Chaucerian and Other Pieces. VariousЧитать онлайн книгу.

and to prepare a somewhat full glossary, may thus practically convince himself, as I have done, that not a single piece in the present volume ought ever to have been 'attributed' to Chaucer. That any of them should have been so attributed—and some of them never were—has been the result of negligence, superficiality, and incapacity, such as (it may be hoped) we have seen the last of.

I wish once more to acknowledge my obligations to Mr. E. B. Nicholson, for the loan of his transcript of The Praise of Peace; to Mr. Bradley, for his discovery of the authorship of The Testament of Love and for other assistance as regards the same; to Dr. E. Krausser, for his edition of The Complaint of the Black Knight; to Dr. Gröhler, for his dissertation on La Belle Dame sans Mercy; and to Professor Hales for his kind help as to some difficult points, and particularly with regard to The Court of Love.

THE TESTAMENT OF LOVE.

PROLOGUE.

Many men there ben that, with eeres openly sprad, so

moche swalowen the deliciousnesse of jestes and of ryme,

by queynt knitting coloures, that of the goodnesse or of the

badnesse of the sentence take they litel hede or els non.

Soothly, dul wit and a thoughtful soule so sore have myned

and graffed in my spirites, that suche craft of endyting wol not

ben of myn acqueyntaunce. And, for rude wordes and boystous

percen the herte of the herer to the in[ne]rest point, and planten

there the sentence of thinges, so that with litel helpe it is able

to springe; this book, that nothing hath of the greet flode of

wit ne of semelich colours, is dolven with rude wordes and

boystous, and so drawe togider, to maken the cacchers therof

ben the more redy to hente sentence.

Some men there ben that peynten with colours riche, and

some with vers, as with red inke, and some with coles and

chalke; and yet is there good matere to the leude people of

thilke chalky purtreyture, as hem thinketh for the tyme; and

afterward the sight of the better colours yeven to hem more

joye for the first leudnesse. So, sothly, this leude clowdy occupacion

is not to prayse but by the leude; for comunly leude

leudnesse commendeth. Eke it shal yeve sight, that other

precious thinges shal be the more in reverence. In Latin

and French hath many soverayne wittes had greet delyt to

endyte, and have many noble thinges fulfild; but certes, there

ben some that speken their poysye-mater in Frenche, of whiche

speche the Frenche men have as good a fantasye as we have

in hering of Frenche mennes English. And many termes there

ben in English, [of] whiche unneth we Englishmen connen declare

the knowleginge. How shulde than a Frenche man born suche

termes conne jumpere in his mater, but as the jay chatereth

English? Right so, trewly, the understanding of Englishmen

wol not strecche to the privy termes in Frenche, what-so-ever we

bosten of straunge langage. Let than clerkes endyten in Latin,

for they have the propertee of science, and the knowinge in that

facultee; and let Frenchmen in their Frenche also endyten their

queynt termes, for it is kyndely to their mouthes; and let us

shewe our fantasyes in suche wordes as we lerneden of our dames

tonge.

And although this book be litel thank-worthy for the leudnesse

in travaile, yet suche wrytinges excyten men to thilke thinges that

ben necessarie; for every man therby may, as by a perpetual

mirrour, seen the vyces or vertues of other, in whiche thing

lightly may be conceyved to eschewe perils, and necessaries to

cacche, after as aventures have fallen to other people or persons.

Certes, [perfeccion is] the soveraynest thing of desyre, and

moste †creatures resonable have, or els shulde have, ful appetyte

to their perfeccion; unresonable beestes mowen not, sith reson

hath in hem no werking. Than resonable that wol not is comparisoned

to unresonable, and made lyke hem. For-sothe, the

most soverayne and fynal perfeccion of man is in knowing of

a sothe, withouten any entent disceyvable, and in love of oon

very god that is inchaungeable; that is, to knowe and love his

creatour.

¶ Now, principally, the mene to bringe in knowleging and

loving his creatour is the consideracion of thinges made by the

creatour, wherthrough, by thilke thinges that ben made understonding

here to our wittes, arn the unsene privitees of god

made to us sightful and knowing, in our contemplacion and

understonding. These thinges than, forsoth, moche bringen us

to the ful knowleginge [of] sothe, and to the parfit love of the

maker of hevenly thinges. Lo, David sayth, 'thou hast delyted

me in makinge,' as who sayth, to have delyt in the tune, how god

hath lent me in consideracion of thy makinge.

Wherof Aristotle, in the boke de Animalibus, saith to naturel

philosophers: 'it is a greet lyking in love of knowinge their

creatour; and also in knowinge of causes in kyndely thinges.'

Considred, forsoth, the formes of kyndly thinges and the shap,

a greet kindely love me shulde have to the werkman that

hem made. The crafte of a werkman is shewed in the werke.

Herfore, truly, the philosophers, with a lyvely studie, many

noble thinges right precious and worthy to memory writen;

and by a greet swetande travayle to us leften of causes [of] the

propertees in natures of thinges. To whiche (therfore) philosophers

it was more joy, more lykinge, more herty lust, in

kyndely vertues and maters of reson,

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