Aspects of Kentish Local History

Ascendit in cor eius, ut &c ubi supra.
   For so moch as I haue schouyd onto yow that God dyd put into the harte of Moyses that he schuld visite his brothern the children of israell for to delyuer them from the captiuitie of thegiptions: I do therfor now porpasse (by the help of god) for a firder prosses of this collation, to declare theis iii thinges onto yow. First, the maner how the childern of israell war oppressyed. Secundary, the cause why that they war oppressyd. Thirdly, the meanes whereby thei war delyuered from ther oppression & browghte to libertie: And so than I porpose to apply this history of the children of israell onto the state of religiouse men now of days. Therfor as to the first, that is, to schow yow how & wherein the children of israell war oppressyd, this thing Moyses hym self doith schow onto yow, Exodus 1, seying with greate lamentation, Oderant filios israell egiptii, Alas theis envious egiptions dyd utterly & dedly hate us the childern of israell, in token wherof affligebant illudentes, they did sore skorge & punyshe us, sore moke & skorn us: in so much, quod ad amaritudinem producebant vitam nostram, that they made us very wery of owr lyvys, for they dyd grevously oppresse us dayly operibus duris luti & lateris, with intollerable labors, as in makyng of brykes, & in tredyng & temperyng of clay: imo a a famulatu in terre operibus premebant. Verely theis crewell egiptions pittously oppressyd us, thelecte peple of god, for thei compellyd & constrained us to do all vile erithly workes & labors. Here yow see evidently the maner how the children

of israell war oppressyd: Now than secundary to schow onto yow the cause why they war thus oppressyd. This thing that crewell tyrane kyng pharo did schow onto his peple thegiptions in the said chapter of Exody, wher it apperith that he made this complaynt onto them seying Ecce populus filiorum israell multus, my peple & subiectes take heed & loke dyligently uppon the children of israell, for ye may see how they do dayly encrese wonderfully venite igitur sapienter opprimamus eum, therfor cume onto me your lord & kyng & gyve me your cownsell, how we may fynd some means wysly to oppresse them, lesse that they encresce to so greate & stronge a numbre that they schalbe able to make battell agenst us Et expugnatis nobis egrediatur de terra, and so ouercume us in battell, and than expelle & banyshe us derly owth of thys owr realme. By theys children of israell that war thus miserably oppressyd of kyng pharo & of hys peple thegiptions, by cause they dyd so greatly encresce in numbre, may be understondyd alle religyouse persons. They may welbe callyd filli israell, the children of israel, for israell in hebrew is as moch as to sey, as vir videns deum, a man that seyth god. So all religious persons sunt aut essent israelite viri videntes deum, they be or schuld be men, wiche schuld euermore see god by ther stody in holly letters & by ther devote prayers & holly contemplations, for they be they that schuld trewly follow thapostolles of Christe in ther pewarnes & clenes of lyving, in token wherof, Christ