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1    And eek men seyn
2that thilke juge is wys that soone understondeth
3a matiere and juggeth by leyser; for
4al be it so that alle tariyng be anoyful, algates it
5is nat to repreve in yevynge of juggement ne
6in vengeance takyng, whan it is sufficeant
7and resonable. And that shewed oure Lord
8Jhesu Crist by ensample, for whan that the
9womman that was taken in avowtrie was broght
10in his presence to knowen what sholde be doon
11with hire persone, al be it so that he wiste wel
12hymself what that he wolde answere, yet ne
13wolde he nat answere sodeynly, but he wolde
14have deliberacion, and in the ground he wroot
15twies. And by thise causes we axen deliberacioun,
16and we shal thanne, by the grace of
17God, conseille thee thyng that shal be profitable.
18    Up stirten thanne the yonge folk atones, and
19the mooste partie of that compaignye han
20scorned this olde wise man, and bigonnen
21to make noyse, and seyden that
22right so as, whil that iren is hoot, men
23sholden smyte, right so men sholde wreken hir
24wronges whil that they been fresshe and newe;
25and with loud voys they criden "Werre!
26werre!"
27    Up roos tho oon of thise olde wise, and with
28his hand made contenaunce that men sholde
29holden hem stille and yeven hym audience.
30"Lordynges," quod he, "ther is ful many a man

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31that crieth 'Werre! werre!' that woot ful litel
32what werre amounteth. Werre at his bigynnyng
33hath so greet an entryng and so large that
34every wight may entre whan hym liketh and
35lightly fynde werre; but certes what ende
36that shal therof bifalle, it is nat light to
37knowe. For soothly, whan that werre is
38ones bigonne, ther is ful many a child
39unborn of his mooder that shal sterve yong by
40cause of thilke werre, or elles lyve in sorwe and
41dye in wrecchednesse. And therfore, er that
42any werre bigynne, men moste have greet conseil
43and greet deliberacion." And whan this
44olde man wende to enforcen his tale by resons,
45wel ny alle atones bigonne they to rise for to
46breken his tale, and beden hym ful ofte his
47wordes for to abregge. For soothly, he that
48precheth to hem that listen nat heeren his
49wordes, his sermon hem anoieth. For Jhesus
50Syrak seith that "musik in wepynge is a noyous
51thyng"; this is to seyn: as muche availleth to
52speken bifore folk to which his speche anoyeth
53as it is to synge biforn hym that
54wepeth. And whan this wise man
55saugh that hym wanted audience, al
56shamefast he sette hym doun agayn. For
57Salomon seith: "Ther as thou ne mayst have
58noon audience, enforce thee nat to speke."
59"I see wel," quod this wise man, "that the commune
60proverbe is sooth, that 'good conseil
61wanteth whan it is moost nede.' "
62    Yet hadde this Melibeus in his conseil many
63folk that prively in his eere conseilled hym
64certeyn thyng, and conseilled hym the contrarie
65in general audience.
66    Whan Melibeus hadde herd that the gretteste
67partie of his conseil weren accorded that
68he sholde maken werre, anoon he consented to
69hir conseillyng and fully affermed hire
70sentence. Thanne dame Prudence,
71whan that she saugh how that hir
72housbonde shoop hym for to wreken hym on
73his foes and to bigynne werre, she in ful humble
74wise, whan she saugh hir tyme, seide to
75hym thise wordes: "My lord," quod she, "I
76yow biseche as hertely as I dar and kan, ne
77haste yow nat to faste and, for alle gerdons, as
78yeveth me audience. For Piers Alfonce seith,

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79'Whoso that dooth to thee oother good or harm,
80haste thee nat to quiten it, for in this wise thy
81freend wole abyde and thyn enemy shal the
82lenger lyve in drede.' The proverbe seith, 'He
83hasteth wel that wisely kan abyde,' and 'in
84wikked haste is no profit."
85    This Melibee answerde unto his wyf Prudence:
86"I purpose nat," quod he, "to werke by
87thy conseil, for many causes and resouns.
88For certes, every wight wolde holde me
89thanne a fool; this is to seyn, if I, for
90thy conseillyng, wolde chaungen thynges
91that been ordeyned and affermed by so manye
92wyse. Secoundely, I seye that alle wommen
93been wikke, and noon good of hem alle. For 'of
94a thousand men,' seith Salomon, 'I foond o
95good man, but certes, of alle wommen, good
96womman foond I nevere.' And also, certes,
97if I governed me by thy conseil, it sholde
98seme that I hadde yeve to thee over me
99the maistrie, and God forbede that it so
100weere! For Jhesus Syrak seith that 'if the
101wyf have maistrie, she is contrarious to hir
102housbonde.' And Salomon seith: 'Nevere in
103thy lyf to thy wyf, ne to thy child, ne to
104thy freend, ne yeve no power over thyself,
105for bettre it were that thy children aske
106of thy persone thynges that hem nedeth than
107thou see thyself in the handes of thy
108children.' And also if I wolde werke
109by thy conseillyng, certes, my conseil
110moste som tyme be secree, til it were tyme
111that it moste be knowe, and this ne may noght
112be. Car il est escript, la genglerie des
113femmes ne puet riens celler fors ce qu'elle ne
114scet. Apres, le philosophre dit, en mauvais
115conseil les femmes vainquent les hommes; et
116par ces raisons je ne dois point user de ton conseil. "
117    Whanne dame Prudence, ful debonairly and
118with greet pacience, hadde herd al that hir
119housbonde liked for to seye, thanne axed she
120of hym licence for to speke, and seyde in this
121wise: "My lord," quod she, "as to youre firste
122resoun, certes it may lightly been answered.
123For I seye that it is no folie to chaunge conseil
124whan the thyng is chaunged, or elles whan
125the thyng semeth ootherweyes than it

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126was biforn. And mooreover, I seye
127that though ye han sworn and bihight
128to perfourne youre emprise, and nathelees ye
129weyve to perfourne thilke same emprise by
130juste cause, men sholde nat seyn therfore that
131ye were a liere ne forsworn. For the book
132seith that 'the wise man maketh no lesyng
133whan he turneth his corage to the bettre.'
134And al be it so that youre emprise be establissed
135and ordeyned by greet multitude of folk,
136yet thar ye nat accomplice thilke ordinaunce
137but yow like. For the trouthe of thynges and
138the profit been rather founden in fewe folk that
139been wise and ful of resoun than by greet multitude
140of folk ther every man crieth and clatereth
141what that hym liketh. Soothly swich multitude
142is nat honest. And as to the seconde
143resoun, where as ye seyn that alle wommen
144been wikke; save youre grace, certes ye despisen
145alle wommen in this wyse, and 'he that
146al despiseth, al displeseth,' as seith the
147book. And Senec seith that 'whoso
148wole have sapience shal no man dispreyse,
149but he shal gladly techen the science
150that he kan withouten presumpcion or pride;
151and swiche thynges as he noght ne kan, he
152shal nat been ashamed to lerne hem, and enquere
153of lasse folk than hymself.' And, sire,
154that ther hath been many a good womman,
155may lightly be preved. For certes, sire, oure
156Lord Jhesu Crist wolde nevere have descended
157to be born of a womman, if alle wommen hadden
158been wikke. And after that, for the grete
159bountee that is in wommen, oure Lord Jhesu
160Crist, whan he was risen fro deeth to lyve,
161appeered rather to a womman than to
162his Apostles. And though that Salomon
163seith that he ne foond nevere womman
164good, it folweth nat therfore that alle wommen
165ben wikke. For though that he ne foond
166no good womman, certes, many another man
167hath founden many a womman ful good and
168trewe. Or elles, per aventure, the entente of
169Salomon was this: that, as in sovereyn bounte,
170he foond no womman - this is to seyn, that ther
171is no wight that hath sovereyn bountee save
172God allone, as he hymself recordeth in hys
173Evaungelie. For ther nys no creature so good

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174that hym ne wanteth somwhat of the
175perfeccioun of God, that is his makere.
176Youre thridde reson is this: ye seyn that
177if ye governe yow by my conseil, it sholde
178seme that ye hadde yeve me the maistrie and
179the lordshipe over youre persone. Sire, save
180youre grace, it is nat so. For if it so were that
181no man sholde be conseilled but oonly of hem
182that hadden lordshipe and maistrie of his persone,
183men wolden nat be conseilled so ofte.
184For soothly thilke man that asketh conseil of
185a purpos, yet hath he free choys wheither he
186wole werke by that conseil or noon. And as
187to youre fourthe resoun, ther ye seyn that the
188janglerie of wommen kan hyde thynges that
189they wot noght, as who seith that a womman
190kan nat hyde that she woot; sire, thise wordes
191been understonde of wommen that been
192jangleresses and wikked; of whiche
193wommen men seyn that thre thynges
194dryven a man out of his hous - that is to seyn,
195smoke, droppyng of reyn, and wikked wyves;
196and of swiche wommen seith Salomon that 'it
197were bettre dwelle in desert than with a womman
198that is riotous.' And sire, by youre leve,
199that am nat I; for ye han ful ofte assayed my
200grete silence and my grete pacience, and eek
201how wel that I kan hyde and hele thynges that
202men oghte secreely to hyde. And soothly, as
203to youre fifthe resoun, where as ye seyn that
204in wikked conseil wommen venquisshe men,
205God woot, thilke resoun stant heere in
206no stede. For understoond now, ye
207asken conseil to do wikkednesse; and if
208ye wole werken wikkednesse, and youre wif
209restreyneth thilke wikked purpos, and overcometh
210yow by reson and by good conseil,
211certes youre wyf oghte rather to be preised
212than yblamed. Thus sholde ye understonde
213the philosophre that seith, 'In wikked conseil
214wommen venquisshen hir housbondes.' And
215ther as ye blamen alle wommen and hir resouns,
216I shal shewe yow by manye ensamples
217that many a womman hath ben ful good, and
218yet been, and hir conseils ful hoolsome
219and profitable. Eek som men han seyd
220that the conseillynge of wommen is
221outher to deere or elles to litel of pris. But al

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222be it so that ful many a womman is badde and
223hir conseil vile and noght worth, yet han men
224founde ful many a good womman, and ful discret
225and wis in conseillynge. Loo, Jacob by
226good conseil of his mooder Rebekka, wan the
227benysoun of Ysaak his fader and the lordshipe
228over alle his bretheren. Judith by hire good
229conseil delivered the citee of Bethulie, in
230which she dwelled, out of the handes of Olofernus,
231that hadde it biseged and wolde have al
232destroyed it. Abygail delivered Nabal hir
233housbonde fro David the kyng, that wolde
234have slayn hym, and apaysed the ire of the
235kyng by hir wit and by hir good conseillyng.
236Hester, by hir good conseil
237enhaunced greetly the peple of God in
238the regne of Assuerus the kyng. And the
239same bountee in good conseillyng of many a
240good womman may men telle. And mooreover,
241whan oure Lord hadde creat Adam, oure
242forme fader, he seyde in this wise: 'It is nat
243good to been a man alloone; make we to
244hym an helpe semblable to hymself.' Heere
245may ye se that if that wommen were nat
246goode, and hir conseils goode and profitable,
247oure Lord God of hevene wolde
248nevere han wroght hem, ne called hem
249help of man, but rather confusioun of man.
250And ther seyde oones a clerk in two vers,
251'What is bettre than gold? Jaspre. What is
252bettre than Jaspre? Wisedoom. And what is
253better than wisedoom? Womman. And what is
254bettre than a good womman? Nothyng.' And,
255sire, by manye of othre resons may ye seen
256that manye wommen been goode, and hir
257conseils goode and profitable. And therfore,
258sire, if ye wol triste to my conseil, I shal
259restoore yow youre doghter hool and
260sound. And eek I wol do to yow so
261muche that ye shul have honour in this
262cause."
263    Whan Melibee hadde herd the wordes of his
264wyf Prudence, he seyde thus: "I se wel that
265the word of Salomon is sooth. He seith that
266'Wordes that been spoken discreetly by ordinaunce
267been honycombes, for they yeven swetnesse
268to the soule and hoolsomnesse to the
269body.' And, wyf, by cause of thy sweete
270wordes, and eek for I have assayed and preved

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271thy grete sapience and thy grete trouthe, I wol
272governe me by thy conseil in alle thyng."

parameters for this division: ctmel_classification_1

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273    "Certes," quod Melibee, "I graunte yow,
274dame Prudence, that pacience is a greet vertu
275of perfeccioun; but every man may nat have
276the perfeccioun that ye seken; ne I nam

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277nat of the nombre of right parfite men,
278for myn herte may nevere been in pees
279unto the tyme it be venged. And al be it so
280that it was greet peril to myne enemys to do
281me a vileynye in takynge vengeance upon me,
282yet tooken they noon heede of the peril, but
283fulfilleden hir wikked wyl and hir corage.
284And therfore me thynketh men oghten nat
285repreve me, though I putte me in a litel peril
286for to venge me, and though I do a greet
287excesse; that is to seyn, that I venge
288oon outrage by another."
289    "A," quod dame Prudence, "ye seyn
290youre wyl and as yow liketh, but in no caas
291of the world a man sholde nat doon outrage
292ne excesse for to vengen hym. For Cassidore
293seith that 'as yvele dooth he that vengeth hym
294by outrage as he that dooth the outrage.' And
295therfore ye shul venge yow after the ordre of
296right; that is to seyn, by the lawe and noght
297by excesse ne by outrage. And also, if ye
298wol venge yow of the outrage of youre adversaries
299in oother manere than right comandeth,
300ye synnen. And therfore seith Senec
301that 'a man shal nevere vengen shrewednesse
302by shrewednesse.' And if ye seye that
303right axeth a man to defenden violence by violence
304and fightyng by fightyng, certes ye seye
305sooth, whan the defense is doon anon withouten
306intervalle or withouten tariyng or delay,
307for to deffenden hym and nat for to
308vengen hym. And it bihoveth that a man
309putte swich attemperance in his deffense
310that men have no cause ne matiere
311to repreven hym that deffendeth
312hym of excesse and outrage, for ellis were it
313agayn resoun. Pardee, ye knowen wel that
314ye maken no deffense as now for to deffende
315yow, but for to venge yow; and so seweth
316it that ye han no wyl to do youre dede attemprely.
317And therfore me thynketh that pacience
318is good. For Salomon seith that 'he that
319is nat pacient shal have greet harm.'"
320    "Certes," quod Melibee, "I graunte yow that
321whan a man is inpacient and wrooth of that
322that toucheth hym noght and that aperteneth
323nat unto hym, though it harme hym, it
324is no wonder. For the lawe seith that
325'he is coupable that entremetteth hym or
326medleth with swych thyng as aperteneth nat

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327unto hym.' And Salomon seith that 'he that
328entremetteth hym of the noyse or strif of another
329man is lyk to hym that taketh an hound
330by the eris.' For right as he that taketh a
331straunge hound by the eris is outherwhile biten
332with the hound, right in the same wise is it
333resoun that he have harm that by his inpacience
334medleth hym of the noyse of another
335man, wheras it aperteneth nat unto hym. But
336ye knowen wel that this dede that is to seyn,
337my grief and my disese - toucheth me
338right ny. And therfore, though I be
339wrooth and inpacient, it is no merveille.
340And, savynge youre grace, I kan nat seen that it
341myghte greetly harme me though I tooke vengeaunce.
342For I am richer and moore myghty
343than myne enemys been; and wel knowen ye
344that by moneye and by havynge grete possessions
345been alle the thynges of this world governed.
346And Salomon seith that 'alle
347thynges obeyen to moneye.'"
348    Whan Prudence hadde herd hir housbonde
349avanten hym of his richesse and of his
350moneye, dispreisynge the power of his adversaries,
351she spak, and seyde in this wise:
352"Certes, deere sire, I graunte yow that ye been
353riche and myghty and that the richesses been
354goode to hem that han wel ygeten hem and wel
355konne usen hem. For right as the body of a
356man may nat lyven withoute the soule, namoore
357may it lyve withouten temporeel goodes. And
358by richesses may a man gete hym grete
359freendes. And therfore seith Pamphilles:
360'If a net-herdes doghter,' seith
361he, 'be riche, she may chesen of a thousand
362men which she wol take to hir housbonde,
363for, of a thousand men, oon wol nat forsaken
364hire ne refusen hire.' And this Pamphilles
365seith also, 'If thow be right happy - that is to
366seyn, if thou be right riche - thou shalt fynde
367a greet nombre of felawes and freendes. And
368if thy fortune change that thou wexe povre,
369farewel freendshipe and felaweshipe, for thou
370shalt be alloone withouten any compaignye,
371but if it be the compaignye of povre
372folk.' And yet seith this Pamphilles
373moreover that 'they that been thralle and
374bonde of lynage shullen been maad worthy and
375noble by the richesses.' And right so as by
376richesses ther comen manye goodes, right so

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377by poverte come ther manye harmes and
378yveles, for greet poverte constreyneth a man
379to do manye yveles. And therfore clepeth
380Cassidore poverte the mooder of ruyne; that
381is to seyn, the mooder of overthrowynge
382or fallynge doun. And therfore seith
383Piers Alfonce, 'Oon of the gretteste adversitees
384of this world is whan a free man by
385kynde or of burthe is constreyned by poverte
386to eten the almesse of his enemy,' and the
387same seith Innocent in oon of his bookes. He
388seith that 'sorweful and myshappy is the condicioun
389of a povre beggere; for if he axe nat
390his mete, he dyeth for hunger; and if he axe,
391he dyeth for shame; and algates necessitee
392constreyneth hym to axe.' And
393seith Salomon that 'bet it is to dye than
394for to have swich poverte.' And as the same
395Salomon seith, 'Bettre it is to dye of bitter deeth
396than for to lyven in swich wise.' By thise
397resons that I have seid unto yow, and by manye
398othere resons that I koude seye, I graunte yow
399that richesses been goode to hem that geten
400hem wel, and to hem that wel usen tho richesses.
401and therfore wol I shewe yow hou ye
402shul have yow, and how ye shul bere yow in
403gaderynge of richesses, and in what
404manere ye shul usen hem.
405    "First, ye shul geten hem withouten
406greet desir, by good leyser, sokyngly and nat
407over-hastily. For a man that is to desirynge
408to gete richesses abaundoneth hym first to
409thefte, and to alle othere yveles; and therfore
410seith Salomon, 'He that hasteth hym to
411bisily to wexe riche shal be noon innocent.'
412He seith also that 'the richesses that hastily cometh
413to a man soone and lightly gooth and
414passeth fro a man, but that richesse that
415cometh litel and litel wexeth alwey and
416multiplieth.' And, sire, ye shul geten
417richesses by youre wit and by youre
418travaille unto youre profit, and that withouten
419wrong or harm doynge to any oother persone.
420for the lawe seith that 'ther maketh no man
421himselven riche, if he do harm to another
422wight.' This is to seyn, that nature deffendeth
423and forbedeth by right that no man make
424hymself riche unto the harm of another persone.

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425And Tullius seith that 'no sorwe, ne no
426drede of deeth, ne no thyng that may
427falle unto a man, is so muchel agayns
428nature as a man to encressen his owene
429profit to the harm of another man. And
430though the grete men and the myghty men
431geten richesses moore lightly than thou, yet
432shaltou nat been ydel ne slow to do thy profit,
433for thou shalt in alle wise flee ydelnesse.' For
434Salomon seith that 'ydelnesse techeth a man to
435do manye yveles.' And the same Salomon
436seith that 'he that travailleth and bisieth
437hym to tilien his land shal eten breed,
438but he that is ydel and casteth hym to
439no bisynesse ne occupacioun shal falle into
440poverte and dye for hunger.' And he that is
441ydel and slow kan nevere fynde covenable
442tyme for to doon his profit. For ther is a
443versifiour seith that 'the ydel man excuseth hym
444in wynter by cause of the grete coold, and in
445somer by enchesoun of the greete heete.' For
446thise causes seith Caton, 'Waketh and enclyneth
447nat yow over-muchel for to slepe, for overmuchel
448reste norisseth and causeth manye
449vices.' And therfore seith Seint Jerome,
450'Dooth somme goode dedes that the devel,
451which is oure enemy, ne fynde yow nat
452unocupied.' For the devel ne taketh
453nat lightly unto his werkynge swiche as
454he fyndeth occupied in goode werkes.
455    "Thanne thus in getynge richesses ye mosten
456flee ydelnesse. And afterward, ye shul use
457the richesses which ye have geten by youre wit
458and by youre travaille in swich a manere that
459men holde yow nat to scars, ne to sparynge, ne
460to fool-large - that is to seyen, over-large a
461spendere. For right as men blamen an avaricious
462man by cause of his scarsetee and
463chyncherie, in the same wise is he to
464blame that spendeth over-largely. And
465therfore seith Caton: 'Use,' he seith, 'thy richesses
466that thou hast geten in swich a manere
467that men have no matiere ne cause to calle
468thee neither wrecche ne chynche, for it is a
469greet shame to a man to have a povere herte
470and a riche purs.' He seith also, 'The goodes
471that thou hast ygeten, use hem by mesure;'
472that is to seyn, spende hem mesurably,

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473for they that folily wasten and
474despenden the goodes that they han,
475whan they han namoore propre of hir owene,
476they shapen hem to take the goodes of another
477man. I seye thanne that ye shul fleen avarice,
478usynge youre richesses in swich manere
479that men seye nat that youre richesses been
480yburyed, but that ye have hem in
481youre myght and in youre weeldynge.
482For a wys man repreveth the avaricious
483man, and seith thus in two vers: 'Wherto and
484why burieth a man his goodes by his grete
485avarice, and knoweth wel that nedes moste
486he dye? For deeth is the ende of every man
487as in this present lyf.' And for what cause or
488enchesoun joyneth he hym or knytteth he hym
489so faste unto his goodes that alle hise wittes
490mowen nat disseveren hym or departen
491hym from his goodes, and knoweth
492wel, or oghte knowe, that whan he is
493deed he shal no thyng bere with hym out of
494this world? And therfore seith Seint Austyn
495that 'the avaricious man is likned unto helle,
496that the moore it swelweth the moore desir it
497hath to swelwe and devoure.' And as wel as
498ye wolde eschewe to be called an avaricious
499man or chynche, as wel sholde ye kepe yow
500and governe yow in swich a wise that
501men calle yow nat fool-large. Therfore
502seith Tullius: 'The goodes,' he seith,
503'of thyn hous ne sholde nat been hyd ne kept
504so cloos, but that they myghte been opened
505by pitee and debonairetee' (that is to seyn, to
506yeven part to hem that han greet nede), 'ne
507thy goodes shullen nat been so opene to been
508every mannes goodes.' Afterward, in getynge
509of youre richesses and in usynge hem, ye shul
510alwey have thre thynges in youre herte (that
511is to seyn, oure Lord God, conscience,
512and good name). First, ye shul have
513God in youre herte, and for no richesse
514ye shullen do no thyng which may in any
515manere displese God, that is youre creatour
516and makere. For after the word of Salomon,
517'It is bettre to have a litel good with the love
518of God than to have muchel good and tresour
519and lese the love of his Lord God.' And
520the prophete seith that 'bettre it is to been
521a good man and have litel good and
522tresour than to been holden a shrewe
523and have grete richesses.' And yet seye

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524I ferthermoore, that ye sholde alwey doon youre
525bisynesse to gete yow richesses, so that ye
526gete hem with good conscience. And th'Apostle
527seith that 'ther nys thyng in this world
528of which we sholden have so greet joye as
529whan oure conscience bereth us good witnesse.'
530and the wise man seith, 'The substance
531of a man is ful good, whan synne
532is nat in mannes conscience.' Afterward,
533in getynge of youre richesses and
534in usynge of hem, yow moste have greet bisynesse
535and greet diligence that youre goode
536name be alwey kept and conserved. For Salomon
537seith that 'bettre it is and moore it availleth
538a man to have a good name than for
539to have grete richesses.' And therfore he
540seith in another place, 'Do greet diligence,'
541seith Salomon, 'in kepyng of thy freend and
542of thy goode name; for it shal lenger abide
543with thee than any tresour, be it never
544so precious.' And certes he sholde nat
545be called a gentil man that after God
546and good conscience, alle thynges left, ne
547dooth his diligence and bisynesse to kepen his
548goode name. And Cassidore seith that 'it is
549signe of a gentil herte whan a man loveth and
550desireth to han a good name.' And therfore
551seith Seint Austyn that 'ther been two thynges
552that arn necessarie and nedefulle, and that
553is good conscience and good loos; that is to
554seyn, good conscience to thyn owene persone
555inward and good loos for thy neighebor
556outward.' And he that trusteth hym so
557muchel in his goode conscience that he
558displeseth, and setteth at noght his goode
559name or loos, and rekketh noght though he
560kepe nat his goode name, nys but a crueel
561cherl.
562    "Sire, now have I shewed yow how ye shul
563do in getynge richesses, and how ye shullen
564usen hem, and I se wel that for the trust
565that ye han in youre richesses ye wole moeve
566werre and bataille. I conseille yow that ye
567bigynne no werre in trust of youre richesses,
568for they ne suffisen noght werres to
569mayntene. And therfore seith a philosophre,
570'That man that desireth and
571wole algates han werre, shal nevere have suffisaunce,
572for the richer that he is, the gretter
573despenses moste he make, if he wole have worshipe

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574and victorie.' And Salomon seith that
575'the gretter richesses that a man hath, the mo
576despendours he hath.' And, deere sire, al be
577it so that for youre richesses ye mowe have
578muchel folk, yet bihoveth it nat, ne it is nat
579good, to bigynne werre whereas ye mowe in
580oother manere have pees unto youre
581worshipe and profit. For the victorie
582of batailles that been in this world lyth
583nat in greet nombre or multitude of the peple,
584ne in the vertu of man, but it lith in the wyl
585and in the hand of oure Lord God Almyghty.