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Evangelium, quod

The man, as telleth the clergie,
Is as a worlde in his partie,

And whan this litel world miftorneth

The grete worlde al overtorneth.

The lond, the fee, the firmament
They axen alle jugement

Ayein the man and make him werre,

Ther while him felfe ftant out of herre,

The remenaunt wol nought accorde,
And in this wife as I recorde

The man is cause of alle wo,

Why this worlde is divided fo.

Hic dicit fecundum Divifion the gospel faith
One house upon an other laith,
Til that the

omne regnum in fe

divifum defolabitur.

Quod ex fue com

plexionis materia

regne

al overthrowe.

And thus may every man wel knowe

Divifion aboven alle

Is thing, which maketh the world to falle
And ever hath do, fith it began,

It

may firfte prove upon a man.
The which for his complexion

divifus homo mor- Is made upon divifion

talis exiftit.

Of cold of hot of moift of drie,
He mot by verry kinde die.
For the contraire of his estate
Stant evermore in fuch debate,
Til that a part be overcome
There may no final pees be nome.
But otherwise if a man were
Made al to-gider of one matere

Withouten interrupcion,

There shulde no corrupcion

Engendre upon that unite,
But for there is diverfite

Within him felfe, he may nought laste,
That he ne deieth at the laste.

But in a man yet over this

Full great divifion there is,

Through which that he is ever in ftrife
While that him lafteth any life.

The body and the foule alfo
Among hem ben divided fo,

That what thing that the body hateth
The foule loveth and debateth.

But netheles ful ofte is fene

Of werre whiche is hem betwene
The feble hath wonne the victoire,
And who fo draweth into memoire
What hath befalle of olde and newe
He may that werre fore rewe,
Which firft began in paradis.
For there was proved what it is
And what disese there it wrought,
For thilke werre tho forth brought
The vice of alle dedly finne
Through which divifion came inne
Among the men in erthe here,

And was the cause and the matere,
Why god the grete flodes fende

Of all the world and made an ende

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Qualiter in edificacione Turris Babel,

But Noe with his felaship,
Which only weren fauf by ship.
And over that through finne it come,
That Nembroth fuch emprise nome,

Whan he the toure Babel on hight

quam in dei con- Let make, as he that wolde fight

temptum

Nem

broth erexit, lingua Ayein the highe goddes might, prius hebraica in Wherof devided anon right

varias linguas cœ

debatur.

lica vindicta divi- Was the language in fuche entent There wiste non what other ment,

Qualiter mundus,

qui in ftatu divifio

So that they mighten nought procede.
And thus it ftant of every dede

Where finne taketh the cafe on honde

It may upright nought longe ftonde,
For finne of his condicion

Is moder of division.

And token whan the world shall faile, nis quafi cotidianus For so faith Crift withoute faile, prefenti tempore That nigh upon the worldes ende

vexatur flagellis, a

lapide fuperveni- Pees and accorde away shall wende

ente, id eft a divina

potencia ufque ad And alle charite shall cease

refolucionem om

nis carnis fubito Among the men and hate encrease.

conteretur.

And whan these tokens ben befall

All fodeinly the ftone fhall fall,

As Daniel it hath beknowe,

Which all this world fhal overthrowe

And every man shall than arise

To joie or elles to juise,

Where that he shall for ever dwell

Or straight to heven or straight to hell.

In heven is pees and al accorde,
But helle is full of fuch difcorde
That there may be no love day.
Forthy good is while a man may
Echone to fette pees with other
And loven as his owne brother,
So may he winne worldes welthe
And afterwarde his foule helthe.

But wolde god that now were one
An other fuche as Arione,

Whiche had an harpe of fuch temprure
And therto of fo good mesure
He fong, that he the bestes wilde
Made of his note tame and milde,
The hinde in pees with the leon,
The wolfe in pees with the molton,
The hare in pees stood with the hounde,
And every man upon this grounde
Whiche Arion that time herde

As well the lorde as the shepherde
He brought hem all in good accorde,
So that the comun with the lorde
And lord with the comun alfo
He fette in love bothe two
And put awey malencolie.

That was a luftie melodie

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Hic narrat exemplum de concordia et unitate inter homines provocanda. Et dicit, qualiter quidam Arion nuper citharista ex fui cantus cithareque confona melodia tante virtutis extiterat, ut ipfe non folum virum cum viro, fed etiam leonem cum cerva, lupum cum agno, canem cum lepore ipfum audientes unanimiter abfque ulla difcordia ad in vicem pacificavit.

To make pees where nowe is hate.
For whan men thenken to debate
I not what other thinge is good,
But wher that wisdom waxeth wood
And refon torneth into rage,

So that mesure upon oultrage
Hath fet this worlde, it is to drede,
For that bringeth in the comun drede
Whiche stant at every mannes dore.
But whan the sharpnesse of the spore
The horse fide fmit to fore

It greveth ofte. And now no more
As for to fpeke of this matere,
Which none but only god may ftere.

Explicit Prologus.

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