قراءة كتاب A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3
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اللغة: English
الصفحة رقم: 6
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Perv. Doc. Why, how old art thou? tell me, I pray thee heartily.
New Cus. Elder than you, I perceive.
Perv. Doc. What, older than I!
The young knave, by the mass, not fully thirty,
Would be elder than I, that am above sixty!
New Cus. A thousand and a half, that surely is my age:
Ask and inquire of all men of knowledge.
Perv. Doc. A thousand years? God's precious soul, I am out of my wits;
He is possessed of some devil or of some evil sp'rits.
Why, thou art a young knave of that sort, I say,
That brought into this realm but the other day
This new learning and these heresies, and such other things mo,
With strange guises invented not long ago.[14]
And I pray thee tell me, is not thy name New Custom?
New Cus. Truly so I am called of some,
As of such as want both wit and understanding,
As you do now, I know by your talking:
But woe be to those that make no distinction
Between many things of diverse condition;
As naught to be good, and hot to be cold,
And old to be new, and new to be old.
Wherefore these deceits you daily invent,
The people to seduce unto your advertisement,
While with tales you assay, and with lies you begin,
The truth to deface, and your credit to win.
Perv. Doc. What is thy name, then? I pray thee make declaration.
New Cus. In faith, my name is Primitive Constitution.
Perv. Doc. Who? who, Prava Constitutio? even so I thought,
I wist that it was some such thing of nought.[15]
Like lettuce,[16] like lips; a scabb'd horse for a scald squire.
New Cus. Primitive Constitution I said, if you hear,
Such orders as in the primitive church heretofore
Were used, but not now, the more pity therefore.
Perv. Doc. Ha, ha! in good time, sir, well might you fare, Primitive Constitution,
That is your true name, you say, without all delusion.
Primitive Constitution (quodestow[17]) as much as my sleeve!
The devil on him which will such liars believe!
For my part, if I credit such an hairy nowl,[18]
The foul fiend of hell fetch me, body and soul!
New Cus. Truth cannot prevail, where Ignorance is in place.
Ignorance. Peace, or I will lay my beads on thy face:
Hast thou nothing to rail at but Ignorance, I trow?
New Cus. You may use me even at your pleasure, I know;
For Perverse Doctrine, that is rooted so fast,
That it may not be changed at no heavenly blast,
May not hear the contrary, but beginneth to kick,
Like a jade when he feeleth the spur for to prick.
Perv. Doc. Yea! say'st thou so, thou miscreant villain?
A little thing would make me knock out thy brain:
Hence out of my sight away, packing, trudge!
Thou detestable heretic, thou caitiff, thou drudge;
If I may take thee, it were as good thou were dead,
Though I hang therefore, I care not, I,
So I be revenged on a slave, ere I die.
Sacrament of God! who hath heard such a knave?
Who, after he had done at Ignorance to rave,
Perverse Doctrine (quod he) is also rooted so fast,
That he may be changed by no heavenly blast.
No, God's soul, I warrant him, I will see him rotten,
Before that my doctrine I shall have forgotten:
Wherefore it behoveth us some counsel to take,
How we the stronger our matters may make,
Against the surprise of this new invasion,
Begun of late by this strange generation,
Of New Custom and his makes;[20] meaning to deface
Our ancient rites and religion, and to place
Their devilish doctrine the Gospel, and so
Our gains to debate, and ourselves to undo.
I think it best therefore that our sister Hypocrisy
Do understand fully of this matter by and by.
Let us go and seek her, the case for to show,
That we her good counsel may speedily know.
Ignorance. I am ready; in following I will not be slow. [Exeunt.