And Knowledge shall gyve you counseyll at Your Good-dedes cometh now, ye may not be wyll, How your accounte ye shall make clerely. 580 Here I crye the mercy in this presence; 590 O ghostly treasure, O raunsomer and redemer! Receyve my prayers; unworthy in this hevy Though I be, a synner moost abhomynable, 600 sad; Now is your Good-dedes hole and sounde, EVERYMAN. My herte is lyght, and shalbe evermore; Now wyll I smyte faster than I dyde before. GOOD-DEDES. Everyman, pylgryme, my specyall frende, Blessyd be thou without ende; 630 For the is preparate the eternall glory. I wepe for very sweteness of love. KNOWLEDGE. Be no more sad, but ever rejoyce. KNOWLEDGE. It is a garmente of sorowe, And, Lady, that I may by meane of thy prayer | Fro payne it wyll you borowe7; Of your sones glory to be partynere, By the meanes of his passyon4, I it crave; KNOWLEDGE. Everyman, God gyve you tyme Thus I bequeth you in the handes of our Now may you make your rekenynge sure. 610 Therfore suffre now strokes of punysshynge; and go, 619 Contrycyon it is, That getteth forgyvenes, 640 He pleasyth God passynge well. sone, Now blessyd be Jesu, Maryes 650 For now have I on true contrycyon, GOOD-DEDES. Yet must thou led10 with t EVERYMAN. Who sholde they be? 5 hour 7 redeem KYNREDE. You must call them all togyder, | And receyve of him in ony wyse Dyscrecyon, Strengthe, my Fyve-wyttes and BEAUTE. Here at your wyll we be all redy. What wyll ye that we sholde do? 671 GOOD-DEDES. That ye wolde with Everyman go, And helpe hym in his pylgrymage. Advyse you, wyll ye with him or not in that STRENGTHE. We wyll brynge hym all thyder thou be; The holy sacrament and oyntement togyder, 710 FYVE-WYTTES. Ye, Everyman, hye you that There is no Emperour, King, Duke, ne Baron As hath the leest preest in the worlde beynges; 719 He bereth the keyes, and thereof hath the cure9. Almyghty God, loved myght The blessyd sacramentes vii. there be: And I, Strength, wyll by you stande in dystres, Though thou wolde in batayle fyght on the ground. FYVE-WYTTLS. And though it were thrugh We wyll not departe for swete ne soure, DYSCRECYON. Everyman, advyse you fyrst of 690 Go with a good advysement and delyberacyon. Baptym, confyrmacyon, with preesthode good, And the sacrament of Goddes precyous flesshe and blod, Maryage, the holy extreme unceyon10 and pen aunce: These seven be good to have in remembraunce, EVERYMAN. Fayne wolde I receyve that holy And mekely to my ghostly fader I wyll go. FYVE-WYTTES. Everyman, that is the best that ye can do; 730 God wyll you to salvacyon brynge, EVERYMAN. My frendes, harken what I wyll The preest byndeth and unbyndeth all bandes tell; I praye God rewarde you in his heven spere. For I wyll make my testament Both in erthe and in heven. Thou mynystres11 all the sacramentes seven. In almes, halfe my good I wyll gyve with my Bute all onely preesthode. Every man, God gave preest that dygnyte 741 In the way of charyte with good entent, 700 And setteth them in his stede amonge us to And the other halfe styll shall remayne In queth to be retourned there it ought This I do in despyte of the fende of hell, Ever after and this daye. be. Thus be they above aungelles in degree. suerly, 750 But whan Jesu hanged on the crosse with grete smarte, KNOWLEDGE. Everyman, herken what I saye; There he gave out of his blessyd herte GOOD-DEDES. Me thynke, it is he in dede. EVERYMAN. Now Jesu be your alder spede4! I have receyved the sacrament for my redempeyon, And than myne extreme unccyon. I take my tappe in my lappe, and am gone. EVERYMAN. What, Beaute, whyder wyll ye? BEAUTE. Peas! I am defe, I loke not behynde me, Not and thou woldest gyve me all the golde in thy chest. EVERYMAN. Alas! whereto may I truste? Beaute gothe fast awaye fro me. She promysed with me to lyve and dye. STRENGTHE. Everyman, I wyll the also forsake and denye, Thy game lyketh10 me not at all. EVERYMAN. Why than ye wyll forsake me all! Swete Strength, tary a lytell space. 810 STRENGTHE. Nay, syr, by the rode of grace, Blessyd be all they that counseyled me to take I wyll hye me from the fast, it! And now frendes, let us go without longer respyte. I thanke God, that ye have taryed so longe. Now set eche of you on this roddes your honde, And shortely folowe me. Though thou wepe to11 thy herte to brast12. EVERYMAN. Ye wolde ever byde by me, ye sayd. STRENGTHE. Ye, I have you ferre13 ynoughe conveyde. Ye be olde ynoughe, I understande, I go before there I wolde be. God be your I repent me, that I hyder came. gyde. 780 STRENGTH. Everyman, we wyll not fro you go Tyll we have done this vyage longe. DYSCRECYON. I, Dyscreeyon, wyll byde by you also. EVERYMAN. Strength, you to dysplease I am to blame; Wyll ye breke promyse that is dette11? STRENGTHE. In fayth, I care not! Thou arte but a foole to complayne; 820 KNOWLEDGE. And though this pylgrymage be You spende your speche, and wast your brayne; never so stronges I wyll never parte you fro. Everyman, I wyll be as sure by the As ever I dyde by Judas Machabee7. Go, thryst15 the into the grounde! you have founde: He that trusteth in his Strength, EVERYMAN. Alas! I am so faynt I may not She hym deceyveth at the length; EVERYMAN. Yet, I pray the, for the love of the Trynyte, Loke in my grave ones pyteously. DYSCRECION. Nay, so nye wyll I not come! Fare well, every chone.1 840 EVERYMAN. O all thynge fayleth, save God Beaute, Strength, and Dyscrecyon; the I take; GOOD-DEDES. Fere not, I wyll speke for the. Let us go and never come agayne. Receyve it, Lorde, that it be not lost! Everyman, my leve now of That I may appere with that blessyd hoost I wyll folowe the other, for here I the sake. EVERYMAN. wape, for Alas, than may I wayle and For I. toke you for my best frende. me. 850 GOOD-DEDES. Nay, Everyman, I wyll byde with the, I wyll not forsake the in dede; Thou shalte fynde me a good frende at nede. They have forsaken me everychone, 880 KNOWLEDGE. Now hath he suffred thats we The Good-dedes shall make all sure. Me thynketh that I here aungelles synge, 890 Where every mannes soule receyved shall be. THE AUNGELL. Come excellente electe spouse to Jesu! Here above thou shalt go, Bycause of thy synguler vertue. Now the soule is taken the body fro I loved them better than my Good-dedes alone. Unto the whiche all ye shall come KNOWLEDGE. Ye, Everyman, whan ye to deth shall go; But not yet for no maner of daunger. 860 EVERYMAN. Gramercy, Knowledge, with all my herte. 900 That lyveth well before the daye of dome. DOCTOUR.* This morall, men may have in mynde; Ye herers, take it of worth, olde and yonge, And forsake Pryde, for he deceyveth you in the ende, KNOWLEDGE. Nay, yet I wyll not from hens2 And remembre Beaute, Fyve-wyttes, Strength, departe, Tyll I se where ye shall be come. and Dyscrecyon, They all at the last do Everyman forsake, EVERYMAN. Me thynke, alas, that I must Saves his Good-dedes there doth he take. And stande by me, thou moder & mayde, holy 6 into Thy hands 8 what 9 only 10 for if 11 go, ye accursed, into everlasting fire 7 I commend my spirit When I remember that every man is bounden by the commandment and counsel of the wise man to eschew sloth and idleness, which is mother and nourisher of vices, and ought to put myself unto virtuous occupation and business, then I, having no great change of occupation, following the said counsel took a French book, and read therein many strange and marvellous histories1, wherein I had great pleasure and delight, as well for the novelty of the same, as for the fair language of the French, which was in prose so well and compendiously set and written, which methought I understood the sentence and substance of every matter. And for so much of this book was new and late made and drawn into French, and never had seen it in our English tongue, I thought in myself it should be a good business to translate it into our English, to the end that it might be had as well in the royaumes of England as in other lands, and also for to pass therewith the time, and thus concluded in my self to begin this said work. And forthwith took pen and ink, and began boldly to run forth as blind Bayardt in this present work, which is named "The Recuyell of the Trojan Histories." And afterward when I remembered myself of my simpleness and unperfectness that I had in both languages, that is to wit in French and in English, for in France was I never, and was born and learned my English in Kent, in the Weald, where I doubt not is spoken as broad and rude English as in any place of England; and have continued by the space of thirty years for the most part in the countries of Brabant, Flanders, Holland, and Zealand; and thus when all these things came before me, after that I had made and written five or six quires, I fell in despair of this work, and purposed no more to have continued therein, and those laid apart, and in two years after labored no more in this work, and was fully in will to have left it, till on a time it fortuned that the right high, excellent, and right virtuous princess, my right redoubted Lady, my Lady Margaret, by the grace of God sister unto the King of England and of France, my sovereign lord, Duchess of Burgundy, of Lotryk, of Brabant, of Limburg, and of Lux. embourg, Countess of Flanders, of Artois, and of Burgundy, Palatine of Hainault, of Holland, of Zealand, and of Namur, Marquesse of the Holy Empire, Lady of Frisia, of Salins, and of Mechlin, sent for me to speak with her good Grace of divers matters, among the which I let her Highness have knowledge of the foresaid beginning of this work, which5 anon commanded me to show the said five or six quires to her said Grace; and when she had seen them, anon she found a default in my English, which she commanded me to amend, and moreover commanded me straitly to continue and make an end of the residue then not translated; whose dreadful commandment I durst in no wise disobey, because I am a serv ant unto her said Grace and receive of her yearly fee and other many good and great benefits, (and also hope many more to receive of her Highness), but forthwith went and labored in the said translation after my simple and poor cunning, alsos nigh as I can follow my author, meekly beseeching the bounteous Highness of my said Lady that of her benevolence list9 to accept and take in gree10 this simple and rude work here following; and if there be anything written or said to her pleasure, I shall think my labor well employed, and whereas11 there is default, that she arette12 it to the simpleness of my cunning, which is full small in this behalf; and require and pray all them that shall read this said work to correct it, and to hold me excused of the rude and simple translation. And thus I end my prologue. |
