The Poetical Works of - OUDL Home

THE SHEPHEARDES CALENDER
THIS AEglogue seemeth somewhat to resemble
that same of! heocntus, wherein the boy likewise
telling the old man. that he had shot at a winged
boy in a tree, was by hym warned, to beware of
mischiefe to come
Otter went) ouergone
Alegge) to lessen or aswage
To quell) to abate Welkin) the skie
The swallow which bird vseth to be counted the
messenger, and as it were, the fore runner of
springe
Flora) the Goddesse of flowres, but indede (as saith
Tacitus) a famous harlot, which with the abuse
of her body hauing gotten great riches, made the
people of Rome her heyre whom remembraunce
of so great beneficence, appointed i yearely feste
for the memonall of her, calling her, not as she
was, nor as some doe think, Andronica but
Flora making her the Goddesse of all floures,
and doing verely to her solemne sacrifice
Maras bowre) that is the pleasaunt fielde, or rather
the Maye bushes Maia is a Goddes and the
mother of Mercune, in honour of whome the
moneth of Maye is of her name so called, as
sayth Macrobius
Lettice) the nime of some country lasse
A.scaunce) askewe or asquint
For thy) therefore
Lethe) is a lake in hell which the Poetes call the
lake of forgetfulnes For Lethe sigmheth forget
falnes. Wherein the souks being dipped, did
forget the cares of their forme rlyfe So that by
lone sleeping in Lethe lake, hemeineth he was
almost forgotten and out of knowledge, by reason
of winters hardne-sse, when al pleasures, as it
were, sleepe and weart oute of my nde
Assotte) to aote
His slomber) To breake Loues slomber, is to exer
cise the delightes of Loue and wanton pleasure s
Winges of purple) so is he feyned of the Poetes
For als) he lmitateth Virgils verse
Est mihtnamque domi pater, est iniusta nouerca &c
A dell) a hole in the ground
Spell) is a kinde of u rse or charme, that in elder
tymes they vsed often to say ouer euery thing,
that they would haue preserued, asthe Nightspel
for theeues, and thewoodspell And herehence
I thinke is named the gospell as it were God-,
spell or worde And so sayth Chaucer, Listencth
Lordings to my spell
Gange) goe An Yuie todde) a thicke bushc
Swame) a bove For so is he described of the
Poetes, to be a boye s alwayes freshe and
lustie blindfolded, because he maketh no diflfer
ence of Personages wyth diuers coloured winges,
s. ful of flying fancies with bowe and arrow,
that is with glaunce of beautye, which prycketh
as a forked arrowe. He is sayd also to haue
GLOSS
shafts, some leaden, some golden that is both
pleasure for the gracious and loued and sorow
for the louer that is disdayned or forsaken But
who liste more at large to behold Cupidb colours
and furniture, let him readc ether Propertius, or
Moschus his Idylhon of wandring loue, being
now most excellently translated into Latine by
the singuler learned man Angelus Politianus
whych worke I haue seene amongst other of
thys Poets doings, very wel translated also into
Enghshe Rymes
Wimble and wighte) Quicke and deliuer
In the heele) is very Poetically spoken, and not
without speciall mdgement For I remember,
that in Homer it is sayd of Thais, that shee
tooke her young babe Achilles being newely
borne, and nolding him by the heele, dipped him
in the Riuer of Styx The \eitue whereof is, to
defend and keepe the bodyes washed therein
from any mortall wound So Achilles bung
washed al ouer, siue onely his hele, by which his
mother held was in the rest invulnerable ther
fore by Paris was feyned to bee shotte with a
poysoned arrowe in the, heele, whiles he was
busie about the marying of Polyxena in the,
temple of Apollo Which mystic ill fable Lusta
thius Mifolding sayth that by wounding in the
hele, is meant lustfull loue For from the heele
(as say the best Phisitions) to the preuie partes
there passe certaine veines and slender synnew es,
as also the like come from the head, and are
carryed lyke little pypes behynd the eares so
that (as sayth Hipocrates) yf those vtynes there
be cut a semder, the partie straighte be commeth
cold and vnfruiteful Which reason our Poete
wel weighing, maketh this shephcards boye of
purpose to by wounded by Loue in the heele
Latched) caught Wroken) reuenged
For once) In this tale is sette out the simplu ityeof
she pheards opinion of I oue
Stouping Phoebus) Is a Periphrasis of the sunne
setting
Embleme
Hereby is meant, that all the delights of Loue,
wherein wanton youth walloweth, be but follye
mixt with bitterntsse, and soiow sawceel with
repentaunce I or besides that the very affection
of Loue it selfe tormenteth the mynde and
vexeth the body many waves, with vnrestfulnesse
all night, and weatine s all day, seeking for that
we can not haue and fynding tint we would not
haue euen the selfe things which be st be lore vs
lyked, in course of time and chiung of ryper
yeares, whiche also therewithill chaungeth our
wonted lyking and former fantasies will then
seeme lothsome and breeele vsannoyaunce. when
yougthes flow re is withered, and we fynde our
bodyes and wits aunswere not to suche vavne
lollitie and lustful 1 pleasaunce