The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)Skelton, John
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The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)
Skelton, John
English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700
Man, thou shalt now vnderstand,
Of my head, bothe fote and hand,
Are four c. and fyue thousand
Woundes and sixty;
Fifty and vii.
Were tolde full euen
Vpon my body. 30
Now synge we, &c.
Syth I for loue bought thé so dere,
As thou may se thy self here,
I pray thé with a ryght good chere
Loue me agayne,
That it lykes me
To suffre for thé
Now all this payne.
Now synge we, &c.
Man, vnderstand now thou shall,
In sted of drynke they gaue me gall,
And eysell mengled therwithall, 40
The Jewes fell;
These paynes on me
I suffred for thé
To bryng thé fro hell.
Now synge we, &c.
Now for thy lyfe thou hast mysled,
Mercy to aske be thou not adred;
The lest drop of blode that I for thé bled
Myght clense thé soone
Of all the syn
The worlde within, 50
If thou haddest doone.
Now synge we, &c.
I was more wrother with Judas,
For he wold no mercy aske,
Than I was for his trespas
Whan he me solde;
I was euer redy
To graunt hym mercy,
But he none wolde.
Now synge we, &c.
Lo, how I hold my armes abrode,
Thé to receyue redy isprode![599] 60
For the great loue that I to thé had
Well may thou knowe,
Some loue agayne
I wolde full fayne
Thou woldest to me shewe.
Now synge we, &c.
For loue I aske nothyng of thé
But stand fast in faythe, and syn thou fle,
And payne to lyue in honeste
Bothe nyght and day;
And thou shalt have blys 70
That neuer shall mys
Withouten nay.
Now synge we, &c.
Now, Jesu, for thy great goodnes,
That for man suffred great hardnes,
Saue vs fro the deuyls cruelnes,
And to blys vs send,
And graunt vs grace
To se thy face
Withouten ende.
Now synge we, &c.
[598] _Now synge we, &c._] From _Bibliographical Miscellanies_ (edited
by the Rev. Dr. Bliss), 1813, 4to, p. 48, where it is given from an
imperfect volume (or fragments of volumes) of black-letter _Christmas
Carolles_, partly (but probably not wholly) printed by Kele.
[599] _isprode_] _Bib. Mis._ “I sprede.”
[“CCCCXXXII.
“_Codex membranaceus in 4to, seculo xiv scriptus, figuris illuminatis,
sed injuria temporis pene deletis ornatus, in quo continetur_,
I. Polichronitudo basileos _sive_ historia belli quod Ricardus I. gessit
contra Sarracenos, _Gallice_.
_Hoc opus Skeltono ascribitur a Cl. Stanleio; primo autem intuitu satis
liquet codicem ipsum longe ante tempus quo claruit Skeltonus fuisse
scriptum, ab eoque regi dono missum, ut testantur sequentes versus
diverso et recenti caractere primæ paginæ inscripti_:”[600]]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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