# The Shepheardes Calender/Maye

Maye.
Ægloga Quinta
ARGVMENT
Jn this firste Æglogue, vnder the persons of two shepheards, Piers & Palinodie, be represented two formes of pastoures or Ministers, or the protestant and the Catholique: whose chiefe talke standeth in reasoning, whether the life of the one must be like the other, with whom hauing showed, that it is daungerous to mainteine any felowship, or giue too much credit to their co​lourable and feyned goodwill, he telleth him a tale of the foxe, that by such a counterpoynt of craftines deceiued and deuoured the credulous kidde.
Palinodes Embleme.
Πὰς μέν ἄπιστος ἄπιςτοῖ.
Piers his Embleme.
Τὶς δ' ἄρα πίστος ἀπίστω;
GLOSSE.
Thilke) this same moneth. It is applyed to the season of the moneth, when all menne delight them selues with pleasaunce of fieldes, and gardens, and garments.
Bloncket liueries) gray coates.
Yclad) arrayed, Y, redoundeth, as before.
In euery where) a straunge, yet proper kind of speaking.
Buskets) a Diminutiue. s. little bushes of hauthorne.
Kirke) church.
Queme) please.
A shole) a multitude; taken of fishe, whereof some going in great companies, are sayde to swimme in a shole.
Yode) went. Iouyssance) ioye.
Swinck) labour.
Inly) entirely
Faytours) vagabonds.
Great pan) is Christ, the very God of all shepheards, which calleth himselfe the greate and good shepherd. The name is most rightly (me thinkes) applyed to him, for Pan fignifieth all or omnipotent, which is onely the Lord Iesus. And by that name (as I remember) he is called of Eusebius in his fifte booke de Preparat. Euang; who thereof telleth a proper storye to that purpose. Which story is first recorded of Plutatch, in his booke of the ceasing of oracles, & of Lauetere translated, in his booke of walking sprightes. who sayth, that about the same time, that our Lord suffered his most bitter passion for the redemtion of man, certein passengers sayling from Italy to Cyprus and passing by certain Iles called Paxæ, heard a voyce calling alowde Thamus, Thamus, (now Thamus was the name of an Ægyptian, which was Pilote of the ship,) who giuing eare to the cry, was bidden, when he came to Palodes, to tel, that the great Pan was dead: which he doubting to doe, yet for that when he came to Palodes, there sodeinly was such a calme of winde, that the shippe stoode still in the sea vnmoued, he was forced to cry alowd, that Pan was dead: wherewithall there was heard suche piteous outcryes and dreadfull shriking, as hath not bene the like. By whych Pan, though of some be vnderstoode the great Satamas, whose kingdome at that time was by Christ conquered, the gates of hell broken vp, and death by death deliuered to eternall death, (for at that time, as he sayth; all Oracles surceased, and enchaunted spirits, that were wont to delude the people, thenceforth held theyr peace) & also at the demaund of the Emperoure Tiberius, who that Pan should be, answere was made him by the wisest and best learned, that it was the sonne of Mercurie and Penelope, yet I think it more properly meant of the death of Christ, the onely and very Pan, then suffering for his flock.
I as I am) seemeth to imitate the commen prouerb, Malim Inuidere mihi omnes quam miserescere.
Nas) is a syncope, for ne has, or has not: as nould, for would not.
Tho with them] doth imitate the Epitaphe of the ryotous king Sardanapalus, whych ​caused to be written on his tombe in Greeke: which verses be thus translated by Tullie.
which may thus be turned into English.
Much like the Epitaph of a good olde Erle of Deuonshire, which though much more wisedome bewraieth, then Sardanapalus, yet hath a smacke of his sensuall delights and beastlinesse. the rymes be these.
Algrim) the name of a shepheard.
Men of the Lay) Lay men.
Enaunter) least that.
Souenaunce) remembraunce.
Miscreaunce) despeire or misbeliefe.
Cheuisaunce) sometime of Chaucer vsed for gaine: sometime of other for spoyle, or bootie, or enterprise, and sometime for chiefdome.
Pan himselfe) God. according as is sayd in Deuteronomie, That in diuision of the lande of Canaan, to the tribe of Leuie no portion of heritage should bee allotted, for GOD himselfe was their inheritaunce
Some gan) meant of the Pope, and his Antichristian prelates, which vsurpe a tyrannical dominion in the Churche, and with Peters counterfet keyes, open a wide gate to al wickednesse and insolent gouernment. Nought here spoken, as of purpose to deny fatherly rule and godly gouernaunce (as some malitiously of late haue done to the great vnreste and hinderaunce of the Churche) but to displaye the pride and disorder of such, as in steede of seeding their sheepe, indeede feede of theyr sheepe.
Sourse) welspring and originall.
Borrowe) pledge or suertie.
The Geaunte) is the greate Atlas, whom the poetes feign to be a huge geaunt, that beareth Heauen on his shoulders: being in deede a merueilous highe mountaine in Mauritania, that now is Barbarie, which to mans seeming perceth the cloudes, and seemeth to touch the heauens. Other thinke, and they not amisse, that this fable was meant of one Atlas king of the same countrye. (of whome may bee, that that hil had his denomination) brother to Prometheus (who as the Grekes say) did first fynd out the hidden courses of the starres, by an excellent imagination wherefore the poetes feigned, that he susteyned the firmament on hys shoulders. Many other coniectures needelesse be told hereof.
Warke) worke:
Encheason) cause, occasion.
Deare borow) that is our sauiour, the commen pledge of all mens debts to death.
Wyten) blame.
Nought seemeth) is vnseemely.
Conteck) strife contention.
Her) theyr, as vseth Chaucer.
Han) for haue.
Sam) together.
​This tale is much like to that in Æsops fables, but the Catastrophe and end is farre different. By the Kidde may be vnderstoode the simple sorte of the saythfull and true Christians. By hys dame Christe, that hath alreadie with carefull watchewords (as heere doth the gote) warned his little ones, to beware of such doubling deceit. By the Foxe, the false and faithlesse Papistes, to whom is no credit to be giuen, nor felowshippe to be vsed.
The gate) the Gote: Northernely spoken to turne O into A.
Yode) went. afforesayd
She set) A figure called Fictio. which vseth to attribute reasonable actions and speaches to vnreasonable creatures.
The bloosmes of lust) be the young and mossie heares, which then beginne to sproute and shoote foorth, when lustfull heate beginneth to kindle.
And with) A very Poeticall παθὀς.
Orphane) A youngling or pupill, that needeth a Tutour and gouernour.
That word) A patheticall parenthesis, to encrease a carefull Hyperbaton.
The braunch) of the fathers body, is the child.
For euen so) Alluded to the saying of Andromache to Ascanius in Virgile. Sic oculos, sic ille manus, sic ora ferebat.
A thrilling throb) a percing sighe.
Liggen) lye.
Maister of collusion). s. coloured guile, because the Foxe of al beasts is most wily & crafty.
Sperre the yate) shut the dore.
For such) The gotes stombling is here noted as an euill signe. The like to be marked in all histories: and that not the leaste of the Lorde Hastingues in king Rycharde the third his dayes. For beside his daungerous dreame (whiche was a shrewde prophecie of his mishap, that folowed) it is sayd that in the morning ryding toward the tower of London, there to sitte vppon matters of counsell, his horse stombled twise or thrise by the way: which of some, that ryding with hym in his company, were priuie to his neere destenie, was secretly marked, and afterward noted for memorie of his great mishap, that ensewed. For being then as merye, as man might be, and least doubting any mortall daunger, he was with in two howres after, of the Tyranne put to a shamefull deathe.
As belles) by such trifles are noted, the reliques and ragges of popish superstition, which put no smal religion in Belles: and Babies. s Idoles: and glasses. s Paxes, and such lyke trumperies.
Great cold.) For they boast much of their outward patience, and voluntarye sufferaunce as a worke of merite and holy humblenesse.
Sweete S. Charitie. The Catholiques comen othe, and onely speache, to haue charitye alwayes in their mouth, and sometime in their outward Actions, but neuer inwardly in fayth and godly zeale.
Clincke.) a key hole. Whose diminutiue is clicket, vsed of Chaucer for a Key.
Stoundes) fittes: aforesayde.
His lere) his lesson.
Medled) mingled.
Bestlihead.) agreeing to the person of a beast.
Sibbe.) of kynne.
Newell) a newe thing.
To forestall) to praeuent.
Glee] chere, afforesayde.
Deare a price.) his lyfe, which be lost for those toyes.
Such ende) is an Epiphonèma, or rather the morall of the whole tale, whose purpose is to warne the protestaunt beware, howe he geueth credit to the vnfaythfull ​Catholique: whereof we haue dayly proofes sufficient, but one moste famous of all, practised of Late yeares in Fraunce by Charles the nynth.
Fayne) gladde or desyrous.
Our sir Iohn) a Popishe priest, A saying fit for the grosenesse of a shepheard, but spoken to taunte vnlearned Priestes.
Dismount) descende or set.
Nye) draweth nere.
Embleme.
Both these Emblemes make one whole Hexametre. The first spoken of Palinodie, as in reproche of them, that be distrustfull, is a peece of Theognis verse, intending, that who doth most mistrust is most false. For such experience in falsehod breedeth mistrust in the mynd, thinking nolesse guile to lurke in others, then in hymselfe. But Piers thereto strongly replyeth with another peece of the same verse, saying as in his former fable, what fayth then is there in the faythlesse. For if fayth be the ground of religion, which fayth they dayly false, what hold then is there of theyr religion. And thys is all that they saye.