Classic Poem

Daw, thou hast lerned
so long to lye,
thou wenest thou saist soth
whan thou liest most lewde,
and sclaunderist the truthe.
Thou saidist thou were no lettred man,
thou prevest thi self fals,
ffor thou spekist of ierarchies.
of herisies also;
thou art gilty in alle thes poyntes,
and thi brether bothe,
that I wolde preve apertly,
if that the tyme suffrid.
Lok gour lyvyng, gour prechyng,
with other opun dedes,
and laye it by the apostles lyf,
and se how thai acorde,
and as I wene the Holigost
appreveth nether nouther.
Me thynkith ge ben tapsteres,
in alle that ge don;
ge tappe gour absoluciones
that ge bye at Rome,
gour prechyng, gour praying,
and also gour beryings.
Bot thou accusist other men
that han bot the mote
in the comparison
of alle gour gret synnes.
Hypocrita, ejice primo trabem de oculo tuo.
Dawe, ge folowen Crist,
as greyhounde doth the hare;
ffor as God gaf kyng Saule
in his wodenes,
so ge ben clekkid out
to pursuwe holi chirche.
Periculum in falsis fratribus.

Git, Dawe, thou drawist in
many fals promptynges,
ffor to hirt symple men,
bot me never a del;
ffor Crist in his membres
beggid ful oft,
ffor synne of the puple,
when thai were at mischef.
Bot as suche bolde beggers
in bodily hele,
begged never Crist,
ne non of his membres;
ffor Crist, that is truthe,
may in no wise
contraric him self
ne God that is his fadir;
ffor in many places
thai damnen suche sturdy beggyng,
And, so, Dawe, thou dotest,
alleggyng the water,
the asse, or the herberowe;
for he was lorde of alle,
and so thou mysse takist Jerom,
and lyest on Bernarde,
ffor Alrede his clerke
wrote his reson,
that thou mysse layst,
and dokkist it as the likist.
Herfor a clerke saith,
that evel mot he spede,
that beggith of the puple
more than is nede,
Mendax mendicus non est veritatis amicus.
Nutantes transferantur filii ejus et mendicent.
God gif the grace to knowe how
thou art Judas childe;
whiche psalme thou leggist to me,
as to an evel entent;
for git thou schuldest be damned
softly in helle,
Nutantes transferentur filii.
Thou ffeillest much brethe, Daw,
with legyng of thi tyxtes;
for summe thou legest kenely
to a fals entente;
but of other thou blundyrst
as a blynde buserde.
For thes pore of whom thou spekyst,
mygt not helpe hem selfe;
but goure prowde losengerie
that rune abowt as snck-drawers
ben neyther pore ne fabil,
and so juge thou
how thes to acorde.