fol. 193rTractatus quidam
Theo sothe luve among us beowythuten euch
endynge;And Crist us lete wel itheoand yve us his blessynge,And yeve us that we moten fleoever sunegynge,And thene Feond and al his gleoand al his twyelinge.
line5Ute we wurthi thene Louerd Godthat hider us brouhte.He wes with us swithe edmodthar he us wrouhte,And eft he wes ihonge on rodefor helpe thene vorwrouhte;Mid his fleysse and myd his blodhe us alle bouhte.
Iblessed be such Etherlingus mylce that he wolde.line10He is ure beste King;we ouhte beon hym holde.And we beoth alle his ofsprung —iknowe we hit scholde —For he scop us and alle thingof thar eorthe molde.
Crist us haveth of eorthe iwrouht;to eorthe he wule us sende.Mid his dethe we weren ibouhtfrom the Feondes bende.line15He hit haveth al bithouht:the frumthe to thon ende,How we beoth hider ibrouhtand hwider we schulle wende.
If we beoth ryhtwiseand luvyeth ure Dryhte,And doth his servysemyd al ure myhte,Ne tharf us never agrysebi daye ne bi nyhte;line20We schulle in paradysschynen swithe bryhte!
This world is neyh than ende;the deth neyeth blyve.fol. 193vHeonne we schullen wende,ne may non her bileve.The is us neyh hende;yef we us leteth schryve,Crist us wile sendeto thon eche lyve.
line25Ute we holde that ilche bodthat Crist us wile theche.He yef us lith and deth an foth;he is ure leache.Ure euch beo with other edmodon werke and of speche,Elles ure Louerd Godon us wulle done wreche.
Mid gode beode myd gode thonk,we schule to Criste grede,line30And bidde mylce of ure wrong,of ure gydihede,Of ure sunnen that beoth wel strong,of ure fule dede,Hwenne cumeth he us amongand wile us myd him lede.
Ure Louerd Crist us wule teoto heovene, myd iwisse,If we wulleth uvel fleo,ne thurue we that mysse.line35Wel is him that schal ther beo;he may ther habbe lysse;He may ther ever Crist iseoand joye inouh and blysse.
Ther wurth day buten nyhte;ne tharf thar no mon syche.Hwer-forth grith wythuten fiht —wel god is heoveneriche!Ther wurth soth withuten unriht,and ever hit wurth ilyche.line40Ther wurth evenyng carle and cnyht,poure men and riche.
The sothe luve is heom among,and mylce and ryhtwisnesse,Rihte bileve and clene thonk,and sibbe and edmodnesse.Ne wurth ther unryht ne wrong,ne wreththe ne idelnesse.Ther wurth joye and mury songwithute swikelnesse.
line45If we wulleth thider into thare riche wunynge,Idelschipe and luther iwyn,and wraththe and hatynge,Prude and onde and feondes gynand uyche sunegynge,We mote forsake er ure fyn,and do therof mendinge.
We schulde among us habben aysothe luve and sibbe.line50We schulde, abute Cristes lay,beon yeornfulle and clybbe.We schulde luvye alleway,for we beoth alle isybbe,fol. 194rAnd us ibidde nyht and dayhwihles that we libbe.
The sothe luve is god and mylde;nys heo nowiht sturne.Nis heo nouther prut ne wilde,nele heo non ayhte yrne.line55That folk worth eft wrothe ispildthe nule to hire turne.Jhesu, Seynte Marie Child,heom wule his riche werne.
The sothe luve is al rihtwis;ne kepeth heo non onde.Mid than folke that rihtwis is,he wile ay atstonde.Ure Louerd Crist, that almyhti is,alese us of his bondeline60And lede us into heovene blysand sette us on his ryht honde. Amen.
fol. 193rAnother treatise
True love is among uswithout any limit;And may Christ let us thrive welland give us his blessing,And grant us that we may escapefrom ever sinning,And from the Fiend and all his gamesand all his deceiving.
line5We ought to worship the Lord Godwho brought us hither.He was very humble among useven though he created us,And later he was crucifed on the crossto assist the damned;With his flesh and his bloodhe redeemed us all.
Blessed be such a royal Princewho can grant us mercy.line10He’s our best King;we ought to be faithful to him.And we’re all his offspring —we must acknowledge it —For he created us and all thingsof this world.
Christ has created us from earth;to earth he will send us.With his death we were redeemedfrom the Fiend’s captivity.line15He has planned all of it:the world’s beginning to the end,How we are brought hitherand whither we will go.
If we are virtuousand love our Lord,And do his servicewith all our might,We need never be frightenedday or night;line20We shall in paradiseshine very brightly!
This world’s near the end;death approaches quickly.fol. 193vWe will go hence,and no one can remain here.The Doom’s nigh at hand for us;if we neglect confession,Christ will consign usto that eternal life.
line25We ought to abide by the very rulethat Christ has taught us.He gives us life and death and sustenance;he’s our physician.Let us always be submissivein work and in speech,Or else our Lord Godwill take vengeance on us.
With good prayer and thanks,we ought to cry out to Christ,line30And ask for mercy for our errors,for our madness,For our very great sins,for our foul deeds,When he comes among usand hopes to lead us with him.
Our Lord Christ wants to draw usto heaven, truly,If we determine to flee from evil,we don’t need to miss that.line35Well is he who’ll there abide;he may there have comfort;He may there always see Christand much joy and bliss.
There is day without night;no one there needs to sigh,Where there’s peace without strife —so good is heaven’s realm!There is truth without injustice,and always fairness.line40There are commoner and knight equal,men poor and rich.
True love is among themand mercy and righteousness,Right belief and clean thoughts,and harmony and humility.There isn’t any injustice or wrong,or wrath or folly.There is joy and merry songswithout any treachery.
line45If we want there to enterinto that rich dwelling,Then vanity and foul strife,and anger and hatred,Pride and malice and devils’ tricksand every kind of sin,We must forsake before we die,and do penance for it.
We should always have among ustrue love and harmony.line50Toward Christ’s law, we shouldbe desirous and eager.We should love in every way,for we’re all closely related,fol. 194rAnd pray night and daywhile we’re alive.
True love is good and gentle;it’s not at all severe.It’s neither proud nor wild,nor does it desire anything.line55Those folks who won’t turn to itwill be harshly brought to ruin.Jesus, Holy Mary’s Child,will deny them his kingdom.
True love is all righteousness;it contains no malice.Among folks who are righteous,it will always abide.May our Lord Christ, who’s almighty,free us from his bondageline60And lead us into heaven’s blissand set us at his right hand. Amen.