Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ...

••owe Narcisus / Biblis / and mirra dyed at the ••yscheef

ANd thus Narcis{us} through daūgere & disdeyn Vpon the lady dyd crull vengeau•••• But whan the goddis his cruelte ha•• ••••yn Towardys him they fyll a greate greuaunce Of his vnmercy they had displesaunce And right as he merciles was founde So with vnmercy he caught his dedely wounde

For all daunger displesith to venus And all disdeyne is lothsum to cupide For who to loue is contracious The god of loue wyll quite him on sūme side His dredfull arowes so mortaly deuide To hurt and mayme all that been recheles And in his seruise founde merciles

And for Narcisus was nat merciable Towarde Eccho for his greate bewtye But in his port was founde vntretable Cupide thought he wolde auengyd be As he that her praier herde of pite Causynge narcisus to fele and to haue his {per}t Of venus bronde and of hir firy darte

And on a day whanne he in wildernesse Had after bestes rūne in huntynge And for longe laboure gan fall in werinesse He was desirous to haue sōme refresshinge And wonder thurstlewe after trauaylynge Myght nat endure lengre there to dwell And at the last he fonde a c••••stall well

Right fressh spryngynge and wondre agreable The water lusty and delitable of sight And for his thurst was vnto him importable Vpon the brinkes ••e fyll doun right And by reflexion in myddes of the water bright Him thought he sawe a passynge faire ymage To him appere moost angelyk of visage

He was anameryd with the semelynesse And desirous therof to stonde in grace And yit it was nat but a likenesse And but a shadowe reflectynge of his face The which of fruence amerously to enbrace This Narcisu•• with a pitous compleynt Ste••••e into the well and so him self dreynt

And thus his bewte alas was layde full low•• His semelynesse put full ferre abak Thus whan that he gan first him silf to knowe And seen his visage in which there was no la•• Presumptuous pride causyd all to wrak For who to moch doth of him self presume His owne vsurpynge woll sonest him consu••••

And fynally as these olde poetes tell This Narcisus without more secou••r After that he was drownyd at the well The heuenly goddys dyd him this fauoure They tournyd him into a full fressh floure A water lilly which doth remedye In hote accessys as bokys specifie

After that Narcisus was at the well dreyn•• And to Iohn bochas de••larid had his woo ••iblis apperyd with teeris all be spreynt And toward•• him a greate paas gan she go•• And hir broder Cānus cam also And of one wombe as gemelles tweyne But she tofore hir fate gan compleyne

She in her loue was nat vertuous For ayenst god and kyndes ordynaunce She louyd hir brother that cānus And whan she sawe hir froward gouernaunce He vnto hir yaue none attendaunce Though she of sleight to complissh her entent In secrete wise a pis••le to him sent

She saide it was an impossible thynge Without hir grace hir self to saue And but he were to her assentynge She elles playnly may nat helth haue But only deth and afterwarde hir graue Thus in hir writynge to him she dyd attaine And to be couert she ••e wrote no name

But whan this pistle came to his presence Vertuously therat he gan disdeyne And yaue therto no maner aduertence Neither toke none hede of hir furious peyne But suffryd hir eternally to pleyne Tyll that she was as Ouide can wele tell With ofte wepynge transfourmyd to a well

Next cam mirra with face full pitous Which that sumtyme louyd ayenst nature Hir owne fadre callyd Cinarus For whoos sake greate peyne she dyd endure For she ne durst her sorowe nat discure Tyll hir norice by signes dyd aspie The hertly constreynt of hir maladye

For hir norice of which that I haue tolde Conceyued hath by open euidence As she knoweth both of newe and olde In such maters all hole the experience That through longe laboure and sleyghty diligence Diuers weies and meanes out she sought To hir faders bed that she mirra brought

With whome she had hir lust and hir plesaunce For she vnknowe lay with him all nyght He was disceyuyd by dronklewe ignoraūce And on the morowe longe or any lyght She stale away and went out of his sight With hir uorice kept her longe cloos Till vnto the tyme hir wombe rose

But hir fader that was of Cipre kynge Which as I tolde was called Cinarus Whan he the truth aspied of this thinge That by his doughter he was disceyued thus She wexe to him loth sum and odious Fledde from his face so sore she was aferde And he pursued after with his swerde

In arabye the hote myghty londe Kynge Cinarus hath his doughter founde And cruelly beganne enhaunce his honde With his swerde to yeue her a wounde But the goddys of mercy moost habounde Haue fro the deth made hir goo fre And through their power transfourmyd to a tre

Which after hir berith yit the name Callyd Mirra as she was in hir life Oute of which auctours say the same Distillith a gūme a greate preseruatif And of nature a full good defensife To kepe bodyes from putrifaccion And theym fraunchise from all corrupcion

By influence of the sōne bemys Mirre is engendryd by distillinge of his kynde With rounde droppis ayenst phebus stremys And doun descendith through the harde rinde And through the ••••ftys also I fynde The seyde Mirra hath a childe forth brought In all this worlde that it be well sought

Was none so faire fourmyd by nature For of his bewtie he was peerles And as poetis recorde by scripture He callyd was the faire adonydes And to his worship and his greate encrees For he of fairenesse bare away the floure Venus him chase to be hir {per}amoure

The which goddes yaue to him in charge That he shulde in his tendre age In forestys while he went at large Hunte at no beestys which that were sauage But he contrarie to his disauantage Through wilfulnesse I can say you no more Was slayne vnwarly of a tusky boore

At the which he felly dyd enchace But of foly in veyn was his laboure For he laye slayne full pale of chere and face Whom venus tournyd to a full fressh floure Which was as blood of purple the coloure Abud of goolde with goodly leuys glade Set in the myddes whos bewtye may nat fade

And whan that Mirra fro bochas was withdrawe And declaryd hir great aduersite And of his fate tolde the motall lawe Cam Orpheus full ougly vnto se Sonne of appollo and of caliope And apperyd with a full doolfull face Sumtyme brought forth and yborne in trace

Full renomed in armes and in science Famous in musyk and melodye And full notable also in eloquence And for his sote sugred armonye Beestys foules poetys specifie Wodys flodys of their cours moost stronge Stynt of cours to herken his sote songe

An harpe he had of Mercurious With the which Erudice he wan And to bachus as writ ouidius Sacrifisis solempne he began And vnto hell for his wife he ran Hir to recure with ••oot touchis sharpe Which that he made vpon his heuenly harpe

But whan that he this laboure on him toke A lawe was made which that bonde him sore That if that he bakwarde cast his loke He shulde hir lese and se his wife no more But it is saide sithen goon full yore There may no lawe louers wele constreyne So importable is their dedly peyne

If sūme husbondes had stonde in the caas To haue lost their wyues for a loke soden They wolde haue suffryd and nat saide alas But paciently enduryd all their payne And thankyd god that broken was the cheyne Which hath so longe theym in prisonbounde That they by grace hath such a fredom founde

To lye in prison it is a full greate charge And to be stokked vnder key and lok It well mery a man to goo at large Than with yrons to be nailed to a blok But there is a bonde which callyd is wedlok Fetterynge husbondes so sore that is wondre Which with a file may nat be broke asundre

But Orpheus fader of armonye Thought Erudice which was his wife so faire For hir sake he felt that he must dye Bycause that he whan he made his repaire Of hir in trouth no thinge enbracyd but aire Thus he lost hir there is no more to seyne And for the constreynt of his greuous peyne

Al his herte hir partynge sate so sore The grene memorie the tendre remembraunce That he wolde neuer wyue more So faire he was escapyd his penaunce For wedlok is a life of moch plesaunce But who hath ones infernall peyne seyn Woll neuer his thankes come in the snare ageyn