was so sore chauffid to speke
to her for tacc[=o]plissh his flesshely defire/ he dispoyled hym alle
naked and wente and putte hym in the middes of the snowe And ouide
reherceth that this thynge is the leste that maye helpe and moste greue
the louers And therfore saynt Augustyn reherceth in his book de Ciuitate
dei that ther was a ryght noble romayne named merculian that wan and
toke the noble cyte of siracuse And to fore er he dyde do assaylle hit
or befyghte hit/ and er he had do be shedde ony blood/ he wepte and
shedde many teeris to fore the cyte And that was for the cause that he
doubted that his peple shold defoyle and corrumpe to moche dishonestly
the chastyte of the toun And ordeyned vpon payne of deth that no man
shold be so hardy to take and defoylle ony woman by force what that euer
she were/ After this the craftymen ought to vnderstond for to be trewe/
and to haue trouthe in her mouthes And that theyr dedes folowe theyr
wordes For he that sayth one thynge and doth another/ he condempneth
hymself by his word Also they ought to see well to that they be of one
Acorde in good, by entente, by word, and by dede/ so that they ben not
discordant in no caas/ But euery man haue pure veryte and trouth in hym
self/ For god hym self is pure verite/ And men say comynly that trouthe
seketh none hernes ne corners/ And trouthe is a vertu by the whyche alle
drede and fraude is put away/ Men saye truly whan they saye that they
knowe/ And they that knowe not trouthe/ ought to knowe hit/ And alleway
vse trouthe/ For Saynt Austyn sayth that they that wene to knowe
trouthe/ And lyuyth euyll & viciously It is folye yf he knoweth hit not/
And also he sayth in an other place that it is better to suffre peyne
for trouthe. Than for to haue a benefete by falsenes or by flaterye. And
man that is callyd a beste resonable and doth not his werkes after reson
and trouthe/ Is more bestyall than ony beste brute/ And knowe y'e that
for to come to the trouthe/ Hit cometh of a raysonable forsight in his
mynde/ And lyenge cometh of an outrageous and contrarye thought in his
mynde/ For he that lyeth wetyngly/ Knoweth well that hit is agaynst the
trouthe that he thynketh/ And herof speketh Saynt Bernard and sayth/
That the mouthe that lyeth destroyeth the sowle/ And yet sayth Saynt
Austyn in an other place For to saye ony thynge/ And to doo the
contrarye. maketh doctryne suspecious/ And knowe y'e veryly that for to
lye is a right perillous thynge to b