Orpheus loked[e]
abakwarde
on Erudice his wijf {and} 3068
lost[e] hir {and} was deed.
Chaucer - Boethius
eue a
lawe to loueres. loue is a gretter lawe {and} a strengere to 3064
hym self ?an any lawe ?{a}t men may ?euen.
[Sidenote: Alas! having left the realms of night, Orpheus cast a
look behind and lost his too-much-loved Euridice.]
? Allas
whan Orpheus {and} his wijf were al most at ?e termes of
?e ny?t. ?at is to seyne at ?e last[e] boundes of helle.
Orpheus loked[e]
abakwarde
on Erudice his wijf {and} 3068
lost[e] hir {and} was deed.
[Sidenote: This fable belongs to all you, whose minds would view
the Sovereign Good.]
? ?is fable app{er}teine? to
?ow alle who so euer desire? or seki? to lede his ?ou?te
in to ?e souereyne day. ?at is to seyne to clerenes[se]
of souereyne goode.
[Sidenote: For he who fixes his thoughts upon earthly things and
low, must lose the noble and heaven-imparted Good.]
