Classic Poem

 Another mater thou movest, Jak,
moost to be chargid,
of the solempne sacrament
of Cristis owne bodye,
conteyned in figure of brede,
sacrifise for synne;
thou drawist a thorn out of thi hele,
and puttist it in oure.
Thou berist us on honde that we seien
ther is not Cristis bodye,
but roundnesse and whitenesse,
and accident withouten suget.
Jak, we seie with holy chirche,
that ther is Cristis bodi,
and not material breed
with Wiclyf gour maistir,
the whiche put ther but as a figure,
and not verré Cristis bodi,
after a manere spekyng
that holy chirche usith,
as we clepen Crist a stoon,
a lomb, and a lioun,
and noon of these is Crist,
but oonli in figure.
This heresie holde not we,
but ge his false folowers,
privyly as ge doren,
and opinli ge wolden,
ne were the sharp ponishinge
of gour former fadirs.
And now I will thee telle
the freris confiteor ,
touching to this sacrament,
how that thei bileven.
Thei seie breed is turned into fleish,
and wyne into blood,
thourg the mygt of oure God,
and vertue of his wordis;
the fleish is mete, the blood is drynke,
and Crist dwellith [therin],
no thing rasyd, no thing dividid,
but oonli broken in signe,
and as moche is in oo partie
as is al the hole;
thus leeveth not of the breed,
but oonli the licnesse,
which that abidith therinne
noon substeyned substans.
It is deth to the yvel,
lyf to good encresing of oure grace.
It wole not be confect
but oonli of a preest,
that lawfulli is ordeyned
bi holi chirche keies;
and so carpenters ne sowters,
card-makers ne powchers,
drapers ne cutellers,
girdelers, coferers, ne corvysers,
ne no manere of artificeris,
this sacrament mowe treten,
but the privité of preesthode
wer prickid in her soulis.
And git gour sect susteynes
wommen to seie massis,
shewyng to trete a sacrament
as preestes that thei were,
reversynge holy chirche.
and decree of holy chirche.
 Allas! gour brymme blastis
awake the wilde wawlis,
and scalen sely Peter ship,
and putt it in hige perile;
ne were God the giour,
and kept the stern,
with the sterne stormes
that reufulli ge reisin,
al schulde wende to wrak
into the waast watris.
The releef of Cristis feeste
ge renden and ratyn,
that his alumners the postlis
gaderid togidere,
and delith it to dogges
and ravenous beestes;
and the presciouse perlis
ge strowun to hogges,
the sutil metis of scripturis
to cherlis stomakes,
and maken hem als comoun
as the cart weye,
agens Poulis sentence,
and Poulis owne doctrine.
Non, inquit Paulus, potui vobis scribere quasi spiritualibus, sed quasi carnalibus, etc.
Se also what Crist seith,
in the holy gospel.
Multa habui vobis dicere, sed non, etc.
Also in many other place thus spekith he
to his perfit disciplis:
Vobis datum est noscere mysterium regni Dei, cœteris autem in parabolam, etc.
Than the lewide and the lered
augt not yliche,
the scripturis ben scaterid
in his privy pointes.