They that teare the boughs, will hew at the tree,
and hauing once wet their feete in factions, will not
care how deep they wade in treason.
After Martin had racked ouer his protestation with
a Iades pace, hee runnes ouer his fooleries with a
knaues gallop, ripping vp the souterlie seames of his
Epistle, botching in such frize iestes vppon fustion
earnest, that one seeing all sortes of his shreddes,
would thinke he had robd a taylors shop boord; and
then hee concludes all doggedlie, with Doctor _Bullens_
dogge _Spring_, not remembring that there is not a
better Spanniell in England to spring a couie of
queanes than Martin.
Hee sliues one, has a fling at another, a long tale
of his talboothe, of a vulnerall sermon, and of a fooles
head in souce. This is the Epistle which he woonders
at himselfe, and like an olde Ape, hugges the Vrchin
so in his conceipt, as though it should shew vs some
new tricks ouer the chaine, neuer wish it published
Martin, we pittie it before it comes out. Trusse vp
thy packet of flim flams and roage to some countrey
Faire, or read it among boyes in the belfrie, neuer
trouble the church with chattering; but if like dawes,
you will be cawing about Churches, build your nests
in the steeple, defile not the quier.
Martin writes merely, because (hee saies) people
are carried away sooner with iest than earnest. I,
but Martin neuer put Religion into a fooles coate;
there is great oddes betweene a Gospeller and a
Libeller.
If thy vaine bee so pleasaunt, and thy witt so
nimble, that all consists in glicks and girds; pen
some play for the Theater, write some ballads for
blind _Dauid_ and his boy, deuise some iests, and
become another _Scogen_, so shalt thou haue v[=e]t inough
for all thy vanities, thy Printer shall purchase, and all
other iesters beg.
For to giue thee thy due, thou art the best died
foole in graine that euer was, and all other fooles
lacke manie graines, to make them so heauie.
There is not such a mad foole in Bedlam, nor
such a baudie foole in Bridewell, nor such a dronken
foole in the stockes, nor such a scolding foole on the
cucking-stoole, nor such a cosening foole on the
pillerie, nor such a roaging foole in the houses of
correction, nor such a simple foole kept of alms, nor
such a lame foole lying in the spittle, nor in all the
world, such a foole, all. Nay for fooles set down in
the scriptures, none such as Martin.
What atheist more foole, that saies in his heart,
_There is no God_? What foole more proud, that
stands in his own c[=o]ceit? What foole more couetous
than he that seekes to tedd abroad the Churches
goods with a forke, and scratch it to himselfe with a
rake.
Thou seest Martin with a little helpe, to the foure
and twentie orders of knaues, thou maist solder the
foure and twentie orders of fooles, and so because
thou saist thou art vnmarried, thou maist commit
matrimonie, from the heires of whose incest, wee will
say that which you cannot abide, _Good Lord deliuer
vs_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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