No More Learning

Tant par estoit de grant viellune,

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So old she was that she ne wente
A foot, but it were by potente.
The TYME, that passeth night and day, TIME.
And restelees travayleth ay, 370
And steleth from us so prively,
That to us seemeth sikerly
That it in oon point dwelleth ever,
And certes, it ne resteth never,
But goth so faste, and passeth ay, 375
That ther nis man that thinke may
What tyme that now present is:
Asketh at these clerkes this;
For [er] men thinke it redily,
Three tymes been y-passed by. 380
The tyme, that may not soiourne,
But goth, and never may retourne,
As water that doun renneth ay,
But never drope retourne may;
Ther may no-thing as tyme endure, 385
Metal, nor erthely creature;
For alle thing it fret and shal:
The tyme eek, that chaungeth al,
And al doth waxe and fostred be,
And alle thing distroyeth he: 390

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Qu'el n'alast mie la montance
De quatre toises sans potance. 360
Li tens qui s'en va nuit et jor,
Sans repos prendre et sans sejor,
Et qui de nous se part et emble
Si celeement, qu'il nous semble
Qu'il s'arreste ades en ung point,
Et il ne s'i arreste point,
Ains ne fine de trepasser,
Que nus ne puet neis penser
Quex tens ce est qui est presens;
Sel' demandes as clers lisans, 370
Aincois que l'en l'eust pense,
Seroit-il ja trois tens passe.
Li tens qui ne puet sejourner,
Ains vait tous jors sans retorner,
Cum l'iaue qui s'avale toute,
N'il n'en retorne arriere goute:
Li tens vers qui noient ne dure,
Ne fer ne chose tant soit dure,
Car il gaste tout et menjue;
Li tens qui tote chose mue, 380
Qui tout fait croistre et tout norist,
Et qui tout use et tout porrist;

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The tyme, that eldeth our auncessours
And eldeth kinges and emperours,
And that us alle shal overcomen
Er that deeth us shal have nomen:
The tyme, that hath al in welde 395
To elden folk, had maad hir elde
So inly, that, to my witing,
She mighte helpe hir-self no-thing,
But turned ageyn unto childhede;
She had no-thing hir-self to lede, 400
Ne wit ne pith in[with] hir holde
More than a child of two yeer olde.
But natheles, I trowe that she
Was fair sumtyme, and fresh to see,
Whan she was in hir rightful age: 405
But she was past al that passage
And was a doted thing bicomen.
A furred cope on had she nomen;
Wel had she clad hir-self and warm,
For cold mighte elles doon hir harm. 410
These olde folk have alwey colde,
Hir kinde is swiche, whan they ben olde.
Another thing was doon ther write, POPE-HOLY.
That semede lyk an ipocrite,

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Li tens qui enviellist nos peres,
Et viellist roys et emperieres,
Et qui tous nous enviellira,
Ou mort nous desavancera;
Li tens qui toute a la baillie
Des gens viellir, l'avoit viellie
Si durement, qu'au mien cuidier
El ne se pooit mes aidier, 390
Ains retornoit ja en enfance,
Car certes el n'avoit poissance,
Ce cuit-je, ne force, ne sens
Ne plus c'un enfes de deus ans.
Ne porquant, au mien escient,
Ele avoit este sage et gent,
Quant ele iert en son droit aage;
Mais ge cuit qu'el n'iere mes sage,
Ains iert trestote rassotee.
Si ot d'une chape forree 400
Moult bien, si cum je me recors,
Abrie et vestu son corps:
Bien fu vestue et chaudement,
Car el eust froit autrement.
Les vielles gens ont tost froidure;
Bien saves que c'est lor nature.
Une ymage ot empres escrite, PAPELARDIE.
Qui sembloit bien estre ypocrite;

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And it was cleped POPE-HOLY. 415
That ilke is she that prively
Ne spareth never a wikked dede,
Whan men of hir taken non hede;
And maketh hir outward precious,
With pale visage and pitous, 420
And semeth a simple creature;
But ther nis no misaventure
That she ne thenketh in hir corage.
Ful lyk to hir was that image,
That maked was lyk hir semblaunce. 425
She was ful simple of countenaunce,
And she was clothed and eek shod,
As she were, for the love of god,
Yolden to religioun,
Swich semed hir devocioun. 430
A sauter held she faste in honde,
And bisily she gan to fonde
To make many a feynt prayere
To god, and to his seyntes dere.
Ne she was gay, fresh, ne Iolyf, 435
But semed be ful ententyf
To gode werkes, and to faire,
And therto she had on an haire.
Ne certes, she was fat no-thing,

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PAPELARDIE ert apelee.
C'est cele qui en recelee, 410
Quant nus ne s'en puet prendre garde,
De nul mal faire ne se tarde.
El fait dehors le marmiteus,
Si a le vis simple et piteus,
Et semble sainte creature;
Mais sous ciel n'a male aventure
Qu'ele ne pense en son corage.
Moult la ressembloit bien l'ymage
Qui faite fu a sa semblance,
Qu'el fu de simple contenance; 420
Et si fu chaucie et vestue
Tout ainsinc cum fame rendue.
En sa main ung sautier tenoit,
Et sachies que moult se penoit
De faire a Dieu prieres faintes,
Et d'appeler et sains et saintes.
El ne fu gaie, ne jolive,
Ains fu par semblant ententive
Du tout a bonnes ovres faire;
Et si avoit vestu la haire. 430
Et sachies que n'iere pas grasse,

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But semed wery for fasting; 440
Of colour pale and deed was she.
From hir the gate [shal] werned be
Of paradys, that blisful place;
For swich folk maketh lene hir face,
As Crist seith in his evangyle, 445
To gete hem prys in toun a whyle;
And for a litel glorie veine
They lesen god and eek his reine.
And alderlast of everichoon, POVERT.
Was peynted POVERT al aloon, 450
That not a peny hadde in wolde,
Al-though [that] she hir clothes solde,
And though she shulde anhonged be;
For naked as a worm was she.