fol. 33r (cont.)I
Passus viijus de visione & hic explicit & incipit
inquisicio prima de
Dowel .L.8.000: Note that the rubricating scribe did not follow the guide letters literally.
Passus octauus de visione & primus de dowel
t
+
ThusL.8.1: The ornamental capital is eight lines high and done in blue ink with red flourishes. A small guide letter <t> is just visible in the ornamentation to the left of the capital. yrobed in russet · I rowmed abouteL.8.1: A corrector's <+> appears in the right margin, but no error is apparent.
Al a somer sesoun · for to seke dowel
And frayned ful oft · of folke þat I mette
L.8.4KD.8.4
If ani wiȝte wiste · where dowel was at Inne
And what man he miȝte be · of many man I axed
Was neuere wiȝte as I went · þat me wisse couthe
Where þis lede lenged · lasse ne more
L.8.8KD.8.8
Tyl it bifel on a fryday · two freres I mette
Maistres of þe Menoures · men of grete witte
I hailsed hem hendely as I hadde lerned
And preyed hem par charitee · ar þei passed forther
+
L.8.12KD.8.12
IfL.8.12: The second letter of If appears to have been added later, probably in response to the corrector's <+> appearing in the left margin. þei knewe any contre · or costes as þei went
Where þat dowel dwelleth · doth me to wytene
For þei ben men on þis molde · þat moste wyde walken
And knowen contrees · and courtes · and many kynnes places
L.8.16KD.8.16
Bothe prynces paleyses · and pore mennes cotes
And dowel and doyuel · where þei dwelle bothe
Amonges vs quod þe Menours · þat man is dwellyng
And euere hath as I hope · and euere shal here-after
L.8.20KD.8.20
Contra quod I as a clerke · and comsed to disputen
fol. 33vI
And seide sothliL.8.21: LM alone among B manuscripts read And seide sothli. Most other B manuscripts insert hem after seide or eliminate the English introduction to the Latin quotation. However, LM's reading is matched by most C manuscripts. sepcies · in die cadit iustus
Seuene sythes seith þe boke · synneth þe riȝtful .
And who-so synneth I seyde · doth yuel as me þinketh
L.8.24KD.8.23
And dowel and do yuel · mow nouȝt dwelle togideres
Ergo he nys nauȝt alway · amonge ȝow freres
He is otherwhile ellis-where · to wisse þe peple
I shal sey þe my sone · seide þe frere þanne
L.8.28KD.8.27
How seuene sithes þe sadmansad man · on þeL.8.28: LMR alone have þe. Most other B manuscripts have a. day synneth
By a forbisene quod þe frere · I shal þe faire shewe
Lat brynge a man in a bote · amydde aL.8.30: LR alone have a. Other B manuscripts have þe. brode water
Þe wynde and þe water · and þe bote waggynge
L.8.32KD.8.31
Maketh þe man many a tyme · to falle and to stonde
For stonde he neuere so styf · he stombleth ȝif he moeue
Ac ȝit is he sauf and sounde · and so hym bihoueth
For ȝif he ne arise þe rather · and rauȝte to þe stiere
L.8.36KD.8.35
Þe wynde wolde wyth þe water · þe bote ouerthrowe
And þanne were his lyf loste · þourgh lacchesse of hym-self
And þus it falleth quod þe frere · bi folke here on erthe
Þe water is likned to þe worlde · þat wanyeth and wexeth
L.8.40KD.8.39
Þe godis of þis grounde aren like · to þe grete wawes
Þat as wyndes and wederes · walwethL.8.41: LM alone have walweth. Other B manuscripts have walkeþ. aboute
Þe bote is likned to owre body · þat brutel is of kynde
+
Þat þorugh þe fende and þiL.8.43: LR alone have þi, which explains the corrector's <+> in the left margin. Most other B manuscripts have þe. flessh · and þe frele worlde
L.8.44KD.8.43
Synneth þe sadman · a day seuene sythes
Ac dedly synne doth he nouȝt · for dowel hym kepith
And þat is charite þe champioun · chief help aȝein synne
For he strengtheth man to stonde · and stereth mannes soule
L.8.48KD.8.47
And þowgh þi body bow · as bote doth in þe water
Ay is þi soule sauf · butL.8.49: LMR alone have but. Other B manuscripts have but if. þi-self wole
Do a dedly synne · and drenche so þi soule
God wole suffre wel þi sleuthe · ȝif þi-self lyketh
L.8.52KD.8.52
For he ȝaf þe to ȝeresȝyue · to ȝeme wel þi-selue
+
And þat is witte aL.8.53: The corrector has noted the scribe's a for and with a <+> in the left margin both here and at L.7.104. The same form appears at this point in M as well. fre wille · to euery wyȝte a porcioun
To fleghyng foules · to fissches & to bestes
+
Ac man hath moste þerof · and moste is to blameL.8.55: A corrector's <+> appears in the left margin. His exemplar may have had initial And as do CC2CrG; all other beta family manuscripts agree in reading Ac.
L.8.56KD.8.56
But if he worche wel þer-with · as dowel hym techeth
I haue no kynde knowyng quod I · to conceyue alle ȝowre wordes
Ac if I may lyue and loke · I shal go lerne bettere
I bikenne þe cryst · þat on þe crosse deyde
L.8.60KD.8.60
And I seyde þe same · saue ȝow fro myschaunce
fol. 34rI
And ȝiue ȝow grace on þis grounde · good men to worthe
And þus I went wide-where walkyng myne one
By a wilde wildernesse · and bi a wode-syde
L.8.64KD.8.64
Blisse of þoL.8.64: LHmR alone read þo; other B manuscripts have þe. briddes · brouȝte me aslepe
And vnder a lynde vppon a launde · lened I a stounde
To lythe þe layes · þo louely foules made
+
Murthe of her mouthes · made meL.8.67: The supralinear addition of me is by a later hand. A <+> in the left margin notes the omission. þere to slepe
L.8.68KD.8.68
Þe merueillousest meteles · mette me þanne
+
Þat euer dremed dremed[dremed]L.8.69: This line has a <+> in the left margin, but the dittographic error was never corrected. wyȝte · in worlde as I wene
A moche man as me þouȝte · and lyke to my-selue
Come and called me · by my kynde name
L.8.72KD.8.72
What artow quod I þo · þat þow my name knowest
Þat þow wost wel quod he · and no wyȝte bettere
Wote I what þow art  þought · seyde he þanne
I haue suwed þe þis seuene ȝere · sey þow me no rather
L.8.76KD.8.76
Art þow thought quod I þo · þow couthest me wisse
Where þat dowel dwelleth · and do me þat to knowe
Dowel and dobet · and dobest þe thridde quod he
Aren three faire vertues · and beth nauȝte fer to fynde
L.8.80KD.8.80-81
Who-so is trewe of his tonge · and of his two handes
And þorugh his laboure or þorugh his londe · his lyflode wynneth
And is trusti of his tailende · taketh but his owne
And is nouȝt dronkenlew ne dedeignous · dowel hym folweth
L.8.84KD.8.85
Dobet doth ryȝt þus · ac he doth moche more
He is as low as a lombe · and loueliche of speche
And helpeth alle men · after þat hem nedeth
Þe bagges and þe bigurdeles · he hath to-brokenL.8.87: LCr1MR alone read to-broken; most other B manuscripts have tobroke, uncovering the final <-e> and enabling the elision that makes the b-verse metrical. hem alle
L.8.88KD.8.89
Þat þe Erl auarous · helde and his heires
And þus with Mammonaes mone · he hath made hym frendes
And is ronne in-toL.8.90: LMRF alone have in-to. Other B witnesses have to. Religioun · and hath rendred þe bible
And precheth to þe poeple · seynt Poules wordes
L.8.92KD.8.93
Libenter suffertis insipientes · cum sitis ipsi sapientes
And suffreth þe vnwise · with ȝow forto libbe
And with gladde wille doth hem gode · for so god ȝow hoteth
Dobest is aboue bothe · and bereth a bisschopes crosse
L.8.96KD.8.97
Is hoked on þat one ende · to halie men fro helle
A pyke is on þat potente · to pulte adown þe wikked
Þat wayten any wikkednesse · dowel to tene
fol. 34vI
And dowel and dobet amonges hem ordeigned
L.8.100KD.8.101
To croune one to be kynge to reuleL.8.100: LCr alone have reule. Other B manuscripts have rulen, covering the -e and thus assuring a metrically regular b-verse. hem bothe
Þat ȝif dowel or dobet did aȝein dobest
Þanne shal þe kynge come · and casten hem in yrens
And but if dobest bede for hem · þei to be þere for euere
L.8.104KD.8.107
Thus dowel and dobet · and dobest þe thridde
Crouned one to be kynge · to kepin hem alle
And to reule þe Reume · bi her thre wittes
And none other wise · but as þei thre assented
L.8.108KD.8.111
I thonked thouȝt þo · þat he me þus tauȝte
Ac ȝete sauoureth me nouȝt þi seggyng · I coueite to lerne
How dowel dobet and dobest · don amonges þe peple
But witte conne wisse þe quod þouȝt · where þo thre dwelle
L.8.112KD.8.116
Ellis wote I none þat can · þat now is alyue
Þouȝte and I thus · thre days we ȝeden
Disputyng vppon dowel · day after other
And ar we were ywar · with witte gan we mete
L.8.116KD.8.120
He was longe and lene · liche to none other
Was no pruyde on his apparaille · ne pouerte noyther
Sadde of his semblaunt · and of soft chiere
I dorste meue no matere · to make hym to iangle
L.8.120KD.8.124
But as I bad þouȝt þo · be mene bitwene
And put forth somme purpos · to prouen his wittes
What was dowel · fro dobet · and dobest fram hem bothe
Þanne þouȝt in þat tyme seide þise wordes
L.8.124KD.8.128
Where dowel dobetL.8.124: The initial <d> of dobet is re-inked. and dobest ben in londe
Here is wille wolde ywyteL.8.125: LMR alone have ywyte. Other B manuscripts have wite. · ȝif witte couthe teche hym
+
And whether he be man · or manL.8.126: L alone reads man. Most other B witnesses have womman, though BCR have no man. The corrector's <+> in the left margin may be for a correction here, or may refer to a mistake subsequently corrected, since wolde later in this line is written over an erasure. · þis man fayne .....wolde aspye
And worchen as þei thre wolde · þis is his entente ·
MED