Of The Which, The First Is Clept Pison, Or Ganges, That Is
All One; And It Runneth Throughout Ind Or Emlak, In The Which River
Be Many Precious Stones, And Much Of Lignum Aloes And Much Gravel
Of Gold.
And that other river is clept Nilus or Gison, that goeth
by Ethiopia and after by Egypt.
And that other is clept Tigris,
that runneth by Assyria and by Armenia the great. And that other
is clept Euphrates, that runneth also by Media and Armenia and by
Persia. And men there beyond say, that all the sweet waters of the
world, above and beneath, take their beginning of the well of
Paradise, and out of that well all waters come and go.
The first river is clept Pison, that is to say in their language
Assembly; for many other rivers meet them there, and go into that
river. And some men clepe it Ganges, for a king that was in Ind,
that hight Gangeres, and that it ran throughout his land. And that
water [is] in some place clear, and in some place troubled, in some
place hot, and in some place cold.
The second river is clept Nilus or Gison; for it is always trouble;
and Gison, in the language of Ethiopia, is to say, trouble, and in
the language of Egypt also.
The third river, that is dept Tigris, is as much for to say as,
fast-running; for he runneth more fast than any of the tother; and
also there is a beast, that is clept tigris, that is fast-running.
The fourth river is clept Euphrates, that is to say, well-bearing;
for there grow many goods upon that river, as corns, fruits and
other goods enough plenty.
And ye shall understand that no man that is mortal ne may not
approach to that Paradise. For by land no man may go for wild
beasts that be in the deserts, and for the high mountains and great
huge rocks that no man may pass by, for the dark places that be
there, and that many. And by the rivers may no man go. For the
water runneth so rudely and so sharply, because that it cometh down
so outrageously from the high places above, that it runneth in so
great waves, that no ship may not row ne sail against it. And the
water roareth so, and maketh so huge noise and so great tempest,
that no man may hear other in the ship, though he cried with all
the craft that he could in the highest voice that he might. Many
great lords have assayed with great will, many times, for to pass
by those rivers towards Paradise, with full great companies. But
they might not speed in their voyage. And many died for weariness
of rowing against those strong waves. And many of them became
blind, and many deaf, for the noise of the water. And some were
perished and lost within the waves. So that no mortal man may
approach to that place, without special grace of God, so that of
that place I can say you no more; and therefore, I shall hold me
still, and return to that, that I have seen.
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