¶ Here beginneth a little treatise called the contraverse between a lover and a jay lately compiled. Though laureate poets in old antiquity Feigned fables under cloudy sentence yet some entituled fruitful morality Some of love wrote great circumstance Some of chevaulrous acts made remembrance Some as good philosophers naturally indited Thus wisely and wittily their time they spended. ¶ Ovid of love made matters wonderful Good to be known for eschewing more evil But Calunace and Tybull with style much painful Tenderly wrote of love delectable Gallus and Sappho been nothing profitable For young folks to read oflusty courage Jest they be taged in Venus' bondage ¶ Cancer flower of rhetoric eloquence Compiled books pleasant and marvelous After him noble Gower expert in science wrote moralities herd and delicious But Lydgates' works are fruitful & sentencyous who of his books hath red the fine He will him call a famus rethorycyne ¶ young Steven Hawse whose soul god pardon Treated of love so clerkly and well To read his works is mine affection which he compiled for Label pusell Remembering stories fruitful and delectable I little or naught expert in poetry Oflamentable love hath made a ditty. ¶ Here behynneth the 〈◊〉. IN an arbere. Late as I were The fowls to here was mine intent Singing in fere. with notes clear They made good cheer On bows bent ¶ Their tewnes sweet Moved me to sleep Ferther to fleet I could not restrain To take my rest Me thought it best It was my lust Still to remain. ¶ The flowers flourished The trees burnysshed The odour me nourished with great suavyte That still I lay All the long day In sport and play By songs of melody. ¶ Methought in slumber I heard a lover without recover crying alas. My loveswikind. That died me bind Hath changed her mind. For no trespass. ¶ with rueful song. His hands he wrong Enduring long. His heart was thrown'. Both earth and heaven. with planets seven. Might here his steven where he died go. ¶ His colour reed was pale as lead Like alshes deed For grievous pain In heart can dare And lothly far In greater care▪ was never man. ¶ His heart was faint. For great complaint. His here he rent without pity. And fell to the ground Often times that stound. with mortal wound He cried on high. ¶ Amator. ¶ O heart unfayne. Thou may complain Of thy leman And lady sweet. For lack of comfort Or goodly sport Thou must resort And wail and weep ¶ O pains outrageous. great and courageous. No mirth solacyous. May you abate But ever to renew. And ever to extewe. She is untrue Alack Alack. ¶ O inward sorrow Both even and morrow Saint George to borrow. Thou hast great wrong without on thought availing naught For love hath wrought. The in such throng ¶ O wonderful love That me died move without reprove Of thought untrue O love right clean As Phoebus beam Sith the first time That I the knew ¶ O love constrained. O love sore pained O love not feigned O love of liking where is thy solace where is thy master where in thy gladness where is thy sweting. ¶ O gentle flower Reclaim thy paramour wounded right sore with loves lance Reclaim reclaim And think no shame Exile disdain From your remembrance ¶ Let pity lead your womanhead And mercy guide your tender age O famus pucelle meek courteous and gentle Seeming to be right well Ofnoble parentage ¶ Return return Behold I mourn was never none borne That love more grieved. Full little it iwis. Know ye I guess what pain it is To love unloved ¶ Alas oh nature why died ye figure. So fair a creature Of flesh and bone Except that she To love would ply And have pity On her true man ¶ O cupyde king Of love and loving great is thy working And violent power constrain constrain To me a gain Mine own leman And paramour. ¶ O Venus high Of gods chief Behold my grief And woeful cheer Redress my smart And cause my sweet heart Shortly revert To her prisoner ¶ O marvelous fortune That health dominion And in thy bandon Every living wight Help to prevail My painful travail. I weep and I wail Both day and night ¶ Sith you me brought To love unsought Me think you aught Be reason good. To wound her sore With dints of armour That pity poor May change her mode. ¶ O death do serve My heart vain to carve That I may starve. My life is lost. He fell in swoon Recovering soon He set him down. Under a thorn. ¶ The author. ¶ The vyrdes about Sange in a rout With to wnes stout. Of armony. Him to assuage Fallynge in rage. Otloves' bondage. For his lady. ¶ could not refrain. His mortal pain But died complain With heaviness Alas said he What cause hath she Unkind to be. For no trespass. ¶ Graculus loquitur amatori. ¶ In that affray. A jangling jay Sange on a spray Both two and fro Thou careful man That doth complain In heart unfayne Why dost thou so. ¶ Amator. ¶ With woeful cheer And sorrows sere. Was naught afere Truth to report That unkindness Of his may stress Was painfulness. Without comfort. ¶ Graculus. ¶ To set thy mind On one unkind. Thy wits were blind yet nevertheless Thyself to spill Do way be still For after trouble Cometh joyfulness. ¶ Exile despair To mirth repair For sorrow and care Availeth naught To good request Be alway priest For wit is be'st when it is bought ¶ Amator. ¶ Her beauty pure And countenance demure. Is printed sure In mine heart rote No remedy But I must die without that she will be my boat. ¶ with great torment And sighs fervent I make complaint To god above. was never wight. So doulefully dight By day nor night And all for love. ¶ Erly or late No rest I take But for her sake Mourneth still Trusting for grace But none can purchase Adieu alas God knoweth my will. ¶ Graculus. ¶ Sith fortune's chance Hath made instance The to advance In venus' play Beware again Of false disdain That with guile and train will the betray. ¶ when thou weenest least And trusteth best Thou shalt be first deceived in deed For love is vain And never certain But full of pain. And folly to meed. ¶ Love is delicious Love is primrose Love is more precious Than gold and tapasyon Love is a pretty cage For fowls of tender age Love is but dotage when we have all done. ¶ Love is great pleasure To every young creature Love is a treasure. That wasteth fast Love is comfortable Love is oft variable Love is deceivable And naught at the last ¶ what thing is love. That so doth move. Fain would I prove How it doth come Nothing love is But nature I guess And from nature it comes. By faithful affection. ¶ Though nature move And bid the love yet wisdom would prove. Or it be hot when fortune sour Doth on the lower Thou getteest an hour In cock lorels boat. ¶ advise the well. And take good counsel Thou hast free will To rule and guide For love is dangerous False and courageous And as sure as a mouse Tied at a thread. ¶ I can not contrary But man's most felicity Is close in femynyte By affection natural yet truly it is but folly To love continually A thing that is transitory And not perpetual ¶ Thou mayst take ensample. Of Graundamoure and Grysyll jason and Isaphyll Ferther to pursue Of Tysbe and Pyramys Helyne and Paris Scylla and Mynoys That were lovers true ¶ what is become Of Phylys and Demophon Alcumena and Alphytyon. with many thousands more Polyxena and Achilles. Dyanyra and hercules where is there great gladness And amiable joy ¶ where is Semele and jocasta. Cleoparte and Ixonya Semyrramys and Syluya So fair of favour. what availeth the beauty 〈◊〉 Of Medea and Lucrece Sith all thing is vanities. And fadeth as a flower. ¶ while fortune was friendly And turned her wheel kindly They had moche felicity. In love and liking. great was their affection In carnal delectation Now are they all go. For all their loving. ¶ Penelope was faithful Cyrcys was deceitful Neobe was careful And Hester was good Their padyandes are past And ours wasteth fast Nothing doth ay last But the grace of god. ¶ Therefore well consider This worlds joy is slidder Nothing is more sweeter And decayeth so soon with reason be content For fere thou repent To my counsel consent And let love alone. ¶ Amator. ¶ O foul of fairness. Sweet are thy stories That thou dost express To me in dolour Yet nevertheless Nature is fresh And woundeth me doubtless with dints of armour ¶ I know right well No love is durable when fortune unstable turneth her face On wretches to writhe And her power kith. Be they wroth or blithe She changeth their solace. ¶ yet my poor heart Can not away start From the penetable dart Of blind cupido His daughter will woundeth me still with pains unmedsynable where ever I go. ¶ Thus am I wrapped. And in woe unbelapped Such love hath me trapped. without any cure Sir Trystram the good For his leman I soude Moore sorrow never bode Then I do endure. ¶ Lamwell and Lamaroke. Gawayne and Launcelorte Garathe and Craddocke with the table round. Sir bevis/ sir Eglamoure Sir Terry/ sir Tryamoure In more grievous dolour was never in bound ¶ Phedra and theseus Progne and Thereus Pasyphe and Taurus who liketh to prove Canace and Machareus Galathea and Pamphylus was never more dolorous. And all for true love. ¶ Dydo and Deydamya Leda and Lanynya Marra and Medusa And Tomyrys so hind. Candacies and Cyrene Calysto and Cydyppe was never none like me In true heart and mind. ¶ Treusa and Cletemnestra Smylax and Latona bibles and Atalanta Ofarcady the queen Daphnys Hypermestra Dyrce and Cloylea Hypolyte and Dyana All these lovers hath been ¶ I have searched of late Many poet laureate. That divers books died make And stories registered Yet in comparison. Of my true affecoyon Scarcely can I find one Sith Troilus reigned ¶ That was true and faithful. In love that is painful without fraud dysceytefull Or privy strife. Therefore as I find I will show my mind Right few of Gryseldes kind Is now left on live. ¶ This world is altered conditions are changed As is daily proved By true experience Trust is now treachery And love is but Lechery. All things decayeth daily ¶ without repentance ¶ Though I more speak My heart will break So love will wreak On me with tene Far well delectation welcome my fortune I must be content with reason As other hath been. ¶ Graculus. ¶ For thy distress And gevynesse. I will express In words plain That women frail Are seldom leale The truth to tell I will not lain. ¶ Thy will consent And soon repent It is them lente And given by nature. Therefore beware To prove over far For to loves danger They will the flatter ¶ Their words soft blandishing Are quaint with flattering And with countenance feigning They can make it nice Covered above falsely Forging frauds craftily That they have brought many To a foles' paradise. ¶ Like serpent's furious Among flowers odious. Their venom hideous Remaineth still The seugre appeareth The gall behind leaveth what man that proveth Shall like them fullyll ¶ Their speeches is amiable Their hearts are changeable Their minds are variable with mutability They are worthy no praise They are so tempered with always And as Guydo says They are never in surety ¶ Interes they seem careful And inwardly they are dysceytefull Right few that be faithful For sickerness They will speak fair outward And think the contrary Thus do they alway vary without doubleness. ¶ Record of Cresyde whom Troilus loved And was sore pained Canset doth tell Her love was feigned And wortely changed. And given to Dyomede with greeks to dwell ¶ who trusteth them best He shall be the first Desceyved I trust By fortune even Than may he go where he came fro with sorrow and Woe jacke unshryven. ¶ Oft times they smile In loves style And doth beguile young lovers faint with sports and plays But now a days He that truth says He shall be shent ¶ Very few or none. Is content with one But as the moan Oftentimes they change Therefore let a man. Do as well as he can For little britain Is no grange ¶ search scripture and polesy Crownacle and philosophy The frauds of femynyte with guileful train. Hath brought to confusion Many a chief champion As Samson and Solomon whose stories are plain ¶ David the conqueror Arystotle the philosopher Hercules and Arthure. with many other more. Defamed was craftily through women's frailty Answer let us see Is it not so. ¶ Many cities and towns Many countries and regions Many Earls Dukes and Barons Destroyed hath been Many a king and Emperor And bold knights of adventure Hath died with dolour And all for women ¶ Pryamys and Paris Hector and Achilles Patraclus and Palomydes Dyepholus a roy Many a noble freke Of Asye and of Greek For fair Helyns sake was slain at the siege of troy ¶ How should I more write Or yet indite My heart doth weep To think thereupon what mischief what murmur what slander and manslaughter what disdain and what murdre That hath been for women ¶ Ferther to proceed Me think no need To register in deed Their properties perilous Yet who would hear Mocraftes of them sere Let him read and lere Guydo and Secundus ¶ Thus in conclysyon women are confusion And final destruction To man at the end yet shame it is To blame them doubtless For as clerks says They have it of kind. ¶ Therefore remember Their young ages tender. That to love is eager with lusty courage. To love in youth Is pleasure enough And in age forsooth It is but dotage ¶ Trust not their words. Nor merry boards For knights and lords deceived have been. They are oft mutable They are false and variable Therefore trust them but little For all their fair eyen. ¶ Take comfort good And change thy mode For by the sweet road They turn as the wide On the see I have bend And many jeoperdyes seen what need I more to reckon Thou knowest my mind ¶ Remember well I say I must away Passed is the day I may not abide She took her flight And flew forth right And the woeful wight Fast after go ¶ The author ¶ with that I awoke And took my book thereon to look was my solace Like as I heard I was not afeard But word by word I wrote this treatise. ¶ Finis. ¶ Lenuoye of the author. ¶ Golytell book with rudeness replete Present the humbly before lecture literal Excusing thy maker by Way or by street And pronounce thy sentence with language liberal Pray them to correct thy pains rustical For made thou was of short advisement Be marvelous instance of a lover verament. ¶ Feigned thou art with words approbrious. Regystring the acts and 〈◊〉 of women That some men will Juge the envious. Nay truly than were he to blame This is his mind and intendment certain Where as they read and find them guilty Let them amend this counsel giveth he. ¶ Who liketh thy sentence and pondureth it right Contecting well in his remembrance know may he truly that by a lady bright Thou was compiled by pastimes pleasant. Such great unkindness which caused variance Was showed to a lover called. F. T. Her name also beginneth with. A. B. ¶ Thus endeth the treatise of the lover and a Jaye, lately compiled by me Thomas Feylde. ¶ Imprinted at London in fleet street at the sign of the Son by Wynkyn de word.