diff --git a/.github/workflows/action.yaml b/.github/workflows/action.yaml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c917820 --- /dev/null +++ b/.github/workflows/action.yaml @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +name: Deploy handbook + +on: + push: + branches: main + tags: + - v* +jobs: + deploy: + runs-on: ubuntu-latest + permissions: + contents: write + steps: + - name: Checkout + uses: actions/checkout@v4 + - name: Working directory check + run: | + pwd + ls + - name: Install Pandoc + uses: r-lib/actions/setup-pandoc@v2 + - name: Install XeLaTeX + run: sudo apt-get install -y texlive-xetex + - name: Download and install mainfont + run: | + wget -O Junicode.zip https://github.com/psb1558/Junicode-font/releases/download/v2.209/Junicode_2.209.zip + unzip Junicode.zip + mv Junicode/ /usr/share/fonts + fc-cache -fv + - name: Verify dependencies + run: | + pandoc --version + xetex --version + ls Junicode* + - name: Build + run: >- + pandoc + --metadata-file=./config/default.yaml + --pdf-engine=xelatex + --number-sections + --citeproc + documentation.md + -o documentation.pdf + - name: Verify build + run: ls documentation.pdf + - name: Release + uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1 + if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/') + with: + files: | + documentation.pdf + transcription-takamiya-23.xml diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore new file mode 100644 index 0000000..61704e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitignore @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +temp.* +*.pdf diff --git a/LICENSE b/LICENSE new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ea99c2 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE @@ -0,0 +1,395 @@ +Attribution 4.0 International + +======================================================================= + +Creative Commons Corporation ("Creative Commons") is not a law firm and +does not provide legal services or legal advice. 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Except for the limited purpose of indicating that +material is shared under a Creative Commons public license or as +otherwise permitted by the Creative Commons policies published at +creativecommons.org/policies, Creative Commons does not authorize the +use of the trademark "Creative Commons" or any other trademark or logo +of Creative Commons without its prior written consent including, +without limitation, in connection with any unauthorized modifications +to any of its public licenses or any other arrangements, +understandings, or agreements concerning use of licensed material. For +the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph does not form part of the +public licenses. + +Creative Commons may be contacted at creativecommons.org. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ce4f65 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +# Takamiya MS 23: a provisional machine-readable transcription of the *Piers Plowman* text + +Edited by Ian Cornelius and J. Eric Ensley + +Paul A. Broyles, technical co-editor + +## About this repository + +This repository contains a provisional, machine-readable transcription of the text of *Piers Plowman* in New Haven, Beinecke Library, Takamiya MS 23. +It also contains source files for the technical introduction to the transcription. +The transcription and introduction are released by GitHub Actions as an XML file and a PDF file, respectively. +GitHub Actions also builds the PDF file from source components. + +## License + +This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). diff --git a/bibl/items.yaml b/bibl/items.yaml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fed0654 --- /dev/null +++ b/bibl/items.yaml @@ -0,0 +1,228 @@ +--- +references: +- id: BurrowPiersPlowmanBversion2018 + citation-key: BurrowPiersPlowmanBversion2018 + collection-number: '1' + collection-title: PPEA Print Series + edition: XML version 2.0 + editor: + - family: Burrow + given: John A. + - family: Turville-Petre + given: Thorlac + event-place: Raleigh, NC + ISBN: 978-1-941331-15-6 + issued: + - year: 2018 + language: en + note: 'OCLC: 1043649023' + publisher: The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts + publisher-place: Raleigh, NC + source: Open WorldCat + title: 'Piers Plowman: the B-version archetype (Bx)' + title-short: B-version archetype + type: book + +- id: CorneliusTakamiyaMS232023 + author: + - family: Cornelius + given: Ian + - family: Ensley + given: J. Eric + citation-key: CorneliusTakamiyaMS232023 + container-title: The Journal of the Early Book Society + container-title-short: JEBS + ISSN: 1525-6790 + issued: + - year: 2023 + language: en + license: All rights reserved + page: 71-91 + title: >- + Takamiya MS 23, its exemplar, and the *editio + princeps* of *Piers Plowman* + title-short: Takamiya MS 23 + type: article-journal + volume: '26' + +- id: DawsonElizabethanHandwriting150016501966 + author: + - family: Dawson + given: Giles E. + - family: Kennedy-Skipton + given: Laetitia + call-number: 652.1 D272 + citation-key: DawsonElizabethanHandwriting150016501966 + event-place: New York + issued: + - year: 1966 + language: en + number-of-pages: ix+130 + publisher: Norton + publisher-place: New York + source: loyola-primo.com + title: 'Elizabethan handwriting, 1500-1650: a manual' + title-short: Elizabethan handwriting + type: book + +- id: DugganPiersPlowmanElectronic2014a + accessed: + - year: 2023 + month: 7 + day: 17 + citation-key: DugganPiersPlowmanElectronic2014a + collection-editor: + - family: Duggan + given: Hoyt N. + collection-number: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 + collection-title: The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts, Series A + edition: web ed. + editor: + - family: Duggan + given: Hoyt N. + - family: Adams + given: Robert + - family: Calabrese + given: Michael + - family: Eliason + given: Eric + - family: Hanna + given: Ralph + - family: Heinrichs + given: Katherine + - family: Jefferson + given: Judith + - family: Price-Wilkin + given: John + - family: Turville-Petre + given: Thorlac + issued: + - year: 2014 + language: en + original-date: + - year: 2000 + - year: 2014 + original-publisher: University of Michigan Press & D. S. Brewer + original-publisher-place: Ann Arbor & Woodbridge, Suffolk + publisher: The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts + title: The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive + type: book + URL: http://piers.chass.ncsu.edu/ + volume: 1-8 + +- id: JeffersonPiersPlowmanElectronic2014 + accessed: + - year: 2024 + month: 6 + day: 30 + citation-key: JeffersonPiersPlowmanElectronic2014 + collection-number: '11' + collection-title: SEENET Series A + editor: + - family: Jefferson + given: Judith + ISBN: 978-1-941331-11-8 + issued: + - year: 2014 + language: en + publisher: The Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts + title: >- + The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, vol. 8: Cambridge, Cambridge + University Library, MS Gg.4.31 (G) + title-short: Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.4.31 + type: book + URL: https://piers.chass.ncsu.edu/texts/G + +- id: KanePiersPlowmanBVersion1988 + citation-key: KanePiersPlowmanBVersion1988 + collection-editor: + - family: Kane + given: George + collection-title: 'Piers Plowman: the three versions' + edition: rev. ed. + editor: + - family: Kane + given: George + - family: Donaldson + given: E. Talbot + event-place: London and Berkeley + issued: + - year: 1988 + language: en + number-of-pages: vii, 681 pp. + publisher: Athlone Press and University of California Press + publisher-place: London and Berkeley + source: EBSCOhost + title: >- + Piers Plowman: the B version. Will's visions of Piers Plowman, Do-Well, + Do-Better and Do-Best. An edition in the form of Trinity College Cambridge + MS B.15.17, corrected and restored from the known evidence, with variant + readings + title-short: 'Piers Plowman: B version' + type: book + +- id: ParkesEnglishCursiveBook1969 + author: + - family: Parkes + given: M. B. + call-number: Z115 E5 P37 1980 (LC)+ Oversize + citation-key: ParkesEnglishCursiveBook1969 + event-place: Oxford + ISBN: 0-520-04080-5 + issued: + - year: 1969 + publisher: Oxford University Press + publisher-place: Oxford + source: orbis.library.yale.edu Library Catalog + title: English cursive book hands, 1250–1500 + type: book + +- id: ParkesPauseEffectIntroduction1993 + author: + - family: Parkes + given: M. B. + call-number: P301.5.P86 P37 1992 + citation-key: ParkesPauseEffectIntroduction1993 + event-place: Berkeley + ISBN: 0-520-07941-8 + issued: + - year: 1993 + language: en + number-of-pages: '327' + publisher: University of California Press + publisher-place: Berkeley + source: www.franklin.library.upenn.edu Library Catalog + title: Pause and effect. An introduction to the history of punctuation in the West + title-short: Pause and Effect + type: book + +- id: PettiEnglishLiteraryHands1977 + author: + - family: Petti + given: Anthony G. + call-number: Z115.E5 P47 + citation-key: PettiEnglishLiteraryHands1977 + event-place: Cambridge, MA + ISBN: 978-0-674-25666-8 + issued: + - year: 1977 + language: en + number-of-pages: ix+133 + publisher: Harvard University Press + publisher-place: Cambridge, MA + source: loyola-primo.com + title: English literary hands from Chaucer to Dryden + type: book + +- id: TEIConsortiumTEIP5Guidelines2024 + citation-key: TEIConsortiumTEIP5Guidelines2024 + edition: Version 4.8.0. Last updated on 2nd September 2024 + editor: + - literal: TEI Consortium + issued: + - year: 2024 + title: 'TEI P5: Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange' + title-short: TEI P5 + type: book + URL: http://www.tei-c.org/Guidelines/P5/ +... diff --git a/config/default.yaml b/config/default.yaml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..46981c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/config/default.yaml @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +--- +mainfont: Junicode +fontsize: 12pt +geometry: margin=1in +link-citations: True +colorlinks: true +linkcolor: blue +secnumdepth: 3 +toc: True +bibliography: bibl/items.yaml +--- diff --git a/documentation.md b/documentation.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dbca5c8 --- /dev/null +++ b/documentation.md @@ -0,0 +1,377 @@ +--- +title: Technical Introduction +subtitle: For the Provisional Transcription of the *Piers Plowman* Text in Takamiya MS 23 +author: Ian Cornelius +date: October 7 2024 +--- + +\newfontfamily\myfont{Ubuntu} +\newcommand{\myalpha}{\begingroup\myfontα \endgroup} +\newcommand{\mybeta}{\begingroup\myfontβ \endgroup} +\newpage + +# Summary overview + +The XML file `transcription-takamiya-23.xml` contains a provisional transcription of the text of *Piers Plowman* as transmitted in New Haven, Beinecke Library, Takamiya MS 23 (*olim* London, Sion College, MS Arc. L.40. 2/E), designated sigil 'S' in the textual scholarship. +For description of the manuscript and its text, see @CorneliusTakamiyaMS232023, with references. +This document serves as a technical introduction to the transcription file and policies that inform it. + +The transcription agrees approximately with *TEI P5 Guidelines for Electronic Text Encoding and Interchange* and the conventions of published documentary editions of *The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive* (*PPEA*). +See @TEIConsortiumTEIP5Guidelines2024 and @DugganPiersPlowmanElectronic2014a]. +These authorities differ in detail; the present documentation does not attempt to reconcile them. +Readers are referred to *TEI P5 Guidelines* for additional commentary on individual elements. + +The transcription differs from published *PPEA* editions in presenting a bare diplomatic transcription, without a textual apparatus or editorial notes of any kind. +It also differs from published editions in not being peer reviewed. +For bibliographical and licensing details, see [Licensing and Citation]. + +# Document history and responsibility + +The initial transcription was produced by Matt Davis, J. Eric Ensley, Jim Knowles, and Timothy L. Stinson in 2014, based on archival-grade TIFF scans of the manuscript, captured in the Beinecke Library's digitization lab in that year. +In 2017 responsibility for the transcription passed to Ensley and Ian Cornelius as co-editors, assisted by Paul A. Broyles as technical co-editor. +Additional contributions were made by Jesse McDowell and Chelsea Skalak. +Cornelius is responsible for documentation. + +As co-editors Cornelius and Ensley have checked the transcription in full against the TIFF scans, spot-checked against the manuscript in cases of doubt, and aligned the transcription with articulated policy. + +# Document structure + +The `body` element of the transcription file supplies a complete transcription of the *Piers Plowman* text. +Divisions of the text into *passus* are recorded within `div1` elements. +For instance, the text of the Prologue is wrapped within the tags + +``` {.xml} + +... + +``` + +The `sample` attribute records that the transcription is complete, that is, comprises the entire text transmitted in the manuscript. +This value makes no claim about the completeness of the manuscript. + +Divisions of leaf and side are recorded by the element `milestone`,[^milestone] for instance: + +``` {.xml} + +``` + +[^milestone]: The element `milestone` also redundantly records divisions of *passus*, in agreement with current practices of *PPEA*. +See for instance the XML source of @JeffersonPiersPlowmanElectronic2014. + +Bibliographical signatures, entered by the scribe to record the sequence of gatherings and leaves, are recorded within `fw` elements, for instance: + +``` {.xml} +A2 +``` + +Discourse lines (each usually construable as one complete metrical line of alliterative verse) are recorded within `l` elements and have the attributes `xml:id`, `n`, and `n_Bx`. +These attributes have the following semantics: + +- `xml:id` Consecutive numbering of discourse lines within *passus*, as transmitted by the manuscript. +This attribute supplies a unique identifier for units of transcription. +- `n` Cross-reference to the corresponding line or lines in @KanePiersPlowmanBVersion1988. +- `n_Bx` Cross-reference to the corresponding line or lines in @BurrowPiersPlowmanBversion2018.[^Bx] + +[^Bx]: An earlier version of @BurrowPiersPlowmanBversion2018 is available online at . +The attribute `n_Bx` is a customized addition in this transcription of Takamiya 23, unsupported by *PPEA* validation schemas. + +Accordingly, the first line of *Piers Plowman* as transmitted by the Takamiya manuscript is encoded as + +``` {.xml} +And cam vp kneling / to kisse + his bulles +``` + +Subsequent line-number references in this documentation are to the values of the attribute `xml:id` in `l` elements. + +Marginalia are recorded within `marginalia` elements. +The attribute `id` anchors each `marginalia` element to the nearest `l` element. +Some `marginalia` elements supply a transcription of the marginal inscription (e.g., S.15.98.m.1); others only flag the existence of a marginal inscription (e.g., S.15.392.m.1). + +# Transcription + +## Character encoding + +The transcription file employs UTF-8 character encoding. +The scribe's Tironian logograph for English *and* and Latin *et* is transcribed by the XML character entity `&`. +The transcription employs these non-ASCII characters: + +- Small and capital thorn: *þ* (U+00fe) and *Þ* (U+00de) +- Small and capital yogh: *ȝ* (U+021d) and *Ȝ* (U+021c) +- Small *o* with tilde: *õ* (U+00f5) +- Small *i* with tilde: *ĩ* (U+0129) +- Small Greek alpha and beta: \myalpha (U+03b1) and \mybeta (U+03b2) + +The characters *õ* and *ĩ* are employed in transcription of *nomina sacra* only: see [*Nomina sacra*]. +The characters \myalpha and \mybeta are employed in cross-references to @KanePiersPlowmanBVersion1988. + +The scribe writes an undifferentiated *þ*/*y* graph, transcribed as *þ* or *y*, depending on the phonetic value of the graph and the spelling conventions in Middle English manuscripts that distinguish these letters.[^thorn-y] +The *ȝ*/*z* graph is similarly disambiguated. + +[^thorn-y]: This policy is supported by the scribe's care to differentiate forms otherwise homographic. +For instance, though the scribe writes a single form for *þ* and *y*, ÞOU and YOU are precisely distinguished in the writing system: the scribe always writes YOU in full, without abbreviation, whereas ÞOU is written either with initial *th-*, as *thou*, or with the *y/þ* graph and superscripted *u*. + + +Allographs are not differentiated in the transcription, except that we aim to record majuscules as capitals. +For the letters *B*, *D*, *H*, *K*, *L*, *V*, and *W*, the scribe has a continuum of forms, running between unambiguous minuscule and unambiguous majuscule. +Where these seven letters appear in word-initial position, the choice to transcribe as lower case or capital is often arbitrary. + +Large two-lobed "buckled" *a* is transcribed as capital *A* in all instances.[^buckled-a] +Initial double *f* is transcribed as *F*. +Majuscule *I/J* is transcribed as *I*. +We follow the scribe's disposition of *u* and *v*. + +[^buckled-a]: For this graph see @PettiEnglishLiteraryHands1977 [plates 13, 17, and 24]; and @DawsonElizabethanHandwriting150016501966 [plates 3 and 7]. + +## Line division + +Where a discourse line runs across two or more text lines, line breaks are recorded with the tag ``: for instance, S.1.32. +Overflow onto an adjacent line at the right margin is not tagged. +Instead, we record the punctuation-marks entered by the scribe around the textual overflow, usually a double *virgula*: for instance, S.5.291. + +## Punctuation + +Marks of punctuation are transcribed with the nearest corresponding ASCII character: + +- full stop (`.`) for *punctus* +- slash (`/`) for straight sloping *virgula suspensiva* +- comma (`,`) for smaller semicircular *virgula suspensiva* +- question mark (`?`) for question mark or *punctus percontativus*[^percontativus] + +[^percontativus]: The scribe's form opens to the right. See @ParkesPauseEffectIntroduction1993 [53 and plates 34 and 35] and @PettiEnglishLiteraryHands1977 [plates 53 and 54]. + + +Scribal spacing around punctuation-marks is not retained: punctuation-marks within the line are transcribed with a space-character before and after. +Line-ending punctuation-marks are transcribed with a single preceding space-character. + +## Tagged features + +Text segments with distinctive features are enclosed within tags, as follows: + +- `add` encloses text added by the scribe as correction. + The location of the added text is recorded with the attribute `location`. + Values are `inline` and `supralinear`. +- `choice` encloses certain scribal abbreviations and their expanded forms, with child elements `abbrev` and `expan`. See [*Nomina sacra*]. +- `damage` encloses text affected by post-production damage to the manuscript, usually cropping of leaves. +- `del` encloses text deleted by the scribe. + Methods of deletion are distinguished with the attribute `rend`. + Values are `blotted`, `linedThrough`, `overwritten`, and `razedOut`. +- `expan` encloses alphabetic characters supplied in transcription as expansions of scribal abbreviations. See [Abbreviations]. +- `foreign` encloses text not in English. + Language identity is recorded with the attribute `xml:lang`. + Values are `LAT` (Latin) and `FRE` (French). +- `hi` encloses text with graphic features different from the scribe's usual writing. + The quality of the difference is recorded with the attribute `rend`. + Values are `ul` (underlined text), `boxed` (boxed text), `tx` (engrossing script), and `displayScript` (engrossing script).[^tx] + We assume that the scribe's notional unit of underlining was the word: when, as often, an underline fails to coincide with word boundaries, the partially underlined word is transcribed as underlined in full or not at all, according to our interpretation of the scribe's intentions. +- `sic` encloses uncorrected scribal slips of the pen. +- `unclear` encloses unclear or illegible text. + Illegible letters are recorded as full stops. + +Examples of these tags may be found by searching the XML file. + +[^tx]: To the extent that the scribe differentiated two grades of engrossing script, the one designated `tx` in the transcription is used for Latin, while the one designated `displayScript` is used for openings of page and *passus*. +Yet the two grades shade into one another: a saner policy would recognize a single engrossing script, avoiding over-fine distinctions. + +## Abbreviations + +### General policies on abbreviations + +To the extent possible, scribal abbreviations are expanded in accordance with unabbreviated forms elsewhere in the manuscript. +Latin text presents few difficulties, but otiose strokes and spelling variation in the English text generate difficulties typical of medieval and early modern forms of this language [see @ParkesEnglishCursiveBook1969, xxix--xxx]. + +For lexical items with variable spelling, the majority spelling determines the expansion of abbreviated forms. +For lexical items always abbreviated by the scribe, expansion is guided by the usual value of a given mark of abbreviation in this manuscript and by common spelling conventions of sixteenth-century English. +An example is SERVANT, a word always abbreviated in the scribe's writing but plausibly expanded as + +``` {.xml} +seruaunt +``` + + +### Treatment of *tittle* + +Superscripted bar or *tittle* presents well-known difficulties [@DawsonElizabethanHandwriting150016501966, 19-20; @PettiEnglishLiteraryHands1977, 22]. +We treat this mark as an abbreviation only where the resulting expanded form is confirmed in the scribe's unabbreviated spellings. +*Tittles* judged non-abbreviatory are simply ignored in the transcription. +This policy has the following general results: + +- *Tittle* is ignored as non-abbreviatory in *man*, *can*, *gan*, *son*, and similar forms, for double -*nn* never appears in word-final position in the scribe's unabbreviated spellings. +- *Tittle* is usually expanded to *n* in the context of *-Vne* and *-Vne-*, where *V* is a vowel other than *u*. + For instance, *sone* with *tittle* is transcribed as `sonne` and *manes* with *tittle* is transcribed as `mannes`. + Spellings with medial double *-nn-* regularly occur in this context. +- *Tittle* is ignored as non-abbreviatory in the context of *-une*, for such words are never spelled with double *n*. + For instance, DOWN is always spelled *doune*, whether *tittle* is present or not. +- Expansion contexts for *m* differ from those to *n*. + For instance, *some* with *tittle* is not expanded to *somme*, as the unabbreviated spelling *somme* does not occur. + +These patterns of scribal spelling are obviously motivated to avoid minim confusion. +That is, the scribe's unabbreviated spellings are themselves constrained, and this observation exposes a logical fault in the treatment of unabbreviated spellings as a neutral 'decoding key' for marks of abbreviation. + +An alternative approach would transcribe *tittle* with a special glyph, as a functional component of the scribe's writing system, in certain cases possibly irreducible to any alphabetic character string. +Support for such an approach comes from lexical items in which *tittle* may serve to disambiguate forms otherwise homographic. +An example is supplied by the array of spellings for SOON, SON, and SUN (*tittle* is recorded by a trailing tilde [`~`]): + +- SOON: *sone* (21x) +- SON: *son\~* (28x), *sone\~* (5x), *son* (1x), *sonne* (1x), *sonne\~* (1x) +- SUN: *sonne\~* (12x), *sonne* (8x) + +In the five instances of *sone\~* SON, *tittle* has diacritic function, distinguishing the base spelling *sone* from both *sone* SOON and *sonne* SUN: that is, the form *sone\~* is unambiguous only so long as *tittle* is neither ignored nor expanded. +On this evidence, *tittle* is a functional component of the scribe's orthography, but not a central component.[^poor] + +[^poor]: The array of spellings for POOR and POWER supplies another example of a mark of abbreviation serving to distinguish lexical items otherwise homographic. +The scribe writes POOR as *poore* (12x), *pore* (6x), *poor* (1x), or *pou'* with *-er/-re* abbreviation (64x), whereas POWER is written as *poure*, always without abbreviation (23x). +The sole exceptions to this pattern are S.13.257 and S.14.236, where POWER is written with the *-er/-re* abbreviation; +and S.15.338, where POOR is written as *poure*, without abbreviation. +The usual form of each word is illustrated in S.3.169: `poure men maie haue no poure`. + + +### *Nomina sacra* + +Uniquely in transcription of *nomina sacra*, we employ a markup syntax that permits representation of both the scribe's brevigraph and a transliterated expansion. +This is done with the element `choice` and its child elements `abbrev` and `expan`, for instance: + +``` {.xml} +xpĩcristi +``` + +Brevigraphs are transcribed in Roman letters and expanded in agreement with unabbreviated spellings elsewhere in the manuscript. +The transcription employs the following value-pairs for `abbrev` and `expan`: + +- `Ihu` : `Iesu` +- `Ihus` : `Iesus` +- `xp` : `crist` +- `xi` : `cristi` +- `xpĩ` : `cristi` +- `xpm` : `cristum` +- `xpõ` : `cristo` +- `xps` : `cristus` + +## Word division + +### Words divided by the scribe + +Contiguous morphs treated by the *Oxford English Dictionary* (*OED*) as constituents of a single word, but written with separating spaces by the scribe, are joined by a shadow hyphen in the transcription. +For instance: + +``` {.xml} +them-self +``` + +### Words joined by the scribe + +Morphs treated by the *OED* as separate words, but run together by the scribe, are run together in the transcription, preserving scribal word-division. +As this policy leaves affected forms unmarked in the transcription, their existence is recorded in this documentation, as follows. + +- __Negation of a noun or adjective phrase with *no*__. +The negative particle *no* may be run together with the following word: +*noking* (1x), +*nolesse* (1x), +*noman* (31x), +*nomo* (1x), +*nomore* (13x), +*nowise* (2x). +In each case the following word is monosyllabic and the combined form is construable as a single accentual group. + +- __Negation of a verb phrase with *not*__. +The negative adverb *not* may be run together with a preceding verb. +Most instances involve an auxiliary or form of *be*: +*benot* (1x), +*couldnot* (1x), +*darenot* (2x), +*hadnot* (1x), +*maynot* (17x), +*shallnot* (2x), *shalnot* (1x), +*shaltnot* (1x), +*willnot* (7x), *wilnot* (7x), +*woldnot* (1x). +More rarely, a lexical verb is involved: +*carenot* (1x), +*lokenot* (1x), +*workethnot* (1x), +*wotnot* (2x). +The form *workethnot* is the only item involving a disyllable. + +- __Auxiliaries followed by *be*__. +*Shall* and *will* are run together with following *be* or *become*: +*shalbe* (31x), +*wilbe* (10x), +*wilbecome* (1x). +These combined forms have reduction of double *-ll*, seen also in *shalnot*, *wilnot*, *alabout*, and *welnere*. +The two-word form *shall be* does not occur. + +- __Phrasal verbs__. +A phrasal verb may be run together with the following adverb: +*drawnfourth* (1x), +*rapdoune* (1x). + +- __Pronominal subjects__. +A pronominal subject may be run together with in following verb: +*theygo* (1x), +*theybeleue* (1x). + +- __Adjectives and quantifiers__. +An adjective or quantifier may be run together with the head noun: +*anyman* (3x), +*allmankynde* (1x), +*euilspeche* (1x), +*lefthande* (2x), +*lyfeholymen* (1x), +*poremen* (1x), +*poureman*/*-men* (3x.). + +- __Prepositions__. +Prepositions may be run together with the following element: +*atones* (4x), +*forthat* (2x), +*ina* (1x), +*incase* (5x), +*infeith* (1x), +*onhighe* (2x). +Several of these could be classified instead a compound adverbs. +*Forthat* functions as a compound conjunction. + +- __Adverbs__. +A monosyllabic adverb may be run together with the following element: +*alaboute* (1x), +*asmuch* (3x), +*aswell* (2x), +*howlong* (2x), +*howoft* (1x). +*somuche* (6x), +*therbe* (2x), +*thusmuche* (1x), +*welnere* (1x). +The instances with *how* are conjunctive, introducing an indirect question. + +### Ambiguous cases + +Where the scribe's spacing is inconclusive, permitting interpretation with or without word division, the transcription errs on the side of modern usage, as defined by the *OED*. +Forms affected by this treatment are: + +> +*a while* (S.18.168), +*hellewarde* (S.18.117), +*forfare* (S.15.139), +*forsworne* (S.19.375), +*godhede* (S.9.47), +*palfreyes mete* (S.19.421), +*sometyme* (S.16.46, S.16.47), +*tomorowe* (S.2.45), +*westmynstre* (S.20.282), +*without* (S.5.633) + +## Elision and contraction + +Scribal elisions and contractions are preserved. +For instance: *thaungell* and *tamende*. + +# Licensing and citation + +This documentation and the XML file `transcription-takamiya-23.xml` are released under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). + +An adequate citation is: + +> Cornelius, Ian, J. Eric Ensley, and Paul A. Broyles, eds. 2024. *New Haven, Beinecke Library, Takamiya MS 23: A Provisional Machine-Readable Transcription of the "Piers Plowman" Text*. Version 0 [2024-10-07]. . + +# Bibliography diff --git a/transcription-takamiya-23.xml b/transcription-takamiya-23.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de6e4ab --- /dev/null +++ b/transcription-takamiya-23.xml @@ -0,0 +1,7824 @@ + + + + + + + + The Piers Plowman Electronic Archive: New Haven, Beinecke Library, Takamiya MS 23 (S) + + Ian Cornelius + + + J. Eric Ensley + co-editor + + + Paul Broyles + technical co-editor + + + Matt Davis, Jim Knowles, Jesse McDowell, Chelsea Skalak, and Timothy L. Stinson + contributors + + + + A provisional machine-readable transcription + + + 2024 + GitHub + + Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license + + + +

The transcription is based on archival-grade TIFF scans of New Haven, Beinecke Library, Takamiya MS 23, captured in the Beinecke Library's digitization lab in 2014 and spot-checked against the manuscript. Transcription policies are supplied in external documentation.

+ + + New Haven + Beinecke Library + Takamiya MS 23 + + + + William Langland, Piers the Plowman (Takamiya MS 23). General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. + + + + + + + + + +

+ + Attribute Values + + + textura + + + + underlined + + +

+ + + + + English + French + Latin + + + + + + + + + + + + [no heading] + And cam vp kneling / to kisse his bulles + he bunched them with his breuet / & blerid their eyis + and raught with his ragman / both ringes & broches + Thus they giue their golde / glotons for to kepe + And lendith hit such loselles / as lecherie haunte + Were the bisshope blissed / and worth bothe his eyis + His seale shulde not be sent / to deceiue the people + And hit is not by the bisshop wonlie / þat the boye preachethe + For the parish preist and the pardoner part the siluer + That the pore of the parishe / shulde haue if they ne were + Parsons and parishe preistes / pleyne them to the bisshops + That their parisshes were pore / sith the pestilence tyme + To haue a licence and lieue / at London to dwell + To syng there for Symony / for siluer is swete + Bisshops and bachelers / bothe maisters & doctors + That haue cure vnder Chryst / and crowning in tokin + And signe that they shulde / shriue their parisshens + Preach and prey for them / and the poore fede + Lying at london / in lenton and ellis + Some serue the king / and his siluer telle + In Cheker and in Chauncerie / chalenge his dettes + Of wardes and wardemotes / of weifes and strais + And some serue as seruauntes / lordes and ladies + And in stead of stiwardes / they sitt and deme + Their mateyns and masses / & many of their houres + Are done vndevoutly / drede is at the last + Lest Chryst in Consistorie / Acurse full many + I perceyuid of the poure / that Peter had to kepe + To bynde & vnbynde / as the booke tellithe + how he left hit with loue / as oure lord hight + Among foure vertues / the best of all vertues + That Cardinals bene callid / and closing gates + There Chryst is in kingdome / to close and to shett + And to open to them / and hevins blisse shewe + And of the Cardynals at court / that caught of þat name + And poure presumed in them / A Pope to make + To haue the poure that Peter had / inpungne I nyll + For in loue and letter / the eleccion belongithe + Therfor I can & cannot / of Court speake more + Than came there a king / knyghthode him ledd + A2 + + Myght of the commons / made him to reigne + Then cam kynde witt / and clerkes he made + To counsell the king / and the commons to saue + The king and knighthode / and Clergie bothe + Did cast that the Commons shulde them-self fynde + The Comons contrivid / of kinde witt craftes + And for profit of all the people / Plowmen ordeyned + To tille and to travaile / as true life askethe + The king and the Comons / & kyndwitt the thirde + Shope lawe and leautie / eueryman to knowe his oune + Then lokid vp a Lunatike / a leane thing withall + And kneling to the kyng / Clerkelie he said + Chryst kepe the syr king / and thi kingdome + And lende the to lede thy lande so / leautie the louith + And for thy rightfull ruling / be rewardid in heaven + and sithens in the Eyre onhighe / an angell of heauen + Loude spoke in Latine / for lewde men ne coulde + Iangle nor Iudge / that iustifie them shulde + But serue and suffre / therfor said thaungell + Sum rex sum princeps , neutrum fortasse deinceps . + O qui iura regis , xpĩcristi spetialia regis . + Hoc quod agas melius , iustus es , esto pius . + Nudum ius a te , vestiri vult pietate . + Qualia vis metere , talia grana sere . + Si ius nudatur , nudo de iure metatur . + Si seritur pietas , de pietate metas . + Then grevid him a goliarde / a gloton of wordis + And to thaungell onhighe / answerid after , thus + Dum Rex a regere , dicatur nomen habere + Nomen habet sine re , nisi studet iura tenere + Then beganne all the comons , crie in a verse of Latyne + To the kinges counsell / construe who-so wolde + Precepta Regis , sunt nobis vincula legis + With that ranne there a rout / of Ratons atones + And smale mies with them / more then a thousande + And came to a counsell / for the common profyt + For a Catt of the Countrie / cam when he Liked + And ouerlepe them lightlie / & lest them at his will + And pleyid with them perilouslie / and possid about + for dout of diuerse dredes / we darenot well loke + And if we gruche at his game / he will greue vs all + + Crache vs and clawe vs / & in his clowches holde + That we lothe the lyfe / ere he lattith vs passe + Might we with any wit / his will withstande + We myght be lordes alofte / & liue at oure ease + A Ratton of renounne / most renable of tung + Seyd for a souereyne helpe to him-self + I haue sene segges quod he / in the Citie of London + Bere byes full bright / about their neckis + And some Colers of craftie worke / vncoupled they went + Both in wareyne and in wast / where them-self likid + And other while they are ellis where / as I here tell + Were there a belle on their byes / by IhuIesu as me thinkes + Men myght wot where they went and awaie renne + And right so quod that Ratton / reason me shewithe + To bie a belle of brasse / ofr of bright syluer + And knyt yt on his collere / for oure commone profyt + + Whether he ryde or rest / or elles rennyth to playe + Yf him lust for to lake / then loke we maye + And pere in his presence / while him pley liketh + And if he wrathe beware / & his waie shoneye + All the rout of ratons / to this reason they assentid + And then the belle was brought / & on the byes hangid + There was no ratt in all þe rout / for all the realme of fraunce + That durst haue bounde the belle / about the cattes necke + Ne hang it about the Cattes halse / all Englande to wynne + But helde them vnhardie / and their counsell feble + And lett ther labour lost / and all their long studie + A mouse that muche good coulde as me thought + Stert furthe sternelie / & stode before them all + And to the rout of Ratons / rehercid these wordes + Though we kille this Catte / yet sholde there come another + To cach vs and all oure kynde / though we crept vnder benches + Therfor I counsell all you Comons / to lat the cat alone + And be not we so bolde / the belle him for to shewe + for I harde my syre saye / full seven yere ypassed + There the Catte is a kytton / the court is full hevie + That witnesseth holie writ / who-so will it rede + Ve terre vbi puer rex est + For maye noman his rest haue / for Ratons by nyght + The while he cachith conyes / he covetith not oure careyne + But fedith him all with venison / defame we him neuer + Far better is a litill losse / then a long sorowe + The maze among vs all / though we misse a shrewe / + A3 + + For many a mannes malt / we mies wolde distroye + And the rout of ratons / rende mennis clothes + Were not the Catte of the court / that can vs ouerlepe + for had ye rattes your will / you coulde not rule your-seluis + I saie for me quod the mouse / I se so muche after + Shall neuer the Catte nor kitton / by my counsell be greved + Ne carping of this Coller / that neuer cost me ought + And though hit had cost me catell / beknoune hit I nolde + But suffre as him-self wolde / to do as him liketh + Coupled and vncoupled / to cache what they maye + Therfor ech wise wight I warne / wite well his oune + What this dreame menethe / ye men that be merye + Devine ye for I dare not / by dere god in heaven + Yet houid there an hundred / in hoodes of silke + Sergeantes hit besemed / that serue at the barre + Pleading for pens / and poundes the lawe + And not for loue of the lorde / vnlosen their lippes ones + Thou myghtest better mete / the mist on Maluerne hillis + Then get a Mumme of their mouth / till money be shewid + Barons and burgeises / and bond-men also + I se in this assemblie / as ye shall here after + Bacsters and brewsters / and bochers manie + wollen websters / and weavers of lynnen + Tailors and tynkers / and tollers in markettes + Masons and Mynors / & many other craftes + Of all kynd libbing Laborers / Lept furth some + As dykers and deluers / that do their dedes yll + And dryue furthe the long daie with| dieux saue dame Emme + Cookes and their knauis / Cryid hote pies hote + Good goos and grice / go we dyne go we / + Tauerners vnto them / tolde the same + Whight wine of Ozeye / & red wine of Gascoigne + of the ryn and of the Rochell / the roste to defie + All this se I sleping / and vij tymes more / + + + + Passus primus de visione + What this Mounteyne / menith and this darke dale + And the feilde full of folke / I shall you feyr shewe + A louelie Ladie of lere / in lynen clothed + Cam doune from a castell / and callid me faire + Seying sonne slepist thou / seist thou this people + + How busie they bene all / aboute the maze + The more part of people / that passethe this waie + Haue they worshipe in this worlde / they will no better + Of other heauen then here / holde they no tale + I was aferde of hir face / though she fair were + And said mercie madame / what is this to mene + The tour vpon the tofte quod she truthe is therin + And wolde that ye wrought / as the his worde teachethe + For he is father of feithe / that formid you all + Bothe with felle and face / & gaue you fiue wittes + for to worship him therwith the while ye be here + And therfor he haue made therthe / to helpe you echone + With wollen and lynnen / & with liuelode at nede + In measurable mannere / to make you at ease + And commaundid of his curtesie / in commune iij thinges + Arne non nedefull but those / and name them I thinke + And reken them by reason / Reherce ye them after + The won is vesture / from colde the to saue + And meat att meall / for disease of thy-self + drinke when thou art drie / and do nought of reason + That thou were the worse / when thou shuldest worke + For loth in his lyfedaies / for liking of drinke + did with his doughters / that the devill liked + Delighted him in drinke / as the deuill wolde + And lecherie him laught / and lay by them bothe + And all he wyte it the wine / that wikid dede + Inebriamus eum vino , dormiamusque cum eo vt seruare Possimus de patre nostro semen . + Through wyne and wemmen / there was loth accombred + And there gat in glotonie / girles that were churles + Therfor drede delectable drinke / & thou shalt do the better + Measure is medicine / though thou ernest muche + All is not good for the ghost / that the gutte askethe + Nor liuelode to thy liking / for a liere him teacheth + That is the wrechid worlde / wolde the betraie + for the feinde and the fleshe / folowe the together + This and that seithe thy soule / and seythe it in thi hart + A4 + + And for thou sholdest beware / I telle the the best + Madame mercie quod I / me likethe well youre wordes + And the money of this worlde / that men so fast holdethe + Telle me to whome madame / that treasure belongeth + Go to the gospell quod she / that god said him-self + Where the people him apposed / with a penie in the temple + Whether they shulde therwithe / worship the king Cesar + And god asked at them / of whome spake the letter + And thymage like / that therin standithe + Cesaris they said / we se him well echone + Reddite Cesari quod Christe / that to Cesar belongethe + Et que sunt dei deo / or ellis ye do evill + for rightfull reason / shulde rule you all + And kinde wit be wardeine / your welthe to kepe + And tutor of your treasour / and take you at nede + For husbondrie and he / holden to-gethers + Then I freynid hir faire / for him that me made + That doungeon in the dale / that dreadfull is of sight + What maie it be to mene / Madame I you beseche + That is the castill of care / who-so commethe therin + Maie banne that he was borne / to bodie or to soule + Therein wonneth a wight / that wrong is ycallid + Father of falshede / and founded hit himself + Adam and Eue / he eggid to euill + Counsellid Cayme / to kille his naturall brother + Iudas he iaped / withe Iewes siluer + And sithen on an Eldertre hangid him after + he is letter of loue / and deceyuith them all + That trust on his treasure / betrayeth he sonest + Then had I wonder in my witt / what womman it was + That such wise wordes / of holie writ shewid + And asked hir on the high name / ere she thens went + What she were trulie / that instruct me so faire + Holie churche I am quod she / thou oughtest me to knowe + I first receyuid the / and the feithe taught + Thou broughtest me borrowes / my biddinges to fulfill + And to loue me trulie / while thy lyfe dureth + Then I knelid on my kneis / and cried hir of grace + And preid hir pitiouslie / to pray for my synnes + And also kenne me kyndlie / on Christ to beleue / + + That I might worke his will / Þat wrought me to man + Teache me to no tresure / but tell me this same + howe I maie saue my soule / that saynt art holden + When all treasures are tried quod she / truthe is the best + I do it on Deus caritas / to deme the sothe + hit is as dereworthie a thing / as dere god himself + Who-so is true of his tong / and tellithe non other + And dothe the workes therwith / and willethe noman yll + He is a god by the gospell / agrounde and alofte + And like to oure lorde / by seynt Lukes wordes + The clerkes that knowe this / shulde telle it about + for cristen and vncristen / cleymeth it echeone + Kinges and knightes / shulde kepe it by reason + Ride and rapdoune / in Realmes aboute + And take Transgressors / and tye them fast + Till truthe had determid / their trespasse to thende + + And that is the profession apertlie / Þat longith to knightes + And not to fast one fridaie / in fyue score wnter + But holde with him and with hir / that wolde all truthe + And neuer leue them for loue / nor for laching of siluer + + For dauid in his daies / dubbed knightes + And did them swere on their sworde / to serue truthe euer + And who-so passed that poynt / was apostata in the order + But Christ the noyntid king / knighthede tene + Cherubin and Seraphin / suche sevin and other + And gaf them might / in his maiestie / the merier them thought + And over his mene meynie / made them Archaungelles + Taught them by the trinitie / truth to knowe + To be buxome at his bidding / he bad them nought ellis + Lucifer with legions / lerned hit in heauen + + But for he brake buxumnesse / his blisse did he lose + And fell from that felowship / in a fendes likenesse + In-to a derk depe hell / to dwelle there for euer + And mo thousandes with him / than man coude nombre + Lept out with Lucifer / in Lothelie forme + for they beleuid vpon him / that lyed in this manere + Ponam pedem in aquilone , et similis ero altissimo . + And all that hopid it might be so / no heauen might them holde + But felle out in fendes likenesse / nyne daies together + Till god of his goodnes / began to stable and stint + And caused heuin to shett / and stand in quiet + When these wicked went out / in wonder wise they felle + Some in thayre some in therthe / & some in helle depe + b1 + + And Lucifer lowest lythe / yet of them all + for pride that he put out / his peyne hath non ende + And all that worke with wrong / wende they shall + After their deathdaie / and dwelle with that shrewe + And they that worke wele / as holie write telleth + And ende as I have saide / in truthe that is best + Maie be sure that their soules / shall go to heauen + There truthe is in trinitie / and tronethe them all + Wherfor I saie as I saide / by sight of these textes + When all treasures are tried / truthe is the best + Lerne on these laie men / for letterid men it knoweth + That truthe is tresure / the triest on the erthe + Yet haue I no kynde knowlege quod he / yet mot ye kenne me better + By what crafte in my corps / it beginneth and where + Thou dotid daffe quod she / dull are thy wittes + Tolitill latine thou lernedist / lewde in thi youthe + Heu michi quia sterilem duxi vitam iuuenilem . + hit is a kind knowlege quod he / to knowe in thine hart + For to loue thi lorde / leuer then thi-self + No deadlie synne to do / die though thou shuldest + This I trowe be truthe / who can teache the better + Loke thou suffre him to saie / & then lerne it after + + for truthe tellith that loue / is triacle of heauen + Maie no synne be on him sene / that vseth that spice + And all his workes he wrought / with loue as him list + And learnid hit Moyses for the lefest thing / & most like to heauen + And also the plentie of peace / most preciouse of vertues + For heauen might not holde it / hit was so heauy of him-self + Till it had of the erthe / eaten his Fill + And when it had of this folde / fleshe and blood taken + Was neuer leaf vpon lynde / lyghter therafter + Portatiue and persing / as the poynt of a nedill + Non armoure might it let / nor non highe walles + Therfore is loue leder / of the lordes folke of heauen + And a mene as the Maire is / betwene þe king & the commons + Right so is loue a leder / and the lawe shapithe + Vpon man for his misdedes / the mercement he taxethe + And for to knowe it rightlie / it beginneth by myght + And in the hart is the head / and the high welle + for of right knowlege in hart / there a myght beginneth + + And falleth to the father / that formed vs all + He lokid on vs with loue / and lete his son die + Mekelie for oure misdedes / to amende vs all + And yet wolde he them no woe / þat wrought him þat peyne + But mekelie with mouthe / mercie he besought + To have pitie on that people / þat peynid him to deathe + Here might thou se ensamples / in hinself one + That he was mightfull & meke / that mercie gan graunte + To them þat hangid him highe / and his hart thirled + Therfor I rede you riche / haue ruthe on the poure + Thoughe ye be mightie / be meke in your workes + for that measure that ye meate / amisse or ellis + ye shall receyue the like / when ye wende hens + Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis , remetietur vobis . + For you be true of your tung / and trulie winne + And as chast as a childe / that in church wepith + But if ye loue trulie / and lende the poure + Such good as god you sent / goodlie parting + Ye haue nomore merite / in masse nor in houres + Then Malkin of hir maidinhede / that noman desyreth + For Iames the gentill / Iudged in his bookes + That feith without the fact / is nothing worthe + And as dead as a dorenaile / but if the dedes folowe + Fides sine operibus mortua est . + For chastitie without charitie / is cheyned is in helle + It is as lewde as a lampe / þat no light is in + Many chapleynes are chast / but charitie is awaie + No men more covetouse / Whan they be avauncid + Vnkinde to their kynne / and to all cristen + Shewing such charitie / and chide after more + Such Chastitie without Charitie / is cheyned in helle + Many Curates kepe them clene of their bodie + And be accombrid with Couetise / they maie not do it from them + So harde hath | Avarice / hasped them togethers + Which is no truthe of þe | Trinite / but trecherie of helle + And lerning to laiemen / the worse for to dele + Therfor theise wordes / be writen in the gospell + Date et dabitur vobis / for I deale you all thing + And that is the locke of loue / þat lettith out my grace + To confort the carefull / Accombred with synne + Loue is leche of lyfe / and next oure lorde himself + b2 + + And also the right waie / that ledithe into heauen + Therfor I saie as I said ere / by the true textes + When all treasures bene tried / truthe is the best + Now haue I tolde the what truth is / þat no treasure is better + I maye no longar lodge the with / now kepe the oure lord + + + + Passus secundus + Yet I knelid on my kneis / and cried hir of grace + Saying mercie madame / for maries loue of heauen + That bare that blisfull barne / þat bought vs on the Rood + Teache my by sum crafte / to knowe the False + Loke vpon thi lefthande / and lo where he standithe + Both false and Favell / and their feris many + I lokid on my lefthand / as the ladie me taught + And was ware of a woman / worthelie clothed + Purfelid with pelure / the Fynest vpon earthe + And crouned with a crowne / the king hath no better + Featlie hir fyngers / were frettid with golde ringes + And therin red rubies / as red as any glede + And dyamundes of derest price / & double manere Saphires + Orientals and Ewages / enemies to distroie + Hir robe was full rich / of red skarlet ingrayned + With ribandes of red golde / & of riche stones + Hyr araie me rauished / such riches sawe I neuer + I wonderid what she was / & whose wife she were + What is this woman quod I / so worthelie atyred + That is Mede the maide quod she / þat hath noyed me full ofte + And lacked my leman / that Leautie is callid + And geuin hir to lordes / that lawes haue to kepe + In the Popes paleys / she is priuie as my-self + But sothenesse wolde not so / for she is a bastard + For false was hir father / that hath a fickill tong + And neuer sothe said / sins he cam to earthe + And Mede is manerid after him / euen as kynd askethe + Qualis pater talis filius / Bonus fructus ex arbore bona + I ought to be higher then she / I cam of a better stocke + My father the great god is / and grounde of all graces + One god without begynning / and I his good doughter + And hathe geuen me mercie / to marrie with my-self + And what man be mercifull / and trulie me louithe + Shalbe my lorde & I his leef / in the highe heauen + + And what man takith Mede / my Life dare I laie + That he shall lose for his loue / a lippe of Caritatis + How construeth Dauid the king / of men that take mede + And men of this worlde / that mainteine truthe + And how ye shulde saue your-self / the psalter bearithe witnesse + Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c + And now were this Mede maried / vnto a mad shrewe + To won false fickill tung / a fendes birde of helle + Favell through his feire speche / hathe these folke enchauntid + And all is Liers leding / þat she is thus weddid + Tomorowe shalbe made / that maydens bridall + And there maist thou wite if þou wilt / which thei bene all + That long to that lordship / the Lesse and the more + Knowe them there if þou canst / & kepe thou thi tong + And lett them not but lat them worke / till Leautie be iustice + And haue poure to punishe them / than put furthe thi reason + Now I betake the to Christ quod she / and to his clene mother + And lat no conscience combre the / for couetise of mede + Thus left me that Ladie / Lying aslepe + And howe Mede was maried / in dreames me thought + That all the rich retynue / þat reigneth with the false + Were bidden to the bridale / on bothe ij sydes + Of all manere of men / the meane & the riche + To marrie this maid / was many man assembled + As of knightes and of clerkes / & other common people + As Sysors and Sommenors / Shreuis and their clerkes + Beddels and Bailiffes / and Brocars of wares + Foregoers and vitelors / aduocates of tharches + I cannot reken the rout / þat ranne about mede / + As Symonie and Ciuile / and Sysors of courtes + Were most priuie with Mede / of any men methought + And favell was the first / þat fet hir out of boure + And as a Brokour brought hir / to be with fals enioyned + When Simonie and Cyuile / se hir both willing + Thei assentid for siluer / to seie as both wolde + Then lept furth Lyer / and said lo here a charter + That Gyle with his great othes / gaf them togethers + Praying Cyvill to se / & Symonie to rede it + Then Symonye and Civile / thrust forthe bothe + And vnfolded þe feffment / that fals had made + b 3 + + And thus beginneth these felowes / to loke full hie + Sciant presentes et futuri &c + Wite ye and witnesse / þat dwell vpon this erth + That Mede is maried / more for his goodes + Than for anie vertue , fairenes / or any fre kinde + Fas is full feyne of hir / for that she is riche + And favell with his fickell speche / feffeth by this charter + To be princes in pride / and pouertie to dispise + To bacbite and bost / and to beare fals witnesse + To scorne and to skolde / & schaunder to make + Vnbuxome and bolde / to breake the . X . comaundementes + And the Erledome of envie / And warre togethers + With rebuking chastitie / and chatering out of reason + The Countie of Couetise / and all the costes aboute + That is vsurie and Avarice / all I them graunte + In bargaines & in brocages / with all the borowe of theft + And all the lordship of Lecherie / in Length and in brede + As in workes and wordes / and in waitinges with eyis + And in wedes and wisshinges / & without ydill thoughtes + There as will wolde / and workemanship failith + Glotonie he gaf him eke / & great othes togither + And all daie to drinke / at diuerse tauernes + And there to Iangle & iape / and Iudge their euencristen + And in Fasting daies to frett / ere full time were + And then to sytt and suppe / till slepe them assaile + And breden furth as borough swine / and bed them easelie + Till sleuthe and slepe / sliken their sydes + And then wanhope to wake them so / with no will to amend + For they beleue to be lost / evin at their last end + And they to haue and to holde / & their heires after + A dwelling with the deuill / and damned be for euer + with all the appurtenaunces of purgatorie / in-to the peynes of hell + In witnesse of which thing wrong was the first + And piers the palmer pardoner of paulines doctrine + Bete the beddell . of Bokyngham-shire + Reynalde the reue / of rutlonde Sokene + Maude the myller / and many moo other + In the date of þe deuill / this dede I enseale + By sight of syr Simonie / And Cyuils leue + Then angrie was Theologie / when he this tale herd + And said to Ciuile / now sorow mut you haue + Such weddinges to worke / Against the truthe + + + And ere this wedding be wrought wo the betide + For Mede is a mulier / of A-mendes engendrid + Wherfor god grauntethe to giue / Mede to truthe + And thou hast giuen hir to a gilour / god giue the sorowe + Thi text telleth the not so / truthe wot the sothe + For dignus est operarius / his hire to haue + And thou hast fastened hir to fals / fy on thi Lawe + By Lesinges thou leuist / & lecherous workes + Symonie and thi-self / distroye holie churche + The notaries & ye / noyethe the people + Ye shall abie hit bothe / by god that me made + Well may you knowe / But if your wit faile + That fals is feithles / & fickell in his workes + And a bastard borne / of Belsabubbes kynne + And Mede is a muber mulier / a maiden of good + And might kisse the king / for Coson if she shold + Therfor worke by wisdome / and by my wit also + And Ledith hir to london / there to be shewid + if any Lawe will loke / þat they Ly to-githers + And though Iustices iudge hir / to be ioyned to fals + Yet beware of wedding / for wittie is truthe + And Consciens is of his counsell / & knoweth you echeone + And if he fynde you in faute / And with fals hold + It shall much hurt your soules / full soure at þe Last + Herto assentid Cyvile / but Symonie wold not + Till he had siluer for his seruice / and also the notaries + Than fett Favell furth / Florins ynowe + And bad Gyle to giue / gold alaboute + + And namelie to the notaries / that thei faile not + And feffe fals witnesses / with Floryns ynowe + For they may Mede Avaunce / and worke at will + Then this gold was gevin / great was the thanking + To fals and to favell / for their fair giftes + And came to comfort / from care the Fals + Seying sertes syr / cesse shall we neuer + Till Mede be thi weddid wife / through þe wittes of vs all + For we haue Mede maistred / with oure merie speche + That she grauntith to go / with a good will + To london to loke / if the Lawe wolde + Ioyne you ioyntlie / in Ioye for ever + Then was Fals fayne / & favell as blithe + And let sommon all people / in shires aboute + b4 + + Commaunding all to be redie / beggers and other + To wende with them to westmynster / to witnes þis dede + Then carid they for horses / to carye them thither + And Favell fett furth then / horses ynowe + And set Mede vpon a Shreve / shoid all newe + And Fals vpon a Sysour / þat subtillie trottid + And favell on a Flatterer / Featlie attyrid + Then had Notaries non / Anoyed they were + for Symonie and Ciuill / shuld on fote go + Then swore Simony / & Ciuill bothe + That Somners shuld be sadelid / & serue them echeone + And Apparailed provisors / in palfreyis wise + Sir Symonie him-self / shall sitt on their backes + Deanes and subdeanes / Drawe you togethers + Archedecons & officials / & also your Regesters + Lat sadle them with Siluer / oure synne to suffre + As avoutrie & diuorses / and derne vsurie + To beare Bisshops aboute / abrode in visiting + Paulynes pryues / For pleintes in Consistorie + Shall serue my-self / that Civill ame named + And cartsadle the Commissarie / our cart shall he lede + And fech vs victualls / at Fornicatores / + And make of Liar a longcart / to lede all these other + As fryers and Faytors / that on their fete renne + And thus fals and favell / went furth togethers + And Mede in the myddest / & all these men after + I haue no time to telle / the taile that hir foloweth + + Gyle was foregoer / and guided them all + Sothnesse se him well / and seid but Litill + But pricked his palfrey / and passed them all + And came to the kynges court / And Conscience it told + And Conscience to the king / carped it after + Nowe by Christ quod the king / if I cache myght + Fals or favell / or any of his felowes + I wolde be wroken of their workes wrechis / þat worke so yll + And hang them by the hals / & all that them mainteyne + Shall neuer man of this moulde / maynprise the Least + But right as þe Law will / shall fall on them all + And commanded a constable / that cam at þe First + To atache the Tyrauntes / for anything I saie + And fettre fast falsnesse / for any maner giftes + And Smight of Gyles head / & let him go no farther + And if ye cach Liar / Lat him not escape + Ere he be put on the pillarie / for any prayer I saie + + And bringe Mede to me / in spight of them all + Drede at the dore stode / & all the matter herde + And howe the king commandid / Constables & Sergeauntes + Falsenes & his felowship / to fettre and to bynde + Drede then went wightlie / & warned False + And bad him fle for feare / & his felowes all + Falsnes for fere then / Fled to the Friers + And gyle did him to go / aferde for to die + And Marchantes met with him / & made him abide + And shett him in their shoppes / to shewe their ware + Apparailing him as a prentice / the people to serue + Lightlie Lier / lept awaie then + Lurking through lanes / Lugged of many + He was nowher welcome / for his many tales + But ouer all huntid / awaie for to trudge + Till pardonars had pitie / & pullid him in-to house + They wasshed him and wiped him / & wounde him in cloutes + And sent him with Seales / on Sondais to churches + And he gaf pardon for pens / poundemeale about + Then lowrid Leches / & letters they sent + That he shulde dwelle with them waters to loke + Spicers spoke with him / to spie their ware + For he coude of their craft / and knewe many gommes + Also Mynstrels and Messengers / met with him ones + And held him won halfyere / and elleuen daies + Friers with faire speche / Fett him thens + And for knowing of commers / copid him as a Frier + And he had leue to lepe out / as oft as he Likid + And is welcome when he will / & dwelle with them oft + All fled for feare / and flewe in-to corners + Saue Mede the maid / nomore durst abide + And trulie to telle / she trembled for drede + And eke wept and wrong / when she was atached + + + + Passus tertius de visione + Nowe is Mede the maide / & nomo of them all + With Bedells and Bailiffes / brought before the king + The king callid a clerke / But I cannot his name + To take Mede the maide / and make hir at ease + + I shall assaie hir my-self / and sothelie appose + What man of this worlde / that she wolde faynest haue + And if she worke by witt / and my will folowe + I will forgiue hir this gilt / so me godde helpe + Curteislie the clerke then / as the king badd + Toke Mede by the myddell / & brought hir into a chaumbre + Where was myrth & Minstralsie . mede to please + Thei that dwell in westmynstre / worshipped hir all + Gentillie with ioye / the Iustices some + Busked them to the boure / there the birde dwellid + To confort hir kindelie / by clergies leue + And said mourne not mede / nor make no sorowe + For we will intreat the king / & thi waie make + To be weddid at thi will / & where the best likith + for all Conscience cast / or craft as I trowe + Myldelie Mede then / thankid them all + Of their great goodnesse / & gaf them echeone + Cuppes of clene golde / & cuppis of syluer + Ringes with rubies / & richesses manie + The worst of their meanie / a pece of golde + Then toke they leue / thise lordes at Mede / + With that cam clerkes / to confort hir likewise + And bad hir be blythe / for we be thine owne + for to worke thi will / whill their lyfes last + Gentillie she then / behight them the same + And to loue them trulie / and lordes them to make + And in Consistorie at court / do call their names + Shall no lewdnesse lett / the thing that I loue + But he shalbe avauncid / for I am beknoune + Ther konnyng clerkes / shall clocke behinde + Than cam there a Confessor / Coped as a frier + To mede the maide / he said these wordes + And said full softelie / in shrifte as hit were + Though lernid men & lewde / had lyne be the bothe + And falsnes had folowid the / all this fiftie winter + I shall assoile the my-self / for a seame of whete + And also be thi beadman / & beare well thy message + Among knightes and clerkes / Conscience to turne + Then Mede for hir misdedes / to that man knelid / + + And shroue hir of hir shrewdnes / Shameles I trowe + She tolde him a tale / and toke him a noble + For to be hir beadman / and hir brocar also + Then he assoiled hir sone / and then he said + We haue a windowe in working / will cost vs muche + Woldest þou glase the same / & graue therin thi name + Sure shulde thi soule be / heaven to haue + Wist I that quod the woman / I wolde not spare + for to be youre freind frier / and faile you neuer + While you loue lordes / that lecherie haunte + And lacke not Ladies / that loue well the same + Hit is but frailtie of fleshe / ye finde hit in bookes + And a course of kynde / whereof we come all + Who maie skape the sclaunder / the scathe is sone amendid + It is synne of the seven / Sonest releasid + haue mercie quod mede / of men that it haunte + And I shall cover your chirche / and do make your Cloister + The walles do whight / And windowes glase + Do peynt and portraie / & paie for the making + That euery man shall saie / I am Sister of your house + But god to all good folke / Such grauing defendith + To wright in windowes / of their good dedes + Lest pride be peyntid there / and pompe of the worlde + For Christ knoweth thi conscience / & thy kynd will + And the cost of thy couetise / and who the catell ought + Therfor I warne you lordes / leue such workes + To write in windowes / of your good dedes + Or to renne after goddismen / when ye dele doles + Lest you haue your rewarde here / & your heauen also + Nesciat sinistra quid faciat dextra . + Let not thy left hand / late nor rathe + Wit what thou workist / with thi right hande + for so biddeth the gospell / good men to do their almesse + Maires and Masters / that meanis be betwene + The king and the commons / to kepe the lawes + To punysh on pillaries / and pynyng stooles + Brewers and Bakers / Bochers and Cookes + For these are men of this worlde / that most harme worke + To the poure people / that daily beggith + for they poison þe people / priuilie and oft + The rich by regratrie / and rentes them buylde + With that the pore people / shulde put in their wombes + For toke they all trulie / they timbred not so highe + C 2 + + Nor bought no burgages / by the full certeyne + And Mede the maide / the Mayr hath besought + Of all such sellers / Siluer for to take + Or presentes without pens / as pieces of siluer + Ringes or other riches / þe Regratours to maynteyne + for my loue quod that ladie / loue them echeone + And suffre them to selle / somedeall against reason + Salomon the sage / A sermon he made + For to amende Mayers / and men that kepe lawes + And tolde them this teme / þat I telle thinke + Ignis deuorabit tabernacula eorum qui libenter accipiunt munera + Among letterde men / this Latine is to mene + That fire shall fall & brenne / all to ashes + Their houses and homes / of them that desyre + Giftes and rewardes / bicause of their offices + The king from the counsell cam / & callid after Mede + And sent for hir shortlie / by sergeantes manye + That brought hir to boure / with blisse and with ioye + Curteislie the king than / beganne to telle + To mede the maide / he said these wordes + Vnwiselie woman / hast thou wrought oft + And worsse wroughtest þou neuer / then when thou fals toke + But I forgiue the that gilt / & graunte the my grace + Hens to thi death daie / do so nomore + I haue a knight Conscience / cam late from beyonde + Yf he willithe the to wife / woldist thou him haue + Yea lorde quod that ladie / god forbid ellis + But I be hollie at your will / Lat hang me sone + And then was Conscience callid / to come and appere + Before the king & his counsell / as clerkes and other + kneling then Conscience / to the king Lowtid + To witt what his will were / & what he do sholde + Wilt thou wed this woman / quod the king / if I wole assent + She is faine of thi feloship / for to be thy make + Quod Conscience to the king / Christ hit me forbidd + Ere I wed such a wife / wo me betide + for she is freile of feith / fickell of hir speche + And make men do amisse / many skore tymes + Trust of hir treasure / betraieth full manie + Wyues and widowes / wantonesse she teachethe + And lerne them Lecherie / that loue hir giftes + Your Father fshe felled / through fals promise + And hath poysoned Popes / and appeyrid holie church + + There is no better bawde / by him that me made + Betwene heauen and helle / in earthe thoughe men sought + For she is tickill of taile / and talkatife of tong + As commone as a Cartewaie / to euery knaue that walkith + To Monkes and to Mynstrals / to mesils in hedgis + Sysours and Sommenours / such men hir preyse + Shrives of shires were shent / if she were not + for she doth men lose their londe / and their life bothe + She lettith passe prysoners / & payeth for them oft + And geue the Gailers gold / and grotes togethers + To vnfetter the fals / flee where them Likith + And take the true by the top / and teyith them fast + And hangeth them for hatred / that harme did neuer + To be cursed in Consistorie / she countith not a beane + For she clothe the Comissarie / & coteth his clerkes + She is assoiled as sone / as hir-self Liketh + And may as muche do / in won monethe + As maie your secret seale / in Six score dayes + For she is pryuie with the pope / prouisors hit knoweth + for syr Symonie And hir-self / sealeth the bulles + She blisseth thise Bisshops / though thei be lewde + She Fedithe parsons / and preistes maynteyne + To haue lemans and hoores / all their Lyfe daies + And bring furthe bastardes / againe forbode lawes + There she is well with the king / wo is the realme + For she is favorable to fals / & fouleth truth oft + By IhusIesus with hir Iewelles / your iustices she shendith + And Lyeth againe the lawe / & lettith him the waie + That feith maynot haue his course / hir florens go so thicke + She ledith the lawe as she lust / and louedaies maketh + And make men lose through hir loue / that Lawe might winne + The maze for a meane man / though he trust hir euer + Lawe is so lordlie / and lothe to make ende + Without presentz or pens / she pleaseth full fewe + Barons and burgeises / she bringethe in sorowe + And all the commons in care / that couete to liue in truthe + For Couetise and Clergie / she coupleth togethers + This is the life of that ladie / the lorde giue hir sorowe + And all that mainteyne hir men / mischaunce them betide + for poure men maie haue no poure / to pleyne them though they sma + Such a maistresse is mede / Among men of good + Then mourned mede / & turned hir to the king + Desyring space to speake / spede if she might + The king grauntid hir grace / with a good will / + C 3 + + Excuse the if thou canst I can nomore saie + for Conscience accuseth the / to be banisht for euer + Naie lorde quod that lady / beleue him the worse + When ye knowe certeinlie / where the wrong lieth + There as mischef is great / mede may helpe muche + And thou knowest Conscience / I cam not to chide + Nor to depraue thi parsone / with a proude hart + Well wottest thou wreche / but if thou wilt lie + Thou hanged on my half / elleuen tymes + And also griped my golde / giuyng hit where the liked + And why thou art nowe displeased / wonder me thinketh + Yet I may as I might / helpe the with giftes + And mainteyne thi manhode / more then thou knowest + And þou hast famid me foule / before the king here + For killid I neuer no king / nor counsellid therafter + Nor did as thou demist / I do it to the king + In normandie was he not / noyed for my sake + And thou thi-self shamedist oft trulie him + Crope into a cabone / for colde of thi nailes + Thou thoughtest that winter / wolde haue lastid euer + And dreddest to be dead / for a dymme cloude + And hyedst the homewarde / for hunger of thi wombe + Without pitie pillour / poure people diddist thou robbe + And beare their brasse at thi backe / to caleis to selle + There lefte with my lorde / his life for to saue + I made his men merie / And mourning le.ue + I batterid them on the backe / & boldid their hartes + And made them hoppe for hope / to haue me at will + Had I bene marshall of his men / by Marie of heauen + I durst haue leid my Life / and nolesse wedd + he shulde haue bene lorde of that lond / in length & breade + And also king of that people / his kinne for to helpe + The worst of his blood / A Barons pere + Cowardlie thou Conscience / counseldist him thence + To leaue his lordship / for a litill syluer + That is the richest Realme / þat reyne on reyneth + And it is mete for a king / that kepeth a Realme + To giue Mede to men / & to honour them with giftes + Mede maketh him belouid / and for a man holden + Emperoures & Erles / and all manere lordes + for giftes haue yong men to renne & to ride + The Pope and all the prelates / presentes will take + And giue giftes them-self / to maynteyne their Lawes + Sergeauntes for their seruice / we se well the sothe + + Take Mede of their maisters / as they can agree + Beggers for their praying / aske men mede + Mynstrellis for their myrth / mede they aske + The king hath mede of his men / to make peace in lond + Men that teache childern / craue after mede + Preistes that preach the people / dothe all aske mede + Bothe massepens and meat / at the meall tymes + All manere craftes men / craue Mede for their prentices + Marchauntes and mede / must nedes go togethers + No wight as I wene / without mede may liue + Quod the king to Conscience / by Christ as me thinketh + Mede is well worthie / the maistrie to haue + Naie quod Conscience to the king / and knelid on the erthe + There are ij manere of medis / my lorde with your leue + The won god of his grace / graunteth in his blisse + To them that well worke / while they bene here + The prophet speaketh therof / And put it in the psalter + Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c + Lorde who shall dwelle in thi house / & with þi holie sainctes + Or rest in thi holie hill / this asketh Dauid + And he assoileth it him-self / as the psalter tellith + Qui ingreditur sine macula et operatur iusticiam . + They that entre of one colour / and of won will + And haue wrought workes / with right and reason + And he that vseth not / the life of vsurie + And helpeth true men / pursuethe truthe + Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad vsuram et munera super innocentem non acc + And all that h helpe þe innocent / and holde with the right + Without mede doth them good / and the truth helpe + Such manere men my lorde / shall haue this first mede + Of God at their great nede / when they go hence + There is a nother Mede mesureles / þat maisters desyre + To mainteyne misdoers / mede they take + And therof saith the psalter / in a psalmes ende + In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt . dextera eorum dextra iniquitates et dextera eorum repleta est muneribus + And he that gripeth hir gold / so me god helpe + Shall abie hit bitter / or the booke lyeth + Preistes and parsones / that pleasinges desyre + That take mede and money / for masses þat they sing + They take their mede here / as Mathue vs teacheth + C 4 + + Amen Amen Recipiebant mercedem suam + That laborars and lowe folke / take of their maisters + It no manere of mede / but a mesureable hire + In marchandise is no mede / I maie it well avowe + Hit is but pleine permutacion / a penyworth for a penny + And reddist thou neuer Regum / thou recrayid maide + Whi the vengeaunce fell on Saul / & on his childerne + God sent to Saul / by Samuel the prophete + That Agag of Amalech / and all his people + Shulde die for a dede / that their elders had done + Therfor said Samuel to Saul / god himself commandeth + The to be buxome at his bidding / his will to fulfille + Go to Amalech with thine hoste / & what þou fyndest there sle it + Foules beastes and men / do them to death + Widowes and wives / women & childerne + Movables and vnmovables / and all that þou maie fynde + Brenne hit beare it not awaie / be it neuer so riche + For Mede or for money / loke thou distroie it + Spille it and spare it not / thou shalt spede the better + And bicause he couetid their catell / and the king sparid + Forbering him and his beastes / as the bible witnesseth + Otherwise then he was warned of the prophet + God said to Samuell that Saul shulde die + And all his sede for that synne / shamefullie ende + Such a mischefe Mede made / Saul the king to haue + That god hatid him for euer / & all his heyres after + The conclusion of this mater / I mynde not to tell + Lest it anoyed men / non ende will I make + for so is this worlde now / with them that haue poure + That who-so tellithe truthe / sonest is blamed + I Conscience knowe this / for kinde wit it me taught + That Reason shall reygne / And realmes gouerne + And right as Agag had happe / so shall some + Samuel Shall slea him / and Saul shalbe blamed + And Dauid shalbe diademid / and tame them all + And wone xpcristen king / kepe them echeone + Then shall no more mede be Maister / as she is nowe + But loue and lownesse / and leautie togithers + Shalbe maisters of the worlde / truthe to saue + And who trespaseth against truthe / or takethe againe his will + Leautie shall do him lawe / and no man elles + Then shall no Sergeaunt for his seruice / weare a silk howe + Nor no pelure in his cloke / for pleading at the barre / + + Mede of misdoers / maketh manie lordes + And ouer lordes lawes / rulethe the Realmes + But kinde loue shall come yet / And consciens togithers + And make of Lawe a laborer / such loue shall arise + And such a peace among people / & perfite truthe + That Iewes shall merveile / And wex wonder glad + That Moises or Messie / be come into this worlde + Hauing wonder in their hart / that men be so true + All that bere Baselarde / brodesworde or launce + Ax or ellis hachet / or anie wepon ellis + Shalbe demed to the death / but if he doth it smythie + Into a sickle or sythe / to share or cultor + Conflabunt gladios suos in vomeres &c + Euery man to pleye with a plough / pickeaxe or spade + Spinne or sprede dong / or spill them-self with sleuth + Preistes and parsons with Placebo to hunte + And digg vpon Dauid / euery daie till night + Hunting or hauking / if anie of them vse + His booste of his benefice / shalbe take from him + Then shall neither king nor knight / Constable nor Maire + Oppresse the Comons / nor to the court sommone + Nor put them in panell / to tdo them plight their truthe + But after the dede is done / won dome shall rewarde + Mercie or no mercie / as truthe will accorde + Kinges court and commone court / consistorie and chapitle + All shalbe but won court / And won barone be Iustice + Then shall true tong be a tydie man / þat angrid me neuer + Batailles shall non be / nor noman bere wepon + And what Smithe þat any maketh / shalbe sleyne with the same + Non leuabit gens contra gentem gladium &c / + And ere this fortune fall / men shall fynde the worst / + By six Sonnes and a ship / & half a shefe of arowes + And the middell of a mone / shall make the Iewes to turne + And Sarazens for that sight / shall sing Gloria in excelsis + For Makometh and Mede / Mishappe shall that tyme + for Melius est bonum nomen , quam diuicie multe + Then as wrothe as the wynde / waxt mede in a while + I can no Latine quod she / Clerkes wot the sothe + D 1 + + Se what Salomon saith / in Sapience booke + That thei that giue giftes / the Victorie wynne + And most worship haue therwith / as holie wr. writ telleth + Honorem acquiret , qui dat munera &c + I beleue well ladie quod Conscience / that thi latine is true + But thou art like a ladie / that rede a lesson ones + Which was Omnia probate / and that pleased hir hart + for that line was no lenger / at the leauis ende + Had she lokid on the other side / and the leaf turned + She shulde haue founde more / folowing after + As thus Quod bonum est tenete / truth that text made + And so you madame / ye coulde no more fynde + When ye lokid on Sapience / sitting in your studie + This text that ye haue tolde / were good for lordes + But ye wantid a conning clerke / to turne you the leaf + And if ye loke Sapience againe / ye shall finde that foloweth + A full displeasaunt text / to them that take mede + And that is this Animam autem aufert accipientium . &c + And that is the taile of the text / the which ye shewid + for though we winne worship / & with mede haue victorie + The soule that the same taketh / By somuche is bounde + + + + Passus quartus de visione / + Cease saith the king , I will suffre you no lenger + Ye shall suffre forsothe / and serue me bothe + kisse hir quod the king / Licence me for euer Conscience he saide + Naie by Christ quod Conscience / Licence me for euer + But if reason rede me therto / rather will I die + I commande the quod the king / to Conscience than + Hast the to ride / and reason thou feche + Commande him þat he come / my counsell to here + For he shall rule my realme / & rede me the best + + And reken with the Conscience / so me Christ helpe + How though learnest the people / the lerned & the laie + I am glad of the same / said Conscience then + And right ridd to reason / and rowned in his eare + And said as the king bad / and sithens toke his leue + I shall araie me to ride quod reason / rest þe a while + And callid Caton his knaue / Curteise of speche + And also Tomme true tong / telle me no talis + Nor leasing to laugh at / for I louid them neuer + And set my sadill on my horseSuffre / till I se my time + + And let girde him well / with wittie wordes gerthes + And hang on him the heavie bridill / to holde his head lowe + For he will make wehee / twise ere he come there + Then Conscience vpon his capull / carieth furth fast + And reason with him ride / rowning togethers + What maistries mede maketh in this worlde + On ware wisdome / and wittie his fere + Folowid him fast / for they had to do + In Thescheker & in the Chancerie / to be dischargid of thinges + And rid fast for Reason sholde / counsell him for the best + for to saue them from siluer / from shame & from harmes + And Conscience knewe them well / they louid Couetise + And bad reason ride fast / & reche of their neither + There are wyles in their wordes / And with mede they dwelle + There as wrath and wrangling is / there winne they siluer + And where is loue and leautie / thei wilnot come there + Contricio et infelicitas in vijs eorum & c + They careth not for god / won goose wing + Non est timor dei ante oculos eorum & c + For god wot they will do more / for won doson of chekens + Or as manie Capons / or a Seme of Otes + Then for the loue of oure lorde / or all his lefe Sayntes + Therfor Reason lat him ride / those rich by them-self + For Conscience knowethe them not / nor Christ as I trowe + Then Reason rode fast / the right heigh waie + As conscience him taught / till they cam to the king + Curteislie the king then came against Reason + And betwene him-self & his sonne / set him on the benche + And comonid wiselie / a great while togethers + And then cam Peace / in-to parlament / & put vp a bill + How wrong Against his will / had his wife taken + And howe he rauished Rose / Reynoldes loue + And Marget of hir maidenhede / maugre hir will + Both my gees and my grice / his gadlinges fechith + I darenot for feare of them / fight nor chide + He borowed of me Bayarde / he brought him home neuer + Nor no farthing for him / for ought I coulde plede + He mainteynethe his men / to murther my seruauntes + He forstallethe my fayers / & fighteth in my cheping + D 2 + + And breke ope my berne dores / and bearith awaie my wheate + And take me but a taill / for x quarters of otes + yet he beates me therto / and lythe by my maide + I am not hardie for him / scarcelie dare I looke + The king knewe he said true / for Conscience him told + That wrong was a wicked wight / & wrought much sorowe + Wrong was afraid then / and wisdome he sought + To make Peace with his pence / and profrid him money + Saying had I loue of my lorde the king / litill wolde I recke + Though Peace and his poure / playned him euer + Then went wisdome / and syr waryn the wittie / + For that wrong had wrought / So wicked a dede + And warned wrong then / with such a wise tale + Who-so worke by will / wrath maketh ofte + I saie hit by my-self / þou shalt it well fynde + But if Mede it make / thi mischef is vp + For both thi life and thi londe / Lyth in his grace + Then wowed wrong / wisdome full fast + To make his peace with his pens / handy dandy paide + Wisdome and witt / then went togithers + Taking Mede with them / mercie to wynne + Peace put furth his head / and his panne bluddie + Without gilt god it wot / gat I this skathe + Conscience And the Commons / knowe the truthe + But wisdame & wit / were about fast + To ouercome the king / with catell if thei might + The king swore by Christ / & by his croune bothe + That wrong for his workes / shulde suffre woe + And commaundid a Constable / to cast him in yrens + And let him not this sevin yeres / se his fete ones + God wot quod wisdome / þat were not the best + And he amendes maie make / Lat Maynprise him haue + And be borow for his bale / And begg him boote + And so amende that is misdone / And euermore the better + Wit Accordid to the same / and said Likewise + Better is that boote / Bale adoune bring + Then bale be bet / And boote neuer the better + Then Movid hir Mede / And mercie she besought + And profrid peace a present / all of pure golde / + + Haue this man of me quod she / to amende thi scathe + For I woll wage for wrong / he will do so nomore + Piteouslie Peace then / praide for the king + To haue mercie on that man / that misdid him so ofte + For he hath wagid me well / as wisdome him taught + And I forgiue him that gilt / with a good will + So that the king assent / I can saie no better + For Mede hathe me amendes made / I maie no more aske + Naye quod the king then / so me Christ helpe + Wrong wendith not so awaie / first I will knowe more + For skape he so lightlie / then laughe he wold + And after be the bolder / to beat my men + But if reason hathe ruthe on him / he shall rest in stockes + And that as long as he leuith / But lowlinesse him borrowe + Some men counsellid Reason / then to haue ruthe on þat shrewe + And for to counsell the king / and Conscience After + That Mede might be Mainprisour / thei Reason besought + Counsell me not quod Reason / ruthe for to haue + Till lordes and ladies / loue all truthe + And hate all harlotrie / to here or to speake + Till pernelys purfill / be put in hir huche + And childerne cherisshing / be chasting with roddes + And harlottes holinesse / be holden for an hyne + And clerkes couetise / to clothe the poure and fede + And religiouse romers / Recordare in their cloisters + As Saynt Benet them bad / Bernard & Fraunceis + And till preachers preachinges / be prouid on them-self + Till the kinges Counsell / be the Comons profyte + Till Bishops Bayardes / be beggers chambres + Their haukes and their howndes / helpe to poure Religiouse + And till saint Iames be sought / there I shall assigne + That noman go to Galice / But if he go for euer + And all Rome ronners / for robbers beyonde + Bere no siluer ouer the see / þat signe of the king shewith + Neither grauen nor vngrauen / gold nor siluer + Vpon forfeyture of that fee / who-so fynd it at Douer + But if hit be merchant or his man / or Messenger with letters + D 3 + + Prouysoure or preist / or penitent for his synnes + And yet quod Reason by the rood / I shall no ruthe haue + While mede hathe the maistrie / in this mootehall + And I maie shewe ensamples / as I se other while + I saie it by my-self quod he / And it so were + That I were king with croune / to kepe the realme + Shulde neuer wrong in this worlde / þat I might knowe + Be vnpunished in my poure / for perill of my soule + Nor get my grace for giftes / so me god saue + Nor for mede haue Mercie / But if mekenes made it + For Nullum malum the man / met with impunitum . + And bad Nullum bonum / be Irremuneratum . + Lat your Confessour syr king / Construe this vnglosed + And if ye worke it dede / I dare laie myn eris + That lawe shalbe a laborer / And lede dung to the feilde + And loue shall lede thi lond / as the best likethe + Clerkes that were confessors / coupled them together + All to construe this clause / And for the kinges profit + But not for confort of the commons / nor for the kinges soule + For I se Mede in the motehall / on men of lawe winke + And thei laughing lept to hir / And lefte Reason many + Ware Wisdome lookid on mede / and winked also + Saying madame I am your man / whatsoeuer my mouth Ianglith + I want golde quod that wisdome / & faile speche ofte + All rightfull bare witnesse / þat Reason truthe tolde + And wit accordid therwith / & commendid his wordes + And the most people in the hall / & many of the great + And helde Mekenesse a maister / & Mede a mad shrewe + Loue lete of hir small / & leautie yet lasse set by her + And spake it so lowde / that all the hall herde + Who-so willith hir to wyfe / for welth of hisr goodes + But he be knoune for a Cokeolde / Cut of my nose + Mede Mourned then / and made heuie chere + For the most comone of the court / callid hir an whore + But a Sisour and a Somener / sauid hir Fast + And a Shrives clerke / beshrewid all the route + For oft haue I quod he / holpen you at the barre + And yet gaf ye me neuer / the worthe of a rishe + The king callid Conscience / & after that Reason + + And recordid that Reason / had rightfullie saide + And modelie vpon Mede , with might the king looked + And waxed wrothe with Lawe / for Mede almost had shent him + And said through Lawe I beleue / I lose meny escheates + Mede ouermaistreth lawe / And much truthe lettithe + But Reason shall Reken with you / if I reigne anye while + And Iudge you by this daie / as you haue deseruid + Mede shallnot maynprise you / by the Marie of heuen + I woll haue leautie in lawe / & let be all your iangling + And as most folke witnesseth / wrong shalbe demid + Quod Conscience to the king / But the commons will assent + It is full hard by myn head / herto / to bring it + All your liege people / to lede thus even + By him that died on the Rood / quod Reason to the king + But if I rule this your realme / rende out my guttes + If ye bid buxomenesse / be of myn assent + I assent saithe the king / by swete saint Marie + By my counsell comone / of Clerkes & of Erles + But ridlie Reason / thou shaltnot ride fro me + For as long as I liue / depart from the I wilnot + I am all redie quod Reason / to rest with you euer + So Conscience be of our counsell / I kepe no better + I graunte quod the king / god forbidde it faile + As long as our lyues still last / liue we together / + + + + Passus Quintus de visione + the king and his knightes / to the chirch went + To here matins of the daie / & the masse after + Then wakid I of my winking / & I was woe withall + That I had not slept longer / and sene more + But ere I had gone a furlong / Feyntnesse me hent + That I might not won foot farther / for defaute of slepe + I set me softlie doune / and said my beleue / + And so I babled on my beades / till thei brought me aslepe + Then sawe I muche more / then I before of told + I se the feild full of folke / that I before of seide + And howe did araie him / all the realme to preache + And with a Crosse before the king / began thus to teache + He prouid that . thise pestilences / were for pure sinne + And the Southwesterne wynde / on Saterdaie at even + Was plainly for pure pride / And for nothing elles + + Piryis and plometreis / were puffed to therthe + In exemple of you people / shulde do the better + Beeches and brokde Okes / were blowen to the grounde + The rootes turned vpwarde / in tokenyng of drede + That deadlie synne / or domes daie / shall fordone them all + Of this matere I might / momble full long + But I shall say as se / so me god helpe + howe opinlie afore the people / Reason beganne to preache + He bad Wastour / go worke / what he best coulde + And wynne his wasting / with some manere crafte + + He praide Pernelle / hir purple to laie of + And kepe it in hir Cofre / for catell at hir nede + Tomme Stoune he taught / to take ij staues + And feche Felice home / Fro the wiue pyn + He warned wat / his wife was to blame + That hir head was worth half a marc / & his hood not worthe a grote + And bad Bettes cutt a bough or tweyne + And beat Beton therwith / but if she wold worke + And then he Chargid chapmen / to chasten their childerne + Lat no winnyng them spill / while they be yong + Nor for no poure of pestilence / please them not without reason + My syre said to me / and so did my dame + That the dearer childe / the more teaching hbehouith + And Salomon said the same / that Sapience made + Qui parcit virge , odit filium + The english of this latine / who-so will knowe + Who spareth the rodd / hatith his childe + And then he prayed Prelates / & preistes also + That ye preache to the people / proue it on yourself + And do it in dede / it shall drawe you to good + Yf ye liue as as ye learne vs / we shall beleue you the better + And then he counsellid reli..gion / hir rule to holde + Lest the king & his counsell / your Commons appeyre + And be Stywardes of your stedes / till ye be rulid better + And then he counseiled the king / his commons to loue + It is thi treasure if treason were not / & triacle at thi nede + And then he prayd the Pope / haue pitie on holie churche + And ere he giue any grace / gouerne first him-self + And ye that vse the lawe / lat truthe be your desire + More then golde or giftes / if ye will god please + For who-so contrarieth Truthe he tellith in the gospell + + That god knoweth him not / nor no saynt in heauen + Amen dico vobis nescio vos . + And ye that seke Saynt Iames / And Seyntes of Rome + Seke Saynt Truthe / for he may saue you all + Qui cum deo patre et filio / that fair him befall + That folowethe my sermon / And thus said Reason + Than ranne Repentance / and rehercid his teme + And Great will to wepe / water with his eyne + Pernelle prowdhart / fell vpon the grounde + And laie long or she looked / & lorde mercie cried + And behight to him / that vs all made + She shulde put of hir smocke / & put vpon an heyre + Shall neuer highe hart me hent / But holde me lowe + And suffre to be missaide / and so did I neuer + But now will I meke me / & mercie beseche + For all this I haue / hated in myn hart + Then Lechorie said alas / & on oure Ladie he cried + And that he shulde the saterdaie / seuen yeris after + Drinke but with the ducke / and dine but ones + Enuie with heauie hart / asked after Shrifte + And carefullie Mea culpa / he began to shewe + He was as pale as a pellet / in the palsey he semed + And clothed in a Cawrymawrie / I coulde it not discriue + In kyrtill and Courtepie / and a knife by his side + Of a friers frocke / were the forsleuis + And as a leke that had lyne long in the sonne + So looked he with lene chekes / lowring foule + His bodie bolne for wrathe / that he bit his lippis + And wringing he went with his fist / to wreke himself he thought + With workes or with wordes / when he se his tyme + Euery worde he spake / was of an edders tung + Of chiding & of chalenging / was his chefe liuelod + With backbiting & busynesse / & bearing of fals witnesse + This was all his curtesie / whersoeuer he became + I wold be shreven quod this shrewe / & I for shame durst + I wolde be gladder by god / that Gibbe had mischaunce + Then if I had this weike wonne / a weye of Essex chese + I haue a neighbore nere me / I haue anoyid him ofte + + And compleynid on him to lordes / to do him lose his siluer + And made his freindes his foes / through my false tong + His grace & his good happes / greuid me full sore + Betwene man & man / I make debate ofte + That bothe Life and lymme / is lost through my speche + And when I mete him / in market / that I most hate / + E 1 + + + I haile him gentillie / as I his frende wel + For he is hardier then I dare do non other + But had I maistrie and might / god knoweth my will + And I at kirk when I come / and shulde knele to the roode + And prey for the people / as the preist teacheth + For pilgrymes and for palmers / & for all other + Then I crie on my kneis / þat Christ giue them sorowe + That bare awaie my bolle / & my broke shete / + Awaie from the alter / then turne I myn eyis + And beholde how Eleyne / hathe a newe cote + I wishe that it were myne / & all the webbe after + And at mennis losse I laugh / that liketh myn hart + And for their wynnyng I wepe / & waile the tyme + And Iudge them to do euill / there I do much wors + Who-so tellith me herof / I hate him deadlie after + I wishe that euery man / were my knaue + for who-so hathe more then I / that angrith me sore / + And thus I liue louelesse / Like a lither dogg + That all my body bolneth / for bitter of my gall + I might not eat many yeris / as a man ought + For Envie and euill will / is euill to digest + No suger nor swete thing may / asswage my swelling + Nor no diapenidion / driue hit fro my hart + Nor neither shrifte nor shame / but who-so shrape my mawe + Yes ridlie quod Repentance / & counseld him to the best + Sorowe for synnes / saluacion is of soules + I am sorie quod that man / I am but seld other + And that maketh me so lene / for that I maynot me avenge + Amonges Burgeises haue I bene / dwelling at London + And causid Bacbyting be a Brokour / to blame mennis ware + When he solde & not I then was I redie + To lie and to loure on my neighbour / & to lacke his chaffare + I will amende þis if I may / through þe might of god allmightie + Now awaketh Wrathe / with ij whight eyen + And sneueling in the nose / And his necke hanging + I am wrath quod he / I was sometime a Frier + And the Coventes Gardeyner / For to graffe ympes + On lymitors and Listers / Lyes there I ymped + Till they bare leaues of lowe speche / lordes to please + And sithen they blossomed abrode / in boure to here shriftes + And now is fallen therof a fruyt / that folke had muche leuer + + Shewe their shriftes to them / þat shriue them to their parsons + And now parsons haue perceyuid / that Friers parte with them + Thise possessours preache / and depraue Friers + And friers fynd them in faute / as folke beare witnesse + That what they preache the people / in many places about + I wrathe walke with them / And lerne them of my bookes + Thus they speake of my spiritualtie / þat either dispise other + Till thei be bothe beggers / And by Spiritualtie liue + Or ellis ride about / all riche + I wrathe rest neuer / but I must folowe + Thise wicked folke / for such is my grace + I haue an Aunnte A Nonne / And an abbesse bothe + She had leuer swounne or swelte / then suffre any peyne + I haue be Cooke in hir kechin / & the Covent seruid + Many monethes with them / & with Monkes bothe + I was the Prioresse Potager / and other poure ladies + And Iowtes of Iangling / that dame Ione was a bastarde + And dame Clarice a knightes doughter / but a Cokeold was hir syre + And dame Pernell a preistes file / Prioresse was she neuer + For she had childe in Cheritime / all our chaptire it wist + Of wicked wordes / I wrathe there wortes made + Till thou liest & þou liest / lepid out at ones + And either hitt other / vnder the cheke + Had they had knyues by Christ / either had killed other + Seynt Gregorie was a good Pope / & had a good forewitt + That no prioresse were preist / for that he ordeyned + They had then bene / Infames / the first daie / thei can so euill kepe counseill + Among Monkes I might be / but manie tyme I eschewe + For there be many fell frekes / my feates to espie + And Priour and Subpriour / And oure Pater abbas + And if I telle any talis / thei take them togithers + And do me fast Fridaies / to bread & to water + And am Chalengid in the Chaptirhouse / as I a childe were + And beate on the bare arse / & no breche betwene + Therfor haue I no liking / with them to dwelle + I ete there ill fish / & feble ale drinke + But otherwhile when wyne come / I drinke wyne at even + I haue a flux of a foule mowthe / well fiue daies after + All the wickednesse that I wot / by any of my bretherne + I knowethtelle it in oure Cloister / that all our Couent wot it . + E 2 + + Nowe repent þe quod Repentaunce / & reherce you neuer + Counseile that thou knowist / by countinaunce nor bi right + And drinke not ouer delicatelie / nor to depe neither + That thi will because therof / to wrath might turne + Esto Sobrius he saide / and assoiled him after + And bad him will to wepe / his wickednesse to amend + And then cam Couetise / can I not him discriue + So hungerlie and holowe / Syr heruy him loked + He was bitilbrowed / and blaberlippid also + With ij bleared eyen / as a blynde hagg + And as a lether purs / lolled his chekes + Sydder then his chinne / they chiverid for age + And as a bondman of his bacon / his beard all bedreueled + With an hood on his head / & a lowsie hat aboue + And in a tawnie taberd / of xij winter age + All to torne and bawdie / & full of lyce creping + But if that a louce coulde / haue lepid the better + She had not walkid on that clothe / so was it thredebare + I haue bene Couetouse quod this Caitif / I knowlege it here + For sometime I seruid / Symme at Stile + And was his prentice plight / his profit to wait + First I learned to lye / A leafe or tweyne + And wickedlie to weye / was my first lesson + To wye And to winchester / I went to feyre + With many mannere marchandise / as my master me hight + Had not the grace of Gyle gone / Among my chaffare + It had be vnsold this seuen yere / so me god helpe + Then drewe I me among drapiers / my donet to learne + To drawe the list along / the lenger it semed + Among the riche raies / I rendrid a lesson + To broche them with a packenedill / & plite them togithers + And put them in a presse / & pynned them therin + Till x yerdes or xij / had tolled out thirtene + My wife was a webber / & wollen cloth made + She spake to spynners / to spynne it out + But the pounde that she paid by / weyid a quarter more + Then myne oune Auncer / who-so weied truth + I bought hir Barlie Malt / she brewid it to selle + Pennyale & Puddingale / she poured togithers + For Laborars & pourefolke / that lay by it-self + The best ale laie in my boure / or in my chambre + + And who-so bummed therof / bought it therafter + A galon for a grote / god wott no lasse + And yet it came in cupmeale / this craft my wife vsed + Rose the regrater / was hir right name + She hath bene an hucster / all hir life-time + But I swere now so the ik / that synne I leue + And neuer wickedlie weye / nor wicked chaffare vse + But go to Walsingham / And my wife also + And bidde the Rood of Bromeholme / bring me out of dett + Repentidst thou euer quod Repentance / or restitucion madist + Yes ones was I harborowed / quod he with an hepe of chapmen + I rose when thei were at rest / and rifled their males + That was no restitucion quod Repentance / but a robbers thefte + Thou haddist bene well worthier / to be hangid therfore + Then for all that / that þou haest here shewed + I wende Rifling had bene restitucion quod he / I neuer lernid to rede on booke + And infeith I can no frenche / but of the farthest parte of Northfolke + Vsedist thou euer vsurie quod Repentaunce / in all thi life-tyme + No sothely he saide / Saue in my youthe + I learned among Lumbardes / & Iewes a lesson + To weye pens with a peise / and pare the heuiest + And lene it for loue of the Crosse / to leye a gage & lose it + Whech dedes I did wright / if he his daie broke + I haue mo maneris through Rereages / than through Miseretur & com + I haue lent lordes & ladies / my chaffare + And be their brocour after / and bought it my-self + Eschaunges & Cheuisaunces . with such chaffre I Dele + And lend folke that lose will / a lippe at euery noble + And with Lumbardes letters / I ledd golde to Rome + And toke it by tale here / & told them there lesse + Lentist thou euer lordes / for loue of their maintenaunce + Yea I haue lent lordes / that louid me neuer after + And haue made many a knight / bothe Mercer & Draper + That paide neuer for his prentishode / not a pair of glouis + hast thou pitie on poure men / that must nedes borowe + As much pitie of poure men / as pedlers haue of Cattes + That wolde kill them if thei cach them / euin for their skinnes + Art thou manlie among thi neighbors / of thi meat & drinke + I am callid quod he as kinde / as a dogg on his bone + Among my Neighbors namelie / such a name I haue + Now god lene the neuer quod Repentaunce / but thou repent þe rather + E 3 + + Grace on this grounde / thi goodes well to besett + Nor thine heires after the / haue Ioye of that þou wynnest + Nor thine executours well besett / þe siluer þat þou them leuist + And that was wonne with wrong / with wicked men be dispended + For were I Frier of þat house / there good feithe and charite is + I wolde not cope vs with thi goodes / nor our church amende + Nor haue won penny to my pitaunce / so god my soule helpe + For þe best book in the house / though brent golde were the leauis + Yf I wist verelie / thou were such as thou tellest + Servus es alterius , cum fercula pinguia queris + Pane tuo pocius , vescere liber eris + Thou art an vnkinde creature / I can þe not assoile + Till þou make restitucion / and reken with them all + And sithen þat reason rolle it / in þe Registre of heauen + That þou hast made echeman good / I maie the not assoile + Non dimittitur peccatum / donec restituatur ablatum + For all that haue of thi good / haue god my trouthe + Be holden at the high dome / to helpe þe to restore + And who beleuith not this to be true / Loke in the psalter glose + In Miserere mei deus / whether I mene truthe + Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti &c + Shall neuer workman in this worlde / thriue with þat þou wynnest + Cum sancto sanctus eris / construe me þat in englishe + Then waxt that shrewe in wanhope / & wold haue hangid himself + Had not repentaunce the rather / reconfortid him in þis manere + haue mercie in thi mynde / and with thi mouth ask it + For goddes mercie is more / then all his other workes + And all the wickednesse in this worlde / þat man myght work or // thinke + ys nomore to þe mercie of god / than in the sea a glede + Omnis iniquitas quantum ad dei misericordiam est quasi sintilla in medio maris / + Therfore haue mercie in thi mynde / & merchandise leue it + For þou hast no good grounde / to get the with a wastell + But if it were with thi tong orelles with þi ij handes + for þe good þat thou hast goten / beganne all with falsehode + And as long as þou liuest þerwith / þou yeldest nought but borrowest + And þou wotnot to whome / thou shuldest make restitucion + Beare hit to the Bishop / & bidd him of his grace + Bestowe hit himself / as best is for thi soule + For he shall answere for the / at þe high dome + For the and for many mo / þat man shall giue a rekening + + What he learned you in lent / beleue you non other + And what he lent you of the lordes good / to let you from synne + Nowe begoynneth Gloton / For to go to Shrifte + And Carieth him to kirkewarde / his cuppe to shewe + But Beton the Brewster / Bad him good morowe + And askid of him / whether he wolde + To holie churche quod he / For to here masse + And then I wilbe shreuin / and synne nomore + I haue good Ale Gossip / quod she / Gloton wilt þou saie + Hast þou ought in thi purs / any hoott spices + I haue Peper and Pionies quod he / & a pounde of garleck + And a farding worthe of Fenell sede / for fasting daies + Than goith Gloton in / & great othes after + Cesse the Sowtresse / Sat on the Benche + Wat the Warner / & his wife bothe + Tymme the tynker / & tweyne of his prenticis + Hicke the hakeneyman / and Hugh the Nedler + Clarice of Cockeslane / & þe clerke of the church + Davie the dyker / and a doson other + Syr piers of Prydye / & pernell of Flaunders + + A Ribiboure / a Ratoner / a Raker of Cheape + A Rooper / a Readingking / & Rose the dishers + Godfrey of Garlickhithe / & Griffin the welchman + And vpholsters an heape / erlie by the morowe + Gaf Gloton with glad chere / good ale for hansell + Clement the Cobler / cast of his cloke + And at the newfeire / he offrid hit to sell + Hicke the hakeneyman / hurld his hood after + And bad bet the bochier / be of his side + There were chapmen chosen / this chaffare to prise + Who-so haue the hood / shulde haue a-mendes of the Cloke + Two rise vp in hast / & rowned togithers + And preised these penyworthes / a-part by them-self + They coulde not by their conscience / accorde in truthe + Till Robyn the Roper / arose by the southe + And named him for an vnpere / þat no debate were + Hicke the hostlier / had the cloke + In couenant that Clement / shulde the cup fill + And haue Hickes hood / & holde him seruid + And who-so repent first / shuld arise after + And grete syr Gloton / with a galon of Ale / + E 4 + + There was laughing & Lowring / & Lat go the cup + And they sate so till euinsong / & sung sumwhile + Till glutton had glubbed / a galon & a gill + His guttes began to romble / as ij gredie Sowes + He pissed a pottell / in a pater noster while + And blewe his Rounde Rewet / at his ridgebones ende + That all that herd þat horne / held ther noses after + And wisshed it had be waxed / with a wispe of fyrres + He might neither steppe nor stond / till he had a staff + And then he began to go / Like a glewmannes bich + Sometime aside / & sometime Arere + As who-so leieth Lynes / for to cache foules + And when he drew to þe dore / then dymmed his eyen + He stumbled vpon the threshold / and fell to the erth + Clement the Cobler / caught him by the middill + For to lift him vp / and leid him on his kneis + But Gloton was a great chorle / & a grimme in þe lifting + And kouȝed vp a cawdell / in Clementes Lapp + So hungrie a hounde is not in hertforth shire + Dorst lappe of tho leuinges / so vnlouelie they smelt + With all þe wo of this world / his wife & his wench + Bare him home to his bed / & brought him therin + And after this excesse / he had an Accidie + That he slept Saterdaie & Sondaie / till þe sonne went to rest + Then wakid he of his winking / & wypid his eyen + The fyrst word that he spake / was where is the boll + His wife began to chide him then / how wickedlie he liuid + And Repentaunce right so / rebukid him that time + As þou with wordes & workes / hast wrought euill in þi Lyf + Shriue the & be ashamed therof / & shew it with þi mouth + I Gloton said the grome / giltie me I yeld + That I haue trespassed with my tong / I cannot telle howoft + Sworne goddes soule / & so god help me at holi dome + There no nede was / nyne hundreth tymes + And ouerset me at my Supper / & sometime at nones + That I gloton girt it vp / ere I had gone a myle + And spilt that might haue bene sparid / and spendid on some / hungrie + Ouer delicatlie on fasting daies / dronke & eate bothe + And sate sometime so long / þat I slept & ete all at ones + For loue of tales / in Tauernes / to drinke þe more I dyned + And hied to the meat or noone / vpon fasting daies + This shewing shrifte quod Repentaunce / shalbe merit to the + And then gan Gloton wepe / & make great dole + + For his lither lyfe / that he had ledd + And avowed to fast / for hunger or for thurst + Shall neuer Fish on fridaie / digest in my wombe + Till abstinence myn Aunte / haue geuen me leue + And yet haue I hated hir / all my life-time + Then cam Sleuth / all bislaberid with ij slymie eyis + I must sitt ye people quod he / or ellis shulde I nappe + I maie not stond nor stowpe / nor without a stole knele + Were I brought a-bed / But if my taile end it caused + Sholde no Ringing do me rise / till I lust to dine + He began Benedicite with a bolke / & his brest knocked + And raskeled & rored / Ant rutt at the last + What awake quod Repentaunce / And hie the to shrift + Yf I shulde die by this daie / me lust not to loke + I cannot perfitelie my Pater noster / as the preist it singeth + But I can rymes of Robynhoode / & Randolf Erle of Chestre + But neither of our lorde / nor Ladie / the least þat euer was made + I haue made avowes fourtie / & forgoton them on the morowe + I performed neuer penaunce / as the preist me hight + Nor right sorie for my synnes / yet was I neuer + And if I bidd any beades / but if it be in wrathe + That I telle with my tong / is ij myle fro my hart + I am occupied euery daie / holidaie and other + With ydell tales at the ale / & otherwhiles in the Church + Goddes peyne and his passion / full seld think I on + I neuer visited neuer Feble men / nor fetterid folke in prison + I had leuer here an harlotrie / or a somergame of Sowters + Or leasinges to laugh at / & belie my neyghbors + Than all that euer Marc made / Mathue Iohan or Luke + And vigils and fastingdaies / all these let I passe + And ly in bed in Lent / & my leman in myn Armes + Till matins and Masse be done / & then go to the friers + Come I to Ite missa est / I hold me well content + I am not shreuen some time / but if sikenesse it make + Not twies in ij yere / & then vpon gesse I shriue me + I haue bene b preist and parson / more then thirtie winter + Yet can I neither Solf nor Sing / nor Seyntes life rede + But I can fynde an hare in a feilde or furlong + Better then in Beatus vir / or in Beati omnes / + f 1 + + Construe won clause well / And teache it to my parisshens + I can holde Louedaies / And here a Reves Rekennyng + But in Canon or in decretals / I cannot rede a lyne + If I bigg and borowe ought / But if be tailled + I forgett it by & by / & if men me it aske + Six tymes or seven / I forswere it with othes + Thus do I angre trew men / tean hundred tymes + And my seruauntes Sometime / their Salarie is behinde + Ruthe it is to here the Rekennyng / when we rede acomptes + So with wicked will and wrathe / my workemen I paie + Yf anyman dothe me a benefite / or helpeth me at nede + I am vnkinde against his curtesie / & cannot vnderstond it + For I haue & haue had / somedele haukes maners + I am lured with loue / But alwaie for Avauntage + The kyndnes that myne even cristen / hath shewid me of late + Syxtie tymes I Slouth / haue forgote it syns + In speche & in sparing of speche / yspilt many a time + Bothe flesh & Fish / and manie other victuales + Bothe bread and ale / Butter Milke and Chese + Forsleuid in my seruice / till it might serue noman + I ranne about in youthe / & gaf me not to learne + And euer sithe haue be begger / for my foule slouth + Heu mihi quia sterilem duxi vitam Iuuenilem + Repentidist thou not quod Repentance / & euen with þat he swowned + Till Vigilate the veille / fet water at his eyen + And flatt it on his face / & fast on him cried + And seid ware the of wanhope / he wolde þe betraye + I am sorie for my synnes / Seye to thi-self + And beat thi-self on the breast / & byd god of grace + for here is no gilt so great / but his goodnes is more + Then sate sleuthe vp / And remembrid him-self + And made avowe tofore god / for his foule Slouth + Shall no Sondaie be this seuen yere / but sikenes it let + That I shalnot ere it be daie / get me to þe church + And heare Matyns & Masse / as I were a Monke + Shall non ale after meate / Hold me from thence + Till I haue herd euinsong / I promise to the Rood + And yet will I yeld againe / if I somuch haue + All that I wickedlie wanne / sithens I had witt + And though my lifelode lacke / let will I not + + But eche man shall haue his / ere I hens wende + And with the rest and remenaunt / by the Rood of Chestre + I shall seke truthe erst / ere I se Rome + Robert the robber / on Reddite lookid + And for that there was not wherof / he wept right sore + But yet the synfull shrewe / Seid to himself + Christ that on Caluarie / vpon the Crosse dyedst + To dismas my brother / .obesought the of grace + And haddist mercie on that man / fo Memento sake + So rewe on this Robber / that Reddere haue not + Nor neuer thinke to haue / by any meane I tknowe + For thy great mercie yet / mitigacon I beseche + And damme me not at domesdaie / for þat I haue done ill + What befell on this felon / I cannot trulie shewe + Well I wot he wept fast / water with his eyen + And knowlegid his synne / to Christ yet eftsones + That penitencia his pyk he shulde polish newe + And lepe with him ouer lond / all his life-tyme + For he had lyne by Latro Luciferis Aunte + And then had Repentaunce ruthe / & willid them all to knele + For I shall pray for all synfull / to the Saviour of grace + Tamende vs of oure mysdedis / & shewe mercie to vs all + Now god quod he that of þi goodnes / ganne the worlde make + And of nought madest ought / & man most like þi-self + And sithen suffredst him to synne / a siknesse to vs all + And all for the best as I beleue / what-euer the book tellith + O felix culpa . O necessarium peccatum Ade &c + For that synne thi son / was sent into the erthe + And became man of a maid / mankinde to saue + And madist thi-self with þi son / & vs synfull like + Faciamus hominem ad ymaginem et similitudinem nostram + Et alibi Qui manet in caritate in deo manet &c + And sithens with thi self sonne / in oure sute diedst + On Goodfridaie for manissake / at full tyme of the daie + There thi-self nor thi sonne / no sorow in death felid + But in orure sect was the sorowe / And thy sonne it ladd + Captiuam duxit captiuitatem + The Sonne for sorowe therof / lost light for a tyme + About middaie when most light is / & meletime of Sayntes + Thou feddest with þi fresh blood / our forefathers in darknesse + f 2 + + Populus qui ambulabat in tenebris vidit lucem magnam + And through the light þat lept out of the Lucifer .was blent + And blewe all thi blessed / into the blisse of Paradise + The thirde daie after / thou wenst in oure sute + A synfull Marie the se / ere Saint Marie thi dame + And all to solace the synfull / thou woldest it so to be + Non veni vocare iustos / sed peccatores ad penitentiam + And all that Marc made / Mathue Luke or Iohan / + Of thi doutie dedes / were done in oure armes + Verbum caro factum est , et habitauit in nobis + And by somuch me think / the sikerer we maie + Praie and beseche / if it be thi will + That art oure Father and oure brother / be mercifull to vs + And haue ruthe on thise Ribawdes þat repent them here sore + That euer thei offendid the in this worlde / in word thought or dede + Than hent hope an horne / of deus tu conuersus &c + And blewe it with Beati quorum remisse sunt iniquitates + That all Seyntes in heuen song atones + Homines et Iumenta saluabis + A thowsande of men then throng / togethers + Crying vpwarde to Christ / and to his clene mother + To haue grace to go with them / truthe to seke + But there was no wight so wise / the waie thether knewe + But blusterid furthe as beastes / ouer bankes & hilles + Till long was and late / that they met a man + Apparailed as a Pilgr Paynym in pilgrymes wise + He bare a bourden bounde / with a brode list + In a withwyndes wise / bound about + A bolle and a bagg / he bare by his side + An hundred of Ampulles / on his head sett + Sygnes of Synay / & Shellis of Galice + And many a crosse on his cloke / & Keyis of Rome + And the Vernycle before / for men shulde knowe + And se by his signes / whom he had sought + This folke freyned him first / fro whens he came + From Synay he said / & from oure lordes Sepulchre / + In Bethleme and in Balbylone / I haue bene in bothe + In Armenye & Alisaundre / & in many other places + You be my Signes se / that be on my hatt + That I haue walkid wide / & wete and in drie + And sought good Seyntes / for my soules helthe + + Knowest aught a Corsseynt / þat men call truthe + Couldest thou ought tell us the waie / where that man dwellith + Naie so me god helpe / said that pilgrime againe + I neuer se palmer / with picke nor with Scrippe / + Aske after him erst / till nowe in this place + Peter quod a plowman / & put furth his head + I knowe him aswell / as a clerk doth his bookes + Conscience and Kyndwitt / taught me to his place + And did me sure them sikerlie / to serue him for euer + Bothe to sowe and sett / the while I might Labour + I haue bene his folower / all this fifftie winter + Bothe sowen his sede / and seruid his beastes + Within and without / waited his profite + I dike and I delue / and to that Truthe grantith + Sometime I sowe / and sometime I threshe + In tailours crafte & Tinkers crafte / what truthe can deuise + I weaue and I wynde / and do what Truthe willith + For though I saie it my-self / I serue him to paie + Ich haue myne Hire well / & other-whiles more + He is the best paier / that poure men maye knowe + He withold frome no seruaunt his hyre / that he hath not at night + He is as lowlie as a lambe / & louely of Speche + And if ye will to wite / where that he dwellith + I shall shew you plainlie / þe wey to his place + Yea lefe piers quod thise pilgrymes / & proferid him hire + For to go with them / to Truthes dwelling place + Naie by my soules helth quod piers / & began to swere + I willnot take a ferthing / for Saynt Thomas shryne + Truthe wolde loue me the lesse / a long tyme þerafter + But if ye will to wend well / þis is the waie thether + Ye must go through Mekenesse / Both men and wyues + Till ye come into Conscience / þat Christ wite the sothe + That ye loue our lorde god / best of all thing + And then your neighbourure next / in nowise appeire + Otherwise then thou woldest / that he did to the + And so bowe furth by a brook / be buxome of speche + Till ye fynde a foorde / your Fathers honoure + Honora patrem et matrem &c + Wade in that water / & washe ye well there + And ye shall leape the lighter / all your life after + f 3 + + + And so shalt thou se Swere not / but if it be for nede + And namelie in ydilnesse / the name of god allmightie + Then shalt þou come by a crofte / but come þou not therin + That Croft hight Covet not / mennis catell nor their wives + Nor non of their seruauntes / that noye them might + Loke ye breake no bowes there / but if hit be your oune + Two stockes there stande / but stint ye not there + They hight Steale not / nor slea not / go furth by bothe + And leaue them on thi left hand / & loke not therafter + And holde well þi Holidaie / heigh till even + Then shalt þou blench at a Bredge / Bere no fals witnesse + he is frythid with Floryns / and other foes many + Loke þou plucke no plant there / for perill of þi soule + Then shall ye se Say sothe / so it be to do + In no case ellis not / for nomannes bidding + Than shalt þou come to a Court / as clere as the Sonne + The mote is of mercie / the manere about + And all the walles be of witt / to hold will out + And kernelid with Christendome / mankyde to saue + Buttrased with beleue so / or þou beist not saved + And all the houses / be hillid / hallis & Chambers + With no lead but loue / & lowe spech as bretherne + The Bridge is of bidd well / the better may þou spede + Euery piller is of Penance / of & of Holie preyers + Of almesededes ar the hokes / that the gates hang on + Grace hight the Portar / a good man forsothe + His man hight Amend you / for many men him knoweth + Tell him this Token / that Truthe wite the sothe + I performed the penaunce / that the preist me inioyned + And am full sorie for my synnes / & so shall I euer + When I think theron / though I were a pope + Bid amend you meke him / till his Maister ones + To wayue vp the wickett / that the woman shett + When Adam & Eue / ete Appuls vnrostid + Per Evam cunctis clausa est / et per Mariam patefacta est + For he hath the kye of the Clicket / though the king slepe + And if grace graunt to the / to go in this wise + Thou shalt se in þi-self / Truthe in þi hart + In a cheyne of charitie / as thou a childe were + To suffre him & saie nought / Agayne þi syres will + + But beware then of Wrath / That ys a wickyd shrewe + He hath Envie to him / that in thine hart sitteth + And provokith pride / to preise thi-self + The boldnesse of thi good dedis / maketh the blynde then + And then art thou driven out as dew / & the dore closed + Keyid & clicketted / to kepe the without + Happely an hundred wynter / ere þou might entre + Thus mightest þou Lose his loue / to set much by þi-self + And neuer perfortune after entre / but grace þou haue + But there are seven sisters / þat serue Truthe euer + And are porters of the posternes / þat to þe place longeth + The one hight Abstinence / & humilite another + Charitie and Chastitie / be hir chefe maidens + Pacience & Peace / much people they helpe + Largenesse the Ladie / she lettith in full many + She hath holpen a thowsand / out of the deuils pinfold + And who is Sib to thise vii / so me god helpe + He is wonderlie welcome / and gentillie receyuid + And onlesse ye be Sibbe / to soomme of thise seuen + It is full hard quod piers / for any of ye all + To get in at any gate / but grace be the more + Now by Christ quod a Cutpurs / I haue no kyn there + Nor I quod an Apewarde / by aught that I can knowe + Wite god quod a Wafrer / wist I this forsothe + Shold I neuer farther a foot / for no Friers preching + Yes quod piers the Plowman / & provokid him all to good + Mercie is a maid there / & hath might ouer them all + And she is Sibbe / to all synfull / & hir son also + And through the help of them ij / hope þou non other + Thou might get grace there / incase þou go by-time + By saynt Poule quod a pardoner / I fere I am not knowne there + I will go fech my box / with my brevettes / & a bull with bishops lettr + By Christ quod a Comon woman / thi companie will I folowe + Thou shalt saie I am thi suster / I wotnot where they become + + + + Passus Sextus de Visione + This were a wicked wey / but who-so had a gyde + That wold folow vs eche a fote / thus thise folke comoned + Quod perkin the ploughman / by Seynt peter of Rome + I haue an half acre to erye / by the high waie + f 4 + + Had I eried that Half Acre / & sowen it after + I wold go with you / And the waie you teache + This were a long letting / quod a Ladie in A Scleyre + What shulde we women / worke the while + Some shall sowe the sack quod piers / for sheding of þe wheat + And ye louely ladies with your long fingers + That ye haue Silk & Sendall / to sowe when ye Lust + Chesibles for chapleynes / chirches to honor + Wyues and wedowes / wolle and flex shall spinne + Make clothe I counsell you / & teach so your doughters + The nedy and the nakid / take hede how they Ly + And cast them clothes / for so commandeth truthe + For I shall lende them lifelode / onlesse þe lond faile + Flesh and bread both / to rich and to poure + As long as I liue / for the lordes loue of heuen + And all manere of men / þat through meat & drink liue + Helpe him to worke wightlie / that wynneth your food + By Christ quod a knight then / He telleth vs the best + But on the teme trulie / taught was I neuer + But tell me quod the knight / & by Crist I will assaye + By Saynt Paule quod Perkin / ye proffre you so faire + That I shall swynk and sweate / & sowe for vs bothe + And other Labors do for þi loue / all my Life-tyme + In Couenaunt that þou kepe / holie kirk & my-self + From Wastors & wickedmen / þat this world distroy + And go Hunt herdelie / both hares & Foxes + Bores and brockes / that breake doune my hedgis + And go affaite the Fawkons / wild foules to kyll + For such come to my Crofte / & croppe my whete + Curteislie the knight then / began these wordes + By my Power Piers quod he / I plight þe my trouth + To fulfill this forward / though I fight shulde + As long as I Liue / I shall the mainteyne + Yea but yet a poynt quod Piers / I pray you of more + Loke ye troble no tenant / But truthe will assent + And though ye may Amercie them / Let mercie be taxour + And mekenesse þi master / Maugre Medis chekes + And though poure men proffre you / presentes & giftes + Take it not lest perfortune / ye maie it not deserue + For thou shallt yeld it againe / & wone yeris ende + In a full perilouse place / Purgatorie it hight + + And misuse not thi bondmen / the better shallt þou spede + Though he be thi vnderling here / well may he happe in heauen + And be more worthier sett / & with more blisse + Amice ascende superius + For in the Charnell at church / churles be euill to knowe + Or a knight from a knaue / knowe this in thine hart + And that þou be true of thi tong / and hate all tales + Onlesse they be of wisdome / thy workmen to chasten + Holde with non Harlottes / nor here not their tales + And namelie at meate / such men eschewe + For thei be the deuylls disours / I do the to vnderstande + I Assent by Seynt Iame / seid the knight than + For to worke by thi wordes / the while my Life durethe + And I shall aparaile me quod Perkyn / in pilgrymes wise + And I will go with you / till we fynde Truthe + And cast on my clothes / clouted and hole + My cockers and my Cuffes / for colde of my nayles + And hang myn hop at my halse / in stead of a Scrippe + A busshell of breadcorne / bring me therin + For I woll sowe it my-self / And then will I wende + To pilgrimage as palmers do / pardon for to haue + But who-so helpe me to erie / or sowe here or I goo + Shall haue leue by our lorde / to gleane here in harvest + And make them chere therwith / in spight of who say naie + And alkynd craftie men / that can Liue in truthe + I shall fynde them food / that feithfullie Labour + Saue Iacke the Iogler / and Ienet of the Stewes + And Danyell the Dyce pleyer / & benet the Bawde + And Frere Faitour / and folke of his order + And Robin the Rybawder / for his rustie wordes + Truth told me ones / and bad me telle it after + Deleantur de libro viuencium / I sholde not dele with them + For holie church is commandid / of them no tythe to take + Quia cum iustis non scribantur / + They be escaped good aventure / god them amende + Dame worke when tyme is / Piers wife hight + His Doughter hight do right so / or þi dame shall the beate + His son hight suffre þi Souereynes / to haue their will + Deme them not for if thou doist / thou shalt it dere abie + Lat god worke withall / for so his worde teacheth + For now am I olde & hoore / and haue of myn owne + g 1 + + + To penaunce and to pilgrimage / I will passe with thise other + Therfore I will or I go / wright my testament + In dei nomine amen I make it my-self + He shall haue my soule / that best hath deseruid it + And fro the feind it defende / For so I beleue + Till I come his acomptes / as my Credo me tellith + To haue a releas & remission / on þat rentall I beleue + The kirk shall haue my Carkas / and kepe my bones + For of my corne and catell / she claymed the tythe + I paid it hir prestlie / for perill of my soule + Therfor is she holden I hope / to haue mynde on me in the Masse + And mynde me in hir memorie / Among all cristen + My wife shall haue of that I wan / with truthe & nomore + And deale among my doughters / & my dere childerne + For though I die this daie / my dettes are quyte + I bare homoe that I borowed / ere I to bed went + And with the rest and remenaunt / by the Rood of Lukes + I will worchip truthe / during my Life + And be his Pilgryme at the plough / for pore mennis sakes + My plowgh fote shalbe my pickt staf / & pich a ij þe rotes + And helpe my Coulter to kerue / & clense þe forowes + Now is Perkin and his pilgrimes / to the plowgh gone + To erie his half Acre / holpe him manye + Dykers and deluers / digged vp the balkes + Therwith was perkyn apaide / & preised them fast + Other workemen there were / that wrought full yerne + Euery man in his manere / made himself to do + And some to please Perkyn / picked vp the wedes + And high Pryme piers / Let the plough stand + To ouerse them himself / And who-so best wrought + He shulde be hyred therafter / when hervest time came + And then sate some / & song at the ale + And holpe to erie his half Acre / with hey troly lolie + Now by the perill of my Soule quod piers / all in Angre + Onlesse ye arise the rather / And hast you to worke + Shall no greyne that growith / glad you at nede + And though you die for dowell sorowe / þe deuill take him þat recke + Then were Faytours aferde / and Feyned them blynde + Some Laid their legges awrie / as such Losels can + And made their mone to Piers / & praied him of grace + We haue no Lymmes to Labour with / Lorde gracid be ye + But we pray for you Piers / and for your plough bothe + + That God of his grace / your grayne multiplie + And yeld you for your Almusse / þat ye giue vs here + For we may neither swink nor sweate / such sikenes we haue + Yf hit be true quod Piers that ye saie / I shall it sone espie + Ye be wastours I wot well / & truth wot the same + And I am his olde hyne / and hight him to warne + Which they be in this worlde / that hindre his workemen + Ye wast that men wynne / with travaile and with tene + But Truth shall teach you / yhis teame to driue + Or ye shall eate barlie bread / & of the brook drinke + But if he be blynde or brokeleggid / or bolted with yrons + He shall eate wheat bread / & drink with my-self + Till god of his goodnesse / Amendement him sende + But ye shuld travaile as Truth wold / & take meat & hire + To kepe keen in the feild / the corne from the beastes + Dike and delue / or digg vpon sheues + Or helpe to make morter / or bear dung to the feild + In Lecherie and in Loselrie / ye liue and in sleuth + And all is through suffraunce / that vengeaunce ye ne take + But Ancres & heremytes / that eat not but at nones + And no more or morowe / myn Almusse shall they haue + And of Catell to kepe them with / þat haue Cloisters & Churches + But Robert Rennabout / shall not haue of myne + Nor Apostels but if they can preache / And haue pour of þe Bisshop + They shall haue bread & potage / & make them-self at ease + For it is vnreasonable Religion / that of nought of certeyne + And than began a wastour be angrie / & wold haue fought + And to Piers þe Plowman / he profred his gloue + A Bretoner A Bragger / Bosted Piers also + And bad him go pisse with his plough / forpyned shrewe + Wilt thou or nylt þou / we will haue oure will + Of thi flour and of thi flesh / fech when we Like + And make vs mery therwith / in spight of þi tethe + Then Piers the ploughman / pleyned him to þe knight + To kepe him as Couenant was / from cursed shrewes + And fro thise wastours in woluis skynnes / þat make þe world dere + For they wast and winne nought / And that ilk while + Maynot plentie be among þe people / whilles the plough Lythe + Curteislie the knight then / as his kynde wolde + Warned wastour / And counseiled him better + Or thou shalt abie by the Lawe / by thorder þat I bere + g 2 + + + I was not wont to worke quod Wastour / & now will I not begynne + And set Light by the Lawe / & Lasse by the knight + And set Piers at a pese / and his plough bothe + And thretind Piers and his men / if they met eftsone + Now by the perile of my soule quod piers / I shall apeire you all + And whouped after hunger / that herd him at þe first + Awreke me of thise wastours quod he / þat this world shendith + Hunger in hast then / hent wastour by the mawe + And wrong him so by the wombe / that his eyen waterid + He buffetid the brytoner / about the Chekes + That he lokid Like a Lanterne / all his Life after + He beat them so both / he brast welnere their guttes + Had not Piers with a pese loof / preid hunger to cease + Thei had died euin streit / deme thou non other + Suffre them Liue he said / & Lat them eate with hogges + Orelles beanes and bren / Bakid togithers + Orelles mylke and meane ale / thus preid piers for them + Faitors for feare herof / Flewe into Bernes + And Laid on with Fleyles / fro morowe till night + That Hunger was not so hardie / on them for to loke + For a pott full of peases / þat Piers had made + An heap of Heremites / get them spadis + And kitt their Copes / and Courters them made + And went as workemen / with spades & with shouelis + And deluid & digged / to driue awaie hunger + Blynde and bedren / were holpen a thowsand + That sate and beggid syluer / sone were they healid + For that was bake for bayarde / was bote for many hungrie + And many a begger for beanes / redie was to swynke + And eche poreman well apaide / to haue f pesen for his hyre + And that Piers prayed them to do / as prest as a Sperhawke + And therof was Piers proude / & put them to worke + And gaf them meat as he might / & measurable hyre + Then had Piers pitie / And preid hunger to go + Home vnto his oune house and hold him there + For I am well awroke / of wastours through þi might + But I praye the ere thou passe / quod pers to hunger + Of Beggers and of bidders / what best is to do + for I wot well be ye gone / they will worke full Ill + For mischefe it maketh / they be so meke nowe + And for defaute of their food / thise folke be at my will + They are my blodie bretherne / for god bought vs all + + Truthe taughte me ones to Loue them echone + And to helpe them of all thing / aye as they nede + And now wold I wite of the / what were the best + And how I might maister them / & make them to worke + Here now quod hunger / and holde it for a wisdome + Bolde beggers and bigg / Bread able to gett + With houndes bread / and horsbread / hold vp their hartes + Abate them with beanes / for bolling of their wombe + And incase they grudge / bid them go Labour + And he shall haue Better / when he haue earnid it + And if ye fynde any freke / that fortune hath apeyrid + Or any manere false men / shewid you such to knowe + Confort him with thi catell / for Christes loue of heauen + Loue them and lende them / so the Lawe of god teacheth + Alter alterius onera portate + And all manere of men / that þou may aspye + That nedie be and noughtie / helpe them with þi goodes + Loue them and Lacke them not / Lat god take the vengeance + Though they do euill / Lat god worke + Michi vindictam et ego retribuam + And if if thou wilt be graciouse to goode / do as the gospell bid + And biloue þe among pouremen / so shalt þou gett grace + Facite vobis amicos de Mammona iniquitatis + I wold not greue god quod Piers / for all the good on grounde + Might I without synne do as þou saist / said Piers then + Ye I promise the quod hunger / orelles the Bible Lieth + Go to genesis the giaunt / thengenderour of vs all + In Sudore and labore / thou shalt þi meat wynne + And Labour for þi Lifelode / so our lorde bad + And Sapience seith the same / I se it in the Bible + Piger pro frigore / no feild woll tille + And therfor he shall begg / & noman bete his hunger + With the mannes face Mathue / said these wordes + That Servus nequam / had a Mnam / & for he wold not chaff + He had maugrie of his maister / euermore after + And toke awaie his Mnam / bicause he woldnot work + And gaf that Mnam to him / that had tean + And then He said / that holie church it herde + He that hath shall haue / and helpe there it nedethe + And he þat nought haue / shallnot haue / & noman him helpe + And that he wenith well to haue / I will it him bireue + Kynde wit wold / that euery man wrought + g 3 + + Outher in dyking or deluyng / or travaile in prayers + Contemplatiue Life or Actiue Life / Christ wolde they wrought + The Psalter seith in psalme of Beati omnes + The man that fedith himself / with his feithfull Labour + He is blessed by the book / in bodie and in Soule + Labores manuum tuarum &c + Yet I pray you quod Piers / for charitie and ye can + Any Leaf of Lechecrafte / Lerne it me my dere + For some of my seruauntes / and my-self also + Of all a wike worke not / So oure wombe aketh + I wot well quod Hunger / what disease þou Haste + Ye haue eaten ouermuch / & that make you grone + But I warne the quod Hunger / as þou thine Helth wilt haue + That þou drink no daie / ere thou eate somewhat + And eate not I warne the / ere Hunger the take + And send the of his sawce / to savour with thi Lippes + And kepe some to souper / and sitt not to long + But rise with an Appetite / & ere he be fillid + Lat not sir Surfet / sit at þi Boorde + Trust him not he is Lecherouse / & Likerouse of tong + And after many sundrie meates / his mawe is ahungred + And if ye diet you thus / I dare Laie myne earis + That Phisike shall his Furred hoodis / for his food selle + And his Cloke of Calaber / with all the knappes of gold + And be fayne by my faith / his Phisike to Leue + And Lerne to Labour with lond / for Lifelode is swete + For many Leches are Murtherers / the Lorde them amende + They cause men die through their drinkes / ere their tyme come + By saint Paule quod piers / thise are profitable wordes + Go now hunger when þou wilt / & well be thou euer + For this is a louelie Lesson / the Lorde it the foryeld + By god yet quod hunger / Hens will I not goo + Till I haue well dyned / and dronke bothe + I haue no peny quod piers / polettes for to bye + Nor neither gose nor pig / but ij grene cheses + A fewe cruddes and creme / and an hauercake + And ij louis of beanes and bran / bake for my men + And yet I saie by my soule / I haue no salt bacon + Nor non Egges by Christ / collopes for to make + But I haue perslie & porettes / & many Cooll plantes + And eke a Cowe and a calf / and a cart mare + To drawe afeild my dong / while the drowt Lastith + + And by this Lifelode I must Liue / till Lamesse tyme + And by then I hope to haue / Hervest in my Crofte + And then maie I dight thi dyner / as me best Liketh + All the poure people then / Peskoddes they Fet + Benes and Baken apples / they brought in their Lappes + Chibolles and Chervell / and ripe cheris manie + And profred Piers this present / to please with hunger + All hunger ete in hast / & askid after more + Then poure folk for fear / Fed hunger Fast + With grene porett and pesen / to poyson him they thought + By that it drewe nere Heruest / new corne came to cheping + Than was folke fayne / and fedd hunger with the best + With good ale as Gloton taught / & made hunger to slepe + And then wolde wastour not worke / But wandrid about + Nor no Begger eat bread / that beanes were in + But of Coket and Clermatyn / or ellis of clene wheat + Nor non halfpenyale / in nowise drynke + But of the best and brownest / that in the borough is to sell + Laborers that haue no Lande / to liue on but their handes + Disdayned to dyne a daie / with nyghtolde wortes + May no penyale them please / nor no piece of Bakon + But even fresh flesh / or fishe / fryed or bake + And that chaud and plus chaud / for chilling of their mawe + And onlesse he be highlie / hierd / elles will he chide + And that he was a workman / waile the tyme + Against Catons counsell / began he to Iangle + Paupertatis onus pacienter ferre memento + He greuith him against god / & grudgeth against reason + And then Curseth he the king / & all his Counseile after + Such Lawes to make / Laborers to greue + But whillist hunger was his Maister / there wolde non of them chide + Nor striue against þe statute / so sternly he lokid + But I warne you workemen / wynne whill ye maye + For hunger hitherwarde / hast him fast + He shall awake with water / wastours to chaste + Ere fyue be fulfilled / such Famyn shall arise + Through floodes and foule wethers / frutes shall faile + And so seid Saturne / & sent you warnyng + When ye se the Sonne amisse / & ij Monkis heades + And a maid haue the maistrie / & multiplie by eight + Then shall death withdrawe / and derth be iustice + And Dauie the Dyker / shall die for hunger + g 4 + + + But if god of his goodnesse / graunte vs a trewe + + + + Passus Septimus de Visione + tReuth harde telle herof / and to Piers sent + To make his teme / and tille his grounde + And purchased him a pardon a pena et culpa / + For him and for his heyers / for euermore after / + And bad him hold him at home / & erie his Laies + And alle that helpe him to erye / to set or to sowe + Or any other myster / that myght Piers availe + Pardon with Piers plowman / Truth hath grauntid + Kynges and knightes / that kept holie churche + And rightfullie in realmes / rule the people + Haue Pardon through Purgatorie / to passe full Lightly + With patriarkes and Profettes / in Paradyse to be felawe + Bysshops blessed / if they be as they sholde + Legisters of bothe Lawes / þe Lewde þerwith to preche + And in-asmuch as they maie / Amende all Synfull + Are peres with thapostils / this Pardon piers shewith + And at the daie of dome / at the high dese to sytt + Marchauntz in the mergine / had manye yeris + But non a pena et a culpa / the pope wolde them graunte + For they kepe not the holidayes / as Holy church teachith + And for they swere by their soule / & so god mot them helpe + Clene against Conscience / their wares to selle + But vnder his secret seale / Truth sent them a letter + That they shuld bye boldly / that them best Liked + And so sell it againe / and saue the wynnyng + And Amende Masondieux / therwith & diseased folke helpe + And wicked weyes / Lightlie amende + And do bote to bridges / that broke bene + Marry maidens / or make them Nonnes + Pouer people and Prisons / fynde them their fode + And set scolers to scole / or to some other craftes + Releue Religion / and rent them better + And I shall sende you my-self / Saynt Mychaell myn Archangell + That no deuill shall dere you / nor feare you in your dying + But kepe you from dispaire / if ye will thus worke + And send your soules in safetie / to my saintes in Ioye + Then were Marchauntes merie / many wept for gladnesse + + And preysid Piers the plowman / þat purchasid this bull + Men of Lawe Least Pardon had / that pleade for mede + For the psalter sauith them not / such as take gyftes + And namely of Innocentes / þat non euill knowe + Super innocentem munera non accipiet / + Pleaders shuld peyne them / to pleade for such an helpe + Princes and prelates / shulde paye for their peynes + A Regibus et principibus erit merces eorum + But many a iustice and Iurour / wolde for Iohan do more + Than pro dei pietate / Beleue non other + But he that spendith his speche / & speakith for þe poure + That is innocent and nedie / And noman Appaireth + Comfort him in that case / without couetise of giftes + And speakith Lawe for the lordes loue / As he it hath lernid + Shall no deuill at his deth daie / dere him A myte + But bodie and soule to be faf / þe psalter beareth witnesse + Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo + But to begg water , wynde , wit , nor fyre the fere + Thise foure the Father of heauen / made to be commone + Thise be Truthes treasores / true folk to helpe + That neuer shall wax nor want / without god himself + When the drawe vnto death / And Indulgences wold haue + Their Pardon is full small / at their parting hens + That any mede of meane men / for their moting take + Ye Legisters and Lawers / take this for truthe + For if that I Lye / Mathue is to blame + He bad me telle you this / & this prouerbe he me tolde + Quodcumque vultis vt faciant vobis homines , facite eis + All Lyuyng Laborers / that Liue by their handes + That trulie take / and trulie wynne / + And liue in loue and lawe / for their lowe hartes + Haue the same absolucion / þat sent was to piers + Beggers and Bidders / Be not in the bull + But if the Suggestion be true / þat maketh them to begg + For he þat begg or bid / onlesse he haue nede + He is fals with the feinde / & defraudeth þe nedy + And also begyleth the gyuer / Against his will + h 1 + + For yf he wist he had no nede / he wold giue it to another + That had more nede then he / so the nediest shulde be holpe + Cato kennithe me thus / and the Clerke of stories + Cui des videto / this is Catons teaching + And in the Stories he teacheth / to bestowe thine Almesse + Sit elemosina tua in manu tua donec studes cui des + But Gregori was a good man / & bad vs gyue all + That aske his loue / that all to vs gyueth + Non eligas cui miserearis , neforte pretereas illum qui meretur accipere . + Quia incertum est pro quo deo magis placeas . + for though you knowe not who is worthie / god knowth who haue nede + In him þat taketh is the the trechery / if any treason be + For he that geuith yeldith / and bring himself to rest + And he that taketh boroweth / & bring himself in dett + Beggers borowe euermore / and their suertie is god allmyghtie + To repaie them þat geuith them / & yet muche more + Quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam , vtego veniam cum vsuris exigere . + Therfor begg not ye beggers / onlesse ye haue great nede + For who-so hath to begg him bread / þe booke berith witnesse + He hath ynough þat hath bread ynough / though he haue not elles + Satis diues est qui non indiget pane . + Lat vsage be your solas / of Sainctes Lyves reding + The book banneth beggery / & blameth them in þis manere + Iunior fui etenim senui , et non vidi iustum derelictumnec semen eius querens panem . + For ye liue in no loue / nor no Lawe holde + Many of you wedde not / þe women that ye dele with + But as wylde beastes with wehee / winde vp and work + And bryng furth barnes / þat Bastardes men call + Or the Back or some boon / he brekith in his youth + And sithen go faiten with your fauntes / for euermore after + There is more misshapt people / Among thise beggers + Then of all manere men / þat in þis world walke + And they that lede such Lyfe / may lothe the tyme + That they were men wrought / when they shall hens fare + But oldemen and hore / þat helples be of Strength + And wemmen with childe / that maye not worke + Blynde and bedrede / and their membres broke + + That take their mischefes mekelie / as mesels and other + haue as pleyne pardon / as the plowman himself + For loue of their lowe hartes / our Lorde hath them gramtid + Their Penaunce & their purgatorie / here on this erthe + Piers quod a preist then / thi pardon must I rede + For I will construe eche clause / & tell it þe in englishe + And Piers at his prayer / the pardon vnfolded + And I behynde them bothe / beheld all the bull + All in ij Lynes it laie / & not a leaf more + And was writen even thus / in witnesse of Truthe + Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam eternam + Qui vero mala , in ignem eternum / + Peter quod the preest / I can no pardon Fynde + But do well & haue well / and god shall haue thi soule + But do euill and euill haue / hope þou non other + But after þi death daie / the deuill shall haue þi soule + And piers for pure tene / pullid it in tweyne + And said Si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis , nontimebo mala quoniam tu mecum es / + I shall cesse of my Sowing quod Piers / & swynk not so harde + Nor about my bely ioye / Be nomore so busie + Of preyers and of penaunce / my plough shalbe hereafter + And wepe when I shulde slepe / though whete bread me faile + The prophete his bread ete / in penaunce and sorrowe + By that the psalter saith / so did other manye + That loue god trulie / his Lifelode is full easye + Fuerunt michi lacrime mee panes die ac nocte / + And onlesse Luke lie / he teacheth vs by foules + We shulde not be busie / about the worldis blisse + Ne soliciti sitis he saith in the gospell + And shewith vs by ensamples / our-self to teche + The foules in the feilde / who fynde them meat in wynter + They haue no garner to go to / But god fynde them all + What quod the preist to perkyn / Peter as me thinke + Thou art Letterd a litill / who lerned the on book + Abstinence þe Abbesse quod Piers / myne . A . B . C . me taught + And Conscience came after / & taught me muche more + Were þou a Preest Piers quod he / þou myghtest preache where þou shuldest + h 2 + + As dyuyner in diuinyte with dixit insipiens to thi teme + Lewde lorell quod piers / litill lokist þou on the Bible + On Salomons sawes / selden thou beholdest + Ecce derisores et iurgia cum eis & c + The preist & Perkyn / opposed eche other + And I through their wordes / awooke & waited about + And se the sonne in the south / sitt that tyme + Meatlesse and monylesse / on Maluerne hilles + Musing on this dreme / my waie I went + Many tyme this dreame / hath made to studie + Of that I se sleping / if it so be myght + And also for Piers the plowman / full pensyf in hart + And what a pardon piers had all þe people to confort + And howe the preist inpugned it / with ij proper wordes + But I haue no trust in dreames / for I se them oft faile + Caton & Canonistes / conseyle vs to Leaue + To giue trust to dreames / for Somnia ne cures . + Yet for that the bible book / bearith witnesse + How Danyell diuyned / the dreames of a kyng + That was Nabuchadnasar / Named of clerkes + Daniell said syr king / thy dreames betoken + That Straungers shall come / þi kyngdome to clayme + Among Lower Lordes / thi lond shalbe departid + And as daniell divined / in dede so hit came to passe + The king lord lost his Lordeship / & meaner men it had + And Ioseph dreamid mervelouslie / howe þe mone & þe sonne + And the elleuen sterres / honoured him all + Then Iacob Iudgid / Iosehphes dreame + Beau fitȝ quod his father / for defaute we shall + I my-self and my sonne / seke the for nede + It befelle as his father said / in Pharaoes tyme + That Ioseph was iustice / Egipt to rule + It befell as his father tolde / his freindes there him sought + And all this moue me / on thise dremes to think + And howe the preest / approuid no pardon to dowell + And demed þat dowell / all Indulgences passed + Byennals and tryennals / and Bisshops Letters + And how dowell at the daie of dome / is doutelie taken + + And passeth all the Pardon / of Seynt Peters chirche + Now hath the Pope poure / Pardon to graunte the people + Without anie penaunce / to passe in-to heauen + This is oure Beleue / as Learned men vs teache + Quodcunque ligaueris super terram &c + And so I beleue trulie / Lordes forbode ellis + That pardon and penaunce / And preyers do saue + Soules that haue synned / seuen tymes deadlie + But to trust to thise tryennals / trulie me thinke + Is not so sure for the soules / certes as is dowell + Therfor I rede you all / that riche be in this world + Vpon trust of your treasure / trentals to haue + Be ye neuer the bolder / to breake goddes commandementes + And namely ye maisters / Mayers and Iudges + That haue the welth of this worlde / & for wise men be holden + To purchase you pardon / and þe Popes bulles + At the dreadfull dome / when the dead shall arise + And come all before Christ / Acomptes to yelde + Howe thou haist led þi Life / & his Lawes kept + And how þou diddist daie by daie / the dome will reherce + A poke full of Pardon /there / nor provincials lettres + Though they be founde / in þe fraternyte of all iiij orders + I sett your patentes & Pardons / at the value of one pease + Therfor I counseile all cristene / to crie god mercie + And Marie His mother / be oure meane betwene + That god giue vs grace here / ere we go hens + Such workes to worke / while we be here + That After our deathe daie / dowell may reherce + At the daie of dome / we did as he commandid / + + + + Passus Octauus de visione / Et hic incipit prima Inquisicio de dowell + thus Roobid in russet / I romed aboute + All a somer season / for to seke dowell + And Freyned full oft / of folke þat I met + Yf any wight wist / where dowell was at Inne + And what man he might be / of many man I asked + Was neuer wight as I went / that me tell coulde / + h 3 + + Where this dowell lodgid / lasse nor more + Till it befelle on a Fridaie / two friers I mett + Maisters of þe Mynors / men of great witte + I hailed them hendelye / as I had lerned + And preid them for charitie / ere they passed ferther + Yf they knewe in anie countrie / or costes as they went + Wheras dowell dwellithe / do me to knowe + For they be men þat in this worlde / most wide walke + And knowe Countries & courtes / and many sondrie places + Bothe prynces paleises / and poure mennes Cottes + And dowell & do euill / where thei dwelle bothe + Among vs quod the Friers / that man is dwelling + And euer hath as I hope / and euer shall hereafter + Contra quod I as a clerk / & began to dispute + And told him pleynlie / Sepcies in die cadit iustus + Seuen tymes saith the book / synneth þe rightfull + And who synneth I said / dothe euill as me thinketh + And dowell & do euill / maye not dwelle together + Ergo / he is not alwaies / among you Friers + He is sometime elliswhere / to teche the people / + I shall say the my sonne / said the Frier then + Howe seuen times the iust man / on a daie synneth + By a famyliar quod the Frier / I shall the fair shewe + Set a man in a bote / amiddes the brode streame + The wynde , the water / and þe boat wagging + Make a man many a tyme / to falle & to stande + For stande he neuer so stif / he stombleth if he moue + But yet is he safe & sounde / & so him behouithe + For if he arise not þe rather / and reche to the stere + The wynde wolde with þe water / þe Boat oerthrowe + And then were his life lost / through slouth of hym-self + And thus it is quod þe frier / by folke here on erthe + The water is Likened to the world / þat wasteth and waxeth + The goodes of this grounde / are Likened to þe great waves + That as wyndes and wethers / walke aboute + The Boat is Likened to our bodie / þat brittyll is of kynde + And through þe feinde & the flesh / & the fraile world + Synneth the iust man / seuen tymes on the daie / + + But deadlie synne dothe he not / for dowell him kepithe + And þat is Charitie þe champion / chief helpe against Synne + for he strengthen man to stande / and stireth mannes soule + And though the bodie bowe / as Boat do in the water + Yet is the soule saf / but if þou wilt þi-self + Do a deadlie synne / and drench so thi soule + God will suffre well thy slouth / if þi-self will + For he gaf the for a defence / to rule well þi-self + That is Witt and Free will / to euery man a porcion + To fleyng foules / to fisshes and to beastes + But man hathe most þerof / and most is to blame + Onlesse he worke well þerwith / as dowell him teacheth + I haue no right knowlege quod I / to conceyue all your wordes + But if I may Liue and loke / I shall go learne better + I betake þe now to Christ / þat on the Crosse died + And I said the same saue you from mischaunce + And giue you grace in this world / good men to be + And thus I went wide where / walking alone + By a wyld wildernesse / and by a wood syde + Noise of the birdes / brought me aslepe + And vnder a lynde vpon a launde / lened I a stounde + To Lythe the layes / tho louelie foules made + Myrthe of theyr mowthes / made me there to slepe + The meruelousest dremes / dreamid I then + That euer dreamed man / in þis world as I wene + A bigg man as me thought / & like to my-self + Came and callid me / by my right name + What art þou quod I then / that þou my name knowest + That thou wotst well quod he / & noman better + Wot I what þou arte ? Thought said he then + I haue folowed the this vij yeres / seist þou me no rather + Art thou Thought quod I then / þou canst me telle + Where that Dowell dwellith / do me that to knowe + Dowell & dobet / & dobest the thirde quod he + Are three fair vertues / And benot far to fynd + Who-so is true of his tong / and of his ij handes + And through his Labour & his lond / his Lifelode wynneth + And is trustie of his taile ende / taketh but his oune + h 4 + + And is no dronkerd nor disdeynous / dowell him foloweth + Dobett doth euen thus / And he dothe muche more + He is as lowlie as a lambe / and louelie of speche + And helpeth all men / as they nede + The bagges and the bougettes / he hath broken all + That the Erle Auarice / heild and his heyers + And thus with Mammons money / he hathe made him freindes + And is renne to Religion / and hath rendrid the Bible + And preacheth to the people / Saint Paules wordes + Libenter suffertis insipientes , cum sitis ipsi sapientes + And suffreth the vnwise / with you for to liue + And with glad will do them good / for so god willeth / + Dobest is aboue bothe / & bearith a bisshops crosse + Ys hookid on the one ende / to plucke men from helle + A pyke on that other ende / to put doune the wicked + That waite any wickednesse / Dowell to angre + And dowell & dobett / Amonges them haue ordeyned + To crowne one to be kyng / to rule them bothe + That if dowell or dobetter / Did against dobest + Than shall the king come / and cast them in yrons + And onlesse Dobest intreat for them / they to be there foreuer + Thus dowell & dobet / and dobest the thirde + Crowned one to be king / to kepe them all + And to rule the Realme / by theyr three wittes + And non otherwise / but as they thre assentid + I thankid thought then / þat he me thus taught + But yet I savour not thy sayinges / I covet more to lerne + How dowell dobet & dobest / do among the people + Wit can tell þe quod thought / where they iij dwelle + Ellis knowe I non þat can / þat nowe is aliue + Thought And I thus / thre daies we went + Disputing vpon Dowell / daie after daie + And ere we were ware / with witte did we mete + He was Long and Lene / Like to non other + Was no Pryde in his aparaile / nor pouertie neither + Sad of his semblaunt / and of softe chere + I durst moue no mater / to make him Iangle + But as I bad Thought then / be meane betwene + + And put forth some purpose / to proue his wittes + What was dowell from dobet / & dobest from them bothe + Than Thought at þat tyme / said thise wordes + Whether dowell dobet / and dobest be in londe + Here is Will wolde wite / if Witt coulde telle him + And whether he be man or woman / this man fayne wold knowe + And worke as they three will / this is his entent + + + + Passus Nonus de Visione . et primus de dowell + Syre dowell dwellith quod witt / not a daie hens + In a Castell þat Kynde made / of foure sondrie thinges + Of erthe and Eyre / it is made medelid togethers + With Wynde and with water / wittely enioyned + Kynde hath closed therin / craftely withe all + A Lemman that he louith / Like to himself + Anima she hight / But Envie hir hateth + A proude pricker of Fraunce / Princeps huius mundi + And wolde wynne hir awaie / with wiles if he myght + But Kynde knoweth this well / & kepith hir the better + And dothe hir with syr dowell / duke of thise Marches + Dowellbet is hir Damosell / syr dowellis doughter + To serue this Ladie trulie / bothe Late and rathe + Dobest is abouen bothe / A Bisshopes peere + That he bid must be done / he ruleth them all + Anima that ladie is led / by his lernyng + But the Constable of þat castell / þat kepith all þe wache + Ys a wise knyght withall / Syr Inwit he hight + And hath fyue faire sonnes / by his fyrst wyfe + Syr sewell & saywell / and here well the hende + Syr workewell with thyne handes / a wight man of strength + And syr Godfrey Gowell / great lordes for sothe + Thise fyue be set / to saue this Ladie Anima + Till Kynde come or sende / to saue hir for euer + What thing is Kynde quod I / canst þou me telle + Kynde quod witt is Creatour / of all manere thinges + Father and fourmer / of all þat euer was made + And that is the great god / þat begynnyng had neuer + Lorde of Lyfe and Light / of blisse and of peyne + Aungellis and all thinges / are at his will + I 1 + + But man is most like him / of marke and of shape + For through the worde that he spake / wexed furth beastes + Dixit et facta sunt + And made man / Likest vnto himself + And Eue of his rybbone / without any meane + For he was synguler himself / and seid Faciamus + And as who seith more must herto / than my worde alone + My might must helpe / now with my speche + Right as a lorde shulde make lettres / and lackid paper + Though he could wright neuer so well / if he had no penne + The letter for all the lordship / I think were neuer made + And so it semeth by him / as the Bible tellith + There he said / dixit et facta sunt / + he must worke with his worde / and his wit shewe + And in this manere was Man made / through goddes myght + With his worde and workmanship / & with Life to Last + And thus god gaue him a spyrite / of þe godhede of heauen + And of his great grace / grauntid him blisse + That is Life euerlasting / to all our linage after + And that is the Castell that Kynde made Caro it hight + And is asmuch to mene / as Man with a soule + And that he wrought with worke / & with worde bothe + Through myght of his magestie / man was made + Inwitt and all wittes be closed therin + For loue of þat Ladie anima / that Life is callid + Ouerall in mannes bodie / she walketh and wandereth + But in the hart is hir home / & hyr most rest / + And inwitte is in the head / and to the hart he lokith + What anima is leef or lothe / he ledith hir at his will + For After the grace of god / the greatest is Inwitte + Muche wo is that man / þat mysruleleth his Inwitte + And that be glotonouse glubbers / whose god is theyr wombe + Quorum deus venter est / + For they serue Sathan / theyr soules shall he haue + That Synfullie Lyue here / theyr soule is Like þe deuill + And all that liue godlye / are Like to god allmightie + Qui manet in caritate in deo manet et deus in illo + Alas that drinke shulde lose / þat god dere bought + And do god forsake them / þat he made to his Likenesse + Amen dico vobis nescio vos / Et alibi + + Et dimisi eos secundum desideria eorum / + Foles that want Inwitte / I Fynde that holie chirche + Shuld fynde them that they Lack / and fatherlesse childerne + And widowes þat haue not wherwith / to get them theyr Food + Madde men and maydens / that helplesse be + All thise Lack Inwitte / And Learning behouithe + Of this matere I might / make a long tale + And fynde many witnesses / Among the olde doctors + And that I lye not in that .I Learne þe / Luke beareth witnes + Godfathers and godmothers / that se theyr godchilderne + At misease and mischefe / and may them amende + Shall haue Penaunce in Purgatorie / but they them helpe + For more belongeth to the Litill childe / ere he the Lawe knowe + Then to be named with a name / and he neuer the wiser + Sholde no cristen creature / crie at the gate + Nor faile bread or potage / And prelates did as they shold + A Iewe wold not se a Iewe / go Iangling for defaute + For all the Mouables on this molde / if he amende it might + Alasse that a xpcristen creature / shuld be vnkynde till another + Sithen Iewes that we iudge / Iudas felawes + Eche of them helpe other / of that they nede + Why then wilnot we xpcristen / of Christes good be as kynde + As Iewes that be our Lores men / shame to vs all + The Commons for their vnkyndnesse / I drede me shall abie + Bisshopes shalbe blamed / for beggers sakes + He is worse then Iudas / that giueth a Iaper syluer + And biddeth the begger go / for his broken clothes + Proditor est prelatus cum Iuda qui patrimoniumxpĩcristi male distribuit . Et alibi . Perniciosus estDispensator qui res pauperum xpĩcristi invtiliter consumit / + He d.oth not well that dothe thus / nor drede not god allmyghtie + He louith not Salomons Sawes / þat sapience taught + Inicium sapiencie timor domini / + He that dreadeth god dothe well / & dreade him for loue + And not for drede of vengeaunce / doth þerfor the better + He doith best þat withdraweth him / by daie & by night + from spilling of speche / or anie space of tyme + Qui offendit in vno , in omnibus est reus / + Losyng of tyme / Truthe wottithe the sothe + Ys most hatid vpon Erthe / of them þat be in heauen + I 2 + + + And Sithen that speche / is inspirid of grace / + And goddes gleman / and a game of heauen + Wold neuer the feithfull father / this Fiddill were vntemperid + Nor his gleeman a gadling / a goar to Tauernes + To all true tidie men / that travaile desyre + Our Lorde loue them & lende them / lowde or stille + Grace to go to them and ofgone their Liuelode + Inquirentes autem bonum non minuentur omni bono + Trewe Weddid Laboring folke / in þis world is dowell + For they must worke and wynne / and þe world susteyne + for of thir Kynde they come / þat Confessours be callid + Kynges and Knightes / Keysers and Kerles + Maidyns and Martirs / out of wone man came + The wyfe was made þe weye / for to helpe worke + And thus was wedlok wrought / with a meane parsone + Fyrst by the fathers will / and the Freindes counseile + And Sithen by assent of them bothe / as they ij might agree + And thus was wedlock wrought / & god himself it made + In erthe and in Heauen / himself was the witnesse + But false folke feithlesse / theues and Lyers + Wastors and wreches / out of wedlocke I trowe + Conceyuid be in euill tyme / as Cayme was on Eue + Of such synfull shrewes / the Psalter maketh mencion + Concepit in dolore et peperit iniquitatem / + And all þat came of that Cayme / came to euill ende + For God sent to Sem / and said by an Aungell + Thine yssue in thine issue / I will that they be wedded + And not thi kynde with Caymes kynde / coupled nor espowsed + Yet Sem against the sond / of our Sauiour of heauen + Caymes kynde and his / coupled togethers + Till god was Angrie / for theyr workes / And then said + That euer I made man / now I do repent + Penitet me fecisse hominem / + And came to Noe anon / and bad him not faile + But shortlie shape him a ship / of shydes & boordes + Thy self and þi sonnes iij / and also your wyues + Busk you to þat Boat / and bide you therin + Till fourtie dayis be fynished / þat flood haue wasshed + Clene awaie þe cursed blood / that Caym hath made + + Beastis that now be shall banne the tyme + That euer þat cursyd Cayme / came on this earthe + All shall die for his dedes / by dales and by downes + And the foules þat flie / forth with other beastes + Eccept onlie of euery Kynde / a couple + That in thi shinglid ship / shalbe savid + Here abought the barne / the belsyres giltes + And all for theyr forefathers farid the worse + The gospell is against this / in one degree / + Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris &c + But I fynde if the father / be fals and a shrewe + That somedele the son / shall haue the syres condicions + Ympe on an Ellerne / And if thyne Appull be swete + Much merueile I haue / & more of a shrewe + That bringeth forth any barne / but if it be the same + And haue a savour after the syre / seld seist þou other + Numquam colligitur de spinis vua / nec de tribulis ficus + And thus through cursed Cayme / came care vpon erthe + And for they wrought wedlockes / against goddes will + Therfor haue they no ioy of theyr mariages / þat marrie so þer childerne + For as I se now / sothe for to telle + for Couetyse of goodes / Vnkyndelie be weddid + As carefull concepcion / commeth of such mariages + As befelle of the folke that I before of told + For good shuld wed good / though they no goodes had + I am Via et veritas seyth Christ / I may avaunce all + It is an vncomelie couple / by Christ as me think + To giue a yong wenche / to an olde Feble man + Or wedde any widowe / for welth of hir goodes + That neuer shall barne beare / But if it be in hyr armes + Many a couple sithe the Pestilence / haue plight them togithers + The fruyte þat they bring forth / are foule wordes + In Ielousye ioylesse / and iangle abedd + They haue no childerne bu cheeste / and clapping them betwene + And though they go to Dunnemowe / but if the deuill helpe + To feche the fliche / get they it neuer + For but they bothe be forsworne / þat Bacon they lose / . + k 1 + + + Therfore I counseile all xpcristen / Couete not to be weddid + For couetise of goodes / nor of kynrede riche + But maidyns & maidyns / mach you togithers + Widowes & widewers / do you the same + For no londes but for loue / Loke ye be weddid + And then shall ye haue the grace of god / & good ynough to liue with + And euery manner man / that maynot contynue + Wiselie go wedde / And ware him frome synne + For Lecherie in Licking / ys a Lymetwigg of hell + Whilles þou art yong / and þi weapyn kene + Wreke the with wyving / yf þou wilt be excused + Dum sis vir fortis , ne des tua robora scortis + Scribitur in portis , meretrix est ianua mortis + When ye haue wyvid beware / & worke in tyme + Not as Adam and Eue / when Cayme was begotten + For in vntyme trulie / betwene man and woman + Ne shuld no bourde in bed be / But if they were bothe clene + Bothe of Life and soule / and in perfect cheritie + That ilk derne dede / do noman shulde + And if lede thus their lyfe / it liketh god allmightie + For he made wedloke Fyrst / and himself it seyde + Bonum est vt vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat &c + And they that otherwise / be begotton / for gedlinges them hold + As false folke fondelinges / faitors and Lyars + Vngraciouse to get goode / or loue of the people + Wandre and wast / what they may cache + Against dowell they do euill and the deuill serue + And after their deathe daye / shall dwell with the same + But if god giue them grace here / them-self tamende + Dowell my frende is / to do as Lawes teache + To loue thy freinde and thi foo / beleue me is dobet + To giue and to lende / Bothe to yong and old + To heale and to helpe / is Dobest of all + And dowell is to drede god / & dobet to suffre + And so commeth Dobest of bothe / & bringeth doune the modie + And that is wicked will / þat many thinges shendith + And dryueth awaie dowell / through deadlie synnes / + Expicit passus nonus + + + + + Passus Duodecimus + + than had wit a wife / callid Dame Studie + That lene was of lere / and of liche bothe + She was wonderlie wrothe / þat wit me thus taught + And all staring dame Studie / sternlie saide + Well art þou wise quod she to witt / Any wisdomes to telle + To Flaterers or to Fooles / that frentike be of witt + Blamyng him & Bannyng him / and Bad hym be stille + With such wise wordes / to instruct anye stottes Sottes + And said Noli Mittere man / Margarite perles + Amonges Hogges that haue / Hawes at will + They do but dreuill on them / draf were them Leuer + Then all the precious stones / þat in Paradise wexeth + I speke it by such quod she / þat sheweth by their workes + That them were leuer londe / & lordship in erthe + Or riches and rentes / and rest and their will + Then all the true sayinges / þat Salomon said euer + Wisdome and wit nowe / is not worth a might + Onlesse hit be cardid with couetise / as clothers kembe theyr wolle + Who-so can contryue deceptes / and conspire wronges + And Lede forth a louedaie / to Let with truthe + He þat such craftes can / is oft callid to counseile + They lede Lordes with Lesynges / and belye Truthe + Iob the gentill in his gestes / witnesseth + That wicked men rule / the welth of this world + And þat they be Lordes of eche londe / þat out of lawe Liuethe + Quare impij viuunt bene &c + The psalter seith the same / by such as done yll + Ecce ipsi peccatores habundantes in seculo obtinuerut diuicias + Lo seyth holy scripture / which be thise shrewes + They that geue most / least good they .dele + And most vnkynde be to the comons / that most goodes possesseth + Que perfecisti destruxerunt , iustus autem , &c + Harlottes for theyr halotrie / may haue of theyr goodes + And Iapers and Ioglors / and Ianglers of iestes + But that hath scripture / allwaie in his mouthe + And can telle of Tobie / & of the xij apostels + Or preche of the penaunce / that Pylate falslie wrought + k 2 + + To Ihesu the gentill / whome the Iewes crucified + + Litell is he belouid / that such a lesson shewithe + Or dauntid or drawnfourth / I do it on god himself + But they that feyne them fooles / & with faiting Liueth + Against the Lawe of the lorde / And lie of on them-self + Spett and spewe / and speake foule wordes + Drinke and dreuill / and do men to gape + Licke men and Lye on them / that giue them no giftes + They can nomore mynstralcie / nor musike men to glad + Than Munde the Myller / of Multa fecit deus / + Werenot their harlotrie / haue god my truthe + Shuld neuer Kyng nor Knight / Nor Canon of . S . Paules + Gyue them in rewarde / the value of one grote + But myrth and mynstralcie / Among men is nowe + Lecherye Losencherie / and losellis tales + Glotonye and great othes / is the myrth they loue + And if they carpe of Christ / thise clerkes & thise Lewde + At meat in theyr myrth / when mynstrallis be stille + Then telle they of the Trynitie / a tale or tweyne + And bring furth a bald reason / taking Barnard to witnesse + And put furth a presumption / to proue the sothe + Thus they dreuill at theyr deace / þe deitie to knowe + Angd gnawe god with a gorge / when their guttes be full + but the carefull may crie / and carpe at the gate + Bothe hungrie and thurstie / quaking for colde + There is non to take him in / his miserie tamende + But hunt him as an hounde / & bid him go thence + Litill louith he þat lorde / þat lent him all his goodes + That thus partith with the poure / a parcell when he nedeth + Were no mercie in meane men / more then in rich + Pouer beggers meatlesse / myght go to bedd + God in gorge is muche / of thise great maisters + But among meane men / his mercie & his workes + And so seith the psalter / I haue sene it oft + Ecce audiuimus eam in Effrata , invenimus eam in campis / / silue + Clerkes and other men / carpe of god fast + And haue him much in theyr mouthes / but mene men in theyr / / hertes + + Friers and faitors / haue founde such questions + To please with proude men / sithe the pestilence tyme + And preach at Paules / for pure envie of clerkes + That folke be fyrme in þe feithe / nor free of there goodes + Nor sorye for theyr synnes / so is Pride waxen + In Religion and in all the realme / among rich and poure + That preyers haue no pour / the pestilence to lett + + And yet the wreches of this worlde / is non ware by other + Nor for drede of dethe / withdrawe not their pryde / + Nor be plentuouse to the poure / as pure charitie wolde + But in gaynesse and glotonie / forglut theyr goodes themself + And breake not to the begger / as the book teachith / + Frange esurienti panem tuum &c + And the more he wynneth / welthe and riches + And lordeth in londes / the lesse good he dealeth + Tobye told you not so / take hede you riche + Howe the Byble booke / of hym beareth witnesse + Si tibi sit copia , habundanter tribue / + Si autem exiguum illud impertire stude libenter + Who-so hath muche spende manlie / so meneth Tobie + And who-so hath lesse / rule him therafter + For we haue no letter of our Life / howlong it shall endure + Such Lessons Lordes / shulde loue to here / + And howe he might most meanye / manlie fynde + Not to fare as a fideler / or a frere / to seke feastes + Homely at other mennes houses / and hate his owne / + Emptie is their hall / euery daie in the wyke / + There the lorde nor the Ladie / Liketh not to sytt + Now haue euery riche a rule / to eate by themself + In a privie parlour / for poure mennes sake + Or in a chambre with a chymney / and leaue the chief hall + That was made for meales / men to sit in / + And all to spare to spende / that spille shall another . / + I haue herde highe men / eating at their table + OCarpe as they clerkes were / of Christ & his might + And laid fautes vpon the father / that formid vs all + k 3 + + And carpid agaynst Clerkes / crabbed wordes + Why our Saviour wolde suffre / such a worme in his blisse + That bigyled the woman / and the man after + Through which wyles and wordes / they went to helle + And all theyr sede for their synne / the same death suffred + Here Lythe our Loore / thise Lordes begynne to dispute + Of that Clerkes do teach vs / of Christ by the gospell + Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris / + Why shulde we that now be / for the workes of Adam + Roten / and to-rende / Reason wold it not + Vnusquisque portabit onus suum / + Such motyues they moue / thise maisters in their glorie + And bring men in misbeleue / þat muse much on their wordes + Ymaginatyf hereafter / shall answere to your purpose + Augustine to such Argueris / he telleth this teme + aule / + Non plus sapere quam oportet + Willith neuer to wite / why that god wolde + Suffre Sathan his sede to begile + But beleue trulie / in the Lawe of holie churche + And pray him of pardon / and Penance in þi Lyfe + And for his great mercie / to amende you here + Who-so will knowe / the waies of god allmightie + I wolde his eye were in his arse / & his fynger after + That euer will to wite / why that god wolde + Suffre Sathan / his sede to begile + Or Iudas to the iewes / IhuIesu betraye + All was as þou woldest / Lord worshippid be thou + And all is at thy will / what so euer we dispute + And they that vse those hauylones / to blynde mennes wittes + What is dowell from dobet / and deaf mut he be / + Sith he will to wite / which they bene bothe + But if he Liueth in þe Life / þat longeth to dowell + For I dare be his borrough / that dobet will he neuer + Though dobest drawe on him / day after other + And .When witt was ware / þat dame Studie told + he became so confuse / he couldnot Looke + + And as dombe as death / and drewe him asyde + And for no carping I coulde after / nor kneling to therthe + I myght get no greyne / of his great wittes + But all laughing he lowtid / & lokid vpon Studie + In signe that I shuld / beseche hir of grace + And when I was ware of his will / to his wyfe did loute + Saying mercie madame / your man shall I be + As long as I liue / both Late and rathe + To worke your will / while my Life endureth + So that ye teche me trulye / to knowe what is dowell + For thy mekenesse man quod she / & for thy mylde speche / + I shall send the to my cosyn / that Clergie hight + He had weddid a wife / within thise sex monethes + Which is syb to the seaven Artes / Scripture is hir name + They ij as I hope / after my teaching + Shall tell the to dowell / I dare it vndertake + Then was he as fayne / as foule of faire morowe + And gladder then the Gleman / þat gold hath to gift + And asked hyr the high weye / where þat clergie dwelt + And telle me soke some token quod I / for tyme is that I wende + Aske the high waie quod she / Hence to suffre + Both well and woo / if that þou wilt learne + And ride furth by richesse / but rest þou not therin + For if þou couplest the therwith / to clergie commest þou neuer + And also the Licorouse Lande / þat Lecherie hight + Leaue it on thy Lefte half / a large myle and more + Till þou come to a Court / Kepe well thy tong + From Leasynges and Lyther spech / & Likerouse drinkes + Then shalt þou se Sobrietie / and Simplicitie of speche + That eche wight be in will / his wit tohe to shewe + And thus shalt þou come to Clergie / þat can many thinges + Telle him this token / I set him to scole + And grete well his wife / for I wrot hir many bookes + And sett hir to Sapience / & to the psalter glose + Logik I Learned hir / and many other Lawes + And all the Musons of Musike / I made hir to knowe + Plato the poete / I put him first to booke + k 4 + + Aristotle and other moo / to Argue I taught + Gramer for girles / I causid first to be wreten + And bete them with a balleis / onlesse they wold lerne + Of all manere craftes / I contryuid tooles + Of carpenters and Kervers / and compased Masons + And learnid them Levell & lyne / though I looke dymme + But Theologie hath Angrid me / tean score tymes + The more I muse therin / the mystier hit semeth + And the depper I deuyne / the derker me think it + A full Lethy thing it were / if loue were not + But for it leke best by loue / I loue it the better + For where loue is leder / Lackith neuer grace + Loke þou loue trulie / if þou Likest dowell + For dobet and dobest / bene of louis kyn + In other science it seith / I se it in Caton + Qui similat verbis vel corde , est fidus amicus + Tu quoque fac simile , sic ars deluditur arte / + Who-so gloseth as gylours do / go me to the same + And so shalt þou false folke / and feithelesse begyle + This is þe Catons saying / to clerkis þat it Lerneth + But Theologie teacheth not so / who-so taketh hede + He tell vs the contrarie / against Catons wordes + He biddeth vs be as bretherne / and praie for our enemyes + And loue them that lye on vs / & lende them when they nede + And do good against euill / god him-self commandeth + Dum tempus habemus , operemur bonum ad omnesmaxime autem ad domesticos fidei / + Paule preached the people / þat perfitnesse louid + To good for goddes loue / & gyue men that asked + And namelie to such / as be of oure beleue + And all that offend vs / the lorde willeth us to loue + And to greue them þat greve vs / god him-self forbad it + Mihi vindictam et ego retribuam / + Therfore loke þou louist / as long as þou lyuest + for þer is no science vnder sonne / so souereigne for the soule + But astronomye is an harde thing / & euill for to knowe + Geometrie & Geomesie / so synfull of speche + Who-so worketh with those ij / thryueth full late + + + For Sorcerie is the souereyne booke / þat to those sciences longeth + Ȝit are there Fybicches in forceris / of diuerse mennes making / + Experymentes Alkenamye / the people to deceyue + Yf thou think dowell / dele therwith neuer + All thise Sciences I my-self / sotilled & ordeyned + And founded them formest / folke to deceyue + Tell Clergie this token / And Scripture after + To counseile the right / to know what is dowell + I said graunt mercie madame / and mekelie hir grete + And went wightlie awaie / without more letting + And till I came to clergie / I coulde neuer stynt + And gret the goodman / As studie me thought taught + And afterward the wyfe / & worshiped them bothe + And told them the tokens / þat me taught were + Was neuer man on erth / sithe god it made + Fairer interteyned / nor frendlier at ease + Than my-self sothlie / sone so he wist + That I was of wittes house / and with his wyfe dame Studie + + I said to them soothelie / that sent was I thether + Dowell and dobet / and dobest to learne + It is commone Life quod Clerlgie / on holie church to bileue + With all the Articles of þe feithe / that fallethe to be knoune + And that is to be trulie / both lernid and lewde + On the great god / that begynnyng had non + And on the sothefast son / that saued mankynde + Frome the deadlie death / and the deuillis powre + Through helpe of the holie ghost / the which is of bothe + Thre parsons / but nott in plurell nombre + For all is but one god / & eche is god himself + Deus pater deus filius deus spiritus sanctus + God the father god the son / god the holie ghoste / of bothe + Maker of mankynde / and of beastes bothe + Augustine the olde / hereof made bookes + And himself ordeyned / testhablish vs in beleue + Who was his author ? / all the foure Evangelistes + And Christ clepid himself so / the Evangelistes bere witnesse + + All þe Clerkes vnder Christ / could not this assoile / + L 1 + + But thus it behouith to beleue / to lewde that will dowell + For neuer had man fyne witt / the feith to dispute + Nor man hath no merite / maye reason appro proue it + Fides not habet meritum vbi humana ratio prebet experimentum + Than is dobet .to suffre / for the soules helth + All þat the book bid / by holie chirchis teaching + And that is man by thy might / for mercies sake + Loke þou worke in thy worke / that þi worde sheweth + Such as þou semest in sight / be in assaye founde + Appare quod es Vel esto quod appares / + And lat no man be / by thy bearing begyld + But be such in thy soule / as þou semest without + Than is dobest to be bolde / to blame the gilty + Sithens þou seest þi-self / as in soule clene + But blame thou neuer bodie / if þou be blame worthie + Si culpare velis , culpabilis esse cauebis + Dogma tuum sordet , cum te tua culpa remordet / + God in the gospell / grevouslie reprouithe + All that lack any Life / and in fautes them-self + Quid consideras festucam in oculo fratris tuiet trabem in oculo tuo non con . &c + How art thou offendid / with a mote in thy brothers eye + Hauing a beame in thine oune / to blemish þi sight + Ecce primo trabem in oculo tuo &c + Which letteth the to loke / lesse or more + I rede such a blynde bosarde / do bote to himself + For Abbottes & for Priours / & for all manere prelates + As parsons and parish preestes / that preache shulde and teache + All manere men / to amende their Lyues + This text was tolde you to beware or ye taught + That ye were such as ye said / to salue with other + for goddes worde wold not be lost / for þat workith euer + Yf it availed not the commons / it might availe your-self + But it semith nowe soothelie / to the worldes sight + That goddes worde workethnot / on Lerned nor Lewde + But in such manere / as Marc meneth in the gospell + + Dum cecus cecum ducit ambo in foueam cadunt / + + Leawde men may liken you thus / þat the beame lieth in your eye + And the mote is fallen / through your defautes + In-to all mennes eyis / by noughtie preistes + The Byble beareth witnesse / that all the people of ysraell + Bitterlie were punisshed / for ij euill preistes fautes + Of offyn and Phynes / for their couetise + Archa dei mishappid / and Ely brake his necke + Therfor you Correctors clawe hereon / & corect first your-self + And then may ye safely saie / as Dauid þat made the psalter + Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis , arguam te , etstatuam contra faciem tuam / + And then shall burell clerkes be abasshed / to blame or to greue you + And carpe not as they carpe nowe / and call you dumbe houndes + Canes non valentes latrare &c + And drede to angre you in any worde / your workmanship to lett + And be prester at your preyer / than for a pounde of nobles + And all for your holinesse / haue ye this in hart + + In Scole there is skorne / but if a clerk will lerne + And great loue and Liking / for eche of them louith other + But now is Religion a ryder a Romer by strete + A leder of louedaies / and a lowd buggar + A pricker on a palfrey / fro manner to manner + An heape of houndes at his arse / as he a lorde were + And onlesse his knaue knele / þat shall his cuppe bring + He lowreth on him & Asketh him / who taught him curtesie + Litill had lordes to do / to gyue londes from their heyres + To religiouse þat haue no ruthe / though it reyneth on their alters + In many places there they parsons be / themselfes be at ease + But of the poure people they haue no pitie / & þat is their charitie + But they beare them as lordes / their londes Lythe so brode + But there shall come a king / & confesse you Religious + And beat you as the Byble tellith / for breakyng of your rule + And Amende Monyales / Monkes & Chanons + And put them to their penaunce / Ad pristinum statum ire . + And Barons with Erles bete them / through / beatus virres techi + That theyr Barnes clayme / and blame you foule + hij in curribus et hij in equis ipsi obligati sunt &c / + And then friers in Freytour / shall fynde a keye + Of Constantynes cofres / in which is the tresure / + + L 2 + + Thett God That Gregories godchildren haue euill dispendid + And than shall the Abbot of Abyngdon / & all his issue for euer + haue a knock of a king / and the wounde incurable + Whether this be true / Loke you that ofte ouerse the byble + Quomodo cessauit exactor / quieuit tributum / contriuit dominusbaculum impiorum / et virgam dominantium cedentium plaga insanabili + But ere that king come / Caym shall awake + But Dowell shall digg him doune / & distroye his might + Than is dowell and dobet quod I dominus and knighthode + I will not skorne quod Scripture / but if Scryueners lie + Kynghode nor knighthode / by aught I can espie + Helpe not to heauenwarde / one heris ende + Nor Richesse right nought / nor royaltie of lordes + Paule prouith it inpossible / riche men to haue heauen + Salomon saith also / that syluer is worst to loue + Nichil iniquius quam amare pecuniam + And Cato telleth vs not to couete it but for nede onlie + Dilige denarium sed parce dilige formam / + And patriarches and prophetes / & Poetes also + Writt to teche vs / to wille no richesse + And preised Pouertie with pacience / þe apostels berith witnesse + That they haue heritage /in heauen / & by true right + There rich men no right may clayme / but of ruthe & grace + Contra quod I by Christ / that can I reproue + And proue by Peter / and by Paule bothe + That who is baptysed is safe / be he rich or poure + That is in extremis quod Scripture / among Sarazens & Iewes + They may be sauid so / and that is oure beleue + That an vnxren in þat cace / may cristen an hethen + And for his true beleue / when he this Life Loseth + haue the heritage of heauen / as any cristian may + But xpcristen men without more / maynot come to heauen + For that Christ for xpcristen men dyid / & confirmed þe Lawe + That who-so wolde and will with Crist to arise + Si cum xpõcristo surrexistis &c / + he shuld trulie loue / and the Lawe fullfill + That is loue thy lorde god / Lefest aboue all + And then all xpcristen creatures / for Cristes sake + And this belongeth to loue / to them þat beleue to be sauid + + And but we do thus in dede / ere the daie of dome + It shall besitt vs full soure / the siluer þat we kepe + And our clothes that be motheten / & se beggers go nakid + Or delite in wyne or wyldefoule / and wot any in defaute + For euery cristen creature / shold be kynde to other + And than helpe the hethen / in hope of Amendement + God commandeth both high and lowe / that noman hurt other + And seith slea not þat semblable is / to myn oune Likenes + Onlesse I send þe some token / and saith Non necabis + Slea not but suffre / and all for the best + + For I shall punishe them in purgatorie / or in the pitt of helle + Euery man for his misdedes / but if mercie let it + This is a long lesson quod I / and I Litill the wyser + Where Dowell is or dobet / derkelie ye shewe / + Many telles tales ye telle / that Theologie Lerneth + And that I was made man / & my name entred + In the Legende of Life / Long ere I was borne + Or elles vnwritten for some wickednesse as holie writ wytnesseth + Nemo ascendit in celum , nisi qui de celo descendit + I beleue it well quod I by our lorde / & on no lettre better + For Salomon the sage / that sapience taught + God gaf him grace of witt / and all hise goodes after + + He demed wiselie / as holie writt telleth + Aristotle and he / who counseiled men better + Maisters þat of mercie / teach men and preache + Of their wordes they tell vs / for wysest as in their tyme + And all holie church / holdeth them bothe damned + And if I shulde worke by their workes / to wyme me heuen + That for his workes and wit / dwelleth in peyne + Then wrought I vnwiselie / what-so-euer ye preache + But of many wittie in feyth / Litell meruell I haue + Though their goost be vngracious / god for to please + For many men in this world / more set their hartes + In goodes then in god / therfore grace them faile + At their most nede / when they shall hens passe + As Salomon did and such other / þat shewid great wittes + But theyr workes as holie writ saith / were euer contrarie + Therfore wise wittid men / & well Learned clerkes + L 3 + + As they say themself / seld do they therafter + Super cathedram moysi &c + But I wene it be with many / as was in Noes tyme + When he made the ship / of shydes and boordes + There was not a write sauid that wrought theron / nor other workman / ellis + But byrdes and beastes / and the blissed Noe / + And his wife with his sonnes / and also their wyves + Of wightes þat wrought it was neuer won saued + God graunt it come not so to passe / by them þat the feith teache + Of holie chirch that harborowe is / & goddes house to saue + And sheld vs frome shame þerin / as Noes ship did beastes + When they þat made it / in the flood were drowned + The conclusion of this clause / of Curators is to mene + That be Carpenters holy chirch to make / for Christes oune beastes + Homines et iumenta saluabis domine &c / + + On good fridaie I fynde / a felon was saued + That had Liued all his Lyfe / in falsede & theft + And for he bekened to the crosse / & to Christ confessid him + he was soner saued / then S Iohan the Baptist + And ere Adam or ysaye / or any of the prophettes + That had leyne with Lucifer / many long yeris + A robber was ransomed / rather then they all + Without any penaunce of purgatorie / to perpetuall blisse + Than Marie magdalene / what woman did worse + Or who wors then Dauid / þat Vries death conspired + Or Paule thapostle / that no pitie had + To kille vnto death / many Christen men + And now be thise as souereynes / with Sayntes in heauen + They that wrought most wickedlie / in erth when they were + And they that spoke most wiselie / and writ many bookes + Of wit & of wisdome / with damned soules dwelle + That Salomon saith I trowe be true / & certeyn of vs all + Siue iusti atque sapientes , & opera eorum in manu dei sunt + There are wittie and well Living / but their workes be hid + In the handes of almightie god / & he knoweth the truthe + Wherfore a man is alowed here / and his true workes + Or ellis for his euill will / and envie of hert + And be alowed as he liued so / for by euill , men know good + for wherby wist men which is whight / if all thinges were black + + And who were a good man / onlesse there were some shrewe + Therfor liue we furth with other men / I think fewe be good + For Qant oportet vient en place / il ny ad que pati / + And he that may all amende / haue mercie on vs all + For the truest worde / þat euer god seid / was when he said Nemo bonus + Clergie then of Christes mouthe / commendid was full Litell + For he said to Saint Peter / & to suche as he loued + Cum steteritis ante reges et presides &c / + Though ye come before kinges / & clerkes of the Lawe + Be not Abasshed / for I shalbe in your mouthes + And giue you wit & will / and connyng to conclude + Them all þat against you / of Christendome dispute + Dauid makes mencion / he spake among kynges + And noking ouercome him / as by connyng speche + But wit & wisdome / wan neuer the maistrie + Whan man was at mischef / without þe more grace + The doutiest doctour / and diuinour of þe Trynitie + Was Augustine the olde / and highest of the foure + Said thus in a sermon / I se it writen ones + Ecce ipsi ydioti rapiunt celum , vbi nos sapientes in inferno mergimur / + Which is thusmuche in english / and no more nor Lesse / + None are rather rauished / from the right beleue + Then are thise connyng clerkes / þat can many bookes + Nor soner saued / nor sadder of beleue + Then plowmen and sheperdes / & poure comone Laborers + Sowters / and sadelers / and such Lewde Iuttes + Perce with a pater noster / the palais of heauen + And passe Purgatorie penaunceles / at their hens parting + In-to the ioyes of Paradise / for thyr pure beleue + That inperfitely here / Knewe and eke Liued + Yea men knowe clerkes / þat haue cursed the tyme + That euer they could more / then Credo in deum patrem / + And principallie their / pater noster / many a man hath wisshed + I se ensamples my-self / & so may many other + That seruauntes that serue lordes / Selden renne in rerage + But they that kepe his treasure / clerkes and Stywardes + Right so Laye men / & of small Knowlege + Selden fall so foule / & so far in synne + As clerkes of holie church / that kepe Christes treasure + L 4 + + The which is mannes soule / as Christ saithe in the gospell + Ite vos in vineam meam + + + + Passus Vndecimus de visione + Then Scripture skorned me / and a skill told + And Lackid me in Latyn / & lite by me she set + And said Multi multa sciunt et seipsos nesciunt / + Then wept I for wo / & wrathe of hir speche + And in a winking wrath / fell I a-slepe + A meruelouse dreme / then dremed I + That I was rauished euen there / and fortune me fett + And into the Lond of longing / alone she me brought + And in a Myrour þat hight myddillerth / she made to behold + Then she said to me / here mightst þou se wonders + And knowe that þou covettist / & come therto paraduenture + Then had Fortune folowing hir / ij faire damoselles + Concupiscentia carnis / men callid the elder maide + And Concupiscentia oculorum / callid was thother + Pryde of perfect Liuyng / pursued them bothe + And bad me for my countynaunce / acounte clergie light / + Concupiscentia carnis / collid me about the neck + And said þou art yong & lustie / and haste yeris ynowe + for to Liue long / and Ladies to loue + And in this myrrour þou maist se / Lordinges full many + That Lede their Life in Liking / all their hole tyme + The seconde said the same / I shall folowe thy will + Till þou be a lorde and haue londe / forsake þe I willnot + But I will folowe þi felawship / if fortune it Like + he shall fynde me his frende / quod fortune then + he that fowloweth my mynde / failith neuer blisse + Then was there one þat hight Age / þat heuye was of chere + Man quod he if I mete with the / By Marie of heauen + Thou shalt fynd fortune to fayle the / at thy most nede + And concupiscentia carnis / clene the forsake + Bitterlie shalt þou then banne / both dayes and nyghtes + Couetise of eyes / that euer þou hir knewe + And pride of perfite Living / to much perill the bring + + Yea care thou not quod Rechelesse stood forth in raggid clothes + Folowe furthe that Fortune will / þou haste yet long till Age + A man may stoupe sone ynough / whan he shall lose the croune + Homo proponit quod A poete / And Plato he hight + And deus disponit quod he / Lat god do his will + Yf Truthe will witnesse it be well done / Fortune to Folowe + Concupiscentia carnis ne Couetise of eyis + Shall not greue the greatlie / onlesse þou wilt begile thi-self + Yea farwell Phippe quod Fantasie / and forth did me drawe + Till Concupiscentia carnis / Accordid all my workes + Alasse þat eye quod Age / and Holinesse bothe + Shuld turne wit to wrechidnesse / for will to haue his Liking + Couetise of eyes / conforted me anon after + And folowed me / fourtie winter / and a fyfte more + That of dowell nor dobet / nor deintie me thought + I had no Liking beleue me / of them ought to knowe + Couetise of eyes / cam AOfter in mynde + Then dowell or dobet / among my dedes all + Couetise of Eyes conforted me ofte + Saying haue thou no conscience / how þou come to good + Go confesse the to some Frier / & shew him thy synnes + For while Fortune is thy frende / Friers will the loue + And feche the to ther fraternitie / and for the praye + To their Priour provinciall / A pardon to haue + And prey for the poll by poll / if þou be Pecuniosus + Sed pena pecuniaria non sufficit pro spiritualibus delictis + By the counsell of this wenche / I wrought hyr wordes were so swete + Till I forgat youth / and fell into Age + And then was Fortune my Foo / for all hir fair promise + And Pouertie pursued me / And put me lowe + And then founde I the Frier afreid / & flitting bothe + Against our first covenaunt / for I said I wold not + Be buried at their house / but at my parish churche + For I herde ones / how Conscience it tolde + That there A man were Cristened / of right he shuld be buried + Or where as he were Parishen / euen there to be buried + And forthat I seid thus to Friers / A Foole they me held + And loued me the lesse / For my true speche + But yet I cried on my confessour / þat held him-self so connyng + By my feith quod I Frier / ye fare Like thise woars + + That wedde no widowes / but wonlie for their goodes + Right so by the rood / rought ye neuer + Where my bodie were buried / so that ye had my siluer + I haue muche merueile of you / & so hath many other + Why your Convent covetith / to confesse and to burie + Rather then to Baptise Barnes / þat be C.atecumelynges + Baptyzing and burieng / both be full nedefull + But muche more meritorius / me think to Baptise + For a man Baptised may / as thise maisters telle + + Through Contricion come / to the highe heauen + But Barne without Baptime / maynot be saued + Nisi quis renatus fuerit &c / + And Leautie Lokid on me / and I loured After + Wherfor Lowrest þou quod Leautie / & lokid on me harde + Yf I durst quod I Among men / this dreame avowe + Yes by Peter & Paule quod he / & toke them bothe to witnesse + Non oderis fratres in corde tuo secrete , sed publice argue illos + They will allege also quod I / and by the gospell proue + Nolite iudicare quemquam / + And wherfor seruith Lawe quod leautie / if noman vndertoke it + Falsnesse nor Faiterie / for somewhat þe Apostole seide + Non oderis fratrem / & in the psalter also seith Dauid þe prophete + Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis &c / + It is Licitum for Laye men / to saie the soothe + Yf them Lust & Like / euery lawe it grauntethe + Except parsons and preistes / & prelates of holy kirk + It fallethe not for them / no tales to telle + Though the tale be true / if it towcheth Synne + A thing that all þe world wot / wherfor shuldest þou spare + And rede it in Rethorike / to rebuke deadlie synne + But be neuer the First / a faute to blame + Though þou se euill saie it not first / but be sorie for it + Nothing þat is privie / Publice þou at any time + Nor for Lawe loue lawde it / nor lack it not for envie + Parum lauda vitupera parcius / + He seith truthe quod Scripture then / & skipt vp and preched + But the matere that she moued / if lay men it knewe + The lesse I beleue / loue it they wolde / + + + This was hir teme & text / I toke full goode hede + Multi to a mangerie / and to the meate were Sommoned + And the people all come / the portar vnpynned the gate + And plucked in Pauci priuelie / & lete the rest go roome + And for Angre of hir text / trembled myn hert + And in a studie I felle / & began with my-self dispute + Whether I were chosen or not / on holie churche I thought + That cristened me at the font / for one of goddes childerne + For Christ callid vs all / come if we wolde + Sarasens & Scismatikes / & so he did the Iewes + O vos omnes scicientes venite + And bad them sucke for for synne / safelie at his brest + And drinke boote for bale / brouke it who so myght + Then may all xpcristen come quod I / and clayme there entree + By the blood þat he bought vs with / & through baptisme after + Qui crediderit et baptisatus fuerit &c / + For though a cristen man wold / his Christendome renye + Righfullie to renye / no reason it wolde + For no Cherle may Charter make / nor his Catell selle + Without leue of his lorde / no lawe will it graunte + But he may renne in rerage / & so roome from home + And as renyed Caitif / recheleslie renne about + And Reason shall reken with him / & cast him in rereage + And put him in prison / in Purgatorie to brenne + For his arerages rewarde him there / till þe daie of dome + But if Contricion will come / and crie by his Lyfe + Mercie for his misdedis / with mouth or with harte + That is true said Scripture / may no synne let + Mercie all to Amende / and mekenesse hir folowe + For they be as our bookes tell / aboue goddis workes + Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius / + Yea bawe for bookes quod won / was broken out of helle + hight Troianus had bene a true knight / toke witnesse at a Pope + howe he was dead and damned / to dwelle in peyne + for an vnxpen creature / Clerkes knowe the truthe + That all þe clergie vnder Christ / ne might me cache from helle + + But wonlie loue and Leautie / and my Laufull domes + Gregorie wist this well / and willed to my soule + Saluacion for sothenesse / that he se in my workes + And after that he wept / & willed me were grauntid + Grace without prayer / and his boone was graunted + And I saued as you se / without synging of masses + By loue and by Learnyng / of my Liuyng in truthe + Brought me fro bitter peynes / there no prayer myght + Lo ye lordes what Leautie did / by an Emporour of Rome + That was an vnxpen creature / as clerkes fynde in bookes + Not through preyer of A Pope / but for his pure truthe + Was that Sarazen saued / as S Gregorie beareth witnesse + Well ought ye lordes that Lawe kepe / this Lesson to haue in mynde + And on Troianus truthe to thinke / & do trulie to the people + + Lawe without loue quod Troianus / Ley there a beane + Or anie sciens vnder sonne / the vij Artes and all + Onlesse they be lerned for the lordes loue / lost is all the time + For no cause to cache siluer / nor to be callid maister + But all for loue of the lorde / and the better to loue the people + For S Iohan said it / and true are hise wordes + Qui non diligit manet in morte + Who-so louithe not beleue me / he liuith in death dying + And that all manere men / enemyes & freindes + Loue eche one other / and beleue them as them-self + Who-so beleuith not he louith not / god wot the soth + And comandethe euery man / to conforme him to loue + And chefelie the poure people / and their enymies after + For them that hate vs / is our merite to loue + And poure people to please / their prayers may vs helpe + And our Ioie and our helth / IhuIesu Christ of heauen + In a poure mannes apparaile / pursued vs euer + And Loketh on vs in their Likenesse / & þat with louelie chere + To knowe vs by our kynde hart / & casting of our eyen + Whether we loue the Lordes here / before the lorde of blisse + And excite vs by thevangelie / þat when we make feastes + We shuld not call our kyn therto / nor no riche man / + Cum facitis conviuia , nolite invitare amicos / + + But call the carefull therto / the crokid and the blynde + For your freendes will fede you / and requite you agayne + Your Feasting & your fair gifte / eche frende so quiteth other + But for the poure I shall paye / & well quite their cost + That giueth them meate /or money / & loue them for my sake + + For the best , some be rich and some beggers and poure + All Are Christes creatures / and of his cofres riche + And bretherne as of won blood / as well beggers as Erles + For on Caluarie of Christis blood / xpcristendome did spring + And bloodie bretherne we became there / of won bodie wonne + As quasi modo geniti , and gentillmen alle + No begger nor boye among vs / but if synne it made + Qui facit peccatum , seruus est peccati / + In tholde Lawe / as holie letter tellethe + Mennes sonnes / men call vs eueryone + Of Adames issue and Eue / euer till , God man , died + And After his Resurreccion Redemptor was his name + And we his bretherne by him bought / bothe riche and poure + Therfor loue we as bretherne / & eche man merie with other + And all that euery man may spare / giue where nede is + And euery man helpe other / for hens shall we all + Alter alterius onera portate / + And be we not vnkynde of our goodes / nor orf our konnyng + For no man knoweth how sone / to depart from bothe + Therfor no man dispise other / though he more Latyn knowe + Nor vngentellie rebuke / for noman is without Faute + For what so euer clerkes carpe / of xpcristendome or ellis + Christ to a commone woman said / in commone at the feast + That fides sua shulde saue hir / & Salue hir of hir synnes + Than is beleue a true helpe / aboue Logike or Lawe + Of Logike or of lawe / in Legenda Sanctorum / + Is Litell allowaunce made / onlesse beleue them helpe + For it is ouerlong ere Logike / any Lesson Assoile + And Lawe is Loth to loue / onlesse he Lacheth Siluer + Bothe Logike and Lawe / who louith not to Lye + I conseile euery cristen / clive not þerto to sore + For some wordes I fynd written / were of Faithes teaching + + That sauid synfull men / as S . Iohan beareth witnesse + Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis remetietur vobis + Therfor learne we the Lawe of loue / as our lorde taught + And as S . Gregorie said / for mannes soule helthe + Melius est scrutari scelera nostra , quam naturas rerum + Why I meue this matere / is most for the poure + For in their likenesse oure lorde hath bene ofte knoune + Witnesse in the Pask wyke / when we went to Emaus + Cleophas knew him not / that he Christ was + For his poure Apparaile / and pilgrymes wede + Till he blessed and brake / the bread that they ete + So by his workes they wist / that he was IhusIesus + But by clothing they knewe him not / nor by carping of tong + And all was for exemple / to vs synnefull here + That we shulde be lowe / and gentill of speche + And apparaile vs not ouer prowdlie / for pilgrymes are we all + And in Apparaile of a poure man / & pilgrymes Likenesse + Many tymes god hath bene met / Among nedie people + There neuer man him se / clothid Like the Riche + S . Iohan and other Sayntes / were sene in poure clothing + And as poure Pilgrymes / Asked mennes goodes + IhusIesus Christ on a Iewes doughter light / gentilwoman though she were + She was a pure poure maide / & to a poureman weddid + Martha on Marie Magdalene / a great compleynt made + And to our Sauiour himself / said thise wordes + Domine non est tibi cure quod soror mea reliquit me solam ministrare + And Hastelie god Answerid / and bothe their willes folowid + Both Marthaes and Maries / as Mathue witnessethe + But pouertie god put before / and preised that as best + Maria optimam partem elegit que non auferetur ab ea + And all the wise that euer were / by aught þat I can spie + Preise pouertie for best life / if Pacience folowe + And bothe better and blissedder / by many fold then richesse + And though it be sowre to suffre / therafter commeth swete + As on a walnot without / is a bitter barke + But within the same / she the shelle being awaie + Ys a kernell of conforte / kynde to restore / + + So is after pouertie or penaunce / pacientlie taken + for hit maketh A man to haue mynde of god / & A great will + To wepe and to pray / wherof cometh mercie + Of which Christ is a Kernell / to confort the soule + And more quietlie slepith / the man þat is poure + And Lesse he dredeth death / and in the derk to be robbid + Then he that is riche / Reason beareth witnesse + Pauper ego ludo , dum tu diues meditaris / + Although Salomon seyd / as folke seeth in the Bible + Diuicias / nec paupertem &c / + Wyser then Salomon was / bereth witnes and taught + That perfite pouertie was / no possessions to haue + And Life most Liking to god / as Luke witnesseth + Si vis perfectus esse , vade et vende &c / + Which is to mene to men Living in this world + Who-so wilbe purely perfite / must forsake possessions + Or selle it as the book seith / and the siluer dele + To beggers that begg / and aske it for goddes loue + For neuer failed man meate / þat allmightie god serued + As Dauid saith in the psalter / to such as be in will + To serue god trulie / ne greveth them no penaunce / + Nichil impossibile volenti / + Nor Lackethe neuer Lifelode / Lynnen nor wollen + Inquirentes autem dominum / non minuentur omni bono / + Yff preistes were perfite / they wold no siluer take + For masses nor Mateyns / not their meate of vsureres + Nor neither kirtell nor Cote / though they for cold shuld die + Yf they their deuoir did / as dauid saith in the psalter + Iudica me deus et discerne causam meam / + Spera in deo , spekith of preistes / þat haue no spending siluer + That if they travaile trulie / & trust in god Allmighty + They shall Lacke no Lifelode / neither wollen nor Lynen + And the Title they toke orders by / telleth they be Avaunced + Then nede not you to take syluer / for masses that you syng + For he that toke you your title / shuld take you your wages + Or the Bisshope that blissed you / if þat ye be worthie + For neuer king made knight / but he had Living to spende + M 4 + + As befelle for A knight / or fond him for his strengthe + It is a carefull knight / and of a caitif kinges making + That hathe no londes nor living / nor good loos of his handes + The same I saye forsothe / by all suche preistes + That haue neither connyng nor kyn / but only a croune + And a Title a tale of nought / to his Lifelode at nede + He hathe more beleue I think / to get through his Crowne + Cure , then through connyng / or knowlege of clene Living + I haue wonder why / and wherfor the Bisshope + Make such preistes / that betraie Laye men + A Chartre is chalengeable / before a chief Iustice + Yf false Latyn be in it / the lawe it impugneth + Or peyntid parenterlynarye / or parcellis ouerskipped + The man þat so gloseth charters / for a goky is holden + So it is a goky by god / þat in his gospell fayleth + Or in masse or mateyns / maketh any defaute + Qui offendit in vno , in omnibus est reus / + Also in the Psalter / saith Dauid to ouerskyppers + Psallite deo nostro psallite quoniam rex terre deus psallite sapienter + The bisshop shalbe blamed / before god as I beleue + That Crowneth suche goddes knightes / þat knoweth nocannot Sapienter + Syng nor psalmes rede / nor saie masse of the daie + But neither is blamelesse / the bisshop nor the chapelyne + For they bothe be indyted / and þat is ignorantia non + excusat episcopos nec ydiotes preistis + This Loking on leaude preistes / hath done me lept from pouertie + Which I prayse there pacience is / more perfite then richesse + But much more in dremyng / þus with me did one dispute + And sleping I se all this / and then came Kynde + And callid me by my name / & bad me take hede + And through the wonders of this worlde / wit for to take + And on a Mounteyne þat Middillerthe hight as me thought + I was fet furthe / by ensamples to knowe + Through euery creature & kynde / my Creatour to loue + I sawe the sonne and the Sea / & also the sand after + And wheras birdes and beastes / with their makes went + Wyld wormes in woodes / & wonderfull foules + + With flecked fethers / and of many colours / + Man And his make / I might bothe beholde + Pouertie and plentie / both peace and warre + Blisse and bale bothe / I se all atones + And how men toke mede / and mercie refused + I se Reason sothelie / ensue all beastes + In eating and drinkyng / & in engendring of kynde + And after course of conception / non toke kepe of other + As when they had riden in Rott tyme / Anone therafter + Males drewe to males / Amornynges by them-self + And in Euenynges also / þe males fro the females + There was neither Cowe nor Cowkynde / þat had conceyuid + That wold belowe after bulles / nor boor after sowe + Both horse an houndes / and all other beastes + Medelid not with their makes / that with fole were + Birdes I beheld / that in busshes made nestes + Had neuer man witt / to worke the Least + I had wonder at whome / and where the Pye Learned + To lay the stickes / in which she laieth and bredethe + There is no wright as I wene / shulde worke hir nest to paie + Yf any Mason made a moulde therto / much wonder it were / + But yet I merveiled more / how many other birdes + Hidd and helled their / Egges full preuylie + I marresse and moores / that men shulde them not Fynde + And hide ther egges / when they went from them + For Feare of other foules / and wild beastes + And some trode their makes / and on trees brede + And brought furth birdes so / all aboue the grounde + And some birddes at the bill / through breathing conceyued + And some cauked I toke kepe / how pecockes bredd + Much merveiled me / what maister they had + And who taught them on treis / to tymbre so highe + There neither burn nor beast / may their birdes reche + And sithen I Lokid vpon the sea / & so furth vpon the sterres + Many wonders I se / not to be spoken nowe + I sawe floures in the frith / and their faire colours + And how Among the grene grasse / grew so many hewes + Some sour and some swete / very straunge me thought + Of their kyndes and colours / to carpe it were to long + But that most moved me / and my mode chaungid + That Reason rewardyd / and ruled all Beastes + N 1 + + Saue man and his make / many time and ofte / + No reason them folowid / And than I rebuked + Reason / And euen to himself I said + I haue wonder of the quod I / þat wittie art holden + Why thou ensuest not man and his make / þat no misfeat them folowe + And Reason Rebuked me / Sayeng care thou not + Why I suffre or not suffre / þou hast noȝt to doo + Amend thou it if thou maye / for my tyme is to abide + Suffraunce is a souereyne vertue / and a swifte vengeaunce + Who suffreth more then god / no man as I beleue + he might Amend in a Mynute / all þat is Amisse + But he suffreth for some mannes good / and so is oure better + + The wise and the wittie / wrot thus in the Byble + De re que te non molestat , noli certare / + For be a man fair or foule / it falleth for to Lacke / + The shape and forme / that god shoupe himself + For all that he did was well done / as holie writ witnessethe + Et vidit deus cuncta que fecerat , et erant valde bone + And bad euery creature / in his kynde encresce + All to confort man / that most wo sufferith + In fonding of the fleshe / and of the fende bothe + for man was made of such matere / he maynot well astert + That ne sometyme him betidde / to folowe his kynde + Cato Accordeth therwith / Nemo sine crimine viuit / + Then caught I colour anone / And began to be Ashamed + And awakid þerwith / woo was me thanne + That I in dreames myght not / more haue knoune + And then said I to my-self / and chidde that tyme + Now I wot what Dowell is quod I / by god as me thinke + And as I cast vp myn eyen / won Lokid on me & Asked + Of me what is was / Iwisse syr I seyd + To se much and suffre more / certes quod I is Dowell + Haddest þou suffred he said / sh sleping when þou were + Thou shuldest haue knoune þat clerkes can / & conceyuid more by Reason + For Reason wold haue rehercid the / even as clergie said + For But for thyn entermedling / here art þou forsake + Philosophus esses , si tacuisses / + Adam whiles he spake not / had paradise at will + And when he mamled about meate / & entermetid to knowe + The wisdome and þe wit of god / he was put from blisse + And even so farid Reason by the / þou with thy rude speche + + Thou Lackedst and lost thing / that ought not to be done + Then had he no Liking / for to Lerne the more + Pride now and presumption / paraduenture woll the Appeale + That Clergie thy companye / will not ensue + Shall neuer chalenginge nor chyding / chaste a man so sone + As shall shame / & shend him / and shape him tamende + For Lat a Dronken Daf / in a Dike fall + Lat him ly lokenot on him / till he list to rise + For though Reason rebukid him than / it were but pure synne + + But when nede taketh him vp / for doubte lest he sterue + And shame shaketh his clothes / and his shynnes wassheth + Than wot the Dronken Daff / wherfore he is to blame + Ye saie sothe quod I / I haue sene it ofte / + There smyght nothing so smert / nor smelleth so soure + As shame there he shewith him / for eueryman it shonneth + Why ye tell me this quod I / was for I rebukid reason + Certesse quod he þat is true / and shope him forth to walke + And I Arosse vp with that / and folowed him after + And preid him of his curtesie / to telle me his name + + + + Passus duodecimus de visione / + I am ymaginatyf quod he / ydell was I neuer + Though I sit by my-self / in sikenesse or in helth + I haue folowed the in feith / thise fyue and fourtie wynters + And many tymes I haue moved the / to think on thy ende + And howe many chaunces haue chauncid / and so fewe to come + And of thy wylde wantonesse / when thou yong were + To Amend in thy myddillage / lest myght the failed + In thine old age / that euill can suffre + Pouertie , or penaunce / or preyer bidde + Si non in prima vigilia , nec in secunda / + Amende þoue while thoug maye / thoue hast be warned ofte + With inpostumes and pestilences / with pouertie and angre + And with thise bittre baleises / god beateth his dere childerne + Quem diligo castigo / + And dauid in the psalter spekith / of such as loueth IhusIesus + Virga tua et baculus tuus ipsa me consolata sunt + Although thou strike me with thy staf / with stick or with þ rodd + It is but myrth for me / to amende my soule / + N 2 + + And thou medelist with makyng / and myghtest go saie thy psalter + And praye for them þat gyue the bread / for there are bookes Inowe + To telle men what dowell is / Dobet and Dobest also + And preachers to proue what it is / of many a peyre Friers + I se that he said truthe / and somewhat me to excuse + Said Cato conforted me / that clerke though he were + To solace him sometyme as I do / when I make + Interpone tuis interdum gaudia curis / + And of holy men I haue herde quod I / howe they other while + Plaide the perfiter to be in many placis / + But if there were any wight / that wold me telle + What were Dowell and Dobet / and Dobest at the Laste + Wold I neuer do worke / but go to holie churche + And there saie my prayers / but when I ete or slepe + Paule in his pistle quod he / proveth what is Dowell + Fides spes caritas , et maior horum &c + Feith hope and charitie / and all bene good / + And saue men sondrie tymes / but non so sone as charitie + For he doeth well without doute / that doth as Leautie teacheth + That is if thou be maried man / Loue thy wyfe + And Liue as Lawe will / while ye Lyue bothe + Even so if thou be religiouse / renne thou neuer farther + To Rome nor to Rochemador / but as thy rule teacheth + And holde the vnder obedience / þat high waie is to heauen + And if thou be maid vnmaried / and maist so well contynue + Seke neuer Saynt ferther / for no soules helthe + For what made Lucifere / to lose the Highe Heauen + Or Salomon his sapience / or Sampson his strengh + Iob the Iewe his ioye / dere he it bought + Aristotle and other mo / Hypocras and Virgile + Alisandre that all wan / elengelych ended + Catell and kynde wit / was combraunce to them all + Felice hir fairnesse / Fell hir all to sclaunder + And Rosamounde right so / rufullie to beleue + The beautie of hir bodie / in badnesse she dispended + Of many such I may rede / bothe men and women + That wise wordes wolde shewe / and worke the contrarie + Sunt homines nequam , bene de virtute loquentes / + And riche men also / gather and spare + And they þat they most hate / mynestre it at Laste + + And for they suffre and se / so many nedy folkes + And loue them not as oure lorde bid / Lose their soules + Date at dabitur vobis &c + + And richesse right so / but if the roote be true + But grace is a grasse therof / tho grevaunces to abate + But grace growe not / but among Lowlie + Pacience and pouertie / the place is where it groweth + And in true Lyving men / and in Lyfe holie + And through the gift of the holie goste / as the gospell telleth + Spiritus vbi vult spirat &c + Clergie and Kynde wit / commeth of sight and teaching + As the booke bearethe witnesse / to men that can rede + Quod scimus loquimur , quod vidimus testamur + Of quod scimus commeth Clergie / & connyng of heauen + And of quod vidimus , commeth kyndwit , by sight of diuerse people + But grace is a gifte of god / and of great loue springethe + No clerk knowith how it commethe furth / nor kyndwit the weye + Nescit aliquis vnde venit , aut quo uadit + But yet is Clergie to be preised / and kyndwit also + And namelie Clergie for Christes loue , that of clergie is roote + For Moses witnesseth þat god wrot / for to teache the people + In the olde Lawe as the lettre tellethe / þat was the lawe of Iewes + That what woman were in adultrie taken / were she riche or poure + With stones men shulde hir strike / and stone hir to deathe + A woman as we rede / was giltie of that dede + But Christ of his curtesie / through clergie hir saued + And through Caractes that Christ wrot / the iewes knewe themself + Giltier as afore god / And greater in synne + Then the woman that there was / and went awaie for shame + The clergie þat ther was / conforted the woman + Holy church knowethe this / þat Christes wrighting saued hir + So Clergie is confort / to creatures that repent them + And to Mad or folish men / mischefe at their ende + For goddes bodie might not be of bread / without clergie + The which bodie is bothe boote / to the rightfull + And deathe and damnacion / to them þat dyethe evell + As Christes Caract conforted / and also culpable shewed + The woman that the iewes brought / þat IhusIesus thought to saue + Nolite iudicare , non iudicabimini + Even so goddes bodie bretherne / onlesse it be worthely take + N 3 + + Damneth vs at the daye of dome / as the Caractes did the Iewes + Therfor I conseile the for Christes sake / Clergie that þou Loue + For kynde wit is of his kyn / and nighe cosyns bothe + To oure lorde beleue me / therfor loue them I rede + For bothe be as Myrrours / tamende oure fautes / + And Lederis for Lay men / and Learned bothe + Therfor Lacke thou neuer Logike / Lawe nor his customes + Nor counterplede Clerkes / I counseyle the for euer + For as man may maynot se / that mysse his eyes + No more can no clerk / onlesse he gat it first through bookes + Although men made bookes / god was the maister + And Saynt Spirit the samplarie / & told what men shulde wright / + + Euen so Ledeth Learneng / Lewde men to reason / + And as a blynde man in bataile / beareth weapen to fight + And Hathe non Happe with his Axe / his enemye to hitte + Nomore can a kynde witted man / onlesse clerkes him teache + Come for all his kynde witte / to xpcristendome & be saued + Which is the Cofre of Christes treasure / and Clerkes kepe þe keyes + To vnlocke it at thir pleasure / and to the lewde people + Gyue mercie for thir misdedes / if men will it aske / + Buxomly and benignely / and aske it for charitie + Archa dei in the olde lawe / the Leuites it kept + Had neuer lewde man leue / to lay Hande of that Chest + But he were preest or preistes son / Patriarke or prophete + + For Clergie is keper / Vnder Christe of heauen + Was there neuer no knight / but Clergie him made + But kynde wit commeth / of all manere sightes + Of birdes and beastes / of tastes of truthe and deceyte + Lyuers before vs / vsed to marke + Straunge thinges that they se / their childern to teache + And helde it an highe science / their wittes to knowe + But through their Science trulie / was neuer soule saued + Nor brought by their bookes / to blisse nor to ioye + For all their kynde knowlege commeth but by diuerse sightes + Patriarches and prophetes / reproued their Science / + Saying their wordes and wisdome / was but Folye + As to the clergy of Christ / counted it but a trifle + Sapiencia huius mundi , stulticia est apud deum / + For the heigh Holy ghost / Heauen shall to cleue + And loue shall leape out after / in-to this lowe erthe + + And clennesse shall cache it / and clerkes shall it Fynde + Pastores loquebantur ad inuicem / + He speaketh there of rich men right nought / nor of right wittie + Nor of Lordes that were lewde men / but of the highest lerned + Ibant magi ab oriente + Yf Any friere were founde there / I will gyue the fyve shillinges + Nor in no beggers cote / was that barne borne + But in a burgese place / of Betheleme the best + Sed non erat locus in diuersorio &c / + To pastors and to poetes / Appered the Aungell + And bad them go to Bethlem / goddes birth to honour + And song A song of Solas / Gloria in excelsis deo + + Clerkes knewe it well / And came with their presentes + Doing their homage honorablie / to him that was almyghtie + Why I haue tolde all this / I toke full good hede + How thou diddest contrarie clergie / with crabbed wordes + How that lewde men Lightlier / then Lerned were saued + Then clerkes or kynde witted men / of xpcristian people + And thou saidest true of some / but se in what manere + Take ij strong men / and in-to the Temmes cast them + And bothe naked as a nedle / non surer then other + The won hath connyng and can / bothe swymme and dive + The other is Lewde of that Labour / & neuer Lerned to Swymme + Which thinkest þou of them ij / in the Temmes is most in ieopardie + he that neuer dived / norand nought can of Swymmyng + Or he that swymmeth in safetie / if that he will + There his felawe flete furthe / as the flood drivethe + And is in drede to drenche / that neuer did Swymme + He that cannot swymme quod I / it semeth to my wittes + Even so quod the man / Reason it shewethe + That he that knoweth clergie / can soner Arise + Out of Synne and be saf / though he synne ofte + Yf him Like and Lust / than any lewde man + For if the clerke be connyng / he knoweth what is Synne + And howe contricion without Confession / conforteth the soule + As thou seist in the psalter / in psalmes one or tweyne + how contricion is commended / for it putteth awaie synne + Beati quorum remisse sunt iniquitates , et quorum tecta sunt &c + And this conforteth euery clerk / & couereth him from wanhope + N 4 + + + In Whiche flood the feend / holdeth a man hardest + There the lewde Lyith still / and lokethe for Lent + And hathe no contricion ere he come to shifte / and then can he notlittell tell + And as his lores man Learne him / he beleueth and troweth + And that is after Parson or parish preist / and paraduenture + Vnconnyng to lerne lewde men / as Luke beareth witnes + Dum cecus cecum ducit &c / + Wo was he marked þat wade must with the Lewde + Well may the childe blisse / that him to booke sett + That Lyving after Lernyng / saueth bothe Life and soule + Dominus pars hereditatis mee / is a mery verse + That hathe taken from Tyborne / xxti strong theues + Where Lewde theues be lolled vp / Loke how they be saued + The thefe þat had grace of god / vpon the good fridaie + Was for he knew him-self fautie to Christ & knowleged his gilt + Asking mercie of god / and he is euer redie + That Lowly aske it / And in will tamende them + But though that thefe had heauen / he had no high blisse + As Saynt Iohan and other Sayntes / þat had deserued better + Even as some men gyue me meat / & set me Amiddes the flore + I haue meat more then ynough / but not somuch worshippe + As they þat sit at the side table / or with the souereynes of the hall + But sitt as begger bordelesse / by my-self on the grounde + So it fareth by that felon / þat on good friday was saued + He sitt neither with S Iohan / Symond nor Iude + Nor with maydes nor Martyrs / Confessours nor widewes + But by him-self as a soleyn / & serued on erthe + For he that is ones a thefe / is euermore in daunger + And as Lawe Liketh to Lyue or to dye + De peccato propiciato , noli esse sine metu / + And for to serue a Saynt / and suche a thefe togithers + It were neither reason nor right / to rewarde them alike + And right as Troianus þe true knight / dwelt not depe in helle + That oure lorde ne had him Lightlie out / so beleue I þe thefe be in heven + For he is in the Lowest heaven / if our beleue be true + And well loseslly he lolleth there / by the Lawe of holy churche + Qui reddit vnicuique iuxta opera sua / + And why that one thefe / on the crosse / creaunt did him yelde + Rather then the other / though þou woldest oppose + All the clerkes vnder Christ / could not the same assoile + + Quare placuit quia voluit + And so I saie by the / that sekest after the whyes + And Arguest with Reason / A rebuking as it were + + And of the floures in the frithe / And of their faire hewes + Wherof they cache their coloures / so clere and so bright + And willest of birdes and beastes / & of their breding to knowe + Why some be belowe and some alofte / thy Liking it were + And of the stones & of the sterres / thou studiest I belieue + Howe euery beast and birde / hathe so good wittes + Clergie nor kynde wytt / knowe neither the cause + But kynde knoweth himself / no creature elles + He is the Pyes patrone / and putteth it in hir eare + That there the thorne is thickest / to buylde and brede + And kynde taught the pecocke / to cawke in such a kynde + And taught Adam to knowe / his privie membres + And taught him and Eue / to couer them with leues + Lewde men many tymes / Maisters they oppose + Why Adam hilled not first / his mouth þat ete the Apple + Rather then his bodie benethe / Lewde thus aske clerkes + Kynde knoweth why he did so / but no clerke ellis + But of byrdes and beastes / men by olde tyme + Ensamples toke and termes / as telle the poettes + And that the fayrest foule / foulest engendrethe + And feblest foule of flight / that fleith or swymmethe + And that the pecok and the pehenne / proude rich men betoken + For the Pecock if men pursue him / maynot flie highe + For the traling of his taile / ouertaken is he sone + And his sleshe is foule fleshe / and his fete also + And vnlouely of Ledene / And Layth for to here + Right so the riche / isf he his richesse kepe + And deleth it not till his deathdaye / the taile of all sorowe + Even as the pennes of the pecocke / peyneth him in his flight + So is possession peyne / of pens and of nobles + To all them that kepe it / till their taile be plucked + And thoughe the rich repent then / and Lament the tyme + That euer he gathered so greatmuch / and gaf therof so Littill + Though he crieth to Christ then / with kene will I beleue + his Leden be in our lordes eare / Like a pies chatering + .O.1. + + + And when his Corps shall come / in graue to be buried + I beleue it flaume full foule / the folde all aboute + And all the other there it Lythe / invenomed through his Attre + By the Pofeet is vnderstande / as I haue lerned + Executors false frendes / that fulfille not his will + That was written and they witnesse / to worke euen as it wold + Thus the Poete proueth þat the pecock / for his fethers is reuerenced + Even so is the riche / by reason of his goodes + The Larke that is a Lesse foule / is more louely of Ledene + And well awaie of wyng / swifter then the pecock + And of fleshe by many folde / fatter and sweter + To poure Laboring men / the Larke is resembled + Aristotle the great clerk / such tales tellethe + Thus he Likeneth in his Logik / the Least foule out + And whether he be saf or no / the sothe wot no clerkes + Nor of Sortes nor Salomon / no scripture can telle + But god is so good I hope / that sith he gaue them wittes + To counseile vs withall / and telle vs to be saued + And the better for their bookes / to pray we be bounde + That god for his grace / giue their soules rest + for Lerned men were yet Lewde men / were not their bookes + All these clerkes quod I then / that on Christ beleue + Say in their sermons / that neyther Sarazene nor Iewe + Nor no creature elles / without cristendome is saued + Contra quod ymaginatife then / And began to loure + And said / saluabitur vix iustus / in die iudicij + Ergo saluabitur quod he / and spake nomore Latyn + Troianus was a true knight / and toke neuer xpcristendome + And is saf saith the book / & his soule in heauen + For there is Cristening in font / & cristenyng in bloodshedyng + And through fyre is cristening / this is fyrme beleue + Aduenit ignis diuinus non comburens , sed illiminans + But truthe that trespassed neuer / nor did against his Lawe + But Lyueth as his Lawe teacheth / & beleue there is no better + And if there were he wold amende / & in such will dieth + Wold neuer the true god / but truthe were allowed + And whether it be or not / the beleue is great of truthe + And an hope hanging therin / to haue a mede for his truthe + for Deus dicitur quasi dans vitam eternam suis hoc est fidelibus + + Et alibi , Si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis / + The glose graunteth vpon þat vers / A great mede to truthe / + And wit and wisdome quod he / was sometyme treasure + To kepe with A commones / no richesse holde better + And much myrthe and manhode / & with that he vanished + + + + Passus xiijus de visione + And I waked therwith / witlesse nerehande + And as A freke that fre were / furth gan I walke + In manere of A begger / many a yere after + And of this dreame many tyme / much thought I hadd + Fyrst how fortune me failed / at my most nede + And howe þat Age threatened me / if euer we mett + And howe that Friers folowed / folke þat were riche + And those that were poure / at Litill price they sett + And no Corps in their Kyrkyerd / nor in their kirk was buried + Onlesse he bequethed ought / or shulde helpe pay their dettes + And howe that Couetise ouercame / Clerkes and preistes + And howe that lewde men be led / but our Lorde them helpe + Through vnconnyng creatures / to incurable peynes + And howe that ymaginatyf / in dreames me told + Of Kynde & of of his connyng / & howe curteis he is to beastes + And howe Loving he is to beastes / bothe on lond & water + He leneth no Lyfe / Lesse nor more + The creatures that crepe / of Kynde they be engendred + And then howe ymaginatyf seyd // Vix saluabitur iustus + And when he had said so / how sodenly he passed + I Laye doune long in this thought / And at the Last I slept + And as Christ wold there cam conscience / to confort me þat tyme + And bad me come to his courte / with clergie shulde I dyne + And for Conscience of Clergy spake / I came somuche the rather + And there I se a maister / what man he was I wist not + That Lowe he lowted / and louely to scripture + Conscience knewe hym well / And welcommed him fair + They wasshed And wyped / And went to their dynner + But pacience in the palais stood / in pilgrymes clothes + And asked mete for charitie / for A poure heremyte + Conscience called him in / And curteislie said + Welcome , go and washe / thou shalt sytt sone / + .O.2. + + This maister was made sytte / As for the most worthie + And then Clergie and Conscience / & pacience cam After + Pacience And I were / put to be maches + And sett by our-self / at the syde boorde + Conscience called after meate / And than cam Scripture + And serued them thus sone / of sundrie meates manye + Of Augustine of Ambrose / And of the foure Evangelistes + Edentes et bibentes que apud eos sunt / + But this maister nor his man / no manere fleshe ete + But they ete meate of more cost / Mortreux and potages + Of that men ofte want / they made them well at ease + But their sauce was very soure / & vnsavourly grounde + Ina morter Post mortem / of many a bitter peyne + But if they sing for tho soules / And wepe salt teares + Vos qui peccata hominum comeditis , nisi pro eis lacrimas et oraciones /effunderitis ea que in delicijs comeditis in tormentis euometis + Conscience full curteisly then / commanded Scripture + Before Pacience bread to bring / and me þat was his mache + He sett a sour lofe before vs / and said Agite penitenciam + And then he brought vs drynke / Diaperseuerans + As long quod I as I Lyue / And this body may endure + + Here is proper seruice quod pacience / there fareth no prynce better + And then he brought furth A mese of other meat / of Miserere mei deus + And he brought vs of beati quorum of Beatus virres making + Et quorum tecta sunt peccata / in a dishe + Of derne Christe / Dixi / and Confitebor tibi / + Bryng Pacience a pitaunce / priuyly quod Conscience + And than had Pacience / A pitaunce by and by + + Pro hac orabit ad te omnis sanctus / in tempore oportuno + And Conscience conforted vs / & told vs mery tales + Cor contritum et humiliatum , deus non despicies + Pacience was proude / of that proper seruice + And made him mery with his meate / but I mourned euer + For the Doctour At the high dease / Drank wyne so faste / + Ve vobis qui potentes estis ad bibendum vinum + He ete many sundrie meates / Mortruex & puddynges + Wombe cloutes and wyld brawne / & egges fryed with grece + Then said I to my-self so / pacience it herde + It is not foure Daies þat this freke / before the dean of paules + Preached of penaunce / that paule thapostle suffred + + In fame et frigore / and flappes of skourges + Ter cesus sum et a iudeis quinquies quadragenas &c + But one worde they ouerhippe / at eche tyme that they preache + That Paule in his Epistle / to all the people tolde + Periculum est Falsis fratribus + Holy writ bid men beware / I wilnot write it here + In englishe lest it shulde be reherced to ofte + And greue therwith good men / But gramariens shall rede + Vnusquisque a fratre se custiat , quia vt dicitur periculum est in falsis fratrib + But I wist neuer fryer yet / before men in englishe + Take it for his teme / and telle it without glosyng + They preache that penaunce is / profitable to the soule + And what mischef and misease / Christ for man suffred + But this goddes glutton quod I / with his great chekes + hath no pitie on vs poure / he performeth euell + That he prechethe he proue not / to pacience I told + And wished ernestly / with will full egre + That disshes and doblers / before the same doctour + Were molten in his mawe / And Mahounne amyddes + I shall Iangle to this Iourdan / with his iust wombe + To telle me what penaunce is / of which he preached Late + Pacience perceyued what I ment / & winked on me to be stille + And said thou shalt se sone / whan he may nomore + He shall haue a penaunce in his paunche / & puf & euery worde + And then shall his guttes gulle / & he shall galpe After + for now hath he dronken so depe / he will devyne sone + And proue it by their Pocalyps / And passion of S . Avarice + That neither Bacon nor Brawne / Blank manger nor mortreux + Is neither fishe nor fleshe / But food for A penitent + Then shall he testifie of þe Trinytie / & take his felawe to witnesse + What he founde in A frayA / After a friers Lyuyng + And but he first lyue by leasinges / beleue me neuer after / + And than is tyme to take / And oppose this doctour + And dowell and dobet / And if dobest be any penaunce + And I sate still as pacience bad / And then sone this doctour + As rody as A rose / rubbed his chekes + Coughed and carped / and Conscience him herde + And told him of A Trinite / & towarde vs he Lokid + What is dowell syr doctour quod I / is dowell any penaunce + Dowell quod this doctour / And toke the cuppe and drancke + .O.3. + + Ys do non euill to thine even cristen / not by thy poure + By this daye syr doctor quod I / than be ye not in dowell + For you haue harmed vs ij / in that ye ete the puddyng + Mortruex and other meate / & we no morsell hadd + And if ye fare so in your fermerye / ferly me thinketh + But Chastite be there Charitie shuld be / & yong childerne durst complayne + I wold permute my penaunce with your / for I am in poynt to dowell + Then Conscience curteislie / a countynaunce he made + And winked vpon Pacience / to pray me to be stille + And said himself syr doctour / And it be your wille + What is dowell and dobett / ye devynours knowe + Dowell quod this doctour / do as clerkes teache + And dobet is he that teacheth / & travaileth to teache other + And dobest dothe him-self so / as he saieth & preachethe + Qui facit et docuerit , magnus vocabitur in regno celorum + Now you Clergie quod Conscience / carpe what is dowell + I haue vij sonnes he said / seruauntes in a Castell + There the lorde of Lyfe dwellethe / to lerne what is dowell + Till I se tho seaven / And my-self Accorde + I am vnhardy quod he / to any man to proue it + For won Piers the plowman / hath inpugned vs all + And set all sciences at Light / saue loue wonly + And no text he taketh / to maynteyne his cause + But Dilige deum and Domine quis habitabit / + And saith that dowell and dobet / Are two infynites + Which infinites with a feithe / Fynde out Dobest + Which shall saue mannes soule / thus saith piers plowman + I knowe not this quod Conscience / But I knowe well Piers + he willnot against holy writ speake / I dare well vndertake + Then passe we ouer till piers come / & proue this indede + Pacience hathe bene in many a place / & paraduenture mouthed + That no clerk can / as Christ beareth witnesse + Pacientes vincunt &c + But your prayer quod pacience then / so noman displease him + Disce quod he Doce / and Dilige inimicos + Disce and dowell Doce and Dobet Dilige and Dobest / thus taught me ones + A Lemman that I loued / Loue was hir name + With wordes and with workes quod she / and will of thine harte + Thoue loue truly thy soule / all thy Lyfe tyme / + + And so thou lerne the to loue / for the lordes loue of heauen + Thyne Enemy in Any wise / euen as thy-self + Cast coles on his head / of all kynde speche + Bothe with wordes and workes / entende his loue to wynne + And ley on him thus with loue / till he Lawghe on the + And onlesse bhe bowe with this beating blynde mut he be + But for to fare thus with thy freind / folie it were + For he that loueth the trulie / Litill of thyne covetethe + Kynde loue coueteth not / catell but speche + With Half a Lampe in Latine / Ex vi transicionis + I beare therin aboute / Fast bounde Dowell + In A signe of the Saterdaie / that set first the Kalender + And all the witt on the wednesday / of þe next wike after + The middell of the mone / as the night of bothe + And therwith am I welcome / there I haue it with me + Vndo it Lat this doctour deme / if dowell be therin + For by him that me made / might neuer pouerte + Misease or mischef / nor man with his tong + Colde nor care / nor company of theues + Nor neither hete nor haile / nor non helle powke + Nor neither fier nor flood / nor feare of thine enemye + Tene the Any time / And thou take it with the + Caritas nichil timet / + + It is but a dido quod this Doctour / A disoures tale + All the wit of this worlde / and wight mennes strengthe + Cannot conforme a peace . betwene the pope and his enemyes + Nor betwene ij Cristene kynges / can no man peace make + Profitable to either people / and put the table from him + And toke Clergie and Conscience / to counseile as it were + That pacience thou maist passe / for pilgrymes can well Lye + But Conscience carped lowde / & curteislie saide + Frendes fare ye well / And fair spake to Clergie + For I will go with this man / if god will giue me grace + And be pilgryme with Pacience / till I haue proued more + What quod Clergie to Conscience / Are ye couetouse nowe + After rewardes and giftes / or redy to rede redels + I shall bring you A byble / A booke of the olde Lawe + And lerne you yf you Like / the Least poynt to knowe + That Pacience the pilgryme / perfitely knewe neuer + Nay quod Conscience to Clergie / god that forbidd + O 4 + + For all that Pacience me profereth / prowde am I litill + But the will of the man / And the will of the folke here + Hath moved my mood / to mourne for my synnes + The good will of A wight / was neuer bought to the full + For there is no tresure / to A true will + Had not Maudelyn more for A box of salue + Then Zacheus for all he said / Dimidium bonorum meorum do pauperibus + And the poure widewe / for A peyr of mytes + Than all they that offred / in-to Gazophilacium + Thus curteisly conscience / congeied first the frier + And then softlie he said / in Clergies eare + Me were Lefer by the Lorde / and I Lyue shuld + haue Pacience perfitely / then half thy pack of bookes + Clergie of Conscience / no congie wold take + But said full soberlie / thou shalt se the tyme + Whan thou Art wery of walkyng / will me to counsaile + That is sothe said Conscience / so me god helpe + Yf Pacience be our partingfelawe / & privie with vs bothe + There is no wo in this world / that we shulde not amende + And conforme kynges to peace / & all manere Londes + Sazrazens And Surreans / and so forthe all the Iewes + Turne into the true feythe / and into one beleue + That is true quod Clergie / I se what þou menest + I shall dwelle as I do / my devoire to shewe + And conferme Fauntekyns / And other folke Lerned + Till pacience haue proued the / & perfite the made + Conscience then with pacience passed / pilgrymes as they were + Thatn had pacience as pilgrymes haue / in his poke vitalles + Sobrietie and Symple speche / and stedfast bebyu beleue + To confort him and conscience / if they came in place + There vnkyndnes and Couetise is / hungry countreis bothe + And as they went by the way / of dowell they carped + They met with A mynstrall / as me then thought + Pacience opposed him fyrst / & preyd him to tell + To Conscience what crafte he coulde / & whether he wolde + I am A mynstrall quod that man / my name is Actiua vita + All ydell I hate / for of Actif is my name + A wafrer will ye wete / And serue many Lordes + And fewe clothes I gett / cotes or furred gownes + Could I Lye to do men laf / then gett I shulde + + Outher mantell or money / Among Lordes or Mynstras + But for I can neither tabour nor trompe / nor telle no gestes + Fart nor fithell / at feastes nor harpe + Iape nor Iogle / nor gentillie pype + Nor neither saile nor saute / nor sing with the giterne + I haue no good giftes / of thise great lordes + for no bread that I bring forthe / saue A benyson on the sondaie + Whan the preist preyeth the people thisr pater noster to bydd + For Piers the plowman / & they that him loue + And that am I Actyf / that ydilnesse hate + For all true travailours / and tyllers of the erthe + Fro Mighelmas to Mighellmasse / I Fynde them with my wafres + Beggers and bidders / of my bread craue + Faiters and friers / and folke with brode crownes + I Fynde bread for the pope / and prouender for his palfrey + And I had neuer of him / haue god my truthe + Neither provendre nor parsonage / Ȝet of the Popes gyfte + Saue A pardon with a piece of lead / & ij polles Amyddes + Had I a clerke that coulde wright / I wolde cast him a byble + That he sent me vnder his seale / A salue for the pestilence + And that his blissing and his bulles / boches myght distroye + In nomine meo demonia eijcient / et super egros manus imponent &c + And then wolde I be presst to the people / past for to make + Bothe buxome and busye / About bread and drinke + For him and for all his / found I that his pardon + Might leche A man / as I beleue it shulde + For sithe he hathe the poure / that peter himself had + + He hathe the pott with the salue / truly as me thinkes + Argentum et aurum non est michi / quod autem habeo tibi doIn nomine domini surge et ambula / + But if might of myracle him faile / it is for that men be not worthy + To haue the grace of god / and no faute in the Pope + For no blissing may do us good / But if we will Amend + Nor mannes masse make peace / Among xpcristian people + Till pride be purely fordone / And þat throughe defaute of bread + For ere I haue bread of meale / ofte must I sweate + And ere the commons haue corne ynough / many a cold nornyng + So ere my wafers be wrought / much woe I suffre + All london I beleue / Like well my wafres + And loure when they Lacke them / it is not long yet paste + .P.1. + + There was A carefull commons / when no cart came to toune + With bread from Stratforde / then beggars began to wepe + And workemen were agast / this wilbe thought on long + In date of our drowt / in A drie Apryll + A thousand and thre hunderd / twies twentie and tean + My wafres then there were geason / when Chichester was Mayr + I toke good kepe by Christ / And Conscience bothe + Of Haukyn the Actyue man / and howe he was clothed + He had A Cote of xpcristendome / as holie chirche beleuethe + But it was moulded in many places / with many sondrie spottes + Of pride here a plot and there a plott / of vnbuxome speche + Of skornyng & scoffyng / and of vnskilfull beryng + As in Apparaile and port / proude Among the people + Otherwise then he hathe / with hart or sight shewing + Hym willing that all men wende / he were that he is not + For why he bosteth and braggethe / with many bolde othes + And is vnobedient to be interteyned / of any man Lyuyng + And non so syngler by himself / nor so pompe holie + habited as an heremyte / an order by himself + Religion sauns rule / & reosonable obedience + Dyspreysing lerned men / and lewde men bothe + In Lyknyng of true Lyfe / and a Lyar in soule + With inwit and outwytt / ymagine & studie + As best for his body be / to haue a badd name + And meddell with all thinges / there he hathe not to do + Willing that men wende / his wytt were best + + And if he gif out to poure men / telle what he delethe + Pouer iof possession in purs / and in cofre bothe + And as A leon to Loke on / And lordly of speche + Boldest of beggars / A bostour that nought hathe + In toune and in tauernes / tales for to telle + And say thing that he neuer se / And for truthe swere it + Of dedes that he neuer did / deme and boste + And of thinges that he well did / witnesse and saye + Lo if ye beleue me not / or wene that I Lye + Aske at him or at him / and he can you telle + What I suffred and se / And sumtymes had + And what I coulde and knewe / & what I kyn I come of + All he wold that men wist / of workes and wordes + + Which might please the people / And preyse themself + Si hominibus placerem xpĩcristi seruus non essem / + Et alibi / nemo potest duobus dominis seruire / + + By Christ quod Conscience then / thy best cote Haukyn + Hath many moles and spottes / it must nedes be wasshed + Yea who-so toke Hede quod Haukyn / behynde and before + On back and body half / and on bothe sydes + Men shulde fynde many frounces / & many foule plottes + And he turned him quickly / and then toke I hede + It was fouler by many folde / then it first semed + It was be-dropped with wrath / and wicked will + With envie and euilspeche / entysing to fight + Lying and Laughing / and lef tong to chide + All euill that he wist / by Any man tell it + And blame men behynde their backes / and wishe them mischaunce + And that he wiste by wille / tell it watt + And that wat wist / will wist it After + And made of frendes foes / through A false tong + Or with might of mouthe / or through mannes strentgthe + Avenge me many tymes / or frette my-self + Within As A shepesteres shere / I shrewed men & cursed + Cuius malediccione os plenum est et amaritudine subLingua eius labor et dolor / et alibi / Filij hominumDentes eorum Arma et sagitte et lingua eorum gladius acutus + There is noman that me louethe / Lasting any while + For tales that I telle / noman trust to me + And when I maynot haue the maistrie / such malancoly I take + That I cach the crompe / the cardiacle sumtyme + Or an Ague in such an angre / & sometyme A feuer + That holdethe me all a twelue moneth / till þat I dispise + Lechecrafte of the lorde / and trust to A wiche + And saie that no clerk can / nor Christe as I beleue + To the Sowter of Sothwerke / or of Shordich dame Emme + And say that goddes worde / gaf me neuer bote + But through A charme had I chaunce / & my chief helth + I waited wisloker / and then was it soyled + With Licking and Lechery / as by loking of the eye + For eche maide that he met / he made hir a sygne + .P.2. + + Semyng to synnwarde / and sumtyme he wolde taste + Aboute the mouthe or benethe begynne to grope + Till eythers will waxethe kene / and to the worke yede + As well on fasting daies as Frydaies / & forbodon nyghtes + And as well in Lent as out of it / all tymes alike + Suche workes with them / were neuer out of season + Till they might nomore / And then mery tales + And howe that Lecherous loue / Laugh and iape + And of their harl harlotrie /& horedome / in their age tell + Than pacience perceyued / of poyntes of this cote + Was comely through Couetise / and vnkynde desyre + More to good then to god / the man his loue cast + And ymagined howe / he might it haue + With false mesure and met / & with false weight + He Lent for loue of the gage / and lothe to do truthe + And awaite by what waie / he might begyle + And menged his marchaundise / to make a good mustre + The worst was within / A great witt I hold it + And if my neighbour / had any kynde of beast + More profitable then myne / many sleightes I founde + howe I might haue it / all my wytt I cast + And onlesse I might get it otherwise / at Last I stale it + Or priuylie his purse shoke / and picked his Lockes + By night or by day / about it was I euer + Through gyle to gather / the good that I had + Yf I went to the plough / I pynched so narowe + That a fote londe or a furowe / feche I wolde + Of my next neighbour / take of his grounde + And if I repe ouerreche / or gaf them counsaile that reaped + And sese to me with their sikell / that I sewe neuer + And who-so borowed of me / abought the tyme + With presentz privilie / or paid sum certeyne + So wolde he or not / wynne I wolde / + And bothe to kythe and kyn / vnkynde of þat I had + And who-so cheped my wares / chide I wolde + But if he profred to paye / A penny or tweyne + More then it was worthe / And yet wold I swere / + + That yt cost me muche more / swore many othes + On holidaies at churche / when I herde messe + had I neuer will god wot / ernestlie to beseche + Mercie for my misdedes / but I euer mourned more + For losse of worldly goodes / then for my bodies fautes + As if I had done deadly synne / I dred not that so sore + As when I lent and thought it lost / or long ere it were paide + So if I knew any kyndenes / myn even cristen to helpe + Vpon A cruell Couetise / myn hart did hang + And if I sent ouer sea / my seruauntes to Brudges + Or into prucelonde my prentys / my profite to seke + To marchande with money / & make there exchaunge + Might neuer me confort / in the meane while + Neither Matyns nor Masse / nor no manner sightes + Nor neuer penaunce perfourmed / nor Pater noster said + That my mynde was not more / on my good in doubte + Then in the grace of god / and his great helpe + Vbi thesaurus tuus , ibi et cor tuum + + Which be the braunches / that bring a man to sleuthe + He that mournethe not for his misdedes / nor make no sorowe + And dothe non Almusdede / drede him of no synne + Lyuethe Against the beleue / And no Lawe holdethe + Eche daye is halidaie with him or An highe ferie + And if he ought will here / it is an harlottes tong + When men speke of Christ / or of clennesse of soules + He wexeth angry and willnot here / but wordes of myrthe + Penaunce and poure men / and the passion of Saintes + He hateth to here therof / and all that telle it + Thise be the braunches beware / þat bring a man to dispeyr + Ye lordes and Ladies / and Legates of holy churche + That fede fooles sages / Flatereris & Lyers + And hathe pleasure to here them / to do you to Laughe + Ve vobis qui ridetis &c + And giue them meat & mede / and pouremen refuse + In your deathe dying / I drede me full sore + Lest then thre manere of men / to much sorowe you bring + Consencientes et Agentes / pari pena punientur + Patriarches and profetes / and preachours of goddes worde + .P.3. + + Saue through their sermons / mannes soule frome helle + Euen so flaterers and fooles / are the Fyndes disciples + To entyce men through their tales / to synne and to harlotry + But clerkes that knowe holy writ / shuld teache lordes + What dauid saithe of such men / as the psalter tellethe + Non habitabit in medio domus mee , qui facit superbiam et qui loquitur iniqua + Shold non harlot haue Audience / in halle nor in chambre + There wise men were / witnesse goddes worde + Nor no mysproude man / Among lordes be allowed + + But flaterers and fooles / through their foule wordes + Lede them that loue them / to Lucifers feaste + With Turpiloquio A lay of sorowe / & lucifers fiddill + Thus haukyn the Actiue man / had soiled his cote + Till Conscience rebuked him / in a curteis manere + Why he hadnot washed it / or wyped it with a brusshe + + + + Passus xiijus xiiijus + I Haue but one hole hatter quod haukyn / I am the lesse to blame + Though it be soyled & seld clene / I slepe therin on nightes + And also I haue an houswife / seruauntes and childerne + Vxorem duxi et ideo non possum venire + That wollen bymolen / yt many tymes / maugre my chekes + It hathe bene wasshed in lent / & out of lent bothe + With the sope of sikenes / that seketh wonder depe + And with the losse of goodes / f lothe for to offende + God or any good man / by aught that I might + And was shreuen of the preist / þat gaf me for my synnes + To penaunce pacience / and poore men to fede + All for couetise of my xpcristendome / in clennesse to kepe it + And coulde I neuer by Christe / kepe it clene an houre + That I ne soiled it with sight / or some ydell speche + Or through worde or worke / or will of myn hart + That I ne flobre it foule / from morowe tyll even + And I shall telle the quod Conscience / of contricion to make + That shall skore thy cote / from all manere fylthe + Cordis contricio &c + Dowell shall washe and wring it / through a wyse confessor + Oris confessio &c + Dobet shall bowke and beat yt / as bright as skarlet + + And engreyne it with good will / & goddes grace tamende the + And sithen send the to Satisfaccion / for to sowe it after + Satisfactio dobest / + + Shall neuer chist bemowle it / nor mothe After bight it + Neither fende nor false man / defoule it in thy Lyfe + Shall no herawde nor Harper / haue A fayerer garment + Then Haukyn the Actiue man / if þou do by my teaching + Nor no mynstrall be more worthe / Among poore and riche + Then Haukyns wyfe the wafrer / with his Actiua Vita / + And I shall purveye the paast quod pacience / though no plough erye + And floure to fede folk with / as best be for the soule + Though neuer grayne growed / nor grape vpon vyne + All that Liue and loke / liflode wolde I Fynde + And þat ynough that non faile / of any thing that they nede + We sholde not be to busye / aboute our Lyfelode + Ne soliciti sitis &c volucres celi deus pascit &c pacientes vincunt + Then lawghed haukyn A litill / and lightlie gan swere + Who-so trust you by our lorde / I beleue not he be blessed + No quod Pacience paciently / and out of his poke pulled + Vitailes of great vertues / for all manere beastes + Saying Lo here Lyfelode ynoughe / if our beleue be true + For neuer Lent was Lyfe / but Lyfelode were shapen + Wherof , wherfor / or wherby to Lyue + Fyrst the wilde worme / Vnder wete erthe + Fishe to lyue in flood / and in the fier the cryket + The curlewe by kynde of the eyr / most clennest flesh of byrdes + Beastes by grasse and grayne / and by grene rootes + In menyng that all men / might the same + Lyue through true beleue / and loue as god witnessethe + Quodcumque petieritis a patre in nomine meo &c Et alibi + Non in solo pane viuit homo , sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore d + + And I loked what Lyfelode it was / þat paciense so preysed + And then was it A piece of the pater noster Fiat voluntas tua & + + Haue haukyn quod pacience / & eate this when thou art hungrye + Or when thou Art acolde / or clyngest for drie + Shuld neuer gyues the greue / nor great Lordes wrath + Prison nor peyne for Pacientes vincunt + for + Incase thou be sobre / of sight and of tong + In eating and handlyng / and in all thy fyve wittes + Nedest thou neuer care for corne / nor clothe Lynen or wollen + .P.4. + + Nor for drinke no deathe drede / but die as god Likethe + Or through Hungar or hete / at his will be it + For if thou lyuest After his lawes / the shorter Lyfe the better + Si quis amat xpmcristum , mundum non diligit istum / + For through his breath bestes grewe and went abrode + Dixit et facta sunt &c + Ergo through his breathe / may man and beaste Lyue + As holy writt witnesseth / when men saye their graces + Aperis tu manum , et imples omne animal benedictione + It is founde that fourtie winter / folk Lyued without tilling + And out of the flynt sprang the flood / þat men & beastes dronke + And in Elies tyme / Heauen was vp closed + That no rayn did reyne / thus men rede in bookes + That many wynters men Lyved / and no mete tilled + Seven slept saith the booke / seaven hundred yeres + And Lived without Lyuelode / at at the last Awaked + And if men Lived as mesure wolde / shulde neuer be defaute + Among xpcristian men / if Christes worde be true + But vnkyndnes maketh Caristiam / Among xpcristen people + And ouerplenty maketh pride / Among poore and riche + Therfor measure is so much worthe / it cannot be to dere + For the mischef and the mischaunce / Among men of Sodome + Grewe through plentie of food / and of pure slouthe + Ociositas et habundantia panis , peccatum turpissimum nutriuit + for they measured not themself / of þat they ete and dronke + They did deadlie synne / that the divell Liked + So Vengeaunce fell vpon them / for their vile synnes + They sonke into helle / the Cities eueryone + Therfor measure we vs well / & make our feyth our Sheltrom + And through feythe commeth contricion / Conscience wot well + Which dryueth awaie deadlie synne / & causeth it to be veniall + And though A man might not speake / Contricion may him saue + And bring his soule to blisse / incase that feyth be witnesse + That whille he Lyved he beleuid / in the lore of holy churche + Ergo Contricion , feythe and conscience , is kyndly dowell + And Surgions for deadlie synnes / when shrift of mouth faileth + But shrifte of mouthe more worth is / if man be alike contrite + For shrifte of mouthe sleith synne / be it neuer so deadly + Per confessionem to A preist / peccata occiduntur + + There Contricion dothe but dryue them doune / into veniall synne + As dauid saithe in the psalter Et quorum tecta sunt peccata + But satisfaccion sekethe out the rote / And bothe sleith and voydethe + And as it had neuer be / it bringeth deadly synne to nought + That it neuer efte is sene nor sore / but semeth a wounde healed + Where dwelleth Charitie quod Haukyn / I wist neuer in my Lyfe + Man that with him spake / as wide as I haue walked + That perfite truthe and poore hart is / And pacience of tung + There is Charitie the chief chamberer / for god himself + Whether pacient pouertie quod Haukyn / be more pleasant to our dright + Then Richesse rightfully wonne / And resonablie dispended + Yea quis est ille quod pacience / quicke laudabimus eum + Though men rede of riches / euen to the worldes ende + I wist neuer man being riche / þat when he reken sholde + When he drewe to his death daie / that he ne dred him sore + And þat at the rekennyng / in Arrerage felle / rather then out of dett + There the poore dare plede / And proue by pure reason + To haue allowaunce of his lorde / by the lawe he claymeth it + Ioye that neuer ioye had / of rightfull Iudge he aske it + And saith Lo byrdes and beastes / that no blisse knowe + And wylde wormes in woodes / through wynters þou them grevest + And makist them well ny meke / and myld for defaute + And after thou sendest them sommer / Which is their souereyne Ioye + And blisse to all that bene / Bothe wylde and tame + Then may Beggers as Beastes / after boote wayte + uel + That all their Lyfe haue Lyued / in Langour and defaute + But god sent them sumtyme / some manere ioye + Eyther here or elliswhere / Kynde wolde it neuer + For euill chaunce was he wrought / that neuer was in Ioye + Aungelles that in Helle nowe be / had Ioye sometyme + And diues in deyntes Lyued / and in douce vie + Right so reason swet shewethe / that the men that were riche + And their makes also / Lyued their Lyfe in myrthe + But god is of A wonder will / By that kynde wit shewethe + To gyue many man his mercymony / ere he it hath deserued + Euen so deleth god with some riche / ruthe me it thinkethe + For they haue their hyre here / And heauen as it were + And great Liking to Lyue / without Labour of bodie + And when he dyethe be disalowed / as dauid saith in the psalter + Dormierunt et nichil invenerunt / + .q.1. + + And in another place also / Velud somnum surgentium dominein ciuitate tua , et ad michilum rediges / + Allas that richesse shall reaue / and robbe mannes soule + From the loue of the lorde / at his laste ende + Servauntes that haue their hyre afore / Are euermore nedye + And selden diethe he out of dett / þat dyneth or he deserue it + And till he haue done his devoyr / And his daies iourney + For whan A workeman hathe wrought / then men may se þe sothe + What he is worthy for his worke / and what he hathe deserued + And not to take before / for feare of disalowing + So I saie by you riche / it semeth not þat ye shulde + Haue heauen in this Lyfe / and heauen herafter + Like as seruaunt taketh his salarie before / & then wolde cleyme more after + As he that non hadd / But onely at the laste + Yt maynot be ye riche men / onlesse Mathue on god Lyethe + De delicijs ad delicias , difficile est transire / + But ye riche haue ruthe / And rewarde well the poore + And Lyue as Lawe teacheth / Do rightly to them all + Christ then of his curtesy shall confort you at the last + And rewarde you with double richesse / þat rufull hartes haue + And as a seruaunt that had / his hire ere he beganne + And when he hath done his devoir / well / his Maister doth him oþer bountie + And gyue him A cote aboue his couenaunt / euen so Christ geuith heauen + Bothe to riche and poure / that rufullie dothe + And all þat do their devoir well / haue double hire for theyr travaile + Forgyuenesse here of synnes / and heauesne blisse After + But is it is but selden sene / as by Holie Sayntes bookes + That god rewarded double rest / to Any riche man + For much myrth is Among riche / as in meat and clothes + And much myrthe in May is / Among wylde beastes + And so forthe while Sommer Last / their solace endurethe + But beggers aboute mydsomer / breadlesse they suppe + And yet is wynter for them worse / for wetshode they go + Sore Ahungred and Athurst / and foule rebuked + And Arated of riche men / that ruthe is to here + Nowe lorde send them Sommer / and some maner ioye + Heauen at ther hence going / that here haue such defaute + For all myghtest þou haue made / non poorer then other + + And like wittie and wise / if the well had liked + And haue ruthe of thise riche men / þat rewarde not thy prisoners + Of the good that thou them gyuest / ingrati be many + But god of thy goodnesse / gyue them grace tamende + For may no derth be them dere / drought nor wete them greue + Nor neither hete nor haile / haue they their helthe + Of that which they desyre / want they not here + But poure people thy prisoners / Lorde in the put of mischef + Confort those creatures / that much care suffre + Through derthe through drought / all their daies here + Wo in Wynter tymes / for wanting of clothes + And in Somer tyme selde / suppe to the full + Confort thy carefull / Christ in thy richesse + For how þou confortest all creatures / Clerkes bere witnes + Conuertimini ad me et salui eritis / + Thus in genere of gentries / IhuIesu Christe saide + To robbers and reveris / to riche and to poore + + Thou taughtest them in the Trinitie / to take Baptyme + And be clene through þat cristenyng / of all manere synnes + And if we fylle through folie / to any synne After + Confession and knowleging / and craving thy mercy + Shuld Amende vs as ofte / as man wolde desyre + But if the Pope wolde plede / here agayne and punyshe vs in concie[nce] + He shulde take the Acquitance as quick / & do the queed shewe it + Pateat &c per passionem domini / + And put of so the powke / and proue vs vnder borowe + But the parchemyn of the patent / must be of pouertie + And of pure pacience / and perfite beleue + Of pompe and of pryde / the parchemyn decourrethe + And principally of all people / but they be poure of hart + Ellis is all in veyne / all that euer we wright + Pater nosters and penaunce / and pilgrymage to Rome + But our spenses and spending / spring of a true will + Elles is all our Labour lost / Lo how men wright + I fenestres at the friers / if false be the grounde + Therfor xpcristen shulde be in commone riche / non couetouse by him-self + For seven synnes that therbe / assaile vs euer + The feind folowe them all / and fondeth them to helpe + But with richesse þat Ribawd / he rathest men begyle + .q.2. + + For there as richesse regneth / reuerence folowethe + And that is pleasant to pride / in poure and in riche + And the riche is reuerenced / by reason of his richesse + And the pore is put behynde / and parauenture can more + Of wit and of wisdome / that farre awaie is better + Then riches or roialtie / and rather herde in heauen + For the riche hathe muche to reken / and ofte him that walk + The hyghe way to heauen / richesse dothe lett + Ita impossibile diuiti &c + There the poure preasseth before the riche / with a pack at his back + Opera enim illorum sequuntur illos + Batauntly as beggers do / and boldlie he crauethe + For his pouertie and pacience / A perpetuall blisse + Beati pauperes spiritu , quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum + And pride in richesse regneth / rather then in pouertie + Erst in the maister then the man / some mansion he hathe + But in pouertie there pacience is / pride hathe no might + Nor non of the vij synnes / sytt there may long + Nor haue poure in pouertie / if pacience it folowe + For the poore is aye prest / to please the riche + And buxome at his bydding / for his broke loues + And buxomnesse and boost / are euermore at warre + And either hateth other / in all manere workes + Yf wrathe wrestle with the poure / he hathe the worst ende + And if they bothe pleyne / the poure is but feble + And if he chide or chatter / he spedeth the worse + + And if Couetise cach the poure / they may not come togithers + And by the necke namely / non may take other + For men knowe well / that couetise is of kene will + And hathe handes and Armes / of a long length + And pouertie is but a petit thing / and commeth not to his nauyll + And gentill play was it neuer / betwene the long & the short + And though Auarice wold angre þe poure / he hathe but Litill myght + For pouertie hathe but pookes / to put in his goodes + There Auarice hathe Almaries / & yren bounde coffres + And whether be lighter to breake / and least boost maketh + A beggers bagg / or An yren bounde Cofre + Lechery loueth him not / for he geuith but Litill syluer + Nor dothe him not dyne delicately / nor drinke wyne ofte + + A strawe for the stewes / it stode not I trowe + Had they nothing but of poure men / their houses stode vntyled + And though Sleuthe sewe pouertie / and serue not god to paye + Myschief is his maister / and maketh him to thinke + That god is his greatest helpe / And noman ellis + And he his seruaunte as he seith / and of his sute bothe + And whether he be or be not / he beareth the signe of pouertie + And in that sect our saviour / saued all mankynde + Therfor all poure þat pacient be / may clayme and aske + After their endyng here / heauens riche blisse + Much Hardier may he aske it / then he þat here had his will + In lond and in lordshippe / and Liking of bodie + And for goddes loue leaue all / and Lyue as a begger + And as A maide for mannes loue / hir mother forsakethe + hir father and all hir frendes / and folowe hir make + Much more is to loue / of him that such one taketh + Then A mayde is / that is maried through brocage + As by assent of sundrie parsones / and syluer to boote + More for couetise of goodes / then kynde loue of bothe + So it fareth by euery parsone / that possession forsakethe + And put him to be pacient / and pouertie weddeth + The which is kyn to god himself / and so to his sayntes + Haue god my trouth quod Haukyn / ye preyse fast pouertie + What is pouertie with pacience / quod he properlie to mene + Paupertas / quod pacience / est odibile bonum / + Remotio curarum / possessio sine calumpnia / donum dei + Sanitas mater absque solicitudine semita / Sapientie temperatrix + Negocium sine dampno / incerta fortuna / absque solicitudine felici + + I cannot construe all this quod Haukin / ye must telle it in englishe + In englysh quod Pacience / it is very harde to expounne + Pouertie is the fyrst poynt / that Pride most hatethe + Then is it good by right / all that contrarieth pride + Even as Contricion is A confortable thing / Conscience wot well + And A sorowe of him-self / & A solace to the soule + So pouertie properlie / penaunce and Ioye + Ys to the bodie / pure spirituall helthe + + Ergo paupertas est odibile bonum + q 3 + + And Contricion confort / and Cura animarum + Selde sytt pouertie / the truthe to declare + For As Iustice to iudge men / nor mynister vnder kynges + Selden is any pouertie put / to punyshe any people + Remocio curarum + Ergo pouertie and poure men / performeth the commandementes + Nolite iudicare quemquam the thyrde / + Selde is any poure made riche / but of rightfull heritage + He wynneth not with false weightes / nor with vnsealed measures + Nor boroweth of his neighboures / but that he entendeth to paye + Possessio sine calumpnia / + The fourth is a fortune / that florisheth the soule + With sobyrnesse from all synne / and also yet more + It affaiteth the fleshe / from folies full many + A collaterall confort / Christes oune gifte + Donum dei / + The fyfte is mother of helthe / A frende at all assayes + + And for the Londe euer A leche / A lemman of all clennesse + Sanitatis mater / + The sext is A path of peace / yea through the Paas of Aultoun + Pouertie might passe / without perill of robbyng + For wheras pouertie passethe / peace foloweth after + And euer the lesse that he beareth / the hardyer he is of hart + + Therfor saith Seneca Paupertas est absque solicitudine semita + And an hardie man of hart / Among an heape of theues + Cantabit paupertas coram latrone viatore + The seventh is well of wisdome / and fewe wordes sheweth + Therfor Lordes allowe him Litill / nor Listeneth to his reason + For he tempereth his tong to truthewarde / & no treasure couetethe + Sapientie temperatrix / + The eight is a true Labour / and lothe to take more + Then he may well deserue / in Somer or in wynter + And if he bye and selle / he putteth non to losse / if he charitie may wynne + Negocium sine dampno + The nynthe is swete to the soule / no sugar sweter + For pacience is sustinaunce / for pouertie himself + And sobrenesse swete drinke / and good Leche in siknesse + Thus Learned me A letterd man / for our Lordes loue of heauen + + Saynt Augustine A blissed Lyfe / without busynesse ledd + + For body and for soule / absque sollicitudine felicitas / + Now god that all good gyueth / graunte his soule rest + That this first wrot to teche men / what pouertie was to mene + Allas quod Haukyn the Actyue man /then / that after my xpcristendome + I ne had be dead and buried / for dowels sake + So hard it is quod Haukyn / to lyue and to do synne + Synne suethe vs euer quod he / and sory gan wexe + And wept water with his eyes / & wailed the tyme + That euer he did dede / that dere god displeased + Or maistrie ouer any man / more then of himself + I were not worthy knoweth god quod Haukyn / to were any clothes + Nor neither shert nor shoes / saue for shame only + To couer my bodie quod he / and cried mercy fast + And wept and wailed / and therwith I awaked + + + + Passus XVus + But After my waking / it was wonder long + Ere I coulde kyndlie / knowe what was dowell + And so my wyt went and came / till I A foole was + And some Lackid my Lyfe / but fewe allowed it + And held me for a Lorell / and loth to reuerence + Lordes or Ladies / or Any many ellis + As parsons in their furres / with pendauntes of syluer + To sergeauntes or to suche / said I not ones + God saue you Lordes / ne lowted faire + That folke held me a foole / and in that folie I raved + Till reason had ruthe on me / and rocked me aslepe + Tyll I se as it sorcery were / A subtile thing withall + One without tong and tethe / tolde me whether I shuld + And wherof he came and of what kynde / I coniured him at Last + Yf he were Christes creature / Anone me to tell + I am Christes creature quod he / and cristen in many a place + In Christes court I-knowe well / and of his kyn aparty + Ys neither Peter the porter / nor paule with his fawchon + That will defende me the dore / dyng I neuer so Late + At mydnyght & at myddaye / my voice so it knoune + That eche a creature of his court / welcommeth me fayre + What Are ye called quod I / in that court / Among Christes people + q 4 + + + When I quycken the corps / callid am I Anima + And when I will and wolde / Animus I hight + And for that I can and knowe / callid am I mens / + And when I make mone to god / memoria is my name + And when I deme domes / and do as trouth teacheth + Then is Racio my right name / Reason in englishe + And when I feele that folk telleth / my first name is Sensus + And that is wit and wisdome / the welle of all craftes + And when I chalaunge or chalaunge not / chepe or refuse + Than am I Conscience called / goddes clerke & his Notarye + And when I loue truly / our lorde and all other + Then is true loue my name / And in latyn Amor + And when I flee from the fleshe / and forsake the body + Then am I spirit spirite spechelesse / Spiritus then I hight + Augustyne And ysodorus / either of them bothe + Named me this name / now thou mayst chuse + How thou wilt call me / now þou knowest all my names + Anima pro diuersis accionibus diuersa nomina sortitur / + Dum viuificat corpus , anima est , dum vult animus est + Dum scit mens est , Dum recolit memoria est , Dum negat + Vel consentit , conscientia est . Dum spirat spiritus est / + Ye be as A bishope quod I / all bourding that tyme + For byshops blissed / they haue many names + As Presul and pontifex / and Metropolitanus + And other names an heape / Episcopus and Pastor + That is sothe said he / now I se thy will + Thou woldest gladly knowe / the cause of their names + And of myne if thou mightest / me thinke by thy speche + Yea syr I said / so noman were greved + All the sciences vnder sonne / and all the subtile craftes + I wolde I knewe and coulde / kyndly in myn hart + Then art þou inperfite quod he / and one of prides knyghtes + For such a lust and likyng / Lucifer fell from heauen + Ponam pedem meum in aquilone et similis ero Altissimo + Yt were Against kynde quod he / & all manere reason + That any creature shulde knowe all / except Christe onlie + Against such Salomon speaketh / and dispiseth their wittes + And sayth Sicut qui mel comedit multum non est ei bonum + Sic qui scrutaturor est maiestatis dei , opprimitur a gloria / + + To engysh men this is to mene / that may speake and here + The man that much hony eateth / his mawe it engleymethe + And the more that A man / of good matere heareth + Onlesse he dothe therafter / it dothe him double skathe + Beatus est saythe Seynt bernarde qui scriptura legit + Et verba vertit in opera / fully to his poure + Couetise to konne / and to knowe science + Put Adam out of paradise / and also Eue / + Scientie appetitus hominem inmortalitatis gloria spoliauit + And euen as hony is euill to digest / & engleymeth the mawe + Right so he þat through reason / wolde the roote knowe + Of god and his great myghtes / his graces it letteth + For in the lyking lythe a pride / and bodely couetise + Against Christes counsell / and all clerkes teachinges + That is Non plus sapere quam sapere oportet / + Friers and many other maisters / þat to the lewde men preache + Moue maters inmesurable / to telle of the Trynytie + That ofte tymes the lewde people / of their beleue doubt + Better were many doctors / to leaue such preaching + And telle men the . x . commaundementes / & of the seauen synnes + And the braunches springing of them / & bringing men to helle + And how that folke in folies / mysspende their fyue wittes + As well preistes as others / Folishly speake + In housyng in hatering / and in-to high clergie shewing + More for pompe then pure Charitie / the people wot the sothe + That I lie not lo / For lordes they please + And reuerence them riche / the rather for theyr syluer + Confundantur omnes qui adorant sculptilia / Et alibi , + Vt quid diligitis vanitatem et queritis mendacium + Go tho the glose of the verse / ye great clerkes + Yf I lye on you to my lewde wit / lede me to brennyng + For as it semeth ye forsake / nomannes Allmes + Of vsurers of whoores / of couetouse chapmen + And lowt to thise lordes / that may giue you nobles + Against your rule and religion / I take recorde at IhusIesus + That said to his discyples / Ne sitis personarum acceptores + Of this matere I might make a long byble + But of Curatours of xpcristen people / as clerkes beare witnesse + I shall telle it for truthes sake / take hede who-so likethe / + .r 1. + + Ihesus crist + As holynesse and honestie / of out of the chirche springeth + Through true lyuyng men / that goddes lawe teche + Euen so out of the churche / all euill spredethe + There inperfite preesthode is / preachours and teachours + I se it by exemple / in somer tyme on treis + There some bowes bene leaued / and some beareth none + There is A mischef in the grounde / of such manere trees + Right so of parsons & preestes / & preachers of the church + That are roote of the right feythe / to rule the people + And there the roote is rotten / Reason knoweth the truthe + Shall neuer flour nor frute / nor fair leaf be grene + Therfor wolde ye learned leaue / the lechery of clothing + And be kynde as clerkes shulde be / & curtise of Christes goodes + True of your tong / and of your tayle bothe + And hate to here harlotrie / and not to receyue + Tythes but of true thinges / tilled , bought , or solde + Lothe were lewde men / but they your teaching folowed + And Amende them that mysdoe / more for your exemples + Than for to preache and do it not / ypocrisy it semeth + For hypocrisye in latyne / is likened to A dounghill + That is all whight with snow without / And full of snakes within + Euen so many preestes / preachours and prelates + Ye are garneshed without with fair speche / with clo clothes also + But your workes and your wordes / inwardly are nought + Saynt Iohan Crisostome / of clerkes speaketh and preestes + Sicut de templo omne bonum progreditur , sic de templo omne + malum procedit / . Si sacerdocium integrum fuerit , tota + floret ecclesia / . Si autem corruptum fuerit in peccatis , totus + populus conuertitur ad peccandum / . Et si autem sacerdocium corruptum + fuerit , omnium fides mercida est . Sicut cum videris arborem + pallidam et marcidam , intelligis quod vicium habet in radice , + Ita cum videris indisciplinatum et irreligiosum populum sine dubio + sacerdocium eius non est sanum / + Yf lewd men wist / what this Latyn meneth + And who is the Author / much wonder me thinketh + But if many A preest beare / for their baselardes & broches + A pair beades in their handes / & a book vnder their Arme + Syr Iohan and syr Geffrey / hath A gyrdill of Syluer / + + A baselarde or balocknyfe / with botons ouergilt + But A portas that shulde be his plough / placebo to saye + Hadd he neuer seruice to saue syluer /therto / saieth it with ill will + Allas ye lewd men / much lose ye on preestes + But the thing þat wickedly is wonne / and with false sleightes + Wold neuer wit of witty god / but wicked men it had + The which Are preestes inperfite / and preachours after syluer + Excecutors and Sodones / Somenours & their Lemmans + That which with gyle was gotton / vngraciously is spended + So harlottes and whoores / Are holpen with such goodes + And goddes folk for defaute therof / Forfare and spille + Curatoures of holy church / as clerkes þat be couetouse + Lightly that they leaue / losells it haue + Or he dieth intestate / and the bisshope entrethe + And make mery therwith / and his men bothe / + And say he was A niggard / þat no good myght spare + To freend nor to fremd / the feende haue his soule + For A wrechid house he kept / all his lyfe tyme + And that which whe spared / spende we in myrthe + By lerned and lewde / that lothe is to spende + Thus gothe theyr goodes / be they ones gone + But for good men god wot / great sorowe men make + And pray for good housekepers / and haue them in mynde + In prayers and penaunce / and in perfite charytie + What is charitie quod I then / A chyldish thing he said + Nisi efficiamini sicut paruuli , non intrabitis in regnum celorum + Without any folie / A free liberall will + Where shulde men fynde such a freende / with so free an hart + I haue lyued in lond quod he / my name is long wille + Yet founde I neuer full charitie / before nor behinde + Men be merciable / to beggers and to poore + And will gyuelende where they thinke / truly to be prayed for payd agayn + But that charite that paule prayseth / most plesant to our Sauyou + Ys non inflatur , non ambiciosa , non querit que sua sunt + I se neuer such a man / so me god helpe + That wolde not require his oune / and sometyme coueyt + The thing that he nedid not / and haue it if he might + Clerkes knowe well / that Christ is in all places / + .r 2. + + But I se him neuer sothelie / but as my-self in A myrrour + Nunc per speculum in enigmate , tunc facie ad faciem + And so I trowe I truly / by that men tell of charitie + It is not Champions fyght / nor chaffare as I trowe + Charitie quod he chaffareth not / neither chalengeth nor craueth + As proude of A penny / as of a pounde of golde + And is as glad of A gowne / of A gray russett + As of A tunycle of tars / or of trie scarlet + He is glad with all glad / and good to all wicked + And trusteth and louethe all / that our lorde made + Cursethe he no creature / nor he can beare no wrathe + Nor no liking hathe to lye / nor laugh men to skorne + All that men saye he hold it true / and in solace taketh it + And manere myschef / myldlie he suffreth + He couetith non erthly good / but heuen riche blisse + Hathe he any rentes or n richesse / or any riche freendes + Of rentes or of richesse / recketh he neuer + For A freende that fynde hym / faylled him neuer at nede + Fiat voluntas tua / fyndeth hym euer-more + And if he suppe ete but A soppe / of Spera in deo / + He can purtrey well the pater noster / and peynt it with Aves + And sometyme is he wont / to go on pilgrimage + There poor men ly in presons / their pardon to haue + Though he beareth them no bread / he gyueth them sweter confort + And louethe them as the lord biddeth / and looketh howe they fare + And when he is wery of that worke / then will he somtyme + Labour in lauendry / well the length of A myle + And go vnto youth / them to enstruct / + Pride with his Apurtenaunces / he packeth togithers + And bowke them at his breast / and beat them clene + And lay on long / with Laboraui in gemitu meo + And with warme water at his eyen / wash them after + And he syngeth when he dothe so / and somtyme saith weping + Cor concritum et humiliatum deus non despicies / + By Christ I wold I knewe him quod I / no creature leuer + Without helpe of piers plowman quod he / his parsone seest thou neuer + Do clerkes know him quod I / that kepe holy kyrk + Clerkes haue no knowing quod he / but by workes and by wordes + But pers the plowman / perceyueth more depper / + + What is the will and wherfor / that many man suffreth + Et vidit deus cogitaciones eorum / + For there are there Are full proude harted men / pacient of tong + And buxome of bearing / to burgeis and to lordes + But to poure people / haue peper in the nose + And as a leon he looketh / there men lacke his workes + For there Are beggers and bidders / bedemen as it were + Which looke euen as lambes / And seme lyfe-holy + But it is more to haue their meate / with such an easy manere + Then for penaunce of perfitenes / the peynes þat such take + Therfor by coloure nor by clergie / knowe shalt þou neuer + Neither through wordes nor workes / but through will only + And that knoweth no clerke / nor creature in erthe + But piers the plowman / Petrus id est Christus + For he is not in lollers / nor in londlepers heremytes + Nor at Ancres there A box hangeth / all such they faiten + Fy on Faitours / and in Fautores suos / + For charitie is goddes champion / and as a good childe hende + And the meriest of mouthe / at meate where he sittethe + The loue that lythe in his hart / maketh him light of speche + And is compaignable and confortatyf as Christ bid himself + Nolite fieri sicut hypocrite tristes &c / + For I haue sene him in sylke / and sometyme in Russet + Bothe in gray and grys / and in gilt harneys + And as gladly he it gaf / to them that neded + Edmonde and edwarde / either were kynges + And Sayntes sett / for charitie them folowed + I haue sene charitie also / both syng and rede + Ryde and renne / in ragged clothes + But begging as beggers / behelde I him neuer + But in riche robes / rathest he walketh + Callid and crymyled / and his croune shauen + And in a fryers frocke / he was founde ones + But it is long agone / in S . Fraunces tyme + In that sect sithens / to seld hath He be knoune + Richmen he recommendeth / and of their robes taketh + That without wyles / lede their lyues + Beatus est diues qui &c / + .r 3. + + In kynges court he commeth ofte / there the counsell is true + But if couetise be of the counseill / he willnot come there + In court Among Iapers / he commeth not but selden + For braulyng and backbyting / & bearing of false witnesse + In the Consistorie before the Comissarie / he commeth not full ofte / + For their lawe dureth ouer long / onlesse they cache siluer + And Matrimony for money / they make and vnmake + And that Christ and Conscience haue knyt fast + They vndoe it vworthely / those doctours of lawe + + But I despraise noman / but the lorde amende vs all + And gyue vs grace good god / charitie to folowe + For who-so might mete with him / such maners he hathe + Neither he blameth nor banneth / bosteth nor preyseth + Neither craueth he nor coueteth / nor crieth after more + In pace inidipsum , dormiam et requiescam + The greatest tresure that he setteth by / is loue in Christes passion + Neither he biddeth nor beggeth / nor boroweth to yelde + Misdothe he noman / nor with his tong greueth + Among Christen men / this myldenesse shuld last + In all manere Angres / haue this at hart + That though they suffred all this / god suffred for vs more + In exemple we shuld do so / and take no vengeaunce + Of our foes that do vs harme / that is our faders will + for well may euery man wite / if god had wold himself + Shuld neuer Iudas nor Iewe / haue done IhuIesu on the rood + Nor haue martyred peter or paule / nor in prison hold + But he suffred in exemple / that we suffre also + And said to such as suffre wolde / þat Pacientes vincunt + Verbi gracia quod he / and very many ensamples + In legenda Sanctorum / the lyfe of holy sayntes + What penaunce and pouertie / and passion they suffred + In hunger in hete / & in all manere Angres + Antony and Egidie / and other holy fathers + That dwelt in wildernesse / Among wyld beastes + Monkes and fryers / men by them-self + In spekes and spelunkes / seld speake togiders + But neither Antony nor Egidie / nor heremyte þat tyme + Of Leons nor Leopardes / no lyuelode toke + But of foules that fleith / thus fynde men in bookes + + Except that Egidie / After an hynde cried + And through the mylk of that mylde beast / þe man was susteined + And day by daye he had hir not / his Hunger for to slake + But selden and sundrie tymes / as sayth the book and techeth + Antonye a daies / aboute noone tyme + had a byrd that brought him bread / that he by lyued + And thoughe he had a gest / god founde them bothe + Paule primus heremita / had pro parroked himself + That noman might Him se / for mosse and for leaues + Foules hym fedd / many wynters withall + Till he founded friers / of Augustines ordre + Paule after his preaching / panyers he made + And wanne with his handes / that his body neded + Peter fisshed for his food / and his felawe Andrue + Some they sold and some they sode / and so they lyued bothe + And also Mary magdalene / by mores lyued and dewes + But most through devocion / and mynde of god almyghtie + I shulde not thise seven daies / recken them all + That thus lyued for the lordes loue / many long yeres + But there was neither leon nor leoparde / þat on lond went + Neither bere nor bore / nor other wylde beast + But felle to their feet / and fawned with their tailes + And if they coulde haue spoken / by Christ as I thinke + They wold haue fed that folke / before wilde foules + + But god sent them food by foules / and by no ferse beastes + In menyng that meke thing / mylde thing shuld fede + As who saith religious / righfull men shuld fynde + And lawfull men to lyfeholymen / lyfelode bring + And then wold lordes and ladies / be lothe to A offende + And to take of theyr tenauntz / more then truthe wold + Founde they that friers / wold forsake theyr Allmusses + And byd them beare it / there it was borowed + For we be goddes foules / and Abyde allwaye + Till byrdes bring vs / that we shuld lyue by + For had ye potage and bread ynough / and pennyale to drynk + And A mease therwith / of one manere kynde meat + Ye had euen ynoughe you religiouse / & so your R rule me told + r 4 + + Nunquam dicit Iob rugit onager cum herbam habuerit + Aut mugiet bos cum ante plenum presepe steterit / + Brutorum animalium natura te condemnat , quia cum eis pabulum + commune sufficiat ex adipe prodijt iniquitas tua / + Yf lewde men knewe this latyn / they wold looke whome they gyf + And avise them before / A fyue daies or syx + Ere they mortised to monkes / or Chanons their rentes + Allas lordes and ladies / leawde counseile haue ye + To gyue from your Heyres / þat your parentes you lefte + And gif to pray for you / to such as be riche + And be founded and feffed eke / to pray for other + Who performeth this prophecie / of the people þat nowe lyueth + Dispersit dedit pauperibus &c / + Yf any people performe that text / it is thise poure friers + For þat they begg about / in buylding they spend it + And of them-self some / and such as be their laborers + And of them that haue / they take / and giueth them that haue not + But Clerkes and knightes / & Commoners that be riche + Many of you fare / as if I a forest had + That were full of faire trees / and I fonded & cast + how I might more therin / Among them sett + Right so ye riche / ye robbe that be poure + And helpe them that helpe you / & gif þer no nede is + As who-so filled a tonne / of A fresh ryuer + And went forth with þat water / to eke with the Temmese + Euen so ye riche / ye robbe and fede + Them that haue as ye haue / them ye make at ease + But religiouse þat riche bene / shuld rather feast beggers + Than burgeises that be riche / as the booke teacheth + Q. Quia sacrilegium est res pauperum non pauperibus dare + Item peccatoribus dare , est demonibus immolare + Item monache si indiges et accipis pocius das quam accipis + Si autem non indiges et accipis , rapis + Porro non indiget monachus , si habeat quod nature sufficit + Therfor I counsaile all xpcristen / to conforme them to charitie + For Charitie without chalaunging / vnchargethe the soule + And many prisoner from peyne / through his prayers he delyuereth + + But there ys a faute in the folke / that the feyth kepe + Wherfor the people is the febler / and not fyrme of beleue + And euen as in lussheburghes is a luther alay / yet lokith he like a sterling + The marke of the money is good / but the metall is Feble + And so it fareth by some folke nowe / they haue A fair speche + Croune And xpcristendome / the kynges marke of heauen + But the metall that is mannes soule / with synne is foule alayd + Bothe letterd and lewde / be alayed now with synne + That noman loueth other / nor our lorde as it semeth + For through werre and wicked workes / and wederes vnreasonable + Wederwise shipmen / and wittie clerckes also + Haue no beleue to the list / nor to the lore of Philosophers + Astronomyers alday / in their art faile + That sometyme warned before / what shuld fall After + Shipmen and shepeherdes / þat with ship and shepe went + Wist with by the elementes what shuld betide + And of wethers and wyndes / they warned men ofte + Tillers that tilled the erthe / told their maisters + By the sede that they sewe / what they sell might + And what to leue and to lyue by / the lond was to trewe + Now faile the folke / and of the londe bothe + Shepeherdes and shipmen / also thise lond tillers + Neither they can nor knowe / won course before another + Astronomyens also / Are at their wittes ende + Of that was Calculed of the element / the contrary they fynde + Grammer the grounde of all / begyleth nowe the childerne + There is non of thise newe clerkes / who-so takethe hede + + Not won Among an hundred / that an autor can construe + Nor rede a letter in Any langage / but in latyn or englishe + Go now to any degree / and but if gyle be maister + And flaterer his felawe / vnder him to fourme + Much wonder me thinketh / Among vs all + + Doctors of decrees / and of diuinytie maisters + That shuld konne and knowe / all manere clergie + And Answere to argumentes / & also to Quodlibet + I dare not say it for shame / if such were opposed + They shuld faile of ther philosophie / and in phisick bothe + Wherfor I am afraid / of folke of holy kyrke / + s 1. + + + Lest they ouerhippe as other do / in offices and houres + But if they do as I hope not / our beleue suffiseth + As clerkes in Corpus xicristi feast / Sing and rede + That Sola fides sufficit / to saue lewd people + And so may Sarazens be saued / Scribes and Iewes + Allas then but our loresmen / lyue as they lerne vs + And by their lyueng that lewd men be / the lother to offend god + For Sarazens haue somewhat / semyng to our beleue + For they loue and beleue / in one god allmighty + And we lerned and lewde / in won god beleue + + And won Makometh a man / in misbeleue brought + Sarazens of Surrey / and se in what manere + This Makometh was a xpcristian / & for he might not be Pope + Into Surrey he sought / and through his subtill wittes + he tamed a dowe / and daie and night hir fedd + The corne that she ete / he put into his ere + And if he Among the people preched / or in places came + Then wold the culuer come / to this clerkes ere + Wonly for meat / thus Makometh hir enchaunted + And did folke then fall on knees / for he swore in his preching + That the Culuer that came so / cam from the god of heauen + As A messenger to Makometh / men for to teache + And thus through wiles of his wit / and A whight dowe + Makometh in misbeleue / men and women brought + That then lyued there / and yet they beleue on his lawes + And sith Oure Sauiour suffred / the Sarazens so begyld + Through A xpcristen clerk / cursed in his soule + For drede of the death / I dare not telle truthe + how english clerkes a culuer fed / that couetise hight + And be manered after Mahometh / þat noman vseth truthe + Ancres And heremytes / Monkes and friers + Pere to Apostles / through their perfite lyuyng + Wold neuer the feythfull father / that his mynister shuld + Of tyrauntes þat troble true men / take any Allmusse + But do as Antony did / Domynick and Fraunces + Benet and barnarde / which first them taught + To lyue by littill and in lowe houses / by true mennes Almesse + Grace shuld growe and be grene / through their good lyuyng + + And folke shulde fynde that be in diuerse siknesse + The better for their prayers / in body and soule + Their prayers and theyr penaunces / to peace shuld bring + All that be at debate / and bedemen were good + Petite et accipietis &c + Salt saueth the catell / say these wyues + Vos estis sal terre &c + These heades of holy church / if they holie were + Christ calleth them salt / for xpcristen soules + Et si sal euanuerit in quo salietur + For fresh fleshe or fyshe / what it salt faileth + It is vnsavery for sothe / either soden or bake / + So is mannes soule truly / that seeth no good ensample + Of them of holie churche / that the high waye shuld teache + And be guydes and go before / as a good baner + And make hardie that come After / and gyue them good euydence + Ellevene holy men / all the worlde turned + Into true beleue / the lightlier me thinketh + Shold all manere men / we haue so many maisters + Preestes and preachours / And A pope aboue all + That goddes salt shuld be / to saue mannes soule + All was Hethenesse sometyme / England and wales + / popery + Till Gregory caused clerkes / to cum here and preche + Augustine At Cantorburie / Cristened the king + And through myracles as men may rede / all þat march he turned + To Christ and to xpcristendome / And Crosse to honour + And baptysed fast / And the feyth taught + More through Myracles / then much preaching + As well with workes / and with holie wordes + And told them that what cristenyng / and feyth was to mene + Cloth that commeth from the weaving / is not comly to were + Till it be fulled vnderfote / or in fulling stockes + Well washed with water / & with tasells crached + Toucked and teynted / and vnder tailours hande + And it fareth by A childe / that borne is of A woman + Till it be cristened in Christes name / and confermed of the bisshop + Yt is hethen as to heauenwarde / and helples to the soule + hethen is to mene hethe / and vntilled grounde + s 2 + + + As in wilde wildernesse / wexeth wylde beastes + Rude and vnreasonable / rennyng without cropers + Ye wot well how Mathue saith / that a man made A feaste + He fedd them with no venyson / nor fesauntes bake + But with foules that wold not from him / but folowed his whistelyng + Ecce altilia mea et omnia parata sunt / + And with calues fleshe he fedd / the folke þat he loued + The calf betokeneth clennesse / in them þat kepe lawes + for as the Cowe through kynde mylke / the calf norisheth to an Oxe + So loue and leautie / true men do susteyne + And maidens and mylde men / mercie desyre + Right as the Cowcalf / coueteth swete mylke + So do rightous men / mercie and truthe + + But who be they þat excuseth them / þat are parsons and preestes + That heades of holy church bene / that haue theyr will here + Without trauaile the tythes / that true men sore laboreth for + They wilbe .wrothe that I wright thus / but to witnesse I take + Bothe Mathewe and Marc / And Memento domine dauid / + + What Pope or prelate nowe / performeth that Christe commaunded + Ite in vniuersum mundum et predicate &c + Allas that men so long / on Makometh shulde beleue + So many prelates to preche / as the Pope makethe + Of Nazareth of Nynyve / of Neptalym and Damask + That theygo not as Christe badd / Sithen they will haue name + To be pastours and preache / The passion of IhusIesus + And as himself said / so to lyue and die + Ite vos in vineam meam &c + And sithens thise Sarazens / Scribes and Iewes + Haue A lippe of our beleue / the lightlyer me thinketh + They shulde turne who-so trauailed / to teache them of the Trinyte + Querite et invenietis &c + + Yt is ruthe to rede / how rightouse men lyued + How they defouled theyr fleshe / forsoke ther oune will + Fer from kyth and kyn / euell clothed they went + Badlie beddid / no booke but Conscience + Nor no richesse but the Roode / to reioyce them in + Absit mihi gloriari nisi in Cruce domini nostri IhuIesu xpĩcristi + + And than was plentie and peace / Among poore and riche + And now is ruthe to rede / howe the redd noble + Ys reuerenced ere the roode / and receyued for the worthier + Than Christes cros that ouercame death and deadlie synne + And nowe is warre and woe / and who-so why axethe + For Couetise after crosse / the croune stand in gold + Bothe riche and religiouse / that roode they honoure + That in grotes is grauen / and in golde nobles + For couetise of that crosse / men of holy churche + Shall turne as templars did / the tyme approcheth fast + Wot ye not ye wisemen / howe those men honored + More treasure then truthe / I dare not telle the sothe + Reason and rightfull dome / the Religiouse demed + Euen so ye clerkes / for your couetise or long + Shall they deme dos ecclesie and your pride depose + Deposuit potentes de sede &c / + Yf knighthode and kyndwit / and the Commons by Conscience + Togithers loue trulie / beleue it well ye Bisshops + The lordshippes of londes / for euer shall ye lose + And lyue as Leuitici / as our lorde you techethe + Per primicias et decimas &c + When Constantyne of curtesy / the churche of Rome endued + With londes and leades / lordshippes and rentes + An Aungell men herde / an highe at Rome crie + Dos ecclesie this daie hathe dronke poyson + And they that haue peters powre / are poysoned all + A medicyne must therto / that may Amende prelates + That shuld pray for the peace / possessions them lett + Take their londes ye lordes / and let them lyue by dymes + Yf possession be poyson / and inperfite them make + Good were to discharge them / for holy churches sake + And purge them of poison / ere more perill fall + Yf preesthode were perfite / the people shuld Amende + That contrarie Crystes lawe / and xpcristendome dispise + for all paynyms pray / and perfitelie beleue + In the holy great god / and his grace they aske + s 3 + + And make ther mone to Makomethe / their message to shewe + Thus in a feith lyue that folke / and in a false mene + And that is ruthe for rightouse men / that in the realme dwelle + And A perill to the pope / and prelates that he maketh + That beare bishopes names of bethelem and Babilone + + That hippe about in Englande / to halowe mennes Alters + And crepe among curatours / confessing against the lawe + Nolite mittere falcem in messem alienam / + Many a man for Christes loue / was martyred in Romaigne + Ere any xpcristendome was knoune there / or any crosse honoured + Euery bisshop that beareth crosse / by that he is bounde + Through his province to passe / and to his people to shewe him + To tell them and teche them / on the Trinitie to beleue + And fede them with gostlie foode / and gyue there it nedeth + + In domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum , et ideo nolite constituere me regem / + Ozias saith for such / as sike be and fieble + Inferte omnes decimas in orreum meum vt cibus in domo mea + But we xpcristen creatures / þat on Christ beleue + Are fyrme as in the feythe / goddes forbode elles + And haue clerkes to kepe vs therin / & them þat shall come after vs + And Iewes lyuen in true lawe / our lorde writ it himself + In stone for it steadfast was / and stonde shulde euer + Dilige deum et proximum / is perfite Iewes lawe + And toke it Moyses to teche men / tyll Messias came + And on that lawe they beleue yet / and holde it the beste + And yet knewe they Christe / þat xpcristendome taught + For A perfite prophete / that much people saued + Of sundrie and straunge diseases / they se it ofte + Bothe of myracles and merveiles / and howe he fed men + With too fishes and fyue looues / fyue thousand people + And by that same men might se / that Messye he semed + And when he raised Lazar / þat laid was in graue + Vnder stone and stanke / with styff voice him called + Lazare veni foras + He did him rise and roome / euen before the Iewes + + But they said and swore / with Sorcery he wrought + And studied to stroy him / and stroyed themself + And through his pacience their poure to nought he brought + Pacientes vincunt / + Danyell of ther vndoing / divined and said + Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat , cessabit vnctio vestra + And wene tho wreches / that he were pseudopropheta + And þat his lore be lesinges / and despise it all + And hope that he be to come / that shall them releue + Moyses , or Messye / their maisters yet dyvyne + But pharisees and Sarazens / Scribes and Grekes + Are folk of one feythe / God the father they honour + And sithens that the Sarazens / and also the Iewes + Knowe the fyrst clause of oure beleue / Credo in deum patrem + Prelates of xpcristen provinces / Shulde proue if they might + To lerne them by litill and litill / Et in Ihm xpm filium + Till they coulde spelle and speake / Et in spiritum sanctum / + And rede it and recorde it / with remissionem pecatorum / + Carnis resurreccionem et vitam eternam Amen / + + + + Passus xvius + Now faire fall you quod I then / for your faire shewing + For Haukyns loue the Actif man / euer I shall you loue + But yet I am in doubt what charitie is to mene + It is a full trie tre quod he / trulie to telle + Mercie is the grounde therof / the myddill stocke is ruthe + The leaues be true wordes / the lawe of holie churche + The blossommes be buxome speche / and benigne goodnesse + Pacience hight the pure tre / And pure simple of hart + And so through god and good men / groweth the fruyt charitie + I wold trauaile quod I this tre to se / twentie hundred myle + And for to haue my fyll of þat frute / forsake all other salue + Lord quod I if anyman knowe / where awaie it groweth + Yt groweth in a gardeyn quod he / that god made himself + Amyddes mannes bodie / the grounde is of that stocke + Hart hight the Herber / that it groweth in + And liberum arbitrium / hath the lond to ferme + Vnder piers the plowman / to pike it and to wede it + Piers the plowman quod I then / and all for pure ioye + That I herde his name named / anone I sowned after + s 4 + + And Lay long in a loue dreme / and at last me thought + That piers the plowman / all the place me shewed + And bad me loke on the tre / on toppe and roote + With thre pyles was it vnderpight / I perceiued it sone + Piers quod I I praye the / why stande thise piles here + For wyndes wilt þou wite quod he / to kepe it from from falling + Cum ceciderit iustus non collidetur , quia dominus supponit manum suam + And in blowing tyme shake of þe flowers / onlesse thise piles help + The world is a wicked wynde / to them þat loue truthe + Couetise commeth of þat wynde / and crepe among the leues + And forfretteth nygh the fruyt / through many fayr sightes + Then with the first pile / I pull him doune / þat is Potencia dei patris + The flesh is a fell wynde / and in flouring tyme + Through liking and lustes / so lowd he begynneth to blowe + That it norisheth nyce sightes / and sometyme wordes + And wicked workes therof / wormes of synne + And forbyteth the blossomes / euen to the bare leues + Then set I to the second pyle / Sapientia dei patris + That is the passion and poure / of our prynce IhuIesu + Through prayers and penaunce / and goddes passion in mynde + I saue it till I se it ripe / and somedele fruted + And then fondeth the feende / my fruyt to distroye + With all the wyles þat he can / and waggeth the roote + And casteth vp to the toppe / vnkynde neighboures + Backbyters breake the cheste / brawlers and chyders + And leyth a ladder therto / of lyes are the staues + And feche awaie my floures / sometyme before myn eyes + But liberum arbitrium / letteth him sometyme + That is leuetenaunt to kepe it well / by leue of my-self + Videatis / quia qui peccat in spiritum sanctum numquam remittetur &c + Hoc est idem / qui peccat per liberum arbitrium non repugnat &c + But when the feende and the fleshe / forthwith the worlde + Threaten behynde me / my fruyt awaie to feche + Then liberum arbitrium / cacheth the fyrst plant + And pulleth doune the pouke / purelie through grace + And helpe of the holy ghost / & thus haue I the maistrie + Now faire fall you Piers quod I / so fair ye discryue + The poure of thise postes / and their proper mightes + But I haue many thoughtes / of thise iij pyles / + + In what wood they grewe / in what grounde also + For they are all Alike long / non lasse then other + And to my mynde as me thinke / on one grounde they grewe + And of one greatnesse / and grene of greyne they seme + That is true quod piers / so it maye befall + I shall telle shortly / what this tre hight + The grounde there it growethe / goodnes it hight + And I haue tolde the what hight the tre / the Trinitie it meneth + And egrely he lokid on me / and therfor I spared + To Aske him any more therof / and bad him full faire + To discribe me the fruyt / that so fair hangeth + Here benethe quod he then / if I had nede + Matrimony I may take / A moiste fruyt withall + Then contynence is nere the toppe / as Calewaie Bastard + Then beareth the toppe kynde fruyt / and clennest of all + Maydenhede Aungelles pere / and rathest wilbe rype + And swete without swelling / soure is it neuer + I prayed Piers to pull doune / an Appull if he wolde + And suffre me to assaie / what savour it had + And Piers kest to the toppe / and than began it to crie + And wagged widowhode / and it wept after + And when it moued Matrimony / it made a foule noyse + I had ruthe when Piers rogged / it craked so rufullie + For euer as they droppid doune / the deuill was redy + And gatherid them all togithers / both great and small + Adam and Abraham / and ysaye the prophete + Sampson and Samuell / and S . Iohan the baptist + And bare them forthe boldely / no body him letted + And made his hoorde of holy men / in limbo inferni + There is derknesse and drede / and the deuell maister + And Piers for pure tene / of that Apple he laughte + he smet after him / hit if it might + Filius by the fathers will / And freenesse of Spiritus sancti + To go robbe that ragman / & take the frute from hym + And spake Spiritus sanctus / in Gabriels mouthe + To A maide that hight Marie / A meke thing withall + That one Iesus a Iustice son / must slepe in hir wombe + Till plenitudo temporis / fully come were + That Piers fruyte floured / and began to be ripe + And then shulde Ihs iust therfor / by iudgement of armes + Which shuld haue the frute / the feend or he + The maid myldely then / the messenger grauntid + And said hendlie to him / Lo me his hande mayd + For to worke his wille / without any synne / + .t.1. + + Ecce ancilla domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum / + And in the wombe of that wenche / was he fourty wekes + Till he wext a faunt through hir sleshe / and of fyghting coulde + To haue fought with the feende / ere full tyme come + And Piers the plowman perceyued / plenare tyme + And lerned him lechecrafte / his lyfe for to saue + That though he were wounded with his enemy / to helpe himself + And did him assay his surgerie / on them that were diseased + Till he was perfite practisour / if any perill felle + And sought out the sike / and synfull bothe + And salued them / bothe blynde and croked + And commone women conuerted / and to good turned + Non est sanis opus medic' sed male habentibus / + Bothe lepers and dumbe men / and in the bloodie flux + Oft he heled such / and held it for no maistrie + Saue when he leched Lazar / þat was laid in graue + Quatriduanus quelt / quicke he made him walke + But as he made the maistrie / Mestus cepit esse / + And wept water with his eyes / there se it many + Some that se þat sight / said that tyme + That he was leche of lyfe / and lorde of high heauen + Iewes .iangled theragainst / and iuged lawes + And said he wrough by wichecrafte / & with the deuylles myght + Demonium habes / + Than Are ye chorles quod I / and your childerne bothe + And Sat ehan your Saueour / your-self nowe ye witnesse + For I haue saued you said Christ / and your sonnes after + Your bodies your beastes / and blynde men holpen + And fed you with ij fishes / and with fyue looues + And left baskettes full of broke meat / beare away who wold + And missaid the iewes manlie / and thretned them to beate + And knocked on them with a corde / and cast doune their stalles + That in church chaffred / or chaunged any money + And said it in sight of them all / so that all herde + I shall ouertorne this temple / and doune it throwe + And in thre dayes after / reedifye the same + And make it asmuche or more / in all manere poyntes + As euer it was and as wide / and therfor I commande you + Of prayers and of perfitenes / this place that ye call + Domus mea domus oracionis vocabitur + Enuye and euillwill / was in the Iewes + The kest and countered / to kyll him when they myght + Euery day after other / their tyme they awaited + + Tyll it befelle on a friday / a litill before the pasche + The thursdaie there he made / his maundye + Sitting at the supper / he said these wordes + I am sold by one of you / he shall the tyme rue + That euer he his Sauiour solde / for Syluer or elles + Iudas iangled therat / But Iesus him told + It was himself sothely / and said tu dicis + Then went forth that wicked man / and with the Iewes mett + And told them a token / Howe to knowe IhusIesus + The which token to this day / ouermuch is vsed + That is kissing and fair countynaunce / and vnkynde will + And so was with Iudas then / that IhusIesus betraied + Aue rabby quod that ribaude / and streight to him he yede + And kissed him to be caught therby / and killed of the Iewes + Than IhusIesus to Iudas / and to the Iewes said + Falsnesse I fynde / in thy fair speche + And gyle in thy chere / and gall is in thy laughing + Thou shalt be myrrour / to many men to deceyue + But the worst of thy wickednesse / shalbe vpon thy-self + Necesse est vt veniant scandala , sed ve homini illi per quem scandalum venit + Though I by treson be take / at your oune will + Suffre myn Apostles / in peace for to passe + On A thursdaie in the night / thus was he take + Through Iudas and Iewes / IhusIesus was his name + That on the Friday folowing / for mankyndes sake + Iusted in Iherusalem / A ioye to vs all + On the crosse vpon Caluarie / Christ toke the bataile + Against deathe and the deuill / & distroied bothe ther mightes + He died and deathe fordidde / and daye of night made + And awaked therwith / and wiped myn eyen + And after Piers the plowman / pried and stared + Eastward and westwarde / I waited after faste + And went forth as an ydiot / in the countrie to espie + After Piers the plowman / many A place I sought + And then met I with a man / on mydlent sondaye + As hore as an hawthorne / and Abraham he hight + I freyned him fyrst / from whence he came + And of whence he was / and whether that he thought + I am feythe quod that freke / it falleth not to lye + And of Abrahams house / an heraude of armes + I seke after a man / that I se ones + A full bolde bacheler / I knewe him by his armes + .t 2. + + What beareth that man quod I then / so blisse the betyde + Thre leodes in one lith / non lengar then other + Of one much and might / and in measure and length + That one dothe all do / and eche dothe by himself + The first hathe might and maiestie / makere of all thinges + Pater is his propre name / a parsone by Himself + SThe seconde of that sire / is sothefastnesse Filius + Wardeyn of that wit hathe / was euer without begynnyng + The thirde hight the holie goost / A parsone by himself + The light of all that lyfe hathe / on londe and on water + Conforter of creatures / of him commeth all blisse + So thre belongeth to a lorde / that lordship claymeth + Myght and a meane / to knowe his might + Of him and of his seruaunt / and what they suffre bothe + So god þat begynning had neuer / but when he good thought + Sent forth his son / as a seruaunte that tyme + To occupie him here / till issue were sprong + That is childerne of charitie / and holie church the mother + Patriarches and prophetes / and apostles were the childern + And Christe and xpcristendome / and xpcristen holie churche + In menyng that man muste / in one god beleue + And there he liked & loued / in one parsone him shewed + And that it may be so and sothe / manhode it sheweth + Wedloke and widohode / with virginitie named + In tokenyng of the Trinitie / was out of man taken + Adam oure first father / Eue was of hym + And the issue that they had / was of them bothe + And either is others ioye / in thre sondry parsones + And in heauen and in erthe / one syngular name + And thus is mankynde / of matrimony sprong + And betokeneth the Trinitie / and true beleue + Might is matrimony / that multiplieth the erthe + And betokeneth truly / telle if I durste + Hym that fyrst fo.rmed all / the father of heauen + The son if I durst say / resembleth well the widowe + Deus meus deus meus vt quid dereliquisti me + That is Creatour became creature / to knowe them bothe + As widowe without wedlocke / was neuer yet sene + Nomore might god be man / but if he mother hadd + So widowe without wedloke / maynot well stand + Nor matrimony sine muliere / is not muche to preyse + Maledictus homo qui non reliquit semen in Israel + + Thus in thre parsones / is perfitely manhode + That is man and his make / and then his childern + And is not but gendre of generacion / before IhuIesu Christ in heauen + So is the father with the son / and fre will of them bothe + Spiritus procedens a patre et filio & c / + Which is the holy ghost /of all / and all is but one god + Thus in A somer I him se / as I sat in my porche + I rose vp and reuerenced him / and faire him grete + Thre men to my sight / I made well at ease + Washed ther fete and wiped them / and after they ete + Calues flesh and cakebrede / and knewe what I thought + Full true tokens betwene vs be / to tell when we like + Fyrst he asked me / whether I loued better + Hym or ysaac myn eheyre / which he bad me kyll + He knewe my will by him / he will me it allowe + I am full sure in soule therof / and my son bothe + I circumcised my son / sithen for his sake + My-self and my menye / and all that male were + Bled bloude for that lordes sake / and hope to blisse the tyme + Myn affiance and feithe / is firme in this beleue + For himself behight to me / and to myn issue bothe + Lond and lordeship / and lyfe without ende + To me and myn issue / more yet he graunted + Mercy for our misdedes / as many tymes as we aske + Quam olim Abrahe promisisti et semini eius / + And sithens he set me to saie / I shuld do sacrifice + And do him worship with bread / and with wyne bothe + And callid fote of his feithe / his folke forto saue + And defend them from the feende / that with me beleued + Thus haue I bene his heraulde / here and in helle + And conforted many a carefull / that after his commyng waited + And thus I seke him I said / for I herde himsay late + Of A barne that baptyzed him / Iohan was his name + That to patriarches and prophetes / and to other in derknesse + Seid that he se here / that shuld saue vs all + Ecce agnus dei qui tollit peccata mundi / + I had wonder of his wordes / and of his wide clothes + For in his bosome he bare a thing / that he blissed euer + And I lokid in his lappe / A lazar lay therin + Among patriarches and prophetes / pleyeng togithers + What awaitest thou quod he / and what woldest þou haue + I wold wite quod I then / what is in your lappe / + .t 3. + + Lo quod he and lete me se / Lord mercie I said + This is a present of much price / what prince shall it haue + It is a preciouse present quod he / But the feend hathe it atached + And me also quod that man / ther may noman me quyte + Nor yet be our borrowe / nor bring vs from his daunger + out of the deuils pinfold / no mainprise may vs fech + Till he come that I carpe of / Christ is his name + That shall deliuer vs some daie / out of the deuyls poure + And better wed for vs lay / than all we be worthie + That is lyfe for lyfe / orelles ly thus euer + Lolling in my lappe / till suche a lorde vs feche + Allas I said / that synne so long shall lett + The might of goddes mercie / that might vs well amend + I wept for his wordes / with that I sawe another + Hastely renne forthe / the right waie he went + I Asked him fyrst / from whence he come + And what he hight / & whether he wold / and shortly he told + + + + Passus xvijus + I am Spes quod he A spye / and spyre after a knyght + That toke me a commaundement / vpon the mownt Synay + To rule all realmes with / I beare the writ here + Ys it ensealed quod I / may men se the letters + Nay he said I seke him / that hathe the seale to kepe + And that is crosse and xpcristendome / and Christ theron to hang + And when it is enseled so / I wot well the sothe + That Luciferes lordship / last shall no lengar + + Lat se the letters quod I / we myght the lawe knowe + Then pulled he forthe a patent / A pece of an hard roche + Dilige deum et proximum tuum & c + This was the text trulie / I toke full good hede + The glose was gloriouslie writen / with a gilt penne + In hijs duobus mandatis , tota lex pendet et prophete / + Be here all thy lordes lawes quod I / yea beleue me he said + And who-so worketh after this writ / I will vndertake + Shall neuer deuyll him dere / nor deathe in soule greue + For though I say it myself / I haue saued with this charme + Of men and women / many skore thousandes + He saithe truthe said this heraulde / I haue it founde ofte + Lo here in my lappe / that trusted to that charme + Iosue and Iudithe / and Iudas Machabeus + Yea and syxtie thousand more / that be not sene here + Your wordes are wonderfull quod I / which of you is truest + And trustiest to trust to / for lyfe and for soule + + Abraham seyith he se / whoollie the Trinitie + Thre parsones in parcelles / eche departable from other + And all thre but one god / thus Abraham me taught + And hath saued that beleued so / and sory for their synnes + He can not tell howe many / yet some are in his lappe + What neded it then a newe lawe to begynne + Sithe the first suffised / to saluacion and blisse + And now cometh Spes and speaketh / þat hathe esspied the lawe + And tellelthe not of the Trinitie / that toke him his letters + To beleue and loue / in one lorde allmyghtie + And then euen as my-self / to loue all the people + The man that gothe with one staf / he semeth in better helth + Then he that gothe with ij staues / to sight of vs all + And euen so by the roode / Reason me shewethe + It is lighter to lewde men / on lesson to knowe + Then for to teache them ij / and to hard to lerne the least + It is full harde for any man / on Abraham to beleue + And well awaie wors yet / for to loue a shrewe + Yt is lyghter to beleue / in thre louely parsones + Then for to loue and beleue / aswell foes as freendes + Go thy gate quod I to Spes / for so me god helpe + They þat lerne thy lawe / full litill while do vse it + And as we went by the waie / thus wording togithers + Than se we a Samaritan / sitting on A mule + Ryding well hastely / the right waye we went + Commyng from A countrey / that men calleth Ierico + To A Iustice in Iherusalem / he rode awaie fast + Bothe the Heraude and hope / And he met at ones + Where a man was woundid / and with theues taken + He might neyther steppe nor stande / nor stere foot nor hand + Nor helpe himself trulie / for semyviue he semed + And as naked as a nedle / and non helpe about him + Feyth had fyrst sight of him / but he fled asyde + And wold not come nere him / by nyne londes length + Hope came hipping after / that had so bosted + Howe he with Moises commaundement / had many men holpen + But when he Had sight him / Aside he did him drawe + Dredfully by this daye / as malard doth from fawcoun + But so sone as this Samaritan / had sight of this man / + He light adoune of Lyarde / and led him in his hand + And to the man he went / his woundes to beholde + And perceyued by his pulcse / he was in perill to die + t 4 + + + And onlesse he had Helpe the rather / rise shulde he neuer + + With wyne and with oile / his woundes he wasshed + Enbawmed Him and bounde his Head / & in his lappe him laid + And lad Him so forthe on liarde / to l[.] lex xpĩcristi / a graunge + Well six miles or seuen / beside the newe merket + Harborowed Him at an hostrie / and to the Hostiler called + And said Haue kepe this man / till I come from the Iustes + And lo here syluer he said / for salue to his woundes + And He toke Him too pens / to liuelode as it were + Saying what-so he spendeth more / I make it good hereafter + For I maynot tarie quod he / and lyard he bestridd + And Hastid him to Ierusalem-ward / the right waie to ride + Feyth folowed after fast / entending to mete him + And Spes spedelie him hied / spede if he might + To ouertake Him and talke with Him / ere they to toune came + I seing this taried not behinde / but prepared me ronne + And sued that Samaritan that was so full of pitie + And graunted Him to be His grome / grauntmercy he said + But thy freend and thy felawe / þou fyndest me at nede + I thankyd him then / and after I him told + How that feyth fled awaie / and Spes his felawe bothe + For sight of the sorowfull man / that robbed was with theues + haue them excused quod he / their helpe may litill availe + May no medicyne on moulde / the man to helthe bring + Neyther feyth nor fyne hope / so festred be his woundes + Without the bloude of a barne / borne of a maide + Yf he be bathed in that bloude / baptyzed as it were + And then plaistred with penaunce / and passion of that child + he shuld stande and steppe / but strong were he neuer + Till he haue eaten all the barne / and his bloud drounke + For neuer went man in this world / through þat wildernesse + But he was robbed / or ryfled / whether he did go or ryde + Saue feythe and his felawe Spes and my-self + And thy-self nowe / and such as folowe our workes + For outlawes in the wood / & vnder bankes lurketh + And may se euery man / and good marke take + Who is behynde and who before / and who be on horse + For he holdeth him hardyer on horseback / thatn him þat is on fote + For he se me that am Samaritan / folowe feythe and his felawe + On my Capull that hight Caro / of mankynde I toke it + he was vnhardy that harlot / and hidd hym in Inferno / + + But ere this day thre dayes / I dare vndertake + That felon shalbe fettred / fast with cheynes + And neuer after greue man / that goth by this waye + + And then shall feythe be foster here / and in this Frith walke + And knowe out comone men / that knowe not the countrie + Which is the wey that I went / euen forth to Ierusalem + And hope the Hostileres man shalbe / there the man lythe in healyng + And all that feble and feynt be / that feyth maynot teache + Hope shall lede them for loue / as his lore telleth + And Hostle and heale them / through Holy churches beleue + Till I haue salue for all sike / and than shall I returne + And come agayne by this countrie / and confort all sike + That craueth it or coveteith it / and crie therafter + For the barne was borne in bethleme / þat with His blood shuld saue + All that lyue in feythe / and folowe his felawes teaching + Ah swete syr said I then / whether shall I beleue + And as feyth and his felowe / enformed me bothe + In thre parsones departable / þat perpetuall were euer + And all thre but one god / thus Abraham me taught + And Hope afterwarde / he badd me to loue + One god with all my good / and all men after + Loue them like my-self / but our lorde aboue all + After Abraham quod he / that heraude of armes + Set fast thy feythe / and fyrme beleue + And as hope willid the / I also will thou loue + Thine euenchristen euermore / euen as thy-self + Or heretikes with argumentes / thine hand thou them shewe + For god is as an hande / here nowe and knowe it + The father was first as a fist / with one fynger folding + Till he louid and list / to vnlose hise finger + And profred it forth as with a pawme / to what place it shuld + The pawme is properlie the Hande / and profreth forth the fynger + To mynistre and to make / that might of hande knoweth + And betokeneth trulie / telle who-so liketh + The holy ghoost of heauen / he is as the pawme + The fyngers that be free / to folde and to serue + Betokeneth sothely the son / that sent was to erthe + That towched and tasted / at teaching of the pawme + Saynt Mary a mayd and mankynd laught + Qui conceptus est de spiritu sancto &c + The father is then as a fist / with fynger to towche + Quia omnia traham ad meipsum &c + .v.1. + + All that the pawme / perceyueth profytable to fele + Than are they all but one / as it an hand were + And thre sondrie sightes / in one shewing + The pawme for he putteth forth fyngers and fist bothe + Right so ridely / Reason it shewethe + He that is holy ghoost / father and son proveth + And as the hand holde harde / and all thing fast + Through foure fyngers / and a thombe / forth with the pawme + Right so the father and the son / and saynt spyrit the third + Within them thre / the wide world they holde + Bothe they element and wynde / water and erthe + Heauen and Helle / and all that therin is + Thus hit is lat noman / thynke the contrary + That thre thinges belongeth / to oure lorde in heauen + And are serelepes by them-self / a-sonder were they neuer + No more then my Hand maye / moue without my fyngers + And as my fist is full hande / folden togithers + So is the father a full god / fourmer and shaper + Tu fabricator omnium &c + And as that poure with Him / is in making of thinges + The fyngers forme a full Hand / to portrey and to peynt + Kerving and compassing / is crafte of the fyngers + Euen so is the son / the Science of the father + And full god as the father / nouther lesse nor more + The pawme that is purely the hand / hathe powre by himself + Otherwise then then wrethen fist / or workemanship of fyngers + For the pawme hathe poure / to put out all the ioyntes + And to vnfolde the folden fist / at the fyngers will + + So is the holie ghoost / god / neither more nor lesse + Then is the father and son / and of the same might + And all they Are but one god / as is myn hand and fyngers + Vnfolden and folden / my fist and my pawme + All is but one hande / how-so I tvrne it + But who-so is Hurt on the hande / euen in the myddes + He may receyue right nought / reason it sheweth + For the fyngers that folde shulde / and the fist make + for peyne of the pawme / poure them failethe + To crache or to clawe / to clippe , or to holde + Be the myddell of the hand / maymed or perished + I shulde receyue right nought / of that I reache myght + But though my thombe and fingers / bothe were hurt + And the myddell of my hand / without any gref + + In diuerse and sondrie maneres / I might my-self Helpe + Bothe moue and amende / though all my fyngers did ake + By this skill me thinke / I se an euidence + That who-so synneth in the Holie goost / assoiled is he neuer + Neither Here nor elliswhere / as I here telle / + Qui peccat in Spiritum sanctum &c + for he pricketh god as in the p.awme / peccat in spiritum sanctum + For the father is a fist / the son is a Fynger + The Holie ghoost of Heauen / is as it were the pawme + So who-so synneth in the Holy ghoost / it semeth that he greueth + God that He grypeth with / and wold His grace quenche + And to a torche or tapre / the trinitie is likened + As wex and weake / were twynned togithers + And bring forth a slamme / and a feyre leye + + So done the father and the son / and also Spiritus sanctus / + Bring forth Among folke / loue and beleue + And all manere xpcristian / clenseth of all synnes + And as thou seest sometyme / sodeynly a torche + The blaze therof blowen out / yet brenneth the weeke + Without leye or light / þat the mach brenneth + So is the Holie goost god / and grace without mercy + To all vnkynde creatures / that covet to destroye + True loue or lyfe / that our lord made + And as glowing gleedes / gladeth not these workemen + That wake and worke / in wynter nyghtes + As dothe A kix or candle / þat Hathe caught fyre and brenne + Nomore doth father nor son / nor the Holy goost togithers + Graunte no grace / nor forgyuenesse of synnes + Till the Holy goost begynne / to glowe and to blase + So that the Holy ghoost / gloweth but as a glede + Till that true loue / lie on Him and blowe + Then flammeth he as fyre / on father and son + And melteth their might into mercy / as men may se in wynter + Isykles in eveses / through Heate of the sonne + Melt in A mynute while / to mist and to water + So grace of the Holy ghoost / the great might of the trinitie + Melteth to mercie / to merciable and non other + And as wax without more / on a warme cole + Will brenne / and blase alltogithers + And solace them that may se / and sitt in derkenes + So the father forgyueth / folke of myld hertes + That rufully repent / and restitucion make + In-asmuch as they may / Amende and paye + .v.2. + + + And if that suffiseth not / yet He that in such will dieth + Mercie for his mekenesse / will make good the rest + And as the weke and fyre / will make a warme flamme + For to confort men with / that in the derke sitt + So will Christ of his curtesie / if men crye Him mercie + Bothe forgyue and forgett / and yet pray for vs + To the father of Heauen / Forgyuenesse to haue + But Hewe fyre at the flynt / foure hundered wynter + Onlesse thou Haest towehe to take it with / tunder or broches + All thy labour is lost / and thy long travaile + For may no fyre flamme make / Failethe it the kynde + So is the Holy ghoost god / and grace without mercie + To all vnkynde creatures / Christ Himself witnesseth + Amen dico vobis nescio vos / + Be vnkynde to thine euencristen / and all þat þou canst pray + Dele and do penaunce / day and night euer + And purchase all the pardon / of Pampilon and Rome + And Indulgences ynowe / and be vnkynde to thy kynde + The holy ghoost Hereth the not / nor may the Helpe by reason + For vnkyndnesse quencheth Hym / that He cannot shine + Nor borne no blase clere / for burnyng of vnkyndenes + Paule the apostle / proueth whether I lye + Si linguis hominum loquar &c + Beware ye wise men / that with the worlde dealeth + That rich bene and reason knoweth / rule well your soule + Be not vnkynde I counsaile you / to your euencristen + For many of you riche men / by my soule men telleth + Ye burne but ye blase not / that is a blynde beken + Non omnis qui dicit domine domine intrabit &c + Dives died dampned / for His vnkyndenes + Of his meat and money / to men that it neded + Euery riche man I rede / regarde at him take + And gyue your goodes to your good god / þat grace of Aryseth + For they þat be vnkynde to hise / I hope non other + But they dwell with diues / day without ende + Thus is vnkyndenes the contrarie / þat quencheth as it were + The grace of the Holy ghoost / goddes oune kynde + for that kynde doth vnkyndenes fordoo / as do these cursed theues + Vnkynde xpcristen men / for couetise and Envie + Slea a man for his goodes / with mouthe or hand + For that þe Holie ghoost hathe to kepe / tho harlottes do destroy + The which is lyfe and loue / the leye of mannes bodie + For euery manere good man / may be likened to a torche + Orelles to A tapre / reuerence the Trinitie / + + And he that murthereth a good man / me think by myn inwitt + he fordothe the lefest light / that oure lorde loueth + But yet in many more maners / men offende the Holie ghoost + But this is the worst wise / that any man maye + Synne against the Holy ghoost / to Assent to destroye + For couetise of Any thing / that Christ dere bought + How may he ask mercie / or any mercie Him helpe + That wickedly and willfully / wold mercie refuse + Innocency is next god / and night and daye criethe + Vengeaunce vengeaunce / forgyuen be it neuer + That shent vs and Had our blood / forshapt vs as it were + Vindica sanguinem iustorum + Thus vengeaunce vengeaunce / very charitie asketh + And sith Holy chirche and charitie / chargeth this so sore + Beleue I neuer that our lorde / will loue that charite lacketh + Nor haue pitie for any prayere / there as he pleyneth + Suppose I Had synned so / And now shulde die + And am sory that I so / the holy ghoost haue offendid + Confesse and aske grace / of god that all made + And mekely His mercie ask / might I not be saued ? + Yes said this Samaritan / so well thou maist repent + That righwisnes through repentaunce / to ruthe might turne + But it is but se.lden sene / Sothenesse beareth witnes + Any creature that is culpable / before A kynges Iustice + Be quyt for his repentaunce / there Reason Him dampneth + For there the partie pursueth / the plea is Huge + That the kyng may do no mercie / till bothe men accorde + And eyther haue equytie / As sayth S Augustine + Non dinittitur peccatum , donec &c + Thus it fareth by such folke / that falslie all their lyues + Euill lyue and beleue euill / till lyfe them forsake + + Good Hope that Helpe shulde / to dispayre turnethe + Not for the nonpoure of god / that he is not mightfull + To Amende all þat is amisse / and His mercie greatter + Then all oure wicked workes / as holy writ telleth + Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius / + But ere His rightousnes to ruthe turne / some restitucion behoueth + his sorowe is satisfaccion / for him that maynot paye + Thre thinges therbe / that do a man of force + To flee his oune house / as holy writ sheweth + The one is a wicked wife / þat willnot be chastised + hir husbond flieth from her / for fere of hyr tong + And if His house be vncouered / and it reyne on his head + .v.3. + + + He sekith and sekith / tyll he may slepe drie + And whan smoke and smolder / smyght in his eyes + It greueth Him worse then His wife / or wete to slepe + For Smoke and smolder / smyteth in His eyen + Till he be blereeyed or blynde / and hoorce in the throte + He cowgheth and curseth / that Christ him sorowe + That shuld bring in better wood / or blowe it till it burne + Thise iij that I tell of / be thus to vnderstande + The wyfe is oure wicked flesh / þat wilnot be chastised + For kynde clyveth on him euer / to contrarie the soule + And though it fall it fynde skilles / þat frailtie it caused + And that is lightly forgyuen / and forgoton bothe + To man that asketh mercy / And thinketh to amende + The reyne that reyneth / there we rest shulde + Be sikenesses and sorowes / that we suffre oft + As paule the Apostle / to the people taught + Virtus in infirmitate perficitur &c + And though that men make / moch sorowe in their Angre + And be inpacient in penaunce / pure reason knoweth + That they haue cause to contrarie / by kynde of theyr sikenes + And lightlie our lorde / at their lyves ende + hathe mercy on such men / that so euill may suffre + And the Smoke and smolder / þat smight in our eyen + That is couetise and vnkyndenesse / which quencheth goddes mercie + For vnkyndnes is the contrarie / of all manere reason + for there is neither sike nor sory / nor non somuch wrech + But he may loue if he like / and beleue with His hart + Good will and good worde / both wishe and will + All manere of mercie / and of forgyuenesse + And loue Him like him-self / and his lyfe amende + I may no lenger let quod he / and lyard He pricked + And went awaie as wynde / and þerwith I awaked / + + + + Passus xviiius + Wollwarde And weteshodd / went I forth after + As A rechelesse felawe / that of no wo recheth + And yede forth like a lorell / all my lyfe-tyme + Till I waxt wery of the worlde / and willed streyt to slepe + And lened me to A lenten / and long tyme I slept + And of Christes passion / the people þat of-raught + + Rest me there and snored fast / till Ramis palmarum + Of gerles and of Gloria laus / greatly I dremed + And Howe Osanna by organy / olde folke song + + One sembled the Samaritan / & somedele Piers the Plowman + Barefote on an asseback / botelesse cam prickyng + Without spere or spores / valeantlie he lokyd + As is the kynde of a knight / that commeth to be dubbed + To get hym gilt spores / and galoches couped + Then was feythe in a fenestre / and cried O fili dauid + As dothe an heraude of armes / when aventeroures come to iustes + Old Iewes of Ierusalem / for ioye they song + Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini / + Than I asked at feyth / what all that fare ment + And who wold iuste in Ierusalem / IhusIesus He said + And feche that the feend claymeth / piers frute the plowman + This IhusIesus of His gentrie will iust in piers Armour + In his Helme and His habergeon / humana natura + That Christ be not knoune Here / for Consummatus deus + In piers paltock the plowman / this priker shall ride + For no dynt shall Him dere / as in deitate patris + Who shall iust with IhusIesus quod I / Iewes or scribes + Nay quod he the foule feende / and false dome and deathe + Death saith He shall fordoo / and adoune bring + All that lyueth or loketh / on lond or water + Lyfe saith that He lyethe / and leyth His life to wedd + That for all that deathe can do / within thre daies + To walke and feche from the feende / piers frute the plowman + And lay it there him liketh / and lucifere bynde + And forbeat and doune bring / bale deathe for euer + O mors ero mors tua / + Then came pilate with much people / Sedens pro tribunali + To se how doughtely death shuld do / and deme both their rightes + The Iewes and Iustice / against IhuIesu they were + And all the court out cried / Crucifige eum / + Then put him forth a pilour / before pilate and said + This IhusIesus of oure Iewes temple / iaped and dispised it + To fordo on one daye / and in thre daies after + Reedifye it eftsone newe / Here he stand that said it + And yet make it asmuche / in all manere poyntes + Bothe as long as as large / by loft and by grounde + Crucifige quod A cachepoll / I warrant him a wiche + Tolle tolle quod another / and toke of kene thrornes + And began of sharpe thorne / A garland for to make + And set it sore on his head / and said in envie + Aue raby quod that rybawd / and threwe reedes at hym / + v 4 + + Nailed him with thre nailes / naked on the roode + And poyson on a pole / they put vp to His lippes + And bad Him drynke His deatheuell / hise daies were done + And if that þou so konnyng be / Helpe now thy-self + Yf thou be Christ and kynges son / come doune of the rood + Then shall we beleue that lyfe the loue / and wilnot lat the dye + Consummatum est quod Christ / and began to swowne + Pituously and pale / as A prisoner that dieth + The lorde of lyfe and light / then leyd his eyes togither + The day for drede withdrewe / and derk became the sonne + The wall wagged and cleef / and all the world quaued + Dead men for that dein / came out of depe graves + And told why that tempest / so long tyme dured + For a bitter bataile / the dead body sayd + Lyfe and deathe in this darknes / the one fordothe the other + Shall no man knowe perfitely / who shall haue the maistrie + Before sonday about sonne ryse / and sank with that till erthe + Some said that he was goddes son / that so faire dyed + Vere filius dei erat iste / + And some said he was A wiche / good is that we assaie + Whether he be dead or not / doune ere he be take + Too theves also / suffred deathe þat tyme + Besydes Christ vpon a crosse / so was the common lawe + A cachepoll came forth / and cracked bothe his legges + And armes afhter / of either of the theves + But noman was so bold / Christes body to touche + for he was knight and kynges son / kynde forgaf þat tyme + That non harlot were so hardy / to lay handes vpon hym + But there came forth a knight / with a spear sharpe grounde + Hight Longes as the letter telleth / þat long had lost his sight + Before Pilate and other people / in the place he houed + Maugrie his many tethe / he was made that tyme + To take the spear in his hande / and iusten with IhusIesus + For they were all vnhardy / on horsbacke and on fote + To towche him or tast him / or take doune of the roode + But this blynde bacheler / bare him through the hart + The blood sprang doune by the spear / and vnsperd the knightes eyes + Then fell he vpon his knees / and cried him mercie + Against my will it was lorde / to wounde the so sore + he sighed and said / sore it me forthinketh + For the dede I haue done / I do me to thy grace + haue ruthe on me rightfull IhuIesu / and euen with that he wept + Than gan feyth felly / the false Iewes despise / + + Calling them caytifes / Acursed for euer + For this foule vilany / vengeaunce to you all + To do the blynde beat him bounde / it was a boies counsaile + Cursed Caitifes / knighthode was it neuer + To misdoo a dead bodie / by day or by night + The gree yet haue he goten / for all his great wounde + For your Champion chivallier / chief knight of you all + Yelt him recreant rennyng / right as IhusIesus will + For be this derknesse done / His deathe is avenged + And ye lurdeyns haue lost / for life shall haue the maistrie + And your fraunchise that fre was / fallen is in thraldome + And ye chorles and your childerne / cheve shall you neuer + Nor haue lordship in lond / nor no lond tille + But all barayne be / and vsurie vse + Which is lyfe þat our lorde / in all lawes acurseth + Now your good daies are done / as danyell prophecied + When Christ come / of theyr kingdome the croune shulde cesse + Cum venurerit sanctus sanctorum , tunc cessabit vnctio vestra / + What for fear of the ferlie / and of the false Iewes + I drewe me in that derknesse / to descendit ad inferna + And there I sawe sothely / Secundum scripturas + Out of the west coost / a wenche as me thought + Cam walking in the waie / to hellewarde she lokid + Mercie hight that maide / A meke thing withall + A full benygne birde / and gentill of speche + Hir suster as it semed / came truly walkyng + Euen out of the east / and westwarde she looked + A full comelie creature / truth she hight + For the vertue that hir folowed / aferd was she neuer + When thise maidens met / mercie and truthe + Either asked other / of this great mervaile + Of the dien and derknes / and howe the daye rowed + And what a light and leame / Lay before helle + I haue ferlie of this fare / in feythe said truthe + And am going to wite / what this wonder meaneth + Haue no marveile quod mercie / myrthe it betokeneth + A maide that hight Marie / and mother without towching + AOf Any manere creature / conceyued through speche + And grace of the holy ghost / wext great with childe + Without weme into this worlde she brought hym + And that my tale be true / I take god to witnesse + Sithe this barne was borne / bene thirtie wynter passed + Whiche died and deathe suffred / this daie about myddaie + And that is cause of this eclipse / that closethe nowe the sonne + x 1. + + In menyng that man shall / frome mekenesse be drawen + The which this light and this leme / shall lucifere ablende + For patriarches and prophetes / haue preached herof long + That man shall man saue / through goddes helpe + And that was lost through tree / by a tre shalbe wonne + And that deathe doune brought / death shall releue + That thou tellest quod Truthe / is but a tale of waltrot + for adam and Eue / Abraham and others + patriarches and prophetes / that in peynes lie + Beleue thou t neuer that yonder light / bryng them may aloft + Nor haue them out of helle / hold thy tong mercie + Yt is but a trifle þat thou tellest / I Truthe knowe the sothe + For that is ones in helle / out commeth it neuer + Iob the prophete patriarche / reproueth thi sayinges + Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio / + Then mercie full mekely / mowthed these wordes + Through Experience quod she / I hope they shalbe saued + For venym fordoth venyme / and that I proue by reason + For of all venymes foulest is the scorpion + May no medicyn helpe / the place there he stingeth + Till he be dead and done therto / the yuell he destroieth + The first venymenesse / thorough wenym of him-self + So shall this fordoo / my lyfe I dare laye + All that death did fyrst / through the deuylles entysyng + And like as through gyle / man was begyled + So shall grace that beganne / make a good sleight + Ars vt artem falleret + Nowe suffre we said truthe / I se as me thinketh + Out of the nyppe of the Northe / not euen fer hence + Righousnes come ronnyng / rest we a while + For he knoweth more then we / he was before vs bothe + That is true said mercie / and I se here be sowthe + Where peace commeth playing / in pacience clothed + Loue hathe coueted hir long / I think non other + But he sent hir some letter / what this light meneth + What ouerhoveth helle thus / she shall vs telle + When peace thus apparailed / approched nere them tweyne + Rightwisenesse hir reuerenced / for hir rich clothing + And praid peace to telle hir / to what place she wold + And in hyr gaye garmentes / whome she thought to greet + My will is to go quod she / and welcome them all + That many day might not se / for derkenesse of synne + Adam and Eue / and other moo in helle + Moyses and many more / mercie shall haue + + And I daunce therto / do thou so suster + For IhusIesus Iusted well / Ioy begynneth to spring + Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus &c + Loue that is my lemman / such letters me sent + That mercie my suster and I / mankynde shuld saue + And that god hathe forgyuen / & grauntid peace and mercie + And man to saue / for euer after + Lo here the patent quod peace / in pace in idipsum + And that dede shall endure / dormiam et requiescam / + What ravest þou quod Rightousnes / or þou art right dronke + Thinkest thou that yonder light / may vnlocke helle + And saue mannes soule / suster think yt neuer + At the begynnyng / god gaf the dome him-self + That Adam and eue / and all them sued + Shulde dye douneright / and dwelle in peyne euer + Yf that they touched a tre / and the frute ete + Adam after that / contrarie to the commandement + Ete of that frute / and forsoke as it were + The loue of the lorde / and his lore bothe + And folowed that the feend taught / and his felawes will + Against reason and righousnesse / record thus with truthe + That their peynes be perpetuall / and no preyer them helpe + Therfor lat them chewe as they chose / and we not susters + For it was bootelesse bale / the bitt that they ete + And I shall proue quod peace / their peyne must haue ende + And wo in-to wele / must turne at last + For had they wist of no woo / welthe had they not knoune + for noman wot what welth is / that neuer woo suffred + Nor what is sharpe hunger / that neuer had defaute + Yf there were no night / noman as I thinke + Shuld knowe perfitely / what the daie is + Shuld neuer riche man / that lyueth in rest and ease + knowe what wo is / were not the deathe of kynde + So god that began all / of his good will + Became man of a maid / mankynde to saue + And suffred to be solde / to the sorowe of death + Which vnknytteth all care / and begynnyng is of rest + For till Modicum / mete with vs / I may it well avowe + Wot no wight as I wene / what is ynough to mene + Therfor god of his goddnesse / the first man Adam + Set him in solace / and in souereyne myrthe + And sithens he suffred him synne / sorowe to fele + To wite what welth was / kyndlie to knowe it + And after god aventured Him-self / and toke adams kynde + + + To wite what he had suffred / in thre sondrie places + In heuen and erthe / and to helle he thinketh + To wite what all wo is / þat wot of all ioye + So shall it fare by thise /folke / their folie and their synne + Shall lerne them what langor is / and peyne without ende + Wot noman what werre is / there as peace reygneth + Nor what is perfitely welthe / till wellawaie him teache + Then was there A man / with ij brode eyes + Book hight þat felawe / a bolde man of speche + By goddes bodie quod this book / I will beare witnesse + That when this babe was borne / thesre blased a sterre + That all the wyse of this world / in one wit accorde + That such a barne was borne / in Bethleem citie + That mannes soule shulde saue / and synne destroye + And all the elementes saith the book / herof beareth witnesse + That he was god that all wrought / the Ayre first shewed + Tho that were in heauen / tooke Stella comata + And lightned as a torche / to reuerence his birthe + The light folowed the lorde / in-to the lowe erthe + The water witnessed that he was god / for he went on yt + Peter thapostle / perceyued his gate + And as he went on the water / well him knewe and said + Iube me domine venire ad te super aquas / + And lo how the sonne / did loke his light in himself + When he se Him suffre / that sonne and sea made + The erthe for heuynesse / that he shuld suffre + Quakyd as quick thing / & all to-quashed the roche + Lo heauen might not hold / but opened when god suffred + And let out Symondes sonnes / to se him hang on rood + And now shall Lucifere beleue it / although he be loth + For Gigas the giaunt / with a gyn engynned + To breake and to beat doune / that bene against IhusIesus + And I booke wilbe brent / but IhusIesus rise to lyue + In all mightes of man / and his mother glade + And confort all his kyn / and out of care bring + And all the Iewes ioye / vnioyne and losen + And but if they reuerense his rood / and his resurreccion + And beleue on a newe lawe / be lost lyfe and soule + Suffre we said truthe / I here and se bothe + How a spirit speketh to helle / and bidd vnspere the gates + Attollite portas &c + + A voyce lowde in that light / to lucifere crieth + Ye prynces of this place / vndo your gates + For here commeth with croune / that kis kyng is of glory + Then sighed Sathan / and said to them all + Such a light against our leue / Lazar out fet + Care and combraunce / is come to vs all + Yf this kyng come in / mankynde will he feche + And lede him there he liketh / and lightlie me bynde + Patriarches and prophetes / haue spoken herof long + That such a lorde and light / shuld lede them all hens + Lysten quod Lucifer / for I this lorde knowe + May no deathe him dere / nor no feendes craftes + And where he will is his weye / but ware Hym of the perils + Yf he reaveth me my right / he robbeth me by maistrie + For by right and reason / they that be here + Bodie and soule be myne / both good and euyll + For himself said / that father is of heauen + Yf Adam ete the Apple / all shulde dye + And with vs deuilles dwelle / this threatning he made + And he that sothenesse is / said these wordes + And sithen I seised / seauen hundred winter + I beleue that lawe will not / leue him the leest + That is sothe quod Sathan / but I me sore drede + For thou get him with gyle / and his garden breeke + And in semblaunce of a serpent / set vpon an apletre + And eggedest thiem to ete / Eue by hir name + And toldest hyr a tale / of treason were the wordes + And so thou gattest them out / and hither at the last + Hit was not trulie gotten / for gyle was the roote + God willnot be begyled / quod Goblyn nor beiaped + We haue no true tytle to them / for through treson were they damp + Certes I drede me quod the deuyll / lest truth will them feche + Thise thirtie yeres as I think / he hathe gone and preached + I haue assailed him with synne / and somtyme asked + Yf he were god or goddes son / he gaf me short answere + And thus haue trolled forthe / this xxxijti wynter + And whan I se it was so / leaping I went + To warne pilates wyfe / what manere man was IhusIesus + For Iewes hated hym / and haue done him to death + I wold haue lengthed his lyfe / for I thought if he dyed + That his soule wold suffre / no synne / in his sight + for the bodie while it on bones went / about was euer + x 3 + + To saue men from synne / if themself wolde + And now I se where a soule / commeth hitherward sailing + With glorie and great light / god it is I wot well + I rede we fle quod he / fast all hens + for we we were bettre not be / then abide his sight + For thy lesynges lucifer / lost is all oure praye + First through the we felle / from heauen so highe + for we trustid thy leasinges / lost haue we Adam + + And all our lordship I think / on lond and watre + Nunc princeps huius mundi eijcietur foras / + Then the light bad vndo / and Lucifer Answerd + + What lord art thou quod lucifer / quis est iste + Rex glorie / said the light by and by + And lord of might and mayne / and all maner vertues + Dominus virtutum / + Dukes of this dymme place / Anon vndo the gates + That Christ may come in / the kinges son of heauen + And with that word / helle brake with belialles barres + For Any man or warde / wide open the gates + Patriarches and prophetes / Populus in tenebris / + Song S . Iohanes song / Ecce agnus dei / + Lucifer might not looke / the light so did him blynde + And them that our lorde loued / in-to his light he raught + Saying vnto Sathan / lo here my soule to Amendes + For all synfull soules / to saue that be worthy / + Myne they be and of me / I may the bettre them clayme + Although reason recorde / and right of my-self + That if they ete the Apple / all shuld die + I behight them not here / helle for euer + For the dede that they did / thy deceyt it caused + With gyle þou them gett / Against all reason + for in my palais paradise / in parsone of an Edder + Falsly thou fettest there / the thing þat I loued + Thus like a lyzarde / with a ladies visage + Thefelike þou diddest me robbe / the old lawe graunteth + That gylers be begylde / and that is good reason + Dentem pro dente et oculum pro oculo / + Ergo soule shall soule quyte / and synne to synne go + And all that man hath mysdone / I man will Amende + Membre for membre / in the old lawe was Amendes + And lyfe for lyfe also / and by þat lawe I clayme it + Adam and all his yssue / at my will hereafter + And that death in them fordid / my death shall releue + And both quicken and quyte / that lost was through synne / + + And that grace may gyle destroie / good feythe it asketh + So I think Lucifer / agaynst the lawe I do not feche them + But by right and reason / I raunsone here my liges + Non veni soluere legem , sed adimplere + Tohou diddest fet myne in my place / against all reason + Falslie and felonlie / good feithe me it taught + To recouer them by raunson / and by no reason elles + So that which through gyle þou gat / through nowe is it wonne + Thou Lucifer in likenesse / of A lither Addre + Gatest by gyle / them that god loued + And I in likenes of a man / that lorde am of heauen + Graciouslie thy gyle haue quyt / go gyle againest gyle + And as Adam and all / through a tre dyed + Adam and all through A tre / shall turne agayn to lyfe + And gyle is begyled / and in his gyle fallen + Et cecidit in foueam quam fecit + Now begynneth thy gyle / against the to turne / + And my grace to growe / ay greater and wyder + The bitternesse þat thou hast browne / browke it thy-self + That art doctour of death / drink þat þou madest + For I am lorde of lyfe / loue is my drink + And for þat drink this daie / I dye vpon erthe + I faught so I thurst yet / for mannes soules sake + May no drinke me moist / nor my thurst slake / + Till the vendage fall / in the vale of Iosophat + That I drink right rype must Resurreccio mortuorum + And then shall I come as a king / crowned with Aungelles + And haue out of helle / all mennes soules + Feendes and feendkyns / before me shall staund + And be at my bidding / whersoeuer me like + And to be mercifull to man / than my kynd it asketh + For we be bretherne of blood / but not of baptisme all + But all þat be myn oune bretherne / in blood and in baptisme + Shall not be dampned to the death / þat is without ende + Tibi soli peccaui &c / + It is not vsed in erthe / to hang a felon + Ofter then ones / though he were a traitour + And if the king of that kingdome / came in þat tyme + There the felon shuld suffre / death or elles + Lawe wold he gaf him lyfe / if he lokid on him + And I that am king of kinges / shall come such a tyme + There dome to the death / dampneth all wicked + And if Lawe I will þat I looke on them / it lythe in my grace + x 4 + + Whether they die or not / for þat they did euyll + Be it any thing about the boldnesse of their synnes + I do mercy through righousnes / and all my wordes true + And though holy wyll me to be wroken of them þat did yll + Nullum malum inpunitum &c / + They shalbe clensed clerely / and washen of ther synnes + In p my prison purg' / till Parce it hoote + And my mercie shalbe shewed / to many of my bretherne + For bloude may suffre bloude / both hungrie and cold + But bloud maynot se blood / blede but he rewe + Audiui archana verba , que non licet homini loqui + But my great rightousnes / shall rule all helle + And mercie allmankynde / before me in heauen + For I were an vnkynde kyng / but I my kynde holpe + And namely at such a nede / there nedes helpe behoueth + Non intres in iudicium cum seruo tuo domine &c + Thus by lawe quod this lorde / lede I will from hens + Them þat me louyd / and beleued in my commyng + And for thy lye þou lucifer / that þou made to Eue + Thou shallt abie yt bitter / and bounde him with chaynes + Astaroth and all the route / hidde them in corners + They durst not looke on our lorde / the boldest of them all + But lete him lede forth whome he wolde / & leue whom he list + Many hundred aungelles / harped and song + Culpat caro purgat caro , regnat deus dei caro / + Then pyped peace / of poesy a note + Clarior est solito post maxima nebula phebus . post inimicicias + After sharpe showres quod peace / most shene is the sonne + Ys no wether warmer / then after watry clowdes + Nor no loue derer / nor trustier freendes + Then after werre and woo / when loue and peace be maisters + Was neuer werre in this world / nor wickednesse so kene + That loue if he list / to laughing haue not brought + And peace through pacience / all perils stopped + Trewce quod truthe / thou tellest vs soth by IhusIesus + Clippe we in covenaunt / and eche of vs kisse other + And lat no people quod peace / perceyue that we chidd + For impossible is nothing / to him that is allmighty + Tho saist true quod Rightousnesse / and reuerently hir kist + Peace , and peace hir / per secula seculorum + Misericordia et veritas obuiauerunt sibiIusticia et pax osculate sunt / + Truthe tromped then / and song Te deum laudamus / + + And then luted loue / in a lowde note + Ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum &c + Till the daie dawed / these damoselles daunced + That men rong to þe resurreccion / and euen with that I waked + And callid kytt my wyfe / and Calote my doughter + To Arise and reuerence / goddes resurreccion + And crepe to the crosse /on knees / and kisse it for a Iewell + For goddes blessyd body / it bare for our boote + And it frayeth the feende / for such is the might + May no grisly ghoost / glyde there it shadoweth + + + + Passus xixus + Thus I walked and wrote / what I had dreamed + And dight me derely / and hied me to churche + To here hoolly the masse / and to be housled after + In myddes of the masse / the men went to offring + And I eftsones fill aslepe / and sodeynly I dremed + That Piers the plowman / was peynted all bloody + And cam in with a crosse / before the commone people + And euen like in all lymmes / to oure lorde IhuIesu + Than callid I Conscience / to telle me the truthe + Ys this IhusIesus the Iuster quod I / þat iewes did to death + Or is it piers the Plowman / who peynted him so redd + Quod Conscience and kneled then / thise are piers armes + His coloures and cote armure / but he that commeth so bloodie + Ys Christ with his crosse / Conqueroure of cristene + Why call ye him Christ quod I / sith Iewes call him IhusIesus + Patriarches and prophetes / prophecied before + That all manere creatures / shulde knele and bowe + Anon as men named / the hygh name of IhuIesu + Ergo there is no name / to the name of IhusIesus + Nor non so nedefull to be named / by night or daye + For all the derke deuylls / are adrad to here it + And synfull are solaced / and saued by that name + And ye call him Christ / for what cause tell me + Ys Christ more of might / or more worthy name + Than IhuIesu or IhusIesus / that all oure Ioye came of + Thou knowest well quod Conscience / if þou knowest reason + That knight , kyng , Conquerour , / may be one parsone + To be called a knight is fair / for men shuld reuerence him + To be called a kyng is fayrer / for he may knightes make + But to be called Conquerour / that commeth of speciall grace + And of hardynesse of hart / and also of gentillnesse + To make lordes of laddes / of lond that he wynneth + And free men foule thralles / þat folow not his lawes + The iewes that were gentilmen / IhuIesu they despised + Y.1. + + Bothe his lore and his lawe / nowe are they lowe chorles + As wide as the world is / dwelleth non therin / + But vnder tribute and taillage / as tykes and chorles + And they þat become xpcristen / by counseile of the baptysme + Are Frankelinges fre men / through baptisme þat they toke + And gentillmen with IhuIesu / For IhusIesus was baptized + And vpon Caluarie on crosse / crouned kyng of Iewes + Yt becommeth well a king / to kepe and defend + And Conquerour of conquest / his lawes and his large + And so did IhusIesus to the Iewes / he iustified and taught them + The lawe of Lyfe / that last shall euer + And defended from foule euilles / feuers and fluxes + And from feendes that in them were / and false beleue + Then was he IhusIesus of Iewes called / gentyll prophete + And king of kingdome / and croune bare of thornes + And then conquered he on crosse / as conquerour noble + Might no death him fordo / nor doune bring + That he rose not and regned / and rauyshed helle + And then was he conqueroure called / of quick and dead + for he gaf Adam and Eue / and othermore blisse + That long had lyne beforne / as Lucifers cherles + + And sith he gaf largelie / all his true lieges + Places in paradyse / at ther parting thens + He may well be called conquerour / and þat is Christ to mene + But the cause that he commeth thus / with crosse of the passion + Is to teache vs therwith / that when we be tempted + Therwith to fight and fende vs / from falling in-to synne + And se by his sorowe / that who-so loueth ioye + To penaunce and to pouertie / he must put himself + And much wo in this world / will to suffre + But for to carpe more of Christ / and howe he came to þat name + faithly for to speake his first name was IhusIesus + When he was borne in bedleme / as the book telleth + And cam to take mankynde / kinges and Aungelles + Reuerenced him fayr / with richesse of this erthe + Aungelles out of heauen canm / kneling they song + Gloria inexcelsis deo &c + Kynges came after / kneled and offred + Myrhe and much golde / without mede asking + Or any kynd of catell / but knowleged him souereyne + Bothe of lond sonne and sea / and then they went + Into their oune countreis / by counsell of aungelles + And there was þat worde fulfilled / the which þou spake + + Omnia celestia et terrestria flectantur in hoc nomine Ihesu + For all thaungelles of heauen / at his byrth kneled + And all the witt of the worlde / was in them thre kinges + Reason and Righousnes / and truthe they offred + Wherfore and why / wise men that tyme + Maisters and lettred men / Magi them called + The one king cam with reason / couered vnder sence + The second king sothely / sithen he offred + Rightousnes vnder red goold / Reasons felawe + Gold is likened to leautie / that last shall euer + And reason to rich gold / to right and to truthe + The thirde king then cam / kneling to IhuIesu + And presented him with pitie / appering to myrrhe + For Myrre is mercie to mene / and myld speche of tong + Thre like honest thinges / were offred thus atones + Through thre sondry kynges / kneling to IhusIesus + But for all thise preciouse presentes / our lord prince IhusIesus + Was neither king nor conquerour / till he began to wexe + In the manere of a man / and þat by much sleight + As becommeth a conquerour / to knowe many sleightes + And many wiles and wit / that wilbe a leder + And so did IhusIesus in his daies / who-so had tyme to tell it + Sometyme he suffred / and sometyme he hid him + And sometime he fought fast / and fled otherwhile + And sometyme he gaf good / and graunted helth also + Bothe life and lymme / as he list he wrought + As kynde is of a conquerour / so began he / + Till he had all them / that he bledd for + In his youthe / this IhusIesus / at Iewes fest + Water in-to wyne turned / as holy writ telleth + And there began god / of his grace to Dowell + For wyne is likened to lawe / and life of holinesse + And lawe lacked then / for me loued not their enemyes + And Christ counseileth thus and commandeth also + Bothe to lerned and lewde / to loue our enemyes + So at the feast first / as I before said + Began god of his grace / B and goodnes to dowell + And then was he called / not onely Christ but IhuIesu + A faunt fyn full of witt / Filius marie + Before his mother Marie / made he that wonder + That she first and foremest / ferme shulde beleue + That he through grace was gett / and of noman ellis + He wrought þat by no witt / but by worde onely + + After the kynde that he came of / there began he to dowell + And when he was wexen more / in his mothers absence + He made the lame to lepe / and gaf sight to blynde + And fed with too fishes / and with five loves + Sore ahungred folke / more then five thousand + Thus he conforted the carefull / and caught a greater name + The which was dobet / where that he went + for deef through his doinges to here / and dombe to speak he made + And all he healed and holpe / þat him of grace asked + And then was he called in countrey / of the common people + For the dedes that he did / IhusIesus filius dauid / + for dauid was dowtiest / of dedes in his tyme + The byrdes then song / Saul interfecit mille , et dauid decem milia + Therfor the countrie where IhusIesus cam / callid him fili dauid + And named him of Nazareth / & noman so worthy + To be kayser or king / of the kingdome of Iuda + Nor ouer Iewes iustice / as Ihs was they thought + Wherof Cayphas had envie / and other of the iewes + And forto do him to death / daie and night they kest + Killed him on crosse wise / at Calvarie on a fridaye + And sithen buried his bodye / and bad þat men shuld + Kepe it from night commers / with armed knightes + That no freendes shulde him feche / for prophetes them told + That , þat blissed bodie / of buriels shuld arise + And go into Galile / and glade his apostles + And his mother Marie / thus men before demed + The knightes þat kept it / knew it themself + That Aungells and Archaungelles / ere the day sprong + Cam kneling to the Corps / and song xpscristus resurgens + Veray man before them all / and forth with them he yede + The Iewes preid peace / and besought the knightes + Telle the commons that there cam / a company of his apostles + And wiched them as they woke / and awaie stole him + But Marie Magdalene / met him by the waye + Going toward Galile / in godhede and manhede + And lyvishe and loking / and she alowd cried + In euery company that she cam / xpscristus resurgens + Thus came it out that Christ ouercame / recouered & lyued + Sic oportet xpmcristum pati et intrare &c + For that women wot / maynot be kept counseile + Peter perceyued this / and pursued after + Both Iames and Iohan / IhuIesu for to seche + Thadee and tean moo / with Thomas of ynde + And as all thise wise men / were togithers + + In an house all close / and the dores fast barred + Christ came then in / bothe dores and gates shet + To peter and thother apostles / saying pax vobis + And toke Thomas by the hand / and taught him to grope + And fele with his fyngers / his fleshly hart + Thomas touched it / and with his tong said / + deus meus et dominus meus / + Thou art my lorde I beleue / god lord IhuIesu + Thou diedest and death suffredest / and deme shalt vs all + And now art lyving and loking / and last shalt þou euer + Christ said then / and curteisly spake + Thomas for that þou truly dost beleue + Blessed mut thou be / and be shalt for euer + And blissed mut they all be / in bodie and soule + That neuer shalt se me in sight / as thou doest nowe + And yet truly beleue this / I loue them and blisse them + Beati qui non viderunt et crediderunt &c + And when this dede was done / dobest he taught + And gaf piers poure / and pardon he graunted + To all manere of men / mercie and forgiuenesse + Him might to Assoile / of all manere synnes + In covenaunt that they come / and knowlege to paye + To piers pardon the plowman / Redde quod debes + Thus hathe piers poure / be his pardon paid + To bynde and to vnbynde / bothe here and elliswhere + And assoile men of all synnes / saue of dett onely + Anone after to go / vp into heauen + He went and dwelleth there / & will come at last + And rewarde him right well / þat reddit quod debet + Paieth perfitely / as pure truth wolde + And what parson paieth not / punyshe he will + And deme them at domesdaie / both quick and dead + The good to the godhede / and to great ioye + And the wicked do dwelle / in wo without ende + Thus conscience of Christ / and of the crosse carped + And counseiled me to knele therto / and then cam me thought + One Spiritus paracletus / to piers and his felawes + In likenesse of a lightnyng / he light vpon them all + And made them for to knowe / all manere langages + I wondered what yt was / and wagged Conscience + And was aferde of the light / for in likenesse of fyre + Spiritus paracletus / ouerspredd them all + Quod Conscience and kneled / this is Christes menssenger + And commeth from the great god / and grace is his name + Knele nowe quod Conscience / and if thou canst syng + Y.3. + + Welcome him and worshup him / with Veni creator spiritus + Than sang I that song / and so did many a hundred + And cried with Conscience / helpe vs god of grace + And then began grace / to go with piers plowman + And counseiled him and Conscience / the commons to somone + For I will dele this daie / and divide grace + To all manere creatures / þat haue their fyve wittes + Treasure to lyue by / to their lyues ende + And wepen to fight with / that will neuer fayle + For Antecryst and his / all the world shall greue + And encombre the Conscience / but if Christ helpe + And false prophetes many / flaterers and glosers + Shall come and be curates / ouer Kynges and erles + And pride shalbe pope / prynce of holie church + Couetise and vnkyndnesse / Cardynalls him to lede + Therfor quod Grace ere I go / I will giue you treasure + And wepen to fight with / when Antechrist you assayle + And gyue eche man a grace / to rule with himself + That ydelnesse encombre him not / Envie nor pride / + Diuisiones graciarum multe sunt / + To some he gaf wit / with wordes to shewe + Witt to get lyving with / as the worlde asketh + As prechours and preestes / and prentises of lawe + They truly to lyve / by labour of tong + And by wit to lerne other / as grace them wold teache + And some he taught craft / and konnyng of sight + with bying and selling / their lyving to gett + And some he lerned to labour / a good life and true + And some he taught to tille ground / to diche and to thatch + To wynne ther living / by lore of his teaching + Some to divyne and divide / nombres to knowe + And some to se and saye / what shuld befall + Both of well and wo / tell it or it fell + As Astronomiers through Astronomye / & philosophers wise + And some to ride and to recouer / that vnrightfully was gett + He taught them to get it agayn / through wightnesse of handes + And fech it from false men / with foules lawes + And some lerned to lyue / in longing to be hens + In pouertie and penaunce / to pray for all xpcristen + And all he lerned to be true / and euery man loue other + And forbad them all debate / þat non were among them + Though some be clenner then some / ye se well quod grace + That he þat vse the fairest craft / to þe foulest I could haue put him + Think all quod grace / that grace commeth of my gift + + Loke that non Lacke other / but loue all as bretherne + And who þat most maistries can / be gentillest of bearing + And croune Conscience king / and make connyng your styward + And after his counseile / clothe you and fede you + For I make piers the plowman / my proctour and my Reve + And Regester to receyue / Redde quod debes / + My prowour and my plowman / Piers shalbe on erthe + And for to tylle truthe / A teame shall he haue + Grace gaf piers a teame / foure great oxen + The one was Luke a large beast / and a lowe chered + And Mark / and Mathue the third / mightie beastes bothe + And Ioyned to them one Iohan / most gentill of all + The price nete of piers plowgh / passing all other + And Grace gaf piers / of his goodnesse four bullockes + All that his oxen eried / they to harowe it after / + One hight Augustine / and Ambrose another + Gregory the great clerk / and Ierome the good + Thise foure the feith to teache / foloweth piers teame + And harowed in an handwhile / all holie scripture + With too harowes that they had / an old and a newe + Vetus testamentum et Nouum / + Grace also gaf greynes / the Cardinalles vertues + And sewe it in mannes soule / and told then their names + Spiritus prudencie / the first sede hight + And who-so eteth that / ymagyn he shuld + Ere he did any thing / devise well the ende + And lerned men a ladell to bye / with a long steall + That cast for to kepe a crocke / to saue the fat aboue + The second sede hight / Spiritus temperantie + He that ete of that sede / had such a kynde + Shuld neuer meat nor much drink / make him to swelle + Nor no skorner nor scolde / out of skille him bring + Nor wynnyng nor welth / of worldely richesse + Wast worde of ydelnesse / nor wicked speche moue + Shuld no curious clothe / come on his backe + Nor no meate in his mouthe / þat Maister Iohan spiced + The third sede that piers sewe / was Spiritus fortitudinis + And who-so ete of that sede / hardie was euer + To suffre all þat god sent / sikenes or Angres + Myght no leasinges nor lyer / nor losse of catell + Make him for any mournyng / but to be mery in soule + And bold and abiding / all troubles to suffre + Y 4 + + Pleying ay with pacience / and Parce mihi domine + And couereth him vnder counseile / of Cato the wise + Esto animo forti cum sis damnatus inique + The fourth sede þat piers sewe / was Spiritus iusticie + And he that ete of that sede / shuld be euer true / + with god and not agast / but of gyle onelie + For gyle gothe so privilie / that good feith otherwhiles + Maynot be espied / for Spiritus iusticie / + Spiritus Iusticie / Spareth not to spille + Them that are giltie / and forto correct + The kyng if he fall / in gilt or in trespasse + for counteth he no kinges wrathe / when he in court sitteth + To deme as a domesman / aferd was he neuer + Neither of duke or death / that he ne did lawe + For presentes or prayers / or any princes letters + He doth equitie to all / euen for his poure + Thise foure sedes Piers sewe / and sith he did them harowe + With old and new lawe / that loue might waxe + Among the foure vertues / and vices destroy + For comonlie in countries / Cammokes and wedes + Fowleth the fruyt in the feeld / there they growe togethers + And so do vices / vertues worthy + Harrowe all þat haue wit quod pers / by counseile of grace + And tille after his teaching / the cardinall vertues + Agaynst thy graynes quod Grace / begynne to ripe + Ordeyne the an house / to lay in thy corne + By god grace quod piers / you must gyue tymber + And ordeyne that house / ere ye hens wende + And grace gaf him the crosse / with þe croune of thorne + That Christ vpon Calvarie / for mankynd peyned + And of his Baptisme and blood / þat he bled on the rood + He made a morter / and mercie it hight + And therwith grace began / to make a foundacion + And strongly walled it / with his peynes and passion + And of all holy writ / he made a roof after + And callid þat house vnitie / holy church in englishe + And whan this dede was done / grace devised + A Cart hight xpcristendome / to cary piers corne + And gaf him caples to his cart / Contricion & confession + And made preesthood heyward / whill himself went + As wide as the world is / with piers to tille truthe + + Nowe is piers to the plowgh / and pride it espied + And gathered him a great hoost / to hurt him sore + Conscience and all xpcristen / and all cardinall vertues + Blowe them doune and breake them / and bight atoo the mores + + And sent forth Surquidous / his sergeant of Armes + And his spie spill loue / one speke euill behinde + These too cam to Conscience / and to xpcristen people + And tolde him tydinges / þat they shuld lose the sedes + That piers there had sowne / the cardinall vertues + And Piers berne was broke / and they that be in vnytie + Shall come out and Conscience / and your ij caples + Confession and Contricion / and your cart theybeleue + Shalbe coloured so queyntly / and couered vnder our Sophistrie + That Conscience shall not knowe / by Contricion + Nor by Confession / who is xpcristen or hethen + Nor no manere marchaunt / þat with money deleth + Whether he wynne with right / with wrong or with vsurie + With such coloures and couetise / commeth pride armed + With the lorde that liveth / after þe lust of his body + To wast on welfare / and on wicked keping + All the world in a while / through our wit and pride + Quod Conscience to all xpcristen then / my conseile is to wende + Hastely into vnitie / and hold we vs there + And pray we that a peace were / in piers berne the plowman + For surely I wot well / we be not of strength + To go Against pride / but grace be with vs + And than cam kynd wytt / Conscience to teache + And cried and commanded / to all xpcristen people + For to delue and diche / depe about vnytie + That the church stode in vnytie / as it a pile were + Conscience commanded then / xpcristen to delue + And make a great moot / that might be a strength + To helpe holy church / and them that it kepe + Than all manere xpcristen / saue commone women + Repented and refused / synne saue they onely + And false men flaterers / vsurers and theves + Lyers and questmongers / þat be forsworne ofte + Witingly and willfully / with the false that hold + And for siluer forsworne / sothely they knowing it + There was no xpcristen creature / þat kynd wit had + Saue shrewes only / such as I spake of + but he holpe something / holynesse to growe + Some through praying / and some through pilgrimage + And other privie peynes / and some through pens dealing + And then welled water / for wicked workes + Egrely rennyng / out of mennes eyen + Cylennesse of the commons / and clerkes clene lyving + Made vnytie holy church / in holynes to stond + I carenot quod Conscience / though pryde come nowe + z + + The Lorde of lust shalbe letted / all this lent I hope + Come quod Conscience / ye xpcristen and dyne + That haue labored truly / all this lent tyme + Here is bread blissed / and goddes body vnder + Grace through goddes worde / gaf piers powre + And might to make it / and men to eat yt after + In helpe of their helthe / ones in a moneth + Or as oft they haue nede / they that had paid + To piers pardon the plowman / Redde quod debes + Whow / quod all the commons / þou counseilest vs to yeld + All that we owe anyman / ere we go to howsell + That is my counseile quod Conscience / and Cardinalls vertues + That euery man forgyue other / and þat will pater noster + Et dimitte nobis debita nostra &c + And so to be assoiled / and then howselld + Yea baw quod a brewer / I wilnot be ruled + By IhusIesus for all your iangling / of Spiritus iusticie + Nor after Conscience by Christ / whill I can selle + Bothe dregges and draff / and drawe it at one hoole + Thick ale and thyne ale / for þat is my kynde + And not hacke after holinesse / hold thy tong Conscience + Of Spiritus iusticie / thou spekest much in veyne + Caytif quod Conscience / cursed wreche also + Vnblessed art þou brewer / but if the god helpe + for onlesse thou lyve by lore / of Spiritus iusticie + The chief sede that piers sewe / saued shalt þou be neuer + But conscience the commons fede / & cardinalls vertues + Trust well they be lost / both lyfe and soule + Than is many a man lost / quod a lewd vicare + That am a curate of holy church / & cam neuer in my tyme + Any to me that coulde telle / of cardynalls vertues + Or þat acounted conscience / at a cockes fether or hennes + I knewe neuer Cardinall / But þat cam from the Pope + And fewe vertues be there / or elles non + We clerkes when they come / for their commons paye + For their furres and palfreyes mete / and pillours þat them folowe + The commons Clamat cotidie / euery man to other + The countrey is the curseder / þat cardinalls come in + And there they ly and byde / most lecherie regneth + Therfor quod this vicar / by veray god I wold + That no Cardinall come / Among the common people + But in ther holynesse / held them stille + At Auyon Among the Iewes / Cum sancto sanctus eris + + Or in Rome as theyr rule is / þe reliques for to kepe + And thou Conscience in kinges court / & neuer to come thens + And grace that thou speakest so of / guyder of all clerkes + And piers with his new plowe / and eke with his old + Emperoure of all the world / þat all men were xpcristen + Inperfite is that pope / þat all the wolde shuld helpe + And send them that fsleith such / as he shuld saue + And well worth piers the plowman / þat pursueth god in doing + Qui pluit super iustos et iniustos at ones + And sent the sonne / to saue a cursed mannes tylth + As bright as to the best man / or to the best woman + Right so piers the plowman / peyneth him to tylle + As well for a wastour / and wenches of the stewes + As for himself and seruauntes / saue he is first serued + + And travaileth and tilleth / for a traitour euen as sore + As for the true tidie man / all tymes alike + Worshipped be he þat wrought all / both good and euyll + And suffreth the synfull lyue / till sometyme þat they repent + And god Amende the pope / þat pilleth holie church + And claymeth before the king / to be keper of xpcristen + And passeth not though xpcristen be / killed and robbed + And fynd folk to fight / and xpcristen folke to spille + Against both old and new lawe / as Luke witnesseth + Non occides , michi vindictam et ego retribuam + It semeth that incase / himself had his will + That he careth right nought / of all the remenaunt + And Christ of his curtesie / the Cardinalles saue + And turne their wit to wisdome / and to welth of soule + For the commons quod this Curate / counte full litell + The counseile of Conscience / or Cardinalles vertues + But if they perceyue / to haue some vwynnyng + Of gyle nor of lyeng / passe they not at all + For Spiritus prudentie / Among the people is gyle + And all the foule vices / as vertues they seme + Eche man soteleth a sleight / synne for to hyde + And coloureth it for a connyng / and a clene lyving + Then lough there a lorde / and by the light said + I hold it right and reason / of my Reue to take + All þat myn Auditor / orelles my Stiward + Counseileth me by their Acomptes / and my clerkes writing + With Spiritus intellectus / they seke the Reves rolles + And with Spiritus fortitudinis / fech it they will + And then cam there a king / and by his croune said + I am a king with croune / the commons to rule + And holy church and clergie / from cursed men to defend + And if me like to liue / by the lawe will I take it / + + There I may easeliest come by it / for I am head of the lawe + For you be But membres / and I aboue all + And sithe I am your head / I am your heale also + And holy churches chief helpe / and cheftayne of the commons + And what I take of you two / I take it of the teaching + Of Spiritus iusticie / for I iudge you all + So may I boldelie be howsled / for I borowe neuer + Nor craue of any commons / But as my kynde asketh + In condicion quod Conscience / þat þou can defende + And rule thy realme by reason / as right will and truthe + Take thou might in reason / as thy lawe askethe + Omnia tua sunt ad defendendum , sed non ad depredandum / + The vicar had fer home / and faire he toke his leue + And I waked therwith / and writ as I dremed + + + + Passus xxus et Vltimus + Then I went by the waie / when I was awaked + Heauy chered I went / and sorowfull in hart + I ne wist where to eate / nor at what place / + And it drewe nere none / and with nede I met + That afrounted me foule / and faitour me called + Canst thou not excuse the / as did the king and other + That þou toke to thy beleue / to clothes and sustinance + As by teching and telling / of Spiritus temperancie + And thou tokest nomore / than nede the taught + And nede hathe no lawe / nor neuer shall fall in dett + For the thinges he take / his life to saue + That is meat when men forbid / having no money + Nor noman wilbe his suretie / nor he hath no gage + And he caught in that case / and get it by sleightes + He synneth not sothelie / þat so wynneth his food + And he commeth so to a clothe / and knoweth no better waie + Nede anon right / taketh him vnder maynpryse + And if he lust to drink / the lawe of kynd wold + That he dronk at euery diche / ere he died for the thurst + So nede at great nede / may take as for his oune + Without counseile of Conscience / or Cardinalles Vertues + So that he sue and saue / Spiritus temperancie / + For there is no vertue like / to Spiritus temperancie + Neither Spiritus fortitudinis / nor Spiritus iusticie / + For Spiritus fortitudinis / forfetteth full ofte + He shall do more then measure / many tyme and oft + And beat men ouersore / and some of them to littill + + And greueth men more / then good feithe it wolde + And Spiritus iusticie / shall iuge will he or not + After the kinges counseile / and the commons like + And Spiritus prudencie / in many poyntes shall faile + Of that he thinkes shuld fall / if his wit were not + Wenyng is no wisdome / nor wise ymaginacion + Homo proponit et deus disponit / & gouerneth all good vertues + But nede is next him / for anon he meketh him + And as lowe as a lambe / for lacking of þat he nedeth + + Wise men forsoke welth / forthat they wolde be nedy + And dwelt in wildernesse / and wolde not be riche + And god all his great ioye / ghoostly he lefte + And came and toke mankynde / and became nedie + So nedy he was as saith the book / in many sondrie places + That he said in his sorowe / euen vpon the rood + Both fox and foule / may flie / and to hoole crepe + And the fish hath fynne / to swymme with to rest + There nede hath take me / þat I must nedes abide + And suffre sorowes full soure / þat shall to ioy turne + Therfor be not Abashed / to byde and be nedie + For neuer non so nedy / nor poorer dyed + Whan nede had thus vndertake me / streight I felle aslepe + And dremed mervelouslie / that in a mannes forme + Antechrist came then / and all the croppe of truthe + Turned vpside doune / and ouertilt the rote + And false spring and sprede / and spede mennes nedes + In euery countrey there he came / he cut awaie truthe + And made gyle growe there / as he god were + Friers folowed þat feend / for he gaf them coopes + And Religiouse reuerenced him / and rong their belles + And all the Convent forth came / to welcome þat tyraunt + And all his as well as him / saue onely fooles + Which Fooles had much lever / to die then to live + Lenger , sithe leaute / was so rebuked + And a false feend Antechrist / ouer all men regned + And mylde men and holie / þat no mischef drede + Defyed all falsnesse / and them þat it vsed + And what king þat them conforted / knowing them Anywhile + They cursed and their counsaile / were it clerk or other + Antechrist had thus sone / hundredes at his banner + And pride it bare boldly / about where y he went + With a lorde þat liveth / after the liking of his bodye / + .z 3. + + + That came Against Conscience / þat keper was and guyour + Ouer the true xpcristians / And Cardinall vertues + I counseile quod Conscience / come with me fooles + Into vnytie holy churche / and hold we vs there + And crie we to kynde / þat he come and defende vs + Fooles from thise feendes lymmes / for Piers loue the plowman + And crie we to all the commons / that they come to vnytie + And there abyde and bicker / against Belialles childerne + Kynde then herd Conscience / and cam out of the planettes + And sent forth his messengers / Feuers and fluxes + Coughes and cardiacles / Crampes and totheaches + Reaumes and Radegondes / and roynouse scalles + Byles and botches / and brennyng Agues + Frenesies and foule euilles / foragers of kynde + Had prickesd and preyed / polles of the people + That largely a legion / lost their lyves sone + There was harowe and helpe / here commeth kynde + With death that is dreadfull / to vndo vs all + The lorde þat lyued after lust / then alowd cried + After confort a knight / to beare his banner + Alarum alarum quod the lorde / eche man kepe his oune + And then met thise men / their mynstralles might pype + And theyr heraudes at armes / had discriued lordes + Age the hore / he was in the vauntwarde + And bar the baner before death / by right he it claymed + Kynde came After / with many kene sores + As pockes and pestilences / and much people shent + So kynde through corupcions / killed full manye + Deathe cam driving after / and all to dust passhed + Kynges and Kaisers / Knightes and Popes + lerned and lewde / he let no man stonde + That he hit right / neuer stood after + Many a louelie ladie / and lemmans of knightes + Swowned and swelt / for sorowe of dethes dyntes + Conscience of his curtesie / kynde he besought + To cesse and suffre / and se if they wold + Leaue pride prively / and be perfite xpcristians + And kynde cessed then / to se the people amend + Fortune gan flatter then / the fewe that Lyved + And behight them long lyfe / and lechery she sent + Among all men / wedded and other + This Lecherie laid on / with a Laughing chere + And with a privie speche / and peynted wordes + And armed him in ydelnes / and in hygh bering + + He bare a bowe in his hand / and many bloody arrowes + Were fethered with faire promise / and many a false truthe + With vntidie tales / he tened full ofte + Conscience and his companye / of holie church þe teachers + Than came Couetise / and kest how he might + Ouercome Conscience / and Cardinall vertues + And armed him in Avarice / and hungrely lyved + His wepon was all wiles / to wynne & to hide + With glosinges and lyinges / he begyled the people + Symony him sent / to assaile Conscience + And preached to the people / and prelates they made + To hold with Antechrist / their temporalties to saue + And came to the kinges counsell / as a kene baron + And kneled to Conscience / in court among them all + And made good faith flee / and false to abide + And boldely bare doune / with many a bright noble + Much of the wit and wisdome / of westmynstre hall + He iugged till a Iustice / and iusted in his ere + And ouertild all his truthe / with take this vpon a-mendement + And to the Archesse in hast / he went anon after + And turned Civile into Symonye / & then he tooke þe officiall + For A mantell of mynyver / he made true Matrimony + Depart ere deathe cam / and divorse shapt + Allas quod Conscience then / wold Christ of his grace + That Couetise were a xpcristian / þat is so kene a fyghter + And bold and abyding / while his bagg lasteth + And then loughe lyfe / and lete dagg his clothes + And armed him in hast / in harlottes wordes + And held holinesse a iape / and gentilnesse a wastour + And held Leautie a chorle / and lyar a free man + Conscience and counseile / he counted a foly + Thus relyed Lyfe / for a litill fortune + And pricked forth with pride / praised he no vertue + he passed not how kynd slewe / and shall come at the last + And kille all erthelie creatures / saue conscience only + Lyfe lept aside / and caught him A lemman + Helth and I quod he / and highnesse of hart + Shall do the not drede / neither death nor age + And to forget deathe / and passe not of synne + This liked lyfe / and his lemman fortune + And gett in their glorie / A gadling at last + One that muche wo wrought / slouth was his name + z 4 + + Sleuth waxt wonder fast / and sone was of age + And wedded won wanhope / a wench of the Stewes + Hir father was a Sisour / that neuer swore truthe + One Tomme tootong / Atteynt of euery quest + This Sleuth was ware of warre / and a slyng made + And threwe drede of dispeyre / a doson myle about + For care Conscience then / cried vpon age / + And bad him hast to fight / and fray wanhope + And Age hent good hope / and hastelie he shiftt him + And wayued awaie wanhope / and with life he fighteth + And lyfe fled for fear / to phisick for helpe + And besought him of succour / and of his salue had + And gaf him golde plentie / & that gladed his hart + And they gaf him agayne / A glasen howue + Lyfe beleuid that lechecraft / shuld lett Age + And drive awaie deathe / with dyas / and drugges + And age aventured him on life / and at last he hitt + A phisycion with furred hood / that he fell in a palsey + And there died þat doctor / ere thre daies after + Now I se said life / þat Surgery nor phisike + May not availe a miȝt / to medle against Age + And in hope of his helth / good hert he hent + And rode so to Revell / A rich place and a merie + The company of þat confort / men called it sometyme + And age anon after me / and ouer my head he yede + And made me balde before / and bare on the croune + So hard went he ouer my head / it wilbe sene euer + Sir euill taught age quod I / vnhende go with the + Howlong hathe thy way bene / ouer mennes heades + Haddest þou bene gentill quod I / þou woldest haue asked leue + Ye leeue lordayn quod he / and laid on me with age + And hit me vnder the ere / scacely may I here + He buffeted me about the mouthe / and bete out my teth + And gyved me in the gowtes / I may not go at large + And of the wo that I was in / my wyfe had ruthe + And wished full earnestly / that I were in heauen + for the lymme that she loued me for / and leef was to fele + On nightes namely / when we naked were + I might in no manere / make it at hir will + So age and she sothely / had forbeaten it + And as I sate in this sorowe / I se kynde passed + And death drewe nere me / for drede did I quake + And cried to kynde / out of care me to bring + Lo Age the hore / hathe me besett + + + Awreke me if your will be / for I wold be hens + Yf thou wilt be wroken / wend into vnitie + And hold the there euer / till I send for the + And loke thou can some craft / ere þou come thens + Counseile me Kynd quod I / what craft shall I lerne + lerne to loue quod kynd / and leaue all other + how shall I come to goodes so / to clothe me and fede + yf thou loue truly quod he lack shalt þou neuer + Meate nor worthy wede / whill thy life lasteth + And there by counsell of Kynde / I began to roome + Through Contricion and Confession / till I came to vnytie + And there was Conscience Constable / xpcristians to saue + And besyged sothely / with vij great giantes + That with Antechrist held / hard against conscience + Sleuth was his slyng / and hard assault made + Proude preestes came with him / mo then a thousand + In paltockes and picked shoes / and pissers pissers long knyues + Came against Conscience / with Couetise they held + By mary quod a mad preest / of the marche of yrelond + I counte nomore Conscience / so I may cach syluer + Then I do to drink / a draught of good Ale + And so said sixtie more / of the same countrie + And shet Agayne with shot / many a shef of Arowes othes + And brode hoked Arowes / of goddes hart and nayles + And had almost vnytie / and holynesse adoune + Conscience cried helpe clergie / orelles I fall + Through inperfite preestes / and prelates of holy church + Friers herd him crye / and cam him to helpe + And for they coulde not well ther craft / Conscience forsoke them + Nede came then nere / and conscience he told + That they came for couetise / to haue cure of soule + And for they are poure paraduenture / for patrimony they faile + They flatter to farewell / folke that be riche + But sith they chose chele / and cheitif pouertie + Lat them chewe as they chose / and charge them with no cure + For ofter he lyeth / that lyving must begg + Thatn he that laboreth for lyving / and leneth to beggers + And sith friers forsoke / the felicitie of the erthe + Lat them be as beggers / or lyue by aungelles food + Conscience of this counsell then / began to laugh + And curteisly conforted them / and called in all friers + Saying sires sothely / welcome be ye all + To vnitie and holy church / but one thing I you pray + Hold you in vnytie / and haue non envie + To lerned nor to lewde / but liue after your rule + And I will be your borrough / you shall haue bread & clothes + + With other necessaries ynowe / ye shall non faile + So that ye leaue logick / and lerne to loue + For loue lefte they lordship / both lond and scole + Frier Fraunces and Dominyke / for loue to be holy + And if ye covete cure / Kynd will you teche + That in measure god made / all manere thinges + And set them at a certeyn / and at a iust nombre + And named names newe / and nombred the sterres + Qui numerat multitudinem stellarum et omnibus eis nomina vocat + + Kinges and knightes / that kepe and defend + Haue officers vnder them / and eche of them a certeyne + And if they wage men to warre / they wright them in nombre + Or they will no treasure them pay / travaile they neuer so sore + For all other in bataile / be holden briboures + Pillours and pikeharneys / in euery place acursed + Monkes and nonnes / and all men of religion + Their ordre and rule wold / to haue a certeyn noumbre + Of lerned and lewde / the lawe will and axeth + A certeyn for a certeyne / saue onely of friers + Therfor quod Conscience by Christ / Kynd wit me telleth + Yt is wicked to wage you / ye growe out of noumbre + Haue Heauen hath euen nombre / and helle is without nombre + Therfor I wold surelie / that ye were in the Registers + And your nombre vnder Notaries signe / & neither more nor lesse + Envie herd this / and bad friers go to scole + And lerne logik and lawe / and eke contemplacion + And preache men of plato / and proue it by Seneca + That all thinges vnder heauen / ought to be in commone + And yet he lyeth as I think / þat to the lewd so preacheth + For god made men a lawe / and Moises it taught + Non concupisces rem proximi tui / + And euill is that kept / in parishes of England + For parsons and parishe preestes / þat shuld þe people shryve + Bene Curates called / to knowe and to heale + To all þat bene their parishenes / penaunce to enioyne + And shuld be ashamed in their shrifte / but shame maketh them goo + And flee to the friers / as folk to westmynstre + That boroweth and beare thither / and then bidd freendes + Shortly of forgiuenesse / or lenger yeres lone + But whill he is in westminstre / he wilbe before + And make him merie / with other mennes goodes + And so it fareth with many / þat to fryers shryue + As Sisours and executores / they will gyue the friers + A parcell to pray for them / and make them-self mery + With the residue and remenaunt / that other men swet for + And suffre the dead in dett / till the daie of dome / + + + Envie herfore hated Conscience + And friers to philosophie / he founde to scole + The while Couetise and vnkyndnesse / Conscience assailed + In vnitie holy churche / Conscience kept him + And made peace portar / to pynne the gates + Of all taletellers / and tutelers in vayne + Ypocrisye and he / an hard assaut they made + Ypocrisy at the gate / hard began to fight + And wounded full wickedly / many a wise teacher + That with Conscience Accordid / and Cardinall vertues + Conscience called a leche / that coulde well shrive + To salue them that sike benee / and through synne wounded + Shrift made sharpe salue / and made men do penaunce + For their misdedes / that they had wrought + And that Piers were paid / Redde quod debes + Some liked not this leche / and letters they sent + Yf any Surgien were there / that softer coulde plastre + Sir lief to lyue in lecherie / lay there gronyng + For fasting of a fridaye / he ferd as he wold die + There is a Surgen in this siege / that soft can handle + And more of phisik he can / and fairer he plastereth + One frier flatterer / is phisicion and Surgen + Quod contricion to conscience / Do him come to Vnitie + For here is many a man / hurt through ypocrisye + We haue no nede quod Conscience / I knowe no bettre leche + Then parson or parish preest / Penitencer or Bisshope + Saue Piers the plowman / þat hathe poure ouer them all + And indulgence may do / but if that dett let it + I may well suffre said Conscience / sithens ye desyre + That frier flatterer be fett / A phisike you seke + The frier herof herd / and hied full fast + To a lorde for a letter / leue to haue to cure + As A curate he were / and came with his lettres + Boldelie to the bisshop / and his brief had + In countries there he came / Confessions to here + And came there Conscience was / & knockid at the gate + Peace vnpynned it / þat was porter of vnytie + And in hast asked / what his will were + I feithe quod the frier / for profite and for helth + Speake wold I with Contricion / and therfor I came hither + He is sike said peace / and so is many other + ypocrisy hath hurt him / full hard is if he skape + I am a Surgen said the frier / and salues can make + Conscience knoweth me well / and what I can do both + I pray the quod peace then / ere thou passe further + What is thy name / I pray the say vnto me / + & 2 + + + Certes said his felawe / Sire penetrans domos + yea go thy gates quod peace / by god for all thy phisike + But thou can some craft / thou commest not here in / + I knewe suche one ones / not eight yeres passed + Came in thus Coped / at a court where I dwellid + And was my lordes leche / and my ladies bothe + And at last this lymytour / when my lorde was out + He salued so oure women / that some where with child + Gentill peas hold thi tong / and open the gates + Lat in me and my felawe / and make vs fair chere + Ye may se and here so it may befall + That Lyfe through my lore / shall leaue couetise + And be aferd of deth / and withdrawe him from pride + And accorde with Conscience / and either kisse other + Thus through Hende speche / entred the frier + And came in to Conscience / and curteisly him grete + Thou art welcome quod Conscience / canst þou heale the sike + Here is my Coson Contricion / sore wounded + Confort him quod Conscience / and take kepe to his sores + The plastres of the parson / and powders bight s ouersore + He let them Ly ouerlong / and loth is to chaunge them + From lent to lent / he lat his plasters bight + That is ouerlong quod this lymytour / I trust I shall amend it + And goeth and gropeth contricion / & gaf him a plastre + Of a privie payment / and I shall pray for you + And for all that ye be holden to / all my lyfe tyme + And make you my lady / in masses and matyns + As friers of oure fraternyte / for a litill syluer + Thus he goth and gathereth / and gloseth where he shryvet + Till Contricion had clene forgotton / to crie and wepe + And wake for his workes / as he was wont to do + For confort of his confessour / Contricion he lost + That is the souereynest salue / for all maner synnes + Sleuth se that / and so did pride + And came with a kene will / Conscience to Assaile + Conscience cried out / and bad clergie helpe + And also Contricion / to kepe the gate + He lithe and dremeth said peace / and so do many other + The frier with his phisik / these folk hath enchaunted + And plastred them so easelie / they drede no synne + By Christ quod Conscience / I wilbecome a pilgryme + And walk as wide / as the worlde lasteth + To seke piers the plowman / þat pride may destroye + And that friers had a fynding / þat for nede flatter + And countreplede me Conscience / now kynde me avenge + And send me hap and helth / till I haue piers þe plowma + + + +