No More Learning

And I have put my compleynt up ageyn;
For to my foos my bille I dar not shewe, 55
Theffect of which seith thus, in wordes fewe:--

_The Bille. _

? 'Humblest of herte, hyest of reverence,
Benigne flour, coroune of vertues alle,
Sheweth unto your rial excellence
Your servaunt, if I durste me so calle, 60
His mortal harm, in which he is y-falle,
And noght al only for his evel fare,
But for your renoun, as he shal declare.

Hit stondeth thus: your contraire, Crueltee,
Allyed is ageynst your regalye 65
Under colour of womanly Beautee,
For men [ne] shuld not knowe hir tirannye,
With Bountee, Gentilesse, and Curtesye,
And hath depryved you now of your place
That hight "Beautee, apertenant to Grace. " 70

For kyndly, by your heritage right,
Ye been annexed ever unto Bountee;
And verrayly ye oughte do your might
To helpe Trouthe in his adversitee.
Ye been also the coroune of Beautee; 75
And certes, if ye wanten in thise tweyne,
The world is lore; ther nis no more to seyne.

? 'Eek what availeth Maner and Gentilesse
Withoute you, benigne creature?
Shal Crueltee be your governeresse? 80
Allas! what herte may hit longe endure?
Wherfor, but ye the rather take cure
To breke that perilous alliaunce,
Ye sleen hem that ben in your obeisaunce.

'And further over, if ye suffre this, 85
Your renoun is fordo than in a throwe;
Ther shal no man wite wel what Pite is.
Allas! that your renoun shuld be so lowe!
Ye be than fro your heritage y-throwe
By Crueltee, that occupieth your place; 90
And we despeired, that seken to your grace.

Have mercy on me, thou Herenus quene,
That you have sought so tenderly and yore;
Let som streem of your light on me be sene
That love and drede you, ay lenger the more. 95
For, sothly for to seyne, I bere the sore,
And, though I be not cunning for to pleyne,
For goddes love, have mercy on my peyne!

? 'My peyne is this, that what so I desire
That have I not, ne no-thing lyk therto; 100
And ever set Desire myn herte on fire;
Eek on that other syde, wher-so I go,
What maner thing that may encrese wo
That have I redy, unsoght, everywhere;
Me [ne] lakketh but my deth, and than my bere. 105

What nedeth to shewe parcel of my peyne?
Sith every wo that herte may bethinke
I suffre, and yet I dar not to you pleyne;
For wel I woot, al-though I wake or winke,
Ye rekke not whether I flete or sinke. 110
But natheles, my trouthe I shal sustene
Unto my deth, and that shal wel be sene.

This is to seyne, I wol be youres ever;
Though ye me slee by Crueltee, your fo,
Algate my spirit shal never dissever 115
Fro your servyse, for any peyne or wo.
Sith ye be deed--allas! that hit is so! --
Thus for your deth I may wel wepe and pleyne
With herte sore and ful of besy peyne. ' 119

_Here endeth the exclamacion of the Deth of Pyte. _

_The_ MSS. _are_: Tn. (Tanner 346); F. (Fairfax 16); B. (Bodley 638); Sh.
(Shirley's MS. , Harl. 78); Ff. (Ff. 1. 6, in Camb. Univ. Library); T. ,
_here used for_ Trin. (Trin. Coll. Camb. R. 3. 19); _also_ Ha. (Harl.
7578). _I follow_ F. _mainly, noting all variations of importance. _

TITLE; _in_ B. 1. F. agoo. 2. F. hert. 3. F. worlde; woo. 5. F. purpose. 8.
F. be; B. Sh. T. by. F. certeyne. 9. Sh. Ha. a tyme sought; _rest_ sought a
tyme (_badly_). 10. F. bespreynte. 11. F. prayen. Sh. Ha. wreke; _rest_
awreke. 14. F. fonde; dede. 15. F. Adovne. Ha. _alone supplies_ that. 16.
F. Dede; stone; while. T. (_and_ Longleat) a; _rest om. _ 17. F. roose;
coloure. 18. F. petously; B. pitously. B. yen; F. eyen; _after which all
but_ Sh. _and_ Ha. _insert_ I. 19. Sh. Ha. to; _which the rest omit_. 20.
Sh. shoope; _rest_ shope. F. prey; Sh. preye. 21. _For_ nas, _the_ MSS.
_wrongly have_ was; _in both places_. F. lorne; sey.

22. F. slayne; dede. 23. Tn. shulde; F. shuld. 24. F. hold; hede. 25. _All
but_ Sh. _and_ Ha. _ins. _ now _bef. _ any. F. eny. 26. F. caste. Sh. Ha.
sleen; F. slee. 27. F. folke redelesse. 30. F. dede. 31. F. mony. 32. F. B.
_omit_ she; _the rest have it_. _Only_ Sh. _and_ T. _retain_ so. 33. F.
besely. _For_ ever, Ten Brink _reads_ ay. 34. _Only_ Sh. _gives this line
correctly; so_ Ha. (_but with_ any _for_ mannes). F. Sith I hadde firste
witte or mynde. 35. F. dede. Sh. Ha. that; _rest omit_. 36. F. there;
lustely. 38. F. Bounte. 39. F. beaute; iolyte. 40. F. honeste. 41. F.
Wisdome. F. B.
estaat; _rest_ estate; Ten Brink _rightly supplies_ and
_after_ Estat (_sic_). F. drede. 43. Ha. hadde; Sh. hade; _rest_ had. F.
honde. 44. Sh. Ha. For; _rest omit_. F. pittee. 45. F. when. F. fonde. 46.
Sh. wolden; F. wolde. 47. F. helpe; helde. Sh. Ha. compleynt; T. cause;
_rest_ pleynte _or_ pleynt.

48. F. folke. F. withoute; B. without; Ha. withouten. 49. F. pitee. Ha.
may; Sh. ne may; _rest_ ther may. 50. Sh. Ha. ? anne leve I alle ? ees
vertues sauf pitee; F. B. Then leve we al vertues save oonly pite; Tn. Ff.
T. Then leueall vertues save onely pite. 51. F. Kepynge; herde. 52. F.
Cofedered (_sic_). Sh. alle by bonde of (Ha. _om. _ alle); F. Tn. B. Ff. by
bonde and by; T. by bound and. 53. Sh. that; _rest_ when. 54. F. complaynt.
55. F. Foes; Tn. foos. 57. F. highest. 59. F. youre rialle. 60. F. Youre;
durst. 61. Sh. whiche he is Inne falle; _rest_ in which he is falle: Thynne
_has_ yfal; _read_ y-falle. 62. F. oonly. 64. _The_ MSS. _insert_ that
_after_ thus, _except_ Sh. _and_ Ha. Sh. contraire; _rest_ contrary. 65.
Sh. ageynst; F. ayenst. 66. F. beaute. 67. _The_ MSS. _omit_ ne. F. shulde.
68. F. bounte. 69. Sh. nowe; _which the rest omit_. 70. Sh. heghte (_for_
highte); Ha. hight; Tn. is hye; F. B. T. is hygh. F. beaute apertenent.
_The_ MSS. (_except_ Sh. _and_ Ha. ) _insert_ your _after_ to.

71. F. kyndely; youre. 72. _Most_ MSS. be; Ha. been; _read_ been (_and in_
l. 75). 73. F. verrely; youre. 75. F. beaute. 76. Tn. Ff. Ha. wante; _rest_
want; _read_ wanten. F. these tweyn. 77. F. worlde. _For_ nis, _all have_
is. F. seyn. 78. F. Eke. 79. F. yow. 82. F. Wherfore. 86. F. fordoo. Sh.
than; _rest omit_. 87. F. wete well; _rest omit_ well; Tn. wyte. 88. F. Tn.
B. Ff. T. _insert_ euer _after_ that, _which_ Sh. _rightly omits_. Sh. Ha.
shoulde be; _rest_ is falle. 89. Sh. thanne; _rest_ also. F. youre. 90. F.
youre. 91. Sh. sechen to; B. sekyn to; Tn.