Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden maonachi Cestrensis; together with the English translations of John Trevisa and of an unknown writer of the fifteenth century.

Capitulum tertium.

THEREFORE thauȝhe man haue convenience with the worlde, after thynges aforeseide, and with the contentes off hit, neuer|thelesse he differrethe from the worlde in mony prerogatifes of his condicion. But thauȝhe the body of man was made in the begynnenge of the erthe, hit was so proporcionate to the sawle that equalite of complexion was in hit, conformite of organizacion, rectitude of stature, and pulcritude of figure, and so the body scholde be afterwarde obtemperate to the sawle with owte fiȝhte of rebellion, vegetable with owte defawte of strenghte, immutable with owte corrupcion of mortalite. And also the concepcion of men scholde be withowte schame, the byrthe with owte sorowe, lyvenge with owte laboure, the movenge of membres with owte erroure. Paradise was ȝifen

to man as a inhabitacion, where he scholde reioyce thynges afore seide, and a woman was ȝiffen to be his felowe, the tre of lyfe to refreschenge, euery creature to a solace, and at the laste God was ȝifen to hym in to rewarde. But allas so nowble a sterre hade soone a falle that spronge fulle tymely, whiche sette in honor hade not knowlege of hym selfe, whiche is comparable to brute bestes in drawenge to thynges prohibitte, in so moche that the corrupte body from that day laborethe to greve the sawle. For scripture dothe expresse that the flesche covetethe ageyne the sawle, and the wittes of a man be prompte to synne, and the propre wittes of a man be enmyes to hym, so that temptacion is alle the lyfe of man on the erthe. And also the accidentalle thynges of the sawle punnysche and transmute the body, soe in lyke wise the passiones of the body redunde in to the per|turbacion of the sawle, wherefore assiduite of feyntenesse longethe to a man, impossibilite of permanence, lyȝhtenes to falle, difficulte to aryse, [a ryse, MS., and similarly else|where.] disease to lyve, and necessite to dye. Plinius, libro 17^o, capitulo 13^o. And sythe other

thynges brouȝhte furthe other haue schelles, barke, skynnes, hure, plumes other pennes, or scales; a man entrethe in to this worlde bare and nakede, wontenge eny couerenge, wepenge in his begynnenge, more feble then eny other beste. For he can not do eny other thynge of him selfe but wepe. The lyfe of noon other thynge is more frayle, replete with moste infirmite, noo beste moore leccherous. For alle other bestes luffe to gedre in theire kynde, and lyve to gedre, not cruelle but to bestes of other kyndes and contrarious to theim; but a man is contrarious oftetymes to his kynde and to hym selfe. ℞. Where fore ij. infortunys be ȝiffen to man by ryȝhteuousenes, oon is interialle in that he caste furthe his partes interialle in his lyve, he scholde not haue theim now in tranquillite, but that the partes interialle scholde be to hym a conflicte. That other infortuny is exterialle, that man scholde haue his inferior rebellante to hym, in that he was inobediente to God his maker, so that

bestes and other creatures, whiche were create to the solace of man, to the sustentacle of recreacion, to the obsequy of subieccion, to the spectacle of admiracion, flec in grete parte the siȝhte of man, abhorrenge his towchenge, takenge not hym as theire lorde.