## The Four Foes of Mankind

### Publication Statement:

This file is part of the facsimile-edition of the Auchinleck Manuscript was co-edited by Professor David Burnley and Dr Alison Wiggins. The HTML versions of the resource are freely available at http://www.nls.uk/auchinleck/

### Notes:

This manuscript file was originally supplied as foes.html and the header file was located in heads/foes_head.html both of which were converted to TEI XML by Dr James Cummings of the Oxford Text Archive. The notes below were taken from the header file and each HTML paragraph placed in a separate note.

Scribe 1

16-line stanzas, rhyming aaabcccbdddbeeeb. Markedly alliterative. 112 lines.

Unique copy.

Edition:
C. Carleton-Brown, Religious Lyrics of the XIVth Century (Oxford: Clarendon, 1924). Second edition revised by G. V. Smithers (Oxford: Clarendon, 1952).

Other editions:
C. Bullock, 'The Enemies of Man', Review of English Studies, 5, 18 (1929): 186-194.
E. Kölbing, 'Kleine Publicationen aus der Auchinleck-hs: VIII, Die Feinde des Menschen', Englische Studien, 9 (1886): 441-442.
D. Laing, Owain Miles (Edinburgh: Privately printed, 1837).

Index 3462.

### Source:

The Auchinleck Manuscript (NLS Adv MS 19.2.1) is one of the National Library of Scotland’s greatest treasures. Produced in London in the 1330s, it provides a unique insight into the English language and literature that Chaucer and his generation grew up with and were influenced by. It acquired its name from its first known owner, Lord Auchinleck, who discovered the manuscript in 1740 and donated it to the precursor of the National Library in 1744.

### The Four Foes of Mankind

Þe siker soþe whoso seys [f.303rb] [Image]
Wiþ diol dreye we our days
& walk mani wil ways
As wandrand wiȝtes.
Al our games ous agas,[5]
So mani tenes ou[s] tas
Þurth fonding of fele fas
Þat fast wiþ ous fiȝtes.
Our flesche is fouled wiþ þe fende
Þer we finde a fals frende;[10]
Þei þai heuen vp her hende
Þai no hold nouȝt her hiȝtes.
Þis er þre þat er þra, [ er: e altered from i on both occasions.]
ȝete þe ferþ is our fa:
Deþ þat derieþ ous swa[15]
& diolely ous diȝtes.
¶ Þis world wileþ þus, y wat,
Þurth falsschip of fairhat;
Where we go bi ani gat
Wiþ bale he ous bites:[20]
Now kirt, now care,
Now min, now mare,
Now sounde, now sare,
Now song, now sites,
Now nouȝt, now ynouȝ,[25]
Now wele, now wouȝ,
Now is in longing þat louȝ
Þat o þis liif lites,
Now geten, now gan;
Y tel it bot a lent lan[30]
When al þe welþ of our wan
Þus oway wites.
¶ Now vnder, now ouer,
Now cast, now couer,
Now plente, now pouer,[35]
Now pine, now plawe,
Now heþen, now here,
Now feble, now fere,
Now swift, now swere,
Now snelle, now slawe,[40]
Now nouȝt, now ynouȝ,
Now fals, now frouȝ,
Þe warld tirueþ ous touȝ
Fram wawe to wawe
Til we be broyden in a brayd [f.303va] [Image] [45]
Þat our lickham is layd
In a graue þat is grayd [This line: inserted in a smaller script by Scribe 1.]
Vnder lame lawe.
¶ When derne deþ ous haþ ydiȝt
Is non so war no so wiȝt[50]
Þat he no felles him in fiȝt
As fire dos in tunder;
Þer nis no letting at lite
Þat he no tittes til him tite
Þat he haþ sammned in site[55]
Loue wel he sunder.
Noiþer he stintes no stokes
Bot ay prickes & prokes
Til he vnclustri al þe lokes
Þat liif ligges vnder.[60]
When y tent til him take
How schuld ich ani mirþe make
Or wele in þis warld wake?
Ywis, it were wonder.
¶ Deþ þat deries ous ȝete[65]
& makes mani wonges wete,
Þer nis no liif þat he wil lete
To lache when him list.
When he is lopen out of les
No pray noman after pes;[70]
For non giftes þat ges
Mai no man til him trist.
Our gode frendes has he fot
& put þe pouer to þe pot
& ouer him yknett his knott,[75]
Vnder his clay kist.
Derne deþ, opon þe ȝong
Wiþ þe to striue it is strong;
Y wold be wreken of mi wrong,
ȝif y way wist.[80]
¶ When þou has gaderd & yglened
Long lyopon & lened
Sparely þi gode spened
& loþ for to lete.
Þe war leuer swelt vnder sword[85]
Þan parti of þi peni hord;
Þou wringest mani wrang word
Wiþ wanges ful wete;
& deþ dinges o di dore
Þat nedes schal be þi neiȝebore [f.303vb] [Image] [90]
& fett þe to ten f[l]ore
Foule vnder fete.
For al þe craft þat þou can
& al þe wele þatow wan
Þe mock & þe mad man[95]
No schul þai neuer mete.
¶ Seþ þen font ous fra filþ wesche [ ous: s inserted superscript. wesche: originally wasche; e inserted superscript and a underdotted ]
Our fa haue founde we our flesche
Wiþ mani fondinges & fresche
& four-sum of fendes.[100]
Is nan so þra of hem þre
Þat ma merres þan me;
Bisier mai nan be
To bring ous out bendes.
Man, mene þou þi mis,[105]
Trowe trustly on þis:
Þou no wat neuer, ywis,
In world whare þou wendes,
No wat gat þatow gas,
Þis four er redi on þi pas.[110]
Now haue y founden þi fas,
Finde tow þi frendes.