Fol.I A.I . . Tho Januarye. Januarye. [headnote]
January woodblock illustration.
Ægloga prima. ARGVMENT ARGUMENT .

IN In this fyrst Æglogue Colin cloute a shepheardes boy complaineth him of his vnfortunate unfortunate loue love , being but newly (as semeth) enamoured of a coun-trie lasse called Rosalinde: with which strong affection being very sore tra-ueled tra-veled , 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.

COLIN Colin Cloute. A Shepeheards shepeheards boye (no better doe him call) When when When 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 vnnethes unnethes vnethes vnnethes their feete could them vphold uphold . 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. Januarie. Maist Tho to a hill his faynting flocke he ledde, And thus him playnd, the while his shepe there fedde . . Ye Gods of loue love , that pitie louers lovers payne, (If any gods the paine of louers lovers pitie:) pitie): Looke from aboue above , where you in ioyes joyes remaine, And bowe your eares vnto unto my dolefull dittie. And Pan thou shepheards God, that once didst loue love , Pitie the paines, that thou thy selfe didst proue prove . 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 maskedst maſ-ked[ſt] maſked[ſt] masked[ſt] late. Such rage as winters, reigneth in my heart, My life bloud friesing with vnkindly unkindly cold: Such stormy stoures do breede my balefull balefnll balefull 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 leaues leaves are lost, Wherein the byrds were wont to build their bowre: And now are clothd with mosse and hoary frost, Instede of bloosmes, blosomes, blossomes, blossoms, 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 euill evill fare: Januarie. Fol. 2 A.ii. Colins Mayst witnesse well by thy ill gouernement governement , Thy maysters mind is ouercome overcome 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. hower, houre, houre, houre, 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: such ſnch ſuch ſuch sight hath bred my bane. Ah God, that loue love should breede both ioy joy and payne. It is not Hobbinol, wherefore I plaine, Albee my loue love 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 giues gives to Rosalind againe . . I loue love thilke lasse, (alas why doe I loue love ?) And am forlorne, (alas why am I lorne?) Shee deignes not my good will, but doth reproue reprove , And of my rurall musick holdeth scorne. Shepheards deuise devise 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 vnlucky unlucky 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 heauen heaven gan ouerhaile overhaile . Which seene, the pensife boy halfe in despight Arose, and homeward droue drove his sonned sheepe, Whose hanging heads did seeme his carefull case to weepe. Januarie. Iulia Julia
Colins Embleme. Anchôra speme.
GLOSSE. COLIN Colin Cloute) is a name not greatly vsed used , and yet haue have I sene a Poesie of 2. M.: Master2. Mr: Master M. Mr Skel-tons vnder under that title. But indeede the vvord word Colin is Frenche, and vsed used of the French Poete Marot (if he be worthy of the name of a Poete) in a certein Æg-logue. Vnder Under which name this Poete secretly shadoweth himself, as sometime did Virgil vnder under the name of Tityrus, thinking it much fitter, 6. then: than then than such Latine names, for the great vnlikelyhoode unlikelyhoode of the language. vnnethes unnethes ) scarcely. couthe) commeth of the verbe Conne, that is, to knovv know or to haue have skill. As vvell well inter-preteth the same the worthy Sir Tho. Smith Smitth Smith Smith, in his booke of gouerment goverment : wher of I haue have a perfect copie in wryting, lent me by his kinseman, and my verye sin-gular good freend, 12. M.: Master12. Mr: Master M. Mr Gabriel Haruey Harvey : as also of some other his most graue grave & and excellent vvrytings wrytings . Sythe) time. Neighbour tovvne towne ) the next tovvne towne : expressing the Latine Vicina. Stoure) a fitt. Sere) vvithered withered . His clovvnish clownish gyfts) imitateth Virgils verse, Rusticus es Corydon, nec munera curat Alexis. Hobbinol) is a fained country name, vvhereby whereby , it being so commune and vsuall usuall , seemeth to be hidden the person of some his very speciall & and most familiar freend, whom he entirely and extraordinarily beloued beloved , as peraduenture peradventure shall be more largely declared hereafter. In thys place seemeth to be some sauour savour of disorderly loue love , vvhich which the learned call pæderastice: but it is gathered beside his meaning. For vvho who that hath red Plato his dialogue called Alcybiades, Xenophon and Max-imus Tyrius of Socrates opinions, may easily perceiue perceive , that such loue love is muche to be alowed and liked of, specially so meant, as Socrates vsed used it: vvho who sayth, that in deede he loued loved Alcybiades extremely, yet not Alcybiades person, but hys soule, vvhich which is Alcybiades ovvne owne selfe. And so is pæderastice much to be præ-ferred before gynerastice, that is the loue love vvhiche whiche enflameth men vvith with lust to-vvard to-ward vvoman woman kind. But yet let no man thinke, that herein I stand vvith with Lucian or hys deuelish develish disciple Vnico Unico Aretino, in defence of execrable and horrible sinnes of forbidden and vnlavvful vnlawful unlawful fleshlinesse. VVhose Whose abominable errour is ful-ly confuted of Perionius, and others. I loue love ) a prety Epanorthosis in these tvvo two verses, and vvithall withall a Paronomasia or play-ing vvith with the vvord word , vvhere where he sayth (I loue love thilke lasse (alas &c. etc. Rosalinde) is also a feigned name, vvhich which being wel ordered, vvil wil bevvray bewray the very name of hys loue love and mistresse, vvhom whom by that name he coloureth. So as Ouide Ovide sha-doweth hys loue love vnder under the name of Corynna, vvhich which of some is supposed to be Januarie fol.3 A.iii. bodies Iulia Julia , themperor Augustus his daughter, and vvyfe wyfe to Agryppa. So doth Arun-tius Stella euery every where call his Lady Asteris and Ianthis, albe it is vvel wel knowen that her right name vvas was Violantilla: as vvitnesseth witnesseth Statius in his Epithalamiũ Epithalamium . And so the famous Paragone of Italy, Madonna Cœlia in her letters enuelo-peth envelo-peth her selfe vnder under the name of Zima: and Petrona vnder Petrona under Petrona vuder Petrona vnder the name of Bello-chia. And this generally hath bene a common custome of counterfeicting the names of secret Personages. Auail Avail ) bring downe. Ouerhaile Overhaile ) drawe ouer over . Embleme. Embleme. His Embleme or Poesye is here vnder under added in Italian, Anchóra speme: the meaning vvherof wherof is, that notvvithstande notwithstande his extreme passion and lucklesse loue love , yet lea-ning on hope, he is some what recomforted.
A3v