Two Dyaloges (c. 1549) | Page 7

to conclude breuelie there lackes no euyll miserie nor myschefe,
neyther hõger, thyrst fellonie, robberie, warre, pestilence, sediciõ, derth,
and great scarsytie and lacke of all good thynges. And howe say you do
not all these thynges argue and sufficientlie proue that the worlde is
almost at an ende? Cannius. Yea but tell me I praye the of all thes hoole
hepe of euyls and miseries whiche greueth the ||moste? Poliphemus.
Whiche thynkes thou, tell me thy fansie and coniecture? Cannius. That
the Deuyll (god saue vs) maye daunce in thy purse for euer a crosse
that thou hast to kepe hî for the. Poliphe. I pray god I dye and yf thou
haue not hyt the nayle vpon the head. Now as chaunceth I come newly
from a knotte of good companye where we haue dronke harde euery
man for his parte, & I am not behynde with myne, and therfore my
wytte is not halfe so freshe as it wyll be, I wyll dyspute of the gospell
with the whan I am sobre. Canni. When shal I se the sobre? Poli. When
I shall be sobre. Cannius. Whê wyll that be? Poliph. When thou shalt se
me, in the meane season god be with you gentle Cannius and well mot
you do. Cannius. And I wyshe to you a gayne for my parte that thou
ware in dede as valiaunt or pusaunt a felowe as thy name soundeth.

Poliphe. And bycause ye shall lose nothynge at my ||hande with
wyshynge I pray god that Cannius maye neuer lacke a good can or a
stoope of wine or bere, wherof he had his name.
F I N I S
* * * * *
[C]The dialoge of thynges and names.
A declaracion of the names.
Beatus, is he whiche hathe abun dance of al thinges that is good, and is
parfyte in all thynges commen- dable or prayseworthy or to be desyred
of a good man. Somtyme it is ta- ken for fortunate, ryche, or noble.
Bonifacius, fayre, full of fauor or well fauored. [+]
* * * * *
[C]The parsons names are Beatus and Bonifacius.
_Beatus._ God saue you mayster Boniface. _Bonifacius._ God saue
you & god saue you agayne gêtle _Beatus._ But I wold god bothe we
were such, and so in very dede as we be called by name, that is to say
thou riche & I fayre. _Beatus._ Why do you thynke it nothynge worth
at al to haue a goodly glorious name. _Bonifacius._ Truely me thynke it
is of no valure or lytle good worthe, onles a man haue the thynge itselfe
whiche is sygnified by the name. _Beatus._ Yea you maye well thynke
your pleasure, but I am assured that the most part of all mortall men be
of another mynde. _Bonifa._ It may wel be I do not denye that they are
mortal, but suerly I do not byleue that they are me, which are so beastly
mynded. _Bea._ Yes good syr and they be men to laye ||your lyfe,
onlesse ye thynke camels and asses do walke about vnder the fygure
and forme of men. _Boni._ Mary I can soner beleue that then that they
be men whiche esteme and passe more vpon the name, then the thynge.
_Bea._ I graunte in certayne kyndes of thinges moost men had rather
haue the thynge then the name, but in many thynges it is otherwyse and
cleane cõtrary. _Bo._ I can not well tell what ye meane by that. _Bea._
And yet the example of this matter is apparant or sufficiently declared
in vs two. Thou arte called Bonifacius and thou hast in dede the thynge
wherby thou bearest thy name. Yet if there were no other remedy but
eyther thou must lacke the one or the other, whether had you rather
haue a fowle and deformed face or elles for Boniface be called
Maleface or horner? _Boni._ Beleue me I had rather be called fowle
Thersites then haue a monstrous or a deformyed face, whether I haue a

good face or no ||I can not tell. _Bea._ And euen so had I for yf I were
ryche and there were no remedy but that I must eyther forgoo my
rychesse, or my name I had rather be called Irus whiche was a poore
beggers name then lacke my ryches. _Boni._ I agree to you for asmoch
as ye speake the trouth, and as you thynke. _Bea._ Iudge all them to be
of the same mynde that I am of whiche are indued with helthe or other
commodities and qualities appartaynynge to the body. _Boni._ That is
very trewe. _Bea._ Yea but I praye the cõsyder and marke howe many
men we se whiche had rather haue the name of a lerned and a