The Arte of English Poesie | Page 6

all women was written (no
doubt by some forlorne lover, or else some old malicious Monke) for
one woman's sake blemishing the whole sex.
_Fallere stere nere
mentari nilque tacere
Haec qumque vere statuit Deus in muliere._
If I might have bene his Iudge, 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 camenæ._
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