The first vertue, sone, if thou wilt lerne,
Is to restreyne and kepen wel thy tonge.

The first vertue, sone, if thou wilt lerne,
Is to restreyne and kepen wel thy tonge.

Is there a tongue like Delia's o'er her cup,
That runs for ages without winding up?

Is there a tongue like Delia's o'er her cup,
That runs for ages without winding up?

The language I have learnt these forty years,
My native English, now I must forgo;
And now read more

The language I have learnt these forty years,
My native English, now I must forgo;
And now my tongue's use is to me no more
Than an unstringed viol or a harp,
Or like a cunning instrument cased up
Or, being open, put into his hands
That knows no touch to tune the harmony.

I should think your tongue has broken its chain.

I should think your tongue has broken its chain.

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Marry, you are the wiser man; for many a man's tongue shakes out
his master's undoing.

Marry, you are the wiser man; for many a man's tongue shakes out
his master's undoing.

You play the spaniel,
And think with wagging of your tongue to win me.

You play the spaniel,
And think with wagging of your tongue to win me.

He rolls it under his tongue as a sweet morsel.

He rolls it under his tongue as a sweet morsel.

The windy satisfaction of the tongue.

The windy satisfaction of the tongue.