[The Origin of Mankind.]
He made Adam the sexte day
In Paradis, and to his make
Him liketh Eve also to make,
And bad hem cresce and multiplie.
For of the mannes Progenie, 30
Which of the womman schal be bore,
The nombre of Angles which was lore,
Whan thei out fro the blisse felle,
He thoghte to restore, and felle
In hevene thilke holy place
Which stod tho voide upon his grace.
Bot as it is wel wiste and knowe,
1455Adam and Eve bot a throwe,
So as it scholde of hem betyde,
In Paradis at thilke tyde 40
Ne duelten, and the cause why,
Write in the bok of Genesi,
As who seith, alle men have herd,
Hou Raphael the fyri swerd
In honde tok and drof hem oute,
To gete here lyves fode aboute
P. iii. 277
Upon this wofull Erthe hiere.
Metodre seith to this matiere,
1456As he be revelacion
It hadde upon avision, 50
Hou that Adam and Eve also
Virgines comen bothe tuo
Into the world and were aschamed,
Til that nature hem hath reclamed
To love, and tauht hem thilke lore,
That ferst thei keste, and overmore
Thei don that is to kinde due,
Wherof thei hadden fair issue.
A Sone was the ferste of alle,
And Chain be name thei him calle;
1457 60Abel was after the secounde,
And in the geste as it is founde,
Nature so the cause ladde,
Tuo douhtres ek Dame Eve hadde,
The ferste cleped Calmana
Was, and that other Delbora.
[Laws of Marriage.]
Thus was mankinde to beginne;
Forthi that time it was no Sinne
The Soster forto take hire brother,
Whan that ther was of chois non other: 70
To Chain was Calmana betake,
1458And Delboram hath Abel take,
1459In whom was gete natheles
Of worldes folk the ferste encres.
Men sein that nede hath no lawe,
And so it was be thilke dawe
P. iii. 278
And laste into the Secounde Age,
1460Til that the grete water rage,
Of Noë which was seid the flod,
1461The world, which thanne in Senne stod, 80
Hath dreint, outake lyves Eyhte.
Tho was mankinde of litel weyhte;
Sem, Cham, Japhet, of these thre,
That ben the Sones of Noë,
The world of mannes nacion
Into multiplicacion
Was tho restored newe ayein
So ferforth, as the bokes sein,
That of hem thre and here issue
Ther was so large a retenue, 90
Of naciouns seventy and tuo;
In sondri place ech on of tho
The wyde world have enhabited.
Bot as nature hem hath excited,
Thei token thanne litel hiede,
The brother of the Sosterhiede
To wedde wyves, til it cam
Into the time of Habraham.
1462Whan the thridde Age was begunne,
The nede tho was overrunne,
1463 100For ther was poeple ynouh in londe:
Thanne ate ferste it cam to honde,
That Sosterhode of mariage
Was torned into cousinage,
So that after the rihte lyne
The Cousin weddeth the cousine.
P. iii. 279
For Habraham, er that he deide,
This charge upon his servant leide,
To him and in this wise spak,
That he his Sone Isaäc 110
Do wedde for no worldes good,
Bot only to his oghne blod:
Wherof this Servant, as he bad,
Whan he was ded, his Sone hath lad
To Bathuel, wher he Rebecke
Hath wedded with the whyte necke;
For sche, he wiste wel and syh,
Was to the child cousine nyh.
And thus as Habraham hath tawht,
Whan Isaäc was god betawht, 120
His Sone Jacob dede also,
And of Laban the dowhtres tuo,
Which was his Em, he tok to wyve,
And gat upon hem in his lyve,
Of hire ferst which hihte Lie,
Sex Sones of his Progenie,
And of Rachel tuo Sones eke:
The remenant was forto seke,
That is to sein of foure mo,
Wherof he gat on Bala tuo, 130
And of Zelpha he hadde ek tweie.
And these tuelve, as I thee seie,
Thurgh providence of god himselve
Ben seid the Patriarkes tuelve;
Of whom, as afterward befell,
The tribes tuelve of Irahel
1464P. iii. 280
Engendred were, and ben the same
That of Hebreus tho hadden name,
Which of Sibrede in alliance
For evere kepten thilke usance 140
Most comunly, til Crist was bore.
Bot afterward it was forbore
Amonges ous that ben baptized;
For of the lawe canonized
The Pope hath bede to the men,
1465That non schal wedden of his ken
Ne the seconde ne the thridde.
Bot thogh that holy cherche it bidde,
1466So to restreigne Mariage,
Ther ben yit upon loves Rage 150
Full manye of suche nou aday
That taken wher thei take may.
For love, which is unbesein
Of alle reson, as men sein,
Thurgh sotie and thurgh nycete,
Of his voluptuosite
He spareth no condicion
Of ken ne yit religion,
Bot as a cock among the Hennes,
Or as a Stalon in the Fennes, 160
Which goth amonges al the Stod,
Riht so can he nomore good,
Bot takth what thing comth next to honde.
Confessor.
Mi Sone, thou schalt understonde,
That such delit is forto blame.
Forthi if thou hast be the same
P. iii. 281
To love in eny such manere,
Tell forth therof and schrif thee hiere.
Amans.
Mi fader, nay, god wot the sothe,
Mi feire is noght of such a bothe,
1467 170So wylde a man yit was I nevere,
That of mi ken or lief or levere
Me liste love in such a wise:
And ek I not for what emprise
I scholde assote upon a Nonne,
For thogh I hadde hir love wonne,
It myhte into no pris amonte,
1468So therof sette I non acompte.
Ye mai wel axe of this and that,
Bot sothli forto telle plat, 180
In al this world ther is bot on
The which myn herte hath overgon;
I am toward alle othre fre.
Full wel, mi Sone, nou I see
Confessor.
Thi word stant evere upon o place,
1469Bot yit therof thou hast a grace,
That thou thee myht so wel excuse
Of love such as som men use,
1470So as I spak of now tofore.
For al such time of love is lore, 190
And lich unto the bitterswete;
For thogh it thenke a man ferst swete,
He schal wel fielen ate laste
That it is sour and may noght laste.
For as a morsell envenimed,
So hath such love his lust mistimed,
P. iii. 282
And grete ensamples manyon
A man mai finde therupon.
[Lot and his Daughters.]
And forto se more of this thing,
The bible makth a knowleching,
Hic narrat, qualiter Loth duas filias suas ipsis
consencientibus carnali copula cognouit, duosque ex eis filios,
scilicet Moab et Amon, progenuit, quorum postea generacio praua et
exasperans contra populum dei in terra saltim promissionis vario
grauamine quam sepius insultabat.
Wherof thou miht take evidence
Upon the sothe experience.
P. iii. 283
Whan Lothes wif was overgon
And schape into the salte Ston,
1474As it is spoke into this day,
Be bothe hise dowhtres thanne he lay, 230
With childe and made hem bothe grete,
1475Til that nature hem wolde lete,
And so the cause aboute ladde
That ech of hem a Sone hadde,
Moab the ferste, and the seconde
Amon, of whiche, as it is founde,
Cam afterward to gret encres
1476Tuo nacions: and natheles,
For that the stockes were ungoode,
1477The branches mihten noght be goode; 240
For of the false Moabites
Forth with the strengthe of Amonites,
Of that thei weren ferst misgete,
The poeple of god was ofte upsete
In Irahel and in Judee,
1478As in the bible a man mai se.
Confessor.
Lo thus, my Sone, as I thee seie,
Thou miht thiselve be beseie
Of that thou hast of othre herd:
[Incest.]
For evere yit it hath so ferd, 250
Of loves lust if so befalle
That it in other place falle
Than it is of the lawe set,
He which his love hath so beset
Mote afterward repente him sore.
And every man is othres lore;
P. iii. 284
Of that befell in time er this
1479The present time which now is
May ben enformed hou it stod,
And take that him thenketh good, 260
And leve that which is noght so.
Bot forto loke of time go,
1480Hou lust of love excedeth lawe,
It oghte forto be withdrawe;
For every man it scholde drede,
And nameliche in his Sibrede,
Which torneth ofte to vengance:
Wherof a tale in remembrance,
Which is a long process to hiere,
I thenke forto tellen hiere. 270