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Here begynneth the Epigrams. |
|
A Man is lyke | |
A blaste of wynde | |
Which at the fyrst bloweth softe | |
And then with-in | |
5 | A lytle whyle |
It commeth vp alofte | |
And whan that it | |
Hath bowen the full bowen the full ='bent you over completely'? See OED s.v bow v1. | |
With all the force it maye | |
10 | At length the strength |
And myghte therof | |
Doth vanishe cleane awaye. | |
THe childe beinge gotten | |
Then is it after borne | |
15 | And commeth so to mans state |
When twentye yeares be worne | |
And for the space of fourty yeares | |
A man he doeth remayne | |
But when thre score yeare, is spent | |
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20 | He is a childe agayne |
For though he liue an hundred yeare | |
Full in bredeth and length | |
Yet shal he be after that tyme | |
Without pleasure or strength | |
25 | And at the laste euen in an houre |
He shall and muste nedes dye | |
And al his humours, hotte and moyste | |
Shalbe both colde and drye. | |
I Muse muche in my mynde | |
30 | That whiche I am loth to tell |
Howe ryche-men shalbe punished | |
When that they come in hell | |
I speake not of the good rych-men | |
Who prayse-worthy are | |
35 | But I do meane the wycked sorte |
Who doe destroye and marre | |
The common-welth in euery place | |
Where-as their landes doe lye | |
And haue no pitie on the poore | |
40 | Although they wepe and crye |
I praye to God to geue them grace | |
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From wickednes to turne | |
So that they do not come where-as | |
Continuall flames do burne. | |
45 | YF my death dyd lye |
As neare and as nye | |
Unto my hearte with-in | |
As doeth myne eye my nose | |
My legge vnto my hose | |
50 | Or fleashe vnto my skynne |
Then woulde I as muche ioye | |
As Hector dyd in Troye | |
Or Herculus in Spayne | |
For I knowe and truste | |
55 | To rise out of the duste |
And come to lyfe agayne. | |
A Man is, but fleashe or erth | |
What-euer is his name | |
And though he be, a lord by berth | |
60 | Yet is he but the same |
And at the laste, within hys graue | |
He must lay downe his hedde | |
He shal not vse, no chaunge to haue | |
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Neyther of house nor bedde. | |
65 | FAme vnto Fortune, |
Compared maye be | |
For Fortune with Fame, | |
Doeth euer agree | |
Fortune doeth giue men | |
70 | Eyther good lucke or yll |
And Fame doeth blowe them, | |
Whereso-euer she wyll | |
Fortune doeth make some, | |
And some she doeth marre | |
75 | Fame bloweth not al men, |
But some she blowes farre | |
Some men she bloweth | |
Ouer dales and downes | |
And spredeth their names | |
80 | In cities and townes |
Some for their connynge | |
And some for their strength | |
And some for their ryches | |
She bloweth out a length | |
85 | Yet some there were also, The fragment breaks off at this point in the copytext. |