LISTEN, lordlings, and ye shall hear how the wise man taught his son.
Take good heed to this matter and learn it if ye can, for this song was
made with good intent to make men true and steadfast, and a thing well
begun makes often a good ending.
There was a wise man taught his son while he was yet a child of tender
years, meek and fair to look upon, very eager for learning and with a
great desire to all goodness; and his father taught him well and featly
by good example and fair words.
He said: “My son, take good heed every morning, ere ye do worldly thing,
lift up your heart to God, and pray as devoutly as you can for grace to
lead a good life, and to escape sin both night and day, and that
heaven’s bliss may be your meed.
“And, my son, wherever you go, be not full of tales; beware what you
say, for your own tongue may be your foe. If you say aught, take good
heed where and to whom, for a word spoken to-day may be repented seven
years after.
“And, son, whatever manner of man ye be, give yourself not to idleness,
but busy yourself every day according to your estate. Beware of rest and
ease, which things nourish sloth. Ever to be busy, more or less, is a
full good sign of honesty.[110]
“And, son, I warn you also not to desire to bear office, for then can it
be no other than that you must either displease and hurt your
neighbours, or else forswear yourself and not do as your office demands;
and get yourself, _maugré_,[111] here and there, an hundredfold more
than thanks.
“And, son, as far as you may, go on no evil quests, nor bear false
witness in any man’s matter. It were better for you to be deaf and dumb
than to enter wrongfully into a quest. Think, son, on the dreadful doom
that God shall deem[112] us at the last!
“And, son, of another thing I warn you, on my blessing take good heed of
tavern-haunting, and of the dice, and flee all lechery, lest you come to
an evil end, for it will lead astray all your wits and bring you into
great mischief.
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“And, son, sit not up too long at even, or have late suppers, though ye
be strong and hale, for with such outrage your health shall worsen. And
of late walking comes debate,[113] and of sitting and drinking out of
time, therefore beware and go to bed betimes and wink.
“And, son, if ye would have a wife, take her not for her money, but
inquire wisely of all her life, and give good heed that she be meek,
courteous and prudent, even though she be poor; and such an one will do
you more good service in time of need, than a richer.
“And if your wife be meek and good, and serve you well and pleasantly,
look ye be not so mad as to charge her too grievously, but rule her with
a fair hand and easy, and cherish her for her good deeds. For a thing
unskilfully overdone makes needless grief to grow, and it is better to
have a meal’s meat of homely fare with peace and quiet, than an hundred
dishes with grudging and much care. And therefore learn this well that
if you want a wife to your ease, take her never the more for the riches
she may have, though she might endow you with lands.
“And ye shall not displease your wife, nor call her by no villainous
names, for it is a shame to you to miscall a woman; and in so doing, ye
are not wise, for if ye defame your own wife, no wonder that another
should do so! Soft and fair will tame alike hart and hind, buck and doe.
“On the other hand, be not too hasty to fight or chide, if thy wife come
to you at any time with complaint of man or child; and be not avenged
till you know the truth, for you might make a stir in the dark, and
afterwards it should rue you both.
“And, son, if you be well at ease, and sit warm among your neighbours,
do not get new-fangled ideas, or be hasty to change, or to flit;[114]
for if ye do, ye lack wit and are unstable, and men will speak of it and
say: ‘This fool can bide nowhere!’
“And, son, the more goods you have, the rather bear you meekly, and be
humble, and boast not overmuch; it is wasted, for by their boasting men
know fools.
“And look you pay well what you owe, and set no great store by other
riches, for death takes both high and low, and then—farewell, all that
there is! And therefore do by my counsel, and take example from other
men, how little their goods avail them when they be dolven[115] in their
dens;[116] and one that was not of his kin hath his wife, and all that
there is.[117]
“Son, keep you from deadly sin, and assay to enter Paradise. Make amends
for your trespasses and deal out of your goods to poor men, make friends
of your foes, and strive to gain salvation for your soul, for the world
is false and frail, and every day doth worsen. Son, set nought by this
world’s weal, for it fares as a ripe cherry. And death is ever, I trow,
the most certain thing that is; and nothing is so uncertain as to know
the time thereof. Therefore, my son, think on this, on all that I have
said, and may Jesus, who for us bare the crown of thorns, bring us to
His bliss.”