Passus quartus de visione vt prius
Sethe C saide þe kynge y soffre ȝow no lengore
Ȝe shal sauhtene for sothe / and serue me bothe
Kusse here quod the kyng · Consience yhote
Nay by Crist quod Consience / congeie me are
But resoun rede me þer-tyl · / rather wolde y dey
And y comaunde quod the kyng / to Consience thenne
Rape the to ryde · and resoun þat thow seche
Comaunde hym þat he come / my consayle to here
For he shal reulen my rewme / and rede me the beste
Of mede and of mo othere / and what man shal here wedde
And acounte with the Consience / so me Crist helpe
How thow ledest my peple / lered and lewed
Y am fayn of that foroward / in fayth tho quod Consience
And rood forth to resoun / and rouned in his ere
And sayde hym as þe kyng sayde / and sennes he took his leue
Y shal aray me to ryde / quod resoun reste the while
And kalde Catoun his knaue / Corteys of speche
And also thenne trewe tonge / telle me no tales
Ne lesynges to lauhe of / for y louede hit neuere
And sette my sadel vpon soffre / tyl y se my tyme
And lat warrokye hym wil / with auyseth þe byfore
For hit is þe wone of wil / to wynse and to kyke
For-thy lat peytrele wil / and pole hym with peynted wittes
Thenne Consience on his capel / comesed to pryke
And resoun with hym ryȝt / rounynge to-gederes
Whiche a maister mede was / amonges pore and ryche
¶ Ooen wareyn wisman / and wily man his felawe
Fayn were to folowe hem / and faste ryden aftur
To take reed of resoun þat recorde sholde
Byfore þe kyng an Consience / yf þe comune playne
Oon wily man and witty man / and wareyne wryng lawe
Ac Consience knewe hem wel / and carped to resoun
Here cometh quod Consience / þat Coueytise seruen
Ryde forth syre resoun / and rech nat of here tales
For there is wrath and wranglynge / there wol they abyde
Ac there is loue and leutee / hit lyketh nat here hertes
¶ Contricio & infelicitas in viis eorum / et vi{n}am pacis non cognouerunt / non est timor dei ante oculos eorum
They gyue nat of good fayth / woed god the sothe
For þey wolde do for a dyner / oþer a deseyne / d[o]seyne of capones
More then for oure lordes loue / oþer oure lady goddes moder
Thenne resoun rood forth / Ac took reward of no man
Bute dede as Consience hym kennede / til he þe kyng mette
Corteyslyche þe kyng thenne / cam and grette resoun
And bytwene hym-sulue / and his sone sette tho sire resoun
And speke wyse wordes / alonge / a longe while to-gederes
How wrong wilfully / hadde his wyf for-leyn
And how he raueschede Rose / the ryche wydewe by nyhte
And margarete of here mayden-hod / as he mette here late
Bothe my gees and my grys / and my g{.}ras he taketh
Y dar nat for his felawschipe / in fayth pees sayde
Bere sikerlyche eny seluer / {.}to seynt Gyles doune
And a wayteth LX ful wel when y seluer take
What wey y wende / wel ȝerne he aspyeth
To robbe me or to ruyfle me / yf y ryde softe
Ȝut is he bold for to borw / Ac baddelyche he payeth
Ne ferthyng therfore / for nouhte y couthe plede
A LX meynteyneth his men / to morthere myn hewes
And forstalleth my fayres / and fyhteth in my chepynges
And taketh me but a tayle / for ten quarteres otes
Y am nat hardy for hym / vnnethe to loke T
How wrong was a wykked man / and muche wo wrouhte
Tho was wrong afered / and wisdom a LX souhte
On men of lawe wrong lokede / and largelyche hem profered
And for to haue here helpe / handy-dandy payde
Hadde y loue of the lord / lytel wolde y reche
Of pees and his power / thow he pleyne euere
Thorw wrong and his werkes / there was mede y-knowe
For wysdom and wyt tho / wenton to-gyderes
And token mede with hem / mercy to wynne
Ȝut pees put forth his heued / and his panne blody
With-outen gult god wot / was gyue me this schathe
Consience knoweth hit wel / and al þe Comune trewe
Ac wyles and wyt / were aboute faste
To ouercome þe kyng / thorw catel y / y[f] they myhte
The kyng {.}swor by Crist / and by his croune bothe
That wrong for his werkes / sholde w{e}o tholye
And comaundede a Constable / to caste wronge in yrones
Ther he sholde nat in seuene ȝer / see his feet ne handes
God woot quod a wys oen þat were nat the beste
Yf he amendes may do / lat maynprise hym haue
And be borw for his bale / and buggen hym bote
And amende þat is mysdo / and euere-more þe betere
Witt acordede therwith / and witnessede þe same
Betere is þat bote / bale adoun brynge
Then bale be y-bete / and bote neuer þe betere
Then gan mede to m{.}eken here / and mercy she bisouhte
And profrede pees apresent / a present / al of puyre golde
Haue this man of me quod she / to amende thy {sh} scathe
For y wol wage for wrong / he wol do so no mare
Pitousliche pees tho / preyede the kyng
To haue mercy on þat man / that many tymes hym greuede
For he waged me wel / as wysdom hym tauhte
And mede hath made my mendes · / ymay / y may no more asken
So alle my claymes ben quyt / by so þe kyng assente
Nay by crist quod þe kyng / for Consiences sake
Wrong goth nat so away / ar y wete more
Lope he so lihtliche / lawen he wolde
And efte the baldore to be to bete myn hewes
Bute resoun haue reuth on hym / he shal reste in my stokkes
As longe as y lyue / for his luther werkes
Summe men radden resoun tho / to haue reuthe vppon þat shrewe
And for to consayle þe kynge / on Consience thei lokede
That mede myhte be maynpernour · Mede thei by-souhte
¶ Rede me nat quod resoun / no reuthe to haue
Til lordes and ladies / louen alle treuthe
And hatien alle harlotrie / to heren hit oþer to mouthen hit
And tyl purnele porfiel · be putte in here whicche
And chersyng · / be chasted with ȝerdes
And harlotes holynesse / be an heye ferie
Til Clerkene Coueytise / be cloth for þe pore
And here pelure and here palfrayes / pore menne lyflode
And religious out-ryderes / be reclused in here Cloistres
And be as Benet hem bad / dominik and fraunceys
Til þat lerede men lyue / as thei lere and teche
And til þe kynges consayl / be alle comune profit
And til byschopes ben bakeres / Breweres and taylours
For alle manere men þat me fynt neodefole
And til saynt Iames be souhte / there pore sykke lyggen
In prisones and in pore cotes / be pilgrimages to Rome
So þat noon go to galys but yf he go for euere
And alle Rome rennares / for ruyflares C in Fraunce
to bere no seluer ouer see / þat sygne of kyng sheweth
Nother y-graue ne vngraue / of gold oþer of suluer
Vp forfeture of þat fee / ho fyndeth hem ouerward
But he be marchaunt or his man / or messager of lettres
Prouisour or preest / oþer penaunt for his synnes
And quod resoun by þe rode / y shal no reuthe haue
Whiles mede hath the maistrie / þer motyng is at Barres
Ac y may seyen ensaumples / as y see othere
Y sey it nat for my-sulf / quod resoun and it so were
That y were kyng with crroune / c[r]oune / to kepe my reume
Shulde neuere wrong in this worlde / þat y wyte myhte
Be vnpunsched in my power / for perel of soule
Ne gete my grace thorw eny gyfte / ne glosynge speke
Ne thorw mede mercy / by marie of heuene
¶ For nullum malum / man mette with inpunitum
And bad nullum bonum / be irremuneratum
Lat thy Confessour syre kyng / construe this in englische
And yf ȝe worthe / wor[c]he it in werke / y wedde bothe myn handes
That lawe shal ben alaborer / a laborer / and lede afelde donge
And loue shal lede thi land / as the leef lyketh
Kyndeliche what it meneth T
¶ Mede in the mot-halle tho / on men of lawe gan wynke
In signe þat thei sholde / with som sotil speche
Ac al ryhtful recordede / þat resoun treuthe sayde
And kynde and Consience / corteysliche thonkede
Resoun for his ryhtful speche / ryche and pore hym louede
And sayden we seyn wel / syre resoun be thi wordes
That mekenesse worth mayster / ouer mede at þe laste
And cryede to Consience / the kyng myhte hit here
Ho-so wilneth here to wynne quod he / for welthe of here goodes
But he be knowe for a cokewold / kut of my nose
Mede mornede tho / and made an heuy chere
For þe comune calde here / queynte comune hore
A sysour and a somnour / tho softliche forth ȝede
With mede þe mayde tho out of þe moet-halle
A shyreues Clerk cryede / a capias mede
¶ et saluo custodias / set non cum carcertis / carcer[a]tis
The kyng to consayl tho toek · Consience and resoun
And modiliche vppon mede / many tymes lokede
And lourede vppon men of lawe and lyhtlych sayde
Thorw ȝoure lawe as y leue / y lese many chetes
Mede and men of ȝoure craft / muche treuthe letteth
Ac resoun shal rykene with ȝow / yf y regne eny while
And deme ȝow by this day / as ȝe haen deserued
Mede shal nat maynprise / by marye of heuene
Y wol haue leutee for my lawe / and late be al ȝoure iangle
And by lele and lyf-holy / my lawe shal be demed
Quod Consience to þe kyng / with-oute þe comune helpe
Hit is ful hard by myn heued · / herto to bryngen hit
And alle ȝoure lege lordes / to lede thus euene
By hym þat rauhte vp þe rode quod resoun to the kyng
But ȝe reule thus alle reumes / reuet{h}t T me my syhte
And brynge alle men to bowe / with-outen bittere wounde
With-outen mercement or manslauht / amende alle reumes
Y wolde hit were quod the kynge · wel alaboute / al aboute
For-thy resoun redyly / thow shalt nat ryden hennes
But be my cheef Chaunceller / in Cheker and in parlement
And Consience in alle my Courtes / be a kynges Iustice
Y assente sayde resoun / by so ȝow-sulue y-here
¶ Audiatis alteram partem / amonges aldremen and come{r}neres
And þat vnsittynge suffraunce / ne sele ȝoure priue lettres
Ne no supersedias sende / but y assente quod resoun
And y dar lege my lyf / þat loue wol lene þe seluer
To wage thyn and helpe wynne / þat thow wilnest aftur C
More then alle thy marchauntes / or thy mytrede Bysshopes
Or Lumbardus of lukes / þat leuen by lone as iewes
The kyng comaundede Consience tho / to congeye alle his offeceres
And receyue tho that resoun louede / and riht with þat y wakede
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corrigitur
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// lo mede bad
men of lawe
stoppe resoun
men of lawe
stoppe resoun
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