The Pastime of Pleasure: An Allegorical Poem — Key Ideas to Explore

e author of several other works besides the one here printed, for an account of which we refer the reader to “Warton’s History of English Poetry.” They are in general of very little importance. “The Pastime of Pleasure,” which Warton characterises as his “capital work,” is one of those allegorical writings which were popular with our forefathers, but which can now only be looked upon as monuments of the bad taste of a bad age. It is however a monument; and being one of the most remarkable productions between the age of Lydgate and that of Wyatt and Surrey, it deserves to be reprinted as one of the links in the history of English poetry, without which that history would be incomplete. The old editions of this poem are very rare.

The present edition is a reprint of that of 1555, of which there is a copy in the British Museum. In two passages the language is so gross in the original, that it has been considered necessary to omit a few lines. These relate chiefly to the _dénouement_ of a tale which was extremely popular in the Middle Ages, and which will be found told with somewhat more decency in the common chap-book story of the enchanter Virgil. It has been thought sufficient to print the simple text of this poem, without illustrative notes. From the nature of the work, the choice lay between giving a large mass of explanatory matter, or none at all, and the circumstances under which it has been published placed the former alternative entirely out of the question.

The History of GRAUND AMOURE and LA BEL PUCELL,

CALLED THE PASTIME OF PLEASURE,

Conteynyng the Knowledge of the Seven Sciences, and the Course of Mans Life in this Worlde.

Invented by STEPHEN HAWES, Grome of Kyng Henry the Seventh his chamber.

CAP. PAGE 1. Howe Graunde Amoure walked in a medowe, and met with Fame envyroned with tongues of fyre 4 2. Of the swete report of Fame of the fayre lady La Bell Pucell, in the tower of Musike 11 3. Howe Fame departed from Graunde Amoure, and left him Governaunce and Grace, and how he went to the tower of Doctrine 14 4. Howe he was let in by Countenaunce, the portresse, and of the marveylous buildyng of the same tower 16 5. How Science sent him first to Gramer, where he was receyved by dame Congruitie 21 6. Howe he was receyved of Logyke 25 7. Howe he was receyved of Rethoryke, and what rethoryke is 27 8. Of the first part, called Invencion, and a commendacion of poetes 29 9. A replication against ignoraunt persones 32 10. Of Disposition, the ii. parte of rethoryke 34 11. Of Elocution, the thirde part of rethoryke, with colouryng of sentences 37 12. Of Pronunciation, the iiii. part of rethoryke 47 13. Of Memory, the v. part of rethorike 50 14. A commendation of Gower, Chaucer, and Lydgate 52 15. Of Arsmetrike 56 16. Of Musike: mundain, humayn, and instrumental 58 17. Howe Graunde Amoure was enamoured of La Bell Pucell in the tower of Musike, and met with Counsayle in a temple 64 18. Of the dolorous and lowly disputacion betwene La Bell Pucell and Graunde Amoure 77 19. Howe La Bell Pucell graunted Graunde Amoure love, and of her dispiteous departage 87 20. Of the great sorowe that Graunde Amour made after her departyng, and of the wordes of Counsayl 93 21. Howe Graunde Amoure went to Geometry, and what geometry is 99 22. Of dame Astronomie 103 23. Of the direct operation of nature 106 24. Of the fyve internall wyttes 108 25. Of the hye influences of the supernall bodies 112 26. Howe Graunde Amoure departed from the tower of Science, and went to the tower of Chivalry, where he was let in by Fortytude 114 27. Of the marveylous argument betwene Mars and Fortune 117 28. Howe Minerve ledde Graunde Amoure to kyng Melyzyus, whiche made hym knyght 127 29. Howe he departed from kynge Melyzyus, with his grayhoundes and Attendaunce his varlet, and met with False Reporte, that chaunged his name to Godfrey Gobilyve 134 30. Howe Graund Amoure in the temple of Venus made his supplication 144 31. The copy of a letter that Venus sent to La Bell Pucell 150 32. Howe Godfrey Gobilive was taken of Correction and punyshed 156 33. Howe Graunde Amoure disconfited the gyant with thre heads, and was received bi iii. ladies 161 34. Howe he met with Perceveraunce, and reposed hym in the manour place of dame Comfort 170 35. Howe he vainquyshed a gyaunt with seven heades, and was received of vi. ladyes 178 36. How he made oblacyon to the godes Pallas and sayled over the tempestuous flode 185 37. How he dyscomfited the wonderfull monstre of the vii. mettalles made by enchauntment 191 38. How he was received of La Bell Pucell 195 39. The mariage of Graund Amour and La Bell Pucell 200 40. How whan Graunde Amoure had lived longe wyth La Bell Pucell, he was arrested by Aege, that brought unto him Polycy and Avaryce 202 41. Howe he was arested by Death 203 42. Howe Remembraunce made his epytaphy on his grave 205 43. Howe Fame came into the temple wyth burnyng tongues and other prayse 208 44. Howe Tyme came into the temple in marvaylous semilitude, and of his replycation 212 45. Howe Eternyte came into the temple, and of her vertuous Exhortacyon 218 46. The excusation of the auctour 220

¶ This boke, called the Pastime of Pleasure, was made and compyled by Stephen Hawes, one of the gromes of the most honorable chambre of our soverayne lorde Kynge Henry the Seventh, the xxi. yere of his most noble reyne; chapitred and marked after the table here before sette.

THE PASTIME OF PLEASURE.

Ryght myghty prynce and redoubted soverayne, Saylinge forth well in the shyppe of grace, Over the waves of this lyfe uncertayne Ryght towarde heven to have dwellyng place, Grace dothe you guyde in every doubtfull cace. Your governaunce dothe evermore eschewe The synne of slouthe, enemy to vertewe.

Grace stereth well, the grace of God is grete, Whyche you hath brought to your ryall se, And in your ryght it hath you surely sette Above us all to have the soverayntie; Whose worthy power and regall dygnite, All our rancour and our debate gan ceace, Hath to us brought bothe welthe, reste and peace.

Frome whome descendeth by the ryghtfull lyne Noble prynce Henry, to succede the crowne; That in his youth doth so clerely shyne, In every vertue castinge the vyce adowne. He shall of fame attaine the hye renowne; No doubte but grace shal him well enclose, Whiche by true right sprange of the reed rose.

Your noble grace and excellent highnes For to accepte I beseche right humbly Thys lytle boke, opprest wyth rudenes, Without rethorycke or coloure crafty; Nothinge I am experte in poetry, As the monke of Bury, floure of eloquence, Whiche was in the time of great excellence

Of your predecessour, the v. kyng Henry, Unto whose grace he did present Ryght famous bokes of parfit memory, Of hys faynyng with termes eloquent; Whose fatall fictions are yet permanent, Grounded on reason, with cloudy fygures He cloked the trouth of all his scryptures.

The lyght of trouth I lacke cunnying to cloke, To drawe a curtayne I dare not to presume, Nor hyde my matter with a misty smoke, My rudenes cunnying doth so sore consume: Yet as I may I shall blowe out a fume To hyde my mynde underneth a fable, By covert coloure well and probable.

Besechying your grace to pardon myne ignoraunce, Whiche this fayned fable, to eschue idlenes, Have so compyled nowe without doubtance, For to present to your hye worthynes, To folowe the trace and all the perfitenes Of my maister Lydgate with due exercise, Suche fayned tales I do fynde and devyse.

For under a coloure a truthe may aryse, As was the guyse in olde antiquitie, Of the poetes olde, a tale to surmyse, To cloke the truthe of their infirmitie, Or yet on joye to have mortalitie. I me excuse if by neglygence That I do offende for lacke of science.

CAP. I. HOWE GRAUNDE AMOURE WALKED IN A MEDOWE, AND MET WYTH FAME ENVYRONED WITH TONGUES OF FYRE.

When Phebus entred was in Geminy, Shynyng above in his fayre golden spere, And horned Dyane then but one degre In the Crabbe had entred fayre and cleare; When that Aurora did well appeare In the depured ayre and cruddy firmament, Forth then I walked without impediment

Into a medowe both gaye and glorious, Whiche Flora depainted with many a colour, Lyke a place of pleasure moste solacious, Encensyng out the aromatike odoure Of Zepherus breath, whiche that every floure Through his fume doth alwaye engender. So as I went among the flowres tender,

By sodayne chaunce a fayre path I founde, On whiche I loked and ryght oft I mused, And then all about I behelde the grounde With the fayre path whiche I sawe so used. My chaunce or fortune I nothyng refused; But in the path forth I went apace, To knowe whether and unto what place

It woulde me bryng by any similitude. So forth I went, were it ryght or wrong, Tyll that I sawe of royall pulchritude Before my face an ymage fayre and strong, With two fayre handes stretched out along Unto two hye wayes there in particion, And in the ryght hande was this description:

This is the strayght waye of contemplacion. Unto the joyfull tower perdurable: Who that will unto that mancion, He must forsake all thinges variable, With the vayne glory so muche deceivable, And though the way be hard and daungerous, The last ende therof shal be ryght precious.

And in the other hande ryght fayre wrytten was, This is the way of worldly dignitie; Of the active life who wyll in it passe Unto the tower of fayre dame Beautye, Fame shall tell hym of the way of certaintie Unto La Bell Pucell, the fayre lady excellent, Above all other in cleare beauty splendent.

I behelde ryght well bothe the wayes twayne, And mused oft whiche was best to take; The one was sharpe, the other was more playne; And unto my selfe I began to make A sodayne argument, for I myght not slake Of my great musyng of this royall ymage, And of these two wayes so muche in usage;

For this goodly picture was in altitude Nyne fote and more, of fayre marble stone, Ryght well favoured and of great altitude, Though it were made full many yeres agone. Thus stode I musynge my selfe all alone By right long tyme; at the last I went The active waye with all my whole entent.

Thus all alone I began to travayle Forthe on my waye by long continuaunce; But often tymes I had great marvayle Of the by pathes so full of pleasaunce, Whiche for to take I had great doubtaunce; But evermore, as nere as I myght I toke the waye whiche went before me ryght.

And at the last, when Phebus in the west Gan to avayle with all his beames mery, When cleare Dyana in the fayre south est Gan for to ryse, lightyng our emispery With clowdes cleare without the stormy pery, Me thought afarre I had a vysyon Of a picture of marveylous facion:

To whiche I went without lenger delaye, Beholdyng well the ryght faire portrayture Made of fyne copper, shydyng faire and gaye, Full well truely accordyng to measure, And, as I thought, nyne fote of stature, Yet in the brest with letters fayre and blewe Was wrytten a sentence olde and true:

This is the waye and the sytuacion Unto the toure of famous doctrine: Who that wil learne must be ruled by reason And with all his diligence he must enclyne Slouthe to eschue and for to determine, And set his hert to be intelligible; To a willyng harte is nought impossible.

Besyde the ymage I adowne me sette, After my laboure my selfe to repose, Tyll at the last with a gaspyng nette Slouth my head caught with his whole purpose. It vayled not the bodye for to dispose Against the head, when it is applyed, The head must rule, it cannot be denied.

Thus as I satte in a deadly slomber, Of a great horne I harde a royal blast, With which I awoke, and had a great wonder From whence it came: it made me sore agast. I loked about; the nyght was wel nere past, And fayre golden Phebus in the morow graye With cloudes redde began to breake the daye.

I sawe come ryding in a valey farre A goodly ladye, envyroned about With tongues of fyre as bright as any starre, That fyry flambes ensensed alway out, Whiche I behelde and was in great doubte; Her palfrey swyft renning as the winde, With two white grayhoundes that were not behynde.

When that these grayhoundes had me so espied, With faunyng chere of great humilitie In goodly haste they fast unto me hyed; I mused why and wherfore it should be, But I welcomed them in every degre. They leaped oft and were of me ryght fayne; I suffred them, and cheryshed them agayne.

Their collers were of golde and of tyssue fine, Wherin their names appeared by scripture Of dyamondes that clerely do shyne: The letters were graven fayre and pure. To reade their names I did my busy cure; The one was Governaunce, the other named Grace; Then was I glad of all this sodayne cace.

And then the lady, with fiery flambe Of brennying tongues, was in my presence Upon her palfrey, whiche had unto name Pegase the swyfte, so fayre in excellence, Whiche sometime longed with his preminence To kyng Percius the sonne of Jubiter, On whome he rode by the worlde so farre.

To me she sayde, she marvelled muche why That her grayhoundes shewed me that favoure. What was my name she asked me truly? To whome I sayde it was La Graunde Amoure, Besechyng you to be to me succoure To the tower of Doctrine, and also me tell Your proper name and where you do dwell?

My name, quod she, in all the worlde is knowen, I-clipped Fame in every region, For I my horne in sundry wyse have blowen After the death of many a champion, And with my tongues have made aye mencion Of their great actes agayne to revive, In flaming tongues for to abyde on lyve.

It was the custome of an olde antiquitie, When the golden worlde had dominacion, And nature, hyghe in her aucthoritie, More stronger had her operacion Then she had nowe in her digression, The people then dyd all their busye payne After their death in fame to lyve agayne.

Recorde of Saturne, the first kyng of Crete, Whiche in his youth through his diligence Founde first plowyng of the landes swete; And after this, by his great sapience, For the comen profite and benevolence Of all metalles he made division One from another by good provision.

And then also, as some poetes fayne, He found shotyng and drawyng of the bowe, Yet as of that I am nothyng certayne; But for his cunnynge, of hye degre and lowe He was well beloved, as I do well knowe; Through whose laboure and aye busy cure His fame shall lyve and shall ryght long endure.

In whose tyme reigned also in Thessayle, (A parte of Grece) the kyng Melizyus, That was ryght strong and fierce in battaile; By whose laboure, as the story sheweth us, He brake first horses wilde and rigorious, Teaching his men on them ryght well to ryde, And he hym selfe did fyrst the horse bestryde.

Also Mynerve, the ryght hardy goddese In the same time of so hyghe renowne, Vainquished Pallas by her great worthynes, And first made harneys, to laye his pryde adowne: Whose great defence in every realme and towne Was spredde about for her hye chyvalrye, Whiche by her harneys wanne the victorye.

Doth not remayne yet in remembraunce The famous actes of the noble Hercules, That so many monsters put to utteraunce By his great wisdome and hye prowes? As the recule of Troye beareth good witnes; That in his time he would no battayle take But for the wealth of the commens sake.

Thus the whole myndes were ever fixt and set Of noble men in olde tyme to devyse Suche thynges as were to the comeyn proffet; For in that tyme suche was their goodly guyse, That after dethe theyr fame should aryse, For to endure and abyde in mynde, As yet in bokes we may them wrytten fynde.

O ye estates surmountynge in noblenesse, Remember well the noble paynyms all, How by theyr labour they wanne the hyenesse Of worthy fame to raygne memoryall, And them applyed ever, in specyall, Thynges to practyse whiche should profyte be To the comyn welthe and their heyres in fee.

CAP. II. OF THE SWETE REPORTE OF FAME OF THE FAYRE LADY LA BELL PUCELL IN THE TOURE OF MUSYCKE.

And after thys, Fame gan to expresse Of jeoperdous way to the toure peryllous, And of the beaute and the semelynesse Of La Bel Pucell; so gaye and gloryous, That dwelled in the toure so marveylous; Unto whyche might come no maner of creature, But by great laboure and harde adventure.

For by the way theyr lye in wayte Gyauntes great, dysfigured of nature, That all devoureth by theyr yll conceyte; Agaynst whose streingth there may no man endure, They are so huge and stroonge out of measure; Wyth many serpentes foule and odyous, In sundry lykenesse blacke and tedyous.

But behynde them a great see there is, Beyonde whyche see there is a goodly lande Most full of fruyte replete wyth joye and blysse. Of ryght fyne golde appereth all the sande In this fayre realme, where the tower doth stand, Made all of golde, enameled aboute Wyth noble storyes whyche do appere wythout.

In whyche dwelleth by great aucthorytie Of La Bell Pucell, whyche is so fayre and bryght, To whome in beaute no pere I can se; For lyke as Phebus above all sterres in lyght, Whan that he is in his spere aryght, Dothe excede wyth his beames cleare, So dothe her beaute above other appeare.

She is bothe good, ay wyse and vertuous, And also dyscended of a noble lyne; Ryche, comly, ryght meke, and bounteous; All maner vertues in her clerely shyne: No vyce of her may ryght longe domine. And I, dame Fame, in every nacyon Of her do make the same relacyon.

Her swete reporte so my hert set on fyre Wyth brennyng love moost hot and fervent, That her to se I had greate desyre; Sayenge to Fame; O lady excellent, I have determyned in my judgement, For La Bell Pucell the most fayre lady To passe the waye of so greate jeopardy.

You shall, quod Fame, obtayne the vyctory, If you wyl do as I shall you saye, And all my lesson retayne in memory. To the toure of Doctryne ye shall take your waye. You are now wythin a dayes journeye; Bothe these greyhoundes shal kepe you company: Loke that you cheryshe them full gentely.

And Countenance, the goodly portres, Shall let you in ful well and nobly, And also shewe you of the parfytenes Of all the seven scyences ryght notably. There in your mynde you may ententyfly Unto dame Doctryne gyve parfyte audyence, Whyche shall enforme you in every scyence.

Farewell, she sayde, I maye not now abyde; Walke on your waye, wyth all your hole delyght, To the toure of Doctrine at thys morowe tyde, Ye shall to morowe of it have a syght. Kepe on your waye now before you right, For I must hence to specyfy the dedes Of theyr worthynesse accordynge to theyr medes.

And wyth that she dyd from me depart, Upon her stede swyfter than the wynde. Whan she was gone, full wofull was my herte; Wyth inward trouble oppressed was my mynde. Yet were the greyhoundes left wyth me behynde, Whyche did me comforte in my great vyage To the toure of Doctryne, with their fawnynge courage.

So forthe I went, tossynge on my brayne, Greatly musyng, over hyll and vale. The way was troublous, and ey nothing playne; Tyll at the laste I came to a dale, Beholdyng Phebus declinyng lowe and pale; With my grayhoundes, in the fayre twylight, I sate me downe for to rest me all nyght.

Slouthe upon me so fast began to crepe, That of fyne force I downe me layed Upon an hyll with my greyhoundes to slepe. When I was downe, I thought me well apayed, And to my selfe these wordes then I sayde: Who will attaine sone to his journeys ende, To nouryshe slouthe he may not condiscende.

CAP. III. HOWE FAME DEPARTED FROM GRAUNDE AMOURE, AND LEFT WITH HYM GOUVERNAUNCE AND GRACE, AND HOWE HE WENT TO THE TOWER OF DOCTRINE.