3012 while—whil
wiþ outen—with owte
3013 seyne—seyn
3014 ȝitte—yit
oþer—oothre
3015 [haue]—from C.
3016 whiche—which
3017 wiþ inne—with in
3020 cosynes—MS. conceyued, C. cosynes
þo—þe
whiche—which
THE POWER OF MUSIC.
[FELIX QUI POTERIT. ET CETERA.]
Blisful is Happy is he that hath seen the lucid spring of truth! Happy the man that hath freed himself from terrestrial chains! þat man þat may seen þe clere welle of good.
blisful is he þat may vnbynde hym fro þe bonde of
heuy erþe. The Thracian poet, consumed with grief for the loss of his wife, sought relief from music. ¶ þe poete of trace [orpheus] þat somtyme
hadde ryȝt greet sorowe for þe deeþ of hys wijf. 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 lyouns 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. 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 [3032]
comen alle þinges ne myȝten nat assuage hir lorde
orpheus. He bewailed the cruelty of the gods above, and descended to Pluto’s realm. ¶ He pleyned[e] hym of þe godes þat weren
cruel to hym. he wente hym to þe houses of helle 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.
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 hym in his seke
herte. ¶ And he commoeuede þe helle and requered[e]
and souȝte by swete preiere þe lordes of soules in helle [3044]
of relesynge. þat is to seyne to ȝelden hym hys wif.
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. the Furies, tormentors of guilty souls, did weep; and þe þre goddesses
furijs and vengerisse of felonies þat tourmenten [3048]
and agasten þe soules by anoye wexen sorweful and sory
and wepen teres for pitee. Ixion, tormented by the revolving wheel, found rest; þan was nat þe heued of
Ixione ytourmented by þe ouerþrowing whele. 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. 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.