English poetry -- History and criticism; Poetry -- Early works to 1800
they haue nothing to doo, and yet will make themselues so occupied and
ouerladen in the Princes affaires, as it is a great matter to haue a
couple of wordes with them, when notwithstanding they lye sleeping on
their beds all an after noone, or sit solemnly at cardes in their
chambers, or enterteyning of the Dames, or laughing and gibing with their
familiars foure houres by the clocke, whiles the poore suter desirous of
his dispatch is aunswered by some Secretarie or page _il fault attendre,
Monsieur_ is dispatching the kings businesse into Languedock, Prouence
Piemont, a common phrase with the Secretaries of France. Or as I haue
obserued in many of the Princes Courts of Italie, to seeme idle when they
be earnestly occupied & entend to nothing but mischieuous practizes, and
do busily negotiate by coulor of otiation. Or as others of them that go
ordinarily to Church and neuer pray to winne an opinion of holinesse: or
pray still apace, but neuer do good deede, and geue a begger a penny and
spend a pound on a harlot, to speake faire to a mans face, and foule
behinde his backe, to set him at his trencher and yet sit on his skirts
for so we vse to say by a fayned friend, then also to be rough and
churlish in speach and apparance, but inwardly affectionate and fauouring,
as I haue sene of the greatest podestates and grauest iudges and
Presidentes of Parliament in Fraunce.
These & many such like disguisings do we find in mans behauiour, &
specially in the Courtiers of forraine Countreyes, where in my youth I was
brought vp, and very well obserued their maner of life and conuersation,
for of mine owne Countrey I haue not made so great experience. Which
parts, neuerthelesse, we allow not now in our English maker, because we
haue geuen him the name of an honest man, and not of an hypocrite: and
therefore leauing these manner of dissimulations to all base-minded men, &
of vile nature or misterie, we doe allow our Courtly Poet to be a
dissembler only in the subtilties of his arte: that is, when he is most
artificiall, so to disguise and cloake it as it may not appeare, nor seeme
to proceede from him by any studie or trade of rules, but to be his
naturall: nor so euidently to be descried, as euery ladde that reades him
shall say he is a good scholler, but will rather haue him to know his arte
well, and little to vse it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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