SONNET OF THE AVTHOVR

to the Reader.

Sen for zour saik I wryte vpon zour airt,
Apollo, Pan, and ze ô Musis nyne,
And thou, ô Mercure, for to help thy pairt
I do implore, sen thou be thy ingyne,
Nixt efter Pan had found the quhissill, syne
Thou did perfyte, that quhilk he bot espyit:
And efter that made Argus for to tyne
(quha kepit Io) all his windois by it.
Concurre ze Gods, it can not be denyit:
Sen in your airt of Poësie I wryte.
Auld birds to learne by teiching it is tryit:
Sic docens discam gif ze help to dyte.

Then Reidar sie of nature thou haue pairt,
Syne laikis thou nocht, bot heir to reid the airt.

SONNET DECIFRING

the perfyte poete.

Ane rype ingyne, ane quick and walkned witt,
With sommair reasons, suddenlie applyit,
For euery purpose vsing reasons fitt,

With skilfulnes, where learning may be spyit
With pithie wordis, for to expres zow by it
His full intention in his proper leid,
The puritie quhairof, weill hes he tryit:
With memorie to keip quhat he dois reid,
With skilfulnes and figuris, quhilks proceid
From Rhetorique, with euerlasting fame,
With vthers woundring preassing with all speid
For to atteine to merite sic a name.

All thir into the perfyte Poëte be.

Goddis, grant I may obteine the Laurell trie.

THE REVLIS AND CAV

telis to be observit

and eschewit in Scottis
Poesie.

CAP. I.

First, ze sall keip iust cullouris, quhairof the cautelis are thir.

That ze ryme nocht twyse in ane syllabe. As for exemple, that ze make not proue and reproue ryme together, nor houe for houeing on hors bak, and behoue.

That ze ryme ay to the hinmest lang syllabe, (with accent) in the lyne, suppose it be not the hinmest syllabe in the lyne, as bakbyte zow, & out flyte zow, It rymes in byte & flyte, because of the lenth of the syllabe, & accent being there, and not in zow, howbeit it be the hinmest syllabe of ather of the lynis. Or question and digestion, It rymes in ques & ges, albeit they be bot the antepenult syllabis, and vther twa behind ilkane of thame.

Ze aucht alwayis to note, That as in thir foirsaidis, or the lyke wordis, it rymes in the hinmest lang syllabe in the lyne, althoucht there be vther short syllabis behind it, Sa is the hinmest lang syllabe the hinmest fute, suppose there be vther short syllabis behind it, quilkis are eatin vp in the pronounceing, and na wayis comptit as fete.

Ze man be war likewayis (except necessitie compell yow) with Ryming in Termis, quhilk is to say, that your first or hinmest word in the lyne, exceid not twa or thre syllabis at the maist, vsing thrie als seindill as ye can. The cause quhairfore ze sall not place a lang word first in the lyne, is, that all lang words hes ane syllabe in them sa verie lang, as the lenth thair

of

of eatis vp in the pronouncing euin the vther syllabes, quhilks ar placit lang in the same word, and thairfore spillis the flowing of that lyne. As for exeple, in this word Arabia, the second syllabe (ra) is sa lang, that it eatis vp in the pronouncing [a] quhilk is the hinmest syllabe of the same word. Quhilk [a] althocht it be in a lang place, zit it kythis not sa, because of the great lenth of the preceding syllabe (ra). As to the cause quhy ze sall not put a lang word hinmest in the lyne, It is, because, that the lenth of the secound syllabe (ra) eating vp the lenth of the vther lang syllabe, [a] makis it to serue bot as a tayle vnto it, together with the short syllabe preceding. And because this tayle nather seruis for cullour nor fute, as I spak before, it man be thairfore repetit in the nixt lyne ryming vnto it, as it is set doune in the first: quhilk makis, that ze will scarcely get many wordis to ryme vnto it, zea, nane at all will ze finde to ryme to sindrie vther langer wordis. Thairfore chiefly be warre of inserting sic lang wordis hinmest in the lyne, for the cause quhilk I last allegit. Besydis that nather first nor last in the lyne, it keipis na Flowing. The reulis & cautelis quhairof are thir, as followis.

CHAP. II.

First, ze man vnderstād that all syllabis are deuydit in thrie kindes: That is, some schort, some lang, and some indifferent. Be indifferent I meane, thay quhilk are ather lang or short, according as ze place thame.

The forme of placeing syllabes in verse, is this. That zour first syllabe in the lyne be short, the second lang, the thrid short, the fourt lang, the fyft short, the sixt lang, and sa furth to the end of the lyne. Alwayis tak heid, that the nomber of zour fete in euery lyne be euin, & nocht odde: as four, six, aucht, or ten: & not thrie, fyue, seuin, or nyne, except it be in broken verse, quhilkis are out of reul and daylie inuentit be dyuers Poetis. Bot gif ze wald ask me the reulis, quhairby to knaw euerie ane of thir thre foirsaidis kyndis of syllabes, I an

swer,