A Neweyeres gift to the Rebellious persons in the North partes of England.  
Primo januar. 1570.  
¶ seen and allowed, according to the order appoynted.   

A newyeres gift to the Rebellious persons in the North.  Foelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum. 
THe happy wight, who happy still  
Would live in happy state,  
Ought take aduise, & teach his will  
By fall of others fate.  
For he by right may happy height,  
Who happy can eschew  
By others pain the care that would  
Through want of care ensue.  
And none so dead I deme, but demes  
That caytyffe cursed thrice,  
Whom no experience can persuade  
Nor reason to be wise.  
since only cause of quiet case  
Dependeth on the care,  
Which doth forecast the much mishaps,  
The diuers fonde misfare  
And ill success that doth pursue  
Thunwyse conceit of those  
Who rashly bent, distemper peace,  
And quiet state depose.  
Unhappy men, for so by right  
You do deserve your name,  
What hath prouokte your wilful heartes  
To work your proper shane?  
What hath compelled you to disdain  
The long preserved peace  
Your native country hath inioyde?  
What makes your service cease  
Unto your Prince, and to resign  
The same to Princes for?  
What moves your stomachs to procure  
Your native soil such woe?  
You wote yourselves the ill success  
That rebelles still obtain, 
The success of Rebels.   
You know the proof was always found  
To work their proper pain.  
Whereby experience doth inform  
The perils of your case,  
And warns you, not to tracked the st●ppes  
Of former traytors trace.  
And why accursed, be not you  
By their deserved spoil  
Aduysde to leave your rash devise  
And shun your shameful foil?  
You further know that no attempt  
Can prosprously proceed  
Except that reason bear the sway  
And do conduct the deed.  
And you devoid of reason haue  
Assaulted such a fact,  
As reason scorns to be comprysde  
In such a senseless act.  
Whereby you plainly prove yourselves  
Uphappy cursed wyghtes,  
And thralled slaves to shameless will  
And clokt before your sights:  
Because you neither will be warnde  
By others perils past, 
The conclusion proving their folly.   
Nor yet by present reason taught  
Nor nature made a gast.  
I muse no less what matter should  
compel you to conspire,  
Then I do marvell what conceit  
did flatter your desire.  
A gracious Lady is your queen,  
A Princes loving right,  
In mind as meek as pitiful,  
And never wrought you spyght.  
You know yourselves in words discrete, 
objections.   
And in her deeds so just,  
That void of each suspicious thought  
She minded least mistrust.  
In quiet state you also lyude  
And wrong hath nere suppressed,  
Your wished wealth, in careless ease  
You might haue took your rest.  
And what hath moude your grateles hearts  
Such recompense to make,  
As for her mercies, her despoil  
And wrack to undertake?  
Oh feendes vnnaturaller far  
Then Polyphemos was,  
Whose teeth deuourde the tender flesh  
Of men, you tigers pass.  
It had ben good you cursed imps 
A just exclamation   
That death had ben your hire  
In mothers wombs, or that your births  
Had ben in broylyng fire:  
Then should your pride not haue presumde  
Upon so lofty pray 
The cause therof.   
Nor you haue purchased to yourselves  
Your further worse decay.  
Oh senseless, think what hye abuse  
Hath blinded your conceit,  
And ponder well the whose discourse  
Of your pretended feat. 
A persuasion to respect   
And you shall then perceive and see  
No doubt yf you surmise  
What evil quarrel hath provoked  
Your doings to despise. 
The disobediens to the Prince, is a disdain of the common wealth.   
The common wealth of native land  
In disobedience shown  
Unto your sovereign Princes grace  
Your duties not yknowne.  
And think that yf it ambition is  
That hath deceaude your wits,  
How you are moylde in Plutoes lake  
Amongst a thousand fyttes. 
A dissuasion fro● ambitio● in discrybyng th● passions therof.   
now thorough vain rebellious hope  
To elevated pride  
Araysde, and straight through pondered fear  
Your cause of hope denyde:  
And then with spur of conscience pryckt  
And with disquiet mind  
again distempered and ytost  
In sundry passions kind:  
supposing now of haughty wealth,  
And thinking then of shane,  
now lusty life, now purchased death,  
Then fed in hope of famed:  
And sometime moude through blind conceat  
In corrage to prevail,  
When as again the same perceaude  
You fear, you faint, and fail.  
And then your thoughts considering of  
Your travell and your pain,  
Comparyng both in your attempt  
Your damage, and your gain:  
You loath to think what irksome toil,  
What turmoil, cark, and care  
Doth burden you, and what disease  
You daily must forbore.  
And then you see, or at the least  
May see what vain accounts  
You make, ambitiously to gape  
For gain, when there amountes  
Unto your pay the loss of goods  
And hazard of your life, 
The fruits of rebellion.   
And great effusion of your blooddes,  
The only fruits of strife.  
Oh blinded then, and may you know  
Your quarrels to be ill? 
A dissuasion by exclamation against their wilfulness   
And may you see the deuyllyshe proof  
Of your ambitious will?  
And may you understand the shane  
Of your rebellious deeds?  
And may you view the great offence  
That from the same proceeds?  
And may you live in quiet state,  
In favour of your God,  
And grace of queen and countrymen,  
And yet will coin a rod,  
wherewith to scourge and whip yourselves?  
Oh foolish, much to blame,  
Who may in wealth deserve renow●●e,  
And yet incur defame.  
You know full well, that many by  
Ambition haue decayed,  
Who might in haughty plight haue lyud●  
And rich estate haue stayed.  
As eke you can not but confess  
yourselves at wished ease  
To spend your dayes yf you hast list: 
persuasion by presidents.   
And could not this appease  
Your lofty stomachs to haue thought  
Upon the shameful fall  
And ruynous despoil of such  
Ambitious wicked all  
( As haue through their presumptuous pride  
Possessed worse degree)  
But that you likewise will presume  
like wicked imps to be?  
Oh ponder of the vain abuse,  
consider of the case,  
And see howe such your rash pretence  
Nought tends but to deface  
yourselves, and weighing you shall deme  
No less then I suppose,  
That to yourselves, yourselves remain  
N● less then deadly foes.  
And whilst your pride provides to mount  
A loft unto the skies, 
persuasion by presumption.   
Your persons shalbe forced to couch  
Whereas the lowest lies.  
Can not you wisely bear in mind  
That rich is the content?  
And why should not suffisaunce serve  
Your hungers to prevent? 
〈◇〉 ●onfu●●tion to ambition   
The golden mean is free from thrall,  
Because that no excess  
Nor needy want may once extend  
His measure to oppress.  
And who that highest sekes to clyme,  
Attaynes the greatest fall:  
The greedy likewise who doth snatche,  
Full e●tsoones loseth all.  
Let therfore measure rule your minds,  
And yf ambition move  
Your hungry heartes to greedy thoughts,  
restrain your wills to prove:  
And feed not fancy with the bait  
Of fables, rather fear  
Lest that the burden be more big  
Then you can bide to bear.  
Thus think on this, and yf the same  
Hath caused you to rebel,  
You shall perceive howe blind conceit  
Your reason doth expel. 
Ambition the lykeliest to b● the caus● of their rebellion   
Of which presumption chiefly doth  
You traitorously detect  
Esteemyng such your greedy pride  
Of your abuse theffect:  
Because that no occasion hath  
given cause whereby you should  
Against your sovereign prince presume 
The reason therof.   
To bear yourselves so bold:  
Or seek reuenge on native soil  
As though as such offence  
Your country had committed late  
As you by your pretence  
would now correct, Oh traytors you  
amend yourselves in time,  
And rather seek for to avoyde  
The horror of your crime,  
Then for to cavil with the clause  
That doth condemn by right  
yourselves for traytors to your queen  
And country, 
An accu●ation of ●heir ex●u●e.  as you height:  
You say for order good you seek  
To haue at settled stay  
The common wealth, that wise aduise  
May only bear the sway.  
And yet your own endeavours all,  
Do interrupt the peace,  
The very means and redy ways  
Misorder to increase.  
And chiefly you disordered do  
disquiet orders square,  
Which is maintained by the peace  
That voydes unquiet care.  
Do tyrants teach their peoples heartes  
To follow pities trade?  
Or is it seen that wyttie laws  
Of foolish men be made?  
Or can a drunkard gravely yield  
An answer to the wise?  
Or may a fool in weighty things  
Declare a good devise?  
As they, even so like power haue you  
Good order for to plant  
In common wealth: when as your wits  
And works all order want.  
You also earnestly pretend  
As with religious face  
To roote out schisms, and error void,  
And set the truth in place.  
Yet venomous deceivers, least  
You mind the same intent:  
But make religion for a cloak  
To cover that is ment.  
And under subtle clause contain  
A venomous devise,  
As each may see who marketh howe  
Your cauels do arise.  
For though you stood in maintenance  
Of truth, as you not so,  
But in such false opinion err,  
As is to truth a foe:  
Yet ought you not against your prince  
A weapon for to bear,  
since that the perfect love of God  
consisteth in the fear  
Of him, and in the duty done  
Unto the rulyng throne  
Of earthly magistrates, whereto  
The scriptures bind each one.  
But you rebellious void of grace,  
As not in your defence  
Through any cause compellyng you  
devise a vain pretence:  
But make a quarrel, and arise  
against your Princes might,  
Whose state you seem for to disdain,  
And dealings to dispyght.  
Oh blinded you, and do you deme  
That of a godly son,  
Who sees ●is father do amiss,  
It were a thing well done  
That he his father should correct  
Or punish? no you know,  
Much less likewise should you presume  
like rigour for to show  
against your princess, who would guide  
Your footsteppes to the light:  
But wilful subiectes you despise  
The day, and love the night.  
And further, though the wicked syer  
should seem for to provoke  
His well disposed son to ill  
Through force of stripe or stroke:  
think you the child in his defence  
May offer stripe again?  
No, no, his bound duty is  
For to forbear the pain.  
And in like case the subiectes ought  
Their sovereign to obey,  
As to forbear, and not reuenge,  
Though in their power they may.  
For as the child by nature is  
Unto the father bound,  
And as it is the fathers right  
Of son to be renownde:  
So likewise are the subiectes thrall  
Unto their Princes will,  
By perfect duty to obey,  
forbear, and honor still.  
And therfore howe much you to blame  
As traytors to rebel  
against your Princes( who never sought  
Your conscience to compel:  
Except you troublously descried  
the same) you may perceive,  
As also see what blind abuse  
Your senses doth deceive:  
When having such a matron meek,  
who justly doth conduct,  
And mercifully teach the right,  
And wisely truth instruct:  
You will not( as your duty doth  
compel you) once attend:  
But traitorously with weapons seek  
Your fondness to defend.  
Oh wytlesse blind how dare you thus  
To deal? can neither love  
Of country cause you to relent,  
Nor duty make remove  
Your stubborn wills, nor fear compel  
you, madness to forsake,  
Nor yet remorse of conscience cause  
You leave to undertake  
Such ill attempt, nor lykelyhod  
Of your deserved fall,  
provoke you to be terrifide  
therein no whit at all:  
But that you wilfully withstand  
The force of Princes power,  
And nought regard the common wealth,  
But seek for to devour  
The gyltlesse blood, and to despoil  
The maintenance of truth?  
Oh careless men, what heart so hard  
But this your lewdness ruth?  
Respect howe through your perverse acts  
For want of quiet stay,  
What great misorder will arise  
Unto the realms decay.  
As likewise view what madness seems  
Your travels to possess,  
For to pretend, who subiectes be,  
Your Princes to suppress,  
Or to correct, as though yf that  
She error should maintain,  
It were your duty with the rod  
To work your Princes pain. 
persuasion by description of the discommodities of rebellion.   
As likewise think howe you disturb  
The cause of common wealth,  
When as you ought employ your pain  
For to devise the health  
Therof, as also howe you seem  
Your country for to hate,  
With such contention which disdaynes  
Your countreys quiet state.  
And further, way the great reproach  
You reap to english soil,  
And what an entrance you haue made  
For foes to work our spoil.  
As also ponder what defame  
Unto yourselves you breed  
Through your abuse, and to your stocks  
What shane there will proceed.  
And lastly think vpon thaccompt  
The which you shall restore  
For your offence to mighty God,  
And howe that still the more  
You do offend, the greater is  
The reckoning to be made:  
These yf you way, no doubt the thought  
Therof will soon dissuade  
Your stubborn heartes from such abuse,  
As long through foggye mists  
Haue blearde your eyes, and now the cause  
remains of your resistes.  
Which now I wish you to respect,  
Although somewhat to late  
It is: and to avoyde your harms,  
And eanestly to hate  
Your former acts: and with your heartes  
repentant, for to sue  
Of God for pardon, that as time  
Hath made the year a new:  
So likewise may you be renewed  
In spirit, that you may think  
Your last yeres acts so unsavoury, as  
For stalenes they do stink:  
And so become retained imps  
To God, with patience bear  
Such iustice as by your deserts  
Your sovereign shall refer,  
For better tis to yield your lives  
Unto your Princes will,  
since wickedly you haue deserude  
Your deaths, in doing ill:  
Then for to die in quarrel such  
As enemy to good,  
would also purchase to yourselves  
The answer of much blood.  
And sure I am that in our queen  
remains such mercies store,  
As unto you, then you deserve  
Imparted shalbe more.  
This wrote your friend, a wyshyng friend  
Unto his native soil:  
Who craves your frendships to befrende  
yourselves, and fear your foil.  
Edmond Eluiden.   

Imprinted at London in Powles churchyard at the sign of love and Death, by richard Watkyns.