KNIGHT

Thou saidst thou hardyst our arguments all yet me thinketh more honour should be gyffyn To him which is of noble blood & kin Why desire men then praise evermore Of the acts of their ancestors done before If gentle continued ̄ dycyons be the cause lo Tken will I compare with both you two For I have used ever gentle manner And so have mine ancestors that before were For fursto: all when this world began Long after there were but few people than Men had sufficient of every thing with out great labour for food & clothing All thing was in continued ̄ mine among them doubtless But after ward when people did increase Ich man to increase his pleasure & volupte Of goodꝭ & lands desired ꝓperte whereof great sttyf & debate did arise The ̄ such as my au ̄ cestours were that werewyse Did studi to make laws how the people might be Lyssyng to gedyr in peas & vnyte And agains enmiys alway defended The people that tilled the ground & laboured The people pseyuyng than their goodness Their great wit dyscressyon & gentleness were continued ̄ tent to gyfe them ꝑt of the ꝓffet Coming of their landꝭ which they did get As corn cattle & such thynꝭ as they won But after when that coin of money began They chau ̄ gid those seuenuse & were continued ̄ tent To gyfe them in money and a ̄ nyell rend So for their good & vetteous continued ̄ dycyons They cam First to la ̄ dꝭ & possessions So possessions began & were First found Upon a good & reasonable ground That is a shameful opinion seemeth me For when I have laboured & by great study Got & purcheysyd lands truly It is good reason that I have liberty To gyfe those lands to whom it liketh me Or ellꝭ to let them descend lynyyally To my child or cousin of my blood most nigh For inherytaunce must needs be a good thing Because so much good thereof is ꝓcedyng Every man to his blood such love does bear Because the land shall descend to his heir Be will byld theron & the land improw And make corn & grass to increase & grow Grafted fruit set trecs & nourish timber And to incresse Fish make pondys with water Stok busshis & wedes which dystroy herbage And all baren ground bring to tillage And amend the hie ways that be there about And do many other good deeds no doubt For the ꝓfet of his heiris that shall be And for the continued ̄ mine wealth of his country which thyngꝭ surely he would never intend if the land should not to his heir descend whyder God or the devil quit them therefore Is now to our purpose never the more For their myndꝭ & intentꝭ no man can tell But touching in herytaunce this I wot well Much good continued ̄ myth thereof & dayli does grow Thou hast spoke before agains gentlemen But what sayest thou of marchaundꝭ then yes this vylleyn carters almost echon Have neither continued ̄ scyens nor devotion For bribe & stele every thing they will If they may secretly come theruntyll And as for prayer & divine service They love them in no manner wise Nor never would labour nor work do If need of lyffyng drofe them not thereto By goggrs sweated Body thou art a stark knave Noble men and gentlemen so to deprave Avant beggarly knave I the defy By cokkys body were not for wordly shame I should cut thy flesh or ellꝭ see thy Heart Blood Thou speakest Like a clerk that hath lyttyll wit when a case is put if he can not soil it By no manner reason that he can lay Then will he answer him this wise & Say Beware what you Say sir now I advise you for it is treason or herysy that you speak now To thentent to rebuke him openly Before the unlearned people that stand thereby And if he can no colour of such thing find Then will he vex and chafe in his mind And cast out some lewd wordꝭ of quarreling To torn the hold matter to chiding & fighting And so dost thou now like one that were mad Nay thy reasons may soon be answered unto For God defend that estates of inheritance Should be destroyed for by that good ordinance Gentlemen of lands undoubtedly Bring up their children full honourably Some put to the scole to learn continued ̄ nynge To instruct the people in virtuous living Some made to be active in martial dedꝭ Able to defend the land when need is And the rustical people that have no land Such thyngꝭ be not able to take in hand wherefore if we should dystroy inheritance we should destroy all good rule and ordinance yes that shall I prove by good authority For rede in the bible and thou shalt therein see God said to abraham tibi dabo Terram hanc et semine tuo which is as much to say to expound that true I shall gyfe this land to the and thine yssew Here is a good prove that it was gods will. That Abraham ̄ and his Blood should continue Still As possessyoners and have the governance Of that land as their proper inheritance As touching that we have all spoke & said Ich man for his ꝑt as much as can be said Peradventure it may be so what than ꝑaduenture quoth a Nay I shall ꝓue that by examples many on For music maketh one a musycyon Gram ̄ mere to be good gram ̄ areon And also geomytry a god geometryeyon And chorlysh conditions a churl for to be And so of every other estate & degree And where gentle conditions be doubtless In any ꝑson there is gentyllnes Than as virtue maketh a good man So gentle conditions a gentleman They be nought & evil I think verily Everyone a gentle & good ꝓꝑte The First good the other nought for surete They be nought all who can that deny Virtuous & gentle ꝓpertees they be Thou sayest true / drafe is good Enough for swine Thy reasons all right well answer I can For I Say it be continued ̄ meth a noble man To have rich apꝑell & clothing And goodly housys of costly building And that ych man according to his degree Be known from other and what they be For if such costly thyngꝭ were not made work for poor people could never be hade And many folkꝭ than should fallen to Idylnes which is the mother of vice and wretchydnes In faith if thou be gentleman therefore Thou art a gentleman agaynt thy will full soar I agree thereto for caton say this Contra verbosas noli cotendere verbis Contend nor argu never in no matter w to him that is full of words and clatter I am agreed thereto w to all mine heart Now by my troth I am glad that is he gone And therein he lies for by expiens we see That gentle continued ̄ dycyons most come ̄ enly be In them that be of noble Blood born For take .xx. carters which never were before Acquainted let them be to gether Take .xx. straying gentlemen in like manner These churlish carters I dare well say will not agree to gether skant one day w to out chiding quarrelling or fighting ychone will stele from other and be pykyng And strife which of them at the skot shall pay lest And endeavour them who can play the knave best But these gentlemen I warrant you will study who can show to other most courtesy And of their gentleness will pfer to pay For the other and show what pleasures they may So touching gentleness I say surely Men of great birth use it most come ̄ ynly And as touching nobleness that argument which the plowman made late puyth evident That gentlemen born to land must needs be For suffyency of most nobility For beside gods gifts of grace & of nature As wit and bodily stryngh yet they be sure Of other riches as of land and rend To avoid need so they be more sufficient of them self than other poor people doubtless Then if need of strange help cause wrechydnes And suffysauns be cause wrechydnes