BLOW, blow thou winter-wind, Thou art not so unkind As man's ingratitude : Thy tooth is not so keen, Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Heigh ho! sing, heigh ho! unto the green holly; Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly : Then, heigh ho, the holly! This life is most jolly. Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, Thou dost not bite so nigh As benefits forgot : Though thou the waters warp, As friend remember'd not. Heigh ho! &c. SONG XXXIII. THE LIE. BY FRANCIS DAVISON.† Go soul, the body's guest, Upon a thankless errant ; In the comedy of 'As You like It.' † See vol. i. p. 157. 'The Lie' is generally, though erroneously, supposed to have been written by sir Walter Raleigh, the night be Fear not to touch the best, The truth shall be thy warrant : And give the world the lie. Say to the court, it glows, And shines like rotten-wood; Say to the church, it shows What's good, and doth no good. If church and court reply, Tell potentates they live Not lov'd unless they give, If potentates reply, Give potentates the lie. Tell men of high condition That manage the estate, And if they once reply, Then give them all the lie, fore his execution. This song is here printed from the second edition of Davison's poems, 1611, 12mo. Dr. Percy appears to have made use of a later, and, as it should seem, more accurate edition, in 1624, and by his copy (which, could his fidelity be relied on, would have been entirely followed) some palpable mistakes have been rectified. The passages corrected are left distinguished by 'commas.' [Ritson, with all his labours after correctness, has committed two errors in this short note. The second edition of Davison's 'Poetical Rapsodie' was published in 1608, and the last in 1621. No impres. sion appeared with the date of 1624.] Tell them that brave it most, They beg for more by spending, Who in their greatest cost, Like nothing but commending: And if they make reply, Then give them all the lie. Tell zeal, it wants devotion; Tell age, it daily wasteth; Tell honour, how it alters; Tell wit, how much it wrangles Tell physic of her boldness; Tell skill, it is 'pretension;' Tell charity of coldness; Tell law, it is contention : And, as they do reply, Tell fortune of her blindness; And, if they will reply, Then give them all the lie. Tell arts, they have no soundness, Tell schools, they want profoundness, If arts and schools reply, Give arts and schools the lie. Tell faith, it's fled the city; Tell how the country erreth; Spare not to give the lie. So, when thou hast, as I Commanded thee, done blabbing, Deserves no less than stabbing, Stab at thee he that will, (No signature was affixed to this poem, in those editions of Davison's poetical miscellany which were consulted by the present Editor; who, in a correspondence with Dr. Percy, requested to know the origin of the report which assigned it to Raleigh, but did not receive a satisfactory solution.] SONG XXXIV. TIME'S ALTERATION. WHEN this old cap was new, The nobles of our land Were much delighted then, To have at their command A crew of lusty men, Which by their coats were known Now pride hath banish'd all, Unto our land's reproach, When he whose means is small, Maintains both horse and coach : Instead of an hundred men, The coach allows but two; This was not thought on then, Good hospitality Was cherish'd then of many; |