The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

Name: The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)
Author: Skelton, John

Skelton, John

English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700

And haue[1166] _aures patentes_
  And _parum intendentes_,
  And your tonsors be croppyd,[1167]
  Your eares they be[1168] stopped;                                    680
  For maister _Adulator_,
  And doctour _Assentator_,
  And _Blandior blandiris_,
  With _Mentior mentiris_,
  They folowe[1169] your desyres,
  And so they blere your eye,
  That ye can not espye
  Howe the male dothe wrye.[1170]
    Alas, for Goddes wyll,
  Why syt ye, prelates,[1171] styll,                                   690
  And suffre all this yll?
  Ye bysshops of estates[1172]
  Shulde open the brode gates[1173]
  Of[1174] your spirituall charge,
  And com forthe[1175] at large,
  Lyke lanternes of lyght,
  In the peoples syght,
  In pullpettes[1176] awtentyke,[1177]
  For the wele publyke
  Of preesthode[1178] in this case;                                    700
  And alwayes to chase
  Suche maner of sysmatykes
  And halfe heretykes,
  That wolde intoxicate,[1179]
  That wolde conquinate,
  That wolde contaminate,[1180]
  And that[1181] wolde vyolate,
  And that wolde derogate,
  And that[1182] wolde abrogate
  The Churchis[1183] hygh estates,[1184]                               710
  After this maner rates,[1185]
  The which shulde be
  Both franke and free,
  And haue theyr[1186] lyberte,
  As[1187] of antiquyte
  It was ratefyed,
  And also gratifyed,
  By holy synodalles
  And bulles papalles,[1188]
  As it is _res certa_                                                 720
  Conteyned in _Magna Charta_.
    But maister[1189] Damyan,
  Or some other man,
  That clerkely is and can
  Well scrypture expounde
  And hys[1190] textes grounde,
  His benefyce worthe ten pounde,
  Or skante worth twenty marke,
  And yet[1191] a noble clerke,
  He must do this werke;                                               730
  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 frere Frederycke,
  Or els[1192] frere Dominike,                                         740
  Or frere Hugulinus,
  Or frere Agustinus,
  Or frere Carmelus,[1193]
  That gostly can heale vs;
  Or els yf we may
  Get a frere graye,
  Or els of the order
  Vpon[1194] Grenewyche border,
  Called Obseruaunce,
  Or[1195] a frere of Fraunce;                                         750
  Or els the poore Scot,
  It must come to his lot
  To shote forthe his[1196] shot;
  Or of Babuell besyde Bery,
  To postell vpon a[1197] kyry,
  That wolde it shulde be[1198] noted
  Howe scripture shulde be coted,
  And so clerkley[1199] promoted;
  And yet the frere doted.
    But men sey your awtoryte,[1200]                                   760
  And your noble se,[1201]
  And your[1202] dygnyte,
  Shulde be imprynted better
  Then all[1203] 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,

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)Skelton, John

General

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

Skelton, John

English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700

And haue[1166] _aures patentes_
  And _parum intendentes_,
  And your tonsors be croppyd,[1167]
  Your eares they be[1168] stopped;                                    680
  For maister _Adulator_,
  And doctour _Assentator_,
  And _Blandior blandiris_,
  With _Mentior mentiris_,
  They folowe[1169] your desyres,
  And so they blere your eye,
  That ye can not espye
  Howe the male dothe wrye.[1170]
    Alas, for Goddes wyll,
  Why syt ye, prelates,[1171] styll,                                   690
  And suffre all this yll?
  Ye bysshops of estates[1172]
  Shulde open the brode gates[1173]
  Of[1174] your spirituall charge,
  And com forthe[1175] at large,
  Lyke lanternes of lyght,
  In the peoples syght,
  In pullpettes[1176] awtentyke,[1177]
  For the wele publyke
  Of preesthode[1178] in this case;                                    700
  And alwayes to chase
  Suche maner of sysmatykes
  And halfe heretykes,
  That wolde intoxicate,[1179]
  That wolde conquinate,
  That wolde contaminate,[1180]
  And that[1181] wolde vyolate,
  And that wolde derogate,
  And that[1182] wolde abrogate
  The Churchis[1183] hygh estates,[1184]                               710
  After this maner rates,[1185]
  The which shulde be
  Both franke and free,
  And haue theyr[1186] lyberte,
  As[1187] of antiquyte
  It was ratefyed,
  And also gratifyed,
  By holy synodalles
  And bulles papalles,[1188]
  As it is _res certa_                                                 720
  Conteyned in _Magna Charta_.
    But maister[1189] Damyan,
  Or some other man,
  That clerkely is and can
  Well scrypture expounde
  And hys[1190] textes grounde,
  His benefyce worthe ten pounde,
  Or skante worth twenty marke,
  And yet[1191] a noble clerke,
  He must do this werke;                                               730
  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 frere Frederycke,
  Or els[1192] frere Dominike,                                         740
  Or frere Hugulinus,
  Or frere Agustinus,
  Or frere Carmelus,[1193]
  That gostly can heale vs;
  Or els yf we may
  Get a frere graye,
  Or els of the order
  Vpon[1194] Grenewyche border,
  Called Obseruaunce,
  Or[1195] a frere of Fraunce;                                         750
  Or els the poore Scot,
  It must come to his lot
  To shote forthe his[1196] shot;
  Or of Babuell besyde Bery,
  To postell vpon a[1197] kyry,
  That wolde it shulde be[1198] noted
  Howe scripture shulde be coted,
  And so clerkley[1199] promoted;
  And yet the frere doted.
    But men sey your awtoryte,[1200]                                   760
  And your noble se,[1201]
  And your[1202] dygnyte,
  Shulde be imprynted better
  Then all[1203] 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,

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

The Poetical Works of John Skelton, Volume 1 (of 2)

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