He wolde come, and her deliver of peyne, As I reherse shal a word or tweyne.

Me list nat vouche-sauf on him to swinke, Ne spende on him a penne ful of inke, 2491 For fals in love was he, right as his syre; The devil sette hir soules bothe a-fyre! But of the lettre of Phillis wol I wryte A word or tweyne, al-thogh hit be but lyte. (102) 2495 "Thyn hostesse,' quod she, 'O Demophon, Thy Phillis, which that is so wo begon, Of Rodopeye, upon yow moot compleyne, Over the terme set betwix us tweyne, That ye ne holden forward, as ye seyde; Your anker, which ye in our haven leyde, 2501

Highte us, that yo wolde comen, out of doute,

Or that the mone ones wente aboute. (110) But tymes foure the mone hath hid her face

Sin thilke day ye wente fro this place, 2505 And foure tymes light the world again. But for al that, yif I shal soothly sain, Yit hath the streem of Sitho nat y-broght From Athenes the ship; yit comth hit noght.

And, yif that ye the terme rekne wolde, As I or other trewe lovers sholde,

2511

But here and there in ryme I have hit laid,

Ther as me thoughte that she wel hath said.

She seide,thy sailes comen nat again, Ne to thy word ther nis no fey certein; But I wot why ye come nat,' quod she; 'For I was of my love to you so free. 2521 And of the goddes that ye han forswore, Yif that hir vengeance falle on yow therfore, (130)

Ye be nat suffisaunt to bere the peyne.
To moche trusted I, wel may I pleyne, 2525

Upon your linage and your faire tonge, And on your teres falsly out y-wronge. How coude ye wepe so by craft?' quod she;

'May ther swiche teres feyned be? Now certes, yif ye wolde have in memorie, Hit oghte be to yow but litel glorie 2531 To have a sely mayde thus betrayed! To god,' quod she, 'preye I, and ofte have prayed, (140) That hit be now the grettest prys of alle, And moste honour that ever yow shal befalle!

2535

And whan thyn olde auncestres peynted be,

In which men may hir worthinesse see, Than, preye I god, thou peynted be also, That folk may reden, for-by as they go, "Lo! this is he, that with his flaterye 2540 Betrayed hath and doon her vilanye That was his trewe love in thoghte and dede!"

2545

But sothly, of oo point yit may they rede,
That ye ben lyk your fader as in this; (151)
For he begyled Adriane, y-wis,
With swiche an art and swiche sotelte
As thou thy-selven hast begyled me.
As in that point, al-thogh hit be nat fayr,
Thou folwest him, certein, and art his eyr.
But sin thus sinfully ye me begyle, 2550
My body mote ye seen, within a whyle,
Right in the haven of Athenes fletinge,
With-outen sepulture and buryinge; (160)
Thogh ye ben harder then is any stoon.'
And, whan this lettre was forth sent

Incipit Legenda Ypermistre.

2565

Is Grece whylom weren brethren two,
Of whiche that oon was called Danao,
That many a sone hath of his body wonne,
As swiche false lovers ofte conne.
Among his sones alle ther was oon
That aldermost he lovede of everichoon.
And whan this child was born, this Danao
Shoop him a name, and called him
Lino.

That other brother called was Egiste, 2570
That was of love as fals as ever him
liste,
(10)

And many a doghter gat he in his lyve;
Of which he gat upon his righte wyve
A doghter dere, and dide her for to calle
Ypermistra, yongest of hem alle ; 2575
The whiche child, of her nativitee,
To alle gode thewes born was she,
As lyked to the goddes, or she was born,
That of the shefe she sholde be the
corn;
(18)
The Wirdes, that we clepen Destinee, 2580
Hath shapen her that she mot nedes be
Pitouse, sadde, wyse, and trewe as steel;
And to this woman hit accordeth weel.
For, though that Venus yaf her greet
beautee,

With Jupiter compouned so was she 2585 That conscience, trouthe, and dreed of shame,

And of her wyfhood for to kepe her name,
This, thoughte her, was felicitee as here.
And rede Mars was, that tyme of the
yere,

So feble, that his malice is him raft, 2590
Repressed hath Venus his cruel craft; (30)
+What with Venus and other oppressioun
Of houses, Mars his venim is adoun,
That Ypermistra dar nat handle a knyf
In malice, thogh she sholde lese her lyf.
But natheles, as heven gan tho turne, 2596
To badde aspectes hath she of Saturne,

Or by the fatal sustren had my dom, 2630 So ny myn herte never thing me com (70) As thou, myn Ypermistra, doghter

dere !

Tak heed what I thy fader sey thee here,

And werk after thy wyser ever-mo.

For alderfirste, doghter, I love thee so 2635
That al the world to me nis half so leef;
Ne I nolde rede thee to thy mischeef
For al the gode under the colde mone;
And what I mene, hit shal be seid right
sone,

With protestacioun, as in this wyse, 2640
That, but thou do as I shal thee devyse,
Thou shalt be deed, by him that al hath
wroght!
(81)

At shorte wordes, thou n'escapest noght Out of my paleys, or that thou be deed, But thou consente and werke after my reed; 2645

Tak this to thee for ful conclusioun.'

This Ypermistra caste her eyen doun, And quook as dooth the leef of aspe

LITEL Lowis my sone, I have perceived wel by certeyne evidences thyn abilite to lerne sciencez touchinge noumbres and proporciouns; and as wel considere I thy 5 bisy preyere in special to lerne the Tretis of the Astrolabie. Than, for as mechel as a philosofre seith, he wrappeth him in his frend, that condescendeth to the rightful preyers of his frend,' ther-for 10 have I geven thee a suffisaunt Astrolabie as for oure orizonte, compowned after the latitude of Oxenford; up-on which, by mediacion of this litel tretis, I purpose to teche thee a certein nombre of conclu15 sions apertening to the same instrument.

seye a certein of conclusiouns, for three causes. The furste cause is this: truste wel that alle the conclusiouns that han ben founde, or elles possibly mighten be 20 founde in so noble an instrument as an Astrolabie, ben un-knowe perfitly to any mortal man in this regioun, as I suppose. A-nother cause is this; that sothly, in any tretis of the Astrolabie that I have seyn, 25 there ben some conclusions that wole nat in alle thinges performen hir bihestes; and some of hem ben to harde to thy tendre age of ten yeer to conseyve. This tretis, divided in fyve parties, wole I shewe 30 thee under ful lighte rewles and naked wordes in English; for Latin ne canstow

yit but smal, my lyte sone. But natheles, suffyse to thee thise trewe conclusiouns in English, as wel as suffyseth to thise noble clerkes Grekes thise same conclusiouns in 35 Greek, and to Arabiens in Arabik, and to Jewes in Ebrew, and to the Latin folk in Latin; whiche Latin folk han hem furst out of othre diverse langages, and writen in hir owne tonge, that is to sein, in 40 Latin. And god wot, that in alle thise langages, and in many mo, han thise conclusiouns ben suffisantly lerned and taught, and yit by diverse rewles, right as diverse pathes leden diverse folk the 45 righte wey to Rome. Now wol I prey meekly every discreet persone that redeth or hereth this litel tretis, to have my rewde endyting for excused, and my superfluite of wordes, for two causes. The 50 firste cause is, for that curious endyting and hard sentence is ful hevy atones for swich a child to lerne. And the seconde cause is this, that sothly me semeth betre to wryten un-to a child twyes a good 55 sentence, than he forgete it ones. And Lowis, yif so be that I shewe thee in my lighte English as trewe conclusiouns touching this matere, and naught only as trewe but as many and as subtil con- 60 clusiouns as ben shewed in Latin in any commune tretis of the Astrolabie, con me