Incipit passus quintus .C
CEsseth sayde þe kyng / y suffer ȝow no lengur
Ȝe schul sauhtene for sothe / and serue me bothe
Kus hur quod þe kyng / concience y hote .
Nay by crist quod concience / congeie me rather
But reson rede me þer-to / raþer wol y dye .
And y comaunde quod þe kyng / to concience þenne
Rape þe to ryde / and reson þat þow fecche
Comaunde him þat he come / my consaille to here
For he schal rewle my reome / and rede me beste
Of mede and of other mo / and what man schal hure wedde .
And a-counte with þe concience / some / so me crist helpe
How thow ledest my people / lered and lewed .
¶ Y am fayn of þat forward / in faith þo quaþ concience
And rod forþe to reson / and rowned in his ere
And seyde him as þe kyng seyde / and sithe tok his leue
¶ Y schal a-raye me to ryde / quaþ reson rest a wile
And calde Caton his knaue / corteys of speche
And al-so T{..}homme trewe tonge / tel me no tales
Ne lesynges to lauhon of / for y loued hit neuere
¶ And sette my sadul vppon soffre / til y seo my tyme
¶ lette warrok him wel / with a vise by-fore
¶ For hit is þe wone of wil / to wynse and to kike .
¶ Lette peytrel him and pole hym / with poytede / poy[n]ted wittes
¶ Þen concience on his capul / comsed to prykie .
And reson wiþ him ryt / rownynge to-gederes
Whuche a maystur mede was / a-mong poure and riche
¶ Þanne waryn wisman / and whyly-menT his felaw
Fayn were to folow hem / and fast to riden aftur
To tak rede of resoun / þat recorde scholde
By-fore þe kyng and concience / ȝif þei cowþen pleyne
On whylymen and wyttymen / and waryn wryng-lawe
¶ Ac Concience knewe hem wel / and carpede to reson
Here comeþ quod concience / þat coueytise seruen
Ryde forth sir reson / and recche nat of here tales .
for ther wrathe and wranglyng is / ther thei wol a-byde
Ac ther loue and leaute is / hit likeþ nat here heortes
Contricio et infelicitas in vijs eorum et viam pacis
no cognouerunt / non est timor dei ante oculos eorum .C
Thei gyueþ nat of good faith / god wot the sothe /
They wolde don for a dyner / or for a doseyne capenos
More þenne for oure lordes loue / or oure lady his moder
¶ Þenne reson rod forth / and tok reward of no mon
And dude as concience kende / til heo þe kyng mette
¶ Corteysliche þe kyng þenne / cam and grette reson
And by-twene him and his sone / sette þo sire reson .
And spekon wyse wordes / a long while to-gederes
Þo cam pees in-to parlement / and put op a bille
How þat wrong wilfully / hadde his wif for-leyen
¶ And how / how [he] rauysede Rose / þe riche widue by nyhte
And Margarete of here maydenhod / as he mette heore late
¶ Bothe my goos and my grys / and my gras he takeþ
Y dar nat for his felauschip / in faith pees seyde
Bere sykurly eny suluer / to seynt gyles downe
¶ Heo a-wayteþ ful wel / whan y suluer take
What wey y wende / wel ȝorne he aspieþ
To robbe me and to ryfle / ȝif y ride softe
¶ Ȝut he is bold to borowe / and baddelich he payeþ
He borowoþ of me bayard / and brouȝt him neuere
Ne no ferþing þer-fore / for nouȝt y cowþe plede
He meynteynuþ his men / to morthre myn hynes
And forstalleþ myn fayres / and fihteþ in my chepinges
And brekuþ vp my bernes dores / and beroþ a-wey my wete
And takeþ me but a tayle / for ten quarteres oþur twolue
¶ Ȝut he manasseþ me and myne / and liþe be my mayde
I ham nat hardy for hym / vnneþe to loke
¶ Þe kyng knew he sayde soth / for concience him tolde
How wrong was a wikked man / and muche wo wrouȝte
¶ Þo was wrong a-ferd / wisdam he by-souhte
On men of lawe wrong loked / and largelich hem profred
And fort to haue of here help / handydandy paied
Had y loue of þe lord / litul wolde y recche
Of pes and his power / thaw he pleynede euere
¶ Throw wrong and his werkes / þer was mede knowe
For wisdom and wit þo / weton to-gederes
And tok mede myd hem / mercy to wynne
¶ Ȝut pees putte forth his hed / and his panne blody
With-oute gulte god wot / gate y þis schaþe
Concience knoweþ hit wel / and alle þe trew comune
Ac whyles and wit / weren a-bouwte fast .
To ouurcome þe kyng / throgh catel ȝif þei myhte
¶ Þe kynge N swor þo by crist / and by his crone bothe
Þat wrong for his werkes / schold wo tholye
And comaunded a conestable / to cast wrong in Irenes
Ther he ne scholde in seuene ȝer / se fet ne hondes
¶ God wot quaþ a wyse on / þat were nat þe beste
Ȝif he may amendes do / let meynpryse hem haue
And beo borw for his gale / and buggen him bote
¶ Þenne can / [g]an Mede meoken heore / and mercy by-souhte
And profered pees a present / al of pure golde /
¶ Haue þis man of me quath heo / to Amende thy scathe
For y wol wage for wrong / he wol do so namore
¶ Pytosely pees tho / preyed þe kyng /
To haue mercy on þat man / þat mony tyme greued hym .
For he hath waged me wel / as wisdam hym tauȝte
Mede hath made myn amendes / y may namore asken .
So alle my claymes beon {.} quyt / by so þe kynge assente
¶ Nay by crist quod þe kyng / For concience sake
Wrong goþ nat so a-weye / ar y wyte more .
Lope he so lithliche / lawen heo wolde .
And eft beo þe baldere / to bete myn hewes .
¶ But reoson haue rewþe of him / heo schal reste on stokkes .
As longe as y lyue / For his luther werkes /
¶ Some radde reson þo / to haue rewþe on þat schrewe
And fort to consaille þe kyng / on concience þei loked
Þat Mede myhte beo meynpernour / reson þei by-souhte
¶ Rede me nat quath reson / no reuthe to haue /
Tyl lordes and ladies / louon al trewþe
And haten alle harlatrye / to heron or to mowþen hit
¶ And purnels porfil / beo put in þe wuche
¶ And childeren chirysing / beo chasted wiþ ȝerdes
And harlotes holynesse / beo an hy ferie .
Til clerkyne {beo} couetyce / beo cloþe for þe pore
Here pelure and here palfreyes / poure men lyf-lode
¶ And relygyous out-ryderes / reclused in here cloystres
And beo as Benet hem bade Domenyk and Fraunceys
¶ Til þat lered men lyue / as they lere and techen
¶ And til þe kynges consail / beo alle comune profit .
¶ Til byschopes beo bakeres / breweres and taillours .
For alle manere men / þat þei fynde neodful
C¶ Tyl seint Iame beo souht / þer pore seke liggen
In prysones and in pore cotes / for pilgremages to Rome .
¶ So þat non go to galeys / bot hit beo for euere
And alle Rome renneres / for robberes in Fraunce
Bere no seluur ouur see / þat kynges signe scheweþ
Nowþer graue ne vngraue / of gold ne of seluur /
Vp forfeture of þe fee / ho-so fynt him ouur-ward /
¶ But hit beo marchaunt oþer is man / or messagers wiþ letteres
Prouipsour / Prouisour oþur preost / or penaunt for his synnes
And ȝut quod Reson by þe Rode / y schal no rewþe haue
Whil Mede hath þe maystrie / þer moting is atte þe barre .
¶ Ac y may seye ensaumples / as y seo othure
Y sey hit for my-self quod Reson / And hit so were
Þat y were kyng wiþ crone / to kepe ony reome
Schold neuere wrong in þis worlde / þat y wite myhte
Beo vnpunysched in my power / for peril of my soule
¶ Ne gete my grace throw eny ȝif / ȝif[te] / ne glosyng speche
Ne throw mede do mercy / by mary of heuene .
¶ For man nullum malum . mette with impunitum .
And bad þat nullum bonum beo irremuneratum .
¶ let þi confessour sire kyng / construe þis in Englische
And ȝif ȝe worchen hit in werk / y wed boþe my handes
Þat lawe schal beo a laborer / and lede a-feld donge .
And loue schal lede þi lande / as þe lef likuþ .
¶ Clerkes þat weren confessours / complede h{i}em to-gederes
To construe þis clause / kyndeliche wat hit menuþ
¶ Mede in þe mothalle þo / on men lawe con wynke
In signe þat þei scholde / with som sotil speche
Reherse þo a-non ritht / þat myth reson stoppe
¶ And alle rithtful recordedoun / þat reson trewþe seyde .
And kynde wit and concience / cortesiliche þonkede
Reson / for his rithtful speche / riche and pore him louede
And seydon we seo wel / sire reson by þi wordes
Þat meoknesse worþ maystur / ouer mede atte last
¶ Loue let liht of mede / and leaute ȝit lasse
And cried vpon concience / þe kyng hit myht here
¶ Wo-so wilnoþ heore to wyue / for welþe of heore goodes
But heo beo knowe for kokewold / kut of my nose
¶ Mede morned þo / and made heuy chere
For þe comune cald heore / queynt comune hore
¶ A sysour and a somonour þo / sofliche forþe ȝeodoun
With Mede þe mayde / ouȝt of þe mothalle
¶ A schereues clerk cried / a / capiatis / mede
Et saluo custodias / sed non cum carceratis /
¶ Þe kyng to his consaille þo / tok concience and reson .
And modeliche vpon mede / mony tyme lokede
And lowred vpon men of lawe / and lithliche sayde
¶ Throw ȝore lawe as y leue / y lese meny eschetes
Mede and men of ȝoure craft / muche trewþe letteþe
¶ Ac reson schal regne myd ȝow / ȝif y regne eny while
And deme ȝow by this day / as ȝe han deserued
Mede schal nouȝt meynpryse ȝowe / by mary of heuene
¶ Y wol haue leaute for my lawe / let beo alle ȝoure Iangle
By lelle men and lif holy / my lawe schal beo demed .
¶ Quaþ concience to þe kyng / with-ouȝte þe comune help
Hit is ful hard be myn hede / þer-to hit to brynge
And alle ȝoure licheledes / liche ledes / to lede thus euene
¶ By him þat rayhte on rode / quod reson to þe kyng
And bringe alle men to bowe / with-oute bittur wounde
With þout mercement or manslauht / amende alle reomes
¶ Y wold hit were quaþ þe kyng / wel al a-bowte
For-þi / reson redely / þou schalt nat riden hennes
But beo my chief chaunceller / in cheker and in parlment
And concience in alle my Cortes / beo As kynges Iustice .
¶ Y assente quaþ reson / by so þat þi-self y hure
Audi alteram partem / a-mong aldermen and Comuners
And þat vnsittyng soffraunce / ne sele ȝoure pryue lettres
Ne sende supersedias but y assente quaþ reson
And y dar legge my lyfe / þat loue wol lene þe seluer
To wage thyne and help to wynne / þat þow wilnest aftur
More þan alle þi marchaunȝtes / or þi mytred buschopes
Or lombardes of lukes / as lyfe by lone as Iuwes .
¶ Þe kyng comaunded þo concience / to congeye alle his officers
And receyuon tho þat reson louede / and rith wiþ þat y a-wakede
Explicit passus quintus /
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{in} impunitum
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