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Wits: Fittes and Fancies

Fronted and entermedled with Presidentes of Honour and Wisdome. Also: Loves Ovvle. An idle conceited dialogue betwene Loue, and an olde man ... A. C. [i.e. by Anthony Copley]

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Old.
Oh now embrace we with a kisse
And pardon my vnlouingnisse.

Loue.
I do.

Old.
Then heerwithall I vow
Eternall loyaltie to you, as to my Soueraigne.

Loue.
Now that we haue embrac'd & kist
Tell me how you feele your brist.

Old.
I feele a rauenous desire
Of lust, I feele a flaming fire through'out euery vaine.
I feele a fancie full of frets,
Rebellion in all my secrets,
I feele a fowle exalted yll
Quite preuail'd against my will, and against all reason.
I feele a wound, yet craue no cure,
But rather wish it may endure,
I feele it, yet I see it not,
So blind I am, or haue forgot my seeing function.

Loue.
I so: Now will I sit me downe
And beard thy gray-beard with a frowne
I'le laugh to thinke how all thy fame
Of Chastity will turne to shame through base luxurie.


Now where is all thy valiancie
And bosted prudence against me?
Is all thy Stoycal conceipt
So soone subuerted by deceipt, and turn'd to foolery?
Thou hast my kisse, now haue my curse,
Ner' shall thy loue deserue remorse:
Still sue and spend, and after all
Reape but disdaine and deniall at thy Maistresse hand.
And to th'end thou maist approue
Thy selfe the verrier foole in loue,
Thy Maistresse age must not surpasse
Full 15 yeeres by the houre-glasse, so is thy case scann'd.
The rest I leaue to her to doe,
Flouts, and freaks, and spights ynow,
And all the world to wonder at
Thee, as an errand Ideot to be so abus'd.
Oh what a goodly sight wil't be
To see thee in thy foolerie:
Cap and curt'sie to the ground,
And yet no fauour to be found, but be more misus'd.
How like a gallant wilt thou ride
With sword and dagger at thy side,
Cap and feather on thy crowne
With a little Cupid hanging downe thy breast before.
And then to heare thy graue requestes
Accompaned with deepe protestes
And many an anticke countenance
To grace each seuerall circumstance, still sighing euermore.


Besides thy inward anguishes,
Farre worse then all the premises,
Vaine hope, and desperation,
And doubtfull interpretation of euery occurrent.
Presumption and jelousie,
Care, passion, and captiuitie,
Errour, and indiscretion,
Vnrest, and vaine inuention, and thy wealth mispent.
These and such like absurdities
Shall Owlefie thee'n all mens eies:
Who whē they haue twitted thee to deth
Yet shall thy shame suruine vnneth, and thus thy Epitaph.

Who er'e thou art that readst this Epitaph aboue,
Know that heer vnderneath doth lie the Owle of Loue.
Old.
Why how now (Loue) is al thy blisse
And sweet protests return'd to this?
Then I reuoke my fealtie,
As vow'd to no such tyrannie and cruell skath.
I vow'd my vow to swaueties,
And not to infelicities;
Nor is it honorablie done
To tyrannize submission and poore cripple age

Loue.
Thy vow was not conditionall
To sweetes; but wholly personall
To me; in my proprietie
To vse thee well or wretchedly in my blesse, or rage.


Then art thou sure ynough a slaue
To rowe my galley in the waue
Of all accurse; thy contradiction
Meritting such malediction at my angry hands.
So art thou still a Marriner,
Nor I the foresaid murtherer,
Onlie thy hoary Mithredates
Haue prou'd themselues poore potēates in their weake withstands.
But yet (courage,) I am content
To be thus much indifferent,
Either that thou take a married wife,
And be a Cuckold all thy life, or bide thy present doome.

Old.
Nor that, nor this would I abide,
Were I againe vncaptiuy'd;
But often haue I heard it say,
Needs must that horse to hell away that the Deu'll rides on.
I slept a while, but now I see
That was thy charme and sorcerie,
Ther-hence thou didst comence my foyle
As Deere that's taken in a toyle, and so sent blind away.
But since I see no remedie,
I yeeld me to thy lenitie,
Whereby both thou the Conqueror,
And I thy poor Orator may honour enjoy.