which in other wheris thei miȝten haue gete, and also vilonie forto avowe and warante that thei couthen the trewe sentence and trewe vnderstonding of the Bible, whanne and where thei not couthen so vnder|stonde, neither couthen mentene what thei ther ynne vnderstoden, and also forto avowe and warante that in the Bible were miche more and profitabiler and of other soort kunnyng than [that, MS.; altered by a later hand into than.] can ther yn be founde. And therfore to alle suche men mai be seid what is seid Prouerbs XXVe. capitulum. in sentence thus: Thou hast founde hony, ete therof what is ynouȝ and no more; lest thou ouer fillid caste it vp out aȝen, and thanne is it to thee vilonie: and what is writen aftir in the same chapiter there in sentence thus: Forto ete miche of hony is not good to the eter. So that whanne euere thou takist upon thee forto vnderstonde ferther in the Bible than thi wit may or can therto suffice with|oute help of a substancial clerk, thanne etist thou of hony more than ynouȝ, and doost aȝens the bidding of Seint Poul, Romans xije. capitulum. soone after the bigynnyng. And whanne thou attendist forto leerne Holi Scrip|ture, and attendist not ther with forto haue eny other leernyng of philsophie or of diuynite, bi thin owne studie in bookis ther of maad or bi teching and infor|macioun of sum sad clerk ȝouun to thee, thanne thou etist hony aloon and feedist thee with hony oonli. And this feding schal turne into thin vnhoolsumnes, riȝt as if thou schuldist ete in bodili maner noon other mete than hony it schulde not be to thee hoolsum.
To ȝou therfore, whiche fauoren the firste seid opi|nion, I seie the wordis of Seint Iame writen in his [first] [A space left for the number in the MS.] capitulum. thus: Take ȝe or receyue ȝe this graffid word, which may saue ȝoure soulis. Receue ȝe the loore of this present firste parti of this book and the iij.
