Shakespeare Jest-Books Part 38

-- _Of the doctour that sayd, in Erasmus workes were heresies._ cxxiii.

-- A notable doctour, preachyng in a solemne audience, sayd, that in Erasmus workes were certayne heresies. Who, beyng come out of the pulpit, was desired of a learned man to shewe foorthe some place hereticall. Hee aunswered, that he had neuer red Erasmus bookes: hee began once to reade the woorke int.i.tled _Moria_,[310] but by reason it was so high a stile, he feared to fal into some heresy.

FOOTNOTES:

[309] Orig. and Singer read _or els you to holde_.

-- _Of the frier that preached at Paules crosse agaynst Erasmus._ cxxiv.

-- A great clerke, noseld[311] vp in scoole doctours, not well vnderstanding the latin stile and phrase, that than began to florishe apase, and hauynge smale acquaintaunce with the n.o.ble authours of the latyne tongue, saide, that Erasmus, with his rhetorike and eloquence went about to corrupte the Byble. For this (quoth he) I dare be bolde to say: that the holy scripture ought not to be mingled with the eloquence of Tully, nor yet of Cicero.[312]

FOOTNOTES:

[310] The celebrated _Moria Encomium_, of which an English version appeared in 1549.

[311] _Nosled_ or _nousled_ is the same as _nursled_, brought up. See Todd's Johnson, 1827, in voce _nosled_; and Richardson's Dict. _ibid._ The word is not in Webster or Nares.

[312] The allusion in the text is probably to the paraphrastic version of the New Testament by Erasmus, which had then recently appeared in two volumes, folio (1516). The work did not appear in an English dress till 1548.

-- _Of an other frier that taxed Erasmus for writyng Germana theologia._ cxxv.

-- A fryer, that preached on a tyme too the people, inueighed greatly agaynste Erasmus, because he, in his booke called _Enchiridion_,[313]

preysyng the Apostles doctryne, sayde, that theirs was _Germana theologia_, that is to saye in Englishe, the very ryght diuinitee. Lo (sayeth this dotishe fryer), here may ye see, what a man Erasmus is: he sayeth, there is no diuinite but in Germonie, where heretikes are specially fauored and maintayned.

-- _Of an other that inueighed agaynst the same Erasmus._ cxxvi.

-- Because Erasmus wrote, that it wer better for the monke of the charterhouse to eate fleshe than to suffer his brother _Venire in capitis discrimen_, that is to saye, than his brother should stand in ieoperdie of his life: this dotishe doctour interpretat his wordes thus: The charterhouse monke wer better eate fleshe, than his head shoulde a littell ake.[314]

By these tales we may se, what peuysshe preachers haue been in this world: And be thei neuer so foolishe: yet the ignorant people, lacking lerninge to iudge suche matters, thinke them selues well taught, when they be cleane misledde.

FOOTNOTES:

[313] _Enchiridion Militis Christiani._ An English translation of this work appeared in 1533, in which Enchiridion is rendered _The Handsome Weapon_.

[314] These pleasantries at the expense of the preachers in the time of Henry VIII. bear perhaps a little hard upon the fraternity. The rendering of Latin authors was not much improved a century or two later.

-- _Of kyng Richarde the iii, and the Northern man._[315] cxxvii.

-- After kyng Richard the iii had vsurped the crowne of England, he, to staye and stablishe the people, that sore murmured against his dooynges, sent for fyue thousand men out of the North partes vp to London: and as he was mustryng of them in Thickettes feelde, one of the souldiers, cam, and clappynge the kyng on the shoulder, said: Diccon, Diccon, by the mis, ays blith that thaust kyng![316]

FOOTNOTES:

[315] The Northern men seem to have been formerly favourite subjects for story tellers and ballad-writers. Martin Parker published a poem called "The King and a Poore Northern man," and there is a ballad ent.i.tled "The King and the Northern man." Neither has anything to do with the present tale. No. 95 of the _C. Mery Talys_, of which only a small fragment is at present known to exist, is ent.i.tled, "Of the Northern man that was all harte."

[316] "Richard, Richard, by the ma.s.s I am glad that thou art king!"

-- _Of the Canon and his man._ cxxviii

-- A canon in Hereforde, that kepte a good house, toke into his seruice a gentilmans sonne, to trane and bryng hym vp, to wayte and serue at the table.[317] So on a day the sayde canon, hauynge many strangers at his bourd, made a signe to his man, that there wanted some thyng. He, nought perceuyng, cam to his maister and sayde: Sir, what lacke you? Seest not, man (quoth he), they haue no bread on the table? Sir, saide his man, there was enough euen now, if they woulde haue let it alone.

-- _Of the same Canon and his sayd man._ cxxix.

-- The same Canon, an other tyme, bad his sayd seruant after supper, go downe and draw a cuppe of wyne, to make his guestes drinke at theyr departing, whom he had before taught, how he shuld take of the couer. So the yong man, bringyng the candell in one hand, and the cup of wine couered in the other, offred it vnto them. His mayster, seyng that, made a token to hym. He, not knowyng wherfore, sayd: Sir, what woulde you haue? Take of the couer (quoth his mayster). Then holde you the candell (saide the seruaunt).

FOOTNOTES:

[317] A very usual practice in those days. At p. 254 of the _Northumberland House-hold Book_ (ed. 1827) we find:--

"Two Gentlemen waiters for the Bordes Ende and a servaunt betwixt theim iii--Hannsmen and Yonge Gentlemen at their Fryndes fynding v (as to say Hanshmen [Henchmen] iii and yong Gentlemen iii)."

Orig. and Singer, for _trane_ read _trade_.

-- _Of the gentilman that checked hys seruant for talke of ryngyng._ cx.x.x.

-- A gentilman, brought vp at London in an In of court, was maryed, and kepte an house in the countrey: and as he sate at supper with his neyghbours aboute hym, vpon an alhalow-daie at night, amonge other communication, he talked of the solemne ringyng of the belles (as was the vsage than). His man, that waited on the table, sayd to his maister: sir, he that were this nyghte in London, shoulde here wonderfull ryngyng, and so began a tale. Hys mayster, not content with his talke, said: Hold thy peace, foole, wilt thou tel me of ringing in London? I know it (I trow) a lyttell better than thou. For I haue beene there an C alhalow nyghtes.

-- _Of the blynde man and his boye._ cx.x.xi.