[6-text p 203] ¶ A man that is ioyous and glad in herte / it hym con|serueth florissynge in his age / But soothly / sorweful herte / maketh hise bones drye [2186] ¶ He seith eek/ thus / That sorwe in herte / sleeth ful many a man [2187] ¶ Sa|lomon [¶ Salomon] seith / That right as Motthes in the shepes flees / anoyeth to the clothes / and the smale wormes to the tree / right so anoyeth sorwe to the herte / [2188] wherfore / vs oghte as wel in the deeth of oure children / as in the losse of oþere goodes temporels haue pacience
[2189] ¶ Remembre yow vp on the pacient Iob / [¶ Memorandum de lob] whan he hadde lost his children and his temporeel sub|stance / and in his body endured and receyued ful many a greuous tribulacion; yet seyde he thus [2190] ¶ Oure lord / [le m'a donné; nostre Seigneur] hath biraft it me / right as oure lord hath wold / right so it is doon / blessed be the name of oure lord [2191] ¶ To thise foreseide thynges / answerde Melibeus / vn to his wyf Prudence [¶ Melibeus] ¶ Alle thy wordes quod he been sothe / and therwith pro|fitable / but trewely / myn herte is troubled with this sorwe so greuously / that I noot what to doone [2192] ¶ Lat calle quod Prudence thy trewe freendes alle / and thy lynage / [¶ Prudence] whiche that been wise / telleth youre cas / and herkneth what they seye in conseillyng and yow gouerne after hire sentence [2193] ¶ Salomon seith / werk alle thy thynges [¶ Salomon] by conseil / and thou shalt neuer repente
[2194] ¶ Thanne by the conseil of his wyf Prudence / this Melibeus / leet callen a greet congregacion of folk/. [2195] as surgiens / Phisiciens olde folk and yonge / and somme of hise olde enemys reconsiled as by hir semblaunt to his loue / and in to his grace / [2196] and ther-with-al / ther coomen somme of hise neighebores / that diden hym reuerence / moore for drede than for loue / as it happeth ofte / [2197] ¶ Ther coomen also / ful many subtille flatereres and wise Aduocatz lerned in the lawe /
[2198] And whan this folk / togidre assembled weren / this Melibeus in sorweful wise / shewed hem his cas /
