Representative English Comedies, v. 1. From the beginnings to Shakespeare
General
Representative English Comedies, v. 1. From the beginnings to Shakespeare
English drama (Comedy)
_Jupyter._ As longe as dyscrecyon so well doth you gyde
Obedyently to use your dewte,
Dout ye not we shall your savete provyde,
Your grevys we have harde, wherfore we sent for ye
To receyve answere, eche man in his degre, 1160
And fyrst to content most reason yt is,
The fyrste man that sewde, wherfore marke ye this,
Oft shall ye have the wether clere and styll
To hunt in for recompens of your payne. D v
Also you marchauntes shall have myche your wyll. 1165
For oft-tymes, when no wynde on lande doth remayne,
Yet on the see pleasaunt cooles you shall obtayne.
And syns your huntynge maye rest in the nyght,
Oft shall the wynde then ryse, and before daylyght
It shall ratyll downe the wood, in suche case 1170
That all ye rangers the better lyve may;
And ye water-myllers shall obtayne this grace
Many tymes the rayne to fall in the valey,
When at the selfe tymes on hyllys we shall purvey
Fayre wether for your wyndmilles, with such coolys of wynde
As in one instant both kyndes of mylles may grynde. 1176
And for ye fayre women, that close wether wold have,
We shall provyde that ye may suffycyently
Have tyme to walke in, and your beauty save;
And yet shall ye have, that lyveth by laundry, 1180
The hote sonne oft ynough your clothes to dry.
Also ye, praty chylde, shall have both frost and snow,
Now marke this conclusyon, we charge you arow.[221]
Myche better have we now devysed for ye all
Then ye all can perceve, or coude desyre. 1185
Eche of you sewd to have contynuall
Suche wether as his crafte onely doth requyre,
All wethers in all places yf men all tymes myght hyer,
Who could lyve by other? what is this neglygens
Us to atempt in suche inconvenyens. 1190
Now, on the tother syde, yf we had graunted
The full of some one sewt and no mo,
And from all the rest the wether had forbyd,
Yet who so hadde obtayned had wonne his owne wo.
There is no one craft can preserve man so, 1195
But by other craftes, of necessyte,
He muste have myche parte of his commodyte.
All to serve at ones and one destroy a nother, D v _b_
Or ellys to serve one and destroy all the rest,
Nother wyll we do the tone nor the tother 1200
But serve as many, or as few, as we thynke best;
And where, or what tyme, to serve moste or leste,
The dyreccyon of that doutles shall stande
Perpetually in the power of our hande.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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