"Ther are witty and wel libbynge, Ac hire werkes ben y-hudde In the hondes of almyghty God, 6480 And he woot the sothe, Wherfore a man worth allowed there, And hise lele werkes, Or ellis for his yvel wille, And for envye of herte, And be allowed as he lyved so; For by the luthere men knoweth the goode. "And wherby wiste men which were whit, If alle thyng blak were? And who were a good man, 6490 But if ther were som sherewe? For-thi lyve we forth with othere men, I leve fewe ben goode; For _quant_ oportet _vient en place_, _Il n'y ad que_ pati. And he that may al amende, Have mercy on us alle! For sothest word that ever God seide Was tho he seide _Nemo bonus_. "Clergie tho of Cristes mouth 6500 Comended was it litel; {200} For he seide to seint Peter, And to swiche as he lovede, _Cum steteritis ante reges et præsides, etc._ = Though ye come bifore kynges And clerkes of the lawe, Beth noght abasshed, For I shal be in youre mouthes, And gyve yow wit and wille, 6510 And konnyng to conclude Hem alle that ayeins yow Of Cristendom disputen. "David maketh mencion, He spak amonges kynges, And myghte no kyng over-comen hym As by konnynge of speche, But wit and wisedom Wan nevere the maistrie, Whan man was at meschief, 6520 Withoute the moore grace. "The doughtieste doctour And devinour of the Trinitee Was Austyn the olde, And heighest of the foure, Seide thus in a sermon, I seigh it writen ones: _Ecce ipsi idiotæ vi rapiunt coelum, ubi nos sapientes in inferno mergimur._ 6530 "And is to mene to men, Moore ne lesse, Arn none rather y-ravysshed Fro the righte bileve, Than are thise konnynge clerkes That konne manye bokes. {201} "Ne none sonner saved, Ne sadder of bileve, Than plowmen and pastours, And othere commune laborers; 6540 Souteres and shepherdes, And othere lewed juttes, Percen with a pater-noster The paleys of hevene, And passen purgatorie penaunce-lees At her hennes partyng Into the blisse of paradis, For hir pure bileve, That imparfitly here knewe, And ek lyvede. 6550 "Ye men knowe clerkes, That han corsed the tyme That evere thei kouthe or knewe moore Than _Credo in Deum patrem_; And principally hir pater-noster Many a persone hath wisshed. "I se ensamples myself, And so may manye othere, That servauntz that serven lordes Selde fallen in arerage, 6560 And tho that kepen the lordes catel, Clerkes and reves.