n? If you see not, yet God seeth. God seeth all the whole
holidays to be spent miserably in drunkenness, in glossing, in strife, in
envy, in dancing, dicing, idleness, and gluttony. He seeth all this, and
threateneth punishment for it. He seeth it, which neither is deceived in
seeing, nor deceiveth when he threateneth.

Thus men serve the devil; for God is not thus served, albeit ye say ye
serve God. No, the devil hath more service done unto him on one holiday,
than on many working days. Let all these abuses be counted as nothing,
who is he that is not sorry, to see in so many holidays rich and wealthy
persons to flow in delicates, and men that live by their travail, poor
men, to lack necessary meat and drink for their wives and their children,
and that they cannot labour upon the holidays, except they will be cited,
and brought before our Officials? Were it not the office of good
prelates to consult upon these matters, and to seek some remedy for them?
Ye shall see, my brethren, ye shall see once, what will come of this our
winking.

What think ye of these images that are had more than their fellows in
reputation; that are gone unto with such labour and weariness of the
body, frequented with such our cost, sought out and visited with such
confidence? What say ye by these images, that are so famous, so noble,
so noted, being of them so many and so divers in England? Do you think
that this preferring of picture to picture, image to image, is the right
use, and not rather the abuse, of images? But you will say to me, Why
make ye all these interrogations? and why, in these your demands, do you
let and withdraw the good devotion of the people? Be not all things well
done, that are done with good intent, when they be profitable to us? So,
surely, covetousness both thinketh and speaketh. Were it not better for
us, more for estimation, more meeter for men in our places, to cut away a
piece of this our profit, if we will not cut away all, than to wink at
such ungodliness, and so long to wink for a little lucre; specially if it
be ungodliness, and also seem unto you ungodliness? These be two things,
so oft to seek mere images, and sometime to visit the relicks of saints.
And yet, as in those there may be much ungodliness committed, so there
may here some superstition be hid, if that sometime we chance to visit
pigs' bones instead of saints' relicks, as in time past it hath chanced,
I had almost said, in England. T