The Ship of Fools, Volume 1-2 by Sebastian Brant (love story books to read .txt) 📖
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Yet ar they all dede: ce monde est choce vayne.
Where ar the Phylosophers and Poetis lawreat
The great Grammaryens and pleasant oratours.
Ar they nat dede after the same fourme and rate
As ar all these other myghty conquerours
Where ar theyr Royalmes theyr ryches and treasours
Left to theyr heyres: and they be gone certayne
And here haue left theyr riches and honours
So haue they proued that this worlde is but vayne.
So I conclude bycause of breuyte
That if one sought the worlde large and wyde
Therin sholde be founde no maner of dere
That can alway in one case suerly byde
Strength, honour, riches cunnynge and beautye
All these decay, dayly: thoughe we complayne
Omnia fert etas, both helth and iolyte
We all shall dye: ce monde est choce vayne.
*
Of predestynacion.
[Illustration: That man that lokyth for to haue a rewarde
Whiche he hath nat deseruyd to obtayne
And lenyth his body vpon a rede forwarde
Whiche for waykenes may hym nat well sustayne
Forsoth this fole may longe so loke in vayne
And on the Crauys he styll shall bacwarde ryde
Cryenge with the doue, whose flyght shall hym ay gyde]
It is vnlawfull, man to be dilygent
Or serchynge goddes workes to set his thought
Howe he hath made the heuen and fyrmament
The erth the see and euery thynge of nought
Yet of some Folys the cause hereof is sought,
Whiche labour also with curyosyte
To knowe the begynnynge of his dyuynyte
These folys forgettynge their owne fragilyte
Wolde loke to knowe the ende of euery thynge
Boldly disputynge in goddys pryuete
And what rewarde is ordeynyd for men lyuynge
Of many folys this is the moste musynge
Whiche labour dayly with besy cure and payne.
To knowe what god doth discerne and or ordayne
Therfore in this part I shall dispyse and blame
Unchrafty folys whiche scantly haue ouer sene
Ought of scripture, if they knowe the bokes name
Or els a whyle hath at the Scoles bene
Than bende they the browys and stedfastly they wene
In theyr conceyt that they ar passynge wyse
For all scripture newe commentis to deuyse
They frowardly the sentence do transpose
And that whiche is wryten, both playne and holely
By theyr corruptynge and vnlawfull glose
Oft tyme they brynge to damnable heresy
Falsly expoundynge after theyr fantasy
They labour to transpose and turne the right sence
Thoughe the wordes stryue and make great resystence
Here what these folys with theyr audacyte
Dare besely say by theyr fals errour blynde
Presumynge on goddes secrete and pryuete
Here what lewde wordes they cast out in the wynde
They say what man can chaunge or turne his mynde
To lyue after any other fourme and rate
But lyke as he is therto predestynate
They say: if god that rayneth ouerall
Hath any ordeyned that in this worlde is
To come to the place and rowme celestyall
For to be partyner of euerlastynge blys
Ordeyned for suche as here doth nat amys
No man can chaunge, not other thynge mundayne
That thynge whiche god by his myght doth ordayne
But if that god prefyxed hath before
Any creature vnto infernall payne
In derknes to be damnyd for euer more
No erthly thynge may that sentence call agayne
Nor hym delyuer: o fole thou mayst complayne
For this thy foly and also it repent
Thynkest thou nat god alway omnypotent
Is god nat rightwyse and grounde of all iustyce
Rewardynge man after his gouernaunce
He that hath here nat lyen in synne and vyce
Hauynge in goddys seruyce his pleasaunce
Shall of his lorde be had in remembraunce
And of rewarde worthely be sure
Where it is worthy that synners payne endure
Trust well who seruyth his maker stedfastly
With pure herte kepynge sure his commaundement
And lawes shall be rewardyd fynally
With heuenly ioy and scape all punysshement
Therfore thou fole leue of this lewde intent
Lyue vertuously and trust in goddes grace
Than yll desteny in the shall haue no place
Vnto great ioy god hath vs all create
And to vs all ordeyned his kyngdome
And none hath vnto Hell predestynate
But often whan we folowe nat wysdome
By ouer owne foly we fall, and so become
Vnto our maker vnkind: and hym deny
Whiche them rewardyth that here lyue vertuously
Therfore thou Fole desyst thy wordes vayne
And let thy tunge no more suche wordes say
For god hath vs made all of one stuf certayne
As one potter makyth of one clay
Vessels dyuers, but whan he must them lay
Vpon the kyll with fyre them there to dry
They come nat all to good, moste comonly
Doth this erthyn pot his maker dispyse
Whether it be made of fassyon good or yll
Saynge why dost thou make me in this wyse
Wherfore mad man I reade the to be styll
Blame nat thy maker, for thy vnhappy wyll
For god hath neuer man nor childe create
But all he hath to heuen predestynate
And whyle we lyue here on this wretchyd grounde
We haue our reason and wyttes vs to gyde
With our fre wyll and if no faute be founde
In our demenour, in heuen we shall abyde
But if we goddes lawes set asyde
Howe may we hope of hym rewarde to wyn
So our owne foly is moste cause of our syn.
THE ENUOY OF BARCLAY.
O creature vnkynde vnto thy creatour
What carest thou to knowe or to inuestygate
The pryuetye, of god, leue this thy errour
To thynke the by hym to be predestynate
To endles wo and from his blysse pryuate
For syns thou hast thy reason and frewyll
Gyuyn the by god, thou art in suche estate
To take the eleccion outher of good or yll
*
Of folys that forget them selfe and do
another mannys besynes leuynge theyr
owne vndone.
[Illustration: Who that wyll suffer his owne hous to bren
Tyll nought of it saue the bare wallys stonde
And with his water hastely doth ren
To quenche the fyre of anothers hous or londe
He is a fole and haue shall in his hande
A folysshe Pype or horne therwith to blowe
For other folys that in my Shyp wyll rowe.]
Within my Shyp of rowme he shall be sure
Whiche for anothers auantage and profyte
Takyth great thought and doth moche payne endure
Vnto his owne charge takynge no respyte
But settyth it asyde and hath all his delyte
With all his stody hym to enforce and dres:
To care for euery mannys besynes.
Suche hertles folys to them self neglygent
In theyr owne charge slepe contynually
But with open iyen they ar full dylygent
The worke of other with all theyr myght to aply
And for others profyte prouyde they besely.
But whyle these Folys ar glad to take in hande
Anothers charge, theyr owne styll let they stande
Wherfore I am so bolde within my boke
Somwhat to touch these folys mad vsage
That if it fortune them on the same to loke
They may therby perceyue in theyr corage
That labour they ought for their owne auauntage
Most specyally. for that is the degre
And the true order of perfyte charite
For perfyte loue and also charite
Begynneth with hym selfe for to be charitable
And than to other after his degre
Thy owne auauntage is ay moost profytable
The great Phylosophers of maners ferme and stable
And also of wysdome godly and dyuyne
Hath left to vs suche techynge and doctryne
We haue by Therence the same commaundement
The same is wryten also as I fynde
In the holy lawe of the olde testament
And therfore he that oft wyll set his mynde
For others maters with care his thought to blynde
Let hym first se vnto his owne profyte
Lyst some mysfortune hym after sharply byte
Let hym turne his labour to his owne auauntage
And than do for other where as he seeth moste nede
For who that playeth for mony outher gage
And on his felawes cast takyth onely hede
And nat to his owne, suche one shall seldom spede
And is a Fole. So is he that doth ren
To quenche another hous, suffrynge his owne to bren
Suche one of his owne damage hath no fere
And worthy is his losse and hurte to byde
So is he that wyll anothers burthen bere
Or takyth anothers charge at any tyde
Despysynge his owne werke and settynge it asyde
If suche haue losse and after it forthynke
No man shall moche force whether he flete or synke
He is well worthy to haue a folys pype
That goth vnbyddyn to rype anothers corne
And suffreth his owne to stande though it be rype.
And generally all Folys ar worthy scorne
Of what maner byrth so euer they be borne
If they them self put, to losse or damage
Therby to do some other auauntage
Say curyous Fole: say what pleasour thou hast
In others maters thy self to intermyt
Or theyr great charges thus in thy mynde to cast
Thy selfe to socour set thou thy mynde and wyt
Let others maters therfore in quyete syt
On thy owne profyte of all firste set thy mynde
And than (if thou mayst) do somwhat for thy frende
For vtterly that man is moche vnwyse
That thus takyth thought for anothers charge
And doth his owne by neglygence despyse
For suche Folys I forgyd haue this barge
But of the same suche men I clene discharge
That first of his pryuate profyte can take hede
And than helpe a frende and felowe at a nede
THENUOY OF BARKLAY.
Ye that take charge, thought and besy cure
For others mysfortune, losse or aduersyte
First of your self I aduyse you to be sure
For this is the order of parfyte charyte
Eche to hym selfe moste louynge ay to be
And next to his frende, but who that doth dispyse.
His owne besynes whiche is in ieopardye
Seynge to anothers forsoth he is vnwyse
*
Of the vyce of vnkyndnes.
[Illustration: That Fole can neyther gode nor honeste
Whiche whan one doth to hym a frendly dede
It gladly takyth, thoughe it be two or thre
Lokynge for kyndnes, yet takyth he no hede
To shewe the same agayne in tyme of nede
Let suche Folys be no thing wroth therfore
Thoughe in this Shyp I set them to an ore.]
He is a Fole that crauynge is alway
Takynge the seruyce and rewardes of his frende
And nat remembryth the same agayne to pay
But as a churle it castyth out of his mynde
For who that wolde haue one to hym be kynde
And lyberall, he ought the same to be
For kyndnes meyntayneth bothe loue and charyte
He that wyll charge another with cures harde
And great labours greuous to sustayne
Ought for his labour hym worthely rewarde
That the rewarde may be confort to his payne
It is disworshyp and also shame certayne
To take the labour of any ryche or pore
And nat iustly hym to content therfore
Wherfore the workman ought also to intende
Vnto his labour to saue his honestye
And workemanly to brynge it the ende
If he therby wolde well rewardyd be
And if the owner therof beholde and se.
His worke so done, he is a chorle vnkynde
If he do nat content the workmannys mynde.
He that wolde gladly that men sholde hym
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