University of Virginia Library

EMBLEME I.

Ianus is figur'd with a double face,
To note at once the time to come and past.
So should the wise obserue the passed space,
As they may well foresee a chance at last,
And with such prouidence direct this race,
That in their thoughts both times be euer plaste:
Embracing vertue then in euery thing,
Themselues to rest and quiet peace shall bring

EMBLEME II.

We reade when Bacchus faire dame Venus met,
They two together walked forth in chase,
Forthwith their engines and their snares they set
T'intrap the next that should come in the place:
And straight Minerua taken in the net,
Was holden prisoner in a wofull case.
By which is shewne, as we may plaine perceiue
That wine and women wisest folke deceiue.

EMBLEME III.

Thou that in Court doest spend thy merry daies,
Sport not with Princes, if that thou be wise:
For he that with his owne superiour playes,
Shall finde great perils thereof to arise.
Meddle with thy match, the antiēt prouerbe saies
On equall play-fellowes no danger lyes.
He that presumes to shaue the Lyons skin,
Full little knowes what danger he is in.

EMBLEME IIII.

The Flie so often to the milke pan vseth,
That in sweete milke at last her death she taketh:
The foole delights in pleasures that he chuseth,
So long vntill his ruine he awaketh.
But happie he, who so in time refuseth,
And all vaine fancies vtterly forsaketh.
Such one with heed, and graue & good instruction,
Doth wisely shun his perill and destruction.

EMBLEME IV.

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The numbering of the emblems in the source document has been followed.

Who doth expect the bals vncertaine bound,
And quite permit the certaine flight go by,
A player bad at tennis he is found,
And gets but seldome any good thereby.
So some neglect the true and perfect ground,
And for vaine hope do wander quite awry:
That with fond enterprises and vaine glory,
With diuers troubles haue thēselues made sory

EMBLEME VI.

Masks will be more hereafter in request,
And grow more deare than they did heretofore:
They seru'd then onely but in play and iest,
For merriment, and to no purpose more:
Now be they vsde in earnest of the best,
And of such Maskers there abound such store.
That you shall finde but few in any place,
That carrie not sometimes a double face.

EMBLEME VII.

Who will with sword be foding of the fire,
Must looke to haue the sparks flie in his face:
They that delight with speech as sharpe as brire
To choler others with an humour base,
Vnlooked for perhaps shall finde retire,
Wordes or else deeds, vnto their owne disgrace.
He that will stirre the angry man thats still,
Assure himselfe, his hands shall quickly fill.

EMBLEME VIII.

The wise Pythagoras hath euer taught,
Man should not eat vp his owne proper heart,
Nor as a stranger to himselfe be brought
To waste his life with sorrow and with smart;
But so himselfe to temper still he ought,
That woes and cares may vanish from each part:
Sith nothing hinders more a mans wel-fare,
Then lingring sorrow, heauinesse and care.

EMBLEME IX.

Who striues to set a narrow ring and straight
Vpon his finger, which too grosse he finds,
Like to the foole that bytes at eu'ry bayt,
Himselfe with his owne folly often binds.
While for felicity some thinke they wait,
They fall in bondages of diuerse kinds:
But wise men vse their fortitude to shunne
Such seruitudes as fooles into doe runne.

EMBLEME X.

The Prouerb saith, a man must neuer passe
Nor peize his ballance with vnequall weights;
As once in Rome a happie custome was,
Where equity maintained without sleights,
And iustice was the Monarks looking glasse,
Till auarice possessed their conceits:
Then ciuill discord set their hearts at warre,
And caused each man his owne good to marre.

EMBLEME XI.

Ioin hands with none, nor make of him thy friend
Whom first thou hast not proued well and tride:
His faith may fleete and faile thee in the end,
Whose bad conditions were not first descryde.
Know well his life and manners ere thou lend
Or giue him trust, if trust in him abide:
For he that makes a friend of euery stranger,
Discards him not againe without some danger.

EMBLEME XII.

Youth is too hote, and voyd of care and dread;
The aged cold, and full of doubts and feares:
Youth casts no dangers in his hastie head,
Where age with foresight warily forbeares.
Youth into needlesse quarrels soone is led,
Till oft the markes of his owne rod he weares:
And then he learns to change the course he run,
Whē he hath seen & known what age hath dun.

EMBLEME XIII.

In Thessalie their Asses there be kept
With speciall care, faire, plumbe, smooth, fat & ful,
Their mangers fild, their stables cleanly swept,
Though they be grosse, & thogh their pace be dul
So many times sots haue to honour leapt,
When wiser men haue had a colder pull.
If Asses haue such lucke, what should I say?
Let schollers burn their books, and go to play.

EMBLEME XIIII.

False faith is ouer-peisd with smallest weight,
The ballance yeelds vnto the lightest fether:
The fained guest will quickly change conceit,
And in a trice will hither turne and thither.
But the sound friend will neuer sound retreit,
Nor stoope his sailes for any force of weather,
But constantly his friendship stil doth last,
And shine the clearer in the bitter blast.

EMBLEME XV.

The Painter that with curious hand and eye,
Is ouer-mending euery little line,
With to much cunning bringeth all awrye,
And marres the worke that was before more fine.
So some there be thinking to soare so high,
With piercing insearch of things most diuine,
That fall so far from knowing that they sought,
They do not know thēselues so as they ought.

EMBLEME XVI.

Great monsters mentioned are in stories found,
As was Chymera of a shape most wondrous,
Girion, Pithon, Cerb'rus that hel-hound,
Hydra, Medusa, with their heads most hideous,
Satyres and Centaures; all these same were found
In bodies strange, deformed and prodigious:
Yet none more maruellous in stories read,
Then is a woman if she want a head.

EMBLEME XVII.

The dirty Swine delights more in the mire,
Then in sweete balmes that are of costly price.
Some men likewise there be, that do desire,
Rather then vertue for to follow vice.
The blockish idiots learning none require,
But hate euen those that are by nature wise:
And hoggish fooles at learning will repine,
So long as puddle shall delight the swine.

EMBLEME XVIII.

This picture here doth liuely represent
The beauties that may best make women proud;
First by the Tortesse at her feete is meant,
She must not gad, but learne at home to shrowd;
Her finger to her lip is vpward bent,
To signifie she should not be too lowd:
The key doth note, she must haue care to guide
The goods her husbād doth with pain prouide.

EMBLEME XIX.

Out of the thornie and the pricking stem,
Riseth the dainty, sweetly smelling rose:
Labour and care all pleasures do inhem,
And all the wayes of profit do foreclose.
Who seekes of knowledg the most precious gem,
Must ouer-tosse full many a wearie glose;
And through such prickles he that rose shal gain
That many seekes, and very few attaine,

EMBLEME XX.

You blinded folkes by Fortune set on hye,
Consider she is darke as well as ye,
And if your guide do want the light of eye,
You needs must fall, it can none other be.
When blind do leade the blind, they both do lye
In ditch, the Prouerbe saith, and we do see:
And those that trust to fortunes turning wheele,
Whē they feare least, their fall shall soonest feele.

EMBLEME XXI.

Who beares a sword with honie ouer-spread,
May well be tearmed as an hypocrite,
That hides the doings of his craftie head,
With shew of sweetnes yeelding false delight;
Nath'lesse at last he is discouered,
When wisedome brings his subtilties to light,
And though his sword be sharp, & cut & prick,
A little Bee shall sting him to the quicke.

EMBLEME XXII.

The Lyon is of nature stout and strong,
Of courage bold, whose fiercen's none can tame;
The craftie Foxe all other beasts among,
For subtill policies doth beare the name.
So to that Prince those gifts do chiefe belong,
That here on earth would purchase endles fame:
He like these two must frame his manners fit,
For strength a Lion, and a Foxe for wit.

EMBLEME XXIII.

Oft time when fishers plucke their nets to land,
And make great boast what fishes they shall get,
By hap a Scorpion being there at hand,
Comes vp alone inclosed in the net.
So in conceit some haue great wonders scand,
That durst presume strong Hercules to threat:
But when they come to triall and to proofe,
Themselues are those will stand most far aloofe.

EMBLEME XXIIII.

A gold ring set on snout of filthy swine,
Great weapons worne by infants yong & greene.
The Rogue to brag and boast him with the fine,
The foolish Asse that wise himselfe doth weene:
All these to order vtterly repine,
And euermore to disagree are seene.
To keepe decorum this good precept hold,
Giue draffe to swine, to men the rings of gold.

EMBLEME XXV.

The bow that's drawn with ouer hardy strength,
Is found more weake then it was felt before.
By which we learne, we hurt our selues at length,
The while we labour dayly more and more.
For sloth corrupts & duls our might & strength;
But too much toyling breeds a greater sore,
Consuming courage so beyond all measure,
It reaues the body of his chiefest treasure.

EMBLEME XXVI.

Beware of quarrels with the desp'rat men,
That feare not death, nor weigh anothers life:
Good conquerors will giue place now and then
To those are vanquished in warlike strife,
And let them flie withour pursuing; when
Perhaps they would else turne on them as rife,
As did the Andebats in desp'rat wise
Run on their enemies with hooded eyes.

EMBLEME XXVII.

Eu'n as the king, the whilst we play at Chesse,
The other men in his subiection be,
Vntill the mate be giuen without redresse,
And then the king but like the rest we see;
And suffers with the little pawnes no lesse,
Then if they had no difference in degree.
So high and low, when pleaseth death to strike,
The Prince, the poore, are laid in graues alike.

EMBLEME XXVIII.

As doth the Tortesse neither feare nor feele
The idle stinging of the busie Bee;
For why his shell welnigh as hard as steele,
Keepes him as safe within as safe may be:
Eu'n so though Fortune on her wan'ring wheele,
Turne vp and downe some men of high degree,
Yet may a man with wisedome so prouide,
To stand so sure, she shall not make him slide.

EMBLEME XXIX.

We see how Fortune sooner doth prouide
For Robin Good-fellow and th'idle mate,
Than such as greater labours do abide,
Whose good desert she euermore doth hate:
In sleepers nets she powreth all her pride,
To painfull persons she is still vngrate:
She hunts about to make her best prouision,
For fooles and dolts, & men of base condition.

EMBLEME XXX.

They hurt their hand sometime that hope to gain,
And plucke the rose from off the prickling tree;
For why, no pleasure is without some paine,
The good and bad together mingled be:
Faire weather waxeth sometime foule againe,
And after foule faire weather oft we see.
Wise men may note by gath'ring of this flowre,
None reaps the sweet but he must tast the soure.

EMBLEME XXXI.

Who strikes the anuill rudely with his blade,
May hap to breake it with too little heed
So he that vseth as a common trade,
To presse his friend with too too much indeed,
May chance to finde his curt'sie then to fade,
When of the same he stands in greatest need.
Thus much this Embleme in effect pretends,
That ouer boldnes makes vs leese our friends.

EMBLEME XXXII.

Who notes the noble bird that doth command,
All feathered fowles subiected to the skies,
And hath the Eagles princely nature scand,
Which doth disdaine to litigate with flies;
Hereby may weigh and wisely vnderstand,
In base contention little honour lies.
For he that striueth with th'inferiour sort,
Shall with dishonour reape an ill report.

EMBLEME XXXIII.

He that with razor thinks to cut the flint,
Doth vndertake a foolish fruitlesse paine,
The tender edge making but little dint,
Is soone rebated with the rockie graine.
With mightie men twere better strife to stint,
Than an vnequall quarrell to maintaine:
Lest, as you see the razor with the stone,
The hurt fall all to you, and they haue none.

EMBLEME XXXIIII.

The Nightingale hath such a daintie note,
No other bird the harmonie can mend;
Sometimes to sing she straineth so her throte,
That there withall her song and life doth end.
Eu'n so likewise some students do so dote,
When others do their prose and verse commend,
That to attaine vnto more perfect skill,
With studying too hard themselues they kill.

EMBLEME XXXV.

A labyrinth is framed with such art,
The outmost entrance is both plaine and wide:
But being entred, you shall finde each part,
With such odde crooked turnes on euery side,
And blind by-waies, you shall not for your heart
Come out againe without a perfect guide.
So to vaine pleasures it is ease to go,
But to returne againe it is not so.

EMBLEME XXXVI.

Who thinks to change abuses waxen old,
Is foule deceiued in his inward mind:
For they do rather grow more manifold,
And still ingender and increase their kind.
It were a foolish thing to heare it told,
That in a net a man hath caught the wind:
For thats impossible to bring to passe,
And so is this, both now and euer was.

EMBLEME XXXVII.

A woman should, and may well without pride,
Looke in a looking glasse; and if she find
That she is faire, then must she so prouide
To sute that beautie with so faire a mind.
If she be blacke, then that default to hide
With inward beautie of another kind.
If women would do so, they were but asses
That should dislike the vse of looking-glasses.

EMBLEME XXXVIII.

The bird in cage restraind from libertie,
For all her bondage ceasseth not to sing.
But in the midst of all captiuitie,
With songs some cōfort she her selfe doth bring.
So when as men do stand in ieopardie,
And feele that sorrowes do their senses sting,
Yet must they striue to put all cares away,
And make themselues as merry as they may.

EMBLEME XXXIX.

Suppose a heard of Buckes should go to warre,
And by a lusty Lyon they were led:
On th'other side, if that a Bucke compare
To beare the standard as the Lyons head;
That onely Lyons force surpasseth farre,
With those his Bucks, whose courage he hath bred.
So valiant leaders cause faint cowards fight,
A coward Captaine mars the soldiers might.

EMBLEME XL.

When as strong theeues get offices in hand,
And care not what by wrong they scrape and pul,
The King doth winke, and will not vnderstand:
But when he sees that they do once waxe full,
He is content their dealing shall be scand,
And their authority to disanull.
When swelling sponge is crusht, it doth restore
And yeeld the liquor it had drawne before.

EMBLEME XLI.

The ball flies backe to him that first did strike,
In as great haste, with like great force of arme:
So words for words, and blowes for blowes alike
Men shall receiue, wher they bring good or harm.
As merchāts rich great wealth that scrape & pike,
Whereby they sit at ease and lye full warme,
Giue ownce for ownce, and like for like again:
So for one mocke another still we gaine.

EMBLEME XLII.

In Princes courts we see it so fals out,
The mildest persons are of least account:
Such as be proud, are called braue men and stout,
Whose lofty lookes do other men surmount;
They that can cog and foist with all the rout,
Are still in prise, and do most praise amount.
The simple man is like (as in these shapes)
A silly Asse amongst a sort of Apes.

EMBLEME XLIII.

When winds do stifly beate against the saile,
Yet Galleys may by the maine force of ore,
So much against the spite of winds preuaile,
To come with safety to the merry shore.
What if one meane or purpose hap to faile,
Is that a reason we should trie no more?
This will not serue, what though? that may be good:
Is there no way but one vnto the wood?

EMBLEME XLIIII.

To fish for Eeles, they say that haue the skill,
Best be the troubled waters and the muddie:
So they that take delight in doing ill,
To trouble first the state is all their studie;
Then can they best compasse their wicked will,
And get most profit when the times be bloudy.
Iustice in force, peaceable times and quiet
Fits not their fishing, nor can serue their diet.

EMBLEME XLV.

False flatterers are worse then greedie crowes:
Crowes onely feed on things that we reiect,
The flatterers do oft deuowre those,
That are aliue, when least they do suspect.
And when they make their fairest glosing shoes,
And seeme most soundly friendship to affect,
Then suddenly, and ere a man is ware,
He is beguil'd and falleth in their snare.

EMBLEME XLVI.

Who giues an asse the bone, a dog the hay,
May well be thought an vnwise man I trow:
Yet such disorder waxeth now aday,
Men care not how their gifts they do bestow.
Fooles are set vp in offices most gay,
The wiser men come downe and sit below.
And now affection reason so doth smother,
Men giue to one what doth belong t'another.

EMBLEME XLVII.

The Ape embracing of her yong one hard,
Sometimes doth kill it with her being kind.
So many parents haue their children mard,
When with fond loue and with affection blind,
They cannot chastise them with due regard,
That in their childhood be not well inclin'd.
For when they be growne vp to state of men,
They are past mending and correcting then.

EMBLEME XLVIII.

Bacchus cannot himselfe so well disguise,
By clapping on his backe a Lyons skin,
But that his flagon and his bolle descries,
It is no Hercules that is within.
So though a foole haue shew of being wise,
By hoarie head, or by a bearded chin:
Yet by his talke a man may quickly know,
Whether he be discreete indeed or no.

EMBLEME XLIX.

The Spider with her web of rare inuention,
Lies close in waite to catch the silly flies;
But with the wasp she dares not moue contentiō,
Whose force the weakenesse of her web vnties.
So rich men now against all good intentiō,
Withstād good laws, whose weight on poore mē lies,
And like the wasp that rends the web in sunder,
They rule those laws that meaner mē are vnder

EMBLEME L.

Who giues him wine a feauer doth possesse,
Augmenteth more the patients present griefe:
Wine causeth heate, the feauer doth no lesse,
Which needs must yeeld the sick but smal reliefe.
Eu'n so that Prince doth little skill professe,
That sets a foole aloft in office chiefe,
Whereas his malice he may best reueale,
And do most hurt vnto the common weale.

EMBLEME LI.

The painfull Pilgrime in his later daies:
Without his leaning staffe that cannot stand,
Forsaking wife and children goes his waies,
To seeke old relicks in a new found land;
Accounting it worth most especiall praise,
To tell what iourneyes he hath tane in hand:
Whē he should cut those wings if he did well,
And like the Tortesse keepe him in his shell.

EMBLEME LII.

The Eagle then laments her death too late,
When as the shaft hath pierced through her brest,
Who was selfe cause of such vnluckie fate,
By meanes the stem with her own quill was drest.
Some men to ill are so predestinate,
That though no hurt by others is profest,
They wrong thēselues by lack of taking heed,
And are chiefe cause of their owne euill speed.

EMBLEME LIII.

Each little spot appeares more in the face,
Than any blemish in the corps beside:
The face is plainly seene in euery place,
When clothes the carkasse secretly do hide.
By which we note, that in a Princes grace.
A fault seemes greater and is sooner spide,
Than in some man of base and low degree:
As in fine cloth the brightest staines we see.

EMBLEME LIIII.

When the wise birder meaneth to intrap
The foolish birds within his craftie traine,
That he may get more of them at a clap,
With prettie pipe his voice he learnes to faine.
So flatterers do not display the map
Of all their drifts in termes and speches plaine,
But with sweet words they couer their deceit,
Lest princes should perceiue & shun their bait.

EMBLEME LV.

A man by force and strength cannot attaine,
That which by staid discretion soone is wonne:
He that doth pull the taile with might and maine,
For all his force hath not so quickly done,
The other haire by haire with little paine,
In lesser time a better threed hath sponne.
Lo here the ods betweene the wise mans pause,
And hastinesse of foolish furious dawes.

EMBLEME LVI.

The glut'nous Rau'n deuours the venomd Snake,
Which though at first seemes pleasant to his taste,
When he doth feele his gorge with poison ake,
He rues with death the meate he eat in haste.
Hereby we note what heed we ought to take,
Lest that we vse excesse in our repast:
For gluttony doth more their deaths affoord,
Then mightie Mars with his two edged sword.

EMBLEME LVII.

Iupiter, as the learned Homer writes,
Mingleth the good and bad in such a sort,
That men obtaine not pleasures and delights,
Without some paine to waite vpon the sport.
No man with labour wearieth so his sprights,
But of some ease withall he may report:
Nor no man yet hath euer bene so glad,
But he hath had a time to be as sad.

EMBLEME LVIII

Who so to bondage will himselfe submit,
And yet hath libertie to liue at will,
Is like a Lyon when he doth permit
A simple man with threed to hold him still.
Some are such fooles, that while in court they sit,
And waste their time and all their riches spill:
Yet will they stay, although they do not need,
And not escape whē they may break the threed.

EMBLEME LIX.

It is no time to sit still then at play,
When as the house doth burne about our eares:
Who were in flames, and would not run away,
Were wondrous stout, or very void of feares.
But wisedome bids vs shorten long delay,
And to preuent the cause of future teares.
Sith if too farre we suffer dangers rome,
Tis long againe ere they be ouercome.

EMBLEME LX.

Who thinks to feare the Lyon with a maske,
May proue conclusions, but preuaile no whit:
For why, his force a stouter strength doth aske,
Ere that his courage can be quaild with it.
So some we see do set their tongues to taske,
And with great words that run beyond their wit,
They thinke to conquer hardie men and stout,
That of vaine brags do neither dread nor doubt.

EMBLEME LXI.

The wicked man whose faults are manifest,
Seemes like the Hare still full of feare and dread:
He dares not sleepe nor take his quiet rest,
For doubt before some Iustice to be led.
The honest life who leades is better blest:
He euermore secure may keepe his bed,
The while the wicked studie and deuise,
Like fearefull Hares to sleepe with open eyes.

EMBLEME LXII.

When Cupids stroke tickles the inward vaines,
Oh what a power he hath to change the mind!
He makes the niggard carelesse of his gaines,
The clowne a Courtier, and the currish kind.
Briefly, his wondrous graces where he raignes,
In Cymon our of Boccas you may find;
The little lad his Lute can finger so,
Would make an Asse to turne vpon the toe.

EMBLEME LXIII.

Behold Occasion drawne before your eies,
As though she still were fleeting on her waies,
Which image so Lisippus did deuise,
With knife in hand to cut off long delayes.
Her locks before bids hold ere that she flies,
Her wings do shew she can abide no staies:
And by her bald she tels vs at the last,
There is no hold behind when she is past.

EMBLEME LXIIII.

By mens proportions we can hardly guesse,
Or know precisely whether they haue wit:
For who can tell what graces they possesse,
Although their members out of order sit?
Some heads are great, and some againe be lesse,
That to their bodies do not aptly fit:
Yet not proportion nor the bodies stature,
But education setteth foorth the nature.

EMBLEME LXV.

The stately Cypresse in his outward show,
Is straight and tall, in colour fresh and greene;
Yet on the same no wholesome fruit doth grow,
Or that to serue for nourishment is seene.
In such bare titles many men do flow,
That in their liues but barren still haue bene:
Who in experience well may seeme to sute
The Cypres tree that yeelds no wholsom fruite.

EMBLEME LXVI.

Some Lawyers waxe so deafe they cannot heare,
Or at the least they cannot vnderstand,
Except your money do so plaine appeare,
That palpably they feele it in their hand.
Giue right or wrong, your case they say is cleare;
As you would haue it, so it shall be scand.
When double fees do walke, and money flees,
A man would think their hands were ful of eies.

EMBLEME LXVII.

Like to the Stith I count the constant hart:
The Stith endures the heauie hammers beat,
And doth not shrinke nor yeeld in any part,
Though smiths lay on & thump it till they sweat.
Eu'n so should men in chances ouerthwart,
Whē paines increase & fortune seemes to threat,
Yet in their course with constant purpose run,
And still persist till they haue honour wonne.

EMBLEME LXVIII.

Redeeme the time, time dearer is then gold,
And time once gone can neuer be reclaimed,
He need begin betimes that would grow old,
If time be lost, our life is likewise maimed.
Yet greene yong heads disdaining to be told,
As though more priuiledge of yeres they claimed,
Do seem to pul the weights with all their sway,
And waste their time, and haste their dying day.

EMBLEME LXIX.

Some say, the Camell will not stoope to drinke,
Till he hath first defil'd it with his feete.
So in our time rude people vse to thinke,
That perfect eloquence is most vnmeete:
In whose dull heads this reason will not sinke,
That eloquence should proue a thing so sweete;
Such is their folly, and their sense so blind,
They count this gift but of the basest kind.

EMBLEME LXX.

The hope for gaine, and thirst for worldly goods
Compels a man to venture rocks and seas:
Neither can waters deepe, nor raging floods,
Cause any kind of perils to displease:
Men scrape out goods out of the myrie muds,
For lucres sake, all labours seeme but ease:
And to prouide themselues of things they lack,
There be wil swim with burdens on their back.

EMBLEME LXXI.

The fleeting time doth quickly steale away,
Which once let passe, returneth not againe,
Therefore tis good to take Time while we may,
Lest afterward we rue our losse in vaine:
Time tarrieth none, the Prouerbe old doth say,
Then vse it well the while it doth remaine:
For those that leade their liues in belly-cheare,
Do leese their time, of al things else most deare.

EMBLEME LXXII.

Greene fruits and floures do ripen by the Sunne,
Whose raies bring forth their beautie and their smel:
Eu'n so when youth with time is ouer-run,
Though it were greene, and though it often fell,
Yet riper yeares will mend all errors done,
And make men liue more vertuously and well:
And time doth change and alter mens behauior,
As by the Sunne the flowers mend their sauor.

EMBLEME LXXIII.

The flatterers and traitors both be such,
That with their words their thoughts do not agree:
For till iust triall bring them to the tuch,
They seeme in shew most faithfull friends to bee:
But little will they do, professing much;
And inwardly from friendship they do flee;
Who when their heart behind they do conuay,
They beare in hand their tongue another way.

EMBLEME LXXIIII.

We proue at first if that a pot will hold,
With water, not with wine of any kind,
To th' end the losse the lesse we may behold,
If in the bottome any hole we find.
So ere to trust a stranger ye waxe bold,
Tell him the lightest secret of your mind,
Whereof small danger growes another day,
If he againe your secret should bewray.

EMBLEME LXXV.

In Affrica if Lions hanged there,
Do terrifie the rest that them behold,
Why do not theeues and robbers likewise feare,
That still commit most wicked acts for gold?
And Magistrates that such great office beare,
By like examples feare to be too bold:
For they may know, except they do amend,
By such sewd liuing they may haue like end.

EMBLEME LXXVI.

They that do vse to hazard much at play,
And venture all their substance at a cast,
Do often fall into so great decay,
That they become meere beggers at the last:
And then on others they are faine to pray,
Or liue of spoile, and others goods to wast:
When as their owne before with better thrift,
Would well haue seru'd their turn at eu'ry shift.

EMBLEME LXXVII.

Fond loue is chiefly likened to a siue,
In which the more you poure the water in,
The more is spilt, by letting thorow driue,
And you no neare then when you first begin.
Eu'n so for loue when yong men frankly giue,
Till oft they leaue themselues not worth a pin:
When all is spent, and they liue by the losse,
They turne againe at last by weeping crosse.

EMBLEME LXXVIII.

Who so a ship would vndertake to store,
And furnish her with all that she doth lacke:
He needs to haue his purse well lin'd before,
And shall find worke enough to hold him tacke.
Yet women are as chargeable, or more,
Who still are wanting one or other knacke:
So that who would be troubled all his life,
May best be troubled with a ship or wife.

EMBLEME LXXIX.

Alas that men should follow Venus trace,
And take delight to play on Cupids bits,
Who casteth downe from high estate to base,
And makes men counted wise, to leese their wits.
None but vnhappy wretches void of grace,
Do euer fall into such franticke fits:
Vpon repentance fire he puts the Still
And blowes the coles, where nought but teares distill.

EMBLEME LXXX.

The fruits of Loue are diuers in effect,
Some good, some bad, some withered, some are, greene,
Some sweet, some soure, som wholsom, som infect,
And some are secret, some are plainely seene:
Now in regard; to morrow quite reiect:
Oft in prosperitie; and then in teene:
They change as often, and do alter soone,
Eu'n as vnconstant as we see the Moone.

EMBLEME LXXXI.

If any man a perfect Gardiner lacks,
Here shall he find one of no common skill,
For sundry graffes, for knots and prettie knacks,
He neuer will be idle by his will.
What euer he doth set or sow, will waxe,
And all your flocks with some plants he will fill:
But with the rest he graffeth alwaies chiefe,
The choaking peare of anguish and of griefe.

EMBLEME LXXXII.

The Oke doth suffer the yong Ivie wind
Vp by his sides, till it be got on hie:
But being got aloft, it so doth bind,
It kils the stocke that it was raised by.
So some proue so vnthankfull and vnkind
To those on whom they chiefly do rely,
By whom they first were called to their state,
They be the first (I say) giue them the mate.

EMBLEME LXXXIII.

We reade how in Phœnicia long ago,
The people raisd this figure vp on hie,
Whereas the same might make the fairest show,
And men obserue what it did signifie.
The Serpent in a circle painted so,
Thus much doth teach to vnderstand thereby,
That in the world there is no greater art,
Then man to know himselfe in euery part.

EMBLEME LXXXIIII.

The Faulcon sometime greedie of her pray,
Finds her owne foote fast tide vnto the tree:
So are there some lay waite on others way,
That are themselues the first that harmed bee.
Who digs a pit for other mens decay,
May fall therein himselfe we often see,
And feele the plagues in his own person then,
Which he ordaind to punish other men.

EMBLEME LXXXV.

The cannon charg'd with lesse then doth behoue,
The heauie bullet farre off cannot throw:
And none hath seene the weighty windmil moue
If one but with a paire of bellowes blow.
This shewes we should in euery action proue
With due proportion how each thing should go:
As wise men neuer will attempt the thing,
That first they know to passe they cannot bring.

EMBLEME LXXXVI.

The Prelates vertues ought to shine so bright,
As doth a lampe set on a mountaine hie,
From whose good deeds should issue such a light
That other men might see and walke thereby.
Through his example when it is not right,
The silly people oft do walke awry;
And then the Lord whose vengeance none withstands
The bloud of those requireth at his hands.

EMBLEME LXXXVII.

In Poets pamphlets fables fond we find,
Yet in those fables wisedome they inuent;
The morall still hath sense of other kind,
How ere the verse do colour their intent:
But to the letter who himselfe doth bind,
May misse the matter that therein is meant:
As vnder leaues that hang on crooked vines,
Lie hid sweet grapes that make the costly wines.

EMBLEME LXXXVIII.

A womans constancy is euen as sure,
As if one held an Eele fast by the raile,
Her faith nor loue do neuer long endure,
But fleete away as Sunne doth melt the haile:
As many authors, Greeke and Latine pure,
Haue left in writing for out more auaile,
That womens words mens cares do so delight,
They make them oft beleeue the crow is white.

EMBLEME LXXXIX.

When as the Sunne stands iust aboue the head,
The bodie shewes but short and slender shade;
Eu'n so whē vertue her bright beames doth spred
The smoke of enuy soone away doth fade.
Vertue doth make men liue when they be dead,
Though enuy brag, & thogh she draw her blade,
In spite thereof yet vertuous men shall gaine
Honour and praise, for euer to remaine.

EMBLEME XC.

It is too late to catch the bird againe,
That once hath bid her keepers hand adue:
So when a man lets slip a word in vaine,
His speech once past is not recald anew;
For words will flie from mouth to mouth amaine
Whereof great quarrels oftentimes ensue.
Therefore be wise, and in your speech preuent,
To speak such words as you may chance repent.

EMBLEME XCI.

Bucephalus was then in chiefest pride,
When he had felt rich armour on his backe,
And onely Alexander him might ride,
When no man else could hold him any tacke.
Hereby we note a ahing that oft is tride,
How such as are but base and in great lacke,
When to new honor by good hap they grow,
Their old acquaintance they disdaine to know.

EMBLEME XC.

A Prince that would his fame should stil increase,
And honour to resound in euery place,
He shall assure his Scepter with more ease,
If that his subiects loue and feare his face.
A Dog and Hare two enemies to peace,
One loues, the other feareth in like case:
Yet better peace to Princes neuer springs,
Then when like Dogs and Hares men serue their kings.

EMBLEME XCIII.

Some do not care how nor with whō they linke,
If fading beauty please their wanton eye:
Others so they be fingring of the chinke,
Care not how soone their hand be in the pie;
But a wise man doth warily forethinke,
That both those courses run too farre awrie:
That this nor that, is neither here nor there,
The chiefest choice is chusing by the eare.

EMBLEME XCIIII.

The lyce do shun the place where they were bred
When life to leaue the carkasse they do find:
So when mens fortune failes and waxeth dead,
And when their wealth and riches do vnwind,
We see the flatterers away are fled,
From those to whom the same were earst inclind.
This shewes that in aduersity and need,
Tis hard to finde a trustie friend indeed.

EMBLEME XCV.

When thou shalt trauell on the tedious way,
And see thy Asse fall loden in the mire,
First for the helpe of God prepare to pray,
That succours all that do his helpe require;
But in the meane time ceasse not to assay,
With thy owne hands to draw him from the mire.
For he that would the helpe of God attaine,
To helpe himselfe must take a little paine.

EMBLEME XCVI.

With greater ease the Dolphin is restrained,
Then wanton women bridled of their will,
Who from their purpose cannot be constrained.
They are so full of craft and subtill skill:
Wel may they boast what guerdō they haue gained,
That can subiect their wiues vnto their will;
For oft the ayer of a womans smocke,
Withstands alone the bonds of chast wedlock.

EMBLEME XCVII.

The more that Saffron troden is with feete,
The more it still doth flourish on the ground:
So when with troubles vertuous minds do meet,
The more opprest, the stronger they be found.
Where vertue is, there may we plainest see't,
In those whom cares & woes do compasse round:
And when aduersity doth most assaile,
By striuing then aloft to beare their saile.

EMBLEME XCVIII.

Though childrens wit be not so ripe and quicke,
As vnto others nature doth impart,
Paine wil helpe out where nature seemes to stick,
And they great maisters made of many an art;
Eu'n as the Beare doth into fashion licke,
The lump she laid without proportiond part;
For man is made againe by reasons helpe,
As is new moulded the mis-shapen whelpe.

EMBLEME XCIX.

When Hercles had ordaind to take his rest,
And from his former labours him withdrew,
Hydra that monstrous seuen-headed beast
Against him came, his troubles to renew.
Euen so when vertue hath her hire possest,
And once attained vnto honour due,
Some chance or other by fowle enuy growes,
And still new troubles and new trauels sowes.

EMBLEME C.

Behold how Diligence as she were wroth,
Sits in her charriot with a scourge in hand,
And whippeth Idlenesse now for her sloth,
That of her need before time had not scand:
The little Ants take paines and draw them both,
Which giues vs this thereby to vnderstand,
That lest we labour with the little Ant,
We still are like to liue in wo and want.