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Another mater thou movest, Jak,
moost to be chargid,
of the solempne sacrament
of Cristis owne bodye,
conteyned in figure of brede,
sacrifise for synne;
thou drawist a thorn out of thi hele,
and puttist it in oure.

107

Thou berist us on honde that we seien
ther is not Cristis bodye,
but roundnesse and whitenesse,
and accident withouten suget.
Jak, we seie with holy chirche,
that ther is Cristis bodi,
and not material breed
with Wiclyf ȝour maistir,
the whiche put ther but as a figure,
and not verré Cristis bodi,
after a manere spekyng
that holy chirche usith,
as we clepen Crist a stoon,
a lomb, and a lioun,
and noon of these is Crist,
but oonli in figure.
This heresie holde not we,
but ȝe his false folowers,
privyly as ȝe doren,
and opinli ȝe wolden,
ne were the sharp ponishinge
of ȝour former fadirs.

108

And now I will thee telle
the freris confiteor,
touching to this sacrament,
how that thei bileven.
Thei seie breed is turned into fleish,
and wyne into blood,
thourȝ the myȝt of oure God,
and vertue of his wordis;
the fleish is mete, the blood is drynke,
and Crist dwellith [therin],
no thing rasyd, no thing dividid,
but oonli broken in signe,
and as moche is in oo partie
as is al the hole;
thus leeveth not of the breed,
but oonli the licnesse,
which that abidith therinne
noon substeyned substans.
It is deth to the yvel,
lyf to good encresing of oure grace.
It wole not be confect
but oonli of a preest,

109

that lawfulli is ordeyned
bi holi chirche keies;
and so carpenters ne sowters,
card-makers ne powchers,
drapers ne cutellers,
girdelers, coferers, ne corvysers,
ne no manere of artificeris,
this sacrament mowe treten,
but the privité of preesthode
wer prickid in her soulis.
And ȝit ȝour sect susteynes
wommen to seie massis,
shewyng to trete a sacrament
as preestes that thei were,
reversynge holy doctours
and decree of holy chirche.
Allas! ȝour brymme blastis
awake the wilde wawlis,
and scalen sely Peter ship,
and putt it in hiȝe perile;
ne were God the giour,
and kept the stern,
with the sterne stormes
that reufulli ȝe reisin,
al schulde wende to wrak

110

into the waast watris.
The releef of Cristis feeste
ȝe renden and ratyn,
that his alumners the postlis
gaderid togidere,
and delith it to dogges
and ravenous beestes;
and the presciouse perlis
ȝe strowun to hogges,
the sutil metis of scripturis
to cherlis stomakes,
and maken hem als comoun
as the cart weye,
aȝens Poulis sentence,
and Poulis owne doctrine.

Non, inquit Paulus, potui vobis scribere quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus, etc.

Se also what Crist seith,
in the holy gospel.

Multa habui vobis dicere, sed non, etc.

Also in many other place thus spekith he
to his perfit disciplis:

Vobis datum est noscere mysterium regni Dei, cæteris autem in parabolam, etc.


111

Than the lewide and the lered
auȝt not yliche,
the scripturis ben scaterid
in his privy pointes.
Jak, thou seist at the last,
that charité is chacid,
to vengyn oure defautis,
and mende us of oure mysse,
levynge oure rotyn ritis,
folowinge Goddis lawe.
Jak, oure ritis ben nouȝt rotyn,
her rootis ben al freishe,
plantid in the gospel,
as I seide biforen;
but, good Jak, ȝour grace,
where be ȝe foundid?
not in Goddis gospel,
but in Sathanas pistile,
wher of sorowe and of snowcrie
noon is to seken,
but al maner of dolosité
to ȝou is enditid,
as in thi lewid daliaunce
apertli thou hast preved;

112

but moche mawgré mote thou have
thus to frayn a frere,
that slily wolde have slent aweye,
and noman have greved.
But for thi grete labour
thi gardoun thou shalt gete;
thou shalt have the popis curse,
and al holi chirchis;
and if thou sett this at nouȝt,
God mowe sende thee more,
the curse that he hath ȝovun to Caym
and Choreis sone also;
thou shalt also have the curse
that Crist ȝaf to Phariseis,
figured in the figre tree
that nevere bare fruyte aftir.
Thou shalt have the weleaway
of Gelboth hilles,
the sorowe of Sodome,
and al sinful citeis.
Take for thi faire speche
the preier of Deus laudem,
the greable gardoun
for al opin sclaundris;
thou shalt have the malisoun
of Moab and Ariel;

113

the benysoun of Bethsaida
shal make thy beddis heed;
and, Jakke, for thou apprisist not
the curse of seint Franceis,
but scornyst the malisoun
of the foure ordris,
take the malisoun that God ȝaf
to brekers of his lawe,
in the book of Deutronomye,
the seven and twenty chapitre;
but evere be ware of Cristis curse,
and of cattis tailis,
the which if thou have grace to cacchen,
nevere shal thou thryve.
Now fare forthe to thi fourmures,
and, Jak, thou hem telle
the matere of oure talkynge,
and loke how hem likith;
and if hem thinke not thi sawes
sufficientli assoilid,
lat hem senden aȝen,
it shal be amendid;
and sai hem that it nedith not
to sharpen oure clerkes,
for frere Dawe is scharpe ynowȝ
for al sich enditinge.

114

Ffare wele, Jak Jawdewyne,
I thee God bitake;
and nomore of freris
I thee rede to preche.
To lower state than thei ben
thou maist hem not dryve,
and if thei evere come to hiȝer,
the wers shal thou thryve.
Explicit dictamen fratris Daw Topias, quem in fine appellat Johannem Walssingham, contra quæstiones Johannis Uplond.
 
Oft, Dawe, in thi writtyng,
thou wryngist out contradiccion;
but ȝit thou puttist defaut to prestes,
as erst thou didist to curates.
I wot thai ben defectif,
bot ȝit stondith Cristis religion,
of whose defaut I dout not, Dawe,
ȝe ben the chef cause.
Bi this it suwit not God,
bot Sathanas brouȝt ȝou in.
Thou saist, Dawe, as thou felist,
that there is Cristes body;
bot I afferme faithfully
that that is Cristis body;
Daw, aske thi cappid maistres,
as if thai were heritikes,
what is the sacred host,
and grounde hem in scripture,
to whiche we knele and doffe our hodes,
and don alle this wirchip,
and I bileve that oste sacred,
whiche is bothe whit and rounde,
is verrei Cristis body,
as men shuld bileve,
and did to the tyme
that Sathanas was unbounde.
The wittnesse of this reson
is Crist and his apostles,
with many holi doctouris
of the thousande ȝere.
Bot this ȝe falsely forsake,
with alle ȝour secte, or many,
and blynden the puple with heresie,
and leven Goddis lawe;
ffor ȝe sayen ther is Cristis body,
and nouȝt that sacred host.

Commutaverunt veritatem Dei in mendacium.

Ȝit spekith Jak Uplande.
To make with the a dialogge,
I holde it bot wast,
for thou maryst thy lesynges lowde
with thy false heresyes;
men may se by thy writing,
here, thou jangelyng jay,
how thou bylevest not in the sacrid oste,
for we sey alle,
the sacrid oste that is sene with eye
is verey Cristes body;
but thy secte seyth not soo,
but ȝe say ther is Cristes body,
ȝe tel not where.
But Crist seyth, this is my body,
and not, ther is my body.
Whi, ȝe templers messe sellers,
grante ȝe not Cristes wordes,
syth ȝe chafyr thus therwith,
bygylyng the pupil?
Lete ȝoure secte write ȝoure byleve
of this sacrid oste,
and preche it as ȝe write it,
and sette therto ȝoure sele,
and I am siker of my feith
ȝe schul be stonde to deth;
and than schal ȝoure castels
cache hem new maysters,
for ȝe wil not grante,
ne bot few of ȝoure ordirs,
the ost sacrid, white and rounde,
is verey Cristis body.
I pray oure Lord Jhesu,
that sone be it sene,
who is in the trew wey,
whether ȝe other we.
But towching men of crafte,
whom thou dispisyst,
al they schulde medle hem
to know her byleve,
but as wele of her sacryng,
as wymmen syngynge messe,
alwey thou usest the craft
of thyn old fader.
Why darst not thou of summe
of ȝou false heretykis,
fynde owte such on,
and preve ȝoure lesynges sothe.
And therfor, Daw, I sey nomore
to the at this tyme,
but thou ert on of the falsest
that ever I saw write.
For Mahomete and Serginus,
and al her grete lawe,
wot not so many lesynges
as ben here in thy writynges.