De laude Cestrie - Lucian
Edited by Mark Faulkner
Excerpt 4
[Folio 5r]
Non excidit memorie, nec periit
recordationi
quod michi
ante menses aliquot, ex duricia di
uitum tribulanti,
tripliciter in ciuitate
trisillaba contu
listi.
Cestria trisillaba est.
Nam pro responso monasterii missus
et curiam
comitis
aditurus,
post missas in basilica
Archangeli Michaelis ex
plicitas
i
,
temporalis negocii certitudinem
nactus,
eciam uenerandi
precursoris ecclesiam credidi
uisitan
dam,
1
quo potens
meritis, exaudicione piissimus, Eterni Regis
clementiam uotis omnium
impetraret.
Ede sacra
egressus,
cum in atrio paululum subsisterem
et ex loci facie, quia
puer ibi dudum
literas didiceram,
2
res humanas uersari et re
uersari
sciens, presentia preteritis compararem;
tu cum
de proximo transires
et literate lucis dulcedinem
dissimula
tionis tenebris tegere non ualeres,
3
clericum probans
4
et clarius
agens,
salutacione oblata,
alacriter accessisti,
hilariter
astitisti,
amabiliter deduxisti.
De sinu pectoris tui ue
nit
quod honestatem refunderet,
quod humilitatem saperet,
quod gratiam redoleret.
Fecunde unum debriat
quod alteri
de facili profluebat,
5
Quod uni notum, alteri
nouum.
quia plerumque quod nec ciuis attendit,
peregrinus appendit.
Quod unus uelut parum optulit,
alter plurimum reputauit,
quia nichil adeo demulcet ani
mum, ut
caste impensum caritatis obsequium.
Fateor eo
die differenter ac uarie
temporis tractus effluxit:
castellum
tedio, set ecclesia solatio
fuit;
in definicione negocii
distulit me
turgiditas et superbia secularium,
set refouit Pulcherrimum clerici iudicium: primum turgere, postea
timere!
6
[Folio 6r]
honestas et amor domesticorum;
et quicquid lesit aula principis,
leniuit uberius atrium Precursoris.
Ibi sapuit in gut
ture mentis quantum a se
differant salum maris et
sinus matris;
in uno turbamur, in altero
consolamur.
Tempestas docet quid tranquillitas donet;
quicquid inuexit
asperum fremitus
pelagi,
mitigauit et fouit misericordia
proximi.
Preterea astantibus et colloquentibus
nobis
,
repen
te ex improuiso,
morum tuorum specimen placenter
erupit,
qui laici loquacis laudes ingestas et glorie
predicabiles
sancta quadam superbia
7
(uel, ut mitius dicam,
dedignatione libera) contempsisti,Parua laus paruos deicit; temporalis stultos
decipit.
et discessu tuo tanquam importunam
corniculam fugiens,
ne precideretur tibi merces Altissimi,
fauorem uenti et uana preconia
uentilasti.
Sensum su
biuit,
memoriam dulcorauit,
quod de apostolorum tuba sa
lubriter tonuit:
gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientie
nostre; (2Cor 1:12)
et alibi,
Si testimonium hominum accipimus, testimonium Dei
maius est (1Jn
5:9).
Et
Iesus
non se credebat Iudeis eo
quod ipse
nosset omnes et quia opus ei non erat ut quid
testimonium perhiberet
de homine, ipse enim sciebat
quid esset in homine (Jn 2:24-5).
8
Fumus quippe
laudis humane dampnat
ii
oculum et decepit animum,
tamen quod fatuum mulceat, fortem non moueat -
patenter
ostendit hinc poeta et inde
propheta,
sicut disparat litera:
9
fautor utroque tuum laudabit pollice ludum
(Horace, Epistulae I. 18.
66);
et apud
nos,
sana me domine et sanabor, saluum me fac et
saluus
ero, quoniam laus mea tu es (Jer
17:14)
Ieremias.;
non sis michi tu formidini spes Lauda Dominum! In Domino laudabitur
anima tua (cf. Ps 33:3). Ille sentit qui illi
seruit, id est Deo.
[Folio 6v]
mea tu in die
afflictionis (Jer 17:17);
et ego non sum turbatus, te
pastorem sequens et diem
hominis non desideraui tu scis (Jer 17:16)
.
Hac rationum consequentia
et tu rite
spernebas imma
turum uirtutis testimonium,
sciens quam tremendum sit
uiris ueritatis
iudicium.
Ibi tunc lucide patuit quantum
leuitas
placuit.
Et fortasse non errat
si quis dixerit
quod,
familiaritate contubernii,
saporem hunc in uiscera editui sui,
non arundo luti set amicus
sponsi, Baptista
transfudit.
10
Qui, suis temporibus, gaudium et gemitum terrenorum equa lance
pensauit,
et telas aranearum fauores et furores
hominum
reputauit.
Iohannes
suum consimilauit
sibi.
11
Qui preuenit suum Dominum
per ordine hu
militatis,
ipse te instituit suum famulum
ad semi
tam sanctitatis.
Eius tu minister in domo,
qui tibi ma
gister in Domino.
Ideo tibi laudis lucrum,
quasi lutum
pedum.
Apparatus Criticus
- i.
- Michaelis explicitas] explicitas Michaelis ta Back to context...
- ii.
- dampnat] qui dampnat Bod Back to context...
Footnotes
- 1.
- Patristic and later authors often use precursoris Dei ('precursor of God') as a circumlocution for John the Baptist: see, in particular, Luke 1:76: praeibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias eius ('for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways'). Back to context...
- 2.
- Lucian gives us a rare insight into his life here, telling us that he received his basic education at St John's. Back to context...
- 3.
- This clause is one of two examples cited in the DML of the past participle of literare, literatus, meaning 'literary'. Back to context...
- 4.
- Lucian's patron was probably a member of the secular community attached to St John's, so literally as well as metaphorically clericus. Back to context...
- 5.
- For de facili as an adverb meaning 'easily, readily', see DML 'facilis' 1(e). Back to context...
- 6.
- This maxim is a version of Matt 20:16 ('So shall the last be first, and the first last'). Back to context...
- 7.
- sancta ... superbia, 'holy pride', is defined by Sedulius Scotus as when someone glories, like the apostles, in afflictions on behalf of Christ (Collectaneum miscellananeum 13.14.46) . Back to context...
- 8.
- These three quotations from the New Testament emphasise the worthlessness of human praise compared to divine favour which has been merited. Back to context...
- 9.
- It is unclear what Lucian means by sicut disparat litera. He may be referring to the slight similarity between the words fatuum and fortem, in which case, we might translate 'just as the [change of] letter makes the distinction’; alternatively, if litera singular is taken to mean 'letters, literature', we might translate 'literature indeed makes a distinction'. Back to context...
- 10.
- Lucian suggests his patron's ability to disregard the layman's praise comes from John the Baptist, the dedicatee of the cathedral community. The phrase amicus sponsi, 'friend of the bridegroom', comes from John 3:29, where John says he is content to be the best man at Christ's marriage to the Church. Lucian uses harundo luti, 'reed in the mud', as a metonym for the instability and inferiority of earthly life. Harundo presumably refers to Matt 11:7 and Luke 7:24. Back to context...
- 11.
- consimilare is not listed in either the DML or the OLD. For spiders' webs as an image of the fragility of human works, see Isa 59:5, Osee 8:6. Back to context...