University of Virginia Library

[The Proloug of the Sevynt Buke]

As bryght Phebus, scheyn souerane hevynnys e,
The opposit held of hys chymmys hie,
Cleir schynand bemys, and goldyn symmyris hew,
In laton cullour alteryng haill of new,
Kythyng no syng of heyt be hys vissage,
So neir approchit he his wyntir stage;
Reddy he was to entyr the thrid morn
In clowdy skyis vndre Capricorn;
All thocht he be the hart and lamp of hevyn,
Forfeblit wolx hys lemand gylty levyn,
Throu the declynyng of hys large round speir.
The frosty regioun ryngis of the ȝer,
The tyme and sesson bittir, cald and paill,
Tha schort days that clerkis clepe brumaill,
Quhen brym blastis of the northyn art
Ourquhelmyt had Neptunus in his cart,
And all to schaik the levis of the treis,
The rageand storm ourweltrand wally seys.
Ryveris ran reid on spait with watir brovne,
And burnys hurlys all thar bankis dovne,
And landbrist rumland rudely with sik beir,
So lowd ne rumyst wild lyoun or ber;
Fludis monstreis, sik as meirswyne or quhalis,
Fro the tempest law in the deip devalis.
Mars occident, retrograde in his speir,
Prouocand stryfe, regnyt as lord that ȝer;
Rany Oryon with his stormy face
Bewavit oft the schipman by hys race;
Frawart Saturn, chill of complexioun,
Throu quhais aspect darth and infectioun
Beyn causyt oft, and mortal pestilens,
Went progressyve the greis of his ascens;
And lusty Hebe, Iunoys douchtir gay,
Stude spulȝeit of hir office and array.
The soyl ysowpit into watir wak,
The firmament ourcast with rokis blak,
The grond fadyt, and fawch wolx all the feildis,
Montane toppis slekit with snaw ourheildis;
On raggit rolkis of hard harsk quhyn stane
With frosyn frontis cauld clynty clewis schane.
Bewte was lost, and barrand schew the landis,
With frostis hair ourfret the feldis standis.
Seir bittir bubbis and the schowris snell
Semyt on the sward a symylitude of hell,
Reducyng to our mynd, in euery sted,
Gousty schaddois of eild and grisly ded.
Thik drumly skuggis dyrknyt so the hevyn,
Dym skyis oft furth warpit feirfull levyn,
Flaggis of fire, and mony felloun flaw,
Scharpe soppys of sleit and of the snypand snaw.
The dolly dichis war all donk and wait,
The law valle flodderit all with spait,
The plane stretis and euery hie way
Full of floschis, dubbis, myre and clay.
Laggerit leyis wallowit farnys schew,
Brovne muris kythit thar wysnyt mossy hew,
Bank, bra and boddum blanchit wolx and bar.
For gurl weddir growit bestis hair.
The wynd maid waif the red wed on the dyke,
Bedowyn in donkis deip was euery sike.
Our craggis and the front of rochis seir
Hang gret ische schouchlis lang as ony speir.
The grond stud barrant, widderit, dosk or gray,
Herbis, flowris and gersis wallowyt away.
Woddis, forrestis, with nakyt bewis blowt,
Stude stripyt of thar weid in euery howt.
So bustuusly Boreas his bugill blew,
The deyr full dern doun in the dalis drew;
Smale byrdis, flokkand throu thik ronys thrang,
In chyrmyng and with cheping changit thar sang,
Sekand hidlis and hyrnys thame to hyde
Fra feirfull thuddis of the tempestuus tyde;
The watir lynnys rowtis, and euery lynd
Quhislit and brayt of the swouchand wynd.
Puyr lauboraris and bissy husband men
Went wait and wery draglit in the fen.
The silly scheip and thar litil hyrd gromys
Lurkis vndre le of bankis, woddis and bromys;
And other dantit grettar bestiall,
Within thar stabillis sesyt into stall,
Sik as mulis, horssis, oxin and ky,
Fed tuskyt barys and fat swyne in sty,
Sustenyt war by mannys governance
On hervist and on symmeris purvyance.
Wyde quhar with forss so Eolus schowtis schill
In this congelit sesson scharp and chill,
The callour ayr, penetratyve and puyr,
Dasyng the blude in euery creatur,
Maid seik warm stovis and beyn fyris hoyt,
In dowbill garmont cled and wily coyt,
With mychty drink and metis confortyve,
Agane the stern wyntir forto stryve.
Repatyrrit weil, and by the chymnay bekyt,
At evin be tyme dovne a bed I me strekyt,
Warpit my hed, kest on clathis thrynfald,
Fortil expell the peralus persand cald;
I crosyt me, syne bownyt forto sleip,
Quhar, lemand throu the glass, I dyd tak kepe
Latonya, the lang irksum nyght,
Hir subtell blenkis sched and watry lycht,
Full hie vp quhirlyt in hir regioun,
Till Phebus ryght in oppositioun,
Into the Crab hir proper mansioun draw,
Haldand the hight all thocht the son went law.
Hornyt Hebowd, quhilk we clepe the nycht owle,
Within hir cavern hard I schowt and ȝowle,
Laithly of form, with crukyt camscho beke,
Vgsum to heir was hir wild elrich screke;
The wild geiss claking eik by nyghtis tyde
Atour the cite fleand hard I glyde.
On slummyr I slaid full sad, and slepit sound
Quhil the oriȝont vpwart gan rebound.
Phebus crownyt byrd, the nyghtis orlager,
Clapping his weyngis thryss had crawin cleir;
Approching neir the greking of the day,
Within my bed I walkynnyt quhar I lay;
So fast declynys Synthea the moyn,
And kays keklis on the ruyf aboyn;
Palamedes byrdis crowpyng in the sky,
Fleand on randon, schapyn like ane Y,
And as a trumpat rang thar vocis soun,
Quhois cryis bene pronosticatioun
Of wyndy blastis and ventositeis;
Fast by my chalmyr, in heich wysnyt treis,
The soir gled quhislis lowd with mony a pew:
Quhar by the day was dawyn weil I knew,
Bad beit the fyre and the candill alyght,
Syne blissyt me, and in my wedis dyght,
A schot wyndo onschet a litill on char,
Persauyt the mornyng bla, wan and har,
With clowdy gum and rak ourquhelmyt the ayr,
The sulȝe stythly, hasart, rouch and hair,
Branchis bratlyng, and blaknyt schew the brays
With hirstis harsk of waggand wyndill strays,
The dew droppis congelit on stibbill and rynd,
And scharp hailstanys mortfundeit of kynd
Hoppand on the thak and on the causay by.
The schot I closit, and drew inwart in hy,
Chyvirrand for cald, the sesson was so snell,
Schupe with hayt flambe to fleym the fresyng fell.
And, as I bownyt me to the fyre me by,
Baith vp and down the howss I dyd aspy,
And seand Virgill on a lettron stand,
To write onone I hynt a pen in hand,
Fortil perform the poet grave and sad,
Quham sa fer furth or than begun I had,
And wolx ennoyt sum deill in my hart
Thar restit oncompletit sa gret a part.
And to my self I said: “In gud effect
Thou mon draw furth, the ȝok lyis on thy nek.”
Within my mynde compasyng thocht I so,
Na thing is done quhil ocht remanys ado;
For byssynes, quhilk occurrit on cace,
Ourvoluyt I this volume, lay a space;
And, thocht I wery was, me list not tyre,
Full laith to leif our wark swa in the myre,
Or ȝit to stynt for bitter storm or rane.
Heir I assayt to ȝok our pleuch agane,
And, as I couth, with afald diligens,
This nixt buke following of profond sentens
Has thus begun in the chil wyntir cald,
Quhen frostis doith ourfret baith firth and fald. &c.