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naturally flreight as it groweth in the wood) Is befl to
make a fhaft of, eyther to go clean e, fly Jaf£-oi'fland furely
in any wedder. Now howe bigJaeWmiall, how heuye,
how lyght, how longe, hc^tert, a mafte fhoulde be par-
ticularlye for euer^rnan (feynge we mufl taulke of the
generallnature^oflhootyng) can not be toulde no more
than you Rhethoricians can appoynt any one kynde of
wordes, of fentences, of fygures fyt for euery matter,
but euen as the man and the matter requyreth fo the
fyttefl to be vfed. Therfore as concernynge thofe
contraryes in a mafte, euery man mufle auoyde them
and draw to the meane of them, whyche meane is
beft in al thynges. Yet yf a man happen to offende
in any of the extremes it is better to offend in want
and fcantneffe, than in to muche and outragioufe
exceedynge. As it is better to haue a mafte a lytle to
Ihorte than ouer longe, fome what to lyght, than ouer
lumpyffhe, a lytle to fmall, than a greate deale to big,
whiche thyng is not onely trewlye fayde in Ihootynge,
but in all other thynges that euer man goeth aboute,
as in eatynge, taulkynge, and all other thynges lyke,
whych matter was onfe excellentlye difputed vpon, in
the Scooles, you knowe when.

And to offend, in thefe contraryes commeth much
yf men take not hede, throughe the kynd of wood,
wherof the lhaft is made : Ffor fome wood belonges
to ye excedyng part, fome to ye fcant part, fome to
ye meane, as Brafell, Turkiewood, Fuflicke, Sugar
chefle, and fuch lyke, make deade, heuy lumpilh,
hobblyng Ihaftes. Againe Hulder, black thorn e, Serues
tree, Beche, Elder, Afpe, and Salowe, eyther for theyr
wekenes or lyghteneffe, make holow, ftarting, ftudding,
gaddynge lhaftes. But Birche, Hardbeme, fome
Ooke, and fome Affhe, beynge bothe flronge ynoughe
to ilande in a bowe, and alfo lyght ynoughe to
flye far, are befL for a meane, whiche is to be
foughte oute in euery thinge. And althoughe I knowe
that fome men fhoote fo Uronge, that the deade
woodes be lyghte ynoughe for them, and other fome