The cõforte of louers | Page 5

grete conforte

Yf that thou canst / and take it for thy payne
To be they helpe / in
thy Iournaye certayne
Lo here the vertues vnder wryten be
Of this
ryall floure in euery degre
This ryche emeraude / who so dooth it bere
From his fyrst werynge /
his syght shal not mynysshe
Payne of the heed he nedeth not to fere

By dynt of swerde / he shall neuer perysshe
Ne no thynge begyn /
but he shall well fynysshe
Yf it be ryghtfull aftyr a true entent

Without resystence of grete impedyment
Of all nygromancy / and fals enchauntement
Agaynst hym wrought /
he shall knowe the effecte
They can not blynde hym by cursed
sentement
But he theyr werkes may ryght soone abiecte
No maner
poyson he nedeth to susspecte
Neyther in mete not yet in ale ne wyne

Yf it beset well besyde a serpentyne
Yf he vntrue be vnto his gentyll lady
It wyll breke asondre / or crase
than doubtlesse
It kepeth close / neuet the auoutry
This gentyll
emeraude / this stone of rychesse
Hath many mo vertues / whiche I
do not expresse
As saynt Iohan euangelyst doeth shewe openly

Who of his makynge lyst se the lapydary
When I had aduerted / in my remembraunce
All the maters / vnto the
glasse I wente
Beholdynge it / by a longe cyrcumstaunce
Where as
I dyde perceyue well verament
How preuy malyce / his messengers
had sent
With subtyll engynes / to lye in a wayte
Yf that they coude
take me with a bayte
I sawe there trappes / I sawe theyr gynnes all
I thanked god than / the
swete holy goost
Whiche brought me hyder so well in specyall

Without whiche myrour / I had been but loost
In god aboue / the
lorde of myghtes moost
I put my trust / for to withstande theyr euyll

Whiche dayly wrought / by the myght of the deuyll

I sawe theyr maysters blacke and tydyous
Made by the craft of many
a nacyon
For to dystroye me / with strokes peryllous
To lette my
Iournaye / as I make relacyon
Peryllous was the waye / and the
cytuacyon
Full gladde was I of the vertu of this glasse
Whiche
shewed me / what daungers I sholde passe
O all ye estates / of the hygh renowne
Beware these gynnes / beware
theyr subtylte
The deuyll is grete / {and re}dy to cast downe
By
calculacyon / of the {cur}sed cruelte
Of the subtyll beestes / full of
inyquyte
In the olde tyme what snares were there sette
By fals
calkynge / to dystroye lordes grete
Than after this to the yron gynne
I wente anone my wyte for to proue

By lytell and lytell / to vndo euery pynne
Thus in and out / I dyde
the chayne ofte moue
Yet coude I not come / vnto myne aboue
Tyll
at the last / I dyde the crafte espy
Vndoynge the pynnes / & chayne
full meruaylously
Full gladde was I than / whan I had this floure
I kyst it oft / I behelde
the coloure grene
It swaged ryght well / myn inwarde doloure
Myn
eyes conforted / with the bryghtnes I wene
This ryall floure / this
emeraude to shene
Whan I had goten it by my prudence
Ryght
gladde I was / of fortunes premynence
O fortune sayd I / thou art ryght fauorable
For many a one / hath ben
by symylytude
To wynne this floure / full gretely tendable
But they
the subtylnes / myght nothynge exclude
Sythnen by wysdome / I
dyde this fraude conclude
This floure / I sette nere my harte
For
perfyte loue / of my fayre ladyes darte
So this accomplysshed / than incontynent
To the thyrde myrour I
went dyrectly
Beholdynge aboute by good auysement
Seynge an
ymage made full wonderly
Of the holy goost with flambes ardauntly

Vnder whiche I sawe with letters fayre and pure
In golde well
grauen this meruaylous scrypture

Frome the fader and the sone my power procedynge
And of my selfe
I god do ryght ofte inspyre
Dyuers creatures with spyrytuall
knowynge
Inuysyble by dyuyne flambynge fyre
The eyes I entre
not it is not my desyre
& am not coloured of the terrestryall grounde

Nor entre the eres for I do not sounde
Nor by the nose for I am not myxte
With ony maner of the ayry
influence
Nor by the mouthe for I am not fyxte
For to be swalowed
by erthly experyence
Nor yet by felynge or touchynge exystence

My power dyuyne can not be palpable
For I myselfe am no thynge
manyable
Yet vysyble I may be by good apparaunce
As in the lykenesse of a
doue vnto chryste Ihesu
At his baptysme I dyde it with good
countenaunce
To shewe our godhed to be hygh and true
And at his
transfyguracyon our power to ensue
In a fayre cloude with clere rayes
radyaunt
Ouer hym that I was well apparaunt
Also truely yet at the feest of pentycoste
To the sones moder and the
apostelles all
In tonges of fyre as god of myghtes moost
I dyde
appere shewynge my power spyrytuall
Enflambynge theyr hertes by
vertues supernall
Whiche after that by languages well
In euery
regyon coude pronounce the