The Minor Poems of John Lydgate :: :: University of Virginia Library

Who will been holle & kepe hym from sekenesse
And resiste the strok of pestilence,
Lat hym be glad, & voide al hevynesse,
Flee wikkyd heires, eschew the presence.
Off infect placys, causyng the violence;
Drynk good wyn, & holsom meetis take,
Smelle swote thyng[es] & for his deffence
Walk in cleene heir, eschew[e] mystis blake.

2

With voide stomak outward the nat dresse.
Risyng erly, with fyr have assistence,
Delite in gardeyns for ther gret swetnesse,
To be weele claad do thi dilygence.
Keep welle thi-silf from incontynence,
In stiwes, bathis, no soiour that thou make,
Opnyng of humours this doth gret offence,
Walke in cleene heir, eschewe mystis blake.

3

Ete nat gret flessh for no greedynesse,
And fro frutes hold thyn abstynence,
Poletis & chekenys for ther tendirnesse
Ete hem with sauce, and spar nat for dispence,
Verious, vynegre, & thynfluence
Of holsom spices, I dar vndirtake,
The morwe sleep, callid gyldene in sentence,
Gretly helpith ayeen the mystis blake.

703

[THE DIETARY.]

4

For helthe of body keep fro cold thyn hed,
Ete no rawe mete, take good heed herto,
Drynk holsom wyn, feede the on lyht bred,
With an appetite ryse from thi mete also,
With women aged flesshly have na a do,
Vpon thy sleep drynk neuyr of thi cuppe,
Glad toward bedde and at morwe, bothe too,
And vse nevir late for to suppe.

5

Leveyn bred, the past itempred cleene,
And weel decoct made of good whete flour,
Day & half old in tast it shal be seene,
And eschew excesse of labour.
Walk in gardeyns sote of ther savour,
Temperatly, and take also good keep,
Gorge vpon gorge is cause of gret langour,
And in especial flee meridian sleep.

6

In thi drynkis put cleene sawge & rewe,
Bothe be good & holsom of natur,
And phisik seith, the rose flour-is dewe,
And Ypocras recordith in scriptur
Good wyn is holsom to euery creatur
Take in mesur, with v. addiciouns,
Strong, fressh, & cold, off tarage, & verdur,
Most comendid a-mong al naciouns.

7

Shortly for helth vse this pollicie:
Voide awey al surfete & excesse,
Abstynence ageyns glotonye,
Reer sopers & froward drounk[e]nesse,
Gapyng, yixnyng, & noddyng hevynesse,
Embassetours afforn sent for the best,
Nase routyng, slombryng & ydilnesse,
Bit agid men betymes go to rest.

704

8

A repleet stomak causith gret damage,
Gronyng, grucchyng, walkyng at mydnyth,
Bothe in folkis old & yong of age;
A litill sopeer at morwe makith men liht,
Ther be thre lechees consarue a mannys myht,
First a glad hert, he carith lite or nouht,
Temperat diet, holsom for every wiht,
And best of all, for no thyng take no thouht.

9

Care a-way is a good medycyne,
Digest afforn, preparat with gladnesse,
An holsom dia distyllyng from the vyn
Of Bachus gardeyn corages to redresse,
Aurum potabile, in hoot or cold seekenesse,
Hard to be bouht for folk in poverte,
Watir growell, wacheth of grennesse,
Abatith the brennyng of ther infirmyte.

10

Greedi souper & drynkyng late at eve
Causith of fflewme gret superfluyte;
Colre adust doth the stomak greve,
Malencolik a froward gest, parde!
Off mykil or litel cometh al infirmyte,
Attween thes too for lak of governaunce,
Dryve out a mene, excesse or scarsete,
Set thi botaill vpon temperaunce.

11

I mene as thus, for any froward delite
Yiff ther falle a lust of fals excesse,
That wold agrotye thi natural appetite,
Thi digestioun with surfetis to oppresse,
Of hoot or colde, be war that non accesse
Nor vncouth agew vnwarely the assaile,
Moderat diet ageyns al seekenesse,
Is best phisicien to mesur thyn entraile.

12

All this processe concludith vp[on] tyme,
Temperat diet kyndly digestioun,

705

The golden sleep braidyng vpon pryme,
Naturall appetite abydyng his sesoun,
Foode accordyng to the complexioun,
Stondyng on iiij, flewme or malencolie,
Sanguey colre so conveid bi resoun,
Voidyng al trouble of froward maladie.

13

And yiff so be leechis doth the faile,
Than take good heed to vse thynges thre,
Temperat diet, temperat travaile,
Nat malencolius for non adversite,
Meeke in trouble, glad in pouerte,
Riche with litel, content with suffisaunce,
Nevir grucchyng, mery lik thi degre,
Yiff phisik lak, make this thi gouernance.

14

To euery tale soone yif not credence,
Be nat to hasty nor sodeynli vengeable,
To poore folk do no violence,
Curteis of language, of fedyng mesurable,
On sondry metis not gredy atte table,
In feedyng gentil, prudent in daliaunce,
Cloos of tungge, of word nat deceivable,
To sei the best set alwey thi plesaunce.

15

Have in hate mouthis that be double,
Suffre at thi table no detraccioun;
Have despite of folk that sow[e] trouble
Of fals rounners & adulacioun,
Withynne thi coort suffre no divisioun,
Which in thyn housold shal cause gret encrece,
Of al weelfare, prosperite, & foisoun
With thi neihbore live in rest & pes.

16

Be clenly claad aftir thyn estat,
Passe nat thi boundis, keep thi promys blive,
With thre folk be nat at debate,
First with thi bettir be war for to stryve,
Ageyn thi felaw no quarell do contryve,

706

With thi soget to fihten it were shame,
Wher[for] I counsel pursewe al thi lyve
To live in pes & gete the a good name.

17

Fire at morwe & toward bed at eve,
Ageyn mystis blake & heir of pestilence,
Be-tyme at messe thou shalt the bettir cheeve,
First at thi risyng to God do reverence,
Visite the poore with enteer diligence,
On al nedy have pite & compassioun,
And God shal sende the grace & influence
The tenchrece, & thi possessioun.

18

Suffre no surfetis in thyn hous at nyht,
War of rer sopers & of gret excesse,
Of noddyng hedis & of candil liht,
Off slouthe on morwe, & slombryng ydilnesse,
Which of al vices is cheeff port[e]resse,
Voide al dronklew[e] liers & letchours,
Of all vnthryft exile the cheeff maistresse,
That is to say dees pleiers & hasardours.

19

Aftir mete bewar, make no sleepe,
Hed, foote & stomak preserve ay from colde,
Be nat to pensiff, of thouht take no keepe,
Aftir thi rent mayntene thyn housold.
Suffir in tyme, in thi riht be bold,
Swer non othis, no man to be-gyle,
In youthe be lust[i], sad whan thou art old,
No wordly ioie lastith her but a while.

20

Dyne nat at morwe before thyn appetite,
Cleer heir & walkyng makith good digestioun,
Tween mele drynk nat for no froward delite,
But thrust or travail geve the occasioun,
Over salt metis do gret oppressioun
To feeble stomakis whan thei can nat refreyn
For thynges contrarie to ther complexioun,
Off gredy handis the stomak hath gret peyn.

707

21

Thus in too thyngis stondith al the welthe
Of sowle & bodi, who so list hem sewe,
Moderat foode yeueth to man his helthe,
And all surfetis doth fro hym remewe,
And charite to the sowle is dewe;
This receiht bouht is of non appotecarie,
Off Maister Antony, nor of Maister Hewe;
To all indifferent richest dietarie!

Explicit.