NOBILNES.
From the Proheme to the Translation of Boece’s History.
For nobilnes sum-time the loving is[686],That cumis be meritis of our eldaris gone.As Aristotill writis in his Rethorikis,Amang nobillis, quhay castin thaim repone[687]Mon[688]dres thair life and dedis one be oneTo mak thaim worthy to have memoreFor honour to thair prince or nation,To be in glore to thair posterite.Ane-othir kind thair is of nobilnesThat cumis be infusion naturall,And makis ane man sa full of gentilnes,Sa curtes, plesand, and sa liberall,That every man dois him ane nobill call.The lion is sa nobill, as men tellis,He cannot rage aganis the bestis small,Bot on thaim quhilkis[689]his majeste rebellis.The awfull[690]churle is of ane-othir strind[691].Thoucht he be borne to vilest servitudeThair may na gentrice[692]sink into his mind,To help his friend or nichtbour with his gud.The bludy wolf is of the samin stude[693];He feris gret beistis and ragis on the small,And leiffis in slauchter, tyranny, and blud,But ony mercy, quhare he may ouirthrall[694].This man is born ane nobill, thow will say,And gevin to sleuth and lust immoderat:All that his eldaris wan, he puttis away,And fra thair virtew is degenerat;The more his eldaris fame is elevatThe more thair life to honour to approche;Thair fame and loving ay interminat,The more is ay unto his vice reproche.Amang the oist[695]of Grekis, as we hard,Two knichtis war, Achilles and Tersete;That ane maist vailyeand, this othir maist coward.Better is to be, sayis Juvinall the poete,Tersetis son, havand Achilles sprete,With manly force his purpos to fulfill,Than to be lord of every land and strete,And syne maist cowart, cumin[696]of Achill.Man, callit ay maist nobill creature,Becaus his life maist reason dois assay,Ay sekand honour with his besy cure[697],And is na noble quhen honour is away.Thairfore he is maist nobill man, thow say,Of all estatis, under reverence,That vailyeantly doith close the latter day,Of native cuntre deand[698]in defence.The glore of armis and of forcy dedis,[699]Quhen thay ar worthy to be memoriall,Na les be wit than manheid ay procedis.As Plinius wrait in Story Naturall,Ane herd of hertis is more strong at all,Havand ane lion aganis the houndis foure,Than herd of lionis arrayit in battall,Havand ane hert to be thair governoure.Quhen fers Achilles was be Paris slane,Amang the Grekis began ane subtell plede,Quhay was maist nobill and prudent capitaneInto his place and armour to succede;Quhay couth[700]thaim best in every dangeir lede,And sauf[701]thair honour as he did afore.The vailyeant Ajax wan not for his manhedeQuhen wise Ulysses bure away the glore.Manhede but prudence is ane fury blind,And bringis ane man to schame and indegence.Prudence but manhede cumis oft behind,Howbeit it have na les intelligenceOf thingis to cum than gone, be sapience.Thairfore quhen wit and manhede doith concurreHie honour risis with magnificence:For glore to noblis is ane groundin spurre.
For nobilnes sum-time the loving is[686],That cumis be meritis of our eldaris gone.As Aristotill writis in his Rethorikis,Amang nobillis, quhay castin thaim repone[687]Mon[688]dres thair life and dedis one be oneTo mak thaim worthy to have memoreFor honour to thair prince or nation,To be in glore to thair posterite.Ane-othir kind thair is of nobilnesThat cumis be infusion naturall,And makis ane man sa full of gentilnes,Sa curtes, plesand, and sa liberall,That every man dois him ane nobill call.The lion is sa nobill, as men tellis,He cannot rage aganis the bestis small,Bot on thaim quhilkis[689]his majeste rebellis.The awfull[690]churle is of ane-othir strind[691].Thoucht he be borne to vilest servitudeThair may na gentrice[692]sink into his mind,To help his friend or nichtbour with his gud.The bludy wolf is of the samin stude[693];He feris gret beistis and ragis on the small,And leiffis in slauchter, tyranny, and blud,But ony mercy, quhare he may ouirthrall[694].This man is born ane nobill, thow will say,And gevin to sleuth and lust immoderat:All that his eldaris wan, he puttis away,And fra thair virtew is degenerat;The more his eldaris fame is elevatThe more thair life to honour to approche;Thair fame and loving ay interminat,The more is ay unto his vice reproche.Amang the oist[695]of Grekis, as we hard,Two knichtis war, Achilles and Tersete;That ane maist vailyeand, this othir maist coward.Better is to be, sayis Juvinall the poete,Tersetis son, havand Achilles sprete,With manly force his purpos to fulfill,Than to be lord of every land and strete,And syne maist cowart, cumin[696]of Achill.Man, callit ay maist nobill creature,Becaus his life maist reason dois assay,Ay sekand honour with his besy cure[697],And is na noble quhen honour is away.Thairfore he is maist nobill man, thow say,Of all estatis, under reverence,That vailyeantly doith close the latter day,Of native cuntre deand[698]in defence.The glore of armis and of forcy dedis,[699]Quhen thay ar worthy to be memoriall,Na les be wit than manheid ay procedis.As Plinius wrait in Story Naturall,Ane herd of hertis is more strong at all,Havand ane lion aganis the houndis foure,Than herd of lionis arrayit in battall,Havand ane hert to be thair governoure.Quhen fers Achilles was be Paris slane,Amang the Grekis began ane subtell plede,Quhay was maist nobill and prudent capitaneInto his place and armour to succede;Quhay couth[700]thaim best in every dangeir lede,And sauf[701]thair honour as he did afore.The vailyeant Ajax wan not for his manhedeQuhen wise Ulysses bure away the glore.Manhede but prudence is ane fury blind,And bringis ane man to schame and indegence.Prudence but manhede cumis oft behind,Howbeit it have na les intelligenceOf thingis to cum than gone, be sapience.Thairfore quhen wit and manhede doith concurreHie honour risis with magnificence:For glore to noblis is ane groundin spurre.
For nobilnes sum-time the loving is[686],That cumis be meritis of our eldaris gone.As Aristotill writis in his Rethorikis,Amang nobillis, quhay castin thaim repone[687]Mon[688]dres thair life and dedis one be oneTo mak thaim worthy to have memoreFor honour to thair prince or nation,To be in glore to thair posterite.
For nobilnes sum-time the loving is[686],
That cumis be meritis of our eldaris gone.
As Aristotill writis in his Rethorikis,
Amang nobillis, quhay castin thaim repone[687]
Mon[688]dres thair life and dedis one be one
To mak thaim worthy to have memore
For honour to thair prince or nation,
To be in glore to thair posterite.
Ane-othir kind thair is of nobilnesThat cumis be infusion naturall,And makis ane man sa full of gentilnes,Sa curtes, plesand, and sa liberall,That every man dois him ane nobill call.The lion is sa nobill, as men tellis,He cannot rage aganis the bestis small,Bot on thaim quhilkis[689]his majeste rebellis.
Ane-othir kind thair is of nobilnes
That cumis be infusion naturall,
And makis ane man sa full of gentilnes,
Sa curtes, plesand, and sa liberall,
That every man dois him ane nobill call.
The lion is sa nobill, as men tellis,
He cannot rage aganis the bestis small,
Bot on thaim quhilkis[689]his majeste rebellis.
The awfull[690]churle is of ane-othir strind[691].Thoucht he be borne to vilest servitudeThair may na gentrice[692]sink into his mind,To help his friend or nichtbour with his gud.The bludy wolf is of the samin stude[693];He feris gret beistis and ragis on the small,And leiffis in slauchter, tyranny, and blud,But ony mercy, quhare he may ouirthrall[694].
The awfull[690]churle is of ane-othir strind[691].
Thoucht he be borne to vilest servitude
Thair may na gentrice[692]sink into his mind,
To help his friend or nichtbour with his gud.
The bludy wolf is of the samin stude[693];
He feris gret beistis and ragis on the small,
And leiffis in slauchter, tyranny, and blud,
But ony mercy, quhare he may ouirthrall[694].
This man is born ane nobill, thow will say,And gevin to sleuth and lust immoderat:All that his eldaris wan, he puttis away,And fra thair virtew is degenerat;The more his eldaris fame is elevatThe more thair life to honour to approche;Thair fame and loving ay interminat,The more is ay unto his vice reproche.
This man is born ane nobill, thow will say,
And gevin to sleuth and lust immoderat:
All that his eldaris wan, he puttis away,
And fra thair virtew is degenerat;
The more his eldaris fame is elevat
The more thair life to honour to approche;
Thair fame and loving ay interminat,
The more is ay unto his vice reproche.
Amang the oist[695]of Grekis, as we hard,Two knichtis war, Achilles and Tersete;That ane maist vailyeand, this othir maist coward.Better is to be, sayis Juvinall the poete,Tersetis son, havand Achilles sprete,With manly force his purpos to fulfill,Than to be lord of every land and strete,And syne maist cowart, cumin[696]of Achill.
Amang the oist[695]of Grekis, as we hard,
Two knichtis war, Achilles and Tersete;
That ane maist vailyeand, this othir maist coward.
Better is to be, sayis Juvinall the poete,
Tersetis son, havand Achilles sprete,
With manly force his purpos to fulfill,
Than to be lord of every land and strete,
And syne maist cowart, cumin[696]of Achill.
Man, callit ay maist nobill creature,Becaus his life maist reason dois assay,Ay sekand honour with his besy cure[697],And is na noble quhen honour is away.Thairfore he is maist nobill man, thow say,Of all estatis, under reverence,That vailyeantly doith close the latter day,Of native cuntre deand[698]in defence.
Man, callit ay maist nobill creature,
Becaus his life maist reason dois assay,
Ay sekand honour with his besy cure[697],
And is na noble quhen honour is away.
Thairfore he is maist nobill man, thow say,
Of all estatis, under reverence,
That vailyeantly doith close the latter day,
Of native cuntre deand[698]in defence.
The glore of armis and of forcy dedis,[699]Quhen thay ar worthy to be memoriall,Na les be wit than manheid ay procedis.As Plinius wrait in Story Naturall,Ane herd of hertis is more strong at all,Havand ane lion aganis the houndis foure,Than herd of lionis arrayit in battall,Havand ane hert to be thair governoure.
The glore of armis and of forcy dedis,[699]
Quhen thay ar worthy to be memoriall,
Na les be wit than manheid ay procedis.
As Plinius wrait in Story Naturall,
Ane herd of hertis is more strong at all,
Havand ane lion aganis the houndis foure,
Than herd of lionis arrayit in battall,
Havand ane hert to be thair governoure.
Quhen fers Achilles was be Paris slane,Amang the Grekis began ane subtell plede,Quhay was maist nobill and prudent capitaneInto his place and armour to succede;Quhay couth[700]thaim best in every dangeir lede,And sauf[701]thair honour as he did afore.The vailyeant Ajax wan not for his manhedeQuhen wise Ulysses bure away the glore.
Quhen fers Achilles was be Paris slane,
Amang the Grekis began ane subtell plede,
Quhay was maist nobill and prudent capitane
Into his place and armour to succede;
Quhay couth[700]thaim best in every dangeir lede,
And sauf[701]thair honour as he did afore.
The vailyeant Ajax wan not for his manhede
Quhen wise Ulysses bure away the glore.
Manhede but prudence is ane fury blind,And bringis ane man to schame and indegence.Prudence but manhede cumis oft behind,Howbeit it have na les intelligenceOf thingis to cum than gone, be sapience.Thairfore quhen wit and manhede doith concurreHie honour risis with magnificence:For glore to noblis is ane groundin spurre.
Manhede but prudence is ane fury blind,
And bringis ane man to schame and indegence.
Prudence but manhede cumis oft behind,
Howbeit it have na les intelligence
Of thingis to cum than gone, be sapience.
Thairfore quhen wit and manhede doith concurre
Hie honour risis with magnificence:
For glore to noblis is ane groundin spurre.