Incipit passus sextus .C
THus y a-wakede wot god / wan y wonede on Cornhulle
Kytte and y in a cote / cloþed as a lollere
And litul y lete by / leof me for sothe
Among lollars of London / and lewede ermytes
For y made of þo men / as reson me tauhte
¶ For as {as} y cam by concience / wiþ reson y mette .
In an hot heruest / wen y hadde my hele .
And lymes to laboure with / and louende wel fare
And no dede to do / bot drynke and to slepe
In hele and in vnite / on me apposede .
Romynge in remembraunce / thus reson me a-ratede
¶ Canst þow seruen he seyde / or synge in a churche
¶ Or koke for my kokeres / or to a cart piche .
¶ Mowe oþur Mowen / or make bonde to sheues
¶ Repe or to beo a repreue / and a-ryse erly .
¶ Or haue an horne and beo hayward / and ligge oute a nyhtes
And kepe my corn in my croft / fro pykeres and þeoues .
¶ Or schape schon oþer cloþes / or schep or kuyn kepe
Eggen or harewen / or swyn or ges dryue .
Or eny oþur kynnes craft / þat þe comune neodeþ .
Hem þat bedrede ben / by-lyue to fynde .
¶ Certes y saide / and so me god helpe
I am to wayke to worche / with sykele oþur sythe
And to longe leof me / to lowe for to stowpe .
To worche as a werkemon / eny while to dure
¶ Þenne has thow londes to lyue by / quod reson / or lynage riche
Þat Fyndon þe þi fode / for an ydul man þow semest
A spender þat spende mot / or a spille-tyme /
Or beggest þi by-lyue / a-boute at men haches
Or faitest vpon frydais / or fest dayes in churches
Þe wuche is lollarene lif / þat lytul is preysed .
Ther rithfulnesse rewarduþ / riȝt as men deserueþ
Reddit vnicuique iuxta opera sua .
Or thow art broke so may beo / in body or in membre
Or y-maymed þrow som myshap / wer-by þow myht be {ac}excused
Wen y ȝong was quaþ y / mony ȝer hennes
My fader and my frendes / founde me to scole
Til y wist witturly / what holy wryt mened
And wat is best for þe body / as þe book telloþ
And sekerest for þe soule / by so y wel continue
¶ And ȝut founde y neuere in faith / sith my frendes deyden
Lyf þat me likede / but in theos longe clothes .
¶ Ȝif y by labour schold lyue / and liflode deseruen
That labour þat y lerned best / þer-with lyue scholde
In eadem vocacione qua {vocacione qua} vocati estis /C
And y lyue in londone / and on londone bothe
Þe lomes þat y labore with / and lyflode deserue
Ys pater noster and my prymer placebo and dirige .
And my sauter som tyme / and my sene psalmes
¶ Thus y synge for heore sowles / of suche as me helpuþ
And tho þat fyndon me my fode / vowchen-saf y trowe
To beon wel-come wen y come / oþur-while in a monþe
Now with him and now with heore / and thus-gate y begge
With-ouȝte bagge or botel / but my wombe one .
¶ And al-so more-ouer / me þenkeþ sire reson
Men schal constrayne no clrek / cl[er]k / to knauene werkes
¶ For by lawe of Leuitici / þat oure lord ordeyned
Clerkes þat aron croned / of kynde vndurstondyng
Schold noþur swynk ne swete / ne swere atte enquestes
Ne fiht in no vauntwarde / ne his foo greue
non reddas malum pro malo .C
¶ For hit be heyres of heuene / alle þat beo croned
And in queer in kerkes / cristes owne minestres .
Dominus pars hereditatis mee / et alibi / Clemencia non constringit .
¶ Hit by-comeþ for clerkes / crist fort to seruen
And knaues vn-croned / to carte and to worche
For scholde no clerk beo croned / but ȝif he come were
Of Frankeleyns and freo men / and of folk y-wedded .
¶ Bondemen and bastardes / and beggeres children
These by-longeþ to labour / and lordes kyn schold seruen
Bothe god and godemen / as here degree askeþ
Some to synge masses / or sitten and wryte
Rede and receyue / þat reson ouȝte spende /
¶ Ac sithe bondemen barnes / han be mad byschopes
¶ And barnes bastardes / han beon archidekenes .
¶ And soperes and heore sones / for suluer han beo knytes
¶ And lord sones heore laborers / and led here rentes to wedde
for þe riht of þes reome / riden a-ȝeyns oure enymys
In confort of þe comune / and þe kynges worschip
¶ And monkes and moniales / and mendinans schold fynde
Han mad here kynne knytes / and knyt fees purchase .
¶ Popes and patrones / poure gentul blod refused
And taken symondes sone / seintwarie to kepe
Lif-holynesse and loue / hanne beo longe hennes
And wole til hit beo weret ouȝt / or oþer-wyse chaunged /
¶ For-þi rebuke me rith nauȝt / reson / y ȝow preye
For in my concience y knowe / wat crist wolde þat y wrouhte .
¶ Preyers of a parfit man / and penaunce discret
Is þe leuost labour / þat oure lord plesoþ /
Non de solo pane y sayde / for sothe viuit homo
Nec in pane et in pabulo / þe pater noster witnesseþ
Fiat voluntas tua / fynt vs alle þynges
Quath concience by crist / i can not se þis lieþ
Ac hit semeþ nat parfitnesse / sad in cytees fort to begge
But hit beo obedienter / to priour or to ministre .
¶ Þat is sothe y sayde / and so y by-knowe
Þat y haue tynt tyme / and tyme myspended
¶ Ac ȝut y hope as he / þat ofte hath chaffared
Þat ay hathe lost an lost / and atte last him happed
He boute suche a bargayn / he was þe bet euere .
And set his lost at a lef / atte þe last ende
Suche a wynnyng him warthe / throw wirdes of grace .
Simile est regnum celorum thesauro abscondito in agro .
Mulier qui inuenit dragmam .
¶ So hope y to haue / of him þat al is myhty
A goped of his grace / an by-gonne a tyme /
Þat alle tymes of my tyme / to profit schal turne .
¶ Y rede þe quod reson þo / rape þe to by-gynne
Þe life þat is lowable / and lefe to þy soule
¶ Ȝe and continue quaþ concience / and to þe kirke y wente
¶ And to þe kirke can y go / god to honoure
By-fore þe crois on my knees / knoked y my brest
Sykynge for my synnes / suggyng my pater noster .
Wepynge and waylinge / til y was a-slepe .
¶ Þenne mette me muche more / þan y by-fore tolde
Of þe matere þat y met furst / on Maluerne hulles
¶ Y sauh þe feld ful of folk / fram ende til othur
And reson rauested / riht as a pope
And concyence his croser / by-fore þe kynge stande
¶ Reson reuerentliche / by-fore al þe reome
Prechede and prouede / þat þeos pestilens
Was for pure synne / to punysche þe people
¶ And þe sowþewestwynd / sowþewest wynd / on setturday at Euee
Was perteliche for pruyde and for no poynt elles .
¶ Pyries and plomtrees / were poffed to þe erthe
In ensaumple to seggen vs / we schold do þe betere
Beches and brod okes / weron blowe to þe ground
And turned vpward heore tail / in tokenygg / tokeny[n]g of drede
Þat dedly synne or domesday / schal for-do vs alle
¶ Of þis matere y myhte / mouele fol longe .
Ac y schal sey as y seyh / slepyng as hit were
Hou reson radde al þe reome / ritht fort to lyuen
¶ He bad wastours go worche / and wynne here sustinaunce
Þrow som trewe trauail / and no tyme spille .
¶ He preyed purnele / heore purfil to leue
And kepe hit in hure cofre / for catel atte þe neode
¶ He tauȝhte Thomme stowe / to take to staues
And feche felice hom / fram wyfene pyne
¶ He warnede wat / his wife was to blame
for here hed was worþ half marc / and his hod not a grote
¶ He bad bette go kutte / a bowh oþer tweye
And bete beton þer-mid / but scheo wolde worche
¶ He chargete chapmen / to chaste here childeren .
And let no wynnyng for-wene hem / þe while þei ben ȝonge .
For ho-so spareþ þe spryg / spilloþ his childeren .
And so wrot þe wyse / to wysen vs alle qui parcit virge odit filium
¶ And sythe he preyde prelates / and preostes to-gederes
Þat hy precheþ to þe poeple / preouen hem-selue
Lyue ȝe as ȝe lereþ vs / we schulle leoue ȝow þe bettre
And sithe he radde religion / here rewle to holde
lest þe kyng and his consail / ȝoure comunes a-peyre
And beo stiwardes of ȝoure stedes / til ȝe beo stiwed betere
Gregorie þe gret clerk / gart write in bokes
Þe rewle of alle religious / rithfol and obedient
¶ Riht as fiches in floud / wen hem failleþ water
Dyon for drowþe / wen þey dry ligen
Riht so Religion / rotuþ and sterueþ
Þat ouȝt of couent and cloistre / coueyteþ to dwelle
For ȝif heuene beo on þis oerthe / or eny ese for soule
Hit is in cloistre or in scole / by mony skyles y fynde
¶ For in cloystre comuþ no mon / to chide ne to fihte
¶ In scole is loue and lownesse / and lykyng to lerne
¶ Ac mony day men telleþ / boþe monkes and chanons
Han ride ouȝt of a-ray / here rewle vuele holde
¶ Lederes of lawdayes / and londes porchasede
And prykede a-bouȝt on palfreys / fro places and in-to maneres
An hep of houndes at his ers / as a lord were
¶ And but his knaue knele / þat schal his cop holde
He lokeþ alle lowrynge / and lordeyn him calleþ
Litul had lordes a-do / to ȝiue lond fro here heires
To religiouse þan han no rewþe / þauh hit reyne on here auters
In places þer persones beoth / be hem-self atte ese
Of þe pore han þei no pyte / þat is here pure charite
¶ Ȝe leten ȝow alle as lordes / ȝoure lond lithe to brode
¶ Ac ȝut schal come a kyng / and confesse ȝow alle
And bete ȝow as þe bible telloþ / for brekyng of ȝoure rewle
And amende ȝow monkes / monials and chanons
And putte ȝou to ȝoure penaunce ad pristinum statum ire .
And barones and here barnes / blame ȝow and repreoue
Hij in curribus & hij in equis ipsi obligati sunt et ceciderunt .
¶ Freres in here freytour / schul fynde þat tyme
Bred with-oute beggyng / to leueby / leue by euere aftur
An Costantyn schal beon here coke / and coueroure of here kyrke
¶ For þe abbot of Engelonde // and þe abbesse his nece
Schullon haue a knok on here crones / and in-currable þe wounde .
Contriuit dominus baculum impiorum / virgam dominancium plaga insanabili
Ac er þat kynge come / as cronicles me tolde
Clerkes and holichurche / schal beo cloþed newe
And sithe he consailled þe kyng / his comune to louye .
For þe Comune is þe kynges tresour / concience wot wel
¶ And also quod reson / y rede ȝow riche
And Comuners to a-corden in alle kynne trewþe
¶ Let non kynne consail / ne couetyse ȝowe departe
Þat o wit and o wil / alle ȝoure wardes kepe
¶ Lo in heuene an hy / was an holy comune
Til lucifer þe liere / leouede þat him-selue
Were wittyor and worþior / þan he þat his maystur
¶ Hold ȝow in vnite / and he þat wolde oþer
Is cause of alle combraunce / to confounde a reome
¶ And sithen he preyde þe pope / haue pite on holichurche
And no grace to graunte / til god loue were
A-mong alle kynne kynges / ouur cristone people
¶ Comande þat al confessours / þat eny kyng schryueþ
Enioyne him pees for here penaunce / and perpetual for-ȝeuenese
Of alle manere accions / and eche mon loue oþur
¶ And ȝe þat seche seint Iame / And seyntes of rome
Secheþ seint Treuthe in sauacion of ȝoure sowles
Qui cum patre & filio / þat faire hem by-falle
Þat seweþ my sermon / an thus endeþ resoun .
Explicit passus sextus /
[2 casually sketched pointing hands, one directed toward the text on the facing page, the other pointing upward at the last line on this page.]