folweþt nougħt þerfore þat a woōmen ben wikke
¶ For þougħ þat he
ne fonde no good wōman Certes many anoþer man haþ founden many
a wōman ful good and trewe
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Or elles perauentur þe entent of Salamō
was þus þat as in souereyn bounte he fande no wōman
This is to say
þat þer nys no wigħt þat haþ parfyt bounte saue god allone as he him
self recordeþ in his euangelist
¶ For þer nys no creature so good that him
ne wanteþ som what / of þe parfeccioū of god þat is his makere
¶ The
þridde resoun is þis ȝe say þat if ȝe gouerne ȝou by my counseil . hit
schulde seme þat ȝe hadde ȝoue me þe maystry And þe lordschipe of
ȝoure persone //
Sire saue ȝoure gace hit nys nought so ¶ For if so were þt
no man schulde be counseled but oonly of hem þat hadde lorschipe
and maystrye of his persone men nolde nougħt be counseiled so ofte .
115
For soþly þilke man þat askeþ counseil of a purpos ¶ Ȝet haþ he free
wille wheþer he wol do after þat counsel or no
¶ And as to ȝoure
fourþe resoū þer as ȝe sayn þat þe Iangelry of wōmen can huyde
þinges þat þey wot nouȝt ¶ As who saiþ þat a wōman can nougħt
huyde what sche wot
¶ Sire þese wordes ben vnderstonde of wōmen þt
ben Iangleresses and wicked
of whiche wōmen men sayn þat þre þin-
ges dryueþ a man out of his hous . That is to say Smoke droppyng
of Rayn and wickidde wyfes
And swiche wōmen saiþ Salamō þat
he were bettre to dwelle in desert þan with a wōman þat is ryetous .
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And sire by ȝoure leue þat am nought I
¶ For ȝe haue ful ofte assayed
my grete Cilence and my grete pacience and eek how wel þat he
can huyde and hele þinges þat men oughten secrely to huyden
¶ And
soþ as to ȝoure fifte resoū wher as ȝe say þat in wikked counseil wō-
men venquyssheþ men ¶ God wot þilke resoū stant heere in no stede
¶ For vnderstandeth now ȝe axeth counseil for to do wikkednes
and
if ȝe wolen werke wikkednesse and ȝoure wijf restreyneþ þilke wik-
ked prpos and ouercome ȝou by resoū and by good counseil ;
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certes ȝour
wyf oughte raþer to be preysed þen to be blamed
¶ This scholde ȝe
vnderstande þe philosophre þat saiþ In wicked counseil wōmen ven-
quysshen here housebondes
¶ And þere as ȝe blamen aƚƚ wōmen &
here resoūs ; I schal schewe ȝou by many ensamples þat many wōmē
han ben ful goode and ȝet ben and here counsel holsome and profi-
table
¶ Eeke some men han sayde þat þe counselyng of wōmen is
eyþer to deere or elles to lytel of pris
¶ But al be it so þat ful
many wōman is badde and here counseil vile & nouȝt worþ ; ȝet
han men founde many a good wōman and ful discret and wys
in counselyng //