That sercle wol cause another whele,

And that the thridde, and so forth, brother,

Every sercle causynge other,

Wydder than hymselfe was.

And this fro roundel to compas,

290

Eche aboute other goynge,
Caused of othres sterynge,
And multiplyinge evermoo,
Til that hyt be so fer ygoo
That hyt at bothe brynkes bee.
Al thou mowen hyt not ysee
Above, hyt gooth yet ay under,

Although thou thenke hyt a grete wounder.
And who-so seyth of trouthe I varye,1

Bid hym proven the contrarye.

And ryght thus every worde, ywys,
That lowde or pryvee yspoken ys,
Moveth first an ayre aboute,
And of thys movynge, out of doute,
Another ayre anoon ys meved,
As I have of the watir preved,
'That every cercle causeth other.
Ryght so of ayre, my leve brother;
Everych ayre other stereth2

More and more, and speche up bereth,
Or veys, or noyse, or worde, or soun,
Aye through multiplicacioun,

Til hyt be atte House of Fame,
Take yt in ernest or in game.

1 I vary from truth. 2 Directeth.

300

310

SOUND'S MANSION.

2

"Now have I tolde, yf ye have in mynde,
How speche or soun, of pure kynde
Enclyned ys upwarde to meve;
This mayst thou fele wel y-preve.
And that summe stide,1 ywys,
That every thynge enclyned to ys,
Hath his kyndelyche stede :
That sheweth hyt, withoute drede,
That kyndely the mansioun
Of every speche, of every soun,
Be hyt eyther foule or faire,
Hath hys kynde place in ayre.
And syn that every thynge that is
Out of hys kynde place, ywys,
Moveth thidder for to goo,
Gif hyt a-wey be therfro,
As I before have preved the,

8

Hyt seweth, every soun, parde,
Moveth kyndely to pace
Al up into his kyndely place.
And this place of which I telle,
Ther as Fame lyst to duelle,
Ys sette amyddys of these three,
Hevene, erthe, and eke the see,
As most conservatyf the soun.
Than ys this the conclusyoun,
'That every speche of every man,
As I the telle first began,

Moveth up on high to pace

Kyndely to Fames place.

1 Place. Naturally the abode. 8 Followeth.

31

320

330

340

"Telle me this feythfully,

Have I not preved thus symply,
Withouten any subtilite

Of speche, or grete prolyxite.
Of termes of philosophie,

Of figures of poetrie,

Or coloures, or rethorike?

Pardee, hit oughte the to lyke;

For harde langage, and hard matere
Ys encombrouse for to here

Attones; wost thou not wel this?"
And I answered and seyde, "Yis."

"A ha!" quod he, "lo, so I can,
Lewdely to a lewed 1 man
Speke, and shewe hym swyche skiles,"
That he may shake hem be the biles,
So palpable they shulden be.

But telle me this now pray I the,
How thenketh the my conclusyoun?"
“A goode persuasioun,"

Quod I, "hyt is; and lyke to be

Ryght so as thou hast preved me."

"Be God," quod he, “and as I leve,* Thou shalt have yet, or hit be eve,

Of

every word of thys sentence

A preve by experience;

And with thyn eres heren wel
Toppe and taylle, and everidel,”

1 Unlearnedly to a layman. • Reasons.

350

360

370

8 Become acquainted

with them. (Bills is an appropriate word in an eagle's mouth. Believe 5 Everything.

SOARING UP.

That every word that spoken ys
Cometh into Fames House, ywys,

As I have seyde; what wilt thou more?"
And with this word upper to sore

i

He gan, and seyde, "Be Seynt Jame !
Now wil we speken al of game."

"How fairest thou?" quod he to me. "Wel," quod I. "Now see," quod he, "By thy trouthe, yonde adoune,

8

Wher that thou knowest any toune,

Or hous, or any other thinge.

And whan thou hast of ought knowynge,

Looke that thou warne me,

And I anoon shal telle the

How fer that thou art now therfro."

And I adoun gan loken thoo,
And behelde feldes and playnes,

And now hilles, and now mountaynes,
Now valeys, and now forestes,

And now unnethes grete bestes;
Now ryveres, now citees,

Now tounes, and now grete trees,
Now shippes seyllynge in the see.
But thus sone in a while hee
Was flowen fro the grounde so hye,
That al the worlde, as to myn ye,
No more semede than a prikke;
Or elles was the aire so thikke
That I ne myghte not discerne.

1 Higher (more up). Pleasantry
3

VOL. III.

8 Whether.

33

380

390

409

With that he spak to me as yerne,1

And seyde: "Seestow any token,

Or ought that in this world is of spoken?"
I seyde, "Nay." "No wonder nys,"
Quod he, "for half so high as this

Nas Alexandre Macedo;"

Ne the kynge, daun Cipio,3

410

That saw in dreme, at poynt devys,*
Helle and erth, and paradys ;
Ne eke the wrechche Didalus,5
Ne his childe, nyse Ykarus,
That fleegh so highe that the hete
His wynges malte, and he fel wete
In myd the see, and ther he dreynt,
For whom was maked moch compleynt.
"Now turne upward," quod he, "thy face,
And beholde this large place,

This eyre; but loke thou ne be

Adrad of hem that thou shalt se;

For in this regioun certeyn
Dwelleth many a citezeyn,

Of which that speketh daun Plato.
These ben eyrysshe bestes, lo!"
And so saw I alle that meynee,"

Boothe goone and also flee.

"Now," quod he thoo, "cast up thyn ye;

420

and after the battle o 8 Cf. ii. 6. Exactly

1 Briskly. 2 Alexander dreamed at Dios, before his Asiatic cam. paign (see Josephus, Antiquities, xi. 8, 5), Issus. See Clough's Plutarch, iv. 189. Dædalus and his son Icarus flew with wings of wax. Cf. In ferno, xvii. 109; Metamorphoses, viii 183. Ethereal creatures. Cf. Rev. iv. 6-9; and Wiclif's version of 1 Cor. xv. 44, It is sowun beestli bodi." Company.

66