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¶Here begynneth a dialogue betwene the comen Secretary and Ielowsy touchynge the vnstablenes of harlottes. | |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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WHat a world is this / I trow it be a_curst | |
Fayne wold I marye / yf that I durst | |
But I trow syth the time that god was born | |
So many honest men neuer held of the horn | |
¶Secretary. |
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5 | ¶What is the mater / be ye in ony doubte |
Pacyfye your mode / let it come oute | |
Dyscharge your stomake / avoyde it forth | |
Sorowes in store be nothynge worth | |
¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶Trouth it is / I trust ye wyll not be greued | |
10 | To a small questyon be to you moued |
In a mater / to me doubtfull and defuse | |
Whiche I suppose ye haue had in experyence and vse | |
¶Secretary. |
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That parauenture / but I wyll not promyse you presysely | |
To assoyle your questyon very wysely assoyle ='resolve' | |
15 | Howe-be-it that ye say / I am of experyence |
So ye wyll be close / ye shall here my sentence | |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶Then thus / she that hath a rollynge ey | |
And doth conuey it / well and wysely | |
And therto hath a waueryng thought | |
20 | Trowe ye this trull wyll not be bought. |
¶Secretary. |
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¶Yes / but take hede by the pryce ye haue noo losse | |
A made marchaunt that wyll gyue .v. marke for a goose | |
Beware a rollyng ey with wauerynge thought marke that | |
And for suche stuffe passe not / a dandy_pratt | |
¶ Ielowsy. |
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25 | ¶She that is very wanton and nyse |
Thynkyng her-self maruaylous wyse | |
And wyll come to hym that doth her call | |
Wyll she not wrastell for a fall | |
¶Secretary. |
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¶Yes suerly / for a fall flat as a cake | |
30 | And cares not howe many falles she doth take |
There is noo fall can make her lame | |
For she wyll be sure of the best game. | |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that doth make it all straunge and quaynt | |
And lokyth as she were a very saynte | |
35 | If a man in the darke doo hyr assay |
Hath she any power to holde owte nay / nay | |
¶Secretary. |
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¶Holde oute / yes / or it is pyttye she was borne | |
A horse a whele-barowe and a Rammys-horne | |
If the other thynge come ye wott what I mene | |
40 | For all her holly lookes she wyll conuey it clene |
¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that doth loue moche dallyng | |
With dyuerse men for fayre spekynge | |
And thynkys not on her owne shame | |
Wyll not this wylde-foule be made tame | |
¶Secretary. |
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45 | ¶Yes with good handlynge as I ayme |
Euen by and by ye shall her reclayme | |
And make her tame as euer was Turtyll | |
To suffre kyssyng and tyklyng vnder the kyrtell | |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that is sum-what lyght of credence | |
50 | And to make her freshe / large of expence |
Howe say you and her mony doo fayle | |
Wyll she not lay too pledge her tayle | |
¶Secretary. |
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¶Yes and yf she be of that appetyte | |
She wyll pledge and sell oute-ryght | |
55 | Hede-pece / tayle-pece / and all .iiii. quarters |
To one or other / rather then fayle to carters | |
¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that louys to sytte and muse | |
And craftly can her-selfe excuse | |
When she is taken with a faulte | |
60 | Wyll she not be wonne with a small saulte |
¶Secretary. |
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¶What nedys a saulte / I dare say she wyll consent | |
That ye shall enter by a reasonable poyntment poyntment ='agreement for terms of capitulation'; see OED s.v. pointment, appointment n3. | |
And then take hede for in kepynge of this warde and hold | |
Is more daunger then in gettynge a thousande-folde | |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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65 | ¶She that is of mynde sum-what rechelles rechelles: =reckless |
Gyuynge her-selfe all to ydelnes | |
And louys to lye longe in her bed | |
Who wayteth his tyme shall he not be sped | |
¶Secretary. |
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¶Tyme nay nay wayte / yf she be in good mode | |
70 | For out of chyrche all tymes be goode |
But passe not theron / though she say nay | |
For so she wyll whan she hath best lust to play | |
¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that can no counsayll kepe | |
And lyghtly wyll sobbe and wepe | |
75 | Laughe agayne and wote not why |
Wyll she not be sone tysed to foly tysed: =ticed, 'enticed' | |
¶Secretary. |
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The teares be_token a gracyous corage | |
And laughynge doth all malyce aswage | |
Whan she is in that takynge marke well marke | |
80 | Let slyp / spare not for one course in her parke |
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¶ Ielowsy. |
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¶She that is fayre and lusty yonge | |
And can comyn in termes with fyled tonge comyn: =common, 'commune, converse' | |
And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare | |
Thynke ye her tayle is not lyght of the seare lyght of the seare ='easily made to "go off", readily yielding to any impulse'; see OED s.v. sear n1, 1b. | |
¶Secretary. |
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85 | ¶By all these sym[y]lytudes me-thynkes suerly symylytudes] symblytudes 1530 |
Her owne tayle she shulde occupy | |
Somtyme for nede her honeste saued | |
She wyll wasshe often or she be ones shaued | |
¶Ielowsy. |
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She that paynteth her in starynge apparell starynge ='bright-coloured', or 'glaringly conspicuous'; see OED s.v. staring ppla2, 4. | |
90 | Vse[th] [h]ote wynes and dayly to fare well Vseth] Vse 1530; hote] bote 1530 |
And loues to slepe at after-none-tyde | |
Who lyst stryke trowe ye she wyll not stryde | |
¶Secretary. |
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¶I can not say yf she wyll stryke | |
But yf reason be offered nothynge shall fall besyde | |
95 | For of a trouth as frost engendereth hayle |
Ease and ranke fedynge doth cause a lycorous tayle. | |
¶ Finis |
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