Chapter 2

Th' abundant grace of the power divine, Which doth illumine the world environ, Preserve this audience, and cause them to incline To charity, this is my petition; For by your patience and supportation A little interlude, late made and prepared, Before your presence here shall be declared, Which of a few conclusions is contrived, And points of philosophy natural. But though the matter be not so well declared, As a great clerk could do, nor so substantial, Yet the author hereof requireth you all, Though he be ignorant, and can little skill, To regard his only intent and good-will; Which in his mind hath ofttimes pondered, What number of books in our tongue maternal Of toys and trifles be made and imprinted, And few of them of matter substantial; For though many make books, yet unneth ye shall In our English tongue find any works Of cunning, that is regarded by clerks. The Greeks, the Romans, with many other mo, In their mother tongue wrote warks excellent. Then if clerks in this realm would take pain so, Considering that our tongue is now sufficient To expound any hard sentence evident, They might, if they would, in our English tongue Write works of gravity sometime among; For divers pregnant wits be in this land, As well of noble men as of mean estate, Which nothing but English can understand. Then if cunning Latin books were translate Into English, well correct and approbate, All subtle science in English might be learned, As well as other people in their own tongues did. But now so it is, that in our English tongue Many one there is, that can but read and write, For his pleasure will oft presume among New books to compile and ballads to indite, Some of love or other matter not worth a mite; Some to obtain favour will flatter and glose, Some write curious terms nothing to purpose. Thus every man after his fantasy Will write his conceit, be it never so rude, Be it virtuous, vicious, wisdom or folly; Wherefore to my purpose thus I conclude, Why should not then the author of this interlude Utter his own fantasy and conceit also, As well as divers other nowadays do? For wisdom and folly is as it is taken, For that the one calleth wisdom, another calleth folly, Yet among most folk that man is holden Most wise, which to be rich studieth only; But he that for a commonwealth busily Studieth and laboureth, and liveth by God's law, Except he wax rich, men count him but a daw![10] So he that is rich is ever honoured, Although he have got it never so falsely. The poor, being never so wise, is reproved. This is the opinion most commonly Thoroughout the world, and yet no reason why; Therefore in my mind, when that all such daws Have babbled what they can, no force of two straws! For every man in reason thus ought to do, To labour for his own necessary living, And then for the wealth of his neighbour also; But what devilish mind have they which, musing And labouring all their lives, do no other thing But bring riches to their own possession, Nothing regarding their neighbour's destruction; Yet all the riches in the world that is Riseth of the ground by God's sending, And by the labour of poor men's hands; And though thou, rich man, have thereof the keeping, Yet is not this riches of thy getting, Nor oughtest not in reason to be praised the more, For by other men's labour it is got before. A great-witted man may soon be enriched, That laboureth and studieth for riches only; But how shall his conscience then be discharged? For all clerks affirm that that man precisely, Which studieth for his own wealth principally, Of God shall deserve but little reward, Except he the commonwealth somewhat regard; So they say that that man occupied is For a commonwealth, which is ever labouring To relieve poor people with temporal goods, And that it is a common good act to bring People from vice, and to use good living. Likewise for a commonwealth occupied is he, That bringeth them to knowledge that ignorant be; But man to know God is a difficulty, Except by a mean he himself inure, Which is to know God's creatures that be: As first them that be of the grossest nature, And then to know them that be more pure; And so, by little and little ascending, To know God's creatures and marvellous working. And this wise man at the last shall come to The knowledge of God and His high majesty, And so to learn to do his duty, and also To deserve of His goodness partner to be. Wherefore in this work declared shall ye see, First of the elements the situation, And of their effects the cause and generation; And though some men think this matter too high, And not meet for an audience unlearned, Methink for man nothing more necessary Than this to know, though it be not used, Nor a matter more low cannot be argued; For though the elements God's creatures be, Yet they be most gross and lowest in degree. How dare men presume to be called clerks, Disputing of high creatures celestial, As things invisible and God's high warks, And know not these visible things inferial? So they would know high things, and know nothing at all: Of the earth here whereon they daily be, Neither the nature, form, nor quantity. Wherefore it seemeth nothing convenient A man to study, and his time to bestow, First for the knowledge of high things excellent, And of light matters beneath nothing to know, As of these four elements here below, Whose effects daily appear here at eye, Such things to know first were most meet study; Which matter before your presence shortly In this interlude here shall be declared Without great eloquence in rhyme rudely, Because the compiler is but small learned. This work with rhetoric is not adorned, For perhaps in this matter much eloquence Should make it tedious or hurt the sentence. But because some folk be little disposed To sadness, but more to mirth and sport, This philosophical work is mixed With merry conceits, to give men comfort, And occasion to cause them to resort To hear this matter, whereto if they take heed, Some learning to them thereof may proceed. But they that shall now this matter declare Openly here unto this audience, Behold, I pray you, see where they are. The players begin to appear in presence; I see well it is time for me go hence, And so I will do; therefore now shortly To God I commit all this whole company.

_Hic intrat_ NATURA NATURATA, HUMANITY, _and_ STUDIOUS DESIRE, _portans figuram_.

NATURA NATURATA.

The high, mighty, most excellent of all, The Fountain of goodness, virtue, and cunning, Which is eterne[11] of power most potential, The Perfection and First Cause of everything, I mean that only high Nature naturing. Lo, He by His goodness hath ordained and created Me here His minister, called Nature Naturate. Wherefore I am the very naturate nature, The immediate minister for the preservation Of everything in His kind to endure, And cause of generation and corruption Of that thing that is brought to destruction. Another thing still I bring forth again, Thus wondersly I work, and never in vain. The great world behold, lo, divided wondersly Into two regions, whereof one I call The ethereal region with the heavens high, Containing the planets, stars, and spheres all; The lower region, called the elemental, Containing these four elements below, The fire, the air, the water, and earth also. But yet the elements and other bodies all Beneath take their effects and operations Of the bodies in the region ethereal. By their influence and constellations, They cause here corruptions and generations; For if the movings above should once cease, Beneath should be neither increase nor decrease. These elements of themselves so single be Unto divers forms cannot be divided, Yet they commix together daily, you see, Whereof divers kinds of things be engendered, Which things eftsones, when they be corrupted, Each element I reduce to his first estate, So that nothing can be utterly annihilate; For though the form and fashion of anything That is a corporal body be destroyed, Yet every matter remaineth in his being, Whereof it was first made and formed; For corruption of a body commixed Is but the resolution by time and space Of every element to his own place. For who that will take any body corporal, And do what he can it to destroy, To break it or grind it into powder small, To wash, to drown, to bren it, or to dry, Yet the air and fire thereof naturally To their own proper places will ascend, The water to the water, the earth to the earth tend; For if heat or moisture of anything certain By fire or by water be consumed, Yet earth or ashes on earth will remain, So the elements can never be destroyed. For essentially there is now at this tide As much fire, air, water, earth, as was Ever before this time, neither more nor less; Wherefore thou, man--now I speak to thee-- Remember that thou art compound and create Of these elements, as other creatures be, Yet they have not all like noble estate, For plants and herbs grow and be insensate. Brute beasts have memory and their wits five, But thou hast all those and soul intellective; So by reason of thine understanding, Thou hast dominion of other beasts all, And naturally thou shouldst desire cunning To know strange effects and causes natural; For he that studieth for the life bestial,[12] As voluptuous pleasure and bodily rest, I account him never better than a beast.

HUMANITY.

O excellent prince, and great lord Nature, I am thine own child and formed instrument! I beseech thy grace, take me to thy cure, And teach me such science thou thinkest expedient.

NATURE.

Then sith thou art so humble and benevolent, That thing that is meet for thy capacity And good for thy knowledge I shall instruct thee. First of all, thou must consider and see These elements, which do each other penetrate, And by continual alteration they be Of themselves daily corrupted and generate. The earth as a point or centre is situate In the midst of the world, with the water joined, With the air and fire round, and whole environed. The earth of itself is ponderous and heavy, Cold and dry of his own nature proper; Some part lieth dry continually, And part thereof covered over with water, Some with the salt sea, some with fresh river, Which earth and the water together withal So joined make a round figure spherical; So the water which is cold and moist is found In and upon the earth filling the hollowness, In divers parts, lying with the earth round, Yet the hills and mountains of the earth excess Take nothing of it away the roundness, In comparison because they be so small, No more than the pricks do that be on a gall. The air which is hot and moist also, And the fire which is ever hot and dry, About the earth and water jointly they go, And compass them everywhere orbicularly, As the white about the yoke of an egg doth lie. But the air in the lower part most remaineth; The fire naturally to the higher tendeth. The ethereal region which containeth The stars and planets, and every sphere, About the elements daily moveth, And covereth them round about everywhere. Every star and sphere in strange manner Upon his own poles moveth diversely, Which now to declare were too long to tarry. The fire and the air of their natures be light, Therefore they move by natural providence; The water, because it is ponderous in weight, Moveth not naturally, but by violence Of the stars and planets, by whose influence The sea is compelled to ebb and flow daily, And fresh waters to spring continually. And though that the water be gross and heavy, Yet nothing so gross as the earth, I wiss; Therefore by heat it is vapoured up lightly, And in the air maketh clouds and mists; But as soon as ever that it grossly is Gathered together, it descendeth again, And causeth upon the earth hail, snow, and rain. The earth, because of his ponderosity, Avoideth equally the movings great Of all extremities and spheres that be, And tendeth to the place that is most quiet; So in the midst of all the spheres is set Foremost object from all manner moving, Where naturally he resteth and moveth nothing. Mark well now, how I have thee showed and told Of every element the very situation And quality, wherefore this figure behold For a more manifest demonstration. And because thou shouldst not put to oblivion My doctrine, this man, called Studious Desire, With thee shall have continual habitation, Thee still to exhort more science to acquire. For the more that thou desirest to know anything, Therein thou seemest the more a man to be; For that man that desireth no manner cunning, All that while no better than a beast is he. Why been the eyes made, but only to see, The legs, to bear the body of a creature? So everything is made to do his nature; So likewise reason, wit, and understanding, Is given to thee, man, for that thou shouldst indeed Know thy Maker and cause of thine own being, And what the world is, and whereof thou dost proceed; Wherefore, it behoveth thee of very need The cause of things first for to learn, And then to know and laud the high God eterne.

HUMANITY.

O glorious Lord and Prince most pleasant! Greatly am I now holden unto thee, So to illumine my mind, that was ignorant, With such noble doctrine as thou hast here shown me; Wherefore I promise, upon my fidelity, My diligence to do to keep in memory, And thee for to honour still perpetually.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

And sith it hath pleased thy grace to admit Me upon this man to give attendance, With thy doctrine here shown I shall quicken his wit, And daily put him in remembrance; His courage and desire I shall also enhance, So that his felicity shall be most of all To study and to search for causes natural.

NATURE.

Well, then, for a season I will depart, Leaving you together here both twain; What I have shown, man, print well in thine heart,[13] And mark well this figure that here shall remain, Whereby thou mayest perceive many things more plain Concerning the matter I spoke of before; And when that I shall resort here again, Of high points of cunning I shall show thee more.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

Now, Humanity, call to your memory The cunning points that Nature hath declared; And though he has shown divers points and many Of the elements so wondersly[14] formed Yet many other causes there are would be learned, As to know the generation of things all Here in the earth, how they be engendered, As herbs, plants, well-springs, stone, and metal.

HUMANITY.

Those things to know for me be full expedient, But yet in those points which Nature late showed me, My mind in them as yet is not content, For I can no manner wise perceive nor see, Nor prove by reason why the earth should be In the middes of the firmament hanging so small, And the earth with the water to be round withal.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

Me thinketh myself, as to some of those points I could give a sufficient solution; For, first of all, thou must needs grant this, That the earth is so deep, and bottom hath none, Or else there is some gross thing it standeth upon, Or else that it hangeth, thou must needs consent, Even in the middes of the firmament.

HUMANITY.

What then? go forth with thine argument.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

Then mark well, in the day or in a winter's night, The sun and moon, and stars celestial, In the east first they do appear to thy sight, And after in the west they do down fall, And again in the morrow next of all, Within twenty-four hours they be come just To the east point again, where thou sawest them first. Then if the earth should be of endless deepness, Or should stand upon any other gross thing, It should be an impediment, doubtless, To the sun, moon, and stars in their moving; Therefore, in reason, it seemeth most convenient The earth to hang in the middes of the firmament.

HUMANITY.

Thine argument in that point doth me confound, That thou hast made, but yet it proveth not right That the earth by reason should be round; For though the firmament, with his stars bright, Compass about the earth each day and night, Yet the earth may be plane, peradventure, Quadrant, triangle, or some other figure.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

That it cannot be plane I shall well prove thee: Because the stars, that arise in the orient, Appear more sooner to them that there be, Than to the other dwelling in the Occident. The eclipse is thereof a plain experiment Of the sun or moon which, when it doth fall, Is never one time of the day in places all; Yet the eclipse generally is alway In the whole world as one time being; But when we, that dwell here, see it in the midday, They in the west parts see it in the morning, And they in the east behold it in the evening; And why that should so be, no cause can be found, But only by reason that the earth is round.

HUMANITY.

That reason proveth the earth at the least, One ways to be round, I cannot gainsay, As for to account from the east to the west; But yet, notwithstanding all that, it may Lese his roundness by some other way.

STUDIOUS DESIRE.

Nay, no doubt it is round everywhere, Which I could prove, thou shouldst not say nay, If I had thereto any time and leisure; But I know a man called Experience, Of divers instruments is never without, Could prove all these points, and yet by his science Can tell how many mile the earth is about, And many other strange conclusions, no doubt. His instruments could show thee so certain, That every rude carter should them perceive plain.

HU. Now would to God I had that man now here For the contemplation of my mind! STU. If ye will, I shall for him inquire, And bring him hither, if I can him find. HU. Then might I say ye were to me right kind. STU. I shall assay, by God that me dear bought, For cunning is the thing that would be sought. SEN. Well hit, quoth Hykman, when that he smote His wife on the buttocks with a beer-pot. Aha! now good even, fool, good even! It is even thee, knave, that I mean. Hast thou done thy babbling? STU. Yea, peradventure, what then? SEN. Then hold down thy head like a pretty man, and take my blessing. Benedicite! I grant to thee this pardon, And give thee absolution For thy sooth saws; stand up, Jackdaw! I beshrew thy father's son, Make room, sirs, and let us be merry, With huffa gallant, sing tirl on the berry, And let the wide world wind![15] Sing, frisky jolly, with hey troly lolly, For I see well it is but a folly For to have a sad mind: For rather than I would use such folly, To pray, to study, or be pope holy, I had as lief be dead. By Gog's body, I tell you true! I speak as I think now, else I beshrew Even my next fellow's head! Master Humanity, sir, by your leave, I were right loth you to grieve, Though I do him despise; For if ye knew him as well as I, Ye would not use his company, Nor love him in no wise. HU. Sir, he looketh like an honest man, Therefore I marvel that ye can This wise him deprave. SEN. Though he look never so well, I promise you he hath a shrewd smell. HU. Why so? I pray you tell. SEN. For he savoureth like a knave. STU. Hold your peace, sir, ye mistake me! What, I trow, that ye would make me Like to one of your kin. SEN. Hark, sirs, hear ye not how boldly He calleth me knave again by policy? The devil pull off his skin! I would he were hanged by the throat, For by the mass I love him not: We two can never agree; I am content, sir, with you to tarry, And I am for you so necessary, Ye cannot live without me. HU. Why, sir, I say, what man be ye? SEN. I am called Sensual Appetite, All creatures in me delight; I comfort the wits five, The tasting, smelling, and hearing; I refresh the sight and feeling To all creatures alive. For when the body waxeth hungry For lack of food, or else thirsty, Then with drinks pleasant I restore him out of pain, And oft refresh nature again With delicate viand. With pleasant sound of harmony The hearing alway I satisfy, I dare this well report; The smelling with sweet odour, And the sight with pleasant figure And colours, I comfort; The feeling, that is so pleasant, Of every member, foot, or hand, What pleasure therein can be By the touching of soft and hard, Of hot or cold, nought in regard, Except it come by me. HU. Then I cannot see the contrary, But ye are for me full necessary, And right convenient. STU. Yea, sir, beware yet what ye do, For if you forsake my company so, Lord Nature will not be content. Of him ye shall never learn good thing, Nother virtue nor no other cunning, This dare I well say. SEN. Marry, avaunt, knave! I thee defy! Did Nature forbid him my company? What sayest thou thereto? Speak openly. HU. As for that I know well nay. SEN. No, by God! I am right sure; For he knoweth well no creature Without me can live one day. HU. Sir, I pray you be content, It is not utterly mine intent Your company to exile; But only to have communication, And a pastime of recreation With this man for a while. STU. Well, for your pleasure I will depart. HU. Now go, knave, go! I beshrew thy heart! The devil send thee forward! SEN. Now, by my troth, I marvel greatly, That ever ye would use the company So mich of such a knave; For if ye do no nother thing, But ever study and to be musing, As he would have you, it will you bring At the last unto your grave! Ye should ever study principal For to comfort your life natural, With meats and drinks delicate And other pastimes and pleasures among, Dancing, laughing, or pleasant song; This is meet for your estate. HU. Because ye say so, I you promise, That I have mused and studied such wise, Me thinketh my wits weary; My nature desireth some refreshing, And also I have been so long fasting, That I am somewhat hungry. SEN. Well, then, will ye go with me To a tavern, where ye shall see Good pastance, and at your liberty Have whatsoever you will? HU. I am content so for to do, If that ye will not fro me go, But keep me company still. SEN. Company, quotha? then that I shall point-device, And also do you good and true service, And thereto I plight my troth! And if that I ever forsake you, I pray God the devil take you! HU. Marry, I thank you for that oath! SEN. A mischief on it! my tongue, lo! Will trip sometime, whatsoever I do; But ye wot that I mean well. HU. Yea, no force! let this matter pass; But saidst even now thou knewest, where was A good tavern to make solace? Where is that? I pray thee tell. SEN. Marry, at the door even hereby; If we call anything on high, The taverner will answer. HU. I pray thee, then, call for him now. SEN. Marry, I will! How, taverner, how! Why dost thou not appear?

TAVERNER.

Who is that calleth so hastily? I shrew thine heart, speak softly; I tell thee I am not here.