The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocryphal books,

CAP. IV.

Holi forsothe cherlhed to hym silf alone [Om. I.] pro|fiteth; and [in I.] as myche as he edifieth of desert of lijf the chirche of Crist, so myche he noieth if to the destruyers [distruyer A.] he withstonde not. Malachie the prophete, ȝhe, bi Malachye the Lord, askith prestis the lawe; in so myche the offis of the [Om. BI.] preste is [Om. D.] , askid, to answeren `of the lawe [Om. I.] . And in Deutronomy we reden, "aske thi fadre, and he shal telle thee; thi prestis, and thei shal seie to thee." In the psalm forsothe the [an I.] hundryd and eiȝtetene, "thi iustifiyngis were to me chauntable in the place of my pilgrimage." And in the discripcioun of the riȝtwisman, whan David comparysownede hym to a tree of lijf that is in paradise, among other vertues this he brouȝt forth, "in the lawe of the Lord the wil of hym, and in his lawe he shal thenk dai and nyȝt." Daniel in the ende of the most holi visioun seith riȝtwise men to shyne as sterrys, and vndirstonders [vnderstondynge DI.] , that is, tauȝt men, as the fermament. Thou seest how myche thei ben atwyn, riȝtwise chirlehede and tauȝt ryȝtwisnesse. Other men to sterres, other men to heuene ben comparisoned; al be it that, aftir the trewthe of Ebrew tung, either may be vndurstondun of lerned men. Thus we reden anentis hem, "thilk [tho I.] forsothe that weren tauȝt shulen shyne as the shynyng of the firmament, and thoo [thilk BDEFH.] that techen many men to rightwisnes as sterres into perpetuel [the perpetuel D.] eternytees." Whi is Poul seid the vessel of eleccoun? forsothe for the vessel of the lawe, and of holi scripture [scripturez EFHI.] he was the al|mery. The Faryseus ben stonyed in the doc|tryne of the Lord, and wondren [wondreden A.] in Petre and Joon, how thei kunnen the lawe, sith lettres thei lerneden not [none I.] . What euer forsothe to [of I.] other men excersice and ech dai thenkynge in the lawe was wont to ȝyuen, that to hem the Holi Gost tolde, and after that it is [were A.] writin, "thei weren Goddis tauȝt men," that is, able men to liȝtli be tauȝt of God. Twelue ȝeer the Saueour hadde [hath I.] fulfillid, and in the temple sittynge, ask|ynge of [Om. I.] questiouns of the lawe more techeth,

whil he prudentli [prudenter D.] demaundeth [cherl Petre demaundeth A. askith DI.] . But perauen|ture we seyn chirl Petre, and cherl Joon, of whom either myȝt seyn, "and if I be vnwise in word, neuerthelater not in kunnyng." Chirl [If churl I.] Jon fissher is vntauȝt; and whens that vois, Y prey, "In the first was the word, and the word was anentys God, and God was the word?" Logos in Grece many thingis signifieth, for whi and word it is, and resoun, and noumbre, and chesoun of eech thing, bi the which alle thingis ben that ben; the whiche echoon [enchesoun F.] we vndur|stonden riȝtli in Crist.