Skip to content

— John Milton

Say, Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein 15

Afford a present to the Infant God?

Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain,

To welcome him to this his new abode,

…

Read full poem →

adjective

Able to be tolerated or allowed; satisfactory or suitable for a particular purpose or situation.

“The teacher said that a score of 70% or higher was acceptable for passing the test.”

Know more →

48 ROGER ASCHAM

40 lines
Sir Philip Sidney·1554–1586
✦
r level, it is so roughe and hevy, so that many men whichhave taken them up for gayenesse, hathe layde them downeagayne for profyte, thus for our purpose, the Groose is bestfether, for the best shoter. Phi. No that is not so, for the best shoter that ever wasused other fethers. Tox. Ye are so cunninge in shootynge I praye you whowas that. Phi. Hercules whyche had hys shaftes fethered with Eglesfethers as Hesiodus doth saye. Tox. Well as for Hercules, seynge nether water nor lande,heaven nor hell, coulde scarse contente hym to abyde in,it was no mervell thoughe a sely poore goose fether couldnot plese him to shoote wythal, and agayne as for Eglesthey flye so hye and builde so far of, that they be very hardto come by. Yet welfare the gentle goose which bringethto a man even to hys doore so manye excedynge commodi-ties. For the goose is mans comforte in war and in peaceslepynge and wakynge. What prayse so ever is gyven toshootynge the goose may chalenge the beste parte in it.How well dothe she make a man fare at his table? Howeeaselye dothe she make a man lye in hys bed? How fit evenas her fethers be onelye for shootynge, so be her quyllesfytte onelye for wrytyng. Philo. In deade Toxophyle that is the beste prayse yougave to a goose yet, and surelye I would have sayde you hadbene to blame yf you had overskypt it. Tox. The Romaynes I trowe Philologe not so muche by-cause a goose wyth cryinge saved theyr Capitolium andhead toure wyth their golden Jupiter as Propertius doth sayvery pretely in thys verse. Theves on a night had stolne lupiter had a goose not a kekede.Dyd make a golden goose and set hir in the top of ye Capi-tolium, and appoynted also the Censores to alow out of yecommon hutche yearly stipendes for ye findinge of certayneGeese, ye Romaynes did not I saye give al thys honor to agoose for that good dede onely, but for other infinit mo whichcomme dayly to a man b3m Geese, and surely yf I shoulddeclame in ye prayse of any maner of beste Ijrvyng, I wouldchose a goose. But the goose hath made us flee to f arre from
✦