Fol. I A.I. Tho Januarye. Ianuarye. Januarye. Januarye. Ægloga prima. ARGVMENTARGUMENT. IN In this fyrst Æglogue Colin cloute a shepheardes boy complaineth him of his vnfortunateunfortunate louelove, being but newly (as semeth) enamoured of a coun-triecountrie lasse called Rosalinde: with which strong affection being very sore tra-ueled,traveled, he compareth his carefull case to the sadde season of the yeare, to the frostie ground, to the frosen trees, and to his owne winterbeaten flocke. And lastlye, fynding himselfe robbed of all former pleasaunce and delights, hee breaketh his Pipe in peeces, and casteth him selfe to the ground. COLINColin Cloute. A Shepeheards boye (no better doe him call) whenWhen Winters wastful spight was almost spent, All in a sunneshine day, as did befall, Led forth his flock, that had bene long ypent. So faynt they woxe, and feeble in the folde, That now vnnethesunnethes their feete could them vpholduphold. All as the Sheepe, such was the shepeheards looke, For pale and wanne he was, (alas the while,)while), May seeme he lovd , or els some care he tooke: Well couth he tune his pipe, and frame his stile. IanuarieJanuarie. Maist Tho to a hill his faynting flocke he ledde, And thus him playnd, the while his shepe there fedde. Ye Gods of louelove, that pitie louerslovers payne, (If any gods the paine of louerslovers pitie:)pitie): Looke from aboueabove, where you in ioyesjoyes remaine, And bowe your eares vntounto my dolefull dittie. And Pan thou shepheards God, that once didst louelove, Pitie the paines, that thou thy selfe didst proueprove. Thou barrein ground, whome winters wrath hath wasted, Art made a myrrhour, to behold my plight: Whilome thy fresh spring flowrd, and after hasted Thy sommer prowde with Daffadillies dight. And now is come thy wynters stormy state, Thy mantle mard, wherein thou mas-kedstmaskedst late. Such rage as winters, reigneth in my heart, My life bloud friesing with vnkindlyunkindly cold: Such stormy stoures do breede my balefnllbalefull smart, As if my yeare were wast, and woxen old. And yet alas, but now my spring begonne, And yet alas, yt is already donne. You naked trees, whose shady leauesleaves are lost, Wherein the byrds were wont to build their bowre: And now are clothd with mosse and hoary frost, Instede of bloosmes, wherwith your buds did flowre: I see your teares, that from your boughes doe raine, Whose drops in drery ysicles remaine. All so my lustfull leafe is drye and sere, My timely buds with wayling all are wasted: The blossome, which my braunch of youth did beare, With breathed sighes is blowne away, &and blasted, And from mine eyes the drizling teares descend, As on your boughes the ysicles depend. Thou feeble flocke, whose fleece is rough and rent, Whose knees are weake through fast and euillevill fare: IanuarieJanuarie. Fol. 2 A.ii. Colins Mayst witnesse well by thy ill gouernementgovernement, Thy maysters mind is ouercomeovercome with care. Thou weake, I wanne: thou leane, I quite forlorne: With mourning pyne I, you with pyning mourne. A thousand sithes I curse that carefull hower,hower. Wherein I longd the neighbour towne to see: And eke tenne thousand sithes I blesse the stoure, Wherein I sawe so fayre a sight, as shee. Yet all for naught: snchsuch sight hath bred my bane. Ah God, that louelove should breede both ioyjoy and payne. It is not Hobbinol, wherefore I plaine, Albee my louelove he seeke with dayly suit: His clownish gifts and curtsies I disdaine, His kiddes, his cracknelles, and his early fruit. Ah foolish Hobbinol, thy gyfts bene vayne: Colin them giuesgives to Rosalind againe. I louelove thilke lasse, (alas why doe I louelove?) And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?) Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reprouereprove, And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne. Shepheards deuisedevise she hateth as the snake, And laughes the songes, that Colin Clout doth make. Wherefore my pype, albee rude Pan thou please, Yet for thou pleasest not, where most I would: And thou vnluckyunlucky Muse, that wontst to ease My musing mynd, yet canst not, when thou should: Both pype and Muse, shall sore the while abye. So broke his oaten pype, and downe dyd lye. By that, the welked Phœbus gan availe, His weary waine, and nowe the frosty Night Her mantle black through heauenheaven gan ouerhaileoverhaile. Which seene, the pensife boy halfe in despight Arose, and homeward drouedrove his sonned sheepe, Whose hanging heads did seeme his carefull case to weepe. IanuarieJanuarie. IuliaJulia Colins Embleme. Anchôra speme. GLOSSE. COLIN ClouteColin Cloute ) is a name not greatly vsedused, and yet hauehave I sene a Poesie of M.Master Skel-tonsSkeltons vnderunder that title. But indeede the vvordword Colin is Frenche, and vsedused of the French Poete Marot (if he be worthy of the name of a Poete) in a certein Æg-logue.Æglogue. VnderUnder which name this Poete secretly shadoweth himself, as sometime did Virgil vnderunder the name of Tityrus, thinking it much fitter, thenthan such Latine names, for the great vnlikelyhoodeunlikelyhoode of the language. vnnethesunnethes) scarcely. couthe) commeth of the verbe Conne, that is, to knovvknow or to hauehave skill. As vvellwell inter-pretethinterpreteth the same the worthy Sir Tho.Thomas Smitth in his booke of gouermentgovernment: wher ofwherof I hauehave a perfect copie in wryting, lent me by his kinseman, and my verye sin-gularsingular good freend, M.Master Gabriel HarueyHarvey: as also of some other his most grauegrave &and excellent vvrytingswrytings. Sythe) time. Neighbour tovvnetowne) the next tovvnetowne: expressing the Latine Vicina. Stoure) a fitt. Sere) vvitheredwithered. His clovvnishclownish gyfts) imitateth Virgils verse, Rusticus es Corydon, nec munera curat Alexis. Hobbinol) is a fained country name, vvherebywhereby, it being so commune and vsuallusuall, seemeth to be hidden the person of some his very speciall &and most familiar freend, whom he entirely and extraordinarily belouedbeloved, as peraduentureperadventure shall be more largely declared hereafter. In thys place seemeth to be some sauoursavour of disorderly louelove, vvhichwhich the learned call pæderastice: but it is gathered beside his meaning. For vvhowho that hath red Plato his dialogue called Alcybiades, Xenophon and Max-imus Maximus Tyrius of Socrates opinions, may easily perceiueperceive, that such louelove is muche to be alowed and liked of.of, specially so meant, as Socrates vsedused it: vvhowho sayth, that in deede he louedloved Alcybiades extremely, yet not Alcybiades person, but hys soule, vvhichwhich is Alcybiades ovvneowne selfe. And so is pæderastice much to be præ-ferredpræferred before gynerastice, that is the louelove vvhichewhiche enflameth men vvithwith lust to-vvardtoward vvomanwoman kind. But yet let no man thinke, that herein I stand vvithwith Lucian or hys deuelishdevelish disciple VnicoUnico Aretino, in defence of execrable and horrible sinnes of forbidden and vnlavvfulunlawful fleshlinesse. VVhoseWhose abominable errour is ful-lyfully confuted of Perionius, and others. I louelove) a prety Epanorthosis in these tvvotwo verses, and vvithallwithall a Paronomasia or play-ingplaying vvithwith the vvordword, vvherewhere he sayth (I louelove thilke lasse (alas &c.etc. Rosalinde) is also a feigned name, vvhichwhich being wel ordered, vvilwil bevvraybewray the very name of hys louelove and mistresse, vvhomwhom by that name he coloureth. So as OuideOvide sha-dowethshadoweth hys louelove vnderunder the name of Corynna, vvhichwhich of some is supposed to be IanuarieJanuarie fol.3 A.iii. bodies IuliaJulia, themperor Augustus his daughter, and vvyfewyfe to Agryppa. So doth Arun-tiusAruntius Stella eueryevery where call his Lady Asteris and Ianthis, albe it is vvelwel knowen that her right name vvaswas Violantilla: as vvitnessethwitnesseth Statius in his Epithalamiũ. Epithalamium. And so the famous Paragone of Italy, Madonna Cœlia in her letters enuelo-pethenvelopeth her selfe vnderunder the name of Zima: and Petrona vuderunder the name of Bello-chia.Bellochia. And this generally hath bene a common custome of counterfeicting the names of secret Personages. AuailAvail) bring downe. Embleme. OuerhaileOverhaile) drawe ouerover. Embleme. His Embleme or Poesye is here vnderunder added in Italian, Anchóra speme: the meaning vvherofwherof is, that notvvithstandenotwithstande his extreme passion and lucklesse louelove, yet lea-ningleaning on hope, he is some what recomforted.