Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte Edited from the Fairfax MS. 16 (Bodleian) and the additional MS. 29,729 (Brit. Mus.) by Ernst Sieper |
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Her reherseth Venus to thauctour of hir other sone callyd Cupido. |
 | Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte |  |
Her reherseth Venus to thauctour of hir other sone callyd Cupido.
“I haue eke, on the tother syde,
A sone that callyd is Cupyde,
Nat lasse of reputacion
But passingly of gret renoun;
Which, throgh his myghty gouernance,
Hath al vnder his obeysaunce,
And in the See, wher he is stallyd,
He is the god of love callyd.
For he lordshyppeth, and hath cure
Of euery maner creature,
For rude folkys and eke sage
He hath bounde in his servage.
No man kan no resistence
Ageyn hys myght, by no diffence,
For poetis specifye
That goddys of her surquedye
Purposede of presumpsion
To wrastle with this Champyon,
But he, in A lytel throwe,
Cast hem to the erthe lowe,
Vnder daunger kept hem evere
That they myghte nat dissevere.
Phebus eke, that was so sage,
He attamede with his rage,
Made him throgh his myght alsoo
In servitute, sorwe, and woo,
Vnder hys yokke to be bounde,
And yaf to him so large a wounde,
Mortal and perilouse many folde,
“With his dredful arwe of golde,
For love of daphne, I dar say,
That he was in poynt to dey.
For ay the more he gan to prey,
The more she dide dysobey
To his desire, on euery side,
He siweth, but she nolde abyde;
For the more he dyd hys myght,
The more she fledde out of hys syght;
But suche pursuyt he gan make
That he shulde haue ouertake
Hyr, that was most faire to se,
Tyl Goddys gan to han pite
On hir youthe and tendernesse,
And on hir excellent fayrenesse,
To conserve hir virgynite
Tourned hir to a laurer tre,
Closed vnder bark and rynde,
For which Phebus, as I fynde,
Loste al worldly plesaunce
Throgh Cupidys high vengeaunce.
A sone that callyd is Cupyde,
Nat lasse of reputacion
But passingly of gret renoun;
Which, throgh his myghty gouernance,
Hath al vnder his obeysaunce,
And in the See, wher he is stallyd,
He is the god of love callyd.
For he lordshyppeth, and hath cure
Of euery maner creature,
For rude folkys and eke sage
He hath bounde in his servage.
No man kan no resistence
Ageyn hys myght, by no diffence,
For poetis specifye
That goddys of her surquedye
Purposede of presumpsion
To wrastle with this Champyon,
But he, in A lytel throwe,
Cast hem to the erthe lowe,
Vnder daunger kept hem evere
That they myghte nat dissevere.
Phebus eke, that was so sage,
He attamede with his rage,
Made him throgh his myght alsoo
In servitute, sorwe, and woo,
Vnder hys yokke to be bounde,
And yaf to him so large a wounde,
Mortal and perilouse many folde,
66
For love of daphne, I dar say,
That he was in poynt to dey.
For ay the more he gan to prey,
The more she dide dysobey
To his desire, on euery side,
He siweth, but she nolde abyde;
For the more he dyd hys myght,
The more she fledde out of hys syght;
But suche pursuyt he gan make
That he shulde haue ouertake
Hyr, that was most faire to se,
Tyl Goddys gan to han pite
On hir youthe and tendernesse,
And on hir excellent fayrenesse,
To conserve hir virgynite
Tourned hir to a laurer tre,
Closed vnder bark and rynde,
For which Phebus, as I fynde,
Loste al worldly plesaunce
Throgh Cupidys high vengeaunce.
“And thus my sonys boothe twoo,
First Deduit and Cupido,
Lyke as I haue declared the,
Ordeyned ben to serve me,
As I serve vnto nature
In furthering of myn Auenture.
So is ther lust and ther plesaunce,
By diligent attendaunce,
To A-wayte on me euery tyde,
Bothe Deduit and eke Cupide.
First Deduit and Cupido,
Lyke as I haue declared the,
Ordeyned ben to serve me,
As I serve vnto nature
In furthering of myn Auenture.
So is ther lust and ther plesaunce,
By diligent attendaunce,
To A-wayte on me euery tyde,
Bothe Deduit and eke Cupide.
“And her-vpon I wol the telle
In what place that they duelle,
That thou mayst vn-to hem drawe,
The gouerne by her lawe;
And ther-vpon do thy peyne
To gete frendshippe of thise tweyne.
For elles thou ne mayst nat chese,
But thow shalt thy tyme lese;
For they hir han in gouernaunce
“That may to the do best plesaunce.
And alder first thou shalt lere,
Love and Deduit duelle y-fere;
And, trewly, elles yt wer wonder,
For they kan nat be assonder.
For trust[e] wel that of reson
Her bothe conversacion
Gladly drawe by oo lyne,
And love of ryght doth Ay enclyne,
Wher he be, in any place,
To siwe play and eke solace,
For love myghte nat endure,
But Deduit dyde hys [busy] cure
Him to support[e] with gladnesse,
For he may with noon heuynesse;
For which as brethre in eche place
Eueryche other dooth embrace;
That, to conclude at oo worde,
Deduit serveth and love ys lorde,
So nyghe borne of oon allye
That, fynally, her companye
Ne seuereth nat, but y-fere
Eche ys to other so entere.
For Deduit, I warne the,
Hadde lever exilled be
Than to twynne on any syde
From presence of Cupide;
For whiche thinge, as hyt ys dywe,
Be diligent to pursiwe,
With al thin hool[e] besynesse,
Lyne ryght thy cours to dresse
To thilke path[e], thus I mene,
That ledeth to the Erber grene,
Wher that Deduit ys lorde of ryght,
To plese love with al hys myght;
For ther they tweyn, of oon assent,
Soiourne ay with her covent.
In what place that they duelle,
That thou mayst vn-to hem drawe,
The gouerne by her lawe;
And ther-vpon do thy peyne
To gete frendshippe of thise tweyne.
For elles thou ne mayst nat chese,
But thow shalt thy tyme lese;
For they hir han in gouernaunce
67
And alder first thou shalt lere,
Love and Deduit duelle y-fere;
And, trewly, elles yt wer wonder,
For they kan nat be assonder.
For trust[e] wel that of reson
Her bothe conversacion
Gladly drawe by oo lyne,
And love of ryght doth Ay enclyne,
Wher he be, in any place,
To siwe play and eke solace,
For love myghte nat endure,
But Deduit dyde hys [busy] cure
Him to support[e] with gladnesse,
For he may with noon heuynesse;
For which as brethre in eche place
Eueryche other dooth embrace;
That, to conclude at oo worde,
Deduit serveth and love ys lorde,
So nyghe borne of oon allye
That, fynally, her companye
Ne seuereth nat, but y-fere
Eche ys to other so entere.
For Deduit, I warne the,
Hadde lever exilled be
Than to twynne on any syde
From presence of Cupide;
For whiche thinge, as hyt ys dywe,
Be diligent to pursiwe,
With al thin hool[e] besynesse,
Lyne ryght thy cours to dresse
To thilke path[e], thus I mene,
That ledeth to the Erber grene,
Wher that Deduit ys lorde of ryght,
To plese love with al hys myght;
For ther they tweyn, of oon assent,
Soiourne ay with her covent.
| Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte | |