Aspects of Kentish Local History

but whan men first gave ther londes onto religiouse men they thoughth that they could not apply them to ony better or more vertuouse use, for that that religiouse men war at that tyme so holly & devoutie. but now trew religion is wonderfully dekayd from her old state of perfection, as it is thowgth, & that not only of theis men that be in greate authorite, but also me fere that it is a common proverbum amonge all maner of men; wher schall a man fynd envy, pryd & glottoney & soch other vices but in the closter? I pray God this be a fals proverbe, howbeit it is greatly feryd of gode men that ther be maney hedes of religion now of days, as priores & rectors & soche lyke men be so gevyn to worldly pryd & vanite that they loke that mean & poere men schuld call them my lord at euery word. Trowgh yow that soche heedes of religion be trew religiouse men? noo trewly, but they be very apostataas, for they do folow the stepes of the prowd scribes & phareseis, & not of the meke apostols of Christe: of them Christ thus spekyth, Math, 22. Scribe & pharisei amant vocari ab hominibus Rabbi, Theis false hipocrites the scribes & phareseys, wich outwardly pretendith great perfection & holynes, be prikkyd upp with pryd, that they be desiorouse & loke that euery man schuld call them maisters. Vos autem nolite vocari rabbi, sed qui maior est vestrum, erit minister vester. but yow that be my apostoles, (saith Christ) and all thois that will trewly follow yowr stepes, nolite vocari rabbi, see that ye never desier in yowr hartes, ne thinke yowr selfes worthy to be callyd maisters, but he that is chossyn amonst yow to be

maior vestrum, yowr hedd & gouernowr, he must accownte & grawnte hym selfe to be minister vester, to be yowr mynister, yowr bayly, yowr common seruant & officer, & not yowr lord ne maister. We se also that sume ther be both abottes & priors of mean possessions, yeh sume religiouse men that be nether abottes ne priores, but only officers a monge them, as Selerrers, Kecheners, Sextens & soche lyke, wiche whan they ryde ony yorney they will haue a company of seruyng men to wayte uppon them so great & well trymyd, that it wold becume a temporall knygth or lord to ryd so gorgyously: Dowgtles the fownders of them that thus do did not gyve so goodly so profitable maners & towns onto them to thentent, that they schuld thus miserably abuse them in worldly pompe & glory: Therfor they that thus abuse ther fowndations lat them not dowgth but this ther pryd is abominable in the sygth of God & he will sore skorge them for yt, lyke as he doth lovingly gyve them monition of by his prophite Amos, c. 6, saying ve vobis ingredientes pompatice domum israell, detestor enim superbiam vestram. Thois men (saith God) that do entre into the howse of israell, of religion of them that allways schuld see God by ther holly contemplations, if they do abuse the goodes of ther places pompatice, in pompe & pryd of the world contrary to ther profession, Destestor ego superbiam vestram, this ther prid is abominably in my syth & therfor after this lif ve vobis the euerlasting sorow & woo of the