And þe feld ful of folk / y shal ȝou fair shewe
Cam doun fro þe castel / and calde me by name
And sayde wille slepestou / seestow þis peple
Hou bisy þei ben / aboute þe mase
The moste party of this peple / þat passeth on þis erthe
Hadde thei worschip in this world / thei wilneth no bettere
Of othere heuene then here / thei halde no tale
Y was afeerd of of / [of] here face / thow she fayre were
And sayde mercy ma-dame / what may this be to mene
The tour vppon þe {.....}tofte quod she / treuthe is þer-ynne
And wolde þat ȝe wroghtoun / as his word techeth
For he is fader of fayth / and formor of alle
To be fayful to hym / ȝaf ȝow fyue wittes
For to worschipe hym þerwith / þe whiles ȝe lyuen here
Wherfore he hette þe elementis / to helpe ȝow alle tymes
And brynge forth ȝoure bi-{le}lyue / bothe lynnen and wollen
And in mesure thow muche were / to make ȝow attese
And comaundede of his cortesye / in comune thre thynges
Aren non ni defole / nidefole but tho thre / and nemne hem y thenke
And rekene hem by rewe / reherse hem w{e}her þe liketh
The firste is fode / and vesture þe seconde
And drynke þat doth the good / and drynke nat out of tyme
¶ Loot in his lyue / thorw likerous drynke
Wykkede wroghte / and wrathed god almyhty
In his dro{k}nkenesse aday / his doughteres he dighte
And lay by hem bothe / as þe boke telleth
In his glotonye bygat / gurles þat were cherles
And al he witte þe wyn / his wikkede dede
¶ Inebriemus eum vino / dormiamusque cum eo vt seruare
possimus de patre nostro semen / Genesis & cetera
Thorw wyn and thorw woman / there was loot acombred
For-thy drede delitable drynke / bothe day and nyghtes
Mesure is medecyne / thogh þow muche ȝerne
Al is nat good to þe gost / þat þe gott ascuth
Ne liflode to þe lycame / þat lef is þe soule
Leef nat thy lycame / for a lyare hym techeth
Which is þe wrecchede world / wolde þe bigyle
For the fend and thy flesch / folewen to-gederes
And þat {....}schenth T þe soule / and sayth hit the in herte
And wysseth þe to ben y-war / what wolde þe desseyue
¶ A madame mercy / me lyketh wel ȝoure wordes
Ac þe moneye of þis molde / þat men so faste kepen
Telleth me to wham / þat tresour bylongeth
¶ Go to þe gospel quod she / and se what god sayde
Whenne þe peple aposed hym / of a peny in þe temple
And god askede at hem / hoes was þe koyne
Sesares thei sayde / sothliche we knoweth
¶ Reddite cesari sayde god / þat cesar byfalleth
Et que sunt dei deo / or ȝe don ylle
For riȝtfulliche resoun / sholde reule ȝow alle
And kynde witte be wardeyn / ȝoure we{t}lthe to kepe
And tutor of ȝoure tresor / and take it ȝow at nede
For hosbondrye and he / holdeth to-gederes
¶ Y fraynede her fayr tho / for hym þat here made
The dep dale and þe derk / so vnsemely to se to
What may hit by-mene / madame y by-seche
¶ That is þe Castel of care / who-so cometh þer-ynne
May banne þat he born was / in body and in soule
Ther-ynne wonyeth a wyghte / þat wrong is his name
Fader of falshede / fond hit firste of alle
Adam and Eue / he eggede to ylle
And conseylede Caym / to cullen his brother
Iudas he byiapede / thorw iewene suluer
And afterward anhengede hym / hey vppon anhellerne / an hellerne
He is lettere of loue / and lyeth alle tymes
That tristeth in tresor of erthe / he bytrayeth sonest
To combre men with coueytise / þat is his kynde and his lore
¶ Thenne hadde y wonder in my wit / what woman he LX were
That suche wyse wordes / of holy writ shewede
What she were wytterly / þat wissede me so and tauhte
¶ Holy churche y am quod she / þou oughtest me to knowe
Y vndirfenge þe formeste / and freman the made
Thow broughtest me borewes / my biddyng to fulfille
Leue on me and loue me / al thy lyf-tyme
¶ Thenne y knelede on my knees / and criede here of grace
And preyede here pitously / to preye for me to amende
And also kenne me kyndly / on crist to biliue
Teche me to tresor / but telle me this ilke
How y may saue my soule / þat saynt art yholde
When alle tresores ben tried / treuthe is þe beste
I · do it vppon deus caritas / to deme þe sothe
Hit is a derworthe a druerie / as dere god hym-seluen
For who is trewe of his tonge / and of his two handes
And doth þe werkes þerwith / and wilneth noman / no man ylle
He is agod / a god by þe gospel / and graunte may hele
And also lyk oure lord / by saynt lukes wordes
Clerkes þat knowen hit is thus / sholde kenne it a-boute
For cristene and vncristene / claymeth it echone
¶ Kynges and knyghtes / sholde kepen hit by resoun
Rydon and rappe a-doun / in reumes aboute
And take transgressores / and teyen hem faste
Til treuthe hadde termyned / here trespas to þe ende
And halden with hem and here / þat han trewe action
And for no lordene loue / leue þe trewe partie
Treweliche to take / and treweliche to fyghte
Is þe professioun / and puyr ordre T
That apendeth to knyghtes / and ho-so passeth þat poynt
Is appostata of knyghthed / for thei sholde nother faste
Ne forbere the serk / But fyghte and fende treuthe
And neuer {s}leue for loue / in hope to lacche syluer
¶ Dauid in his daies / dobbed knyghtes
dede hem swere on here swerd / to serue treuthe euere
And god whan he bigan heuene / in þat grete blisse
Made knyghtes in his Couert / creatures tene
Cherubyn and Ceraphyn / suche seuene / T
And anoþer lucifer loue{..}lokest tho / ac litel while it duyred
He was an archangel of heuene / on of goddes knyghtes
He and oþer with hym / helden nat with treuthe
Lepen out in lothly forme / for his fals wille
¶ Ponam pedem meum in Aquilone / & similis ero altissimo
Lord why wold he tho / þat wykkede lucifer
Luppen alofte // C in þe north syde
Thenne sitten in þe sonne syde / þere þe day roweth
Nere hit for northerne men / anon y wolde ȝow telle
Ac y wol lacky no lyf / quod þat lady sothly
Hit is sikerore bi southe / þer þe sonne regneth
Then in þe north by many notes / noman / no man leue other
For theder as þe fende fly / his fote for to sette
Ther he faylede and ful / and his felawes alle
And helle is þer he is / and þere ybounde
Euene þe contrarie sitteth Crist / Clerkes wyteth þe sothe
¶ dixit dominus domino meo / sede a dextris meis
Ac of þis matere nomore / no more / n{....}emnen y n{....}elle
Hewes in þe haliday / after hete wayten
Ac thei caren nat thow hit be cold / knaues when þe worche
¶ Wonder-wyse holy wryt / telleth how þei fullen
Summe in erthe summe in ayr / summe in helle depe
Ac lucifer lowest / lith of hem alle
For pruyde ther hym pokede / his payne hath non ende
And alle þat worchen þat wikked is / wenden thei sholle
Aftur here deth-day / and dwelle ther wrong is T
And alle þat han wel y-wrouhte · wende þey sholle
Estward til heuene / euere to abyde /
There treuthe is þe tour / that trinite ynne sitteth
¶ Lere hit thus lewed men / for lettred hit knoweth
That treuthe and treweloue / is no tresor bettre
I · haue no kynde knowyng quod y / ȝut mot ȝe kenne me bettere T
By what wey it wexeth / and wheder out of my menynges
Thow dotede daffe quod she / dulle aren thy wittes
To lyte lernedest y leue / latyn in thy ȝowthe
¶ Heu michi quod sterlilem / ster[i]lem duxi vitam iuuenilem
Hit is a kynde knowynge / that kenet in thynherte / thyn herte
For to louye thy lord / leuest of alle
Dey rather þen do / eny dedly synne
¶ Melius est mori / quam male viuere
And this y trowe be treuth / · ho-so kan tecche þe bettre
Lok þow soffre hym to seye / and so thow myht lerne
For treuthe telleth þat loue / ys triacle to abate synne
And most souerayne salue / for soule and for body
Loue is plonte of pees / most precious of vertues
For heuene holde hit ne myghte / so heuy hit furst T semede
Til hit hadde of erthe yȝoten hit-silue
Was neuer lef vppon lynde / lyhtere theraftur
As when hit hadde of þe folde / flesch and blode taken
Tho was hit portatif / and persaunt as is þe poynt of anelde / a nelde
May non Armure hit lette / ne none heye walles
For-thi is loue ledare / {...?...}of oure lordes folk of heuene
And a mene as þe Mayre is / bitwene þe kyng and þe comune
Ryht so is loue ledare / and þe lawe shapeth
Vp man for his mysdedes / the mercement and he taxeth
And for to knowe hit kyndly / hit comeseth by myhte
And in þe herte þer is þe hed / and þe heye walle
And þat falleth to þe fader / þat formede vs alle
Lokede on vs with loue / let his sone deye
Mekeliche for oure mysdedes / to amende vs alle
And ȝut wolde hem no wo / þat wrouhte hym al þat tene
Bote mekeliche with mouth / mercy he by-soughte
To haue pitee on þat peple / þat paynede hym to dethe
Here myhtow se ensaumples / in hym-self one
That he was myhtfull and meke / and mercy gan graunte
For-thy y rede ȝow riche / haueth reuthe vppon þe pore
Thow ȝe be myhty to mote / beth meke in ȝoure werkes
For þe same mesure þat ȝe meteth / amis other elles
Ȝe shal be weye þer-with / whenne ȝe wende hennes
¶ Eadem mensura qua mensi / fueritis Remetietur vobis
For thow ȝe ben trewe of ȝoure tonges / and treweliche wynne
And ben as chast as a child / þat chyht noþer ne fyhteth
But yf ȝe louye leeliche / and lene þe pore
Of such good as god ȝow sent / goodliche parte
Ȝe na haueth na more meryte / in masse ne in oures
Then malkyn of here maydenheed / when noman / no man here couayteth
For Iames þe gentele / iugeth in his bokes
That fayth with-outen þe feet / is feblore then nautht
And as ded as dore nayl / but yf þe dedes folowe
¶ Fides sine operibus mortua est
Chastite with-outen charite / worth cleyned / c[h]eyned in helle
Hit is as lewed thyng as a laumpe / þat no liht is ynne
Mony chapeleynes aren chaste / ac charite hem fayleth
Aren none hardore ne hungriore / then men of holychirche / holy chirche
Auerous and euel willed / when þei ben a-vaunsed
Vnkynde to here kyn / and to alle cristene
Shewen here charite / and chiden aftur more
And ben a-combred with coueytise / thei can nouȝt c{l}repe out
So harde haþ auaryce / y-hapsed hem to-gederes
And þat is no treuthe of þe trinite / but triccherye synne
And aluther / a luther ensaunple leef me / as for þe lewed peple
For this aren wordes y-wryten / in þe ewangelie
For y dele ȝow alle / and þat is þe lok of loue & vnloseth grace
That conforteth alle carefole / acombred with synne
So loue is lecche of lyf / and lysse of alle payne
And þe graffe of grace / and grayest / gra[þ]est way to heuene
Whenne alle tresores ben tried / treuthe is þe beste
Loue hit quod þat lady / lette may y no lengore
To lere the what loue is / and leue at me she lauhte