Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ...

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Title: Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ...
Author: Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1313-1375.
Publication: [London :: Printed by Richard Pynson,; 1494 (27 Jan.)]
Rights/Permissions: To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
Subject terms: Kings and rulers -- Poetry -- Early works to 1800.
Link to this Item: http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A16251.0001.001
Cite this Item: "Here begynnethe the boke calledde Iohn bochas descriuinge the falle of princis princessis [and] other nobles tra[n]slated i[n]to englissh by Iohn ludgate mo[n]ke of the monastery of seint edmu[n]des Bury ..." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A16251.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 1, 2024.

Pages

Lenuoye

O what astate may him selfe assure
For to conserue his life in sikernesse
What worldly ioye may here longe endure
Or where shall men fynde nowe stablenesse
Sith kynges princes from their high noblesse
Record of cadmus ben sodenly brought lowe
And from the whele of fortune ouerthrowe

Who may susteyne the pitous auenture
Of this tragedie by wrytynge to expresse
It is like vnto the chaūtplure
Begynnynge with ioye endynge in wretchydnesse
All worldly blisse is meynt with bytternesse
The sodeyn chaunge therof moy no man knowe
For who sittyth highest is sonest ouerthrowe

Was in this worlde yit neuyr creature
Rekyn vp princes for all their high noblesse
Fortune coude enclyne theym to hir lure
And theym enperissh through hir frowardnesse
Wherfore ye lordes with all your greate richesse
Be ware afore or ye daunce in the rowe
Of such as fortune hath from hir whele ouerthrowe