THE WORLD

¶ Sirs you be welcome / to us heartily your messagye is / to us right acceptable Be you assured / there is nothing earthly to us so joyful / ne yet so delectable As to be acquainted / with parsons honourable Namely souch / as you seem to be Men of high honour / and of great dignity ¶ And as touching the message / that you have brought Have thereof / the full mind and intent Assuring you that our busy thought Shall be to do / dame naturys commandment and thereunto / we will be diligent To do her pleasurys / in that we may And so we would / you should to her say ¶ And were you show / unto me that this man Is ordained to reign / here in this empry I assent well / for or nature began To shape the world / the thought finally to ordain man / therein to occupy He to take upon him / as mighty governor Having all thing / subdued to his power. ¶ Wherefore I receive / greatly his coming Mankind sir / heartily welcome you be you are the parsone / without feigning that I have evermore / desired to see Come let me kys you. Oh benedycyte you be all naked / alas man why thus I make you sure / that is right perilous. ¶ Be piece / fair woman you ar not very wise Care you not / if this body take cold you must consider / this is not paradise Ne yet so temporate / by a thousand fold Whose so liveth here / be he young or old He must suffer / both fervent cold and hete And be out of temperance / oft time in his diet ¶ Also he must needs / do as the world does That intends any while / here to reign And follow the gise that now a day goes As for as his estate / may that maintain And who does the contrary / I will be plain He is abyect / and despised utterly and stands ever baneshed / from all good company ¶ Sith God therefore / had ordained this body To dwell here / in this earthly region Of conuenyence / he must him self apply To worldly thyngꝭ / and be of such condition As all men be / and leave eke found opinion That is not approvable / of wysar men than he to take such way / that is but vanity. ¶ Take this garment / man do as I you bid Be not ashamed / hardly to do that on So so / now this gurdell / have gurd that in the mid And this for your head / go set that upon By the charge of me / you be a goodly on As ever I saw / sith y to I was born Worth a thousand / that you were before. ¶ Gyve me your hand / be not in fere Sytdown / as you ar born to occupy this place I gyve you here / authority and power Over all thing / that conceived is in the space Of all the earth / that round is in compace To be as lord / of every region and thereof I gyve you / pessyble possession. ¶ This is and harden word / sister that you have spoken And hard word surely / and and heavy sentence But think you gods / commandment broken For a light tryfull / and mater of insolence Alas have you such a spiced conscience That will be entryked / with every merry thought Leave that woman leave that. For that is nought ¶ Thou hast had great wrong / and that is pity For if thou be the parson / that I take the before thou sholdyst be / as honourable as he ¶ Sir you know well / that if so that were A man should suddenly / come to a strange place Wherein he is / but alyand and stranger He must needs be / compelled in that case to put him self / in the favour and grace Of some syngler person / that can show him the way Of all the behaviour / and gise in that country ¶ So that is now / that you be hither sent this country as yet / to you unknown In mine opinion / that is expedient to take some other counsel than your awn Of well enured men / such as have grown In worldly experience / and have thereof the dryft And can best for you / in time of need skyft ¶ Dare you commit / the mater unto me ¶ Than ̄ thus I will / that above all thing From hens forward / you be like and conformable Unto other parsons / in all your demeaning Namely to such / as be companable Be they never so vycouse / or abominable For every man / clepyth him wise That does after the come gise. ¶ And as for men / that should do you service I know dyuers persons / that be right honourable That can you serve / always point deuyce In all the world / be there none so able So wise / so politic / ne yet so profitable Lo here is one of Them / that I speak before and he him self can tell you / where you shall have more ¶ Worldly affection is this mannys name He is well brained / and wondrous of invention a before casting man / and pain of shame you shall not find / in any Christian region a wiser fellow / in things to be done Specially of maters / that be concerning Worldly pleasure / that is for you according ¶ Suffer him therefore / never to depart But if that be / for maters of great substance and for sensuality / I pray you with all my heart To accept him to your favour and tendraunce He hath been long / of mine acquaintance and on my faith / my heart can not but grudge To think that you should use him as a drudge ¶ Do as he adviseth you / hardly now and than and despise not / utterly his counsel Think that you be here / a worldly man and must do as men / that in the world dwell you ar not bound / to live like and angel Ne to be as God / always immutable Mannys nature / of him self is full miserable ¶ I have told you now / my counsel and advise And you have promised / to be ruled thereby Now set eke man / execute his office and see how wisely / you can Them occupy To increase the world / and that thereto you must apply 1 line Now address you thereto / and demean you thus I shall be to you ever good and prosperous ¶ Than to bygyn with all I will advise you to put this man / from your company I tell you / every man will despise you As long as you / be ruled by innocency to follow such counsel / that is but folly For he can neither good neither evil and therefore he is taken / but for a dryuyll ¶ you hardly do even so ¶ you that you will indeed But now sir will you any thing Command me before my departing ¶ Worldly affection come hither / you are politic and Much better enured / in this world than I I pray you dispose for me / as you think most like That I may live here well and honorably ¶ you sir I shall. Doubt you not hardly if that like you / to put me in so great trust And I true you shall find me / true and joust ¶ you sir some men had lever than a thousand pound They might be commended / of the same fashion But sir set pass / all this commendation and answer to me / I pray you fruitfully In that I shall move you / substantially ¶ Sir at few words / I you exhort Sith that you be come to your own Cast your self to bear such a port That as you be / you may be known Eke that is necessary / for that behoove that there be made / some manner of puruyaunce Whereby / you may here out your countenance ¶ Will that like you therefore that I survey And see thextent / of all your land and there upon / in all the hast purvey Both for you and yours / all manner of vyand with other vtensyttys / ready at your hand So that you be purveyed / all times erely and late Of eke thing / that belongeth to your estate ¶ And man as for you / you shall not take that way That manner of observance / is to hard and strait you must attempt the world / and therein assay Whither you can live / after that endrayte These. ii. folk / harp both on refrayte and ever enbesyeth Them / to rebuke you of sin ¶ That never was spotted / ne found guilty therein take none heed of Them / their words be but wind and as for this time / I command Them to silence And set us see now / how prately you can find By sage policy / and worldly prudence To maintain the state / in honour and reverence that you shall be in / while you in the world dwell Speak of this mater / and ponder that well ¶ First me seemeth necessary / to provide What manner folks / your saruauntys shall be For surely you ar / nothing accompanied according / to a man of your degree you have here with you. ii. parsons or. iii. That pleases you happily / in the best wise yet that appeareth not so / to every mannys ges. ¶ What man is this?