her,
the mother, the lord, the lady, the master, the dame, be themselves
overcome by these Turks, they be continual swearers, avouterers,
disposers to malice, never in patience, and so forth in all other vices:
think you not, when the father, the mother, the master, the dame, be
disposed unto vice or impatience, but that their children and servants
shall incline and be disposed to the same? No doubt, as the child shall
take disposition natural of the father and mother, so shall the servants
apply unto the vices of their masters and dames: if the heads be false in
their faculties and crafts, it is no marvel if the children, servants,
and apprentices do joy therein. This is a great and shameful manner of
killing christian men, that the fathers, the mothers, the masters, and
the dames shall not alonely kill themselves, but all theirs, and all that
belongeth unto them: and so this way is a great number of christian
lineage murdered and spoiled.
The second manner of killing is silence. By silence also is a great
number of christian men slain; which is on this fashion: although that
the father and mother, master and dame, of themselves be well disposed to
live according to the law of God, yet they may kill their children and
servants in suffering them to do evil before their own faces, and do not
use due correction according unto their offences. The master seeth his
servant or apprentice take more of his neighbour than the king's laws, or
the order of his faculty, doth admit him; or that he suffereth him to
take more of his neighbour than he himself would be content to pay, if he
were in like condition: thus doing, I say, such men kill willingly their
children and servants, and shall go to hell for so doing; but also their
fathers and mothers, masters and dames, shall bear them company for so
suffering them.
Wherefore I exhort all true christian men and women to give good example
unto your children and servants, and suffer not them by silence to
offend. Every man must be in his own house, according to St. Augustine's
mind, a bishop, not alonely giving good ensample, but teaching according
to it, rebuking and punishing vice; not suffering your children and
servants to forget the laws of God. You ought to see them have their
belief, to know the commandments of God, to keep their holy-days, not to
lose their time in idleness: if they do so, you shall all suffer pain for
it, if God be true of his saying, as there is no d
|