صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

THE WORSHIP OF APOLLO.

To reckon by row, pe rodys is the moste.

In þat yle, sais ysidir, euyn on a hylle,
Ys Appolyn honouret and also Diana.

4264 There was foundyt a faire temple of a fyn werke,
With wallis vp wroght, wyn to beholde,

here Appollo, the pure god, was principally

worshippid.

Delos, who demys hit, is duly to say

Shortly to shalkes, a shewyng on opun';

And fro pat soile, for sothe, the sun first aperit,
And the mone in the merke, to men of pe loud;
perfore gentils aiugget, & for iuste held,
4272 pat in pat bare yle bothe borne were þai first.
þat lede in pere langage lyuely can call

The pure sun in hir pride, appollus doughter;
And Ediana, also, þai amyt hit to nome.
4276 The mone in his myldnes, pai menyt to hat
Ortigia, ouer all honouret with grekes.

Of his mater nomore but meue to our tale.--
In this Temple was a tor ymage, all of triet gold,

4280 In honour of Appolyn, þat I ere saide.

hof it defe were & doumbe, dede as a ston,
The gentils hit aiugget as a iuste god,

With errour vnable þat erst hom began,

4284 And worshippit hom wofully, for hom wit lacket Of pe Godhed giffen, pat grew from the sun,

þat all mightylé made & merket of noght.

ffor lacke of beleue þai light into errour,

4288 And fellen vnto fals goddes, & faithly honourt

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Idolatry the

result of ignorance, and the

means by which

With worship on all wise as weghis vppon lyue; "ends" deceive

bat no pouer hade plainly but of pale fyndes,
þat entrid into ymagis euer for dissayet,
4292 Spekand to specyals, pat spede for to aske,

Thurgh falshede of fyndes pe folke to dissayue,
And to ert hom in errour euermore to lenge.

I will tell here a tale, er I turne ferre,

people.

Book X.

Through the
glorious gift of
(fol. 67 b.)
Christ all idolatry

will pass away.
(MS. has "pes.")

("gabs not,"lies not.)

("in Cœlo.")

When Christ

came into Egypt

the false gods

fell to the ground.

The Jews held that Ishmael was the first who made idols; and the Gentiles, that it was Prometheus.

But no one in particular is to be blamed; for all men are naturally given to idolatry.

4296 Of pe fyndyng of false goddes, & the foule vse; How sprittis in hom spake to qwho pat spirre

4300

wold,

And how fowle þat þai faylit at the ferre end.
Throgh the glorious gyfte of goddes son of heuyn,
That come to our kynde throgh a cleane
Maydon,

All maumentre in myddelerthe myrtlit to peses
And wastid away purgh wit of hym one,
As the gospell of God, pat gabbis not, says.
4304 When Heraude in Anger atlede to sle

Cryste purgh his curstnes, as pe clause tellus,
An angell anon neghed to Jasep,

Sent fro pe souerayn þat in Celé dwelles,

4308 To take the childe for a chaunse & his choise moder,

And euyn into Egypt entre on his way.

When Criste in pat contre come with his dame,
The false goddes in fere fell to pe ground;

4312 Bothe Mawhownus & maumettes myrtild in

peces.

Isai also oponly tellus,

When Jesu Egipte Joynit with in,

All Symylacres for sothe soghten to ground.

4316 þat was a tokyn, he tellus, fro tyme of his come,
bat sacrifice shuld sese vnto ser goddis.
pus the Jewes aiugen, & for iust holdyn,
bat ysmaiell, of all men erst hom, began
4320 Maumettes to make of moldes & clay.
And the gentils aiuggen Justly anoper,
Prometheus, principall of þat pure art,
þat folke are fourmyt faithly to gentils.
4324 ffor no law in hor lede list hom to holde,

But folowit pere foule wille as fyndis hom taght;
Nawther cercumsiset sothely in sort with the

Jewes,

BEL OR BEELZEBUB.

Ne comyn with cristenmen, ne on Criste leuyn; 4328 But barly, as pai borne were, bydon pai stille,

4332

4336

And nauther law ne belefe lenton hom to.
The furst þat was founden of þes fals goddes,
Was wroght on pis wise, as weghes can tell.

OFF BEALL THE GOD & BELSABUB.

On Delus, a derfe Kyng þat deghit in eld,
Or Belus, as pe boke says, (bothe were his namys)
Hade a son þat hym sewit, sesit in his lond,
Nine was his name, & his next heire.

He brought hym to berynes on his best wise,
As be-come for a kyng, closit hym faire

With solempne sepulcre, sothely wroght.

Book X.

Ninus, son of

141

Delus, or Belus,

(fol. 68 a.)

And for his fader shuld faithly be fer in his that he might

mynd,

4340 An ymage a noble anon gert he make,

All grauyn of gold, & of good stonys,

Vne of mesure & mykyll, of his myld fader.

ffull solemly set in the sight of the pepull,
4344 With worship on all wise, þat worthy comaundit
To all the pepull of his prouyns, as a prise god.
That ymage to honour he ordant hym seluyn,
And gert the ledis to beleue, pat in his lond
dwelt,

4348 pat the gome was a god groundet in blisse.
And so the ffigur of his fader was falsly honouryt,
By assent of hym selfe þat the soile aght;

4352

duly honour and commemorate his father, erected a golden image of life size; and cominanded the people to worship it as a god.

And pen the fynde, with his falshed & his fer The "fiend"

cast,

Entrid in þat ymage, & onswaret the pepull. Who pat any thing asket after his dissyre, here onswaret opunly the aungell of helle: And so the ledis of the lond lyuely hym cald, 4356 Sum beall, sum belus, sum bell þe god,

Sum belphegor, & belsabub, as hom best likes.

[blocks in formation]

Book X.

The sun was called Apollo, and was so

worshipped in

Delos.

Then the chief planets were called Venus and Mercury;

(fol. 68 b.)

and the moon

was called Diana.

(Mesopotamia.) (Faunus.)

(Quirinus.)

(Paphos.) (Lemnos.)

(Vulcan.)

At Naxos,
Bacchus.

At Delphos,
Apollo.

In ensample of pat same sithyn other folke Haue feynit mony fals goddes, pat pe fynde plesit,

4360 Did honour to dedemen, & for dere holdyn. And pe sun the said on sothely a god,

hat appollo the pepull put into nome,

hat is honouret in the yle, pat I of telle,

4364 Delphon, or Delos, dem as ye list.

And pan Venus the worthy is worshippit with

sum,

hat of planettes of prise has hor pure nome. ben mercury, a mighty god, is most in honour, 4368 þat þai saidon was sun sothely to Jobiter.

Then the mone was most made for to please,
That Diana full duly pai demyt to hat.
And pus in costes & cuntreis of pe cursit gentils,
4372 pai sought with sacrifice vnto sere goddes.
In Egipt was honourt Ysum as god,

An in the cuntre of Crete cald vpon Jubiter.
The men of Mawsom most honret ymbane,

4376 And pe latyn lede loutid to faawn.

At Rome pai Reuerenst vppon riche wise
One qwirion, a qwicke fynde, & qwemly did serue;
At attens all folke aykewardly worshippid
4380 Minerva, a maument & most on hym leuyt;
At pauy, a pure god the pepull cald Venus;
At Lemno pai loutid to a laithe fynde,
On Volcaun þai worshippit on pere wise most.
4384 At Vaxor þe vayn pepull voidly honourit
Bachian, a bale fynde, as a blist god.
And at Delphon, duly, for derrest of other,
Appollyn was honourit, as I here said.

4388 In yche yle vppon erthe, eftur hor deuise,
Thai made mowmettes of mold in mynd of hor
goddes,

And honourit ouer all thyng as pere belefe askit.

LUCIFER.

Thus purgh falshed of pe fendes pe folke was
dissayuit,

4392 Vnder daunger of pe dule droupet full longe,
Of whose falshede & fourme in his first makyng
Will I somwhat say, & sithen of his falle.

(But pe fader, þat first fourmyt all thinge,

Book X.

143

God, who made the angels his

4396 Both the ayre, & Element, & Angells in heuyn, ministering

Water, & wynde, & welkyn aboue,—

In the highest heuyn, as holy writ sais,
He ordant angels after his deuyse,

4400 And set hom in seruice hym seluyn to honour.

But on the oddist of other ordant our lord,
Brightest of bemes in blisse for to dwelle.
Of whom the proffet of prise plainly can say,
4404 pere was no sterne in astate stode hym aboue,

Ne no pert tre in peradise apperith to hym,
Ne burione ne braunche to his beamys like.)
God fourmet hym so faire, as I fynd here,
4408 pat mony legions his light launchet aboue.

Thurgh his fairhede as fast he felle into pride,

spirits,

(Ps. ciii. 20, 21.)
(Ps. civ. 4, 5.)
(fol. 69 a.)
set Christ above
all.
(Heb. i. 4.)

(Is. xiv. 13.)

(Ezek. xxxi. 8, 9.)

God set Lucifer highest of the angels, but

through pride he fell from that

When he said of hym selfe his sete he wold make high estate:

ffull noble in pe north, pat non shuld be here

4412 Like to pe lord, þat the light made;
Euynyng in all thing euyn with hym selfe,
Sone he fell of his faire-hede, & fele of his peres,
hat assentid to þat syn, sonkyn in fire.
4416 Mony legion pere light vnto laithe fendes
With lucifer, pat lyuet in delites aboue,
bat wofully welt & woundid to the dethe.
Thus the gospell of God of pat grym tellis,—
4420 'I segh satan hym selfe slippe out of heuyn,

As pe leuenynges light, pat laches to ground.'
This fende was the first þat felle for his pride,
And lost has his lykyng, þat lyuyaton is cald.
4424 And for the case is vnknowen be course to pe

lewd,

and many legions

fell with him.

(Rev. xii. 7-9.)

(Luke x. 18.)

Satan is called
Leviathan.
(Is. xxvii. 1.)

« السابقةمتابعة »