No More Learning

? at good
gessyng. ? Fyrste of al ? i{n}g forsake? wrecches certys it greue? me to
? ink[e] ry? t now ? e dyuerse sentences ? at ? e poeple sei? of me. ? And
? us moche I seye ? at ? e laste charge of contrarious fortune is ? is. ? at
whan ? at ony blame is laid vpon a caytif. men wenen ? at he ha? deserued
? at he suffre? . ? And I ? at am put awey fro{m} goode men {and} despoiled
from dignitees {and} defoulid of my name by gessyng haue suffred torment
for my goode dedis. ? Certys me seme? ? at I se ? e felonus couines of
wikked men abounden in ioie {and} in gladnes. ? And I se ? at euery lorel
shapi? hy{m} to fynde oute newe fraudes forto accusen goode folke. and I
se ? at goode men ben ou{er}? rowen for drede of my p{er}il. ? and euery
luxurious to{ur}mentour dar don alle felonie vnpunissed {and} ben
excited ? erto by ? iftes. and i{n}nocent? ne ben not oonly despoiled of
sykernesse but of defence {and} ? erfore me list to crien to god in ? is
manere.


O STELLIFERI CONDITOR ORBIS.

[Sidenote: [The fifthe met{ur}. ]]

++O ? ou maker of ? e whele ? at bere? ? e sterres. whiche ? at art fastned
to ? i p{er}durable chayere. {and} turnest ? e heuene wi? a rauyssyng
sweigh{e} {and} {con}streinest ? e sterres to suffren ? i lawe. ? So ? {a}t
? e mone somtyme schynyng wi? hir ful hornes metyng wi? alle ? e bemes of
? e sonne. ? Hir bro? er hide? ? e sterres ? at ben lasse. {and} somtyme
whan ? e mone pale wi? hir derke hornes approche? ? e sonne. leesith hir
ly? tes. ? And ? at ? e euesterre esperus whiche ? at in ? e first[e] tyme of
? e ny? t brynge? fur? e hir colde arysynges come? eft a? eynes hir vsed
cours. {and} is pale by ? e morwe at ? e rysynge of ? e sonne. and is ? an
cleped lucifer. ? ? ou restreinest ? e day by schorter dwellyng in ? e tyme
of colde wynter ? at make? ? e leues to falle. ? ? ou diuidest ? e swifte
tides of ? e ny? t when ? e hote somer is comen. ? ? i my? t attempre[? ] ? o
variau{n}t? sesons of ? e ? ere. so ? at ? epherus ? e deboneire wynde
bringe? a? ein in ? e first[e] somer sesou{n} ? e leues ? at ? e wynde ? at
hy? t[e] boreas ha? reft awey in autu{m}pne. ? at is to seyne in ? e laste
eende of somer. and ? e sedes ? at ? e sterre ? at hy? t arctur{us} saw ben
waxen hey[e] cornes whan ? e sterre sirius eschaufe? hym. ? ? ere nis no
? ing vnbounde from hys olde lawe ne forlete? hym of hys p{ro}pre estat.
? O ? ou gouerno{ur} gouernyng alle ? inges by certeyne ende. why refusest
? ou oonly to gouerne ? e werkes of men by dewe manere. ? Whi suffrest
? {o}u ? at slidyng fortune turne? to grete vtter chaungynges of ? inges.
so ? at anoious peyne ? at scholde duelly punissh{e} felouns punissit?
innocent? . ? And folk of wikked[e] man{er}es sitten in hei? e chaiers.
{and} anoienge folk treden {and} ? at vnry? tfully in ? e nekkes of holy
men. ? And vertue clere {and} schynyng naturely is hid in dirke
dirkenesses. {and} ? e ry? tful man beri? ? e blame {and} ? e peyne of ? e
felowne. ? Ne ? e forsweryng ne ? e fraude couered {and} kembd wi? a fals
colo{ur} ne a-noye? not to schrewes. ? ?
e whiche schrewes whan hem lyst
to vsen her streng? e ? ei reioisen hem to putte{n} vndir hem ? e souerayne
kynges. whiche ? {a}t poeple wi? [outen] noumbre dreden. ? O ? ou what so
euer ? ou be ? at knyttes[t] alle bondes of ? inges loke on ? ise
wrecched[e] er? es. we men ? at ben nat a foule party but a faire party of
so grete a werke we ben turmentid in ? e see of fortune. ? ? ou
gouerno{ur} wi? draw {and} restreyne ? e rauyssinge flodes {and} fastne
{and} forme ? ise er? es stable wi? ? ilke [bonde] wi? whiche ? ou gouernest
? e heuene ? at is so large.


HIC UBI CONTINUATO DOLORE.

[Sidenote: [The fyfthe p{ro}se. ]]

++Whan I hadde wi? a continuel sorwe sobbed or broken out ? ise ? inges
sche wi? hir chere peisible {and} no ? i{n}g amoeued. wi? my compleyntes
seide ? {us}. whan I say ? e q{uod} sche sorweful {and} wepyng I wist[e]
on-one ? at ? ou were a wrecche {and} exiled. but I wist[e] neuer how fer
? ine exile was: ? if ? i tale ne hadde schewed it to me. but certys al be
? ou fer fro ? i contre. ? ou nart nat put out of it. but ? ou hast fayled
of ? i weye {and} gon amys. ? and yif ? ou hast leuer forto wene ? an ? ou
be put out of ? i contre. ? an hast ? ou put oute ? i self ra? er ? en ony
o? er wy? t ha? . ? For no wy? t but ? i self ne my? t[e] neuer haue don ? at
to ? e. ? For ? if ? ou remembre of what contre ? ou art born. it nis not
gou{er}ned by emp{er}oures. ne by gouernement of multitude. as weren ? e
contres of hem of athenes. ? But o lorde {and} o kyng {and} ? at is god
? at is lorde of ? i contree. whiche ? at reioise? hym of ? e dwellyng of
hys Cite? enis. {and} not forto putte hem in exile. Of ? e whiche lorde it
is a souerayne fredom to be gouerned by ? e bridel of hym and obeie to
his iustice. ? Hast ? ou for? eten ? ilke ry? t olde lawe of ? i Citee. in ? e
whiche Citee it is ordeyned {and} establissed ? at what wy? t ? at ha?
leuer founden ? er i{n}ne hys sete or hys house. ? en ellys where: he may
not be exiled by no ry? t fro ? at place. ? For who so ? at is co{n}tened
in-wi? ? e paleis [{and} the clos] of ? ilke Citee. ? er nis no drede ? at
he may deserue to ben exiled. ? But who ? at lette? ? e wille forto
enhabit[e] ? ere. he forlete? also to deserue to ben Cite? ein of ? ilke
Citee. ? So ? at I seye ? at ? e face of ? is place ne amoeue? me nat so
myche as ? ine owen face. Ne . I. ne axe not ra? er ? e walles of ? i
librarie apparailled {and} wrou? t wi? yvory {and} wi? glas ? an after ? e
sete of ? i ? ou? t. In whiche I putte nat somtyme bookes. but . I. putte
? at ? at make? bookes wor? i of p{ri}s or p{re}cious ? at is to sein ? e
sentence of my books. ? {And} certeinly of ? i dec{er}tes by-stowed in
co{m}mune good. ? ou hast seid so? e but after ? e multitude of ? i goode
dedys. ? ou hast seid fewe. {and} of ? e vnhonestee or falsnesse of ? inges
? at ben opposed a? eins ? e. ? ou hast remembred ? inges ? at be{n} knowe to
alle folk. and of ? e felonies {and} fraudes of ? ine accuso{ur}s. it
seme? ? e haue I-touched it forso? e ry? tfully {and} schortly. ?