BACK NEXT ORIGINAL TRANSLATION

505




510




515





520




525 		'That date of yere wel knawe thys hyne.
The lorde ful erly up he ros
To hyre werkmen to hys vyne,
And fyndes ther summe to hys porpos.
Into acordü thay con declyne
For a pene on a day, and forth thay gos,
Wrythen and worchen and don gret pyne,
Kerven and caggen and man hit clos.
Aboute under the lorde to marked tos,
And ydel men stande he fyndes therate.
"Why stande ye ydel ?" he sayde to thos;
"Ne knawe ye of thys day no date?"'

"'Er date of daye hider arn we wonne,"
So was al samen her answar soght.
"We haf standen her syn ros the sunne,
And no man byddes uus do ryght noght."
"Gos into my vyne, dos that ye conne,"
So sayde the lorde, and made hit toght.
"What resonabele hyre be naghte be runne
I yow pay in dede and thoghte."
Thay wente into the vyne and wroghte,
A.nd al day the lorde thus yede his gate,
And nw men to hys vyne he broghte
Welnegh wyl day was passed date.'

505




510




515





520




525 		'The hands knew that the day was near;
That lord full early up arose
To hire men, and commandeer
Their labour; and he hires those
And makes agreement for a mere
Penny a day, and each man goes
To work and toil at tasks severe,
To prune or bind as each man chose.
At the third hour the master rose,
Saw idle men upon his way.
"Idle ?" he says. "Do you suppose
That this is not the start of day ?"'

"'We came before the day began,"
They all as one man made reply,
"We stood since sunrise, and no man
Desired our services to buy."
"Go to my vines ! Do what you can !"
So said the lord. "I will comply.
With what was settled in my plan
In deed and thought I will supply."
And now their efforts multiply;
The lord, content, then went away
And found new men, his spirits high,
Till it was past the close of day.



'That time of year the workers knew. The lord rose early [in the day] to hire men to work the vine, and finds there some to his purpose. They came to an agreement for a penny a day, and went out toiling and labouring and taking great pains, cutting and binding and making secure. About the third hour [9 a.m] the lord goes to market and finds men unemployed [and] standing there. "Why do you stand idle ?" he says to them. "Do you not know the beginning of the day `?"'

'We came before the day began," they all as one man make reply. "We have stood here since the sun rose, and no man asked us to do anything." "Go to my vines; do what you can." So said the lord and made a contract [with them]. "The reasonable wage, when night is come, I will pay you every one in full." They went into the vines and worked, and all day long tbe lord went his way and new men to the vines he brought, until the end of the day was almost past.

BACK NEXT ORIGINAL TRANSLATION