Of reedes, whan they weren ripe, With double pipes for to pipe. Therof he yaf the firste lore, Till afterward men couthe more, To every crafte of mannes helpe He had a redy wit to helpe Through natural experience. And thus the nice reverence Of fooles, whan that he was dede, The foot was torned to the hede And clepen him god of nature, For fo they maden his figure.
An other god, so as they fele, Whiche Jupiter upon Semele Begat in his avouterie,
Whom for to hide his lecherie That none therof shall take kepe In a mountaigne for to kepe,
Which Dion hight and was in Ynde, He fend, in bokes as I finde,
And he by name Bachus hight,
Which afterward, whan that he might,
A waftor was and all his rent In wine and bordel he despent. But yet all were he wonder bad, Among the Grekes a name he had, They cleped him the god of wine, And thus a gloton was divine. There was yet Esculapius A god in thilke time as thus.
His craft ftood upon furgerie,
But for the lufte of lecherie,
That he to Daires doughter drough, It fell, that Jupiter him flough. And yet they made him nought forthy A god and wift no cause why. In Rome he was long time fo A god among the Romains tho, For as he faide of his presence There was deftruied a peftilence, Whan they to thile of Delphos went. And that Apollo with him sent This Efculapius his fone
Among the Romains for to wone, And there he dwelte for a while, Till afterwarde into that ile,
Fro when he cam, ayeine he torneth, Where all his life that he fojorneth Among the Grekes, till that he deiede. And they upon him thanne leide His name and god of medicine He hatte after that ilke line. An other god of Hercules They made, which was netheles
A man, but that he was so stronge In al this world that brode and longe So mighty was no man as he. Merveiles twelve in his degre, As it was couth in fondry londes, He dide with his owne hondes
Hercules deus fortitudinis.
Ayein geaunts and monftres both, The whiche horrible were and loth. But he with strength hem overcam, Wherof fo great a price he nam, That they him clepe amonges alle The god of strengthe and to him calle. And yet there is no refon inne, For he a man was full of finne, Which proved was upon his ende, For in a rage him felf he brende. And fuche a cruell mannes dede Accordeth nothing with godhede.
They had of goddes yet an other, Which Pluto hight, and was the brother Of Jupiter, and he fro youth
With every word, which cam to mouth, Of any thing, whan he was wroth, He wolde fwere his comun othe By Lethen and by Flegeton, By Cochitum and Acheron,
The whiche after the bokes telle Ben the chefe floodes of the helle, By Segne and Stige he fwore also, That ben the depe pittes two Of helle, the most principall. Pluto thefe othes over all
Swore of his comun cuftumaunce,
Till it befelle upon a chaunce,
That he for Jupiters fake
Unto the goddes let do make
A facrifice, and for that dede One of the pittes for his mede
In hell, of whiche I spake of er, Was graunted him, and thus he there Upon the fortune of this thinge The name toke of helle kinge.
Lo, these goddes and well mo Among the Grekes they had tho, And of goddeffes many one,
Whose names thou shalt here anone,
And in what wife they deceiven
The fooles, whiche her feith receiven.
So as Saturne is foveraine
Of falfe goddes, as they saine, So is Sibeles of goddesses
The moder, whom withoute geffes The folke prein honour and serve As they, the whiche her lawe observe. But for to knowen upon this,
Fro when she cam and what she is, Bethincia the contre hight,
Where she cam first to mannes fight. And after was Saturnes wife, By whom thre children in her life She bare, and they were cleped tho Juno, Neptunus and Pluto,
The which of nice fantasy
The people wolde deify.
And for her children weren fo
Sibeles thanne was also
Nota, qualiter Sibeles dearum mater et origo nuncupa
Made a goddeffe, and they her calle The moder of the goddes alle.
So was that name bore forth,
the cause is litel worth. A vois unto Saturne tolde, How that his owne fone him sholde Out of his regne put away,
And he because of thilke wey,
That him was shape fuche a fate,
Sibele his wife began to hate
And eke her progenie bothe.
And thus while that they were wrothe
By Philerem upon a day
In his avouterie he lay,
On whom he Jupiter begat.
And thilke child was after that,
Which wrought al that was prophecied, As it to-fore is specified.
So whan that Jupiter of Crete
Was king, a wife unto him mete
The doughter of Sibele he toke,
And that was Juno, faith the boke Of his deification
After the fals opinion,
That have I tolde, fo as they mene.
And for this Juno was the
Of Jupiter and suster eke, The fooles unto her feke
And fain, that he is the goddeffe Of regnes bothe and of richeffe,
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