a spere / hold the oon the rigħt syde / & if he bere a swerd / holde
the oon his lift syde /
345
And after this / than shuln ȝe kepe ȝow
wysely / from alle swicħ manere peeple / as I haue seid bifore
and hem & here coūseile eschue
¶ And after þis / þāne shuln ȝe
kepe ȝow in swicħ manere /
þ for any persumpcioū of ȝoure
strengthe / þt ȝe ne dispise nat / ne attempte nat the mygħt / of
ȝoure aduersarie / so lite / þt ȝe lete the kepyng of ȝoure persone / for ȝour
persumpcioū /
for euery wys man / dredetħ his enemy /
And Salamō
seitħ ; welful is he / that of alle hatħ drede /
350
For certes / he that
thurgħ the hardynesse of his herte / & thurgħ the hardynesse of
hī self / hatħ to gret persumpcioū / hī shal yuel bitide //
Thāne
shuln ȝe euere mo / countrewayte emboyssementz / & alle espialle /
For Senek seitħ / þt the wyse man / þt dredetħ harmes / eschewetħ
harmes /
ne he ne falletħ in to perils / þt perils eschuetħ
¶ And al be
it so / þt it seme / þt þu art in syker place / ȝet shaltow alwey / do þi
diligence / in kepyng of thy persone /
355
this is to seyn ; ne be nat
necligent to kepe thy persone / nat oonly fro thyne grettest enemys /
but fro thy leste enemy
¶ Senek seitħ / a man þt is wel a vised / he
dredetħ his leste enemy
¶ Ouyde seitħ / þt the litel wesele / wol slee
the gret bole / & þe wylde hert
¶ And þe book seitħ / A litel thorñ / may
prikke a kyng ful sore / & an hound / wil holde the wilde Boor //
But
nathelees / I seye nat / þu shalt be so coward / þt þu doute there / wher
as is no drede
360
¶ The book seitħ / þt sōme folk han gret lust to de-
ceyue / but ȝet they dreden hē / to be deceyued
¶ ȝet shaltow drede
to be empoysened / & kepe the fro the compaignye of skorneres /
For the book seitħ / wt scorners make no compaignye / but flee her
wordes / as venym
¶ Now as to the secund poynt / wher as
ȝoure wyse coūseillors / coūseilled ȝow / to warnestore ȝoure hous / wt
gret diligence /
I wolde fayn knowe / how þt ȝe vnderstode thilke
wordes / & what is ȝoure sentence
365
¶ Melibeus answerde & seide /
Certes I vnderstonde it / in þis wyse / þt I shal warnestore mȳ
hous / wt toures / swicħ as han Castelles / & othere manere edifices /
& armure / & artelries /
by whicħ thynges / I may my persone &
myn hous / so kepen & defenden / þt myne enemys / shuln ben in
drede / myn hous for to approche
¶ To this sentence / answerde
a noon Pudence ; warnestoryng qd she / of heigħe Toures / & of
grete edifices /
w grete costages / & wt gret tauaille / And whan
þt they ben acompliced / ȝet be they nat wortħ a stree / but if þei
ben defended / by trewe frendes / þt ben bolde & wyse /
And vnder-
stonde wel / þt the gretteste & strongeste garnesoū / þt a riche man
may haue / as wel to kepen his persone / as hise goodes / is /
370
þ he
be biloued wt his subgetz / & wt his neyghebores
¶ For thus seitħ
Tullius ; That þere is a manere garnesoū / þt no man may venqisse
ne discomfite / & that is
a lord / to be biloued of his Citezeins / & of