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DIues. I here by thy talkyng thou art a lettred man / what canst thou saye to the wordes of Salomon Prouerb .xxx. Where he prayed thus. Mendicitatē & diuicias ne dederis michi / ne egestate compressus periurē nomen dei. Lorde he sayth gy∣ue me neyther grete richesse ne beggery that I be not cōstrayned by nede to for swere my goddes name / & holy chirche syngeth & sayth. Diuicias & pau{per}tates ne dederis michi. Lorde sayth he gyue me noo grete richesse / ne grete pouerte
wherby as me thynketh eche man shol¦de be besye to flee pouerte beggery and myschyef. ¶Pauper. I praye the be as besye to forsake thy richesse by ensam∣ple of Salomon / as thou art to fersake pouerte & beggerye. For in his prayer in whiche be conteyned moo wordes than thou rehersest / he forsoke bothe ri¦chesse and beggery. But thou doost as many men doon / thou alleggest the scrypture as the lyste / and applyest it to thy fantasye / and leuest behynde what the lyste whiche is ayenst thy fan¦tasye. The hole prayer of Salomon is this. Mendicitatem et diuicias ne dederis michi. Tribue tantum victui meo necessaria. Ne forte saciatus illi∣ciar ad negandum / et dicam quis est dominus / et egestate compulsus fu∣rer et periurem nomen dei mei. Beg∣gery he sayth and richesse ne gyue thou not to me / gyue thou oonly to my ly∣uelode nedefull thynges. Lest perauen∣ture I fulfylled be drawen to denye / and saye who is the lorde. And throu∣ghe nede constreyned stele / and forswe∣re the name of my god. After the expo¦sycyon of Beda and Lyra in this texte Salomon prayeth to god that he be not so fylled with richesses / that he for pryde & habondaunce of worldly goo∣des forgete his god and endeles goodes Also on that other syde that vnpacyen¦ce of pouerte compelle hym not to stele neyther to forswere hym. In whiche prayer he refuseth noo more pouerte / than he dooth habondaūce of richesse. But his prayer Indyfferentely behol∣deth grete richesse / and moche pouerte. Also syr saaf thy pacyence / thou reher∣sest the wordes of Salomons prayer with false Englysshe and not conueny¦ent. For he sayd not gyue me neyther richesse ne beggerye as thou saydeste. But he sayd gyue me rychesse and beg¦gerye. That is to saye / gyue me not ri¦chesse with nygardshyppe and strayt∣nesse of herte and couetyse / whiche ma¦ke the riche man alwaye to begge and craue. For as I sayd Ecclesiastes the .v. ca. The nygarde hath neuer ynough. And soo by these wordes he prayeth to god that yf he gyue hym richesse / that he sholde gyue hym therwith largenes¦se of herte / and grace to spende them to goddes worshyppe / & to haue good of his good by his lyfe. For as he sayth Ecclesiastes .vi. It is a grete myschy¦ue and a grete vanyte that god gyueth a man richesse / and goodes ynoughe what he wyll haue. And with that he gyueth hym no power for nygardshyp to haue parte therof / but kepeth theym to the straunger / whiche shall deuoure all that he getteth with moche care. Ayenst this myschyef and beggery of couetyse. Salomon made his prayer sayenge to the lorde / gyue me not ri∣chesse and beggerye togyder. For suche nygardshyppe and beggerye maketh riche men to forsake theyr god. So it is vnderstonde of beggerye & pouerte ye cometh of myscouetyse / not of po∣uerte and beggerye that cometh of ne∣de and wantynge of good. For the ri∣che man nedeth more to begge bodely than the poore. ¶Diues. That is fal¦se. ¶Pauper. I preue it. Dauyd that worthy kynge sayd. Ego autem men∣dicus sum et parper. I am sayd he a begger and a poore man / where as the glose sayth thus. Beggyng is to axe a
thynge of an other that he hath not of hym selfe. But the riche man nedeth more than the poore for to axe helpe of an other as I shewed here afore. Er∣go it nedeth hym more for to begge than the poore man. ¶Diues. Alle though we axe helpe of other men as vs nedeth all / yet we paye theym for theyr trauaylle and for theyr good / and therfore it is noo beggerye / but a couenaunte makynge / payeng / byeng / and sellynge. ¶Pauper. Full ofte ye paye full euyll. Thou askeste for the loue of the penye / and a poore nedy man axeth for the loue of god. Thou profferest men of whome thou axest bodely helpe the penye to theyr nede / and god prouffereth hym selfe to mede to theym that helpe poore men. ¶Di∣ues. All we be beggers goostly as sayth saynt Austyn / for we haue noo good goostly but of goddes gyfte. ¶Pauper Ergo we be all beggers bodely / for we haue noo good bodely but of goddes gyfte.