The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• General Introduction.
• Life of Geoffrey Chaucer.
• List of Chaucer’s Works.
• Errata and Addenda.
• Introduction.: the Romaunt of the Rose.
• Introduction: the Minor Poems.
• The Romaunt of the Rose.
• Fragment A.: Le Roman De La Rose.
• Fragment B.
• Fragment C.
• The Minor Poems.
• I.: An A. B. C.
• II.: The Compleynte Unto Pite.
• III.: The Book of the Duchesse.
• IV.: The Compleynt of Mars.
• V.: The Parlement of Foules.
• VI.: A Compleint to His Lady.
• VII.: Anelida and Arcite.
• VIII.: Chaucers Wordes Unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn.
• IX.: The Former Age.
• X.: Fortune.
• XI.: Merciles Beaute: a Triple Roundel.
• XII.: To Rosemounde. a Balade.
• XIII.: Truth.
• XIV.: Gentilesse.
• XV.: Lak of Stedfastnesse.
• XVI.: Lenvoy De Chaucer a Scogan.
• XVII.: Lenvoy De Chaucer a Bukton.
• XVIII.: The Compleynt of Venus.
• XIX.: The Compleint of Chaucer to His Empty Purse.
• XX.: Proverbs.
• Appendix.
• XXI.: Against Women Unconstant.
• XXII.: An Amorous Compleint. (compleint Damours.)
• XXIII.: A Balade of Compleynt.
• Notes to the Romaunt of the Rose.
• Notes to the Minor Poems.

XV.

LAK OF STEDFASTNESSE.

The MSS are: Harl. (Harl. 7333); T. (Trin. Coll. R. 3. 20); Ct. (Cotton, Cleop. D. 7); F. (Fairfax 16); Add. (Addit. 22139); Bann. (Bannatyne); and others. Th. = Thynne (1532). I follow Ct. chiefly. The title Balade is in F.

• Balade.
• • Som tymethis world was so stedfast and stable
  • That mannes word was obligacioun,
  • And now hit is so fals and deceivable ,
  • That word and deed , as in conclusioun ,^[ ]
  • Ben no-thing lyk , for turned up so doun^[ ]5
  • Is al this world for mede and wilfulnesse,
  • That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse.
• • What maketh this world to be so variable
  • But lust that folk have in dissensioun ?
  • Among us now a man is holde unable,^[ ]10
  • But-if he can, by som collusioun ,
  • Don his neighbour wrong or oppressioun.
  • What causeth this, but wilful wrecchednesse,
  • That al is lost, for lak of stedfastnesse?
• • Trouthe is put doun, resoun is holden fable;15
  • Vertu hath now no dominacioun,
  • Pitee exyled, no man is merciable.
  • Through covetyse is blent discrecioun;
  • The world hath mad a permutacioun
  • Fro right to wrong, fro trouthe to fikelnesse,20
  • That al is lost, for lak of stedfastnesse.^[ ]

Title. T. Lenvoye to Kyng Richard; F. Harl. Th. Lenvoy.

• Lenvoy to King Richard.
• O prince, desyre to be honourable ,
• Cherish thy folk and hate extorcioun!
• Suffre no thing, that may be reprevable^[ ]
• To thyn estat, don in thy regioun.25
• Shew forth thy swerd of castigacioun,
• Dred God, do law, love trouthe and worthinesse,
• And wed thy folk agein to stedfastnesse.28^[ ]

Explicit.

[1. ]Ct. Sumtyme. Ct. F. the; Harl. T. Add. this. Ct. worlde.

[2. ]Ct. worde.

[3. ]Ct. nowe it; false; deseiuable.

[4. ]Ct. worde; dede.

[5. ]Harl. T. Beon; Add. Ar; Ct. Is; F. Ys. Ct. lyke.

[6. ]Ct. all; worlde.

[8. ]Ct. worlde; veriable.

[9. ]Ct. folke; discension.

[10. ]The MSS. have For among vs now, or For nowe a dayes; but Bann. omits For, which is not wanted.

[11. ]Bann. Harl. T. Th. collusion; Ct. F. Add. conclusioun (but see l. 4).

[12. ]Ct. Do; neyghburgh.

[15. ]Ct. putte.

[17. ]Ct. Pite.

[18. ]Ct. Thorugh.

[19. ]Ct. worlde. T. F. Add. Th. a; Bann. ane; Ct. om.

[20. ]Ct. trought; F. trouthe.

[22. ]Ct. honurable.

[23. ]Ct. Cherice thi.

[25. ]Ct. thine estaat doen; thi.

[26. ]Ct. Shewe; swerde.

[27. ]Ct. Drede; truthe.

[28. ]Ct. thi; ayen. Ct. Th. add Explicit.

[4.]Word and deed; or read Word and werk, as in Harl. 7333 and T.

[5.]Lyk, alike; or read oon, one, as in Harl. and T. Up so doun is the old phrase, and common. Modern English has ‘improved’ it into upside down, where side has to mean ‘top.’

[10.]Unable, not able, wanting in ability or strength.

[21.]Here the Bannatyne MS. inserts a spurious fourth stanza. It runs thus:—

• ‘Falsheid, that sowld bene abhominable,
• Now is regeing, but reformatioun,
• Quha now gifis lergly ar maist dissavable,
• For vycis are the grund of sustentatioun;
• All wit is turnit to cavillatioun,
• Lawtie expellit, and al gentilnes,
• That all is loist for laik of steidfastnes.’

This is very poor stuff.

[24, 25.]Suffre . . don, suffer (to be) done; correct as being an old idiom. See my note to the Clerkes Tale, E 1098.

[28.]For wed, two MSS. have drive; a reading which one is glad to reject. It would be difficult to think of a more unfitting word.