Ad nonam. At the hour of noone Cryst is lyfe lefte,19 Terra tunc contremuit, et sol obscuravit. Ad vesperas. How our lorde at the tyme of euensong, De cruce deponitur hora vespertina, At complyn tyme the body of Jesu, ¶ Hora completorii datur sepulturæ, 19 The Prymer of 1532 omits the English verses altogether: the Enchiridions give a different stanza. At nyne of the clocke our sauior ful of myght, His spirit unto his father rendryd: of his lyght, Conditur aromate, complentur scripturæ, The recommendation follows. Has horas canonicas cum devotione, Ut sicut tu passus es pœnas in agone, 20 The reader is not to understand that the English verses are intended to be anything but a mere approach to a translation of the Latin. The Prymer of 1532 attempts (at least) a closer version, which it gives as well as the stanzas in the text. It is sufficiently curious to be inserted here. "The englyse of Patris sapientia. He that is the great profounde sapience, And dyuyne trewthe of the father on hye: Whyche for mankynde of hys benevolence, Hym selfe hath made bothe god and man ioyntely: Was sold and bought by the Jewys treyterously, And aboute mydnyght pertur byd and takyn, And of hys dyssyples anon forsaken. The furste houre in the monynge yerly Unto theyr iuge, callyd pylate, the iewys In the edition named these last verses are not translated, it being a Prymer in Latin only (with some When that they thought for payn that he thursted, Hys thurst for to quench they profferd hym gall: Thys lamb thus ylludyd bought owr synnes all. Owre mercyfull lorde Jesu goddys sonne, Callyng vnto hys fader almyghty, Yelded up hys soule et (sic) sone vppon none, The spyryte departyd that blessyd body: The sonne waxed darke, the yerth quoke wondersly, Greate meruelous thynges to beholde and here, Of Jesu the noble and blessyd bodye At complyntyme was brought Spycyd and adournyd fra- woundys tendure, And thy deth besely styll to remember." The reader may not object also to see the following English verses, which sometimes occur in the later Prymers they intend to illustrate by the variety of the months, the ages of man's life. I And yet a knyght percyd hys quote from the edition of 1538. exceptions as above, and occasional prayers): but the Prymer of 1543 gives us the following version. And taketh a wyfe to kepe his housholde. July. At xl yere of aege or elles neuer Is ony man endewed with wysdome : For than forthon hys myght fayleth euer, As in July dooth euery blossome. August. The goodes of the erthe is gadred euermore In August, so at xlviii yere Man ought to gather some goodes in store, To susteyne aege that than draweth nere. Septembre. Lete no man thynke for to gather plenty Yf at liiii yere he haue none : No more than yf his barne were empty In Septembre, whan all the corne is gone. Octobre. By Octobre betokeneth Ix yere That aege hastely dooth man assayle, Yf he haue ought, than it dooth appere To lyve quyetly after his trauayle. Novembre. Whan man is at lxvi yere olde O blessed chryst these houres canonycall, Loy. was. bar. ber. to. Ny. coll. Ma. ry. pray. thou. for. lu.ces. soll. And.for. grace. pray.good.tho. mas. ynde. To.christ. steuen. John. chylde. tho.be. kynde. On the title page of the same volume are the following verses. "God be in my hede, And in myn understandynge; And in my lokynge; And in myn spekynge. And in my thynkynge: And at my departynge." |