¶ Of thre thinges which please god, and of thre which he hateth. Of nyne thynges that be not to be suspecte, and of the tenth: the fely of the malyce of a woman.
CAPI. XXV.
THre thynges there are / that my spryte [unspec A] fauoureth / whiche be also alowed be∣before God and men. * 1.1 The vnyte of bre∣thren / * 1.2 the loue of neighbours, * 1.3 and man and wyfe that agre well together. Thre thynges there be whiche my soule hateth and I vtterly abhorre the lyfe of them: A poore man that is proude. A ryche man that is a lyar / * 1.4 and an olde body that dotethe / and is vnchaste.
If thou haste gathered nothynge in thy youth / what wylte thou fynde then in thyne age. O howe pleasaunt a thynge is it, when gray headed mē are dyscrete, ‡ & whē y• elders cā geue good coūcel: O how comely a thig is wysdome vnto aged men: yee vnderstan¦dyng and councel is a glorious thing. The crowne of olde men is to hane much experi∣ence: & the feare of god is theyr worshyppe.
There be nyne thynges / whiche I haue [unspec B] iudged in my hert to be happy, and y• tenth wyll I tell forth vnto men with my tonge. A man that whyle he lyueth / hathe ioye of his chyldren / & seyeth y• fal of his enemyes. Well is hym that dwelleth with an hous∣wyfe of vnderstanding, * 1.5 and that hath not fallē with his tong, and that hath not bene fayne to serue such as are vnmete for hym. Wel is him, that fyndeth a faythful frende: and well is him which talketh of wysdome to an eare that heareth hi. O how great is he / that fyndeth wysdome and knowledge? Yet is he not aboue him, y• feareth the Lord. The feare of God hath set it selfe aboue all thynges. Blessed is the man, vnto whom it is graunted to haue the feare of God. Unto whō shal he be lyckened, that kepeth it fast? The feare of God is the beginnynge of his loue, and the begynning of fayth is to cleue faste vnto it. The heuynes of the hert is all the punyshemēt, & the wyckednes of a wo∣man goeth aboue al. All punishmēt & plage is nothynge in comparyson of the plage of the hert, euen so all wyckednes is nothyng to the wyckednes of a woman.
Whatsoeuer happeneth vnto a mā is no∣thynge [unspec C] in cōparison of it, that his euyl wyl∣lers do vnto him: and al vengeaunce is no∣thynge to the vengeaunce of the enemye.
There is not a more wycked heade then the head of the serpent / & there is no wrath aboue y• wrath of a womā. * 1.6 I wyll rather dwell with a lyon and dragon, then to kepe house with a wycked wyfe. The wycked∣nesse of a womā chaūgeth her face, she shall moffel her countenaūce as it were a Beare, & as a sack shal she shew it amōge the negh¦bours. Her husbande is brought to shame among his neghbours, and whē he heareth it, it maketh him to syghe. All wyckednes is but lytle to the wyckednes of a woman / the porcion of the vngodly shall fall vpon her:
Lyke as to clymme vp a sandy waye is [unspec D] to the fete of the aged / euen so is a wyfe full of wordes to a styll quyete man. * 1.7 Loke not to narowly vpō the bewtye of a womā, leste thou be prouoked ī desire towarde her▪ The wrath of a woman is dishonoure and great confusiō. If a woman get the mastrey, then is she contrary to her husbande. A wycked wyfe maketh a sory herte / an heuy counte∣naunce and a deed woūde. * 1.8 (Weake hādes and feble knees is a womā that her husbād is not the better for.) Of the woman came the begynnynge of synne / & thorowe her we all are deed. Geue thy water no passage / no not a lytle, nether geue a wycked womā her wyll. If she walcke not after thy hande, she shall confounde the in the syehgt of thy ene∣mies. Cut her of then from thy flesh, that she do not alwaye abuse the.