These be the inchantementes of Circes, brought out of Italie, to marre mens maners in England: much, by example of ill life, but more by preceptes of fonde bookes, of late translated out of _Italian_ into English, sold in every shop in London, commended by honest titles the soner to corrupt honest maners: dedicated over boldlie to vertuous and honorable personages, the easielier to beguile simple and innocent wittes. It is pitie, that those which have authoritie and charge to allow and disalow bookes to be printed, be no more circumspect herein than they are. Ten Sermons at Paules Crosse do not so moch good for movying men to trewe doctrine, as one of those bookes do harme with inticing men to ill living. Yea, I say farder, those bookes tend not so much to corrupt honest livyng, as they do to subvert trewe Religion. Mo Papistes be made, by your mery bookes of _Italie_, than by your earnest bookes of _Lovain_.... In our forefathers tyme, when Papistrie, as a standyng poole, covered and overflowed all England, fewe bookes were read in our tong, savyng certaine bookes of Chevalrie, as they sayd, for pastime and pleasure, which, as some say, were made in Monasteries, by idle Monkes, or wanton Canons: as one for example, _Morte Arthure_: the whole pleasure of which booke standeth in two speciall poyntes, in open mans slaughter, and bold bawdrye: In which booke those be counted the noblest Knightes, that do kill most men without any quarell, and commit fowlest advoulteres[75] by sutlest shiftes.... This is good stuffe for wise men to laughe at or honest men to take pleasure at. Yet I know, when Gods Bible was banished the Court, and _Morte Arthure_ received into the Princes chamber. What toyes, the dayly readyng of such a booke may worke in the will of a yong gentleman, or a yong mayde, that liveth welthelie and idlelie, wise men can judge, and honest men do pitie. And yet ten _Morte Arthures_ do not the tenth part of so much harme, as one of these bookes made in _Italie_, and translated in England.... * * * * * NEW-FANGLED DRESS. If some Smithfeild ruffian take up some strange going, some new mowing with the mouth: some wrenchyng with the shoulder, some brave proverbe: some fresh new othe, that is not stale but will run round in the mouth: some new disguised garment, or desperate hat, fond in facion, or garish in colour, what soever it cost, how small soever his living be, by what shift soever it be gotten, gotten must it be, and used with the first, or els the grace of it is stale and gone. * * * * * CONTEMPT FOR LEARNING.