With what wight so thow be, or how thow pleye,
Oither he woot that thow joie art muable,
Or woot it nought, it mot ben on of tweyen:
Now if he woot it not, how may he seyen
That he hath veray joie and selynesse,
That is of ignoraunce ay in
distresse?
Chaucer - Boethius
er
it come? al to-gidre to a wy?t. or ellys it laste? not perpetuely.
(_Ib._ p. 41.)
Quam multis amaritudinibus humanae felicitatis dulcedo respersa
est!
(_Boethius_, lib. ii. prose 4.)
Anxia enim res est humanorum conditio bonorum, et quae vel nunquam
tota proveniat, vel nunquam perpetua subsistat.
(_Ib._)
O, brotel wele of mannes joie unstable!
With what wight so thow be, or how thow pleye,
Oither he woot that thow joie art muable,
Or woot it nought, it mot ben on of tweyen:
Now if he woot it not, how may he seyen
That he hath veray joie and selynesse,
That is of ignoraunce ay in
distresse?
Now if he woote that joie is transitorie,
As every joie of worldly thynge mot fle,
Thanne every tyme he that hath in memorie,
The drede of lesyng maketh hym that he
May in no parfyte selynesse be:
And if to lese his joie, he sette not a myte,
Than semeth it, that joie is worth ful lite.
(_Troylus and Cryseyde_, bk. iii. st. 111, 112, vol. iv. p. 258.)
(1) What man ?at ?is toumblyng welefulnesse leedi?, ei?er he woot
?at [it] is chaungeable. or ellis he woot it nat.
