From Stage to Page - Medieval and Renaissance Drama
The York Cycle, Play 5 - Man's Disobedience and Fall from Eden
The Cowpers
Satanas incipit dicens.
001 For woo my witte es in a were
002 That moffes me mykill in my mynde;
003 The Godhede that I sawe so cleere,
004 And parsayued that he shuld take kynde
005 Of a degree
006 That he had wrought, and I dedyned
007 þat aungell kynde shuld it noyot be;
008 And we wer faire and bright,
009 þerfore me thoght that he
010 The kynde of vs tane myght,
011 And therat dedeyned me.
012 The kynde of man he thoght to take
013 And theratt hadde I grete envye,
014 But he has made to hym a make,
015 And harde to her I wol me hye
016 That redy way,
017 That purpose proue to putte it by,
018 And fande to pike fro hym that pray.
019 My trauayle were wele sette
020 Myght Y hym so betraye,
021 His likyng for to lette,
022 And sone I schalle assaye.
023 In a worme liknes wille Y wende,
024 And founde to feyne a lowde lesynge.
025 Eue, Eue.
026 Eva. What es thare?
027 Satanas. I, a frende.
028 And for thy gude es the comynge
029 I hydir sought.
030 Of all the fruyt that ye se hynge
031 In paradise, why ete yoe noght?
032 Eua. We may of tham ilkane
033 Take al that vs goode thought,
034 Save a tree outt is tane,
035 Wolde do harme to neyghe it ought.
036 Satanas. And why that tree, that wolde I witte,
037 Any more than all othir by?
038 Eua. For oure lord God forbeedis vs itt,
039 The frute therof, Adam nor I
040 To neghe it nere;
041 And yf we dide we both shuld dye,
042 He saide, and sese our solace sere.
043 Satanas. Yha, Eue, to me take tente;
044 Take hede and thou shalte here
045 What that the matere mente
046 He moved on that manere.
047 To ete therof he you defende
048 I knawe it wele, this was his skylle:
049 Bycause he wolde non othir kende
050 Thes grete vertues that longes thertill.
051 For will thou see,
052 Who etis the frute of goode and ille
053 Shalle haue knowyng as wele as hee.
054 Eva. Why, what-kynne thyng art thou
055 þat telles this tale to me?
056 Satanas. A worme, that wotith wele how
057 þat yhe may wirshipped be.
058 Eua. What wirshippe shulde we wynne therby?
059 To ete therof vs nedith it nought,
060 We have lordshippe to make maistrie
061 Of alle thynge that in erthe is wrought.
062 Satanas. Woman, do way!
063 To gretter state ye may be broughte
064 And ye will do as I schall saye.
065 Eua. To do is vs full lothe
066 þat shuld oure God myspaye.
067 Satanas. Nay, certis it is no wathe,
068 Ete it saffely ye maye.
069 For perille ryght ther none in lyes,
070 Bot worshippe and a grete wynnynge,
071 For right als God yhe shalle be wyse
072 And pere to hym in all-kyn thynge.
073 Ay, goddis shalle ye be,
074 Of ille and gode to haue knawyng,
075 For to be als wise as he.
076 Eua. Is this soth that thou sais?
077 Satanas. Yhe, why trowes thou noyot me?
078 I wolde be no-kynnes wayes
079 Telle noyot but trouthe to the.
080 Eua. Than wille I to thy techyng traste
081 And fange this frute vnto oure foode.
Et tunc debet accipere pomum.
082 Satanas. Byte on boldly, be nought abasshed,
083 And bere Adam to amende his mode
084 And eke his blisse.
Tunc Satanas recedet.
085 Eua. Adam, have here of frute full goode.
086 Adam. Alas woman, why toke thou this?
087 Owre lorde comaunded vs bothe
088 To tente the tree of his.
089 Thy werke wille make hym wrothe-
090 Allas, thou hast don amys.
091 Eue. Nay Adam, greve the nought at it,
092 And I shal saie the reasonne why.
093 A worme has done me for to witte
094 We shalle be as goddis, thou and I,
095 Yf that we ete
096 Here of this tree; Adam, forthy
097 Lette noght that worshippe for to gete.
098 For we shalle be als wise
099 Als God that is so grete,
100 And als mekill of prise;
101 Forthy ete of this mete.
102 Adam. To ete it wolde Y nought eschewe
103 Myght I me sure in thy saying.
104 Eue. Byte on boldely, for it is trewe,
105 We shalle be goddis and knawe al thyng.
106 Adam. To wynne that name
107 I schalle it taste at thy techyng.
Accipit et comedit.
108 Allas, what haue I done, for shame!
109 Ille counsaille, woo worthe the!
110 A, Eue, thou art to blame,
111 To this entysed thou me-
112 Me shames with my lyghame,
113 For I am naked as methynke.
114 Eue. Allas Adam, right so am I.
115 Adam. And for sorowe sere why ne myght we synke,
116 For we haue greved God almyghty
117 þat made me man-
118 Brokyn his bidyng bittirly.
119 Allas that euer we it began.
120 þis werke, Eue, hast thou wrought,
121 And made this bad bargayne.
122 Eue. Nay Adam, wite me nought.
123 Adam. Do wey, lefe Eue, whame than?
124 Eue. The worme to wite wele worthy were,
125 With tales vntrewe he me betrayed.
126 Adam. Allas, that I lete at thy lare
127 Or trowed the trufuls that thou me saide.
128 So may I byde,
129 For I may banne that bittir brayde
130 And drery dede, that I it dyde.
131 Oure shappe for doole me defes,
132 Wherewith thay shalle be hydde.
133 Eue. Late vs take there fygge-leves,
134 Sythen it is thus betydde.
135 Adam. Ryght as thou sais so shalle it bee,
136 For we are naked and all bare;
137 Full wondyr fayne I wolde hyde me
138 Fro my lordis sight, and I wiste whare,
139 Where I ne roght.
140 Dominus. Adam, Adam.
141 Adam. Lorde.
142 Dominus. Where art thou, yhare?
143 Adam. I here the lorde and seys the noyot.
144 Dominus. Say, wheron is it longe,
145 þis werke why hast thou wrought?
146 Adam. Lorde, Eue garte me do wronge
147 And to that bryg me brought.
148 Dominus. Say, Eue, why hast thou garte thy make
149 Ete frute I bad the shuld hynge stille,
150 And comaunded none of it to take?
151 Eue. A worme, lorde, entysed me thertill;
152 So welaway,
153 That euer I did that dede so dill.
154 Dominus. A, wikkid worme, woo worthe the ay
155 For thou on this maner
156 Hast made tham swilke affraye;
157 My malysoune haue thou here
158 With all the myght Y may.
159 And on thy wombe than shall thou glyde,
160 And be ay full of enmyté
161 To al mankynde on ilke a side,
162 And erthe it shalle thy sustynaunce be
163 To ete and drynke.
164 Adam and Eue alsoo, yhe
165 In erthe than shalle ye swete and swynke,
166 And trauayle for youre foode.
167 Adam. Allas, whanne myght we synke,
168 We that haues alle worldis goode
169 Ful derfly may vs thynke.
170 Dominus. Now Cherubyn, myn aungell bryght,
171 To middilerth tyte go dryve there twoo.
172 Angelus. Alle redy lorde, as it is right,
173 Syn thy wille is that it be soo,
174 And thy lykyng.
175 Adam and Eue, do you to goo,
176 For here may yoe make no dwellyng;
177 Goo yhe forthe faste to fare,
178 Of sorowe may yhe synge.
179 Adam. Allas, for sorowe and care
180 Oure handis may we wryng.
Et sic finis.
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Proper Citation: NeCastro, Gerard. The York Cycle, Play 5 - Man's Disobedience and Fall from Eden. From Stage to Page - Medieval and Renaissance Drama. http:www.umm.maine.edu/faculty/necastro/drama. Date Visited.