Chapter 22

[The Commons.]iv.Vulgaris populus regali lege subactusDum iacet, vt mitis agna subibit onus.Si caput extollat et lex sua frena relaxet,Vt sibi velle iubet, Tigridis instar habet.Ignis, aqua dominans duo sunt pietate carentes,Ira tamen plebis est violenta magis.Now forto speke of the comune,It is to drede of that fortune500De statu plebis, vt dicunt, secundum accidencium mutabilia.137Which hath befalle in sondri londes:Bot often for defalte of bondesAl sodeinliche, er it be wist,A Tonne, whanne his lye arist,Tobrekth and renneth al aboute,Which elles scholde noght gon oute;And ek fulofte a litel SkarUpon a Banke, er men be war,P. i. 21Let in the Strem, which with gret peine,If evere man it schal restreigne.138510Wher lawe lacketh, errour groweth,He is noght wys who that ne troweth,For it hath proeved ofte er this;And thus the comun clamour isIn every lond wher poeple dwelleth,And eche in his compleignte tellethHow that the world is al miswent,And ther upon his jugement139Yifth every man in sondry wise.Bot what man wolde himself avise,520His conscience and noght misuse,He may wel ate ferste excuseHis god, which evere stant in on:In him ther is defalte non,[Man the Cause of Evil.]So moste it stonde upon ousselveNought only upon ten ne twelve,Bot plenerliche upon ous alle,For man is cause of that schal falle.And natheles yet som men wryteNota contra hoc, quod aliqui sortem fortune, aliqui influenciam planetarum ponunt, per quod, vt dicitur, rerum euentus necessario contingit. Set pocius dicendum est, quod ea que nos prospera et aduersa in hoc mundo vocamus, secundum merita et demerita hominum digno dei iudicio proveniunt.And sein that fortune is to wyte,530And som men holde oppinionThat it is constellacion,Which causeth al that a man doth:God wot of bothe which is soth.The world as of his propre kyndeWas evere untrewe, and as the blyndeImproprelich he demeth fame,He blameth that is noght to blameP. i. 22And preiseth that is noght to preise:Thus whan he schal the thinges peise,540Ther is deceipte in his balance,And al is that the varianceOf ous, that scholde ous betre avise;140For after that we falle and rise,The world arist and falth withal,So that the man is overalHis oghne cause of wel and wo.That we fortune clepe soOut of the man himself it groweth;And who that other wise troweth,550Behold the poeple of Irael:141For evere whil thei deden wel,Fortune was hem debonaire,And whan thei deden the contraire,Fortune was contrariende.So that it proeveth wel at endeWhy that the world is wonderfullAnd may no while stonde full,Though that it seme wel besein;For every worldes thing is vein,560And evere goth the whiel aboute,And evere stant a man in doute,Fortune stant no while stille,So hath ther noman al his wille.Als fer as evere a man may knowe,142Ther lasteth nothing bot a throwe;Boicius. O quam dulcedo humane vite multa amaritudine aspersa est!The world stant evere upon debat,So may be seker non astat,P. i. 23Now hier now ther, now to now fro,Now up now down, this world goth so,570And evere hath don and evere schal:Wherof I finde in specialA tale writen in the Bible,Which moste nedes be credible;And that as in conclusiounSeith that upon divisiounStant, why no worldes thing mai laste,Til it be drive to the laste.And fro the ferste regne of alle143Into this day, hou so befalle,580Of that the regnes be muableThe man himself hath be coupable,Which of his propre governanceFortuneth al the worldes chance.[Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream.]v.Prosper et aduersus obliquo tramite versusImmundus mundus decipit omne genus.Mundus in euentu versatur vt alea casu,144Quam celer in ludis iactat auara manus.145Sicut ymago viri variantur tempora mundi,Statque nichil firmum preter amare deum.146The hyhe almyhti pourveance,In whos eterne remembranceFro ferst was every thing present,He hath his prophecie sent,147In such a wise as thou schalt hiere,To Daniel of this matiere,590Hic in prologo tractat de Statua illa, quam Rex Nabugodonosor viderat in sompnis, cuius caput aureum, pectus argenteum, venter eneus, tibie ferree, pedum vero quedam pars ferrea, quedam fictilis videbatur, sub qua membrorum diuersitate secundum Danielis exposicionem huius mundi variacio figurabatur.Hou that this world schal torne and wende,Till it be falle to his ende;148Wherof the tale telle I schal,In which it is betokned al.P. i. 24As Nabugodonosor slepte,A swevene him tok, the which he kepteTil on the morwe he was arise,For he therof was sore agrise.To Daniel his drem he tolde,And preide him faire that he wolde600Arede what it tokne may;And seide: ‘Abedde wher I lay,Me thoghte I syh upon a StageWher stod a wonder strange ymage.His hed with al the necke alsoThei were of fin gold bothe tuo;His brest, his schuldres and his armesWere al of selver, bot the tharmes,149The wombe and al doun to the kne,Of bras thei were upon to se;150610The legges were al mad of Stiel,151So were his feet also somdiel,And somdiel part to hem was takeOf Erthe which men Pottes make;Hic narrat vlterius de quodam lapide grandi,152qui, vt in dicto sompnio videbatur, ab excelso monte super statuam corruens ipsam quasi in nichilum penitus contriuit.The fieble meynd was with the stronge,So myhte it wel noght stonde longe.153And tho me thoghte that I sihA gret ston from an hull on hyh154Fel doun of sodein aventureUpon the feet of this figure,620With which Ston al tobroke wasGold, Selver, Erthe, Stiel and Bras,That al was in to pouldre broght,And so forth torned into noght.’P. i. 25Hic loquitur de interpretacione sompnii, et primo dicit155de significacione capitis aurei.This was the swevene which he hadde,That Daniel anon aradde,And seide him that figure strangeBetokneth how the world schal changeAnd waxe lasse worth and lasse,Til it to noght al overpasse.630The necke and hed, that weren golde,He seide how that betokne scholdeA worthi world, a noble, a riche,To which non after schal be liche.De pectore argenteo.Of Selver that was overforthSchal ben a world of lasse worth;De ventre eneo.And after that the wombe of BrasTokne of a werse world it was.De tibeis ferreis.The Stiel which he syh afterwardA world betokneth more hard:640De significacione pedum, qui ex duabus materiis discordantibus adinuicem diuisi extiterant.Bot yet the werste of everydelIs last, whan that of Erthe and StielHe syh the feet departed so,For that betokneth mochel wo.Whan that the world divided is,It moste algate fare amis,For Erthe which is meynd with StielTogedre may noght laste wiel,Bot if that on that other waste;So mot it nedes faile in haste.650De lapidis statuam confringentis significacione.The Ston, which fro the hully StageHe syh doun falle on that ymage,And hath it into pouldre broke,That swevene hath Daniel unloke,P. i. 26And seide how that is goddes myht,Which whan men wene most upryhtTo stonde, schal hem overcaste.And that is of this world the laste,And thanne a newe schal beginne,156Fro which a man schal nevere twinne;660[The Empires of the World.]Or al to peine or al to pesThat world schal lasten endeles.Hic consequenter scribit qualiter huius seculi regna variis mutacionibus, prout in dicta statua figurabatur, secundum temporum distincciones sencibiliter hactenus diminuuntur.158mLo thus expondeth Daniel157The kynges swevene faire and welIn Babiloyne the Cite,Wher that the wiseste of CaldeeNe cowthen wite what it mente;Bot he tolde al the hol entente,158As in partie it is befalle.De seculo aureo, quod in capite statue designatum est, a tempore ipsius Nabugodonosor Regis Caldee vsque in regnum Ciri Regis Persarum.Of gold the ferste regne of alle670Was in that kinges time tho,And laste manye daies so,Therwhiles that the MonarchieOf al the world in that partieTo Babiloyne was soubgit;And hield him stille in such a plit,Til that the world began diverse:And that was whan the king of Perse,Which Cirus hyhte, ayein the pesForth with his Sone Cambises680Of Babiloine al that Empire,159Ryht as thei wolde hemself desire,Put under in subjeccioun160And tok it in possessioun,P. i. 27And slayn was Baltazar the king,Which loste his regne and al his thing.And thus whan thei it hadde wonne,De seculo argenteo, quod in pectore designatum est, a tempore ipsius Regis Ciri vsque in regnum Alexandri Regis Macedonie.The world of Selver was begonneAnd that of gold was passed oute:And in this wise it goth aboute690In to the Regne of Darius;And thanne it fell to Perse thus,That Alisaundre put hem under,Which wroghte of armes many a wonder,So that the Monarchie lefteWith Grecs, and here astat uplefte,And Persiens gon under fote,So soffre thei that nedes mote.161De seculo eneo, quod in ventre designatum est, a tempore ipsius Alexandri vsque in regnum Iulii Romanorum Imparatoris.And tho the world began of Bras,And that of selver ended was;700Bot for the time thus it laste,Til it befell that ate lasteThis king, whan that his day was come,With strengthe of deth was overcome.And natheles yet er he dyde,162He schop his Regnes to divideTo knyhtes whiche him hadde served,And after that thei have deservedYaf the conquestes that he wan;Wherof gret werre tho began710Among hem that the Regnes hadde,Thurgh proud Envie which hem ladde,Til it befell ayein hem thus:The noble Cesar Julius,P. i. 28Which tho was king of Rome lond,With gret bataille and with strong hondAl Grece, Perse and ek CaldeeWan and put under, so that he163Noght al only of thorientBot al the Marche of thoccident164720Governeth under his empire,As he that was hol lord and Sire,And hield thurgh his chivalerie165Of al this world the Monarchie,166And was the ferste of that honourWhich tok the name of Emperour.De seculo ferreo, quod in tibeis designatum est, a tempore Iulii vsque in167regnum Karoli magni Regis Francorum.168mWher Rome thanne wolde assaille,Ther myhte nothing contrevaille,Bot every contre moste obeie:Tho goth the Regne of Bras aweie,730And comen is the world of Stiel,And stod above upon the whiel.168As Stiel is hardest in his kyndeAbove alle othre that men findeOf Metals, such was Rome thoThe myhtieste, and laste soLong time amonges the RomeinsTil thei become so vileins,That the fals Emperour Leo169With Constantin his Sone also740The patrimoine and the richesse,Which to Silvestre in pure almesseThe ferste Constantinus lefte,Fro holy cherche thei berefte.P. i. 29Bot Adrian, which Pope was,170And syh the meschief of this cas,Goth in to Franceforto pleigne,And preith the grete Charlemeine,For Cristes sake and Soule heleThat he wol take the querele171750Of holy cherche in his defence.And Charles for the reverenceOf god the cause hath undertake,And with his host the weie take172Over the Montz of Lombardie;Of Rome and al the tirandieWith blodi swerd he overcom,And the Cite with strengthe nom;In such a wise and there he wroghte,That holy cherche ayein he broghte760Into franchise, and doth restoreThe Popes lost, and yaf him more:And thus whan he his god hath served,He tok, as he wel hath deserved,173The Diademe and was coroned.Of Rome and thus was abandonedThempire, which cam nevere ayeinInto the hond of no Romein;174Bot a long time it stod so stilleUnder the Frensche kynges wille,770Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,That afterward Lombardz it hadde,Noght be the swerd, bot be soffranceOf him that tho was kyng of France,P. i. 30Which Karle Calvus cleped was;And he resigneth in this casThempire of Rome unto LowisHis Cousin, which a Lombard is.De seculo nouissimis iam temporibus ad similitudinem pedum in discordiam lapso et diuiso, quod post decessum ipsius Karoli, cum imperium Romanorum in manus Longobardorum peruenerat,175tempore Alberti et Berengarii incepit: nam ob eorum diuisionem contigit, vt Almanni imperatoriam adepti sunt maiestatem. In cuius solium quendam principem theotonicum Othonera nomine sublimari primitus constituerunt. Et ab illo regno incipiente diuisio per vniuersum orbem in posteros concreuit, vnde nos ad alterutrum diuisi huius seculi consummacionem iam vltimi expectamus.And so hit laste into the yeerOf Albert and of Berenger;780Bot thanne upon dissenciounThei felle, and in divisiounAmong hemself that were grete,So that thei loste the beyeteOf worschipe and of worldes pes.Bot in proverbe nathelesMen sein, ful selden is that weltheCan soffre his oghne astat in helthe;And that was on the Lombardz sene,Such comun strif was hem betwene790Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,That every man drowh his partie,Which myhte leden eny route,Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:The comun ryht hath no felawe,So that the governance of laweWas lost, and for necessite,Of that thei stode in such degreAl only thurgh divisioun,Hem nedeth in conclusioun800Of strange londes help beside.And thus for thei hemself divideAnd stonden out of reule unevene,Of Alemaine Princes sevene176P. i. 31Thei chose in this condicioun,That upon here elecciounThempire of Rome scholde stonde.And thus thei lefte it out of hondeFor lacke of grace, and it forsoke,That Alemans upon hem toke:810And to confermen here astat,Of that thei founden in debat177Thei token the possessiounAfter the composiciounAmong hemself, and theruponThei made an Emperour anon,Whos name as the Cronique tellethWas Othes; and so forth it duelleth,Fro thilke day yit unto thisThempire of Rome hath ben and is820[The latest Time.]To thalemans. And in this wise,178As ye tofore have herd diviseHow Daniel the swevene expondeth179Of that ymage, on whom he foundethThe world which after scholde falle,Come is the laste tokne of alle;Upon the feet of Erthe and StielSo stant this world now everydielDeparted; which began riht tho,Whan Rome was divided so:830And that is forto rewe sore,For alway siththe more and moreThe world empeireth every day.Wherof the sothe schewe may,P. i. 32At Rome ferst if we beginne:The wall and al the Cit withinne180Stant in ruine and in decas,181The feld is wher the Paleis was,182The toun is wast; and overthat,If we beholde thilke astat840Which whilom was of the Romeins,Of knyhthode and of Citezeins,To peise now with that beforn,The chaf is take for the corn,183As forto speke of Romes myht:184Unethes stant ther oght upryhtOf worschipe or of worldes good,As it before tyme stod.And why the worschipe is aweie,If that a man the sothe seie,185850[Division the Cause of Evil.]The cause hath ben divisioun,Which moder of confusiounIs wher sche cometh overal,Noght only of the temporalBot of the spirital also.The dede proeveth it is so,And hath do many day er this,Thurgh venym which that medled isIn holy cherche of erthly thing:For Crist himself makth knowleching860That noman may togedre serveGod and the world, bot if he swerveFroward that on and stonde unstable;And Cristes word may noght be fable.P. i. 33The thing so open is at ÿe,186It nedeth noght to specefieOr speke oght more in this matiere;Bot in this wise a man mai lereHou that the world is gon aboute,187The which welnyh is wered oute,870After theforme of that figureWhich Daniel in his scriptureExpondeth, as tofore is told.188Of Bras, of Selver and of GoldThe world is passed and agon,And now upon his olde tonIt stant of brutel Erthe and Stiel,The whiche acorden nevere a diel;So mot it nedes swerve asideAs thing the which men sen divide.880Hic dicit secundum apostolum, quod nos sumus in quos fines seculi deuenerunt.Thapostel writ unto ous alleAnd seith that upon ous is falleThende of the world; so may we knowe,This ymage is nyh overthrowe,Be which this world was signified,That whilom was so magnefied,And now is old and fieble and vil,Full of meschief and of peril,And stant divided ek alsoLich to the feet that were so,890As I tolde of the Statue above.And this men sen, thurgh lacke of love189Where as the lond divided is,It mot algate fare amis:P. i. 34And now to loke on every side,A man may se the world divide,The werres ben so generalAmong the cristene overal,That every man now secheth wreche,And yet these clerkes alday preche190900And sein, good dede may non beWhich stant noght upon charite:I not hou charite may stonde,Wher dedly werre is take on honde.Bot al this wo is cause of man,The which that wit and reson can,And that in tokne and in witnesseThat ilke ymage bar liknesseOf man and of non other beste.For ferst unto the mannes heste910Was every creature ordeined,Bot afterward it was restreigned:191Whan that he fell, thei fellen eke,Whan he wax sek, thei woxen seke;For as the man hath passiounOf seknesse, in comparisounSo soffren othre creatures.Hic scribit quod ex diuisionis passione singula creata detrimentum corruptibile paciuntur.Lo, ferst the hevenly figures,The Sonne and Mone eclipsen bothe,And ben with mannes senne wrothe;920The purest Eir for Senne alofteHath ben and is corrupt fulofte,Right now the hyhe wyndes blowe,192And anon after thei ben lowe,P. i. 35Now clowdy and now clier it is:So may it proeven wel be this,A mannes Senne is forto hate,Which makth the welkne to debate.And forto se the propreteOf every thyng in his degree,930Benethe forth among ous hiereAl stant aliche in this matiere:The See now ebbeth, now it floweth,The lond now welketh, now it groweth,193Now be the Trees with leves grene,Now thei be bare and nothing sene,Now be the lusti somer floures,194Now be the stormy wynter shoures,Now be the daies, now the nyhtes,195So stant ther nothing al upryhtes,940Now it is lyht, now it is derk;And thus stant al the worldes werkAfter the disposiciounOf man and his condicioun.Forthi Gregoire in his MoralSeith that a man in special196The lasse world is properly:And that he proeveth redely;For man of Soule resonableIs to an Angel resemblable,197950And lich to beste he hath fielinge,And lich to Trees he hath growinge;The Stones ben and so is he:Thus of his propre qualiteP. i. 36The man, as telleth the clergie,Is as a world in his partie,And whan this litel world mistorneth,198The grete world al overtorneth.The Lond, the See, the firmament,Thei axen alle jugement960Ayein the man and make him werre:Therwhile himself stant out of herre,The remenant wol noght acorde:199And in this wise, as I recorde,The man is cause of alle wo,Why this world is divided so.200Hic dicit secundum euangelium, quod omne regnum in se diuisum desolabitur.Division, the gospell seith,201On hous upon another leith,Til that the Regne al overthrowe:And thus may every man wel knowe,970Division aboven alleIs thing which makth the world to falle,And evere hath do sith it began.Quod ex sue complexionis materia diuisus homo mortalis existat.202It may ferst proeve upon a man;The which, for his complexiounIs mad upon divisiounOf cold, of hot, of moist, of drye,He mot be verray kynde dye:For the contraire of his astatStant evermore in such debat,980Til that o part be overcome,Ther may no final pes be nome.203Bot other wise, if a man wereMad al togedre of o matiereP. i. 37Withouten interrupcioun,Ther scholde no corrupciounEngendre upon that unite:Bot for ther is diversiteWithinne himself, he may noght laste,That he ne deieth ate laste.990Quod homo ex corporis et anime condicione diuisus, sicut saluacionis ita et dampnacionis aptitudinem ingreditur.Bot in a man yit over thisFull gret divisioun ther is,Thurgh which that he is evere in strif,Whil that him lasteth eny lif:The bodi and the Soule alsoAmong hem ben divided so,That what thing that the body hatethThe soule loveth and debateth;Bot natheles fulofte is seneOf werre which is hem betwene1000The fieble hath wonne the victoire.Qualiter Adam a statu innocencie diuisus a paradiso voluptatis in terram laboris peccator proiectus est.And who so drawth into memoireWhat hath befalle of old and newe,He may that werre sore rewe,Which ferst began in Paradis:For ther was proeved what it is,And what desese there it wroghte;For thilke werre tho forth broghteThe vice of alle dedly Sinne,Thurgh which division cam inne1010Qualiter populi per vniuersum orbem a cultura dei diuisi, Noe cum sua sequela dumtaxat exceptis, diluuio interierunt.Among the men in erthe hiere,And was the cause and the matiereWhy god the grete flodes sende,Of al the world and made an endeP. i. 38Bot Noë with his felaschipe,Which only weren saulf be Schipe.And over that thurgh Senne it comQualiter in edificacione turris Babel, quam in dei contemptum Nembrot erexit, lingua prius hebraica in varias linguas celica vindicta diuidebatur.That Nembrot such emprise nom,204Whan he the Tour Babel on heihte205Let make, as he that wolde feihte1020Ayein the hihe goddes myht,Wherof divided anon ryhtWas the langage in such entente,Therwiste non what other mente,So that thei myhten noght procede.And thus it stant of every dede,Wher Senne takth the cause on honde,It may upriht noght longe stonde;For Senne of his condicioun206Is moder of divisioun1030Qualiter mundus, qui in statu diuisionis quasi cotidianis presenti tempore vexatur207flagellis, a lapide superueniente, id est a diuina potencia vsque ad resolucionem omnis carnis subito conteretur.And tokne whan the world schal faile.For so seith Crist withoute faile,That nyh upon the worldes endePes and acord awey schol wendeAnd alle charite schal cesse,Among the men and hate encresce;And whan these toknes ben befalle,Al sodeinly the Ston schal falle,208As Daniel it hath beknowe,Which al this world schal overthrowe,1040And every man schal thanne ariseTo Joie or elles to Juise,Wher that he schal for evere dwelle,Or straght to hevene or straght to helle.P. i. 39In hevene is pes and al acord,Bot helle is full of such descordThat ther may be no loveday:Forthi good is, whil a man may,Echon to sette pes with otherAnd loven as his oghne brother;1050So may he winne worldes weltheAnd afterward his soule helthe.Hic narrat exemplum de concordia et vnitate inter homines prouocanda; et dicit qualiter quidam Arion nuper Citharista ex sui cantus cithareque consona melodia tante virtutis extiterat, vt ipse non solum virum cum viro, set eciam leonem cum cerua, lupum cum agna, canem cum lepore, ipsum audientes vnanimiter absque vlla discordia adinuicem pacificauit.Bot wolde god that now were onAn other such as Arion,209Which hadde an harpe of such temprure,And therto of so good mesureHe song, that he the bestes wildeMade of his note tame and milde,The Hinde in pes with the Leoun,The Wolf in pes with the Moltoun,1060The Hare in pees stod with the Hound;And every man upon this groundWhich Arion that time herde,Als wel the lord as the schepherde,He broghte hem alle in good acord;So that the comun with the lord,And lord with the comun also,He sette in love bothe tuoAnd putte awey malencolie.That was a lusti melodie,1070Whan every man with other low;And if ther were such on now,Which cowthe harpe as he tho dede,He myhte availe in many a stedeP. i. 40To make pes wher now is hate;For whan men thenken to debate,I not what other thing is good.Bot wher that wisdom waxeth wod,210And reson torneth into rage,So that mesure upon oultrage1080Hath set his world, it is to drede;For that bringth in the comun drede,Which stant at every mannes Dore:Bot whan the scharpnesse of the sporeThe horse side smit to sore,It grieveth ofte. And now nomore,As forto speke of this matiere,211Which non bot only god may stiere.212

[The Commons.]

iv.Vulgaris populus regali lege subactus

Dum iacet, vt mitis agna subibit onus.

Si caput extollat et lex sua frena relaxet,

Vt sibi velle iubet, Tigridis instar habet.

Ignis, aqua dominans duo sunt pietate carentes,

Ira tamen plebis est violenta magis.

Now forto speke of the comune,It is to drede of that fortune500De statu plebis, vt dicunt, secundum accidencium mutabilia.137Which hath befalle in sondri londes:Bot often for defalte of bondesAl sodeinliche, er it be wist,A Tonne, whanne his lye arist,Tobrekth and renneth al aboute,Which elles scholde noght gon oute;And ek fulofte a litel SkarUpon a Banke, er men be war,P. i. 21Let in the Strem, which with gret peine,If evere man it schal restreigne.138510Wher lawe lacketh, errour groweth,He is noght wys who that ne troweth,For it hath proeved ofte er this;And thus the comun clamour isIn every lond wher poeple dwelleth,And eche in his compleignte tellethHow that the world is al miswent,And ther upon his jugement139Yifth every man in sondry wise.Bot what man wolde himself avise,520His conscience and noght misuse,He may wel ate ferste excuseHis god, which evere stant in on:In him ther is defalte non,[Man the Cause of Evil.]So moste it stonde upon ousselveNought only upon ten ne twelve,Bot plenerliche upon ous alle,For man is cause of that schal falle.And natheles yet som men wryteNota contra hoc, quod aliqui sortem fortune, aliqui influenciam planetarum ponunt, per quod, vt dicitur, rerum euentus necessario contingit. Set pocius dicendum est, quod ea que nos prospera et aduersa in hoc mundo vocamus, secundum merita et demerita hominum digno dei iudicio proveniunt.And sein that fortune is to wyte,530And som men holde oppinionThat it is constellacion,Which causeth al that a man doth:God wot of bothe which is soth.The world as of his propre kyndeWas evere untrewe, and as the blyndeImproprelich he demeth fame,He blameth that is noght to blameP. i. 22And preiseth that is noght to preise:Thus whan he schal the thinges peise,540Ther is deceipte in his balance,And al is that the varianceOf ous, that scholde ous betre avise;140For after that we falle and rise,The world arist and falth withal,So that the man is overalHis oghne cause of wel and wo.That we fortune clepe soOut of the man himself it groweth;And who that other wise troweth,550Behold the poeple of Irael:141For evere whil thei deden wel,Fortune was hem debonaire,And whan thei deden the contraire,Fortune was contrariende.So that it proeveth wel at endeWhy that the world is wonderfullAnd may no while stonde full,Though that it seme wel besein;For every worldes thing is vein,560And evere goth the whiel aboute,And evere stant a man in doute,Fortune stant no while stille,So hath ther noman al his wille.Als fer as evere a man may knowe,142Ther lasteth nothing bot a throwe;Boicius. O quam dulcedo humane vite multa amaritudine aspersa est!The world stant evere upon debat,So may be seker non astat,P. i. 23Now hier now ther, now to now fro,Now up now down, this world goth so,570And evere hath don and evere schal:Wherof I finde in specialA tale writen in the Bible,Which moste nedes be credible;And that as in conclusiounSeith that upon divisiounStant, why no worldes thing mai laste,Til it be drive to the laste.And fro the ferste regne of alle143Into this day, hou so befalle,580Of that the regnes be muableThe man himself hath be coupable,Which of his propre governanceFortuneth al the worldes chance.

Now forto speke of the comune,

It is to drede of that fortune500

De statu plebis, vt dicunt, secundum accidencium mutabilia.137

Which hath befalle in sondri londes:

Bot often for defalte of bondes

Al sodeinliche, er it be wist,

A Tonne, whanne his lye arist,

Tobrekth and renneth al aboute,

Which elles scholde noght gon oute;

And ek fulofte a litel Skar

Upon a Banke, er men be war,

P. i. 21

Let in the Strem, which with gret peine,

If evere man it schal restreigne.138510

Wher lawe lacketh, errour groweth,

He is noght wys who that ne troweth,

For it hath proeved ofte er this;

And thus the comun clamour is

In every lond wher poeple dwelleth,

And eche in his compleignte telleth

How that the world is al miswent,

And ther upon his jugement139

Yifth every man in sondry wise.

Bot what man wolde himself avise,520

His conscience and noght misuse,

He may wel ate ferste excuse

His god, which evere stant in on:

In him ther is defalte non,

[Man the Cause of Evil.]

So moste it stonde upon ousselve

Nought only upon ten ne twelve,

Bot plenerliche upon ous alle,

For man is cause of that schal falle.

And natheles yet som men wryte

Nota contra hoc, quod aliqui sortem fortune, aliqui influenciam planetarum ponunt, per quod, vt dicitur, rerum euentus necessario contingit. Set pocius dicendum est, quod ea que nos prospera et aduersa in hoc mundo vocamus, secundum merita et demerita hominum digno dei iudicio proveniunt.

And sein that fortune is to wyte,530

And som men holde oppinion

That it is constellacion,

Which causeth al that a man doth:

God wot of bothe which is soth.

The world as of his propre kynde

Was evere untrewe, and as the blynde

Improprelich he demeth fame,

He blameth that is noght to blame

P. i. 22

And preiseth that is noght to preise:

Thus whan he schal the thinges peise,540

Ther is deceipte in his balance,

And al is that the variance

Of ous, that scholde ous betre avise;140

For after that we falle and rise,

The world arist and falth withal,

So that the man is overal

His oghne cause of wel and wo.

That we fortune clepe so

Out of the man himself it groweth;

And who that other wise troweth,550

Behold the poeple of Irael:141

For evere whil thei deden wel,

Fortune was hem debonaire,

And whan thei deden the contraire,

Fortune was contrariende.

So that it proeveth wel at ende

Why that the world is wonderfull

And may no while stonde full,

Though that it seme wel besein;

For every worldes thing is vein,560

And evere goth the whiel aboute,

And evere stant a man in doute,

Fortune stant no while stille,

So hath ther noman al his wille.

Als fer as evere a man may knowe,142

Ther lasteth nothing bot a throwe;

Boicius. O quam dulcedo humane vite multa amaritudine aspersa est!

The world stant evere upon debat,

So may be seker non astat,

P. i. 23

Now hier now ther, now to now fro,

Now up now down, this world goth so,570

And evere hath don and evere schal:

Wherof I finde in special

A tale writen in the Bible,

Which moste nedes be credible;

And that as in conclusioun

Seith that upon divisioun

Stant, why no worldes thing mai laste,

Til it be drive to the laste.

And fro the ferste regne of alle143

Into this day, hou so befalle,580

Of that the regnes be muable

The man himself hath be coupable,

Which of his propre governance

Fortuneth al the worldes chance.

[Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream.]v.Prosper et aduersus obliquo tramite versusImmundus mundus decipit omne genus.Mundus in euentu versatur vt alea casu,144Quam celer in ludis iactat auara manus.145Sicut ymago viri variantur tempora mundi,Statque nichil firmum preter amare deum.146

[Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream.]

v.Prosper et aduersus obliquo tramite versus

Immundus mundus decipit omne genus.

Mundus in euentu versatur vt alea casu,144

Quam celer in ludis iactat auara manus.145

Sicut ymago viri variantur tempora mundi,

Statque nichil firmum preter amare deum.146

The hyhe almyhti pourveance,In whos eterne remembranceFro ferst was every thing present,He hath his prophecie sent,147In such a wise as thou schalt hiere,To Daniel of this matiere,590Hic in prologo tractat de Statua illa, quam Rex Nabugodonosor viderat in sompnis, cuius caput aureum, pectus argenteum, venter eneus, tibie ferree, pedum vero quedam pars ferrea, quedam fictilis videbatur, sub qua membrorum diuersitate secundum Danielis exposicionem huius mundi variacio figurabatur.Hou that this world schal torne and wende,Till it be falle to his ende;148Wherof the tale telle I schal,In which it is betokned al.P. i. 24As Nabugodonosor slepte,A swevene him tok, the which he kepteTil on the morwe he was arise,For he therof was sore agrise.To Daniel his drem he tolde,And preide him faire that he wolde600Arede what it tokne may;And seide: ‘Abedde wher I lay,Me thoghte I syh upon a StageWher stod a wonder strange ymage.His hed with al the necke alsoThei were of fin gold bothe tuo;His brest, his schuldres and his armesWere al of selver, bot the tharmes,149The wombe and al doun to the kne,Of bras thei were upon to se;150610The legges were al mad of Stiel,151So were his feet also somdiel,And somdiel part to hem was takeOf Erthe which men Pottes make;Hic narrat vlterius de quodam lapide grandi,152qui, vt in dicto sompnio videbatur, ab excelso monte super statuam corruens ipsam quasi in nichilum penitus contriuit.The fieble meynd was with the stronge,So myhte it wel noght stonde longe.153And tho me thoghte that I sihA gret ston from an hull on hyh154Fel doun of sodein aventureUpon the feet of this figure,620With which Ston al tobroke wasGold, Selver, Erthe, Stiel and Bras,That al was in to pouldre broght,And so forth torned into noght.’P. i. 25Hic loquitur de interpretacione sompnii, et primo dicit155de significacione capitis aurei.This was the swevene which he hadde,That Daniel anon aradde,And seide him that figure strangeBetokneth how the world schal changeAnd waxe lasse worth and lasse,Til it to noght al overpasse.630The necke and hed, that weren golde,He seide how that betokne scholdeA worthi world, a noble, a riche,To which non after schal be liche.De pectore argenteo.Of Selver that was overforthSchal ben a world of lasse worth;De ventre eneo.And after that the wombe of BrasTokne of a werse world it was.De tibeis ferreis.The Stiel which he syh afterwardA world betokneth more hard:640De significacione pedum, qui ex duabus materiis discordantibus adinuicem diuisi extiterant.Bot yet the werste of everydelIs last, whan that of Erthe and StielHe syh the feet departed so,For that betokneth mochel wo.Whan that the world divided is,It moste algate fare amis,For Erthe which is meynd with StielTogedre may noght laste wiel,Bot if that on that other waste;So mot it nedes faile in haste.650De lapidis statuam confringentis significacione.The Ston, which fro the hully StageHe syh doun falle on that ymage,And hath it into pouldre broke,That swevene hath Daniel unloke,P. i. 26And seide how that is goddes myht,Which whan men wene most upryhtTo stonde, schal hem overcaste.And that is of this world the laste,And thanne a newe schal beginne,156Fro which a man schal nevere twinne;660[The Empires of the World.]Or al to peine or al to pesThat world schal lasten endeles.Hic consequenter scribit qualiter huius seculi regna variis mutacionibus, prout in dicta statua figurabatur, secundum temporum distincciones sencibiliter hactenus diminuuntur.158mLo thus expondeth Daniel157The kynges swevene faire and welIn Babiloyne the Cite,Wher that the wiseste of CaldeeNe cowthen wite what it mente;Bot he tolde al the hol entente,158As in partie it is befalle.De seculo aureo, quod in capite statue designatum est, a tempore ipsius Nabugodonosor Regis Caldee vsque in regnum Ciri Regis Persarum.Of gold the ferste regne of alle670Was in that kinges time tho,And laste manye daies so,Therwhiles that the MonarchieOf al the world in that partieTo Babiloyne was soubgit;And hield him stille in such a plit,Til that the world began diverse:And that was whan the king of Perse,Which Cirus hyhte, ayein the pesForth with his Sone Cambises680Of Babiloine al that Empire,159Ryht as thei wolde hemself desire,Put under in subjeccioun160And tok it in possessioun,P. i. 27And slayn was Baltazar the king,Which loste his regne and al his thing.And thus whan thei it hadde wonne,De seculo argenteo, quod in pectore designatum est, a tempore ipsius Regis Ciri vsque in regnum Alexandri Regis Macedonie.The world of Selver was begonneAnd that of gold was passed oute:And in this wise it goth aboute690In to the Regne of Darius;And thanne it fell to Perse thus,That Alisaundre put hem under,Which wroghte of armes many a wonder,So that the Monarchie lefteWith Grecs, and here astat uplefte,And Persiens gon under fote,So soffre thei that nedes mote.161De seculo eneo, quod in ventre designatum est, a tempore ipsius Alexandri vsque in regnum Iulii Romanorum Imparatoris.And tho the world began of Bras,And that of selver ended was;700Bot for the time thus it laste,Til it befell that ate lasteThis king, whan that his day was come,With strengthe of deth was overcome.And natheles yet er he dyde,162He schop his Regnes to divideTo knyhtes whiche him hadde served,And after that thei have deservedYaf the conquestes that he wan;Wherof gret werre tho began710Among hem that the Regnes hadde,Thurgh proud Envie which hem ladde,Til it befell ayein hem thus:The noble Cesar Julius,P. i. 28Which tho was king of Rome lond,With gret bataille and with strong hondAl Grece, Perse and ek CaldeeWan and put under, so that he163Noght al only of thorientBot al the Marche of thoccident164720Governeth under his empire,As he that was hol lord and Sire,And hield thurgh his chivalerie165Of al this world the Monarchie,166And was the ferste of that honourWhich tok the name of Emperour.De seculo ferreo, quod in tibeis designatum est, a tempore Iulii vsque in167regnum Karoli magni Regis Francorum.168mWher Rome thanne wolde assaille,Ther myhte nothing contrevaille,Bot every contre moste obeie:Tho goth the Regne of Bras aweie,730And comen is the world of Stiel,And stod above upon the whiel.168As Stiel is hardest in his kyndeAbove alle othre that men findeOf Metals, such was Rome thoThe myhtieste, and laste soLong time amonges the RomeinsTil thei become so vileins,That the fals Emperour Leo169With Constantin his Sone also740The patrimoine and the richesse,Which to Silvestre in pure almesseThe ferste Constantinus lefte,Fro holy cherche thei berefte.P. i. 29Bot Adrian, which Pope was,170And syh the meschief of this cas,Goth in to Franceforto pleigne,And preith the grete Charlemeine,For Cristes sake and Soule heleThat he wol take the querele171750Of holy cherche in his defence.And Charles for the reverenceOf god the cause hath undertake,And with his host the weie take172Over the Montz of Lombardie;Of Rome and al the tirandieWith blodi swerd he overcom,And the Cite with strengthe nom;In such a wise and there he wroghte,That holy cherche ayein he broghte760Into franchise, and doth restoreThe Popes lost, and yaf him more:And thus whan he his god hath served,He tok, as he wel hath deserved,173The Diademe and was coroned.Of Rome and thus was abandonedThempire, which cam nevere ayeinInto the hond of no Romein;174Bot a long time it stod so stilleUnder the Frensche kynges wille,770Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,That afterward Lombardz it hadde,Noght be the swerd, bot be soffranceOf him that tho was kyng of France,P. i. 30Which Karle Calvus cleped was;And he resigneth in this casThempire of Rome unto LowisHis Cousin, which a Lombard is.De seculo nouissimis iam temporibus ad similitudinem pedum in discordiam lapso et diuiso, quod post decessum ipsius Karoli, cum imperium Romanorum in manus Longobardorum peruenerat,175tempore Alberti et Berengarii incepit: nam ob eorum diuisionem contigit, vt Almanni imperatoriam adepti sunt maiestatem. In cuius solium quendam principem theotonicum Othonera nomine sublimari primitus constituerunt. Et ab illo regno incipiente diuisio per vniuersum orbem in posteros concreuit, vnde nos ad alterutrum diuisi huius seculi consummacionem iam vltimi expectamus.And so hit laste into the yeerOf Albert and of Berenger;780Bot thanne upon dissenciounThei felle, and in divisiounAmong hemself that were grete,So that thei loste the beyeteOf worschipe and of worldes pes.Bot in proverbe nathelesMen sein, ful selden is that weltheCan soffre his oghne astat in helthe;And that was on the Lombardz sene,Such comun strif was hem betwene790Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,That every man drowh his partie,Which myhte leden eny route,Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:The comun ryht hath no felawe,So that the governance of laweWas lost, and for necessite,Of that thei stode in such degreAl only thurgh divisioun,Hem nedeth in conclusioun800Of strange londes help beside.And thus for thei hemself divideAnd stonden out of reule unevene,Of Alemaine Princes sevene176P. i. 31Thei chose in this condicioun,That upon here elecciounThempire of Rome scholde stonde.And thus thei lefte it out of hondeFor lacke of grace, and it forsoke,That Alemans upon hem toke:810And to confermen here astat,Of that thei founden in debat177Thei token the possessiounAfter the composiciounAmong hemself, and theruponThei made an Emperour anon,Whos name as the Cronique tellethWas Othes; and so forth it duelleth,Fro thilke day yit unto thisThempire of Rome hath ben and is820[The latest Time.]To thalemans. And in this wise,178As ye tofore have herd diviseHow Daniel the swevene expondeth179Of that ymage, on whom he foundethThe world which after scholde falle,Come is the laste tokne of alle;Upon the feet of Erthe and StielSo stant this world now everydielDeparted; which began riht tho,Whan Rome was divided so:830And that is forto rewe sore,For alway siththe more and moreThe world empeireth every day.Wherof the sothe schewe may,P. i. 32At Rome ferst if we beginne:The wall and al the Cit withinne180Stant in ruine and in decas,181The feld is wher the Paleis was,182The toun is wast; and overthat,If we beholde thilke astat840Which whilom was of the Romeins,Of knyhthode and of Citezeins,To peise now with that beforn,The chaf is take for the corn,183As forto speke of Romes myht:184Unethes stant ther oght upryhtOf worschipe or of worldes good,As it before tyme stod.And why the worschipe is aweie,If that a man the sothe seie,185850[Division the Cause of Evil.]The cause hath ben divisioun,Which moder of confusiounIs wher sche cometh overal,Noght only of the temporalBot of the spirital also.The dede proeveth it is so,And hath do many day er this,Thurgh venym which that medled isIn holy cherche of erthly thing:For Crist himself makth knowleching860That noman may togedre serveGod and the world, bot if he swerveFroward that on and stonde unstable;And Cristes word may noght be fable.P. i. 33The thing so open is at ÿe,186It nedeth noght to specefieOr speke oght more in this matiere;Bot in this wise a man mai lereHou that the world is gon aboute,187The which welnyh is wered oute,870After theforme of that figureWhich Daniel in his scriptureExpondeth, as tofore is told.188Of Bras, of Selver and of GoldThe world is passed and agon,And now upon his olde tonIt stant of brutel Erthe and Stiel,The whiche acorden nevere a diel;So mot it nedes swerve asideAs thing the which men sen divide.880Hic dicit secundum apostolum, quod nos sumus in quos fines seculi deuenerunt.Thapostel writ unto ous alleAnd seith that upon ous is falleThende of the world; so may we knowe,This ymage is nyh overthrowe,Be which this world was signified,That whilom was so magnefied,And now is old and fieble and vil,Full of meschief and of peril,And stant divided ek alsoLich to the feet that were so,890As I tolde of the Statue above.And this men sen, thurgh lacke of love189Where as the lond divided is,It mot algate fare amis:P. i. 34And now to loke on every side,A man may se the world divide,The werres ben so generalAmong the cristene overal,That every man now secheth wreche,And yet these clerkes alday preche190900And sein, good dede may non beWhich stant noght upon charite:I not hou charite may stonde,Wher dedly werre is take on honde.Bot al this wo is cause of man,The which that wit and reson can,And that in tokne and in witnesseThat ilke ymage bar liknesseOf man and of non other beste.For ferst unto the mannes heste910Was every creature ordeined,Bot afterward it was restreigned:191Whan that he fell, thei fellen eke,Whan he wax sek, thei woxen seke;For as the man hath passiounOf seknesse, in comparisounSo soffren othre creatures.Hic scribit quod ex diuisionis passione singula creata detrimentum corruptibile paciuntur.Lo, ferst the hevenly figures,The Sonne and Mone eclipsen bothe,And ben with mannes senne wrothe;920The purest Eir for Senne alofteHath ben and is corrupt fulofte,Right now the hyhe wyndes blowe,192And anon after thei ben lowe,P. i. 35Now clowdy and now clier it is:So may it proeven wel be this,A mannes Senne is forto hate,Which makth the welkne to debate.And forto se the propreteOf every thyng in his degree,930Benethe forth among ous hiereAl stant aliche in this matiere:The See now ebbeth, now it floweth,The lond now welketh, now it groweth,193Now be the Trees with leves grene,Now thei be bare and nothing sene,Now be the lusti somer floures,194Now be the stormy wynter shoures,Now be the daies, now the nyhtes,195So stant ther nothing al upryhtes,940Now it is lyht, now it is derk;And thus stant al the worldes werkAfter the disposiciounOf man and his condicioun.Forthi Gregoire in his MoralSeith that a man in special196The lasse world is properly:And that he proeveth redely;For man of Soule resonableIs to an Angel resemblable,197950And lich to beste he hath fielinge,And lich to Trees he hath growinge;The Stones ben and so is he:Thus of his propre qualiteP. i. 36The man, as telleth the clergie,Is as a world in his partie,And whan this litel world mistorneth,198The grete world al overtorneth.The Lond, the See, the firmament,Thei axen alle jugement960Ayein the man and make him werre:Therwhile himself stant out of herre,The remenant wol noght acorde:199And in this wise, as I recorde,The man is cause of alle wo,Why this world is divided so.200Hic dicit secundum euangelium, quod omne regnum in se diuisum desolabitur.Division, the gospell seith,201On hous upon another leith,Til that the Regne al overthrowe:And thus may every man wel knowe,970Division aboven alleIs thing which makth the world to falle,And evere hath do sith it began.Quod ex sue complexionis materia diuisus homo mortalis existat.202It may ferst proeve upon a man;The which, for his complexiounIs mad upon divisiounOf cold, of hot, of moist, of drye,He mot be verray kynde dye:For the contraire of his astatStant evermore in such debat,980Til that o part be overcome,Ther may no final pes be nome.203Bot other wise, if a man wereMad al togedre of o matiereP. i. 37Withouten interrupcioun,Ther scholde no corrupciounEngendre upon that unite:Bot for ther is diversiteWithinne himself, he may noght laste,That he ne deieth ate laste.990Quod homo ex corporis et anime condicione diuisus, sicut saluacionis ita et dampnacionis aptitudinem ingreditur.Bot in a man yit over thisFull gret divisioun ther is,Thurgh which that he is evere in strif,Whil that him lasteth eny lif:The bodi and the Soule alsoAmong hem ben divided so,That what thing that the body hatethThe soule loveth and debateth;Bot natheles fulofte is seneOf werre which is hem betwene1000The fieble hath wonne the victoire.Qualiter Adam a statu innocencie diuisus a paradiso voluptatis in terram laboris peccator proiectus est.And who so drawth into memoireWhat hath befalle of old and newe,He may that werre sore rewe,Which ferst began in Paradis:For ther was proeved what it is,And what desese there it wroghte;For thilke werre tho forth broghteThe vice of alle dedly Sinne,Thurgh which division cam inne1010Qualiter populi per vniuersum orbem a cultura dei diuisi, Noe cum sua sequela dumtaxat exceptis, diluuio interierunt.Among the men in erthe hiere,And was the cause and the matiereWhy god the grete flodes sende,Of al the world and made an endeP. i. 38Bot Noë with his felaschipe,Which only weren saulf be Schipe.And over that thurgh Senne it comQualiter in edificacione turris Babel, quam in dei contemptum Nembrot erexit, lingua prius hebraica in varias linguas celica vindicta diuidebatur.That Nembrot such emprise nom,204Whan he the Tour Babel on heihte205Let make, as he that wolde feihte1020Ayein the hihe goddes myht,Wherof divided anon ryhtWas the langage in such entente,Therwiste non what other mente,So that thei myhten noght procede.And thus it stant of every dede,Wher Senne takth the cause on honde,It may upriht noght longe stonde;For Senne of his condicioun206Is moder of divisioun1030Qualiter mundus, qui in statu diuisionis quasi cotidianis presenti tempore vexatur207flagellis, a lapide superueniente, id est a diuina potencia vsque ad resolucionem omnis carnis subito conteretur.And tokne whan the world schal faile.For so seith Crist withoute faile,That nyh upon the worldes endePes and acord awey schol wendeAnd alle charite schal cesse,Among the men and hate encresce;And whan these toknes ben befalle,Al sodeinly the Ston schal falle,208As Daniel it hath beknowe,Which al this world schal overthrowe,1040And every man schal thanne ariseTo Joie or elles to Juise,Wher that he schal for evere dwelle,Or straght to hevene or straght to helle.P. i. 39In hevene is pes and al acord,Bot helle is full of such descordThat ther may be no loveday:Forthi good is, whil a man may,Echon to sette pes with otherAnd loven as his oghne brother;1050So may he winne worldes weltheAnd afterward his soule helthe.Hic narrat exemplum de concordia et vnitate inter homines prouocanda; et dicit qualiter quidam Arion nuper Citharista ex sui cantus cithareque consona melodia tante virtutis extiterat, vt ipse non solum virum cum viro, set eciam leonem cum cerua, lupum cum agna, canem cum lepore, ipsum audientes vnanimiter absque vlla discordia adinuicem pacificauit.Bot wolde god that now were onAn other such as Arion,209Which hadde an harpe of such temprure,And therto of so good mesureHe song, that he the bestes wildeMade of his note tame and milde,The Hinde in pes with the Leoun,The Wolf in pes with the Moltoun,1060The Hare in pees stod with the Hound;And every man upon this groundWhich Arion that time herde,Als wel the lord as the schepherde,He broghte hem alle in good acord;So that the comun with the lord,And lord with the comun also,He sette in love bothe tuoAnd putte awey malencolie.That was a lusti melodie,1070Whan every man with other low;And if ther were such on now,Which cowthe harpe as he tho dede,He myhte availe in many a stedeP. i. 40To make pes wher now is hate;For whan men thenken to debate,I not what other thing is good.Bot wher that wisdom waxeth wod,210And reson torneth into rage,So that mesure upon oultrage1080Hath set his world, it is to drede;For that bringth in the comun drede,Which stant at every mannes Dore:Bot whan the scharpnesse of the sporeThe horse side smit to sore,It grieveth ofte. And now nomore,As forto speke of this matiere,211Which non bot only god may stiere.212

The hyhe almyhti pourveance,

In whos eterne remembrance

Fro ferst was every thing present,

He hath his prophecie sent,147

In such a wise as thou schalt hiere,

To Daniel of this matiere,590

Hic in prologo tractat de Statua illa, quam Rex Nabugodonosor viderat in sompnis, cuius caput aureum, pectus argenteum, venter eneus, tibie ferree, pedum vero quedam pars ferrea, quedam fictilis videbatur, sub qua membrorum diuersitate secundum Danielis exposicionem huius mundi variacio figurabatur.

Hou that this world schal torne and wende,

Till it be falle to his ende;148

Wherof the tale telle I schal,

In which it is betokned al.

P. i. 24

As Nabugodonosor slepte,

A swevene him tok, the which he kepte

Til on the morwe he was arise,

For he therof was sore agrise.

To Daniel his drem he tolde,

And preide him faire that he wolde600

Arede what it tokne may;

And seide: ‘Abedde wher I lay,

Me thoghte I syh upon a Stage

Wher stod a wonder strange ymage.

His hed with al the necke also

Thei were of fin gold bothe tuo;

His brest, his schuldres and his armes

Were al of selver, bot the tharmes,149

The wombe and al doun to the kne,

Of bras thei were upon to se;150610

The legges were al mad of Stiel,151

So were his feet also somdiel,

And somdiel part to hem was take

Of Erthe which men Pottes make;

Hic narrat vlterius de quodam lapide grandi,152qui, vt in dicto sompnio videbatur, ab excelso monte super statuam corruens ipsam quasi in nichilum penitus contriuit.

The fieble meynd was with the stronge,

So myhte it wel noght stonde longe.153

And tho me thoghte that I sih

A gret ston from an hull on hyh154

Fel doun of sodein aventure

Upon the feet of this figure,620

With which Ston al tobroke was

Gold, Selver, Erthe, Stiel and Bras,

That al was in to pouldre broght,

And so forth torned into noght.’

P. i. 25

Hic loquitur de interpretacione sompnii, et primo dicit155de significacione capitis aurei.

This was the swevene which he hadde,

That Daniel anon aradde,

And seide him that figure strange

Betokneth how the world schal change

And waxe lasse worth and lasse,

Til it to noght al overpasse.630

The necke and hed, that weren golde,

He seide how that betokne scholde

A worthi world, a noble, a riche,

To which non after schal be liche.

De pectore argenteo.

Of Selver that was overforth

Schal ben a world of lasse worth;

De ventre eneo.

And after that the wombe of Bras

Tokne of a werse world it was.

De tibeis ferreis.

The Stiel which he syh afterward

A world betokneth more hard:640

De significacione pedum, qui ex duabus materiis discordantibus adinuicem diuisi extiterant.

Bot yet the werste of everydel

Is last, whan that of Erthe and Stiel

He syh the feet departed so,

For that betokneth mochel wo.

Whan that the world divided is,

It moste algate fare amis,

For Erthe which is meynd with Stiel

Togedre may noght laste wiel,

Bot if that on that other waste;

So mot it nedes faile in haste.650

De lapidis statuam confringentis significacione.

The Ston, which fro the hully Stage

He syh doun falle on that ymage,

And hath it into pouldre broke,

That swevene hath Daniel unloke,

P. i. 26

And seide how that is goddes myht,

Which whan men wene most upryht

To stonde, schal hem overcaste.

And that is of this world the laste,

And thanne a newe schal beginne,156

Fro which a man schal nevere twinne;660

[The Empires of the World.]

Or al to peine or al to pes

That world schal lasten endeles.

Hic consequenter scribit qualiter huius seculi regna variis mutacionibus, prout in dicta statua figurabatur, secundum temporum distincciones sencibiliter hactenus diminuuntur.158m

Lo thus expondeth Daniel157

The kynges swevene faire and wel

In Babiloyne the Cite,

Wher that the wiseste of Caldee

Ne cowthen wite what it mente;

Bot he tolde al the hol entente,158

As in partie it is befalle.

De seculo aureo, quod in capite statue designatum est, a tempore ipsius Nabugodonosor Regis Caldee vsque in regnum Ciri Regis Persarum.

Of gold the ferste regne of alle670

Was in that kinges time tho,

And laste manye daies so,

Therwhiles that the Monarchie

Of al the world in that partie

To Babiloyne was soubgit;

And hield him stille in such a plit,

Til that the world began diverse:

And that was whan the king of Perse,

Which Cirus hyhte, ayein the pes

Forth with his Sone Cambises680

Of Babiloine al that Empire,159

Ryht as thei wolde hemself desire,

Put under in subjeccioun160

And tok it in possessioun,

P. i. 27

And slayn was Baltazar the king,

Which loste his regne and al his thing.

And thus whan thei it hadde wonne,

De seculo argenteo, quod in pectore designatum est, a tempore ipsius Regis Ciri vsque in regnum Alexandri Regis Macedonie.

The world of Selver was begonne

And that of gold was passed oute:

And in this wise it goth aboute690

In to the Regne of Darius;

And thanne it fell to Perse thus,

That Alisaundre put hem under,

Which wroghte of armes many a wonder,

So that the Monarchie lefte

With Grecs, and here astat uplefte,

And Persiens gon under fote,

So soffre thei that nedes mote.161

De seculo eneo, quod in ventre designatum est, a tempore ipsius Alexandri vsque in regnum Iulii Romanorum Imparatoris.

And tho the world began of Bras,

And that of selver ended was;700

Bot for the time thus it laste,

Til it befell that ate laste

This king, whan that his day was come,

With strengthe of deth was overcome.

And natheles yet er he dyde,162

He schop his Regnes to divide

To knyhtes whiche him hadde served,

And after that thei have deserved

Yaf the conquestes that he wan;

Wherof gret werre tho began710

Among hem that the Regnes hadde,

Thurgh proud Envie which hem ladde,

Til it befell ayein hem thus:

The noble Cesar Julius,

P. i. 28

Which tho was king of Rome lond,

With gret bataille and with strong hond

Al Grece, Perse and ek Caldee

Wan and put under, so that he163

Noght al only of thorient

Bot al the Marche of thoccident164720

Governeth under his empire,

As he that was hol lord and Sire,

And hield thurgh his chivalerie165

Of al this world the Monarchie,166

And was the ferste of that honour

Which tok the name of Emperour.

De seculo ferreo, quod in tibeis designatum est, a tempore Iulii vsque in167regnum Karoli magni Regis Francorum.168m

Wher Rome thanne wolde assaille,

Ther myhte nothing contrevaille,

Bot every contre moste obeie:

Tho goth the Regne of Bras aweie,730

And comen is the world of Stiel,

And stod above upon the whiel.168

As Stiel is hardest in his kynde

Above alle othre that men finde

Of Metals, such was Rome tho

The myhtieste, and laste so

Long time amonges the Romeins

Til thei become so vileins,

That the fals Emperour Leo169

With Constantin his Sone also740

The patrimoine and the richesse,

Which to Silvestre in pure almesse

The ferste Constantinus lefte,

Fro holy cherche thei berefte.

P. i. 29

Bot Adrian, which Pope was,170

And syh the meschief of this cas,

Goth in to Franceforto pleigne,

And preith the grete Charlemeine,

For Cristes sake and Soule hele

That he wol take the querele171750

Of holy cherche in his defence.

And Charles for the reverence

Of god the cause hath undertake,

And with his host the weie take172

Over the Montz of Lombardie;

Of Rome and al the tirandie

With blodi swerd he overcom,

And the Cite with strengthe nom;

In such a wise and there he wroghte,

That holy cherche ayein he broghte760

Into franchise, and doth restore

The Popes lost, and yaf him more:

And thus whan he his god hath served,

He tok, as he wel hath deserved,173

The Diademe and was coroned.

Of Rome and thus was abandoned

Thempire, which cam nevere ayein

Into the hond of no Romein;174

Bot a long time it stod so stille

Under the Frensche kynges wille,770

Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,

That afterward Lombardz it hadde,

Noght be the swerd, bot be soffrance

Of him that tho was kyng of France,

P. i. 30

Which Karle Calvus cleped was;

And he resigneth in this cas

Thempire of Rome unto Lowis

His Cousin, which a Lombard is.

De seculo nouissimis iam temporibus ad similitudinem pedum in discordiam lapso et diuiso, quod post decessum ipsius Karoli, cum imperium Romanorum in manus Longobardorum peruenerat,175tempore Alberti et Berengarii incepit: nam ob eorum diuisionem contigit, vt Almanni imperatoriam adepti sunt maiestatem. In cuius solium quendam principem theotonicum Othonera nomine sublimari primitus constituerunt. Et ab illo regno incipiente diuisio per vniuersum orbem in posteros concreuit, vnde nos ad alterutrum diuisi huius seculi consummacionem iam vltimi expectamus.

And so hit laste into the yeer

Of Albert and of Berenger;780

Bot thanne upon dissencioun

Thei felle, and in divisioun

Among hemself that were grete,

So that thei loste the beyete

Of worschipe and of worldes pes.

Bot in proverbe natheles

Men sein, ful selden is that welthe

Can soffre his oghne astat in helthe;

And that was on the Lombardz sene,

Such comun strif was hem betwene790

Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,

That every man drowh his partie,

Which myhte leden eny route,

Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:

The comun ryht hath no felawe,

So that the governance of lawe

Was lost, and for necessite,

Of that thei stode in such degre

Al only thurgh divisioun,

Hem nedeth in conclusioun800

Of strange londes help beside.

And thus for thei hemself divide

And stonden out of reule unevene,

Of Alemaine Princes sevene176

P. i. 31

Thei chose in this condicioun,

That upon here eleccioun

Thempire of Rome scholde stonde.

And thus thei lefte it out of honde

For lacke of grace, and it forsoke,

That Alemans upon hem toke:810

And to confermen here astat,

Of that thei founden in debat177

Thei token the possessioun

After the composicioun

Among hemself, and therupon

Thei made an Emperour anon,

Whos name as the Cronique telleth

Was Othes; and so forth it duelleth,

Fro thilke day yit unto this

Thempire of Rome hath ben and is820

[The latest Time.]

To thalemans. And in this wise,178

As ye tofore have herd divise

How Daniel the swevene expondeth179

Of that ymage, on whom he foundeth

The world which after scholde falle,

Come is the laste tokne of alle;

Upon the feet of Erthe and Stiel

So stant this world now everydiel

Departed; which began riht tho,

Whan Rome was divided so:830

And that is forto rewe sore,

For alway siththe more and more

The world empeireth every day.

Wherof the sothe schewe may,

P. i. 32

At Rome ferst if we beginne:

The wall and al the Cit withinne180

Stant in ruine and in decas,181

The feld is wher the Paleis was,182

The toun is wast; and overthat,

If we beholde thilke astat840

Which whilom was of the Romeins,

Of knyhthode and of Citezeins,

To peise now with that beforn,

The chaf is take for the corn,183

As forto speke of Romes myht:184

Unethes stant ther oght upryht

Of worschipe or of worldes good,

As it before tyme stod.

And why the worschipe is aweie,

If that a man the sothe seie,185850

[Division the Cause of Evil.]

The cause hath ben divisioun,

Which moder of confusioun

Is wher sche cometh overal,

Noght only of the temporal

Bot of the spirital also.

The dede proeveth it is so,

And hath do many day er this,

Thurgh venym which that medled is

In holy cherche of erthly thing:

For Crist himself makth knowleching860

That noman may togedre serve

God and the world, bot if he swerve

Froward that on and stonde unstable;

And Cristes word may noght be fable.

P. i. 33

The thing so open is at ÿe,186

It nedeth noght to specefie

Or speke oght more in this matiere;

Bot in this wise a man mai lere

Hou that the world is gon aboute,187

The which welnyh is wered oute,870

After theforme of that figure

Which Daniel in his scripture

Expondeth, as tofore is told.188

Of Bras, of Selver and of Gold

The world is passed and agon,

And now upon his olde ton

It stant of brutel Erthe and Stiel,

The whiche acorden nevere a diel;

So mot it nedes swerve aside

As thing the which men sen divide.880

Hic dicit secundum apostolum, quod nos sumus in quos fines seculi deuenerunt.

Thapostel writ unto ous alle

And seith that upon ous is falle

Thende of the world; so may we knowe,

This ymage is nyh overthrowe,

Be which this world was signified,

That whilom was so magnefied,

And now is old and fieble and vil,

Full of meschief and of peril,

And stant divided ek also

Lich to the feet that were so,890

As I tolde of the Statue above.

And this men sen, thurgh lacke of love189

Where as the lond divided is,

It mot algate fare amis:

P. i. 34

And now to loke on every side,

A man may se the world divide,

The werres ben so general

Among the cristene overal,

That every man now secheth wreche,

And yet these clerkes alday preche190900

And sein, good dede may non be

Which stant noght upon charite:

I not hou charite may stonde,

Wher dedly werre is take on honde.

Bot al this wo is cause of man,

The which that wit and reson can,

And that in tokne and in witnesse

That ilke ymage bar liknesse

Of man and of non other beste.

For ferst unto the mannes heste910

Was every creature ordeined,

Bot afterward it was restreigned:191

Whan that he fell, thei fellen eke,

Whan he wax sek, thei woxen seke;

For as the man hath passioun

Of seknesse, in comparisoun

So soffren othre creatures.

Hic scribit quod ex diuisionis passione singula creata detrimentum corruptibile paciuntur.

Lo, ferst the hevenly figures,

The Sonne and Mone eclipsen bothe,

And ben with mannes senne wrothe;920

The purest Eir for Senne alofte

Hath ben and is corrupt fulofte,

Right now the hyhe wyndes blowe,192

And anon after thei ben lowe,

P. i. 35

Now clowdy and now clier it is:

So may it proeven wel be this,

A mannes Senne is forto hate,

Which makth the welkne to debate.

And forto se the proprete

Of every thyng in his degree,930

Benethe forth among ous hiere

Al stant aliche in this matiere:

The See now ebbeth, now it floweth,

The lond now welketh, now it groweth,193

Now be the Trees with leves grene,

Now thei be bare and nothing sene,

Now be the lusti somer floures,194

Now be the stormy wynter shoures,

Now be the daies, now the nyhtes,195

So stant ther nothing al upryhtes,940

Now it is lyht, now it is derk;

And thus stant al the worldes werk

After the disposicioun

Of man and his condicioun.

Forthi Gregoire in his Moral

Seith that a man in special196

The lasse world is properly:

And that he proeveth redely;

For man of Soule resonable

Is to an Angel resemblable,197950

And lich to beste he hath fielinge,

And lich to Trees he hath growinge;

The Stones ben and so is he:

Thus of his propre qualite

P. i. 36

The man, as telleth the clergie,

Is as a world in his partie,

And whan this litel world mistorneth,198

The grete world al overtorneth.

The Lond, the See, the firmament,

Thei axen alle jugement960

Ayein the man and make him werre:

Therwhile himself stant out of herre,

The remenant wol noght acorde:199

And in this wise, as I recorde,

The man is cause of alle wo,

Why this world is divided so.200

Hic dicit secundum euangelium, quod omne regnum in se diuisum desolabitur.

Division, the gospell seith,201

On hous upon another leith,

Til that the Regne al overthrowe:

And thus may every man wel knowe,970

Division aboven alle

Is thing which makth the world to falle,

And evere hath do sith it began.

Quod ex sue complexionis materia diuisus homo mortalis existat.202

It may ferst proeve upon a man;

The which, for his complexioun

Is mad upon divisioun

Of cold, of hot, of moist, of drye,

He mot be verray kynde dye:

For the contraire of his astat

Stant evermore in such debat,980

Til that o part be overcome,

Ther may no final pes be nome.203

Bot other wise, if a man were

Mad al togedre of o matiere

P. i. 37

Withouten interrupcioun,

Ther scholde no corrupcioun

Engendre upon that unite:

Bot for ther is diversite

Withinne himself, he may noght laste,

That he ne deieth ate laste.990

Quod homo ex corporis et anime condicione diuisus, sicut saluacionis ita et dampnacionis aptitudinem ingreditur.

Bot in a man yit over this

Full gret divisioun ther is,

Thurgh which that he is evere in strif,

Whil that him lasteth eny lif:

The bodi and the Soule also

Among hem ben divided so,

That what thing that the body hateth

The soule loveth and debateth;

Bot natheles fulofte is sene

Of werre which is hem betwene1000

The fieble hath wonne the victoire.

Qualiter Adam a statu innocencie diuisus a paradiso voluptatis in terram laboris peccator proiectus est.

And who so drawth into memoire

What hath befalle of old and newe,

He may that werre sore rewe,

Which ferst began in Paradis:

For ther was proeved what it is,

And what desese there it wroghte;

For thilke werre tho forth broghte

The vice of alle dedly Sinne,

Thurgh which division cam inne1010

Qualiter populi per vniuersum orbem a cultura dei diuisi, Noe cum sua sequela dumtaxat exceptis, diluuio interierunt.

Among the men in erthe hiere,

And was the cause and the matiere

Why god the grete flodes sende,

Of al the world and made an ende

P. i. 38

Bot Noë with his felaschipe,

Which only weren saulf be Schipe.

And over that thurgh Senne it com

Qualiter in edificacione turris Babel, quam in dei contemptum Nembrot erexit, lingua prius hebraica in varias linguas celica vindicta diuidebatur.

That Nembrot such emprise nom,204

Whan he the Tour Babel on heihte205

Let make, as he that wolde feihte1020

Ayein the hihe goddes myht,

Wherof divided anon ryht

Was the langage in such entente,

Therwiste non what other mente,

So that thei myhten noght procede.

And thus it stant of every dede,

Wher Senne takth the cause on honde,

It may upriht noght longe stonde;

For Senne of his condicioun206

Is moder of divisioun1030

Qualiter mundus, qui in statu diuisionis quasi cotidianis presenti tempore vexatur207flagellis, a lapide superueniente, id est a diuina potencia vsque ad resolucionem omnis carnis subito conteretur.

And tokne whan the world schal faile.

For so seith Crist withoute faile,

That nyh upon the worldes ende

Pes and acord awey schol wende

And alle charite schal cesse,

Among the men and hate encresce;

And whan these toknes ben befalle,

Al sodeinly the Ston schal falle,208

As Daniel it hath beknowe,

Which al this world schal overthrowe,1040

And every man schal thanne arise

To Joie or elles to Juise,

Wher that he schal for evere dwelle,

Or straght to hevene or straght to helle.

P. i. 39

In hevene is pes and al acord,

Bot helle is full of such descord

That ther may be no loveday:

Forthi good is, whil a man may,

Echon to sette pes with other

And loven as his oghne brother;1050

So may he winne worldes welthe

And afterward his soule helthe.

Hic narrat exemplum de concordia et vnitate inter homines prouocanda; et dicit qualiter quidam Arion nuper Citharista ex sui cantus cithareque consona melodia tante virtutis extiterat, vt ipse non solum virum cum viro, set eciam leonem cum cerua, lupum cum agna, canem cum lepore, ipsum audientes vnanimiter absque vlla discordia adinuicem pacificauit.

Bot wolde god that now were on

An other such as Arion,209

Which hadde an harpe of such temprure,

And therto of so good mesure

He song, that he the bestes wilde

Made of his note tame and milde,

The Hinde in pes with the Leoun,

The Wolf in pes with the Moltoun,1060

The Hare in pees stod with the Hound;

And every man upon this ground

Which Arion that time herde,

Als wel the lord as the schepherde,

He broghte hem alle in good acord;

So that the comun with the lord,

And lord with the comun also,

He sette in love bothe tuo

And putte awey malencolie.

That was a lusti melodie,1070

Whan every man with other low;

And if ther were such on now,

Which cowthe harpe as he tho dede,

He myhte availe in many a stede

P. i. 40

To make pes wher now is hate;

For whan men thenken to debate,

I not what other thing is good.

Bot wher that wisdom waxeth wod,210

And reson torneth into rage,

So that mesure upon oultrage1080

Hath set his world, it is to drede;

For that bringth in the comun drede,

Which stant at every mannes Dore:

Bot whan the scharpnesse of the spore

The horse side smit to sore,

It grieveth ofte. And now nomore,

As forto speke of this matiere,211

Which non bot only god may stiere.212

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