of hem] to othir shuld do no wrong,The ravenous wolf the sely lambe toppresse;
And thouh oon be more than an othir strong,
To the febler do no froward duresse.
Al extorcioun is groundid on falsnesse;
Will is no lawe whethir it be wrong or riht:
Treuthe is put doun, the feeble is put to fliht.
76
Odious of old been all co[m]parisouns,And of comparisons is gendrid hatereede;
All folk be nat of lik condiciouns,
Nor lik disposid of thouht, wil, or deede;
But this fable which that ye now reede,
Contreued was that who that hath grettest part
Off vertuous yiftis shold with his freend depart.
77
Thus all vertues alloone hath nat oo man:That oon lakkith God hath yove a-nothir:
That thou canst nat parcas a-nothir can:
So entircomon as brothir doth with brothir;
562
And in oo clause speke in wordis pleyn,
That no man shold of othir ha disdeyn.
[Amor uincit omnia]
The Auctour makith a lenvoie vpon all the mateer be-fore said.
78
Off this fable conceivith the sentence;At good leiser doth the mateer see,
Which importith gret intelligence
Yiff ye list take the moralite
Profitable to euery comounte,
Which includith in many sondry wise,
No man shuld of hih nor lowe degre,
For no prerogatiff his neihbore despise.
79
Som man is strong, hardi as a LeounTo bynde Beeris or Booris to oppresse,
Wher-as anothir hath gret discrecioun;
Som man hooly liveth in parfitnesse,
A-nothir besi to gadre gret richesse:
But with al this tak heed of this emprise,
No man presume so hih his hornes dresse,
For no prerogatiff his neihbour to despise.
80
Trappurs of gold ordeyned wer for steedis;Sheep in the pastur gresen with mekenesse,
Yit of ther wollis be woven riche weedis,
Of smothe doun maad pilwis for softnesse,
Fethirbeddis to sleep, whan men dresse
563
Rolle vp this problem, thynk what it doth expresse:
For no prerogatiffe thi neihbour nat despise.
81
The inward meenyng to-forn as it is told,The Hors is tokne of marcial noblesse
With his hi belle & bocis brood of gold.
Estat of tirantis the poraile doth oppresse;
The Woolff in ffoldis to Sheep doth duresse,
Rukkyng in ffoldis for dreed dar nat arryse,
Ye that han power be war in your hihnesse,
For no prerogatiff, your sogettis to despise.
82
A pronostik clerkis ber wittnesse:Beth war of Phebus that erly cast his liht,
Of reyn, of storme, of myste or of derknesse
Shal aftir folwe longe or it be nyht;
Signe of gret wyntir whan wild gees tak her fliht
Like as Natur hir stoundis can devise:
Lat hih nor lowe presumen of his myht,
For no prerogatiff his neihbour to despise.
83
Of many strange vncouth simylitude,Poetis of old fablis have contryvid,
Of Sheep, of Hors, of Gees, of bestis rude,
Bi which ther wittis wer secretly apprevid,
Vndir covert tyrauntis eeke reprevid
Ther oppressiouns & malis to chastise
Bi exanplis of resoun to be mevid,
For no prerogatiff poore folk to despise.
84
Fortunes cours dyversly is dressidBi liknessis of many othir tale;
Man, best, & fowle & fisshis been oppressid
564
Of grettest fissh devourid been the smale,
Which in natur is a ful straunge guyse,
To seen a Kokkow mordre a Nityngale,
An innocent brid of hattreede to despise.
85
With this processe who that be wroht or wood,Thynges contrarie be founde in euery kynde:
A cherl of berthe hatith gentil blood;
It wer a monstre a-geyn natur, as I fynde,
That a gret Mastyff shuld a Leoun bynde;
A parlious clymbyng whan beggerrs vp arise
To hih estat—merk this in your mynde—
Bi fals prerogatives ther neihbours to despise.
86
Fals supplantyng clymbyng vp of foolis,Vnto chaires of wordly dygnyte,
Lak of discrecioun sett iobbardis vpon stoolis,
Which hath distroied many a comounte:
Marcolff to sitt in Salamon-is see.
What folwith aftir? Nor resoun nor iustise,
Vn-iust promocioun & parcialite,
Bi fals prerogativis ther neihbours to despise.
87
Tweene riche & poore what is the difference,Whan deth approchith in any creature,
Sauff a gay tumbe ffressh of apparence?
The riche is shet with colours & pictur
To hide his careyn stuffid with fowle ordur;
The poore lith lowe aftir the comoun guyse,
To techyn al proude of resoun & natur,
For no prerogatiff ther neihbour to despise.
88
Ther was a kyng whilom as I rede,As is remembrid of ful yore a-gon,
Which cast away croune & purpil weede,
565
Of poore nor riche hym sempte thei wer al on,
Refusid his crounne gan to aduertise:
Pryncis buried in gold nor precious ston,
Shuld, of no pompe, ther suggettis nat despise.
89
This thyng was doon in Alisandris tyme,Bothe autentik & historiall;
Bood nat til nyht, left his estat at pryme,
His purpil mantil, his garnement roiall,
Texemplifie in especiall
To imperial power what perel is to a-rise:
Whoo clymbith hihest most dreedful is his fall
Beeth war, ye princis, your sogettis to despise.
90
Hih & low wer maad of oo mateer;Of erthe we cam, to erthe we shal a-geyn;
Thees emperours with diademys cleer,
With ther victories & triumphes in certeyn,
In charis of gold lat hem nat disdeyn,
Thouh thei, eche day, of newe hem silf disguyse.
Fortune is fals, hir sonne is meynte with reyn:
Beth war, ye pryncis, your suggettis to despise.
91
Hed & feete been necessary bothe;Feet beryn vp all & hedis shal provide;
Hors, Sheep, & Gees, whi shuld thei be wrothe,
For ther comoditees tabreyden vpon pride?
Natur hir giftis doth dyversly devide,
Whoos power lastith from Cartage into Fryse:
He lastith weel that wisly can a-byde,
For any prerogatiff his neihbour to dispise.
566
Conclusio.
To beest & foule Nature hath set a lawe:Ordeyned steedis in iustis for the knyht,
In carte & plouh stokkis for to drawe,
Sheep in ther pastur to grese day & nyht,
Gees to swymme a-mong to take ther fliht;
Of God & kynde to take ther ffraunchise,
Yeuyng exaumple that no maner wiht
For no prerogatiff his neihbour shal dispise.
Explicit.
24. ISOPES FABULES.
[_]
[MS. Trin. Coll. Camb. R. 3. 19, leaves 12–16, 236–237, completed by B.M. Harley 2251, leaves 262–265, 269e–270, back.]
PROLOGUE AND FABLE I. The Tale of the Cok, that founde a precyous stone, groundyd by Isopus, the phylosopher of Rome, that yche man shuld take in gree suche as God sent.
1
W]isdom ys more in prise, þen gold in cofers,To hem, þat haue sauour in lettrure.
Olde examples of prudent philosophers
Moche auaylyd to folke þat dyd her cure
To serche out lykenes in nature,
In whyche men myght conceue & clerely see
Notable sentence of gret moralyte.
2
Vnto purpos þe poete laureateCallyd Isopus dyd hym occupy
567
Fonde out fables, þat men myght hem apply
To sondry matyrs, yche man for hys party,
Aftyr þeyr lust, to conclude in substaunce,
Dyuerse moralytees set out to þeyr plesaunce.
3
Som of foules, of bestis and of fyssh,Thys Isopus founde out exsample pleyne.
Where syluer fayleþ, in a pewter dyssh
Ryall dentees byn oft tymes seyne,
And semblably poetes, in certeyne,
In fables rude includyd gret prudence
And moralytees full notable of sentence.
4
Vnder blak erþe byn precious stones founde,Ryche saphyres & charbuncles full ryall,
And, who þat myneþ downe lowe in þe grounde,
Of gold & syluer groweþ þe mynerall;
Perlys whyte, clere & orientall
Ben oft founde in muscle shellys blake,
And out of fables gret wysdom men may take.
5
For whyche I cast to folow þys poeteAnd hys fables in Englyssh to translate,
And, þough I haue no rethoryk swete,
Haue me excusyd: I was born in Lydgate;
Of Tullius gardeyn I passyd nat þe gate,
And cause, why: I had no lycence
There to gadyr floures of elloquence.
6
Yet, as I can, forþe I woll procedeIn þys labour & my style dresse
To do plesaunce to þeym, þat shall hit rede,
Requiryng hem of verrey gentylnes
Of her grace to rewe on my rudenes,
568
Whyche theym to plese translatyd was by me.
7
And, yef I fall bycause of ignoraunce,That I erre in my translacion,
Lowly of hert & feyþfull obeysaunce,
I me submyt to þeyr correccion,
Of hem, þat haue more clere inspeccion
In matyrs, þat touche poetry,
Me to reforme þat þey nat deny.
8
And, as myn auctor doþe at þe cok begyn,I cast me to folow hym in substaunce,
Fro þe trouþe in sentence nat to twyn,
As God and grace woll yeue me suffysaunce,
Compyle þys lybell for a remembraunce:
To the reders hereaftyr may be founde
The thanke þerof fully to rebounde.
9
The Cok of kynde haþe a crest redeShape lyke a crowne, token of gret noblesse,
By whyche he haþe, whyle hit stont on hys hede,
As clerkis seyn, corage & hardynes,
And of hys berde melancolyk felnes:
Aboute hys nek by mercyall apparayll
Nature haþe yeue hym a stately auentayll.
10
Thys hardy foule with brest & voyce so clereMost trewly kepeþ þe tydes of þe nyght,
Of custom namyd comon astrologere
In throwpes smale to make þeyr hertis lyght;
With spores sharpe enarmyd for to fyght
Lyke a champion iustly doþe attende,
As a proud capten, hys broode for to defende;
569
11
Beteþ hys wyngis, aforn or he do syngB[i]t sluggy hertis out of þeyr slepe to wake,
When Lucyfer toward þe dawnyng
Lawgheth in þe oryent & haþe þe west forsake
To chase awey þe myghty clowdys blake:
Towarde Aurora þys foule, who takeþ kepe,
Byddyþ folk ayene awake out of þeyr slepe,
12
Whos waker callyng þryes tolde in nombreWith treble laudes youe to þe Trinite,
Slouþe auoydyng, clepeþ folk out of þer slombre
(Good hope repeyreþ to all, þat heuy bee),
Comforteþ þe seke in hys infirmite,
Causeþ merchauntis & pylgryms to be glad,
The þeuys swerde hyd vndyr þe shad.
13
Callyd þe prophete of ioy & all gladnes,Embassiatour of Phebus fyry lyght,
Whyche put awey by musicall swetnes
The vgly blaknes of þe derk[e] nyght;
For whyche me semeth, me shuld of dew[e] ryght
For .iij. causes preferre þys foule among,
For waker kepyng, for hardynes & song.
14
Thys foule ys waker ayen þe vyce of slouþe,In vertu strong & hardy as a lyon,
Stable as a geaunt, opon a grounde of trouþe,
Ayene all vyces þe morall champion,
And with þe entewnes of hys melodious soun
He yeueþ ensample, as he hys voyce doþ reyse,
Howe day & nyght we the lord shall preyse.
570
15
And, for because hys brest ys strong & cleereAnd on hys tipto dysposeþ for to syng,
He ys of poettis callyd Chaunceleer.
And, as myn auctour remembreþ by wrytyng,
Whylom þys foule in a glad mornyng
Reioysyd hym ayene the son[ne] shene
With all hys flok to walke opon a grene.
16
He was furst besy for to breke hys faste,With hys wyues about hym euerychone,
On a small donghyll to fynde a good repaste
Gan scrape & sporne & fast about[e] gone.
Hyd in þe dong hyll he fonde a iacynct stone,
Yet hys labour & hys besy cure
Was for nat elles, but for hys pasture.
17
He yaue ensample, whyche gretly may auayle,As he was oonly taught by nature,
To auoyde slouþe by dylygent trauayle,
By honest labour hys lyuelood to procure.
For, who woll þryue, labour must endure;
For idylnes & froward negligence
Makeþ sturdy beggars for lak of þeyr dyspence.
18
Losengowres, þat fele hem strong ynough,Whyche haue sauour in slouþe & slogardy,
Haue leuer to beg, þen go at þe plough,
Dyche or delue, þeymsylf to occupy.
Thus idylnes[se] causeþ rob[e]ry
In vacant pepyll, þat to and fro dyd wende:
For þeft arestyd at Tyburn make an ende.
571
19
They be no men, but folkis bestiall,Voyde of reson oonly for lak of grace,
Whyche ete & drynke & labour nat at all.
The cok was besy hys lyuelood to purchase
The long day in many diuerse plase,
Hym & hys broode oonly to forstre, in trouþe,
Suche folke rebukyng, þat lyue in slombre & slouþe.
20
Vertu gynneþ at occupacion,Vyces all procede of idelnesse,
Vnto þeues foundres & patroun;
As thryft commeþ of vertuous besynesse,
So of myschyef slouth ys chief maistresse:
Thys ydelnes causeþ folk in dede
To waste þeyr dayes in myschief & in nede.
21
With scrapyng, spornyng all þe long[e] dayThe cok was besy hym & hys broode to fede,
Founde a iacyncte, whyche in þe donghyll lay,
A ryche stone & a precious, as I rede;
Of whyche stone when þe cok toke hede,
Stynt awhyle, sodenly abrayde,
And to þe ston euyn þus he sayde:
22
“Who þat knew þy nature & þy kynde,All þe propurtees, whyche of the be tolde,
A ieweller, yef he þe myght fynde,
Wolde for þy vertues close þe in golde.
Euax to the yeueþ praysyng manyfolde,
Whos lapydary bereþ opynly wytnesse,
Geyn sorow & wo[e] þou bryngest in gladnesse.
572
23
“The best iacyncte in Ethiope ys foundeAnd ys of colour lyke þe saphyre ynde,
Comforteþ men, þat ly in prison bounde,
Makeþ men strong & hardy of hys kynde,
Contract synewes þe iacyncte doþ vnbynde:
Yet for all þy vertuous excellence
Twene þe & me ys no conuenience.
24
“For me þou shalt in þys place abyde,With the I haue lyght or nought to done.
Late þese merchantis, þat go so ferr & ryde,
Trete of þy valew, wheþer hit be late or sone,
Deme how þe cherle came furst in þe mone:
Of suche mysteryes I take but lytell hede;
Me lyst nat hewe chyppes aboue myn hede.
25
“Precyous stones longen to iewellersAnd to princes, when þey lyst wel be seyn:
To me more deynte in bernes or garners
A lytell rewarde of corn or good greyn.
To take þys stone to me hit were but veyn:
Set more store (I haue hit of nature)
Among rude chaffe to shrape for my pasture.
26
“Lyke as folkis of relykis haue deynte,Theron þey set a valew or a pryce,
Hygh maters profounde & secree
Ne shuld nat without gret auyce
Be shewyd in opyn to hem, þat be nat wyse;
For, as a wyseman in wysdom haþe delyte,
Ryght so a foole of doctrine haþe dyspyte.
27
“Golde & stones be for a kyngis hede,Stele ys tryed for platis in armure,
573
Brasse for belles, iren long to endure
(Thus euery þyng foloweþ hys nature),
Pryncys to reygne, knyghtis for batayll,
Plowmen for tylþe, shypmen for to sayll.
28
“The hert desyreþ to drynke of crystall welles,The swan to swymme in large brood riueres,
The gentyll faucon with gesse & ryche belles
To cache hys pray lyke to hys desyres,
I with my brode to scrape afore garneres:
Precious stonys noþyng apperteyne
To gese nor fovlys, þat pasture on þe grene.
29
“Of þeyr nature as folke byn dysposyd,Diuersely þey make eleccion.
Double of vertu þe saphyr in gold closyd.
Yche man cheseþ lyke hys opinion:
On cheseþ þe best of wysdom & reson,
And anoþer (hys eyen byn so blynde)
Cheseþ þe werst, þe best he lyt behynde.”
Lenuoy.
30
Though þys fabyll be boysters & rurall,Ye may þeryn consider þyngis þre:
Howe þat diligence in especiall
Haþe agayn slouþe caught þe souereynte,
And, where fre choyse haþ hys liberte,
Cheseþ þe werst in ernest or in game,
Who, but hymsylf, þerof ys to blame?
31
Who foloweþ vertu, vyces doþ eschew,He cheseþ þe best in myn opinion.
574
Small simple grayne, þen stones of hygh renoun,
Of all tresour chief possessioun.
Suche as God sent, eche man take at gre,
Nat prowde with ryches nor groge with pouerte.
32
The worldly man laboreth for rychesse,And on þe worlde he set all hys intent.
The vertuos man to auoyde all ydelnesse
With suffisaunce hold hymsylf content.
Eche man þerfore with suche as God haþ sent,
Thanke þe Lorde, in vertu kepe hem stable,
Whyche ys conclusioun of þys lytyll fable.
Explicit.
FABLE II. The Tale of the Wolfe and the Lambe groundyd opon Isopus, the phylosophor of Rome, ayenst raueyn & tiranny.
33
R]yght as atwene turment & delycesThere ys in kynde a gret difference,
Ryght so atwene vertues lyfe & vyces
There may be no iust conuenience:
Malyce contrary to pure innocence,
And phylosophers by wrytyng bere recorde,
Twene trowþe & fraude may be non acorde.
34
Atwene rancour & humble pacienceTher ys in nature a gret diuision:
A sely shepe make may no resistence
Ageyn þe power of a strong lyon;
A dwerfe to fyght with a champyon
Were to febyll in a felde to endure,
By lykenes agayn nature.
575
35
Grete pykes, þat swymme in large stewes,Smaller fysshe most felly þey deuour.
Who haþe most myght, þe febler gladly sewes:
The pore haþe few hys party to socour.
The rauenous wolf opon þe lambe doþe lour;
Of whyche Isopus in hys booke
Full notably thys example he toke.
36
The lambe, þe wolf[e], contrary of nature,Euer diuerse & noþyng oon þey þynke.
Boþe at onys of soden auenture
To a fresshe ryuer þey came downe to drynke:
At þe hede spryng hy opon þe brynke
Stondeþ þe wolfe, a froward beste of kynde;
The sely lambe stood fer abak behynde.
37
Who þat is froward of condicionAnd disposyd to malyce & outrage,
Can sone seke & fynde occasion
Pyke a quarell for to do damage;
And vnto purpose malycious of corage
The furyos wolfe out with hys venym brake,
And euyn þys vnto þe lambe he spake:
38
“Lyke þy ffadyr, þou art false & doubleAnd hym resemblest of dysposicion,
For he was wont my water here to trouble,
To meue þe þyk, þat lay low doune:
Þat I myght haue no recreacioune
To drynk my fyll of water pure and clere,
He was so contrary to trouble þys ryuere.
39
“And þou of malyce art com to do þe same,Sekest occasion by trobly vyolence
576
To fynde mater and for to do offence.”
The lambe answerd with humble reuerence:
“Thys may nat be; þe preef ys seyn full oft:
I stond beneþe, & ye stond aloft.
40
“From þe hyll þe ryuer downe dyscendeþ:For to ascende hit were ageyn nature.
That I stond here hit noþyng yow offendeþ:
The trowble goþe low, aboue hit ys most pure;
The clere ys youres, but I must endure,
Tyll ye haue dronke, and þen at erst begyn,
Take, as hit falleþ, þe þyk with the þyn.
41
“I may nat chese: þe choyse to yow ys fall.Hyt were but foly for me with yow to stryue.
Ye shall for me haue your desyres all:
Of your ryght I wyll nat yow depryue.”
But þe wolfe a cause gan contryue
Ageyn the lambe of naturall haterede,
Seyd vnto hym quakyng in hys drede:
42
“Thy feynyd speche flatteryng & benygne,I see hit well in myn inward syght,
How þou dost ayene me malygne
To vex me wrongfully, yef þou haddyst myght.
The lawe shall part vs, whyche of vs haþ ryght.”
But he no lenger on þe lawe abood,
Deuouryd þe lambe & aftyr soke hys blood.
43
The lambe was sleyn, for he seyd soþ.Thus was law tornyd to rauyne,
Dome execute by þe wolfis tothe;
By whyche lawe Naboth lost hys vyne,
Whylom commaundyd by law, whyche ys dyuyne,
No rauenous beste (þe Byble doþ deuyse)
Shuld be offred to God in sacryfyse.
577
44
Herdys be rekles þe lambe for to defende,Take noon hede on theyr flock to tary;
Ther hounde ys muett, whyche þat shuld attende
To kepe þe wache fro wolues most contrary;
Fewe sheperdys & many mercynary,
That falsly entre, as Iohns gospell tolde,
By þe wyndow into Crystis folde.
45
The lambe ys clyppyd, chese and mylke ys peysyd,On felle & flesshe ys set a certayn pryse,
For tylþe of lond þe dong ys also preysyd,
Noþyng foryete (sheperdys be so wyse):
The beest ys spoylyd & nat without avyse.
The wolf haþ so ferre þe lambe purchasyd,
That he ys deuouryd & haþ noþyng trespasyd.
46
The ram in Colches bare a flees of golde;Therof he was dyspoylyd by Iason,
The body left hoole, lyke as hit ys tolde.
But shepe þese dayes be spoylyd to þe bon;
For þer be wolfes many mo þen oon,
That clyp lamborn at sessions & at shyres
Bare to þe bone, & yet þey haue no sheres.
47
The sely lambe ys spoylyd to þe bones,The wolf goþ fre, wheþer hit be ryght or wrong.
When [a] iorrour haþe caught sauour ones
To be forsworn, custom makeþ hym strong.
Si dedero ys now so mery a song,
Haþ founde a practyk by lawe to make a preef
To hang a trew man & saue an errant theef.
48
With empty hande men may noon hawkis lewreNor cache a iorrour, but yef he yeue hym mede.
The pore pleteþ: what ys hys auenture?
Voyde purse causeþ he may nat spede.
The lambe put bak, þe wolf þe daunce doþ lede.
578
Causyd Isopus þys tale for to feyne.
Conclusio.
49
The wolfe ys lykenyd to folkys rauenous,The sely lambe resembleþ þe porayle;
The wolfe ys gredy, fell, cruell, dyspituous,
The lambe content with grasse for hys vytayle.
The[i] dey[e] boþe: þe wolfe may nat auayle,
Be hit for houndis caren most corumpable,
The lambe vp seruyd at þe kyngis table.
50
As men deserue, þey receue þeyr guerdon.On repentaunte þe tyraunt goþ to hell.
The pore man with small possession
Vertuosly doþ in þe erþe dwell,
Content with lytell doþ trewly by and sell
And of hoole hert can loue God & drede;
When he goþ hens, haþe heuen to hys mede.
51
To encrese vertu and vyces to confoundeExample here shewyd of gret diuersyte;
By Isopus was þys fable founde,
Where ys rehersyd, toforne as ye may se,
The wolfis felnesse, þe lambes properte;
The lambe commendyd for naturall mekenes
The wolfe rebuked for rauenous felnes.
Explicit.
FABLE III. The Tale of the Frogge and þe Mowse foundyd by Isopus, þe philosophor, groundyd ayenst deceyte.
52
B]y a decree of Natures law,Peysyd egally þe balance of reson,
579
Shall of deceyte receue þe guerdon.
Salary to feynyng ys simulacion.
Who by dyssimelyng & fraude doþ procede,
Lyke a defrauder receue shall hys mede.
53
Som reioyse þeym in malyce & in fraudeAnd couertely to hynder þeyr neyghbors.
As men deserue, reporte yeueþ theym þeyr lawde.
Cloþe falsly wouen may kepe no fresshe colours.
The dorre on donghyll, þe bee on holsom floures,
As þey receue, þey bryng home to theyr heue:
The oon doþe damage, þe oþer doþ releue.
54
Aftyr þeyr naturall disposicionsIn man & beste ys shewyd experyence:
Som haue to vertew þeyr inclinacions,
Oone to profyte, anoþer to do offence;
Som man pesyble, som man doþ violence;
Som man delyteþ in trouþe in hys entent,
Anoþer reioyseþ to be fraudulent.
55
Who þat meneþ treson or falsnesWith a pretence outward or frenshyp or frendlyhede,
Face counterfete of feynyd fals gladnes,
Of all enemyes suche oon ys most to drede,
And Isopus to purpos, as I rede,
Telleþ how a ffrosshe felle & contraryouse,
Dowble of entent, deceuyd haþe þe movse.
56
Of þys fable þe processe for to tell,The frosshe of custom abode at a ryuer;
The mowse also soiornyd at a myll,
That stood besyde from all dangere;
And a morow, when Phebus shone full clere,
580
The mowse besought hym goodly to abyde.
57
Lad hym vp to þe myll alofte,Shewyd hym the hoper, þe trowgh & þe myll stone,
On a corne sak made hym syt softe,
Seyde, he shuld to dyner go anone,
Leyde afore hym greynes many oone:
To shewe hym of gentylnes gret fauourure
The second course he brought in mele & floure.
58
“See,” quoth þe mowse, “þys ys a mery lyfe.Here ys my lordshyp & dominacion.
I lyue here esyly out of noyse & stryfe.
Thys cloos all hoole ys in my subieccion.
Suffisaunce ys my possessione.
As I haue appetyte, I dyne late or sone;
For Gyb, þe catte, haþe here noþyng to done.
59
“As mesemeþ, I am here ryght well easyd.Better ys quyete, þen troble with ryches.
A poreman, þat ys with lytyll plesyd,
Laboreþ truly, meneþ no falsenes
And ys sequestryd fro worldly besynes,
He may at nyght by many sondry preues
Meryly slepe for any fere of theues.
60
“Blessyd be pouerte, þat causeþ assurance,Namely when gladnes doþ hys brydyll lede.
What God sendeþ, hit ys to þeyr plesance,
Thankeþ þe lorde, grogeþ for no nede.
As he fyndeþ, þeron he doþ hym fede.
Thus am I content here in my householde
As well as Cresus was with all hys golde.
581
61
“Tresour of Mygdas medelyd was with drede,Broke slepes, reft hym hys libertees.
The pore man slepeþ fearelese, takeþ noon hede,
Who ryde or go: hys gatis opyn bee.
And I suppose, noman ys more free
Nor more assuryd, to myne opynyon,
Then glad pouert with small possession.
62
“Salomon wryteþ, howe hit ys bet by halfeA lompe of brede with reioysyng,
Then at festis to haue a rostyd calfe
With heuy chere, frownyng or grogyng.
Nature ys content with full lytell þyng.
As men seyen & reporte, at þe leste,
Nat many deyntees, but good chere makeþ a feste.
63
“Where a tyraunt haþ power noon nor myght,Ys sewre abydyng vnto þe porayll.
Diogenes was with hys towne as lyght,
As Alysaundre with all hys apparayll.
Thys lytyll mylle fynt me my vytayll:
I haue þerin as gret lust and ioy,
As kyng Priamus had in hys towne of Troy.
64
“The poreman mery in hys cotage,As ys þe merchaunt in hys stuffyd house;
The plowman glad with bacon & potage,
As in þeyr paleyse byn prynces gloriouse.
And, þough þat I be but a lytell movse,
Ther ys no lorde, mo castelles haþ to kepe,
Then I haue hernes & hooles in to crepe.
65
“Abyde with me all nyght in þys mylle,That we togedyr may haue our dalyaunce.
582
When frendis mete, ys ioy & plesaunce.
At eue at soper we shall haue a petaunce,
And, when Aurora to-morow doþ apere,
Or we departe, we shall dyne in fere.”
66
The ffrosshe answeryd & gan hys tale telle:“I haue had here plente of vytayll,
Of fresshe lycour þys ys a baren mylle.
I prayse no feeste, where good drynke doþ fayll,
And what ys worþe all þe apparayll
Of diuerse deyntees to a mannys lust,
When aftyr mete men gon awey a thrust?
67
“Good drynke at festes makeþ all þe chere,Well sesenyd mete, of good drynke habundance.
Here fast[e] by ys a brode ryuere,
Whyche of fresshe watyr haþ all suffisaunce.
Bacus, Thetis be causers of plesaunce,
And, to discure þe sentence of my þought,
Where þey two fayle, I sey, þe fest ys nought.”
68
They passyd forþe by a grene mede:The syluer dew toward þe mornyng
Haþe of þe mowse soylyd so þe wede,
That he haþ lost hys power of rennyng.
Thus were þese wormes contrary of lyuyng:
The frosshe delyteþ to abyde in mory lakys,
The mowse to fede hym on chese & tendyr cakys.
69
The mowse was wery with þe frosshe to abyde,But þe frosshe with a false feynyd chere
583
Ys myne abydyng vppon þe water clere.
Lat vs go swymme ouer þe ryuere,
And, lyke as I haue vnto þe tolde,
Thow shalt abyde & see þere my householde.”
70
The mowse answeryd quakyng in hys drede:“I haue of swymmyng noon experience.”
“No,” quoth þe frosshe, “I shall tey a threde
About þy nek by gret diligence,
The other ende shall for þy defence
At my leg sore be knyt behynde
Ouer þe broke passage for to fynde.”
71
Thus gan þe ffrosshe couertly to feyneOf false fraude þe lytell mowse to drowne.
The frosshe by swymmyng dyd hys besy peyne
To make þe mowse lowe to plonge downe.
Forþe goþ þe frosshe, þe mowse for fere gan sowne,
And in þys whyle a kyte, or þey toke hede,
Raught hem boþe vp hangyng by þe þrede.
72
Fatte was þe ffrosshe, þe mowse sklender & lene;The frosshe deuouryd because of hys fatnes.
The threde to-brake, þe mowse fell on þe grene,
Fro deþe escapyd: þe frosshe for hys falsnes
Gwerdon receueþ of vnkyndenes.
For conclusion clerk[is] put in mynde,
Lawe & nature pleynyn on folke vnkynde.
Conclusio.
73
Of vyces all, shortly to conclude,Ther ys no vyce in comparyson
To þe vyce of ingratitude;
584
More to be drad, me semeþ, of reson:
Preseruatyf made for pestylence,
But agayn fraude may be no defence.
74
In þys fable for an exemplary,For þe party of pure innocence,
The mowse ys but sympyll, nat contrary,
Where þe frosshe by fraude & violence
Vnder colour of frendly dylygence
Was euer besy hys felow to encloy:
The cause out sought hit dyd hymsylf dystroy.
75
To a deceyuour by ryght, as hit ys founde,Kynde requyreþ in folkis fraudulent,
Where fraud ys vsyd, fraude mot rebounde,
Gwerdon for fraude most conuenient;
For whyche Isopus in hys fynall entent
Thys fable wrote full soþly in hys wyt:
Who useþ fraude, with fraude shalbe quyt.
Explicit.
FABLE IV. The Tale of þe Hownde and þe Shepe groundyd ayen periure & false wytnes founde by Isopus.
76
T]he world made diuerse by froward folkis tweyne,By a false iorrour and a false wytnesse,
Horryble monstres enbrasyd in a cheyne
Trouþe forto assayle & greuosly to oppresse,
Whyche forto clypse þe lyght of ryghtwysnesse
Be nat aferde with hande put forþe toforn
Vppon a boke falsely to be forsworn!
77
With cancryd lyppes & with tung[e] doubleTwene ryght & wrong forþe þey woll procede,
585
To be forsworn on a boke for mede,
Of conscience þey take so lytell hede;
Whyche þyng to preue by exsamples full notable
Of olde Isopus whylom wrote þys fable.
78
Hauyng thys conceyte, set hit for a grounde;By maner lyknes rehersyng in sentence,
He wrete þer was whylom a gret hounde,
Whyche toke a quarell by hatefull violence
Agayns a shepe simple of innocence,
Whyche stood alone voyde of all refuge,
Constreynyd by force to apere afore a iuge.
79
Agenst the sheepe, quakyng in his drede,Withouten support of any proctour,
This ravenous hound thus wrongely gan procede,
His tale aforsyng like a false iurrour:
How he had lent the sheepe, his neygh[e]bour,
A large lofe, his hunger to releve,
As he was redy by lawe for to preve.
80
And his quarel more to fortefye,The sely shepe to bryng[en] in distresse,
He affermed it, and falsly did lye,
Towchyng his loff, that he of kyndenesse
Toke it the sheepe, whan he stoode in distresse
Of mortal hunger, whan plente dide faile,
Likly to dye for lak of vitaile.
81
Straitly requyreng the iuge in this matiereTo yeve hym audience and to do hym right,
By apparence shewyng ful sad chiere,
586
The sely sheepe, astonyed in his sight,
Stoode abasshed ful like an innocence;
To help hym-self cowde fynd[e] no diffence.
82
Towchyng the loff requyred by the hound,With humble chiere the sheepe did it deny,
Sothly affermyng, levyng on this ground,
Vnto his day he neuer on no party
No loff receyved, and loth he was to ly,
Prayeng the iuge, that he myght frely gon,
For other aunswer plainly cowde he none.
83
Quod the iuge: “The lawe thow must abide,Til ther be yoven sentence of iugement;
I may no favour do to nowther side,
But atwene both stande indifferent,
As rightful iuge of hert and hole intent,
Til I may se by lawe to make me strong,
Whiche of the partyes have right or wrong.”
84
The lawe, first founde on a triew[e] grounde,May nat declyne from his stabilnesse.
The iuge, abraidyng, axed of the hound,
“Hastow,” quod he, “record or witnesse
This douteful cause to set in sikernesse,
For to stynt[en] al contrauersy
Be triewe report of suche as wil nat ly?”
85
The hound answerd: “My cause is iust and triewe,And my-self in lawe here for to aquyte,
I have brought two, that the couenant knewe,
The faithful wolf, in trowth that doth delite,
And with hym comyth the gentil foule, the kyte,
Chose for the nones by report of theyr names,
As folke wele knowe, that dredith sclaundre and shames.
86
“To offende trewth the wolf doth gretly drede,He is so stidefast and triew of his nature;
587
He had lever grete hunger to endure,
Lovyng no raveyn vnto his pasture,
Thanne take a chykken, by record of writyng,
To his repast, or any goselyng.”
87
The hound, to acomplissh thend of his entent,Agayn the sheepe to susteyne his partye
Witnesse tweyne brought in iugement,
The wolf, the puttok that were ful loth to ly;
And for to stynte the contrauersy
Of this matier, they vpon hem toke
To lay theyr hondis boldly vpon a booke.
88
Mote they be hanged on high by the halse,Be-cawse they swore wetyngly vntriewe!
The hound wele wiste his [com]playnt was false,
The sheepe condempned, tristy and pale of hewe,
The twey witnesse, albe it they ne knewe
The matier false, rehersed here to-forn,
Yit drad they nat falsely to be forsworn.
89
Thus al thre were false by oon assent,The hound, the wolf, and the cursid kyte,
The sheepe, allas, though he were innocent,
By doome compelled, as Isopos doth write,
To pay the loff, his dettis to acquyte,
Thus constrayned, the lawe dide hym compelle,
At grete myschief his wynter flees to selle.
90
The ram of Colchos bare a flees of gold,Whiche was conquered manly by Iason;
But this sheepe, whan he his flees hath sold,
With cold constrayned, wynter cam vpon,
Deyd at myschief, socour had he none;
Be-twene the wolf and the puttok that nought were lost in veyne,
As myn auctour sayth, parted was the kareyne.
588
91
The sheepe thus deyd, his body al to-rent,The ravenous wolf the kareyne did assaile;
The hound recouered his part by iugement;
The false kyte cast hym nat to faile,
To have a repast vpon his adventaile.
Thus in this world by extorcion veriliche
Poore folk be devoured alwey by the riche.
92
By examples, in stwes long and large,Of grete fissh devoured bien the smale.
Hardy is the bote that stryvith agenst the barge.
To ouerpresse a pore man the riche set no tale.
A cloth sakke stuffid, shame it is to pike a male.
What nedith the see to borwe of smale rivers,
Or a grete barne to borow of strait garners?
93
Al suche outrages and inconveniencesTakith origynal of pillage and ravyne;
An extorcioner, to amend his expences,
Can make the poore to bowe and declyne;
Lierne this prouerbe, founde of old doctryne,
“Suche as have no conscience of no maner wronges,
Of other mennys ledir can kut ful large thonges.”
94
The shepe is ded, the puttok hath his part,Ioynt from ioynt the wolf hath rent a-sunder,
The hound by dome recouered hath his part,
Suche false practik is vsed here and yonder:
The fiebler playneth, and that is litel wonder.
Al suche raveyne on poraile to theyr distresse
Beganne at false iurrours and at false witnesse.
95
To a false witnesse, record in Salamon,Prouerbiorum, .iij. thynges bien compared
A shrew[e]d dart, an hoked arow is oon,
589
Yit vnder trety somtyme they be spared;
But a false witnesse hath this avauntage
With mowth infect alwey to do damage.
96
Agayne sharpe quarels helpith a pavice,Agayne arowes may be made defence,
And though a swerd be riche and of grete price,
Somtyme he sparith for to do offence;
But a false iurrour, by mortal violence,
Nat only causith men her bloode to shede,
But makith hem lese theyr lyf and goode for meede.”
97
Ageyne verray poyson ordeyned is triacle,As auctours sayne, by craft of medicyne;
But ageyn a iurrour there were no bettir obstacle
Than to geld hym yong, hys venym to declyne,
That no false braunche myght spryng of his lyne,
For the nombre suffisith only of ij. or iij.
To enfecte a shyre or a grete contre.
98
It is remembred by record of auctours,As writeth Holcot vpon sapience,
How ther folwith .iij. incomoditees
Of false forsweryng ageyn conscience:
First, rehersith this auctour in sentence,
Vpon a booke whan a false iurrour
Forswerith hym-self, he is to God a traytour.
99
There-vpon, this matier to conclude,That false forsweryng is to God treason,
First he makith this simylitude:
That if a man withyn a regioun
Wold countrefete, by false collusioun,
The kynges seale, the people to begile,
What were he worthy to deye by civile?
590
100
And semblaly, who can considre wele,The name of God, ordeyned to impresse,
Is the signacle of the celestial seale,
Yoven to al Cristen of trowth to bere witnesse,
And who that euer mysvsith it in falsenesse,
Holcot affermyth it, for short conclusioun,
That he to God doth opinly treason.
101
Who with his hand the Holy Booke doth towche,And to record takith Cristes name,
On Holy Writ, I dare me wele avowche,
If he swere falsely, gretely is to blame,
Hande of periurye to his eternal shame;
God and His werkis he doth vtterly forsake,
And to the fiend for euer he doth hym take.
102
In His preceptis, whiche that be devyne,God bad man bere no false witnesse,
And of oure faith to folwe the doctryne.
Periury is enemy to al rightwisnesse;
What man for lucre or for [gret] richesse
Wilbe forsworn, by sentence of clerkis,
Falsly forsakith God and al His werkis.
103
Who swerith by God, his hand leyd on a booke,He causith God, auctours doth expresse,
Vnto the record of the charge he toke,
In right or wronge, in trowth or in falsenesse,
To preve his oth Hym takith to wittnesse:
If his causyng to make his party strong,
Falsly concludith, he doth to God grete wrong.
104
Of periurye the trespas is ful huge,Wonder perilous in Oure Lordis sight,
For the iurrours first disseyvith the iuge,
Causith his neyghburgh for to lese his right,
His conscience hurt, of grace blent the light,
591
Lyke to be dampned, but he amendis make.
105
Isopos iurrours doth discryve,Callith theym Arpies, houndes infernal,
With ravenous feete, wynged to flee blyve,
Like to Carberos, that receyvith al,
Gredy Tantalus, whos hunger is nat smal;
And be suche peple, who that takith kepe,
As sayth my[n] auctour, devoured was the shepe.
106
Thus false forsweryng, frawde, and extorcioun,With false witnesse afore God be dampnable,
But if they make diew satisfaccioun,
Thynges to restore, wherof they bien culpable;
And for suche folkes Isopos wrote this fable,
To this intent, that I have told aforn,
What peril it is falsly to be forsworn.
107
Late al false iurrours have this in mynde,Remembre at shyres and at cessions:
Who is forsworn, settith God behynde,
And puttith the fiend in ful possessioun
Of soule and body, vnder his dampcioun,
Toforn his deth, but if he have repentaunce,
Or make restitucioun, or do som penaunce.
Here endith the .iij. fable of Isopos, what perel it is to be forsworn wetyngly, as was the wolf and the kyte for synguler love, that they hadde to the hounde, and to have the sheepe ded and slayn, as iurrours dampne þe triewe and save the false.
592
FABLE V. How the wollffe diseyvyd the crane, Isopus, translatyd by Iohn Lydgat.
108
In Isopus forther to proced,Towchynge the vyce of wnkynd[e]nesse,
In this tretes a lytyll fabill I rede
Of engratytude, ioynyd to falsenesse,
How that a wolff, of cursyd frowardnesse
Was to the crane, of malyce, as I fynde,
For a good torne falce founden and wnkynd.
109
The fable is this: when bestes everychoneHelde a feste and a solempnyte,
Ther was a wolffe strangled with a bone,
And constraynyd by grete adversyte,
Des[es]peyryd relyvyd for to be,
For remede playnly knew he none,
So depe downe enteryd was the bone.
110
Thorow all the cort surg[e]ons wer sought,Yf eny were abydynge them a-monge;
At the last the crane was forthe brought,
Bycaws his neke was slender, sharp, & longe,
To serche his throt wher þe bone stode wronge,
For whiche perlows occupacion
The wolff behyte hym a full grete guerdon.
111
The bone out browght by subtile delygenceOf the crane, by crafft of surgery,
The court all hole being in presence,
593
The wolffe frowardly his promys gan deny,
Sayd, “It suffisith,”—and gan to make stryffe,—
“Out of his mouthe that he scapid with his lyffe.”
112
The wolffe denyed that he had be-hyte,Sowght a-gayne hym froward occacion,
Seyd, he had don hym grete wn-ryght,
And hym deseyvyd by fals colusion,
Whan he his byll putte so low a-downe
In his throt to pyke a-wey the bone;
Other reward of hym gett he none!
113
Caste on the crane a full cruell loke,Withe opyn mouthe gan to approche nere,
“When thow,” quod he, “the sayd[e] bone toke
Out of my throt thow were in my daunger,
Thy sharpe beke, neke, eyen, and chere
Atwene my tethe, sharp[e] whet & kene,
Thy lyffe in iubardy, the truthe was welle sene.
114
“At that tyme thy power was but small,Ageyne me to holde were or stryff,
For whiche thow art boundyn in speciall
To thanke me thow scapidest withe thy lyff,
Owt of my iawes, sharper than file or knyff,
Stode desolate in many manar wyse,
Streynyd in the bondes full narow of my fraunchyse.”
115
And semblably, makyng a fals excuseTo pay theyr dewte wnto the poraile,
594
[Gverdounles] to make them to travayle
Yf they aught ax, tyrauntes them assayle,
And of malys constreyne them so for drede,
They not so hardy of them to ax ther mede.
116
The tyraunt hathe possescions and riches,The poure travelythe for meate, drynke, & fode,
The ryche dothe the laborar oppresse,
For his labour denyethe hym hys lyflode,
The lambe must suffre, the wolffes bene so wode;
A playne ensample declaryd how men done,
Shewde in the crane that plukkyd away þe bone.
[Moralization.]
117
Prayer of princes is a commaundement,The poure obayethe, they dare none othar do,
Presept of tyrantes is so vyolent,
Who-evar sey nay, nede it muste be so,
Hove they ther lust, they care for no mo;
The wolffe made holle, of very froward pryde,
Sofferyd the crane rewardles to abyde.
118
The crane was chese to be a surg[i]on,To save the wolffe, as ye have hard beforne,
Toke out the bone, whiche no man migh[t]e sene,
Whiche thynge accomplyshyd, his labour he had lorne,
The wolffe made hym blow the bokk[e]s horne,—
As it fallythe at preffe, offt[e] sithe,
Fayr behestes makythe foles ofte-tyme blythe.
119
Isophus, the famous olde poyete,This fable wrote for a memoryalle,
595
Atwen tyrauntes & folke that bene rurall,
The poure hathe lytell, the extorssionar hathe all,
His body, his lyffe, the laborar enpartythe,
The riche hathe all, & no-thynge he departythe.
120
The morallyte of this tale out sowght,The crane is lyke the folke, that for drede
Travayll for tyrantes, & reseve nowght
Bwt fowll rebukes for [a] ffynalle mede;
Thus connselynge, yow that this talle dothe rede,
Whill that yowr hond is in the wolffes mowthe,
Remembre that with tyrauntes merci ys wncothe.
121
To pley withe tyraunts I holde it is no iape,To oppres the poure they have no concience,
Fly frome daunger, yf ye may askape,
Thynke on the crane that dyd his delygence
To helpe the wolfe, but he do recompence,
His kyndenes maneshed hym, as I fynde,
This tall applyinge a-gayn folke that be wn-kynde.
finis
Iohn Lydgat, wryten by Iohn Stow.
FABLE VI. THE SUN'S MARRIAGE
122
Agayne the vice also of tirannyIn oo contray or in on regioun,
Oon is to mekil, poetis specifye,
596
For whiche Isopos makith mencyoun,
Vnto purpos bryngith in a fabil,
To be rehersed moral and notabil.
123
The tale is this, convynable and mete,The moralite remembrid in sentence;
First in Cancro, whan Phebus takith his hete,
Inportable ful ofte is his fervence,
That som while the persynge violence
Of his beames, oft or men take heede,
The soyle consumyth of herbe, grayne, and seede.
124
In somer season whan Phebus shadde his streames,The orasont clierly to enlumyne,
It so byfelle, that with his fervent beames
On Tellus lordship brent vp braunche and vyne,
Til a false lust his corage dide inclyne,
Causyng hym to fal in dotage,
To wedde a wif, born of hie parage.
125
But for to procede for the comowne availe,He hath his lettres and [his] brief[e]s sent
To goddis, goddessis, beyng of his counsaile,
Of erthe, of see, and of the firmament,
And Saturne ther to be present,
With Parchas sustren, that in the nombre thre
Ben callid of poetis spynners of destyne.
126
In this matier was grete contrauersyeAtwene the goddes and goddesses of grete prise,
Towchyng this mariage and this straunge ally,
Whether they shal holde to shewe theyr devise;
Til it fel, that a philosophre wise,
Called Theofrast, a man ronne ferre in age,
Gaf sentence as towchyng this mariage.
127
Ioyned with hym to gyve iugementOf this alliaunce in especial,
597
The Romayn poete Cocus Marcial,
Cloto, Lachesis, that spynne the threde smal,
And Antropos, withouten difference,
To gyve hereon a diffinytif sentence.
128
Among these owmperis was werre none, ne stryf,But concludyd to accord, al beyng of assent,
That, if so be that Phebus take a wyf,
And procreacioun be vnto hym sent,
By his lynage therth[e] shuld be brent;
This is to sayne, that no erthely creature
Hete of ij. sunnes may nowhile endure.
129
Thus concludyng, it doth inow suffice,Vnto heven oo sunne to shyne bright,
Twey sunnes were like in many wise,
To brenne al the erth, by fervence of theyr myght;
And, semblaly, who-so looke aright,
O myghti tiraunt suffisith in a shyre
Al the contrey for to sette a-fuyre.
130
If he have eyres for to succede,Folowe theyr fader in successioun,
By tirauntry, than are they more to drede
In theyr ravyne and extorcioun,
By theyr counseil and false convencioun;
For multitude of robbers, where they gon,
Doth more damage, sothly, than doth oon.
131
Men may at the ie se a prefOf this matere, old and yong of age,
Lasse is to drede the malice of oo thief,
So sayne merchauntis, ridyng in theyr viage,
But wher many on awaytith on the passage,
Ther standith the parell, as it is often sene,
By whiche example ye wote what I mene.
598
132
Oon ageyn oon may make resistence,Oon ageyn many, the conquest is vnkowth;
Nombre of tirauntis thurgh theyr violence
Pursweth the pore, both est and sowth;
Gredy wolfis, that comyn with open mowth,
Vpon a folde theyr nature can declare
By experience, whether they wil hurt or spare.
133
By example of Phebus, as to-fore is previdBy an vnkowth moral for liknes,
Whervpon this fable was contryved
By Isopos of grete advisenesse,
Plainly to shewe and opinly to expresse,
If oo tiraunt the people may constrayne,
Than the malice is worse and damagith more of twayne.
Here endith the .vj. fable of Isopos, disclosyng what
hurt or hyndryng tirauntis done, where they may
have power.
FABLE VII. Thys ffable is of þe hound that bare the chese, gronddyd on Isopus agaynst covetousness, translatyd by Iohn Lydgat, made in Oxforde.
134
An olde proverbe hathe bene sayd, and shall,Towchynge the vyce of grete covetyce—
Who all covetythe, offt he losythe all—
Where-wppon Isophus dothe devyce
A morall fabyll, rehersing in this wyse,
How a grete hownd over a bryge sqware
A large chese in his mouthe he bare.
599
135
Castynge his loke downe to the ryver,By apparence and fals yllusion,
As hym thought, a chese ther did apere,
And was nought els but a reflexion
Of the chese in his posescion;
Wiche to cache, whan he dyd his payne,
Opynynge his mouthe, he lost bothe twayne.
136
By whiche exsample men may conceyve & lere,By experience prevyd in many place,
Who all covetythe, faylyth offt in fere,
One man allone may not all purchace,
Nor in armys all the worlde enbrace,
A meane is best withe good governaunce,
To them that be content withe suffisaunce.
137
Ther is no man that lyvythe more at easeThan he that can withe lytill be content;
Even contrary, he standithe evar in disseasse
That in his hert with covetyce is blent;
Withe suche fals etykes many a man is shent:
Lyke as the hownd, not content withe one chese,
Desyryd tweyne, bothe he dyd lese.
finis
| The Minor Poems of John Lydgate | |