Produced by Louise Hope, David Starner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://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 for following m/n] 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 unless otherwise noted. Errors and details are given at the end of the text.] ¶The Conuercyon of swerers. [Illustration] The frutefull sentẽce & the noble werkes To our doctryne wrytẽ ĩ olde ãtyquyte By many gret & ryght notable clerkes Groũded on reason and hygh auctoryte Dyde gyue vs example by good moralyte To folowe the trace of trouth and ryght wysnes Leuynge our synne and mortall wrechednes By theyr wrytynge doth to vs appere The famous actes of many a champyon In the courte of fame renowned fayre and clere And some endyted theyr entencyon Cloked in coloure harde in construccyon Specyally poetes vnder cloudy fygures Couered the trouthe of all theyr scryptures So hystoryagraphes all the worthy dedes Of kynges and knyghtes dyde put in wrytynge To be in mende for theyr memoryall medes How sholde we now haue knowledgynge Of thynges past / but by theyr endytynge Wherfore we ought to prayse them doubteles That spent theyr tyme in suche good busynes. Amonge all other my good mayster Lydgate The eloquent poete and monke of bury Dyde bothe contryue and also translate Many vertues bokes to be in memory Touchynge the trouthe well and sentencyously But syth that his deth was intollerable I praye god rewarde hym in lyfe perdurable Amonge all thynges nothynge so prouffytable As is scyence with the sentencyous scrypture For worldly rychesse is often transmutable As dayly dothe appere well in vre Þet scyens a bydeth and is moost sure After pouerte to attayne grete rychesse Scyens is cause of promocion doubtles I lytell or nought expert in poetrye Remembrynge my youth so lyght and frayle Purpose to compyle here full breuyatly A lytell treatyse wofull to bewayle The cruell swerers which do god assayle On euery syde his swete body to tere With terryble othes as often as they swere But all for drede plonged in neclygence My penne dothe quake to presume to endyte But hope at laste to recure this scyence Exorteth me ryght hardely to wryte To deuoyde ydlenesse by good appetyte For ydlenesse the grete moder of synne Euery vyce is redy to lette ynne