Oute of the castel, sothe to seye.
Tho saugh I stond in a valeye,
Under the castel faste by,
An house, that domus Dedaly,1
That Laboryntus ycleped ys,
Nas made so wonderlych ywis,
Ne half so queyntlyche ywrought.
And evermo, so swyft as thought,
This queynte hous aboute wente,
That nevermo stille hyt stente.
And theroute come so grete a noyse,
That had hyt stonde upon Oyse,2
Men myght hyt han herd esely
To Rome, I trowe sikerly.
And the noyse which I have herde,
For alle the world right so hyt ferde,
As dooth the rowtynge of the stoon,
That from thengyne ys leten goon.
And al thys hous of whiche I rede
Was made of twigges, salwe,5 rede
And green eke, and somme weren white,
Swiche as men to these cages thwite,"
Or maken of these panyers,
Or elles hattes or dossers ;7
That for the swough and for the twygges,
This house was also ful of gygges,8
And al so ful eke of chirkynges,
1 The labyrinth said to have been made by Dædalus for Minos Metamorphoses, viii. 155. 2 The river Oise, in northern France A machine for hurling stones in war. 4 Tell. 5 Oziers.
Baskets for the back. • Chatterings. Chirpings.
And of many other werkynges;
And eke this hous hath of entrees
As feele 2 as of leves ben on trees
In somer, whan they grene ben,
And on the rove 8 men may yet seen
A thousand holes, and wel moo,
To leten wel the soune oute goo.
And eke be day in every tyde
Been al the dores opened wide,
And be nyght echoon unshette,
Ne porter ther is noon to lette
No maner tydynges in to pace;
Ne never rest is in that place,
That hit nys filde ful of tydynges,
Other loude or of whisprynges.
And over alle the houses angles
Ys ful of rounynges 5 and of jangles,
Of werres, of pes, of mariages,
Of restes, of labour of viages,
Of aboode, of deeth, of lyfe,
Of leve, of hate, acorde, of stryfe,
Of loos, of lore, and of wynnynges,
Of hele, of sekeness, of bildynges,
Of faire wyndes, of tempestes,
Of qwalme of folke, and eke of bestes;
Of dyvers transmutacions,
Of estates and eke of regions;
Of trust, of drede, of jelousye,
Of witte, of wynnynge, of folve;
• Entrances. 2 Many. Roof. Hinder. Whisperings.
Of plente, and of grete famyne,
Of chepe,1 of derthe, and of ruyne;
Of good or mysgovernement,
Of fire, and of dyvers accident.
And loo, thys hous of which I write,
Syker 2 be ye, hit nas not lyte ; 8
For hyt was sixty myle of lengthe,
Alle was the tymber of no strengthe;
Yet hyt is founded to endure
While that hit lyst to Aventure,*-
That is the moder of tydynges,
As the see of welles and of sprynges,
And hyt was shapen lyke a cage.
"Certys," quod I, "in al myn age,
Ne saugh I suche a hous as this."
And as I wondrede me, ywys,
Upon this hous, tho war was I
How that myn egle, faste by,
Was perched hye upon a stoon;
And I gan streghte to hym goon,
And seyde thus: "I preye the
That thou a while abide me
For goddis love, and lete me seen
What wondres in this place been;
For yit paraventure I may lere
Somme good theron, or sumwhat here
'That leef me were, or that I wente."
1 Market. Sure. Little. It was subject to Chance. 5 Truly
TO RELIEVE HEAVINESS.
But certeyn oon thyng I the telle,
That, but I bringe the therinne,
Ne shalt thou never kunne gynne1
To come into hyt, out of doute,
So faste hit whirleth, lo, aboute.
But sithe that Jovys, of his grace,
As I have seyde, wol the solace
Fynally with these thinges,
Unkouthe 2 syghtes and tydynges,
Suche routhe hath he of thy distresse, -
To passe with thyn hevynesse,
That thou suffrest debonairly,
And wost thy-selfen outtirly,
Disesperat of alle blys,
Syth that Fortune hath made amys
The frot of al thyn hertes reste
Languish and eke in poynt to breste, -
That he thrugh hys myghty merite,
Wol do than ese, al be hyt lyte,"
And gaf in expresse commaundement,
To whiche I am obedient,
To further the with al my myght,
And wisse and teche the aryght,
Where thou maist most tydynges here,
Shaltow here anoon many oon lere."
With this worde he ryght anoon
Hente me up bytwexe his toon,
And at a wyndowe yn me broghte,
1 Know contrivance. • Unknown. 3 In despair (Fr. désespóré). Fruit.
That in this hous was, as me thoghte, -
And therwithalle me thought hit stente,
And no thinge hyt aboute wente,
And me set in the flore adoun.
But whiche a congregacioun 1
Of folke, as I saugh rome aboute,
Some within and some withoute,
Nas never seen, ne shal ben eft,2
That, certes, in the worlde nys left
So many formed be Nature,
Ne dede so many a creature,
That wel unnethe in that place
Hadde I a fote brede of space;
And every wight that I saugh there
Rounede in others ere
A newe tydynge prevely,
Or elles tolde alle oppenly
Ryght thus, and seyde, "Nost not thou
That ys betyde, late or now?"
"No," quod he, "telle me what." And than he tolde hym this and that, And swore therto that hit was sothe, "Thus hath he sayde," and "Thus he dothe,” And "Thus shal hit be," and "Thus herde I
"That shal be founde,'
," "That dare I leye."
That alle the folke that ys a lyve
Ne han the kunnynge to discryve
1 Compare 11. 830 and 944 with Inferno, iii. 52, 55, etc. after this. Scarcely. Whispered.
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