Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A17421
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A treatise co[n]cernynge impropriations of benefices. Cum priuilegio regali
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Bigod, Francis, Sir, 1508-1537.
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1535
(1535)
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STC 4240; ESTC S110964
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14,361
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52
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nat preche he is worthye to haue no penye of suche fruites / albeit he mumble vp neuer so many mateÌ„ses / Dauid psalters / trentals / diryges / and suche lyke longe prayers / as we proued before whaÌ„ we spake of loÌ„ge prayers For this is a good argument He preacheth dilygently and trewly Ergo / he is worthy to haue therefore a lyuynge / and euen so is this He doth neither of theÌ„ / ergo / he can chalenge no lyuyng and this is Paules mynde / whan he sayth He that minystreth the worde of god / must lyue therby excepte peraduenture ye can proue that to muÌ„ble vp a longe payre of mattens be to preche the worde of god / whiche if ye can bringe to conclusyon / by my trouthe ye haue wonne the maistrye for me / for I truste than / that whan I saye my mattens / that my mattens maye stande for a symple collation as wel as your mattens and than I se nat but that an impropriation were as holsome for my bodye as for yours And where it maye be obiected that ouer that / that the prestes kepe none hospytalytie / they neither preache at their benefyces / nether come at them neither yet euer loke thytherwarde some of them yea / and if it chaunce some of them to preache / it is suche geare / that it were more for the helth of his parisshens soules that he wer tonge tyed Forsoth that is euen as trewe as the gospell yea / so trewe that it maketh myne herte wepe to thynke vpon it I beseche god ones to amende it whan his wyll is Is it nat great pitye to se a man to haue thre or foure benefyces yea / paraduenture halfe a score or a dosyn / whiche he neuer cometh at / but setteth in euery one of them a syr IohnÌ„ lacke laten / that can scarce rede his porteus / orels suche a rauenynge wolfe as canne do nothynge but deuoure thesely shepe with his false doctryne / and sucke their substaunce from them Lorde / if it be thy pleasure / ones haue mercye vpon vs / and gyue grace that we may haue some remedye founde for thys myschiefe / bothe of impropriatyons / and also of them that minister nat the worde of god faythfully vpon theire benefyces as they ought to do for I haue knowen suche / that whan they haue ryddeÌ„ by a benefyce wherof they haue ben persone / they coulde natte tell that is was their benefyce This is a wonderfull blyndnesse And yet I thynke / suche or the same benefyced man wyll natte stycke to ryde an hundreth myles / to prycke a brouche vpon an ymage cote / and thynke it a righte hyghe merytoriouse dede But to suche tyme as it shall please the kinges most honourable maiestye / of his benygne mercy and pytie / with his most honourable counsel to se a reformation / as well for thabuse of impropriatyons as for the incharytable demeanoure of all benefyced men / that be nat resydent abydynge vpon their benefices / there to do their boundeÌ„ duty It shall neuer be wel in this church of Christ in Englande / wherof his grace is the supreme heed / nor yet the truthe of goddes holye worde shall euer go forwarde in his righte trade and kynde They haue yet an other abiectyon / and this is it If impropriatyons be taken from monasteryes / say they / than coulde they kepe no houses nor hospytalyte / but shulde be compelled to lyue all in pouertye Where vnto I answere / that as for pouertye it is their professyon / and standeth with their own monastycall rules for they all professe the same at their fyrste enterynge into relygyon yea / and it must be wylfull pouerty also / wherfore I can nat se by their professyoÌ„ but that they ben bounde to helpe to all thinges that standeth with pouertye And as for kepiÌ„ge hospitalyte with stollen goodes of impropriatyons / I thinke it can nat vayle theym but lytell to allege it / wherefore this obiectyon is nat worthe a strawe / and maye better be called an abiectyon / than an obiectyon Besydes this I knowe very fewe or none / but and if these impropriatyons were clene taken awaye frome theym yea / and a gret dele more / yet shulde they haue more lefte in their handes than euer had Benedict / Bernard / Dominik / or Fraunces / or yet Brimo ye / more than many men thinke or can thinke well bestowed vpon them But a man might sauyng their pacyence be so bolde with them / what mater were it vnder correction I speke if all these improfytable sectes / and stronge sturdye route of idle paunches were a lytell poorer / to th ende that the trew relygion of christ miÈt thereby somthynge be sette vp and a vaunsed / and syffycient company of the ministers of goddes true worde prouyded for in all parttes I praye you / what an idle sorte be fouÌ„de and brought vp in Abbeyes / that neuer wyll laboure whyles they ben there / nor yet whan they come thence to other mens scruyce / in so moche that there goth a comen prouerbe That he which hath ones ben in an abbey wyll euer more after be slouthefull / for the whiche cause they ben called of many men / Abbey loutes or lubbers And some saye that many of our holye fathers spende nat a lytell vpon my cosyn Iane / Elsabeth and Marget ye knowe what I meane insomoche that / that eueÌ„ they which be most popysshe of all / knowe none other god almost than the gret drafsacke of Rome / can nat deny this to be trew Which popysshe ê‘sons nat withstandynge wyll nat ones open their lyppê to sue for a reformatioÌ„ to the kinge our most soueraine lorde And the cause why / as it is noysed / as good sygnifycatioÌ„s ben therof giuen / is for that / that some such abbot or priour wyll nat stycke to gyue an hundreth pouÌ„des at a clappe to such a chaÌ„pyon to speke in his fauour in tyme of nede And I can beleue it well for I se no meÌ„ in the world haue mo sure stakes to stande with theÌ„ whan they haue any vrgent busines than the monkes haue euen of them that knowe their noughty coÌ„uersatyon / as well as I knowe my right haÌ„de froÌ„ my lyfte Now what shuld cause men to be so vntrusty in a matter of vntruth / let other men iuge I can gesse no mater or cause more lykely / than Huri sarra fames as Vergyll calleth it that is the myscheuouse insacyable hunger couetousnesse of golde And I fere me that euen at this day / money passeth fast from marchant to marchant A thynge there is in the wynde / what soeuer it be / that euery maÌ„ knoweth nat of / which I trust in god wyl one day come to lyght / as well as other thiÌ„gê haue for I dout nat but christ is true / which sayth Qihil est
absconditum quod non reuelabitur There is nothiÌ„g so craftely coÌ„ueted but at the last it wyll shall come to reuelation But what myschef care they to coÌ„myt if they may redeme it for money / may haue suche ioly felowes to defeÌ„de theÌ„ in euery corner what care they for the losse of a lytel money / which they caÌ„ finde again in the sore labour of their poore tenaÌ„tê How so euer the worlde go they lose nothiÌ„ge / nor wyll lose nothinge / nor wyll eat the lesse by one croÌ„me or bit of brede Be there neuer so great darth in the worlde / yet wyl they mesure their meate by the bely As ther was a blide abbot in the world which neuer wolde set hiÌ„ downe at dyner / but he wold fyrst vndo the poynte before his bely / let it oute a certayne length / to such tyme he had fylled his paukener to the poynt / he wolde neuer cesse as blide as he was Mary some meÌ„ say / that he wolde seldome make any souper I thinke verily he neded nat moch But to my purpose / remoue me ones away the cause materiall of all these incoÌ„uenyentes theffect shal sone be remoued But as for to remoue that cause efficient froÌ„ them / that is / the spirit of the deuyll / it were very harde For that can no man do but god / whiche can make a Camell to go through the eye of an edle but as for the cause materyall / or their infinyte soÌ„mes of ryches / of golde of syluer / maye soone be remoued / if it plese our most redouted prince / with his most honourable couÌ„sell Take froÌ„ them their iÌ„proper imê“priations with other suê‘fluytes / withiÌ„ a while ê‘aduenture they may be good men And if nat that / yet am I sure that outwardly they shal nat be a quarter part so yll as they be now It were wel done me thiÌ„keth that suche meÌ„ had their impropriations as wold do faythfull seruyce to god / to their prince / to their parissh / in prechynge / settiÌ„ge forth syncerely purely the worde of the lyuynge god other that wyl nat or caÌ„ nat so do / it were best they were clerely dyspatched of suche benefyces as they haue what kiÌ„de of bnÌ„fyces soeuer they be gret or smal / forked cap or plaiÌ„e cap accordiÌ„g to s Pauls miÌ„de Qui noÌ„ laboret / noÌ„ manducet He that wyl take no paines / let hiÌ„ take no gaines but if he wyl nedê eate / let hiÌ„ nedê swete / orels let hiÌ„ eate his thombes Howe say ye nowe all my lordes / abbottê priours with your improper ipropriations whiche of good congruence god put in your mynde so to call / as he dyd into bysshop Cayphas miÌ„de ones to saye the truthe agaynste his wyll for if all the worlde had sought a name for them / he coulde neuer haue deuysed a better worde than impropriations for in good fayth they were neuer proper vnto you by the worde of god but euen as fayre stolen good as any is in christendome Howe saye ye I saye Haue ye any thinge to allege for you agaynst my poore reasons if ye haue / come forth ye shall be herde I wyll nat that ye lay for you / your olde ryueld refuge this dyd our fathers / there hath ben as wyse men as there be nowe why dyd nat they espye this geare Tell nat me what your faders did / which were blynded with such fathers as ye ben your selfe But tell me whether your fathers iÌ„ so doinge dyd well or nat / accordinge to the scrypture or nat And as for wysdome I tell you agayne / that there is but one wysedome / that we may surely trust vnto which is the wysdom of god lefte in his scryptures / if they caÌ„ proue that their facte dede in gyuiÌ„ge impropriatioÌ„s to such as ye be / was grouÌ„ded vpon this wysdome / thaÌ„ we wil must nedes admyt it them to be wise / or els in thingê perteyning to the soule / we wyll approue no wisdoÌ„e but that ThiÌ„ke you this a good solutioÌ„ to say Were there nat as wyse meÌ„ before our tyme as ther be now Ar ye nat a shamed of suche extreme madnes I pray you tel me one thiÌ„g Were there nat as great foles before our tymes as there be now I beseche you / why miÈt nat our fathers the made these same imê“priations be of that same sorte I ê“myse you except you had theÌ„ with this coÌ„dition / that ye shulde trewly preche the worde of god for theÌ„ I ensure you it was the most fonde folysh acte one of theÌ„ that euer was done ye / a noughty acte also If at the last it were their acte / nat rather your tyraÌ„nouse vsurpation But admyt the al your forfaders were wyse both tagge rag / nat one fole amongest them / what than is this a good argumeÌ„t Our fore faders were as wyse before our time as meÌ„ be now Ergo this was wysely done I pray you who tauÈt you so to reason many a wyse man somtyme may playe the fole / ouer slyp hiÌ„selfe If he may / than as the northen maÌ„ saith Gay layke you with your olde wysdome / your wyse fathers And so helpe me god holydom / if yor wise faders neuer plaied wyser touches than they dyd in this behalfe / me thiÌ„keth you might aswel a nother while allege vpon yor wise mothers / what soeuer your faders were / me thinketh their soÌ„nes be nat the wysest that euer I knew Finally if thus moche may ê‘suade you / that your imê“priations of conscience caÌ„ nat be kepte any lenger I beseche you for the loue of god / if any drop of grace be in you / to gyue place to the siÌ„ple playne truth which I haue here sette forth / with out either subtilite or colours / as the thiÌ„ges wher vnto I neuer gaue my miÌ„de / nor entendeth to do But if ye caÌ„ nat gyue place to the poore reasons here made / sette your peÌ„nes to the boke / aswel as god wyll gyue me grace ye shall be answered And here I make an ende / nothinge medlynge with the patronage of the seyde imê“priations to whoÌ„ they shal be longe / nor yet with the persones to whoÌ„ suche benefyces ought to be giuen / nor what ordre is to be taken about theÌ„ but I coÌ„mend al such ê‘sels to them that be of more experyence lernynge than I / to them that be in authorite / as to oure most gracyouse lorde prince / of all other priÌ„ces the most exellent worthy / to his most honourable couÌ„sel to whom with our moste vertuouse quene Anne / princesse Elizebeth / all their honourable couÌ„sell / be loÌ„ge lyfe and ioye to the pleasure of god So be it I beseche Iesu ¶ Printed at LoÌ„don by Tho. Godfray Cum priuilegio Regali