The Complete Old English Poems

by Craig Williamson

[Wisdom rebukes the mind of Boethius for losing sight of the truth and engages it in a clarifying dialogue about God’s governance of the world. Boethius in his mind finally admits that fate does not control the world and that God is the creator and director of the world, but he is not sure to what end each earthly beginning aspires. The mind admits that it exists in a rational, mortal man, but insists that it knows nothing beyond that. Wisdom notes that the mind is clouded by mists of misunderstanding that must be cleared away and says:]

  5

  “You can clearly see that if a hazy cloud

  Hangs and hovers before the bright sun

  Or the shimmering stars, those sky-candles

  Cannot continue to light up the land

  Till the thick mist becomes thinner. 5

  You can also see that the savage south-wind

  Can stir up calm waters, gray as old glass,

  Whipping up the whale-road, turning smooth seas

  Into rough sailing. Likewise a spring may surge,

  Cool and pure, from a crack in the cliff, 10

  Spilling from stone, its gray doorway,

  Gushing out briskly, rushing toward home,

  Till a mountain face splits, slings down

  A boulder into the bright, burgeoning water,

  Slashing its flow into separate streams, 15

  Shifting the riverrun into rambling channels.

  So the shadow of your soul, the mist of your mind,

  Wants to cloud the wonder of my bright teaching,

  To stir up a storm in your once calm heart.

  But if you want to gaze on the radiant truth, 20

  You must renounce and relinquish all idle joys,

  Imperfect goods and pointless pleasures,

  And also abandon the anguish and fear

  Of worldly slights, scorns, and afflictions.

  What you give up should make you eternally glad— 25

  Your false splendor hides the heart’s sadness,

  Its innate longing for a truer treasure.

  Suffering sometimes leads to the truth,

  For earthly blessings can shroud the soul

  Like a deadly mist. In your time of need, 30

  Never despair of discovering the good,

  Even in the face of torment and terror.

  Desire and fear are the mind’s shackles,

  The archest of enemies, the greatest of griefs.

  They can drag the clouds of chaos, 35

  The mists of deception, before the mind’s eye,

  Veiling your vision, obscuring your thought,

  Shrouding your heart till deep in the dark

  You are blind to the beauty of the unshaded sun,

  The eternal radiance of the Lord’s shaping truth. 40

  The mind must be freed from the shadow of despair.”

  [Wisdom upbraids Boethius for putting his faith in the false goods and transient pleasures of the world without realizing their limited value. He laments the fact that mankind so often substitutes wealth for wisdom and worldly delight for a deeper understanding of the divine will at work in the world. Then Wisdom urges the mind to remember its happier days when Wisdom adopted it, serving as its first and best teacher, and to find in that former state a sense of true felicity.]

  6

  Then Wisdom unlocked his word-hoard again,

  Singing another truth-song for Boethius:

  “When the unclouded sun shines clear and bright

  From the arch of heaven, every light on earth,

  Every star in the sky, finds its radiance dimmed 5

  By that blazing candle. When the southwest wind

  Eases across the plain, gentle and generous,

  Seedlings sing, flowers flourish,

  Meadows quicken, fields unfurl

  With a gather of grain, a fullness of fruit, 10

  And creation rejoices in its luminous life,

  As it is rightly permitted to do—

  But the cold will come, the northeast storm,

  Blasting the bright beauty of the rose,

  Whipping calm waves into surging seas, 15

  Driving the ocean to storm the shore.

  Alas, no loveliness lasts in this world,

  No peaceful seas are permanently still.

  Time and transience will take their toll;

  And the fear of death, torment the soul.” 20

  [Wisdom argues that Boethius has not lost anything of real value such as his family and health, and that those who seem fortunate in earthly eyes may actually be deeply troubled, having lost sight of the truth. Boethius in his mind acknowledges this and finds comfort in it and hope for the future. Wisdom goes on to argue that even such worldly blessings are fleeting and urges Boethius to seek true happiness by striving toward the highest felicity, which is God. All earthly treasures are mutable as are all earthly lives. Only the soul is unchanging and eternal.]

  7

  Then Wisdom, once more following his custom

  Of moving from word-smith to song-shaper,

  Began to weave prose into poetry, saying:

  “No man has ever heard of a high hall

  Being fashioned with firm roof-beams 5

  On the pinnacle of a mountain, and no man

  Has ever properly mixed wisdom with pride.

  Can you put a sturdy dwelling on a sand-dune

  Or build a house of wisdom and judgment

  On the slopes of cupidity, the ground of greed? 10

  The barren sands will wolf down water,

  Guzzling the rain, just as an insatiable man,

  Thirsty for power, famished for possessions,

  Wild for wealth, will feast on fortune,

  Gorge on greatness, swallow station, 15

  Yet find himself finally hungry at heart.

  A house on a hilltop is blasted by wind.

  A hall on a dune is sucked up by sand

  After a rain-storm. The mind of man

  Cannot be stable on a shaky foundation. 20

  It will shift, sway, and be swept away,

  When all the earthly troubles and torments,

  Mental anxieties and worldly woes,

  Descend upon it like ravenous rain.

  A man who desires eternal delight 25

  Must shun earthly beauty, abandon appearances,

  And carefully construct the house of his mind

  On the rock of humility, a steadfast stone,

  A stable foundation. That soul-hall

  Will never collapse under the wind of worry, 30

  The storm of anxiety, the shifting sands

  Of doubt and despair—for in that valley

  Of humility and hope, lives the Lord himself,

  Settled in his house, at home in his mind.

  So wise men lead untroubled lives, 35

  Never buffeted by shifting worries

  Or the torments of time. They reject worldly

  Goods and glory, escape from evil,

  And yearn for grace. Almighty God

  Gathers up a good man in his embracing arms, 40

  Keeping him in a state of constant care,

  His mind at rest, his heart at peace,

  Even in the face of anxious storms,

  When worldly winds batter his spirit,

  And false fortune stalks him relentlessly— 45

  Even when despair desires to wind him up

  In a shroud of woe. Who shields him

  Against these fierce forces but God.”

  [Wisdom continues his argument about the nature of false fortune and worldly goods, noting that avarice is hateful to God and men and that giving treasure is far better than receiving or hoarding it. Generosity is its own gift revered by God. Wisdom also points out that one who has wealth always fears losing it, while one who has nothing walks freely without fear. Boethius argues that he loves the land and its fruits, which are part of God’s creation, but Wisdom counsels him not to yearn for earthly pleasur
es beyond his natural needs. To rise above the nature of animals, man must know himself and use his reason to understand the difference between worldly goods and the eternal good which is God.]

  8

  When Wisdom had clearly communicated

  With truthful words his moving message,

  He began again to sing to Boethius:

  “The original age was an age of fulfillment

  For all earth-dwellers, the children of men. 5

  There was grain to harvest, fruit to gather.

  Everything was rich and ripe—nothing withered

  Or wasted away. That age is long gone.

  In that world there were no high halls,

  No sumptuous feasts, no elegant garments, 10

  None of those delights that people now desire,

  None of those goods that people call precious.

  No one knew the distinction between rich and poor

  In that original age. People were not eager

  To follow sinful desires in any way, 15

  Except as they might moderately follow

  The nature that Christ created for them.

  Each day they ate one meal in the evening

  Of mixed grains and fruits, a natural feast

  From the earth’s green groves and gardens. 20

  No one drank bright wine from a cup.

  No one mixed meat and drink, water and honey,

  Sewed garments with silk, embroidered their gowns,

  Set them with gems, or built jeweled halls

  With subtle skill. They slept outdoors 25

  Under the trees, drank water from the stream,

  Clear and cold. No merchant sailed

  To an alien shore over the surging sea.

  No hostile ship bore battle-hard warriors

  Over the whale-road to attack an enemy. 30

  No one thought or talked about war.

  The earth was not yet stained with blood

  From swords and spears and the hostility of men.

  No one under the sun saw a wounded man.

  No one who was evil was ever thought worthy; 35

  A loathsome man was never loved.

  If only the world we live in now

  Were bathed in grace like that original land,

  According to the wishes and wonder of God—

  If only there were no evil under the sun. 40

  Now greed has wormed its slithering way

  Into the minds of men, who care only for wealth,

  Treasure, power, and the pleasure these bring.

  Avarice burns in the unholy heart

  Like the bottomless flame of Mount Etna, 45

  A sulfurous abyss near the island of Sicily,

  That cavernous blaze that men call hell-fire

  Because it is evil and eternally burns,

  Fiercely consuming the country around it,

  Treating the people to torment and terror. 50

  Who was that first man ravenous for riches

  Who ripped up the earth for a trove of gems,

  A gather of gold, a clutch of silver?

  He discovered in those treasures of land and sea

  Only danger and desire, death and destruction.” 55

  [Wisdom argues that power is not a good in itself and is often misused and made evil in the hands of tyrants, citing several examples of this. Power is only good in the hands of a good leader. In the hands of an evil leader, it can be devastating. Wisdom continues, saying in poetry:]

  9

  “We all know of Nero’s disgraceful deeds

  Both near and far—that foul Roman king,

  Whose bloodthirsty reign of savage terror

  Was unmatched on earth and under heaven.

  His fornication and adultery, rape and pillage, 5

  His cruel injustice and unspeakable crimes,

  Were legion in the land. He was mad with power

  And murdered many people, his evil deeds

  Matched by his venomous words and thoughts.

  He brazenly ordered Rome burned, 10

  The seat of government in his whole kingdom,

  Because in his sadistic folly, he wanted to see

  If the Roman flames would glow as brightly,

  Rage as blood-red, and last as long

  As the ravenous blaze that devoured Troy. 15

  His sole purpose was to show his power

  Greater than that of all leaders, all nations.

  That savage sport was no noble game.

  He reaped a grim glory for his ferocity—

  His mad power was feared by everyone. 20

  Once this infamous king also commanded

  All the noble Roman counselors killed,

  All the noblest high-born citizens,

  Along with his own mother and brother.

  They were suddenly slain by the sword’s edge, 25

  Unbound from life by that lethal blade.

  The wicked man murdered his own wife

  And rejoiced in his rage, his heart happier

  For the fierce slaughter of his own spouse.

  That vicious king cared very little 30

  About God’s vengeance for his evil crimes—

  He relished all his ruthless tricks,

  His cunning deceit, his bloodthirsty deeds.

  He controlled the world from sea to shore,

  Earth to air, east to west, everywhere inside 35

  The ocean’s embrace, under heaven’s roof,

  North and south to the earth’s headlands.

  Everyone obeyed him out of self-preservation,

  Out of faith or fear, necessity or need.

  His greatest delight was menacing rulers, 40

  Killing kings. He was certainly famous

  For that unholy sport. Now do you suppose

  That almighty God could not undo Nero,

  Deprive him of power, unravel his authority,

  Unmake that murderous, blood-boasting king, 45

  Erase that evil through his infinite might?

  He could easily have obliterated his authority,

  Canceled his crimes, ended his life.

  Alas, that King Nero collared his people

  With a heavy yoke, burdening his nation 50

  With a weight of blood. Every man and woman

  In the troubled, transient world suffered

  Because he stained his sword with innocent blood,

  Sweeping the land with a brutal blade.

  This is the plain truth: there’s no good in power, 55

  If the wielder of power wishes for no good!”

  [Boethius or his mind begins to argue that he sought power only as a necessary means to a good end, that of ruling wisely and well and reaping a good reputation. Wisdom rebukes him for pursuing the worldly good of fame, emphasizing its transient nature in comparison with the endless afterlife. Then Wisdom continues to counsel his student with poetic advice:]

  10

  “If any man is foolish enough to long for fame—

  If he’s greedy for glory, aching for esteem,

  Let him listen to my words and measure his desires

  Against the wide world, the vault of heaven

  Above the clouds, the grandeur of God 5

  In many directions—south, east, and west.

  The wise man reflects, realizes in his mind

  That the earth is small compared to creation.

  The fool thinks that earth is everything,

  Sees it as spacious, finds it firm in its place, 10

  Seeks power over its broad range—

  But a man can only extend his arms so far

  Till he mourns for the countries he cannot conquer.

  A man famished for fame can never be full

  Because he feeds from an empty bowl. 15

  Oh proud and arrogant men, why do you put

  Your necks in a yoke, harnessed to nothing

  Of lasting value, plow
ing up not glory but grief?

  Why do you ache for something so useless,

  Longing for something so lifeless as power? 20

  Even though nations should sing your praises

  In a multitude of tongues, time will take you.

  Even though you may be noble and well-known,

  Worshipped for wealth, followed for fame,

  Death will not bow down before your authority. 25

  When he comes at the holy commandment

  Of the Ruler of heaven, he cares nothing

  For your worldly glory, but gathers up everyone,

  Rich and poor, powerful and weak,

  Both terrible tyrant and downtrodden peasant. 30

  Everyone is equal in death’s ravenous eyes.

  Time drags every earthly treasure down,

  Both the gift and the giver, the reward and receiver.

  Ask yourself: Where are bones of Weland buried,

  The goldsmith who shaped his jeweled fame? 35

  The bones can be buried but not the skill

  That resides in the spirit and cannot be killed.

  Christ the Creator grants each man his craft.

  No one can destroy the gifts of God,

  The skill and power of the eternal Shaper, 40

  Any more than one could turn back the tides,

  Control the course of the circling stars,

  Or halt the rising of the morning sun.

  What man can know which burial mound

  Holds the withered bones of Weland? 45

  Who can know what barrow holds Brutus,

  The famous consul of the bold Romans?

  Who can know where Cato sleeps in his tomb,

  That famous philosopher, statesman, and leader?

  Death has relentlessly taken them away 50

  Without discretion, without deliberation,

  Without appeal. Their bodies are lost,

  Their fame is fleeting. They wander the shores

  Of shifting memory and are washed away.

  These were bold leaders and beloved teachers— 55

  Their fame is flown, their reputations are unraveled,

  Their glory is gone. Worthy men deserve more,

  But even the wise are soon forgotten.

  Remember these stories and learn this lesson:

  Even though you dream of endless days, 60

  How will a long life make you better?

  Death will come in its own unknown time,

  When God grants the end of your years.

  Death leaves no one behind even though

  You may live long. When his call comes, 65

  And the unending darkness begins to sing,

  What will he make of your fame? Nothing.”

  [Wisdom now shows Boethius how fickle fortune can be, arguing that prosperity comes and goes like unpredictable gusts of wind. He then points out that worldly adversity is actually beneficial to man because it teaches him the transitory nature of earthly goods and also reveals to him just who his true friends are. The treasure of this discovery is worth more than wealth. Then Wisdom continues his teaching, once again in song:]