one detail, is not of great length. He is said to have written a
treatise, _De Litera Pythagoræ_--the letter _upsilon_, in the form of
which Pythagoras had chosen to see certain emblematical properties.
Of this treatise nothing is now known. It is to his translations of
Boece and Livy that the Archdeacon of Moray owes his chief fame. The
first edition of the Latin _History of Scotland_ by Hector Boece,
consisting of seventeen books, had been printed at Paris in 1526, and
dedicated to James V.[583] That king’s knowledge of Latin must have
been strictly limited, as we know from Lyndsay he was withdrawn from
school at twelve years of age. His desire, therefore, for a translation
into the vernacular may be understood. Bellenden’s translation, with
Boece’s “cosmographé,” or description of Scotland, prefixed, was
published at Edinburgh in 1541,[584] and has the credit of being the
earliest existing prose work in the Scottish language. The translator
divided Boece’s books into chapters, and, from a reference in his
proheme, apparently meant to bring the history down to his own time.
As a translation the work is somewhat free, Bellenden having taken
the liberty of correcting errors and supplying omissions where he
thought right. Nevertheless it soon became the standard translation
of the historian, and was the version which, with interpolations from
the histories of Major, Lesley, and Buchanan, was used by Hollinshed,
being the direct channel, therefore, through which Shakespeare derived
the story of Macbeth. As a contribution to literature it remains the
earliest and the most ample specimen we possess of Scottish prose.
“Rich,” as its latest editor has said, “in barbaric pearl and gold,”
while “the rust of age has not obscured the fancy and imagery with
which the work abounds,” it affords an admirable illustration of the
force and variety of the language in which it was written.
[583] Hector Boece, born 1465-66, was Principal of King’s College,
Aberdeen, then newly founded by Bishop Elphinstone; and he died Rector
of Tyrie in Buchan, in 1536. The second edition of his _History_ was
not published till 1574. It included the eighteenth and part of the
nineteenth book by Boece, and a continuation to the end of the reign of
James III. by the celebrated scholar Ferrerius.
[584] On the title page the translator is styled “Archdene of
Murray and Chanon of Rosse,” and, as Irving points out, he was not
in possession of these titles at the time of purchasing escheat in
1538. The date of 1536 sometimes assigned to this edition is probably
therefore a mistake. Only two copies of the edition are now known to
exist.
At the end of his translation Bellenden appended an epistle to the
king--one of these sound, if somewhat plain, admonitions which his
courtiers apparently did not scruple to address to James the Fifth.
It deals boldly with the distinction between a king and a tyrant, and
does not hesitate to hold up by way of example the fate which has
constantly overtaken the wickedness of princes.
The best edition of Bellenden’s Boece is that edited, with a
biographical introduction by Thomas Maitland, Lord Dundrennan, and
published at Edinburgh in two volumes, quarto, in 1821. The only
edition of the Livy is one by the same editor, printed in 1822 from
a manuscript in the Advocates’ Library. The translation extends only
to the first five books of the original, though it was Bellenden’s
intention to furnish a complete version of his author. The work
actually done is characterised, like the translation of Boece, by great
fluency and vividness, and a natural happiness of style.
But it is to Bellenden’s work as a poet that the chief consideration
is here due. To each of his three translations he prefixed a poetical
proheme, or preface, of some length; before the title-page of his Boece
appears a quaint “Excusation of the Prentar” which must be attributed
to him; and a separate poem of twenty-two stanzas by him, entitled “The
Benner of Pietie, concerning the Incarnatioun of our Saluiour Chryst,”
forms one of the duplicate articles in the Bannatyne MS., printed by
the Hunterian Club, 1878-86.[585] These five compositions represent his
entire poetical achievement so far as is known. Though printed each in
its due place, as above indicated, they have never been collected in a
single volume.[586]
[585] This MS., by the older writers on Bellenden, is called sometimes
the “Carmichael Collection,” from the name of the owner who lent it to
Allan Ramsay, sometimes the “Hyndford MS.,” from John, third Earl of
Hyndford, who presented it to the Advocates’ Library. This difference
of appellation has not lessened the confusion hitherto involving the
poet and his work.
[586] The prohemes from the translation of Boece, after being copied in
part by Bannatyne in his MS., were included in Ramsay’s _Evergreen_ and
in Sibbald’s _Chronicle of Scottish Poetry_. The prologue to Livy was
printed first by Dr. Leyden in the dissertation prefixed to his edition
of _The Complaynt of Scotland_.
Bellenden’s chief poem is the proheme to the cosmographé prefixed
to his translation of Boece. It bears no real relation to the work
which it precedes, and is believed to have been written before 1530.
Modelled upon the classical allegory of the “Choice of Hercules,” it is
addressed to James V., and with great tact seeks to convey a somewhat
pertinent moral lesson to that youthful monarch. The original title of
the composition is understood to have been “Virtew and Vyce”; and after
the poetic fashion of its time the allegory is cast in form of a dream.
It describes the wooing of a handsome young prince, whose personality
can hardly be mistaken, by two lovely and splendidly attired ladies,
Delight and Virtue. With quaint shrewdness the poet contrives to awaken
at the proper moment, saving himself the invidious task of describing
the prince’s choice.
The proheme to the history is a graver and less poetical production,
though bearing a closer relation to the work which follows. The chief
object of history, it declares in effect, is to set forth the noble
deeds of the past as an example to the present--a task performed
with great array of classic information. The most striking passage
of the poem is the descant on nobility, which occupies nine out
of the twenty-nine stanzas. Some of the lines in this have all the
incisiveness of the clearest-cut aphorism.
Somewhat the same theory of history forms the burden of the prologue
to Livy. The chief interest of this piece consists, perhaps, as Lord
Dundrennan pointed out, in its representation of James V. as a patron
of literature. The opening stanzas, however, are not without a certain
warlike resonance suited to a prelude of Roman deeds of arms.
Altogether, though not of the era-making order, and though
comparatively limited in quantity, the poetry of Bellenden is worthy of
more attention than it has hitherto received. In allegoric method and
in form of verse it follows the fashion of its day, and it shares that
fashion’s faults; but, these drawbacks apart, it is marked by great
skill and smoothness of versification, by no small descriptive charm,
and by a certain happy vividness of imagery which again and again
surprises and delights the reader. One can almost feel the breath of
Notus brim, the wind meridiane,
With wingis donk, and pennis full of rane;
and a seascape rises instantly before the eye at mention of the
Carvell ticht, fast tending throw the se.
Beyond this, Bellenden shows himself a careful student of human nature,
with more than one significant word to say upon the subject.
VIRTEW AND VYCE.
_The Proheme of the Cosmographé prefixed to Boece’s History._
Quhen silvir Diane, ful of bemis bricht,
Fra dirk[587] eclips wes past, this othir nicht,
And in the Crab, hir propir mansion, gane;
Artophilax contending at his micht
In the gret eist to set his visage richt,
I mene the ledar of the Charle-wane,
Abone[588] our heid wes the Ursis twane;
Quhen sterris small obscuris in our sicht
And Lucifer left twinkland him allane;
The frosty nicht with hir prolixit houris
Hir mantill quhit spred on the tender flouris;
Quhen ardent lauboure hes addressit me
Translait the story of our progenitouris,
Thair gret manheid, hie wisdome, and honouris;
Quhen we may cleir as in ane mirroure se
The furius end, sum-time, of tirannie,
Sum-time the glore of prudent governouris
Ilk stait apprisit[589] in thair faculte;
My wery spreit desiring to repres
My emptive pen of frutles besines,
Awalkit furth to tak the recent aire;
Quhen Priapus, with stormy weid oppres,
Raqueistit me in his maist tendernes
To rest ane quhile amid his gardingis bare.
Bot I no maner couth[590] my mind prepare
To set aside unplesand hevines,
On this and that contempling solitare.
And first occurrit to my remembring
How that I wes in service with the King,
Put to his Grace in yeris tenderest,
Clerk of his Comptis, thoucht I wes inding[591],
With hart and hand and every othir thing
That micht him pleis in ony maner best;
Quhill[592] hie invy me from his service kest
Be thaim that had the Court in governing,
As bird but plumes heryit[593] of the nest.
Our life, our giding, and our aventuris
Dependis from thir hevinlie creaturis
Apperandlie be sum necessite.
For thoucht[594] ane man wald set his besy curis[595],
So far as laboure and his wisdome furis,
To fle hard chance of infortunite;
Thoucht he eschew it with difficulte,
The cursit weird yit ithandlie enduris[596],
Gevin to him first in his nativitie.
Of erdlie[597] stait bewaling thus the chance,
Of fortoun gud I had na esperance.
So lang I swomit[598] in hir seis deip
That sad avising[599] with hir thochtful lance
Couth find na port to ankir hir firmance;
Quhill Morpheus, the drery god of sleip,
For very reuth did on my curis weip,
And set his sleuth[600] and deidly contenance
With snorand vanis throw my body creip.
Me-thocht I was in-to ane plesand meid,
Quhare Flora maid the tender blewmis spreid
Throw kindlie dew and humouris nutrative,
Quhen goldin Titan, with his flammis reid,
Abone the seis rasit up his heid,
Diffounding[601] down his heit restorative
To every frute that nature maid on live,
Quhilk wes afore in-to the winter deid,
For stormis cald and frostis penitrive[602].
Ane silver fontane sprang of watter cleir
In-to that place quhare I approchit neir,
Quhare I did sone espy ane fellown reird[603]
Of courtly gallandis in thair best maneir
Rejosing thaim in season of the yeir,
As it had bene of Mayis day the feird[604].
Thair gudlie havingis maid me nocht affeird;
With thaim I saw are crownit King appeir,
With tender downis rising on his beird.
Thir courtlie gallandis settand thair intentis
To sing, and play on divers instrumentis,
According to this Princis appetit;
Two plesand ladyis come pransand ouir the bentis[605];
Thair costlie clethin schew thair michty rentis[606].
Quhat hart micht wis, thay wantit nocht ane mit;
The rubeis schone apone thair fingaris quhit;
And finalie I knew, be thair consentis,
This ane Virtew, that other hecht[607] Delite.
Thir goddesses arrayit in this wise,
As reverence and honoure list devise,
Afore this Prince fell down apon thair kneis,
Syne dressit thaim in-to thair best avise[608],
So far as wisdome in thair power lyis,
To do the thing that micht him best appleis,
Quhare he rejosit in his hevinly gleis[609];
And him desirit, for his hie empryis[610],
Ane of thaim two unto his lady cheis[611].
And first Delite unto this Prince said thus,
“Maist vailyeant knicht, in dedis amorus,
And lustiest[612] that evir nature wrocht,
Quhilk[613] in the floure of youth mellifluus,
With notis sweit and sang melodius
Awalkis heir amang the flouris soft,
Thow hes no game bot in thy mery thocht.
My hevinly blis is so delicius,
All welth in erd[614], bot it, avalis nocht.
“Thoucht thow had France, and Italie also,
Spane, Inglande, Pole, with othir realmes mo,
Thoucht thow micht regne in stait maist glorius,
Thy pissant[615] kingdome is nocht worth ane stro
Gif it unto thy pleseir be ane fo,
Or trubill thy mind with curis dolorus.
Thair is na-thing may be so odius
To man, as leif[616] in miserie and wo,
Defraudand God of nature genius.
“Dres thé thairfore with all thy besy cure,
That thow in joy and pleseir may indure,
Be sicht of thir[617] four bodyis elementar;
Two hevy and grosse, and two ar licht and pure.
Thir elementis, be wirking of nature,
Douth change in othir; and thocht thay be richt far
Fra othir severit, with qualiteis contrar,
Of thaim ar maid all levand creature,
And finalie in thaim resolvit ar.
“The fire in air, the air in watter cleir,
In erd the watter turnis without weir[618],
The erd in watter turnis ouir agane,
So furth in ordour; na-thing consumis heir.
Ane man new borne beginnis to appeir
In othir figure than afore wes tane[619];
Quhen he is deid the mater dois remane,
Thoucht it resolve in-to sum new maneir;
No-thing new, nocht bot the forme is gane.
“Thus is no-thing in erd bot fugitive,
Passand and cumand be spreiding successive.
And as ane beist, so is ane man consave
Of seid infuse in membris genitive,
And furth his time in pleseir dois ouir-drive,
As chance him ledis, quhill he be laid in grave.
Thairfore thy hevin and pleseir now ressave
Quhill thow art heir in-to this present live;
For eftir deith thow sall na pleseir have.
“The rose, the lillyis, and the violet,
Unpullit, sone ar with the wind ouirset,
And fallis doun but[620] ony frut, I wis:
Thairfore I say, sen that no-thing may let[621],
Bot thy bricht hew mon[622] be with yeris fret[623],
(For every-thing bot for ane season is,)
Thow may nocht have ane more excellent blis
Than ly all nicht in-to min armis plet[624],
To hals and brais[625] with mony lusty kis,
“And have my tender body be thy side,
So propir, fet, quhilk nature hes provide
With every pleseir that thow may devine,
Ay quhill my tender yeris be ouir-slide.
Than gif it pleis that I thy bridill gide
Thow mon alway fra agit men decline;
Sine dres thy hart, thy curage, and ingine[626]
To suffir nane into thy hous abide
Bot gif thay will unto thy lust[627] incline.
“Gif thow desiris in the seis fleit[628]
Of hevinly blis, than me thy lady treit;
For it is said be clerkis of renoun
Thair is na pleseir in this eird so gret
As quhen ane luffar dois his lady meit,
To quikin his life of mony deidly swon.
As hiest pleseir but comparison
I sall thé geif, into thy yeris swete,
Ane lusty halk with mony plumis broun,
“Quhilk sal be found so joyus and plesant,
Gif thow unto hir mery flichtis hant[629],
Of every blis that may in erd appeir,
As hart will think, thow sall no plente want,
Quhill yeris swift, with quhelis properant[630],
Consume thy strenth and all thy bewte cleir.”
And quhen Delite had said on this maneir,
As rage of youtheid thocht maist relevant
Than Virtew said as ye sall eftir heir.
“My landis braid, with mony plentuus schire[631],
Sall gif thy Hienes, gif thou list desire,
Triumphant glore, hie honoure, fame devine,
With sic pissance that thaim na furius ire,
Nor werand[632] age, nor flame of birnand fire,
Nor bitter deith, may bring unto rewine.
Bot thow mon first insuffer mekill pine[633],
Abone thy-self that thow may have empire;
Than sall thy fame and honoure have na fine[634].
“My realme is set among my fois all;
Quhilkis hes with me ane weir[635] continewall,
And evir still dois on my bordour ly;
And, thoucht thay may no wayis me ouirthrall[636],
Thay ly in wait, gif ony chance may fall
Of me sum-time to get the victory.
Thus is my life ane ithand chevalry[637]:
Laubour me haldis strang as ony wall
And no-thing brekis[638] me bot slogardy.
“Na fortoun may aganis me availl
Thoucht scho with cludy stormis me assaill.
I brek the streme of scharp adversite.
In weddir louin[639], and maist tempestius haill,
But ony dreid, I beir ane equall saill,
My schip so strang that I may nevir de.
Wit, reason, manheid, governis me so hie,
No influence nor sterris may prevaill
To regne on me with infortunite.
“The rage of youtheid may nocht dantit be[640]
But gret distres and scharp adversite;
As be this reason is experience--
The finest gold or silver that we se
May nocht be wrocht to our utilite
But flammis kene and bitter violence.
The more distres the more intelligence.
Quhay salis lang in hie prosperitie
Ar sone ouirset be stormy violence.
“This fragill life, as moment induring,
But dout sall thé and every pepill bring
To sickir[641] blis or than eternal wo.
Gif thow be honest lauboure dois ane thing,
Thy panefull laubour sall vanes but tarying[642],
Howbeit thy honest werkis do nocht so.
Gif thow be lust dois ony thing also,
The schamefull deid, without dissevering,
Remanis ay, quhen pleseir is ago[643].
“As carvell ticht, fast tending throw the se,
Levis na prent amang the wallis hie;
As birdis swift, with mony besy plume,
Peirsis the aire, and wait[644] nocht quhare thay fle;
Siclik[645] our life, without activite,
Giffis na frut, howbeit ane schado blume.
Quhay dois thair life into this erd consume
Without virtew, thair fame and memorie
Sall vanis soner than the reky[646] fume.
“As watter purgis and makis bodyis fair,
As fire be nature ascendis in the aire
And purifyis with heitis vehement,
As floure dois smell, as frute is nurisare,
As precius balme revertis thingis sare[647]
And makis thaim of rot impacient,
As spice maist swete, as ros maist redolent,
As stern of day[648], be moving circulare,
Chasis the nicht with bemis resplendent;
“Siclik my werk perfitis[649] every wicht
In fervent luf of maist excellent licht,
And makis man into this erd but peir[650],
And dois the saule fra all corruptioun dicht[651]
With odoure dulce, and makis it more bricht
Than Diane full, or yit Appollo cleir,
Sine rasis it unto the hiest speir[652],
Immortaly to schine in Goddis sicht,
As chosin spous and creature most deir.
“This othir wenche, that clepit[653] is Delite,
Involvis man, be sensuall appetite,
In every kind of vice and miserie;
Becaus na wit nor reason is perfite
Quhan scho is gide, bot skaithis[654] infinite,
With doloure, schame, and urgent poverte.
For sche wes get of frothis of the see,
Quhilk signifies, hir pleseir vennomit
Is midlit[655] ay with scharp adversite.
“Duke Hanniball, as mony authouris wrait,
Throw Spanye come, be mony passage strait,
To Italy in furour bellicall[656];
Brak doun the wallis, and the montanis slait[657],
And to his army maid ane oppin gait,
And victoryis had on the Romanis all.
At Capua, be pleseir sensuall,
This Duk wes maid so soft and diligait[658]
That with his fois he wes sone ouirthrall.
“Of feirs Achill the weirlie[659] dedis sprang
In Troy and Grece quhill he in virtew rang[660];
How lust him slew it is bot reuth to heir.
Siclik the Trojanis, with thair knichtis strang
The vailyeant Grekis fra thair roumes dang[661],
Victoriuslie exercit mony yeir;
That nicht thay went to thair lust and pleseir
The fatall hors did throw thair wallis fang[662],
Quhais prignant sidis wer full of men of weir.
“Sardanapall, the prince effeminat,
Fra knichtlie dedis wes degenerat;
Twinand the thredis of the purpur lint
With fingaris soft, amang the ladyis sat,
And with his lust couth nocht be saciat,
Quhill of his fois come the bitter dint.
Quhat nobill men and ladyis hes bene tint[663]
Quhen thay with lustis wer intoxicat,
To schaw at lenth, my toung suld nevir stint[664].
“Thairfore Camil, the vailyeant chevaleir,
Quhen he the Gallis had dantit be his weir[665],
Of heritable landis wald have na recompence;
For, gif his barnis[666] and his freindis deir
Wer virtewis, thay couth nocht fail ilk yeir
To have ineuch be Romane providence;
Gif thay wer gevin to vice and insolence
It wes nocht neidfull for to conques geir[667]
To be occasioun of thair incontinence.
“Sum nobill men, as poetis list declare,
Wer deifeit[668], sum goddis of the aire,
Sum of the hevin, as Eolus, Vulcan,
Saturn, Mercury, Appollo, Jupitare,
Mars, Hercules, and othir men preclare[669],
That glore immortall in thair livis wan.
Quhy wer thir peple callit goddis than?
Becaus thay had ane virtew singulare,
Excellent, hie abone ingine[670] of man.
“And otheris ar in reik sulphurius;
As Ixion, and wery Sisiphus,
Eumenides the Furyis richt odibill,
The proud giandis, and thristy Tantalus;
With huglie[671] drink and fude most vennomus,
Quhare flammis bald and mirknes[672] ar sensibill.
Quhy ar thir folk in panis so terribill?
Becaus thay wer bot schrewis vicius
Into thair life, with dedis most horribill.
“And thoucht na frute wer eftir consequent
Of mortall life, bot for this warld present
Ilk man to have allanerlie[673] respect,
Yit virtew suld fra vice be different
As quik fra deid, as rich fra indigent.
That ane to glore and honour ay direct,
This othir, saule and body, to neclect;
That ane of reason most intelligent,
This othir of beistis following the affect.
“For he that nold[674] aganis his lustis strive,
Bot leiffis as beist of knawlege sensitive[675],
Eildis[676] richt fast, and deith him sone ouir-halis[677].
Thairfore the mule is of ane langar live
Than stonit hors; also the barant wive[678]
Apperis young quhen that the brudie falis[679].
We se also, quhen nature nocht prevalis,
The pane and dolour ar sa pungitive
No medicine the pacient avalis.
“Sen thow hes hard baith our intentis thus,
Cheis of us two the maist delitius;
First, to sustene ane scharp adversite,
Danting the rage of youtheid furius,
And sine posseid[680] triumphe innumerus,
With lang empire and hie felicite;
Or haif, ane moment, sensualite
Of fuliche youth, in life voluptuous,
And all thy dayis full of miserie.”
Be than, Phebus his firy cart did wry
Fra south to west, declinand besaly
To dip his steidis in the occeane,
Quhen he began ouirsile[681] his visage dry
With vapouris thik, and cloudis full of sky,
And Notus brim[682], the wind meridiane
With wingis donk and pennis full of rane,
Awalkenit me, that I micht nocht aspy
Quhilk of thaim two was to his lady tane.
Bot sone I knew thay war the goddesses
That come in sleip to vailyeant Hercules
Quhen he was young and fre of every lore
To lust or honour, poverte or riches,
Quhen he contempnit lust and idilnes
That he in virtew micht his life decore[683],
And werkis did of maist excellent glore.
The more incressit his panefull besines,
His hie triumphe and loving[684] was the more.
Thair, throw this morall eruditioun
Quhilk come, as said is, in my visioun,
I tuke purpos, or I forthir went,
To write the story of this regioun,
With dedis of mony illuster campioun[685].
And, thoucht the pane apperis vehement,
To mak the story to the redaris more patent
I will begin at the discriptioun
Of Albion, in maner subsequent.
[587] From dark.
[588] Above.
[589] valued.
[590] could.
[591] unworthy.
[592] Till.
[593] harried.
[594] though.
[595] cares.
[596] doom yet constantly endures.
[597] earthly.
[598] swam.
[599] That grave deliberation.
[600] slothful.
[601] Diffusing.
[602] penetrative.
[603] loud noise.
[604] fourth.
[605] over the grasslands.
[606] revenues.
[607] was named.
[608] as they deemed best.
[609] splendour.
[610] enterprise.
[611] choose.
[612] most agreeable.
[613] Who.
[614] earth.
[615] powerful.
[616] live.
[617] By sight of these.
[618] doubt.
[619] was taken.
[620] without.
[621] prevent.
[622] must.
[623] devoured.
[624] folded.
[625] To caress and embrace.
[626] wit.
[627] pleasure.
[628] float.
[629] give practice.
[630] with forward-moving wheels.
[631] shires, _lit._ districts sheared off.
[632] vexing.
[633] much pain.
[634] end.
[635] war.
[636] overcome.
[637] constant warfare.
[638] makes breach in.
[639] serene.
[640] not be daunted.
[641] certain.
[642] shall vanish without delay.
[643] gone.
[644] know.
[645] In such fashion.
[646] smoky.
[647] converts sores.
[648] the day star, _i.e._ the sun.
[649] perfects.
[650] without peer.
[651] wipe, cleanse.
[652] sphere.
[653] called.
[654] hurts.
[655] mingled.
[656] warlike rage.
[657] slit.
[658] delicate.
[659] warlike.
[660] reigned.
[661] drove from their realms.
[662] bite.
[663] lost.
[664] stop.
[665] daunted by his war.
[666] children.
[667] acquire substance.
[668] deified.
[669] illustrious.
[670] high above genius.
[671] repulsive.
[672] darkness.
[673] solely.
[674] would not.
[675] lives as beast conscious of knowledge.
[676] ages.
[677] overhauls.
[678] barren wife.
[679] the prolific fails.
[680] And then possess.
[681] cover over.
[682] strong, raging.
[683] adorn.
[684] praise.
[685] champion.
NOBILNES.
_From the Proheme to the Translation of Boece’s History._
For nobilnes sum-time the loving is[686],
That cumis be meritis of our eldaris gone.
As Aristotill writis in his Rethorikis,
Amang nobillis, quhay castin thaim repone[687]
Mon[688] dres thair life and dedis one be one
To mak thaim worthy to have memore
For honour to thair prince or nation,
To be in glore to thair posterite.
Ane-othir kind thair is of nobilnes
That cumis be infusion naturall,
And makis ane man sa full of gentilnes,
Sa curtes, plesand, and sa liberall,
That every man dois him ane nobill call.
The lion is sa nobill, as men tellis,
He cannot rage aganis the bestis small,
Bot on thaim quhilkis[689] his majeste rebellis.
The awfull[690] churle is of ane-othir strind[691].
Thoucht he be borne to vilest servitude
Thair may na gentrice[692] sink into his mind,
To help his friend or nichtbour with his gud.
The bludy wolf is of the samin stude[693];
He feris gret beistis and ragis on the small,
And leiffis in slauchter, tyranny, and blud,
But ony mercy, quhare he may ouirthrall[694].
This man is born ane nobill, thow will say,
And gevin to sleuth and lust immoderat:
All that his eldaris wan, he puttis away,
And fra thair virtew is degenerat;
The more his eldaris fame is elevat
The more thair life to honour to approche;
Thair fame and loving ay interminat,
The more is ay unto his vice reproche.