craftines deceived and deuoured the credulous Well is it seene, theyr sheepe bene not their kidde. 20 Sicker this morrowe, ne lenger agoe, 30 Perdie so farre am I from enuie, That playen, while their flockes be vnfedde. owne, Sicker now I see thou speakest of spight, PIERS. 70 Ah Palinodie, thou art a worldes childe: aunce, And to continue their wont countenaunce. 80 89 Sike mens follie I cannot compare She stoppeth the breath of her youngling. 100 The time was once, and may againe retorne, (For ought may happen, that hath bene beforne) When shepeheards had none inheritaunce, PALINODE. 120 Three thinges to beare, bene very burdenous, Thou raylest on right withouten reason, Sorrowe ne neede be hastened on: For when approchen the stormie stowres, And sooth to sayne, nought seemeth sike strife, Shepheard, I list none accordaunce make Now Piers, of felowship, tell vs that saying: For the Ladde can keepe both our flocks from straying. ΤΗ PIERS. 180 Hilke same Kidde (as I can well deuise) Was too very foolish and vnwise. For on a tyme in Sommer season, The Gate her dame, that had good reason, Yode forth abroade vnto the greene wood, To brouze, or play, or what shee thought good. But for she had a motherly care Of her young sonne, and wit to beware, Shee set her youngling before her knee, That was both fresh and louely to see, And full of fauour, as kidde mought be: His Vellet head began to shoote out, And his wrethed hornes gan newly sprout: The blossomes of lust to bud did beginne, And spring forth ranckly vnder his chinne. My sonne (quoth she) (and with that gan weepe: For carefull thoughts in her heart did creepe) God blesse thee poore Orphane, as he mought Thy father (that word she spake with payne: Tho marking him with melting eyes, With some old sorowe, that made a newe breache: 210 Seemed shee sawe in the younglings face 220 So schooled the Gate her wanton sonne, That answerd his mother, all should be done. Tho went the pensife Damme out of dore, 229 And chaunst to stomble at the threshold flore: Her stombling steppe some what her amazed, (For such, as signes of ill luck bene dispraised) Yet forth shee yode thereat halfe aghast: And Kiddie the dore sperred after her fast. It was not long, after shee was gone, But the false Foxe came to the dore anone: Not as a Foxe, for then he had be kend, But all as a poore pedler he did wend, Bearing a trusse of tryfles at hys backe, As bells, and babes, and glasses in hys packe. A Biggen he had got about his braine, For in his headpeace he felt a sore payne. His hinder heele was wrapt in a clout, For with great cold he had gotte the gout. There at the dore he cast me downe hys pack, And layd him downe, and groned, Alack, Alack. 241 | Ah deare Lord, and sweete Saint Charitee, That some good body woulde once pitie mee. Well heard Kiddie al this sore constraint, And lengd to know the cause of his com plaint: 250 Tho creeping close behind the Wickets clinck, Ah good young maister (then gan he crye) That in my carrion carcas abounds. 260 I am a poore Sheepe, albe my coloure donne; So be your goodlihead doe not disdayne 270 Tho out of his packe a glasse he tooke: Wherein while kiddie vnwares did looke, He was so enamored with the newell, That nought he deemed deare for the iewell. Tho opened he the dore, and in came The false Foxe, as he were starke lame. His tayle he clapt betwixt his legs twayne, Lest he should be descried by his trayne. 281 Being within, the Kidde made him good glee, He popt him in, and his basket did latch, Her Kidde: but he nould answere at all. What helpe? her Kidde shee knewe well was gone: 300 Truly Piers, thou art beside thy wit, 310 But and if Foxes bene so crafty, as so, Of their falshode more could I recount. mount: And for the deawie night now doth nye, I hold it best for vs, home to hye. GLOSSE. Thilke) this same moneth. It is applyed to the season of the moneth, when all menne delight them selues with pleasaunce of fieldes, and gardens, and garments. Bloncket liueries) gray coates. Yclad) arrayed, Y, redoundeth, as before. In euery where) a straunge, yet proper kind of speaking. Buskets) a Diminutiue.s. little bushes of hauthorne. A shole) a multitude; taken of fishe, whereof some going in great companies, are sayde to swimme in a shole. Yode) went. Iouyssance) ioye. Inly) entirely. Swinck) labour. Faytours) vagabonds. Great pan) is Christ, the very God of all shepheards, which calleth himselfe the greate and good shepherd. The name is most rightly (me thinkes) applyed to him, for Pan signifieth all or omnipotent, which is onely the Lord Iesus. And by that name (as I remember) he is called of Eusebius in his fifte booke de Preparat. Euang; who thereof telleth a proper storye to that purpose. Which story is first recorded of Plutarch, in his booke of the ceasing of oracles, and of Lauetere translated, in his booke of walking sprightes. Who sayth, that about the same time, that our Lord suffered his most bitter passion for the redemtion of man, certein passengers sayling from Italy to Cyprus and passing by certain Iles called Paxæ, heard a voyce calling alowde Thamus, Thamus, (now Thamus was the name of an Egyptian, which was Pilote of the ship,) who giuing eare to the cry, was bidden, when he came to Palodes, to tel, that the great Pan was dead: which he doubting to doe, yet for that when he came to Palodes, there sodeinly was such a calme of winde, that the shippe stoode still in the sea vnmoued, he was forced to cry alowd, that Pan was dead: wherewithall there was heard suche piteous outcryes and dreadfull shriking, as hath not bene the like. By whych Pan, though of some be vnderstoode the great Satanas, whose kingdome at that time was by Christ conquered, the gates of hell broken vp, and death by death deliuered to eternall death, (for at that time, as he sayth, all Oracles surceased, and enchaunted spirits, that were wont to delude the people, thenceforth held theyr peace) and also at the demaund of the Emperoure Tiberius, who that Pan should be, answere was made him by the wisest and best learned, that it was the sonne of Mercurie and Penelope, yet I think it more properly meant of the death of Christ, the onely and very Pan, then suffering for his flock. I as I am) seemeth to imitate the commen prouerb, Malim Inuidere mihi omnes quam miserescere. Nas) is a syncope, for ne has, or has not: as nould, for would not. Tho with them) doth imitate the Epitaphe of the ryotous king Sardanapalus, whych caused to be written on his tombe in Greeke: which verses be thus translated by Tullie. Much like the Epitaph of a good olde Erle of Deuonshire, which though much more wisedome bewraieth, then Sardanapalus, yet hath a smacke of his sensuall delights and beastlinesse. The rymes be these. ,, Ho, Ho, who lies here? I the good Erle of Deuonshere, And Maulde my wife, that was ful deare, That we spent, we had : Souenaunce) remembraunce. Pan himselfe, God. According as is sayd in Deuteronomie, That in diuision of the lande of Canaan, to the tribe of Leuie no portion of heritage should bee allotted, for GOD himselfe was their inheritaunce. Some gan) meant of the Pope, and his Antichristian prelates, which vsurpe a tyrannical dominion in the Churche, and with Peters counterfet keyes, open a wide gate to al wickednesse and insolent gouernment. Nought here spoken, as of purpose to deny fatherly rule and godly, gouernaunce (as some malitiously of late haue done to the great vnreste and hinderaunce of the Churche) but to displaye the pride and disorder of such, as in steede of feeding their sheepe, indeede feede of theyr sheepe. Sourse) welspring and originall. Borrowe) pledge or suertie. The Geaunte) is the greate Atlas, whom the poetes feign to be a huge geaunt, that beareth Heauen on his shoulders: being in deede a merueilous highe mountaine in Mauritania, that now is Barbarie, which to mans seeming perceth the cloudes, and seemeth to touch the heauens. Other thinke, and they not amisse, that this fable was meant of one Atlas king of the same countrye, (of whome may bee, that that hil had his denomination) brother to Prometheus who (as the Grekes say) did first fynd out the hidden courses of the starres, by an excellent imagination. Wherefore the poetes feigned, that he susteyned the firmament on hys shoulders. Many other coniectures needelesse be told hereof. Warke) worke. Encheason) cause, occasion. Deare borow) that is our sauiour, the commen pledge of all mens debts to death. Wyten) blame. Nought seemeth) is vnseemely. Conteck) strife contention. Her) theyr, as vseth Chaucer. Han) for haue. Sam) together. This tale is much like to that in sops fables, but the Catastrophe and end is farre different. By the Kidde may be vnderstoode the simple sorte of the faythfull and true Christians. By hys dame Christe, that hath alreadie with carefull watchewords (as heere doth the gote) warned his little ones, to beware of such doubling deceit. By the Foxe, the false and faithlesse Papistes, to whom is no credit to be giuen, nor felowshippe to be vsed. The gate) the Gote: Northernely spoken to turne O into A. Yode) went. Afforesayd. She set) A figure called Fictio. Which vseth to attribute reasonable actions and speaches to vnreasonable creatures. The bloosmes of lust) be the young and mossie heares, which then beginne to sproute and shoote foorth, when lustfull heate beginneth to kindle. And with) A very Poeticall matos. Orphane) A youngling or pupill, that needeth a Tutour and gouernour. That word) A patheticall parenthesis, to encrease a carefull Hyperbaton. The braunch) of the fathers body, is the child. For cuen so) Alluded to the saying of Andromache to Ascanius in Virgile. Sic oculos, sic ille manas, sic ora ferebat. A thrilling throb) a percing sighe. Liggen) lye. Maister of collusion).s. coloured guile, because the Foxe of al beasts is most wily and crafty. Sperre the yate) shut the dore. For such) The gotes stombling is here noted as an euill signe. The like to be marked in all histories: and that not the leaste of the Lorde Hastingues in king Rycharde the third his dayes. For beside his daungerous dreame (whiche was a shrewde prophecie of his mishap, that folowed) it is sayd that in the morning ryding toward the tower of London, there to sitte vppon matters of counsell, his horse stombled twise or thrise by the way: which of some, that ryding with hym in his company, were priuie to his neere destenie, was secretly marked, and afterward noted for memorie of his great mishap, that ensewed. For being then as merye, as man might be, and least doubting any mortall daunger, he was within two howres after, of the Tyranne put to a shamefull deathe. As belles) by such trifles are noted, the reliques Clincke.) a key hole. Whose diminutiue is clicket, To forestall) to præuent. Such ende) is an Epiphonema, or rather the morall of the whole tale, whose purpose is to warne the protestaunt beware, howe he geueth credit to the vnfaythfull Catholique: whereof we haue dayly proofes sufficient, but one moste famous of all, practised of Late yeares in Fraunce by Charles the nynth. Fayne) gladde or desyrous. Our sir Iohn) a Popishe priest. A saying fit for the grosenesse of a shepheard, but spoken to taunte vnlearned Priestes. Dismount) descende or set. Embleme. Nye) draweth nere. Both these Emblemes make one whole Hexametre. The first spoken of Palinodie, as in reproche of them, that be distrustfull, is a peece of Theognis verse, intending, that who doth most mistrust is most false. For such experience in falsehod breedeth mistrust in the mynd, thinking no lesse guile to lurke in others, then in hymselfe. But Piers thereto strongly replyeth with another peece of the same verse, saying as in his former fable, what fayth then is there in the faythlesse. For if fayth be the ground of religion, which fayth they dayly false, what hold then is there of theyr religion. And thys is all that they saye. |