Who strives to breake the sturdye steele, Or goeth about to staye the sunne; Who thinks to causse an oke to reele, Which never can by force be done: 10 That man likewise bestoweth paine, Thoughe that his laboure be in vaine.
Who thinks to stryve against the streame, And for to sayle without a maste; Unlesse he thinks perhapps to faine, 15 His travell ys forelorne and waste; And so in cure of all his paine, His travell ys his cheffest gaine.
So he lykewise, that goes about To please eche eye and every eare, Had nede to have withouten doubt A golden gyft with hym to beare; For evyll report shall be his gaine, Though he bestowe both toyle and paine.
God grant eche man one to amend; 25 God send us all a happy place; And let us pray unto the end, That we may have our princes grace: Amen, Amen! so shall we gaine A dewe reward for all our paine. 30
An ingenious Friend thinks that the following old Ditty (which is printed from the Editor's folio MS.) may possibly have given birth to the Tragedy of the _Orphan_, in which Polidore intercepts Monimia's intended favours to Castalio.
See what is said concerning the hero of this song, (who is celebrated by _Chaucer_ under the name of _Glaskyrion_) in the Essay affixed to vol. i. note H. pt. iv. (2).
[The hero of this ballad is the same as "gret Glascurion," placed by Chaucer in the _House of Fame_ by the side of Orpheus, and also associated with Orpheus by Gawain Douglas in the _Palice of Honour_. Percy's note in the Folio MS. is "It was not necessary to correct this much for the press;" (ed. Hales and Furnivall, vol. i. p. 246). It will be seen, however, by the collations at the foot of the page that several corrections were made, not always for the better. Thus ver. 96, "who did his ladye grieve," is certainly weaker than the original,--
Jamieson (_Popular Ballads_, 1806, vol. i. p. 91) prints an inferior version under the name of _Glenkindie_. Mr. Hale points out, however, that "the Scotch version is more perfect in one point--in the test question put to the page before the assignation is disclosed to him:--
'O mith I tell you, Gib my man, Gin I a man had slain?'
Some such question perhaps would give more force to vv. 85-88 of our version." He also very justly observes, "perhaps there is no ballad that represents more keenly the great gulf fixed between churl and noble--a profounder horror at the crossing over it."]