"Wherefore, my Pype, albee rude Pan thou please, By that, the welked Phoebus gan availe 78 Colin Clout, is a name not greatly used, and yet have I seene a poesie of M. Skeltons under that title. But in deede the worde Colin is French, and used of the French poet Marot (if hee bee worthie of the name of a poet) in a certaine Aeglogue. Under which name this Poet secretly shadoweth himselfe, as sometime did Virgil under the name of Tityrus, thinking it much fitter then such Latin names, for the great unlikelihood of the language. Unnethes, scarcely. Couth, commeth of the verbe Conne, that is, to know, or to have skil. As well interpreteth the same, the worthy Sir Tho Smith, in his booke of government: whereof I have a perfect copie in writing, lent mee by his kinsman, and my very singular good friend, M. Gabriel Harvey; as also of some other his grave and excellent writings. Sith, time. Neighbour towne, the next towne: expressing the Lat Vicinia. Stoure, a fit. Sere, withered. His clownish gifts, imitateth Virgil's verse: "Rusticus es Corydon, nec munera curat Alexis." Hobbinoll, is a fained country name, whereby, it being so common and usuall, seemeth to be hidden the person of some his very especiall and most familiar friend, whom he intirely and extraordinarily beloved, as peradventure shal be more largely declared hereafter. In this place seemeth to be some favor of disorderly love, which the learned call Pæderastice: but it is gathered beside his meaning. For who hath red Plato his Dialogue called Alcibiades; Xenophon, and Maximus Tyrius, of Socrates opinions; may easily perceive, that such love is to be allowed and liked of, specially so ment, as Socrates used it; who saith, that indeede he loved Alcybiades extreemely, yet not Alcybir des person, but his soule, which is Alcybiades owne seli And so is Pederastice much to be preferred before Gynera stice, that is, the love which inflameth men with lust toward womankind. But yet let no man thinke, that herein I stand with Lucian, or his divelish disciple Unico Areti no, in defence of execrable and horrible sinnes of forbidden and unlawfull fleshlinesse. Whose abbominable errour is fully confuted of Perionius, and others. I love, a pretic Eponorthosis in these two verses, and withal a paronomasia or playing with the word, where he saith I love thilke lasse alas, &c. Rosalinde, is also a fained naine, which, being well ordered, will bewray the verie name of his love and mistresse whom by that name he coloureth. So as Ovid shadoweth his love under the name of Corynna, which of some is sup posed to be Iulia, the Emperor Augustus his daughter, and wife to Agrippa. So doth Aruntius Stella every where call his Ladie, Asteris and Ianthes, albeit it is well knowne that her right name was Violantilla: as witnesseth Statius in his Epithalamium. And so the famous paragon of Italy, Madonna Cælia, in her letters envelopeth her self under the name of Zima, and Petrona under the name of Bellochia. And this generally hath beene a common cus tome of counterfeiting the names of secrete personages. Avail, bring downe. Overhaile, draw over. EMBLEME. His Embleme or Posie is here under added in Italian, Anchora speme, the meaning whereof is, that notwithstanding his extreame passion and luckelesse love, yet, leaning on hope, he is somewhat recomforted. FEBRUARIE. AEG LOGA SECUNDA. ARGUMENT. This Aeglogue is rather morall and generall then bent to anie secret or particular purpose. It speciallie containeth a discourse of olde age, in the person of Thenot, an old shepheard, who, for his crookednesse and unlustinesse, is scorned of Cuddie, an unhappie heardmans boy. The matter verie well accordeth with the season of the moneth, the yeare now drooping, and as it were drawing to his last age. For as in this time of yeare, so then in our bodies, there is a drie and withering cold, which congealeth the crudled blood, and frieseth the weatherbeaten flesh, with stormes of Fortune and hoare frosts of Care. To which purpose the olde man telloth a tale of the Oake and the Brier, so livelie, and so feelinglie, as, if the thing were set forth in some picture before our cies, more plainlie could not appeare. CUDDIE, THENOT. Cud. АH for pittie! will rancke winters rage These bitter blastes never gin t' asswage whom he is supposed to have fallen in love with, soon after his departure from the University; and whose cruelty is frequently lamented in the course f these Pastorals. T WARTON. The kene cold blowes through my beaten hide, Ver. 4. gride:] Spenser frequently uses gride which signifies to pierce. T. WARTON. They woont in the winde wagge their wriggle tayles The. Lewdly complainest, thou laesie ladde, And then returne to his former fall? Who will not suffer the stormie time, 10 15 20 Cud. No marveile, Thenot, if thou can heare $5 This chill, that cold; this crooked, that wrye; My shippe unwont in stormes to be tost. 30 Such an one shepheards would make full faine; The. Thou art a fon, of thy love to boste ; Cud. Seest how brag yond bullocke beares, The. Cuddie, I wote thou kenst little good, The. The soveraigne of seas he blames in vaine, Keeping his sheepe on the hilles of Kent? That, once sea-beate, will to sea againe : But eft, when ye count you freed from feare, Which cruddles the bloud and pricks the harte : Cud. Ah! foolish old man! I scorne thy skill, Ver. 8. Perke] Pert, or brisk. Todd. 76 35 Cud. To nought more, Thenot, my minde is bent 93 The. Many meete tales of youth did hee make, 100 40 45 50 55 60 availes.] Drops or lowers. T. WARTON. Ver. 9. Lewdly] Foolishly. TODD. Ver. 30. So seemest thou like Good Friday to frowne;] This I presume is a proverbial expression. Good-Friday is said to frown. as being a fast-day. Thus a Lenten face is used to denominate sourness and severity of aspect. T. WARTON. Ver. 65. I wonne her with a girdle of gelt,] With a golden or gilded girdle. T. WARTON. And some of love, and some of chevalrie; A goodly Oake sometime had it bene, Hard by his side grewe a bragging Brere, The sweete nightingale singing so lowde; Justlesse] Languid or lifeless. TODD, thy headlesse hood;] For "thy heedlessness." Hoor is a termination denoting estate; as mankomt, &c. T. WARTON. Ver. 89. Whose way is wildernesse, whose ynne penaunce, And stoope gallaunt Age, the hoast of Greevaunce.] The meaning of the last verse seems to be this: The tamer of whose gay gallantries is Old Age, the guest or companion of Misery. T. WARTON. Ver. 108. Whilome had bene &c.] Here is an ellipsis of a very important word. It, that is, the Oak,) should have been inserted before had. T. WARTON. Ver. 116. —— into th' element,] The sky or air. ToDD. With leaves engrained in lustie green; • Colours meete to clothe a mayden queene? That of a weede he was overcrawed. It chaunced after upon a day, The husbandman selfe to come that way, 'O my liege Lord! the god of my life, 'Pleaseth you ponder your suppliaunts plaint, 'Caused of wrong and cruell constraint, Which I your poore vassall daylie endure ; And, but your goodnes the same recure, 'Am like for desperate doole to die, 6 Through felonous force of mine enemie.' Greatly agast with this piteous plea, Him rested the goodman on the lea, And bad the Brere in his plaint proceede. 130 135 140 145 150 155 With painted wordes tho gan this proude weede 160 (As most usen ambitious folke) His coloured crime with craft to cloke. Ah, my Soveraigne! lord of creatures all, Thou placer of plants both humble and tall, "Was not I planted of thine owne hande, To bee the primrose of all thy lande; With flowring blossomes to furnish the prime, And scarlet berries in sommer time? 'Howe falls it then that this faded Oake, "Whose bodie is sere, whose braunches broke, "Whose naked arms stretch unto the fire, Unto such tyrannie doth aspire; Hindering with his shade my lovely light, 165 To this this Oake cast him to replie Well as hee couth; but his enemie Had kindled such coles of displeasure, That the goodman noulde stay his leasure, But home him hasted with furious heate, Encreasing his wrath with many a threate: His harmefull hatchet he hent in hand, (Alas! that it so readie should stand!) And to the fielde alone hee speedeth, (Ay little help to harme there needeth !) Anger nould let him speake to the tree, Enaunter his rage mought cooled bee; But to the roote bent his sturdie stroake, And made many woundes in the waste Оake. The axes edge did oft turne againe, As halfe unwilling to cutte the graine ; Seemed, the senselesse yron did feare, Or to wrong holy eld did forbeare; For it had been an auncient tree, Sacred with many a mysteree, And often crost with the priestes crewes, And often hallowed with holy-water dewe : But sike fancies weren foolerie, 170 For nowe no succour was seene him neere. 30 235 And robbing mee of the sweete sunnes sight? 'So beate his old boughes my tender side, 175 'That oft the bloude springeth from woundës wide; Untimely my flowres forced to fall, That bene the honour of your coronall: And oft hee lets his cancker-wormes light Upon my braunches, to worke me more spight; 180 And oft his hoarie locks down doth cast, 'Wherewith my fresh flowrets bene defast: For this, and many more such outrage, Craving your goodlyhead to asswage The ranckorous rigour of his might; 'Nought aske I, but onely to holde my right; Submitting mee to your good sufferaunce, 'And praying to be garded from greevaunce.' 185 Ver. 189. cast] Ver. 195. he hent in hand,] The word hent for seized, snatched, or took, is repeatedly used by Chaucer, and is also employed by the Scottish writers. TODD. Ver. 243. - frorne] Frorne is the passive participle of the verb freeze. TODD. Ver. 244. galage] It means a wooden shoe, from the French galoche. T. WARTON. Thenot, the name of a Shepheard in Marot his Aeglogues The Soveraigne of Seas, is Neptune the god of the Seas. The saying is borrowed of Mimus Publianus, which used this proverbe in a ver e: "Improbè Neptunum accusat, qui iterum naufragium facit." Heardgroomes, Chaucers verse almost wl ole. Fond flies, He compareth carelesse sluggardes, or ill husbandmen, to flies that so soone as the sunne shineth, or it waxeth any thing warme, begin to flie abroad, when suddenly they be overtaken with co'd. But eft when, a very excellent and lively description of Winter, so as may be indifferently taken, either for old age, or for Winter season. Breme, Chill, bitter. Chamfred, chapt or wrinckled. Accoied, plucked downe and daunted. Surquedrie, pride. Eld, old age. Trees of state, taller trees fit for timber wood. O my liege, a maner of supplication, wherein is kindly coloured the affection and speech of ambitious men. Coronall, garland. Flourets, yong blossomes. The Primrose, the chiefe and worthiest. Naked armes, metaphorically meant of the bare boughs, spoiled of leaves. This colourably he speaketh, as adjudging him to the fire. The blood, spoken of a blocke, as it were of a living creature, figuratively, and (as they say) Kat' eikasmon. Hoarie lockes, metaphorically for withered leaves. Hent, caught. Nould, for would not. Aye, evermore. Enaunter, least that. The priests crew, holy water pot, wherwith the popish priest used to sprinkle and hallow the trees from mischance. Such blindnesse was in those times, which the poet supposeth to have bin the final decay of this ancient Oake. The blocke oft groned, a lively figure, which giveth sense and feeling to unsensible creatures, as Virgil also saith: "Saxa gemunt gravido," &c. Boreas, The Northern wind, that bringeth the most stormie weather. Glee, Cheare and iollitie. For scorning eld, And minding (as should seeme) to have made rime to the former verse, he is cunningly cut off by Cuddie, as disdaining to hear any more. Galage, A startup or clownish shooe. EMBLEME. This Embleme is spoken of Thenot, as a morall of his former tale: namely, that God, which is himself most aged, being before all ages, and without beginning, maketli those, whom he loveth, like to himselfe, in heaping yeares unto their daics, and blessing them with long life. For the blessing of age is not given to all, but unto whom God will so blesse. And albeit that many evill men reach unto such fulnes of yeares, and some also waxe old in miseric and thraldome, yet therefore is not age ever the lesse blessing. For even to such evill men such number of years is added, that they may in their last dayes repent, and come to their first home: So the old man checketh the raw-headed boy for despising his gray and frostie haires. Whom Cuddie doth counterbuffe with a biting and bitter proverbe, spoken indeed at the first in contempt of old-age generally. For it was an old opinion, and yet is continued in some mens conceipt, that men of years have no feare of God at all, or not so much as yonger folke. For that being ripened with long experience, and having passed many bitter brunts and blasts of vengeance, they dread no stormes of Fortune, nor wrath of God, nor daunger of men, as being either by long and ripe wisedome armed against all mischaunces and adversitie, or with much trouble hardned against all troublesome tides: like unto the Ape, of which is said in Æsops fables, that, oftentimes meeting the Lion, he was at first sore agast and dismaid at the grimnesse and austeritie of his countenance, but at last, being acquainted with his lookes, he was so farre from fearing him, that he would familiarly gybe and fest with him: Such long experience breedeth in some men securitie. Although it please Erasmus, a great clark, and good old father, more fatherly and favourably, to construe it in his Adages, for his owne behoofe, That by the proverbe, "Nemo senex metuit lovem," is not meant, that olde men have no feare of God at all, but that they bee farre from superstition and idolatrous regard of false gods, as is Iupiter. But his great learning notwithstanding, it is too plaine, to be gainesaid, that old men are much more enclined to such fond fooleries, then yonger heades MARCIL MARCH. AEGLOGA TERTIA. ARGUMENT.-In this Aeglogue two Shepheards Boyes, taking occasion of the season, beginne to make purpose of love. and other pleasance which to spring time is most agreeable. The speciall meaning hereof, is, to give certaine maiks and tokens, to know Cupid the poets god of Love. But more particularly, I thinke, in the person of Thomalin, is meant some secret Friend, who scorned Love and his Knights so long, till at length himselfe was entangled, and unwares wounded with the dart of some beautifull regard, which is Cupids arrow. And bids make readie Maias bower, That newe is upryst from bedd: Tho shall wee sporten in delight, Tho will wee little Love awake, And pray him leaden our daunce. But is abroade at his game. Wil. Howe kenst thou, that hee is awoke ! Or hast thy selfe his slomber broke? Or made privie to the same? Tho. No; but happily I him spide, With winges of purple and blewe; And, were not that my sheepe would stray, Ylike to my flocke and thine; That dewly adayes counts mine. Tho. Nay, but thy seeing will not serve, For sithens is but the third morow And waked againe with griefe ; And there unioynted both her bones: She shoulde have neede no more spell; She mought ne gang on the greene. Wil. Let be, as may be, that is past; That is to come, let be forecast: Now tell us what thou hast seene. Tho. It was upon a holiday, When shepheards groomes han leave to play, 15 I cast to go a shooting; 20 25 Long wandring up and downe the land, With bow and bolts in either hand, For birdes in bushes tooting, At length within the yvie todde, (There shrowded was the little god,) I heard a busie bustling; I bent my bolt against the bush, But then heard no more rustling. Tho, peeping close into the thicke, Might see the moving of some quicke, Whose shape appeared not; But were it faerie, feend, or snake, And manfully thereat shotte: With that sprang forth a naked swayne, With spotted winges like peacocks trayne, 80 And laughing lope to a tree; His gylden quiver at his backe, And silver bowe, which was but slacke, 35 Which lightly he bent at me: That seeing, I leveld againe, 83 And shotte at him with might and maine, As thicke as it had hayled. Tho pumie stones I hastly hent, And threw; but nought avayled: Ver. 53. 90 Mought her neck bene ioynted attones, She shoulde have neede no more spell ;] That is. I wish she had died in the fall. I then should never have had any further occasion of blessing her with a charm. T. WARTON, Ver. 56. can] Knows. TODD. Ver. 65. With bow and bolts in either hand. That is, with bow and arrows. Topp. Ver. 66. Ver. 73. tooting.] Looking about. ToDD. the thicke, Might see the moving of some quicke,] Thicke thicket. Quicke, living creature, TODD. |