[Sidenote: [The .12. Met{ur}.]]
[Sidenote: Happy is he that hath seen the lucid spring of truth!
Happy the man that hath freed himself from terrestrial chains!]
++Blisful is þat man þat may seen þe clere welle of good.
blisful is he þat may vnbynde hym fro þe bonde of
heuy erþe.
[Sidenote: The Thracian poet, consumed with grief for the loss of
his wife, sought relief from music.]
¶ þe poete of t{ra}ce [orphe{us}] þat somtyme
hadde ryȝt greet sorowe for þe deeþ of hys wijf.
[Sidenote: His mournful songs drew the woods along; the rolling
rivers ceased to flow; the savage beasts became heedless of their
prey; the timid hare was not aghast at the hound.]
aftir þat 3024
he hadde maked by hys wepely songes þe wodes meueable
to rennen. {and} hadde ymaked þe ryueres to stonden
stille. {and} maked þe hertys {and} hyndes to ioignen
dredles hir sides to cruel lyou{n}s to herkene his songe. 3028
{and} had[de] maked þat þe hare was nat agast of þe
hounde whiche þat was plesed by hys songe.
[Sidenote: But the songs that did all things tame, could not allay
their master’s ardent love.]
so þat
whane þe most[e] ardaunt loue of hys wijf brende þe
entrailes of his brest. ne þe songes þat hadde ouer [[pg 107]]
comen alle þinges ne myȝten nat assuage hir lorde 3033
orpheus.
[Sidenote: He bewailed the cruelty of the gods above, and
descended to Pluto’s realm.]
¶ He pleyned[e] hym of þe godes þat were{n}
cruel to hym. he wente hym to þe houses of helle
[Sidenote: There he struck his tuneful strings and sang,
exhausting all the harmonious art imparted to him by his mother
Calliope.]
{and} þere he tempred[e] hys blaundissyng songes by resounyng 3036
of hys strenges. ¶ And spak {and} song in
wepynge alle þat euer he hadde resceyued {and} laued
oute of þe noble welles of hys modir calliope þe goddesse.
[Sidenote: In songs dictated both by grief and love, he implored
the infernal powers to give him back his Eurydice.]
{and} he song wiþ as mychel as he myȝt[e] of 3040
wepynge. {and} wiþ as myche as loue þat doubled[e] his
sorwe myȝt[e] ȝeuen hym {and} teche hy{m} in his seke
h{er}te. ¶ And he commoeuede þe helle {and} requered[e]
{and} souȝte by swete p{re}iere þe lordes of soules in helle 3044
of relesynge. þat is to seyne to ȝelden hym hys wif.
[Sidenote: Cerberus, Hell’s three-headed porter, stood amazed;]
¶ Cerberus þe porter of helle wiþ his þre heuedes was
cauȝt {and} al abaist for þe new[e] songe.
[Sidenote: the Furies, tormentors of guilty souls, did weep;]
{and} þe þre goddesses
furijs {and} vengerisse of felonies þat to{ur}mente{n} 3048
{and} agaste{n} þe soules by anoye wexen sorweful {and} sory
{and} wepen teres for pitee.
[Sidenote: Ixion, tormented by the revolving wheel, found rest;]
þan was nat þe heued of
Ixion{e} yto{ur}mented by þe ou{er}þrowi{n}g whele.
[Sidenote: Tantalus, suffering from a long and raging thirst,
despised the stream;]
¶ And
tantalus þat was destroied by þe woodnesse of longe 3052
þrust dispiseþ þe flodes to drynke.
[Sidenote: and the greedy vulture did cease to eat and tear the
growing liver of Tityus.]
þe fowel þat hyȝt
voltor þat etiþ þe stomak or þe giser of ticius is so fulfilled
of his songe þat it nil etyn ne tyren no more.
[Linenotes:
3022 _vnbynde_--vnbyndyn
_bonde_--bondes
3023 [_orpheus_]--from C.
_somtyme_--whilom
3024 _sorowe_--sorwe
3028 _dredles_--dredeles
_to herkene_--forto herknen
3029 _had[de]_--hadde
3030 _þat_ (2)--omitted
3031 _most[e]_--moste
3032 _hadde_--hadden
3033 _assuage_--asswagen
_lorde_--lord
3034 _pleyned[e]_--pleynede
_godes_--heuene goodes
3035 _wente_--MS. wenten, C. wente
3036 _tempred[e] hys_--temprede hise
3037 _of hys_--C. omits
_spak_--MS. spakke, C. spak
_song_--MS. songe, C. soonge
3038 _alle_--al
3039 _oute_--owt
_goddesse_--goddes
3040 _song_--MS. songe, C. soonge
_mychel_--mochel
3041 _myche_--moche
_doubled[e]_--dowblede
3042 _myȝt[e]_--myhte
_ȝeuen_--yeue
_teche_--thechen
_in----herte_--omitted
3043 _commoeuede_--MS. comaunded, C. co{m}moeuede
3044 _souȝte_--by-sowhte
3045 _ȝelden_--yilden
3046 _his_--hise
3047 _cauȝt_--MS. cauȝte, C. cawht
_new[e] songe_--newe song
3049 _anoye----sorweful_--anoy woxen soruful
3050 _þan_--tho ne
3051 _whele_--wheel
3053 _þrust_--thurst
_hyȝt_--hihte
3054 _fulfilled_--fulfyld
3055 _songe_--song]
[Headnote:
FIX NOT THE THOUGHTS ON EARTHLY THINGS.]
[Sidenote: At length Pluto himself relented, crying out, ‘We are
overcome! Let us give him back his wife, he hath well won her by
his song.]
¶ Atte þe laste þe lorde {and} Iuge of soules was moeued 3056
to misericordes {and} cried[e] we ben ouer comen q{uo}d
he. yif[e] we to orpheus his wijf to bere hym co{m}paignye
he haþ welle I-bouȝt hir by his faire songe {and}
his ditee. [[pg 108]]
[Sidenote: But we will lay this injunction upon him. Till he
escape the infernal bounds, he shall not cast a backward look.’]
but we wil putte{n} a lawe in þis. {and} couenaunt 3060
in þe ȝifte. þ{a}t is to seyne. þat til he be out of
helle yif he loke byhynden hym [þ{a}t] hys wijf shal
come{n} aȝeine to vs
[Sidenote: But, who shall give a lover any law? Love is a greater
law than may be given to any earthly man.]
¶ but what is he þat may ȝeue a
lawe to loueres. loue is a gretter lawe {and} a strengere to 3064
hym self þan any lawe þ{a}t men may ȝeuen.
[Sidenote: Alas! having left the realms of night, Orpheus cast a
look behind and lost his too-much-loved Euridice.]
¶ Allas
whan Orpheus {and} his wijf were al most at þe termes of
þe nyȝt. þat is to seyne at þe last[e] boundes of helle.
Orpheus loked[e] abakwarde on Erudice his wijf {and} 3068
lost[e] hir {and} was deed.
[Sidenote: This fable belongs to all you, whose minds would view
the Sovereign Good.]
¶ þis fable app{er}teineþ to
ȝow alle who so euer desireþ or sekiþ to lede his þouȝte
in to þe souereyne day. þat is to seyne to clerenes[se]
of souereyne goode.
[Sidenote: For he who fixes his thoughts upon earthly things and
low, must lose the noble and heaven-imparted Good.]
¶ For who so þat eu{er}e be so ouer 3072
come{n} þat he fycche hys eyen in to þe put[te] of helle.
þat is to seyne who so setteþ his þouȝtes in erþely
þinges. al þat euer he haþ drawen of þe noble good
celestial he lesiþ it whan he lokeþ þe helles. þat is to 3076
seyne to lowe þinges of þe erþe.