The conversion of swearers. THe fruitful sentence & the noble works To our doctrine written in old antiquity By many great and right notable clerks Grounded on reason & high authority Died give us example by good morality To follow the trace of truth and rightwiseness leaving our sin and mortal wretchedness By their writing doth unto us appear The famous acts of many a champion In the court of fame renowned fair and clear And some indited their intention Cloaked in colour hard in construction specially poets under cloudy figures covered the truth of all their scriptures So hystoryagraphes all the worthy deeds Of kings and knights died put in writing To be in mind for their memorial medes How should we now have any knowledging Of things past/ but by their enditing Wherefore we ought to praise them doubtless That spent their time in such good business Among all other my good master Lydgate The eloquent poet and monk of berry Died both contrive/ and also translate Many virtuous books to be in memory touching the truth well and sentencyously But sith that his death was intolerable I pray god reward him in life perdurable Among all things nothing so profitable As is science with the sentencyous scripture For worldly richesse is often transmutable As daily doth appear well in ure Yet science a bideth and is most sure After poverty to attain great richesse science is cause of promotion doubtless I little or nought expert in poetry Remembering my youth so light and frail Purpose to compile here full breviately A little treatise woeful to bewail The cruel swearers which do god assail On every side his sweet body to tear With terrible oaths as often as they swear But also for dread plunged in negligence My pen doth quake to presume to indite But hope at last to recure this science exhorteth me right hardly to write To devoid idleness by good appetite For idleness the great mother of sin Every vice is ready to let in I with the same right greatly infect Likely to die till grace by medicine Recured my sickness my pain to abject Commanding me by her high power divine To draw this treatise for to enlumine The readers thereof by penytencyall pity And to pardon me of their benignity Right mighty princes of every christian rygyon I send you greeting moche heartily & grace Right well to govern upright your dominion And all your lords I greet in like case By this my letter your hearts to embrace beseeching you to print it in your mind How for your sake I took on me mankind And as a lamb most meekly died incline To suffer the death for your redemption And ye my kings which do now domine Over my commons in terrestrial mansion By princely pre-eminence and juredyccyon In your regal courts do suffer me be rent And my tender body with blood all be sprent Without my grace ye may nothing prevail Though ye be kings for to maintain your see To be a king it may nothing avail But if my grace preserve his dignity Behold your servants how they do tear me By cruel oaths now pvon every side About the world lancing my wounds wide All the graces which I have you showed Revolve in mind right oft intentively Behold my body with bloody props endued Within your realms now torn so piteously Towsed and tugged with oaths cruelly Some my heed some mine arms and face Some my heart do all to rent and race They new again do hang me on the road They tear my sides and are nothing dismayed My wounds they open and devour my blood I god and man most woefully arrayed To you complain it may not be denayed ye now to tug me/ ye tear me at the root yet I to you am chief refuyte and boot Wherefore ye kings reigning in renown reform your servants in your court abused To good example of every manner town So that their oaths which they long have used On pain and punishment be wholly refused Meek as a Lamb I suffer their great wrong I may take vengeance though I tarry long I do forbear I would have you amend And grant you mercy and ye will it take O my sweet brethrens why do ye offend Again to tere me which died for your sake Lose my kindness and from sin awake I died redeem you from the devils chain And spite of me ye will to him again Made I not heaven the most glorious mansion In which I would be glad to have you in Now come sweet brethrens to mine habitation Alas good brethrens with your mortal sin Why flee ye from me/ to torn again begin I wrought you I bought you ye can it not deny Yet to the devil ye go now willingly See Me Be (kind ¶ Again My pain Retain (in mind ¶ My sweet blood On the rood Died the good (my brother ¶ My face right red Mine arms spread My wounds bled (think none oder ¶ Behold thou my side Wounded so right wide bleeding sore that tide (all for thine own sake ¶ Thus for the I sinerted Why arte thou hard hearted Be by me converted (and thy swearing aslake ¶ Tere me now no more My wounds are sore Leave swearing therefore/ and come to my grace ¶ I am ready To grant mercy To the truly/ for thy trespass ¶ Come now near My friend dear And appear/ before me ¶ I so In woe Died go sese ¶ I Cry Hylas (the Unto me dear brother my love and my heart Turment me no more with thine oaths great Come unto my joy and again revert from the devils snare and his subtle net Beware of the world all about the set Thy flesh is ready by concupisbence To burn thy heart with cursed violence Though these three enemies do sore the assail Upon every side with dangerous iniquity But if thou list/ they may nothing prevail Nor yet subdue the with all their extremity To do good or ill/ all is at thy liberty I do grant the grace thine enemies to subdue Sweet brother accept it their power to extue And ye kings and princes of high nobleness With dukes and lords of every dignity Endued with manhood wisdom and riches Over the commons having the sovereignty Correct them which so do tere me By cruel oaths without repentance amend by time lest I take vengeance Exodi vicesimo/ non accipies nomen dei tui in van●●. Unto the man I gave commandment Not to take the name of thy god vaynfully As not to swear but at time convenient Before a judge to bear record truly Naming my name with reverence meekly Unto the judge than there in presence By my name to give to the good credence I my brethrens if that I be wroth It is for cause ye falsely by me swear Ye know yourself that I am very troth Yet wrongfully ye do me rent and tear ye neither love me nor my justice fere And if ye died ye would full gently Obey my bidding well and perfitly The worldly kings having the sovereignty ye do well obey without resistance ye dare not take their names in vanity But with great honour and eke reverence Than my name more high of magnificence ye ought more to dread which am king of all Both god and man and reign celestial No earthly man loveth you so well As I do/ which meekly died incline For to redeem you from the fiends of hell Taking your kind by my godhead divine you were the fiends I died make you mine For you sweet brethren I was on the road giving my body my heart and my blood Than why do ye in every manner of place With cruel oaths tear my body and heart My sides and wounds it is a piteous case Alas sweet brethrens I would you convert For to take vengeance ye do me coherte From the house of swearers shall not be absent The plague of justice to take punishment ¶ Unde. Ecclesiastici xxxiii Uir multam iurans implebitur iniquitate et non discendet a domo eius plaga. A man moche swearing with great iniquity Shall be replete/ and from his mansion The plague of vengeance shall not cessed be Wherefore ye brethrens full of abusion Take good heed to this discretion Come now to me and axe forgiveness And be penitent and have it doubtless Angustinns. Non potest male mori qui bene vixit et vix bene moritur qui male vixit. Who in this world liveth well and ryghwysly Shall die well by right good knowledging Who in this worldly veth ill and wrongfully Shall hardly scape to have good ending I do grant mercy but no time enlonging Wherefore good brethrens whiles that ye have space. amend your life and come unto my grace My words my prelate's unto you do preach For to convert you from your wretchedness But little availeth you now for to teach The world hath cast you in such blindness Like unto stones your harres hath hardness That my sweet words may not reconcile Your hearts hard with mortal sin so vile Woe worth your hearts so planted in pride woe worth your wrath and mortal envy Woe worth sloth that doth with you abide Woe worth also in measurable gluttony Woe worth your tedyus sin of lechery Woe worth you whom I gave free will Woe worth covetise that doth your souls spill Woe worth short joy cause of pain eternal Woe worth you that be so perverted Woe worth your pleasures in the sins mortal Woe worth you for whom I sore smerted Woe worth you ever but ye be converted Woe worth you whose making I repent Woe worth your horrible sin so violent Woe worth you which do me forsake Woe worth you which willingly offend Woe worth your swearing which doth not aslake Woe worth you which will nothing amend Woe worth vice that doth on you attend Woe worth your great unkindness to me Woe worth your hearts withouten pity Woe worth your falsehood and your doubleness Woe worth also your corrupt judgement Woe worth delight in worldly richesse Woe worth debate without extynguyshement Woe worth your words so much impatient Woe worth you unto whom I died boat And worth you that tere me at the rote blessed be ye that love humility blessed be ye that love truth and patience blessed be ye following works of equity blessed be ye that love well abstinence blessed be ye virgins of excellence blessed be ye which love well virtue blessed be ye which do the world eschew blessed be ye that heavenly joy do love blessed be ye in virtuous governance blessed be ye which do pleasures reprove blessed be ye that consider my grievance blessed be ye which do take repentance blessed be ye remembering my passion blessed be ye making petition blessed be ye following my trace blessed be ye loving tribulation blessed be ye not willing to trespass blessed be ye of my castigation blessed be ye of good operation blessed be ye unto me right kind blessed be you which have me in your mind blessed be ye leaving ill company blessed be ye haunting the virtuous blessed be ye that my name magnefy blessed be ye teaching the vicious blessed be ye good and religious blessed be ye in the life temporal Which apply yourself to joy celestial The brytyll world right often transmutable Who will in it his life and time well spend Shall joy attain after inestimable For in the world he must first condescend To take great pain as his power will extend Against the world the flesh and the devil By my great grace for to withstand their evil For who can be a greater fool than he That spendeth his time to him uncertain For a brevyat pleasure of worldly vanity Than after that to have eternal pain Who of the world delighteth and is fain Shall after sorrow and cry ve ve In another world quante sunt tenebre Who is wiser than he that will apply In the world take pain by due diligence After short pain to come great glory Which is eterne most high of excellence Where he shall see my great magnificence With many angels which for their solace Insacyately do behold my face Regard no joy of the earthly consistory For like as Phoebus doth the snow relent So passeth the joys of the world transitory Time runneth fast till worldly life be spent Consider this in your entendemente Blessed be they that my words do here And keep it well/ for they are to me dear Therefore good brethrens your hearts incline To love and dread me that am omnipotent Both god and man in joy celestine Behold my body all to torn and rent With your spiteful oaths cruel and violent I love you ye hate me ye are to hard hearted I help you ye tear me lo how for you I smerted Mercy and peace died make an unity between you and me but troth & rightwiseness Do now complain bidding my godhead see How that ye break the league of soothfastness They tell me that by justice doubtless I must take vengeance upon you sickerly That by your swearing/ again me crucify For at the request of good mercy and peace I have forborn you long and many a day yet more and more your sins do increase Wherefore my justice will no more delay But take vengeance for all your proud array I warn you oft ye are nothing the better But ye amend my vengeance shall be greater ¶ Contra iutatores ●●● in celo crucifigentes per bernardun dixit domintia. Nun satis pro te vulneratus sum? nun satis pro te afflictus sum? de sine amplius peccare. qr magis aggravat vuinus yeccau q vulnus lateris mei Am not I wounded for the suffyeyent Have I not for the enough affliction Leave more to sin by good amendment The wound of sin to me is more passion Than the wound of my side for thy redemption Though I do spare I shall not destiny But ye amend to burn eternally With my bloody wounds I died your chartre seal Why do you tear it/ why do ye break it so Sith it to you is the eternal heal And the release of everlasting woe Behold this letter with the print also Of mine own seal by perfit portraiture print it in mind and ye shall health recure And ye kings and lords of renown Exhort your servants their swearing to cease Come unto me and cast your sin adown And I my vengeance shall truly release With grace and plente/ I shall you increase And bring you which revolve inwardly This my complaint/ to eternal glory Amen. ¶ The Auctor. Go little treatise devoid of eloquence Trembling for dread to approach the majesty Of our sovereign lord surmounting in excellence But under the wing of his benignity submitting the to his merciful pity And beech his grace to pardon thy rudeness Which of late was made to eschew idleness ¶ Thus endeth the conversion of swearers made & compiled by Stephen Hawys groom of the chamber of our sovereign lord king Henry the seventh. imprinted at London in Flete street at the sign of the son by Wynkyn de word. printer unto the most excellent princess my lady the kings grandame. The year of our lord a. M. CCCCC. and ix The first year of the reign of our sovereign lord king Henry the viii winkin de word