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The Pastime of Pleasure by Stephen Hawes

A literal reprint of the earliest complete copy (1517) with variant readings from the editions of 1509, 1554, and 1555 together with introduction notes, glossary, and indexes: By William Edward Mead
Hawes, Stephen

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[The Passetyme of Pleasure.]
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Here begynneth the passe tyme of pleasure.
  
[dedication]
 I. 
How graunde Amoure walked in a medowe & met with fame enuyronned with tongues of fyre. ca. i.
 II. 
Of the swete reporte of Fame of the fayre lady la bel pucell in the toure of musyke. ca. ii.
 III. 
Now fame departed frome graunde amoure and lefte with hym gouernaunce and grace / and howe he wente to the toure of doctryne. Ca. .iii.
 IIII. 
Now he was lette in by Countenannce the porteres and of the meruaylous buyldynge of the same toure. Capitulo. iiii.
 V. 
How Scyence / sent hym fyrste / to gramer where he was receyued by dame Congruyte. ca. v.
 VI. 
How he was receyued / of Logyke. ca. vi.
 VII. 
How he was receyued of Rethoryke / and what Rethoryke is. ca. vii.
 VIII. 
Of the fyrste called inuencyon. And a commendacyon of poetes. Ca. viii.
 IX. 
A replycacyon agaynst ignoraunt persones. Ca. ix.
 X. 
Of dysposycyon the .ii. parte of rethoryke ca. x
 XI. 
Of elocucyon the thyrde parte of rethoryke with colourynge of sentences. ca. xi.
 XII. 
Of pronūcyacyon the .iiii. parte of rethoryke. Ca. xii.
 XIII. 
Of memory the .v. parte of rethoryke Ca. xiii.
 XIIII. 
A cōmēdacyō of Gower / chaucer / & lydgate Ca. xiiii.
 XV. 
Of Arysmetryke. Ca. xv.
 XVI. 
Of musyke mundayne / humayne / & instrumētall. Ca. xvi.
 XVIII. 
Of the dolorous / and lowly dyfputacyon bytwene la bell Pucell and graunde Amoure. Ca. xviii.
 XIX. 
How la bell pucell graunted Graunde Amoure loue / and of her dyspytous departyoge. Ca. xix.
 XX. 
Of the grete sorowe that graunde Amoure made after her depatynge / and of the wordes of counceyle. Capitulo. xx.
 XXI. 
How Graunde amoure wente to geometry / & what geometry is. Ca. xxi.
 XXII. 
Of dame astronomy. Ca. xxii.
 XXIII. 
Of the derecte operacyons of nature. Ca. xxiii.
 XXIIII. 
Of the fyue Interyall wyttes. Ca. xxiiij.
 XXV. 
Of the hye influences of the supernall bodyes. Ca. xxv.
 XXVI. 
How graūde amoure came to the toure of chyualry. Ca. xxvj.
 XXVII. 
Of the merualyos argument bytwene Mars and fortune. Ca. xxvij.
 XXVIII. 
How mynerue ledde Graūde Amoure to kynge Melyzyus whiche made hym knyght. ca. xxviii.
 XXIX. 
How he departed frome kynge Melyzyus with his grehoūdes and attendance his varlet and met with false reporte / that chaunged his name to Godfraye go bylyue. Ca. xxix.
 XXX. 
How graūde amoure in the temple of Uenus made his supplycacyon. Ca. xxx. The supplycacyon.
 XXXI. 
The copy of the letter. Ca. xxxi.
 XXXII. 
How Godfraye gobylyue was taken of correccyon & punysshed. Ca. xxxii.
 XXXIII. 
How graunde amoure dyscomfyted the gyaunt with thre hedes & was receyued of thre fayre ladyes. Ca. xxxiij.
 XXXIII. 
How he mette with Perceyueraunce / & reposed hyz in the manoyr place of dame comforte. Ca. xxxiij.
 XXXV. 
How he vaynquysshed a gyaunt / with seuen heedes and was receyued of .vii. ladyes. ca. xxxv.
 XXXVI. 
How he made oblacyon to the goddes Pallas & sayled ouer the tempestous flode. ca. xxxvj.
 XXXVII. 
How graunde amoure dyscomfyted the wonder full monster of the seuen metalles made by enchauntemente. Ca. xxxvij.
 XXXVIII. 
How graūde amoure was receyued of la bell pucell. Ca. xxxviij.
 XXIX. 
Of the grete maryage bytwene graunde amoure & La belle pucell. Ca. xxix.
 XL. 
How Whan graunde Amour had lyued longe wt labell pucell was arested by aege that brought vnto hȳpolycy and auaryce. Ca. xl.
 XLI. 
How he was arested by dethe. Ca. xli.
 XLII. 
How remembraūce made his epytaphy on his graue. Ca. xlij.
 XLII. 
How fame came in to the temple with burnȳge tonges / and other prayse. Ca. xlij.
 XLIIII. 
How tyme came in to the temple in meruaylous semylytude / and of his replycacyon. Ca. xliiij.
 XLV. 
How eternyte came in to the temple / and of her vertuous exortacyon. Ca. xlv.
 XLVI. 
The excusacyon of the auctore. Ca. xlvj.

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X. Of dysposycyon the .ii. parte of rethoryke ca. x

The seconde parte / of crafty rethoryke
Maye well be called dysposycyon
That doth so hyghe mater aromatytyke
Adowne dystyll / by consolacyon
As olde poetes / make demonstracyon
That Mercury thrugh his premynence
His natyues endueth / with famous eloquence
By veray reason / it maye ryght well appere
That dyuers persones / in sundry wyse delyght
Theyr consolacyons / doth contratry so steere
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That many myndes / maye not agre aryght
Suche is the planettes / of theyr course and myght
But what for that / be it good or yll
Them for to folowe / it is at mannes frewyll
And dysposycyon / the trewe seconde parte
Of rethoryke / doothe euermore dyrecte
The maters founde / of this noble arte
Gyuynge them place / after the aspecte
And oftyme / it hathe the inspecte
As frome a fayre parfyte narracyon
Or elles by a stedfaste argumentacyon
The whiche was constytute / by begynnynge
As on the reason / and yf apparaunce
Of the cause / than by outwarde semynge
Be harde and dyffyculte / in the vtteraunce
So as the mynde / haue no perceyueraunce
Nor of the begynnynge / can haue audyence
Than must narracyon / begynne the sentence
And yf it be a lytle probable
Frome ony maner stedfast argument
We ordre it / for to be ryght stable
Aad than we neuer / begyn our sentement
Recytynge lettres / not conuenyent
But this commutacyon / shoulde be refused
Without cause or thynge / make it be vsed
This that I wryte / is harde and couert
To them that haue / nothynge intellygence
Vp so downe / they make it oft transuert
Or that they can knowe / the experyence
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Of this crafte / and facundyous scyence
By dysposycyon / the rethorycyan
To make lawes / ordynatly began
Without dysposycyon / none ordre gan be
For the dysposycyon / ordreth euery matter
And gyueth the place / after the degre
Without ordre / without reason we clatter
Where is no reason / it vayleth not to chatter
Dysposycyon / ordreth a tale dyrectly
In a perfyte reason / to conclude truely
The fatall problemes / of olde antyquyte
Cloked with myst / and with cloudes derke
Ordred with reason / and hye auctoryte
The trouthe dyde shewe / of all theyr couert werke
Thus haue they made / many a noble clerke
To dysnull myschefe / and inconuenyence
They made our lawes / with grete dylygence
Before the lawe / in a tumblynge barge
The people sayled / without parfytenes
Throughe the worlde / all aboute at large
They hadde none ordre / nor no stedfastnes
Tyll rethorycyans / founde Iustyce doubtles
Ordenynge kynges / of ryghte hye dygnyte
Of all comyns / to haue the souerainte
The barge to stere / with lawe and Iustyce
Ouer the wawes / of this lyfe transytorye
To dyrecte wronges / and also preiudyce
And tho that wyll resyste a contrary
Agaynste theyr kynge / by Iustyce openly
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For theyr rebellyon / and euyll treason
Shall suffre dethe / by ryght and reason
O what laude / glory and grete honoure
Vnto these poetes / shall be notyfyed
The whiche dystylled / aromatyke lycour
Clensynge our syght / with ordre puryfyed
Whose famous draughtes / so exemplyfyed
Sette vs in ordre / grace and gouernaunce
To lyue dyrectly / without encombraunce
But many one / the whiche is rude and dull
Wyll dyspyse theyr warke for lacke of connynge
All in vayne / they do so hayle and pull
Whan they therof / lacke vnderstandynge
They grope ouer / where is no felynge
So dull they are / that they can not fynde
This ryall arte / for to perceyue in mynde
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