If any wiȝt wist wher · dowel was at Inne

And what man he miȝte be of many man IN axed

Was neuere wiȝt as I wente · þat me wisse kouthe

Wher þis lede lenged lasse ne more

Til it bifel on a friday · two freres I mette

Maisters of þe menours men of gret wit

I hailsed hem hendlich · as I hadde lerned

And praied hem for charite er þey passed ferther

If thay k{?}newe an{two minims}y countre · or costes as þey wente

W{o or e}here þat dowel dwelles · does me to witen

¶ For þey beth men of þis molde · þat most wilde walken

And knowen contrees and courtes · and many kennes places

Boþe prynces paleys · and pouere mennes cootes

And do-wel and do-yuel · wher þey dwelle boþe

¶ Amonges vs quod þe Menours þat man is dwellyng

And euer hase as I hope · and euere shal here-after

¶ Contra quod I as a clerc · and by-gane to disputen

And saide hem sothely · Sepcies in die cadit iustus

Seuensithes / Seuen sithes saiþ þe book · Synnes þe riȝtful

And who-so synnes he saide · does yuel as me thynke

And do-yuel and do-wel · mowe nouȝt dwelle togiders

¶ Ergo he is nouȝt alwey amonges yow freres

He oþer-while elles-wher · to wisse þe pepyle

¶ I shal say þe my sone · saide þe frere thanne

How seuene siþes þe sadman · on a day synnes

Bi a forbisen quod þe frere · I shal ye faire schew

Lat bryng a man in a boote · amydes þe brood water

Þe wynde and þe water · and þe boote waggynge

Makes þe man many a tyme · to falle an to stonde

For stande he neuere sa stif · he stombles if he moeue

And yet is he sauf and sounde · and so hym bihoues

For if he ne arise þe raþer · and raughte to þe stere

The wynde wolde with þe water · þe bote ouer-throwe

And thane were his lif lost · thurgh lacchesse of hym-self

And þus it falles quod þat frere · by folke here on erthe

The water is likned to þe world · þat wanes and waxes

The goodes of þis grounde · aren like to þe grete wawes

Þat as wyndes as wedres · wawes aboute

the bote is likned to oure bodyes · þat brotel is of kynde

Þat thourth þe fende and þe flesshN · and þe freel worlde

Synnes þe sadman a day seuen sithes

¶ And dedly synne does he nouȝt · for dowel hym kepes

And þat is charite þe champioun · chife helpe ayeins synne

For he strengheth man to stonde · an steres mannes saule

And þouȝ þy body bowe · as bote dos in water

Ay is þy soule saef · but if þy-selue wolT

do a dedly synne and drenche þy saule

God wol suffre wel þy slouþe · if þy-selue likes

For he gaf þe to yeresgyfte · to yeme wel þy-selue

And þat is wit and free wille · to euery wiȝt a porcioun.

To fleyng foules to fisshes · and also to bestes

And man has most þer-of · and moost is to blame

But if he wyrche wel þerwiþ · as do-wel hym teches

¶ I haue no kynde knowyng quod I · to conceyue alle youre wordes

And if I may l{y}oue and loke I shal go lerne bettere

I bikenne þe crist · þat on þe cros dyed

And I saide þe same · saue yow fra myschaunce

And gyfue yow grace on þis grounde · good men to worthe

¶ And thus I wente wide-where · walkyng myn o{n}on

By a wilde wildernesse · and by a wodes syde

Blisse of þe briddes · brouȝte me a slepe

And vnder a lynde vp-on a launde · lened I a stounde

To lythe þe layes · the louely fowles made

Myrthe of hir mouthes made me þer to slepe

The merueillousest metels · mette me þanne

Þat euere dremed wight · In worlde as I wene

¶ A mykil man as me thoughte · and like to my-selue

Come and called me · by my kynde name

¶ What artow quod I þo · þat þow my name knawest

Þat þow woost wel quod he · and no wight better

¶ Woot I what þow art · thouȝt saide he þanne

I haue sued þe þis seuene yer · sawe þow me no rather

Artow thought quod I þo · thow kannes me wisse

Where þat dowel dwelles · and do me that to knawe

¶ Dowel and dobet and dobest the thridde quo{?}d he

Aren thre faire vertues · and be nouȝt fer to fynde

Who-so is trewe of his tonge · and of hise twa handesT

And þurȝ isLX labour or his londes · his liflode wynnesT

And is nouȝt dronklewe · ne deygnous dowel hym folwes

Do-bet does right thus · and he dos muche more

He is as law as a lomb · and louelich of speche

And helpes alle men · after þat hem nedes

The bagges and þe bigirdils he has to brook hem alle

that þe Erle auarous helde · and hise heires

And þus with Mamondes moneie · he has made hym frendesCN

And is ronne to religion · and has renderd þe bibile

And preched to þe pepile · saynt paules wordes

Libenter suffertis insipientes cum sitis ipsi sapientes

And to þe vnwise ye do goode · for so god yow beddis

¶ Dobest is a-boue bathe · and beres a bisshopes crosse

Is hoked on þat oon ende · to halye men fro helle

A pike is on þe potente to pute adoun þe wikked

Þat wayten any wikkednesse · do-wel to tene

And dowel and dobet · amonges hem ordeygned

To crowne oon to be kyng to reulen hem bathe

Þat if dowel or dobet · dide ayein dobestT

thanne shal þe kyng come · and casten hem in IernesT

And but if do-best did for hym · thay to be þer for euere

¶ Thus dowel and dobet and best þe thridde

Crowned oon to be kyng to kepen hem alle

And to reule þe reame · by hir thre wittes

And non oþer-wise · but as thay thre assentes

¶ I thanked þouȝt þo · þat he me thus tauȝte

And yet sauoures me nouȝt thy sayeng · I couette to lerne

How do-wel · do-bet · and do-best · don among þe pepyle

Bot wit konne wisse þe þouȝt · wher þo thre dwelles

Elles woot I non þat konne · þat now is a-lyue

¶ Thought an I thus thre dayes yeden

Disputyng vp-on do-wel · day after other

¶ And er we were ywar · with wit gonne we mete

He was longe and lene liche to non other

Was no pride on his apparaille · ne pouerte neiþer

Sadde of his semblant · and of softe chere

I dorste meue no mater · to make hym to Iangle

But as I bad thouȝt þo · be mene bitwene

And putte forth somme purpos · to prouen hise wittes

What was do-wel fra do-bette and do-best fram hem boþe

¶ thanne thouth in that tyme · sayde þis wordes

Wher do-wel do-bett · and dobest was in londe

Here is wille wolde wite · if wit kouthe teche hym

And whether he be man or no man · þis man wolde aspye

And werchen as þey thre wolde · this is his entente