The Ship of Fools, Volume 1-2 by Sebastian Brant (novels in english TXT) 📕

in Englonde be denayd.

Why tary we? the Ankers ar vp wayed.

If any corde or Cabyl vs hurt, let outher hynder.

Let slyp the ende, or els hewe it in sonder.

 

Retourne your syght beholde vnto the shore.

There is great nomber that fayne wold be aborde.

They get no rowme our Shyp can holde no more.

Haws in the Cocke gyue them none other worde.

God gyde vs from Rockes, quicsonde tempest and forde

If any man of warre, wether, or wynde apere.

My selfe shal trye the wynde and kepe the Stere.

 

But I pray you reders haue ye no dysdayne.

Thoughe Barclay haue presumed of audacite

This Shyp to rule as chefe mayster and Captayne.

Though some thynke them selfe moche worthyer than he.

It were great maruayle forsoth syth he hath be.

A scoler longe: and that in dyuers scoles

But he myght be Captayne of a Shyp of Foles

 

But if that any one be in suche maner case.

That he wyl chalange the maystershyp fro me

Yet in my Shyp can I nat want a place.

For in euery place my selfe I oft may se.

But this I leue besechynge eche degre:

To pardon my youthe and to bolde interprise.

For harde is it duely to speke of euery vyce.

 

For yf I had tunges an hundreth: and wyt to fele

Al thinges natural and supernaturall

A thousand mouthes: and voyce as harde as stele.

And sene all the seuen Sciences lyberal.

Yet cowde I neuer touche the vyces all.

And syn of the worlde: ne theyr braunches comprehende:

Nat thoughe I lyued vnto the worldes ende.

 

But if these vyces whiche mankynde doth incomber.

Were clene expellyd and vertue in theyr place.

I cowde nat haue gathered of fowles so great a nomber.

Whose foly from them out chaseth goddys grace.

But euery man that knowes hym in that case

To this rude Boke let hym gladly intende.

And lerne the way his lewdnes to amende.

 

*

 

[The Prologe of James Locher.]

 

After that I haue longe mused by my self of the sore confounded and

vncertayne cours of mannys lyfe, and thinges therto belonginge: at the last

I haue by my vigilant meditacion found and noted many degrees of errours:

wherby mankynd wandreth from the way of trouth I haue also noted that many

wyse men and wel lettred haue writen right fruteful doctrines: wherby they

haue heled these dyseses and intollerable perturbacions of the mynde: and

the goostly woundes therof, moche better than Esculapius which was fyrst

Inuentour of Phesyke and amonge the Gentyles worshypped as a God. In the

contrey of Grece were stodyes fyrst founded and ordeyned in the which began

and sprange holsom medicyne which gaue vnto infect myndes frutful doctryne

and norisshinge. Amonge whome Socrates that great begynner and honourer of

wysdom began to dispute of ye maners of men. But for that he coude nat

fynde certayne ende of goodnes and hyest felicite in naturall thinges: nor

induce men to the same, he gaue the hye contemplacions of his mynde to

moral vertues. And in so moche passed he al other in Philosophy moral that

it was sayde that he called Philosophy down from the Imperial heuen. whan

this Socrates perceyued the mindes of men to be prone, and extremely

inclyned to viciousnes he had gret affeccion to subdue suche maners.

Wherfore in comon places of the Cyte of Athenes he instruct and infourmed

the peple in such doctrynes as compasith the clere and immaculate welles of

the moste excellent and souerayne gode. After the disces of Socrates

succeded ye godly Plato whiche in moral Philosophy ouerpassed also a great

part of his tyme And certaynly nat without a cause was he called godly. For

by what stody myght be more holely or better socour mankynde than by suche

doctrynes as he gaue. He wrote and ordeyned lawes moste egal and iust He

edityed vnto the Grekes a comon welthe stable, quyet and commendable. And

ordeyned the societe and company of them most iocund and amyable. He

prepared a brydel to refrayne the lust and sensualyte of the body. And

fynally he changed the yl ignorance feblenes and negligence of youth vnto

dylygence, strength and vertue. In tyme also of these Phylosophers sprange

the florisshynge age of Poetes: whiche amonge lettred men had nat smal

rowme and place. And that for theyr eloquent Retoryke and also for theyr

mery ficcions and inuencions. Of the whiche Poetes some wrote in moste

ornate termes in ditees heroycal wherin the noble actes and lyues both of

dyuyne and humayne creatures ar wont to be noted and writem. Some wrote of

tylling of the grounde. Some of the Planetes, of the courses of ye sterres:

and of the mouynge of the heuyn and fyrmament. Some of the Empyre and

shameful subieccion of disordred loue. And many other of the myserable

ruyne and fal of Kynges and princes for vice: as Tragedies. And some other

wrote Comedyes with great libertye of speche: which Comedies we cal

Interludes. Amonge whome Aristophanes Eupolis and Cratinus mooste laudable

Poetes passed al other. For whan they sawe the youth of Athenes and of al

the remanent of Grece inclyned to al ylles they toke occasion to note suche

myslyuinge. And so in playne wordes they repreued without fauour the vyces

of the sayd yl disposyd peple of what condicion or order they were: Of this

auncient wrytinge of Comedyes our laten Poetes deuysed a maner of wrytinge

nat inelegant. And fyrst Lucilius composed one Satyre in the whiche he

wrote by name the vices of certayne princes and Citezyns of Rome And that

with many bourdes so y^t with his mery speche myxt with rebukes he correct

al them of the cyte that disordredly lyued. But this mery speche vsed he

nat in his writing to the intent to excercyse wanton wordes or vnrefrayned

lascyuyte, or to put his pleasour in suche dissolute langage: but to ye

intent to quenche vyces and to prouoke the commons to wysdome and vertue,

and to be asshamed of theyr foly and excessyfe lyuynge. of hym all the

Latyn poetes haue takyn example, and begynnynge to wryte Satyrs whiche the

grekes named Comedyes: As Fabius specifyeth in his X boke of institucions.

After Lucilius succeded Horacius, moche more eloquent in wrytynge whiche in

the same deseruyd great laude: Persius also left to vs onely one boke by

the whiche he commyttyd his name and laude to perpetuall memory. The last

and prynce of all was Juuenall whiche in his iocunde poemys comprehendyd al

that was wryten most eloquent and pleasaunt of all the poetis of that sorte

afore his tyme: O noble men, and diligent hertes and myndes, o laudable

maners and tymes, these worthy men exyled ydelnes, wherby they haue

obtayned nat small worshyp and great commodyte example and doctryne lefte

to vs theyr posteryours why begyn we nat to vnderstonde and perceyue. Why

worshyp nat the people of our tyme these poetis why do nat they reuerence

to ye interpretours of them do they nat vnderstonde: that no poetes wryte,

but outher theyr mynde is to do pleasure or els profyte to the reder, or

ellys they togyther wyll doo bothe profyte and pleasoure why are they

dyspysed of many rude carters of nowe a dayes which vnderstonde nat them,

And for lacke of them haue nat latyn to vtter and expresse ye wyl of their

mynde. Se whether poetes ar to be dispised. they laude vertue and hym that

vseth it rebukyng vices with the vsers therof, They teche what is good and

what is euyll: to what ende vyce, and what ende vertue bringeth vs, and do

nat Poetis reuyle and sharply byte in their poemys all suche as ar vnmeke,

Prowde, Couetous, Lecherous, Wanton, delycyous, Wrathfull glotons, wasters,

Enuyours, Enchauntours, faythebrakers, rasshe, vnauysed, malapert, drunken,

vntaught foles, and suche lyke. Shulde theyr writyng that suche thinges

disprayse and reuyle be dyspised of many blynde Dotardes y^t nowe lyue

whiche enuy that any man shulde haue or vnderstonde ye thyng whiche they

knowe nat. The Poetes also wyth great lawdes commende and exalt the noble

folowers of vertue ascribyng to euery man rewardes after his merytes. And

shortly to say, the intencion of al Poetes hath euer ben to repreue vyce:

and to commende vertue. But syns it is so that nowe in our dayes ar so many

neglygent and folysshe peple that they ar almost innumerable whiche

despisynge the loue of vertue: folowe the blyndenes and vanyte of this

worlde: it was expedient that of newe some lettred man, wyse, and subtil of

wyt shulde awake and touche ye open vices of foles that now lyue: and blame

theyr abhomynable lyfe. This fourme and lybertye of writinge, and charge

hathe taken vpon hym the Right excellent and worthy Mayster Sebastian Brant

Doctour of both the Lawes and noble Oratour and Poete to the comon welthe

of al people in playne and comon speche of Doche in the contrey of Almayne:

to the ymytacion of Dant Florentyne: and Francis Petrarche Poetes heroycal

which in their maternal langage haue composed maruelous Poemes and

ficcions. But amonge diuers inuencions composed of the sayde Sebastian

brant I haue noted one named ye Shyp of Foles moche expedient and necessary

to the redar which the sayd Sebastian composed in doche langage. And after

hym one called James Locher his Disciple translated the same into Laten to

the vnderstondinge of al Christen nacions where Laten is spoken. Than

another (whose name to me is vnknowen) translated the same into Frenche. I

haue ouersene the fyrst Inuencion in Doche and after that the two

translations in Laten and Frenche whiche in blaminge the disordred lyfe of

men of our tyme agreeth in sentence: threfolde in langage wherfore wylling

to redres the errours and vyces of this oure Royalme of Englonde: as the

foresayde composer and translatours hath done in theyr Contrees I haue

taken vpon me: howbeit vnworthy to drawe into our Englysshe tunge the sayd

boke named ye shyp of folys as nere to ye sayd thre Langages as the parcyte

of my wyt wyll suffer me. But ye reders gyue ye pardon vnto Alexander de

Barklay If ignoraunce negligence or lacke of wyt cause hym to erre in this

translacion his purpose and synguler desyre is to content youre myndes. And

sothely he hathe taken vpon hym the translacion of this present Boke

neyther for hope of rewarde nor lawde of man: but onely for the holsome

instruccion commodyte and Doctryne of wysdome, and to clense the vanyte and

madnes of folysshe people of whom ouer great nombre is in the Royalme of

Englonde. Therfore let euery man beholde and ouerrede this boke: And than I

doute nat but he shal se the errours of his lyfe of what condycyon that he

be. in lyke wyse as he shal se in a Myrrour the fourme of his countenaunce

and vysage: And if he amende suche fautes as he redeth here wherein he

knoweth hymself gylty, and passe forth the resydue of his lyfe in the order

of good maners than shall he haue the fruyte and auauntage wherto I haue

translatyd this boke.

 

*

 

Here begynneth the prologe.

 

Amonge the people of euery regyon

And ouer the worlde, south north eest and west

Soundeth godly doctryne in plenty and foyson

Wherin the grounde of vertue and wysdome doth rest

Rede gode and bad, and kepe the to the best

Was neuer more plenty of holsome doctryne

Nor fewer people that doth therto enclyne

 

We haue the Bybyll whiche godly doth expresse

Of the olde testament the lawes mysticall

And also of the newe our erour to redresse

Of phylosophy and other artes liberall