DIVISION

¶Have in the rusk Out of the busk A lusty Captain, A Boor with a tusk A sturdy Lusk Any battle to detain A stalyon stout To bear it out In every where, And never to Lout For a knaves clout though my head it bear. As stiff as a stake Battle to make As never afeard. I can awake These knaves and take Them fast by the berde. For Peace is bent Nor intent To live at ease, Shall not prevent Let of my judgement To in disease. Such can I have To conjure a knave Out of his skin, Though Justice rave To hang or save Fie on him horson. ¶What old friend Injury How were other hanged and ¶What horson wouldst thou have me Be trussed up in stead of thee. ¶To play horson, what menist thou by that ¶What whoreson then thou hast forsaken me. ¶What hast thou now changed thine old copy To Justice and Albion to be a come hoby, Or art thou a feared of thy old name That in every place is had in fame And is supported in such suffrentie From the lowest unto the highest degree. ¶I pray thee by what mean. ¶Tush as for this I care not a pudding prick For we two will go thorough thine and thick Maygresse their heads everyone Though they be as harden as rock or stone ¶First I my self will enterprise That peace shall have no exersyse Between the commons and Pryncypalitie Nor between lords spiritual & lords of the tempo raltie ¶I have two spies of great exercise The one is called double deuyce Him will I send I may tell thee Unto the court to Pryncypalytye, And him will I charge that with his prouisyon Pryncypalytye and the commons to set at division The second spy is called old debate A singular fellow with a balled pate Him will I send to the lords spiritual To cause them to wrangle w to the lords temporal. ¶The one to principalytie shall surmise That the commons hearts do arise Against him, when that he does ask In time of need, our money for task, His heart to move with such unkindness. Then the same spy shall use like doubleness And go to the commons and to them tell That Principalytie with equtie does rebel More to his lucre in every deal Applying his affection then to the come weal And how that he of negligence Does not apply for their defence, Neither by Sea nor by Land Neither by hie ways, neither by Strand But thieves and raveners and murders eke Daily true men they pursue and seek And that his laws indifferently Be not used, but maintenance and brybary Is suffered alone without reformation That the poor commons is in altercation Of this matter and wot not what to say Bringing them in opinion y to they ought not to pay To pryncypalytie their duty of very desert Except like duty be ministered on his part. ¶Marry he shall enfourme the lords temporal That the spiritual men would rule all And say it were shame to them by the rood That been descended from the noble blood To suffer any other of such pour to be To have the governance about principalytie Sythen they inheritoures are born to be Of the hie counsel by blood and dygnytie Which medicine I trow will not lyghlie start Till it hath tyckled them all by the heart Then shall the same spy taste the other part And turn to them the wrong side of the cart And say that God of his hie great grace To them hath given good fortune and space By learning sadness and gravity And for their endue reward in honour to be And bear to them boldly in hand That they ought by reason to rule this land Because the pour of temporalty Hath no knowledge in Cunning perdy Neither in youth will labour the passage Of pain for virtue to rule in age So that if they rulers would be They know not how, for in suffycientie Thus will I divide by this proper train That peace amongst them shall not rain. ¶What wilt thou do the ̄ let me here thy cast ¶But to what conclusion Wilt thou bring it then ¶By gods bred thou sayest troth But this to help we must not use sloth. ¶What the devil menest thou by that Should I decemble from a wild cat That ever before this have used patching And now to play the wise man & leave scratching. ¶Well say on then. ¶I make God a vow that is unpossible That I and wisdom should knit in one quyneble Or in my brain to print such abusion That wisdom and I should be in one conclusion For when I was young my mother charged me And said beware wit son though thou never thee. ¶Well say on then and tell me what counsel I shall give Albion that may found dwell To both our profits that would I know. ¶It is doubtful to me all that thou speakest I pray thee spell it thy self & tell me what thou me nest