Thanks so much to Matteo and Howard (and those who replied off list) - my singer is very grateful! Sam
On 25 July 2013 22:32, Matteo Turri <[1]matteo.o.tu...@gmail.com> wrote: This is a paraphrase made by David Hill in 2009 (of all the books of Dowland) and posted on [1][2]johndowland.co.uk, but no more available. Let me know if you want to a have a copy. Fine knacks for ladies, cheape choise brave and new, Good penniworths but mony cannot move, I keepe a faier but for the faier to view, A begger may bee liberall of loue, Though all my wares be trash, the hart is true. Great gifts are guiles and looke for gifts againe, My trifles come, as treasures from my minde, It is a precious Iewell to bee plaine, Sometimes in shell th' orienst36 pearles we finde, Of others take a sheafe, of mee a graine. Within this packe pinnes points laces & gloves, And divers toies fitting a country faier, But my37 hart, where duety serves and loves, Turtles and twins, courts brood, a heavenly paier, Happy the hart that thinks of no removes. I (a `pedlar'), have fine small goods for ladies: cheap, rare, exciting and new. They are good value for money, though money alone does not motivate me. I hold back my finest goods for only the fairest to see, for a `beggar' such as I can easily afford to be generous in dispensing his love. Even though all my goods-in-trade are really worthless trash, my heart is true and constant. Those great gifts (such as wealth) are deceptive, and you should look for other qualities, for, in my case, even my most trivial cheap `goods' are, in fact, `treasures' that come from my mind (i.e. wit). It is a rare and valuable thing to appear plain and simple, as I do, for sometimes we find the bright, shining pearl inside the coarse shell (of the oyster). My quality of `stock' (wit and charm) is such that, whereas you may take a whole `sheaf' of others, you38 need only to take a `grain' in weight of me! Though here, in my pedlar's bundle, I carry a stock of pins, aiglets39, laces and gloves, and various trivial small goods suitable for a humble country fair, my heart (because I serve both 40duty and love equally) carries constancy, as is embodied by the turtle doves and the famous twins41 , the offspring of Zeus (who also represent duty and love) - truly a heavenly pair. Happy is the heart that thinks of no higher state42 (than one who serves with such constancy). 36 Orient meant bright and shining in the 17th century: "We have spoken of the cause of orient colours in birds..." (Bacon - Natural History 1607); "...He offers to each weary traveller/ Orient liquor in a crystal glass." (Milton - Paradise Lost 1667). `Orienst', as here, may simply be a misprint for `orient'. Diana Poulton asserted that "Orienst is a good Elizabethan word, the superlative of orient.." (John Dowland, p. 267, 1982), though I have not been able to confirm this.The word is not used anywhere in Shakespeare. 37 The original printed copies give: `But my hart...', not `in my hart', as is given in all modern printed editions (following E.H. Fellowes). `My' can easily be sung to the two notes as Dowland probably intended without inserting an extra word. The poet is saying that his heart is constant, like the turtles and twins, not that they are ` in his heart'. 38 A grain was traditionally the smallest unit of measured weight, based upon a grain of wheat. 39 Pointed metal end-tags for laces. 40 Noted for mating for life, and displaying constant affection. 41 Castor and Pollux, the sons of Zeus and Leda (`courts brood' - Zeus seduced Leda in the form of a swan). The key element of the twins' myth, as far as this song is concerned, relates to the filial love and constancy demonstrated by Pollux when Castor was mortally wounded - Pollux was given the choice of elevation to Olympus, or of giving half his immortality to his twin, the latter of which he chose. Zeus placed Castor and Pollux in the heavens as the constellation Gemini - `a heavenly pair' 42 `Removes' means an elevation of status at this date - see also no. 15 `White as lillies' On 25 July 2013 21:12, Sam Chapman <[2][3]manchap...@gmail.com> wrote: Hi all, I've been asked by a singer to explain the meaning of a couple of lines from Fine Knacks for Ladies. Frankly I've never understood them either, have any of you? She writes: "I've been struggling with a verse from Fine Knacks for Ladies, but I'm stuck. Maybe you could help me. It is the following: But my heart wherein duty serves and loves, Turtles and twins, court's brood, a heavenly pair. I understand the first row, but not the second one. The words are all right, but how does it fit in the poem? And what is the link to the previous one? Is there an allusion to something I don't (but should) know about?" Can anyone help us out? All the best, Sam -- To get on or off this list see list information at [3][4]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. [5]http://johndowland.co.uk/ 2. mailto:[6]manchap...@gmail.com 3. [7]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- Sam Chapman Oetlingerstrasse 65 4057 Basel (0041) 79 530 39 91 -- References 1. mailto:matteo.o.tu...@gmail.com 2. http://johndowland.co.uk/ 3. mailto:manchap...@gmail.com 4. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html 5. http://johndowland.co.uk/ 6. mailto:manchap...@gmail.com 7. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html