The Penguin Book of English Verse
Page 12
Syne buryt hir withouttin tarying;
To Troylus furthwith the ring he bair,
And of Cresseid the deith he can declair.
145
Quhen he had hard hir greit infirmitie,
Hir legacie and lamentatioun,
And how scho endit in sic povertie,
He swelt for wo and fell doun in ane swoun;
For greit sorrow his hart to brist was boun;
150
Siching full sadlie, said, ‘I can no moir –
Scho was untrew and wo is me thairfoir.’
Sum said he maid ane tomb of merbell gray,
And wrait hir name and superscriptioun,
And laid it on hir grave quhair that scho lay,
155
In goldin letteris, conteining this ressoun:
‘Lo, fair ladyis! Cresseid of Troyis toun,
Sumtyme countit the flour of womanheid,
Under this stane, lait lipper, lyis deid.’
Now, worthie wemen, in this ballet schort,
160
Maid for your worschip and instructioun,
Of cheritie, I monische and exhort,
Ming not your lufe with fals deceptioun.
Beir in your mynd this schort conclusioun
Of fair Cresseid, as I have said befoir.
165
Sen scho is deid, I speik of hir no moir.
WILLIAM DUNBAR Lament, When He Wes Seik
I that in heill wes and gladnes
Am trublit now with gret seiknes
And feblit with infermité;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
5
Our plesance heir is all vane glory,
This fals warld is bot transitory,
The flesch is brukle, the Fend is sle;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
The stait of man dois change and vary,
10
Now sound, now seik, now blith, now sary,
Now dansand mery, now like to dee;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
No stait in erd heir standis sickir;
As with the wynd wavis the wickir
15
Wavis this warldis vanité;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
On to the ded gois all estatis,
Princis, prelotis and potestatis,
Baith riche and pur of al degré;
20
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He takis the knychtis in to feild
Anarmyt undir helme and scheild,
Victour he is at all mellé;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
25
That strang unmercifull tyrand
Takis on the moderis breist sowkand
The bab full of benignité;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He takis the campion in the stour,
30
The capitane closit in the tour,
The lady in bour full of bewté;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He sparis no lord for his piscence,
Na clerk for his intelligence;
35
His awfull strak may no man fle;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Art-magicianis and astrologgis,
Rethoris, logicianis and theologgis –
Thame helpis no conclusionis sle;
40
Timor mortis conturbat me.
In medicyne the most practicianis,
Lechis, surrigianis and phisicianis,
Thame self fra ded may not supplé;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
45
I se that makaris amang the laif
Playis heir ther pageant, syne gois to graif;
Sparit is nought ther faculté;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He has done petuously devour
50
The noble Chaucer, of makaris flour,
The Monk of Bery, and Gower, all thre;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
The gude Syr Hew of Eglintoun
And eik Heryot, and Wyntoun
55
He has tane out of this cuntré;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
That scorpion fell has done infek
Maister Johne Clerk and James Afflek
Fra balat making and trigidé;
60
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Holland and Barbour he has berevit;
Allace, that he nought with us levit
Schir Mungo Lokert of the Le;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Clerk of Tranent eik he has tane
That maid the anteris of Gawane;
Schir Gilbert Hay endit has he;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He has Blind Hary and Sandy Traill
70
Slane with his schour of mortall haill
Quhilk Patrik Johnestoun myght nought fle;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He has reft Merseir his endite
That did in luf so lifly write,
75
So schort, so quyk, of sentence hie;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
He has tane Roull of Aberdene
And gentill Roull of Corstorphin –
Two bettir fallowis did no man se;
80
Timor mortis conturbat me.
In Dunfermelyne he has done roune
With Maister Robert Henrisoun;
Schir Johne the Ros enbrast has he;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
85
And he has now tane last of aw
Gud gentill Stobo and Quintyne Schaw
Of quham all wichtis has peté;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Gud Maister Walter Kennedy
90
In poynt of dede lyis veraly –
Gret reuth it wer that so suld be;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Sen he has all my brether tane
He will naught lat me lif alane;
95
On forse I man his nyxt pray be;
Timor mortis conturbat me.
Sen for the ded remeid is none,
Best is that we for dede dispone,
Eftir our deid that lif may we;
100
Timor mortis conturbat me.
WILLIAM DUNBAR1510
Done is a battell on the dragon blak;
Our campioun Chryst confoundit hes his force:
The yettis of hell ar brokin with a crak,
The signe triumphall rasit is of the croce,
5
The divillis trymmillis with hiddous voce,
The saulis ar borrowit and to the bliss can go,
Chryst with his blud our ransonis dois indoce:
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.
Dungin is the deidly dragon Lucifer,
10
The crewall serpent with the mortall stang,
The auld kene tegir with his teith on char
Quhilk in a wait hes lyne for us so lang
Thinking to grip us in his clowis strang;
The mercifull lord wald nocht that it wer so,
15
He maid him for to felye of that fang:
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.
He for our saik that sufferit to be slane
And lyk a lamb in sacrifice wes dicht
Is lyk a lyone rissin up agane
20
And as a gyane raxit him on hicht;
Sprungin is Aurora radius and bricht,
On loft is gone the glorius Appollo,
The blisfull day depairtit fro the nycht:
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.
25
The grit victour agane is rissin on hicht
That for our querrell to the deth wes woundit;
The sone that wox all paill now schynis bricht,
And dirknes clerit, our fayth is now refoundit;
; The knell of mercy fra the hevin is soundit,
30
The Cristin ar deliverit of thair wo,
The Jowis and thair errour ar confoundit:
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.
The fo is chasit, the battell is done ceis,
The presone brokin, the jevellouris fleit and flemit;
35
The weir is gon, confermit is the peis,
The fetteris lowsit and the dungeoun temit,
The ransoun maid, the presoneris redemit;
The feild is win, ourcumin is the fo,
Dispulit of the tresur that he yemit:
40
Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.
WILLIAM DUNBAR
In to thir dirk and drublie dayis
Quhone sabill all the hevin arrayis,
With mystie vapouris, cluddis and skyis
Nature all curage me denyis
5
Off sangis, ballattis and of playis.
Quhone that the nycht dois lenthin houris
With wind, with haill and havy schouris,
My dulé spreit dois lurk for schoir;
My hairt for langour dois forloir
10
For laik of Symmer with his flouris.
I walk, I turne, sleip may I nocht,
I vexit am with havie thocht;
This warld all ovir I cast about,
And ay the mair I am in dout
15
The mair that I remeid have socht.
I am assayit on everie syde;
Despair sayis, ‘Ay in tyme provyde
And get sum thing quhairon to leif,
Or with grit trouble and mischeif
20
Thow sail in to this court abyd.’
Than Patience sayis, ‘Be not agast;
Hald Hoip and Treuthe within the fast
And lat Fortoun wirk furthe hir rage,
Quhome that no rasoun may assuage
25
Quhill that hir glas be run and past.’
And Prudence in my eir sayis ay,
‘Quhy wald thow hald that will away?
Or craif that thow may have mo space,
Thow tending to ane uther place
30
A journay going everie day?’
And than sayis Age, ‘My freind, cum neir
And be not strange, I the requeir;
Cum brodir, by the hand me tak;
Remember thow hes compt to mak
35
Off all thi tyme thow spendit heir.’
Syne Deid castis upe his yettis wyd
Saying, ‘Thir oppin sail the abyd;
Albeid that thow wer never sa stout,
Undir this lyntall sail thow lowt –
40
Thair is nane uther way besyde.’
For feir of this all day I drowp:
No gold in kist nor wyne in cowp,
No ladeis bewtie nor luiffis blys
May lat me to remember this,
45
How glaid that ever I dyne or sowp.
Yit quhone the nycht begynnis to schort
It dois my spreit sum pairt confort
Off thocht oppressit with the schowris;
Cum lustie Symmer with thi flowris,
50
That I may leif in sum disport.
1515GAVIN DOUGLAS / VIRGIL from The Aeneid
from Book I [Aeolus Looses the Winds]
Be this was said a grondyn dart leit he glide
And persit the boss hill as the braid syde
Furth at the ilke port wyndis brade in a rout
And with a quhirl blew all the erth about
5
Thai ombeset the seys bustuusly
Quhil fra the deip til every cost fast by
The huge wallis weltris apon hie,
Rollit at anys with storm of wyndis thre
Eurus, Nothus, and the wynd Affricus
10
Quhilkis est, south, and west wyndis hait with us.
Sone efter this of men the clamour rayss,
The takillis, graslis, cabillis can fret and frays
Swith the clowdis hevyn, son, and days lycht
Hyd and byreft furth of the Troianys sycht.
15
Dyrknes as nycht beset the seys about
The firmament gan rummyling rair and rout
The skyis oft lychtnyt with fyry levin
And, schortly bath ayr, sey, and hevin
And every thing mannasit the men to de,
20
Schawand the ded present tofor that e.
from The Proloug of the Sevynt Buik of Eneados
As bryght Phebus, scheyn soverane hevynnys e,
The opposit held of hys chymmys hie,
Cleir schynand bemys, and goldyn symmyris hew,
In laton cullour alteryng haill of new,
5
Kythyng no syng of heyt be hys vissage,
So neir approchit he his wyntir stage;
Reddy he was to entyr the thrid morn
In clowdy skyis undre Capricorn;
All thocht he be the hart and lamp of hevyn,
10
Forfeblit wolx hys lemand gylty levyn,
Throu the declynyng of hys large round speir.
The frosty regioun ryngis of the yer,
The tyme and sesson bittir, cald and paill,
Tha schort days that clerkis clepe brumaill,
15
Quhen brym blastis of the northyn art
Ourquhelmyt had Neptunus in his cart,
And all to-schaik the levis of the treis,
The rageand storm ourweltrand wally seys.
Ryveris ran reid on spait with watir browne,
20
And burnys hurlys all thar bankis downe,
And landbrist rumland rudely with sik beir,
So lowd ne rumyst wild lyoun or ber;
Fludis monstreis, sik as meirswyne or quhalis,
Fro the tempest law in the deip devalis.
25
Mars occident retrograde in his speir,
Provocand stryfe, regnyt as lord that yer;
Rany Oryon with his stormy face
Bewavit oft the schipman by hys race;
Frawart Saturn, chill of complexioun,
30
Throu quhais aspect darth and infectioun
Beyn causyt oft, and mortal pestilens,
Went progressyve the greis of his ascens;