Scottish Text Society publications > Old series > Treatise callit The court of Venus

INTRODUCTION.
XIX
Schortlie to mak an end of this debait,
The Arbiteris, than sweirand full plane,
The sentence gaif, and proces fulminat, 80
The Scheip suld pas befoir the Wolf agane,
And end his pley. Than wes he no thing fane;
For fra thair sentence couth he nocht appeill.
On clerkis I do it, gif this sentence wes leill.1
The Scheip agane befoir the Wolf derenyeit,
But advocate, abaisitlie couth stand.
Up rais the Dog, and on the Scheip thus plenyeit,
Ane soume I payit haif befoir the hand
For certane breid; thairto ane borrow he fand,2
That wrangouslie the Scheip did hald the breid; 90
Quhilk he denyit; and thair began the pleid.
And quhen the Scheip this stryif had contestait,
The Justice in the cause furth tan proceid:
Lowrence the actis and the proces wrait,3
And thus the pley unto the end thay speid,
This cursit Court corruptit all for meid,
Aganis gude faith, law, and eik conscience,
For this fals Dog pronuncit the sentence.
And it till put to execution
The Wolf chargeit the Scheip, without delay, too
Under the panis of interdictioun,
The soume of silver, or the breid, to pay.
Of this sentence, allace ! quhat sail I say ?
Quhilk dampnit hes the selie innocent,
And justifyit the wrangous jugement.
The Scheip, dreidand mair executioun,
Obeyand to the sentence, he couth tak
1 “I think the meaning is, I leave the learned to determine whether the
arbiters justly repelled the declinator. It has been suggested that ‘clerkis
doit' may signify the instrument-money paid to the clerk of court; and then
the sense will be, as the judgment was formal, and instruments taken, the sheep
could not bring the award under review.”—Hailes.
2 “ I put in bail to prosecute for recovery of a pension or pittance of bread
which I had purchased from the sheep.”—Hailes.
3 “ In line 29 it is said that the ‘ Fox wes clerk and notar.’”—Hailes.
b