The Ship of Fools, Volume 1

by Sebastian Brant

Of glotons and dronkardes.

That gloton or dronkarde, vyle in goddes sight
Shall hardly escape the weyght of pouertye.
Whiche drynketh and deuoureth both day and nyght
Therin onely settynge all his felycyte
His lothsome lust and his bestyalyte
Shall brynge vnto destruccion fynally
His soule, his godes and his wretchyd body.

Within our nauy he nedes shall haue a place.

Whiche without mesure on lothsome glotony

Setteth his pleasure and singuler solace

His stomacke ouerchargynge, vyle and vngodely

And to none other thynge his mynde doth he aply

Saue depest to drynke, suche force nat of theyr soules

But labore in rynsynge pecis cuppis and bowles

The madnes of dronkennes is so immoderate

That greuous sores it ingendreth and sykenes

It causeth often great foly and debate

With soden deth and carefull heuynes

In thynges no difference putteth dronkennes.

It febleth the ioyntis and the body within

Wastynge the brayne makynge the wyt full thyn

It engendreth in the hede infirmyte

Blyndynge the herte wyt and discression

The mynde it demynyssheth, coloure and beaute.

Causynge all myschef, shame and abusyon

It maketh men mad, and in conclusyon

Causeth them lyue without lawe or measure

Suynge after syn defylynge theyr nature

The people that are acloyed with this synne.

On no thynge els theyr myndes wyll aply:

Saue to the wyne and ale stakes to renne

And there as bestes to stryue and drynke auy

Than ar they outher gyuyn to rybawdry

Or els to brawle and fight at euery worde

Thus dronkennes is the chefe cause of discorde

But namely dronkennes and wretchyd glotony

By their excesse and superfluyte

Engendreth the rote of cursed Lechery

With murder, thefte and great enormyte

So bryngeth it many to great aduersyte

And with his furour the worlde so doth it blynde

That many it bryngeth to a shamfull ende

This vyce (alas) good maners doth confounde

And maketh man ouer besy of langage

And hym that in all ryches doth abounde

It ofte in pryson bryngeth and in bondage

It causeth man to his great sorowe and domage

Disclose his secrete and his preuey counsayle

Whiche causeth hym after sore to mourne and wayle

Nought is more lothsome, more vycyous nor vyle

Than he that is subdued to this vyce

His lyfe shortynge his body he doth defyle

Bereuynge his soule the ioy of Paradyse

Howe many Cytees and lordes of great pryce

Hath ben destroyed by dronken glotony

And by his felawe, false loue, or lechery.

The sone of Thomyr had nat ben ouercome

Nor slayne by Cyrus for all his worthynes.

If he hym selfe had gydyd by wysdome

And the vyce auoydyd of blynde dronkennes

The great Alexander taken with this madnes

With his swerde, whan he was dronken slewe

Suche of his frendes as were to hym most trewe

I rede also howe this conquerour myghty

Upon a season played at the Chesse

With one of his knyghtes which wan ynally

Of hym great golde treasoure and rychesse

And hym ouercame, but in a furyousnes

And lade with wyne, this conquerour vp brayde

And to his knyght in wrath these wordes sayde

I haue subdued by strength and by wysdome

All the hole worlde, whiche obeyeth to me

And howe hast thou alone me thus ouercome

And anone commaundyd his knyght hanged to be

Than sayde the knyght by right and equyte

I may apele. syns ye ar thus cruell

Quod Alexander to whome wylt thou apell

Knowest thou any that is gretter than I

Thou shalt be hanged thou spekest treason playne

The knyght sayd sauynge your honour certaynly

I am no traytoure, apele I woll certayne

From dronken Alexander tyll he be sober agayne

His lorde than herynge his desyre sounde to reason

Differryd the iustyce as for that tyme and season

And than after whan this furour was gone

His knyght he pardoned repentynge his blyndenes.

And well consydered that he shulde haue mysdone

If he to deth had hym done in that madnesse

Thus it apereth what great unhappynes

And blyndnes cometh to many a creature

By wyne or ale taken without measure.

Se here the inconuenyence manyfolde

Comynge of dronkennes as I wrytyn fynde.

Some ar so starynge mad that none can them holde

Rorynge and cryeng as men out of their mynde

Some fyghtynge some chydynge, some to other kynde

Nought lyuynge to them selfe: and some dotynge Johnn

Beynge dronke thynketh hym as wyse as Salomon

Some sowe dronke, swaloynge mete without mesure

Some mawdelayne dronke, mournynge lowdly and hye

Some beynge dronke no lenger can endure

Without they gyue them to bawdy rybawdry

Some swereth armys nayles herte and body.

Terynge our lord worse, than the Jowes hym arayed

Some nought can speke, but harkenyth what is sayd.

Some spende all that they haue and more at wast

With reuell and reuell dasshe fyll the cup Joohnn

Some their thryft lesyth with dyce at one cast

Some slepe as slogardes tyll their thryft be gone

Some shewe theyr owne counsell for kepe can they none

Some are Ape dronke full of lawghter and of toyes

Some mery dronke syngynge with wynches and boyes

Some spue, some stacker some vtterly ar lame

Lyeng on the grounde without power to ryse

Some bost them of bawdry ferynge of no shame

Some dumme, and some speketh. ix. wordes at thryse

Some charge theyr bely with wyne in suche wyse

That theyr legges skant can bere vp the body

Here is a sort to drowne a hole nauy.

Barklaye to the Folys.

Alas mad folys howe longe wyll ye procede

In this beestly lyuynge agayst humayne nature

Cease of your Foly: gyue aduertence and hede

That in eche thynge ought to be had measure

Wyne ne ale hurteth no maner creature

But sharpeth the wyt if it be take in kynde

But if it be nat, than I the ensure

It dulleth the brayne, blyndynge the wyt and mynde

Rede all bokes and thou shalt neuer fynde

That dronkennes and wysdome may togyther be

For where is dronkennes, there madnes is by kynde

Gydynge the hauer to all enormyte

And where as is madnes thou shalt neuer se

Reason ne wysdome take theyr abydynge

In one instant, wherfore lerne this of me

That dronkennes is mortell enmy to cunnynge.

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