The praise and dispraise of women very fruitfull to the well disposed minde, and delectable to the readers therof. And a fruitfull shorte dialogue vppon the sentence, know before thou knitte. C. Pyrrye.

To the Reader.

AFter I had finished though simplie and rudelye this little Treatise of y^e praise & disprayse of Wo∣men: I thought it good gentle Reader to declare and explane in some short preface, two prin∣cipall causes whiche moued me therunto. The one was to the intent, that all those which at any time shall feele themselues entangled with prompte, and tedie enclinacion to vice & euill, and with great slacknes in fur∣deringe that is good and ver∣tuous may by diligent perusing hereof, learne to a voyde and eschew suche greate crimes and greuous offences, as they shall see conteyned and written in

theyr disprayse, & seke diligent∣lie to embrace, and earnestlie to followe those good condicions and laudable vertues, whiche they shall playnlie perceaue to be at large specified, and abun∣dantly set foorth in theyr com∣mendacions. The other is to the ende that the good exam∣ples of good and verteous wo∣men if no other thing wil moue them to doe that they ought, may incite and encorage them to do that is good & verteous, and bring them to suche confir∣mitie of honeste life, that they may be had in good reputacion before men, and founde accep∣table before God And the euill examples of the wicked, maye teache them to despise and vt∣terly forsake those things, that are naught and vicious, lest by

to much enclining to sinne, and vice, they be counted as caste awayes before the worlde, and in time to come fall into vtter, destruction, for if the preceptes of the good, will not prouoke & styre them to Godlines & spedy reformacion of life, in hope of like rewarde that they haue or if the testimonies of the wicked will not withdrawe or terrifye them from doing enill, for feare of like punishment, surely what then may doe it, I know not. These two consideratiōs (gen∣tle reader) did moue me at this time to write y^e I haue writen, desiring thee to take it in good part such as it is and to esteme my good will & meaning here∣in, not regarding the rude han∣deling of the matter fith. I did it in hope to profit many, but

surely to hurte none. And wher as I haue made the prayse of women to sounde in suche sorte throughlie, y^t I mought seeme vehementlie to gainsay my selfe for speakinge so much in theyr dispraise, I did it being moued therto for diuers good conside∣rations, which I minde not to recite, but leaue it vnspoken of willing thee herein to vse thine owne iud∣gement.