Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ORMULUM: DEDICATION, by ANONYMOUS First Line: "now, brother walter, brother mine" Last Line: To heavenly bliss be brought!' amen Subject(s): Religion; Theology | ||||||||
Now, Brother Walter, brother mine After the flesh, in sooth, And brother mine in Christendom Thro' Baptism, and thro' truth, And Brother mine in God's own House In the third wise thou art, Since in the self-same rule of life We two have sworn our part -- And that we do as Canons live Saint Austin's rule fulfil -- After thy bidding have I done, And have performed thy will, And turned into the English tongue The Gospel's holy lore, After such little wit as God Hath given me in store. For that thou thoughtest it might well To mickle profit turn, If English folk, for love of Christ, Were fain the same to learn. And follow it, its hest fulfil, In word, and deed, and thought, And therefore didst thou much desire This work by me be wrought. And now, behold, 't is done for thee As Christ His Help did lend, 'T were fitting that we both thank Christ That now 't is brought to end. In sooth, well nigh the Gospels all In book I've gathered here That in the Mass-book may be found For Mass, throughout the year; And after every Gospel text Its meaning may ye read, That one may to the folk make clear That which their soul doth need; And yet, beside this, more enow I've added thereunto Of that which all Christ's Holy Folk Shall both believe and do -- And I have set here, in this book, Amid the Gospels still, All of myself, full many a word, The rhythm and rhyme to fill. But thou shalt find that these, my words, Where'er they added be, Shall help the man who readeth it To understand, and see In better wise how he, in sooth, The Gospel Words should hear -- Therefore I trow thou should'st permit The words I've written here, Where'er such words, in Gospel lore, May not by thee be found -- For whoso must, to simple folk, The Gospel lore expound, His words, to words of Holy Writ, Full oft he addeth still, And I might not, with Gospel Words, My verses fitly fill; And therefore doth it chance that I Should find the need, oft-time, To add unto the Gospel Words To fill my verse and rhyme. To thee I now entrust this book As charge and duty high, That thou right well thro' it should'st look, The verses search and try, That ne'er in all this book shall be A word 'gainst Christ's Own Lore, A word the folk may not believe And practise evermore. They shall be trodden underfoot, And cast out utterly, -- (This is the doom of that foul flock Who blind thro' malice be, --) Who blame the thing that they should praise Thro' pride and envy drear; Methinks, they shall judge scornfully Our labour, Brother dear! For all such folk the work shall hold Useless and idle all, And this not thro' their skill, thro' pride And envy shall befall. Here it behoves us pray to God That He forgive their sin, And that we love Him well, for Whom We did this work begin. And give Him thanks that it be brought By this His aid, to end, For it may help all, who thereto A willing ear shall lend, And love its lore, and follow it In thought and word, and deed -- And when, hereafter, any man To write this book doth need, I bid him to set down aright Whate'er the book doth hold, And follow closely all that I, In this first copy, told. With all such rhyme as here is set, The words in number right, And that he look right well that he The letters double write; For everywhere throughout this book He'll find 't is written so -- Let him mark well that so he write, For naught else may he do In English, would he write it right, That shall he soothly know! And if a man should ask me why I thought this deed to do, I did it for this cause, because Man's bliss for evermore Doth hang upon this thing, that he The Gospel's Holy Lore With all his might should follow right In thought, and word, and deed, For all on earth to follow this, The Christian's Faith, have need, As they be taught, in deed and truth, Of Holy Gospel Lore -- And therefore whoso learneth it, And doth it, evermore, He at his end shall worthy be To God's salvation reach -- And therefore have I turned it Into the English speech, For that I would, right joyfully, That English people all Who with their ears shall hearken it, In heart believe it all, They, with their tongue, should tell it forth, After its precepts do, So that their soul, thro' Christian Faith, Come God's Salvation to. For if they thus its teaching hear, And walk its ways within, I shall have helped them, by Christ's Grace, Eternal Bliss to win. And I shall have, for this my toil, A good reward, I wis, In that I here, for love of God, And hope of Heavenly Bliss, Have done this into English speech, Men's souls to profit win -- And if they now reject my work 'T is counted them for sin. But I, I shall have earned thereby The Grace of Christ indeed, In that I wrought for them this book To help their soul's true need; Altho' they may, thro' sinful pride, Refuse my words to read! Now Gospel is in English writ Good Word, or Tidings Good, Good Errand, insomuch as it Thro' Holy Writers stood, All wrought and written in a Book Of how Christ came to earth, And how, for Mankind's need, True God As Man had here His Birth. Of how Mankind, thro' this, His Death, Was freed from bonds of Hell, How He assuredly rose from Death The Third Day -- doth it tell. How he thereafter did ascend Surely to Heaven high, And shall hereafter come again All folk to judge and try, And payment mete to every man Fair, after his own deed -- That which of such good bringeth word Good Tidings are indeed. Therefore, I trow, the Gospel we Good Message well may call, And men may in the Gospel books Right good deeds find withal; Kindness, that Our Lord Jesus Christ Hath done for us on earth, When that He came to Man, for us As Man had here His Birth. For this good deed for us He did The Lord Christ, here below, In that He did True Man become To free Mankind from woe -- Another kindness hath He done Lord Christ, for this our good, In that He was, for all men's need, Baptized in Jordan's flood; Since He would water, for our use In Baptism, sanctify, Therefore was He Himself baptized In water, verily. A Third good hath He done for us, The Lord Christ, in that He Hath yielded up His Life for us Of right good will, and free, To suffer Death upon the Cross, Guiltless, and without stain, To free Mankind, by this, His Death, From out the Devil's chain. The Fourth good that He did for us, The Lord Christ, will I tell, 'T was thro' His Holy Soul's descent From Cross to Shades of Hell; To draw out from the pains of Hell The good souls, every one, Who in this life had pleased Him well, And righteously had done. The Fifth good He hath done for us, The Lord Christ, will I say, 'T was in that, for our good, He rose From Death, on that Third Day, And let th' Apostles see Him well In human Flesh, and kind, For that He would the Truth implant And fasten in their mind, That He, in very Truth and Deed, Did from the Dead arise In that same Flesh, which to the Cross Was nailed before their eyes. Since He would fasten and implant That Truth within their heart, His Presence to th' Apostles He On earth did oft impart Within the space of forty days Since that He rose, I wis -- The Sixth good He hath done for us, The Lord Christ, it is this -- That He ascended, for our good, Again to Heaven's Bliss, Thereafter sent the Holy Ghost To His Disciple's band To comfort, and embolden them The Devil to withstand; To give them Wisdom, that aright His Holy Lore they know, And good desire, and fitting might, Patient to suffer woe, All for the Love of God, and ne'er To win them earthly gain -- A Seventh good, I trow, Our Lord To do for us is fain, In that, on Doomsday, He to us Heaven's Bliss shall open throw, If it so chance we worthy be God's Mercy for to know. And thus to us hath Our Lord Christ A Sevenfold goodness shown In that He unto us hath come, As Man on Earth was known. Now, in that Holy Book that as Apocalypse we know, Thro' teaching of the Holy Ghost, Saint John to us doth show That up in Heaven he saw a Book, With Seven Seals beset, And so fast closed that never one Was found to ope it yet, Save but the Holy Lamb of God, Whom he saw there, in Heaven, -- And this, I trow, the token of Those Seals, in number Seven -- The Sevenfold favours, that, for us, Christ thro' His Coming won, That never by no man, I trow, Those Seals should be undone Save by God's Lamb, Who came to us -- And thereby are we shown Angel nor man there ne'er shall be Nor any creature known, Who of Himself could ever show Such goodness sevenfold To Man, that he might loose Mankind From out of Hell's dark hold Nor give him might, that Heaven's Bliss Shall to his share be told! But even as the Lamb of God By this, His Might alone, With little toil hath light, I trow, Those Seven Seals undone, Thus, even so, did Our Lord Christ, By this, His Might alone, -- (With Father and with Holy Ghost As One God only known --) Even so did He right easily, By this, His Might and Power, Upon Mankind, Himself alone, A Sevenfold goodness shower. So that He lightly might Mankind From bonds of Hell set free And give Mankind Desire and Love, Power, Wisdom, Will, that we May persevere in serving God, And Heaven's Bliss may win; And therefore is that goodness shown The Gospel Book within, This Sevenfold kindness that Our Lord Hath shown us evermore -- Thus it behoves all Christian Folk To follow Gospel Lore, And therefore have I rendered it In English, as 't is spoke, For that I would, right joyfully, That all our English folk With ear should hearken to its rede, In heart believe it aye, And with their tongue should tell it forth, By deeds their Faith display; And thus their souls, thro' Christian Faith, With Heaven's Bliss fulfil -- Now God Almighty give us Power, Desire, and Wit, and Will, To follow from this English Book All holy lore, I wis, That so at last we worthy be To taste of Heaven's Bliss! Amen, Amen, Amen. And I, who did this English write For English men withal, I, men, when they did christen me, As Orm, they did me call; And here I, Orm, right earnestly, With mouth and heart, would pray That Christian men, who hear this book, Or read its words always, I would beseech them, one and all, This prayer for me to pray -- "The Brother who, in English tongue, First hath this writing wrought, May he, for this his work's reward, To Heavenly Bliss be brought!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MYSTIC BOUNCE by TERRANCE HAYES MATHEMATICS CONSIDERED AS A VICE by ANTHONY HECHT UNHOLY SONNET 11 by MARK JARMAN SHINE, PERISHING REPUBLIC by ROBINSON JEFFERS THE COMING OF THE PLAGUE by WELDON KEES A LITHUANIAN ELEGY by ROBERT KELLY TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS |
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