Ouid his inuectiue against Ibis. Translated into English méeter, whereunto is added by the translator, a short draught of all the stories and tales contayned therein, very pleasant to be read.

¶ The Preface to the gentle Reader.

I Haue translated (gentle Reader) a lyttle péece of Ouyd, which hée wrote a∣gaynst a fayned friend. It is very hard and therefore deserueth y^e more pardon, if in any part therof I haue erred. And that the obscu∣rytie of it should not be displeasant vn∣to thée, (which I know must néedes haue bene) I haue added thereunto a brefe draught of all the storyes and tales, that are contayned therein, by reason where∣of the reading of it, no doubte, wylbe ve∣ry pleasant, & perhaps not without pro∣fit. For therein shal you sée all maner of vices punished, all offences corrected, & all misdéedes reuenged. There is nether story, nor tale almost, from the begin∣ning vnto hys tyme, wherin any ill luck was noted, to happen to any man, but the Poet wisheth the same to light vpon his aduersary. The causes that moued him to write thus sharply were two, as in the worke may appeare. One for that after his banishment he whispered lyes

and vntrue tales into Augustus the Em¦peror his eares, therby to kepe him the longer in exile. The other for that he so∣licited his wife to be vncurteys. These two causes if they much incensed Ouid, no man I thinke can blame him. For what greater vncurtesy, I will not saye vilany, can be shewed to any man, then so to treade vpon him when he is down, that he shal after neuer be able to rise a∣gain. Of troth me thinketh when I con∣sider the giftes that God hath bestowed vpon men, I am almost rapt, and beside my selfe, for the greatnes & number of them: but of al frendship is the greatest. Which (if any thinge doe) cometh moste néere to the celestiall society, & heauenly agrement of angels & blessed creatures. But it is so rare, y^e since the beginninge of the world, ther hath ben great scarcity therof, so that if you consider y^e number of other men, it will amount to nothing. Surely that man is happy (as saith Tul¦ly) who hath one to whom he may fréely breake his minde, and vtter all his cogi∣tations, who will reioyce wyth hym in prosperitie without enuy, and with true heart be partaker of his aduersitie, that

man may well thinke that he hath got∣ten the most precious iewel in the world But how a man should attaine herevn∣to, but by vertue, which is the ground of fréendshippe, there is no way, neyther is ther any other meane wherby it is tried and conserued. That agréement which is amonge euill men, the societie of dys∣semblers, the fellowshippe of flatterers. the consente of théeues, is not to be ter∣med by the name of fréendshippe, for as much as in these is neyther trouth nor plaine dealing, and therefore no fréende∣shipppe. For except you doe detecte, and open the very secreates of your hearte, without coloure to your fréende, and he to you agayne lykewise, there can be no constant or stedfast amitie. There must be therefore especiall care geuen in the choyse of a true fréende, leaste in stede of hym we lyghte vppon a flaterer, whych is of such affinitie with hym in appea∣raunce, that he is verye harde to be des∣cryed.

Ther is not so hyghe an hill, but a man may clyme to the toppe thereof, not so longe a iourney, but it may be gone at length, not so déepe a Sea, but it maye

be sounded with Leade, nor so stronge a Castell, but it may be battered wyth shotte, not so hid a thinge, but it may be reuealed by time, only the heart of man is vnsearchable, so that in twenty yeres a man shall not finde the depth thereof. Wherefore in myne opynion he was a wyse man, that wylled vs to eate many bushels of salte, with him whō we mea∣ned to make our freende, whereby he meant nothing els, but by longe conti∣nuance, to trye whether he whome we loue, be méete to be our fréende or not. O how many haue thought to haue had true fréendes, but haue ben much decea∣ued, wherof you shall in the boke folow∣ing sée many examples. As of Thessalus and Eurialuss, Cocalus and Minos, Mirtilus & Oenomaus, and such like. There is no poyson, to the poyson of a Serpente, no strength, to the strength of Gunpouder, no sting, to the sting of the Aspe, no ma∣lyce, to the malyce of a woman, nor no euill, to the euill of a fayned fréende, and a dissembling louer. It is a great deale better, no doubt, to haue an open enni∣mie then a counterfeyte friende: For of the one we may take héede, but of the

other it is not possible to beware. A true frend then must nede be so much worth, as nothing may be more. For who is not well pleased, to heare of Orestes and Pi∣lades, Theseus and Perithous, Achilles and Patroclus, Nisus and Eurialus, Castor and Pollux, Damon and Pithias, Achates and Aeneas, Alexander and Ephestio, Celius and Petronius, C. Lelius and Scipio Affri∣canus, Darius and Megabisus, and a great number of payres of freendes mo, which I could rehearse, but that it néedeth not? All which ech for other refused no death nor torment. Wherfore euen nowe also their renown is fresh, & they be extolled aboue the skyes, neither shal ther be any so vngratefull posterity, which shal for∣get their passing amitie. Contrariwise, if we consider the horrible effects of en∣mitie and hatred in Atreus and Thiestes, Etheocles and Polinices, wyth such other, which for breuitie I leaue out, I thinke there will be no man so rude, which will not detest. But what meane I to entreat of frendship, of which so many excellent men haue written before in such sorte: that I shall rather hereby bewray the barennesse of my sclender wit, then doe

any thing therto worthy prayse. And the more for that Fauorinus in Aul. Gellius sayth, it is better to disprayse earnestly, then to prayse coldly. I will therefore leaue to speake of this any more, and wil come to the other cause, which no man can wel perceaue, but he that is maried. For my part, if you wil bear with mine vnexperienced iudgemente, I am well pleased, that Ouid toke it in very euill part to beare S. Lukes helmet, seeing that many men euen nowe a dayes, be scant well content to weare that lothsome li∣uerie. Of this I am well assured that Propertius coulde be contente that his fréend should be partaker of al the goods he had, and what soeuer els was in hys power, but as touching his wife he could spare Iupiter no parte of hir. He writeth thus.

Te socium lecti, te corporis esse licebit, Te dominum admitto rebus amice meis. Lecto te solum, lecto te deprecor vno, Riualem possum non ego ferre Iouem.

But of these causes enough. I wil ther∣fore omitte, to blot my paper wyth any more words concerning these matters,

and will tell you what Ouid was, and why he called this worke Ibis, and wrote it in so hard a stile. He was a gentleman of a good house, borne at Sulmo, who ra∣ther to please hys father, then for any loue he bare thervnto, studyed the lawe. But after his decease, he returned to his olde study of Poetry againe, wherin he profyted so much, that excepte Virgill, I dare call him péerelesse. He was fiftie yeres in prosperitie, & good credyte with Augustus, but was afterward banyshed into Pontus, where he liued eyght yeres, and then dyed, & was buried in Dorbite, a Citie of Hellespont. The cause of his banishment is vncertayn, but most men thinke, & I am of that opinion also, that it was for vsing too familiarly Iulia, Au∣gustus his daughter, who of hir selfe too much enclined to lasciuiousnes, was the more incensed therto by him, vnto whō he wrote many wanton Elegies, vnder the name of Corinna, as Sidonius plainly affirmeth.

Et te carmina per libidinosa notum, Naso tener, tonosque missum, Quondam Cesareae minis puellae falso nomine subditum Corinnae.

In hys banyshmente he wrote dyuers bokes, and among other, this against an vntrue fréende, and calleth it Ibis, there∣by to declare, that there is no valure nor hansomnes in him, nor any thinge wor∣thy to be accepted. For Ibis is a birde of Egipt, the fylthiest that we reade of, of it you may finde more in Plinie. He is ob∣scure, and his verses of purpose vnperfit, for that he imitateth Callimachus, who in lyke style, wrote against his owne scho∣ler Appollonius Rhodius, whych wrote the voyage of the Argonants, and calleth him by the same name of Ibis also.

Thus much I thought good to note in the Preface, because I wold not trouble so litle a boke with an other argument. Take it (curteous Reader) and accepte it in good parte, and thinke that it com∣meth from one, who hath inough if he please thée.

Fare well.