And in the water rombleth to and fro,

And wonder prively toke up alfo

The coper teine, (not knowing thilke preest)
And hidit, and him hente by the breft,

And to him fpake, and thus faid in his game;
Stoupeth adoun; by God ye be to blame;
Helpeth me now, as I did you whilere;
Put in your hond, and loketh what is there.
This preeft toke up this filver teine anon;

And thanne faid the chanon, Let us gon

16790

16795

16799

With thise three teines which that we han wrought
To fom goldsmith, and wete if they ben ought,
For by my faith I n'olde for my hood

But if they weren filver fine and good,

And that as (withe wel preved fhal it be.

Unto the goldsmith with thise teines three 16805

They went anon, and put hem in affay
To fire and hammer: might no man fay nay
But that they weren as hem ought to be.
This foted preeft, who was gladder than he?
Was never brid gladder agains the day,
Ne nightingale in the fefon of May
Was never non that lift better to king,
Ne lady luftier in carolling,

Or for to fpeke of love and womanhede,
Ne knight in armes don a hardy dede
To ftonden in grace of his lady dere,

Than hadde this preeft this craft for to lere;

16810

16815

And to the chanon thus he fpake and seid:
For the love of God that for us alle deid,
And as I may deferve it unto you,
What fhal this receit coft? telleth me now.

By our Lady, quod this chanon, it is dere.
I warne you wel that fave I and a frere
In Englelond ther can no man it make.

16820

No force, quod he: now, Sire, for Goddes fake What fhall I pay? teleth me I you pray.

Ywis, quod he, it is ful dere I fay.

Sire, at a word, if that you lift it have
Ye shal pay fourty pound, fo Gød me fave;
And n'ere the frendship that ye did er this

To me ye fhulden payen more ywis.

This prees the fum of fourty pound anon Of nobles fet, and toke hem everich on

16826

16830

To this chanon for this ilke receit.

All his werking n'as but fraud and deceit.

16835

Sire Preeft, he faid, I kepe for to have no loos
Of my craft, for I wold it were kept cloos,
And as ye love me kepeth it fecree,
For if men knewen all my fubtiltee,
By God they wolden have fo gret envie
To me, because of my philofophie,

I fhuld be ded, ther were non other way.

16840

God it forbede, quod the preeft, what ye say: Yet had I lever fpenden all the good

Which that I have (and elles were I wood) 16845

Than that

fhuld fallen in fwiche mefchefe.

ye For your good will, Sire, have ye right good prefe, Quod the chanon; and farewel, grand mercy. He went his way, and never the preeft him fey After that day. And whan that this preeft fhold Maken affay, at fwiche time as he wold, Of this receit, farewel! it n'old not be. Lo, thus bejaped and begiled was he; Thus maketh he his introduction To bringen folk to hir destruction.

Confidereth, Sires, how that in eche eflat

16851.

16855

Betwixen men and gold ther is debat,

So ferforth that unnethes is ther non.

This multiplying so blint many on
That in good faith I trowe that it be
The caufe greteft of swiche scarfitec.
Thise philofophres fpeke so mistily
In this craft that men cannot come therby
For any wit that men have now adayes:
They mow wel chateren as don thise jayes,

16860

16865

And in hir termes fet hir luft and peine,
But to hir purpos fhul they never atteine.
A man may lightly lerne, if he have ought,
To multiplie and bring his good to nought.
Lo, fwiche a lucre is in this lafty game

16870

A mannes mirth it wol turne al to grame,
And emptien alfo gret and hevy purses,

Aud maken folk for to purchasen curfes

Of hem that han therto hir good ylent.

O, fy for fhame! they that han be brent,
Alas! can they not flee the fires hete?
Ye that it use Frede that ye it lete,
Left ye lefe all; for bet than never is late:
Never to thriven were to long a date:
Though ye prolle ay ye fhul it never find;

Ye ben as bold as is Bayard the blind,

That blondereth forth, and peril cafteth non;
He is as bold to renne agains a fton

As for to go befides in the way:
So faren ye that multiplien I fay.
If that your eyen cannot feen aright
Loketh that youre mind lacke not his fight,
For though ye loke never fo brode and stare
Ye fhuln not win a mite on that chaffare,
But waften all that ye may rape and renne.
Withdraw the fire left it to fafte brenne;
Medleth no more with that art I mene,
For if ye don your thrift is gon ful clene :
And right as fwithe I wol you tellen here
What philofophres fain in this matere.

Lo, thus faith Arnolde of the newe toun,

As his Rofarie maketh mentioun ;

He faith right thus, withouten any lie,

Ther may no man mercurie mortifie

16875

16880

16885

16890

16895

But it be with his brothers knowleching.

169c0

Lo, how that he which firste said this thing

Of philofophres father was, Hermes;
He faith how that the dragon douteles
Ne dieth not but if that he be flain
With his brother; and this is for to fain,
By the dragon Mercury and non other
He understood, and Brimstone by his brother,
That out of Sol and Luna were ydrawe.

And therfore, faid he, Take heed to
Let no man befie him this art to feche
But if that he the entention and speche
Of philofophres understonden can,

And if he do he is a lewed man;

my

For this science and this conning (quod he)

Is of the fecree of fecrees parde.

Also ther was a difciple of Plato

That on a time faid his maister to,
As his book Senior wol bere witneffe,

And this was his demand in fothfaftneffe,

16905

fawe:

16919

16915

V. 16915. the fecree of fecrees] He alludes to a treatife entitled Secreta Secretorum, which was supposed to contain the fum of Ariftotle's inftructions to Alexander. See Fabric. Bibl. Gr. v. ii. p. 167. It was very popular in the middle ages. Ægidius de Columnâ, a famous divine and bithop about the latter end of the 13th century, built upon it his book De Regimine Principum, of which our Occleve made a free tranflation in English verfe, and addressed it to Henry V. while Prince of Wales. A part of Lydgate's tranflation of the Secreta Secretorum is printed in Afhmole's Theat. Chem. Brit. p. 397.; he did not translate more than about half of it, being prevented by death. See mf. Harl. 2251, and Tanner, Bib. Brit. in v. Lydgate. The greateft part of the 7th book of Gower's Conf. Amant. is taken from this fuppofed work of Ariftotle.

. 16918. As his book Senior] Ed. Urr. reads-As in his book