242. #⁊ þa þe#: e reads ⁊ to, which gives the best sense. #heste#, not often in the sense of promise: auht E; aht e. In T 246, naht has dropped out before #ilaste#. 243. #ful enden#: fulendi D; OE. #fullendian#, finish. 244. #witen#, went; OE. #gewītan#: the other MSS. have weren E e D; were J M. 245. e reads, þere is pich ðe æure wealð · þer sculle baðie inne, and so the others, but for þer--inne J has, ꝥ heo schulle habbe þere, and M, þat sculle þe beo inne. See 42/218 and comp. ‘In a bytter baþ | ich schal baþe naked. | Of pych and of brunston | wallynde is i-maked,’ OEM 181/209-12. 246. #here#: vuel E; uuel e. #in werre ⁊ in winne#, in war and in strife: the combination is at least rare. M has, mid werre ⁊ mid ywinne. #unwinne# in T 250, meaning distress, is also a rare word; comp. ‘Sinne me hauiþ in care ibroȝt | broȝt in mochil vnwinne,’ E. E. Poems, 21/5, 6: e has, in feoht end in iginne, where iginne is miswritten for iwinne; E in feoh (= feoht) end in iginne (= iwinne), in fighting and strife; comp. ‘ne bilæfde he næuer nænne[;] þat heold feht and iwin,’ L 9042, 4, 11522. D reads, in wele ⁊ in senne; J vnwreste · and eke false were. 247. E has ll. 249, 250 before 247, 248. In 251 T #þis# = þe is. 248. #uersc#, fresh water; OE. _adj._ #fersc# used exclusively of fresh as opposed to salt water. The other MSS. agree with T: nauene strien ne sture E; nauene striem ne sture e; ne auene strém · ne sture J; Hauene stream ne Sture D. There are two places where rivers called Avon and Stour meet, in Warwickshire near Stratford-on-Avon, and in Hampshire near Christchurch. 249. #nawiht#: nomon J; no þing D. 250. #þa þe--lof#, those to whom it was too pleasing, those who took too much delight in: ll. 250, 251 may be a reminiscence of the Anarchy; see 7/49, 6/44. 252. Those who had the power to do evil, (and) those (without the power) to whom it was sweet to contemplate it. But the other MSS., except T D, and M which omits the line, agree with E, þo þe ne mihte euel don · ⁊ lef was it to þenche. In T 256 #þe# does double duty as _nom._ to mihten, and as _dat._ to lief; comp. 118/28. 254. ⁊ á · on ðes deofles weorc · bliðeliche swunche e; comp. 40/177; ‘qui laetantur cum malefecerint, et exultant in rebus pessimis,’ Prov. ii. 14. 255. ‘Or ne set lum ki creire tant est fel e muanz,’ Guischart 13. Comp. 7/47. 256. #Medierne#, greedy of bribes. Comp. 32/48. 257. #ꝥ#: so þe E e, meaning, he to whom; comp. 161/187: Þe þat J; þo ꝥ D: wes has fallen out after #wif#. 258. #ete#: méte J; comp. ‘Inne mete ⁊ inne drinke ic habbe ibeo ouerdede,’ OEM 193/41. A variant is, ‘on hete and on wete,’ OEH i. 101/24; ‘on æte oððe on wæte,’ Ælf. Lives i. 354/270. #druken# in T 262 is miswritten for drunke (#drynce#) through confusion with druken 257 (#druncen#). 259. Who took from the poor man his property, and added it to his store. See 7/51, and comp. ‘leggeþ ine hord,’ OEM 47/364; ‘Vych mon hit scholde legge on hord,’ ON 1224.