The Ship of Fools Part 16

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.

Of suche fawtes as by hym ar done.

Shal it sore repent: G.o.d wote howe sone For oft the faders foly, fauour, and neglygence Causeth the Chylde for to fall to great offence]

A myserable Fole euermore shal he be.

A wretche vnauysed, and a Catyf blynde.

Whiche his chyldren fawtes forseth nat to see Hauynge no care for to induce theyr mynde To G.o.dly vertue: and vyce to leue behynde.

For whyle they ar yonge fereful and tender of age Theyre vyce and foly is easy to a.s.swage.

Two dyuers sortes of these foles may we fynde.

By whome theyr chyldren ar brought to confusion.

The one is neglygent. the other is starke blynde.

Nat wyllynge to beholde his childes yl condicion.

Whyle he is in youthe: But for a conclusion He is a Fole that wyl nat se theyr vyce.

And he that seyth: and wyl it nat chastyce.

Alas thou art a cursed counselloure To wanton youth that tender is of age To let them wander without gouernoure Or wyse mayster, in youthes furious rage Get them a mayster theyr foly to a.s.swage For as a herdles flocke strayth in Jepardy So children without gyde wandreth in foly.

To moche lyberty pleasoure and lycence Gyuen vnto youth, whether it be or age Right often causyth great inconuenyence As ryot mysrule with other sore damage Theyr londe and goodes solde or layde to gage But thou folysshe father art redy to excuse Thy yonge children of theyr synne and abuse

Thou sayst they ar ouer tender to eschewe Theyr folysshe maners and they haue no skyll To knowe the wayes of goodnes or vertue Nor to discerne what is G.o.de, what is yll Thou blynde dodart these wordes holde thou styll Theyr youth can nat excuse thy folysshenes He that can yll as well myght lerne goodnes

A yonge hert is as apt to take wysdome As is an olde, and if it rotyd be It sawyth sede of holy lyfe to come Also in children we often tymes se Great aptness outwarde and syne of grauyte But fyll an erthen pot first with yll lycoure And euer after it shall smell somwhat soure

So youth brought vp in lewdnes and in sin Shall skant it shrape so clene out of his mynde But that styll after some spot wyll byde within A lytell twygge plyant is by kynde A bygger braunche is harde to bowe or wynde But suffer the braunche to a byg tre to growe And rather it shall brake than outher wynde or bowe

Correct thy childe whyle he is lyke a twygge Soupyll and plyant, apt to correccion It wyll be harde forsoth whan he is bygge To brynge his stubron herte to subieccion What hurtyth punysshement with moderacion Unto yonge children, certaynely no thynge It voydeth vyce, gettynge vertue and cunnynge

Say folysshe fader haddest thou leuer se Thy sonnes necke vnwrested wyth a rope.

Than with a rod his skyn shulde brokyn be.

And oft thou trustest: and hast a stedfast hope To se thy son promoted nere as hye as is the Pope But yet perchaunce mourne thou shalt ful sore.

For his shameful ende: fortuned for lacke of lore.

Some folowe theyr chyldrens wyl and lewde plesour So grauntinge them theyr mynde: that after it doth fal To theyr great shame: they sorowe and dolour As dyd to Priamus a Kynge Imperial Whiche suffred his men: his son chefe of them al By force from Grece to robbe the fayre Helayne.

Wherby both Fader and son were after slayne.

With n.o.ble Hector and many thousandes mo.

The Cyte of Troy vnto the ground clene brent.

I rede in the Cronycles of the Romayns also Howe Tarquyne the proude had shame and punysshment For rauysshynge chaste Lucres agaynst hyr a.s.sent.

Wherfore hyrselfe she slewe hyr seynge thus defiled.

For the which dede this Tarquyn was exiled,

From Rome: wandrynge in the Costes of Italy.

Dyd nat the traytour Catelyne also conspyre And many mo sworne to his cruel tyranny Agaynst the Romans to oppresse theyr Impyre, But he and all his were murdred for theyr hyre, And nat vnworthely. Beholde wherto they come Which ar nat enfourmed in youth to ensue wysdom.