Though he sit at his book both day and night;
In learning of this elvish nicë4712 lore,
All is in vain; and pardie muchë more,
Is to learn a lew’d4713 man this subtletý;
Fie! speak not thereof, for it will not be.
And conne he letterure,4714 or conne he none,
As in effect, he shall it find all one;
For bothë two, by my salvatión,
Concluden in multiplicatión4715
Alikë well, when they have all y-do;
This is to say, they failë bothë two.
Yet forgot I to makë rehearsále
Of waters corrosive, and of limáile,4716
And of bodies’ mollificatión,
And also of their induratión,
Oilës, ablutions, metál fusíble,
To tellen all, would passen any Bible
That owhere4717 is; wherefore, as for the best,
Of all these namës now will I me rest;
For, as I trow, I have you told enough
To raise a fiend, all look he ne’er so rough.4718
Ah! nay, let be; the philosópher’s stone,
Elixir call’d, we seekë fast each one;
For had we him, then were we sicker4719 enow;
But unto God of heaven I make avow,4720
For all our craft, when we have all y-do,
And all our sleight, he will not come us to.
He hath y-made us spendë muchë good,
For sorrow of which almost we waxed wood,4721
But that good hopë creeped in our heart,
Supposing ever, though we sorë smart,
To be relieved by him afterward.
Such súpposing and hope is sharp and hard.
I warn you well it is to seeken ever.
That future temps4722 hath madë men dissever,
In trust thereof, from all that ever they had,
Yet of that art they cannot waxë sad,4723
For unto them it is a bitter sweet;
So seemeth it; for had they but a sheet
Which that they mightë wrap them in at night,
And a bratt4724 to walk in by dayëlight,
They would them sell, and spend it on this craft;
They cannot stint,4725 until no thing be laft.
And evermore, wherever that they gon,
Men may them knowë by smell of brimstóne;
For all the world they stinken as a goat;
Their savour is so rammish and so hot,
That though a man a milë from them be,
The savour will infect him, trustë me.
Lo, thus by smelling and threadbare array,
If that men list, this folk they knowë may.
And if a man will ask them privily,
Why they be clothed so unthriftily,4726
They right anon will rownen4727 in his ear,
And sayen, if that they espied were,
Men would them slay, because of their sciénce:
Lo, thus these folk betrayen innocence!
Pass over this; I go my tale unto.
Ere that the pot be on the fire y-do4728
Of metals, with a certain quantity
My lord them tempers,4729 and no man but he
(Now he is gone, I dare say boldëly);
For as men say, he can do craftily,
Algate4730 I wot well he hath such a name,
And yet full oft he runneth into blame;
And know ye how? full oft it happ’neth so,
The pot to-breaks, and farewell! all is go’.4731
These metals be of so great violence,
Our wallës may not make them résistence,
But if4732 they werë wrought of lime and stone;
They piercë so, that through the wall they gon;
And some of them sink down into the ground
(Thus have we lost by timës many a pound),
And some are scatter’d all the floor about;
Some leap into the roof withoutë doubt.
Though that the fiend not in our sight him shew,
I trowë that he be with us, that shrew;4733
In hellë, where that he is lord and sire,
Is there no morë woe, rancoúr, nor ire.
When that our pot is broke, as I have said,
Every man chides, and holds him evil apaid.4734
Some said it was long on4735 the fire-makíng;
Some saidë nay, it was on the blowíng
(Then was I fear’d, for that was mine offíce);
“Straw!” quoth the third, “ye be lewëd and nice,4736
It was not temper’d4737 as it ought to be.”
“Nay,” quoth the fourthë, “stint4738 and hearken me;
Because our fire was not y-made of beech,
That is the cause, and other none, so thé ’ch.4739
I cannot tell whereon it was along,
But well I wot great strife is us among.”
“What?” quoth my lord, “there is no more to do’n,
Of these períls I will beware eftsoon.4740
I am right sicker4741 that the pot was crazed.4742
Be as be may, be ye no thing amazed.4743
As usage is, let sweep the floor as swithe;4744
Pluck up your heartës and be glad and blithe.”
The mullok4745 on a heap y-sweeped was,
And on the floor y-cast a canëvas,
And all this mullok in a sieve y-throw,
And sifted, and y-picked many a throw.4746
“Pardie,” quoth one, “somewhat of our metál
Yet is there here, though that we have not all.
And though this thing mishapped hath as now,4747
Another time it may be well enow.
We mustë put our good in ádventúre;4748
A merchant, pardie, may not aye endure,
Trustë me well, in his prosperity:
Sometimes his good is drenched4749 in the sea,
And sometimes comes it safe unto the land.”
“Peace,” quoth my lord; “the next time I will fand4750
To bring our craft all in another plight,4751
And but I do, Sirs, let me have the wite;4752
There was default in somewhat, well I wot.”
Another said, the fire was over hot.
But be it hot or cold, I dare say this,
That we concluden evermore amiss;
We fail alway of that which we would have;
And in our madness evermore we rave.
And when we be together every one,
Every man seemeth a Solomon.
But all thing, which that shineth as the gold,
It is not gold, as I have heard it told;
Nor every apple that is fair at eye,
It is not good, what so men clap
