Quia fecundum poe
tarum fabulas in hui
How fuche goddes come aplace, Ye mighten mochel thank purchace, For I fhall be wel taught withall.
My fone, it is thus overall
With hem, that ftonden misbeleved, That fuche goddes ben beleved In fondry place, fondry wife Amonges hem, which be unwife, There is betaken of credence, Wherof that I the difference In the maner as it is write Shall do the pleinly for to wite.
Gentibus illufis fignantur templa deorum, Unde deos cecos nacio ceca colit. Nulla creatori racio facit effe creatum
Equiparans, quoad huc jura pagana fovent.
Er Crift was bore among us here
ufmodi libelli locis Of the beleves, that tho were,
quampluribus nomi- In four formes thus it was. na et geftus deorum
falforum intitulantur, They of Caldee, as in this cas,
Criftianis clarius in- Had a beleve by hem felve,
ipforum origine fe- Which stood upon the fignes twelve,
norum fectas fcribere, Forth eke with the planetes seven,
defecta Caldeorum Whiche as they fighen upon the heven Of fondry conftellacion
In her ymaginacion
With fondry kerfe and portreture They made of goddes the figure. In thelementes and eke also
They hadden a beleve tho.
And all was that unrefonable, For thelementes ben fervicable To man. And ofte of accidence, As men may fe thexperience, They ben corrupt by fondry way, So may no mannes reson say, That they ben god in any wife. And eke if men hem wel avise, The fonne and mone eclipfen both, That be hem lef or be hem loth They fuffre, and what thing is paffible To ben a god is inpoffible.
These elements ben creatures, So ben these hevenly figures, Wherof may wel be justified,
That they may nought ben deified. And who that taketh away thonour, Which due is to the creatour, And yiveth it to the creature, He doth to great a forfeiture. But of Caldee netheles Upon this feith though it be leffe They holde affermed the creaunce, So that of helle the penaunce As folk, which stant out of beleve, They shall receive, as we beleve.
Of the Caldeus fo in this wife Stant the beleve out of affife. But in Egipte worst of alle
The feith is fals, how fo it falle,
Et nota, quod Nembroth quartus a Noe ignem tamquam deum in Caldea primus adorari decrevit.
For they diverse bestes there
Honour, as though they goddes were. And nethelesse yet forth withall Thre goddes most in speciall They have forth with a goddeffe, In whome is all her fikerneffe. Tho goddes be yet cleped thus Orus, Tiphon and Ifirus. They were brethren alle thre And the goddeffe in her degre Her fufter was and Yfis hight, Whom Ifirus forlay by night And helde her after as his wife. So it befell, that upon ftrife Tiphon hath Ifre his brother flain, Which had a child to fone Orain, And he his faders deth to herte So toke, that it may nought afterte, That he Tiphon after ne flough, Whan he was ripe of age inough. But yet thegipciens trowe
For all this errour, which they knowe, That these brethern ben of might To fette and kepe Egipt upright And overthrowe, if that hem like. But Yfis, as faith the cronique, Fro Grece into Egipte cam And the than upon honde nam To teche hem for to fowe and ere, Which no man knew to-fore there.
And whanne thegipciens figh The feldes full afore her eye,
And that the lond began to greine, Which whilom hadde be bareine, For therthe bare after the kinde His due charge, this I finde, That the of berthe the goddeffe Is cleped, fo that in diftreffe The women therupon childing To her clepe and her offring They beren, whan that they ben light. Lo, howe Egipt all out of fight Fro refon ftant in misbeleve For lacke of lore as I beleve.
Among the Grekes out of the wey As they that refon put awey There was, as the cronique faith, Of misbeleve an other feith, That they her goddes and goddeffes As who faith token all to geffes Of fuche as weren full of vice, To whom they made facrifice.
The highe god, fo as they faide, To whom they mofte worship laide, Saturnus hight and king of Crete He hadde be. But of his fete He was put down as he, which stood In frenefy and was fo wode, That fro his wife, which Rea hight, His owne children he to plight
Nota, qualiter Saturnus deorum fummus appella
And ete hem of his comune wone. But Jupiter, which was his fone And of full age, his fader bonde And kut of with his owne honde His genitals, whiche also faste Into the depe fee he cafte,
Wherof the Grekes afferme and fay Thus, whan they were caft awey, Came Venus forth by wey of kinde. And of Saturne alfo I finde, Howe afterwarde into an ile
This Jupiter him didde exile, Where that he stood in
great Lo, what a god they maden chefe. And fithen that fuche one was he, Which stood most high in his degre Among the goddes, thou might know These other, that ben more low, Ben litel worth, as it is founde.
For Jupiter was the fecounde, Whiche Juno had unto his wife. And yet a lechour all his life He was and in avouterie He wrought many a trecherie. And for he was fo full of vices, They cleped him god of delices, Of whom if thou wolt more wite Ovide the poete hath write.
yet her fterres bothe two Saturne and Jupiter also
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