kunning, or els for confusion, of thy conscience: thou fall into the sentence that anon followeth: Binde his handes and his feete, and cast him to to the vtter warde of darknes, there shall be weeping and grenning of teethe. Therfore I rede thee, that thou aduise thee how thou shalt answer to this question. How hast thou entred? whether by cleeping, or by thine owne procuring: for that thou wouldest trauaile in Gods gospell, other for thou wouldest be richly arayed? Answete now to thy owne conscience as thou shalt answer to God, thou that hast take now the order of prieste, whether thou be curate or none: who stirred thee to take vpon thee so high an estate? Whether for thou wouldest liue as a priest ought to do, studying of Gods law to preach, and most hartely to pray for the people: or for to liue a delicious life, vpon other mens trauayle, and they selfe trauaile nought. Marginalia Questio. Why also setten men theyr sonnes either their cousins to schole? Marginalia Solutio. Whereto, but for to get them great aduancements, or to make them the better to knowe howe they shoulden serue God? This men may see openly, by the sciences that they set them to. Marginalia Questio. Why I pray you, put men their sonnes to the law ciuill, or to the kings court to write letters & writs: rather th? to Philosophy or Diuinity, but for the hope that these occupations shoulde be euer means, to make them great in the world. I hope that ther wil no man say, that they ne shoulde better learne the rule of good liuing in the booke of Gods law, than in any bookes of mans worldly wisedome? Marginalia Solutio. Iohannes Chrisosstomus Homelia. 27. But certes now it is sothe, that Iohn Chrisostom saith Mothers be louing to the bodies of their children, but the soule they despise, they desire them to wel fare in this world, but they take none hede what they shall suffer in the tother: Some ordeinen fees for their children, but none ordeine them to godward: The lust of their bodies they wol deere by, but the health of their soule the reke nought of. If they see them poore or sicke, they sorow and sigheth, but though they see them sinne, they sorrowe not. And in this they shew that they brought forth the bodies but not the soules. Marginalia Note. And if we take heede truly, what abhominations be scattered and spread abrode in holy church now adayes among priestes: we shul wel wit, that they come not all to the folde of Christ by Christes clepping for to profite: but by other wayes to get them worldly welth, and this is the cause of lesing of soules, that Christ bought so deare, and of many errours among the people: and therefore, it is iwrit in the booke of mourning, where the prophet speaketh thus to God. Tre 1. The enemy hath put his hand to all things desyrable to him: MarginaliaThe rashe making of ministers. for he hath let lawles folke enter into the sanctuary, of the which thou hadst commaunded, that they should not enter into the church: Ths enemy is Sathanas, as his name sowneth, that hath put his hande to all that him liketh. What sinne I pray you will the fiend haue sow on men, that nis now yvsed? In what plentie is now pride, enuy, wrath and couetise? Whan were they so great as they be now, and so of all other sinnes. And why trowest thou? But fore there be a lawles people entred into thy sanctuarie, that neither keepe in themselfe the law of God, ne konne teachen other: And to euery such saith God by the prophet, Marginalia Ose. 4. Ose 4. For that thou hast put away cunning I shall put thee away that thou shal vse no priesthoode to me. Lo that God expresly heere in holy writte, forbiddeth men to take the state of pristhoode on them, but they haue cunning, that needeth them. Thou than that canst neither rule thy selfe ne other, after the lawe of God, beware how thou wilt answer to God, at his dreadfull dome, when he shall say to thee, that which I tooke to my theame.

Yeld the reckening of thy baily, how thou hast entred.

The second question, that euery curate and prelate of holye Chirch shall aunswer to, is this. How hast thou ruled? That is to say, the soules of thy suggets, and the goods of poore men: Geue now thine acounte. First, how thou hast gouerned gods folke that were take thee to keepe: Whether art thou an herde or an hiredman? that doost all for loue of bodelich hire? As a father, or as a Wolfe, that eaten his sheepe and keepeth them nought? Say whome thou hast turned from his cursed liuing, by thy deuout preaching, Whome hast thou taught the law of God that was earst vncunning: Ther shal ben heard a greuous accusing of fatherles children, and a hard aledging, that priests haue liueden by their wages, and not done away their sins. Yelde also rekoning how thou hast ruled and spended the goodes of poore men. Harke what S. Bernard saith. Marginalia Bernardus. Dreade clarkes, dreade the ministers of the Church, the which ben in the place of saintes, that they do so wickedly, nought holding them apayd with such wages that were sufficient to them: That ouerplus that needy men shuld be sustained by, they be not ashamed to wast in the house of their pride and leachery, and withholden to themselfe wickedly and cursedly that which should be the lifeloode of poore men. With double wickednes truly they sinne. First, for they reeuen other mens goods, and saith they misuse holy things in their vanities and in their filthes. Euery such Bayly therefore beware, for anone, to the last farthing he shall recken with Christ. Trowest thou not then, that thou ne shalt be disalowed of God of that thou hast mispended in in feeding of fat Palfreys, of hounds, of Haukes, and if it so be that is worst of all, on lecherous women? Heare what is sayd of suche. They had led their dayes in wealths. And in a poynt theybene gone down into hell: Think therefore I rede thee, that thou shalt yelde reckening of thy bayly.

The third question that this baily shal aunswer to, is this: How hast thou lyued? What light of holynes hast thou shewed in thy liuing to the people, or what mirrour hast thou ben of holynes to them? Geue now they reconing, how thou hast liued, as a priest, or as a leude man, as a man or as a beast. That is to wonder truelye how the lyfe of priestes is chaunged They be clothen as knights, they speaken as vnhonestly as carels, other of wynnyng as Marchaunts: They riden as princes, and al that is thus spended, is of the goodes of poore men, and of Christs heretage. Therfore saith an holy doctor: The clay of Egypt was tough and stinking, and medled with bloud. The slates were harde to bee vndoe, for they were baked with fire of couetise, and with the light of lust. In this trauayleth riche men, in this they wake, a wayting poore men. In these trauaileth prelates, that ben to much blent with to much shining of riches, that make them houses lyke churches in greatnes, that with diuers pointries, coloren their chambers, that with diuers clothinges of colours, make images gay: but the poore m? for default of clothes beggeth, and with an empty wombe cryeth at the doore: And if I shall the soth say, saith this doctor, oft tyme poore men be robbed for to clothe the trees and stones. Of such speaketh the Prophet. Marginalia Esa. 22. quis tu hic aut quasi quid hic. Howe art thou here? or as who art thou? Here thou art occupying the place of Peter and of Poule, or of Thomas or of Martine: But how, as Iudas among the Apostles, as Symon Magus among the disciples, as a candle new queinte that stincheth all the house in steede of a light lanterne, as a smoke that blindeth mens eyen, in place of cleane fire. If thou contrarye thus the forme of liuing that Christ and his disciples left to priests: Lo what saith the prophet Marginalia Iere. 31. Ieremye. They haue entred, and they haue had and nought ben obedient. They hauen with false title or with their false and corrupt intention, had poore mens goodes to their misusing, and they haue not bee obedient to the lawe of God in their owen liuing. Therefore it is writ, Marginalia Sap. 6. that the hardest dome shall fall on such. An hard dome, for they haue misentred. An harder dome, for they haue misruled. And the hardest dome, for they haue so cursedlie liued. Thinke therefore I rede, how thou wilte giue reckning of thy bayly.

The second Bayliff, that accounteth at this dome for himselfe and also for other, is he: that keping hath of any communite, as kings, princes, Maiers, and Shireues, and iustices. MarginaliaKinges, Princes and magistrates admonished. And these shull also answer to the same three questions. The first question, how hast thou hentred, Marginalia How hou hast entred. that is to say, into thine office: Other for help of the people to destroy falshed and forthren treuth? other for desire of winning or worldly worship? If thou take such an office, more for thine owne worldly profite, than for helpe of the comunite, thou art a tirant as the pholosopher seith. For it is to feare least there bene too many that desiren suche states, that they may the rather oppresse thilke that they hateth, and take giftes to spare to punish thilke, that hauen trespassed, and so maketh them parteners of their sinnes. And many such, when they ben so high, they reck nought that they beeth poore mens brethren: but they wene to passe them in kind, as they passeth in worldly worship, this is but winde: of which God saith by the prophet, Marginalia Ose. 8. they hauen raigned, but nought of me, they haue bene princes but I knowe nought. So we reade of Marginalia 2. Para. 10. Roboam, that was the son of king Salomon what time he was first king, the people of Israell comen to him, and sayd: Thy father in his last dayes, put on vs great charge. We pray thee some deale make it lighter, and we willen serue thee. And the king tooke counsayle of the olde wise men, and they counsailden to answer them faire, and that should be for the best. But he left these old wise mennis counsayle, and did after the counsayle of children that were his playferen, and sayd to the people, when they came agayne: My left finger, is greater then my fathers riegge. My father greeued you somewhat, but I will echen more thereto. And the people heard this, and rebeleden to him, and tooke them another king: and sithe, the kingdome came neuer whole againe. And therefore it is good, that euery ruler of cominalties, that they be not lad by follies, ne by none other eare rowner, that he ne haue an eygh of loue to the comontie that he hath to rule. For wete ye well, be he neuer so high, that he shall come afore his higher, to yelde reconing of his bayly.

The second question is: Marginalia How hast thou ruled. Marginalia Deut. 9.How hast thou ruled the people, and the office that thou haddest to gouerne? Thou that hast bene a Iudge in causes of poore men, how has thou kept this hest of God? Thou shalt not take heede to the person of a poore man, to bee to him the harder for his pouertie, ne thou shalt not behold a rich mans semblance, to spare or to fauour him in his wrong for his riches. O Lorde, what abusion is there among officers of both lawes, now adayes: If a great man pleadeth with a poore man, to haue ought that he holdeth, euery officer shall be readie to hye all that he may, that the rich man might haue such an end as he desired. But if a poore man pleade with a ritch man, than there shall be so manye delayes, that though the poore mans right be open to all the Countrie, for pure faute of spending, he shall be glad to cease. Shriues and Bayliffes willen retourne