auctorite of persones, and by science; the whiche thre thinges ne been not feble by age, but certis they enforsen and encresen day by day. And thanne schul ye kepe this for a general reule. First schul ye clepe to youre counseil a fewe of youre frendes that ben especial. For Salamon' saith, Many frendes have thou, but among a thousand chese the oon to be thy counseilour. For al be it so, that thou first ne telle thy counseil but to a fewe, thou mayst afterward telle it to mo folk, if it be neede. But loke alwey that thy counseilours have thilke thre condiciouns that I have sayd bifore; that is to say, that they ben trewe, and olde, and of wys experiens. And werke nought alwey in every need by oon counseilour alloone; for som tyme byhoveth it be counseiled by many. For Salamon saith, Salvacioun of thinges is wher as there beth many counseilors. 2 Now sith that I have told yow of whiche folk ye schul be counseiled, now wille I telle yow which counseil ye ought eschiewe. First, ye schal eschiewe the counseil of fooles; for Salamon saith,3 Take no counseil of a fool, for he ne can not counseile but after his oughne lust and his affeccioun. The book seith,* that the proprete of a fool is this: he troweth lightly harm of every wight, and lightly troweth alle bounte in him self. Thow schalt eschiewe eek the counseil of alle flaterers, suche as enforcen hem rathere to prayse youre persone by flaterie, than for to telle yow the sothfastnesse of thinges. Wherfore Tullius saith, Amonges alle pestilences that ben in frendschipe the grettest is flaterie. And therfore is it more neede that thou eschiewe and drede flaterers, more than eny other peple. The book saith, Thou schalt rather drede and flee fro the swete wordes of flaterers, then fro the egre wordes of thy frend that saith the thi Ecclus. vi. 6. 4 Prov. xxi. 10. 2 Prov. xi. 14. 3 Ecclus. viii. 17. 5 Prov. xxviii. 23. sothes. Salamon saith,1 that the wordes of a flaterer is a snare to cacche in innocentz. He saith also, He that speketh to his frend wordes of swetnesse and of plesaunce, setteth a nette byfore his feet to cacchen him. And therfore saith Tullius, Encline not thin eeres to flaterers, ne tak no counseil of the wordes of flaterers. And Catoun saith, Avyse the wel, and eschiewe wordes of swetnes and of plesaunce. And eek thou schalt eschiewe the counselyng of thin olde enemys that be recounsiled. The book saith, that no wight retorneth safly into the grace of his olde enemyes. And Ysope saith, Ne trust not to hem, with which thou hast had som tyme werre or enmyte, ne telle not hem thy counseil. And Seneca telleth the cause why; it may not be, saith he, that wher as a greet fuyr hath longe tyme endured, that ther ne leveth som vapour of hete. And therfore saith Salamon, In thin olde enemy trust thou nevere." For sicurly, though thin enemy be reconsiled, and make the cheer of humilite, and lowteth to the his heed, ne trist him never; for certes he makith thilke feyned humilite more for his profyt, than for eny love of thi persone; bycause he demyth to have victorie over thi persone by such feyned countynaunce, the which victorie he might nought have by stryf and werre. And Petir Alphons saith: Make no felaschipe with thine olde enemyes, for if thou do hem bounte, they wil perverten it into wikkednes. And eek thou most eschiewe the counseilynge of hem that ben thy servauntz, and beren the gret reverence; for paraventure thai say it more for drede than for love. And ther Prov. xxix. 5. 2 He refers, I presume, to Cato, lib. iii. dist. 6: 'Sermones blandos blæsosque cavere memento.'-T. 3 In the French original, seurement. The Harl. MS. reads soone.-W. 4 Several collections of fables in the middle ages went under the name of Ysope, or Æsop; so that it would not be easy to point out the one from which this moral aphorism is taken.-W. 5 Ecclus. xii. 10. VOL. II. 6 See ante, p. 136, note 1. L fore saith a philosophre in this wise: Ther is no wight parfytly trewe to him that he to sore dredeth. And Tullius saith, Ther is no might so gret of eny emperour that longe may endure, but if he have more love of the peple than drede. Thow schalt also eschiewe the counseil of folk that ben dronkelewe, for thay ne can no counseil hyde. For Salamon saith, Ther is no privete ther as regneth dronkenesse. Ye schul also have in suspect the counseil of such folk as counseileth you oon thing prively, and counseile yow the contrarie openly. For Cassiodorie1 saith, It is a maner sleighte to hindre, whan he schewith to doon oon thing openly, and werkith prively the contrarie. Thou schalt also eschiewe the counseil of wikked folkes; for the book saith, The counselyng of wikked folk is alway ful of fraude. And David3 saith, Blisful is that man that hath not folwed the counseilyng of wikked men or schrewes. Thow schalt also eschiewe the counseilynge of yong folk, for here counseil is nought rype. Now, sire, syn I have schewed yow of what folk ye schul take youre counsail, and of whiche folk ye schullen eschiewe the counseil, now schal I teche yow how ye schul examyne youre counseil after the doctrine of Tullius. In examynyng of youre counceiloures, ye schul considre many thinges. Althirfirst ye schul considre that in thilke thing that thou proposist, and up what thing thou wilt have counseil, that verray trouthe be sayd and considrid; this is to sayn, telle trewely thy tale. For he that saith fals, may not wel be counseled in that cas of which he lyeth. And after this, thou schalt considere the thinges that accorden 1 A Roman senator and consul. At the command of the Gothic King Theodoric, he wrote a work named Chronicon Breve, commencing with the Creation and deduced to the year 519, compiled chiefly from Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, the Chronicles of Prosper and Jerom, and Aurelius Victor's Origin of the Roman Nation. See Opera Cassiodori; Rothomag. These compilations and abridgments were very popular in the middle ages. 2 Prov. xii. 5. 3 Psalms i. I. to that purpos for to do by thy counseil, if resoun accorde thereto, and eek if thy might may accorde thereto, and if the more part and the better part of thy counseilours accorde thereto or noon. Thanne schalt thou considre what thing schal folwe of that consailynge; as hate, pees, werre, grace, profyt, or damage, and many other thinges; and in alle these thinges thou schalt chese the beste, and weyve alle other thinges. Thanne schalt thou considre of what roote engendered is the matier of thy counseil, and what fruyt it may conceve and engendre. Thow schalt also considre al these causes, from whens thai ben sprongen. And whan ye have examined youre counseil, as I have said, and which party is the better and more profitable, and han approved by many wise folk and olde, than schalt thow considere, if thou maist parforme it and make of it a good ende. For resoun wol nought that any man schuld bygynne a thing, but if he mighte parforme it and make therof a good ende; ne no wight schulde take upon him so hevy a charge, that he mighte not bere it. For the proverbe saith, He that moche embrasith destreineth litel. And Catoun' seith, Assay to do such thing as thou hast power to doon, lest that thy charge oppresse the so sore, that the bihove to wayve thing that thou hast bygonne. And if so be that thou be in doubte, wher thou maist performe a thing or noon, chese rather to suffre than bygynne. And Petre Alfons saith, If thou hast might to doon a thing, of which thou most repente, it is better nay than yee; this is to sayn, that the is better holde thy tonge stille than to speke. Than may ye understonde by strenger resouns, that if thou hast power to performe a werk, of which thou schalt repente, thanne it is better that 1 This precept of Cato is in lib. iii., dist. 16: Quod potes, id tentato; operis ne pondere pressus thou suffre than bigynne. Wel seyn thay that defenden every wight to assaie thing of which he is in doute, whethir he may performe it or noon. And after whan ye han examyned youre counseil, as I have said biforn, and knowen wel ye may performe youre emprise, conferme it thanne sadly til it be at an ende. Now it is tyme and resoun that I schewe yow whanne, and wherfore, that ye may chaunge youre counseil withouten reproef. Sothly, a man may chaunge his purpos and his counseil, if the cause cesseth, or whan a newe cause bytydeth. For the law seith, upon thinges that newely bitydeth, bihoveth newe counseil. And Seneca seith, If thy counseil be comen to the eeres of thin enemy, chaunge thy counsail. Thow maist also chaunge thy counseil, if so be that thou fynde that by errour, or by other processe, harm or damage may bytyde. Also thou chaunge thy counseil, if thy counseil be dishonest, or elles cometh of dishoneste; for the lawes sayn, that alle the hestes that ben dishoneste ben of no valieu; and eek, if it so be that it be impossible, or may not goodly be performed or kept. And take this for a general reule, that every counseil that is affermed or strengthed so strongly that it may not be chaunged for no condicioun that may bitide, I say that thilke counseil is wikked.' This Melibeus, whan he had herd the doctrine of his wyf dame Prudens, answerde in this wise. 'Dame,' quod he, 'yit as into this tyme ye han wel and covenably taught me, as in general, how I schal governe me in the chesynge and in the withholdynge of my counseiloures; but now wold I fayn ye wolde condescende as in especial, and telleth me what semeth or how liketh yow by oure counseiloures that we han chosen in oure present neede.' My Lord,' quod sche, 'I byseke yow in al humblesce, that ye wil not wilfully repplye against my resouns, ne distempre youre herte, though I say or |