toxophilus154500aschuoft

' oger A sen

.critical e<filt9^^^^^^^^^^^^^HEia^rr

the virtues of the 9|^^^^^^^^^^^Hecl on

the modern principles ^^^^^^^^^^^Bt rests

on a complete collationo^^^^^^^^^Bp^n 21

copies of the first edition ^^^^^^^^^fil his-

torical collation of all subseque^^^^^B. The

present volume includes a critical introduction,

a textual mtroduction, the text in old-spelling,

notes and commentar}' to explain Ascham's al-

lusions and references, and a glossary to explain

unfamiliar words.

No subsequent edition of ToxophUus appea

durmg in Ascham's lifetime. A second editij

was printed in 1571, perhaps owing to the suc-

cess of the publication of Ascham's most

mous work, The Scholemastey; in 1570 and aga

in 1571; a third edition of Toxophilus appear

m 1589. Neither of these editions reflects full-

scale revision by the author, who died in 1568.

The current edition rests on the editio prince

which, although it has considerable press cc

rection, has relatively few substantive variants

and m most respects is accurately printed.

Ascham's Toxophilus is a major text for scW

ars of English Renaissance literature, histoi

language, and cultural studies.

^

Roger Ascham

TOXOPHILUS(1545)

Medieval and Renaissance

Texts and Studies

Volume 2 44

^s^

Ktioyfe hnqUndc, be gladdeandmerie

TR OTH E ouercbmmeth thyn eenemyes oil,

rheScotfChe ¥rcncheman,the ?opc,a7idherefic^

OVERCOMMED by TrGiheM^^ hadafall:

Sticke to the Trothe^andeuermore thouOnl^

Through Chrlft,Kmglitr^ry, the Bokt and the BoWeAll maner ofenemies^Quitt ouerthrtfWe

.

Frontispiece from Roger Ascham, Toxophilus (1545)

® Copyright 2002

Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State University

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ascham, Roger, 1515-1568.

[Toxophilus]

Toxophilus (1545) / Roger Ascham ; edited with notes and commentary by Peter

E. Medine.

p. cm. (Medieval and Renaissance texts and studies ; v. 244)

Includes bibUographical references.

ISBN 0-86698-286-8 (alk. paper)

1. Archery. 2. Ascham, Roger, 1515-1568. Toxophilus. 3. Ascham, Roger,

1515-1568 — Criticism, Textual. I. Medine, Peter E. H. Title. EI. Medieval &Renaissance Texts & Studies (Series) ; v. 244.

GV1185.A8 2002

799.3'2~dc21 2002074613

@This book is made to last.

It is set in Garamond Antiqua typeface,

smythe-sewn and printed on acid-free paper

to library specifications.

Printed in the United States of America

Roger Ascham

TOXOPHILUS(1545)

Edited with Notes and Commentary

h

Peter E. Medine

Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

Tempe, Arizona

2002

For Eric Joseph and David Eric Medina

— filiis optimis virisque ingeniosis

XI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Abbreviations and References xiii

General Introduction 1

Textual Introduction 23

Roger Ascham, Toxophilus 35

First Book 47

Second Book 101

Notes and Commentary 143

Emendations 167

Glossary 171

Appendix 184

PREFACE

Toxophilus, prepared with an eye to royal patronage, was the only workRoger Ascham completed and formally published during his lifetime. Heappears to have taken pains with its composition and printing, withdraw-

ing the manuscript from the printer in July 1544 and continuing to revise

well into spring of 1545. The text of the first edition reveals careful print-

ing and two instances of proof-correction that appear to be authorial. Theeditions of 1571 and 1589 indicate no full-scale revision by the author, whodied in 1568. Two editions appeared in the eighteenth century, one in 1761

based on the second edition and another in 1788 based on the second edi-

tion and sponsored by the Society of Royal British Bowmen. All subse-

quent editions except one depend on the edition of 1545, including J. A.

Giles's modernized edition in The Whole Works ofRogerAscham (1864-65),

Edward Arber's of 1869, and William Aldis Wright's of 1904. These edi-

tions involved little if any collation of copies of the first edition, though

Wright used the Jesus College, Cambridge, copy as the base-text with

"occasional references" to two other copies, the Trinity College, Cam-bridge, copy and one copy in the British Library. Ann Edmondson More-

head collated seven copies for her Ohio State University doctoral disser-

tation, "A Critical Edition of Roger Ascham's Toxophilus" (1973). Afacsimile edition of the Bodleian copy was published in 1969, and reprints

of the 1788 edition and of Wright's 1904 edition were published in 1968

and 1970 respectively.

In view of the historic interest in Ascham as a prose stylist and the

publication of several important critical studies of Toxophilus over the last

forty years, it is appropriate to have a thoroughly critical edition based on

modern principles of textual scholarship. This is the first edition with full

textual apparatus and commentary developed from a collation of all the

known, available copies of the first edition along with a full historical col-

lation. I have included as well a critical introduction, notes and commen-tary, and a glossary.

Preparation of this edition has taken me to libraries in the United

States and England. They include the Yale University Library; the Folger

Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC; the Library of Congress; the Pier-

Xll PREFACE

pont Morgan Library; the New York Public Library; the University of

Texas Library; the University of Arizona Library; the Bodleian Library;

Worcester College Library, Oxford; the John Rylands Library of the Uni-

versity of Manchester; the Cambridge University Library; Sidney Sussex

College Library, Cambridge; Jesus College Library, Cambridge; Trinity

College Library, Cambridge; and the Plume Library, Maldon, England.

For the courtesies of the staffs of these libraries, I am most grateful. I wish

also to thank Mr. Robert S. Pirie, New York, who kindly allowed me to

examine his copy of Toxophilus. To two libraries I am particularly in-

debted: the British Library, where I read during academic year 1993-94,

and to the Huntington Library where I have been fortunate to read regu-

larly for the past thirty years.

To my Dean Charles Tatum, I am most grateful for a semester's sab-

batical leave in fall term 1993; to my colleague and former Department

Head, Rudolph C. Troike, I am most grateful for support in arranging for

an extended research leave in England in spring 1994.

I have benefited from the expert advice of numerous colleagues and

friends, including Norman Austin, Daniel Donno, Elizabeth Story Donno,

Charles Forker, Richard Jensen, John T. Shawcross, Cynthia White, and

the late William S. Ringler, Jr. Two colleagues in the University of Ari-

zona English Department, Carl T. Berkhout and Roger Dahood, read the

introduction with care and acumen and provided insightful comments on

several textual questions. Their help in this and in many other ways has

been invaluable.

The two anonymous readers for Medieval and Renaissance Texts and

Studies read the manuscript with care, and I thank them for their construc-

tive suggestions.

I am grateful to the University of Delaware Press for permission to re-

print in the Introduction materials from my essay "The Art and Wit of

Roger Ascham's Bid for Royal Patronage: Toxophilus (1545)," Soundings of

Things Done: Essays in Early Modem Literature in Honor ofS. K. Heninger

Jr.y ed. Peter E. Medine and Joseph Wittreich (Newark; London, 1997).

For sustenance beyond their ken, I remain most indebted to the two

men to whom this edition is dedicated.

ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES

The following abbreviations are used for editions of Ascham's works:

Giles The Whole Works of Roger Ascham. Ed. John Allen Giles. 3

vols, in 4. London: J. R. Smith, 1864-65.

Wright Roger Ascham. English Works: Toxophilus, [The] Report of the

Affaires and State of Germany, The Scholemaster. Ed. William

Aldis Wright. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1904.

1578 Disertissimi viri Rogeri Aschami A ngli, Regiae Olim Maiestati &Latinis Epistolis, Familiarium epistolarum libri tres. 1578.

References to Toxophilus are to the present edition.

Sigla of early editions of Toxophilus are:

HN Roger Ascham. Toxophilvs, the Schole ofshootinge conteyned in

two hookes. 1545. Huntington Library Copy (RB 41404).

BL . Toxophilvs, the Schole of shootinge conteyned in two

bookes. 1545. British Library Copy (C.31.b.39).

Toxophilvs, the Schole of shootinge conteyned in two

bookes. 1545. Yale University Copy (Elizabeth Club 3).

71 . Toxophilus, the schoole, or partitions ofshooting contayned

in .ij. bookes. 1571.

89 . Toxophilus: The Schoole, or partitions of Shoo-ting con-

tayned in two bookes. 1589.

1761 . The English Works ofRoger Ascham, Preceptor to QueenElizabeth. Ed. James Bennet. London: Dodsley, 1761.

XIV ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES

References to the Bible are to Biblia Sacra Vulgata, 3rd ed. Stuttgart:

Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983; references to Chaucer, to 7^e Riverside

Chaucer, ed. Larry D. Benson. 3rd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,

1987.

Other abbreviations and references include:

Chaucer Here begynneth the hoke of Caunterbury tales. London: R.

Pynson, 1526.

De bellico Leo VI. Leonis imperatoris De bellico apparatu liber, e grae-

apparatu co in latinum conuersus, loan. Checo . . . interp. Basel, 1554.

liber

Elyot Thomas Elyot. The Dictionary. London, 1538.

Galen, De CI. Galeni .

.

. opera quae ad nos extant omnia in Oratio

sanitate tuenda suasoria ad artes Latinam conuersa. 7 vols. Basel, 1549, 1

and 2.

History of John Major. A History of Great Britain as Well as England

Great Britain as Scotland by John Major ... D21. Tr. Archibald Consta-

ble. Edinburgh, 1892.

ODB Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 3 vols. New York: Ox-

ford University Press, 1991.

L&P Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of

Henry VIII, 1509-47. Ed. J. S. Brewer and J. Gardiner. 21

vols. London, 1862-1910.

Officina Ravisius Textor. Officina, partim historiis, partim poeticis

referta disciplinis. Paris, 1552.

Ryan Lawrence V. Ryan. RogerAscham. Stanford: Stanford Uni-

versity Press, 1963.

S.H.A. Scriptores Historiae Augustae. Basel, 1518.

(Basel, 1518)

S.H.A. Scriptores Historiae Augustae. Ed. Ernst Hohl. Leipzig:

(Leipzig, 1965) Teubner, 1965.

ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES XV

Tilley Morris P. Tilley. A Dictionary ofProverbs in English in the

Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Ann Arbor: Universi-

ty of Michigan Press, 1950.

Tudor Tudor Royal Proclamations. Ed. Paul L. Hughes and JamesProclamations F. Larkin. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press,

1964.

Wilson Thomas Wilson. The Art ofRhetoric (1560). Ed. Peter E.

Medine, University Park: Pennsylvania State University

Press, 1994.

The following abbreviations are used for classical works, which have been

consulted in the Loeb Classical Library series.

Aesch.

XVI ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES

Eur.

ABBREVIATIONS AND REFERENCES xvii

Soph.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

OCCASION AND DATE

Toxophilus was printed by Edward Whytchurch, printer to the king, in late

winter or early spring 1545. Shortly thereafter Ascham presented his book

to the king, its dedicatee, at a royal audience at Greenwich. The formal

dedication of the book to its royal patron concluded over five years of

attempts by Ascham to secure support from various literary patrons.^ Hebegan in 1541 with an appeal to Robert Holgate, bishop of Llandaff and

president of the Council of the North (Giles, 1:19-21). Having sketched

his background as a poor Cambridge scholar, Ascham came directly to the

point: "[I]f your Lordship would deign in some measure to supplement mymeans ... I will publicize to all learned men that my studies were sustained

and preserved by your aid and munificence" (Giles, 1:21). The publicizing

of Holgate's "munificence" would appear in a dedication of a literary

work, probably a scholarly work on a theological topic as may be judged

from the reference to "all learned men."

Nothing came of these negotiations. Later the same year Ascham wrote

to Edward Lee, archbishop of York, this time specifying the work he

might undertake. "There are on all the . . . canonical epistles of Paul scho-

lia, which are called Graecia, gleaned from most prudent and ancient fath-

ers, which I know remain unknown to those who have only Latin [and no

Greek]" (Giles, 1:19).^ Encouraged by Lee, Ascham worked for the next

* A remarkably complete record of Ascham's attempts to obtain support appears in his

letters, which were printed in 1576, Disertissimi Viri Rogeri Axhami Familiarium Episto-

larum Libri Tres. All references to Ascham's correspondence come from Giles; translations

of the Latin are my own.

The formal dedication of Toxophilus and its presentation to Henry are discussed below

in the section on composition and dedication, pages 17-19.

^ These scholia are excerpts that the tenth-century Thessalian bishop Oecumenius was

thought to have assembled from Greek patristic writers including Chrysostom, Basil, and

Theophylactus. The editio princeps of Oecumenius appeared in Verona in 1523, and it is

likely that Ascham worked from this edition.


year on a Latin translation of the commentary on Paul's Epistle to Titus.

In 1543 he traveled to the archbishop's residence in London to make a per-

sonal presentation of a manuscript copy of his translation. Although As-

cham received a sum of cash and a commitment for a semiannual pension

of 20 shillings, the highly conservative Lee took offense at one passage in

the commentary on Titus. Ascham hastened to apologize and implored

friends to intercede. Lee died in September 1544, however, and Aschamwrote to his Cambridge friend John Seton that it was "now necessary [for

him] ... to seek another patron" and asked him to support his offer of

service to Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester and influential adviser

to the king (Giles, 1:61). Gardiner himself never assumed the role of lit-

erary patron, but, as we shall see, he served Ascham well in advancing his

interests.

Meanwhile Ascham was busy on other fronts. John Cheke had left

Cambridge in 1543 to supervise the education of Prince Edward. It was

thought that the Regius Professorship of Greek that he held would fall

vacant, and by early summer 1544, when Ascham arrived at court to pro-

mote his own candidacy, there were at least two other applicants. He evi-

dently received encouragement from Sir William Paget, a principal secreta-

ry, and Ascham shortly wrote a formal request for Paget's support (Giles,

1:50-53). However Cheke did not resign the professorship until 1547, and

then Nicholas Carr was chosen. Perhaps emboldened by his first experi-

ence at court, Ascham wrote two poems of commendation in the autumn,

one in honor of the birthday of the Prince of Wales and another to the

king (Giles, 3:297, 283). There is no evidence that either of these poemsresulted in immediate reward, though it is plain that Ascham now had an

entree into court circles.^

What mattered very much to Ascham in these undertakings was the

aesthetics of the work he was treating. In his initial letter to Lee, he ex-

plained that the commentaries on Paul constitute a "work ... in whichsomeone could try his style with as much enjoyment as profit for the pub-

lic" (Giles, 1:19). In other words, the stylistic felicities of a well-translated

version of the text would delight as much as its content would instruct.

The very elegance of Ascham's prose, whether Latin or English, argues a

high degree of stylistic self-consciousness. As we shall see, in 1545 he ex-

• By this point, 1544-45, Ascham's efforts had clearly borne fruit. The forty-shilling

annuity from Lee increased his annual income to roughly seventeen pounds, just under half

of the forty-pound annuity attached to the Regius professorships. Perhaps more important,

Ascham had established contacts beyond the university: in 1544 he received a handsomeoffer from Lord Mountjoy to serve as tutor to his son, which he declined; in 1545 he wasin a position to seek Gardiner's intercession with the king for preferment as secretary to a

nobleman in Henry's service abroad (Giles, 1:35-37 and 79-81).


pressed his low opinion of contemporary English prose and offered specific

criticisms (Giles, 1:79-80). Similar concern with style and form appeared in

Ascham's projected translation of Sophocles's Philoctetes, in which he

planned to render the Greek tragedy in the fashion of Seneca "with the

same iambic lines and nearly all the choric meters that Sophocles used"

(Giles, 1:32). Nothing further is heard of the translation, and it probably

was never finished. Ascham's preoccupation with matters of style, form,

and technique extended to the artifice and presentation of the text. Ascham

had cultivated a fine italic hand, which he employed not only for official

documents in his capacity as secretary to the university, but also in tutor-

ing Edward and later his prize student, the princess Elizabeth.** He pre-

pared his own fair copies of the translations of the commentaries on the

epistles of Paul to Titus and Philemon. These manuscript volumes consist

of the text of the commentary itself prefaced with an epistle of dedication

and personal presentation. Two of them, the texts of the prefatory epistles

and commentaries on Philemon and Titus, survive and are remarkable

specimens of informal publication of the highest quality.^

All of these efforts to secure the support of those in power rested on

Ascham's abilities and promise as a scholar and conformed to the patron-

client conventions of the period. Thomas More, Thomas Elyot, John

Cheke, John Leland, and Thomas Wilson all dedicated serious, even grave

books to their king. In fact most of the sixty-odd books dedicated to

Henry deal with religious, political, or educational subjects.^ So in ap-

pealing to potential patrons through the dedication of celebratory verses

and translations of authors like Oecumenius and Sophocles, Ascham stood

squarely in the tradition of the Christian humanists of the first half of the

* See Ryan, 26 and 82-83, and Alfred Fairbank and Bruce Dickens, 57?? Italic Hand in

Tudor Cambridge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962), 7-8 and 11-12. Tradition

holds that Ascham was admired especially for his penmanship by his fellow humanists. In

his Life of Sir John Cheke (London, 1705), John Strype writes of Cheke's excellence in this

regard: "Add this . . . that he brought in fair and graceful Writing by the Pen, as he wrote

an excellent accurate hand himself. And all the best Scholars in those times practiced to

write well. So did Smith and Cecyl, and especially Ascham; who, by his exquisite Hand,

was the Person appointed to teach the Lady Elizabeth to Write. So that fair Writing and

good Learning seemed to commence together" (45).

* Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson D.1317 and Cambridge, St. John's College,

MS L.3. In the second of these, the commentary on Philemon, Ascham remarks to the dedi-

catee John Seton that the gift he has prepared is one "from which you may take not a com-mon pleasure but a pleasure that is substantial, not simply pleasing the eyes for a time" (foL

x). This particular manuscript book is so successfully executed and has so "pleased the eye"

that some have mistaken it for a printed book; see James Bass Mullinger, The University ofCambridgefrom the Earliest Times to the Royal Injunctions of 1535 (Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1873) 2:43 n.3, and compare Ryan, 301.

' See Franklin Williams, Index ofDedications and Commendatory Verses in English Books

Before 1641 (London: Bibliographical Society, 1962), 92-93.


sixteenth century. When Ascham made his major bid for royal patronage,

however, he chose not a work of traditional humanist scholarship but a

vernacular treatise on archery, hardly a subject the sixteenth century re-

garded as serious or grave.

SUBJECT, AIM, AND METHOD

The subject of archery presented Ascham with several opportunities. Hecould appeal to the king's enthusiasm for the sport; he could promote an

activity he believed conducive to national welfare; he could make various

political comments that would please the king; and he could fashion a

statement that recouped and celebrated England's cultural heritage. Perhaps

most important, Ascham could demonstrate his learning in a highly inno-

vative, ironic way. Ascham was explicit about this point and stressed it

repeatedly.^

In listing an early version of Toxophilus among his credentials for the

Regius Professorship of Greek, Ascham writes that once the work appears

in print it will "not be an ordinary testimony to my ordinary learning"

(Giles, 1:52). He expresses the same hope in the printed version's epistle

dedicatory, concluding that he trusts that Toxophilus will be "some signe

of my minde, towardes . . . learninge."^ Then in the spring of 1545 As-

cham elaborates, explaining that he wants

certain distinguished men who thought that I was distracted from

graver matters by the pursuit of my shooting to know . . . that I

have not, as Aristophanes says, xq) xo^eosiv ^KTeio^eu aGai [shot

away] all my time. (Giles, 1:80)

The "distinguished men" are obviously not Ascham's new supporters at

court, such as Paget, Gardiner, and the king; nor are they sympathetic

colleagues like Seton and Cheke. Presumably they are academics at Cam-

bridge who view scholarly activity from a narrowly conservative point of

'' Pursuing different lines of argument from mine, Thomas Green and K.J. Wilson also

examine Ascham's treatment of learning in Toxophilus (Green,"Roger Ascham: The Perfect

End of Shooting," English Literary History 36 [1969]: 609-25; Wilson, "Ascham's Toxophilus

and the Rules of Art," Renaissance Quarterly 29 [1976]: 30-51). They discuss Ascham's con-

cern with the issue of learning qua learning, or, in Green's words, of learning "any skill or

body of knowledge, of which shooting is merely the aptest example" (619). Wilson exam-

ines the issue in its broader Platonic context, which Ascham invokes in Toxophilus with the

explicit references to the Phaedrus (47/19 and 141/7-8), and sees in Ascham's treatise on

archery a "model for the attainment of perfeaion in an art which possess the richest af-

finities with the art of rhetoric" (36).

* 38/29. All quotations from Toxophilus are from the present edition.


view.' Now Ascham's audience is different. It is secular, political, and na-

tionalistic; and while non-academic, this audience is intellectually sophis-

ticated in a liberal, humanistic sense. Punning on the classical Greek text

from which he coins his title,^° Ascham expresses his intention to vindi-

cate himself as a scholar. In addition, while reflecting traditional humanist

scholarship, the pun signals the irony of Toxophilus, in which the author

undertakes to display his erudition in a vernacular treatise on archery.

Ascham's self-consciousness about his art is nowhere more evident than

in his observation that his recourse to English violates convention and

represents a new kind of undertaking in English prose. "[To] haue written

this boke either in latin or Greke," he points out in the epistle prefatory,

"had bene more easier & fit for mi trade in study" (38/16-18). He explains

his choice of the vernacular on various grounds. The first is the standard

humanistic concern to reach readers who have no Latin or Greek, to en-

hance the "pleasure or commoditie [benefit], of the gentlemen and yeomen

of Englande" (40/25-26). He continues with the opinion that "as for the

Latin or greke tonge, euery thyng is so excellently done in them, that none

can do better" (40/27-28). This line of reasoning implies the need for new

forms of expression in the vernacular for a broad English audience. As-

cham then makes his point plain: "In the Englysh tonge . . . euery thinge

[is done] in a maner so meanly, bothe for the matter and handelynge, that

no man can do worse" (40/28-30). As a thoroughgoing classicist, Ascham

would naturally look to suitable models, but in his judgment there were

none in English. Ascham refers to Chaucer as "oure Englyshe Homer"

(66/10), but Chaucer's language was remote and imperfectly understood.

He seems to have admired Chaucer for the moralitas of his work and

quotes him in translation (66/13-16, 67/38-68/2, and 70/11-12). Ascham

also mentions the popular native romance, which presumably includes

Malory, but finds it wanting: "In our fathers tyme nothing was red, but

bookes of fayned cheualrie, wherin a man by redinge, shuld be led to none

other ende, but onely to manslaughter and baudrye" (41/8-10).

Critics usually assume that Ascham regarded Sir Thomas Elyot as his

principal model. '* Not only does Elyot's Book of the Govemour extol the

' Ryan sees Ascham's concern to justify himself to his Cambridge colleagues as the

prime aim of Toxophilus (52-53).

'° The coinage toxophilus comes from x6ôv (bow) and ÎXoc, (lover). The Greek phrase

Ascham incorporates in the letter quoted above, z<^ TOê\5 Eiv ^ktetoê OaOai (by shooting

wasted), is adapted from the parenthetical, participial phrase Tdv ^fi<5v |a£v aOtoO tou

xaXainciSpou axe5c3vf^5r| vo\ilCfov ^KxeTOÊOoGai p(ov ("thinking not for myself, having

already had the quiver of life shot away") (Aristophanes, Plutus, 34-35).

" Cornelie Benndorf, Die englische Paedagogik im 16. Jahrhundert, wie sie dargestellt wird

im Wirken und in den Werken von Elyot, Ascham und Mulcaster (Vienna: W. Braunmueller,

1905); Ryan, 62-66; and Janel Mueller, The Native Tongue and the Word: Developments in


long bow, but also the treatise Ofthe Knowledge Which Maketh a Man Wise

is in the form of a Platonic dialogue. Above all Elyot championed the use

of the vernacular. But although Ascham respectfully acknowledges Elyot

as a historical source (88/27-89/5), he never points to him as a model of

literary excellence. In fact, as we have seen, Ascham's condemnation of

contemporary English writers sounds categorical, and the criticism of their

faulty style would seem to apply to Elyot.

According to Ascham, English writers ignore Aristotle's ideal of speak-

ing as the common people do and thinking as the wise do and, instead,

"vsinge straunge wordes as latin, french and Italian, do make all thinges

darke and harde" (40/37-39). The particular objection is to neologizing,

the importation of learned terms to dignify and enrich native English.^^

Such neologizing is a conspicuous feature of Elyot's work, especially in the

case of his most successful book, The Govemour, which includes forma-

tions like "adminiculation" (aid), "conglutinate" (joined), "demulced"(coaxed), and "illecebrous" (enticing). ^^ Ascham ridicules the practice of

neologizing in a conversation that he reports he held with another author:

Ones I communed with a man whiche reasoned the englyshe tongue

to be enryched and encreased therby, saying: Who wyll not prayse

that feaste, where a man shall drinke at a diner, bothe wyne, ale andbeere? Truly quod I they be all good, euery one taken by hym selfe

alone, but if you putte Maluesye and sacke, read wyne and white,

ale and beere, and al in one pot, you shal make a drynke, nether

easie to be knowen, nor yet holsom for the bodye. (40/39-41/2)

There is no direct evidence that the unnamed author was Elyot or that

Ascham intended him in the portrait.^"* But we do know that Aschamwas discriminating in his classicism and looked to Cicero's imitation of Iso-

English Prose Style 1380-1580 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984), 324-29.*^ In objecting to neologizing, Ascham reflects the attitudes of his mentor John Cheke,

who wrote that English "shold be written cleane and pure, unmist and unmangeled withborowing of other tunges" in a letter published in Thomas Hoby's translation of The Cov-rtyer ofCovnt Baldessar Castilio (1561), sig.ZzS; and Cheke's other protege, Ascham's Cam-bridge friend Thomas Wilson, who parodied neologizing in his satirical epistle replete with"inkhorn terms" in The Art ofRhetoric (1553) (Wilson, 188-91).

" See the glossary and appendices of Elyot's formations from Latin and French in TheBoke Named The Gouemour, ed. H. H. S. Croft (1883; New York: Burt Franklin, 1997), 2:

449-642.

" Stanford E. Lehmberg suggests that Ascham "was probably referring to Elyot" in this

passage {Sir Thomas Elyot Tudor Humanist [Austin: University of Texas Press, 1960], 92).

For another particularly strong condemnation of contemporary vernacular authors, see

the 1545 letter Ascham sent to Bishop Gardiner accompanying his presentation copy of Tox-

ophilus (Appendix).


crates, Plato, and Demosthenes in his own efforts to produce an English

that was above all perspicuous. ^^

The same criterion applies to syntax, though like most sixteenth-

century commentators Ascham has little to say about syntax apart from

diction, as in the opening of The Scholemaster.

[I]n learninge farther hys Syntaxis . . . [the student] shall not vse the

common order . . . wherby, [he] commonlie learneth, first, an euill

choice of wordes, (and right choice of wordes, saith Caesar, is the

foundation of eloquence) than, a wrong placing of wordes: and last-

lie, an ill framing of the sentence, with a peruerse iudgement, both

of wordes and sentences, (Wright, 182)

To put the criticism another way, poor word choice and faulty syntax vio-

late the principle of decorum, the principle of finding the appropriate

word to express the exact meaning. Violation of decorum results in prose

that is not only meaningless but also frequently ridiculous, uncomely, and

obscure.

In all of his self-conscious discussion of his writing, whether of the

Latin translations of Greek commentaries or the vernacular Toxophilus, As-

cham refers primarily to style, chiefly word choice and figurative language.

Although he seldom mentions substance, it is evident that he regards it as

important. ^^ In one instance, he points out that unlike contemporary

authors he has "pursued a topic to which I am not unequal on account of

my skill [in archery]" (Giles, 1:80). That is, he has firsthand, expert knowl-

edge of what he is writing about. In the same passage Ascham points to the

necessity of casting that knowledge in a logically compelling statement, as

he indicates the great importance of dialecticfaj ad ratiocinationem ("logic

for purposes of developing an argument").^'' On at least one other occa-

" For detailed discussions of Ascham's classicism, see Alvin Vos, "The Formation of

Roger Ascham's Prose Style," Studies in Philology 71 (1974): 344-70; "Form and Functionin Roger Ascham's Prose," Philological Quarterly 55 (1976): 305-22; and " 'Good Matter andGood Utterance': The Character of English Ciceronianism," 19 (1979): 3-18; and compareMueller, Native Tongue, 322-46.

" In attempting to redress the traditional view of Ascham as a virtual decadent — a

prose stylist more concerned with words than matter — the ensuing account follows several

important treatments. Voss analyzes the funaionality of Ascham's Ciceronian style in

"Form and Function in Roger Ascham's Prose," 305-22, and " 'Good Matter and Good Ut-terance*: The Character of English Ciceronianism," 5-18. Mueller analyzes the moral func-

tionalism of Ascham's style in a discussion of the "creative potentiality of sentential con-

junction, together with reference to the native English context of prose writing that soughtto develop secular counterparts to Scripturalism" {Native Tongue, 322-36).

" Ascham's German colleague Johannes Sturm insisted on the study of rhetoric, onpractice in style and imitation, and on training in dialeaic. He regarded dialeaic and rhet-

oric as inseparable in the matter of inventio, the devising of an argument appropriate to the


sion he reveals a deep awareness of the connection between style and sub-

stance. In his remarks on the commentary on the Epistle to Philemon, As-

cham notes that he emends Erasmus's translation and substitutes deprecor

for rogo. The emendation, Ascham explains, rests on the authority of

Cicero, "who says that when we deprecamur we do not deny our deed, but

ask forgiveness for our transgression, which this whole letter to Philemon

concerns" (Giles, 1:24). Here word choice is decidedly substantive, for the

particular meaning of the preferred word bears directly on the overarching

theme of the epistle. Ascham's expressions of interest in substance and in

the connection between style and substance are few; but they reflect con-

cern, if not insight.

Given that there were no suitable models in English and that his formal

education and intellectual heritage consisted largely of the classics, Aschamwould naturally rely heavily on ancient Greek and Latin. As we have seen,

the decision to write in English complicated his classicism. He eschewed

the classicized Latin of his fellow humanists and the neologizing of ver-

nacular writers like Elyot. Ascham undertook instead to embody the high

ideals of the Ciceronian aesthetic in good English prose. This undertaking

may have stemmed from his professed humanist desire to reach a broad

English audience, from his desire to strike out and write something in Eng-

lish worthy of his nation, or from his desire to please a new court audi-

ence. But in addition, the choice of the vernacular deepened the irony of

the overall strategy. While the vernacular may seem at first the most un-

likely vehicle for Ascham to demonstrate his learning with, it actually was

a most decorous choice, given the ostensibly unsophisticated nature of the

subject. As the substance and format of Toxophilus reveal, Ascham brought

to bear on this subject enormous erudition and scholarship. And as he

stressed in his prefatory statements, he took pains to forge an English style

that met the considerable challenge of emulating the classics.

ORGANIZATION AND ARGUMENT

Ascham divides Toxophilus into two books cast in the form of a dialogue

between Philologus ("lover of learning") and Toxophilus ("lover of the

bow"). Book A defends archery as a pastime beneficial to the individual

and to the nation; Book B describes the equipment and technique. The dia-

logue begins with Philologus's challenging of the proposition that archery

possesses serious value. Toxophilus responds by recounting how through-

out history all great nations have prized archery for its benefits in both

subject at hand. See De Amissa Dicendi Ratione (Strasbourg, 1543), fols. 17, 33v. CompareRyan, 60-61.


peace and war. It is particularly valuable to the scholar who tends to lead

a sedentary life. By the conclusion of Book A, these arguments have con-

vinced Philologus, and he asks Toxophilus to discuss the technical aspects

of the art of archery so that he himself might become proficient. Book Btreats the equipment of archery and the technique of proper shooting.

Interwoven throughout are digressions on education, morals, politics, and

particular contemporary figures and events.'*

The structure of Toxophilus is both firm and functional. Book A focuses

on the question of the value of archery and falls into two large sections,

the first on the importance of archery in peace (52/9-71/32) and the sec-

ond on its importance in war (77/37-91/20). The question is joined, and

Philologus opens the discussion, indicating the general content of the en-

tire treatise:

Than Toxophile, if it be so as you do saye, let vs go forwarde and

examin howe plentifullie this is done that you speke, and firste of

the inuention of it, than what honestie & profit is in the vse of it,

bothe for warre & peace, more than in other pastimes, laste of all

howe it ought to be learned amonges men for the encrease of it.

(51/4-8)

Accordingly the dialogue treats the "inuention" of archery (51/22-42), its

value in peace (52/9-71/32) and in war (77/36-91/20), the nature and aim

of learned arts (91/11-100/30), and the ways in which archery may be

learned (Book B). Within this overall organization, a clearly articulated

structure underlies and orders the argument in each Book.

Book A, the more dialectical of the two Books, consists of a series of

carefully marked steps in the process of persuasion, as Toxophilus answers

Philologus's objections to archery. Besides indicating Philologus's gradual

movement from adversary to advocate of archery, Philologus's concessions

at eleven distinct points advance and shape the argument on a fundamental

level, '^ Each concession reformulates the question to be decided and antici-

pates the next topic. Structuring the dialogue of Book A in this way, As-

cham integrates the argument thoroughly. Moreover, the regularly markedconcessions enliven the exchanges between Toxophilus and Philologus and

" Book A has five major digressions: on music training in the schools, 55/40-59/21; ongambling, 63/13-70/23; on John Cheke, 82/24-83/10; on the Turkish threat to Christian

Europe, 84/41-86/6; and on an appeal for union of Scotland and England, 87/22-88/25.

Book B has two rather shorter digressions: on Sir Humphrey Wingfield, 123/39-124/13; andon the poor judgment of parents in sending their sons to university, 133/32-134/33. Theseparts of the treatise may be read as developments of various points apposite to the overall

argument, and not as digressions in the strict sense. See Ryan, 51-52, for one such reading.

" 53/21-22, 54/33-55/1, 55/31-33, 61/38-42, 63/13-32, 72/8-11, 77/31-37, 90/8-14,

91/21-27, 92/9-28, and 96/11-18.

10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

provide the distinctive drama of the Platonic dialogue: the exchanges raise

expectations and create interesting displays of argumentation and fre-

quently of wit.

Since there is no adversarial relationship in Book B, there is little com-parable drama. Philologus is now an eager learner and collaborator, and

the method is topical and expository rather than dialectical. The opening

exchange of Book B between Philologus and Toxophilus encapsulates the

Book's contents in great detail and illustrates the technique:

PH. What is the cheyfe poynte in shotynge, that euerye manne la-

boureth to come to? TOX. To hyt the marke. PHI. Howe manyethynges are required to make a man euer more hyt the marke.^

TOX. Twoo. PHI. Whiche twoo? TOX. Shotinge strayght and kep-

ynge of a lengthe. . . . (101/3-8)

The passage continues in this vein for some thirty lines, touching on every

topic and on the ensuing order and rationale of the treatment in Book B.

The passage concludes:

PHI. You speake nowe Toxophile, euen as I wold haue you to

speake: But lette vs returne agayne vnto our matter, and those

thynges whyche you haue packed vp, in so shorte a roume, we wyll

lowse them forthe, and take euery pyece as it were in our hande

and looke more narowlye vpon it. (102/8-12)

The method of the dialogue is not that of the late Platonic dialogues or

even Cicero's De Oratore, both of which stand behind Book A and receive

specific notice. The dialogue of Book B recalls Cicero's De Partitione Ora-

toriay a manual of rhetoric in which the master (Cicero) answers questions

about the art from an eager pupil (Cicero's son).^° The argument is high-

ly discursive as the two interlocutors present the topics schematically and

then proceed through them.^^

But no less than Book A, Book B rests on a carefully contrived struc-

ture. Instead of a series of concessions on Philologus's part, Book B con-

sists of five sections of material, each schematically organized, presented,

and concluded. The five sections cover: 1) equipment (102/14-123/19); 2)

use of the equipment (123/25-130/42); 3) wind and weather (131/8-

138/34); 4) shooting straight (138/36-140/22); and 5) self-control (140/23-

^° Ryan points out that the student-teacher dialogue appeared widely in the Middle Ages

and the Renaissance for instruction of mechanical as well as liberal arts. See Ryan, 76 andendnotes 64 and 65.

^' In fact the second part of the Table of Contents, "A Table conteyning the seconde

booke" (45), is presented in outline form enumerating the topics mentioned in the first

paragraph on 101-2.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION H

141/9). Further, Ascham frequently subdivides these sections, especially the

first two, on the "gear" of archery and on its use. Such schematization

renders the presentation lucid and orderly, which is consistent with the

Book's expository mode. The strategy also creates the impression of com-

pleteness and thoroughness of treatment. Philologus frequently strengthens

this impression by remarking on the surprising amount of detail the sub-

ject entails. "I woulde neuer haue thought," he comments midway

through Toxophilus's discussion of the arrow, "you could haue sayd halfe

so muche of a stele [shaft of the arrow], and I thynke as concernyng the

litle fether and the playne head, there is but lytle to saye" (116/9-11). As

it turns out, the feather alone requires 25 percent more discussion than the

"stele."

Besides advancing the argumentation and exposition, the dialogue form

enables Ascham to take up a wide variety of materials and topics. These,

in turn, serve his professed concerns to exhibit his learning and fashion a

statement that celebrates English culture as worthy as any of antiquity.

Perhaps most conspicuous is Ascham's use of classical, biblical, and histori-

cal authorities. These loom large in Book A, where Toxophilus argues for

the virtue of archery as a pastime during peace (52/9-71/35) and most

prominently in the argument for archery as essential to national defense

(77/37-91/20). Having just conceded the seventh point and now virtually

convinced, Philologus asks to hear about "those examples whiche you

haue marked of shotyng your selfe: whereby you are, and thinke to per-

suade other, that shoting is so good in warre" (77/35-37). Toxophilus re-

sponds with a magisterial chronology of the uses of archery for military

purposes from biblical times through the sixteenth century. The greatest

part of the survey — fourteen of the sixteen pages — presents Hebrew,

Greek, Roman, and early medieval examples. The richly illustrated review

prepares for the distinguished history of English archery, which Toxophi-

lus compasses in a comparatively spare rehearsal (89/6-31). As Toxophilus

points out by way of introduction, "But now . . . concerning many exam-

ples for the prayse of English archers in warre, surely I wil not be long in

a matter that no man doubteth in, & those few that I wil name, shal either

be proued by the histories of our enemies, or els done by men that nowHue" (89/2-5). Seven brief paragraphs of restrained prose recount English

archery from Edward III and the Battle of Crecy to Sir William Wal-

grave's and Sir George Somerset's recent victory over the French. The

statement requires neither length nor rhetorical embellishment, since it

indicates a historical reality that has shaped England's past and present and

reveals England's destiny as heir to the civilizations of Israel, Greece, and

Rome.Toxophilus's strategy in such sections is scholarly and academic, pro-

ceeding historically and appealing to authority. In addition, Ascham takes


pains to suggest the breadth of Toxophilus's learning. He is no mere "an-

cient," relying solely on classical authors. He includes medieval authors

like Paul, Deacon of Monte Cassino (720-800), Leo VI, called the Wise,

Byzantine emperor from 886 from 911, and Nicholas de Lyra (c. 1265-

1349), as well as moderns like Robert Gaguin (1425-1501), Jean Tixier,

Seigneur de Ravisy (d. 1524), Hector Boece (1465-1536), John Major (1469-

1550), Peter Nannius (1500-1557), and Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560).

He also refers to such English contemporaries as Sir Thomas Elyot

(1490-1546) and John Cheke (1514-1557). Besides adducing the authorities

in the text proper, Ascham reinforces the scholarly form by means of

marginal side notes to the writers and the works, frequently with specific

references."^

In the course of demonstrating his learning, Ascham does more than as-

semble a vast array of sources on behalf of one of his speakers. He demon-

strates many of the rhetorical and dialectical skills that he criticizes con-

temporary prose writers for lacking. One strategy appears early on whenToxophilus begins his case for archery by recounting its invention, a stan-

dard topic recommended in the rhetorical textbooks for introducing and

providing the foundations for an argument.^ In presenting the genesis of

archery, Toxophilus refers within a third of a page to Pliny's Natural His-

tory, Plato's Symposium, the Hymn to Apollo, Genesis, Nicholas de Lyra,

and Galen — all provided with citations in the margins. He concludes:

So this great continuance of shoting doth not a lytle praise shotinge:

nor that neither doth not a litle set it oute, that it is referred to

thinuention of Apollo, for the which poynt shoting is highlye

praised of Galene: where he sayth, that mean craftes be first found

out by men or beastes, as weauing by a spider, and suche other: but

high and commendable sciences by goddes, as shotinge and musicke

by Apollo. (51/31-36)

Besides marshaling an impressive list of authorities within a short space,

Toxophilus displays a deftness and lightness of touch in manipulating

them. The skill and the grace result from the shrewd identification of

the origins of archery and the highest of art forms. The association with

^ The suggestion of scholarly apparatus appears in other ways. Passages from Chaucer

are quoted and then single lines and half lines are quoted again for particular comment,much in the fashion of learned commentaries that ordinarily appear in discussions of scrip-

ture and classical texts (66-68). Similarly, at one stage (74-77), Philologus cites a series of

five texts from classical authors against Toxophilus. This is very much in the vein of the

learned disputation in which proof texts are adduced by one controversialist and responded

to by his opponent.

" See Wilson, 55 and notes.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1_3

Apollo aggrandizes and dignifies archery, anticipating a major theme of

Ascham's defense later in the treatise, that of the sheer aesthetic beauty of

form properly executed.

On another occasion, Ascham reverses the situation and puts Toxophi-

lus in the position of defending his assertions against Philologus's appeal to

authority. The question concerns the kind of feather to be preferred, that

of the eagle or the goose. Philologus invokes the authority of Hesiod's

account of Hercules's favoring eagle and not goose feathers for arrows.

Toxophilus's first tactic is to dismiss Hercules's view as extreme and then

to shift the focus from the mythological to the everyday, asserting that "as

for Hercules, seynge nether water nor lande, heauen nor hell, coulde scarse

contente hym to abyde in, it was no meruell thoughe a sely poore gouse

fether could not plese him" (117/14-16). He then continues with a brief

encomium of the goose:

Yet welfare the gentle gouse which bringeth to a man euen to hys

doore so manye excedynge commodities. For the gouse is mans

comforte in war & in peace slepynge and wakynge. What prayse so

euer is gyuen to shootynge the gouse may chalenge the beste parte

in it. How well dothe she make a man fare at his table.^ Howe eas-

elye dothe she make a man lye in hys bed? How fit euen as her

fethers be onelye for shootynge, so be her quylles fytte onelye for

wrytyng. (117/18-24)

The argument is less dialectical than rhetorical, as Toxophilus exploits the

metonymic potential of the homely goose, specifying the domestic items

the goose is the source of: food, feather beds, and the quills of pens, besides

the feathers of arrows. The concluding three sentences of this brief enco-

mium confirm the point and reflect Toxophilus's complete control of his

material. The repetition of the isocolon (similarity of length) and isoparion

(similarity of syntactical and grammatical structure) gains in persuasive-

ness, if not conclusiveness, from the identical rhythmic figures of the be-

ginning of the sentences — all iambs: "How well," "Howe ease" (lye), and

"How fit."

Ascham pursues a more dialectical vein in the conclusion to Book A,

where Philologus advances the position that disciplines ought to be pur-

sued in order to achieve "excellencie" or "perfitnesse." Toxophilus argues

that such pursuit is folly, since fully realizing perfection is impossible, and

that one should seek only what is possible. Philologus proceeds with a ser-

ies of pithy questions reminiscent of Plato's Socrates at his most incisive

and reduces Toxophilus's position to an absurdity:^'*

Most often Toxophilus prevails in his arguments against Philologus and seems to


PHIL. Than by likely to hit the pricke [i.e., the bull's eye] alwayes,

is vnpossible. For that is called vnpossible whych is in no man his

power to do. TOX. Vnpossible in dede. PHIL. But to shoote wydeand far of the marke is a thynge possyble. TOX. No man wyll den-

ie that. PHIL. But yet to hit the marke alwayse were an excellent

thyng. TOX. Excellent surelie. PHIL. Than I am sure those be

wiser men, which couete to shoote wyde than those whiche couete

to hit the prycke. TOX. Why so I pray you. PHIL. Because to

shote wyde is a thynge possyble, and therfore as you saye youre

selfe, of euery wyse man to be followed. (98/24-32)

The point that Philologus concludes with irrefutable logic is that one nec-

essarily seeks what is impossible in all arts and disciplines, whatever they

may be. "[In] good sadnesse [seriousness] Toxophile," he says in a friend-

lier tone, "thus you se that a man might go throghe all craftes and sci-

ences, and proue that anye man in his science coueteth that which he shal

neuer gette" (98/34-36). The conclusion prepares the way for Book B and

Toxophilus's undertaking to illustrate and teach the art of archery.

PROSE STYLE

In keeping with the strategy of bringing to bear enormous learning on the

subject of archery, Ascham lavishes great care on the style of Toxophi-

lus}^ As we have seen, prose style is a matter he concerns himself with

represent something like a normative voice, though plainly not at this point. The treatise

is a dialogue, and we should not expect a perfectly consistent identification of the persona

Toxophilus with Ascham throughout. On other occasions, such as the nostalgic recollec-

tions of Sir Humphrey Wingfield and John Cheke, the connection between persona and

author is inescapable.

A good statement of Ascham's understanding of the use of personae and fiction occurs

on page 68, where the author has Toxophilus answer Philologus's suspicion that he musthave gambled a good deal himself in order to know so much about the vice. Toxophilus

says: "[T]hynges be knowen dyuerse wayes . . . And if euery man shulde be that, that he

speaketh or wrytteth vpon, then shulde Homer haue bene the best capitayne, moost cow-

arde, hardye, hasty, wyse and woode, sage and simple" (68/33-38). Nevertheless in The

Scholemaster Ascham refers to a "book of the Cockpit" which he is writing or going to

write (Wright, 217). Camden reports that "since he [Ascham] was overly given to dice and

cockfighting, he lived and died in poverty" {Annates Rerum Anglicarum, et Hibemicarum,

Regnante Elizabetha [London, 1615], 150).

" Studies of Ascham's prose style include: George Krapp, 77>e Rise of English Literary

Prose (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1904), 292-99; George Williamson, TIk Senecan

Amble: A Study in Prose Form from Bacon to Collier (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,

1951), 74-75; Vos, "The Formation of Roger Ascham's Prose Style," 344-70; "Form andFunction in Roger Ascham's Prose," 5-18; " 'Good matter and good Utterance*: The Char-

acter of English Ciceronianism," 3-18; Mueller, Native Tongue, 322-46; Ryan, 49-81;

Greene, "Roger Ascham: The Perfett End of Shooting," 609-25; and Wilson, "Ascham's

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1_5

generally and discusses specifically in the prefatory epistles to Toxophilus.

His remarks there point to a sophisticated combination of nativism and

classicism, a program he clearly follows in the body of his treatise. His

vocabulary eschews both the Latinate neologizing occasionally evident in

Elyot and the extreme Saxonist tendency found in Seton and Cheke. The

diction measures up to the standard Ascham ascribes to Aristotle, that

prose should reflect the speech of common people and the thought of the

wise (40/34-36).

The syntax is even more of a hybrid of the classical and native. It is

largely paratactic. That is, coordinating conjunctions {and, or, hut, or yei),

connective adverbs (for, therefore, thus, moreover), or clausal juxtaposition

marked by a colon typically link the rhetorical periods.^^ The following

sentence is illustrative:

And surely the bowmen of Athens did wonderful feates in manybattels, hut specially when Demosthenes the valiant captayne slue

and toke prisoners all the Lacedomonians besyde the citie of Pylos,

where Nestor somtyme was lord; the shaftes went so thicke that

daye (sayth Thucydides) that no man could se theyr enemies. (81/

1-5)

It has long been observed that heavy parataxis was a salient feature of Eng-

lish prose until well into the early modern period. In the words of a recent

commentator, "conjoined clauses [i.e., parataxis of all kinds] had been a

staple resource of native prose composition for well over a century and a

half before [1550]."^^ The majority of the rhetorical periods in Toxophilus

exhibit the paratactic structure of native English prose.^^

Into this matrix of traditional syntax Ascham introduces periods embel-

lished by the so-called Gorgian figures, most frequently associated with the

Athenian orator Isocrates (fourth century BC). These figures include: iso-

colon (corresponding members of similar grammatical structure), antithes-

is, and paromoion (corresponding members of similar sound). The follow-

ing schematization of one of Ascham's periods is illustrative:

Toxophilus and the Rules of Art," 30-51 and Incomplete Fictions: The Formation of English

Renaissance Dialogue (Washington, DC: Catholic University Press, 1985), 109-37.

^* Parataxis contrasts with syntaxis or hypotaxis, syntactical structuring that depends on

subordination. Classic studies of English syntax that take into account this distinction in-

clude Leon Kellner, Historical Outlines of English Syntax (London: Macmillan, 1892), sees.

97-99, and George O. Curme, Syntax (Boston: D. C. Heath, 1931), 28-30, 89, and 176. Arecent re-evaluation of this approach appears in Mueller, Native Tongue, 1-40.

^^ Mueller, Native Tongue, 287.

^* Of the sentences in Toxophilus, 54.1 percent exhibit parataxis. I count those sentences

as parataaic which: 1) begin with arui, hut, yet, or, for, or therefore, and/or 2) display inter-

nal coordination.


Princes beinge children oughte to be brought vp in shoting:

both bycause it is an exercise moost holsom,

and also a pastyme moost honest:

wherin labour prepareth the body to hardnesse,

the minde to couragiousnesse,

sufferyng neither the one to be marde with tendernesse,

nor yet the other to be hurte with ydlenesse:

as we reade how Sardanapalus and suche other were,

bycause they were not brought vp with outwarde honest

payneful pastymes to be men:

but cockerde vp with inwarde noughtie ydle wantonnesse to

be women. (53/26-33)

Within this period Ascham embeds a series of parallel clauses, each pair of

which increases in length and builds to the extended antithesis of the final

pair. The art of such prose drew the notice of contemporaries. In arguing

for Ascham's superiority over the likes of Thomas Nashe, Gabriel Harvey

remarks that "[i]t is for . . . Ascham to stand levelling of Colons, or squar-

ing of Periods, by measure and number."^' By "levelling and squaring"

Harvey means the balancing and equalizing typical of the Isocratean period

rather than of the grammatical subordination and rhetorical gradation of

the rounded, cumulative Ciceronian.'°

But Ascham's practice in Toxophilus conforms to larger Ciceronian

principles. Cicero stresses the importance of commanding a full breadth of

stylistic expression. In the Orator^ he concludes that this capability distin-

guishes true eloquence: "Is erit igitur eloquens, ut idem illud iteremus, qui

poterit parva summisse, modica temperate, magna graviter dicere" (101).

This concept underlies Ascham's description of the ideal style in the pref-

ace to the Report and Discourse Written of the Affaires and State of Germany:

The stile must be alwayes playne and open: yet sometime higher

and lower as matters do ryse and fall: for if proper and naturall

wordes, in well ioyned sentences do lyuely expresse the matter, be

it troublesome, quyet, angry or pleasant, A man shal thincke not to

be readyng but present in doying of the same. And herin Liuie in

any toung, by myne opinion carieth away the prayse. (Wright, 126)

The passage aptly summarizes the principles that govern Ascham's criti-

cism and writing of prose throughout his career, according to which prose

^ Elizabethan Critical Essays, ed. G. Gregory Smith (Oxford: Oxford University Press,

1904), 2:277.

'° For a thorough discussion of the question of Ascham's style as Isocratean or Cicero-

nian, see Vos, "The Formation of Roger Ascham's Prose Style," 344-70.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 17

must be plain and accessible and at the same time reach "sometime higher

and lower as matters do ryse and fall." Both passages imply the supremeclassical doctrine of decorum: fitting the language to the matter. Both pas-

sages further imply the importance of each work's being in itself stylisti-

cally varied. The author of the pseudo-Ciceronian Rhetorica ad Herenniumis explicit: "Sed figuram in dicendo commutare oportet, ut gravem medio-

cris, mediocrem excipiat adtenuata, deinde identidem commutent, ut facile

satietas varietate vitatur"(4.12-16).^^ As we have seen, Ascham undertakes

the writing of Toxophilus to exploit the resources of his native language

and to demonstrate his own literary proficiency. It follows that within the

distinctive stylistic mode of Toxophilus he would seek to display a widerange of English expression, extending from the colloquial, to the tech-

nical, to the learned and occasionally poetic.^^

COMPOSITION AND DEDICATION

Ascham undertook the writing of Toxophilus with the same care and delib-

eration that we observed in his other literary efforts discussed above in the

section on occasion and date. He first mentioned his treatise in early sum-mer 1544 in his application to Paget for the Regius Professorship (Giles,

1:52). He explained that this work de re sagittaria is in press {sub praelo)

and that he hopes it will be in print in time for presentation to the king as

he departs on his military expedition to France. Henry set out on 14 July,

sooner than expected and some time before the printer had finished. As-

cham seemed to have welcomed the opportunity to withdraw the manu-script in order to revise. Shortly before Lent the next year, he remarkedthat he had been totally absorbed in meo Toxophilo, which was finally

printed by Whytchurch in late spring or early summer (Giles, 1:75). Fromthe comment in the epistle dedicatory that the treatise was in some stage

" See also De Or. i.U7 and cf. 3.210-11. Frequently commentators would assert a rig-

idly — and distinctly un-Ciceronian — principle of decorum whereby a work would exhibit

one and only one style. See Wilson, 195/9-12 and accompanying note.

" In speaking of the colloquial, technical, and learned styles or stylistic categories, I amborrowing from the traditional three levels posited in the Ciceronian tradition, from the

Rhetorica ad Herennium to Quintilian: low, middle, and high. Such categorizations are al-

ways problematic. Sensitive rhetoricians — like Cicero himself— recognize the arbitrariness

and artificiality of the scheme; it nevertheless served to organize discussions of style for overa millennium and a half. See Wilson, 195/3-4 and accompanying note.

For a detailed analysis of Ascham's exploitation of the full stylistic range in Toxophilus,

see my essay "The Art and Wit of Roger Ascham's Bid for Royal Patronage: Toxophilus

(1545)," in Soundings of Things Done: Essays in Early Modem Literature in Honor of S. K.

Heninger Jr., ed. Peter E. Medine and Joseph Wittreich (Newark: University of DelawarePress, 1997), 23-51.

IB GENERAL INTRODUCTION

of completion before spring of 1544, it appears that Ascham spent over a

year revising,

Ascham also took care with the physical production of Toxophilus. Acomplete collation of the located twenty copies reveals over fifty instances

of stop-press correction. That is an unusually high number of corrections

for a quarto of 190 pages, and many of them suggest the author's ownhand. Most unusually, the book bears no title page but has instead a lavish

engraving of the royal arms modified to emblemize particular features of

the dedication to Henry. The image of the book with the word VERITAS— the Bible — and the image of the bow and arrow with the wordVINCIT suggest active militancy. The visual and grammatical collocation

— "Truth" (of the Bible) "Conquers" (with the aid of the English long-

bow) — encapsulates the Protestantism and nationalism that the English

humanists characteristically embrace. The elegiac couplets in the scrolls

elaborate and specify the two political motifs. One celebrates the ecclesi-

astical victory of Henry's secession from Rome; the other, his recent mili-

tary victories over the Scots and the French. The cartouche contains Eng-

lish verses appropriately cast in a stanza of rime royal.

The formality and ceremony of the frontispiece and the epistle dedica-

tory to the king received further expression in the book's presentation to

its dedicatee. Very shortly after Toxophilus was printed, Gardiner and per-

haps Paget arranged for Ascham to have a royal audience at Greenwich.

The royal presentation copy is unlocated, but, as one may judge from

other presentation copies that survive, Ascham must have had prepared a

specially bound copy inscribed in his own elegant hand.^^ This copy As-

cham then carried to Henry and Catherine as they received other petitions

and gifts while presiding over the court at Greenwich. We have a glimpse

of the scene in a passage from Ascham's letter of thanks to William Parr,

" Claims by Ryan and Paul Needham that the royal dedication copy survives in the

Royal Library collection in the British Library are inaccurate (Ryan, 303; Paul Needham,Twelve Centuries of Bookbindings: 400-1600 [New York: Pierpont Morgan Library, 1979],

181). Inspection of 20 of the 21 identified surviving copies — including the four in the

British Library — reveals that none bears Ascham's inscription to Henry. A catalogue

description of the 21st copy, which I have not personally inspected, indicates that it bears

no such inscription either; see note 7 below.

Surviving letters suggest that Ascham sent inscribed presentation copies of Toxophilus

to: the Prince of Wales; William Parr, brother to Queen Catherine and earl of Essex;

Thomas Wriothesley, the Lord Chancellor; Sir Anthony Denny; Bishops Day, Gardiner,

and Nicholas Heath; and probably Cranmer, Paget, and Barnaby Fitzpatrick, Prince Ed-

ward's young companion (Giles, 1:77-83, 84-85). Edward's copy, with the prince's own sig-

nature, and in the original binding, is now in the Pierpont Morgan Library (PM 20522);

Parr's, along with Ascham's autograph dedication, is in the Folger Shakespeare Library

(STC 837. Copy 2) — see illustration on page 142; Wriothesley's with two leaves of As-

cham's autograph dedication is in the Cambridge University Library (Pet.A.2.37).

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19

earl of Essex and brother to the queen. Ascham expresses his gratitude to

Parr for his support in getting Toxophilus approved by the council for pub-

lication and then praising it to Catherine and Henry:

I shall cherish forever in my memory what you declared about it

when it was presented to the most honorable King's Council and

most recently when it was carried very modestly and fearfully to

His Royal Majesty. For I still seem to see, as though gazing with ad-

miration, how you extolled this book to her Majesty Queen Cathe-

rine when she asked by chance what book it was, and how you

commended it with an agreeable countenance, indicating your di-

vine pleasure in it and prophesying extraordinary fame for it. (Giles,

1:77)

We may infer that the queen called her husband's attention to the book

and that it attracted his interest. As we have seen, Toxophilus was amongother things a celebration of the Christian militancy of the realm that

Henry was at the very moment exhibiting in his attempts at territorial ex-

pansion across the Channel. It was as well a studied exhibition of As-

cham's own learning and wit, qualities that Henry himself had aspired to,

if not cultivated throughout his life.

It is therefore scarcely surprising that Henry rewarded Ascham with an

annuity of 10 pounds (Giles, 1:412). This was a sum that Gardiner felt

should have been greater. Nearly ten years later Ascham recalls with grati-

tude Gardiner's support, writing that "when King Henry first gave it [the

annuity] at Greenwich, your lordship in the gallery there asking me what

the king had given me, and knowing the truth, your lordship said it was

too little, and most gently offered to speak to the king for me" (Giles,

1:412). The fact is that the annuity was quite handsome — a full 25 percent

of the annuity accompanying a Regius professorship — and that it marked

the beginning of Ascham's royal preferment, as tutor to Elizabeth, as secre-

tary to the ambassador to Charles V, and as Latin secretary under both

Mary and Elizabeth. Clearly Ascham's efforts in Toxophilus — his self-

consciousness, his art, and his irony — brought him financial reward and

professional advancement.

MILITARY AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

As we have observed, Ascham suggests in his dedication that the occasion

for the publication of Toxophilus was Henry's successful siege of Boulogne

in the early autumn of 1544. But the English victory did not depend on

the superiority of the English longbow. At the time Eustace Chapuys, im-

perial ambassador to England, wrote that the "cause of [Boulogne's] sur-


render seems to have been inability to endure longer the battery of the ar-

tillery, which has fired more than 100,000 shots" {L&P 19.2:124).^'* Years

later a veteran of the siege wrote that "notwithstanding that the most parte

of [the English forces at Boulogne] were archers, I did neuer see or heard,

of any thing by them doon with their Long bowes, to any great effect. But

many haue I seene lye dead in diuers skirmishes and incounters."^^ Tox-

ophilus is neither a military science manual nor a position paper on mil-

itary strategy. But insofar as Ascham argues that the longbow is important

to national defense, he is in an intensely conservative tradition, one that

lagged behind the "military revolution" that resulted in the supremacy of

firearms over the longbow.^^

The supremacy did not come about all at once. Memory of English vic-

tories over the French at Crecy, Poitiers, and Agincourt owing to the

longbow loomed large in the national consciousness even as firearms were

becoming increasingly popular. It was inevitable that the use of these

modern weapons would encounter significant — and frequently official —opposition.

For one thing, Henry VIII and Elizabeth reinforced statutory require-

ments for the use of the longbow which Parliament began to legislate in

the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.^^ Besides various royal proclama-

tions to this effect throughout Henry's reign, the government's handbook

for justices of the peace encouraged enforcement of the statutes at the local

level. It enjoined justices to see to it

that bowes and arrowes be bought for children vnder .xvii. and

aboue .vii. yere, by him that hath such a child in his house. . . . and

who that is founde in defaute, in not hauyng bowes and arrowes, bythe space of a moneth, to forfayt .xii. d And that buttes be

made in euery citie towne and place, accordynge to the lawe of aun-

cient tyme vsed, and the inhabitauntes and dwellers in euerye of

them, to exercise them selfe with long bowes.'^

'* Another contemporary, the historian Edward Hall, similarly testified that Boulognesuccumbed to an "aboundaunce of greate ordinaunce" (27?e Lives of the Kings, ed. Charles

Whibley [London, 1904], 1:349).

•** Humphrey Barwicke, A Briefe Discourse (1594), sig. E.

^^ See Geoffrey Parker, 7^e Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the

West, 1500-1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), 43-90; see also C. G.Cruickshank, Elizabeth's Army, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966), 102-29,

and J. R. Hale, Artists and Warfare in the Renaissance (New Haven: Yale University Press,

1990), passim.

'^ See note to 88/26-27/1.

'• The boke of Justices of the Peas (1521), sig. D3.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21^

The concern seems to have stemmed in large part from the increased use

of handguns and the crossbow. A 1528 proclamation complains that

"archery and shooting in longbows is sore and marvelously decayed and in

manner utterly extinct; and specially by the newfangles and wantonpleasure that men now have in using of crossbows and handguns, wherebyalso great number of people be given to felonies and to the unlawful de-

struction of deer and other beasts."^' The proclamation continues with

a ban on the possession, manufacture, and importation of the crossbow

and handguns.

Fewer than twenty years later, on the eve of the military expedition to

Boulogne, Henry modified his position. He issued a proclamation enjoin-

ing the use of firearms, "considering how expedient it is at this present

time to have some number of . . . subjects skilled and exercised in the feat

of shooting in handguns and hagbuts as well for the defense of the realm

against enemies as annoying of the same in time of war" {Tudor Proclama-

tions, 1:282-83). The abuse of firearms for criminal acts evidently remained

a problem, however, and proclamations against firearms — in particular

handguns — recurred during Elizabeth's reign.

By the 1580s English military experience in the Netherlands seems to

have brought the question of the usefulness of the longbow to a head. Thecontroversy broke into print toward the end of the century and assumed

the familiar form of a debate between the ancients and the moderns,

between those who favored the time-honored national weapon and those

who favored firearms. The principal ancient was an experienced military

man. Sir John Smythe. In Certain Discourses (1590) Smythe invokes the

authority of the past against the presumption of contemporaries who seek

"by their vaine and friulous obiections against our Archerie, to supresse

and extinguish the exercise and seruiceable vse of Long-bowes" (sig.*2'').

He advances various practical arguments, such as the accuracy of the bowand its technical simplicity; but he also depends very much on a long re-

hearsal of historical battles in which archers proved most effective (sigs.

I2^-M4^. That same year another experienced military man, Sir Roger

Williams, published A Brief Discourse of War. Williams argues coolly for

the superiority of modern firearms, basing his claims on the effectiveness

of the imperial forces of Parma. He respectfully acknowledges the venera-

ble English tradition while confirming his position with common sense:

" Tudor Proclamations, 1:151. The military and political concern with the maintenance

of archery frequently involved another concern the crown shared with Ascham: the per-

ceived connection between the decline in the use of the longbow as a pastime and the grow-ing popularity of games associated with gambling, as is evident in the description of this

proclamation as one "enforcing statutes against unlawful Games, and for Archery."


Let vs not erre in our ancient customes, though our famous Kings

Henrie the fift, Edward the third, and King Henrie the eight, werethe most worthiest warriers that our nation euer had: Notwith-

standing you may be assured, had they knowne the terrour of Mus-kets, Caliuers and Pistols, they would have vsed the lesse Bowes,

Speares and Bills, (sig. C^

The controversy continued in the 1590s and spilled over into the next cen-

tury. But a memorandum from the privy council to the "Commyssionersfor the countie of Buckingham" suggests in dry, official language that the

day of the English longbow's military significance had ended:

Therefore wee praie you (as you have begone in some parte of the

shire) to convert all the bowes in the trained bandes unto muskettes

and callyvers and the billes into pykes, and to see they mai be

trained and taught to use theire peeces, and to certyfie us within as

shorte tyme as convenientlie you maie the state of the forces of that

countie accordinge to our former direction.^

The political and military context thus suggests that Ascham's defense

of the longbow was not only in a decidedly conservative tradition but also

running against technological developments that were already transforming

English artillery even in 1544 at the siege of Boulogne. This context

further confirms the perspective that in the final analysis Toxophilus stands

fundamentally as a literary undertaking composed to secure not a change

in military policy but, as we have seen, royal patronage.

^ Acts of the Privy Council: 1596-1598, ed. John Roche Dasent (London, 1901), 25.

TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION

EDITION OF 1545

We have observed that Ascham reported in June 1544 that his book de re

sagittaria was in press and that he hoped to have it published before

Henry's imminent departure for France. Some eight months later the bookhad still not appeared, and Ascham explained that he had put aside all

other work to concentrate entirely on meo Toxophilo} Several of As-

cham's letters later in 1545 make it clear that Toxophilus was finally pub-

lished by late spring or early summer. The record thus suggests that the

printing of Toxophilus was under way in early summer 1544 and that whenHenry left for France on 14 July the author interrupted that process andbegan revising the manuscript, perhaps extensively.^

In such circumstances the printer presumably would have reserved the

sheets already printed and used them when he resumed printing the fol-

lowing spring. The result would have been an edition in very mixed states,

textually and even typographically.^ This turns out not to be the case.

' There is no concrete evidence that an edition of Toxophilus appeared in 1544. The title

pages of the second and some copies of the third editions (1571 and 1589) explain correctly

but misleadingly that it was "written by Roger Ascham. 1544." This seems to have led to

misdating of the first edition as 1544, perhaps because the title page of the 1571 edition

reappeared verbatim in two editions, that of 1761 (re-issued in 1815) and that of 1788 (re-

issued in 1821). See also Robert Watt, Bibliotheca Britannica (Edinburgh, 1824), 1:491.

^ The epistle to the king that prefaces Toxophilus (63-66) presents a somewhat different

version of these events. There Ascham suggests that in summer of 1544 he resumed workon the project, which he had earlier begun but then set aside, with the intent of providing

a homecoming gift to the king on his triumphant return from France. Henry's speedy vic-

tory "prevented [his] diligencie to performe this matter" for the occasion, and Ascham "wascompelled to waite an other time to prepare & offer vp this litel boke" (38/3-5). This pub-

lic account of the preparation of Toxophilus in the epistle agrees with the private account in

the correspondence in the essential point that Ascham was writing and revising throughoutthe autumn of 1544 and winter-early spring of 1545.

' On the basis of "[p]hysical differences among copies of the 1545 edition," Ryan sug-

gests "that parts of the work may have been typeset at different times during the course of

publication, with certain gatherings in some copies left perhaps as they stood before Ascham

24 TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION

Though there is considerable press-correction, substantive variants are

comparatively few, and in most respects the book is accurately printed. In

view of there being only one passage in the printed text where the copy

seems to have been unintelligible or missing, the compositor appears to

have worked from a fair copy.^ As for physical features of the edition,

watermarks indicate that the same lots of paper were used throughout the

printing; the set of type is consistent throughout; and the signatures are

consecutive and no breaks appear in the print of the book.^

A bibliographical description of the 1545 quarto follows.

Title page] None.

Frontispiece] Royal coat-of-arms, surmounted by a crown and flanked byscrolls, on left bearing the verses: HA Cfusa est nostris Bahylonica pestis

ab oris:\HAC praua ad Stygias dogmata trusa plagas.

\and on right

bearing the verses: HOC Scotus & Gallus fracti domique iacebunt,\

suhiecti Domino colla superba suo.\

; at left an image of a book with the

inscription: V E|RI

|TA

|S and at right an image of a bow and

arrow with the inscription: V I N|CIT; below in a cartouche with the

stanza: [Printer's device pointing right] Reioyse Englande, be gladde andmerie,

\TROTHE ouercommeth thyne enemyes all,

\The Scot, the Frenche-

man, the Pope, and heresie,\OVERCOMMED by Trothe, haue had a

fall:I

Sticke to the Trothe, and euermore thou shall\Through Christ, King

recalled the manuscript upon Henry VIU's departure for France" (49). Word-by-word,

point-by-point collation of twenty copies of the 1545 edition reveals no physical differences

that indicate that typesetting occurred at different times during the press run. See the

following sentences and note 1.

* The text of the passage in question reads:

Therfore seinge Princes moued by honest occasions, hath in al commune wealthes

vsed shotynge, I suppose there is none other degree of men, neither lowe nor hye,

learned nor leude, yonge nor oulde[.] (sig. 04)

It is possible that the copy contained the text completing the sense of the sentence and that

the compositor simply overlooked it. Still, whatever the reliability of the reasonably com-

petent compositor, the fact is that there is no other such lapse in Ascham's printed text of

over 70,000 words. Defectiveness of the copy seems the likeliest explanation.

' Three distinct watermarks distinguish the paper used in the examined copies of the

1545 edition: one type of le main (compare C. M. Briquet, Les Filigranes, ed. Allan Ste-

venson [1907; Amsterdam: Paper Publications Society, 1968], 2:10796, 10799, and 10813);

and two types of pot a une anse (compare 12663 and 12664, and 12759). Though the type is

uniform, two different ornamental Ps appear on sigs. Al and N3. And though the signatures

are correaly signed, and the chain marks indicate normal conjugation of the leaves, sigs. K3,

Q2 and 3, and V3 are unsigned. The text proper is divided into two books, A and B, each

with separate foliation; errors in the folio numbers appear on sigs. K3, M2, M4, N4, Tl,

and T2-Y4, sporadic press corrertion of which is made in forme T. Finally, the running

title on sigs. N3v and N4v is erroneous, reading "Toxophilus.A" instead of "Toxo-philus.B."

TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION 25

Henry, the Boke and the Bowe\All maner ofenemies, quite ouerthrowe.

Woodcut signed with the initials ID.^

Head-title] TOXOPHILVS,|The schole of shootinge

|conteyned in two

I

bookes.

Running-title] Toxophilus.A.|The schole of shooting. [A-Ol]

|

Toxophilus.B. The schole of shotyng. [01''-Y4^]

Explicit] Deo gratias.

Contents: Al: Frontispiece. AV: Dedicatory poem. A2: Epistle dedicatory.

A4: Epistle dedicatory. a3: Contents. slV: blank. A-Y4^: Text.

Collation: 4°, A'^ (A2 signed A), a^ A-Y^ 96 leaves. All leaves of A-Y are

normally conjugate. Black letter with incidental roman and italic, ex-

cepting the first epistle dedicatory, the headtitle, and running titles,

which are roman.

Census

I have located and collated the following twenty copies of the first

edition of Toxophilus for this edition.^

1. Huntington Library (RB 41404), San Marino, California. Imperfect;

lower third of frontispiece in manuscript facsimile.

2. British Library (C.31.b.39), London. Perfect.

3. British Library (G.2366). Imperfect. A2-4^, lower portion of a3-3'',

and lower right corner of Y4-4^ in manuscript facsimile; al-M4, X2,

* The engraver was probably John Day. Compare R. B. McKerrow, Printers' and Pub-

lishers' Devices in England and Scotland 1485-1640 (1913; London: Bibliographical Society,

1949), 115.

^ The New York bookseller James Cummins bought the H. Bradley Martin Library

copy of Toxophilus at the Sotheby's 30 April 1990 sale (lot 2564). Judging from the sale cata-

logue description, the copy is complete and largely intact:

4°. Black letter, caption-title on leaf a3r, full-page woodcut royal arms with letter-

press within a strapwork compartment on Al, woodcut initials; washed, leaf Alskillfully restored at the fore-edge with parts of the woodcut border in facsimile,

small natural paper fault in leaf P4 neatly mended costing a few letters. Brown lev-

ant gilt extra, turn-ins gilt, all edges gilt by Riviere & Son.

Provenance: 1. Humphrey Tiller, signed and dated on leaves U4v and Xlr. 2.

Nicholas Merstaden(?), signed and dated on Xlv and X2r. 3. W.Hunt, signed at the

end. 4. Frederic R. Halsey; sold with his coUeaion en bloc to: 5: Henry E. Hunt-ington, in 1915; resold by Huntington in his duplicate sales, part 4, Anderson, 10

December 1917, lot 7. 6. John L. Clawson, with his brown morocco ticket gilt; his

Elizabethan sale, part 1, 20-21 May 1926, lot 14. 7. Allerton Cusman Hickmott,with his blue morocco ticket gilt. {The Library ofH. Bradley Martin [New York:

Sotheby's, 1990], n.p.)

Cummins subsequently sold this copy, and it is not available for inspection.


X4, and Y4 tipped-in leaves from another copy; a3 cancellandum. 1

contains manuscript note: "Made up by Mss. from a perfect copy —the same date and Printer — in the possession of the Revd: J:W:Dodd: who after repeated inquiries and search into various libraries,

could meet with only 5 copies of this Edition: 1 perfect belonging to

R. Hawarth Esq: of Chancery Lane: 3 imprft purchased by J:W:Dodd at various times; out of which he has been enabled to form one

complete and fine printed Copy; and has filled up his remaining 2

copies with Mss — facsimile, of which this is one — the 5th is in the

British Museum, bound up with the 2 subsequent Editions, 1571 byMarsh (erroneously call'd the 1st) and 1589 by Jeffes. The first and

last Editions in the above Vol: belonging to the Brit: Mus: were

imperfect & have been completed by Mss. facsimile from his ownperft Copies by J:W:D. NB 1545 is not mentioned by Ames. Augst

28th: 1807."

4. British Library (C.31.e.29). Imperfect. A-a2, a4, CI, F4, Ml, R2, V4,

X2, X4, Yl, Y4 in manuscript facsimile. n3 contains virtually the

same ms note as copy 3.

5. British Library (C.3Le.27). Imperfect. A, upper right corner of A2,

X4, and Y2-4 in manuscript facsimile. X3 and Yl tipped in from an-

other copy. 7ul contains manuscript note: "The first Tract in this vol-

ume is the original Edition of Ascham Toxophilus, which being ex-

tremely scarce, has been completed with MS. by the Rev. Mr Dodd,

of Westminster School, at the desire of Mr Nares. It is thus rendered

a perfect copy, & becomes of considerable value. June. 1807. De-

Nares." nl contains virtually the same manuscript note as copies 3

and 4.

6. Bodleian Library (4° 028Juv.), Oxford. Perfect.

7. Cambridge University Library (Pet.A.2.37), Cambridge. Perfect. 7c2

contains manuscript inscription to Thomas Wriothesley: "Honoratis-

simo viro, D. Thomae Wriothesleio, Angliae Cancellario Magno, et

literarum Pat°no Maximo Nee prius mihi quicquam faciendum, nee

magis opportunum esse existimaui Honoratissime vir, quam ut in hoc

ipso omnium et hominum et negotiorum ad te concursu, hunc libel-

lum tibi ad legendum offerrem: Inique enim comparatum esset, si vni-

uersi tibi libellos litibus, quoerimonijs et turba refertos porrigerent, et

nuUus pateret aditus illis hominibus qui libros otij oblectationis minis-

tros tibi adferrent: cum nequaquam prudenttissime cogitationes tuae,

sic quotidianis hominum controuersijs attrite diutissime in negotio

consistere et durare poterint, nisi aliquo aliquando otij [nX^ fructu et

suavitatem recreate, gaudio sese et iucunditati dederint: Contrarie

enim res, contrarias retinent et complectuntur. Hoc in omni naturae

consilio et artis imitatione cernitur. Sic diei labores fouet noctis re-


quies, sic somnis vigilias sequitur: Nee Scammu uUum ad sedem satis

firmum et stabilem essem potest, quod contrarijs inter se pedibus co-

haerens atque fultum non consistat. Et propterea offero: ego nunc tibi

hunc libellum, qui si nihil atturlerit ad te insigniter oblectandum, ali-

quid morae certe impedimenti esse poterit, ad te a nimis intentis cogi-

tationibus auocandum. At vero uix ausus fuissem tempora tua a rerum

gravissimarum procurationem remorari, nisi me prius ad id faciendum

commouisset consilium Eruditissimi Praesulis D Ciestreij cui unum ex

istis libris obtuli, qui mihi animum addidit, adfirmans forem banc

operam meam tibi ..."

8. Sidney Sussex College (Bb.5.12), Cambridge. Imperfect. Al-A3^ and

Xl-Y4^ wanting. a3-a4, A4, al-a2, A-V^9. Worcester College, Oxford. Perfect.

10. Jesus College (G54), Cambridge. Perfect.

11. Folger Shakespeare Library (837. Copy 1), Washington, DC. Perfect.

12. Folger Shakespeare Library (837. Copy 2). Perfect. 7i3-4v contain

manuscript inscription to William Parr: "Nobilissimo viro, Gulielmo

Essexiae Commiti, literarum Patrono Singulari.

Ex omnibus Primarijs viris tu primus & Princeps es Nobilissime

vir, cuius manibus hie liber imprimis gestari gestit: tibi enim vni

quam caeteris fere vniuersis se plus debere agnoscit. Nam tu primus

eras, cui se primum committere, et cuius praecipua opem et auspicio

lucem conspectumque hominum apparere ausus est.

Moderatissimam tuam prudentiam in eo cognoscendo, et paratis-

simam tuam voluntatem in eo exornando vehementer admiror et sus-

picio. Quid enim tu de eo dicebas vel tum cum se Amplissimo Con-

cilio Regio ostenderit, uel nuperrime [7c3''] cum Regie Ma" sese

uerecunde admodum et timide obtulerit perpetua vsurpabo memoria:

videre enim vel iam uideor, et quasi praesenti quodam obtutu intueri,

quam diuina animi tui inductione, quanta vultus suauitate, quameximia laudis praedicatione hunc librum extuleras commendauerasque

DIVAE semperque AVGVSTAE CATARINAE, cum ea forte quis

nam liber is esset a te interrogarat.

Quamobrem cum hec singula singularem quandam bonitatem in te

perspicue declarant, vniuersa autem diuinam et heroicam naturam,

natam ad rem et literariam et Sagittariam promouendam (duo summaAngliae decora Ornamenta) manifestissime testantur, summopere

mihi laborandum esse [7t4] uideo, ut cum minimam partem huius

summe tuae in me bonitatis omni mea sedulitate consequi nequi-

uerim, parata tamen voluntate et studio semper praesto sim, ad eumhominem perpetuo me praestandum, in quem banc opem non indig-

nissime consumptam esse iudicabis.

Perge igitur nobilissime Vir, et literas etiam atque etiam exorna, ut


ille te uicissim exornent, & contende (quod perpetuo facis) hanc lau-

dem alijs praeripere: ex qua re uere nobilis et germana semperque

duratura gloria emanare solet. D. lESVS Dignitatem tuam diutissime

seruet incolumem.

Dominationis tue Studiosissimus Rogerus Aschamus."

13. Folger Shakespeare Library (837 Copy 3). Imperfect. A4, al-4, R2-3,

and Y4 tipped in. ttI contains virtually the same manuscript note as

copies 3 and 4.

14. Plume Library, Maldon, England. Perfect.

15. John Rylands Library, University of Manchester. Perfect.

16. Trinity College (Capell T.4), Cambridge. Imperfect. Al wanting.

17. Pforzheimer copy. University of Texas Library, Austin. Perfect.

18. Pierpont Morgan Library (PML 20522), New York City. Perfect.

Frontispiece top margin contains manuscript signature of Edward VI.

19. Yale University (Elizabethan Club 3), New Haven. Perfect.

20. Robert S. Pirie copy. New York City. Perfect.

Proof-correction

As a result of proof-correction, 25 of the 48 formes in the 20 examined

copies exhibit two or more states of correction: A(o), A(i), a(o), A(o), B(o),

B(i), C(o), D(i), E(i), F(o), F(i), H(o), I(o), I(i), L(i), M(o), N(i), 0(i), Q(o),

R(o), R(i), S(i), T(i), V(o), and V(i). The ratio of accidental to substantive

press-variants is a little more than two to one (58 to 25); most variants con-

sist of the correction of fairly obvious errors, which a competent proof

corrector working without copy, as was usual, could have made. On both

formes of sheet I, however, the correction suggests either reading by a cor-

rector against copy or intervention by the author himself. On sig. 13 10

and 13, 27 and 28,* marginal side-notes are re-positioned next to the appro-

priate material in the text. Such correction would require comparison with

copy, where the proper location of side-notes would possibly appear less

clear to a compositor than to a presumably more knowledgeable proof cor-

rector; correct placement of side-notes would of course be plain to the

author. On sig. 12 12 and 26, the correction suggests perhaps even morestrongly the hand of the author, since the correction involves accuracy of

reference, something that even a "learned" corrector probably would not

trouble himself to check. The correction on sig. 12 7 would appear com-

parably authoritative.

While proof correction occurred throughout the edition, it seems to

have been less than thorough. Seventeen of the 23 formes showing no stop-

' Where appropriate, line numbers follow signature and page numbers in order to facil-

itate location of texts referred to.


press correction require emendation: a(i), A(i), C(i), D (o), G(o), G(i), L(o),

M(i), 0(o), P(o), P(i), Q(i), S(o), T(o), X(o), X(i), and Y(o). Indeed, 21 of

the corrected formes require further emendation: A(o), A(o), B(i), C(o),

D(i), E(i), F(o), F(i), H(o), I(o), I(i), L(i), M(o), 0(i), Q(o), R(o), R(i), S(i),

T(i), V(o), and V(i). Nevertheless, given the length of the text, the printing

of the first edition reflects great care in both its composition and its proof-

correction. As we shall see, the corrected base-text requires eleven substan-

tive and some 130 accidental emendations.

EDITIONS OF 1571 AND 1589

Perhaps owing to the success ofJohn Day's publication of The Scholemaster

in 1570 and 1571, Thomas Marshe printed a second edition of Toxophilus

in 1571. A bibliographical description follows:

Title-page] [Within a rule within a border: MacKerrow and Ferguson No.125] TOXOPHILUS,

\The schoole, or partitions of \

shooting contayned

in .ij. bookesy\written by Roger Ascham.1544.

|And now newlye per-

used.I

Pleausant for all Gentle\men, and Yomen of England

|for theyr

pastime to reade, and|

profitable for their vse to folowe|both in warre

and pease.|

[Ornament: line of four stars centered above line of three

stars]IAnno. 1571.

|Imprinted at London in

\Fletestreate neare to

SaintI

Dunstones Churche by Tho-|[Ornament: three stars arrange in

a triangle]|mas Marshe.

|

[Ornament: three stars arranged in a triangle].

Running-title] Toxophilus.A.|The schole of shootinge [Ar-E7]

|Tox-

ophilus.B [EJ-HT].

Explicit] Finis.

Contents: i: Title-page, iv: Dedicatory poem, ii: Epistle dedicatory, iv: Con-tents. KV-HT: Text.

Collation: 8° 1-4, A*-H7^, 67 leaves. Black letter with incidental romanand italic, excepting the epistle dedicatory, which is in roman, and the

dedicatory poem and running titles, which are in italic.

There is no evidence that this edition reflects a full-scale revision by the

author, who died in 1568. For one thing the text does not supply the mat-

ter that is obviously missing on sig. B4 9 of the first edition.' It seems to

have been set from a corrected copy of the first edition and by and large

reveals the expected printing-house changes. There is the usual pattern of

corruption and correction overall, with the introduction of 17 substantive

' Sec note 4 above.


variants that are decidedly inferior*^ and the correction of six substantive

errors and perhaps as many as two-thirds of the accidental errors in the

first edition. For the most part, the fresh "perus[al]" of the first edition

seems confined to mechanical matters, as for example the replacement of

the frontispiece bearing the royal arms with a standard title-page. Occa-

sionally the edition betrays a low level of correction, for example polypus

(sig. CI 13) being emended to Polyppus, as if it were a proper name.

Certain revisions, however, do not suggest the work of a compositor,

a corrector, or even a printer. There is an updating of contemporary refer-

ences: the dedicatory epistle to Henry (sig. A-3'^ does not appear; "his

maiestie, he" (sig. IV 5) becomes "Maiestye, Henrye the eyght of noble

memorye, he"; the reference to the Duke of Norfolk (sig. K4 24-25) is

much abbreviated; the reference to two contemporaries (sig. T2'' 14-22) is

dropped; and verb tenses are changed from present to past (sig. B4^ 28 and

29). In addition, a section on the advantages of union with Scotland (sig.

K3 15-27) is dropped, presumably for political reasons.

In the circumstances, it seems highly unlikely that Ascham made these

changes in anticipation of a revised edition. For some time before his death

in 1568, he was ill and occupied with the writing of 7^e Scholemaster, in

the autumn of his final year he was at work on a Latin poem of commen-dation for the queen on the tenth anniversary of her coronation. Both

projects remained unfinished. The likeliest source of the changes is As-

cham's wife, Margaret. As the prefatory epistle of dedication to Cecil in

The Scholemaster indicates, she played a significant role in the publication

of her husband's most successful work, which was a major effort to secure

support for herself and her family. It is easy to imagine her revising a copy

of the first edition of Toxophilus with an eye to publication, updating it

and sanitizing it of political views that might have given offense, especially

to Cecil.

In 1589 Abell Jeffes printed a third edition of Toxophilus "by the con-

sent of H[enry] Marsh," Thomas's son and associate.^^ A bibliographical

description of the 1589 edition follows:

Title page] [Within a border of type ornaments] TOXOPHILUS:|The

Schoole, or partitions of Shoo-ting contayned in two bookes,|Written

by Roger AschnmlAnd now newly\

perused.|Pleasaunt for all Gen-

tlemen, and Yomen\ ofEnglandfor their pastime to reade, and practical

for their vse to\follow both in warre

\and peace.

\[Band of lace.]

|At

'° This number of variant readings does not include variants resulting from several

plainly deliberate efforts to modernize the text; see the following paragraph.

" In 1589 Jeffes also printed the fifth edition of The Scholemaster.

TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION M

London,|Printed by Abell leffes,

|by the consent of H. Marsh.

\

Anno.l5S9.

Running-title] TOXOPHILVS^. Theschoole of Shooting. Ar-E4\ TOX-OPHILVS.5. The schoole of Shooting. E5^-H7^.

Explicit] FINIS.

Contents: **i: Title-page. **ii: Epistle dedicatory. ***i: Contents. ***ii:

Contents. ***iv: Dedicatory poem. Al-H7^: Text.

Collation: 8° 1-4, 1-2, AT-HS, H8^ containing printer's device, 70 leaves.

Leaves 1-H8 are normally conjugate. Black letter with occasional

roman and italic, except for epistle dedicatory, second table of contents,

and running titles, which are roman, and dedicatory poem, which is in

italic.

Like the second edition, the third edition reveals no independent auth-

ority and appears to have been set from the second edition. It corrects one

substantive error surviving in 1571 from 1545 (sig. B3^ 10), though it fails

to correct two other such errors (sigs. **3'' 34 and F5'' 15). The third edi-

tion emends three substantive errors introduced by 71 (sigs. **T' 31, AV25, and D5 21) and leaves 14 uncorrected; it corrects some half dozen acci-

dental errors. Overall the third edition shows relatively little corruption.

MODERN EDITIONS

The earliest modern edition of Toxophilus appears in The English Works ofRogerAscham, Preceptor to Queen Elizabeth, edited by James Bennet in 1761

(London: R. and J. Dodsley),^^ Consistent with its title-page's verbatim

quotation of the title-page of the 1571 edition, this edition for the most

part follows the second. Occasionally Bennet's text corrects 71 (e.g., p. 56,

1.23; p. 80, 1.8; p. 112, 1. 32), perhaps with reference to 45 or 89; very occa-

sionally it emends on its own authority (p. 143, 1. 21), and once it intro-

duces a decidedly inferior variant (p. 133, 1. 13). The Society of Royal

British Bowmen sponsored a subsequent edition of Toxophilus dedicated to

the Prince of Wales and prefaced by John Walters in 1788 (Wrexham:Robert Harsh). The title-page quotes that of 1571 — or perhaps that of

1761, which it follows throughout. ^^

Subsequent editions have been based on the 1545 edition. J. A. Giles

edited The Whole Works of Roger Ascham, 3 vols, in 4 (London: John

*^ For Samuel Johnson's authorship of the Life ofAxham that introduces Bennet's edi-

tion, see Boswell's Life ofJohnson, edited by George Birbeck Hill; revised by L. F. Powell

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964), 1:464, 550-52.

" In faa Walters acknowledges his edition's adherence to 1761 in the preface (v).


Russell Smith, 1864-65). Giles explains that in drawing on the text of the

first edition, he has made "no other change than modernizing the spelling,

except old words" (Giles, 2:iv). Actually he omits the side-notes and makes

occasional emendations. Usually he corrects obvious errors in 45, as on p.

8, 1. 23; p. 45, 1. 34; p. 46, 1. 1; and p. 110, 1. 17; occasionally he corrects

rather less obvious ones, as on p. 45, 1. 14 and p. 103, 1. 16. At the same

time Giles sometimes fails to emend where he should, as on p. 119, 1. 20,

and emends where he should not, as on p. 32, line 1. Edward Arber's 1869

edition of Toxophilus (London: Bloomsbury, W. C.) is faithful to the series

title, English Reprints, and hews closely to the 1545 text. As a result, while

he makes some very obvious corrections (e.g., on p. 42, 1. 33 and p. 117, 1.

20), Arber frequently reproduces errors of the 45 text, as on p. 19, 1. 36

and p. 70, 1. 37.

Two twentieth-century editions of Toxophilus similarly depend on the

1545 edition. In 1904 William Aldis Wright included an old-spelling edition

in English Works of Roger Ascham (Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press). He used the Jesus College copy as copy-text with "occasional refer-

ences to the Capell copy in Trinity Library" and consulted at least one of

the copies in the British Library (v). Wright emends accidental errors si-

lently, usually regularizing variant spelling and punctuation, and corrects

the substantive errors, supplying missing letters within brackets (e.g., p. 25,

line 12; p. 34, line 9; and p. 47, line 12). Occasionally he overlooks errors,

as on p. 14, line 1 and p. 27 line 9. Ann Edmondson Morehead undertook

a more nearly thoroughgoing critical edition in her 1973 Ohio State Uni-

versity doctoral dissertation, "A Critical Edition of Roger Ascham's Tox-

ophilus." Morehead collated seven copies of 45 against a "control text" and

found evidence of press correction, though naturally her evidence is par-

tial. In spite of her collation and analysis of press corrections, she seems to

have been surprisingly uncritical of the text itself and reproduced manysubstantive as well as accidental errors found in the 1545 edition.

^^

'* Three reprints have appeared in the twentieth century:

Toxophilus: the schole, or partitions, of shooting, contayned in two bookes. East

Ardsley, Wakefield, England: S. R. Publishers, in collaboration with the

Society of Archer-Antiquaries and the Grand National Archery Society, 1968.

A reprint of the Wrexham, 1788 edition.

Toxophilvs, the Schole of shootinge conteyned in two bookes. New York: Da CapoPress, 1969. A facsimile edition of the Bodleian copy.

English Works: Toxophilus, [The] Report of the Affaires and State of Germany, The

Scholemaster. Ed. William Aldis Wright. Northhampton, England: John Dic-

kens & Co. Ltd., 1970. A reprint of the Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press edition of 1904.

TEXTUAL INTRODUCTION 33^

THIS EDITION

As the analysis in the preceding sections demonstrates, the 1545 edition of

Toxophilus enjoys remarkable authority. The evidence points clearly to

authorial care in the preparing of the text — possibly intervention in the

printing. The text of Toxophilus thus differs fundamentally from the texts

of Wyatt's poems and Shakespeare's King Lear for example, where multiple

editions with competing claims for authority and manifestly unauthorized

texts produce highly unstable textual situations. Such instability, not to say

indeterminancy has led many textual critics to question the idea of an

authoritative critical edition. ^^ I believe the evidence in the case of

Toxophilus, however, justifies such an undertaking. I have therefore devel-

oped an old-spelling text that is both eclectic and critical. The base-text is

the Huntington Library's copy of the first edition (RB 4410), a copy that

is complete and comparatively free of pages with heavy show-through or

poorly inked type-face. The transcription incorporates all but one of the 83

stop-press corrections.^^ I have emended the Huntington text wherever

the evidence requires.

Punctuation, Paragraphing, and Capitalization

Because there is no sound reason for modernizing punctuation in an

old-spelling edition, I have followed the base-text, correcting only manifest

errors; these have been noted in the emendations except where the errors

are sheerly mechanical, as when punctuation is omitted from the ends of

lines because the compositor's measure was full. The paragraphing follows

the base-text, though I have supplied paragraph breaks when required by

sense and the previous sentence's concluding midline. The capitalization is

chiefly that of the base-text, but I have silently raised initial letters of prop-

er names and at the beginnings of sentences.

Spelling and Typographical Conventions

Departures from the spelling of the base-text have been noted in the

There is also a German translation:

Roger Ascham, Toxophilus, the schole of shootinge, London 1545. Ed. Harald Schroe-

ter. Sankt Augustin: H. Richarz, 1983.

" See for example Steven Urkowitz, Shakespeare's Revision of "King Lear" (Princeton:

Princeton University Press, 1980) and Jonathan Crewe, Trials ofAuthorship: Anterior Formsand Poetic Reconstruction from Wyatt to Shakespeare (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University

of California Press, 1990).

'* The correction not incorporated is the imperfect one on sig. Olv 24, in which the

correaor changes "of, lesse" to "of lesse," which requires further emendation to "of, lest."

See textual note on 104/6.


Emendations, except that turned letters, run-on words, and obvious failures

of inking have been silently corrected. I have used r for the alternate form

of r, 5 for long 5, w for w. The black letter of the original is printed here

as roman; the italic as italic. The roman of the original is printed as roman,

except when the original uses roman for titles and Latin or English quo-

tations, in which cases italic is used. (On 105/37 and 117/31 where the

original uses roman for set-off Latin quotations followed by italic transla-

tions, I have left the roman stand.) I have ignored ligatures, variation in

size and kind of type, and printers' ornaments. I have retained most stan-

dard sixteenth-century abbreviations, as M. for Master, but contractions

like Y' y*,and w^ have been silently expanded, as have contractions of Latin

words involving the use of nonalphabetic symbols. The tailed e has been

respelled ae. The Greek appears in modern typography.

Emendations

Except as noted above, whenever I have departed from the base-text, I

have indicated the source of the altered reading in the section on

emendations.

Explanatory Notes

I have endeavored to identify Ascham's sources, allusions, and contem-

porary references in the Notes and Commentary; in the Glossary I have

defined difficult sixteenth-century words, particularly where Ascham's use

supplements information in the entry in the OED. The side notes in the

margins of the base-text appear in the Notes and Commentary and are in-

dicated by the abbreviations sn(n).

TOXOPHILVS

The schole of shootinge

conteyned in two

Bookes.

[sig. Alv]

Gualterus Haddonus

Cantabrigien.

Mittere qui celeres summa uelit arte sagittas,

Ars erit ex isto summa profecta libro.

Quicquid habent arcus rigidi, neruique rotundi,

Sumere si lihet, hoc sumere fonte licet.

Aschamus est author, magnum quern fecit Apollo

Arte sua, magnum Pallas & arte sua.

Docta manus dedit hunc, dedit hunc mens docta libellum:

Quae uidet Ars, Vsus uisa, parata facit.

Optimus haec author quia tradidit optima scripta,

Conuenit hec uohis optima uelle sequi.

[sig. A2]

To the moste graciouse, and our most drad Soueraigne lord, KyngHenrie the .viii. by the grace of God, kyng ofEnglande, Fraunce

and Irelande, Defender ofthefaythe, and of the churche

ofEnglande & also ofIrelande in earth supreme head, next vn-

der Christ, be al health victorie, and felicitie.

What tyme as, moste gracious Prince, your highnes this last year past,

tooke that your moost honorable and victorious iourney into Fraunce, ac-

companied with such a porte of the Nobilitie and yeomanrie of Englande,

as neyther hath bene lyke knowen by experience, nor yet red of in His-

torie: accompanied also with the daylie prayers, good hartes, and willes of

all and euery one your graces subiectes, lefte behinde you here at home in

Englande: the same tyme, I being at my booke in Cambrige, sorie that mylitle habilitie could stretche out no better, to helpe forward so noble an

enterprice, yet with my good wylle, prayer, and harte, nothinge behyndehym that was formoste of all, conceyued a wonderful [sig. A2v] desire, bi

the praier, wishing, talking, & communication that was in euery mansmouth, for your Graces moost victoriouse retourne, to offer vp sumthinge,

at your home cumming to your Highnesse, which shuld both be a token

of mi loue and deutie toward your Maiestie, & also a signe of my goodminde and zeale towarde mi countrie.

This occasion geuen to me at that time, caused me to take in hand

38 ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS

againe, this litle purpose of shoting, begon of me before, yet not endedthan, for other studies more mete for that trade of liuinge, whiche Godand mi frendes had set me vnto. But when your Graces moste ioifull &happie victorie preuented mi dailie and spedie diligencie to performe this

matter, I was compelled to waite an other time to prepare & offer vp this

litle boke vnto your Maiestie. And whan it hath pleased youre Highenesse

of your infinit goodnesse, & also your most honorable Counsel to knowand pervse ouer the contentes, & some parte of this boke, and so to alow

it, that other men might rede it, throughe the furderaunce and setting

forthe of the right worshipfull and mi Singuler good Master sir William

Pagette Knight, moost worthie Se- [sig. A3] cretarie to your highnes, &most open & redie succoure to al poore honest learned mens sutes, I moost

humblie beseche your Grace to take in good worthe this litle treatise pur-

posed, begon, and ended of me onelie for this intent, that Labour, honest

pastime & Vertu, might recouer againe that place and right, that Idlenesse,

Vnthriftie gamning and Vice hath put them fro.

And althoughe to haue written this boke either in latin or Greke(which thing I wold be verie glad yet to do, if I might surelie know your

Graces pleasure there in) had bene more easier & fit for mi trade in study,

yet neuerthelesse, I supposinge it no point of honestie, that mi commoditeshould stop & hinder ani parte either of the pleasure or profite of manie,

haue written this Englishe matter in the Englishe tongue, for Englishe

men: where in this I trust that your Grace (if it shall please your High-

nesse to rede it) shal perceaue it to be a thinge Honeste for me to write,

pleasaunt for some to rede, and profitable for manie to folow, contening

a pastime, honest for the minde, holsome for the body, fit for eueri man,vile for no man, vsing the day & open place for Honestie to rule it, not

lurking in corners for misorder to abuse it. Therfore I trust it shal apere,

to be bothe [sig. A3v] a sure token of my zeele to set forwarde shootinge,

and some signe of my minde, towardes honestie and and learninge.

Thus I wil trouble your grace no longer, but with my daylie praier, I

wil beseche God to preserue your Grace, in al health and felicitie: to the

feare and ouerthrowe of all your ennemies: to the pleasure, ioyfulnesse and

succour of al your subiectes: to the vtter destruction of papistrie and

heresie: to the continuall setting forth of Goddes worde and his glorye.

Your Graces most

bounden Scholer,

Roger Ascham.

[sig. A4]

TO ALL GENTLE MEN AND YOMEN OF ENGLANDE.

Bias the wyse man came to Cresus the ryche kyng, on a tyme, when he

was makynge newe shyppes, purposyng to haue subdued by water the out

yles lying betwixt Grece and Asia minor: What newes now in Grece, saith

the king to Bias? None other newes, but these, sayeth Bias: that the yles of

Grece haue prepared a wonderful companye of horsemen, to ouerrun

Lydia withall. There is nothyng vnder heauen, sayth the kynge, that I

woulde so soone wisshe, as that they durst be so bolde, to mete vs on the

lande with horse. And thinke you sayeth Bias, that there is anye thyng

which they wolde sooner wysshe, then that you shulde be so fonde, to

mete them on the water with shyppes? And so Cresus hearyng not the

true newes, but perceyuyng the wise mannes mynde and counsell, both

gaue then ouer makyng of his shyppes, and left also behynde him a won-

derful example for all commune wealthes to foUowe: that is euermore to

regarde and set most by that thing whervnto nature hath made them

moost apt, and vse hath made them moost fitte.

By this matter I meane the shotyng in the long bowe, for English men:

which thyng with all my hert I do wysh, and if I were of authoritie, I

wolde counsel all the gentlemen and yomen of Englande, not to chaunge

it with any other thyng, how good soeuer it seme to be: but that styll, ac-

cordyng to the oulde wont of England, youth shulde vse it for the moost

honest pastyme in peace, that men myght handle it as a mooste sure

weapon in warre. Other stronge weapons whiche bothe experience doth

proue to be good, and the wysdom of the kinges Maiestie & his counsel

prouydes to be had, are not ordeyned to take away shotyng: but that both,

not compared togither, whether shuld be better then the other, but so

ioyned togither that the one shoulde be alwayes an ayde and helpe for the

other, myght so strengthen the Realme on all sydes, that no kynde of ene-

my in any kynde of weapon, myght passe and go beyonde vs.

For this purpose I, partelye prouoked by the counsell of some gen-

tlemen, partly moued by the loue whiche I haue alwayes borne towarde

shotyng, haue wrytten this lytle trea- [sig. A4v] tise, wherein if I haue not

satisfyed any man, I trust he wyll the rather be content with my doyng,

bycause I am (I suppose) the firste, whiche hath sayde any thynge in this

matter (and fewe begynnynges be perfect, sayth wyse men.) And also


bycause yf I haue sayed a misse, I am content that any man amende it, or

yf I haue sayd to lytle, any man that wyl to adde what hym pleaseth to it.

My minde is, in profitynge and pleasynge euery man, to hurte or dis-

please no man, intendyng none other purpose, but that youthe myght be

styrred to labour, honest pastyme, and vertue, and as much as laye in me,

plucked from ydlenes, vnthriftie games, and vice: whyche thing I haue la-

boured onlye in this booke, shewynge howe fit shootyng is for all kyndes

of men, howe honest a pastyme for the mynde, howe holsome an exercise

for the bodye, not vile for great men to vse, not costlye for poore men to

susteyne, not lurking in holes and corners for ill men at theyr pleasure, to

misvse it, but abiding in the open sight & face of the worlde, for good menif it fault by theyr wisdome to correct it.

And here I woulde desire all gentlemen and yomen, to vse this pastime

in suche a mean, that the outragiousnes of great gamyng, shuld not hurte

the honestie of shotyng, which of his owne nature is alwayes ioyned with

honestie: yet for mennes faultes oftentymes blamed vnworthely, as all goodthynges haue ben, and euermore shall be.

If any man woulde blame me, eyther for takynge such a matter in

hande, orels for writing it in the Englyshe tongue, this answere I mayemake hym, that whan the beste of the realme thinke it honest for them to

vse, I one of the meanest sorte, ought not to suppose it vile for me to

write: And though to haue written it in an other tonge, had bene bothe

more profitable for my study, and also more honest for my name, yet I

can thinke my labour wel bestowed, yf with a little hynderaunce of myprofyt and name, maye come any fourtheraunce, to the pleasure or com-moditie, of the gentlemen and yeomen of Englande, for whose sake I tooke

this matter in hande. And as for the Latin or greke tonge, euery thyng is

so excellently done in them, that none can do better: In the Englysh tonge

contrary, euery thinge in a maner so meanly, bothe for the matter and

handelynge, that no man can do worse. For therin the least learned for the

moste parte, haue ben alwayes moost re- [sig. al] dye to wryte. And they

whiche had leaste hope in latin, haue bene moste boulde in englyshe: whensurelye euery man that is moste ready to taulke, is not moost able to

wryte. He that wyll wryte well in any tongue, muste folowe thys councel

of Aristotle, to speake as the common people do, to thinke as wise mendo: and so shoulde euery man vnderstande hym, and the iudgement of

wyse men alowe hym. Many English writers haue not done so, but vsinge

straunge wordes as latin, french and Italian, do make all thinges darke and

harde. Ones I communed with a man whiche reasoned the englyshe tongue

to be enryched and encreased therby, sayinge: Who wyll not prayse that

feaste, where a man shall drinke at a diner, bothe wyne, ale and beere?

Truely quod I, they be all good, euery one taken by hym selfe alone, but

if you putte Maluesye and sacke, read wyne and white, ale and beere, and

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXQPHILUS 41

al in one pot, you shall make a drynke, neyther easie to be knowen, nor

yet holsom for the bodye. Cicero in folowyng Isocrates, Plato and Demos-

thenes, increased the latine tounge after an other sorte. This waye, bycause

dyuers men that write, do not know, they can neyther folowe it, bycause

of theyr ignorauncie, nor yet will prayse it, for verye arrogauncie, .ii.

faultes, seldome the one out of the others companye.

Englysh writers by diuersitie of tyme, haue taken diuerse matters in

hande. In our fathers tyme nothing was red, but bookes of fayned cheual-

rie, wherin a man by redinge, shuld be led to none other ende, but onely

to manslaughter and baudrye. Yf any man suppose they were good ynough

to passe the time with al, he is deceyued. For surelye vayne woordes doo

woorke no small thinge in vayne, ignoraunt, and younge mindes, specially

yf they be gyuen any thynge thervnto of theyr owne nature. These bokes

(as I haue heard say) were made the moste parte in Abbayes, and Monas-

teries, a very lickely and fit fruite of suche an ydle and blynde kinde of

lyuynge.

In our tyme nowe, whan euery manne is gyuen to knowe muche rather

than to liue wel, very many do write, but after suche a fashion, as very

many do shoote. Some shooters take in hande stronger bowes, than they

be able to mayntayne. This thyng maketh them summtyme, to outshoote

the marke, summtyme to shote far wyde, and perchaunce hurte summethat looke on. Other that neuer learned to shote, nor yet knoweth good

shafte nor bowe, wyll be as busie as the best, but suche [sig. alv] one com-

monly plucketh doune a syde, and crafty archers which be agaynst him,

will be bothe glad of hym, and also euer ready to laye and bet with him:

it were better for suche one to sit doune than shote. Other there be,

whiche haue verye good bowe and shaftes, and good knowlege in shoot-

inge, but they haue bene brought vp in suche euyl fauoured shootynge,

that they can neyther shoote fayre, nor yet nere. Yf any man wyll applye

these thynges togyther, he shal not se the one farre differ from the other.

And I also amonges all other, in writinge this lytle treatise, haue fol-

owed summe yonge shooters, whiche bothe wyll begyn to shoote, for a

lytle moneye, and also wyll vse to shote ones or twise about the marke for

nought, afore they beginne a good. And therfore did I take this litle matter

in hande, to assaye my selfe, and hereafter by the grace of God, if the

iudgement of wyse men, that looke on, thinke that I can do any good, I

maye perchaunce caste my shafte amonge other, for better game.

Yet in writing this booke, some man wyll maruayle perchaunce, whythat I beyng an vnperfyte shoter, shoulde take in hande to write of mak-

yng a perfyte archer: the same man peraduenture wyll maruayle, howe a

whettestone whiche is blunte, can make the edge of a knife sharpe: I

woulde the same man shulde consider also, that in goyng about anye mat-

ter, there be .iiii. thinges to be considered, doyng, saying, thinking and


perfectnesse: Firste there is no man that doth so wel, but he can saye bet-

ter, or elles summe men, whiche be now starke nought, shuld be to good:

Agayne no man can vtter wyth his tong, so wel as he is able to imagin

with this minde, & yet perfectnesse it selfe is farre aboue all thinking.

Than seing that saying is one steppe nerer perfectenesse than doyng, let

euery man leue maruaylyng why my woorde shall rather expresse, than

my ded shall perfourme perfecte shootinge.

I truste no man will be offended with this litle booke excepte it be

summe fletchers and bowiers, thinking hereby that manye that loue shoot-

ynge shall be taughte to refuse suche noughtie wares as they woulde vtter.

Honest fletchers and bowyers do not so, and they that be vnhonest,

oughte rather to amende them selues for doinge ill, than be angrie with mefor sayinge wel. A fletcher hath euen as good a quarell to be angry with an

archer that refuseth an ill shaft, as a bladesmith [sig. a2] hath to a fletcher

that forsaketh to bye of him a noughtie knyfe: For as an archer must be

content that a fletcher know a good shafte in euery poynte for the per-

fecter makynge of it. So an honeste fletcher will also be content that a

shooter knowe a good shafte in euery poynt for the perfiter vsing of it:

bicause the one knoweth like a fletcher how to make it, the other knowethlyke an archer howe to vse it. And seyng the knowlege is one in thembothe, yet the ende diuerse, surely that fletcher is an enemye to archers

and artillery, whiche can not be content that an archer knowe a shafte as

well for his vse in shotynge, as he hym selfe shoulde knowe a shafte, for

hys aduauntage in sellynge. And the rather bycause shaftes be not made so

muche to be solde, but chefely to be vsed. And seynge that vse and occupi-

yng is the ende why a shafte is made, the making as it were a meane for

occupying, surely the knowelege in euery poynte of a good shafte, is moreto be required in a shooter than a fletcher.

Yet as I sayde before no honest fletcher wil be angry with me, seing I

do not teache howe to make a shafte whiche belongeth onelye to a good

fletcher, but to knowe and handle a shafte, which belongeth to an archer.

And this lytle booke I truste, shall please and profite both partes: For good

bowes and shaftes shall be better knowen to the commoditie of all shoters,

and good shotyng may perchaunce be the more occupied to the profite of

all bowyers and fletchers. And thus I praye God that all fletchers getting

theyr lyuynge truly, and al archers vsynge shootynge honestly, and all

maner of men that fauour artillery, maye lyue continuallye in healthe and

merinesse, obeying theyr prince as they shulde, and louing God as they

ought, to whom for al thinges be al honour and glorye for euer. Amen[sig. a3]

TOXOPHILVS,The schole of shootinge

conteyned in twobookes.

To all Gentlemen and yomen o/Englande,

pleasaunte for theyr pastyme to rede,

and profitable for theyr use

tofolow, both in war

and peace.

The contentes of the first booke.

Earnest businesse ought to be refreshed wyth

honeste pastyme. Fol.l.

Shootyng moost honest pastyme. 3.

The inuention of shootinge. 5.

Shootynge fit for princes and greate men. 5.

Shootyng, fit for Scholers and studentes. 8.

[sig. a3v]

Shootynge fitter for studentes than any musike

or Instrumentes. 9.

Youthe ought to learne to singe. 11.

No maner of man doth or can vse to muche shootynge. 14.

Agaynste vnlawfull gammes and namelye cardes and dise. 16.

Shootyng in war. 24.


Obedience the best propertie of a Souldyar. 25.

Reasons and authorites agaynste shootynge in war

with the confutacion of the same. 26.

God is pleased with stronge wepons and valyaunt

feates of war. 28.

The commoditie of Shootyng in war throughe the

Histories Greke and Latin, & all nations

Christen and Heathen. 29.

Vse of shootynge at home causethe stronge

shootinge in warre. 41.

Vse of shootynge at home, except men be apte bynature, and connynge by teachyng, doth litle

good at all. 43.

Lacke of learnynge to shoote causethe Englande

lacke many a good archer. 46.

In learnyng any thyng, a man must couete to be

best, or els he shal neuer attayne to be meane. 47.

[sig. a4]

A Table conteyning

the seconde booke.

By knowing

thinges belon-

ging to shoo-

tyng.

Proper for

euerye sere

mannes vse.

General to

all men.

(EraserShotingloue

Strynge

BoweShaftfces

( Wether

I Marke.

Hittynge the

marke, by

Shotyng

streyght.

Kepyng

a length.

By hande-

linge thyn-

ges belonging

to shotyng.

Bothe

commepartly.

without

a man.

within

^ a man.

{Standinge

Nockynge

Drawinge

Holdynge

Lowsinge.

Bolde corage.

Auoydynge

^ all affection.

[sig. Al]

TOXOPHILVS,

A,

The first boke of the schole of shoting.

Philologus. Toxophilus.

PHILOLOGVS. You studie to sore Toxophile. TOX. I wil not hurt myself ouermoche I warraunt you. PHI. Take hede you do not, for we Phy-

sicions saye, that it is nether good for the eyes in so cleare a Sunne, nor yet

holsome for the bodie, so soone after meate, to looke vpon a mans boke.

TOX. In eatinge and studying I will neuer folowe anye Physike, for yf I

dyd, I am sure I shoulde haue small pleasure in the one, and lesse courage

in the other. But what newes draue you hyther I praye you? PHI. Small

newes trulie, but that as I came on walkynge, I fortuned to come with thre

or foure that went to shote at the pryckes: And when I sawe not youamonges them, but at the last espyed you lokynge on your booke here so

sadlye, I thought to come and holde you with some communication, lest

your boke shoulde runne awaye with you. For me thought by your wauer-

yng pace & earnest lokyng, your boke led you, not you it. TOX. In dede

as it chaunced, my mynde went faster then my [sig. Alv] feete, for I hap-

pened here to reade in Phedro Platonis, a place that entretes wonderfuUie of

the nature of soules, which place (whether it were for the passynge elo-

quence of Plato, and the Greke tongue, or for the hyghe and godlie de-

scription of the matter, kept my mynde so occupied, that it had no leisure

to loke to my feete. For I was reding howe some soules being well feth-

ered, flewe alwayes about heauen and heauenlie matters, other some hau-

inge their fethers mowted awaye, and droupinge, sanke downe into earthlie

thinges. PHI. I remember the place verie wel, and it is wonderfullie sayd

of Plato, & now I se it was no maruell though your fete fayled you, seing

your minde flewe so fast. TOX. I am gladde now that you letted me, for

my head akes with loking on it, and bycause you tell me so, I am verye

sorie that I was not with those good feloes you spake vpon, for it is a verie

faire day for a man to shote in. PHI. And me thinke you were a great dele


better occupied & in better companie, for it is a very faire daye for a manto go to his boke in. TOX. Al dayes and wethers wil seme for that pur-

pose, and surelie this occasion was ill lost. PHI. Yea but clere wether mak-

eth clere mindes, and it is best as I suppose, to spend the best time vpon

the best thinges: And me thought you shot verie wel, and at that marke, at

which euery good scoler shoulde most busilie shote at. And I suppose it be

a great dele more pleasure also, to se a soule flye in Plato, then a shafte flye

at the prickes. I graunte you, shoting is not the worst thing in the world,

yet if we shote, and time shote, we ar not like to be great winners at the

length. And you know also we scho- [sig. A2] lers haue more ernest &weightie matters in hand, nor we be not borne to pastime & pley, as you

know wel ynough who sayth. TOX. Yet the same man in the same place

Philologe, by your leue, doth admitte holsome, honest and manerlie pas-

times to be as necessarie to be mingled with sad matters of the minde, as

eating & sleping is for the health of the body, and yet we be borne for

neither of bothe. And Aristotle him selfe sayth, that although it were a

fonde & a chyldish thing to be to ernest in pastime & play, yet doth he

affirme by the authoritie of the oulde Poet Epicharmus, that a man mayvse play for ernest matter sake. And in an other place, that as rest is for

labour, & medicines for helth, so is pastime at tymes for sad & weightie

studie. PHI. How moche in this matter is to be giuen to the auctoritie

either of Aristotle or Tullie, I can not tel, seing sad men may wel ynough

speke merily for a merie matter, this I am sure, whiche thing this faire

wheat (god saue it) maketh me remembre, that those husbandmen which

rise erliest, and come latest home, and are content to haue their diner and

other drinckinges, broughte into the fielde to them, for feare of losing of

time, haue fatter barnes in haruest, than they whiche will either slepe at

none time of the daye, or els make merie with their neighbours at the ale.

And so a scholer that purposeth to be a good husband, and desireth to repe

and enioy much fruite of learninge, muste tylle and sowe thereafter. Ourbeste seede tyme, whiche be scholers, as it is verie tymelye, and whan webe yonge: so it endureth not ouerlonge, and therfore it maye not be let

slippe [sig. A2v] one houre, oure grounde is verye harde, and full of wedes,

our horse wherwith we be drawen very wylde as Plato sayth. And infinite

other mo lettes whiche wil make a thriftie scholer take hede how he spend-

eth his tyme in sporte and pleye. TOX. That Aristotle and Tullie spake er-

nestlie, and as they thought, the ernest matter which they entreate vpon,

doth plainlye proue. And as for your husbandrie, it was more probablie

tolde with apt wordes propre to the thing, then throughly proued with

reasons belongynge to our matter. For contrariwise I herd my selfe a good

husbande at his boke ones saye, that to omit studie somtime of the daye,

and sometime of the yere, made asmoche for the encrease of learning, as to

let the land lye sometime falloe, maketh for the better encrease of corne.

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 49^

This we se, yf the lande be plowed euerye yere, the come commeth thinne

vp: the eare is short, the grayne is small, and when it is brought into the

barne and threshed, gyueth very euill faul. So those which neuer leaue por-

ing on their bokes, haue oftentimes as thinne inuention, as other poore

men haue, and as smal wit and weight in it as in other mens. And thus

youre husbandrie me thinke, is more like the life of a couetouse snudge

that oft very euill preues, then the labour of a good husband that knoweth

wel what he doth. And surelie the best wittes to lerning must nedes haue

moche recreation and ceasing from their boke, or els they marre themselues, when base and dompyshe wittes can neuer be hurte with continuall

studie, as ye se in luting, that a treble minikin string must alwayes be let

down, but at suche [sig. A3] time as when a man must nedes playe; whenthe base and dull stryng nedeth neuer to be moued out of his place. Thesame reason I finde true in two bowes that I haue, whereof the one is

quicke of cast, tricke, and trime both for pleasure and profyte: the other is

a lugge slowe of cast, folowing the string, more sure for to last, then pleas-

aunt for to vse. Now sir it chaunced this other night, one in my chambre

wolde nedes bende them to proue their strength, but I can not tel how,

they were both left bente tyll the nexte daye at after dyner: and when I

came to them, purposing to haue gone on shoting, I found my good boweclene cast on the one side, and as weake as water, that surelie (if I were a

riche man) I had rather haue spent a crowne: and as for my lugge, it was

not one whyt the worse: but shotte by and by as wel and as farre as euer

it dyd. And euen so I am sure that good wittes, except they be let downelike a treble string, and vnbent like a good casting bowe, they wil neuer

last and be able to continue in studie. And I know where I speake this Phi-

lologe, for I wolde not saye thus moche afore yong men, for they wil take

soone occasion to studie litle ynough. But I saye it therfore bicause I

knowe, as litle studie getteth litle learninge or none at all, so the moost

studie getteth not the moost learning of all. For a mans witte sore occupied

in ernest studie, must be as wel recreated with some honest pastime, as the

body sore laboured, must be refreshed with slepe and quietnesse, or els it

can not endure very longe, as the noble poete sayeth.

What thing wants quiet & meri rest endures but

a smal while.

[sig. A3v] And I promise you shoting by my iudgement, is the moost hon-

est pastime of al, & suche one I am sure, of all other, that hindreth learn-

ing litle or nothing at all, whatsoever you & some other saye, whiche are

a gret dele sorer against it alwaies than you nede to be. PHI. Hindreth

learninge litle or nothinge at all? that were a meruayle to me truelie, and

I am sure seing you saye so, you haue some reason wherewith you can


defende shooting withall, and as for wyl (for the loue that you beare to-

warde shotinge) I thinke there shall lacke none in you. Therfore seinge wehaue so good leysure bothe, and no bodie by to trouble vs: and you so

willinge & able to defende it, and I so redy and glad to heare what may be

sayde of it, I suppose we canne not passe the tyme better ouer, neyther

you for the honestie of your shoting, nor I for myne owne mindsake, than

to se what can be sayed with it, or agaynste it, and speciallie in these dayes,

whan so many doeth vse it, and euerie man in a maner doeth common of

it. TOX. To speake of shootinge Philologe, trulye I woulde I were so able,

either as I my selfe am willing or yet as the matter deserueth, but seing

with wisshing we can not haue one nowe worthie, whiche so worthie a

thinge can worthilie praise, and although I had rather haue anie other to

do it than my selfe, yet my selfe rather then no other, I wil not fail to saye

in it what I can wherin if I saye litle, laye that of my litle habilitie, not of

the matter it selfe whiche deserueth no lyttle thinge to be sayde of it. PHI.

If it deserue no little thing to be sayde of it Toxophile, I maruell howe [sig.

A4] it chaunceth than, that no man hitherto, hath written any thinge of it:

wherin you must graunte me, that eyther the matter is noughte, vnwor-

thye, and barren to be written vppon, or els some men are to blame,

whiche both loue it and vse it, and yet could neuer finde in theyr heart, to

saye one good woorde of it, seinge that very triflinge matters hath not

lacked great learned men to sette them out, as gnattes and nuttes, & manyother mo like thinges, wherfore eyther you maye honestlie laye verie great

faut vpon men bycause they neuer yet praysed it, or els I may iustlie take

awaye no litle thinge from shooting, bycause it neuer yet deserued it.

TOX. Truely herein Philologe, you take not so muche from it, as you giue

to it. For great and commodious thynges are neuer greatlie praysed, not

bycause they be not worthie, but bicause their excellencie nedeth no manhys prayse, hauinge all theyr commendation of them selfe, not borowed of

other men his lippes, which rather prayse them selfe, in spekynge much of

a litle thynge than that matter whiche they entreat vpon. Great & good

thinges be not praysed. For who euer praysed Hercules (sayeth the Greke

prouerbe.) And that no man hitherto hath written any booke of shoting,

the fault is not to be layed in the thyng whiche was worthie to be written

vpon, but of men which were negligent in doyng it, and this was the cause

therof as I suppose. Menne that vsed shootyng moste and knewe it best,

were not learned: men that were lerned, vsed litle shooting, and were igno-

rant in the nature of the thynge, and so fewe menne hath bene [sig. A4v]

that hitherto were able to wryte vpon it. Yet howe longe shotyng hath

continued, what common wealthes hath moste vsed it, howe honeste a

thynge it is for all men, what kynde of liuing so euer they folow, what

pleasure and profit commeth of it, both in peace and warre, all manner of

tongues & writers, Hebrue, Greke and Latine, hath so plentifullie spoken

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 51,

of it, as of fewe other thinges like. So what shooting is, howe many kindes

there is of it, what goodnesse is ioyned with it, is tolde: onelye howe it is

to be learned and brought to a perfectnesse amonges men, is not toulde.

PHI. Than Toxophile, if it be so as you do saye, let vs go forwarde and

examin howe plentifullie this is done that you speke, and firste of the in-

uention of it, than what honestie & profit is in the vse of it, bothe for

warre & peace, more than in other pastimes, laste of all howe it ought to

be learned amonges men for the encrease of it, whiche thinge if you do,

not onelye I nowe for youre communication but many other mo, whenthey shall knowe of it, for your labour, & shotyng it selfe also (if it coulde

speke) for your kyndnesse, wyll can you very moche thanke. TOXOPH.What good thynges men speake of shoting & what good thinges shooting

bringes to men as my wit & knowlege will serue me, gladly shall I say mymind. But how the thing is to be learned I will surely leue to some other

which bothe for greater experience in it, & also for their lerninge, can set

it out better than I. PHI. Well as for that I knowe both what you can do

in shooting by experience, & that you can also speke well ynough of

shooting, for youre [sig. Bl] learning, but go on with the first part. And I

do not doubt, but what my desyre, what your loue toward it, the honestie

of shoting, the profite that may come therby to many other, shall get the

seconde parte out of you at the last.

TOXOPH. Of the first finders out of shoting, diuers men diuerslye

doo wryte. Claudiane the poete sayth that nature gaue example of shotyng

first, by the Porpentine, whiche doth shote his prickes, and will hitte any

thinge that fightes with it: whereby men learned afterwarde to immitate

the same in findyng out both bowe and shaftes. Plinie referreth it to

Schythes the sonne of lupiter. Better and more noble wryters bringe shot-

ing from a more noble inuentour: as Plato, Calimachus, and Galene from

Apollo. Yet longe afore those dayes do we reade in the bible of shotinge

expreslye. And also if we shall beleue Nicholas de Lyra, Lamech killed

Cain with a shafte. So this great continuaunce of shoting doth not a lytle

praise shotinge: nor that neither doth not a litle set it oute, that it is re-

ferred to thinuention of Apollo, for the which poynt shoting is highlye

praised of Galene: where he sayth, that mean craftes be first found out by

men or beastes, as weauing by a spider, and suche other: but high and com-

mendable sciences by goddes, as shotinge and musicke by Apollo. Andthus shotynge for the necessitie of it vsed in Adams dayes, for the noble-

nesse of it referred to Apollo, hath not ben onelie commended in all

tunges and writers, but also had in greate price, both in the best communewealthes in warre tyme for the defence of their [sig. Blv] countrie, and of

all degrees of men in peace tyme, bothe for the honestie that is ioyned

with it, and the profyte that foloweth of it. PHILOL. Well, as concerning

the fyndinge out of it, litle prayse is gotten to shotinge therby, seinge good


wittes maye mooste easelye of all fynde oute a trifelynge matter. But

where as you saye that mooste commune wealthes haue vsed it in warre

tyme, and all degrees of men maye verye honestlye vse it in peace tyme: I

thynke you can neither shewe by authoritie, nor yet proue by reason.

TOXOPHI. The vse of it in warre tyme, I wyll declare hereafter. Andfirste howe all kindes and sortes of men (what degree soeuer they be) hath

at all tymes afore, and nowe maye honestlye vse it: the example of mooste

noble men verye well doeth proue.

Cyaxares the kynge of the Medes, and greate graundefather to Cyrus,

kepte a sorte of Sythians with him onely for this purpose, to teache his

Sonne Astyages to shote. Cyrus being a childe was brought up in shoting,

which thinge Xenophon wolde neuer haue made mention on, except it had

ben fitte for all princes to haue vsed: seing that Xenophon wrote Cyrus

lyfe (as TuUie sayth) not to shewe what Cyrus did, but what all maner of

princes both in pastimes and ernest matters ought to do.

Darius the first of that name, and king of Persie shewed plainly howefit it is for a kinge to loue and vse shotynge, whiche commaunded this

sentence to be grauen in his tombe, for a Princelie memorie and prayse.

[sig. B2]

Darius the King lieth buried here

That in shoting and riding had neuer pere.

Agayne, Domitian the Emperour was so cunning in shoting that he coulde

shote betwixte a mans fingers standing afarre of, and neuer hurt him. Co-

modus also was so excellent, and had so sure a hande in it, that there was

nothing within his retche & shote, but he wolde hit it in what place he

wolde: as beastes runninge, either in the heed, or in the herte, and neuer

mysse, as Herodiane sayeth he sawe him selfe, or els he coulde neuer haue

beleued it. PHI. In dede you praise shoting very wel, in that you shewe

that Domitian and Commodus loue shotinge, suche an vngracious couple

I am sure as a man shall not fynde agayne, if he raked all hell for them.

TOXOPH. Wel euen as I wyll not commende their ilnesse, so ought not

you to dispraise their goodnesse, and in dede, the iudgement of Herodian

vpon Commodus is true of them bothe, and that was this: that beside

strength of bodie and good shotinge, they hadde no princelie thing in

them, which saying me thinke commendes shoting wonderfullie, callinge

it a princelie thinge.

Furthermore howe commendable shotinge is for princes: Themistius

the noble philosopher sheweth in a certayne oration made to Theodosius

themperoure, wherein he doeth commende him for .iii. thinges, that he

vsed of a childe. For shotinge, for rydinge of an horse well, and for feates

of armes.

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 53

Moreouer, not onelye kinges and emperour haue ben brought vp in

shoting, but also the best commune wealthes that euer were, haue madegoodlie actes [sig. B2v] and lawes for it, as the Persians which vnder Cyrus

conquered in a maner all the worlde, had a lawe that their children shulde

learne thre thinges, onelie from .v. yeare oulde vnto .xx. to ryde an horse

well, to shote well, to speake truthe alwayes & neuer lye. The Romaines

(as Leo themperour in his boke of sleightes of warre telleth) had a lawe

that euery man shoulde vse shoting in peace tyme, while he was .xl. yere

olde and that euerye house shoulde haue a bowe, and .xl. shaftes ready for

all nedes, the omittinge of whiche lawe (sayth Leo) amonges the youthe,

hath ben the onely occasion why the Romaynes lost a great dele of their

empire. But more of this I wil speake when I come to the profite of shot-

ing in warre. If I shuld rehearse the statutes made of noble princes of Eng-

lande in parliamentes for the settyng forwarde of shoting, through this

realme, and specially that acte made for shoting the thyrde yere of the

reygne of our moost drad soueraygne lorde king Henry the .viii. I could be

very long. But these fewe examples specially of so great men & noble com-

mon wealthes, shall stand in stede of many. PHL That suche princes and

suche commune welthes haue moche regarded shoting, you haue well de-

clared. But why shotinge ought so of it selfe to be regarded, you haue

scarcelye yet proued. TOX. Examples I graunt out of histories do shew a

thing to be so, not proue a thing why it shuld be so. Yet this I suppose,

that neither great mens qualities being commendable be without great au-

thoritie, for other men honestly to folow them: nor yet those great learned

men that wrote suche thinges, lacke good [sig. B3] reason iustly at al tymes

for any other to approue them. Princes beinge children oughte to be

brought vp in shoting: both bycause it is an exercise moost holsom, and

also a pastyme moost honest: wherin labour prepareth the body to hard-

nesse, the minde to couragiousnesse, sufferyng neither the one to be marde

with tendernesse, nor yet the other to be hurte with ydlenesse: as we reade

how Sardanapalus and suche other were, bycause they were not brought

vp with outwarde honest payneful pastymes to be men: but cockerde vp

with inwarde noughtie ydle wantonnesse to be women. For how fit labour

is for al youth, lupiter or els Minos amonges them of Grece, and Lycurgus

amonges the Lacedemonians, do shewe by their lawes, which neuer or-

deyned any thing for the bringyng vp of youth that was not ioyned with

labour. And the labour which is in shoting of al other is best, both bycause

it encreaseth strength, and preserueth health moost, beinge not vehement,

but moderate, not ouerlaying any one part with werysomnesse, but softly

exercisynge euery parte with equalnesse, as the armes and breastes with

drawinge, the other parties with going, being not so paynfull for the la-

bour as pleasaunt for the pastyme, which exercise by the iudgement of the

best physicions, is most alowable. By shoting also is the mynde honestly


exercised where a man alwaies desireth to be best (which is a worde of

honestie) and that by the same waye, that vertue it selfe doeth, couetinge

to come nighest a moost perfite ende or meane standing betwixte .ii. ex-

tremes, eschewinge shorte, or gone, or eithersyde [sig. B3v] wide, for the

which causes Aristotle him selfe sayth that shoting and vertue be very like.

Moreouer that shoting of all other is the moost honest pastyme, and hath

leest occasion to noughtinesse ioyned with it .ii. thinges very playnelye doproue, which be as a man wolde saye, the tutours and ouerseers to shot-

inge: Daye light and open place where euerye man doeth come, the mayn-teyners and kepers of shoting, from all vnhonest doing. If shotinge faulte

at any tyme, it hydes it not, it lurkes not in corners and huddermother:

but openly accuseth & bewrayeth it selfe, which is the nexte waye to

amendement, as wyse men do saye. And these thinges I suppose be signes,

not of noughtinesse, for any man to disalowe it: but rather verye playne

tokens of honestie, for euerye man to prayse it.

The vse of shotinge also in greate mennes chyldren shall greatlye en-

crease the loue and vse of shotinge in all the residue of youth. For meanemennes myndes loue to be lyke greate menne, as Plato and Isocrates do

saye. And that euerye bodye shoulde learne to shote when they be yonge,

defence of the commune wealth, doth require when they be olde, whichthing can not be done mightelye when they be men, excepte they learne it

perfitelye when they be boyes. And therfore shotinge of all pastymes is

moost fitte to be vsed in childhode: bycause it is an imitation of moost

ernest thinges to be done in manhode.

Wherfore, shoting is fitte for great mens children, both bycause it

strengthneth the body with holsome labour, and pleaseth the mynde with

honest pastime [sig. B4] and also encourageth all other youth ernestlye to

folowe the same. And these reasons (as I suppose) stirred vp both great

men to bring vp their chyldren in shotinge, and also noble communewealthes so straytelye to commaunde shoting. Therfore seinge Princes

moued by honest occasions, hath in al commune wealthes vsed shotynge,

I suppose there is none other degree of men, neither lowe nor hye, learned

nor leude, yonge nor oulde. PHIL. You shal nede wade no further in this

matter Toxophile, but if you can proue me that scholers and men gyuen

to learning maye honestlie vse shoting, I wyll soone graunt you that all

other sortes of men maye not onelye lefullie, but ought of dutie to vse it.

But I thinke you can not proue but that all these examples of shotinge

brought from so longe a tyme, vsed of so noble princes, confirmed by so

wyse mennes lawes and iudgementes, are sette afore temporall men, onelye

to foUowe them: whereby they may the better and stronglyer defende the

commmune wealth withall. And nothing belongeth to scholers and learned

men, which haue an other parte of the commune wealth, quiete and peace-

able put to their cure and charge, whose ende as it is diuerse from the


Other, so there is no one waye that leadeth to them both. TOXO. I

graunte Philologe, that scholers and lay men haue diuerse offices and

charges in the commune wealth, whiche requires diuerse bringing vp in

their youth, if they shal do them as they ought to do in their age. Yet as

temporall men of necessitie are compelled to take somewhat of learning to

do their office the better withal: [sig. B4v] So scholers maye the boldlyer

borowe somewhat of laye mennes pastimes, to maynteyne their health in

studie withall. And surelie of al other thinges shoting is necessary for both

sortes to learne. Whiche thing, when it hath ben euermore vsed in Eng-

lande how moche good it hath done, both oulde men and Chronicles doo

tell: and also our enemies can beare vs recorde. For if it be true (as I haue

hearde saye) when the kynge of Englande hath ben in Fraunce, the preestes

at home bicause they were archers, haue ben able to ouerthrowe all Scot-

lande. Agayne ther is an other thing which aboue all other doeth moueme, not onely to loue shotinge, to prayse shoting, to exhorte all other to

shotinge, but also to vse shoting my selfe: and that is our kyng his moost

royall purpose and wyll, whiche in all his statutes generallye doth com-

maunde men, and with his owne mouthe moost gentlie doeth exhorte

men, and by his greate gyftes and rewardes, greatly doth encourage men,

and with his moost princelie example very oft doth prouoke all other mento the same. But here you wyll come in with temporal man and scholer: I

tell you plainlye, scholer or vnscholer, yea if I were .xx. scholers, I wolde

thinke it were my dutie, bothe with exhortinge men to shote, and also

with shoting my selfe to helpe to set forwarde that thing which the kinge

his wisdome, and his counsell, so greatlye laboureth to go forwarde:

whiche thinge surelye they do, bycause they knowe it to be in warre, the

defence and wal of our countrie, in peace, an exercise moost holsome for

the body, a pastime moost honest for the mynde, and [sig. CI] as I am able

to proue my selfe, of al other moste fit and agreable with learninge and

learned men.

PHI. If you can proue this thing so playnly, as you speake it ernestly,

then wil I, not only thinke as you do, but become a shooter and do as you

do. But yet beware I saye, lest you for the great loue you bear towarde

shootinge, blindlie iudge of shootinge. For loue & al other to ernest affec-

tions be not for nought paynted blinde. Take hede (I saye) least you prefer

shootinge afore other pastimes, as one Balbinus through blinde affection,

preferred his louer before all other wemen, although she were deformed

with a polypus in her nose. And although shooting maye be mete some-

tyme for some scholers, and so forthe: yet the fittest alwayes is to be pre-

ferred. Therefore if you will nedes graunt scholers pastime and recreation

of their mindes, let them vse (as many of them doth) Musyke, and playing

on instrumentes, thinges moste semely for all scholers, and moste regarded

alwayes of Apollo & the Muses. TOX. Euen as I can not deny, but some


musike is fit for lerning, so I trust you can not chose but graunt, that shot-

ing is fit also, as CaHmachus doth signifie in this verse.

Both mery songes and good shoting deliteth Appollo.

But as concerning whether of them is moste fit for learning, and

scholers to vse, you may saye what you will for your pleasure, this I amsure that Plato and Aristotle bothe, in their bookes entreatinge of the com-

mon welthe, where they shew howe youthe shoulde be brought vp in .iiii.

thinges, in redinge, in [sig. Civ] writing, in exercise of bodye, and singing,

do make mention of Musicke & all kindes of it, wherin they both agre,

that Musike vsed amonges the Lydians is verie ill for yong men, which be

studentes for vertue and learning, for a certain nice, softe, and smoth swet-

nesse of it, whiche woulde rather entice them to noughtines, than stirre

them to honestie.

An other kinde of Musicke inuented by the Dorians, they both won-derfully prayse, alowing it to be verie fyt for the studie of vertue & learn-

ing, because of a manlye, rough and stoute sounde in it, whyche shulde en-

courage yong stomakes, to attempte manlye matters. Nowe whether these

balades & roundes, these galiardes, pauanes and daunces, so nicelye fin-

gered, so swetely tuned, be lyker the Musike of the Lydians or the Dori-

ans, you that be learned iudge. And what so euer ye iudge, this I am sure,

that lutes, harpes, all maner of pypes, barbitons, sambukes, with other

instrumentes euery one, whyche standeth by fine and quicke fingeringe be

condemned of Aristotle, as not to be brought in & vsed amonge them,

whiche studie for learning and vertue.

Pallas when she had inuented a pipe, cast it away, not so muche sayeth

Aristotle, because it deformed her face, but muche rather bycause suche an

Instumente belonged nothing to learnynge. Howe suche Instrumentes agree

with learning, the goodlye agrement betwixt Apollo god of learninge, &Marsyas the Satyr, defender of pipinge, doth well declare, where Marsyas

had his skine quite pulled ouer his head for his labour,

[sig. C2]

Muche musike marreth mennes maners, sayth Galen, although someman wil saye that it doth not so, but rather recreateth and maketh quycke

a mannes mynde, yet me thinke by reason it doth as hony doth to a

mannes stomacke, whiche at the first receyueth it well, but afterwarde it

maketh it vnfit, to abyde any good stronge norishynge meate, orels anye

holsome sharpe and quicke drinke. And euen so in a maner these Instru-

mentes make a mannes wit so softe and smoothe, so tender and quaisie,

that they be lesse able to brooke, stronge and tough studie. Wittes be not

sharpened, but rather dulled, and made blunte, wyth suche sweete softe-


nesse, euen as good edges be blonter, whiche menne whette vpon softe

chalke stones.

And these thinges to be true, not onely Plato, Aristotle & Galen, proue

by authoritie of reason, but also Herodotus and other writers, shewe by

playne and euident example, as that of Cyrus, whiche after he had ouer-

come the Lydians, and taken their kinge Cresus prisoner, yet after by the

meane of one Pactyas a verye headie manne amonges the Lydians, they re-

belled agaynste Cyrus agayne, then Cyrus had by and by, broughte them

to vtter destruction, yf Cresus being in good fauour with Cyrus had not

hertelie desyred him, not to reuenge Pactyas faulte, in shedynge theyr

blood. But if he would folowe his counsell, he myght brynge to passe, that

they shoulde neuer more rebel agaynst hym. And that was this, to makethem weare long kyrtils, to the foot lyke woomen, and that euerye one of

them shoulde [sig. C2v] haue a harpe or a lute, and learne to playe and

sing. Whyche thinge if you do sayth Cresus (as he dyd in dede) you shall

se them quickelye of men, made women. And thus lutinge and singinge

take awaye a manlye stomake, whiche shulde enter & pearce depe and

harde studye.

Euen suche an other storie doeth Nymphodorus an olde greke Histori-

ographer write, of one Sesostris kinge of Egypte, whiche storie because it

is somewhat longe, and very lyke in al poyntes to the other and also you

do well ynoughe remembre it, seynge you read it so late in Sophoclis com-

mentaries, I wyll nowe passe ouer. Therefore eyther Aristotle and Plato

knowe not what was good and euyll for learninge and vertue, and the

example of wyse histories be vainlie set afore vs or els the minstrelsie of

lutes, pipes, harpes, and all other that standeth by suche nice, fine, minikin

fingering (suche as the mooste parte of scholers whom I knowe vse, if they

vse any) is farre more fitte for the womannishnesse of it to dwell in the

courte among ladies, than for any great thing in it, whiche shoulde helpe

good and sad studie, to abide in the vniuersitie amonges scholers. But per-

haps you knowe some great goodnesse of suche musicke and suche instru-

mentes, wher vnto Plato & Aristotle his brayne coulde neuer attayne, and

therfore I will saye no more agaynst it. PHI. Well Toxophile is it not

ynoughe for you to rayle vpon Musike, excepte you mocke me to? but to

say the truth I neuer thought my selfe these kindes of musicke fit for learn-

inge, but that whyche I [sig. C3] sayde was rather to proue you, than to

defende the matter. But yet as I woulde haue this sorte of musicke decaye

amonge scholers, euen so do I wysshe from the bottome of my heart, that

the laudable custome of Englande to teache chyldren their plainesong and

priksong, were not so decayed throughout all the realme as it is. Whichething howe profitable it was for all sortes of men, those knewe not so wel

than whiche had it most, as they do nowe whiche lacke it moste. Andtherfore it is true that Teucer sayeth in Sophocles.


Seldome at all good thinges he knowen how good to he

Before a man suche thinges do misse out of his handes.

That milke is no fitter nor more naturall for the bringing vp of chil-

dren than musike is, both Gallen proueth by authoritie, and dayly vse

teacheth by experience. For euen the litle babes lacking the vse of reason,

are scarse so well stilled in suckyng theyr mothers pap, as in hearynge

theyr mother syng.

Agayne how fit youth is made, by learning to sing, for grammar and

other sciences, bothe we dayly do see, and Plutarch learnedly doth proue,

and Plato wiselie did alowe, whiche receyued no scholer in to his schole,

that had not learned his songe before.

The godlie vse of praysing God, by singinge in the churche, nedeth not

my prayse, seing it is so praysed through al the scripture, therfore nowe I

wil speke nothing of it, rather than I shuld speke to litle of it.

Besdyde al these commodities, truly .ii. degrees of menne, which haue

the highest offices vnder the king [sig. C3v] in all this realme, shal greatly

lacke the vse of Singinge, preachers and lawiers, bycause they shal not

without this, be able to rule their brestes, for euery purpose. For where is

no distinction in telling glad thinges and fearfull thinges, gentilnes & cruel-

nes, softenes and vehementnes, and suche lyke matters, there can be nogreat perswasion.

For the hearers, as Tullie sayeth, be muche affectioned, as he is that

speaketh. At his wordes be they drawen, yf he stande still in one facion,

their mindes stande still with hym: If he thundre, they quake: If he chyde,

they feare: If he complayne, they sory with hym: and finally, where a mat-

ter is spoken, with an apte voyce, for euerye affection, the hearers for the

moste parte, are moued as the speaker woulde. But when a man is alwaye

in one tune, lyke an Humble bee, or els nowe vp in the top of the

churche, nowe downe that no manne knoweth where to haue hym: or pip-

ing lyke a reede, or roring lyke a bull, as some lawyers do, whiche thinke

they do best, when they crye lowdest, these shall neuer greatly mooue, as

I haue knowen many wel learned, haue done, bicause theyr voyce was not

stayed afore, with learnyng to synge. For all voyces, great and small, base

& shril, weke or softe, may be holpen and brought to a good poynt, by

learnyng to synge.

Whether this be true or not, they that stand mooste in nede, can tell

best, whereof some I haue knowen, whiche, because they learned not to

sing, whan they were boyes, were fayne to take peyne in it, whan they

were men. If any man shulde heare me Toxophile, [sig. C4] that woulde

thinke I did but fondly, to suppose that a voice were so necessarie to be

loked vpon, I would aske him if he thought not nature a foole, for making

such goodly instrumentes in a man, for wel vttring his woordes, orels if


the .ii. noble orators Demosthenes & Cicero were not fooles, whereof the

one dyd not onelie learne to sing of a man: But also was not ashamed to

learne howe he shoulde vtter his soundes aptly of a dogge, the other set-

teth oute no poynte of rhetorike, so fuUie in all his bookes, as howe a manshoulde order his voyce for all kynd of matters.

Therfore seinge men by speaking, differ and be better than beastes, by

speakyng wel, better than other men, and that singing is an helpe towarde

the same, as dayly experience doth teache, example of wysemen doth

alowe, authoritie of learned men doth approue, wherwith the foundacion

of youth in all good common wealthes alwayes hath bene tempered: sure-

lye if I were one of the parliament house, I woulde not fayle, to put vp a

bill for the amendment of this thynge, but because I am lyke to be none

this yeare, I wil speake no more of it, at this time. TOX. It were pitie

truly Philologe, that the thinge shoulde be neglected, but I trust it is not as

you say. PHI. The thing is to true, for of them that come daylye to the

vniuersitie, where one hath learned to singe, .vi. hath not. But nowe to our

shotinge Toxophile agayne, wherin I suppose you can not say so muche

for shotyng to be fitte for learninge, as you haue spoken agaynste Musicke

for the same.

Therfore as concerning Musike, I can be content [sig. C4v] to graunt

you your mynde: But as for shooting, surely I suppose that you can not

perswade me, by no meanes, that a man can be earnest in it, and earnest at

his booke to: but rather I thynke that a man with a bowe on his backe,

and shaftes vnder hys girdell, is more fit to wayte vpon Robin Hoode,

than vpon Apollo or the Muses. TOX. Ouer ernest shooting surely I will

not ouer earnestlye defende, for I euer thought shooting shoulde be a way-

ter vpon lerning not a mastres ouer learning. Yet this I maruell not a litle

at, that ye thinke a man with a bowe on hys backe is more like Robin

Hoode seruaunt, than ApoUose, seing that Apollo him selfe in Alcestis of

Euripides, whiche tragidie you red openly not long ago, in a maner glori-

eth saying this verse.

It is my wont alwaies my howe with me to heare.

Therfore a learned man ought not to much to be ashamed to beare that

some tyme, whiche Apollo god of lerning him selfe was not ashamed al-

ways to beare. And bycause ye woulde haue a man wayt vpon the Muses,

and not at all medle with shotyng, I maruell that you do not remembre

howe that the .ix. muses their selfe as sone as they were borne, wer put to

norse to a lady called Euphemis whiche had a son named Erotus with

whome the nine Muses for his excellent shootinge, kepte euer more com-

panie withall, & vsed dayly to shoote togither in the mount Pernasus: and

at last it chaunced this Erotus to dye, whose death the Muses lamented


greatly, and fell all vpon theyr knees afore lupiter theyr father, and at

theyr request, Erotus for shooting with the Mu- [sig. Dl] ses in earth was

made a signe, and called Sagittarius in heauen. Therfore you se, that if

Apollo and the Muses either were examples in dede, or onelye fayned of

wise men to be examples of learninge, honest shoting maye well ynoughbe companion with honest studie. PHI. Well Toxophile, if you haue no

stronger defence of shotinge then Poetes, I feare yf your companions

whiche loue shotinge, hearde you, they wolde thinke you made it but a

triflyng and fabling matter, rather then any other man that loueth not

shotinge coulde be persuaded by this reason to loue it. TOXO. Euen as I

am not so fonde but I knowe that these be fables, so I am sure you be not

so ignoraunt, but you knowe what suche noble wittes as the Poetes had,

ment by such matters: which oftentymes vnder the couering of a fable, dohyde & wrappe in goodlie preceptes of philosophie, with the true iudge-

ment of thinges. Whiche to be true speciallye in Homer and Euripides,

Plato, Aristotle and Galene playnelye do shewe: when through all their

workes (in a maner) they determine all controuersies, by these .ii. Poetes

and suche lyke authorities. Therfore if in this matter I seme to fable, and

nothynge proue, I am content you iudge so on me: seinge the same iudge-

ment shal condemne with me Plato, Aristotle, and Galene, whom in that

errour I am wel content to folowe. If these oulde examples proue nothing

for shoting, what saye you to this? that the best learned and sagest men in

this Realme, whiche be nowe alyue, both loue shoting and vse shoting, as

the best learned bisshoppes that be: amonges whome [sig. Dlv] Philologe,

you your selfe knowe .iiii. or .v. which as in all good learning, vertue and

sagenesse they gyue other men example what thing they shoulde do, euen

so by their shoting, they playnely shewe what honest pastime, other mengiuen to learning, may honestly vse. That ernest studie must be recreated

with honest pastime sufficientlye I haue proued afore, both by reason and

authoritie of the best learned men that euer wrote. Then seing pastymes be

lefull, the moost fittest for learning, is to be sought for. A pastyme, saith

Aristotle, must be lyke a medicine. Medicines stande by contraries, ther-

fore the nature of studying considered, the fittest pastyme shal soone ap-

peare. In studie euery parte of the body is ydle, which thing causeth grosse

and colde humours, to gather togyther & vexe scholers verye moche, the

mynde is altogyther bent and set on worke. A pastyme then must be had

where euery parte of the bodye must be laboured to separate and lessen

suche humours withal: the mind must be vnbent, to gather & fetche againe

his quicknesse withall. Thus pastymes for the mynde onelye, be nothing fit

for studentes, bycause the body which is moost hurte by studie, shulde

take no profyte at all thereat. This knewe Erasmus verye well, when he

was here in Cambridge: which when he had ben sore at his boke (as Garret

our bookebynder hath verye ofte tolde me) for lacke of better exercise.

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS M

wolde take his horse, and ryde about the markette hill, and come agayne.

If a scholer shoulde vse bowles or tennies, the laboure is to vehement and

vnequall, whiche is condempned of Galene: the example very ill for other

[sig. D2] men, when by so manye actes they be made vnlawfull.

Running, leaping, and coyting be to vile for scholers, and so not fit by

Aristotle his iudgement: walking alone into the felde, hath no token of

courage in it, a pastyme lyke a simple man which is neither flesh nor

fisshe. Therfore if a man woulde haue a pastyme holesome and equall for

euerye parte of the bodye, pleasaunt and full of courage for the mynde,

not vile and vnhoneste to gyue ill example to laye men, not kepte in gar-

dynes and corners, not lurkynge on the nyght and in holes, but euermore

in the face of men, either to rebuke it when it doeth ill, or els to testifye

on it when it doth well: let him seke chefelye of all other for shotynge.

PHILOL. Suche commune pastymes as men commenlye do vse, I wyll not

greatlye allowe to be fit for scholers: seinge they maye vse suche exercises

verye well (I suppose) as Galene him selfe doth allowe. TOXOPH. Those

exercises I remembre verye well, for I read them within these two dayes,

of the whiche, some be these: to runne vp and downe an hyll, to clyme vp

a longe powle, or a rope, and there hange a while, to holde a man by his

armes and waue with his heeles, moche lyke the pastyme that boyes vse in

the churche when their master is awaye, to swinge and totter in a belrope:

to make a fiste, and stretche out both his armes, and so stande lyke a

roode. To go on a man his tiptoes, stretching out thone of his armes for-

warde, the other backewarde, which if he blered out his tunge also, myght

be thought to daunce Anticke verye properlye.

[sig. D2v]

To tumble ouer and ouer, to toppe ouer tayle: To set backe to backe,

and se who can heaue an other his heles highest, with other moche like:

whiche exercises surelye muste nedes be naturall, bycause they be so chil-

disshe, and they may be also holesome for the body: but surely as for

pleasure to the minde or honestie in the doinge of them, they be as lyke

shotinge as Yorke is foule Sutton. Therfore to loke on al pastymes and

exercises holesome for the bodye, pleasaunt for the mynde, comlye for

euery man to do, honest for all other to loke on, profitable to be sette by

of euerye man, worthie to be rebuked of no man, fit for al ages, persons

and places, onely shoting shal appeare, wherin all these commodities mayebe founde.

PHIL. To graunt Toxophile, that studentes may at tymes conuenient

vse shoting as moost holsome and honest pastyme: yet to do as some do,

to shote hourly, daylie, wekelye, and in a maner the hole yere, neither I

can prayse, nor any wyse man wyl alowe, nor you your selfe can honest-

lye defende. TOXOPH. Surelye Philologe, I am very glad to se you come


to that poynt that moost lieth in your stomake, and greueth you and other

so moche. But I truste after I haue sayd my mynde in this matter, you shal

confesse your selfe that you do rebuke this thing more than ye nede,

rather then you shal fynde that any man may spende by any possibilittie,

more tyme in shotinge then he ought. For first and formoost the hole

tyme is deuyded into .ii. partes, the daye and the night: whereof the night

maye be both occupyed in many honest businesses, and also spent in

moche vnthriftinesse, but in [sig. D3] no wise it can be applyed to shoting.

And here you se that halfe oure tyme, graunted to all other thinges in a

maner both good and ill, is at one swappe quite taken awaye from shoting.

Now let vs go forward, and se how moche of halfe this tyme of ours is

spent in shoting. The hole yere is deuided into .iiii. partes. Spring tyme,

Somer, faule of the leafe, and Winter. Whereof the whole winter, for the

roughnesse of it, is cleane taken away from shoting: except it be one day

amonges .xx. or one yeare amonges .xl. In Somer, for the feruent heate, a

man maye saye likewyse: except it be somtyme agaynst night. Now then

spring tyme and faule of the leafe be those which we abuse in shoting. But

if we consider how mutable & chaungeable the wether is in those seasons,

and howe that Aristotle him selfe sayth, that mooste parte of rayne fauleth

in these two tymes: we shall well perceyue, that where a man wolde shote

one daye, he shall be fayne to leaue of .iiii. Now when tyme it selfe

graunteth vs but a litle space to shote in, lette vs se if shoting be not hin-

dered amonges all kyndes of men as moche otherwayes. First, yong chil-

dren vse not, yong men for feare of them whom they be vnder to moche

dare not: sage men for other greater businesses, wyll not: aged men for

lacke of strengthe, can not: Ryche men for couetousnesse sake, care not:

poore men for cost and charge, may not: masters for their housholde kep-

ing, hede not: seruauntes kept in by their maisters very oft, shall not:

craftes men for getting of their lyuing, verye moche leysure haue not: and

many there be that oft beginnes, but for vnaptnesse proues not: [sig. D3v]

and moost of all, whiche when they be shoters gyue it ouer and lyste not,

so that generallye men euerye where for one or other consideration moche

shoting vse not. Therfore these two thinges, straytenesse of tyme, and

euery man his trade of lining, are the causes that so fewe men shotes: as

you maye se in this greate towne, where as there be a thousande good

mens bodies, yet scarse .x. that vseth any great shoting. And those whomeyou se shote the moost, with how many thinges are they drawen, or rather

driuen, from shoting. For first, as it is many a yere or they begyn to be

greate shoters, euen so the greate heate of shotinge is gone within a yere or

two: as you knowe diuerse Philologe your selfe, which were sometyme the

best shoters, and now they be the best studentes.

If a man faule sycke, farewell shoting, maye fortune as long as he lyu-

eth. If he haue a wrentche, or haue taken colde in his arme, he may hang


vp his bowe (I warraunt you) for one season. A litle blayne, a small cutte,

yea a silie poore worme in his finger, may kepe him from shoting wel

ynough. Breaking and ill luck in bowes I wyll passe ouer, with an hundred

mo sere thinges, whiche chaunceth euerye daye to them that shote moost,

wherof the leest of them may compell a man to leaue shoting. And these

thinges be so trewe and euident, that it is impossible either for me craftelye

to fayne them, or els for you iustly to deny them. Than seing how manyhundred thinges are required altogyther to giue a man leaue to shote, and

any one of them denied, a man can not shote: and seing euery one of them

maye chaunce, and doth chaunce euery day, [sig. D4] I meruayle anye

wyse man wyll thynke it possible, that any greate tyme can be spent in

shoting at all.

PHI. If this be true that you saye Toxophile, and in very dede I can

denye nothinge of it, I meruayle greatly how it chaunceth, that those,

whiche vse shoting be so moche marked of men, and ofttymes blamed for

it, and that in a maner as moche as those which pleye at cardes and dise.

And I shal tell you what I hearde spoken of the same matter. A man no

shoter, (not longe agoo) wolde defende playing at cardes & dise, if it were

honestly vsed, to be as honest a pastime as youre shotinge: For he layed

for him, that a man might pleye for a litle at cardes and dyse, and also a

man might shote away all that euer he had. He sayd a payre of cardes cost

not past .ii. d. and that they neded not so moche reparation as bowe and

shaftes, they wolde neuer hurte a man his hande, nor neuer weare his gere.

A man shulde neuer slee a man with shoting wyde at the cardes. In wete

and drye, bote and coulde, they woulde neuer forsake a man, he shewed

what great varietie there is in them for euerye mans capacitie: if one gamewere harde, he myght easelye learne an other: if a man haue a good game,

there is greate pleasure in it: if he haue an ill game, the payne is shorte, for

he maye soone gyue it ouer, and hope for a better: with many other moreasons. But at the last he concluded, that betwixt playinge and shoting,

well vsed or ill vsed, there was no difference: but that there was lesse coste

and trouble, and a greate deale more pleasure in playing, then in shotynge.

[sig. D4v]

TOX. I can not deny, but shoting (as all other good thinges) may be

abused. And good thinges vngoodlye vsed, are not good, sayeth an hon-

orable bishoppe in an ernester matter then this is: yet we muste beware

that we laye not mennes faultes vpon the thing which is not worthie, for

so nothing shulde be good. And as for shoting, it is blamed and marked of

men for that thing (as I sayde before) which shoulde be rather a token of

honestie to prayse it, then any signe of noughtinesse to disalowe it, and

that is bycause it is in euerye man his sight, it seketh no corners, it hydeth

it not: if there be neuer so litle fault in it, euerye man seeth it, it accuseth

it selfe. For one houre spente in shoting is more sene and further talked of,


then .XX. nightes spent in dysing, euen as a litle white stone is sene

amonges .iii. hundred blacke. Of those that blame shotinge and shoters, I

wyll saye nomore at this tyme but this, that beside that they stoppe and

hinder shoting, which the kinges grace wolde haue forwarde, they be not

moche vnlyke in this poynt to Wyll Somer the king his foole, which smit-

eth him that standeth alwayes before his face, be he neuer so worshipfull

a man, and neuer greatly lokes for him whiche lurkes behinde an other

man his backe, that hurte him in dede.

But to him that compared gamning with shoting somewhat wyll I an-

swere, and bycause he went afore me in a comparison: and comparisons

sayth learned men, make playne matters: I wyl surely folowe him in the

same. Honest thynges (sayeth Plato) be knowen from vnhonest thinges, by

this difference, [sig. El] vnhonestie hath euer present pleasure in it, hauing

neyther good pretence going before, nor yet any profit folowing after:

which saying descrybeth generallye, bothe the nature of shooting & gamn-

ing whiche is good, and which is euyl, verie well.

Gamninge hath ioyned with it, a vayne presente pleasure, but there fol-

oweth, losse of name, losse of goodes, and winning of an hundred gowtie,

dropsy diseases, as euery man can tell. Shoting is a peynfuU pastime, wher-

of foloweth health of body, quiknes of witte, habilitie to defende oure

countrye, as our enemies can beare recorde.

Loth I am to compare these thinges togyther, & yet I do it not bicause

there is any comparison at al betwixte them, but therby a man shal se howgood the one is, howe euil the other. For I thinke ther is scarse so muchecontrariousnes, betwixte hotte and colde, vertue & vice, as is betwixte

these .ii. thinges: For what so euer is in the one, the cleane contrarye is in

the other, as shall playnlye appere, if we consider, bothe theyr begin-

nynges, theyr encreasynges, theyr fructes, and theyr endes, whiche I wyl

soone rydde ouer.

The fyrste brynger in to the worlde of shootynge, was Apollo, whiche

for his wisdome, & great commodities, brought amonges men by him, was

estemed worthie, to be counted as a God in heauen. Disyng surely is a bas-

tarde borne, because it is said to haue .ii. fathers, and yet bothe noughte:

The one was an vngracious God, called Theuth, which for his noughtines,

came neuer in other goddes compa- [sig. Elv] nyes, and therfore Homerdoth despise onse to name him, in all his workes. The other father was a

Lydian borne, whiche people for suche gamnes, and other vnthriftines, as

boowlyng and hauntyng of tauernes, haue bene euer had in most vile repu-

tation, in all storyes and writers.

The Fosterer up of shoting is Labour, the companion of vertue, the

maynteyner of honestie, the encreaser of health and welthinesse, whiche

admytteth nothinge in a maner in to his companye, that standeth not, with

vertue and honestie, and therefore sayeth the oulde poete Epicharmus very

ROGER ASCHAM, TQXOPHILUS 65

pretelye in Xenophon, that God selleth vertue, & all other good thinges to

men for labour. The Nource of dise and cardes, is werisom Ydlenesse,

enemy of vertue, the drowner of youthe, that tarieth in it, and as Chauser

doth saye verie well in the Parsons tale, the greene path waye to hel, hau-

inge this thing appropriat vnto it, that where as other vices haue some

cloke of honestie, onely ydlenes can neyther do wel, nor yet thinke wel.

Agayne, shooting hath two Tutours to looke vpon it, out of whose compa-

nie, shooting neuer stirreth, the one called Daye light, the other Openplace, whyche .ii. keepe shooting from euyl companye, and suffers it not

to haue to much swinge, but euermore kepes it vnder awe, that it darre do

nothyng in the open face of the worlde, but that which is good and hon-

est. Lykewyse, dysinge and cardynge, haue .ii. Tutours, the one named Sol-

itariousnes, whyche lurketh in holes and corners, the other called Night,

an vngratiouse couer of noughtynesse, whyche two [sig. E2] thynges be

very Inkepers & receyuers of all noughtynesse and noughtye thinges, and

therto they be in a maner, ordeyned by Nature. For on the nighte tyme &in corners, Spirites and theues, rattes and mise, toodes and oules, nighte-

crowes and poulcattes, foxes and foumerdes, with all other vermine, and

noysome beastes, vse mooste styrringe, when in the daye lyght, and in

open places whiche be ordeyned of God for honeste thynges, they darre

not ones come, whiche thinge Euripides noted verye well, sayenge.

// thinges the night, good thinges the daye doth haunt & vse.

Companions of shoting, be prouidens, good heed giuing, true meatinge,

honest comparison, whyche thinges agree with vertue very well. Cardinge

and dysinge, haue a sorte of good felowes also, goynge commonly in theyr

companye, as blynde Fortune, stumbling chaunce, spittle lucke, false deal-

yng, crafty conueyaunce, braynlesse brawlynge, false forswerynge, whiche

good feloes wyll sone take a man by the sleue, and cause him take his

Inne, some with beggerye, some wyth goute & dropsie, some with thefte

and robbery, & seldome they wyl leaue a man before he comme eyther to

hangyng or els somme other extreme misery. To make an ende, howe shoting

by al mennes lawes hath bene alowed, cardyng and dysing by al mennesiudgementes condemned, I nede not shewe, the matter is so playne.

Therfore, whan the Lydians shall inuent better [sig. E2v] thinges than

Apollo, when slothe and ydlenes shall encrease vertue more than labour,

whan the nyghte and lurking corners, giueth lesse occasion to vnthrifti-

nesse, than lyght daye and opennes, than shal shotynge and suche gamn-

inge, be in summe comparison lyke. Yet euen as I do not shewe all the

goodnes, whiche is in shotynge, whan I proue it standeth by the same

thinges that vertue it selfe standeth by, as brought in by God, or God-lyelyke men, fostered by labour, committed to the sauegarde of lyght and

66 ROGER ASCHAM, TOXQPHILUS

opennes, accompanied with prouision and diligens, loued and allowed by

euery good mannes sentence, Euen lykewyse do I not open halfe the

noughtines whiche is in cardyng & dising, whan I shewe howe they are

borne of a desperate mother, norished in ydlenes, encresed by licence of

nyght and corners, accompanied wyth Fortune, chaunce, deceyte, & crafti-

nes: condemned and banished, by all lawes & iudgementes.

For if I woulde enter, to descrybe the monstruousenes of it, I shoulde

rather wander in it, it is so brode, than haue any readye passage to the

ende of the matter: whose horriblenes is so large, that it passed the elo-

quence of oure Englyshe Homer, to compasse it: yet because I euer

thought hys sayinges to haue as muche authoritie, as eyther Sophocles or

Euripides in Greke, therfore gladly do I remembre these verses of hys.

Hasardry is Very mother oflesinges,

And ofdeceyte, and cursed sweringes,

[sig. E3]

Blasphemie of Christ, manslaughter,and waste also,

Ofcatel, oftyme, of other thynges mo.

Mother oflesinges) trulye it maye well be called so, if a man consydre

howe manye wayes, and how many thinges, he loseth thereby, for firste he

loseth his goodes, he loseth his tyme, he loseth quycknes of wyt, and all good

lust to other thinges, he loseth honest companye, he loseth his good nameand estimation, and at laste, yf he leaue it not, loseth God, & heauen and

all: and in stede of these thinges winneth at length, eyther hangyng or hell.

And ofdeceyte) I trowe if I shoulde not lye, there is not halfe so muche

crafte vsed in no one thinge in the worlde, as in this cursed thynge. Whatfalse dise vse they.^ as dise stopped with quicksiluer and heares, dise of a

vauntage, flattes, gourdes to chop and chaunge whan they lyste, to lette the

trewe dise fall vnder the table, & so take vp the false, and if they be true

dise, what shyfte wil they make to set the one of them with slyding, with

cogging, with foysting, with coytinge as they call it. Howe wyll they vse

these shiftes, whan they get a playne man that can no skyll of them.^ Howewill they go about, yf they perceyue an honest man haue money, which

list not playe, to prouoke him to playe? They wyl seke his company, they

wil let hym paye nought, yea and as I hearde a man ones saye that he dyd,

they wil send for hym to some house, & spend perchaunce, a crown on

him, and at last wyll one begin to saye: what my masters, what shall wedo.^ shall euerye man playe [sig. E3v] his .xii. d. whyles an apple roste in

the fyre, and than we wyll drinke & departe: Naye wyl an other saye, as

false as he, you can not leaue whan you begyn, and therfore I wyll not

playe: but yet yf you wyll gage, that euery man as he hath lost his .xii. d.


shall sit downe, I am content, for surely I woulde winne no mannes mon-

ey here, but euen as much as wolde paye for my supper. Than speketh the

thyrde, to the honest man that thought not to playe, what wylle you playe

your .xii. pence if he excuse hym, tush man wyll the other saye, sticke not

in honest compnay for .xii. d. I wyll beare your halfe, and here is mymony.

Nowe al this is to make him to beginne, for they knowe if he be ones

in, and be a looser, that he wyl not sticke at his .xii. d. but hopeth euer to

gette it agayne, whiles perhaps, he loose all. Than euery one of them set-

teth his shiftes abroche, some with false dise, some wyth settynge of dyse,

some with hauinge outelandishe syluer coynes guylded, to put away at a

tyme for good gold. Than yf ther come a thing in controuersie, muste you

be iudged by the table, and than farewell the honest man hys parte, for he

is borne downe on euerye syde.

Nowe sir, besyde all these thinges they haue certayne termes, as a manwoulde saye, appropriate to theyr playing: wherby they wyl drawe a

mannes money, but paye none, whiche they cal barres, that surely he that

knoweth them not, maye soone be debarred of all that euer he hath, afore

he lerne them. Yf a playne man lose, as he shall do euer, or els it is a won-

der, than the game is so deuilysh, that he can [sig. E4] neuer leaue: For

vayn hope (which hope sayth Euripides, destroyeth many a man and Citie)

dryueth hym on so farre, that he can neuer retourne backe, vntyl he be so

lyght, that he nede feare no theues by the waye. Nowe if a simple manhappen onse in his lyfe, to win of suche players, than will they eyther en-

treate him to kepe them company whyles he hath lost all agayne, or els

they will vse the moste dyuellyshe fashion of all. For one of the players

that standeth nexte him, shall haue a payre of false dise, and cast them out

vpon the bourde, the honest man shall take them & cast them, as he did

the other, the thirde shall espye them to be false dise, and shall crye oute,

haroe, wyth all the othes vnder God, that he hath falselye wonne theyr

moneye, and than there is nothynge but houlde thy throte from my dag-

ger, than euery man layeth hande on the simple man, and taketh all theyr

moneye from him, and his owne also, thinking him selfe wel, that he scap-

eth with his lyfe.

Cursed sweryngy blasphemie ofChriste) These halfe verses Chaucer in an

other place, more at large doth well set out, and verye liuely expresse,

sayinge.

Ey by goddes precious hert and his nayles,

And by the blood ofChriste, that is in Hales,

Seuen is my chaunce, and thine is sinke and treye^

By goddes armes, ifthoufalsly playe,

This dagger shall thorough thine herte go,


This frute commeth of the beched booties twoo,

Forszveringe, Ire, falsnes and Homicide. &c.

[sig. E4v]

Thoughe these verses be very ernestlie wrytten, yet they do not halfe

so grisely sette out the horyblenes of blasphemy, which suche gamners vse,

as it is in dede, and as I haue hearde my selfe. For no man can wryte a

thing so earnestlye, as whan it is spoken wyth iesture, as learned men youknowe do saye. Howe will you thinke that suche furiousenes wyth woodecountenaunces, and brenning eyes, with staringe and bragging, with heart

redie to leape out of the belly for swelling, can be expressed the tenth part,

to the vttermost. Two men I herd my selfe, whose sayinges be far moregrisely, than Chaucers verses. One, whan he had lost his moneye, sware

me God, from top to toe with one breath, that he had lost al his moneyfor lacke of sweringe: The other, losyng his money, and heaping othes

vpon othes, one in a nothers necke, moost horrible & not spekeable, wasrebuked of an honest man whiche stode by for so doynge, he by and bystarynge him in the face, and clappyng his fiste with all his moneye he had,

vpon the boorde, sware me by the flesshe of God, that yf sweryng wouldehelpe him but one ace, he woulde not leue one pece of god vnsworne,

neyther wythin nor without. The remembraunce of this blasphemy Phi-

lologe, doth make me quake at the hart, & therefore I wyll speake nomore of it.

And so to conclude wyth suche gamnyng, I thynke there is no vngra-

ciousenes in all thys worlde, that carieth a man so far from god, as thys

faulte doth. And yf there were anye so desperate a persone, that [sig. F]

woulde begynne his hell here in earth, I trowe he shoulde not fynde hell

more lyke hell it selfe, then the lyfe of those men is which dayly haunt

and vse suche vngracious games. PHIL. You handle this gere in dede: AndI suppose if ye had ben a prentice at suche games, you coulde not haue

sayd more of them then you haue done, and by lyke you haue had som-

what to do with them. TOX. In dede, you may honestlye gather that I

hate them greatly, in that I speake agaynst them: not that I haue vsed themgreatlye, in that I speake of them. For thynges be knowen dyuerse wayes,

as Socrates (you knowe) doeth proue in Alcibiades. And if euery manshulde be that, that he speaketh or wryteth vpon, then shulde Homer haue

bene the best capitayne, moost cowarde, hardye, hasty, wyse and woode,

sage and simple: And Terence an ouldeman & a yong, an honest man and

a bawde: with suche lyke. Surelye euerye man ought to praye to Goddayly, to kepe them from suche vnthriftynesse, and speciallye all the youth

of Englande: for what youth doth begynne, a man wyll folowe common-lye, euen to his dyinge daye: whiche thinge Adrastus in Euripides pretelye

doth expresse, sayinge.


What thing a man in tender age, hath moost in vre.

That same to death alwayes to kepe, he shal be sure:

Therfore in age who greatly longes, goodfrute to mowe,

In youth he must him selfe aplye, good seede to sowe.

For the foundation of youth well sette (as Plato doth saye) the whole

bodye of the commune wealth shal floryshe therafter. If the yonge tree

growe cro- [sig. Flv] ked, when it is oulde, a man shal rather breake it

than streyght it. And I thinke there is no one thinge that crokes youth

more then suche vnlefull games. Nor let no man say, if they be honestly

vsed they do no harme. For how can that pastyme whiche neither exercis-

eth the bodye with any honest labour, nor yet the minde with any honest

thinking, haue any honestie ioyned with it. Nor let noman assure hymselfe that he can vse it honestlye: for if he stande therein, he maye fortune

haue a faule, the thing is more slipperye then he knoweth of. A man maye

(I graunt) syt on a brante hyll syde, but if he gyue neuer so lytle forwarde,

he can not stoppe though he woulde neuer so fayne, but he must nedes

runne heedling, he knoweth not how farre. What honest pretences, vayne

pleasure layeth dayly (as it were entisementes or baytes, to pull men for-

warde withall) Homer doeth well shewe, by the Sirenes, and Circes. Andamonges all in that shyp there was but one Vlysses, and yet he hadde done

to as the other dyd, yf a goddesse had not taught hym: And so lykewyse

I thinke, they be easye to numbre, whiche passe by playing honestlye, ex-

cepte the grace of God saue and kepe them. Therfore they that wyll not go

to farre in playing, let them folowe this counsell of the Poete.

Stoppe the begynninges.

PHILOLO. Well, or you go any further, I pray you tell me this one

thing: Doo ye speake agaynste meane mennes playinge onelye, or agaynste

greate [sig. F2] mennes playinge to, or put you anye difference betwixte

them? TOXOPHI. If I shulde excuse my selfe herein, and saye that I spake

of the one, and not of the other, I feare leaste I shoulde as fondlye excuse

my selfe, as a certayne preacher dyd, whome I hearde vpon a tyme speake

agaynste manye abuses, (as he sayde) and at last he spake agaynst candelles,

and then he fearynge, least some men woulde haue bene angrye and of-

fended with him, naye sayeth he, you must take me as I meane: I speake

not agaynst greate candelles, but agaynst lytle candels, for they be not all

one (quoth he) I promyse you: And so euerye man laughed him to scorne.

In dede as for greate men, and greate mennes matters, I lyst not greatlye

to meddle. Yet this I woulde wysshe that all great men in Englande had

red ouer diligentlye the Pardoners tale in Chaucer, and there they shoulde

perceyue and se, howe moche suche games stande with theyr worshyppe.


howe great soeuer they be. What great men do, be it good or yll, meanemen communelye loue to followe, as many learned men in many places dosaye, and daylye experience doth playnelye shewe, in costlye apparell andother lyke matters.

Therfore, seing that Lordes be lanternes to leade the lyfe of meanemen, by their example, eyther to goodnesse or badnesse, to whether soeuer

they liste: and seinge also they haue libertie to lyste what they will, I pray

God they haue will to list that which is good, and as for their playing, I

wyll make an ende with this saying of Chaucer,

[sig. F2v]

Lordes might finde them other maner ofplayCy

Honest ynough to driue the daye awaye.

But to be shorte, the best medicine for all sortes of men both high and

lowe, yonge and oulde, to put awaye suche vnlawfiJl games is by the con-

trarye, lykewyse as all physicions do alowe in physike. So let youthe in

steade of suche vnlefull games, whiche stande by ydlenesse, by solitari-

nesse, and corners, by night and darkenesse, by fortune & chaunce, bycrafte and subtiltie, vse suche pastimes as stand by labour: vpon the daye

light, in open syght of men, hauynge suche an ende as is come to by con-

ning, rather then by crafte: and so shulde vertue encrease, and vice decaye.

For contrarye pastimes, must nedes worke contrary mindes in men, as all

other contrary thinges doo.

And thus we se Philologe, that shoting is not onely the moost hole-

some exercise for the bodye, the moost honest pastime for the mynde, and

that for all sortes of men: But also it is a moost redy medicine, to purge

the hole realme of suche pestilent gamning, wherwith many tymes it is

sore troubled and ill at ease.

PHI. The more honestie you haue proued by shoting Toxophile, and

the more you haue perswaded me to loue it, so moche truly the soryer

haue you made me with this last sentence of yours, wherby you plainly

proue that a man maye not greatly vse it. For if shoting be a medicine (as

you saye that it is) it maye not be vsed very oft, lest a man shuld hurt himselfe with all, as medicines moche occupyed doo. For Aristotle him selfe

sayeth, that medicines be no meate to lyue withall: and thus shoting by the

same reason, maye [sig. F3] not be moche occupyed. TOX. You playe

your oulde wontes Philologe, in dalying with other mens wittes, not so

moche to proue youre owne matter, as to proue what other men can say.

But where you thinke that I take awaye moche vse of shoting, in lykening

it to a medicine: bycause men vse not medicines euery daye, for so shoulde

their bodyes be hurt: I rather proue daylye vse of shoting therby. For al-

though Aristotle sayeth that some medicines be no meate to lyue withall,


whiche is true: Yet Hippocrates sayth that our daylye meates be medicines,

to withstande euyll withall, whiche is as true. For he maketh two kyndes

of medicines, one our meate that we vse dailye, whiche purgeth softlye and

slowlye, and in this similitude maye shoting be called a medicine, wher-

with dayly a man maye purge and take away al vnlefull desyres to other

vnlefull pastymes, as I proued before. The other is a quicke purging medi-

cine, and seldomer to be occupyed, excepte the matter be greater, and I

coulde describe the nature of a quicke medicine, which shoulde within a

whyle purge and plucke oute all the vnthriftie games in the Realme,

through which the commune wealth oftentymes is sycke. For not onely

good quicke wittes to learnyng be thereby brought out of frame, and quite

marred: but also manlye wittes, either to attempt matters of high courage

in warre tyme, or els to atcheue matters of weyght and wisdome in peace

tyme, be made therby very quaisie and faynt. For loke throughoute all his-

tories written in Greke, Latyne, or other language, and you shall neuer

finde that realme prosper [sig. F3v] in the whiche suche ydle pastymes are

vsed. As concerning the medicyne, although some wolde be miscontent, if

they hearde me meddle anye thynge with it: Yet betwixte you and me here

alone, I maye the boldlyer saye my fantasie, and the rather bycause I wyll

onelye wysh for it, whiche standeth with honestie, not determyne of it

which belongeth to authoritie. The medicine is this, that wolde to Godand the kynge, all these vnthriftie ydle pastymes, whiche be very bugges,

that the Psalme meaneth on, walking on the nyght and in corners, were

made felonye, and some of that punyshment ordeyned for them, which is

appoynted for the forgers and falsifyers of the kynges coyne. Which pun-

ishment is not by me now inuented, but longe agoo, by the mooste noble

oratour Demosthenes: which meruayleth greatly that deathe is appoynted

for falsifyers and forgers of the coyne, and not as greate punyshmente or-

deyned for them, whiche by theyr meanes forges and falsifyes the com-mune wealthe. And I suppose that there is no one thyng that chaungeth

sooner the golden and syluer wyttes of men into copperye & brassye

wayes, then dising and suche vnlefull pastymes.

And this quicke medicine I beleue wolde so throwlye pourge them,

that the daylye medicines, as shoting and other pastymes ioyned with hon-

est labour shoulde easelyer withstande them. PHIL. The excellent com-modityes of shotynge in peace tyme, Toxophile, you haue very wel andsufficiently declared. Wherby you haue so persuaded me, that God wyll-

yng hereafter I wyll both loue it the better, and al- [sig. F4] so vse it the

ofter. For as moche as I can gather of all this communication of ours, the

tunge, the nose, the handes and the feete be no fytter membres, or instru-

mentes for the body of a man, then is shotinge for the hole bodye of the

realme. God hath made the partes of men which be best and moost neces-

sarye, to serue, not for one purpose onelye, but for manye: as the tungue


for speaking and tasting, the nose for smelling, and also for auoyding of all

excrementes, which faule oute of the heed, the handes for receyuynge of

good thinges, and for puttyng of all harmefull thinges, from the bodye. Soshotinge is an exercyse of healthe, a pastyme of honest pleasure, and suche

one also that stoppeth or auoydeth all noysome games gathered and en-

creased by ill rule, as noughtye humours be, whiche hurte and corrupte

sore that parte of the realme, wherin they do remayne.

But now if you can shewe but halfe so moche profyte in warre of shot-

ynge, as you haue proued pleasure in peace, then wyll I surelye iudge that

there be fewe thinges that haue so manifolde commodities, and vses ioyned

vnto them as it hath.

TOX. The vpperhande in warre, nexte the goodnesse of God (of

whome al victorie commeth, as scripture sayth) standeth chefelye in thre

thinges: in the wysedome of the Prince, in the sleyghtes and pollicies of

the capitaynes, and in the strength and cherefuU forwardnesse of the soul-

dyers. A Prince in his herte must be full of mercy and peace, a vertue

moost pleasaunt to Christ, moost agreable to mans nature, moost profyta-

ble for ryche and poore.

[sig. F4v]

For than the riche man enioyeth with great pleasure that which he

hath: the poore may obtayne with his labour, that which he lacketh. Andalthough there is nothing worse then war, wherof it taketh his name,

through the which great men be in daunger, meane men without succoure,

ryche men in feare, bycause they haue somwhat: poore men in care, by-

cause they haue nothing: And so euery man in thought and miserie: Yet it

is a ciuill medicine, wherewith a prince maye from the bodye of his com-

mune wealth, put of that daunger whiche maye faule: or elles recouer

agayne, whatsoeuer it hath lost. And therfore as Isocrates doth saye, a

prince must be a warriour in two thinges, in conninge and knowledge of

all sleyghtes and feates of warre, and in hauing al necessarye habilimentes

belongyng to the same. Whiche matter to entreate at large, were ouerlonge

at this tyme to declare, & ouermoche for my learning to perfourme.

After the wisdome of the prince, are valiaunt capitaynes moost neces-

sary in warre, whose office and dutye is to knowe all sleightes and pollicies

for all kyndes of warre, which they may learne .ii. wayes, either in daylye

folowing and haunting the warres or els bicause wisdome bought with

strypes, is many tymes ouercostlye: they maye bestowe sometyme in Vege-

tius, which entreateth suche matters in Latin metelye well, or rather in

Polyaenus, and Leo the Emperour, which setteth out al pollicies and duties

of capitaynes in the Greke tunge very excellentlye. But chefely I wolde

wisshe and (if I were of authoritie) I wolde counsel al the yong gentlemen

of this [sig. Gl] realme, neuer to lay out of theyr handes .ii. authors, Xeno-


phon in Greke, and Caesar in Latyn, where in they shulde folowe noble

Scipio Africanus, as TuUie doeth saye: In whiche .ii. authours, besydes elo-

quence a thing moste necessary of all other, for a captayne, they shuylde

learne the hole course of warre, whiche those .ii. noble menne dyd not

more wyselye wryte for other men to learne, than they dyd manfully

excercise in the fyelde, for other men to folowe.

The strengthe of war lyeth in the souldier, whose chyefe prayse and

vertue, is obedience towarde his captayne, sayth Plato. And Xenophonbeing a gentyle authour, moste christianlye doeth saye, euen by these

woordes, that that souldyer whiche firste serueth god, & than obeyeth hys

captayne, maye boldelie with all courage, hope to ouerthrowe his enemy.

Agayne, without obedience, neither valiant man, stout horse, nor goodly

harnes doth any good at al: which obedience of the souldier toward his

captane, brought the hole empyre of the worlde, into the Romanes handes,

& whan it was brought, kept it lenger, than euer it was kept in any com-mon welth before or after.

And this to be true, Scipio Africanus, the moste noble captayne that

euer was amonge the Romaynes, shewed very playnly, what tyme as he

went in to Afryke, to destroye Cartage. For he restinge hys hooste by the

waye in Sicilie, a daye or twoo, and at a tyme standing with a great man of

Sicilie, and looking on his souldiers howe they excercised them selues in

kepyng of araye, and other feates, the gentleman of Sicilie asked Scipio,

wherein laye hys [sig. Glv] chyefe hope to ouercome Cartage: He an-

swered, in yonder feloes of myne, whom you se play: And why sayth the

other, bycause sayeth Scipio, that if I commaunded them to runne in to

the toppe of this high castel, and cast them selues doune backeward vponthese rockes, I am sure they woulde do it.

Salust also doth write, that there were mo Romanes put to death of

theyr captaynes for setting on theyr enemyes before they had licence, than

were for running away out of the fyelde, before they had foughten. These

two examples do proue, that amonges the Romaynes, the obedience of the

souldyer was wonderfull great, and the seueritie of the Captaynes, to se the

same kepte wonderfull strayte. For they wel perceyued that an hoste full

of obedyence, falleth as seldome into the handes of theyr enemies as that

bodye fawleth into leoperdye, the whiche is ruled by reason. Reason andRulers beynge lyke in offyce, (for the one ruleth the body of man, the

other ruleth the bodye of the common wealthe) ought to be lyke of condi-

cions, and oughte to be obeyed in all maner of matters. Obedience is nour-

yshed by feare and loue, Feare is kepte in by true iustice and equitie, Loueis gotten by wisdome, ioyned with liberalitie: For where a souldyer seeth

ryghteousenesse so rule, that a man can neyther do wronge nor yet take

wronge, and that his capitayne for his wysedome, can mayntayne hym, &for his liberalitie will maintayne him, he must nedes both loue him &


feare him, of the whiche procedeth true & vnfayned obedience. After this

inwarde vertue, the nexte good poynt in [sig. G2] a souldier, is to haue and

to handle his weapon wel, whereof the one must be at the appoyntment of

the captayne, the other lyeth in the courage and exercise of the souldier:

yet of al weapons the best is, as Euripides doth say, wherwith with leest

daunger of our self we maye hurt our enemye moost. And that is (as I sup-

pose) artillarie. Artillarie now a dayes is taken for .ii. thinges: Gunnes &Bowes, which how moch they do in war, both dayly experience doeth

teache, and also Peter Nannius a learned man of Louayn, in a certayne dia-

logue doth very well set out, wherin this is most notable, that when he

hath shewed excedyng commodities of both, and some discommodities of

gunnes, as infinite cost and charge, combersome cariage: and yf they be

greate, the vncertayne leuelyng, the peryll of them that stand by them, the

esyer auoydyng by them that stande far of: & yf they be lytle, the lesse

both feare and ieoperdy is in them, besyde all contrary wether and wynde,

whiche hyndereth them not a lytle: yet of all shotyng he can not reherse

one discommoditie. PHI. That I meruayle greatly at, seing Nannius is so

wel learned, & so excercised in the authours of both the tunges: for I myselfe do remembre, that shotyng in war is but smally praysed, and that of

diuers captaynes in dyuers authors. For first in Euripides (whom you so

highly prayse) and very well, for TuUie thynketh euerye verse in him to be

an authoritie, what I praye you, doth Lycus that ouercame Thebes, say as

concernyng shotyng? whose wordes as farre as I remembre, be these, or

not muche vnlyke.

[sig. G2v]

What prayse hath he at al, whiche neuer durst abide.

The dint ofa speares poynt thrust against his side:

Nor neuer bouldlie buckeler bare yet in his lefte hande

Face to face his enemies bront stiffelie to wythstande.

But alwaye trusteth to a bowe and to a fethered sticke,

Hames euer most fit for him which toflie is quicke,

Bowe and shafte is Armoure metest for a cowarde

Which dare not ones abide the bronte of battel sharpe & harde.

But he a man ofmanhode most is by mine assent.

Which with harte and corage boulde, fullie hath him bent,

His enemies looke in euery stoure stoutelie to a bide,

Face to face, andfote tofote, tide what maye be tide.

Agayne Teucer the best Archer amonges all the Grecians, in Sophocles

is called of Menelaus, a boweman, & a shooter as in villaynie & reproche,

to be a thing of no price in warre. Moreouer Pandarus the best shooter in

the worlde, whome Apollo hym selfe taught to shoote, bothe he and his


shotynge is quyte contemned in Homer, in so much that Homer (which

vnder a made fable doth alwayes hyde hys iudgement of thinges) doeth

make Pandanis him selfe crye out of shooting, and cast his bowe awaye,

and take him to a speare, makynge a vowe that if euer he came home, he

woulde breake his shaftes, & burne his bowe, lamentyng greatly that he

was so fonde to leaue at home his horse and charyot wyth other weapons,

for the trust that he had in his bowe. Homer signifieng therby, that menshoulde leue shoting out of warre, and take them to other wepons more

fitte and able for the same, and I trowe Pandarus woordes be muche what

after thys sorte.

[sig. G3]

/// chaunce ill lucke me hyther broughte,

IIIfortune me that daye befell.

Whan first my bowe fro the pynne I roughte

For Hectors sake, the Grekes to quell.

But yf that God so for me shap.

That home agayne I maye ones come.

Let me neuer inioye that hap.

Nor euer twyse looke on the sonne.

If bowe and shaftes I do not burne,

Whyche nowe so euel doth serue my tume.

But to let passe al Poetes, what can be sorer said agaynst any thing, than

the iudgement of Cyrus is agaynst shotynge, whiche doth cause his Per-

sians beyng the best shooters to laye awaye theyr bowes and take them to

sweardes and buckelers, speares and dartes, and other lyke hande weapons.

The which thing Xenophon so wyse a philosopher, so experte a captayne

in warre hym selfe, woulde neuer haue written, and specially in that booke

wherin he purposed to shewe, as Tullie sayeth in dede, not the true histo-

rie, but the example of a perfite wise prince and common welthe, excepte

that iudgement of chaungyng Artillerie, in to other wepons, he had al-

wayes thought best to be folowed, in all warre. Whose counsell the Par-

thians dyd folowe, whan they chased Antonie ouer the mountaines of

Media, whiche being the best shoters of the worlde, lefte theyr bowes, and

toke them to speares and morispikes.

And these fewe examples I trowe, of the best shooters, do well proue

that the best shotinge is not the [sig. G3v] best thinge as you call it in

warre. TOX. As concernynge your first example, taken oute of Euripides,

I maruayle you wyl bring it for the disprayse of shotyng, seyng Euripides

doth make those verses, not bicause he thinketh them true, but bicause he

thinketh them fit for the person that spake them. For in dede his true

iudgement of shoting, he doth expresse by & by after in the oration of the


noble captaine Amphytrio agaynste Lycus, wherein a man maye doubte,

whether he hath more eloquentlye confuted Lycus sayenge, or moreworthelye sette oute the prayse of shootynge. And as I am aduised, his

woordes be muche hereafter as I shall saye.

Against the wittie gifte ofshotinge in a howe,

Fonde and leude woordes thou leudlie doest out throwe,

Whiche, if thou wilte heare ofme a woorde or twayne,

Quicklie thou mayst leame howe fondlie thou doest blame,

Firste he that with his hameis him selfe doth wal about,

That scarce is lefte one hole through which he may pepe out.

Such bondmen to their hameis to fight are nothinge mete,

But sonest ofal other are troden vnderfete.

Yfhe be stronge, his felowes faynt, in whome he putteth his trust.

So loded with his hameis must nedes lie in the dust.

Nor yet from death he can not starte, if ones his weapon breke,

Howe stoute, howe strong, howe great, howe longe, so euer be

suche a freke.

[sig. G4]

But whoso euer can handle a bowe, sturdie stiffe and stronge,

Wherwith lyke hayle manie shaftes he shootes into the

thickest thronge:

This profite he takes, that standing a far his enemie he maye spill.

Whan he and his full safe shall stande out ofall daunger and ill.

And this in war is wisedome moste, which workes our

enemies woo.

Whan we shal be farfrom all feare and ieoperdie ofourfoo.

Secondarily euen as I do not greatlye regarde what Menelaus doth say

in Sophocles to Teucer, bycause he spake it bothe in anger, and also to

hym that he hated, euen so doo I remembre very well in Homer, that

when Hector and the Troians woulde haue set fyre on the greke shippes,

Teucer with his bowe made them recule backe agayne, when Menelaus

tooke hym to his feete, and ranne awaye.

Thirdlye as concerning Pandarus, Homer doth not disprayse the noble

gyfte of shotynge, but therby euery man is taught, that whatsoeuer, and

how good soeuer a weapon a man doth vse in war, yf he be hym selfe a

couetouse wretche, a foole wythoute counsell, a peacebreaker as Pandarus

was, at last he shall throughe the punishment of God fall into his enemyes

handes, as Pandarus dydde, whome Diomedes throughe the helpe of Min-

erua miserablye slue,

[sig. G4v]

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 77_

And bycause you make mencion of Homer, & Troye matters, what can

be more prayse for anye thynge, I praye you, than that is for shootyng,

that Troye coulde neuer be destroyed without the helpe of Hercules

shaftes, whiche thinge doeth signifie, that although al the worlde were

gathered in an army togyther, yet without shotinge they can neuer cometo theyr purpose, as Vlysses in Sophocles very plainlye doth saye vnto

Pyrrhus, as concernyng Hercules shaftes to be caried vnto Troye.

Nor you without therriy nor without you they do ought.

Fourthlye where as Cyrus dyd chaunge parte of his bowemen, wherof

he had plentie, into other men of warre, wherof he lacked, I will not great-

lye dispute whether Cyrus did well in that poynt in those dayes or no,

bycause it is not playne in Xenophon howe strong shooters the Persians

were, what bowes they had, what shaftes and heades they occupyed, what

kynde of warre theyr enemies vsed.

But trulye as for the Parthians, it is playne, in Plutarche, that in

chaungyng theyr bowes in to speares, they brought theyr selfe into vtter

destruction. For when they had chased the Romaynes many a myle,

through reason of theyr bowes, at the last the Romaynes ashamed of their

fleing, and remembrynge theyr owlde noblenesse and courage, ymagined

thys waye, that they woulde kneele downe on theyr knees, and so couer

all theyr body wyth theyr shyldes and targattes, that the Parthians shaftes

[sig. HI] might slyde ouer them, & do them no harme, whiche thing whenthe Parthians perceyued, thinking that the Romaynes were forweryed with

laboure, watche, and hungre: they layed downe their bowes, and toke

speres in their handes, and so ranne vpon them: but the Romaynes percey-

uinge them without their bowes, rose vp manfully, and slewe them euery

mother son, saue a fewe that saued them selues with runnyng awaye. Andherein our archers of Englande far passe the Parthians, which for suche a

purpose, when they shall come to hande strokes, hath euer redy, eyther at

his backe hangyng, or els in his next felowes hande a leaden maule, or

suche lyke weapon, to beate downe his enemyes withall. PHI. Well Toxo-

phile, seinge that those examples whiche I had thought to haue ben cleane

agaynst shoting, you haue thus turned to the hygh prayse of shotinge: and

all this prayse that you haue now sayd on it, is rather come in by me than

sought for of you: let me heare I praye you nowe, those examples whiche

you haue marked of shotyng your selfe: whereby you are, and thinke to

persuade other, that shoting is so good in warre. TOX. Examples surely I

haue marked very many: from the begynning of tyme had in memorie of

wrytyng, throughout all commune wealthes, & Empires of the worlde: wher-

of the mooste parte I wyll passe ouer, lest I shoulde be tediouse: yet some I

wyll touche, bycause they be notable, both for me to tell and you to heare.


And bycause the storye of the lewes is for the tyme moost auncient,

for the tnithe mooste credible, it shalbe moost fitte to begynne with them.

And al- [sig. Hlv] though I knowe that God is the onely gyuer of victorie,

and not the weapons, for all strength and victorie (sayth ludas Machabeus)

commeth from heauen: Yet surely strong weapons be the instrumentes

wherwith god doth ouercome that parte, which he wil haue ouerthrowen.

For God is well pleased wyth wyse and wittie feates of warre: As in met-

inge of enemies, for truse takyng, to haue priuilye in a bushment harnest

men layd for feare of treason, as ludas Machabeus dyd wyth Nicanor De-

metrius capitayne: And to haue engines of warre to beat downe cities with

all: and to haue scoutwatche amonges our enemyes to knowe their coun-

sayles, as the noble captaine lonathas brother to ludas Machabeus did in

the countrie of Amathie against the mighty hoste of Demetrius. And be-

syde al this, god is pleased to haue goodly tombes for them which do no-

ble feates in warre, and to haue their ymages made, and also their cote Ar-

mours to be set aboue theyr tombes, to their perpetual laude and memorie:

as the valiaunt capitayne Symon, dyd cause to be made for his brethren

ludas Machabeus and lonathas, when they were slayne of the Gentiles.

And thus of what authoritie feates of warre, and strong weapons be, short-

ly and playnelye we maye learne: But amonges the lewes as I began to tell,

I am sure there was nothing so occupyed, or dydde so moche good as

bowes dyd: insomoche that when the lewes had any great vpperhande ouer

the Gentiles, the fyrste thinge alwayes that the captayne dyd, was to ex-

hort the people to gyue all the thankes to God for the victorye, & [sig.

H2] not to theyr bowes, wherwith they had slayne their enemyes: as it is

playne that the noble losue dyd after so many kynges thrust downe by hym.

God, when he promyseth helpe to the lewes, he vseth no kynde of

speakyng so moche as this, that he wyll bende his bowe, and'die his shaftes

in the Gentiles blood: whereby it is manifest, that eyther God wyll makethe lewes shoote stronge shotes to ouerthrowe their enemies: or at leeste

that shotinge is a wonderful mightie thing in warre, whervnto the hygh

power of God is lykened. Dauid in the Psalmes calleth bowes the vessels

of death, a bytter thinge, & in an other place a myghty power, and other

wayes mo, which I wyll let passe, bycause euerye man readeth them day-

lye: But yet one place of scripture I must nedes remembre, which is more

notable for the prayse of shoting, then any that euer I red in any other

storie, and that is, when Saul was slayne of the Philistians being mightie

bowmen, and lonathas his sonne with him, that was so good a shoter, as

the scripture sayth, that he neuer shot shafte in vayne, and that the kyng-

dome after Saules deathe came vnto Dauid: the first statute & lawe that

euer Dauid made after he was king, was this, that al the children of Israel

shulde learne to shote, according to a lawe made many a daye before that

tyme for the setting out of shoting as it is written (sayeth Scripture) in


libro lustorum, whiche booke we haue not nowe: And thus we se plainelye

what greate vse of shoting, and what prouision euen from the begynnynge

of the worlde for shotyng, was amonge the lewes.

[sig. H2v]

The Ethiopians which inhabite the furthest part South in the worlde,

were wonderfull bowmen: in somoche that when Cambyses king of Persie

being in Egipt, sent certayne ambassadours into Ethiope to the kynge

there, with many great gyftes: the king of Ethiop perceyuinge them to be

espyes, toke them vp sharpely, and blamed Cambyses greatly for such vn-

iust enterprises: but after that he had princely entertayned them, he sent

for a bowe, and bente it and drewe it, and then vnbent it agayne, and

sayde vnto the ambassadours, you shall commende me to Cambyses, and

gyue him this bowe fro me, and byd him when any Persian can shote in

this bowe, let him set vpon the Ethiopians: In the meane whyle let hymgyue thankes vnto God, whiche doth not put in the Ethiopians mynde to

conquere any other mans lande. This bowe, when it came amonge the Per-

sians, neuer one man in suche an infinite host (as Herodotus doth saye)

could styrre the stryng, saue onely Smerdis the brother of Cambyses, whiche

styrred it two fingers, and no further: for the which act Cambyses had suche

enuy at him, that he afterward slewe him: as doth appeare in the storye.

Sesostris the moost mightie king that euer was in Egipt, ouercame a

great parte of the worlde, and that by archers: he subdued the Arabians,

the lues, the Assyrians: he went farther into Scythia then any man els: he

ouercame Thracia, euen to the borders of Germanic. And in token how he

ouercame al men he set vp in many places great ymages to his owne lyke-

nesse, hauynge in the one hande a bowe, in the o- [sig. H3] ther a sharpe

heeded shafte: that men myght knowe, what weapon his hooste vsed, in

conqueryng so manye people.

Cyrus, counted as a god amonges the Gentyles, for his noblenesse and

felicitie in warre: yet at the last when he set vpon the Massagetanes (which

people neuer went without their bowe nor their quiuer, nether in warre

nor peace) he and all his were slayne, and that by shotyng, as appeareth in

the storye.

Polycrates the prince of Samos (a very litle yle) was lorde ouer all the

Greke sees, and withstode the power of the Persians, onely by the helpe of

a thousande archers.

The people of Scythia, of all other men loued, and vsed moost shotyng,

the hole rychesse and househoulde stuffe of a man in Scythia, was a yocke

of oxen, a plough, his nagge and his dogge, his bowe and his quiuer: which

quiuer was couered with the skynne of a man, which he toke or slewe

fyrste in battayle. The Scythians to be inuincible by reason of their

shotyng, the greate voyages of so manye noble conquerours spent in that


countrie in vayne, doeth well proue: But specially that of Darius the mygh-tie kyng of Persie, which when he had taryed there a great space, and doneno good, but had forweryed his hoste with trauayle and hunger: At last the

men of Scythia sent an ambassadour with .iiii. gyftes: a byrde, a frogge, a

mouse, and .v. shaftes. Darius meruaylyng at the straungenesse of the

gyftes, asked the messenger what they signifyed: the messenger answered,

that he had no further commaundement, but onely [sig. H3v] to delyuer

his gyftes, and retourne agayne with all spede: but I am sure (sayeth he)

you Persians for your great wysdome, can soone boult out what they

meane. When the messenger was gone, euery man began to saye his ver-

dite. Darius Judgement was this, that the Scythians gaue ouer into the Per-

sians handes, their lyues, theyr hole power, both by lande and see, signi-

fyinge by the mouse the earthe, by the frogge the water, in which they

both liue, by the birde their lyues which lyue in the ayer, by the shaft

their hole power and Empire, that was maynteyned alwayes by shotinge.

Gobryas a noble and wyse captayne amonges the Persians, was of a cleane

contrary minde, saying, nay not so, but the Sythians meane thus by their

gyftes, that except we get vs wynges, and flye into the ayer lyke birdes, or

run into the holes of the earth lyke myse, or els lye lurkyng in fennes &marisses lyke frogges, we shall neuer returne home agayne, before we be

vtterly vndone with their shaftes: which sentence sanke so sore into their

hertes, that Darius with all spede possible, brake vp his campe, and gat

hym selfe homewarde. Yet howe moche the Persians them selues set byshotinge, wherby they encreased their empire so moche, doth appeare by.iii. manifest reasons: first that they brought vppe theyr youth in the

schole of shoting, vnto ,xx. yere of age, as dyuerse noble Greke authours

do saye.

Agayne, bycause the noble kyng Darius thought hym selfe to be

praysed by nothyng so moch, as to be counted a good shoter, as doth ap-

peare by his sepulchre, wherin he caused to be written this sentence:

[sig. H4]

Darius the king lieth buried here

That in shooting and riding had neuer pere.

Thirdlye the coyne of the Persians, both golde & siluer had the Armesof Persie vpon it, as is customably vsed in other realmes, and that was bowand arowes: by the which feate they declared, how moch they set by them.

The Grecians also, but specially the noble Athenienes, had all their

strength lyinge in Artillarie: and for that purpose the citie of Athens had

a M. men which were onely archers, in dayly wages, to watche and kepe

the citie from al ieoperdie & sodein daunger: which archers also shuld cary

to prison & warde any misdoer at the commaundement of the hygh offi-

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 8j^

cers, as playnlye doth appear in Plato. And surely the bowmen of Athens

did wonderful feates in many battels, but specially when Demosthenes the

valiaunt captayne slue and toke prisoners all the Lacedemonians besyde the

citie of Pylos, where Nestor somtyme was lord: the shaftes went so thicke

that daye (sayth Thucydides) that no man could se theyr enemies. A Lace-

demonian taken prisoner, was asked of one at Athens, whether they were

stoute fellowes that were slayne or no, of the Lacedemonians: he answered

nothing els but this: make moche of those shaftes of youres, for they

knowe neyther stoute nor vnstoute: meanynge therby, that no man (though

he were neuer so stout) came in their walke, that escaped without death.

Herodotus descrybing the mighty boost of Xerxes especially doth

marke out, what bowes and shaftes they vsed, signifying that therin lay

their chefe strength,

[sig. H4v]

And at the same tyme Attossa, mother of Xerxes, wyfe to Darius, and

doughter of Cyrus, doeth enquire (as Aeschylus sheweth in a Tragedie) of

a certayne messenger that came from Xerxes hoste, what stronge and fear-

full bowes the Grecians vsed: wherby it is playne, that Artillarie was the

thing, wherin both Europe and Asia at those dayes trusted moost vppon.

The best parte of Alexanders hoste were archers as playnelye doth ap-

peare by Arianus, and other that wrote his life: and those so stronge

archers, that they onely, sundrye tymes ouercame their enemies, afore any

other neded to fyght: as was sene in the battayl which Nearchus one of

Alexanders capitaynes had besyde the ryuer of Thomeron. And therfore as

concerning all these kyngdomes and commune wealthes, I maye conclude

with this sentence of Plinie, whose wordes be, as I suppose thus: If any

man woulde remembre the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Arabians, the men of

Inde, of Scythia, so many people in the east of the Sarmatianes, and all the

kyngdomes of the Parthians, he shall well perceyue halfe the parte of the

worlde, to lyue in subieaion, ouercome by the myght and power of shotinge.

In the commune wealth of Rome, which exceded all other in vertue,

noblenesse, and dominion litle mention is made of shoting, not bycause it

was litle vsed amonges them, but rather bycause it was bothe so necessarye

and commune, that it was thought a thing not necessarye or requyred of

anye man to be spoken vpon, as if a man shoulde describe a great feaste, he

[sig. II] woulde not ones name bread, although it be mooste common and

necessarye of all: but surely yf a feaste beynge neuer so great, lacked bread,

or had fewsty and noughty bread, all the other daynties shulde be vnsa-

uery, and litle regarded, and than woulde men talke of the commodity of

bread, whan they lacke it, that would not ones name it afore, whan they

had it: And euen so dyd the Romaynes as concernynge shootyng. Seldome

is shootinge named, and yet it dyd the moste good in warre, as didde


appere, verye playnlye in that battell, whiche Scipio Aphricanus had with

the Numantines in Spayne, whome he coulde neuer ouercome, before he

sette bowemen amonges his horse men, by whose myght they were clean

vanquished.

Agayne, Tiberius fyghtynge with Armenius and Inguiomerus princis of

Germanie, had one wing of archers on horseback, an other of archers onfoot, by whose might the Germanes were slayne downe ryghte, and so

scattered and beate oute of the feelde, that the chase lasted .x. myles, the

Germanes clame vp in to trees for feare, but the Romanes dyd fetche themdowne with theyr shaftes as they had ben birdes, in whyche battell the Ro-

maynes loste fewe or none, as dothe appeare in the historie.

But as I began to saye, the Romaynes dyd not so muche prayse the

goodnesse of shootinge, whan they had it, as they dyd lament the lacke of

it, whan they wanted it, as Leo the .v. the noble Emperour doth playnly

testifie in sundrie places in those bokes whiche he wrote in Greke, of the

sleyghtes and pol- [sig. IIv] licies of warre. PHIL. Surelie of that booke I

haue not heard before, and howe came you to the syghte of it. TOX. Thebooke is rare trulie, but this laste yeare when master Cheke translated the

sayd booke out of greke in to Latin, to the kinges maiestie, he of his gen-

tlenesse, wolde haue me very ofte in hys chamber, and for the familiaritie

that I had wyth hym, more than manye other, woulde suffer me to reade

of it, whan I woulde, the whiche thinge to do, surelye I was very desirous

and glad, because of the excellent handelynge of all thynges, that euer he

taketh in hande. And verily Philologe, as ofte as I remembre the depart-

ynge of that man from the vniuersitie, (whiche thinge I do not seldome) so

ofte do I well perceyue our moste helpe and furtheraunce to learnynge, to

haue gon awaye with him. For by the great commoditie that we toke in

hearyng hym reade priuatly in his chambre, all Homer, Sophocles, and

Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Isocrates and Plato, wefeele the great discommoditie in not hearynge of hym, Aristotle & Demos-thenes, whiche .ii. authours with all diligence last of all he thought to haue

redde vnto vs. And when I consider howe manye men he succoured with

his helpe, & hys ayde to abyde here for learninge, and howe all men were

prouoked and styrred vp, by his councell and daylye example, howe they

shulde come to learning, surely I perceyue that sentence of Plato to be

true, which sayeth that there is nothyng better in any common wealthe,

than that there shoulde be alwayes one or other, excellent passyng man,

whose lyfe and vertue, [sig. 12] shoulde plucke forwarde the will, diligence,

laboure and hope of all other, that folowyng his footesteppes, they myghtcomme to the same ende, wherevnto labour, lerning & vertue, had con-

ueied him before. The great hinderance of learning, in lackinge thys mangreatly I shulde lament, if this discommoditie of oures, were not ioyned

with the commoditie & welth, of the hole realme, for which purpose, our


noble king full of wysedome hath called vp this excellent man full of learn-

ynge, to teache noble prince Edwarde, an office ful of hope, comforte &solace to al true hertes of England: For whome al England dayly doth

praye, that he passyng his Tutour in learnyng & knowledge, folowynge his

father in wisedome & felicitie, accordyng to that example which is set

afore his eyes, may so set out and mayntayne goddes worde to the abolish-

ment of al papistry, the confusion of al heresie, that therby he feared of his

ennemies, loued of al his subiectes, maye bring to his own glory, immortal

fame & memorie, to this realme, welthe, honour & felicitie, to true and

vnfayned religion perpetuall peace, concorde and vnitie.

But to retourne to shootynge agayne, what Leo sayeth of shootynge

amonges the Romaynes, hys woordes, be so muche for the prayse of shoot-

ynge, and the booke also so rare to be gotten, that I learned the places by

harte, whyche be as I suppose, euen thus. Fyrste in his sixte booke, as con-

cerning what barneys is best: Lette all the youth of Rome be compelled to

vse shootyng, eyther more or lesse, & alwayes to bear theyr bowe & theyr

quiuer aboute with them, vntyll they be .xl. yeares oulde.

[sig. I2v]

For sithens shootynge was necglected and decayed among the Ro-

maynes, many a battayle and fyelde hath ben loste. Agayne in the .11.

booke and .50. chapiter, (I call that by bookes and chapiters, whyche the

greke booke deuideth by chapiters and paragraphes.) Let your souldyers

haue theyr weapons wel appoynted and trimmed, but aboue all other

thynges regarde moste shootinge, and therfore lette men when there is no

warre, vse shootinge at home: For the leauynge of, onely of shotynge, hath

broughte in ruyne and decaye, the hole Empire of Rome. Afterwarde he

commaundeth agayne, hys capitayne by these wordes: Arme your hoste as

I haue appoynted you, but specially with bowe and arrowes plentie. For

shootynge is a thinge of muche myghte and power in warre, and chyefely

agaynst the Sarracenes and Turkes, whiche people hath all their hope of

victorie in theyr bowe and shaftes: Besydes all this, in an other place, he

wryteth thus to his Captayne: Artillerie is easie to be prepared, and in time

of great nede, a thing moste profitable, therfore we straytlye commaundeyou to make proclamation to al men vnder our dominion, which be eyther

in war or peace, to all cities, borowes and townes, and fynally to all maner

of men, that euerye seare persone haue bowe and shaftes of his owne, &euerye house besyde this, to haue a standing bearyng bowe, and .xl. shaftes

for all nedes, and that they excercise them selues in holtes, hilles, and dales,

playnes and wodes, for all maner of chaunces in warre.

Howe muche shooting was vsed among the olde [sig. 13] Romanes and

what meanes noble captaynes and Emperours made, to haue it encrease

amonge them, and what hurte came by the decaye of it, these wordes, of


Leo the emperour, which in a maner I haue rehersed woorde for woorde,

playnly doth declare. And yet shotynge, although they set neuer so mucheby it, was neuer so good than, as it is nowe in Englande, whiche thing to

be true, is very probable, in that Leo doth saye, that he woulde haue his

souldiers take of theyr arrowe heades, and one shote at an other, for theyr

excercise, whiche playe yf Englyshe archers vsed, I thinke they shoulde

fynde smal play and lesse pleasure in it at all.

The great vpperhande maynteyned alwayes in warre by artillery, doeth

appeare verye playnlye by this reason also, that whan the spanyardes,

franchmen, and germanes, grekes, macedonians and egyptians, eche contry

vsing one singuler weapon, for whyche they were greatelye feared in

warre, as the Spanyarde Lancea, the Francheman Gesa^ the German Fra-

meay the Grecian Machera, the Macedonian Sarissa, yet coulde they not es-

cape, but be subiectes to the empire of Rome, whan the Parthians hauyng

all theyr hope in artillerie, gaue no place to them, but ouercame the Ro-

manes, ofter than the Romaynes them, and kepte battel with them, manyan hundred yeare, and slue the ryche Crassus and his son wyth many a

stoute Romayne more, with theyr bowes. They draue Marcus Antonius

ouer the hylles of Media & Armenia, to his great shame and reproch. Theyslue lulianus Apostata, and Antoninus Ca- [sig. I3v] racalla, they helde in

perpetual pryson, the most noble emperour Valerian in despite of all the

Romaynes and many other princes, whiche wrote for his delyueraunce, as

Bel solis called kynge of kynges, Valerius kynge of Cadusia, Arthabesdes

kyng of Armenia, and many other princes more, whom the Parthians by

reason of theyr artillerie, regarded neuer one whitte, and thus with the Ro-

maynes, I maye conclude, that the borders of theyr empyre were not at the

sunne rysinge and sunne settynge, as Tullye sayeth: but so farre they went,

as artillarie woulde gyue them leaue. For I thinke all the grounde that they

had, eyther northewarde, farther than the borders of Scythia, or Easte-

warde, farther than the borders of Parthia, a man myght haue boughte

with a small deale of money, of whiche thynge surely shotyng was the cause.

From the same contrie of Scythia the Gothians, Hunnes, and Wandal-

ians came wyth the same wepons of artillarie, as Paulus Diaconus doth

saye, & so berafte Rome of her empyre wyth fyre, spoyle, & waste, so that

in suche a learned citie was lefte scarce one man behynde, that had learn-

ynge or leysoure to leue in writinge to them whiche shoulde come after

howe so noble an Empyre, in so shorte a whyle, by a rable of banyshed

bondemen, wythoute all order and pollicie, saue onelye theyr naturalle and

daylye exercise in artillarye, was broughte to suche thraldome and mine,

[sig. 14]

After them the Turkes hauing an other name, but yet the same people,

borne in Scythia, brought vp onely in artillarie, by the same weapon haue


subdued and beraft from the Christen men all Asia and Aphrike (to speake

vpon,) and the moost noble countries of Europe, to the greate diminishing

of Christe his religion, to the great reproche of cowardyse of al christiani-

tie, a manifest token of gods high wrath & displeasure ouer the synne of

the worlde, but speciallye amonges Christen men, which be on slepe madedrunke with the frutes of the flesh, as infidelitie, disobedience to Goddesworde, and heresie, grudge, ill wyll, stryfe, open battayle, and priuie enuye,

coueytousnesse, oppression, vnmercifulnesse, with innumerable sortes of vn-

speakeable daylye bawdrye: which thinges surely, yf God holde not his

holy hand ouer vs, and plucke vs from them, wyl bryng vs to a moreTurkishnesse and more beastlye blynde barbarousnesse: as callyng ill thinges

good, and good thynges ill, contemnyng of knowledge & learnynge, set-

tynge at nought, and hauyng for a fable, God and his high prouidence,

wyll bring vs (I say) to a more vngracious Turkishnesse (if more Turkish-

nesse can be then this) than if the Turkes had sworne, to bring al Turkyeagaynst vs. For these frutes surelye must neades sprynge of suche seede,

and suche effect nedes folowe of suche a cause: if reason, truthe, and God,be not altered, but as they are wont to be. For surely no Turkyshe powercan ouerthrowe vs, if Turkysshe lyfe do not cast vs downe before,

[sig. I4v]

If god were wyth vs, it buted not the turke to be agaynst vs, but our

vnfaythful sinfull lyuyng, which is the Turkes moder, and hath brought

hym vp hitherto, muste nedes turne god from vs, because syn and he hath

no felowshyp togither. If we banished ill liuyng out of christendome, I amsure the Turke shulde not onelye, not ouercome vs, but scarce haue an

hole to runne in to, in his owne countrye.

But Christendome nowe I may tell you Philologe is muche lyke a manthat hath an ytche on him, and lyeth dronke also in his bed, and though

a thefe come to the dore, and heaueth at it, to come in, and sleye hym, yet

he lyeth in his bed, hauinge more pleasure to lye in a slumber and scratche

him selfe wher it ytcheth euen to the harde bone, than he hath redynes to

ryse vp lustelye, & dryue him awaye that woulde robbe hym and sleye

hym. But I truste Christe wyl so lyghten and lyfte vp Christen menneseyes, that they shall not slepe to death, nor that the turke Christes openenemy, shall euer boste that he hath quyte ouerthrowen vs. But as I began

to tell you, shootynge is the chefe thinge, wherewith God suffereth the

turke to punysh our noughtie liuinge wyth all: The youthe there is

brought vp in shotyng, his priuie garde for his own person, is bowmen,the might of theyr shootynge is wel knowen of the Spanyardes, whiche at

the towne called Newecastell in Illirica, were quyte slayne vp, of the turkes

arrowes: whan the Spanyardes had no vse of theyr gunnes, by reason of

the rayne. And nowe last of all, the emperour his maiestie him selfe, at the


Citie of Argier [sig. Kl] in Aphricke had his hooste sore handeled wyth

the Turkes arrowes, when his gonnes were quite dispatched and stode himin no seruice, bycause of the raine that fell, where as in suche a chaunce of

raine, yf he had had bowmen, surelye there shoote myghte peraduenture

haue bene a litle hindred, but quite dispatched and marde, it coulde neuer

haue bene.

But as for the Turkes I am werie to talke of them, partlye because I

hate them, and partlye bycause I am now affectioned euen as it were a manthat had bene longe wanderyng in straunge contries & would fayne be at

home to se howe well his owne frendes prosper and leade theyr lyfe, and

surely me thincke I am verie merye at my harte to remember how I shal

finde at home in Englande amonges Englysh men, partlye by hystories, of

them that haue gone afore vs, agayne by experience of them whych weknowe, & lyue with vs as greate noble feates of warre doone by Artillarye,

as euer was done at any tyme in any other common welthe. And here I

must nedes remember a certaine Frenchman called Textor, that writeth a

boke which he nameth Officina, wherin he weueth vp many brokenended

matters and settes out much rifraffe, pelfery, trumpery, baggage & beggerie

ware clamparde vp of one that would seme to be fitter for a shop in dede

than to write any boke. And amonges all other yll packed vp matters, he

thrustes vp in a hepe togyther all the good shoters that euer hathe bene in

the worlde as he saythe hymselfe, and yet I trow Philologe that of all the

examples whiche I now by chaunce haue rehersed out of the best Authors

[sig. Klv] both in greke and latin, Textor hath but .ii. of them, which .ii.

surely yf they were to reken agayne, I wold not ones name them, partly

bycause they were noughtie persons, and shoting somoche the worse, by-

cause they loued it, as Domitian and Commodus the emperours: partelye

bycause Textor hath them in his boke, on whome I loked on bychaunce

in the bookebynders shoppe, thinkynge of no suche matter. And one thing

I wyl say to you Philologe, that if I were disposed to do it, and you hadde

leysure to heare it, I coulde soone do as Textor doth, and reken vp suche

a rable of shoters that be named here and there in poetes, as wolde holde

vs talkyng whyles tomorowe: but my purpose was not to make mention

of those which were feyned of Poetes for theyr pleasure, but of suche as

were proued in histories for a truthe: but why I bringe in Textor was this:

At laste when he hath rekened all shoters that he can, he sayeth thus, Pet-

rus Crinitus wryteth, that the Scottes whiche dwell beyonde Englande be

verye excellent shoters, and the best bowmen in warre. This sentence

whether Crinitus wrote it more leudly of ignoraunce, or Textor confirm-

eth it more piuyshlye of enuye, may be called in question and doubte: but

this surelye do I knowe very well that Textor hath both red in Gaguinus

the Frenche hystorie, and also hath hearde his father or graundfather

taulke (except perchaunce he was borne and bred in a Cloyster) after that


sort of the shotynge of Englisshe men, that Textor neded not to haue gone

so piuishlye beyonde Englande for shoting, but myght very soone, euen in

the first towne [sig. K2] of Kent, haue founde suche plentie of shotinge, as

is not in al the realme of Scotland agayne. The Scottes surely be good menof warre in theyr owne feate as can be: but as for shotinge, they neyther

can vse it for any profyte, nor yet wil chalenge it for any prayse, although

master Textor of his gentlenesse wold gyue it them. Textor neaded not to

haue fylled vppe his booke with suche lyes, if he hadde read the storye of

Scotlande, whiche loannes Maior doeth wryte: wherein he myghte haue

learned, that when lames Stewart fyrst kyng of that name, at the Parlia-

ment holden at Saynt lohnnes towne or Perthie, commaunded vnder payne

of a great forfyte, that euerye Scotte shoulde learne to shote: yet neyther

the loue of theyr countrie, the feare of their enemies, the auoydyng of pun-

ishment, nor the receyuinge of anye profyte that myght come by it, coulde

make them to be good Archers: whiche be vnapte and vnfytte thervnto by

Gods prouidence and nature.

Therfore the Scottes them selues proue Textor a Iyer, bothe with au-

thoritie and also daily experience, and by a certayne Prouerbe that they

haue amonges them in theyr communication, wherby they gyue the whole

prayse of shotynge honestlye to Englysshe men, saying thus: that euery

Englysshe Archer beareth vnder his gyrdle .xxiiii. Scottes,

But to lette Textor and the Scottes go: yet one thynge woulde I wysshe

for the Scottes, and that is this, that seinge one God, one faythe, one com-

passe of the see, one lande and countrie, one tungue in speakynge, one

maner and trade in lyuynge, [sig. K2v] lyke courage and stomake in war,

lyke quicknesse of witte to learning, hath made Englande and Scotlande

bothe one, they wolde suffre them no longer to be two: but cleane gyue

ouer the Pope, which seketh none other thinge (as many a noble and wyse

Scottish man doth knowe) but to fede vp dissention & parties betwixt

them & vs, procuryng that thynge to be two, which God, nature, and rea-

son, wold haue one.

How profytable suche an attonement were for Scotlande, both Johan-

nes Maior, and Ector Boetius which wrote the Scottes Chronicles do tell,

& also all the gentlemen of Scotlande with the poore communaltie, do wel

knowe: So that there is nothing that stoppeth this matter, saue onelye a

fewe freers, and suche lyke, whiche with the dregges of our Englysh Papis-

trie lurkyng now amonges them, study nothing els but to brewe battell

and stryfe betwixte both the people: Wherby onely they hope to mayne-

tayne theyr Papisticall kyngdome, to the destruction of the noble blood of

Scotlande, that then they maye with authoritie do that, whiche neither no-

ble man nor poore man in Scotlande yet doeth knowe. And as for Scot-

tishe men and Englishe men be not enemyes by nature, but by custome:

not by our good wyll, but by theyr owne foUye: whiche shoulde take


more honour in being coupled to Englande, then we shulde take profite in

being ioyned to Scotlande.

Wales being headye, and rebelling many yeares agaynst vs, laye wylde,

vntylled, vnhabited, without lawe, iustice, ciuilitie and ordre: and then was

amonges them more stealing than true dealing, more sure- [sig. K3] tie for

them that studyed to be noughte, then quyetnesse for them that laboured

to be good: when nowe thanked be God, and noble Englande, there is nocountrie better inhabited, more ciuile, more diligent in honest craftes, to

get bothe true and plentifull lyuynge withall. And this felicitie (my myndegyueth me) within these few dayes shal chaunce also to Scotlande, by the

godly wysedome of oure mooste noble Prince kynge Henrye the .viii. bywhome God hath wrought more wonderfull thynges then euer by any

prince before: as banishing the byshop of Rome and herisie, bringyng to

light god his worde and veritie, establishing suche iustice and equitie,

through euery parte of this his realme, as neuer was sene afore.

To suche a Prince of suche a wysdome, God hath reserued this mooste

noble attonement: wherby neither we shalbe any more troubled, nor the

Scottes with their best countries any more destroyed, nor the see, whiche

God ordeyneth profytable for both, shall from eyther be any morestopped: to the great quietnesse, wealth & felicitie of all the people dwell-

ynge in this He, to the high renoume & prayse of our moost noble kyng,

to the feare of all maner of nacions that owe ill wyll to either countrie, to

the hygh pleasure of God, which as he is one, and hateth al diuision, so is

he best of all pleased, to se thinges which be wyde and amysse, brought to

peace and attonement. But Textor (I beshrowe him) hath almooste

broughte vs from our communication of shoting. Now sir by my iudge-

ment, the Artillarie of England farre excedeth all other realmes: but yet

one thyng I doubt & longe [sig. K3v] haue surely in that point doubted,

when, or by whom, shotyng was first brought in to Englande, & for the

same purpose as I was ones in companye wyth syr Thomas Eliot knight,

which surelie for his lerning in all kynde of knowlege bringeth much wor-

shyp to all the nobilite of Englande, I was so bould to aske hym, yf he at

any tyme, had marked any thing, as concernynge the bryngynge in of

shootynge in to Englande: he aunswered me gentlye agayne, that he had a

worcke in hand which he nameth, De rebus memorabilihus Angliae, which

I trust we shal se in print shortlye, and for the accomplyshmente of that

boke, he had read & perused ouer many olde monumentes of Englande,

and in sekyng for that purpose, he marked this of shootynge in an exced-

yng olde cronicle, the which had no name, that what tyme as the Saxons

came first into this realme in kyng Vortigers dayes, when they had bene

here a whyle and at last began to fauU out with the Brittons, they troubled

and subdewed the Brittons wyth nothynge so much, as with theyr boweand shaftes, whiche wepon beynge straunge & not sene here before, was


wonderful! terrible vnto them, and this beginninge I can thynke verie well

to be true. But now as concerning many examples for the prayse of Eng-

lish archers in warre, surely I wil not be long in a matter that no mandoubteth in, & those few that I wil name, shal either be proued by the his-

tories of our enemies, or els done by men that now Hue.

Kynge Edward the thirde at the battel of Cressie ageinst Philip the

Frenche king as Gaguinus the french Historiographer plainlye doeth tell,

slewe that daye [sig. K4] all the nobilite of Fraunce onlye wyth hys archers.

Such lyke battel also fought the noble black prince Edward beside

Poeters, where lohn the french king with hys sonne & in a maner al the

peres of Fraunce were taken beside .xxx.M, which that daye were slayne,

& verie few Englyshe men, by reason of theyr bowes.

Kynge Henrie the fifte a prince pereles and moste vyctoriouse conquer-

oure of all that euer dyed yet in this parte of the world, at the battel of

Dagin court with .vii.M. fyghtynge men, and yet many of them sycke,

beynge suche Archers as the Cronycle sayeth that mooste parte of themdrewe a yarde, slewe all the Cheualrie of Fraunce to the nomber of .XL.M.

and moo, and lost not paste .xxvi. Englysshe men.

The bloudye Ciuil warre of England betwixt the house of Yorke and

Lancaster, where shaftes flewe of bothe sydes to the destruction of mannyea yoman of Englande, whome foreine battell coulde neuer haue subdewed

bothe I wyll passe ouer for the pyttyefulnesse of it, and yet maye wehyghelye prayse GOD in the remembraunce of it, seynge he of hys prouy-

dence hathe so knytte to gether those .ii. noble houses, with so noble and

pleasunte a flowre.

The excellent prince Thomas Hawarde now Duke of Northfolk, for

whose good prosperite with al his noble familie al English hertes dayly

doth pray with bowmen of England slew kyng lamie with many a noble

Scot euen brant agenst Flodon hil, in which battel the stoute archers of

Cheshire & Lanchasshire for one day bestowed to the death for their

prince and country sake, hath gotten immortall name and prayse for euer.

[sig. K4v]

The fear onely of Englysh Archers hathe done more wonderfull thinges

than euer I redde in anye historye greke or latin, and moost wonderfull of

all now of late beside Carlile betwixt Eske and Leuen at Sandy sikes, where

the hoole nobilitie of Scotlande for fere of the Archers of Englonde (next

the stroke of God) as both Englysh men and Scotyshe men that were pres-

ent hath toulde me were drowened and taken prisoners.

Nor that noble acte also, whyche althoughe it be almost lost by tyme,

commeth not behynd in worthinesse, whyche my synguler good frende

and Master Sir William Walgraue and Sir George Somerset dyd with a few

Archers to the number as it is sayd of .xvi. at the Turne pike besyde


Hammes where they turned with so fewe Archers, so many Frenchemento flight, and turned so many oute of theyr lackes, whych turne turned all

fraunce to shame & reproche and those .ii. noble knightes to perpetuall

prayse & fame.

And thus you se Philologe, in al contries Asia, Aphrike and Europe, in

Inde, Aethiop, Aegypt & lurie, Parthia, Persia, Grece, and Italie, Schythia,

Turky, and Englande, from the begynninge of the world euen to thys

daye, that shotynge hath had the cheife stroke in warre. PHI. These exam-

ples surelye apte for the prayse of shotynge, not feyned by poetes, but

proued by trewe histories, distinct by tyme and order, hath delyted me ex-

cedyng muche, but yet me thynke that all thys prayse belongeth to stronge

shootynge and drawynge of myghtye bowes not to [sig. LI] prickyng and

nere shotinge, for which cause you and many other bothe loue & vse

shootyng. TOX. Euer more Philologe you wyl haue some ouertwhart re-

son to drawe forthe more communication withall, but neuerthelesse youshall perceaue if you wyl, that vse of prickyng, and desyre of nere shoot-

ynge at home, are the onelye causes of stronge shootyng in warre, and

why? for you se, that the strongest men, do not drawe alwayes the strong-

est shoote, whiche thyng prouethe that drawinge stronge, liethe not so

muche in the strength of man, as in the vse of shotyng. And experience

teacheth the same in other thynges, for you shal se a weake smithe, whiche

wyl wyth a lipe and turnyng of his arme, take vp a barre of yron, that an-

other man thrise as stronge, can not stirre. And a strong man not vsed to

shote, hath his armes, breste and shoulders, and other partes wherwith he

shuld drawe stronglye, one hindering and stoppinge an other, euen as a

dosen stronge horses not vsed to the carte, lettes & troubles one another.

And so the more stronge man not vsed to shoote, shootes moost vnhan-

sumlye, but yet if a strong man with vse of shooting coulde applye all the

partes of hys bodye togyther to theyr moost strengthe, than should he

both drawe stronger than other, and also shoote better than other. But

nowe a stronge man not vsed to shoote, at a girde, can heue vp & plucke

in sunder many a good bowe, as wild horses at a brunte doth race & pluck

in peces many a stronge carte. And thus strong men, without vse, can do

nothynge in shoting to any purpose, neither in warre nor peace, but if

they happen [sig. Llv] to shoote, yet they haue done within a shoote or

two when a weake man that is vsed to shoote, shal serue for all tymes and

purposes, and shall shoote .x. shaftes, agaynst the others .iiii. & drawe

them vp to the poynte, euerye tyme, and shoote them to the moste

aduauntage, drawyng and withdrawing his shafte when he list, markyngeat one man, yet let driuyng at an other man: whiche thynges in a set bat-

tayle, although a man, shal not alwayes vse, yet in bickerynges, and at

ouerthwarte meatinges, when fewe archers be togyther, they do moste

good of all.

ROGER ASCHAM, TOXOPHILUS 9J_

Agayne he that is not vsed to shoote, shall euermore with vntoward-

nesse of houldynge his bowe, & nockynge his shafte, not lookyng to his

stryng betyme, put his bowe alwayes in ieoperdy of breakynge, & than he

were better to be at home, moreouer he shal shoote very fewe shaftes, and

those full vnhandsumlye, some not halfe drawen, some to hygh and some

to lowe, nor he can not driue a shoote at a tyme, nor stoppe a shoote at a

neede, but oute muste it, and verye ofte to euel profe. PHI. And that is

best I trow in war, to let it go, and not to stoppe it. TOX. No not so, but

somtyme to houlde a shafte at the heade, whyche if they be but few

archers, doth more good with the feare of it, than it shoulde do if it were

shot, with the stroke of it. PHI. That is a wonder to me, that the feare of

a displeasure, shoulde do more harme than the displeasure itselfe. TOX.Yes, ye knowe that a man whiche fereth to be banyshed, out of hys cun-

trye, can neyther be mery, eate, drynke nor sleape for feare, yet when he

is banished in dede, he slepeth [sig. L2] and eateth, as well as any other.

And many menne doubtyng and fearyng whether they shoulde dye or no,

euen for verye feare of deathe, preuenteth them selfe with a more bytter

deathe then the other death shoulde haue bene in deade. And thus feare is

euer worse than the thynge feared, as is pratelye proued, by the communi-

cation of Cyrus and Tigranes, the kynges sunne of Armenie, in Xenophon.

PHI. I graunte Toxophile, that vse of shotyng maketh a man drawe

strong, to shoote at most aduauntage, to kepe his gere, whiche is no small

thinge in war, but yet me thinke, that the customable shoting at home,

speciallye at buttes and prickes, make nothynge at all for stronge shooting

which doth moste good in war. Therfore I suppose yf men shulde vse to

goo into the fyeldes, and learne to shote myghty stronge shootes, and

neuer care for any marke at al, they shulde do muche better. TOX. Thetrouthe is, that fashion muche vsed, would do muche good, but this is to

be feared, least that waye coulde not prouoke men to vse muche shotyng,

bycause ther shulde be lytle pleasure in it. And that in shoting is beste,

that prouoketh a man to vse shotinge moste: For muche vse maketh menshoote, bothe strong & well, whiche two thinges in shootinge, euery mandoeth desyre. And the chyefe mayntayner of vse, in any thyng, is com-

paryson, and honeste contention. For whan a manne stryueth to be better

than another, he wyll gladly vse that thing, though it be neuer so paynful

wherein he woulde excell, whiche thynge Aristotle verye pretelye doth

note, sayenge.

[sig. L2v]

Where is comparison, there is victorie: where is victorie, there is pleas-

ure: And where is pleasure, no man careth what labour or payne he tak-

eth, bycause of the prayse, and pleasure, that he shal haue, in doynge bet-

ter than other men.


Agayne, you knowe Hesiodus wryteth to hys brother Perses, that al

craftes men, by contending one honestly with an other, do encrease theyr

cunnyng with theyr substance. And therfore in London, and other great

Cities, men of one crafte, most commonly, dwelle togyther, bycause in

honest stryuyng togyther, who shall do best, euery one maye waxe bothe

cunninger and rycher, so lykewyse in shootynge, to make matches to as-

semble archers togyther, to contende who shall shoote best, and winne the

game, encreaseth the vse of shotynge wonderfully amonges men.

PHI. Of Vse you speake very much Toxophile but I am sure in al

other matters, Vse can do nothing, wythoute two other thinges be ioyned

wyth it, one is a natural Aptnesse to a thinge, the other is a true waye or

Knowlege, howe to do the thing, to which .ii. yf Vse be ioyned, as thirde

felowe, of them thre, procedeth perfectnesse and excellencie: If a mannelacke the first two, Aptnesse and Cunnyng, Vse can do lytle good, at all.

For he that woulde be an oratour and is nothinge naturallye fitte for it,

that is to saye lacketh a good wytte and memorie, lacketh a good voyce,

countenaunce and body, and other suche like, ye yf he had all these

thinges, and knewe not what, howe, where, when nor to whome he shulde

speake, surelye the vse of spekynge, woulde brynge out none [sig. L3]

other frute but playne follye and bablyng, so that Vse is the laste and the

least necessarye, of all thre, yet no thing can be done excellently without

them al thre. And therfore Toxophile I my selfe bicause I neuer knewe,

whether I was apte for shooting or no, nor neuer knewe waye, howe I

shulde learne to shoote I haue not vsed to shoote; and so I thinke fiue hun-

dred more in Englande do besyde me. And surely yf I knewe that I were

apte, and that you woulde teach me howe to shoote, I woulde become an

archer, and the rather, bycause of the good communication, the whiche I

haue had with you this daye, of shotyng. TOX. Aptnesse, Knowlege, and

Vse, euen as you saye, make all thinges perfecte. Aptnesse is the fyrst and

chyefest thinge, without whiche the other two do no good at all. Knowl-

edge doeth encrease al maner of Aptnesse, bothe lesse and more. Vse sayth

Cicero, is farre aboue all teachinge. And thus they all three muste be had,

to do any thinge very well, and yf anye one be awaye, what so euer is

done, is done verye meanly. Aptnesse is the gyfte of nature, Knowlege, is

gotten by the helpe of other: Vse lyeth in our owne diligence & labour. So

that Aptnesse & vse be ours and within vs, through nature & labour:

Knowledge not ours, but commynge by other: and therfore moost diligent-

ly, of all men to be sought for. Howe these three thinges stande with the

artillery of Englande, a woorde or twoo I will saye.

All Englishe men generally, be apte for shotyng, and howe? Lyke as

that grounde is plentiful! and frutefuU, whiche withoute anye tyllynge,

bryngeth [sig. L3v] out corne, as for example, yf a man shoulde go to the

myll or market with corne, and happen to spyl some in the waye, yet it


wolde take roote and growe, bycause the soyle is so good: so England maybe thought very frutefull and apt to brynge oute shoters, where children

euen from the cradell, loue it: and yong men without any teachyng so dili-

gentlye vse it. Agayne, lykewyse as a good grounde, well tylled, and well

husbanded, bringeth out great plentie of byg eared come, and good to the

faule: so if the youthe of Englande being apte of it selfe to shote, were

taught and learned how to shote, the Archers of England shuld not be only

a great deale ranker, and mo then they be: but also a good deale bygger

and stronger Archers then they be. This commoditie shoulde folowe also

yf the youth of Englande were taught to shote, that euen as plowing of a

good grounde for wheate, doth not onely make it mete for the seede, but

also riueth and plucketh vp by the rootes, all thistles, brambles and

weedes, which growe of theyr owne accorde, to the destruction of bothe

corne and grounde: Euen so shulde the teaching of youth to shote, not

only make them shote well, but also plucke awaye by the rootes all other

desyre to noughtye pastymes, as disynge, cardyng, and boulinge, which

without any teaching are vsed euery where, to the great harme of all youth

of this realme. And lykewise as burnyng of thistles and diligent weding

them out of the corne, doth not halfe somoche ryd them, as when the

ground is falloed and tilled for good grayne, as I haue hearde many a good

husbandman say: euen so, neither bote punish- [sig. L4] ment, nor yet dili-

gent searching out of suche vnthriftinesse by the officers, shal so throwly

wede these vngracious games out of the realme, as occupying and bringyng

vp youth in shotynge, and other honest pastyme. Thirdly, as a grounde

which is apt for corne and also wel tilled for corne: yet if a man let it lye

stil and do not occupye it .iii. or .iiii. yeare: but then wyll sow it, if it be

wheate (sayth Columella) it wil turne into rye: so if a man be neuer so

apte to shote, nor neuer so wel taught in his youth to shote, yet if he giue

it ouer, and not vse to shote, truly when he shalbe eyther compelled in

war tyme for his country sake, or els prouoked at home for his pleasure

sake, to faule to his bowe: he shal become of a fayre archer, a stark squyr-

ter and dribber. Therefore in shotynge, as in all other thinges, there can

neyther be many in number, nor excellent in dede: excepte these .iii.

thynges, Aptnesse, Knowledge, and Vse goo togyther.

PHIL. Very well sayde Toxophile, and I promyse you, I agree to this

iudgement of yours altogyther and therefore I can not a lytle maruayle,

why Englysshe men brynge nomore helpe to shotynge, then nature it selfe

gyueth them. For you se that euen children be put to theyr owne shiftes

in shotyng, hauing nothynge taughte them: but that they maye chose, and

chaunce to shoote ill, rather then well, vnaptlye soner then fitlye, vnto-

wardlye, more easely then well fauouredlye, whiche thynge causeth manyeneuer begynne to shoote: and moo to leaue it of when they haue begone,

and moost of all to shote both worse & weaker, then they might shote, if


they were taught, [sig. L4v] But peraduenture some men wyll saye, that

wyth vse of shootynge a man shall learne to shoote, true it is he shall

learne, but what shal he learne? marye to shoote noughtly. For all Vse, in

all thynges, yf it be not stayed with Cunnyng, wyll verie easely brynge a

man to do that thynge, what so euer he goeth aboute with muche illfa-

uorednes and deformitie.

Which thinge how much harme it doth in learning both Crassus excel-

lencie dothe proue in TuUie, and I my selfe haue experiens in my lytle

shootyng. And therfore Toxophile, you must nedes graunt me that ether

Englishe men do il, in not ioynyng Knowlege of shooting to Vse, or els

there is no knowlege or cunninge, which can be gathered of shooting. Tox.

Learnyng to shoote is lytle regarded in England, for this consideration, by-

cause men be so apte by nature they haue a greate redy forwardnesse and

wil to vse it, al though no man teache them, al thoughe no man byd them,

& so of theyr owne corage they runne hedlynge on it, and shoote they ill,

shote they well, greate hede they take not. And in verie dede Aptnesse

with Vse may do sumwhat without Knowlege, but not the tenthe parte, if

so be they were ioyned with knowlege.

Whyche thre thynges be seperate as you se, not of theyr owne kynde,

but through the negligence of men whyche coupleth them not to gyther.

And where ye doubte whether there can be gadered any knowlege or arte

in shootyng or no, surely I thynke that a man being wel exercised in it and

sumwhat honestly learned with all, myght soone with diligent obseruynge

and markynge the hole nature of shootynge, find out [sig. Ml] as it were

an Arte of it, as Artes in other matters haue bene founde out afore, seynge

that shootyng standeth by those thinges, which maye both be thorowlye

perceued, and perfitly knowen, and suche that neuer failes, but be euer cer-

tayne, belongynge to one moost perfect ende, as shootyng streight, and

keping of a lenght bring a man to hit the marke, the chefe ende in shoot-

yng: which two thynges a man may attaine vnto, by diligent vsynge, and

well handlynge those instrumentes, which belong vnto them. Therfore I

can not see, but there lieth hyd in the nature of Shootynge, an Arte,

whiche by notynge, and obseruynge of him, that is exercised in it, yf he be

any thyng learned at al, maye be taught, to the greate forderaunce of Artil-

larie through out al this Realme. And trewlye I meruell gretelye, that Eng-

lysshe men woulde neuer yet, seke for the Arte of shootynge, seinge they

be so apte vnto it, so praysed of there frendes, so feared of there ennemyes

for it. Vegetius woulde haue maysters appointed, whyche shoulde teache

youthe to shoote faire. Leo the Emperour of Rome, sheweth the same cus-

tome, to haue bene alwayes amongest the olde Romaynes: whych custome

of teachyng youth to shoote (saythe he) after it was omitted, and litle hede

taken of, brought the hole Empire of Rome, to grete Ruine. Schola PersicUy

that is the Scole of the Persians, appoynted to brynge vp youthe, whiles


they were .xx. yeare old only in shooting, is as notably knowne in Histo-

ries as the Impire of the Persians: whych schole, as doth apere in Cornelius

Tacitus, as sone as they gaue ouer and fell to other idle pasti- [sig. Mlv]

mes, brought bothe them and the Parthians vnder the subiection of the

Romaines. Plato would haue common maisters and stipendes, for to teache

youthe to shoote, & for the same purpose he would haue a brode feylde

nere euery Citie, made common for men to vse shotyng in, whyche sayeng

the more reasonably it is spoken of Plato, the more vnresonable is theyr

dede whiche woulde ditche vp those feeldes priuatly for ther owne profyt,

whyche lyeth open generallye for the common vse: men by suche goodes

be made rycher not honester sayth Tullie. Yf men can be perswaded to

haue shootynge taughte, this aucthoritie whyche foloweth will perswade

them, or els none, and that is as I haue ones sayde before, of Kynge

Dauyd, whose fyrste acte and ordinaunce was after he was kynge that all

ludea should learne to shoote. Yf shotyng could speake, she would accuse

England of vnkyndnesse and slouthfulnesse, of vnkyndnesse toward her

bycause she beyng left to a lytle blynd vse, lackes her best maintener

which is cunnynge: of slouthfulnesse towarde theyr owne selfe, bycause

they are content wyth that whych aptnesse and vse doth graunt them in

shootynge, and wyl seke for no knowlege as other noble common welthes

haue done: and the iustlier shootynge myght make thys complaynt, seynge

that of fence and weapons there is made an Arte, a thynge in no wyse to

be compared to shootynge.

For of fence all mooste in euerye towne, there is not onely Masters to

teache it, wyth his Prouostes, Vsshers, Scholers and other names of arte &Schole, but there hath not fayled also, whyche hathe dili- [sig. M2] gently

and well fauouredly written it and is set out in Printe that euery manmaye rede it.

What discommoditie doeth comme by the lacke of knowlege, in shoot-

ynge, it were ouer longe to rehearce. For manye that haue bene apte, and

loued shootynge, bycause they knewe not whyche way to houlde to

comme to shootynge, haue cleane tourned them selues from shootynge.

And I maye telle you Philologe, the lacke of teachynge to shoote in

Englande, causeth very manye men, to playe with the kynges Actes, as a

man dyd ones eyther with the Mayre of London or Yorke I can not tel

whether, whiche dyd commaund by proclamation, euerye man in the Cit-

ie, to hange a lanterne wyth a candell, afore his dore: whiche thynge the

man dyd, but he dyd not lyght it: And so many bye bowes bicause of the

acte, but yet they shote not: not of euyll wyll, but bycause they knowenot howe to shoote. But to conclude of this matter, in shooting as in all

other thynges, Aptenesse is the fyrste, and chyefe thynge, whiche if it be

awaye, neyther Cunnynge or Vse, doeth anye good at all, as the Scottes

and Fraunce men, wyth knowledge and Vse of shootynge, shall become


good Archers, whan a cunnynge shypwright shall make a stronge shyppe,

of a Salowe tree: or whan a husbandman shall becom ryche, wyth sowyngwheat on Newmarket heath. Cunnynge muste be had, bothe to set out, &amende Nature, and also to ouersee, and correcte vse: which vse yi it be

not led, & gouerned wyth cunnyng, shall sooner go amisse, than strayght.

[sig. M2v]

Vse maketh perfitnesse, in doinge that thynge, whervnto nature maketh

a man apte, and knowlege maketh a man cunninge before. So that it is not

so doubtful, which of them three hath moost stroke in shoting as it is

playne & euident, that all thre must be had, in excellent shootynge. PHI.

For this communicacion Toxophile I am very glad, and that for mynownesake bicause I trust now, to become a shoter. And in dede I thought

a fore, English men most apte for shoting, and I sawe them dayelye vse

shotyng, but yet I neuer founde none, that woulde talke of anye knowlege

whereby a man might come to shotynge. Therfore I trust that you, by the

vse you haue had in shoting, haue so thorowly marked and noted the na-

ture of it, that you can teache me as it were by a trade or waye how to

come to it. TOX. I graunte, I haue vsed shootinge meetly well, that I

might haue merked it wel ynoughe, yf I had bene diligent. But my muchshootynge, hath caused me studie litle, so that thereby I lacke learnynge,

whych shulde set out the Arte or waye in any thynge. And you knowethat I was neuer so well sene, in the Posteriorums of Aristotle as to inuent

and searche out general Demonstrations for the setting forth of any neweScience. Yet by my trothe yf you wyll, I wyll goe with you into the

fealdes at any tyme and tel you as much as I can, or els you maye stande

some tyme at the prickes and looke on them which shoote best and so

learne. PHI. Howe lytle you haue looked of Aristotle, and how muchelearnynge, you haue lost by shotynge I can not tell, but this I woulde saye

and yf I loued [sig. M3] you neuer so ill, that you haue bene occupyed in

sumwhat els besyde shotynge. But to our purpose, as I wyll not requyre a

trade in shotinge to be taught me after the sutteltye of Aristotle, euen so

do I not agre with you in this poynt, that you wold haue me learne to

shoote with lokyng on them which shoote best, for so I knowe I should

neuer come to shote meanelye. For in shotyng as in all other thynges

which be gotten by teachynge, there must be shewed a waye & a path

which shal leade a man to the best and cheiffest point whiche is in shoot-

ynge, whiche you do marke your selfe well ynough, and vttered it also in

youre communication, when you sayde there laye hyd in the nature of

shootyng a certayne waye whych wel perceyued and thorowlye knowen,

woulde bring a man wythout any wanderyng to the beste ende in shotyng

whych you called hitting of the pricke. Therfore I woulde refer all myshootinge to that ende whiche is best, and so shuld I come the soner to

some meane.


That whiche is best hath no faulte, nor can not be amended. So shew

me beste shootynge, not the beste shoter, which yf he be neuer so good,

yet hath he many a faulte easelye of any man to be espyed. And therfore

meruell not yf I requyre to folowe that example whych is without faulte,

rather than that which hath so manye faultes. And thys waye euerye wyse

man doth folow in teachynge any maner of thynge. As Aristotle when he

teacheth a man to be good he settes not before hym Socrates lyfe whychewas the best man, but chiefe goodnesse itselfe accordynge to whych he

would haue a man directe his lyfe. TOX. [sig. M3v] This waye which yourequyre of me Philologe, is to hard for me, and to hye for a shooter to

taulke on, & taken as I suppose out of the middes of Philosophie, to serche

out the perfite ende of any thyng, the which perfite ende to fynde out,

sayth Tullie, is the hardest thynge in the worlde, the onely occasyon and

cause, why so many sectes of Philosophers hathe bene alwayse in learn-

ynge. And althoughe as Cicero saith a man maye ymagine and dreame in

his mynde of a perfite ende in any thynge, yet there is no experience nor

vse of it, nor was neuer sene yet amonges men, as alwayes to heale the

sycke, euer more to leade a shyppe without daunger, at al times to hit the

prick: shall no Physicion, no shypmaster, no shoter euer do. And Aristotle

saith that in all deades there are two pointes to be marked, possibilitie &excelencie, but chefely a wise man must folow & laye hand on possibilitie

for feare he lease bothe. Therfore seyng that which is moost perfect and

best in shootyng as alwayes to hit the pricke, was neuer sene nor hard tel

on yet amonges men, but onelye ymagined and thought vpon in a man his

mynde, me thinck this is the wisest counsel & best for vs to folow rather

that which a man maye come to, than that whyche is vnpossible to be at-

tained to, leste iustely that sayeng of the wyse mayde Ismene in Sophocles

maye be verifyed on vs.

A foole he is that takes in hande he can not ende.

PHI. Well yf the perfite ende of other matters, had bene as perfitlye

knowne, as the perfite ende of shotynge is, there had neuer bene so manyesectes of [sig. M4] Philosophers as there be, for in shoting both man &boye is in one opinion, that alwayes to hit the pryck is mooste perfecte

end that can be imagyned, so that we shal not nede gretly contend in this

matter. But now sir, whereas you thynke that a man in learning to shoote

or any thyng els, shuld rather wyselye folow possibilitie, than vainly seke

for perfite excellencie, surelye I wyl proue that euery wyse man, that wise-

ly wold learne any thyng, shal chiefly go aboute that whervnto he know-eth wel he shal neuer come. And you youre selfe I suppose shal confesse

the same to be the best way in teachyng, yf you wyl answere me to those

thinges whych I wyl aske of you. TOX. And that I wyl gladlye, both by-

cause I thynke it is vnpossible for you to proue it, & also bycause I desire


to here what you can saye in it. PHI. The studie of a good Physicion Tox-

ophile, I trow be to know al diseases & al medicines fit for them. TOX. It

is so in dede. PHI. Bicause I suppose he would gladly at al tymes heale al

diseases of al men. TOX. Ye truely. PHI. A good purpose surely, but wasther euer physicion yet among so many whyche hath laboured in thys

study, that at al times coulde heale all diseases? TOX. No trewly: nor I

thyncke neuer shalbe. PHI. Than Physicions by lyke, studie for that,

whiche none of them commeth vnto. But in learning of fence I pray youwhat is that which men moost labor for? TOX. That they may hit a

nother I trow & neuer take blow theyr selfe. PHI. You say trothe, & I amsure euery one of them would faine do so when so euer he playethe. But

was there euer any of them so conning yet, which at one tyme or other

[sig. M4v] hath not bene touched? TOX. The best of them all is glad som-

tyme to escape with a blowe. PHIL. Than in fence also, men are taught to

go aboute that thing, whiche the best of them all knowethe he shall neuer

attayne vnto. Moreouer you that be shoters, I pray you, what meane you,

whan ye take so greate heade, to kepe youre standynge, to shoote com-

passe, to looke on your marke so diligently, to cast vp grasse diuerse tymes

and other thinges more, you know better than I. What would you do than

I pray you? TOX. Hit the marke yf we could. PHIL. And doth euery mango about to hit the marke at euery shoote? TOX. By my trothe I trow so,

and as for my selfe I am sure I do. PHIL. But al men do not hit it at al

tymes. TOX. No trewlye for that were a wonder. PHIL. Can any man hit

it at all tymes? TOX. No man verilie. PHIL. Than by likelye to hit the

pricke alwayes, is vnpossible. For that is called vnpossible whych is in noman his power to do. TOX. Vnpossible in dede. PHIL. But to shoote

wyde and far of the marke is a thynge possyble. TOX. No man wyll denie

that. PHIL. But yet to hit the marke alwayse were an excellent thyng.

TOX. Excellent surelie. PHIL. Than I am sure those be wiser men, which

couete to shote wyde than those whiche couete to hit the prycke. TOX.Why so I pray you. PHIL. Because to shote wyde is a thynge possyble, and

therfore as you saye youre selfe, of euery wyse man to be folowed. And as

for hittinge the prick, bycause it is vnpossible, it were a vaine thynge to go

about it: but in good sadnesse Toxophile thus you se that a man might go

throughe [sig. Nl] all craftes and sciences, and proue that anye man in his

science coueteth that which he shal neuer gette. TOX. By my trouth (as

you saye) I can not denye, but they do so: but why and wherfore they

shulde do so, I can not learne. PHILO. I wyll tell you, euerye crafte and

science standeth in two thynges: in Knowing of his crafte, & Working of

his crafte: For perfyte knowledge bringeth a man to perfyte workyng. This

knowe Paynters, karuers, Taylours, shomakers, and all other craftes men,

to be true. Nowe, in euery crafte, there is a perfite excellencie, which maybe better knowen in a mannes mynde, then folowed in a mannes dede.


This perfytenesse, bycause it is generally layed as a brode wyde example

afore al men, no one particuler man is able to compasse it: and as it is

generall to al men, so it is perpetuall for al time whiche proueth it a

thynge for man vnpossible: although not for the capacitie of our thinkyng

whiche is heaunely, yet surelye for the habilitie of our workyng whycheis worldlye.

God gyueth not full perfytenesse to one man (sayth Tullie) lest if one

man had all in any one science, ther shoulde be nothyng lefte for an other.

Yet God suffereth vs to haue the perfyt knowledge of it, that such a

knowledge diligently folowed, might bring forth accordyng as a man doth

labour, perfyte woorkyng. And who is he, that in learnynge to wryte,

woulde forsake an excellent example, and folowe a worse? Therfore seing

perfytenesse it selfe is an example for vs, let euerye man studye howe he

maye come nye it, which is a poynt of wysdome, not reason with God[sig. Nlv] why he may not attaine vnto it, which is vayne curiositie. TOX.Surely this is gaily said Philologe, but yet this one thynge I am a fraide of,

lest this perfitnesse which you speke on wil discourage men to take any

thynge in hande, bycause afore they begin, they know, they shal neuer

come to an ende. And thus dispayre shall dispatche, euen at the fyrste en-

trynge in, many a good man his purpose and intente. And I thinke both

you your selfe, & al other men to, would counte it mere folic for a man to

tell hym whome he teacheth, that he shal neuer optaine that, whyche he

would fainest learne. And therfore this same hyghe and perfite waye of

teachyng let vs leue it to hygher matters, and as for shootynge it shalbe

content with a meaner waye well ynoughe. PHI. Where as you say that

this hye perfitnesse will discorage men, bycause they knowe, they shall

neuer attayne vnto it, I am sure cleane contrarie there is nothynge in the

world shall incourage men more than it. And whye.^ For where a manseith, that though a nother man be neuer so excellente, yet it is possible

for hym selfe to be better, what payne or labour wyl that man refuse to

take? yf the game be onse wonne, no man wyl set forth hys foote to

ronne. And thus perfitnesse beynge so hyghe a thynge that men mayelooke at it, not come to it, and beynge so plentifull and indifferent to

euerye bodye that the plentifulnesse of it maye prouoke all men to labor,

bycause it hath ynoughe for all men, the indifferencye of it shall encourage

euerye one to take more paine than hys fellowe, bycause euerye man is re-

warded accordyng to his nye commyng, and [sig. N2] yet whych is mostemeruel of al, the more men take of it, the more they leue behynd for

other, as Socrates dyd in wysdome, and Cicero in eloquens, whereby other

hath not lacked, but hathe fared a greate deele the better. And thus perfit-

nesse it selfe bycause it is neuer obteyned, euen therfore only doth it cause

so many men to be so well sene & perfite in many matters, as they be. Butwhere as you thynke that it were fondnesse to teache a man to shoote, in


lokyng at the most perfitnesse in it, but rather woulde haue a manne go

some other way to worke, I trust no wyse man wyl discomend that way,

except he thincke himselfe wyser than Tullye, whiche doeth playnlye saye,

that yf he teached any maner of crafte as he dyd Rhetorike he would labor

to bringe a man to the knowlege of the moost perfitnesse of it, whycheknowlege should euer more leade and gyde a manne to do that thynge well

whiche he went aboute. Whych waye in al maner of learnyng to be best,

Plato dothe also declare in Euthydemus, of whome TuUie learned it as he

dyd many other thynges mo. And thus you se Toxophile by what reasons

and by whose authorite I do require of you this waye in teachynge me to

shoote, which waye I praye you withoute any more delaye shew me as far-

forth as you haue noted and marked. TOX. You cal me to a thyng Philol-

oge which I am lothe to do. And yet yf I do it not beinge but a smale mat-

ter as you thynke, you wyll lacke frendeshyp in me, yf I take it in hande

and not bring it to passe as you woulde haue it, you myghte thyncke great

want of wysdome in me.

[sig. N2v]

But aduyse you, seing ye wyll nedes haue it so, the blame shalbe yours,

as well as myne: yours for puttynge vpon me so instauntlye, myne in re-

ceyuynge so fondly a greater burthen then I am able to beare. Therfore I,

more wyllynge to fulfyll your mynde, than hopyng to accomplysh that

which you loke for, shall speake of it, not as a master of shotynge, but as

one not altogyther ignoraunt in shotynge. And one thynge I am glad of,

the sunne drawinge downe so fast into the west, shall compell me to drawe

a pace to the ende of our matter, so that his darkenesse shall somethynge

cloke myne ignoraunce. And bycause you knowe the orderynge of a mat-

ter better then I: Aske me generallye of it, and I shall particularly answere

to it. PHI. Very gladly Toxophile: for so by ordre, those thynges whiche

I woulde knowe, you shal tell the better: and those thynges whiche you

shal tell, I shall remembre the better.

[sig. N3]

TOXOPHILVS.B.

THE SECONDE BOOKE OF the schole of shotyng.

PHILOL. What is the cheyfe poynte in shootynge, that euerye mannelaboureth to come to? TOX. To hyt the marke. PHI. Howe manyethynges are required to make a man euer more hyt the marke? TOX.Twoo. PHI. Whiche twoo? TOX. Shotinge streyght and kepynge of a

lengthe. PHIL. Howe shoulde a manne shoote strayght, & howe shulde a

man kepe a length? TOX. In knowynge and hauynge thinges, belongynge

to shootyng: and whan they be knowen and had, in well handlynge of

them: whereof some belong to shotyng strayght, some to keping of a

length, some commonly to them bothe, as shall be tolde seuerally of them,

in place conuenient, PHI. Thynges belongyng to shotyng, whyche be they?

TOX. All thinges be outwarde, and some be instrumentes for euery sere

archer to brynge with him, proper for his owne vse: other thynges be gen-

erall to euery man, as the place and tyme serueth. PHI. Which be instru-

[sig. N3v] mentes? TOX. Bracer, shotynggloue, stryng, bowe & shafte.

PHI. Whiche be general to all men? TOX. The wether and the marke, yet

the marke is euer vnder the rule of the wether. PHI. Wherin standeth well

handlynge of thynges? TOX. All togyther wythin a man him selfe, somehandlynge is proper to instrumentes, some to the wether, somme to the

marke, some is within a man hym selfe. PHI. What handlyng is proper to

the Instrumentes. TOX. Standynge, nockyng, drawyng, holdyng, lowsing,

wherby commeth fayre shotynge, whiche neyther belong to wynde nor

wether, nor yet to the marke, for in a rayne and at no marke, a man mayshote a fayre shoote. PHIL. Well sayde, what handlynge belongeth to the

wether? TOX. Knowyng of his wynde, with him, agaynst hym, syde

wynd, ful syde wind, syde wynde quarter with him, syde wynde quarter

agaynste hym, and so forthe. PHI. Well than go to, what handlynge be-

longeth to the marke? TOX. To marke his standyng, to shote compasse,

to draw euermore lyke, to lowse euermore lyke, to consyder the nature of

the pricke, in hylles & dales, in strayte planes and winding places, & also

to espy his marke. PHI. Very well done. And what is onely within a manhym selfe? TOX. Good heede gyuynge, and auoydynge all affections:


whiche thynges oftentymnes do marre and make all. And these thynges

spoken of me generally and brefely, yf they be wel knowen, had, and

handled, shall brynge a man to suche shootynge, as fewe or none euer yet

came vnto, but surely yf he misse in any one of them, he can neuer hyt

[sig. N4] the marke, and in the more he doth misse, the farther he shoteth

from his marke. But as in all other matters the fyrst steppe or stayre to be

good, is to know a mannes faulte, and than to amende it, and he that wyl

not knowe his faulte, shall neuer amende it. PHI. You speake nowe Toxo-

phile, euen as I wold haue you to speake: But lette vs returne agayne vnto

our matter, and those thynges whyche you haue packed vp, in so shorte a

roume, we wyll lowse them forthe, and take euery pyece as it were in our

hande and looke more narowlye vpon it. TOX. I am content, but we wyll

rydde them as fast as we can, bycause the sunne goeth so faste downe, and

yet somewhat muste needes be sayde of euerye one of them. PHI. Well

sayde, and I trowe we beganne wyth those thynges whiche be instru-

mentes, whereof the fyrste, as I suppose, was the Braser. TOX. Litle is to

be sayd of the braser. A bracer serueth for two causes, one to saue his

arme from the strype of the strynge, and his doublet from wearynge, and

the other is, that the strynge glydynge sharpelye & quicklye of the bracer,

maye make the sharper shooote. For if the strynge shoulde lyght vpon the

bare sleue, the strengthe of the shoote shoulde stoppe and dye there. But

it is best by my iudgemente, to gyue the bowe so muche bent, that the

strynge neede neuer touche a mannes arme, and so shoulde a man nede no

bracer as I knowe manye good Archers, whiche occupye none. In a bracer

a man muste take hede of .iii. thinges, that it haue no nayles in it, that it

haue no bucles, that it be fast on with laces wythout agglettes. [sig. N4v]

For the nayles wyll shere in sunder, a mannes string, before he be ware,

and so put his bowe in ieoperdy: Buckles and agglettes at vnwares, shall

race hys bowe, a thinge bothe euyll to the syghte, & perilous for freatynge.

And thus a Bracer, is onelye had for this purpose, that the strynge maye

haue redye passage. PHI. In my Bracer I am cunnyng ynough, but what

saye you of the shootyng gloue.

TOX. A shootynge Gloue is chieflye, for to saue a mannes fyngers

from hurtynge, that he maye be able to beare the sharpe stryng to the

vttermost of his strengthe. And whan a man shooteth, the might of his

shoote lyeth on the formooste fynger, and on the Ringman, for the myd-

dle fynger whiche is the longest, lyke a lubber starteth backe, and beareth

no weyght of the strynge in a maner at all, therfore the two other fyngers,

muste haue thicker lether, & that muste haue thickest of all, where on a

man lowseth moste, and for sure lowsyng, the formoste fynger is moste

apte, bycause it holdeth best, & for that purpose nature hath as a manwoulde saye, yocked it with the thoumbe. Ledder, if it be nexte a mans

skynne, wyl sweat, waxe hard and chafe, therefore scarlet for the softnes


of it and thicknesse wyth all, is good to sewe wythin a mannes gloue. If

that wylle not seme, but yet youre fynger hurteth, you muste take a sear-

ynge cloth made of fine virgin waxe, and Deres sewet, & put nexte your

fynger, and so on wyth youre gloue. If yet you fele your fynger pinched,

leaue shootyng both because than you shall shoote nought, & agayn by

litle & lytle, hurtynge your finger, ye shall make [sig. Ol] it longe and

longe to or you shoote agayne. A newe gloue pluckes many shootes by-

cause the stringe goeth not freelye of, and therefore the fingers muste be

cut short, and trimmed with some ointment, that the string maye glyd wel

awaye. Some with holdynge in the nocke of theyr shafte to harde, rub the

skyn of there fingers. For this there be .ii. remedyes, one to haue a goose

quyll splettyd and sewed againste the nockynge, betwixt the lining and the

ledder, whyche shall helpe the shoote muche to, the other waye is to haue

some roule of ledder sewed betwixt his fingers at the setting on of the

fingers, which shall kepe his fingers so in sunder, that they shal not hold

the nock so fast as they did. The shootyng gloue hath a purse whych shall

serue to put fine linen cloth and wax in, twoo necessary thynges for a

shooter. Some men vse gloues or other suche lyke thyng on their bowhand for chafyng, bycause they houlde so harde. But that commeth com-

monlye, when a bowe is not rounde, but somwhat square, fine waxe shall

do verye well in such a case to laye where a man holdeth his bow: and

thus muche as concernynge your gloue. And these thynges althoughe they

be trifles, yet bycause you be but a yonge shoter, I woulde not leue them

out. PHI. And so you shal do me moost pleasure: The string I trow be the

next. TOX. The next in dede. A thing though it be lytle, yet not a litle to

be regarded. But here in you muste be contente to put youre trust in hon-

est stringers. And surely stringers ought more diligently to be looked vpon

by the officers than ether bower or fletcher, bycause they maye deceyue a

[sig. Olv] simple man the more easelyer. An ill stringe brekethe many a

good bowe, nor no other thynge halfe so many. In warre if a string breke

the man is loste and is no man, for his weapon is gone, and althoughe he

haue two stringes put one at once, yet he shall haue smal leasure & lesse

roume to bend his bow, therfore god send vs good stringers both for war

and peace. Now what a stringe ought to be made on, whether of good

hempe as they do nowe a dayes, or of flaxe or of sylke, I leue that to the

iugemente of stringers, of whome we muste bye them on. Eustathius apon

this verse of Homere,

Twang quod the bow, & twang quod the string,

out quicklie the shaft flue:

doeth tel, that in oulde tyme they made theyr bowe strynges of bullox

thermes, whiche they twyned to gither as they do ropes, & therfore they


made a great twange. Bowe strynges also hath bene made of the heare of

an horse tayle called for the matter of them Hippias as dothe appeare in

manye good authors of the Greke tongue. Great stringes, and lytle strynges

be for diuerse purposes: the great string is more surer for the bowe, morestable to pricke wythal, but slower for the cast. The lytle stringe is cleane

contrarye, not so sure, therfore to be taken hede of, lest with longe tari-

enge on, it breake your bowe, more fit to shoote farre, than apte to pricke

nere, therfore when you knowe the nature of bothe bigge and lytle, youmust fit your bow, according to the occasion of your shootinge. In string-

inge of your bow (though this [sig. 02] place belong rather to the hand-

lyng than to the thyng it selfe, yet bycause the thynge, and the handlynge

of the thynge, be so ioyned together, I must nede some tyme couple the

one wyth the other,) you must mark the fit length of youre bowe. For yf

the stringe be to short, the bending wyll gyue, and at the last slyp and so

put the bowe in ieopardye. Yf it be longe, the bendynge must nedes be in

the smal of the string, which beynge sore twined muste nedes knap in

sunder to the distruction of manye good bowes. Moreouer you must looke

that youre bowe be well nocked for fere the sharpnesse of the home shere

a sunder the strynge. And that chaunceth ofte when in bending, the string

hath but one wap to strengthe it wyth all. You must marke also to set

youre stringe streyghte on, or elles the one ende shall wriethe contrary to

the other, and so breke your bowe. When the stringe begynnethe neuer so

lytle to were, trust it not, but a waye with it for it is an yl saued halpeny

that costes a man a crowne. Thus you se howe many ieopardyes hangethe

ouer the selye poor bowe, by reason onlye of the strynge. As when the

stringe is shorte, when it is longe, when eyther of the nockes be nought,

when it hath but one wap, and when it taryethe ouer longe on. PHI. I se

wel it is no meruell, though so many bowes be broken. TOX. Bowes be

broken twise as many wayes besyde these. But agayne in stringynge your

bowe, you must loke for much bende or lytle bende for they be cleane

contrarye.

[sig. 02v]

The lytle bende hath but one commoditie, whyche is in shootyng faster

and farther shoote, and the cause therof is, bycause the strynge hath so far

a passage, or it parte wyth the shafte. The greate bende hath many com-

modities: for it maketh easyer shootynge the bowe beyng halfe drawen

afore. It needeth no bracer, for the strynge stoppeth before it come at the

arme. It wyl not so sone hit a mannes sleue or other geare, by the same

reason: It hurteth not the shaft fedder, as the lowe bende doeth. It suffer-

eth a man better to espye his marke. Therfore lette your bowe haue good

byg bend, a shaftemente and .ii. fyngers at the least, for these which I haue

spoken of. PHI. The braser, gloue, and strynge, be done, nowe you muste


come to the bowe, the chefe instrument of all. TOX. Dyuers countryes

and tymes haue vsed alwayes dyuers bowes, and of dyuers fashions. Homebowes are vsed in some places nowe, & were vsed also in Homerus dayes,

for Pandarus bowe, the best shooter among al the Troianes, was made of

two Goete homes ioyned togyther, the lengthe wherof sayth Homer, was

.xvi. handbredes, not far differing from the lengthe of our bowes.

Scripture maketh mention of brasse bowes. Iron bowes, and style bowes,

haue bene of longe tyme, and also nowe are vsed among the Turkes, but

yet they must nedes be vnprofitable. For yf brasse, yron or style, haue

theyr owne strength and pith in them, they be farre aboue mannes

strength: yf they be made meete for mannes strengthe, theyr pithe is noth-

yng worth to shoote any shoote wyth all.

[sig. 03]

The Ethiopians had bowes of palme tre, which seemed to be very

stronge, but we haue none experience of them. The lengthe of them was

.iiii. cubites. The men of Inde had theyr bowes made of a rede, whiche was

of a great strengthe. And no maruayle though bowe and shaftes were madetherof, for the redes be so great in Inde, as Herodotus sayth, that of euery

ioynt of a rede, a man may make a fyshers bote. These bowes, sayeth Arri-

anus in Alexanders lyfe, gaue so great a stroke, that no barneys or buckler

though it were neuer so strong, could wythstand it. The length of suche a

bowe, was euen wyth the length of hym, that vsed it. The Lycians vsed

bowes made of a tree, called in Latyn ComuSy (as concemyng the name of

it in English, I can soner proue that other men call it false, than I can tell

the right name of it my selfe) this wood is as harde as home and very fit

for shaftes, as shall be toulde after.

Ouid sheweth that Syringa the Nymphe, and one of the maydens of

Diana, had a bowe of this wood wherby the poete meaneth, that it was

verye excellent to make bowes of.

As for brasell, Elme, Wych, and Asshe, experience doth proue them to

be but meane for bowes, and so to conclude Ewe of all other thynges, is

that, wherof perfite shootynge woulde haue a bowe made.

Thys woode as it is nowe generall and common amonges Englyshe

men, so hath it continewed from longe tyme and had in mooste price for

bowes, amonges the Romaynes, as doth apere in this halfe verse of Vyrgill,

[sig. 03v]

Taxi torquentur in arcus.

i.

Ewe fit for a bowe to he made on.


Nowe as I say, a bowe of Ewe must be hadde for perfecte shootinge at

the prickes, whiche marke, bycause it is certayne, & moste certaine rules

may be gyuen of it, shall serue for our communication, at this time. Agood bowe is knowen, much what as good counsayle is knowen, by the

ende and proofe of it, & yet bothe a bowe and good counsell, maye be

made bothe better and worse, by well or yll handlynge of them: as often-

tymes chaunceth. And as a man both muste and wyll take counsell, of a

wyse and honeste man, though he se not the ende of it, so must a shyooter

of necessitie, truste an honest and good bowyer for a bowe, afore he

knowe the proofe of it. And as a wyse man wyll take plentye of counsel

afore hand what soeuer need, so a shooter shulde haue alwayes .iii. or .iiii.

bowes, in store, what so euer chaunce. PHI. But if I truste bowyers al-

wayes, sometyme I am lyke to be deceyued. TOX. Therefore shall I tell

you some tokens in a bowe, that you shall be the seeldomer deceyued. If

you come into a shoppe, and fynde a bowe that is small, long, heauy and

strong, lyinge streighte, not windyng, not marred with knot, gaule, wynde-shake, wem, freat or pynche, bye that bowe of my warrant. The beste col-

our of a bowe that I fynde, is whan the backe and the bellye in woork-

ynge, be muche what after one maner, for such of- [sig. 04] tentymes in

wearyng, do proue lyke virgin wax or golde, hauynge a fine longe grayne,

euen from the one ende of the bowe, to the other: the short graine al-

though suche proue well somtyme, are for the most parte, very brittle. Ofthe makynge of the bowe, I wyll not greatly meddle, leste I shoulde seeme

to enter into an other mannes occupation, whyche I can no skyll of. Yet

I woulde desyre all bowyers to season theyr staues well, to woorke themand synke them well, to gyue them heetes conuenient, and tyllerynges

plentye. For thereby they shoulde bothe get them selues a good name,

(And a good name encreaseth a mannes profyt muche) and also do greate

commodite to the hole Realme. If any men do offend in this poynte, I amafrayde they be those iourny men whiche labour more spedily to makemanye bowes for theyr owne monye sake, than they woorke diligently to

make good bowes, for the common welth sake, not layinge before theyr

eyes, this wyse prouerbe.

Sone ynough, ifwel ynough.

Wherwyth euere honest handye craftes man shuld measure, as it were

wyth a rule, his worke withal. He that is a iourney man, and rydeth vponan other mannes horse, yf he ryde an honest pace, no manne wyll dysal-

owe hym: But yf he make Poste haste, bothe he that oweth the horse, and

he peraduenture also that afterwarde shal bye the horse may chaunce to

curse hym.

[sig. 04v]


Suche hastinesse I am afrayde, maye also be found amonges some of

them, whych through out the Realme in diuerse places worke the kinges

Artillarie for war, thinkinge yf they get a bowe or a sheafe of arrowes to

some fashion, they be good ynough for bearynge gere. And thus that

weapon whiche is the chiefe defence of the Realme, verye ofte doth lytle

seruyce to hym that shoulde vse it, bycause it is so negligentlye wrought

of him that shuld make it, when trewlye I suppose that nether the bowecan be to good and chefe woode, nor yet to wel seasoned or truly made,

wyth hetynges and tillerynges, nether that shafte to good wood or to thor-

owely wrought, with the best pinion fedders that can be gotten, wherwith

a man shal serue his prince, defende his countrie, and saue hym selfe frome

his enemye. And I trust no man wyll be angrye wyth me for spekynge

thus, but those which finde them selfe touched therin: which ought rather

to be angrye wyth them selfe for doynge so, than to be miscontent wythme for saynge so. And in no case they ought to be displeased wyth me,

seinge this is spoken also after that sorte, not for the notynge of anye per-

son seuerallye, but for the amendynge of euerye one generallye. But turne

we agayne to knowe a good shootynge bowe for oure purpose.

Euerye bowe is made eyther of a boughe, of a plante or of the boole of

the tree. The boughe commonlye is verye knotty, and full of pinnes, weak,

of small pithe, and sone wyll folowe the stringe, and seldome werith to

any fayre coloure, yet for chyldren & yonge beginners it maye serue well

ynoughe. The plante [sig. PI] proueth many times wel, yf it be of a good

and clene groweth, and for the pith of it is quicke ynoughe of cast, it wyl

plye and bow far afore it breake, as al other yonge thinges do. The boole

of the tree is clenest with out knot or pin, hauinge a faste and harde woodeby reasonne of hys full groweth, stronge and myghtye of cast, and best for

a bow, yf the staues be euen clouen, and be afterwarde wroughte not ouer-

wharte the woode, but as the graine and streyght growyng of the woodeleadethe a man, or elles by all reason it must sone breake, & that in manyshiuers. This must be considered in the roughe woode, & when the bowstaues be ouerwrought and facioned. For in dressing and pikynge it vp for

a bow, it is to late to loke for it. But yet in these poyntes as I sayd before

you muste truste an honest bowyer, to put a good bow in youre hand,

somewhat lookinge your selfe to those tokens whyche I shewed you. Andyou muste not sticke for a grote or .xii. d. more than a nother man wouldgiue yf it be a good bowe. For a good bow twise paide for is better than an

ill bowe once broken.

Thus a shooter muste begyn not at the makynge of hys bowe lyke a

bower, but at the byinge of hys bow lyke an Archere. And when hys bowis bought and brought home, afore he truste muche vpon it, let hym trye

and trym it after thys sorte.

Take your bow in to the feeld, shote in hym, sinke hym wyth deade


heauye shaftes, looke where he commethe moost, prouyde for that place

betymes, leste it pinche and so freate: when you haue thus shot in him,

and perceyued good shootynge woode in hym, you [sig. Plv] must haue

hym agayne to a good cunnynge, and trustie woorkeman, whyche shall cut

hym shorter, and pike hym and dresse hym fytter, make hym commerounde compace euery where, and whippyng at the endes, but with discre-

tion, lest he whyp in sunder or els freete, soner than he is ware of: he must

also lay him streght, if he be caste or otherwise nede require, and if he be

flatte made, gather hym rounde, and so shall he bothe shoote the faster, for

farre shootynge, and also the surer for nere pryckynge. PHI. What yf I

come into a shoppe, and spye oute a bow, which shal both than please mevery wel whan I by him, and be also very fit and meete for me whan I

shote in hym: so that he be both weake ynoughe for easye shootynge, and

also quycke and spedye ynoughe for farre castynge, than I woulde thynke

I shall nede no more businesse wyth him, but be contente wyth hym, and

vse hym well ynoughe, and so by that meanes, auoyde bothe great trouble,

and also some cost whiche you cunnynge archers very often put your

selues vnto, beynge verye Englishe men, neuer ceasynge piddelynge about

your bowe & shaftes whan they be well, but eyther with shorting and pik-

ynge your bowes, or els with newe fetheryng, peecynge and headinge your

shaftes, can neuer haue done vntyll they be starke nought. TOX. Wel Phi-

lologe, surelye if I haue any iudgement at all in shootyng, it is no very

great good token in a bowe, whereof nothyng whan it is newe and fresshe,

nede be cutte awaye, euen as Cicero sayeth of a young mannes wit and

style, which you knowe better than I. For eue- [sig. P2] rye newe thynge

muste alwayes haue more than it neadeth, or elles it wyll not waxe better

and better, but euer decaye, and be worse and worse. Newe ale if it runne

not ouer the barrell whan it is newe tunned, wil sone lease his pith, and

his head afore he be longe drawen on.

And lyke wyse as that coke whyche at the fyrste takynge vp, nedeth

lytle breakyng and handlyng, but is fitte and gentle ynoughe for the saddle,

seeldome or neuer proueth well, euen so that bowe whyche at the fyrste

byinge, wythout any more proofe & trimmynge, is fit and easie to shoote

in, shall neyther be profitable to laste longe, nor yet pleasaunt to shoote

well. And therfore as a younge horse full of corage, wyth handlynge and

breakinge, is brought vnto a sure pace and goynge, so shall a newe bowe

fresshe and quicke of caste, by sinking & cuttyng, be brought to a stedfast

shootyng. And an easie and gentle bow whan it is newe, is not muche vn-

lyke a softe spirited boye when he is younge. But yet as of an vnrulie boye

with right handlyng, proueth oftenest of al a well ordered man: so of an

vnfit and staffysh bow with good trimming, muste nedes folowe alwayes

a stedfast shotynge bowe.

And suche a perfite bowe, whiche neuer wyll deceyue a man, excepte

ROGER ASCHAM. TOXOPHILUS 109

a man deceyue it, muste be had for that perfecte ende, whyche you looke

for in shootinge. PHI. Well Toxophile, I see wel you be cunninger in this

gere than I: but put case that I haue thre or fower suche good bowes,

pyked and dressed, as you nowe speke of, yet I do remembre that manye

[sig. P2v] learned men do saye, that it is easier to gette a good thynge, than

to saue and keepe a good thyng, wherfore if you can teache me as concern-

yng that poynte, you haue satisfyed me plentifuUye, as concernynge a

bowe. TOX. Trulye it was the nexte thyng that I woulde haue come vnto,

for so the matter laye.

Whan you haue broughte youre bowe to suche a poynte, as I spake of,

than you must haue an herden or wullen cloth waxed, wherwith euery day

you must rubbe and chafe your bowe, tyll it shyne and glytter withall.

Whyche thynge shall cause it bothe to be cleane, well fauoured, goodlye of

coloure, and shall also bryng as it were a cruste, ouer it, that is to say, shall

make it euery where on the outsyde, so slyppery and harde, that neyther any

weete or wether can enter to hurte it, nor yet any freat or pynche, be able to

byte vpon it: but that you shal do it great wrong before you breake it. This

must be done oftentimes but specially when you come from shootynge.

Beware also whan you shoote, of youre shaft hedes, dagger, knyues or

agglettes, lest they race your bowe, a thing as I sayde before, bothe vn-

semely to looke on, and also daungerous for freates. Take hede also of mis-

tie and dankyshe dayes, which shal hurte a bowe, more than any rayne.

For then you muste eyther alway rub it, or els leaue shootynge.

Your bowecase (this I dyd not promise to speake of, bycause it is with-

out the nature of shootynge, or els I shoulde truble me wyth other thinges

infinite more: yet seing it is a sauegarde for the bowe, somthynge I wyll

saye of it) youre bowecase I saye, yf [sig. P3] you ryde forthe, muste neyth-

er be to wyde for youre bowes, for so shall one clap vpon an other, and

hurt them, nor yet so strayte that scarse they can be thrust in, for that

woulde laye them on syde & wynde them. A bowecase of ledder, is not

the best, for that is ofttymnes moyste which hurteth the bowes very much.

Therfore I haue sene good shooters which would haue for euerye bowe, a

sere case made of wollen clothe, and than you maye putte .iii. or .iiii. of

them so cased, in to a ledder case if you wyll. This wollen case shall bothe

kepe them in sunder, and also wylle kepe a bowe in his full strengthe, that

it neuer gyue for any wether. At home these wood cases be verye good for

bowes to stande in. But take hede that youre bowe stande not to nere a

stone wall, for that wyll make hym moyste and weke, nor yet to nere any

fier for that wyll make him shorte and brittle. And thus muche as con-

cernyng the sauyng and keping of our bowe: nowe you shall heare what

thynges ye must auoyde, for feare of breakyng your bowe.

A shooter chaunseth to breake his bowe commonly .iiii. wayes, by the

strynge, by the shafte, by drawyng to far, & by freates: By the stryng as I


sayde afore, whan the strynge is eyther to shorte, to long, not surely put

on, wyth one wap, or put croked on, or shorne in sundre wyth an euell

nocke, or suffered to tarye ouerlonge on. Whan the stryng fayles the bowemuste nedes breake, and specially in the myddes: because bothe the endes

haue nothyng to stop them: but whippes so far backe, that the belly must

nedes violentlye rise vp, the whyche you shall well [sig. P3v] perceyue in

bendyng of a bowe backward. Therfore a bowe that foloweth the strynge

is least hurt with breakyng of stringes. By the shafte a bowe is broken

ether when it is to short, and so you set it in your bow or when the nocke

breakes for lytlenesse, or when the strynge slyppes wythoute the nocke for

wydenesse, than you poule it to your eare and lettes it go, which must

nedes breake the shafte at the leaste, and putte stringe and bow & al in

ieopardy, bycause the strength of the bowe hath nothynge in it to stop the

violence of it.

Thys kynde of breakynge is mooste perilouse for the standers by, for

in such a case you shall se some tyme the ende of a bow flye a hoole score

from a man, and that moost commonly, as I haue marked oft the vpper

ende of the bowe. The bow is drawne to far .ii. wayes. Eyther when youtake a longer shafte then your owne, or els when you shyfte your hand to

low or to hye for shootynge far. Thys waye pouleth the backe in sunder,

and then the bowe fleethe in manye peces.

So when you se a bowe broken, hauynge the bellye risen vp both

wayes or tone, the stringe brake it. When it is broken in twoo peces in a

maner euen of and specyallye in the vpper ende, the shafte nocke brake it.

When the backe is pouled a sunder in manye peeces to farre drawyne,

brake it.

These tokens eyther alwayes be trewe or els verye seldome mysse.

[sig. P4]

The fourthe thyng that breketh a bowe is fretes, whych make a boweredye and apte to breake by any of the .iii. wayes afore sayde. Freetes be

in a shaft as well as in a bowe, and they be muche lyke a Canker, crepynge

and encreasynge in those places in a bowe, whyche be weaker then other.

And for thys purpose must your bowe be well trymmed and piked of a

conning man that it may come rounde in trew compasse euery where. For

freetes you must beware, yf youre bow haue a knot in the backe, lest the

places whyche be nexte it, be not alowed strong ynoughe to here with the

knotte, or elles the stronge knotte shall freate the weake places nexte it.

Freates be fyrst litle pinchese, the whych when you perceaue, pike the

places about the pinches, to make them somewhat weker, and as well com-

mynge as where it pinched, and so the pinches shall dye, and neuer en-

crease farther in to greate freates.

Freates begynne many tymnes in a pin, for there the good woode is


corrupted, that it muste nedes be weke, and bycause it is weake, therfore

it freates. Good bowyers therfore do rayse euery pyn & alowe it moorewoode for feare of freatynge.

Agayne bowes moost commonlye freate vnder the hande, not so mucheas some men suppose for the moistnesse of the hande, as for the heete of

the hand: the nature of heate sayeth Aristotle is to lowse, and not to knyt

fast, and the more lowser the more weaker, the weaker, the redier to

freate.

[sig. P4v]

A bowe is not well made, whych hath not wood plentye in the hand.

For yf the endes of the bowe be staffysshe, or a mans hande any thynge

hoote the bellye must nedes sone frete. Remedie for fretes to any purpose

I neuer hard tell of any, but onelye to make the freated place as stronge or

stronger then any other. To fill vp the freate with lytle sheuers of a quill

and glewe (as some saye wyll do wel) by reason must be starke nought.

For, put case the freete dyd cease then, yet the cause whiche made it

freate a fore (and that is weakenesse of the place) bicause it is not taken

away must nedes make it freate agayne. As for cuttyng out of freates

wythe all maner of pecynge of bowes I wyll cleane exclude from perfite

shootynge. For peced bowes be muche lyke owlde housen, whyche be

more chargeable to repayre, than commodiouse to dwell in. Agayne to

swadle a bowe much about wyth bandes, verye seldome dothe anye good,

excepte it be to kepe downe a spel in the backe, otherwyse bandes ether

nede not when the bow is any thinge worthe, or els boote not when it is

marde & past best. And although I knowe meane and poore shooters, wyll

vse peced and banded bowes sometyme bycause they are not able to get

better when they woulde, yet I am sure yf they consyder it well, they shall

fynde it, bothe lesse charge and more pleasure to ware at any tyme a

couple of shyllynges of a new bowe than to bestowe .x. .d, of peacynge an

olde bowe. For better is coste vpon somewhat worth, than spence vponnothing worth. And thys I speke also bycause you woulde haue me [sig.

Ql] referre all to perfitnesse in shootynge.

Moreouer there is an other thynge, whyche wyl sone cause a bowe be

broken by one of the .iii. wayes whych be first spoken of, and that is shot-

yng in winter, when there is any froste. Froste is wheresoeuer is any wat-

erish humour, as is in al woodes, eyther more or lesse, and you knowe that

al thynges frosen and Isie, wyl rather breke than bende. Yet if a man must

nedes shoote at any suche tyme, lette hym take hys bowe, and brynge it to

the fyer, and there by litle and litle, rubbe and chafe it with a waxedclothe, whiche shall bring it to that poynt, that he maye shote safelye

ynough in it. This rubbyng with waxe, as I sayde before, is a great succour,

agaynst all wete and moystnesse.


In the fyeldes also, in goyng betwyxt the pricks eyther wyth your

hande, or elles wyth a clothe you muste keepe your bowe in suche a tem-

per. And thus muche as concernynge youre bowe, howe fyrste to knowewhat wood is best for a bowe, than to chose a bowe, after to trim a bowe,

agayne to keepe it in goodnesse, laste of al, howe to saue it from al harmand euylnesse.

And although many men can saye more of a bow, yet I trust these

thynges be true, and almoste sufficient for the knowlege of a perfecte

bowe. PHI. Surelye I beleue so, and yet I coulde haue hearde you talke

longer on it: althogh I can not se, what maye be sayd more of it. Therfore

excepte you wyll pause a whyle, you may go forwarde to a shafte.

TOX. What shaftes were made of, in oulde tyme [sig. Qlv] authours

do not so manifestlye shewe, as of bowes. Herodotus doth tel, that in the

flood of Nilus, ther was a beast, called a water horse, of whose skinne after

it was dried, the Egyptians made shaftes, and dartes on. The tree called

Comus was so common to make shaftes of, that in good authours of the

latyn tongue, Comus is taken for a shafte, as in Seneca, and that place of

Virgin,

Volat Itala Comus.

Yet of all thynges that euer I warked of olde authours, either greke or

latin, for shaftes to be made of, there is nothing so common as reedes. Her-

odotus in describynge the mightie boost of Xerxes doth tell that thre great

contries vsed shaftes made of a rede, the Aethiopians, the Lycians (whose

shaftes lacked fethers, where at I maruayle moste of all) and the men of

Inde. The shaftes in Inde were verye longe, a yarde and an halfe, as Arri-

anus doth saye, or at the least a yarde, as Q. Curtius doth saye, and ther-

fore they gaue the greater strype, but yet bycause they were so long, they

were the more vnhansome, and lesse profitable to the men of Inde, as Cur-

tius doeth tell.

In Crete and Italie, they vsed to haue their shaftes of rede also. The best

reede for shaftes grewe in Inde, and in Rhenus a flood of Italy.

But bycause suche shaftes be neyther easie for Englishe men to get, and

yf they were gotten scarse profitable for them to vse, I wyll lette them

passe, and speake of those shaftes whyche Englysh men at this daye moste

commonly do approue and allowe.

[sig. Q2]

A shaft hath three principall partes, the stele, the fethers, and the head:

whereof euerye one muste be seuerallye spoken of.

Steles be made of dyuerse woodes: as.


Brasell.

Turkic wood.

Fusticke.

Sugercheste.

Hardbeame.

Byrche.

Asshe.

Ooke.

Semis tree.

Hulder.

Blackthorne.

Beche.

Elder.

Aspe.

Salow.

These wooddes as they be most commonly vsed, so they be mooste fit

to be vsed: yet some one fytter then an other for diuers mennes shotinge,

as shalbe toulde afterwarde. And in this pointe as in a bowe you muste

truste an honest fletcher. Neuerthelesse al thoughe I can not teache you to

make a bowe or a shafte, whiche belongeth to a bowyer and a fletcher to

comme to theyr lyuyng, yet wyll I shewe you some tokens to knowe a bowe& a shafte, whiche pertayneth to an Archer to come to good shootynge.

[sig. Q2v]

A stele muste be well seasoned for Castinge, and it must be made as the

grayne lieth & as it groweth or els it wyl neuer flye clene, as clothe cut

ouertwhart and agaynste the wulle, can neuer hoose a manne cleane. Aknottye stele maye be suffered in a bygge shafte, but for a lytle shafte it is

nothynge fit, bothe bycause it wyll neuer flye far, and besydes that it is

euer in danger of breakynge, it flieth not far bycause the strengthe of the

shoote is hindred and stopped at the knotte, euen as a stone cast in to a

plaine euen stil water, wyll make the water moue a greate space, yet yf

there be any whirlynge plat in the water, the mouynge ceasethe when it

commethe at the whyrlynge plat, whyche is not muche vnlyke a knotte in

a shafte yf it be considered wel. So euery thyng as it is plaine and streight

of hys owne nature so is it fittest for far mouynge. Therfore a stele

whyche is harde to stande in a bowe, without knotte, and streighte (I

meane not artificiallye streyghte as the fletcher dothe make it, but natur-

ally streight as it groweth in the wood) is best to make a shaft of, eyther to

go cleane, fly far or stand surely in any wedder. Now howe big, howsmall, how heuye, how lyght, how longe, how short, a shafte shoulde be

particularlye for euerye man (seynge we must taulke of the generall nature


of shotyng) can not be toulde no more than you Rhethoricians can ap-

poynt any one kynde of wordes, of sentences, of fygures fyt for euery mat-

ter, but euen as the man and the matter requyreth so the fyttest to be vsed.

Therfore as concernynge those contraryes in a shafte, euery man muste

auoyde them and draw to [sig. Q3] the meane of them, whyche meane is

best in all thynges. Yet yf a man happen to offende in any of the extremes

it is better to offend in want and scantnesse, than in to muche and outragi-

ouse excedynge. As it is better to haue a shafte a lytle to shorte than ouer

longe, somewhat to lyght, than ouer lumpysshe, a lytle to small, than a

greate deale to big, whiche thyng is not onely trewlye sayde in shootynge,

but in all other thynges that euer man goeth aboute, as in eatynge, taulk-

ynge, and all thynges lyke, whych matter was onse excellentlye disputed

vpon, in the Scooles, you knowe when.

And to offend, in these contraryes commeth much yf men take not

hede, throughe the kynd of wood, wherof the shaft is made: For sommewood belonges to the excedyng part, some to the scant part, some to the

meane, as Brasell, Turkiewood, Fusticke, Sugar cheste, & such lyke, makedeade, heuy lumpish, hobblyng shaftes. Againe Hulder, blacke thorne,

Serues tree, Beche, Elder, Aspe, and Salowe, eyther for theyr wekenes or

lyghtenesse, make holow, starting, scudding, gaddynge shaftes. But Birche,

Hardbeme, some Ooke, and some Asshe, beynge bothe stronge ynoughe

to stande in a bowe, and also lyght ynoughe to flye far, are best for a

meane, whiche is to be soughte oute in euery thinge. And althoughe I

knowe that some men shoote so stronge, that the deade woodes be lyghte

ynoughe for them, and other some so weeke, that the lowse woodes be

lykewyse for them bigge ynoughe yet generally for the moost parte of

men, the meane is the best. And so to conclude that, is alwayes beste [sig.

Q3v] for a man, whiche is metest for him. Thus no wood of his owne na-

ture, is eyther to lyght or to heuy, but as the shooter is him selfe whyche

dothe vse it. For that shafte whiche one yeare for a man is to lyghte &scuddinge, for the same selfe man the next yeare may chaunce be to heuy

and hobblynge. Therfore can not I expresse, excepte generally, what is best

wood for a shaft, but let euery man when he knoweth his owne strength

and the nature of euery wood, prouyde and fyt himselfe thereafter. Yet as

concerning sheaffe Arrouse for war (as I suppose) it were better to makethem of good Asshe, and not of Aspe, as they be now a dayes. For of all

other woodes that euer I proued, Asshe being big is swiftest and agayne

heuy to giue a greate stripe with all, whyche Aspe shall not doo. Whatheuynes doth in a stripe euery man by experience can tell, therfore Asshe

being both swyfter and heuier is more fit for sheafe Arroes then Aspe, &thus muche for the best wood for shaftes.

Agayne lykewyse as no one wood can be greatlye meet for all kynde of

shaftes, no more can one facion of the stele be fit for euery shooter. For


those that be lytle brested and big toward the hede called by theyr lyke-

nesse taperfashion, reshe growne, and of some merye fellowes bobtayles,

be fit for them whiche shote vnder hande bycause they shoote wyth a softe

lowse, and stresses not a shaft muche in the breste where the weyghte of

the bowe lyethe as you maye perceyue by the werynge of euery shafte.

Agayne the bygge brested shafte is fytte for hym, which shoteth right

afore him, or els the brest being [sig. Q4] weke shoulde neuer wythstande

that strong piththy kynde of shootynge, thus the vnderhande must haue a

small breste, to go cleane awaye oute of the bowe, the forehande muste

haue a bigge breste to here the great myghte of the bowe. The shafte must

be made rounde nothynge flat wyth oute gal or wemme, for thys purpose.

For bycause roundnesse (whether you take example in heauen or in earthe)

is fittest shappe and forme both for fast mouing and also for sone percynge

of any thynge. And therfore Aristotle saythe that nature hath made the

raine to be round, bycause it shoulde the easelyer enter throughe the ayre.

The nocke of the shafte is dyuersly made, for some be greate and full,

some hansome & lytle, some wyde, some narow, some depe, some shal-

owe, some round, some longe, some wyth one nocke, some wyth a double

nocke, wherof euery one hathe hys propertye.

The greate and full nocke, maye be well felte, and many wayes they

saue a shafte from brekynge. The hansome and lytle nocke wyll go clene

awaye frome the hand, the wyde nocke is noughte, both for breakyng of

the shafte and also for soden slyppynge oute of the strynge when the nar-

rowe nocke doth auoyde bothe those harmes. The depe and longe nocke

is good in warre for sure kepyng in of the strynge. The shalow, and

rownde nocke is best for our purpose in prickyng for cleane delyueraunce

of a shoote. And double nockyng is vsed for double surety of the shaft.

And thus far as concernynge a hoole stele,

[sig. Q4v]

Peecynge of a shafte with brasell and holie, or other heauy woodes, is

to make the ende compasse heauy with the fethers in fliyng, for the sted-

faster shotyng. For if the ende were plumpe heauy wyth lead and the

wood nexte it lyghte, the head ende woulde euer be downwardes, and

neuer flye strayght.

Two poyntes in peecing be ynough, lest the moystnes of the earthe

enter to moche into the peecinge, & so leuse the glue. Therfore manypoyntes be more plesaunt to the eye, than profitable for the vse.

Summe vse to peece theyr shaftes in the nocke wyth brasel, or holye,

to counterwey, with the head, and I haue sene summe for the same pur-

pose, bore an hole a lytle bineth the nocke, and put leade in it. But yet

none of these wayes be anye thing needful at al, for the nature of a fether

in flying, if a man marke it wel, is able to bear vp a wonderful weyght:


and I thinke suche peecing came vp first, thus: whan a good Archer hath

broken a good shafte, in the fethers, & for the fantasie he hath had to it,

he is lothe to leese it, & therfore doeth he peece it. And than by and byother eyther bycause it is gaye, or elles because they wyll haue a shafte

lyke a good archer, cutteth theyre hole shaftes, and peeceth them agayne:

A thynge by my iudgement, more costlye than nedefull.

And thus haue you heard what wood, what fashion, what nockynge,

what peecynge a stele muste haue: Nowe foloweth the fetherynge.

PHI. I woulde neuer haue thought you could haue sayd halfe so mucheof a stele, and I thynke as concernyng the litle fether and the playne head,

there is [sig. R] but lytle to saye. TOX. Lytle, yes truly: for there is no one

thing, in al shoting, somuch to be loked on as the fether. For fyrste a ques-

tion maye be asked, whether any other thing besyde a fether, be fit for a

shaft or no.^ if a fether onelye be fit, whether a goose fether onely, or no.-*

yf a goose fether be best, then whether there be any difference, as concern-

ynge the fether of an oulde goose, and a younge goose: a gander, or a

goose: a fennye goose, or an vplandish goose. Againe which is best fether

in any goose, the ryght wing or the left wing, the pinion fether, or any

other fether: a whyte, blacke, or greye fether? Thirdly, in settyng on of

your fether, whether it be pared or drawen with a thicke rybbe, or a

thinne rybbe (the rybbe is the hard quill whiche deuydeth the fether) a

long fether better or a shorte, set on nere the nocke, or farre from the

nocke, set on streight, or som what bowyng? & whether one or two feth-

ers runne on the bowe. Fourthly in couling or sheryng, whether high or

lowe, whether somewhat swyne backed (I muste vse shoters wordes) or

sadle backed, whether rounde, or square shorne? And whether a shaft at

any tyme ought to be plucked, and how to be plucked. PHI. Surely Toxo-

phile, I thynke manye fletchers (although daylye they haue these thinges

in vre) if they were asked sodeynly, what they coulde saye of a fether, they

could not saye so moch. But I praye you let me heare you more at large,

expresse those thynges in a fether, the whiche you packed vp in so nar-

rowe a rowme. And fyrst whether any other thyng may be vsed for a feth-

er or not. TOX. That was the fyrst poynte in dede, [sig. Rlv] and bycause

there foloweth many after, I wyll hye apace ouer them, as one that had

manye a myle to ride. Shaftes to haue had alwayes fethers Plinius in Latin,

and lulius Pollux in Greke, do playnlye shewe, yet onely the Lycians I

reade in Herodotus to haue vsed shaftes without fedders. Onelye a fedder

is fit for a shafte for .ii. causes, fyrste bycause it is leathe weake to giue

place to the bowe, than bycause it is of that nature, that it wyll starte vp

after the bow. So, Plate, wood or home can not serue, bycause they wil

not gyue place. Againe, Cloth, Paper or Parchment can not serue, bycause

they wyll not ryse after the bowe, therfore a fedder is onely mete, bycause

it onelye wyl do bothe. Nowe to looke on the fedders of all manner of


birdes, you shal se some so lowe, weke and shorte, some so course, stoore

and harde, and the rib so brickie, thin and narrow, that it can nether be

drawen, pared, nor yet well set on, that except it be a swan for a dead

shafte (as I knowe some good Archers haue vsed) or a ducke for a flyghte

whiche lastes but one shoote, there is no fether but onelye of a goose that

hath all commodities in it. And trewelye at a short but, which some mandoth vse, the Pecock fether doth seldome kepe vp the shaft eyther ryght or

leuel, it is so roughe and heuy, so that many men which haue taken them

vp for gayenesse, hathe layde them downe agayne for profyte, thus for our

purpose, the Goose is best fether, for the best shoter. PHI, No that is not

so, for the best shoter that euer was vsed other fethers, TOX. Ye are you

so cunninge in shootynge, I praye you who was that. PHI. Hercules

whyche [sig. R2] had hys shaftes fethered with Egles fethers as Hesiodus

dothe saye. TOX. Well as for Hercules, seynge nether water nor lande,

heauen nor hell, coulde scarse contente hym to abyde in, it was no meruell

thoughe a sely poor gouse fether could not plese him to shoote wythal,

and agayne as for Egles they flye so hye and builde so far of, that they be

very hard to come by. Yet welfare the gentle gouse which bringeth to a

man euen to hys doore so manye excedynge commodities. For the gouse

is mans comforte in war & in peace, slepynge and wakynge. What prayse

so euer is gyuen to shootynge the gouse maye chalenge the beste parte in

it. Howe well dothe she make a man fare at his table? Howe easelye dothe

she make a man lye in hys bed? How fit euen as her fethers be onelye for

shootynge, so be her quylles fytte onely for wrytyng. PHILO. In deade

Toxophyle that is the beste prayse you gaue to a gouse yet, and surelye I

would haue sayde you had bene to blame yf you had ouerskypte it. TOX.The Romaynes I trowe Philologe not so muche bycause a gouse wyth cry-

inge saued theyr Capitolium and head toure wyth their golden lupiter as

Propertius doth say very pretely in thys verse.

Anseris & tutum uoce fuisse louem.

Id est.

Theues on a night had stolne lupiter, had a gouse not a

kekede.

Dyd make a golden gouse and set hir in the top of the Capitolium, &appoynted also the Censores to alow out of the common hutche yearly sti-

pendes for the findinge [sig. R2v] of certayne Geese, the Romaynes did not

I saye giue al thys honor to a gouse for that good dede onely, but for other

infinit mo which comme daylye to a man by Geese, and surely yf I should

declame in the prayse of any maner of beeste lyuyng, I would chose a

gouse. But the goose hath made vs flee to farre from oure matter. Now sir

ye haue hearde howe a fether must be had, and that a goose fether onely.


It foloweth of a yong gose and an oulde, and the residue belonginge to a

fether: which thing I wyll shortlye course ouer: wherof, when you knowethe properties, you maye fitte your shaftes accordyng to your shotyng,

which rule you must obserue in all other thynges too, bycause no one

fashion or quantitie can be fitte for euery man, nomore then a shooe or a

cote can be. The oulde goose fether is styffe and stronge, good for a

wynde, and fyttest for a deed shaft: the yonge goose fether is weake and

fyne, best for a swyfte shaft, and it must be couled at the first shering,

somewhat hye, for with shoting, it wyll sattle and faule very moche. The

same thing (although not so moche) is to be consydered in a goose and a

gander. A fenny goose, euen as her flesh is blacker, stoorer, vnholsomer,

so is her fether for the same cause courser, stoorer & rougher, & therfore

I haue heard very good fletchers saye, that the seconde fether in some place

is better then the pinion in othersome. Betwixt the winges is lytle differ-

ence, but that you must haue diuerse shaftes of one flight, fethered with di-

uerse winges, for diuerse windes: for if the wynde and the fether go both

one way, the shaft wyl be caryed to moche. The pinion fether [sig. R3] as

it hath the firste place in the winge, so it hath the fyrst place in good feth-

eringe. You maye knowe it afore it be pared, by a bought whiche is in it,

and agayne when it is colde, by the thinnesse aboue, and the thicknesse at

the grounde, and also by the stifnes and finesse which wyll cary a shaft

better, faster and further, euen as a fine sayle cloth doth a shyppe.

The coulour of the fether is leste to be regarded, yet sommewhat to be

looked on: lest for a good whyte you haue sometyme an yll greye. Yet

surelye it standeth with good reason to haue the cocke fether black or

greye, as it were to gyue a man warning to nocke ryght. The cocke fether

is called that which standeth aboue in right nocking, which if you do not

obserue the other fethers must nedes run on the bowe, and so marre your

shote. And thus farre of the goodnesse and choyse of your fether: now fol-

oweth the setting on. Wherin you must looke that your fethers be not

drawen for hastinesse, but pared euen and streyghte with diligence. The

fletcher draweth a fether when he hath but one swappe at it with his

knyfe, and then playneth it a lytle, with rubbynge it ouer his knyfe. Hepareth it when he taketh leysure and hede to make euery parte of the ryb

apt to stand streight, and euen on vpon the stele. This thing if a man take

not heede on, he maye chaunce haue cause to saye so of his fletcher, as in

dressinge of meate is communelye spoken of Cookes: and that is, that Godsendeth vs good fethers, but the deuyll noughtie Fletchers. Yf any fletchers

heard me saye thus, they wolde not be angrye with me, except they were

yll fletchers: and [sig. R3v] yet by reason, those fletchers too, ought rather

to amend them selues for doing yll, then be angry with me for saying

truth. The ribbe in a styffe fether may be thinner, for so it wyll stande

cleaner on: but in a weake fether you must leaue a thicker ribbe, or els yf


the ryb which is the foundacion and grounde, wherin nature hath set eue-

rye clefte of the fether, be taken to nere the fether, it muste nedes folowe,

that the fether shall faule, & droupe downe, euen as any herbe doeth

whyche hath his roote to nere taken on with a spade. The lengthe and

shortnesse of the fether, serueth for diuers shaftes, as a long fether for a

long heauy, or byg shafte, the shorte fether for the contrary. Agayne the

shorte maye stande farther, the longe nerer the nocke. Youre fether muste

stande almooste streyght on, but yet after that sorte, that it maye turne

rounde in flyinge. And here I consider the wonderfull nature of shootynge,

whiche standeth all togyther by that fashion, which is moste apte for

quicke mouynge, and that is by roundenesse. For firste the bowe muste be

gathered rounde, in drawyng it must come rounde compasse, the strynge

muste be rounde, the stele rounde, the beste nocke rounde, the feather

shorne somwhat rounde, the shafte in flyenge, must turne rounde, and if

it flye far, it flyeth a round compace. For eyther aboue or benethe a

rounde compace, hyndereth the flyinge. Moreouer bothe the fletcher in

makynge your shafte, and you in nockynge your shafte, muste take heede

that two fethers equallye runne on the bowe. For yf one fether runne

alone on the bowe, it shal quickely be worne, and shall not be [sig. R4]

able to matche with the other fethers, and agayne at the lowse, yf the

shafte be lyght, it wyl starte, if it be heuye, it wil hoble. And thus as con-

cernyng settyng on of your fether. Nowe of coulynge.

To shere a shafte hyghe or lowe, muste be as the shafte is, heauy or

lyght, great or lytle, long or short. The swyne backed fashion, maketh the

shaft deader, for it gathereth more ayer than the saddle backed, & therfore

the saddle backe is surer for daunger of wether, & fitter for smothe fliing.

Agayn to shere a shaft rounde, as they were wount somtime to do, or after

the triangle fashion, whyche is muche vsed nowe a dayes, bothe be good.

For roundnesse is apte for fliynge of his owne nature, and all maner of tri-

angle fashion, (the sharpe poynte goyng before) is also naturally apte for

quicke entrynge, and therfore sayth Cicero, that cranes taught by nature,

obserue in flyinge a triangle fashion alwayes, bycause it is so apt to perce

and go thorowe the ayre wythall. Laste of all pluckynge of fethers is

noughte, for there is no suerty in it, therfore let euery archer haue such

shaftes, that he maye bothe knowe them and trust them at euery chaunge

of wether. Yet if they must nedes be plucked, plucke them as litle as can

be, for so shal they be the lesse vnconstante. And thus I haue knit vp in as

shorte a roume as I coulde, the best fethers, fetheringe and coulinge of a

shafte. PHI. I thynke surelye you haue so taken vp the matter wyth you,

that you haue lefte nothynge behinde you. Nowe you haue brought a

shafte to the head, whiche if it were on, we had done as concernyng all in-

strumentes be- [sig. R4v] longynge to shootynge.

TOX. Necessitie, the inuentour of all goodnesse (as all authours in a


maner, doo saye) amonges all other thinges inuented a shaft heed, firste to

saue the ende from breakyng, then it made it sharpe to stycke better, after

it made it of strong matter, to last better: Last of all experience and wyse-

dome of men, hathe brought it to suche a perfitnesse, that there is no one

thing so profitable, belongyng to artillarie, either to stryke a mannes ene-

mye sorer in warre, or to shoote nerer the marke at home, then is a fitte

heed for both purposes. For if a shaft lacke a heed, it is worth nothynge

for neither vse. Therfore seinge heedes be so necessary, they must of neces-

sitie, be wel looked vpon. Heedes for warre, of longe tyme haue ben made,

not onely of diuers matters, but also of diuers fashions. The Troians had

heedes of yron, as this verse spoken of Pandarus, sheweth:

Vp to the pappe his string did he pull,

his shaft to the harde yron.

The Grecians had heedes of brasse, as Vlysses shaftes were heeded,

when he slewe Antinous, and the other wowers of Penelope.

Quite through a dore, flewe a shaft with a hrasse heed.

It is playne in Homer, where Menelaus was wounded of Pandarus

shafte, that the hedes, were not glewed on, but tyed on with a string, as

the commentaries in Greke playnelye tell. And therfore shoters [sig. SI] at

that tyme to cary their shaftes withoute heedes, vntill they occupyed them,

and than set on an heade as it apereth in Homer the .xxi. booke Odyssei,

where Penelope brought Vlixes bowe downe amonges the gentlemen,

whiche came on wowing to her, that he whiche was able to bende it and

drawe it, might inioye her, and after her folowed a mayde sayth Homer,carienge a bagge full of heades, bothe of iron and brasse.

The men of Scythia, vsed heades of brasse. The men of Inde vsed

heades of yron. The Ethiopians vsed heades of a harde sharpe stone, as

bothe Herodotus and Pollux do tel. The Germanes as Cornelius Tacitus

doeth saye, had theyr shaftes headed with bone, and many countryes bothe

of olde tyme and nowe, vsed heades of home, but of all other yron and

style muste nedes be the fittest for heades.

lulius Pollux calleth otherwyse than we doe, where the fethers be the

head, and that whyche we call the head, he calleth the poynte.

Fashion of heades is diuers and that of olde tyme: two maner of arrowe

heades sayeth Pollux, was vsed in olde tyme. The one he calleth dyKivoq,

descrybynge it thus, hauynge two poyntes or barbes, lookyng backewarde

to the stele and the fethers, which surely we call in Englishe a brode

arrowe head or a swalowe tayle. The other he calleth yAxo/iq, hauing .ii.

poyntes stretchyng forwarde, and this English men do call a forkehead:


bothe these two kyndes of heades, were vsed in Homers dayes, for Teucer

vsed forked heades, sayinge thus to Agamemnon,[sig. Slv]

Eighte good shaftes haue I shot sithe I Carrie^

eche one wyth a forke heade.

Pandarus heades and Vlysses heades were broode arrow heades, as a

man maye learne in Homer that woulde be curiouse in knowyng that mat-

ter. Hercules vsed forked heades, but yet they had thre pointes or forkes,

when other mennes had but twoo. The Parthyans at that great battell

where they slewe ritche Crassus and his sonne vsed brode Arrowe heades,

whyche stacke so sore that the Romaynes could not poule them out

agayne. Commodus the Emperoure vsed forked heades, whose facion Her-

odiane doeth lyuely and naturally describe, sayinge that they were lyke the

shap of a new mone wherewyth he would smite of the heade of a birde

and neuer misse, other facion of heades haue not I red on. Our Englyshe

heades be better in war than eyther forked heades, or brode arrowe heades.

For firste the ende beynge lyghter they flee a great deele the faster, and by

the same reason gyueth a far sorer stripe. Yea & I suppose if the same lytle

barbes which they haue, were clene put away, they shuld be far better. For

thys euery man doth graunt, that a shaft as long as it flyeth, turnes, and

whan it leueth turnyng it leueth goyng any farther. And euery thynge that

enters by a turnynge and boring facion, the more flatter it is, the worse it

enters, as a knife thoughe it be sharpe yet bycause of the edges, wil not

bore so wel as a bodkin, for euery rounde thynge enters beste & therefore

nature, sayeth Aristotle, made the rayne droppes rounde for quicke per-

cynge the ayre.

[sig. S2]

Thus, eyther shaftes turne not in flyeng, or els our flatte arrowe heades

stoppe the shafte in entrynge. PHI. But yet Toxophile to holde your com-

munication a lytle I suppose the flat heade is better, bothe bycause it mak-

eth a greter hoole, and also bycause it stickes faster in. TOX. These two

reasons as they be bothe trewe, so they be both nought. For fyrst the lesse

hoole, yf it be depe, is the worse to heale agayn: when a man shoteth at

hys enemy, he desyreth rather that it should enter far, than stick fast. For

what remedye is it I praye you for hym whych is smitten with a depe

wounde to poull out the shaft quickely, except it be to haste his death

spedely.^ thus heades whyche make a lytle hole & depe, be better in war,

than those which make a great hole and sticke fast in.

lulius Pollux maketh mencion of certayne kindes of heades for war

which bear fyre in them, and scripture also speaketh somwhat of the same.


Herodotus doth tell a wonderfull pollicy to be done by Xerxses what tymehe beseged the great Toure in Athenes: He made his Archers binde there

shafte heades aboute wyth towe, and than set it on fyre and shoote them,

whych thyng done by many Archers set all the places on fyre, whych were

of matter to burne: and besydes that dased the men wythin, so that they

knewe not whyther to turne them. But to make an ende of all heades for

warre I woulde wyshe that the head makers of Englande shoulde maketheir sheafe arrowe heades more harder poynted then they be: [sig. S2v] for

I my selfe haue sene of late suche heades set vpon sheafe Arrowes, as the

officers yf they had sene them woulde not haue bene content wyth all.

Now as concernyng heades for pryckyng, which is oure purpose, there

be dyuerse kyndes, some be blonte heades, some sharpe, some bothe

blonte and sharpe. The blont heades men vse bycause they perceaue themto be good, to kepe a lengthe wyth all, they kepe a good lengthe, bycause

a man poulethe them no ferder at one tyme than at another. For in felynge

the plompe ende alwayes equallye he maye lowse them. Yet in a winde,

and agaynste the wynd the wether hath so much power on the brode end,

that no man can kepe no sure lengthe, wyth such a heade. Therfore a blont

hede in a caulme or downe a wind is very good, otherwyse none worse.

Sharpe heades at the ende wythout any shoulders (I call that the

shoulder in a heade whyche a mans finger shall feele afore it come to the

poynte) wyll perche quycklye throughe a wynde, but yet it hath .ii. dis-

commodities, the one that it wyll kepe no lengthe, it kepeth no lengthe,

bycause no manne can poule it certaynly as far one tyme as at an other: it

is not drawen certaynlye so far one tyme as at an other, bycause it lacke

the shouldrynge wherwyth as wyth a sure token a man myghte be warned

when to lowse, and also bycause menne are afrayde of the sharpe poynt

for settyng it in the bow. The seconde incommoditie is when it is lyghted

on the ground, the smal poynte shall at euerye tyme be in ieopardye of

hurtynge, whyche thynge of all other wyll sonest make [sig. S3] the shafte

lese the lengthe. Now when blonte heades be good to kepe a lengthe wyth-

all, yet noughte for a wynde, sharpe heades good to perche the wether

wyth al, yet nought for a length, certayne heade makers dwellyng in Lon-

don perceyuynge the commoditie of both kynde of heades ioyned wyth a

discommoditie, inuented newe files and other instrumentes where wyththey broughte heades for pryckynge to such a perfitnesse, that all the com-

modities of the twoo other heades should be put in one heade wyth out

anye discommoditie at all. They made a certayne kynde of heades whychemen call hie rigged, creased, or shouldred heades, or syluer spone heades,

for a certayne lykenesse that suche heades haue wyth the knob ende of

some syluer spones.

These heades be good both to kepe a length withal and also to perche

a wynde wythal, to kepe a length wythall bycause a man maye certaynly


poule it to the shouldrynge euery shoote & no farther, to perche a wynde

wythall bycause the pointe from the shoulder forwarde, breketh the

wether as al other sharpe thynges doo. So the blonte shoulder seruethe for

a sure lengthe kepynge, the poynte also is euer fit, for a roughe and greate

wether percyng. And thus much as shortlye as I could, as concernyng

heades both for war & peace. PHI. But is there no cunning as concerning

setting on of the head? TOX. Wei remembred. But that poynt belongeth

to fletchers, yet you may desyre hym to set youre heade, full on, and close

on. Ful on is whan the wood is bet hard vp to the ende or stoppynge of

the heade, close on, is when there is [sig. S3v] lefte wood on euerye syde

the shafte, ynoughe to fyll the head withall, or when it is neyther to little

nor yet to greate. If there be any faulte in anye of these poyntes, the head

whan it lyghteth on any hard stone or grounde wil be in ieoperdy, eyther

of breakynge, or els otherwyse hurtynge. Stoppynge of heades eyther wyth

leade, or any thynge els, shall not nede now, bycause euery siluer spone, or

showldred head is stopped of it selfe. Shorte heades be better than longe:

For firste the longe head is worse for the maker to fyle strayght compace

euery waye: agayne it is worse for the fletcher to set strayght on: thyrdlye

it is alwayes in more ieoperdie of breakinge, whan it is on.

And nowe I trowe Philologe, we haue done as concernynge all Instru-

mentes belongyng to shootynge, whiche euery sere archer ought, to

prouyde for hym selfe. And there remayneth .ii. thynges behinde, whiche

be generall or common to euery man, the Wether & the Marke, but bi-

cause they be so knit wyth shootynge strayght, or kepynge of a lengthe, I

wyll deferre them to that place, and now we will come (God wyllyng) to

handle oure instrumentes, the thing that euery man desireth to do wel.

PHI. If you can teache me so well to handle these instrumentes as you

haue described them, I suppose I shalbe an archer good ynough. TOX. Tolearne any thing (as you knowe better than I Philologe) & speciallye to do

a thing with a mannes handes, must be done if a man woulde be excellent,

in his youthe. Yonge trees in gardens, which lacke al senses, and beastes

without reson, when they be yong, may with handling [sig. S4] and teach-

ing, be brought to wonderfull thynges. And this is not onely true in nat-

ural thinges, but in artificiall thinges to, as the potter most connyngly doth

cast his pottes whan his claye is softe & workable, and waxe taketh printe

whan it is warme, & leathie weke, not whan claye and waxe be hard and

oulde: and euen so, euerye man in his youthe, bothe with witte and body is

moste apte and pliable to receyue any cunnyng that shulde be taught hym.

This communication of teaching youthe, maketh me to remembre the

right worshipfuU and my singuler good mayster. Sir Humfrey Wingfelde,

to whom nexte God, I ought to refer for his manifolde benefites bestowed

on me, the poore talent of learnyng, which god hath lent me: & for his

sake do I owe my seruice to all other of the name & noble house of the


Wyngfeldes, bothe in woord and dede. Thys worshypfull man hath euer

loued and vsed, to haue many children brought vp in learnynge in his

house amonges whome I my selfe was one. For whom at terme tymes he

woulde bryng downe from London both bowe and shaftes. And whenthey shuld playe he woulde go with them him selfe in to the fyelde, & se

them shoote, and he that shot fayrest, shulde haue the best bowe andshaftes, and he that shot ilfauouredlye, shulde be mocked of his felowes,

till he shot better.

Woulde to god all Englande had vsed or wolde vse to lay the founda-

cion of youth, after the example of this worshipful man in bringyng vp

chyldren in the [sig. S4v] Booke and the Bowe: by whiche two thynges,

the hole common welth both in peace and warre is chefelye ruled and de-

fended wythall.

But to our purpose, he that muste come to this high perfectnes in

shootyng whiche we speake of, muste nedes begin to learne it in hys

youthe, the omitting of whiche thinge in Englande, bothe maketh fewer

shooters, and also euery man that is a shoter, shote warse than he myght,

if he were taught. PHI. Euen as I knowe that this is true, whiche you saye,

euen so Toxophile, haue you quyte discouraged me, and drawen my mindecleane from shootynge, seinge by this reason, no man that hath not vsed

it in his youthe can be excellent in it. And I suppose the same reson

woulde discourage many other mo, yf they hearde you talke after this

sorte. TOX. This thyng Philologe, shall discourage no man that is wyse.

For I wyll proue that wisdome maye worke the same thinge in a man, that

nature doth in a chylde.

A chylde by thre thinges, is brought to excellencie. By Aptnesse, De-

sire, and Feare: Aptnesse maketh hym pliable lyke waxe to be formed and

fashioned, euen as a man woulde haue hym. Desyre to be as good or bet-

ter, than his felowes: and Feare of them whome he is vnder, wyl cause

hym take great labour and payne with diligent hede, in learnynge any

thinge, wherof procedeth at the laste excellency and perfectnesse.

A man maye by wisdome in learnyng any thing, and specially to

shoote, haue thre lyke commodities also, wherby he maye, as it were be-

come younge a- [sig. T] gayne, and so attayne to excellencie. For as a

childe is apte by naturall youth, so a man by vsyng at the first weake bowes,

far vnderneth his strength, shal be as pliable and readye to be taught fayre

shotyng as any chylde: and daylye vse of the same, shal both kepe hym in

fayer shotyng, and also at the last bryng hym to stronge shootynge.

And in stede of the feruente desyre, which prouoketh a chylde to be

better than hys felowe, lette a man be as muche stirred vp with shamefast-

nes to be worse than all other. And the same place that feare hathe in a

chylde, to compell him to take peyne, the same hath loue of shotyng in a

man, to cause hym forsake no labour, withoute whiche no man nor chylde


can be excellent. And thus whatsoeuer a chylde may be taught by Apt-

nesse, Desire, & Feare, the same thing in shootynge, maye a man be

taughte by weake bowes, Shamefastnesse and Loue.

And hereby you maye se that that is true whiche Cicero sayeth, that a

man by vse, may be broughte to a newe nature. And this I dare be bould

to saye, that any man whiche will wisely begynne, and constantlye per-

seuer in this trade of learnyng to shote, shall attayne to perfectnesse therin.

PHI. This communication Toxophile, doeth please me verye well, and

nowe I perceyue that moste generally & chefly youthe muste be taughte to

shoote, and secondarilye no man is debarred therfrom excepte it be more

thorough his owne negligence for bicause he wyll not learne, than any dis-

abilitie, bicause he can not lerne. [sig. Tlv] Therfore seyng I wyll be glad

to folowe your counsell in chosynge my bowe and other instrumentes, and

also am ashamed that I can shote no better than I can, moreouer hauynge

suche a loue toward shotynge by your good reasons to day, that I wyl for-

sake no labour in the exercise of the same, I beseche you imagyn that wehad bothe bowe and shaftes here, and teache me how I should handle them,

and one thynge I desyre you, make me as fayre an Archer as you can.

For thys I am sure in learnynge all other matters, nothynge is broughte

to the moost profytable vse, which is not handled after the moost cumlye

fashion. As masters of fence haue no stroke fit ether to hit an other or els

to defende hym selfe, whyche is not ioyned wyth a wonderfuU cumlinesse.

A Cooke can not chop hys herbes neither quickelye nor hansomlye ex-

cepte he kepe suche a mesure wyth hys choppynge kniues as woulde delyte

a manne bothe to se hym and heare hym.

Euerye hand craft man that workes best for hys owne profyte, workes

most semelye to other mens sight. Agayne in buyldynge a house, in mak-

ynge a shyppe, euery parte the more handsomely, they be ioyned for prof-

yt and laste, the more cumlye they be fashioned to euery mans syght and

eye. Nature it selfe taught men to ioyne alwayes welfauourednesse with

profytablenesse. As in man, that ioynt or pece which is by anye chaunce

depriued of hys cumlynesse the same is also debarred of hys vse and prof-

ytablenesse.

[sig. T2]

As he that is gogle eyde and lokes a squinte hath both hys counte-

naunce clene marred, and hys sight sore blemmyshed, and so in all other

members lyke. Moreouer what tyme of the yeare bryngeth mooste profyte

wyth it for mans vse, the same also couereth and dekketh bothe earthe and

trees wyth moost cumlynesse for mans pleasure. And that tyme whychtakethe awaye the pleasure of the grounde, carieth with hym also the prof-

yt of the grounde, as euery man by experience knoweth in harde and

roughe winters. Some thynges there be whych haue no other ende, but


onely cumlynesse, as payntyng, and Daunsing. And vertue it selfe is noth-

ynge eles but cumlynesse, as al Philosophers do agree in opinion, therfore

seynge that whych is best done in anye matters, is alwayes moost cumlye

done as both Plato and Cicero in manye places do proue, and daylye ex-

perience dothe teache in other thynges, I praye you as I sayde before

teatche me to shoote as fayre, and welfauouredly as you can imagen.

TOX. Trewlye Philologe as you proue verye well in other matters, the

best shootynge, is alwayes the moost cumlye shootynge but thys you

know as well as I that Crassus shewethe in Cicero that as cumlinesse is the

chefe poynt, & most to be sought for in all thynges, so cumlynesse onlye,

can neuer be taught by any Arte or craft. But may be perceyued well whenit is done, not described wel how it should be done.

Yet neuerthelesse to comme to it there be manye wayes whych wyse

men haue assayed in other [sig. T2v] matters, as yf a man would folowe in

learnynge to shoote faire, the noble paynter Zeuxes in payntyng Helena,

whyche to make his Image bewtifull dyd chose out .v. of the fayrest

maydes in all the countrie aboute, and in beholdynge them conceyued &drewe out suche an Image that it far exceded al other, bycause the comeli-

nesse of them al was broughte in to one moost perfyte comelinesse: So

lykewyse in shotynge yf a man, woulde set before hys eyes .v. or .vi. of

the fayreste Archers that euer he saw shoote, and of one learne to stande,

of a nother to drawe, of an other to lowse, and so take of euery man, what

euery man coulde do best, I dare saye he shoulde come to suche a comly-

nesse as neuer man came to yet. As for an example, if the moost comely

poynte in shootynge that Hewe Prophete the Kynges seruaunte hath and

as my frendes Thomas and Raufe Cantrell doth vse with the moost seme-

lye facyons that .iii. or .iiii. excellent Archers haue beside, were al ioyned

in one, I am sure all men woulde wonder at the excellencie of it. And this

is one waye to learne to shoote fayre. PHI. This is very wel truly, but I

praye you teache me somewhat of shootyng fayre youre selfe. TOX. I can

teache you to shoote fayre, euen as Socrates taught a man ones to knowe

God, for when he axed hym what was God: naye sayeth he I can tell you

better what God is not, as God is not yll, God is vnspeakeable, vnsearche-

able and so forth: Euen lykewyse can I saye of fayre shootyng, it hath not

this discommodite with it nor that discommoditie, and at last a man maye

so shifte all the discom- [sig. T3] modities from shootynge that there shall

be left no thynge behynde but fayre shootynge. And to do this the better

you must remember howe that I toulde you when I descrybed generally

the hole nature of shootyng that fayre shotyng came of these thynges, of

standynge, nockynge, drawynge, howldynge and lowsynge, the whych I

wyll go ouer as shortly as I can, describynge the discommodities that mencommonlye vse in all partes of theyr bodies, that you yf you faulte in any

such maye knowe it & so go about to amend it. Faultes in Archers do


excede the number of Archers, whyche come wyth vse of shootynge wyth-

oute teachynge. Vse and custome separated from knowlege and learnynge,

doth not onely hurt shootynge, but the moost weyghtye thynges in the

worlde beside: And therfore I maruayle moche at those people whyche be

the mayneteners of vses without knowledge hauynge no other worde in

theyr mouthe but thys vse, vse, custome, custome. Suche men more wylful

than wyse, beside other discommodityes, take all place and occasion from

al amendment. And thys I speake generally of vse and custome.

Whych thynge yf a learned man had it in hande that woulde applye it

to any one matter, he myght handle it wonderfullye. But as for shootyng,

vse is the onely cause of all fautes in it and therfore chylderne more easly

and soner maye be taught to shote excellentlye then men, bycause chyl-

derne may be taught to shoote well at the fyrste, men haue more payne to

vnlearne theyr yll vses, than they haue laboure afterwarde to come to good

shootynge.

[sig. T3v]

All the discommodities whiche ill custome hath graffed in archers, can

neyther be quycklye poulled out, nor yet sone reckened of me, they be so

manye.

Some shooteth, his head forwarde as though he woulde byte the marke:

an other stareth wyth hys eyes, as though they shulde flye out: An other

winketh with one eye, and loketh with the other: Some make a face with

writhing theyr mouthe and countenaunce so, as though they were doyng

you wotte what: An other blereth out his tonge: An other byteth his lyppes:

An other holdeth his necke a wrye. In drawyng some fet suche a compasse,

as thoughe they woulde tourne about, and blysse all the feelde: Other heaue

theyr hand nowe vp now downe, that a man can not decerne wherat they

wolde shote, an other waggeth the vpper ende of his bow one way, the

neyther ende an other waye. An other wil stand poyntinge his shafte at the

marke a good whyle and by and by he wyll gyue hym a whip, and awaye

or a man wite. An other maketh such a wrestling with his gere, as thoughe

he were able to shoote no more as longe as he lyued. An other draweth

softly to the middes, and by and by it is gon, you can not knowe howe.

An other draweth his shafte lowe at the breaste, as thoughe he woulde

shoote at a rouynge marke, and by and by he lifteth his arme vp pricke

heyghte. An other maketh a wrynchinge with hys backe, as though a

manne pynched hym behynde.

An other coureth downe, and layeth out his buttockes, as though he

shoulde shoote at crowes.

[sig. T4]

An other setteth forwarde hys lefte legge, and draweth backe wyth


head and showlders, as thoughe he pouled at a rope, orels were afrayed of

the marke. An other draweth his shafte well, vntyll wythin .ii. fyngers of

the head, and than he stayeth a lyttle, to looke at hys marke, and that

done, pouleth it vp to the head, and lowseth: whych waye although

summe excellent shooters do vse, yet surely it is a faulte, and good mennes

faultes are not to be folowed.

Summe men drawe to farre, summe to shorte, summe to slowlye,

summe to quickely, summe holde ouer longe, summe lette go ouer sone.

Summe sette theyr shafte on the grounde, and fetcheth him vpwarde.

An other poynteth vp towarde the skye, and so bryngeth hym downe-

wardes.

Ones I sawe a manne whyche vsed a brasar on his cheke, or elles he

had scratched all the skynne of the one syde, of his face, with his draw-

ynge hand. An other I sawe, whiche at euerye shoote, after the loose,

lyfted vp his ryght legge so far, that he was euer in ieoperdye of faulyng.

Summe stampe forwarde, and summe leape backwarde. All these faultes

be eyther in the drawynge, or at the loose: with many other mo whiche

you may easelye perceyue, and so go about to auoyde them.

Nowe afterwarde whan the shafte is gone, men haue manye faultes,

whyche euell Custome hath broughte them to, and specially in cryinge

after the shafte, & speakynge woordes scarce honest for suche an honest

pastyme.

[sig. T4v]

Suche woordes be verye tokens of an ill mynde, and manifeste signes of

a man that is subiecte to inmesurable affections. Good mennes eares do

abhor them, and an honest man therfore wyl auoyde them. And besydes

those whiche muste nedes haue theyr tongue thus walkynge, other men vse

other fautes as some will take theyr bowe and writhe & wrinche it, to

poule in his shafte, when it flyeth wyde, as yf he draue a carte. Some wyl

gyue two or .iii. strydes forwarde, daunsing and hoppynge after his shafte,

as long as it flyeth, as though he were a mad man. Some which feare to be

to farre gone, runne backewarde as it were to poule his shafte backe. An-

other runneth forwarde, whan he feareth to be short, heauynge after his

armes, as though he woulde helpe his shafte to flye. An other writhes or

runneth a syde, to poule in his shafte strayght. One lifteth vp his heele,

and so holdeth his foote still, as longe as his shafte flyeth. An other casteth

his arme backewarde after the lowse. And an other swynges hys boweaboute hym, as it were a man with a staffe to make roume in a game place.

And manye other faultes there be, which nowe come not to my remem-

braunce. Thus as you haue hearde, many archers wyth marrynge theyr face

and countenaunce, wyth other partes, of theyr bodye, as it were mennethat shoulde daunce antiques, be farre from the comelye porte in shoot-

ynge, whiche he that woulde be excellent muste looke for.


Of these faultes I haue verie many my selfe, but I talke not of myshootynge, but of the generall na- [sig. VI] ture of shootynge. Noweymagin an Archer that is cleane wythout al these faultes & I am sure

euerye man would be delyted to se hym shoote.

And althoughe suche a perfyte cumlynesse can not be expressed wyth

any precepte of teachyng, as Cicero and other learned menne do saye, yet

I wyll speake (according to my lytle knowlege) that thing in it, whych yf

you folowe, althoughe you shall not be wythout fault, yet your fault shal

neyther quickly be perceued, nor yet greatly rebuked of them that stande

by. Standyng, nockyng, drawyng, holdyng, lowsyng, done as they shoulde

be done, make fayre shootynge.

The fyrste poynte is when a man shoulde shote, to take suche footyng

and standyng as shal be both cumlye to the eye and profytable to hys vse,

settyng hys countenaunce and al the other partes of his bodye after suche

a behauiour and porte, that bothe al hys strengthe may be employed to

hys owne moost auauntage, and hys shoot made and handled to other

mens pleasure and delyte. A man must not go to hastely to it, for that is

rashnesse, nor yet make to much to do about it, for that is curiositie, the

one fote must not stande to far fro the other, leste he stoupe to muche

whyche is vnsemelye, nor yet to nere together, leste he stande to streyght

vp, for so a man shall neyther vse hys strengthe well, nor yet stande

stedfastlye.

The meane betwyxt bothe must be kept, a thing more pleasaunte to be-

houlde when it is done, than easie to be taught howe it shoulde be done.

To nocke well is the easiest poynte of all, and [sig. Vlv] there in is no

cunninge, but onelye dylygente hede gyuyng, to set hys shaft neyther to

hye nor to lowe, but euen streyght ouertwharte hys bowe. Vnconstante

nockynge maketh a man leese hys lengthe.

And besydes that, yf the shafte hande be hye and the bowe hand lowe,

or contrarie, bothe the bowe is in ieopardye of brekynge, and the shafte,

yf it be lytle, wyll start: yf it be great it wyll hobble. Nocke the cocke

fether vpward alwayes as I toulde you when I described the fether. And be

sure alwayes that your stringe slip not out of the nocke, for than al is in

ieopardye of breakynge.

Drawynge well is the best parte of shootyng. Men in oulde tyme vsed

other maner of drawynge than we do. They vsed to drawe low at the

brest, to the ryght pap and no farther, and this to be trew is playne in

Homer, where he descrybeth Pandarus shootynge.

Vp to the pap his stringe dyd he pul, his shafte

to the hard heed.

The noble women of Scythia vsed the same fashyon of shootyng low

at the brest, and bicause their lefte pap hindred theyr shootynge at the


lowse they cut it of when they were yonge, and therfore be they called in

lackynge theyr pap Amazones. Nowe a dayes contrarye wyse we drawe to

the ryghte eare and not to the pap. Whether the olde way in drawynge

low to the pap, or the new way to draw a loft to the eare be better, an ex-

cellente wryter in Greke called Procopius doth saye hys mynde, shewyng

that [sig. V2] the oulde fashion in drawing to the pap was nought, of no

pithe, and therfore saith Procopius: is Artyllarye dispraysed in Homerwhych calleth it oO)Xi5av6v. I. Weake and able to do no good. Drawyngto the eare he prayseth greatly, whereby men shoote both stronger and

longer; drawynge therfore to the eare is better than to drawe at the breste.

And one thyng commeth into my remembraunce nowe Philologe when I

speake of drawyng, that I neuer red of other kynde of shootyng, than

drawing wyth a mans hand ether to the breste or eare: This thyng haue I

sought for in Homer, Herodotus and Plutarch, and therfore I meruayle

how crosbowes came fyrst vp, of the which I am sure a man shall finde

lytle mention made on in any good Authour. Leo the Emperoure woulde

haue hys souldyers drawe quycklye in warre, for that maketh a shaft flie

a pace. In shootynge at the pryckes, hasty and quicke drawing is neyther

sure nor yet cumlye. Therfore to drawe easely and vniformely, that is for

to saye not waggyng your hand, now vpwarde, now downewarde, but al-

wayes after one fashion vntil you come to the rig or shouldring of the

head, is best both for profit & semelinesse. Holdynge must not be longe,

for it bothe putteth a bowe in ieopardy, & also marreth a mans shoote, it

must be so lytle that it maye be perceyued better in a mans mynde whenit is done, than seene with a mans eyes when it is in doyng.

Lowsynge muste be muche lyke. So quycke and hard that it be wyth

oute all girdes, so softe and gentle [sig. V2v] that the shafte flye not as it

were sente out of a bow case. The meane betwixt bothe, whyche is perfyte

lowsynge is not so hard to be folowed in shootynge as it is to be descrybed

in teachyng. For cleane lowsynge you must take hede of hyttynge any

thynge aboute you. And for the same purpose Leo the Emperour would

haue al Archers in war to haue both theyr heades pouled, and there berdes

shauen leste the heare of theyr heades shuld stop the syght of the eye, the

heere of theyr berdes hinder the course of the strynge.

And these preceptes I am sure Philologe yf you folowe in standyng,

nockyng, drawynge, holdynge, and lowsynge, shal bryng you at the last to

excellent fayre shootynge. PHL All these thynges Toxophile althoughe I

bothe nowe perceyue them thorowlye, and also wyll remember them dili-

gently: yet to morowe or some other day when you haue leasure we wyll

go to the pryckes, and put them by lytle and lytle in experience. For teach-

ynge not folowed, doeth euen as muche good as bookes neuer looked

vpon. But nowe seing you haue taught me to shote fayre, I praye you tel

me somwhat, how I should shoote nere leste that prouerbe myght be sayd


iustlye of me sometyme. He shootes lyke a gentle man fayre & far of.

TOX. He that can shoote fayre, lacketh nothyng but shootyng streyght

and kepyng of a length wherof commeth hyttynge of the marke, the ende

both of shootyng and also of thys our communication. The handlyng of

the wether & the mark bicause they belong to shootyng streyghte, and

kepynge of a lengthe, I [sig. V3] wyll ioyne them togyther, shewinge whatthinges belonge to kepynge of a lengthe, and what to shootynge streyght.

The greatest enemy of shootyng is the wynde and the wether, wherbytrue kepyng a lengthe is chefely hindered. If this thing were not, men byteaching might be brought to wonderful neare shootynge. It is no mar-

uayle if the litle poore shafte being sent alone, so high in to the ayre, into

a great rage of wether, one wynde tossinge it that waye, an other thys

waye, it is no maruayle I saye, thoughe it leese the lengthe, and misse that

place, where the shooter had thought to haue founde it. Greter matters

than shotynge are vnder the rule and wyll of the wether, as saylynge onthe sea. And lykewise as in sayling, the cheefe poynt of a good master, is

to knowe the tokens of chaunge of wether, the course of the wyndes, that

therby he maye the better come to the Hauen: euen so the best propertie

of a good shooter, is to knowe the nature of the wyndes, with hym andagaynste hym, that thereby he maye the nerer shote at hys marke. Wysemaysters whan they canne not winne the beste hauen, they are gladde of

the nexte: Good shooters also, that can not whan they would hit the

marke, wil labour to come as nigh as they can. All thinges in this worlde

be vnperfite and vnconstant, therfore let euery man acknowlege hys owneweakenesse, in all matters great and smal, weyghtye and merye, and glori-

fie him, in whome only perfyte perfitnesse is. But nowe sir, he that wyll

at all aduentures vse the seas knowinge no more what is [sig. V3v] to be

done in a tempest than in a caulme, shall soone becumme a marchaunt of

Eele skinnes: so that shoter whiche putteth no difference, but shooteth in

all a lyke, in rough wether and fayre, shall alwayes put his wynninges in

his eyes.

Lytle botes and thinne boordes, can not endure the rage of a tempest.

Weake bowes, & lyght shaftes can not stande in a rough wynde. And lyke-

wyse as a blynde man which shoulde go to a place where he had neuer benafore, that hath but one strayghte waye to it, and of eyther syde hooles

and pyttes to faule into, nowe falleth in to this hole and than into that

hole, and neuer commeth to his iourney ende, but wandereth alwaies here

and there, farther and farther of: So that archer which ignorauntly shoteth

considering neyther fayer nor foule, standynge nor nockynge, fether norhead, drawynge nor lowsynge, nor yet any compace, shall alwayes shote

shorte and gone, wyde and farre of, and neuer cumme nere, excepte per-

chaunce he stumble sumtyme on the marke. For ignoraunce is nothyngeelles but mere blyndenesse.


A mayster of a shippe first learneth to knowe the cummyng of a tem-

pest, the nature of it, and howe to behaue hym selfe in it, eyther with

chaungynge his course, or poullynge downe his hye toppes and brode

sayles, beyng glad to eschue as muche of the wether as he can: Euen so a

good archer wyl fyrste wyth diligent vse and markynge the wether, learne

to knowe the nature of the wynde, and with wysedome, wyll measure in

hys mynde, howe muche it [sig. V4] wyll alter his shoote, eyther in

lengthe kepynge, or els in streyght shotynge, and so with chaunging his

standynge, or takynge an other shafte, the whiche he knoweth perfytlye to

be fitter for his pourpose, eyther bycause it is lower fethered, orels bycause

it is of a better wyng, wyll so handle with discretion hys shoote, that he

shall seeme rather to haue the wether vnder hys rule, by good hede gyu-

ynge, than the wether to rule hys shafte by any sodayne chaungyng.

Therefore in shootynge there is as muche difference betwixt an archer

that is a good wether men, and an other that knoweth and marketh noth-

ynge, as is betwixte a blynde man, and he that can se.

Thus, as concernynge the wether, a perfyte archer muste firste learne

to knowe the sure flyghte of his shaftes, that he may be boulde alwayes, to

trust them, than muste he learne by daylye experience all maner of kyndes

of wether, the tokens of it, whan it wyll cumme, the nature of it whan it

is cumme, the diuersitie and alteryng of it, whan it chaungeth, the decrease

& diminishing of it, whan it ceaseth. Thirdly these thinges knowen, and

euery shoote diligentlye marked, than must a man compare alwayes, the

wether and his footyng togyther, and with discretion measure them so,

that what so euer the roughe wether shall take awaye from hys shoote the

same shal iuste footynge restore agayne to hys shoote.

Thys thynge well knowen, and discretelye handeled in shootynge,

bryngeth more profite and commendation and prayse to an Archer, than

any other thynge besydes.

[sig. V4v]

He that woulde knowe perfectly the winde and wether, muste put dif-

ferences betwixte tymes. For diuersitie of tyme causeth diuersitie of

wether, as in the whole yeare, Sprynge tyme, Somer, Faule of the leafe,

and Winter: Lykewyse in one day Mornynge, Noonetyme, Afternoone,

and Euentyde, bothe alter the wether, and chaunge a mannes bowe wyththe strength of man also. And to knowe that this is so, is ynough for a

shoter & artillerie, and not to serche the cause, why it shoulde be so:

whiche belongeth to a learned man and Philosophic.

In consydering the tyme of the yeare, a wyse Archer wyll folowe a

good Shipman. In Winter & rough wether, smal bootes and lytle pinkes

forsake the seas: And at one tyme of the yeare, no Gallies come abrode: So

lykewyse weake Archers, vsyng small and holowe shaftes, with bowes of

litle pith, muste be content to gyue place for a tyme.


And this I do not saye, eyther to discommende or discourage any

weake shooter: For lykewyse, as there is no shippe better than Gallies be,

in a softe and a caulme sea, so no man shooteth cumlier or nerer hys

marke, than some weake archers doo, in a fayre and cleare daye.

Thus euery archer must knowe, not onelye what bowe and shafte is fit-

test for him to shoote withall, but also what tyme & season is best for

hym to shote in. And surely, in al other matters to, amonge al degrees of

men, there is no man which doth any thing eyther more discretely for his

commendation, or yet more profitable for his aduauntage, than he which

[sig. XI] wyll knowe perfitly for what matter and for what tyme he is

moost apte and fit. Yf men woulde go aboute matters whych they should

do and be fit for, not suche thynges whyche wylfullye they desyre & yet

be vnfit for, verely greater matters in the common welthe than shootyng

shoulde be in better case than they be. This ignorauncie in men whycheknow not for what tyme, and to what thynge they be fit, causeth somewyshe to be riche, for whome it were better a greate deale to be poore:

other to be medlynge in euery mans matter, for whome it were more hon-

estie to be quiete and styll. Some to desire to be in the Courte, whiche be

borne and be fitter rather for the carte. Somme to be maysters and rule

other, whyche neuer yet began to rule them selfe: some alwayes to iangle

and taulke, whych rather shoulde heare and kepe silence. Some to teache,

which rather should learne. Some to be prestes, whiche were fytter to be

clerkes. And thys peruerse iudgement of the worlde, when men mesure

them selfe a misse, bringeth muche mysorder and greate vnsemelynesse to

the hole body of the common wealth, as yf a manne should were his hoose

vpon his heade, or a woman go wyth a sworde and a buckeler euery manwould take it as a greate vncumlynesse although it be but a tryfle in re-

specte of the other.

Thys peruerse iudgement of men hindreth no thynge so much as learn-

ynge, bycause commonlye those whych be vnfittest for learnyng, be cheyf-

ly set to learnynge.

As yf a man nowe a dayes haue two sonnes, the [sig. Xlv] one impo-

tent, weke, sickly, lispynge, stuttynge, and stamerynge, or hauynge anymisshape in his bodye; what doth the father of suche one commonlyesaye? This boye is fit for nothynge els, but to set to lernyng and make a

prest of, as who would say, the outcastes of the worlde, hauyng neyther

countenaunce, tounge nor wit (for of a peruerse bodye cummeth com-monly a peruerse mynde) be good ynough to make those men of, whicheshall be appoynted to preache Goddes holye woorde, and minister hys

blessed sacramentes, besydes other moost weyghtye matters in the com-mon welthe put ofte tymes, and worthelye to learned mennes discretion

and charge: whan rather suche an offyce so hygh in dignitie, so godlye in

administration, shulde be committed to no man, whiche shulde not haue

a countenaunce full of cumlynesse to allure good menne, a bodye ful of


manlye authoritie to feare ill men, a witte apte for al learnynge with

tongue and voyce, able to perswade all men. And although fewe suche menas these can be founde in a common wealthe, yet surely a godly disposed

man, will bothe in his mynde thyncke fit, and with all his studie labour to

get such men as I speke of, or rather better, if better can be gotten for

suche an hie administration, whiche is most properlye appoynted to

goddes owne matters and businesses.

This peruerse iugement of fathers as concernynge the fitnesse and vn-

fitnesse of theyr chyldren causeth the common wealthe haue many vnfit

ministers: And seyng that ministers be, as a man woulde say, instrumentes

wherwith the common wealthe doeth worke all [sig. X2] her matters with-

all, I maruayle howe it chaunceth that a pore shomaker hath so much wit,

that he will prepare no instrument for his science neither knyfe nor aule,

nor nothing els whiche is not very fitte for him: the common wealthe can

be content to take at a fonde fathers hande, the rifraffe of the worlde, to

make those instrumentes of, wherwithal she shoulde worke the hiest mat-

ters vnder heauen. And surely an aule of lead is not so vnprofitable in a

shomakers shop, as an vnfit minister, made of grosse metal, is vnsemely in

the commonwelth. Fathers in olde time among the noble Persians might

not do with theyr children as they thought good, but as the iudgement of

the common wealth alwayes thought best. This fault of fathers bringeth

many a blot with it, to the great deformitie of the common wealthe: &here surely I can prayse gentlewomen which haue alwayes at hande theyr

glasses, to se if any thinge be amisse, & so will amende it, yet the commonwealth hauing the glasse of knowlege in euery mans hand, doth se such vn-

cumlines in it: & yet winketh at it. This faulte & many suche lyke, myghtbe sone wyped awaye, yf fathers woulde bestow their children on the

thing alwayes, whervnto nature hath ordeined them moste apte & fit. For

if youth be grafted streyght, & not awrye, the hole common welth will

florish therafter. Whan this is done, than muste euery man beginne to be

more ready to amende hym selfe, than to checke an other, measuryng their

matters with that wise prouerbe of Apollo, Knowe thy selfe: that is to saye,

learne to knowe what thou arte able, fitte, and apte vnto, and folowe that,

[sig. X2v]

This thinge shulde be bothe cumlie to the common wealthe, and moost

profitable for euery one, as doth appere very well in all wise mennes

deades, & specially to turne to our communication agayne in shootynge,

where wise archers haue alwayes theyr instrumentes fit for theyr strength,

& wayte euermore suche tyme and wether, as is most agreable to their

gere. Therfore if the wether be to sore, and vnfit for your shootynge, leaue

of for that daye, and wayte a better season. For he is a foole that wyl not

go, whome necessitie driueth. PHI. This communication of yours pleased

ROGER ASCHAM, TQXOPHILUS 135

me so well Toxophile, that surely I was not hastie to calle you, to descrybe

forthe the wether but with all my harte woulde haue suffered you yet to

haue stande longer in this matter. For these thinges touched of you by

chaunse, and by the waye, be farre aboue the matter it selfe, by whose

occasion the other were broughte in. TOX. Weyghtye matters they be in

dede, and fit bothe in an other place to be spoken: & of an other man than

I am, to be handled. And bycause meane men must meddle wyth meane

matters, I wyl go forwarde in descrybyng the wether, as concernynge

shooting: and as I toulde you before. In the hole yere. Spring tyme, Somer,

Fal of the leafe, and Winter: and in one day. Morning, Noone tyme. After

noone, and Euentyde, altereth the course of the wether, the pith of the

bowe, the strength of the man. And in euery one of these times the wether

altereth, as sumtyme wyndie, sumtyme caulme, sumtyme cloudie, sum-

tyme clere, sumtyme hote, sumtyme coulde, the wynde sumtyme moistye

[sig. X3] and thicke, sumtyme drye and smothe. A litle winde in a moystie

day, stoppeth a shafte more than a good whiskynge wynde in a clere daye.

Yea, and I haue sene whan there hath bene no winde at all, the ayer so

mistie and thicke, that both the markes haue ben wonderfuU great. Andones, whan the Plage was in Cambrige, the downe winde twelue score

marke for the space of .iii. weekes, was .xiiii. score, and an halfe, and into

the wynde, beynge not very great, a great deale aboue .xiiii. score.

The winde is sumtyme playne vp and downe, whiche is commonlymoste certayne, and requireth least knowlege, wherin a meane shoter with

meane geare, if he can shoote home, maye make best shifte. A syde wynde

tryeth an archer and good gere verye muche. Sumtyme it bloweth a lofte,

sumtyme hard by the grounde: Sumtyme it bloweth by blastes, & sum-

tyme it continueth al in one: Sumtyme ful side wynde, sumtyme quarter

with hym and more, and lykewyse agaynst hym, as a man with castynge

vp lyght grasse, orels if he take good hede, shall sensibly learne by experi-

ence. To se the wynde, with a man his eyes, it is vnpossible, the nature of

it is so fyne, and subtile, yet this experience of the wynde had I ones myselfe, and that was in the great snowe that fell .iiii. yeares agoo: I rode in

the hye waye betwixt Topcliffe vpon Swale, and Borowe bridge, the waye

beyng sumwhat trodden afore, by waye fayrynge men. The feeldes onbothe sides were playne and laye almost yearde depe with snowe, the

nyght afore had ben a litle froste, so that the snowe was hard [sig. X3v] &crusted aboue. That morning the sun shone bright and clere, the winde

was whistelinge a lofte, and sharpe accordynge to the tyme of the year.

The snowe in the hye waye laye lowse and troden wyth horse feete: so as

the wynde blewe, it toke the lowse snow with it, and made it so slide vpon

the snowe in the felde whyche was harde and crusted by reason of the

frost ouer nyght, that therby I myght se verye wel, the hole nature of the

wynde as it blewe that daye. And I had a great delyte & pleasure to marke


it, whyche maketh me now far better to remember it. Sometyme the wyndwould be not past .ii. yeardes brode, and so it would carie the snowe as far

as I coulde se. An other tyme the snow woulde blowe ouer halfe the felde

at ones. Sometyme the snowe woulde tomble softly, by and by it would

flye wonderfuU fast. And thys I perceyued also that the wind goeth by

streames & not hole togither. For I should se one streame wyth in a Score

on me, than the space of .ii. score no snow would stirre, but after so

muche quantitie of grounde, an other streame of snow at the same very

tyme should be caryed lykewyse, but not equally. For the one would

stande styll when the other flew a pace, and so contynewe somtyme swift-

Iyer, sometime slowlyer, sometime broder, sometime narrower, as far as I

coulde se. Nor it flewe not streight, but sometyme it crooked thys waye,

sometyme that waye, and somtyme it ran round aboute in a compase. Andsomtyme the snowe wold be lyft clene from the ground vp in to the ayre,

and by & by it would be al clapt to the grounde as though there [sig. X4]

had bene no winde at all, streightway it woulde rise and flye agayne.

And that whych was the moost meruayle of al, at one tyme .ii. driftes

of snowe flewe, the one out of the West into the East, the other out of the

North in to the East: And I saw .ii. windes by reason of the snow the one

crosse ouer the other, as it had bene two hye wayes. And agayne I shoulde

here the wynd blow in the ayre, when nothing was stirred at the ground.

And when all was still where I rode, not verye far from me the snowshould be lifted wonderfully. This experience made me more meruaile at

the nature of the wynde, than it made me conning in the knowlege of the

wynd: but yet therby I learned perfitly that it is no meruayle at al thoughe

men in a wynde lease theyr length in shooting, seyng so many wayes the

wynde is so variable in blowynge.

But seynge that a Master of a shyp, be he neuer so cunnynge, by the

vncertayntye of the wynde, leeseth many tymes both lyfe and goodes, sure-

lye it is no wonder, though a ryght good Archer, by the self same wynde

so variable in hys owne nature, so vnsensyble to oure nature, leese manye

a shoote and game.

The more vncertaine and disceyuable the wynd is, the more hede must

a wyse Archer gyue to know the gyles of it.

He that doth mistrust is seldome begiled. For although therby he shall

not attayne to that which is best, yet by these meanes he shall at leaste

auoyde that whyche is worst. Besyde al these kindes of windes you must

[sig. X4v] take hede yf you se anye cloude apere and gather by lytle and

litle agaynst you, or els yf a showre of raine belyke to come vpon you: for

than both the dryuing of the wether and the thyckynge of the ayre increas-

eth the marke, when after the showre al thynges are contrary clere and

caulme, & the marke for the most parte new to begyn agayne. You must

take hede also yf euer you shote where one of the markes or both stondes


a lytle short of a hye wall, for there you may be easlye begyled. Yf you

take grasse and caste it vp to se howe the wynde standes, manye tymes youshal suppose to shoote downe the wynde, when you shote cleane agaynste

the wynde. And a good reason why. For the wynd whych commeth in

dede against you, redoundeth bake agayne at the wal, and whyrleth backe

to the prycke and a lytle farther and than turneth agayne, euen as a vehe-

ment water doeth agaynste a rocke or an hye braye, whyche example of

water as it is more sensible to a mans eyes, so it is neuer a whyt the trewer

than this of the wynde. So that the grasse caste vp shall flee that waye

whyche in dede is the longer marke and disceyue quycklye a shooter that

is not ware of it.

This experience had I ones my selfe at Norwytch in the chapel felde

wythin the wauUes. And thys waye I vsed in shootynge at those markes.

When I was in the myd way betwixt the markes whyche was an open

place, there I toke a fether or a lytle lyght grasse and so as well as I coulde,

learned how the wynd stoode, that done I wente to the prycke as faste as

I coulde, and according as I had [sig. Yl] founde the wynde when I was in

the mid waye, so I was fayne than to be content to make the best of myshoote that I coulde. Euen suche an other experience had I in a maner at

Yorke, at the prickes, lying betwixte the castell and Ouse syde. And al-

though you smile Philologe, to heare me tell myne owne fondenes: yet

seing you wil nedes haue me teach you somwhat in shotyng, I must nedes

somtyme tel you of myne owne experience, & the better I may do so, by-

cause Hippocrates in teachynge physike, vseth verye muche the same

waye. Take heede also when you shoote nere the sea cost, although you be

.ii. or .iii. miles from the sea, for there diligent markinge shall espie in the

moste clere daye wonderfull chaunginge. The same is to be considered

lykewyse by a riuer side speciallie if it ebbe & flowe, where he that taketh

diligent hede of the tide & wether, shal lightly take away al that he shoot-

eth for. And thus of the nature of windes & wether according to my mark-

ing you haue hearde Philologe: & hereafter you shal marke farre mo your

selfe, if you take hede. And the wether thus marked as I tolde you afore,

you muste take hede, of youre standing, that therby you may win as muchas you shal loose by the wether. PHI. I se well it is no maruell though a

man misse many tymes in shootyng, seing the wether is so vnconstant in

blowing, but yet there is one thing whiche many archers vse, that shall

cause a man haue lesse nede to marke the wether, & that is Ame gyuing.

TOX. Of gyuyng Ame, I can not tel wel, what I shuld say. For in a

straunge place it taketh away al occasion of foule game, which is the on-

[sig. Ylv] ly prayse of it, yet by my iudgement, it hindreth the knowlege

of shotyng, & maketh men more negligente: the which is a disprayse.

Though Ame be giuen, yet take hede, for at an other mans shote you can

not wel take Ame, nor at your owne neither, bycause the wether wil alter.


euen in a minute, & at the one marke & not at the other, & trouble your

shafte in the ayer, when you shal perceyue no wynde at the ground, as I

may selfe haue sene shaftes tumble a lofte, in a very fayer daye. There maybe a fault also, in drawing or lowsynge, and many thynges mo, whiche all

togyther, are required to kepe a iust length. But to go forward the nexte

poynte after the markyng of your wether, is the takyng of your standyng.

And in a side winde you must stand sumwhat crosse in to the wynde, for

so shall you shoote the surer. Whan you haue taken good footing, than

must you looke at your shafte, that no earthe, nor weete be lefte vpon it,

for so should it leese the lengthe. You must loke at the head also, lest it

haue had any strype, at the laste shoote. A stripe vpon a stone, manytymes will bothe marre the head, croke the shafte, and hurte the fether,

wherof the lest of them all, wyll cause a man lease his lengthe. For suche

thinges which chaunce euery shoote, many archers vse to haue summeplace made in theyr cote, fitte for a litle fyle, a stone, a Hunfyshskin, and

a cloth to dresse the shaft fit agayne at all nedes. Thys must a man looke

to euer when he taketh vp his shaft. And the heade maye be made to

smothe, which wil cause it flye to far: when youre shafte is fit, than must

you take your bow euen in the middes or elles you shall [sig. Y2] both

lease your lengthe, and put youre bowe in ieopardye of breakynge. Nock-

ynge iuste is next, which is muche of the same nature. Than drawe

equallye, lowse equallye, wyth houldynge your hande euer of one heighte

to kepe trew compasse. To looke at your shafte hede at the lowse, is the

greatest helpe to kepe a lengthe that can be, whych thyng yet hindreth ex-

cellent shotyng, bicause a man can not shote streight perfitlye excepte he

looke at his marke: yf I should shoote at a line and not at the marke, I

woulde alwayes loke at my shaft ende, but of thys thyng some what after-

warde. Nowe if you marke the wether diligentlye, kepe your standynge

iustely, houlde and nocke trewlye, drawe and lowse equallye, and kepe

youre compace certaynelye, you shall neuer misse of your lengthe. PHI.

Then there is nothyng behinde to make me hit the marke but onely shoot-

ing streight. TOX. No trewlye. And fyrste I wyll tel you what shyftes

Archers haue founde to shoote streyght, than what is the best waye to

shoote streyght. As the wether belongeth specially to kepe a lengthe (yet

a side winde belongeth also to shote streight) euen so the nature of the

pricke is to shote streight. The lengthe or shortnesse of the marke is al-

wayes vnder the rule of the wether, yet sumwhat there is in the marke,

worthye to be marked of an Archer. Yf the prickes stand of a streyght

playne ground they be the best to shote at. Yf the marke stand on a hyl

syde or the ground be vnequal with pittes & turninge wayes betwyxte the

markes, a mans eye shall thynke that to be streight whyche is croked: The

experience of this thing is sene in payntynge, the cause of it is knowen by

learnynge.

[sig. Y2v]


And it is ynoughe for an archer to marke it and take hede of it. The

cheife cause why men can not shoote streight, is bicause they loke at theyr

shaft: and this fauk commeth bycause a man is not taught to shote whenhe is yong. Yf he learne to shoote by himself he is a frayde to pull the

shafte throughe the bowe, and therfore looketh alwayes at hys shafte: yll

vse confirmeth thys faulte as it doth many mo.

And men continewe the longer in thys faulte bycause it is so good to

kepe a lengthe wyth al, and yet to shote streight, they haue inuented some

waies to espie a tree or a hill beyonde the marke, or elles to haue summenotable thing betwixt the markes: & ones I sawe a good archer whiche did

caste of his gere, & layd his quiuer with it, euen in the midway betwixt

the prickes. Summe thought he dyd so, for sauegarde of his gere: I suppose

he did it, to shoote streyght withall. Other men vse to espie summe marke

almoost a bow wide of the pricke, and than go about to kepe him selfe on

that hande that the prycke is on, which thing howe muche good it doth,

a man wil not beleue, that doth not proue it. Other & those very good

archers in drawyng, loke at the marke vntill they come almost to the head,

than they looke at theyr shafte, but at the very lowse, with a seconde sight

they fynde theyr marke agayne. This way & al other afore of me rehersed

are but shiftes & not to be folowed in shotyng streyght. For hauyng a

mans eye alwaye on his marke, is the only waye to shote streght, yea & I

suppose so redye & easy a way yf it be learned in youth & confirmed with

vse, that a man shal neuer misse therin. Men doubt yet in [sig. Y3] loking

at the mark what way is best whether betwixt the bowe & the stringe,

aboue or beneth hys hand, & many wayes moo: yet it maketh no great

matter which way a man looke at his marke yf it be ioyned with comly

shotynge. The diuersite of mens standyng and drawing causeth diuerse menloke at theyr marke diuerse wayes: yet they al lede a mans hand to shoote

streight yf nothyng els stoppe. So that cumlynesse is the only iudge of best

lokyng at the marke. Some men wonder why in casting a mans eye at the

marke, the hande should go streyght. Surely yf he consydered the nature

of a mans eye, he wolde not wonder at it: For this I am certayne of, that

no seruaunt to hys mayster, no chylde to hys father is so obedient, as

euerye ioynte and pece of the body is to do what soeuer the eye biddes.

The eye is the guide, the ruler & the succourer of al the other partes. Thehande, the foote & other members dare do nothynge without the eye, as

doth appere on the night and darke corners. The eye is the very tonge

wherwith wyt & reason doth speke to euery parte of the body, & the wyt

doth not so sone signifye a thynge by the eye, as euery part is redye to

folow, or rather preuent the byddyng of the eye. Thys is playne in manythinges, but most euident in fence and feyghtynge, as I haue heard mensaye. There euery part standynge in feare to haue a blowe, runnes to the

eye for helpe, as yonge chyldren do to the mother: the foote, the hand, &al wayteth vpon the eye. Yf the eye byd the hand either beare of, or smite,


or the foote ether go forward, or backeward, it doth so: And that whyche

is moost wonder of all the one [sig. Y3v] man lookynge stedfastly at the

other mans eye and not at his hand, wyl, euen as it were, rede in his eye

where he purposeth to smyte next, for the eye is nothyng els but a cer-

tayne wyndowe for wit to shote oute hir hede at.

Thys wonderfull worke of god in makynge all the members so obedi-

ent to the eye, is a pleasaunte thynge to remember and loke vpon: therfore

an Archer maye be sure in learnyng to looke at hys marke when he is

yong, alwayes to shoote streyghte. The thynges that hynder a man whychelooketh at hys marke, to shoote streyght, be these: A syde wynde, a boweeither to stronge, or els to weake, an ill arme, whan a fether runneth on

the bowe to much, a byg brested shafte, for hym that shoteth vnder hande,

bycause it wyll hobble: a litle brested shafte for hym that shoteth aboue

the hande, bicause it wyl starte: a payre of windynge prickes, and manyother thinges mo, which you shal marke your selfe, & as ye knowe them,

so learne to amend them. If a man woulde leaue to looke at his shafte, and

learne to loke at his marke, he maye vse this waye, whiche a good shooter

tolde me ones that he did. Let him take his bowe on the nyght, and shoote

at .ii. lightes, and there he shall be compelled to looke alwayes at his

marke, & neuer at his shafte: This thing ones or twyse vsed wyl cause hymforsake lokynge at hys shafte. Yet let hym take hede of settynge his shaft

in the bowe.

Thus Philologe to shoote streyght is the leaste maysterie of all, yf a

manne order hym selfe thereafter, in hys youthe. And as for kepynge a

lengthe, I [sig. Y4] am sure the rules whiche I gaue you, will neuer dis-

ceyue you, so that there shal lacke nothynge, eyther of hittinge the marke

alwayes, or elles verye nere shotynge, excepte the faulte be onely in youre

owne selfe, whiche maye come .ii. wayes, eyther in hauing a faynt harte or

courage, or elles in sufferynge your selfe ouer muche to be led with af-

fection: yf a mans mynde fayle hym, the bodye whiche is ruled by the

mynde, can neuer doe his duetie, yf lacke of courage were not, men myght

do mo mastries than they do, as doeth appere in leapynge and vaultinge.

All affections and specially anger, hurteth bothe mynde and bodye. The

mynde is blynde therby: and yf the mynde be blynde, it can not rule the

bodye aright. The body both blood and bone, as they say, is brought out

of his ryght course by anger: Wherby a man lacketh his right strengthe,

and therfore can not shoote wel. Yf these thynges be auoyded (wherof I

wyll speake no more, both bycause they belong not properly to shoting,

& also you can teache me better, in them, than I you) & al the preceptes

which I haue gyuen you, diligently marked, no doubt ye shal shoote as

well as euer man dyd yet, by the grace of God. Thys communication hand-

led of me Philologe, as I knowe wel not perfytly, yet as I suppose truelye

you must take in good worthe, wherin if diuers thinges do not all togyther


please you, thanke youre selfe, whiche woulde haue me rather faulte in

mere follye, to take that thynge in hande whyche I was not able for to per-

fourme, than by any honeste [sig. Y4v] shamefastnes withsay your request

& minde, which I knowe well I haue not satisfied. But yet I wyl thinke

this labour of mine the better bestowed, if to morow or some other daye

when you haue leysour, you wyl spende as much tyme with me here in

this same place, in entreatinge the question, De origine animaey and the

ioynyng of it with the bodye, that I maye knowe howe far Plato, Aristo-

tle, & the Stoycians haue waded in it.

PHI. How you haue handeled this matter Toxoph. I may not well tel

you my selfe nowe, but for your gentlenesse and good wyll towarde learn-

yng & shotyng, I wyll be content to shewe you any pleasure whensoeuer

you wyll: and nowe the sunne is doune, therfore if it plese you, we wil go

home and drynke in my chambre, and there I wyll tell you playnelye what

I thinke of this communication and also, what daye we will appoynt at

your request for the other matter, to mete here agayne.

Deo gratias.

LONDINI.

In aedibus Edouardi Whytchurch.

Cum priuilegio ad impri-

mendum solum.

1545.

N.obm<Mnwyiroy

Comti) fucYU

Tatrotw Sffwr

f y^nmDUiTrimarysvinUiLormui S('

()Ui hit ma^mprtnm aSmioS^ : tii>l

I -h ^ b r .

ttrm vtti aiumt catdnsfcrdvmutYUs ^fl'Ai dcDtrd ivnojat . x»m tu mm\\^

cms/ui sdj)nmuw comrmikr^^ aims

j)r£ajûii Dp^.m iiutm comm^nfh fio ,,

rnmmn ctfpdYtrc'cuMis «T^Momati^^mntfi tumttprudcHtum

m CO cocmojcdtUojtttxmtimtKm tmmyofnntaizm mcocyjrnafuw vtntincnttr

aclmtror ct û^j^^^huddnm tu dd

CO mxmjVcwm .am ^^ydwLmno,

Comdio F<Jioc>iicmfî)udimjx:rritnc'

Roger Ascham's Dedication to William Parr, Earl of Essex,

from leaves prefatory to Toxophilus.

Folger Shakespeare Library, 837, Copy 2.

NOTES AND COMMENTARY

In notes identifying a source or analogue, an unqualified reference indicates

a quotation in exact or nearly exact words of the original; "see" indicates

a wider divergence; and "cf." means that the substance of Ascham's pas-

sage appears in different wording. Side-notes in the margins of Ascham's

printed text are indicated by the abbreviation s.n. Following Ascham's

preference in biblical allusions, references here are to the Vulgate. Whenchapter and verse numbers of the Vulgate differ from those in the Autho-

rized Version, references to the Authorized Version appear parenthetically.

iii frontispiece: See General Introduction, 18. The Latin enscrolled left above

the book bearing the word VERITAS (TRUTH), "HAG fusa . . . plagas,"

is translated: "By this (i.e., truth) the Babylonian plague has been driven

from our shores:/ By this the depraved teaching is thrust into Stygian tor-

ments." The Latin enscrolled right and above the bow and arrow, "HOGScotus . . . Suo," is translated: "By this (i.e., the bow and arrow) the Scots

and the French lie broken and defeated, their proud necks bent to their

master."

"Babylonian plague" refers to the papacy and papal doctrine, which

Protestants traditionally represented with imagery from the Book of Reve-

lation. The second couplet refers to the historical enmity between England

and Scotland and England and France and glances at English victories over

the Scots at Solway Moss (1542) and over the French at the siege of Bou-

logne (1544).

37/1-12 Gualterus Haddonus . . . sequi:

Walter Haddon of Gambridge

Whoever wishes to shoot arrows swiftly with very great skill, the

greatest art will be set forth in this book. If one wishes to deter-

mine what strength bows have and what round strings, he may

look to this source. Ascham is the author, whom Apollo made

great by his art and whom Pallas made great by her art. His ex-

144 NOTES AND COMMENTARY

perienced hand and his learned mind produced this book: what art

sees exercise makes visible and practical. Because this excellent

author has produced this very good writing, it is appropriate that

we wish to follow these very good precepts.

Walter Haddon (1516-72) was a member of the Cambridge circle of distin-

guished humanists under the leadership of John Cheke, which included

Ascham, William Bill, Thomas Wilson, and Thomas Smith. Haddon took

his B.A in 1537, his M.A. in 1541, and read civil law during the 1540s; he

was made doctor of law in 1549. He served as vice-chancellor of Cam-

bridge from 1549 to 1551. The university appointed him Regius Professor

of Civil Law in 1551 in a petition drawn up by the university's public

orator, his friend Roger Ascham. Contemporaries acclaimed Haddon for

his Latinity.

37/19-25 What tyme as . . . Englande: Having concluded an alliance with the

emperor Charles V against France in 1543, Henry crossed the Channel on

14 July 1544 and with Suffolk supervised the siege of Boulogne, which fell

on 14 September. Henry returned triumphant on 30 September.

37/30-31 to offer vp .. . cumming: In faa Ascham had hoped to have Toxophi-

Itis published in time for Henry's departure. See General Introduction, 17-18.

38/5-8 youre Highenesse . . . alow it: In accord with a statute of 1535, all

books had to be approved — "allowed" — by the Privy Council before

they could be legally printed. A letter from Ascham to Gardiner suggests

that the council granted its approval in early 1545 (Giles, 1:79-81).

38/9-10 William Pagette: William Paget (1505-63), privy councillor and sec-

retary of state from 1543 and in the closing years of Henry's reign among

his chief advisers. A protege of Gardiner since his Cambridge days in the

late 1520s, he accompanied Henry on the expedition to Boulogne in 1544.

See General Introduction, 2 and 18-19.

38/16 to haue written . . . Greke: For Ascham's decision to write in the ver-

nacular see General Introduction, 5-8.

39/2-11 Bias the wyse . . . shyppes: Hdt. 1.27.

40/18-41/30 If any . . . other: For a discussion of Ascham's decision to write

in the vernacular and opinion of contemporary prose, see General Intro-

duction, 5-8 and 14-17.

40/22-23 bothe more profitable . . . name: Writing in Latin would be the

norm for an academic such as Ascham.

40/34-36 councel of Aristotle . . . hym: Cf. Arist. Rh. 1404b. The sentiment

was commonplace, as in Thomas Wilson's enjoinder to use "our speech as

most men do, and [order] our wits as the fewest have done" (Wilson,

188/18-19).

40/37-39 vsinge straunge wordes . . . harde: Cf. Thomas Wilson's discussion

of inkhorn terms — loan words borrowed from foreign languages (Wilson,

NOTES AND COMMENTARY 145

188/16-27) — and John Cheke's remarks on the importance of English

"vnmist [unmixed] and vnmangled with borrowing of other tunges" in the

epistle concluding Thomas Hoby's translation, The Covrtyer ofCovnt Bal-

dessar Castillo (1561), sig.Zz5. See General Introduction, 5-7.

41/2-3 Cicero in folowyng . . . sorte: Cf. Cic. De Or. 2.90-96; and 3.38-39,

48-49, 149-170.

41/8-9 In our fathers ... cheualrie: Vernacular romances such as: Thus

endeth thys book entytled le morte Darthur ... by syr Thomas Malory (1485),

The historie of the excellent knyght Generides (1504), and Syr Dagore (1512-

13). The popularity and publication of romances increased throughout the

century.

41/42-42/7 in goyng about . . . shootinge: Cf. the statements of philosophi-

cal idealism in Cic. Or. 7-13 and De Or. 3.85-89.

43/1 TOXOPHILVS: Ascham coins the name from t6^ov (bow) and ^IXoq

(lover).

47/2 A: Ascham's entitling of the two books A and B follows the convention

of labelling sections of classical Greek texts alphabetically rather than nu-

merically.

47/19 Phedro Platonis: Pi. Phdr. 246A-257B.

47/20 S.n. In Phedro. See note to 79/2.

47/23-26 For I was . . . thinges: Pi. Phdr. 246C.

48/12 S.n. M.Cic. in off: see note to 48/12 below.

48/12 who sayth: Cic. OfF. 1.103.

48/16 S.n. Arist. de moribus. 10.6: See note to 48/18.

48/18 Epicharmus: In Eth.Nic. 1176b Aristotle invokes not Epicharmus (fifth

century B.C.) but Anacharsis (sixth century B.C.), whom many in antiquity

credited with pithy sayings and (apocryphal) didactic poems.

48/19 S.n. Arist. Pol.8.3: See note to 48/19-21.

48/19-21 an other place . . . studie: Arist. Pol. 1337b-1338a.

48/34 our horse wherwith . . . sayth: Cf. PI. Phdr. 253D-254E.

48/34 S.n. In Phedro. See note to 48/34 above.

49/21 weake as water: See Ezek. 7:17 and Tilley W88.

49/34 S.n. Quid: See note to 49/34-35.

49/34-35 What thing . . . while: Ov. Her. 4.89.

50/22-23 gnattes and nuttes . . . thinges: References to the pseudo-Virgilian

Culex (The Gnat), which is on the death of a gnat and the return of its

ghost from the underworld, and the pseudo-Ovidian Nux, a mock elegy;

both works were regarded as genuine during the period. The works fre-

quently appeared among others as illustrations of virtuoso-like perform-

ances of the encomium; see Wilson, 51/28-30 and note.

50/32-33 For who euer . . . prouerbc: Untraced. But contrast Erasmus's

adage in the Adagia in Collected Works ofErasmus (Toronto: University of

Toronto Press, 1974), 34:167-70.


51/23 S.n. Claudianus in histri. See note to 51/23 below.

51/23 Claudiane the poete: Claudius Claudianus, "Hystrix," 35-43 in Car-

mina Minora (9).

51/26 S.n. Plin.7.58. See note to 51/26 below.

51/26 Plinie referreth it: Pliny, HN 8.56

51/28 S.nn. In sympo. In Hym. Apoll. See notes to 51/28 below.

51/28 Plato: Symp. 197A.

51/28 Calimachus: See Callim.y4p. 11, 19, 33, 44, and 100-101.

51/28 Galene: Oratio suasoria ad artes, sig. a2, col. 5.

51/29 S.n. Gen. 21: See note to 51/29 below.

51/29 in the bible: Gen. 21:20 recounts the Lord's designating Ishmael as a

iuvenis Sagittarius, who thus became the ancestor of the Bedouin tribes.

51/30 S.n. Nic. de Lyra: Nicholas of Lyra (c. 1270-c. 1349), French theolo-

gian and exegete, whose biblical commentary, Postillae perpetuae, sive brevia

commentaria in universa biblica, enjoyed authority from its own day

through the Reformation. The Postillae was the first biblical commentary

printed (Rome, 1471-72).

51/30-31 And also if . . . shafte: The reference is to Gen. 4:23-24, the so-

called song of Lamech, which although it does not say so explicitly was

traditionally read as alluding to Lamech's murder of Cain. Nicholas of

Lyra elaborates the traditional reading by having Lamech's son direct his

father to shoot an arrow at what appeared to be a wild beast in a thicket,

accidentally killing Cain {Bihlia latina [Lyons, 1494], fol. 8v).

51/34 S.n. Galen in exhor. ad bonas artes: See note to 51/34-36.

51/34-36 praised of Galene . . . Apollo: Galen, Oratio suasoria ad artes, sig.

a2, col. 5.

52/9 S.n. Herod, in clio: See note to 52/9-11. Editors traditionally entitled

the nine sections or books of Herodotus's history after the names of the

nine muses: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polym-

nia, Urania, and Calliope. See for example the Aldine edition, Herodoti

libri novem. Quibus musarum indita sunt nomina Graece (Venice, 1502).

52/9-11 Cyaxares the kynge . . . shote: Hdt. 1.73.

52/11 S.n. Xen. in insti. Cyri. 1: See note to 52/11-13.

52/11-13 Cyrus being a childe . . . vsed: Xen. Cyr. 1.2.8-10.

52/14 S.n. Ad Quint. Fra. 1.1: See note to 52/14 below.

52/14 as TuUie sayth: See Cic. Fam. 1.1.23.

52/20 S.n. Strabo. 15: See note to 52/20-21.

52/20-21 Darius the King . . . pere: See Strabo 15.3.8.

52/22 S.n. Tranq. suet: See 52/22-23.

52/22-23 Domitian the Emperour . . . him: See Suet. Dom. 19.

52/23 S.n. Herodia. 1. See note to 52/23-24.

52/23-24 Comodus also was ... it: Commodus, Lucius Aelius Aurelius (161-

192), indulged son of Marcus Aurelius and Roman Emperor 180-192, fa-

mous for his skill at shooting. See Hdn. 1.15.3-5.


blll^ an vngracious couple: for Domitian, see Suet. Dom. 10-23; for Com-

modvis, see Hdn. 1.16-17.

52/32-36 judgement of Herodian . . . thinge: See Hdn. 1.17.12. Ascham

translates Ttept dtv5p8Caq as a "princelie thing."

52/37 S.n. Themist. in ora. 6: See note to 52/37-41.

52/37-41 Themistius the noble . . . armes: See Themistii philosophi . . . orati-

ones XIIII (Geneva, 1562), 80. Themistius was a Greek philosopher and ora-

tor (c. 317-c. 388), whose panegyrics won the favor of every emperor from

Constantine 11 to Theodosius I,

53/3 S.n. Herod, in clio: See notes to 52/9 and 53/36.

53/3-6 as the Persians . . . lye: Hdt. 1.136.

53/6 S.n. Leo de stratag 20: See note to 53/6-12.

53/6-12 The Romaines (as .. . empire: Leo VI, called the Wise, Byzantine

emperor (886-912). Among works attributed to Leo is a treatise on mili-

tary science translated by John Cheke: Leonis Imperatoris de bellico appa-

ratu liber, e Graeco in Latinum conversus loan. Checo Cantabrigiensi interpr.

(Basel, 1554); see sig. e6. See E. McGeer, s.v. "Taktika of Leo VI," ODB3:2008.

53/15-17 that acte made. . . . long: See Statutes of the Realm, ed. Alexander

Luders et al. (London, 1810-28), 3:25, 33. This "acte" had precedents in

similar statutes in the reigns of Edward I, Edward HI, Edward IV, and

Henry VII {Statutes of the Realm, 1: 97, 259; 2:472, 649). It received addi-

tional authority in a proclamation of 5 May 1526 enforcing "Statutes

against Unlawful Games, and for Archery" and another in 1542; see Tudor

Proclamations, 1:152-53.

53/31-33 Sardanapalus and suche . . . women: Sardanapalus was the last king

to reign over the Assyrian Empire of Nineveh and is reported to have

passed time in his palace attired in woman's apparel and surrounded by

concubines. His name was a byword for unmanly behavior, as in Arist.

Eth.Nic. 1095b.

53/34 S.n. Cic. 2. Tus. Qu: See note to 53/34-37.

53/34-37 Jupiter or els . . . labour: See Cic. Tusc. 2.34.

53/43 S.n. Gal. 2. de san. tuend: See note to 53/43-54/4.

53/43-54/4 By shoting also . . . wide: See Galen, De sanitate tuenda sig. m6,

col. 286.

54/4 S.n. Arist. 1. de morib: See note to 54/4-5.

54/4-5 for the which . . . like: Arist. Eth.Nic. 1094a.

54/12-13 which is the . . . amendement: Cf. Tilley A238.

54/18 S.n. Iso. in nic: See note to 54/18-19.

54/18-19 as Plato and Isocrates do saye: Cf. PI. Resp. 5.468-69 and Isoc. AdNic. 31. The idea expressed in 54/17-18 is widespread, as for example in

Cic. Fam. 1.9.12.

55/10-1 1 Chronicles doo tell: For example, Jean Froissart, [Chronicles] (1535),

fol. 68.


55/11-14 For if it . . . Scotlande: In October 1346, while King Edward III and

most of the nobility were fighting in France, David, King of the Scots, in

alliance with the French, invaded the North of England, hoping to win an

easy victory. The archbishop of York and several bishops enlisted mem-bers of the lesser clergy and lords of various Northern families to win an

impressive victory at Neville's Cross, near Durham, against a considerably

larger force. See Michael Packe, King Edward the Third (London: Rout-

ledge, 1983), 166.

55/16-21 our kyng his . . . same: See note to 53/15-17.

55/36-38 as one Balbinus . . . nose: See Horace, Sermones 1.3.38-40.

56/2-3 as Calimachus doth . . . Appollo: Callim. Ap. 42-44.

56/3 S.n. Cal. hym. 2: See note to 93/19-21.

56/6-13 Plato and Aristotle . . . honestie: Plato's principal speakers disap-

prove of the so-called Lydian and Ionian modes of music on the grounds

they were conducive to laxness {Resp. 398E-399E). Aristotle disapproves of

the flute but not the Lydian or Ionian modes in themselves {Pol. 1341a-

1342b).

56/23 S.n. Aristot. pol. 8.6. See note to 56/23-24.

56/23-24 condemned of Aristotle . . . vertue: Cf. Arist. Pol. 1340b-1342b.

56/25-27 Palias when she . . . learnynge: Arist. Pol. 1341b.

56/28-29 Apollo god of . . . Satyr: The Phrygian satyr Marsyas found the

flute discarded by Athena (see 56/25-27) and learned to play it. He later

challenged Apollo to a contest, lost, and was consequently flayed. See Ov.

Met. 6.382-99; Ascham's specific source is probably Pi. Resp. 399E.

56/32 Muche musike marreth . . . Galen: See De sanitate tuenda, sig. m6, col.

286.

56/34-37 it doth as hony . . . drinke: See Tilley H560.

57/3 Plato, Aristotle & Galen: See 56/6-13 and 56/32 and notes.

57/14 S.n. Herodotus in Clio. See notes to 52/9 and 57/14-16.

57/4-16 but also Herodotus . . . women: See Hdt. 1.155.

57/19 S.n. Nymphod. See note to 57/19-23.

57/19-23 Euen suche an . . . ouer: Nymphodorus (fl. c. 335 B.C.) was a Syra-

cusan writer, none of whose writings has survived. Sesostris was a mythical

Egyptian king to whom great conquests in Africa and Asia were ascribed;

he was evidently among the subjects of one of Nymphodorus's writings.

Herodotus has an extended account of Sesostris (2.102-11) that says noth-

ing of music but recounts his recording contempt for cities offering no re-

sistence by erecting columns upon which he had written A5oia yuvaiKdq

("women's privy parts") (2.102 and 106).

57/22 S.n. Comment, in Antig. The commentary referred to appears to be

to scholia on Oedipus at ColonuSy line 337. See Scholia in Sophoclis Traegoe-

dias, ed. P. Papageorgios (Leipzig, 1888), 417-18.

57/43-58/2 Teucer sayeth in . . . handes: Soph. Aj. 964-965.

NOTES AND COMMENTARY 149^

58/1 S.n. Sophocles in Aiace. See note to 57/43-58/2.

58/3-5 That milke is . . . experience: See Galen, De sanitate tuenda, sigs. I4v-

5, cols. 256-57.

58/9 Plutarch learnedly doth proue: See Plut. De mus. 113IE and cf. 1140B-

C, 1142C-D and 1146A-B.

58/10 Plato wiselie did alowe: PI. Resp. 376E.

58/22-23 For the hearers . . . speaketh: See De Or. 2.189 and Or. 55.

58/28 Humble bee: "A large wild bee . . . which makes a loud humming

sound" {OED s.v. humble-bee).

59/1-5 the .ii. noble . . . matters: Cicero recounts the oft-repeated story of

Demosthenes's overcoming of his stutter and inability to pronounce the

sound spelled by the letter rho ("soundes ... of a dogge") to make his

point that proper voice training was essential to the orator (Cic. De Or.

1.260-61).

59/24 Robin Hoode: The popular English outlaw famous from at least the

fourteenth century was the subject of popular ballads in the vernacular.

Alexander Barclay's translation of Sebastian Brant's comment about "fables

& lestis of Robyn hode/ Or other tryfyls that skantly ar so gode" reflects

learned opinion of the subject and the form in which it was treated ijhis

present boke named the shyp offolys [1509], Part 2, fol. 193v).

59/29-32 in Alcestis of Euripides . . . beare: Eur. Ale. 40.

59/32 S.n. Euripid. in Alcest. See note to 59/29-32.

59/37-60/3 howe that the . . . heauen: Not Erotus but Crotus, son of Pan

and Eupheme, foster-brother of the Muses, was put into the constellation

Sagittarius. See Hygini Avgvsti libertifabvlarvm liber . . . Fvlgentii . . . mytho-

logiarum libri III ... (Basel, 1535), 56 and 176.

60/15-16 Homer and Euripides . . . Galene: Reference to Aristotle's, Plato's,

and Galen's habit of illustrating points with examples from such poets as

Homer and Euripides.

60/31 Arist. po. 7. See note to 60/31-32 below.

60/31-32 A pastyme, saith . . . medicine: See Arist. Pol. 1337b.

60/41-42 This knewe Erasmus . . . Cambridge: Erasmus was at Cambridge

briefly in 1505-6 and then for a two-year period in 1511-13 when he held

the chair of divinity. I have not traced "Garret our bookbinder."

61/3 condempned of Galene: See note to 61/16-23.

61/5-6 Running leaping and . . . iudgement: See Arist. Pol. 1339a.

61/6 S.n. Aristotl. pol.7.17. See note to 61/5-6.

61/16 as Galene him . . . allowe: See note to 61/16-23.

61/16 S.n. Gal. de san. tuend. 2: See note to 61/16-23.

61/16-23 Those exercises I . . . roode: See Galen, De sanitate tuenda, sigs. nl-

nlv, cols. 289 and 291-93.

61/32 as Yorke is . . . Sutton: I.e., as two very different locales (York the seat

of the second archdiocese, Sutton a remote village on the edge of the York-


shire moors). See English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, ed. W. C. Hazlitt

(London, 1869), 98 and The Oxford Dictionary ofEnglish Proverbs, ed. F. P.

Wilson, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), 926.

62/19-20 Aristotle him selfe . . . tymes: Cf. Arist. Met. 347b-348a.

63/15 S.n. Gardes and dyse.

63/35-36 And good thinges ... is: See The institution of a Christian man

(1537), fol. 64. This is a compilation of commentaries on the Sacraments,

the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Hail Mary, assembled

by a group of English bishops under the leadership of Cranmer.

64/5 Wyll Somer: William Sommers (d.l560) was installed by Henry Vm as

his court fool in 1525. According to tradition, Sommers remained on very

familiar terms with the King and was famous for his practical jokes on

Wolsey.

64/12 S.n. In Phedro. See note to 64/12-14.

64/12-14 Honest thynges (sayeth Plato) . . . after: This aphorism doesn't ap-

pear in Plato's Phaedrus as the side note to 64/12 suggests, but its meaning

is implicit in exchanges between Phaedrus and Socrates concerning ques-

tion of whether love brings advantage or disadvantage. See for example

Phaed. 233B-C, 238E-241A, and 249D-252C.

64/30 S.n. Pla. in symp: See note to 64/30-32.

64/30-32 The fyrste brynger . . . heauen: PI. Symp. 197A-B.

64/34 S.n. Plato In Phedro: See note to 64/34-36.

64/34-36 The one was . . . workes: Pi. Phaed. 274C-D.

64/36-39 The other father . . . writers: See Hdt. 1.94.

64/37 S.n. Herodot. in Clio: See notes to 52/9 and 64/37-39.

64/43 S.n. Xen. de diet. & fact. Soc: See note to 64/43-65/2.

64/43-65/2 the oulde poete .. . labour: Xen. Mem. 1.2.20. Epicharmus was

a Sicilian writer of comedy in the early fifth century B.C., none of whose

writings survives in their entirety. A collection of maxims presumably

from his plays was made, though their authority was questioned as early

as the fourth century B.C.

65/3-6 as Chauser doth saye . . . thinke wel: Not in Chaucer; but compare

The Parson's Tale, 11. 686-87 and 716-17 and The boke of Caunterbury tales,

sigs. U6 and U6v.

65/21-22 Euripides noted verye . . . vse: Eur. IT 1026.

65/22 S.n. Iphi. in Tau: See note to 65/21-22.

65/34-35 whan the Lydians . . . Apollo: See note to 64/36-39.

66/10 oure Englyshe Homer: Chaucer.

66/13-17 Hasardry is Very . . . mo: Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale, 11. 591-94;

quoted with minor changes from The boke of Caunterbury tales, sig. Olv.

67/20-21 For vayn hope . . . Citie: Eur. Supp. 479-480.

67/21 S.n. In suppli: See note to 67/20-21.

(i7/a-(>%/2 Ey by goddes . . . Homicide: Chaucer, Pardoner's Tale, 11. 651-57;


quoted with minor changes from The boke of Caunterbury tales, sig. Olv.

67/39 the blood of Christe ... in Hales: Hayles Abbey in Gloucestershire

claimed to have a vial of Christ's blood.

68/28-29 And I suppose . . . games: In The Scholemaster Ascham refers to a

"book of the Cockpit" that he is writing or going to write (Wright, 217).

Camden reports that "since he [Ascham] was overly given to dice and

cockfighting, he lived and died in poverty" {Annales Rerum Anglicarum, et

Hibemicarum, Regnante Elizabetha [1615], 150).

68/33-34 For thynges be . . . Alcibiades: See PI. Ale. 129A and passim.

68/41 S.n. Euripides in suppli: See note to 68/41-69/4,

68/41-69/4 Adrastus in Euripides . . . sowe: Eur. Supp. 913-17.

69/5-6 For the foundation . . . therafter: Cf. Arist. Pol. 1337al9-27.

69/6-8 If the yonge . . . streyght it: See Tilley T632.

69/17-19 What honest pretences . . . Circes: Hom. Od. 8 and 10.

69/19-21 And amonges all . . . hym: Hom. Od. 8.

69/24-25 this counsel! of . . . begynninges: See Ov. Rem. Am. 91-92; see also

Tilley E202 and P569.

70/11-12 Lordes mightfinde . . . awayc. Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale, 11. 627-

628; quoted with minor changes from The boke of Caunterbury tales, sig.

Olv.

70/33-34 Aristotle him selfe . . . withall: See Arist. Top. 115b25.

71/1 S.n. Hippo, de med. purg: See note to 71/1-10.

71/1-10 Yet Hippocrates sayth . . . sycke: Discussion of purgatives in medical

treatment occurs in the pseudo-Hippocratic De medicamentis purgatoriis

libellus, the editio princeps of which appeared in Protospatharius Theo-

philus, De corporis humanifabrica libri quinque . . . Hippocratis praeterea Coi

de purgatoriis medicamentis libellus (Venice, 1537). The distinction between

the "two kyndes of medicines" referred to in this passage is untraced,

though the idea is implicit throughout the treatise; see Cl. Galeni . . . post

vnicum Hippocratem . . . opera quae ad nos extant (Basel, 1549), tomus V,

cols. 327-34.

71/22-25 all these vnthriftie . . . coyne: See Ps. 90:3-6 (91:3-6).

71/23 S.n. Psalm.90: See note to 71/22-25.

71/25-30 Which punishment is . . . wealthe: See Dem. Lept. 459.

71/26 S.n. Demost. contra Leptinem: See note to 71/25-30.

72/12 S.n. Mach. 1.3: See note to 72/12-16.

72/12-16 The vpperhande in . . . souldyers: 1 Mace. 3:19.

72/28 S.n. Ad Nico. See note to 72/28-31.

72/28-31 as Isocrates doth . . . same: Isoc. Ad Nic. 24.

72/38-39 Vegetius: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, fourth-century Roman military

reformer and author of Epitome de re militari, often considered one of the

most influential military treatises from Roman times to the nineteenth

century.


72/39 Polyaenus: Second-century Macedonian author of Strategica, a collec-

tion of maxims on strategy written in Greek and strung together by anec-

dotes. A Latin translation appeared in Basel in 1549; the first Greek edition

at Lyons in 1589. Evidently Ascham consulted Polyaenus's preface, which

appeared in Gemisti Plethonis de gestis Graecorum .

.

. Polyaeni de re militari

praefatio (Basel, 1540).

72/39 Leo the Emperour: See De bellico apparatu liber, sigs. b5-c2v.

72/42-73/1 Xenophon in Greke and Caesar in Latyn: Xenophon's /In^^^sw,

about the expedition of Greek mercenaries under Cyrus; Cyropaedia, a

work in the form of a historical romance about the education and develop-

ment of Cyrus as a model hero; and perhaps Hipparchicus on the duties of

a cavalry commander: and Caesar's De hello Gallico and De hello civili.

73/1 S.n. De Sen: See note to 73/1-6.

73/1-6 noble Scipio Africanus . . . folowe: Scipio Africanus Major (236-184/3

B.C.) was a political and military figure who defeated Hannibal in 202 B.C.

and was soon idealized as a hero of republican Rome. Cicero invokes

Scipio as an ideal of military and oratorical accomplishment and com-

mends him as a model for Roman youth in his dialogue De senectute 19,

29, 61, and 82.

73/7 S.n. Obedience.

73/7-8 The strengthe of . . . Plato: Leg. 942A-E.

73/8 S.n. Plat. leg. 12: See note to 73/7-8.

73/8 S.n. Xen. Ages: See note to 73/8-11.

73/8-11 And Xenophon being . . . enemy: See Xen. Ages. 1.27.

73/12 S.n. Xen. Hippar: See note to 73/12-16.

73/12-16 Agayne, without obedience . . . after: Xen. Hip. 1.7.

73/17 S.n. Plutarchus: See note to 73/17-27.

73/17-27 And this to . . . it: Plut. Mor. 196C.

73/28 S.n. Sal. in Cat: See note to 73/28-30.

73/28-30 Salust also doth . . . foughten: Sail. Cat 9.

74/5 S.n. In Here, fu: See note to 74/5-6.

74/5-6 yet of al . . . moost: Eur. ///" 201-203.

74/9-17 Peter Nannius a ... discommoditie: Peter Nanning or Nannius

(1500-57), professor of Latin at Louvain; his Dialogus de milite peregrino

(Louvain, 1543) debates relative values of archery and guns. Alvin Vos

explores the relationship between Nannius's Dialogus and Ascham's Tox-

ophilus; he argues that the continental work raised questions about the

military superiority of shooting that provoked Ascham's defense and even

served as something of a formal model for the English dialogue ("The

Humanism of Toxophilus: A New Source," English Literary Renaissance 6

[1976]: 187-203).

74/20-37 For first in . . . tide: Eur. HF 157-164.

74/21-22 TuUie thynketh euerye . . . authoritie: Cf. De Or. 3.27.


74/28 S.n. Eurip. in Here, furent: See note to 7A/2Q-17.

74/38 S.n. Soph, in Aia. flag: See note to 74/38-40.

74/38-40 Agayne Teucer the . . . warre: Soph. Aj. 1120.

74/40-75/7 Moreouer Pandarus the . . . bowe: See //. 5.166-216.

75/1 S.n. Iliad. 5: See note to 75/40-75/7.

75/12-21 /// chaunce ill . . . tume: It. 5.209-216.

75/22 S.n. Xen. Cyri. Inst. 6: See note to 75/22-5.

75/22-25 But to let passe . . . weapons: Cf. Xen. Cyr. 6.4.36; cf. also 6.4.

24-25.

75/28 S.n. Epist. 1. ad Q. Fra: See note to 75/28 below.

75/28 as Tullie sayeth: Cic. QFr. 1.1.23.

75/31 S.n. Plutarch M. Ant: See note to 75/31-34.

75/31-34 Whose counsell the . . . morispikes: Plut. VitAnt. 45.1-3.

75/41-76/26 he doth expresse . . . foo: See Eur. HF 188-203.

76/5 S.n. Eurip. in Here, fur: See note to 75/40-76/26.

76/30 S.n. Iliad. 8: See note to 76/30-32.

76/30-32 when Hector and . . . awaye: //. 8.266-334.

76/33-39 as concerning Pandarus . . . slue: //. 5.280-296.

76/35 S.n. Horn. Hi. 5: See note to 76/33-39.

77/3-4 that Troye coulde . . . shaftes: Reference to an attack on Troy by

Greeks led by Hercules prior to the war recounted by Homer. See Eur.

Tro. 799-817; Apollodorus Mythographus, Bibliotheca or Epitome 2.6.4, and

Diod. 4.32.1-5. See also the incidental references in //. 5.638-642 and

14.249-51. Euripides alone refers to Hercules's use of the bow.

77/6-8 as Vlysses in . . . ought: Soph. Phil. 115. Ulysses delivers this line to

Neoptolemus, not Pyrrhus.

77/8 S.n. Soph, phil: See note to 77/6-8.

77/9 S.n. Xen. Cyri. Instit. 6: See note to 77/9-14.

77/9-14 Fourthlye where as . . . vsed: See note to 75/22-25.

77/15 S.n. Plu. in M. Anton: See note to 77/15-27.

77/15-27 as for the Parthians . . . awaye: Plut. ViuAnt. 45.1-3.

78/3-5 And although I . . . heauen: 1 Mace. 3:19.

78/4 S.n. Maeh.1.3: See note to 78/3-5.

78/7-10 As in metinge . . . capitayne: 2 Mace. 14:15.

78/10 S.n. Maeh.2.14: See note to 78/7-10.

78/10-13 And to haue . . . Demetrius: 1 Mace. 12:24-26.

78/12 lonathas: In the Vulgate the proper name Jonathan was transliterated

from the Hebrew into Latin zsjonathas and conjugated as a first declension

noun (cf. Aeneas). Early English translations would use the nominative

form Jonathas, as in Biblia the byble (1537), sigs. Nl, N4, and N5.

78/12 S.n. Maeh.I.12: See note to 78/10-13.

78/13-18 And besyde al . . . Gentiles: 1 Mace. 13:25-29.

78/17 S.n. Maeh.I.13: See note to 78/13-18.


78/18 lonathas: See note to 78/12.

78/25-26 as it is . . . hym: Josh. 23:3.

78/26 S.n. losue. 23: See note to 78/25-26.

78/27-29 God, when he . . . blood: Deut. 32:42.

78/28 S.n. Deutero. 32: See note to 78/27-29.

78/32 S.n. Psal. 7. 63. 75: See note to 78/32-33.

78/32-33 Dauid in the Psahnes . . . power: Ps.7:13-14 (7:12-13); 62:5-6 (63:4-

5); and 75:4 (76:3).

78/35-79/1 But yet one . . . nowe: 1 Kg. 31:2-8 (1 Sam. 31:2-8); 2 Kg. 1:18 (2

Sam. 1:18).

78/38 S.n. Regum. 1.31: See note to 78/35-79/1.

78/38 lonathas: See note to 78/12.

78/40 S.n. Regum 2.1: See note to 78/43-79/1.

78/43-79/1 in lihro lustorum: "in the book of the Upright or Just," the

Vulgate's translation of "The Book of Jashar" (Josh. 10:12-13 and 2 Kg.

1:18 [2 Sam. 1:18]). "Jashar" is a fairly common Hebrew word meaning

"one who is upright or just."

79/6 S.n. Herodotus in Thalia: See notes to 52/9 and 79/6-20.

79/6-20 in somoche that . . . him: See Hdt. 3.21-22 and 30.

79/19-32 Cyrus, counted as . . . shotyng: Herodotus records that both the

Massagetae and Persians used bows and arrows until they had exhausted

their supplies of arrows; whereupon they fought hand to hand, the Per-

sians ultimately falling (1.214).

79/21-28 Sesostris the moost . . . people: For Sesostris see note to 57/19-23;

on his erection of statues see Hdt. 2.106 and Diod. 55.9.

79/26 S.n. Herod, in Euterpe: See notes to 52/9 and 79/21-28.

79/27 S.n. Diod. Sic. 2: See note to 79/21-28.

79/29 S.n. Herod, in clio: See notes to 52/9 and 79/19-32.

79/34 S.n. Herod, in thai: See notes to 52/9 and 79/34-36.

79/34-36 Polycrates the prince . . . archers: Herodotus records that Poly-

crates withstood the attacks of the Lacedaemonians (3.39).

79/39-41 which quiuer was . . . battayle: Cf. Hdt. 4.64.

80/3 S.n. Herod, in Melpomen: See notes to 52/9 and 80/3-23.

80/3-23 At last the men . . . homewarde: Hdt. 4.131-135.

80/23-27 Yet howe moche . . . saye: See Hdt. 1.136; Strabo, 15.3.18; and Xen.

Cyr. 1.2.8-10, and 12-13.

80/25 S.n. Herod, in clio: See notes to 52/9 and SO/25-27.

80/26 S.n. Xenoph. in cyrop: See notes to 52/9 and 80/23-27.

80/27 S.n. Strab. 11: See note to 80/23-27.

80/28-33 the noble kyng Darius . . . pere: See note to 52/20-21.

80/32 S.n. Strab. 15: See note to 52/20-21.

80/34 S.n. Plutarch, in Agesila: See note to 80/34-36.

80/34-36 the coyne of the Persians . . . arowes: See Plut. ViuAges. 15.6.


SO/37 S.n. Suidas: The name of a lexicon — not an author — compiled near

the end of the tenth century from historical and literary sources. See A.

Kazhdan, s.v. "Souda," ODB 3:1930-1931.

80/37-81/1 The Grecians also . . . Plato: See Pi. Prt. 319C-D.

81/1 S.n. Plato in protagora: See note to 80/37-81/1.

81/2-4 Demosthenes the valiaunt captayne . . . Pylos: See Thuc. 4.36-37.

81/4 S.n. Thucydid. 4: See note to 81/2-4.

81/4-5 the shaftes went . . . enemies: Thuc. 4.34.

81/5-10 A Lacedemonian taken prisoner ... death: See Thuc. 4.40.

81/11 S.n. Herod, in Polym: See notes to 52/9 and 81/11-13.

81/11-13 Herodotus descrybing the . . . strength: See Hdt. 7.65-67, 69, and

92.

81/15 S.n. Esch. in Pers: See note to 81/15-18.

81/15-18 Attossa, mother of . . . vsed: See Aesch. Pers. 239-40.

81/20-21 The best parte . . . Arianus: See for example Arr. Anab. 3.24,1;

4.4,7; 23,1; 24,3; 25,6; 26,4; 28,8; and 5.11,3; 12,3; 16,4; 18,3.

81/22 S.n. Arianus 8: See note to 81/20-21.

81/23-24 as was sene . . . Thomeron: See Arrian, Indica 24.

81/25 S.n. Plin. lib. 16. Cap. 36: See note to 81/26-30.

81/26-30 sentence of Plinie . . . shotinge: Pliny HN 16.65.

82/1-4 whiche Scipio Aphricanus . . . vanquished: App. B.civ. 6.89.

82/5 S.n. Cor. Tac. 2: See note to 82/5-11.

82/5-11 Agayne, Tiberius fyghtynge . . . historic: Tac. Ann. 2.16-18.

82/14-16 as Leo the .v. . . . warre: See De bellico apparatu libera sig. e6. The

authorship of the treatise is traditionally ascribed to Leo VI, not Leo V; see

53/6-12.

82/17-19 The booke is . . . maiestie: I have not located a pre-1554 edition of

Leo's treatise De bellico apparatu liber in the original Greek; Cheke's Latin

translation was printed in Basel in 1554, dedicated to Henry Vm. As82/17-24 make plain, Ascham read the translation in manuscript at least

ten years before it appeared in print.

82/18-83/10 master Cheke translated . . . vnitie: John Cheke (1514-57), an

influential tutor at St. John's College, Cambridge, who figured promi-

nently among reformers of religion and learning. He became Regius Pro-

fessor of Greek in 1540, was called to court in 1543 to supervise the edu-

cation of Prince Edward, became a privy councilor, and was later a Marian

exile. One of the most highly respected scholars of his generation, Cheke

was the author of over thirty scholarly works, including translations of

classics, theological works, and contemporary scholarship. He exerted a

major influence on Ascham's literary tastes, educational ideals, and atti-

tudes to the vernacular. In The Scholemaster, Ascham wrote that Cheke was

responsible for "all the litle poore learning" he ever had (Wright, 283).

Cheke was instrumental in Ascham's becoming tutor to Elizabeth in 1548


and in gaining the post of secretary to Sir Richard Morrison in 1550.

82/32-34 And when I consider . . . example: Besides Ascham, William Cecil,

William Bill, and Thomas Wilson figured among important Cantabrigians

who benefited from Cheke's lecturing and mentoring. For a remarkable

portrait of Cheke's practice and influence as a teacher see Thomas Wilson,

The three orations ofDemosthenes (1570), 7i3.

82/35-41 sentence of Plato . . . before: A recurrent theme of both the Re-

public and the Laws; cf. particularly Laws 951B-C.

82/43-83/2 our noble king . . . Edwarde: See note to 82/18-83/10.

83/11-20 what Leo sayeth . . . loste: See De bellico apparatu liber, sig. e6.

83/13 S.n. Leo. 6.5. See note to 83/11-20.

83/20 S.n. Leo. 11.50: See note to 83/22-26.

83/22-26 Let your souldyers . . . Rome: See De bellico apparatu liber, sig. I5v.

83/26-31 Afterwarde he commaundeth . . . shaftes: See De bellico apparatu

liber, sigs. y7v-8.

83/27 S.n. Leo. 18.21: See note to 83/26-31.

83/31-39 Besydes all this . . . warre: See De bellico apparatu liber, sigs. E8-8v.

83/35 S.n. Leo. 20.79: See note to 83/31-39.

84/4-6 in that Leo . . . excercise: See De bellico apparatu liber, sig. f6v.

84/5 S.n. Leo. 7.18: See note to 84/4-6.

84/12 the Spanyarde Lancea: "Lancia, a Spanish iauelin with a brode heed"

(Elyot, sig. l6v). Lancea, -ae, a Latin word of Spanish origin, according to

Varro (Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, 15.30.7).

84/12 the Francheman Gesa: "Gesa, a haulberde [i.e., spear-like battle-axe]"

(Elyot, sig. 13); otherwise untraced.

84/12-13 the German Framea: "Framea, a speare, or iauelyn" (Elyot, sig,

h6v). Framea, -ae, a Latin word for a weapon used by ancient Germans;

judging from Tacitus {Germ. 1.6), the word is of Teutonic origins.

84/13 the Grecian Machera: "Machaera, a sworde" (Elyot, sig. m6). From [f|]

^dxalpa.

84/13 the Macedonian Sarissa: "Sarissa, a longe speare" (Elyot, sig. y4v), used

in the Macedonian phalanx. Ldpiaa was frequently written Sdpiaaa; see

Ov. Met. 12.266 and The Histories ofPolybius 2.69.7.

84/14-18 whan the Parthians . . . bowes: See Plut. Vit.Crass. 24-32.

84/18-19 S.n. Plutarch, in M. Crass. & in M. Anto. Ael. Spart: See notes to

84/14-18 and 84/18-19.

84/18-19 They draue Marcus Antonius . .. reproch: Cf. Plut. VitAnL 38-

52.

84/20 lulianus Apostata: Flavius Claudius Julianus, 331-363, called Julian the

Apostate, Roman emperor 361-363.

84/20 Antonius Caracalla: Marcus Aurelius Antonius, 187-217, called "Cara-

calla," Roman emperor from 198-211 jointly with his father and from

211-217 solely.


84/20-21 they helde in . . . Valerian: In 260 the Persians — not the Parthians

— under Sapor (or Shapur) I defeated Roman forces and captured their

leader Publius Lucinius Valerianus (emperor 253-260).

84/21-22 all the Romaynes . . . delyueraunce: Ascham follows the opening

of the account in Scriptores Historiae Augustae of the third-century Romanemperor Valerian, which quotes three letters of petition to the Persian

king Sapor for the release of Valerian (see note to 84/20-21).

84/23 as Bel solis called kynge of kynges: A translation of: [Sapor] rex regum

Belsolus (S.H.A., Basel, 1518, sig. H2); the text makes Sapor the author and

not the recipient of the letter of petition for Valerianus's release (see notes

to 84/20-21 and 84/21-22). Modern editions of the text have Sapori regi

regum vel soli: "To Sapor, king of kings or rather sole king" (S.H.A., Leip-

zig, 1965, 2).

84/23 Valerius kynge of Cadusia: A translation of: Valerius rex Cadusiorum

(S.H.A., Basel, 1518, sig. H2); modern editions of the text have Valerius rex

Cadusiorum (S.H.A., Leipzig, 1965, 4).

84/23-24 Arthabesdes kyng of Armenia: A translation of Arthabesdes rex

Armeniorum (S.H.A., Basel, 1518, sig. H2); modern editions of the text

have Artavasdes rex Armeniorum (S.H.A., Leipzig, 1965, 4).

84/26-27 the borders of . . . sayeth: Untraced in Cicero; see Claudian, Deconsulatu Stilichonis 3.138-40.

84/32 S.n. Paul. Diac: See 84/32-39.

84/32-39 From the same . . . ruine: Paul, the Deacon of Monte Cassino (720-

800), author of De origine et gestis regum Langobardorum libri VI (Paris,

1514). Paul describes the invasions of the Huns into Italy in Book IV, sigs.

B7v-8v.

84/42 S.n. P. Mela. 1. Presumably a reference to Melanchthon's preface to

Paolo Giovio, Turcicarum rerum commentarius P. Jovii . . . Addita est prae-

fatio P. MelanfchthonJ (Wittenberg, 1537).

84/41-85/2 After them the Turkes ... Europe: Turks of various tribes

waged holy wars against both East and West from the eleventh century,

culminating in the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in

1453. By the middle of the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire in-

cluded most of the Balkans, a large part of Hungary, and most of the Mid-

dle East and North Africa.

85/37 S.n. Cusp, de rebus Turc. A reference to Joannes Cuspinianus, DeTurcorum origine, religione, ac immanissima eorum in Christianas tyrannide

. . . (Antwerp, 1541).

85/39-42 the might of . . . rayne: Castelnuovo on the Dalmatian coast — near

Ragusa, now Dubrovnik, Croatia — fell to the Holy League in October

1538; Ottoman forces under Khair ad-Din recovered the fortress from the

Spanish in August 1539.

85/42-86/3 And nowe last . . . fell: The emperor Charles V undertook an ex-


pedition against Algiers in November 1541, which owing to a sudden

storm turned into a military disaster for the Spanish.

86/16-17 Frenchman called Textor . . . boke: Ravisius Textor (fean Tixier de

Ravisi), 1480-1524, author of the compendium of comments ancient and

modern on a wide variety of subjects, Offtcina, partim historiis, partim

poeticis referta disciplinis (Paris, 1532).

86/17 S.n. Textor: See note to 86/16-17 above.

86/20-22 And amonges all . . . worlde: Officina, fols. 156v-158.

86/27 Domitian and Commodus: See notes to 52/22-23 and 52/23-24.

86/36-37 S.n. P. Crin. 3.10: See note to 86/36-38.

86/36-38 Petrus Crinitus wrj^eth . . . warre: See Ojficina, fol. 158.

Petrus Crinitus was a Florentine humanist, 1465-P1543, and a disciple of

Politian; he was the author of De honesta disciplina libri XXV (Lyons,

1584), a compendious treatise in the vein of Aulus Gellius's Nodes Atticae,

which treats a variety of philosophical and historical questions with anec-

dotal material gleaned from classical as well as later sources and which in-

cludes a section on military subjects. Here Ascham refers to Crinitus's fab-

ulous account of the ferocity of the Scots in De honesta disciplina, 140-42.

86/41-42 Gaguinus the Frenche hystorie: Robert Gaguin, 1433-1501, French

chronicler and diplomat; author of De origine et gestis Francorum (Paris,

1500); see fols. 79-80 for the account of the Battle of Crecy.

87/9 S.n. loan. Ma. 6: See note to 87/9-12.

87/9-12 loannes Maior doeth wryte . . . shote: See History of Great Britain,

357.

87/18-21 a certayne Prouerbc . . . Scottes: See Lean's Collectanea, ed. Vincent

Stuckey Lean (Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1902), I, 243.

87/32 S.n. lohn. Maior 6. hist. Scot: See note to 87/32-33.

87/32-33 How profytable suche . . . tell: See History of Great Britain, 289,

and Hector Boece, Scotorvm historiae a prima gentis origine (Paris, 1527),

fols. 367v-368. Hector Boece (1465-1536) was an historian and Canon of

Aberdeen.

88/16-25 To suche a Prince ... attonement: Although reconciliation —"attonement" — between England and Scotland and the establishment of

a united kingdom were not fully achieved until the early eighteenth cen-

tury, Henry made halting attempts toward this end. In 1543, for example,

two treaties were concluded at Greenwich, one providing for alliance be-

tween England and Scotland, the other for marriage between the infant

queen Mary and prince Edward. These came to little when Henry ordered

brutal attacks on Scotland in spring 1544 and autumn 1545.

88/30 syr Thomas Eliot: Eliot (or Elyot), 1490?-1546, humanist author of

over a dozen learned works in the vernacular, including translations from

classical authors. The boke named the gouemour (1531), and The Dictionary

ofSyr Thomas Elyot (1538).


88/35 De rebus memorahilibus Angliae: No other record of this work

survives; see Stanford E. Lehmberg, Sir Thomas Elyot: Tudor Humanist

(Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961), 181-82.

89/6-8 Kynge Edward the thirde . . . archers: See note to 86/41-42.

89/9-12 Such lyke battel . . . bowes: Putting his trust in the yeoman as

soldier and the longbow as weapon, Edward defeated armies of French

knights at both Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356).

89/13-18 Kynge Henrie the fifte . . . men: At the Battle of Agincourt (1415),

fifty-nine years after Poitiers, Henry V — relying heavily on his 6,000

archers — defeated a French army that far outnumbered his forces.

89/26-31 Thomas Hawarde . . . euer: Battle of Flodden Field, in which the

forces of James IV were routed by the English under Thomas Howard,

earl of Surrey, August 1513.

89/35-38 beside Carlile betwixt Eske . . . prisoners: At the Battle of Solway

Moss, 24 November 1542, the disorganized Scottish forces of James V at-

tempted to cross the Esk to engage the English under Norfolk and met

with disaster. Although few were killed in the battle, many drowned and

over 1200 were taken prisoner, among them two earls, five barons, and

over 500 lairds.

89/39-90/4 that noble acte . . . fame: Sir William Walgraue (or Waldegrave),

1507-54, of a prestigious Suffolk family, was knighted at Greenwich before

the coronation of Anne Boleyn; he served under Norfolk against the Scots

in 1542 and in 1544 led a force of 60 of his own men in the French

campaign.

Sir George Somerset was knighted in 1533 at Galais. The musterbook

of the army against France in 1544 lists Walgraue and Somerset together

from Suffolk {L&P, 19.1:151).

Hammes (or Hampnes) was a small fort in the marshes between

Guisnes and Calais. Though the particular military encounter referred to

here is untraced, in October 1544, after the fall of Boulogne the previous

month, there was considerable skirmishing around the fort between

French forces headed by the Dauphin and the English; on 7 October it is

reported that in one engagement the French lost 40 men {L&Py 19.2:242).

91/18-20 And thus feare . . . Xenophon: Xen. Cyr. 3.1.23-25.

91/19 S.n. Ciri. ped. 3: See note to 91/18-20.

91/36-42 whiche thynge Aristotle . . . men: Arist. Rh. 1370.

91/39 S.n. Arist. rheto. ad Theod: See note to 91/36-42.

92/1 S.n. Hesio. in ope. et die: See note to 92/1-3.

92/1-3 Hesiodus wryteth to . . . substance: Hesiod, Opera et dies, 20-27.

92/31-32 Vse sayth Cicero . . . teachinge: Cf. Cic. De Or. 1.260-261 and 2.90.

93/25-27 if a man . . . rye: Lucius Junius Moderator Columella, c. 4 B.C.-A.D.

65, author of a twelve-book study of agriculture, De re rustica. The thought

as expressed here is untraced in Columella, but compare 2.9.


94/7-8 Which thinge . . . TuUie: Cic. De Or. 1.149-150.

94/8 S.n. De Orat. 1: See note to 94/7-8.

94/38 S.n. Vegetius: See note to 94/38-39.

94/38-39 Vegetius woulde haue . . . faire: Flavins Vegetius Renatus, De re

militari libri quatuor (Paris, 1532), 7; for Vegetius see note to 72/38-39.

94/39 S.n. Leo. 6.5: See note to 94/39-42.

94/39-42 Leo the Emperour . . . Ruine: De bellico apparatu liber, sigs. e6-6v.

94/42 S.n. Strabo. 11: See note to 94/42-43.

94/42-43 Schola Persica, that . . . Persians: Cf. Strabo 15.3.18.

95/2-3 S.n. Cor. Ta. 2: See note to 95/2-5.

95/2-5 whych schole, as . . . Romaines: Tac. Ann. 2.2.

95/5 S.n. De leg. 7: See note to 95/5-10.

95/5-10 Plato would haue . . . vse: Leg. 804C; cf. 779D.

95/10-11 men by suche . . . TuUie: Cf. Cic. Off. l.dl and 71.

95/11 S.n. De Offi. 2: See note to 95/10-11.

95/13-15 Kynge Dauyd, whose . . . shoote: See 78/35-79/1 and note.

95/24-28 For of fence . . . rede it: Fencing masters were incorporated under

Letters Patent of July 1540 to teache the "Noble Science of Defence," and

a commission was established to inquire into unqualified masters who"were keeping open schools and taking great sums of money for their la-

bours, and yet have insufficiently instructed their scholars" {L&P, 15:477).

Fencing manuals in English did not begin to appear until later in Eliza-

beth's reign, though such handbooks as La noble science des jouers d'epee

(Paris, 1535) were available on the continent throughout the first half of

the sixteenth century.

95/41 S.n. Aptnesse. Cf. Cic. De Or. 1.260-261.

96/2-3 sowyng wheat on Newmarket heath: The area directly west of the

village of Newmarket in Cambridgeshire distinguished for its chalk grass-

lands and comparatively barren soil; see The Victoria History ofthe Counties

ofEngland: Cambridgeshire and the Isle ofEly (London: Oxford University

Press, 1938), 68 and 225.

96/3 S.n. Cunnynge.

96/22 Posteriorums of Aristotle: Aristotle's Analytica posteriora deals with

methods of applying the syllogism to demonstration for teaching.

97/6-7 As Aristotle when . . . lyfe: As in Eth.Nic. 1094a-1103a.

97/12-13 the which perfite end . . . worlde: See Or. 33.

97/13 S.n. Ora. ad Bru: See note to 97/12-13.

97/15-19 a man maye ymagine ... do: See Or. 7 and 100-101.

97/19 S.n. Arist. pol. 8.6: See note to 97/19-22.

97/19-22 And Aristotle saith . . . bothe: Cf. Arist. PoL 1342b.

97/27-29 Ismene in Sophocles . . . ende: See Soph. Antig. 92.

97/29 S.n. Soph. Anti: See note to 97/27-29.

97/7 S.n. De Inuen. 2: See note to 99/7-8.

NOTES AND COMMENTARY 161_

99/7-8 God gyueth not . . . other: See Inv. Rhet. 2.1.

100/3 S.n. De Orat: See note to 100/3-7.

100/3-7 whiche doeth playnlye saye . . . aboute: Cf. Cic. De Or. 3.22 and 85.

100/8 Plato dothe also ... in Euthydemus: See PI. Euthphr. 6D.

102/17 S.n. Bracer.

103/25 S.n. Stringe.

103/36 S.n. Eustathius: See note to 103/36-104/1.

103/36-104/1 Eustathius apon this . . . twange: Eustathius of Thessalonica,

died c. 1195/6, a Byzantine scholar and author of commentaries on classi-

cal texts; see Eustathii archiepiscopi Thessalonicensis Commentarii ad Homeri

Iliadem, ed. Gottfried Stallbaum (Leipzig, 1827-30), 1:362; ed. M. Van der

Valk, 4 vols. (Leiden, 1971-87), 1:715.


103/38-39 Twang quod the... flue: IL 4.125-126.

104/2 S.n. Fauorinus: See note to 104/3 below.

104/2 Hippias. Untraced. "Hippias" is a transliteration of the Greek adjective

meaning of a horse or horses but is not used by Homer to describe bow-

strings; cf. Hom. //. 6.495, 15.537, and 19,382 where iTiTieioc; refers to the

horse hair used to ornament helments. See note to 104/3 below.

104/3 manye good authors . . . tonge: Guarino Favorinus (or Favorino), born

in Favera (hence his preferred name) 1445-50 and died 1537, humanist

Greek scholar and disciple of Politian, made bishop of Nocera in 1514. Re-

ferred to here is probably his Greek lexicon. Magnum ac perutile dictiona-

rium quod quidem Varino Phavorinus Camers Nucerinus episcopus ex multis

auctorihus in ordinem alphabeti collegit (Rome, 1523).

105/1 S.n. Bowe.

105/2-6 Home bowes are . . . handbredes: //. 4.105-111.


105/7 S.n. Psalm. 17: See note to 105/7 below.

105/7 Scripture maketh mention . . . bowes: Ps. 17:35 (18:34).

105/14 S.n. Hero, in pol: See note to 105/14-16.

105/14-16 The Ethiopians had .. . cubites: Hdt. 7.69.

105/16-17 The men of Inde . . . strengthe: Hdt. 7.65.

105/17-19 And no maruayle . . . bote: Hdt. 3.98.

105/18 S.n. In Thalia: See notes to 52/9 and 105/17-19.

105/19-20 S.n. Arrianus. 8: See note to 105/19-21.

105/19-21 These bowes, sayeth ... it: Arr. Anab. 8.16.

105/22 S.n. In Polym: See note to 105/22-26.

105/22-26 The Lycians vsed . . . after: Hdt. 7.92.

105/27 S.n. Metamor. 1: See note to 105/27-28.

105/27-28 Quid sheweth that . . . wood: Ov. Met. 1.697-698.

105/37 S.n. Virgilius. Georg. 2: See note to 105/37 below.

105/37 Taxi torquentur in arcus: Verg. Georg. 2.446-448.


106/4-5 as good counsayle ... it: Cf. Tilley C692 and C693.

106/34 Sone ynough ifwel ynough: Tilley S640.

108/24-25 euen as Cicero ...l.De Or. 2.88-89.

109/24 S.n. Bowecase.

110/29 S.n. Freates.

\\\/(i-7 the nature of heate . . . fast: Arist. Gen.Corr. 329b.

112/13 S.n. Hero, euterp: See notes to 52/9 and 112/13-15.

112/13-15 Herodotus doth tel . . . on: Hdt. 2.71.

112/15-16 The tree called Cornus: Latin comus, -i, refers to the cornel or cor-

nelian cherry tree.

112/16 S.n. Sen. Hipp: See note to 112/17.

112/17 Comus is taken . . . Seneca: Seneca, Hippolytus, 545b-547a.

112/19 S.n. Virg. enei. 9. See note to 112/19 below.

112/19 Volat Itala Comus: "The Italian cornel shaft flies [through the air]"

(Verg. Am. 9.698).

112/21-25 Herodotus in describynge . . . Inde: Herodotus discusses the bows

and arrows used by the Indians, Ethiopians, and Lycians in his section on

Xerxes's army in 7.65, 69, and 92. He describes the bows of the Indians as

being reed (KaA,(i|j,iva) (7.65); the bows of Ethiopians as being of palm-

wood ((()Oiv(Kiva) (7.69); and the bows of Lycians as being cherry wood(Kpavgiv) (7.92).

112/22 S.n. In Polym: See notes to 52/9 and 112/21-25.

112/25 S.n. Arrianus. 8: See note to 112/25-26.

112/25-26 The shaftes in . . . saye: Arr. Anab. 8.16.

112/26 S.n. Q. Curt. 8: See note to 112/26 below.

112/26 at the least a yarde: Quintus Curtius, History ofAlexander, 8.9.28.

112/30-31 In Crete and Italie . . . Italy: Pliny HN 16.65.

112/31 S.n. PH. 16.36: See note to 112/30-31.

115/14-15 And therfore Aristotle . . . ayre: Cf. Aristotle, Cael. 287a-b.

116/35 S.n. PI. 16.36: See note to 116/35-36.

116/35-36 Shaftes to haue . . . shewe: Poll. Onom. 1.10.6; Julius Pollux of

Naucratis was a scholar and rhetorician who flourished in the late second

century (Pliny HN 16.65).

116/36 S.n. I. Pol. 1.10: See note to 116/35-36.

116/36-37 onely the Lycians . . . fedders: Hdt. 7.92.

116/37 S.n. Her. Polym: See notes to 52/9 and 116/36-37.

117/11-14 the best shoter . . . saye: Hesiod, Scutum, 129-34.

117/13 S.n. Hesiod. in Scuto. Her: See note to 117/11-14.

117/18 S.n. A Gouse.

117/27-28 a gouse wyth cryinge . . . lupiter: Livy relates the story that in

ancient Rome cackling geese awakened sentries, who repulsed a night raid

by the Gauls on the Capitoline Hill. This hill — the "Capitolium" — was

the site of the temple dedicated to Jupiter which housed a magnificent gol-

den statue of the god (5.47).


117/30 S.n. Propertius: See note to 117/30 above.

117/31 Anseris & tutum . . . louem: "And by the voice of a goose Jove was

saved" (Propertius 3.1.12).

117/33-34 had a gouse not a kekede: I.e., "had a goose not have cackled."

The form ^ is a common spelUng of have from the thirteenth through the

seventeenth centuries. The form kekede is past of keak ("cackle"), showing

reduction of vowel length by analogy with such verbs as keep > keped >kept and sleep > sleped > slept. In this sentence, the construction a kekede

("have cackled") shows the redundant use of the auxiliary in a negative

subjunctive clause of a complex sentence, which was not uncommon in the

16th century; see OED, s.v., "have" 26: "Cleanthes might well have failed

. . . had not accident have helped him."

117/35-37 Dyd make a golden . . . Geese: Livy 5.47.

117/36 S.n. Liuius. 1. Dec. 5: See note to 117/35-37.

118/37-38 God sendeth vs . . . Fletchers: Cf. Tilley G222.

119/31 S.n. De nat. deor: See note to 119/31-33.

119/31-33 therfore sayth Cicero . . . wythall: Cic. NatD. 2.49.

119/43-120/1 Necessitie, the inuentour . . . saye: See Tilley N61.

120/12 S.n. Iliados. 4: See note to 120/12-13.

120/12-13 Vp to thepappe . . . yron: Hom. //. 4.123.

120/14-15 as Vlysses shaftes . . . Penelope: Hom. Od. 22.1-121.

120/16 S.n. Odysse. 21: See note to 120/16 below.

120/16 Quite through a dare . . . heed: Hom. Od. 21.422-23.

120/17-18 It is playne . . . string: Hom. //. 4.151-152.

120/18 S.n. Iliados. 4: See note to 120/17-18.

120/21-25 as it apereth . . . brasse: Hom. Od. 21.55-66.

120/24 S.n. Odysse. 21: See note to 120/21-25.

120/26 The men of Scythia . . . brasse: Hdt. 4.81; contrast Hdt. 4.71.

120/26-27 The men of Inde . . . yron: Hdt. 7.65.

120/27 S.n. Hero. Clio. Polym: See notes to 52/9, 120/26 above, 120/26-27,

and 120/27-28.

120/27-28 The Ethiopians vsed . . . tel: Hdt. 7.69. and Poll. Onom. 1.10.6.

120/28-29 The Germanes as . . . bone: Tac. Germ. 46.

120/32 S.n. I. Pol. 1.10: See note to 120/28-39.

120/32-39 lulius Pollux calleth . . . forkehead: Poll. Onom. 1.10.6.


121/4-5 Eighte good shaftes . . . forke heade: Hom. //. 8.297.

121/6-7 Pandarus heades and ... Homer: The evidence is inconclusive;

nowhere does the language suggest explicitly that the arrowheads used byPandarus and Ulysses were "broode arrow heades" as Ascham describes

them on 120/35-38. See, for example, //. 4.16-140 and Od. 21.415-423,

22.15-16, and 81-82.

121/9 S.n. Plutarchus in Crasso: See note to 121/9-12.

121/9-12 The Parthyans at . . . agayne: Plut. ViuCrass. 24.4 and 25.5.


121/12 S.n. Herodia. 1. See note to 121/12-15.

121/12-15 Commodus the Emperoure ... misse: Hdn. 1.15.5,

121/24-26 therefore nature, sayeth . . . ayre: See note to 115/14-15.

121/39 S.n. Pollux.7: See note to 121/39-122/6.

121/39 S.n. Psal. 7: See note to 121/40.

121/39-122/6 lulius Pollux maketh . . . them: Poll. Onom. 1.10.6.

121/40 scripture also speaketh . . . same: Ps. 7:14 [7:13].

122/1 S.n. Hero. Vran: See note to 52/9 and 122/1 below.

122/1 Herodotus doth tell: Hdt. 8.52.

123/40-124/3 Sir Humfrey Wingfelde . . . one: Suffolk lawyer and royal

commissioner, Sir Humphrey was an important member of one of the

leading landholding families in East Anglia. He maintained a large house-

hold in which he arranged for the education of his own and other men's

sons, including the young Roger Ascham during his early teens before his

matriculation at Cambridge in 1530. See Ryan, 11-13.

124/11 the Booke and the Bowe: See frontispiece, General Introduction, 18,

and frontispiece in the Notes and Commentary, 143.

125/4-5 whiche Cicero sayeth . . . nature: See Cic. De Or. 1,260-261.

126/1-4 And vertue it . . . proue: See Cic. Off. 1.151 and 2.52; and PI. Phdr.

250D-E.

126/9-11 that Crassus shewethe . . . craft: Cic. De Or. 1.6 and 3.22.

126/15-19 the noble paynter . . . comelinesse: Cic. Inv. Rhet. 4.307.

126/25 Hew Prophete: Yeoman of the King's guard, Hugh Profit (or

Proffytt) was named in a January 1545 list of grants by the Crown as one

of the bailiffs of the lordships of Norton and Stockum, Cheshire {L&P,

20:674).

126/26 Thomas and Raufe Cantrell: Thomas was appointed "gunner in the

Tower of London" in a grant on 23 October 1527 {L&P, 4.2:23); in May1544 he was recommended "especially" for his service in Ireland as "mas-

ter of the ordnance for two or three years, and otherwise, has served well"

{L&P, 19.1:302). Ralph is mentioned as notary public attendant at a reading

of a papal bull for Charles, Duke of Suffolk, by Humphrey Wingfield, As-

cham's former guardian, on 20 August 1529 {L&P, 4.3:261).

126/31-34 as Socrates taught . . . forth: Cf. Pi. Resp. 379b-383c.

129/5-6 And althoughe suche . . . saye: Cic. De Or. 1.17-19.

129/12 S.n. Standynge.

129/25 S.n. Nockynge.

129/35 S.n. Drawynge.


129/39-40 Vp to the pap . . , heed: Hom. //. 4.123,

129/41-130/2 The noble women . .. Amazones: Cf, Hdt, 4,110-119,

130/3 S.n. Procopius Hist. Pers: See notes to 130/3-4 below and 130/4-8.

130/3-4 Whether the olde way . . . pap: Procop, Bell.Pers. 1.1,11-12,


130/4-8 an excellente wryter . . . good: Procop. Bell.Pers. 1.1,11-12.

130/8 ovTihavov: "worthless." Procopius takes this word from //. 11.390;

Diomedes — not the Homeric narrator — applies the word to Paris for his

reliance on the bow and arrow.

130/15 S.n. Crosbowes.

130/16-18 Leo the Emperoure . . . pace: De bellico apparatu libeVy sig. f6.

130/21 S.n. Holding.

130/26 S.n. Lowsynge.

130/31 S.n. Leo: See note to 130/31-34.

130/31-34 Leo the Emperoure . . . strynge: Cf. De bellico apparatu liber, sig,

i5,

130/43-131/1 that prouerbe myght be ... far of: Tilley G72.

131/8-9 S.n. wynde and wether.

131/28-29 becumme a marchaunt of Eele skinnes: Le., become like a mer-

chant with no merchandise. Tilley M882.

133/19 fitter rather for the carte: Le., appropriate to be a carter, frequently

cited as a "type of low birth or breeding. .. . Common in 16thc" {OEDS.V. "carter").

134/32 Knowe thy selfe: Tilley K175.

135/19 whan the Plage was in Cambrige: ?July 1528.

135/33 the hye waye . . . Borowe bridge: Topcliffe upon Swale is about five

miles southwest of Thirsk in Yorkshire; Boroughbridge is about five miles

directly south of Topcliffe and on the river Ure.

137/24 S.n. Hippo. De morb. vulg. See note to 137/24-25.

137/24-25 Hippocrates in teachynge . . . waye: In Of the Epidemics, Hippoc-

rates bases his descriptions and explanations of the contagious diseases al-

most entirely on case histories of persons whom he attended and studied

during their illnesses.

139/37-38 The eye is . . . parte: Cf. Tilley E230.

140/33 All affections and . . . bodye: Cf. Tilley A48 and A50.

EMENDATIONS

Except as noted in the Textual Introduction, 33-34, all departures from the

base-text are listed below. The source of the altered reading appears im-

mediately following the square bracket after the lemma. Accordingly

this] 71; his

means that his appears in the base-text and that the source of the emenda-

tion to this is the 1571 edition.

37/10 Ars,] 71; _^

39/35 men.)] 71; _^)

41/30 he shal] Wright; ^ shal

44/8 Heathen] 71; Herhen

48/30 fruite] 71; _,

49/35 while.] 71; ^^

50/13 other,] 71; _

50/33 prouerbe.)] 71; _-^)

52/9 Medes] 89; Medees HN 71

54/33 oulde.] 71; _^

56/3 Appollo.] 7U J56/38 smoothe,] 71; _*

57/3 Plato, ] 71; _-^

57/8 and] 71; an

57/12 hym.] 71; _,

57/15 sing. Whyche] 71; _-whyche

57/33 Well] 71; well

62/13 Winter. Whereof] 71; winter- whereof

62/37 they] 89; the

64/20 body,] 71; _*

65/33 shewe,] 71; _*

66/16 Christ] 71; Chist

168 EMENDATIONS

66/17 catel,] 71; _*

67/16 to] 71; _ to

67/38 nayles,] 71; _*

67/42 go,] 71; _^

68/1 twoo,] 71; _*

68/2 &c.] 71; _,

68/13 with] 71; _,

68/16 stode] 71; ^,

68/16 doynge] 71; do _

70/nplaye,]71; ^^

70/26 tymes] 71; ^:

71/37-38 wyllyng] Y et al.; wylng HN72/41 and (if] 1761; (and if

73/13 al:] 89; _. HN 71

73/27 they] 71; the

74/27 side:] 89; ^^ HN 71

74/30 sticke,] 89; _ HN 71

74/34 assent,] 89; _. HN 71

75/12 broughte,] 71; _.

75/16 5%,] 89; _>^HN7175/20 ^me,] 89; ^.HN7176/5 bowe,] 89; _^ HN 71

76/7 twayne,] 89; _-^ HN 71

76/11 mete,]?!; _^

76/19 bowe,] 89; _. HN 71

76/19 stronge,] 89; _. HN 71

76/22 5pi7/,] 89; _^ HN 71

76/25 woo,] 89; _. HN 71

77/23 Parthians] 71; Partians

82/16 pollicies] 71; polcies

83/22 paragraphes.] 89; _^ HN 71

83/41 Emperours] 71; Emperous

86/7 them,] 71; ^^

90/24 armes,] 89; _. HN 71

93/16 boulinge] 71; boouUng

93/29 compelled] BL et al.; be _

93/31 shal become] Wright; shalbe come95/6 a brode] 71; abrode

95/18 slouthfulnesse] 71; shouthfulnesse

95/25 Prouostes,] 71; _-^

95/25 Vsshers,] 71; _.

96/12 shoter.] 71; _

98/13 bene] 71; be'

EMENDATIONS 169

98/34 it:] BL et al; _.

103/18 shooter.] 71; _^

103/18 Some] 71; some

103/37 Homere,] 71; homere*

103/39 flue:] 71; _^

104/5 cast.] 71; _,

104/6 lest] 71; lesse

104/29 agayne] 71; a gayne

105/29 of.] 71; _-^

106/16 streighte] 71; steyght

107/3 thinkinge] 71; thinkynke

108/7 of:] 71; _,

108/5 than] 71; that

111/10 A] 71;-^

112/3 sn euterp] Wright; utep

112/26 yarde,] 71; _.

112/39 woodes:] 71; _.

112/39 as,] _.

113/22 Archer] 71; Arther

114/20 scudding] 1761; studding

116/42 they] 71; the

117/1 lowe,] _^

117/39 a man by] B et al.; aman hym117/41 gouse.] 71; _,

118/1 belonginge] 71; benlonging

118/12 courser,] _*

118/17 fether] Y et al.; fethers

120/15 Penelope] 71; Penolepe

120/27 yron.] 71; _*

121/26 ayre.] 71; _^

121/37 better] 71; vetter

122/36 they] 71; he

127/7 discomodityes] 71; discommoties

128/7 slowlye] 71; slwolye

130/14 Homer,] 71; _^

131/16 the cheefe] BL; che chefe

131/25 weyghtye] 71; weyghttye

131/30 a] 71;

.

136/10-11 swiftlyer,] 89; _-^HN 71

136/12-13 waye, sometyme] 89; ^-^ ^ HN 71

136/37 worst.] 71; _^

137/7 braye,] 89; _.HN71139/9 waies] 71; _.

170 EMENDATIONS

139/32 certayne] 71; cerrayne

141/9 Stoycians] 71; Stoiicians

GLOSSARY

An asterisk [*] signifies that the gloss supplements information in the entry

in the Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed., 20 vols. (Oxford: Oxford Uni-

versity Press, 1989); a plus sign [+] indicates that Ascham's use of the

word is the earliest instance cited in the OED entry.

Aa nether another 107/36; a nothers anothers 68/15.

a pace apace 100/25.

a fore adv. before, previously 111/17; ziortprep. before A9/17.

a fraide afraid 99/16.

a good in earnest 41/34.

a misse amiss 40/1.

a sunder asunder 104/19.

abroche, setteth sets . . . into action 67/9-10.

ace jot 68/19.

administration service 134/6.

*after dyner afternoon 49/19.

agaynst close to 62/16.

agglettes metal sheathes at ends of laces to facilitate threading 102/28.

akes aches 47/29.

alow(e) approve of (for publication) 38/7, 40/37.

ani any 38/20.

*anticke (antiques), daunce assume ludicrous posture(s) (see OEDs.v. "antic"

B.sh. 3.c) 61/25, 128/42.

any thynge adv. to any extent 111/11.

apere appear 38/27.

*apte are apt (see OED s.v. "apt" v.) 90/9.

araye, kepynge of maintaining military formation 73/22.

artillerie, artillery military devices for discharging missiles 83/32, 42/37 (see

74/7).

aspc aspen 113/14.

172 GLOSSARY

'''attonement rapprochement (see OED s.v. "atone" 1 and 5.v. "atonement")

88/17.

*at vnwares unexpectedly (see OED s.v. "unawares" 4.a) 102/28.

aule awl 134/13.

auoyding voiding 72/1.

Bbarbitons lyre- or lute-like instruments 56/21.

barres false dice 67/17.

bearyng ?portable 83/37.

bearynge gere "gear or apparatus ... by which ... a pair of horses supported

the ends of he swingle-tree of a plough" (OED) 107/4.

beched cursed literally, "bitched") 68/1; beched boones cursed bones, i.e.,

dice 68/1.

behauiour bearing 129/15.

behinde adv. remaining, left behind 123/22, 138/31; prep, behinde you re-

maining for you to say 119/40.

belong relate, pertain 104/10.

bent pa. ppl. concentrated on 60/36; n. curvature 102/22.

bet pa. ppl. ?beat 123/9.

bewrayeth betrays 54/12.

bickerynges skirmishes 90/41.

blayne blain 63/1.

blered stuck 61/24; blereth sticks 127/24.

blysse bless 127/26.

bobtayles 115/2; see 114/43-115/2.

boole trunk 107/25.

*boordes ships (see OED s.v. "board" sb.N.U) 131/32.

borne downe overthrown 67/14.

bought bend 118/19.

boulinge bowling 93/16.

bracer, braser guard for the wrist and forearm 101/16, 45/3.

brant(e) adv. erect 89/29; adj. steep 69/15.

brasell brazil-wood, from East Indian tree caesalpinia sappan 105/30.

braye mound, bank 137/7.

brenning burning 68/9.

brickie brittle 117/2.

bront(e) onslaught 74/29, 74/33.

brunte, at a at once 90/32.

bugges objects of terror 71/22.

*bushment mass of bushes 78/8.

buted booted, profited 85/21.

GLOSSARY 173

but(tes) target for archery; properly the mound of which a target is set 117/6,

91/24.

by lyke in all liklihood 68/30; *by likelye 98/24.

bye ... on buy . . . from 103/36.

Ccan . . . thanke express to , . . gratitude 51/11.

can no skyll has no knowledge 66/31.

case 109/3; see put case.

+ cast Pcasting or shooting power, flexibility of a bow (see OED s.v. "cast" sb.

I.IO) 49/15; pple. a. warped 49/21; casting shooting 49/25.

chalenge lay claim to 87/6,

chefe finest 107/8.

chop and chaunge to change about; "an alliterative phrase in which, as the

force of the word chop has become indistinct, the meaning has passed from

that of 'to barter' to that of 'to change, alter' " {OED s.v. "chop" v} 4)

66/27.

clame climbed 82/9.

+clamparde put hastily or clumsily together (see OED s.v. "clamper" 1) 86/19.

cockerde vp brought up 53/32.

cogging cheating (at dice), "some sleight of hand, made use of to control the

falling of the die" [OED s.v. "cog" v? 1) 66/30.

commodious advantageous, profitable 50/17 \ commoditie advantage 42/33.

common hutche government's general revenue fund (see 1536 example in

OEDS.V. "hutch" 1) 117/36.

common of discuss 50/8.

communaltie commonalty 87/34.

communication conversation 47/15.

compace, compasse n. boundary 87/23-24; +trew compasse a circular arc

110/34; ende compasse rounded end 115/31; round compace curved arc

(of the flight of an arrow) 119/15; rounde compace, comme be in a curved

arc 108/5-6, +119/12; strayght compace Pin an evenly, symmetrical arc

123/17; '''compasse, fet suche a make such a circular motion 127/25; v.

*compasse devise 66/10; adv. + compasse, to shoote "to shoot at an eleva-

tion, so as to allow for the curve of the projectile" {OED) 98/17-18.

*contrary adv. on the other hand 40/29.

cote coat 118/6.

cote Armours coat of arms 78/15-16.

couled pared 118/8; couling(e), coulynge 116/24, 119/38, 119/22.

countries regions 88/18.

courage vigor 47/10.

*coureth crouches (see OED s.v. "cower" 1) 127/38.

174 GLOSSARY

coyting(e) playing at quoits 61/5; "method of cheating at dice" {<DED s.v.

"quoiting" b) 66/30.

+ creased having a crease 122/39.

connynge, cunning, conning(e) skilfull 44/12, 52/22; skill 70/19-20, 72/29.

cure duty 54/43.

customable customary 91/23.

Ddaunce anticke see anticke.

daynties choice delicacies 81/38.

ded deed 42/7.

deed dead 118/7.

despise scorn 64/36,

differences, put make distinctions 132/31-32; difference, putteth no makes

no distinctions (and adjustments) 131/29.

disconunoditie disadvantage 74/17.

draue drove 47/11.

draweth ?straightens 118/32.

dresse make, render 108/5.

+ dribber a shooter who "dribs" his arrow, that is, shoots it short or wide

93/32.

*driue a shoote take a shot (see OED s.v. "drive" v. n.8.a) 91/6.

*dropsy adj. i.e., causing the morbid condition characterized by the accumu-

lation of water 64/19.

Eether either 94/19.

euill defective, unproductive 49/3.

ewe yew 105/31.

experience, put them ... in try them 130/40.

ey ay 67/38.

Ffaire adv. becomingly, fittingly 94/39; fayreste Archers archers who have the

best form 126/21.

falloe fallow 48/43; falloed ploughed 93/20.

false adv. incorrectly 105/24; *false dice loaded dice 66/26.

fantasie personal opinion 71/19; liking 116/2.

farforth far 100/11-12.

GLOSSARY 17\5

*faul yield 49/3; +faule of the leafe autumn 62/13; *faule, good to the pro-

ductive of bountiful yield 93/5-6.

*fault, if it if it be necessary 40/12.

feate act 80/36.

fence fencing 95/22.

fenny i.e., inhabiting or growing in a fen 118/11.

fewsty mouldy 81/38.

fingers units of measure, which approximates the breadth of a finger 79/19.

+flattes dice that fall unfairly when thrown (see OED s.v. "flat" ahsol. and

sb.^ 8.b) 66/27.

flood stream or river 112/31.

+forehande an arrow for shooting straight before one 115/9.

fortune chance to 69/13.

foumerdes polecats 65/18.

+foysting palming a loaded die so as to introduce it when required (see OEDS.V. "foist" v.^) 66/30.

freat(es) decayed spot (s) +106/17, 110/42; +freetes 110/30; fretes 110/29; v.

freate become decayed 108/2; frcatynge becoming decayed 102/29.

freers friars 87/36.

fusticke fustic 113/3.

Ggadered gathered 94/21.

gage engage, i.e., agree 66/40.

gal, +gaule flaw (see OED s.v. "gall" sb.^ 4) 115/11, 106/16.

gentyle pagan 73/9.

gere gear 63/23; matter 68/28.

girde, at a in a jerking motion 90/31; *girdes jerking 130/27.

glorieth exults with pride 59/30-31.

+ gone going too far; "In Archery, said of an arrow when from its flight it is

seen to have been shot beyond the mark" {OED s.v"go" 48b) 54/4,

131/41.

good true 98/34; very 108/4.

+ gourdes false dice (see OED s.v. "gourd" sb.') (^ITJ.

graffed grafted 127/17.

gyles guiles, i.e., shifting 136/34.

*gyue lean (see OED s.v. "give" 47) 69/15.

Hhand craft man handicraftsman \lbll(i.

*hande, on that on that side (see OED s,v. "hand" sh. 32.h) 139/14-15.

176 GLOSSARY

handbredes handbreadths 105/6.

hardbeame hornbeam 113/5.

hard tel on heard tell of 97/23-24.

haroe harrow 67/30.

he the 3rd person masculine pronoun was occasionally applied to things not sex-

ually distinguished 108/29.

headie heady, i.e., domineering 57/7.

heate of ardor for 62/39.

hedlynge, heedling headlong 94/15, 69/17.

heetes, to gyue them to heat them 106/26.

herden "a coarse fabric made from the hards of flax or hemp" {OED) 109/11.

hetynges heatings 107/9.

+hie rigged high-ridged, i.e., having a high ridge or ridges (see OED s.v.

"high-ridged" a.) 122/39.

him, hym it 108/2, 107/43; hym self itself 40/42; compare he.

his its 40/15; compare he.

hole, hoole whole 61/40, 89/36.

holie, holye holly 115/30, 115/38.

*home adv. to the mark 135/24.

*hoose provide with hose Wh/Ki.

houlde keep 67/31.

huddermother concealment 54/11.

hulder elder 113/10.

humble bee 58/28; see Notes and Commentary.

hunfyshskin houndfish skin, that is, a piece dog-fish skin 138/15.

husband farmer 48/29.

hye hie, i.e., hasten 116/34.

hye toppes sails 132/3.

I

i. abbreviation of"\d est" 105/38, 130/8.

* + iackes, turned so many oute of theyr deprived so many of their jackets;

i.e., turned so many from the offensive and put them on the defensive,

routed so many of them (see OED s.v. "Jack" sb.^ l.b. and c. and s.v.

"turn" 76.b) 90/2.

ilnesse wickedness 52/31.

in with 39/17, 111/41; against 50/34; in the case of 54/16; on 55/38, 60/2; by

61/21; about 116/31; in to up to 73/25.

in sunder asunder 90/32.

*indifferent accessible (see OED s.v. "indifferent" a.^) 99/33.

*indifferencye accessibility (see OED s.v. "indifferency" 5.b.) 99/35.

*it' itself (see OED s.v. "it" IV.ll) 63/42.

GLOSSARY 177

*iustely properly (see OED s.v. "justly" 4.) 138/29.

K+ kekede cackled (see OED 5.v. "keak" and Notes and Commentary) 117/34.

+knap snap 104/16.

kyrtils women's gowns 57/13.

L*laste continuation, durability (see OED s.v. "last" sb.^) 125/29.

iayed for him Pmaintained, Pwagered 63/19-20.

leathe, leathie ?pliably 116/38, 123/36.

ledder leather 109/34.

+ lenght, lengthe, keping of transversing the correa distance (an arrow must

travel to hit the mark) 94/29, 101/8; le(e)se . . . lengthe fail to transverse

the correct distance 122/31, 129/28.

le(e)sc loose 122/31, 129/28; see lenght.

lesinges lies 66/18.

letted prevented M/l%\ lettes obstructions 48/35.

leude ignorant 54/33.

leue leave, cease 42/6.

leuse loosen 115/36.

*leuelyng aiming (see OED s.v. "levelling" vhl. sb. 1) 74/13.

+lipe sudden movement, jerk (see OED s.v. "lipe" sb.^ 90/22.

+ loose, lowse n. release of the arrow 128/17, 128/37; lowsinge 45/24.

lubber big, clumsy, stupid fellow 102/37.

+ lugge massive bow that is heavy and clumsy (see OED s.v. "lug" sb.^) 49/16.

lust to joy in 66/21.

lyght daye daylight 65/37.

Mmaluesye malmsey 40/43.

man hys man's 50/29-30.

marisses marshes 80/20.

mastres mistress 59/27.

mastries, do . . . perform . . . feats 140/32.

meane mediocre 44/17.

meate a meal 47/8; food 56/36.

metelye meetly, i.e., suitably 72/38.

middes middle point 127/33.

mindsake mind's sake 50/6.

178 GLOSSARY

+minikin affectedly elegant 57/26; minikin string "thin string of gut used for

the treble string of the lute or viol" {OED s.v. "minikin" ^.adj. l.b.)

49/11.

moder mother 85/22,

moistye, +moystie damp 135/14, 135/15.

mowted molted 47/25.

much(e) what pretty much 106/4, 75/9.

N*ne(a)re close, accurate (see OED s.v. "near" a. 6.a and b.) 90/13, 131/10;

*adv. 41/29; *nerer more accurately at 120/6, more accurately 131/20.

nether neither 47/7.

neyther nether \17/19.

nocke notch in the butt end of the arrow for receiving the string or at the

ends of the bow for the string 103/10; v. fit the arrow to the bow string

118/26; nocked provided with nocks or notches (at the ends of the bowfor the string) 104/18; nockynge fitting the arrow to the bow string 45/21.

noman no one 69/12.

none noon 48/28.

norse nurse 59/38.

nought, noughtly adv. badly 103/5, 94/3; noughtie poor, inferior 42/10;

noughty spoiled 81/38; noughte, noughtye wicked 88/6, 65/15; nough-

tinesse, noughtynesse wickedness 54/7, 65/15.

Ooccupied employed 42/34; occupye employ 93/26; occupying employing

42/7.

of by^ 38/1; from 42/15; off 52/23; as^ 52/40; on^ 52/40; for 54/1.

on at 39/2; of 52/12; to 60/36; in 61/11; by 97/28.

on slepe asleep 85/5.

ones once 41/33.

openly publicly 59/30.

optaine obtain 99/22.

or ere 62/38.

ordinaunce provision 95/14.

orels or else 40/19.

other others 41/22.

othersome some others 118/14.

+ ouerthwart(e) contestatory (see OED s.v. "overthwart" a. A.l.c) 90/42;

ouertwhart indirect 90/14; ouertwharte against 107/28-29.

ouldeman old man 68/37.

GLOSSARY 179

out yles islands lying away from the mainland 39/3-4.

outelandishe foreign 67/11.

Ppartes parties 42/32.

passe(d) surpass(ed) 39/29, 66/9; passynge surpassing 47/20.

perche pierce, i.e., pass 122/22.

physike wholesome regimen 47/9; medicine 70/15.

*piddelynge acting in a trifling way 108/18.

pike trim, make neat 108/5; pikynge 107/32, 108/19-20.

+pinche form a pinch {see pynche) (see OED s.v. "pinch" v. I. I.e.) 108/2.

pinchese {see pynche) 110/38.

+ pinion outermost feather of a bird's wing (see OED s.v. "pinion" sb} 3)

118/14.

pinkes small fishing boats 132/40.

+pinnes knots (see OED s.v. "pin" sb} 9.a.) 107/20.

pithe strength, force 105/11; piththy forceful 115/8.

plainesong chant melody used as cantus firmus for a contrapuntal treatment

57/39.

"plante sapling used as a pole or staff (see OED s.v. "plant" sb. I.l.b.) 107/19.

plat ?area 113/33.

plate Pmetal beaten into sheets 116/40.

pluckes jerks abruptly 103/7; +plucketh doun pulls down, i.e., weakens

41/24.

polypus polyp 55/38.

+porte "a train of attendants (as indicating a splendid style of living)" {OEDS.V. "port" sb.* I.2b.) 37/21; carriage, form 129/15.

powle pole 61/19.

pratelye prettily, i.e., cleverly, aptly 91/19.

pretence(s) aim(s) 64/14, 69/17.

preues proves 49/7.

prick(e)s, pryekes "bull's-eye; hence, a target, esp. one at a fixed distance,

having such a mark in its centre" {OED s.v. "prick" sb. IV. 10) 112/1,

96/26, 47/13; pricke heyghte Pat the height of the 'prick' 127/35-36;

+prickyng shooting at a 'prick' 90/12.

priksong written melody accompanying simple theme {compare plainesong

57/40.

prouidens prudence 65/23.

"purpose discourse (see OED s.v. "purpose" 4.b.) 38/1.

put case suppose 109/3.

+ pynche "weakened place in a bow ... at which it tends to bend in an angle

as if pinched at this point" {OED s.v. "pinch" sb. II.8.) 106/17.

180 GLOSSARY

Q+quaisie queasy, i.e., fastidious (see OED s.v. "queasy" 3.b.) 56/38.

quarter with 101/27; see Notes and Commentary.

quicke, +quycke vigorous 49/15, 108/14; ^effervescent, strong 56/37; quick-

nesse vitality 60/39.

Rrace scratch 102/29.

ranker stronger 93/8.

recule recoil, i.e., retreat 76/31.

rede reed 105/16.

reparation maintenance 63/22.

+ reshe growne rush-grown, i.e., "[h]aving the slender tapering form of a

rush" {OEDs.v. "rush-grown") 115/2.

-i-retche reach (see OED s.v. "retch") 52/25.

-I- rig ridge, i.e., the "shoulder of an arrow-head" (^ED s.v. "rig" sb} 4.c.)

130/21.

ringman ring finger 102/36.

roughte reached, i.e., took 75/14.

roume space 102/11.

rydde rid, i.e., dispatch 102/13.

S

sad serious 48/14; sadlye seriously 47/15; +sadnesse, in good in earnest

98/34.

+ saddle backe n. saddle-backed feather {see sad(d)le backe(^ \V)/l(i.

sad(d)le backed 116/26, +119/25.

*salowe tree willow (see OED s.v. "sallow" sb. 4.a.) 96/2.

sambukes sabucas, i.e., small triangular harps in antiquity 56/21.

scarlet "some rich cloth , often of a bright red color, but . . . also sometimes

of other colours" {OED) 102/43.

sciences disciplines, arts 51/36.

scoler scholar, i.e., student 48/6.

seare, sere single 83/36, 45/6.

searynge cloth cering cloth, i.e., cloth used for application of wax 103/2-3.

*sely(e) silly, i.e., humble (see OED s.v. "silly" 2.a. and 3.b.) 117/16, 104/25.

sensibly consciously 135/29.

seruis tree service tree 113/9.

sette by esteemed 61/34.

shaftemente a unit of measure of about six inches 104/41.

GLOSSARY 181

+ sheaffe arrouse sheaf arrows, i.e., "arrow[s] of the kind . . . carried in a sheaf

for warfare" {OED s.v. "sheaf" 7.) 114/35.

shoote n. shoot, i.e., act of shooting 86/4, 90/19; shote v. shoot 41/21, 41/22;

shoter shooter 41/39; shoting, shotyng shooting 50/33, 50/39.

shorting shortening 108/19.

+ shoulder part (of the arrowhead) that widens out (see OED s.v. "shoulder"

6.) 122/21.

*shouldred heades arrow heads with projections 122/39.

sinke and treye French cinq and tres dl/AQ.

*sinke, synke reduce the inflexibility (of a bow) (see OED s.v. "sink" v. ll.s)

107/43, 106/26.

sleyghtes subtle strategies 72/14.

sleue, take a man by the attract a man's attention 65/28.

slyding moving deceptively and imperceptibly 66/29.

*slyppery oily and smooth 109/15.

smal narrowest part (in the circumfrance) 104/16.

+ snudge miser 49/6.

somewhat proun. a certain amount 55/7.

sore adv. hard 47/5; rf.hard; sorer harsher 49/39.

sorte band 52/10.

+ sory grieve 58/25.

souldyar soldier 44/1.

+ spittle lucke foul (see OED s.v. "spittle" sb. 4. attrib. and comb.) 65/26.

splettyd split 103/12.

+ squyrter "one who shoots jerkily with the bow" {OED) 93/31-32.

stacke stuck 121/11.

staffysh rigid, stiff 108/41.

stande stood, persisted 135/3.

standeth by consists of 94/26.

start fly forth suddenly 129/31; starte vp 116/39.

stayed strengthened 58/33.

stele shaft or stem of the arrow 112/37.

stomake(s) heart(s) 57/17, 56/17.

stoore(r) rough(er) 117/1, 118/11.

storye history 79/33.

stoure battle 74/36.

+ straytenesse of time straits of time, i.e., insufficiency of time (see OED s.v.

"straitness" l.f.) 62/33.

streyght straighten 69/8.

stroke influence, weight 90/8.

stuttynge stuttering 133/33.

style steel 105/7.

substance wealth 92/3.

182 GLOSSARY

succoure one who provides support 38/11,

sugercheste sugar-chest, Papplied to the hard wood of various trees? {OED 2.)

113/4.

sunder see a sunder and in sunder.

+ swalowe tayle barbed arrow-head (see OED s.v. "swallow-trail" 4) 120/38.

swappe stroke 118/32.

sweardes swords 75/25.

+ swyne backed "convexly curved outline" {OED s.v. "swine" 5.a) 116/25.

T+taperfashion "in the fashion or form of a taper" {OED) 115/2.

teatche teach 126/6.

ternie tymes periods during which law-courts were in session 124/3.

their selfe, theyr selfe themselves 59/37, 77/16.

them selfe themselves 50/29.

-l-themies tharms, i.e., intestines cleansed and prepared for such purposes as

bowstrings (see OED s.v. "tharm" 2) 103/41.

thone the one 61/23.

to toppc ouer tayle ?to tumble head over heels 61/27.

tone the one 110/23.

*trade method (see OED s.v. "trade" 3.a. and b.) 96/17.

tricke neat 49/15.

trimmed prepared 83/23; trym prepare 107/42.

turkie wood Pturkey oak {quercus cerris) 113/2.

-f-turkishnesse "addiction to what is Turkish" {OED 5.z'."Turkishly") 85/11.

+tyllerynges putting of a bow on a device (a "tiller") to stretch or bend it

(see OED s.v. "tillering") 106/26.

tyme, at a at various times 67/11-12.

V*vauntage, dise of a dice that deceptively provide advantage (see OED s.v.

"advantage" 5.c. and "vantage" 3.b. and c.) 66/26-27.

+ vnder hande "Meaning uncertain" {OED) 115/3.

vnhabited uninhabited 88/4.

vnlefull unlawful 71/32.

+ vplandish "living on . . . high ground" {OED s.v. "uplandish" 3.b.) 116/17.

vre, hath most in most practices 69/1.

vtter offer 42/10.

GLOSSARY 1^

wwaike line of march 81/10.

+wap "A turn of string wrapped round something" {OED s.v. "wap" sb?)

104/20.

warde prison 80/41.

ware spend 111/28.

warrant, of my with my assurances 106/17.

warse worse 124/17.

weete wet 138/9.

welfare v. 'may it go well with' 117/18.

well sene skilled, versed 96/22.

wem(me) defect 106/17, 115/11.

were wear 133/25; werith wears 107/21.

what soeuer whatever the 106/11.

what tyme at the time 122/1.

whether which of the two 95/36; whither 70/6.

whiche who 95/9.

while(s), whyies until 53/8, 67/9, 86/33.

whyp snap 108/7; whypping ?wrapping with cord 108/6.

windyng twisted 106/16; windynge prickes 140/14.

wite know 127/31.

withsay refuse 141/3.

worme tick or mite 63/2.

woode furious 68/8.

wowers wooers 120/15.

wriethe contrary to twist against 104/21; writhe twist 128/28.

wrinche wrench, i.e., jerk 128/28.

wrynchinge wrenching 127/36.

wuUe wool 113/26; see Notes and Commentary.

wych wych elm ("of which bows were made" [OED^ 105/30.

wynde twist 109/30.

wyndeshake "flaw or crack in timber, supposed to be due to a strain caused

by the force of the wind" {OED) 106/16-17.

ye yea 92/17.

APPENDIX

The following epistle dates from 1545, presumably shortly after Toxophilus

appeared in print in late spring, and accompanied a presentation copy to

Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester. The text comes from from Diser-

tissimi viri Rogeri Aschami, angli, Regiae maeiestati non ita pridem a Latinis

epistolis, familiarium epistolarum libri tres, 1576.

[sig. K4v] Domino Wintoniensi. — Librum meum regio consilio tam com-

muni omnium consensu probari, mirifica quadam laetitia me perfudit,

ornatissime pater: Singulari tamen praedicatione a te tam laudato viro lau-

dari, incredibili sane infinitae uoluptatis abundantia me totum delibutum

reddidit. Nam cum tu in omni rerum gerendarum suceptione singulos con-

silio, in quauis autem rerum scribendarum institutione, vniversos iudicio

superas, tibi prefecto vni atque ceteris vniuersis hoc institutum meumprobari longe pluris facio. In hoc libro scribendo, longissime abesse & dis-

crepare ab vniuerso fere Anglorum scriptorum numero studebam, nonquod aliquid Anglice scriptum esse aegre feram, sed quod plurimum homi-

nes indoctos et temerarios in hoc studendi genere elaborasse intelligam.

Materiam autem inanem, aut eorum facultati imparem sequuntur, in qua

re verba propria & perspicua fugiunt, translata et ad verum splendorem ac-

commodata nesciunt. Dein omnis rectae tractationis ignari & imperiti sunt.

Nam dialecticam ad rationcinationem, aut rhetoricam ad exornationem, ne

summis quidem labris vnquam gustauerunt, & sic in nostra lingua vernacu-

la non domestici et proprij sed peregrini et aduenae esse student. Cum hoc

nimis verum esse scio, Anglos ad Anglice scribendum nudos et inanes [sig.

K5] facultatis, praecipites autem et plenos temeritatis, tam inconsiderate

irruere vehementer aegre fero. Audaciores enim non peritiores in hanc remfere soli hos aliquot annos incubuere. Quae res et magnam confusionem in

7 atque] 1578; quam

My Lord of Winchester — My book's receiving approval from the king's

council with such widespread consensus fills me with such wonderful hap-

piness, most distinguished father. Still more, to be praised with commenda-

tion by you a singular person so praiseworthy completely fills me with an

extraordinary abundance of truly infinite joy. For since you surpass indi-

viduals in the council in the judgment of all sorts of business matters and

in all manner of writing of things, I offer this my undertaking to be ap-

proved by you, a leader more distinguished than any by far. In the writing

of this book, I have endeavored to separate and distinguish myself very

much from almost the entirety of English authors: not because I have a

dim view of anything written in English but because I recognize that very

many unlearned, over-weening men take up this kind of endeavor. They

also pursue matter that is either worthless or unsuitable given their abili-

ties, in which subjects they do not observe diction that's appropriate and

transparent and are ignorant of metaphor suitable to true splendor. Next

they are ignorant and inexperienced in every sort of correct arrangement.

For they have never even tasted even a little dialectic for reasoning or rhet-

oric for ornamentation, and thus in our vernacular they seek to be not na-

tive and appropriate but foreign and outlandish. Since I know this to be

very much the case, I am grievously distressed that Englishmen are un-

skilled and lacking in ability to write in English, and not only headstrong

and full of presumption but also without consideration and vehement in

rushing into such matters. For some years now only the more audacious

and not the more skilled have indulged themselves in this kind of thing.

They have brought great confusion into our language and filled this king-

186 APPENDIX

nostram linguam inuexit, et hoc regnum ineptissimis omnis generis libris

oppleuit. Sequutus sum ego rem nee mihi propter vsum imparem nee cui-

quam perniciosam & inutilem, vbi si tuo iudicio aliqua ex parte satisfeci,

& voto meo plurimum & optimorum certe expectationi aliquid me satsi-

facturum scio. Ad hunc vero librum scribendum plurimae me rationes co-

hortatae sunt, vel vt aliquibus praeclaris viris, qui me nimio sagittandi

studio a grauioribus rebus distineri putabant, aliqua exparte cognitum esset

non omne tempus meum x^ TO^sCeiv 6KT£TO^Ev5CT0ai ut Aristophanis

verbo utar, sed ut praeclara haec res plurima occupatione vsurpata, aliqua

aliquando opera mea, si non ad summam perfectionem, ad mediocrem

tamen conatum exornata in lucem conspectumque hominum apparet; vel

vt ego tenui & exigua viuendi conditione vsus, longe infra communem stu-

diosorum vsum positus, et iam recenti hinc commigratione in meliorem

lucem reuerendissimi Patris & summi patroni mei Domini Edvardi Ebora-

censis in magnam solitudinem coniectus, vel hac saltem via insisterem,

quae me, si non aliquem vitae splendorem et speciem (quod non desidero)

ad quietem tamen aliquam & studioso homini neces- [sig. K5v] sariam vi-

uendi facultatem, (qua re vehementer opus habeo) aliquando esset perduc-

tura. Et hoc meum consilium foelicior consequitur euentus, si pro eo

amore quo literas et earum cultores vnice amplecteris, aliquod testimonium

iudicij tui de me (cum occasio ad id tulerit) me meamque caussam, apud

regiam majestatem adiuvet. A regia autem majestate nihil prius aut maiore

studio expecto, quam vt studia mea in Italia & transmarinis partibus

aliquot annos sustentari possint. Hie scopus est, quem Toxophilus meus

ferire elaborat: hunc si attigero, & rectissime et honestissime collimasse

putabo. In eo majorem spem hujus petitiovis meae adducor, quo certius in-

telligo, Regiam majestatem solere praestantibus sagittariis (cuius rei nee ego

omnino imperitus sum) sed literarum penitus rudibus, prareclaras et eas

perpetuas vivendi conditiones tribuere. Ego igitur ad banc rem conficien-

dam, tantum de dominatione tua mihi poUiceor, quantum honestissima

caussa summa auctoritate, literarum studia ab vnico earundem patrono.

Alumnus Cantabrigiae ab eius dignissimo Cancellario expectare potest.

Dominus Jesus etc.

6 me] 1578; meae

7 esset] 1578; esse

15 solitudinem] 1578; solicitudinem

31 caussa] 1578; ~ a

APPENDIX 187

dom with most foolish books of every sort. I have pursued matter to

which I am not unequal on account of my experience and which is neither

harmful nor unprofitable for anyone. Whereupon if I have satisfied your

judgment in any part, I know that I have very much satisfied my goal and

certainly the expectations of my betters. Indeed very many considerations

have prompted me to write this book. First that certain distinguished men,

who have thought that I have been distracted from graver matters by mypursuit of shooting, might know that not all my time "has been shot

away," to use Aristophanes's words, but that this most excellent thing

which is employed in very many ways might appear openly and in the

view of all men treated in, if not the very best at least a perfectly satis-

factory manner; even as I — accustomed to a poor and humble way of life

and cast far beneath the common lot of scholars, and now quite isolated by

the recent departure to a better life of the most reverend Father and myvery great patron. Lord Edward of York — would at least begin on a way

which, if not to a kind of splendor and magnificence of life (which I do

not desire), would nevertheless lead me one day to a certain quiet and

means of living necessary to a scholarly person, which I very much have

need of. And it would be a very happy outcome to my plan here if owing

to the esteem with which you especially regard learning and the cultivators

of learning, you would help me by some testimony of your judgment of

me and my cause when the occasion arises with his royal majesty. More-

over, from his royal majesty I hope for nothing with greater desire than

that I should be able to pursue my studies in Italy and parts abroad for

some years. This goal then is what my Toxophilus endeavors to strike: if I

hit it, I shall think that I shall have aimed quite properly and honestly. In

this undertaking, I harbor the greater hope for my petition, as I know very

certainly that his royal majesty is accustomed to bestow excellent posts for

life on shooters who are excellent (in which thing I am not at all unaccom-

plished) but who are quite innocent of letters. Therefore for the accomp-

lishing of this thing, I promise myself from your lordship as much as a

most honest cause can expect from great authority, as the study of litera-

ture can expect from a superb patron of the same, and as much as an alum-

us of Cambridge can expect from his most distinguished Chancellor. The

Lord Jesus &c.

his B.A. from North-

id his M.A. and Ph.D.

'isconsin, Madison. A;rn English, Classical

terature, he has pub-

tial, and Isaac Ca-

'^>?iB

" The subject of archery presented Ascham with several opporxunities.

He could appeal to the king's enthusiasm for the sport; he could pro-

mote an activity he believed conducive lo national welfare; he could

make varic js political comments that would please the king; and he

could i.;shion a statement that recouped and celebrated England's cul-

tural heriiage. Perhaps most important, Ascham could demonstrate his

learning in a highly innovative, ironic way."

— From the Introduction

"If better known and read, the text would prove central lo the current

historicist methodology that has invaded the study of literature ani

history today. The edition, and particularly its introduction, is a si

nificant contribution to scholars in the field of English Renaissan

studies."

— John T. Shawcro.

ACMRS:The Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

MeduA il and Renaissance Text , id Studies

\ olume 244

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