The first Chapter.
[ A] MY sonne, heare thy fathers doc¦tryne, and forsake not the lawe of ye mother: for that shal bryn∣ge grace vnto thy heade, & shal be •• cheyne aboute thy necke.* 1.1 My sonne, cō¦sente not vnto synners, yf they entyse the, and saye: come wyth us, let us laye wayte for bloude, & lurke preuely for the innocēt wyth out a cause:* 1.2 let us swalowe thē vp like ye hell, let us deuoure thē quycke and whole, as tho∣se that go downe in to the pytt. So shal we fynde all maner of costly riches, and fyll oure houses wyth spoyles. Cast in thy lott amon¦ge us, we shal haue all one purse.
My sonne, walke not thou wt them, refray¦ne ye fote frō their wayes.* 1.3 For their fete rūne to euell, & are haistie to shed bloude. But in vayne is ye net layed forth before the byrdes [ B] eyes. Yee they thē selues laye wayte one for anothers bloude, and one of thē wolde slaye another. These are the wayes of all soch as be couetous, that one wolde rauysh ano∣thers life.
Wyszdome crieth without, & putteth forth hir voyce in the stretes. She calleth before ye congregacion in ye open gates, and sheweth hir wordes thorow ye cite, sayenge: O ye chil¦drē, how lōge wil ye loue childyshnesse? how longe wil ye scorners delyte in scornynge, & ye vnwyse be enemies vnto knowlege? O turne you vnto my correccion: lo, I wil expresse my mynde vnto you, and make you vnderstōde my wordes. Seinge then that I haue cal¦led, and ye refused it: I haue stretched out my honde, and no mā regarded it, but all my coū¦cels haue ye despysed, and set my correcciōs at naught. Therfore shal I also laugh in yor destruccion, and mocke you, when ye thin∣ge that ye feare cōmeth vpon you: euen whē ye thinge that ye be afrayed of, falleth in so∣denly like a storme, and yor misery like a tem∣pest: yee whā trouble and heuynesse cōmeth vpon you. Then shal they call vpō me, but I wil not heare: they shal seke me early, but they shal not fynde me: And yt because they hated knowlege, and receaued not ye feare of ye LORDE, but abhorred my councell, and despysed my correccion. Therfore shal they eate ye frutes of their owne waye, and be fyl∣led wt their owne councels: for ye turnynge a∣waye of ye vnwyse shal slaye thē, & ye prosperi of fooles shalbe their owne destrucciō. But who so harkeneth vnto me, shal dwell sa∣fely,* 1.4 and haue ynough without eny feare of euell.