Thou knowest, Lorde, beste thysylfe, Man is but duste, stercorye, and fylthe, Of himsylfe vnable, Saue only of thy specyal grace, A soule thou made to occupye place, To make man ferme and stable; Which man to do as thou ordeyned, With fendes foule shal neuer be payned, But in blysse be perdurable; And if he do the contrarye, After this lyfe than shal he dye, Fendes to fede vnsaciable; For which fendys foule thou made a centre, In which centre thou made an entre, That such that to breke thy commaundementes wolde auenter Theder downe shulde dessende; But oure maister, whan Deth hym trapte, In pure perseueraunce so was wrapte, That thou inuisyble his speryte thyder rapte Where thy sheltrons him shal defende. [Sidenote: M. quatrinalis. C. transuersio.] If we nat offende, He wyl purchace A gloryous place At oure laste ende; To se his face We shal assende, By his grete grace, If we nat offende. Thou haste enuapored, I say, alofte The soule of Jaspar, that thou wroughte, Seruyce to do latrial: And why, Lorde, I dyd the reproue, Was for perfyte zele and loue, To the nat preiudicyal; For, Lorde, this I knowe expresse, This worldly frute is bytternesse, Farcyd with wo and payne, Lyfe ledynge dolorously in distresse, Shadowed with Dethes lykenesse, As in none certayne. [Sidenote: C. neugacio.] Yet, me semeth so, thou art non of tho that vs so shuld begyle: He is nat yet ded; I lay my hed, thou hast him hid for a while; And al to proue who doth him loue and who wil be vnkynd, Thou hast in led layde him abed, this trow I in my mynd; For this we trow, and thou dost know, as thy might is most, That him to dye, to lowe and hye it were to grete a lost. [Sidenote: C. excusacio.] And he be dede, this knowe I very right; Thou saw, Lorde, this erth corrupt with fals adulacyon, And thought it place vnmete for Jaspar thy knyght; Wherfore of body and soule thou made seperacyon, Preantedate seynge by pure predestynacyon Whan his lyfe here shulde fyne and consum; Wherfore, Lorde, thus ende I my dolorous exclamacyon, Thy godenes knewe what was beste to be done. [Sidenote: M. xviii. C. conclusio.]