 | A newe Treatyse deuyded in thre [arties |  |
Of the condycyons of worldly men.
Of
those worldly mē/great outrage mē may se
Of pompe and pryde, and all vanyte
In dyuerse maner, and in dyuerse guyse
That nowe is vsed in many maner wyse
In worldly hauynge, and hye bearynge
As in ydle apparyle, and foule werynge
The whiche asketh ouer great costage
And at the last, it tourneth to moche outrage
For suche dysguysynge, and suche manere
As yonge men nowe hath, as we may lere
For nowe is euery day contynually say
That myght before, haue be by no way
For thynge that somtyme was called vylonye
Nowe yonge men holdeth it for great curtesye
And that men somtyme for curtesye wolde call
Nowe in lytell tyme to bvylonye it is fall
For nowe maketh men so oft theyr chaungynge
In many maners, and also of dyuerse clothynge
Nowe men vseth short clothes, and nowe wyde
And other whyle narowe clothes, and ouer syde
And some haue theyr clothynge, hangynge as stooles
And some goeth tatered, as it were fooles
And some goeth wryckynge towarde and fro
And some goeth skyppynge, as doth a do
And so vseth men all the newe get
And therwith the deuyll taketh them in to his net
And throughe suche vncomely pompe and pryde
They ne wote whyther they may gone or ryde
For so moche pryde, as nowe is ywene
Was neuer before, amonge men sene
For suche guyses, that cōmeth of wanton hede
I trowe that they may be tokens drede
Of great myschyfes, and hasty to vnderstande
That is nowe in to this worlde cōmande
And therfore Goddes wrath, with them shall mete
As wytnesseth Dauid the prophete.
Of pompe and pryde, and all vanyte
In dyuerse maner, and in dyuerse guyse
That nowe is vsed in many maner wyse
In worldly hauynge, and hye bearynge
As in ydle apparyle, and foule werynge
The whiche asketh ouer great costage
And at the last, it tourneth to moche outrage
For suche dysguysynge, and suche manere
As yonge men nowe hath, as we may lere
For nowe is euery day contynually say
That myght before, haue be by no way
For thynge that somtyme was called vylonye
Nowe yonge men holdeth it for great curtesye
And that men somtyme for curtesye wolde call
Nowe in lytell tyme to bvylonye it is fall
For nowe maketh men so oft theyr chaungynge
In many maners, and also of dyuerse clothynge
Nowe men vseth short clothes, and nowe wyde
And other whyle narowe clothes, and ouer syde
And some haue theyr clothynge, hangynge as stooles
And some goeth tatered, as it were fooles
And some goeth wryckynge towarde and fro
And some goeth skyppynge, as doth a do
And so vseth men all the newe get
And therwith the deuyll taketh them in to his net
And throughe suche vncomely pompe and pryde
They ne wote whyther they may gone or ryde
For so moche pryde, as nowe is ywene
Was neuer before, amonge men sene
For suche guyses, that cōmeth of wanton hede
I trowe that they may be tokens drede
That is nowe in to this worlde cōmande
And therfore Goddes wrath, with them shall mete
As wytnesseth Dauid the prophete.
Et irritauerunt deum in vanitatibus suis.
And they meued hym to wrath sayth heIn theyr newe fyndynges of vanyte
This may be called, as the boke proueth
By them that suche dysguyses vseth
For suche men therwith God greueth
And therfore from them his grace he reueth
And God at the last to them wyll sende
Great vengeaunce, but they them amende
God suffreth them a whyle to haue theyr wyll
And in theyr folyes, for to abyde styll
And that may be knowen, by many maner of guyse
As saynt Dauid wytnesseth in this wyse.
Et dimisi eos secundum desideria cordis corum.
The prophete Dauid speaketh, and sayeth thusIn Goddes name, as the Psalter telleth vs
I let them he sayeth, without all maner couerte
After custes and lykynge of theyr owne herte
And in theyr newe fyndynges, they shall go
Well may this be sayde, by them and other mo
That God suffreth in folye, and theyr tyme leseth
And after theyr lustes, newe fyndynges cheseth
That to the worlde maketh them gay
And from God tourneth, both nyght and day
And at the last they shall hence wende
To the p[illeg.]nes that be without ende
Therfore I counceyll all vanyties to forsake
And in this worlde, betymes amendes make
Many other maners, that be contraryous
For nowe is vertue tourned into vyce
And playeth myrth and game into malyce
And nowe is deuocyon, in many a mannes syde
Tourned all into boste, and to foule pryde
And nowe is wyt and wysdome, holde folye
Both amonge yonge and olde, tourned to trecherye
And nowe is folye, holde great wysdome
And therto is tourned nowe, both mayster and grome
And nowe is clene loue, tourned to lecherye
And all ryghtfulnes in to trecherye
And thus is this worlde, tourned vp so downe
To many a mannes soule, great dampnacyown
But suche semeth as they were wode
For good thynge they holde euyll, and euyll thynge gode
Wo shall they be therfore, as clarckes can tell
For God hym selfe, wytnesseth it in the Gospell
Wo to you sayth Chryst, that thynketh with your wyll
That euyll thynge is good, and good thynge euyll
That is to say, that them selfe shulde be wo
That in this worlde, myslyueth theyr lyfe so
And thus is the worlde, and mannes lyfe therin
Full with vanyte, and wretchednes of synne
But some men loueth, so moche this lyfe
And also the worlde, that is full of stryfe
And so they thynke, neuer to wende there fro
But euer to dwell here, yf it myght be so
And loueth so moche this worldes vanyte
And neuer desyreth here, in other lyfe to be
But wolde a man, well hym vnderstande
That the worlde is besy, a man for to shonde
When he shall from the worlde wende
Than shulde hym lyst, both nyght and day
To forsake myrthes, and synge well away
A man therfore must suche workes forsake
And to Goddes mercye, all his herte take
And lede here his lyfe, in mekenes and pouert
In fastynge, and in penaunce, and other workes smert
And knowe his conseyence, that is inwarde
To haue the ioy of heauen than afterwarde
And thus shulde euery man, hym well be thynke
If he wyll Goddes grace in hym synke
Nowe haue I tolde you in dyuerse manere
The condycyons of mānes lyfe, and of the worlde here
And nowe I wyll passe furthermore
And speake of the thyrde parte, and of his lore
That telleth specyally, as I shall rede
Of death, and wherfore it is to drede.
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