Stanzas 36ÔÇô38 -
36.
Freer, what charity is this,
to prease upon a rich man,
and to intice him to be buried among you
from his parish church,
and to such rich men give letters of fraternitie,
confirmed by your generall seale,
and therby to bear him in hand,
that he shal have part of all your masses,
mattens, preachings,
fastings, wakings,
and all other good deeds
done by your brethren of your order,
both whilest he liveth,
and after that he is dead;
and yet ye witten never whether your deeds
be acceptable to God,
ne whether that man
that hath that letter
be able by good living
to receive any part of your deeds.
And yet a poore man,
that ye wite well or supposen in certen
to have no good of,
ye ne given to such letters,
though he be a better man to God
than such a rich man.
Neverthelesse this poore man
doth not retch therof;
for as men supposen,
such letters, and many other
that freers behoten to men,
be full false deceits of freers,
out of all reason,
and Gods law,
and Christian mens faith.
37.
Freer, what charitie is this,
to be confessors of lords and ladies,
and to other mightie men,
and not amend hem in hir living?
but rather, as it seemeth,
to be the bolder
to pill hir poore tenants,
and to live in lechery;
and there to dwell in your office of confessor
for winning of worldlie goods,
and to be hold great
by colour of such ghostly offices?
This seemeth rather pride of freers,
than charitie of God.
38.
Freer, what charitie is this,
to fain that who so liveth after your order,
liveth most perfectlie,
and next followeth the state of apostles
in povertie and penance;
and yet the wisest and greatest clerkes of you
wend or send or procure to the court of Rome,
to be made cardinals or bishops
of the popes chaplens,
and to be assoiled of the vow of povertie
and obedience to your ministers;
in the which, as ye sain, standeth most perfection
and merit of your orders;
and thus ye faren as Pharisees
that sain one and do another to the contrarie,
Why name ye more
the patron of your order
in your Confiteor ,
when ye begin masse,
than other saints,
apostles, or martyrs,
that holy church hold[eth]
more glorious than hem,
and clepe hem your patrons
and your avowries?
Freer, whether was saint Francis
in making of his rule that he set thine order in,
a foole and a liar,
or else wise and true?
If ye sain that he was not a foole, but wise,
ne a liar, but true,
why shew ye contrarie by your doing,
when by your suggestion to the pope
ye said that your rule that Francis made
was so hard,
that ye mow not live to hold it,
without declaration and dispensation of the pope?
And so by your deed,
ne let your patron a foole,
that made a rule so hard
that no man may well keepe;
and eke your deed prooveth him a liar,
where he saith in his rule,
that he tooke and learned it
of the Holy Ghost;
for how might ye for shame pray the pope
undo that the Holy Ghost bit,
as when ye prayed him to dispense
with the hardnesse of your order?
Freer, which of the foure orders
of friers is best,
to a man that knoweth not
which is the best,
but would faine enter into
the best, and none other?
If thou saiest that thine is the best,
then saiest thou that none of the other
is as good as thine;
and in this ech freer in the three other orders
wooll say that thou liest,
for in the self same maner ech other freer
wooll say that his order is best.
And thus to ech of the foure orders
bin the other three contrary in this point,
in the which if any say sooth,
that is one alone,
for there may but one
be the best of foure.
So followeth it that if ech of these orders
answered to this question as thou doest,
three were false, and but one true,
and yet no man should wite who that were.
And thus it seemeth that the most part
of freers bin or should be
liars in this point,
and they should answere thereto.
If you say that another order of the freers
is better than thine, or as good,
why tooke ye not rather thereto as to the better,
when thou mightst have chose at the begining?
And eke why shouldst thou be an apostata,
to leave thine order and take thee to that is better,
and so why goest thou not
from thine order into that?
Freer, is there any perfecter
rule of religion
than Christ Gods sonne gave
in his gospell to his brethren?
or than that religion that saint James
in his epistle maketh mention of?
If you say yes, then puttest thou on Christ,
that is the wisedome of God the Father,
unkunning, unpower,
and evill will;
for then he could not make his rule
so good as an other did his,
and so he had be unkunning;
that he might not so make
his rule so good
as another man might,
and so were he unmightie, and not God;
as he would not make his rule
so perfect as another did his,
and so he had bin evill willed,
namely to himselfe.
For if he might and could,
and would have made a rule perfect,
without default, and did not,
he was not Gods Sonne almighty.
For if any other rule
be perfecter than Christes,
then must Christes rule
lacke of that perfection,
by as much as the other
weren more perfecter;
and so were default, and Christ had failed
in making of his rule;
but to put any default or failing in God
is blasphemie.
If thou say that Christes rule,
and that religion
which saint James maketh mention of,
is perfectest,
why holdest thou not
thilke rule without more?
And why clepest thou the rather
of saint Francis or saint Dominiks rule,
or religion or order,
than of Christes rule or Christes order?
Freer, canst thou any default assigne
in Christes rule of the gospell,
with the which he taught all men
sikerly to be saved,
if they kept it to her ending?
If thou say it was too hard,
then saiest thou Christ lied;
for he said of his rule,
" My yoke is soft and my burden light. "
If thou say Christes rule
was too light;
that may be assigned for no default,
for the better it may be kept.
If thou saist that there is no default
in Christes rule of the gospell,
sith Christ himself saith
it is light and easie,
what need was it to patrons of freers
to adde more thereto,
and so to make an harder religion to save freers
than was the religion of Christes apostles,
and his disciples helden,
and were saved by?
But if they woulden that her freers
saten above the apostles.
in heaven for the harder religion
that they keepen here,
so would they sitten in heaven above Christ himselfe,
for their more and streict observations,
then so should they be better
than Christ himself, with mischance.
Go now foorth, and fraine your clerks,
and ground ye you in Gods law,
and gif Jacke an answer;
and when ye han assoiled me
that I have said sadly,
in truth I shall soile thee
of thine orders,
and save thee to heaven.
If freers kun not, or mow not,
excuse hem of these questions asked of hem,
it seemeth that they be horrible giltie
against God and her even christian;
for which gilts and defaults
it were worthy that the order.
that they cal their order,
were fordone.
And it is woonder that men susteine hem,
or suffer hir live in such maner.
For holie write biddeth
that thou do well to the meeke,
and give not to the wicked,
but forbed to give hem bread,
least they be made thereby
mightier through you.
Freer, what charity is this,
to prease upon a rich man,
and to intice him to be buried among you
from his parish church,
and to such rich men give letters of fraternitie,
confirmed by your generall seale,
and therby to bear him in hand,
that he shal have part of all your masses,
mattens, preachings,
fastings, wakings,
and all other good deeds
done by your brethren of your order,
both whilest he liveth,
and after that he is dead;
and yet ye witten never whether your deeds
be acceptable to God,
ne whether that man
that hath that letter
be able by good living
to receive any part of your deeds.
And yet a poore man,
that ye wite well or supposen in certen
to have no good of,
ye ne given to such letters,
though he be a better man to God
than such a rich man.
Neverthelesse this poore man
doth not retch therof;
for as men supposen,
such letters, and many other
that freers behoten to men,
be full false deceits of freers,
out of all reason,
and Gods law,
and Christian mens faith.
37.
Freer, what charitie is this,
to be confessors of lords and ladies,
and to other mightie men,
and not amend hem in hir living?
but rather, as it seemeth,
to be the bolder
to pill hir poore tenants,
and to live in lechery;
and there to dwell in your office of confessor
for winning of worldlie goods,
and to be hold great
by colour of such ghostly offices?
This seemeth rather pride of freers,
than charitie of God.
38.
Freer, what charitie is this,
to fain that who so liveth after your order,
liveth most perfectlie,
and next followeth the state of apostles
in povertie and penance;
and yet the wisest and greatest clerkes of you
wend or send or procure to the court of Rome,
to be made cardinals or bishops
of the popes chaplens,
and to be assoiled of the vow of povertie
and obedience to your ministers;
in the which, as ye sain, standeth most perfection
and merit of your orders;
and thus ye faren as Pharisees
that sain one and do another to the contrarie,
Why name ye more
the patron of your order
in your Confiteor ,
when ye begin masse,
than other saints,
apostles, or martyrs,
that holy church hold[eth]
more glorious than hem,
and clepe hem your patrons
and your avowries?
Freer, whether was saint Francis
in making of his rule that he set thine order in,
a foole and a liar,
or else wise and true?
If ye sain that he was not a foole, but wise,
ne a liar, but true,
why shew ye contrarie by your doing,
when by your suggestion to the pope
ye said that your rule that Francis made
was so hard,
that ye mow not live to hold it,
without declaration and dispensation of the pope?
And so by your deed,
ne let your patron a foole,
that made a rule so hard
that no man may well keepe;
and eke your deed prooveth him a liar,
where he saith in his rule,
that he tooke and learned it
of the Holy Ghost;
for how might ye for shame pray the pope
undo that the Holy Ghost bit,
as when ye prayed him to dispense
with the hardnesse of your order?
Freer, which of the foure orders
of friers is best,
to a man that knoweth not
which is the best,
but would faine enter into
the best, and none other?
If thou saiest that thine is the best,
then saiest thou that none of the other
is as good as thine;
and in this ech freer in the three other orders
wooll say that thou liest,
for in the self same maner ech other freer
wooll say that his order is best.
And thus to ech of the foure orders
bin the other three contrary in this point,
in the which if any say sooth,
that is one alone,
for there may but one
be the best of foure.
So followeth it that if ech of these orders
answered to this question as thou doest,
three were false, and but one true,
and yet no man should wite who that were.
And thus it seemeth that the most part
of freers bin or should be
liars in this point,
and they should answere thereto.
If you say that another order of the freers
is better than thine, or as good,
why tooke ye not rather thereto as to the better,
when thou mightst have chose at the begining?
And eke why shouldst thou be an apostata,
to leave thine order and take thee to that is better,
and so why goest thou not
from thine order into that?
Freer, is there any perfecter
rule of religion
than Christ Gods sonne gave
in his gospell to his brethren?
or than that religion that saint James
in his epistle maketh mention of?
If you say yes, then puttest thou on Christ,
that is the wisedome of God the Father,
unkunning, unpower,
and evill will;
for then he could not make his rule
so good as an other did his,
and so he had be unkunning;
that he might not so make
his rule so good
as another man might,
and so were he unmightie, and not God;
as he would not make his rule
so perfect as another did his,
and so he had bin evill willed,
namely to himselfe.
For if he might and could,
and would have made a rule perfect,
without default, and did not,
he was not Gods Sonne almighty.
For if any other rule
be perfecter than Christes,
then must Christes rule
lacke of that perfection,
by as much as the other
weren more perfecter;
and so were default, and Christ had failed
in making of his rule;
but to put any default or failing in God
is blasphemie.
If thou say that Christes rule,
and that religion
which saint James maketh mention of,
is perfectest,
why holdest thou not
thilke rule without more?
And why clepest thou the rather
of saint Francis or saint Dominiks rule,
or religion or order,
than of Christes rule or Christes order?
Freer, canst thou any default assigne
in Christes rule of the gospell,
with the which he taught all men
sikerly to be saved,
if they kept it to her ending?
If thou say it was too hard,
then saiest thou Christ lied;
for he said of his rule,
" My yoke is soft and my burden light. "
If thou say Christes rule
was too light;
that may be assigned for no default,
for the better it may be kept.
If thou saist that there is no default
in Christes rule of the gospell,
sith Christ himself saith
it is light and easie,
what need was it to patrons of freers
to adde more thereto,
and so to make an harder religion to save freers
than was the religion of Christes apostles,
and his disciples helden,
and were saved by?
But if they woulden that her freers
saten above the apostles.
in heaven for the harder religion
that they keepen here,
so would they sitten in heaven above Christ himselfe,
for their more and streict observations,
then so should they be better
than Christ himself, with mischance.
Go now foorth, and fraine your clerks,
and ground ye you in Gods law,
and gif Jacke an answer;
and when ye han assoiled me
that I have said sadly,
in truth I shall soile thee
of thine orders,
and save thee to heaven.
If freers kun not, or mow not,
excuse hem of these questions asked of hem,
it seemeth that they be horrible giltie
against God and her even christian;
for which gilts and defaults
it were worthy that the order.
that they cal their order,
were fordone.
And it is woonder that men susteine hem,
or suffer hir live in such maner.
For holie write biddeth
that thou do well to the meeke,
and give not to the wicked,
but forbed to give hem bread,
least they be made thereby
mightier through you.
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