Enforce you, therefore, His creatures each one To honour your Maker with humble obeisance-- Namely, thou man! I speak to thee alone Before all other, as chief of His creance. Think how He hath made thee this semblance; Pluck up thine heart, and hold thine head upright; And evermore have heaven in thy sight. Ovid in his book, cleped _The Transformation_, Among all other his fables and poesies Maketh special mention of thy creation; Showing how God wondrously gan devise When He thee made, and gave to thee th' emprise Of all this world, and feoffed thee with all As chief possessioner of things mortal. In token whereof He gave thee upright visage; And gave thee in commandment to lift thine eye Up toward heaven, only for that usage Thou shouldest know Him for thy Lord Almighty, All other beasts as things unworthy; To behold th' earth with grovelling countenance; And be subdued to thine obeisance. But, as touching the cause specially Wherefore I have ordained thee this night to appear, It is to put thee in knowledge and memory To what intent thou art ordained to be here. I let thee wit thou art a passenger That hast to do a great and long voyage, And through the world must be thy passage. Address thyself now towards this journey; For, as now thou shalt no longer here abide, Lo! here Reason to govern thee in thy way, And Sensuality upon thine other side. But Reason I depute to be thy chief guide, With Innocency that is thy tender nourice; Evermore to wean thee from th' appetite of vice.
_Man._ O Lord of Lords, my Lord God immortal! To Thee be honour and joy ever to endure; Whose heavenly empire shall never be final, But world without end remain stable and sure; Whom heaven and hell and earthly creature, With one assent, and all with one accord, Honoureth, praiseth, and knowledgeth for their Lord. To Thee mine head I humbly incline, Thanking Thy grace that first hast ordained me To be as a silly creature of Thine; And, after that, of Thy great bounty Thou hast me set in sovereign degree, And given me the profits of every earthly thing, As well of fruits as of beasts living; And that, that is also most precious, Thou hast me inspired with heavenly wisdom, Whereby I may do works marvellous. In every place, wheresoever I come, Of each perfection Thy grace hath lent me some; So that I know that creature nowhere Of whose virtue I am not partner. I have, as hath each other element Among other in this world, a common being; With herbs and trees continual nourishment That is sufficient to natural living; With sensual beasts I have a manner of knowing Whereby I should in good things delight, And flee the contrary of mine appetite. And, over all this, Thou hast given me virtue Surmounting all other in high perfection: That is, understanding, whereby I may aview And well discern what is to be done; Yet, for all that, have I free election [To] do what I will, be it evil or well; And am put in the hand of mine own counsel. And, in this point, I am half angelic; Unto Thy heavenly spirits almost egal; Albeit in some part I be to them unlike. For, they be ordained to endure perpetual; And I, wretched body! shall have my funeral When it pleaseth Thy grace so to provide: Man is not ordained alway here to abide. Wherefore, unto Thy sovereign and high estate, Most heavenly prince! I make mine orison Sith it hath pleased Thy noble grace algate That I, unworthy of so great renown, In this world shall have possession: Thou give me grace myself to enure As may me profit, and be to Thy pleasure.