A Select Collection of Old English Plays Volume I Part 37

FREEWILL.

Beware, for when thou art buried in the ground, Few friends for thee will be found, Remember this still.

IMAGINATION.

No thing dread I so sore as death, Therefore to amend I think it be time; Sin have I used all the days of my breath, With pleasure, lechery, and misusing,[165]

And spent amiss my five wits; therefore I am sorry: Here of all my sins I axe G.o.d mercy.

PERSEVERANCE.

Hold, here is a better clothing for thee, And look that thou forsake thy folly; Be steadfast, look that thou fall never.

IMAGINATION.

Now here I forsake my sin for ever.

FREEWILL.

Sir, wait thou now on Perseverance, For thy name shall be called Good Remembrance; And I will dwell with Contemplation, And follow him wherever he become.

CONTEMPLATION.

Well, are ye so both agreed?

IMAGINATION.

Yea, sir, so G.o.d me speed.

PERSEVERANCE.

Sir, ye shall wait on me soon, And be G.o.d's servant day and night, And in every place where ye become, Give good counsel to every wight: And men axe your name, tell you Remembrance, That G.o.d's law keepeth truly every day; And look that ye forget not repentance, Then to heaven ye shall go the next[166] way, Where ye shall see in the heavenly quere The blessed company of saints so holy, That lived devoutly while they were here: Unto the which bliss I beseech G.o.d Almighty To bring there your souls that here be present, And unto virtuous living that ye may apply, Truly for to keep His commandments; Of all our mirths here we make an end, Unto the bliss of heaven Jesus your souls bring.[167]

AMEN.

THE PARDONER AND THE FRIAR.

_ A mery Play between the Pardoner and the frere, the curate and neybour Pratte. [Col.] Imprynted by Wyllyam Rastell, the v. day of Apryll, the yere of our lorde m.ccccc.x.x.xiii. Small folio_.

This piece by John Heywood differs from those which have preceded it. It is dest.i.tute of the allegorical element, and like some other productions which are to follow, is a mere dramatic interlocution, lightly and inartificially constructed, with little or no plot. A former editor[168]

remarks: "It was printed in 1533, but must have been written before 1521, because Leo X. is spoken of in it as living."

THE PARDONER AND THE FRIAR.

THE FRIAR.

Deus hic, the Holy Trinity, Preserve all that now here be!

Dear brethren, if ye will consider The cause, why I am come hither, Ye would be glad to know my intent: For I come not hither for money nor for rent, I come not hither for meat nor for meal, But I come hither for your soul's heal: I come not hither to poll nor to shave, I come not hither to beg nor to crave, I come not hither to gloss nor to flatter, I come not hither to babble nor to clatter, I come not hither to fable nor to lie, But I come hither your souls to edify.

For we friars are bound the people to teach, The gospel of Christ openly to preach, As did the apostles by Christ their master sent, To turn the people and make them to repent.

But since the apostles from heaven would not come, We friars now must occupy their room.

We friars are bound to search men's conscience, We may not care for groats nor for pence, We friars have professed wilful poverty, No penny in our purse have may we; Knife nor staff may we none carry, Except we should from the gospel vary.

For worldly adversity may we be in no sorrow, We may not care to-day for our meat to-morrow, Barefoot and barelegged must we go also: We may not care for frost nor snow; We may have no manner care, ne think Nother for our meat nor for our drink; But let our thoughts fro such things be as free As be the birds that in the air flee.

For why our Lord, cleped sweet Jesus, In the gospel speaketh to us thus: Through all the world go ye, saith He, And to every creature speak ye of me; And show of my doctrine and cunning, And that they may be glad of your coming.

If that you enter in any house anywhere, Look that ye salute them, and bid my peace be there; And if that house be worthy and elect, Th'ilk peace there then shall take effect; And if that house be cursed or pervert, Th'ilk peace then shall to yourself revert.

And furthermore, if any such there be, Which do deny for to receive ye, And do despise your doctrine and your lore, At such a house tarry ye no more; And from your shoes sc.r.a.pe away the dust To their reprefe; and I, both true and just, Shall vengeance take of their sinful deed.

Wherefore, my friends, to this text take ye heed: Beware how ye despise the poor freres, Which are in this world Christ's ministers; But do them with an hearty cheer receive, Lest they happen your houses for to leave; And then G.o.d will take vengeance in His ire.

Wherefore I now, that am a poor friar, Did inquire where any people were Which were disposed the Word of G.o.d to hear; And as I came hither, one did me tell That in this town right good folk did dwell, Which to hear the Word of G.o.d would be glad; And as soon as I thereof knowledge had, I hither hied me as fast as I might, Intended by the grace of G.o.d Almighty, And by your patience and supportation, Here to make a simple collation; Wherefore I require all ye in this prese[nce]

For to abide and give due audience.

But, first of all, Now here I shall To G.o.d my prayer make, To give ye grace All in this place His doctrine for to take.

[_And then kneeleth down the friar saying his prayers, and in the meanwhile entereth the pardoner with all his relics, to declare what each of them been, and the whole power and virtue thereof_.

THE PARDONER.

G.o.d and Saint Leonard send ye all his grace, As many as been a.s.sembled in this place!

Good devout people that here do a.s.semble, I pray G.o.d that ye may all well resemble The image after which you are wrought, And that ye save that Christ in you bought.

Devout Christian people, ye shall all wit, That I am comen hither ye to visit; Wherefore let us pray thus, ere I begin: Our Saviour preserve ye all from sin, And enable ye to receive this blessed pardon, Which is the greatest under the sun: Granted by the Pope in his bulls under lead, Which pardon ye shall find, when ye are dead; That offereth outher groats or else pence, To these holy relics which, ere I go hence, I shall here show in open audience, Exhorting ye all to do to them reverence.

But first ye shall know well that I come from Rome; Lo, here my bulls, all and some: Our liege Lord seal here on my patent I bear with me my body to warrant; That no man be so bold, be he priest or clerk, Me to disturb of Christ's holy wark; Nor have no disdain nor yet scorn Of these holy relics which saints have worn.

First here I show ye of a holy Jew's hip[169]

A bone--I pray you, take good keep To my words and mark them well: If any of your beasts' bellies do swell, Dip this bone in the water that he doth take Into his body, and the swelling shall slake; And if any worm have your beasts stung, Take of this water, and wash his tongue, And it will be whole anon; and furthermore Of pox and scabs, and every sore, He shall be quite whole that drinketh of the well That this bone is dipped in: it is truth that I tell And if any man, that any beast oweth,[170]

Once in the week, ere that the c.o.c.k croweth, Fasting will drink of this well a draught, As that holy Jew hath us taught, His beasts and his stores shall multiply.

And, masters all, it helpeth well, Though a man be foul in jealous rage, Let a man with this water make his pottage, And never more shall he his wife mistrist,[171]

Though he in sooth the fault by her wist, Or had she been taken with friars two or three.

Here is a mitten eke, as ye may see: He that his hand will put in this mitten, He shall have increase of his grain, That he hath sown, be it wheat or oats, So that he offer pence or else groats, And another holy relic eke here see ye may: The blessed arm of sweet Saint Sunday; And whosoever is blessed with this right hand, Cannot speed amiss by sea nor by land.

And if he offereth eke with good devotion, He shall not fail to come to high promotion, And another holy relic here may ye see: The great toe of the Holy Trinity; And whosoever once doth it in his mouth take, He shall never be diseased with the toothache; Cancer nor pox shall there none breed: This that I show ye is matter indeed.

And here is of our lady a relic full good: Her bongrace which she ware, with her French hood, When she went out always for sun-burning: Women with child which be in mourning By virtue thereof shall be soon eased, And of their travail full soon also released, And if this bongrace they do devoutly kiss, And offer thereto, as their devotion is.

Here is another relic eke, a precious one, Of All-Hallows the blessed jaw bone, Which relic without any fail Against poison chiefly doth prevail; For whomsoever it toucheth without doubt, All manner venom from him shall issue out; So that it shall hurt no manner wight.

Lo, of this relic the great power and might, Which preserveth from poison every man!

Lo, of Saint Michael eke the brain-pan, Which for the headache is a preservative To every man or beast that beareth life; And further it shall stand him in better stead, For his head shall never ache, when that he is dead, Nor he shall feel no manner grief nor pain, Though with a sword one cleave it then a-twain; But be as one that lay in a dead sleep.

Wherefore to these relics now come crouch and creep, But look that ye offering to them make, Or else can ye no manner profit take.

But one thing, ye women all, I warrant you: If any wight be in this place now, That hath done sin so horrible, that she Dare not for shame thereof shriven be, Or any woman, be she young or old, That hath made her husband cuckold: Such folk shall have no power nor no grace To offer to my relics in this place; And whoso findeth herself out of such blame, Come hither to me, on Christ's holy name.