Roger Ascham Toxophilus 1545

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than haue any readye paffage to the ende of the matter:
whofe horriblenes is fo large, that it paffed the elo-
quence of oure Englyfhe Homer, to compaffe it: yet
becaufe I euer thought hys faymges to haue as muche
authoritie, as eyther Sophocles or Euripides in Greke,
therfore gladly do I remembre thefe verfes of hys.

Hnfardry is very mother oflefenges^
And of deceyte, and curfedfwermges,
Blafphemie of Chnji^ man/laughter^ and wafte alfo,
Ofcatel oftyme^ oj other thynges mo.

^ Mother of lefinges) trulye it maye well be called fo,
if a man confydre howe manye wayes, and how many
thinges, he lofeth thereby, for firfle he lofeth his
goodes, he lofeth his tyme, he lofeth quycknes of wyt,
and all good luft to other thinges, he lofeth honeft
companye, he lofeth his good name and estimation,
and at lafte, yf he leaue it not, lofeth God, and
heauen and all: and in flede of thefe thinges winneth
at length, eyther hangyng or hell.

^ And of deceyte) I trowe if I fhoulde not lye, there
is not halfe fo muche crafte vfed in no one thinge in
the worlde, as in this curfed thynge. What falfe dife
vfe they ? as dife flopped with quickfiluer and heares,
dife of a vauntage, flattes, gourdes to chop and
chaunge whan they lyfte, to lette the trew dife fall
vnder the table, and fo take vp the falfe, and if they
be true dife, what Ihyfte wil they make to fet ye one of
them with ilyding, with cogging, with foyfting, with
coytinge as they call it. Howe wyll they vfe thefe
Ihiftes, whan they get a playne man that can no ikyll
of them ? Howe will they go about, yf they perceyue
an honeft man haue money, which lift not playe, to
prouoke him to playe ? They wyl feke his company,
they wil let hym paye nought, yea and as I hearde a
man ones faye that he dyd, they wil fend for hym to
fome houfe, and fpend perchaunce, a crown on him,
and at laft wyll one begin to faye : what my mailers,
what {hall we do ? fhall euerye man playe his xii. d.
whyles an apple rofle in the fyre, and than we wyll