A and sette it in the ecliptik lyne in my zodiak in the degre of the longitude of Venus, that is to seyn, in the I degre of Capricorne; and than sette I the point of F upward in the same signe by cause that latitude was north upon the latitude of Venus, that is to seyn, in the 4 degre fro the heved of Capricorne; and thus have 4 degrees bitwixe my two prickes. Than leide I down softly my compas, and sette the degre of the longitude upon the orisonte; tho toke I and waxed my label in manere of a peire tables to receyve distinctly the prickes of my compas. [376] Tho toke I thys forseide label, and leyde it fixe over the degre of my longitude; tho toke I up my compas and sette the point of A in the waxe on my label, as evene as I koude gesse, over the ecliptik lyne in the ende of the longitude, and sette the point of F endelonge in my label upon the space of the latitude, inward and over the zodiak, that is to seyn northward fro the ecliptik. Than leide I doun my compas, and loked wel in the wey upon the prickes of A and of F; tho turned I my ryet til that the pricke of F satt upon the orisonte; than sawe I wel that the body of Venus in hir latitude of degrees septemtrionals ascendid in the ende of the 8 degre fro the heved of Capricorne.

And nota that in this manere maist thou wirke with any latitude septemtrional in alle signes. But sothly the latitude meridional of a planete in Capricorne ne may not be take by cause of the litel space bitwixe the ecliptyk and the bordure of the Astrelabie; but sothely in all othre signes it may. [382]

375. 4 degrees, Dd1 2 degrees.
381. 8 degre fro, Dd 6 degree in.

2 pars hujus conclus Also the degre peraventure f or of a nother planete, was in degre of Piscis in longitude, and basi was 2 degrees meridional; tho to point of A and sette it in the s of Piscis on the ecliptike; and tha I the point of F dounward in a signe by cause that the latitude

•

2 degres, that is to seyn, fro the h Piscis; and thus have 2 degres 201 bothe prikkes. Than sette I thi of the longitude upon the orisonte toke I my label, and leide it fr the degre of the longitude; the fi the point of A on my label event #Z ! ecliptik lyne in the ende of the de the longitude, and sette the prin endlonge in my label the space of 22

of the latitude outward fro the rod is to seyn southward fro the ecliptik the bordure), and turned my riet the pricke of F saat upon the or Than say I wel that the body of 1: in his latitude of 2 degres ma ascendid with 8 degres of Piscis e scopo. And in this manere maist wirke with any latitude meridional first seide, save in Capricorne. A thou wilt pleye this crafte with the are of the mone, loke thou rekne wel hire houre by houre, for she ne dwellit a degre of his longitude but litel E thow wel knowist. But natheles v rekne hir verrey moevyng by thy houre after houre- [391]

(Left unfinished.)

383. 2 degrees, Dd1 3 degrees. Simi 384, 386, 388 (My agrees with B1) 388. 8 degres, Dd1 14 degrees; My 6 deg

MANY men sayn that in sweveninges
Ther nys but fables and lesynges;
But men may some swevenes sene
Whiche hardély that false ne bene,
But afterwarde ben apparaunt.
This maye I drawė to warraunt
An authour that hight Macrobes,
That halte nat dremés false ne lees,
But undothe us the avysioun
That whilom mettė kyng Cipioun.
And who-so saith, or weneth it be
A jape, or elles nycete,

To wene that dremès after falle,
Lette who so lyste a fole me calle.
For this trowe I, and say for me,
That dremės signifiaunce be
Of good and harme to many wightes,
That dremen in her slepe a nyghtes
Ful many thynges covertly,
That fallen after al openly.

Within my twenty yere of age,
Whan that Love taketh his cariage
Of yonge folke, I wentė soone
To bedde, as I was wont to done,
And faste I slepte; and in slepyng
Me mettė suche a swevenyng
That lyked me wonder wele.
But in that sweven is never a dele
That it nys afterwarde befalle,
Ryght as this dreme wol tel us alle.

Nowe this dreme wol I ryme a-right
To make your hertės gaye and lyght,
For Love it prayeth and also
Commaundeth me that it be so.
And if there any askė me,
Whether that it be he or she,

10

20

30

Howe [wil I] this booke whiche is here
Shal hatte, that I rede you here;

It is the Romance of the Rose,
In whiche al the Arte of Love I close. 40
The mater fayre is of to make:
God graunt me in gree that she it take
For whom that it begonnen is!
And that is she that hath y-wis

So mochel pris, and therto she
So worthy is biloved to be
That she wel ought of pris and ryght
Be cleped Rose of every wight.

50

That it was May me thoughtẻ tho-
It is .V. yere or more ago-
That it was May thus dreméd me,
In tyme of love and jolite,
That al thing gynneth waxen gay.
For ther is neither busk nor hay
In May that it nyl shrouded bene,
And it with newé levės wrene.
These wodes eek recoveren grene
That drie in wynter ben to sene.
And the erthe wexith proude withalle
For swote dewes that on it falle,
And [al] the pore estat forgette
In which that wynter had it sette.
And than bycometh the ground so proude,
That it wole have a newè shroude,
And makith so queynt his robe and faire
That it hath hewes an hundred payre,

Of gras and flouris, ynde and pers,
And many hewės ful dyvers.

That is the robe I mene, y-wis,

60

69

Through whiche the ground to preisen is.
The byrdes that han lefte her song

While thei suffridė cold so strong,
In wedres gryl and derk to sight,

37. wil I, supplied from Fr. 'ge voil.'

61. al, supplied by Skeat; but perhaps povre. 66. hath, MSS. had.

71. MS., which is imperfect in vv. 69-72,... en. 72. Th. han suffred.

80

90

Ben in May, for the sonnė bright,
So glade that they shewe in syngyng,
That in her hertis is sich lykyng,
That they mote syngen and be light.
Than doth the nyghtyngale hir myght
To make noyse and syngen blythe;
Thán is blisful many sithe
The chelaundre and [the] papyngay.
Than yonge folk entenden ay
Forto ben gay and amorous.
The tyme is than so saverous,
Hard is the hert that loveth nought
In May, whan al this mirth is wrought;
Whan he may on these braunches here
The smale briddės syngen clere
Her blesful swete song pitous.
And in this sesoun delytous,
Whan love affraieth alle thing,
Me thoughte a-nyght, in my sleping
Right in my bed, ful redily
That it was by the morowe erly,
And up I roos, and gan me clothe.
Anoon I wisshe myn hondis bothe.
A sylvre nedle forth y droughe
Out of an aguler queynt ynoughe,
And gan this nedle threde anon;
For out of toun me list to gon
The song of briddės forto here,
That in thise buskės syngen clere.
And in the swete seson that lefe is,
With a threde bastyng my slevis,
Alone I wente in my plaiyng,
The smalė foulės song harknyng,
That peyned hem ful many peyre
To synge on bowės blosmed feyre.
Iolyf and gay, ful of gladnesse,
Toward a ryver gan I me dresse,
That I herd renne faste by,
For fairer plaiyng non saugh I
Than playen me by that ryvere.
For from an hill that stood ther nere,
Cam doun the streme ful stif and bold;
Cleer was the water and as cold

100

110

The

As any welle is, soth to seyne.
And somdele lasse it was than Sey
But it was strayghter, wel away;
And never saugh I, er that day,
The watir that so wel lyked me,
And wondir glad was I to se
That lusty place and that ryvere.
And with that watir that ran so da
My face I wysshe. Tho saugh I wa
The botmė paved everydell
With gravel ful of stones shene.
The medewe softė, swote, and grete
Béet right on the watir syde.
Ful clere was than the morowtyde,
And ful attempre, out of drede.
Tho gan I walkẻ thorough the med
Dóunward ay in my pleiyng

The ryver syde costeiyng.
And whan I had a while goon,
I saugh a gardyn right anoon,
Ful long and brood, and euerydell
Enclosed was, and walled well
With highe wallès enbatailled,
Portraied without and wel entailled
With many riché portraitures.
And bothe the ymages and peyntures
Gan I biholde bysyly;

And I wole telle you redyly
Of thilk ymagès the semblaunce,
As fer as I have remembraunce.

Amyddė saugh I HATE stonde,
That for hir wrathė, yre, and onde
Semede to ben a meveresse,
An angry wight, a chideresse;
And ful of gyle and felle corage
By semblaunt was that ilk ymage.
And she was no thyng wel arraied,
But lyk a wode womman afraied.
Y-frounced foule was hir visage
And grennyng for dispitous rage;
Hir nose snorted up for tene.
Ful hidous was she forto sene,
Ful foule and rusty was she this;

103. As in Thynne; MS. And in [erasure] swete seson that swete over erasure] is. Fr. is 'En icele saison novele,' which makes one suspect that And in that sesoun that newe is was the original form of the line.

That other ymage, and, trustith wel, 170
She semede a wikked creature.
By countenaunce in portrayture
She semed be ful dispitous,

And eek ful proude and outragious.
Wel coude he peynte, I undirtake,
That sich ymagé coudė make.
Ful foule and cherlysshe semed she,
And eek vylayneus forto be,
And litel coude of norriture
To worshipe any creature.

And next was peynted COVEitise,
That eggith folk in many gise

180

190

To take and yeve right nought ageyne,
And gret tresouris up to leyne.
And that is she that for usure
Leneth to many a creature,
The lasse for the more wynnyng,
So coveteise is her brennyng.
And that is she for penyes fele,
That techith forto robbe and stele
These theves and these smale harlotes;
And that is routh, for by her throtes
Ful many oon hangith at the laste.
She makith folk compasse and caste
To taken other folkis thyng
Through robberie or myscounting.
And that is she that makith trechoures
And she makith false pleadoures,
That, with hir termes and hir domes,
Doon maydens, children, and eek gromes
Her heritage to forgo.

Ful croked were hir hondis two,

For coveitise is evere wode

To gripen other folkis gode;

201

Coveityse for hir wynnyng

Ful leef hath other mennès thing. Another ymage set saugh I Next Coveitisé faste by,

And she was clepid AVARICE.
Ful foule in peyntyng was that vice,
Ful fade and caytif was she eek,
And also grene as ony leek.
So yvel hewed was hir colour
Hir semed to have lyved in langour;
She was lyk thyng for hungrẻ deed,
That ladde hir lyf oonly by breed
Kneden with eisel strong and egre;
And therto she was lene and megre.
And she was clad ful porėly
Al in an old torn courtėpy,
As she were al with doggis torne ;
And both bihynde and eke biforne
Clóuted was she beggarly.

A mantyl henge hir faste by,
Upon a perché weike and small;
A burnet cote henge therwith-all,
Furred with no menyvere

But with a furre rough of here,
Of lambė skynnės hevy and blake;
It was ful old I undirtake,
For Avarice to clothe hir well

Ne hastith hir neveradell.

For certeynly it were hir loth
To weren ofte that ilkė cloth;
And if it were forwered she
Wolde have ful gret necessite

Of clothyng, er she bought hir newe,
Al were it bad of woll and hewe.
This Avarice hilde in hir hande

210

220

230

250

Was peynted ENVYE, that never lough,
Nor never wel in hir herte ferde,
But if she outher saugh or herde
Som gret myschaunce, or gret disese.
Nó thyng may so moch hir plese
As myschef and mysaventure;
Or whan she seeth discomfiture
Upon ony worthy man falle,
That likith hir wel with alle.
She is ful glade in hir corage,
If she se any grete lynage

Be brought to nought in shamful wise.

And if a man in honour rise,

Or by his witte or by his prowesse,
Of that hath she gret hevynesse.
For trustith wel she goth nygh wode,
Whan any chaungė happith gode.
Envie is of such crueltee

That feith ne trouth[e] holdith she
To freend ne felawė, bad or good.
Ne she hath kynne noon of hir blood,
That she nys ful her enemye;
She nolde, I dar seyn hardelye,
Hir ownė fadir ferde well.

And sore abieth she everydell
Hir malice and hir male talent,
For she is in so gret turment

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270

Or overthart all baggyngly.
And she hadde a foule usage,

She myght loke in no visage

Of man or womman forth-right pleyn,
But shette hir one eye for disdeyn;
So for Envié brennéd she,
Whan she myght any man y-se
That faire or worthi were, or wise,
Or ellės stode in folkis pryse.

SORWE was peynted next Envie
Upon that wall of masonrye,
But wel was seyn in hir colour
That she hadde lyved in langour;
Hir semede to have the jaunyce.
Nought half so pale was Avarice,
Nor no thyng lyk [as] of lenesse ;
For sorowe, thought, and gret distresse,
That she hadde suffred day and nyght.
Made hir ful yolwe and no thyng bright.
Ful fadė, pale, and megre also.
Was never wight yit half so wo
As that hir semède forto be,
Nor so fulfilled of ire as she.

I trowe that no wight myght hir please.
Nor do that thyng that myght hir ease;
Nor she ne wolde hir sorowe slake
Nor comfort noon unto hir take,
So depe was hir wo bigonnen
And eek hir hert in angre ronnen.
A sorowful thyng wel semed she,
Nor she hadde no thyng slowė be
Forto forcracchen al hir face,
And forto rent in many place
Hir clothis, and forto tere hir swire,
As she that was fulfilled of ire.
And al to-torn lay eek hir here
Aboute hir shuldris here and there,
As she that hadde it al to-rent
For angre, and for maltalent.
And eek I telle you certeynly
How that she wepe ful tendirly.

In worlde nys wyght so harde of herte
That had [he] sene her sorowes smerte,
That nolde have had of her pyte,

33

292. baggyngly, 'borgnoiant' (Cotgr. ta loure'); cp. B. of D. v. 623.

296. one eye, MS. eien; Fr. 'un cel.' 298. y-se, MSS. se; cp. 1401.

305. Either omit to, or read to have as tw. syllables.

325. swire, throat; nothing in Fr. corre sponding.