Þei þat treten þes verse of Sibille/ alle þat I haue seen/ acorden in þis/ þat seculer power of þe Hooly Goost elispirid/ & þat deþ/ veniaunce of swerd/ myscheifs vnknowe bifore/ bi whiche men þes daies schule be ponyschid/ schulen falle for synne of prestis. Men schal falle on hem/ & caste hem out of her fatte beneficis/ and þei schule seye/ he cam in to his benefice by his kynrede/ þes bi couenant maad bifore/ he for his seruyse/ & þes for moneye/ cam into Goddis Chirche. Þanne schal eche suche prest crye/ Alas/ Alas/ þat no good spiryt dwellid wiþ me at my comynge into Goddis Chirche. Þe wordis of Josue 2. cᵒ. þe þridde. I seide þat Crist entrede into hooly þingis/ þat is holy Chirche/ by holy lyuynge & holy techinge/ preynge þe Fadir for vs. Þe Mayster of Scholys[38] rehersiþ/ þe þridde book of Kyngis/ þe v. cᵒ./ aftir þe talis of iewis of Salamon/ þere was a stork hadde a berd/ & his berd was sperid vndir a vessel of glas/ and whanne þis stork sau his brid/ &. þat he myȝte noȝt come to hym/ he brouȝt a litil reed worme out of wildirnesse/ & wiþ his blood he anoyntide þe glas. Þe glass to barst/ & þe brid fleye his wey. So oure Lord þe Fadir of heuene hadde mankynde in helle/ þat was glasyne/ þat is to seye britil as glas. To breke it be brouȝt suche a litil reed worme/ þat was our Lord Ihū Crist/ as Dauiþ seiþ/ þe on & twenty Salme. 2i.[39] Ego sum vermis/ & non homo/ I am a worme & no man/ & wiþ his blood he delyuered mannes kynde. Zacarie[40] writiþ/ þe nynþe chapitre/ þou forsoþe wiþ blood of witnesse/ or þi testament/ hast ledde out hem þat were bounde in þe pyt. So whanne we weren synful/ & children of wraþþe/ Goddis sone cam out of heuene/ & preyying his fadir for his enemyes/ & he deyed for vs þanne/ myche raþere now we ben maad riȝtful bi his blood schule be saued. Poul writiþ to þe romayns. v. cᵒ.[41] He schal preye for vs. Ihūs wente into heuene to apere to þe semlant of God for vs. Poul to þe hebrees.[42] Þe whiche semlant he graunte vs to see/ þat lyueþ & regneþ wiþout eende/ Amen. NOTES. [Illustration] Notes. How far the foregoing Tract has suffered from the Carelessness or Ignorance of the Transcriber, it will not be possible to determine, until another Copy shall be discovered. It is the Object of the following Notes to correct some of the more obvious Mistakes, as well as to trace the Historical Origin of the Tract, and to explain its References and Allusions. The Editor has not thought it necessary to preserve in every Instance the Contractions of the original Manuscript; but he has carefully retained the Spelling, even in some Cases where an Error of the Transcriber is evident. The Anglo-Saxon Letters, þ and ȝ, are used throughout the MS., and are preserved, as being characteristic of the Orthography of the Period. PAGE xxiii. line 3. Noȝt hauynge him þat openly crieþ.