O verrey light of eyen that ben blynde,
O verrey lust of labour and distresse,

O tresorere of bountee to mankynde,

Thee whom God chees to moder for humblesse !
From his ancille he made thee maistresse
Of hevene and erthe, our bille up for to bede.
This world awaiteth evere on thy goodnesse,
For thou ne failest never wight at nede.

Purpos I have sum tyme for tenquere,
Wherfore and why the Holy Gost thee soughte,
Whan Gabrielles vois cam to thyn ere.
He not to werre us swich a wonder wroughte,
But for to save us that he sithen boughte.
Than nedeth us no wepen us for to save,
But only ther we did not, as us oughte,
Do penitence, and mercy axe and have.

Queen of comfort, yit whan I me bithinke
That I agilt have bothe, him and thee,
And that my soule is worthy for to sinke,
Allas, I, caitif, whider may I flee?
Who shal un-to thy sone my mene be?
Who, but thy-self, that art of pitee welle?
Thou hast more reuthe on our adversite
Than in this world mighte any tunge telle.

Redresse me, moder, and me chastyse,
For, certeynly, my fadres chastisinge
That dar I nought abyden in no wyse:
So hidous is his rightful rekeninge.

C. mooder.
III. C. thi.

107. C. tresoreere. 108. F. chees; C. ches. C. the. 110. C. eerthe; oure; beede.

112. C.

116. C. wunder wrouhte.

123. C.

neuere; neede. 113. Gg. F. tenquere; C. to enquere. 114. C. whi; holi; souhte. 115. C. vn-to; the rest to. 117. C. bouhte. 118. C. Thanne needeth; wepene. 119. C. oonly. Jo. F. did; C. diden. C. ouhte. 120. C. Doo; merci. wurthi. 125. C. thi; bee. 126. C. thi-. 128. C. miht. 129. C. mooder. 130. F. Fadres; C. faderes; Jo. fader. 131. C. nouht. 132. Gg. F. is his; the rest it is (wrongly). C. rihful (sic).

Moder, of whom our mercy gan to springe,
Beth ye my Iuge and eek my soules leche;
For evere in you is pitee haboundinge
To ech that wol of pitee you biseche.

Soth is, that God ne graunteth no pitee
With-oute thee; for God, of his goodnesse,
Foryiveth noon, but it lyke un-to thee.
He hath thee maked vicaire and maistresse
Of al the world, and eek governeresse
Of hevene, and he represseth his Iustyse
After thy wille, and therfore in witnesse
He hath thee crouned in so rial wyse.

Temple devout, ther god hath his woninge
Fro which these misbileved pryved been,
To you my soule penitent I bringe.
Receyve me! I can no ferther fleen!
With thornes venimous, O hevene queen,
For which the erthe acursed was ful yore,

135

140

145

150

I am so wounded, as ye may wel seen,
That I am lost almost;-it smert so sore.

Virgine, that art so noble of apparaile,

And ledest us in-to the hye tour

Of Paradys, thou me wisse and counsaile,
How I may have thy grace and thy socour;
Al have I been in filthe and in errour.
Lady, un-to that court thou me aiourne
That cleped is thy bench, O fresshe flour!
Ther as that mercy ever shal soiourne.

155

160

137.

141. C. 144. L. 146. C. misbileeued.

133. C. Mooder; merci. 136. C. eche; wole; biseeche. C. granteth; F. graunteth. 140. C. vicair; Gg. F. vicaire. gouernowresse; Gl. Gg. gouerneresse. 143. C. thi wil. crowned; Gg. crounnyd; C. Jo. corowned. Jo. L. pryued; the rest depriued. 148. C. ferpere. 149. C. venym151. C. (alone) om. so. 156. C. thi (twice). 157. Gg. Al; C. All. C. ben. 158. C. Ladi. 159. Sion MS. fresshe; Gg. frosche (sic); the rest wrongly omit the final e. 160. C. merci; euere.

ous.

150. C. eerthe.

Xristus, thy sone, that in this world alighte,
Up-on the cros to suffre his passioun,
And eek, that Longius his herte pighte,

And made his herte blood to renne adoun;
And al was this for my salvacioun ;

And I to him am fals and eek unkynde,
And yit he wol not my dampnacioun-

This thanke I you, socour of al mankynde.

Ysaac was figure of his deth, certeyn,
That so fer-forth his fader wolde obeye
That him ne roughte no-thing to be slayn;
Right so thy sone list, as a lamb, to deye.
Now lady, ful of mercy, I you preye,
Sith he his mercy mesured so large,
Be ye not skant; for alle we singe and seye
That ye ben from vengeaunce ay our targe.

Zacharie you clepeth the open welle
To wasshe sinful soule out of his gilt.
Therfore this lessoun oughte I wel to telle
That, nere thy tender herte, we weren spilt.
Now lady, sith thou bothe canst and wilt
Ben to the seed of Adam merciable,

165

170

175

180

So bring us to that palais that is bilt

To penitents that ben to mercy able. Amen.

184

Explicit carmen.

161. C. Xpc (=Gk. Xps). 163. All the MSS. insert suffred after eek, caught from the line above; see note. 167. C. wole. rouhte. 172. C. Riht soo thi. C. lust; rest list, liste. ladi; merci; yow. 174. C. Sithe; merci.

C. ouht.

180. C. thi.

171. C. 173. C. 177. C. opene. 179. 181. C. ladi. C. Gg. sithe; F. sith. 183. Sion MS. alone supplies So. 184. Gl. penytentz; C. peniC. merci.

Harl. 2251 alone supplies bothe.
MS. Harl. 2251 has un-to; the rest to.
tentes; Jo. Penitence (for penitents).

II. THE COMPLEYNTE UNTO PITE.

PITE, that I have sought so yore ago,
With herte sore, and ful of besy peyne,
That in this world was never wight so wo
With-oute dethe; and, if I shal not feyne,
My purpos was, to Pite to compleyne
Upon the crueltee and tirannye

Of Love, that for my trouthe doth me dye.

And when that I, by lengthe of certeyn yeres,
Had ever in oon a tyme sought to speke,

To Pite ran I, al bespreynt with teres,

To preyen hir on Cruelte me awreke.

But, er I might with any worde out-breke,
Or tellen any of my peynes smerte,

I fond hir deed, and buried in an herte.

Adoun I fel, when that I saugh the herse,

Deed as stoon, whyl that the swogh me laste;
But up I roos, with colour ful diverse,
And pitously on hir myn yën caste,

5

10

15

And ner the corps I gan to pressen faste,

And for the soule I shoop me for to preye;
I nas but lorn; ther nas no more to seye.

20

The MSS. are: Tn. (Tanner 346); F. (Fairfax 16); B. (Bodley 638). . Sh. (Shirley's MS., Harl. 78); Ff. (Ff. 1. 6. in Camb. Univ. Library); Trin. (Trin. Coll. Camb. R. 3. 19); also Harl. 7578. I follow F. mainly, noting all variations of importance.

9. Sh.

10. F. 14. F.

TITLE; in B. I. F. agoo. 2. F. hert. 3. F. worlde; woo. 5. F. purpose. 8. F. be; B. Sh. Trin. by. F. certeyne. Harl. 7578 a tyme sought; the rest sought a tyme (badly). bespreynte. II. F. prayen. Sh. wreke; the rest awreke. fonde; dede. 15. F. Adovne. Harl. 7578 alone supplies that. F. Dede; while. 17. F. roose; coloure. 18. B. yen; F. eyen; after which all but Sh. and Harl. 7578 insert I. 19. Sh. to; which the rest omit. 20. Sh. shoope; the rest shope. F. prey. 21. For nas, the MSS. wrongly have was; in both places. F. lorne; sey.

16.

Thus am I slayn, sith that Pite is deed;

Allas! that day! that ever hit shulde falle!
What maner man dar now holde up his heed?
To whom shal any sorwful herte calle?
Now Cruelte hath cast to sleen us alle,
In ydel hope, folk redelees of peyne-

25

Sith she is deed-to whom shul we compleyne?

But yet encreseth me this wonder newe,

That no wight woot that she is deed, but I;

30

So many men as in her tyme hir knewe,
And yet she dyed not so sodeynly;
For I have sought hir ever ful besily
Sith first I hadde wit, or mannes mynde;

But she was deed, er that I coude hir fynde.
Aboute hir herse ther stoden lustely,
Withouten any wo, as thoughte me,

35

Bountee parfit, wel armed and richely,
And fresshe Beautee, Lust, and Iolitee,
Assured Maner, Youthe, and Honestee,

Wisdom, Estaat, [and] Drede, and Governaunce,
Confedred both by bonde and alliaunce.

A compleynt hadde I, writen, in my hond,
For to have put to Pite as a bille,
But whan I al this companye ther fond
That rather wolden al my cause spille

Than do me help, I held my pleynte stille;

22. F. slayne; dede.

23. Tn. shulde; F. shuld.

40

45

24. F. hede. 25. All but Sh. and Harl. 7578 ins. now bef. any. F. eny. 26. F. caste. Sh. sleen; F. slee. 27. F. folke redelesse. 30. F. dede. 31. F. mony. 32. F. B. omit she; the rest have it. Only Sh. and T. retain so. 33. F. besely. For ever Ten Brink reads ay. 34. Only Sh. gives this line correctly; so Harl. 7578 (but with any for mannes). F. Sith I hadde firste witte or mynde. 35. F. dede. Sh. Harl. 7578 that; which the rest omit. 37. F. woo. 38. F. Bounte. 39. F. beaute; iolyte. 40. F. honeste. 41. F. Wisdome. F. B. estaat; the rest estate; Ten Brink rightly supplies and after Estat (sic). 43. Harl. 7578 hadde; Sh. hade; the rest had. F. myn honde. 44. Sh. Harl. 7578 For; rest omit. F. pittee. 45. F. when. F. fonde. 46. Sh. wolden; F. wolde. 47. F. helpe. Sh. and Harl. 7578 compleynt; the rest pleynte, except T. which has cause.