Produced by Louise Hope, David Starner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Transcriber’s Note: This e-text includes characters that will only display in UTF-8 (Unicode) text readers: ãẽĩõũỹ = vowel with “tilde” or overline If any of these characters do not display properly--in particular, if the diacritic does not appear directly above the letter--or if the quotation marks in this paragraph appear as garbage, make sure your text reader’s “character set” or “file encoding” is set to Unicode (UTF-8). You may also need to change the default font. Spelling and punctuation are unchanged. A few abbreviations are shown with brackets: [the] = “y” with small “e” directly above it; the more accurate form yͤ may not display correctly in all text readers. [with] = “w” with superscript “t” [that] = two forms, “y” and “þ” (thorn), each with superscript “t”. [us] = “us” abbreviation resembling superscript “9”. Many parts of this text were damaged, especially at the beginnings or ends of lines. One line at the top of a page, shown as a row of asterisks, is entirely missing. Other words have been reconstructed from their surviving portions; the conjectural letters are shown in {braces}. The html version of this e-text shows the reconstructions. Other errors are listed at the end of the text.] [Illustration: The cõforte of louers] The comforte of louers made and compyled by Steuen Hawes somtyme grome of the honourable chambre of our late souerayne lorde kynge Henry [the] seuenth (whose soule god pardon). In the seconde yere of the reygne of our most naturall souerayne lorde kỹge Henry the eyght. [Illustration: & for your sake I shall it take holde this a token y wys] ¶ The prohemye. The gentyll poetes / vnder cloudy fygures Do touche a trouth / and cloke it subtylly Harde is to cõstrue poetycall scryptures They are so fayned / & made sẽtẽcyously For som do wryte of loue by fables pryuely Some do endyte / vpon good moralyte Of chyualrous actes / done in antyquyte Whose fables and storyes ben pastymes pleasaunt To lordes and ladyes / as is theyr lykynge Dyuers to moralyte / ben oft attendaunt And many delyte to rede of louynge Youth loueth aduenture / pleasure and lykynge Aege foloweth polycy / sadnesse and prudence Thus they do dyffre / eche in experyence I lytell or nought / experte in this scyence Compyle suche bokes / to deuoyde ydlenes Besechynge the reders / with all my delygence Where as I offende / for to correct doubtles Submyttynge me to theyr grete gentylnes As none hystoryagraffe / nor poete laureate But gladly wolde folowe / the makynge of Lydgate