that the clergy should not possess estates, that the ecclesiastical ceremonies obstructed true devotion, and that Mendicant friars, the particular object of our Plowman's CREDE, were a public and insupportable grievance. But Wickliffe, whom Mr. Hume pronounces to have been an enthusiast, like many other reformers, carried his ideas of purity too far; and, as at least it appears from the two first of these opinions, under the design of destroying superstition, his undistinguishing zeal attacked even the necessary aids of religion. It was certainly a lucky circumstance, that Wickliffe quarrelled with the Pope. His attacks on superstition at first probably proceeded from resentment. Wickliffe, who was professor of divinity at Oxford, finding on many occasions not only his own province invaded, but even the privileges of the university frequently violated by the pretensions of the Mendicants, gratified his warmth of temper by throwing out some slight censures against all the four orders, and the popes their principal patrons and abettors. Soon afterwards he was deprived of the wardenship of Canterbury hall, by the archbishop of Canterbury, who substituted a monk in his place. Upon this he appealed to the Pope, who confirmed the archiepiscopal sentence, by way of rebukǝ for the freedom with which he had treated the monastic profession. Wickliffe, highly exasperated at this usage, immediately gave a loose to his indignation, and without restraint or distinction attacked in numerous sermons and treatises, not only the scandalous enormities of the whole body of monks, but even the usurpations of the pontifical power itself, with other ecclesiastical corruptions. Having exposed these palpable abuses with a just abhorrence, he ventured still farther, and proceeded to examine and refute with great learning and penetration the absurd doctrines which prevailed in the religious system of his age: he not only exhorted the laity to study the Scriptures, but translated the Bible into English for general use and popular inspection. Whatever were his motives, it is certain that these efforts enlarged the notions of mankind, and sowed those seeds of a revolution in religion, which were quick

ened at length and brought to maturity by a favourable coincidence of circumstances, in an age when the encreasing growth of literature and curiosity naturally led the way to innovation and improvement. But a visible diminution of the authority of the ecclesiastics, in England at least, had been long growing from other causes. The disgust which the laity had contracted from the numerous and arbitrary encroachments both of the court of Rome, and of their own clergy, had greatly weaned the kingdom from superstition; and conspicuous symptoms had appeared, on various occasions, of a general desire to shake off the intolerable bondage of papal oppression.

SECTION X.

LONGLAND's peculiarity of style and versification seems to have had many cotemporary imitators. One of these is a nameless author on the fashionable history of Alexander the Great: and his poem on this subject is inserted at the end of the beautiful Bodleian copy of the French ROMAN D'AlexanDRE, before mentioned, with this reference". "Here fayleth a prossesse of this romaunce of Alixaunder the whiche prossesse that fayleth ye schulle fynde at the ende of thys boke ywrete in Engeliche ryme." It is imperfect, and begins and proceeds thus.

How Alexander partyd thennys.

When this weith at his wil wedinge

Hadde, fful rathe rommede he rydinge
Thedince so ondrace with his ost

Alixandre wendeth there wilde contre

Was wist and wonderfull peple

That weren proved ful proude, and prys of hevi helde
Of bodi went thei thare withoute any wede

a See above, vol. i. p. 144. It is in a different hand, yet with Saxon characters. See ad calc. cod. f. 209. It has miniatures in water colours.

There is a poem in the Ashmolean museum, complete in the former part, which I believe is the same. MSS. Ashm. 44. It has twenty-seven passus, and begins thus:

Whener folk fastid and fed, fayne wolde thei her

Some farand thing, &c.

At the end are these rubrics, with void spaces, intended to be filled. "How Alexandre remewid to a flood that is called Phison."

VOL. II.

"How king Duidimus sente lettres to
king Alexandre."

"How Duidimus enditid to Alexaundre
of here levyng."
"How he spareth not Alexandre to telle
hym of hys governance."
"How he telleth Alexandre of his mau-
metrie."

"How Alexandre sente aunswere to
Duidimus by lettres."
"How Duidimus sendyd an answere to
Alexandre by lettre."
"How Alexandre sente Duidimus an-
other lettre."

"How Alexandre pight a pelyr of mar-
byl ther."

And had grave on the ground many grete cavys
There here wonnynge was wynturus and somerus
No syte nor no sur stede sothli thei ne hadde

But holus holwe in the grounde to hide hem inne
Now is that name to mene the nakid wise
Wan the kiddeste of the cavus that was kinge holde
Hurde tydinge telle and loknynge wiste

That Alixaundre with his ost at lede thidince
To beholden of hom hure hiezest prynce
Than waies of worshipe wittie and quainte
With his lettres he let to the lud sende
Thanne southte thei sone the foresaide prynce
And to the schamlese schalk schewen hur lettres
Than rathe let the .... reden the sonde

That newe tythinge is tolde in this wise

The gentil Geneosophistians that gode were of witte
To the emperour Alixandre here aunsweris wreten
This is worschip of word worthi to have
And in conquerer kid in contres manie

Us is sertefyed seg as we soth heren

That thou hast ment with the man among us ferre
But yf thou kyng to us come with caere to figte
Of us getist thou no good gome we the warne
For what richesse. . . us might you us bi reve
Whan no wordliche wele is with us founde
We ben sengle of us silfe and semen ful bare
Nouht welde we nowe but naked we wende
And that we happili her haven of kynde
May no man but god make us fine

The thou fonde with thi folke to fighte us alle

We schulle us kepe on caugt our cavus withinne

Nevere werred we with wigth upon erthe

For we ben hid in oure holis or we harme laache hadde

Thus saide sothli the loude that thi sente

And al so cof as the king kende the sawe

New lettres he let the . . . . bi take

And with his sawes of soth he hem alle

That he wolde faire with his folke in a faire wise

To bi holden here home and non harme wurke

So heth the king with hem sente and sithen with his peple cosli til hem to kenne of hure fare

But whan thai sieu the seg with so manye ryde

Thei war a grison of his grym and wende gref tholie
Ffast heiede thei to holis and hidden there

And in the cavus hem kept from the king sterne, &c.

Another piece, written in Longland's manner, is entitled, THE WARRES OF THE JEWES. This was a favourite subject, as I have before observed, drawn from the Latin historical romance, which passes under the name of HEGESIPPUS DE EXCIDIO HIERUSALEM.

In Tyberyus tyme the trewe emperour
Syr Sesar hym [self sessed'] in Rome

*

Whyl Pylot was provost under that prynce ryche
And [jewes] justice also in Judens londis
Herode under his empire as heritage wolde
King of Galile was ycallid whan that Crist deyad
They Sesar sakles wer, that oft syn hatide
Throw Pilet pyned he was and put on the rode
A pyler was down pygt* upon the playne erthe
His body [bownden"] therto beten with scourgis
Whippes of [wherebole"] bywent his white sides
Til he al on rede blode ran as rayn on the strete

[The present text has been collated with the Cott. MS. Calig. A. ii. The orthographical differences between this and the Laud MS. are numerous though not important. All its readings improv

1 suls saysed.

2

sewen.

ing the sense have been adopted; though this perhaps would have been wholly superfluous had the original_transcript been correctly made.-EDIT.]

6

3 This is the orthography observed for both though and they. It occurs again below: "they it," though it. pygt was don. 5 bouden. quyrbole ;—which might have stood, since it only destroys the alliteration to the eye.