A Dialogue Betwixt Experience and a Courtier — David Lindsay

A Dialogue Betwixt Experience and a Courtier · David Lindsay

❧THE PROLOGE.

MVSING, And maruelling on y^e miserie

Frome day to day, in erth quhilk dois

And of ilk stait, ye instabilitie (incres

Proceding of the restles besynes

Quhare on y^e most part, doith thair mynd addres

Inordinatlie, on houngrye couatyce

Vaine glore, dissait, and vthir sensuall vyce.

¶ Bot tumlyng In my bed, I mycht nocht lye.

Quhairfore I fuir furth, in ane Maye mornyng

Conforte to gett, of my malancolye

Sumquhat affore, fresche Phebus vperysing

Quhare I mycht heir, the birdis sweitlie syng

Intyll ane park, I past for my plesure

Decorit weill, be craft of dame Nature.

¶ Quhov I ressauit confort naturall.

For tyll discryue at lenth, it war to lang

Smelling the holsum herbis medicinall

Quhare on ye dulce, and balmy dew down dang

Lyke aurient peirles on the twistis hang

Or quhov that the Aromatik odouris

Did proceid frome the tender fragrant flouris.

¶ Or quhov Phebus that king etheriall.

Swyftlie sprang vp in to the orient

Ascending in his throne Imperiall

Quhose brycht, and buriall bemes resplendent

Illumynit all on to the Occident

Confortand euerye corporall creature

Quhilk formit war, in erth, be dame Nature

Quhose douke impurpurit vestiment nocturnall.

With his imbroudit mantyll matutyne

He lefte in tyll his regioun aurorall

Quhilk on hym watit quhen he did declyne

Towarte his occident palyce vespertyne

And rose in habyte gaye and glorious

Brychtar nor gold, or stonis precious.

¶ Bot Synthea, the hornit nychtis quene.

Scho loste hir lycht, and lede ane lawar saill

Frome tyme hir souerane lorde that scho had sene

And in his presens, waxit dirk, and paill

And ouer hir visage, kest ane mistye vaill

So did Venus, the goddes amorous

With Iupiter, Mars, and Mercurius.

☞ Rychtso the auld Intoxicat Saturne.

Persauyng Phebus, powir his beymes brycht

Abufe the erth, than maid he no sudgeourne

Bot suddandlye did lose his borrowit lycht

Quhilk he durst neuir schaw, bot on the nycht

The Pole artick, wrsis, and sterris all

Quhilk situate ar, in the Septemtrionall.

Tyll errand schyppis, quhilks ar the souer gyde

Conuoyand thame vpone the stromye nycht

Within thare frostie circle did thame hyde

Howbeit that sterris hauehave none vthir lycht

Bot the reflex of Phebus bemes brycht

That day durst none in to the heuin appeir

Tyll he had circuit all our Hemispeir.

¶ Me thocht it was ane sycht eclestiall.

To sene Phebus so angellyke ascend

In tyll his fyrie chariot tryumphall

Quhose bewte brycht, I culd notht comprehend

All warldlie cure anone did fro me wend

Quhen fresche flora, spred furth hir tapestrie

Wrocht be dame Nature quent and curiouslie.

¶ Depaynt with mony hundreth heuinlie hewis

Glaid of the rysing, of thare royall Roye

With blomes breckand on the tender bewis

Quhilk did prouoke myne hart tyl natural Ioye

Neptune that day, and Eoll held thame coye

That men on far, mycht heir the birdis sounde

Quhose noyis did to the sterrye heuin redounde.

The plesand Powne, prunȝeand his feddrem fair

The myrthfull Maues maid gret melodie

The lustye Lark ascending in the air

Numerand hir naturall notis craftelye

The gay Goldspink, the Merll rycht myrralye

The noyis of the nobyll Nychtingalis

Redundit throuch ye montans, meids, and valis

¶ Contempling this melodious armonye.

Quhov euerilke bird, drest thame for tyl aduance

To saluss Nature with thare melodye

That I stude gasing, halflingꝭ in ane trance

To heir thame mak thare naturall obseruance

So royallie, that all the roches rang

Throuch repercussioun of thare suggurit sang.

¶ I lose my tyme, allace for to rehers.

Sick vnfrutful and vaine discriptioun

Or wrytt in to my raggit rurall vers

Mater without edificatioun

Consydering quhov that myne intentioun

Bene tyll deplore the mortall misereis

With continuall cairfull calamiteis.

¶ Consisting in this wracheit vaill of sorrow.

Bot sad sentence, sulde hauehave ane sad indyte

So termes brycht, I lyste nocht for to borrow

Off murnyng mater men hes no delyte

With roustye termes tharefor wyl I wryte

With sorrowful seychis ascending frome y^e splene

And bitter teris, distellyng frome myne eine.

¶ Withoute ony vaine inuocatioun.

To Minerua, or to Melpominee

Nor ȝitt wyll I mak supplicatioun

For help to Cleo, nor Caliopee

Sick marde Musis, may mak me no supplee

Proserpyne, I refuse and Apollo

And rycht so Ewterp, Iupiter, and Iuno.

¶ Quhilkꝭ bene to plesand Poetis conforting.

Quharefor because I am nocht one of tho

I do desyre of thame no supporting

For I did neuer sleip on Pernaso

As did the Poetis of lang tyme ago

And speciallie the ornate Ennius

Nor drank I neuer with Hysiodus.

¶ Off Grece, the perfyte poet souerane.

Off Hylicon the sors of Eloquence

Off that mellifluus famous fresche fontane

Quharefor I awe to thame no reuerence

I purpose nocht to mak obedience

To sic mischeand Musis, nor malmontrye

Afore tyme vsit in to poetrye

☞ Raue and Rhammusia goddes of dispyte.

Mycht be to me ane Muse rycht conuenabyll

Gyff I desyrit sic help for tyll indyte

This murnyng mater, mad, and miserabyll

I mon go seik ane muse more confortabyl

And sic vaine superstitioun to refuse

Beseikand the gret God to be my muse.

Be quhose wysdome al maner of thing bene wrochtGenes. i.

The heych heuinnꝭ w^t all thair ornamentis

And without mater maid all thing of nocht

Hell, in myd Centir of the Elementis

That heuinlye Muse, to seik my hole intent is

The quhilk gaif sapience to king Salomoneiii. Re. iii.

Psalme .lxxxix.To Dauid grace, strenth to y^e strang Sampsone

Iuges xiii.And of pure Peter, maid ane prudent precheour.

Mat. iiiiAnd be the power of his deitee

Actis .ix,Off creuell Paule he maid ane cūnyng techeour

I mon beseik rycht lawly on my knee

His heych superexcellent Maiestie

That with his heuinlye spreit, he me inspyre

To wrytt no thyng, contrarye his disyre.

Luc. i.¶ Beseikand als, his Souerane Sonne Iesu.

Quhilk wes consauit be the holy spreit

Incarnat of the purifyit Virgin trev

In to the quhome, the Prophicie was compleit

That Prince, of peace, moist humyll, & māsweit

Quhilk onder Pylate, sufferit passioun

Luc. xxiiiVpone the Croce, for our saluatioun.

¶ And be that creuell deith, intollerabyll.

Lowsit we wer frome bandis of Balyall

And mairattouir, it wes so proffitabyll

That to this hour, come neuir man nor sall

To the tryumphant ioye Imperiall

Off lyfe, quhowbeit that thay war neuer sa gude

Hebr. ix.Bot be the vertew, of that precious blude.

¶Quharefor in steid, of the mont Pernaso.

Swyftlie, I sall go seik my Souerane

To Mont Caluare, the straucht waye mon I go,

To gett ane taist, of that moist fresche fontane

That sors to seik my hart may nocht refrane

Off Hylicone quhilk wes boith deip and wydē

That Longeous did graue, in tyll his syde.Iho. xix.

From yat fresche fontane, sprang a famous flude

Quhilk redolēt Reuer throuch y^e warld ȝit rynnis

As christall cleir, and mixit bene with blude

Quhose sound abufe the heyest heuinnꝭ dinnis

All faithfull peple, purgeing frome thare synnis,

Quharefor I sall beseik his Excellence

To grant me grace, wysedome, and Eloquence.

And bayth me with those dulce & balmy strandis.

Quhilk on the Croce, did spedalie out spryng

Frome his moste tender feit, and heuinly handis,

And grant me grace, to wrytt nor dyte no thyng

Bot tyll his heych honour, and loude louyng

But quhose support, thare may na gud be wrocht

Tyll his plesure, gude workꝭ, word, nor thocht.

¶Tharefor O Lorde, I pray thy Maiestie.

As thov did schaw thy heych power Diuyne

First planelie, in the Cane of GaleleeIhon .ii.

Quhare thov conuertit cauld watter in wyne

Conuoye my mater, tyll ane fructuous fyne

And saue my sayingꝭ, baith frome schame and syn

Tak tent, for now I purpose to begyn.

¶ FINIS.

Heirendis the ꝓloge, And beginnis the Mater,

A Dialogue Betwixt Experience and a Courtier, Prologue

❧THE PROLOGE.