nat ne lie And all this thing right sene it with your eie And that anon ye nill nat trow how soone Now taketh hede for it is for to doone What wene ye your wise father would Have yeven Antenor for you anone If he ne wist that the city should Destroied ben why nay so mote I gone He knew full well there shall nat scapen one That Troian is and for the great fere He durst nat that ye dwelt lenger there What woll ye more O lovesome lady dere Let Troy and Troians fro your heart passe Drive out yâ— bitter hope make good chere And clepe ayen the beautie of your face That ye with salt teares so deface For Troy is brought in such a ieopardie That it to save is now no remedie And thinketh well ye shall in Grekes find A more perfite love ere it be night That any Troian is and more kind And bet to serven you woll done his might And if ye vouchsafe my lady bright I woll ben he to serven you my selve Ye lever than be lord of Greces twelve And with that word he gan to waxen reed And in his speech a little while he quoke And cast aside a little with his heed And stint a while and afterward he woke And soberly on her he threw his loke And said I am albeit to you my joy As gentill a man as any wight in Troy For if my father Tideus he seide I lived had I had been ere this Of Calcidonie and Arge a king Creseide And so hope I that I shall be iwis But he was slaine alas the more harme is Vnhappily at Thebes all to rathe Polimite and many a man to scathe But hart mine sithe that I am your man And ben the first of whom I feche grace To serve you as heartely as I can And ever shall while I to live have space So that ere I depart out of this place Ye woll me graunte that I may to morow At better laiser tell you of my sorow What shuld I tell his wordes that he seide He spake ynough for o day at the mest It preveth well he spake so that Creseide Graunted on the morrow at his request For to speake with him at the least So that he nolde speake of such matere And thus she to him said as ye mowe here As she that had her hart on Troilus So fast that there may it none arace And straungely she spake and saied thus O Diomede I love that ilke place There was I borne and Ioves of thy grace Deliver it soone of all that doth it care God for thy might so leve it well to fare That Grekes wold her wrath on Troy wreke If that they might I know it well iwis But it shall naught befallen as ye speke And God toforne and farther over this I wote my father wise and ready is And that he me hath bought as ye me told So dere am I the more vnto him hold That Grekes ben of high conditioun I wote eke well but certaine men shall find As worthie folke within Troy toun As conning as persite and as kinde As ben betwixte Orcades and Inde And that ye could well your lady serve I trow eke well her thonke for to deserve But as to speake of loue iwis she seide I had a lord to whom I wedded was His whole mine hart was all till he deide And other love as helpe me now Pallas There in mine hart nis ne never was And that ye ben of noble and high kinrede I have well herde it tellen out of drede And yâ— doth me to have so great a wonder That ye woll scornen any woman so Eke God wote love and I ben fer asonder I am disposed bet so mote I go Vnto my death plaine and make wo What I shall after done I can not say But truely as yet me list nat play Mine hart is now in tribulatioun And ye in armes busie day by day Hereafter when ye wonnen have the toun Paraventure then so it happen may That when I see that I never ere sey Then woll I werke that I never ere wrought This word to you ynough suffisen ought To morow eke wol I speken with you faine So that ye touchen naught of this matere And when you list ye may come here againe And ere ye gone thus much I say you here As helpe me Pallas with her haires clere If that I should of any Greeke have routh It shulde be your selven by my trouth I say nat therefore that I woll you love Ne say nat nay but in conclusioun I meane well by God that sit above And therewithall she cast her eien doun And gan to sigh said Troilus Troy toun Yet bidde I God in quiet and in rest I may you seene or do mine hart brest But in effect and shortly for to say This Diomede all freshly new againe Gan preasen on and fast her mercy pray And after this the soothe for to saine Her gloue he toke of which he was full faine And finally when it was woxen eve And all was well he rose and tooke his leve The bright Venus folowed and aie taught The way there brode Phebus doune alight And Cithera her chare horse over taught To whirle out of the Lion if she might And Signifer his candles sheweth bright When that Creseide vnto her bed went Within her fathers faire bright tent Retourning in her soule aye vp and doun The wordes of this suddaine Diomede His great estate and perill of the toun And that she was alone and had nede Of friendes help and thus began to brede The cause why the soothe for to tell She tooke fully purpose for to dwell The morow came and ghostly for to speke This Diomede is come vnto Creseide And shortly least that ye my tale breke So well he for himselfe spake and seide That all her sighes sore doune he leide And finally the soothe for to saine He rest her the great of all her paine And after this the story telleth vs That she him yave the faire bay stede The which she ones wan of Troilus And eke a brooch and that was little nede That Troilus was she yave this Diomede And eke the bet from sorow him to releve She made him weare a pencell of her sleve I find eke in stories elsewhere When through the body hurt was Diomede Of Troilus tho wept she many a tere When that she saw his wide wounds blede And that she tooke to kepen him good hede And for to healen him of his smart Men saine I not that she yave him her hart But truely the storie telleth vs There made never woman more wo Than she when that she falsed Troilus She said alas for now is clene ago My name in trouth of love for evermo For I have falsed one the gentillest That ever was and one the worthiest Alas of me vnto the worldes end Shall neither ben iwritten or isong No good word for
THE PROGENIE OF GEFFREY CHAUCER The true portraiture of GEFFREY CHAUCEER the famous English poet as by THOMAS OCCLEUE is described who liued in his time and was his Scholar THE WORKS OF OUR Ancient Learned Excellent ENGLISH POET JEFFREY CHAUCER As they have lately been Compar'd with the best Manuscripts and several things added never before in Print To which is adjoyn'd The STORY of the SIEGE of THEBES By John Lidgate Monk of Bury TOGETHER WITH The Life of Chaucer SHEWING His Countrey Parentage Education Marriage Children Revenues Service Reward Friends Books Death Also a TABLE wherein the Old and Obscure Words in Chaucer are explained and such Words which are many that either are by Nature or Derivation Arabick Greek Latine Italian French Dutch or Saxon mark'd with particular Notes for the better understanding their Original LONDON Printed in the Year MDCLXXXVII TO THE Right Honourable Sir ROBERT CECIL K nt PRINCIPAL SECRETARY To the QUEEN's Most Excellent Majesty Master of the Court of Wards and Liveries one of her Highness's most Honourable Privy Council and Right Worthy Chancellor of the Vniversity of CAMBRIDGE Right Honourable AT the last Impression of this Work in way of humble Duty and Thankfulness I presented to Your Honour certain Collections and Observations upon Chaucer as namely His Life Picture and Pedigree the Arguments of every Book and Tale the Explanation of old Words with Declaration of Authors by him cited and also two Treatises the Death of Blanch called his Dream and the Flower and the Leaf never before printed But as these things then through want of time were not fully perfected so were there some other things omitted at the next Impression to be performed Now therefore that both by old written Copies and by Thynn's praise-worthy Labours I have reformed the whole Work whereby Chaucer for the most part is restored to his own Antiquity and noted withal most of his Sentences and Proverbs having also with some Additions reduced into due place those former Notes and Collections as likewise proved the Significations of most of the old and obscure Words by the Tongues and Dialects from whence they are derived translated also into English all the Latin and French by him used and lastly added to his Works some Things of his own doing as the Treatise of Jack Upland against Fryars and his A. B. C. commonly called La Priere de nostre Dame I am bold to present the whole to your Honourable Favour and Patronage always mindful of my bounden Duty to Your Honour's House which with hearty Prayer I commend to the Grace of the Almighty Your Honour 's in all Duty at Commandment THO. SPEGHT To the Readers AFter this Book was last Printed I understood that Mr. Francis Thynn had a purpose as indeed he hath when time shall serve to set out Chaucer with a Comment in our Tongue as the Italians have Petrark and others in their Language Whereupon I purposed not to meddle any farther in this Work altho some promise made to the contrary but to referr all to him being a Gentleman for that purpose inferiour to none both in regard of his own Skill as also of those helps left to him by his Father Yet notwithstanding Chaucer now being Printed again I was willing not only to help some Imperfections but also to add some things whereunto he did not only persuade me but most kindly lent me his Help and Direction By this means most of his old Words are restored Proverbs and Sentences marked such Notes as were collected drawn into better order and the Text by old Copies corrected But of some things I must advertise the Readers as first that in Chaucer they shall find the Proper Names oftentimes much differing from the Latin and Greek from whence they are drawn which they must not condemn in him as a fault for both he and other Poets in Translating such Words from one Language into another do use as the Latins and Greeks do the sundry Species of Metaplasmus as Campaneus for Capaneus Atheon for Acteon Adriane for Ariadne Which Chaucer doth in other Words also as gon for begon leve for beleve peraunter for peradventure loveden for did love woneden for did won c. It is his manner likewise imitating the Greeks by two Negatives to cause a greater Negation as I ne said none ill Also many times to understand his Verb as I not what men him call for I know not c. And for the Author to name some part of his Work as Argonauticon for Apollonius Rhodius And that sometime in the Genitive Case a former Substantive being understood as read Aeneidos Metamorphoseos for the Authors of those Works And for his Verses altho in divers places they may seem to us to stand of unequal Measures yet a skilful Reader that can scan them in their nature shall find it otherwise And if a Verse here and there fall out a Syllable shorter or longer than another I rather aret it to the negligence and rape of Adam Scrivener that I may speak as Chaucer doth than to any unconning or over-sight in the Author for how fearful he was to have his Works miswritten or his Verse mismeasured may appear in the End of his Fifth Book of Troylus and Creseide where he writeth thus And for there is so great diversitie In English and in writing of our tongue So pray I God that none miswrite thee Ne thee mismetre for defaut of tongue c. Moreover whereas in the explanation of the old Words sundry of their Significations by me given may to some seem conjectural yet such as understand the Dialects of our Tongue especially in the North and have knowledge in some other Languages will judge otherwise and for the satisfying of others which want such skill I have by these Characters a. g. l. i. f. d. b. notified to them from what Tongue or Dialect such Words are derived It were a Labour worth commendation if some Scholar that hath Skill and Leisure would conferr Chaucer with those learned Authors both in Greek and Latin from whom he hath drawn many excellent things and at large report such Histories as in his Works are very frequent and many of them hard to be found which would so grace this Ancient Poet that whereas divers have thought him unlearned and his Writings mere Trifles it should appear That besides the knowledge of sundry Tongues he was a Man of great Reading and deep Judgment This course I began in the former Impression but here of purpose have left it off as also the Description of Persons and Places except some few of more worthy note as a labour rather for a Commentor for that it concerneth Matter than for him that intendeth only the explaining of Words And thus to conclude I commit to your wonted Favour this our Poet and what here is done for the Poet's sake TO HIS Very Loving and assured Good Friend Mr. THOMAS SPEGHT I Am sorry that neither the
word if it bee in his charge All speak he never so rudely ne large Or else he mote tellen his tale untrue Or fein things or find words new He may not spare altho he were his brother He mote as well say o word as another Christ spake himself full brode in holy writ And well I wotte no villany is it Eke Plato saith who so can him rede * The words mote been cosin to the dede Also I pray you forgive it me All have I not set folk in her degree Here in this tale as they shoulden stand My wit is short ye may well understand GReat cheer made our hoste us verichone And to the Supper set he us anone And served us with vitaile of the best Strong was the wine well to drink us lest A seemly man our Host was with all For to been a Marshal in a Lords Hall A large man he was with iyen stepe A fairer Burgeis is there none in Chepe Bold of his speech wise and well itaught And of manhood him lacked right nought Eke thereto he was a right merry man And after supper plaien he began And speak of nâ—â—th among other things When that we had made our reckonings And said thus now lordings truly Ye been to me welcome right heartily For by my trouth if I should not lie I saw not this year so merry a Company Atones in this her borough as is now Fain wold I don you mirth I wist how And of a mirth I am right now bethought To don you ease and it shall cost nought Ye gon to Canterbury God mote you spede The blissful Martyr quite you your mede And well I wot as ye gone by the way Ye shapen you to talken and to play For truly comfort ne mirth is there none To riden by the way as dumb as a stone And therefore wold I maken you disport As I said erst and done you some comfort And if you liketh all by one assent For to stonden at my Iudgment And for to worchen as I shall you say To morrow when we riden on the way Now by my Fathers Soul that is deed But ye be merry I will give you my heed Hold up your hands withouten more speech Our counsail was not long for to sech Vs thouÈt it was not worth to make it nice And graunted him without more avise And bad him say his verdit as him lest Lordings qd he now herkeneth for the best But take it nat I pray you in disdain This is the point to speak it plat and plain That ech of you to shorten others way In this viage shall tellen tales tway To Canterbury ward I mean it so And homewards he shall tell tales other two Of a ventures whilom that han befall And which of you that hereth him best of all That is to sain that tellen in this case Tales of best sentence and most solace Shall have a supper at our alder cost Here in this place sitting by this post When that we comen ayen from Canterbury And for to make you the more merry I will my selven goodly with you ride Right at mine own cost and be your guide And who that woll my judgment with say Shall pay all that we spend by the way And yef ye vouchsafe that it be so Tell me anone without words mo And I woll erly shape me therefore This thing was granted our oaths swore With glad hert and praiden him also That he would vouchsafe for to do so And that he would ben our Governour And of our tales judge and reportour And set a Supper at a certain prise And we wollen ben demed at his devise In hie and low and thus by one assent We ben accorded to his judgment And thereupon the wine was fette anone We dronken and to rest went ilke one Withouten any lenger tarying A morrow when the day gan to spring Vp rose our Host and was our alder cocke And gadird us togedirs on a flocke And forth we riden a little more than paas Vnto the watering of saint Thomas And there our Host began his Horse arest And said Lords herkeneth if you lest Ye wote your forward and I it record * If eve song and morrow song accord Let see now who shall tell the first tale As ever I mote drink wine or ale Who so is rebel to my Iudgment Shall pay for all that by the way is spent Now draweth cut or that ye farther twin The which that hath the shortest shall begin Sir Knight qd he my maister my lord Now draweth cut for that is mine accord Commeth nere qd he my lady Prioress And ye sir Clerk let be your shamefastness Ne studieth nought lay hand to every man Anone to draw every wight began And shortly for to tellen as it was Were it by aventure chaunce or caas The sothe is this the cut fill to the Knight Of which blith and glad was every wight And tell he must his tale as was reason By forward and by composition As ye han heard what nee deth words mo And when this good man saw that it was so As he that wise was and obedient To keepen his forward by his free assent He said sithen I shall begin the game What welcome cut to me a Goddesname Now let us ride and herkeneth what I say And with that word we riden forth our way And he began with a right merry chere His tale anone right as ye shall hear ¶ Thus endeth the Prologues of the Canterbury Tales The Knight's Tale. PAlamon and Arcite a pair of Friends and Fellow-prisoners fight a Combat before Duke Theseus for the Lady Emely Sister to the Queen Ipolita Wife of Theseus A Tale fitting the Person of a Knight for that it discourseth of the Deeds of Arms and Love of Ladies WHilome as old stories tellen us There was a Duke that hight Theseus Of Athens he was lord and governour And in his time such a conquerour That greater was none under the son Full many a rich country had he won What with his wisdom and his chivalry He conquered all the reigne of Feminy That whilome was ycleaped Cithea And wedded the queene Ipolita And brought her home with him to his country With mikell glory and solemnity And eke her young sister Emely And thus with victory and melody Let I this worthy Duke to Athens ride And all his hoast in armes him beside And certes if it nere to long to here I would have told fully the mannere How wonnen was the reign of Feminy By Theseus and by his Chivalry And of the great battaile for the nones Betweene Athens and Amasones And how besieged was Ipolita The young hardy queene of Cithea And of the feast that was at her wedding And of the tempest at her home coming But all that thing I mote as now forbear * I have God wot a large field to ear And weked ben the oxen in the plow The remnant of my tale is
torment and this paine and wo At Thebes in his countre as I said Vpon a night in slepe as he him laid Him thought how that the winged Mercury Beforne him stood aud bad him be mery His slepy yerd in hand he bare vpright An hat he weered vpon his hairs bright Irayed was this god as he toke kepe As he was when Argus tooke his slepe And said him thus to Athens shali thou wend There is the shapen of thy woe and end And with that word Arcite awoke and stert Now truly how sore that ever me smert Quod he to Athens right now wol I fare Ne for no drede of death shall I spare To see my ladie that I loue and serve In her presence recke I not to sterve And with that word he caught a gret mirrour And saw that chaunged was all his colour And saw his visage all in another kind And right anon it ran him in his mind That sith his face was so disfigured Of malady the which he had indured He might well if that he bare him low Live in Athens evermore unknow And sene his ladie welnigh day by day And right anon he chaunged his aray And clad him as a poore labourer And all alone saue only a squier That knew his privitie and all his caas Which was disguised poorly as he was To Athens is he gone the next way And to the court he went vpon a day And at the gate he profered his service To drugge draw what men would deuise And shortly of this matter for to saine He fell in office with a chamberlaine The which was dwelling with Emelie For he was wise and soone couth espie Of euery seruaunt which that serued here Well couth he hewen wood and water bere For he was yong and mightie for the nones And thereto he was strong and big of bones To done that any wight gan him deuise A yere or two he was in this service Page of the chamber of Emelie the bright And Philostrate he said that he hight But halfe so wel beloued man as he Ne was there none in court of his degre He was so gentill of conditioun That through all the court was his renown The said it were a charitie That Theseus would enhauneen his degre And put him in a worshipfull seruice There as he might his vertue exercise And thus within a while his name is sprong Both of his deeds and of his good tong That Theseus hath taken him so nere That of his chamber he made him squier And yaue him gold to maintaine his degre And eke men brought him out of his countre Fro yere to yere full prively his rent But honestly and slyly he it spent That no man wonderd how he it had And three yere in this wise his life he lad And bare him so in peace and eke in wer That there nas man that Theseus durst der And in this blisse let I now Arcite And speake I woll of Palamon alite In darkenesse horrible and strong prison This seven yere hath sitten this Palamon Forpined what for woe and distresse Who feeleth double sore and heuinesse But Palamon that loue distraineth so That wood out of his wit he goeth for wo And eke thereto he is a prisonere Perpetuell and not onely for a yere Who coud rime in English properly His martirdome forsooth it am not I Therefore I passe as lightly as I may It befell that in the seuenth yere in May The third night as old bookes us saine That all this storie tellen more plaine Were it by aduenture or by destine As when a thing is shapen it shal be That soone after midnight Palamon By helping of a friend brake his prison And fleeth the citie as fast as he may go For he had yeuen the gailer drinke so Of a clarrie made of certaine wine With Narcotise and Opie of Thebes fine That all the night though men would him shake The gailer slept he nught not awake And thus he fleeth as fast as he may The night was short and fast by the day That needs cost he mote himselfe hide And to a grove that was fast there beside With dreadfull foot then stalketh Palamon For shortly this was his opinion That in the grove he would him hide all day And in the night then would he take his way To Thebes ward his friends for to prie On Theseus to help him to warrie And shortly either he would lese his life Or win Emelie unto his wife This is the effect and his intent plaine Now will I turne to Arcite againe That little wist how nie was his care Til that fortune had brought him in her snare The merrie Larke messenger of the day Saleweth in her song the morrow gray And fierie Phebus riseth up so bright That all the orisont laugheth of the sight And with his stremes drieth in the greues The siluer drops hanging in the leues And Arcite that in the court riall With Theseus is squire principall Is risen and looketh on the merrie day And for to doen his obseruaunces to May Remembring on the point of his desire He on his courser startling as the fire Is riden into the fieldes him to pley Out of the court were it a mile or twey And to the groue of which I you told By aduenture his way he gan hold To maken him a garlond of the greves Were it of Woodbind or Hauthorn leves And loud he song ayenst the Sonne shene May with all thy floures and thy grene Welcome be thou said he faire fresh May I hope that I some greene thing get may And from his courser with a lusty hert Into the groue full hastily he stert And in a path he romed vp and doun There as by aduenture this Palamon Was in a bush that no man might him se For sore afraied of his death was he Nothing ne knew he that it was Arcite God wot he would have trowed that full lite But sooth is said gone sithen are many yeres * That field hath iyen the wood hath ere 's * It is full fair a man to bear him euin For all day men mete at vnset steuin Full little wote Arcite of this felaw That was so nigh to hearken of his saw For in the bush sitteth he now full still When that Arcite had romed all his fill And songen all the roundell lustily Into a studie he fell sodenly As doen these louers in their queint gires Now in the crop and now doun in the brires Now vp now doune as boket in a well Right as the Friday soothly for to tell Now it raineth now it shineth fast Right so gan gerie Venus ouercast The hearts of here folke right as her day Is gerifull right so chaungeth she aray Selde is the Friday all the weeke ilike When that Arcite had song he gan to like And set him doune withouten any more Alas qd he the day that I was bore Now long Iuno through thy crueltee Wilt
thou warren Thebes the citee Alas ybrought is to confusion The bloodriall of Cadmus and Amphion Of Cadmus I say which was the first man That Thebes built or first the toune began And of the citie first was crowned king Of his linage am I and of his spring By very line as of the stocke riall And now I am so caitife and so thrall That he that is my mortall enemie I mought serue him as his squire poorely And yet doeth me Iuno well more shame For I dare not be know mine owne name But there as I was wont to hight Arcite Now hight I Philostrat not worth a mite Alas thou fell Mars alas thou Iuno Thus hath your ire our linage all fordo Save onely me and wretched Palamon That Theseus martireth in prison And ouer all this to slean me vtterly Loue hath his fierie dart so brenningly I sticked thorough my true carefull hert That shapen was my death erst my shert Ye slean me with your eyen Emelie Ye been the cause wherefore that I die Of all the remnaunt of mine other care Ne set I not the mountaunce of a Tare So that I coud do ought to your pleasaunce And with that word he fell doun in a traunce A long time and afterward he vp stert This Palamon thought that thro his hert He felt a cold sword sodenly glide For ire he quoke no lenger would he bide And when that he had heard Arcites tale As he were wood with face dead and pale He stert him vp out of the bushes thicke And said Arcite thou false traitour wicke Now art thou hent that lovest my ladie so For whom that I have this pain and wo And art my blood and to my counsell sworn As I have full oft told thee here beforn And hast beyaped here duke Theseus And falsely hast chaunged thy name thus I will be dedde or els thou shalt die Thou shalt not loue my ladie Emelie But I will loue her only and no mo For I am Palamon thy mortall fo Though that I have no weapon in this place But out of prison am astert by grace I dred nat that either thou shalt die Or thou ne shalt nat louen Emelie These which thou wilt or thou shalt not affert This Arcite with full dispitous hert When he hym knew and had his tale heard As fers as a Lion pulled out his swerd And saied By God that sitteth aboue Ne wer that thou art sick and wood for love And eke that thou no weapen hast in this place Thou shouldest never out of this grove pace That thou ne shouldest dien of mine hond For I defie the suertie and the bond Which that thou saist that I have made to thee What very fool think well that love is free And I will love her maugre all thy might But forasmoche as thou art a Knight And wilnest to daren here by battaile Have here my truth to morow I will not fail Without witting of any other wight That here I will be founden as a knight And bringen harneis right inough for thee And chese the best and leave the worst for me And meat and drinke this night will I bring Ynough for thee and clothes for thy bedding And if so be that thou my ladie win And slea me in this wodde there I am in Thou maiest well haue thy ladie as for me This Palamon answered I grant it thee And thus they been departed till a morow When ech of hem had laid his faith to borow O Cupide out of all charitee Oreigne that wouldest haue no felow with thee Full soth is saied that loue ne lordship Woll nat his thankes haue any fellowship We find that of Arcite and Palamon Arcite is ridden anon into the toun And on the morow or it were day light Full priuely two harneis had he dight Both sufficient and mete to darreigne The battail in the field betwixt hem tweine And on his horse alone as he was borne He carrieth all his harneis him beforne And in the groue at time and place iset That Arcite and this Palamon been met To changen gan the colour in her face Right as the hunter in the reigne of Trace That standeth at a gappe with a speare When hunted is the Lion or the Beare And hereth him rushing in the leues And breaketh the boughs in the greues And thinketh here cometh my mortal enemy Without faile he must be dedde or I For either I mote slea him at the gap Or he mote slea me if me mishap So ferden they in chaunging of her hew As farre as euerich of other knew There nas no good day ne no saluing But streight without word or rehearsing Eueriche of hem helped for to arme other As friendly as he were his owne brother And after that with sharp speares strong They foinen ech at other wonder long Thou mightest wenen that this Palamon In his fighting were a wood Lion And as a cruell Tigre was Arcite As wild Bores gan they fight and smite That frothen white as some for ixe wood Vp to the ancle foughten they in her blood And in this wise I let hem fighting dwell As forth I woll of Theseus you tell The destinie and the minister generall That executeth in the world ouer all The purveiance that God hath said beforne So strong it is that though the world had sworne The contrary of thing by ye nay Yet sometime it shall fall on a day That fell never yet in a thousand yere For certainly our appetites here Be it of warre peace hate or loue All is ruled by the sight aboue This meane I now by mightie Theseus That for to hunt is so desirous And namely at the great Hart in May That in his bed there daweth him day That he nis clad and ready for to ride With hunt and horne and hounds him beside For in his hunting hath he soch delite That it is all his ioy and appetite To been himselfe great Harts bane For after Mars he serueth now Diane Clere was the day as I haue told or this And Theseus with all ioy and bliss With his Ipolita the faire quene And Emelie iclothed all in greene An hunting been they ridden rially And to the groue that stood there fast by In which ther was an Hart as men him told Duke Theseus the streight way hath hold And to the land he rideth him full right For thither was the hart wont to haue his flight And ouer a brook so forth his wey This duke woll haue a course at him or twey With hounds soch as him list commaund And when the duke was comeninto the laund Vnder the sonne he looked and that anon He was warre of Arcite and Palamon That foughten breme as it were bulles two The bright swords wenten to and fro So hidiously that with the lest stroke It semed that it would have fellen an oke But what they weren nothing he ne wote This duke with his spors his courser smote
place he lay as he were dead His breast to brosten with his saddle bow As blacke he lay as any coale or crow So was the blood yroune in his face Anon he was ybrought out of the place With hart full sore to Theseus paleis Tho was he coruen out of his harneis And in a bed ybrought full faire and bliue For he was yet in memory and on liue And alway crying after Emely Duke Theseus with all his company Is comen home to Athens his cite With all blisse and great solemnite Albeit that this auenture was fall He would not discomfort hem all Men said eke that Arcite should not die He should ben healed of his maladie And of another thing they were as faine That of hem all there was none islaine All were they sore hurt and namely one That with a spere was thirled his brest bone Two other had wounds two broken arms Some of them had salues some had charms Sundry fermaces of hearbes and eke saue They dronken for they would her liues haue For which this noble duke as he well can Comforteth and honoureth euery man And made great reuell all the long night Vnto the straunge lords as it was right Ne there nas hold no discomforting But as is at iusts or a turneying For soothly there nas no discomfiture For falling is hold but an auenture Ne to be 〈◊〉 by force unto a stake Vnyolden and with twenty knights take And one person withouten any mo To be harted forth by arme foot and too And eke his steed driuen forth with staues With footmen both yeomen and knaues It was arretted him no villanie There may no man cleape it cowardie For which anon duke Theseus did cry To stinten all rancour and enuy They gre as well of one side as of other And either side is like as others brother And yaue hem gyfts after her degree And helden a feast fully dates three And conueyed the knights worthily Out of his toune a daies iourney largely And home went euery man the right way There nas no more but farwell haue good day Of this battel I woll no more endite But speake of Palamon and of Arcite Swelleth the breast of Arcite and the sore Encreaseth at his heart still more and more The clottered blood for any lee chcraft Corrumped and is in his bouke last That neither veineblood ne vent ousing Ne drinke of hearbes may be helping By vertue expulsiue or animall For thilke vertue cleaped naturall Ne may the venim void ne expell The pipes of his lungs began to swell And euery lacerte in his breast adoun Is shent with venim and corruptioun Him gaineth neither for to get his life Vomit vpward ne downward laxatife All is to brusten thilke region Nature hath no domination * And certainly ther as nature woll not wirch Farwell physicke go beare the corse to chirch This is all and some that Arcire must die For which he sendeth after Emelie And Palamon that was his cosyn deare Then said he thus as ye shall after heare Nought may my wofull spirit in my hart Declare o point of all my sorrows smart To you my lady that I love most But I bequeath the service of my gost To you abouen any creature Since that my life may no lenger dure Alas the wo alas my paines strong That I for you haue suffered and so long Alas the death alas mine Emely Alas departing of our company Alas mine hearts queene alas my liues wife Mine hearts ladie ender of my life * What is the world what asken men to haue Now with his loue now in his cold graue Alone withouten any company Farwell my sweet foe mine Emely And soft doe take me in your armes twey For the loue of God hearkeneth what I say I haue here with my cousin Palamon Had strife and rancour many a day agon For loue of you and for my iealousie And Iupiter so wisely my soule gie To speaken of a seruant properly With circumstances all and truly That is to say trouth honor and knighthede Wisdome humblesse estate high kinrede Freedome and all that longeth to that art So Iupiter have of my soule any part As in this world right now know I non So worthy to be loued as Palamon That serueth you and woll doen all his life And if that you shall euer been a wife Foryet not Palamon the gentleman And with that word his speech faile began For from his feet vnto his breast was come The cold death that had him ouernome And yet moreouer for in his armes two The vitall strength is lost and all ago Saue only the intellect without more That dwelleth in his heart sicke and sore Gan failen wher the hart felt death Dusked been his iyen two and failed breath But on his ladie yet cast he his iye His last word was mercy Emelie His spirit chaunged and out went there Whitherward I cannot tell ne where Therfore I stint I am no diuinistre Of soules find I not in this registre Ne me list not thilke opinion to tell Of hem though they writen where they dwel Arcite is cold there Mars his soule gie Now woll I speake forth of Emelie Shright Emelie and houlen Palamon And Theseus his sister vp tooke anon Swouning and bare her fro his corse away What helpeth it to tarrie forth the day To tellen how she wept both euen morow * For in such case women haue much sorow When that her husbands been fro hem go That for the more part they sorowen so Or els fallen in such maladie That at the last certainely they die Infinit been the sorow and the teares Of old folke and folke of tender yeares In all the toune for death of this Theban For him there weepeth both child and man So great weeping was there not certaine When Hector was brought all fresh yssaine To Troy alas the pitie that was there Scratching of cheekes and renting eke here Why woldest thou be dead thus women crie And haddest gold inough and Emelie No man ne may gladen Theseus Saving his old father Egeus That knew this worlds transmutatioun * As he had seene it both vp and doun Ioy after wo and wo after gladnesse And shewed him ensamples and likenesse * Right as there died neuer man qd he That he ne liued in yearth in some degree Right so there liued neuer man he saied In this world that sometime he ne deied * This world is but a throughfare full of wo And we been pilgrimes passing to and fro Death is an end of euery worlds sore And over all this yet said he much more To this effect full wisely to exhort The people that they should hem recomfort Duke Theseus with all his busie cure Casteth now where that the sepulture Of good Arcite shall best ymaked bee And eke most honourable for degree And at the last he tooke conclusion That there as Arcite and Palamon Had for love the
I one But of all women found I neuer none Thus saith the king that knoweth your wickednesse And Iesus Filius Sirach as I gesse Ne speaketh of you but selde reuerence A wild fire a corrupt pestilence So fall upon your bodies yet to night Ne see ye not this honourable knight Because alas that he is blind and old His owne man shall maken him cuckold Lo where he sit the letchour in the tree Now woll I graunt of my maiestie Vnto this old blind worthy knight That he shall haue again his eye sight When that his wife would done him vilanie Then shall he know all her harlotrie Both in reprefe of her and other mo Ye shall qd Proserpine and woll ye so Now by my mothers soule sir I swere That I shall yeuen her sufficient answere And all women after for her sake That though they been in any gilt ytake With face bolde they shullen hemselue excuse And bear hem down that would hem accuse For lacke of answere non of hem shull dien All had he see a thing with both his eyen Yet should we women so visage it hardely And weepe and swere and chide subtilly That ye shall been as leude as are gees What recketh me of your authoritees I wote well this Iewe this Salomon Found of vs women fooles many one But though he ne found no good woman Yet there hath found many an other man Women full true full good and vertuous Witnes of hem that dwell in Christes house With Martyrdom they preued her constance The Romain iests eke make remembrance Of many a very true wife also But sir he not wroth that it be so Thogh that he said he found no good woman I pray you take the sentence of the man * He meant thus That in soueraign bounte His none but God that sitteth in trinite Eye for very God that nis but one What make ye so much of Salomon What though he made a temple Gods house What though he were rich and glorious So made he a temple of false godis How might he don a thing that more fore forbod is Parde as faire as ye his name emplaster He was a lechour and an idolaster And in his elde very God forsooke And if that God nad as saith the booke Yspared him for his fathers sake he should Haue lost his reigne soner than he would Iset nat of all the villanie That ye of women write a butterflie I am a woman needs more I speake Or els to swell till that mine heart breake For sithen he said that we been iangleresses As euer mote I hole broke my tresses I shall not spare for no curtesie To speak hem harm that would vs villanie Dame qd this Pluto be no lenger wroth I giue it vp but sith I swore mine oth That I would graunt him his sight ayen My word shall stand that warne I you certeine I am a king it set me not to lie And I quoth she queen am of Fairie Her answere she shall haue I vndertake Let vs no mo words hereof make Forsoth I will no longer you contrary Now let vs turne againe to Ianuarie That in the garden with this faire Maie Singeth merier than the Popingay You loue I best and shall and other non So long about the alleyes is he gon Till he was commen ayenst thilke pery Where as this Damian sitteth full mery On high among these fresh leues green This fresh Maie that is so bright shene Gan for to sike and said alas my side Now sir qd she for ought that may betide I must haue of these peers that here I see Or I mote die so sore longeth me To eten some of the small peers greene Help for hir loue that is heauens queen I tell you well a woman in my plite May haue to fruite so great an appetite That she may dyen but she it haue Alas qd he that I ne had here a knaue That couth climbe alas alas qd he For I am blinde ye sir no force qd she But would ye vouchsafe for Gods sake The pery in your armes for to take For well I wot that ye mistrust me Then would I climbe well ynough qd she So I my foote might set vpon your backe Forsooth said he in me shall be no lacke Might I you helpe all with mine hart blood He stoupeth down on his back she stood And caught her by a twist and vp she goth Ladies I pray you that ye be not wroth I can nat glose I am a rude man And sodainely anon this Damian Gan pullen vp the smocke and in the throng A great tent a thrifty and a long She said it was the meriest fit That euer in her life she was at yet My lords tent serueth me nothing thus It foldeth twifold by sweet Iesus He may not swiue not worth a leke And yet he is full gentill and full meke This is leuer to me than an euensong And when that Pluto saw this wrong To Ianuary he gaue againe his sight And made him see as well as euer he might And whan he had caught his sight againe Ne was there neuer man of thing so faine But on his wife his thought was euer mo Vp to the tree he cast his eyen two And saw how Damian his wife had dressed In such mannere it may not be expressed But if I would speak vncurtesly And vp he yaf a roring and a cry As doth the mother when the child shall die Out helpe alas harow he gan to cry For sorrow almost he gan to die That his wife was swiued in the pery O strong lady whore what doest thou And she answered sir what ayleth you Haue patience and reason in your minde I haue you holpen of both your eyen blinde Vp peril of my soule I shall nat lien As me was taught to help your eyen Was nothing bet for to make you see Than strogle with a man vpon a tree God wot I did it in full good entent Strogle qd he ye algate in it went As stiffe and as round as any bell It is no wonder though thy belly swell Thy smocke on his breast it lay so thech That stil me thought he pointed on the brech God giue you both on shames death to dien He swiued thee I saw it with mine eyen Or els I be honged by the halse Then is qd she my medicine false For certainely if that ye might see Ye would not say these words vnto me Ye haue some glimsing and no perfit sight I see qd he as well as euer I might Thanked be God with both mine eyen two And by my trouth me thought he did so Ye mase ye mase good sir quoth she This thanke haue I for that I made you see Alas quoth she that euer I was so kind Now dame qd he let al passe out of mind Come down my sefe and if I haue missaid God helpe me so as I am euill apaid But by my fathers soule I wende haue
she that maked me For well I wote that it shall never betide Let such follie out of your heart glide * What deintie should a man haue in his life For to goe loue another mans wife That hath her body when so that him liketh Aurelius full often sore siketh Wo was Aurely when he this herd And with a sorowfull chere he thus answerd Madame qd he this were impossible Then mote I die on suddaine death horrible And with that word he turned him anone Tho come her other friends everichone And in the aleyes romeden up and doun And nothing wist of this conclusioun But suddainely began to revell new Till that the bright sonne had lost his hew For the orizont hath reft the sunne his light This is as much to say as it was night And home they gone in ioy and in solas Save onely wretched Aurelius alas He to his house is gone with sorrowfull hert He said he might not from his death astert Him seemed that he felt his heart all cold And up to heaven his honds gan he hold And on his knees bare he set him adoun And in his raving said this orisoun For very wo out of his wit he braied He ne wist what he spake but thus he said With pitous heart hath he his complaint begon Vnto the goddes and first unto the son He said God Apollo and governour Of every plant hearbe tree and flour That yeuest after thy declination To ilke of hem his time and season As thine herberow chaungeth low and hie Lord Phebus cast thy merciable eie On wretched Aurelius which am but lorne Lo Lord my Lady hath my death ysworne Without guilt but thy benignity Vpon my deadly heart haue some pity For well I wot lord Phebus if ye lest Ye may me helpe saue my lady best Now vouch ye saue that I you deuise How that I may be holpen in what wise Your blisfull suster Lucina the shene That of the sea is goddesse and queene Though Neptunus hath deitie in the see Yet empresse abouen him is she Ye knowen well lord right as her desire Is to be quickened and lighted of your sire For which she followeth you full besily Right to the sea desireth naturally To followen her as she that is goddesse Both of the sea and riuers more and lesse Wherefore lord Phebus this is my request Doe this miracle or doe mine heart brest That now next at this oppsition Which in signe shall be of the Lion As prayeth her so great a flood to bring That fiue fadome at the least it ouerspring The highiest rocke in Armorike Britaine And let this floud to duren yeares twaine Then certes to my lady may I say Holdeth your hest the rockes been away This thing may ye lightly done for me Pray her to gone no faster course than ye I say thus prayeth your suster that she go No faster course than ye in yeares two Then shall she be at the full alway And spring flood lasting both night day And but she vouchsafe in such manere To graunt me my soveraigne lady dere Pray her to sinken every rocke adoun Into her owne derke regioun Vnder the ground there Pluto dwelleth in Or nevermore shall I my lady win Thy Temple in Delphos wol I barefoot seek O lord Phebus see the teares on my cheek And on my paine haue some compassioun And with that word in swoune he fell adoun And for a long time he lay in a traunce His brother which that knew of his pennaunce Vp caught him and to bed him brought Dispaired in this turnment and this thought Let I this wofull creature lie Chese he whether he woll liue or die Aruiragus with heale and great honour As he that was of chiualrie the flour Is comen home and other worthy men O blisfull art thou now Dorigen That hast thy lusty husbond in thine armes That fresh knight that worthy man of arms That loueth thee as his own hearts life Nothing list him to be imaginatife If any wight had spoken while he was out To her of loue thereof had he no dout He entendeth not to such matere But danceth justeth and maketh her good chere And thus in joy and bliss I let hem dwell And of wofull Aurelius woll I tell In langour and in turment despitous Two yeare and more lay wretched Aurelius Ere any foot on earth he might gone Ne comfort in this time had he none Saue of his brother which was a clerke He knew of all this wo and all this werke For to none other creature certaine Of this mattere durst he no word saine Vnder his breast he bare it more secre Than euer did Pamphilus for Galathe His breast was whole without for to seene But in his heart aye was the arrow keene And well ye knowen that of a sursanure In surgerie is perâ—â—â—ous the cure But men might touch the arrow or come thereby His brother weepeth and waileth prively Till at the last him fell in remembraunce That while he was at Orleaunce in Fraunce As these clerkes yong that been likerous To readen arts that been curious Seeken in euery halke and in euery Herne Particular science for to lerne He him remembred that upon a deie At Orleaunce in studie a booke he seie Of Magicke naturall which his felaw That was in that time a batcheler of law All were he there to learne another craft Had prively upon his dexe ylaft Which booke spake of mochell operations Touching the eight and twentie Mansions That longen to the Moone and such follie As in our dayes is not worth a Flie For holy church saieth in our beleeue * Ne suffereth none illusion us to greeue And when this book was in his remembrance Anon for ioy his heart gan to dance And to himselfe he saied prively My Brother shall be warished sikerly For I am siker that there be sciences By which men maken diuers apparences Such as these subtill tregetores play For oft at â—easts haue I well heard say That tragetors within an hall large Haue made come in water and a barge And in the hall rowen up and doun Sometime hath seemed a grim Lioun And sometime floures spring as in a mede Sometime a vine grapes white and rede Sometime a Castle of lime and stone And when hem liked voiden hem anone Thus seemed it to every mans sight Now then conclude I thus if that I might At Orleaunce some old felaw find That had this Moones Mansions in mind Or other Magicke natural aboue He should wel make my brother haue his loue For with an apparaunce a clerke may make To a mans sight that all the rockes blake Of Britaine were yuoided euerichone And ships by the brinke to comen and gone And in such forme enduren a yeare or two Then were my brother warished of his wo Then must she needs holden her behest Or els he shall shame her at the lest What should I make a lenger tale of this Vnto
is out of dout This false iudge I say goth now fast about To hasten his delight all that he may And so befell that soone after on a day This false iudge as telleth us the storie As he was wont sat in his consistorie And yaue his doomes vpon sundry caas This false client came forth a full great paas And said Lord if that it be your will As doth me right vpon this pitous bill In which I plaine vpon Virginius And if he woll say it is not thus I woll proue it and find good witnesse That sooth is that my bill woll expresse The iudge answerd of this in his absence I may not yeue definite sentence Let doe him call and I woll gladly here Thou shalt haue all right no wrong here Virginius came to wete the iudges will And right anon was rad this cursed bill The sentence of it was as ye shall heare To you my lord Appius so deare Sheweth your poore seruaunt Claudius How that a knight called Virginius Ayenst the law and ayenst all equite Holdeth expresse ayenst the will of me My seruant which that is my thral by right Which from mine hous was stolen on a night Whiles she was full yong I woll it preue By witnesse lord so that ye you not greue She is not his doughter what so he say Wherefore my lord iustice I you pray Yeeld me my thrall if it be your will Lo this was all the sentence of that bill Virginius gan upon the client behold But hastily ere he his tale told He would haue defended it as shuld a knight And by witnesse of many a trew wight That all was false that said his aduersarie This cursed iudge would no lenger tary He here a word more of Virginius But yaue his iudgment and said thus I deme anon this client his seruaunt haue Thou shalt no lenger her in thine house saue Go bring her forth put her in our ward This client shal haue his thrall thus I award And when this worthy knight Virginius Through the assent of the iudge Appius Must by force his deare doughter yeuen Vnto the iudge in letchery to liuen He goth him home and set him in his hall And let anon his deare doughter call And with a face dead as ashen cold Vpon her humble face he gan behold With fathers pity sticking through his hert All would he not from his purpose conuert Doughter qd he Virginia by thy name There ben two waies either death or shame That thou must suffer alas that I was borne For neuer thou deseruedest whereforne To dien with a sword or with a knife Oh dere doughter comfort of my life Which I haue fostred vp with such plesance That thou neuer were out of my remembrance O doughter which that art my last wo And in my life my last ioy also O iemmme of chastitie in patience Take thou thy death this is my sentence For loue not for hate thou must be dead My pitous hond mote smite of thine head Alas that euer Appius thee sey Thus hath he falsely iudged thee to dey And told her all the case as ye before Han heard it needeth not to tell it more O mercy dere father qd this maid And with that word both her armes laid About his necke as she was wont to do The teares brast out of her eyen two And said O good father shall I die Is there no grace Is there no remedie No certes deare doughter mine qd he Then yeue me leaue father mine qd she My death to complaine a little space For parde Iepte yaue his doughter grace For to complaine ere he her slough alas And God it wot nothing was her trespas But that she ran her father first to see To welcome him with great solemnitee And with that word she fell aswoune anone And after when her swouning was gone She riseth vp and to her father said Blessed be God that I shall die a maid Yeue me my death ere that I haue a shame Doth with your child your wil a gods name And with that word she praieth him full oft That with his swerd he should smite her soft And with that word aswoune doune she fell Her father with sorrowfull heart and fell Her head off smote and by the top it hent And to the iudge he it yaue in present As he sat in doome in consistorie When the iudge it saw as saith the storie He bad take him and hong him also fast But right anone all the people in thrast To saue the knight for routh and for pity For knowen was the iudges iniquity The people anon had suspect in this thing By manner of this clients challenging That it was by the assent of Appius They wist well that he was letcherous For which unto Appius they gone And kesten him in prison right anone Whereas he slew himselfe and Claudius That seruant was vnto this Appius Was demed to be honged vpon a tree But Virginius of his great pitee So prayed for him that he was exiled And els certes he had been beguiled The remnaunt were honged more lesse That consented were to his cursednesse * Here may men see how sin hath his merite Beware for no man wot how God wol smite In no degree ne in no manner wise The worme of conscience woll arise Of wicked life though it so priuie be That no man wote of it but God and he Whether he be leaud man or lered He not how soone he may been affered * Therefore I rede you this counsaile take To forsake sinne or sinne you forsake ¶ The words of the Host OUr host gan sweare as he were wood Harrow qd he by nailes and by blood This was a false theefe a cursed iustice As shamefull death as heart may deuise Come to the iustice and her aduocas Algate this silly maiden is slaine alas Alas too deare abought she her beautee Wherefore I say that all men may see * That yefts of Fortune or of nature Been cause of death of many a creature Her beauty was her death I dare well saine Alas so pitously as she was slaine But hereof woll I not proceed as now * Men haue full oft more harme than prow But truly truly mine owne maister dere This is a ernefull tale for to here But nathelesse passe ouer and no force I pray to God to saue thy gentle corce And thy vrinals and thy iordanes Thine ypocras and eke thy galianes And euery boxe full of letuarie God blesse hem and our lady saint Marie So mote I thee thou art a proper man And ylike a prelate by saint Runian Saue that I cannot speake well in terme But well I wot thou dost mine hert to yerne That I haue almost ycaught a cardiacle By corpus domini But I haue triacle Or els a draught of moist cornie ale Or but I heare anon another merry tale My heart is lost for pity of this maid Thou belamy thou Iohn pardoner he
How that the second hest of God is that And furthermore I woll thee tell all plat * That vengeaunce shall not part fro his hous That of his othes is too outrageous By Gods precious heart and his nailes And by the bloud of Christ that is in Hailes Seuen is my chaunce thine fiue and three By Gods armes if thou falsly play me This dagger shall through thine heart ygo This fruit it commeth of thilke bones two For swearing ire falsenesse and homicide Now for the loue of Christ that for vs dide Leaueth your othes both great and smale For I shall tell you a meruellous tale These roitours three of which I tell Long erst or prime rong any bell Were set hem in a Tauerne to drinke And as they sat they heard a bell clinke Before a corse that was carried to his graue That one of hem gan to call to his knaue Goe bette qd he and aske redily What corse is this that passeth forth by And looke that thou report his name wele Sir qd he it needeth neuer a dele It was me told ere ye came here two hours He was parde an old fellow of yours All suddainly was he slaine to night For drunke as he sat on his bench vpright There came a priuy theefe men clepen death That in this countrey all the people sâ—aeth And with his speare he smote his heart at wo And went his way withouten words mo He hath a thousand slaine this pestilence And maister ere ye come in his presence Me thinketh that it were necessarie For to beware of such an aduersarie Bethe redy for to meten him euermore Thus taught me my dame I say no more By saint Mary saied this Tauernere The child sayeth sooth for he hath this yere Hens ouer a mile slaine in a great village Both man and woman child and page I trowe his habitation be there To been auised great wisdome it were Ere that he did a man dishonour Ye Gods armes qd this riotour Is it such perill with him for to meet I shall him seeche by stile and eke by street I make auow by Gods digne bones Herkeneth fellowes we three been all ones Let ech of vs hold vp his hond to other And ech of vs become others brother And we woll slea this false traitour death He shall be slaine that so many slaeth By Gods dignity ere that it be night Togider han these three her trouths plight To liue and die ech of them with other As though he were his owne brother And vp they stert all dronken in this rage And forth they gone toward that village Of which the Tauerner hath spoken before And many a grisâ—y o the haâ— they swore And Christes blessed body they to rent Death shall be dead and we may him hent When they han gone not fully a mile Right as they would haue troden ouer a stile An old poore man with hem met This old man full meekely hem gret And saied now lordings God ye see The proudest of these riotours three Answerd ayen what churle with hard grace Why art thou all forwrapped saue thy face Why liuest thou so long in so great age This old man gan looken in his visage And saied thus for that I cannot find A man though I walked into Iude Neither in city ne in no village That would chaunge his youth for mine age And therefore mote I haue mine age still As long time as it shall be Gods will Ne death alas â—ill not haue my life Thus walke I like a restlesse caitife And on the ground which is my mothers gate I knocke with my staffe erliche and late And say still leue mother let me in Lo how I vanish flesh blood and skin Alas when shall my bones been at rest Mother with you would I chaunge my chest That in my chamber long time hath be Ye for an heren clout to wrap in me But yet to me she woll not doen yâ— grace For which full pale and welked is my face * But sirs to you it is ne courtesie To speaken vnto an old man villanie But he trespace in word either in dede In holy writ you may your selfe well rede * Ayenst an old man hore vpon his hede Ye should arise therefore I you rede Ne doeth to an old man no harme as now No more than ye would a man did you In age if that ye may so long abide And God be with you whether ye go or ride I mote go thider as I have to go Nay old churle by God thou shalt not so Saied these other hasardours anon Thou partest not so lightly by saint Iohn Thou spakest riÈt now of thilke traitor death That in this country all our friends slaeth Have here my trouth thou art his espie Tell where he is or els thou shalt die By God and by the holy Sacrament For soothly thou art of his assent To slea vs yong folke O thou false thefe Now sirs if it be to you so lefe To find death tourne vp this crooked way For in that groue I left him by my fay Vnder a tree and there he woll abide Ne for your bost he nill him nothing hide Se ye yonder oke right there ye shall him find God saue you that bought ayen mankind And you amend thus saied this old man Then eueriche of these riotours ran Til they came to the tree there they found Floreines of gold fine yâ—oined round Well nigh a seuen bushels as hem thought No lenger than after death they sought But ech of hem so glad was of that sight For that the Floreins so faire been bright That doune they sit by the precious hord The yongest of hem spake the first word Brethren qd he take keepe what I say My wit is great though I bord or play This treasure hath fortune to vs yeuen In mirth and iollity our life to liuen And lightly as it comes so woll we spend Heie Gods precious hart who did once wend To day that we should have so faire a grace But might this gold be caried fro this place Home to my house or els vnto yours For well I wote that all this gold is ours Then were we in high felicite But truly by day it may not be Men would then say that we wer theeues strong And for our owne treasure doen vs hong This treasure must yearied be by night As wisely and as slily as it might Wherefore I rede draw cut among vs all And let us see where the cut woll fall He that hath the shortest cut with hart blith Shall renne to the toune that full swith To bring vs bread and drinke full priuely And two of us shall keepe full subtilly This treasure well and if he woll not tarie When it is night we woll this treasure carie By one assent where as vs list best That one of hem brought grasse in his fest And bad hem draw look where it wold fall And it fell on the yongest
five mortall woundes in five sundry places That is to say In her feet in her honds in her eares in her nose and in her mouth and leften her for dede and wenten her way When Melibeus returned was into his house and see all this mischiefe hee like a mad man renting his clothes gan to weep and crie Prudence his wife as farre foorth as shee durst besought him of his weping for to stint But not for thy he gan to weep and cry ever lenger the more This noble wife Prudence remembred her upon the sentence of Ovid in his booke that cleped is the remedy of loue whereas he saith * Hee is a foole that distourbeth the mother to weepe in the death of her childe till she have wept her fill as for a certain time and then shall a man doen his diligence with amiable wordes to recomfort and pray her of her weeping for to stint For which reason this noble wife Prudence suffered her husbond to weepe and cry as for a certaine space and when she saw her time shee saied him in this wise Alas my Lord qd she why make ye your selfe for to be like a foole Forsoth it apperteineth not unto a wise man to maken such a sorowe Your doughter with the grace of God shall warish and escape And all were it so that she right now were dead yee ne ought not as for her death your self destroy Senek saith * The wise man shall not take to great discomfort for the death of his children but certes he should suffer it in patience as wel as he abideth the death of his own proper person This Melibeus answered anon and said What man qd he should of his weping stint that hath so great a cause for to weep Iesus himselfe our Lorde wept for the death of Lazarus his friend Prudence answered certes well I wote * A temperat weeping is nothing defended to him that sorowfull is among folke in sorow but it is rather graunted him to weepe The Apostle Paule unto the Romanes writteth Men should rejoyce with him that maketh joye and weepe with such folke as weepen But though a temperate weeping be granted certes outragious weeping is defended Measure of weeping should be considered after the lore that teacheth us Senek * When that thy friend is dead qd he let not thine iyen to moist been of teers ne to much drie although teeres comen to thine eyen let hem not fall And when thou hast forgon thy friend doe diligence to get another friend and this is more wisedom than for to weepe for thy friend which thou hast lorne for therein is no bote And therefore if ye govern you by sapience put away sorow out of your heart Remembreth you that Iesus Sirake saieth * A man that is joyous and glad in hart it him conserueth florishing in his age But sothly a sorowfull heart maketh his bones drie Hee saith eke thus That sorow in heart slayeth full many a man Salomon sayeth * That right as mouths in the sheepes fleise annoieth the clothes and the small wormes the tree right so anoieth sorow the hart of man wherefore us ought as well in the death of our children as in the losse of our temporal goods have patience Remember you upon patient Iob when hee had lost his children and his temporall substaunce and in his bodies endured and receiued full many a grieuous tribulation yet saied hee thus * Our Lord it sent to me our Lord hath bereft it me right so as our Lord would right so it be done iblessed be the name of our Lord. To these foresaid things Melibeus unto his wife Prudence answered All thy words qd he ben true and thereto profitable but truely mine heart is troubled with this sorrow so grievously that I not what to do Let call qd Prudence your true friends al thy linage which that been wise and telleth to hem your case and hearkeneth what they say in counsailing gouerne you after her sentence Salomon saith * Werke all thy things by counsaile thou shalt never rue Then by counsaile of his wife Prudence this Melibeus let cause a great congregation of people as Surgiens Phisitions old folke and yong and some of his old enemies reconciled as by her semblance to his loue and to his grace therwithal there came some of his neighbours that did him reverence more for dread than for loue as it happe ofte There comen also ful many subtil flatterers and wise Advocates learned in the lawe And when these folkes togeders assembled were this Melibeus in sorrowfull wise shewed hem his case and by the manner of his speech it seemed that in hart he bare a cruell ire ready to doen vengeaunce upon his foes and suddainly he desired that warre should begin but natheles yet asked he counsaile upon this matter A Surgien by licence and assent of such as were wise up rose and unto Melibeus saied as ye shall heare Sir qd he as to us Surgiens appertaineth that we doe to every wight the best that we can where as we beene withholden and to our patient that wee dooen no damage wherefore it happeth many time ofte that when two men have everch wounded other one Surgien healeth hem both wherfore vnto our arte it is not pertinent to norish warre ne parties to support But certes as to the warishing of your doughter all be it so that perilously she be wounded we shall doe so tentife businesse fro day to night that with the grace of God she shall been whole sound as soone as is possible Almost right in the same wise the Phisitions answered saue that they saiden a few words more That right as maladies beene by her contraries cured right so shall a man warishe warre by peace His neigbours full of enuie his fained friends that seemed reconciled his flatterers maden semblaunce of weeping enpaired agrutched much of this matter in praysing greatly Melibe of might of power of riches and of friends dispising the power of his aduersaries and said vtterly that hee anon should wreken him on his foes and begin warre Vp rose then an Aduocate that was wise by leaue and by counsaile of other that were wise saied The neede for the which wee beene assembled in this place is a full heauie thing a great matter because of the wrong and of the wickednesse that hath bee doen and eke by reason of great damages that in time comming been possible to fallen for the same and eke by reason of the great riches power of the parties both for the which reasons it were a full great peril to erren in this matter Wherefore Melibeus this is our sentence we counsaile you abouen all thing that right anon thou doe thy diligence in keeping of thy proper person in such a wise that thou ne want non espie ne watch thy body for to saue And after that we counsaile that in thine house thou set sufficient garrison so
bounte that is in women our Lord Iesu Christ when he was risen from death to life appeared rather to a woman than to his Apostles And tho that Salomon sayed he found neuer women good it followeth not therefore that all women be wicked for though that hee ne found no good woman certes many another man hath founde many a woman full good and true Or els perauenture the entent of Salomon was this * That in soueraign bounte he found no woman this is to say that there is no wight that hath parfite bounte saue God alone as he himselfe recordeth in his Euangelie * For there nis no creature so good that him ne wanteth somwhat of the perfection of God that is his maker Your third reason is this Ye say that if that ye gouerne you by my counsaile it should seeme that ye had yeue me the maistrie and the lordship of your person Sir saue your grace it is not so for if so were that no man should bee counsailed but onely of hem that han lordship and maistrie of his person men nolde not bee counsailed so oft For sothly thilke man that asketh counsaile of a purpose yet hath he free will whither hee woll doe after that counsaile or non And as to your fourth reason there as yee saine that the ianglerie of women can hide things that they wot not as who so saieth that a woman cannot hide that she wote Sir these wordes been vnderstonde of women that been iangelers and wicked of which women men saine that three things driuen a man out of his house that is to say smoke dropping of raine and wicked wiues And of such women Salomon saieth * That a man were better dwell in deserte than with a woman that is riottous And sir by your leaue it am not I for ye haue full oft assaied my great silence my great patience and eke how well that I can hide and heale things that men oughten secretly to hiden And sothly as to your fift reason whereas you say that in wicked counsaile women vanquish men God wote that thilke reason stant here in no stede for vnderstondeth now ye asken counsaile for to doe wickednes * And if ye woll werken wickednes your wife restraineth thilke wicked purpose and ouercome you by reason by good counsail certes your wife ought rather to bee praised than blamed Thus should you vnderstonde the Phylosopher that saieth * In wicked counsaile women vanquish her husbondes And there as ye blame al women her reasons I shall shewe you by many ensamples that many women haue be full good and yet been and her counsaile wholesome and profitable Eke some men han saied that the counsaile of women is either to deere or too little worth But albeit so that full many women bee bad and her counsaile vile and nought worth yet han men found full many a good woman full discrete and wise in counsailing Lo Iacob through the counsaile of his mother Rebecke wan the benison of his father and the Lordship of all his brethren Iudith thorow her good counsaile deliuered the citie of Bethule in which she dwelt out of the honde of Holofern that had it all besieged wold haue destroyed it Abigaile deliuered Naball her husbond fro Dauid the king that would haue slaine him and appeased the ire of the King by her wit and by her good counsaile Hester by her counsaile enhaunced greatly the people of God in the reigne of Assuerus the King And the same bountie in good counsailing of many a good woman may men reade and tell And furthermore whan that our Lord hath created Adam our former father hee saied in this wise * It is not good to be a man alone make wee an helper to himselfe semblable Here may yee see that if that women were not good and her counsaile good and profitable our Lorde God of heauen ne would neither han wrought hem ne called hem the helper of man but rather confusion to man And there sayed a clerke ones in two verses What is better than gold * Iasper What is better than Iasper Wisdom And what is better than Wisdome Woman And what is better than a good woman That is a good man And what is better than a good man Nothing And sir by many other reasons may yee seene that many women been good and eke her counsaile good and profitable And therefore sir if that yee woll trust to my counsaile I shall restore you your doughter hole and sound and eke that I woll doe you so much that ye shall haue honour in this case When Melibe had heard the words of his wife Prudence he saied thus I see well that the words of Salomon be sooth For he saith * The words that bee spoken discretly by ordinaunce been Honicombes for they yeuen sweetnesse to the soule and holsomnesse to the body And wife because of thy sweet words and eke for I haue proued assaied thy great Sapience and thy great trouth I woll gouerne me by thy counsaile in all thing Now sir qd dame Prudence and sithens that ye vouchsafe to be gouerned by my counsaile I woll enforme you how that yee shall govern your self in chusing of your counsailours Ye shall first in all your werke mekely beseeching to the high God that he would be your counsailour and shapeth you to such entent that hee yeue you counsaile and comforte as taught Thobie his sonne * At all times thou shalt blesse God and praie him to dresse thy ways and loke eke that thy counsailes been in him evermore Saint Iames saieth if any man of you have neede of sapience aske it of God And afterwarde then shullen ye take counsaile in your selfe and examine well your owne thoughts of such things as you thinken that beene best for your profit And then shall yee drive fro your heart things that bee contrarious to good counsaile that is to say ire covetise and hastinesse First * He that asketh counsaile of himselfe certes he must be withouten ire and wrath in himselfe for many causes The first is this He that hath great ire and wrath in himselfe he weneth alway that he may doe thing that he may not do And secondly he that is irous and wrothfull he may not well deeme And hee that may not well deeme may not well counsell The third is this hee that is irous wroth as saieth Seneke may not speake but blamefull things and with thilke vicious wordes hee stirreth other folke to anger and to ire And eke sir yee must drive covetise out of your heart For the Apostle saith * That covetise is the roote of all harmes And trusteth right well that a covetous man ne can not deem ne thinke but only to fulfill the end of his covetise and certes that ne may never be accomplished for evermore the more haboundance that he hath of richesses the more hee desireth And sir ye must also drive out of your heart
where as there is none order or ordinaunce but fearfull drede that ever shall last Lo here may you see that Iob prayed respite a while to bewepe and waile his trespasse For sothely one day of respite is better than all the treasure of this world And for as much as a man may acquite himselfe before god by penitence in this world not by treasure therefore should he pray to God to yeue him respite a while to bewepe waile his trespasse for certes all the sorow that a man might make fro yâ— beginning of the world nis but a little thing at regarde of the sorrow of hell The cause why that Iob calleth hell the londe of derkenesse understondeth that he calleth it londe or earth for it is stable and never shall faile derke For he that is in hell hath defaute of light materiall for certes the derke light that shall come out of the fire that ever shall brenne shall turn him all to pain the is in hell for it sheweth him to the horrible Diuels that him turmenteth covered with the derkenesse of death that is to say * That hee that is in hell shall have defaut of the sight of God for certes the sight of god is the life perdurable The derknes of death been yâ— sins that the wretched man hath don which that disturb him to see the face of God right as the derke cloud betwixt us and yâ— sunne Londe of misese because that there been three maner of defautes ayenst three things that folke of this world have in this present life that is to say honours delices richesse Ayenst honour have they in hell shame and confusion For well ye wote that men call honour the reverence yâ— man doth to man but in hell is none honour ne reverence For certes no more reverence shal be do there to a king than to a knave For which God sayth by the Prophet Ieremie Those folke that me dispise shal be in dispite Honour is also called great lordeship there shall no wight serve other but of harme and turment Honour is also called great dignitie and highnesse but in hell shall they be all fortroden of divels As God saith the horrible Devils shall goe and come upon the heddes of damned folke and this is for as much as the higher that they were in this present life yâ— more shall they be abated and defoiled in hell Ayenste the richesse of this world shall they have misese of poverte that shall be in four thinges In defaut of treasure Of which David saith * The rich folk that embrace knit all her hert to treasour of this world shall sleep in the sleeping of death and nothing ne shull they find in her hondes of all her tresour And moreover the misease of hell shall be in defaut of meat and drinke For God sayeth thus by Moyses * They shall bee wasted with hunger and the byrdes of hell shall devour hem with bitter death and the gall of the Dragon shall be her drinke and yâ— venum of the Dragon her morsels Also her misease shall be in defaut of clothing for they shall be naked in bodie as of clothing saue the fire in which they brenne and other filthes and naked shall they be of soule of all manner vertues which that is the clothing of the soule Where been than the gay robes the soft shetes and the small sherts Lo what sayth God of hem by the Prophet Esaie * That under hem shall bee strewed moughtes and her covertures shall bee of worms of hell Also her misease shall be in defaut of friends for he is not poor the hath good frends but ther is no frend for neither God ne no creature shall be frend to hem and ech of hem shall hate other with deadly hate The sonnes and the doughters shall rebell ayenst father and mother and kinred ayenst kinred chide and dispise each other both day and night as God sayeth by the prophet Micheas * And yâ— loving children that whilom loved so fleshly ech other would ech of hem eat other if they might * For how should they love together in the paines of hell when they hated eche other in prosperity of this life for trust well her fleshly love was deedly hate As saith yâ— Prophet David Whoso that loveth wickednesse he hateth his soul and who so hateth his own soul certes he may love none other wight in no maner And therefore in hel is no solace ne no frendship but ever the more kinredes that ben in hell yâ— more cursinges the more chidinges and the more deadly hate there is among hem Also they shall have defaut of all manner delices for certes delices ben after the appetites of the five wittes As sight hearing smelling favouring and touching But in Hell her sight shall be full of derkenesse and of smoke therefore full of teares and her hearing full of wailing and grinting of teeth As saith Iesu Christ Her nosthrilles shall bee full of stinking And as saith Esay the Prophet Her savouring shall be full of bitter gall as touching of all her bodies icovered with fire that never shall quench and with wormes that never shall die As God sayth by yâ— mouth of Esay and for as much as they shall not wene that they may die for pain and by death flye fro pain that they may understond in the wordes of Iob that saieth There is the shadow of death Certes a shadow hath likenesse of the thing of which it is shadowed but shadow is not the same thing of which it is shadowed right so fareth the pain of Hell it is like death for the horrible anguish And why For it paineth hem ever as though they shold die anon but certes they shall not die For as saith saint Greg. * To wretched caitiffes shall be death without death and end without end and defaut without fayling for her death shall alway live and her end shall ever more begin and her defaut shall not faile And therefore sayth saint Iohn the Evangelist * They shall follow death they shall not find him and they shall desire to die and death shall flie from hem And also Iob saith That in hell is no order or rule And all be it so yâ— God hath create all thing in right order and nothing without order but all things been ordred and numbred yet nathelesse they that been dampned been nothing in order ne hold none order for the earth ne shall bere hem no fruit For as the Prophet David sayth God shall destroy the fruit of the earth as for hem ne water ne shall yeve hem no moisture ne the ayre no refreshing ne fire no light For as saith saint Basilie * The brenning of yâ— fire of this world shall God yeve in hell to hem that been dampned but the light and the clearnesse shall he yeve in Heaven to his children right as good men yeve flesh to her children and
and feeble all the strengths of the Devils and restoreth the yeftes of the holy Ghost and of all good vertues and it cleanseth the soule of sinne and delivereth it fro the paine of hell and fro the company of the Devill and fro the servage of sinne and restoreth it to all goods spirituals and to the company and communion of holy Church Ferthermore it maketh him that whilome was sonne of yre to be the sonne of Grace And all these things been prooved by holy writ And therefore he that would set his entent to these things he were full wise for truly he ne should have then in all his life courage to sinne but yeve his heart and body to serve Christ and thereof doe him homage For truly our Lord hath spared us so meekly in our foilies that if he ne had pity of mans soule a sorry song might we all sing Explicit prima pars poenitentiae incipit pars secunda THE second part of penitence is Confession that is a signe of contricion Now shull yee understond what is Confession and it ought needs bee doen or no and which thinges be covenable to very confession First shalt thou understonde that confession is very shewing of sinnes to the Priest this is to say very for hee must confesse him of all the conditions that belong to his sin as ferforthe as hee can all must bee sayed and nothing excused ne hid * And not avaunt thee of thy good werkes Also it is necessarie to understonde whence that sinnes springe and howe they entere and which they beene Of the spring of sins saith Saint Poule in this wise * That right as by one man sinne entred first into this world and through sin death right so the death entreth into all men that sinne and this man was Adam by whom sin entred into this world when he broke the commandment of God And therfore he that first was so mighty that hee ne shuld have died became so that he must needs die whether he would or no and all his progenie in this world that in the sayed man sinned Look that in the estate of innocency when Adam and Eve were naked in Paradise and shamed not hereof how the serpent wilyest of all other beasis yâ— GOD made said to the woman Why commanded God you that ye should not eate of every tree in Paradise The woman answered Of the fruit said she of trees of Paradise we feed us but of the fruit of the middle tree of Paradise God forbode us to eate and touch least wee should die The Serpent sayd to the woman Nay nay ye shall not die of death for sooth God wotte that what day that ye eate thereof your eyen shall open and ye shall be as gods knowing good harme The woman then saw that the tree was good to feeding and fair to the eyen and delectable to sight she took of the fruit of the tree and did eat and yave to her husbond and he eat and anon the eyen of hem both opened when that they knewe that they were naked they sowed of Figg leaves in manner of breches to hide her members There may ye see That deadly sin hath first suggestion of the sende as sheweth here by the Adder and afterward the delight of the flesh as sheweth by Eve after that consenting of reason as sheweth here by Adam For trust well though so it were that the fende tempted Eve that is to say the flesh and the flesh had delight in the beauty of the fruit defended yet certes till that reason that is to say Adam consented to the eating of the fruit yet stoode hee in the state of innocency Of the sayd Adam tooke wee the sayd originall sinne for of him fleshly discended bee wee all and engendred of vile and corrupt matter And when the soule is put in our bodies right anon is contract originall sinne and that that was erst but onely pain of concupiscence is afterward both paine and sinne and therefore wee been all borne sonnes of wrath and of dampnation perdurable if it nere Baptisme that wee receive which benimmeth us the coulpe but forsoth the pine dwelleth with us as to temptation which pine hight concupiscence This concupiscence when it is wrongfully disposed or ordained in man it maketh him covet by covetise of flesh fleshly sin by sight of his eyen as to yerthly thinges and also covetise of highnesse by pride of heart Now as to speake of the first covetise that is concupiscence after the law of our members that were lawfully made and by rightfull judgment of God I say * For as much as man is not obeisant to God that is his Lorde therefore is the flesh to him disobeisaunt through concupiscence whiche is called nourishing of sinne and occasion of sinne Therefore all the while that a manne hath within him the pine of concupiscence it is impossible but he bee tempted sometime and moved in his flesh to sin And this thing may not faile as long as he liveth It may well wax feeble by vertue of Baptisme and by the grace of God through penitence but fully ne shall it never quench that hee ne shall sometime be mooved in himself but if he were all refrained by sicknesse or by malice of sorcery or cold drinks For lo what saith S. Poule the flesh coveteth ayenst the spirite and the spirite ayenst the flesh they been so contrary and so striven that a manne may not alway do as he would The same S. Poule after his great Pennance in water and in lond in water by night and by day in great peril and in great paine in londe famine and thurst cold and clothlesse and ones stoned almost to death Yet said he alas I caitiffe manne who shall deliver me fro the prison of my caitiffe body And saint Ierom when hee long time had dwelled in desert whereas hee had no company but of wilde beastes where as hee had no meate but herbes and water to drinke ne no bed but the naked earth wherefore his flesh was blacke as an Ethyopian for heat and nie destroyed for cold Yet said he that the brenning of lechery boyled in all his body Wherefore I wot well that they bee deceived that say they be not tempted in her bodies Witnes S. Iames that saith * That every wight is tempted in his owne conscience yâ— is to say That ech of us hath matter and occasion to be tempted of the norishing of sinne that is in his body And therfore saith saint Iohn the Evangelist If wee say that we been without sinne wee deceive our selfe and truth is not in us Now shall ye understond how sin waxeth and increaseth in man The first thing is the same nourishing of sinne of which I spake before the fleshly concupiscence and after that commeth suggestion of the Devill this is to say the Devils belous with which he bloweth in man the fire of concupisence after that a man bethinketh him
himselfe for our offence and suffered death for misericorde and foryaue vs our original sins and thereby released vs fro the pains of hell and minished yâ— pains of purgatory by penitence and yeueth grace well to do and at last the blisse of heauen The speces of misericorde ben for to lene and also for to yeue for to foryeue and release and for to haue pity in heart and compassion of the mischeef of his euin Christen and also to chastise there as need is Another manner of remedy ayenst Auarice is reasonable largesse but soothly here behooueth the consideration of that grace of Iesu Christ and of the temporell goodes and also of the goodes perdurable that Iesu Christ yaue to vs and to haue remembrance of the death which he shall receiue he knoweth not when where ne who and also that he shall forgo all that he hath saue onely that which he hath expended in good werkes But for as much as some folk ben vnmeasurable men ought for to auoyd and eschewe foolish largesse the whiche some people call waste Certes he that is foole large yeueth not his cattell but he leseth his cattell Soothly what thing that he yeueth for vaine-glory as to minstrels and to folke that beare his renome in the world he hath sinne thereof and none almesse certes * He leseth foule his good that he ne seeketh with the yeft of his good nothing but sinne He is like to an horse that seeketh rather to drink drouy or troubled water than for to drink water of the cleare well To hem appertainen the said cursing that Christ shall yeue at the day of doome to hem that shall be damned ¶ Sequitur de Gula. AFter Auarice cometh Glotenie which is expresse ayenst the commandement of God Glotenie is vnmeasurable appetite to eate or to drinke or els to do ynough to the vnmeasurable appetite and disordained couetise to eat or to drink This sinne corrupteth all this world as is well shewed in the sinne of Adam and of Eue. Looke also what saith saint Poul of glotenie * Many saith he gone of which I haue often said to you and now I say it weeping that been the enemies of the crosse of Christ of which the end is death and of which her womb is her God and her glory in confusion of hem that so deuour earthly thinges He that is vsed to this sin of Glotenie he ne may no sin withstond he must be in seruage of all vices for it is the Deuils hourd there he hideth and resteth him This sinne hath many speces The first is dronkennesse * That is the horrible sepulture of mans reason and therefore when a manne is dronke he hath lost his reason And this is deadly sinne But soothly when that a man is not wont to strong drinke and peraduenture ne knoweth not the strength of the drinke or hath feeblesse in his head or hath trauayled through which he drinketh the more all be he suddainely caught with drinke it is no deadly sinne but veniall The second spece of glotenie is that the spirit of a manne wexeth all troubled for dronkennesse bireaueth him the discretion of his wit The third manner spece of Glotonie is when a man deuoureth his meat and hath not rightfull manner of eating The fourth is when through the great abundance of his meat the humours in his body been distempered The fifth is foryetfulnesse by too much drinking for which sometime a man forgetteth ere the morning what he did on the euening before In other manner been distinct the speces of glotonie after S. Gregorie The first is for to eat before time to eat The second is when a man giueth him to delicate meat or drink The third is when men take too much ouer measure The fourth is curiositie with great entent to make and appareill his meat The fift is for to eat too greedily These ben the fiue fingers of the deuils hond by which he draweth folke to sinne ¶ The Remedie ayenst Glotenie AYenst Glotenie the remedie is abstinence as saith Galiene but that I hold not meritorious if he do it for the heale of his body Saint Augustine woll that abstinence be done for vertue and with patience Abstinence saith he is little worth but if a man haue good will thereto and but if he be enforced by patience and charitie and that men do it for Gods sake and in hope to haue blisse in heauen The fellowes of abstinence bee attemperaunce that holdeth the meane in all things Also Shame that escheweth all dishonestie Suffisaunce that seeketh no rich meates ne drinkes ne doth not force of outragious appaireling of meat Measure also that restraineth by reason the vnmeasurable appetite of eating Sobernesse also that restrayneth the outrage of drinke Sparing also that restrayneth the delicate ease to sit long at meat wherefore some folke standen of her owne will when they eate because they woll eate at lesse leasure ¶ De Luxutia AFter Glotenie commeth Letcherie for these two sins been so nigh cousins that oft time they woll not depart God wot this sin is full displeasant to God he forsaid himselfe Do no letcherie And therefore he putteth great paines ayenst this sin For in the old law if a woman thrall were take in this sin she should be beat with staues to death And if she were a gentlewoman she should be slaine with stones And if she were a bishops doughter she should be brent by Gods commaundement Moreouer by the sin of Lechery God drowned all the world and after that he brent fiue cities with thunder and lightning and sanke hem into hell Now let vs speak then of the said stinking sin of Lecherie that men call auoutrie of wedded folk that is to say if that one of hem ben wedded or els both Saint Iohn saith That auouterers shall be in hell in a stacke breâ—ning of fire and of brimstone for the stenche of her ordure certes the breaking of this sacrament is an horrible thing it was made of God himself in Paradise and confirmed by Iesus Christ as witnesseth Saint Mathew in the Gospell * A man shall leue father and mother and take him to his wife and they shall be two in one flesh This Sacrament betokeneth the knitting together of Christ and holye Church And not onely that God forbade auoutrie indeede but also he commaunded That thou shouldest not couet thy neighbours wife In this heste saith Saint Augustine is forbode all manner couetise to do Letcherie Lo what saith Saint Mathew in the Gospell * That who so seeth a woman to couetise of his lust he hath done Lecherie with her in his heart Here may ye see that not onely the deed of this sinne is forboden but also the desire to that sin This cursed sin annoyeth greeuously hem that it haunt and first to her soule for he obligeth it to sin and to pain of death which is perdurable then of the body annoyeth it greeuously also for it drieth
advoutry or no in manner of homicide or no horrible great sinnes or small and how long thou hast continued in sinne The third circumstaunce is the place there thou hast done sin whether in other mennes houses or in thine own in field in church or in churchyard in church dedicate or no. For if the church be hallowed and man or woman spili his kinde within that place by way of sinne or wicked temptation the church is enterdicted and the Priest that did such a villany the tearme of all his life he should no more sing Masse and if he did he should do deadly sin at every time that he so sung Masse The fourth circumstaunce is by whiche mediatours or by which messengers or for enticement or for consentment to beare companie with fellowshippe * For many a wretch for to bear companie woll goe to the Diuel of hell Wherefore they that egge or consent to the sin ben partners of the sinne and of the temptation of the sinner The fifth circumstaunce is how many times that he hath sinned if it be in his minde and how oft he hath fallen For hee that oft falleth in sin he dispiseth the mercy of God and encreaseth his sin and is unkind to Christe and hee waxeth the more feeble to withstand sin and sinneth the more lightly and the latter riseth is more slow to shriue him and namely to him that is his confessor For which that folke when they fall ayen to her old follies either they leaue their old confessor or else they depart her shrift in diuers partes But soothly suche departed shrift deserueth no mercie of God for her sins The sixt circumstance is why that a man sinneth as by temptation and of himselfe procure that temptation or by the exciting of other folk or if he sinne with a woman by force or by her assent or if the woman maugre her head haue be aforced or none This shall she tell wheder it were for couetise of pouerty or if it were by her procurement or no such other things The seventh circumstance is in what manner he hath doe his sinne or how that she hath suffered that folke have doe to her And the same shall the man tell plainly with all the circumstaunces and wheder he hath sinned with common bordell women or non or doen his sin in holy times or non in fasting time or non or before his shrift or after his latter shrift and hath peradventure broke thereby his penance enjoyned by whose helpe or whose counsaile by sorcery or craft all must be told and all these things after as they be great or smale and grudge yâ— conscience of man or woman And eke the Priest that is thy judge may the better be advised of his judgement in yeuing of penaunce and that is after thy contrition For understond well that after time that a man hath defoyled his baptime by sinne if he woll come to saluation there is none other way but by pennaunce shrifte satisfaction and namely by they two if there be a confessour to whom he may shriue him and the third if he have life to performe it Then shall a man loke and consider that if he woll make a true and a profitable confession there must be four conditions First it must be in sorrowfulnesse of hert as saith the King Ezechiell to God * I woll remember me all the years of my life in bitternesse of my heart This condition of bitternesse hath fiue signes The first is that confession must be shamefast not for to cover ne hide her sinne for he hath offended his Lord God and defoyled his soule And hereof saith S. Augustin * The heart travaileth for shame of his sinne and for he hath great shamefastnesse he is worthy to haue great mercy of God which was the confession of the Publican that would not heave up his eyen to heaven for he had offended God of heaven for which shamefastnesse he had anon the mercy of God And thereof saith saint Augustine That such shamefull folk be next foryeuenesse and mercy Another signe is humility in confession of which sayth saint Peter * Humbleth you vnder the might of GOD the hond of God is strong inconfession for therby God foryeueth thee thy sinnes for he alone hath the power And this humility shall be in hert and in outward signes For right as he hath humility to God in his hert right so should he humble his body outward to the priest that sitteth in Gods stead For which in no manner sith that Christ is soueraigne and the priest mean and mediatour betwixt Christ the sinner and the sinner is lost by way of reason then should not the sinner sitte as hye as his confessour but kneel before him or at his feet but if sicknesse cause it For he shall not take heed who sitteth there but in whose place he sitteth A manne that hath trespassed to a Lord and commeth to ask mercy and make his accord and sitteth him down by him men would hould him outragious and not worthy so soone for to have remission of his trespasse The third signe is how thy shrifte should be full of teares if thou may and if thou may not weepe with thy bodily eyen then weepe in thine heart which was the confession of saint Peter For after that he had forsake Iesus Christ he went out and wept full bitterly The fourth signe is that thou ne lette not for shame to shew thy confession Such was the confession of Magdalein that ne spared for no shame of hein that were at the feast to go to our Lord Iesu Christ beknow to him her sinnes The fifth signe is that a manne or a woman be obeysaunt to receive the pennaunce that hem is injoyned For certes Iesu Christ for the offences of man was obedient to death The second condition of very confession is that it be hastily done For certes if a man had a deadly wound euer the lenger that he taryeth to heale himself the more would it corrupt and haste him to his death and also the wound would be yâ— worse for to hele And right so fareth sinne that longe time is in a man unshewed Certes a man ought hastely shew his sins for manie causes as for dread of death that commeth oft sodainely and no certain what time it shall be ne in what place and also the drenching of o sinne draweth in another and also the lenger that he tarrieth the farther is he fro Christ And if he abide to his last day scarcely may he shriue him or remember him of his sins or repent for the greeuous maladie of his death * And for as much as he ne hath in his life hearkened Iesu Christ when he hath spoken he shall crie to Iesus Christ at his last daie and scarcely woll he hearken him And understonde that this condition muste haue foure thinges Thy shrift must be prouided before and aduised for wicked hast doth not
seemed it that she on him rought Or of his paine what so ever he thought But then felt this Troilus such wo That he was welnigh wood for aie his drede Was this that she some wight loved so That never of him she would han take heed For which him thought he felt his hart bleed Ne of his woe ne durst he nought begin To tellen her for all this world to win But when he had a space left from his care Thus to himselfe full oft he gan to plaine He sayd o foole now art thou in the snare That whilom yapedest at lovers pain * Now art thou hent now gnaw thine own chain Thou wert aie woned ech lover reprehend Of thing fro which thou canst not thee defend What woll now every lover saine of thee If this be wist But ever in thine absence Laughen in scorn and saine lo there goeth he That is the man of great sapience That held us lovers least in reverence * Now thanked be God he may gon on that daunce Of hem that love lift feebly avaunce But o thou wofull Troilus God would Sith thou must loven through thy destine That thou beset wer of soch one that should Know all thy wo all lacked her pitee But all too cold in love towards thee Thy ladie is as frost in Winter Moone And thou fordo as Snow in fire is soone God would I were arrived in the port Of death to which my sorow woll me lede Ah Lord to me it were a great comfort Then were I quite of languishing in drede For by my hidde sorow iblowe in brede I shall beiaped been a thousand time More than that foole of whose folly men rime But now help God ye my sweet for whom I plaine icought ye never wight so fast O mercie deare hart and helpe me from The death for I while that my life may last More than my selfe woll love you to my last And with some frendly look gladeth me swete Though nevermore thing ye to me behete These words and full many another mo He spake and called ever in his compleint Her name for to tellen her his wo Till nigh that he in salt teares was dreint All was for nought she heard nat his pleint And when that he bethought on that follie A thousand fold his woe gan multiplie Bewailing in his chamber thus alone A friend of his that called his Pandare Came ones in vnware and heard him grone And saw his friend in such distresse and care Alas qd he who causeth all this fare O mercy God what vnhappe may this mene Han now thus sone yâ— Greeks made you lene Or hast thou some remorse of conscience And art now fall in some devotion And wailest for thy sinne and thine offence And hast for ferde cought contrition God save hem that besieged han our toun That so can laie our iollitie on presse And bring our lustie folke to holynesse These words said he for yâ— nones all That with such thing he might him angry maken And with his anger done his sorrow fall As for a time and his courage awaken But well wist he as far as tongues speaken There nas a man of greater hardinesse Than he ne more desired worthinesse What cas qd Troilus or what aventure Hath guided thee to seen me languishing That am refuse of everie creature But for the love of God at me praying Goe hence away for certes my dying Woll thee disease and I mote needs deie Therefore goe way there nis no more to seie But if thou wene I be thus sick for drede It is not so and therefore scorne nought There is an other thing I take of hede Wel more than ought yâ— grekes han yet wrouÈt Which cause is of my deth for sorow thouÈt But though that I now tell it thee ne lest Be thou not wroth I hide it for the best This Pandare that nigh malt for wo routh Full often sayed alas what may this be Now friend qd he if ever love or trouth Hath been er this betwiren thee and me Ne doe thou never such a cruelte To hiden fro thy friend so great a care Wost thou not well that I am Pandare I woll parten with thee all thy paine If it so be I doe thee no comfort * As it is friends right sooth for to saine To enterparten woe as glad disport I have and shall for true or false report In wrong and right loved thee all my live Hide not thy woe fro me but tell it blive Then gan this sorrowfull Troilus to sike And layd him thus God leve it be my best To tellen thee for sith it may thee like Yet woll I tell it though my heart brest And well wote I thou maiest do me no rest But least thou deeme I trust not to thee Now heark friend for thus it stant with me Love ayenst the which who so defendeth Him selven most him alder lest availeth With dispaire so sorrowfully me offendeth That straight vnto that death my hart faileth Thereto desire so bâ—enningly me assaileth That to been slaine it were a greater ioy To me than King of Grece be and of Troy Suffiseth this my full friend Pandare That I have said for now wotest thou my wo And for the love of God my cold care So hide it well I told it never to mo For harmes mighten followen mo than two If it were wist but be thou in gladnesse And let me sterve unknowne of my distresse How hast thou thus vnkindly and long Hid this fro me thou fool qd Pandarus Peraventure thou maist after such one long That mine a vise anone may helpen vs This were a wonder thing qd Troilus Thou couldest never in love thy selfen wisse How divell maiest thou bringen me to blisse Ye Troilus now hearken qd Pandare Though I be nice it happeth often so That one that of ares doeth full evil fare By good counsail can keep his frend therfro I have my selfe seen a blinde man go There as he fell that could looken wide * A foole may eke a wise man oft guide * A whetstone is no carving instrument But yet it maketh sharpe kerving tolis And after thou wost that I have aught miswent Eschue thou that for such thing to schole is * Thus often wise men bewaren by foolis If thou so doe thy wit is well bewared * By his contrarie is everie thing declared For how might ever sweetnesse have be know To him that never tasted bitternesse No man wot what gladnesse is I trow That never was in sorrow or some distresse Eke white by blacke by shame eke worthines Each set by other more for other seemeth As men may seen so the wise it deemeth Sith thus of two contraries is o lore * I that have in Love so oft assayed Greuaunces ought connen well the more Counsailen thee of that thou art dismayed And eke the ne ought not been euill apaied Though I desire with thee for to beare
Thine heauie charge it shall thee lasse deare I wote well that it fared thus by me As to thy brother Paris an hierdesse Which that icleped was Oenone Wrote in a complaint of her heauinesse Ye saw the letter that she wrote I gesse Nay never yet iwis qd Troilus Now qd Pandare hearkeneth it was thus Phebus that first found art of medicine Qd. she and coud in euerie wightes care Remedie and rede by herbes he knew fine Yet to himselfe his cunning was full bare For love had him so bounden in a snare All for the daughter of king Admete That all his craft ne coud his sorrow bete Right so fare I vnhappie for me I love one best and that me smerteth sore And yet peraventure I can reden thee And nat my selfe repreue me no more I have no cause I wote well for to sore As doeth an hauke that listeth for to play But to thine helpe yet somewhat can I say And of o thing right siker mayest thou be That certaine for to dyen in the paine That I shall never mo discover thee Ne by my trouth I keepe nat to restraine Thee fro thy love although it were Helleine That is thy brothers wife if iche it wist Be what she be and love her as thee list Therefore as friendfullich in me assure And tell me platte what is thine encheson And finall cause of woe that ye endure For doubteth nothing mine entention Nas not to you of reprehension * To speake as now for no wight may bereue A man to love till that him list to leue And weteth well that both two been vicis Mistrusten all or else all beleue But well I wote the meane of it no vice is As for to trusten some wight is a preue Of trouth for thy would I faine remeue Thy wrong conceit do the some wight trust Thy woe to tell and tell me if thou lust The wise eke sayth woe him yâ— is alone For and he fall he hath â—one helpe to rise And sith thou hast a fellow tell thy mone For this nis nought certaine the next wise To winnen love as teachen vs the wise To wallow and weep as Niobe the Queene Whose teares yet in marble been iseene Let be thy weeping and thy drerinesse And let vs lesen woe with other speech So may thy wofull time seeme the lesse Delight nought in woe thy woe to seech As doen these fooles that her sorrowes eche With sorrowe when they han misaventure And lusten nought to sechen other cure * Men saine to wretch is consolation To have another fellow in his paine That ought well been our opinion For both thou and I of love doe plaine So full of sorrow am I sooth to saine That certainly as now no more hard grace May sit on me for why there is no space If God woll thou art nought agast of me Least I would of thy Ladie thee beguile Thou wost thy selfe whom that I love parde As I best can gone sithen long while And sithen thou wost I doe it for no wile And sith I am he that thou trusteth most Tell me somwhat since all my woe thou wost Yet Troilus for all this no word said But long he lay still as he dead were And after this with siking he abraid And to Pandarus voice he lent his eare And vp his eyen cast he and then in feare Was Pandarus least that in frenseye He should either fall or else soone deye And sayd awake full wonderlich sharpe What slumbrest thou as in a litergie Or art thou like an Asse to the harpe That heareth sound when men yâ— strings ply But in his mind of that no melodie May sinke him to gladen for that he So dull is in his beastialite And with this Pandare of his words stent But Troilus to him nothing answerde For why to tell was nought his entent Never to no man for whome that he so ferde * For it is sayd men maken oft a yerde With which the maker is himselfe ibeten In sundrie manner as these wise men treten And nameliche in his counsaile telling That toucheth Love that ought been secre For of himselfe it woll inough out spring But if that it the bet gouerned be * Eke sometime it is craft to seeme flee Fro thing which in effect men hunten fast All this gan Troilus in his heart cast But natheles when he had heard him crie Awake he gan and sike wonder sore And sayd my friend though that I still lie I am not deefe now peace crie no more For I have heard thy wordes and thy lore But suffer me my Fortune to bewailen For thy proverbs may nought me availen Nor other cure canst thou none for me Eke I nill not been cured I woll die What know I of the Queene Niobe Let be thine old ensamples I thee prey No friend qd Pandarus therfore I sey * Such is delight of fooles to beweepe Her woe but to seeken bote they ne keepe Now know I that reason in thee faileth But tell me if I wist what she were For whome that thee all misaventure aileth Durst thou that I told it in her eare Thy woe sith thou darst not thy self for fear And her besought on thee to han some routh Why nay qd he by God and by my trouth What not as busily qd Pandarus As though mine owne life lay in this need Why no parde sir qd this Troilus And why for that thou shouldest never speed Wost thou that well ye that is out of dreed Qd. Troilus for all that ever ye conne She woll to no such wretch as I be wonne Qd. Pandarus alas what may this be That thou dispaired art thus causelesse What liveth nat thy Ladie benedicite How wost thou so that thou art gracelesse Such evill is not alway botelesse Why put not impossible thus thy cure * Sith thing to come is oft in aventure I graunt well that thou endurest wo As sharpe as doth he Tesiphus in hell Whose stomacke foules tiren evermo That highten vultures as bookes tell But I may not endure that thou dwell In so unskilfull an opinion That of thy woe nis no curation But ones nill thou for thy coward heart And for thine yre and foolish wilfulnesse For wantrust tellen of thy sorrowes smert Ne to thine owne helpe do businesse As much as speake a word yea more or lesse But lyest as he that of life nothing retch What woman living coud love such a wretch What may she demen other of thy death If thou thus die and she not why it is But that for feare is yolden vp thy breath For Greekes han besieged vs iwis Lord which a thank shalt thou have than of this Thus woll she saine and all the toun atones The wretch is deed the divel have his bones Thou mayest alone here weep cry knele * And love a woman that she wote it nought And she will quite it that thou shalt not feel * Vnknow vnkist
And how so she hath hard ben here beforne * To God hope I she hath now caught a thorn She shall nat pull it out this next wike God send her mo such thornes on to pike Pandare which that stood her fast by * Felt iron hot and he began to smite And said nece I pray you heartely Tell me that I shall asken you alite A woman that were of his death to wite Withouten his gilt but for her lack of routh Were it well done qd she nay by my trouth God helpe me so qd he ye say me sooth Ye feelen well your selfe that I nought lie Lo yonde he rideth qd she ye so he dooth Well qd Pandare as I have told you thrie Let be your nice shame and your follie And speake with him in easing of his hert Let nicete nat do you both smert But theron was to heauen and to done Considering all thing it may nat be And why for shame it were eke too soone To graunten him so great a liberte For plainly her entent as said she Was for to love him vnwist if she might And guerdon himwith nothing but with sight But Pandare thought it shall nat be so If that I may this nice opinion Shall nat ben holden fully yeares two What should I make of this a long sermon He must assent on that conclusion As for the time and when that it was eve And all was well he rose and tooke his leve And on his way fast homeward he spedde And right for ioy he felt his heart daunce And Troilus he found alone abedde That lay as done these lovers in a traunce Betwixen hope and derke desperaunce But Pandare right at his in comming He song as who saith lo somewhat I bring And said who is in his bedde so soone Yburied thus it am I friend qd he Who Troilus nay help me so the moone Q. d. Pandarus thou shalt vp rise and see A charme that was sent right now to thee The which can healen thee of thine accesse If thou do forthwith all thy businesse Ye through the might of God qd Troilus And Pandarus gan him the letter take And said parde God hath holpen vs Have here a light and look on all these blake But often gan the heart glad and quake Of Troilus while he it gan to rede So as the words yave him hope or drede But finally he tooke all for the best That she him wrote for somewhat he beheld On which he thought he might his heart rest All covered she the words vnder sheld Thus to the more worthy part he held That what for hope and Pandarus behest His great wo foryede he at the lest But as we may all day our selven see * Through wood or cole kindleth the more fire Right so encrease of hope of what it be Therewith full oft encreaseth eke desire Or as an oke commeth of a little spire So through this letter which yâ— she him sent Encreasen gan desire of which he brent Wherfore I say alway that day and night This Troilus gan to desiren more Than he did erst through hope and did his might To presen on as by Pandarus lore And writen to her of his sorowes sore Fro day to day he let it nought refreide That by Pandare he somewhat wrot or seide And did also his other observaunces That till a lover longeth in this caas And after as his dice turned on chaunces So was he either glad or said alas And held after his gestes aye his paas And after such answers as he had So were his daies sorry either glad But to Pandare alway was his recours And pitously gan aye on him to plaine And him besought of rede and some socours And Pandarus that saw his wood paine Wext well nigh dead for routh sooth to saine And busily with all his heart cast Some of his wo to sleen and that as fast And said Lord and friend and brother dere God wot that thy disease doth me wo But wolt thou stinten all this wofull chere And by my trouth ere it be daies two And God toforne yet shall I shape it so That thou shalt come into a certaine place There as thou maist thy self praien her of grace And certainly I not if thou it wost But they that ben expert in love it say * It is one of these things forthereth most A man to have a leâ—ser for to pray And siker place his wo for to bewray * For in good heart it mote some routh impresse To heare and see the guiltlesse in distresse Peraventure thinkest thou though it be so That kind would her done for to begin To have a manner routh vpon my wo Saith daunger nay thou shalt me never win So ruleth her hearts ghost within * That though she bend yet she stont on rote What in effect is this vnto my hote * Think here ayen when that yâ— sturdy oke On which men hacketh oft for the nones Received hath the happy falling stroke The great sweight doth it come all at ones As done these great rocks or these miln stones * For swifter course cometh thing yâ— is of wight When it discendeth than done things light But rede that boweth doun for every blast Full lightly cesse wind it woll arise But so nill not an oke when it is cast It needeth me nought long thee forvise * Men shall reioysen of a great emprise Atchieved well and stant withouten dout All have men ben the lenger thereabout But Troilus now tell me if thee lest A thing which that I shall asken thee Which is thy brother that thou lovest best As in thy very hearts privite Iwis my brother Deiphebus tho qd he Now qd Pandare ere houres twise twelve He shall the ease vnwist of it himselve Now let me alone and worken as I may Qd. he and to Deiphebus went he tho Which had his lord and great friend ben aye Save Troilus no man he loved so To tell in sort withouten words mo Qd. Pandarus I pray you that ye be Friend to a cause which that toucheth me Yes parde qd Deiphebus welthou wotest All that ever I may and God tofore All nere it but for the man I love most My brother Troilus but say wherefore It is for sith the day that I was bore I nas ne never mo to ben I thinke Ayenst a thing that might thee forthinke Pandare gan him thank to him seide Lo sir I have a Lady in this toun That is my nece and called is Creseide Which some men would done oppressioun And wrongfully have her possessioun Wherefore I of your lordship you beseech To ben our friend withouten more speech Deiphebus him answerd O is nat this That thou speakest of to me thus straungly Creseide my friend He said him yes Then needeth qd Deiphebus hardely No more of this to speke for trusteth well yâ— I Woll be her Champion with spore and yerde I ne raught nat though all her foes it herde
wol I wende Now nece mine ye shul well vnderstonde Qd. he so as ye women demen all * That for to hold in love a man in honde And him her lefe and dere hart to call And maken him an howne above to call I mene as love an other in this mene while She doth her selfe a shame and him a gile Now wherby that I tel you al this Ye wote your selfe as wel as any wight How that your love al fully graunted is To Troilus the worthiest wight One of the world and thereto trouth iplight That but it were on him alone ye nold Him never falsen while ye liven should Now stonte it thus that sith I fro you went This Troilus right platly for to seine Is through a gutter by a privy went Into my chambre come in al this reine Vnwist of every maner wight certaine Save of my selfe as wisely have I joy And by the faith I owe to Priam of Troy And he is come in such paine and distresse That but if he be al fully wood by this He sodainly mote fal into woodnesse But if God helpe and cause why is this He saith him tolde is of a frende of his How that ye should loven one that hight Horast For sorow of which this night shal be his last Creseide which that al this wonder herde Gan sodainly about her hart cold And with a sighe she sorowfully answerd Alas I wende who so ever tales told My dere hart woulden me nat have hold So lightly faulse alas conceites wrong What harm they done for now live I to long Horaste alas and falsen Troilus I know him not God helpe me so qd she Alas what wicked spirite told him thus Now certes eme to morow and I him se I shal therof as full excusen me As ever did woman if him like And with that word she gan ful sore sike * O God qd she so worldy selinesse Which clerkes callen false felicite Ymedled is with many bitternesse Ful anguishous then is God wote qd she Condicion of veine prosperite * For either joyes comen nat ifere Or els no wight hath hem alway here O brotil we le of mannes joy vnstable With with wight so thou be or thou who play Either he wote that thou joy art mutable Or wote it nat it mote ben one of tway Now if he wot it nat how may he say That he hath very joy and silinesse That is of ignorance aie in derkenesse * Now if he wote that ioy is transitory As every joy of worldly thing mote flee Then every time he that hath in memory The drede of lesing maketh him that he May in no parfite sikernesse be And if to lese his joy he set a mite Then semeth it that joy is worth ful lite Wherefore I wol define in this matere That truely for aught I can espie There is no very wele in this world here But O thou wicked serpent Ialousie Thou misbeleved and enuious folie Why hast thou Troilus made to me vntrist That never yet agilte that I wist Qd. Pandarus thus fallen is this caas Why vncle mine qd she who told him this And why doth my dere herte thus alas Ye wote ye nece mine qd he what it is I hope al shal be wel that is amis For ye may quenche al this if that you lest And doeth right so I hold it for the best So shal I do to morow iwis qd she And God toforne so that it shall suffice To morow alas that were faire qd he Nay nay it may nat stonden in this wise For nece mine this writen clerkes wise That peril is with dretching in drawe Nay soche abodes ben nat worth an hawe * Nece all thing hath time I dare avow For when a chambre a fire is or an hall Well more nede is it sodainly rescow Then to disputen and aske amongs all How the candle in the strawe is fall Ah benedicite for al among that fare * The harme is done and farwel feldefare And nece mine ne take it nat a grefe If that ye suffre him al night in this wo God helpe me so ye had him never lefe That date I sain now there is but we two But wel I wote that ye wol nat so do Ye ben to wise to done so great folie To put his life al night in jeopardie Had I him never lefe By God I wene Ye had never thing so lefe qd she Now by my thrifte qd he that shall be sene For sith ye make this ensample of me If iche al night would him in sorow se For al the treasour in the tonne of Troie I bidde God I never mote have joie Now loke then if ye that ben his love Should put his life al night in jeopardie For thing of nought now by yâ— God above Nat onely this delay cometh of folie But of malice if that I should nat lie What platly and ye suffre him in distresse Ye neither bounte done ne gentilnesse Qd. tho Creseide wol ye done a thing And ye therwith shal stinte al his disease Have here and bere to him this blew ring For there is nothing might him better plese Save I my selfe ne more his hart apese And say my dere harte that his sorow Is causelesse that shal he sene to morow * A ring qd he ye hasel wodes shaken Ye nece mine that ring must have a stone That might deed men a live all maken And such a ring trowe I that yee have none Discrecion out of your heed is gone That fele I now qd he and that is routh * O time ilost wel maist thou cursen slouth Wote ye not wel that noble and hie corage Ne soroweth nat ne stinteth eke for lite But if a foole were in a jalous rage I nolde setten at his sorow a mite But fesse him with a fewe wordes all white Another day when that I might him find But this thing stant al in another kind This is so gentle and so tender of hart That with his death he wol his sorows wreke For trust it well how sore that him smart He woll to you no jealous wordes speke And for thy nece er that his hart breke So speke your selfe to him of this matere For with a worde ye may his hart stere Now have I told what peril he is in And his coming vnwist is to every wight Ne parde harme may there be none ne sin I wol my self be with you all this night Ye know eke how it is your owne knight And that by right ye must vpon him triste And I al prest to fetch him when you liste This accident so pitous was to here And eke so like a sothe at prime face And Troilus her knight to her so dere His priue comming and the liker place That though she did him as then a grace Considred all things as they now stood No wonder is sens he did al for good Creseide answerde as wisely God at rest My soule bring as
thou thus thy selfe alas fordo Leave all this werke and take now heed to That I shall saine herken of good entent This message yâ— by me Troilus you sent Tourned her tho Creseide a wo making So great that it a death was for to see Alas qd she what wordes may ye bring What woll my dere hert saine to mee Which that I drede nevermore to see Woll he have plaint or teares ere I wend I have ynough if he thereafter send She was right such to seene in her visage As is that wight that men on beare bind Her face like of Paradis the image Was all ichaunged in another kind The play yâ— laughter men were wont to find On her and eke her joyes everichone Ben fled and thus lieth Creseide alone About her eyen two a purpre ring Bitrent in soothfast tokening of her paine That to behold it was a deadly thing For which Pandare might nat restraine The teares from his eyen for to raine But nathelesse as he best might he seide From Troilus these wordes to Creseide Lo nece I trow ye han heard all how The king with other Lordes for the best Hath made eschaunge of Antenor and you That cause is of this sorow and this vnrest But how this case doth Troilus molest This may none yearthly mans tongue say For very wo his wit is all away For which we have so sorowed he and I That into little it had vs both slaw But through my counsaile this day finally He somewhat is fro weeping withdraw And seemeth me that he desireth faw With you to ben all might for to devise Remedie of this if there were any wise This short plain theffect of my message As ferforth as my wit can comprehend For ye that ben of tourment in such rage May to no long prologue as now entend And herevpon ye may answere him send And for the love of God my nece dere So leave this wo or Troilus be here Great is my wo qd she and sighed sore As she that feeleth deadly sharpe distresse But yet to me his sorrow is mokell more That love him bet than he himselfe I gesse Alas for me hath he such hevinesse Can he for me so pitously complaine Iwis this sorow doubleth all my paine Greuous to me God wot is for to twin Qd. she but yet it harder is to me To seene that sorrow which that he is in For well wot I it woll my bane be And die I woll in certaine tho qd she But bid him come er deth yâ— thus me threteth Drive out yâ— ghost which in mine hart beteth These wordes said she on her armes two Fill gruffe and gan to weepen pitously Qd. Pandarus alas why doe ye so Sens ye well wote the time is fast by That he shall come arise vp hastely That he you nat biwopen thus ne find But ye woll have him wode out of his mind For wist he that ye farde in this manere He would himselfe slea and if I wend To have this fare he should not come here For all the good that Priam may dispend For to what fine he would anon pretend That know I well and for thy yet I sey So leave this sorow or plainly he woll dey And shapeth you his sorow for to abredge And nat encrease lefe nece swete * Bethrather to him cause of plat than edge And with some wisdome ye his sorrowes bete What helpeth it to weepen full a strete Or though ye both in salt teares dreint * Bet is a time of cure aye than of pleint I meane thus when I him hither bring Sens ye be wise and both of one assent So shapeth how to distour be your going Or come ayen soone after ye be went Women been wise in short avisement And let seene how your wit shall availe And what that I may helpe it shall nat faile Go qd Creseide and vncle truely I shall done all my might me to restraine From weeping in his sight and busily Him foâ— to glad I shall done all my paine And in my herte seeken every vaine If to his sore there may ben founden salve It shall nat lacke certaine on mine halve Goth Pandarus and Troilus he sought Till in a temple he found him all alone As he that of his life no lenger rought But to the pitous goddes everichone Full tenderly he praid and made his mone To done him soone out of the world to pace For wel he thought there was none other grace And shortly all the soothe for to sey He was so fallen in dispaire that day That vtterly he shope him for to dey For right thus was his argument alway He saied he nas but lorne welaway * For all that commeth commeth by necessitie Thus to ben lorne it is my destinie For certainly this wote I well he said That foresight of devine purveiaunce Had seen alway me to forgone Creseide * Sens God see the very thing out of doutance And hem disposeth through his ordinance In his merites soothly for to be As they shull comen by predestine But nathelesse alas whom shall I leve For there ben great clerkes many one That destinie through argumentes preve And some saine that nedely there is none But that free choice is yeven vs everychone * O welaway so sigh arne clerkes old That I not whose opinion I may hold * For some men sain that God seeth all biforne Ne God may nat deceived ben parde Then mote it fallen though men had it sworn That purveiaunce hath seene beforne to be Wherefore I say that from eterne if he Hath wist beforn our thought eke as our dede * We have no free choice as these clerks rede For other thought nor other deed also Might never been but such as purueyaunce Which may nat been deceived never mo Hath feled biforne withouten ignoraunce * For if there might ben a variaunce To writhen out fro Gods purveying There nere no prescience of thing comming But it were rather an opinion Vncertaine and no stedfast foreseeing * And certes that were an abusion That God should have no perfite clere weting More than we men that have doutous wening But such an errour vpon God to gesse Were false foule and wicked cursednesse Eke this is an opinion of some That have her top ful high and smooth ishore * They saine right thus that thing is nat to come For that the prescience hath seene before That it shall come but they sain that therfore That it shall come therefore the purveyaunce Wote it beforne withouten ignoraunce And in this manner this necessite Retourneth in his part contrary againe For needfully behoueth it nat to be That thilke things fallen in certaine * That ben purveied but needfully as they saine Behoueth it that thinges which that fall That they in certaine ben purveyed all I meane as though I laboured me in this To inquire which thing cause of which thing be * As whether that the prescience of God
her grace Then thouÈt he thus O blisful lord Cupide When I the processe have in memory How thou me hast weried on every side Men might a booke make of it like a story What nede is thee to seeke on me victory Sens I am thine and holly at thy will What joy hast thou thine owne folke to spill Wel hast thou Lord iwroke on me thine ire Thou mighty God and dredful for to greve Now mercy Lord thou wost wel I desire Thy grace most of all lustes leve And live and die I wol in thy beleve For which I ne aske in guerdon but a bone That thou Creseide ayen me send sone Distraine her hart as fast to returne As thou doest mine to longen her to see Then wote I wel that she nil nat sojourne Now blisful Lord so cruel thou ne be Vnto the blood of Troy I pray thee As Iuno was vnto the blode Thebane For which the folke of Thebes cauÈt her bane And after this he to the yates went There as Creseide out rode a full good paas And vp doun there made he many a went And to him selfe ful oft he said alas Fro hence rode my blisse and my solas As would blisful God now for his joie I might her sene ayen come to Troie And to the yonder hil I gan her guide Alas and there I toke of her my leve And yonde I saw her to her father ride For sorow of which mine hart shal to cleve And hither home I come when it was eve And here I dwell out cast from all joie And shal til I may sene her eft in Troie And of him selfe imagined he oft To ben defaited pale and woxen lesse Than he was wont and that men saiden soft What may it be who can the sothe gesse Why Troilus hath al this hevinesse And al this nas but his melancolie That he had of him selfe such fantasie Another time imaginen he would That every wight that went by the wey Had of him routh and that they saine should I am right sory Troilus wol dey And thus he drove a day yet forth or twey As ye have herde such life gan he lede As he that stode betwixen hope and drede For which him liked in his songes shewe Thencheson of his wo as he best might And made a songe of wordes but a fewe Somwhat his wofull hart for to light And when he was from every mans sight With softe voice he of his Lady dere That absent was gan sing as ye may here O sterre of which I lost have all the light With hart sore wel ought I to bewaile That ever derke in turment night by night Toward my deth with winde I stere saile For which the tenth night if that I faile The guiding of thy bemes bright an houre My ship and me Caribdes woll devoure This song when he thus songen had sone He fel ayen into his sighes old And every night as was he wont to done He stode the bright moone to behold And al his sorow he to the moone told And said iwis whan thou art horned new I shal be glad if al the world be trew I saw thine hornes old eke by that morow Whan hence rode my right lady dere That cause is of my turment and my sorow For which O bright Lucina the clere For love of God ren fast about thy sphere For whan thine hornes new ginnen spring Then shall she come that may my blisse bring The day is more and lenger every night Than they ben wont to be him thought tho And that the sunne went his course vnright By lenger way than it was wont to go And said iwis I drede me evermo The sunnes sonne Pheton be on live And that his fathers cart amisse he drive Vpon the wals fast eke would he walke And on the Greekes host he would see And to himselfe right thus he would talke Lo yonder is mine owne lady free Or else yonder there the tents bee And thence commeth this aire that is so soote That in my soule I fele it doth me boote And hardly this wind that more and more Thus stoundmeale encreaseth in my face Is of my ladies deepe sighes sore I preve it thus for in none other space Of all this toune save only in this place Feele I no wind that souneth so like paine It saith alas why twined be we twaine This long time he driveth forth right thus Till fully passed was the ninth night And aye beside him was this Pandarus That busily did all his full might Him to comfort and make his hart light Yeving him hope alway the tenth morow That she shal comen stinten all his sorow Vpon that other side eke was Creseide With women few among yâ— Grekes strong For which full oft a day alas she seide That I was borne well may mine hart long After my death for now live I too long Alas and I ne may it not amend For now is worse than ever yet I wend. My father nill for nothing doe me grace To gone ayen for aught I can him queme And if so be that I my terme pace My Troilus shall in his heart deme That I am false and so it may well seme Thus shall I have vnthonke on every side That I was borne so welaway the tide And if that I me put in jeopardie To steale away by night and it befall That I be caught I shall be hold aspie Or els lo this drede I most of all If in the honds of some wretch I fall I nam but lost all be mine heart trew Now mightie God thou on my sorow rew Full pale iwoxen was her bright face Her limmes leane as she that all the day Stode when she durst loked on the place There she was borne and dwelt had aye And all the night weeping alas she lay And thus dispeired out of all cure She lad her life this wofull creature Full oft a day she sighed eke for distresse And in her selfe she wene aye purtraying Of Troilus the great worthinesse And all his goodly words recording Sens first that day her love began to spring And thus she set her wofull hart afire Through remembrance of yâ— she gan desire In all this world there nis so cruell hart That her had heard complainen in her sorow That nold have wepten for her pains smart So tenderly she wept both eve and morow Her needed no teares for to borow And this was yet the worst of all her paine Ther was no wight to whom she durst plain Full rewfully she looked vpon Troy Beheld the Toures high and eke yâ— Hallis Alas qd she the pleasaunce and the joy The which that now all turned into gall is Have I had oft within yonder wallis O Troilus what doest thou now she â—ide Lord whether thou yet thinke vpon Creseide Alas that I ne had itrowed on your lore And went with you as ye me redde ere this Then had I now
ladies for to lie Away qd he there Ioves yeve the sorow That shalt be fals peraventure yet to morow As well thou mightest lien on good Alceste That was of creatures but men lie That ever weren kindest and the best For when her husbond was in ieopardie To die himselfe but if she would die She chese for him to die and to hell And starfe anon as vs the bookes tell Cassandre goeth and he with cruell hart Foryate his wo for anger of her speech And fro his bedde all suddainly he start As though all hole him had I made a seech And day by day he gan require and seech A sooth of this with all his full cure And thus he driveth forth his aventure Fortune which that permutation Of all things hath as it is her committed Through purveyaunce and disposition Of high Iove as reignes shall ben flitted Fro folk to folk or when they shal ben smitted Gan pull away the feathers bright of Troy Fro day to day till they ben bare of joy Emong all this the fine of the ieopardie Of Hector gan approchen wonder blive The fate would his soule should vnbodie And shapen had a meane it out to drive Ayenst which fate him helpeth not to strive But on a day to fighten gan he wend At which alas he caught his lives end For which me thinketh every manner wight That haunteth armes ought to bewaile The death of him that was so noble a knight For as he drough a king by thauentaile Vnware of this Achilles through yâ— maile And through the bodie gan him for to rive And thus the worthy knight was reft of live For whom as old bookes tellen us Was made such wo that tong it may nat tell And namely the sorow of Troilus That next him was of worthinesse the well And in this wo gan Troilus to dwell That what for sorow love and for unrest Full oft a day he had his heart brest But nathelesse tho he gon him dispaire And drede aye that his lady was untrue Yet aye on her his hart gan repaire And as these lovers done he sought aye new To get ayen Creseide bright of hew And in his hart he went her excusing That Calcas caused all her tarying And oft time he was in purpose great Himselven like a pilgrime to disguise To seene her but he may not counterfeat To ben unknowen of folke that weren wise He find excuse aright that may suffise If he among the Grekes knowen were For which he wept full oft many a tere To her he wrote yet oft time all new Full pitously he left it nat for slouth Beseeching her sens that he was true That she wol come ayen shold her trouth For which Creseide upon a day for routh I take it so touching all this matere Wrote him ayen and said as ye may here Cupides sonne ensample of goodlihede O swerde of knighthood sours of gentilnesse How might a wight in turment in drede And healelesse you send as yet gladnesse I heartlesse I sicke I in distresse Sens ye with me nor I with you may deale You neither send I hart may nor heale Your letters full the paper all iplainted Conceived hath mine hearts pite I have eke seene with teares all depainted Your letter and how that ye requiren me To come ayen which yet ne may not be But why least that this letter founden were No mention ne make I now for fere Grevous to me God wote is your unrest Your hast and that the Goddes ordinaunce It seemeth nat ye take it for the best Nor other thing nis in your remembraunce As thinketh me but only your pleasaunce But beth not wroth that I you beseech For that I tary is all for wicked speech For I have heard well more than I wend Touching us two how thinges have istond Which I shall with dissimusing amend And beth nat wroth I have eke understond How yene do but holden me in hond But now no force I can nat in you gesse But all trouth and all gentilnesse Come I woll but yet in such disjoint I stond as now that with yere or what day That this shall be that can I nat appoint But in effect I pray you as I may Of your good word of your friendship aye For truly while that my life may dure As for a friend ye may in me assure Yet pray I you no evill ye ne take That it is short which that I to you write I dare nat there I am well letters make Ne never yet ne could I well endite * Eke great effect men write in place lite Th entent is all and nat the letters space And fareth well God have you in his grace La vostre C. This Troilus thought this letter all straunge When he it saw sorowfully he sight Him thought it like a kalends of eschaunge But finally he full ne trowen might That she ne would him holden that she hight For with ful evell will list him to leve That loveth well in such case though him greve But nathelesse men saine that at the last For any thing men shall the soothe see And such a case betide and that as fast That Troilus well understood that she Nas nat so kind as that her ought be And finally he wote now out of dout That all is lost that he hath ben about Stood on a day in his melancholy This Troilus and in suspectioun Of her for whom he wend to dye And so befell that throughout Troy toun As was that guise iborne was up and doun A manner cote armoure as saith the story Beforne Deiphebe insigne of his victory The which cote as telleth Lollius Deiphebe it had rent fro Diomede The same day and when this Troilus It saw he gan to taken of it hede A vising of the length and of the brede And all the werke but as he gan behold Full sodainly his heart gan to cold As he that on the coler found within A brooch that he Creseide yave at morow That she from Troy must nedes twin In remembraunce of him and of his sorow And she him laid ayen her faith to borow To keepe it aye but now full well he wist His lady nas no longer on to trift He goth him home gan full soone send For Pandarus and all this newe chaunce And of this broch he told him word end Complaining of her hartes variaunce His long love his trouth his pennaunce And after death without words more Full fast he cried his rest him to restore Then spake he thus O lady mine Creseide Where is your faith where is your behest Where is your love where is your trouth he seide Of Diomede have ye now all the fest Alas I would have trowed at the least That sens ye nolde in trouthe to me stond That ye thus nolde have holden me in hond Who shall now trowen on any othes mo Alas I never would have wend
Sith yâ— thy weping but doubleth thy wo * I counsaile thee make vertue of a nede Go learne to clappe thy clapper to and fro And learne after the lawe of lepers lede There was no bote but forthwith then she yede Fro place to place while cold hunger sore Compelled her to be a ranke beggore That same time of Troy the garnisoun Which had the chieftain worthy Troilus ThrouÈ jeopardy of warre had striken doun Knights of Grece in nomber marveilous With great triumph and laude victorious Again to Troy right royally they rode The way where Creseide with yâ— leper stode Seing that company come al with o stevin They gave a cry shoke cupps good spede Worthy lordes for Goddes love of hevin To us seper part of your almose dede Then to her cry noble Troilus toke hede Having pite nere by the place gan pas Wher Creseide sat nat weting with she was Then vpon him she kest vp both her iyen And with a blinke it come in til his thought That he sometime her face before had sein But she was in soch plite he knew her nought Yet then her loke into his minde he brought The swete visage and amorous blenking Offaire Creseid sometime his owne derling No wonder was suppose in mind that he Toke her figure so sone and lo now why * The Idoll of a thing in case may be So depe enprinted in the fantasie That it deludeth the wittes outwardly And so apereth in forme and like estate Within the minde as it was figurate A sparke of love then til his hartcouth spring And kindeled his body in a fire With hote feuer in swette and trembling Him tooke while he was readie to exspire To heare his shield his brest began to tire Within a while he chaunged many a hewe And nevertheles nat one an other knew For knightly pite and memoriell Of faire Creseide a girdel gan he take A purse of gold and many a gaie iewell And in the skirt of Creseide doun gan shake Then rode away and nat a word he spake Pensife in hart while he came to the toune And for great care oft sith almost fell doune The lepre folke to Creseide then couth draw To see the equall distributioun Of the almose but when the gold they saw Ech one to other priuely can roun And saied yon lord hath more affectioun How ever it be vnto yon Lazarous Than to vs al we know by his almous What lord is yon qd she have ye no fele That doeth to vs so great humanite Yes qd a lepre man I know him wele Sir Troilus it is a knight gentle and free When Creseide vnderstood that it was hee Stiffer than stele there sterte a bitter stound Throughout her hert fill doun to yâ— ground When she over come with sighing sore sad With many a carefull crie and cold atone Now is my brest with stormy stoundes stad Wrapped in wo wretchfull will of one Then fell in swoun ful oft or she would fone And ever in her swouning cried she thus O false Creseide and true knight Troilus Thy love thy laude all thy gentlenesse I counted small in my prosperite So effated I was in wantonnesse And clambe vpon the fickell whele so hie All faith and love I promitted to thee Was in thy selfe fekell and furious O false Creseide and true knight Troilus For love of me thou kept countenaunce Honest and chast in conuersacion Of all women protectour and defence Thou were and helped their opinion My minde and fleshly foule affection Was enclined to lustes lecherous Fie false Creseide O true knight Troilus Lovers beware and take good hede about Whom that ye love for when ye suffre pain I let you wit there is right few throughout Whom ye may trust to have true love again Proue when ye woll your labour is in vain Therefore I rede ye take them as ye find For they are sad as Wedercocke in wind Bicause I know the great vnstablenesse Brittle as glasse vnto my self I say Trusting in other as great brutelnesse As inconstaunt and as vntrue of fay Though some be true I wot riÈt few ar they Who findeth truth let him his lady ruse None but my self as now I woll accuse When this was said with paper she sat doun And in this maner made her testament Here I bequethe my corse and carioun With wormes and with Toodes to be rent My cuppe my clapper and mine ornament And all my gold these lepre folke shall have When I am dedde to bury me in grave This roiall ring set with this Rubie redde Which Troilus in dowrie to me send To him again I leaue it when I am dedde To make my careful death vnto him kend Thus I conclude shortly and make an end My spirit I leave to Diane where she dwels To walke with her in wast wodes welles O Diomede thou hast both broche belt Which Troilus gaue me in tokening Of his true love with that worde she swelt And soone a leaper man toke off the ring Then buried her withouten tarying To Troilus forthwith the ring he bare And of Creseide the death he gan declare When he had heard her great infirmite Her legacie and lamentacioun And how she ended in such poverte He swelt for wo and fell doune in a swoun For sorow his hart to brast was boun Sighing full sadly sayd I can no more She was vntrue and wo is me therefore Some saith he made a tombe of marble gray And wrote her name superscripcioun And layd it on her graue whereas she lay In golden letters conteining this reasoun Lo faire Fadies Creseide of Troie toun Somtime counted the floure of womanhed Vnder this stone late leper lieth dedde Now worthy women in this balade short Made for your worship and instruction Of charite I monish and exhort Minge nat your love with false discepcion Beare in your mind this sore conclusion Of faire Creseide as I have sayd before Sith she is dedde I speake of her no more The Legend of good Women For that some Ladies in the Court took offence at Chaucers large speeches against the untruth of Women the Queen enjoyned him to compile this Book in the commendation of sundry Maidens and Wives who shewed themselves faithful to faithless men A Thousand times I have heard men tell That there is joy in heaven pain in hell And I accord it wele that it is so But nathelesse yet wote I wele also That there nis non dwelling in this countre That either hath in heaven or in hell ibe Ne may of it none other waies witten But as he heard sayd or found it written For by assay there may no man it preve But God forbede but men should leve Wel more thing than they have seen with iye Men shall nat weâ—en every thing a lie But if himself it seeth or els it dooth For God wote thing is never the lesse soth Though every wight ne may
borne My worship in this day thus have I lorne And for dispaire out of his wit he start And rofe himselfe anon throughout the hart Ere that he ferther went out of the place His wife that could of Cesar have no grace To Egipt is fled for drede and for distresse But herkeneth ye that speken of kindnesse Ye men that falsely swearen many an oth That ye woll die if that your love be wroth Here may ye seene of women such a trouth This woful Cleopatra had made such routh That there nis tong none that may it tell But on the morow she woll no lenger dwell But made her subtill werkmen make a shrine Of all the rubies and the stones fine In all Egipt that she could espie And put full the shrine of spicerie And let the corse enbaume and forth she fette This dead corse and in the shrine it shette And next the shrine a pit than doth she grave And all the serpentes that she might have She put hem in that grave thus she seid Now love to whom my sorowfull hert obeid So ferforthly that fro that blisfull hour That I you swore to ben all freely your I meane you Antonius my knight That never waking in the day or night Ye nere out of mine herts remembraunce For wele or wo for carole or for daunce And in my selfe this covenaunt made I tho That right such as ye felten wele or wo As ferforth as it in my power lay Vnreprovable vnto my wifehood aye The same would I felen life or death And thilke covenaunt while me lasteth breath I woll fulfill and that shall well be seene Was never vnto her love a truer queene And with yâ— word naked with full good hart Among the serpents in the pit she start And there she chese to have her burying Anone the neders gonne her for to sting And she her death receiueth with good chere For love of Antony that was her so dere And this is storiall sooth it is no fable Now ere I find a man thus true and stable And woll for love his death so freely take I pray God let our hedes never ake ¶ The Legend of Tisbe of Babilon AT Babiloine whylome fill it thus The which toun yâ— queen Simiramus Let dichen about and wals make Full hie of harde tiles well ibake There were dwelling in this noble toun Two lords which yâ— were of great renoun And woneden so nigh vpon a grene That ther nas but a stone wal hem between As oft in great tounes is the wonne And sothe to saine that one man had a sonne Of all that lond one of the lustiest That other had a doughter the fairest That estward in yâ— world was tho dwelling The name of everiche gan to other spring By women that were neighbours aboute For in that countre yet withouten doute Maidens ben ikept for ielousie Ful straite lest they didden some folie This yong man was cleped Piramus Thisbe hight the maide Naso saith thus And thus by report was her name ishove That as they woxe in age so woxe her love And certaine as by reason of her age Ther might have ben betwixt hem mariage But that her fathers â—olde it nat assent And bothe in love ilike sore they brent That none of all her friendes might it lette But prively sometime yet they mette By sleight and spaken some of her desire As wrie the glede and hotter is the fire Forbid a love and it is ten times so wode This wal which yâ— bitwixt hem both stode Was cloven atwo right fro the top adoun Of old time of his foundatioun But yet this clift was so narrow and lite It was nat seene dere inough a mite But what is that that love cannot espie Ye lovers two if that I shall not lie Ye founden first this little narrow clift And with a sound as soft as any shrift They let her words through the clift pace And tolden while that they stoden in yâ— place All her complaint of love and all her wo At every time when they durst so On that one side of the wall stood he And on that other side stood Tisbe The sweet soune of other to receive And thus her wardeins would they disceive And every day this wall they would threte And wish to God that it were doun ibete Thus wold they sain alas thou wicked wall Through thine enuie thou vs lettest all Why nilt thou cleave or fallen all atwo Or at the least but thou wouldest so Yet wouldest thou but ones let vs mete Or ones that we might kissen swete Then were we cured of our cares cold But nathelesse yet be we to thee hold In as much as thou suffrest for to gone Our words through thy lime eke thy stone Yet ought we with thee ben well apaid And when these idle wordes weren said The cold wall they woulden kisse of stone And take her leave forth they wolden gone And this was gladly in the eventide Or wonder erly least men it espide And long time they wrought in this manere Till on a day when Phebus gan to clere Aurora with the stremes of her hete Had dried vp the dew of herbes wete Vnto this clift as it was wont to be Come Piramus and after come Tisbe And plighten trouthe fully in her faie That ilke same night to steale awaie And to beguile her wardeins everychone And forth out of the Citie for to gone And for the fieldes ben so brode and wide For to mete in o place at o tide They set markes her meetings should be There king Ninus was grauen vnder a tree For old painems that idolles heried Vseden tho in fields to ben buried And fast by his grave was a well And shortely of this tale for to tell This couenaunt was affirmed wonder fast And long hem thought that the sunne last That it nere gone vnder the see adoun This Tisbe hath so great affectioun And so great liking Piramus to see That when she saw her time might be At night she stale away full prively With her face iwimpled subtelly For all her friends for to save her trouth She hath forsake alas and that is routh That ever woman woulde be so trew To trusten man but she the bet him knew And to the tree she goeth a full good pace For love made her so hardy in this case And by the well adoun she gan her dresse Alas then commeth a wild Lionesse Out of the wood withouten more arrest With bloody mouth strangling of a beast To drinken of the well there as she sat And when that Tisbe had espied that She rist her vp with a full drery hart And in a caue with dreadfull foot she start For by the Moone she saw it well withall And as she ran her wimple let she fall And toke none hede so sore she was a whaped And eke so glad that she was escaped And thus she sat and lurketh wonder still When
grace might bene And maken in that lande some chevesaunce And kepen him fro wo and fro mischaunce For sicke he was and almost at the death Vnneth might he speake or draw breath And lieth in Rhodopeia him for to rest When he may walk him thought it was best Vnto the countrey to seeken for succour Men knew him wele and did him honour For at Athenes Duke and Lord was he As Theseus his father hath ibe That in his time was great of renoun No man so great in all his regioun And like his father of face and of stature And false of love it came him of nature As doth the Foxe Renarde the Foxes sonne Of kind he could his old father wonne Without lore as can a Drake swimme When it is caught and caried to the brimme This honorable queen Phillis doth him chere Her liketh well his sporte and his manere But I am agroted here beforne To write of hem that in love been forsworne And eke to haste me in my Legende Which to performe God me grace sende Therfore I passe shortly in this wise Ye have well heard of Theseus the gise In the betraiyng of faire Adriane That of her pite kept him fro his bane At short wordes right so Demophon The same way and the same pathe hath gon That did his false father Theseus For vnto Phillis hath he sworne thus To wedden her and her his trouth plight And piked of her all the good he might When he was hole sound and had his rest And doth with Phillis what so that him lest As well I could if that me list so Tellen all his doing to and fro He sayd to his countrey mote him saile For there he would her wedding apparaile As fill to her honour and his also And openly he tooke his leave tho And to her swore he would not sojourne But in a month again he would retourne And in that londe let make his ordinaunce As very Lorde and tooke the obeisaunce Well and humbly and his shippes dight And home he goeth the next way he might For vnto Phillis yet came he nought And that hath she so harde and sore ibought Alas as the storie doth vs record She was her owne death with a corde When that she saw yâ— Demophon her traied But first wrote she to him fast him praied He would come and deliver her of pain As I rehearse shall a worde or twain Me liste not vouchsafe on him to swinke Dispenden on him a penne full of ynke For false in love was he right as his sire The Devill set her soules both on a fire But of the letter of Phillis woll I write A worde or twain although it be but lite Thine hostesse qd she O Demophon Thy Phillis which that is so wo begon Of Rhodopeie vpon you mote complain Over the terme set betwixt vs twain That ye ne holden forward as ye sayd Your ancre which ye in our haven layd Hight vs that ye would comen out of doubt Or that the Moone ones went about But times fower yâ— Moone hath hid her face Sens thilke day ye went fro this place And fower times light the world again But for all that yet shall I sothly sain Yet hath the streme of Scython not brought From Athens the ship yet came it nought And if that ye the terme reken would As I or other true lovers doe should I plain not God wot before my day But al her letter writen I ne may By order for it were to me a charge Her letter was right long and therto large But here and there in rime I have it layd There as me thought that she hath wel sayd She sayd the sailes cometh not again Ne to the worde there nis no â—ey certain But I wot why ye come not qd she For I was of my love to you so fre And of the Goddes that ye have swore That her vengeaunce fall on you therfore Ye be not suffisaunt to beare the pain To moche trusted I well may I sain Vpon your linage and your faire tong And on your teares falsly out wrong How coud ye wepe so by craft qd she May there soche teares fained be Now certes if ye would have in memory It ought be to you but little glory To have a selie maide thus betrayed To God qd she pray I and oft have prayed That it be now the greatest price of all And most honour that ever you shall befall And when thine old aunceters painted bee In which men may her worthinesse see Then pray I God thou painted be also That folke may reden forth by as they go Lo this is he that with his flattery Betraied hath and done her villany That was his true love in thought dede But sothly of o point yet may they rede That ye been like your father as in this For he begiled Ariadne iwis With such an arte and such subtelte As thou thy selves hast begiled me As in that poinct although it be not feire Thou folowest certain and art his heire But sens thus sinfully ye me begile My body mote ye sene within a while Right in the haven of Athenes fleeting Withouten Sepulture and buriyng Though ye been harder then is any stone And when this letter was forth sent anone And knew how brotell and how fals he was She for dispaire fordid her selfe alas Such sorow hath she for she beset her so Beware ye women of your subtill fo Sens yet this day men may ensample se And trusteth now in love no man but me ¶ The Legende of Hypermestre IN Grecen whilom were brethren two Of which that one was called Danao That many a son hath of his body wonne As soch false lovers ofte conne Emong his sonnes all there was one That aldermost he loved of everychone And when this child was borne this Danao Shope him a name and called him Lino That other brother called was Egiste That was of love as false as ever him liste And many a daughter gate he in his life Of which he gate vpon his right wife A doughter dere and did her for to call Hypermestra yongest of hem all The which child of her nativite To all good thewes borne was she As liked to the Goddes or she was borne That of the shefe she should be the corne The werdes that we clepen destine Hath shapen her that she must needes be Pitous sad wise true as stele And to this woman it accordeth wele For though yâ— Venus yave her great beaute With Iupiter compowned so was she That conscience trouth and drede of shame And of her wifehode for to kepe her name This thought her was felicite as here And reed Mars was that time of the yere So feble that his malice is him raft Repressed hath Venus his cruell craft And what with Venus and other oppression Of houses Mars his venime is a don That Hypermestre dare not handle a knife In malice though she should lese her life But
as a stone Crampisheth her limmes crokedly She speketh as her witte were all agone Other colour than ashen hath she none Ne none other word speketh she moch or lite But mercy cruell herte mine Arcite And thus endureth til that she was so mate That she ne hath foot on which she may sustene But forth languishyng ever in this estate Of which Arcite hath neyther routh ne tene His hert was els where newe and grene That on her wo ne deineth him not to think Him recketh never whether she flete or sinke * This new Lady holdeth him so narowe Vp by the bridel at the staues end That every word he dred it as an arowe Her daunger made him bothe bowe bend And as her luste made him turne or wend For she ne graunted him in her liuing No grace why that he hath to sing But droue him forth vnneth list her know That he was seruaunt vnto her Ladyship But lest he were proude she helde him lowe Thus serueth he without meate or sip She sent him now to land and now to ship And for she yaue him daunger all his fill Therfore she had him at her owne will Ensample of this ye thrifty women all Take hede of Annelida and false Arcite That for her list him her dere herte call And was so meke therefore he loved her lite * The kinde of mans herte is to delite On thing that straunge is also God me save For what they may not get yâ— wold they have Now turne we to Annelida ayen That pyneth day by day in languishing But when she saw that her ne gate no geyn Vpon a day sorowfully wepyng She cast her for to make a complainyng And with her owne hand she gan it write And sent it to her Theban knight Arcite The complaint of Annelida to false Arcite So thir led with the point of remembraunce The swerde of sorowe whette with false pleasaunce Mine herte bare of blisse black of hew That turned is to quaking all my daunce My sewerty in a waped countenaunce Sens it avayleth nought to ben trew For who so trew is it shall her rew That serueth love and doth her observaunce Alway to one and chaungeth for no new I wote my selfe as well as any wight For I loved one with all mine hert might More than my self an hundred thousand sith And called him my hertes lyfe my knight And was all his as ferre as it was right And when yâ— he was glad than was I blithe And his disease was my death as swithe And he ayen his trouth hath me plight For evermore hys Lady me to kithe Now is he false alas and causeles And of my wo he is so routhles That with a worde him list not ones daine To bring ayen my sorowfull herte in pees For he is caught vp in another lees Right as him list he laugheth at my paine And I ne can mine hert not â—estraine For to loue him yet alway ueuertheles And of all this I not to whom to plaine And shuld I playne alas the hard stound Vnto my foe that yaue myne hert a wound And yet desireth that myne harme be more Now certes ferther woll I neuer found None other helpe my sores for to sound My desteny hath shaped so full yore I woll none other medecine ne lore I woll ben aye there I was ones bound That I haue said be said for euermore Alas where is become your gentilnesse Your words full of pleasance and humblesse Your obseruaunce in so lowe manere Your awayting and your besinesse On me that ye called your maistresse Your soueraine lady in this world here Alas is there neyther worde ne chere Ye vouchsafe vpon myne heuinesse Alas your loue I bye it all to dere Now certes swete though that ye Thus causelesse the cause be Of my deedly aduersite Your manly reason ought it to respite To slee your frende and namely me That neuer yet in no degre Offended you as wissy he That all wote of wo my soule quite But for I was so playne Arcite In all my workes moch and lite And was so besie you to delite Myne honour saue meke kinde and fre Therefore ye put in me this wite Alas ye retche not a mite Though that the swerde of sorow bite My wofull hert through your cruelty My sweet so why do ye so for shame And thinke ye that furthered be your name To loue a newe and ben vntrewaye And put you in slander now and blame And do to me aduersitie and grame That loue you most God thou wost alway Yet turne ayen and yet be playne some day And than shall this yâ— now is mis ben game And all foryeue while I lyue may Lo hert myne al this is for to saine As whether shall I pray or els playne Which is the way to done you to be trew For eyther mote I haue you in my chayne Or with the deth ye mote depart vs twayne There bethe none other meane wayes new For God so wisely on my soule rewe As verely ye slaine me with the payne That mowe ye see vnfained on mine hewe For thus ferforth haue I my deth sought My selfe I murder with my priuie thought For sorow and routh of your vnkindnesse I wepe I wayle I fast all helpeth naught I voide joy that is to speake of aught I voide company I flie gladnesse Who may auaunt her better of heuineffe Than I to this plite haue ye me brought Without gilte me needeth no witnesse And should I pray weiuen womanhede Nay rather death than do so foule a dede And aske mercy and giltlesse what nede And if I plaine what lyfe I lede You recketh not that know I out of drede And if I vnto you mine othes bede For mine excuse a scorne shall be my mede * Your chere floureth but it woll not sede Full long agon I might haue taken hede For though I had you to morow agayne * I might as well hold Aprill from rayne As holde you to maken stedfast Almighty God of trouth the souerayn Where is the trouth of man who hath it slayn * She that hem loueth shall hem find as fast As in a tempest is a rotten mast Is that a tame beest that is aye fayne To renne away when he is lest agast Now mercy sweete if I missay Haue I aught sayd out of the way I not my witte is all away I fare as doth the songe of chantepleure For now I plaine and now I pley I am so mased that I dey Arcite hath borne away the key Of all my world and my good auenture For in this world there is no creature Walking in more discomfiture Than I ne more sorowe endure For if I sleepe a furlonge way or twey Then thinketh me that your figure Before me stante clad in asure Efte to profre a newe assure For to ben trewe and mercy me to prey The long night this wonder sight ydrie That on the
shooting it happeth oft so To hurt his friend rather than his fo So doth this god with his sharpe flone The trew sleeth and letteth the false gone And of his wounding this is the worst of all When he hurt doeth to so cruell wretch And maketh the licke for to cry and call Vnto his soe for to be his leche * And hard it is for a man to seche Vpon the point of death in jeoperdie Vnto his foe to find a remedie Thus fareth it now euen by me That to my foe that gaue my hert a wound Mote aske grace mercy and pite And namely there where none may be found For now my sore my leche will confound And god of kind so hath set mine vre My liues foe to haue my wound in cure Alas the while now that I was borne Or that I euer saw the bright sonne For now I see that full long aforne Or I was borne my desteny was sponne By Parcas sisterne to slea me if they conne For they my death shopen or my shert Only for trouth I may it not astert The mighty goddesse also of Nature That vnder God hath the gouernaunce Of worldly things committed to her cure Disposed haue through her wise purueiance To giue my lady so much suffisaunce Of all vertues and therewithall puruide To murder trouth hath take danger to gide For bounte beaute shape and seemelihede Prudence wit passingly fairenesse Benigne port glad chere with lowlihede Of womanhede right plenteous largenesse Nature did in her fully empresse When she her wrought alther last disdain To hinder trouth she made her chamberlain When mistrust also and false suspection With misbeleue she made for to be Cheefe of counsaile to this conclusion For to exile trouth and eke pite Out of her court to make mercy flee So that dispite now holdeth forth her rein Through hasty bileue of tales that men fein And thus I am for my trouth alas Murdred slain with words sharp and kene Guiltlesse God wote of all trespas And lie and blede vpon this cold grene Now mercy swete mercy my liues quene And to your grace of mercy yet I prey In your seruice that your man may dey But if so be that I shall die algate And that I shall none other mercy haue Yet of my death let this been the date That by your wil I was broght to my graue Or hastely if that you list me saue My sharpe wounds that ake so and blede Of mercy charme and also of womanhede For other charme plainly is there none But only mercy to helpe in this case For though my wounds bleed euer in one My life my death standeth in your grace And though my guilt be nothing alas I aske mercy in all my best entent Ready to die if that ye assent For there against shall I neuer striue In word ne werke plainely I ne may For leuer I haue than to be aliue To die soothly and it be to her pay Ye though it be this same day Or when that euer her list to deuise Suffiseth me to die in your seruise And God yâ— knowest yâ— thoght of euery wight Right as it is in euery thing thou maist see Yet ere I die with all my full might Lowly I pray to graunt vnto mee That ye goodly faire fresh and free Which onely slea me for defaut of routh Or that I die ye may know my trouth For that in sooth sufficeth me And she it know in euery circumstaunce And after I am well paid that she If that her list of death to do vengeaunce Vnto me that am vnder her lygeaunce It sit me not her doome to disobey But at her lust wilfully to dey Without grutching or rebellion In will or word holy I assent Or any manner contradiction Fully to be at her commaundement And if I die in my testament My herte I send and my spirit also Whatsoeuer she list with hem to do And alderlast to her womanhede And to her mercy me I recommaund That lie now here betwixe hope and drede Abiding plainly what she list commaund For utterly this nis no demaund Welcome to me while me lasteth breath Right at her choice where it be life or death In this matter more what might I saine Sith in her hand and in her will is all But life death my joy and all my paine And finally my hest hold I shall Till my spirit by desteny fatall When that her list fro my body wend Haue here my trouth thus I make an end And with that word he gan sigh as sore Like as his hert riue would atwaine And held his peace spake no word more But for to see his wo and mortal paine The teares gonne fro mine eyen raine Full pitously for very inward roth That I him saw so long wishing for troth And all this while my selfe I kepte close Among the bowes and my selfe gonne hide Till at the last the wofull man arose And to a lodge went there beside Where all the May his custome was tabide Sole to complaine of his paines kene From yere to yere under the bowes grene And for bicause that it drew to the night And that the sunne his arke diurnal Ypassed was so that his persaunt light His bright beames and his streams all VVere in the waues of the water fall Vnder the bordure of our occian His chaire of gold his course so swiftly ran And while the twilight the rowes rede Of Phebus light were deaurat alite A penne I tooke and gan me fast spede The wofull plaint of this man to write Word by word as he did endite Like as I heard and coud hem tho report I haue here set your hertes to disport If ought be misse lay the wite on me For I am worthy for to beare the blame If any thing misse reported be To make this ditie for to seeme lame Through mine unconning but for to sain yâ— same Like as this manne his complaint did expresse I aske mercy and forgiuenesse And as I wrote me thought I saw aferre Ferre in the West lustely appere Esperus the goodly bright sterre So glad so faire so persaunt eke of chere I mean Venus with her beames clere That heauy hertes only to releue Is wont of custome for to shew at eue And I as fast fell adown on my knee And euen thus to her gan I to prey O lady Venus so faire upon to see Let not this man for his trouth dey For that joy thou haddest when thou ley VVith Mars thy knight when Vulcanus fond And with a chaine unvisible you bond Togider both tway in the same while That all the court aboue celestiall At your shame gan laugh and smile Ah faire lady welly fond at all Comfort to carefull O goddesse immartall Be helping now and do thy diligence To let the streames of thine influence Descend downe in forthering of yâ— trouth Namely of hem that lie in sorrow bound Shew now thy miÈt on her
wo haue routh Ere false daunger slea hem and confound And specially let thy might be found For to so couer what so that thou may The true man that in the herber lay And all true forther for his sake O glad sterre O lady Venus mine And cause his lady him to grace take Her herte of stele to mercy so encline Ere that thy bemes go vp to decline And ere that thou now go fro us adoun For that loue thou haddest to Adoun And when she was gone to her rest I rose anone and home to bed went For weary me thought it for the best Praying thus in all my best entent That all trew that be with daunger shent With mercy may in release of her paine Recured be ere May come este againe And for that I ne may no lenger wake Farewell ye louers all that be trew Praying to God and thus my leue I take That ere the sunne to morrow be risen new And ere he haue ayen rosen hew That each of you may haue such a grace His owne lady in armes to embrace I meane thus in all honesty Without more ye may togider speake What so ye list at good liberty That each may to other her heart breke On Ielousies onely to be wreke That hath so long of his mallice and enuy Werred Trouth with his tiranny ¶ Lenuoye Princesse pleaseth it to your benignitie This little ditie to haue in mind Of womanhede also for to see Your man may your mercy find And pity eke that long hath be behind Let him againe be provoked to grace For by my trouth it is against kind False Daunger to occupy his place Go little quaire vnto my lives queene And my very hearts soueraine And be right glad for she shall thee seene Such is thy grace but I alas in paine Am left behind not to whom to plaine For mercy ruth grace and eke pite Exiled be that I may not attaine Recure to find of mine adversite Explicit A Praise of Women ALtho thee list of women evill to speak And sain of hem worse than they deserve I pray to God yâ— her neckes to break Or on som evil death mote tho janglers sterve For every man were holden hem to serve And do hem worship honour and servise In every manner that they best coud devise For we ought first to think on with manere They bring vs forth and with pain they endure First in our birth and sith fro yere to yere How busely they done their busie cure To keepe vs fro every misaventure In our youth when we have no might Our selfe to keepe neither by day nor night Alas how may we say on hem but wele Of whom we were fostred and ybore And ben all our succour ever true as stele And for our sake full oft they suffer sore * Without women were all our joy lore Wherfore we ought all women to obey In all goodnesse I can no more say This is wel knowne and hath ben or this That women ben cause of all lightnesse Of knighthood norture eschuing all mallis Encrease of worship and of all worthinesse Thereto curteis meke ground of all goodnesse Glad and merry true in every wise That any gentill hert can thinke or devise And though any would trust to your vntruth And to your faire words would aught assent In good faith me thinketh it wer great ruth That other women shuld for her gilt be shent That never knew ne wist nouÈt of her entent Ne list not to heare the faire words ye write Which ye you paine fro day to day tendite But who may beware of your tales vntrue That ye so busily paint and endite For ye will swere that ye never knew Ne saw the woman neither much ne lite Save only her to whom ye had delite As for to serve of all that ever ye sey And for her love must ye needs dey Then will ye swere yâ— ye knew never before What love was ne his dredfull observaunce But now ye feele that he can wound sore Wherfore ye put you into her governaunce Whom love hath ordeind you to serve do plesance W th al your miÈt your litle lives space Which endeth soone but if she do you grace And then to bed will he soone draw And soone sicke ye will you then faine And swere fast your Lady hath you slaw And brought you suddainly inso high a paine that fro your death may no man you restraine With a daungerous looke of her eyen two That to your death must ye needs go Thus will ye morne thus will ye sigh sore As though your hert anon in two wold brest And swere fast that ye may live no more Mine owne Lady that might if ye lest Bring mine hert somedele into rest As if you list mercy on me to have Thus your vntrouth will ever mercy crave Thus woll ye plain tho ye nothing smert These innocent creatures for to beguile And swere to hem so wounded is your hert For her love that ye may live no while Scarsly so long as one might go a mile So hieth death to bring you to an end But if your soverain Lady list you to amend And if for routh she comfort you in any wise For pity of your false othes sere So yâ— innocent weneth that it be as you devise And weneth your heart be as she may here Thus for to comfort somwhat do you chere Then woll these janglers deme of her full ill And saine that ye have her fully at your will Lo how ready her tonges been and prest To speake harme of women causelesse Alas why might ye not as well say the best As for to deme hem thus guiltlesse In your hert iwis there is no gentilnesse That of your own gilt list thus women fame Now by my trouth me think ye be too blame * For of women cometh this worldly wele Wherfore we ouÈt to worship hem evermore And though it mishap one we ought for to hele For it is all through our false lore That day and night we paine vs evermore With many an oth these women to beguile With false tales and many a wicked wile * And if falshede should be reckened told In women iwis full trouth were Not as in men by a thousand fold Fro all vices iwis they stand cleare In any thing that I could of heare But if enticing of these men it make That hem to flatteren connen never slake * I would fain wete where euer ye coud here Without mens tising with women did amis Forther ye may get hem ye lie fro yere to yere And many a gabbing ye make to hem iwis For I could neuer heare ne knowen ere this Where euer ye coud find-in any place That euer women besought you of grace There ye you pain with all your ful might With all your heart and all your businesse To pleasen hem both by day and night Praying hem of her grace and
cease till their heeds them cleaped although profit and pleasance should follow But trewly other gouernance ne other medling ought they not to claim ne the heeds on hem to put Trewly amongs cosinage dare I not come but if richesse be my mean soothly she other bodily goods maketh nigh cosinage there neuer propinquite ne aliance in liue was ne should haue be nere it for her medling maners wherefore kindly am I not there leged Pouert of kinred is behind richesse suffreth him to passe truly he saith he come never of Iaphets children whereof I am sory that Iaphets children for pouert in no linage ben rekened Cains children for riches be maked Iaphets heirs Alas this is a wonder change bitween tho two Noes children sithen that of Iaphets offspring comden knights and of Cain discended the line of seruage to his brothers children Lo how gentilesse and seruage as cosins both discended out of two brethern of one body * Wherfore I say in soothnes that gentilesse in kinrede maken not gentil linage in succession without desert of a mans own self Where is now the line of Alisaundrie the noble or els of Hector of Troy Who is discended of right blood of line fro king Artour Parde sir Perdicas whom that king Alisandre made to been his heir in Greece was of no kings blood his dame was a tombistere of what kinred been the Gentils in our days * I trow therfore if any good be in gentilesse it is only that it seemeth a maner of necessite be input to gentilmen that they shoulden not varien fro yâ— vertues of their ancesters Certes all maner linage of men ben euen lich in birth for one father maker of all goodnes enformed hem all and all mortal folk of one seed are greyned Wherto auant men of her linage in cosinage or in eld fathers Loke now the ginning to God maker of mans person there is no clerk ne no worthy in gentilesse he that norisheth his corare with vices and vnresonable lusts and leaueth the kind course to which end him brought forth his birth trewly he is vngentil and among clerks may not been nempned And therfore he yâ— woll been gentil he mote daunten his flesh fro vices yâ— causen vngentilnes and leaue also reigns of wicked lusts * and draw to him vertue that in all places gentilnes gentilmen maketh And so speak I in feminine gendre in general of tho persons at the reuerence of one whom euery wight honoureth for her bounty and her noblenes ymade her to God so dere that his moder she became and she me hath had so great in worship yâ— I nill for nothing in open declare that in any thing ayenst her sect may so wene for all vertue and all worthines of plesaunce in hem haboundeth And although I would any thing speak truly I can not I may find in yuell of hem no maner mater RIght with these words she stint of that lamentable melody and I gan with a liuely heart to pray if that it were liking vnto her noble grace she would her deyn to declare me the mater that firste was begonne in which she lefte and stinte to speake beforne she ganne to singe O qd she this is no newe thing to me to seene you men desiren after mater which your selfe caused to void Ah good Lady qd I in whom victory of strength is proued aboue all other thing after the judgement of Esdram whose lordship all lignes Who is that right as Emperour hem commaundeth whether thilke been not women in whose likenesse to me ye aperen For right as man halte the principalite of all thing vnder his being in the masculine gender and no more genders been there but masculine and feminine all the remnant been no genders but of grace in faculty of Grammer Right so in the feminine the women holden the vpperest degree of all things vnder thilk gender contained Who bringeth forth kings which that been lords of see and of yearth and all peoples of women been born they nourish hem that raffen vines they maken men comfort in their glad cheres Her sorrow is death to mans heart * Without women the being of men were impossible They con with their sweetnesse the cruel hert rauish and make it meek buxome and benigne without violence meuing In beauty of their eyen or els of other manere fetures is all mens desires ye more than in Gold Precious stones either any richesse And in this degree Lady your self many hearts of men haue so bounden that parfit blisse in womankind to been men wenen and in nothing els Also Lady the goodnesse the vertue of women by property of discretion is so well knowen by littelnesse of malice that desire to a good asker by no way con they warn and ye then that woll not passe the kind werching of your sects by general discrecion I wot well ys woll so encline to my prayer that grace of my request shall fully been granted Certes qd she thus for the more part fareth all mankind to pray and to cry after womans grace and fain many fantasies to make herts to encline to your desires and when these sely women freely of their kind beleuen your words and wenen all be Gospell the promise of your behests then grant they to you their herts and full fillen your lusts where through their liberty in maistership that they toforn had is thralled and so maked Soueraine and to be praid that first was seruant and voice of prayer vsed Anon as filled is your lust many of you be so trewe that littel hede take ye of soch kindnesse but with traisoun anon ye think hem beguile and set light of that thing which first ye maked to you wonders dere so what thing to women it is to loue any wight ere she him well know and haue him proued in many half for euery glittering thing is not gold and vnder colour of fair speach many vices may be hid and concealed Therefore I rede no wight to trust on you too rathe mens chere her speach right guileful is ful oft wherefore without good assay it is not worth on many on you to trust truly it is right kindly to euery man yâ— thinketh women betray and shewen outward all goodnesse till he haue his will performed Lo the bird is beguiled with yâ— mery voice of the foulers whistell When a woman is closed in your net then woll ye causes finden and bear vnkindnesse her on hand or falsety vpon her put your own malicious traison with soch thing to excuse Lo then han women none other wreche in vengeance but blober and wepe till hem list stint and sorily her mishap complain is put into wening yâ— all men been so vntrew How often haue men changed her loues in a litel while or els for failing their wil in their places hem set for frendship shal be one and fame with another him list for to haue a third for
may my greuance amend Now yet good Lord I thee beseech pray As thou raised my brother Lazarous From death to life the fourth day Came ayen in body and soule precious As great a thing maist thou shew vnto vs Of thy selfe by power of thy godhead As thou did of him lying in graue dead Mine hert is wounded with thy charite It brenneth it flameth incessauntly Come my dear Lord Ad adjuvandum me Now be not long my paine to multiplie Least in the mean time I depart and die In thy grace I put both hope confidence To do as it pleaseth thy high magnificence Floods of death and tribulatioun Into my soule I feele entred full deepe Alas that here is no consolatioun Euer I waile euer I mourne and weepe And sorowhath wounded mine hert ful deepe O deare loue no maruaile though I die Sagittae tuae infixae sunt mihi Wandring in this place as in wildernesse No comfort haue I ne yet assuraunce Desolate of ioy replete with faintnesse No answere receiuing of mine enquiraunce Mine herte also greued with displeasaunce Wherefore I may say O Deus Deus Non est dolor sicut dolor meus Mine herte expresseth Quod dilexi multum I may not endure though I would faine For now Solum superest Sepulchrum I know it right well by my huge paine Thus for loue I may not life sustaine But O God I muse what ayleth thee Quod sic repente praecipitas me Alas I see it wol none otherwise be Now must I take my leaue for euermore This bitter paine hath almost discomfite me My loues corse I can in no wise restore Alas to this wo that euer I was bore Here at this tombe now must I die starue Death is about my heart for to carue My testament I woll begin to make To God the father my soule I commend To Iesu my loue that died for my sake My heart and all both I giue and send In whose loue my life maketh end My body also to this monument I here bequeath both boxe and ointment Of all my wills lo now I make the last Right in this place within this sepulture I woll be buried when I am dead and past And vpon my graue I woll haue this scripture Here within resteth a ghostly creature Christs true louer Mary Magdalaine Whose hart for loue brake in peeces twaine Ye vertuous women tender of nature Full of pitie and of compassion Resort I pray you vnto my sepulture To sing my dirige with great deuotion Shew your charitie in this condition Sing with pitie and let your herts weepe Remembring I am dead and layd to sleepe Then when ye begin to part me fro And ended haue your mourning obseruance Remember wheresoeuer that ye go Alway to search make due enqueraunce After my loue mine herts sustenaunce In euery towne and in euery village If ye may here of this noble image And if it happe by any grace at last That ye my true loue find in any cost Say that his Magdaleine is dead and past For his pure loue hath yeelded vp the ghost Say that of all thing I loued him most And that I might not this death eschew May paines so sore did euer renew And in token of loue perpetual When I am buried in this place present Take out mine hert the very root and al And close it within this boxe of ointment To my deare loue make thereof a present Kneeling downe with words lamentable Do your message speake faire and tretable Say that to him my selfe I commend A thousand times with herte so free This poore token say to him I send Pleaseth his goodnesse to take it in gree It is his own of right it is his fee Which he asked when he said long before * Giue me thy heart and I desire no more Adue my Lord my loue so faire of face Adue my turtle doue so fresh of hew Adue my mirth adue all my sollace Adue alas my sauiour Lord Iesu Adue the gentillest that euer I knew Adue my most excellent paramour Fairer than rose sweeter than lilly flour Adue my hope of all pleasure eternall My life my wealth and my prosperitie Mine heart of gold my perle orientall Mine adamant of perfite charitie My cheefe refuge and my felicitie My comfort and all my recreatioun Farewell my perpetuall saluatioun Farewell mine Emperour Celestiall Most beautifull prince of all mankind Adue my lord of heart most liberall Farewell my sweetest both soule and mind So louing a spouse shall I neuer find Adue my soueraine and very gentilman Farewell dere heart as hertely as I can Thy words eloquent flowing in sweetnesse Shal no more alas my mind recomfort Wherfore my life must end in bitternesse For in this world shall I neuer resort To thee which was mine heauenly disport I see alas it woll none other be Now farewell the ground of all dignitie Adue the fairest that euer was bore Alas I may not see your blessed face Now welaway that I shall see no more Thy blessed visage so replete with grace Wherein is printed my perfite sollace Adue mine hertes root and all for euer Now farewell I must from thee disceuer My soule for anguish is now full thursty I faint right sore for heauinesse My lord my spouse Cur me dereliquisti Sith I for thee suffer all this distresse What causeth thee to seeme thus mercilesse Sith it thee pleaseth of me to make an end In Manus tuas my spirit I commend ¶ Finis The Prologue to the Remedy of LOVE SEeing the manifolde inconuenience Falling by vnbrideled prosperitie Which is not tempred with mortal prudence Nothing more wealthy than youths freeltie Moued I am both of right and equitie To youths we le somewhat to write Whereby he may himselfe safecondite First I note as thing most noyous Vnto youth a greeuous maladie Among us called loue encombrous Vexing yong people straungelie Oft by force causeth hem to die Age is eke turmented by loue Bineath the girdle and not aboue Wherfore this werk which is right laborous For age me need nat in hond to take To youth me oweth to be obsequious Now I begin thus to worke for his sake Which may the feruence of loue aslake To the louer as a mitigatiue To him that is none a preseruatiue That mighty lord which me gouerneth Youth I meane measure if I pace In euery matter which him concerneth First as is behouefull I woll aske grace And forthwithall in this same place Ere I begin I woll kneel and sa These few words and him of helpe pray Flouring youth which hast auauntage In strength of body in lust and beaute Also a precelling hast aboue age In many a singular commodite Howbeit one thing he hath beyond thee To thy most profite greatest auaile Which shuld the conduit I mean sad counsaile And yet good lord of a presumption I nill depraue thy might and deitie I liue but vnder thy protection I am thy subiect
his death doth pant This yong man followeth her in that stound And as a wanton Lambe full ignorant How he is pulled and drawen to be bound Vnto the time he hath his deaths wound And like a bird that hasteth to the grin Not knowing the perill of his life therein Now gentle sonne saith Salomon take hede My words in thy breast keepe and make fast Let her not thy mind in her waies mislede Be not deceiued lese not thy tast Many hath she wounded many doune cast Many strong by her hath lost their breath Her waies waies of hell leading to death And in this little narration precedent The womans manifold gilt I attend The yong man alas how she hath shent Deceiued her husband her own next friend In these both her God she doth offend To break her spousail to her is of no weight Furdermore to shew womans craft sleight A woman at her dore sate on a stall To see folke passe by streets of the cite With eye and countenance eke she gan call If there be any prety one come nere to me Come hither ye piggesnye ye little babe At last she said to a yong man hartlesse Of her deceit vnware and defencelesse * Much sweeter she saith more acceptable Is drinke when it is stollen priuely Tha when it is taken in forme auowable Bread hid and gotten jeoperdously Must needs be sweet and semblably * Venison stolne is aye the sweeter The ferther the narrower fet the better And whom this woman saith Salom. festes The yong man woteth not whom she doth fede Of the dark deepnesse of hell ben her ghests Beware yong man therefore I thee rede And how be it cheefly for thy good spede This werk to compile I haue take in charge I must of pity my charity enlarge With the selie man which is thus begiled Her husband I mean I woll wepe and waile His painfull infortune whereby reuiled Causelesse he is neuer to conuaile Euery man yong and old woll him assaile With words of occasion with the loth name And alas good soule he nothing to blame But she that coud so ill do and wold Hers be the blame for her demerite And leaue that opprobrous name cokold To aproper to him as in dispite Ransake yet we would if we might Of this worde the true Ortographie The very discent and Ethimologie The well and ground of the first inuencion To know the ortographie we must deriue Which is coke and cold in composicion By reason as nigh as I can contriue Then how it is written we know beliue But yet lo by what reason and ground Was it of these two wordes compound As of one cause to giue very judgement Themilogie let vs first behold Eche letter an hole word doth represent As C put for colde and O for old K is for knaue thus diuers men hold The first parte of this name we haue found Let vs ethimologise the second As the first finder ment I am sure C for calot for of we haue O L for leude O for demeanure The craft of the enuentour ye may see lo How one name signifieth persones two A colde old knaue cokold himselfe wening And eke a calot of leude demeaning The second cause of thimposicion Of this foresaid name of jealousie To be jelouse is greatest occasion To be cokold that men can aspie And though the passion be very firie And of continuell feruence and heete The pacient aye suffreth cold on his feete And who that is jelous and aye in a drede Is full of Melancolie and gallie ire His wiues nose if she misse trede He woll cut off ye and conspire His death who that woll her desire Which she perceiuing brasteth his gall And anone his great woodnesse doth fall As soone as she hath knit him that knot Now is he tame that was so ramagious Mekely sitteth he doune and taketh his lot Layed been now his lookes so furious And he but late as a cocke bataylous Hote in his quarell to auenge him bold Now is he called both coke and cold This saying to all curtesie dissonant Which seemeth that it of malice grewe In this rude treatise I woll not plant As parcell thereof but onely to shewe The opinion of the talcatife shrewe * Which in ill saying is euer merie No man as I thereof so werie But I as parcell of this my booke Woll graffe in some sad counsaile whereby The wedded man if he daigne to looke In it the better shall mowe him gie And prouide for his said infortunie Which as I haue said with him complaine I woll as partener of his great paine As most expedient to his weale I would all jelousie were abject If he be jelous that he it conceale And in his labour be circumspect To know her wayes if they seeme suspect * And not for to breake for one word broken She woll not misse but she woll be wroken * Forbid her not that thou noldest haue don For looke what thing she is forbod To that of all things she is most prone Namely if it be ill and no good Till it be executed she is nigh wood Soch is a woman and soch is her feat * Her craft by craft labour to defeat If thou hereafter now a single man Shouldest be jelous if thou haddest a wife Wedde not but if thou can trust woman For els shouldest lede a carefull life That thou most lothest should be full rife Yet I nill gainesay Matrimonie * But Melius est nubere quam uri That is to say better is in Wedlocke A wife to take as the church doth kenne Than to been vnder the fleshes yoke In fleshly lust alway for to brenne But as I said for all jelous menne * So they liue chaste I hold it lasse ill That they wedde not than them self spill The single man which is yet to wedde And not the wedded man thus I rede To warne him now he is too farre spedde It is too late him to forbedde But let him take as for his owne need Soch counsaile as is him before told These words folowing eke to behold Thy water to keep the wiseman doth teach That thou in no wise let it haue issue At a narow rifte way it woll seach And semblably the woman vntrue To giue her free walke in al wise eschue * If she at large not at thine hand walke She woll thee shame thou shalt it not balke Wedded or single thus saith the wiseman * Her that both day and night euermore Lithe in thy bosome wife or yet lemman Loue not to hote least thou repent sore Least she thee bring into some ill lore Thy wife not to loue yet I nill support But that thou dote not thus I thee exhort Lo if thou loue her loue eke thine honestie Be she not idell for what woll betide * If she sit idell of very necessitie Her mind woll search ferre and eke wide Namely if she be not accompanide How accompanied not with yong
vertue hath soch excellence That all to leane is mans faculte To declare it and therefore in suspence Her due praysing put needs must be But thus I say verely that she Next God best frend is that to man longeth The key of mercy by her girdle hongeth And of mercy hath euery man soch need That resing that farewell the joy of man And of her power now taketh right good heed She mercy may well and purchase can Displeaseth her not honoureth that woman And other women all for her sake And but ye doe your sorow shall awake In any booke also where can ye find That of the werkes of death or of life Of Iesu spelleth or maketh any mind That women him forsoke for wo or strife Where was there any wight so ententife About him as woman proued none The Apostles him forsoken euerichone Women forsoke him not for all the fayth Of holy church in woman left onely This is no lees for thus holy writ sayth Looke and ye shall so finde it hardely And therefore I may well preue thereby * That in woman reigneth stable constaunce And in men is the chaunge of variaunce Thou precious gem of martirs Margarite That of thy blood dredest none effusion Thou louer true thou maiden mansuete Thou constant woman in thy passion Ouercame the fendes temptacion And many a wight converted thy doctrine Vnto the faith of holy God thou virgine But vnderstandeth this I onely commend her nought By encheson of her virginity Trusteth it came never in my thought For ever werre I ayenst chastity And ever shall but lo this meveth me Her loving herte and constant to her lay Drive out of remembraunce I ne may Now holdeth this for ferme and for no ly That this true and just commendacion Of women tel I for no flattery Ne bicause of pride or elacion But onely lo for this entencion To yeve hem courage of perse veraunce In vertue and her honour to avaunce * The more vertue the lasse is the pride Vertue so digne is and so noble in kind That vice and he woll not in fere abide He putteth vices cleane out of his mind He flieth fro hem he leaveth hem behind O woman that of vertue art hostresse Great is thy honour and thy worthinesse Then woll I thus conclude and define We you commaund our ministers echone That ready ye be our hestes to encline That of these false men our rebell fone Ye do punishment and that anone Voide hem our court banish hem for ever So that therein more come they never Fulfilled be it ceasing all delay Looke there be none excusacion Written in the lusty moneth of May In our paleis where many a million Of lovers true have habitation The yere of grace joyfull and jocond A thousand foure hundred and second Explicit A Ballade in Commendation of our Lady A Thousand stories coud I mo rehearce Of old Poetes touching this matere How that Cupide the hertes gan so pearce Of his servauntes setting hem in fere Lo here the fyne of therrour and the fere Lo here of love the guerdon and greuaunce That ever w th wo her seruaunts do auaunce Wherfore now plainly I wol my stile dresse Of one to speake at need that woll not faile Alas for dole I ne can ne may expresse Her passing prise and that is no mervaile O winde of grace now blowe unto my saile O auriate licour of Cleo for to write My penne euspire of that I woll endite Alas unworthy I am and unable To love soch one all women surmounting But she be benigne to me and merciable That is of pity the well and eke the spring Wherefore of her in laude and in praising So as I can supported by her grace Right thus I say kneeling tofore her face O sterre of sterres with thy streames clere Sterre of the sea to shipmen light and gide O lusty living most pleasaunt to appere Whose bright beams yâ— cloudes may not hide O way of life to them that go or ride Hauen after tempest surest vp to riue On me haue mercy for thy joyes fiue O rightful rule O bote of holinesse And lightsome line of pity for to plain Original beginning of grace all goodnesse And cleanest conduit of vertue most souerain Mother of Mercy our trouble to restrain Chamber and closet clennest of chastity And named her brough of the deity O closet garden all void of weedes wicke Cristallin welle of clerenesse clere consigned Fructified oliue of oiles faire and thick And redolent Cedre most dere worthy digned Remember on sinners that to thee be assigned Or wicked fendes her wrath on hem wreche Lanterne of light thou her liues leche Paradise of pleasaunce gladsome to al good Benigne braunchelet of the Pine tree Vinary enuermailed refresher of our blood Licour ayen al langour yâ— palled may not be Blisful blomy blosome biding in bountee Thy mantel of mercy on our misery sprede And er wo awake wrap vs vnder thy wede O rody rosier flouring without spine Fountain all filthlesse as byrel currant clere Som drop of thy graceful dew to vs propine O light without nebule shining in thy sphere Medicine to mischeues pucel without pere Flame doun yâ— doleful light of thine influence Remembring thy seruants for thy magnificence Of all christen protectrice and tutele Retourne of exiled put in the proscripcion To hem that erren in the pathe of her sequele To wery forwandred tent and pauilion To faint and to fresh the pausacion Vnto vnresty both rest and remedy Fruitful to all tho that in her affie To hem that rennen thou art itenerary O blisfull brauy to knights of thy warre To wery werkmen she is diourne denary Mede vnto mariners that haue sailed farre Laureate croune streming as a starre To hem that put hem in palastre for thy sake Cours of her conquest thou white as any lake O mirth of martyrs sweter than Sitole Of Confessours also richest donatife Vnto virgines eternal Lauriole Afore all women hauing prerogarife Mother and maide both widow and wife Of all the world is none but thou alone Now sith thou may be succour to my mone O trustie turtle truefastest of all true O curteyse columbe replete of all mekenesse O Nightingale with thy notes newe O Popiniay pured with all clennesse O laueroke of loue singing with sweetnesse Phebus awaiting till on thy brest he light Vnder thy wing at domesday vs dight O ruby rubified in the passion Of thy sonne vs haue among in mind O stedfast diametre of duracion That few feres any time might thou find For none to his was founden half so kind O hardy herte O louing creature What was it but loue yâ— made thee so endure Semely saphre depe loupe blew ewage Stable as the loupe ewage of pitee This is to say the freshest of visage Thou louest unchaunged hem yâ— seruen thee And if offence or varying in hem bee Thou art ay redy vpon her wo to rue And
honour for aye Haue I here lost cleane this day Dead would I be alas my name Shall aye he more henceforth in shame And I dishonoured and repreued And neuer more shall be beleeued And made swich sorow that in trouth Him to behold it was great routh And so endured the dayes fiftene Till that the Lords on an euen Him come and told they ready were And shewed in few words there How and what wise they had purueyd For his estate and to him said That twenty thousand knights of name And fourty thousand without blame All come of noble ligine Togider in a compane VVere lodged on a riuers side Him and his pleasure there tabide The prince tho for joy vp rose And where they lodged were he goes VVithout more that same night And these his supper made to right And with them bode till it was dey And forthwith to take his journey Leuing the streight holding the large Till he came to his noble barge And when this prince this lusty knight VVith his people in armes bright VVas comen where he thought to pas And knew well none abiding was Behind but all were there present Forthwith anon all his intent He told them there and made his cries Through his ofte that day twise Commaunding euery liues wight There being present in his sight To be the morow on the riuage VVhere he begin would his viage The morrow come the cry was kept Few was there that night that slept But trussed and purueied for the morrow For fault of ships was all their sorrow For saue the barge and other two Of ships there saw I no mo Thus in their douths as they stood Waxing the sea comming the flood Was cried to ship goe euery wight Then was but hie that hie might And to the barge me thought echone They went without was left not one Horse male trusse ne bagage Salad speare gard brace ne page But was lodged and roome ynough At which shipping me thought I lough And gan to maruaile in my thought How euer such a ship was wrought For what people that can encrease Ne neuer so thicke might be the prease But all had roome at their will There was not one was lodged ill For as I trow my selfe the last Was one and lodged by the mast And where I looked I saw such rome As all were lodged in a towne Forth goth the ship said was the creed And on their knees for their good speed Downe kneeled euery wight a while And praied fast that to the yle They might come in safety The prince and all the company With worship and without blame Or disclaunder of his name Of the promise he should retourne Within the time he did sojourne In his lond biding his host This was their prayer least and most To keepe the day it might not been That he appointed had with the queen To returne without slouth And so assured had his trouth For which fault this prince this knight During the time slept not a night Such was his wo and his disease For doubt he should the queene displease Forth goeth the ship with such speed Right as the prince for his great need Desire would after his thought Till it vnto the yle him brought Where in hast vpon the sand He and his people tooke the land With herts glad and chere light Weening to be in heauen that night But or they passed a while Entring in toward that yle All clad in blacke with chere piteous A lady which neuer dispiteous Had be in all her life tofore With sory chere and hert to tore Vnto this prince where he gan ride Come and said abide abide And haue no hast but fast retourne No reason is ye here sojourne For your vntruth hath vs discried VVo worth the time we vs allied VVith you that are so soone vntrew Alas the day that we you knew Alas the time that ye were bore For all this lond by you is lore Accursed be he you hider brought For all your joy is turnd to nought Your acquaintance we may complaine VVhich is the cause of all our paine Alas madame quoth tho this knight And with that from his horse he light VVith colour pale and cheekes lene Alas what is this for to mene VVhat haue ye said why be ye wroth You to displease I would be loth Know ye not well the promesse I made haue to your princesse VVhich to perfourme is mine intent So mote I speed as I haue ment And as I am her very trew Without change or thought new And also fully her seruand As creature or man liuand May be to lady or princesse For she mine heauen and whole richesse Is and the lady of mine heale My worlds joy and all my weale What may this be whence coms this speech Tell me Madame I you beseech For fith the first of my liuing Was I so fearfull of nothing As I am now to heare you speake For doubt I feele mine heart breake Say on madame tell me your will The remnaunt is it good or ill Alas qd she that ye were bore For for your loue this land is lore The queene is dead and that is ruth For sorrow of your great vntruth Of two partes of the lusty rout Of ladies that were there about That wont were to talke and play Now are dead and cleane away And vnder earth tane lodging new Alas that euer ye were vntrew For when the time ye set was past The queene to counsaile sone in hast What was to doe and said great blame Your acquaintaunce cause would and shame And the ladies of their auise Prayed for need was to be wise In eschewing tales and songs That by them make would ill tongs And sey they were lightly conquest And prayed to a poore feast And foule had their worship weiued When so vnwisely they conceiued Their rich treasour and their heale Their famous name and their weale To put in such an auenture Of which the sclaunder euer dure Was like without helpe of appele Wherefore they need had of counsele For euery wight of them would say Their closed yle an open way Was become to euery wight And well appreued by a knight Which he alas without paysaunce Had soone acheued thobeisaunce All this was moued at counsell thrise And concluded daily twise That bet was die without blame Than lose the riches of their name Wherefore the deaths acquaintaunce They chese and left haue their pleasaunce For doubt to liue as repreued In that they you so soone beleeued And made their othes with one accord That eat ne drinke ne speake word They should neuer but euer weping Bide in a place without parting And vse their dayes in penaunce Without desire of allegeaunce Of which the truth anon con preue For why the queen forth with her leue Toke at them all that were present Of her defauts fully repent And died there withouten more Thus are we lost for euermore What should I more hereof reherse
maketh rehersaile That this lady so faire vpon to se Of whom the name was Isiphile To Adrastus told as ye may rede Lineally the stocke of her kinrede Sometime how she a kings doughter was Rehersing to him all the halâ—e caas First how that she out of her countree went Shortly for she wol nat assent To execute a conspiracion Made by the woman of that region A thing contrary agein all right That ech of hem vpon a certein night By one accord shall warely take kepe Fader brother and husbands in her slepe With kniues sharp and rasours kene Kitte her thortes in that mortall rene Vnto this fiâ—e â—s Bochas tell can In all that land be not found a man But slaine echoue to this conclusion That women might haue dominacion In that kingdome and reigne at liberte And on no parties interrupted be But for this lady passing debonaire To this matere was froward and contraire Kept her fader that he was not slawe But from the death preserued withdraw For which alas she fled Countree And of a Pirat taken in the See To king Ligurgus brought in all her dred And for her trouth and her womanhed To her be tooke his yong child to keepe Which in the herber she left alone to slepe When Tideus she brought to the well And by â—ason some bookes tell That this lady had sonnes two When that he and Hercules also Toward Colchos by her countree came For raccomplish the conquest of the Kam But who that list by and by to see The story holle of Isophilee Her fadres name of which also I write Though some sein he named was Thorite And some bookes Vermos eke him call But to know the auentures all Of this lady Isophile the faire So faithfull aye and inly debonaire Loke on the boke that Iohn Bachas made Whilom of women with Rhetoriques glade And direct by full souereigne stile To faire Iane the Queene of Cesile Rede there the Râ—brike of Isophile Of her trouth and of her bounte Full craftly compiled for her sake And when that she her leue hath take Of Adrastus homeward in her wey Tideus gan her to conuey To the Gardein till she is repeyred But now alas my matere is despeired Of all joy and of all wilfulnesse And destitute of all mirth and gladnesse For now of wâ— begin the sharpe houres For this lady hath found among the floures How the Child was slain of a foul Serpent in the Herber Her litel Childe turned vp the face Slain of a Serpent in the selfe place Her taile hurled with scales siluer shene The venim was so persing and so kene So mortall eke the perilous violence Caused alas through her long absence She was to slow homeward for to hie But now can she but wepe waile and crie Now can she nought but sigh compleine And wofully wring her honds tweine Dedly of looke pale of face and chere And gan to rende her gilt tresses clere And oft sithe gan to say alas I wofull wretch vnhappy in this caas What shall I do or whider shall I tourne For this the fine if I here sojourne I wote right well I may it not escape The piteous faâ—e that is for me shape Soccour is there none ne none other rede Liche to my desert but that I mote be dede For through my slouth and my negligence I haue alas done to great offence That my guilte I may it not excuse Shal to the king of treason me accuse Through my offence and slouth both two His sonne is ded and his heire also Which he loued more than al his good For treasour none so nigh his hert stood Nor was so depe graue in his courage That he is likely to fallen in a rage When it is so mine odious offence Reported be vnto his audience So importable shall be his heauinesse And well wot I in verray sothfastneise That when yâ— queen hath this thing aspied To mine excute it may not be denied I doubt it nat there geineth no pite Without respite she will auenged be On me alas as I haue deserued That from the death I may not be preserued Nother by bill nor by supplication For the rage of my transgression Requireth death and none other mede And thus alas she quaking in her drede None other helpe ne remedy can But dreint in sorow to the Grekes she ran Of hertely woo face and chere distreined And her cheekes with weping albereined In hie affray distraught and furious Tofore al thoste she came to Tideus Fell on knees and gan her compleint make And told pleinly that for the Grekes sake She must be ded and shortly in substaunce Rehersing him yâ— ground of her greuaunce First how by traines of a false serpent The child was flaine when she was absent And when that he her mischief vnderstood In what disjoint and perill that she stood Vnto her full knightly he behight To helpe and further all that euer he might Her pitious woo to stinten and appease And for to find vnto her disease Hasty comfort he went a full great paas To Adrastus and told him all the caas Of this vnhappy wofull auenture Beseeching him to doon his besy cure As he was bound of equite and right And eke aduertise and to haue a sight How she quitte her to Grekes here toforne That they were likely to haue ben lorne The succour void of her womanhede For which he must of knighthood take hede To remedien this vnhappy thing And Adrastus like a worthy king Taquite himselfe the story maketh mind To this lady will not be found vnkind Neither for coste ne for no trauaile But besy was in all that might auaile To her succour considred all things And by thauife of al the worthy kings Of Grekes lond they ben accorded thus Princes Dukes and with hem Tideus To hold her way and all at ones ride To Ligurgus dwelling there beside Of one entent if they may purchace In any wise for to get grace For this lady called Isophilee They would assay if it might be And to his palaice full roially built of stone The worthy Grekes came riding euerichone Euery lord full freshly on his stede And Ligurgus example of manlyhede Anon as he knew of her comming Tacquite himselfe like a gentill king Agein hem went to mete hem on the way Ful wel besein and in good aray Receiuing hem with a full knightly chere And to Adrastus said as ye shall here Cosin qd he and gan him to embrace Ye be welcome to your owne place Thanking hertely to your high noblesse That so goodly of your gentillesse Towards me ye list you to acquite Your selfe this day your Cosin to visite In this castell to take your lodging That neuer yet I was so glad of thing In all my life and thereto here my trouth And euermore there shall be no slouth That the chambres and the large toures Shall be deliuered to your herberioures That euery
Adrastus in full thrifty wise In the field his wardes can deuise As he that was of all deceipts ware And richly armed in his chaire Amphiorax came with his meinee Full renoumed of antiquitee And well expert bicause he was old And while that Greekes as I haue you told Were besiest her wardes to ordeine Mid of the feld befell a case sodeine Full vnhappy lothsome and odible For lich a thing that were inuisible This old bishop with horse and chare certein Disapered and no more was sein Onely of fate which no man can repell The yearth opened and he fell doune to hell How the Bishop Amphiorax fell down into Hell With all his folke that vpon him abode And sodainly the ground that he on rode Clased ayein and gidre shette That neuer after the Grekes with him met And thus the Deuill for his old outrages Liche his desert payed him his wages For he full lowe is descended doun Into the derke and blacke regioun Where that Pluto is crouned and istalled With his queene Proserpine icalled With whom this bishop hath made his mansion Perpetuelly as for his guerdon * Lo here the meede of Idolatry Of rites old and false Maumetry Lo what availen incantacions Of exorcismes and conjurisons What stoode in stede his Nigromancy Calculation or Astronomy What vailed him the heauenly mansions Diuerse aspects or constellacions * The end is not but sorrow and mischance Of hem that setten her vtter affiance In soch werkes supersticious Or trist on hem he is vngracious Record I take shortly for to tell Of this bishop sonken doune to hell Whose wofull end doun in euery cost Such a rumour hath made in the host That the noise of this vncouth thing Is ironne and come vnto the king How this vengeance is vnwarely fall And he anon made a Trompet call All his people out of the field again And euerichone assembled vpon a plain For the king and also round him about Euerich man of his life in doubt Full pitiously gan to sorrow and loure Least that yâ— ground hem al would deuoure And swelwen hem in his derke caue And they ne conne no recure hem to saue For neither force nor manhood doth auaile In such mischeefe the value of a maile For he that wisest and could most To search and seeke throughout the host Amphiorax when he least wend To hell is sonken and coud him not defend To him the time vnknowne and vnwist In whom whylome was all the Greeks trist Her whole comfort and whole affiaunce But all at ones for this suddaine chaunce And this mischeefe they gan hem to dispeire Home to Greece that they will repeire This was the purpose of hem euerichone And on the walles of Thebes lay her fone Rejoysing hem of this vnhappy vre Sowning thereby greatly to recure And on her toures as they loken out They on Greeks enuiously gan to shout And of despite and great enmitee Bad hem fooles gone home to her countree Sith they han lost her comfort and succour Her false Prophete and her Diuinour Wherthrough her party greatly is empeired And in this wise the Grekes despeired Dempte plainly by tokens euident This case was fall by some Enchantment By Witchcraft and by Sorcery Again which may be no remedy Trusty defence helpe ne succour And when Adrastus herd this clamour He besie was againe this perturbance To prouide some manere cheuisance And to him calleth soch counsail as he wist For life or death that he might trist Requiring hem but in words fewe In this mischief her motion to shewe And declare by good auisement What to Grekes were most expedient To remedien and make no delay The vncouth noise and the great affray That Grekes made with clamor importune And now and now euer in one contune And they that were most manly and wise Shortly saied it were a cowardise The high emprise that they haue vndertake For dred of death so sodainly to forsake It were to hem perpetuelly a shame And after hindring to the Grekes name And better it were to euery warreour Manly to die with worship and honour Than like a coward with the life endure * For ones shamed hard is to recure His name ayein of what estate he bee And sith that Grekes of old antiquitee As of knighthood who so list take heed Been so famous and so worthy of deed If now of new the shining of her fame Eclipsed were with any spot of blame It were a thing vncouth for to here Of whose renoun the beames yet been clere Through all the world where that they haue pased And be not yet derked ne defaced By no report neither on sea nor lond Thing to forsake that they tooke on hond And by ensample of onr progenitours That sometime were so manly conquerours Tofore that we into Grece wende Of thing begonne let us make an end And part not nor seuere from this toun Till it be brought to destruction Walles toures and crestes enbattailed And for warre strongly apparailed Be first doune beate that nothing be sein But all togider with the yearth plein Below laied er that we resort That afterward men may of us report That we began we knightly haue acheued Vpon our fone with worship vnrepreued This was the counsail shortly and thauise Of the Grekes that manly were and wise That neuer afore marked were with blame And specially such as dred shame And fully cast what fortune euer ride On her purpose to the end abide That on no part her honour not appall And to this counsail Grekes one and all Be condescended and after best redde In stede of him that was so late dedde Amphiorax buried deepe in hell That coud whilom to the Grekes tell Of things hid how it should fine aforne In steed of whom now they haue him lorne They casten hem wisely to purchace Some prudent man to occupy his place That in soch thing might hem most auaile Through mistery of his diuinaile By craft of sorte or of Prophecie If any such they couden out espie Emong hem all her purpose to attaine As I find they haue chosen twaine How the Greeks chosen a new Divinour in steed of Amphiorax Most renowned of hem euerichone And Menalippus called was that one And Tredimus eke that other hight And for he had most fauour in her sight This Tredimus was chosen and preferred And in her choice Greekes haue not erred For whilome he learned his emprise Of his Maister Amphiorax the wise And was disciple vnder his doctrine And of entent that he shall termine Vnto Greekes things that shall fall As a Bishop mitred in his stall They done for him many an vncouth wise In the temple to Gods Sacrifice And thus confirmed and stabled in his See A few daies stood in his degree After her Maister with full great honour Of Greekes chose to be successour And all this time in story as it is told Full great mischief of hunger thurst cold And of Thebans
Dragon High in the temple that men might seene And Iocasta the infortunate Queene Her sonnes death sore gan complaine And also eke her young doughters tweine Both Imeine and Antigoine Crien and weepe that pity was to see But to her sorrowes there was no refute And thus the city bare and destitute Hauing no wight to gouerne hem ne guy For dead and slaine was all her cheualry And no wight left almost in the toun To reigne on hem by successioun But for they saw and tooken hede Without this that they had an head In the city they may not dure long * For though it so be yâ— commons be strong With multitude and haue no gouernaile Of an head ful lite it may auaile Therefore they haue vnto her succour Ichosen hem a new gouernour How Creon the old tyrant ychosen was to be King of Thebes An old tyrant that called was Creon Full acceptable to hem euerychone And crowned him without more letting To reigne in Thebes and to been her king Although he had no title by descent But by free choice made in Parlement And thereto him like as it is found By her ligeaunce of new they were bound For to be true while the city stood To him only with body and with good Thus they were sworn sured euerichone And he againward to save hem fro her fone And hem defend with all his full might And mainteine hem in all manner right This was the accord as in sentement And in this while hath Adrastus sent From the siege of Thebes the city A wounded knight home to his country Through all Grece plainly to declare All the slaughter and the euil fare Of which Grekes right as it is fall And how that he hath lost his Lords all At more mischeefe than any man can mouth And when this thing was in Grece couth First to Argiue and to Deiphile And to the Ladies eke in the countre And of Prouinces abouten adjacent They came downe all by one assent Worthy Quenes and with hem Duchesses And other eke that called were Countesses How all the Ladies of Graece arrayed hem toward Thebes And all the ladies and women of degree Been assembled in Arge the citee Like as I rede and all in clothes blake That to behold the sorrow that they make It were a death to any man aliue And if I should by and by discriue Her tender weeping and her woful souns Her complaints and lamentatiouns Her oft swouning with faces dead and pale Thereof I might make a new tale Almost a day you to occupie And as mine authour doth clerely certifie Throughout all Grece from all regiouns Out of cities and royal touns Came all the ladies and women of estate Full heauy cheared and disconsolate To this assembly toforne as I you told In purpose fully her journey for to hold Toward Thebes they sorrowfull creatures There to bewaile her wofull auentures Tacquite hemselfe of trouth womanhead To her Lords which in field lay dead And as the story liketh to declare All this journey they went on foot bare Like as they had gone on pilgrimage In token of mourning barbed the visage Wimpled echone in burnet weeds Not in chaires drawne forth with steeds Nor on palfreies blacke neither white Like as mine author liketh to endite To holden her way but barefoot foorth they went So faithfully euerychone they ment Through heauinesse defaced of her hue And as I find they weren all true Now was not that a wonder for to see So many true out of o countree At ones gadered in a companie And faithfull all bookes cannot lie Both in her port and inward in mening Vnto my dome it was an vncouth thing Emong a thousand women or tweine Not to find one that coud in heart feine It was a maruaile not oft seene toforne * For selde in fields groweth any corne But if some weed spring vp there emong Men allay Wines when they be too strong But her trouth was meint with none allaies They were so true found at all assaies And they ne stint upon her journey Till that they come there they would be Where Adraitus written as I finde Lay in his tent all of colour Inde And greatly meruailed when that he beheld The number of hem spred throgh al yâ— field Clad all in blacke and barefoot euerychone Out of his tent he dressed him anone Vpon his hand the King Campaneus Full trist in heart and face right pitous Againe the women forth they went in fere And to behold the wofull heavy chere The dolefull cries also when they met The sorrowful sighes in her breasts shet The teares new distilling on her faces And so swouning in many sundry places When they her Lords aliue not ne found But in yâ— field throgh girt with many a wound Lay straught vpright plainely to endite With deadly eyen tourned vp the white Who made sorrow or felt her heart riue For her Lord but the faire Argiue Who can now weepe but Deiphilee Tideus for she ne might see Whose constreints were so fell and kene That Adrastus might not susteine To behold the Ladies so compleine Wishing his heart coruen were in tweine How the old cursed Creon will not suffer the bodies neither to be brent nor buried And yet alas both euen and morow O thing there was that doubled all her sorow That old Creon fader of fellony Ne would suffer through his tiranny The dead bodies be buried neither brent But with beasts and hounds to be rent He made hem all upon an heape be laid Whereof the women thrist and euil apaid For very dole as it was no wonder Her herts felt almost riue asunder And as my master Chaucer list to endite All clad in blacke with her wimples white With great honour and due reuerence In the Temple of the goddesse Clemence They bode the space of a fourthnight Till Theseus the noble worthy knight Duke of Athenes with his cheualry Repaired home out of Feminy And with him led full faire vpon to seene Through his manhood Ipolita the Queene And her sister called Emely And when these women first gan espy The worthy Duke as he came riding King Adrastus hem all conueying The women brought vnto his presence Which him besought to yeue hem audience And all at ones swouning in the place Full humbly besoughten him of grace To rew on hem her harmes to redresse But if ye list to see the gentillesse Of Theseus and how he hath him borne If ye remember as ye haue heard toforne Well rehearsed at Depford in the vale In the beginning of the knights tale How the final destruction of Thebes is compendiously rehearsed in the Knights tale First how that he when he herd hem speke For very routh he felt his heart breke And her sorrowes when he gan aduart From his courser downe anone he start Hem comforting in full good entent And in his armes he hem all vp hent The Knights tale rehearsen euerydele From
shew that Tideus and Polimite are combined in Friendship In the second Tideus's Message is taught and the Treacheries disclosed The third doth speak of Harmonia and of Amphiaraus who hid himself The fourth setteth out the Battels of the seven Kings The fifth noteth out the outrage of the Women of Lemnos toucheth the Adder and the Death of Archemorus In the sixth the games are declared In the seventh Amphiaraus the wise man is no more seen In the eighth Tideus the stay of the Greeks is slain In the ninth Hippomedon and Parthenope die In the tenth Capanâ—us in scaling the Walls is slain In the eleventh Etteocles and Polynice kill one another The twelfth setteth out Adrastus their hard case bewailing and Thebes burning Benedicite Praise ye Benedictus Blessed Cor meum eructavit My heart hath belched out Consummatum est It is finished Cum iniquis deputatus est He was reckoned among the wicked Consumere me vis Wilt thou destroy me Cur me dereliquisti Why hast thou forsaken me Coeli enarram The Heavens declare Corpus Domini The Lords Body De septem peccatis mortalibus Of the seven deadly Sins De Invidia Of Envy De Ira Of Anger De Accidia Of Accidy De Avaritia Of Covetousness De Luxuria Of Letchery Dolorum meum My Grief Domine Laba c. O Lord open my Lips Domine Dominus noster O Lord our God Domine est Terra The Earth is the Lords Dominus regnavit The Lord is King Explicit secunda pars poenitentiae sequitur pars tertia Here endeth the second part of Repentance and here followeth the third Fuerunt mihi Lachrimae me in Desertâ— Panes Die ac nocte My Tears were my Bread in the Wilderness Day and Night Faciem tuam abscondis Dost thou hide thy Face Jesus Nazarenus Jesus of Nazareth Irasâ—imini nolite peccare Be angry but sin not In nomine Jesu In the Name of Jesus In manus â—uas Into thy hands Jube Domine Command Lord. Jubilate Rejoyce Ignotum per ignotius One Obscurity by a more Obscurity Libera me Save me Laudate Praise ye Mulier est Hominis Confusio A Woman is Mans Destruction Non est Dolor sicut Dolor meus There is no Grief like to mine Non est aliud Nomen sub Coelo c. There is no other Name under Heaven O admirabile O wonderful O Deus Deus meus O God my God Pone me juxta te Set me by thee Qui Gladio percutit He that striketh with the Sword Quia tulerunt Dominum meum Because they have taken away my Lord. Quid mali feci tibi What harm have I done thee Quia non est qui consoletur me Because there is none to comfort me Quod dilexi multum Because I love much Quod sic repente praecipitas me That thou doest so suddenly cast me down Radix omnium malorum est Cupiditas Covetousness is the root of all evil Remedium contra Peccatum acidiae An help against the sin of wanhope Remedium contra Peccatum Avaritiae An help against the Sin of Covetousness Remedium contra Peccatum Luxuriae An help against the Sin of Lechery Sanctus Deus Holy God Sanctissimus Most holy Sequitur de Gula Concerning Gluttony Sequitur secunda pars Poenitentiae Here followeth the second part of Repentance Suspensus in Patibulo Hung upon the Cross Sed non respondes mihi But thou dost not answer me Sagittae tuae infixae sunt mihi Thy Arrows have pierced me sore Solum superest Sepulchrum There only remaineth a Grave Tanquam Cera liquescens Like melting Wax Tuam animam pertransibit Gladius The Sword shall pierce thy Soul Trahe me post te Draw me after thee Tu autem And thou Te Deum amoris Thee the God of Love Turpe lucrum Filthy Gain Vbi posuerunt eum Where have they laid him Velociter exaudi me Speedily hear me Venite Come ye The French in Chaucer translated A Moi qui voy To me which see Bien moneste Well admonished Bien loialement Well and dutifully C'est sans dire c. It is without saying c. Don vient la destinie From whom cometh destiny En diu est In God is Entierement vostre Yours wholly Estreignes moy de coeur joyeux Strain me with a joyful heart Et je scay bien que ce n'est pas mon tort And I know well that it is not my hurt Jay tout perdu mon temps mon labeur I have altogether lost my Time and Labour Jay en vous toute ma fiance I repose all my trust in you Je vouldray I will Je vous dy I say to you Je vous dy sans doute I say to you without doubt La belle dame sans mercy The fair Lady without mercy L'ardant espoir en mon coeur point est mort d'avoir l'amour de celle que je desire The earnest hope within my heart is not dead to have the love of her whom I desire Meulx un One best in heart Onques puis leuer I can never rise Or à mon coeur Now to my Heart Or à mon coeur ce qui vouloy Now to my Heart that which I would Pleures pour moy s'il vou plaist amoreux Weep for me if you please lovely Lady Plus ne pourroy I can do no more Qui est la Who is there Qui bien aime tard oublie He that loveth well is slow to forget Sans ose je dire Without shall I be bold to say Sans que jamais c. Without ever c. Sans ose je ou diray But dare I or shall I say Si douce est la marguerite So sweet is the daisie son mon joly coeur endormi Her lively Heart and mine fallen asleep Soyes asseurè Be ye assured Sâ—s la feville devers moy Upon the Leaf towards me Tant que je puis As much as I can Tant me fait mal departir de ma dame It grieveth me so much to depart from my Lady Vn sans changer One without changing The Authors cited by G. Chaucer in his Works by Name declared ALhazen an Arabian wrote seven Books of Perspectives Arnoldus de nova villa did write the Book called Rosarium Philosophorum Anselmus Bishop of Canterbury a great Writer in Divinity 1061. Agathon a Philosopher of Samos did write Histories Augustine that famous Doctor and Bishop wrote more Books than ever did any in the Church of the Latines Avicen a Physician of Sevil wrote a multitude of Books Averroys a Physician of Corduba floruit 1149. Albumasar alias Japhar a great Astrologian wrote of sundry things in that Art Aesopus a Philosopher born in Phrygia in the days of Croesus King of Lydia to whom he dedicated the Fables which he wrote Aristotle a famous Philosopher Scholar to Plato and Master to King Alexander He was 345 years before Christ Ambrose the worthy Bishop of Millain in the year of our Lord 373. Alcabutius
as they may as well thy body as thy house defend But certes to mouen warre or to doen suddainly vengeaunce we may not deeme in so little time that it were profitable wherefore we aske leiser and space to haue deliberation in this cause to deme for the common prouerbe saith thus * He that sone deemeth sone shall repent And eke men saine * Thilke Iudge is wise that sone vnderstondeth a matter iudgeth by leiser * For all be it tarriyng be noifull algate it is not to be reproued in yeuing of iudgement ne in vengeance taking when it is sufficient reasonable And that shewed our lord Iesu Christ by ensample for when the woman was taken in auoutrie and was brought in his presens to knowen with shuld be doen of her person all be it that he wist wel himself with he would answere yet ne would he nor answere suddainly but he would haue deliberation in the ground he wrote twise by this cause we asken deliberation and we shall then by the grace of God counsaile you that thing that shall be profitable Vp stert then the yong folke at ones and the most part of that companie haue scorned this old wise man and begun to make noise said * Right so as whiles that iron is hot men should smite right so men should wreken her wrongs while that they been fresh new and with loud voyce they cried warre warre Vp rose then one of the old wise with his hand made countenance that they should holden hem still and yeuen him audience Lordings qd he There is full many a man that crieth warre warre that wote full lite what warre amounteth * Warre at his beginning hath so great an entring so large that every wight may enter when him liketh and lightly find warre but certes what end thereof shall fall it is not lightly to know When that warre is once begun there is ful many a child vnborne of his mother that shal sterue yong because of thilke warre other els liue in sorrow or dien in wretchednesse And therefore or that any warre bee begon men must haue great counsaile and good deliberation And whan this olde man wende to enforten his tale by reason wel nie all at ones begon for to rise for to breaken his tale bidden him full oft his wordes to abredge * For certes hee that preacheth to hem that list not heare his wordes his sermon hem annoieth For Iesus Sirake sayeth that weeping in musick is a noious thing This is as much to say as much auaileth it to speake beforne folk to which his speech anoieth as it is for to singen before hem that weepe And when this wise man saw that him wanted audience all shamefast he set him adown ayen For Salomon saith There as thou mayest not have audience enforce thee not to speake I see well qd this wise man that the common Proverbe is such * That good counsail wanteth when it is most need Yet had this Melibeus in his counsaile many folke that privily in his eare counsailed him certain things counsailed him the contrary in general audience When Melibeus had heard that the greatest part of his counsaile were accorded that he should make war anon he consented to her counsailing and fully affirmed her sentence Then Dame Prudence when that she saw her husbonde shope him for to awreke him on his enemies and to begin warre shee in full humble wise when shee saw her time sayed to him these words My lorde qd she I you beseech as heartily as I dare or can ne halfe you not too fast and for all guerdons yeue me audience For Peter Alphons saieth * Whoso doeth to thee good or harme haste thee not to quite it for in this wise thy friend woll abide thine enemie shall the lenger liue in dread The prouerbe saieth * He hasteth well that wisely can abide And in wicked hast is no profite This Melibe answered to his wife Prudence I purpose not qd he to werke by thy counsaile for many causes and reasons for certes euery wight would hold mee then a foole This is to say if I for thy counsailing would change things that been ordeined and affirmed by so many wise Secondly I say that all women beene wicked and none good of hem all For of a thousand men saith Salomon I found one good man But certes of al women found I neuer none And also certes if I gouerned mee by thy counsaile it should seeme that I had yeue thee ouer mee the maistrie and God forbid that it so were For Iesus Sirake saieth that if the wife haue maistrie shee is contrarious to her husbond And Salomon saieth * Neuer in thy life to thy wife ne to thy childe ne to thy friend ne yeue no power ouer thy selfe for better it were that thy children aske of thee things that hem needeth than thy selfe to be in the hands of thy children And also if I woll werche by thy counsail certes my counsail must be somtime secrete till it were time that it must bee knowen and this ne may not bee if I should be counsailed by thee When dame Prudence full debonairly and with great patience had heard all that her husbonde liked for to say then asked she of him licence for to speake saied in this wise My lord qd she as to your first reason it may lightly been answerd * For I say that it is no follie to chaunge counsaile when the thing is changed or els when the thing seemeth otherwise than it seemed afore And moreouer I say though that yee haue sworne behight to performe your emprise by just cause ye doe it not men should not say therefore ye were a lyer forsworn For the booke saieth * That the wise man maketh no lesing when hee turneth his corage for the better And albeit that your emprise bee established and ordeined by great multitude of folke yet dare you not accomplish thilke ordinance but you liketh for the trouth of things the profit been rather founden in few folke that been wise and full of reason than by great multitude of folke there every man crieth and clattereth what him liketh soothly such multitude is not honest And as to the second reason whereas ye say * That all women ben wicked save your grace Certes ye despise all women in this wise he that all despiseth as saith the booke al displeaseth And Senecke saith * That who so woll haue Sapience shall no man dispraise but he shall gladly teach the science that he can without presumption or pride and such things as he nought ne can hee shall not beene ashamed to learne hem and to enquire of lesse folke than himselfe And that ther hath ben many a good woman may lightly be prooued for certes sir our Lord Iesu Christ nold neuer han discended to be borne of a woman if all women had be wicked And after that for the great
Shewing the ships there without Tho gan the aged lady weepe And said alas our joy on sleepe Soone shall be brought ye long or night For we discried been by this knight For certes it may none other be But he is of yond companie And they be come him here to seche And with that word her failed speche VVithout remedy we be destroid Full oft said all and gan conclude Holy at once at the last That best was shit their yates fast And arme them all in good langage As they had done of old vsage And of fayre wordes make their shot This was their counsaile and the knot And other purpose tooke they none But armed thus forth they gone Toward the walles of the yle But or they come there long while They met the great lord of boue That called is the god of Loue That them auised with such chere Right as he with them angry were Auailed them not their walls of glasse This mighty lord let not to passe The shutting of their yates fast All they had ordained was but wast For when his ships had found land This lord anon with bow in hand Into this yle with huge prease Hied fast and would not cease Till he came there the knight lay Of Queene ne lady by the way Tooke he no heed but forth past And yet all followed at the last And when he came where lay the knight Well shewed he he had great might And forth the Queene called anone And all the ladies euerichone And to them said is not thus routh To see my seruaunt for his trouth Thus leane thus sicke and in this paine And wot not vnto whom to plaine Saue onely one without mo Which might him heale and is his fo And with that word his heauy brow He shewed the Queene and looked row This mighty lord forth tho anone With o looke her faults echone He can her shew in little speech Commaunding her to be his leech Withouten more shortly to say He thought the Queene soone should obay And in his hond he shoke his bow And said right soone he would be know And for she had so long refused His seruice and his lawes not vsed He let her wit that he was wroth And bent his bow and forth he goth A pace or two and euen there A large draught vp to his eare He drew and with an arrow ground Sharpe and new the Queene a wound He gaue that piersed vnto the hart Which afterward full sore gan smart And was not whole of many yeare And euen with that be of good cheare My knight qd he I will thee hele And thee restore to parfite wele And for each paine thou hast endured To haue two joys thou art cured And forth he past by the rout With sober cheare walking about And what he said I thought to heare Well wist he which his seruaunts were And as he passed anon he fond My lady and her tooke by the hond And made her chere as a Goddes And of beaute called her princes Of bounty eke gaue her the name And said there was nothing blame In her but she was vertuous Sauing she would no pity vse Which was the cause that he her sought To put that far out of her thought And sith she had whole richesse Of womanhead and friendlinesse He said it was nothing fitting To void pity his owne legging And gan her preach and with her play And of her beauty told her aie And said she was a creature Of whom the name should endure And in bookes full of pleasaunce Be put for euer in remembraunce And as me thought more friendly Vnto my lady and goodlely He spake than any that was there And for the appuls I trow it were That she had in possession Wherefore long in procession Many a pace arme vnder other He welke and so did with none other But what he would commaund or say Forthwith needs all must obay And what he desired at the lest Of my lady was by request And when they long together had beene He brought my lady to the Queene And to her said so God you speed Shew grace consent that is need My lady tho full conningly Right well auised and womanly Downe gan to kneele vpon the floures VVhich Aprill nourished had with shoures And to this mighty lord gan say That pleaseth you I woll obay And me restraine from other thought As ye woll all thyng shall be wrought And with that word kneeling she quoke That mighty lord in armes her tooke And said you haue a seruaunt one That truer liuing is there none VVherefore good were seeing his trouth That on his paines ye had routh And purpose you to heare his speech Fully auised him to leech For of one thyng ye may be sure He will be yours while he may dure And with that word right on his game Me thought he lough and told my name VVhich was to me maruaile and fere That what to do I nist there Ne whether was me bet or none There to abide or thus to gone For well wend I my lady wold Imagen or deme that I had told My counsaile whole or made complaint Vnto that lord that mighty saint So verily each thyng vnsought He said as he had knowne my thought And told my trouth and mine vnease Bet than I couth haue for mine ease Though I had studied all a weke Well wist that lord that I was seke And would be leched wonder faine No man me blame mine was the paine And when this lord had all said And long with my lady plaid She gan to smile with spirit glade This was the answere that she made Which put me there in double peine That what to do ne what to seine Wist I not ne what was the best Ferre was my heart then fro his rest For as I thought that smiling signe Was token that the heart encline Would to requests reasonable Because smiling is fauorable To euery thing that shall thriue So thought I tho anon bliue That wordlesse answere in no toun Was tane for obligatioun Ne called surety in no wise Amongst them that called been wise Thus was I in a joyous dout Sure and vnsurest of that rout Right as mine heart thought it were So more or lesse wexe my fere That if one thought made it wele Another shent it euery dele Till at the last I couth no more But purposed as I did before To serue truly my liues space Awaiting euer the yeare of grace VVhich may fall yet or I sterue If it please her that I serue And serued haue and woll do euer For thyng is none that me is leuer Than her seruice whose presence Mine heauen is whole and her absence An hell full of diuers paines VVhych to the death full oft me straines Thus in my thoughts as I stood That vnneth felt I harme ne good I saw the Queene a little paas Come where this mighty lord was And kneeled downe in presence there Of all the ladies
that there were VVith sober countenaunce auised In few words that well suffised And to this lord anon present A bill wherein whole her entent VVas written and how she besought As he knew euery will and thought That of his godhead and his grace He would forgyue all old trespace And vndispleased be of time past For she would euer be stedfast And in his seruice to the death Vse euery thought while she had breath And sight and wept and said no more VVithin was written all the sore At whych bill the lord gan smyle And said he would within that yle Be lord and syre both east and west And cald it there his new conquest And in great councell tooke the Queene Long were the tales them betweene And ouer her bill he read thrise And wonder gladly gan deuise Her features faire and her visage And bad good thrift on that Image And sayd he trowed her compleint Should after cause her be corseint And in his sleeue he put the bill Was there none that knew his will And forth he walke apace about Beholding all the lusty rout Halfe in a thought with smiling chere Till at the last as ye shall here He turned vnto the Queene ageine And said to morne here in this pleine I woll ye be and all yours That purposed ben to weare flours Or of my lusty colour vse It may not be to you excuse Ne none of yours in no wise That able be to my seruise For as I said haue here before I will be lord for euermore Of you and of this yle and all And of all yours that haue shall Ioy peace ease or in pleasaunce Your liues vse without noysaunce Here will I in state be seene And turned his visage to the Queene And you giue knowledge of my will And a full answere of your bill Was there no nay ne words none But very obeisaunt seemed echone Queene and other that were there VVell seemed it they had great fere And there tooke lodging euery night VVas none departed of that night And some to read old Romances Them occupied for their pleasances Some to make verelaies and laies And some to other diuerse plaies And I to me a Romance tooke And as I reading was the booke Me thought the sphere had so run That it was rising of the Sun And such a prees into the piaine Assemble gone that with great paine One might for other go ne stand Ne none take other by the hand VVithouten they distourbed were So huge and great the prees was there And after that within two houres This mighty lord all in floures Of diuers colours many a paire In his estate vp in the aire VVell two fathom as his hight He set him there in all their sight And for the Queene and for the Knight And for my lady and euery wight In hast he sent so that neuer one VVas there absent but come echone And when they thus assembled were As ye haue heard me say you here VVithout more tarrying on hight There to be seene of euery wight Vp stood among the prees aboue A counsayler seruaunt of loue VVhich seemed well of great estate And shewed there how no debate Owe ne goodly might be vsed In gentilnesse and be excused VVherefore he said his lords will VVas euery wight there should be still And in pees and one accord And thus commaunded at a word And can his tongue to swiche language Turne that yet in all mine age Heard I neuer so conningly Man speake ne halfe so faithfully For euery thing he said there Seemed as it insealed were Or approued for very trew Swiche was his cunning language new And well according to his chere That where I be me thinke I here Him yet alway when I mine one In any place may be alone First con he of the lusty yle All thastate in little while Rehearse and wholly euery thing That caused there his lords comming And euery we le and euery wo And for what cause ech thing was so VVell shewed he there in easie speech And how the sicke had need of leech And that whole was and in grace He told plainly why each thing was And at the last he con conclude Voided euery language rude And said that prince that mighty lord Or his departing would accord All the parties there present And was the fine of his entent VVitnesse his presence in your sight VVhich sits among you in his might And kneeled downe withouten more And not o word spake he more Tho gan this mighty lord him dresse VVith cheare auised to do largesse And said vnto this knight and me Ye shall to joy restored be And for ye haue ben true ye twaine I graunt you here for euery paine A thousand joys euery weeke And looke ye be no lenger seeke And both your ladies lo hem here Take ech his own beeth of good chere Your happy day is new begun Sith it was rising of the sun And to all other in this place I graunt wholly to stand in grace That serueth truely without slouth And to auaunced be by trouth Tho can this knight and I downe kneele VVening to doe wonder wele Seeing O Lord your great mrrcy Vs hath enriched so openly That we deserue may neuer more The least part but euermore VVith soule and body truely serue You and yours till we sterue And to their Ladies there they stood This knight that couth so mikel good VVent in hast and I also Ioyous and glad were we tho And also rich in euery thought As he that all hath and ought nought And them besought in humble wise Vs taccept to their seruice And shew vs of their friendly cheares VVhich in their treasure many yeares They kept had vs to great paine And told how their seruants twaine VVere and would be and so had euer And to the death chaunge would we neuer Ne doe offence ne thinke like ill But fill their ordinance and will And made our othes fresh new Our old seruice to renew And wholly theirs for euermore VVe there become what might we more And well awaiting that in slouth VVe made ne fault ne in our trouth Ne thought not do I you ensure VVith our will where we may dure This season past againe an eue This Lord of the Queene tooke leue And said he would hastely returne And at good leisure there sojourne Both for his honour and for his ease Commaunding fast the knight to please And gaue his statutes in papers And ordent diuers officers And forth to ship the same night He went and soone was out of sight And on the morrow when the aire Attempred was and wonder faire Early at rising of the sun After the night away was run Playing vs on the riuage My Lady spake of her voyage And said she made small journies And held her in straunge countries And forthwith to the Queene went And shewed her wholly her entent And tooke her leaue with cheare weeping That pitty was to see that