Читать книгу Two Dyaloges - Erasmus Desiderius - Страница 4

Cannius. what hunt Polipheme for here?

Poliphem⁹. Aske ye what I hunt for here, and yet ye se me haue neyther dogges, dart, Jauelyn, nor huntyng staffe.

Cannius. Paraduenture ye hunt after some praty nymphe of the couert.

Poliphemus. By my trouth and well coniectured, be holde what a goodly pursenet, or a hay I haue here in my hande.

Canni⁹. Benedicite, what a straunge syght is this, me thinke I se Bachus in a lyons skin, Poliphemus with a boke in his hande. This is a dogge in a doblet, a sowe w^t a sadle, of all that euer I se it is a non decet.

Poliphe. I haue not onely paynted and garnyshed my boke with saffron, but also I haue lymmed it withe Sinople, asaphetida, redleed, vermilõ, and byse.

Can. It is a warlyke boke, for it is furnished with knottes, tassils plates, claspes, and brasen bullyons.

Poliphe. Take the boke in your hand and loke within it.

Canni. I se it wery well. Truly it is a praty boke, but me thynkes ye haue not yet trymmed it sufficiently for all your cost ye have bestowed upon it.

Poliphe. Why what lackes it?

Canni. Thou shuldest haue set thyne armes upon it.

Poliphem⁹. what armes I beseche the?

Cãni⁹. Mary the heed of Silenus, an olde iolthed drunkard totynge out of a hoggeshed or a tunne, but in good ernest, wherof dothe your boke dyspose or intreate? dothe it teache the art and crafte to drynke a duetaunt?

Poli. Take hede in goddes name what ye say lest ye bolt out a blasphemie before ye be ware.

Cãni⁹. why bydde ye me take hede what I saye? is there any holy matt^r in the boke?

Poli. what mã it is the gospell boke, I trow there is nothynge can be more holye.

Canni⁹. God for thy grace what hathe Poliphemus to do withe the gospell?

Poli. Nay why do ye not aske what a chrysten man hathe to do with christe?

Canni⁹. I can not tell but me thynkes a rousty byll or a halbard wold become such a great lubber or a slouyn as thou arte a great deale better, for yf it were my chaûce to mete such one and knewe him not upon seeborde, and he loked so lyke a knaue and a ruffyã as thou dost I wolde take hym for a pirate or a rouer upon the see/ and if I met such one in the wood for an arrante thefe, and a man murderer.

Poli. yea good syr but the gospell teache vs this same lesson, that we shuld not iudge any person by his loke or by his externall & outwarde apparaunce. For lyke wyse as many tymes vnder a graye freers coote a tyrannous mynde lyeth secretly hyd, eue so a polled heed, a crispe or a twyrled berde, a frowninge, a ferse, or a dogged loke, a cappe, or a hat with an oystrich fether, a soldyers cassocke, a payre of hoose all to cut and manglyd, may couer an euangelycall mynde.

Cannius. why not, mary God forbyd elles, yea & many tymes a symple shepe lyeth hyd in a wolfes skynne, and yf a man maye credite and beleue the fables of Aesope, an asse maye lye secretely unknowen by cause he is in a lyons skynne.

Poliphe. Naye I knowe hym whiche bereth a shepe vpon his heed, and a sore in his brest, to whome I wold wysshe with al my hart that he had as whyte and as fauorable frendes as he hathe blacke eyes. And I wolde wisshe also that he were as well guylt ouer and ouer as he hathe a colour mete to take guyltynge.

Canni. Yf ye take hym to were a shepe vpon his heed, that weareth a cappe of woll, howe greuously than art thou lodyn, or what an excedynge heuy burdê bearest thou then I praye the whiche bearest a hoole shepe and an ostryche to vpon thy heed? But what saye ye to hî doth not he more folyssly which beareth a byrd vpon his heed, and an asse in his brest.

Poliphemus. There ye nypped & taunted me in dede.

Cannius. But I wolde saye this geere dyd wonderous wel yf this gospel boke dyd so adourne the with vertue as thou hast adourned lymmed, and gorgiously garnysshed it with many gay goodly glystryng ornamentes. Mary syr thou hast set it forth in his ryght colours in dede, wolde to god it might so adourne the with good cõdiciõs that thou myghtest ones lerne to be an honest man.

Poli. There shall be no defaute in me, I tell you I wyll do my diligence.

Can. Naye there is no doute of that, there shall be no more faute in you now I dare say then was wonte to be.

Poli. Yea but (youre tarte tauntes, and youre churlysshe checkes, and raylynges set asyde) tell me I pray the this one thynge, do you thus disprayse, condempne, or fynde faute with them whiche caryeth aboute with them the newe testament or the gospel boke?

Canni. No by my fayth do I not good praty man.

Poliphe. Call ye me but a praty one and I am hygher then you by y^e length of a good asses heed.

Can. I thynke not fully so moche yf the asse stretch forth his eares, but go to it skyllis no matter of that, let it passe, he that bare Christ vpon his backe was called Christofer, and thou whiche bearest the gospell boke aboute with the shall for Poliphemus be called the gospeller or the gospell bearer.

Polip. Do not you counte it an holy thynge to cary aboute with a man the newe testament?

Cãni. why no syr by my trouth do I not, except thou graunte the very asses to be holy to.

Poli. How can an asse be holy?

Cannius. For one asse alone is able to beare thre hundreth suche bokes, and I thynke suche a great lubber as thou art were stronge inoughe to beare as great a burden, and yf thou had a hansome packesadle sette vpon thy backe.

Poliphe. And yet for all your iestynge it is not agaynst good reason to saye that ye asse was holy which bore christ.

Cannius. I do not enuye you man for this holynes for I had as lefe you had that holynes as I, and yf it please you to take it I wyll geue you an holy & a religious relyke of the selfe same asse whiche christ rode vpon, and whan ye haue it ye may kysse it lycke it and cull it as ofte as ye lyst.

Poli. Mary syr I thanke you, ye can not gyue me a more thanckefull gyfte nor do me a greatter pleasure, for that asse withouten any tayle was made as holye as any asse could be by the touchynge of christes body.

Canni⁹. Undouted they touched christes body also whiche stroke and buffeted christ.

Poliphe. yea but tell me this one thynge I praye the in good ernest. Is it not a great sygne of holynes in a man to cary aboute the gospel boke or the newe testament?

Cannius. It is a token of holynes in dede if it be done without hypocrysie, I meane if it be done without dissimulacion/and for that end, intent & purpose, that it shuld be done for.

Poliphe. What the deuyl & a morten tellest thou a man of warre of hypocrisie, away with hypocrisie to the monkes and the freers.

Cannius. Yea but bycause ye saye so, tell me fyrste I praye you what ye call hypocrisie.

Po. When a man pretendis another thyng outwardly then he meanis secretly in his mynde.

Cannius. But what dothe the bearynge aboute of the newe testament sygnyfie. Dothe it not betoken that thy lyfe shulde be conformable to the gospell which thou carryest aboute with the.