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Everyman and its Dutch Original, Elckerlijc

ELCKERLIJC: TRANSLATION


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The Mirror of Everyman’s Salvation

How Everyman is summoned to give a reckoning to God.

Here begins a nice little book made in the manner of a play or drama on every human being.

...

At first God Almighty speaks thus:

GOD I see from my throne above
that all that is of human kind
lives without fear of God, ignorant.
I see the people so blinded
by sin, that they don’t recognize me as God.
They are enamored of worldly treasures,
which they have chosen over God,
and have forgotten me, who heretofore
had suffered death for the profit of man.
O Pride, Avarice, and Envy,
powerful among the Seven Deadly Sins,
how you have progressed now in the world.
Because of the Seven Deadly Sins together
has my vengeance been awakened; therefore I weep
with all the heavenly hosts.
The Seven Virtues, which were powerful,
are all driven out and chased away,
for the innocent one has sorely complained to me about it.
Everyman now lives without concern;
still they are not sure about tomorrow.
I see how the more I spare the people,
the worse it gets from year to year.
All that grows up becomes ever worse.
Therefore I will now, as it is fitting,
have the reckoning of Everyman.
For if I let the world continue in such a state
in this way of life, in these tempests,
the people would become worse than beasts
and would devour each other.
Pure belief in me, which is completely forgotten,
that which I myself commanded them to keep,
it weakens, it disappears, it gets cold;
for this I died the death out of love,
in innocence, out of my free will and without constraint,
because I hoped that through this
they would enjoy my everlasting glory,
for which I had expressly chosen them.
Now I think that everything is lost,
though I loved them at such a price.
How many goods have I freely lent them
out of the treasure of my mercy
that thus belong to them by right. However, they are so foolish,
and blinded by earthly goods,
that justice must be done
on Everyman, who is living so without fear.
Where are you, my Death, who no one spares?
Come here! Hear what I shall say to you.

DEATH At your command at all times,
Almighty God! Say what you demand.

        God speaks

GOD Go hence to Everyman at once,
and tell him immediately in my name
that he must set forth on a pilgrimage
which no one in the world can escape,
and that to me he shall come to make his reckoning
without delay: that is my command.

DEATH It shall be accomplished, Almighty God.
I shall go forth to reign in the world;
also I shall quickly, without delay,
go to Everyman. He lives so beastly
without fear of God and too fleshly.
He worships earthly goods above God,
for which he will have to lack eternal joy.
There I shall go to him soon.
Here he comes walking. Help, Lord God.
How little he anticipates my coming!
Oh, Everyman, you will soon lose
what you think you hold firmly.
You will stand with a heavy burden
and in misery before Almighty God.
Everyman, where are you going
so beautifully dressed? Have you entirely forgotten God?

EVERYMAN Why do you ask?

DEATH                      This you will certainly discover,
if you listen to me in this hour.
Urgently I have been sent to you
by God from Heaven’s plain.

EVERYMAN Sent to me?

DEATH                      Yes I was, certainly!
Although you have forgotten him, as it appears,
he thinks of you in his kingdom,
as I will explain to you.

EVERYMAN What does God want from me?

DEATH                      That I will tell you:
he wants to receive a reckoning from you
without any delay.

EVERYMAN                      How am I to understand that?
Reckoning? What does that mean?

DEATH Although it may seem strange to you, it must be.
Also, you must without delay undertake
a pilgrimage, from which no one is able to
return by any way or means.
Bring your writing and your papers
with you, and look them over carefully,
for you must before God Almighty
give an account, be sure of that,
of how you have spent your time,
of your works, good and bad.
Also on this matter do not delay
about that. Because it must be accounted now.

EVERYMAN I am hardly prepared just now
to give reckoning just for God alone.
Who are you, messenger?

DEATH                      I am Death, who does not spare anyone,
but Everyman shall, by
God’s command, give reckoning to me.

EVERYMAN Oh, Death, you are come so near to me
when I least expected it.
Death, do you want money from me?
I will give you a thousand pounds
so that I may retain my life
and be released from this.

DEATH Everyman, that cannot be.
I am not moved by goods, treasure, or property.
Pope, duke, king, nor count
do I spare, after God’s command.
If I were to be tempted by treasures,
I would obtain all worldly goods.
Now everyone must dance with me,
so I give neither delay nor res­pite.

EVERYMAN Miserable, poor wretch, O woe!
Now I do not see any way to avoid this
reckoning: my record
is so confused and in such disarray
that I see no way to set it straight.
There­fore my heart is in fear.
Oh, if I might live another twelve years,
then I would set straight my records
and review them. Please do stop speaking
of punishment, dear Death,
until I am prepared for this business.
This I implore you, by God’s mercy.

DEATH Neither begging nor groaning will do you any good.
Therefore think what you should do.

EVERYMAN Dear Death, just let me know one thing:
though I must undertake this journey,
could I not return soon
when I should have settled my reckoning?

DEATH No, never!

EVERYMAN                      Almighty power of God,
have pity on me in this need!
May I take no one, high or low,
along there, if I could manage?

DEATH Yes, if there were anyone so bold
that he dares to go that journey with you.
Hurry up, because God, who sees into / all depths with his divine eyes,
commands you to come before him to show
your account of what you have done.
What do you think, that life on earth
and worldly goods were just given to you?

EVERYMAN Alas, so I thought!

DEATH                      How can you be so foolish,
Everyman, you have five senses after all,
and are so impure inside,
never expecting that I come so hastily.

EVERYMAN Miserable wretch, where shall I flee,
that I might escape from this great distress?
Dear Death, give me respite until tomorrow,
so that I can ponder on this.

DEATH That I will not allow,
nor will I ever do so at any time.
I can smite anyone at once in the ring,
without warning, with one stroke.
Therefore prepare yourself, even today.
I shall de­part from your sight.
See that you seriously begin
to say: “Now comes the day
that Everyman can­not avoid.”

EVERYMAN Oh, Everyman, why was I ever born?
I see my life already lost
now that I must take this long journey
for which I am so badly prepared.
I have never done any good;
thus very little has been written down.
How shall I justify myself clearly?
Alas, I now wish that I did not exist:
that would be to my soul a great comfort.
Where might I now seek help or counsel?
Lord God, who foresees all things,
it helps me not so to complain.
Time is passing quickly, it is after noon.
Alas, what am I to do now?
To whom might I complain concerning this matter?
Let’s see, if I first spoke to my Fellowship
and propose to him to come with me,
would he refuse it? No, I think:
in our days in the world we have had
such great friendship together;
so I anticipate all blessings from him.
I see him, which really makes me happy.
I will talk to him without delay.
Good day, Fellowship!

FELLOWSHIP                      Everyman, a good day
may God give you, and health!
How sad you look; tell me:
is there something special that bothers you?

EVERYMAN Yes, Fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP                      Poor Fellow, why are you so upset?
Dear Everyman, tell me about your distress.
I will stay with you until death,
because of the good friendship and loyalty that wehave sworn!

EVERYMAN Well said, Fellowship, for all is lost!

FELLOWSHIP I must know all your pain and suffering:
“It is so thick you could cut it with a knife.”
If any harm were done to you, I will help you to avenge it,
even if I would be stabbed to death
and I knew it clearly in advance.

EVERYMAN Thank you, Fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP                      No thanks at all.
Therefore tell me your grief.

EVERYMAN Fellow, if I should make it clear
and the burden is too heavy for you,
then I would be more distressed.
But you say well; may God reward you.

FELLOWSHIP Well, I am serious, that is no lie.

EVERYMAN You speak well, certainly.
I have never found anything but loyalty in you.

FELLOWSHIP And you will never find differently!

EVERYMAN                      May God and our Lady reward you for it.
Fellow, you have some­what given me strength.

FELLOWSHIP Everyman, do not be faint of heart.
I will go with you, even if it might be to Hell.

EVERYMAN You speak as a real fellow.
I will pay you back, as best I can.

FELLOWSHIP There is no need for thanks.
He who would not prove it by deeds
is not worthy to be a fellow.
Therefore reveal to me your trouble
as a true friend.

EVERYMAN                      I will tell you certainly
here now, in all seriousness.
I have been ordered that I must go
on a long jour­ney, harsh and painful.
Also, I must give a reckoning by command
before the highest King almighty.
Now I pray that you be inclined
to go with me, as you promised.

FELLOWSHIP It is quite obvious:
the promise I consider binding.
But should I undertake such a journey
at your request, I would regret it.
I would be frightened of this burden.
But let’s think it over
and do the best we can.

EVERYMAN                      Oh, just listen to this sermon!
Did you not say, if I had need of it,
to go with me into infernal death,
or into Hell, if I had desired it?

FELLOWSHIP That I certainly would, but such a journey
is out of the question, honestly speaking.
To tell you the truth: if we set out on the journey,
when should we come back thereafter?

EVERYMAN There is no coming back.

FELLOWSHIP                      Then I do not want to be there.
Who has brought the message to you?

EVERYMAN Alas, Death!

FELLOWSHIP                      Help, holy God almighty,
has Death been the messenger?
For no living creature
would I go if I could avoid it.

EVERYMAN But you promised.

FELLOWSHIP                      That I frankly admit.
If it were for a serious bout of drinking,
I would go with you until the break of day,
or if it were to go to the fair, outside the city limits,
or to where the beautiful women would be.

EVERYMAN                      You would surely go with me there.
If it were only to go out for pleasure, then you were compliant.

FELLOWSHIP Here I will not go, God knows.
But if you wanted to go on a pilgrimage,
or if you wanted to slay somebody,
I would help you strip him to his pants and cleave him in two.

EVERYMAN Oh, that is a useless answer!
Fellow, what you want differs completely from what I require now that the need arises.
Fellow, think about that great loyalty
that we to one another many years ago
have promised.

FELLOWSHIP                      Loyalty here, loyalty there:
I do not wish it, case closed.

EVERYMAN Nevertheless I beseech you, if it were not unpleasant for you,
give me courage, lead me out, take me / up to the gates.

FELLOWSHIP Not one step, by St. James!
But if you had remained in the world,
I would not have forsaken you.
Our Dear Lord may accompany you now.
I will depart from you.

EVERYMAN                      Is that parting
without looking back? Alas, indeed!
Now I see well: it is a weak support,
Fellowship, when need arises.
But if I still were in great prosperity,
people would be laughing with me all the time.
Alas! They will not weep with me.
They say: “In prosperity one finds a friend
who in need is of little use.”
This should be a warning to others.
Where shall I look for help now?
I know well: with my Friend and Kinsman.
I will go to them to complain of my distress.
Though my Fellowship has abandoned me,
they will certainly stand by me in distress.
For as the saying usually goes,
“Blood is thicker than water.”
I shall test this that I may live.
Where are you, Friends and Kinsman?

KINSMAN                      We are here, cousin,
at your service, bold and brave.

COUSIN Ever­y­man, do you need us?
Tell us frankly.

KINSMAN                      Yes, without delay.
We’ll take care of you, what­ever you may undertake.
Even if you wished to kill someone,
we would help you with it.

COUSIN                      For so must it be,
if one truly practices the duties of kinship.

EVERYMAN May God reward you, my dear friends.
I lament to you, with saddened heart, of my predicament,
that I have been commanded, as clearly as can be,
to go on a far pilgrimage
from which there is no returning.
There I must give reckoning, which is hard,
before the Lord, to whom all is revealed.

KINSMAN What is it of which you must give a reckoning?

EVERYMAN Of my works, to speak con­cisely:
how I have squandered my time here
on earth and wasted away in sins
and of what I have done
in that time, lent to me, not given.
Just go with me, that the Almighty God may reward you,
and assist in clearing my reckoning.
My grief will be less.

KINSMAN What, go with you there?

COUSIN                      Well, is that all that is the matter?
Truly, I thought it was something else.

KINSMAN I am bowled over!

COUSIN                      No use pretending:
happily and willingly I’ll send my maid there.
She likes to go to parties.

KINSMAN                      That is what I say, too.
I would be frightened in the end.

EVERYMAN Will you then not go with me?

COUSIN                      Don’t go so fast, my dear.
It is not a matter of going to any party
or game!
EVERYMAN                      Now, then, to make an end of it,
say, will you go with me, without delaying?

KINSMAN Cousin, I shall take counsel, a recess, a time-out,
and an adjournment until the appropriate time.
COUSIN We would like some breathing room.

EVERYMAN                      How could I be glad?
Whatever fine words they offer me,
when the need comes, then it is all for naught.
Alas! How things have transpired here!

COUSIN Everyman, cousin, may God keep you.
To be blunt, I do not want to come with you.
I also have some business to settle,
for which I still am badly prepared.
Hence I shall stay here.

EVERYMAN                      So be it.
Fie, Everyman, did you place trust
in your Kinsman? The ones who promised so bravely
leave you in this misery.
Look, it is as if someone has driven them from here.
I see: one speaks well with one’s mouth
out of hypocrisy, but without the deed.
Then they say: “Cousin, if you lack anything,
I am here for you.” It surely is nothing.
And Fellowship says the same thing; yet
it is all betrayal and deceit.
Whoever wishes may rely on it.
Now where can I turn?
Remaining here any longer is useless.
What friends would assist me now?
A new thought comes to me:
I have given great love to my Goods.
If that would assist me to my benefit,
I would not have lost everything yet.
From him I still expect my comfort.
O Lord, who shall judge all,
open thy grace to me.
Where are you, my Goods?

GOODS                      I lie here locked up,
neglec­ted, mouldy, as you see me,
heaped up, filthy; I cannot
move, pressed as I am together.
What will you have of me?

EVERYMAN                      Come forward here immediately,
quickly, Goods, and show yourself.
You must help me.

GOODS                      What counsel must you have from me?
If you have any need in the world,
I will set it right.

EVERYMAN                      Something entirely different troubles me.
It is not of this world, you understand.
I have been summoned to where I must go
on a long pilgrimage, without delay.
I must also give, and that is the worst of all,
a reckoning before the Lord most high,
for which I seek help from you.
Because, since my younger years,
I had great joy in you,
and my confidence rests entirely on you.
So I beg you, my dear Goods,
that you go with me without hesitation.
For you could easily clear me before God,
since Goods can erase stains completely.

GOODS No, Everyman, I might hinder you there.
I follow no man on such a journey.
And even if I went with you, do con­sider,
you would fare far worse off because of me,
for reasons I will tell you candidly:
I have botched your accounts terribly.
Since you have given your whole being
to me, for this you may be sorry.
Your reckoning will not be in order
before God Almighty, through my fault.

EVERYMAN That I may well repent
when I must give a strict account.
Up, let’s go together.

GOODS                      No, I will not budge.
Therefore I simply will not follow you.

EVERYMAN Alas! But I have loved you
my whole life until the present day.

GOODS That means everlasting damnation for you:
love for me is contrary to Heaven.
But had you loved me in moderation
and shared me with the poor,
then you would not need to whine now,
nor be sad, which is painful for you.

EVERYMAN Alas, God! I admit that this is true.

GOODS Think you that I am yours?

EVERYMAN                      I had thought so.

GOODS Be silent! I am only lent to you
by God; he tests, it is as clear as day,
how you shall handle your wealth.
Many more are lost because of me
than are saved, be sure of that.
Do you think that I will follow you, Everyman,
from this world? No, certainly not!

EVERYMAN That I thought for sure, because I always loved you so much.

GOODS Therefore I know Goods as a thief of souls.
When you are gone from here now, this is for sure:
I will deceive another,
just as I did one prior to your time.

EVERYMAN Oh false Goods, curse on you!
How you have caught me in your net,
traitor to God!

GOODS                      You have done it all to yourself,
which amuses me now.
It makes me laugh!

EVERYMAN                      You are pleased about this,
that you have robbed me of God?
He is foolish who puts his trust in any goods.
This I, Everyman, may well lament.
Will you not go with me then?

GOODS                      Absolutely not!

EVERYMAN                                          Oh, to whom shall I then complain
to go with me in this great need?
First I had counted on Fellowship,
who repeatedly made me beautiful promises
but who was not faithful to me afterwards.
Then I found that it was all deception.
Thereafter I went also to my kinsmen,
who promised it to me clear as glass.
In the end I found it to be all foolishness.
Then I started to think of my Goods,
on which I had set my heart.
That gave me neither help nor counsel
other than that Goods stands damned.
Therefore I may as well spit at myself.
Fie, Everyman, you may indeed shudder,
how thoroughly can I despise you!
Lord God, who will now help me
by which I yet would be happy?
No one better than my Virtue.
But, alas! She is so weak in her limbs
I think she would not be able to move from her place.
Ah, shall I not then dare to speak to her?
Shall I? No! I shall nevertheless.
Fare as it may, I must go there.
Where are you, my Virtue?

VIRTUE I lie here all withered
in bed, paralyzed and entirely dejected.
I cannot move a limb.
Thus you have made me with your misdeeds.
What do you desire?

EVERYMAN                      You must help me,
for I need it to my benefit.

VIRTUE Everyman, I have understood
that you have been summoned to a reckoning
before the Lord who is over all things.

EVERYMAN                      Oh, about that I want to complain to you.
I come to ask you urgently
that you go there with me.

VIRTUE                      Even if I might gain all the world,
I could not stand by myself.

EVERYMAN Alas! Are you so feeble?

VIRTUE                      You have done all this to me.
Had you altogether gone along with me,
I would have cleansed your reckoning,
which now is unclean, and that is why your soul is so sad.
Look at your records and your deeds,
how they lie here.

EVERYMAN                      May God’s power strengthen me!
One does not see a single letter that is clean.
Are these all my records?

VIRTUE                      I certainly believe so.
You can see that from the state of my health.

EVERYMAN My dear Virtue, from the goodness of your heart,
I beg you to help me to my ad­vantage,
or I will be lost forever.
For Fellowship, Friend, Kinsman, and Goods
have for­saken me, in just humility
help me to balance my reckoning here before the highest Lord.

VIRTUE Everyman, you have my deepest sympathy.
I would help you, if I were able.

EVERYMAN Virtue, would you indeed advise me?

VIRTUE                      This I intend,
though I cannot move from my place.
Yet I have a sister who will go with you.
Her name is Knowledge, who will guide you
and show you another who will prepare you
for setting forth to the reckoning, which is severe.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, I shall protect you.

EVERYMAN                      I believe I feel better now.
I am a little reassured by this.
In this God may be praised.

VIRTUE When without delay she has led you
where you shall cleanse yourself from stains,
then I shall receive my health and help you
and go with you to the reckoning as Virtue,
to help you with your accounting, to your joy,
before the Lord who is over all.

EVERYMAN                      Thank you, Virtue, my favorite!
I am extremely comforted
by your sweet words.

KNOWLEDGE                      Now we will go
to Confession. She is a clear river,
she will cleanse you.

EVERYMAN                      With pure intent
we shall go there. Pray, tell me, both of you:
where does Confession live?

KNOWLEDGE                      In the House of Salvation.
There we shall find her, I think.

EVERYMAN Our Lord may grant us grace
with her, who may comfort us.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, this is Confession; fall at her feet.
She is very dear and precious to God.

EVERYMAN O glorious flower, that shines
and makes dark stains to disappear,
I kneel before you. Do cleanse me
of my sins. Into your sight
I come with Knowledge for my salvation,
sad of heart and very afraid,
because I have been summoned by Death
to go on a great pilgrimage.
Also, I must give a reckoning, as is clear,
before him, who sees through all reasoning.
Now I pray, Confession, mother of health:
cleanse my records, for Virtue is very ill.

CONFESSION Everyman, to me your suffering is well known.
Because you have come to me with Knowledge,
I will help you to your advantage.
Also, I will give you a perfect jewel,
that is simply called Penance.
With that you shall chastise your body
with abstinence and suffering.
Imagine, see the pure scourge:
that is Penance, hard and sour.
Remember that Our Lord also was beaten
with scourges, which he willed to endure,
just before his cruel pilgrimage.
Knowledge, keep him on this path;
then his Virtue will become strong.
And always humbly hope in God,
for your time will soon end.
Beg mercy of him; you will find it fully,
and always use the hard knots of the scourge.
Knowledge, see that you are beside him
when he turns to Penance.

KNOWLEDGE Gladly, Confes­sion.

EVERYMAN                      God be honored in this!
Now I shall begin my penance,
for the light has en­lightened me within,
though these knots are harsh and hard.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, however unpleasant it may become for you,
see that you carry out your penance.
I, Knowledge, will help you,
so that you can openly show your reckoning.

EVERYMAN O living Life! O heavenly Bread!
O Way of truth! O Divine Being,
who descended from his Father’s bosom,
coming down into a pure Maid,
because you wanted to heal Everyman,
whom Adam disinherited by Eve’s counsel.
O Holy Trinity of supreme excellence,
do forgive me my misdeeds,
for I seek mercy from you.
O divine Treasure! O royal Seed!
O Refuge for the entire world,
ever-replenishing Food of angels,
Mirror of joy on whom all depends,
whose light covers Heaven and earth,
hear my crying, even if it may be too late.
Receive my prayer at the throne.
Though I am sinful, wicked and evil,
write me in the book of Heaven,
for I seek mercy from you.
O Mary, mother of the heavenly Almighty,
stand carefully by me in need
so that the Devil does not overpower me.
For mighty Death is approaching me.
Pray diligently for me to your Son,
so that I am able to walk on the right path
re not crooked.
Impart to me the kingdom of your Child,
so that I can bathe in his Passion,
for I desire mercy from you.
Knowledge, give me the scourge for my own good
which by name is called Penance.
I shall begin, may God favor me.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, may God give you time!
I will give [the scourge] to you in the name of our Lord,
to whom you must come to give reckoning.

EVERYMAN In the name of the Father and the Son, also
the Holy Ghost, in the Trinity,
I am beginning to do my penance.
Take this, body, for the fact that you were so reckless
to lead me on the path of disaster.
Therefore now you must be beaten.
You have truly indeed deserved it.
Oh, brothers, you must truly
wade through penance in preparation for the time you go on your pilgrimage,
which Everyman must undertake.

VIRTUE Thank God, I am beginning to feel well,
because Everyman has healed me.
There­fore I shall be with him forever.
I shall also testify to his good deeds; for that I shall go with him at once.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, be happy and pleased:
Good Deeds comes to you, now rejoice!

EVERYMAN Who can it be, Knowledge?

KNOWLEDGE                      It is your Virtue,
whole and healthy on her legs.

EVERYMAN I weep for joy.
Now I will strike harder than before.

VIRTUE Every­man, elect pilgrim,
blessed be you, son of victory,
for the light of glory is coming to you.
You have made me completely healthy;
therefore I shall remain with you forever.
God will have mercy on you, be assured.

EVERYMAN Welcome, Virtue, my eyes grow misty
in truly humble, sweet joy.

KNOWLEDGE Strike no more, cheer up:
God on his throne sees you live.
Put on this garment as your reward.
It is soaked with your tears,
so wear it freely, in perseverance;
otherwise you would be lacking before God.

EVERYMAN What is this garment called?

KNOWLEDGE                      The garment of Re­morse.
It will please God very much.

VIRTUE Everyman, wear this garment
that Know­ledge has put on you.

EVERYMAN Thus I will receive Remorse,
because God values this garment so high­ly.
Now let us go without fear.
Virtue, have you our reckoning clear?

VIRTUE Yes, Every­man.

EVERYMAN                      Then I have no fear.
Let’s go, friends, do not part from me.

KNOWLEDGE Not us, Everyman.

VIRTUE                      You must take with you also
three persons of great power.

EVERYMAN Who might they be?

VIRTUE                      Prudence and your Strength;
your Beauty may not stay behind.

KNOWLEDGE You must also without delay have
your Five Senses as your assistants.

EVERYMAN How should I obtain them?

KNOWLEDGE                      Call all of them.
They will hear all about it without delay.

EVERYMAN My friends, come all on this my day:
Prudence, Strength, Beauty, and Five Senses!

STRENGTH Here we are, all of us, at your service.
What do you want us to do?

VIRTUE That you will go with Everyman
to help him complete his pilgrimage.
For he has been summoned to come
at once before God for a reckoning.
See if you want to come with him.

BEAUTY                      We all want to go with him
to help and assist him.

PRUDENCE That we will, certainly.

EVERYMAN                      O Almighty God, mercy!
I praise you that I thus have brought along
Prudence, Beauty, Five Senses, and Strength,
and my Virtue and clear Knowledge.
Now I have company here that pleases me.
I have no more wishes for myself.

STRENGTH I shall remain with you, bold and brave,
even if it meant to going into battle.

FIVE SENSES Me too, even if we had to go the whole wide world,
I shall not part from you in any distress.

BEAUTY Neither shall I until death,
come of it what may!

PRUDENCE Everyman, what I wanted to tell you:
go with foresight, calm and collected.
We will counsel you in all good things
and guide you in the right direction.

EVERYMAN These are friends who do not fail;
may God, the heavenly Father, reward them.
Now listen, all my friends:
I am going to make my will
before all of you here present.
In charity and genuine humility
I distribute to the poor of my goods
one half, and the other half thereafter
I assign to where by right it should go.
I do this now to shame the Devil,
to get out of his claws,
when my life ends this day.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, listen to what I say:
go to the priesthood
and see that you from them receive
the Sacrament and the Chrism.
Then come back to this place here.
We shall all wait for you.

FIVE SENSES Yes, Everyman, go prepare yourself.
There is no em­per­or, king, duke, or count
who has from God such a gift
as does the lowliest priest alone.
Of all the pure sacraments
he has the key, always ready
for humankind’s salvation,
which God for a medicine
gave us from out of his heart
here, in this earthly life.
The Seven Holy Sacra­ments:
Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders,
and the Eucharist, God’s flesh and blood,
Marriage and the Extreme Unction also:
these are the seven unblemished:
Sacraments of great value.

EVERYMAN I will receive God’s body with love
and go with humility to the priest.

FIVE SENSES Every­man, that is well done.
May God allow you to accomplish this to your salvation!
The priest is above all things:
he teaches us Scripture
and turns humankind from sins.
God has given him more power
than the angels in eternity.
For every priest can without doubt make,
with five words on the altar
during Mass (be sure about this),
God’s body, true flesh and blood,
and holds his Creator in his hands.
The priest binds and looses all bonds
in Heaven and on earth.
O noble priest of great worth,
if we kissed your footsteps, you are worthy of it!
Whoever needs comfort from sins
can find no refuge
but with a priest.
This the Lord has bestowed upon the priest,
and he is present here [in the world] in his place.
Thus he is placed above the angels.

KNOWLEDGE That is true, for those who stay unblemished.
When he hung in great pain
on the Cross, he gave us then from his heart
the Seven Sacraments in sorrow.
He did not sell them to us, the Lord!
Therefore St. Peter says
that they are all damned
who buy or sell God
and make heaps of money out of this.
They set a bad example for the sinner.
Their children walk in the temple,
and some of them live with women
in bodily corruption.
They have after all been robbed of their senses.

FIVE SENSES I hope, God willing, that none do this.
Let us therefore honor the priests
and always follow their teachings.
We are their sheep and they our shepherds,
by whom we all are protected.
Let’s not talk about this anymore.

VIRTUE Everyman comes; he has settled up.
Therefore let us all be on guard.

EVERYMAN Lord God, I am so happy
that I weep for joy just like a child.
I have received my Sacrament
and the Unction also. Thanks to the one who advised it.
Now, friends, without any further delay,
I thank God that I found all of you.
Place your hands on this little pilgrim’s cross
and follow me then promptly.
I will lead the way to the place I want to be.
Our Lord God, he will guide me!

STRENGTH Everyman, we will not part from you
before you have made this journey.

PRUDENCE We will continually stay with you,
as for a long time we have assured you.

KNOWLEDGE Oh, this is a very tough pilgrimage,
on which Everyman has to go.

STRENGTH Everyman, see how we stand by you:
strong, brave, and have no fear.

EVERYMAN Alas, my limbs are so heavy
that they begin to tremble with fear.
Dear friends, let us not turn back now.
If I am to complete my pilgrimage
then I must go down here
into this pit and become earth.

BEAUTY What? Into this pit?

EVERYMAN                      Yes, into such
we, both great and small, must turn.

BEAUTY What, smother in here?

EVERYMAN                      Yes, smother in here and die
to the world, but be alive forever
before the supreme Lord.

BEAUTY                      I take back everything.
Adieu! Farewell! I take my leave; I go as the dumb.

EVERYMAN What? Beauty!

BEAUTY                      I am totally deaf; oh, I do not look back
even if it would gain me all the world’s riches.

EVERYMAN In what shall I trust?
Beauty flees as if chased away.
Though when I asked her ear­lier,
she would live and die with me.

STRENGTH Everyman, I will also leave you.
Your game does not entirely please me.

EVERYMAN Strength, will you also flee from me?

STRENGTH                      Yes, I will surely go away.
The matter is closed, once and for all.

EVERYMAN Dear Strength, please wait.

STRENGTH                      By St. Eloy I will not!
Do you think that I want to smother in that pit?

EVERYMAN Will you leave me then?

STRENGTH                      Yes, it is all in vain,
though you may cry yourself into a hernia.

EVERYMAN Will you thus redeem your promise?
You said you would stay with me.

STRENGTH I have guided you far enough.
Then too, you are old enough, I think,
to go on your pilgrimage alone.
I regret now that I came here.

EVERYMAN Alas, dear Strength, am I angering you?

STRENGTH It is all in vain. Rest your head,
and go into that dark house.

EVERYMAN                      I had never thought this of you.
Who will trust in his Strength?
It flees like mist from the ditch.
Beauty is like a wind that flees!
Alas, trusty friends, that you lie so,
after making promises to me.

PRUDENCE Everyman, I also will go away
and wish to put this off.
Do you think that we want to go in here?
Don’t think of it, I know better.

EVERYMAN O Prudence, Prudence!

PRUDENCE                      I will not go with you.
It is clearly imprudent.

EVERYMAN Dear Prudence, come at least closer,
so that you can see the bottom of the earth in here.
I humbly beg this of you.

PRUDENCE                      By St. Eloy, I will not do this!
I regret that I ever came so close.

EVERYMAN Oh, everything that is not God will fail.
Beauty, Strength, great Prudence,
they fly from Everyman when Death approaches.
Poor mankind, on whom shall I rely now?

FIVE SENSES Everyman, I will also leave
and follow the others who turn their backs on you.

EVERYMAN                      Oh, dear Five Senses!

FIVE SENSES I will not gain anything from this;
it is no use to cry so much.

EVERYMAN Oh, are you all going to leave me?

VIRTUE No, Every­man. Rest assured.

EVERYMAN Alas, my Five Senses!

FIVE SENSES                      Cry all that you want.
You will not see my face again.

EVERYMAN Dear Virtue, will you stay with me?

VIRTUE                      I will never leave you in the lurch,
for life, death, or any torment.

EVERYMAN You are able to know your true friends here.
Those who leave me al­to­gether,
I loved them more than my Virtue alone.
Knowledge, will you also leave me?

KNOWLEDGE Yes, Everyman, when you end your life,
but definitely not before, no danger of that.

EVERYMAN Thank you, Knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE                      I will not depart from here
before you are where you belong.

EVERYMAN Alas, I think we must go on,
to give reckoning and pay my debt.
My time is almost up.
Whoever hears and sees this: take example from it.
And see how all flee from me;
my Virtue only will go with me.
VIRTUE All earthly things are nothing at all.

EVERYMAN But see, Virtue, how all flee from me now.

VIRTUE Beauty, Strength, Prudence, who deserted him,
Fellowship, who were Friends and Kinsmen.

EVERYMAN Now see how all flee from me,
except my Virtue, who will go with me.
Mercy, King of the angelic host,
Mercy, Mother of God, stand by me.

VIRTUE I will appear unblemished before God.

EVERYMAN Mercy, King of the angelic host!

VIRTUE Shorten the pain for us, do not let it worsen,
make the end for us light and free.

EVERYMAN Mercy, King of the angelic host,
Mercy, Mother of God, stand by me.
Into thy hands, Father, however it may be,
I commend to you my spirit in peace.
I go with Virtue.

Knowledge                      He has undergone
what we all have to pay.
Virtue will now herself testify
before him who shall judge everything.
I think I hear the sound of angels
here above; certainly, Heaven is opened,
wherein Everyman will be taken in.

          The Angel says:

Come chosen bride,
here above, and hear that sweet sound
of the angels because of your good Virtue.
I take the soul out of the body:
her reckoning is pure and clean.
Now I take her onto the plain of Heaven,
where all together we may
enter, great and small.
          Amen.

THE EPILOGUE

Accept this, small and great,
and see how Everyman comes to his Death.
Fellowship, Friends, and Goods
desert Everyman; be sure about this.
Beauty, Strength, Prudence, and Five Senses,
it is all fleeting, bear this in mind.
Only Virtue follows before all others.
But when Virtue is so weak
that she may or cannot come along,
poor Everyman, how then will you go
to the reckoning before the Lord?
Then you will perish of woe, of pain,
for after Death it is difficult to reform;
no intercession or pleading will help you then.
Ah, Everyman, how are you able to be
proud, envious!
                     Very honorable audience,
mark this mirror, hold it before your eyes
and avoid pride
and all other sins as well.
Now let us pray at once
that this may be im­printed into everyone’s heart
in order that we come pure before God in the end.
May the heavenly Father grant us this.
Say “Amen” all together.
          God be praised!

EVERYMAN: EXPLANATORY NOTES


Abbreviations: Cawley: Everyman, ed. Cawley (rpt. 1977); Dent: Dent, Proverbial Language in English Drama exclusive of Shakespeare, 1495-1616; Tilley: Tilley, Dictionary of the Proverbs in England; Whiting: Whiting, Proverbs, Sentences and Proverbial Phrases from English Writings.

1-21 The Messenger's speech is not present in the extant text of Elckerlijc, and may be the work of the translator.

6 How transytory we be all daye. Messenger calls attention to the transitory nature of human life. As Cooper and Wortham note in their edition of Everyman (p. 2), this motif appears in the Dance of Death tradition, which is invoked in the title-page wood­cut used for the editions of the play printed by John Skot. See Intro­duction, pp. 6–7.

8 more gracyous. More filled with grace (i.e., God’s saving grace).

10-11 in the begynnynge . . . endynge. Proverbial; see Dent, F386. Compare Worlde and the Chylde, ed. Davidson and Happé, lines 484–85, and Tilley, E128; Whiting, E84. Cawley further suggests a source in Ecclesiasticus 7:36.

16-17 Jolyté . . . Pleasure. A mistake. These two allegorical characters do not appear in the play.

18 vade from thee as floure in Maye. Proverbial. As Death explains in the Lansdowne MS version of Lydgate’s Dance of Death, life “may be likned in all thyng / Unto a Flour . . . / Which with a Froste bigynneth riht sone to fade” (lines 236–38).

20 rekenynge. See Introduction, p. 8n42.

23 unkynde. Not only unappreciative or even blasphemous in speech and act, but also unnatural. An actor playing the role of God would have been positioned at a higher level representing Heaven, as demonstrably is the case in some of the mys­tery plays. The figure of God is necessarily Christ, who suffered for human­kind, as lines 29–33 demonstrate. The iconographic tradition would suggest that he should show his wounds at the appropriate points in his speech.

29 My lawe. Replacing the Old Law of the Old Testament, this is the law of mercy and the offer of salvation made available by Christ’s act of suffering and sacri­ficial death on the Cross, when he was crowned with thorns and hung between two thieves.

33 I heled theyr fete. A reference to the washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13:4–12).

36-37 Seven Deedly Synnes . . . / As Pryde, Covetyse, Wrathe, and Lechery. Gluttony, Sloth, and Envy are omitted. Cawley notes (p. 29) that these “are sufficient to represent the World, the Flesh, and the Devil,” which were known as the Three Enemies of Man. Elckerlijc likewise presents an incomplete list, including only Pride, Ava­rice, and Envy — sins that may be regarded as most appropriately mentioned in the context of the Dutch mercantile culture.

41 theyr. There is a shift here to plural, indicating that Everyman means “every man” or, in preferred modern terms, “every person,” all humans.

50 one wolde by envy another up ete. For a comparison with King Lear 4.2.46–50, see Salter, “Lear and the Morality Tradition”; Cawley suggests the influence of Gala­tians 5:15: “But if you bite and devour one another; take heed you be not con­sumed one of another.”

51 Charytye. See Introduction, p. 8.

53 mansyon. John 14:2 promises that Heaven will contain “many mansions.”

54 electe. Chosen by God’s divine will, but here not implying predestination since good works are required for salvation. See Ryan, “Doctrine and Dramatic Struc­ture,” pp. 723–25.

57 theyr beynge that I them have lente. Humans are not autonomous creatures, but owe their being to God. Kolve, “Everyman and the Parable of the Talents,” con­vincingly suggests that a major influence on the play is the parable of the talents, in which the servants are required to make a reckoning to their master upon his return from a distant land (Matthew 25:14–30).

63 messengere. Death is God’s agent who brings news of one’s inevitable end, an end common to all men and women, as in the Dance of Death tradition. At line 330, the protagonist calls Death the “hye Kinges chefe offycere.” Owst, Literature and Pulpit, p. 532, calls attention to a comment in a sermon collection (Cambridge, Caius College MS 334) by John Waldeby of the Augustinian friary at York con­cerning the point in life “when Death, who is God’s Bailiff, shall come to arrest” a man or woman. For another instance in drama in which Death is “Goddys mas­an­gere,” see the death of Herod sequence in the N-Town plays (20.168–284), but in that case Death’s role is different since he is an avenger to execute justice on a wicked monarch.

68 pylgrymage. The notion of life as a pilgrimage culminating in death was a com­monplace and needs to be seen in the context of pilgrimage practice of the time, when one had to leave one’s comfortable life and possessions behind as one set out from the city gates (in the case of guild members, accompanied only that far by one’s fellow guildsmen) to travel, often walking, to holy sites of worship and veneration, many of them at great distances away. Scholars sometimes speak of pilgrims’ experiences as liminal or liminoid (see Turner, “Liminal to Liminoid”), a term applicable to Everyman in this play.

76 stryke with my darte. Death’s dart or spear is a commonplace of iconography, as in the deathbed scene in the famous Corporal Acts of Mercy window at All Saints, North Street, York. Death’s weaponry is surveyed by Oosterwijk (“Les­sons in ‘Hopping’”), who cites the brass of John Rudyng at Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, which not only shows Death armed with several spears but also in­cludes his description of himself, which she translates as follows: “I carry grim weapons, I harrass the world hard with the bite of violent death” (ibid., pp. 262–63, figs. 4–5). Though Death gives no warning, he may carry a bell that does. In MS Douce 322, fol. 19v, Death holds both a spear and a bell, the latter ringing out “dethe, deye, deye” all across the image (Pächt and Alexander, Illuminated Manuscripts, no. 1097, pl. 102). As noted in the Introduc­tion to the present edition, the title page of the Vorsterman text of Elckerlijc shows Death striking the protagonist with a spear. In Everyman, lines 178–79, Death threatens to “smyte” without warning and “to the harte.” A short lyric in a four­teenth-cen­tury commonplace book (National Library of Scotland, Advocates’ MS 18.7.21, fol. 87) concludes: “Deth is an Hardy Huntere” (Wilson, Descriptive Index, p. 23). See also Introduction, above, pp. 6–7.

78 almes dedes. Good works, essential for salvation.

81 Full lytell he thynketh on my cummynge. Death is also utterly unexpected in the Dance of Death by Lydgate. It is proverbial that death is certain, the time of death uncertain. A Latin form of this proverb is included in John of Grimestone’s com­monplace book (fol. 87v); quoted by Wilson, Descriptive Index, p. 25. See also Tilley, Elizabethan Proverb Lore, p. 82.

95 in the hevenly spere. Since Elckerlijc has “in sijn rijck” (“in his kingdom”), this is a sign that the translator thought more specifically of an actor playing God sta­tioned at a higher level that represents the region in medieval cosmology which is identified as the sphere encircling all the lower spheres of the moon, the sun, the planets, and the stars.

113 gyve. The original reading was apparently “gyve now,” to rhyme with “thou” (Kölbing, “Kleine Beiträge zur Erklärung,” as cited by Cawley, p. 31).

114 I knowe thee not. In their edition Cooper and Wortham compare Everyman’s failure to recognize Death with the Dance of Death “whereby Death is not recog­nized by the other participants of the dance until he singles them out” (p. 14).

116 rest. Compare Hamlet 5.2.336–37: “As this fell sergeant, Death, / Is strict in his arrest.”

126 pope, emperoure, kynge, duke, ne prynces. The order is reminiscent of the “des­cend­ing order of importance” of the characters in the Dance of Death (Cawley, p. 31).

127 and I wolde receyve geftes. It is proverbial that Death takes no bribes. Tilley, D149; Dent, D149.

132 Deth geveth no warnynge. Proverbial. See explanatory note to line 81, above.

142 prove thy frendes yf thou can. In the tradition of friendship going back to antiquity, testing of one’s friends was considered to be “the first law of friendship” (Conley, “Doctrine of Friendship in Everyman,” p. 375). In the form of the story recorded in the Gesta Romanorum, the young man, a knight, sets out first to find and then to test friends at the behest of his father, a Roman emperor (Early English Ver­sions of the Gesta Romanorum, ed. Herrtage, pp. 127–31). Everyman keeps to the motif of testing more clearly than Elckerlijc.

143 the tyde abydeth no man. Proverbial; see Whiting, T318; Dent, T323.

145 For Adams synne must dye of nature. See Genesis 3:19. In line 585, below, Adam is said to have “forfeyted” life “by his dysobedyens”; hence all humans, who inherit Adam’s lapsarian state, require redemption from their natural condition.

148 saynt charyté. Holy charity. Not a saint, but the invocation of charitable acts, by which salvation is made possible for the individual Christian. See Introduction, p. 8.

149 Sholde I not come agayne shortly? To this question, Death (in lines 150–52) will affirm the finality of dying and thus will deny metempsychosis or the return of the soul to earthly life within another body.

153 in hye sete celestyall. Another sign that God is imagined by the writer to be posi­tioned on high, in this case on a throne, as in the Towneley Creation pageant where such a seat is indicated.

155 vale terestyall. As God exists on a (heavenly) height (see line 153), so also humans dwell in an earthly valley.

164 it was but lend thee. Referring to both life and possessions, mentioned in lines 161–62. Because of death, ownership can only be temporary. In the lines which follow, Death will continue to explain how property will be passed on to others, who in turn will also eventually need to surrender it. Absolute control of one’s life and possessions is an illusion. For an example in an earlier morality play, see Castle of Perseverance, lines 2969–3007, and Fletcher, “Coveytyse Copbord.” An­derson, Drama and Imagery, p. 77, calls attention to a misericord in a Dance of Death series at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, in which the rich man, situated among his chests of treasure and other signs of wealth, is approached by Death. There was a shift to concern about covetousness that corresponded with the increased wealth of the late Middle Ages; see Little, “Pride Goes before Avarice.”

168 wyttes fyve. Here the reference is merely to the five senses and not to the per­sonification, Five Wits, who will later appear in the play at line 669.

171 whether shall I flee. Compare Vulgate Psalm 138:7.

178 to the harte sodenly I shall smyte. The Dutch had specified “int crijt” (“in the ring”), which would refer to a duel or tournament; in either case, a circle or other marked-out space for a competition.

182-83 “This is the day . . . awaye.” Proverbial. The day of death, but the words also may echo the opening words (in Latin) of the gradual for Easter: “Haec dies.” It is a time of terror for Everyman, but it is also, even for one who has been neglectful of his spiritual life, a time that ultimately will translate into hope and then joy, which have been made possible by the Resurrection of Christ.

199 affyaunce. As Cooper and Wortham note in their edition, this word’s meaning also extends to a legal sense, “solemn promise or sworn agreement” (p. 18).

215 well spoken and lovyngly. Corresponding to “Ghi segt wel, boven screve” (“You speak well, certainly”) in Elckerlijc, a line omitted in van Elslander, and num­bered 205 — with the next line numbered 205a — in our edition to maintain consistent line numbering for convenient reference to his edition. This line occurs not only in the Vorsterman edition but also in the Govaert Bac edition of c. 1501 and Brussels, Bibliothèque royale MS. IV–592. It is lacking only in the Snellaert edition of 1496.

217 I have pytye . . . destresse. The corresponding line in Dutch literally reads “you are so full of sadness, one could cut it out of you.”

218 ye shall revenged be. Fellowship is prone to wrath, of which being quick to revenge is a characteristic. However, as demonstrated subsequently, he is bluffing and hence proves himself to be both a braggart and a coward. See also lines 281–82.

222 set not a straw. Proverbial; see Whiting, S813; Dent, S917.

229 a good frende at nede. An echo of the proverb “A friend in need is a friend in­deed”; see Tilley, F693; Whiting, F634.

245 Adonay. God (Hebrew), as a judge.

248 Promyse is dutye. Proverbial; compare Dent, P603; and Tilley, P603: “Promise is debt.”

265 by God that all hath bought. Through his atonement, Christ “bought” those who will be saved from Satan, whose rights to these souls were thus abrogated.

267 For no man . . . lyvynge. The literal translation of the corresponding line in the Dutch text is “for all creatures that God allows to live.”

272-273 ete and drynke . . . haunte to women. Implying Gluttony and Lechery, two of the Seven Deadly Sins that were associated with Fellowship. In the speech of God at the beginning of the play, Gluttony was not mentioned; see note to lines 36–37, above.

288 By Saynt Johnn. An appropriate oath, since St. John the Baptist has associations with the revelry of Midsummer, which occurred on the vigil of this saint’s nativity (St. John’s Eve, June 23).

292 gyve me a new gowne. Lester, citing the Paston Letters, notes that “payments were sometimes made in this way, and an old gown was sometimes given as a gratuity” (Everyman, ed. Lester, p. 75). But a new gown would be an expensive gift. The reference to a gown is absent in Elckerlijc.

302 partynge is mournynge. Proverbial; see Tilley, P82. Cawley cites Romeo and Juliet 2.2.184: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

309-10 “In prosperyté . . . unkynde.” Proverbial. Compare Ecclesiasticus 6:10: “And there is a friend, a companion at the table, and he will not abide in the day of dis­tress.” See also Whiting, F659; Dent, T301.

316 For kynde wyll crepe where it may not go. Proverbial; Whiting, K34; Dent, K49. Kin­ship relations may be called on covertly if not openly. Cawley notes the Towne­ley Secunda Pastorum: “I trow kynde will crepe / Where it may not go” (Towneley Plays, ed. Stevens and Cawley, 13.853–54). Elckerlijc has the Dutch proverb cor­res­ponding to the modern “Blood is thicker than water.”

318 frendes and kynnesmen. The Dutch has “Maghe,” kin on his mother’s side, and “Neve,” kin on his father’s side; these have been identified in our translation of Elckerlijc for convenience as Kinsman and Cousin.

334 great enemy that hath me in wayte. The Devil, whose purpose is to capture Every­man’s soul at the moment of death. The iconography occurs in treatises on dying in which a devil waits in proximity to the deathbed. The wicked will be snatched away by him, while those who merit salvation will be saved from his clutches by their guardian angels.

346 I had lever fast breed and water. Probably proverbial; see Dent, B611.11.

348 Alas that ever I was borne. A sign of despair that is warned against in the ars moriendi texts, of which The Art and Crafte to Knowe Well to Dye (1490) was the first English edition. For a convenient summary, see Beaty, Craft of Dying, pp. 12–13. The phrasing here is proverbial; see Dent, B140.1.

353 by Saynt Anne. St. Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, was a popular saint, suitable here for Kindred’s oath, though her name also provides a convenient rhyme.

379 fayre wordes maketh fooles fayne. Proverbial; see Dent, W794. Cawley (p. 33) cites Early English Miscellanies, ed. Halliwell: “Fayre promese ofte maketh foollis fayne.”

411 to clene and puryfye. Theologically this would only be possible through the action of baptism, penance, and absolution, which are activated through God’s sancti­fying grace. See line 536, below, in which Everyman is urged by Knowledge to go to Confession, who is described as a “clensynge ryvere” — and in line 545 also as a “gloryous fountayne that all unclennes doth clarify.”

413 “money maketh all ryght that is wronge.” Proverbial; see Whiting, M630; Dent, M1072. A verse in John of Grimestone’s commonplace book begins “Pecunia maket wrong riht” (fol. 14; quoted by Owst, Literature and Pulpit, p. 317).

414 I synge another songe. Proverbial; see Whiting S478 and Dent, S637.

419 Thy rekenynge I have made blotted and blynde. A sign of Goods’ envy (one of the Seven Deadly Sins), which would lead Everyman to his damnation, as Cooper and Wortham note in their edition (p. 28). Everyman, in turn, is here identified with Covetousness, another of the Deadly Sins (cited in line 37, above), for his love of Goods.

423 ferefull answere. The answer (giving an accounting) that Everyman must give to God at the Last Judgment.

431 yf thou had me loved moderately. If you had valued riches as a means rather than an end.

437 wenest thou that I am thyne? See explanatory note on line 164, above.

458 I gave thee that whiche shulde be the Lordes above. Inordinate love of Goods is idolatry. Cawley, p. 33, further cites Chaucer’s Parson’s Tale: “Soothly, whan man loveth any creature moore than Jhesu Crist oure Creatour, thanne is it deedly synne” (CT X[I]357). See St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine 3.10.16 for an authoritative definition of the proposition.

481 Good Dede. The Dutch text specifies “Duecht.” This term appears in our trans­lation as Virtue but implies very much the same thing as Good Deeds.

486 colde in the grounde. Not lying ill in bed, paralyzed, as in Elckerlijc; see note to line 487, below, for the more theologically astute reference in Everyman to being in bondage, with the physical depiction symbolizing spiritual condition.

487 synnes have me so sore bounde. Good Deeds’ fetters represent the bonds of sin from which release is possible, according to Catholic theology, only through loosing by means of the power of the keys granted to St. Peter and thereafter to the Church; see Matthew 16:19. The crisis for Everyman is that he cannot achieve Salvation unless he is loosed from the weight of his sins and his Good Deeds released from her bondage to assist him to his salvation, for without her he is lost. See lines 509–10 below, in which Everyman begs Good Deeds’ help, “Or els I am forever damned indede.” Good deeds are also proclaimed as a requirement for salvation in Elckerlijc.

494 of Jerusalem Kynge. The heavenly Jerusalem, of which Christ is King.

501 Yf ye had perfytely chered me. Conley, “‘If ye had parfytely chered me,’” notes a range of meanings for cheren and argues that Everyman should have extended to Good Deeds, now in the position of a person needing charity, those acts of kindness which would have included welcoming her into his house, giving her to drink and eat, and allowing her to warm herself at his fire — that is, three of the acts specified in Matthew 25 which later were codified as Corporal Acts of Mercy.

520 Knowlege. In the moral and spiritual sense of the word as well as an indication of knowledge of Christian doctrine and practice. This therefore implies self-knowledge in the sense of recognition of one’s faults and sins.

527 she. Knowledge, which will lead Everyman to the House of Salvation where his “smarte” or source of pain will be healed; sin is conceived as an illness. The emendation to “she” is based on the identification of Knowledge as Good Deeds’ sister (line 519), as suggested by Cooper and Wortham. Her gender is consistent with Elckerlijc.

540 House of Salvacyon. Meant to be understood as a specific location, probably a booth set at the back of the stage as depicted in Flemish illustrations of the time; see Hummelen, “Drama of the Dutch Rhetoricians,” p. 235. The House of Sal­vation of course represents the Church, the structure within which salvation is possible.

543 Confessyon. Below cited as Shrift, the “mother of Salvacyon” (line 552), though, differing from Elckerlijc, Confession is identified by masculine pronouns. Auric­u­lar confession is the second part of the Sacrament of Penance, following Contri­tion.

545 gloryous fountayne. See explanatory note to line 411. For the fountain as a sign of saving grace made effective through the Eucharist, see Davidson, “Repent­ance and the Fountain.” Cawley cites Zacharias 13:1: “In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: for the washing of the sinner, and of the unclean woman.” In a poem in Arundel MS 286, Jesus’ “woundes so wide / ben welles of life” from which people are urged “to drinke” in order “to fle fro the fendes of helle” (Browne, Religious Lyrics of the Fifteenth Century, p. 149). Cunningham cites an accession prayer, included in the Burntisland edition of the Sarum missal, which not only mentions the medicinal and cleansing benefits (spiritually speaking) of coming to the fountain of mercy but also outlines “in small the journey which Everyman makes” (“Comedic and Liturgical Restoration,” pp. 164–65). Everyman corrects the Dutch text as it has come down to us and which specifies “Bloome” (“flower”).

549 full contrycyon. Sorrow for one’s sins; the second part of the Sacrament of Pen­ance, designated by Confession as a jewel (line 557).

561 scurge. The scourge of penance, in this case made of rope, since it is described as having knots at line 576. Though the type of penitential scourge varies, this is conventional iconography; see Nichols, Seeable Signs, pp. 235–38. Anderson, Drama and Imagery, p. 80, cites a misericord at New College, Oxford, which has Confession set off against, on the other side, a figure scourging himself. With the scourge one would have been expected to replicate the suffering of Christ at his scourging (see line 563) and thereby to identify with his Passion. (An excellent depiction of knotted rope scourges may be found in a Scourging in the Hild­burgh Collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum; see Cheetham, English Medieval Alabasters, no. 163.) However, while Jesus was innocent, Everyman has clearly been guilty, as he indicates when he turns the scourge on himself at lines 611–18, and the self-punishment is a way of expiation for him. For an explicit connection between satisfaction and flagellation in the Sherborne Missal, see Nichols, Seeable Signs, p. 236. On the other hand, the scene is also a theatrically effective piece of work. Good Deeds regains her strength as Everyman beats himself ever harder — a bit of simple theater “magic” and one place to argue for the text as a real playscript.

569 ye wyll saved be. This conditional promise by Confession has been taken as a sig­nifying absolution (Cawley, p. 33), the third part of the Sacrament of Pen­ance, though the words of absolution are missing and the fourth part, satis­fac­tion, is yet to come. See also Discretion’s promise at line 693 “That all shall be well.”

572 Oyle of Forgyvenes. Promised to Adam in legend and subsequently identified with God’s mercy as extended through the Savior; see Conley, “The Phrase ‘the Oyle of Forgyuenes’ in ‘Everyman’.” Cawley had argued for seeing the “Oyle of For­gyvenes” as a reference to the rite of Extreme Unction (p. 34).

589 Raunsomer and Redemer. Reference to the ransom theory of atonement in which the Devil was held to have been given rights over human souls on account of the Fall of Adam; this condition required Jesus to be sacrificed in order to ransom the souls of his people, including the faithful who lived prior to his incarnation. These were released from Hell at the Harrowing, just as ordinary Christians will be saved ultimately, even if necessarily after a period of time in Purgatory, de­scribed at line 618 as “that sharpe fyre” in the Pynson fragment and the Hunt­ington text of Everyman.

596 Moyses table. The two tables of the Law were interpreted as representing Baptism and Penance. This is an alteration of the meaning of the Dutch text, which refers to the book of life; see Wood, “Elckerlijc–Everyman,” p. 292.

597-98 Mary, pray . . . / Me for to helpe at my endynge. Invoking the Virgin Mary to mediate between the individual and her Son was held to be effective, since the Son would be especially responsive to the mother. The Hail Mary added to the biblical text the words “Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.”

599 my enemy. The Devil.

614 delytest to go gaye and fresshe. Fashionably dressed, in bright colors. Cooper and Wortham, citing the Wife of Bath’s Tale in which the wife says her fifth husband was “fressh and gay” — i.e., sexually proficient and alluring — suggest an erotic connotation (p. 40). But principally such clothing denotes pride. This reference again sharpens the reference to recklessness traceable to the body.

615 the waye of dampnacyon. As opposed to the way of salvation. These are the two paths which humans may travel. The one avoided here is the “primrose way to th’ everlasting bonfire” (Macbeth 2.3.19).

617 I wyll wade the water clere. Penance reaffirms the cleansing effect of one’s baptism.

618 from Hell and from the fyre. This reading differs from the Huntington print and the Pynson fragment, which have “Purgatory and that sharpe fyre.” It would be hard to argue for a Protestant reading here, however, since the understanding of Priest­hood and the Sacraments in the Huth text remains firmly Catholic, and this kind of extreme punishment was also believed to be present in Purgatory, albeit without condemnation to such suffering for eternity, as in Hell. Protes­tants of course rejected the idea of Purgatory.

619 now I can walke and go. Confession and Penance have had a healing effect as made visible through the ability of his Good Deeds to achieve health, to be delivered from “wo” (depression), and to rise up, stand, and walk. (See the begin­ning of Chaucer’s Parson’s Tale with its admonition from Jeremias 6:5 and 6:10 to arise, stand, see, walk, and find.) Good Deeds are meritorious toward sal­vation only when one’s sins are forgiven through these rites. In Elckerlijc, Virtue is explicitly returned to health.

623 be mery and gladde. Everyman has overcome despair, and, as line 627 says, his heart is permanently “lyght” and therefore free.

643 garmente of Sorowe. The garment of Contrition could have been made of rough, undyed cloth, in contrast to the fashionable clothes that Everyman had worn up to this point (see line 614). However, Craik (Tudor Interlude, p. 79) more plaus­ibly offers the suggestion that it was a penitential robe of white that public peni­tents were required to put on. Such a change of costume, representing trans­formation of character, was conventional, but here would have, as Craik notes, the additional value of representing the shroud worn by Everyman when he subsequently enters the grave. The theological point is more clearly presented in Elckerlijc, which calls it a “garment of Remorse.”

660 Dyscressyon. The Dutch words wijsheit and vroetscap could be translated as “wis­dom,” but Prudence is preferable as it adds experience, or common sense, to wisdom. This is consistent with Discretion in Everyman, but see also the explana­tory note to line 686, below.

686 Five Wits. These are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and feeling, which are con­veniently listed in The Worlde and the Chylde, lines 888–90, alongside the “other” five (spiritual) wits (lines 894–97). Discretion is the faculty of judgment applied to the Five Wits, and hence discriminates between true and false sensory per­ceptions. Conley, “Identity of Discretion in Everyman,” identifies the term with Prudence. In the play it is a translation from the Dutch Vroetscap.

687 for swete nor soure. Whether things turn out well or badly.

699 In almes half my good. For the importance of charity for salvation, see Intro­duc­tion, pp. 8–9. That a rich man might give half his property to charity would not have been unusual.

701-02 the other halfe . . . / In quyet to be returned there it ought to be. Half his property is to be returned by way of a bequest to rightful owners. Restitution is, like giving to charity, necessary for Everyman’s account book to be set straight. Everyman uses the appropriate legal terminology that is missing in Elckerlijc.

707 Pryesthode. Subsequent lines, spoken by Five Wits, set forth the Catholic view of the Sacraments and the priest’s role in administering them as well as the doctrine of transubstantiation, the late medieval view of the elements of the Eucharist as changed into “Goddes precyous flesshe and blode” (line 724) under the forms of bread and wine. This view is reiterated at lines 737–39.

717 He bereth the keyes. See explanatory note to line 487, above. In Elckerlijc, the singular “slotel” designates the power to forgive sins.

719-20 God for our soules medycyne / Gave us out of his harte with great pyne. Referring spe­cifically to Christ’s blood, given during his Crucifixion, which is identified with the Eucharistic act that reenacts his sacrifice “in this transytory lyfe for thee and me” (line 721); hence the Crucifixion becomes an event contemporary with the person who sees or partakes of the elements. Not uncommonly in late medieval depictions of the Crucifixion do we see angels with chalices collecting the blood flowing from the Savior’s wounds.

725 Penaunce. This Sacrament had been omitted from the corresponding passage in Elckerlijc and, as Cawley notes (p. 36), is oddly placed at the end here whereas traditionally it was third or fourth in the listing of Sacraments.

728 Fayne wolde I receyve that holy body. Everyman will receive only the bread, which in the rite is believed to have been transformed into the body of Christ; in Rom­an Catholic practice, the cup was reserved for the clergy until the Second Vat­ican Council.

737 With five wordes. The words of consecration in the Canon of the Mass are “Hoc est enim Corpus meum” (“This is my body”), derived from Luke 22:19.

740 byndeth and unbyndeth. The priest’s power to bind and loose sins. See explanatory note to line 487, above.

744 surgyon that cureth synne deedly. As mediators between God and penitents, priests function as physicians to cure the disease of deadly sin. See also explanatory note on lines 719–20, above.

747 God gave pryest that dygnyté. The power of the keys; see explanatory note to line 487, above.

749 above angelles in degré. Bevington (Tudor Drama and Politics, p. 36) cites Thomas à Kempis, Imitation of Christ 4.5: “Grand is this Mystery; great too is the dignity of the Priests, to whom has been granted that which is not permitted to Angels. For none but Priests duly ordained in the Church, have power to celebrate this Sac­rament, and to consecrate the Body of Christ.” Thomas likewise sees priests above the angels (ibid., 4.11), an idea that also may be found in a quotation attrib­uted to St. John Chrysostom in a sermon in British Library MS Royal 18.B.xxiii (Middle English Sermons, ed. Ross): “This office of presthod ther myght never pure man ordeyn, nothur aungell, nothur archaungell. . . . And so perfite [God] mad presthode that never non aungell atteyned to so high perfite an office” (p. 280).

750-63 This criticism of unworthy priests also appeared in Elckerlijc, and represents a common complaint of the time which after 1517 led to the Protestant Reforma­tion’s condemnation of indulgences and sacerdotal celibacy. Disapproval of the sale of indulgences, simony, and sexual abuses was not a preserve of Protes­tantism, however, since such behavior was at that time found at the highest levels of the hierarchy.

753 same Sacrament. Cawley (p. 36) supposes an error, since Elckerlijc has “Sacra­menten seven.” In their edition of Everyman, Conley et al. emend the text to “seven sacramentes.” Cooper and Wortham point out, however, that “same Sac­rament” is credible as the “one great Sacrament, the institution of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ,” from which “the seven individual sac­raments ensued” (Summoning of Everyman, p. 48).

755-57 Saynt Peter the apostle . . . do bye or sell. Denunciation of simony. See Acts 8:18–24.

767 shepe . . . shepeherdes. Conventional metaphor for clergy and laypeople; see John 10:1–28.

770 satysfaccyon. See explanatory notes to lines 561 and 569, above. Everyman has now completed his penance, which began with contrition.

778 Rodde. Persons about to expire were advised to keep focused on a Crucifix (Rood), according to treatises on dying. However, Wood, “Elckerlijc–Everyman,” p. 279, suggested that a pilgrim’s staff (rod) might be meant, though he notes that Humulus, a Latin translation of the play, offered the word crucem.

787 Judas Machabé. Judas Maccabeus, one of the Nine Worthies, recognized as pow­erful men in history. Conley, “Reference to Judas Maccabeus,” however, points to the Nine Worthies as symbols of the vanity of the world — and hence the reference to this figure is appropriate for Strength, who in spite of his protests will desert Everyman only a few lines later. The author of Everyman has added the name here for the sake of rhyme.

793 turne to erth. In addition to the Ash Wednesday liturgy (“Remember, man, that you are earth and to earth you shall return”), see also the popular poem Erthe upon Erthe (ed. Murray). A version of this poem appeared in a wall painting at Statford-upon-Avon in conjunction with a representation of the Dance of Death; see Davidson, Guild Chapel Wall Paintings at Stratford-upon-Avon, pp. 30, 48–49, fig. 14.

801 I take my tappe in my lap. Bevington, Medieval Drama, p. 960, glosses: “I’ll gather up my spinning and be on my way.” In addition to flax on a distaff, the word “tappe” may simply mean “a bundle of combed wool prepared for spinning” (OED). The reading cap of the Huth print seems to be an error. The reference to an apparent stage property in Everyman does not appear in Elckerlijc.

803 I loke not behynde me. The Dutch text literally reads “I polish my behind.” The meaning is that Beauty’s promise is retracted.

804 and thou wolde gyve me all the golde in thy chest. In iconography, the wealth of the dying man could be represented as a chest at the foot of his bed; see the Introduction, pp. 5–6, for reference to Hieronymus Bosch’s Death of the Miser. Hence this can be read as “If you give me all the gold that you have ac­cum­u­lated” — less extravagant than the Dutch play’s “all the world’s riches.” Logic­ally, of course, Beauty must be left behind at death, as also will be his Strength, Discretion, Five Wits, and, at the last, Knowledge, who is not able to pass into the grave with Everyman. See lines 862–63, for Knowledge’s promise not to leave Everyman until “I se where ye shall become” — i.e., if he successfully passes into the life after death.

817 Ye be olde ynough. Sarcasm.

828 She. Strength as a feminine personification is an oddity. A male is represented in the factotum woodcut in the Huth edition (sig. A1v) showing the characters in the play. In the extant frag­ment The Pride of Life, Strength is presented as a knight who challenges Death.

843 whan Deth bloweth his blaste. The sound of the trumpet. This instrument is associated with Judgment, especially the Last Judgment, when angels were believed to be prepared to sound their trumpets. But there were variants of this iconography. Devils attempt to blow horns in the Doomsday wall painting at Stratford-upon-Avon; see Davidson, Guild Chapel Wall Paintings, fig. 17. In Con­ti­nental examples, Death also might be shown blowing a horn; see Briese­meister, Bilder des Todes, figs. 1, 3, 32, 34, 38.

850 and there an ende. Proverbial; see Dent, E113.1.

852 I wyll byde wyth thee. Good Deeds will prove to be the only friend to abide with Everyman unto his judgment before the high seat of Heaven, even though he had loved all the others (as listed in lines 871–72) better.

863 Tyll I se where ye shall become. See explanatory note to line 804, above.

867 all ye that this do here or se. Hearing and seeing imply actual stage production, but this line is directly translated from Elkerlijc and hence cannot be cited as proof with regard to the English play. Everyman’s admonition to the audience seems modeled on the O vos omnes tradition of Christ’s speech to bystanders from the Cross; for an example, see Browne, Religious Lyrics of the Fifteenth Cen­tury, pp. 151–56. See also the discussion in Woolf, English Religious Lyric in the Middle Ages, pp. 40–45.

870 All erthly thynge is but vanyté. See Ecclesiastes 12:8: “all things are vanity.”

875 stande by me thou moder and mayde, holy Mary. See note to lines 597–98, above. According to the doctrine of her perpetual virginity, Mary is a maid, or virgin, though she is married to Joseph, conventionally depicted as an old (and im­po­tent) man. See the antiphon Alma redemptoris mater, the song of the “litel cler­geon” in the Prologue to Chaucer’s Prioress’ Tale: “You who, while nature won­dered, gave birth to your own sacred Creator and yet remained a virgin after­ward as before” (text, translation, and transcription of the Sarum rite music in Davidson, Substance and Manner, p. 22).

876 I wyll speke for thee. Good deeds, especially the Corporal Acts of Mercy, are the distinguishing factor at the judgment of the individual by God. Depictions of the Last Judgment occasionally included the traditional iconographic motif of the weighing of souls on a set of scales, sometimes with the Virgin Mary helping to tip the scales to the person’s benefit by placing a rosary on it to counteract his or her bad deeds. See Perry, “On the Psychostasis in Christian Art — II,” p. 215.

880 Into thy handes, Lord, my soule I commende. In imitation of Jesus, echoing his dying words on the Cross, according to Luke 23:46. The Latin text is recited in lines 886–87 as Everyman is about to enter the grave with Good Deeds. For a similar case of a dying man speaking the Latin text, see The Rohan Master: A Book of Hours, pl. 63. Rastall, “Music and Liturgy in Everyman,” p. 308, points out that “these words belong to the additional verses said following the office of Extreme Unction.” They are also recommended in the ars moriendi texts; see Beaty, Craft of Dying, p. 21.

885 saved at the Dome. Everyman’s soul is now directly facing the particular Judgment, to be followed at the end of history by the general Judgment when all must ap­pear before God to be dispersed to Heaven or to Hell.

891 I here angelles synge. Veni electa mea and Veni de libano sponsa mea are perhaps the best candidates for the item to be sung here since these are the alternatives suggested by line 894; other possibilities are listed by Rastall, “Music and Liturgy in Everyman,” p. 309. Veni electa mea was used in the York Assumption play, and, since it alludes to the Song of Songs, this is one of the available items appro­priate for “the soul’s mystical mar­riage to Christ,” as Cowling suggests (“Angels’ Song in Everyman,” p. 302).

894 Cume, excellent electe spouse. See explanatory note to line 891, above, and compare the Angel’s speech in Elckerlijc.

895 Here above. Further verification that the location for Heaven was to be thought of as raised above the playing area.

897 Now thy soule is taken thy body fro. If the body has entered into the grave, how the soul is subsequently to appear to be separated from the body is unclear. In the visual arts, the soul is often a small doll-like figure that is taken from the dying man’s mouth at his last breath. In the Carthusian Miscellany (British Library MS 37,049, fol. 29), for example, the soul of the dying man is saved by an angel, who rescues it from a waiting devil, who in turn expresses his anger at the loss in the accompanying text. For a brief discussion of the iconography, see Rogers, “Par­ticular Judgement,” pp. 125–27.

899 Now shalt thou into the hevenly spere. The text in the Carthusian Miscellany that accompanies the angel’s rescue promises the dying man that he will “bere thi saule to blis on hye” (British Library MS 37,049, fol. 29r).

901 Day of Dome. Last Judgment, at the end of history. Following this line, Rastall, “Music and Liturgy in Everyman,” p. 311, suggests music as the angel takes Ever­y­man’s soul up to Heaven, probably in a napkin as in a conventional iconog­raphy (e.g., in a tomb sculpture at Ely Cathedral or, for a Continental example, on an altarpiece attributed to Simon Marmion, both illustrated in Boase, Death in the Middle Ages, figs. 29, 31).

902 DOCTOR. In Everyman, the epilogue is assigned to the Doctor (of theology or philosophy), who speaks of the play as a “memoryall” (but called a “morall” only in the Huntington print). The object has been to construct a drama that will call to mind the existential realities of life lived between deadly sin (Pride, which in some sense encompasses all the Seven Deadly Sins) and the necessity for chari­table works (Good Deeds), which are one’s only true friends.

912 after deth amendes may no man make. The time of mercy is past, as line 913 indi­cates.

915 Ite maledicti in ignem eternum. “Go, wicked ones, into the eternal fire”; see Matthew 25:41, Jesus’ condemnation of those who have failed to do the Corporal Acts of Mercy and who hence will be consigned to Hell. Compare Matthew 25:30, which similarly damns the “unprofitable servant” in the parable of the talents to “the exterior darkness” where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

917 Hye in Heven he shall be crounde. In Heaven the souls of the righteous will receive crowns.

919 body and soule togyther. For the resurrection of the body, see the Nicene Creed.

922 Amen. Rastall, “Music and Liturgy in Everyman,” p. 311, suggests the possibility of the audience joining the cast in saying “Amen” at the end of the play. In the Dutch text, it will be noted, “Amen” preceded the Epilogue.

EVERYMAN: TEXTUAL NOTES


Only the principal variants from the copytext (Huth 32) are given here. Complete biblio­graphic information for the editions cited in the list of abbreviations below appears in the Select Bibliography.

Abbreviations: BL: British Library C.21.c.17; Cawley: Everyman, ed. Cawley (rpt. 1977); Douce: Douce Fragment, Bodleian Library; Hunt: Huntington Library copy; Huth: British Library, Huth 32.

14 thy soule. So Huth. Hunt: the soule.

29 lawe. So Huth, Hunt. Cawley: love.

30 so. So Huth. Hunt omits.

31 cannot. So Hunt. Huth: caunot.

41 not. So Huth. Hunt: nothynge.

73 cruelly. So Hunt. Huth: truely.

77 depart. So Huth. Hunt: to departe.

109 spente. So Hunt. Huth: spede.

111 ado that thou. So Cawley. Huth: ado that we; Hunt: I do we.

113 rekenynge. So Hunt. Huth: rekenyuge.

119 whan. So Hunt. Huth: what.

129 All. So Huth. Hunt: But.

135 twelve. Huth, Hunt: .xii.

141 thee. Huth: the; Hunt: that.

168 Everyman. So Hunt. Huth: Euenyman.
       mad, that. So Huth. Hunt: made thou.

180 out of. So Huth. Hunt: out of thy.

205 good felawshyp. So Hunt. Huth: god felawshyp.

248 dutye. Huth: duyte; Hunt: duty.

252 here as. So Huth. Hunt: here as well as.

260 agayne cume. So Cawley. Huth: cume agayne; Hunt: come agayne.

278 to folye wyll. So Huth. Hunt: wyll.

300 omit FELLOWSHIP (misplaced in Huth).

301 FELLOWSHIP. So Hunt. Huth: EVERYMAN.
       endynge. So Cawley. Huth, Hunt: ende.

303 EVERYMAN. So Hunt. Huth omits.

317 them. So Cawley. Huth, Hunt, BL: them go.

327 Gramercy. So Hunt, BL. Huth: Geamercy.

365 Now. So Hunt. BL: Nowe; Huth: Nw.

375 my owne. So Huth. Hunt: myne owne; BL: myne owne lyfe.

390 It. So Huth, BL. Hunt: He.

401 trouble. So Huth. Hunt, BL: sorowe.

406 gyve. So Hunt, BL. Huth: gyne.

415 vyages. Greg notes possibly vyages longe.

432 of. So Hunt. Huth: for; BL: for the love of.

436 my spendynge. So Huth, Hunt. BL: myspending.

442 condycyon. So Hunt. BL: condition; Huth: condycyons.

455 gladde. So Huth, Hunt. BL: right gladde.

457 longe. So Hunt. Huth omits.

475 into. So Hunt, BL. Huth: in.

489 feare. So Huth. Hunt: fere; BL: great feare.

504 Beholde. So Huth. Hunt, BL: Ase.

527 she. Huth, Hunt, BL: he.

530 at. So Hunt, BL. Huth: at the.

538 you. So Hunt, BL. Huth: yon.
       instructe me by intelleccyon. So Huth. Hunt: gyve me cognycyon; BL: gyve me cog­nisyon.

539 man. So Hunt, BL. Huth: vertue.

549 Repent . . . full. So BL. Hunt: Redempte . . . full; Huth: Redempe . . . full of.

565 scape that paynful. So Huth, Hunt. BL: passe thy.

566 Knowlege, kepe hym. So Hunt, BL. Huth: Knowlege hym and kepe hym.

568 sure. So Huth. Hunt, BL: seker.

580 clerely. So Hunt, BL. Huth: crelery.

594 of thy benygnyté. So Huth. Hunt, BL: in this hevy lyfe.
       unworthy. So Hunt, BL. Omit Huth.

602 partetaker. So Huth. Hunt: partynere; BL: partinere.

603 meanes. So Hunt. Huth, BL: meane.

606 gyve acqueyntaunce. So Hunt. Huth: gyve a quytaunce. BL: have aquaintaunce.

610 And. So Hunt. BL: Nowe; Huth: Thus.

615 the. So Hunt, BL. Huth omits.

616 and. So Huth. Hunt, BL: of.

618 Hell and from the. So Huth. Hunt: purgatory and that sharpe; BL: purgatory that sharpe.

622 good. So Hunt, BL. Huth: god.

624 do come. So Huth. Hunt: cometh now; BL: commeth nowe.

640 Lest . . . it be unswete. So Huth. Hunt: Or elles . . . you may it mysse; BL: Or els . . . ye may it misse.

656 KNOWLEDGE. So Cawley. Huth, Hunt: KINDRED; BL: KINDREDE.

666 KNOWLEDGE. So Cawley. Huth, Hunt: KINDRED; BL: KINDREDE.

670 redy. So Huth, BL. Hunt: all redy.

692 vertuous. So Hunt, BL, Douce. Huth: vertues.

702 In quyet. So Huth. Hunt: In queth; BL, Douce: I it bequethe.

716 benygne. So Hunt, Douce. BL: benigne; Huth: benynge.

717 he cure. So Huth. Hunt: the cure; BL, Douce: cure.

726 seven. Huth, Hunt, BL, Douce: .vii.

732 good Pryesthod. So Huth. Hunt, BL, Douce: preesthode.

737 five. Huth, Hunt, BL, Douce: .v.

738 make. So Huth, Hunt. BL, Douce: take.

746 all onely. So Huth, Hunt. BL, Douce: alone on.

770 satysfaccyon. So Hunt. BL: satisfaction; Huth: satysfaccoon.

774 than. So Hunt. Huth: thou. BL omits.

782 gone. So Huth, BL, Douce. Hunt: done.

786 STRENGTH. So BL. Huth, Hunt, Douce omit.

793 to erth. So Hunt. Huth: to the erth; BL, Douce: to the erthe.

801 tappe. So Hunt, BL. Huth: cap.

806 goeth . . . and from me. So Huth. Hunt: gothe . . . fro me; Douce: gothe . . . and hye; BL: dothe . . . hye.

827 He that. So Huth, Hunt, Douce. BL: But I se well he that.

828 She hym deceyveth. So Huth, Hunt, Douce. BL: Is greatly disceyved.

829 Both . . . forsaketh me. So Huth, Douce. Hunt: Bothe . . . forsaketh me; BL: For . . . hath forsaken me.

830 fayre and lovyngly. So Huth, Hunt, Douce. BL: stedfast to be.

838 ones pyteously. So Huth, Hunt. Douce: ones petyously; BL: and thou shalt se.

854 good. So Hunt, BL, Douce. Huth: god.

855 Dedes. So Hunt, BL, Douce. Huth: Dede.

870 erthly. Hunt, Douce. Huth: ertly; BL: erthely.

885 Dome. So Huth, Douce. Hunt, BL: Day of Dome.

902 memoryall. So Huth, BL, Douce. Hunt: morall.

914 rekenynge. So Hunt, Douce. BL: rekening; Huth: rekenyuge.

915 eternum. So Hunt, BL, Douce. Huth: eternam.

921 Say ye. So Huth. Hunt, BL, Douce: Amen saye ye.

922 Amen. So Huth. Hunt, BL, Douce: Finis.
 
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875
Den Spyeghel der Salicheyt van Elckerlijc

Hoe dat elckerlijc mensche wert ghedaecht Gode rekeninghe te doen.

Hier beghint een schoon boecxken, ghemaect in den maniere van
eenen speele ofte esbatemente op elcker­lijc mensche.








. . .













      Ende inden eersten spreekt God Almachtich aldus:

GOD Ick sie boven uut mijnen throne
Dat al dat is int smenschen persone
Leeft uut vresen, onbekent.
Oec sie ic tvolc also verblent
In sonden, si en kennen mi niet voer God.
Opten aertschen scat sijn si versot,
Dien hebben si voer Gode vercoren,
Ende mi vergheten, die hier te voren
Die doot heb geleden doer tsmenschen profijt.
Och Hovaerdie, die Ghiericheyt ende Nijt,
Metten vij Dootsonden vermoghen,
Hoe sidi ter werelt nu voert ghetoghen.
Want mits der vij Dootsonden gemeen
Es op ghedaen; des ick in ween
Ben seker met alder hemelscher scaren.
Dye vij Duechden, dye machtich waren,
Sijn alle verdreven ende verjaecht,
Want donnosel heeft mij seer gheclaecht.
Elckerlijc leeft nu buyten sorghen;
Nochtan en weten si ghenen morghen.
Ick sie wel hoe ic tvolc meer spare,
Hoet meer arghert van jare te jare.
Al dat op wast arghert voert.
Daer om wil ic nu, als behoert,
Rekenninghe van Elckerlijc ontfaen.
Want liet ic dye werelt dus langhe staen
In desen leven, in deser tempeesten,
Tvolc souden werden argher dan beesten
Ende souden noch deen den anderen eten.
Mijn puer ghelove is al vergheten,
Dat ic hem selven gheboot te houden,
Het cranct, het dwijnt, het staet te couden;
Daer ic so minlijc om sterf die doot,
Ontsculdich, sonder bedwanc oft noot,
Om dat ick hoepte, dat si bi desen
Mijnder eewigher glorien ghebrukich souden wesen,
Daer icse seer toe hadde vercoren.
Nu vinde ick dattet als is verloren
Dat icse so costelic hadde ghemeent.
Hoe menich goet ic hem vry heb verleent
Uut mijnder ontfermherticheydens tresoor
Dat hem recht toe hoort. Nochtans sijnse soe door,
Ende verblent int aertsche goet,
Als dat justicie wercken moet
Aen Elckerlijc, die leeft so onvervaert.
Waer sidi, mijn Doot, die niemant en spaert?
Coemt hier! Hoort wat ic u sal vermonden.

DIE DOOT Tuwen beveele in allen stonden,
Almachtich God! Segt u beheet.

        God Spreect

GOD Gaet hene tot Elckerlijc ghereet,
Ende segt hem van mijnen twegen saen
Dat hi een pelgrimagie moet gaen
Die niemant ter werelt en mach verbi,
Ende dat hi rekeninghe come doen mi
Sonder vertrec: dats mijn ghebot.

DIE DOOT Het wert ghedaen, almachtich God.
Ick wil ter werelt gaen regneren;
Oeck sal ic rasschelijc, sonder cesseren,
Tot Elckerlijc gaen. Hi leeft so beestelic
Buten Gods vreese ende alte vleeslick.
Voer God aenbidt hi deertsche goet,
[Daer hy deeuwighe vreughde om derven moet]
Daer wilic tot hem gaen met snellen keere.
Hi coemt hier gaende. Help, God Heere.
Hoe luttel vermoet hi op mijn comen!
Ay, Elckerlijc, u wert saen benomen
Dat ghi houden waent seer vast.
Ghi sult staen tot swaren last
Voor Gode almachtich ende buten seghe.
Elckerlijc, waer sidi op weghe
Dus moey? Hebdi al Gods vergheten?

ELCKERLIJC Waerbi vraechdijs?

DIE DOOT                     Dit suldi wel weten,
Wilt na mi hooren te desen stonden.
Naerstich bin ic aen u ghesonden
Van Gode uut des Hemels pleyn.

ELCKERLIJC Aen mij ghesonden?

DIE DOOT                      Jae ick, certeyn!
Al hebdi sijns vergheten, alst blijct,
Hi peynst wel om u in sijn rijck,
Alsoe ick u sal voer oghen legghen.

ELCKERLIJC Wat begheert God van my?

DIE DOOT                      Dat sal ick di segghen:
Rekenninghe wilt hi van u ontfaen
Sonder eenich verdrach.

ELCKERLIJC                      Hoe sal ic dat verstaen?
Rekeninghe? wat salt bedieden?

DIE DOOT Al ghevet u vreemt, het moet ghescieden.
Oec moetti aen nemen sonder verdrach
Een pelgrimagie, die niemant en mach
Weder keeren in gheender manieren.
Brengt u ghescriften ende u pampieren
Met u, ende oversietse bedachtich,
Want ghi moet voer God Almachtich
Rekeninghe doen, des seker sijt,
Ende hoe ghi bestaet hebt uwen tijt,
Van uwen wercken, goet ende quaet.
Oeck en hoort hier gheen verlaet
Van dien. Als nu het moet gheschien.

ELCKERLIJC Daer op ben ic nu al qualic versien
Rekeninghe te doen, voer Gode bloot.
Wie bistu bode?

DIE DOOT                      Ick ben die Doot die niemand en spaert,
Maer Elckerlijck sal, bi
Gods beveele, doen rekeninghe mi.

ELCKERLIJC Och Doot, sidi mi soe bi,
Als icker alder minst op moede.
Doot, wildi van mi hebben goede?
Duysent pont sal ic u gheven,
Op dat ic behouden mach mijn leven
Ende doet mi een verdrach van desen.

DIE DOOT Elckerlijc, dat en mach niet wesen.
Ick en aensie goet, schat, noch have.
Paeus, hertoghe, coninc, noch grave
En spare ic niet nae Gods ghebieden.
Waer ic met schatte te verleeden,
Ick creghe wel alder werelt goet.
Nu houtet al met mi den voet,
Oec en gheve ic uutstel noch verdrach.

ELCKERLIJC Allendich, arm katijf, O wach!
Nu en weet ick mijns selfs ghenen raet
Van rekeninghe te doen: mijn pampier
Es so verwerret ende so beslet
Ic en sier gheen mouwen toe gheset.
So is mijn herte om desen in vaer.
Och mocht ic noch leven xij jaer,
So soudic mijn ghescrifte exponeren
Ende oversien. Wilt doch cesseren
Als nu, lieve Doot, van wraken,
Tot dat ic versien bin op die saken.
Dat bid ic u doer Gods ontfermen.

DIE DOOT U en mach baten smeken oft kermen.
Dus siet wat u staet te beghinnen.

ELCKERLIJC Lieve Doot, een sake doet mi bekennen:
Al yst dat ic dese vaert moet aengaen,
Soudic niet moghen wederkeeren saen,
Als ic mijn rekeninghe hadde ghestelt?

DIE DOOT Neen ghi, nemmermeer!

ELCKERLIJC                      Almoghende Gods ghewelt,
Wilt mijns ontfermen in deser noot!
En soudic niemant, cleyn noch groot,
Daer moghen leyden, had ict te doene?
DIE DOOT Jae ghi, waer yemant so koene
Dat hi die vaert met u bestonde.
Spoet u, want God, die alle gronde
Doersiet met sinen godliken oghen,
Begheert dat ghi voer hem coemt toghen
U rekenninghe van dat ghi hebt bedreven.
Wat meendi, dat u hier is ghegheven
Tleven op daerde ende tijtlijc goet?

ELCKERLIJC Ay lazen, dat waendick!

DIE DOOT                      Hoe sidi aldus onvroet,
Elckerlijc, daer ghi hebt vijf sinnen,
Dat ghi soe onsuver sijt van sinnen
Ende ic so haestelijc come onversien.

ELCKERLIJC Allendich katijf, waer sal ic vlien,
Dat ic af quame deser groter sorghen?
Lieve Doot, verdraghet mi tot morghen,
Dat ic mi bespreken mach van desen.

DIE DOOTDat en wil ic niet consenteren in desen,
Noch en doe icx niet in gheender tijt.
Ick slae den sulcken ter stont int crijt,
Sonder voer raet, met eenen slach.
Aldus bereyt u in desen dach.
Ick wil uut uwen oghen vertrecken.
Siet dat ghi u naerstelic gaet betrecken
Te segghen: “Nu coemt den dach
Die Elckerlijc niet voer bi en mach.”

ELCKERLIJC Ay, Elckerlijc, wat dede ic ye gheboren?
Ick sie mijn leven al verloren,
Nu ic doen moet dese langhe vaert,
Daer ic so qualic teghen ben bewaert
Ic en hebbe noyt goet bedreven,
Aldus heb ic seer luttel ghescreven.
Hoe sal ic mi excuseren int claer?
Ey lacen, ic woude dat ic nu niet en waer:
Dat waer mijnder sielen groot toeverlaet.
Waer mach ic nu soecken troost of raet?
God die Heere, die alle dinc voersiet,
Dat ic veel claghe, ten helpt niet.
Den tijt gaet verre, tes nae noene.
Ay lasen, wat staet mi nu te doene?
Wien mocht ic claghen dese sake?
Laet sien, oft ic mijn Gheselscap sprake
Ende leyde hem te voren om mede te trecken,
Soudt hijt mi ontseggen? Neen hi, ick wane:
Wi hebben ter werelt in onsen daghen
So groten vrientscap tsamen gedraghen;
Want ic betrou hem alder duecht.
Ick sien, des bin ic rechts verhuecht.
Oec wil ic hem toe spreken sonder verdrach.
Goeden dach, Gheselscap!

GHESELSCAP                      Elckerlijc, goeden dach
Moet u Gode gheven ende ghesonde!
Hoe siedi dus deerlic doet mi orconde:
Hebdi yet sonderlings dat u let?

ELCKERLIJC Jae ick, Gheselscap.

GHESELSCAP                      Achermen, hoe sidi dus ontset?
Lieve Elckerlijc, ontdect mi uwen noot.
Ic blive u bi tot in die doot,
Op goet gheselscap ende trou ghesworen.

ELCKERLIJC Ghi segt wel, Gheselscap, want tes verloren!

GHESELSCAP Ick moet al weten u druc, u lijden:
Een mensche mocht druc uut u snijden.
Waer u mesdaen, ic helpt u wreken,
Al soudicker bliven doot ghesteken
Ende ict wiste te voren claer.

ELCKERLIJC Danc hebt, Gheselscap.

GHESELSCAP                      Ghenen danck een haer.
Daer by segt mi u doghen.

ELCKERLIJC Gheselle, oft ick u leyde voer oghen
Ende u dien last viel te swaer,
Dan soude ic mi meer bedroeven daer.
Maer ghi segt wel; God moets u lonen.

GHESELSCAP Way, ic meynet, al sonder honen.

ELCKERLIJC Ghi segt wel, boven screve.
Ic en vant noyt anders aen u dan trouwe.

GHESELSCAP So en suldi oeck nemmermeer!

ELCKERLIJC                      God loons u ende ons Vrouwe.
Gheselle, ghi hebt mi wat verhaecht.

GHESELSCAP Elckerlijc, en sijt niet versaecht.
Ick gae met u, al waert in die Helle.

ELCKERLIJC Ghi spreect als een gheselle.
Ic sal u dancken, als ic best kan.

GHESELSCAP Daer en is gheen dancken aen.
Diet niet en dade in wercken aenschijn,
Hi en waer niet waert gheselle te sijn.
Daer om wilt mi uwen last ontdecken
Als ghetrouwe vrient.

ELCKERLIJC                      Ick salt u vertrecken
Hier nu seker, al sonder veysen.
Mi es bevolen dat ic moet reysen
Een grote vaert, hardt ende stranghe.
Oec moet ic rekeninge doen bi bedwange
Voer den hoochsten Coninc almachtich.
Nu bid ic u dat ghi zijt bedachtich
Mede te gaen, so ghi hebt beloeft.

GHESELSCAP Dats wel blikelijc:
Die ghelofte houdic van waerden.
Mer soudic sulcken reyse aenvaerden
Om beden wille, mi souts verdrieten.
Ic soude van deser gheruchte verscieten.
Mer doch willen wi dbeste doen
Ende ons beraden.

ELCKERLIJC                      Och hoort doch dit sermoen!
Seydi mi niet, had icx noot,
Mede te gaen tot inder hellen doot,
Oft in die Helle, had ict begaert?

GHESELSCAP Dat soudic seker, maer sulc ghevaert
Es uut ghesteken, plats metten ronsten.
Om waer te seggen: oft wi die vaert begonsten,
Wanneer souden wij weder comen na desen?

ELCKERLIJC Daer en is gheen weder keeren.

GHESELSCAP                      So en wil icker niet wesen.
Wie heeft u die bootscap ghebracht?

ELCKERLIJC Ay lazen, die Doot!

GHESELSCAP                      Help, heylighe Gods crachte,
Heeft die Doot gheweest die bode?
Om al dat leven macht van Gode
En ghinc icker niet, mocht icx voerbi.

ELCKERLIJC Ghi seydet mi nochtans toe.

GHESELSCAP                      Dat kenne ick vry.
Waert te drincken een goet ghelaghe,
Ick ghinc met u totten daghe,
Oft waert ter kermissen buten der stede,
Oft daer die schone vrouwen waren.

ELCKERLIJC                      Daer ghingdi wel mede.
Waert altoos met ghenuechten te gaen, soe waerdi bereet.

GHESELSCAP Hier en wil ic niet mede, God weet.
Maer woudi pelgrimagie gaen,
Oft woudi yemant doot slaen,
Ic hulpen ontslippen tot in die broock ende oec cloven ontween.

ELCKERLIJC Och dat is een sober bescheen!
Gheselle, ghi wilt anders dan ick alst noot is.
Gheselle, peyst om trouwe die groot is
Die wi deen den anderen over menich jaer
Beloeft hebben.

GHESELSCAP                      Trou hier, trou daer:
Ic en wilder niet aen. Daer mede gesloten.

ELCKERLIJC Noch bid ic, en hadt u niet verdroten,
Doet mi uut gheleye, maect mi moet,
Tot voer die poerte.

GHESELSCAP                      Tjacob! Ic en sal niet eenen voet!
Mer haddi ter werelt noch ghebleven,
Ick en hadde u nemmermeer begheven.
Nu moet u Ons Lieve Here gheleyden.
Ick wil van u scheyden.

ELCKERLIJC                      Es dat ghescheyden
Sonder omsien? Ay lazen, jaet!
Nu sien ic wel: tes cranc toeverlaet,
Tgheselscap, alst coemt ter noot.
Mer waer ic noch in weelden groot,
So soudtmen met mi lachen alteenen.
Mer lazen! Men wilt met mi niet weenen.
Men seit: “In voerspoet vintmen vrient,
Die ter noot niet zeer en dient.”
Een ander hem castie bi desen.
Waer wil ic nu troost soeckende wesen?
Ic weet wel: aen mijn Vrient ende Maghe.
Dien wil ic minen noot gaen claghen.
Al is mi mijn Gheselscap af ghegaen,
Si moeten mi doch ter noot bi staen.
Want men doet int ghemeen ghewach,
“Dattet bloet cruypet, daert niet wel gaen en mach.”
Ic salt besoecken, op dat ic leve.
Waer sidi, Vrienden ende Maghe?

MAGHE                      Hier zijn wi, neve,
Tuwen ghebode, stout ende koene.

NEVE Elckerlijc, hebdi ons te doene?
Dat segt ons vry.

MAGHE                      Ja, sonder verlaet.
Wi zijn tuwen besten, wat ghi bestaet.
Al woudi yemant doot slaen,
Wi helpen u daer toe.

NEVE                      Want het moet alsoe staen,
Salment maechscap te recht orboren.

ELCKERLIJC God die danc u, mijn vrienden vercoren.
Ick claghe u, met droevigher herten, mijn ghevaernis,
Dat ic ontboden bin, alsoot claer is,
Een verre pelgrimagie te gaen
Daer nemmermeer en is wederkeeren aen.
Daer moet ic rekeninge doen, die swaer is,
Voerden Heere, diet al openbaer is.

MAGHE Waer af moetti rekeninghe doen?

ELCKERLIJC Van mijnen wercken, om cort sermoen:
Hoe ic hier mijnen tijt heb versleten
Op aertrijc ende met sonden verbeten
Ende wat ic heb bedreven
Den tijt, gheleent ende niet ghegheven.
Hier wilt doch mede gaen, dat u die Almachtige God wil lonen,
Ende helpt mijn rekeninghe verschoonen.
So sal te minder werden mijn seer.

MAGHE Wat! daer mede te gaen?

NEVE                      Way, schillet niet meer?
Voerwaer, ick heb een ander ghepeyst.

MAGHE Ic valle op mijn achterhielen!

NEVE                      Ten docht niet gheveyst:
Ic seynder mijnre maerten bli ende vry.
Si gaet gaerne ter feesten.

MAGHE                      Ick segghe oeck alsoe
Ick soude verschieten int laetste.

ELCKERLIJC En wildi dan niet mede gaen?

NEVE                      En laet niet haesten, beste.
Ten is tot gheenre feesten te gaen,
Noch tot gheenre sollen!

ELCKERLIJC                      Nu, om een eynde te knopen,
Segt, wildi mede, sonder verlaet?

MAGHE Neve, ic neme uutstel, dach ende raet
Ende mijn ghenachte tot open tijde.

NEVE Wi willen ons verblasen.

ELCKERLIJC                      Hoe soude ick verbliden?
Wat schoonder woerden men mi biet,
Alst coemt ter noot, so eest al niet.
Ay lazen! Hoe ist hier ghevaren!

NEVE Elckerlijc, neve, God moet u bewaren.
Ic en wil niet mede, opt platte gheseyt.
Oec heb ic uutstaende te rekenen wat,
Daer bin ic noch qualic op versien.
Dus blive ic hier.

ELCKERLIJC                      Dat mach wel zijn.
Tfy, Elckerlijc, hebdi u verlaten
Op u Mage? Die hem so vroemlijc vermaten,
Laten u bliven in desen dangier.
Siet, oftmense jaechde van hier.
Ick sie: men spreect wel metten monde,
Buyten der daet, uut geveynsden gronde.
Dan seghen si: “Neve, ghebreect u yet,
Ic ben tuwen besten.” Tes seker nyet.
Ende des ghelijc seyt tGheselscap; doch
Tes al zoringhe ende bedroch.
Die wil, macher hem toe verlaten.
Waer mocht ic mi nu henen saten?
Hier is verloren langhe ghebleven.
Wat vrienden sullen mi nu troost geven?
Daer coemt mi wat nieus inne:
Ic heb aen mijn Goet geleyt grote minne.
Wilde mij dat helpen tot mijnen orboren,
So en had ict noch niet al verloren.
Ic heb op hem noch alle mijn troost.
O Heere, diet al sal doemen,
Wilt u gracie op mi ontsluyten.
Waer sidi, mijn Goet?

TGOET                      Ick legghe hier in muten
Versockelt, vermost, als ghi mi siet,
Vertast, vervuylt. Ic en kan mi niet
Verporren, also ic ben tsamen gesmoert.
Wat wildi mi hebben?

ELCKERLIJC                      Coemt rasch hier voert,
Lichtelic, Goet, ende laet u sien.
Ghi moet mi beraden.

TGOET                      Wat rade sal u van mi gheschien?
Hebdi ter werelt eenich letten,
Dat sal ic u beteren.

ELCKERLIJC                      Tes al een ander smette.
Ten is niet ter werelt, wilt mi verstaen.
Ick bin ontboden daer ic moet gaen
Een grote pelgrimagie, sonder verdrach.
Oec moet ic, dat is mij tswaerste gelach,
Rekeninghe doen voerden oversten Heere,
Om dwelc ic troost aen u begheere.
Mits dien dat ic in kintschen tijden
Hadde in u groot verblijden,
Ende dat mijnen troest al aen u stoet.
So bid ic u, mijn uutvercoren Goet,
Dat ghi met mi gaet sonder cesseren.
Want ghi mocht mi licht voer Gode pureren,
Want Tgoet kan suveren smetten claer.

TGOET Neen, Elckerlijc, ic mocht u letten daer.
Ic en volghe niemant tot sulcker reisen.
Ende al ghinghe ic mede, wilt peisen,
So soudi mijns te wors hebben grotelic,
Bi redenen ic salt u segghen blotelijc:
Ic heb zeer u pampier verweert.
Want al u sinnen hebdi verteert
Aen mi, dat mach u leet zijn.
Want u rekeninghe sal onghereet zijn
Voer God Almachtich, mits minen scouwen.

ELCKERLIJC Dat mach mi wel berouwen,
Als ict verantwoerden sal moeten strangelic.
Op, ga wi, mede!

TGOET                      Neen, ick bin onbrangelijc.
Aldus en volghe ic u niet een twint.

ELCKERLIJC Ay lazen! Ick heb u oeck ghemint
Mijn leefdaghe tot opten tijt van nu.

TGOET Dat es een eewige verdomenis voer u:
Mijn minne es contrarye des Hemels staten.
Maer haddi mi gemint bi maten
Ende van mi ghedeylt den armen,
So en dorfstu nu niet karmen,
Noch staen bedroeft, dat u nu swaer is.

ELCKERLIJC Ay lazen, God! Ic ken dat waer is.

TGOET Waendi dat ic u bin?

ELCKERLIJC                      Ick hadt ghemeent.

TGOET Swijcht! Ic en bin mer u gheleent
Van Gode; hy proeft, claer alst is voer oghen,
Hoe ghi sult in weelden poghen.
Die menighe blijft bi mi verloren,
Meer dan behouden, weet dat te voren.
Waendi dat ic u sal volgen, Elckerlijc,
Van deser werelt? Neen ic, sekerlijc!

ELCKERLIJC Dat waende ic claerlijc, om dat ic u oyt hadde so lief.

TGOET Daer om: tGoet kenne ic der sielen dief.
Als ghi nu van hier zijt, dat en mach niet lieghen:
Soe wil ic eenen anderen bedrieghen,
Ghelijc ic dede voer uwen tijt.

ELCKERLIJC Och valsche Goet, vermaledijt!
Hoe hebdi mi in u net bevaen,
Verrader Gods!

TGOET                      Ghi hebt dat al u selven ghedaen,
Dat mi lief es te deser tijt.
Ic moet daer om lachen!

ELCKERLIJC                      Sidi dies verblijt,
Om dat ghi mi van Gode hebt beroeft?
Hi is sot, die eenich goet gheloeft.
Dat mach ic, Elckerlijc, wel beclaghen.
En wildi dan niet mede?

TGOET                      Ey seker, neen ick!

ELCKERLIJC                                          Och, wien sal ict dan claghen
Mede te gaen in desen groten last?
Eerst had ic op mijn Gheselscap ghepast;
Die seydt mi schoen toe menichfout,
Mer achter na sloech hi mi niet hout.
Daer vandic dattet al was bedroch.
Doen ghinc ic tot minen Maghen noch;
Die seydent mi toe, claer als ghelas.
Ten eynde vandic als ghedwas.
Doen wert ic dencken op mijn Goet,
Daer ic aen leyde minen moet.
Dat en gaf mi troest noch raet
Dan dattet Goet in verdoemenis staet.
Dies ic mi selven wel mach bespuwen.
Tfy, Elckerlijc, u mach wel gruwen.
Hoe deerlic mach ic u versmaden!
Heere God, wie sal mi nu beraden,
Daer ic noch bi werde verhuecht?
Niemant bat dan mijn Duecht.
Maer lazen! Si is so teer van leden,
Ic meen, si niet connen en sou vander steden.
Och, en sal ic haer nyet toe dorren spreken?
Wil ic? Neen ick. Ick sal nochtan.
Tvare alst mach, ic moeter henen.
Waer sidi, mijn Duecht?

DUECHT                      Ick ligghe hier al verdwenen
Te bedde, vercrepelt ende al ontset.
Ick en kan gheroeren niet een let.
So hebdi mi ghevoecht met uwen misdaden.
Wat is u ghelieven?

ELCKERLIJC                      Ghi moet mi beraden,
Want icx noot heb, tot mijnder vromen.

DUECHT Elckerlijc, ic heb wel vernomen
Dat ghi ter rekeninghen sijt ghedaecht
Voer den oversten Heere.

ELCKERLIJC                      Och, dat si u gheclaecht.
Ic come u bidden uuttermaten
Dat ghi daer met mi gaet.

DUECHT                      Al mocht mi al die werelt baten,
Ick en konst niet alleen ghestaen.

ELCKERLIJC Ay lazen! Sidi so cranck?

DUECHT                      Dit hebdi mi al ghedaen.
Haddi mi volcomelijc ghevoecht,
Ic sou u rekeninghe, die nu onreyn is,
Gesuvert hebben, des u siel in weyn is.
Siet u ghescrifte ende uwe wercken,
Hoe dat si hier legghen.

ELCKERLIJC                      Gods cracht wil mi stercken!
Men siet hier een letter niet die reyn es.
Is dit al mijn ghescrifte?

DUECHT                      Seker ick meens.
Dat moechdi sien aen mijn ghesonde.

ELCKERLIJC Mijn waerde Duecht, uut goeden gronde,
Ic bid u troost mi tot mijnen orboren,
Oft ic bin eewelijc verloren.
Want Geselscap, Vrient, Maghe, ende Goet
Sijn mi af ghegaen, in rechter oetmoet:
Helpt mi mijn rekeninghe sluyten hier voer den hoochsten Heere.

DUECHT Elckerlijc, ghi deert mi seere.
Ick sou u helpen, waer icx machtich.

ELCKERLIJC Duecht, soudi mi wel beraden?

DUECHT                      Dies bin ick bedachtich,
Hoe wel ic niet en mach vander steden.
Noch heb ic een suster, die sal gaen mede.
Kennisse heetse, die u leyden sal
Ende wijsen hoemen u bereyden sal
Te trecken ter rekeninghe, die fel es.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, ick sal u bewaren.

ELCKERLIJC                      Ick waen, mi nu wel es.
Ick ben eens deels ghepayt van desen.
Gods lof moeter in gheeert wesen.

DUECHT Als si u gheleyt heeft sonder letten
Daer ghi u suveren sult van smetten,
Dan sal ic gesont werden ende comen u bij
Ende gaen ter rekeningen als Duecht mit di,
Om te helpen zommeren tot uwer vruecht
Voerden oversten Heere.

ELCKERLIJC                      Danck hebt, uutvercoren Duecht!
Ick bin ghetroost boven maten
Op u suete woerden.

KENNISSE                      Nu gaen wi ons saten
Tot Biechten. Si es een suver rivier,
Sy sal u pureren.

ELCKERLIJC                      Uut reyner bestier
So gaen wi tot daer. Ic bids u beyden:
Waer woent Biechte?

KENNISSE                      Int Huys der Salicheden.
Daer sullen wijse vinden, soudic meenen.

ELCKERLIJC Ons Here God wil ons gracie verleenen
Tot haer, die ons vertroosten moet.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, dit is Biechte; valt haer te voet.
Sy es voer Gode lief ende waert.

ELCKERLIJC O gloriose bloome, diet al verclaert
Ende doncker smetten doet vergaen,
Ick knyele voer u. Wilt mi dwaen
Van mijnen sonden. In u aenscouwen
Ick coem met Kennisse te mijnen behouwe,
Bedroeft van herten ende seer versaecht,
Want ic ben vander Doot ghedaecht
Te gaen een pelgrimagie, die groot is.
Oec moet ic rekening doen, die bloot is,
Voor hem, die doersiet gronde.
Nu bid ic, Biechte, moeder van ghesonde:
Verclaert mijn brieven, want Duecht seer onghesont is.

BIECHTE Elckerlijc, u lijden mi wel kont is.
Om dat ghi mit Kennisse tot mi sijt comen,
So sal ic u troesten tuwer vromen.
Oec sal ic u gheven een juweelken rene,
Dat Penitencie heet alleene.
Daer suldi u lichaem mede termijnen
Met abstinencie ende met pijnen.
Hout daer, siet die gheesselen puere:
Dats Penitencie, strang ende suere.
Peyst dat Ons Here oeck was gheslaghen
Met geesselen, dat hi woude verdraghen
Recht voer sijn pelgrimagie stranghe.
Kennisse, hout hem in desen ganghe;
So sal sijn Duecht werden spoedich.
Ende emmer hoept aen Gode oetmoedich,
Want u tijt varinck eynden sal.
Bidt hem ghenade; dit suldi vinden al,
Ende orboert die harde knopen altijt.
Kennisse, siet dat ghi bi hem sijt
Als hi tot Penitencien keert.

KENNISSE Gaerne, Biechte.

ELCKERLIJC                      God si hier in Gheeert!
Nu wil ic mijn penitencie beghinnen,
Want dlicht heeft mi verlicht van binnen,
Al sijn dese knopen strenghe ende hardt.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, hoe suer dat u wert,
Siet dat ghi u penitencie volstaet.
Ick, Kennisse, sal u gheven raet,
Dat ghi u rekeninghe sult tonen bloot.

ELCKERLIJC O levende Leven! O hemels Broot!
O Wech der waerheyt! O Godlic Wesen,
Die neder quam uut sijns Vaders schoot
In een suver Maecht gheresen,
Om dat ghi Elckerlijc wout ghenesen,
Die Adam onterfde bi Yeven rade.
O Heylighe Triniteyt uut ghelesen,
Wilt mi vergheven mijn mesdade,
Want ic begheer aen u ghenade.

O godlijc Tresoer! O coninclijc Saet!
O alder werelt Toeverlaet,
Specie der engelen sonder versaden,
Spiegel der vruecht daert al aen staet,
Wiens licht Hemel ende aerde beslaet,
Hoor mijn roepen, al yst te spade.
Mijn bede wilt inden troen ontfaen.
Al bin ic sondich, mesdadich ende quaet,
Scrijft mi int boeck des Hemels blade,
Want ic begheer aen u ghenade.

O Maria, moeder des hemels Almachtich,
Staet mi ter noot bi voordachtich
Dat mi die Viant niet en verlade.
Want nakende is mi die Doot crachtich.
Bidt voer mi dijnen Sone voerdachtich,
So dat ic mach gaen inden rechten pade
Daer die wegen niet en sijn onrachtich.
Maect mi uwes Kints rijc delachtich,
So dat ic in sijn Passie bade,
Want ic begheer aen u ghenade.

Kennisse, gheeft mi die gheselen bi vramen,
Die penitencie hieten bi namen.
Ic salt beghinnen, God geefs mi gracie.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, God gheve u spacie!
So ghevicx u inden naem ons Heeren,
Daer ghi ter rekeninghe moet keeren.

[ELCKERLIJC] Inden naem des Vaders ende des Soens, mede
Des Heylige Gheest, inder Drievuldichede,
Beghin ic mijn penitencie te doen.
Neemt, lichaem, voer dat ghie waert so scoen
Mij te bringhen inden wech der plaghen.
Daer om moetti nu sijn gheslagen.
Ghi hebbes wel verdient ghewarich.
Ay broeders, waer soe mochti
Door penitencie waen tseghen dat ghi u pelgrimaige moet gaen,
Die Elckerlijc moet nemen aen.

DUECHT God danc, ic beghin nu wel te gaen,
Want Elckerlijc heeft mi ghenesen.
Dies wil ic eewich bi hem wesen.
Oeck sal ic sijn weldaet clareren; dies wil ic bi hem gaen te tijde.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, sijt vro ende blijde:
U Weldaet coemt, nu sijt verhuecht!

ELCKERLIJC Wie maecht sijn, Kennisse?

KENNISSE                      Het is u Duecht,
Gans ende ghesont op die beene.

ELCKERLIJC Van blijscappen ic weene.
Nu wil ic meer slaen dan te voren.

DUECHT Elckerlijc, pelgrijm uutvercoren,
Ghebenedijt sidi, sone der victorien,
Want u is nakende dlicht der glorien.
Ghi hebt mi ghemaect al ghesont;
Des sal ic u bi bliven teewigher stont.
God sal dijnre ontfermen, hebt goet betrouwen.

ELCKERLIJC Welcoem, Duecht, mijn oghen douwen
In rechter oetmoedigher blijscap soet.

KENNISSE En slaet niet meer, hebt goeden moet:
God siet u leven inden throone.
Doet aen dit cleet tuwen loone.
Het is met uwen tranen bevloeyt,
Dus draechtet vrij, onghemoeyt;
Oft anders soudijt voor Gode gemissen.

ELCKERLIJC Hoe heet dit cleet?

KENNISSE                      Tcleet van Berouwenissen.
Het sal Gode alte wel behaghen.

DUECHT Elckerlijc, wilt dat cleet aendraghen,
Want Kennisse hevet u aenghedaen.

ELCKERLIJC Soe wil ic Berouwenisse ontfaen,
Om dat God dit cleet heeft so weert.
Nu willen wi gaen onverveert.
Duecht, hebdi ons rekeninghe claer?

DUECHT Jae ic, Elckerlijc.

ELCKERLIJC                      So en heb ic ghenen vaer.
Op vrienden, en wilt van mi niet sceyden.

KENNISSE Neen wi, Elckerlijc.

DUECHT                      Ghi moet noch met u leyden

Drie personen van groter macht.

ELCKERLIJC Wie souden si wesen?

DUECHT                      Wijsheyt ende u Cracht;
U Scoonheit en mach niet achter bliven.

KENNISSE Noch moetti hebben sonder becliven
U Vijf Sinnen als u beraders.

ELCKERLIJC Hoe soude icxse ghecrighen?

KENNISSE                      Roepse alle gader.
Si sullent hooren al sonder verdrach.

ELCKERLIJC Mijn vrienden, coemt alle op mijnen dach:
Wijsheyt, Cracht, Scoonheyt, ende Vijf Sinnen!

CRACHT Hier sijn wi alle tot uwer minnen.
Wat wildi van ons hebben ghedaen?

DUECHT Dat ghi met Elckerlijc wilt gaen
Sijn pelgrimagie helpen volbringhen.
[Want hi gedaecht is ter rekeningen]
Voor Gode te comen onghelet.
Siet oft ghi mede wilt.

SCHOONHEYT                      Wie willen alle met,
Tsijnre hulpen ende tsijnen rade.

VROETSCAP Dat willen wi certeyn.

ELCKERLIJC                      O Almoghende God, ghenade!
U love ic dat ic dus heb ghebracht
Vroescap, Scoonheyt, Vijf Sinnen, ende Cracht,
Ende mijn Duecht met Kennisse claer.
Nu heb ic gheselscap te wille daer.
Ic en geerder niet meer te minen verdoene.

CRACHT Ick blive u bi, stout ende koene,
Al waert te gaen in eenen strijt.

VIJF SINNEN Ende ic, al waert die werelt wijt,
Ic en scheyde van u in gheenre noot.

SCHOONHEYT So en sal ic oeck tot in die doot,
Comer af datter afcomen mach!

VROETSCAP Elckerlijc, wes ic u doe ghewach:
Gaet voersienich ende al met staden.
Wi sullen u alle duecht raden
Ende sullen u helpen wel bestieren.

ELCKERLIJC Dit sijn vrienden die niet en faelgieren;
Dat lone hem God, die hemelsche Vader.
Nu hoort, mijn vrienden, alle gader:
Ick wil gaen stellen mijn testament
Voor u allen hier in present.
In caritaten ende in rechter oetmoede
Deel ic den armen van mijnen goede
Deen helft, ende dander helft daer nae
Ghevick daer si schuldich is te gaen.
Dit te doen ic den Viant nu te schanden,
Om los te gaen uut sinen handen,
Nae mijn leven in desen daghe.

KENNISSE Elckerlijc, hoort wat ick ghewaghe:
Gaet totten priesterliken staet
Ende siet dat ghi van hem ontfaet
Tsacrament ende Olijs mede.
Dan keert hier weder tot deser stede.
Wi sullen alle nae u verbeyden.

VIJF SINNEN Jae, Elckerlijc, gaet u bereyden.
Ten is keyser, coninc, hertoghe, of grave
Die van Gode hebben alsulcken gave,
Als die minste priester doet alleene.
Van alden sacramenten reene
Draecht hi den slotel, al doer bereyt
Tot des menschen salicheyt,
Die ons God teender medecijne
Gaf uuter herten sijne,
Hier in desen aertschen leven.
Die Heylighe Sacramenten seven:
Doopsel, Vormsel, Priesterscap goet,
Ende tSacrament, God vleesch ende bloet,
Huwelic ende tHeylich Olyzel met,
Dit zijn die seven onbesmet:
Sacramenten van groter waerden.

ELCKERLIJC Ic wil Gods lichaem minlic aenvaerden
Ende oetmoedelijc totten priester gaen.

VIJF SINNEN Elckerlijc, dat is wel ghedaen.
God laet u met salicheden volbringhen!
Die priester gaet boven alle dinghen:
Si zijn die ons die Scriftueren leeren
Ende den mensche van sonden keeren.
God heeft hem meer machts ghegheven
Dan den ynghelen int eewich leven.
Want elc priester kan maken claer,
Met vijf woerden opten outaer
Inder Missen (des zijt vroet),
Gods lichaem, warachtich vleesch ende bloet,
Ende handelt den Scepper tusscen zijn handen.
Die priester bint ende ontbint alle banden
Inden Hemel ende opter aerde.
Och edel priester van groter waerde,
Al custen wi u voetstappen, gi waret waert!
Wie van sonden troost begaert,
Die en connen vinden gheen toeverlaet
Dan aenden priesterliken staet.
Dit heeft die Heere den priester ghegheven,
Ende zijn in zijn stede hier ghebleven.
Dus zijn si boven die enghelen gheset.

KENNISSE Dats waer, diet wel hout onbesmet.
Mer doen hi hinc met groter smerten
Aent Cruce, daer gaf hij ons uut Zijnder herten
Die Seven Sacramenten met seere.
Hi en vercoft ons niet, die Heere!
Hier om dat Sinte Peter lijdt,
Dat si alle zijn vermaledijt
Die God copen oft vercopen
Ende daer af ghelt nemen met hoopen.
Si gheven den sondaer quaet exempel.
Haer kinder lopen inden tempel,
Ende som sitten si bi wiven
In onsuverheyt van liven.
Dese zijn emmers haers sins onvroet.

VIJF SINNEN Ic hope, of God wil, dat niemant en doet.
Daer om laet ons die priesters eeren
Ende volghen altijt haer leeren.
Wi zijn haer scapen ende si ons herden,
Daer wi alle in behoet werden.
Laet dit wesen niet meer vermaen.

DUECHT Elckerlijc coemt; hi heeft voldaen.
Dus laet ons zijn op ons hoede.

ELCKERLIJC Heer God, mi is so wel te moede
Dat ic van vruechden wene als een kint.
Ic hebbe ontfaen mijn Sacrament
Ende dat Olizel mede. Danc heb diet riet.
Nu, vrienden, sonder te letten yet,
Ick danck Gode dat ic u allen vant.
Slaet aen dit roeyken alle u hant
Ende volghet mi haestelic na desen.
Ick gae vore, daer ic wil wesen.
Ons Heere God, wil mi gheleyden!

CRACHT Elckerlijc, wi en willen van u niet sceyden,
Voer ghi ghedaen hebt dese vaert.

VROETSCAP Wi blivens u bi onghespaert,
Also wi gheloeft hebben oec langhe.

KENNISSE Och, dits een pelgrimagie seer strange,
Die Elckerlijc sal moeten gaen.

CRACHT Elckerlijc, siet hoe wi u bi staen:
Sterck, vroem, en hebt gheen vaer.

ELCKERLIJC Ay mi, die leden zijn mi so swaer
Dat si gaen beven voer den gru.
Lieve vrienden, wi en willen niet keeren nu.
Sal ic mijn pelgrimagie betalen,
So moet ic hier binnen dalen
In desen put ende werden aerde.

SCHOONHEYT Wat, in desen putte?

ELCKERLIJC                      Ja, van desen waerden
Soe moeten wi werden, clein ende groot.

SCHOONHEYT Wat, hier in versmoren?

ELCKERLIJC                      Ja, hier in versmoren ende bliven doot
Ter werelt, met levende wesen altijt
Voerden oversten Heere.

SCHOONHEYT                      Ick schelt u al quijt.
Adieu! Vaert wel! Ic schoer mijn scout; ick gae als de domme.

ELCKERLIJC Wat? Schoonheyt!

SCHOONHEYT                      Ic bin al dove; ic en saghe niet omme,
Al mocht mi baten alder werelt schat.

ELCKERLIJC Waer op wil ic mi verlaten?
Schoonheyt vliet, oftmense jaechde.
Nochtan te voren, doen ic haer vraechde,
Woude si met mi sterven ende leven.

CRACHT Elckerlijc, ic wil u oec begheven.
U spel en behaecht mi niet te deghe.

ELCKERLIJC Cracht, suldi mi oec ontgaen?

CRACHT                      Ja, ic wil seker weghe.
Daer mede ghesloten, een voer al.

ELCKERLIJC Lieve Cracht, ontbeyt noch.

CRACHT                      Bi Sinte Loy, ick en sal!
Waendi dat ic in dien put wil versmoren?

ELCKERLIJC Ende suldi mi dan ontgaen?

CRACHT                      Ja ick, tes al verloren,
Al soudi uwen navel uut crijten.

ELCKERLIJC Suldi aldus u ghelofte quijten?
Ghi soudt mi bi bliven, so ghi seyt.

CRACHT Ick heb u verre ghenoech gheleyt.
Oec sidi oudt ghenoech, ic waen,
U pelgrimagie alleen te gaen.
Mi es leet dat icker heden quam.

ELCKERLIJC Ay, lieve Cracht, ic make u gram?

CRACHT Tes al verloren. Rust u hoeft,
Ende gaet int doncker huys.

ELCKERLIJC                      Dit en had ic u niet gheloeft.
Wie wil hem verlaten op zijn cracht?
Si vliet, als mist doet uuter gracht.
Schoonheit is als wint die vlieghet!
Ay, getrouwe vrienden, dat ghi dus lieget,
Ghi seydet mi toe schoon ter kore.

VROETSCAP Elckerlijc, ic wil oeck gaen dore
Ende nemen uutstel van desen.
Waendi dat wi hier in willen wesen?
Hoet u van dien, ic wils mi wachten.

ELCKERLIJC O Vroetscap, Vroetscap!

VROETSCAP                      Ick en wil niet mede.
Tes verloren ghevroetscapt, claer.

ELCKERLIJC Lieve Vroescap, coemt doch soe nae,
Dat ghi hier binnen den gront aensiet.
Ick bidts u oetmoedelijc.

VROETSCAP                      Bi Sinte Loy, ick en doe des niet!
Mi rouwet dat icker ye quam so bi.

ELCKERLIJC Och, al mist, dat God niet en si.
Schoonheyt, Cracht, ende Vroescap groot,
Het vliet van Elckerlijc, als coemt de Doot.
Arm mensche, waer sal ic nu op lenen?

VIJF SINNEN Elckerlijc, ic wil oec henen
Ende volghen den anderen die u ontwerven.

ELCKERLIJC                      Och, lieve Vijf Sinnen!

VIJF SINNEN Ick en wil daer niet aen winnen.
Dat ghi veel roept, ten mach nyet baten.

ELCKERLIJC Och, suldi mi alle gader laten?

DUECHT Neen wi, Elckerlijc. Zijt ghestelt.

ELCKERLIJC Ay mi, mijn Vijf Sinnen!

VIJF SINNEN                      Roept al dat ghi wilt.
Ghi en sult ni niet meer van voor bekijken.

ELCKERLIJC Lieve Duecht, blijft ghi bi mi?

DUECHT                      Ick en sal u nemmermeer beswijken,
Om leven, om sterven, of om gheen torment.

ELCKERLIJC Hier zijn ghetrouwe vrienden bekent.
Alle die mi ontgaen ghemeene,
Die mindic meer dan mijn Duecht alleene.
Kennisse, suldi mi oec begheven?

KENNISSE Ja ic, Elckerlijc, als ghi eyndet u leven,
Mer seker niet eer, om gheen dangier.

ELCKERLIJC Danck hebt, Kennisse.

KENNISSE                      Ick en scheyde niet van hier
Voer dat ghi zijt daer ghi behoort.

ELCKERLIJC Mi dunckt, wacharmen, wij moeten voert,
Rekeninghe doen ende ghelden mijn scult.
Want mijn tijt is schier vervult.
Neemter exempel aen, diet hoort ende siet.
Ende merct hoet nu al van mi vliet:
Sonder mijn Duecht wil met mi varen.

DUECHT Alle aertsche dinghen zijn al niet.

ELCKERLIJC Duecht, merct hoet nu al van mi vliet.

DUECHT Schoonheyt, Cracht, Vroescap, dat hem liet,
Tgheselscap, die Vrienden ende Magen waren.

ELCKERLIJC Nu merct hoet nu al van mi vliet,
Sonder mijn Duecht, die wil mit mi varen.
Ghenade, Coninck der enghelen scharen,
Ghenade, Moeder Gods, staet mi bi.

DUECHT Ic sal mi puer voer Gode verclaren.

ELCKERLIJC Ghenade, Coninc der enghelen scharen!

DUECHT Cort ons die pine, sonder verswaren,
Maect ons deynde los ende vri.

ELCKERLIJC Ghenade, Coninck der enghelen scharen,
Ghenade, Moeder Gods, staet mi bi.
In uwen handen, Vader, hoe dat si,
Beveel ic u minen gheest in vreden.
Ick vare metter Duecht.

KENNISSE                      Hi heeft leden
Dat wij alle moeten gelden.
Die Duecht sal nu haer selven melden
Voer hem diet al ordelen sal.
Mi dunct ic hore der enghelen gheschal
Hier boven; den Hemel is seker ontdaen,
Daer Elckerlijc binnen sal zijn ontfaen.

                     Die Ynghel seyt:

Coemt uutvercoren bruyt,
Hier boven, ende hoort dat suete gheluyt
Der engelen mits uwe goede Virtuyt.
Die siele neem ick den lichaem uut:
Haer rekeninghe is puer ende reyne.
Nu voer icse in des Hemels pleyne,
Daer wi alle moeten ghemeene
In comen, groot ende cleene.
           Amen.

DIE NAEPROLOGHE

Neemt in dancke, cleyn ende groot,
Ende siet hoe Elckerlijc coemt ter Doot.
Gheselscap, Vrienden, ende Goet
Gaet Elckerlijc af; zijt des vroet.
Scoonheyt, Cracht, Vroescap, ende Vijf Sinnen,
Tes al verganclijc, zijt des te binnen.
Sonder die Duecht volcht voer al.
Mer als die Duecht is so smal
Dat si niet mede en mach oft en kan,
Arm Elckerlijc, hoe vaerdi dan
Ter rekeninghen voer onsen Heere?
Dan gadi van wee, van seere,
Want na die Doot eerst quaet te verhalen;
Daer en baet voerspraec noch tale.
Ay, Elckerlijc, hoe moechdi wesen
Hovaerdich, nidich!
                     Seer uut ghelesen,
Merct desen spieghel, hebten voer oghen
Ende wilt u van hovardien poghen
Ende oec van allen sonden met.
Nu laet ons bidden onghelet
Dat dit elck mensche moet vesten
Dat wi voer Gode suver comen ten lesten.
Des gonne ons die hemelsche Vader.
“Amen” segghet alle gader.
           God heb lof!










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920

The Somonyng of Everyman

Here begynneth a treatyse how the hye Fader of Heven sendeth
Dethe to somon every crea­ture to come and gyve a counte of theyr
lyves in this worlde, and is in maner of a morall playe.

MESSENGER I pray you all gyve your audyence
And here this matter with reverence,
By fygure a morall playe.
The Somonyng of Everyman called it is
That of our lyves and endynge shewes
How transytory we be all daye.
This matter is wonderous precyous,
But the intente of it is more gracyous
And swete to bere awaye.
This story sayeth: man in the begynnynge,
Loke well and take good hede to the endynge,
Be you never so gaye.
Ye thynke synne in the begynnynge full swete
Whiche in the ende causeth thy soule to wepe
Whan the body lyeth in claye.
Here shall you se how Felawshyp and Jolyté
Bothe, Strengthe, Pleasure, and Beauté,
Wyll vade from thee as floure in Maye,
For ye shall here how our Heven Kenge
Calleth Everyman to a generall rekenynge.
Gyve audyens and here what he wyll saye.

      God speketh [above]

GOD I perceyve here in my majestye
How that all creatures be to me unkynde,
Lyvynge without drede in worldely prosperytye;
Of ghostly syght the people be so blynde,
Drowned in synne, they know me not for ther God.
In worldely ryches is all theyr mynde;
They fere not my ryghtwysenes, that sharpe rod.
My lawe that I shewed whan I for them dyed
They forgot clene, and sheddynge of my blod so redde.
I hanged bytwene two theves, it cannot be denyed;
To get them lyfe I suffrede to be deed;
I heled theyr fete, with thornes hurt was my heed.
I coulde do no more than I dyde truely,
And now I se the people do clene forsake me.
They use the Seven Deedly Synnes dampnable,
As Pryde, Covetyse, Wrathe, and Lechery
Now in the worlde be made commendable,
And thus they leve of aungeles, the hevenly company.
Everyman lyveth so after his owne pleasure,
And yet of theyr lyfe they be not sure.
I se the more that I them forbere
The worse they are from yere to yere.
All that lyveth apperyth faste;
Therfore I wyll in all the haste
Have a rekenynge of every mannes persone.
For and I leve the people thus alone
In theyr lyfe and wycked tempestes,
Verely they wyll becume moche worse than bestes,
For now one wolde by envy another up ete;
Charytye they all do clene forgete.
I hoped well that Everyman
In my glorye shulde make his mansyon,
And therto I had them all electe.
But now I se that, lyke traytours dejecte,
They thanke me not for the pleasure that I to them ment,
Nor yet for theyr beynge that I them have lente.
I profered the people great multytude of mercy,
And fewe there be that asketh it hertely.
They be so cumbred with worldly ryches
That nedes on them I must do justyce
On every man lyvynge without feare.
Where art thou, Deth, thou myghty messengere?

        [Enter Death]

DEATH Almyghty God, I am here at your wyll
Your commaundemente to fulfyll.

GOD Go thou to Everyman
And shew hym in my name
A pylgrymage he must on hym take
Which he in no wyse may escape,
And that he brynge with hym a sure rekenynge
Without delay or ony taryenge.

DEATH Lorde, I wyll in the worlde go ren over all
And cruelly out serche bothe great and small.
Everyman I wyll beset that lyveth beestly
Out of Goddes lawes and dredeth not foly.
He that loveth ryches I wyll stryke with my darte
His syght to blynde, and from Heven depart,
Excepte that almes dedes be his good frende,
In Hell for to dwell, worlde without ende.

        [Enter Everyman]

Loo, yonder I se Everyman walkynge.
Full lytell he thynketh on my cummynge.
His mynde is on flesshely lustes and his treasure,
And great payne it shall cause hym to endure
Before the Lorde, Heven Kynge.
Everyman, stonde styll. Whether arte thou goynge
Thus gayly? Hast thou thy Maker forget?

EVERYMAN Why askest thou?
Woldest thou wete?

DEATH Ye, syr, I wyll shew you.
In great hast I am sende to thee
From God out of his majestyé.

EVERYMAN What, sende to me?

DEATH Ye, certaynly.
Though thou have forgete hym here,
He thynketh on thee in the hevenly spere
As or we departe thou shall knowe.

EVERYMAN What desyreth God of me?

DEATH That shall I shewe thee:
A rekenynge he wyll nedes have
Without lenger respyte.

EVERYMAN To gyve a rekenynge longer layser I crave.
This blynde mater trubleth my wytte.

DEATH On thee thou must take a longe journey.
Therfore thy boke of counte with thee thou brynge,
For turne agayne thou cannot by no waye;
And loke thou be sure of thy rekenynge,
For before God shalte thou answere and shewe
Thy many badde dedes and good but a fewe,
How thou hast spente thy lyfe and in what wyse,
Before the chefe Lorde of Paradyse.
Have ado that thou were in that waye,
For wete thou well thou shalte make none attournay.

EVERYMAN Full unredy I am suche rekenynge to gyve.
I knowe thee not; what messanger arte thou?

DEATH I am Dethe that no man dredeth,
For every man I rest and none spareth,
For it is Goddes commaundement
That all to me sholde be obedyent.

EVERYMAN O, Deth, thou cummest whan I had thee leest in mynde.
In thy power it lyeth me to save.
Yet of my good wyll I gyve thee yf ye wyll be kynde,
Ye, a thousande pounde shalte thou have,
And dyfferre this mater tyll another daye.

DEATH Everyman, it may not be by no waye.
I set not by golde, sylver, nor rychesse,
Ne by pope, emperoure, kynge, duke, ne prynces.
For and I wolde receyve geftes great
All the worlde I myght gete;
All my custome is clene contrary.
I gyve thee no respyte; come hens and not tary.

EVERYMAN Alas, shall I have no longer respyte?
I may saye Deth geveth no warnynge;
To thynke on thee it maketh my herte secke,
For all unredy is my boke of rekenynge.
But twelve yere and I myght have abydynge,
My countynge boke I wolde make so clere
That my rekenynge I sholde not nede to fere.
Wherfore, Deth, I praye thee for Goddes mercy,
Spare me tyll I be provyded of remedy.

DEATH Thee avayleth not to crye, wepe, and praye,
But hast thee lyghtly that thou were gone the journaye
And prove thy frendes yf thou can,
For wete you well the tyde abydeth no man,
And in the worlde eche lyvynge creature
For Adams synne must dye of nature.

EVERYMAN Deth, yf I sholde this pylgrymage take
And my rekenynge surely make,
Shewe me, for saynt charyté,
Sholde I not come agayne shortly?

DEATH No, Everyman, and thou be ones there,
Thou must nevermore come here,
Trust me veryly.

EVERYMAN Gracyous God in hye sete celestyall,
Have mercy on me in this moost nede.
Shall I have no company fro this vale terestyall
Of myne aqueyntaunce that waye me to lede?

DEATH Ye, yf ony be so hardy
That wolde go with thee and bere thee cumpany.
Hye thee that thou were gone to Goddes magnyfycens
Thy rekenynge to gyve before his presence.
What, wenest thou thy lyfe is gyven thee
And thy wordely gooddes also?

EVERYMAN I had wende so, verely.

DEATH Ney, nay, it was but lend thee,
For as sone as thou arte go
Another a whyle shall have it, and than go therfro
Even as thou hast done.
Everyman, thou arte mad, that hast thy wyttes fyve
And here on erth wyll not amende thy lyve,
For sodenly I do cume.

EVERYMAN Oo, wretched caytyfe, whether shall I flee
That I myght scape this endles sorow?
Now, gentyll Deth, spare me tyll tomorow
That I may amende me
With good advysemente.

DEATH Nay, therto I wyll not consent,
Nor no man wyll I respyte,
But to the harte sodenly I shall smyte
Without any advysement.
And now out of syght I wyll me hye;
Se thou make thee redy shortely,
For thou mayst saye, “This is the day
That no man lyvynge may scape awaye.”

        [Exit Death]

EVERYMAN Alas, I may well wepe with syghes depe.
Now have I no maner of cumpany
To helpe me in my journey, and me to kepe,
And also my wrytynge is full unredy.
How shall I do now, for to excuse me?
I wolde to God I had never be gete:
To my soule a great profyte it had be,
For now I fere paynes huge and great.
The tyme passeth. Lorde, helpe, that all wrought,
For though I mourne it avaleth nought.
The day passeth, and is almost ago:
I wot not well what to do.
To whome were I best my complante to make?
What and I to Felawshyp therof spake
And shewed hym of this sodayne chaunce,
For in hym is all myne affyaunce.
We have in the worlde so many a daye
Be good frendes in sporte and playe.

        [Enter Fellowship]

I se hym yonder cartaynely.
I truste that he wyll bere me cumpany;
Therfore to hym wyll I speke to ease my sorow.
Well met, good Felawshyp, and good morowe.

        Felawshyp speketh

FELLOWSHIP Everyman, good morowe, by this daye.
Syr, why lokest thou so pyteously?
If anythynge be amys, I pray thee me saye
That I may helpe to remedy.

EVERYMAN Ye, good Felawshyp, ye,
I am in greate jeopardé.

FELLOWSHIP My true frende, shew to me your mynde.
I wyll not forsake thee unto my lyves ende
In the way of good cumpany.

EVERYMAN That is well spoken and lovyngly.

FELLOWSHIP Syr, I must nedes know your hevynes.
I have pytye to se you in any destresse.
If any have you wronged, ye shall revenged be,
Though I on the grounde be slayne for thee,
Though that I knowe before that I shulde dye.

EVERYMAN Veryly, Felawshyp, gramercy.

FELLOWSHIP Tusshe, be thy thankes I set not a straw.
Shewe me your grefe, and say no more.

EVERYMAN Yf I my herte shulde to you breke,
And than you to turne your mynde from me
And wold not me comforte when you here me speke,
Than shulde I ten tymes soryer be.

FELLOWSHIP Syr, I say as I wyll do in dede.

EVERYMAN Than be you a good frende at nede.
I have founde you true here before.

FELLOWSHIP And so ye shall evermore,
For in fayth and thou go to Hell,
I wyll not forsake thee by the waye.

EVERYMAN Ye speke lyke a good frende; I beleve you well.
I shall deserve it and I maye.

FELLOWSHIP I speke of no deservynge, by this daye,
For he that wyll saye and nothynge do
Is not worthy with good company to go.
Therfore shew me the grefe of your mynde
As to your frende moste lovynge and kynde.

EVERYMAN I shall shewe you how it is:
Commaunded I am to go a journaye,
A longe waye, herde and daungerous,
And gyve a strayte counte without delaye
Before the hye juge Adonay.
Wherfore, I pray you, bere me company,
As ye have promysed, in this journaye.

FELLOWSHIP That is matter indede. Promyse is dutye,
But and I shulde take suche a vyage on me,
I know it well, it shulde be to my payne;
Also it maketh me aferde certayne.
But let us take councell here as we can,
For your wordes wold feare a stronge man.

EVERYMAN Why, ye sayd yf I had nede
Ye wolde me never forsake, quycke ne deed,
Though it were to Hell truely.

FELLOWSHIP So I sayde, certeynly,
But suche pleasures be set asyde, the sothe to say,
And also yf we toke suche a journay,
Whan shulde we agayne cume?

EVERYMAN Nay, nyver agayne, tyll the Day of Dome.

FELLOWSHIP In fayth, than wyll not I cume there.
Who hath you these tydynges brought?

EVERYMAN Indede, Deth was with me here.

FELLOWSHIP Now, by God that all hath bought,
If Dethe were the messengere,
For no man that is lyvynge todaye
I wyll not go that lothesom journay,
Not for the father that begat me.

EVERYMAN Ye promysed me otherwyse, pardé.

FELLOWSHIP I wot well I sayd so, truely,
And yet, yf thou wylte ete and drynke and make good chere
Or haunte to women, that lusty cumpany,
I wolde not forsake you whyle the daye is clere —
Truste me veryly.

EVERYMAN Ye, therto ye wolde be redy
To go to myrthe, solace, and playe;
Your mynde to folye wyll soner aply
Than to bere me cumpany in my longe journey.

FELLOWSHIP Nay, in good faythe, I wyll not that waye.
But and thou wylte murdre or any man kyll,
In that I wyll helpe thee with a good wyll.

EVERYMAN O, that is a symple advyse indede.
Gentyll felawe, helpe me in my necessytye.
We have loved longe and now I nede,
And now gentyll Felawshyp, remembre me.

FELLOWSHIP Whether ye have loved me or no,
By Saynt Johnn, I wyll not with thee go.

EVERYMAN Yet, I pray thee, take the laboure and do so moche for me
To brynge me forwarde, for saynt charyté,
And comforte me tyll I come without the towne.

FELLOWSHIP Nay, and thou wolde gyve me a new gowne,
I wyll not one fote with thee goo.
But and thou had taryed I wolde not a left thee so;
And as now God spede thee in thy journey,
For from thee I wyll departe as fast as I may.

EVERYMAN Whether awaye, Felawshyp? Wylt thou forsake me?

FELLOWSHIP Ye, by my faye. To God I betake thee.

EVERYMAN Farwell, good Felawshyp, for thee my herte is sore.
Adewe, for I shall never se thee no more.

FELLOWSHIP In fayth, Everyman, farwell now at the endynge.
For you I wyll remembre that partynge is mournynge.

        [Exit Fellowship]

EVERYMAN Alacke, shall we thus departe indede?
O Lady, helpe! Without ony more comforte,
Lo, Felawshyp forsaketh me in my moste nede.
For helpe in this worlde whether shall I resorte?
Felawshyp here before with me wolde mery make,
And now lytell sorowe for me doeth he take.
It is sayd, “In prosperyté men frendes may fynde
Whiche in adversytye be full unkynde.”
Now whether for socoure shall I flee
Syth that Felawshyp hath forsaken me?
To my kynnesmen I wyll truely,
Prayenge them to helpe me in my necessytye.
I beleve that they wyll do soo,
“For kynde wyll crepe where it may not go.”

        [Enter Kindred and Cousin]

I wyll go saye, for yender I se them.
Where be ye now, my frendes and kynnesmen?

KINDRED Here be we now at your commaundemente.
Cosyn, I praye you, shewe us your intente
In ony wyse and do not spare.

COUSIN Ye, Everyman, and us to declare,
Yf ye be dysposed to go ony whether,
For wot ye well, we wyll lyve and dye togyther.

KINDRED In welthe and wo we wyll with you holde,
For over his kynne a man may be bolde.

EVERYMAN Gramercy, my frendes and kynnesmen kynde,
Now shall I shew you the grefe of my mynde.
I was commaunded by a messengere
That is an hye Kynges chefe offycere;
He bad me go a pylgrymage to my payne,
But I know well I shall never cume agayne.
Also, I must gyve rekenynge strayte,
For I have a great enemy that hath me in wayte
Whiche intendeth me for to hyndre.

KINDRED What a counte is that whiche ye must rendre?
That wolde I knowe.

EVERYMAN Of all my workes I must shewe
How I have lyved and my dayes spente,
Also of yll dedes that I have used
In my tyme syth lyfe was me lente,
And of all vertues that I have refused.
Therfore, I praye you, go thether with me
To helpe to make myne accounte, for saynt charytie.

COUSIN What, to go thether, is that the matter?
Nay, Everyman, I had lever fast breed and water
All this fyve yere and more.

EVERYMAN Alas that ever I was borne,
For now shall I never be mery
Yf that you forsake me.

KINDRED A, syr, what? Ye be a mery man,
Take good herte to you and make no mone!
But one thynge I warne you, by Saynt Anne:
As for me, ye shall go alone.

EVERYMAN My cosyn, wyll you not with me go?

COUSIN No, by Our Lady, I have the crampe in my to.
Trust not to me, for so God me spede,
I wyll deceyve you in your moste nede.

KINDRED It avayleth not us to tyse.
Ye shall have my mayde, with all my herte;
She loveth to go to festes, there to be nyce
And to daunce and abrode to sterte.
I wyll gyve her leve to helpe you in that jurnaye,
If that you and she may agree.

EVERYMAN Now shewe me the very effecte of your mynde;
Wyll you go with me, or abyde behynde?

KINDRED Abyde behynde? Ye, that wyll I and I may;
Therfore farwell tyll another daye!

        [Exit Kindred]

EVERYMAN How shulde I be mery or gladde,
For fayre promyses men to me do make,
But whan I have moste nede, they me forsake.
I am deceyved, that maketh me sad.

COUSIN Cosyn Everyman, farwell now,
For verely I wyll not go with you.
Also of my owne, an unredy rekenynge
I have to accounte; therfore I make taryenge.
Now God kepe thee, for now I go.

        [Exit Cousin]

EVERYMAN A, Jesus, is all cume hereto?
Loo, fayre wordes maketh fooles fayne;
They promyse, and nothynge wyll do certayne.
My kynnesmen promysed me faythfully
For to abyde with me stedfastly,
And now fast awaye do they flee,
Evyn so Felawshyp promysed me.
What frende were best me of to provyde?
I lose my tyme here longer to abyde,
Yet in my mynde a thynge there is.
All my lyfe I have loved ryches.
If that my Good now helpe me myght,
It wolde make my herte full lyght.
I wyll speke to hym in this dystresse.
Where arte thou, my Goodes and Ryches?

        [Goods speaks]

GOODS Who calleth me? Everyman? What, hast thou haste?
I lye here in corners trussed and pyled so hye,
And in chestes I am locked full fast,
Also sacked in bagges, thou mayste se with thyne eye.
I cannot stere, in packes low I lye.
What wolde ye have? Lyghtly me saye.

EVERYMAN Cume hyther, Good, in all the hast thou may,
For of councell I must desyre thee.

GOODS Syr, and ye in the worlde have trouble or adversyté,
Than can I helpe you to remedye shortely.

EVERYMAN It is another dysease that grevyth me;
In this worlde it is not, I tell soo.
I am sende for another waye to go
To gyve a strayte accounte generall
Before the hyghest Jupyter of all.
And all my lyfe I have had joye and pleasure in thee;
Therfore, I praye thee, go with me,
For peraventure thou mayest before God Almyghty
My rekenynge helpe to clene and puryfye,
For it is sayd ever amonge
That “money maketh all ryght that is wronge.”

GOODS Nay, Everyman, I synge another songe.
I folow no man in suche vyages,
For and I wente with thee
Thou shuldest fare moche the worse for me;
For bycause on me thou dyde set thy mynde,
Thy rekenynge I have made blotted and blynde
That thyne accounte thou cannot make truely,
And that haste thou for the love of me.

EVERYMAN That wolde greve me full sore
Whan I shulde cum to that ferefull answere;
Up, let us go thyther togyther.

GOODS Nay, not so; I am to bryttell, I may not endure;
I wyll folow no man one fote, be thou sure.

EVERYMAN Alas, I have thee loved and had great pleasure
All my lyfe dayes on good and treasure.

GOODS That is to thy dampnacyon without lesynge,
For my love is contrary to the love everlastynge.
But yf thou had me loved moderately durynge
As to the poore to gyve parte of me,
Than shouldest thou not in this doloure be,
Nor in this great sorow and care.

EVERYMAN Lo now, I was deceyved or I was ware,
And all I may wyte my spendynge of tyme.

GOODS What, wenest thou that I am thyne?

EVERYMAN I had wente so.

GOODS Nay, Everyman, I say noo.
As for a whyle I was lente thee,
A season thou haste had me in prosperytye.
My condycyon is mannes soule to kyll;
Yf I save one, a thousande I do spyll.
Wenest thou that I wyll folowe thee
From this worlde, nay, verely?

EVERYMAN I had wende otherwyse.

GOODS Therfore to thy soule Good is a thefe,
For whan thou arte deed this is my guyse:
Another to deceyve in the same wyse
As I have done thee, and al to his soules reprefe.

EVERYMAN O false Good, cursed thou be,
Thou traytour to God, thou hast deceyved me
And caught me in thy snare!

GOODS Mary, thou brought thyselfe in care,
Whereof I am gladde;
I must nedes laugh. I cannot be sad.

EVERYMAN A, Good, thou hast had longe my hartely love.
I gave thee that whiche shulde be the Lordes above,
But wylt thou not go with me indede,
I praye thee, truthe to saye?

GOODS No, so God me spede.
Therfore farwell and have good daye.

        [Exit Goods]

EVERYMAN O, to whome shall I make my mone
For to go with me in that hevy journaye?
Fyrst Felawshyp — he sayd he wolde with me go.
His wordes were very plesaunte and gaye,
But afterwarde he lefte me alone.
Than spake I to my kynnysmen all in despayre,
And also they gave me wordes fayre.
They lacked no fayre spekynge,
But all forsake me in the endynge.
Than wente I to my Goodes that I loved best
In hope to have cumforte, but there had I leest,
For my Goodes sharpely dyd me tell
That he bryngeth many into Hell.
Than of myselfe I was ashamed,
And so I am worthy to be blamed:
Thus may I well myselfe hate.
Of whome shall I now councell take?
I thynke that I shall never spede
Tyll that I go to my Good Dede,
But, alas, she is so weke
That she can nother go nor speke.
Yet wyll I ventre on her now.
My Good Dedes, where be you?

        [Good Deeds is unable to rise]

GOOD DEEDS Here I ly, colde in the grounde.
Thy synnes have me so sore bounde
That I cannot stere.

EVERYMAN O, Good Dedes, I stonde in feare.
I must you praye of councell,
For helpe now shulde cum ryght well.

GOOD DEEDS Everyman, I have understandynge
That thou arte somoned, a counte to make
Before Messyas of Jerusalem Kynge.
And you do by me, that journaye with you will I take.

EVERYMAN Therfore I cum to you, my mone to make.
I pray thee to go with me.

GOOD DEEDS I wolde full fayne, but I cannot stonde verely.

EVERYMAN Why, is there anythinge on you fall?

GOOD DEEDS Ye, syr, I may thanke you of all.
Yf ye had perfytely chered me,
Your boke of accounte full redy now had be.
Loke the bokes of your workes and deeds eke,
Beholde how they lye under the fete
To your soules hevynes.

EVERYMAN Our Lorde Jesus helpe me,
For one letter herein can I not se.

GOOD DEEDS There is a blynde rekenynge in tyme of dystresse.

EVERYMAN Good Dedes, I praye you helpe me in this nede,
Or els I am forever damned indede.
Therfore helpe me to make my rekenynge
Before the Redemer of all thynge
That Kynge is and was and ever shall.

GOOD DEEDS Everyman, I am sory of your fall,
And fayne wolde I helpe you and I were able.

EVERYMAN Good Dedes, your councell I pray you gyve me.

GOOD DEEDS That shall I do verely,
Though that on my fete I may not go.
I have a syster that shall with you also
Called Knowlege, which shall with you abyde
To helpe you to make that dredfull rekenynge.

        [Enter Knowledge]

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, I wyll go with thee and be thy guyde
In thy moste nede to go by thy syde.

EVERYMAN In good condycyon I am now in everythynge,
And am holy contente with this good thynge,
Thankyd be God my Creature.

GOOD DEEDS And whan she hath brought thee there
Where thou shalte heale thee of thy smarte,
Than go thou with thy rekenynge and thy Good Dedes togyther
For to make thee joyfull at harte
Before the blessyd Trynytye.

EVERYMAN My Good Dedes, I thanke thee hartfully;
I am well contente certaynly
With your wordes swete.

KNOWLEDGE Now go we thether lovyngly
To Confessyon, that clensynge ryvere.

EVERYMAN For joye I wepe; I wolde we were there.
But I praye you to instructe me by intelleccyon,
Where dwellyth that holy man Confessyon?

KNOWLEDGE In the House of Salvacyon
We shall fynde hym in that place
That shall us cumforte, by Goddes grace.

        [Everyman is led to Confession]

Loo, this is Confessyon. Knele downe and aske mercy,
For he is in good conceyte with God Almyghty.

EVERYMAN [Spoken kneeling]
O gloryous fountayne that all unclennes doth clarify,
Wasshe from me the spottes of vyces unclene
That on me no synne may be sene.
I cum with Knowlege for my redempcyon,
Repent with herte and full contrycyon,
For I am commaunded a pylgrymage to take
And great accountes before God to make.
Now I praye you, Shryfte, mother of Salvacyon,
Helpe my Good Dedes, for my petyous exclamacyon.

CONFESSION I know your sorowe well, Everyman,
Bycause with Knowlege ye cum to me.
I wyll you comforte as well as I can,
And a precyous jewell I wyll gyve thee
Called Penaunce, voyder of adversytye.
Therwith shall your body chastysed be
With abstynence and perseveraunce in Goddes servyce.
Here shall you receyve that scurge of me
Whiche is Penaunce stronge that ye must endure
To remembre thy Savyoure was scurged for thee
With sharpe scurges and suffered it pacyently.
So must thou or thou scape that paynful pylgrymage.
Knowlege, kepe hym in this vyage,
And by that tyme Good Dedes wyll be with thee,
But in any wyse be sure of mercy,
For your tyme draweth fast, and ye wyll saved be.
Aske God mercy, and he wyll graunte truely.
Whan with the scurge of Penaunce man doth hym bynde,
The Oyle of Forgyvenes than shall he fynde.

EVERYMAN Thanked be God for his gracyous werke,
For now I wyll my penaunce begynne;
This hath rejoysed and lyghted my herte,
Though the knottes be paynfull and harde within.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, your penaunce loke that ye fulfyll
What payne that ever it to you be,
And Knowlege wyll gyve you councell at wyll
How your accounte ye shall make clerely.

EVERYMAN O eternall God! O hevenly Fygure!
O Way of ryghtwysenes, O goodly Vysyon
Whiche descended downe in a vyrgyn pure
Bycause he wolde Everyman to redeme
Whiche Adam forfeyted by his dysobedyens.
O blessyd Godhede electe and hye devyne,
Forgyve me my grevous offence.
Here I crye thee mercy in this presence,
O ghostly Treasure, O Raunsomer and Redemer,
Of all the worlde hope and conductor,
Myrrour of joye and Founder of mercy,
Whiche enlumyneth Heven and erth therby,
Here my clamorous complaynte, though it late be,
Receyve my prayers unworthy of thy benygnyté,
Though I be a synner moste abhomynable.
Yet let my name be wryten in Moyses table.
O Mary, pray to the Maker of all thynge
Me for to helpe at my endynge,
And save me from the power of my enemy,
For Deth assayleth me strongly,
And, Lady, that I may by meane of thy prayer
Of thy Sonnes glory to be partetaker.
By the meanes of his Passyon, I it crave,
I beseche you helpe my soule to save.

        [Everyman rises]

Knowlege, gyve me the scorge of penaunce;
My flesshe therwith shall gyve acqueyntaunce.
I wyll now begynne, yf God gyve me grace.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, God gyve you tyme and space.
Thus I bequethe you in the handes of our Savyoure,
Now may you make your rekenynge sure.

EVERYMAN In the name of the Holy Trynyté,
My body sore punysshyd shal be.

        [Everyman scourges himself]

Take this, body, for the synne of the flesshe!
Also thou delytest to go gaye and fresshe,
And in the waye of dampnacyon thou dyd me brynge;
Therfore suffre nowe strokes and punysshenge.
Now of penaunce I wyll wade the water clere
To save me from Hell and from the fyre.

        [Good Deeds rises and stands]

GOOD DEEDS I thanke God now I can walke and go.
I am delyvered of my sekenesse and wo;
Therfore with Everyman I wyll go and not spare.
His good workes I wyll helpe hym to declare.

KNOWLEDGE Now, Everyman, be mery and gladde.
Your Good Dedes do come, ye may not be sadde.
Now is your Good Dedes hole and sounde,
Goynge upryght upon the grounde.

EVERYMAN My herte is lyght and shall be evermore;
Now wyll I smyte faster than I dyd before.

GOOD DEEDS Everyman, pylgrym, my specyall frende,
Blessyd be thou without ende,
For thee is prepared the eternall glory.
Ye have me made hole and sounde;
Therfore I wyll abyde with thee in every stounde.

EVERYMAN Welcume, my Good Dedes, now I here thy voyce.
I wepe for very swetenes of love.

KNOWLEDGE Be no more sad, but evermore rejoyce.
God seeth thy lyvynge in his trone above.
Put on this garment to thy behove,
Whiche with your teres is now all wete,
Lest before God it be unswete
Whan you to your journeyes ende cume shall.

EVERYMAN Gentyll Knowlege, what do ye it call?

KNOWLEDGE It is the garmente of Sorowe.
From payne it wyll you borow.
Contrycyon it is
That getteth forgyvenes;
It pleasyth God passynge well.

GOOD DEEDS Everyman, wyll you were it for your hele?

        [Everyman puts on the Garment of Contrition]

EVERYMAN Now blessyd be Jesu, Maryes sonne,
For now have I on true Contrycyon,
And let us go now without taryenge.
Good Dedes, have we clere oure rekenynge?

GOOD DEEDS Ye, indede, I have it here.

EVERYMAN Than I trust we nede not fere;
Now frendes, let us not parte in twayne.

KNOWLEDGE Nay, Everyman, that wyll we not, certayne.

GOOD DEEDS Yet must thou lede with thee
Thre persones of great myght.

EVERYMAN Who shulde they be?

GOOD DEEDS Dyscressyon and Strengthe they hyght,
And thy Beautye may not abyde behynde.

KNOWLEDGE Also ye must call to mynde
Your Fyve Wyttes as for your councellers.

GOOD DEEDS You must have them redy at all houres.

EVERYMAN How shall I get them hyther?

KNOWLEDGE You must call them all togyther,
And they wyll here you incontynent.

EVERYMAN My frendes, cume hyder and be present,
Dyscressyon, Strength, my Fyve Wyttes, and Beautye.

        [Enter Discretion, Strength, Five Wits, and Beauty]

BEAUTY Here at your wyll we be redy.
What wolde ye that we shalde do?

GOOD DEEDS That ye wold with Everyman go
And helpe hym in his pylgrymage.
Advyse you: wyll ye with hym or not in that vyage?

STRENGTH We wyll brynge hym all thether
To his helpe and cumforte, ye may beleve me.

DISCRETION So wyll we go with hym all togyther.

EVERYMAN Almyghty God, loved may thou be!
I gyve thee laude that I have hether brought
Strength, Dyscressyon, Beauté, and Fyve Wyttes, lac I nought,
And my Good Dedes, with Knowlege clere;
All be in cumpany at my wyll here.
I desyre no more to my besynes.

STRENGTH And I, Strength, wyll stonde by you in destresse,
Thoughe thou woldest in batayll fyght on the grounde.

FIVE WITS And though it were throughe the worlde rounde,
We wyll not departe for swete nor soure.

BEAUTY No more wyll I unto dethes houre,
Whatsoever therof befall.

DISCRETION Everyman, advyse you fyrst of all,
Go with a good advysement and delyberycyon.
We all gyve you vertuous monycyon
That all shall be well.

EVERYMAN My frendes, herken what I wyll tell:
I pray God rewarde you in his hevenly spere.
Now herken all that be here,
For I wyll make my testament
Here before you all presente.
In almes half my good I wyll gyve with my handes twayne
In the waye of charytye with good entent,
And the other halfe styll shall remane
In quyet to be returned there it ought to be.
This I do in despyte of the fende of Hell
To go quyte out of his parell
Ever after and this daye.

KNOWLEDGE Everyman, herken what I saye:
Go to Pryesthode, I you advyse,
And receyve of hym in ony wyse
The Holy Sacramente and Oyntment togyther;
Than shortely se ye turne agayne hyder.
We wyll all abyde you here.

FIVE WITS Ye, Everyman, hye you that ye redy were.
Theyr is no emperour, kynge, duke, ne baron
That of God hath commyssyon
As hath the leest pryest in the worlde beynge,
For of the blessyd Sacramentes pure and benygne
He bereth the keyes and therof hathe he cure.
For mannes redempcyon it is ever sure
Whiche God for our soules medycyne
Gave us out of his harte with great pyne
Here in this transytory lyfe for thee and me.
The blessyd Sacramentes seven there be:
Baptym, Confyrmacyon, with Pryesthode good,
And the Sacrament of Goddes precyous flesshe and blode;
Maryage, the holy Extreme Unccyon, and Penaunce.
These seven be good to have in remembraunce,
Gracyous Sacramentes of hye dyvynyté.

EVERYMAN Fayne wolde I receyve that holy body,
And mekely to my ghostly father I wyll go.

FIVE WITS Everyman, that is the best that ye can do.
God wyll you to salvacyon brynge,
For good Pryesthod excedeth all other thynge.
To us holy scrypture they do teche
And converteth man from synne Heven to reche.
God hath to them more power gyven
Than to ony angell that is in Heven.
With five wordes he may consecrate
Goddes body in flesshe and bloode to make,
And handeleth his Maker bytwene his handes.
The pryest byndeth and unbyndeth all bandes
Bothe in erth and in Heven.
Thou mynysters all the Sacrementes seven;
Though we kysse thy fete, thou were worthy,
Thou arte surgyon that cureth synne deedly.
No remedy we fynde under God,
But all onely Pryesthode.
Everyman, God gave pryest that dygnyté,
And setteth them in his stede amonge us to be;
Thus be they above angelles in degré.

        [Exit Everyman to receive last rites]

KNOWLEDGE If pryestes be good it is so surely,
But whan Jesu henge on the Crosse with great smarte,
There he gave out of his blessyd herte
The same Sacrament in great tourment.
He solde them not to us, that Lorde omnipotent;
Therefore Saynt Peter the apostle doth saye
That Jesus curse hathe all they
Which God theyr Savyour do bye or sell,
Or they for ony money do take or tell.
Synfull pryestes gyveth the synners example bad.
Theyr chyldren sytteth by other mennes fires, I have herde,
And some haunteth womens company
With unclene lyfe, as lustes of lechery.
These be with synne made blynde.

FIVE WITS I trust to God no suche may we fynde;
Therfore let us Pryesthode honoure
And folow theyr doctryne for our soules socoure.
We be ther shepe, and they shepeherdes be
By whom we all be kepte in suertye.
Peas, for yender I se Everyman cume
Which hath made true satysfaccyon.

GOOD DEEDS Me thynketh it is he indede.

        [Re-enter Everyman]

EVERYMAN Now Jhesu Cryst be your alder spede.
I have receyved the Sacramente for my redempcyon
And than myne Extreme Unccyon.
Blessyd be all they that counceyled me to take it!
And now, frendes, let us go without longer respyte.
I thanke God that ye have taryed so longe.
Now set eche of you on this Rodde your honde,
And shortly folwe me.
I go before there I wolde be, God be our guyde.

STRENGTH Everyman, we wyll not from you go
Tyll ye have gone this vyage longe.

DISCRETION I, Dyscressyon, wyll byde by you also.

KNOWLEDGE And though this pylgrimage be never so stronge,
I wyll never parte you fro.

STRENGTH Everyman, I wyll be as sure by thee
As ever I dyd by Judas Machabé.

        [Procession to the grave]

EVERYMAN Alas, I am so faynt I may not stande.
My lymmes under me do folde.
Frendes, let us not turne agayne to this lande,
Not for all the worldes golde,
For into this cave must I crepe
And turne to erth and there to slepe.

BEAUTY What, into this grave, alas?

EVERYMAN Ye, there shall you consume, more and lesse.

BEAUTY And what, shulde I smoder here?

EVERYMAN Ye, be my fayth, and never more appere;
In this worlde lyve no more we shall
But in Heven before the hyest Lorde of all.

BEAUTY I crosse out all this. Adew, by Saynte Johnn.
I take my tappe in my lap and am gone.

EVERYMAN What, Beautye, whether wyll ye?

BEAUTY Peas, I am defe. I loke not behynde me,
Not and thou wolde gyve me all the golde in thy chest.

        [Exit Beauty]

EVERYMAN Alas, wherto may I truste?
Beautye goeth fast awaye and from me.
She promysed with me to lyve and dye.

STRENGTH Everyman, I wyll thee also forsake and denye,
Thy game lyketh me not at all.

EVERYMAN Why, than ye wyll forsake me all.
Swete Strength, tary a lytell space.

STRENGTH Nay, syr, by the Rode of Grace,
I wyll hye me from thee fast
Though thou wepe tyll thy harte brast.

EVERYMAN Ye wolde ever byde by me, ye sayd.

STRENGTH Ye, I have you ferre ynought convayed.
Ye be olde ynough, I understande,
Your pylgrymage to take on hande.
I repente me that I hether came.

EVERYMAN Strength, you to dysplease I am to blame.
Wyll you breke promyse that is dette?

STRENGTH In faith, I care not.
Thou arte but a foole to complayne.
You spende your speche and waste your brayne.
Go, thryst thee into the grounde.

        [Exit Strength]

EVERYMAN I had wende surer I shulde you have founde.
He that trusteth in his Strength,
She hym deceyveth at the length.
Bothe Strength and Beautye forsaketh me,
Yet they promysed me fayre and lovyngly.

DISCRETION Everyman, I wyll after Strength be gone.
As for me, I wyll leve you alone.

EVERYMAN Why, Descressyon, wyll ye forsake me?

DISCRETION Ye, in fayth, I wyll go from thee,
For whan Strength goeth before,
I folow after evermore.

EVERYMAN Yet I pray thee for the love of the Trynytye,
Loke in my grave ones pyteously.

DISCRETION Nay, so nye I wyll not cume.
Farewell, everychone.

        [Exit Discretion]

EVERYMAN O, all thynge fayleth save God alone,
Beautye, Strength, and Descressyon,
For whan Deth bloweth his blaste
They all renne from me full fast.

FIVE WITS Everyman, of thee now my leve I take;
I wyll folow the other, for here I thee forsake.

EVERYMAN Alas, than, may I wayle and wepe,
For I toke you for my best frende.

FIVE WITS I wyll no lenger thee kepe.
Now farwell, and there an ende.

        [Exit Five Wits]

EVERYMAN O Jesu, helpe, all hath forsaken me.

GOOD DEEDS Nay, Everyman, I wyll byde wyth thee.
I wyll not forsake thee indede;
Thou shalte fynde me a good frende at nede.

EVERYMAN Gramercy, Good Dedes, now may I true frendes se.
They have forsaken me everychone.
I loved them better then my Good Dedes alone.
Knowlege, wyll ye forsake me also?

KNOWLEDGE Ye, Everyman, whan ye to deth do go,
But not yet, for no maner of daungere.

EVERYMAN Gramercy, Knowlege, with all my herte.

KNOWLEDGE Naye, yet I wyll not from hens departe
Tyll I se where ye shall become.

EVERYMAN Me thynketh, alas, that I must be gone
To make my rekenynge and my dettes paye,
For I se my tyme is nye spente awaye.
Take example all ye that this do here or se
How they that I loved best do forsake me
Excepte my Good Dedes that bydeth truly.

GOOD DEEDS All erthly thynge is but vanyté;
Beauté, Strength, and Discrecyon do man forsake,
Folysshe frendes and kynnesmen that fayre spake,
All fleeth save Good Dedes, and that am I.

EVERYMAN Have mercy on me, God moost myghty,
And stande by me thou moder and mayde, holy Mary.

GOOD DEEDS Fere not, I wyll speke for thee.

EVERYMAN Here I crye God mercy.

GOOD DEEDS Shorte oure ende and mynysshe our payne,
Let us go and never come agayne.

EVERYMAN Into thy handes, Lord, my soule I commende,
Receyve it, Lorde, that it be nat lost.
As thou me boughtest so me defende,
And save me from the fendes boost
That I may appere with that blessed hoost
That shall be saved at the Dome.
In manus tuas, of myghtes moost
Forever, commendo spiritum meum.

        [Everyman and Good Deeds enter the grave]

KNOWLEDGE Now hath he suffred that we all shall endure.
The Good Dedes shall make all sure;
Now hathe he made endynge.
Me thynketh that I here angelles synge
And make great joye and melodye
Where Everymannes soule shall receyved be.

ANGEL Cume, excellent electe spouse to Jesu.
Here above thou shall go
Bycause of thy synguler vertue.
Now thy soule is taken thy body fro
Thy rekenynge is crystall clere.
Now shalt thou into the hevenly spere
Unto the whiche all ye shall cume
That lyveth well before the Day of Dome.

        [The angel takes Everyman’s soul to Heaven]

        [Enter Doctor]

DOCTOR This memoryall men may have in mynde.
Ye herers take it of worth olde and yonge
And forsake Pryde, for he deceyveth you in the ende,
And remembre Beautye, Fyve Wyttes, Strength, and Discression.
They all at the last do Everyman forsake,
Save his Good Dedes, there dothe he take.
But beware, for and they be small
Before God, he hath no helpe at all.
None excuse may be there for Everyman.
Alas, how shall he do than?
For after deth amendes may no man make,
For than Mercy and Petye doeth hym forsake
If his rekenynge be not clere whan he do cume.
God wyll saye, “Ite maledicti in ignem eternum.”
And he that hath his accounte hole and sounde
Hye in Heven he shall be crounde,
Unto the whiche place God brynge us all thether
That we may lyve, body and soule togyther.
Therto helpe, the Trynytye,
Say ye for saynte charytye,
        Amen.






(see note)
hear
In form; morality
Summoning
shows
always; (see note)

(see note)

(see note)



(t-note)

Joy; (see note)

fade; flower; (see note)
hear Heaven's King
reckoning (judgment); (see note)
Listen; hear




unnatural; (see note)

spiritual


fear; righteousness
(see note); (t-note)
entirely; blood; (t-note)
(t-note)
allowed [myself]; dead
feet; head; (see note)


(see note)
Covetousness

depart from

secure; (see note); (t-note)
tolerate

degenerates quickly


if I leave

Truly; beasts
eat up; (see note)
(see note)

(see note)
chosen; (see note)
debased
meant
their existence; (see note)

sincerely
encumbered
necessarily

(see note)








(see note)

accurate account
any tarrying

run everywhere
search out [all]; (t-note)
who lives

(see note)
to part (separate); (t-note)
Unless; (see note)





(see note)



Whither (Where)



[What] would you know
Yes







sphere; (see note)
before (ere)




he must have
[any] longer

leisure (more time)
difficult [to interpret]



account book
return



(t-note)

Have a care; (t-note)
know; no one [your]

(see note); (t-note)
(see note)

adequately fears
arrest; (see note)



(t-note)

goods (property)

If [you will] defer


am indifferent to; wealth
(see note)
For if; gifts; (see note)

(t-note)
hence; [do] not delay


(see note)
sick

If; delay; (t-note)

fear



It profits you nothing
nimbly; (t-note)
test; (see note)
know; time waits for; (see note)

in the course of nature; (see note)



holy charity (God’s love); (see note)
(see note)

if; once



high seat (throne); (see note)

earthly valley; (see note)


any

Hurry

think
worldly

thought

lent [to]; (see note)
gone (dead)
go from it (lose it)

(see note); (t-note)



rascal, whither; (see note)
escape
noble Death

consideration



(see note)

hurry; (t-note)

(see note)
escape away [from]





look after
account [book]

been conceived (born)
been
fear
help [me], who created all
it does not help
gone
know

What if
[bad] fortune
trust; (see note)

Been



certainly


(t-note)





amiss (wrong); pray that you tell me


Yes



life’s


(see note)

depressed mental state
(see note)
have wronged you; (see note)
[battle]ground
prior to that

thank you

by; do not care; (see note)


reveal

hear
more sorry

in deed (in my actions)

(see note)



if you



repay it if I can









hard
exact account
(see note)



matter (allegation) requiring proof; (see note); (t-note)
But if; journey

afraid
(t-note)


make a strong man to be afraid
living or dead



truth

(t-note)

Judgment Day






purchased (redeemed); (see note)

(see note)



by God

know
(see note)






apply; (t-note)


will not [go] that way
if you will


foolish advice

am in need
noble


(see note)

make the effort

to the outside of

[even] if you would; (see note)
foot
if; tarried; would not have
God [may]
far

Whither (where)

faith; commit you


(t-note)

(t-note)
(see note)



separate; (t-note)
Virgin Mary; any

where shall I turn

feel
(see note)


Since



kindred; walk; (see note)



assay (test); over there I see them [passing by]; (t-note)
(see note)



any; hold anything back

to us
anywhere
know

happiness; hold [fast]
For with; kinfolk

(t-note)




return
precise
who is observing me; (see note)


an account





since





rather fast [on] bread; (see note)


(see note)



You are
heart; moan
(see note)




toe



to attempt to entice us

feasts; be wanton
to go gadding



state; (t-note)


if I may











(t-note)
remain behind
preserve you




glad; (see note)





would be best




(t-note)





are you in a hurry



stir (move)
Quickly

haste


if you; (t-note)


trouble; makes me grieve


precise account of everything; (t-note)

Since


(see note)

(see note)

(see note)
journeys; (t-note)
if I

Since
illegible; (see note)

have you

grieve
(see note)


too weak



(i.e., material things)

lying

during [your lifetime]; (see note)
(t-note)



before I was ready
blame my wasting; (t-note)

think; (see note)

thought




(t-note)
destroy
Think
truly




practice

shame






(t-note)


sincere; (t-note)
(see note)



prosper




complaint
sorrowful










(t-note)




succeed (prosper)
(see note)
weak
neither walk
test her




(see note)
(see note)
stir (move)

(t-note)
advice
be right welcome


an account
[the] Messiah; (see note)
If you follow my advice

complaint


gladly; stand

has anything happened to you


supported (nurtured); (see note)
been
Look [at]; also
(t-note)
sorrow




obscured (illegible)





shall [be]


gladly; if I were






(see note)
terror-inspiring







wholly
Creator

(see note); (t-note)
pain

(t-note)


sincerely



thither



(t-note)
(t-note)

(see note)





(see note)
esteem


make clear (cleanse); (see note)



sincerity; (see note); (t-note)


Confession






remover


(see note)



before you escape; (t-note)
journey; (t-note)

(t-note)
is coming quickly when ye; (see note)

himself
(see note)



made me happy
knots [of rope scourge]




(t-note)

Form
righteousness



exalted


spiritual; (see note)
guide

illumines
Hear
graciousness; (t-note)

(see note)
(see note)

(see note)

by the instrumentality
(t-note)
Suffering; beg; (t-note)





be acquainted; (t-note)


opportunity
hand you over into
(t-note)







(see note)
(see note); (t-note)
(t-note)
(see note)
(see note); (t-note)



(see note)


(t-note)

(see note)
(t-note)
whole
Walking







whole
remain with; moment [of trial]

now [that] I hear



way of life; throne
benefit

(t-note)


Noble

(see note)
save (protect)


very well

wear; [soul’s] health




have I put on
tarrying




fear
from each other

(t-note)

bring with you




are called; (see note)









(t-note)
hear; immediately






(t-note)




Think; journey






praised
praise; hither
lack; nothing

my command
business (purpose)


[battle] ground

(see note)
(see note)




consider
consideration
virtuous admonition; (t-note)



sphere

will (legal document)

(see note)

(see note)
bequest; where; (t-note)

To be released from peril (of the fiend)



(see note)
any
Extreme Unction
see that you return here
wait for you

hurry; will be ready

authority
most lowly priest
benign; (t-note)
charge (care); (see note); (t-note)

(see note)
pain


Ordination
(i.e., Eucharist)
(see note)
(t-note)


Gladly; (see note)
spiritual



(t-note)

reach

any
(see note); (t-note)
(t-note)

bonds [of sin]; (see note)

administer

(see note)

Except; (t-note)
(see note)
place
(see note)



(see note)
hung; pain

(see note)

(see note)


any; count out

heard







(see note)
security
Silence; yonder
(see note); (t-note)





helper of all

(t-note)

delay

Rood (Cross); (see note)
expeditiously follow
go to where


journey; (t-note)

stand by

harsh
from you

steadfast beside you; (t-note)
(see note)





return


return; (see note); (t-note)



decay

smother





Adieu
flax [on distaff]; (see note); (t-note)

whither

Silence; (see note)
Not if; (see note)




(t-note)








Rood (Cross)

until; bursts

abide

far; accompanied
(see note)
in hand



an obligation



expend
thrust yourself



had thought more loyal
(t-note)
(see note); (t-note)
(t-note)
(t-note)











once with pity; (t-note)

near
everyone





[trumpet] blast; (see note)
run


others





(see note)





abide; (see note)

(t-note)

(t-note)
everyone








hence
what will become of you; (see note)


debts
is nearly expired
hear or see; (see note)



(see note); (t-note)





mother; (see note)

(see note)



shorten; lessen


(see note)
not

fiend’s boast

Last Judgment; (see note); (t-note)
Into your hands
I commend my soul



that which


hear; (see note)



chosen bride; (see note)
(see note)

from the body; (see note)

sphere; (see note)

Doom; (see note)





mnemonic aid; (see note); (t-note)
hearers; value it greatly




for [even] if


what shall; then
(see note)
Pity
(t-note)
Go, wicked ones, into the eternal fire; (see note); (t-note)

(see note)

(see note)

(t-note)
(see note); (t-note)

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