Off the god of slepe and dremes seere.[[464]]
A ffabill seyth that Morpheus is sone to the god of slepe, and he is his massenger and he is god of dremes and cawsyth men to dreme. And because that dremes be trobolous thynges and a derke and some tyme it may syngnifie contrarie to the dreme, þer is noon so wyse that may propirly speke[[465]] liche as the expositours seith of theyme[[466]]. Therfor it ys seide to the good knyght that he shulde not be to heuy ne to mery ffor sich avysyons, be the which a man may not shewe no certeyne knowlych ne to what thyng thei sal turne, and anamely þat a man shulde not be to mery ne to hevy ffor thynges off fortune, the which be transsitorie. Socrates seith, “Thou that arte a man, thou shuld not be to hevy ne to mery ffor no maner cawse.”
Where it is seide that a man shuld not be to mery ne to hevy for non avysyons, we shall seye that the good speryte shuld not be to heuy ne to meri for no maner cause that cometh to hym and that he shuld suffre tribulacions paciently. Seynt Austyn seith vpon the Savter, “Fayre son,” seith he, “yf thou wilte wepe for thi sorres that thou felest, veepe vnder the correccion off thi Fadir; yf thou wepe ffor tribulacions that comyth to the, be ware that it be not for indignacion ne for pride, for the aduersyte that God sendyth to the it is a medycyne and no payne, it is a chastisment and no dampnacion. Put not fro the thi Fadris rodde but yf that þou wylt that [he] put the from his heritage; and thynk not on the payne that thow owghtes to suffre of his scorge, but considir what place thow haste in his testament.” To this purpose the wyse [man] seythe, [“Omne quod tibi applicitum fuerit accipe et in dolore sustine, et in humilitate tua patientiam habe.”][[467]]
LXXIX.
Be the see yf thou wylt vndertake
Perlyous viages for to make,
Off Alchion[[468]] beleue the counsell.
Ceys therof the soth may the tell.
Ceys was a kyng, a full good man, and loued wele Alchyon |f. 59.| his wyff. The kyng tooke a deuocion ffor to go a perlyows passage on the see in a tempest, but Alchyon his wyffe, the whiche loued hym ryght hertily, dyde gretyly hir besynes to meve hym fro[[469]] that vyage and with grete teris of wepyng prayde hyme full besyly; but it myght not be remedied by here ne he woold not suffir hir to goo with hym, stondyng that she wolde all gates haue gone with hymme and at the departyng she styrte on to the shepe.[[470]] But Ceys the kyng comfortyd hir and with force made hyre to abyde, for the which she was full anggwyssous and hevy and in ryght grete woo. Neuer the lesse Eolus,[[471]] the god of wyndes, meved theyme soo gretely opon the see that the kyng Ceys within fewe dayes perysshed on the see; ffor the which, whenne Alchyon knew that aventure, she kest hire selfe into the see. The ffabill seith that the godes had pyte þeroff and chawnged the bodyes of the .ii. louers into .ii. birdes, to the intent that there grete loue myght be had in perpetuell mynde. And yette þe same birdes flee opon the see syde, the which be called Alchions and there fedres be whyte; and whan the maryneris see theyme come, þan be they sekyr of a tempest.[[472]] The ryght exposicion hereof may be that in mariage .iio. loueres loued togedir in lich wyse, the which poyetes lykeneth to the .iio. byrdes that hade sich a case and aventure. Therefor it is seide to the goode knyght that he shulde not put hym in no perlyous passage ayens the counsell off his good ffrendis. And Assaron[[473]] seyth that the wyse man enforseth hym to draw hym fro hurtes, and the foole doth his diligence to fynde hurtes.
For to beleue Alchion, it is to vnderstond that the goode speryte by some evil temptacion is empeched with some errowe or dowte in his thowght, in the which he shuld reporte hym to the openyon off the cherche. For Seynt Ambrose seyth in the .ii. booke off Offices that he is fro hym selfe that dispyseth the counsell of the cherche, for Joseph helped kyng Pharaon more profitably with the cownsell off his prudence than though he had yoven hyme eythir gold or syluer; for syluer myȝgh not a purueyde for the famyn of Egypte the space of vii. yere. Therefor it is concluded, “trust counsell and thou shalt not repent the.” To this purpose the wyse man seith in his Proverbes to the persone of holy chirch, [“Custodi legem atque consilium et erit vita animæ tuæ”].[[474]]