THE WORSHIP OF APOLLO.

139

Book X.

(fol. 67 a.)

Delos signifies
“open."

The sun and the moon sprang from Delos,

To reckon by row, þe rodys is the moste.
In þat yle, sais ysidir, euyn on a hylle,

(Rhodes.)

(Isidore.)
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
4268 Shortly to shalkes,-'a shewyng on opun';

And fro þat soile, for sothe, the sun first aperit,
And the mone in the merke, to men of þe loud;

berfore gentils aiugget, & for iuste held,
4272 pat in þat bare yle bothe borne were þai first.

hat lede in þere langage lyuely can call
The pure sun in hir pride, appollus doughter;

And Ediana, also, pai amyt hit to nome.
4276 The mone in his myldnes, þai menyt to hat

Ortigia, ouer all honouret with grekes.
Of bis 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.

bof 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 þe Godhed giffen, þat grew from the sun,
hat all mightylé made & merket of noght.

ffor lacke of beleue pai light into errour,
4288 And fellen vnto fals goddes, & faithly honourt

With worship on all wise as weghis vppon lyue ; "Rends" deceive
pat no pouer hade plainly but of pale fyndes,

bat entrid into ymagis euer for dissayet,
4292 Spekand to specyals, þat 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,

Idolatry the
result of ignor-
ance, and the

by
people.

Book X.

(fol. 67 b.)

When Christ

4296 Of þe fyndyng of false goddes, & the foule vse;

How sprittis in hom spake to qwho þat spirre

wold,

And how fowle þat þai faylit at the ferre end. Through the

Throgh the glorious gyfte of goddes son of heuyn, glorious gift of

4300 That come to our kynde throgh cleane Christ all idolatry will pass away.

Maydon, (MS. has "pes.")

All maumentre in myddelerthe myrtlit to peses

And wastid away þurgh wit of hym one, ("gabs not," —

As the gospell of God, þat gabbis not, says. lies not.)

4304 When Heraude in Anger atlede to sle

Cryste þurgh his curstnes, as pe clause tellus,

An angell anon neghed to Jasep, (" in Colo.")

Sent fro þe 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 þat contre come with his dame, came into Egypt the false gods

The false goddes in fere fell to þe ground;
the 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 bat was a tokyn, he tellus, fro tyme of his come,

bat sacrifice shuld sese vnto ser goddis. The Jews held

hus the Jewes aiugen, & for iust holdyn, that Ishmael was the first who made

hat ysmaiell, of all men erst hom, began idols; and the

4320 Maumettes to make of moldes & clay. Gentiles, that it

And the gentils aiuggen Justly anoper',
Prometheus, principall of þat pure art,

pat folke are fourmyt faithly to gentils. But no one in

4324 ffor no law in hor lede list hom to holde, particular is to be blamed; for all

But folowit þere foule wille as fyndis hom taght; men are naturally given to idolatry. Nawther cercumsiset sothely in sort with the

Jewes,

fell

was Prometheus,

Book X.

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

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

OFF BEALL THE GOD & BELSABUB.

(fol. 68 a.)

commemorate his

cominanded the

4332 On Delus, a derfe Kyng þat deghit in eld,

Or Belus, as þe boke says, (bothe were his namys)
Hade a son þat hym sewit, sesit in his lond,
Nine was his name, & his next heire.

Ninus, son of

Delus, or Belus, 4336 He brought hym to berynes on his best wise,

As be-come for a kyng, closit hym faire
With solempne sepulcre, sothely wroght.
And for his fader shuld faithly be fer in his that he miglit

duly honour and mynd,

father, erected a 4340 An ymage a noble anon gert he make,

golden image of All grauyn of gold, & of good stonys,

life size; and Vne of mesure & mykyll, of his myld fader. people to worship

it as a god.
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, þat in his lond

dwelt,
4348 þat the gome was a god groundet in blisse.

And so the fligur of his fader was falsly honouryt,
By assent of hym selfe þat the soile aght;
And þen the fynde, with his falshed & his fer the “ fiend”
cast,

image and
4352 Entrid in þat ymage, & onswaret the pepull.

people :
Who þat any thing asket after his dissyre,
bere onswaret opunly the aungell of helle :
And so the ledis of the lond lyuely hym cald,

called it Baal; 4356 Sum beall, sum belus, sum bell pe god,

some, Belus; Sum belphegor, & belsabub, as hom best likes.

entered into this

answered the

hence, some

Book X.

The sun was called Apollo, and was so worshipped in Delos.

Then the chief planets were called Venus and Mercury ;

(fol. 68 6.) and the moon was called Diana.

In ensample of þat same sithyn other folke
Haue feynit mony fals goddes, þat þe fynde

plesit,
4360 Did honour to dedemen, & for dere holdyn.

And þe sun the saidon sothely a god,
pat appollo the pepull put into nome,

hat is honouret in the yle, þat I of telle,
4364 Delphon, or Delos, dem as ye list.

And þan Venus the worthy is worshippit with

sum,
pat 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 denyt to hat.

And pus in costes & cuntreis of pe cursit gentils, 4372 Þai 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 be 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 þai loutid to a laithe fynde,

On Volcaun þai worshippit on þere 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 þere belefe askit.

(Mesopotamia.)

(Faunus.)

(Quirinus.)

(Paphos.)

(Lemnos.)

(Vulcan.)

At Naxos,
Bacchus.

At Delphos,
Apollo.

Book X.

the angels his

set Christ above all.

God set Lucifer

Thus þurgh falshed of be fendes þe folke was

dissayuit,
4392 Vnder daunger of þe dule droupet full longe,

Of whose falshede & fourme in his first makyng
Will I som what say, & sithen of his falle.

(But þe fader, þat first fourmyt all thinge,- God, who made 4396 Both the ayre, & Element, & Angells in heuyn, ministering

spirits,
Water, & wynde, & welkyn aboue, -
In the highest heuyn, as holy writ sais,
He ordant angels after his deuyse,

(Ps. ciii. 20, 21.)

(Ps. civ. 4, 5.) 4400 And set hom in seruice hym seluyn to honour. (fol. 69 a.)

But on the oddist of other ordant our lord,
Brightest of bemes in blisse for to dwelle. (Heb. i. 4.)

Of whom the proffet of prise plainly can say,
4404 bere was no sterne in astate stode hym aboue, (Is. xiv, 13.)

Ne no pert tre in peradise apperith to hym, (Ezek. xxxi. 8, 9.)
Ne burione ne braunche to his beamys like.)
God fourmet hym so faire, as I fynd here,

highest of the 4408 þat mony legions his light launchet aboue.

angels, but

through pride he Thurgh his fairhede as fast he felle into pride, When he said of hym selfe his sete he wold make high estate :

ffull noble in þe north, þat non shuld be here 4412 Like to be lord, þat the light made ;

Euynyng in all thing euyn with hym selfe,
Sone he fell of his faire-hede, & fele of his peres,
bat assentid to þat syn, sonkyn in fire.

and many legions 4416 Mony legion þere light vnto laithe fendes

With lucifer, þat lyuet in delites aboue,
hat 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, (Luke x. 18.)

As þe leuenynges light, þat laches to ground.'
This fende was the first þat felle for his pride,

Leviathan. And lost has his lykyng, þat lyuyaton is cald. (Is. xxvii. 1.) 4424 And for the case is vnknowen be course to be

lewd,

fell from that

fell with him.
(Rev, xii. 7-9.)

Satan is called