Greate-Learned wittie-Ben: be pleas'd to light
the world with that three-forked fire; Nor fright
All us thy sublearn'd with Luciferous Boast
that thou art most-greate-most-learn'd-wittie most
of all the kingdome; nay of all the earth
As being a thing betwixtt a humane birth
and an Infernall; No humanitye
Of the devine soule shewing Man In the[sic]
Being all of pride composde and surcudrie

Thus ytt might Argue; yf thy petulant will
May Flieblowe all men with thy great swans Quill
If itt Cann wright noe playes; yf thy plaies fayle
All the Earnests of our Kingdome straight must vaile
To thy wilde furie; that, as yf a feinde
Had sleipte his Cirkell; showste thy brest is splend
Frisking so madly that gaynst Towne and Courte
Thow plant'st thy battrie In most hedious Sorte
If thy pied humours suffer least empaire
And any vapour vex the virulent Ayre
The Dunkerkes keepe not our Cole ships In awe
More then thy Moods are thy Admires[sic] Law -
All eles, as well the grafflers of thy pawes
with panicke Terrors flie bedred of cause
And sett the swinish Itche of thy fell wreake
Rub gainst the presence Royall without Checke
How must state use the[sic] yf thy vaines thus leake

Thou must be Muzzelde Ringd and lett In Chaines
Lest dames with childe a bide untymely paynes
and Children perrish: didst thou not put out
A boies Right eye that Croste thy mankind poute
yf all this you find perdone Fee and grace
The happiest outlaw th'art that ever was
Goodnes to virtue is a godlike thinge
And man with god Joynes in a good doing kinge
But to give vice hur Name, and on all his
(As her puer Merritts) to Confer all this
who will not argue itt redounds, what ever
vice is sustayned with all, turnes pestilent fever
what norishes vertue, ever more Converts
To blood and sperritts of nothing but deserts
And shall a viper hanging on hur hand
by his owne poyson his full swindge Commande
How shall grave virtue sperritt her honord fame
yf Mottlye mockerye maie dispose her shame
Never soe dully? Nor with such a dust
And Clouted Choller? tis the foulest lust
That ever yett did violate actions Just.
But yf this weighd, proud vile and saucie sperritt
Depraveing everye exemplarye merritt
May itt nought lesse all his fatt hopes Inheritt

When men turne Harpies, theire bloods standing lakes
Greene bellied Serpents, and blacke freckled Snakes
Crawling In their unwelldye Clottered waves
Their tongues growne forked, and thair sorcerous pens
Like pickturs prickt, and hid In smoaking dunghills
Vext with the Sunn, tis tyme I thinke to banish
And Cast out such unhallowedly dysloyall
From bloods thrice sacred and devinely Royall

Thers an Invention Mountibancke enough
to make petars to blow upp mens good names
Virtues and Dignities for vices pleasure;

Take but an Idle and Rediculous Crew
Of base back biters that ytt never knew
Virtue or worth to manage; great flesh flies
Slight all the Clere and sound partes whear thay pass
And dwell uppon the soares; and Call to them
The Common learned, gatherer of poysons
for envied Merritts that hee Cannott æquall
And let hym gleane from Malice and foule mouthes
Devices long since donn and sett them downe
With splene stupide and dead as brutish restes
Transforming all most wrathfull fumes to Jests
Letting the king his Royall eare allowe;
And thers a reputation, broke as smale
And with as maygtye Arguments lett fall
As the Greeke Mans' pure bodies Genitall.

So that yf scandalls false beare free their sprite
All guiltles formes, are forc't with rape and flight
And shall all other Raisers of their names
T'aires highes Region, buy such short-winged fames
Hould not their titles, and whole states like tenures
May wee not humblest things with highest rate
And least with greatest, whear right must Moderate

Now to your partes Calde good; your sacred deske
(The wooden fountayne of the Mightye Muses)
(Ah las) is burned; and their all their wealth faylde
(That never Cann with all tyme be retaylde
Why then as good not name them) yes, 0 yes
Tenn tymes repeated will all brave things please,
Not with theire Titles yett, and pore selfe prayses.
Hee lives yett (heaven be praysed) that Can wright
In his ripe yeares much better, and new borne
In spight of Vulcan, whom all true pens scorne
Yett lett me name them in meane tyme to Chere
his greddie followers with a prickt up eare
Itt does him selfe ease and why them no good
Come serve ytt in then give hime goulden food.
Noe Bodie (hee dares saie) yet have sound parts
Of profound search and Mastrie In the artes  
And perfect then his English Grammare too
To teach some what thayr nurses could not doe
The puritie of Language, and Amonge
The rest; his Journye Into Scotland songe
And twice twelve years storde upp humanitie
With humble gleanings in Devenytye
After the fathers and those wiser guides
That faction had not drawne to steddie sides
Canst thou lose theise by fire; and live yet able
To wright past Joves wrath, fier and Ayre things stable
Yet Curse as thou wert lost for everye bable

Some pore thinge wright new; a Riche Caskett Ben
All of riche Jems t'adore most learned men
Or a Reclaime of most Jacete supposes
To teach full habited-men to blowe their noses
Make the king merrie; would'st thou now be knowne
The Devill and the Vice, and both In one
Thow doest things backwards, are man thought to knowe
Mastries in th'arts with saying they doe soe
And criing fire out In a dreame to kings
Burne things unborne, and that way generate things
Wright some new Lactean way to thy highe presence
And make not ever thy strong fancie essence
To all thou wouldst be thought on all worlds worth;
Or eles like Hercules Furens breaking forth
Biting the grene-cloth,   'as a doge a stone.'
And for ridiculous shaddow of the bone
Hazard the substance; will thy fortune still
(Spight of all learning) backe the witt thy will
Though thy playe genius, hange his broken wing
Full of sicke feathers, and with forced things
Imp thy scænes, Labord and Unnaturall
And nothing good Comes with thy thrice vext Call
Comes thou not yet: nor yet? 0 no, Nor yett
Yet are thy learnd Admires[sic] so deep sett
In thy preferment above all that Cite
The sunn in challendge for the heate and light
Of bothe heavens Influences which of you tow knewe
And have most power In thern; Greate Ben tis you

Examine hime some truely Judging sperritt,
That pride nor fortune bath to blind his merritt
Hee matcht with all booke-fiers hee ever read
His Deske poore Candle Rents; his owne fat head
With all the learnd worlds; Alexanders flame
That Caesars Conquest Cowd, and stript his fame,
he shames Not to give reckoning In for with his:
As yf the king perdoning his petulencies
Should paie his huge loss to in such a skore
As all earths learned fiers hee gather'd for.

What thinkest thow (Just frind) equalde not this pride
All yet that ever, Hell or heaven defied?
And yet for all this, this Clube will Inflict
His faultfull paine, and him enough Convicte
Hee onlye reading showed; Learning, nor witt;
Onlye Dame Gilians fier his Deske will fitt
but for his shift by fier to save the Lose
Of his vast Learning; this may prove ytt grose
True Muses ever, vent breathes mixt with fier
Which, formed In Numbers, they In flames expire
Not onlye flames kindl'd with thayr owne blest breath
That give the unborne Life; and eternise death.

Great Ben: I knowe what this is In thy hand,
And how thou fixt on heavens fixt starre dost stand
In all mens admirations and Comande.
for all that can be scribled gainst the sortes
of thy drad Repurcussions and Reportes,
the Kingdome yeldes not such another man
wounder of men hee is; the player Cann
and bookeseller prove true; yf thay could knowe
Onlye dropp, that drives In such A flowe
Are thay not learned beasts, the better farr
Theire drossie exhalations, A starr
theire brainles Admirations may render.
For Learning In the wise sort is but Lender
Of mens prime Notions Doctrine their owne way
Of all skills preciptible formes A key
Forging to wealth, and Honor soothed sence
Never exploring truth or Consequence
Informing any vertue or good Life
And therefore Plaier, Bookseller, or wife
Of eyther, (needing no such curiouse key)
All men and things, may knowe their owne rude way
Imagination and our appetite
Forming our speach no easier then thay lighte
All letterles Companions; t'all thay know
Here or here after that like earths sonns plowe
All underworlds and ever downewards growe

Nor lett your learnings think egredious Ben:
Thes letterles Companions are not men
With all the Arts and Sciences Indued
If of mans true and worthiest knowledge rude
Which is to knowe and be, one Compleat man
And that not all the swelling Ocean
Of Artes and sciences, cann poure both In
If that brave skill, then when thou didst begine
to studdye letters, thy great wit had plide
Freelye and onlye thy Disease of pride
In vulgar praise, had never bound thy,  

(fols. 16-18)