Ci tea 
[ Match 1, 
Extradis from the Port-folio of a Man of. Letters. 
a ae 
BRUNETTO LATINI. 
An ORIGINAL LETTER, freely tranf- 
lated from the ROMANS SELONE LE 
PATOIS DE FRANCE, written about 
the MiDDLE of the THIRTEENTH CEN- 
TURY 4y BRUNETTO LATIN, at the 
COURT of HENRY THE THIRD, i” 
LONDON, fo GUIPO CAVALCANTI, 
a celebrated POET at FLORENCE.* 
‘{See another highly curious Letter from 
the fame to the fame, in the Monthly Maga- 
zine, No. $1, 1ft of January laft, p. 524. | 
OU are fo well pleafed with the Englifh 
poetry whichI fent you, that youde- 
fire‘to have a fpecimen of Englifh profe. 
IT now fend you fome extracts. from a 
beautiful compofition of a monk of great 
piety and learning. Ft contains the Hif- 
tory of the Fallof Man and his Redemp- 
tion through Chrift, under the form of a 
well-contrived allegory. It begins thus, 
‘© Here is the Book that fpeketh of a 
Place that is called the Abbey of the Holy 
Goft the whiche f{chulde ben founded in 
clene concience. In the whiche Abbey, 
as the Book telleth, fchulde dwelle xxix 
goftly ladyes. Among whiche Charite is 
Abbefle, Wyfdam. Pryoureffle, Mekneffe 
Suppriourefle. Ther is alfo Poverte & 
Clennefle, ‘Temperance and Sobirnefle, 
Penaunce and Buximeffe, Schrifte & Rygt- 
wiffnefie, Predicacion & Stabilnefie, Suf-, 
ferance_& Sympleneffe, Myfericorde & 
Largenefle, Refoun and Rewfulneife, Me- 
ditacion & Prifon, Venoracion & Contem- 
placion, Lamentacion & Jubilacion, Ho- 
nefte & Curteyfye, Drede and Jelufie. 
Fundatio ejufdem. 
The Fadir of hevene is foundor of this 
Abbey, and the Holy Goft Wardeyn and 
Vyfitour, as the book telleth. Butnethe- 
thoug it be fo that an Abbey haue never fo 
good a founder or a vyfitour, But they 
have alio good dedes & chartres of here 
places, wherby they may kep¢ here Londes, 
Retntys and Franchifes; Ellescttyn tymes, 
peraventure, they fchuld be mys feruyd & 
fuffre meche perfecucion of here enemyes, 
and of taliemen: And that fee I wel that 
this holy Abbeffe and alle here conuent hen 
many tals enemyes, the which wolde de- 
firoye bere Abbey and bereve hem of here 
poffefions, and that were me ful loth ; 
wherefore I make herea book .that fhall be 
"" * This, as well as the letter, is tranflated 
from a M.S. copy of this Romance, as old as- 
the 13th or 14th century, now in pofleffion 
of Mr. W. Dupré, the tranflater, who be- 
lieves the original work was never printed, 
cleped the Chartre of the Abbey of the 
Holy Gooft, In the which I {chal telle firft 
whens it were, and of whom this Abbey 
was firft founded; fithen I fhal telle how, 
& in what tyme that the holy Abbey was 
diftroyed, and how the Abbefie and the 
Pryourefle and alle here convent weren 
dryven cut of hire ordre ; and aftirwarde 
I {chal telle how and in what manner the 
Abbey was maad newe agen, and how the 
Abbeile and here .convent come agen te 
here ordre; and at the lafte I {chal telle 
how almygty God hath put his owne iiij 
dougtres in this holy Abbey agens thefe 
iiij fendes deyftreie, the which the Holy Gott 
chafed out, for they weren fo foule & fo 
vyleynous, as the Book of this Abbey tel- 
leth.”” 7 
Thefe four Daughters of God, we are 
told in the fequel, were named °* Mercy, 
Trewthe, Rygtfulnefle and Pees.” The 
Four Fiends we find afterwards are called 
‘«¢ Pryde, Glotonye, Coveytife and Folye.”” 
How thefe four ‘* tormentours,”” as 
‘© Pryde’’ and his three brethren are elfe- 
where called, got poffeffion of the Abbey, 
is thus related, ‘* Ye fchole undirftande 
that there was a fals tyrant Apoftata that 
higt Sathanas, the which was fumtyme 
Pryour of the Angelic ordre in the bliffe 
of heuene; the whiche forhis pride felout 
of his blifsful into the forrowfull peyne of 
helle. And he had gret enuye with the 
Abbeffe of the Holy Gcft, & with here 
conuent, that they werenio wel with god, 
and hadden fo gret lordfhipe ; he bethougte 
hym of a calt of gyle how, he mygte 
dyftroye this noble Abbey ; And how he 
mygte do the religious Abbefle with alle 
here faire conuent renne out of here ordre 
as he dideout of his. He cam in the like- 
neffe of an Adder to the Abbey gate, and 
wolde come in; and there the Porter that . 
men clepen Drede, as that other book 
feyth, was nougt there redy, -for if he 
hadde be there redy he fchuld nougt haue 
come inne ; as god leve that he hadde ; 
and that fey Eue that he was there, and as 
a gret fool let hym inna. And than feyde 
that falfe {chrewe to Eve, Cur precetit 
vobisDeus ? Why he fayde, forbadGod that 
ye fchuld not ete of the appul that growen 
on the tre that ftonden amyddys of para- — 
dis? and thonne feyde f{che, Ne moriemur. 
Left we eten thereof we fchulddeyen; and 
thanne feyde he, Neguicquam moriemini, fed | 
eritis ficut dit; nay, way, he feide, ne fchole - 
ye nougt deye——God almigty wot well that 
what tyme ye eten thereot ye fchullen ben 
as goddes knowyng gocd and euel: But 
god 
sae % 
at. 
ee 
oat 
