And secoundly / he that is Irous & wrotħ / he ne may
nat wel deme /
And he that may nat wel deme / may nat wel
coūseille /
The thridde is this / that he þt is Irous & wrotħ / as
seitħ Senek / ne may nat speke / but blameful thynges /
160
and
witħ hise vicious wordes / he steretħ oþere folk / to angre & to
Ire
¶ And eke Sire / ȝe muste dryue coueitise out of ȝoure her-
te /
for the Apostle seitħ / þt coueitise is the rote of alle harmes /
And trostetħ wel / þt a coueitous man / ne kan nat deme / ne th-
enke / but oonly to fulfille the ende of his coueitise /
& certes þt
ne may neuere ben acomplised / For euere the more habundaunce
þt he hatħ of richesse / the more he desiretħ
165
¶ And sire ȝe muste also
dryue out of ȝoure herte / hastifnesse / for certes
ȝe ne moun nat
deme for the beste / a sodeyn thouȝt / þt falletħ in ȝoure herte /
But ȝe muste a vyse ȝow on it ful ofte /
for as ȝe herde here
biforñ / the cōe prouerbe is this / that he þt sone demetħ / sone
repentetħ /
Sire / ȝe ne be nat alwey / in like disposicioū /
for
certes som thyng / þt somtyme semetħ to ȝow / þt it is good for
to doo / A nother tyme / it semetħ to ȝow the contarie /
170
whan ȝe
han taken coūseil vn to ȝoure self / And han demed by good delibe-
racioū / swicħ thyng as ȝow semetħ best
¶ Th
āne rede I
ȝow
/ þt ȝe kepe it secree
/ Cross in dry point in the right margin.ODR
by wreye nat ȝoure coūseil to no persone / but if
so be / þt ȝe wenen sikerly / þt thurgħ ȝoure bywreiynge / ȝoure cō-
dicioū shal ben to ȝow more profitable /
For Iħc Syrak seitħ / Ney-
ther to thy foo / ne to thy frend / diskeure nat thi secree / ne þi
folie /
for they woln ȝeue ȝow audience & lokyng & supportacion
in thy persence / & skorne the in thyn absence
175
¶ Another clerk
seitħ / þt skarsly shalt þu fynden any persone / þt may kepe thy
coūseil secrely
¶ The book seitħ/ whil þt þu kepest thy counseil
in thyn herte / þu kepest it in thy pisoū /
And whan þu bewreyest
thy coūseil / to any wigħt / he holdetħ the in his snare /
& þerfore
ȝow is bettre / to hide ȝoure coūseil in ȝoure herte / than preye hī
to whom ȝe han by wreyed ȝoure coūseil / þt he wol kepe it clos
& stille
¶ For Seneca seit
ħ / If so be
/ þt þu ne maist nat
/ thyn
owen co
ūseil hide
/ how darstow preyen
/ any o
þer wig
ħt
/ thyn
co
ūseil secrely to kepe
¶ Nota
180
¶ But nathelees / if þu wene sikerly / þt thy
biwreiyng of þi coūseil to a persone / wol make thy condicioū / to
stonden in the bettre pliȝt / thāne shalt þu telle hī thy coūseile
in this wyse
¶ First þu shalt make no semblaūt / wheiþer the were
leuere pees or werre / or this / or that / ne shewe hī nat thy wil /
and thyn entente /
for troste wel / þt cōely theise coūseillours ben
flatereres /
namely the coūseillours of grete lordes /
For they
enforcen hē alwey / rather to speken plesaūte wordes / enclynyng
to the lordes lust / than wordes / that ben trewe or profitable /
185
&
þerfore men seyn / þt þe riche man hatħ selde good coūseil / but if he