A! fredome is a noble thing! 225 Fredome mays man to haiff liking; Fredome all solace to man giffis: He levys at es that frely levys. A noble hart may haiff nane es, Na ellys nocht that may him ples, 230 Gyff fredome failyhe: for fre liking Is yharnyt our all othir thing. Na he, that ay has levyt fre, May nocht knaw weill the propyrte, The angyr, na the wrechyt dome, 235 That is cowplyt to foule thyrldome. Bot gyff he had assayit it, Than all perquer he suld it wyt; And suld think fredome mar to prys, Than all the gold in warld that is. 240 Thus contrar thingis evir-mar, Discoveryngis off the tothir ar. And he that thryll is has nocht his; All that he has enbandownyt is Till hys lord, quhat-evir he be. 245 Yheyt has he nocht sa mekill fre As fre liking to leyve, or do That at hys hart hym drawis to. Than mays clerkis questioun, Quhen thai fall in disputacioun, 250 That gyff man bad his thryll owcht do, And in the samyn tym come him to His wyff, and askyt hym hyr det, Quhethir he his lordis neid suld let, And pay fryst that he awcht, and syne 255 Do furth his lordis commandyne; Or leve onpayit his wyff, and do It that commaundyt is him to? I leve all the solucioun Till thaim that ar off mar renoun. 260 Bot sen thai mek sic comperyng Betwix the dettis off wedding, And lordis bidding till his threll, Yhe may weile se, thoucht nane yhow tell, How hard a thing that threldome is. 265 For men may weile se, that ar wys, That wedding is the hardest band, That ony man may tak on hand: And thryldome is weill wer than deid; For quhill a thryll his lyff may leid, 270 It merrys him, body and banys; And dede anoyis him bot anys. Schortly to say, is nane can tell The halle condicioun off a threll. [247: _Liking_ from H. E has _wyll_, which leaves the line metrically short of a syllable.] [258: _It_ from H. E has _Thai thingis_, which turns the line into prose.] [Sidenote: 1298-1299] _Harsh Treatment of the Scots_]