LXXXII.
Be thou notte harde for to graunt, I say,
Sich a thyng as welle enploy thou may;
To Hermofrodicus[[487]] haue tendyyng,[[488]]
The whiche tooke harme for his denying.
Hermofrodicus was a beauteous yong thyng, and on of the fayree[[489]] was sore enamourede of hymme, but he in no wyse had leste to love hire and she purswed hym ouer all. Yt felle on a tyme that the yong thyng was full wery of the purswte wherein he hadd trauelled all the day. Than he come to a well-spryng sette abovte with salwes,[[490]] by the whiche was a fayre stanke, styll and clere, ffor the which a lest he hade to bathe hym.[[491]] He dyde of his clothes and went into the water. Whan she off the fayree sawe hym onclothyd and all naked, she went in to hym and for grete loue tooke that yong thyng in hir armes; but he, the which was full froward, put hire fro hym ryght rudely, so she myght not wynne his hert for no prayour. Than she of the fayree, full of woo, prayde to the godes that she myght neuer parte from hire loue, the whiche put hire so fro hym. The godes of pete harde hire deuoute prayere; than sodanly they chaunged the .iio. bodies into oone, the which were of .iio. seytis.[[492]] This fabill may be vnderstondyn in many maneres, lich as sothell clerkes and philosopheris hath hide there grete secretes vndir couertoure of fable. Thereto it may be |f. 62.| vnderstondyn sentence longyng to the science of astronomy, and as wele of nygromancye,[[493]] as that maystrys seyth. And because that the matyr of loue is more delictable to here than othir, gladely[[494]] they made there distinccions[[495]] opon loue for to be the more delectable to here, anamly to rude pepill, the whiche take but the barke, and the more agreable to subtile, the which sowketh the lyquor. But to owre purpose we may vndirstond that it is velany and a fowle thyng to refuse or to grawnte wyth grete daunger that the which may not turne to vyce ne to preiudice, thowgh it be grawnttyd. For Hermes seyth, “Make no long delay to put it in execucion that the which þou shuld doo.”
The goode speryte shulde notte be harde to graunt there where he seyth necessite, but reconforte the nedy to his power. As Seynt Gregore seith in his Moralles that, whan we wyll reconforte any that is afrayed in heuynes, we shulde fryst make heuynes with theyme, for he may not veryly reconforte the hevy person which cordeth hyme not with his heuines. For leche a man[[496]] may not ioyne oon yren to anothir yf thei be note hote bothe .iio. and softyd with the fire, on the same wyse we may not redresse anothir yif oure hertes be not softted be compassyon. To this purpose Holy Scripture seith, [“Confortate manus dissolutas et genua debilia roborate”].[[497]]