aduoutre he stake ¶ The syxth to manslawter he drewe For he by that hym self slewe ¶ Glotony the seuenth was Whan he put hym in that caas To ete the appul that his wyf bad And that god hym forbodden had Wherfore in that etynge vnwysly Was syn inoughe as me thynkyth truly ¶ The .xiij. questyon ¶ What was y e Adam frō god dyd take And how shall he amendys make FRom god Adam moch toke That tyme that he hym forsoke All that he shuld there haue wrought That Adam shuld forthe haue brought That is that they shulde haue ouercomen The deuyll and his myght haue nomen As the deuyll dyd Adam Bothe hym and all that of hym came Bycause his syn was moche more Than was all the worlde therfore It behouyd hym more agayne to yelde And this had he nought to welde Or fynde a man that shuld more be Than all the world whiche was not he And therfore dyd he ete his brede In laboure and swete tyll he was dede ¶ The .xiiij. questyon ¶ Forlorne for aye why was he nought Whan he so great a syn had wrought FOr it behoueth nedely to stande That god hathe ordeynyd before hād God ordeyned at y e begīyng That of Adam and his osprynge Shuld y e orders of goddis chosen Be fulfyllyd and out losyn And after whan Adam forthought Was angryd that he had so wrought Mercy anone myght he none take For he myght not amendis make And yf god had forgeuen hym this And haue put hym agayne into blysse That aungell was cast fro before For a thought and for no more Than had god bene vnryghtwyse Therfore in synne and wreke he lyse Yf a man founde anone In a sloughe a ryche stone That were fowle and nothynge clene He shuld wasshe it as I wene And in treasure it not laye Untyll the fylthe were awaye But goddes sone that more shal be Than all the worlde shall dye on tre Amendys for Adam to make And hym fro his penaunce take So shall he come out of helle And amonge goddes chosen dwelle ¶ The .xv. questyon ¶ Why wold not god an anngel send Or a man Adam to amende ANd aūgel had bought mā made hī fre His vnderlyne thā shuld he be Man in erthe was maked here For to bere aungell fere And yf aungell the kynde nam Of man and a man becam Then were aungell of lesse posterite Than god hym made fyrst to be And man agayne myght man not wynne For all were they lockyd in one synne For this shall goddes sone of myght In a clene mayden lyght Our kynde shall he in her take And of two kyndys a man make God and man bothe shall he be And of his manhed shal he Begyle the deuyll for euermore As that he dyd man before And of mankynde shall he not twynne Saue that he shall neuer do synne ¶ The .xvj. questyon ¶ Why shall god be borne y ◠me tell Of a maydē and she amayden dwell Syr on thre maners we fynde That god in erth made mānes kynd Fyrst made he man and gaue hym lyfe That nother came of man nor wyfe Man of man onely than he name As Eue that he made of Adam The thyrde maner than shal be Whan god of his powre I ensure the Shall lyght in erthe in a woman Without knowlegynge of any man And sethe the world fyrst began Euermore god lokyd vnto man That he shulde best do his wyll And his commaundementis fulfyll And of his kynde shall chosen be A clene mayden and a free That shal be withouten synne And all vertues her within Her father shall her sonne be And of his dought his mother make shal he She inuyolate shall be in her lyght And dwell in her .ix. monthes ryght For the .ix orders shall he fulfyll Of aungels than in heuen are styll With mannes kynd that shall be borne And forthe haue comen here beforne He shall also throughe his myght Be borne of that mayden bryght And she after chylde berynge Shal be wemmyd of nothynge For as the sonne his lyght casteth Throughe the glas that hole lasteth And cometh out as he fyrst was Without wemme of the glas So shall god in that mayden lende And out of her body wende And she styll left a mayden ryght As the glas fro the sonne lyght ¶ The .xvij. questyon Why is dethe callyd dethe tel me And how many dethes that therbe For bytternes is called dethe in dede And for Adam through euyl rede A bytter byte of the appul he bote That droue hym into laboure and swote And thre maner of dethes theris One that not rype is As of chylderne that are yonge They fele no paynes stronge Another dethe there is also That bytter is to come vnto As a yonge man whan hym lyketh best And the deth be on hym fest Bytternes he feleth and wo Or the goost departe hym fro Goostly deth the thyrd it is There the foule is euer dede fro blys And all thre to man they came For the synne that dyd Adam And yf that synne ne had bene wrought Man ne shuld haue dyed nought ¶ The .xviij. question ¶ Sendeth god ought to man to saye Of what deth that he shall dye NAye he sendeth to no man But he that so moche can That he haueth no menyng of the dede And worketh after the best rede Sodayne deth shall he not dye For he shal go the redy waye And the good that byleueth aryght In god of heuen and his myght And worke as they ought to do To what deth that they go to Whether they be slayne w t sword or knyf◠Or with wylde bestes lese theyr lyfe Or in water drowned be Or hangyd hye vpon a tre Or of some fowle aduenture Maye then the lyfe no lenger endure Wycked deth are none of these In the syght of god and hese For theyr good dedys more and lesse And goddes owne ryghtwysenesse May not he forgottyn in thought For they cursyd fyltynes of syn nought And yf they had oft don amys Through febylnes that in them is Truly yt shall be forgyuen all By the sharpe paynes that they suffer shall But he that in god trowes nought Ne his cōmaundmentis hath not wroght What may it hym a vayle That he haueth gret trauayle And prouys longe or he dye And though men hym fortunat say What deth so euer he dyes I wys Wycked deth and short it is ¶ The .xix. questyon ¶ Whā sowle fro the body shal shede How wendys the soule to other stede THe soule wendes fro the body Whan he dyeth full preuely But whan it is out gone Agayne to the body there cometh none A sorte of deuyls it take And moche ioye and dene therwith make And vnto helle they it bere With many paynes it to dere But after the tyme of goddes sone That he is comen in erthe to wone Of ledynge shall be manners thre Soules to lede there they shall be ¶ One is
yf a man had here leuyd Trustynge as god hathe hym instructed And his coÌ„maundmentes all hath wroght And from the ryght fayth erred nought Whan his lyfe in this world endys And his sowle from the body wendys Of aungels a great company Gaderys them with melody Untyl hym that his keper was Reioysyng greatly at that caas Takyng that sowle with play and songe And thankyng god euer amonge Untyl heuyn therwith they wende There to dwel without ende ¶ Another maner of ledyng is Yf aman haue done amys And wyll not his lawe fulfyll But hath all his lyfe done yll And ageyne that he dye shall He repentys hym of all And vnto god for mercy cryes Whan that sowle from the body flyes A good aungell it taketh in hast And delyuer it to a wycked gost at last And he shall it forth lede Payne to suffer for his mysdede But whan he hathe bete it all And sufferyd that he suffer shall Then the good aungell hym taketh away And ledethe hym to ioye for aye ¶ The thyrd maner yf man or wyfe In synne haue euer lad theyr lyfe And goddes byddyng wold not fulfyll But dyd all theyr hartes wyll Deuyls kepe that sowle anon Whan it is out of the body gon And bere it to the payne of helle Without ende therin to dwelle ¶ The .xx. questyon ¶ Now wolde I wyte whether wore Sowle or body made before Fyrst the body is made fulfayre Of fyre water erth and ayre And the fower complexyons that are In man of thes fower they are Whan the body is made also Goddys grace comyth therto And blowyth in hym the goost of lyfe And after of hym made a wyfe Lorde and Syr he made hym be Of all that he in erth myght se But whan he the appul chose Clothyng of grace than dyd he lose Which hym greuyd very sore As ye haue herde here before ¶ The .xxj. questyon ¶ Which spekyth knowe wolde I The sowle of man or body NO myght hath the body Of hym selfe syk erly To speke to goo ne ought els to do But that the sowle hym geuyth to Men se ofre it chaunsys That aman on ahorse ryd yse And hym gydeth to and fro The way that he wyll go And the horse so compellede Goyth as the man wyll hym lede On lyke maner hath the body no myght Of spekyng of goyng ne of syght Nor of nought that he do shall But of the sowle it comyth all The body is of erth wrought And shall rote away to nought Therfore is he of feble ar nature Than the sowle that euer shall endure And the body ne is nothynge Unto the sowle but an hythynge Thou seyste well whan the sowle is gon A sowle caryn is the body on That speke ne store ought may Whan the sowle is gon away And by cause all thyng of the sowle is Therfore goyth she fyrst to ioy or blys And than felyth the sowle euerydele That the body doyth yll or well ¶ The .xxiij. questyon ¶ The sowle that a goost is on And hath nother flesshe ne bone ¶ Ne noght takys ne gyuys hym fro How may it fele other wel or wo A Goost is the sowle the soth to sey And neuer more may it dey Ete ne drynke wyll it nought And it is as swyfte as thought Felt ne sene may it not be Nor no stede may it occupe But whan the lyfe cometh to ende And the sowle shall fro the body wende Yf he helde goddes commaundement A clothe of grace to hym shal be sent Haue he be wycked ouer all A clothe of sorowe come to hym shall Throughe whiche clothynge fele shal he Ioye or payne whether it be ¶ The .xxiij. questyon ¶ Who is more lord of the twey Sowle or body thou me say THe body the more lorde is That ledeth the sowle oft amys But the more parell shuld abyde The sowle yf that euyl betyde As yf there were now yong men tway Goynge in a parellous way And that one be bolde and hardy That other a coward that goeth hym by The coward thynketh as he goes Yf agayne vs come any fooes This hardy man shall me out bere So that me they shall not dere Thus goyth the cowarde hardely The hardy thynkyth what do shall I This is a coward that goyth by me Yf other than good come he wyll fle And I shall mys hym whan I haue nede Thus goyth the hardy man in drede All thus farys it wyturly Betwyx the sowle and the body The body says I wyll haue quyte All my wyll and my delyte Whan I am ded erth shall I be What than shall I recke what is of me ¶ The sowle says a felowe I lede That me beryth feble felowrede For if there come eny aduersyte I shall it fele and not be Thus is the sowl in peryll ay For that the body holdyth play ¶ The .xxiiij. questyon ¶ Where hath y e sowle I the rede In mannys body his wonnyng stede IN the body euerywhere Wonyth y e sowle if blode be there Blode is wessel for the sowle truly And of the blode is the body And where as blode raynyth nothyng There hath the sowle no dwellyng As in teth and heer also In nayles and in hyde therto Yf you say lyfe is in tho For they may fele who doth them wo Therto lyeth answere good For theyr rotys touchyth blode Pare them and clyp them who thou wylt And come theyr rotys not vntyl Shall they fele it neuer a dele Whether thou doyst them wo or we le ¶ The .xxv. questyon ¶ Why doth the sowle no lengar rest In the body than y e blode doth lest Lyke it faryth I the ensuer As fysshe in apond of water puer Yf aman a goter make The water of that ponde to slake The water reÌ„nith small small Untyl it be ronne out all Than lye the fysshe of that ponde Betynge them selfe ageyne the drye londe And whan the water is all awey Than most they nedys dey Of the sowle it fareth so Whan the blode it rennyth fro As the blode out yssueth treuly So doth the sowle there wex feble quyely And whan the blode is out euery dele The sowle no lenger lyketh wele In that body for to dwell But departeth al so suell For his nature hathe he lost tho As fysshe whan the water is therfro ¶ The .xxvj. questyon ¶ I praye the nowe that thou me saye How it is that â—he folkâ— so deye AMan dyeth on many wayes Summe whan that his dayes That god hym set fulfylled are Than it behoueth hym nedely to fare Somme of outrage that they do As of mete and drynke also And destroyeth theyr nature So that they maye not endure Understande that no man maye Ouer goddes terme leue one daye But with outrage maye he let The terme that god hym haue set Some dyeth in batayle and in fyght With staffe or swerde as falleth lyght And on many otherwyse also Mo than I can tell
the vnto ¶ The .xxvij. questyon ¶ How may man wete that it so is That god made man to his lykenes WE fynde of antiquite In bokes y t somtyme had Noye That whan god of heuen kyng Had made beest and all thyng Thā sayde one of y e parsons thre That are in the Trinite Nowe althynge are made more and les Make we man to our lykenes And bycause he sayd make we Is to vnderstand that there ar thre And that he sayd is no lesynge Than are we lyke hym in makynge ¶ The .xxviij. questyon Sethen we of goddes lykenes be Why maye we not do as dyd he TO goddis lykenes are we dyght And therfore hathe be geuen vs might Aboue al other creature That he made here for to dure And for that likenes so know we All thynges that in erthe be We can labour worke and wynne And we knowe almes fro synne All creatures maye we take And our seruauntis of them make And al other thynges that ar nought Unto goddis lykenes wrought Haue no conynge ne myght therto To do thyngis that we do Ne commaunde vs they ne maye As we do them euery daye But thoughe we be of his lykenes We maye not neuertheles Be al so stronge and wyse as he For hys handworke all ar we He is maker of all thynge And we are of his makynge He is lord and we subiecte as a slaue And for the lykenes that we haue Yf that we do not yll Aungels nombre we shall fulfyll For other lykenes than his Were not worthy to that blys ¶ The .xxix. question ¶ Where becometh the blode all Of man whan he dye shall GOd made blode of water ryght And the body of erthe he dyght And as water in erthe synketh And the erthe the water drynketh For to mayntayne all thynge That waxeth and in erth sprynge Also mayntayneth trewly The blode that is in the body And whan the sowle departe shall The blode he bereth with hym all And whan the harte is fro hym sent The blode is into the water went And the body that is drye And rype may not longe lye That it ne drynketh the blode also As the erthe wyll the water do ¶ The .xxx. questyon ¶ Whan the fyre quenchyd is Whether becometh it tell me this OF the sonne the fyre is ryght Therof haueth he hete and lyght And he be quenchyd he shall go To the sonne there he came fro Thou seest the sonne that lyght maketh And hete also there it on taketh On nyght whan he fro vs is went All the hete that he to vs lent And thē lyght of hym also All dothe he take it hym vnto And ledeth with hym that he brought Fro hym departe ne maye it nought Also whan fyre is slaked here He withdraweth hym on the same manere Unto the nature for to go Of the sonne there he came fro ¶ The .xxxj. question ¶ Why dyeth not the body thore Whan he leseth halfe his blode more THoughe the blode be halfe aweye The body may not yet deye For the hete of the soule I wys That the blode by mayntayned is Departeth not so lyghtly And I shall tel the for why The lytell blode that there is lefte Maketh that the sowle fro hym is not refte For it maynteyneth the sowle styffely And the sowle the blode and the body The weke that in a candel is Whan it begynneth for to mys The fyre slaketh and is a waye Euynso it is here to saye Of the blode the weke I make And by the fyre the sowle I take Whan the blode awaye is all The sowle no lenger dwell shall But the blode comforteth hym so Except some other euyll it forthe do Dyeth he not so lyghtly But holdeth hym on lyue contynually ¶ The .xxxij. questyon ¶ Of what complexyon may it be The body and of what nature is he OF the nature of erth it is tolde And his complexyon is colde And than is he makyd yare Of the fowre elamentis that are Of the erthe is the flesshe And the blode of water nesshe Of ayre the sowle maked was And of fyre the hete he has Se thyn flesshe is of erthes kynde And blode of water as we fynde Bothe are they colde of kynde to fonde But sowle that is of goddis onde That ought to be clene and fayre And is hote of kynde of ayre That sowle abydeth in the blode And heteth it and doth it good And the blode heteth trewly All the lymmes of the body ¶ The .xxxiij. questyon ¶ Were sowles made at the fyrst for aye Or are they made yet euery daye ALl thyng that god thought to make al were at ons wroght That is to say at y e begynnyng That he befor sawe all thynge And one cōmaundmēt made he All that was and that shal be But I saye not that they were In the lykenes that they now are All thynges in hym ware enclosyd verely Untyll they come to theyr beyng apertly Than he shapyd theyr fygure Euerychon after theyr nature But he cōmaunded all to be At ones as we do se So at ones made he all thynge At his worde and his byddynge ¶ The xxxiiij questyon ¶ May they haue eny excusynge That of god know nothyng SUch as god knowe not here Nor hym to lerne wyll not endeuere At the daye of dome shall he Know them for none of his meyne And tho that byleue and wyll not do The werkes that belongeth them vnto That sympely them vnderstonde As symple men that are in londe Yf they dampned be therfore Turmentyd shuld they not be sore And they that haue good vnderstondyng Of god and do not his byddyng Fro payne they may them not defende But yf that they do here amende ¶ The .xxxv. questyon ¶ Shall aman ought els do But that god commaūdeth hym to GOd hathe kyndly made man To serue hym in all that he can And his commaundmēt to do And the deuyl to hate also And as we lordshyp wyl craue Of all thynges and theyr seruyce haue Euyn so wyll god on all wyse Aske and haue of vs seruyse And that we byleue on hym stedfastly And worshyp hym with our body And loue hym aboue all thynge For we are all of his makynge ¶ The .xxxvj. questyon ¶ How many worldes are of all And how do men them call THere are gostly worldes two And two bodely worldes also That one goostly heuen is There aungels are and all the blys And there the good generacyon Of Adam shall hereafter wone That other goostly than is hell There the deuyls in paynes dwell ¶ The two bodely is in our syght As sunne and mone daye and nyght And other thynges that we se That vs geueth claryte The tother trewly we can nat want The chefe thynge that we do enhaunte As the erthe that all thynge taketh And our wombe that nought forsaketh And fro the bodely that are Unto the goostly for to fare Whether it be lowe or hye Ne is it
in chyld getyng Shuld no man haue thought velany Amonge other of his company Nomore than now is velanye For to loke a man in the eye ¶ The CC.lx. questyon ¶ WhaÌ„ water hylled y e world euery dele Hyllyd it paradyse as wele THat flode in erth god sent also The most dele of the folke to fordo And for to wasshe the mekyl synne That the world that tyme was inne But in paradyse came it nought For there was no synne in wrought But one that adam the appul ate And the synne lay not in that It lay in the brekyng Of the precept of heuyn kynge And for the synne that he dyd thore Myght he therin dwele no more With al his synne was he out cast Unto this world here at the last And whan no synne was there aboute In paradyse whan he was out What wold the flode than do therin Whare was left no synne ¶ The CC.lxxj questyon ¶ Of what age made god adam Whan he in to this world came ADam god made and his fere At his licknes for they are to hiÌ„ dere And yong ryght as aungels wyse For the loue that he and his Shuld the ordres of aungels fulfyl That Lucyfer began to spyl But whan they mysded at the last And of paradyse ware out cast Theyr here began to wax and sprede And to theyr heles doune it yede And after theyr here on to se Them semed of thyrty yere to be ¶ The CC.lxij questyon ¶ Tho that at the dome shal dey And haue not serued to helle the wey Nore tyme of purgacyon so sone may be What shal come of them tel me THey that so long here lyue shal Untyl god the world deme al And them behouys on al wysse Unto the dome for to arysse And hath not seruyd here to dwele With wicked in the payne of helle Ne nought worthy so redely are In to heuyn for to fare Untyl theyr sowle clensed is Of that it here dyd amys God shal send them south to sey So sharpe a payne or they dey That shal clense them ouer all And for al the dayes stand them shal That they had be worthy to take In purgatory them clene to make Also in theyr vp takyng Shal come to them a sharpe clensyng And so shal they vp wende In to the blys with out ende ¶ The CC.lxiii questyon ¶ Whan soule come to the body also Whiche part gothe it in therto GOddys wyl may not mys What so he wyl anone it is But when god asoule shal make To a body that it shal take Of his myght he makys it al Within the body it haue shal As thou seyst vpon a tre Pere or appul whether it be Whan it to waxe shal begyn The carnel bredyth there with in And waxes in the frute holly So doth the sowle in the body ¶ The CC.lxiiij questyon ¶ Who named fyrst al thyng And teched them theyr conyng GOd whan he had made adam Gaue him strength beute wisdoÌ„ And he gaue vnto thynges al Names as men them call And he gaue man conyng also As behoued his lyfe vnto Of goddys grace and of his wyl And than be lefte they so al styl Fro the tyme that they begon to be Unto our seconde father Noe He newed and teched al thyng As adam dyd at the begynyng Our second father we hym cal For the dyluuy drouned al But Noe and his sonnes thre And theyr wyues of them came we Neuerthelesse Noe came Of the gendure of adam But that tyme no men had lyues But they foure and theyr wyues And or he dyed came of them two xxiiij thowsand and mo ¶ The CC.lxv questyon ¶ Whereof it be and wherfore That some men are lesse some more COmenly a mannys waxyng Is after the tyme of his beryng And somwhyle man more or lesse is After the vessel he lay in I wys He that is planet of that yere Whan a chyld is borne so here If he in tyme of the byrth be Of his sygne in the entre That chyld so shal be kyndly But lytel man of his body And yf he be the sygne amyde For the more man he shal be kydde And yf it in the endyng falle Than is he more than the other al And by cause y â— planets of more myght wore In the tyme here before Wherfore men than ware Of greattare myght than now are And euer more whyle the world shal stand The more shal al thynges be lesse and ¶ The CC.lxvj questyon ¶ Whether is perylousare to haue Hete or cold thy selfe to saue HEte and colde ouer mesure Are ful hote to endure If thou haue cold and clothles be Yet may thou somwyse helpe the For to styre and go fastly Or some wayes trauayle thy body Trauayle in keelth than is good It wyl sone enchafe thy blode And whan the blode in hete is brought Al the lymes eschafe for nought But yf thou haue an outrage hete It is euyl for to bete There may thou helpe thy selfe not so As thou in the cold may do The hete wyl gather more and more And greue aman al to sore But yf he eny drynke may fele Or with some other thyng hym kele Ful drye it wyl his body make And great euyl cause hym to take Wherfore than is more payne to haue Hete than keelth and surear to saue ¶ The CC.lxvij questyon ¶ Doth the chyld folowe naturally The wycked coÌ„dycyoÌ„s of his pareÌ„t truly THoughe father and mother wicked be And the chyld may lyue and the And do as he ought to do Toward god and man also It shal hym nothyng dere That his forgoars wicked were No more than it dereth where to grow Though a thefe or wicked man it sow And be his father neuer so good Ne his mother neuer so myld of mode And hym selfe be wicked truly Defyled with dedes wickedly It fareth as where that fyrst men brynne And after the erth sowes it in That shal neuer in erth spryng Ne frute shal it none forth bryng ¶ The CC.lxvi questyon ¶ Whether is bettar and lesse to spyl Aman to speke or hold hym styl SPeke and leue is both to do As aman sees tyme therto Thou may somtyme a word sey That may cause the for to dey Aâ—d somtyme may thou hold the styl That may turne the vnto yl Wherfore yf thou shalt speke eny whore Auyse the on it before Also wel as thou can That it be scath to no man And that thy wordes may a vayle Or els losys thou thy trauayle If thou eny word say shal For to pay thy frend with al And it be a gayne two or thre Unsayd were it bettar be A man shuld haue in many poyntes A cranes hals with many ioyntes That he not speke to rath Wherof shuld turne scath But that he may his word with cal Or it passe the ioyntes al ¶ The CC.lxvij questyon ¶ Whether ought wysar to be Yong man or old as thynkes the I Thynke it ware
¶ The history of kyng Boccus Sydracke how he confoundyd his lerned men and in y e syght of them dronke stronge venym in the name of the Trinite dyd hym no hurt Also his diuynyte y t he lerned of the boke of Noe. Also his profycyes that he had by reuelacyō of the aungell Also his answeris to the questions of wysdome both morall and natural wyth moche worldly wysdome contayned in noumber CCC lxv translatyd by Hugo of Caumpeden out of frenche into Englysshe Sidrack Kynge boccus ¶ Iohn̄ Twyne to the redar THe profyt and cōmodite of this boke o gentyl and curteys redar is so euydent open that it nedythe no settyng out nor praysyng for dowtful thynges comenly be praysyd or despraysed be cause trewe iugment may be takē of them but thynges of opē goodnes nede no praysyng for with theyr goodnes they prayse them selfe as thou shalt fynd this boke the whych to speke truly can not be suffycyently praysed I had leuer therfore as Salust sayth of Carthago hold my pese and to speke lytel of yt but shortly to knowe somwhat of his matters in effect he showeth of goddys workes ryght as the old new testament in many volumes declareth Also natural phylosophy expressyng the causes with euydent ensamples of moch moralyte in geuyng good counsel and a delect betwyx good and bade truly more euydēt than euer dyd Plato Arystotyles or Cicero ī theyr manyfold workes he shortly techeth moch knowlege of physyke the dyspocycyon of cōplexcyons the alteracyō of ages with moch secresy of the yere greatly of astronomy course of heuyn planets with theyr respectes breuely and playnly that that ypocras Galyen or Ptholomy comprehendyd in great or iuste volumes Also moch worldly experyence Abundaūt in prophesyes how the maners of mē shal alter and the world shal be ended with his iugment meruelus exhortyng the people to eschew the fylthynesse of synne what paynes are ordayned for yt and the ioyes of heuyn Than is this boke necessary to al men For it exhortyth to wysdome good maners ensamples hystoryis wherfore it may well be called a boke of philosofye that is to say a stody of wysdome Than I coūsayle euery mā to rede this boke or that cannot rede to geue dylygent eere to the reder for they shal fynde therī great frute bothe to the soule and body ¶ Here begynneth the table of this boke ¶ Fyrst the hystory of Boccus Sidracke how by the power of god he dystroyed his ydols and by the counsayle of the aungel shewed hym the vmbre of the trinite wherby he conuerted hym and all his host Than gaue he hym enstructions and answeryd to dyuers questions that he demaundyd of hym ¶ The questyons ¶ Yf god be euer and euer shal be The fyrst questyon Where may it be that god of heuen may be sene ii Yf god be ouer al and euery where iii. Whiche was the fyrst thynge that god made iiii The kyng asked whan aungel was wrought v. Wherfore serue the aungels that are in heuen vi Do deuyls know al rhynge and may do al thyng vii What shape are aungels and what can they do viii Dyd god make Adam with his owne hand ix In what place was Adam made x. Whether went Adam when he came out of paradise xi Dyd Adam any other syn than that he the appul ete and goddes commaundment brake xii What dyd Adam fro god take and howe shal he amendys make xiii Why was not Adam streyght loste when he had that synne wrought xiiii Why wold not god send an aungel or a man to amend Adā xv Why shal god be borne of a mayden she styll a mayden xvi Why is deth called dethe and how many dethes there be xvii Sendeth god man knowlege what deth he shal dye xviii Whan the soule from the body departeth howe goth it to other place xix Whether were the soule or body made fyrst xx Whiche speketh in man the soule or the body xxi The soule that is a goost hathe nother flesshe nor bone howe may it fele well or wo xxii Whiche is more lord the soule or the body xxiii In what place of the body hath the sowle his dwellyng xxiiii Why is the soule no lengar in the body than blode is left xxv How may it be that the people so dye xxvi How may man know that god made mā to his lykenes xxvii Seyng man is made of goddes lykenes why may he not do as god dyd xxviii Where becometh al the blode of man whan he dyeth xxix Where becometh the fyre whan it is quenchyd xxx Why dyethe not the body when he hathe loste halfe his blode or more xxxi Of what complexcion and nature is the body xxxii Ware sowles made at the fyrst or be they made euery day xxxiii May they haue any excusyng that of god know nothīg xxxiiii Shal a man do more than god cōmaundyth hym xxxv How many worldes be there how do mē them call xxxvi Dothe god greatly rewarde them that ryghtly hys seruys here do xxxvii The people that shall be at the commyng of hym and that shall be after shall they byleue in hym stedfastly xxxviii What cōmaundment shall goddes sone geue the people xxxix The blesfulest fayrest worthyest thyng what is it xl The fowlest and most perelous thyng to se which is it xli Shal the good sowles sorowe for the wicked xlii Which is bettar of helth or sycknesse to haue xliii What poure hath god geuen to sowle here xliiii Whan goddys sone is retorned to heuyn shall he leue eny gouerner here to rule the people xlv Goddys how 's who shal kepe it and haue it in holde xlvi He that doth no good but holdyth him styl doth he yl xlvii Lordshype shal it be more of rygour or pyte xlviii Shal aman do good to his kyn or frendes xlix Wherof comyth gentylhed .l. How may it be cold whan the wether is fayr and clere li. May aman by eny tokyn know the good from the yl lii The beleue of ydols shal it be aresed after my deeth liiii Why was it not goddys wyll that man lyued not a weke with one mele of mete liiii Dye the rych men as the pouer do lv Shal men iuge the rych as they do the pouer lvi May wecked men euer get goddys loue as the good haue lvii How may the child that ful of loue is come out of the mothers wombe lviii May eny woman bere mo chyldren at onys than one lix Which is the best thyng that may be or man may haue lx What is the worst thyng that man may haue lxi How may aman be leel and trew lxii Wherof comyth hardynesse and dred in man lxiii Wherof comyth meselry or scalle lxiiii Ware al thynges of goddys makyng made at the begynīg lxv Who noryssheth the trute in erth lxvi The beastes that haue no wyt how wax they ragyus and mad lxvii What beast leuyth longest in
Is a man in any synne to ete all that he may get c.lxxvi Shall a man geue gretynge to a man euery tyme of the daye whan he hym dothe mete c.lxxvii How shall a man order his chyldren that he do not afterward repent hym c.lxxviii Whether shal a man loue better his wyfe or chyldren c.lxxix If I had nother father nor mother howe shulde I haue bene borne c.lxxx The chylde that hathe the full shape in the mother how maye it not somtyme be brought forthe a lyue c.lxxxi Are all women in this world of one manere c.lxxxii If thy neyghboures wyfe or seruauntes mys vse theÌ„selfe shalt thou shewe thy neyghbour therof c.lxxxiii Shal aman hast hym to do that that he hath to do c.lxxxiiii Shall a man loue euery man c.lxxxv Are all the people of the world comyn after one c.lxxxvi Do men honour the ryche men in the other worlde and not the pouer at all c.lxxxvii Shall the father bere any burden for the sone or the sone for the father c.lxxxviii They that sle men take they froÌ„ them theyr synne also c.lxxxix Whiche is most sorow of that a man hereth or seythe c. lxxâ—x May ama fynd any that ete one another agayne kynd c. lxxxxi Which is worst of thes thre mourder thefte or slaÌ„der c. lxxxxii Forgeue god gladly al the synnes that maÌ„ doth here c. lxxxxiii Why labour men in this world as they do c. lxxxxiiii Whiche is the wickedest thyng that is c. lxxxxv The good werkes or wicked that men do whether come they of god or of hymselfe c. lxxxxvi Where hydeth the daye hym from the nyght and the nyght fro the day lyght c. lxxxxvii Who hold the planettes on the sky that they fall not c. lxxxxviii How may meÌ„ know the houres poiÌ„tes of day night c. lxxxxix Turne all the sterres about on the skye cc. Whiche is the holsomest place in all the worlde cc.i. Tell me whiche is the worthyest day in the yere cc.i. Why was slepe made and wherfore cc.ii. Shall there be euer warre and stryfe in this world cc.iii Wrathe not god for mannes dethe or his mysfortune what so euer it be cc.iiii Whiche are they that nowe most the world sustayneth cc.v Whiche is heygher the kyng or the law of the lande cc.vii May aman eny good haue here that he may with hym bere and greue hym nothyng cc.viii If two men loue together after be seperate whan they come together shall they loue as they dyd before .cc.ix. How may aman loue a woman or she hym for the syght .cc.x. A man that hathe lyght conscyence and swerethe falsly by his god for .x. false thiÌ„ges is he any more forsworne thaÌ„ ones cc.xi. They that haue knowlege to teche the folke shall they haue more grace than other men cc.xii The thought that aman thynketh wherof cometh it cc.xiii Why fall people of the fallyng euyl cc.xiiii Whiche is the pereloust lymme that aman hathe cc.xv. Whiche is the sureest arte of all and moste parayle may come of it cc.xvi How is a man iolyfe and lyght of body cc.xvii May aman not get a chylde as ofte as he knowethe his wyfe flesshely cc.xviii Wherof is the kynd of man and howe gatheryth it so whan it gothe hym fro cc.xix Is aman bound to loue his chyldren and do them good cc.xx. EnchauÌ„tmeÌ„t or socery vayle they ought or are they foly cc.xxi Whiche is the wyghtest beast most of sauour cc.xxii Whiche is hygher of land or see cc.xxiii Wherof come snayles and how doth they holde themselfe so to the gras cc.xxiiii Why slepe thes old men as thes yong men do cc.xxv Yf god had made so great a man as all the worlde myght he haue resystyd god cc.xxvi What shulde this worlde haue bene yf god had not dyght it as is nowe cc.xxvii Whether came auÌ„gel of goddes onde as dyd the soule of Adam or not cc.xxviii What thyng is heuenly paradyse cc.xxix Whiche is the fayrest thynge to loke on that god made in this worlde cc.xxx Whether arte thou bound to loue them more that loueth the or them that thou louest cc.xxxi Whiche are worthyest wordes erbes or stones cc.xxxii Shalt thou tel all thy counsayle to thy frynd cc.xxxiii Whiche women be tho that is moste profyte for men to do theyr delyght withal cc.xxxiiii Wherof comethe the trymbelyng or quakyng that a man hathe some tyme in his body cc.xxxv Whan a man seeth dothe the eye geue it outwarde or dothe it receyueth it inwarde cc.xxxvi How may a man by hymselfe say we cc.xxxvii Maye the see be demynysshed any thyng with takyng awaye any of the water cc.xxxviii Whether shall aman loue better the chylde that comethe of the syster or of the brother cc.xxxix Whiche are the most perelous thyngis in man cc.xl. Whiche is the holsomest flesshe that aman may ete cc.xli How doparteth the mete in a mannes body cc.xlii How shall a man do to get out aboue that stekethe faste in his throte cc.xliii The mucke that cometh of man how stynketh it so cc.xliiii Why is mannes vryne so salt cc.xlv Wherof brede wormes in man and how do they fede cc.xlvi Whiche craftes are tho that aman may worst forbere cc.xlvii Whiche shall in heuen haue more ioy chyldren that neuer dyd a mys or them that for goddes loue refrayned yll cc.xlviii How may aman ouercome the wyll of this world cc.xlix Tho that go to helle or paradyse may they coÌ„ agayne cc.xlix Why go not the good into erthly paradyse cc.l. Why go not the good in to erthly paradyse cc.l. Whether is sowle heuy or lyght great or smale darke or bryght cc.lii The good sowles that go froÌ„ the body whyther go they cc.liii May no man go to heuyn but he se purgatory cc.liiii Seyng god sendyth some to heuyn some to helle wherof shal than the dome be cc.lv Yong chyldren that haue no reson shal they be dampned tel me or no cc.lvi Is there eny how 's toune or cyte in the other world cc.lvii Shal the chyldren of hethen men be dampned cc.lviii If Adam had no synne don shuld the people that of hym came haue fede with flesshe as they do now cc.lix Dyd the flode droune paradyse cc.lx Of what age made god Adam cc.lxi Such as shal dey at the iugment and haue no tyme of purgacyon what shal become of them cc.lxii WhaÌ„ the sowle comyth to the body which part goith it iÌ„ cc.lxiii Who named fyrst althyng and taught them conyng cc.lxiiii Wherof is it that some are lesse and some more cc.xv. Which is more perylous of hete or cold cc.lxvi Shal the chyld folow the yl condycions of the father cclxvii Whych is best to speke or holde hym stylle cc.lxviii Which ought to be wysar of a yong man or old cc.lxix What thyng is delyte cc.lxx What maner of appuls dyd Adam ete cc.lxxi How lerne yong chyldren more than old men cc.lxxii Which is the delectabelest thyng vnder the
sonne cc.lxxiii Why was heer made on mannys body cc.lxxiiii How is it that some be borne doume and defe cc.lxxv Profyteth men the almes dedes that they do cc.lxxvi Synneth the iuge that iugeth or he that doth execute cc.lxxvii Tho that are fooles and doume borne and do yll shall they be dampned cc.lxxviii Kepe aungels mennes soules here cc.lxxix Howe maye aungel shewe hymselfe openly to men seynge he hathe no body cc.lxxx Do deuyls espye that that people dothe cc.lxxxi On what maner is the fyre of purgatary cc.lxxxii What thyng is helle and how come soules thether cc.lxxxiii Know soules any thyng that be in helle cc.lxxxiiii The good that be hens gone be they in parfite ioy cc.lxxxv May soules shewe themselfe to theyr good frendes euery tyme whan they wyll cc.lxxxvi Wherof come dremys cc.lxxxvii Was the frute in the trees whā they were fyrst made cc.lxxxviii What tyme and what day was Adam made cc.lxxxix Whan the flode was done made god new frute to mā cc.lxxxx Where set Noe shyp on land cc. lxxxxi Whā Noe cā out of the shyp cā he strāge to this world cc. lxxxxii Wherof cometh petye in a mannes herte cc. lxxxxiii Why haue not fowles nature in them to engendure as other beastes do cc. lxxxxiiii Shall men haue pytye of thos that be in wo and delyuer them yf they haue myght therto cc. lxxxxv Whiche is better to drynke wyne or water cc. lxxxxvi Whan man is in great wyll to fyght how may he refrayne him of that passyon cc. lxxxxvii Why haue wymen all the wo and the ioy also cc. lxxxxviii Why are chyldren at theyr byrth as vnconyng as beastes that haue no reson cc. lxxxxix Wherof comyth natural wyt in man ccc Wherof comyth the nesyng ccci Why dyeth the wynd for a showre of rayne ccc.ii Whiche is stronger wynd or water ccc.iii On what maner shall a man leue in this worlde ccc.iiii Shall a man whan he is in a good place chaunge to seke abetter ccc.v. Whiche is worthyer of ryche or pouer ccc.vi Whiche is more semely to man fayre face or fayre body ccc.vii Howe shall a man lede his lyfe that fyndethe aman with his wyfe ccc.viii Shall men for theyr losse blame god ccc.ix Whiche is the sauorest thyng that is ccc.x Of what maner of bounte ought kynges to be ccc.xi How cometh swete of a body wherof and why ccc.xii Whiche are the best colours for mannes weryng ccc.xiii Whiche is the grenest thyng that is ccc.xiiii Whiche is the fattest thyng that is ccc.xv Whiche is better to haue whan a man shal dye repentaunce or hope of ioye ccc.xvi Shall men be sory for them that dye ccc.xvii Came euer any from the other worlde that tolde tydynges of heuyn or helle ccc.xviii Shal a man say any thyng whan he go to bed ccc.xix Whiche is the strongest batayle that is ccc.xx How lyeth the chyldren in the mothers wombe ccc.xxi Why is some wyne whyte and some red ccc.xxii Haue foules or beastes any vnderstandyng ccc.xxiii Whiche helpethe the soule more that a man dothe before he dye or after his dethe ccc.xxiiii Slepe the fysshes euer or no. ccc.xxv Whiche is the fayrest fowle in the world ccc.xxvi Which is the fayrest beast that myght worst be myst ccc.xxvii Whiche are the fayrest horses that be ccc.xxviii Whiche be the beastes that haue most vnderstondyng ccc.xxix By what tokē may mē know that goddis sone is borne ccc.xxx What sygnyfyeth tho tokens ccc.xxx Shal he be a chyld more conyng then other ccc.xxxi Where shal he most dwell ccc.xxxii Shal goddes sone a fayre man be ccc.xxxiiii Why wold god dye ccc.xxxv Who shall hym kyl and how long shal he be ded ccc.xxxvi Shal he ascend without company ccc.xxxvii Shal goddes sone haue any house in erthe ccc.xxxviii Shal his body be euer dwellyng in erthe ccc.xxxix Shall euery man haue power to make his body ccc.xl They that haue myght to make his body shal they be more honoryd before god than other ccc.xli Why shall they euery day make it ccc.lxii What thyng is synne that men shal be lost by ccc.xliii By what sygne shal mē know that goddes son is ded ccc xliiii Of what vertu shall goddes sone be ccc.xlv Shall his dyscypyls do myracles ccc.xlvi Shal they neuer haue wo nor ende that go to heuen ccc.xlvii Shall they neuer haue rest that be in helle ccc.xlviii Shal they that be in heuyn be nakyd or clothed ccc.xlix Whan god shall come to iugement and deme bothe quycke and dede who shal be than alyue ccc.l Where shal be borne the antichryst ccc.li What day shall the iugment be on ccc.lii What tyme shall the dome be ccc.liii On what maner shal he come to the iugment ccc.liiii Shal his crosse be there present ccc.liiii How shall he showe hym selfe at the iugement ccc.lv Shall his mynysters be with hym at the iugement ccc.lvi How shall he do the iugement and what shall he saye ccc.lvii Shall any man knowe what he hathe done ccc.lviii What shal be done after the dome ccc.lix What shal be come of this worlde after the dome ccc.lx. Shall the good haue leue to do what they wyll ccc.lxi Shall they remember them of theyr wyckednes ccc.lxii FINIS MEn may fynde in olde bokys Who so the in lokys Actes worthy of memory Full of knowlege and mystery Wherof I shall shew a lytell ielle That be fell on s in the Eest Ther was a kynge that Boccus hyght And was a man of moche myght His lande lay by the greate ynde Bectorye hyght it as we fynde After the tyme of Noe euen Eyght hundred yere fourty and seuen The kynge Boccus hym be thought That he wolde haue a cytye wrought His enmyes ther with to fere ¶ And agayn them to mayntayne his were Chefly for a kynge that was his foo That moche of ynde longed vnto His name was Garaab the kynge Boccus tho purueyed all thynge And shortly a towre began he There he wolde make a optye And was ryght in the incomynge Of Garabys lande the kynge The masons with grete laboure Began to worke on the towre And all that they wrought on the daye On nyght was it doone a waye On morowe whan Boccus it herde He was wrouthe that it so fared And it all newe quykly begonne At nyght whan they shulde leue sone Of werke and they wente to rest On the morowe all was downe kest Well vij monethes thus they wrought And all myght a vayle nought ¶ Boccus was wrothe wonderly He called his gentylls that was hym by Cownsell me lordynges quod he How I may best make this cytye Syr they sayd sende you anone For your phylosophers euerychone And y e astronomers that in your countre is For of them can you no cownsell mys Kynge Boccus for them sent His messyngers to gather them went And whan they apperyd to gyther there Foure score and .ix. maysters there were The kynge receyuyd them with the best And thre
but a twynkelyng of an eye ¶ The .xxxvij. questyon ¶ Is god of great yeldyng to tho That ryght in his seruyce here go IN al the worlde ne is no man That maye thynke ne tell can The good the honour in many wyse That god gyueth man for his seruyse That in hym ttusteth and in his myght And his coÌ„maundment doth aryght And short coÌ„maundment ordenyd hath he Do good and lete euyl be His sonne shall he send here doune To dye for mannys saluacyon And tho that his seruyse haue in mynde In his blys they shall it fynde For he shall them worshype more Than eny aungel that is thore ¶ The .xxxviij. questyon ¶ The people that in y t tyme shal be Of goddys sonne whan come is he ¶ And after shall they comenly Beleue in hym stedfastly ALl shall they in hym theyr trewth ley His own folke that is to sey But all shall they gatherede be Of dyuers spech and sondre countre But they shall not euerychon Haue coÌ„maundment after one Thâ— coÌ„maundment as men shall se Of goddys sonne shall truly one be After hym his mynisters twelue Shall coÌ„maund that selue But they that come after tho That in stede of mynisters shall go They shall well beholde and fynde The feblenes of mannes kynde And lyghter commaundment for that skyl Shall they make the folke vntyl And eche nacyon shall wene that he Be better than any other be But of them shal be at the fyne As it dothe by a great gardyne Where in many trees standeth And eche of them frewte bereth The tre that best frewte berys Be they appulles or be they peres The plentuousest of berynge And of best sauour in etynge That tre shall the gardynere Most loue and serue in tyme of yere Aâ—so they that shall best byleue In goddes sone and theyr harte hym geue And best shall here in erthe do Whan tyme cometh there vnto They shall most worshypped be In heuen before the Trinite A myrrour that they shall beholde and se Full of ioy that of no tong may expressed be ¶ The .xxxix. question ¶ What coÌ„maundment by thy leue Shall goddes sone his folke geue IT shal be loue and abstynence And charyte and pacyence And that no man other do Than he wolde were done hym to God hymselfe for mannes loue Shall sende his sone from aboue And shall fele here abstynence And sufferaunce and pacyence And bytter deth at the last His folke out of payne to cast And who so beholde these fowre thynges All goodnes out of them sprynges For he that good loue hathe in god Loue in hymselfe is not all odde And he that hathe abstynence And charyte and pacyence And haueth the loue of god with all No doute he shall haue the lyfe eternall ¶ The .xl. questyon ¶ The blesfulest thynge after thy wyt And dygniest and fayrest whiche is it A Sowle that is good of man Of all thynges that I tell can Is the fayrest thynge that maye be For bryghter than the sonne is he And a worthyer thynge is there nought Of all that god in erthe hath wrought For of goddes owne onde it came Whan god blewe on Adam Therfore are aungels set therto To kepe it in all that they maye do ¶ Also the blysfullest it is For it is ordayned to that blys There neuer ende shal be Of ioye and blysse and game and gle And god gaue coÌ„maundement to al thynge For to serue man his blyssynge Than is mannes sowle blysfulest tho And worthyest and fayrest also ¶ The .xlj questyon ¶ The fowlest y e ê‘elousest thynge to se And most wyckedest which may that be Wycked sowle of man I wysse Is the fowlest thyng that is So harde harted man is none And he a wycked sowle sawe one In the ryght lykenes of it That he ne shulde lese his wyt Also it is perelouse For it gothe to a velayne howse There parell is and moche wo Where it neuer shall come fro The most cursyd is it aye For goddes sone on domes daye Before all his aungels thore Shal curse it for euermore And of the payne that it shall to Aungels and Archangels also Shall haue bothe ioye and blysse For that it had done amys ¶ The .xlij. questyon ¶ The good sowles shal they ought For y e wyckyd sorow or take thought GOod men whan the wyckyd spyl Shalbe al of goddys wyl And whaÌ„ they y e dome haue sene Of them y t agayn god hath bene They shal be demt froÌ„ goddis face Which shulbe al theyr solace For the dome shal be ryghtwyse That god shal gyue his enemyes And whan they are in al theyr paynes A monge the other hell hownes The good sowles shal glade be Them in theyr paynes on to se As we haue game to beholde Fysshe swyme in the water colde ¶ The .xliij. questyon ¶ Whether is better so god y e saue Helth or syknes for to haue HElth of sowle is good to wynne To kepe it out of dedly synne For whan it is hole and fayre Of heuyn blys it shal be heyre And his dwellyng with god shal be For his laboure and dylygence If thou haddyst now a knyght That ware strong and stowt in fyght And ware hold bolde and hardy Hym thou woldyst holde the by And thou shuldyst in to fyght And ware he syke and of no myght No where woldyst thou with hym yede Wher thou shuldyst stonde in drede Lyke maner it is of sowles hele God wyl not with that sowle dele That feble is by the syknes of synne But he wyl therof blynne Ageyne the helth of the body To agood man saye I sykerly Is better hole than syke to be For in goodnes his helth vsyth he And they that lyue in synne and wo Sycknes is best for them tho Which for the payne of theyr sycknesse Shal they synne yet the lesse And withdrawe them therfro That in helth shuld not so do ¶ The .xliiij. questyon ¶ What poure is it y t wold I lere That god hath gyuen to sowle here GOd hath geuen sowle vnto Akyngdome for to rule also That yf he kepe it aryght His kynges sete shal be dyght Before god in heuen blys And god shal saye to hym this Come my dere sone to me The kyngdome that I behyght the Thou hast it so kepte in all thynge That thou art worthy to be a kyng Therfore shalte thou crowned be Before my fathers maieste The sowle for the kyng take I And for the kyngdome the body And the commaundment of eche good kyng In his land shuld be done aboue all thynge Therfore what so the sowle wyll The body shuld it do with skyll And but the body do also As the sowle counsaylethe hym to Bothe together they shuld be cast In fyre of hell at the last ¶ The .xlv questyon ¶ When goddes sone to y e erth is sent And agayne to heuen is went Shall he any gouernour leue here In this world the folke to
ware vnleel and stout The great flode scapyd Noe By the goodnesse of humilyte That hym made of nought also And at his wyl them shal for do Trustyng stedfastly that he Was euer and without end shal be And kepe wel the commaundment That his sonne whan he doune is sent Shal in erth gyue man vnto Towarde god and man also To do good and wyckydnes let be And couetys and enuy fle And take vnto hym pacyence With charyte and abstynence For who so hath thes thre I wys aleel man is he And after for his humilyte In heuyn may he crowned be With aungels before god of myght Wher euer is day with out nyght ¶ The .lxiij questyon ¶ Hardynes of man and drede Wherof come they I the rede BOldnes and drede of man Wherof they come tel I can They come of the complexcyon And I shal tel the areson Thou knouest y t mē made ware Of y e foure elementes that are Saue that god gaue hym goost And after aman hath in hym most Of wete of dryeth hete or colde Shal his complexcyon betolde And thes foure euen be Raynynge in man than shal he Be neyther coward ne hardy Lysten I shal tel the why If kelth not ouercome the hete Nor the drye ouercome the wete Equalyte than of hete kylth wete and dry The herte of man shal than lye For the euynhode of them tho And styre neyther to ne fro And yf the hete the kelthe ouer go And the hete the kylth also The body begynneth for to shake And the herte to styre and quake And for the hete is hardy anon And dredyth not that he lokyth on If the colde be mayster ouer the hete And ouer the drye be the wete The body waxeth colde at nede And the hert weke and ful of drede ¶ The .lxiiij. questyon ¶ Wherof may it be fall Man to haue meselry or scall SCall and meselry also Of the woman come they tho A woman that is hote of kynde And aman her in her floures fynde The floures are both hote and drye And the man than by her lye And gete a chylde perauenture That chylde shal be of nature Other be scalled or mesel The nature it is so fell That it in the woman takes Of a blode that it all makys Menstruum that blode we call That bredyth meselry or scall Which raygnyng in woman It is but foly to come to man But aman shal knowe his wyfe In entent to get a lyfe To worshype god that hym wrought And whan she is with chylde brought He shulde come ny her no more Untyl the chylde ware bore Nor fourty dayes shulde nought Such precept to Noe y e aungel brought ¶ The .lxv. questyon ¶ Ware althynges of goddys makynge Made at the fyrst begynnynge GOd made of his myght althynge At his worde and byddynge But al the creatures that he forth brought At one tyme made he them nought For it ware agayne kynde by my thought A thynge that of matter is wrought But yf the matter ware before Or that thynge of it made wore For longe is stone or tre Or the how 's made be Also fynde I many thynges yet As wormes comyng of mannys swet As lees and other wormes mo And some of mannys flesshe also And of mannys flesshe them fede As wormes that in handes brede Scarbode is of fylt a neet A worme that is so gret Of howndes come howndflees to And wormes of wyckyd ayre also And yf thes thynges latter be Than that that they come of thynkes me That god at the begynnynge Made not at ones al thynge And al thynges he made I wys Unto the lest worme that is ¶ The .lxvj. questyon ¶ Tel me now after thy wyt The frute in erth who norysshys yt AL the frute that in erth growes And al that man therin sowes Al noryshys god of his myght And for that hath he them dyght The foure elamentes to fynde Eche one noryssheth in his kynd The erthe sustayneth whā he to hym taketh The ayre noryssheth and it maketh The water it fedeth and grene it maketh Of fyre here and waxyng it taketh These foure make rype euery frute Wherof men suffyse theyr apetyte Ryght as who shuld sethe mete Foure thynges behoueth hym to gete Fyre and water ayre and vessele Or els is it not sodden we le ¶ The .lxvij. questyon ¶ The bestes that haue no wyte How wax they ragyous tel me it GOd made ech beste as we fynde And gaue ech wyt after his kynde And ech kynd hath knoulegynge After his wyte of some thynge And that wyte may sone away In maner as I shal the say Aman may rekyn and fynde sone The .xxvii. daye of the mone In tyme of Iune ryght esterly A sterre hym sheweth on the skye And be it nyght or be it daye Yf a beast it beholde maye Or the vmbre in water on nyght It shal waxe ragyous anone ryght And yf it man or beast than byte It shal become rageous streyte ¶ The .lxviii. questyon ¶ What beast is it that ye fynde That lengest leueth in his kynde AN Erne leueth longest as I trowe Of all the beastes that I knowe The erne euery daye wyl flye In to the ayre vp so hye Hygher than any man maye se And fresshe and newe becometh he And in longe lyfe he contynueth That so oft hym selfe renueth The adder also hath longe lyfe And vnder erth he dwellyth ryfe And vnder stonys and in brynkes The kelyth of the erth drynkys His hyde he newyth euery yere And becomyth yonge and fayre Be he not slayned with beast or man A thowsand yere wel lyue he can And whan a thowsand yere is gon Horne his hede growyth on And shortly after begynneth he A fayr dragon for to be But al they fare not so Some dye or they come therto And some are slayned here and there Or els al to fell they were ¶ The .lxix. questyon ¶ Fedyth god al thynge That is in erth of his makynge GOd made althyng good And to al he sendyth lyues fode Frute on erth and flesshe on lande And fysshe in water and on sande To mannys fode is ordenyd all And therby he lyue shall Beastes so are fed also Of that the erth comyth fro Fowles some in erth are fed And some in water theyr lyfe is led The fyssh lyueth by his mete And ech of them wyl other ete The worme in erth is fede also And thys sendyth god them vnto Unto al that he hath lyfe lent He hath mete to them sent ¶ The .lxx. questyon ¶ Fysshe fowle and beastes echone Haue they sowles or haue they none Ryghtly sowles for to sey Is such that it may neuer dey For yf the body do wel here The sowle shal be assocyat to aungel clere And that is callyd sowle of skyl That god gaue only man vntyl Wherfor euery other creature Is vnder man by ryght nature And for that shuld he Ouer al beastes mayster be Haue sowle that most
wysdom can Or els ware beast lyke to man Beastes and foules and fysshes al Haue no sowl ryghtly to cal If thou say as some men do Al that lyueth hath sowle ther to Trough which sowl the body sterys Etyth drynketh seyth and herys It is no sowle it is but an onde That god hath lent thē here we haue fonde For no good ne can they do But that man them noryssheth to Than haue they wyt of mannys techynge But of them selfe haue they nothynge If wyt of them selfe wore Theyr sowle ware of myght the more But theyr sowle that I a yeanyng cal Whan the body ded shal fall It faryth as an onde of thy mouth Whan it is gon no man it couth But vanysshys in the ayre awaye And no lengar ne dure may ¶ The .lxxj. questyon ¶ They y t in tyme of goddis sonne be Shal they lyue as longe as we OF body such as now are we But so great shal they not be And we are now of lengar lyfe Than shal be than man or wyfe For the world is now stalworthyare Than shal be than and myghtyare And the erth gyueth vs to More frute than it shal them do And the plenty that the erth yeldys Both in woddes and in feldys Is now of moch more myght Than it shal be than with ryght And the wyne is strongar now Than shal be than and to more prow Wherfore ought we by ryght nature Haue lengar lyfe and lengar to endure Than they that in thos dayes are And febleare so forth shal they fare For he that may than the people amonge Lyue a C. yere he lyueth longe And euer shal men dounwarde go Of lyfe and of strength also But in wyt wax they shal And in malyce with all And of theyr bodyes lessen shal Twyxen this and domys day ¶ The .lxxij. questyon ¶ Tel me now some ensure How longe this world shal endure NO man in erth may veryly The preuyte know of goddys secresy It is so great that wyte it ne can Nother beast aungel ne man Ne no thyng but it be he That with god be full preue And that he loueth alther most As his sone or the holy gost For they with hym are all one In godhed or els wote it none For euery erthely man wyl nought Tel to euery man his thought Ne his wyl in preuyte But yf he preuy with hym be Also reserueth god hym to Many thynges that he wyl do That he wyl of no kowlegynge Geue to man ne to nothynge But to his owne sone onely For he is next and most hym by And that tyme that goddes sone Shal in erthe a man here wone Men shal hym aske yf the worlde here Shal endure seuen thousand yere And anone answere he shall And saye ye and more withall For of the fathers preuyte Of the more shal none the wyser be We fynde wele that god of heuen Hath made planettes seuen The world to kepe by daye and nyght And to eueryone geueth that is his myght And euery one is assyngned to A thousand yere to kepe also And whan euery one haueth on this wyse A thousand yere done his seruyse Than shal euer god fulfyll The world longer at his wyll For as al planettes gouernours be Euenso gouerneth them he And for he is aboue all Wote none but he what shal befall ¶ The .lxxiij. questyon ¶ Leue ony men in the world mo Out of the erthe that we on go Syr yles are many in the see A thousand fourehōdred two ther be Some are inhabyted men withall And some not nor neuer shall There are some that men in dwell Of our lykenes euery dell And of hyth but hanfulls thre And berdes hangyng to theyr kne Theyr here downe to theyr helys is Of flesshe they fede both of goose and gryce Theyr beastes are small euerychone A speche they haue by them alone ¶ A nother yle is by the see And therin are smal meyne A spanne longe are they and nomore And all of fysshe lyue they thore In the water are they be lyght And vp on londe they are on nyght ¶ Yet there other yles be With men al so great as we With one eye in the front no more And vs with two they drede ful sore They ete flesshe and with the fellys Clothe they them and with nothynge ellys ¶ Yet there is a nother also The folke that longeth therto Are tayled ryght as shepe eche one And then lyue by fysshe alone ¶ Yet is there one of oure shapnesse But they are moche lesse And they are euer in fyght and were Agayne a great maner of fowle is there In colde wynter tho fowles great Take they and hold them for theyr mete ¶ A nother is there yet nere hand There is a maner foule dweland Thoughe they were in fyre brought Brenne ne shuld theyr fethers nought ¶ A nother folke is there feyre and sounde That haue vysage lyke a hounde ¶ Yet is there folke in a countre And feble and lene they be On sonne and on the mone they byleue And sacryfyce to them they geue But when they wyl sacrifyce make Sum wyl his best frendis take And praye hym company hym bere At the sacrifyce he shal do there Than shal he cause to be made a fyre And when it brenneth ful shyere Than shal he crye that al may here For loue of the sonne so dere Or the mone whether it be Or an ymage made of tre Lepe I in this fyre al hote For my meryte wel I wote Thus hym selfe there he brenneth And the deuyl his soule wynneth And tho that bere hym company Anone shal do the same foly The tother folke aboute bydene Syt tyl they be brenned ful clene And than shal they theyr asshes take And relykes shal they therof make ¶ Another lande there is also That sacryfyce the deuyl vnto Of theyr bodyes and are ful blythe They cause to be made a sharpe sythe In lykenes of a hors sho And that shal haue haftes two By the heere than shall he hanged be Hye on lofte that men may se The sythe in his necke shal men laye The haftes in his handes twey And he shal crye as a man in a rage For the loue of his ymage That is my god this shal I do And kerue his owne necke in two The hede hangeth styll on hye The body falleth hastely That body shal be with honoure takyn And done out all that is therin And salted as they wyl it haue And by that ymage do it graue Upon the graue shal wryten be His owne name and howe that he Made to that ymage sacryfyce And on what daye and in what wyse ¶ Another maner is there yet Of folke that are of lytell wyt Whan they sacrafyce shuld make A hye tree they do take And do styke it in a place With many about makyng solas And aboute that same tre Foure swerdis naked shal set be The poyntes vpward
euerychone Than shal he betaken anone He that sacryfyce shall do Be bounden fote and hand also And vp drawen shal he be Into the ouermost ende of the tre Ther shal he crye the folke vnto In the worshype of god this I do They slake the rope they hym with drow And he fallyth sharpe I now Upon the swerdes he doth lyght And goyth to the deuyl ryght Than shal men that body take And a fayr stede for it make Two dayes and that whyl shal be A crye made in al the cowntre That such a man made sacryfyce And yf eny are so wyse To come and aske eny bone Hast them and come thyther sone Or he to his graue be brought For of theyr bone want shal they nought Than come some vnto that stede And vnto hym make theyr bede And at theyr goddys fote shal he Afterward grauyn be ¶ Yet is there a countre ferthermore Whan a man is dede thore Yf he haue a wyfe then shal she All quycke by hym grauen be And also the man by the wyfe Yf she or he forlese theyr lyfe ¶ Another folke there is and that Wyll ete for deyntes hound and cat ¶ Another is when he wyfe shal wed He dare not with her go to bed The fyrst nyght but he causeth blythly Another gest to lye her by For it is peryl a says to lyfe To touch fyrst a weddyd wyfe ¶ Another maner ther is wel fedde But they wyl neuer wyfe wedde They say that one wyfe ne can Holde her euer to one man ¶ Yet is there one that men do call Lande femynne that men call All of wymen and no men For therin lyue no man can That passyth fyue yere of age Ouer fyue dayes ther to haue herytage But in foure sesons of the yere Men and they gathere ful nere Hauynge with them felowrede Lokyng after no syburrede Viij dayes fare they thus no mo Or the men depart them fro And yf any a chylde haue Be it so that it be a knawe They shal it kepe and norysshe wel Fyue yere but more no dele And than shal they dryue it sone To the lande there men in wone They labour and tyl theyr met to wyne And ouer them they haue a quene That cōmaundyth them as quene shuld do Holdyng them in peas and ro Countres are there many mo But longe it ware to tel of tho But of thes some shal mere At the comyng of the false prophyte But many shal there fyrst be lorne For a kynge that shal be borne That shal the world seke valyently And shal do wryt them as men fynde truly And many of thos shal he spyll And with other theyr landes fyll ¶ The .lxxiiij. questyon ¶ Why are some men blake in towne Some whyt and some browne IN thre maners it comyth to That a man is colouryd so One is through kynde As we in our bokys fynde For yf the man broune be And the woman as wel as he And yf they to gether haue engendrure It ought to be broune of nature If the one be broune the other whyt And they assemble with great delyt Who 's seed with most delyt festys Whan it in the chamber restys That seed shal the chyld be Lyckenyd most and shape of ble Another maner there yet is If a man be fedde amys And pourly lye and pourly go It makyth hym not colouryd so As he shuld be with ryght If he ware kept day and nyght The thyrd cause it is also The land and the ayre therto For euer the hoter the londe is The browner is the folke Iwys The colder lande the whyter aye For theyr skyn is not brent al day ¶ The .lxxv. questyon ¶ Tell me nowe per company Wherof cometh felony Wycked humours make malēcolye And that engendereth felonye The wicked humours kīdel smert And gloweth sō whyle about the hert And chafeth it as a fyre And maketh it derke and blacke for Ire And that darkenes answereth than Up into the brayne panne And whan the braynes are derked so Great dele of wyt they for go And smyte anone in felony And that maketh the hart so drye But whan that the humours sease And of theyr glowyng do release The herte resteth and styll lyeth And the derkenes fro hym wendeth The lymmes lyghten euerychone And in good poynt becometh anone ¶ The .lxxvi. questyon The beastes y t god ī erth hath wrought Of one hewe why are they nought FOr they of goddes lykenes not be Dyuers colours haue they perde And by cause they on the ground frete Dyuers herbes to theyr mete Some are colde and some are hote And some are drye and some are wete And yf a beast whan it great is Gothe etynge on the gras That most is hote and drye also The yonge shal blacke hewe come vnto And yf the most parte be hote Redde shal that yonge be god it wote And be they moyst it shal be graye And be they colde whyte for aye And yf that a beast fynde In one place erbes of sondry kynde And she fede her of them all Of dyuers hew the yonge shal fall And after that she most of eteth Most of that hew the yong geteth And of all beastes fareth it so Wylde and tame where so it go And al hath god dyght this thyng At his wyl and his ordaynyng ¶ The .lxxvij. questyon ¶ They y t ete or drynke more thā nede is Whether do they wel or amys HE that eteth more than he shuld And more than his kynd wold He doth harme his body vnto And some vnto his soule also And dystruccyon of mete doth he That other withall myght fed be A gayne god such aman is Wors than a beast I wys God ordayned man to fede After that his kynd hath nede And the remnaunt to saue Untyl after he nede haue And a man that is wyse Shal ete onys a day or twyse A man that etyth at meel Untyl hym thynkyth that he is wel And layth efte aboue more Or that be dygestyd before His stomacke encombres he And the hete that therin shuld be And so his kynde he bryngyth doune And hym selfe to corrupcyon And his wyt in that is lesse Than a beast that etyth gresse For there is nether hors ne kowe From that he hath etyn I nowe That wyl ete eny more Tyl after he hongar sore And seyng a brute beast doth yt More shuld a man that hath wyt Wherfore I say a mys they do That ete more than nede is to ¶ The .lxxviij. questyon ¶ Which is the best thyng of y e man And y e worst that thou reckyn can THe best thyng of the man I wys And the worst the tonge it is For by his tonge a man may get Syluer and golde drynke and mete Loue worshype and fauoure And enhauntynge of honoure Also for the tonge he may Haue shame and bylony alday For such wordes may he say That perauenture may cause hym to dey The tonge hath nother
Therfore it is good to many one To let the flewmes out of hym gone For aman may be slaynyd therby Or make great scabbe on his body ¶ The .lxxxv. questyon ¶ Shal a man awoman chastyse With betyng whan she doth amyse GOod wymen to dele with al Theyr mysdedys shal be but smal And yf she haue ought mysgon She repentys her anon Shonysshyng her mysdede Men shal than her chastyse and lede With fayr wordes and soft And shal noman morne her oft Whan a wickyd woman hath myswrought And shonysys it ryght nought But doth vse it al tyte And hath therin great delyte If man her blame that she dyd so Another tyme shal she wors do If men them vpbrede or bete The lesse she shal her folye lete Men shal her warne twyes or thryes With fayrewordes yf he be wyes And with gyfte and fayre hetyng Wyl not leue that thynge Man shal her let and fro her go For it helpyth man no nother to do Unto woman that wyckyd wyl be For of the deuyls wyl is she And the deuyl her dwellyth in That causyth that she cannot blyn Wherfore there is no better wone But let the deuyl and her alone ¶ The .lxxxvj. questyon ¶ What thyng is gelousy to knowe And why is man in gelousy so OF gelousy are maners mo For to tel of than one or two One gelousy of god it is Whan aman heryth spekyng amys Agayne god or agayne his lay As herytykes do al day There shuld aman be ryght gelous And to his lawe ware defyrus Yet shal aman gelous be Ouer his frende yf eny haue he And that gelouse is coÌ„maundment Of clene hert and louyng entent Yet is there a gelousye That comyth of fowle hert and folye And of wyckyd humours also That the hert gatherys vnto That gelousy comyth of woman suerly Enhauntyng them wyckydly The hert brennys of wyckyd thought Rest in the body may it nought Mete and drynke he forgettyth al quyte With al his ioy and his delyte If aman be in such a stryfe For her that is his owne wyfe Out of his thought he shal it late And thynke that it may hym not bate His borden from his backe he thro And cast it vnto grownd lowe And thynke yf she good wolde be Shuld non her kepe so wel as she And thynke tyll he faryth so He sekyth after sorow and wo And yf he loue one wodly That not is his owne properdly He trauaylys in gelousye Of brennyng hert and great folye In angwysshe great lyue he sha And his tyme losyth al He is lyke that man I wys That nyght and daye fyghtyng is Agayne the wynd it for to take His owne at his wyl to make And euer the lengar he doth so The forther is the wynde hym fro ¶ The .lxxxvij. questyon ¶ Shal aman loue his frende And opyn to hym al his mende HIs good frende aman loue shal With good hert and clene with al After his myght and with hym dele And of his charge bere somdele For yf he ryght good frende be No goodnes forgetyth he But of dyuers maners are they al Many that men frendes call Some ther are that wel can shake And aman fayre semblant make Sayeng that he is his frende Untyl he knowe ought of his mende He proferys hym his wyl to do But there is no trust ther to What he doth he rekenyth not nor hew But that it be his owne prow For dyd he ought agayne hym He shuld fynde hym fell and grym And he loueth me lyghtly inbate That for a lytel wyl me hate He that loueth me for myne And not for me that is venyme But he is frende to mannys behoue To trust in and to loue That nought assentyth to the wyl Of hys frend that may turne to yll And seruyth not glosyngly But chastyse hym of his foly And though he apertly hym mysdo He ne says hym no word vnto In that frend shal man haue fyaunce And loue hym and hym auaunce ¶ The .lxxxviij. questyon ¶ May aman his profyt do And no trauayl haue therto SIthen adaÌ„ ete through wyckyd rede The appul that god forbede Fro that tyme vnto nowe Myght neuer adam do his prowe Ware he neuer so myghty Without trauayl of his body The worlde that men on affye Is but vanyte and folye Therfore it behoueth pouer to trauel smere And ryche men in theyr hert As to thynke how they shal saue And multyplye that they haue And also thynke on heuyn kynge To make hym selfe a good endynge Better it is before to trauel hard So that the proue come afterward Than of trauayl here to slake And fowle endyng after to make For without some trauayl May no man in the world auayl ¶ The .lxxxix. questyon ¶ Shal men do good almes dede Unto pouer that haue nede DO good men shal to a pouer man That hym selfe helpe ne can And what befall ne rekyn shal But for goddys loue do all Unto the rych is lent rychesse To helpe the pouer that hath dystresse He shal thynke that pouer borne be Of adam and Eue as wel as he And to his lycknes are wrought And that he hath his ryches nought Of hym selfe but of goddys loue His body to kepe only But his sowle with al to tyle And thynke that after a whyle He shal dye and go hens somwhere And nothynge shal he with hym bere But as he came so shal he fare Both pouer nakyd and bare Therfore shal he pouer gyue vnto Gladly departyng therwith also For that he geuyth that shal he fynde And that he leuyth hym behynde Is the worldys and not his Whreof he shal haue lytel blys ¶ Tâ—e lxxxx questyon ¶ How shal aman hym order me say That is among the folke alday A Man shal hym contayne wysely Among men and curteslye And with fayre semblant euery whore Spekyng at mesure and nomore And here other speke whan they begynne Thoughe he haue no delyt therin For it is great curtesye To cast vnto hym his eye That he spekyth holde with al And to his wordes lysten he shal Yet shal he kepe hym euery a tyde With out bost and also pryde Thoughe he more rycher were Than eny other that are there For euer the myghtyare he be The better behauyour of shuld be he For to be curtys and meke If he wyl honoure seke And yf he shal speke eny whore He shal hym bethynke before And cast than in his hert ryght wel Or that he speke eny dele And whan that he shal tel his wyl Gyue bold and fayre semblaunt there tyl And be abasshed of nothynge Whyl he is in tellynge Aman that shal a reason show A baysshyng as he doth it out throw His knowlege is then lost among For they wyl say that he sayth wrong Be he among foles brought There his wysdome helpyth nought Wherfore he hym contayne Untyl he be among wysmen agayne As foly among wysmen is wyke Wysdome among folys
But euer the more he may wyn The more care is he in Wherfore it is good in trauayl stronge Thoughe a man wyn to rest among ¶ The C.vij questyon ¶ On what maner may it ryse That men wax soles and vnwyse ON many maners cometh it to That men foles wax also Some are symple as foles borne Some by euyl theyr wyttes haue lorne And some by lesyng of theyr blode Some for theyr braynes wax al wode Some of wickyd humours begyn And some for the hete that they haue be in Some by cause theyr hert is of feble myght And some for euyl syght on nyght And some that wake ouer fast That dryeth the braynes at the last And many maners are there mo That workes vnto man great wo ¶ The C.viij questyon ¶ Is the sowle or the body wo Whan one shal depart another fro FOr soth it greuyth them fulsore And ful mornyng are therefore Felyng great angâ—ysshe and wo Whan that one partyth the other fro And yf it at theyr wyl wore They depart wold neuer more If a yong man toke awyfe That he louyd as his lyfe And she hym more than althynge Who so betwyx them made departynge Departyng them agayne theyr wyl That shuld plese them both ful yll So is it betwyx the sowle and the body They are spoused to gether inwardly And so great loue together holde That they neuer depart wolde And yf they febely haue wrought Sythen they together ware brought Than chely is the sorow al Whan that they depart shal For the body rottyh awaye The sowle goyth to payne for aye Than it is no wonder that they be wroth And dredyng of thyr departyng both ¶ The C.ix. questyon ¶ Whether shal men hold the more A old man or a yong man that wore UNto neyther shal men holde There both are for fooles tolde For yf the yong a foole is And he be instructed amys The hote nature wyl in hym glowe And humours as a lowe Which hetyth his hert and his blode And makyth hym iolyfe and wode And whyle that hete lasteth so A short rede shuld he assent to But an old fool yf there be one That hath lytel hete or none And he be tangeled with iolyte A ryght kynde fool is he For his tyme he had before And now wold haue one more And that iolynesse men in hym fynde Is of force and of no kynde And so is he ioylyfe amys For he sheweth more than in hym is As he that flesshe wold sethe kyndly With the claryte of the sonne verely But to such fooles olde Shal no wyseman hym holde ¶ The C.x. questyon ¶ Why raynys it in one yere more Than in a nother and wherfore SOmtyme that it raynyth so In one yere more than in a nother do Fyrst of goddys wyl I it fet And than of gouernal that he hath set As of mouyng a the planetys And of the sygnes that them metys After as they meue lowe or hye Make they the yeres were or drye And al comyth of goddys wyl Rayne it snewe it or be it styl ¶ The C.xi. questyon ¶ Why hath not god maÌ„ so wrought That he ne had synned nought IF god had man fyrst so dyght That he after ne synned myght Of meryt ware no man worthy For no goodnes of his body Al the meryt agayne shuld go Unto god there it came fro And of goddys blys no man worthy wore But he deseruyd it had before And ware man made on such manere That he myght no synne do here His goodnes of hym lefe ware nought But his that hym so hath wrought For of that that the behouyth nede Arte thou worthy to haue no mede But the man that of his wyl May do both good and yl And doth the good worthy he is For to come vnto that blys That god hath ordayned hym vnto And that the deuyl shuld also Shame hym that god had man ordayned To haue the blys that he of myscaryed By the werkes of his owne wyl The good to take and fle the yl ¶ The C.xii. questyon ¶ Is it good to haue entormetyng Agayne euery man of althyng AMan shal clyme on a tre That he thynketh esyest be The frute for to come vnto If he wyl his profyt do And he that on the sonne beme wyl clyme He may breke his necke some tyme For he that clymeth ouer hye May happe somtyme to wrye Euyn so it faryth with mannys demenar That entermetyth a boue his powar Late them that are rych and fers Entyrmet them with theyr pers And the pouer whare they fare With such other as they are But sometyme the pouer is pert perde To stryue with the rych in his pouerte But with the rych to entyrmet He may lose and nothyng gete And yf that it so befall That arych hym to cownsel call Entyrmete hym of no more Than that he is called fore Late rych with the rych man Do the best that they can And worke they good worke they yl Euer the pouer hold hym styl With his lyke about he go And entyrmete hym as with the Whare he shal haue drede none To hurte his hede agayne astone ¶ The C.xiii. questyon ¶ Tel me now for what sake That god wold y t world make GOd made y e world as was his wyl The palays of heuyn to fulfyl Of the which aungels fel out before For the pryde they in wore And for that the trynyte Was not worshypped as it shuld be Than made he man that blysse to wyn That aungel had lost by synne But al tho that here are wrought Shal not to that blys be brought None but tho that are worthy For the good dedes of theyr body ¶ The C.xiiii questyon ¶ How was the world made as it is And how holdys it tel me this WHan aungel had don amys And was fal out of blys God coÌ„maunded there vnto Be made the world it was so Fyre ayre theÌ„ hyest drew truly For they ware lyghtest sykerly Erth and water doune them drest And the water vpon the erth doth rest And al foure by and by Ware hangyng in the mydel of the sky And fastenyng haue they none But of goddys myght a lone God made the world of the lykenesse Of an egge more ny lesse Be the shelle take I shal The fyrmament that closyth al Be the whyte the water take I That is betwene the erth and the sky Be the yolke that is innermest Take I the erth that is lowest And whan the yolke is sodde harde Awhyt is in the mydwarde Wherby I take hel For it is fortherest from the shel And so is hel heuyn fro Ferrest put in sorow and wo And echone is as thou mayst se There god them ordayned fyrst to be ¶ The C.xv. questyon ¶ Is eny other folke than we That of the sonne hath the claryte Dyuers other the world are in And fer from vs they byn Under vs they are loo That theyr fete agayne
Openyng in the water hangyng so The rayne falleth from aboue And entres in them there they houe WhaÌ„ they haue receyued the rayne astound They close them and go to ground And at the ground lye they thore Wel a C. yere and more And they that are of that countre Whan they seke them in the see Theyr vysages to couar they begyn With netes blathers blowen thyn And in blacke sowe them also For the fysshe wyl fle them fro Than go they doune them to wyn And perlys fynde they them with in Whyte and rounde but neysshe they be But whan they come out of the see And the ayre haue them smyt vpon They become ryght hard anon But tho that are not in season Nor theyr tyme haue after they weÌ„te doune To be fulfylled by the ground They stynke as a pyllyd hownd The Carboncles come also Of cokyls as perles do But Carboncles of smal hayle fall And in fresshe water be they all They by the grounde wylbe Two hundred wynter wel or thre And they stynke and fare amys Whan theyr tyme not fulfylled is But al the rayne that doth fall Turne not to stones al The rayne that the fyrst day fallyth Of the mone in Ianuary that men callyth And the mone be in that sygne That vnto that thynge be dygne If that rayne in the cokyl go Perles shal come of tho And hayle that to fal is wone The eyght daye of the mone In feueryere and the mone be ryght In a sygne that Cancer hyght And the cokyls that hayle in take Carboncles therof they make But that rayne and hayle ech dele Fall ful seldome wyte you wel ¶ The C.xxxiiij questyon ¶ Of this world now tel me How many landes therein be LAnde but one is there none Who so al hole myght se there on But for departynge of the see That departyth them in thre Thre landes are that we call With out smale yles all But al are one lande to gethere fest And al vpon one grounde they rest And who so myght the lande be holde That no water let hym sholde Al hole and one he shulde it se And so made god it to be The water aboue in sonder it castys But vnder hole and fast it lastys ¶ The C.xxxv. questyon ¶ Myght eny man on drye lande wel Go y e world about euery dele IN erth no man myght go The world about to ne fro For he shuld fynde many lettynges And that of many thynges He shuld fynde wastenes ful great There nethere were drynke ne mere But wylde beastes many one Redy to tere hym as a bone Ware a hundreth men on one wrought And yf that ne let hym nought The open erth shuld lettynge be That swellyth and geuyth agayne the see And many lettynges other mo If he est and west wyl go And yf north and south go he Many other lettynges be For thre zones shal he fynde Where no man may lyue in one kynde One is hote and colde are two May no lyuyng thyng be in tho And goddys wyl it is also Shaâ— no man be myghty therto ¶ The C.xxxvj questyon ¶ Myght eny man sayle nyght day That had the wynde with hym ay ¶ So long y â— his shyppe came vnreÌ„t To the turnyng of the fyrmament A Man that in a shyppe wore Thoughe he sayled euer more Yet shuld he not come nere the sky And I shal tel the why The erth is rounde as a ball In the mydel and the sky ouer al Is alyke fer there fro And the water also Al about on the erth doth stande And thoughe a man toke vnderhande To sayle an hundred yere He shuld the sky be al so nere Whan that he from home went As whan his hundred yere ar spent ¶ The C.xxxvij questyon ¶ Why made not god man to be Ay yong ioylyfe and of pouste ¶ Rych and longe lyfe hym lent And at his deth to blys haue went HAd god made man on that manere As that thou tellyst here God as I thynke in my thought Had the deuyl great wrong wrought Which for a thought fel to hell And mo with hym than I can tel Shuld aman than be of longe lyfe Rych yonge and ioylyfe And haue here al his delyte And than fare to heuyn quyte Noman is worthy to come thore But yf he haue don wherfore God hath graunted vs vnto Be cause we shal here wel do Helth with out sycknesse Ioy and delyte and great rychesse And lyfe also without ende For the deth that men here to wende Than is it for to reken ryght No other but as a byâ—des flyght That flyeth here in yonder out And be a man neuer so stout Nor so yonge nor fayre to day To morow shal it al a way I wold not lyue a thowsand yere And al my delyte haue here And than vnto heuyn gon I had leuer be there a non For one delyte that is thore Is worth a thowsand here and more And therfore ware it moche scate Thether for to come so late ¶ The C.xxxviij questyon ¶ Whiche are the aungels tel me this That receyueth mannys soule to blys EChe man an aungel hath hym to To kepe hym that he not mys do And whan the soule at the ende Shal out fro the body wende And it vnto god be dere The aungel that was his kepare here Shal come with great melody And of aungels great company Receyuyng hym vnto mede And to ioye hym lede After the tyme that is to sey That goddys sonne shal dey But or he dey on the rode Al go to hel wycked and good But al alyke shal they nought Be payned but as they haue wrought And some shal be in fre pryson Tyl tyme of his passyon But whan the great dome shal be Men shal agre at wonder se Sowle and body to gether go And to gether fele ioye or wo And the sowle that to hel shal went The deuyl that hym holpe to shent Shal receyue hym and sey hym to Thou hast don as I bad the do Thou withstodyst not my wyl Nor my techyng vnto yl Wherfore shalt thou go with me Euer more in payne to be Thus shal they be receyuyd thycke Good with good and wicked with wicke ¶ The C.xxxix questyon ¶ I pray the mayster sey me now Which is better of the two ¶ Good werkes without chastyte Or werkes wickyd and chast to be GOod werkes wolde I chese Thoughe I chastyte forlese For be thou chast of thy body And thou worke wickydly What vertu than hast thou in the Percaas is than thy chastyte For sycknesse that thou may not dure Or for kelth of thy nature Or for age that thou may no more What meryt art thou worthy therfore And than for to go sle aman Or to robbe in wode or fen Or thy neyghbore to begyle sotelly Or his good to forlese falsly What is worth such chastyte Whan thou of othere hast no pyte But that vnchast lyfe ledys And
heuyn blys That nothyng here haue don amys ¶ The C.lxxxvij questyon ¶ Do men the rych honour ech one And vnto the pouer eyhgt none In the other world also As men here in this do ARych man more honour shal haue In other world than he can craue And the pouer more shame suffer Than eny man here and greatter The rych there shal honour fynde And the pouer set behynde But they haue no man there dere After as he was rych here Understand now yf thou can Al the ryches of the man Is the sowle that hym is in And yf it be clene out of synne It is noble and rych Hym shal aungels of make mych And worshyp do to hym truly For the goodnes that he is rych by The pouer sowle that synful is Shal nother haue honour ne blys The aungels turne theyr face therfro For it for pouert goyth to wo Worshyp gettyth it ryght none Ware it rych it had good wone But his ryches was al spent And from hym clenely it went Whan he goddys precept forsoke And to deedly synne hym toke Therfore after as his ryches wore Is he worthy to be honoured thore ¶ The C.lxxxviij questyon ¶ Shal the father bere eny bourthyn For his sonne or his sonne for hym THe father of the sonne shal bere No burthen that hym may dere Ne the sonne not charged is With that the father doth amys Ech man of his owne synne Is charged that he deyes in But for the sonne the father may Be charged oft and euery day As yf that the sonne mysdo And the father wote that it be so And chastyse hym not of his synne But sufferyth hym to be therin He synnes al so wel as he And for hym charged shal be The sonne for his dede doyng And the father for his sufferyng But the father is charged nought Of that that the sonne wrought But that he myght a hym corrected If he had to hym ought seyed But by sufferaunce ther is he in nede Charged for his sonnys mysdede ¶ The C.lxxxix questyon ¶ They that slee men and vndo Take they theyr synne them vnto NAy synne y t one man hath wrought May charge a nother nought No man with ryght may other slo For no mysdede ne for no wo But yf it by lordshyp be That of god hath the pouste Iustyce for to do the ryght Therto is hym geuen myght And yf aman for wrath or hate Sle another in the gate The synne of the ded chargys hym nought Hym that hym to ded brought But what he dyd euyl or wele Shal cleue by hymselfe euery dele Nought than may be of godys mercy That he that ys slayne wrongfully May of som synne releasyd be For the sharp dede that he Agaynst ryght was brought vnto And he that hym slew also Encresyth his synne where he goyth By also many as he sleyth For greatter synne nought tel I can Than wylfully to slee a man ¶ The C. lxxxx questyon ¶ Which is most sorow thynkyth the That thou heryst or doest se SIght of eye wyl more dere Than that a man here 's with ere For that a man sees with eye That may be no flatery For he sees al the dede doyng And al the sorowe of that thyng That moste go ryght nere the herte And doth it aldermost smert For olde men say and it is newes That eyne ne se herte ne rewes But that a man is told vnto He wottyth neuer yf it be so And though he trow he say aryght Yet deryth it nothyng the syght For the herte thynketh as it wold It is not perchaunce as it is tolde And thus conforteth he vyturly Al the wyttes of the body Syght of eye is bodely And heryng of ere is goostly Ryght as the wynde so is heryng That is herde and sene nothyng Wherfore more sorow is to se Than to here what so it be ¶ The C. lxxxxj questyon ¶ Myght men eny folke synde That etyth other agayne kynde HE that trauayles day and nyght To hurte his neyghbor with vnryght To lese his good that he wan With trauayle or craft that he can And that he shuld his lyfe with lede For to clothe hym with and to fede Me thynke he byteth hym very sore And eteth hym as that it wore Yet is there another manere Aman to ete another here Yf he a lesyng on hym lye Wherfore he hathe great vylonye Or sayth of hym euyl behynd his backe Or before men maketh of hym alacke He eteth hym without methe Thoughe he not byte hym with his tethe And he that sleeth aman also And hath no cause ther vnto Or for gyft that hym is hyght Forsothe he than hym eteth ryght And more maners theâ—e is of mete That aman may another ete ¶ The C. lxxxxij questyon ¶ Which is the worst thyng of thes thre Morder thefte or a slanderer to be TO be a slanderer is a wycked lyfe For he maketh ofte great stryfe He is aboute day and nyght To make debate vnto his myght And so may he by wickyd rede Be encheson a man to be deed Wherfore it is great folye To haue such one in company Theft also is great synne For he that wyl neuer blynne To stele his neyghbor fro That he hath byde for moch wo And so doth he agayne hym dryue In wo and trauayl to lyue Or to begge for euer more Loke what synne he doys thore But the most synne of al tho Is man to murdre and slo For he destroyeth that stature That god made after his fygure And reues lyfe ther it shuld be And goddys seruyse so lettyth he Mannys lycknes slo shal he nought Ne none but god that hym hath wrought ¶ The C. lxxxxiij questyon ¶ Forgeuyth god with good chere Al the synnes that a man doth here IF al the droppes in the see And grasses that in erth may he And al the leues men can neuen And al the sterres of heuen And al the fysshes that swyme can And al the heres of beast and man Ware al on one synne brought The tenthdele ne were they nought Of the mercy of god of heuen For that may no man sume ne reken Had aman done al the synne That al this world durst begyn And he had sorow in herte therfore And wold leue and do no more God wold on hym haue mercy And forgeue it hym redely Admyttyng hym among his meyne And of his turnyng glade be But he that leuyth not his synne Ne nought therof wyl blynne Nother mercy wyl craue He is worthy none to haue For who so askys vnworthely It may be denyed iustly ¶ The C. lxxxxiiij questyon ¶ Why trauaylys aman so In this world as men do FOr two thynges pryncypaly The one to susteyne the body The other that it strong be To serue god in Trynyte As in prayer and almesdede For tho wyl the sowle fede And to gather haue in mynde To leue his chyldren and
the erth about it bettar makys And than begynneth it to sprynge And take agayne to his lykynge So it faryth of frendes two If that one fro the other go And after to gether come agayne Eyther wylbe of other feyne And the loue they had before Or that they a sondre wore For new may they them betwene As the tree that eft waxed grene ¶ The CC.x. questyon ¶ How may amā loue woman ryght Or she hym for the syght SOmtyme fallyth aman to mete Afayre woman in the strete His eyen wyl he on her caste Beholdyng her ryght faste And the eyen a non present ryght Unto the braynes that same syght Braynes send the herte vnto And in delyte he fallyth also And as sone as he is in delyte He begynneth to loue tyte The brayne sendyth to the eye agayne That they of that syght are fayne Delytyng them to beholde more So that the herte therfore Fallyth in a fowle lykyng And so begynneth the loue to spryng But and the herte were of myght Stronge to hold hym in that syght And say lorde I thanke it the The syght that I yonder se That thou woldest after thy fygure Make so fayre a creature Temptacyon shuld he none be in Ne falle in no delyte of synne Ne his herte shuld haue no menyng Another tyme to such a thyng No more shuld woman on her syde If she dyd thanke god euery tyde ¶ The CC.xj. questyon ¶ Aman that lyght conscyence berys And by his god falsly swerys Of .x. false thynges for the nonys Is he ought for swore but onys HE that swerys an oth amys By his god what so he is For .x. false thynges al in one Soth as he swerys for ech one And yf ech of the .x. false be Tene tymes forsworne is he An hundreth thynges though it wore So ofte forsworne is he thore And who so assentys therto That he made that othe also Also ofte is he forsworne As he that made that oth beforne ¶ The CC.xij questyon ¶ Tho that any knowlege haue here The folke for to lere Shal eny grace come them vnto More than it shal other men to Ryght it is that euery man That trauayls in labour as he can That it be hym yeldyd so As his trauayle amountys to And he that trauayls here Ony good other to lere Or preches to them how they shal Heuynly blys wyn with al God shal them in heuyn saue And double mede shal they haue For that they haue techyd ryght The way vnto heuyn lyght But two maner of techers be In this world as thou mayst se Unto the sonne is lykened one That geuyth his lyght euer anon And euery lyke his lyght lastes For ought that he doune castes That are the good that teches here Doyng them selfe as they do lere But some are that tech wel And wickydly lyue them selfe euery dele Unto the candel lyght are tho That to other geuyth his lyght hym fro And wasteth hym selfe hastely He that is no grace worthy For yf aman were set to dele Tresour among feele And he myght pay them ech one wel And holde hym selfe a great dele If he dele so his delyng That hym selfe lefte nothyng Or yf ought hym left wicked ware It is but ryght he euyl fare Skyl it is that he fare yl That wyl chose it of hys wyl ¶ The CC.xiij questyon ¶ Thought y t a man thynkes alday Wherof euer come it may COmenly thought in herte wyl spryng Of clere herte and conyng For euer the more that aman Of arte in this world can The more thought he hath thefore And ymagynes more and more The wysdom that thes wyse haue so Of pure corage it comyth them to And that is of pure blode nought elles That about the herte dwelles And the puryte of that blode Cleres the braynes and makys them good And that claryte that in the braynes dure Geuyth to the corage moysture And vnto the eyen claryte And to al the lymes lyght to be The herte it geuyth vnto Blythnes and lykyng also Which makyth aman conyng And to haue thought of moch thyng But for his conyng shal he nought Smyte in to an euyl thought And his thought shal be holly To worshyp god pryncypaly And after to worke at his myght Thynges that be honest and ryght ¶ The CC xiiij questyon ¶ Why than falle the folke also Of the euyl as men se they do FOr thre thynges pryncypaly Falles vmwhyle amannys body One is for colours humors wyk That stere in the body thycke And the humors day and nyght With the good in the body fyght And yf the wicked maysters be The herte somtyme they tourne perde And ableese to the braynes cast That aman falles at the last And for that same vanyte With fote and hand trauayleth he And fome out of the mouth doth falle His wyttes so and doth lose al Another than is deedly synne That aman is combred in And goddys cōmaundment doth nought But in synne is al his thought Such powre hath the deuyl of hym That he hym shewes to hym ful grym The aungel that hath hym in kepyng Rekenys than of hym nothyng Wherfore the deuyl than fouly Turmentys hym this pytyously The thyrd cause than is fantasy That comyth to the herte vnwysly Wherfore it fayles and cowarde is And waxes dredful and losys blys Wherfore somtyme he fallys smert And comyth a fantesy of the herte ¶ The CC.xv questyon ¶ Which is the perolousest lym That mannys body hath in hym OF al the lymes of the body The perylousest than hold I The eyen that shuld the body wys That it not go amys For in peryl both put they Sowle and body euery dey The eyen shew the braynes anon The thyng that they se vpon And the braynes also smert Nuncyes it forth vnto the herte The herte hath lykyng in the syght And fallyth in synne anon ryght And had the eyen se no thynge The herte had falle in no lykynge Also perylouse they ere For they are tender and lyght to dere And pryde and yre and couetys With other synnes mo than this Which thynges had be vnsought And mannys eyen sawe ryght nought And for that of euerychone Perylouser lyme is none ¶ The CC.xvj questyon ¶ Which is the sykerest arte of al And there most peryl may in falle CLerkes that to the world preches And goddys wyl to do them teches And how they shal theyr sowles gyde And the deuyl from them cause to slyde The surest arte haue they tho And the perylousest also For of the world they are the lyght As to the body is eyen syght The eyen lyght the body And ledyth it by way and sty Without hurte there it wylbe Which hurte shuld take myght it not se Also tho that lerne this arte And thech forth therof some parte The ryght way the folke they lede And theyr sowles goostly they fede And yf they do as they say Theyr selfe goyth in the ryght way And
yf they nought ne do As they other tech vnto Fouly they them selfe spyl And the candel lyke they are vntyl That lyghtes me and the ryghtwel But hym selfe wastes euery dele ¶ The CC.xvij questyon ¶ How is a man somtyme iolyfe And lyght of body al his lyfe SOmtyme begynneth iolyfte In mannys body to styre and be And that comyth ryght kyndly Of a yong blode in the body That of his mother toke it than Or he to the world came But than after his beryng Gatheryth he of mete in fedyng Anew blode and that steryth hym Somtyme in euery a lyme And the yong blode therwith Steryth in to ech a lyght The herte reuerdysse with al As that it of kynde shal So come in iolynyte Ey to that blode so steryng be But whan it begynnes to sesse The herte quyckly hath relesse Of iolynyte and fallyth thore In a sadnes as it was before ¶ The CC.xviij questyon ¶ May man achyld not get ryfe Ech tyme that he touches his wyfe IN this world man is none That myght get his wyfe vpon Achyld ech tyme ay That he with her lay Ne so ofte may no woman Conceyue of the seed of man Achyld forth for to brynge As he myght get it in pleyeng For she is coldar of nature And keelth to seed is no norture A lecherous man somtyme also That goyth tha◠worke moch vnto And trauayles hym euer ryght Of his reynes he lesyth myght Than is the seed feble and veyne And to engendure has no meyne As a woman seuen chaumbres has And in eche of tho parcas May she conceyue a chyld no mo And yet hathe she ynoughe of tho And were aman of suche powere To gete one whan he came her nere At eche tyme where shuld that wyfe Spere so many in her lyfe Also yf there be goten one The mother sperys vp an one And no more conceyueth she Untyl that same borne be ¶ The CC.xix questyon ¶ What is it and how gathers it so Mannys kynd whan it goth hym fro AMannes kynd that goth hym fro Gathers out of euery lym For when aman aboute his mynd With woman to done his kynd The hete of hym and the great wyl That he has his dede to fulfyl Causeth his body to swete witin Blode inward fro euery lym And that blode becometh al whyte And to the stones goth al tyte And from thens it issueth so Whan it comyth there vnto Another cause than is frotyng Of man to wyfe with great lykyng Longe rest also a cause is why And ful fellyng of the body From aman somtyme one of tho Doth it slepyng go hym fro But body trauaylyng and fastyng Wyl come to hym no such thyng ¶ The CC.xx. questyon ¶ Is aman bounde therto To loue his chyldren good them do AMan shal loue ouer al thyng God that is of heuyn kyng And hym selfe after that And his chyldren that he gat For they are fruyte of his body And for that ought he to loue them truly But he shal not loue them so Folyshly as many do For some are theyr chyldren louyng More than them selfe in some thyng For yf thou leue now for no synne Worldly goodes for to wynne And caryst not wher thou it take Theyr chyldren with rych to make In also moch thou louest them more Than thy selfe harken wherfore Thy wrong takyng makyth the That thou shalt dampned be And me thynke he louys yl That his sowle therfore wyl spyl Wherfore of thy labor dylygently Shalt thou fynde them mete truly And somwhat thou lerne them shal That they may after lyue with al And whan they can it let them go And purchase them with other mo ¶ The CC.xxi questyon ¶ Enchaunmentyng and socery Uayle they ought or are they foly THe body may they somdele vayle But to y e soule they do great trauayle And he that them worke shal Thre thynges most haue with al Fyrst behouyth hym to knowe a ryght The howres poyntes of day and nyght For go he ought there agayne Al his labour is in vayne The tother is he most of nede Geue great fayth vnto the dede And haue stedfast in his thought That the deuyl shal fayle hym nought Yet most he know astronomy Which shal helpe hym a great party But want he eny of thes thre His worke is nought but vanyte ¶ The CC.xxij questyon ¶ Which is the wightest beast y ◠is And most of sauyour tel me this HOunde is the wyghtest beast of al And the trewest on to call Lyghter no beast renne ne can Nor none louyngare to man And the sauourest is he Saue yf it the myre be For of al beastes the myre I wys Sauours most after that it is ¶ The CC.xxiij questyon ¶ Whether of the two may be Hyer the lande or the see LAnde is hyer of the two Els shuld the see it ouer go Lete a wessel with water fylle Euyn by the brynke standyng styll Yet shal the brynkes y e water hold But were it more vp it wold Renne ouer the vessel quyckly And there spyl truly Eueyn so it fareth by the see But yf the erth myght hyare be The see shuld it ouer renne That al the world shuld wel kenne ¶ The CC.xxiiij questyon ¶ Wherof snayles come wyt I wold And why they to the gras them hold OF the hete and the swote Come they of gras that is hote And for moysture hold they them so Unto the gras as that they do And al be it lothly to syght It is a worme of moch myght For who so knoueth wel the kynde Of great vertu he may it fynde Be encombred the brest of man That he his breth nought drawe can Who so toke the snayles than And fryed them wel in a panne With oyle of olyue where men it get And with hony gaue it hym to ete Tene dayes at euen and morowe It shuld delyuer hym of that sorowe And yf a whyte spote were In his eye the syght to dere And toke snayles and them dyd brynne Of that that is them with in And whan it is brent to cole also The tender parte so moch do thereto Of a roste leke and so moch yet Ofybenus a tree as men call it And bray it al to gether wel And after sarce it euery dele And vse it twyes or thryes a day The whyte spote shal go a way ¶ The CC.xxv questyon ¶ How slepe thes old men also As thes yong chyldren do CHyldren yong slepe for the grennesse Of theyr branes and the swetnesse For tender and lyght it ought to be As is the floure vpon a tre If a wynde theron blowe truly It fallyth of lyghtly Also is it of a chyld I wys Whan it of mete fellyd is An ayre smyteth there vpon Wherby it enclynes vpon one And slepes than and restes so Which is norysshyng there vnto An old man also slepe wyl As a chyld but by other skyl For feblenes of braynes slepys he As a rype appul
wymen of most profyte For man to haue to his delyte UNtyl sowle profytes none But amanys wyfe alone But of the body yf thou sey In the yere are sesons twey After which aman loke shal What woman he shal dele with al In wynter whan the ayre is colde And his keelth yeldes manyfolde A yong woman and broune also Profytes than man vnto For broune woman is of hote onde And of hote guttes fonde And her hete hetys man also And great profyt doys hym to In somer whan the ayre is hote And heteth both drye and wote Than is a yong whyte woman Best vnto profyt of man For she is colde of kynde to fele And man of great hete may she kele But an olde woman doth no profyte Unto man nother broune ne whyte For yl onde aboute she beres And moyst guttes that greatly deres She makys aman pure heuy And greuyth euery dele his body And doth chaunge his fayre colour Wherfore in her is no socour ¶ The CC.xxxv questyon ¶ The quakyng that aman is in Somtyme wherof may it begyn QUakyng that sometyme lyghtly Falles aman in his body Cometh of flemes that are colde That the moysture in his body holde For they ouer come of theyr â—ouste Al the colers that in hym be Whan the colers haue al in welde A great keelth in man they yelde That cold reykes forth ther with Unto synnes veynes and ech lyght Which causyth hym to quake begyn And the body shake within As the blast of a colde ayre wyl make A thynne clothyd man for to shake ¶ The CC.xxxvi questyon ¶ Whan aman seyth a thynge Whether geuyth the eye out in seyng Or it receyuyth inward therto The shape that it sees also NOthyng may come out owhore But there that it went in before Nor eye may nothyng geue outward But that it fyrst receyuyd inward Wherfore vnderstand a ryght Thre thynges go to the syght Fyrst that thyng that thou shalte se That other that it coloured be For of al thynges is seen nothyng But only the colouryng The thyrd are bemes of the syght Which vpon that thyng shal lyght That shal be seen and after this Moysture that in the eyne is Drawes vnto hym the shapyng And the facyon of that thyng And that shape yeldes it the branes vnto And the braynes to the herte also The herte sendys it to hym at the last And in memory holdes fast And for that sendyng wyl the herte Thynke a nother tyme ful smerte Of the thyng eyen had somwhore Seen truly therbefore ¶ The CC.xxxvij questyon ¶ How may aman spekyng be Be hym alone and say we AMan is made more ne lesse But after goddys owne lycknesse And also as in the godhed be Rekened ryghtly persons thre So there are in euery man Thre thynges that I reken can Body sowle and the wyt Thes thre are together knyt The tong an instrument is ryght To speke the sowle geuyth myght The wyttes gouern aboue al What so the tong speke shal And seyng euery man hath thes thre In spech may he wel say we ¶ The CC.xxxviij questyon ¶ May with takyng from the see It in any thyng amenysshed be THyng that men alday of take Behouyth to menysshe and slake Now is no water of al that be Fresshe nor salt but of the see And euery day men takys therto Both man and beast and fowle also And al that is taken euery day Ageyne to the see ne may There goyth of it to wast somdele As euery man may wyt wel But the erth yeldes waters her fro That vnto the see go And the see restores eft Of al that men hath it reft And it is so long and wyde And so greatly depe and syde That men may aperceue nothyng That therof goys to wastyng ¶ The CC.xxxix questyon ¶ Whether shal man loue one or other Chyld of the suster or of the brother BOth ought thou for to loue them euin After goddys ryght of heuyn But after the worldys lawe Some man were leuer to hym drawe The brothers chylde and loue hym more Than the susters harken wherfore The chyld takys matter of the wyfe And of the father shape and lyfe And shape of al thyng I wys Is worthyare than the matter is Wherfore that some men wyl sey The brothers chyld is nere of twey But gyle is on that other syde As men hath wyst it ofte betyde My brothers wyfe may be a wyle And may do her husbond gyle And wyt on hym achyld lyghtly That he no more gat than I But achyld that my suster bare Therof am I suer and ware That that behouyth to be kynne of nede But of my brothers chyld is drede ¶ The CC.xl. questyon ¶ Tel me now yf that thou can The peryloust thynges that are in man FOure colours hath man hym in That of foure complexcyons begyn The fyrst is blode that may not mysse That other blacke coloure I wysse The thyrd is fleme whyte on to se And yelow coloure the fourth is he And want aman of thes thre His body were deed anon And ech one behouys to be At his seson in his pouste And yf any lacke them al Out of tyme that they shuld in hym fall In sycknes the body falles Perylous wherfore men them calles And ech one hath his power In dyuers quarters of the yere Thre thynges the fyrst quarter ches Capricorne Aquarius and pisses And of flemes haue they myght And wete and colde is theyr ryght In December they begynne And in mydel of March they blynne Which is the coldest tyme of al For that is that we wynter call ¶ The seconde quarter next therby Haue Aries Taurus Gemini Blode in man haue they myght to And are hote and moyst also In March is theyr begynyng And in Iune is theyr endyng Uer hyght that seson that I mene Al thynges therin waxe grene ¶ The thyrd quarter hath hym vnto Cancer Leo and Uirgo And they are both hote and drye Of yelow colours is theyr maystrye In Iune is theyr begynyng ay And in September they wend away Which is the somer tyde The meryest tyme that men abyde ¶ The fourth hath sygnes thus Libra Scorpio Sagittarius They are both colde and drye And of blacke colour haue sygnorye Who 's begynyng is in September And theyr partyng in December And who so thes foure tymes obserues And his kynd wel in them gydes Fro perelles myght he kepe hym longe And in he le holde his lymmes stronge ¶ The .xlj. questyon ¶ Of al the flesshes y e men may get Which is the holsomest to ete THe flesshe that is of most substance And geuyth man most sustynaunce That flesshe is the holsomest And vnto mannys norysshyng best But who so a good stomacke myght get That myght wel dygest his mete To hym is best though it be grete Flesshe of bugle and of nete For great myght to man they geue But sycke men wyl they greue For a sycke man is feble ryght And
swayne And for falshed taken wore And in pryson holden sore And abode an euyl endyng At the lordes home comyng The good seruaunt wold he came tyte In trust of the more profyte The wycked wold he taryed lange For at his comyng shuld he hange And euer in pryson leuer were he Than come out and hanged be Also they that in paradyse wone Them longeth after goddes sone The very profyte that come shal That the world shal deme ouer al For than shal theyr blysse be more An hundreth folde than was before For than shal soule and body wende Into heuen withouten ende But soules that to hel go Wold goddes sone neuer came so For at his dome the body shal Come and dwell the soule withal And bothe into helle fare And an hondreth folde haue care More than that he had fyrst Therfore to dwell styl hym lyst For better with one care with inne Than to come out and haue twayne ¶ The CC.l. questyon ¶ Why go not the good that are wyse Unto erthly paradyse IT is not conuenyent dare I say That they thether toke the way Erthly paradyse was wrought To body and to soule nought It is a place erthly Therfore when soule is fro the body It may no where haue dwellyng But it be in goostly thyng For goost reioyseth hym ryght nought In place that bodyly is wrought Goost to goost that is his ryght And body in bodyly thyng hath myght Sowle may no man fele ne se Wherfore in his kynd must he be ¶ The CC.lij questyon ¶ Whether is sowle heuy or lyght Great or smal darke or bryght WEre a thowsand sowles here Lyeng on alefe of papere Heuyar were y e papere nought For they are lyght as thought Under thy nayle myght y u spere A thowsand and be neuer the werre Thy eyen and thy syght before Shuld neuer the lesse thy syght be To se the thyng that thou woldest se No more than thou hast lettyng Of the wynd to se a thyng And in the world is nought so whyte As is of hewe a good spyryte But a synful sowle synful and wycke Is also blacke as eny pycke Great lothly and heuy And fallyth dounward redely There nys man ne woman none That a synful sowle sawe one But yf the more wonder ware Out of his wyt he shuld fare ¶ The CC.liij questyon ¶ Good sowles that fro the body go◠Whyther wend they anon ALl that euer to lyfe came Fro the fyrst tyme of adam Yong and old good and wicked Tyl goddys sonne on rode be deed Holly vnto helle flyed Some to the lowe and some to the hye But after his deeth on the rood So shal the sowles of the good Whan they fro the body shede Wende vnto the clensyng stede And whan they clensed are a ryght Unto the blys of heuyn lyght The wicked shal with out dwellyng Anone in to helle be synkyng And some shal here haue don so That great clensyng nedyth them not to But also sone as they dey Wende to heuyn the hye wey But neuer the lesse at theyr ende Be purgatory shal they wende ¶ The CC.liiij questyon ¶ May no man in heuyn be But he fyrst purgatory se NO man or woman shal euer be Ne was in tyme that is gon perde That shal to heuyn whan he shal dey But by purgatory be his wey Neuer thelesse ther shal be two That ther by nede not to go The prophyt that shal man saue For of clensyng no nede shal he haue That other shal be that mayden bryght That goddys sonne shal in lyght For ful clene shal be of synne The body that he shal lyght in Wherfore shal she with out care With sowle and body to hym fare ¶ The CC.lv. questyon ¶ Sythen god sendys some to helle And some to heuyn for to dwelle Wherto shal the dome be And what thyng than iuge shal he GOod sowles shuld in heuyn dwelle And wicked before the dome in helle And al at the aungels call Unto the dome come shal In sowle and body as they wore In thys world here before And both to gether shal they wende There they shal be with out ende Gloryfyed shal be the wyse Of hym that is the hye iustyse And trobeled than shal be theyr blys That men neuer ne shal mys And bryghter shal than the body be Than is the sonne in his claryte The wicked shal to helle go Sowle and body to dwele in wo The payne that he had fyrst in wold Shal than be encresed thre fold For ryght is the body that was here In yl and good the sowlys fere That it with the sowle fele also Ioy or payne where it goys to Wherfore shal the dome be set Eythere ioy or payne to get ¶ The CC.lvj questyon ¶ Yong chyldren that can not reson Shal they ought fele dampnacyon SHal no man dampned be but he That grauntes wel he worthy be For agayne say may he nought Al the dedes that he hath wrought But cheldren that no good can Ne no wyt had of man Dampnacyon shal none come in For they dyd no deedly synne But yf ony be perchaunce That shuld haue come to creaunce And be deed or it be borne Ioy for euer it hath forlorne But payne it shal none dole Dwele it shal in a darke hole Where they shal fele euery adele Nyther of wo ne of we le ¶ The CC.lvij questyon ¶ Whether in that other world may be Ony how 's toune or cete AFul fayre cete god fyrst dyght Of his conyng and his myght Both to aungel and to man Or that man to synne be gan But after the synne of adam Ech man vnto helle came And that is a ful wicked cete Made to the deuyl and his meyne But whan goddys sonne is come truly And deth hath suffered pityously Than shal men fynd weyes thre Ech one to a dyuers cete The good to heuyn the way shal take The wicked to helle to deuyls blake That repent them here shal be dene To purgatory to make them clene Wonyng stedes be there no mo Where man or woman shal to go ¶ The CC.lviij questyon ¶ Shal they be dampned canst y u me say Chyldren of hethen men that dey CHyldren of hethen in yougth dyed And after theyr fathers lawe a lyued Al shal they dampned be No blys shal they euer se But yong chyldren shal haue no awe That shuld haue be of goddys law In a darcknes shal they dwelle But of payne dare them none tell ¶ The CC.lix questyon ¶ Yf no synne had done Adam Shuld al the folke that of hym cam With flesshe and fel as they are sene Euer in paradise haue bene HAd Adam so hym bethought That he had no synne wrought Of his ospryng shuld neuer none Out of paradyse haue gone But lyued there without torment And fro thens to heuen haue went Ryght as one of heuens meyne Without dethe or any payne Shuld no synne ne no lykyng Haue be than
As he wold to heuyn flye One of the apostyls there by standyng And se where he is so flyeng He shal coÌ„maund hym throughe the myght Of goddys sonne that he doune lyght And he shal falle doune anon And breke his necke bone Of many a bale they shal do bote And many a syke bryng on fote And al shal of his myght be That shal gyue them that pouste ¶ The CCC.xlvij questyon ¶ Shal they neuer haue no ende Nor no wo that to heuyn wende SOules that are iÌ„ heuyn blys Shal neuer of ioy mys Wo ne shuld they neuer se Nor old shal they neuer be They shal euer be reioysing As a chyld in his best lyking And hool as fysshe in delyte Swyfte as wynd and snow whyte Bryght as the shynyng sonne And know al that aungels conne Leel as ded in althyng And worshypped shal they be as kyng A thowsand yere in game and playe Thynketh them not an howre of the daye And that delyt they are with al With out end them last shal ¶ The CCC.xlviij questyon ¶ Tho that are in helle fest Shal they no mercy haue ne rest THo that shal to helle wende They are dampned with out ende Rest shal they none haue ne mercy For of that they are not worthy He that lettys of his fre wyl The good and takys hym to yl It is ryght that he haue also As that he hym chose vnto And tâ— pray for hym loude or styl Is al ageyne goddys wyl He that in purgatory is To clense and after shal to blys For hym is prayer to make Of his paynes for to slake But he that dampned is to helle He shal euer in sorowe dwelle With out rest with out ro And with out mercy also ¶ The CCC.xlix questyon ¶ They that in heuen shal haue theyr se Shal they clad or naked be THey shal be nakyd of enuye Of pryde and of lechery And clad also neuertheles With grace and blys and bryghtnes Shame of themselfe shal they thynke non Thoughe they haue no clothis on Nomore than Adam of hym thought Or that he the synne wrought When he had of the appul taken Than shamed hym a sawe his makyng No more than shamyth the That man vpon thy vysage se ¶ The CCC.l. questyon ¶ Whan god to deme come shal Quyck deed and the world al And al shal be deed which is than he That shal alyue here be LIfe and deeth of for to sey May be sayd on maners twey Deeth that body goys here to And deeth of sowle in payne also He that god hath serued here And his coÌ„maundments held dere He shal not be deed that day For he shal lyue in blys euer and ay And he that goddys wyl ne wrought And he that trowed on hym nought He shal be deed with out ende And to the payne of helle wende And that the Antechyrst shal turne Fro the fayth they may wel morne Them ware bettar they ware vnborne For many shal by hym be lorne ¶ The CCC.lj questyon ¶ Where shal be borne y t false prophyte That al that wo in erth shal sete ANtechryst shal borne be In Babylon agreat cete A wicked woman hym bere shal And the deuyl shal entre hym with al And wicches shal norysshe hym In aâ—oune hyght corozaym Uery prophyt they shal hym call And many wondres shal of hym fall Al the folke shal he drawe To his assent and to his lawe The rych shal on hym beleue For the gyftes that he shal geue The pouer shal to hym turne also For great awe that he shal put them to And for that he wyse shal be For al the clergye knowe shal he The clerkes shal he to hym alye Through wysdome of his clergye The good men and stedfast That in goddys lawe wold last Many shal he drawe hym to For myracles that he shal do He shal cause the fyre to falle Fro heuyn and his foos borne all Deed men he shal cause aryse To bere wyttnesse of werkes his No dedman but the deuyl onely Shal ryse in dampned body And bere witnesse of his werkys Among lewd men and clerkys Moch people shal to hym drawe Namely folke of the fyrst lawe Thre yere and a halfe shal he Reygne with moch dygnyte Twelue apostyls chose he shal With hym to walke ouer al He shal feyne hym for to deye And two dayes shal he be a weye The thyrd day shal he come with blys And say that he vp rysen ys Than shal come Enocke and Elye And shal prech ageyne his folye Great folke shal they turne hym fro But he shal them bothe slo No lenger there than dwell he wyl But he shal drawe hym to a hyl For to folowe and to do shame Tho that wycked haue his name Sodeyne dethe shal he dye thore For god wyl that he regne â—omore And ful sore may agryse as â—yse Whan they shal to the 〈◊〉 ryse ¶ The CCC.lij questyon ¶ What day shal it befall That goddys sone shal deme vs al ON suche aday shal he deme hyse As he fro deth to lyfe shal ryse That shal be on a sonday That now is sabbat in our lay Of heuen than the orders nyne That neuermore shal heuen tene Shal be fulfyllyd as they were al Or lucifer began to fal Lyuyng men shal then eueryone Dye for drede and ryse anone There shal be none of so great mede That at that day he shal haue drede ¶ The CCC.liij questyon ¶ What tyme shal he come therto For to deme the world also AT the mydnyght forsothe I tel Suche tyme as he shal harowe hel That eche tyme shal he lede out thore Al tho that his frendys wore And that tyme out shal he lede His of this world to geue them mede ¶ The CCC.liiii questyon ¶ How shal he come on what manere When he shal come to deme vs here AS a kyng to a cytye That wyl haue his inentere And inen before hym shal bere His crowne his sheld and his spere Wherby men may haue knowlegyng That thether comyng is the kyng So shal be come to the dome But nother with knyght ne with grome But with ordres of aungels all That bodyes out of theyr graue shal cal And they shal dele and set in twynne The good from thos that deyed in synne ¶ The CCC.liiij questyon ¶ Shal his crosse be there present Whan he shal geue his iugment NAy his crosse shal not be there But the semblaunt as it were And that shal be of more claryte Than men in the sonne se And whan the dome is don al With his to heuyn wend he shal ¶ The CCC.lv questyon ¶ Whan he the folke shal deme also How shal he shew hym them vnto SO as he dyd his dyscypyls tyl Dysfygured vpon an hylle He shal shew hym vnto them Bryghter than eny sonne beme So shal he shew hym to the good And to the wicked hangyng on rode ¶ The CCC.lvj questyon ¶