Now here now there now to now fro
Now up now down the world goth fo
And ever hath done and ever shal,
Wherof I finde in special

A tale writen in the bible,

Which must nedes be credible,
And that as in conclufion

Saith, that upon divifion

Stant, why no worldes thing may laste,

Til it be drive to the laste,

And fro the firfte regne of all
Unto this day how fo befall

Of that the regnes be mevable,
The man him felf hath be coupable,
Whiche of his propre governaunce
Fortuneth al the worldes chaunce.

Profper et adverfus obliquo tramite verfus
Immundus mundus decipit omne genus.
Mundus in eventu verfatur ut alea cafu,

Quam celer in ludis jactat avara manus.
Sicut ymago viri variantur tempora mundi,
Statque nihil firmum preter amare deum.
The high almighty purveiaunce,
In whose eterne remembraunce
From first was every thing present,
He hath his prophecie fent

In fuche a wife, as thou fhalt here,
To Daniel of this matere,

5.

Hic in prologo tractat de ftatua illa, quam rex Nabugodonofor viderat in fompnis, cuius caput aureum, pectus argenteum, venter eneus, tibie ferree, pedum vero quedam pars ferrea, quedam fictilis vide

batur, fub qua mem

How that this world fhal torne and wende brorum diverfitate fe

Till it be falle unto his ende,

Wherof the tale tell I fhal

In which it is betokened al.

cundum Danielis expoficionem huius mundi variacio figurabatur.

As Nabugodonofor flepte

A fweven him toke, the whiche he kepte

Til on the morwe he was arise,
For he therof was fore agrise.

Til Daniel his dreme he tolde

And praid him faire, that he wolde
Arede what it token may

And faide a bedde where I lay
Me thought I figh upon a stage,
Where stood a wonder ftraunge ymage.
His hed with al the necke also
They were of fine gold, bothe two
His breft, his fhulders and his armes
Were al of filver, but tharmes,

The wombe and al down to the kne

Of bras they were upon to se,
His legges were al made of steel,
So were his feet also fomdele,
And fomdele part to hem was take
Of erthe, which men pottes make.
The feble meind was with the strong,
So might it nought wel ftonde long.
And tho me thought, that I figh
grandi, qui ut in A great ftone from an hill on high
batur ab excelfo Fell down of fodein aventure

Hic narrat ulterius de quodam lapide

dicto fompnio vide

monte fuper fta- Upon the feet of this figure,

tuam corruens ip

fam quafi in nichi- With which stone al to-broke was
lum penitus con-
trivit.

Gold, filver, erthe, fteel and bras,

That al was into pouder brought
And fo forth torned into nought.

This was the fweven which he had,
That Daniel anone arad

And saide him: that figure ftraunge
Betokeneth how the world fhal chaunge
And waxe laffe worth and laffe,
Til it to nought all over paffe.
The necke and hed, that weren golde,
He faide how that betoken sholde
A worthy worlde, a noble, a riche
To which none after shal be liche.

Of filver that was over forthe
Shal ben a worlde of laffe worthe.

And after that the wombe of bras
Token of a wers worlde it was.
The steel which he figh afterward
A world betokeneth more hard.

But yet the werste of every dele
Is laft, that whan of erth and steel
He figh the feet departed fo,
For that betokeneth mochel wo.

Whan that the world devided is,
It mot algate fare amis,

For erth, which meined is with steel,
To-gider may nought laste wele,
But if that one that other wafte,
So mot it nedes fail in hafte.
The stone, whiche fro the hilly stage
He figh down falle on that ymage
And hath it into pouder broke,
That fweven hath Daniel unloke

Hic loquitur de interpretacione fompnii, et primo dicit de fignificacione capitis aurei.

De pectore argenteo.

De ventre eneo.

De tibeis ferreis.

De fignificacione pedum, qui ex duabus materiis difcordantibus ad invicem divifi extiterunt.

De lapidis ftatuam confringentis fignificacione.

Hic confequenter fcribit, qualiter hu

ius feculi regna variis mutacionibus, prout in dicta ftatua

And said, that it is goddes might
Which whan men wene most upright
To ftonde fhal hem over cafte.

And that is of this world the laste,
And than a newe shal beginne,

From whiche a man fhal never twinne
Or al to paine or al to pees,

That world fhal lafte endeles.

Lo, thus expoundeth Daniel

The kinges fweven faire and wel
In Babiloine the citee,

figurabatur, fecun- Wher that the wifeft of Caldee
dum temporum

diftinctiones fenfi- Ne couthen wite what it mente,

biliter hactenus diminuuntur.

De feculo aureo, quod in capite fta

But he tolde al the hole entente,
As in partie it is befalle.

Of golde the first regne of alle

tue defignatum eft Was in that kinges time tho, a tempore ipfius And laste many daies fo.

Nabugodonofor regis Caldee ufque in regnum Cyri regis Perfarum.

There whiles that the monarchie

Of al the worlde in that partie

To Babiloine was subgite

And helde him ftill in fuche a plight,
Til that the world began diverse.

pees

And that was, whan the kinge of Perse,
Which Cyrus hight, ayein the
Forth with his fone Cambifes
Of Babiloine all that empire,
Right as they wolde hem self defire,
Put under in fubjection

And toke it in poffeffion,

And flain was Baltazar the king,
Which loft his regne and all his thing.
And thus whan they it hadde wonne,
The worlde of filver was begonne
And that of gold was paffed oute,
And in this wife it goth aboute

Into the regne of Darius,

And than it fell to Perfe thus.

There Alifaundre put hem under,

Which wroght of armes many a wonder,
So that the monarchie lefte

With Grecs and here estate up
And Perfiens gone under fote,

lefte,

So fuffre they, that nedes mote.
And tho the world began of bras,

And that of filver ended was,
But for the time thus it lafte,
Til it befelle, that at lafte

This king, whan that his day was come,
With ftrength of deth was overcome.
And netheles yet or he dide
He fhope his regne to devide
To knightes, which him hadde served,
And after that they have deserved
Yaf the conqueftes, that he wanne,
Wherof great werre tho beganne
Among hem, that the regnes had,
Through proud envie which hem lad,
Til it befelle ayein hem thus.
The noble Cefar Julius,