the this one thynge, do you thus disprayse, condempne,
or fynde faute with them whiche caryeth aboute with
them the newe testament or the gospel boke?
Canni. No by my fayth do I not good ||praty
man. Poliphe. Call ye me but a praty one
and I am hygher then you by ye length of a good
asses heed. Can. I thynke not fully so moche
yf the asse stretch forth his eares, but go to it
skyllis no matter of that, let it passe, he that
bare Christ vpon his backe was called Christofer,
and thou whiche bearest the gospell boke aboute
with the shall for Poliphemus be called the gospeller
or the gospell bearer. Polip. Do not you
counte it an holy thynge to cary aboute with a man
the newe testament? Cani. why no syr by my
trouth do I not, except thou graunte the very asses
to be holy to. Poli. How can an asse be
holy? Cannius. For one asse alone is able
to beare thre hundreth suche bokes, and I thynke
suche a great lubber as thou art were stronge inoughe
to beare as great a burden, and yf thou had a hansome
packesadle sette vpon thy backe. Poliphe.
And yet for all your iestynge it is not agaynst
good reason to saye ||that ye asse was holy which
bore christ. Cannius. I do not enuye you
man for this holynes for I had as lefe you had that
holynes as I, and yf it please you to take it I
wyll geue you an holy & a religious relyke of the
selfe same asse whiche christ rode vpon, and whan
ye haue it ye may kysse it lycke it and cull it as
ofte as ye lyst. Poli. Mary syr I thanke
you, ye can not gyue me a more thanckefull gyfte
nor do me a greatter pleasure, for that asse withouten
any tayle was made as holye as any asse could be
by the touchynge of christes body. Cannius.
Undouted they touched christes body also whiche
stroke and buffeted christ. Poliphe. yea but
tell me this one thynge I praye the in good ernest.
Is it not a great sygne of holynes in a man to cary
aboute the gospel boke or the newe testament?
Cannius. It is a token of holynes in dede if
it be done without hypocrysie, I meane if it be
done without dissimulacion/ and for ||that end,
intent & purpose, that it shuld be done for.
Poliphe. What the deuyl & a morten tellest
thou a man of warre of hypocrisie, away with hypocrisie
to the monkes and the freers. Cannius.
Yea but bycause ye saye so, tell me fyrste I praye
you what ye call hypocrisie. Po. When
a man pretendis another thyng outwardly then he
meanis secretly in his mynde. Cannius.
But what dothe the bearynge aboute of the newe testament
sygnyfie. Dothe it not betoken that thy lyfe
shulde be conformable to the gospell which thou
carryest aboute with the. Poli. I thynke
well it dothe. Cannius. Wel then when thy
lyfe is not conformable to the boke, is not that
playne hypocrisie. Poliph. Tell me the
what you call the trewe carienge of the gospell
boke aboute with a man. Cani. Some men
beare it aboute with them in theyr hades (as the
gray freers were wonte to beare the rule of saynt
Fraunces) and so the porters of Londo, Asses ||&