At length my chariot wheele about the mark hath found the way,
And at their weery racce end my breathlesse horses stay.
The woork is brought too end by which the author did account
(And rightly) with eternall fame aboue the starres too mount.
For whatsoeuer hath bene writ of auncient tyme in greeke
By sundry men dispersedly, and in the latin eeke,
Of this same dark Philosophie of turned shapes, the same
Hath Ouid into one whole masse in this booke brought in frame.
Fowre kynd of things in this his worke the Poet dooth conteyne.
That nothing vnder heauen dooth ay in stedfast state remayne.
And next that nothing perisheth: but that eche substance takes
Another shape than that it had. Of theis twoo points he makes
The proof by shewing through his woorke the wonderfull exchaunge
Of Goddes, men, beasts, and elements, too sundry shapes right straunge,
Beginning with creation of the world, and man of slyme,
And so proceeding with the turnes that happened till his tyme.
Then sheweth he the soule of man from dying to be free,
By samples of the noblemen, who for their vertues bee
Accounted and canonized for Goddes by heathen men,
And by the peynes of Lymbo lake, and blysfull state agen
Of spirits in th' Elysian feelds. And though that of theis three
He make discourse dispersedly: yit specially they bee
Discussed in the latter booke in that oration where
He bringeth in Pythagoras disswading men from feare
Of death, and preaching abstinence from flesh of liuing things.
But as for that opinion which Pythagoras there brings
Of soules remouing out of beasts too men, and out of men
Too birdes and beasts both wyld and tame, both too and fro agen:
It is not too be vnderstand of that same soule whereby
Wee are endewd with reason and discretion from on hie:
But of that soule or lyfe the which brute beasts as well as wee
Enioy. Three sortes of lyfe or soule (for so they termed bee)
Are found in things. The first giues powre too thryue, encrease & grow,
And this in senselesse herbes and trees and shrubs itself dooth show.
The second giueth powre too moue and vse of senses fyue,
And this remaynes in brutish beasts, and keepeth them alyue.
Both theis are mortall, as the which receyued of the aire
By force of Phebus, after death doo thither eft repayre.
The third giues vnderstanding, wit, and reason: and the same
Is it alonly which with vs of soule dooth beare the name.
And as the second dooth conteine the first: euen so the third
Conteyneth both the other twaine. And neyther beast, nor bird,
Nor fish, nor herb, nor tree, nor shrub, nor any earthly wyght
(Saue only man) can of the same partake the heauenly myght.
I graunt that when our breath dooth from our bodies go away,
It dooth eftsoones returne too ayre: and of that ayre there may
Both bird and beast participate, and wee of theirs likewyse.
For whyle wee liue, (the thing itself appeereth to our eyes)
Bothe they and wee draw all one breath. But for too deeme or say
Our noble soule (which is dunne and permanent for ay)
Is common too vs with the beasts, I think it nothing lesse
Than for too bee a poynt of him that wisdome dooth professe.
Of this I am ryght well assurde there is no Christen Wyght
That can by fondnesse be so farre seduced from the ryght.
And finally hee dooth proceede in shewing that not all
That beare the name of men (how strong, feerce, stout, bold, hardy, tall,
How wyse, fayre, rych, or hyghly borne, how much renownd by fame,
So ere they bee, although on earth of Goddes they beare the name)
Are for too be accounted men: but such as vnder awe
Of reasons rule continually doo liue in vertues law:
And that the rest doo differ nought from beasts, but rather bee
Much woorse than beasts, bicause they doo abace theyr owne degree.
To naturall philosophye the formest three perteyne,
The fowrth too morall: and in all are pitthye, apt and playne
Instructions which import the prayse of vertues, and the shame
Of vices, with the due rewardes of eyther of the same.
As for example, in the tale of Daphnee turnd too Bay,
A myrror of virginitie appeere vntoo vs may,
Which yeelding nayther vntoo feare, nor force, nor flatterye,
Doth purchace euerlasting fame and immortalitye.
In Phaetons fable vntoo syght the Poet dooth expresse
The natures of ambition blynd, and youthfull wilfulnesse.
The end whereof is miserie, and bringeth at the last
Repentance when it is to late that all redresse is past.
And how the weaknesse and the want of wit in magistrate
Confoundeth both his common weale and eeke his owne estate.
This fable also dooth aduyse all parents and all such
As bring vp youth, too take good heede of cockering them too much.
It further dooth commende the meane: and willeth too beware
Of rash and hasty promises which most pernicious are,
And not too bee performed: and in fine it playnly showes
What sorrow too the parents and too all the kinred growes
By disobedience of the chyld: and in the chyld is ment
The disobedient subiect that ageinst his prince is bent.
The transformations of the Crow and Rauen doo declare
That Clawbacks and Colcariers ought wysely too beware
Of whom, too whom, and what they speake. For sore against his will
Can any freendly hart abyde too heare reported ill
The partie whom he fauoureth. This tale dooth eeke bewray
The rage of wrath and ielozie too haue no kynd of stay:
And that lyght credit too reportes in no wyse should be giuen.
For feare that men too late too iust repentance should bee driuen.
The fable of Ocyroce by all such folk is told
As are in serching things too come too curious and too bold.
A very good example is describde in Battus tale
For couetous people which for gayne doo set theyr toongs too sale.
All such as doo in flattring freaks, and hawks, and hownds delyght,
And dyce, and cards, and for too spend the tyme both day and nyght
In foule excesse of chamberworke, or too much meate and drink:
Uppon the piteous storie of Acteon ought too think.
For theis and theyr adherents vsde excessiue are in deede
The dogs that dayly doo deuour theyr followers on with speede.
Tyresias willes inferior folk in any wyse too shun
Too iudge betweene their betters least in perill they doo run.
Narcissus is of scornfulnesse and pryde a myrror cleere,
Where beawties fading vanitie most playnly may appeere.
And Echo in the selfsame tale dooth kyndly represent
The lewd behauiour of a bawd, and his due punishment.
The piteous tale of Pyramus and Thisbee doth conteine
The headie force of frentick loue whose end is wo and payne.
The snares of Mars and Uenus shew that tyme will bring too lyght
The secret sinnes that folk commit in corners or by nyght.
Hermaphrodite and Salmacis declare that idlenesse
Is cheefest nurce and cherisher of all volupteousnesse,
And that voluptuous lyfe breedes sin: which linking all toogither
Make men too bee effeminate, vnweeldy, weake and lither.
Rich Piers daughters turnd too Pies doo openly declare,
That none so bold too vaunt themselues as blindest bayardes are.
The Muses playnly doo declare ageine a toother syde,
That whereas cheefest wisdom is, most meeldnesse dooth abyde.
Arachnee may example bee that folk should not contend
Ageinst their betters, nor persist in error too the end.
So dooth the tale of Niobee and of her children: and
The transformation of the Carles that dwelt in Lycie land,
Toogither with the fleaing of piper Marsies skin.
The first doo also show that long it is ere God begin
Too pay vs for our faults, and that he warnes vs oft before
Too leaue our folly: but at length his vengeance striketh sore.
And therfore that no wyght should striue with God in word nor thought
Nor deede. But pryde and fond desyre of prayse haue euer wrought
Confusion too the parties which accompt of them doo make.
For some of such a nature bee that if they once doo take
Opinion (be it ryght or wrong) they rather will agree
To dye, than seeme to take a foyle: so obstinate they bee.
The tale of Tereus, Philomele, and Prognee dooth conteyne
That folke are blynd in thyngs that too their proper weale perteyne.
And that the man in whom the fyre of furious lust dooth reigne
Dooth run too mischeefe like a horse that getteth loose the reyne.
It also shewes the cruell wreake of women in their wrath
And that no hainous mischiefe long delay of vengeance hath.
And lastly that distresse doth driue a man too looke about
And seeke all corners of his wits, what way too wind him out.
The good successe of Iason in the land of Colchos, and
The dooings of Medea since, doo giue too vnderstand
That nothing is so hard but peyne and trauell doo it win,
For fortune euer fauoreth such as boldly doo begin:
That women both in helping and in hurting haue no match
When they too eyther bend their wits: and how that for too catch
An honest meener vnder fayre pretence of frendship, is
An easie matter. Also there is warning giuen of this,
That men should neuer hastely giue care too fugitiues,
Nor into handes of sorcerers commit their state or lyues.
It shewes in fine of stepmoothers the deadly hate in part,
And vengeaunce most vnnaturall that was in moothers hart.
The deedes of Theseus are a spurre too prowesse, and a glasse
How princes sonnes and noblemen their youthfull yeeres should passe.
King Minos shewes that kings in hand no wrongfull wars should take,
And what prouision for the same they should before hand make.
King Aeacus giues also there example how that kings
Should keepe their promise and their leages aboue all other things.
His graue description of the plage and end thereof, expresse
The wrath of God on man for sin: and how that nerethelesse
He dooth vs spare and multiply ageine for goodmens sakes.
The whole discourse of Cephalus and Procris mention makes
That maried folke should warely shunne the vyce of iealozie
And of suspicion should auoyd all causes vtterly.
Reprouing by the way all such as causelesse doo misdeeme
The chaste and giltlesse for the deedes of those that faultie seeme.
The storie of the daughter of king Nisus setteth out
What wicked lust driues folk vntoo too bring their wills about.
And of a rightuous iudge is giuen example in the same,
Who for no meede nor frendship will consent too any blame.
Wee may perceyue in Dedalus how euery man by kynd
Desyres too bee at libertie, and with an earnest mynd
Dooth seeke too see his natiue soyle, and how that streight distresse
Dooth make men wyse, and sharpes their wits to fynd their own redresse.
Wee also lerne by Icarus how good it is too bee
In meane estate and not too clymb too hygh, but too agree
Too wholsome counsell: for the hyre of disobedience is
Repentance when it is too late for thinking things amisse.
And Partrich telles that excellence in any thing procures
Men enuie, euen among those frendes whom nature most assures.
Philemon and his feere are rules of godly pacient lyfe,
Of sparing thrift, and mutuall loue betweene the man and wyfe,
Of due obedience, of the feare of God, and of reward
For good or euill vsage shewd too wandring straungers ward.
In Erisicthon dooth appeere a lyuely image both
Of wickednesse and crueltie which any Wyght may lothe,
And of the hyre that longs theretoo. He sheweth also playne
That whereas prodigalitie and gluttony dooth reigne,
A world of riches and of goods are euer with the least
Too satisfye the appetite and eye of such a beast
In Hercules and Acheloyes encounters is set out
The nature and behauiour of twoo wooers that be stout.
Wherein the Poet couertly taunts such as beeing bace
Too seeke by forged pedegrees too seeme of noble race.
Who when they doo perceyue no truth vppon their syde too stand,
Instead of reason and of ryght vse force and myght of hand.
This fable also signifies that valiantnesse of hart
Consisteth not in woords, but deedes: and that all slyght and Art
Giue place too prowesse. Furthermore in Nessus wee may see
What breach of promise commeth too, and how that such as bee
Unable for too wreake theyr harmes by force, doo oft deuyse
Too wreake themselues by pollicie in farre more cruell wise.
And Deyanira dooth declare the force of iealozie
Deceyued through too lyght beleef and fond simplicitie.
The processe following peinteth out true manlynesse of hart
Which yeeldeth neyther vntoo death, too sorrow, greef, nor smart.
And finally it shewes that such as liue in true renowne
Of vertue heere, haue after death an euerlasting crowne
Of glorie. Cawne and Byblis are examples contrarie:
The Mayd of most outrageous lust, the man of chastitie.
The tenth booke cheefly dooth containe one kynd of argument
Reprouing most prodigious lusts of such as haue bene bent
Too incest most vnnaturall. And in the latter end
It sheweth in Hippomenes how greatly folk offend,
That are ingrate for benefits which God or man bestow
Uppon them in the time of neede. Moreouer it dooth show
That beawty (will they nill they) aye dooth men in dauger throw:
And that it is a foolyshnesse too stryue ageinst the thing
Which God before determineth too passe in tyme too bring.
And last of all Adonis death dooth shew that manhod striues
Against forewarning though men see the perill of theyr lyues.
The death of Orphey sheweth Gods iust vengeance on the vyle
And wicked sort which horribly with incest them defyle.
In Midas of a couetous wretch the image wee may see
Whose riches iustly too himself a hellish torment bee,
And of a foole whom neyther proof nor warning can amend,
Untill he feele the shame and smart that folly doth him send.
His Barbour represents all blabs which seeme with chyld too bee
Untill that they haue blaazd abrode the things they heare or see.
In Ceyx and Alcyone appeeres most constant loue,
Such as betweene the men and wyfe too bee it dooth behoue.
This Ceyx also is a lyght of princely courtesie
And bountie toward such whom neede compelleth for too flye.
His viage also dooth declare how vainly men are led,
Too vtter perill through fond toyes and fansies in their head.
For Idols doubtfull oracles and soothsayres prophecies
Doo nothing else but make fooles fayne and blynd their bleared eyes.
Dedalions daughter warnes too vse the toong with modestee
And not too vaunt with such as are their betters in degree.
The seege of Troy, the death of men, the razing of the citie,
And slaughter of king Priams stock without remors of pitie,
Which in the xij. and xiij. bookes bee written, doo declare
How heynous wilfull periurie and filthie whoredome are
In syght of God. The frentick fray betweene the Lapithes and
The Centaures is a note wherby is giuen too vnderstand
The beastly rage of drunkennesse.
Ulysses dooth expresse
The image of discretion, wit, and great aduisednesse.
And Aiax on the other syde doth represent a man
Stout, headie, irefull, hault of mynd, and such a one as can
Abyde too suffer no repulse. And both of them declare
How couetous of glorie and reward mens natures are.
And finally it sheweth playne that wisdome dooth preuayle
In all attempts and purposes when strength of hand dooth fayle
The death of fayre Polyxena dooth shew a princely mynd
And firme regard of honor rare engraft in woman kynd.
And Polymnestor king of Thrace dooth shew himself to bee
A glasse for wretched couetous folke wherein themselues to see
This storie further witnesseth that murther crieth ay
For vengeance, and itself one tyme or other dooth bewray.
The tale of Gyant Polypheme doth euidently proue
That nothing is so feerce and wyld, which yeeldeth not to loue.
And in the person of the self same Gyant is set out
The rude and homely wooing of a country cloyne and lout.
The tale of Apes reproues the vyce of wilfull periurie,
And willeth people too beware they vse not for too lye.
Aeneas going downe too hell dooth shew that vertue may
In saufty trauell where it will, and nothing can it stay.
The length of lyfe in Sybill dooth declare it is but vayne
Too wish long lyfe, syth length of lyfe is also length of payne.
The grecian Achemenides dooth lerne vs how we ought
Bee thankfull for the benefits that any man hath wrought.
And in this Achemenides the Poet dooth expresse
The image of exceeding feare in daunger and distresse.
What else are Circes witchcrafts and enchauntments than the vyle
And filthy pleasures of the flesh which doo our soules defyle?
And what is else herbe Moly than the gift of stayednesse
And temperance which dooth all fowle concupiscence represse?
The tale of Anaxaretee willes dames of hygh degree
Too vse their louers courteously how meane so ere they bee.
And Iphis lernes inferior folkes too fondly not too set
Their loue on such as are too hygh for their estate too get.
Alemons sonne declares that men should willingly obay
What God commaundes, and not vppon exceptions seeme to stay.
For he will find the meanes too bring the purpose well about,
And in their most necessitie dispatch them saufly out
Of daunger. The oration of Pithagoras implyes
A sum of all the former woorke. What person can deuyse
A notabler example of true loue and godlynesse
Too ones owne natyue countryward than Cippus dooth expresse?
The turning to a blazing starre of Iulius Cesar showes,
That fame and immortalitie of vertuous dooing growes.
And lastly by examples of Augustus and a few
Of other noble princes sonnes the author there dooth shew
That noblemen and gentlemen shoulde stryue too passe the fame
And vertues of their aunceters, or else too match the same.
Theis fables out of euery booke I haue interpreted,
Too shew how they and all the rest may stand a man in sted.
Not adding ouer curiously the meening of them all,
For that were labor infinite, and tediousnesse not small
Bothe vntoo your good Lordship and the rest that should them reede
Who well myght think I did the bounds of modestie exceede,
If I this one epistle should with matters ouercharge
Which scarce a booke of many quyres can well conteyne at large.
And whereas in interpreting theis few I attribute
The things too one, which heathen men to many Gods impute,
Concerning mercy, wrath for sin, and other gifts of grace:
Described for examples sake in proper tyme and place.
Let no man maruell at the same. For though that they as blynd
Through vnbeleefe, and led astray through error euen of kynd,
Knew not the true eternall God, or if they did him know,
Yit did they not acknowledge him, but vaynly did bestow
The honor of the maker on the creature: yit it dooth
Behoue all vs (who ryghtly are instructed in the sooth)
Too thinke and say that God alone is he that rules all things
And worketh all in all, as lord of lords and king of kings,
With whom there are none other Gods that any sway may beare,
No fatall law too bynd him by, no fortune for too feare.
For Gods, and fate, and fortune are the termes of heathennesse,
If men vsurp them in the sense that Paynims doo expresse.
But if wee will reduce their sense too ryght of Christian law,
Too signifie three other things theis termes wee well may draw.
By Gods wee vnderstand all such as God hath plaast in cheef
Estate to punish sin, and for the godly folkes releef.
By fate the order which is set and stablished in things
By Gods eternall will and word, which in due season brings
All matters too their falling out. Which falling out or end
(Bicause our curious reason is too weake too comprehend
The cause and order of the same, and dooth behold it fall
Unwares too vs) by name of chaunce or fortune wee it call.
If any man will say theis things may better lerned bee
Out of diuine philosophie or scripture, I agree
That nothing may in worthinesse with holy writ compare.
Howbeeit so farre foorth as things no whit impeachment are
Too vertue and too godlynesse but furtherers of the same,
I trust wee may them saufly vse without desert of blame.
And yet there are (and those not of the rude and vulgar sort.
But such as haue of godlynesse and lerning good report)
That thinke the Poets tooke their first occasion of theis things
From holy writ as from the well from whence all wisdome springs.
What man is he but would suppose the author of this booke
The first foundation of his woorke from Moyses wryghtings tooke?
Not only in effect he dooth with Genesis agree,
But also in the order of creacion, saue that hee
Makes no distinction of the dayes. For what is else at all
That shapelesse, rude, and pestred heape which Chaos he dooth call,
Than euen that vniuersall masse of things which God did make
In one whole lump before that ech their proper place did take.
Of which the Byble saith that in the first beginning God
Made heauen and earth: the earth was waste, and darknesse yit abod
Uppon the deepe: which holy wordes declare vntoo vs playne
That fyre, ayre, water, and the earth did vndistinct remayne
In one grosse bodie at the first.
For God the father that
Made all things, framing out the world according too the plat,
Conceyued euerlastingly in mynd, made first of all
Both heauen and earth vncorporall and such as could not fall
As obiects vnder sense of sight: and also aire lykewyse,
And emptynesse: and for theis twaine apt termes he did deuyse.
He called ayer darknesse: for the ayre by kynd is darke.
And emptynesse by name of depth full aptly he did marke:
For emptynesse is deepe and waste by nature. Ouermore
He formed also bodylesse (as other things before)
The natures both of water and of spirit. And in fyne
The lyght: which beeing made too bee a patterne most diuine
Whereby too forme the fixed starres and wandring planets seuen,
With all the lyghts that afterward should beawtifie the heauen,
Was made by God both bodylesse and of so pure a kynd,
As that it could alonly bee perceyued by the mynd.
To thys effect are Philos words. And certainly this same
Is it that Poets in their worke confused Chaos name.
Not that Gods woorkes at any tyme were pact confusedly
Toogither: but bicause no place nor outward shape whereby
To shew them too the feeble sense of mans deceytfull syght
Was yit appointed vntoo things, vntill that by his myght
And wondrous wisdome God in tyme set open too the eye
The things that he before all tyme had euerlastingly
Decreed by his prouidence. But let vs further see
How Ouids scantlings with the whole true patterne doo agree.
The first day by his mighty word (sayth Moyses) God made lyght,
The second day the firmament, which heauen or welkin hyght.
The third day he did part the earth from sea and made it drie,
Commaunding it too beare all kynd of frutes abundantly.
The fowrth day he did make the lyghts of heauen to shyne from hye,
And stablished a law in them too rule their courses by.
The fifth day he did make the whales and fishes of the deepe,
With all the birds and fethered fowles that in the aire doo keepe.
The sixth day God made euery beast both wyld and tame, and woormes
That creepe on ground according too their seuerall kynds and foormes.
And in the image of himself he formed man of clay
Too bee the Lord of all his woorkes the very selfsame day,
This is the sum of Moyses woords. And Ouid (whether it were
By following of the text aright, or that his mynd did beare
Him witnesse that there are no Gods but one) dooth playne vphold
That God (although he knew him not) was he that did vnfold
The former Chaos, putting it in forme and facion new,
As may appeere by theis his woordes which vnderneath ensew.
This stryfe did God and nature breake and set in order dew.
The earth from heauen the sea from earth he parted orderly,
And from the thicke and foggie aire he tooke the lyghtsome skye.
In theis few lynes he comprehends the whole effect of that
Which God did woork the first three dayes about this noble plat.
And then by distributions he entreateth by and by
More largely of the selfsame things, and paynts them out too eye
With all their bounds and furniture: And whereas wee doo fynd
The terme of nature ioynd with God: (according too the mynd
Of lerned men) by ioyning so, is ment none other thing,
But God the Lord of nature who did all in order bring.
The distributions beeing doone right lernedly, anon
Too shew the other three dayes workes he thus proceedeth on.
The heauenly soyle too Goddes and starres and planets first he gaue
The waters next both fresh and salt he let the fishes haue.
The suttle ayre to flickering fowles and birds he hath assignd,
The earth too beasts both wyld and tame of sundry sorts and kynd.
Thus partly in the outward phrase, but more in verie deede,
He seemes according too the sense of scripture too proceede.
And when he commes to speake of man, he dooth not vainly say
(As sum haue written) that he was before all tyme for ay,
Ne mencioneth mo Gods than one in making him. But thus
He both in sentence and in sense his meening dooth discusse.
Howbeeit yit of all this whyle the creature wanting was
Farre more diuine, of nobler mynd, which should the resdew passe
In depth of knowledge, reason, wit and hygh capacitee,
And which of all the resdew should the Lord and ruler bee.
Then eyther he that made the world and things in order set,
Of heauenly seede engendred man: or else the earth as yet
Yoong, lusty, fresh, and in her flowre, and parted from the skye
But late before, the seedes thereof as yit hild inwardly.
The which Prometheus tempring streyght with water of the spring,
Did make in likenesse to the Goddes that gouerne euery thing.
What other thing meenes Ouid heere by terme of heauenly seede,
Than mans immortall sowle, which is diuine, and commes in deede
From heauen, and was inspyrde by God, as Moyses sheweth playne?
And whereas of Prometheus he seemes too adde a vayne
Deuyce, as though he ment that he had formed man of clay,
Although it bee a tale put in for pleasure by the way:
Yit by thinterpretation of the name we well may gather,
He did include a misterie and secret meening rather.
This woord Prometheus signifies a person sage and wyse,
Of great foresyght, who headily will nothing enterpryse.
It was the name of one that first did images inuent:
Of whom the Poets doo report that hee too heauen vp went,
And there stole fyre, through which he made his images alyue:
And therfore that he formed men the Paynims did contryue.
Now when the Poet red perchaunce that God almyghty by
His prouidence and by his woord (which euerlastingly
Is ay his wisdome) made the world, and also man to beare
His image, and too bee the lord of all the things that were
Erst made, and that he shaped him of earth or slymy clay:
Hee tooke occasion in the way of fabling for too say
That wyse Prometheus tempring earth with water of the spring,
Did forme it lyke the Gods aboue that gouerne euery thing.
Thus may Prometheus seeme too bee theternall woord of God,
His wisdom, and his prouidence which formed man of clod.
And where all other things behold the ground with groueling eye:
He gaue too man a stately looke replete with maiesty:
And willd him too behold the heauen with countnance cast on hye,
Too mark and vnderstand what things are in the starrie skye.
In theis same woordes, both parts of man the Poet dooth expresse
As in a glasse, and giueth vs instruction too addresse
Our selues too know our owne estate: as that wee bee not borne
Too follow lust, or serue the paunch lyke brutish beasts forlorne,
But for too lyft our eyes as well of body as of mynd
Too heauen as too our natiue soyle from whence wee haue by kynd
Our better part: and by the sight thereof too lerne too know
And knowledge him that dwelleth there: and wholly too bestow
Our care and trauell too the prayse and glorie of his name
Who for the sakes of mortall men created first the same.
Moreouer by the golden age what other thing is ment,
Than Adams tyme in Paradyse, who beeing innocent
Did lead a blist and happy lyfe vntill that thurrough sin
He fell from God? From which tyme foorth all sorrow did begin.
The earth accursed for his sake, did neuer after more
Yeeld foode without great toyle. Both heate and cold did vexe him sore.
Disease of body, care of mynd, with hunger, thirst and neede,
Feare, hope, ioy, greefe, and trouble, fell on him and on his seede.
And this is termd the siluer age. Next which there did succeede
The brazen age, when malice first in peoples harts did breede,
Which neuer ceased growing till it did so farre outrage,
That nothing but destruction could the heate thereof asswage
For why mens stomackes wexing hard as steele ageinst their God,
Prouoked him from day too day too strike them with his rod.
Prowd Gyants also did aryse that with presumptuous wills
Heapt wrong on wrong, and sin on sin lyke howge and lofty hilles
Whereby they stroue too clymb too heauen and God from thence too draw,
In scorning of his holy woord and breaking natures law.
For which anon ensewd the flood which ouerflowed all
The whole round earth and drowned quyght all creatures great and smal,
Excepting feaw that God did saue as seede whereof should grow
Another ofspring. All these things the Poet heere dooth show
In colour, altring both the names of persons, tyme and place.
For where according too the truth of scripture in this cace,
The vniuersall flood did fall but sixteene hundred yeeres
And six and fifty after the creation (as appeeres
By reckening of the ages of the fathers) vnder Noy,
With whom seuen other persons mo like saufgard did enioy
Within the arke, which at the end of one whole yeere did stay
Uppon the hilles of Armenie: The Poet following ay
The fables of the glorying Greekes (who shamelessely did take
The prayse of all things too themselues) in fablyng wyse dooth make
It happen in Deucalions tyme, who reignd in Thessaly
Eyght hundred winters since Noyes flood or therevpon well nye,
Bicause that in the reigne of him a myghty flood did fall,
That drownde the greater part of Greece, townes, cattell, folk, and all,
Saue feaw that by the help of boats atteyned vntoo him,
And too the highest of the forkt Parnasos top did swim.
And for bycause that hee and his were driuen a whyle to dwell
Among the stonny hilles and rocks vntil the water fell,
The Poets herevpon did take occasion for too feyne,
That he and Pyrrha did repayre mankynd of stones ageyne.
So in the sixth booke afterward Amphions harp is sayd
The first foundation of the walles of Thebee too haue layd,
Bycause that by his eloquence and iustice (which are ment
By true accord of harmonie and musicall consent)
He gathered intoo Thebee towne, and in due order knit
The people that disperst and rude in hilles and rocks did sit.
So Orphey in the tenth booke is reported too delyght
The sauage beasts, and for too hold the fleeting birds from flyght,
Too moue the senselesse stones, and stay swift riuers, and too make
The trees too follow after him and for his musick sake
Too yeeld him shadow where he went. By which is signifyde
That in his doctrine such a force and sweetnesse was implyde,
That such as were most wyld, stowre, feerce, hard, witlesse, rude, and bent
Ageinst good order, were by him perswaded too relent,
And for too bee conformable too liue in reuerent awe
Like neybours in a common weale by iustyce vnder law.
Considring then of things before reherst the whole effect,
I trust there is already shewd sufficient too detect
That Poets tooke the ground of all their cheefest fables out
Of scripture: which they shadowing with their gloses went about
Too turne the truth too toyes and lyes. And of the selfsame rate
Are also theis: Their Phlegeton, their Styx, their blisfull state
Of spirits in th' Elysian feelds. Of which the former twayne
Seeme counterfetted of the place where damned soules remaine,
Which wee call hell. The third dooth seeme too fetch his pedegree
From Paradyse which scripture shewes a place of blisse too bee.
If Poets then with leesings and with fables shadowed so
The certeine truth, what letteth vs too plucke those visers fro
Their doings, and too bring ageine the darkened truth too lyght,
That all men may behold thereof the cleernesse shining bryght?
The readers therefore earnestly admonisht are too bee
Too seeke a further meening than the letter giues too see.
The trauell rane in that behalf although it haue sum payne
Yit makes it double recompence with pleasure and with gayne.
With pleasure, for varietie and straungenesse of the things,
With gaine, for good instruction which the vnderstanding brings.
And if they happening for too meete with any wanton woord
Or matter lewd, according as the person dooth auoord
In whom the euill is describde, doo feele their myndes thereby
Prouokte too vyce and wantonnesse, (as nature commonly
Is prone to euill) let them thus imagin in their mynd.
Behold, by sent of reason and by perfect syght I fynd
A Panther heere, whose peinted cote with yellow spots like gold
And pleasant smell allure myne eyes and senses too behold.
But well I know his face is grim and feerce, which he dooth hyde
Too this intent, that whyle I thus stand gazing on his hyde,
He may deuour mee vnbewares. Ne let them more offend
At vices in this present woork in lyuely colours pend,
Than if that in a chrystall glasse fowle images they found,
Resembling folkes fowle visages that stand about it round.
For sure theis fables are not put in wryghting too thentent
Too further or allure too vyce: but rather this is ment,
That men beholding what they bee when vyce dooth reigne in stead
Of vertue, should not let their lewd affections haue the head.
For as there is no creature more diuine than man as long
As reason hath the souereintie and standeth firme and strong:
So is there none more beastly, vyle, and deuelish, than is hee,
If reason giuing ouer, by affection mated bee.
The vse of this same booke therfore is this: that euery man
(Endeuoring for too know himself as neerly as he can,)
(As though he in a chariot sate well ordered,) should direct
His mynd by reason in the way of vertue, and correct
His feerce affections with the bit of temprance, least perchaunce
They taking bridle in the teeth lyke wilfull iades doo praunce
Away, and headlong carie him to euery filthy pit
Of vyce, and drinking of the same defyle his soule with it:
Or else doo headlong harrie him vppon the rockes of sin,
And ouerthrowing forcibly the chariot he sits in,
Doo teare him woorse than euer was Hippolytus the sonne
Of Theseus when he went about his fathers wrath too shun.
This worthie worke in which of good examples are so many,
This Ortyard of Alcimous in which there wants not any
Herb, tree, or frute that may mans vse for health or pleasure serue,
This plenteous horne of Acheloy which iustly dooth deserue
Too beare the name of treasorie of knowledge, I present
Too your good Lordship once ageine not as a member rent
Or parted from the resdew of the body any more:
But fully now accomplished, desiring you therfore
Too let your noble courtesie and fauor counteruayle
My faults where Art or eloquence on my behalf dooth fayle.
For sure the marke whereat I shoote is neyther wreathes of bay,
Nor name of Poet, no nor meede: but cheefly that it may
Bee lyked well of you and all the wise and lerned sort,
And next that euery wyght that shall haue pleasure for to sport
Him in this gardeine, may as well beare wholsome frute away
As only on the pleasant flowres his rechlesse senses stay.
But why seeme I theis doubts too cast, as if that he who tooke
With fauor and with gentlenesse a parcell of the booke
Would not likewyse accept the whole? or euen as if that they
Who doo excell in wisdome and in lerning, would not wey
A wyse and lerned woorke aryght? or else as if that I
Ought ay too haue a speciall care how all men doo apply
My dooings too their owne behoof? as of the former twayne
I haue great hope and confidence: so would I also fayne
The other should according too good meening find successe:
If otherwyse, the fault is theyrs not myne they must confesse.
And therefore breefly too conclude, I turne ageine too thee
O noble Erle of Leycester, whose lyfe God graunt may bee
As long in honor, helth and welth as auncient Nestors was,
Or rather as Tithonussis: that all such students as
Doo trauell too enrich our toong with knowledge heretofore
Not common too our vulgar speech, may dayly more and more
Proceede through thy good furtherance and fauor in the same.
Too all mens profit and delyght, and thy eternall fame.
And that (which is a greater thing) our natyue country may
Long tyme enioy thy counsell and thy trauell too her stay.
At Barwicke the .xx. of Aprill .1567. Your good L. most humbly too commaund Arthur Golding.