His Own Enemy

He that hes gold and grit riches

And may be into mirrynes,

And dois glaidnes fra him expell

And levis into wrechitnes,

He wirkis sorrow to himsell.

He that may be but sturt or stryfe

And leif ane lusty plesand lyfe,

And syne with mariege dois him mell

And bindis him with ane wicket wyfe,

He wirkis sorrow to himsell.

He that hes for his awin genyie

Ane plesand prop, but mank or menyie,

And schuttis syne at ane uncow schell,

And is forfairn with the fleis of Spenyie,

He wirkis sorrow to himsell.

And he that with gud lyfe and trewth,

But varians or uder slewth,

Dois evirmair with ane maister dwell,

That nevir of him will haif no rewth,

He wirkis sorrow to himsell.

Now all this tyme lat us be mirry,

And sett nocht by this warld a chirry.

Now quhill thair is gude wyne to sell,

He that dois on dry breid wirry,

I gif him to the Devill of Hell!

William Dunbar

WiUiam Dunbar was born, probably in East Lothian, between 1450 and 1460. He entered the University of St. Andrews in 1475, and took his full degree in 1479. In eariy life, according to his own account, he went about from Berwick to Dover, and passed over to Calais and Picardy, preaching and alms-gathering as a Franciscan noviciate ; but he became dissatisficd with this life and does not seem to have taken the vows of the order. It has been inferred from allusions in his verse that he was for some years empioyed in connection with foreign embassies. Toward tiie close of the century we find him in attendance on the Scotch Court, a poet with an established reputation, and a continual suitor for piace. In 1500 he received from the king (James IV) a pension of ^io , raised by degrees, during the next ten years to ;^8o ? then a respectable annuity; but he never obtained the Church promotion, to which on somewhat irrelevant grounds he constantly laid claim.

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