Chaucer's Translation of Boethius's "De Consolatione Philosophiae" · Boethius
INCIPIT LIBER BOICII DE CO{N}SOLAC{I}O{N}E PHILOSOPHIE.
Car{m}i{n}a qui q{u}onda{m} studio flore{n}te p{er}egi. [Sidenote: [The fyrste Met{ur}.]] ++Allas I wepyng am constreined to bygynne vers of sorouful matere. ¶ Þat whilom in florysching studie made delitable ditees. For loo rendyng muses of poetes enditen to me þinges to be writen. and drery v{er}s of wrecchednes weten my face wiþ v{er}ray teers. ¶ At þe leest no drede ne myȝt[e] ouer-come þo muses. þat þei ne were{n} felawes {and} folweden my wey. þat is to seyne when I was exiled. þei þat weren glorie of my youȝth whilom weleful {and} grene co{n}forten now þe sorouful werdes of me olde man. for elde is comen vnwarly vpon me hasted by þe harmes þat I haue. {and} sorou haþ comau{n}ded his age to be in me. ¶ Heeres hore ben schad ouertymelyche vpon myne heued. and þe slak[e] skyn trembleþ vpon myn emty body. þilk[e] deeþ of men is welful þat ne comeþ not in ȝeres þat ben swete (.i. mirie.) but comeþ to wrecches often yclepid. ¶ Allas allas wiþ how deef an eere deeþ cruel to{ur}neþ awey fro wrecches {and} naieþ to closen wepyng eyen. ¶ While fortune vnfeiþful fauored[e] me wiþ lyȝte goodes (.s. temp{or}els.) þe sorouful houre þat is to seyne þe deeþ had[de] almost dreynt myne heued. ¶ But now for fortune clowdy haþ chaunged hir disceyuable chere to me warde. myn vnpitouse lijf draweþ a long vnagreable dwellynges in me. ¶ O ȝe my frendes what or wherto auaunted[e] ȝe me to be weleful: for he þat haþ fallen stood not i{n} stedfast degree.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.