Friars; Monasticism and religious orders -- England
¶ Ye[a] who is abill to nombre the greate and brode botomles occean see
full of euilles that this mischeuous and sinful generacion may laufully
bring vppon vs vnponisshed. where is youre swerde, power, crowne, and
dignitie, become that shuld punisshe (by punisshement of deth euen as
other men are punisshed) the felonies, rapes, murdres, and treasons
committed by this sinfull generacion? where is theire obedience become
that shulde be vnder your hyghe power yn this mater? ys not all to gither
translated and exempt from your grace vnto theim? yes truely. whate an
infinite nombre of people might haue ben encreased to haue peopled the
realme if these sort of folke had ben maried like other men. what breche
of matrimonie is there brought yn by theim? suche truely as was neuer sins
the worlde began emong the hole multitude of the hethen.
¶ who is she that wil set her hondes to worke to get. iij.d. a day and may
haue at lest. xx.d. a day to slepe an houre with a frere, a monke, or a
prest? what is he that wolde laboure for a grote a day and may haue at
lest. xij.d. a day to be baude to a prest, a monke, or a frere? whate a
sort are there of theime that mari prestes souereigne ladies but to cloke
the prestes yncontinency and that they may haue a liuing of the prest
theime silues for theire laboure? Howe many thousandes doth suche
lubricite bring to beggery theft and idelnesse whiche shuld haue kept
theire good name and haue set theim silues to worke had not ben this
excesse treasure of the spiritualtie?? whate honest man dare take any man
or woman yn his seruice that hath ben at suche a scole with a spiritual
man? Oh the greuous shipwrak of the comon welth, whiche yn auncient time
bifore the coming yn of these rauinous wolues was so prosperous: that then
there were but fewe theues: ye[a] theft was at that tyme so rare that
Cesar was not compellid to make penalte of deth vppon felony as your grace
may well perceyue yn his institutes. There was also at that tyme but fewe
pore people and yet they did not begge but there was giuen theim ynough
vnaxed, for there was at that time none of these rauinous wolues to axe it
from theim as it apperith yn the actes of th[e] appostles. Is it any
merueill though there be nowe so many beggers, theues, and ydell people?
Nay truely.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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