Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte Edited from the Fairfax MS. 16 (Bodleian) and the additional MS. 29,729 (Brit. Mus.) by Ernst Sieper |
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Here maketh thauctour mension, how Mercure shewed and declared the cause why he broght the thre goddesses wyth hym. |
 | Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte |  |
Here maketh thauctour mension, how Mercure shewed and declared the cause why he broght the thre goddesses wyth hym.
Mercurie, in al the hast he kan,Vn-to me his tale gan
Prudently, and lyst nat spare,
And seyde: “frende, I shal declare
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From Iubiter, the hevenly kyng,
To the of purpose pleynly sent
For to yive a Iugement,
And to shew vs thin advys
Vpon the doom of Dam Paris,
Which ys wreten in bokes olde,
That yaf the Appul, rounde of golde,
To freshe Venus, the goddesse,
Specyaly for hir fairenesse,
And left Pallas and Iuno,
The story platly telleth so,
As of clerkys ys devysed.
Wher-vpon be wel avysed
Prudently theron to deme,
Iustly, as hyt doth the seme,
Wher thou felyst in thy thoght,
His Iugement was good or noght.
But short[e]ly first, in sentence,
I shal yive the euydence,
First expovne, as hyt is good,
Of alle the mater, how hit stood:
Whylom to for the sege of troye,
Whan they flourede in her Ioye,
And wyth stronge honde dyd her peyne
To ravyshe the quene heleyne,
The same tyme, kyng Pelleus,
Ful ryche, and wys, and ryght famous,
Helde a feste, as hit is ryfe,
At the weddyng of his wyf,
Which Thetys highte, this the fyne;
Of whiche two, be ryghtful lyne,
Descended grete Achilles,
Ful renomed in werre and pes
Amonges grekes, as of renoun.
And as hit ys made mensyon
That Pelleus, this noble kyng,
Vpon the day of his weddyng,
Made a feste within his halle
Of the grete estatis alle
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But they wer present euerychon;
And also eke, in special,
Alle the goddys celestial,
And goddesses, this no fayle,
In ther rychest apparayle,
Al echon ther wer present;
For ther was noon that was absent,
Syttyng at the kynges borde,
Except the goddesse of discorde,
Lych as bookes specifye,
Which, of malis and envye,
Of rancour pale and appallyd,
Be-cause that she was nat callyd,
Cast of malys at the lest
To distroube hem at her fest,
Both in high and lowe estate,
For to make hem at debate;
And gan anoon in cruel wise
A mortal Appul to devyse,
Rounde of golde, with lettres grave,
Which seyd[e] that she shold hyt have,
Oonly by gifte and other noon,
Which fairest was of euerychoon,
Of al that seten at the borde.
And thus this goddesse of discorde
With hir sleyght and sotil gynne,
Sodeynly kam fleyng in,
Deynous of port and eke of syght,
Threwe the appul anon ryght
Among hem at the table doun.
And whan they hadde in-speccion
Of the Appul and writyng,
And conceyvede the menyng:
Shortly, in conclusion,
Al was turned vpe so doun.
For al her ioy[e] and gladnesse
Was turned in-to hevynesse,
And the plesaunce of eche estate
Was platly tourned to debate,
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By the fals[e] sede y-sowe
Of this lady, Dame hatrede,
To-rent and owgly in her wede,
Which of entent kam so ferre
For to sette hem al at werre.
For euerych bysy was in dede
The ryche appul to possede,
To reioysshe yt dide her myght,
And gan pretende a tytle of ryght,
By excellence of ther beaute.
And specialy atwixen thre
Roos first thys stryfe contagious:
Pallas, Iuno, and Venus,
Who fairest was, and did excelle
Of beaute for to bere the belle,
And of the Appul, by reson,
For to han possession.
And eche gan other hyt denye,
And gan to holde chaunpartye
To resiste and to wythstonde,
Til Iubiter took al on honde,
And lyst nat to be rekkeles,
To stynte noyse, and make pes,
And al rancour for to fyne,
Fynally gan determyne:
That al of oon opinion,
With-out[e] contradiccion,
Shold[e] stonden at devys
And Iugyment of [Dam] Paris,
Which sholde, by gret dilligence,
By diffynityf sentence,
Yive a doom among these thre,
Which that shal, for hir beaute,
The Appul wynne of verray ryght.
And I my self anoone ryght,
As Iubiter commanded me,
Ladde hem with me al[le] thre,
Whan the sonne shoon ful shene,
In-to a wood[e] fressh and grene
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Wonder delytable of syght;
Wher as Paris, whoo took kepe,
Lay on the playn and kept[e] shepe;
For he an Erde was that tyde,
And Oenonye by hys syde,
Hys paramour of tender age,
Inly fair of hir visage.
And whan I kam, wher as he lay,
I ne made noo delay,
But tolde him by and by the cas
Of the goddesses, how it was,
As I ha put in remembraunce,
And Iubiteres ordynaunce,
As I ha tolde her euery del,
And bad him for to avise him wel,
Vpon this nyw vnkouthe striff
To yive a doom dyffynityff.
And al[le] thre, stondynge besyde,
Gan ful besyly prevyde,
Eche for hyr part ful dilligent,
With many myghty Argument,
Tatteyne to ther entencion,
By many strong suasion.
And Iuno first, which is goddesse
Of golde, tresour, and rychesse,
Grauntede him to han plente
Of good with-out[e] skarsete,
Duryng hys lyf, for no myschefe,
Yif he graunted hir in chefe
The appul in possession,
With-oute more delacion,
And ay in rychesse to habounde.
And Pallas tho, the secounde,
Which is lady and maistresse
Of renoun and of high prowesse,
Of konnyng also and prudence,
Of wisdam and of sapience,
Grauntede him to be most sage
That ever was in eny age,
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Of conquest and of victorye,
And al hys enemyes pute doun,
Yif he, in conclusion,
Bothe of equyte and ryght,
Gaf hir the appul anon ryght
With-out[e] more in hir demeyne.
But Venus, with hir firy cheyne,
Which hath loue in gouernaunce,
And goddesse is of al plesaunce,
Of lust, and fleshly appetyte,
And of voluptuous delyte,
Wyth hir bronde to enspire,
And folkys for to set a-fire,
In euery age, yong and olde,
T[h]at ther is noon so strong, nor bolde,
Nor so vpryght, nor so lame
That she kan daunte and make tame,
Be he ryche or be he wys.
And she hath graunted to Paris,
To han in his possession
The fairest lady of renoun
Of al this worlde, to rekne echon,
As fer as men ryde or gon,
To han hir knyt to him by bonde,
And borne also in grekys londe,
Which that called ys heleyne;
For whom she shal also ordeyne
That [Dam] Paris shal in Ioye
Bringe hir hoom in-to Troye,
And the proude grekys dawnte,
Yif he the Appul to hir graunte,
And to denye hyt be nat bolde.
And whan they had her talys tolde
To forn her Iuge, Dame Paris,
He lyst no lenger take avys,
Nouther by wysdam nor prudence,
But in al hast[e] yaf sentence
That Venus, lyke as I ha tolde,
Shal han thappul rounde of golde,
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Most excellent in fairnesse.
Thus dempte Paris, this no drede,
For which look vp and take good hede,
And by counsayl and rede of me,
Sith thou hauest lyberte,
Considre wel in thy reson
Of euerych the condicion:
Rychesse and tresour of Iuno,
And how that Pallas eke also
Ys in vertu most habounde,
And how Venus also ys founde
In love passyng debonayre,
And se, how al[le] thre be faire.
Voyde fauour, and sey[e] ryght,
Lyke as the semeth in thy syght,
And thy wittes hool applie,
To deme lych thy fantasye,
Wher that Paris, to thyn entent,
Gaf a ryghtful Iugement.”
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