Whan Alifaundre fro Candace Cam ridend in a wilde place Under an hille a cave he fond, And Candalus, whiche in that lond Was bore and was Candaces fone, Him told, how that of comun wone The goddes were in thilke cave. And he that wolde affay and have A knoulechinge, if it be foth, Light of his hors and in he goth And fond therinne that he fought.
For through the fendes fleight him thought Amonges other goddes mo,
That Serapis spake to him tho,
Whom he figh there in great array. And thus the fend fro day to day The worship of ydolatrie Drough forth upon the fantasy
Of hem, that weren thanne blinde And couthen nought the trouthe finde. Thus haft thou herd in what degre Of Grece, Egipte and Caldee The mifbeleves whilom ftood, And how so that they be nought good Ne trewe, yet they fprongen oute, Wherof the wide worlde aboute His parte of misbeleve toke. Til fo befelle, as faith the boke, That god a people for him felve Hath chose of the lignages twelve,
Wherof the fothe redely,
As it is write in Genesy,
I thenke telle in fuche a wife, That it shall be to thin apprife.
After the flood, fro which Noe Was fauf, the worlde in his degre Was made as who faith new ayein Of flour, of fruit, of gras, of grein, Of beeft, of brid and of mankinde, Whiche ever hath be to god unkinde. For nought withstonding all the fare Of that this world was made fo bare, And afterward it was reftored, Among the men was nothing mored Towardes god of good living, But all was torned to liking After the flessh, so that foryete Was he, which yaf hem life and mete, Of heven and erthe creatour.
And thus cam forth the great errour, That they the highe god ne knewe, But maden other goddes newe, As thou haft herd me said to-fore. There was no man that time bore, That he ne had after his chois A god, to whom he yaf his vois, Wherof the misbeleve cam Into the time of Abraham. But he found out the righte wey, Howe only men fhuld obey
De Hebreorum feu Judeorum
fecta, quorum finagoga, ecclefia Chrifti fuperveniente, defecit.
The highe god, which weldeth all And ever hath done and ever shall In heven, in erth and eke in helle. There is no tunge his might may telle. This patriarch to his lignage Forbad, that they to none ymage Encline fholden in no wife,
But her offrende and facrifife With all the hole hertes love Unto the mighty god above They shulde yive and to no mo. And thus in thilke time tho
Began that fect upon this erthe, Whiche of beleves was the ferthe, Of rightwifneffe it was conceived, So must it nedes be received Of him, that alle right is inne, The highe god, which wolde winne A people unto his owne feith. On Abraham the ground he laith And made him for to multiply Into fo great a progeny,
That they Egipte all over spradde. But Pharao with wrong hem ladde In fervitude ayein the pees, Til god let fende Moises
To make the deliveraunce.
And for his people great vengeaunce He toke, which is to here a wonder. The king was flain, the lond put under,
God bad the redde fee devide, Which stood upright on every fide And yaf unto his people a wey, That they on foot it paffed drey And gone fo forth into defert, Where for to kepe hem in covert The daies whan the fonne brent A large cloude hem over went, And for to wiffen hem by night A firy piller hem alight.
And whan that they for hunger pleigne, The mighty god began to reine Manna fro heven down to grounde, Wherof that eche of hem hath founde His food, fuch right as him list. And for they shuld upon him trift Right as who set a tonne abroche, He percede the harde roche
And fpronge out water all at wille, That man and befte hath dronk his fille. And afterward he yaf the lawe
To Moises, that hem withdrawe
They fhulde nought fro that he bad.
And in this wife they be lad, Til they toke in poffeffion The londes of promiffion, Where that Caleph and Jofue The marches upon fuch degre Departen after the lignage, That eche of hem as heritage
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