Chapter 4

There dyd saynt Peter by grete holynes Serue vs of our swete lordes body Fyrst he serued the fader of clennes And after that he serued her shortly With charyte fayth and dame mercy And I with dyscrecyon and dame sapyence Of saynt Peter was serued with grete indulgence

So dame obedyence with contrycyon With saynt Edwarde and virgynyte In lyke wyse were serued without corrupcyon And saynt Edmond with dame charyte And saynt Ierome with dame humylyte With saynt austyn and saynt gregory What nede I lenger of theym specyfy

This was a fest moost swete and precyous To fede the soule with dyuyne comfort This was a mete moost dere and gloryous That causeth all man for to resorte To sempyternall lyfe and comforte Than saynt ambrose beynge dyuyne After our mete gafe vs good wyne

By this tyme was I .lx. yere olde And desyred for to lyue in peace For I began to growe two folde And my feblenes dyde sore encreace For nature her strength than dyd seace Wherfore after this ghoostly fest I thought with my wyfe to abyde in rest

And I to her sayd with louynge chere O my swete spouse moost fayre and beauteous To me euer ryght leyfe and dere Where is your lande that is solacyous Ye shewyd me of your gardeyn gloryous Vnto whiche now fayne wolde I go There for to dwell and you also

Syr she sayd the aungell raphaell Shall with these martyrs & noble confessours Brynge you thyder with theym to dwell Where ye shall see all your progenytours With many sayntes and gloryous auctours This lande is heuen that to vs longeth As our euydence the gospell telleth

Than came my fader in lawe to vs Saynge by ryght I dyd combynd Clennes my doughter with vertue precyous And you must I loue by naturell kynde For on you now is all my mynde Afore hym I kyst my wyfe moost swetely For we loued to gyder hote and truely

Than came my good aungell to me Causynge me with hym for to go With clennes my wyfe wher I dyd se The paynes of hell full of grete wo There was the dragon that I dyd slo Bounde with chaynes in fyer infynall With the seuen dedely synnes in generall

Than my good aungell to me sayd If ye had loued dame sensualyte The whiche with you dyd make a brayde Ye had ben dampned by ryght and equyte In to this pytte full of all iniquyte Wherfore thanke god that sent you wysedome Suche deedly perylles for to ouercome

Also the lady with the cup of golde Is here condempned for her grete pryde In endeles payne both hote and colde Where in for synne she shall abyde This is a dongeon longe and wyde Made for theym that do synne dedely And of cryst Ihesu wyll axe no mercy

This is a place full of all derkenes Wherin be serpentes foull and odyous This is a place of mortall heuynes Where I sawe deuyles blacke and tedyous Dampned soules turmented with hokes rygorous This is the vppermoost parte of hell In whiche paynyms dampned do dwell

For as moche as they lacked instruccyon For to beleue in god omnypotent They haue deserued the lesse correccyon Yet theyr payne haue none extinguysshement For they are dampned by true sentyment For theyr byleue and fals idolatry That made theyr goddes of mars & mercury

Than went we doune to an other vaute Where Iewes lay in grete paynes stronge Whome deuylles tourmented by grete assaute Drawynge theym with hokes a longe For theyr opynyon so fals and wronge Whiche byleued not in the natyuyte Of Ihesu cryst and the vyrgyn Mare

Nor yet that he dyd suffre passyon Bothe for theym and all mankynde Nother yet of his resurreccyon In theyr byleue they are so blynde Yet as in bokes wryten we do fynde That they haue ben taught many a tyme For to forsake theyr owne fals cryme

Than went we downe to a depper vale Where crysten soules dyd weppe & crye In grete sorowe payne and bale Brennynge in fyer moost hote and drye And some in Ice ryght depe dyd lye For to expresse it is impossyble The paynes there they are so horryble

These crysten men knowe goddes lawe And euery daye had informacyon From deuelysshe werkes theym to withdrawe That they sholde not fall in dampnacyon Yet wyll they not make sequestracyon Of goddes c[om]maundement but syn deedly Therfore here are they dampned ryght wysey

And thou haddest set thy delectacyon In flesshely pleasure and vayne glory Thou haddest ben here without saluacyon Without thou of god had axed mercy Who that it axeth shall haue it truely Yf he be contryt and do repent That he his lyfe in yll hath spent

This place sythens it is moost heuy Moost derke and moost ferre from lyghtnes As philosophers afferme by astronomy Is in the myddes of the erthe doutles That is a place of dyssolate derkenes Wherfore by reason it must nedes be sette In the myddes of the erthe both longe & grette

Capitulum .xiiii

My good aungell by his grete vertue Shewed me all this in a shorte space And after hym I dyd than pursue With my wyfe vnto the fayre place That we came fro full of all solace Where was my fader in the company Of many sayntes that dyd there tary

My wyfe and me than for to brynge To the place of eternall glory With heuenly tewnes swetely syngynge That theym to here it was grete melody More than ony tonge can specyfy This was theyr songe so swete and gloryous That they dyd synge with voyce so vertuous

O celestyall kynge one two and thre All people prayse the god and lorde Whiche art in heuen o noble trynyte Whose royall power and miserycorde Confermed is by thyn hye accorde On vs with trouth for to endure Withouten ende as we are sure

Glory be to the fader almyghty And to the sone and to the holy ghoost Thre persones and one god truely Whose power neuer can be loost For he is lorde of myghtes moost And so hath ben without begynnynge And euer shall be without endynge

Whan we were in the ayre of asure There dyd vs mete the noble Ierarchy As Cherubyn and Seraphyn so pure With other aungels in theyr company That dyd proclayme & synge on hye With voyce insacyat moost melodyous To god aboue Sanctus sanctus sanctus

There dyd I se the planettes seuen Moue in ordre by alteracyon To merueylous for me to neuen For they seassed not theyr operacyon Some assended some made declynacyon Entrynge theyr houses of the .xii. synes Some indyrectly and some by dyrecte lynes

To heuen we styed a place moost gloryous Where that we dyd beholde the deyte With insaciable contenaunce moost desyrous And truely than the more that we Dyd loke vpon his souerayne beaute The more our desyre dyd encreace This is a Ioye that shall not seace

This is a regyon moost full of swetnes This is a realme of delectacyon This is a lande of infenyte gladnes Without ony stormy tribulacyon This place is of eterne saluacyon Where aungels and sayntes for theyr solace Euermore do loke on goddes face

What sholde I wryte thynges of dyuynyte Or endyght of suche maters hye Sythen it no thynge longeth to my faculte Therfore of it I wyll not lenger tarye For fere that I in it sholde varye And by cause that trouth shall be my mede I wyll now leue and take me to my crede

So vertue and clennes by good ryght Truely in maryage ioyned must be For they loue to gyder with all theyr myght Without dyscencyon or duplycyte And they both are alway in vnyte To whome heuen by tayll generall Entayled is by a dede memoryall

Now are they to gyder to heuen gone There for to dwell in Ioye eternall Where that there is the heuenly trone Of our sauyour Ihesu deere & specyall Who that hym loueth truely ouer all Ledynge his lyfe with vertue and clennes Shall come vnto the glory endeles

But in the fynysshynge of my mater To god the maker of all thynge Deuoutely now I make my prayer To saufe kynge Henry our ryghtfull kynge From all treason and dolefull mornynge And for to maynteyn the grete honour Of this swete rede rose so fayre a colour

This floure was kepte ryght longe in close Amonge the leuys holsom and sote And regally sprange and arose Out of the noble stoke and rote Of the rede rose tre to be our bote After our bale sente by grete grace On vs to reygne by ryght longe space

O lorde god what Ioye was this Vnto his moder so good and gracyous Whan that she sawe her sone I wys Of his ennemys to be so vyctoryous It caused her to be moost Ioyous And yet there of no wonder why For he was ryght longe from her truely

A ioyfull metynge than bytwene The moder and the sone so dere A daye of gladnes bryght and shene Fressher than phebus myddaye spere Whan her sone to vs dyd appere He dyd vs lyght with his pure bemys Quenchynge of mars the fyrous lemys

O heuenly kynge o eternall emperoure O thre persons and one god equall I praye the to kepe from all doloure This moder with her sone in specyall With all theyr noble buddes in generall And laude be to the that dyd enhaunce Hym to his ryght and propre herytaunce

The whyte rose that [with] tempestes troublous Aualed was and eke blowen asyde The reed rose fortyfyed and made delycyous It pleased god for hym so to prouyde That his redolent buddes shall not slyde But euer encrease and be vyctoryous Of fatall brerys whiche be contraryous

Thus god by grace dyd well combyne The rede rose and the whyte in maryage Beynge oned ryght clere doth shyne In all clennes and vertuous courage Of whose ryght and royall lynage Prynce Henry is spronge our kynge to be After his fader by ryght good equyte

O noble prynce Henry our seconde treasure Surmontynge in vertue & myrour of beaute O geme of gentylnes & lanterne of plasure O rubycound blossome and sterre of humylyte O famous bud full of benygnyte I pray to god well for to encrease Your hyghe estate in rest and pease

O thoughfull hert for lack of connynge Now layde to slepe this longe wynters nyght Ryse vp agayne loke on the shynynge Of fayre lucyna clere and bryght Beholde eke mercury with his fayre lyght Castynge a doune his stremys mery It may well glad thyn emyspery

O gower fountayne moost aromatyke I the now lake for to depure My rudnes with thy lusty retoryke And also I mys as I am sure My mayster Chaucers to take the cure Of my penne for he was expert In eloquent termes subtyll and couert

Where is now lydgate flourynge in sentence That shold my mynde forge to endyte After the termes of famous eloquence And strength my penne well for to wryte With maters fresshe of pure delyte They can not helpe me there is no remedy But for to praye to god almyghty

For to dystyll the dewe of influence Vpon my brayn so dull and rude And to enlumyn me with his sapyence That I my rudnes may exclude And in my mater well to conclude Vnto thy pleasure and to the reders all To whome I excuse me now in generall

Explicit exemplum virtutis

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Errors and Irregularities

_Transposed Text_

Two groups of pages appear to have been printed out of sequence. Each involves pages from the later part of a signature, so visible page numbering is absent. It is not known whether the error is from the original printing or from the facsimile reprint.

Pages 9-11 = aa.v.(recto) - aa.vi.(recto) [unnumbered] Pages 69-71 = ff.iii.(recto) - ff.iiii.(recto) [unnumbered]

Pages beginning:

Vnto her I answerde o lady gloryous [printed as page 11] Be to thy kynge euer true subgete Whan she to me had made relacyon [printed as pages 9, 10]

Whan I had scomfyte this serpent venymous [printed as page 71] Than came dame fayth that lady gloryous [printed as page 70] And there met me dame clennes blyue [printed as page 69]

Printed folio numbers show an unusual pattern: aa, cc, ee: 16 pages each gg: 12 pages bb, dd, ff, hh: 8 pages

_Numbers_

Numbers such as .x. were usually printed without spaces.

Chapter headings for .vi. and .vii. were printed near the bottom of the page-- as main text, not catchwords-- and again at the top of the following page. This pattern was not consistently followed for all chapters that began at the top of a page.

_Typographical Errors_

Unless otherwise noted, errors were left unchanged.

Tabula Libri, cap. viii: -maunded Discrec[on]n to lede youth to marye with clen- Tabula Libri, cap. ix: ... dyscrecyon he dyde withstande theyr temptac[on]n and ... [error for Discrecy[on], temptacy[on]] [Both words occur in full-length lines of prose. When the typesetter saw that he needed an abbreviation to make the line fit, he may have removed the wrong letter from the words to be abbreviated.] Morpleus to me than made abreyd [error for Morpheus] Tyll eolus with blastes began to rore [text reads "colus"] Whiche dyde enquere of prudent Iosethus [error for Iosephus? compare "setherus" below] He sholde there b enlumyned shortely [error for be enlumyned] And with a for wytte kepte in store [spacing ambiguous: may be one word "aforwytte"] With all theyr cases dyd well avarre [v letterform in original] For I by ryght must nedys enhaunce [text reads "enhauncce"] Whan they ben wrought in to theyr degre [text reads "beu"] He shall knowe thynges that be dyuyne [text reads "dyuyue"] And by whiche he hiz k[yn]ge dysteyneth [text reads "k[yn]ne"] [there is no evident reason for using an abbreviation in this line] [for "hiz", see below] To man exaltynge hym to noblenesse [text reads "exaltyuge"] The worde of god the deuyll to bl[ey]nde [e, required by rhyme, printed above y, required by sense] In grete wo & payne but thynke you verely ["Ingrete" without space] Lettynge hym often of his passage [text reads "Lettyuge"] An humble herte full of contrycon [error for contrycyon] The merueylous dragon so gretly slynkynge [reading may be "stynkynge", but letterforms are closer to "sl-"] And also setherus his fragraunt breth [error for sepherus? compare "Iosethus" above] Who that vs loueth without doubta[un]ce [text reads "doubtau[un]ce", probably through confusion with preceding line where -a[un]ce abbreviation was required by line length] And than dame mercy with contricyon [text unchanged, but "contrycyon" is the usual form] For to beleue in god omnypotent [be leue] Therfore here are they dampned ryght wysey [error for wysely] O geme of gentylnes & lanterne of plasure [error for pleasure]

_Unusual Letter_

In four places the text has an unusual letter. It has been variously transcribed as "z" or "[gh]" (yogh) according to context, but appears to be the identical letter every time:

Nexte vnto her sate the hyghe quene Azia And by whiche he hiz k[yn]ge dysteyneth Though he were hardy & wyse he my[gh]t not me forbere Accordynge to a morylyzacyon