waverand wyt, my cunnyng febill at all,
My mynd mysty, thir may nocht mys a fall;10
Stra for thys ignorant blabryng imperfyte,
Besyde thy polyst termys redymyte.
And netheles with support and correctioun,
For naturall lufe and frendely affectioun,
Quhilkis I beir to thy warkis and endyte;15
All thocht, God wait, tharin I knaw full lyte;
And that thy facund sentence mycht be song
In our langage alsweill as Latyn tong,
Alsweill, na, na, impossibill war, per de;
Ȝit with thy leif, Virgill, to follow the,20
I wald, into my rurall wlgar gros,
Wryte sum savoryng of thyne Eneados.
Bot fair I dreid forto disteyn the quyte,
Throu my corruppit cadens imperfyte;
Disteyn the, nay forsuyth, that may I nocht,25
Weill may I schaw my burall bustuus thocht,
Bot thy wark sall endur in lawd and glory,
But spot or falt, condyng etern memory.
Thocht I offend, onwemmyt is thy fame,
Thyne is the thank, and myne salbe the schame.30
Quha may thy versis follow in all degre,
In bewtie, sentence, and in grauite?
Nane is, nor was, ne ȝit salbe, trow I,
Had, has, or sal haue sic craft in poetry.
Of Helicon so drank thou dry the flude5
That of thy copios fouth or plenitude,
All mon purches drynk at thy sugurit tun;
So lamp of day thou art and schynand son,
All otheris on fors mon thar lycht beg or borrow,
Thou art Vesper and the day stern at morow;10
Thou Phebus lightnar of the planetis all,
I not quhat dewly I the clepe sall,
For thou art all, and sum, quhat nedis more,
Of Latyn poetis that sens was, or before.
Of the writis Macrobius, sans faill,15
In hys gret volume clepit Saturnaill.
Thy sawys in sic eloquens doith fleit,
So inuentive of rethorik flowris sweit
Thou art, and has so hie profund sentens
Tharto perfyte but ony indigens,20
That na lovyngis ma do incres thy fame,
Nor na reproche dymynew thy gud name.
Bot sen I am compellit the to translait,
And not only of my curage, God wait,
Durst interpryse syk owtrageus foly,25
Quhar I offend the les reprefe serve I;
And that ȝe knaw at quhais instans I tuke
Forto translait this maist excellent buke,
I meyn Virgillis volume maist excellent,
Set this my wark full febill be of rent,30
At the request of a lord of renown
Of ancistry nobill and illustir baroun,
Fader of bukis, protectour to sciens and lair,
My speciall gud lord Henry lord Sanct Clair,
Quhilk with gret instance, diuers tymys seir,5
Prayt me translait Virgill or Homeir;
Quhais plesour suythly, as I undirstude,
As neir conjunct to his lordschip in blude,
So that me thocht hys request ane command,
Half disparit this wark I tuke on hand,10
Nocht fully grantand nor anys sayand ȝee,
Bot only to assay quhou it mycht be.
Quha mycht gaynsay a lord so gentill and kynd,
That euer had ony curtasy in thar mynd,
Quhilk, besyde hys innatyve pollecy,15
Humanyte, curage, fredome and chevalry,
Bukis to recollect, to reid and se,
Has gret delyte as euer had Ptholome?
Quharfor to hys nobilite and estait,
Quhatso it be, this buke I dedicait,20
Writtin in the langage of Scottis natioun,
And thus I mak my protestatioun.
Fyrst I protest, beaw schirris, be ȝour leif,
Beis weill avisit my wark or ȝhe repreif;
Consider it warly, reid oftar than anys,25
Weill at a blenk sle poetry nocht tayn is;
And ȝit forsuyth I set my bissy pane,
As that I couth, to mak it braid and plane,
Kepand na sudron bot our awyn langage,
And spekis as I lernyt quhen I was page.30
Nor ȝit sa cleyn all sudron I refus,
Bot sum word I pronunce as nyghtbouris doys;
Lyke as in Latyn beyn Grew termys sum,
So me behufyt quhilum, or than be dum,
Sum bastard Latyn, Franch, or Inglys oys,5
Quhar scant was Scottis, I had nane other choys.
Nocht for our tung is in the selwyn skant,
Bot for that I the fowth of langage want,
Quhar as the cullour of his properte
To kepe the sentens tharto constrenyt me,10
Or than to mak my sayng schort sum tyme,
Mair compendyus, or to lykly my ryme.
Tharfor gude frendis, for a gymp or a bourd,
I pray ȝou note me nocht at euery word.
The worthy clerk hecht Lawrens of the Vaill,15
Amang Latynys a gret patron sans faill,
Grantis quhen twelf ȝheris he had beyn diligent
To study Virgill, skant knew he quhat he ment;
Than thou or I, my frend, quhen we best weyn
To haue Virgil red, vnderstand, and seyn,20
The rycht sentens perchance is fer to seik;
This wark twelf ȝheris first was in makyng eyk,
And nocht correct quhen the poet gan deces;
Thus for small faltis my wys frend hald thy pes.
Adherdand to my protestatioun,25
Thocht Wilȝame Caxtoun, of Inglis natioun,
In proys hes prent are buke of Inglis gros,
Clepand it Virgill in Eneados,
Quhilk that