Than Lichery, that lathly corss,
Berand lyk a bagit horss,
And Ydilness did him leid.
Thair wes with him ane ugly sort,
And mony stynkand fowll tramort,
That had in syn bene deid.
Than the fowll monstir Glutteny,
Off wame unsasiable and gredy,
To dance he did him dress.
Him followit mony fowll drunckart,
With can and collep, cop and quart,
In surffet and excess.
Full mony a waistless wallydrag,
With wamiss unweildable, did furth wag,
In creische that did incress.
"Drynk!" ay thay cryit, with mony a gaip: The feyndis gaif thame hait leid to laip; Thair lovery wes na less.
Na menstrallis playit to thame but dowt;
Ffor glemen thair wer haldin owt,
Be day and eik by nycht,
Swa till his heretage he wan,
Except a menstrall that slew a man
And entirt be breif of richt.
Than cryd Mahoun for a Heleand padzane;
Syne ran a feynd to feche Makfadzane,
Ffar northwart in a nuke:
Be he the correnoch had done schout,
Erschemen so gadderit him abowt,
In hell grit rowme thay tuke.
Thae tarmegantis, with tag and tatter,
Ffull lowd in Ersche begowth to clatter,
And rowp lyk revin and ruke:
The Devil sa devit wes with thair yell
That in the depest pot of hell
He smorit thame with smuke.
THE PROLOUG OF THE XII BUK OF ENEADOS
The twynklyng stremowris of the orient
Sched purpour sprangis with gold and asure ment,
Persand the sabill barmkyn nocturnall,
Bet doun the skyis clowdy mantill wall.
Eous the steid, with ruby harnys red,
Abuf the sey lyftis furth hys hed,
Of cullour soyr, and sumdeill broun as berry,
Forto alichtyn and glaid our emyspery,
The flambe owtbrastyng at his noyss-thyrlys,
So fast Pheton with the quhyp hym quhyrlys,
To roll Appollo hys faderis goldyn char,
That schrowdith all the hevynnys and the ayr:
Quhill schortly, with the blesand torch of day,
Abilgheit in hys lemand fresch array,
Furth of hys palyce ryall ischit Phebus,
With goldyn croun and vissage gloryus,
Crysp haris brycht as chrisolyte or topace,
For quhais hew mycht nane behald hys face;
The fyry sparkis brastyng from hys eyn,
To purge the ayr and gylt the tendyr greyn,
Defundand from hys sege etheryall
Glaid influent aspectis celicall;
Before hys regale hie magnificens
Mysty vapour upspryngand, sweit as sens,
In smoky soppys of donk dewis wak,
Moich hailsum stovys ourheldand the slak;
The aureat fanys of hys trone soverane
With glytrand glans ourspred the occiane,
The large fludis lemand all of lycht
Bot with a blenk of hys supernale sycht.
With fynnys schynand broun as synopar,
And chyssell talys, stowrand heir and thar;
The new cullour alychtnyng all the landis,
Forgane thir stannyris schane the beriall strandis,
Quhil the reflex of the diurnal bemys
The beyn bonkis kest ful of variant glemys.
And lusty Flora dyd hyr blomys spreid
Under the feit of Phebus sulghart steid;
The swardit soyll enbroud with selcouth hewys;
Wod and forest obumbrat with thar bewys,
Quhois blisfull branschis porturat on the grund;
With schaddoys schene schew rochis rubicund;
Towris, turrettis, kyrnellis, pynnaclys hie
Of kyrkis, castellis, and ilke fair cite,
Stude payntit, every fyall, fayn, and stage,
Apon the plane grund, by thar awyn umbrage.
Of Eolus north blastis havand no dreid,
The sulghe spred her braid bosum on breid,
Zephyrus confortabill inspiratioun
Fortill ressave law in hyr barm adoun;
The cornys croppis and the beris new brerd
With glaidsum garmont revestyng the erd:
So thik the plantis sprang in every peyce,
The feildis ferleis of thar fructuus fleyce.
1513.
In to the Calendis of Januarie,
Quhen fresche Phebus, be movyng circulair,
Frome Capricorne wes enterit in Aquarie,
With blastis that the branchis maid full bair,
The snaw and sleit perturbit all the air,
And flemit Flora frome every bank and bus
Throuch supporte of the austeir Eolus.
Efter that I the lang wynteris nycht
Had lyne walking in to my bed, allone,
Throuch hevy thocht, that no way sleip I mycht,
Rememberyng of divers thyngis gone,
So up I rose and clethit me anone.
Be this fair Tytane, with his lemis lycht,
Ouer all the land had spred his baner brycht.
With cloke and hude I dressit me belyve,
With dowbyll schone, and myttanis on my handis: Howbeit the air was rycht penetratyve,
Yit fure I furth, lansing ouirthorte the landis,
Toward the see, to schorte me on the sandis,
Because unblomit was baith bank and braye.
And so, as I was passing be the waye,
I met dame Flora, in dule weid dissagysit,
Quhilk in to May wes dulce and delectabyll;
With stalwart stormis hir sweitnes wes supprisit;
Hir hevynlie hewis war turnit in to sabyll,
Quhilkis umquhile war to luffaris amiabyll.
Fled frome the froste, the tender flouris I saw
Under dame Naturis mantyll lurking law.
The small fowlis in flokkis saw I flee,
To Nature makand greit lamentatioun:
Thay lychtit doun besyde me, on ane tree;
Of thair complaynt I had compassioun;
And, with ane pieteous exclamatioun,
Thay said, "Blyssit be Somer, with his flouris!
And waryit be thow, Wynter, with thy schouris!"
"Allace, Aurora!" the syllie larke can crye,
"Quhare hes thou left thy balmy liquour sweit,
That us rejosit, we mounting in the skye?
Thy sylver droppis ar turnit in to sleit.
O fair Phebus, quhare is thy hoilsum heit?
Quhy tholis thow thy hevinlie plesand face
With mystie vapouris to be obscurit, allace!
"Quhar art thow, May, with June thy syster schene, Weill bordourit with dasyis of delyte?
And gentyll Julie, with thy mantyll grene,
Enamilit with rosis red and quhyte?
Now auld and cauld Januar, in dispyte,
Reiffis frome us all pastyme and plesour:
Allace! quhat gentyll hart may this indure?
"Ouersylit ar with cloudis odious
The goldin skyis of the orient;
Changeyng in sorrow our sang melodious,
Quhilk we had wount to sing, with gude intent,
Resoundand to the hevinnis firmament:
Bot now our daye is changeit in to nycht."
With that thay rais, and flew furth of my sycht.
Pensyve in hart, passing full soberlie,
Unto the see fordward I fure anone:
The see was furth, the sand wes smooth and drye.
Then up and doun I musit myne allone,
Tyll that I spyit ane lyttill cave of stone,
Heych in ane craig; upwart I did approche,
But tarying, and clam up in the roche;
And purposit, for passing of the tyme,
Me to defende from ociositie,
With pen and paper to register in ryme
Sum mery mater of antiquitie.
Bot Idelnes, ground of iniquitie,
Scho maid so dull my spreitis, me within,
That I wyste nocht at quhat end to begin,
But satt styll in that cove, quhare I mycht see
The wolteryng of the wallis, up and doun;
And this fals warldis instabilytie
Unto that see makkand comparisoun,
And of this warldis wracheit variatioun
To thame that fixis all thair hole intent,
Consideryng quho most had suld most repent.
So with my hude my hede I happit warme,
And in my cloke I fauldit boith my feit;
I thocht my corps with cauld suld tak no harme;
My mittanis held my handis weill in heit;
The skowland craig me coverit frome the sleit:
|