Fables: 7 The Sheep and the Dog

Esope ane taill puttis in memorie

How that ane doig because that he wes pure

Callit ane scheip unto the consistorie

Ane certane breid fra him for to recure.

Ane fraudfull wolff wes juge that tyme and bure

Authoritie and jurisdictioun

And on the scheip send furth ane strait summoun,

For by the use and cours and commoun style

On this maner maid his citatioun,

“I, Maister Wolff, partles of fraud and gyle,

Under the panis of hie suspensioun,

Of grit cursing and interdictioun,

Schir Scheip, I charge thee straitly to compeir

And answer to ane doig befoir me heir.”

Schir Corbie Ravin wes maid apparitour

Quha pykit had full mony scheipis ee,

The charge hes tane and on the letteris bure,

Summonit the scheip befoir the wolff that he

“Peremptourlie within the dayis thre

Compeir under the panis in this bill

To heir quhat Perrie doig will say thee till.”

This summondis maid befoir witnes anew,

The ravin, as to his office weill effeird,

Indorsat hes the write and on he flew.

The selie scheip durst lay na mouth on eird

Till he befoir the awfull juge appeird

Be oure off cause quhilk that court usit than —

Quhen Hesperus to schaw his face began.

The foxe wes clerk and noter in the cause,

The gled, the graip up at the bar couth stand

As advocatis expert into the lawis,

The doggis pley togidder tuke on hand

Quhilk wer confidderit straitlie in ane band

Aganis the scheip to procure the sentence.

Thocht it wes fals thay had na conscience.

The clerk callit the scheip, and he wes thair.

The advocatis on this wyse couth propone:

“Ane certane breid worth fyve schilling or mair

Thow aw the doig of quhilk the terme is gone.”

Of his awin heid, but advocate, allone,

Avysitlie gaif answer in the cace:

“Heir I declyne the juge, the tyme, the place.

“This is my cause in motive and effect:

The law sayis it is richt perrillous

Till enter pley befoir ane juge suspect

And ye, schir wolff, hes bene richt odious

To me for with your tuskis ravenous

Hes slane full mony kinnismen of myne,

Thairfoir as juge suspect I yow declyne.

“And schortlie, of this court ye memberis all,

Baith assessouris, clerk, and advocate,

To me and myne ar ennemies mortall

And ay hes bene as mony scheipheird wate.

The place is fer, the tyme is feriate

In quhilk no jugeis suld sit in consistory

Sa lait at evin. I yow accuse for-thy.”

Quhen that the juge in this wyse wes accusit,

He bad the parteis cheis with ane assent

Twa arbeteris as in the law is usit

For to declair and gif arbitriment

Quhidder the scheip suld answer in jugement

Befoir the wolff and so thay did but weir,

Of quhome the namis eftir ye sall heir.

The beir, the brok, the mater tuke on hand

For to discyde gif this exceptioun

Wes of na strenth or lauchfully mycht stand,

And thairupon as jugis thay sat doun

And held ane lang quhyle disputatioun,

Seikand full mony decreitis of the law

And glosis als, the veritie to knaw.

Of civile mony volum thay revolve,

The codies and digestis new and ald,

Pro and contra, strait argumentis resolve,

Sum a doctryne and sum anothir hald.

For prayer nor price, trow ye, thay wald fald

Bot held the glose and text of the decreis

As trew jugis. I schrew thame ay that leis.

Schortlie to mak ane end of this debait,

The arbiteris than summar and plane

The sentence gave and proces fulminait:

The scheip suld pas befoir the wolff agane

And end his pley. Than wes he nathing fane

For fra thair sentence couth he not appeill.

On clerkis I do it gif this sentence wes leill.

The scheip agane befoir the wolff derenyeit,

But advocate, abasitlie couth stand.

Up rais the doig and on the scheip thus plenyeit,

“Ane soume I payit have befoir the hand

For certane breid.” Thairto ane borrow he fand

That wrangouslie the scheip did hald the breid,

Quhilk he denyit, and thair began the pleid.

And quhen the scheip this stryif had contestait,

The justice in the cause furth can proceid.

Lowrence the actis and the proces wrait

And thus the pley unto the end thay speid.

This cursit court, corruptit all for meid,

Aganis gude faith, gude law, and conscience,

For this fals doig pronuncit the sentence.

And it till put to executioun,

The wolff chargit the scheip without delay

Under the panis of interdictioun

The soume of silver or the breid to pay.

Of this sentence allace quhat sall I say,

Quhilk dampnit hes the selie innocent

And justifyit the wrangous jugement?

The scheip, dreidand mair persecutioun,

Obeyand to the sentence and couth tak

His way unto ane merchand of the toun

And sauld the woll that he bure on his bak

Syne bocht the breid and to the doig couth mak

Reddie payment as he forjugeit was,

Naikit and bair syne to the feild couth pas.

Moralitas

This selie scheip may present the figure

Of pure commounis that daylie ar opprest

Be tirrane men quhilkis settis all thair cure

Be fals meinis to mak ane wrang conquest

In hope this present lyfe suld ever lest;

Bot all begylit thay will in schort tyme end

And efter deith to lestand panis wend.

This wolf I likkin to ane schiref stout

Quhilk byis ane forfalt at the kingis hand

And hes with him ane cursit assyis about,

And dytis all the pure men uponland.

Fra the crownar haif laid on him his wand,

Suppois he be als trew as wes Sanct Johine,

Slain sall he be or with the juge compone.

This ravin I likkin to ane fals crownair

Quhilk hes ane porteous of the inditement

And passis furth befoir the justice air

All misdoaris to bring to jugement;

Bot luke gif he be of ane trew intent

To scraip out “Johne” and wryte in “Will” or “Wat”

And swa ane bud at boith the parteis skat.

Of this fals tod of quhilk I spak befoir

And of this gled, quhat thay micht signify,

Of thair nature, as now I speik no moir,

Bot of this scheip and of his cairfull cry

I sall reheirs for as I passit by

Quhair that he lay, on cais I lukit doun

And hard him mak sair lamentatioun.

“Allace,” quod he, “this cursit consistorie

In middis of the winter now is maid

Quhen Boreas with blastis bitterlie

And frawart froistes thir flouris doun can faid.

On bankis bair now may I mak na baid,”

And with that word into ane coif he crap

Fra hair wedder and froistis him to hap.

Quaikand for cauld, sair murnand ay amang,

Kest up his ee unto the hevinnis hicht

And said, “O lord, quhy sleipis thow sa lang?

Walk and discerne my cause groundit on richt,

Se how I am be fraud, maistrie, and slicht

Peillit full bair and so is mony one

Now in this warld richt wonder wobegone.

“Se how this cursit syn of covetice

Exylit hes baith lufe, lawtie, and law.

Now few or nane will execute justice,

In falt of quhome the pure man is overthraw.

The veritie suppois the jugis knaw,

Thay ar so blindit with affectioun

But dreid for meid thay thoill the richt go doun.

“Seis thow not, lord, this warld overturnit is

As quha wald change gude gold in leid or tyn.

The pure is peillit, the lord may do na mis,

And simonie is haldin for na syn.

Now is he blyith with okker maist may wyn.

Gentrice is slane and pietie is ago.

Allace gude lord, quhy tholis thow it so?

“Thow tholis this evin for our grit offence.

Thow sendis us troubill and plaigis soir

As hunger, derth, grit weir, or pestilence

Bot few amendis now thair lyfe thairfoir.

We pure pepill as now may do no moir

Bot pray to thee: sen that we ar opprest

Into this eirth, grant us in hevin gude rest.”

Robert Henryson

RoBERT HENRYSON, thc charming fabulist, Chaucer's aptest and brightest schoiar, aimost nothing is known. David Laing conjectures him to have been born about 1425, to have been educated at some foreign university, and to have died towards the ciosing years of the fifteenth century. It is certain that in 1462, being then * in Artibus Liceniiatus et in Decretis Bacchaiarius,' he was incorporated of the University of Glasgow; and that he was afterwards schooimaster in Dunferraline, and worked there as a notary-pubiic aiso.

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Fables: 7 The Sheep and the Dog

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