Читать книгу The Discovery of Witchcraft - Reginald Scot - Страница 77

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The censure of G. Chaucer, upon the knaverie of Incubus.

OW will I (after all this long discourse of abhominable cloked knaveries) here conclude with certeine of G. Chaucers verses, who as he smelt out the absurdities of poperie, so found he the priests knaverie in this matter of Incubus, and (as the time would suffer him) he derided their follie and falshood in this wise:

*For ^{283 284} now the great charitie and praiers

Of limitors and other holie friers,

That searchen everie land and everie streame

As thicke as motes in the sunne beame,/68.

Blissing halles, kitchens, chambers & bowers,

Cities, borroghes, castels and hie towers,

Thropes, barnes, shepens, and dairies,

This maketh that there beene now no fairies;

For there as woont to walken was an elfe,

There walketh now the limitor himselfe,

In undermeales, and in mornings,

And saith his mattens and his holie things

As he goeth in his limitatiowne,

Women may go safelie up and downe,

In everie bush, and under everie tree,

There nis none other †Incubus²⁸⁵ but hee, &c.//