314

LACK OF STEDFASTNESS. HARL. MS. 7333.

Lenvoye /

O prince desire for to beo honourable
Cherishe thi folke and hate extorcioune
Suffre noo thing þat may beo Reprovable
To thin Estate/ doone in thi Regyoune
Shewe forpe by swerde of castigacioune
Drede god do lawe / love thorow all goodnesse

And drive thi peple ageyne to stedfastnesse

22

[col. 2]

25

28.

XIX.

Fortune.

(THREE BALADES, WITH AN ENVOY.)

FROM

MS. Ii. 3. 21, CAMBR. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY.

316

FORTUNE. MS. 1. 3. 21, CAMBR.

FORTUNE.

[Camb. Univ. MS. Ii. 3. 21, vellum.]

[In this MS. of Chaucer's Boece, his Former Age and For-

tune come in between the Fifth Metre and the Sixth Prose.]

Causer Balades de vilage sanz peinture.

(1) (I. 1) (-oun, -our, -ye)

¶ This wrecched worlde-is transmutacioun

as wele / or wo / now poeere and now honour

with-owten ordyr or wis descresyoun

gouerned is by fortunes errour

but natheles the lakke of hyr fauowr

ne may nat don me syngen thowh .I. deye

Iay tout perdu moñ temps et moñ labour

For fynaly fortune .I. the deffye

(2) (I. 2)

317

FORTUNE. MS. 1. 3. 21, CAMBR.

(4) (II. 1) (-one, -uunce, -yue)

Le respounce de fortune a pleintif

¶ No man ys wrechchyd but hym self yt wene

And he pat hath hym self hat suffisaunce

Whi seysthow thanne y am [to] the so kene

but hast thy self owt of my gouernaunce

Sey thus graunt mercy of thyn haboundaunce

that thow hast lent or this why wolt pou stryue

what woost thow yit how y the wol auaunce

And ek thow hast thy beste frende a lyue

(5) (II. 2)

¶ I haue the tawht deuisyoun by-twene

Frend of effect and frende of cowntenaunce

The nedeth nat the galle of no hyene

bat cureth eyen derkyd for penance

Now se[ist]' thow cleer þat weere in ignoraunce

yit halt thin ancre and yit thow mayst aryue

ther bownte berth the keye of my substaunce

And ek pou hast thy beste frende alyue

(6) (II. 3)

¶ How manye haue .I. refused to sustigne2

Syn.I. the fostred haue in thy plesaunce

Wolthow thanne make a statute on þy quyene

bat .I. shal ben ay at thy ordynaunce

thow born art in my regne of varyaunce

[se[ist]-partly
erast, and ist

written on it in

a later hand.]

40

igne of sustigne
is in a later hand.]

abowte the wheel with oother most thow dryue

My loore is bet than wikke is thi greuaunce

And ek pou hast thy beste frende a-lyue

(7) (III. 1) (-e, -esse, -ayle)

Le Respounce du pleintif countre fortune

Thy loore y dempne / it is aduersyte

My frend maysthow nat reuen blynde goddesse

bat .I. thy frendes knowe .I. thanke to the

Tak hem agayn / lat hem go lye on presse

the negardye in kepynge hyr rychesse

prenostik is thow wolt hir' towr' asayle

wikke appetyt comth ay before sykenesse

in general this rewle may nat fayle

318

FORTUNE. MS. I. 3. 21, CAMBR.

(8) (III. 2) Le respounce de fortune countre le pleintif

¶ Thow pynchest at my mutabylyte

For .I. the lente a drope of my rychesse

And now me lykyth to with-drawe me

57

(10) Lenuoy de fortune (-esse, -eyne)

¶ Prynses .I. prey yow of yowre gentilesses

73

Lat nat this man on me thus crye and pleyne

And .I. shal quyte yow yowre bysynesse

76

at my requeste as thre of yow or tweyne

þat but
yow lest releue hym of hys peyne

preyeth hys best frend of his noblesse

That to som betere estat he may attayne

79