And wissede the ful ofte
What Dowel was to mene,
And counsailede the, for Cristes sake,
No creature to bygyle,
Nother to lye nor to lacke,
Ne lere that is defendid,
Ne to spille speche,
As to speke an ydel;
And no tyme to tene,
Ne trywe thyng to teenen;
Lowe the to lyve forth
In the lawe of holy churche,
Thenne dost thow wel, withoute drede,
Ho can do bet no forse.
Clerkes that connen al, ich hope,
Thei con do bettere;
Ac hit suffuseth to be saved,
And to be suche as ich tauhte:
Ac for to lovye and lene,
And lyve wel and byleyve,
Ys y-calid _Caritas_,
Kynde-love in English,
And that is Dobet, yf eny suche be,
A blessed man that helpeth,
And pees be and pacience,
And povre withoute defaute.
_Beatius est dare quam petere._
As catel and kynde witt
Encombre ful menye,
Woo is hym that hem weldeth,
Bote he hym wel dispeyne.
_Scientes et non facientes variis flagellis
vapulabunt._
Ac comunliche connynge
And unkynde rychesse,
As lorels to be lordes,
And lewede men techeres,
And holy churche horen help,
Averous and coveytous,
Droweth up Dowel,
And destruyeth Dobest.
Ac grace is a gras therfore
To don hem eft growe;
Ac grace groweth nat,
Til God wil gynne reyne,
And wokie thorwe goode werkes
Wikkede hertes;
Ac er suche a wil wol wexe,
God hymself worcheth,
And send forth seint espirit
To don love sprynge.
_Spiritus ubi vult spirat, etc._
So grace withoute grace
Of God and of good werkes,
May nat bee, bee thow siker,
Thauh we bid evere.
Cleregie cometh bote of siht,
And kynd witt of sterres,
As to be bore other bygete
In suche constellacion
That wit wexeth therof,
And othere wordes bothe.
_Vultus hujus sæculi sunt subjecti vultibus
coelestibus._
So grace is a gyfte of God,
And kynde witt a chaunce,
And cleregie and connyng of kynde
Wittes techynge;
And yut is cleregie to comende
Fore Cristes love more,
Than eny connynge of kynde witt,
Bote cleregie hit rewele.
For Moyses wutnesseth that God wrot
In stoon with hus fynger,
Lawe of love owre Lorde wrot,
Long ere Crist were;
And Crist cam and confermede,
And holy-churche made,
And in sond a sygne wrot,
And seide to the Jewes,
'That seeth hym synneles,
Cesse nat, ich hote,
To stryke with stoon other with staf
This strompett to dethe.'
_Qui vestrum sine peccato est, etc._
For-thi ich consaily alle Cristene
Cleregie to honoure, etc.
7453. Luke xii, 38.
7461. Heb. xii, 6.
7464. Psalm xxii, 4.
7470. _makynges._ 7483. _make._--There is a curious analogy between the
Greek and the Teutonic languages in the name given to the poet--the Greek
[Greek: poiêtês] (from [Greek: poiein]), the Anglo-Saxon _scóp_ (from
_sceopan_, to make or create), and the Middle-English _maker_, preserved in
the later Scottish _makkar_ (also applied to a poet), have all the same
signification. In the Neo-Latin tongues a different, though somewhat
analogous, word was used: the French and Anglo-Norman _trouvère_, and the
Provençal _trobador_, signify a finder or inventor.
7484. Catonis Distich. iii, 5.
7500. 1 Cor. xiii, 13. Nunc autem manent fides, spes, charitas, tria hæc:
major autem horum est charitas.
7528, &c. _Aristotle_, _Ypocras_, and _Virgile_.--These three names were
the great representatives of ancient science and literature in the middle
ages. Aristotle represented philosophy, in its most general sense; Virgil
represented literature in general, and more particularly the ancient
writers who formed the _grammar_ course of scholastic learning, whether
verse or prose; Ypocras, or Hippocrates, represented medicine. They are
here introduced to illustrate the fact that men of science and learning, as
well as warriors and rich men, experience the vicissitudes of fortune.
7534. _Felice._ Perhaps this name is only introduced for the sake of
alliteration.