Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE DEBATE OF THE BODY AND THE SOUL, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE DEBATE OF THE BODY AND THE SOUL, by                    
First Line: "it chanced, as on a winter's night, / I drowsing lay, ere dawn of day"
Last Line: "that he serve with perfect heart / father, son, and spirit!"
Subject(s): Bodies;soul


IT chanced, as on a winter's night,
I drowsing lay, ere dawn of day,
Methought I saw a wondrous sight --
Upon a bier a Body lay,
That erst had been a haughty knight,
Who God would neither praise nor pray;
Now was he reft of this life's light,
His Spirit, freed, must hence away.

But ere that Spirit far would roam
It turned, and, by the bier it stood,
Beheld the Body, erst its home,
In sorrowful and dreary mood:
"Ah, wellaway!" it made its moan --
"Woe worth thy flesh, woe worth thy blood,
Thou wretched Body, now alone
Dost lie, who wast so wild, and wood!

"Thou that wast wont afield to ride,
On warlike steed, 'mid courtly crowd,
Of stature tall, in garment wide,
E'en as a lion fierce and proud,
Where now is all thy mickle pride,
Thy boastful speech, ere-while so loud?
Thou liest bare, hast naught beside
One garment poor, and that a shroud!

"Where be thy castles, where thy towers,
Thy chambers and thy stately halls?
Whose walls were painted fair with flowers --
And where thy rich apparel all?
Where be thy couches, where thy bowers?
Thy sendals, and thy costly palls?
Sorrow awaiteth thee as dower,
With morn thy fate shall thee befall.

"Where now are all thy goodly weeds?
The sumpter-mules that bare thy bed?
Thy palfreys, and thy noble steeds,
By hand of goodly pages led?
The hawks that thou wast wont to feed?
The hounds that swift behind thee sped
Methinks God bringeth thee to need
Since all thy friends be from thee fled!

"Where be thy cooks who served thee well,
And dainty meats did aye prepare,
With fragrant spices sweet to smell?
Methinks thou wast aye full of care
To make that flesh with fatness swell
Which now shall be the foul worm's fare,
Henceforth, methinks, the pains of Hell
For gluttony shall be thy share!

"For God thee in His image cast,
And dowered thee with wit and skill,
But in thy choosing was I last,
Didst follow aye thy wilful will!"
"No wisdom had I in the past,
I wist not what was good or ill,
But in dumb folly holden fast
All thy behests did I fulfil.

"To serve and please thee was I bent,
Alike at even and at morn,
Ever I sought for thy content,
E'en from the time that thou wast born:
Thou who to judge my deeds wast lent,
Why didst thou not thy comrade warn?
Thou sawest me on folly bent,
Now of thyself art thou forlorn!"

The Soul it quoth: "Body, lie still,
Who now hath taught thee all this wit?
Thou chidest me with words at will
Tho' swollen as by viper bit!
Thinkest thou, wretch, that tho' thou fill
With that foul flesh of thine a pit
Of all the deeds thou wrought of ill
That thou so lightly shalt be quit?

"Thinkest thou peace with God to win
Whenas thou liest low in clay? --
Tho' thou be rotted bone and skin,
And blown upon the blast away,
Yet shalt thou come with joint and limb
Again to me on Judgment Day,
We twain to God's high court must win
Together take our bitter pay!

"Yea, tho' to teach thee I had thought
Full soon to Evil didst thou speed,
Thou with thy teeth the bridle caught,
Naught of my counsel wouldst thou heed.
To sin and sorrow hast thou sought,
To evil custom, lawless deed,
Tho' to withstand thee still I fought
Thou hearkened'st but thy Body's rede!

"Whenas I thought to tame and teach
Of what was ill, and what was good,
Of Christ and kirk would'st hear no speech,
Didst start and shy, as wild and wood!
Enow I then might pray and preach,
But ne'er a jot might turn thy mood,
To God thy knowledge ne'er might reach,
Thou didst what in thy heart first stood.

"I bade think on thy soul's sore stress,
On Matins, Mass, and Evensong,
Thou said'st: 't was naught but idleness,
Must follow first the busy throng.
To water, wood, and field would'st press,
Or sped to court, to judge a-wrong,
Saving for pride, or gain, no less,
Small good hast done thy whole life long!

"Now may the wild beasts seek their den,
And lie in peace 'neath linden tree,
The wild fowl fly by field and fen,
Since Death hath cleft the heart in thee.
Thine ear is deaf, naught canst thou ken,
Thy mouth is dumb, thou canst not see,
And tho' thou fiercely grin, yet men
Shrink from the evil smell of thee!

"There is no lady bright of blee,
Tho' late for praise she deemed thee meet,
Who now would lie a night by thee,
Tho' men might richly her entreat.
Unseemly art thou now to see,
Uncomely all for kisses sweet,
Thou hast no friend who would not flee
Didst thou come stalking down the street!"

The Body quoth: "Now this I say,
Soul, thou hast done me wrong, I wis,
When thou the blame on me dost lay
That thou, thro' me, hast lost thy bliss.
Where have I fared, by wood or way,
Or sat, or stood, or wrought amiss,
When I beyond thy glance did stray?
Well dost thou know the truth of this!

"Whether I journeyed up or down,
I bare thee aye, as on my back,
Whenas I fared from town to town
Why led'st thou me to ruin and wrack?
Were I to speech or action bound
Counsel from thee I did not lack,
Truth to men's ears my plaint shall crown
Tho' now I lie so blue and black!

"The while thou wast my comrade dear
Naught did I lack of fit and meet,
Then might I speak, and see, and hear,
Might come and go, and drink and eat.
Changed for the worse is now my cheer,
Since thou afar from me didst fleet,
Now dumb and deaf I lie on bier,
And fettered fast in hands and feet.

"Fain had I been a silly sheep,
Dumb as a neat, or e'en as swine,
To eat and drink and lie and sleep,
No cause had I then to repine!
Of cattle never count they keep,
Of water naught they know, nor wine,
Ne'er shall they lie in Hell-pit deep!
No wisdom had I save but thine!"

The Soul it quoth: "Yea, without doubt
Thou barest me, Body, aye with thee,
Had'st need thereto! -- I was without
Hand or foot, it seemeth me!
Yet as thou bore me thus about
For action was I never free,
Must follow aye thy guidance stout,
Needs must, where never choice may be!

"Alike of woman born and bred
Body, I think me, were we two,
Together fostered fair and fed
Till thou could'st somewhat speak and go.
For love, right softly thee I led,
I was full loth to cause thee woe,
The loss of thee I needs must dread,
Other save thee I ne'er might know.

"When thou wast young, a little space
Thou didst my will, in childish wise,
For awe of friends, didst thou lack grace
With rod thy faults they would chastise.
But when hadst thriven and grown apace,
Desire beset thee in such guise,
Didst learn of rest and leisure's grace,
And wrought as thy will might devise.

"I saw thee fair in flesh and blood,
And all my love to thee addrest,
That thou should'st thrive, that seemed me good,
The while I joyed in peace and rest.
And so thou waxed of wilful mood,
Drear were thy deeds, and all unblest,
Small profit mine, an I withstood,
I, whom thou barest in thy breast!

"To riot in lust and gluttony,
In pride and wicked covetousness,
To hate and strive in black envy
'Gainst God in Heaven, and all of His;
Ever in discontent to lie
With waste and want -- no jot of this
But I must now full dearly buy --
Full sore I now must greet, I wis!

"What should us both at last befall
Times and enow I warning gave,
But idle tales didst deem them all
Tho' thou saw'st kinsfolk laid in grave.
What the world bade, that didst thou all,
All that thy flesh of thee might crave
I bare -- madness did me befall,
I made thee master, I was slave!"

"Nay, Soul, I ween it profits naught
Not so I ween thy debt is paid,
For all too worthily wast wrought
To say that thrall of thee I made.
Never in life to ill I sought --
In theft or robbery undismayed, --
But first from thee it came, the thought,
Forfeit is by the loser paid!

"How might I know or wrong or right,
What I should take, and what should shun,
Save thou didst set it in my sight,
Thou who alone hadst wisdom won?
If thou against my will didst fight,
And bid me for misdeed make moan,
Thereafter did I strive with might
To do what pleasured me alone!

"Ah! would to Christ in very sooth
Hadst plagued with hunger, thirst, and cold,
And warned me rashness led to ruth
When in ill-doing I waxed o'erbold!
That which I had begun in youth,
I held that same as I grew old,
Didst let me ravage North and South,
Ever I had my will on wold!

"Thou shouldest for neither life nor land,
Nor profit that thou here couldst win,
Have suffered me to lend a hand
To that which turns to shame or sin.
But thou wast easy to withstand,
Thy wit and wisdom, I found thin
And yielding, e'en as hazel-wand,
To mend I never might begin!

"To sin thou knewest I aye inclined,
Forsooth with man 't is ever so!
On this poor world I set my mind,
Followed the Fiend who is our foe.
Thou should'st have striven my will to bind,
When I mis-wrought have done me woe,
As when the blind doth lead the blind
We both in ditch are fallen low!"

But then the Soul 'gan weep full sore,
And sighed "Ah, Body, Alas! Alas!
My love I set on thee of yore
Since all my pains sans profit pass!
Feigning to love me ever-more
Thou madest for me a cap of glass,
I did on which thy heart set store,
Traitor to me thou wert, Alas!

"Who may more cunning treason do,
Or know more skilful web to wind
Than he his lord trusts all things to,
Without, within, as faithful hind?
For since that thou could'st come and go
I strove to serve with all my mind
That ease and pleasure thou might know --
And now my ruin in thee I find!

"The Fiend of Hell, who e'er doth try
To snare mankind, his plots he laid,
Dwelt in us twain, methinks, as spy,
When to good deeds I thee had prayed,
The World he took to company
Who many a soul hath aye betrayed,
With Flesh to folly brought thee nigh,
Thy course both wild and witless made!

"Whene'er I bade thee shrift to make,
Forsake thy sin for ever and aye,
To fast, do penance, early wake,
The Fiend forbade thee that straightway!
Thus soon didst thou thy bliss forsake
Ever in grief and pain to stay,
I counselled joy and bliss to take,
Thus should'st thou live for many a day!

"And when I bade thee leave thy pride,
Thy many meats, thy harness stout,
The World stood ever at thy side
And bade thee all my warnings flout,
And garb thy Flesh in rich robes wide,
Not as a beggar, in a clout,
And high on warlike steed to ride
With knightly comrades in and out!

"And when I bade thee early rise
And me, thy Soul, in safety keep,
Thou said'st it pleased thee in no wise
To lose thy merry morning sleep!
And now ye summon your assize,
Ye traitors three, I needs must weep,
Ye load me now with your emprise,
E'en as a butcher doth the sheep

"For when three traitors at one tale
Together be against me sworn,
Ye make my words of none avail,
Of plea, methinks, am I forlorn!
Ye lead me on by down and dale,
E'en as an ox is led by horn,
Unto the spot that brings him bale
Whenas his life is from him torn!

"For love I followed all thy will,
And thus to mine own death I drew,
Through serving thee, my servant still,
Who fickle wast, and aye untrue.
Thou didst the deed, I hid the ill,
That it was evil well we knew,
Therefore our fate must we fulfil
In pain, and shame, and sorrow new!

"Tho' all the men now under moon
To sit on Judgment seat were brought
Of all the shame that shall be done
To us, not half were in their thought!
It profits us nor bede nor boon,
And all our wit availeth naught,
The hounds of Hell, they come full soon,
Way of escape in vain were sought!"

But when that Body saw the Ghost
Such doleful moan, and mourning make,
It quoth: "Alas, my life is lost,
Since I have lived but for Sin's sake!
'T were better that my day had past
Ere yet to life I might awake,
Then had I been in cold clay cast,
Or lain and rotted in a lake!

"For then, methinks, I naught had learned
Of what was ill, and what was good,
And ne'er towards the wrong had yearned,
Nor suffered pain in wrathful mood.
No saint with this our prayer hath turned
To Him Who bought us with His Blood,
That when in Hell-fire we be burned
He do us mercy, by His Rood!"

"Nay, Body, now it is too late,
It boots thee naught to pray or preach,
For now the hearse is at the gate,
And now thy tongue hath ceased from speech.
One pang of torture to abate
Exceeds the skill of wisest leech,
Together must we gang our gait
Where God's forgiveness may not reach!

"But hadst thou turned a willing ear
The while that life to us was lent,
And as the hour of death drew near
Been shrived, the Devil's power were spent.
Hadst thou but dropt a rueful tear,
To mend thy life thy will had bent,
Then were we free from fright or fear,
And God His bliss to us had sent.

"Tho' all the men that be on life
Were priests, and Mass for thee would sing,
And every maid, and every wife,
A widow, hands for grief to wring --
And every one, methinks, were five,
And in this world five-fold each thing,
We ne'er might hope ourselves to shrive,
And none to bliss us twain might bring!

"Body, no longer may I dwell,
Nor linger here to speak with thee,
The hounds of Hell, I hear them yell,
And devils, more than man may see,
They come to carry me to Hell,
I may in no wise from them flee,
With flesh and bone, I rede thee well,
At Doomsday shalt thou come to me!"

And scarce the Soul had spake this word,
(Who wist right well where it must go,)
When in there rushed a hideous horde,
Full thousand devils, all a-row.
With talons sharp the Soul they clawed
In woe their grip it needs must know,
A sorry sight it did afford
Whenas they haled it to and fro.

For they were rugged, rough, and tailed,
With hunches huge upon their back,
Long were their claws, and sharply nailed,
And ne'er a limb such gear did lack!
On all sides was the Soul assailed
By many a devil, foul and black,
Its prayers for mercy naught availed,
For Christ His vengeance would not slack.

And some, the cheeks and jaws they tare,
And molten lead therein they poured,
To drink thereof they prayed him fair
The while they spread it all abroad.
At last there came a devil there,
Master of all, he seemed, and lord,
A red-hot coulter did he bear,
And pierced the heart, as with a sword.

Then glowing glaves, methinks, they set
To back, and breast, and to each side,
The points, within his heart they met
And made him wounds both deep and wide.
They quoth: "Full well we'll plague thee yet,
Thou heart that wast so full of pride,
That which was promised shalt thou get,
And more, and worse, shall thee betide!"

They said that goodly weeds to wear
That were the thing he loved the best,
In quenchless cope they robed him there,
All burning bright -- with mocking jest!
With red-hot clasps that gleamed a-flare
They fitted it to back and breast,
A helmet that was none too fair
Anon upon his head they prest.

Then forth they brought, with mickle pride,
A crused devil, as a foal,
That gnashed, and gaped, with jaws full wide,
Where-from both smoke and flame did roll.
The saddle that he should bestride
Of sharp pikes, pointed, bare its toll,
Jagged as a hedge whereon to ride,
And all was glowing as a coal!

Upon that saddle he was slung,
As one who should to Tourney fare,
A hundred devils on him hung,
And, ruthless, dragged him here and there.
With fiery spears his flesh they stung,
Anon with hooks they catch and tear,
At every blow the sparks they sprung,
As when men forge a red-hot share.

Thus in this wise a course he rode
Upon that sharp and fiery seat,
Then down they cast him, as a toad,
With hounds of Hell he needs must meet!
They sprung from out those pits so broad,
As he to Hell-ward set his feet,
And underfoot the Soul they trod
Till blood-drops marked each foot-step fleet.

Anon his horn they bade him blow,
On Hanston and on Bevis cry,
The hounds that he was wont to know,
To bay they brought him speedily --
A hundred devils on a row
Drew him with ropes, he fain would fly,
Natheless they brought him to that glow
That marked Hell's portals, verily!

When to that grisley goal they won
The fiends, they set up such a yell,
The earth, it open'd wide anon,
Smother and smoke thereout did well;
With stench of pitch, and eke brimstone,
Men five miles off might know the smell;
Ah, Lord! That man is woe-begone
Who to his share one tithe may tell!

But when the Soul had come so nigh
And knew its goal, it cried in woe,
And quoth: "Thou Christ, Who sit'st on high,
Upon Thy sheep now mercy shew!
Didst Thou not shape me, verily?
Thy creature was I here below,
E'en as those souls who sit thee nigh,
To whom Thou dost such favour shew!

"Thou knowest all things, eve and morn,
Why wrought'st Thou me for bale alway,
That I should thus be tugged and torn,
While others have such goodly pay?
They that are doomed to be forlorn,
Wretches Thou mightest cast away,
Why dost thou let them e'er be born
To give the Fiend such goodly prey?"

The fiends against him clamoured high:
"Wretch, it availeth thee no more
To raise to Christ thy piteous cry
Or Mary Mother to implore;
For thou hast lost their company
Since thou hast served us well of yore,
Thou needs must find such hostelry
As those who well have learned our lore!"

The foul fiends all, as they were fain,
Anon upon the soul they fell,
And cast it down, with might and main,
Into the deepest pit of Hell.
The sun's light shall he seek in vain,
Where he hath sunken must he dwell,
The earth hath closed o'er him again,
The dungeon gates are locked full well!

(He who beheld that vision sore
Lo! he speaketh somewhat more!)

When they had borne that evil load
Unto Hell's gates, ere dawn of day,
On every hair a drop it stood
For very dread as there I lay.
To Jesus Christ, with humble mood,
My soul it yearned, and fain would pray,
As when the Foul Fiend's noisome brood
Were come to carry me away!

I thanked Him Who His Blood did spill
On Rood, and torment for us bore,
Who shieldeth me from many an ill
Which for my sins had lain in store.
All sinful souls I rede them still
To shrive them, and do penance sore,
Never may sin a measure fill
But that Christ's mercy shall be more!

(Christ His Grace to him impart
Who with hand this tale hath writ,
That he serve with perfect heart
Father, Son, and Spirit!)





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