Vellem autem pauca tecum fortunae ipsius verbis agitare.
Tu igitur an ius postulet, animadverte.
‘Quid tu homo ream me cotidianis agis querelis?
Quam tibi fecimus iniuriam?
Quae tua tibi detraximus bona?
Quovis iudice de opum dignitatumque mecum possessione contende.
Et si cuiusquam mortalium proprium quid horum esse monstraveris, ego iam tua fuisse quae repetis, sponte concedam.
Cum te matris utero natura produxit, nudum rebus omnibus inopemque suscepi, meis opibus fovi
et quod te nunc inpatientem nostri facit, favore prona indulgentius educavi,
omnium quae mei iuris sunt affluentia et splendore circumdedi.
Nunc mihi retrahere manum libet.
Habes gratiam velut usus alienis, non habes ius querelae tamquam prorsus tua perdideris.
Quid igitur ingemiscis?
Nulla tibi a nobis est allata violentia.
Opes honores ceteraque talium mei sunt iuris.
Dominam famulae cognoscunt; mecum veniunt, me abeunte discedunt.
Audacter adfirmem, si tua forent quae amissa conquereris nullo modo perdidisses.
An ego sola meum ius exercere prohibebor?
Licet caelo proferre lucidos dies eosdemque tenebrosis noctibus condere.
Licet anno terrae vultum nunc floribus frugibusque redimire, nunc nimbis frigoribusque confundere.
Ius est mari nunc strato aequore blandiri, nunc procellis ac fluctibus inhorrescere.
Nos ad constantiam nostris moribus alienam inexpleta hominum cupiditas alligabit?
Haec nostra vis est, hunc continuum ludum ludimus;
rotam volubili orbe versamus, infima summis summa infimis mutare gaudemus.
Ascende si placet, sed ea lege ne utique cum ludicri mei ratio poscet, descendere iniuriam putes.
An tu mores ignorabas meos?
Nesciebas Croesum regem Lydorum Cyro paulo ante formidabilem mox deinde miserandum rogi flammis traditum misso caelitus imbre defensum?
Num te praeterit Paulum Persi regis a se capti calamitatibus pias inpendisse lacrimas?
Quid tragoediarum clamor aliud deflet nisi indiscreto ictu fortunam felicia regna vertentem?
Nonne adulescentulus δύο πίθους τὸν μὲν ἕνα κακῶν, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον ἐάων in Iovis limine iacere didicisti?
Quid si uberius de bonorum parte sumpsisti?
Quid si a te non tota discessi?
Quid si haec ipsa mei mutabilitas iusta tibi causa est sperandi meliora?
Tamen ne animo contabescas et intra commune omnibus regnum locatus proprio vivere iure desideres.
Or vous dirrai autre chose.
Certes, je voudroie pledier un petit avec toi en usant des paroles de Fortune meismes.
Simon: See above.
Regarde donques tu meismes, savoir mon, se elle requiert droit.
Merveille est ke nus hom ose
De Fortune fere pleinte< >;
Ke jamès nen ert ateinte
Ke par lui seit chose feite
Dunt hom suz ciel eit soffreite.
« O tu homme, pour quoy me blasmes tu et fais coupable chascun jour par tes complaintes ?
Quel tort t’avons nous fait ?
Quiex bien t’avons nous toluz qui tiens fussent ?
Estrive avec moy devant quelconques juge que tu voudras de la possession des richesses et des dignitéz.
Et se tu pues monstrer que aucun des mortiex hommes ait riens propre en ces chosez, je te otroieré ja de mon gré que les chosez que tu requiers ont esté teues.
Quant nature te trest hors du ventre de ta mere, je te reçui nu et souffreteus de toutez chosez et te norri de mes richesses
et fui plus ententivement encline par ma grace a toy soustenir, par la quele chose tu es ores rebelles et sans pacience encontre moy ;
je t’avironné de l’abondance et de la resplendisseur de touz les biens qui sont de mon droit.
Or me plaist a retraire ma main.
Je t’ai fait grace quant tu as usé des chosez estranges ; tu n’as pas droit de toy plaindre ainsi comme se tu eusses perdu tes chosez du tout.
Pour quoi te plains tu donques ?
Je ne t’ai fait nulle violence ne nul tort.
Richeces, honneurs, dignitéz et puissances et ces autres chosez telles sont de mon droit.
Mes chamberierez cognoissent leur dame ; elles viennent avec moy et, quant je me depart, elles se departent.
Je ose bien hardiement afermer que, se les chosez dom tu te plains que tu les as perdues eussent onques esté teues, tu ne les eusses onques perdues en nulle maniere.
Serai je donques deveee toute seule de user de mon droit ?
Li cielx a bien pooir et lesir de faire les jours biaus et clers et de respondre les en nuiz tenebreusez.
Li ans a bien lesir de aourner le voult de la terre aucune foiz de fleurs, aucune foiz de blez et de confundre le aucune fois de pluiez et de froiz.
La mer a bien droit et lesir de estre aucune foiz soueve et plaine et de soi hericier aucune fois de floz et de tempestes.
Mais la couvoitise des hommes, qui ne puet estre acomplie, nous liera elle, moy et mes chamberieres, a ce que nous soions fermes et estables comme estableté soit estrange a nos meurs ?
Telle est nostre force ; de ce jeu jouons nous continuelment ;
nous tournons une roe par rondece tournable, nous nous esjoissons a muer les basses chosez es hautes et les hautes es basses.
Monte s’il te plaist, mes que ce soit par celle lai que tu ne cuides pas que je te face tort se tu descens quant la raison de mon jeu le requerra.
Ne cognoissoies tu pas donques mes meurs ?
Ne savoies tu pas comme Cresus, le roi dès Lidians, qui fu si redoubtables un pou devant au roi Cirus, qui puis tantost le prist chetif et l’envoia ardoir au feu, quant la pluie descendant du ciel l’en deffendi ?
Et ne es tu pas remembrant comme Paulus, quant il ot pris le roi de Perse, plora piteusement pour les chetivetéz de celui ?
Et quelle autre chose pleure li cris des tragedies fors seulement comme fortune tourne les riches royaumes par coup despourveu ?
N’as tu apris, des lors que tu fus enfes et jeunes, que dui tonnel dont li uns est plains de mal et li autres plains de bien, gisent ou sueil, c’est a dire en l’entree de la meson Jupiter ?
Que pues tu plaindre se tu as pris plus plenteureusement de la partie de mes biens ?
Et quoy avec, se je ne me sui pas toute departie de toi ?
Et quoy encores, se ceste moie muableté te donne droite cause de esperance de meilleurs chosez avoir ?
Et toutevoies pour ce que li cuers ne te faille, tu qui es mis dedens le royaume commun a touz, c’est ou royaume de fortune, veulz tu vivre selonc ton propre droit ?
Certes, I wolde pleten with thee a fewe thinges, usinge the wordes of Fortune;
tak hede now thy-self, yif that she axeth right.
“O thou man, wher-fore makest thou me gilty by thyne every-dayes pleyninges?
What wrong have I don thee ?
What goodes have I bireft thee that weren thyne ?
Stryf or plete with me, bifore what Iuge that thou wolt, of the possessioun of richesses or of dignitees.
And yif thou mayst shewen me that ever any mortal man hath received any of tho thinges to ben hise in propre, than wol I graunte frely that alle thilke thinges weren thyne whiche that thou axest.
Whan that nature broughte thee forth out of thy moder wombe, I receyved thee naked and nedy of alle thinges, and I norisshede thee with my richesses,
and was redy and ententif through my favour to susteyne thee ; and that maketh thee now inpacient ayeins me ;
and I envirounde thee with alle the aboundance and shyninge of alle goodes that ben in my right.
Now it lyketh me to with-drawen my hand ;
thou hast had grace as he that hath used of foreine goodes : thou hast no right to pleyne thee, as though thou haddest outrely for-lorn alle thy thinges.
Why pleynest thou thanne ?
I have done thee no wrong.
Richesses, honours, and swiche other thinges ben of my right.
My servauntes knowen me for hir lady ; they comen with me, and departen whan I wende.
I dar wel affermen hardily, that yif tho thinges, of which thou pleynest that thou hast forlorn, hadde ben thyne, thou ne haddest not lorn hem.
Shal I thanne only ben defended to usen my right ?
Certes, it is leveful to the hevene to make clere dayes, and, after that, to coveren tho same dayes with derke nightes.
The yeer hath eek leve to apparailen the visage of the erthe, now with floures and now with fruit , and to confounden hem som-tyme with reynes and with coldes.
The see hath eek his right to ben som-tyme calme and blaundishing with smothe water, and som-tyme to ben horrible with wawes and with tempestes.
But the covetise of men, that may nat ben stanched, shal it binde me to ben stedefast, sin that stedefastnesse is uncouth to my maneres?
Swich is my strengthe, and this pley I pleye continuely.
I torne the whirlinge wheel with the torning cercle ; I am glad to chaungen the lowest to the heyest, and the heyest to the lowest.
Worth up, if thou wolt, so it be by this lawe, that thou ne holde nat that I do thee wronge thogh thou descende adoun, whan the resoun of my pley axeth it.
No English
Wistest thou nat how Cresus, the king of Lydiens, of whiche king Cyrus was ful sore agast a litel biforn, that this rewliche Cresus was caught of Cyrus and lad to the fyr to ben brent, but that a rayn descendede doun fro hevene that rescowede him ?
And is it out of thy minde how that Paulus, consul of Rome, whan he hadde taken the king of Perciens, weep pitously for the captivitee of the self kinge ?
What other thing biwailen the cryinges of tragedies but only the dedes of Fortune, that with an unwar stroke overtorneth realmes of grete nobley ?
Glose.Tragedie is to seyn, a ditee of a prosperitee for a tyme, that endeth in wrecchednesse.
Lernedest nat thou in Greke, whan thou were yonge, that in the entree, or in the celere , of Iupiter, ther ben couched two tonnes ; that on is ful of good, that other is ful of harm ?
What right hast thou to pleyne, yif thou hast taken more plentevously of the goode syde, that is to seyn, of my richesses and prosperites ;
and what eek if I ne be nat al departed fro thee ?
What eek yif my mutabilitee yiveth thee rightful cause of hope to han yit beter thinges?
Natheles dismaye thee nat in thy thought ; and thou that art put in the comune realme of alle, ne desyre nat to liven by thyn only propre right.
A few woordes wold I pleade with thee on fortunes syde.
Mark thou then whither she call thè not in plea.
“Why me, ô man! guilty dost thou make of daily quarrells?
What wrong doo I thee?
What goodes from thee haue I drawne?
Pleade thou against me afore any Judge for the possession of thy goodes & dignties.
And if thou showest that any mortall man haue propertie of any of them that thou pretendst thyne owne, that thou ask, willingly I will yelde.
When Nature brought thè out of thy motheres womb, naked of all and needy, I vp took thè, and nourisht thè with my substance,
& that that breedes now thy rage; with speedy fauour carefully I bred thè,
and did indue with plenty & glory of all such thinges as were my owne.
Now it is tyme, now may I, if I list, draw back my hand;
yeld thankes for vsing not thy owne. Thou hast no lawe for quarrell, as if thyne owne lost thou hadst.
Why sighest thou than?
With no violence haue we vsed thè,
goodes, honour, & and all such lyke, of right myne own.
My maydes knowes their Lady, with me they com, & whan I parte, giue place.
Boldly I affirme, if thyne they were that lost thou complaynst at all, thou hadst not lost them.
Am I alone forbyd my right to vse?
To heauens is lawfull to bring thee pleasant dayes, & dark the same with misty nightes.
To yeare is lawfull – adorne the earthe’s face with floures and frute, Som tyme with cloudes and coldes confound.
The Sea may with quyet calme be pleased, now terrible by waues & tempest.
the vnsaciable desyre of men, shall it bynd vs to constancy furr from our condition?
This is our powre, this contynuall plan we make.
The wheele by turning Rolle we whirle, and Joye the lowest change with hyest, and hyest makes the same o matche.
Com vp & you will, but on that condition, that ye counte it not iniury to descend whan the fashon of my dalyance requires it.
Wert thou ignarant of my conditions?
Knewest thou not Cresus, king of Lydia, a little before fearfull to Cyrus, straight way wretched man bequeathed to flamy heate, defended from heauen by a mist sent downe?
Dost thou not remember how Paul shed many an honest teare for the calamitie of Perseus king, whom he tooke?
What does Tragedies clamour more bewayle, than a man turning happy Raigne by blynde fortune’s stroke?
Hast thou not learnt that there lay in Jupiters thressholl twoe barrells fyld one with yll, the other of good?
What yf thou suckest vp more largely of the of the better part?
What yf I left thè not all alone?
What yf this my right mutabilitie haue bred thè cause to hope for better?
But be not thou amasde, that sett in the common raigne of all other, to lyve by thine owne lawe desirest.”
Complete text
Book I: THE SORROWS OF BOETHIUS