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Then would there not be half so great

debate,

Amongst us people of the low estate.
If every man the verity did knaw,

We needed not to treat these men of law,

XVIII.

ON CERTAIN PLEASURES OF THE

GLORIFIED BODIES.

XXII.

Since their is none in earth may comprehend

To do our neighbour wrong we would The heavenly glore and pleasures infinite;

beware,

If we did fear the lawis punishment : There would not be such brawling at the bar;

Nor men of law climb to such royal rent: To keep the law if all men were content, And each man do as he would be done to, The judges would get little thing a-do.

XIX.

The prophet David king of Israel, Compiled the pleasant psalmis of the psalter,

In his own proper tongue, as I hear tell; And Solomon which was his son and heir, Did make his book into his tongue vulgar : Why should not their sayings be to us shown

In our language? I would the cause were known.

XX.

Let doctors write their curious questions,

And arguments sown full of sophistry;
Their logic, and their high opinions,
Their dark judgments of astronomy,
Their medicine, and their philosophy;
Let poets show their glorious ingine,
As ever they please, in Greek or in
Latin.

XXI.

But let us have the bookis necessar To common-weal, and our salvation, Justly translated in our tongue vulgar; And eke I make you supplication, O gentle reader, have none indignation, Thinking I meddle with so high matter. Now to my purpose forward will I fare.

Wherefore, my son, I pray thee not pretend Too far to seek that matter of delight, Which passeth natural reason to indite, That God, before that he the world create, Prepared to them whilk are predestinate.

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XXVI.

XXX.

In his triumphant throne imperial,

And eke they shall have such agility,

With his mother, the Virgin Queen of In one instant to pass for their pleasure,

queens.

There shall be seen the court celestial : Apostles, martyrs, confessors and virgins, Brighter than Phoebus, in his sphere that shines:

The patriarchs and prophets venerable, There shall be seen in glore inestimable.

XXVII.

Ten thousand miles in twinkling of an eye, So that their joys shall be without measure; They shall rejoice to see the great dolour Of damned folk in hell, and their torment, Because it is of God the just judgment.

XXXI.

Subtilty they shall have marvellous;

And with their spiritual eyes shall be Supposing that there were a wall of brass,

seen,

That light which is most superexcellent,
God as he is, and evermore hath been,
Continually that sight contempland.
Augustin saith, He'd rather take in hand
To be in hell, he seeing the Essence
Of God, than be in heaven without his
presence.

A glorified body may right hastily, Out through the wall without impediment pass,

Such like as doth the sunbeam through the glass;

As Christ to his disciples did appear, All entries close, and none of them did steir.

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XLIII.

We see the great globe of the firmament
Continually in moving marvellous :
The seven planets contrar their intent,
Are reft about with course contrarious.
The wind and sea with stormis furious,
The troubled air, with frost and snow,
and rain,

Until that day, they travel aye in pain,

XLIV.

And all the angels of the orders nine,
Having compassion on our miseries,
They wish after that day, and to that fine1
To see us freed from our infirmities,
And cleansed from these great calamities,
And troublous life which never shall have
end,

Until that day, I make it to thee kend.

names of Dilligence, Divine Correction, Good Counsel, Chastity, and Verity; and the latter under those of Wantonness, Sensuality, Falsehood, Deceit, and Flattery, the three last, with the habit of friars, assuming the disguised names of of Sapience, Discretion, and Devotion, The subject of contention is the control of King Humanity, and the Three Estates of his realm; Spirituality, personifying the clergy, Temporality, the landholders, and Merchantman, the burgesses. There are some other incidental characters, as Pauper, a Pardoner; a Sowtar (shoemaker); a Tailor, a Sowtar's wife, and a Tailor's wife, whose ludicrous exhibitions display most of the coarseness, and much of the rude wit of the piece. Besides the abstractions, Placebo (sycophancy); and Solace

THE SATIRE OF THE THREE (indulgence); as counsellors of the King,

ESTATES.

IN COMMENDATION OF VIRTUE, AND IN VITUPERATION OF VICE.

While the sub-title correctly defines the author's purpose, and classifies his play as belonging to the second stage

of the dramatic art-that of the Moralities; yet, its advance in the direction of the regular drama, so far beyond any contemporary production in the language, gives it an historical interest in addition to that which it merits on account of the ingenuity of its structure, and the genuine glimpses of contemporary society which it preserves.

It may be summarily described as a conflict between the Virtues and the Vices; the former personified under the

1 End, object.

and others of a miscellaneous character, there is that of the Common-good, under the designation of John the Commonweal.

During the early part of King Humanity's reign, the Vices have it all their own way, his majesty, through the influence of Solace and Wantonness, being mostly under the dominion of Sensuality, while the affairs of the state are left to the control of Falsehood, Flattery,

and Deceit. They have banished Good Counsel from court, and on Verity making her appearance there, they call in Spirituality, with several ecclesiastics, who, on finding an English New Testament in her possession, denounce her as a heritic, and put her in the stocks. Chastity next tries to gain admission, but finding no favour at the hands of the courtiers, she turns to the

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