5

as they were entred 3 to chose a pope, acordyng to their vsage, such one as shuld be good and profytable for holy churche, the romayns assembled the 4 togyder in a great nombre, and came into the bowrage of Sayut Peter: they were to the nombre of xxx. thousand what one and other, in the entent to do yuell, if the mater went nat accordynge to their appetytes. And they came oftentymes before the conclaue, and sayd, Harke, ye sir cardynalles, delyuer you atones, and make a pope; ye tary to longe; if ye make a romayne, we woll nat chaung 7 him; but yf ye make any other, the romayne people and counsayles woll nat take hym for pope, and ye put yourselfe all in aduentures to be slayne. The cardynals, who were as than in the danger 10 of the romayns, and herde well those wordes, they were nat at their ease, nor assured of their lyues, and so appeased them of their yre as well as they myght with fayre wordes; but somoche rose the felony of the romayns, yt suche as were next to yo conclaue, to thentent to make the cardynalles afrayde, and to cause them to cōdiscende the rather to their opinyons, brake vp the dore of the conclaue, whereas the cardynalles were, Than the cardynalles went " surely to haue been slayne, and so fledde away to saue their liues, some one waye and some another; but the romayns were nat so content, but toke them and put them togyder agayn, whether they wolde or nat. The cardynalles than seynge theselfe in the daunger of the romayns, and in great parell of their lyues, agreed among themselfe, more for to please the people than for any deuocyon; howbeit, by good electyon they

3. Were entred; - Middle English, like German at present, seems to have employed the verb to be as a perfect auxiliary with verbs of motion. Thus Shakespeare writes, "Don Pedro is approached," "The noble Brutus is ascended," though the modern has would not give the exact force in either of these sentences, where the state or condition resulting from the action is rather expressed.

4. The, them. See note to extract 2. 5 Bowrage, chamber, fr. O. E. búr (bower), the inner chamber where the family slept, whilst the "hall" was the usual place of eating and drinking.

6. Delyuer you atones, make up your

minds, declare yourselves at once.

7. Chaung, challenge, dispute his claim, fr. Lat. calumnia (a false charge), through O. Fr. chalenge.

8. Adventure, risk, peril.

9 As than, for that time. As in Middle English (observe whereas some few lines further down) is often pleonastic.

10. In the danger, in the power, under the jurisdiction of. Danger, fr. L. L. domagerium, was the power of exacting a damnum, or fine (from which comes damages). "To be in a person's danger" was to be under his jurisdiction; "in danger of the judgment" is liable to judgment.

11. Went, weened, thought, expected.

12

chase an holy man, a cardynall of the romayne nacion, whome pope Vrbayne the fyfte had made cardynall, and he was called before, the cardynall of saynt Peter. This electyon pleased greatly ye romayns, and so this good man had all the ryghtes that belonged to the papalite; howebeit he lyued nat but thre dayes after, and I shall shewe you why. The romayns, who desyred a pope of their owne nacion, were so ioyful of this newe pope, yt they toke hym, who was a hundred yere of age, and sette him on a whyte mule, and so ledde him vp and doune through ye cytie of Rome, exaltyng him, and shewyng howe they had vaquesshed the cardynals, seyng they had a pope romayn accordyng to their owne ententes, in so moche that the good holy man was so sore traueyled that he fell syck, and so dyed the thyrde daye, and was buryed in the churche of saynt Peter, and there he lyethe.—Reprint of 1812, vol. i. pp. 510, 511.

12. Ye-See general note to Extract 1.

22. Tyndale, d. 1536. (History, p. 50.)

MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, Chap. VIII.

When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him. And lo, there cam a lepre, and worsheped him saynge, Master, if thou wylt, thou canst make me clene. He putt forthe his hond and touched him saynge: I will, be clene, and immediatly his leprosy was clensed. And Jesus said vnto him. Se thou tell no man, but go and shewe thysilf to the preste and offer the gyfte, that Moses commaunded to be offred, in witnes to them. When Jesus was entred in to Capernaum, there cam vnto him a certayne Centurion, besechyng him And saynge: Master, my servaunt lyeth sicke att home off the palsye, and is grevously payned. And Jesus sayd vnto him. I will come and cure him. The Centurion answered and saide: Syr I am not worthy that thou shuldest com vnder the rofe of my housse, but speake the worde only and my servaunt shalbe healed. For y also my selfe am a man vndre power, and have sowdeeres1 vndre me, and y saye to one, go, and he

1. Sowdeeres, soldiers, fr. O. Fr. souder, which comes from It. soldo, Lat. solidus, coin, latterly of silver, but once of gold,

When first introduced, soldier seems to have been applied to the mercenaries as opposed to the feudal levies.

goeth and to anothre, come, and he cometh and to my servaunt, do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus herde these saynges: he marveyled, and said to them that folowed him: Verely y say vnto you, I have not founde so great fayth: no, not in Israell. I say therfore vnto you, that many shall come from the eest and weest, and shall rest with Abraham, Ysaac and Jacob, in the kyngdom of heven: And the children of the kingdom shalbe cast out in to the vtmoost dercknes, there shalbe wepinge and gnasshing of tethe. Then Jesus said vnto the Centurion, go thy waye, and as thou hast believed so be it vnto the. And his servaunt was healed that same houre.

23. Hugh Latimer, d. 1555.

1

(From his Sermons).

I can not go to my boke for pore folkes come vnto me, desirynge me that I wyll speake yt1 theyr matters maye be heard. I trouble my Lord of Canterburye, & beynge at hys house nowe and then I walke in the garden lokyng in my boke,2 as I canne do but little good at it. But some thynge I muste nedes do to satisfye thys place.

I am no soner in the garden and haue red a whyle, but by and by commeth there some or other knocking at the gate.

Anone cometh my man and sayth: Syr, there is one at the gate woulde speake wyth you. When I come there, then is it some or other that desireth me that I wyll speake that hys matter might be heard, and that he hath layne thys longe at great costes and charges, & can not once haue hys matter come to the hearing, but amōg all other, one especially moued me at thys time to speake.

Thys it is syr: A gentylwoman came to me and tolde me, that a

1. Yt. See general note to extract 1. 2. Boke, O. E. boc, was formerly used of any writing whatsoever. "By that time will our book (articles of agreement) be drawn" (Shak. Hen. IV.). Mr. Kemble derives it from beech, because thin tablets of that wood were first employed for writing purposes.

3. Nedes, of necessity, an old genitive of need. Thus twice, thrice were once twies, thries.

4. Costes: cost comes through Fr. coûter, It. costare, from Lat. constare. So covenant fr. conventus; covet fr. convoiter.

greate man kepeth certaine landes of hyrs from hyr and wilbe hyr tenaunte in the spite of hyr tethe. And that in a whole twelue moneth she coulde not gette but one daye for the hearynge of ber matter, and the same daye when the matter shoulde be hearde, the greate manne broughte on hys syde a great syghte of Lawyers for hys counsayle, the gentilwoman had but one ma of lawe and the great man shakes him so, so that he cã [not] tell what to do, so that when the matter came to the poynte, the Judge was a meane to the gentylwoman that she wold let the great ma haue a quietnes in hyr Lands. I beseche your grace that ye wyll loke to these

matters.

6. Was a meane to, intervened with.

6

24. Sir Thomas More. 1480-1535. (History, p. 48.)

DESCRIPTION OF RICHARD III.

Richarde, the thirde sonne of Richarde, Duke of York, was in witte and courage egall1 with his two brothers, in bodye and prowesse 2 farre vnder them bothe, little of stature, ill fetured 3 of limmes, croke backed, his left shoulder much higher than his right, hard fauoured of visage, and such as is in states called warlye,5 in other menne otherwise, he was malicious, wrathfull, enuious, and from afore his birth, euer frowarde. . . . None euill captaine was hee in the warre, as to whiche his disposicion was more metely 6 then for peace. Sundrye victories hadde hee, and sommetime ouerthrowes, but neuer in defaulte as for his owne parsone, either of hardinesse 7 or polytike order, free was hee called of dyspence, and sommewhat aboue hys power liberall, with large giftes hee get him

1. Egall, equal. Fr. égal.

2. Prowesse, fr. O. Fr. prou, Lat. probus.

3. Fetured, constructed, put together, fr. It. fattura, Lat. factura, the making or workmanship of a thing.

4. Hard-favoured, favour at this time meant frequently countenance.

5. Warlye, warlike; ly being a contraction of like.

6. Metely, meet, fit, suitable; literally

according to measure, fr. O. E. met,

measure.

7. Hardinesse, boldness. Charles the Bold of Burgundy was often called "the Hardy."

8. Dyspence, spending. The initial s of spend and sport is a remnant of the Lat. prefix dis: the early forms being dispend, disport. Compare the latter with divert.

9

vnstedfaste frendeshippe, for whiche hee was fain to pili 10 and spoyle in other places, and get him stedfast hatred. Hee was close and secrete, a deepe dissimuler, lowlye of counteynaunce, arrogant of heart, outwardly coumpinable where he inwardely hated, not letting 12 to kisse whome he thoughte to kyll: dispitious and cruell, not for euill will alway, but after for ambicion, and either for the suretie or encrease of his estate. Frende and foo was muche what 13 indifferent, where his aduantage grew, he spared no mans deathe, whose life withstoode his purpose. He slewe with his owne handes king Henry the sixt, being prisoner in the Tower, as menne constantly saye, and that without commaundement or knoweledge of the king, whiche woulde vndoubtedly yf he had entended that thinge, haue appointed that boocherly office, to some other then his owne borne brother.

9. Fain is generally taken from O. E. fægen, glad; but Mr. Wedgwood confidently traces it to O. Fr. fain (faim), hunger.

10. Pil, pillage, fr. Fr. piller, to rob, literally, to take off the peel or skin, Lat. pellis. The "pilled priest" of Hen. VI. means a priest with the tonsure, or shaven crown.

together (Diez); or inhabitants (pagani) of the same district (pagus); or men who fight under the same banner (pannus). 12. Letting, leaving, omitting, being slack.

13. Muche what, to a great extent. This use of what, as still in somewhat, originated in the old indefinite meaning of who. In Robert of Gloucester's "as who seith," who is equivalent to GK. TIS

11. Coumpinable, companiable. Companions are those who eat bread (panis) | (enclitic).

25. Roger Ascham. 1515-1568. (History, p. 49.)

(From the Schoolmaster.)

And one example, whether love or feare doth worke more in a child, for vertue and learning, I will gladlie report: which maie be hard with some pleasure, and folowed with more profit. Before I went into Germanie, I came to Brodegate in Lecetershire, to take my leave of that noble Ladie Jane Grey, to whom I was exceding moch beholdinge. Hir parentes, the Duke and the Duches, with all the houshould, Gentlemen and Gentlewomen, were huntinge in

1. Beholdinge, indebted, under obligation, fr.. O. E. gehealden, past part. of healden, to hold. The be in beloved

(gelufed), believe (gelyfan, Ger. glauben), belong (gelang), and many other words, represents the O. E. prefix ge- (Craik).