Here after foloweth a litel boke called Colyn Cloute compyled by mayster Skelton poete Laureate..

WHat can it auayle To dryue forth a snayle Or to make a sayle Of an herynges tayle To ryme or to rayle To wryte or to indyte Eyther for delyte Or elles for to despyte Or ●o●es to compyle Of dyuers maner style Uyce to reuyle And synne to exyle To teche or to preche As reason wyll reche Say this and say that His hed is so fat He wotteth neuer what Nor wherof he speketh He cryeth and he creketh He pryeth and he peketh He chydes and he chatters He prates and he patters He clytters and he clatters He medles and he smatters He gloses and he smatters Or yf he speake playne Than he lacketh brayne He is but a fole Let hym go to scole A thre foted stole That he may downe syt For he lacketh wyt And yf that he hyt The nayle on the hede It standeth in no stede The deuyll they say is dede The deuill is dede It may well so be Or els they wolde se Other wyse and sle I rom wordly vanyte And foule couetousnesse And other wretchednesse I ●●●ell falsenesse Uaryablenesse With vnstablenesse ¶ And if ye stande in doute who brought this ryme aboute My name is Colyn Cloute I purpose to shake oute All my connyng bagge Lyke a clerkely hagge For though my ryme be ragged Tattered and tagged Rudely rayne beaten Rusty and moughte eaten If ye talke well ther with It hath in it some pyth For as farre as I can se It is wronge with eche degre For the temporalte Accuseth the spiritualte The spirituall agayne Dothe grudge and complayne Vpon the temporall men Thus eche of other bloder The tone agayng the tother Alas they make me shoder For in hoder moder The churche is put in faute The prelates ben so haut They say / and loke so hy As though they wolde fly Aboue the sterry skye Laye men say in hede How they take no ●ede Sheyr sely shepe to fede But plucke away and pull The fleces of theyr wull Unethes they leue a locke Of shull amonges theyr floche And as for theyr connynge A glommynge and a mummynge And make ther of a iape They gaspe and they gape All to haue promocyon There is theyr hole deuocyon With money if it wyll hap To catche the forked cap Forsothe they are to lewd To say so all beshrewd . ¶ What trow ye they say more Of the bysshoppes lore How in matters they berawe They lumber forth the lawe To herken Iacke and Gyll Whan they but vp a byll And iudge it as they wyll For other mennes skyll Expoundyng out theyr clauses And leue theyr owne causes In theyr pryncypall cure They make but lytell sure And meddels very lyght In the churches ryght But Ire and venire And sol fa / so a lamyre That the premenyre Is lyke to be set a fyre In theyr iurisdictions Through temporall afflictions Men say they haue prescriptions Agaynst the spiritual contradictions Accomptynge them as fyctions And whyles the heedes do this The remenaunt is amys Of the clergy all Bothe great and small I wot neuer how they warke But thus the people carke And surely thus they say Bysshoppes if they may Small houses wolde kepe But slombre forth and slepe And assay to crepe With in the noble walles Of the kynges halles To fat theyr bodyes full Theyr soules lame and dull And haue full lytell care How euyll theyr shepe fare ¶ The temporalyte say playne Howe bysshoppes dysdayne Sermons for to make Or suche laboure to take And for to say trouth A great parte is full slouth But the greattest parte Is for they haue but small arte And ryght sklender connyng With in theyr heedes wonnyng But this reason they take How they are able to make With theyr golde and treasure Clerkes out of measure And yet that is a pleasure Howe be it some there be Almost two or thre Of that dygnyte Full worshypfull clerkes As appereth by theyr werkes Lyke Aaron and Ure The wolfe from the dore To wary and to kepe From theyr goostly shepe And theyr spirituall lammes Sequestred from rammes And from the berded gotes With theyr heery cotes Set nought by goldene grotes Theyr names if I durst tell ¶ But they are loth to mell And loth to hang the bell Aboute the cattes necke For drede to haue a checke They ar fayne to play / deuz decke How be it they are good men Moche herted lyke an hen Theyr lessons forgotten they haue That becket them gaue Thomas manum mittit ad forcia Spernit danna spernit opprobria Nulla Thoman frangit iniuria But nowe euery spirituall father Men say they had rather Spende moche of theyr share Than to be combred with care ¶ Spende / nay but spare For let se who that dare Sho the mockylsoe mare They make her wynche and keke But it is not worth a leke Boldnesse is to seke The churche for to defend Take me as I intende For lothe I am to offende In this that I haue pende I tell you as men say Amende whan ye may For vsque ad montem sare Men say ye cannot appare For some say ye hunte in parkes And hauke on hobby larkes And other wanton warkes Whan the nyght darkes What hath lay men to do The gray gooes for to sho Lyke houndes of hell They crye and they yell Nowe that ye sell The grace of the holy gost Thus they make theyr bost Through euery cost Howe some of you do eate In lenton season fleshe mete Fesauntes partryche and cranes Men call you therfor prophanes Ye pycke no shrympes nor pranes Saltfysshe , stocfysshe nor heryng It is not for your werynge Nor in holy lenton season Ye wyll nitheyr benes ne peason But ye loke to be let losse To a pygge or to a gose your gorge not endewed Without a capon stewed Or a stewed cocke Under her surfled smocke And her wanton wodicocke And howe whan ye gyue orders In your prouinciall borders As at sicientes Some are insufficientes Some parum sapientes Some nichil intelligentes Some valde negligentes Some nullum sensum habentes But bestyali and vntought But whan thei haue ones caught Dominus vobiscum by the hede Than renne they in euery stede God wot with dronken nolles yet take thy cure of soules And woteth neuer what thei rede Pater noster nor Crede Construe not worth a whystle Nether gospell nor pystle Theyr mattyns madly sayde Nothynge deuoutly prayde Theyr lernynge is so small Theyr prymes and houres fall And lepe out of theyr lyppes Lyke sawdust or drye chyppes I speke not nowe of all But the moost parte en generall Of suche vacabundus Speketh otus Mundus Howe some synge letabundus At euery ale stake with welcome hake and make By the brede that god brake I am sory for your sake I speke not of the good wyfe But of theyr apostles lyfe Cum ipsus vel illis Qui manent in villis Est vxor vel ancilla welcome Iacke and Gylla My prety Petronylla And you wyll be stylla You shall haue your wylla Of suche Pater noster pekes All the worlde spekes ¶ In you the faute is supposed For that they are not apposed By iust examinacyon In connyng and conuersacyon They haue none instructyon To make a true constructyon A preest without a letter Without his vertue be gretter Doutlesse where moche better Upon hym for to take A mattocke or a rake Alas for very shame Some can not declyne their name Some can not scarsly rede And yet he wyll not drede For to kepe a cure And in nothyng is sure This dominus vobiscum As wyse as Tom a thrum A chaplayne of trust Layth all in the dust Thus I colyn cloute As I go aboute And wandrynge as I walke There the people talke Men say for syluer and golde Myters are bought and solde There shall no clergy appose A myter nor a crose But a full purse A strawe for goddes curse What are they the worse For a symonyake Is but a hermoniake And no more ye make Of symony men say But a chyldes play ¶ Ouer this the foresayd laye Reporte howe the pope may A holy anker call Out of the stony wall And hym a bysshop make It he on hym dare take To kepe so harde a rule To ryde vpon a mule With golde all betrapped In purple and paule be lapped Some hatted and some capped Rychely be wrapped God wot to theyr great paynes In rotchettes of fyne raynes Whyte as morowes mylke Theyr tabertes of fyne sylke Theyr styrops of myxt gold begared There may no cost be spared Theyr moyles golde dothe eate Theyr neyghbours dye for meate What care they though gil sweate Or Iacke of the Noke The pore people the yoke With sommons and citacyons And excommunycacyons About churches and market The bysshop on his carpet At home full softe dothe syt This is a fearfull fyt To here the people iangle Howe warely they wrangle Alas why do ye not handle And them all mangle Full falsely on you they lye And shamefully you ascrye And say as vntruely As the butterflye A man myght saye in mocke Ware the wether cocke Of the steple of Poules And thus they hurte theyr Ioules In sclaunderyng you for truthe Alas it is great ruthe Some say ye syt in trones Lyke prynces aquilonis And shryne your rotten bones With perles and precyous stones But howe the commons grones And the people mones For prestes and for lones Lent and neuer payd But from day to day delayde The commune welth decayde Men say ye are tonge tayde And therof speke nothynge But dyssymulyng and glosyng wher fore men be supposyng That ye gyue shrewd counsell Agaynst the commune well By poollynge and pyllage In cytyes and vyllage By taryng and tollage ye make monkes to haue the culerage For couerynge of and olde cottage That commytted is a collage In the charter of dottage Tenure par seruyce de sottage And not par seruyce de socage After olde seygnyours And the lernyng of Lyteltō tenours Ye haue so ouerthwarted That good lawes are subuerted And good reason peruerted ¶ Relygous men are fayne For to tourne agayne In secula seculorum And to forsake theyr corum And vacabundare per forum And take a fyne meritorum Coneca regulam morum Aut blacke monacorum Aut canonicorum Aut Bernardinorum Aut crucifixorum And to synge from place to place Lyke apostataas And the selfe same game Be gone and uowe with shame Amongest the sely nonnes My lady nowe she ronnes Dame Syhly our abbesse Dame Dorothe and lady Besse Dame Sare our pryoresse Out of theyr cloyster and quere with an heuy chere Must cast vp theyr blacke vayles And set vp theyr fucke sayles To catch wynde with their ventales what Colyne there thou shales yet thus with yll hayles The lay fee people rayles ¶ And all they lay In you prelates / and say ye do them wrong and no ryght To put them thus to flyght No matyns at mydnyght Boke and chalys gone quyte Plucke awaye the leedes Ouer theyr heedes And sell away theyr belles And all that they haue elles Thus the people telles Rayles lyke rebelles Rede shrewly and spelles And with foundacyons melles And talke lyke tytyuelles Howe ye brake the dedes wylles Turne monasteris I to mat milles Of an abbay they make a gran̄g your workes they saye are stran̄g So that theyr founders soules Haue lost theyr beade rolles The mony for theyr masses Spent amonge wanton lasses The diriges are forgotten Theyr founders lye there rotten But where theyr soules dwell Ther with I wyll not mell What coulde the turke do more With all his false lore Turke sarazyn / or iew I reporte me to you ¶ O mercyfull Iesu You supporte and rescue My style for to dyrecte It may take some effecte For I abhorre to wryte Howe the lay fee dyspytt you prelates that of ryght Shulde be lanternes of lyght ye lyue they say in delyte Drowned in deliiis In gloria et diuiciis In o admirabile honore In gloria et splendore Fulgurantes haste Uiuentes parum caste Yet swete meate hath soure sauce For after glyria laus Chryst by cruelte Was nayled vpyn a tre He payed a bytter pencyon For mannes redemcyon He dranke eysell and gall To redeme vs withall But swete ypocras ye drynke With let the cat wynke Iche wot what yche other thynk Howe be it per assimule Some men thynke that ye Shall haue penalyte For your inibuyte Nota what I say And here it well a way If it please not theologys It is good for astrologys For Ptholome tolde me The sonne somey me to be In Ariete Ascendent a degre Whan Scorpion descendpnge Was so then pretendynge All fatall for one That shall syt on a trone And rule all thynges alone Your teth whet on this bone Amongest you euerychone Fnd let Collyn Cloute haue none Maner of cause to mone Lay salue to your owne sore For els as I sayd before After gloria laus May come a soure sauce Sory therfore am I But trouth can neuer lye ¶ With language thus poluted Holy churche is brnted And shamfully confuted My penne nowe wyll I sharpe And wrest vp my harpe with sharpe twynkyng trebelles Agaynst all suche rebelles That laboure to confounde And bryng the churche to the grounde As ye may dayly se Howe the lay fee Of one affynyte Consent and agre Agaynst the churche to be And the dygnyte Of the by bysshoppes fee And eyther ye be to bad Or els they ar mad Of this to reporte But vnder your supporte Tyll my dyenge day I shall bothe wryte and say And ye shall do the same Howe they are to blame you thus to dyffame For it maketh me sad Howe the the people are glad The churche to depraue And some there are that raue Presumynge on theyr owne wyt Whan there is neuer a whyt To maynteyne argumentes Agaynst the sacramentes Some make epylogacyon Of hypghe predestynacyon And of resydenacyon They make interpretacyon Of an aquarde facyon And of the prescience Of dyuyne assence And what Ipostacis Of Christes manhode is Suche logyke men wyll chop And in theyr fury hop When the good ale sop Dothe daunce in theyr fore top Bothe women and men Suche ye may well knowe & ken That agaynst preesthode Theyr malyee sprede abrode Raysynge haynously And dysdaynously Of prrestly dygnytes But theyr malygnytes And some haue a smacek Of Luthers sacke And a brennyng sparke Of Luthers welke And are some what suspecte In Luthers secte And some of them barek Clatter and carpe Of that heresy arte Called wytclyftista The deuelys the dogmatista And some be hussyans And some be arryans And some be pollegrans And make moche varyans Bytwene the clergye And the temporaltye ¶ Nowe the church hath to mykel And they haue to lytell And bryng in maierialites And qualyfyed qualytes Of pluralytes Of tryalytes And of totquottes They commune lyke sottes As cometh to theyr lottes Of prebendaries and deanes Howe some of them gleanes And gathereth vp the store For to catche more and more Of persons and vycaryes They make many out cryes They can not kepe theyr wyues From them for theyr lyues And thus the ●oselles stryues And lewdely sayes by Christ Agaynst the sely preest Alas and well away What ayles them thus to csay They mought be better aduysed Then to be so dysgysed But they haue enterprysed And shamfully surmysed Howe prelacy is solde and bought And come vp of nought And where the prelates be Come of lowe degre And set in maieste And spirituall dyngnyte Farewell benygnyte Farewell sympliciet Farewell humylyte Farewell good charyte Ye are so puffed with pryde That no man may abyde Your hygh and lordely lokes Ye cast vp then your bokes And vertue is forgotten For then ye wyll be wroken Of euery lyght quarell And call a lorde a iauell A knyght a knaue to make Ye bost / ye face / ye crake And vpon you take To rule kynge and kayser And yf ye may haue layser Ye wyll brynge all to noyght And that is all your thought For the lordes temporall Theyr rule is very small Almost nothyng at all Men saye howe ye appall The noble blode royall In ernest and in game Ye are the lesse to blame For lordes of noble blode If they well vuderstode How cónyng myght them auaunce They wold pype you another daunce But noble men borne To lerne they haue scorne But hunet and blowe an horne Lepe ouer lakes and dykes Set nothyng by polytykes There fore ye kepe them bace And mocke them to theyr face This is a pyteous case To you that ouer the whele Lordes must crouche and knele And breke theyr hose at the kne As dayly men may se And to remembraunce call Fortune so turneth the ball And ruleth so ouer all That honoure hath a great fall Shall I tell you more / ye shall I am leth to tell all But the communalte ye call Ydolles of Babylon De terra zabulon De terra Neptalym For you loue to go trym Brought vp of poore estate With pryde inordinate Sodaynly vpstarte From the donge carte The mattockes and the shule To reygne and to rule And haue no grace to thynke Howe they were wonte to drynke Of a lether botell with a knauysshe stoppell Whan mamockes was your meate with moulde brede to eate ye wolde none other gete To chewe and to gnawe To fyll therwith your mawe Lodged in the strawe Couchyng your drousy heddes Somtyme in lousy beddes Alas this is out of mynde ye growe nowe out of kynde Many one haue but wynde And make the commons blynde But qui se existimat stare Let hym well beware Lest that his fote slyp And haue suche a tryp And false in suche dekay That all the worlde myght say Come downe on the deuyll way . ¶ Yet ouer all that Of bysshops they chat That though ye round your hear An ynche aboue your ear And aures patentes And parum intendentes And your coursers be trapped your eares they be stopped For maister adulator And doctour assentator And blandior blandiris With mentior mentiris That ye can not espye They folowe your desyres And so they blere your eye Howe the male dothe wryte ¶ Alas for goddes wyll why syt ye prelates styll And suffre all this yll ye bysshops of estates Shulde open the brode gates For your spirituall charge And conforte at large Lyke lanternes of lyght In the peoples syght In pullpettes attentyke For the wele publyke Of preesthode in this case And alwayes to chase Suche maner of sysmatykes And halfe heretykes That wolde intoxicate That wolde conquinate That wolde contemminate And that wolde vyolate And that wolde derogate And that wolde abrogate The churche hygh estates After this maner rates The which shulde be Both franke and free And haue theyr lyberte And of antiquyte It was ratefyed And also gratifyed By holy synodalles And bulles papalles As it is res certa Conteyned in magna Carta ¶ But maister Damyan Or some other man That clerkely is and can Well scrypture expounde And textes grounde His benefyce worthe ten pou 〈…〉 Or skante warth twenty ma And yet a noble clerke He must do this werke As I knowe a parte Some maisters of arte Some doctours of lawe Some lernde in other sawe As in dyuynyte That hath no dygnyte But the pore degre Of the vnyuersyte Or els Frederyck ▪ Or els frere Dominike Or frere Hugulinus Or frere Agustinus Or frere Carmelus ●hat gostly can heale vs 〈…〉 ls yf we may 〈…〉 frere graye 〈…〉 of the order 〈…〉 Grenewyche border 〈…〉 obseruaunce 〈…〉 frere of fraunce 〈…〉 the poore scot 〈…〉 st come to his lot 〈…〉 te forthe his shot 〈…〉〈…〉 abuell besy de Bery 〈…〉 eil vpon a ●●ry 〈…〉 wolde it shulde noted 〈…〉 scripture shulde be coted 〈…〉 clerkely promoted 〈…〉 the frere ●oted 〈…〉 Men say 〈…〉 ctoryte And your noble se And your bygnyte Shulde be imprynted better Then all the freres letter For if ye wolde take payne To preche a worde or twayne Though it were neuer so playne with clauses two or thre So as they myght be Compendyously conueyde These worde shuld be more weyd And better perceyued And thankfully receyued And better shulde remayne Amonge the people playne That wold your wordes retayne And reherce them agayne Than a thousand thousande other That blaber barke and bloder And make a walshmans hose Of the texte and of the glose ¶ For protestatyon made That I shyll not wade Farther in this broke Nor farther for to loke In deuysyuge of this boke But answere that I may For my selfe alway Eyther analogice Or els cathagorice So that in diuinite Doctors that lerned be Nor bachelers of that faculte That hath taken degre In the vniuersite Shall not be obiected for me But doctour bullatus Parum littteratus Domimas doctoratus At the brode gatus Doctour daupatus And bacheler bacheleratus Dronken as a mouse At the ale house Taketh his pyllyon and his cap At the good ale tap For lacke of good wyne As wyse as Robyn swyne Under an notaryes sygne was made a dyuyne As wyse as waltonis calfe Must preche a goddes halfe In the pulpyt solempnely More mete in a pyllory For by saynt Hyllary He can nothyng smatter Of logyke nor scole matter Neyther sylogy sare Nor of emptimeniare Nor knoweth his eloquens Nor his predicamens And yet he wyll well To amend the gospell And wyll preche and tell what they do in hell And he dare not well neuen wyll knowe a Rauen from a rayle A quayle , the raile & the olde rauen Sed libera nos a malo Amen . And by Dudum theyr clementine Agaynst curates repyne And say ꝓpreli they ar sacerdotes To shryue assoyle and reles Dame mergeres soule out of he 'l But when the freare fell in the well he coud not syng him selfe therout But by the helpe of christyan clout Another clementyne also How frere fabian / with other mo Exiuit de paradise Whan they agayn theder shal come De hoc petimus consilium And through all the world they go Wit Dirige and placebo But nowe my mynd yt vnderstand Forthe must take in hande To prech and withstande All maner of abiections For bysshops haue protections They say to do corrections But they haue no afflictions To take the sayd dyrections In such maner of cases Men say they here no faces To occupye suche places To sowe the sede of graces Theyr hertes are so faynted And they be so attaynted With coueytous and ambycyon And other superstycyon That they be deef and dum And , play scylens and glum Can say nothynge but mum They occupye them so With syngyng placebo They wyll no farther go They had leuer to please And take their worldly ease Than to take on hande Worship to withstande . Such temporall warre & bat 〈…〉 As nowe is made of late Agaynst holy churche estate Or to maynteyne good quarelles The lay men call them barelles Full of glotony And of hypocrysy That counterfaytes and payntes As they were very sayntes In matters that them lyke They shewe them polytyke ¶ Pretendyng grauyte And sygnyoryte With all solempnyte For theyr indempnyte For they wyll haue no losse Of a peny nor of a crosse Of theyr predyall landes Thut cometh to theyr handes And as farre as they dare set All is fysshe that cometh to the net Buyldyng royally Theyr mancyons curyously With turrettes and with toures With halles and with boures Stretchynge to the starres With glasse wyndowes & barres Hangynge aboute the walles Clothes of golde and palles Arras of ryche aray Fresshe as flours in May With dame Dyana naked Howe lusty Uenus quaked And howe Cupyde shaked His darte and bent his bowe For to shote a crowe At her tyrly tyrlowe And howe Parys of Troy Daunced a lege de moy Made lusty sporte and ioy With dame Helyn the quene With suche storyes by dene Their chambres well be sene With triumphes of Cesar And of his Pompeyus war Of renowne and of fame By them to get a name . ¶ How all the worlde stares How they ryde in goodly chares Conueyed by Olyphantes With lauryat garlantes And by vnycornes With their semely hornes Upon these beestes rydynge Naked boyes strydynge With wanton wenches winkyng Nowe truly to my thynkynge That is a speculacyon And a mete meditacynon For prelates of estate Their courage to abate From worldly wantonnesse Theyr chambre thus todresse With suche parfetnesse And all suche holynesse Howbeit they let downe fall Their churches cathedrall . ¶ Squyre / knyght and lorde Thus the churche remorde With all temporall people They rune agaynst the steple Tus talkynge and tellyng Howe some of you are mellyng Yet softe and fayre for swellyng Beware of a quenes yellyng It is a besy thyng For one man to rule a gyng Alone / and make rekenyng To gouerne ouer all And rule a realme royall By one mannes Wyt Fortune may chaunce to flyt And whan he weneth so syt Yet may he mysse the quysshon For I rede a preposycyon Sum regibus amicare Et omnibus dominare Et supra te prauare Wherfore he hathe good vre That can hymselfe assure Howe fortune wyll endure Than let reason you supporte For the communalte That they haue great wonder That we kepe them so vnder Yet they meruayle so moche lesse For ye play so at the chesse As they suppose and gesse That some of you but late Hath played so checkemate With lordes of great steate After suche a cate That they shall mell nor make Nor vpon them take For kynge nor kayser sake But at the playsure of one That ruleth the rest alone ¶ Helas / I say helas Howe may this come to passe That a man shall here a masse And nat so hardy on his hede To loke on god in forme of brede But that the parysshe clerke There vpon must herke And graunt hym at his askyng For to se the sacryng And howe may this accorde No man to our souerayne lorde So hardy to make sute Nor to execute His commanndement Without the assent Of our presydent Nor to expresse to his parson Without your consentatyon Graunt hym his lycence To preas to his presence Nor to speke to hym secretly Openly nor preuyly Without his presydent be by Or els his substytute Whom he wyll depu●e Neyther erle ne duke Permytted by saynt Luke And by swete saynt Marke This is a wonderous warke That the people talke this Some what there is amysse Y ᵉ deuil can not stop their mouthes But they wyl talke of such vncouthes All that euer they ken Agaynst all spirituall men ¶ Whether it be wrong or ryght Or els for dyspyght Or howe euer it hap Theyr tonges thus do clap And through suche detractyon They put you to your actyon And whether they say trewly As they may abyde therby Or els that they do lye ye knowe better then I But nowe / debatis scire And groundly audire In your conuenire Of this premenire Or els in the myre They saye they wyll you cast Therfore stande sure and fast Stande sure & take good fotyng And let be all your motyng Your gasyng and your totyng And your parcyall promotyng Of those that stande in your grace But olde seruauntes ye chase And put them out of theyr place Make ye no murmuracyon Though I wryte after this facion Though I Colyn Cloute Among the hole route Of you that clerkes be Take vpon me Thus copyously to wryte I do it not for no despyte Wherfore take no dysdayne At my style rude and playne for I rebuke no man That vertuous is why than wreke ye your anger on me for those that vertuous be Haue no cause to say That I speke out of the way ¶ Of no good bysshop speke I Nor good preest I escrye Good frere / nor good chanon Good nonne / nor good canon Good monke , nor good clercke Nor of no good werke But my recountyng is Of them that do amys In spekyng and rebellyng In hynderyng and dysauaylyng Hyly churche our mother One agaynst another To vse suche desvysyng Is all my hole wrytyng To hynder no man As nere as I can for no man haue I named wherfore sholde I be blamed Ye ought to be ashamed Agaynst me to be greued And can not tell no cause why But that I wryte trewly ¶ Then yf any there be Of hygh or lowe degre Of the spiritualte Or of the temporalte That dothe thynke or wene That his conscyence be not clene And feleth hym selfe sycke Or touched on the quycke Suche grace god them sende Them selfe to amende For I wyll not pretende Any man to offende ¶ wherfore as thynketh me Great ydeottes they be And lytell grace they haue This treatyse to depraue Nor wyll here no prechyng Nor no vertuous techyng Nor wyll haue no resytyng Of any vertuous wrytyng Wyll knowe none intellygence To refourme theyr neglygence But lyue styll out of facyon To theyr owne dampnacyon To do shame they haue no shame But they wold no man shulde them blame They haue an euyl name But yet they wyll occupy the same ¶ With them the worde of god Is counted for no rod They counte it for a raylyng That nothyng is auaylyng The prechers with euyll hayling Shall they daunt vs prelates That be theyr prymates Not so hardy on theyr pates Herke howe the losell prates with a wyde wesaunt Auaunt syr Guy of gaunt Auaunt lewde preest auaunt Auaunt syr doctour deuyas Prate of thy matyns & they masse And let our maters passe Howe darest thou daucocke mell Howe darest thou losell Allygate the gospell Agaynst vs of the counsell Auaunt to the deuyll of hell ¶ Take hym wadeyne of the flete Set hym fast by the fete I say lyeutenaunt of the toure Make this lurdeyne for to loure Lodge hym in lytell ease Fede hym with beanes and pease The kynges benche or marshalsy Haue hym thyder by and by The vyllayne precheth openly And declareth our vyllany And of our fre symplenesse He sayes that we are rechelesse And full of wylfulnesse Shameles and mercylesse Incorrigible and mercylesse And after this rate Agaynst vs dothe prate At Poules crosse or els where Openly at westmynstere And saynt Mary spyttell They set not by vs a whystell At the Austen fryers They count vs for lyers And at saynt Thomas of akers They carpe vs lyke crakers Home we wyll rule all at wyll Without good reason or skyll And say both that we be Full or paryalyte And howe at a pronge We tourne ryght into wronge Delay causes so longe That ryght no man can fonge They say many matters be born By the ryght of a rambes horne Is not this a shamfull scorne To be teared thus and torne ? ¶ Now may we thus indure wherfore we make you sure ye prechers shall be rawde Some shall be sawde As noble Ezechyas The holy prophet was And some of you shall dye Lyke holy Ieremy Some hanged / some slayne Some beaten to the brayne And we wyll rule and rayne And out matters mayntayne who dare say there agayne Or who dare dysdayne At your pleasure and wyll For be it good / or be it yll As it is / it shall be styll For all master doctour of cyuyll Or of diuinite / or doctour deyuyll Let hym cough / rough / or sneuyll Renne god renne deuyll Renne who may renne best And let take all the rest we set not a nut shell The way to heuen or to hell ¶ To / this is the gyse now a dayes It is to drede men sayes Lest they be seduces As they be sayd sayne whiche determyne playne we shulde not ryse agayne At dredefull domis day And so it semeth they play whiche hate to be coreected whan they be infected Nor wyll suffre this boke By hoke ne by croke Prynted for to be For that no man shulde se Nor rede in any scrolles Of theyr dronken nolles Nor of theyr noddy polles Nor of theyr sely soules Nor of some wytles pates Of dyuers great estates As well as other men Now to withdrawe my pen And now a whyle to rest Me semeth it for the best ¶ The fore castell of my shyp Shall glyde and smothely slyp Out of the wawes wod Of the stormy flod Shote anker and lye at rode And sayle not farre a brode Tyll the cost be clere That the lode starre appere By shyp nowe wyll I pere Towarde the porte sauel Of our sauyour Iesu Suche grace that he vs sende To rectyfye and amende Thynges that are amys Whan that his pleasure is . ¶ amen . In opere imperfecto In opere semper perfecto Et in opere plusquam perfecto