Nigel de Longchamps

Nigel de Longchamps (fl. c. 1190, died c. 1200), also called Nigellus Wireker, was an Anglo-Norman satirist and poet of the late twelfth century, writing in Latin. He is known to have been a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, from 1186 to 1193, and perhaps earlier (he claims to have met Thomas Becket, killed in 1170). Quotes thumb|Quod natura dedit non sit tibi vile, sed illudinter divitias amplius esse puta.You must not scorn the gifts of nature, but regard among your riches what she gives. Auribus immensis quondam donatus asellus   institit ut caudam posset habere parem. cauda suo capiti quia se conferre nequibat,   altius ingemuit de brevitate sua,mon quia longa satis non esset ad utilitatem.   ante tamen quam sic apocopata foret,consuluit medicos, quia quod natura nequibat,   artis ab officio posse putabat eos.Cui Galienus ait: "satis est bipedalis asello   cauda; quid ulterius poscis, inepte, tibi?sufficit ista tibi, nam quo productior esset,   sordidior fieret proximiorque luto.hac nisi contentus fueris, dum forte requiris   prolongare nimis, abbreviabis eam.quod natura dedit non sit tibi vile, sed illud   inter divitias amplius esse puta.crede mihi, vetus est tibi cauda salubrior ista   natibus innata quam foret illa nova." It happened once an ass with ears immense   Desired to have a tail in size to match.Since with his head his tail could not compare,   He deeply groaned about its brevity.'Twas not because it failed to suit his needs,   Instead, because it was so very short.The doctors he consulted, with the thought   That they might work what nature could not do.Him Galien answered: "Fool, a two-foot tail   Is ample for an ass, why ask for more?Your tail is long enough; a longer one   Would drag the ground and gather dirt.If this one doesn't suit you, while you seek   A tail too long, you may lose some of this.You must not scorn the gifts of nature, but   Regard among your riches what she gives.Believe me, that old tail upon your rump   Is better than a brand-new tail would be." Speculum Stultorum (A Mirror of Fools), "Concerning the Ass That Wished to Have a Longer Tail". Edited by J. H. Mozley and R. R. Raymo (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1960) pp. 32–33. Reported in F. J. E. Raby (ed.) The Oxford Book of Medieval Latin Verse (1966) no. 243, p. 370. Translated by Graydon W. Regenos, The Book of Daun Burnel the Ass (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1959) p. 32 External links Category:Poets from England Category:Latin authors Category:Satirists from England