 | A newe Treatyse deuyded in thre [arties |  |
Here ye may here of the ende of a mannes lyfe.
The
last ende of mannes lyfe is harde
When that he draweth to deathwarde
For when he is sycke, in any wyse
So feable, that he may nat aryse
Than be men in doubte, and vncertayne
Whyther he shall euer recouer agayne
And yet can some men, that be sley
Knowe whyther he shall lyfe, or dye
Throughe certayne tokens, in pounce and breath
That falleth to a man, that draweth to death
For than begynneth his front downewarde to fall
And his browes waxeth heuy with all
And the lefte eye of hym, shall seme lasse
And nerer than that other eye was
And his nose before, shall sharpe become
And his chyne than downe shall be nome
And his pounce, shall haue no meuynge
His fete waxe colde, and his wombe doth clynge
And yf a yonge man, nere his death be
Euer he is wakynge, for slepe may nat he
And yf an olde man, drawe towarde death
He shall nat from slepe, kepe hym [illeg.]neth
Clarckes telleth, that these tokens echone
Be in a man, when he shall dye soone
For when a man lyueth, he is lyke a man
But whan he is blodeles, and becōmeth wan
Than may a man his lykenes there se
And all chaunged, as neuer had ben he
And when his lyfe, is brought to the ende
Than shall he hence in this maner wende
Both poore and naked, as he hyther come
When from his mothers wombe, he was nome
For he brought with hym, nothynge that day
And so he shall hence passe away
But it be onely a wyndynge cloth
That shall aboute hym be wrapped forsoth
For when the lyfe wyndeth from hym away
Than is he but foule earth and clay
That tourneth to more corrupcyon aboute
Than any caryon, that lyeth there oute
For the corrupcyon of hym in euery syde
If it lye aboue grounde longe, in any tyde
It myght than the eyre so corrupte make
So that men shulde theyr death therof take
So foule stynkynge it is, and so vyolent
And so wytnesseth, the clarcke Innocent.
When that he draweth to deathwarde
For when he is sycke, in any wyse
So feable, that he may nat aryse
Than be men in doubte, and vncertayne
Whyther he shall euer recouer agayne
And yet can some men, that be sley
Knowe whyther he shall lyfe, or dye
Throughe certayne tokens, in pounce and breath
That falleth to a man, that draweth to death
For than begynneth his front downewarde to fall
And his browes waxeth heuy with all
And the lefte eye of hym, shall seme lasse
And nerer than that other eye was
And his nose before, shall sharpe become
And his chyne than downe shall be nome
And his pounce, shall haue no meuynge
His fete waxe colde, and his wombe doth clynge
And yf a yonge man, nere his death be
Euer he is wakynge, for slepe may nat he
And yf an olde man, drawe towarde death
He shall nat from slepe, kepe hym [illeg.]neth
Clarckes telleth, that these tokens echone
Be in a man, when he shall dye soone
For when a man lyueth, he is lyke a man
But whan he is blodeles, and becōmeth wan
Than may a man his lykenes there se
And all chaunged, as neuer had ben he
And when his lyfe, is brought to the ende
Than shall he hence in this maner wende
Both poore and naked, as he hyther come
When from his mothers wombe, he was nome
And so he shall hence passe away
But it be onely a wyndynge cloth
That shall aboute hym be wrapped forsoth
For when the lyfe wyndeth from hym away
Than is he but foule earth and clay
That tourneth to more corrupcyon aboute
Than any caryon, that lyeth there oute
For the corrupcyon of hym in euery syde
If it lye aboue grounde longe, in any tyde
It myght than the eyre so corrupte make
So that men shulde theyr death therof take
So foule stynkynge it is, and so vyolent
And so wytnesseth, the clarcke Innocent.
Quid enim fetidius humano cadauere Quid horribilius homine mortuo. &c.
He sayeth, what thynge may fouler beThan a deade mannes body, is for to se
And what is more horryble, in any place
Than is to behelde a deade mannes face
And when it is, in earth by wounde
Wormes wyll do eate it, in a lytell stounde
Tyll that foule flesshe, away be ybyte
And thus I fynde, in holy boke ywryte.
Cum autem moritur homo hereditabit serpentes & vermes.
The boke sayeth, that when a man shall dyeAs his kynde herytage, he taketh the way
To wormes and adders, that foule be of syght
For to them falleth mannes flesshe by ryght
Therfore shall euery man after earth slepe
Amonge foule wormes, that on them shall crepe
And so sayeth holy wryt, and speaketh this wayes.
Omnes enim in puluere doimient & vermes operient eos.
That is in earth, shall slepe euery manAnd wormes shall eate them, from the toe to the pan
For in this worlde, so wytty man is none
Neyther so fayre in flesshe ne bone
Neyther Emperour, Kynge, ne Ceaser
Ne none other Lorde, what state he haue here
Neyther ryche, ne poore, ne bonde, ne fre
Learned ne lewde, what euer he be
That he ne shall tourne, after his last day
To earth and to powdre, and to foule clay
Therfore in my thought, I haue moche wonder
Syth that wormes shall freate vs a sonder
That no man in earth, unneth wyll it so
What he was, and is, and what he shall be
But who that wyll here, in his herte cast
What he fyrste was, and shall be at the last
And also what he is, whyle he lyueth here
He shulde than fynde, full lytell mattere
To make any myrth here, whyle he dwelleth
As a wyse vercyfyour in his verse telleth.
Si quis sentiet quo tendet & vnde veniret Num quoth gauderet: set in omni tempore fleret.
He sayeth, who that wyll fele and seWhence he cōmeth, and whyther shall he
All maner myrthes, he shulde forsake
And euer wepe, and sorowe make
For who that of a man, had than a syght
When wormes had gnawen hym out ryght
And eaten his flesshe, in to the harde bone
As he myght se in that carkayes
As saynt Bernarde wytnesseth and sayes.
Post hominem vermis, post vermen fetor & horror Et sic in non hominem, vertitur omnis homo.
He sayeth after death, man is worme becomeAnd after wormes, to stenche he is nome
And so euery man, here tourned shall he be
Fro man in to no man, as it were nat he
Thus may men se, as it is wryte
Howe that a man, in his mother is behyght
And of this matter, more myght I tell
But no lenger theron, thynke I to dwell.
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