PCease saith the king , I will suffre you no lenger

Ye shall suffreLX forsothe / and serue me bothe

kisse hir quod the king / {Licence me for euer} Conscience he saide

Naie by Christ quod Conscience / LicenceLX me for euer

But if reason rede me therto / rather will I die

I commande the quod the king / to Conscience than

Hast the to ride / and reason thou feche

Commande him þat he come / my counsell to here

For he shall rule my realme / & rede me the best

And reken with the Conscience / so me Christ helpe

How though / [thou] learnest the people / the lerned & the laie

I am glad of the sameLX / said ConscienceLX then

And right ridd to reason / and rowned in his eare

And said as the king bad / and sithens toke his leue

I shall araie me to ride quod reason / rest þe a while

And callid Caton his knaue / Curteise of speche

And also Tomme true tong / telle me no talis

Nor leasing to laugh at / for I louid them neuer

And set my sadill on {my horse}SuffreT / till I se my time

And let girde him well / with wittie wordes gerthes

And hang on him the heavie bridill / to holde his head lowe

For he will make wehee / twise ere he come there

Then Conscience vpon his capull / carieth furth fast

And reason with him ride / rowning togethers

What maistries mede maketh in this worlde

On wareLX wisdome / and wittie his fere

Folowid him fast / for they had to do

In Th'escheker & in the Chancerie / to be dischargid of thinges

And rid fast for Reason sholde / counsell him for the best

for to saue them from / f[or]P siluer / from shame & from harmes

And Conscience knewe them well / they louid Couetise

And bad reason ride fast / & reche of their neither

There are wyles in their wordes / And with mede they dwelle

There as wrath and wrangling is / there winne they siluer

And where is loue and leautie / thei wilnot / will not come there

They careth not for god / won goose wing

For god wot they will do more / for won doson of chekens

Or as manie Capons / or a Seme of Otes

Then for the loue of oure lorde / or all his lefe Sayntes

Therfor Reason lat him ride / those rich by them-self

For Conscience knowethe them not / nor Christ as I trowe

Then Reason rode fast / the right heigh waie

As conscience him taught / till they cam to the king

Curteislie the king then came against Reason

And betwene him-self & his sonne / set him on the benche

And comonid wiselie / a great while togethers

And then cam Peace / in-to parlament /T & put vp a bill

How wrong Against his will / had his wife taken

And howe he rauished Rose / Reynoldes loue

And Marget of hir maidenhede / maugre hir will

Both my gees and my grice / his gadlinges fechith

I darenot / dare not for feare of them / fight nor chide

He borowed of me Bayarde / he brought him home neuer

Nor no farthing for him / for ought I coulde plede

He mainteynethe his men / to murther my seruauntes

He forstallethe my fayers / & fighteth in my cheping

And breke opeLX my berne dores / and bearith awaie my wheate

And take me but a taill / for x / tean quarters ofT otes

yet he beates me therto / and lythe by my maide

I am not hardie for him / scarcelie dare I looke

The king knewe he said true / for Conscience him told

That wrong was a wicked wightLX / & wrought much sorowe

Wrong was afraid then / and wisdome he sought

To make Peace with his pence / and profrid him moneyLX

Saying had I loue of my lorde the king / litill wolde I recke

Though Peace and his poure / playned him euer

Then went wisdome / and syr waryn the wittie /

For that wrong had wrought / So wicked a dede

And warned wrong then / with such a wise tale

Who-so worke by will / wrath maketh ofte

I saie hit by my-self / þou shalt it well fynde

But if Mede it make / thi mischef is vp

For both thi life and thi londe / Lyth in his grace

Then wowed wrong / wisdome full fast

To make his peace with his pens / handy dandy paide

Wisdome and witt /T then went togithers

Taking Mede with them / mercie to wynne

Peace put furth his head / and his panne bluddie

Without gilt god it wot / gat I this skathe

Conscience And the Commons / knowe the truthe

But wisdame & wit / were about fast

To ouercome the king / with catell if thei might

The king swore by Christ / & by his croune bothe

That wrong for his workes / shulde suffre woe

And commaundid a Constable / to cast him in yrens

And let him not this sevin yeres / se his fete ones

God wot quod wisdome / þat were not the best

And he amendes maie make / Lat Maynprise him haue

And be borow for his bale / And begg him boote

And so amende that is misdone / And euermore the better

Wit Accordid to the same / and said Likewise

Better is that boote / Bale adoune bring

Then bale be bet / And boote neuer the better

Then MovidT hir Mede / And mercie she besought

And profrid peace a present / all of pure golde /

Haue this man of me quod she / to amende thi scathe

For I woll wage for wrong / he will do so nomore / no more

Piteouslie Peace then / praide for the king

To haue mercie on that man / that misdid him so ofte

For he hath wagid me well / as wisdome him taught

And I forgiue him that gilt / with a good will

So that the king assent / I can saie no better

For Mede hathe me amendes made / I maie no more aske

Naye quod the king then / so me Christ helpe

Wrong wendith not so awaie / first I will knowe more

For skape he so lightlie / then laughe he wold

And after be the bolder / to beat my men

But if reason hathe ruthe on him / he shall rest in stockes

And that as long as he leuith / But lowlinesse him borrowe

Some men counsellid Reason / thenT to haue ruthe on þat shrewe

And for to counsell the king / and Conscience After

That Mede might be Mainprisour / thei Reason besought

Counsell me not quod Reason / ruthe for to haue

Till lordes and ladies / loue all truthe

And hate all harlotrie / to here or to speake

Till pernelys purfill / be put in hir huche

And childerne cherisshing / be chasting with roddes

And harlottes holinesse / be holden for an hyne

And clerkesLG couetise / to clothe the pouer and fede

And religiouse romers / Recordare in their cloisters

As Saynt Benet them bad / Bernard & Fraunceis

And till preachers preachinges / be prouid on them-self

Till the kinges Counsell / be the Comons profyte

Till Bishops Bayardes / be beggers chambres

Their haukes and their howndes / helpe to pouer Religiouse

And till saint Iames be sought / there I shall assigne

That noman / no man go to Galice / But if he go for euer

And all Rome ronners / for robbers beyonde

Bere no siluer ouer the see / þat signe of the king shewith

Neither grauen nor vngrauen / gold nor siluer

Vpon forfeyture of that fee / who-so fynd it at Douer

But if hit be merchant or his man / or Messenger with letters

Prouysoure or preist / or penitent for his synnes

And yet quod Reason by the rood / I shall no ruthe haue

While mede hathe the maistrie / in this mootehall

And I maie shewe ensamples / as I se other while

I saie it by my-self quod he / And it so were

That I were king with croune / to kepe the realme

Shulde neuer wrong in this worlde / þat I might knowe

Be vnpunished in my poure / for perill of my soule

Nor get my grace for giftes / so me god saue

Nor for mede haue Mercie / But if mekenes made it

For Nullum malum the man / met with impunitum .

And bad Nullum bonum / be Irremuneratum .

Lat your Confessour syr king / Construe this vnglosed

And if ye worke it [in] dede / I dare laie myn eris

That lawe shalbe / shall be a laborer / And lede dung to the feilde

And loue shall lede thi lond / as the best likethe

Clerkes that were confessors / coupled them together

All to construe this clause / And for the kinges profit

But not for confort of the commons / nor for the kinges soule

For I se Mede in the motehall / on men of lawe winke

And thei laughing lept to hir / And lefte Reason many

Ware Wisdome lookid on mede / and winked alsoT

Saying madame I am your man / whatsoeuer my mouth Ianglith

I wantT golde quod that wisdomeLX / & faile speche ofte

All rightfull bare witnesse / þat Reason truthe tolde

And wit accordid therwith / & commendid his wordes

And the most people in the hall / & many of the great

And helde Mekenesse a maister / & Mede a mad shrewe

Loue lete of hir small / & leautie yet lasse set by her

And spake it so lowde / that all the hall herde

Who-so willith hir to wyfe / for welth of hi{s}r goodes

But he be knoune for a Cokeolde / Cut of my nose

Mede Mourned then / and made heuie chere

For the most comone of the court / callid hir an whore

But a Sisour and a Somener / sauidLX hir Fast

And a Shrives clerke / beshrewid all the route

For oft haue I quod he / holpen you at the barre

And yet gaf ye me neuer / the worthe of a rishe

The king callid Conscience / & after that Reason

And recordid that Reason / had rightfullie saide

And modelie vpon Mede , with might the king looked

And waxed wrothe with Lawe / for Mede almost had shent him

And said through Lawe I beleue / I lose meny escheates

Mede ouermaistreth lawe / And much truthe lettithe

But Reason shall Reken with you / if I reigne anye while

And Iudge you by this daie / as you haue deseruid

Mede shallnot / shall not maynprise you / by the Marie of heuen

I woll haue leautie in lawe / & let be all your iangling

And as most folke witnesseth / wrong shalbe / shall be demid

Quod Conscience to the king / But the commons will assent

It is full hard by myn head / herto /T to bring it

All your liege people / to lede thus even

By him that died on the Rood / quod Reason to the king

But if I rule this your realme / rende out my guttes

If ye bid buxomenesse / be of myn assent

I assent saithe the king / by sweteP saint MarieT

By my counsell comone / of Clerkes & of Erles

But ridlieLX Reason / thou shaltnot / shalt not ride fro me

For as long as I liue / depart from the I wilnot / will not

I am all redie quod Reason / to rest with you euer

So Conscience be of our counsell / I kepe no better

I graunte quod the king / god forbidde it faileT

As long as our lyues still last / liue we together /