Lydgate's Fall of Princes :: :: University of Virginia Library

“Cosyn Bochas, I will weel that thou lere,
Thou that art besi to serche ouer all
Off infortune the maner to enquere,
Hir sodeyn chaung, turnyng as a ball,
Off erthli pryncis from ther estat roiall—
It is most sittyng, or we assundir twynne,
At vs tweyne thi processe to be-gynne.

Considre first, the Lord in his auis,
Whan he us made onto his liknesse,
He putte vs bothe into Paradis,
There talyued in parfit stabilnesse—
Til the Serpent dede his besynesse
Off fals envie to make us lese our grace,
Perpetueli texile us fro that place.”

And whan Iohn Bochas nakid hem beheeld,
Withoute the hand fourmyd off Nature,—
Off slym off therthe in Damascene the feeld
God made hem fairest a-boue ech creature;
And for thei sholde perpetueli endure,
Bi discrecioun for a prerogatiff
He endued hem with a soule off liff.

Parfit off age as man off thretti yeer,
Putte hem afftir in possessioun
Off Paradis, a place most enteer,

And off delicis a chose mansioun,
Where Adam made an imposicioun
To fissh and foul, and to thes beestis all,
Off verray resoun what men sholde hem call.

Out off a rib, whil that Adam sleep,
Eue was drawe, ful fair off hir visage,
Al sodenly or that he took keep,
Afftir to hym ioynyd in mariage
For his disport and his auantage,
So as the Lord first wyues dede ordeyne
Outher for helpe or for encres off peyne.

God onto hem gaff the souereynte
Off Paradis and dominacioun,
A place fulfellid off al felicite,
The frutis all in ther subieccioun,
Sauff that off oon was maad excepcioun,
Which God forbad, the Bible can deuise,
That thei sholde touche it in no wise.

All delices off that heuenli place
God gaff to hem and put in her kepyng,
To vsen hem eueri hour and space
To ther most ese, as was to hem likyng—
Bloomys, blosmys, ther fairnesse ay hauyng,
And the frutis alway off o fresshnesse,
For wyntir stormys myht do hem no duresse.

The soil enbroudid ful off somer floures,
Wher weedis wikke hadde noon interesse;
For God and Kynde with fresshnesse off coloures
And with ther tapitis & motles off gladnesse
Had maad that place habounde in al suetnesse;
And fressh[e] Flora, which is off floures queene,
Hir lyuere made off a perpetuel greene.

The trees rauhten almost to the heuene,
Which cast a-boute a ful plesant shade,
That storm nor reyn, thundir, wynd nor leuene
No power hadde ther leuys for to fade:

For euer thei wern Ilich[e] fressh and glade;
And whan thei list, ther thei myhte see
Mid off that gardyn off liff the holsum tre,

Which vertu hadde ageyn al maladie
Folk to preserue off youthe in ther fresshnesse,
Who eet theroff sholde neuer deie,
But lyuen euere in ioie and in gladnesse,
And nouther feele trouble nor siknesse,
But in that place haue alwey hertis ese
And suffisaunce off al that myht hym plese,

Euer endure and neuer falle in age,
For which it was callid the tre off liff.
But whan Adam was fallyn in dotage
And ageyn[es] God gan holdyn striff,
Thoruh excityng off hir that was his wiff,
And wilfulli gaff to hir assent
To breke the precept & comandement

Off God the Lord, thoruh wilful necligence,
Taproche the tre, which that bar the name,
The tre off cunnyng and also off science:
For off the frut who that dede attame,
He sothli sholde, the Bible seith the same,
Off good & euell haue cunnyng in his thouht,
Where-as tofforn off euyl he knew riht nouht.

Thus hadde thei first off euyl experience,
Where-as toforn thei knew no wikkidnesse;
Presumpcioun and inobedience
Brouht hem fro ioie into wrechidnesse:
For afor-tyme, myn auctour berth witnesse,
Helthe and goodnesse wer callid verray liff,
Euyl namyd siknesse, first roote of al our striff.

In Paradis, myn auctour seith certeyn,
Thre ryuers wern, so orient and fyne,
Lich quyksiluyr vpboilyng on the pleyn,
And in ther rennyng verray cristallyne,
Which from a welle heuenli and deuyne

In ther vpspryngyng and ther aualyng doun
Off al plesance gaff so soote a soun,

That it wolde rauysshe a corage,—
Whos bawmy licour endued al the place,
And with the fresshnesse & cours off his passage
The holsum hair hertis dede embrace,—
Ther was such plente off plesance & off grace,
That eueri spice, herbe, greyn and roote
Wer founde growyng in that gardeyn soote.

Ther was also a delectable soun
Off song off birdis in ther armonye,
The hair was cleene from al corupcioun,
For ther engendrid was no maladie;
Ther was al merthe, ther was al melodie,
Off ioie and blisse souereyn suffisance,
With al that may to hertis do plesance.

And off clerkis lik as it is told
In ther bookis, as thei determyne,
How in his speer the sonne manyfold
Was off mor vertu & mor cleer dede shyne
Than it doth now in his mydday lyne,
The moone whittere with hir bemys cleer,
And euery sterre brihtere dede appeer.

Euery thyng was there more vertuous
Than thei be now, who can beholde and see;
For in that place ther was nothyng noious,
But parfit gladnesse knet onto surete,
Perpetuel pes, ioie and prosperite,
And in that blisse to makyn hem mor strong,
To ther confort God spak with hem a-mong.

Off his goodnesse he bar hem cumpanye,
Shewed onto hem his gracious presence,
Angelis also ther staat to magnefie
A-mong to serue hem dede ther dilligence
In dyuers offices with humble reuerence,
And Nature wrouhte for the nonys
Off roial purpill and off riche stonys

Tissues off gold and othir ornamentis
For tenvirowne ther bodili beute,

Shapyng to hem such maner garnementis
As angelis vsen in ther felicite—
Nakid thei wer[e]n fairest on to see;
For whil thei stood in staat off innocence,
Thei hadde off clothyng noon experience.

And off ther blisse to make mencioun,
And off ther ioies that were celestiall,
Ther may be maad[e] no comparisoun
Off no ioie which is temporall,
Which sholde ha been lastynge & inmortall,
Euer talyued in merthe and in gladnesse,
Sauff ageyn resoun, off verray wilfulnesse

Thei banshid hemsilff out of that blisful liff,
Whan Adam gaff credence to a snake
And wrechidli gan trustyn on his wiff,
Which gan thappill off the Serpent take,
And plesantli dede a present make
Onto Adam, as she that ferst began
Deth to deuyse and poisoun onto man.

But as ther ioie was incomparable,
Grettest ther lordship aboue al ertheli thyng,
So ther fall was to he[m] importable;
For he that was all other surmountyng,
In Paradis regnyng as a kyng—
Was it nat a dedli mortal peyne
Fro thilke place to haue a fall sodeyne!

For thilke sorwe surmountith euery sorwe,
Which next folwith afftir felicite;
No wo mor greuous at eue nor at morwe,
As is in deede sodeyn aduersite
Which cometh onwarli afftir prosperite,
Nor nothyng more may hertis disauaunce
Than off old ioie newe remembraunce.

Takith exaumpil off Adam and off Eue,
Makith off hem a merour in your mynde,
Wher of resoun it dede hem gretli greue
For to be put, allas, so ferre behynde

Out off that blisse, thei and al ther kynde,
Chaungyng thestat off inmortalite
And becam subiect to deth and pouerte.

Ther sodeyn chaung & ther onwar myscheeff
And ther onhappi transmutacioun,—
It was to hem ful vnkouth and vnleeff
For to departe fro thilke mansioun
That was so full off delectacioun,
Fro such delicis sodenli to goo
Into this world which is so full off woo.

There is delit, and heer is sorwe [&] care,
There is ioie, and heer is heuynesse,
There is plente, and heer is euel fare,
There is helthe, and heer is gret siknesse,
Heer trouble ay meynt with onseur gladnesse,
Ther is ay blisse and eternal glorie,
And heere no merthe but fals & transitorie.

Allas, how thei wer blyndid in ther siht
Thoruh veynglorie and fals ambicioun!
Thei wente wrong, thei lokid nat a-riht,
Fals couetise was ther confusioun,
Wherthoruh thei loste the dominacioun
Off Paradis, and wex bothe poore & thrall,
Ther fredam leffte and becam mortall.

Onto God thei wolde ha be semblable,
Lik onto hym good and euel to knowe,
And in ther trust for thei wer nat stable,
From ther estat thei were brouht ful lowe:
And thus, allas, the seed was first isowe,
The roote plantid off disobeissaunce,
Which brouht our lynage to sorwe & myschaunce.

Thus cam in first thoruh inobedience,
As bi a gate, pouerte and neede;
And at ther bak folwed indigence,
Sorwe, siknesse, maladie and dreede,
Exil, banshyng and seruitute, in deede,
Which causid man longe to contune
Vndir the lordshipe & daunger off Fortune.

Thus cam in eek maladie and deth
To dispoile mankynde off his beute,
Long siknesse and pestilence that sleth
Bi sodeyn strok which no man may fle;
For onto Adam and his posterite
Deth was annexid bi successioun
For his offence, and so conueied doun

Fro man to man in eueri maner age.
For who list knowe, synne brouht in shame,
Man to be feeble and feynt in his passage,
And be processe to wexen halt and lame—
Onto Adam this was an vnkouth game,
To be constreynyd from riche apparaile
In bareyn erthe to sekyn his vitaile.

In hungir [and] thrust heere he ladde his liff,
With soot, with labour and tribulaciouns,
Endured also many mortal striff,
Off hot and cold riht straunge passiouns,
Off elementis sodeyn mutaciouns,
Wynd, hail and reyn feerfulli fallyng,
And onwar strokis off thundir & lihtnyng.

Thei stood also in daunger and in dreed
Off cruel beestis, tigres and leouns,
Off tusshi booris, who-so taketh heed,
And in gret feer off these fell dragouns,
Thassaut off serpentis and off scorpiouns;
For thilke beestis that toforn were mylde,
Afftir ther synnyng ful rage wex and wilde.

Wher thei stood[e] first in sekirnesse,
Off ioie and blisse euer in oon lastyng,
Out off ther reste thei fill in onseurnesse,
In sorwe and sihhyng, & dolorous pleynyng;
And fro ther eyen contynueli wepyng,
The bittir teris day be day distille,
In this desert for wantyng off ther wille.

And whethir wer thei sorweful or fayn,
Long tyme afftir ther desolacioun,
Whan thei fond Abel ther owyn sone slayn

Be cruel Caym to his confusioun,
The same Caym, as maad is mencioun,
Afftir that tyme wilde and vacabounde
Til blynde Lamech gaff hym his dethis wounde.

Adam nor Eue affor that ilke tyme
Hadde neuer seyn no feste funerall,
Off chaung it was to hem a newe pryme,
For to beholde a thyng disnaturall,
Brethre off o wombe be hatred fraternall,
The toon off herte so feer hymselff deuyde,
Off fals malis to been an homicide.

And was it nat a peyne whan thei stood,
For to beholde ther sone pale and ded
Ligge on the ground[e], bathid in his blood,
And al the soil where he lay was red,
That whan Adam and Eue tooken heed,
It was to hem ful gret aduersite
The newe slauhtre to beholde and see.

And euer a-mong ther sihhes harde and sore,
Ther bittir wepyng and sorwes to auaunce,
Or thei wer war, ther heris wexyn hore,
And age gan ther beute disauaunce;
Ther youthe also be ful gret displesaunce
Gan tappalle, or thei it coude espie,
Be cruel constreynt and force of maladie.

And whan off youthe fallyn was the flour
Bi the processe of many hundrid yeris,
And bi the duresse off many gret labour
Thei wex onlusti and ougli off ther cheris—
Off age and deth, these be the daungeris,
To seyn chekmat, in nature it is kouth,
Onto beute and greene lusty youth.

For whan the yeris fulli passid be
Off flouryng age, lastyng a sesoun,
Be processe, at eie men may see,
Beute declynyth, his blosmys falle doun;
And lite and litil be successioun

Cometh croked elde onwarli in crepyng,
With his potent ful poorli manasyng.

Thus to our fadir, that callid was Adam,
Off creatures fairest off alle faire,
Afftir gret age, bi processe deth in cam,
And gan onwarli ascende vpon the staire
With his potent, and caste hym to repaire
With Antropos, which affor shal goon
For tuntwyne his lyuys threed anoon.

And in Ebron was maad his sepulture,
Ther afftir bilt a myhti gret cite,
Bi whos story and record off nature
I may conclude, who-so list to see,
That neuer man hadde liberte,
Sithen that Adam our Lord gan disobeye,
Ageyn[e]s deth, but that he muste deye.