SENSUALITY

¶ What lady nature / have I none intresse Aswell as reason / or innocency Thank you this lady / a good process That they are advanced / and I let go by you know right well / that I ought naturally Before all other / to have of him the cure I am the chief perfection of his nature ¶ Alas what could / the sely body do Or how should that live / ne were the help of me Certes that could not well / creep nor go At the lest wise that should / neither feel here nor see But be as other / incensate bodies be In mouche wurscase / than worms of the ground In which uneath / any token of life is found ¶ Mesemeth that should / abhort him for to here That I destrayned / should be in any wise Standing that I / was create tobe his fere Of all his guiding / to take thenterpryse And now you put me out of his service And have assigned / reason to be his guide With innocency his noryse / thus am I set a side ¶ you clepe him lord / of all beasts living And nothing worthy / as far as I can see For if there be in him / no manner of feeling Ne no lively quyknes / what lord is he A lord made of clowtꝭ / or karued out of tre And fareth as and image / araued out of stone That nothing else can do / but stand alone ¶ If you intend / hymto continue long In honour / or worldly felicity He most needs follow / his apetyte among And confirm him self / to the more part I tell you men / will have no deynte to do service / or homage to a block all the world will / think that but a mock ¶ Suffer me therefore / to have with him a room and to be with him / as chief council and if he do so / I think to dome He shall reign in the world / as chief governor But if Reason / tykyll him in the ere Or bear him on hand the how is wood He shall never be able / to do earthly good ¶ Well lady nature leave / you me in this case Shall I have of you / none other Comfort By Christ yet / will I not hide my face For as soon as we / shall to the world resort I put no doubt / he will me support He hath been my good master many a day And he will not see me / thus cast away ¶ you Reason sir you speak a noble man but yet are you take / with a of ouersyght What would you make me / stand as a sordan And not speak ane word / for mine own right I see that well / that if your lordship might by means possible / onys bring that about your self should be a ruler / and I but a cast out ¶ A lord? whose lord. ¶ Nay so mote I the thou liest / that may no lengar be forborn thou camyst but to night / & mayest hap go to morn For if thou be as haute / as thou begynnest thou shalt avoid / Much sonar than thou wenuyst ¶ Which is the worthyar? forsooth I trow neither we be good felowys. ¶ Nay that shall I never do / for to die I shall be thy fellow be / look thou never so hie ¶ And therefore hardly / be somewhat selo wlyke Leave thine hawt conceytys / and take a metely way For shame of the world man / let us not styk at a mater of tyght nought / and Travers here all day Have me in few words man / and hark what I say Medyll thou in no point / that belongeth to me and I shall promise the / neu er to medyll with the ¶ And standing the nonage / of this gentleman On my parell / take no care therefore I shall demean that / as well as I can till he be passed. xl. years and more and reason then / if you will undershore His crooked old age / when lusty youth is spent Than take upon you. I hold me content ¶ For trust you me / the very troth is this this man is put / in his own liberty And certainly / the from choice is his Wheder he will be governed / by the or by me Let us therefore put that / to his own jeopardy and therein stand / to his arbytrement To which of us twain / he had sever assent ¶ yet Reason / when thou hast said all if thou see him not / take his own way Call me cut / when thou mettest me another day ¶ Well spoken and wisely / now have you all done? Or have you ought else / to this man to say ¶ Shall I than stand / as I were tonge tied ¶ For cartayne sir / reason hath done me wrong More than ever he shall be able to recompense God knoweth sir I thought / the season very long Till we were brought / unto your presence But now I pray you / to annul the sentence That nature gave unto me / by reasons advise to my great hurt / and vttyr preindyce ¶ And sir I ask / none amends earthly But that reason / may have a chek mate A little knack / a little prayty congy His haut courage / some thing to abate For hyderto / he hath kept great estate And had of me / the over hand and strengar But you not displeased / I will suffer that no lengar ¶ Lord you say well / but woldgod you would see Some manner help / and remedy for this evil And let me not always / live this like a dryuyll ¶ So the company is well amend Let him go to the devil of hell He is but a boy I warn you well and should you follow his counsel All mighty God defend if ever you sust to play the man It is time that you now ban Mar to play the boy now and than For your It forceth not though you do Wh you may have sir thereto And among I will help you also In endue time and place ¶ With you speak with me ¶ es ¶ your pox all owus ¶ Where is your dwelling ¶ What is your name ¶ Pride? ¶ Worship now in faith you saw true you be radix viciorum. Rote of all virtue. ¶ Turd I know you well Sir you are welcome as I may say I shall bring you in service if I may And if one man stand not in the way. ¶ By God one that loves not the Nor me neither. ¶ Wilt thou so doubtless. ¶ Surely I can not spy the ways how ¶ Hark cousin First speed this mater And if yender man make the not good cheer As any man that ever cam here 1 line ¶ Surely this conseyt is well found I shall bring the in service for twaynty pound ¶ No more would I for. xl. shelyng Let me alone hardly ¶ Sir if that please you here is come a strange That never was acquainted with you ere Somewhat shame fast and half in fere To put him self in prese A goodly parsone be you sure Both of countenance and of feature If he were drawn in portraiture And a good man doubtless you and a wise man at all Will that please you that I him call to S I with you. ¶ Sir hid him welcome for the manner sake Another day I am sure he will crake And say such a gentleman did him make ery great cheer Desire him for to dwell with you I tell you he is a man for your prow And knoweth the world well I now No man better than he ¶ odd and no what you shall do et S go To some tavern here busied Counterfeit on I can bring you there and let Them alone with all this ge e you nothing for the mater but let Them here abide And you will suffer and set Them alone you shall see them devise you a new fashion hat all the world shall wonder theron ¶ Nay nay sirs care you nothing That mater is sped well and fine ¶ you sir by this day Our master and Reason have made a great fray ¶ farth we sat together hereby who should come together and margery you rde so pra lie the last Morning while say ping ¶ I had I wiped my nose I spied Them anon I rose and called Them unto me by name And without more tarrying anon they came ¶ And sat down with us / & made nothing strau ̄ g as they be full curteys / you know that well And anon our masters colour ban to change whereof that cam / I can not tell His cheer was appalled / every dell and scant that he could speak to me one word But S ert him even up and rose from the board ¶ He said he would go / lie down on a bed and prayed me for the manners sake That margery might come hold his heed Which as he told me / ban to ache And so she hath him undertake To make him hold / in and hour or twain when soever he hath any such Sudden pain ¶ What that means I wot never But he syketh her phy yk so well That I trow the devil of hell Can not Them two dysseuer ¶ Lo this have I done / and what trow you more yet can I tell you better tiding ¶ Marry Reason that you two spoke of before Can even to us as we sat so drinking And gave our master and hete worth and hanging Because that margery sat on his kne while that other hoar sat talking with me ¶ My master saw that he could have no rest Never be rid of this controlling He prayed the man and thought that best my ut more ta yeng Reason so the head ruayll but he be now deed these, never a word ¶ No on my life. For when they fought I ran between and cried keep piece and leave debate But you would have laughed had you seen How I departed Them / and for all that Sometime I clapped Reason on the pate and cried keep the piece as fast as I could Till I was horse I cried so loud ¶ you make God avow And beware you of one thing Medyll you no more with margery For by cokkys precious body If our master may that espy Or have and understanding That you use her company I tell you he will be angry He is so full of ielosy As ever I knew man ¶ No but say what you will I am sure he can ¶ He is now as familiar With bodily lust as ever you were you and thereto as great a swerer When time requires Knew I never of his age A man of better courage To do all manner of outrage After our desires ¶ Sith Reason and he were thus at variance He hath be full of such dalyaunce And both called to his favour and a quaintance ur by and by vy wreth gluttony and continued see Sloth and lechery become to his sir ice And utterly he hatyth their And that he professes oh enly ¶ you everyone on I tell you true But marry there names be changed new For to blere his eye I tell you he is a serefull man For Reason stirreth him now and than And therefore do we what we can It is little I now hardly ¶ Sir a there is First Pride as you wot well The sweet darling of the devil of hell How his name is changed you can tell ¶ you by the road even the same And covetise to eschew all blame Does his name dysgyse And calls him self worldly policy Wreth because he is somwat hasty Is called manhood. Then is there envy and he is called disdain Gluttony for good felyshyp is taken and sloth his old name hath forsaken And as fair a name hath he shapen as ever man could ordain He is called ease right comfortable to the blood Specially for Them that Lust to do no good and among all other I would you understood That lechery is called lust Lo these be fair names parde Both good and honest as seemeth me as for their conditions what they be you know well ¶ yes that they do on warantyse ¶ troth so / and so have I But one thing I ensure you faithfully And that I have espied well that derto our master sets no store By his council nor his lore Marry when his head waxes hoar than shall be good season To follow covetise and his way you time I now another day Even so I hard our master say ¶ you be you sure that is mater unfeigned And wot you who is greatly disdain With our master now ¶ By God even shamefastness when he shall do any such excess No shame can fere him doubtless I may say to you ¶ you and mine also ¶ Will I ꝙ a you parde It is according for Sensuality With Pride for to go piece no more of this dysputacyd Here be many fantasies / to drive forth the day That one chatreth like apye / that other like aiay And yet when they both / have done what they can Ma ̄ gry Them teeth / I shall rule the man ¶ you on my rell sir / I shall take the enterprise Of all such maters / and look where I find any man of pleasure / on him set your mind Lo will you see lo / here comes one you shall see anon a well drawn man is he / and a well taught That will not gyve his head for nought And thereto goodly / as you shall see in a day you a perilous case God wot you are welcome header On my faith by my will you shall dwell with us Still Go never to him and task your fill I leave you together you by heaven king. Even as we sat together at the wine I shall will you come never.