Barnabe Googe was a pastoral poet, and quite a witty one too, from the 16th century. He’s often remembered these days in conjunction with George Turberville, another early Elizabethen with a fairly unadorned style. More importantly, his name was

~~****~~~BARNABE GOOGE~~~****~~

Is like everything I ever loved about Bartleby the Scrivener and Scrooge McDuck rolled into one.

Anyway, here’s a little poem of his. Its an example of the Plain Style, which I am sort of fond of, and it also has a little echo of John Skelton in it, maybe.

Oculi augent dolorem 

Out of sight, out of mind 

The oftener seen, the more I lust; 

The more I lust, the more I smart; 

The more I smart, the more I trust; 

The more I trust, the heavier heart; 

The heavy heart breeds mine unrest. 5 

Thy absence, therefore, like I best. 

The rarer seen, the less in mind; 

The less in mind, the lesser pain; 

The lesser pain, less grief I find; 

The lesser grief, the greater gain; 10 

The greater gain, the merrier I. 

Therefore I wish thy sight to fly. 

The further off, the more I joy; 

The more I joy, the happier life; 

The happier life, less hurts annoy; 15 

The lesser hurts, pleasure most rife. 

Such pleasures rife shall I obtain 

When distance doth depart us twain. 

P.S. Here’s a decent little thing by Robert Pinsky about B-Googe and Billie Holiday.