And with that word he with a fobre chere
Began his Tale, and fayde as ye fhull here.

THE MAN OF LAWES TALE.
Scathful harm, condition of poverte,

4528

With thirst, with cold, with hunger, fo confounded,
To afken helpe thee fhameth in thin herte,
If thou non afk, fo fore art thou ywounded,
That veray nede unwrappeth al thy wound hid.
Maugre thin hed thou must for indigence
Or ftele or begge, or borwe thy difpence.
Thou blameft Crift, and sayst ful bitterly,

4525

He mifdeparteth richeffe temporal;

Thy neighbour thou witeft finfully,

And fayft thou haft to litel and he hath all:

Parfay (fayft thou) fomtime he reken fhall,

4530

Whan that his tayl fhal brennen in the glede,
For he nought helpeth needful in hir nede.

Herken what is the fentence of the wife,

Bet is to dien than have indigence,

Thy felve neighbour wol thee despise;

4535

bake, B. ɛ. 1.—have wee bauke, E.-have we bake, B. §. HA. hawe ybake, Ca. 2.-the whiche hath no lak,Ca. 1.-The reader may take his choice of them.

The Man of LawesTale] Lady Cuftance, the Emperor's daughter of Rome, after her marriage with the Soudan of Surrey, through the malice of the Soudan's mother suffereth great trouble and mifery with her young child Maurice, but yet in the end is restored to comfort.

V.45 34. Bet is to dien] This faying of Solomon is quoted in Rom. de la Ro. 8573," Mieux vault mourir que pauvres oftre.”

If thou be poure farewel thy reverence.
Yet of the wife man take this sentence,
Alle the dayes of poure men ben wicke;
Beware therfore or thou come to that pricke.
If thou be poure thy brother hateth thee,
And all thy frendes fleen fro thee, alas!
riche marchants! ful of wele ben ye,
O noble, o prudent folk! as in this cas,
Your bagges ben not filled with ambes as,

4540

But with fis cink, that renneth for your chance; 4545

At Criftenmaffe mery may ye dance.

Ye feken lond and fee for your winninges;

As wife folk ye knowen all th' estat

Of regnes; ye ben fathers of tidinges
And tales both of pees and of debat:
I were right now of tales defolat,
N'ere that a marchant, gon is many a vere,
Me taught a Tale which that ye fhull here.
In Surrie whilem dwelt a compagnie
Of chapmen rich, and therto fad and trewe,
That wide were fenten hir spicerie,
Clothes of gold, and fatins riche of hewe:
Hir chaffare was fo thrifty and fe newe,
That every wight hath deintee to chaffare
With hem, and eke to fellen hem hir ware.

Now fell it that the maifters of that fort
Han fhapen hem to Rome for to wende,
Were it for chapmanhood or for difport,

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4555

4560

Non other meffage wold they thider fende,

But comen hemfelf to Rome, this is the ende; 4565
And in fwiche place as thought hem avantage
For hir entente they taken hir herbergage.
Sojourned han these marchants in that toun
A certain time, as fell to hir plefance:
And fo befell that the excellent renoun
Of the emperoures doughter, Dame Cuftance,
Reported was with every circumstance
Unto thefe Surrien marchants in fwiche wife
Fro day to day as I fhal you devife.

This was the commun vois of every man:
Our emperour of Rome, God him fe,
A doughter hath that fin the world began,
To recken as wel hire goodneffe as beaute,
N'as never fwiche another as is fhe;

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4575

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I pray to God in honour hire fuftene,
And wold fhe were of all Europe the quene.

In hire is high beaute withouten pride,

Youthe withouten grenehed or folic:

To all hire werkes vertue is hire guide;
Humbleffe hath flaien in hire tyrannie:

4585

She is mirrour of alle curtefie,

Hire herte is veray chambre of holineffe,

Hire hond miniftre of fredom for almeffe.

And al this vois was foth, as God is trewe;

But now to purpos let us turne agein.

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These marchants han don fraught hir fhippes newe,

And whan they han this blisful maiden fein
Home to Surrie ben they went ful fayn,
And don hir nedes, as they han dan yore,
And liven in wele; I can fay you no more.

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Now fell it that these marchants stood in grace

Of him that was the Soudan of Surrie;

For whan they came from any strange place
He wold of his benigne curtefie

Make hem good chere, and befily espie

Tidings of fundry regnes, for to lere

4600

Was for to love hire while his lif may dure.
Paraventure in thilke large book

4610

Which that men clepe the Heven ywritten was

With fterres, whan that he his birthe took,
That he for love fhuld han his deth, alas!
For in the fterres, clerer than is glas,
Is writen, God wot, who so coud it rede,

4615

The deth of every man withouten drede.

In sterres many a winter therbeforn

.4617. In ferres] This paffage is imitated from the Megacofmus of Bernardus Sylveftris, an eminent philofopher and

Was writ the deth of Hector, Achilles,
Of Pompey, Julius, or they were born;
The ftrif of Thebes, and of Hercules,
Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates
The deth; but mennes wittes ben fo dull
That no wight can wel rede it at the full.
This Soudan for his prive councel fent,

And fhortly of this matere for to pace,
He hath to hem declared his entent,

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And fayd hem certain, but he might have grace
To han Cuftance, within a litel space

He n'as but ded, and charged hem in hie
To fhapen for his lif fom remedie.

Diverfe men diverfe thinges faiden;
They argumentes caften up and doun;
Many a fubtil refon forth they laiden;

4630

poet about the middle of the 12th century. Fabric. Bibl. Med. Etat. in v. Bernardus Carnotenfis et Sylveftris. I will transcribe here the original lines from mf. Bod. 1265;

Prajacet in fellis feries, quam longior ætas
Explicet et fpatiis temporis ordo fuis,
Sceptra Phorone, fratrum difcordia Thebit,
Flamma Phethontis, Deucalionis aqua.
In ftellis Codri paupertas, copia Croefi,
Incefius Paridis, Hippolytique pudor.
Intellis Priami fpecies, audacia Turni,
Senfus Vlyxeus, Ilerculeufque vigor.
In ftellis pugil ett Pollux et navita Typhis
Et Cicero rhetor et geometra Thales.
In ftellis lepidum dictat Maro, Milo figurat,
Fulgurat in Latia nobilitate Nero.

Altra notat Perfis, Egyptus parturit artes,
Græcia docta legit, prælia Roma gerit.

The four lines in italicks are quoted in the margin of mf. C.