Chaucerian and Other Pieces. Various

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СКАЧАТЬ somtyme stonken †han caught the

      name of love among idiotes and badde-meninge people. Never-the-later,

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      yet how-so-it-be that men clepe thilke †thing preciousest

      in kynde, with many eke-names, that other thinges that the soule

      yeven the ilke noble name, it sheweth wel that in a maner men

      have a greet lykinge in worshippinge of thilke name. Wherfore

      this worke have I writte; and to thee, tytled of Loves name,

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      I have it avowed in a maner of sacrifyse; that, where-ever it be

      rad, it mowe in merite, by the excellence of thilke name, the

      more wexe in authoritè and worshippe of takinge in hede; and to

      

      what entent it was ordayned, the inseëres mowen ben moved.

      Every thing to whom is owande occasion don as for his ende,

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      Aristotle supposeth that the actes of every thinge ben in a maner

      his final cause. A final cause is noblerer, or els even as noble,

      as thilke thing that is finally to thilke ende; wherfore accion of

      thinge everlasting is demed to be eternal, and not temporal;

      sithen it is his final cause. Right so the actes of my boke 'Love,'

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      and love is noble; wherfore, though my book be leude, the cause

      with which I am stered, and for whom I ought it doon, noble

      forsothe ben bothe. But bycause that in conninge I am yong,

      and can yet but crepe, this leude A. b. c. have I set in-to lerning;

      for I can not passen the telling of three as yet. And if god

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      wil, in shorte tyme, I shal amende this leudnesse in joininge

      syllables; whiche thing, for dulnesse of witte, I may not in three

      letters declare. For trewly I saye, the goodnesse of my Margaryte-perle

      wolde yeve mater in endyting to many clerkes; certes, her

      mercy is more to me swetter than any livinges; wherfore my

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      lippes mowen not suffyse, in speking of her ful laude and worshippe

      as they shulde. But who is that [wolde be wyse] in

      knowing of the orders of heven, and putteth his resones in the

      erthe? I forsothe may not, with blere eyen, the shyning sonne of

      vertue in bright whele of this Margaryte beholde; therfore as yet

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      I may her not discryve in vertue as I wolde. In tyme cominge,

      in another tretyse, thorow goddes grace, this sonne in clerenesse

      of vertue to be-knowe, and how she enlumineth al this day,

      I thinke to declare.

      Ch. I. 2. howe. comforte. 3. hadde. 5. folke. 6. anone. 10. purpose. 12. wytte. 14. wotte. great. 16. (Something seems to be lost here). 17. I supply nedeth. 18. o; read of. 19. erronyous. maye. 20. menne. sayne. 26. amonge.

      31. wretchydnesse. fal. I supply of. 32. forthe. 33. stedfaste faythe. 34. darne. 35. endlesse. 36. I supply men. 37. folke. 39. great. 40. onely. 42. fathers; read faders. 44. faythe. 47. put. miracles; read miracle. 48. thangel. 50. saythe. 51. werne. 53. discomfyte. 54. I supply arn. 55. wotte. 56. reason. erroure. 57. reason. bewonde (sic). catchende wytte. 59. with; read whiche. 60. reason. 61. Nowe. 62. alwaye. 63. booke. rancoure. 64. althoughe. 65. booke.

      67. I supply of. nowe. 69. wotte. 70. wysdome 71. toke. 73. reason. 75. reasons. 76. parfyte. 78–9. reason (twice). 79. parfyte. 80. maye. persel. 81. parfyte. 85. reason. 86. none. 88. amonge. sayne. 88–91. sede. 91. mowen; read mowe. 92. londe-tyllers. set. 93. hath; read han. 94. meanynge. 95. howe. menne cleape. kynge (sic); read thing. 98. great. 99. the. 101. radde.

      104. thynge. done. 107. thynge. 110. boke. 111. done (sic). 112. yonge. 113. canne. sette. 114. thre. 116. thynge. maye. thre. 121. that in knowyng (sic); supply wolde be wyse before in knowing. 125. maye. 126. thorowe. 127. howe.

      CHAPTER II.

      In this mene whyle this comfortable lady gan singe a wonder

      mater of endytinge in Latin; but trewly, the noble colours in

      rethorik wyse knitte were so craftely, that my conning wol not

      strecche to remembre; but the sentence, I trowe, somdel have

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      I in mynde. Certes, they were wonder swete of sowne, and they

      were touched al in lamentacion wyse, and by no werbles of

      myrthe. Lo! thus gan she singe in Latin, as I may constrewe it

      in our Englisshe tonge.

      'Alas! that these hevenly bodyes their light and course shewen,

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      as nature yave hem in commaundement at the ginning of the first

      age; but these thinges in free choice of reson han non

      understondinge. But man that ought to passe al thing of doinge, of

      right course in kynde, over-whelmed sothnesse by wrongful tytle,

      and hath drawen the sterre of envye to gon by his syde, that the

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      clips of me, that shulde be his shynande sonne, so ofte is seye,

      that it wened thilke errour, thorow hem come in, shulde ben myn

      owne defaute. Trewly, therfore, I have me withdrawe, and mad

      my dwellinge out of lande in an yle by my-selfe, in the occian

      closed; and yet sayn there many, they have me harberowed; but,

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      god wot, they СКАЧАТЬ