e line
fit, he may have removed the wrong letter from the words to be
abbreviated.]
Morpleus to me than made abreyd [error for Morpheus]
Tyll eolus with blastes began to rore [text reads "colus"]
Whiche dyde enquere of prudent Iosethus
[error for Iosephus? compare "setherus" below]
He sholde there b enlumyned shortely [error for be enlumyned]
And with a for wytte kepte in store
[spacing ambiguous: may be one word "aforwytte"]
With all theyr cases dyd well avarre [v letterform in original]
For I by ryght must nedys enhaunce [text reads "enhauncce"]
Whan they ben wrought in to theyr degre [text reads "beu"]
He shall knowe thynges that be dyuyne [text reads "dyuyue"]
And by whiche he hiz k[yn]ge dysteyneth [text reads "k[yn]ne"]
[there is no evident reason for using an abbreviation in this line]
[for "hiz", see below]
To man exaltynge hym to noblenesse [text reads "exaltyuge"]
The worde of god the deuyll to bl[ey]nde
[e, required by rhyme, printed above y, required by sense]
In grete wo & payne but thynke you verely ["Ingrete" without space]
Lettynge hym often of his passage [text reads "Lettyuge"]
An humble herte full of contrycon [error for contrycyon]
The merueylous dragon so gretly slynkynge
[reading may be "stynkynge", but letterforms are closer to "sl-"]
And also setherus his fragraunt breth
[error for sepherus? compare "Iosethus" above]
Who that vs loueth without doubta[un]ce
[text reads "doubtau[un]ce", probably through confusion with
preceding line where -a[un]ce abbreviation was required by line
length]
And than dame mercy with contricyon
[text unchanged, but "contrycyon" is the usual form]
For to beleue in god omnypotent [be leue]
Therfore here are they dampned ryght wysey [error for wysely]
O geme of gentylnes & lanterne of plasure [error for pleasure]

_Unusual Letter_

In four places the text has an unusual letter. It has been variously
transcribed as "z" or "[gh]" (yogh) according to context, but appears
to be the identical letter every time:

Nexte vnto her sate the hyghe quene Azia
And by whiche he hiz k[yn]ge dysteyneth
Though he were hardy & wyse he my[gh]t not me forbere
Accordynge to a morylyzacyon

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Example of Vertu, by Stephen Hawes

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