The.xliiii. chapyter

ANd yet to brynge the spyrytualty in y• more hatered, & to make the name of the spyrytualtye the more odyouse amonge the people / thys pytuouse pacyfyer in dyuerse places of hys booke, to appease this dyuysyon withall, alledgeth agaynst theym that they make greate confederacyes amonge theym, to make & maynteyne a parte agaynst the temporaltye / and by suche confederacyes, and worldely polycyes, and strayt correccyōs, to rule the people and punysshe them, and kepe them vnder. And thys poynte he bryngeth in here and there in dyuerse places, sometyme wyth a some say, and somtyme wyth a they say, and sometyme he sayeth it hym selfe. And I wote not well yf he hated the spyrytualtye in dede (as some saye he doth, and yet I truste he doth not) what more odyouse thynge he myght say.

what any one kynde or sort of peple is there ī this realme husbande men, artyfycers, marchauntes, men of lawe, iudges, knyghtes, lordes, or other, but that euyll dysposed people myght begyn agaynst them a sedycyouse murmure / castyng abrode a suspicyouse bablynge, of gatheryng, and assemblynge, and rownynge, and talkynge, and fynally cō federynge togyther? and yet all such suspycyouse bablyng not worth a fether al togither when it were well cōsydered.

But in sundry places mych he harpeth vppon the lawes of the chyrche / as though the spyrytuall lawes whyche the spyrytualty here haue made, were a grete cause of this dyuysyon. And than dyuerse of the lawes that he speketh of, be lawes not prouyncyall made by the clergy here, but the lawes vsuall thorow the whole chyrch of Cryst / wherof the makynge maye not be […]ayed to theym / nor men are not therfore so vnreasonable (thoughe those lawes were lesse good thanne the greate wysedome of thys pacyfyer coulde deuyse) as to be angry for them with our clergy that made them not, but haue be bounde to kepe them.

And as for dyffamyng them with the abuse of those lawes towarde cruelty, as he bothe in hys boke / there is no great cunnynge in the makynge of that lye. For euery […]ole that lyste, maye deuyse and laye y• lyke to some other folke whā he wyll.

Now as for theyr assembles and comyng to gether to the makynge of theyr lawes and constytucyons prouincyall / thys pacyfyer to laye those for any confederaeyes, that sholde be now a cause of this so sodayne a late grudge & deuysyon, were a very farre fette inuencyon. For settynge a syde the dysputacyon, whyther those constytucyons be so vnreasonable as thys pacyfyer wold haue them seme[…] thys thyng suffyseth agaynst hym, y• there is not I thynke veryly any one prouy[…]cyall co[…]sty[…]ucyon that he speketh of, that was made, or to any mānys gryefe or grudge put in execucyon, in the tyme of any of all y• prelates that are now lyuyng. And how could than any of them be any such […] or cause of thys late spronge[…] dyuysyon.

But I suppose he calleth those assemblynges at theyr conuocacyons, by the name of confed[…]racyes. For but yf he so do / I wote nere what he mean[…]th by that worde. And on the tother syde yf he so do / for aught that I se he geueth a good thynge and an holsome, an odyouse heyghnouse name. For yf they dyd assemble ofter, and there dyd the thynges for whyche suche assembles of the clergy in euery prouynce thorow all crystē dome from the begynnynge were instytute and deuysed / mych more good myght haue growen therof, then the long dysuse can suffer vs nowe to perceyue.

But as for my dayes as farre as I haue herd, nor as I suppose a good parte of my fathers neyther / they came neuer to gether to cōuocacyon, but at the request of the king / and at theyr suche assembles concernynge spyrytuall thynges haue very lytle done. wherfore that they haue ben in that great necessary poynt of theyr dewty so neglygent, whyther god suffer to growe to a secret vnperceyued cause of dyuysyon and grudge agaynste theym, god whome theyr suche neglygence hath I fere me sore offēded, knoweth. But surely this hath in my mynde ben somewhat a greter faute in y• spyrytualty, then dyuerse of those fautes whyche vnder his fygure of some say thys pacyfyer hath made very great in his boke.

But surely yf this pacyfyer […] those assembles confederacyes / I wolde not greatly wyshe to be confederate wyth theym, and theyr assocyate in any suche confederacyes. For I could neuer wyt theym yet assemble for any great wynnynge but come vppe to theyr trauayl, labour, coste, & payn, & tary and talke & cetera & so gete them home agayne. And therfore men nede not greatly to grudge or enuy them for any suche confederacyes.