第 58 节
作者:
管他三七二十一 更新:2024-01-16 22:39 字数:9322
To whom for conseil thei beseke;
The which was brother to Venus;
Appollo men him clepe thus。
He was an Hunte upon the helles;
Ther was with him no vertu elles; 920
Wherof that enye bokes karpe;
Bot only that he couthe harpe;
Which whanne he walked over londe;
Fulofte time he tok on honde;
To gete him with his sustienance;
For lacke of other pourveance。
And otherwhile of his falshede
He feignede him to conne arede
Of thing which after scholde falle;
Wherof among hise sleyhtes alle 930
He hath the lewed folk deceived;
So that the betre he was received。
Lo now; thurgh what creacion
He hath deificacion;
And cleped is the god of wit
To suche as be the foles yit。
An other god; to whom thei soghte;
Mercurie hihte; and him ne roghte
What thing he stal; ne whom he slowh。
Of Sorcerie he couthe ynowh; 940
That whanne he wolde himself transforme;
Fulofte time he tok the forme
Of womman and his oghne lefte;
So dede he wel the more thefte。
A gret spekere in alle thinges
He was also; and of lesinges
An Auctour; that men wiste non
An other such as he was on。
And yit thei maden of this thief
A god; which was unto hem lief; 950
And clepede him in tho believes
The god of Marchantz and of thieves。
Bot yit a sterre upon the hevene
He hath of the planetes sevene。
But Vulcanus; of whom I spak;
He hadde a courbe upon the bak;
And therto he was hepehalt:
Of whom thou understonde schalt;
He was a schrewe in al his youthe;
And he non other vertu couthe 960
Of craft to helpe himselve with;
Bot only that he was a Smith
With Jupiter; which in his forge
Diverse thinges made him forge;
So wot I noght for what desir
Thei clepen him the god of fyr。
King of Cizile Ypolitus
A Sone hadde; and Eolus
He hihte; and of his fader grant
He hield be weie of covenant 970
The governance of every yle
Which was longende unto Cizile;
Of hem that fro the lond forein
Leie open to the wynd al plein。
And fro thilke iles to the londe
Fulofte cam the wynd to honde:
After the name of him forthi
The wyndes cleped Eoli
Tho were; and he the god of wynd。
Lo nou; hou this believe is blynd! 980
The king of Crete Jupiter;
The same which I spak of er;
Unto his brother; which Neptune
Was hote; it list him to comune
Part of his good; so that be Schipe
He mad him strong of the lordschipe
Of al the See in tho parties;
Wher that he wroghte his tyrannyes;
And the strange yles al aboute
He wan; that every man hath doute 990
Upon his marche forto saile;
For he anon hem wolde assaile
And robbe what thing that thei ladden;
His sauf conduit bot if thei hadden。
Wherof the comun vois aros
In every lond; that such a los
He cawhte; al nere it worth a stre;
That he was cleped of the See
The god be name; and yit he is
With hem that so believe amis。 1000
This Neptune ek was thilke also;
Which was the ferste foundour tho
Of noble Troie; and he forthi
Was wel the more lete by。
The loresman of the Schepherdes;
And ek of hem that ben netherdes;
Was of Archade and hihte Pan:
Of whom hath spoke many a man;
For in the wode of Nonarcigne;
Enclosed with the tres of Pigne; 1010
And on the Mont of Parasie
He hadde of bestes the baillie;
And ek benethe in the valleie;
Wher thilke rivere; as men seie;
Which Ladon hihte; made his cours;
He was the chief of governours
Of hem that kepten tame bestes;
Wherof thei maken yit the festes
In the Cite Stinfalides。
And forth withal yit natheles 1020
He tawhte men the forthdrawinge
Of bestaile; and ek the makinge
Of Oxen; and of hors the same;
Hou men hem scholde ryde and tame:
Of foules ek; so as we finde;
Ful many a soubtiel craft of kinde
He fond; which noman knew tofore。
Men dede him worschipe ek therfore;
That he the ferste in thilke lond
Was which the melodie fond 1030
Of Riedes; whan thei weren ripe;
With double pipes forto pipe;
Therof he yaf the ferste lore;
Til afterward men couthe more。
To every craft for mannes helpe
He hadde a redi wit to helpe
Thurgh naturel experience:
And thus the nyce reverence
Of foles; whan that he was ded;
The fot hath torned to the hed; 1040
And clepen him god of nature;
For so thei maden his figure。
An other god; so as thei fiele;
Which Jupiter upon Samele
Begat in his avouterie;
Whom; forto hide his lecherie;
That non therof schal take kepe;
In a Montaigne forto kepe;
Which Dyon hihte and was in Ynde;
He sende; in bokes as I finde: 1050
And he be name Bachus hihte;
Which afterward; whan that he mihte;
A wastour was; and al his rente
In wyn and bordel he despente。
Bot yit; al were he wonder badde;
Among the Greks a name he hadde;
Thei cleped him the god of wyn;
And thus a glotoun was dyvyn。
Ther was yit Esculapius
A godd in thilke time as thus。 1060
His craft stod upon Surgerie;
Bot for the lust of lecherie;
That he to Daires dowhter drowh;
It felle that Jupiter him slowh:
And yit thei made him noght forthi
A god; and was no cause why。
In Rome he was long time also
A god among the Romeins tho;
For; as he seide; of his presence
Ther was destruid a pestilence; 1070
Whan thei to thyle of Delphos wente;
And that Appollo with hem sente
This Esculapius his Sone;
Among the Romeins forto wone。
And there he duelte for a while;
Til afterward into that yle;
Fro whenne he cam; ayein he torneth;
Where al his lyf that he sojorneth
Among the Greks; til that he deide。
And thei upon him thanne leide 1080
His name; and god of medicine
He hatte after that ilke line。
An other god of Hercules
Thei made; which was natheles
A man; bot that he was so strong;
In al this world that brod and long
So myhti was noman as he。
Merveiles tuelve in his degre;
As it was couth in sondri londes;
He dede with hise oghne hondes 1090
Ayein geantz and Monstres bothe;
The whiche horrible were and lothe;
Bot he with strengthe hem overcam:
Wherof so gret a pris he nam;
That thei him clepe amonges alle
The god of strengthe; and to him calle。
And yit ther is no reson inne;
For he a man was full of sinne;
Which proved was upon his ende;
For in a rage himself he brende; 1100
And such a cruel mannes dede
Acordeth nothing with godhede。
Thei hadde of goddes yit an other;
Which Pluto hihte; and was the brother
Of Jupiter; and he fro youthe
With every word which cam to mouthe;
Of eny thing whan he was wroth;
He wolde swere his commun oth;
Be Lethen and be Flegeton;
Be Cochitum and Acheron; 1110
The whiche; after the bokes telle;
Ben the chief flodes of the helle:
Be Segne and Stige he swor also;
That ben the depe Pettes tuo
Of helle the most principal。
Pluto these othes overal
Swor of his commun custummance;
Til it befell upon a chance;
That he for Jupiteres sake
Unto the goddes let do make 1120
A sacrifice; and for that dede
On of the pettes for his mede
In helle; of which I spak of er;
Was granted him; and thus he ther
Upon the fortune of this thing
The name tok of helle king。
Lo; these goddes and wel mo
Among the Greks thei hadden tho;
And of goddesses manyon;
Whos names thou schalt hiere anon; 1130
And in what wise thei deceiven
The foles whiche here feith receiven。
So as Saturne is soverein
Of false goddes; as thei sein;
So is Sibeles of goddesses
The Moder; whom withoute gesses
The folk Payene honoure and serve;
As thei the whiche hire lawe observe。
Bot forto knowen upon this
Fro when sche cam and what sche is; 1140
Bethincia the contre hihte;
Wher sche cam ferst to mannes sihte;
And after was Saturnes wif;
Be whom thre children in hire lif
Sche bar; and thei were cleped tho
Juno; Neptunus and Pluto;
The whiche of nyce fantasie
The poeple wolde deifie。
And for hire children were so;
Sibeles thanne was also 1150
Mad a goddesse; and thei hire calle
The moder of the goddes alle。
So was that name bore forth;
And yit the cause is litel worth。
A vois unto Saturne tolde
Hou that his oghne Sone him scholde
Out of his regne putte aweie;
And he be cause of thilke weie;
That him was schape such a fate;
Sibele his wif began to hate 1160
And ek hire progenie bothe。
And thus; whil that thei were wrothe;
Be Philerem upon a dai
In his avouterie he lai;
On whom he Jupiter begat;
And thilke child was after that
Which wroghte al that was prophecied;
As it tofore is specefied:
So that whan Jupiter of Crete
Was king; a wif unto him mete 1170
The Dowhter of Sibele he tok;
And that was Juno; seith the bok。
Of his deificacion
After the false oppinion;
That have I told; so as thei meene;
And for this Juno was the queene
Of Jupiter and Soster eke;
The foles unto hire sieke;
And sein that sche is the goddesse
Of Regnes bothe and of richesse: 1180
And ek sche; as thei understonde;
The water Nimphes hath in honde
To leden at hire oghne heste;
And whan hir list the Sky tempeste;
The reinbowe is hir Messager。
Lo; which a misbelieve is hier!
That sche goddesse is of the Sky
I wot non other cause why。
An other goddesse is Minerve;
To whom the Greks obeie and serve: 1190
And sche was nyh the grete lay
Of Triton founde; wher sche lay
A child forcast; bot what sche was
Ther knew noman the sothe cas。
Bot in Aufrique sche was leid
In the manere as I have seid;
And caried fro that ilke place
Into an Y