many woōman is badde and here counseil vile & nouȝt worþt ; ȝet
han men founde many a good woōman and ful discret and wys
in counselyng //
130
Lo Iacob þurgħ þe goode counseil of his moder Rebek-
ka wan þe benysoū of his fader and þe lordschipe ouer aƚƚ his bre-
þeren .
Iudith þurgħ hire goode counseil delyuered þe Cite of Buphe-
lye in which sche dwellte out of þe lande of Olyerune þat hadde it al
byseged and wolde han al destruyet it
¶ Abegayle delyuered Nabal
hir housbonde fro Dauid þe king þat wolde han slayn him and appay-
sede þe yre of þe king by hire witte and by hire goode counseilyng
¶ Ester by hire counceil enchaunced gretly þe poeple of god in þe Regne
of Assueres þe king
and þe same bounte in good counseiling of many
a wōman may men telle
135
¶ And furþermore whan þat oure lord had
created Adam oure forme fader ; he sayde in þis wise /
It nys nougħt
good to be a man allone ¶ Make we an helper semblable to himself .
¶ Here may ȝe see þat if þat wōman were nouȝt good and hire coun-
seil good and profytable ;
Oure lord god of heuene ne wolde neuer
han y wrouȝt hem ne called hem þe helper of man
¶ And þer sayde
ones a clerk in tuo vers / what is bettre þan a good Iaspre wisdom
140
And what is bettre þan wisdam wōman and what is bettre þan
wōman þat is a good wōman no þing
¶ And sire by many of oþer
resoūs may ȝe seen þat many wōmen ben goode and eek here coū-
seil good and profitable
¶ And þerfore sire if ȝe wiln truste to my
counseil ; I schal restore ȝou ȝoure doughter hool and sound
¶ And
eek þat I wol to ȝou don so moche þat ȝe schuln haue honour in þis
caas
¶ When melybe had herde þe wordes of his wijf Prudence;
he sayde þus
145
þat þe wordes of Salamon is soþ ¶ For he saiþ þat wor-
des þat ben spoken discretly by ordynaūce ben hony combes For þey
ȝiuen swetnesse to þe soule and holsomnes to þe body
¶ And wyf by
cause of þine swete wordes and eeke for I haue y proued and sayd
þin grete sapience and þin . grete trouþe I wol gouerne me by þyn
counseil in aƚƚ þing
¶ Now sire quod dame Prudence and seþenes ȝe
fouche sauf to be gouerned by my counseil ; I wol enforme ȝou
how þat ȝe schuln gouerne ȝoure self in chesyng of ȝoure counseilors
¶ Ȝe schuln ferst fourme aƚƚ ȝour werkes mekely byseken to þe hihe
god þat he wol ben ȝour counseilour
And schapeþ ȝou to such en-
tent þat he ȝiue ȝou counseil and confort as taughte Thobye
to his sone