The cõforte of louers | Page 4

fayre?Without to loue / that she lyst soone repayre
Two thynges me conforte / euer in pryncypall?The fyrst be bokes / made in antyquyte?By Gower and Chauncers / poetes rethorycall?And Lydgate eke / by good auctoryte?Makynge mencyon / of the felycyte?Of my lady and me / by dame fortunes chaunce?To mete togyders / by wonderfull ordynaunce
The seconde is / where fortune dooth me brynge?In many placys / I se by prophecy?As in the storyes / of the olde buyldynge?Letters for my lady / depeynted wonderly?And letters for me / besyde her meruayllously?Agreynge well / vnto my bokes all?In dyuers placys / I se it in generall
O loue moost dere / o loue nere to my harte?O gentyll floure / I wolde you knewe my wo?Now that your beaute / perst me with the darte?With your vertue / and your mekenes also?Sythens ye so dyde / it is ryght longe ago?My herte doth se you / it is for you bebledde?Myne eyen with teeres / ben often made full redde
Where are ye now / the floure of Ioye and grace?Whiche myght me conforte / in this inwarde sorowe?Myne excellent lady / it is a ryght pyteous case?Good be my guyde / and saynt George vnto borowe?O clere Aurora / the sterre of the morowe?Whiche many yeres / with thy bemes mery?Hath me awaked / to se thyne emyspery
{Th}us as I mourned / I sawe than apper{e}?Thre goodly myrours dependaunt on the wall?Set in fyne golde bordred with stones clere?The glasses pure / they were of crystall?Made longe ago to be memoryall?And vnder the fyrst glasse ryght fayre wryten was?Beholde thy selfe / and thy fautes or thou passe
By a sylken threde / small as ony heere?Ouer I sawe hange / a swerde full ponderous?Without a scauberde / full sharpe for to fere?The poynt dounwarde / ryght harde and asperous?All this I sawe / with hert full dolorous?Yet at auenture / to se the mystery?In the myroure / I loked than full sodenly
In this glasse I sawe / how I had ledde my lyfe?Sythens the tyme of my dyscrecyon?As vnto wyldnesse / alwaye affyrmatyfe?Folowynge the pleasure / of wylfull amonycyon?Not vnto vertue hauynge intencyon?Ihesu sayd I / thou hast me well preserued?From this swerdes fall / whiche I haue oft deserued
O ye estates / aloft on fortunes whele?Remembre this swerde / whiche ouer you dependeth?Beware the fall / before that ye it fele?Se your one euyll / se what vengeaunce ensueth?Correcte none other / whan that your fautes renueth?Calke not not goddes power / bryef not [the] tens future?Beholde this glasse / se how he may endure
Many one {weneth / the future t}ens to {brefe}?By calculacyon goddes power to withstande?Bathynge theyr swerdes / in blode by myschefe?Tyll at the last as I do vnderstande?This swerde doth fal by the myght of goddes hande?Vpon then all / whiche wolde his power abate?Then they repent but than it is to late
This goodly myrour / I ryght well behelde?Remembrynge well / my dedes done in tymes past?I toke forwytte / than for to be my shelde?By grace well armed / not to be agast?Thus as I stode / I dyde se at the last?The seconde myrour / as bryght as phebus?Set rounde about / with stones precyous
Ouer whiche dyde h[an]ge / a floure of golde ryght fyne?Wherin was set / an emeraude full bryght?Ryght large and grete / whiche w[on]derfull dyde shyne?That me thought it was / grete conforte to my syght?Bordred with dyamondes / cast[yn]ge a meruaylo[us] lyght?This floure dyde hange / by a ryght subtyll gynne?With a chayne of yron / and many a pryue pynne
Besyde whiche there was / a table of golde?With a goodly scrypture / enameled of grene?The sentence wherof / I dyde well beholde?The whiche sayd thus / it is openly sene?That many a one / full pryuely dooth wene?To blynde an other / by crafte and subtylnes?That ofte blyndeth hym / for all his doublenes
In this myrour whiche is here besyde?Thou shalt well lerne / they selfe for to knowe?Passe forth no ferder / but loke and abyde?Se what shall come / lest that thou ouer throwe?A sodayne rysynge dooth oft fall alowe?Without the grounde / be ryghe sure and perfyte?Beholde well this glasse / & take thy respyte
Whan thou hast so done / to this floure resorte?Laboure to gete it / from this harde yren chayne?Unto the gynnes / vnto thy 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