estes as jolly rymers as the rest, who
being sore agreeued with their Pope _Calixtus_, for that he had enjoyned
them from their wives,& railed as fast against him.
_O bone Calixte totus mundus perodit te
Quondam Presbiteri, poterant vxoribus vti
Hoc destruxisti, postquam tu Papa fursti._

Thus what in writing of rymes and registring of lyes was the Clergy of
that fabulous age wholly occupied.

We finde some but very few of these ryming verses among the Latines of the
ciuiller ages, and those rather hapning by chaunce then of any purpose in
the writer, as this _Distick_ among the disportes of _Ouid_.
_Quot coem stellas tot habet tua Roma puellas
Pascua quotque haedos tot habet tua Roma Cynedos,_

The posteritie taking pleasure in this manner of _Simphonie_ had leasure
as it seemes to deuise many other knackes in their versifying that the
auncient and ciuill Poets had not vfed before, whereof one was to make
euery word of a verse to begin with the same letter, as did _Hugobald_ the
Monke who made a large poeme to the honour of _Carolus Caluus_, euery word
beginning with _C._ which was the first letter of the king's name thus.
_Carmina clarisona Caluis cantate camenae._

And this was thought no small peece of cunning, being in deed a matter of
some difficultie to finde out so many wordes beginning with one letter as
might make a iust volume, though in truth it were but a phantasticall
deuise and to no purpose at all more then to make them harmonicall to the
rude eares of those barbarous ages.

Another of their pretie inuentions was to make a verse of such wordes as
by their nature and manner of construction and situation might be turned
backward word by word, and make another perfit verse, but of quite
contrary sence as the gibing Monke that wrote of Pope _Alexander_ these
two verses.
_Laus tua non tua fraus, virtus non copia rerum,
Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium._

Which if ye will turne backward they make two other good verses, but of a
contrary sence, thus.
_Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere rerum
Copia, non virtus, fraus tua non tua laus._

And they called it _Verse Lyon_.

Thus you may see the humors and appetites of men how diuers and
chaungeable they be in liking new fashions, though many tymes worse then
the old, and not onely in the manner of their life and vse of their
garments, but also in their learninges and arts, and specially of their
languages.

_CHAP. VI