Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History BookAnd nere hit to long to endyte, By god, I woldë hit here wryte. But, welaway! the harm, the routhe, That hath betid for swich untrouthe, As men may ofte in bokes rede, 385 And al day seen hit yet in dede, That for to thenken hit, a tene is. Lo, Demophon, duk of Athenis, How he forswor him ful falsly, And trayed Phillis wikkedly, 390 That kinges doghter was of Trace, And falsly gan his terme pace; And when she wiste that he was fals, She heng hir-self right by the hals, For he had do hir swich untrouthe; 395 Lo! was not this a wo and routhe? Eek lo! how fals and reccheles Was to Briseida Achilles, And Paris to Enone; And Iason to Isiphile; 400 And eft Iason to Medea; And Ercules to Dyanira; For he lefte hir for Iöle, That made him cacche his deeth, parde. How fals eek was he, Theseus; 405 That, as the story telleth us, How he betrayed Adriane; The devel be his soules bane! For had he laughed, had he loured, He mostë have be al devoured, 410 If Adriane ne had y-be! And, for she had of him pitee, She made him fro the dethe escape, And he made hir a ful fals Iape; For after this, within a whyle 415 He lefte hir slepinge in an yle, Deserte alone, right in the see, And stal away, and leet hir be; And took hir suster Phedra tho With him, and gan to shippe go. 420 And yet he had y-sworn to here, On al that ever he mighte swere, That, so she saved him his lyf, He wolde have take hir to his wyf; For she desired nothing elles, 425 In certein, as the book us telles. But to excusen Eneas Fulliche of al his greet trespas, The book seyth, Mercurie, sauns faile, Bad him go into Itaile, 430 And leve Auffrykes regioun, And Dido and hir faire toun. Tho saw I grave, how to Itaile Daun Eneas is go to saile; And how the tempest al began, 435 And how he loste his steresman, Which that the stere, or he took keep, Smot over-bord, lo! as he sleep. And also saw I how Sibyle And Eneas, besyde an yle, 440 To helle wente, for to see His fader, Anchises the free. How he ther fond Palinurus, And Dido, and eek Deiphebus; And every tourment eek in helle 445 Saw he, which is long to telle. Which who-so willeth for to knowe, He moste rede many a rowe On Virgile or on Claudian, Or Daunte, that hit telle can. 450 Tho saw I grave al tharivaile That Eneas had in Itaile; And with king Latine his tretee, And alle the batailles that he Was at him-self, and eek his knightes, 455 Or he had al y-wonne his rightes; And how he Turnus refte his lyf, And wan Lavyna to his wyf; And al the mervelous signals Of the goddes celestials; 460 How, maugre Iuno, Eneas, For al hir sleighte and hir compas, Acheved al his aventure; For Iupiter took of him cure At the prayere of Venus; 465 The whiche I preye alway save us, And us ay of our sorwes lighte! Whan I had seyen al this sighte In this noble temple thus, 'A, Lord!' thoughte I, 'that madest us, 470 Yet saw I never swich noblesse Of images, ne swich richesse, As I saw graven in this chirche; But not woot I who dide hem wirche, Ne wher I am, ne in what contree. 475 But now wol I go out and see, Right at the wiket, if I can See o-wher stering any man, That may me telle wher I am.' When I out at the dores cam, 480 I faste aboute me beheld. Then saw I but a large feld, As fer as that I mighte see, Withouten toun, or hous, or tree, Or bush, or gras, or ered lond; 485 For al the feld nas but of sond As smal as man may see yet lye In the desert of Libye; Ne I no maner creature, That is y-formed by nature, 490 Ne saw, me [for] to rede or wisse. 'O Crist,' thoughte I, 'that art in blisse, Fro fantom and illusioun Me save!' and with devocioun Myn yën to the heven I caste. 495 Tho was I war, lo! at the laste, That faste by the sonne, as hyë As kenne mighte I with myn yë, Me thoughte I saw an egle sore, But that hit semed moche more 500 Then I had any egle seyn. But this as sooth as deeth, certeyn, Hit was of golde, and shoon so bright, That never saw men such a sighte, But-if the heven hadde y-wonne 505 Al newe of golde another sonne; So shoon the egles fethres brighte, And somwhat dounward gan hit lighte. EXPLICIT LIBER PRIMUS. _The authorities are_ F. (Fairfax 16); B. (Bodley 638); P. (Pepys 2006); Cx. (Caxton's ed.); Th. (Thynne's ed. 1532). _I follow_ F. _mainly, correcting the spelling._ 1. P. drem; _rest_ dreme. 8. _All have_ And why; _I omit_ why. 9, 10. F. swevene, evene; Cx. Th. sweuen, euen. 11. Th. B. a fantome; P. a fauntom; Cx. a fanton; F. affaintome; _after which, all needlessly insert_ why. 12. F. Th. B. P. not; Cx. note (= noot). _Elide_ o _in_ so. 20. _All wrongly insert_ is _before_ more. 24. B. of the; _rest_ of her; _I omit_ the (her). 26. F. B. stewe; P. stoe; Cx. stryf; Th. stryfe. 35. P. sweche; _rest_ suche, such. 45. F. B. forwote; _rest_ wote. 50. F. vnderstonde, _followed by a metrical mark, indicating a pause: I add_ n. 58, 62. MSS. dreme (= dreem). 63. _See_ note. 64. B. P. now; F. yow; _rest om._ 71. P. strem; _rest_ streme (= streem); _so_ P. drem (_rest_ dreme) _in_ l. 80. MSS. cometh (= com'th). 73. Cx. Th. clepe; F. clepeth. 77. F. That; _rest_ And. 78. Th. wol; P. wol; Cx. wyl; F. B. wolde. 85. F. B. stonde; Cx. Th. stande; P. stond. Cx. alle; F. Th. al (_wrongly_). 88. _All_ pouerte. 89. B. ech; F. eche. 100. _I supply_ that. 103. P. _om._ a. 109, 110. Cx. seyd, abreyd; _the rest_ seyde (sayde), abreyde (abrayde). _Grammar requires_ seyd, abreyd; (abreyde _also occurs_). 117, 118. Cx. P. leonard, hard; F. Th. B. leonarde, harde. P. _om._ of. 119. MSS. slept, slepte; _read_ sleep, _as in_ l. 438. 122. F. Th. golde; Cx. P. gold; B. goold. 126. _All_ queynt. 127. F. B. olde; Th. golde; Cx. P. gold. F. sawgh. 131. Th. This; _rest_ The. 132. F. sawgh. 134. Th. heed; B. hed; F. Cx. hede. Cx. Th. P. parde; F. B. partee (!). 135. B. red; F. Th. rede; Cx. Rose garlondes smellynge as a mede. 136. MSS. combe. B. hed; _rest_ hede. 139. Cx. P. brown; F. broune. 140. Cx. down; F. dovne. 141. P. fond; F. Cx. B. fonde; Th. founde. Cx. Th. wal; B. wall; F. walle. 143. F. B. say; _rest_ synge. F. B. P. _om._ that. 146. F. B. Troy. 148. Cx. Th. P. Lauyne; F. B. Labyne. 152. Cx. Th. P. Troye; F. B. Troy; _see_ l. 155. 153. _All om._ That. F. B. P. fals; Cx. fals vntrewe; Th. false vntrewe. 159. Cx. Th. kyng; F. B. kynge. F. y-slayne; _rest_ slayn. 160. Th. Polytes; F. B. Polite. _From this point I make no further note of obvious corrections in spelling._ 172. Cx. P. Th. goddes; F. B. goddesse (_wrongly_) 173. F. B. -brende; _rest_ -brenned. 174. Cx. P. this; F. B. his. 184. F. P. That dede not I how she was; B. That ded not I how she was; Cx. That rede note I how it was; Th. That rede nat I howe that it was. _Read_ deed, _and insert_ but. 188. Cx. Th. destyne; F. destanye. 193. Cx. Th. grauen; P. graven; F. grave; B. graue. 196. F. B. Towardes. 199. P. Iubiter; _rest_ Iupiters; _read_ Iupiteres. 204. F. blowe; P. Cx. Th. blowen. 210. |