deuise and to no purpose at all more then to make them harmonicall to the
rude eares of those barbarous ages.

Another of their pretie inuentions was to make a verse of such wordes as
by their nature and manner of construction and situation might be turned
backward word by word, and make another perfit verse, but of quite
contrary sence as the gibing Monke that wrote of Pope _Alexander_ these
two verses.
_Laus tua non tua fraus, virtus non copia rerum,
Scandere te faciunt hoc decus eximium._

Which if ye will turne backward they make two other good verses, but of a
contrary sence, thus.
_Eximium decus hoc faciunt te scandere rerum
Copia, non virtus, fraus tua non tua laus._

And they called it _Verse Lyon_.

Thus you may see the humors and appetites of men how diuers and
chaungeable they be in liking new fashions, though many tymes worse then
the old, and not onely in the manner of their life and vse of their
garments, but also in their learninges and arts, and specially of their
languages.




_CHAP. VIII._

_In what reputation Poesie and Poets were in old time with Princes and