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That reste nis ther noon in his yeving.
And that is wonder, that so Iust a king
Doth such hardnesse to his creature.
Thus, whether love breke or elles dure,
Algates he that hath with love to done
Hath ofter wo then changed is the mone.

It semeth he hath to lovers enmite,
And lyk a fissher, as men alday may se,
Baiteth his angle-hook with som plesaunce,
Til mony a fish is wood to that he be
Sesed ther-with; and then at erst hath he
Al his desyre, and ther-with al mischaunce;
And thogh the lyne breke, he hath penaunce;
For with the hoke he wounded is so sore,
That he his wages hath for ever-more.

The Brooch of Thebes.

The broche of Thebes was of suche a kynde,
So ful of rubies and of stones of Ynde,

That every wight, that sette on hit an yë,
He wende anon to worthe out of his mynde;
So sore the beaute wolde his herte bynde,

230

235

240

245

Til he hit hadde, him thoghte he moste dye; 250
And whan that hit was his, than shulde he drye
Such wo for drede, ay whyl that he hit hadde,
That welnigh for the fere he shulde madde.

And whan hit was fro his possessioun,
Than had he double wo and passioun

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.
253. Ju. sholde madde; F. shuld mad.

252.

For he so fair a tresor had forgo;
But yet this broche, as in conclusioun,
Was not the cause of this confusioun;

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,
But he that wroghte her, also mot I thee,
That putte suche a beaute in her face,
That made me to covete and purchace

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,
Sin that ye be of my divisioun,

270

Al be I not worthy to so grete a name,
Yet, seyn these clerkes, I am your patroun;
Ther-for ye oghte have som compassioun

Of my disese, and take it noght agame.
The proudest of yow may be mad ful tame;
Wherfor I prey yow, of your gentilesse,

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,
By way of kynde, ye oghten to be able

To have pite of folk that be in peyne;
Now have ye cause to clothe yow in sable;
Sith that your emperice, the honorable,

Is desolat, wel oghte ye to pleyne;
Now shuld your holy teres falle and reyne.
Alas! your honour and your emperice,
Nigh ded for drede, ne can her not chevise.

Compleyneth eek, ye lovers, al in-fere,
For her that, with unfeyned humble chere,
Was ever redy to do yow socour;
Compleyneth her that ever hath had yow dere;
Compleyneth beaute, fredom, and manere;
Compleyneth her that endeth your labour;
Compleyneth thilke ensample of al honour,
That never dide but al gentilesse;
Kytheth therfor on her som kyndenesse.'

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,
Thassay so hard, so sharp the conquering,
The dredful Ioy, that alwey slit so yerne,
Al this mene I by love, that my feling
Astonyeth with his wonderful worching
So sore ywis, that whan I on him thinke,
Nat wot I wel wher that I wake or winke.
For al be that I knowe not love in dede,
Ne wot how that he quyteth folk her hyre,
Yet happeth me ful ofte in bokes rede
Of his miracles, and his cruel yre;

Ther rede I wel he wol be lord and syre,
I dar not seyn, his strokes ben so sore,
But God save swich a lord! I can no more.

Of usage, what for luste what for lore,

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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
Upon a boke, was write with lettres olde,

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;
The longe day ful faste I radde and yerne.
For out of olde feldes, as men seith,
Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere ;
And out of olde bokes, in good feith,
Cometh al this newe science that men lere.
But now to purpos as of this matere—
To rede forth hit gan me so delyte,
That al the day me thoughte but a lyte.

This book of which I make mencioun,
Entitled was al thus, as I shal telle,
Tullius of the dreme of Scipioun ';
Chapitres seven hit hadde, of hevene and helle,
And erthe, and soules that therinne dwelle,
Of whiche, as shortly as I can hit trete,
Of his sentence I wol you seyn the grete.

First telleth hit, whan Scipioun was come
In Afrik, how he mette Massinisse,
That him for Ioye in armes hath y-nome.
Than telleth [hit] her speche and al the blisse
That was betwix hem, til the day gan misse;
And how his auncestre, African so dere,
Gan in his slepe that night to him appere.

Than tellith hit that, fro a sterry place,
How African hath him Cartage shewed,

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.

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