Part 31 (1/2)

But hym call I wyse and crafty of counsell Whiche kepeth close the secretis of his mynde And to no man wyll them disclose nor tell To man nor woman, ennemy nor yet frynde But do his purpose whan he best tyme can fynde Without worde spekynge, and so may his intent Best come to ende, his foo, beynge inprouydent

And specially no man ought to be large Of wordes nor shewe his counsell openly In thynges weyghty, of peryll and great charge Consernynge a royallue, or helth of his body For many ar falsly disceyued fynally By lewde tale berers whiche seke the way to fynde To knowe the preuy counsell of theyr lordes mynde

They fawne and flater to knowe his pryuetee But they forsoth, that wolde knowe thynges newe For the moste part of this condicion be No thynge to kepe, but lyghtly it to shewe.

Thus may the saynge of Salomon be fonde true.

Whiche sayth that he is wyse, and lyueth happely Whiche to hym selfe kepyth his counsell secretely

I fynde foure thynges whiche by meanes can Be kept close, in secrete, one longe in preuetee The firste is the counsell of a wytles man The seconde a Cyte, whiche byldyd is a bye Upon a mountayne, the thyrde we often se That to hyde his dedes a louer hath no skyll The fourth is strawe or fethers on a wyndy hyll

A pore mannys dedys may soone be kept close His name is hyd, and right so is his dede.

A ryche mannys dede may no man hyde nor glose It fleeth farthest, all men of it take hede So that yll fame whome all men ought to drede In fleynge about hir myght doth multyply Augmentynge to his lynage shame and vylany

Therfore who that intendyth to be wyse Ware and crafty, auoydynge all inconuenyence To shewe his counsell ought nat to interpryse But do his mynde, kepynge alway sylence In seruauntis is small trust or confydence He that is nowe thy frende may after be thy fo Warne nat thy ennemy of that that thou wylt do

THE ENUOY OF BARKLAY TO THE FOLYS.

O ye that ar put to wronge and Iniury If ye intende for to yelde the same agayne It is great foly to warne your ennemye Or hym to threten with bostynge wordes vayne.

For oft is sayde, and true it is certayne That they that wyll lyue in quyetnes and rest Must here and se and hasty wordes refrayne All styll with fewe wordes do that they thynke best

Of folys that can nat beware by the mysfortune and example of others damage.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Here we expresse, the errour and blyndnes Of them that se others aduersyte Theyr wofull fall the ruyne and dystres.

Yet sue they the same, and ware they wyll nat be Though they by example the payne of other se Yet leue they nat: thus may they clayme a place Within my Nauy, as folys voyde of grace]

We dayly se the mysfortune and damage And often fallys, to pouerte and payne Whiche folys suffer for theyr synne and outrage Some drowned, some maymed, some other wyse slayne Yet this example can nat cause vs refrayne Our wretchyd lyfe, and seke for remedy We marke no thynge anothers ieopardy.

We se the mockynge scorne and derysyon That folys hath ofte tyme whan they offende We se theyr losse, theyr shame and theyr confusion Howe be it all this can cause vs to amende We can no thynge and to nought we intende So many folys I fynde that playne I thynke Theyr weyghty charge shall cause my shyp to synke

Suche ar despysyd of men discrete and wyse Ye and more ouer these folys ar so blynde That echone of them the other doth despyse With sharp rebukes, wordes lewde and vnkynde Yet in theyr lyfe no difference may we fynde And though they haue sene a thousande brough to shame For one sore vyce: yet lyue they in the same

The example of other can nat theyr myndes moue Theyr wyttis ar blynde theyr foly is the cause Alas mad folys why do ye vyce thus loue Rennynge ay to deth without all rest or pause Alas, at the last retourne to christis lawes Be ware, whan ye other se taken in the snare Let anothers peryll cause you to be ware

Ye do nat so, alas it is great shame Your synne hath quenchyd your grace and gostly lyght One blynde man another doth chyde and blame And yet both s...o...b..e, nat goynge euyn or right A blynde man hym ledyth that also hath no syght So both in the dyche fallyth in suche a wyse That one can nat helpe, the other agayne to ryse

One crab blamys another for hir bacwarde pace And yet the blamer sothly can none other do But both two ar in theyr goynge in lyke case The one goeth bocwarde, the other doth also Many of these folys after that maner go But who that of his moders doctryne hath disdayne: Shall by his stepdame endure wo care and payne

And perchaunce after abyde the correccyon Of the sayde stepdame, in place of punysshement.

For his synne, sufferynge hir vniust subieccien And who that nat foloweth the commaundement Of his fader beynge to hym obedyent May fortune after in hunger thyrst ond colde Obey that stranger, whom he nat gladly wolde

We fynde Hystories wryten longe and ample In dyuers bokes of great auctoryte The hole Bybyll sheweth to vs example Howe they were punysshed that lyuyd in cruelte I fynde also wryten in bokes of Poetrye Howe that Pheton was brent with the lyghtnynge For his presumpcion, agaynst a myghty kynge

We haue example also by Icarus Whiche contrary vnto the commaundement Of his crafty father named Dedalus By fleynge to hye his wynges and fethers brent And so descendyd and in the se was drent Thus these two endynge by theyr lewdnes in care By theyr example sholde cause vs to beware

We dayly se before our syght and our presence What mysauenture to many one doth fall And that worthely for theyr synne and offence Yet ar we blynde, and ar nat ware at all But in our synnes lyue vnto them egall And where by synne we se one come to shame We wyllyngly (alas) ensue the same