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A Concise Introduction to Ethics
A Concise Introduction to Ethics

RUSS SHAFER-LANDAU
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the
University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing
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© 2020 by Oxford University Press

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You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same
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CIP data is on file at the Library of Congress

ISBN 9780190058173 (pbk.)
ISBN 9780190058180 (ebook)

987654321
Printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
 CONTENTS

Preface

CHAPTER 1. What Is Morality?

A. Conventional and Critical Morality
B. The Branches of Moral Philosophy
C. Moral Starting Points
D. Morality and Other Normative Systems
E. Morality and Religion
F. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 2. Moral Reasoning

A. Validity and Soundness
B. Necessary and Sufficient Conditions
C. Valid Argument Forms
D. Fallacies
E. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions

CHAPTER 3. Skepticism about Morality

A. Egoism
B. Relativism
C. Error Theory
D. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 4. The Good Life

 A. Hedonism
B. Desire Satisfaction Theory
C. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 5. Natural Law

A. The Theory and Its Attractions
B. Three Conceptions of Human Nature
C. Natural Purposes
D. The Doctrine of Double Effect
E. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 6. Consequentialism
A. The Nature of Consequentialism
B. The Attractions of Utilitarianism
C. Some Difficulties for Utilitarianism
D. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 7. Kantian Ethics

A. Consistency and Fairness
B. The Principle of Universalizability
C. Hypothetical and Categorical Imperatives
D. Assessing the Principle of Universalizability
E. Kant on Absolute Moral Duties
F. The Principle of Humanity
G. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 8. Social Contract Theory

A. The Background of the Social Contract Theory
B. The Prisoner’s Dilemma
 C. Cooperation and the State of Nature
D. The Advantages of Contractarianism
E. The Role of Consent
F. Disagreement among the Contractors
G. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 9. The Ethic of Prima Facie Duties

A. Ethical Pluralism and Prima Facie Duties
B. The Advantages of Ross’s View
C. A Problem for Ross’s View
D. Prima Facie Duties and the Testing of Moral Theories
E. Knowing the Right Thing to Do
F. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 10. Virtue Ethics

A. The Standard of Right Action
B. Moral Complexity
C. Moral Understanding
D. The Nature of Virtue
E. Does Virtue Ethics Offer Adequate Moral Guidance?
F. Who Are the Moral Role Models?
G. Conflict and Contradiction
H. The Priority Problem
I. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

CHAPTER 11. Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care

A. The Elements of Feminist Ethics
B. The Ethics of Care
C. The Importance of Emotions
D. Against Unification
E. Partiality and Concreteness
 F. Downplaying Rights
G. Challenges for Feminist Ethics
H. Conclusion
Key Terms and Concepts
Discussion Questions
Cases for Critical Reflection

Suggestions for Further Reading

Appendix: The Truth about Philosophy Majors
Glossary
Index
 PREFACE

About This Book

I’ve designed this book for those who want a brief overview of moral
philosophy—those who might be at least mildly curious about ethical theory,
seeking to acquaint themselves with its core concerns without having to make
too heavy an investment. Moral philosophy is both deep and wide-ranging, so
what you’re about to get is just the first, and hardly the final, word on these
vital matters. That said, I’ve done my best to identify the core views and
issues that deserve your attention, and to offer an accessible and largely even-
handed appreciation of the pros and cons associated with each topic.
After providing an overview of moral philosophy in Chapter 1 and an
introduction to moral reasoning in Chapter 2, we get right down to it in
Chapter 3. There, we encounter three distinct kinds of skepticism about
morality, and discuss both their central motivations and some serious
difficulties they face. Chapter 4 focuses on various conceptions of the good
life. Chapters 5 through 11 are devoted to the most compelling ethical
theories that have appeared in Western Philosophy: natural law theory,
consequentialism, Kantianism, social contract theory, ethical pluralism, virtue
ethics, and feminist ethics. As you’ll soon discover, each of these theories is
based on a deeply plausible idea about the nature of morality. You’ll also
find, however, that when these ideas are developed into coherent theories,
they almost inevitably come into conflict with other ideas we hold dear.
Each of these chapters contains a helpful grouping of Key Terms and
Concepts, which gather together those terms that are placed in bold in the
text. I define each such term when first using it, and all of them are defined
once more in the Glossary, for ease of reference. The chapters also contains a
battery of Discussion Questions that are intended to prompt more complex
thinking about the material. There are also Cases for Critical Reflection,
which encourage you to apply what you’ve learned. Some of these cases are
taken directly from the headlines; others are thought experiments that are
designed to test the implications of the views under scrutiny. My wonderful
research assistant, Emma Prendergast, is responsible for having created these
cases.

Instructor’s Manual and Student Resources

Ben Schwan prepared this book’s very substantial online resources; once
you’ve had a look, I expect you’ll agree that he has done a superb job. The
Oxford University Press Ancillary Resource Center (ARC) designed to
support this book offers students free access to self-quizzes, flash cards, and
web links to sites of further interest. In addition, the ARC also houses a
password-protected Instructor’s Manual, Computerized Test Bank, and
PowerPoint lecture outlines. The manual itself has a “pen and paper” test
bank of multiple-choice and essay questions, glossary, and case studies with
accompanying discussion questions. For more information please visit
http://www.oup.com/us/shafer-landau.
Learning Management System (LMS) cartridges are available in formats
compatible with any LMS in use at your college or university and include the
following:
The Instructor’s Manual and Computerized Test Bank
Student Resources
For more information, please contact your Oxford University Press
representative or call 1-800-280-0280.

Acknowledgments
As always, Robert Miller has been a dream editor to work with; his assistant
at OUP, Sydney Keen, has been an absolute delight, capable in every way.
I’d also like to express my gratitude to the fine philosophers who offered
needed guidance and such constructive criticism when reviewing the
manuscript:
Luke Amentas, St. Johns University
Robert Farley, Hillsborough Community College
Bob Fischer, Texas State
Theodore Gracyk, Minnesota State
 Max Latona, Anselm College
Philip Robbins, University of Missouri
My aim for this book is to give a lot of bang for the buck, conveying
much of what is essential to moral philosophy in a compact and accessible
way. I’m sure I haven’t always hit the target. If you have ideas for how this
book might be improved, please let me know: russshaferlandau@gmail.com.
 Not for Profit. All for Education.
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 CHAPTER 1

What Is Morality?

efore investing yourself in the study of an academic subject, it would

B be useful to first have some idea of what you are getting yourself into.
One way—sometimes the best—to gain such an understanding is by
considering a definition. When you open your trigonometry text or chemistry
handbook, you’ll likely be given, very early on, a definition of the area you
are about to study. So, as a responsible author, I would seem to have a duty
now to present you with a definition of morality.
I’d certainly like to. But I can’t. There is no widely agreed-on definition
of morality. The absence of a definition does not leave us entirely in the dark,
however. (After all, no one has yet been able to offer informative definitions
of literature, or life, or art, and yet we know a great deal about those things.)
Indeed, we can get a good sense of our subject matter by doing these four
things:
1. Being clear about the difference between conventional and critical
morality
2. Distinguishing the different branches of moral philosophy and their
central questions
3. Identifying starting points for moral thinking
4. Contrasting morality with other systems of guidance, including
religious ones
Let’s get to work!
A. Conventional and Critical Morality
Suppose you take a sociology or an anthropology course, and you get to a
unit on the morality of the cultures you’ve been studying. You’ll likely focus
on the patterns of behavior to be found in the cultures, their accepted ideas
about right and wrong, and the sorts of character traits that these cultures find
admirable. These are the elements of what we can call conventional
morality—the system of widely accepted rules and principles, created by and
for human beings, that members of a culture or society use to govern their
own lives and to assess the actions and the motivations of others. The
elements of conventional morality can be known by any astute social
observer, since gaining such knowledge is a matter of appreciating what most
people in a society or culture actually take to be right or wrong.
Conventional morality can differ from society to society. The
conventional morality of Saudi Arabia forbids women from publicly
contradicting their husbands or brothers, while Denmark’s conventional
morality allows this. People in the United States would think it immoral to
leave a restaurant without tipping a good waiter or bartender, while such
behavior in many other societies is perfectly OK.
When I write about morality in this book, I am not referring to
conventional morality. I am assuming that some social standards—even those
that are long-standing and very popular—can be morally mistaken. (We’ll
examine this assumption in Chapter 3.B.) After all, the set of traditional
principles that are widely shared within a culture or society are the result of
human decisions, agreements, and practices, all of which are sometimes
based on misunderstandings, irrationality, bias, or superstition. So when I talk
about morality from this point on, I will be referring to moral standards that
are not rooted in widespread endorsement, but rather are independent of
conventional morality and can be used to critically evaluate its merits.
It’s possible, of course, that conventional morality is all there is. But this
would be a very surprising discovery. Most of us assume, as I will do, that
the popularity of a moral view is not a guarantee of its truth. We could be
wrong on this point, but until we have a chance to consider the matter in
detail, I think it best to assume that conventional morality can sometimes be
mistaken. If so, then there may be some independent, critical morality that
(1) does not have its origin in social agreements; (2) is untainted by mistaken
beliefs, irrationality, or popular prejudices; and (3) can serve as the true
standard for determining when conventional morality has got it right and
when it has fallen into error. That is the morality whose nature we are going
to explore in this book.

B. The Branches of Moral Philosophy

As I’m sure you know, there are lots of moral questions. So it might help to
impose some organization on them. This will enable us to see the basic
contours of moral philosophy and also to better appreciate the fundamental
questions in each part of the field you are about to study.
There are three core areas of moral philosophy:
1. Value theory: What is the good life? What is worth pursuing for its
own sake? How do we improve our lot in life? What is happiness, and
is it the very same thing as well-being?
2. Normative ethics: What are our fundamental moral duties? What
makes right actions right? Which character traits count as virtues, which
as vices, and why? Who should our role models be? Do the ends always
justify the means, or are there certain types of action that should never
be done under any circumstances?
3. Metaethics: What is the status of moral claims and advice? Can ethical
theories, moral principles, or specific moral verdicts be true? If so, what
makes them true? Can we gain moral wisdom? If so, how? Do we
always have good reason to do our moral duty?
This book is for the most part devoted to issues in normative ethics, which
take up the whole of Chapters 5 through 11. Chapter 4 focuses on value
theory, while Chapter 3 is given over largely to metaethics. Chapter 2
concerns logic and good reasoning; the lessons of that chapter apply to all
branches of moral philosophy, and well beyond.

C. Moral Starting Points

One of the puzzles about moral thinking is knowing where to begin. Some
skeptics about morality deny that there are any proper starting points for
ethical reflection. They believe that moral reasoning is simply a way of
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In swndir with that dusche he brak.
The men ran out in full gret hy,
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Iohne Crab, that had his geir all ȝar, 110
In his faggatis has set the fyre,
And our the wall syne can thame wyre,
And brynt the sow till brandis bair.
With all this fast assalȝeand war
The folk without, with felloune ficht; 115
And thai within with mekill mycht
Defendit manfully thar stede
Intill gret auentur of dede.
The schipmen with gret apparale
Com with thair schippes till assale, 120
With top-castellis warnist weill,
And wicht men armyt intill steill;
Thair batis vp apon thair mastis
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And pressit with that gret atour 125
Toward the wall. Bot the gynour
Hit in ane hespyne with a stane,
And the men that war tharin gane
Sum dede, sum dosnyt, <come doun> vyndland.
Fra thine furth durst nane tak vpon hand 130
With schippes pres thame to the vall.
But the laiff war assalȝeand all
On ilk a syde sa egyrly,
That certis it wes gret ferly
That thai folk sic defens has maid, 135
For the gret myscheif that thai had:
For thair wallis so law than weir
That a man richt weill with a sper
Micht strik ane othir vp in the face,
As eir befor tald till ȝow was; 140
And feill of thame war woundit sare,
And the layf so fast travaland war
That nane had tume rest for till ta,
Thair aduersouris assailȝeit swa.
Thai war within sa stratly stad 145
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Behufit to leiff thair party;
Swa that, be he ane cours had maid
About, of all the men he had
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That he ne had thame left ilkane 160
To releve quhar he saw mister.
And the folk that assalȝeand wer
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The barras, and a fyre had maid
At the drawbrig, and brynt it doune, 165
And war thringand in gret foysoune
Richt in the ȝet, ane fire till ma.
And thai within gert smertly ga
Ane to the wardane, for till say
How thai war set in hard assay. 170
And quhen Schir Valter Steward herd
How men sa stratly with thame ferd,
He gert cum of the castell then
All that war thar of armyt men,—
For thar that day assalȝeit nane,— 175
And with that rout in hy is gane
Till Mary-ȝet, and till the wall
Is went, and saw the myscheif all,
And vmbethoucht hym suddandly,
Bot gif gret help war set in hy 180
Tharto, thai suld burne vp the ȝet
With the fire he fand tharat.
Tharfor apon gret hardyment
He suddanly set his entent,
And gert all wyde set vp the ȝet, 185
And the fyre that he fand tharat
With strinth of men he put avay.
He set hym in full hard assay,
For thai that war assalȝeand thar
Pressit on hym with vapnys bair, 190
And he defendit with all his mycht.
Thar mycht men se a felloune sicht:
With staffing, stoking, and striking
Thar maid thai sturdy defending,
For with gret strynth of men the ȝet 195
Thai defendit, and stude tharat,
Magré thair fais, quhill the nycht
Gert thame on bath halfis leif the ficht.
15 Crabbis] Craggis MS.: Crabys MS. Edinburgh.
63 Quhill] How MS.
64 And] þat MS.
75 tofruschyt] till frusche MS.
97 tharto] þar in MS.
129 Sum dede dosnyt sum dede vyndland MS.
146 him] þame MS.
158 of] to MS. the] to MS.
182 With] And MS. he fand] haffand MS.
 XI
JOHN WICLIF
D. 1384.

Like Richard Rolle, Wiclif was a Yorkshireman by birth. Of his

career at Oxford little is known until 1360, when he is described as
'master of Balliol'. From Balliol he was presented to the living of
Fillingham, and, after a series of preferments, he accepted in 1374
the rectory of Lutterworth, which he held till his death in 1384.
Wiclif's life was stormy. His acknowledged pre-eminence as a
theologian and doctor in the University did not satisfy his active and
combative mind. 'False peace', he said, 'is grounded in rest with our
enemies, when we assent to them without withstanding; and sword
against such peace came Christ to send.' He lacked neither enemies
nor the moral courage to withstand them.
At first, under the powerful patronage of John of Gaunt, he
entered into controversies primarily political, opposing the right of
the Pope to make levies on England, which was already
overburdened with war-taxation, and to appoint foreigners to English
benefices. On these questions popular opinion was on his side.
He proceeded to attack the whole system of Church government,
urging disendowment; rejecting the papal authority, which had been
weakened in 1378 by the fierce rivalry of Urban VI and Clement VII;
attacking episcopal privileges, the established religious orders, and
the abuse of indulgences, pardons, and sanctuary. Still his opinions
found a good deal of popular and political support.
Then in 1380 he publicly announced his rejection of the doctrine
of transubstantiation. From the results of such a heresy his friends
could no longer protect him. Moderate opinion became alarmed and
conservative after the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Richard II was no
friend of heretics. John of Gaunt, himself unpopular by this time,
commanded silence. And in 1382 the secular party in Oxford were
compelled, after a struggle, to condemn and expel their favourite
preacher and his followers. Wiclif retired to Lutterworth, and
continued, until struck down by paralysis in the last days of 1384, to
inspire his 'poor preachers'—the founders of the Lollard sect which
lived on to join forces with Lutheranism in the sixteenth century—
and to develop in a series of Latin and English works the doctrines
that later came to be associated with Puritanism.
His authorship is often doubtful. In the interests of orthodoxy the
early MSS. of his writings were ruthlessly destroyed, as in the
famous bonfire of his works at Carfax, Oxford, in 1411. And his
followers included not only the simple folk from whom later the 'poor
priests' were recruited, but able University men, trained in his new
doctrines, bred in the same traditions, and eager to emulate their
master in controversy. So his share in the famous Wiclif Bible (ed.
Forshall and Madden, Oxford 1850) is still uncertain. Part of the
translation seems to have been made by Nicholas of Hereford, and a
later recension is claimed for another Oxford disciple, John Purvey.
But Wiclif probably inspired the undertaking, for to him, as to the
later Puritans, the word of the Bible was the test by which all
matters of belief, ritual, and Church government must be tried; and
he was particularly anxious, in opposition to the established clergy
and the friars, that laymen should read it in their own language.
Contemporaries, friend and foe, ascribe the actual translation to him.
John Huss, the Bohemian reformer, who was martyred in 1416 for
teaching Wiclif's doctrines, states that Wiclif 'translated all the Bible
into English'. Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, is equally positive
when he writes to the Pope in 1412 that 'the son of the Old Serpent
filled up the cup of his malice against Holy Church by the device of a
new translation of the Scriptures into his native tongue'.
The first selection, chapter xv of the De Officio Pastorali (ed.
Matthew, pp. 429 f.), states the case for translation. In the second
(ed. Matthew, pp. 188 ff.) some essential points of Wiclif's teaching
are explained.
In abuse of his opponents he maintains the sturdy tradition of
controversy that still survives in Milton's prose. The style is rugged
and vigorous; the thought logical and packed close. And it is easy to
see the source of his strength. In an age whose evils were patent to
all, many reproved this or that particular abuse, but the system as a
whole passed unchallenged. Wiclif, almost alone in his generation,
had the reasoning power to go to the root of the matter, and the
moral courage not only to state fearlessly what, rightly or wrongly,
he found to be the source of evil, but to insist on basic reform. It is
difficult nowadays, when modern curiosity has made familiar the
practice of mining among the foundations of beliefs, society, and
government, to realize the force of authority that was ranged against
unorthodox reformers in the fourteenth century. If the popular
support he received indicates that this force was already weakening,
Wiclif must still be reckoned among the greatest of those who broke
the way for the modern world.

A. THE TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE.

De Officio Pastorali, chap. xv.
MS. Ashburnham XXVII (15th century).
Ant heere þe freris wiþ þer fautours seyn þat it is heresye
to write þus Goddis lawe in English, and make it knowun to
lewid men. And fourty signes þat þey bringen for to shewe an
heretik ben not worþy to reherse, for nouȝt groundiþ hem but
nygromansye. 05
It semyþ first þat þe wit of Goddis lawe shulde be tauȝt in
þat tunge þat is more knowun, for þis wit is Goddis word.
Whanne Crist seiþ in þe Gospel þat boþe heuene and erþe
shulen passe, but His wordis shulen not passe, He
vndirstondith bi His woordis His wit. And þus Goddis wit is
Hooly Writ, 10 þat may on no maner be fals. Also þe Hooly
Gost ȝaf to apostlis wit at Wit Sunday for to knowe al maner
langagis, to teche þe puple Goddis lawe þerby; and so God
wolde þat þe puple were tauȝt Goddis lawe in dyuerse tungis.
But what man, on Goddis half, shulde reuerse Goddis
ordenaunse and 15 His wille?
And for þis cause Seynt Ierom trauelide and translatide þe
Bible fro dyuerse tungis into Lateyn, þat it myȝte be aftir
translatid to oþere tungis. And þus Crist and His apostlis
tauȝten þe puple in þat tunge þat was moost knowun to þe 20
puple. Why shulden not men do nou so?
And herfore autours of þe newe law, þat weren apostlis of
Iesu Crist, writen þer Gospels in dyuerse tungis þat weren
more knowun to þe puple.
Also þe worþy reume of Fraunse, notwiþstondinge alle 25
lettingis, haþ translatid þe Bible and þe Gospels, wiþ oþere
trewe sentensis of doctours, out of Lateyn into Freynsch. Why
shulden not Engliȝschemen do so? As lordis of Englond han
þe Bible in Freynsch, so it were not aȝenus resoun þat þey
hadden þe same sentense in Engliȝsch; for 30 þus Goddis lawe
wolde be betere knowun, and more trowid, for onehed of wit,
and more acord be bitwixe reumes.
And herfore freris han tauȝt in Englond þe Paternoster in
Engliȝsch tunge, as men seyen in þe pley of Ȝork, and in
many oþere cuntreys. Siþen þe Paternoster is part of Matheus
35 Gospel, as clerkis knowen, why may not al be turnyd to
Engliȝsch trewely, as is þis part? Specialy siþen alle Cristen
men, lerid and lewid, þat shulen be sauyd, moten algatis sue
Crist, and knowe His lore and His lif. But þe comyns of
Engliȝschmen knowen it best in þer modir tunge; and þus it 40
were al oon to lette siche knowing of þe Gospel and to lette
Engliȝsch men to sue Crist and come to heuene.
Wel y woot defaute may be in vntrewe translating, as
myȝten haue be many defautis in turnyng fro Ebreu into Greu,
 and fro Greu into Lateyn, and from o langage into 45 anoþer.
But lyue men good lif, and studie many persones Goddis lawe,
and whanne chaungyng of wit is foundun, amende þey it as
resoun wole.
Sum men seyn þat freris trauelen, and þer fautours, in þis
cause for þre chesouns, þat y wole not aferme, but God woot
50 wher þey ben soþe. First þey wolden be seun so nedeful to
þe Engliȝschmen of oure reume þat singulerly in her wit layȝ
þe wit of Goddis lawe, to telle þe puple Goddis lawe on what
maner euere þey wolden. And þe secound cause herof is seyd
to stonde in þis sentense: freris wolden lede þe puple in 55
techinge hem Goddis lawe, and þus þei wolden teche sum,
and sum hide, and docke sum. For þanne defautis in þer lif
shulden be lesse knowun to þe puple, and Goddis lawe shulde
be vntreweliere knowun boþe bi clerkis and bi comyns. Þe
þridde cause þat men aspien stondiþ in þis, as þey seyn: alle
60 þes newe ordris dreden hem þat þer synne shulde be
knowun, and hou þei ben not groundid in God to come into
þe chirche; and þus þey wolden not for drede þat Goddis lawe
were knowun in Engliȝsch; but þey myȝten putte heresye on
men ȝif Engliȝsch toolde not what þey seyden. 65
God moue lordis and bischops to stonde for knowing of His
lawe!

B. OF FEIGNED CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE.

Corpus Christi College (Cambridge) MS. 296
(1375-1400), p. 165.
Of feyned contemplatif lif, of song, of þe Ordynal of
Salisbury, and of bodely almes and worldly bysynesse of
prestis; hou bi þes foure þe fend lettiþ hem fro prechynge of
þe Gospel.—
 First, whanne trewe men techen bi Goddis lawe wit and 05
reson, þat eche prest owiþ to do his myȝt, his wit, and his
wille to preche Cristis Gospel, þe fend blyndiþ ypocritis to
excuse hem by feyned contemplatif lif, and to seie þat, siþ it
is þe beste, and þei may not do boþe togidre, þei ben nedid
for charité of God to leue þe prechynge of þe Gospel, and 10
lyuen in contemplacion.
See nowe þe ypocrisie of þis false seiynge. Crist tauȝt and
dide þe beste lif for prestis, as oure feiþ techiþ, siþ He was
God and myȝte not erre. But Crist preched þe Gospel, and
charged alle His apostlis and disciplis to goo and preche þe 15
Gospel to alle men. Þan it is þe beste lif for prestis in þis
world to preche þe Gospel.
Also God in þe olde lawe techiþ þat þe office of a prophete
is to schewe to þe peple here foule synnys. But eche prest is
a prophete bi his ordre, as Gregory seyþ vpon þe Gospellis. 20
Þanne it is þe office of eche prest to preche and telle þe
synnys of þe peple; and in þis manere schal eche prest be an
aungel of God, as Holy Writt seiþ.
Also Crist and Ion Baptist leften desert and precheden þe
Gospel to here deþ þerfore; and þis was most charité; for ellis
25 þei weren out of charité, or peierid in charité, þat myȝte
not be in hem boþe, siþ þe ton was God, and no man after
Crist was holyere þan Baptist, and he synned not for þis
prechynge.
Also þe holy prophete Ieromye, halwid in his moder
wombe, myȝtte not be excused fro prechynge bi his
contemplacion, 30 but chargid of God to preche þe synnes of
þe peple, and suffre peyne þerfore, and so weren alle þe
prophetis of God.
A Lord! siþ Crist and Ion Baptist and alle þe prophetis of
God weren nedid bi charité to come out of desert to preche 35
to þe peple, and leue here sol<it>arie preiere, hou dore we
fonnyd heretikys seie þat it is betre to be stille, and preie oure
owen fonnyd ordynaunce, þan to preche Cristis Gospel?
 Lord! what cursed spirit of lesyngis stiriþ prestis to close
hem in stonys or wallis for al here lif, siþ Crist comaundiþ to
40 alle His apostlis and prestis to goo into alle þe world and
preche þe Gospel. Certis þei ben opyn foolis, and don pleynly
aȝenst Cristis Gospel; and, ȝif þei meyntenen þis errour, þei
ben cursed of <God>, and ben perilous ypocritis and heretikis
also. And siþ men ben holden heretikis þat done 45 aȝenst þe
popis lawe, <and þe beste part of þe popis lawe> seiþ pleynly
þat eche þat comeþ to presthod takiþ þe office of a bedele, or
criere, to goo bifore Domesday to crie to þe peple here
synnes and vengaunce of God, whi ben not þo prestis
heretikis þat leuen to preche Cristis Gospel, and 50 compelle
oþere treue men to leue prechynge of þe Gospel? Siþ þis lawe
is Seynt Gregoryes lawe, groundid opynly in Goddis lawe and
reson and charité; and oþere lawes of þe peple ben contrarie
to Holy Writt and reson and charité, for to meyntene pride
and coueitise of Anticristis worldly clerkis.55
But ypocritis allegen þe Gospel,—þat Magdaleyne chees to
hereself þe beste part whanne she saat bisiden Cristis feet
and herde His word. Soþ it is þat þis meke sittynge and
deuout herynge of Cristis wordis was best to Magdeleyne, for
sche hadde not office of prechynge as prestis han, siþ sche
was 60 a womman, þat hadde not auctorité of Goddis lawe to
teche and preche opynly. But what is þis dede to prestis, þat
han expresse þe comaundement of God and men to preche
þe Gospel? Where þei wolen alle be wommen in ydelnesse,
and suen not Iesu Crist in lif and prechynge þe Gospel, þat 65
He comandiþ Hymself boþe in þe olde lawe and newe?
Also þis pesible herynge of Cristis word and brennynge loue
þat Magdeleyne hadde was þe beste part, for it schal be ende
in heuene of good lif in þis world. But in þis world þe beste lif
for prestis is holy lif in kepynge Goddis hestis, and 70 trewe
prechynge of þe Gospel, as Crist dide, and chargid alle His
prestis to do <þe same>. And þes ypocritis wenen þat here
dremys and fantasies of hemself ben contemplacion, and þat
prechynge of þe Gospel be actif lif; and so þei menen þat
Crist tok þe worse lif for þis world, and nedid alle His prestis
75 to leue þe betre and take þe worse lif; and þus þes fonnyd
ypocritis putten errour in Iesu Crist. But who ben more
heretikis?
Also þes blynde ypocritis alleggen þat Crist biddiþ vs preie
euermore, and Poul biddiþ þat we preie wiþoute lettynge, and
80 þan we prestis may not preche, as þei feynen falsly. But
here þes ypocritis schullen wite þat Crist and Poul
vnderstonden of preiere of holy lif, þat eche man doþ as longe
as he dwelliþ in charité; and not of babelynge of lippis, þat no
man may euere do wiþouten cessynge; for ellis no man in þis
85 world myȝte fulfille þe comaundement of Crist; and þis
techiþ Austyn and oþere seyntis.
And siþ men þat fulfillen not Goddis lawe, and ben out of
charité, ben not acceptid in here preiynge of lippis,—for here
preiere in lippis is abhomynable, as Holy Writt seiþ bi 90
Salomon,—þes prestis þat prechen not þe Gospel, as Crist
biddiþ, ben not able to preie <God> for mercy, but disceyuen
hemself and þe peple, and dispisen God, and stiren Hym to
wraþþe and vengaunce, as Austyn and Gregory and oþere
seyntis techen. 95
And principaly þes ypocritis þat han rentes, and worldly
lordischipes, and parische chirchis approprid to hem, aȝenst
Holy Writt boþe old and newe, by symonye and lesyngis on
Crist and His apostelis, for stynkynge gronyngys and abite of
holynesse, and for distroiynge of Goddis ordynaunce, and for
100 singuler profession maade to foolis and, in cas, to fendis
of helle,—þes foolis schullen lerne what is actif lif and
contemplatif bi Goddis lawe, and þanne þei myȝtten wite þat
þei han neiþer þe ton ne þe toiþer, siþ þei chargen more veyn
statutis of synful men, and, in cas, <of> deuelys, þan þei 105
chargen þe heste of God, and werkis of mercy, and poyntis of
charité. And þe fende blyndiþ hem so moche, þat þei seyn
indede þat þei moten neuere preie to plesynge of God, siþ þei
vnablen hemself to do þe office of prestis bi Goddis lawe, and
purposen to ende in here feyned deuocion, þat is blasphemye
110 to God.
Also bi song þe fend lettiþ men to studie and preche þe
Gospel; for siþ mannys wittis ben of certeyn mesure and
myȝt, þe more þat þei ben occupied aboute siche mannus
song, þe lesse moten þei be sette aboute Goddis lawe. For 115
þis stiriþ men to pride, and iolité, and oþere synnys, and so
vnableþ hem many gatis to vnderstonde and kepe Holy Writt,
þat techeþ mekenesse, mornynge for oure synnys and oþere
mennus, and stable lif, and charité. And ȝit God in all þe lawe
of grace chargiþ not siche song, but deuocion in 120 herte,
trewe techynge, and holy spekynge in tonge, and goode
werkis, and holy lastynge in charité and mekenesse. But
mannus foly and pride stieþ vp euere more and more in þis
veyn nouelrie.
First men ordeyned songe of mornynge whanne þei weren
125 in prison, for techynge of þe Gospel, as Ambrose, as men
seyn, to putte awey ydelnesse, and to be not vnoccupied in
goode manere for þe tyme. And þat songe and our<e>
acordiþ not, for oure stiriþ to iolité and pride, and here stiriþ
to mornynge, and to dwelle lenger in wordis of Goddis lawe.
130 Þan were matynys, and masse, and euensong, placebo
and dirige, and comendacion, and matynes of Oure Lady,
ordeyned of synful men to be songen wiþ heiȝe criynge, to
lette men fro þe sentence and vnderstondynge of þat þat was
þus songen, and to maken men wery, and vndisposid to
studie 135 Goddis lawe for akyng of hedis. And of schort tyme
þanne <weren> more veyn iapis founden: deschaunt, countre
note, and orgon, and smale brekynge, þat stiriþ veyn men to
daunsynge more þan <to> mornynge; and herefore ben
many proude lorelis founden and dowid wiþ temperal and
worldly 140 lordischipis and gret cost. But þes foolis schulden
drede þe scharpe wordis of Austyn, þat seiþ: 'As oft as þe
song likiþ me more þan doþ þe sentence þat is songen, so oft
I confesse þat I synne greuously.'
And ȝif þes knackeris excusen hem bi song in þe olde lawe,
145 seie þat Crist, þat best kepte þe olde lawe as it schulde be
aftirward, tauȝt not ne chargid vs wiþ sich bodely song, ne
ony of His apostlis, but wiþ deuocion in herte, and holy lif,
and trewe prechynge, and þat is ynowþȝ and þe beste. But
who schulde þanne charge vs wiþ more, oure þe fredom and
150 liȝtnesse of Cristis lawe?
And ȝif þei seyn þat angelis heryen God bi song in heuene,
seie þat we kunnen not þat song; but þei ben in ful victorie of
here enemys, and we ben in perilous bataile, and in þe valeye
of wepynge and mornynge; and oure song lettiþ vs 155 fro
betre occupacion, and stiriþ vs to many grete synnes, and to
forȝete vs self.
But oure flecshly peple haþ more lykynge in here bodely
eris in sich knackynge and taterynge, þan in herynge of
Goddis lawe, and spekynge of þe blisse of heuene; for þei 160
wolen hire proude prestis and oþere lorelis þus to knacke
notis for many markis and poundis. But þei wolen not ȝeue
here almes to prestis and children to lerne and teche Goddis
lawe. And þus, bi þis nouelrie of song, is Goddis lawe
vnstudied and not kepte, and pride and oþere grete 165
synnys meyntenyd.
And þes fonnyd lordis and peple gessen to haue more þank
of God, and <to> worschipe Hym more, in haldynge vp of
here owen nouelries wiþ grete cost, þan in lernynge, and
techynge, and meyntenynge of his lawe, and his seruauntis,
170 and his ordynaunce. But where is more disceit in feiþ,
hope and charité? For whanne þer ben fourty or fyfty in a
queer, þre or foure proude lorellis schullen knacke þe most
deuout seruyce þat no man schal here þe sentence, and alle
oþere schullen be doumbe, and loken on hem as foolis. And
þanne 175 strumpatis and þeuys preisen Sire Iacke, or Hobbe,
and Williem þe proude clerk, hou smale þei knacken here
notis; and seyn þat þei seruen wel God and Holy Chirche,
whanne þei dispisen God in his face, and letten oþere
Cristene men of here deuocion and compunccion, and stiren
hem to worldly 180 vanyté. And þus trewe seruyce of God is
lettid, and þis veyn knackynge for oure iolité and pride is
preised abouen þe mone.
Also þe Ordynalle of Salisbury lettiþ moche prechynge of þe
Gospel; for folis chargen þat more þan þe maundementis of
God, and to studie and teche Cristis Gospel. For ȝif 185 a man
faile in his Ordynale, men holden þat grete synne, and
reprouen hym þerof faste; but ȝif a preste breke þe hestis of
God, men chargen þat litel or nouȝt. And so ȝif prestis seyn
here matynes, masse, and euensong aftir Salisbury vsse, þei
hemself and oþere men demen it is ynowȝ, þouþ þei neiþer
190 preche ne teche þe hestis of God and þe Gospel. And þus
þei wenen þat it is ynowȝ to fulfille synful mennus
ordynaunce, and to leue þe riȝtfulleste ordynaunce of God,
þat He chargid prestis to performe.
But, Lord! what was prestis office ordeyned bi God bifore
195 þat Salisbury vss was maad of proude prestis, coueitous
and dronkelewe? Where God, þat dampneþ alle ydelnesse,
chargid hem not at þe ful wiþ þe beste occupacion for
hemself and oþere men? Hou doren synful folis chargen
Cristis prestis wiþ so moche nouelrie, and euermore cloute
more to, 200 þat þei may not frely do Goddis ordynaunce? For
þe Iewis in þe olde lawe haden not so manye serymonyes of
sacrifices ordeyned bi God as prestis han now riȝttis and reulis
maade of synful men. And ȝit þe olde lawe in þes charious
customes mosten nedes cesse for fredom of Cristis Gospel.
But þis 205 fredom is more don awei bi þis nouelrie þan bi
customes of þe olde lawe. And þus many grete axen where a
prest may, wiþouten dedly synne, seie his masse wiþouten
matynys; and þei demen it dedly synne a prest to fulfille þe
ordynaunce of God in his fredom, wiþoute nouelrie of synful
men, þat lettiþ 210 prestis fro þe betre occupacion; as ȝif þei
demen it dedly synne to leue þe worse þing, and take þe
betre, whanne þei may not do boþe togidre.
And þus, Lord! Þin owen ordynaunce þat Þou madist for Þi
prestis is holden errour, and distroied for þe fonnyd nouelrie
215 of synful foolis, and, in cas, of fendis in helle.
But here men moste be war þat vnder colour of þis fredom
þei ben betre occupied in þe lawe of God to studie it and
teche it, and not slouȝ ne ydel in ouermoche sleep, and
vanyté, and oþer synnes, for þat is þe fendis panter. 220
See now þe blyndnesse of þes foolis. Þei seyn þat a prest
may be excused fro seiynge of masse, þat God comaundid
Himself to þe substance þerof, so þat he here on. But he
schal not be excused but ȝif he seie matynes and euensong
himself, þat synful men han ordeyned; and þus þei chargen
225 more here owene fyndynge þan Cristis comaundement.
A Lord! ȝif alle þe studie and traueile þat men han now
abowte Salisbury vss, wiþ multitude of newe costy portos,
antifeners, graielis, and alle oþere bokis, weren turned into
makynge of biblis, and in studiynge and techynge þerof, hou
230 moche schulde Goddis lawe be forþered, and knowen, and
kept, and now in so moche it is hyndrid, vnstudied, and
vnkept. Lord! hou schulden riche men ben excused þat costen
so moche in grete schapellis, and costy bokis of mannus
ordynaunce, for fame and nobleie of þe world, and wolen not
235 spende so moche aboute bokis of Goddis lawe, and for to
studie hem and teche hem: siþ þis were wiþoute comparison
betre on alle siddis, and lyȝttere, and sykerere?
But ȝit men þat knowen þe fredom of Goddis ordynaunce
for prestis to be þe beste, wiþ grete sorow of herte seyn here
240 matynes, masse, and euensong, whanne þei schulden ellis
be betre occupied, last þei sclaundren þe sike conscience of
here breþeren, þat ȝit knowen not Goddis lawe. God brynge
þes prestis to þe fredom to studie Holy Writt, and lyue
þerafter, and teche it oþer men frely, and to preie as long and
as 245 moche as God meueþ hem þerto, and ellis turne to
oþere medeful werkis, as Crist and His apostlis diden; and þat
þei ben not constreyned to blabre alle day wiþ tonge and
grete criynge, as pies and iaies, þing þat þei knowen not, and
to peiere here owen soule for defaute of wis deuocion and
charité! 250
Also bysynesse of worldly occupacion of prestis lettiþ
prechynge of þe Gospel, for þei ben so besy <þer>aboute,
and namely in herte, þat þei þenken litel on Goddis lawe, and
han no sauour þerto. And seyn þat þei don þus for hospitalité,
and to releue pore men wiþ dedis of charité. But, hou euere
255 men speken, it his for here owen couetise, and lustful lif in
mete and drynk and precious cloþis, and for name of þe world
in fedynge of riche men; and litel or nouȝt comeþ frely to
pore men þat han most nede.
But þes prestis schulden sue Crist in manere of lif and 260
trewe techynge. But Crist lefte sich occupacion, and His
apostlis also, and weren betre occupied in holy preiere and
trewe techynge of þe Gospel. And þis determinacion and ful
sentence was ȝouen of alle þe apostlis togidre, whanne þei
hadden resceyued þe plenteuous ȝiftis of þe Holy Gost. Lord!
265 where þes worldly prestis <ben> wisere þan ben alle þe
apostlis of Crist? It semeth þat þei ben, or ellis <þei ben>
fooles.
Also Crist wolde not take þe kyngdom whan þe puple wolde
haue maad Him kyng, as Iones Gospel telleþ. But if it haade
be a prestis office to dele aboute þus bodi<ly> almes, 270
Crist, þat coude best haue do þis office, wolde haue take þes
temperal goodis to dele hem among poeuere men. But He
wolde not do þus, but fley, and took no man of þe aposteles
wiþ him, so faste He hiede. Lord! where worldly prestis
kunnen bettere don þis partinge of worldly goodis þan Iesu
275 Crist?
And ȝif þei seyn þat Crist fedde þe puple in desert with
bodily almes, manye þousand, as þe Gospel saiþ: þat dide
Crist by miracle, to shewe His godhede, and to teche prestes
280 houȝ þei schulden fede gostly Cristene men by Goddis
word. For so dide Cristis aposteles, and hadde not whereof to
do bodily almes, whan þei miȝten haue had tresour and iuelis
ynowe of kynggis and lordis.
Also Peter saiþ in Dedis of Apostlis to a pore man þat to 285
him neiþer was gold ne siluer; and ȝit he performede wel þe
office of a trewe prest. But oure prestis ben so bysye aboute
worldly occupacioun þat þei semen bettere bailyues or reues
þan gostly prestis of Iesu Crist. For what man is so bysy
aboute marchaundise, and oþere worldly doyngis, as ben 290
preostes, þat shulden ben lyȝt of heuenly lif to alle men
abouten hem?
But certes þei shulde be as bysy aboute studyinge of
Goddys lawe, and holy preyer, not of Famulorum, but of holy
desires, and clene meditacioun of God, and trewe techinge of
295 þe Gospel, as ben laboreris aboute worldly labour for here
sustenaunce. And muche more bysie, ȝif þei miȝten, for þey
ben more holden for to lyue wel, and <ȝeue> ensaumple of
holi lif to þe puple, and trewe techinge of Holy Writ, þanne þe
people is holden to ȝyue hem dymes or offringis or ony 300
bodily almes. And þerfore prestis shulde not leue ensaumple
of good lif, and studyinge of Holi Writ, and trewe techinge
þerof, ne <for> bodily almes, ne for worldly goodis, ne for
sauynge of here bodily lif.
And as Crist sauede þe world by writynge and techinge of
305 foure Euaungelistis, so þe fend casteþ to dampne þe world
and prestis for lettynge to preche þe Gospel by þes foure: by
feyned contemplacioun, by song, by Salisbury vse, and by
worldly bysynes of prestis.
God for His mercy styre þes prestis to preche þe Gospel in
310 word, in lif; and be war of Sathanas disceitis. Amen.
7 fend] fendis MS.
66 þe] þo MS.
67 pesible] posible MS.
69 world] lif MS.
98 on] & MS.
100 for (1st)] fro MS.
105 of (1st)] & MS.
108 plesynge] preisynge MS. altered later.
126 as (2nd)] and MS.
128 oure] oþer MS.
154 bataile] baitale MS.
198 chargid] chargen MS.
202 not so] repeated MS.
228 of] & MS.
275 þan] of MS.
 XII
JOHN GOWER
D. 1408.

John Gower, a Londoner himself, came of a good Kentish family.

Chaucer must have known him well, for he chose him as his attorney
when leaving for the Continent in 1378, and, with the dedication of
Troilus and Criseyde, labelled him for ever as 'moral Gower'. Gower's
marriage with Agnes Groundolf, probably a second marriage, is
recorded in 1398. Blindness came on him a few years later. His will,
dated August 15, 1408, was proved on October 24, 1408, so that his
death must fall between those two points. By his own wish he was
buried in St. Saviour's, Southwark, the church of the canons of St.
Mary Overy, to whom he was a liberal benefactor.
On his tomb in St. Saviour's Church, Gower is shown with his head
resting on three great volumes, representing his principal works—the
Speculum Meditantis, the Vox Clamantis, and the Confessio Amantis.
The Speculum Meditantis, or Mirour de l'Omme, is a handbook of
sins and sinners, written in French.
The Vox Clamantis, written in Latin, covers similar ground.
Opening with a vision of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, the poet
passes in review the faults of the different grades of society—clergy,
nobles, labourers, traders, lawyers—and ends with an admonition to
the young King Richard II.
In his English work, the Confessio Amantis, he expressly abandons
the task of setting the world to rights, and promises to change his
style henceforth. Now he will sing of Love. The machinery of the
poem is suggested by the great source of mediaeval conventions,
the Roman de la Rose. On a May morning the poet, a victim of love,
wanders afield and meets the Queen of Love (cp. the beginning of
Chaucer's Legend of Good Women). She bids him confess to her
priest Genius. Genius hears the confession, sustaining with some
incongruity the triple rôle of high priest of Love, Christian moralist,
and entertainer—for it is he who tells the stories which, woven about
the frame work of the Seven Deadly Sins, make the real matter of
the poem.
The first form of the Confessio was completed in 1390. It contains
a Prologue in which the suggestion for the poem is ascribed to
Richard II, and an Epilogue in his praise. In this version the Queen
of Love at parting gives Gower a message for Chaucer:
And gret wel Chaucer whan ye mete,
As mi disciple and mi poete:
For in the floures of his youthe
In sondri wise, as he wel couthe,
Of ditees and of songes glade,
The whiche he for mi sake made,
The lond fulfild is overal.
Wherof to him in special
Above alle othre I am most holde.
Forthi now, in hise daies olde,
Thow schalt him telle this message,
That he upon his latere age,
To sette an ende of alle his werk,
As he which is myn owne clerk,
Do make his testament of love,
As thou hast do thi schrifte above,
So that mi Court it mai recorde.
In the final form, completed in 1392-3, Richard's name disappears
from the Prologue; the dedication to his popular rival, Henry of
Lancaster, is made prominent; the eulogy in the Epilogue is dropped;
and with it the compliment to Chaucer. Whether this last omission is
due to chance, or to some change in the relations between the two
poets, is not clear.
In his own day Gower was ranked with Chaucer. His reputation
was still high among the Elizabethans; and he has the distinction of
appearing as Chorus in a Shakespearian play—Pericles—of which his
story of Apollonius of Tyre, in Bk. viii of the Confessio, was the
immediate source.
A selection gives a very favourable impression of his work. He has
a perfect command of the octosyllabic couplet; an easy style, well
suited to narrative; and a classic simplicity of expression for which
the work of his predecessors in Middle English leaves us unprepared.
Throughout the whole of the Confessio Amantis, more than 30,000
lines, the level of workmanship is remarkable, and almost every
page shows some graceful and poetical verses.
Yet the poem as a whole suffers from the fault that Gower tried to
avoid:
It dulleth ofte a mannes wit
To him that schal it aldai rede.
One defect, obvious to a modern reader, would hardly be noticed by
his contemporaries: he often incorporates in his poetry matter
proper only to an encyclopaedia, such as the discourse on the
religions of the world in Bk. v, or that on Philosophy in Bk. vii.
Another is more radical: for all his wide reading, his leading ideas
lack originality. It is hardly a travesty to say that the teaching of his
works amounts to this: 'In the moral world, avoid the Seven Deadly
Sins in the five sub-classifications of each; in the political world keep
your degree without presuming'. Such a negative and conventional
message cannot sustain the fabric of three long poems. Their
polished and facile moralizing becomes almost exasperating if it be
remembered that the poet wrote when a whole system of society
was falling, and falling noisily, about him. Modern taste rejects
Gower the moralist and political writer, and his claim to present as
apart from historical value rests on the delightful single stories which
served as embroidery to his serious themes.
 The extracts are taken from the admirable edition by G. C.
Macaulay: 'The Works of John Gower', 4 vols., Oxford 1899-1902.

A. CEIX AND ALCEONE.

From Bk. iv, ll. 2927 ff.
This finde I write in Poesie:
Ceïx the king of Trocinie
Hadde Alceone to his wif,
Which as hire oghne hertes lif
Him loveth; and he hadde also 5
A brother, which was cleped tho
Dedalion, and he per cas
Fro kinde of man forschape was
Into a goshauk of liknesse;
Wherof the king gret hevynesse 10
Hath take, and thoghte in his corage
To gon upon a pelrinage
Into a strange regioun,
Wher he hath his devocioun
To don his sacrifice and preie, 15
If that he mihte in eny weie
Toward the goddes finde grace
His brother hele to pourchace,
So that he mihte be reformed
Of that he hadde be transformed. 20
To this pourpos and to this ende
This king is redy for to wende,
As he which wolde go be schipe;
And for to don him felaschipe
His wif unto the see him broghte, 25
With al hire herte and him besoghte
That he the time hire wolde sein
Whan that he thoghte come aȝein:
'Withinne,' he seith, 'tuo monthe day.'
And thus in al the haste he may 30
He tok his leve, and forth he seileth,
Wepende and sche hirself beweileth,
And torneth hom, ther sche cam fro.
Bot whan the monthes were ago,
The whiche he sette of his comynge, 35
And that sche herde no tydinge,
Ther was no care for to seche:
Wherof the goddes to beseche
Tho sche began in many wise,
And to Iuno hire sacrifise 40
Above alle othre most sche dede,
And for hir lord sche hath so bede
To wite and knowe hou that he ferde,
That Iuno the goddesse hire herde,
Anon and upon this matiere 45
Sche bad Yris hir messagere
To Slepes hous that <sc>he schal wende,
And bidde him that he make an ende,
Be swevene and schewen al the cas
Unto this ladi, hou it was. 50
This Yris, fro the hihe stage
Which undertake hath the message,
Hire reyny cope dede upon,
The which was wonderli begon
With colours of diverse hewe, 55
An hundred mo than men it knewe;
The hevene lich unto a bowe
Sche bende, and so she cam doun lowe,
The god of Slep wher that sche fond;
And that was in a strange lond, 60
Which marcheth upon Chymerie:
For ther, as seith the Poesie,
The God of Slep hath mad his hous,
Which of entaille is merveilous.
Under an hell ther is a cave, 65
Which of the sonne mai noght have,
So that noman mai knowe ariht
The point betwen the dai and nyht:
Ther is no fyr, ther is no sparke,
Ther is no dore, which mai charke, 70
Wherof an yhe scholde unschette,
So that inward ther is no lette.
And for to speke of that withoute,
Ther stant no gret tree nyh aboute
Wher on ther myhte crowe or pie 75
Alihte, for to clepe or crie;
Ther is no cok to crowe day,
Ne beste non which noise may;
The hell bot al aboute round
Ther is growende upon the ground 80
Popi, which berth the sed of slep,
With othre herbes suche an hep.
A stille water for the nones
Rennende upon the smale stones,
Which hihte of Lethes the rivere, 85
Under that hell in such manere
Ther is, which ȝifth gret appetit
To slepe. And thus full of delit
Slep hath his hous; and of his couche
Withinne his chambre if I schal touche, 90
Of hebenus that slepi tree
The bordes al aboute be,
And for he scholde slepe softe,
Upon a fethrebed alofte
He lith with many a pilwe of doun. 95
The chambre is strowed up and doun
With swevenes many thousendfold.
Thus cam Yris into this hold,
And to the bedd, which is al blak,
Sche goth, and ther with Slep sche spak, 100
And in the wise as sche was bede
The message of Iuno sche dede.
Ful ofte hir wordes sche reherceth,
Er sche his slepi eres perceth;
With mochel wo bot ate laste 105
His slombrende yhen he upcaste
And seide hir that it schal be do.
Wherof among a thousend tho
Withinne his hous that slepi were,
In special he ches out there 110
Thre, whiche scholden do this dede:
The ferste of hem, so as I rede,
Was Morpheüs, the whos nature
Is for to take the figure
Of what persone that him liketh, 115
Wherof that he ful ofte entriketh
The lif which slepe schal be nyhte;
And Ithecus that other hihte,
Which hath the vois of every soun,
The chiere and the condicioun 120
Of every lif, what so it is:
The thridde suiende after this
Is Panthasas, which may transforme
Of every thing the rihte forme,
And change it in an other kinde. 125
Upon hem thre, so as I finde,
Of swevenes stant al thapparence,
Which other while is evidence,
And other while bot a iape.
Bot natheles it is so schape, 130
That Morpheüs be nyht al one
Appiereth until Alceone
In liknesse of hir housebonde
Al naked ded upon the stronde,
And hou he dreynte in special 135
These othre tuo it schewen al:
The tempeste of the blake cloude,
The wode see, the wyndes loude,
Al this sche mette, and sih him dyen;
Wherof that sche began to crien, 140
Slepende abedde ther sche lay,
And with that noise of hire affray
Hir wommen sterten up aboute,
Whiche of here ladi were in doute,
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