Walter William Skeat

“ But 200
certes, to the harmes that I have, ther bitydeth yit this
encrees of harm, that the gessinge and the Iugement of moche
folk ne looken no-thing to the desertes of thinges, but only
to the aventure of fortune; and iugen that only swiche thinges
ben purveyed of god, whiche that temporel welefulnesse commendeth. 205
Glose. ”

“ Certes, I wolde that
som other fredom mighte ben hoped. I wolde thanne han 130
answered by the wordes of a man that highte Canius; for whan
he was accused by Gaius Cesar, Germeynes sone, that he
(Canius) was knowinge and consentinge of a coniuracioun
y-maked ayeins him (sc. Gaius) , this Canius answerede thus:
"Yif I hadde wist it, thou haddest nat wist it." In which thing 135
sorwe hath nat so dulled my wit, that I pleyne only that shrewede
folk aparailen felonies ayeins vertu; but I wondre greetly how
that they may performe thinges that they hadde hoped for to
don. ”

“ Tho seide she thus: 'Whether wenestow,' quod she, 'that
this world be governed by foolish happes and fortunous, or
elles that ther be in it any governement of resoun?'
'Certes,' quod I, 'I ne trowe nat in no manere, that so
certein thinges sholde be moeved by fortunous fortune; but I 10
wot wel that god, maker and mayster, is governour of his werk.
Ne never nas yit day that mighte putte me out of the sothnesse
of that sentence.'
'So is it,' quod she ”

“ Ne forsweringe 30
ne the fraude, covered and kembd with a fals colour,
ne anoyeth nat to shrewes; the whiche shrewes, whan hem list
to usen hir strengthe, they reioysen hem to putten under hem
the sovereyne kinges, whiche that poeple with-outen noumbre
dreden. 35
O thou, what so ever thou be that knittest alle bondes of
thinges, loke on thise wrecchede erthes; we men that ben nat
a foule party, but a fayr party of so grete a werk, we ben
tormented in this see of fortune. ”

“ I receive peyne
of fals felonye for guerdon of verray vertu. And what open
confessioun of felonye hadde ever Iuges so acordaunt in crueltee,
that is to seyn, as myn accusinge hath, that either errour of mannes 165
wit or elles condicioun of Fortune, that is uncertein to alle mortal
folk, ne submittede some of hem, that is to seyn, that it ne enclynede
som Iuge to han pitee or compassioun? ”

“ And for as moche
as the peyne of the accusacioun aiuged biforn ne sholde nat
sodeinly henten ne punisshen wrongfully Albin, a counseiller of
Rome, I putte me ayeins the hates and indignaciouns of the
accusor Ciprian. Is it nat thanne y-nough y-seyn, that I have 75
purchased grete discordes ayeins my-self? But I oughte be the
more assured ayeins alle othre folk (s. Romayns) , that for the love
of rightwisnesse I ne reserved never no-thing to my-self to hem-ward
of the kinges halle, sc. officers, by the whiche I were the more
siker. ”

“ In the nethereste hem or bordure of thise clothes men redden, 20
y-woven in, a Grekissh P, that signifyeth the lyf Actif; and aboven
that lettre, in the heyeste bordure, a Grekissh T, that signifyeth
the lyf Contemplatif. And bi-twixen these two lettres ther weren
seyn degrees, nobly y-wroght in manere of laddres; by whiche
degrees men mighten climben fro the nethereste lettre to the 25
uppereste. Natheles, handes of some men hadde corven that cloth
by violence and by strengthe; and everiche man of hem hadde
born awey swiche peces as he mighte geten. ”

“ Forsothe,
thise ben tho that with thornes and prikkinges of talents or
affecciouns, whiche that ne ben no-thing fructefyinge nor
profitable, destroyen the corn plentevous of fruites of resoun; 40
for they holden the hertes of men in usage, but they ne delivere
nat folk fro maladye. But if ye Muses hadden withdrawen fro
me, with your flateryes, any uncunninge and unprofitable man, as
men ben wont to finde comunly amonges the poeple, I wolde
wene suffre the lasse grevously ”

“ Thou seidest eek, by the mouth of the same Plato, that it was
a necessarie cause, wyse men to taken and desire the governaunce 25
of comune thinges, for that the governements of citees, y-left
in the handes of felonous tormentours citizenes, ne sholde nat
bringe in pestilence and destruccioun to gode folk. And therfor
I, folwinge thilke auctoritee (sc. Platonis) , desired to putten forth
in execucioun and in acte of comune administracioun thilke 30
thinges that I hadde lerned of thee among my secree resting-whyles. ”

“ And whan she say thise poetical Muses aprochen aboute my
bed, and endytinge wordes to my wepinges, she was a litel
amoved, and glowede with cruel eyen. 'Who,' quod she, 'hath
suffred aprochen to this syke man thise comune strompetes of
swich a place that men clepen the theatre? The whiche nat 35
only ne asswagen nat hise sorwes with none remedies, but they
wolden feden and norisshen hem with swete venim. ”

“ Ne
the wey of thonder-light, that is wont to smyten heye toures, ne
shal nat moeve that man. Wher-to thanne, o wrecches, drede ye
tirauntes that ben wode and felonous with-oute any strengthe? 10
Hope after no-thing, ne drede nat; and so shaltow desarmen
the ire of thilke unmighty tiraunt. But who-so that, quakinge,
dredeth or desireth thing that nis nat stable of his right, that
man that so doth hath cast awey his sheld and is remoeved fro
his place, and enlaceth him in the cheyne with the which he may 15
ben drawen.
Me. IV. 2. C. leuynge; A. lyuyng. // Both wierdes ”

“ But
for that manye tribulaciouns of affecciouns han assailed thee, and
sorwe and ire and wepinge to-drawen thee dyversely; as thou art
now feble of thought, mightier remedies ne shullen nat yit touchen
thee, for whiche we wol usen somdel lighter medicines: so that 50
thilke passiouns that ben woxen harde in swellinge, by perturbaciouns
flowing in-to thy thought, mowen wexen esy and softe,
to receiven the strengthe of a more mighty and more egre
medicine, by an esier touchinge.
Pr. V. 1. C. om. a. // C. borken (= barked) ; A. broken (Lat. delatraui) . 2. A. peisible. 4. C. soruful ”

“ C. vnlyk; A. vnlyke. 48. C. oost, glossed i. acies. 50. C. rauyssed; A. rauysched. // C. folyly, i. sine consilio. 52. A. hys rycchesse. 53. C. sarpuleris; A. sarpulers. 55. C. tumolte; A. tumulte. // A. stored. 56. C. palis; A. palays (Lat. uallo) . // C. om. that. // C. anoyenge; A. anoying. 57 C. atayne; A. attayne. // C. schorne; A. scorne.
Metre IV.
Quisquis composito serenus euo.
Who-so it be that is cleer of vertu, sad, and wel ordinat of
livinge, that hath put under foot the proude werdes and looketh
upright up-on either fortune, he may holde his chere undiscomfited. ”

“ And for-thy, yif thou wolt loken and demen sooth with cleer 10
light, and holden the wey with a right path, weyve thou Ioye,
dryf fro thee drede, fleme thou hope, ne lat no sorwe aproche;
that is to seyn, lat non of thise four passiouns over-comen thee
or blende thee. For cloudy and derke is thilke thought, and
bounde with brydles, where-as thise thinges regnen.' 15
Me. VII. 1. C. Ed. yeten; A. geten. 2. C. A. wynde. 4. C. Ed. whilom; A. somtyme. 5. C. lyk; A. lyke. // C. cleere dayes and brihte; A. bryȝt dayes. // C. withstand; A. withstant. 7. C. hy; A. heyȝe. 9. C. fram. 14. ”

“ A. glosses lighte by sc. temporels. // C. sorwful; A. sorouful. 19. C. deceyuable; A. disceyuable. 20. C. vnpietous; A. vnpitouse. 22. C. stidefast; A. stedfast.
Prose I.
Hec dum mecum tacitus ipse reputarem.
Whyle that I stille recordede thise thinges with my-self, and
markede my weeply compleynte with office of pointel, I saw,
stondinge aboven the heighte of myn heved, a woman of ful greet
reverence by semblaunt, hir eyen brenninge and cleer-seinge over
the comune might of men; with a lyfly colour, and with swich 5
vigour and strengthe that it ne mighte nat ben empted ”

“ C. compaygnye; A. compaignie. 193. C. deffenden. // C. from; A. of. 195. C. the philosophre; A. the philosophie (Lat. te) . 196. A. enchauntementz. 198. C. thechinges. 207. A. Glosa. 208. C. who; A. who so. 217. C. desserued. 218. C. of (1) ; A. from. 223. C. beth; A. ben. 225. C. vnpunnysshed; A. vnpunissed. 227. C. wise; A. manere; Ed. maner.
Metre V.
O stelliferi conditor orbis.
O thou maker of the whele that bereth the sterres, which that
art y-fastned to thy perdurable chayer, and tornest the hevene
with a ravisshing sweigh, and constreinest the sterres to suffren
thy lawe ”

“ Thise wordes seide she, and with the lappe of hir garment, y-plyted
in a frounce, she dryede myn eyen, that weren fulle of the wawes 20
of my wepinges.
Pr. II. 4. C. Ed. whilom; A. sumtyme. // C. noryssed; A. I-norschide. 5. C. escaped; A. ascaped. 8. C. Knowestow; A. Knowest thou. 9. C. artow; A. art thou. // C. it is; A. Ed. is it. // C. asthonynge (but astonynge below) . 14. C. litarge; A. litargie. // C. sykenesse; A. sekenes. 15. C. desseyued; A. desceiued. 16. C. remenbren; A. remembren.
Metre III. ”

“ Thou governour, withdraw
and restreyne the ravisshinge flodes, and fastne and ferme thise 40
erthes stable with thilke bonde, with whiche thou governest the
hevene that is so large.'
Me. V. 1. C. whel; A. whele. 3. C. Rauessyng; A. rauyssyng. // C. sweyh; A. sweigh; Ed. sweygh. 4. C. wyt (for with) . 6. A. lasse. // C. wan (for whan) . 9. C. est; A. eft (Lat. iterum) . // A. aȝeynes. 10. C. om. the after at. 13. C. falle; A. to falle. // C. swift; A. swifte. 14. C. wan (for whan) . 15. C. sesoun (wrongly) ; A. sesons. 17. C. hihte; A. hyȝt. // C. borias. 19. C. hihte; A. hyȝt. ”

“ A. frutefiyng. 40. C. corn; A. cornes (Lat. segetem) . 41. C. om. the. // C. om. ne. 42. C. maledye; A. maladye. 44. C. poeple; A. peple. 45. C. greuosly; A. greuously (and so often os for ous in C.) . 48. C. schooles; A. scoles. 53. C. downward; A. adounward. // C. om. and. // C. rednesse; A. redenesse. 54. C. sorwfully. // C. thresshfold; A. threschefolde. 55. C. dyrked; A. derked. 57. C. wax; A. wex. // C. cast; A. caste. 58. C. down to; A. adoune in-to. 59. C. ner; A. nere. 61. C. compleyde; A. compleinede. 63. C. thowht; A. thouȝt.
Metre II.
Heu quam precipiti mersa profundo. ”