Honor est benefactivæ operationis signum: Aristotiles. Diverte a malo, et fac bonum: Pso. Nobilis est ille quem nobilitat sua virtus: Cassianus. Proximus ille Deo qui scit ratione tacere: Cato. Mors ultima linea rerum: Horat.Of your oratour and poete laureate1170Of Englande, his workis[1782]here they begynne:In primisthe Boke of Honorous Astate;Item the Boke how men shulde fle synne;Item Royall Demenaunce worshyp to wynne;[1783]Item the Boke to speke well or be styll;Item to lerne you to[1784]dye when ye wyll;Virtuti omnia parent: Salust. Nusquam tuta fides: Virgilius. Res est soliciti plena timoris amor: Ovid. Si volet[1785]usus, quem penes, &c.: Horace.Of Vertu also the souerayne enterlude;The Boke of the Rosiar; Prince Arturis Creacyoun;The False Fayth that now goth, which dayly is renude;Item his Diologgis of Ymagynacyoun;1180Item Antomedon[1786]of Loues Meditacyoun;Item New Gramer in Englysshe compylyd;Item Bowche[1787]of Courte, where Drede was begyled;Non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum: Psalmo. Concedat laurea linguæ: Tullius. Fac cum consilio, et in æternum non peccabis: Salamon.His commedy, Achademios callyd by name;Of Tullis Familiars the translacyoun;Item Good Aduysement, that brainles doth blame;The Recule ageinst Gaguyne of the Frenshe nacyoun;Item the Popingay, that hath in commendacyounLadyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd;1190Non mihi sit modulo rustica papilio: Vates. Dominare in virtute tua: Pso. Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum: Sapient. Fugere pudor, verumque fidesque: In quorum subiere locum fraudesque, dolique, Insidiæque, et vis, et amor sceleratus habendi: Ovid. Filia Babylonis misera: Psalmo.And of Soueraynte a noble pamphelet;And of Magnyfycence a notable mater,How Cownterfet Cowntenaunce of the new getWith Crafty Conueyaunce dothe smater and flater,And Cloked Collucyoun is brought in to claterWith Courtely Abusyoun; who pryntith it wele in myndeMoche dowblenes of the worlde therin he may fynde;Of manerly maistres Margery[1788]Mylke and Ale;To her he wrote many maters of myrthe;Yet, thoughe I[1789]say it, therby lyith a tale,1200For Margery wynshed, and breke her hinder girth;Lor,[1790]how she made moche of her gentyll birth!With, Gingirly, go gingerly! her tayle was made of hay;Go she neuer so gingirly, her honesty is gone away;De nihilo nihil fit: Aristotiles. Le plus displeysant pleiser puent.Harde to make ought of that is nakid nought;This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase,Wonder is to wryte what wrenchis she wrowght,To face out her foly with a midsomer mase;With pitche she patchid her pitcher shuld not[1791]crase;It may wele ryme, but shroudly it doth accorde,1210To pyke out honesty of suche a potshorde:Patet per versus.Nota.Hinc puer hic[1792]natus; vir conjugis hinc spoliatusJure thori; est fœtus Deli de sanguine cretus;Hinc magis extollo, quod erit puer alter Apollo;Si quæris qualis? meretrix castissima talis;Et relis, et ralis, et reliqualis.A good herynge of thes olde talis;Fynde no mo suche fro[1793]Wanflete to Walis.Et reliqua omelia[1794]de diversis tractatibus.Apostolus: Non habemus hic civitatem manentem, sed futuram perquærimus. Notat bellum Cornubiense, quod in campestribus et in patentioribus vastisque solitudinibus prope Grenewiche gestum est.Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,1220Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,He did translate, enterprete, and disclose;The Tratyse of Triumphis of the Rede Rose,Wherein many storis ar breuely contaynedThat vnremembred longe tyme remayned;Erudimini qui judicatis terram: Pso.The Duke of Yorkis creauncer whan Skelton was,Now Henry the viij. Kyng of Englonde,[1795]A tratyse he deuysid and browght it to pas,CallidSpeculum Principis, to bere in his honde,Therin to rede, and to vnderstande1230All the demenour of princely astate,To be our Kyng, of God preordinate;Quis stabit mecum adversus operantes iniquitatem? Pso. Arrident melius seria picta jocis: In fabulis Æsopi.Also the Tunnynge of Elinour Rummyng,With Colyn Clowt, Iohnn Iue, with Ioforth Iack;To make suche trifels it asketh sum konnyng,In honest myrth parde requyreth no lack;The whyte apperyth the better for the black,And after conueyauns as the world goos,It is no foly to vse the Walshemannys hoos;Implentur veteris Bacchi pinguisque ferinæ: Virgilius. Aut prodesse volunt aut delectare poetæ: Horace.The vmblis of venyson, the botell[1796]of wyne,1240To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent,He wrate[1797]therof many a praty lyne,Where it became, and whether it went,And how that it was wantonly spent;The Balade also of the Mustarde Tarte;Suche problemis to paynt it longyth to his arte;Adam, Adam, ubi es? Genesis. Resp. Ubi nulla requies, ubi nullus ordo, sed sempiternus horror inhabitat: Job.Of one Adame all a knaue, late dede and gone,—Dormiat in pace, lyke a dormows!—He wrate[1798]an Epitaph for his graue stone,With wordes deuoute and sentence agerdows,[1799]1250For he was euer ageynst Goddis hows,All his delight was to braule and to barkeAgeynst holy chyrche,[1800]the preste, and the clarke;Etenim passer invenit sibi donum: Psalmo.Of Phillip Sparow the lamentable fate,The dolefull desteny, and the carefull chaunce,Dyuysed by Skelton after the funerall rate;Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce,And grudge[1801]therat with frownyng countenaunce;But what of that? hard it is to please all men;Who list amende it, let hym set to his penne;1260For the gyse now adaysOf sum iangelyng iays[1802]Is to discommendeThat they can not[1803]amende,Though they wolde spendeAll the wittis they haue.What ayle them to deprauePhillippe Sparows graue?HisDirige, her CommendaciounCan be no derogacyoun,1270But myrth and consolacyoun,Made by protestacyoun,No man to myscontentWith Phillippis enteremente.Alas, that goodly mayd,Why shulde she be afrayd?Why shulde she take shameThat her goodly name,Honorably reportid,Shulde be set and sortyd,1280To be matriculateWith ladyes of astate?I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,By Hercules that hell did harow,And with a venomows arowSlew of the EpidawrisOne of the Centawris,Or Onocentauris,[1804]Or Hippocentauris;[1805]By whos myght and maine1290An hart was slayneWith hornnis twayneOf glitteryng golde;And the apples of goldeOf Hesperides withholde,And with a dragon kepteThat neuer more slepte,By merciall strengthHe wan at length;And slew Gerione1300With thre bodys in one;With myghty corrageAdauntid the rageOf a lyon sauage;Of Diomedis stabyllHe brought out a rabyllOf coursers and rounsisWith[1806]lepes and bounsis;And with myghty luggyng,Wrastelynge and tuggyng,1310He pluckid the bullBy the hornid scull,And offred to Cornucopia;And so fortheper cetera:Also by Hecates bowre[1807]In Plutos gastly towre;By the vgly Eumenides,That neuer haue rest nor ease;By the venemows serpentThat in hell is neuer brente,1320In Lerna the Grekis fenThat was engendred then;By Chemeras flamys,And all the dedely namysOf infernall posty,Where soulis fry and rosty;By the Stigiall flode,And the stremes wodeOf Cochitos bottumles well;By the feryman of hell,1330Caron with his berde hore,That rowyth with a rude ore,And with his frownsid fortopGydith his bote with a prop:I coniure[1808]Phillippe, and call,In the name of Kyng Saull;Primo Regumexpres,He bad the PhitonesTo witche craft her to dres,And by her abusiouns,1340And damnable illusiounsOf meruelous conclusiouns,And by her supersticiounsOf[1809]wonderfull condiciouns,She raysed vp in that stedeSamuell that was dede;But whether it were so,He wereidem in numero,The selfe same Samuell,How be it to Saull he did tell1350The Philistinis[1810]shulde hym askry,And the next day he shulde dye,I wyll my[1811]selfe dischargeTo letterd men at large:But, Phillip, I coniure théNow by theys names thre,Diana in the woddis grene,Luna that so bryght doth shene,Proserpina in hell,That thou shortely tell,1360And shew now vnto meWhat the cause may beOf this perplexyte![1812]Phillyppe answeryth.Inferias, Philippe, tuas Scroupe pulchra JoannaInstanter petiit: cur nostri carminis illamNunc pudet? est sero; minor est infamia vero.Then such that[1813]haue disdaynydAnd of this worke complaynyd,I pray God they be[1814]paynydNo wors than[1815]is contaynyd1370In verses two or threThat folowe as ye may se:Luride, cur, livor, volucris pia funera damnas?Talia te rapiant rapiunt quæ fata volucrem!Est tamen invidia mors tibi continua:Porcus se ingurgitat cæno, et luto se immergit: Guarinus Veronens. Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur: Pso. c. Exaltabuntur cornua justi: Psalmo.The Gruntyng and the[1816]groynninge of the[1817]gronnyng swyne;Also the Murnyng[1818]of the mapely rote;How the grene couerlet sufferd grete pine,Whan the flye net was set for to catche a cote,Strake one with a birdbolt to the hart rote;1380Also a deuoute Prayer to Moyses hornis,Metrifyde merely, medelyd with scornis;[1819]Tanquam parieti inclinato et maceriæ depulsæ: Psalmo. Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido: Ovid.Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde;He wrate of a muse[1820]throw a mud wall;How a do cam trippyng in at the rere warde,But, lorde, how the parker was wroth with all!And of Castell Aungell the fenestrall,Glittryng and glistryng and gloryously glasid,It made sum mens eyn dasild and dasid;Introduxit me in cubiculum suum: Cant. Os fatuæ[1821]ebullit stultitiam. Cant.The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre,1390Of his pleasaunt paine there and his glad distresIn plantynge and pluckynge a propre ieloffer flowre;But how it was, sum were to recheles,Not[1822]withstandynge it is remedeles;What myght she say? what myght he do therto?Though Iak sayd nay, yet Mok there loste her sho;Audaces fortuna juvat: Virgilius. Nescia mens hominum sortis[1823]fatique futuri: Virgilius.How than lyke a man he wan the barbicanWith a sawte of solace at the longe last;The colour dedely, swarte, blo, and wanOf Exione, her lambis[1824]dede and past,1400The cheke and the nek but a shorte cast;In fortunis fauour euer to endure,No man lyuyng, he sayth, can be sure;Oleæque Minerva inventrix: Georgicorum. Atque agmina cervi pulverulenta [fuga] glomerant: Æneid. iv.How dame Minerua[1825]first found the olyue tre,she redAnd plantid it there where[1826]neuer before was none;vnshredAn hynde vnhurt hit[1827]by casuelte,not[1828]bledRecouerd whan the forster was gone;and spedThe hertis of the herd began for to grone,and fledThe howndes began to yerne and to quest;and dredWith litell besynes standith moche rest;in bed1410Duæ molentes in pistrino, una assumetur, altera relinquetur: Isaias.[1829]Foris vastabit eum timor, et intus pavor: Pso.[1830]His Epitomis of the myller and his ioly make;How her ble was bryght as blossom on the spray,A wanton wenche and wele coude bake a cake;The myllar was loth to be out of the way,But yet for all that, be as be may,Whether he rode to Swaffhamm[1831]or to Some,The millar durst not[1832]leue his wyfe at home;Opera quæ ego facio ipsa perhibent testimonium de me: In Evang. &c.With, Wofully[1833]arayd, and shamefully betrayd;Of his makyng deuoute medytacyons;Vexilla regishe deuysid to be displayd;1420WithSacris solemniis, and other contemplacyouns,That in them comprisid consyderacyons;Thus passyth he the tyme both nyght and day,Sumtyme with sadnes, sumtyme with play;Honora medicum; propter necessitatem creavit eum altissimus, &c. Superiores constellationes influunt in corpora subjecta et disposita, &c. Nota.Though Galiene[1834]and Dioscorides,[1835]With Ipocras,[1836]and mayster Auycen,By there phesik doth[1837]many a man ease,And though Albumasar can thé enforme and kenWhat constellacions ar good or bad for men,Yet whan the rayne rayneth and the gose wynkith,1430Lytill wotith the goslyng what the gose thynkith;Spectatum admisse,[1838]risus teneatur amor? Horace. Nota.He is not[1839]wyse ageyne the streme that stryuith;Dun is in the myre, dame, reche me my spur;Nedes[1840]must he rin that the deuyll dryuith;When the stede[1841]is stolyn, spar the stable dur;A ientyll hownde shulde neuer play the kur;It is sone aspyed where the thorne prikkith;And wele wotith the cat whos berde she likkith;Lumen ad revelationem gentium: Pso. clxxv.[1842]With Marione clarione, sol, lucerne,Graund Juir, of this Frenshe prouerbe olde,1440How men were wonte for to discerneBy candelmes day what wedder shuld holde;But Marione clarione was caught with a colde colde,[1843](anglicea cokwolde,)[1844]And all ouercast with cloudis vnkynde,This goodly flowre with stormis was vntwynde;Velut rosa vel lilium, O pulcherrima mulierum, &c.: Cantatecclesia.This ieloffer ientyll, this rose, this lylly flowre,This primerose pereles, this propre vyolet,This columbyne clere[1845]and fresshest of coloure,This delycate dasy, this strawbery pretely set,With frowarde frostis, alas, was all to-fret!1450But who may haue a[1846]more vngracyous[1847]lyfeThan a chyldis birde and a knauis wyfe?Notate verba, signata mysteria: Gregori.Thynke what ye wyllOf this wanton byll;By Mary Gipcy,Quod scripsi, scripsi:Uxor tua, sicut vitis,Habetis in custodiam,Custodite sicut scitis,Secundum Lucam, &c.1460Nota penuriam aquæ, nam canes ibi hauriunt ex puteo altissimo.Of the Bonehoms of Ashrige besyde Barkamstede,That goodly place to Skelton moost kynde,Where the sank[1848]royall is, Crystes blode so rede,Wherevpon he metrefyde after his mynde;A pleasaunter place than Ashrige is, harde were[1849]to fynde,As Skelton rehersith, with wordes few and playne,In his distichon[1850]made on verses twaine;Fraxinus in clivo frondetgue viret sine rivo,[1851]Non est sub divo similis sine flumine vivo;Stultorum infinitus est numerus, &c.: Ecclesia. Factum est cum Apollo esset Corinthi: Actus Apostolorum. Stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo: Virgilius.The Nacyoun of Folys he left not[1852]behynde;1470Item Apollo that whirllid vp his chare,That made sum to snurre[1853]and snuf in the wynde;It made them to skip, to stampe, and to stare,Whiche, if they be happy, haue cause to bewareIn ryming and raylyng with hym for to mell,For drede that he lerne them there A, B, C, to spell.Poeta Skelton.Fama repleta malis pernicibus[1854]evolat alis, &c.With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd,Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.1480Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this placeOf our noble courte is ones spoken owte,It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.Ego quidem sum Pauli, ego Apollo: Corᵐ.God wote, theis wordes made me full sad;And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,But that my peticyon wolde not[1855]be had,What shulde I do but take it in gre?For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,I did what I cowde to scrape[1856]out the scrollis,Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis.1490Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella: Virgilius. Nec, si muneribus certes, concedet Iollas: 2. Bucol.Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte;To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte,Whiche redde[1857]on still, as it cam to her syght,Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporteOf the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte,[1858]Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis,And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis;Mille hominum species, et rerum discolor usus: Horace.[1859]Diodorus Siculus of my translacyonOut of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne,Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon;1500Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne;Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe:But when of the laurell she made rehersall,All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale,Millia millium et decies millies centena millia, &c.: Apocalipsis. Virtute[1860]senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica. Cauiť.A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome,Triumpha, triumpha!they cryid all aboute;Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome;The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte;The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte:The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke;1510And therwith sodenly out of my dreme[1861]I woke.My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid,I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere;Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid,Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere,Makynge his almanak for the new yere;He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast:Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past.Vates.Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti;Æmula sit[1862]Jani, retro speculetur et ante.1520Skeltonis alloquitur[1863]librum suum.Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, BritannumCarmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum!Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat;Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat.Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu;Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno,Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet,Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope.Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire,Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam,1530Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas,Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat.Lenuoy.Go, litill quaire,Demene you faire;Take no dispare,Though I you wrateAfter this rateIn Englysshe letter;So moche the betterWelcome shall ye1540To sum men be:For Latin warkisBe good for clerkis;Yet now and thenSum Latin menMay happely lokeVpon your boke,And so procedeIn you to rede,That so indede1550Your fame may spredeIn length and brede.But then[1864]I dredeYe[1865]shall haue nedeYou for to spedeTo harnnes bryght,By force of myght,Ageyne[1866]enuyAnd obloquy:And wote ye why?1560Not[1867]for to fyghtAgeyne dispyght,Nor to derayneBatayle agayneScornfull disdayne,Nor for to chyde,Nor for to hydeYou cowardly;But curteislyThat I haue pende1570For to deffend,Vnder the bannerOf all good manner,Vnder proteccyonOf sad correccyon,With toleracyonAnd supportacyonOf reformacyon,If they[1868]can spyCircumspectly1580Any worde defacidThat myght be rasid,Els ye shall prayThem that ye mayContynew stillWith there good wyll.Ad serenissimam Majestatem Regiam,[1869]pariter cum Domino Cardinali, Legato a latere honorificatissimo, &c.
Honor est benefactivæ operationis signum: Aristotiles. Diverte a malo, et fac bonum: Pso. Nobilis est ille quem nobilitat sua virtus: Cassianus. Proximus ille Deo qui scit ratione tacere: Cato. Mors ultima linea rerum: Horat.Of your oratour and poete laureate1170Of Englande, his workis[1782]here they begynne:In primisthe Boke of Honorous Astate;Item the Boke how men shulde fle synne;Item Royall Demenaunce worshyp to wynne;[1783]Item the Boke to speke well or be styll;Item to lerne you to[1784]dye when ye wyll;Virtuti omnia parent: Salust. Nusquam tuta fides: Virgilius. Res est soliciti plena timoris amor: Ovid. Si volet[1785]usus, quem penes, &c.: Horace.Of Vertu also the souerayne enterlude;The Boke of the Rosiar; Prince Arturis Creacyoun;The False Fayth that now goth, which dayly is renude;Item his Diologgis of Ymagynacyoun;1180Item Antomedon[1786]of Loues Meditacyoun;Item New Gramer in Englysshe compylyd;Item Bowche[1787]of Courte, where Drede was begyled;Non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum: Psalmo. Concedat laurea linguæ: Tullius. Fac cum consilio, et in æternum non peccabis: Salamon.His commedy, Achademios callyd by name;Of Tullis Familiars the translacyoun;Item Good Aduysement, that brainles doth blame;The Recule ageinst Gaguyne of the Frenshe nacyoun;Item the Popingay, that hath in commendacyounLadyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd;1190Non mihi sit modulo rustica papilio: Vates. Dominare in virtute tua: Pso. Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum: Sapient. Fugere pudor, verumque fidesque: In quorum subiere locum fraudesque, dolique, Insidiæque, et vis, et amor sceleratus habendi: Ovid. Filia Babylonis misera: Psalmo.And of Soueraynte a noble pamphelet;And of Magnyfycence a notable mater,How Cownterfet Cowntenaunce of the new getWith Crafty Conueyaunce dothe smater and flater,And Cloked Collucyoun is brought in to claterWith Courtely Abusyoun; who pryntith it wele in myndeMoche dowblenes of the worlde therin he may fynde;Of manerly maistres Margery[1788]Mylke and Ale;To her he wrote many maters of myrthe;Yet, thoughe I[1789]say it, therby lyith a tale,1200For Margery wynshed, and breke her hinder girth;Lor,[1790]how she made moche of her gentyll birth!With, Gingirly, go gingerly! her tayle was made of hay;Go she neuer so gingirly, her honesty is gone away;De nihilo nihil fit: Aristotiles. Le plus displeysant pleiser puent.Harde to make ought of that is nakid nought;This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase,Wonder is to wryte what wrenchis she wrowght,To face out her foly with a midsomer mase;With pitche she patchid her pitcher shuld not[1791]crase;It may wele ryme, but shroudly it doth accorde,1210To pyke out honesty of suche a potshorde:Patet per versus.Nota.Hinc puer hic[1792]natus; vir conjugis hinc spoliatusJure thori; est fœtus Deli de sanguine cretus;Hinc magis extollo, quod erit puer alter Apollo;Si quæris qualis? meretrix castissima talis;Et relis, et ralis, et reliqualis.A good herynge of thes olde talis;Fynde no mo suche fro[1793]Wanflete to Walis.Et reliqua omelia[1794]de diversis tractatibus.Apostolus: Non habemus hic civitatem manentem, sed futuram perquærimus. Notat bellum Cornubiense, quod in campestribus et in patentioribus vastisque solitudinibus prope Grenewiche gestum est.Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,1220Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,He did translate, enterprete, and disclose;The Tratyse of Triumphis of the Rede Rose,Wherein many storis ar breuely contaynedThat vnremembred longe tyme remayned;Erudimini qui judicatis terram: Pso.The Duke of Yorkis creauncer whan Skelton was,Now Henry the viij. Kyng of Englonde,[1795]A tratyse he deuysid and browght it to pas,CallidSpeculum Principis, to bere in his honde,Therin to rede, and to vnderstande1230All the demenour of princely astate,To be our Kyng, of God preordinate;Quis stabit mecum adversus operantes iniquitatem? Pso. Arrident melius seria picta jocis: In fabulis Æsopi.Also the Tunnynge of Elinour Rummyng,With Colyn Clowt, Iohnn Iue, with Ioforth Iack;To make suche trifels it asketh sum konnyng,In honest myrth parde requyreth no lack;The whyte apperyth the better for the black,And after conueyauns as the world goos,It is no foly to vse the Walshemannys hoos;Implentur veteris Bacchi pinguisque ferinæ: Virgilius. Aut prodesse volunt aut delectare poetæ: Horace.The vmblis of venyson, the botell[1796]of wyne,1240To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent,He wrate[1797]therof many a praty lyne,Where it became, and whether it went,And how that it was wantonly spent;The Balade also of the Mustarde Tarte;Suche problemis to paynt it longyth to his arte;Adam, Adam, ubi es? Genesis. Resp. Ubi nulla requies, ubi nullus ordo, sed sempiternus horror inhabitat: Job.Of one Adame all a knaue, late dede and gone,—Dormiat in pace, lyke a dormows!—He wrate[1798]an Epitaph for his graue stone,With wordes deuoute and sentence agerdows,[1799]1250For he was euer ageynst Goddis hows,All his delight was to braule and to barkeAgeynst holy chyrche,[1800]the preste, and the clarke;Etenim passer invenit sibi donum: Psalmo.Of Phillip Sparow the lamentable fate,The dolefull desteny, and the carefull chaunce,Dyuysed by Skelton after the funerall rate;Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce,And grudge[1801]therat with frownyng countenaunce;But what of that? hard it is to please all men;Who list amende it, let hym set to his penne;1260For the gyse now adaysOf sum iangelyng iays[1802]Is to discommendeThat they can not[1803]amende,Though they wolde spendeAll the wittis they haue.What ayle them to deprauePhillippe Sparows graue?HisDirige, her CommendaciounCan be no derogacyoun,1270But myrth and consolacyoun,Made by protestacyoun,No man to myscontentWith Phillippis enteremente.Alas, that goodly mayd,Why shulde she be afrayd?Why shulde she take shameThat her goodly name,Honorably reportid,Shulde be set and sortyd,1280To be matriculateWith ladyes of astate?I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,By Hercules that hell did harow,And with a venomows arowSlew of the EpidawrisOne of the Centawris,Or Onocentauris,[1804]Or Hippocentauris;[1805]By whos myght and maine1290An hart was slayneWith hornnis twayneOf glitteryng golde;And the apples of goldeOf Hesperides withholde,And with a dragon kepteThat neuer more slepte,By merciall strengthHe wan at length;And slew Gerione1300With thre bodys in one;With myghty corrageAdauntid the rageOf a lyon sauage;Of Diomedis stabyllHe brought out a rabyllOf coursers and rounsisWith[1806]lepes and bounsis;And with myghty luggyng,Wrastelynge and tuggyng,1310He pluckid the bullBy the hornid scull,And offred to Cornucopia;And so fortheper cetera:Also by Hecates bowre[1807]In Plutos gastly towre;By the vgly Eumenides,That neuer haue rest nor ease;By the venemows serpentThat in hell is neuer brente,1320In Lerna the Grekis fenThat was engendred then;By Chemeras flamys,And all the dedely namysOf infernall posty,Where soulis fry and rosty;By the Stigiall flode,And the stremes wodeOf Cochitos bottumles well;By the feryman of hell,1330Caron with his berde hore,That rowyth with a rude ore,And with his frownsid fortopGydith his bote with a prop:I coniure[1808]Phillippe, and call,In the name of Kyng Saull;Primo Regumexpres,He bad the PhitonesTo witche craft her to dres,And by her abusiouns,1340And damnable illusiounsOf meruelous conclusiouns,And by her supersticiounsOf[1809]wonderfull condiciouns,She raysed vp in that stedeSamuell that was dede;But whether it were so,He wereidem in numero,The selfe same Samuell,How be it to Saull he did tell1350The Philistinis[1810]shulde hym askry,And the next day he shulde dye,I wyll my[1811]selfe dischargeTo letterd men at large:But, Phillip, I coniure théNow by theys names thre,Diana in the woddis grene,Luna that so bryght doth shene,Proserpina in hell,That thou shortely tell,1360And shew now vnto meWhat the cause may beOf this perplexyte![1812]Phillyppe answeryth.Inferias, Philippe, tuas Scroupe pulchra JoannaInstanter petiit: cur nostri carminis illamNunc pudet? est sero; minor est infamia vero.Then such that[1813]haue disdaynydAnd of this worke complaynyd,I pray God they be[1814]paynydNo wors than[1815]is contaynyd1370In verses two or threThat folowe as ye may se:Luride, cur, livor, volucris pia funera damnas?Talia te rapiant rapiunt quæ fata volucrem!Est tamen invidia mors tibi continua:Porcus se ingurgitat cæno, et luto se immergit: Guarinus Veronens. Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur: Pso. c. Exaltabuntur cornua justi: Psalmo.The Gruntyng and the[1816]groynninge of the[1817]gronnyng swyne;Also the Murnyng[1818]of the mapely rote;How the grene couerlet sufferd grete pine,Whan the flye net was set for to catche a cote,Strake one with a birdbolt to the hart rote;1380Also a deuoute Prayer to Moyses hornis,Metrifyde merely, medelyd with scornis;[1819]Tanquam parieti inclinato et maceriæ depulsæ: Psalmo. Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido: Ovid.Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde;He wrate of a muse[1820]throw a mud wall;How a do cam trippyng in at the rere warde,But, lorde, how the parker was wroth with all!And of Castell Aungell the fenestrall,Glittryng and glistryng and gloryously glasid,It made sum mens eyn dasild and dasid;Introduxit me in cubiculum suum: Cant. Os fatuæ[1821]ebullit stultitiam. Cant.The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre,1390Of his pleasaunt paine there and his glad distresIn plantynge and pluckynge a propre ieloffer flowre;But how it was, sum were to recheles,Not[1822]withstandynge it is remedeles;What myght she say? what myght he do therto?Though Iak sayd nay, yet Mok there loste her sho;Audaces fortuna juvat: Virgilius. Nescia mens hominum sortis[1823]fatique futuri: Virgilius.How than lyke a man he wan the barbicanWith a sawte of solace at the longe last;The colour dedely, swarte, blo, and wanOf Exione, her lambis[1824]dede and past,1400The cheke and the nek but a shorte cast;In fortunis fauour euer to endure,No man lyuyng, he sayth, can be sure;Oleæque Minerva inventrix: Georgicorum. Atque agmina cervi pulverulenta [fuga] glomerant: Æneid. iv.How dame Minerua[1825]first found the olyue tre,she redAnd plantid it there where[1826]neuer before was none;vnshredAn hynde vnhurt hit[1827]by casuelte,not[1828]bledRecouerd whan the forster was gone;and spedThe hertis of the herd began for to grone,and fledThe howndes began to yerne and to quest;and dredWith litell besynes standith moche rest;in bed1410Duæ molentes in pistrino, una assumetur, altera relinquetur: Isaias.[1829]Foris vastabit eum timor, et intus pavor: Pso.[1830]His Epitomis of the myller and his ioly make;How her ble was bryght as blossom on the spray,A wanton wenche and wele coude bake a cake;The myllar was loth to be out of the way,But yet for all that, be as be may,Whether he rode to Swaffhamm[1831]or to Some,The millar durst not[1832]leue his wyfe at home;Opera quæ ego facio ipsa perhibent testimonium de me: In Evang. &c.With, Wofully[1833]arayd, and shamefully betrayd;Of his makyng deuoute medytacyons;Vexilla regishe deuysid to be displayd;1420WithSacris solemniis, and other contemplacyouns,That in them comprisid consyderacyons;Thus passyth he the tyme both nyght and day,Sumtyme with sadnes, sumtyme with play;Honora medicum; propter necessitatem creavit eum altissimus, &c. Superiores constellationes influunt in corpora subjecta et disposita, &c. Nota.Though Galiene[1834]and Dioscorides,[1835]With Ipocras,[1836]and mayster Auycen,By there phesik doth[1837]many a man ease,And though Albumasar can thé enforme and kenWhat constellacions ar good or bad for men,Yet whan the rayne rayneth and the gose wynkith,1430Lytill wotith the goslyng what the gose thynkith;Spectatum admisse,[1838]risus teneatur amor? Horace. Nota.He is not[1839]wyse ageyne the streme that stryuith;Dun is in the myre, dame, reche me my spur;Nedes[1840]must he rin that the deuyll dryuith;When the stede[1841]is stolyn, spar the stable dur;A ientyll hownde shulde neuer play the kur;It is sone aspyed where the thorne prikkith;And wele wotith the cat whos berde she likkith;Lumen ad revelationem gentium: Pso. clxxv.[1842]With Marione clarione, sol, lucerne,Graund Juir, of this Frenshe prouerbe olde,1440How men were wonte for to discerneBy candelmes day what wedder shuld holde;But Marione clarione was caught with a colde colde,[1843](anglicea cokwolde,)[1844]And all ouercast with cloudis vnkynde,This goodly flowre with stormis was vntwynde;Velut rosa vel lilium, O pulcherrima mulierum, &c.: Cantatecclesia.This ieloffer ientyll, this rose, this lylly flowre,This primerose pereles, this propre vyolet,This columbyne clere[1845]and fresshest of coloure,This delycate dasy, this strawbery pretely set,With frowarde frostis, alas, was all to-fret!1450But who may haue a[1846]more vngracyous[1847]lyfeThan a chyldis birde and a knauis wyfe?Notate verba, signata mysteria: Gregori.Thynke what ye wyllOf this wanton byll;By Mary Gipcy,Quod scripsi, scripsi:Uxor tua, sicut vitis,Habetis in custodiam,Custodite sicut scitis,Secundum Lucam, &c.1460Nota penuriam aquæ, nam canes ibi hauriunt ex puteo altissimo.Of the Bonehoms of Ashrige besyde Barkamstede,That goodly place to Skelton moost kynde,Where the sank[1848]royall is, Crystes blode so rede,Wherevpon he metrefyde after his mynde;A pleasaunter place than Ashrige is, harde were[1849]to fynde,As Skelton rehersith, with wordes few and playne,In his distichon[1850]made on verses twaine;Fraxinus in clivo frondetgue viret sine rivo,[1851]Non est sub divo similis sine flumine vivo;Stultorum infinitus est numerus, &c.: Ecclesia. Factum est cum Apollo esset Corinthi: Actus Apostolorum. Stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo: Virgilius.The Nacyoun of Folys he left not[1852]behynde;1470Item Apollo that whirllid vp his chare,That made sum to snurre[1853]and snuf in the wynde;It made them to skip, to stampe, and to stare,Whiche, if they be happy, haue cause to bewareIn ryming and raylyng with hym for to mell,For drede that he lerne them there A, B, C, to spell.Poeta Skelton.Fama repleta malis pernicibus[1854]evolat alis, &c.With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd,Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.1480Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this placeOf our noble courte is ones spoken owte,It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.Ego quidem sum Pauli, ego Apollo: Corᵐ.God wote, theis wordes made me full sad;And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,But that my peticyon wolde not[1855]be had,What shulde I do but take it in gre?For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,I did what I cowde to scrape[1856]out the scrollis,Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis.1490Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella: Virgilius. Nec, si muneribus certes, concedet Iollas: 2. Bucol.Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte;To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte,Whiche redde[1857]on still, as it cam to her syght,Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporteOf the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte,[1858]Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis,And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis;Mille hominum species, et rerum discolor usus: Horace.[1859]Diodorus Siculus of my translacyonOut of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne,Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon;1500Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne;Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe:But when of the laurell she made rehersall,All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale,Millia millium et decies millies centena millia, &c.: Apocalipsis. Virtute[1860]senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica. Cauiť.A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome,Triumpha, triumpha!they cryid all aboute;Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome;The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte;The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte:The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke;1510And therwith sodenly out of my dreme[1861]I woke.My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid,I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere;Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid,Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere,Makynge his almanak for the new yere;He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast:Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past.Vates.Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti;Æmula sit[1862]Jani, retro speculetur et ante.1520Skeltonis alloquitur[1863]librum suum.Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, BritannumCarmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum!Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat;Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat.Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu;Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno,Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet,Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope.Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire,Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam,1530Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas,Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat.Lenuoy.Go, litill quaire,Demene you faire;Take no dispare,Though I you wrateAfter this rateIn Englysshe letter;So moche the betterWelcome shall ye1540To sum men be:For Latin warkisBe good for clerkis;Yet now and thenSum Latin menMay happely lokeVpon your boke,And so procedeIn you to rede,That so indede1550Your fame may spredeIn length and brede.But then[1864]I dredeYe[1865]shall haue nedeYou for to spedeTo harnnes bryght,By force of myght,Ageyne[1866]enuyAnd obloquy:And wote ye why?1560Not[1867]for to fyghtAgeyne dispyght,Nor to derayneBatayle agayneScornfull disdayne,Nor for to chyde,Nor for to hydeYou cowardly;But curteislyThat I haue pende1570For to deffend,Vnder the bannerOf all good manner,Vnder proteccyonOf sad correccyon,With toleracyonAnd supportacyonOf reformacyon,If they[1868]can spyCircumspectly1580Any worde defacidThat myght be rasid,Els ye shall prayThem that ye mayContynew stillWith there good wyll.Ad serenissimam Majestatem Regiam,[1869]pariter cum Domino Cardinali, Legato a latere honorificatissimo, &c.
Honor est benefactivæ operationis signum: Aristotiles. Diverte a malo, et fac bonum: Pso. Nobilis est ille quem nobilitat sua virtus: Cassianus. Proximus ille Deo qui scit ratione tacere: Cato. Mors ultima linea rerum: Horat.Of your oratour and poete laureate1170Of Englande, his workis[1782]here they begynne:In primisthe Boke of Honorous Astate;Item the Boke how men shulde fle synne;Item Royall Demenaunce worshyp to wynne;[1783]Item the Boke to speke well or be styll;Item to lerne you to[1784]dye when ye wyll;
Honor est benefactivæ operationis signum: Aristotiles. Diverte a malo, et fac bonum: Pso. Nobilis est ille quem nobilitat sua virtus: Cassianus. Proximus ille Deo qui scit ratione tacere: Cato. Mors ultima linea rerum: Horat.
Of your oratour and poete laureate1170
Of Englande, his workis[1782]here they begynne:
In primisthe Boke of Honorous Astate;
Item the Boke how men shulde fle synne;
Item Royall Demenaunce worshyp to wynne;[1783]
Item the Boke to speke well or be styll;
Item to lerne you to[1784]dye when ye wyll;
Virtuti omnia parent: Salust. Nusquam tuta fides: Virgilius. Res est soliciti plena timoris amor: Ovid. Si volet[1785]usus, quem penes, &c.: Horace.Of Vertu also the souerayne enterlude;The Boke of the Rosiar; Prince Arturis Creacyoun;The False Fayth that now goth, which dayly is renude;Item his Diologgis of Ymagynacyoun;1180Item Antomedon[1786]of Loues Meditacyoun;Item New Gramer in Englysshe compylyd;Item Bowche[1787]of Courte, where Drede was begyled;
Virtuti omnia parent: Salust. Nusquam tuta fides: Virgilius. Res est soliciti plena timoris amor: Ovid. Si volet[1785]usus, quem penes, &c.: Horace.
Of Vertu also the souerayne enterlude;
The Boke of the Rosiar; Prince Arturis Creacyoun;
The False Fayth that now goth, which dayly is renude;
Item his Diologgis of Ymagynacyoun;1180
Item Antomedon[1786]of Loues Meditacyoun;
Item New Gramer in Englysshe compylyd;
Item Bowche[1787]of Courte, where Drede was begyled;
Non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum: Psalmo. Concedat laurea linguæ: Tullius. Fac cum consilio, et in æternum non peccabis: Salamon.His commedy, Achademios callyd by name;Of Tullis Familiars the translacyoun;Item Good Aduysement, that brainles doth blame;The Recule ageinst Gaguyne of the Frenshe nacyoun;Item the Popingay, that hath in commendacyounLadyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd;1190
Non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum: Psalmo. Concedat laurea linguæ: Tullius. Fac cum consilio, et in æternum non peccabis: Salamon.
His commedy, Achademios callyd by name;
Of Tullis Familiars the translacyoun;
Item Good Aduysement, that brainles doth blame;
The Recule ageinst Gaguyne of the Frenshe nacyoun;
Item the Popingay, that hath in commendacyoun
Ladyes and gentylwomen suche as deseruyd,
And suche as be counterfettis they be reseruyd;1190
Non mihi sit modulo rustica papilio: Vates. Dominare in virtute tua: Pso. Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum: Sapient. Fugere pudor, verumque fidesque: In quorum subiere locum fraudesque, dolique, Insidiæque, et vis, et amor sceleratus habendi: Ovid. Filia Babylonis misera: Psalmo.And of Soueraynte a noble pamphelet;And of Magnyfycence a notable mater,How Cownterfet Cowntenaunce of the new getWith Crafty Conueyaunce dothe smater and flater,And Cloked Collucyoun is brought in to claterWith Courtely Abusyoun; who pryntith it wele in myndeMoche dowblenes of the worlde therin he may fynde;
Non mihi sit modulo rustica papilio: Vates. Dominare in virtute tua: Pso. Magnificavit eum in conspectu regum: Sapient. Fugere pudor, verumque fidesque: In quorum subiere locum fraudesque, dolique, Insidiæque, et vis, et amor sceleratus habendi: Ovid. Filia Babylonis misera: Psalmo.
And of Soueraynte a noble pamphelet;
And of Magnyfycence a notable mater,
How Cownterfet Cowntenaunce of the new get
With Crafty Conueyaunce dothe smater and flater,
And Cloked Collucyoun is brought in to clater
With Courtely Abusyoun; who pryntith it wele in mynde
Moche dowblenes of the worlde therin he may fynde;
Of manerly maistres Margery[1788]Mylke and Ale;To her he wrote many maters of myrthe;Yet, thoughe I[1789]say it, therby lyith a tale,1200For Margery wynshed, and breke her hinder girth;Lor,[1790]how she made moche of her gentyll birth!With, Gingirly, go gingerly! her tayle was made of hay;Go she neuer so gingirly, her honesty is gone away;
Of manerly maistres Margery[1788]Mylke and Ale;
To her he wrote many maters of myrthe;
Yet, thoughe I[1789]say it, therby lyith a tale,1200
For Margery wynshed, and breke her hinder girth;
Lor,[1790]how she made moche of her gentyll birth!
With, Gingirly, go gingerly! her tayle was made of hay;
Go she neuer so gingirly, her honesty is gone away;
De nihilo nihil fit: Aristotiles. Le plus displeysant pleiser puent.Harde to make ought of that is nakid nought;This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase,Wonder is to wryte what wrenchis she wrowght,To face out her foly with a midsomer mase;With pitche she patchid her pitcher shuld not[1791]crase;It may wele ryme, but shroudly it doth accorde,1210To pyke out honesty of suche a potshorde:
De nihilo nihil fit: Aristotiles. Le plus displeysant pleiser puent.
Harde to make ought of that is nakid nought;
This fustiane maistres and this giggisse gase,
Wonder is to wryte what wrenchis she wrowght,
To face out her foly with a midsomer mase;
With pitche she patchid her pitcher shuld not[1791]crase;
It may wele ryme, but shroudly it doth accorde,1210
To pyke out honesty of suche a potshorde:
Patet per versus.
Patet per versus.
Nota.Hinc puer hic[1792]natus; vir conjugis hinc spoliatusJure thori; est fœtus Deli de sanguine cretus;Hinc magis extollo, quod erit puer alter Apollo;Si quæris qualis? meretrix castissima talis;Et relis, et ralis, et reliqualis.A good herynge of thes olde talis;Fynde no mo suche fro[1793]Wanflete to Walis.
Nota.
Hinc puer hic[1792]natus; vir conjugis hinc spoliatus
Jure thori; est fœtus Deli de sanguine cretus;
Hinc magis extollo, quod erit puer alter Apollo;
Si quæris qualis? meretrix castissima talis;
Et relis, et ralis, et reliqualis.
A good herynge of thes olde talis;
Fynde no mo suche fro[1793]Wanflete to Walis.
Et reliqua omelia[1794]de diversis tractatibus.
Et reliqua omelia[1794]de diversis tractatibus.
Apostolus: Non habemus hic civitatem manentem, sed futuram perquærimus. Notat bellum Cornubiense, quod in campestribus et in patentioribus vastisque solitudinibus prope Grenewiche gestum est.Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,1220Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,He did translate, enterprete, and disclose;The Tratyse of Triumphis of the Rede Rose,Wherein many storis ar breuely contaynedThat vnremembred longe tyme remayned;
Apostolus: Non habemus hic civitatem manentem, sed futuram perquærimus. Notat bellum Cornubiense, quod in campestribus et in patentioribus vastisque solitudinibus prope Grenewiche gestum est.
Of my ladys grace at the contemplacyoun,
Owt of Frenshe into Englysshe prose,1220
Of Mannes Lyfe the Peregrynacioun,
He did translate, enterprete, and disclose;
The Tratyse of Triumphis of the Rede Rose,
Wherein many storis ar breuely contayned
That vnremembred longe tyme remayned;
Erudimini qui judicatis terram: Pso.The Duke of Yorkis creauncer whan Skelton was,Now Henry the viij. Kyng of Englonde,[1795]A tratyse he deuysid and browght it to pas,CallidSpeculum Principis, to bere in his honde,Therin to rede, and to vnderstande1230All the demenour of princely astate,To be our Kyng, of God preordinate;
Erudimini qui judicatis terram: Pso.
The Duke of Yorkis creauncer whan Skelton was,
Now Henry the viij. Kyng of Englonde,[1795]
A tratyse he deuysid and browght it to pas,
CallidSpeculum Principis, to bere in his honde,
Therin to rede, and to vnderstande1230
All the demenour of princely astate,
To be our Kyng, of God preordinate;
Quis stabit mecum adversus operantes iniquitatem? Pso. Arrident melius seria picta jocis: In fabulis Æsopi.Also the Tunnynge of Elinour Rummyng,With Colyn Clowt, Iohnn Iue, with Ioforth Iack;To make suche trifels it asketh sum konnyng,In honest myrth parde requyreth no lack;The whyte apperyth the better for the black,And after conueyauns as the world goos,It is no foly to vse the Walshemannys hoos;
Quis stabit mecum adversus operantes iniquitatem? Pso. Arrident melius seria picta jocis: In fabulis Æsopi.
Also the Tunnynge of Elinour Rummyng,
With Colyn Clowt, Iohnn Iue, with Ioforth Iack;
To make suche trifels it asketh sum konnyng,
In honest myrth parde requyreth no lack;
The whyte apperyth the better for the black,
And after conueyauns as the world goos,
It is no foly to vse the Walshemannys hoos;
Implentur veteris Bacchi pinguisque ferinæ: Virgilius. Aut prodesse volunt aut delectare poetæ: Horace.The vmblis of venyson, the botell[1796]of wyne,1240To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent,He wrate[1797]therof many a praty lyne,Where it became, and whether it went,And how that it was wantonly spent;The Balade also of the Mustarde Tarte;Suche problemis to paynt it longyth to his arte;
Implentur veteris Bacchi pinguisque ferinæ: Virgilius. Aut prodesse volunt aut delectare poetæ: Horace.
The vmblis of venyson, the botell[1796]of wyne,1240
To fayre maistres Anne that shuld haue be sent,
He wrate[1797]therof many a praty lyne,
Where it became, and whether it went,
And how that it was wantonly spent;
The Balade also of the Mustarde Tarte;
Suche problemis to paynt it longyth to his arte;
Adam, Adam, ubi es? Genesis. Resp. Ubi nulla requies, ubi nullus ordo, sed sempiternus horror inhabitat: Job.Of one Adame all a knaue, late dede and gone,—Dormiat in pace, lyke a dormows!—He wrate[1798]an Epitaph for his graue stone,With wordes deuoute and sentence agerdows,[1799]1250For he was euer ageynst Goddis hows,All his delight was to braule and to barkeAgeynst holy chyrche,[1800]the preste, and the clarke;
Adam, Adam, ubi es? Genesis. Resp. Ubi nulla requies, ubi nullus ordo, sed sempiternus horror inhabitat: Job.
Of one Adame all a knaue, late dede and gone,—
Dormiat in pace, lyke a dormows!—
He wrate[1798]an Epitaph for his graue stone,
With wordes deuoute and sentence agerdows,[1799]1250
For he was euer ageynst Goddis hows,
All his delight was to braule and to barke
Ageynst holy chyrche,[1800]the preste, and the clarke;
Etenim passer invenit sibi donum: Psalmo.Of Phillip Sparow the lamentable fate,The dolefull desteny, and the carefull chaunce,Dyuysed by Skelton after the funerall rate;Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce,And grudge[1801]therat with frownyng countenaunce;
Etenim passer invenit sibi donum: Psalmo.
Of Phillip Sparow the lamentable fate,
The dolefull desteny, and the carefull chaunce,
Dyuysed by Skelton after the funerall rate;
Yet sum there be therewith that take greuaunce,
And grudge[1801]therat with frownyng countenaunce;
But what of that? hard it is to please all men;Who list amende it, let hym set to his penne;1260For the gyse now adaysOf sum iangelyng iays[1802]Is to discommendeThat they can not[1803]amende,Though they wolde spendeAll the wittis they haue.What ayle them to deprauePhillippe Sparows graue?HisDirige, her CommendaciounCan be no derogacyoun,1270But myrth and consolacyoun,Made by protestacyoun,No man to myscontentWith Phillippis enteremente.Alas, that goodly mayd,Why shulde she be afrayd?Why shulde she take shameThat her goodly name,Honorably reportid,Shulde be set and sortyd,1280To be matriculateWith ladyes of astate?I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,By Hercules that hell did harow,And with a venomows arowSlew of the EpidawrisOne of the Centawris,Or Onocentauris,[1804]Or Hippocentauris;[1805]By whos myght and maine1290An hart was slayneWith hornnis twayneOf glitteryng golde;And the apples of goldeOf Hesperides withholde,And with a dragon kepteThat neuer more slepte,By merciall strengthHe wan at length;And slew Gerione1300With thre bodys in one;With myghty corrageAdauntid the rageOf a lyon sauage;Of Diomedis stabyllHe brought out a rabyllOf coursers and rounsisWith[1806]lepes and bounsis;And with myghty luggyng,Wrastelynge and tuggyng,1310He pluckid the bullBy the hornid scull,And offred to Cornucopia;And so fortheper cetera:Also by Hecates bowre[1807]In Plutos gastly towre;By the vgly Eumenides,That neuer haue rest nor ease;By the venemows serpentThat in hell is neuer brente,1320In Lerna the Grekis fenThat was engendred then;By Chemeras flamys,And all the dedely namysOf infernall posty,Where soulis fry and rosty;By the Stigiall flode,And the stremes wodeOf Cochitos bottumles well;By the feryman of hell,1330Caron with his berde hore,That rowyth with a rude ore,And with his frownsid fortopGydith his bote with a prop:I coniure[1808]Phillippe, and call,In the name of Kyng Saull;Primo Regumexpres,He bad the PhitonesTo witche craft her to dres,And by her abusiouns,1340And damnable illusiounsOf meruelous conclusiouns,And by her supersticiounsOf[1809]wonderfull condiciouns,She raysed vp in that stedeSamuell that was dede;But whether it were so,He wereidem in numero,The selfe same Samuell,How be it to Saull he did tell1350The Philistinis[1810]shulde hym askry,And the next day he shulde dye,I wyll my[1811]selfe dischargeTo letterd men at large:But, Phillip, I coniure théNow by theys names thre,Diana in the woddis grene,Luna that so bryght doth shene,Proserpina in hell,That thou shortely tell,1360And shew now vnto meWhat the cause may beOf this perplexyte![1812]
But what of that? hard it is to please all men;
Who list amende it, let hym set to his penne;1260
For the gyse now adays
Of sum iangelyng iays[1802]
Is to discommende
That they can not[1803]amende,
Though they wolde spende
All the wittis they haue.
What ayle them to depraue
Phillippe Sparows graue?
HisDirige, her Commendacioun
Can be no derogacyoun,1270
But myrth and consolacyoun,
Made by protestacyoun,
No man to myscontent
With Phillippis enteremente.
Alas, that goodly mayd,
Why shulde she be afrayd?
Why shulde she take shame
That her goodly name,
Honorably reportid,
Shulde be set and sortyd,1280
To be matriculate
With ladyes of astate?
I coniure thé, Phillip Sparow,
By Hercules that hell did harow,
And with a venomows arow
Slew of the Epidawris
One of the Centawris,
Or Onocentauris,[1804]
Or Hippocentauris;[1805]
By whos myght and maine1290
An hart was slayne
With hornnis twayne
Of glitteryng golde;
And the apples of golde
Of Hesperides withholde,
And with a dragon kepte
That neuer more slepte,
By merciall strength
He wan at length;
And slew Gerione1300
With thre bodys in one;
With myghty corrage
Adauntid the rage
Of a lyon sauage;
Of Diomedis stabyll
He brought out a rabyll
Of coursers and rounsis
With[1806]lepes and bounsis;
And with myghty luggyng,
Wrastelynge and tuggyng,1310
He pluckid the bull
By the hornid scull,
And offred to Cornucopia;
And so fortheper cetera:
Also by Hecates bowre[1807]
In Plutos gastly towre;
By the vgly Eumenides,
That neuer haue rest nor ease;
By the venemows serpent
That in hell is neuer brente,1320
In Lerna the Grekis fen
That was engendred then;
By Chemeras flamys,
And all the dedely namys
Of infernall posty,
Where soulis fry and rosty;
By the Stigiall flode,
And the stremes wode
Of Cochitos bottumles well;
By the feryman of hell,1330
Caron with his berde hore,
That rowyth with a rude ore,
And with his frownsid fortop
Gydith his bote with a prop:
I coniure[1808]Phillippe, and call,
In the name of Kyng Saull;
Primo Regumexpres,
He bad the Phitones
To witche craft her to dres,
And by her abusiouns,1340
And damnable illusiouns
Of meruelous conclusiouns,
And by her supersticiouns
Of[1809]wonderfull condiciouns,
She raysed vp in that stede
Samuell that was dede;
But whether it were so,
He wereidem in numero,
The selfe same Samuell,
How be it to Saull he did tell1350
The Philistinis[1810]shulde hym askry,
And the next day he shulde dye,
I wyll my[1811]selfe discharge
To letterd men at large:
But, Phillip, I coniure thé
Now by theys names thre,
Diana in the woddis grene,
Luna that so bryght doth shene,
Proserpina in hell,
That thou shortely tell,1360
And shew now vnto me
What the cause may be
Of this perplexyte![1812]
Phillyppe answeryth.Inferias, Philippe, tuas Scroupe pulchra JoannaInstanter petiit: cur nostri carminis illamNunc pudet? est sero; minor est infamia vero.Then such that[1813]haue disdaynydAnd of this worke complaynyd,I pray God they be[1814]paynydNo wors than[1815]is contaynyd1370In verses two or threThat folowe as ye may se:Luride, cur, livor, volucris pia funera damnas?Talia te rapiant rapiunt quæ fata volucrem!Est tamen invidia mors tibi continua:
Phillyppe answeryth.
Inferias, Philippe, tuas Scroupe pulchra Joanna
Instanter petiit: cur nostri carminis illam
Nunc pudet? est sero; minor est infamia vero.
Then such that[1813]haue disdaynyd
And of this worke complaynyd,
I pray God they be[1814]paynyd
No wors than[1815]is contaynyd1370
In verses two or thre
That folowe as ye may se:
Luride, cur, livor, volucris pia funera damnas?
Talia te rapiant rapiunt quæ fata volucrem!
Est tamen invidia mors tibi continua:
Porcus se ingurgitat cæno, et luto se immergit: Guarinus Veronens. Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur: Pso. c. Exaltabuntur cornua justi: Psalmo.The Gruntyng and the[1816]groynninge of the[1817]gronnyng swyne;Also the Murnyng[1818]of the mapely rote;How the grene couerlet sufferd grete pine,Whan the flye net was set for to catche a cote,Strake one with a birdbolt to the hart rote;1380Also a deuoute Prayer to Moyses hornis,Metrifyde merely, medelyd with scornis;[1819]
Porcus se ingurgitat cæno, et luto se immergit: Guarinus Veronens. Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur: Pso. c. Exaltabuntur cornua justi: Psalmo.
The Gruntyng and the[1816]groynninge of the[1817]gronnyng swyne;
Also the Murnyng[1818]of the mapely rote;
How the grene couerlet sufferd grete pine,
Whan the flye net was set for to catche a cote,
Strake one with a birdbolt to the hart rote;1380
Also a deuoute Prayer to Moyses hornis,
Metrifyde merely, medelyd with scornis;[1819]
Tanquam parieti inclinato et maceriæ depulsæ: Psalmo. Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido: Ovid.Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde;He wrate of a muse[1820]throw a mud wall;How a do cam trippyng in at the rere warde,But, lorde, how the parker was wroth with all!And of Castell Aungell the fenestrall,Glittryng and glistryng and gloryously glasid,It made sum mens eyn dasild and dasid;
Tanquam parieti inclinato et maceriæ depulsæ: Psalmo. Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido: Ovid.
Of paiauntis that were played in Ioyows Garde;
He wrate of a muse[1820]throw a mud wall;
How a do cam trippyng in at the rere warde,
But, lorde, how the parker was wroth with all!
And of Castell Aungell the fenestrall,
Glittryng and glistryng and gloryously glasid,
It made sum mens eyn dasild and dasid;
Introduxit me in cubiculum suum: Cant. Os fatuæ[1821]ebullit stultitiam. Cant.The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre,1390Of his pleasaunt paine there and his glad distresIn plantynge and pluckynge a propre ieloffer flowre;But how it was, sum were to recheles,Not[1822]withstandynge it is remedeles;What myght she say? what myght he do therto?Though Iak sayd nay, yet Mok there loste her sho;
Introduxit me in cubiculum suum: Cant. Os fatuæ[1821]ebullit stultitiam. Cant.
The Repete of the recule of Rosamundis bowre,1390
Of his pleasaunt paine there and his glad distres
In plantynge and pluckynge a propre ieloffer flowre;
But how it was, sum were to recheles,
Not[1822]withstandynge it is remedeles;
What myght she say? what myght he do therto?
Though Iak sayd nay, yet Mok there loste her sho;
Audaces fortuna juvat: Virgilius. Nescia mens hominum sortis[1823]fatique futuri: Virgilius.How than lyke a man he wan the barbicanWith a sawte of solace at the longe last;The colour dedely, swarte, blo, and wanOf Exione, her lambis[1824]dede and past,1400The cheke and the nek but a shorte cast;In fortunis fauour euer to endure,No man lyuyng, he sayth, can be sure;
Audaces fortuna juvat: Virgilius. Nescia mens hominum sortis[1823]fatique futuri: Virgilius.
How than lyke a man he wan the barbican
With a sawte of solace at the longe last;
The colour dedely, swarte, blo, and wan
Of Exione, her lambis[1824]dede and past,1400
The cheke and the nek but a shorte cast;
In fortunis fauour euer to endure,
No man lyuyng, he sayth, can be sure;
Oleæque Minerva inventrix: Georgicorum. Atque agmina cervi pulverulenta [fuga] glomerant: Æneid. iv.How dame Minerua[1825]first found the olyue tre,she redAnd plantid it there where[1826]neuer before was none;vnshredAn hynde vnhurt hit[1827]by casuelte,not[1828]bledRecouerd whan the forster was gone;and spedThe hertis of the herd began for to grone,and fledThe howndes began to yerne and to quest;and dredWith litell besynes standith moche rest;in bed1410
Oleæque Minerva inventrix: Georgicorum. Atque agmina cervi pulverulenta [fuga] glomerant: Æneid. iv.
How dame Minerua[1825]first found the olyue tre,she red
And plantid it there where[1826]neuer before was none;vnshred
An hynde vnhurt hit[1827]by casuelte,not[1828]bled
Recouerd whan the forster was gone;and sped
The hertis of the herd began for to grone,and fled
The howndes began to yerne and to quest;and dred
With litell besynes standith moche rest;in bed1410
Duæ molentes in pistrino, una assumetur, altera relinquetur: Isaias.[1829]Foris vastabit eum timor, et intus pavor: Pso.[1830]His Epitomis of the myller and his ioly make;How her ble was bryght as blossom on the spray,A wanton wenche and wele coude bake a cake;The myllar was loth to be out of the way,But yet for all that, be as be may,Whether he rode to Swaffhamm[1831]or to Some,The millar durst not[1832]leue his wyfe at home;
Duæ molentes in pistrino, una assumetur, altera relinquetur: Isaias.[1829]Foris vastabit eum timor, et intus pavor: Pso.[1830]
His Epitomis of the myller and his ioly make;
How her ble was bryght as blossom on the spray,
A wanton wenche and wele coude bake a cake;
The myllar was loth to be out of the way,
But yet for all that, be as be may,
Whether he rode to Swaffhamm[1831]or to Some,
The millar durst not[1832]leue his wyfe at home;
Opera quæ ego facio ipsa perhibent testimonium de me: In Evang. &c.With, Wofully[1833]arayd, and shamefully betrayd;Of his makyng deuoute medytacyons;Vexilla regishe deuysid to be displayd;1420WithSacris solemniis, and other contemplacyouns,That in them comprisid consyderacyons;Thus passyth he the tyme both nyght and day,Sumtyme with sadnes, sumtyme with play;
Opera quæ ego facio ipsa perhibent testimonium de me: In Evang. &c.
With, Wofully[1833]arayd, and shamefully betrayd;
Of his makyng deuoute medytacyons;
Vexilla regishe deuysid to be displayd;1420
WithSacris solemniis, and other contemplacyouns,
That in them comprisid consyderacyons;
Thus passyth he the tyme both nyght and day,
Sumtyme with sadnes, sumtyme with play;
Honora medicum; propter necessitatem creavit eum altissimus, &c. Superiores constellationes influunt in corpora subjecta et disposita, &c. Nota.Though Galiene[1834]and Dioscorides,[1835]With Ipocras,[1836]and mayster Auycen,By there phesik doth[1837]many a man ease,And though Albumasar can thé enforme and kenWhat constellacions ar good or bad for men,Yet whan the rayne rayneth and the gose wynkith,1430Lytill wotith the goslyng what the gose thynkith;
Honora medicum; propter necessitatem creavit eum altissimus, &c. Superiores constellationes influunt in corpora subjecta et disposita, &c. Nota.
Though Galiene[1834]and Dioscorides,[1835]
With Ipocras,[1836]and mayster Auycen,
By there phesik doth[1837]many a man ease,
And though Albumasar can thé enforme and ken
What constellacions ar good or bad for men,
Yet whan the rayne rayneth and the gose wynkith,1430
Lytill wotith the goslyng what the gose thynkith;
Spectatum admisse,[1838]risus teneatur amor? Horace. Nota.He is not[1839]wyse ageyne the streme that stryuith;Dun is in the myre, dame, reche me my spur;Nedes[1840]must he rin that the deuyll dryuith;When the stede[1841]is stolyn, spar the stable dur;A ientyll hownde shulde neuer play the kur;It is sone aspyed where the thorne prikkith;And wele wotith the cat whos berde she likkith;
Spectatum admisse,[1838]risus teneatur amor? Horace. Nota.
He is not[1839]wyse ageyne the streme that stryuith;
Dun is in the myre, dame, reche me my spur;
Nedes[1840]must he rin that the deuyll dryuith;
When the stede[1841]is stolyn, spar the stable dur;
A ientyll hownde shulde neuer play the kur;
It is sone aspyed where the thorne prikkith;
And wele wotith the cat whos berde she likkith;
Lumen ad revelationem gentium: Pso. clxxv.[1842]With Marione clarione, sol, lucerne,Graund Juir, of this Frenshe prouerbe olde,1440How men were wonte for to discerneBy candelmes day what wedder shuld holde;But Marione clarione was caught with a colde colde,[1843](anglicea cokwolde,)[1844]And all ouercast with cloudis vnkynde,This goodly flowre with stormis was vntwynde;
Lumen ad revelationem gentium: Pso. clxxv.[1842]
With Marione clarione, sol, lucerne,
Graund Juir, of this Frenshe prouerbe olde,1440
How men were wonte for to discerne
By candelmes day what wedder shuld holde;
But Marione clarione was caught with a colde colde,[1843]
(anglicea cokwolde,)[1844]
And all ouercast with cloudis vnkynde,
This goodly flowre with stormis was vntwynde;
Velut rosa vel lilium, O pulcherrima mulierum, &c.: Cantatecclesia.This ieloffer ientyll, this rose, this lylly flowre,This primerose pereles, this propre vyolet,This columbyne clere[1845]and fresshest of coloure,This delycate dasy, this strawbery pretely set,With frowarde frostis, alas, was all to-fret!1450But who may haue a[1846]more vngracyous[1847]lyfeThan a chyldis birde and a knauis wyfe?
Velut rosa vel lilium, O pulcherrima mulierum, &c.: Cantatecclesia.
This ieloffer ientyll, this rose, this lylly flowre,
This primerose pereles, this propre vyolet,
This columbyne clere[1845]and fresshest of coloure,
This delycate dasy, this strawbery pretely set,
With frowarde frostis, alas, was all to-fret!1450
But who may haue a[1846]more vngracyous[1847]lyfe
Than a chyldis birde and a knauis wyfe?
Notate verba, signata mysteria: Gregori.Thynke what ye wyllOf this wanton byll;By Mary Gipcy,Quod scripsi, scripsi:Uxor tua, sicut vitis,Habetis in custodiam,Custodite sicut scitis,Secundum Lucam, &c.1460
Notate verba, signata mysteria: Gregori.
Thynke what ye wyll
Of this wanton byll;
By Mary Gipcy,
Quod scripsi, scripsi:
Uxor tua, sicut vitis,
Habetis in custodiam,
Custodite sicut scitis,
Secundum Lucam, &c.1460
Nota penuriam aquæ, nam canes ibi hauriunt ex puteo altissimo.Of the Bonehoms of Ashrige besyde Barkamstede,That goodly place to Skelton moost kynde,Where the sank[1848]royall is, Crystes blode so rede,Wherevpon he metrefyde after his mynde;A pleasaunter place than Ashrige is, harde were[1849]to fynde,As Skelton rehersith, with wordes few and playne,In his distichon[1850]made on verses twaine;
Nota penuriam aquæ, nam canes ibi hauriunt ex puteo altissimo.
Of the Bonehoms of Ashrige besyde Barkamstede,
That goodly place to Skelton moost kynde,
Where the sank[1848]royall is, Crystes blode so rede,
Wherevpon he metrefyde after his mynde;
A pleasaunter place than Ashrige is, harde were[1849]to fynde,
As Skelton rehersith, with wordes few and playne,
In his distichon[1850]made on verses twaine;
Fraxinus in clivo frondetgue viret sine rivo,[1851]Non est sub divo similis sine flumine vivo;
Fraxinus in clivo frondetgue viret sine rivo,[1851]
Non est sub divo similis sine flumine vivo;
Stultorum infinitus est numerus, &c.: Ecclesia. Factum est cum Apollo esset Corinthi: Actus Apostolorum. Stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo: Virgilius.The Nacyoun of Folys he left not[1852]behynde;1470Item Apollo that whirllid vp his chare,That made sum to snurre[1853]and snuf in the wynde;It made them to skip, to stampe, and to stare,Whiche, if they be happy, haue cause to bewareIn ryming and raylyng with hym for to mell,For drede that he lerne them there A, B, C, to spell.
Stultorum infinitus est numerus, &c.: Ecclesia. Factum est cum Apollo esset Corinthi: Actus Apostolorum. Stimulos sub pectore vertit Apollo: Virgilius.
The Nacyoun of Folys he left not[1852]behynde;1470
Item Apollo that whirllid vp his chare,
That made sum to snurre[1853]and snuf in the wynde;
It made them to skip, to stampe, and to stare,
Whiche, if they be happy, haue cause to beware
In ryming and raylyng with hym for to mell,
For drede that he lerne them there A, B, C, to spell.
Poeta Skelton.
Poeta Skelton.
Fama repleta malis pernicibus[1854]evolat alis, &c.With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd,Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.1480Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this placeOf our noble courte is ones spoken owte,It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.
Fama repleta malis pernicibus[1854]evolat alis, &c.
With that I stode vp, halfe sodenly afrayd;
Suppleyng to Fame, I besought her grace,
And that it wolde please her, full tenderly I prayd,
Owt of her bokis Apollo to rase.1480
Nay, sir, she sayd, what so in this place
Of our noble courte is ones spoken owte,
It must nedes after rin all the worlde aboute.
Ego quidem sum Pauli, ego Apollo: Corᵐ.God wote, theis wordes made me full sad;And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,But that my peticyon wolde not[1855]be had,What shulde I do but take it in gre?For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,I did what I cowde to scrape[1856]out the scrollis,Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis.1490
Ego quidem sum Pauli, ego Apollo: Corᵐ.
God wote, theis wordes made me full sad;
And when that I sawe it wolde no better be,
But that my peticyon wolde not[1855]be had,
What shulde I do but take it in gre?
For, by Juppiter and his high mageste,
I did what I cowde to scrape[1856]out the scrollis,
Apollo to rase out of her ragman rollis.1490
Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella: Virgilius. Nec, si muneribus certes, concedet Iollas: 2. Bucol.Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte;To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte,Whiche redde[1857]on still, as it cam to her syght,Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporteOf the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte,[1858]Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis,And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis;
Malo me Galatea petit, lasciva puella: Virgilius. Nec, si muneribus certes, concedet Iollas: 2. Bucol.
Now hereof it erkith me lenger to wryte;
To Occupacyon I wyll agayne resorte,
Whiche redde[1857]on still, as it cam to her syght,
Rendrynge my deuisis I made in disporte
Of the Mayden of Kent callid Counforte,[1858]
Of Louers testamentis and of there wanton wyllis,
And how Iollas louyd goodly Phillis;
Mille hominum species, et rerum discolor usus: Horace.[1859]Diodorus Siculus of my translacyonOut of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne,Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon;1500Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne;Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe:But when of the laurell she made rehersall,All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale,
Mille hominum species, et rerum discolor usus: Horace.[1859]
Diodorus Siculus of my translacyon
Out of fresshe Latine into owre Englysshe playne,
Recountyng commoditis of many a straunge nacyon;1500
Who redyth it ones wolde rede it agayne;
Sex volumis engrosid together it doth containe:
But when of the laurell she made rehersall,
All orators and poetis, with other grete and smale,
Millia millium et decies millies centena millia, &c.: Apocalipsis. Virtute[1860]senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica. Cauiť.A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome,Triumpha, triumpha!they cryid all aboute;Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome;The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte;The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte:The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke;1510And therwith sodenly out of my dreme[1861]I woke.
Millia millium et decies millies centena millia, &c.: Apocalipsis. Virtute[1860]senatum laureati possident: Ecclesiastica. Cauiť.
A thowsande thowsande. I trow, to my dome,
Triumpha, triumpha!they cryid all aboute;
Of trumpettis and clariouns the noyse went to Rome;
The starry heuyn, me thought, shoke with the showte;
The grownde gronid and tremblid, the noyse was so stowte:
The Quene of Fame commaundid shett fast the boke;1510
And therwith sodenly out of my dreme[1861]I woke.
My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid,I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere;Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid,Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere,Makynge his almanak for the new yere;He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast:Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past.
My mynde of the grete din was somdele amasid,
I wypid myne eyne for to make them clere;
Then to the heuyn sperycall vpwarde I gasid,
Where I saw Ianus, with his double chere,
Makynge his almanak for the new yere;
He turnyd his tirikkis, his voluell ran fast:
Good luk this new yere! the olde yere is past.
Vates.Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti;Æmula sit[1862]Jani, retro speculetur et ante.1520
Vates.
Mens tibi sit consulta, petis? sic consuls menti;
Æmula sit[1862]Jani, retro speculetur et ante.1520
Skeltonis alloquitur[1863]librum suum.
Skeltonis alloquitur[1863]librum suum.
Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, BritannumCarmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum!Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat;Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat.Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu;Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno,Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet,Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope.Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire,Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam,1530Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas,Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat.
Ite, Britannorum lux O radiosa, Britannum
Carmina nostra pium vestrum celebrate Catullum!
Dicite, Skeltonis vester Adonis erat;
Dicite, Skeltonis vester Homerus erat.
Barbara cum Latio pariter jam currite versu;
Et licet est verbo pars maxima texta Britanno,
Non magis incompta nostra Thalia patet,
Est magis inculta nec mea Calliope.
Nec vos pœniteat livoris tela subire,
Nec vos pœniteat rabiem tolerare caninam,1530
Nam Maro dissimiles non tulit ille minas,
Immunis nec enim Musa Nasonis erat.
Lenuoy.
Lenuoy.
Go, litill quaire,Demene you faire;Take no dispare,Though I you wrateAfter this rateIn Englysshe letter;So moche the betterWelcome shall ye1540To sum men be:For Latin warkisBe good for clerkis;Yet now and thenSum Latin menMay happely lokeVpon your boke,And so procedeIn you to rede,That so indede1550Your fame may spredeIn length and brede.But then[1864]I dredeYe[1865]shall haue nedeYou for to spedeTo harnnes bryght,By force of myght,Ageyne[1866]enuyAnd obloquy:And wote ye why?1560Not[1867]for to fyghtAgeyne dispyght,Nor to derayneBatayle agayneScornfull disdayne,Nor for to chyde,Nor for to hydeYou cowardly;But curteislyThat I haue pende1570For to deffend,Vnder the bannerOf all good manner,Vnder proteccyonOf sad correccyon,With toleracyonAnd supportacyonOf reformacyon,If they[1868]can spyCircumspectly1580Any worde defacidThat myght be rasid,Els ye shall prayThem that ye mayContynew stillWith there good wyll.
Go, litill quaire,
Demene you faire;
Take no dispare,
Though I you wrate
After this rate
In Englysshe letter;
So moche the better
Welcome shall ye1540
To sum men be:
For Latin warkis
Be good for clerkis;
Yet now and then
Sum Latin men
May happely loke
Vpon your boke,
And so procede
In you to rede,
That so indede1550
Your fame may sprede
In length and brede.
But then[1864]I drede
Ye[1865]shall haue nede
You for to spede
To harnnes bryght,
By force of myght,
Ageyne[1866]enuy
And obloquy:
And wote ye why?1560
Not[1867]for to fyght
Ageyne dispyght,
Nor to derayne
Batayle agayne
Scornfull disdayne,
Nor for to chyde,
Nor for to hyde
You cowardly;
But curteisly
That I haue pende1570
For to deffend,
Vnder the banner
Of all good manner,
Vnder proteccyon
Of sad correccyon,
With toleracyon
And supportacyon
Of reformacyon,
If they[1868]can spy
Circumspectly1580
Any worde defacid
That myght be rasid,
Els ye shall pray
Them that ye may
Contynew still
With there good wyll.
Ad serenissimam Majestatem Regiam,[1869]pariter cum Domino Cardinali, Legato a latere honorificatissimo, &c.
Ad serenissimam Majestatem Regiam,[1869]pariter cum Domino Cardinali, Legato a latere honorificatissimo, &c.