Chapter I

Alas! Fortune! alas! I that som-tyme in delicious houres
was wont to enjoye blisful stoundes, am now drive by
unhappy hevinesse to bewaile my sondry yvels in tene!

Trewly, I leve, in myn herte is writte, of perdurable letters, al the
entencions of lamentacion that now ben y-nempned! For any 5
maner disese outward, in sobbing maner, sheweth sorowful yexinge
from within. Thus from my comfort I ginne to spille, sith she
that shulde me solace is fer fro my presence. Certes, her
absence is to me an helle; my sterving deth thus in wo it myneth,
that endeles care is throughout myne herte clenched; blisse of 10
my joye, that ofte me murthed, is turned in-to galle, to thinke on
thing that may not, at my wil, in armes me hente! Mirth is
chaunged in-to tene, whan swink is there continually that reste was
wont to sojourne and have dwelling-place. Thus witless, thoughtful,
sightles lokinge, I endure my penaunce in this derke prison, 15
+caitived fro frendshippe and acquaintaunce, and forsaken of al
that any +word dare speke. Straunge hath by waye of intrucioun
mad his home, there me shulde be, if reson were herd as he
shulde. Never-the-later yet hertly, lady precious Margarit, have
mynde on thy servaunt; and thinke on his disese, how lightles he 20
liveth, sithe the bemes brennende in love of thyn eyen are so
bewent, that worldes and cloudes atwene us twey wol nat suffre
my thoughtes of hem to be enlumined! Thinke that oon vertue
of a Margarite precious is, amonges many other, the sorouful to
comforte; yet +whyles that, me sorouful to comforte, is my lust 25
to have nought els at this tyme, d[r]ede ne deth ne no maner
traveyle hath no power, myn herte so moche to fade, as shulde
to here of a twinkling in your disese! Ah! god forbede that;
but yet let me deye, let me sterve withouten any mesure of
penaunce, rather than myn hertely thinking comfort in ought 30
were disesed! What may my service avayle, in absence of her
that my service shulde accepte? Is this nat endeles sorowe to
thinke? Yes, yes, god wot; myn herte breketh nigh a-sonder.
How shulde the ground, without kyndly noriture, bringen forth
any frutes? How shulde a ship, withouten a sterne, in the grete see 35
be governed? How shulde I, withouten my blisse, my herte, my
desyre, my joye, my goodnesse, endure in this contrarious prison,
that thinke every hour in the day an hundred winter? Wel may
now Eve sayn to me, 'Adam, in sorowe fallen from welth, driven
art thou out of paradise, with swete thy sustenaunce to beswinke!' 40
Depe in this pyninge pitte with wo I ligge y-stocked,
with chaynes linked of care and of tene. It is so hye from thens
I lye and the commune erth, there ne is cable in no lande maked,
that might strecche to me, to drawe me in-to blisse; ne steyers
to steye on is none; so that, without recover, endeles here to 45
endure, I wot wel, I [am] purveyed. O, where art thou now,
frendship, that som-tyme, with laughande chere, madest bothe
face and countenaunce to me-wardes? Truely, now art thou
went out of towne. But ever, me thinketh, he wereth his olde
clothes, and that the soule in the whiche the lyfe of frendship was 50
in, is drawen out from his other spirites. Now than, farewel,
frendship! and farewel, felawes! Me thinketh, ye al han taken
your leve; no force of you al at ones. But, lady of love, ye wote
what I mene; yet thinke on thy servaunt that for thy love
spilleth; al thinges have I forsake to folowen thyn hestes; 55
rewarde me with a thought, though ye do naught els. Remembraunce
of love lyth so sore under my brest, that other thought
cometh not in my mynde but gladnesse, to thinke on your goodnesse
and your mery chere; +ferdnes and sorowe, to thinke on your
wreche and your daunger; from whiche Christ me save! My 60
greet joye it is to have in meditacion the bountees, the vertues,
the nobley in you printed; sorowe and helle comen at ones, to
suppose that I be +weyved. Thus with care, sorowe, and tene
am I shapt, myn ende with dethe to make. Now, good goodly,
thinke on this. O wrecched foole that I am, fallen in-to so lowe, 65
the hete of my brenning tene hath me al defased. How shulde
ye, lady, sette prise on so foule fylthe? My conninge is thinne,
my wit is exiled; lyke to a foole naturel am I comparisoned.
Trewly, lady, but your mercy the more were, I wot wel al my
labour were in ydel; your mercy than passeth right. God graunt 70
that proposicion to be verifyed in me; so that, by truste of good
hope, I mowe come to the haven of ese. And sith it is impossible,
the colours of your qualitees to chaunge: and forsothe I
wot wel, wem ne spot may not abyde there so noble vertue
haboundeth, so that the defasing to you is verily [un]imaginable, 75
as countenaunce of goodnesse with encresinge vertue is so in you
knit, to abyde by necessary maner: yet, if the revers mighte falle
(which is ayenst kynde), I +wot wel myn herte ne shulde therfore
naught flitte, by the leste poynt of gemetrye; so sadly is it
+souded, that away from your service in love may he not departe. 80
O love, whan shal I ben plesed? O charitee, whan shal I ben
esed? O good goodly, whan shal the dyce turne? O ful of
vertue, do the chaunce of comfort upwarde to falle! O love,
whan wolt thou thinke on thy servaunt? I can no more but here,
out-cast of al welfare, abyde the day of my dethe, or els to see the 85
sight that might al my wellinge sorowes voyde, and of the flode
make an ebbe. These diseses mowen wel, by duresse of sorowe,
make my lyfe to unbodye, and so for to dye; but certes ye, lady,
in a ful perfeccion of love ben so knit with my soule, that deth
may not thilke knotte unbynde ne departe; so that ye and my 90
soule togider +in endeles blisse shulde dwelle; and there shal
my soule at the ful ben esed, that he may have your presence, to
shewe th'entent of his desyres. Ah, dere god! that shal be a
greet joye! Now, erthely goddesse, take regarde of thy servant,
though I be feble; for thou art wont to prayse them better that 95
wolde conne serve in love, al be he ful mener than kinges or
princes that wol not have that vertue in mynde.

Now, precious Margaryte, that with thy noble vertue hast
drawen me in-to love first, me weninge therof to have blisse,
[ther]-as galle and aloes are so moche spronge, that savour of 100
swetnesse may I not ataste. Alas! that your benigne eyen, in
whiche that mercy semeth to have al his noriture, nil by no
waye tourne the clerenesse of mercy to me-wardes! Alas! that
your brennande vertues, shyning amonges al folk, and enlumininge
al other people by habundaunce of encresing, sheweth to me 105
but smoke and no light! These thinges to thinke in myn herte
maketh every day weping in myn eyen to renne. These liggen
on my backe so sore, that importable burthen me semeth on my
backe to be charged; it maketh me backwarde to meve, whan
my steppes by comune course even-forth pretende. These 110
thinges also, on right syde and lift, have me so envolved with
care, that wanhope of helpe is throughout me ronne; trewly,
+I leve, that graceles is my fortune, whiche that ever sheweth it
me-wardes by a cloudy disese, al redy to make stormes of tene;
and the blisful syde halt stil awayward, and wol it not suffre to 115
me-wardes to turne; no force, yet wol I not ben conquered.

O, alas! that your nobley, so moche among al other creatures
commended by +flowinge streme +of al maner vertues, but
ther ben wonderful, I not whiche that let the flood to come
in-to my soule; wherefore, purely mated with sorowe thorough-sought, 120
my-selfe I crye on your goodnesse to have pitè on this
caytif, that in the in[ne]rest degree of sorowe and disese is left,
and, without your goodly wil, from any helpe and recovery.
These sorowes may I not sustene, but-if my sorowe shulde be
told and to you-wardes shewed; although moche space is bitwene 125
us twayne, yet me thinketh that by suche +joleyvinge wordes my
disese ginneth ebbe. Trewly, me thinketh that the sowne of my
lamentacious weping is right now flowe in-to your presence, and
there cryeth after mercy and grace, to which thing (me semeth)
thee list non answere to yeve, but with a deynous chere ye 130
commaunden it to avoide; but god forbid that any word shuld of
you springe, to have so litel routh! Pardè, pitè and mercy in
every Margarite is closed by kynde amonges many other vertues,
by qualitees of comfort; but comfort is to me right naught worth,
withouten mercy and pitè of you alone; whiche thinges hastely 135
god me graunt for his mercy!

CH. I. 2. enioy. 3. sondrye. 5. nowe. 6. disease outwarde. 7. comforte. 8. ferre. 9. hell. dethe. 10. endelesse. 12. hent. 13. swynke. 14. dwellynge-. wytlesse. 15. syghtlesse. prisone. 16. caytisned (_for_ caytifued). 17. wode (!); _for_ worde; _read_ word. 18. made. reason. herde. 20. disease. 21. beames. 22. _For_ be-went, Th. _has_ be-we_n_t. 23. one. 25. wyl of; _apparently an error for_ whyles (_which I adopt_). luste. 26. dede (_for_ drede). 27. myne. 28. twynckelynge. disease. 29. lette (_twice_). dey. measure. 30. myne. comforte. 31. diseased. maye. aueyle. 32. endlesse.

33. wote; myne hert breaketh. 34. howe. grou_n_de. forthe. 35. howe. shippe. great. 36. Howe. 39. nowe. sayne. 40. arte. weate. 44. stretche. 45. stey. endlesse. 46. wotte. _I supply_ am. spurveyde. arte. nowe. 47. frenshyppe (_sic_). 48. nowe arte. 49. weareth. 51. Nowe. 53. leaue. 57. lythe. 59. frendes (_sic_); _for_ ferdnes: _cf._ p. 9, l. 9. 60. Christe. 61. great. bounties. 62. hel. 63. veyned (_sic_); _for_ weyued. 64. shapte. Nowe. 65. wretched. 66. heate. 68. wytte.

69. wote. 72. ease. sythe. 73. qualyties. 74. wote. wemme ne spotte maye. 75. _Read_ unimaginable. 77. knytte. fal. 78. wol wel (_for_ wot wel). 80. sonded; _read_ souded. maye. 81. pleased. charyte. 82. eased. 83. comforte. fal. 85. out caste. daye. se. 86. flodde. 87. diseases. 89. perfectyon. knytte. dethe. 91. togyther is endelesse in blysse(!). dwel. 92. eased. 93. thentent. 94. great. Nowe. 95. arte wonte. 98. Nowe. haste. 100. _I supply_ ther. 104. folke.

105. encreasing. 110. forthe. 112, 113. trewly and leue; _read_ trewly I leve. 113. gracelesse. 114. disease. 115. halte. 117. (_The sentence beginning_ O, alas _seems hopelessly corrupt; there are pause-marks after_ vertues _and_ wonderful.) 118. folowynge; _read_ flowinge. by; _read_ of. 119. flode. 122. caytife. inrest. disease. lefte. 124. maye. 125. tolde. 126. ioleynynge (_sic_). 127. disease. 128. nowe. 130. the lyst none. 131. worde. 134. qualites of comforte. worthe.