| sig: [A1] | |
| ¶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. | |
| sig: [A1v] | |
| sig: A2 | |
| 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶ 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| 25 | ¶ Ioseph by woman / was put in pryson |
| And Urye was slayne / by treason cruell | |
| sig: [A2v] | |
| Dauyd an adulterer / with woman was become | |
| Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell. | |
|
The woman. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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. | |
| sig: A3 | |
|
The woman. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶ 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. |
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The woman. |
|
| ¶ 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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| 85 | ¶Many hath offyces / and good wages |
| By women to lyue / ryght prosperately | |
| Benefyces / and auauntages | |
| To mayntayne men / accordyngly. | |
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The man. |
|
| ¶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 | |
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The woman. |
|
| ¶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 |
|
| ¶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. |
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The woman. |
|
| ¶The commynge / of our lorde Ihesu | |
| Many deuout woman / dyd prophecye | |
| Sybellys they were / that it best knewe | |
| sig: [A4] | |
| For to dysprayse women / ye do now vnwyslye. | |
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The man. |
|
| 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶ 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. |
|
| ¶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 | |
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The woman. |
|
| 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. |
|
| ¶Many cautelous craftes / now women they haue | |
| sig: [A4v] | |
| 130 | To make them proper / and coynte to seme |
| For proude apparell / euer styll they craue | |
| Yet be they moost stynkynge / and fylthy within. | |
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The woman. |
|
| ¶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. | |
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The man. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| 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. | |
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The man. |
|
| 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. |
|
| ¶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. |
|
| ¶Do weye your blame / and laude in balaunce | |
| To se of them / whiche twayne weye moste | |
| sig: [A5] | |
| 155 | And when that ye se / there the dyfferaunce |
| I trowe of your laude / ye wyll make small boste. | |
|
The woma[n]. |
|
| ¶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. |
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La femme replique. |
|
| ¶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. |
| sig: [A5v] | |
| ¶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. | |
| sig: [A6] | |
|
¶The auctor. |
|
| 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. |
|
| sig: [A6v] |