The Minor Poems of John Lydgate :: :: University of Virginia Library

My dere sone, first þiselff enable
With al thyn herte to vertuous disciplyne
Affore thy souereyn stondyng at the table,
Dispose thy thouht affter my doctryne,
To al norture thy corage do inclyne.
First whane thou spekist be nat reklees,
Kepe feet & ffyngeris, hondis stille in pees.

2

Be symple of cheer, cast not thy look asyde,
Gase nat aboute, turnyng over all;
Ageyn the post lat nat thy bak abyde;
Make nat the merour also of the wall,
Pike nat thy nase, and in especyall

740

Be riht weell war, and set hit in thy thouht,
To-fore thy souereyn cracche ne rubbe nought.

3

Who speketh to the in ony maner plase,
Lombysshly cast nat thyn hed adoun,
But with sad cheer looke hym in fface;
Walke demurely by stretys in toun,
And advertyse of wisdam and resoun.
With dyssolute langage thou do noon offence
To-fore thy souereyn, while he is in presence.

4

Pare clene þi nailles, thyn hondis wasshe also
To-ffore mete, and whan thou doost aryse;
Sitte in that place thou art assigned to;
Prese not to hye in no maner wyse;
And [t]yl thou se affore the thy servyse,
Be nat to hasty vpon bred to bight
Of gredynesse lyst men þe wolde atwight.

5

Grennyng and mowes at þe table eschewe;
Crie nat to loude; kepe honestly silence;
Tenboce þi iowes with bred it is not dewe;

741

With ful mouth speke nat, list thou do offence;
Drynk nat brydeled for haste nor necligencce;
Kepe clene þi lippes fro faat of flesshe or fessh;
Wipe fair thy spone, leue it nat in thy dissh.

6

Off brede i-beete no soppis that thou make;
To soupe loude it is ageyn gentylnesse;
With mouth enbrued þi cuppe thou nat tak;
In ale or wyne with hond leue no ffatnesse;
Foule nat þi napry for no reklesnesse,
Neuer at mete be war gynne no stryff;
Thy teeth also ne pike not with thy knyff.

7

Off honest myrth let be thy dalyaunce;
Swere none othis, speke no rebaudrye;
The beste morcellis, have this in remembraunce,
Hooll to thyselff alway do nat applye;
Parte with thy ffelawe, for that is cortesie:
Lade not þi trenchour with many remyssailis;
And fro blaknesse alwey kepe thy nayllis.

742

8

Off curtesie it is ageyn the lawe,
With sounde dishonest for to do offence;
Of old surfetys abrayde nat þi ffelawe;
Toward þi souereyn have ay thyn aduertence;
Pley with no knyff, take heede to my sentence;
At mete and soper kepe þe stille and soffte;
Eek to and ffro meve not thy ffoot to offte.

9

Droppe nat þi brest with sauce ne with potage;
Brynge no knyves onscored to the table;
Fylle nat thy spone, lyst in the caryage
It went beside, wich wer nat comendable;
Be quyk and redy, meek and seruysable,
Weell awaytyng to ffulfylle anoon
What þi souereyn comaundeth the to doon.

10

And wherso be that thow dyne or suppe,
Of gentilnesse take salt with thy knyff;
And be weell war thow blowe nat in þi cuppe
Reuerence þi felaus, gynne with hem no stryff;
To thy power kepe pes all thy lyff.
Interupte nat, where so that thow wende,
No man his tale, tyl he haue maad an ende;

743

11

With thy ffynger marke nat thy tale;
Be weel avised, namely in tender age,
To drynke in mesour bothe wyne and ale;
Be nat copious also of language;
As tyme requyreth, shewe out thy vysage,
To glad ne to sory, but atween tweyne,
For los or lucre or ony cas sodeyne.

12

Be meek in mesour, nat hasty, but tretable;
Ouer mekyll is nat worth in no thyng;
To childer longeth nat to be vengable,
Sone mevyd and sone fforgeuyng;
And as it is remembrid by old writyng,
Wratthe of children sone is overgoon,
Withe an appell partyes be maad at oon.

13

In childeris werre now myrthe, now debate,
In her quarell is no greet vyolence;
Now pley, now wepyng, selde in on estate;
To her pleyntes yeve no gret credence;
A rod refourmeth al her insolence;

744

In her corage no rancour doth abyde;
Who spareth the yerde, al vertu set asyde.

Lenvoye.

Go, lytel bylle, bareyn of elloquence,
Pray yonge childer þat þe shall se or reede,
Thogh thou be compendious of sentence,
Of thy clauses for to taken heede,
Wich to al vertu shal her youthe leede.
Of the writyng, thogh ther be no date,
Yif ouht be mys,—in woord, sillable, or dede,—
Put al diffaute vpon Iohn Lydgate.

Explicit.