A gorgious Gallery, of gallant Inuentions Garnished and decked with diuers dayntie deuises, right delicate and delightfull, to recreate eche modest minde withall. First framed and fashioned in sundrie formes, by diuers worthy workemen of late dayes: and now, ioyned together and builded up: By T. P. [i.e. Thomas Procter] |
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The Louer describeth the daungerous
state of Ambition.
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 | A gorgious Gallery, of gallant Inuentions |  |
The Louer describeth the daungerous state of Ambition.
Beholde these high and mighty men,Their chaunging state and tell mee then:
Where they or wee, best dayes doo see,
Though wee seeme not and they to bee
In wealth.
Their pleasant course straung traces hath,
On tops of trees that groundles path:
Full waueringly.
For bee it calme they tread not fast,
Blow roughe, blow soft, all helpe is past:
Appearingly.
With vs, ye see, it is not so,
That clime not vp, but kepe below:
In calmes our course is faire and playne,
Huge hilles defendes from stormy rayne:
For why?
The raging winde and stormy shower,
On mountaynes high it hath most power
Naturally.
But wee that in lowe valleis lye,
Beholde may such as wander hye:
So slydingly:
Then what is hee that will aspire,
To heape such woe to please desire:
Spend well his dayes and fly from yll:
To good.
By hauing his recourse to God
To loue his lawes to feare his rod:
Unfaynedly.
To doo that in his worde wee finde,
To helpe the poore, the sicke, the blinde:
Accordingly.
But though gaynsayd this can not bee,
Deeme men by deedes, and yee shall see:
That these low valleies they can not bide,
But vp will clyme, though downe they slyde:
Agayne.
The poore the riche mans place doth craue,
The riche would fayne hyer places haue:
Ambiciously.
The Squyre, the Knight, a Lorde would bee,
The Lorde, the Erle would hyer then hee:
Full dangerously.
When these attayne to their desire,
Then meaner men are set on fire:
To haue the roomes which they in were,
So that ye see all times some there:
In hart.
When one is gon, another is come,
The third catching the secondes roome:
Full speedely.
Thus clyming one to others tayle,
The bowes either breake, or footing fayle:
Full totteringly.
For when the top they haue attaynd,
And got is all they would haue gaynd:
Then downe they come wit sodayne fail,
In doubtfull case of life and all.
And thus.
Because hee would such sporte aspyre
Unequally.
And there his bragge is layd full low,
That thought on hie, himself to show.
Deseruedly.
FINIS.
| A gorgious Gallery, of gallant Inuentions | |