A pronostycacyon practysed by master Mathias Brothyel of Rauensburgh. Anno. 1545

¶ The fourth chapiter treateth of the frutes of this yere, and of the pryce of those thynges that belonge vnto the vse of man.

IN discribyng, or setting foorth thys Chapiter, we muste vse a more exacte dilygence & a more precise iudgemēt, that we geue none occasiō to these engrossers to exer∣cyse & occupy their engrossynge, whyche do scrape vp and gather together out of all places & coastes both wheate and o∣ther kyndes of graine, not only for their vse & profite, but also that thei may ther by get great gaynes & aduaūtage. Fur∣thermore Albuma. wryteth in the boke entytled Florū, de minus felici prouentu fructuum (that

is) of the vnkyndly yelde of fruites: and sayeth that when Venus is letted in the begynnynge of the yeare, and Mars is founde in the reuolucyon in Taurus, & Iupiter in Caprycorne, that then there shalbe a great wast of corne feldes, and a great dearth and scarcyte of all maner grayne and fruyte, aswel of that which groweth on trees, as of wheat & barly. And Ptholome also dothe wytnesse the same in his boke entytled Centiloquium, in the .lxxxxvii. cōclucion where he sayth when the fourth part of the yeare, & the lordes of the corners of the preuencyon shalbe weake & feable, that then al thing that do appertaine to the vse & profyte of men, to be both costly & deare. But Haly Abēragel in the .xxxi. cha. of the fruteful & vnfruitfull yeares sheweth. when the lorde doth stāde fortunatly in the preuē∣cional figure, & doth turne him self with a chereful coūtenaunce to Iupiter, then

the nature & influēce of the planettes are to geue vnto vs a very fruyteful & plē ty∣ful yeare▪ & a good & prosperous yelde of al thinges, so that I dare boldly affyrme and truely say that the groūde this yere shal yelde suffycyently al maner of fruy∣tes & grayne to the vse & profyte of men. Furthermore, we reade in many places of scripture, as in the .xxi. of Genesis. Al∣so in the .ii. boke of Samuel the .ii. Cha. Amos in the .viii. cha. That there hath bene ofte tymes a great & long penury of all thynges and intollerable famyn and dearth, namely we knowe this thyng to haue chaunced for the synful lyuynge of the people. So lykewyse, euen nowe at this season, except we amende & correcte our lyfe, great and horryble plages shall ensue therof. For God is gretly offended with oure synnes.