Produced by Louise Hope, David Starner and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
[Transcriber's Note:
This text is intended for users whose text readers cannot use the
"real" (unicode/utf-8) version of the file. Characters that could not
be fully displayed have been "unpacked" and shown in brackets:
[em], [on] ... [vowel printed with "tilde" or overline]
[gh] [letter yogh]
[P] [paragraph symbol]
A few words such as "with" or "the" were printed as abbreviations:
initial "y" or "w" with small "t" or "e" above it. These are shown
in brackets as [the].
Two sets of three pages were out of sequence. The sections involved
are indicated in the text with
[>>] beginning
[<>] page break
[<<] end
Details are at the end of the e-text, along with a list of
typographical errors.]
* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
[P] Here begynneth the boke called the example of vertu.
[Illustration]
Tabula libri
[P] Fyrste a prologue.
[P] How youth mette with discrecyon in a medowe in his dreme & was
reformed by her prouerbes ca.i.
[P] How youth with discrecyon sayled ouer the daungerous passage
of vayne glorye and arryued in a fayre Ilonde longynge to foure
ladyes named Hardynes / Sapyence / fortune / & nature. ca.ii
[P] Of the meruaylous palays of fortune ca.iii.
[P] Of the triumphaunt estate of hardynes. ca.iiii.
[P] Of the gloryfyed towre of sapyence. ca.v.
[P] Of the stronge operacyons of nature ca.vi
[P] How these foure ladyes pleeded at the barre before Iustyce
whiche of theym was moost proufytable vnto mankynde & of the
Iugement of Iustyce. ca.vii.
[P] How after the Iugement of Iustyce / Sapyence c[om]maunded
Discrec[on]n to lede youth to marye with clennes the kynge of loues
doughter. ca.viii.
[P] How youth by the waye mette [with] lechery rydynge on a gote
and pryde maned with couetyse on an olypha[un]tes backe in a fayre
castell / & how by the ayde of dyscrecyon he dyde withstande
theyr temptac[on]n and how he mette with sapience in the mase of
wordely besynes. capitulo.ix.
[P] How Sapyence & dyscrecyon ledde youth ouer the narowe brydge
of vanyte of the worlde to the palays of [the] kynge of loue &
of his meruaylous appareyl. ca.x
[P] How sapyence presented youth to the kynge of loue for to mary
Clennes his doughter & how he before [the] maryage dyde fyght
and discomfyte the dragon with thre hedys. capitulo.xi.
[P] How after the discomfyture of the sayd dragon he well growen
in age was receyued with a farye company of ladyes and was named
vertu & with all Ioye brought to the palays of the kynge of
loue. ca.xii.
[P] Of the maryage of vertu & clennes & of [the] celestyal feste
how after the maryage an aungell shewed vnto theym hell / & of
the dyuysyons of hell. ca.xiii.
[P] How vertu cleymed the enherytaunce longynge to Clennes his
wyfe / & how many aungelles & sayntes brought theym to heuen / &
how heuen is enteyled to Vertu and to Clennes & to all theym
that loue them & folowe & procede in theyr steppes.
capitulo.xiiii.
[P] This boke called the example of vertue was made and compyled
by Stephyn hawys one of the gromes of the moost honorable
chaumber of oure souerayne lorde kynge Henry the .vii. the .xix.
yere of his moost noble reygne / and by hym presented to our
sayd souerayne lorde chapytred & marked after this table here
before sette.
The prologe.
Whan I aduert in my remembraunce
The famous draughtes of poetes eloquent
Whiche theyr myndes dyd well enhaunce
Bokes to contryue that were expedyent
To be remembred without Impedyment
For the profyte of humanyte
This was the custume of antyquyte.
I now symple and moost rude
And naked in depured eloquence
For dulnes rethoryke doth exclude
Wherfore in makynge I lake intellygence
Also consyderynge my grete neglygence
It fereth me sore for to endyte
But at auenture I wyll now wryte.
As very blynde in the poetys art
For I therof can no thynge skyll
Wherfore I lay it all a part
But somwhat accordynge to my wyll
I wyll now wryte for to fulfyll
Saynt Powles wordes and true sentement
All that is wryten is to oure document
O prudent Gower in langage pure
Without corrupcyon moost facundyous
O noble Chauser euer moost sure
Of frutfull sentence ryght delycyous
O vertuous Lydgat moche sentencyous
Vnto you all I do me excuse
Though I your connynge do now vse
Explicit prologus.