þe comune sawe it is a woodnesse a man to stryue with a
strenger or a more mighty man þan him seluen is
¶ And for
to stryue wiþ a man of euene strengþe þat is to say with as
strong a man as he is . it is peril
and for to stryue with a wey-
kere it is folye
and þerfore schulde a mā fle stryuynge as mo-
che as he mighte
515
¶ For Saloū seiþ ¶ It is a gret worschipe
a man to kepe him fro noyse and stryf
¶ And if it so bifaƚƚ
or happe þat a mā of gretter migħt and strengþe þan þu art
do þe greuaūce
stude and busye þe raþer to stille þe same
greuaunce þan for to venge þe
¶ For Senec saith . he putteþ
him in a gret peril þat stryueþ with a gretter man þan he
himseluen is
¶ And Catoū saith ¶ If a mā of heiher estat
or degre or more mighty þen þou do þe anoþer grieuaunce ;
Suffre him .
520
For he þat haþ oones don a grieuaunce may
anoþer tyme relieue þe and helpe þe .
¶ ȝit sette I a caas
ȝe haue bothe migħt and licence to venge ȝow ;
I say þer
ben ful many þinges þat schulde restreigne ȝow of venge-
aunce takynge
and make ȝow to encline to suffre and to
haue pacience of þe wronges þat han ben doon to ȝow .
¶ First and forward ȝe wol considre þe defautes þat been
in ȝoure owne persone .
525
for whiche defautes god haþ suffred
ȝow to haue þis tibulacioū as I haue sayd ȝow her byfore
¶ For þe poete saith // we oughten paciently to suffre þe tri-
bulacioun þat cometh to vs whan þat we þenken and con-
sideren þat we han deserued to haue hē
¶ And seint poul
saith þat whan a man considereþ wel þe nombre of his
defautes and of his synnes ;
þe peynes and þe tibulacioūs
þat he suffreþ semen þe lasse vnto him
¶ and in as moche
as him þenkith his synnes þe more heuy and greuous ;
530
in
so moche his peyne is þe lighter and þe more esier vn to
him
¶ Also ȝe oughten to encline and bowe ȝoure herte
to take þe pacience of oure lord iħu cist . as seiþ seint pet er
in his epistles
¶ Ihū cist he seiþ haþ suffred for vs and
ȝiuen ensample vnto euery man to folwe and sewe him .
For he dede neuer synne ne neuer cam vileyns worde
out of his mouþ
whan men cursed him ; he cursed hem
not ¶ And whan men beete him ; he manased hem not .
535
¶ Also þe grete pacience which þat seintes þat been in paradys