me vyleynye / and alle othere / to do me a nother vyleynye
for it is wryten / If þu take no vengeaūce / of an old vileynye /
þu sompnest þine aduersaries / to do the a newe vileynye /
And
also for my suffraūce / men wolden do me / so muche vileynye /
þt I mygħt neither bere it / ne sustene /
495
And so shulde I ben put
& holden ouer lowe
¶ For sōme men seyn / In muchel suffrynge
shuln manye thynges falle vn to the / whicħ þu shalt nat
mowe suffre
¶ Certes qd Prudence / I gaunte ȝow wel / þt ouer
muchel suffraūce / is nat good /
but ȝet ne folwetħ it nat þer
of / þt euery persone / to whom men don vileynye / take of it venge-
aunce /
for þt apertenetħ & longetħ al oonly to the Iuges / For
þei shuln venge the vileynyes / & iniuries /
500
and þerfore þo two
auctoritees / þt ȝe han seid a boue / ben oonly vnderstonden in the
Iuges
¶ For whan they suffren / ouer muchel the wronges and
vileynyes to be doon / wt outen punysshȳge /
they sompne
nat a man al oonly / for to do newe wronges / but þei comaun-
den it
¶ Also as a wys man seitħ / þt the Iuge / þt correcteth nat
the sȳnere / comaundetħ & biddetħ hī / do synne
¶ And þe
Iuges & souereyns mygħten in here hand / so muche suffre
of the shrewes & mysdoeris /
505
þ they shulden by swicħ suffraūce
by proces of tyme / wexen of swicħ power & mygħt / þt they
shulde putte out the Iuges / & the souereyns / from here pla-
ces /
& atte laste / maken hē lese here lordshippes
¶ But now /
lat vs now putte / þt ȝe haue leue to venge ȝow /
I seye / ȝe
be nat of mygħt & power / as now / to venge ȝow /
For if ȝe
wol maken cōparisoū / vn to the mygħt of ȝour aduersaries
ȝe shuln fynde in many thynges / þt I haue shewed ȝow er
this / þt here condiciōn / is bettre than ȝoures /
510
And þerfore seye
I / þt it is good as now / þt ȝe suffre / & be pacient
¶ Forþermore
ȝe knowen wel / þt after the comune sawe / it is a woodnes-
se / a man to stryue wt a strengere / or a more mygħty man
than he is hī self /
And for to stryue wt a man / of euene
strengthe / þat is to seyn ; wt as stronge a man as he is / it
is peril /
& for to stryue wt a weykere man / it is folye /
And þerfore
shulde a man / fle stryuynge / as muchel as he mygħte
515
¶ For
Salamoū seitħ ; It is a gret worshipe to a man / to kepe hī
from noyse & stryf
¶ And if it so happe / þt a man of gretter
mygħt & strengthe / than þu art / do the greuaūce /
Studie and
bisie the rather to stille the same greuaūce / than for to ven-
ge the
¶ For Senek seitħ ; þt he puttetħ hī in a gret peril /
þt stryuetħ wt a grettere man / þan he is hī self
¶ And Ca-
toū seitħ ; If a man of heigħer estat or degree / or more myȝty