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Play 23, The Transfiguration

The Coriours
 




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240   
JESUS   Petir, myne awne discipill dere,
And James and John, my cosyns two,
Takis hartely hede, for ye schall here
That I wille telle unto no moo;
And als ye schall see sightis seere
Whilke none schall see bot ye alsoo,
Therfore comes forth with me in fere,
For to yone mountayne will I goo.
Ther schall ye see a sight
Whilk ye have yerned lange.

PETRUS   My Lorde, we are full light
And glad with thee to gange.

JESUS   Longe have ye coveyte for to kenne
My Fadir, for I sette hym before,
And wele ye wote whilke tyme and when
In Galylé gangand we were.
“Shewe us thy Fadir,” thus saide ye then,
“That suffice us withouten more.”
I saide to you and to all men,
“Who seis me, seis my Fadyr thore.”
Such wordis to you I spakke
In trewthe to make you bolde,
Ye cowde noght undyrtake
The talez that I you tolde.

Anodir tyme, for to encresse
Youre trouthe and worldly you to wys,
I saide, Quem dicunt homines
Esse filium hominis?1
I askid yow wham the pepill chase
To be mannys Sone, withouten mys;
Ye answered and saide, “Sum Moyses,”
And sum saide than, “Hely it is,”
And sum saide, “John Baptist.”
Than more I enquered you yitt,
I askid yiff ye ought wiste
Who I was, by youre witte.

Thou aunswered, Petir, for thy prowe,
And saide that I was Crist, God Sonne;
Bot of thyselffe that had noght thowe,
My Fadir hadde that grace begonne.
Therfore bese bolde and biddis nowe
To tyme ye have my Fadir fonne.

JACOBUS   Lord, to thy byddyng will we bowe
Full buxumly, as we are bonne.

JOHANNES   Lorde, we will wirke thy will
Allway with trew entent.
We love God lowde and stille
That us this layne has lente.

PETRUS   Full glad and blithe awe us to be
And thanke oure maistir, mekill of mayne,
That sais we schall the sightis see
The whiche non othir schall see certayne.

JACOBUS   He talde us of his Fadir free,
Of that fare wolde we be full fayne.

JOHANNES   All that he hyghte us holde will hee;
Therfore we will no forther frayne,
But as he fouchesaffe
So sall we undirstande.

PETRUS   Beholde, her we have nowe in hast
Som new tythandys.

HELYAS   Lord God, I love thee lastandly
And highly, botht with harte and hande,
That me, thy poure prophett Hely,
Have stevened me in this stede to stande.
In paradise wonnand am I
Ay sen I lefte this erthely lande.
I come Cristis name to clarifie
As God his Fadir me has ordand,
And for to bere witnesse
In worde to man and wyffe,
That this his owne Sone is
And Lord of lastand liff.

MOYSES   Lord God, that of all welth is wele,
With wille and witte we wirschippe thee,
That unto me, Moyses, wolde tell
This grete poynte of thy pryvyté,
And hendly hente me oute of hell
This solempne syght for I schuld see,
Whan thy dere darlynges that thore dwell
Hase noght thy grace in swilk degree.
Oure formefadyrs full fayne
Wolde se this solempne sight
That in this place thus pleyne
Is mustered thurgh thi myght.

PETRUS   Brethir, whatevere yone brightnes be?
Swilk burdis beforne was nevere sene.
It marres my myght, I may not see,
So selcouth thyng was nevere sene.

JACOBUS   What it will worthe, that wote noght wee,
How wayke I waxe, ye will not wene,
Are was ther one, now is ther thre.
Methynke oure maistir is betwene.

JOHANNES   That oure maistir is thare
That may we trewly trowe;
He was ffull fayre beffore,
But nevere als he is nowe.

PETRUS   His clothyng is as white as snowe,
His face schynes as the sonne.
To speke with hym I have grete awe,
Swilk faire before was nevere fune.

JACOBUS   The tothir two fayne wolde I knawe
And witte what werke tham hedir has wonne.

JOHANNES   I rede we aske tham all on rowe
And grope tham how this game is begonne.

PETRUS   My bredir, if that ye be come
To make clere Cristis name,
Telles here till us thre,
For we seke to the same.

HELYAS   Itt is Goddis will that we you wys
Of his werkis, as is worthy.
I have my place in paradise,
Ennok my brodyr me by.
Als messenger withouten mys
Am I called to this company
To witnesse that Goddis Sone is this,
Evyn with hym mette and allmyghty.
To dede we wer noght dight,
But quyk schall we come
With Antecrist for to fyght
Beffore the day of dome.

MOYSES   Frendis, if that ye frayne my name,
Moyses than may ye rede by rawe,
Two thousand yere aftir Adam
Than gaffe God unto me his lawe,
And sythen in helle has bene oure hame.
Allas, Adams kynne, this schall ye knawe:
Unto Crist come, this is the same
That us schall fro that dongeoun drawe.
He schall brynge tham to blys
That nowe in bale are bonne;
This myrthe we may not mys,
For this same is Goddis Sonne.

JESUS   My dere discipill, drede you noght,
I am youre soverayne certenly.
This wondir werke that here is wrought
Is of my Fadir almyghty.
Thire both are hydir brought,
The tone Moyses, the todir Ely,
And for youre sake thus are thei sought
To saie you, his Sone am I.
So schall bothe heven and helle
Be demers of this dede,
And ye in erthe schall tell
My name wher itt is nede.

PETRUS   A, loved be thou evere, my Lord Jesus,
That all this solempne sight has sent
That fouchest saffe to schew thee thus
So that thi myghtis may be kende.
Here is full faire dwellyng for us,
A lykand place in for to lende.
A, Lord, late us no forther trus,
For we will make with herte and hende
A taburnakill unto thee
Belyve, and thou will bide;
One schall to Moyses be,
And to Ely the thirde.

JACOBUS   Ya, wittirly, that were wele done,
But us awe noght swilk case to crave;
Tham thare but saie and have it sone,
Such service and he fouchesaffe.
He hetis his men both morne and none
Thare herber high in heven to have;
Therfore is beste we bide hys bone.
Who othir reedis, rudely thei rave.

JOHANNES   Such sonde as he will sende
May mende all oure mischeve,
And where hym lykis to lende
We will lende, with his leve

Hic descendunt nubes.

PATER IN NUBE   Ye ffebill of faithe, folke affraied,
Beis noght aferde for us in feere.

Both erthe and eyre with clowdes clere.
This is my Sone, as ye have saide,
As he has schewed by sygnes sere.
Of all his werkis I am wele paied,
Therfore till hym takis hede and here.
Where he is, thare am I;
He is myne and I am his:
Who trowis this stedfastly
Shall byde in endles blisse.

JESUS   Petir, pees be unto thee,
And to you also, James and John.
Rise uppe and tellis me what ye see,
And beis no more so wille of wone.

PETRUS   A, Lorde, what may this mervayle be?
Whedir is this glorious gleme al gone?
We saugh here pleynly persones thre,
And nowe is oure Lorde lefte allone.
This mervayle movis my mynde
And makis my flessh affrayed.

JACOBUS   This brightnes made me blynde,
I bode nevere swilke a brayde.

JOHANNES   Lorde God, oure maker almyghty,
This mater evermore be ment,
We saw two bodis stande hym by
And saide his Fadir had thame sent.

PETRUS   There come a clowde of the skye,
Lyght als the lemys on thame lent,
And now fares all as fantasye,
For wote noght how thai are wente

JACOBUS   That clowde cloumsed us clene
That come schynand so clere,
Such syght was never sene,
To seke all sydis seere.

JOHANNES   Nay, nay, that noys noyed us more
That here was horde so hydously.

JESUS   Frendis, be noght afferde therfore,
I schall you saye encheson why.
My Fadir wyte how that ye were
In youre faith fayland and forthy
He come to witnesse ay where,
And saide that his Sone am I
And also in this stede
To witnesse the same,
A quyk man and a dede
Come to make clere my name.

PETRUS   A, Lord, why latest thou us noght see
Thy Fadirs face in his fayrenes?

JESUS   Petir, thou askis overgrete degree,
That grace may noght be graunted thee, I gesse.
In his Godhed so high is he
As all youre prophetis names expresse,
That langar of lyffe schall he noght be
That seys his Godhede as it is.
Here have ye sene in sight
Poyntes of his privité
Als mekill als erthely wighte
May suffre in erthe to see.

And therfore wende we nowe agayne
To oure meyné, and mende ther chere.

JACOBUS   Oure felaws ful faste wil us frayne
How we have faren, al in feere.

JESUS   This visioun lely loke ye layne,
Unto no leffand lede it lere
Tille tyme mannys Sone have suffered payne
And resen fro dede, kens it than clere.
For all that trowis that thyng
Of my Fadir and me,
Thay schall have his blessing
And myne, so motte it be.


earnestly heed; hear

many; (see note); (t-note)
but
in company
(see note)

long yearned for

happy
go

(t-note)
?affirmed

Galilee going
(see note)


there
spake

[For otherwise] you could not understand



guide
(see note)

chose

(t-note)
Elijah

of you
knew


credit

thou
begun
be; abide; (see note); (t-note)
found (seen)


obediently; obliged




gift

ought; (see note)





matter; glad

promised
question
is willing





everlastingly
both
poor; Elijah
called
living


ordained



everlasting life

well (source); (t-note)


mystery
graciously took





plain; (t-note)
organized through


marvels
(see note)
amazing

(i.e., be determined to be)
weak (sleepy)
Before; (see note)







(see note)


matter; found


know; hither; transported

in order
interrogate






inform


brother [is]
sin


equal
death; put
alive; (see note)

doom

ask
expound in order

gave
home

Until; comes; (see note)


bound (captive)



dread






say [to] you

judges

necessary

praised; (t-note)

vouchsafe; show
known

pleasant; remain
go
hand; (see note)

Forthwith



wisely


if he wills [it]
promises
[secure] dwelling
wish
advises

message

desires; remain
leave

Here the clouds descend; (t-note)

(see note); (t-note)
Be
framed; (t-note)
air



hear


believes
(t-note)



(see note)
be; distraught

(t-note)

saw; plainly





endured; assault


remembered
bodies
them


beams

[we] know

surprised (shocked)
shining

seek all around; (see note)

sound annoyed; (see note)
heard

afraid
reason
knows
failing


place

live





(i.e., too much)


proclaim
(see note)
sees

mystery




company




truly; conceal; (see note)
living man; reveal

risen; teach; openly

(t-note)