Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's "De Consolatione Philosophiae"

by Boethius

[The viij prose.] [SET NE ME INEXORABILE CONTRA.

BVt for-as-mochel as thow shalt nat wenen quod she þat I bere vntretable batayle ayenis fortune // yit som-tyme it by-falleth þat she desseyuable desserueth to han ryht good thank of men // And þat is whan she hire self opneth / and whan she descouereth hir frownt / and sheweth hir maneres par-auenture yit vndirstondesthow nat þat .I. shal seye // it is a wondyr þat .I. desyre to telle / and forthi vnnethe may I. vnpleyten my sentense with wordes for I. deme þat contraryos fortune profiteth more to men than fortune debonayre // For al-wey whan fortune semeth debonayre than she lyeth falsly in by-hetynge the hope of welefulnesse // but forsothe contraryos fortune is alwey sothfast / whan she sheweth hir self vnstable thorw hyr chaungynge // the amyable fortune desseyueth folk / the contrarye fortune techeth // the amyable fortune byndeth with the beaute of false goodys the hertes of folk þat vsen hem / the contrarye fortune vnbyndeth hem by þ^e knowynge of freele welefulnesse // the amyable fortune maysthow sen alwey wyndynge and flowynge / and euere mysknowynge of hir self // the contrarye fortune is a-tempre and restreynyd and wys thorw excersyse of hir aduersyte // at the laste amyable fortune with hir flaterynges draweth mys wandrynge men fro the souereyne good // the contraryos fortune ledith ofte folk ayein to sothfast goodes / and haleth hem ayein as with an hooke / weenesthow thanne þat thow owhtest to leten this a lytel thing / þat this aspre and horible fortune hath discoueryd to the / the thowhtes of thy trewe frendes // For-why this ilke fortune hath departyd and vncoueryd to the bothe the certeyn vysages and ek the dowtos visages of thy felawes // whan she departyd awey fro the / she took awey hyr frendes and lafte the thyne frendes // now whan thow were ryche and weleful as the semede / with how mochel woldesthow han bowht the fulle knowynge of this // þat is to seyn the knowynge of thy verray freendes // now pleyne the nat thanne of Rychesse .I.-lorn syn thow hast fowndyn the moste presyos kynde of Rychesses þat is to seyn thy verray frendes.

[The viij Metur.] QUOD MUNDUS STABILI FIDE.

THat þ^e world with stable feith / varieth acordable chaungynges // þat the contraryos qualite of elementȝ holden amonge hem self aliaunce perdurable / þat phebus the sonne with his goldene chariet / bryngeth forth the rosene day / þat the mone hath commaundement ouer the nyhtes // whiche nyhtes hesperus the eue sterre hat browt // þat þ^e se gredy to flowen constreyneth with a certeyn ende hise floodes / so þat it is nat l[e]ueful to strechche hise brode termes or bowndes vp-on the erthes // þat is to seyn to couere alle the erthe // Al this a-cordaunce of thinges is bownden with looue / þat gouerneth erthe and see / and hath also commaundementȝ to the heuenes / and yif this looue slakede the brydelis / alle thinges þat now louen hem to gederes / wolden maken a batayle contynuely and stryuen to fordoon the fasoun of this worlde / the which they now leden in acordable feith by fayre moeuynges // this looue halt to gideres poeples Ioygned with an hooly bond / and knytteth sacrement of maryages of chaste looues // And loue enditeth lawes to trewe felawes // O weleful weere mankynde / yif thilke loue þat gouerneth heuene gouerned[e] yowre corages /

EXPLICIT LIBER 2^us.

INCIPIT LIBER 3^us.

[The fyrste prose.] IAM CANTUM ILLA FINIERAT.

By this she hadde endid hire songe / whan the swetnesse of hire ditee hadde thorw perced me þat was desirous of herkninge / and .I. astoned hadde yit streyhte myn Eres / þat is to seyn to herkne the bet / what she wolde seye // so þat a litel here after .I. seyde thus // O thow þat art souereyn comfort of Angwissos corages // So thow hast remounted and norysshed me with the weyhte of thy sentenses and with delit of thy syngynge // so þat .I. trowe nat now þat .I. be vnparygal to the strokes of fortune / as who seyth. I. dar wel now suffren al the assautes of fortune and wel deffende me fro hyr // and tho remedies whyche þat thow seydest hire byforn weren ryht sharpe Nat oonly pat .I. am nat agrysen of hem now // but .I. desiros of herynge axe gretely to heeren tho remedyes // than seyde she thus // þat feelede .I. ful wel quod she // whan þat thow ententyf and stylle rauysshedest my wordes // and .I. abood til þat thow haddest swych habyte of thy thowght as thow hast now // or elles tyl þat .I. my self had[de] maked to the the same habyt / which þat is a moore verray thinge // And certes the remenaunt of thinges þat ben yit to seye / ben swyche // þat fyrst whan men tasten hem they ben bytynge / but whan they ben resseyuyd with-inne a whyht than ben they swete // but for thow seyst þat thow art so desirous to herkne hem // wit[h] how gret brennynge woldesthow glowen / yif thow wystest whyder .I. wol leden the // whydyre is þat quod .I. // to thilke verray welefulnesse quod she // of whyche thynge herte dremeth // but for as moche as thy syhte is ocupied and distorbed / by Imagynasyon of herthely thynges / thow mayst nat yit sen thilke selue welefulnesse // do quod .I. and shewe me / what is thilke verray welefulnesse / .I. preye the with-howte tarynge // þat wole .I. gladly don quod she / for the cause of the // but .I. wol fyrst marken the by wordes / and I wol enforcen me to enformen the // thilke false cause of blysfulnesse þat thow more knowest / so þat whan thow hast fully by-holden thilke false goodes and torned thyne eyen to þat oother syde / thow mowe knowe the clernesse of verray blysfulnesse //]

[The fyrst metur.] QUI SERERE INGENIUM.

¶ Who so wil sowe a felde plentiuous. lat hym first delyuer it of þornes and kerue asondre wiþ his hooke þe bushes and þe ferne so þat þe corne may comen heuy of eres and of greins. hony is þe more swete yif mouþes han firste tastid sauoures þat ben wikke. ¶ þe sterres shynen more agreably whan þe wynde Nothus letiþ his ploungy blastes. and aftir þat lucifer þe day sterre haþ chased awey þe derke nyȝt. þe day þe feirer lediþ þe rosene horse of þe sonne. ¶ Ryȝt so þou byholdyng first þe fals[e] goodes. bygynne to wiþdrawe þi nek[ke] fro þe ȝok of erþely affecciouns. and afterwarde þe verrey goodes shollen entre in to þi corage.