The Arte of English Poesie | Page 6

I would have had him for his labour serued as Orpheus was by the women of Thrace. His eyes to be picket out with pinnes for his so deadly belying of them, or worse handled if worse could be deuised. But will ye see how God raised a revenger for the silly innocent women, for about the same ryming age came an honest civill Courtier somewhat bookish, and wrate these verses against the whole rable of Monkes.?_O Monachi vestri stomachi sunt amphor a Bacchi?Vos estos Deis est restes turpissima pestis._
Anon after came your secular Priestes as jolly rymers as the rest, who being sore agreeued with their Pope Calixtus, for that he had enjoyned them from their wives,& railed as fast against him.?_O bone Calixte totus mundus perodit te?Quondam Presbiteri, poterant vxoribus vti?Hoc destruxisti, postquam tu Papa fursti._
Thus what in writing of rymes and registring of lyes was the Clergy of that fabulous age wholly occupied.
We finde some but very few of these ryming verses among the Latines of the ciuiller ages, and those rather hapning by chaunce then of any purpose in the writer, as this Distick_ among the disportes of _Ouid. _Quot coem stellas tot habet tua Roma puellas?Pascua quotque haedos tot habet tua Roma Cynedos,_
The posteritie taking pleasure in this manner of Simphonie had leasure as it seemes to deuise many other knackes in their versifying that the auncient and ciuill Poets had not vfed before, whereof one was to make euery word of a verse to begin with the same letter, as did Hugobald the Monke who made a large poeme to the honour of Carolus Caluus, euery word beginning with C. which was the first letter of the king's name thus. _Carmina clarisona Caluis cantate camen?._
And this was thought no small peece of cunning, being in deed a matter of some difficultie to finde out so many wordes beginning with one letter as might make a iust volume, though in truth it were but a phantasticall deuise and to no purpose at all more then to make them harmonicall to the rude eares of those barbarous ages.
Another of their pretie inuentions was to make a verse of such wordes as by their nature and manner of construction and situation might be turned backward word by word, and make another perfit verse, but of quite contrary sence as the gibing Monke that wrote of Pope Alexander these two verses.?_Laus tua non tua fraus, virtus non copia rerum,?Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium._
Which if ye will turne backward they make two other good verses, but of a contrary sence, thus.?_Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere rerum?Copia, non virtus, fraus tua non tua laus._
And they called it Verse Lyon.
Thus you may see the humors and appetites of men how diuers and chaungeable they be in liking new fashions, though many tymes worse then the old, and not onely in the manner of their life and vse of their garments, but also in their learninges and arts, and specially of their languages.
CHAP. VIII.
_In what reputation Poesie and Poets were in old time with Princes and otherwise generally, and how they be now become contemptible and for what causes._
For the respectes aforesayd in all former ages and in the most ciuill countreys and commons wealthes, good Poets and Poesie were highly esteemed and much fauoured of the greatest Princes. For proofe whereof we read how much Amyntas_ king of _Macedonia_ made of the Tragicall Poet _Euripides. And the Athenians_ of _Sophocles. In what price the noble poemes of Homer_ were holden with _Alexander the great, in so much as euery night they were layd vnder his pillow, and by day were carried in the rich iewell cofer of Darius lately before vanquished by him in battaile. And not onely Homer the father and Prince of the Poets was so honored by him, but for his sake all other meaner Poets, in so much as Cherillus one no very great good Poet had for euery verse well made a Phillips noble of gold, amounting in value to an angell English, and so for euery hundreth verses (which a cleanely pen could speedely dispatch) he had a hundred angels. And since Alexander_ the great how _Theocritus the Greeke Poet was fauored by Tholomee_ king of Egipt & Queene _Berenice his wife, Ennius_ likewise by _Scipio_ Prince of the _Romaines, Virgill_ also by th'Emperour _Augustus. And in later times how much were Iehan de Mehune_ & _Guillaume de Loris made of by the French kinges, and Geffrey Chaucer_ father of our English Poets by _Richard the second, who as it was supposed gaue him the maner of new Holme in Oxfordshire. And Gower_ to _Henry_ the fourth, and _Harding_ to _Edward the fourth. Also how Frauncis_ the Frenche king made _Sangelais, Salmonius, Macrinus,