speche / it semed wel / that in herte / he baar a crueel Ire / redy to doon vengeaūce
vp on hise foes / and sodeynly desired / that the werre sholde bigynne /
but
nathelees / yet axed he hir conseil vpon this matiere
45
¶ A Surgien by licen-
ce and assent of swiche as weren wise / vp roos / and to Melibeus / seyde /
as ye may heere
¶ Sire quod he / as to vs Surgiens aperteneth / that we do
to euery wigħt the beste that we kan / where as we been withholde / and to oure
pacientz / that we do no damage /
wherfore it happeth many tyme and ofte /
that whan twey men / han euerich wounded oother oon same Surgien hee-
leth hem bothe /
wherfore
/ vn to oure Art
it is nat
pertinent
to norice wer-
re ne
parties to supporte
.
But certes / as to the warissħynge of your dogħ-
ter al be it so / that she perilously be wounded / we shullen do so enten-
tif bisynesse fro day to nygħt that with the grace of god / she shal be
hool and sound / as soone as is possible
50
¶ Almoost / rigħt in the same
wise / the Phisiciens answerden / saue that they seyden / afewe woordes
moore /
That rig
ħt as maladies
/ been cured by hir cont
aries
rig
ħt
so
/ shul men wariss
ħe werre by vengea
ūce
¶ Hise neighebores ful
of enuye / hise feyned freendes that semeden reconsiled / and hise
flatereres /
maden semblant of wepyng and empeireden and agreg-
geden muchel of this matiere in preisynge greetly Melibee / of mygħt /
of power / of richesse / and of freendes despisynge / the power of hise
Aduersaries /
and seiden outrely that he anon sholde wreken hym on
hise foes and bigynne werre
55
¶ Vp roos thanne an Aduocat
that
was wys
/ by leue and by conseil of othere that were wise
/ and sei-
de
.
Lordynges / the nede for which we been assembled in this pla-
ce / is a ful heuy thyng and an heigħ matiere /
by cause of the ~ ~
wrong and of the wikkednesse that hath be doon / and eek by resoū
of the grete damages that in tyme comynge / been possible to fallen
for this same cause /
and eek by resoū of the grete richesse and power
of the parties bothe /
for the whiche resoūs / it were a ful greet peril to ~
erren in this matiere
60
¶ Wherfore / Melibeus this is oure sentence ~
we conseille yow abouen alle thyng . that rigħt anon / thou do thy ~
diligence in kepynge of thy propre persone / in swich a wise þt thou ~
wante noon espie / ne wacche / thy persone for to saue
¶ And after
that we conseille þt in thyn hous / thou sette sufficeant garnisoū
so þt they may / as wel thy body as thyn hous defende
¶ But cer-
tes / for to moeue werre / or sodeynly for to doon vengeaūce / we may
nat demen / in so litel tyme / that it were profitable /.
. Wherfore we
axen leyser and espace / to haue deliberaciou in this cas to deme /
For the cōmune prouerbe seith thus ¶ He that soone deemeth ~
soone shal repente
65
¶ And eek men seyn / that thilke Iuge is
wys that soone vnderstondeth a matiere and Iuggeth by ley-
ser
¶ for al be it so that alle tariyng be anoyful ; algates / it is nat to re-
preue in yeuynge of Iuggement ne in vengeance takyng whan it is
sufficeant and resonable
¶ And that shewed oure lord Ihū crist by ensam-
ple / for whan that the wōman / that was taken in Auowtrie was broght
in his persence / to knowen / what sholde be doon with hir persone / al be it so
that he wiste wel hym self what that he wolde answere / \yet/ ne wolde he ~
nat answere sodeynly / but he wolde haue deliberaciou / and in the ground /