From Stage to Page - Medieval and Renaissance Drama
The Towneley Cycle, Play 17 - The Purification of Mary (PurificacioMariaIncomplete)
001 Symeon. Mightfull god, thou vs glad!
002 That heuen and erthe and all has mayde;
003 Bryng vs to blys that neuer shall fade,
004 As thou well may;
005 And thynk on me that is vnweld-
006 Lo! so I hobyll all on held,
007 That vnethes may I walk for eld-
008 Now help, lord, adonay!
009 Bot yit I meruell, both euyn and morne,
010 Of old, elders that were beforne,
011 Wheder thay be safe or lorne,
012 Where thay may be;
013 Abell, noye, and abraham,
014 Dauid, daniell, and balaam,
015 And all othere mo by name,
016 Of sere degre.
017 I thank the, lord, with good intent,
018 Of all thy sond thou has me sent,
019 That thus long tyme my lyfe has lent,
020 Now many a yere;
021 Ffor all ar past now oonly bot I;
022 I thank the, lord god almyghty!
023 Ffor so old, know I none, sothly,
024 Now lyfyng here.
025 Ffor I am old symeon:
026 So old on lyfe know I none,
027 That is mayde on flesh and bone,
028 In all medyll-erd.
029 No wonder if I go on held:
030 The feuyrs, the flyx, make me vnweld;
031 Myn armes, my lymmes, ar stark for eld,
032 And all gray is my berd.
033 Myn ees are woren both marke and blynd;
034 Myn and is short, I want wynd;
035 Thus has age dystroed my kynd,
036 And reft myghtis all;
037 Bot shortly mon I weynd away;
038 What tyme ne when, I can not say,
039 Ffor it is gone full many a day
040 Syn dede began to call.
041 Ther is no warke that I may wyrk,
042 Bot oneths crall I to the kyrk;
043 Be I com home I am so irk
044 That farther may I noght;
045 Bot settys me downe, and grankys, and gronys,
046 And lygys and restys my wery bonys,
047 And all nyght after grankys and goonys,
048 On slepe tyll I be broght.
049 Bot neuer the les, the sothe to say,
050 If I may nather, by nyght ne day,
051 Ffor age nather styr ne play,
052 Nor make no chere,
053 Yit if I be neuer so old,
054 I myn full well that prophetys told,
055 That now ar dede and layde full cold,
056 Sythen gone many a yere.
057 Thay sayde that god, full of myght,
058 Shuld, send his son from heuen bright,
059 In a madyn for to light,
060 Commen of dauid kyn;
061 Fflesh and bloode on hyr to take,
062 And becom man for oure sake,
063 Our redempcyon for to make,
064 That slayn were thrugh syn.
065 Bot, lord, that vs thy grace has hight,
066 Send me thy sond, both day and nyght,
067 And graunt me grace of lyfys light,
068 And let me neuer de,
069 To thou sich grace to me send,
070 That I may handyll hym in my hend,
071 That shall cum oure mys to amend,
072 And se hym with myn ee.
073 Primus Angelus. Thou, symeon, drede the noght!
074 My lord, that thou has long besoght,
075 Ffor thou has rightwys beyn,
076 Thyn askyng has he grauntyd the,
077 With outen dede on lyfe to be
078 To thou thy cryst haue seyn.
079 Secundus Angelus. Than symeon, harkyn a space!
080 I bryng the tythyngys of solace;
081 Ffor-thy, ryse vp and gang
082 To the temple; thou shall fynd thore
083 Godys son the before,
084 That thou has yernyd lang.
085 Symeon. Louyd be my lord, in wyll and thoght,
086 That his seruant forgettys noght,
087 When that he seys tyme!
088 Well is me that I shall dre
089 Tyll I haue sene hym with myn ee,
090 And no longer hyne.
091 Louyd be my lord in heuen,
092 That thus has by his angell steuen
093 Warnyd me of his commyng!
094 Therfor will I with intent
095 Putt on me my vestment,
096 In worship of that kyng.
097 He shalbe welcom vnto me:
098 That lord shall make vs alle fre,
099 Kyng of all man-kyn;
100 Ffor with his blood he shall vs boroo
101 Both fro catyfdam & from soroo,
102 That was slayn thrugh syn.
103 A, dere god! what may this be?
104 Oure bellys ryng so solemply,
105 Ffor whom soeuer it is;
106 Now certys, I can not vnderstand,
107 Bot if my lord god all weldand
108 Be commen, that all shall wyse.
109 This noyse lyghtyns full well myn hart!
110 Shall I neuer rest, and I haue quart,
111 Or I com ther onone;
112 Now well were I and it so were,
113 Ffor sich noyse hard I neuer ere;
114 Oure bellys ryng by thare oone!
115 Joseph. Mary, it begynnys to pas,
116 Ffourty dayes syn that thou was
117 Delyuer of thy son;
118 To the temple I red we draw,
119 To clens the, and fulfyll the law,
120 As oure elders were won.
121 Therfor, mary, madyn heynd,
122 Take thi chyld, and let vs weynd
123 The tempyll vntyll;
124 And we shall with vs bryng
125 Thise turtyls two to oure offryng,
126 The law we will fulfyll.
127 Mary. Ioseph, that wyll I full well,
128 That the law euery deyll
129 Be fulfyllyd in me.
130 Lord, that all myghtys may,
131 Gyf vs grace to do this day
132 That it be pleassyng to the!
133 Primus Angelus. Thou, symeon, rightwys and trew,
134 Thou has desyred both old and new,
135 To haue a sight of cryst ihesu
136 As prophecy has told!
137 Oft has thou prayd to haue a sight
138 Of hym that in a madyn light;
139 Here is that chyld of mekyll myght,
140 Now has thou that thou wold.
141 Secundus Angelus.
142 Thou has desyryd it most of all.
143
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