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Eke what availetħ maner / and gentilesse
Withoute yow / benygne creature

Shal cruelte / be your gouerneresse

Allas what herte / may hyt longe endure
Wherfore but ye / the rather take cure

81

To breke that perilouse / alliaunce

Ye sleen hem that ben / in your obeisaunce

84

(13) (II. 2)

And further ouer / yf ye suffre this

Youre renouñ ys fordoo / in a throwe

Ther shal no mañ wete well / what pite is
Allas that euer your renouñ / is falle so lowe
Ye be also/fro youre heritage y-throwe
By cruelte / that occupieth youre place

88

And we despeyred / that spekeñ to your grace

91

(14) (II. 3)

Haue mercy oñ me / thow herenus quene
That yow haue sought / so tendirly and yore
Let somme streme of lyght / on me be sene

That loue and drede yow / euer lenger the more
For sothely for to seyne / I bere so soore
And thougħ I be not kunnynge / for to pleyne
For goddis loue / haue mercy on my peyne

95

98

(15) (Tern III. 1)

My peyne is this / that what so I desire
That haue I not ne no thing / lyke therto

And euer setteth desire / myn hert on fire

Eke on that other sydes / where so I goo
What maner thinge / that may encrese my woo
That haue I redy vnsoghte/ euery where
Me lakketh but my deth / and than my bere

102

105

46 PARLAMENT OF FOULES. Gg. 4. 27, CAMBR. UNIV. LIBR.

[MS Gg. 4. 27, Cambr. Univ. Libr. (vellum, ?1430-40 A.D.).]

Here begynyth the parlement of ffoulys. [on leaf 480, back]

(1) [The Proem.]

He lyf so short the craft so longe to lerne [leaf 481]
Thassay so sharp / so hard the conquerynge
The dredful Ioye / alwey that slit so zerne
Al this mene I/ be loue / that myn felynge

T

A-stonyd with his wondyrful werkynge

So sore I-wis/ that whan I on hym thynke
Nat wot I wel wher that I slete or synke

(2)

4

7

For al be that I knowe nat loue In dede
Ne wot how that he quitith folk here hyre
3it happith me ful ofte / in bokis reede
Of hise myraklis & his crewel yre

11

That rede I wel / he wele be lord & syre

I dar nat seyn/ his strokis been so sore
But god save swich a lord I sey na moore

Of

14

(3)

vsage what for lust & what for lore
On bokis rede I ofte / as I 30W tolde
But wherfore that I speke al this nat 300re
Agon. it happede me for to be-holde

18

Vp on a bok was wrete with letteris olde

And ther vpon a certeyn thing to lerne The longe day ful faste I redde & zerne (4)

For ofte of olde feldys / as men sey

21

Comyth al this newe1 corn from 3er to 3ere [1 in Corrector's hand]

And out of olde bokis in good fey

Comyth al this newe science that men lere

25

But now to purpos as of this matere

To rede forth so gan me to delite

PARLAMENT OF FOULES. Gg. 4. 27, CAMBR. UNIV. LIBR. 47

(5)

This bok of which I make of mencioun

Tullyus of the drem of sothion

Entytlt was al thus as I schal telle

Chapiteris seuene It hadde / of heuene & helle

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32

And erthe and soulis that thereon' dwelle [1o altered from y]

Of whiche as shortly as I can it trete

Of his centence I wele 30w seyn the greete

(6)

35

Fyrst tellith it whan scipion was come

[leaf 481, back]

In Affrik how he metyh massynisse

That hym for Ioie in armys hath I-nome

Thanne tellyth he here spche / & of the blysse

39

That was be-twixsyn hem thil that day gan mysse

And how his Auncestre Affrycan so deere
Gan in his slep that ny3t to hym a-pere

42

(7)

Thanne tellith it / that from a sterry place
How Affrycan hath hym cartage schewid /
And warnede hym be-forn of al his grace
And seyde what man lernyd oper lewid
That louede comoun profyt wel I-thewid
He shulde in to a blysful place wende
There as Ioye is pat last with outyn ende

(8)

Thanne axede he If folk that now been dede

Han lyf & dwellynge In a nothir place

And Affrican seyde za with outyn drede

And that oure present wordis lyuys space
Nys but a maner deth what weye we trace
And rightful folk schul gon aftyr they deye
To heuene/ & schewede hym the galylye

46

49

53

56

48 PARLAMENT OF FOULES. Gg. 4. 27, Cambr. Univ. LIBR.

(9)

Thanne shewede he hym the erthe that here is

At regard of the heuenys quantite

And after shewede he hym the nyne speris

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And was sumdel disseyuable & ful of harde grace
That he ne schulde hym in the world delyte
Thanne tolde he hym in certeyn zeris space

67

That euery sterre shulde come in to his place
Ther it was ferst & al schulde out of mynde
That in this world is don of al mankynde

(11)

Thanne preyede hym cypyon to telle hym al
The weye to come In to that heuene blis
And he seyde know thyn self ferst inmortal
And loke ay besyly thow werche & wysse
To comoun profit & thow shat not mysse

70

[leaf 482]

74

To comyn swiftly to this place deere

That ful of blysse is & soulys cleere

77

(12)

But brekeis of the lawe soth to seyn

And lykerous folk aftyr that they ben dede
Schul whirle a-boute pere alwey in peyne

Tyl manye a world be passid out of drede

81

And that for-3euyn is his weked dede

Than shal þey comyn in to this blysful place

PARLAMENT OF FOULES.

Gg. 4. 27, CAMBR. UNIV. LIBR. 49

(13)

The day gan folwyn & the derke nyzt
That revith bestis from here besynesse
Berafte me myn bok for lak of lyght
And to myn self I gan me for to dresse
Fulfyld of thou3t & busy heuynesse
For bothe I hadde thyng that I nolde
And ek I ne hadde thyng that I wolde

(14)

But fynally myn spirit at the laste
For-wery of myn labour al the day
Tok reste that made me to slepe faste
And In myn slep I mette as pat I lay
How affrican ryzt in the same a-ray
That1 cipion hym say by-fore that tyde
Was come & stod rizt at myn bedis syde

(15)

The wery huntere slepynge In his bed
To wode a-zen his mynde goth a-non

88

91

95

[That corrected]

98

The Iuge dremyth how hise pleis been sped

The cartere dremyth how his carte is gon

102

The riche of gold / the knyght fy3t with his fon

The syke met he drynkyth of the tunne

105

The louere met he hath his lady wonne

(16)

Can I nat seyn If that the cause were
For I hadde red of affrican by-foren
That made me to mete that he stod theer
But thus seyde he thow hast the so wel born

[leaf 482, back]

109

In lokynge of myn olde bok by-forn
Of whiche Macrobye roughte nat a lyte

That sumdel of thyn labour wolde I quyte

112

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