The cõforte of louers

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Title: The coforte of louers
The Comfort of Lovers
Author: Stephen Hawes
Release Date: August 15, 2007 [EBook #22326]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
0. START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
COFORTE OF LOUERS ***
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[Illustration:
The c[om]forte of louers]
The comforte of louers made and compyled by Steuen Hawes

somtyme grome of the honourable chambre of our late souerayne lorde
kynge Henry [the] seuenth (whose soule god pardon).
In the seconde
yere of the reygne of our most naturall
souerayne lorde k[yn]ge
Henry the eyght.
[Illustration:
& for your sake
I shall it take
holde this
a token y wys]
[P] The prohemye.
The gentyll poetes / vnder cloudy fygures
Do touche a trouth / and
cloke it subtylly
Harde is to c[on]strue poetycall scryptures
They
are so fayned / & made s[en]t[en]cyously
For som do wryte of loue
by fables pryuely
Some do endyte / vpon good moralyte
Of
chyualrous actes / done in antyquyte
Whose fables and storyes ben pastymes pleasaunt
To lordes and
ladyes / as is theyr lykynge
Dyuers to moralyte / ben oft attendaunt

And many delyte to rede of louynge
Youth loueth aduenture /

pleasure and lykynge
Aege foloweth polycy / sadnesse and prudence

Thus they do dyffre / eche in experyence
I lytell or nought / experte in this scyence
Compyle suche bokes / to
deuoyde ydlenes
Besechynge the reders / with all my delygence

Where as I offende / for to correct doubtles
Submyttynge me to theyr
grete gentylnes
As none hystoryagraffe / nor poete laureate
But
gladly wolde folowe / the makynge of Lydgate
Fyrst noble Gower / moralytees dyde endyte
And after hym Cauncers
/ grete bokes delectable
Lyke a good phylozophre / meruaylously
dyde wryte
After them Lydgate / the monke commendable
Made
many wonderfull bokes moche profytable
But syth the are deed / &
theyr bodyes layde in chest
I pray to god to gyue theyr soules good
rest
[P] Finis prohemii.
Whan fayre was phebus / [with] his bemes bryght
Amyddes of
gemyny / aloft the fyrmament
Without blacke cloudes / castynge his
pured lyght
With sorowe opprest / and grete incombrement

Remembrynge well / my lady excellent
Saynge o fortune helpe me to
preuayle
For thou knowest all my paynfull trauayle
I went than musynge / in a medowe grene
Myselfe alone / amonge
the floures in dede
With god aboue / the futertens is sene
To god I
sayd / thou mayst my mater spede
And me rewarde / accordynge to
my mede
Thou knowest the trouthe / I am to the true
Whan that
thou lyst / thou mayst them all subdue
Who dyde preserue the yonge edyppus
Whiche sholde haue be slayne
by calculacyon
To deuoyde grete thynges / the story sheweth vs

That were to come / by true reuelacyon
Takynge after theyr hole
operacyon
In this edyppus / accordynge to affecte
Theyr cursed
calkynge / holly to abiecte

Who dyde preserue / Ionas and moyses
Who dyde preserue yet many
other mo
As the byble maketh mencyon doubles
Who dyde kepe
Charles frome his euyll fo
Who was he / that euer coude do so
But
god alone / than in lyke wyse maye he
Kepe me full sure / frome all
inyquyte
Thus as I called to my remembraunce
Suche trewe examples / I
tenderly dyde wepe
Remembrynge well / goddes hyghe ordyna[un]ce

Syghynge full oft / with inwarde teres depe
Tyll at the last / I fell in
to a slepe
And in this slepe / me thought I dyde repayre
My selfe
alone / in to a garden fayre
This goodly gardyn / I dyde well beholde
Where I sawe a place /
ryght gaye and gloryous
With golden turrettes / paynted many