Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright.

  • Thomas Wright
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Popular treatises on science written during the Middle Ages, in Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and English / Edited from the original manuscripts by Thomas Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    145/164 (page 125)
    Quant de malveis talent les sainz humes suprent^ Ceo ’n est signefiance, aez en remembrance. Or voil mun metre muer, pur ma raisum melz ordener ; * [A leaf appears to be wanting.] * E par la resplendur avum, que nus od Deu regner devum. E 9eo sacez vereiement que Fen Fadamas bruist en fent, Par le sane de buc e de plun, signefie grant raisun. <s[EIGNURS, aez i ente[n]te, bucs est beste pulente ; ^ Par le sane de buc entendum en nostre lai corruptiun ; Par plum entendum peche, par quei horn sunt enginne ; Ke li plums paise que fer, ki pechurs traite en emfer; Corruptiun [e] pechet nus fent, 3 encontre Deu nus ofent. E cel vertu ad en sei, le fer trait od sei; Signefie que Christiens traient a la lur lei paens, Quant il laissent lur eresie, e creient el Fiz Sancte Marie. E 9eo dit Phisologus, que adamas ad vertut plus ; E si est uns munz en orient, u tue est de mainte gent, E pur nuit gete grant luur, e nent n’apert contre le jur ; Pur le soleil e pur le jur ne s’aparist sa resplendur. E li must si ad tel manere, ne fer, ne fu, n’acer, ne pere. DE iceste adamas nus dit un prophete en sun escrit, ^ Qu’il vit un barun seant de de sur le munt d’aimant, En sa main le adamant ot, ]j en mi un pople stot. Li bers dunt li propliete dit, qu’il sur le mund de aimant vit, Fud Jhesu Christ le Fiz Marie, que l’aimant nus signefie ; [E] 9eo que sur le mur estout, sa victorie signefiout; [E] 9eo que en estant esteit, mustre a bataille prest esteit; E 9eo que ert sun pere areste, nus mustre estabilite; E 9eo qu’il adamant teneit, mustre que la semblance averait; men by evil contrivance.—That is a signification, have in remembrance.—Now I will change my metre, in order to arrange better my discourse ; * * * * thereby we have resplendency, that we are to reign with God.—And this know truly,that they break in pieces the loadstone,—with goat’s blood and lead, it signifies a great matter. Lords, pay attention to it, a goat is a stinking beast;—by the blood of the goat we understand corruption in our law;—by the lead we understand sin, by which men are ensnared ;—that the lead weighs the iron, which draws sinners to hell,—corruption and sin splits us, and makes us offend against God.—And this virtue it has in it, it draws the iron with it;—it signifies that Christians draw pagans to their law,—when they leave their heresy, and believe in the Son of St. Mary.—This Physiologus says, that the adamant has a further virtue ;—and there is a mountain in the east, where it is found by many people,—and by night it emits great light, and it does not appear in the face of day ;—on account of the sun and the daylight its resplendency does not appear.—And the mountain has such a na¬ ture, as neither iron, nor fire, nor steel, nor stone. And of this loadstone a prophet tells us in his writing,—that he saw a baron sitting upon the mount of loadstone,—he had the adamant in his hand, and stood in the midst of a people.—The baron of whom the prophet spoke, that he saw him upon the mountain of loadstone,—was Jesus Christ the Son of Mary, whom the loadstone signifies to us ;—and his being upon the mount, signified his victory ; —and his being standing, shows he was ready for battle ;—and his stone being fixed, shows us stability;—and his holding the adamant, shows that he had simi-