A Merry Dialogue Declaringe the Properties of Shrowde Shrews and Honest WivesErasmus, Desiderius
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A Merry Dialogue Declaringe the Properties of Shrowde Shrews and Honest Wives
Erasmus, Desiderius
Dialogues, Latin (Medieval and modern) -- Translations into English; Imaginary conversations
Eulalia. wel, what and thou coudest by sorcery make him of a drōkarde
a soober man, of a vnthrifte a good housbande of an ydell losell a towarde
body, woldest thou not doe it?
xantip. yes, hardely, woulde I doe it. But where shoulde I learne
the cunnyng?
Eula. For soth that cōning hast thou in the if thou wouldest
vtter it, thyn must he be, mauger thy head, the towarde ye
makest him, the better it is for the, thou lokest on nothing but on his
leude cōdicions, and thei make the half mad, thou wouldest amende hym
and thou puttest hym farther oute of frame, loke rather on his good
condicions, and so shalt thou make him better. It is to late calagayne
yesterdaie before thou were maryed unto hym. It was tyme to cōsyder
what his fautes were for a women shold not only take her husbande by the
eyes but by the eares. Now it is more tyme to redresse fautes thē to
fynd fautes.
xantt. What woman euer toke her gusband by the eares.
Eulali. She taketh her husbande by the eyes that loketh on nothyng,
but on the beautye and pulcritude of the body. She taketh him by the
eares, that harkeneth diligētly what the common voice sayth by him
xantip. Thy counsaile is good, but it commeth a day after the
faire.
Eula. Yet it commeth time ynough to bringe thyne husbande to a
greate furtheraunce to that shall bee yf God sende you anie frute
togither.
xantippa. We are spede alredy of that.
Eulaly. How long ago.
Xantip. A good whyle ago
Eulalia. How many monethes old is it.
Xantip. It lacketh lytle of. vii.
Eula What a tale is this, ye reken the monethes by nightes and
dayes double.
Xantippa. Not so.
Eula. It can not be none other wyse, yf ye reken from the mariage
day.
xantippa. yea, but what thē, I spake with him before we were
maried.
Eulalia. Be children gotten by speakinge.
xantip. It befell so that he mette me alone and begon to ticke at
me, and tickled me vnder the arme holes and sydes to make me laugh. I
might not awaie with ticklynge, but fell downe backewarde vpon a bedde and
he a lofte, neuer leuinge kyssynge on me, what he did els I can not saye,
but by sayncte Marie within a while after my bely beganne to swell.
Eula. Go now and disprayse thine husbāde whiche yf he gette
children by playe, what wyll he do whē he goeth to it in good ernest.
xantippa, I fere me I am payed agayin.
Eula. Good locke God hath sent a fruitfull grounde, a good tylmā.
Xantip. In that thing he might haue lesse laboure and more thanke.
Eula. Few wyues finde at theyr husbandes in that behalf but were ye
thē sure togither.
xanti. yea that we were
Eula. The offence is the lesse. Is it a man chylde.
xantip. yea.
Eula. He shal make you at one so that ye wil bow & forbere.
What saieth other mē by thin husband, they that be his cōpanions,
they delite with him abrode
xā, They say that he is meruelous gentyl, redy to do euery man
pleasure, liberal and sure to his frende.
Eula. And that putteth me in good cōfort that he wyll be ruled
after our counsayll.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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