57. CONSULO QUISQUIS ERIS.
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[From MS. B.M. Harl. 2255, leaves 1 to 3.]
CONSULO QUISQUIS ERIS, QUI PACIS FEDERA QUERIS, CONSONUS
ESTO LUPIS, CUM QUIBUS ESSE CUPIS.
1
I conseyl[e] what-so-euyr thou be,
Off policye, forsight, and prudence,
Yiff thou wilt lyve in pees and vnite,
Conforme thy-sylff and thynk on this sentence,
Wher-so-evere thou hoold residence,
Among woluys be woluyssh of corage,
Leoun with leouns, a lamb for innocence,
Lyke the audience so vttir thy language.
2
The vnycorn is cauht with maydenys song,
By dispocicioun, record of scripture;
With cormerawntys make thy nekke long,
In pondys deepe thy prayes to recure;
Among foxis be foxissh of nature,
Mong ravynours thynk for avauntage,
With empty hand men may noon haukys lure,
And lyke the audience so vttir thy language.
3
With hooly men speke of hoolynesse,
And with a glotoun be delicat of thy ffare,
With dronke men do surfetys by excesse,
And among wastours no spendyng that thou spare;
With woodecokkys lerne for to dare,
And sharpe thy knyff with pilours for pilage;
Lyke the market so preyse thy chaffare,
And lyke the audience so vttre thy language.
4
With an otir spare ryveer noon nor pond,
With them that forett robbe conyngerys;
A bloodhound with bowe & arwe in hond,
Mawgre the wach of fosterys and parkerys;
Lyke thy felaship spare no daungerys,
For lyff nor deth thy lyff put in morgage,
Mong knyhtes, squyers, chanouns, monkes, fryers,
Lyke the audience vttir thy language.
5
Danyel lay a prophete ful notable,
Of God preservyd in prysoun with lyouns;
Where God lyst spare, a tygre is nat vengable,
No cruel beestys, berys, nor gryffouns;
And yif thu be in cavys with dragouns,
Remembre how Abacuk brought the potage
So feere to Danyel, to many regiouns,
As caas requerith so vttre thy language.
6
With wyse men talke of sapience,
With philosophres speke of philosophie,
With shipmen, seyleng that haue experience,
In troubly seis how they shal hem guye;
And with poetys talke of poetrye;
Be nat to presumptuous of cheer nor of visage,
But where thou comyst in ony companye,
Lyke the audience so vttir thy language.
7
This litel ditee concludith in menyng,
Who that cast hym this rewle for to kepe,
Mot conforme hym lyke in euery thyng,
Wher he shal byde, vnto the felashipe;
With wachmen wake; with sloggy folkes sleepe;
With wood men wood; with frentyk folk savage;
Renne with beestys; with wilde wormys creepe;
And like the audience vttir thy language.
VERBA TRANSLATORIS.
8
Mong alle thes I counceyl yit take heed,
Wher thu abydest or reste in any place,
In cheef love God, and with thy love ha dreed,
And be feerful ageyn Hym to trespace;
With vertuous men encrece shall thy grace,
And vicious folk arn cause of gret damage,
In every ffelaship so for thysilf purchace,
Wher vertu regnyth, ther vttir thy language.
9
Be paied with litel, content with suffisaunce,
Clymb nat to hih, thus biddith Socrates;
Glad pouert is of tresours moost substaunce,
And Catoun seith is noon so greet encres
Off wordly tresours, as for to live in pees,
Which among vertues hath the vasselage:
I take record of Diogenees,
Which to Alisaundre had this language.
10
His paleys was a litel poore tonne,
Which on a wheel with hym he gan carye,
Bad this emperour ride out of his sonne,
Which dempt hym-sylf richer than Kyng Darye,
Kept with his vessel fro wyndis moost contrarye,
Wherin he made daily his passage,
This philosophre with pryncys lyst nat tarye,
Nor in ther presence to vttre no language.
11
Attwen thes tweyne a greet comparysoun,
Kyng Alisaundir he conqueryd al,
Diogenes lay in a smal dongoun;
Lyke sondry wedrys which turnyd as a bal,
Fortune to Alisaundir gaff a sodeyn ffal;
The philosophre disposed his coignage,
He thouht vertu was moor imperrial
Than his acqueyntaunce, with al his proud language.
12
Antonye and Poule dispised al richesse,
Lyved in desert of wilful poverte;
Sesar and Pompey of marcial woodnesse,
By ther envious compassyd cruelte,
Twen Germanye and Affryk was gret enmyte;
No comparisoun twen good greyn and fforage;
Preise every thyng like to his degre;
And lyke the audience so vttir thy language.
13
I fond a lyknesse depict vpon a wal,
Armed in vertues, as I walk up and doun,
The hed of thre ful solempne and roial,
Intellectus, Memorye, and Resoun;
With eyen and erys of cleer discrecioun,
Mouth and tonge avoiden al outrage,
Ageyn the vice of fals detraccioun,
To do no surfet in woord nor in language.
14
Hand and armys with this discrecioun,
Wher-so man have force or ffebilnesse,
Trewly to meene in his affeccioun,
For fraude or favour to folwe rihtwisnesse;
Entrailes inward, devocioun with meeknesse,
Passyng Pigmalioun which graued his ymage;
Preyd to Venus, of lovers cheef goddesse,
To graunt it lyff and quyknesse of language.
15
Of hool entent pray we to Crist Iesu,
To quyke a figure in our conscience,
Reson as hed, with membris of vertu,
Aforn rehersyd breeffly in sentence;
Vndir support of his magnificence,
Crist so lyst governe our wordly pilgrymage,
Tween vice and vertu to sette a difference,
To his plesaunce to vttren our language.
Explicit.
