Early English versions of the Gesta Romanorum / edited by Sidney J.H. Herrtage

MORALITE.

Deere frendis, this Emperour is þe fadir of Heuene, þe whicℏ maade man or he tooke flessℏ. The Emperesse, þat conceivid, was þe blissid̛ virgine, þat conceivid̛ by þe Annunciation̛ of þe angiƚƚ. Þe firmament was sette in his most clernesse, scil. þe wordle was liȝtid̛ in aƚƚ his parteys, by þe concepcion̛ of þe Empresse, our lady.

The pale mone was þe state of our lady, liȝtid and shadewid with þe grace of þe holy gost; And not only in þe face, but in aƚƚ þe body of hire was maad faire, and she with childe like as an othir woman̛ wer̛, In so moche þat Iosep wolde priuely haue lefte hire. The litiƚƚ brid, þat passid fro þe syde of þe mone, is our lord ihesu crist, þat was borne at mydnyȝt, And lappid in Clothis, and sette in þe crybbe. The two bestis ben þe oxe and þe asse. The bestis, þat come fro fer parteys, ben þe herdis, to whom þe angiƚƚ saide, Ecce anuncio vobis gaudium magnum, lo! I shew to you a gret ioy. The briddis, þat songe so swetly, ben angelis of hevene, þat song gloria in excelsis Deo. The king̘ that helde suche werre, is mankynd̛, þat was contrarie to god̛, while þat it was in power of þe deviƚƚ, But when our lorde ihesu crist was I-borne, thenne mankynde enclyned to god, and sent for pese to be had, when he tooke baptime, and saide, þat he ȝaf him to god, and forsoke þe deviƚƚ. Nowe þe king̘ ȝafe his douȝter to þe sone of þe Emperour, scil. eche on̛ of vs owe to ȝive to god̛ our soule in matrimonye; for he is redy to Receyve hire to his spouse, As is saide, Osea, Disponsabo eam mihi, I shaƚƚ wedde þe soule to me. But thenne, or þou come to þe palys of hevene, þou most go by a gret see of this wordle, and in þe ship of

good life. Thenne ros vp a gret tempeste, scil. tribulacion̛ of þe wordle, temptacion̛ of flesh, and sugiestion̛ of þe deviƚƚ And so by theise tempestis ben ofte tyme drenchid þe vertuys þat þou tooke in baptime; Neuerthelese þou shalt not faƚƚ out of þe ship or þe boote of charite, If þat þou holde þe in a faste hope, and bileve; For as þe apostiƚƚ seitℏ, Spe salui facti sumus et inpossibile est sine fide salvari, we ben y-savid thorowe goode hope, And it is inpossible to be I-savid with oute goode bileve and feitℏ. The whale, þat folowitℏ, and svitℏ for þe maide, is þe deviƚƚ, þat is abowte nyȝt and day for to kiƚƚ þe sowle. And þerfore late vs smyte fire of charite And of love fro þe ston̛ of crist, whicℏ seiytℏ, Ego sum Lapis angularis, I am a corner stone; and certenly while it is þis, þe deviƚƚ may not noye þe. But many vnwise men doitℏ as dude þe mayde, thei cese, and arn wery of hire goode werkis, and slepitℏ in synne; And when þe deviƚƚ seitℏ þat, he drenchitℏ þe synner in Iviƚƚ thowtis, and Iviƚƚ consenting̘, and Iviƚƚ werkis. And þerfore, if þat þou feele þe in sucℏ life, And so be in þe develis power, do thenne as dude þe mayde, smyte þe deviƚƚ with þe knyfe of penaunce, And liȝte the fire of charite, And withoute dowte he shaƚƚ caste þe to

þe lond of goode life, woƚƚ he neƚƚ he. The Erle, þat come with his seruauntis to sle þe whale, is a discrete confessour, þat dwellitℏ biside þe see, scil. biside þe wordle, and not in þe wordle, scil. in wordly dilectacion̛; And he with his wordis of holy scripture shaƚƚ sle þe deviƚƚ, and do away his power, and deliuer him fro þe deviƚƚ, so þat he cry as dude þe dameselle, scil. by confession̛, And thenne he may be norisshid by goode werkys, and so be sent to þe kingdom̛ of hevene. The Emperour shewid̛ to þe dameseƚƚ iij. vessellis, scil. god settitℏ afore a man life and dethe, goode an[d] Iviƚƚ, And þat that he woƚƚ chese, he shaƚƚ haue. And þerfore salomone seiytℏ this, Ante hominem mors et vita; quod placuerit dabitur ei, ymmo nescimus si digni sumus vita vel morte, Afore a man lietℏ bothe life and [dethe], þat that likitℏ him he shaƚƚ haue, but we knowe not whedir that we ben worthi life or detℏ. And þerfore saide a certayne saynt, in vitis patrum, this in verse,

Sunt tria que bereMe faciunt sepe dolereEst primum durum,Quoniam scio me moriturum; Est magis addendoMoriar, set nescio quando,Ende magis flebo,Quia nescio quo remanebo.This is to say,

Thre thinges ben, in fay, That makith me to sorowe all may:On is þat I shalle henne;An othir, I not neuer when;The thirde is my most care,I wot not whethir I shall fare.

Secundum illud in vitas patrum, Ther ben iij. thingis þat I drede; On is, þat I shaƚƚ passe; anoþer is, I not when, and come afor̛ þe dome;

The third is, I not whedir þe sentence shaƚƚ go for me or aȝenst me. By þe furst vesseƚƚ, þat was fuƚƚ of deede bonys, vs most vndirstonde þe þat þe [sic] wordle, or wordly men,—And whi? For riȝt as þe vesseƚƚ was shynyng̘ withoute, and with Inne was but dede bonys, so it is by þe myȝty men and riche men of þis wordle, þat hatℏ golde, and goodis shynyng̘ly, and havitℏ hire werkis dorke, and deede by dedly synnys. And þerfore, man, if þou chese sucℏ a vessel, scil. sucℏ a life, certenly þou shalt fynde then þat þou [leaf 200, back, col. 2] deservedist scil. Helle; And sucℏ may be likenyd to faire sepulcris, þe whicℏ ben maade faire withoute, And rially ornyd with precious clothing̘ of silke and of palle, And with Inne ben nothing̘ but deede bonys. By þe secunde vesseƚƚ, þat was of siluer, we vndirstond̛ þe myȝty iuges of this wordle, þe whicℏ in hire speche shynytℏ lyke siluer, And is not but a worme or erthe, scil. shaƚƚ not yn þe day of doome ben mor̛ wortℏ þan wormys, or ellis worse, for if þei dey in synne, thei shuƚƚ haue perpetueƚƚ peyne. And sucℏ is sette afore our yen; But god defende vs, þat we take no sucℏ life, þat we leese not þerfore þe life þat is euerlastyng̘! And by þe thirde vesseƚƚ, þat is of leede, we shuƚƚ vndirstonde simple life, whicℏ þat þe chosyn̛ childryn of god chesitℏ, þat þei mowe be weddid to ihesu crist In a simple Abyt;

And sucℏ fynditℏ and havitℏ precious stonys, scil. merytory werkes, plesing to god, for þe whicℏ þei shuƚƚ in þe day of̘ dome be weddid to god, and haue þe heritage of hevene. Ad quam nos perducat &c. Amen.