though Gill sweat,
Or Jack of the Noke?
The poor people they yoke
With sumners and citacions,
And excommunications.
About churches and markets
The bishop on his carpets
At home soft doth sit.
This is a fearful fit,
To hear the people jangle.
How wearily they wrangle!
But Doctor Bullatus

"Parum litteratus,
Dominus Doctoratus
At the broad gate-house.
Doctor Daupatus
And Bachelor Bacheleratus,
Drunken as a mouse
At the ale-house,
Taketh his pillion and his cap
At the good ale-tap,
For lack of good wine.
As wise as Robin Swine,
Under a notary's sign,
Was made a divine;
As wise as Waltham's calf,
Must preach in Goddys half;
In the pulpit solemnly;
More meet in a pillory;
For by St. Hilary
He can nothing smatter
Of logic nor school matter.

"Such temporal war and bate
As now is made of late
Against holy church estate,
Or to mountain good quarrels;
The laymen call them barrels
Full of gluttony and of hypocrisy,
That counterfeits and paints
As they were very saints.

"By sweet St. Marke,
This is a wondrous warke,
That the people talk this.
Somewhat there is amiss.
The devil cannot stop their mouths,
But they will talk of such uncouths
All that ever they ken
Against spiritual men."

I am unable to quote more than a few lines from ROY'S _Satire_. At the
close of a long paragraph of details an advocate of the clergy ventures to
say that the bad among them are a minority. His friend answers:--

"Make the company great or small,
Among a thousand find thou shall
Scant one chaste of body or mind."

[207] Answer of the Bishops to the Commons' Petition: _Rolls House MS._

[208] Joanna Leman notatur officio quod non venit ad ecclesiam parochialem;
et dicit se nolle accipere panem benedictum a manibus rectoris; et vocavit
eum "horsyn preste."--HALE, p. 99.

[209] HALE, p. 63.

[210] Ibid. p. 98.

[211] Ibid. p. 38.

[212] Ibid. p. 67.

[213] Ibid. p. 100.

[214] CAVENDISH, _Life of Wolsey_, p. 251.

[215] HALL, p. 764.

[216] Ibid. p. 764.

[217] _State Papers_, vol. vii. p. 361.

[218] 6 Hen. VIII. cap. 16.

[219] The session lasted six weeks only, and several of the subjects of the
petition were disposed of in the course of it, as we shall see.

[220] The MS. from which I have transcribed this copy is itself imperfect,
as will be seen in the "reply of the Bishops," which supplies sever