You are here
قراءة كتاب Legends and Satires from Mediæval Literature
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"
اللغة: English
الصفحة رقم: 5
class="verse">"Who with like band our loves combineth?
Even Natures law thereat repineth;
My love in conquests palme-wreths shineth,
Thine feasts deforms, mine fight refineth."
Flora hir modest face enrosed,
Whose second smile more fayre disclosed,
At length with mooving voyce she losed
What art in her storde brest reposed.
"Phillis, thy fill of speech thou hast,
Thy witt with pointed wings is grast,
Yet urdgest not a trueth so vast,
That hemlocks lillies have surpast.
"Ease loving clerkes thou holdst for cleere,
Servants to sloth and bellie cheere;
So envie honor would enpheere,[10]
But give me eare, Ile give thee answere.
"So much enjoyes this love of myne,
He nere envies, or hirs, or thyne;
Household stuffe, honny, oyle, corne, wine,
Coyne, jewels, plate, serve his designe.
"Such pleasing store have clerks bylying,
As none can fayne their dignifying:
There, Love clasps his glad wings in flying,
Love ever firme, Love never dying.
"Loves stings in him are still sustained,
Yet is my clerke nor pinde nor pained:
Joy hath no part in him restrained,
To whom his love beares thoughts unfained.
"Palled, and leane, is thy elected,
Poore, scarce with cloths or skin contected,
His sinews weake, his brest dyjected,
For nothing causde maks nought effected.
"Approching neede is Loves meere hell,
Souldiers want gyfts to woo loves well:
But clerks give much, and still heaps swell,
Their rents and riches so excell."
"Right well thou knowst" (Phillis replide)
"What in both arts and lyves abide,
Likely, and clenly thou hast lide:
But thus our difference is not tride.
"When holy-day the whole world cheeres,
A clerke lifes modest figure beares:
His crowne is heaven, black weeds he weares,
And showes a mind halfe dround in teares.
"None is so poore of sence or eyne,
To whom a souldier doth not shyne:
At ease, like sprightles beasts lives thyne,
Helms, and barb'd horse, do weare out myne.
"Mine low with armes makes foe-towrs ly,
And when on foote he fight doth try,
While his fayre squire his horse holds by,
Mine thinks on me, and then they dy.
"He turns, fight past, and foes inchased,
And lookes on me with helme unlaced,
Lifts his strong lyms, and brest strait graced,
And saies, kyss-blesse me, O hart-placed."
Flora her wrath in pants did spye,
And many a dart at hir lets flye:
"Thou canst not make with heaven-reacht crye
A camel pierce a needels eye.
"False goes for true, for honny, gall,
To make a clerke a souldiers thrall;
Doth love to souldiers coradge call?
No, but the neede they toyle withall.
"Fayre Phillis, would thy love were wise,
No more the trueth to contrarise!
Hunger and thirst bow souldiers thies,
In which Deaths path and Plutos lies.
"Sharpe is the wasting bane of warre
The lot is hard, and strayneth farre:
The lyfe is stooping, doubts doth jarre,
To get such things as needefull are.
"Knewst thou the case, thou wouldst not say,
Shaven haire sham'd clerks, or black aray:
Worne higher honors to display,
And that all states they oversway.
"All things should to my clerke encline,
Whose crowne sustains th' impereal signe;
He rules and payes such friendes as thine,
And lay must stoope to men divine.
"Thou sayst that sloth a clerke disguiseth,
Who I confesse base workes despiseth:
But when from cares his free minde riseth,
Heavens course and Naturs he compriseth.
"Mine purple decks, thine maile bedighteth,
Thine lives in war, mine peace delighteth,
Olde acts of princes he resighteth,
All of his friend thinks, seeks, and wrighteth.
"What Venus can, or Loves wingd lord,
First knowes my clerke, and brings me word:
Musicke in cares doth mine afford,
Thine joyes in rapine and the sword."
Here speech and strife had both their ending,
Phillis askt judgment, all suspending:
Much stir they made, yet ceast contending;
And sought a judge in homewards wending.
With countnances that egale[11] beene,
With egale majestie beseene:
With egale voyce, and egale spleene,
These virgins ward uppon the greene.
Phillis a white robe bewtifide,
Flora wore one of two hews dide:
Phillis upon a mule did ride,
Flora did back a horse of pride.
The mule was that which being create,
Neptune did feede, and subjugate:
Which after