1 Erthe vpon erth is waxi{n} and wrought,
Erthe takys on erth a nobylay of nought;
Now erthe vpon erthe layes all his þought
How erthe vpon erthe sattys all at noght. 4
2 Erthe vpon erth has hallys & towr{is}[1];
Erthe says to erth: 'This is alle owr{is}'.
But q{ua}n erth vpon erth has byg{g}yd his bowr{is},
Than xal erth for the erth haue scharpe schowr{is}. 8
3 Erthe vpon erth wolde be a kyng,
But hove[2] erth xal to erth thynkyth he no thyng.
4 And of the same erthe mad God ma{n},
And sethe he made that erth & callyd it Ad{a}m, 12
For loue of erthe, the wych was woman,
That erth in this erthe fyrst be-gan.
5 Erthe goos on erth & tyllys w{i}t{h} hys plowe,
Erthe a-geyn erth holdys it full toght[3], 16
Erthe vpon [erth] stelis hym a slogh[4],
Erthe on this erth thynkys he has neu{er} i-nowe[5].
6 Erth vpon erthe gos in the weye,
Prykys and prankys on a palfreye; 20
When erth has gotyn erth alle that he maye,
He schal haue but seven fote at his last daye.
7 Than xal not be lyky{n}g vn-to hy{m}
Bu[t][6] an olde sely cloth to wynde erthe in, 24
When erthe is in erth for wormys wyn,
The rof of his hows xal ly on his chyn.
[fol. 67, v^o.]
8 [7]When erthe says to erth: 'My rent þ{o}u me bryng',
Then has erth fro erthe a dolfull p{ar}tyng. 28
9 How erthe louys erth wondyr me thynke,
How erth for erth wyll swete and swynke.
When erth is in erthe broght w{i}t{h}-in the brynke,
What as herth than of erthe but a fowle sty{n}ke? 32
10 Erthe wrotys in erth as molys don in molde,
Erthe vp-on erth glydys as golde,
As erthe leve in erthe eu{er} mor{e} schulde.
11 Erthe vp-on erth mynd eu{er} mor{e} þ{o}u make 36
How erthe xal to erth when deth wyll hy{m} take.
12 Be war{e}, erth, for erthe, for sake of thi sowle,
Erthe may of erth at þe last take a fowle,
When erth is in erthe her{e} so long in his slogh. 40
13 Ffor erth gos in erth walkand in vede,
And erthe rydys on erth on a fayr stede,
When he was[8] goty{n} in erth erth to his mede,
Than is erth layde in erthe wormys to fede. 44
Whylke ar the wormys the flesch brede?
God wote the wormys for to ryght rede.
14 Erthe a-geyn erthe I holde it on-kynde,
Erthe is as sone wroth as is the wynde, 48
Swyche fowle erth mekyl may we fynde,
That wyl speke fayr{e} befor{e} vs & falsly be-hy{n}de.
15 When erth vp-on erth be-gy{n}nys to be wroth, [fol. 68, r^o.]
Erth vpon erth swerys many a gret othe, 52
Erth berys p{r}ide in herte & i{n} cloth,
When erth is layde i{n} erth þan xal it be loth.
16 Erthly coveytous makyth erth to be schent,
Erth for this erth yeld{is} a gret rent, 56
If erth in thys erth levyd in good entent
Than dar{e} erthe nevyr recke wher{e} that he went.
17 Erth vp-on erth is stronge as a mast,
And erth wyth is erth fyghtys ful fast, 60
Ther{e} is non so stowte that in erth may hy{m} cast,
And alle xal we be erth at the last.
18 Erthe bygyth hallys & erth bygith towres,
When erth is layd in erth, blayke is his bo{ur}s; 64
If erth haue welth, he dwellyth in flowr{es}[9],
And if erth haue mys don, he getyth scharpe sho{ur}s.
19 If erth wyste in erth q{ua}t that erth is,
Ther wolde neu{er} erth in erth do a-mys. 68
God mad erth of erth, & namyd it for his,
Adam of erth in erthly paradys.
20 God walkyd in erth as longe as he wolde,
He had not in this erth but hong{er} & colde, 72
And in this erth also his body was solde,
Her{e} in this erth, whan þ{a}t he was xxx^ti [gh]er{e} olde.
21 God lytyd in erth, blyssed be that stou{n}de! [fol. 68, v^o.]
He sauyd hijs herth w{i}t{h} many a scharpe wou{n}de, 76
Ffor to sawe erth owght of hell grou{n}de,
He deyd in erth vpon þe rode w{i}t{h} many a blody vou{n}de[10].
22 And God ros ovght of the est[11] this erth for to spede,
And went into hell as was gret nede, 80
And toke erth from sorowe þ{us}[12] erth for to spede,
The ryght wey to heuen blys Iesus Cryst vs lede!
fine.
(_The rest of the page is occupied by a coloured picture of a knight
and a skeleton with Latin mottoes, v. Introduction, p. xiv._)
[Footnote 1: or _towr{es}_, _owr{es}_, &c.]
[Footnote 2: MS. _hove_ for _howe_.]
[Footnote 3: ? error for _togh_.]
[Footnote 4: Heuser _flogh_, but MS. appears to be _slogh_ as in
l. 40.]
[Footnote 5: MS. _was neuer non_ crossed out, _has neu{er} I nowe_
written above.]
[Footnote 6: MS. _bu_, the last letter of the word has been
erased.]
[Footnote 7: These two lines form the missing half of v. 3, and
are perhaps inserted here with the idea of forming a six-lined
stanza.]
[Footnote 8: better _has_.]
[Footnote 9: or _flowr{is}_.]
[Footnote 10: _wounde_.]
[Footnote 11: MS. clearly _est_, perh. error for _erth_.]
[Footnote 12: MS. _y^9_ = _þus_, perh. for _þis_.]