Page:King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care (2).djvu/13

GREGORY'S PASTORAL. [Cotton MSS. ðætte we nu ænigne on stal habbað lareowa. Forðam ic ðe bebeode ðæt ðu doo swa ic gelife ðæt ðu wille, ðæt ðu de þisse woruldðinga to þæm geæmettige swa ðu oftost mæge, ðæt ðu ðone wisdom þe ðe God sealde ðær ðær ðu hine befæstan mæge, befæste. Geðenc hwelc witu us þa becomon for ðisse worulde, þa þa we hit nohwæðer ne selfe ne lufedon ne eac oðrum monnum ne lifdon [lærdan]: ðone naman anne we hæfdon [lufedon] ðætte we Cristene wæron, & swiðe feawe þa ðeawas. Đa ic þa ðis eall gemunde ða gemunde ic eac hu ic geseah, ærþæmþe hit eall forheregod wære & forbærned, hu þa cirican geond eall Angelkynn stodon maðma & boca gefylda [afylleda] & eac micel menigu Godes ðeowa & þa swiðe lytle feorme ðara boca wiston, forþæmþe hie heora nan wuht ongietan ne meahton, forþæmþe hie næron on hiora ægen geðeode awritene. Swelce hie cwæden: Ure ieldran, ða þe ðas stowa ær hioldon, hie lufedon wisdom & ðurh ðone hi begeaton welan & us læfdon. Her mon mæg giet gesion hiora swæð, ac we him ne cunnon æfterspyrigan, forðæm we habbað nu ægðer forlæten ge ðone welan ge ðone wisdom, forðamþe we noldon to ðæm spore mid ure mode onlutan. Đa ic þa ðis eall gemunde, þa wundrode ic swiðe swiðe þara godena [godra] witеna þe giu waron geond Angelcynn, & þa bec befullan ealla geleornod hæfdon, þæt hi hiora þa nanne dæl noldon on hiora ægen geðiode wendan. Ac ic þa sona eft me selfum andwyrde & cwæð: Hie ne wendon þætte æfre men sceoldon swa reccelease weorðan & sio lar swa oðfeallan; for ðære wilnunga hi hit forlæton, & woldon ðæt her þy mara wisdom on londe wære ðy we ma geðioda cuðon. Đa gemunde ic hu sio æ wæs

that we have any teachers among us now. And therefore I command thee to do as I believe thou art willing, to disengage thyself from worldly matters as often as thou canst, that thou mayest apply the wisdom which God has given thee wherever thou canst. Consider what þunishments would come upon us on account of this world, if we neither loved it (wisdom) ourselves nor suffered other men to obtain it: we should love the name only of Christian, and very few of the virtues. When I considered all this I remembered also how I saw, before it had been all ravaged and burnt, how the churches throughout the whole of England stood filled with treasures and books, and there was also a great multitude of God's servants, but they had very little knowledge of the books, for they could not understand any- thing of them, because they were not written in their own language.