That reste nis ther noon in his yeving. It semeth he hath to lovers enmite, The Brooch of Thebes. The broche of Thebes was of suche a kynde, That every wight, that sette on hit an yë, 230 235 240 245 Til he hit hadde, him thoghte he moste dye; 250 And whan hit was fro his possessioun, 255 230. Tn. T. reste; F. rest. T. noon; Ar. non; Ju. none;_ F. om. 231. F. Iuste. 236. Tn. enmyte; F. enemyte. 237. F. lyke. 238. Tn. Ju. Bayteth; F. Bateth. Ju. hook; F. hoke. Tn. som; F. summe. 239. F. fissch; wode. such. 247. T. sette; Ar. sett; rest set. 244. F. hathe. 245. F. 248. Tn. wende; F. wend. 249. F. wold; hert. 250. T. hade; rest had. F. thoght. Tn. moste; F. must. Ju. T. hadde; F. had. 251. F. (only) om. his. F. shuld. 252. For he so fair a tresor had forgo; But he that wroghte hit enfortuned hit so, That every wight that had hit shuld have wo; 260 And therfor in the worcher was the vyce, And in the covetour that was so nyce. So fareth hit by lovers and by me; For thogh my lady have so gret beaute, That I was mad til I had gete her grace, She was not cause of myn adversite, 265 Myn owne deth; him wyte I that I dye, And myn unwit, that ever I clomb so hye. An Appeal for Sympathy. ¶But to yow, hardy knightes of renoun, 270 Al be I not worthy to so grete a name, Of my disese, and take it noght agame. That ye compleyne for myn hevinesse. 275 280 256. F. feir. 259. F. wroght. Tn. enfortuned; T. enfortund; F. enfortune (by mistake). 261. F. therfore. 267. F. wroght. Ju. Ar. also; T. als; F. Tn. as. 268. F. Tn. Ju. Ar. put (for putte); T. list to putte. Tn. Ju. a; F. T. Ar. om. 269. T. Ar. to; rest om. F. coueten; Tn. Ju. coueyten; (but to covete is better). 270. F. ovne; Ju. T. Ar. owen. F. dethe. 271. F. ovne witte; Tn. and rest vnwit. F. clombe. 273. F. deuisioun. 274. Perhaps omit to (as T.). 276. F. Therefore; oght; somme. 278. Tn. proudest; F. pruddest. Ar. maid; rest made (for mad, pp.). 279. F. Wherfore. 280. F. Tn. compleyn; Ju. Ar. compleyne; T. compleynen. And ye, my ladies, that ben trewe and stable, To have pite of folk that be in peyne; Is desolat, wel oghte ye to pleyne; Compleyneth eek, ye lovers, al in-fere, 281. Ar. trewe; F. true. peyn. 282. Ar. By; F. Be. 285. Tn. emperice; F. emperise (and in 1. 288). oghte; F. oght; Ar. aughten. 289. F. Negh. 285 290 295 298 283. F. folke; 286. Tn. 290. F. eke. 293. Tn. Compleyneth; F. Complen (by mistake); see next line. 297. Tn. dide; Ju. dyde; rest did. T. al; Ju. all; Ar. alway; F. Tn. om. 298. Ar. sum; F. summe. V. THE PARLEMENT OF FOULES. The Proem. THE lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne, Ther rede I wel he wol be lord and syre, Of usage, what for luste what for lore, On bokes rede I ofte, as I yow tolde. But wherfor that I speke al this? not yore Agon, hit happed me for to beholde The authorities are: F. (Fairfax 16); Gg. (Gg. 4. 27, Cambridge Univ. Library); Trin. (Trinity Coll. Camb. R. 3. 19); Cx. (Caxton's edition); Harl. (Harleian 7333); O. (St. John's Coll. Oxford); Ff. (Ff. 1. 6, Cambridge Univ. Library); occasionally Tn. (Tanner 346); D. (Digby 181); and others. I follow F. mainly, corrected by Gg. (and others); and note all variations from F. of any consequence. TITLE; Gg. has-Here begynyth the parlement of Foulys; D. The parlement of Fowlis. 2. So F. Harl. Tn.; some transpose hard and sharp. 3. Gg. and others dredful; F. slyder. Gg. O. slit; Cx. flit (for slit); Ff. slydeth (om. so); F. slyd; Trin. fleeth. 5. Gg. (and others) with his wondyrful; F. soo with a dredeful. 9. Gg. Trin. Harl. that; which the rest omit. 10. Gg. Trin. Cx. Harl. Ff. ful ofte in bokis; F. in bookes ofte to. II. F. ins. of after and; Gg. om. 13. F. Dar I; Gg. and others I dar. 14. F. suche; Gg. swich. 17. F. Tn. D. why; rest wherfore (wherfor). And ther-upon a certeyn thing to lerne; This book of which I make mencioun, First telleth hit, whan Scipioun was come Than tellith hit that, fro a sterry place, 20 25 30 35. 40 22. 21. Gg. faste; F. fast. Harl. radde; F. rad; Gg. redde. F. seyth; Gg. sey. 24. F. feythe; Gg. fey. 26. Gg. O. as of this; Trin. Cx. Harl. Ff. of this; F. of my firste. 28. Gg. Ff. me thouzte; Trin. Cx. Harl. me thought hit; F. thought me. 30. Gg. Cx. thus: F. Trin. Harl. there. Gg. and rest as I schal; F. I shal yow. 34. Gg. it; O. of; rest sey (say). 31. F. inserts the after dreme of; the rest omit. Trin. Harl. O. Scipioun ; F. Cipioun; Gg. sothion (!). 32. F. hyt, had vij; Gg. and the rest seuene It hadde. 33. Ff. therInne; F. and the rest theryn (wrongly). the rest omit. 35. Gg. seyn; F. tel; the 37. F. In-to; rest In. F. Aufryke; Gg. Affrik. 39. For hit all wrongly have he; see 11. 36, 43. 40. Harl. betwix; F. betwixt. 41. Gg. Affrican; F. Aufrikan. 42. F. on; rest in. 43. F. tolde he hym; Gg. Trin. Cx. Harl. tellith it; O. Ff. tellithe he. 44. Gg. Affrican; F. Aufrikan. F. y-shewed; rest schewid, shewyd, &c. |