THE MONK PATIENT.

327

Of Venus paiementz than mowe we. (13,967 T.)
God woot, no Lussheburghes' payen ye!
But be nat wrooth, my lord, for that I pleye,
Ful ofte, 'in game a sooth,' I have herd seye!"
This worthy Monk took al in pacience
And seyde, "I wol doon al my diligence,
As fer as sowneth in-to honestee,2
To telle yow a tale, or two, or three;
And if yow list to herkne hyderward,
I wol yow seyn the lyf of Seint Edward,
Or ellis, first, tragedies wol I telle,

Of whiche I have an hundred in my celle.'
"Tragedie is to seyn a certeyn storie,

4

As olde bookes maken us memorie,

7580

7590

Of hym that stood in greet prosperitee
And is yfallen out of heigh degree
In to myserie, and endeth wrecchedly;
And they ben versified communely
Of six feet, which men clepen exametron.
In prose eek been endited many oon,
And eek in meetre in many a sondry wyse ;
Lo, this declaryng oghte ynogh suffise.
Now herkneth, if yow liketh for to heere ;
But first, I yow biseeke in this mateere,
Though I by ordre telle nat thise thynges
Be it of popes, emperours, or kynges,
After hir ages as men writen fynde,

But tellen hem, som bifore and som bihynde,

Base coins. Elles. MS. has "lussheburgh."

2 Consists with

propriety. Religious house. Or, probably, " celle fantastik." Cf

1376.

Cf. 1. 8373, and Boethius, bk. ii., pr. z.

As it now comth un-to my remembraunce, 7601 Have me excused of min ignoraunce."

Heere bigynneth The Monkes Tale, de Casibus Virorum Illustrium.1

I wol biwaille, in manere of tragedie,

The harm of hem that stoode in heigh de

gree,

(13,998 T.)

And fillen so that ther nas no remedie

To brynge hem out of hir adversitee;
For certein, whan that Fortune list to flee,
Ther may no man the cours of hire withholde.
Lat no man truste on blynd prosperitee; 7609
Be war by thise ensamples trewe and olde.
At LUCIFER, though he an angel were,
at hym wol I bigynne,

And nat a man,

For though Fortune may noon angel dere,*
From heigh degree yet fel he for his synne
Doun in-to helle, where he yet is inne.
O Lucifer! brightest of angels alle,

Now artow Sathanas that mayst nat twynne
Out of miserie in which that thou art falle.

Loo ADAM, in the feeld of Damyssene.
With Goddes owene fynger wroght was he, 7620
And nat bigeten of mannes sperme unclene,

1 De Casibus Virorum Illustrium is the title of one of the works f Boccaccio, which began with Adam and ended with King John of France, who was captured by the English in 1356. It was trans lated into Italian, Spanish, French, and English. The Monk's in stances are compiled from that and various other sources. 2 Dig ster. 8 Elles. MS. has "of." 4 Harm. Separate, depart.

ILLUSTRIOUS RUIN.

329

And welte1 all paradys savynge o tree.
Hadde nevere worldly man so heigh degree
As Adam, til he for mysgovernaunce
Was dryven out of hys hye prosperitee
To labour, and to helle, and to meschaunce.
LOO SAMPSON, which that was annunciat
By angel, longe er his nativitee,

And was to God Almyghty consecrat,
And stood in noblesse whil he myghte see.
Was nevere swich another as was hee,

7631

To speke of strengthe, and ther-with hardy

nesse ;

But to hise wyves toolde he his secree,

Thurgh which he slow hym self for wrecched.

nesse.

Sampson, this noble almyghty champioun,
With-outen wepene save his handes tweye,
He slow and al to-rente 2 the leoun,
Toward his weddyng walkynge by the weye.
His false wyf koude hym so plese and preye
Til she his conseil knew; and she untrewe 7640
Un-to hise foos his conseil gan biwreye,
And hym forsook, and took another newe.
Thre hundred foxes took Sampson for ire,
And alle hir tayles he togydre bond,
And sette the foxes tayles alle on fire,
For he on every tayl had knyt a brond;

And they brende alle the cornes in that lond,
And alle hire olyveres, and vynes eke.

1 Ruled (wieldea). 2 Completely rent. 8 Burned.

7648

A thousand men he slow eek with his hond,
And hadde no wepene but an asses cheke.
Whan they were slayn so thursted hym that he
Was wel ny lorn, for which he gan to preye
That God wolde on his peyne han som pitee,
And sende hym drynke, or elles moste he deye
And of this asses cheke, that was dreye,
Out of a wang-tooth 1 sprang anon a welle,
Of which he drank ynow,2 shortly to seye;
Thus heelpe hym God, as Judicum 3 can telle.
By verray force at Gazan, on a nyght,
Maugree Philistiens of that citee,

8

(14,054 T.,

The gates of the toun he hath up-plyght, 7661
And on his bak ycaryed hem hath hee
Hye on an hille, that men myghte hem see.

O noble, almyghty Sampson, lief and deere,
Had thou nat toold to wommen thy secree,
In all this world ne hadde been thy peere!
This Sampson nevere ciser drank, ne wyn,
Ne on his heed cam rasour noon, ne sheere,
By precept of the messager divyn ;
For alle hise strengthes in hise heeres weere ;
And fully twenty wynter, yeer by yeere,
He hadde of Israel the governaunce ;

7671

But soone shal he wepe many a teere,
For wommen shal hym bryngen to meschaunce
Un-to his lemman 5 Dalida he tolde

That in hise heeris al his strengthe lay,

1 Jaw-tooth. 2 Enough. Elles. MS. has "anon." of Judges. Strong drink (Lat. sicera). 5 Sweetheart.

8 'The book

"LO, SAMPSON !"

And falsly to hise foomen she hym solde;

1

331

And slepynge in hir barm up on a day 7678 She made to clippe or shere hise heres away, And made hise foomen al his craft espyen; And whan that they hym foond in this array, They bounde hym faste and putten out hise eyen.

But er his heer were clipped or yshave,

Ther was no boond with which men myghte him bynde ;

But now is he in prison in a cave,2

Where as they made hym at the queerne grynde.

O noble Sampson, strongest of mankynde ! O whilom juge, in glorie and in richesse! 7688 Now maystow wepen with thyne eyen blynde, Sith thou fro wele art falle in wrecchednesse.

8

The ende of this caytyf was as I shal seye; Hise foomen made a feeste up-on a day, And made hym as a fool biforn hem pleye; And this was in a temple of greet array; But atte laste he made a foul affray ;* For he the pilers shook and made hem falle, And doun fil temple and al, and ther it lay; And slow hym self, and eek his foomen alle : This is to seyn, the prynces everichoon; And eek thre thousand bodyes were ther slayn With fallynge of the grete temple of stoon. Of Sampson now wol I na moore sayn; 7702