Allas! I, weping, am constreined to biginnen vers of sorowful

matere, that whylom in florisching studie made delitable ditees.

For lo! rendinge Muses of poetes endyten to me thinges to be

writen; and drery vers of wrecchednesse weten my face with

verray teres. At the leeste, no drede ne mighte overcomen tho

Muses, that they ne weren felawes, and folweden my wey, that is

to seyn, whan I was exyled; they that weren glorie of my youthe,

whylom weleful and grene, comforten now the sorowful werdes of

me, olde man. For elde is comen unwarly upon me, hasted by

the harmes that I have, and sorow hath comaunded his age to be

in me. Heres hore ben shad overtymeliche upon myn heved,

and the slake skin trembleth upon myn empted body. Thilke

deeth of men is weleful that ne cometh not in yeres that ben

swete, but cometh to wrecches, often y-cleped.

Allas! allas! with how deef an ere deeth, cruel, torneth awey

fro wrecches, and naiteth to closen wepinge eyen! Whyl Fortune,

unfeithful, favorede me with lighte goodes, the sorowful houre,

that is to seyn, the deeth, hadde almost dreynt myn heved. But

now, for Fortune cloudy hath chaunged hir deceyvable chere to

me-ward, myn unpitous lyf draweth a-long unagreable dwellinges

in me. O ye, my frendes, what or wherto avauntede ye me to

ben weleful? for he that hath fallen stood nat in stedefast

degree.

Whyle that I stille recordede thise thinges with my-self, and

markede my weeply compleynte with office of pointel, I saw,

stondinge aboven the heighte of myn heved, a woman of ful greet

reverence by semblaunt, hir eyen brenninge and cleer-seinge over

the comune might of men; with a lyfly colour, and with swich

vigour and strengthe that it ne mighte nat ben empted; al were it

so that she was ful of so greet age, that men ne wolde nat trowen,

in no manere, that she were of oure elde. The stature of hir was

of a doutous Iugement; for som-tyme she constreinede and shronk

hir-selven lyk to the comune mesure of men, and sum-tyme it

semede that she touchede the hevene with the heighte of hir

heved; and whan she heef hir heved hyer, she percede the

selve hevene, so that the sighte of men looking was in ydel. Hir

clothes weren maked of right delye thredes and subtil crafte, of

perdurable matere; the whiche clothes she hadde woven with hir

owene hondes, as I knew wel after by hir-self, declaringe and

shewinge to me the beautee; the whiche clothes a derknesse of a

forleten and dispysed elde hadde dusked and derked, as it is wont

to derken bi-smokede images.

In the nethereste hem or bordure of thise clothes men redden,

y-woven in, a Grekissh P, that signifyeth the lyf Actif; and aboven

that lettre, in the heyeste bordure, a Grekissh T, that signifyeth

the lyf Contemplatif. And bi-twixen these two lettres ther weren

seyn degrees, nobly y-wroght in manere of laddres; by whiche

degrees men mighten climben fro the nethereste lettre to the

uppereste. Natheles, handes of some men hadde corven that cloth

by violence and by strengthe; and everiche man of hem hadde

born awey swiche peces as he mighte geten. And forsothe, this

forseide woman bar smale bokes in hir right hand, and in hir left

hand she bar a ceptre.

And whan she say thise poetical Muses aprochen aboute my

bed, and endytinge wordes to my wepinges, she was a litel

amoved, and glowede with cruel eyen. 'Who,' quod she, 'hath

suffred aprochen to this syke man thise comune strompetes of

swich a place that men clepen the theatre? The whiche nat

only ne asswagen nat hise sorwes with none remedies, but they

wolden feden and norisshen hem with swete venim. Forsothe,

thise ben tho that with thornes and prikkinges of talents or

affecciouns, whiche that ne ben no-thing fructefyinge nor

profitable, destroyen the corn plentevous of fruites of resoun;

for they holden the hertes of men in usage, but they ne delivere

nat folk fro maladye. But if ye Muses hadden withdrawen fro

me, with your flateryes, any uncunninge and unprofitable man, as

men ben wont to finde comunly amonges the poeple, I wolde

wene suffre the lasse grevously; for-why, in swiche an unprofitable

man, myn ententes ne weren no-thing endamaged. But ye withdrawen

me this man, that hath be norisshed in the studies or

scoles of Eleaticis and of Achademicis in Grece. But goth now

rather awey, ye mermaidenes, whiche that ben swete til it be at

the laste, and suffreth this man to be cured and heled by myne

Muses,' that is to seyn, by noteful sciences.

And thus this companye of Muses y-blamed casten wrothly the

chere dounward to the erthe; and, shewinge by reednesse hir

shame, they passeden sorowfully the threshfold.

And I, of whom the sighte, plounged in teres, was derked so

that I ne mighte not knowen what that womman was, of so

imperial auctoritee, I wex al abaisshed and astoned, and caste my

sighte doun to the erthe, and bigan stille for to abyde what she

wolde don afterward. Tho com she ner, and sette hir doun up-on

the uttereste corner of my bed; and she, biholdinge my chere,

that was cast to the erthe, hevy and grevous of wepinge, compleinede,

with thise wordes that I shal seyen, the perturbacioun

of my thought.

'Allas! how the thought of man, dreint in over-throwinge

deepnesse, dulleth, and forleteth his propre cleernesse, mintinge

to goon in-to foreine derknesses, as ofte as his anoyous bisinesse

wexeth with-oute mesure, that is driven to and fro with worldly

windes! This man, that whylom was free, to whom the hevene

was open and knowen, and was wont to goon in heveneliche

pathes, and saugh the lightnesse of the rede sonne, and saugh the

sterres of the colde mone, and whiche sterre in hevene useth

wandering recourses, y-flit by dyverse speres—this man, overcomer,

hadde comprehended al this by noumbre of acountinge in

astronomye. And over this, he was wont to seken the causes

whennes the souning windes moeven and bisien the smothe water

of the see; and what spirit torneth the stable hevene; and why

the sterre aryseth out of the rede eest, to fallen in the westrene

wawes; and what atempreth the lusty houres of the firste somer

sesoun, that highteth and apparaileth the erthe with rosene flowres;

and who maketh that plentevouse autompne, in fulle yeres, fleteth

with hevy grapes. And eek this man was wont to telle the

dyverse causes of nature that weren y-hidde. Allas! now lyeth

he empted of light of his thought; and his nekke is pressed with

hevy cheynes; and bereth his chere enclyned adoun for the grete

weighte, and is constreined to looken on the fool erthe!

But tyme is now,' quod she, 'of medicine more than of

compleinte.' Forsothe than she, entendinge to me-ward with alle

the lookinge of hir eyen, seide:—'Art nat thou he,' quod she,

'that whylom y-norisshed with my milk, and fostered with myne

metes, were escaped and comen to corage of a parfit man?

Certes, I yaf thee swiche armures that, yif thou thy-self ne

haddest first cast hem a-wey, they shulden han defended thee

in sikernesse that may nat ben over-comen. Knowest thou me

nat? Why art thou stille? Is it for shame or for astoninge?

It were me lever that it were for shame; but it semeth me that

astoninge hath oppressed thee.' And whan she say me nat only

stille, but with-outen office of tunge and al doumb, she leide hir

hand softely upon my brest, and seide: 'Here nis no peril,' quod

she; 'he is fallen into a litargie, whiche that is a comune sykenes

to hertes that ben deceived. He hath a litel foryeten him-self,

but certes he shal lightly remembren him-self, yif so be that he

hath knowen me or now; and that he may so don, I wil wypen a

litel his eyen, that ben derked by the cloude of mortal thinges.'

Thise wordes seide she, and with the lappe of hir garment, y-plyted

in a frounce, she dryede myn eyen, that weren fulle of the wawes

of my wepinges.

Thus, whan that night was discussed and chased a-wey,

derknesses forleften me, and to myn eyen repeirede ayein hir

firste strengthe. And, right by ensaumple as the sonne is hid

whan the sterres ben clustred (that is to seyn, whan sterres ben

covered with cloudes) by a swifte winde that highte Chorus, and

that the firmament stant derked by wete ploungy cloudes, and

that the sterres nat apperen up-on hevene, so that the night

semeth sprad up-on erthe: yif thanne the wind that highte Borias,

y-sent out of the caves of the contree of Trace, beteth this night

(that is to seyn, chaseth it a-wey), and descovereth the closed day:

than shyneth Phebus y-shaken with sodein light, and smyteth

with his bemes in mervelinge eyen.

Right so, and non other wyse, the cloudes of sorwe dissolved

and don a-wey, I took hevene, and receivede minde to knowen the

face of my fysicien; so that I sette myn eyen on hir, and fastnede

my lookinge. I beholde my norice Philosophie, in whos houses

I hadde conversed and haunted fro my youthe; and I seide thus.

'O thou maistresse of alle vertues, descended from the soverein

sete, why artow comen in-to this solitarie place of myn exil?

Artow comen for thou art maked coupable with me of false

blames?'

'O,' quod she, 'my norry, sholde I forsaken thee now, and

sholde I nat parten with thee, by comune travaile, the charge

that thou hast suffred for envie of my name? Certes, it nere

not leveful ne sittinge thing to Philosophie, to leten with-outen

companye the wey of him that is innocent. Sholde I thanne

redoute my blame, and agrysen as though ther were bifallen a

newe thing? quasi diceret, non. For trowestow that Philosophie

be now alderfirst assailed in perils by folk of wikkede maneres?

Have I nat striven with ful greet stryf, in olde tyme, bifore the

age of my Plato, ayeines the foolhardinesse of folye? And eek,

the same Plato livinge, his maister Socrates deservede victorie of

unrightful deeth in my presence. The heritage of which Socrates—the

heritage is to seyn the doctrine of the whiche Socrates in his

opinioun of Felicitee, that I clepe welefulnesse—whan that the

poeple of Epicuriens and Stoiciens and many othre enforceden

hem to go ravisshe everich man for his part—that is to seyn,

that everich of hem wolde drawen to the defence of his opinioun the

wordes of Socrates—they, as in partie of hir preye, to-drowen me,

cryinge and debatinge ther-ayeins, and corven and to-renten my

clothes that I hadde woven with myn handes; and with tho

cloutes that they hadden araced out of my clothes they wenten

awey, weninge that I hadde gon with hem everydel.

In whiche Epicuriens and Stoiciens, for as moche as ther semede

some traces or steppes of myn habite, the folye of men, weninge

tho Epicuriens and Stoiciens my famuleres, perverted (sc. persequendo)

some through the errour of the wikkede or uncunninge

multitude of hem. This is to seyn that, for they semede philosophres,

they weren pursued to the deeth and slayn. So yif thou hast nat

knowen the exilinge of Anaxogore, ne the enpoysoninge of

Socrates, ne the tourments of Zeno, for they weren straungeres:

yit mightestow han knowen the Senecciens and the Canios and

the Sorans, of whiche folk the renoun is neither over-olde ne

unsolempne The whiche men, no-thing elles ne broughte hem to

the deeth but only for they weren enfourmed of myne maneres,

and semeden most unlyke to the studies of wikkede folk. And

forthy thou oughtest nat to wondren though that I, in the bittre

see of this lyf, be fordriven with tempestes blowinge aboute, in

the whiche tempestes this is my most purpos, that is to seyn, to

displesen to wikkede men. Of whiche shrewes, al be the ost

never so greet, it is to dispyse; for it nis governed with no leder

of resoun, but it is ravisshed only by fletinge errour folyly and

lightly. And if they som-tyme, makinge an ost ayeins us, assaile

us as strenger, our leder draweth to-gidere hise richesses in-to his

tour, and they ben ententif aboute sarpulers or sachels unprofitable

for to taken. But we that ben heye aboven, siker fro alle

tumulte and wode noise, warnestored and enclosed in swich a

palis, whider as that chateringe or anoyinge folye ne may nat

atayne, we scorne swiche ravineres and henteres of fouleste

thinges.