Specimens with Memoirs of the Less-known British Poets Part 5

Contra, quod I, as a clerk, and c.u.msed to disputen, And said them soothly, _Septies in die cadit justus_, Seven sythes,[8] sayeth the book, sinneth the rightful, And whoso sinneth, I say, doth evil as methinketh, And Dowell and Doevil may not dwell together, Ergo he is not alway among you friars; He is other while elsewhere, to wyshen[9] the people.

'I shall say thee, my son,' said the friar then, 'How seven sithes the sadde[10] man on a day sinneth, By a forvisne'[11] quod the friar, 'I shall thee fair shew; Let bring a man in a boat, amid the broad water, The wind and the water, and the boate wagging, Make a man many time, to fall and to stand, For stand he never so stiff, he stumbleth if he move, And yet is he safe and sound, and so him behoveth, For if he ne arise the rather, and raght[12] to the steer, The wind would with the water the boat overthrow, And then were his life lost through latches[13] of himself.

And thus it falleth,' quod the friar, 'by folk here on earth, The water is lik'ned to the world, that waneth and waxeth, The goods of this world are likened to the great waves That as winds and weathers, walken about, The boat is liken'd to our body, that brittle is of kind, That through the flesh, and the fraile world Sinneth the sadde man, a day seven times, And deadly sin doeth he not, for Dowell him keepeth, And that is Charity the champion, chief help against sin, For he strengtheth man to stand, and stirreth man's soul, And though thy body bow, as boate doth in water, Aye is thy soule safe, but if thou wilt thyself Do a deadly sin, and drenche[14] so thy soul, G.o.d will suffer well thy sloth, if thyself liketh, For he gave thee two years' gifts, to teme well thyself, And that is wit and free-will, to every wight a portion, To flying fowles, to fishes, and to beasts, And man hath most thereof, and most is to blame But if he work well therewith, as Dowell him teacheth.'

'I have no kind knowing,' quoth I, 'to conceive all your wordes And if I may live and look, I shall go learne better; I beken[15] the Christ, that on the crosse died;'

And I said, 'The same save you from mischance, And give you grace on this ground good me to worth.'

And thus I went wide where, walking mine one By a wide wilderness, and by a woode's side, Bliss of the birdes brought me on sleep, And under a lind[16] on a land, leaned I a stound[17]

To lyth[18] the layes, those lovely fowles made, Mirth of their mouthes made me there to sleep.

The marvellousest metelles mette[19] me then That ever dreamed wight, in world as I went.

A much man as me thought, and like to myself, Came and called me, by my kinde[20] name.

'What art thou,' quod I then, 'thou that my name knowest?'

'That thou wottest well,' quod he, 'and no wight better.'

'Wot I what thou art?' Thought said he then, 'I have sued[21] thee this seven years, see ye me no rather?'

'Art thou Thought?' quoth I then, 'thou couldest me wyssh[22]

Where that Dowell dwelleth, and do me that to know.'

'Dowell, and Dobetter, and Dobest the third,' quod he, 'Are three fair virtues, and be not far to find, Whoso is true of his tongue, and of his two handes, And through his labour or his lod, his livelod winneth, And is trusty of his tayling,[23] taketh but his own, And is no drunkelow ne dedigious, Dowell him followeth; Dobet doth right thus, and he doth much more, He is as low as a lamb, and lovely of speech, And helpeth all men, after that them needeth; The bagges and the bigirdles, he hath to-broke them all, That the earl avarous helde and his heires, And thus to mammons many he hath made him friends, And is run to religion, and hath rend'red[24] the Bible And preached to the people Saint Paule's wordes, _Libenter suffertis insipientes, c.u.m sitis ipsi sapientes_.

And suffereth the unwise with you for to live, And with glad will doth he good, for so G.o.d you hoteth.[25]

Dobest is above both, and beareth a bishop's cross Is hooked on that one end to halye[26] men from h.e.l.l; A pike is on the potent[27] to pull down the wicked That waiten any wickedness, Dowell to tene;[28]

And Dowell and Dobet amongst them have ordained To crown one to be king, to rule them boeth, That if Dowell and Dobet are against Dobest, Then shall the king come, and cast them in irons, And but if Dobest bid for them, they be there for ever.

Thus Dowell and Dobet, and Dobeste the third, Crowned one to be king, to keepen them all, And to rule the realme by their three wittes, And none otherwise but as they three a.s.sented.'

I thanked Thought then, that he me thus taught, And yet favoureth me not thy suging, I covet to learn How Dowell, Dobest, and Dobetter do among the people.

'But Wit can wish[29] thee,' quoth Thought, 'where they three dwell, Else wot I none that can tell that now is alive.'

Thought and I thus, three dayes we yeden[30]

Disputing upon Dowell, daye after other.

And ere we were 'ware, with Wit 'gan we meet.

He was long and leane, like to none other, Was no pride on his apparel, nor poverty neither; Sad of his semblance, and of soft cheer; I durst not move no matter, to make him to laugh, But as I bade Thought then be mean between, And put forth some purpose to prevent his wits, What was Dowell from Dobet, and Dobest from them both?

Then Thought in that time said these wordes; 'Whether Dowell, Dobet, and Dobest be in land, Here is well would wit, if Wit could teach him, And whether he be man or woman, this man fain would espy, And work as they three would, this is his intent.'

'Here Dowell dwelleth,' quod Wit, 'not a day hence, In a castle that kind[31] made, of four kinds things; Of earth and air is it made, mingled together With wind and with water, witterly[32] enjoined; Kinde hath closed therein, craftily withal, A leman[33] that he loveth, like to himself, Anima she hight, and Envy her hateth, A proud p.r.i.c.ker of France, _princeps hujus mundi_, And would win her away with wiles and he might; And Kind knoweth this well, and keepeth her the better.

And doth her with Sir Dowell is duke of these marches; Dobet is her damosel, Sir Dowell's daughter, To serve this lady lelly,[34] both late and rathe.[35]

Dobest is above both, a bishop's pere; That he bids must be done; he ruleth them all.

Anima, that lady, is led by his learning, And the constable of the castle, that keepeth all the watch, Is a wise knight withal, Sir Inwit he hight, And hath five fair sonnes by his first wife, Sir Seewell and Saywell, and Hearwell-the-end, Sir Workwell-with-thy-hand, a wight man of strength, And Sir G.o.dfray Gowell, great lordes forsooth.

These five be set to save this lady Anima, Till Kind come or send, to save her for ever.'

'What kind thing is Kind,' quod I, 'canst thou me tell?'-- 'Kind,' quod Wit, 'is a creator of all kinds things, Father and former of all that ever was maked, And that is the great G.o.d that 'ginning had never, Lord of life and of light, of bliss and of pain, Angels and all thing are at his will, And man is him most like, of mark and of shape, For through the word that he spake, wexen forth beasts, And made Adam, likest to himself one, And Eve of his ribbe bone, without any mean, For he was singular himself, and said _Faciamus_, As who say more must hereto, than my worde one, My might must helpe now with my speech, Even as a lord should make letters, and he lacked parchment, Though he could write never so well, if he had no pen, The letters, for all his lords.h.i.+p, I 'lieve were never ymarked; And so it seemeth by him, as the Bible telleth, There he saide, _Dixit et facta sunt_.

He must work with his word, and his wit shew; And in this manner was man made, by might of G.o.d Almighty, With his word and his workmans.h.i.+p, and with life to last, And thus G.o.d gave him a ghost[36] of the G.o.dhead of heaven, And of his great grace granted him bliss, And that is life that aye shall last, to all our lineage after; And that is the castle that Kinde made, Caro it hight, And is as much to meane as man with a soul, And that he wrought with work and with word both; Through might of the majesty, man was ymaked.

Inwit and Allwits closed been therein, For love of the lady Anima, that life is nempned.[37]

Over all in man's body, she walketh and wand'reth, And in the heart is her home, and her most rest, And Inwit is in the head, and to the hearte looketh, What Anima is lief or loth,[38] he leadeth her at his will Then had Wit a wife, was hote Dame Study, That leve was of lere, and of liche boeth.

She was wonderly wrought, Wit me so teached, And all staring, Dame Study sternely said; 'Well art thou wise,' quoth she to Wit, 'any wisdoms to tell To flatterers or to fooles, that frantic be of wits;'

And blamed him and banned him, and bade him be still, With such wise wordes, to wysh any sots, And said, '_Noli mittere_, man, _margaritae_, pearls, Amonge hogges, that have hawes at will.

They do but drivel thereon, draff were them lever,[39]

Than all precious pearls that in paradise waxeth.[40]

I say it, by such,' quod she, 'that shew it by their works, That them were lever[41] land and lords.h.i.+p on earth, Or riches or rentes, and rest at their will, Than all the sooth sawes that Solomon said ever.

Wisdom and wit now is not worth a kerse,[42]

But if it be carded with covetise, as clothers kemb their wool; Whoso can contrive deceits, and conspire wrongs, And lead forth a loveday,[43] to let with truth, He that such craftes can is oft cleped to counsel, They lead lords with lesings, and belieth truth.

Job the gentle in his gests greatly witnesseth That wicked men wielden the wealth of this world; The Psalter sayeth the same, by such as do evil; _Ecce ipsi peccatores abundantes in seculo obtinuerunt divitias_.

Lo, saith holy lecture, which lords be these shrewes?

Thilke that G.o.d giveth most, least good they dealeth, And most unkind be to that comen, that most chattel wieldeth.[44]

_Quae perfecisti destrutxerunt, justus autem, &c_.

Harlots for their harlotry may have of their goodes, And j.a.pers and juggelers, and janglers of jestes, And he that hath holy writ aye in his mouth, And can tell of Tobie, and of the twelve apostles, Or preach of the penance that Pilate falsely wrought To Jesu the gentle, that Jewes to-draw: Little is he loved that such a lesson sheweth; Or daunten or draw forth, I do it on G.o.d himself, But they that feign they fooles, and with fayting[45] liveth, Against the lawe of our Lord, and lien on themself, Spitten and spewen, and speak foule wordes, Drinken and drivellen, and do men for to gape, Liken men, and lie on them, and lendeth them no giftes, They can[46] no more minstrelsy nor music men to glad, Than Mundie, the miller, of _multa fecit Deus_.

Ne were their vile harlotry, have G.o.d my truth, Shoulde never king nor knight, nor canon of Paul's Give them to their yeare's gift, nor gift of a groat, And mirth and minstrelsy amongst men is nought; Lechery, losenchery,[47] and losels' tales, Gluttony and great oaths, this mirth they loveth, And if they carpen[48] of Christ, these clerkes and these lewed, And they meet in their mirth, when minstrels be still, When telleth they of the Trinity a tale or twain, And bringeth forth a blade reason, and take Bernard to witness, And put forth a presumption to prove the sooth, Thus they drivel at their dais[49] the Deity to scorn, And gnawen G.o.d to their gorge[50] when their guts fallen; And the careful[51] may cry, and carpen at the gate, Both a-hunger'd and a-thirst, and for chill[52] quake, Is none to nymen[53] them near, his noyel[54] to amend, But hunten him as a hound, and hoten[55] him go hence.

Little loveth he that Lord that lent him all that bliss, That thus parteth with the poor; a parcel when him needeth Ne were mercy in mean men, more than in rich; Mendynauntes meatless[56] might go to bed.

G.o.d is much in the gorge of these greate masters, And amonges mean men, his mercy and his workes, And so sayeth the Psalter, I have seen it oft.

Clerks and other kinnes men carpen of G.o.d fast, And have him much in the mouth, and meane men in heart; Friars and faitours[57] have founden such questions To please with the proud men, sith the pestilence time, And preachen at St Paule's, for pure envy of clerks, That folk is not firmed in the faith, nor free of their goods, Nor sorry for their sinnes, so is pride waxen, In religion, and in all the realm, amongst rich and poor; That prayers have no power the pestilence to let, And yet the wretches of this world are none 'ware by other, Nor for dread of the death, withdraw not their pride, Nor be plenteous to the poor, as pure charity would, But in gains and in gluttony, forglote goods themself, And breaketh not to the beggar, as the book teacheth.

And the more he winneth, and waxeth wealthy in riches, And lordeth in landes, the less good he dealeth.

Tobie telleth ye not so, take heed, ye rich, How the bible book of him beareth witness; Whoso hath much, spend manly, so meaneth Tobit, And whoso little wieldeth, rule him thereafter; For we have no letter of our life, how long it shall endure.

Suche lessons lordes shoulde love to hear, And how he might most meinie, manlich find; Not to fare as a fiddeler, or a friar to seek feasts, Homely at other men's houses, and haten their own.

Elenge[58] is the hall every day in the week; There the lord nor the lady liketh not to sit, Now hath each rich a rule[59] to eaten by themself In a privy parlour, for poore men's sake, Or in a chamber with a chimney, and leave the chief hall That was made for meales men to eat in.'-- And when that Wit was 'ware what Dame Study told, He became so confuse he cunneth not look, And as dumb as death, and drew him arear, And for no carping I could after, nor kneeling to the earth I might get no grain of his greate wits, But all laughing he louted, and looked upon Study, In sign that I shoulde beseechen her of grace, And when I was 'ware of his will, to his wife I louted And said, 'Mercie, madam, your man shall I worth As long as I live both late and early, For to worken your will, the while my life endureth, With this that ye ken me kindly, to know to what is Dowell.'

'For thy meekness, man,' quoth she, 'and for thy mild speech, I shall ken thee to my cousin, that Clergy is hoten.[60]

He hath wedded a wife within these six moneths, Is syb[61] to the seven arts, Scripture is her name; They two as I hope, after my teaching, Shall wishen thee Dowell, I dare undertake.'

Then was I as fain as fowl of fair morrow, And gladder than the gleeman that gold hath to gift, And asked her the highway where that Clergy[62] dwelt.

'And tell me some token,' quoth I, 'for time is that I wend.'

'Ask the highway,' quoth she, 'hence to suffer Both well and woe, if that thou wilt learn; And ride forth by riches, and rest thou not therein, For if thou couplest ye therewith, to Clergy comest thou never, And also the likorous land that Lechery hight, Leave it on thy left half, a large mile and more, Till thou come to a court, keep well thy tongue From leasings and lyther[63] speech, and likorous drinkes, Then shalt thou see Sobriety, and Simplicity of speech, That each might be in his will, his wit to shew, And thus shall ye come to Clergy that can many things; Say him this sign, I set him to school, And that I greet well his wife, for I wrote her many books, And set her to Sapience, and to the Psalter glose; Logic I learned her, and many other laws, And all the unisons to music I made her to know; Plato the poet, I put them first to book, Aristotle and other more, to argue I taught, Grammer for girles, I gard[64] first to write, And beat them with a bales but if they would learn; Of all kindes craftes I contrived tooles, Of carpentry, of carvers, and compa.s.sed masons, And learned them level and line, though I look dim; And Theology hath tened[65] me seven score times; The more I muse therein, the mistier it seemeth, And the deeper I divine, the darker me it thinketh.

[1] 'Freyned:' inquired.

[2] 'Wysh:' inform.

[3] 'Lenged:' lived.

[4] 'Minors:' the friars minors.

[5] 'Halsed them hendely:' saluted them kindly.

[6] 'Do me to wit:' make me to know.

[7] 'Kinnes:' sorts of.

[8] 'Sythes:' times.

[9] 'Wyshen:' inform, teach.

[10] 'Sadde:' sober, good.

[11] 'Forvisne:' similitude.

[12] 'Raght:' reach.

[13] 'Latches:' laziness.

[14] 'Drenche:' drown.

[15] 'Beken:' confess.

[16] 'Lind:' lime-tree.

[17] 'A stound:' a while.

[18] 'Lyth:' listen.

[19] 'Mette:' dreamed.

[20] 'Kinde:' own.

[21] 'Sued:' sought.

[22] 'Wyssh:' inform.

[23] 'Tayling:' dealing.

[24] 'Rend'red:' translated.

[25] 'Hoteth:' biddeth.

[26] 'Halve:' draw.

[27] 'Potent:' staff.

[28] 'Tene:' grieve.

[29] 'Wish:' inform.

[30] 'Yeden:' went.

[31] 'Kind:' nature.

[32] 'Witterly:' cunningly.

[33] 'Leman:' paramour.

[34] 'Lelly:' fair.

[35] 'Rathe:' early.

[36] 'Ghost:' spirit.