The.xv. chapyter

WHyche dyuysyon hath ben so vnyuersall, that it hath ben a great vnquyetnes and a great breche of charyte through all the realme: and pa[…]te of y[…] hath rysen by reason of a great syngularyte, that relygyous person[…] and pre[…]es haue […] to theyr siate of lyuyng, wherby many of thē haue thought theyr state mo[…]e perfyte before all other. […]nd some of them haue therby e[…]alted theym selfe in theyre owne syghte so hyghe, that they haue rysen into suche a […] pryde, that they haue in maner disdayned and despysed other, that haue not lyued in suche perfeccyon, as they thynke they do. And of thys hath folowed, that some of theym haue hadde vnsyttynge wordes of the other, callynge them flatterers, dy[…] mulers, and hypocrytes: And they haue called the other agayne proude persons, couetous, vayne gloryo[…]se, and louers of wordely delytes, and suche other.

Of some partyculare varyaunce among dyuerse persons of the clergy haue I dyuerse tymes herde / as sometyme one person agaynste an other for hys tythes / or a person agaynste a relygyouse place for medelynge wythin hys parysshe / or one place of relygyon wyth another vpon some suche lyke occasyon / or somtyme some one relygyon haue had some questyon and dysputed as it were a probleme, vppon thantyquyte or senyoryte of theyr […]stytuciō, as by whyche the carmelytes clayme to fetche theyr orygynall from Helias & Helizeus. And some questiō hath arysē in y• order of saynt Francisce, bytwene the obseruauntes & conuētuallys. For as for the thyrde cōpany that is to wyt the cole[…]ams, there are in this realme none. But yet of all these maters was there neuer as farre as I rede or remember, in thys realme eyther so very great or so many suche thynges all in hand at onys, that […]uer it was at the tyme noted thorow the realme and spoken of for a great notable fawte of the hole clergy. And as for y• faw[…]es of some party culare partys eyther persons or placys, is nothynge that oughte of reason be rekened for the cause of thys diuysyō, and of thys dyspleasure and grudge of the temporaltye […] the clergye / no more than many mo varyaunces growynge dayly in dyuerse tymes and places, wyth vnlawfull assembles and greate ryottes also▪ cause the clergye to grudge agaynste the temporalty. And as it is not reason that it so were / so that it is not in dede maye well be perceyued by thys. For yf it were / then must thys grudge of ours agaynste them haue ben a very olde thyng / where as it is in dede neyther so great as this man maketh it, and growen to so great as it is, but euyn of late syn[…]e Tindals bokes and Frythes and frere Barons beganne to go abrode. And yet all though that it appereth well in hys wordes afterward, that those varyaūces canbe no parte or cause of this diuisyon wherof he maketh his boke: yet hath it delyted eyther hym selfe or some sotle shrewes y• so haue sette hym a wurke to brynge them in to▪ of a good mynde & a fauorable, to lay these fawtes to y• clergyes face, bysyde the mater of thys dyuysyon that he taketh in hande to treate of.

Now the remanaūt (wherby somwhat appere thalso, that by the encreace of his oracyō, wyth puttynge in the ende, and that is yet more to be lamented also bytwene prefies and prefies, he ment to put for the more lamentable strife, that variaūce which falleth bytwene seculare prestes, then that that falleth bytwene those that bysyde theyr order of prestehed, haue by theyr holy vowys entred into relygyon) he handeleth here in suche wyse that he fyrst reprocheth bothe the partys of greate syngularyte, whyche bothe relygyouse persones & also prestys haue had to theyr statys of lyuynge / by whyche wordes he sheweth, that eche of them contende wyth other vpon the perfeccyon of theyr two states whyther sholde haue preemynence, these prestes that are seculare or those that are relygyouse / & whych of the bothe hym selfe taketh for the chyef appereth, by the pytuouse encrease & growing of hys lamentable oracyon.

Then rebuketh he of y• relygyouse, some that haue apparaunce to be the moste perfyte and beste / and sayth, that thorow the great syngularyte that they haue to theyr state of lyuynge, they haue exalted them selfe in theyr owne syght so hyghe, that th[…]y ha[…]e rysen into suche a go[…]iely pryde, that they haue in maner dysdayned and despysed other, that haue not lyued in suche pe[…]feccyon, as they thynke they do.

This is a great thyng spoken by gesse, bycause among many good vertuouse folke, there may fall some by the deuyls meanes into some great gostely pryde, as Lucyfer dyd in y• good cōpany of angelles. But thys chaunce of suche chaunge is so olde, that these wordes wyll nothynge serue his lamentable begynnynge / whyche standeth ye wote well in lamentynge the chaunge from the old vertues of times passed, into the new vyces of this tyme presēt. And this vyce is very old, & reygned most when relygyouse folke lyued beste. And veryly the clergye is not all thynge so euyll as he maketh yt, yf y• relygyouse folke lyue nowe so holyly, as the temporalty may note that thorow perfytnes of lyuyng, the deuyll brynge so many to suche an hygh spyce of pryde.

But then goth he sorth and setteth thē to chyde to gether. How be it his wordes be so cō founded wyth they and them and other / and in the two versys of theyr chydyng his wordes be so vnsewtely sorted, that I cā not perceyue which of the t[…]o partes calleth whiche nor who calleth whome, by those names that he sayth the […]one sorte calleth y• tother / nor hym selfe I suppose neyther, as the thynge that he neuer knew for trew, but thynketh he may boldely tell euery thynge for trewe, that any man perceyueth possyble.