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¶He[re]Here] He 1525 begynneth an interlocucyon / with an argument / betwyxt man and woman / and whiche of them could proue to be most excellent. | |
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WHen Phebus reluysant / most ardent was and shene | |
In the hote sommer season / for my solace | |
Under the vmbre of a tre / bothe fayre and grene | |
I lay downe to rest me / where in this case. | |
5 | ¶As after ye shall here / a stryfe there began |
Whiche longe dyd endure / with great argument | |
Bytwyxte the woman / and also the man | |
Whiche of them coulde proue / to be moost excellent. | |
The man. |
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¶The fyrst whiche I herde: was the man that sayde | |
10 | Adam our forfather / by womans shrewde councell |
To ete of an apple / was pyteously betrayde | |
Well happy is he / that with you dothe not mell. | |
The woman. |
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¶ Ihesu of a mayden / and vyrgyn his mother | |
Was incarnated / to redeme that man had loste | |
15 | Set thou thie one / now agaynst the other |
And woman is more excellent / in euery coste. | |
The man. |
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¶No women in-to aungels / neuer was transformed | |
But women in-to deuyls / full ofte hath ben fygurate | |
For theyr pryde in hell / cruelly to be burned | |
20 | Unhappy is he / that hath one to his make. |
The woman. |
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¶Many aungels to women / haue ben transported | |
More than to men / for theyr chastyte | |
Fyrst our dere lady / th'aungell exorted | |
Sayenge the son of god / in her conceyued shold be. | |
The man. |
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25 | ¶ Ioseph by woman / was put in pryson |
And Urye was slayne / by treason cruell | |
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Dauyd an adulterer / with woman was become | |
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell. | |
The woman. |
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Mankynde to delyuer / out of this worldly payne | |
30 | And brynge hym to the ioye / of the celestyall place |
God in his mother / toke nature humayne | |
Who dysprayseth women / god sende hym no grace. | |
The man. |
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For woman was slayne / the worthy prynce Amon | |
The loue of them causeth moche dyspleasure | |
35 | By women was dysceyued / the sage Salomon |
Whiche by the meane of them / false ydols dyd adoure | |
The woman. |
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That woman / is moost replete with grace | |
By good reason / I shall proue playne | |
For god in woman / fyrst toke his place | |
40 | Whan into this worlde / he came certayne. |
The man. |
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Uyrgyll the sage clerke / of great intellygence | |
Betrayed was by woman / as wryten ye may fynde | |
Trustynge in her grace / in euery mannes presence | |
Was tyed at a wyndowe / tyll men dyd hym vnbynde | |
The woman. |
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45 | God to vs by woman / paradyse hath restored |
That before was loste / by our great neglygence | |
And aboue all sayntes / hyghly hath honored | |
Mary his mother / woman of moost excellence. | |
The man |
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Townes haue be destroyed / and cytes many one | |
50 | Dyuers men for women / be dampned depe in hell |
More ioyfull vnto man / than woman hath be none | |
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell. | |
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The woman. |
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¶By the meane of Hester / the iudgement was respyted | |
Of Assuerus her husband / for the Iewes all | |
55 | Whiche sholde haue dyed / had nat he delyted |
In her hye beautye / and wordes peticyonall. | |
The man. |
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¶ Pryam / Paris and Deiphebus | |
Fyrst by th'occasyon /of women was slayne | |
Also Troylus / Hector and Helenus | |
60 | And all Troye / hath ben confounded playne. |
The woman. |
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¶ Iudyth .C.M. men and mo | |
Made for to flye / and yelde in confusyon | |
After that Holefernus heed / she had cut in two | |
Whiche wolde haue dystroyed all the regyon. | |
The man. |
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65 | ¶Woman theyr face / and foreheed doth paynt |
For to deceyue / both yonge and olde | |
The stronge Sampson / Dalyda dyd attaynt | |
And hym betrayed / his heed when she had polde. | |
The woman. |
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¶Woman is honored / in euery place | |
70 | For quene of erth / and of heuen hye |
Whiche is petycioner / for mannes trespace | |
To [god] on theyr soules to haue mercye. god] good 1525 | |
The man. |
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Some women can flatter / and moost can lye | |
To optayne mannes loue / they can fayne well | |
75 | They wyll neuer leue it / vntyll they dye |
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell. | |
The woman. |
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¶Woman is called / treasure of grace | |
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In heuen our lady / it is full suer | |
For she for mannes soule / doth so purchase | |
80 | That thousandes / she saued by her prayer. |
The man. |
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¶Some that hath be taken / for very sage | |
By womans loue / dyd so hym indeuer | |
That for it he solde / all his herytage | |
And after hath he dyed / a myserable begger. | |
The woman. |
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85 | ¶Many hath offyces / and good wages |
By women to lyue / ryght prosperately | |
Benefyces / and auauntages | |
To mayntayne men / accordyngly. | |
The man. |
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¶When a yonge pegeon / a woman hath gotyn | |
90 | She wyll make hym / at length as stronge as a crane |
For surely / she wyll neuer forsake hym | |
Tyll that his croper-bone wax very lame | |
The woman. |
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¶Then loke a cawdell / you do gyt | |
And soone ye loke you / a better norce | |
95 | For I harde say / god gaue man wyt |
To knowe the better / from the worse. | |
The man |
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¶Women wyll speke / and contrary say | |
They wyll nat shame / a lye to tell | |
To scolde and brawle / is all theyr play | |
100 | Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell. |
The woman. |
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¶The commynge / of our lorde Ihesu | |
Many deuout woman / dyd prophecye | |
Sybellys they were / that it best knewe | |
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For to dysprayse women / ye do now vnwyslye. | |
The man. |
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105 | ¶One must them gyue / that they desyre |
To bete or correcte them / they waxen worse | |
They neuer wyll stynt / for to requyre | |
As longe as a peny / is in ones purse. | |
The woman. |
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¶When all th'appostles / from our lorde flyed | |
110 | Women tyll his deth / styll dyd hym ensue |
Neuer woman / our lorde denyed | |
As Peter dyd / but euer was true. | |
The man. |
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¶When ye of ony man / knowe the intencyon | |
Whiche coulde be secrete / ye publysshe it by and by | |
115 | Unto your gosseppys / ye make therof mencyon |
As soone as ye togyther byb / chatryng lyke a pye. | |
The woman. |
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¶ Chryste after his deth / for our consolacyon | |
Fyrst shewed / vnto woman personally | |
To Mary_magdaleyn / after his resurreccyon | |
120 | Whiche for his deth / bewayled greuously. |
The man. |
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¶A wyfe of her husbande / wyll haue the audyence | |
As chyef maystres / her tale to tell | |
She wyll crye and wepe / except she haue the preemynence | |
W[e]ll happy is he / that with them doth not mell. Well] Wyll 1525 | |
The woman. |
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125 | ¶That a man shold a woman / or his wyfe byleue |
By Abraham / is sygnyfyed playne | |
For god vnto Sara / fyrst knowlege dyd gyue | |
That a chyld shold be procreat: bytwyxt them twayne | |
The man. |
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¶Many cautelous craftes / now women they haue | |
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130 | To make them proper / and coynte to seme |
For proude apparell / euer styll they craue | |
Yet be they moost stynkynge / and fylthy within. | |
The woman. |
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¶Of good women / haue be founde many one | |
Whiche haue ben chast / and holy vyrgyns pure | |
135 | And that out of goddes lawes / neuer hath gone |
Wherfore in heuen / now sayntys be they sure. | |
The man. |
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¶But now of euyll / there be so many | |
Theyr kynde encreaseth / styll euery day | |
From euyl in-to worse / so fast they multyplye | |
140 | That wolde the deuyll: had one to cary th'other away |
The woman. |
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One vyrgyn another for goddis loue hath martyred | |
By compulsyon of man / as scrypture hath exprest | |
That in a day .xi. thousand dyed | |
Wherfore to dysprayse women / ye do not best. | |
The man. |
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145 | ¶Consyderyng the euyll / which of women haue com |
How false they be / how cursed and cruell | |
One ought to flye them / and from them to ronne | |
For well happy is he / that with them doth not mell | |
The woman. |
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¶All the nobles / of tyme passed | |
150 | And all the sayntes / of paradyse |
Fyrst all from women / they haue proceded | |
For to dysprayse women / in fayth ye be not wyse. | |
The man. |
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¶Do weye your blame / and laude in balaunce | |
To se of them / whiche twayne weye moste | |
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155 | And when that ye se / there the dyfferaunce |
I trowe of your laude / ye wyll make small boste. | |
The woma[n]. |
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¶For all the blames / and offence | |
That agaynst vs women / ye can laye | |
Consyder the bounte / of our ladyes excellence | |
160 | And all our euylles / her goodnes dothe delaye. |
La femme replique. |
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¶Now the conclusyon / the woman thus began | |
These infamous men / with all theyr polecy | |
All noble women / wolde gladly defame | |
Were not our goodnes / excedynge theyr glory. | |
165 | ¶For Caym kylled Abell / his gentyll brother |
And Iudas / Ruben his father dyd slay | |
Nero made open / his owne mother | |
To se the place / where that he lay | |
¶The men of Iury / made god to dye | |
170 | Iudas_scaryot hym solde / by false treason |
And after hym-selfe hanged / this is no lye | |
Wherfore styll in payne / his soule it doth won. | |
¶ Chrystes Apostles / dyd hym denye | |
Men dyd hym crucefye / by great vyolence | |
175 | And tyrans enraged / dyspyte fullye |
Ten thousande / slewe of Innocence. | |
¶Also in a day / they dyd confounde | |
A .xi. thousande vyrgyns / vnto theyr deth | |
Some they heedyd / and some they drownde | |
180 | Some they smolthered / and stopped theyr breth. |
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¶Men they had / peruerse courage | |
As ye may se / now euydently | |
To do vnto sayntes / suche oultrage | |
Without offence / and no cause why. | |
185 | ¶Men make warres / and dyscencyons |
In euery place / as ye may se | |
Theftes / mordres / and traysons | |
Replete with all / iniquyte. | |
¶More men / there be in pryson | |
190 | In chaynes bounde / for theyr offence |
More women / come vnto sermon | |
To lerne goddys lawes / with dylygence. | |
¶Of euery man / in all degre | |
Mother and norces / women hath ben | |
195 | Of all that are / and euer shalbe |
Women haue fyrst th'autorite clen. | |
¶Wherfore of vs / ye ought say well | |
For to myssay / ye can not wyn | |
And ye that hath no grace / goodnes to tell | |
200 | To holde his peace / is best for hym. |
¶Do ye say / of vs the best | |
Syns we ye kept / when ye were small | |
For of lytell medlynge / cometh moche rest | |
And god amende / the worst of vs all. | |
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¶The auctor. |
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205 | ¶Of this argument / the hole entent |
I marked it / effectually | |
And after I had herde / them at this discent | |
I presed towardes them / incontynently | |
But when they sawe me / aproche them to | |
210 | Lest I wolde repreue / theyr argument |
Full fast they fledde / then bothe me fro | |
That I ne wyst / whyther they went | |
Wherfore now to iudge / whiche is moost excellent | |
I admyt it / vnto this reders prudence | |
215 | Whyther to man or woman / is more conuenyent |
The laude to be gyuen / and wordly magnyfycence. | |
¶ Finis. |
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