Undyrstandynge es to knawe whate es to doo, and whate {65} es to lefe, and þat that sall be gyffene, to gyffe it to thaym þat has nede, noghte till oþer þat has na myster. Wysedome es forgetynge of erthely thynges and thynkynge of heuen, with discrecyone of all men_s_ dedys. In þis gyfte schynes contemplacyone, þat es, Saynt Austyne says, a gastely {70} dede of fleschely affeccyones, thurghe þe ioye of a raysede thoghte. Strenghe es lastynge to fullfill gude purpose, þat it be noghte lefte, for wele ne for waa. Peté es þat a man be mylde, and gaynesay noghte Haly {75} Writte whene it smyttes his synnys, whethire he vndyrstand it or noghte; bot in all his myghte purge he þe vilté of syne in hyme and oþer. Connynge es þat makes a man of gude <hope>, noghte ruysand hyme of his reghtewysnes, bot sorowand of his {80} synnys, and þat man gedyrs erthely gude anely to the honour of God, and prow to oþer mene þane hymselfe. The Drede of God es þat we turne noghte agayne till oure syne thurghe any ill eggyng. And þa_n_ es drede perfite in vs and gastely, when we drede to wrethe God in þe leste syne {85} þat we kane knawe, and flese it als venyme. [Foot-note: 60 teches] towches _Cambridge MS. DD. 5. 64_.] [Foot-note: 63 þar] þat _MS. Thornton_.] [Foot-note: 69 mens] _so Cambridge MS. DD. 5. 64_ = mene _MS. Thornton_.] [Foot-note: 79 hope] _from Cambridge MS. DD. 5. 64: om. MS. Thornton_.] [Foot-note: 84 þan] _Cambridge MS. DD. 5. 64_: þen _MS. Arundel 507_: þat _MS. Thornton_.] V SIR GAWAYNE AND THE GRENE KNIGHT ABOUT 1350-75. _Sir Gawayne_ has been admirably edited by Sir F. Madden for the Bannatyne Club, 1839, and later by R. Morris for the Early English Text Society. It is found in British Museum MS. Nero A X, together with three other alliterative poems, named from their first words _Pearl_, _Patience_, and _Cleanness_. _Pearl_ supplies the next specimen; _Patience_ exemplifies the virtue by the trials of Jonah; _Cleanness_ teaches purity of life from Scriptural stories. All these poems are in the same handwriting; all are in a West-Midland dialect; all appear to be of the same age; and none is without literary merit. For these reasons, which are good but not conclusive, they are assumed to be by the same author. Attempts to identify this author have been unsuccessful. The story runs as follows: