That is more gracious than he, It shall nought ftonden in his might, But if he hinder suche a wight. And that is well nigh over all This vice is now fo generall.
Envie thilke unhap indrough, Whan Joab by deceipte flough Abner, for drede he fhulde be With king David fuch as was he. And through envie also it felle
Of thilke fals Achitofelle,
For his counfeil was nought acheved, But that he figh Cufy beleved With Abfolon and him forfake, He henge him selfe upon a stake. Senec witneffeth openly,
How that envie properly
Is of the court the comun wenche.
And halt taverne for to fchenche
That drink, which maketh the hert brenne,
And doth the wit aboute renne
By every waie to compaffe, How that he might all other paffe As he, which through unkindeship Envieth every felaship.
So that thou might well knowe and se, There is no vice fuche as he First toward god abhominable And to mankinde unprofitable.
Qualiter Joab prin
ceps milicie David invidie caufa Abner fubdole interfecit. Et qualiter eciam Achitofell ob hoc, quod Cufy in confilio Abfolon preferebatur, accenfus invidia laqueo fe fufpendit.
And that by wordes but a fewe I shall by refon prove and fhewe.
Invidie ftimulus fine caufa ledit abortus,
Nam fine temptante crimine crimen habet. Non eft huius opus temptare Cupidinis archum, Dumque faces Veneris Ethnica flamma vorat, Abfque rubore gene pallor, quas fuscus obumbrat, Frigida nature cetera membra docent.
Envie if that I fhall descrive,
feffor naturam in- He is nought shaply for to wive
quam aliter fecun- In erth among the women here. dum proprietatem
vicii fub compen- For there is in him no matere,
Wherof he mighte do plefaunce. First for his hevy contenaunce Of that he femeth ever unglad He is nought able to be hadde And eke he brenneth fo withinne, That kinde may no profit winne, Wherof he fhulde his love plefe. For thilke blood, which fhuld have efe To regne among the moifte veines, Is drie of thilke unkindly peines Through which envie is fired ay. And this by refon prove I may, That toward love envie is nought, And other wife if it be fought, Upon what fide as ever it falle It is the werfte vice of alle,
Which of him felf hath most malice. For understond that every vice Some cause hath, wherof it groweth.
But of envie no man knoweth
Fro whenne he cam, but out of helle. For thus the wife clerkes telle, That no spirit but of malice By way of kinde upon a vice Is tempted, and by such a way Envie hath kinde put away And of malice hath his stering, Wherof he maketh his bakbiting, And is him self therof difefed.
So may there be no kinde plefed. For ay the more that he envieth, The more ayein him self he plieth. Thus ftant envie in good efpeire To ben him felf the divels heire As he, whiche is his nexte liche And furtheft from the heven riche. For there may he never wone. Forthy my gode dere fone, If thou wolt finde a fiker way To love, put envie away.
Min holy fader, refon wolde, That I this vice efcheue fholde. But yet to strengthen my corage If that ye wolde in avauntage Therof fet a recoverir, It were to me a great defir, That I this vice mighte flee.
Now understond, my fone, and see, There is phifique for the feke
And vertues for the vices eke.
Hic ponit confeffor exemplum de virtute
For they to-gider may nought dwelle.
For as the water of the welle
Of fire abateth the malice,
Right so vertu fordoth the vice.
Ayein envie is charite,
Whiche is the moder of pite,
That maketh a mannes herte tender, That it may no malice engender
In him, that is inclined therto. For his corage is tempred fo,
That though he might him self releve, Yet wolde he nought another greve, But rather for to do plefaunce He bereth him felven the grevaunce, So fain he wolde another efe.
Wherof, my fone, for thin efe
charitatis contra invi- I
diam et narrat de
Now herken a tale, whiche I rede, And understonde it well I rede.
Among the bokes of latin
finde it writ of Conftantin, Conftantino Elene fi- The worthy emperour of Rome, lio, qui cum imperii Such infortunes to him come, Romani dignitatem
obtinuerat, a morbo Whan he was in his lufty age, lepre infectus, medici
pro fanitate recupe- The lepre caught in his visage
guine puerorum maf- And fo forth over all aboute,
propofuerant,fed cum That he ne mighte riden oute.
So left he bothe shield and spere, As he that might him nought beftere, And helde him in his chamber close. Through all the world the fame arose. The grete clerkes ben affent And com at his commaundement To tret upon this lordes hele. So longe they to-gider dele, That they upon this medicine Appointen hem and determine, That in the maner as it stood
They wolde him bath in childes blood Withinne feven winter age.
For as they fain, that shulde affuage The leper and all the violence, Which that they knewe of accidence And nought by way of kinde is falle. And therto they accorden alle As for finall conclufion And tolden her opinion
To themperour. And he anone His counfeil toke, and therupon With letters and with feales out
They send in every londe about The yonge children for to feche, Whose blood, they said, fhulde be leche For themperours maladie.
There was inough to wepe and crie Among the moders, whan they herde, How wofully this cause ferde.
innumera multitudo matrum cum filiis huiufmodi medicine caufa in circuitu palacii affuiffet imperatorque eorum gemitus et clamores percepiffet, charitate motus ingemifcens fic ait: Overe eft ipfe dominus, qui fe facit fervum pietatis. Et his dictis ftatum fuum cunctipotentis medele committens, fui ipfius morbum pocius quam infancium mortem benignius elegit,unde ipfe, qui antea paganus et leprofus extiterat, ex unda baptifmatis renatus utriufque materie tam corporis quam anime divino miraculo confecutus eft falutem.
« PreviousContinue » |