The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)

Name: The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)
Author: Skelton, John

Skelton, John

English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700

_A cæcitate cordis_,
  In the Latyne synge we,
  _Libera nos, Domine_!
    But this madde Amalecke,
  Lyke to a Mamelek,[183]
  He regardeth lordes
  No more than potshordes;
  He is in suche elacyon
  Of his exaltacyon,                                                   480
  And the supportacyon
  Of our souerayne lorde,
  That, God to recorde,
  He ruleth all at wyll,
  Without reason or skyll:
  How be it the[184] primordyall
  Of his wretched originall,
  And his base progeny,
  And his gresy genealogy,
  He came of the sank royall,                                          490
  That was cast out of a bochers stall.
    But how euer he was borne,
  Men wolde haue the lesse scorne,
  If he coulde consyder
  His byrth and rowme togeder,[185]
  And call to his mynde
  How noble and how kynde
  To him he hathe founde
  Our souereyne lorde, chyfe grounde
  Of all this prelacy,                                                 500
  And set hym nobly
  In great auctoryte,
  Out from a low degre,
  Whiche he can nat[186] se:
  For he was parde
  No doctor of deuinyte,
  Nor doctor of the law,
  Nor of none other saw;
  But a poore maister of arte,
  God wot, had lytell parte                                            510
  Of the quatriuials,
  Nor yet of triuials,
  Nor of philosophy,
  Nor of philology,
  Nor of good pollycy,
  Nor of astronomy,
  Nor acquaynted worth a fly
  With honorable Haly,
  Nor with royall Ptholomy,
  Nor with Albumasar,                                                  520
  To treate of any star
  Fyxt or els mobyll;
  His Latyne tonge dothe hobbyll,
  He doth but cloute and cobbill
  In Tullis faculte,
  Called humanyte;
  Yet proudly he dare pretende
  How no man can him amende:
  But haue ye nat[187] harde this,
  How an one eyed man is                                               530
  Well syghted when
  He is amonge blynde men?
    Than, our processe for to stable,
  This man was full vnable
  To reche to suche degre,
  Had nat[188] our prynce be
  Royall Henry the eyght,
  Take him in suche conceyght,
  That he set him on heyght,
  In exemplyfyenge                                                     540
  Great Alexander the kynge,
  In writynge as we fynde;
  Whiche of his royall mynde,
  And of his noble pleasure,
  Transcendynge out of mesure,
  Thought to do a thynge
  That perteyneth to a kynge,
  To make vp one of nought,
  And made to him be brought
  A wretched poore man,                                                550
  Whiche his lyuenge wan
  With plantyng of lekes
  By the dayes and by the wekes,
  And of this poore vassall
  He made a kynge royall,
  And gaue him a realme to rule,
  That occupyed a showell,
  A mattoke, and a spade,
  Before that he was made
  A kynge, as I haue tolde,                                            560
  And ruled as he wolde.
  Suche is a kynges power,
  To make within an hower,
  And worke suche a myracle,
  That shall be a spectacle
  Of renowme and worldly fame:

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 2 (of 2)

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