Disciplina Clericalis/Tale 6

by Peter Alphonse

 

VI. The Poet Turned Porter.^[1]

"Suche a versifiour [was] makyng vers to a kyng, and the kyng praised his wisdam [and] bad hym aske a yift for his deede. The whiche asked suche a thyng as for to be a porter at oon of the yates of the Citee bi the space of a Moneth, and to have of every courbed man a peny^[2] and of every ooneyed a peny, of every scald a peny, of every lepre a peny, of every Roughhered a peny (f. 122^b). Whiche that the Kyng graunted and strengthed with his seale; whiche in his mynisterie taken and in his seruice and office sat at the yaate. In a day suche a courbed and wele hooded [man] beryng a staf in his hand wold han entred. To whom the versifiour mette askyng hym a peny, whiche he denyed. And with strength the versifiour pullid of his hoode and tooke with oon eye, and asked of two pens, where that first he myght have escaped with oo peny; but [he] withhield it and nat havyng any help wold have fled. But he hield hym bi the hoode and pullid of his Cappe, and than his hede appiered scalled, for the whiche than he asked thre pens. Than this courbed man seeyng hymsilf havyng non help nor myght nat flee bigan to Resiste and withstond with naked armes, in whiche [he] apperid [a] lepre; for the whiche than he asked the fourth peny. To whom the defendaunt tooke awey his capp and cast it to the grounde, and [he] appered than Roughered, for the whiche than he toke of hym five pens. So it happed for that he wold [nat] paie oo peny, vnwares paied fyve pens.^[3]" A certain philosopher said to his son: "Son, refrain from passing through the house of wicked people, for passing results in stopping, and stopping leads to sitting and sitting ends in a deed. It is related, by way of illustration, that two priests went forth from the city one evening for a walk, and they came to a house where some drinkers had met together.

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1. I, 12, l. 13.
2. M. E. version omits et a scabioso denarium.
3. At this point two short exampla are omitted from our English version; these occur in the Latin (I, 13) as Nos. VII and VIII and have the titles, About a Priest entering the House of Drinkers (Exemplum de Clerico domum potatorum intrante) and The Voice of the Owl (Exemplum de voce bubonis). The English also omits the brief discussion which links VI and VII together in the Latin (I, 12, l. 28).