‘O gentile Engleterre, a toi j’escrits.’
‘O gentile Engleterre, a toi j’escrits.’
‘O gentile Engleterre, a toi j’escrits.’
‘O gentile Engleterre, a toi j’escrits.’
When he decides that theConfessio Amantiscould no longer go forth with Richard as its patron, it is to England that he dedicates his poem, and for his country that he offers up the prayers which he can no longer utter with sincerity on behalf of the worthless king (Conf. Am.Prol. 24 and viii. 2987).
From theConfessio Amantiswe learn the circumstances under which that work was undertaken, owing in part at least to a suggestion from the king himself, who, meeting Gower upon the river, made him come into his own barge and conversed with him familiarly on his literary projects, urging him apparently to the composition of a poem in English, and perhaps suggesting Love as the subject. We gather also that in the year 1390 the author considered himself already an old man, and that he had then suffered for some time from ill-health (Prol. 79*, viii. 3042*), and from the Epistle to Archbishop Arundel prefixed later to theVox Clamantis, as well as from the Latin lines beginning ‘Henrici Regis’ (or ‘Henrici quarti’) we learn that he was blind during the last years of his life, probably from the year 1400. We may reasonably suppose that he was born about the year 1330, or possibly somewhat later. From the Latin statement about his books we learn, what is tolerably obviousfrom their tenour, that his chief aim in writing was edification, while at the same time we gather from the opening of the first book of theConfessio Amantisthat he then despaired of effecting anything by direct admonition, and preferred finally to mingle amusement with instruction. The Latin lines at the end of this volume, beginning ‘Dicunt scripture,’ express a principle which he seems to have followed himself, namely that a man should give away money for good purposes during his own life, rather than leave such business to be attended to by his executors.
The literary side of his activity is sufficiently dealt with in the introductions to his several works, and there also it is noted what were the books with which he was acquainted. It is enough to say here that he was a man of fairly wide general reading, and thoroughly familiar with certain particular books, especially the Bible, all the works of Ovid, and theAuroraof Peter de Riga.
THE LATIN WORKS.
Of the works which are included in the present volume theVox Clamantisis the most important. It is written in elegiac verse, more or less after the model of Ovid, and consists of 10,265 lines, arranged in seven books, of which the first, second and third have separate prologues, and each is divided into a series of chapters with prose headings. As to the date of composition, all that we can say is that the work in its present form is later than the Peasants’ rising in the summer of 1381, and yet it was evidently composed while the memory of that event was fresh, and also before the young king had grown beyond boyhood. The advice to the king with regard to fidelity in marriage need not be taken to have special reference to the king’s actual marriage at the end of the year 1382, but perhaps it is more natural to suppose that it was written after that event than before.
The general plan of the author is to describe the condition of society and of the various degrees of men, much as in the latter portion of theSpeculum Meditantis. This, however, is made subordinate to the detailed account, given at the beginning, of the Peasants’ rising, and that is in fact set down as the main subject of the work in the Latin account of it given by the author:‘Secundus enim liber sermone Latino versibus exametri et pentametri compositus tractat super illo mirabili euentu, qui in Anglia tempore domini Regis Ricardi secundi anno regni sui quarto contigit, quando seruiles rustici impetuose contra nobiles et ingenuos regni insurrexerunt. Innocenciam tamen dicti domini Regis tunc minoris etatis causa inde excusabilem pronuncians, culpas aliunde, ex quibus et non a fortuna talia inter homines contingunt enormia, euidencius declarat. Titulusque voluminis huius, cuius ordo septem continet paginas, Vox Clamantis nominatur.’
So the statement of contents ran in its earlier form. Afterwards the excuses made for the king on the ground of his youth were withdrawn, and in the final form of the statement the events of theCronica Tripertitaare brought into the reckoning, and the fall of Richard seems to be represented as a moral consequence of the earlier misfortunes of his reign.
Evidently what is quoted above is a very insufficient summary of theVox Clamantis, which in fact deals with the Peasants’ rising only in its first book; and notwithstanding the fact that this event so much overshadows the other subjects of the poem that the author in describing his work afterwards treated it as the only theme, there is some reason to question whether what we have is really the original form of the poem, and even to conclude that the work may have been originally composed altogether without this detailed narrative of the insurrection. For this idea there is some manuscript authority. It has not hitherto been noted that in one copy (MS. Laud 719) theVox Clamantisappears with the omission of the whole of the first book after the Prologue and first chapter66. At the same time the text of this manuscript seems to be complete in itself, and the books are numbered in accordance with the omission, so that there are six books only, our second book being numbered as the first67. There is really something to be said forthis arrangement, apart from the fact that it occurs in a single manuscript. The first book, with its detailed account of the Peasants’ revolt, though in itself the most interesting part of the work, has certainly something of the character of an insertion. The plan of the remainder seems to be independent of it, though the date, June, 1381, which is found also in the Laud MS.,
‘Contigit vt quarto Ricardi regis in anno,Dum clamat mensem Iunius esse suum,’
‘Contigit vt quarto Ricardi regis in anno,Dum clamat mensem Iunius esse suum,’
‘Contigit vt quarto Ricardi regis in anno,Dum clamat mensem Iunius esse suum,’
‘Contigit vt quarto Ricardi regis in anno,
Dum clamat mensem Iunius esse suum,’
was doubtless intended to suggest that portentous event as the occasion of the review of society which the work contains. The prologue of the second book, which introduces the teachings of the vision with an invocation of God’s assistance, an apology for the deficiencies of the work, and an appeal to the goodwill of the reader, and concludes with a first announcement of the name of the succeeding poem,Vox Clamantis, would certainly be much more in place at the beginning of the whole work than here, after more than two thousand lines, and there is no difficulty in supposing that the author may have introduced his account of the Peasants’ revolt as an afterthought. The chief reason for hesitating to accept the Laud MS. as representing an authentic form of the poem, lies in the fact that the text of this MS. is rather closely related to that of another copy, MS. Digby 138, which contains the first book in its usual place; and it is perhaps more likely that the original archetype of these two MSS. was one which included the first book, and that this was omitted for some reason by the scribe of the Laud MS., than that the copyist of the Digby MS. perceived the absence of this book and supplied it from some other quarter.
One other matter affecting our estimate of the style of the composition generally has perhaps been sufficiently illustrated in the Notes of this edition, that is to say, the extent to which the author borrows in theVox Clamantisfrom other writers. It is sufficiently obvious to a casual reader that he has appropriated a good many lines from Ovid, though the extent of this schoolboy plagiarism is hardly to be realised without careful examination; but his very extensive obligations to other writers have not hitherto been pointed out. He repeatedly takes not lines or couplets only, but passages of eight, ten or even twenty lines from theAuroraof Peter Riga, from the poem of Alexander NeckamDe Vita Monachorum, from theSpeculum Stultorum, or from thePantheon,so that in many places the composition is entirely made up of such borrowed matter variously arranged and combined. This is evidently a thing to be noted, because if the author, when describing (for example) the vices of monasteries, is found to be merely quoting from Alexander Neckam, we cannot attach much value to his account as a picture of the manners of his own time. His knowledge of Ovid seems to have been pretty complete, for he borrows from almost every section of his works with the air of one who knows perfectly well where to turn for what he wants; quite a large portion of Neckam’s poem is appropriated without the smallest acknowledgement, and many long passages are taken from theAurora, with only one slight mention of this source (iii. 1853). Most of the good Latin lines for which Gower has got credit with critics are plagiarisms of this kind, and if Professor Morley had realized to what extent theVox Clamantisis a compilation, he would hardly have estimated the work so highly as he has done. The extracts from medieval authors are to some extent tolerable, because they are usually given in a connected and intelligible shape, but the perpetual borrowing of isolated lines or couplets from Ovid, often without regard to their appropriateness or their original meaning, often makes the style, of the first book especially, nearly as bad as it can be. I have taken the pains to point out a considerable number of plagiarisms, but it is certain that there must be many instances which have escaped my notice. In his later Latin verse the author is very much less dependent upon others, and theCronica Tripertita, from the nature of the subject, is necessarily original.
Gower’s own style of versification in Latin is somewhat less elegant than that of Alexander Neckam or Peter Riga, but it stands upon much the same level of correctness. If we take into account the fact that the Latin is not classical but medieval, and that certain licences of prosody were regularly admitted by medieval writers of Latin verse, we shall not find the performance very bad. Such licences are, for example, the lengthening of a short syllable at the caesura, the position of final short vowels before ‘st,’ ‘sp,’ ‘sc’ at the beginning of the succeeding word, and the use of polysyllabic words, or of two dissyllables, at the end of the hexameter, so that lines such as these are not to be taken as irregular:
‘Omnis et inde gradus a presule sanctificatus;’‘Quo minor est culpa, si cadat inde rea;’‘Et quia preuisa sic vota facit, puto culpa;’‘Si bene conseruet ordinis ipse statum.’
‘Omnis et inde gradus a presule sanctificatus;’‘Quo minor est culpa, si cadat inde rea;’‘Et quia preuisa sic vota facit, puto culpa;’‘Si bene conseruet ordinis ipse statum.’
‘Omnis et inde gradus a presule sanctificatus;’‘Quo minor est culpa, si cadat inde rea;’‘Et quia preuisa sic vota facit, puto culpa;’‘Si bene conseruet ordinis ipse statum.’
‘Omnis et inde gradus a presule sanctificatus;’
‘Quo minor est culpa, si cadat inde rea;’
‘Et quia preuisa sic vota facit, puto culpa;’
‘Si bene conseruet ordinis ipse statum.’
In any case it is certain that Gower expressed himself in Latin with great facility and with tolerable correctness. He may have imitated the style of Ovid ‘studiosius quam felicius,’ as Leland observes, but the comparison with other Latin verse-writers of his time sets his performance in a fairly favourable light.
Vox Clamantis.Analysis.
Prologus Libri Primi.
From the records of the past we derive examples; and though credit be not commonly given to dreams, yet the writers of past time instruct us otherwise. Daniel and Joseph were taught by visions, and a man’s guardian angel often warns him in his sleep. Hence, as it seems to me, my dreams should be recorded as signs of the times; and what my vision was and at what time it came, ye may learn from this book.
If ye desire to know the writer’s name, add toJohnthe beginning ofGodfrey, the first letter ofWalesand the wordterwithout its head. But give no praise to the author, for I write not with a view to fame. I shall write of strange things which my country has experienced, and as my matter is woful, so also shall be my song. My pen is wet with tears, and both my heart and my hand tremble; nor am I sufficient to write all the troubles that belong to the time. I ask for indulgence rather than praise: my will is good, though my powers fall short. I pray that while I sing of those true visions which disturb my heart with terror, he whose name I bear, to whom visions were revealed in Patmos, may control my work.
Liber Primus.
Cap. I.It was in the fourth year of king Richard, when the month was June: the moon had set and the morning-star had risen, when from the West a strange light sprang, the dawn came from the region of the setting sun and brought forth the day. The sun shone and all the earth was bright; Phebus went forth in his glorious car, attended by the four Seasons, Summer being nearest to him then and honoured by all creatures. The meadows were bright with flowers and the flocks sported in the fields, a perfect paradise of flowers and fruits was there, with the songs of multitudinous birds. Such was the day on which I wandered forth for my pleasure.
All things have an end, and at length that calm day had completed its appointed hours; evening came and I lay down to rest. The night came on, dark and gloomy as the day had been bright, and sleep did not visit my eyes. My hair stood on end, my flesh and my hearttrembled and my senses were disturbed like water. I reflected what the cause might be of my sudden terror, and my mind wandered by various paths. The night went on, yet no sleep came, and terror of a coming evil oppressed me. Thus I spent the hours of darkness, not knowing what was approaching, seeing the past and fearing for the future; but at length, towards dawn, sleep came upon my weary eyes, and I began to dream.
Cap. II.Methought I went out upon a Tuesday to gather flowers, and I saw people in bands going abroad over the fields. Suddenly the curse of God fell like lightning upon them, and they were changed into the forms of beasts, various bands into various forms.
One band was changed into asses rebellious against the halter and the burden, careering over the fields and demanding to be as horses; and these had also horns in the middle of their foreheads, which were stained with blood; they were swift as leopards in their leap, and had tails like that of a lion, yet the stolid asinine mind was in them still. I stood in terror and could advance no further.
Cap. III.With them came oxen, who refused any longer to be subject to the yoke and who would no longer eat straw. These too were in monstrous shape with feet like those of a bear and with the tails of dragons; they breathed forth fire and smoke like the bulls of Colchos. They devastated the fields and slew men: the plough, the rake and the mattock lay idle. ‘Ah me!’ I said, ‘the cultivation of the fields will cease and famine will come upon us.’
Cap. IV.A third band I saw transformed into swine, furious and possessed by the devil. They followed one another, hog and hogling, boar and little pig, the sow and her companion, and there was no swine-herd to keep them away from the corn-fields. They wandered where they would, and the pig ravaged like a wolf.
One boar there was, whom Kent produced, such as the whole earth might not match. Flame came from his mouth and eyes, his tusks were like those of an elephant; foam mixed with human blood flowed over his flanks. He strikes down all those whom he meets and none can prevail against him: no place except heaven is safe from his rage. From the North comes another boar to meet him and to plan destruction.
These boars were greater and more furious than that of Tegea or that which Meleager hunted. They are not content with acorns for their food or water for their drink; they devour rich food in the city and drink good wine, so that they lie in drunkenness as dead. They despise the pig-stye and defile kings’ palaces with their filth: their grunting is like the roaring of a lion.
Cap. V.A fourth band was turned into dogs, who are not content with the food from their master’s table, but range in search of better, who do not hunt hares or stags, but bark at the heels of men. Hereare Cut and Cur from their wretched kennels, the sheep-dog and the watch-dog, the baker’s, the butcher’s, and the miller’s dog. The one-eyed is there and the three-legged dog limps behind barking. These cannot be soothed by stroking, but bare their teeth in anger against you. They tear all whom they meet, and the more they devour the less they are satisfied. Cerberus in hell hears their howl, and breaking away from his chains he joins himself to their company and becomes their leader. More savage were these than the hounds which tore Acteon or the beast which Diana sent to destroy the Athenians. All trembled before them.
Cap. VI.Another band took the form of foxes and cats. They ran about and searched every cavern and every hiding-place, and made their way into secret chambers. There was venom in their bite. The caves of the wood send forth the foxes, who rob by day without fear, and have a treaty of peace with the dogs. The cats leave the barns and cease to catch mice, and these do damage more than ever did the mice of Ekron.
Cap. VII.A sixth took the form of domestic fowls, but they claimed to be birds of prey. The cock had the beak and claws of a falcon, and the goose soared up to the heaven. Suddenly the cock becomes a carrion-crow and the goose a kite, and they prey upon the carcasses of men. The cock crows horribly and the hen follows him and moves him to evil. The goose which formerly frightened only children with its hissing, now terrifies grown men and threatens to tear them to pieces.
Owls join themselves to these and do by day the deeds of darkness, sharpening their feathers with iron, in order that they may slay men.
Cap. VIII.The dream continued, and I saw another band in the form of flies and of frogs. These were like those that plagued Egypt: the frogs came into houses and shed their poison everywhere; the flies pursued with their stings all those of gentle blood, and nothing could keep them out. Their prince Belzebub was the leader of the host. The heat of the summer produced them suddenly in swarms: the fly was more rapacious than the hawk and prouder than the peacock; he contended with the lark, the crane and the eagle in flight.
This was a day on which horses were overcome by asses, and lions by oxen, a day in which the dog was stronger than the bear and the cat than the leopard, a day in which the weak confounded the strong, a day in which slaves were raised on high and nobles brought to the ground, a day in which the terror of God’s wrath came upon all, such a day as no chronicle records in time past. May such a day never come again in our age!
Cap. IX.When all this multitude was gathered together like the sand of the sea, one, a Jay skilled in speech, took the first place among them and addressed them thus: ‘O wretched slaves, now comesthe day in which the peasant shall drive out the lord; let honour, law and virtue perish, and let our court rule.’ They listen and approve, and though they know not what ‘our court’ means, what he says has for them the force of law: if he says ‘strike,’ they strike, if he says ‘kill,’ they kill. Their sound was as the sound of the sea, and from terror I could scarcely move my feet. They strike a mutual compact and declare that all those of gentle blood who remain in the world shall be overthrown.
Then they advance all together; a dark cloud mingled with the furies of hell rains down evil into their hearts; the earth is wetted with the dew of the pit, so that no virtue can grow, but every vice increases. Satan is loose and among them, the princes of Erebus draw the world after them, and the more I gaze, the more I am terrified, not knowing what the end will be.
Cap. X.Furious rage there was, they were greedy for slaughter like hungry wolves. The seven races derived from Cain were added to them. The prophets spoke of them, Gog and Magog is their name, they neither fear man nor worship God. Moreover those companions of Ulysses, whom Circe transformed, are associated with them: some have the heads of men and others of brute beasts.
Cap. XI.There is Wat, Tom and Sim, Bet and Gib followed by Hick; Coll, Geff and Will, Grigge, Dawe, Hobbe and Lorkin, Hudd, Judd, Tebb and Jack, such are their names;68and Ball teaches them as a prophet, himself having been taught by the devil.
Some bray like asses, others bellow like bulls, they grunt, they bark, they howl, the geese cackle, the wasps buzz; the earth is terrified with their sound and trembles at the name of the Jay.
Cap. XII.They appoint heralds and leaders, and they order that all who do not favour them shall suffer death. They are armed with stakes and poles, old bows and arrows, rusty sickles, mattocks and forks; some have only clods and stones and branches of trees. They wet the earth with the blood of their betters.
Cap. XIII.These come in their fury to the city of new Troy, whichopens its gates to them, and they surge in and invade the streets and houses. It was Thursday, the festival of Corpus Christi, when this fury attacked the city on all sides; they burnt the houses and slew the citizens. The Savoy burns, and the house of the Baptist falls to ruin in the flames. They rob and carry away the spoil, and that day is closed with drunkenness everywhere.
The next day, Friday, is yet worse; no wisdom or courage avails against them, they rage like a lioness robbed of her young. O, how degenerate is the city which allows this, how disgraceful that armed knights should give place to an unarmed mob! There is no Capaneus or Tydeus, no Ajax or Agamemnon, no Hector or Achilles, to make defence or attack. Ilion with its towers cannot keep men safe from the furies.
Cap. XIV.Helenus the chief priest, who kept the palladium of Troy, was slain in spite of his exhortations. These were deeds worthy rather of demons than of men. Piety and virtue perished and vice ran riot. They said ‘Let his blood be upon our heads,’ and slew him without pity: the curse of Christ shall fall upon them for this deed.
Simon had the same death as Thomas, but at the hands of greater numbers and for a different cause. Vengeance came for the death of Thomas; for Simon it daily threatens. It was midday when this blood was shed, the shepherd was slain by his flock, the father by his children. He died untimely; but though taken away from us, he lives in heaven. This is the foulest of all the deeds done: these men are worse than Cain, who only slew his brother. O cursed hand that struck the severed head! Wail for this, all ye old and young, the evils prophesied by Cassandra come down on this city. The king could not rescue Helenus, but he mourned for him in his heart.
Cap. XV.The chief citizens also perished, there was death and sorrow everywhere. If a son pleaded for his father, both were slain. No place of safety can be found by those of gentle condition; they flee to the forests in vain, and move vaguely hither and thither, neither city nor field affords them protection. Death is everywhere, and spares not even the women and the children. There is no remedy, and neither lamentation nor prayers are of any avail.
Cap. XVI.When I saw all this, horror seized me and I fled. I left my own house and wandered over the fields, I went from place to place in search of safety; the enemy pressed after me; I hid in caves of the woods, and was without hope at evening of what the morrow might bring. My dreams terrified me and my heart melted like wax in the fire. I lay hid during the day and trembled at every sound, the tears that I shed were my sole subsistence. I was alone and in terror of the wrath of God, my mind was sick and my body was wasted. Hardly ever did I meet a companion, and those friends whom I had trusted inprosperity failed me now. I dared scarcely speak a word, lest I should betray myself to an enemy.
Then, when I saw nothing but death about me, I desired to die, and yet I was unwilling to perish in so desolate a state. While I wept, lo, Wisdom came to me and bade me stop my tears, for grief would at some time cease. I stood amazed and in doubt; death was life to me and life was death, and wondrous visions passed before me.
Cap. XVII.I saw not far off a Ship, and I ran towards it and climbed up its side. In it were almost all those of gentle birth, crowded together and terrified, seeking refuge from the furies. I prayed that we might have a favourable voyage. The ship left the shore, but my hopes were vain: the sky grew dark and the winds lashed the waves into storm, the ship was driven before them amid thunder and rain. There was confusion among the sailors, and the captain in vain endeavoured to direct the ship’s course.
Cap. XVIII.At length the storm so increased that all were in despair of safety. A huge monster of the sea, Scylla and Charybdis both in one, appeared as if to destroy the ship and all who were in it. We prayed to heaven for help.
(The Tower of London was like this ship, shaken by the storm, its walls giving way to the fury of the mob. In vain it offered hopes of safety; it was stained with foul parricide, and the den of the leopard was captured by assault.)
When I saw these things I was terrified in my sleep, and I prayed to God for help. ‘Thou Creator and Redeemer of the human race, thou who didst save Paul from the sea, Peter from prison and Jonah from the whale’s belly, hear my prayer, I entreat thee. Help me and grant that I may be cast up on a favourable shore!’
As I prayed, the monster struck the ship, and it was almost swallowed up by the fury of Scylla.
Cap. XIX.Yet our cries and tears were not unheard. When the storm raged most furiously, there was one William, a Mayor, who was moved to high deeds: he struck down that proud Jay, and with his death the storm abated, Scylla restored its prey, and the ship once more rode upright upon the water. The sailors regained their courage and hoisted a little sail, peace returned and the sky became clear. I then with all the rest gave thanks to Christ.
Cap. XX.Still my dream went on, and still I seemed to see that ship, which now with broken oars was drifting in search of a landing-place. It was driven to that port where all this evil raged; it had escaped Scylla, but it came to an Island more dangerous than Scylla. I landed, and asked one of those whom I met, ‘What island is this, and why is there so great a concourse of people here?’ He replied: ‘This is called the Island of Brute, and the men who dwell here are of fair form but of savage condition. This people lays law and justicelow by violence; strife and bloodshed reign here ever. Yet if they could love one another, no better people would there be from the rising to the setting of the sun.’
I was saddened and terrified by his answer, I knew not whether sea or land were more to be feared. The heavenly voice which I had heard before said to me, ‘Lament not, but take heed to thyself. Thou hast come to a place where wars abound, but do thou seek peace within by God’s assistance. Be cautious and silent; but when thou hast leisure, record these dreams of thine, for dreams often give a presage of the future.’ The voice was heard no more, and at that moment the cock crew and I awoke from my sleep, scarce knowing whether what I had seen was within me or without.
Cap. XXI.Then I returned thanks to God for having preserved me upon the sea and from the jaws of Scylla. The rustic goes back to his labours, but in his heart there remains hatred of his lords; therefore let us be forewarned and provide against future evils. As for me, God has set me free from the danger, and for this I thank him; and I would that my country, preserved from destruction, might render due thanks to God. While the memory of these things is fresh in me, I will write that which I experienced in my sleep, that waking slumber which brought to me no mere vision but a dream of reality.
Prologus Libri Secundi.
Many things did I see and note, which my pen shall write, but first I invoke, not the Muses, but the true Spirit of God, and I will let down my nets in the name of Christ and for his glory. The style and the verses are poor, but the meaning is good. I will give that which my poor faculties can attain to; and may he be my helper who produced speech from the mouth of an ass. I prefer to do a little good than none.
The words which follow are not spoken from myself; they are gathered from various sources, as honey from various flowers or bright shells from various shores. The name of the book isVox Clamantis, because it is the utterance of a fresh sorrow.
Liber Secundus.
Cap. I.Tears shall be the ink with which I write. All is vanity except the love of God, and man has cause for lamentation from his birth.
Yet if any people in the world could be happy, God granted this boon to us; we were blessed above all other nations. Now our former glory is extinguished and our prosperity is destroyed.
Why is our condition thus changed? Nothing on earth happens without a cause, yet all deny that they are the cause of this and find fault with Fortune, who turns all things upside down.
Cap. II.O thou who art called Fortune, why dost thou thus depress those whom thou didst once exalt? Once our country was everywhere honoured, all desired to be at peace with it: now our glory has departed and enemies attack us from all quarters. Reply, Fortune, and say if thou art the cause of this change. I think not, for I believe in God and not in Fortune; yet I will describe thee, as men think that thou art.
Cap. III.Fortune, hear what men say of thee, that thou hast a double face, and goest by double paths, that nothing in thee is stable or secure. No gifts may keep thee faithful, thou art lighter than the dead leaves which fly before the wind: now thou art bright and fair, now dark and lowering; thy love is more treacherous than that of a harlot, the prosperity which thou givest is very near to disaster.
Cap. IV.Fortune gives no honey without gall, she changes like the sphere of the moon. Her wheel is ever turning, and no tears or prayers will move her. Citizen and husbandman, king and rustic, rich and poor, all are alike to her. Ah! why was so much power given to such a one as she is?
Thus men say, believing that Fortune can overthrow the decrees of God, but in fact she is nothing, fate is nothing, chance has nothing to do with the affairs of men. Each one makes for himself his own lot: if the will is good, good fortune follows, if evil, it makes the fortune bad. Virtue will lead you to the summit of the wheel, and vice will bring you and your fortune down to the bottom.
Cap. V.God has said that the man who obeys his commands shall prosper in wealth and peace: the very elements are subject to the righteous man. Joshua caused the sun to stand still, Gregory stayed the plague, Moses divided the sea, Elisha caused iron to swim, the three children were unhurt by the fire, the earth rose to give a seat to Hilarius. Wild animals, too, serve the just man, witness Daniel, Silvester, Moses and Jonah.
Cap. VI.Again, the elements war against sinners: so it was in the case of the plague caused by David’s sin, in the case of the Sodomites, Korah, Dathan and Abiram, Lysias and others. The wicked man cannot enjoy good fortune, nor can the good man be deprived of it. It was guilt that caused the fall of Pharaoh and of Saul, the death of Ahab and of Eli with his sons. The Jews always conquered while they were obedient to God’s law, and were overcome when they transgressed it.
Cap. VII.It is God Omnipotent, the Three in One, who governs all things here. As fire, heat and motion are three things combined in one, so the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons but one Godhead.
Cap. VIII.Christ, the Son of the Father, became incarnate in man, and yet remained what he was before, being less than the Father and yet equal to him, perfect Man and perfect God. As the frailty ofthe first Adam brought evil upon us all, so the strength of the second Adam healed our wound and restored our fallen state.
Cap. IX.We must submit our mind to the faith, for man cannot understand the things of God, and we must not examine too closely the mystery which we cannot penetrate. This we know, that life is given to all through the name of Jesus Christ.
Cap. X.The heathen bows down to figures of wood and stone, asking help from that which his hands have made. Was not the world made for man and all things placed in subjection to him? How then can these idols be of any avail?
As for us, we use images differently, not giving to them the worship that belongs to God, but by them assisting devotion; especially the sign of the Cross is to be adored, by means of which we conquer the powers of evil. Great is the virtue of the Cross, by which Christ despoiled hell of its prey and ascended into heaven.
Cap. XI.God created the heaven and the earth, and all created things ought to serve him. As he creates all things, so also he rules them continually, and he gives his gifts according to men’s merit. Whatever comes to pass in the world, whether it be good or evil, we are the cause of it.
Prologus Libri Tercii.
Since good and bad fortune are due to the merits and demerits of men, I shall examine the various conditions of men and find out where the fault lies. I shall utter not so much my own words as the common report of others, and it must be remembered that he who finds fault with the bad is in effect praising the good. May God assist me to carry out my task! My abilities are small, and I do not affect high themes, but I speak of the evils which the common voice of humanity bewails. Let no envy or calumny attack my work; and do thou, O Christ, grant that I may avoid falsehood and flattery. With this prayer I enter on my voyage.
Liber Tercius.
Cap. I.The order of the world is in three degrees,—Clergy, Knighthood and Peasantry. I shall deal first with the prelates of the Church, whose practice is very far removed from the example of Christ. Riches alone are valued by them, and the poor man is despised, whatever may be his merits.
Cap. II.Prelates of the Church are now hirelings, whose desire is to live in luxury and to indulge their appetites. Gluttony and lust everywhere prevail.
Cap. III.The prelates of the Church aim at earthly honours instead of heavenly: they desire rather to have the pre-eminence thanto do good. Powerful men escape without rebuke for their sins, and penance is avoided by payment.
Cap. IV.As regards the ‘positive law,’ for breach of which dispensations are granted, I ask first whether Christ gives indulgence beforehand for sin, or prohibits that which is not sin. If these things are sins, how can I be free to commit them on consideration of a money payment; if not, why does the Church forbid them? This is merely a device for bringing in money to the clergy.
Cap. V.The poison of temporal possessions is still working in the Church. They no longer war on the pagan, but turn their swords against their own brother Christians.
Cap. VI.Christ left peace with his disciples, but in our time avarice and ambition cause prelates to take part in intestine strife, with swords in their hands and the cross as their ensign. It is not the part of a soldier to offer incense at the altar or of a priest to bear arms in war.
Cap. VII.The priest should fight with other than material arms. David was not permitted to build a house for the Lord, because he had been a shedder of blood; and those who are stained with the slaughter of their brethren cannot be the true servants of the altar. Brotherly love should prevail, and this is opposed to strife and self-seeking ambition.
Cap. VIII.Worldly men may make wars, but the clergy should not take part in them; their strength is in their words and prayers, and they have no need of material arms. Too great prosperity and wealth is the cause of these evils: they do not see what the end will be.
Cap. IX.The ring and the pastoral staff belong to the Pope, the sceptre to the Emperor; the one must not usurp the rights of the other. The Emperor should not claim spiritual power, nor the Pope temporal. Christ is a lover of peace and his ministers must not appeal to the sword, but must keep the command, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Let Christ himself lay claim to what is his. Pride is the root of all evil.
The apostles conquered by prayers and by patience; Peter had neither silver nor gold, but he healed the lame man; our clergy abound in wealth, but do no works of healing, either spiritual or bodily. O thou who art head of the Church, remember that forgiveness should be until seventy times seven, and that Peter was commanded by Christ to put up his sword.
Cap. X.The teaching and the writings of the clergy are in favour of peace and love, and when I wondered why they waged wars, one answered me in the person of the supreme pontiff and said: ‘Rule on earth is given to us by divine decree and it pleases us to enjoy all the good things of this world. Our way is different from that of Christ and his apostles; we set up the cross as a sign of hatred and vengeance, we put to death those who will not acknowledge our rule; the pastoralstaff is turned into a spear and the mitre into a helmet, we can slay with sword as well as with word, and whereas Peter cut off the ears, we cut off the head.’
Cap. XI.These claim the worship and honour which belong to God alone, and the goods which they unjustly seize are never restored. The shepherd preys like a wolf upon his own sheep.
Cap. XII.He who is promoted to dignity in the Church by simony is like the thief who enters not by the door into the sheepfold. The Church is a congregation of faithful men, and the clergy are no better than the laity, except so far as they lead better lives. Yet they lay burdens upon us which they will not bear themselves, and do not follow their own precepts. They bear the keys of heaven, but they neither enter themselves nor allow us to enter: they set no good example to their flocks.
Cap. XIII.A prelate should be a light to guide his people by example, and he should encourage them by his voice, and also reprove and restrain. The oil with which he is anointed is a type of the qualities that he ought to display.
Cap. XIV.At the Court of Rome nothing can be done without gifts: the poor man is everywhere rejected. The spirit of Antichrist is opposite to that of Christ, and there are many signs that he has already come.
Cap. XV.Our prelates aim at the mere outward show of sanctity and refuse to bear the burden of Christ. O God, in thy mercy restore them to the state which they have lost!
Cap. XVI.Rectors of parishes, too, err after the example of the prelates. They are luxurious in their lives, and many desert their spiritual cures, in order to frequent courts and great households, with a view to promotion.
Cap. XVII.Another gets leave from the bishop to leave his parish on the plea of study at the universities; but there he learns and teaches only lessons of unchastity. The Church, which is his true bride, is neglected, and harlots receive the tithe which belongs to God.
Cap. XVIII.A third rector resides in his parish, but spends his time in sports, keeps well-fed horses and dogs, while the poor are not relieved or the sick visited, makes his voice heard more in the fields and woods than in the church. He lays snares too for the women of his parish, and if their bodies be fair, he cares not how their souls are defiled.
Cap. XIX.Another neglects his cure of souls and makes money by buying and selling. He is liberal of his wealth to none but women; and if benefices were inherited by the children of those who hold them, the succession would seldom fail.
Cap. XX.The priests without benefices, who get their living by ‘annuals,’ are equally bad: the harlot and the tavern consume theirgains. Let none admit these to his house, who desires to keep his wife chaste, anymore than he would admit pigeons to his bed-chamber, if he wished to keep it clean.
Cap. XXI.These infect the laity by their bad example. The bishop ought not to ordain such men; and he who might prevent an evil and does not, is equally guilty with him who causes it.
Cap. XXII.The clergy deny the right of laymen to judge and punish them; yet the sins of the clergy deeply affect the laity. We are all brethren in Christ and we are bidden to rebuke our brethren, if they do wrong, and to cast them out of the Church, if they will not amend.
Cap. XXIII.Priests say that in committing fornication they do not sin more than other men who are guilty of this vice. But their sacred condition and their vow of chastity makes the evil worse in them than in a cobbler or a shepherd.
Cap. XXIV.If we consider the office of the priesthood, we shall find that the vestments and ornaments of priests are all symbolical of the virtues which they ought to possess.
Cap. XXV.The ceremonies of sacrifices under the old law were symbols of the virtues required in priests under the new, and as under the old dispensation the ministers of the altar ought to be without defect and deformity of body, so the priests of the new law should be spiritually free from blemish. Uzzah touched the ark with unclean hands and was punished with death: so he who comes polluted to the service of the altar is worthy of punishment.
Cap. XXVI.A man must be of mature age before he assumes the priesthood; for youth is apt to yield to the temptations of the flesh. The evil impulses cannot be wholly expelled, but they may be kept in check, as is symbolized by the tonsure of the priest. Let the priest avoid idleness, whence so many vices spring.
Cap. XXVII.The honour of priests is great, if they live worthily. They administer to us the sacraments during our lives, they give us burial when we are dead, they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. So much the worse is it when they are ignorant and bad; the distinction between the good and the bad priest is like that between the dove and the raven sent out of the ark.
Cap. XXVIII.The young scholars who are being trained for the priesthood are in these days too often indolent and vicious. If they are so in youth, they will hardly be good in their later age.
Cap. XXIX.They are induced to undertake the priesthood by desire to escape from the control of the ordinary law, by dislike of labour, and by love of good living, seldom by the higher motive, which once prevailed, of contempt for worldly things and longing after the highest good. Thus, since the clergy is without the light of virtue, we laymen wander in the dark.
Liber Quartus.
Cap. I.Men of Religious Orders are also of various conditions, some good and others bad. Let each bear his own burden of blame: I write only what common report tells me.
There are first those who hold temporal possessions, and some of these live in gluttony and luxury.
Cap. II.Those who leave the world should give up worldly things; but in these days the monk is known only by his garb. He indulges himself with the richest food and the choicest drink, he makes haste when the bell rings for a meal, but he rises very slowly and reluctantly for midnight prayer. The monks of old were different; they dwelt in caves and had no luxurious halls or kitchens, they were clothed in skins, fed on herbs and drank water, and abstained from fleshly lusts. These men truly renounced the world, but that blessed state has now perished.
Cap. III.The old monastic rule has given place to gluttony and drunkenness, and those who live so can hardly be chaste. Pride, anger and envy prevail among these men, in spite of the restrictions of their rule.
Cap. IV.There is no brotherly love among them, and the vow of individual poverty is also broken. They make money in various ways and spend it on their pleasures and in enriching their children, whom they call their nephews.
Cap. V.A monk wandering abroad from his cloister is like a fish out of water; nor are those much better who stay within the walls and allow their minds to dwell on worldly things.
Cap. VI.Some seek honour and dignity under the cover of the monastic profession, even though they be of poor and low birth.
Cap. VII.Patience, Chastity and the rest who were once brothers of religious orders, are now dead or departed, and their contrary vices have taken their places.
Cap. VIII.So also the regular Canons for the most part neglect their monastic rule and have only a show of sanctity.
Cap. IX.Monks who are untrue to their profession are of all men the most unhappy. They have no real enjoyment of this world and they lose also the joys of heaven.
Cap. X.Let all members of religious orders perform their vows and repent of their past sins, of their pride, luxury, avarice, ambition, gluttony, wrath, envy and strife.
Cap. XI.Above all let them avoid intercourse with women, who bring death to their souls. Let them labour and study; for idleness is the great incentive to evil.
Cap. XII.The monk who sets himself to observe his rule will live hardly and fast often, praying continually and doing penance for sin. He will submit himself humbly to his prior, and he will not grudge toperform duties that are irksome. The prior should be gentle with his younger brethren and not make the yoke too heavy for them.
Cap. XIII.As regards nuns, they too are under the rule of chastity; but as women are more frail by nature than men, they must not be so severely punished if they break it. They require meat often on Fridays for their stomachs’ sake, and this is prepared for them by Genius the priest of Venus.
Cap. XIV.Where Genius is the confessor of a convent, the laws of the flesh prevail. The priest who visits nuns too often corrupts them, and the woman very easily yields to temptation. A wife may deceive her husband, but the bride of Christ cannot conceal her unfaithfulness from him: therefore she above all others should be chaste.
Cap. XV.True virginity is above all praise, and this surpasses every other condition, as a rose surpasses the thorns from which it springs. The best kind of virginity is that which is vowed to God.
Cap. XVI.Not all whom Christ chose were faithful, and everywhere bad and good are mingled together; but the fault of the bad is not a reason for condemning the good. So when I speak of the evil deeds of Friars, I condemn the bad only and absolve the good.
The number of mendicant friars is too great and their primitive rule has been forgotten. They pretend to be poor, but in fact they possess all things, and have power over the pope himself. Both life and death bring in gains to them.
Cap. XVII.They preach hypocritically against sin in public, but in private they encourage it by flattery and indulgence. They know that their gains depend upon the sins which their penitents commit. Friars do not often visit places where gain is not to be got. They have an outward appearance of poverty and sanctity, without the reality. I do not desire that they should be altogether suppressed, but that they should be kept under due discipline.
Cap. XVIII.Some friars aim at dignity as masters in the schools, and then they are exempted from their rule and obtain entry into great houses. The influence of the friar is everywhere felt, and often he supplies the place of the absent husband and is the father of his children. Bees, when they wound, lose their stings and are afterwards helpless: would it were so with the adulterous friar!
Cap. XIX.The order of friars is not necessary to the Church. Friars appropriate spiritual rights which belong to others; and though this may be by dispensation of the pope, yet we know that the pope does not grant such dispensations of his own motion, and he may be deceived. They ask for the cure of souls, but in fact they are demanding worldly wealth: not so did Francis make petition, but he left all and endured poverty.
Cap. XX.This multitude of friars is not necessary for the good of society. David says of them that they neither take part in the laboursof men nor endure the rule of the law: they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet the world feeds them. It is vain for them to plead the merits of Francis, when they do not follow his example. All honour to those who do as he did.
Cap. XXI.They draw into their order not grown men but mere boys. Francis was not a boy when he assumed his work; but in these days mere children are enrolled, caught like birds in a snare: and as they are deceived themselves, so afterwards they deceive others.
Cap. XXII.The friar who transgresses the rule of his order is an apostate and a follower of the apostate fiend. He finds entrance everywhere, and everywhere he lays snares, encourages hatred, and fosters impurity. Under a veil of virtuous simplicity he conceals a treacherous heart. These are ministers of the Synagogue rather than of the Church, children of Hagar, not of Sara.
Cap. XXIII.They are dispersed over the world like the Jews, and everywhere they find ease and abundance. Their churches and their houses are built in the most costly style and adorned with the richest ornaments. No king has chambers more magnificent than theirs, and their buildings are a mark of their worldly pride. Unless their souls are fair within, this outward pomp of religion is of no avail.
Cap. XXIV.Friars differ from one another in the garb of their order, but all equally neglect their rule. Only the order founded by brother Burnel still maintains its former state. Two rules of this order I will set forth, which are almost everywhere received. The first is that what the flesh desires, that you may have; and the second that whatever the flesh shrinks from, that you should avoid. So the new order of Burnel is thought better than those of Benedict or Bernard.
Thus, if bad times come, I shall hold that the error of the Clergy is the cause. The body is nothing without the spirit: we have darkness instead of light, death instead of life, and the flock is scattered abroad without a shepherd.
Liber Quintus.
Cap. I.I will speak in the second place of the order of Knighthood. This was established first to defend the Church, then for the good of the community, and thirdly to support the cause of the widow and orphan. If a knight performs these duties, he should have praise, but not if he makes war merely for the sake of glory.
If a knight overcomes his enemies, but is overcome by the love of a woman, he has no true glory, for he makes himself a slave instead of free.
Cap. II.If the knight would reflect on the variety and uncertainty of love, he would not allow himself so easily to be made captive.
Cap. III.But when he sees beauty in woman decked out with all its charms, he thinks it divine and marvellous, and he can offer noeffectual resistance. Lovers are blind and are driven by every kind of unreasonable impulse. Women deceive men, and men also deceive and betray women.
Cap. IV.The knight has little need to fear bodily wounds, which may easily be healed; but love is not to be cured by physicians, and this deprives him both of reason and of honour.
Cap. V.Those who seek fame and worldly honours only, are hardly better than those who are conquered by women.
Cap. VI.The good woman is one whose praise is above all things. The bad is a subtle snare for the destruction of men. She paints her face and uses every art to deceive. The world is treacherous, but woman is more treacherous still.
Cap. VII.The good knight, who labours neither for gain nor for glory, and is not conquered by love, obtains the victory over the enemies of the Church and of his country, and gives us the blessing of peace.
Cap. VIII.The bad knight is the causer of many evils in the other orders of society. He deserves to have Leah, not Rachel, as his bride. Those who follow wars for the sake of the spoils are like vultures that prey upon the corpses of the dead. Alas, in these days gold is preferred to honour and the world to God.
Cap. IX.Another estate remains, that of the cultivators of the soil, who provide sustenance for the human race in accordance with the divine ordinance laid down for Adam. These at the present time are lazy and grasping, as well as few in number; one peasant now asks more wages than two did in past time, and one formerly did as much work as three do now. We know from recent experience what evil the peasant is capable of doing. God has ordained, however, that nothing is to be had without toil; therefore the peasant must labour, and if he will not, he must be compelled.
Cap. X.There are also the casual labourers, who go from one employment to another and always find fault with the food that they get from their masters. These are irrational like beasts, and they should be disciplined by fear of punishment.
Cap XI.In cities there are chiefly two classes, the merchants and the craftsmen. The former sin by not regarding festivals and holy days.
Cap. XII.Usury and Fraud are two sisters, daughters of Avarice, to whom the dwellers in cities pay honour. Usury is forbidden of old, but by a gloss on the text it is now approved.
Cap. XIII.Fraud is worse, because it is common to all places. From the young apprentice to the master all practise it in selling.
Cap. XIV.Craftsmen, who make things, follow the laws of Fraud, and so do those who sell articles of food, as meat, fish, bread, beer and so on.
Cap. XV.It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest, and it is shameful for a citizen to benefit strangers at the expense of his fellow-citizens. It is an evil thing when one of low condition is exalted to the highest place in the city. The evil man is a common scourge; but though he be mounted on high, he shall fall and perish.
Cap. XVI.The man whose tongue is unrestrained is as a pestilence among the people. The tongue causes strife and many evils; it breaks through every guard and devours like a flame. None can say how many evils the tongue of the talkative man brings about in the city: it causes discord and hatred instead of peace and love; and where peace and love are not, there God is not. The citizen who thus plagues his fellows should be put to death or banished: it is expedient that one should die, lest the whole people should perish.
Thou ruler of the city, labour to bring about harmony and peace, and above all deal prudently. Great consequences often follow from small things, and the fire which seems to be extinguished may blaze up again. Justice and peace, which formerly reigned, must be restored, so that the ruin which overtook Rome and Athens may be averted from our city.
Liber Sextus.
Cap. I.Besides the three degrees of society above described, there are those who are called ministers of the Law. Of these some labour for true law and justice, and these I praise; but most practise an art under the name of law which perverts justice. The advocate will plead the cause of any man who pays him, and compels his rich neighbours to give him gifts, for fear that evil should befall them. He has a thousand ways of making his gains; the great and powerful break through his snares, but the weak and defenceless are caught in them. Like the bat or the owl he loves darkness rather than light: yet sometimes the biter is bitten.
Cap. II.The advocate oppresses and plunders the poor, and rejoices in discord as a physician in disease. He contrives every device to enrich himself and his offspring; he joins house to house and field to field. But his heir dissipates that which he has gathered together, and a curse comes upon him at the last.
Cap. III.The land is ruined by the excessive number of lawyers. As a straight stick appears crooked when plunged in water, so does straightforward and simple law become distorted in the mind of the lawyer. As clouds conceal the sun, so do advocates obscure the clear light of the law. Conspiracy, they say, is unlawful, but they themselves conspire to protect one another, and the law has no power over these.
Cap. IV.They ascend by degrees from the rank of apprentice to that of serjeant and so to the office of judge. The administration ofjustice is disturbed chiefly by three things, gifts, favour, and fear. Those who make friends with the judge will hardly lose their case.
Cap. V.O ye who sell justice for gain, learn what end awaits you. The higher you rise, the greater will be your fall: the more wealth you gather, the greater will be your misery. O thou judge who seekest after wealth, why dost thou attend to all things else and neglect thyself? Thou wilt gain the world, but lose heaven. All worldly power comes to an end, and so, be sure, will thine.
Cap. VI.As regards the sheriffs, the bailiffs, and the jurymen at assizes, they are ready to accept bribes and pervert justice. As the toad cursed the harrow, so I curse these many masters, who are all unjust.
Cap. VII.Laws, nevertheless, there must be, to punish the transgressor; and if there are laws there must also be judges. The worst of evils is when justice is not to be had, and this causes a land to be divided against itself. Much depends upon the ruler: for the sins of a bad king the people are punished as well as the king himself. The higher a man’s place is, the worse is the effect of his evil-doing. A law is nothing without people, or people without a king, or a king without good counsel.69Complaints are everywhere heard now of the injustice of the high court, and the limbs suffer because the head is diseased. The king is an undisciplined youth, who neglects all good habits, and chooses unworthy companions, by whose influence he is made worse. At the same time older men give way to him for gain and pervert the justice of the king’s court. None can tell what the end will be: I can only mourn over these evils and offer my counsel to the youthful king.
Cap. VIII.Every subject is bound to serve his king, and the king to govern his people justly. Hence I shall endeavour to set forth a rule of conduct for the honour of my king.
First then, I say, govern thyself according to the law, and enforce on thyself the precepts that are fitting for others. A king is above all others; he should endeavour to overcome and rise above himself. If thou art above the laws, live the more justly. Be gentle in thy acts, for thy wrath is death. Endeavour to practise virtue in thy youth and to avoid evil communications.
Cap. IX.Avoid false friends and those who stir up war for the sake of their own profit. Resist those who will tempt thee to evil, O king.Take vengeance on wrong, and let justice be done without fear or favour.
Cap. X.Show mercy also, where mercy is fitting, and listen to the prayer of the poor and helpless. Let fit men of proper age and sufficient wisdom be appointed to administer justice.
Cap. XI.Be not exalted with vain glory, O king, or moved by sudden wrath to violence. Be liberal to those who need thy help, and give alms to the poor of that which God has given thee. Avoid gluttony and sloth.
Cap. XII.Above all things, O king, flee from the enticements of fleshly lusts. Take example by the sin of David, and by that of the Hebrews who were tempted by the counsel of Balaam. One consort is sufficient for thee: be faithful to her.
Cap. XIII.O king, thou art the defender in arms of thy people. Remember the deeds of thy father, whose praise is sounded everywhere and whose prowess was above that of Hector. He was just and liberal; he made prey of foreign lands, but he protected his own. France and Spain both felt his might, and he broke through the ranks of his enemies like a lion. The land was at rest under that great prince: the nation was secure from its enemies. O king, endeavour to deserve the praise which thy father won. Peace is the best of all things, but it must sometimes give way to war.
Cap. XIV.A king must not prey upon his people; their love is his chief glory. He should remember that true nobility does not come from noble descent but from virtue. Study to know thyself and to love God.
Cap. XV.O young king, remember how Solomon in his youth asked for wisdom to rule well, rather than wealth or long life, and how God granted his prayer and added also the other blessings. Wisdom is above everything for a king, and this makes him acceptable to God.
Cap. XVI.Whatever thou hast, O king, comes from God. He has given thee beauty of body, and thou must see to it that there be virtue of the soul corresponding to this. Worship and fear God, for earthly kingdoms are as nothing compared with his.
Cap. XVII.Death makes all equal; rich and poor, king and subject, all go one way. Prepare thyself, therefore, for thy journey, and adorn thyself betimes with virtue. May God direct thee in the right way.
Cap. XVIII.70The king is honoured above all, so long as his actsare good, but if the king be avaricious and proud, the people is grieved. Not all that a king desires is expedient for him: he has a charge laid upon him and must maintain law and do justice.
O king, do away the evils of thy reign, restore the laws and banish crime: let thy people be subject to thee for love and not for fear.
Cap. XIX.All things change and die, the gems that were bright are now dimmed, the Church herself has lost her virtue, and the Synagogue becomes the spouse of Christ. The good men of old have passed away, and the bad of old live again. Noah, Japhet, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha are gone; Nimrod, Ham, Belus, Ishmael, Abiram, Korah, Dathan, Zedekiah, and Gehazi survive. Peter is dead, but Tiberius lives; Paul is reconverted into Saul; the examples of Gregory, Martin, Tobit, and Job are neglected. Benedict is dead, but Julian lives: there is a new Arius, a new Jovinian, who spread their heresy.
Cap. XX.As the good men in the Church of God have passed away, so also the men who were famed for prowess in the world are gone, as Trajan, Justinian, Alexander, Constantine, Theodosius, Julius, Hannibal, while the bad still survive, as Nero, Dionysius, Tarquin, Leo, and Constantius. Solomon is dead and Rehoboam survives. The love of David and Jonathan is gone, but the hatred of Saul still lives; the counsel of Achitophel is followed and that of Hushai rejected; Cato is banished and Pilate is made judge in his stead; Mordecai is hanged and Haman is delivered; Christ is crucified and Barabbas is let go free.
Cap. XXI.Temperance and chastity also have disappeared. Socrates and Diogenes are dead, Epicurus and Aristippus still live; Phirinus is dead and Agladius survives; Troilus and Medea are dead, while Jason and Criseida remain; Penelope and Lucretia have passed away, Circe and Calipso still live. The laws of marriage are no longer kept in these days, chaste love is all but unknown, and adultery everywhere prevails. Women have no modesty, no chastity, and no patience: vice blooms and flourishes, while the flower of virtue is trodden under foot.
Liber Septimus.
Cap. I.Now the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue is gone, and the feet of iron and clay remain: the world is in its final stage of deterioration. There are principally two causes, lechery, which leads to sloth, and avarice, which is ever unsatisfied.
Cap. II.The avaricious are merciless to the poor, and their hard hearts are typified by the iron of the statue. He is wretched who is ever desiring more, not he who has little and is content.
Cap. III.The fragile clay signifies the frailty of our flesh, which shows itself in fornication and adultery. There is also hypocrisy everywhere,which conceals the foulness within by a fair show without. Yet it will not escape detection.
Cap. IV.Things that were good are now changed into the opposite forms, truth into falsehood, wisdom into folly, love into lust, learned into ignorant; servants are become masters and masters servants. Nothing pleases now but flattery. Courts do not keep their former honour: knights there are in plenty, but little valour. Weakness grows and strength is depressed, there is much talk but little action, the burdens of war without the advantages. Justice has departed and fraud has taken its place; even those of one family feel envy and hatred one against another. Friendship is treacherous and seeks gain like a harlot: hatred is everywhere common, but love is as the phenix. There is no faith anywhere, and the right hand cannot trust the left. All cry out against the world and say that it is growing worse and worse.
Cap. V.The world is indeed full of evil and impurity, and this life is a perpetual warfare, in which all that is good perishes and all that is evil prevails. Even the elements of the world change and pass away, and much more human things. No degree is exempted: the hearts of kings are disturbed by fear of change, and terrors prevail in spite of royal banquets and bodyguards.
Cap. VI.Man was created for the service of God, and the world was given for his use. He was made in the image of God, and he learnt gradually the purpose of his creation and to love his Creator.
Cap. VII.All things were put under his feet, and were made to minister to him. He ought therefore to remember whence he is and who gave him these things. Again, when by man’s sin the race of man was corrupted, the Creator himself restored and redeemed it, taking the form of a servant. Man ought therefore to confess him as Lord and follow his precepts with a devout mind.
Cap. VIII.Man is a microcosm or lesser world, and according as he does ill or well, the greater world is good or bad. Man ought therefore to aim at high things, and not to submit himself to the rule of sin.
Cap. IX.When death comes, when the throat is dry and the face bloodless, when the eyes are fixed and the tongue silent, when the pulse beats no more and the feet can no longer move, what then will the proud man say? The body in which he prided himself is now food for worms, his strength is less than that of a fly, and his beauty is turned into loathing. His wealth and his pomp avail him no longer, the serpent is his attendant and the charnel-house is his bed-chamber.