<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=420402" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Quintus</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">Incipit Liber Sextus</div><div style="margin:10px 0">Est gula, que nostrum maculavit prima parentem<br>Ex vetito pomo, quo dolet omnis homo<br>Hec agit, ut corpus anime contraria spirat,<br>Quo caro fit crassa, spiritus atque macer.<br>Intus et exterius si que virtutis habentur,<br>Potibus ebrietas conviciata ruit.<br>Mersa sopore labis, que Bachus inebriat hospes,<br>Indignata Venus oscula raro premit.</div><div style="margin:10px 0">---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- </div><div style="margin:10px 0">The grete Senne original,<br>Which every man in general<br>Upon his berthe hath envenymed,<br>In Paradis it was mystymed:<br>Whan Adam of thilke Appel bot,<br>His swete morscel was to hot,<br>Which dedly made the mankinde.<br>And in the bokes as I finde,<br>This vice, which so out of rule<br>Hath sette ous alle, is cleped Gule; <br>Of which the branches ben so grete,<br>That of hem alle I wol noght trete,<br>Bot only as touchende of tuo<br>I thenke speke and of no mo;<br>Wherof the ferste is Dronkeschipe,<br>Which berth the cuppe felaschipe.<br>Ful many a wonder doth this vice,<br>He can make of a wisman nyce,<br>And of a fool, that him schal seme<br>That he can al the lawe deme, <br>And yiven every juggement<br>Which longeth to the firmament<br>Bothe of the sterre and of the mone;<br>And thus he makth a gret clerk sone<br>Of him that is a lewed man.<br>Ther is nothing which he ne can,<br>Whil he hath Dronkeschipe on honde,<br>He knowth the See, he knowth the stronde,<br>He is a noble man of armes,<br>And yit no strengthe is in his armes: <br>Ther he was strong ynouh tofore,<br>With Dronkeschipe it is forlore,<br>And al is changed his astat,<br>And wext anon so fieble and mat,<br>That he mai nouther go ne come,<br>Bot al togedre him is benome<br>The pouer bothe of hond and fot,<br>So that algate abide he mot.<br>And alle hise wittes he foryet,<br>The which is to him such a let, <br>That he wot nevere what he doth,<br>Ne which is fals, ne which is soth,<br>Ne which is dai, ne which is nyht,<br>And for the time he knowth no wyht,<br>That he ne wot so moche as this,<br>What maner thing himselven is,<br>Or he be man, or he be beste.<br>That holde I riht a sori feste,<br>Whan he that reson understod<br>So soudeinliche is woxe wod, <br>Or elles lich the dede man,<br>Which nouther go ne speke can.<br>Thus ofte he is to bedde broght,<br>Bot where he lith yit wot he noght,<br>Til he arise upon the morwe;<br>And thanne he seith, 'O, which a sorwe<br>It is a man be drinkeles!'<br>So that halfdrunke in such a res<br>With dreie mouth he sterte him uppe,<br>And seith, 'Nou baillez a the cuppe.' <br>That made him lese his wit at eve<br>Is thanne a morwe al his beleve;<br>The cuppe is al that evere him pleseth,<br>And also that him most deseseth;<br>It is the cuppe whom he serveth,<br>Which alle cares fro him kerveth<br>And alle bales to him bringeth:<br>In joie he wepth, in sorwe he singeth,<br>For Dronkeschipe is so divers,<br>It may no whyle stonde in vers. <br>He drinkth the wyn, bot ate laste<br>The wyn drynkth him and bint him faste,<br>And leith him drunke be the wal,<br>As him which is his bonde thral<br>And al in his subjeccion.<br>And lich to such condicion,<br>As forto speke it other wise,<br>It falleth that the moste wise<br>Ben otherwhile of love adoted,<br>And so bewhaped and assoted, <br>Of drunke men that nevere yit<br>Was non, which half so loste his wit<br>Of drinke, as thei of such thing do<br>Which cleped is the jolif wo;<br>And waxen of here oghne thoght<br>So drunke, that thei knowe noght<br>What reson is, or more or lesse.<br>Such is the kinde of that sieknesse,<br>And that is noght for lacke of brain,<br>Bot love is of so gret a main, <br>That where he takth an herte on honde,<br>Ther mai nothing his miht withstonde:<br>The wise Salomon was nome,<br>And stronge Sampson overcome,<br>The knihtli David him ne mihte<br>Rescoue, that he with the sihte<br>Of Bersabee ne was bestad,<br>Virgile also was overlad,<br>And Aristotle was put under.<br>Forthi, mi Sone, it is no wonder <br>If thou be drunke of love among,<br>Which is above alle othre strong:<br>And if so is that thou so be,<br>Tell me thi Schrifte in privite;<br>It is no schame of such a thew<br>A yong man to be dronkelew.<br>Of such Phisique I can a part,<br>And as me semeth be that art,<br>Thou scholdest be Phisonomie<br>Be schapen to that maladie <br>Of lovedrunke, and that is routhe.<br>Ha, holi fader, al is trouthe<br>That ye me telle: I am beknowe<br>That I with love am so bethrowe,<br>And al myn herte is so thurgh sunke,<br>That I am verrailiche drunke,<br>And yit I mai bothe speke and go.<br>Bot I am overcome so,<br>And torned fro miself so clene,<br>That ofte I wot noght what I mene; <br>So that excusen I ne mai<br>Min herte, fro the ferste day<br>That I cam to mi ladi kiththe,<br>I was yit sobre nevere siththe.<br>Wher I hire se or se hire noght,<br>With musinge of min oghne thoght,<br>Of love, which min herte assaileth,<br>So drunke I am, that mi wit faileth<br>And al mi brain is overtorned,<br>And mi manere so mistorned, <br>That I foryete al that I can<br>And stonde lich a mased man;<br>That ofte, whanne I scholde pleie,<br>It makth me drawe out of the weie<br>In soulein place be miselve,<br>As doth a labourer to delve,<br>Which can no gentil mannes chere;<br>Or elles as a lewed Frere,<br>Whan he is put to his penance,<br>Riht so lese I mi contienance. <br>And if it nedes to betyde,<br>That I in compainie abyde,<br>Wher as I moste daunce and singe<br>The hovedance and carolinge,<br>Or forto go the newefot,<br>I mai noght wel heve up mi fot,<br>If that sche be noght in the weie;<br>For thanne is al mi merthe aweie,<br>And waxe anon of thoght so full,<br>Wherof mi limes ben so dull, <br>I mai unethes gon the pas.<br>For thus it is and evere was,<br>Whanne I on suche thoghtes muse,<br>The lust and merthe that men use,<br>Whan I se noght mi ladi byme,<br>Al is foryete for the time<br>So ferforth that mi wittes changen<br>And alle lustes fro me strangen,<br>That thei seie alle trewely,<br>And swere, that it am noght I. <br>For as the man which ofte drinketh,<br>With win that in his stomac sinketh<br>Wext drunke and witles for a throwe,<br>Riht so mi lust is overthrowe,<br>And of myn oghne thoght so mat<br>I wexe, that to myn astat<br>Ther is no lime wol me serve,<br>Bot as a drunke man I swerve,<br>And suffre such a Passion,<br>That men have gret compassion, <br>And everich be himself merveilleth<br>What thing it is that me so eilleth.<br>Such is the manere of mi wo<br>Which time that I am hire fro,<br>Til eft ayein that I hire se.<br>Bot thanne it were a nycete<br>To telle you hou that I fare:<br>For whanne I mai upon hire stare,<br>Hire wommanhede, hire gentilesse,<br>Myn herte is full of such gladnesse, <br>That overpasseth so mi wit,<br>That I wot nevere where it sit,<br>Bot am so drunken of that sihte,<br>Me thenkth that for the time I mihte<br>Riht sterte thurgh the hole wall;<br>And thanne I mai wel, if I schal,<br>Bothe singe and daunce and lepe aboute,<br>And holde forth the lusti route.<br>Bot natheles it falleth so<br>Fulofte, that I fro hire go <br>Ne mai, bot as it were a stake,<br>I stonde avisement to take<br>And loke upon hire faire face;<br>That for the while out of the place<br>For al the world ne myhte I wende.<br>Such lust comth thanne unto mi mende,<br>So that withoute mete or drinke,<br>Of lusti thoughtes whiche I thinke<br>Me thenkth I mihte stonden evere;<br>And so it were to me levere <br>Than such a sihte forto leve,<br>If that sche wolde yif me leve<br>To have so mochel of mi wille.<br>And thus thenkende I stonde stille<br>Withoute blenchinge of myn yhe,<br>Riht as me thoghte that I syhe<br>Of Paradis the moste joie:<br>And so therwhile I me rejoie,<br>Into myn herte a gret desir,<br>The which is hotere than the fyr, <br>Al soudeinliche upon me renneth,<br>That al mi thoght withinne brenneth,<br>And am so ferforth overcome,<br>That I not where I am become;<br>So that among the hetes stronge<br>In stede of drinke I underfonge<br>A thoght so swete in mi corage,<br>That nevere Pyment ne vernage<br>Was half so swete forto drinke.<br>For as I wolde, thanne I thinke <br>As thogh I were at myn above,<br>For so thurgh drunke I am of love,<br>That al that mi sotye demeth<br>Is soth, as thanne it to me semeth.<br>And whyle I mai tho thoghtes kepe,<br>Me thenkth as thogh I were aslepe<br>And that I were in goddes barm;<br>Bot whanne I se myn oghne harm,<br>And that I soudeinliche awake<br>Out of my thought, and hiede take <br>Hou that the sothe stant in dede,<br>Thanne is mi sekernesse in drede<br>And joie torned into wo,<br>So that the hete is al ago<br>Of such sotie as I was inne.<br>And thanne ayeinward I beginne<br>To take of love a newe thorst,<br>The which me grieveth altherworst,<br>For thanne comth the blanche fievere,<br>With chele and makth me so to chievere, <br>And so it coldeth at myn herte,<br>That wonder is hou I asterte,<br>In such a point that I ne deie:<br>For certes ther was nevere keie<br>Ne frosen ys upon the wal<br>More inly cold that I am al.<br>And thus soffre I the hote chele,<br>Which passeth othre peines fele;<br>In cold I brenne and frese in hete:<br>And thanne I drinke a biter swete <br>With dreie lippe and yhen wete.<br>Lo, thus I tempre mi diete,<br>And take a drauhte of such reles,<br>That al mi wit is herteles,<br>And al myn herte, ther it sit,<br>Is, as who seith, withoute wit;<br>So that to prove it be reson<br>In makinge of comparison<br>Ther mai no difference be<br>Betwen a drunke man and me. <br>Bot al the worste of everychon<br>Is evere that I thurste in on;<br>The more that myn herte drinketh,<br>The more I may; so that me thinketh,<br>My thurst schal nevere ben aqueint.<br>God schilde that I be noght dreint<br>Of such a superfluite:<br>For wel I fiele in mi degre<br>That al mi wit is overcast,<br>Wherof I am the more agast, <br>That in defaulte of ladischipe<br>Per chance in such a drunkeschipe<br>I mai be ded er I be war.<br>For certes, fader, this I dar<br>Beknowe and in mi schrifte telle:<br>Bot I a drauhte have of that welle,<br>In which mi deth is and mi lif,<br>Mi joie is torned into strif,<br>That sobre schal I nevere worthe,<br>Bot as a drunke man forworthe; <br>So that in londe where I fare<br>The lust is lore of mi welfare,<br>As he that mai no bote finde.<br>Bot this me thenkth a wonder kinde,<br>As I am drunke of that I drinke,<br>So am I ek for falte of drinke;<br>Of which I finde no reles:<br>Bot if I myhte natheles<br>Of such a drinke as I coveite,<br>So as me liste, have o receite, <br>I scholde assobre and fare wel.<br>Bot so fortune upon hire whiel<br>On hih me deigneth noght to sette,<br>For everemore I finde a lette:<br>The boteler is noght mi frend,<br>Which hath the keie be the bend;<br>I mai wel wisshe and that is wast,<br>For wel I wot, so freissh a tast,<br>Bot if mi grace be the more,<br>I schal assaie neveremore. <br>Thus am I drunke of that I se,<br>For tastinge is defended me,<br>And I can noght miselven stanche:<br>So that, mi fader, of this branche<br>I am gultif, to telle trouthe.<br>Mi Sone, that me thenketh routhe;<br>For lovedrunke is the meschief<br>Above alle othre the most chief,<br>If he no lusti thoght assaie,<br>Which mai his sori thurst allaie: <br>As for the time yit it lisseth<br>To him which other joie misseth.<br>Forthi, mi Sone, aboven alle<br>Thenk wel, hou so it the befalle,<br>And kep thi wittes that thou hast,<br>And let hem noght be drunke in wast:<br>Bot natheles ther is no wyht<br>That mai withstonde loves miht.<br>Bot why the cause is, as I finde,<br>Of that ther is diverse kinde <br>Of lovedrunke, why men pleigneth<br>After the court which al ordeigneth,<br>I wol the tellen the manere;<br>Nou lest, mi Sone, and thou schalt hiere.<br>For the fortune of every chance<br>After the goddes pourveance<br>To man it groweth from above,<br>So that the sped of every love<br>Is schape there, er it befalle.<br>For Jupiter aboven alle, <br>Which is of goddes soverein,<br>Hath in his celier, as men sein,<br>Tuo tonnes fulle of love drinke,<br>That maken many an herte sinke<br>And many an herte also to flete,<br>Or of the soure or of the swete.<br>That on is full of such piment,<br>Which passeth all entendement<br>Of mannes witt, if he it taste,<br>And makth a jolif herte in haste: <br>That other biter as the galle,<br>Which makth a mannes herte palle,<br>Whos drunkeschipe is a sieknesse<br>Thurgh fielinge of the biternesse.<br>Cupide is boteler of bothe,<br>Which to the lieve and to the lothe<br>Yifth of the swete and of the soure,<br>That some lawhe, and some loure.<br>Bot for so moche as he blind is,<br>Fulofte time he goth amis <br>And takth the badde for the goode,<br>Which hindreth many a mannes fode<br>Withoute cause, and forthreth eke.<br>So be ther some of love seke,<br>Whiche oghte of reson to ben hole,<br>And some comen to the dole<br>In happ and as hemselve leste<br>Drinke undeserved of the beste.<br>And thus this blinde Boteler<br>Yifth of the trouble in stede of cler <br>And ek the cler in stede of trouble:<br>Lo, hou he can the hertes trouble,<br>And makth men drunke al upon chaunce<br>Withoute lawe of governance.<br>If he drawe of the swete tonne,<br>Thanne is the sorwe al overronne<br>Of lovedrunke, and schalt noght greven<br>So to be drunken every even,<br>For al is thanne bot a game.<br>Bot whanne it is noght of the same, <br>And he the biter tonne draweth,<br>Such drunkeschipe an herte gnaweth<br>And fiebleth al a mannes thoght,<br>That betre him were have drunke noght<br>And al his bred have eten dreie;<br>For thanne he lest his lusti weie<br>With drunkeschipe, and wot noght whider<br>To go, the weies ben so slider,<br>In which he mai per cas so falle,<br>That he schal breke his wittes alle. <br>And in this wise men be drunke<br>After the drink that thei have drunke:<br>Bot alle drinken noght alike,<br>For som schal singe and som schal syke,<br>So that it me nothing merveilleth,<br>Mi Sone, of love that thee eilleth;<br>For wel I knowe be thi tale,<br>That thou hast drunken of the duale,<br>Which biter is, til god the sende<br>Such grace that thou miht amende. <br>Bot, Sone, thou schalt bidde and preie<br>In such a wise as I schal seie,<br>That thou the lusti welle atteigne<br>Thi wofull thurstes to restreigne<br>Of love, and taste the swetnesse;<br>As Bachus dede in his distresse,<br>Whan bodiliche thurst him hente<br>In strange londes where he wente.<br>This Bachus Sone of Jupiter<br>Was hote, and as he wente fer <br>Be his fadres assignement<br>To make a werre in Orient,<br>And gret pouer with him he ladde,<br>So that the heiere hond he hadde<br>And victoire of his enemys,<br>And torneth homward with his pris,<br>In such a contre which was dreie<br>A meschief fell upon the weie.<br>As he rod with his compainie<br>Nyh to the strondes of Lubie, <br>Ther myhte thei no drinke finde<br>Of water nor of other kinde,<br>So that himself and al his host<br>Were of defalte of drinke almost<br>Destruid, and thanne Bachus preide<br>To Jupiter, and thus he seide:<br>'O hihe fader, that sest al,<br>To whom is reson that I schal<br>Beseche and preie in every nede,<br>Behold, mi fader, and tak hiede <br>This wofull thurst that we ben inne<br>To staunche, and grante ous forto winne,<br>And sauf unto the contre fare,<br>Wher that oure lusti loves are<br>Waitende upon oure hom cominge.'<br>And with the vois of his preiynge,<br>Which herd was to the goddes hihe,<br>He syh anon tofore his yhe<br>A wether, which the ground hath sporned;<br>And wher he hath it overtorned, <br>Ther sprang a welle freissh and cler,<br>Wherof his oghne boteler<br>After the lustes of his wille<br>Was every man to drinke his fille.<br>And for this ilke grete grace<br>Bachus upon the same place<br>A riche temple let arere,<br>Which evere scholde stonde there<br>To thursti men in remembrance.<br>Forthi, mi Sone, after this chance <br>It sit thee wel to taken hiede<br>So forto preie upon thi nede,<br>As Bachus preide for the welle;<br>And thenk, as thou hast herd me telle,<br>Hou grace he gradde and grace he hadde.<br>He was no fol that ferst so radde,<br>For selden get a domb man lond:<br>Tak that proverbe, and understond<br>That wordes ben of vertu grete.<br>Forthi to speke thou ne lete, <br>And axe and prei erli and late<br>Thi thurst to quenche, and thenk algate,<br>The boteler which berth the keie<br>Is blind, as thou hast herd me seie;<br>And if it mihte so betyde,<br>That he upon the blinde side<br>Per cas the swete tonne arauhte,<br>Than schalt thou have a lusti drauhte<br>And waxe of lovedrunke sobre.<br>And thus I rede thou assobre <br>Thin herte in hope of such a grace;<br>For drunkeschipe in every place,<br>To whether side that it torne,<br>Doth harm and makth a man to sporne<br>And ofte falle in such a wise,<br>Wher he per cas mai noght arise.<br>And forto loke in evidence<br>Upon the sothe experience,<br>So as it hath befalle er this,<br>In every mannes mouth it is <br>Hou Tristram was of love drunke<br>With Bele Ysolde, whan thei drunke<br>The drink which Brangwein hem betok,<br>Er that king Marc his Eem hire tok<br>To wyve, as it was after knowe.<br>And ek, mi Sone, if thou wolt knowe,<br>As it hath fallen overmore<br>In loves cause, and what is more<br>Of drunkeschipe forto drede,<br>As it whilom befell in dede, <br>Wherof thou miht the betre eschuie<br>Of drunke men that thou ne suie<br>The compaignie in no manere,<br>A gret ensample thou schalt hiere.<br>This finde I write in Poesie<br>Of thilke faire Ipotacie,<br>Of whos beaute ther as sche was<br>Spak every man, - and fell per cas,<br>That Piroto
s so him spedde,<br>That he to wyve hire scholde wedde, <br>Wherof that he gret joie made.<br>And for he wolde his love glade,<br>Ayein the day of mariage<br>Be mouthe bothe and be message<br>Hise frendes to the feste he preide,<br>With gret worschipe and, as men seide,<br>He hath this yonge ladi spoused.<br>And whan that thei were alle housed,<br>And set and served ate mete,<br>Ther was no wyn which mai be gete, <br>That ther ne was plente ynouh:<br>Bot Bachus thilke tonne drouh,<br>Wherof be weie of drunkeschipe<br>The greteste of the felaschipe<br>Were oute of reson overtake;<br>And Venus, which hath also take<br>The cause most in special,<br>Hath yove hem drinke forth withal<br>Of thilke cuppe which exciteth<br>The lust wherinne a man deliteth: <br>And thus be double weie drunke,<br>Of lust that ilke fyri funke<br>Hath mad hem, as who seith, halfwode,<br>That thei no reson understode,<br>Ne to non other thing thei syhen,<br>Bot hire, which tofore here yhen<br>Was wedded thilke same day,<br>That freisshe wif, that lusti May,<br>On hire it was al that thei thoghten.<br>And so ferforth here lustes soghten, <br>That thei the whiche named were<br>Centauri, ate feste there<br>Of on assent, of an acord<br>This yonge wif malgre hire lord<br>In such a rage awei forth ladden,<br>As thei whiche non insihte hadden<br>Bot only to her drunke fare,<br>Which many a man hath mad misfare<br>In love als wel as other weie.<br>Wherof, if I schal more seie <br>Upon the nature of the vice,<br>Of custume and of exercice<br>The mannes grace hou it fordoth,<br>A tale, which was whilom soth,<br>Of fooles that so drunken were,<br>I schal reherce unto thine Ere.<br>I rede in a Cronique thus<br>Of Galba and of Vitellus,<br>The whiche of Spaigne bothe were<br>The greteste of alle othre there, <br>And bothe of o condicion<br>After the disposicion<br>Of glotonie and drunkeschipe.<br>That was a sori felaschipe:<br>For this thou miht wel understonde,<br>That man mai wel noght longe stonde<br>Which is wyndrunke of comun us;<br>For he hath lore the vertus,<br>Wherof reson him scholde clothe;<br>And that was seene upon hem bothe. <br>Men sein ther is non evidence,<br>Wherof to knowe a difference<br>Betwen the drunken and the wode,<br>For thei be nevere nouther goode;<br>For wher that wyn doth wit aweie,<br>Wisdom hath lost the rihte weie,<br>That he no maner vice dredeth;<br>Nomore than a blind man thredeth<br>His nedle be the Sonnes lyht,<br>Nomore is reson thanne of myht, <br>Whan he with drunkeschipe is blent.<br>And in this point thei weren schent,<br>This Galba bothe and ek Vitelle,<br>Upon the cause as I schal telle,<br>Wherof good is to taken hiede.<br>For thei tuo thurgh her drunkenhiede<br>Of witles excitacioun<br>Oppressede al the nacion<br>Of Spaigne; for of fool usance,<br>Which don was of continuance <br>Of hem, whiche alday drunken were,<br>Ther was no wif ne maiden there,<br>What so thei were, or faire or foule,<br>Whom thei ne token to defoule,<br>Wherof the lond was often wo:<br>And ek in othre thinges mo<br>Thei wroghten many a sondri wrong.<br>Bot hou so that the dai be long,<br>The derke nyht comth ate laste:<br>God wolde noght thei scholden laste, <br>And schop the lawe in such a wise,<br>That thei thurgh dom to the juise<br>Be dampned forto be forlore.<br>Bot thei, that hadden ben tofore<br>Enclin to alle drunkenesse,-<br>Here ende thanne bar witnesse;<br>For thei in hope to assuage<br>The peine of deth, upon the rage<br>That thei the lasse scholden fiele,<br>Of wyn let fille full a Miele, <br>And dronken til so was befalle<br>That thei her strengthes losten alle<br>Withouten wit of eny brain;<br>And thus thei ben halfdede slain,<br>That hem ne grieveth bot a lyte.<br>Mi Sone, if thou be forto wyte<br>In eny point which I have seid,<br>Wherof thi wittes ben unteid,<br>I rede clepe hem hom ayein.<br>I schal do, fader, as ye sein, <br>Als ferforth as I mai suffise:<br>Bot wel I wot that in no wise<br>The drunkeschipe of love aweie<br>I mai remue be no weie,<br>It stant noght upon my fortune.<br>Bot if you liste to comune<br>Of the seconde Glotonie,<br>Which cleped is Delicacie,<br>Wherof ye spieken hier tofore,<br>Beseche I wolde you therfore. <br>Mi Sone, as of that ilke vice,<br>Which of alle othre is the Norrice,<br>And stant upon the retenue<br>Of Venus, so as it is due,<br>The proprete hou that it fareth<br>The bok hierafter nou declareth.<br>Of this chapitre in which we trete<br>There is yit on of such diete,<br>To which no povere mai atteigne;<br>For al is Past of paindemeine <br>And sondri wyn and sondri drinke,<br>Wherof that he wole ete and drinke:<br>Hise cokes ben for him affaited,<br>So that his body is awaited,<br>That him schal lacke no delit,<br>Als ferforth as his appetit<br>Sufficeth to the metes hote.<br>Wherof this lusti vice is hote<br>Of Gule the Delicacie,<br>Which al the hole progenie <br>Of lusti folk hath undertake<br>To feede, whil that he mai take<br>Richesses wherof to be founde:<br>Of Abstinence he wot no bounde,<br>To what profit it scholde serve.<br>And yit phisique of his conserve<br>Makth many a restauracioun<br>Unto his recreacioun,<br>Which wolde be to Venus lief.<br>Thus for the point of his relief <br>The coc which schal his mete arraie,<br>Bot he the betre his mouth assaie,<br>His lordes thonk schal ofte lese,<br>Er he be served to the chese:<br>For ther mai lacke noght so lyte,<br>That he ne fint anon a wyte;<br>For bot his lust be fully served,<br>Ther hath no wiht his thonk deserved.<br>And yit for mannes sustenance,<br>To kepe and holde in governance, <br>To him that wole his hele gete<br>Is non so good as comun mete:<br>For who that loketh on the bokes,<br>It seith, confeccion of cokes,<br>A man him scholde wel avise<br>Hou he it toke and in what wise.<br>For who that useth that he knoweth,<br>Ful selden seknesse on him groweth,<br>And who that useth metes strange,<br>Though his nature empeire and change <br>It is no wonder, lieve Sone,<br>Whan that he doth ayein his wone;<br>For in Phisique this I finde,<br>Usage is the seconde kinde.<br>And riht so changeth his astat<br>He that of love is delicat:<br>For though he hadde to his hond<br>The beste wif of al the lond,<br>Or the faireste love of alle,<br>Yit wolde his herte on othre falle <br>And thenke hem mor delicious<br>Than he hath in his oghne hous:<br>Men sein it is nou ofte so;<br>Avise hem wel, thei that so do.<br>And forto speke in other weie,<br>Fulofte time I have herd seie,<br>That he which hath no love achieved,<br>Him thenkth that he is noght relieved,<br>Thogh that his ladi make him chiere,<br>So as sche mai in good manere <br>Hir honour and hir name save,<br>Bot he the surplus mihte have.<br>Nothing withstondende hire astat,<br>Of love more delicat<br>He set hire chiere at no delit,<br>Bot he have al his appetit.<br>Mi Sone, if it be with thee so,<br>Tell me. Myn holi fader, no:<br>For delicat in such a wise<br>Of love, as ye to me devise, <br>Ne was I nevere yit gultif;<br>For if I hadde such a wif<br>As ye speke of, what scholde I more?<br>For thanne I wolde neveremore<br>For lust of eny wommanhiede<br>Myn herte upon non other fiede:<br>And if I dede, it were a wast.<br>Bot al withoute such repast<br>Of lust, as ye me tolde above,<br>Of wif, or yit of other love, <br>I faste, and mai no fode gete;<br>So that for lacke of deinte mete,<br>Of which an herte mai be fedd,<br>I go fastende to my bedd.<br>Bot myhte I geten, as ye tolde,<br>So mochel that mi ladi wolde<br>Me fede with hir glad semblant,<br>Though me lacke al the remenant,<br>Yit scholde I somdel ben abeched<br>And for the time wel refreched. <br>Bot certes, fader, sche ne doth;<br>For in good feith, to telle soth,<br>I trowe, thogh I scholde sterve,<br>Sche wolde noght hire yhe swerve,<br>Min herte with o goodly lok<br>To fede, and thus for such a cok<br>I mai go fastinge everemo:<br>Bot if so is that eny wo<br>Mai fede a mannes herte wel,<br>Therof I have at every meel <br>Of plente more than ynowh;<br>Bot that is of himself so towh,<br>Mi stomac mai it noght defie.<br>Lo, such is the delicacie<br>Of love, which myn herte fedeth;<br>Thus have I lacke of that me nedeth.<br>Bot for al this yit natheles<br>I seie noght I am gylteles,<br>That I somdel am delicat:<br>For elles were I fulli mat, <br>Bot if that I som lusti stounde<br>Of confort and of ese founde,<br>To take of love som repast;<br>For thogh I with the fulle tast<br>The lust of love mai noght fiele,<br>Min hunger otherwise I kiele<br>Of smale lustes whiche I pike,<br>And for a time yit thei like;<br>If that ye wisten what I mene.<br>Nou, goode Sone, schrif thee clene <br>Of suche deyntes as ben goode,<br>Wherof thou takst thin hertes fode.<br>Mi fader, I you schal reherce,<br>Hou that mi fodes ben diverse,<br>So as thei fallen in degre.<br>O fiedinge is of that I se,<br>An other is of that I here,<br>The thridde, as I schal tellen here,<br>It groweth of min oghne thoght:<br>And elles scholde I live noght; <br>For whom that failleth fode of herte,<br>He mai noght wel the deth asterte.<br>Of sihte is al mi ferste fode,<br>Thurgh which myn yhe of alle goode<br>Hath that to him is acordant,<br>A lusti fode sufficant.<br>Whan that I go toward the place<br>Wher I schal se my ladi face,<br>Min yhe, which is loth to faste,<br>Beginth to hungre anon so faste, <br>That him thenkth of on houre thre,<br>Til I ther come and he hire se:<br>And thanne after his appetit<br>He takth a fode of such delit,<br>That him non other deynte nedeth.<br>Of sondri sihtes he him fedeth:<br>He seth hire face of such colour,<br>That freisshere is than eny flour,<br>He seth hire front is large and plein<br>Withoute fronce of eny grein, <br>He seth hire yhen lich an hevene,<br>He seth hire nase strauht and evene,<br>He seth hire rode upon the cheke,<br>He seth hire rede lippes eke,<br>Hire chyn acordeth to the face,<br>Al that he seth is full of grace,<br>He seth hire necke round and clene,<br>Therinne mai no bon be sene,<br>He seth hire handes faire and whyte;<br>For al this thing withoute wyte <br>He mai se naked ate leste,<br>So is it wel the more feste<br>And wel the mor Delicacie<br>Unto the fiedinge of myn yhe.<br>He seth hire schapthe forth withal,<br>Hire bodi round, hire middel smal,<br>So wel begon with good array,<br>Which passeth al the lust of Maii,<br>Whan he is most with softe schoures<br>Ful clothed in his lusti floures. <br>With suche sihtes by and by<br>Min yhe is fed; bot finaly,<br>Whan he the port and the manere<br>Seth of hire wommanysshe chere,<br>Than hath he such delice on honde,<br>Him thenkth he mihte stille stonde,<br>And that he hath ful sufficance<br>Of liflode and of sustienance<br>As to his part for everemo.<br>And if it thoghte alle othre so, <br>Fro thenne wolde he nevere wende,<br>Bot there unto the worldes ende<br>He wolde abyde, if that he mihte,<br>And fieden him upon the syhte.<br>For thogh I mihte stonden ay<br>Into the time of domesday<br>And loke upon hire evere in on,<br>Yit whanne I scholde fro hire gon,<br>Min yhe wolde, as thogh he faste,<br>Ben hungerstorven al so faste, <br>Til efte ayein that he hire syhe.<br>Such is the nature of myn yhe:<br>Ther is no lust so deintefull,<br>Of which a man schal noght be full,<br>Of that the stomac underfongeth,<br>Bot evere in on myn yhe longeth:<br>For loke hou that a goshauk tireth,<br>Riht so doth he, whan that he pireth<br>And toteth on hire wommanhiede;<br>For he mai nevere fulli fiede <br>His lust, bot evere aliche sore<br>Him hungreth, so that he the more<br>Desireth to be fed algate:<br>And thus myn yhe is mad the gate,<br>Thurgh which the deyntes of my thoght<br>Of lust ben to myn herte broght.<br>Riht as myn yhe with his lok<br>Is to myn herte a lusti coc<br>Of loves fode delicat,<br>Riht so myn Ere in his astat, <br>Wher as myn yhe mai noght serve,<br>Can wel myn hertes thonk deserve<br>And fieden him fro day to day<br>With suche deyntes as he may.<br>For thus it is, that overal,<br>Wher as I come in special,<br>I mai hiere of mi ladi pris;<br>I hiere on seith that sche is wys,<br>An other seith that sche is good,<br>And som men sein, of worthi blod <br>That sche is come, and is also<br>So fair, that nawher is non so;<br>And som men preise hire goodli chiere:<br>Thus every thing that I mai hiere,<br>Which souneth to mi ladi goode,<br>Is to myn Ere a lusti foode.<br>And ek min Ere hath over this<br>A deynte feste, whan so is<br>That I mai hiere hirselve speke;<br>For thanne anon mi faste I breke <br>On suche wordes as sche seith,<br>That full of trouthe and full of feith<br>Thei ben, and of so good desport,<br>That to myn Ere gret confort<br>Thei don, as thei that ben delices.<br>For al the metes and the spices,<br>That eny Lombard couthe make,<br>Ne be so lusti forto take<br>Ne so ferforth restauratif,<br>I seie as for myn oghne lif, <br>As ben the wordes of hire mouth:<br>For as the wyndes of the South<br>Ben most of alle debonaire,<br>So whan hir list to speke faire,<br>The vertu of hire goodly speche<br>Is verraily myn hertes leche.<br>And if it so befalle among,<br>That sche carole upon a song,<br>Whan I it hiere I am so fedd,<br>That I am fro miself so ledd, <br>As thogh I were in paradis;<br>For certes, as to myn avis,<br>Whan I here of hir vois the stevene,<br>Me thenkth it is a blisse of hevene.<br>And ek in other wise also<br>Fulofte time it falleth so,<br>Min Ere with a good pitance<br>Is fedd of redinge of romance<br>Of Ydoine and of Amadas,<br>That whilom weren in mi cas, <br>And eke of othre many a score,<br>That loveden longe er I was bore.<br>For whan I of here loves rede,<br>Min Ere with the tale I fede;<br>And with the lust of here histoire<br>Somtime I drawe into memoire<br>Hou sorwe mai noght evere laste;<br>And so comth hope in ate laste,<br>Whan I non other fode knowe.<br>And that endureth bot a throwe, <br>Riht as it were a cherie feste;<br>Bot forto compten ate leste,<br>As for the while yit it eseth<br>And somdel of myn herte appeseth:<br>For what thing to myn Ere spreedeth,<br>Which is plesant, somdel it feedeth<br>With wordes suche as he mai gete<br>Mi lust, in stede of other mete.<br>Lo thus, mi fader, as I seie,<br>Of lust the which myn yhe hath seie, <br>And ek of that myn Ere hath herd,<br>Fulofte I have the betre ferd.<br>And tho tuo bringen in the thridde,<br>The which hath in myn herte amidde<br>His place take, to arraie<br>The lusti fode, which assaie<br>I mot; and nameliche on nyhtes,<br>Whan that me lacketh alle sihtes,<br>And that myn heringe is aweie,<br>Thanne is he redy in the weie <br>Mi reresouper forto make,<br>Of which myn hertes fode I take.<br>This lusti cokes name is hote<br>Thoght, which hath evere hise pottes hote<br>Of love buillende on the fyr<br>With fantasie and with desir,<br>Of whiche er this fulofte he fedde<br>Min herte, whanne I was abedde;<br>And thanne he set upon my bord<br>Bothe every syhte and every word <br>Of lust, which I have herd or sein.<br>Bot yit is noght mi feste al plein,<br>Bot al of woldes and of wisshes,<br>Therof have I my fulle disshes,<br>Bot as of fielinge and of tast,<br>Yit mihte I nevere have o repast.<br>And thus, as I have seid aforn,<br>I licke hony on the thorn,<br>And as who seith, upon the bridel<br>I chiewe, so that al is ydel <br>As in effect the fode I have.<br>Bot as a man that wolde him save,<br>Whan he is seck, be medicine,<br>Riht so of love the famine<br>I fonde in al that evere I mai<br>To fiede and dryve forth the day,<br>Til I mai have the grete feste,<br>Which al myn hunger myhte areste.<br>Lo suche ben mi lustes thre;<br>Of that I thenke and hiere and se <br>I take of love my fiedinge<br>Withoute tastinge or fielinge:<br>And as the Plover doth of Eir<br>I live, and am in good espeir<br>That for no such delicacie<br>I trowe I do no glotonie.<br>And natheles to youre avis,<br>Min holi fader, that be wis,<br>I recomande myn astat<br>Of that I have be delicat. <br>Mi Sone, I understonde wel<br>That thou hast told hier everydel,<br>And as me thenketh be thi tale,<br>It ben delices wonder smale,<br>Wherof thou takst thi loves fode.<br>Bot, Sone, if that thou understode<br>What is to ben delicious,<br>Thou woldest noght be curious<br>Upon the lust of thin astat<br>To ben to sore delicat, <br>Wherof that thou reson excede:<br>For in the bokes thou myht rede,<br>If mannes wisdom schal be suied,<br>It oghte wel to ben eschuied<br>In love als wel as other weie;<br>For, as these holi bokes seie,<br>The bodely delices alle<br>In every point, hou so thei falle,<br>Unto the Soule don grievance.<br>And forto take in remembrance, <br>A tale acordant unto this,<br>Which of gret understondinge is<br>To mannes soule resonable,<br>I thenke telle, and is no fable.<br>Of Cristes word, who wole it rede,<br>Hou that this vice is forto drede<br>In thevangile it telleth plein,<br>Which mot algate be certein,<br>For Crist himself it berth witnesse.<br>And thogh the clerk and the clergesse <br>In latin tunge it rede and singe,<br>Yit for the more knoulechinge<br>Of trouthe, which is good to wite,<br>I schal declare as it is write<br>In Engleissh, for thus it began.<br>Crist seith: 'Ther was a riche man,<br>A mihti lord of gret astat,<br>And he was ek so delicat<br>Of his clothing, that everyday<br>Of pourpre and bisse he made him gay, <br>And eet and drank therto his fille<br>After the lustes of his wille,<br>As he which al stod in delice<br>And tok non hiede of thilke vice.<br>And as it scholde so betyde,<br>A povere lazre upon a tyde<br>Cam to the gate and axed mete:<br>Bot there mihte he nothing gete<br>His dedly hunger forto stanche;<br>For he, which hadde his fulle panche <br>Of alle lustes ate bord,<br>Ne deigneth noght to speke a word,<br>Onliche a Crumme forto yive,<br>Wherof the povere myhte live<br>Upon the yifte of his almesse.<br>Thus lai this povere in gret destresse<br>Acold and hungred ate gate,<br>Fro which he mihte go no gate,<br>So was he wofulli besein.<br>And as these holi bokes sein, <br>The houndes comen fro the halle,<br>Wher that this sike man was falle,<br>And as he lay ther forto die,<br>The woundes of his maladie<br>Thei licken forto don him ese.<br>Bot he was full of such desese,<br>That he mai noght the deth eschape;<br>Bot as it was that time schape,<br>The Soule fro the bodi passeth,<br>And he whom nothing overpasseth, <br>The hihe god, up to the hevene<br>Him tok, wher he hath set him evene<br>In Habrahammes barm on hyh,<br>Wher he the hevene joie syh<br>And hadde al that he have wolde.<br>And fell, as it befalle scholde,<br>This riche man the same throwe<br>With soudein deth was overthrowe,<br>And forth withouten eny wente<br>Into the helle straght he wente; <br>The fend into the fyr him drouh,<br>Wher that he hadde peine ynouh<br>Of flamme which that evere brenneth.<br>And as his yhe aboute renneth,<br>Toward the hevene he cast his lok,<br>Wher that he syh and hiede tok<br>Hou Lazar set was in his Se<br>Als ferr as evere he mihte se<br>With Habraham; and thanne he preide<br>Unto the Patriarch and seide: <br>'Send Lazar doun fro thilke Sete,<br>And do that he his finger wete<br>In water, so that he mai droppe<br>Upon my tunge, forto stoppe<br>The grete hete in which I brenne.'<br>Bot Habraham answerde thenne<br>And seide to him in this wise:<br>'Mi Sone, thou thee miht avise<br>And take into thi remembrance,<br>Hou Lazar hadde gret penance, <br>Whyl he was in that other lif,<br>Bot thou in al thi lust jolif<br>The bodily delices soghtest:<br>Forthi, so as thou thanne wroghtest,<br>Nou schalt thou take thi reward<br>Of dedly peine hierafterward<br>In helle, which schal evere laste;<br>And this Lazar nou ate laste<br>The worldes peine is overronne,<br>In hevene and hath his lif begonne <br>Of joie, which is endeles.<br>Bot that thou preidest natheles,<br>That I schal Lazar to the sende<br>With water on his finger ende,<br>Thin hote tunge forto kiele,<br>Thou schalt no such graces fiele;<br>For to that foule place of Sinne,<br>For evere in which thou schalt ben inne,<br>Comth non out of this place thider,<br>Ne non of you mai comen hider; <br>Thus be yee parted nou atuo.'<br>The riche ayeinward cride tho:<br>'O Habraham, sithe it so is,<br>That Lazar mai noght do me this<br>Which I have axed in this place,<br>I wolde preie an other grace.<br>For I have yit of brethren fyve,<br>That with mi fader ben alyve<br>Togedre duellende in on hous;<br>To whom, as thou art gracious, <br>I preie that thou woldest sende<br>Lazar, so that he mihte wende<br>To warne hem hou the world is went,<br>That afterward thei be noght schent<br>Of suche peines as I drye.<br>Lo, this I preie and this I crie,<br>Now I may noght miself amende.'<br>The Patriarch anon suiende<br>To his preiere ansuerde nay;<br>And seide him hou that everyday <br>His brethren mihten knowe and hiere<br>Of Moises on Erthe hiere<br>And of prophetes othre mo,<br>What hem was best. And he seith no;<br>Bot if ther mihte a man aryse<br>Fro deth to lyve in such a wise,<br>To tellen hem hou that it were,<br>He seide hou thanne of pure fere<br>Thei scholden wel be war therby.<br>Quod Habraham: 'Nay sikerly; <br>For if thei nou wol noght obeie<br>To suche as techen hem the weie,<br>And alday preche and alday telle<br>Hou that it stant of hevene and helle,<br>Thei wol noght thanne taken hiede,<br>Thogh it befelle so in dede<br>That eny ded man were arered,<br>To ben of him no betre lered<br>Than of an other man alyve.'<br>If thou, mi Sone, canst descryve <br>This tale, as Crist himself it tolde,<br>Thou schalt have cause to beholde,<br>To se so gret an evidence,<br>Wherof the sothe experience<br>Hath schewed openliche at ije,<br>That bodili delicacie<br>Of him which yeveth non almesse<br>Schal after falle in gret destresse.<br>And that was sene upon the riche:<br>For he ne wolde unto his liche <br>A Crumme yiven of his bred,<br>Thanne afterward, whan he was ded,<br>A drope of water him was werned.<br>Thus mai a mannes wit be lerned<br>Of hem that so delices taken;<br>Whan thei with deth ben overtaken,<br>That erst was swete is thanne sour.<br>Bot he that is a governour<br>Of worldes good, if he be wys,<br>Withinne his herte he set no pris <br>Of al the world, and yit he useth<br>The good, that he nothing refuseth,<br>As he which lord is of the thinges.<br>The Nouches and the riche ringes,<br>The cloth of gold and the Perrie<br>He takth, and yit delicacie<br>He leveth, thogh he were al this.<br>The beste mete that ther is<br>He ett, and drinkth the beste drinke;<br>Bot hou that evere he ete or drinke, <br>Delicacie he put aweie,<br>As he which goth the rihte weie<br>Noght only forto fiede and clothe<br>His bodi, bot his soule bothe.<br>Bot thei that taken otherwise<br>Here lustes, ben none of the wise;<br>And that whilom was schewed eke,<br>If thou these olde bokes seke,<br>Als wel be reson as be kinde,<br>Of olde ensample as men mai finde. <br>What man that wolde him wel avise,<br>Delicacie is to despise,<br>Whan kinde acordeth noght withal;<br>Wherof ensample in special<br>Of Nero whilom mai be told,<br>Which ayein kinde manyfold<br>Hise lustes tok, til ate laste<br>That god him wolde al overcaste;<br>Of whom the Cronique is so plein,<br>Me list nomore of him to sein. <br>And natheles for glotonie<br>Of bodili Delicacie,<br>To knowe his stomak hou it ferde,<br>Of that noman tofore herde,<br>Which he withinne himself bethoghte,<br>A wonder soubtil thing he wroghte.<br>Thre men upon eleccioun<br>Of age and of complexioun<br>Lich to himself be alle weie<br>He tok towardes him to pleie, <br>And ete and drinke als wel as he.<br>Therof was no diversite;<br>For every day whan that thei eete,<br>Tofore his oghne bord thei seete,<br>And of such mete as he was served,<br>Althogh thei hadde it noght deserved,<br>Thei token service of the same.<br>Bot afterward al thilke game<br>Was into wofull ernest torned;<br>For whan thei weren thus sojorned, <br>Withinne a time at after mete<br>Nero, which hadde noght foryete<br>The lustes of his frele astat,<br>As he which al was delicat,<br>To knowe thilke experience,<br>The men let come in his presence:<br>And to that on the same tyde,<br>A courser that he scholde ryde<br>Into the feld, anon he bad;<br>Wherof this man was wonder glad, <br>And goth to prike and prance aboute.<br>That other, whil that he was oute,<br>He leide upon his bedd to slepe:<br>The thridde, which he wolde kepe<br>Withinne his chambre, faire and softe<br>He goth now doun nou up fulofte,<br>Walkende a pass, that he ne slepte,<br>Til he which on the courser lepte<br>Was come fro the field ayein.<br>Nero thanne, as the bokes sein, <br>These men doth taken alle thre<br>And slouh hem, for he wolde se<br>The whos stomak was best defied:<br>And whanne he hath the sothe tryed,<br>He fond that he which goth the pass<br>Defyed best of alle was,<br>Which afterward he usede ay.<br>And thus what thing unto his pay<br>Was most plesant, he lefte non:<br>With every lust he was begon, <br>Wherof the bodi myhte glade,<br>For he non abstinence made;<br>Bot most above alle erthli thinges<br>Of wommen unto the likinges<br>Nero sette al his hole herte,<br>For that lust scholde him noght asterte.<br>Whan that the thurst of love him cawhte,<br>Wher that him list he tok a drauhte,<br>He spareth nouther wif ne maide,<br>That such an other, as men saide, <br>In al this world was nevere yit.<br>He was so drunke in al his wit<br>Thurgh sondri lustes whiche he tok,<br>That evere, whil ther is a bok,<br>Of Nero men schul rede and singe<br>Unto the worldes knowlechinge,<br>Mi goode Sone, as thou hast herd.<br>For evere yit it hath so ferd,<br>Delicacie in loves cas<br>Withoute reson is and was; <br>For wher that love his herte set,<br>Him thenkth it myhte be no bet;<br>And thogh it be noght fulli mete,<br>The lust of love is evere swete.<br>Lo, thus togedre of felaschipe<br>Delicacie and drunkeschipe,<br>Wherof reson stant out of herre,<br>Have mad full many a wisman erre<br>In loves cause most of alle:<br>For thanne hou so that evere it falle, <br>Wit can no reson understonde,<br>Bot let the governance stonde<br>To Will, which thanne wext so wylde,<br>That he can noght himselve schylde<br>Fro no peril, bot out of feere<br>The weie he secheth hiere and there,<br>Him recheth noght upon what syde:<br>For oftetime he goth beside,<br>And doth such thing withoute drede,<br>Wherof him oghte wel to drede. <br>Bot whan that love assoteth sore,<br>It passeth alle mennes lore;<br>What lust it is that he ordeigneth,<br>Ther is no mannes miht restreigneth,<br>And of the godd takth he non hiede:<br>Bot laweles withoute drede,<br>His pourpos for he wolde achieve<br>Ayeins the pointz of the believe,<br>He tempteth hevene and erthe and helle,<br>Hierafterward as I schall telle. <br>Who dar do thing which love ne dar?<br>To love is every lawe unwar,<br>Bot to the lawes of his heste<br>The fissch, the foul, the man, the beste<br>Of al the worldes kinde louteth.<br>For love is he which nothing douteth:<br>In mannes herte where he sit,<br>He compteth noght toward his wit<br>The wo nomore than the wele,<br>No mor the hete than the chele, <br>No mor the wete than the dreie,<br>No mor to live than to deie,<br>So that tofore ne behinde<br>He seth nothing, bot as the blinde<br>Withoute insyhte of his corage<br>He doth merveilles in his rage.<br>To what thing that he wole him drawe,<br>Ther is no god, ther is no lawe,<br>Of whom that he takth eny hiede;<br>Bot as Baiard the blinde stede, <br>Til he falle in the dich amidde,<br>He goth ther noman wole him bidde;<br>He stant so ferforth out of reule,<br>Ther is no wit that mai him reule.<br>And thus to telle of him in soth,<br>Ful many a wonder thing he doth,<br>That were betre to be laft,<br>Among the whiche is wicchecraft,<br>That som men clepen Sorcerie,<br>Which forto winne his druerie <br>With many a circumstance he useth,<br>Ther is no point which he refuseth.<br>The craft which that Saturnus fond,<br>To make prickes in the Sond,<br>That Geomance cleped is,<br>Fulofte he useth it amis;<br>And of the flod his Ydromance,<br>And of the fyr the Piromance,<br>With questions echon of tho<br>He tempteth ofte, and ek also <br>Aeremance in juggement<br>To love he bringth of his assent:<br>For these craftes, as I finde,<br>A man mai do be weie of kinde,<br>Be so it be to good entente.<br>Bot he goth al an other wente;<br>For rathere er he scholde faile,<br>With Nigromance he wole assaile<br>To make his incantacioun<br>With hot subfumigacioun. <br>Thilke art which Spatula is hote,<br>And used is of comun rote<br>Among Paiens, with that craft ek<br>Of which is Auctor Thosz the Grek,<br>He worcheth on and on be rowe:<br>Razel is noght to him unknowe,<br>Ne Salomones Candarie,<br>His Ydeac, his Eutonye;<br>The figure and the bok withal<br>Of Balamuz, and of Ghenbal <br>The Seal, and therupon thymage<br>Of Thebith, for his avantage<br>He takth, and somwhat of Gibiere,<br>Which helplich is to this matiere.<br>Babilla with hire Sones sevene,<br>Which hath renonced to the hevene,<br>With Cernes bothe square and rounde,<br>He traceth ofte upon the grounde,<br>Makende his invocacioun;<br>And for full enformacioun <br>The Scole which Honorius<br>Wrot, he poursuieth: and lo, thus<br>Magique he useth forto winne<br>His love, and spareth for no Sinne.<br>And over that of his Sotie,<br>Riht as he secheth Sorcerie<br>Of hem that ben Magiciens,<br>Riht so of the Naturiens<br>Upon the Sterres from above<br>His weie he secheth unto love, <br>Als fer as he hem understondeth.<br>In many a sondry wise he fondeth:<br>He makth ymage, he makth sculpture,<br>He makth writinge, he makth figure,<br>He makth his calculacions,<br>He makth his demonstracions;<br>His houres of Astronomie<br>He kepeth as for that partie<br>Which longeth to thinspeccion<br>Of love and his affeccion; <br>He wolde into the helle seche<br>The devel himselve to beseche,<br>If that he wiste forto spede,<br>To gete of love his lusti mede:<br>Wher that he hath his herte set,<br>He bede nevere fare bet<br>Ne wite of other hevene more.<br>Mi Sone, if thou of such a lore<br>Hast ben er this, I red thee leve.<br>Min holi fader, be youre leve <br>Of al that ye have spoken hiere<br>Which toucheth unto this matiere,<br>To telle soth riht as I wene,<br>I wot noght o word what ye mene.<br>I wol noght seie, if that I couthe,<br>That I nolde in mi lusti youthe<br>Benethe in helle and ek above<br>To winne with mi ladi love<br>Don al that evere that I mihte;<br>For therof have I non insihte <br>Wher afterward that I become,<br>To that I wonne and overcome<br>Hire love, which I most coveite.<br>Mi Sone, that goth wonder streite:<br>For this I mai wel telle soth,<br>Ther is noman the which so doth,<br>For al the craft that he can caste,<br>That he nabeith it ate laste.<br>For often he that wol beguile<br>Is guiled with the same guile, <br>And thus the guilour is beguiled;<br>As I finde in a bok compiled<br>To this matiere an old histoire,<br>The which comth nou to mi memoire,<br>And is of gret essamplerie<br>Ayein the vice of Sorcerie,<br>Wherof non ende mai be good.<br>Bot hou whilom therof it stod,<br>A tale which is good to knowe<br>To thee, mi Sone, I schal beknowe. <br>Among hem whiche at Troie were,<br>Uluxes ate Siege there<br>Was on be name in special;<br>Of whom yit the memorial<br>Abit, for whyl ther is a mouth,<br>For evere his name schal be couth.<br>He was a worthi knyht and king<br>And clerk knowende of every thing;<br>He was a gret rethorien,<br>He was a gret magicien; <br>Of Tullius the rethorique,<br>Of king Zorastes the magique,<br>Of Tholome thastronomie,<br>Of Plato the Philosophie,<br>Of Daniel the slepi dremes,<br>Of Neptune ek the water stremes,<br>Of Salomon and the proverbes,<br>Of Macer al the strengthe of herbes,<br>And the Phisique of Ypocras,<br>And lich unto Pictagoras <br>Of Surgerie he knew the cures.<br>Bot somwhat of his aventures,<br>Which schal to mi matiere acorde,<br>To thee, mi Sone, I wol recorde.<br>This king, of which thou hast herd sein,<br>Fro Troie as he goth hom ayein<br>Be Schipe, he fond the See divers,<br>With many a wyndi storm revers.<br>Bot he thurgh wisdom that he schapeth<br>Ful many a gret peril ascapeth, <br>Of whiche I thenke tellen on,<br>Hou that malgre the nedle and ston<br>Wynddrive he was al soudeinly<br>Upon the strondes of Cilly,<br>Wher that he moste abyde a whyle.<br>Tuo queenes weren in that yle<br>Calipsa named and Circes;<br>And whan they herde hou Uluxes<br>Is londed ther upon the ryve,<br>For him thei senden als so blive. <br>With him suche as he wolde he nam<br>And to the court to hem he cam.<br>Thes queenes were as tuo goddesses<br>Of Art magique Sorceresses,<br>That what lord comth to that rivage,<br>Thei make him love in such a rage<br>And upon hem assote so,<br>That thei wol have, er that he go,<br>Al that he hath of worldes good.<br>Uluxes wel this understod, <br>Thei couthe moche, he couthe more;<br>Thei schape and caste ayein him sore<br>And wroghte many a soutil wyle,<br>Bot yit thei mihte him noght beguile.<br>Bot of the men of his navie<br>Thei tuo forschope a gret partie,<br>Mai non of hem withstonde here hestes;<br>Som part thei schopen into bestes,<br>Som part thei schopen into foules,<br>To beres, tigres, Apes, oules, <br>Or elles be som other weie;<br>Ther myhte hem nothing desobeie,<br>Such craft thei hadde above kinde.<br>Bot that Art couthe thei noght finde,<br>Of which Uluxes was deceived,<br>That he ne hath hem alle weyved,<br>And broght hem into such a rote,<br>That upon him thei bothe assote;<br>And thurgh the science of his art<br>He tok of hem so wel his part, <br>That he begat Circes with childe.<br>He kepte him sobre and made hem wilde,<br>He sette himselve so above,<br>That with here good and with here love,<br>Who that therof be lief or loth,<br>Al quit into his Schip he goth.<br>Circes toswolle bothe sides<br>He lefte, and waiteth on the tydes,<br>And straght thurghout the salte fom<br>He takth his cours and comth him hom, <br>Where as he fond Penolope;<br>A betre wif ther mai non be,<br>And yit ther ben ynowhe of goode.<br>Bot who hir goodschipe understode<br>Fro ferst that sche wifhode tok,<br>Hou many loves sche forsok<br>And hou sche bar hire al aboute,<br>Ther whiles that hire lord was oute,<br>He mihte make a gret avant<br>Amonges al the remenant <br>That sche was on of al the beste.<br>Wel myhte he sette his herte in reste,<br>This king, whan he hir fond in hele;<br>For as he couthe in wisdom dele,<br>So couthe sche in wommanhiede:<br>And whan sche syh withoute drede<br>Hire lord upon his oghne ground,<br>That he was come sauf and sound,<br>In al this world ne mihte be<br>A gladdere womman than was sche. <br>The fame, which mai noght ben hidd,<br>Thurghout the lond is sone kidd,<br>Here king is come hom ayein:<br>Ther mai noman the fulle sein,<br>Hou that thei weren alle glade,<br>So mochel joie of him thei made.<br>The presens every day be newed,<br>He was with yiftes al besnewed;<br>The poeple was of him so glad,<br>That thogh non other man hem bad, <br>Taillage upon hemself thei sette,<br>And as it were of pure dette<br>Thei yeve here goodes to the king:<br>This was a glad hom welcomyng.<br>Thus hath Uluxes what he wolde,<br>His wif was such as sche be scholde,<br>His poeple was to him sougit,<br>Him lacketh nothing of delit.<br>Bot fortune is of such a sleyhte,<br>That whan a man is most on heyhte, <br>Sche makth him rathest forto falle:<br>Ther wot noman what schal befalle,<br>The happes over mannes hed<br>Ben honged with a tendre thred.<br>That proved was on Uluxes;<br>For whan he was most in his pes,<br>Fortune gan to make him werre<br>And sette his welthe al out of herre.<br>Upon a dai as he was merie,<br>As thogh ther mihte him nothing derie, <br>Whan nyht was come, he goth to bedde,<br>With slep and bothe his yhen fedde.<br>And while he slepte, he mette a swevene:<br>Him thoghte he syh a stature evene,<br>Which brihtere than the sonne schon;<br>A man it semeth was it non,<br>Bot yit it was as in figure<br>Most lich to mannyssh creature,<br>Bot as of beaute hevenelich<br>It was most to an Angel lich: <br>And thus betwen angel and man<br>Beholden it this king began,<br>And such a lust tok of the sihte,<br>That fain he wolde, if that he mihte,<br>The forme of that figure embrace;<br>And goth him forth toward the place,<br>Wher he sih that ymage tho,<br>And takth it in his Armes tuo,<br>And it embraceth him ayein<br>And to the king thus gan it sein: <br>'Uluxes, understond wel this,<br>The tokne of oure aqueintance is<br>Hierafterward to mochel tene:<br>The love that is ous betuene,<br>Of that we nou such joie make,<br>That on of ous the deth schal take,<br>Whan time comth of destine;<br>It may non other wise be.'<br>Uluxes tho began to preie<br>That this figure wolde him seie <br>What wyht he is that seith him so.<br>This wyht upon a spere tho<br>A pensel which was wel begon,<br>Embrouded, scheweth him anon:<br>Thre fisshes alle of o colour<br>In manere as it were a tour<br>Upon the pensel were wroght.<br>Uluxes kneu this tokne noght,<br>And preith to wite in som partie<br>What thing it myhte signefie, <br>'A signe it is,' the wyht ansuerde,<br>'Of an Empire:' and forth he ferde<br>Al sodeinly, whan he that seide.<br>Uluxes out of slep abreide,<br>And that was riht ayein the day,<br>That lengere slepen he ne may.<br>Men sein, a man hath knowleching<br>Save of himself of alle thing;<br>His oghne chance noman knoweth,<br>Bot as fortune it on him throweth: <br>Was nevere yit so wys a clerk,<br>Which mihte knowe al goddes werk,<br>Ne the secret which god hath set<br>Ayein a man mai noght be let.<br>Uluxes, thogh that he be wys,<br>With al his wit in his avis,<br>The mor that he his swevene acompteth,<br>The lasse he wot what it amonteth:<br>For al his calculacion,<br>He seth no demonstracion <br>Al pleinly forto knowe an ende;<br>Bot natheles hou so it wende,<br>He dradde him of his oghne Sone.<br>That makth him wel the more astone,<br>And schop therfore anon withal,<br>So that withinne castel wall<br>Thelamachum his Sone he schette,<br>And upon him strong warde he sette.<br>The sothe furthere he ne knew,<br>Til that fortune him overthreu; <br>Bot natheles for sikernesse,<br>Wher that he mihte wite and gesse<br>A place strengest in his lond,<br>Ther let he make of lym and sond<br>A strengthe where he wolde duelle;<br>Was nevere man yit herde telle<br>Of such an other as it was.<br>And forto strengthe him in that cas,<br>Of al his lond the sekereste<br>Of servantz and the worthieste, <br>To kepen him withinne warde,<br>He sette his bodi forto warde;<br>And made such an ordinance,<br>For love ne for aqueintance,<br>That were it erly, were it late,<br>Thei scholde lete in ate gate<br>No maner man, what so betydde,<br>Bot if so were himself it bidde.<br>Bot al that myhte him noght availe,<br>For whom fortune wole assaile, <br>Ther mai be non such resistence,<br>Which mihte make a man defence;<br>Al that schal be mot falle algate.<br>This Circes, which I spak of late,<br>On whom Uluxes hath begete<br>A child, thogh he it have foryete,<br>Whan time com, as it was wone,<br>Sche was delivered of a Sone,<br>Which cleped is Thelogonus.<br>This child, whan he was bore thus, <br>Aboute his moder to ful age,<br>That he can reson and langage,<br>In good astat was drawe forth:<br>And whan he was so mochel worth<br>To stonden in a mannes stede,<br>Circes his moder hath him bede<br>That he schal to his fader go,<br>And tolde him al togedre tho<br>What man he was that him begat.<br>And whan Thelogonus of that <br>Was war and hath ful knowleching<br>Hou that his fader was a king,<br>He preith his moder faire this,<br>To go wher that his fader is;<br>And sche him granteth that he schal,<br>And made him redi forth withal.<br>It was that time such usance,<br>That every man the conoiscance<br>Of his contre bar in his hond,<br>Whan he wente into strange lond; <br>And thus was every man therfore<br>Wel knowe, wher that he was bore:<br>For espiaile and mistrowinges<br>They dede thanne suche thinges,<br>That every man mai other knowe.<br>So it befell that ilke throwe<br>Thelogonus as in this cas;<br>Of his contre the signe was<br>Thre fisshes, whiche he scholde bere<br>Upon the penon of a spere: <br>And whan that he was thus arraied<br>And hath his harneis al assaied,<br>That he was redy everydel,<br>His moder bad him farewel,<br>And seide him that he scholde swithe<br>His fader griete a thousand sithe.<br>Thelogonus his moder kiste<br>And tok his leve, and wher he wiste<br>His fader was, the weie nam,<br>Til he unto Nachaie cam, <br>Which of that lond the chief Cite<br>Was cleped, and ther axeth he<br>Wher was the king and hou he ferde.<br>And whan that he the sothe herde,<br>Wher that the king Uluxes was,<br>Al one upon his hors gret pas<br>He rod him forth, and in his hond<br>He bar the signal of his lond<br>With fisshes thre, as I have told;<br>And thus he wente unto that hold, <br>Wher that his oghne fader duelleth.<br>The cause why he comth he telleth<br>Unto the kepers of the gate,<br>And wolde have comen in therate,<br>Bot schortli thei him seide nay:<br>And he als faire as evere he may<br>Besoghte and tolde hem ofte this,<br>Hou that the king his fader is;<br>Bot they with proude wordes grete<br>Begunne to manace and threte, <br>Bot he go fro the gate faste,<br>Thei wolde him take and sette faste.<br>Fro wordes unto strokes thus<br>Thei felle, and so Thelogonus<br>Was sore hurt and welnyh ded;<br>Bot with his scharpe speres hed<br>He makth defence, hou so it falle,<br>And wan the gate upon hem alle,<br>And hath slain of the beste fyve;<br>And thei ascriden als so blyve <br>Thurghout the castell al aboute.<br>On every syde men come oute,<br>Wherof the kinges herte afflihte,<br>And he with al the haste he mihte<br>A spere cauhte and out he goth,<br>As he that was nyh wod for wroth.<br>He sih the gates ful of blod,<br>Thelogonus and wher he stod<br>He sih also, bot he ne knew<br>What man it was, and to him threw <br>His Spere, and he sterte out asyde.<br>Bot destine, which schal betide,<br>Befell that ilke time so,<br>Thelogonus knew nothing tho<br>What man it was that to him caste,<br>And while his oghne spere laste,<br>With al the signe therupon<br>He caste unto the king anon,<br>And smot him with a dedly wounde.<br>Uluxes fell anon to grounde; <br>Tho every man, 'The king! the king!'<br>Began to crie, and of this thing<br>Thelogonus, which sih the cas,<br>On knes he fell and seide, 'Helas!<br>I have min oghne fader slain:<br>Nou wolde I deie wonder fain,<br>Nou sle me who that evere wile,<br>For certes it is right good skile.'<br>He crith, he wepth, he seith therfore,<br>'Helas, that evere was I bore, <br>That this unhappi destine<br>So wofulli comth in be me!'<br>This king, which yit hath lif ynouh,<br>His herte ayein to him he drouh,<br>And to that vois an Ere he leide<br>And understod al that he seide,<br>And gan to speke, and seide on hih,<br>'Bring me this man.' And whan he sih<br>Thelogonus, his thoght he sette<br>Upon the swevene which he mette, <br>And axeth that he myhte se<br>His spere, on which the fisshes thre<br>He sih upon a pensel wroght.<br>Tho wiste he wel it faileth noght,<br>And badd him that he telle scholde<br>Fro whenne he cam and what he wolde.<br>Thelogonus in sorghe and wo<br>So as he mihte tolde tho<br>Unto Uluxes al the cas,<br>Hou that Circes his moder was, <br>And so forth seide him everydel,<br>Hou that his moder gret him wel,<br>And in what wise sche him sente.<br>Tho wiste Uluxes what it mente,<br>And tok him in hise Armes softe,<br>And al bledende he kest him ofte,<br>And seide, 'Sone, whil I live,<br>This infortune I thee foryive.'<br>After his other Sone in haste<br>He sende, and he began him haste <br>And cam unto his fader tyt.<br>Bot whan he sih him in such plit,<br>He wolde have ronne upon that other<br>Anon, and slain his oghne brother,<br>Ne hadde be that Uluxes<br>Betwen hem made acord and pes,<br>And to his heir Thelamachus<br>He bad that he Thelogonus<br>With al his pouer scholde kepe,<br>Til he were of his woundes depe <br>Al hol, and thanne he scholde him yive<br>Lond wher upon he mihte live.<br>Thelamachus, whan he this herde,<br>Unto his fader he ansuerde<br>And seide he wol</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=John+Gower">John Gower</a><div class=q> <img src="https://www.citatepedia.ro/g/32share.png" style="float:left" alt="Share"> <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=citatepedia" async="async"></script><div style="display:inline-block" class="addthis_sharing_toolbox" data-url="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=420402" data-title="Confessio Amantis. Explicit Liber Quintus de John Gower" data-description="Incipit Liber Sextus Est gula, que nostrum maculavit prima parentem Ex vetito pomo, quo dolet omnis homo Hec agit, ut corpus anime contraria spirat, Quo caro fit crassa, spiritus atque macer. Intus et exterius si que virtutis habentur, Potibus eb..."></div> </div> </div>

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