Passus tercius de dowel
Among Pilours P in pees · yf pacience hym folowe
Oure prince ihesu pouerte chees / and his apostles alle
And ay þe lengere they lyuede / the lasse goed they hadde
¶ Tanquam nichil habentes & cetera
Ȝut ret me þat abraham and Iob · / weren wonder ryche
And out of nombre tho men / many mebles hadden
Abraham for his · hadde moche tene
For in greet pouerte he was put / a prince as hit were
Bynoem his hosewyf / and Abraham not hardy ones to letten hym
Ne for brihtnesse of here beaute · here spouse to be by-knowe
And for he soffrede and saide nauht · oure lord sente tookene
With moche welthe aftur
¶ Iob þe gentele / what ioye hadde he on erthe
And how bittere he hit abouhte / as þe book telleth
And for a song in his sorwe / si bona accepimus a domino & cetera
derworthe and dere god / do we so mala
Alle his sorwe to solace / thorw that song turnede
And Iob bykam as a iolyf man / and al his ioye newe
Lo how pacience and pouerte / thise patriarkes releuede
And brouhte hem all aboue / þat in bale rotede
As grayn þat lith in greut / and thorw grace at the laste
Spryngeth and spredeth / so spedde þe fader Abraham
And þe gentel Iob · here ioye hath non ende
Ac leueth nat lewede men · þat y lacke rychesse
Thogh y preyse pouerte thus / and preue hit by ensaunples
Worthiore as by holy writ · and wyse fylosofres
Bothe to ben gode · be ȝe ful certeyn
And lyues þat oure lord loueth · and large weyes to heuene
As þe pore pacient þe purgatorye passeth
Rather then þe ryche / thogh they renne at ones
For yf a marchant and mesager · metten to-gyderes
And sholden wende o wey · where bothe mosten reste
And rikene byfore resoun / aresonable / a resonable acounte
What oen hath · what a-noþer hath · and what they hadde bothe
The merchaunt mote nede be y-let / lenger then the messager
For þe parcel of his pauper / and oþer pryue dettes
Wol lette hym as y leue · the lenghe of amyle / a myle
And his lettre sheweth · and is anoon delyuered
And thogh they wente by the wey / tho two to-gederes
Thogh the messager make his way / amydde the fayre whete
Wol no wys man be wroth / ne his wed take
¶ Necessitas non habet legem
Ne non haiward is hote · his wed for to taken
Ac if þe marchaunt make his way ouer menne corne
And þe hayward happe with hym for to mete
Oþer his hatt or his hoed / or elles his gloues
The marchaunt mote for-go / or moneye of his porse
And ȝut be y-lette as y leue / for the lawe asketh
Marchauntz for here marchaundyse / in many place to tolle
And ȝut thow they wende o way / as to wynchestre fayre
The marchaunt with his marchauntdyse / may nat go so swythe
As þe messager may / ne with so moche ese
For þat on bereth but a box · / a breuet þerynne
Ther þe marchaunt latte a male · / with many kyne thynges
And dredeth to be ded þerfore / and he in derke mette
With robbares and reuares / þat ryche men despoilen
Ther þe messager is ay merye · and his mouth ful of songes
And leueth for his lettres · þat no wyht wole hym greue
Ac ȝut myhte þe merchaunt / thorw his moneye and other ȝeftes
Haue hors and hardy men / thogh he mette theues
Wolde noon suche assailen hym · / for such as hym foloweth
And as safly as þe messager · and asone / a[s] sone at his hostiele come
Ȝe wyte ȝe wyse men · / what this is to mene
The marchaunt is no more to mene / but men þat ben ryche
Aren alle acountable to crist · / and to þe kyng of heuene
That holde mote þe hey way / euene the ten hestes
And haue reuthe and releue · / with his rychesse by his power
Alle maner men meschief y-falle
Fynde beggares bred / bakkes for þe colde
Tythen here goed treuthliche · a tol as hit semeth
That oure lord loketh aftur · of vch a lyf þat wynneth
With-oute wyles or wronges · or wymmen at þe stuyues
And ȝut more to maken pees · / and quyten menne dettes
And spele and spare / to spene vppon þe nedfole
As Crist hym-sulf comaundeth alle cristene peple
¶ Alter alterius onera portate
The messager aren this mendenantz þat lyuen by menne Almesse
To lene ne to lerne / ne lentones to faste
And other pryue penaunces · þe which þe prest woet wel
That þe lawe ȝeueth leue / such low folk to be excused
As none tythes to tythe / ne to clothe the nakede
Ne in none enquestes to come / ne contiumax / cont[u]max thogh he worche
Halyday or holy euene · / his mete to discerue
For if he loueth and byleueth · as the lawe techeth
¶ Qui crediderit & baptizatus fuerit & cetera
Telleth þe lord atale / a tale / as a trewe messager
And sheweth be seel / and seth by lettre with what lord he dwelleth
Ther god is gateward hym-sulf / and vch a gome knoweth
So þe pore of puyr reuthe / may parforme þe lawe
In þat a LX wilneth and wolde / vch a wyht as hym-sulue
For þe wil is as moche worthe · of a wrecche beggare
As al þat þe ryche may rayme / and rihtfuly dele
And as moche mede / for amyte / a myte þer he offreth
As þe ryche man for al his mone / and more as by þe gospell
¶ Amen dico vobis / quia hec vidua paupercula & cetera
So pore and pacient · parfitest lyf is of alle
For spera in deo · speketh of prestis þat han no spendynge suluer
That yf thay trauaile treulyche / and trist in god almyhty
Hem sholde neuere lacke lyflode / noþer lynnen ne wollene
The tytle ȝe take ȝoure ordresby / ordres by · telleth ȝe ben a-vaunsed
And nedeth nat to nyme siluer · for masses þat ȝe synge
For he that toek ȝow a title / sholde take ȝow wages
Or þe bischop þat blessed ȝow / and enbaumed ȝoure fyng{r}eres
For made neuere kyng no k{y}nyhte / but he hadde catel to spene
As byful for aknyht / a knyht / or fond hym for his strenthe
For hit is a carfol knyhte / and of a Caytif kynges makynge
That hath noþer lond ne lynage ryche / ne good los of his handes
The same y segge for sothe · by suche þat beth prestes
That noþer connyng ne kyn / bote a croune one
And a title a tale of nauht / to his lyflode as hit were
Thorw here luyther lyuynge / and lewede vnderstondynge
A Chartre is chaleniable / byfore a chief Iustice
Yf fals latyn be in þat lettre / þe lawe hit enpugneth
Or peynted parentrelynarie / parseles ouerskipped
The gome þat gloseth so Chartres / for a goky is halden
So hit is a goky by god / þat in þe gospel fayleth
Or in masse or in matynes / maketh eny defaute
¶ Qui offendit in vno · / in omibus / om[n]ibus est reus
For ouerskipperes also / in þe sauter sayth dauid
¶ Psallite deo {..}nostro / ps{...}allite / quoniam Rex deus psallite sapienter
The bishop shal be blamed · before god as y leue
That crouneth suche for goddes knyhtes / that conne sapienter T
Nother syng ne rede / Ac neuer noþer is blameles
The bischop ne þe chapeleyn / for ignorancia non excusat
As ych haue herd in bokes
Thus rechelesnesse / in a rage / C aresenede clergie
And scripture scornede · þat many skilles shewede
Til þat kynde cam clergie to helpe
And in þe myrour of mydel erthe / made hym efte to loke
To knowe by vch a creature / kynde to louye
And y bowed my body / bihelte al aboute
And seyhe þe sonne / and þe see / C and þe sond aftur
And where þat briddes and bestis / by here make þei ȝeden
Wilde wormes in wodes / and wondur-fol foules
With flekede fetheres / and of fele colours
Man and his make / y myhte se bothe
pouerte and plente / bothe pees and werre
blisse and bale / bothe y sey atones / at ones
And how þat mede toke / and mercy refusede
Resoun y sey sothly / sewe alle bestes
In etynge and drynkyng / in engendrure of kynde
Aftur cors of concepcion / noon toek kepe of oþer
As when þei hadde roteyed Anon they reste after
Males drow hem to males / and mor-wenynge by hem-sulue
And femeles to femeles / ferddede and drowe
Ther ne cow ne cow-kynde / þat conseyued hadde
That wolde bere aftur bole · ne boer aftur sowe
Ther ne was no kyne kynde / þat conseyued hadde
That ne lees the lykynge of lost / of flesch as hit were
Saue man and his make · and þerof me wondrede
For out of resoun they ryde · / and rechelesliche token on
As in derne dedes / bothe drynkyng and elles
Briddes y beheld / in bosches made nestes
Hadde neuere weye wyt / to worche þe leste
Y hadde wonder at whan / and where þe pye
Lernede to begge stikkes · þat ley on here neste
Ther is no wriht as y wene · sholde worch here neste to paye
Yf eny mason made amolde / a molde / þerto / · moche wonder me thynketh
And ȝut me merueylede more / mony of þe briddes
Hudden and helede / here egges dernely
For no foul sholde hit fynde / but his fere and hym-sulue
And som treden y toke kepe / and on trees bredde
And brouhte forth here briddes / al aboue þe grounde
In mareys and in mores · in myres and in watres
dompynges dyuede dere god y sayde
Where hadde thise wilde suche wit / and at what scole
And how þe pocok caukede / þer-of toke y kepe
How vncorteyliche / vncortey[s]liche þat cok / his kynde for strenede
And ferlyede of his fayrenesse / and of his foul lenede
And sethe y lokede on þe see / and so forth on sterres
Mony selcouthes y seyh / aren nat to segge nouthe
Ne what on floures on felde / and of here fayre coloures
And how out of greeut and of gras growe so many hewes
And some soure and some swete selcouthe me thouhte
Of here kynde and of here colour / to carpe hit were to longe
Ac þat most meuede me · and my moed chaungede
Was þat y seyh resoun sewen alle bestes
Saue man and mankynde / mony tymes me thouhte
Resoun releuede hem nat · noþer ryche ne pore
Thenne y resonede resoun / and ryht til hym y sayde
Y haue wonder in my wit / so wys as thow art holden
Wherefore and why · as wyde as thow regneste
That thow ne reuledest rather renkes then other bestes
Y se non so ofte forfeten / sothly so mankynde
In mete out of mesure / and mony tymes in drynke
In wommen in wedes / and in wordes bothe
They ouerdoen hit day and nyhte / and so doth nat oþer bestes
They reule h{.}em al by resoun / Ac renkes ful fewe
Of wit and of werkes / why he ne loueth thy lore and leueth as þou techest
And resoun aresonnede me / and sayde reche þe neuere
Why · y soffre or nat soffre certes he sayde
Vch a segge for hym-sulue · salamon vs techeth
¶ de re que te non molestat / noli te certare
Ho suffreth more then god quod he no gome as y leue
He myhte amende in amynte / a mynte-while / al þat amys standeth
Ac he soffreth in ensaumple þat we sholde soffren alle
Is no vertue so fair / ne of valewe ne profit
So is soffrance souereynliche / so hit be for godes loue
And so witnesseth wyse · and wisseth þe frenche
¶ Bele vertue est suffrance mal dire est petit vengeance
Ben dire & ben suffrer / fait lui suffrable a bien venir
And ar thow lacke eny lyf · loke ho is to preyse
For is no creature vnder Crist · þat can hym-sule make
And if creatures cristene / couth make hem-sulue
{A}Vch a lede wolde be lacles · leef thow non other
Man was made of such matere · he may nat wel a-sterte
That some-tyme hym bitit / to folewen his kynde
Caton acordeth ther-with nemo sine crimine viuit
Tho cauhte y colour anoen / and comesede to ben a-schamed
And awakede þer-with / wo was me thenne
That y ne hadde met more / so murye as y slepte
And saide anoen to my-sulue / slepynge hadde y grace
To wyte what dowel is / Ac wakynge neuere
And thenne was ther a wyhte / what he was y neste
What is dowel quod þat wyhte / y-wis sire y saide
To se moche and soffre al / certes is dowel
Haddestow soffred he sayde / slepyng tho thow were
Thow sholdest haue y-knowe / þat clergie ca / ca[n] & conseyued more þen resoun
For resoun wolde haue rehersed / þe riht as clergie seide
Ac for thyn entermetynge / her artow forsake
¶ Philosophus esses / si tacuisses & alibi
Locutum me aliquando penituit tacuisse nunquam
Adam þe whiles he spak nat · / hadde paradys at wille
Ac when he mamelede aboute mete / and musede for to knowe
The wisdom and the wit of god / he was pot out of blisse
Riht{o}e so ferde Resoun by the / for thy rude speche
And for thow woldest wyte / why resones preuede
Pruyde or presumpcioun / of thy parfit lyuynge
Resoun refusede the / and wolde nat reste with the
Ne clergie of his connynge / kepeth he nat shewe
For shal neuere ar shame come / a shrewe wel chaste
For lat adronkene / a dronkene daffe / in a dykke falle
Lat hym lygge lok nat on hym / til hym luste to ryse
For thogh resoun rebuke hym thenne recheth heneuere / he neuere
Ne of clergie ne of kynde wyt counteth he nat a rusche
To blame hym or to bete hym / thenne y halde hit but synne
Ac when nede nymeth hym vp / Anoen he is a-schamed
And thenne woet he wherfore · and why he is to blame
Ȝe seggeth soth be my soule quod · y / I · C haue sey hit ofte
Ther smyt no-thyng so smerte / ne smelleth so foule
As shame ther he sheweth hym / vch man shoneth his companye
Why ȝe worden to me thus / was for y aresonede Besoun / [R]eason
Ȝe certes quod he þat is soth / and shop hym to walke
And aroes vp riht with þat / and reuerensed hym fayre
And yf his wille were / A LX wolde his name telle
†
+
Raysoun
· Raysoun
// Hyer cawȝte
will colour
will colour
ymaginatyf