PART II.

To accorde with this wordë "fal" No more English can I find; Shewe another now I shall, For I have moche to say behind, 480 How preestes han the people pynd, As curteys Christ hath me [y-]kend, And put this matter in my mind To make this maner men amend.

Shortly to shende hem, and shewe now 485 How wrongfully they worche and walke; O hye god, nothing they tell, ne how, But in goddes word, +tell many a balke. In hernes holde hem and in halke, And prechin of tythes and offrend, 490 And untruely of the gospell talke; For his mercy, god it amend!

What is Antichrist to say But evin Christes adversáry? Such hath now ben many a day 495 To Christes bidding full contráry, That from the trouthë clenë vary; Out of the wayë they ben wend; And Christes people untruely cary; God, for his pitè, it amend! 500

That liven contráry to Christes lyf, In hye pride agaynst mekenesse; Agaynst suffraunce they usen stryf, And angre ayenst sobrenesse; Agaynst wisdom, wilfulnesse; 505 To Christes tales litell tend; Agaynst mesúre, outragiousnesse; But whan god woll, it may amend!

Lordly lyf ayenst lowlinesse, And demin all without mercy; 510 And covetyse ayenst largesse, Agaynst trewth[e], trechery; And agaynst almesse, envy; Agaynst Christ they comprehend. For chastitè, they maynteyn lechery; 515 God, for his gracë, this amend!

Ayenst penaunce they use delytes, Ayenst suffraunce, strong defence; Ayenst god they use yvel rightes, Agaynst pitè, punishments; 520 Open yvell ayenst continence; Hir wicked winning wors dispend; Sobrenesse they sette in-to dispence; But god, for his goodnesse, it amend!

Why cleymen they hoolly his powére, 525 And wranglen ayenst all his hestes? His living folowen they nothing here, But liven wors than witles beestes. Of fish and flesh they loven feestes, As lordes, they ben brode y-kend; 530 Of goddes pore they haten gestes; God, for his mercy, this amend!

With +Dives such shall have hir doom That sayn that they be Christes frendes, And do nothing as they shuld doon; 535 All such ben falser than ben fendes. On the people they ley such bendes, As god is in erthe, they han offend; Sucour for suchë Christ now sende us. And, for his mercy, this amend! 540

A token of Antichrist they be, His careckes ben now wyde y-know; Receyved to preche shall no man be Without[ë] token of him, I trow. Ech Christen preest to prechen ow, 545 From god abovë they ben send. Goddes word to all folk for to show, Sinfull man for to amend.

Christ sente the pore for to preche; The royall riche he did nat so; 550 Now dar no pore the people teche, For Antichrist is over-all hir fo. Among the people he mot go; He hath bidden, all such suspend; Some hath he hent, and thinketh yet mo; 555 But all this god may well amend.

All tho that han the world forsake, And liven lo[w]ly, as god bad, In-to hir prison shullen be take, Betin and bounden, and forth lad. 560 Herof I rede no man be drad; Christ sayd, his [servaunts] shulde be shend; Ech man ought herof be glad; For god ful well it woll amend.

They take on hem royáll powére, 565 And saye, they havë swerdes two, Oon curse to hell, oon slee men here; For at his taking Christ had no mo, Yet Peter had [that] oon of tho. But Christ to Peter smyte gan defend, 570 And in-to the sheth bad putte it tho; And all such mischeves god amend!

Christ bad Peter kepe his sheep, And with his swerde forbad him smyte; Swerd is no tole with sheep to kepe 575 But to shep[h]erdes that sheep woll byte. Me thinketh, suche shep[h]erdes ben to wyte Ayen hir sheep with swerd that contend; They dryve hir sheep with greet dispyte; But al this god may well amend. 580

So successours to Peter be they nought Whom [that] Christ madë cheef pastour; A swerd no shep[h]erde usen ought But he wold slee as a bochour. For who-so were Peters successour 585 Shuld bere his sheep till his bak bend, And shadowe hem from every shour; And all this god may wel amend.

Successours to Peter ben these In that that Peter Christ forsook, 590 That had lever the love of god [to] lese Than a shep[h]erde had to lese his hook. He culleth the sheep as doth the cook; Of hem [they] taken the woll untrend, And falsely glose the gospell-book; 595 God, for his mercy, +hem amend!

After Christ had take Peter the kay, Christ sayd, he mustë dye for man; That Peter to Christ gan withsay; Christ bad him, 'go behind, Sathan!' 600 Such counsaylours many of these men han For worldes wele, god to offend; Peters successours they ben for-than, But all such god may well amend.

For Sathan is to say no more 605 But he that contrary to Christ is; In this they lernë Peters lore, They sewen him whan he did mis; They folowe Peter forsothe in this, In al that Christ wolde +him reprende, 610 Nat in that that longeth to hevin blis; God for his mercy hem amend!

Some of the apostels they sewen in cas, Of ought that I can understonde, Him that betrayed Christ, Judas, 615 That bar the purse in every londe; And al that he might sette on honde, He hidde and stal, and [gan] mispend; His rule these traytours han in honde; Almighty god [now] hem amend! 620

And at last his lord gan tray Cursedly, through his covetyse; So wolde these trayen him for money, And they wisten in what wyse! They be seker of the selfe ensyse; 625 From all sothnesse they ben frend; And covetyse chaungen with queyntyse; Almighty god all suche amend!

Were Christ on erthë here eft-soon, These wolde dampnë him to dye; 630 All his hestes they han fordon, And sayn, his sawes ben heresy; Ayenst his +maundëments they cry, And dampne all his to be [y-]brend; For it lyketh nat hem, such losengery; 635 God almighty hem amend!

These han more might in England here Than hath the king and all his lawe, They han purchased hem such powére To taken hem whom [they] list nat knawe; 640 And say, that heresy is hir sawe, And so to prison woll hem send; It was nat so by elder dawe, God, for his mercy, it amend!

The kinges lawe wol no man deme 645 Angerliche, withouten answere; But, if any man these misqueme, He shal be baited as a bere; And yet wel wors they woll him tere, And in prisón woll hem [be] pend 650 In gyves, and in other gere; Whan god woll, it may [a]mend.

The king taxeth nat his men But by assent of the comminaltè; But these, ech yere, woll raunsom hem 655 Maysterfully, more than doth he; Hir seles, by yerë, better be Than is the kinges in extend; Hir officers han gretter fee; But this mischeef [may] god amend! 660

For who-so woll prove a testament Thát is natt all worth ten pound, He shall paye for the parchëment The third part of the money all round. Thus the people is raunsound, 665 They say, such part to hem shulde apend; There as they grypen, it goth to ground; God, for his mercy, it amend!

A simple fornicacioun, Twenty shillings he shall pay; 670 And than have an absolucioun, And al the yere usen it forth he may! Thus they letten hem go a-stray, They recke nat though the soul be brend; These kepin yvell Peters key, 675 And all such shep[h]erdes god amend!

Wonder is, that the parliament And all the lordes of this lond Here-to taken so litell entent To helpe the people out of hir hond; 680 For they ben harder in +hir bond, Wors bete[n] and [more] bitter brend Than to the king is understond; God him helpe this to amend!

What bisshoppes, what religio[u]ns 685 Han in this lande as moch lay-fee, Lordshippes, and possessio[u]ns More than the lordes, it semeth me! That maketh hem lese charitè, They mowë nat to god attend; 690 In erthe they have so high degree, God, for his mercy, it amend!

The emperour yaf the pope somtyme So hyghe lordship him about, That, at [the] laste, the sely kyme, 695 The proudë popë putte him out! So of this realme is in dout, But lordes be ware and +hem defend; For now these folk be wonder stout, The king and lordes now this amend! 700

THUS ENDETH THE SECONDE PART OF THIS TALE, AND HERAFTER FOLOWETH THE THIRDE.