NATURE

¶ Thalmyghty God / that made eke creature As well in heaven / as other place earthly By his wise ordinance / hath purveyed me nature To be as minister / under him immediately For thencheson / that I should perpetually His creatures / in such degree maintain as that hath pleased / his grace for Them to ordain ¶ To me that longeth by natural engendure thing to continue / that hath spirit of life which / ne were my help should never endure But suddenly perish / and wax all caytyfe Atwyxt thesementys / that whilom were at strife I have suaged / the old repugnance and knit Them together / in manner of alyaunce ¶ The I have ordained / the gods Dean Lady of the see / / and every Fresh fountain which commonly decreceth / when she ginneth wane And waxes abundant / when she creceth again Of eb and flood / she is cause certain and reineth as princes / in every isle and town That with the see / is compassed enuyron ¶ I am causer / of such impressyon as appeareth wondrous / to mannys sight As of flames / that from the sterry region Seemeth to fallen / in times of the night Some shote sydelong / and some down right which causeth the ignorant / to stand in dread that sterrys do fallen / yet falls there none in deed ¶ What needeth that to speak / of things here by low as fowls / beasts / and fishes in their hind Of trees / herbs / and stones how they grow In which / men sundry and many virtuous find One thing be you sure / and think that in your mind No manner creature / may take on high ure Of these works / but only I nature ¶ And plainly there is / in earth no manner thing That is not partner / of my influence I do provide / for every best living Of natural food / always suffycence And give Them also / a manner of prudence Whereby they may / naturallyensew Thing that is delectable / and tother exchew ¶ Who taught the cok / his watch hours to observe And sing of courage / with shyrll throat on hie who taught the pellycan / her tender heart to carve For she nolde suffer / her byrdys to die Who taught the nyghtyngall / to record busily Her strange entuny / in silence of the night Certes I nature / and none other wight ¶ But if that I / should clepe to memory Eke strange effect / and every great meruayll That I have caused / I ensure you faithfully That rather time / than process should me fayll that were your pain / and to me but travail All such maters / as now to bring in place Wherefore I let pass Them / tell other time and space ¶ But if you covet / now to know theffecte Of things natural / by true conclusion counsel with Arystotell / my philosopher elect Which hath left / in bokys of his tradycyon Now every thing / by heuynly constellation Is brought to effect / and in what manner wise As far as mannys wit / may naturally comprise ¶ Wherefore sith God / of his great largess Hath thus enriched me / with dower of his grace And made me as who sayeth / a wordly goddess Of duty I can / no less do in this case But with hartꝭ joy / and entyere solace My self address / to do his high pleasures And to this same / move all other creatures ¶ Enforce you therefore / his creatures eke on To honour your maker / with humble obeisance Nomely thou man / I speak to the alone Before all other / as chief of his creance Think how he / hath made the to this semblance Pluck up thine heart / and hold thine head upright and ever more / have heaven in thy sight ¶ Ouyde in his book / cleped the transformation among all other his fables and poesies Makes special / mensyon of thy creation Show how God / wondrously gan devise when he the made / and gave to the thempryse Of all this world / and feoffed the with all as chief possessyoner / of things mortuall ¶ In token whereof / he gave the upright visage and gave the in commandment / to lift thine eye Up to ward heaven / only for that usage Thou shouldst know him / for thy lord almighty all other beasts / as things unworthy To behold therth / with groveling countenance and be subdued / to thine obeisance ¶ But as touching / the cause specially wherefore I have ordained the / this night to appear It is to put the / in knowledge and memory To what intent / thou art ordained tobe here I let the wit / thou art a passanger That hast to do / a great and long voyage and through the world / most be thy passage ¶ Address the self / now towards this journey For as now thou shalt / nolenger here abide Lo here Reason / to govern the in thy way and sensuality / upon thine other side But reason I depute / to be thy chief guide with innocency / that is thy tender noryce Evermore to ween the / from thappetyte of vice ¶ God hath heard thy prayer / ma ̄ kind no doubt In all thy requestys / and right full petycyon Now forth thy journey / and look well about that thou be not / deceived by falls prodycyon Let reason the govern / in every condition For if thou do not / to his rule incline that will to thy great myschef and ruin ¶ I wot well sensuality / is to the natural And granted to the / in thy First creation But notwithstanding / that ought tobe overall Subdued to reason / and under his tuition Thou hast now liberty / and needest no maynmyssyon And if thou abond the / to passions sensual Farewele thy liberty / thou shalt wax thrall ¶ My friend as I / said to you before a Room shall you have / no man say nay But reason must be / preferred evermore For he can best lede him to the way Of virtue and grace / whereby he may Longest continue / to goddyshygh pleasure To y e which end / God hath ordained this his creature ¶ Content thy self / now with Reason my friend And medyll the no further / than thou hast to do Thou hast brought many a man / to a wretched end And so thou woldyst spill / his creature also But what so ever he say / take no heed thereto without that Reason / will allow the same For who so does the contrary / deserves Much blame ¶ God and I Nature / have set the in better case Than any creature / under the firmament Abuse not man / abuse not thy grace Of God almighty / that from above is sent Thou shalt be the First / that shall repent If ever thou fle / Reason and sue folly when onys thou feelest / the sinert of misery ¶ But be of Comfort / hardly God shall send Both ghostly aid / and worldly help also And I shall never / fayll unto thy lyfꝭ end To minister unto the / as me owes to do To yender the world / which thou must needs to Now shape the thither / there is no more to say Thy lord and mine / guide the in thy way