The cõforte of louers | Page 6

gospell
And where I lyst by power dyuyne
I do enspyre oft causynge grete
prophecy
Whiche is mysconstrued whan some do enclyne

Thynkynge by theyr wytte to perceyue it lyghtly
Or elles calke with
deuylles the trouth to sertyfy
Whiche contrary be to all true saynge

For deuylles be subtyll and alwaye lyenge
Whan I had aduerted with my dylygence
All the scrypture I sawe me
besyde
H[an]ge a fayre swerde & shelde of meruailous excell[en]ce

Whiche to beholde I dyde than abyde
To blase the armes I dyde
well prouyde
The felde was syluer / and in it a medowe grene
With

an olyue tre full meruaylously besene
Two lyons of asure vpon euery syde
Couchande were truely besyde
this olyue tree
A hande of stele wherin was wryten pryde
Dyde
holde this ryall swerde in certaynte
A scrypture there was whiche
sayd by subtylte
Of a grete lady hondred yeres ago
In the hande of
stele this swerde was closed so
No maner persone / maye{s touch}e this swerde
But one persone /
chosen by {go}d in dede
Of this ladyes kynred / n{ot} to be aferde

To touche this hande / his mater for to spede
And to vndo it / and take
it for his mede
But yf that he / be not of the lygnage
The hand wyll
sle hym / after olde vsage
This ryall swerde / that called is preprudence
Who can it gette / it
hath these vertues thre
Fyrst to wynne ryght / without longe
resystence
Secondly encreaseth / all trouth and amyte
Thyrdly of
the berer through duplycyte
Be pryuely fals / to the ordre of chyualry

The swerdes crosse wyll crase / and shewe it openly
This shelde also / who so dooth it bere
Whiche of olde tyme / was
called perceueraunce
Hath thre vertues / fyrst he nedeth not fere

Ony grete blodeshede / by wronge incombraunce
Secondly / it wolde
make good apparaunce
By hete vnto hym / to gyue hym warnynge

To be redy / agayst his enmyes comynge
The thyrde is this / yf this calenge be ryghtfull
Neuer no swerde /
shall through his harneys perce
Nor make hym blody / with woundes
rufull
For he there strength / may ryghtfully reuerce
Yet moreouer /
as I do well reherce
This ryall shelde / in what place it be borne

Shall soone be wonne / and shall not be forlorne
These thynges sene / to the thyrde myroure clere
I went anone / and
in it loked ryght ofte
Where in my syght / dyde wonderly appere

The fyrmament / with the sonne all alofte
The wynde not grete / but

blowynge fayre and softe
And besyde the sonne / I sawe a
meruaylous sterre
With beames twayne / the whiche were cast aferre
The one turnynge towarde the sterre agayne
The other stretched ryght
towarde Phebus
To beholde this sterre / I was somwhat fayne
But
than I mused with herte full dolorous
Whyder it sygnyfyed thynges
good or peryllous
Thus longe I studyed / tyll at the last I thought

What it sholde meane / as in my herte I sought
This sterre it sygnyfyeth the resynge of a knyght
The bowynge beame
agayne so tournynge
Betokened rattonnes of them whiche by myght

Wolde hym resyst by theyr wronge resystynge
The beame towarde
Phebus clerely shynynge
Betokened many meruaylous fyres grete

On them to lyght that wolde his purpose lete
In the fyre clerest of euery element
God hath appered vnto many a
one
Inspyrynge them / with grete wytte refulgent
Who lyst to rede
many dayes agone
Many one wryteth trouthe / yet c[om]forte hath he
none
Wherfore I fere me / lyke a swarme of bees
Wylde fyre wyll
lyght amonge a thousande pees
[P] Sepe expugnauerunt me a iuuentute mea:
et enim non potuerunt
michi.
As the cantycles maketh good mencyon
They haue oft expugned me /
syth my yonge age
Yet coude they haue me / in theyr domynyon

Though many a one / vnhappely do rage
They shall haue sorowe that
shytte me in a cage
In a grete dyspyte of the holy goost
He maye
them brenne / theyr calkynge is but loost
[P] Supra dorsum me[um] fabricauer[un]t peccatores:

prolongauer[un]t iniquitat[em] su[am].
Vpon my backe synners hath fabrysed
They haue prolonged theyr
grete inyquyte
From daye to daye it is not my mynysshed
Wherfore

for vengeaunce by grete extremyte
It cryeth aboue / now vnto the
deyte
Whiche that his mynysters haue suffred so longe
To lyue in
synne and euyll wayes wronge
Whan I had perceyued euery maner thynge
Of this ryall myrour /
accordynge to effecte
Remembrynge the verses / of the olde saynge

Whiche in my mynde I dyde well coniecte
Than to the swerde / I
thought to haue respecte
Ryght so I went / than at all auenture
Vnto
the hande / that helde the swerde so sure
I felte the hande / of the stell so fyne
Me thought it quaked / the
fyngers gan to stretche
I thought by that / I came than of the lyne
Of
the grete lady / that fyrst the swerde dyde fetche
The swerdes pomell
/ I began to ketche
The hande swerued / but yet neuer the lesse
I
helde them bothe / by excellent prowes