Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 6/Tale B
The Voice of the Owl.[1]
"It is reported of two disciples that in going out of a certain city they came to a place where the voice of a woman was heard very distinctly, and the words of the song were well written and the music of the song was so arranged that it sounded beautifully and delightfully. One of them, stopped on account of the beauty of the song, but his companion said to him: 'Let's turn aside'. And they did it; for one is so far deceived by the song of a bird that he may be led to death. Then the one said: 'This voice is sweeter than that which my master and I heard long ago'. 'What kind of voice was that', asked the other, 'and how did you hear it?' 'It happened,' the companion said, 'that we had gone out of the city and we heard a very harsh voice in an unattractive song, and the words sounded discordantly; the one who sang repeated the words frequently and lingered over the unmelodious song as if it was delightful.' Then the master said to me: 'If it is true as men say, that the voice of the owl portends the death of some one, then that is without doubt the voice of an owl fortelling death.' To this I said: 'I wonder, if the song is so dreadful, why this man alone is delighted with it?' And he answered me: 'Dost not thou remember the philosopher who says: "Man takes delight in three things even though they may not be good: in his own voice, his own song, and his own son"?' After he told this about himself and his master they both went away."
A certain philosopher said to his son: "Follow a scorpion, a lion, and a dragon, but do not follow a wicked woman." Another philosopher said: "Pray God that he keep thee from the snares of vile women, and be thyself on guard lest thou be deceived. For it is said about a certain philosopher that in passing by the place where a fowler had stretched a net for snaring birds, he saw a base woman in wanton sport with the fowler and said to him: 'While thou art trying to snare birds, be careful that thou art not caught in the filth of the lime thou preparedst for he birds'."[2] Suche a disciple saide to his Maister: "I have Rad in wordis of Philosophres whiche comaunden a man to kepe hym from the froward wit and engyne of wymmen. And [Salomon] only in the same proverbes amonestith and warneth. If thow therfor any thing above the wiles of hem memoratief holdist I wold with tellyng thow woldist teche and lierne me, outher of fables outher of proverbis." [The Maister]: "That cause shal I do to the gladly. But I am ashamed lest any simple soule redyng oure ditees whiche of the craftis of wymmen to the correccioun of theym and thyn and to instruccioun and liernyng of other seen. That is for to say how, nat knowyng ne wityng their husbondis, [they] callen and clepen their loves and with hem abiden, clippyng and kissyng; and so of theym and in theym accomplisshen and fulfillen their lascivic and foul lustis, trowyng the wikkidnes and cursidnes to Rebounde in vs."[3] The disciple than saide: "Maister, ne dreede nat that forwhi Salamen in the booke of proverbis and many sapient men whiche to correcte suche evil and shrewd maners of theym wrote suche thynges therof they deserved no blame, but laude and praisyng. And thow in like wise writyng theym to our profite[4] shalt deserve no blame but a corowne of glorie; and of this praier or tellyng shewe thow." Than the Maister:
- ↑ I, 13, l. 12 ff.
- ↑ Here the English version takes up the thread of the narrative again, reproducing a lengthy paragraph of the Latin (I, 14, ll. 1-12) as sort of connecting links between tales VI, VII, VIII and IX of the original.
- ↑ This is a crude translation of the original of I, 14, ll. 4-8.
- ↑ Lat. (I, 14, l. 11) de illis scribens ad nostram utilitatem . . . . sed coronam promereberis.