These be they that haue made an hundreth thousand ydell hores yn your realme whiche wolde haue gotten theyre lyuing honestly, yn the swete of theyre faces had not theyre superfluous rychesse illected theym to vnclene lust and ydelnesse. These be they that corrupt the hole generation of mankind yn your realme, that catche the pokkes of one woman. and bere theym to an other, that be brent wyth one woman, and bere it to an other, that catche the lepry of one woman, and bere it to an other, ye[a] some one of theym shall bo[a]st emong his felawes that he hath medled with an hundreth wymen. These be they that when they haue ones drawen mennes wiues to such incontinency spende awey theire husbondes goodes make the wimen to runne awey from theire husbondes, ye[a], rynne awey them silues both with wif and goods, bring both man wife and children to ydelnesse theft and beggeri.
Ye[a] who is abill to nombre the greate and brode botomles occean see full of euilles that this mischeuous and sinful generacion may laufully bring vppon vs vnponisshed. where is youre swerde, power, crowne, and dignitie, become that shuld punisshe (by punisshement of deth euen as other men are punisshed) the felonies, rapes, murdres, and treasons committed by this sinfull generacion? where is theire obedience become that shulde be vnder your hyghe power yn this mater? ys not all to gither translated and exempt from your grace vnto theim? yes truely. whate an infinite nombre of people might haue ben encreased to haue peopled the realme if these sort of folke had ben maried like other men. what breche of matrimonie is there brought yn by theim? suche truely as was neuer sins the worlde began emong the hole multitude of the hethen.
who is she that wil set her hondes to worke to get. iij.d. a day and may haue at lest. xx.d. a day to slepe an houre with a frere, a monke, or a prest? what is he that wolde laboure for a grote a day and may haue at lest. xij.d. a day to be baude to a prest, a monke, or a frere? whate a sort are there of theime that mari prestes souereigne ladies but to cloke the prestes yncontinency and that they may haue a liuing of the prest theime silues for theire laboure? Howe many thousandes doth suche lubricite bring to beggery theft and idelnesse whiche shuld haue kept theire good name and haue set theim silues to worke had not ben this excesse treasure of the spiritualtie?? whate honest man dare take any man or woman yn his seruice that hath ben at suche a scole with a spiritual man? Oh the greuous shipwrak of the comon welth, whiche yn auncient time bifore the coming yn of these rauinous wolues was so prosperous: that then there were but fewe theues: ye[a] theft was at that tyme so rare that Cesar was not compellid to make penalte of deth vppon felony as your grace may well perceyue yn his institutes. There was also at that tyme but fewe pore people and yet they did not begge but there was giuen theim ynough vnaxed, for there was at that time none of these rauinous wolues to axe it from theim as it apperith yn the actes of th[e] appostles. Is it any merueill though there be nowe so many beggers, theues, and ydell people? Nay truely.
; whate remedy: make lawes ageynst theim. I am yn doubt whether ye be able: Are they not stronger in your owne parliament house then your silfe? whate a nombre of Bisshopes, abbotes, and priours are lordes of your parliament? are not all the lerned men in your realme in fee with theim to speake yn your parliament house for theim ageinst your crowne, dignitie, and comon welth of your realme a fewe of youre owne lerned counsell onely excepted? whate lawe can be made ageinst theim that may be aduaylable? who is he (though he be greued never so sore) for the murdre of his auncestre rauisshement of his wyfe, of his doughter, robbery, trespas, maiheme, dette, or eny other offence dare ley it theyre charge by any wey of accion, and if he do then is he by and by by theyre wilynesse accused of heresie. ye[a] they will so handle him or he passe that except he will bere a fagot for theyre pleasure he shal be excommunicate and then be all his accions dasshed. So captyue are your lawes vnto theym that no man that they lyst to excommunicat may be admitted to sue any accion in any of your courtes. If eny man yn your sessions dare be so hardy to endyte a prest of eny suche cryme he hath or the yere [ere he] go out suche a yoke of heresye leyd in his necke that it maketh him wisshe that he had not done it. Your grace may se whate a worke there is in London, howe the bisshoppe rageth for endyting of certayn curates of extorcion and incontinency the last yere in the warmoll quest. Had not Richard hunne commenced accyon of premunire ageinst a prest he had bin yet a lyue and none heretik at all but an honest man.
Dyd not dyuers of your noble progenitours seynge theyre crowne and dignite runne ynto ruyne and to be thus craftely translated ynto the hondes of this myscheuous generacyon make dyuers statutes for the reformacyon therof, emong whiche the statute of mortmayne was one? to the intent that after that tyme they shulde haue no more gyuen vnto theim. But whate avayled it? haue they not gotten ynto theyre hondes more londes sins then eny duke in ynglond hath, the statute notwithstonding? Ye[a] haue they not for all that translated ynto theyre hondes from your grace half your kyngdome thoroughly? The hole name as reason is for the auncientie of your kingdome whiche was bifore theyrs and out of the whiche theyrs is growen onely abiding with your grace? and of one kyngdome made tweyne: the spirituall kyngdome (as they call it) for they wyll be named first, And your temporall kingdome, And whiche of these, ij. kingdomes suppose ye is like to ouergrowe the other, ye[a] to put the other clere out of memory? Truely the kingdome of the bloudsuppers for to theym is giuen daily out of your kingdome. And that that is ones gyuen theim comith neuer from theim agein. Suche lawes haue they that none of theim may nether gyue nor sell nothing.