Part 16 (1/2)

Reduce courters clerly vnto your rembrance From whens this disgysyng was brought wherein ye go As I remember it was brought out of France.

This is to your plesour. But payne ye had also.

As French Pockes hote ylles with other paynes mo.

Take ye in good worth the swetnes with the Sour.

For often plesour endeth with sorowe and dolour.

But ye proude Galaundes that thus yourselfe disgise Be ye a.s.shamed. beholde vnto your Prynce.

Consyder his sadnes: His honestye deuyse His clothynge expresseth his inwarde prudence Ye se no Example of suche Inconuenyence In his hyghnes: but G.o.dly wyt and grauyte.

Ensue hym: and sorowe for your enormyte.

Away with this pryde, this statelynes let be Rede of the Prophetis clothynge or vesture And of Adam firste of your ancestrye Of Johnn the Prophete, theyr clothynge was obscure Uyle and homly, but nowe what creature Wyll then eusue, sothly fewe by theyr wyll Therfore suche folys my nauy shall fulfyll

Of old folys that is to say the longer they lyue the more they ar gyuen to foly.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Howe beit I stoup, and fast declyne Dayly to my graue, and sepulture And though my lyfe fast do enclyne To pay the trybute of nature Yet styll remayne I and endure In my olde synnes, and them nat hate Nought yonge, wors olde, suche is my state.]

The madnes of my youthe rotyd in my age And the blynde foly of my iniquite Wyll me nat suffer to leue myne old vsage Nor my fore lyuynge full of enormyte Lame ar his lymmys, and also I can nat se I am a childe and yet lyuyd haue I An hundreth wynter, encresynge my foly.

But though I myght lerne my wyll is nat therto But besy I am and fully set my thought To gyue example to children to mys...o...b.. my lewde doctryne bryngynge them to nought And whan they ar onys into my daunce brought I teche them my foly wysdome set asyde My selfe example, begynner, and theyr gyde.

My lewde lyfe, my foly and my selfwyllyd mynde Whiche I haue styll kept hytherto in this lyfe In my testament I leue wryten behynde Bequethyng parte both to man childe and wyfe I am the actour of myschefe and of stryfe The foly of my youth and the inconuenyence In age I practyse, techynge by experyence

I am a fole and glad am of that name Desyrynge lawde for eche vngracious dede And of my foly to spred abrode the same To showe my vyce and synne, as voyde of drede Of heuen or h.e.l.l. therfore I take no hede But as some stryue disputynge of theyr cunnynge Right so do I in lewdnes and myslyuynge.

Somtyme I bost me of falshode and dysceyt Somtyme of the sede that sawyn is by me Of all myschefe, as murder flatery debate Couetyse bacbytynge theft and lechery My mynde is nat to mende my iniquyte But rather I sorowe that my lyfe is wore That I can nat do as I haue done before

But syns my lyfe so sodaynly dothe apeyre That byde I can nat styll in this degre I shall infourme and teche my sone and heyre To folowe his fader, and lerne this way of me The way is large, G.o.d wot glad shall he be Lernynge my lore with affeccion and desyre And folowe the steppys of his vnthryfty syre

I trust so crafty and wyse to make the lad That me his father he shall pas and excell O that my herte shall than be wonder glad If I here of may knowe, se, or here tell If he be false faynynge sotyll or cruell And so styll endure I haue a speciall hope To make hym scrybe to a Cardynall or Pope.

Or els if he can be a fals extorcyoner Fasynge and bostynge to scratche and to kepe He shall be made a comon costomer As yche hope of Lyn Calays or of Depe Than may he after to some great offyce crepe So that if he can onys plede a case He may be made Juge of the comon place.

Thus shall he lyue as I haue all his dayes And in his age increas his folysshenes His fader came to worshyp by suche ways So shall the sone, if he hym selfe addres To sue my steppes in falshode and lewdnes And at leste if he can come to no degre This shyp of folys shall he gouerne with me

BARKLAY TO THE FOLYS.

Awake age alas what thynkest thou be Awake I say out of thy blynde derkenes Remembrest thou nat that shortly thou shalt dye Aryse from synne amende thy folysshenes Though thy youth reted were in vyciousnes Aryse in age is full tyme to leue it Thy graue is open thy one fote in the pyt

Leue thy bostynge of that thou hast done amys Bewayle thy synnes, sayeng with rufull mone Delicta iuuentutis mee deus ne memineris Amende the or thy youth be fully gone That sore is harde to hele that bredes in the bone He that is nought yonge, procedynge so in age Shall skant euer his vyciousnes a.s.swage

What thinge is more abhomynable in G.o.ddes syght.

Than vicious age: certaynly no thynge.

It is eke worldly shame, whan thy corage and mycht Is nere dekayed, to kepe thy lewde lyuynge.

And by example of the, thy yonge children to brynge.

Into a vicious lyfe: and all goodnes to hate.

Alas age thus thou art the Fendes bate.

Of the erudicion of neglygent faders anenst theyr chyldren.

[Ill.u.s.tration: That fole that suffreth his Chylde for to offende Wythout rebukynge, blame, and correccion.

And hym nat exhorteth, hymselfe to amende.