§ 79. Now comth, how that a man sholde bere him with his wyf; and namely,
in two thinges, that is to seyn in suffraunce and reverence, as shewed
Crist whan he made first womman. /925 For he ne made hir nat of the heved
of Adam, for she sholde nat clayme to greet lordshipe. / For ther-as the
womman hath the maistrie, she maketh to muche desray; ther neden none
ensamples of this. The experience of day by day oghte suffyse. / Also
certes, god ne made nat womman of the foot of Adam, for she ne sholde nat
been holden to lowe; for she can nat paciently suffre: but god made womman
of the rib of Adam, for womman sholde be felawe un-to man. / Man sholde
bere him to his wyf in feith, in trouthe, and in love, as seith seint Paul:
that ‘a man sholde loven his wyf as Crist loved holy chirche, that loved it
so wel that he deyde for it.’ So sholde a man for his wyf, if it were nede.
/