fol. 33v (cont.)I
Incipit Passus Septimus
fol. 34rI
Þat hem were leuere lond / & lordshepe here.F.7.14: Alpha is responsible for the defective b-verse; beta witnesses read "and lordshipe on erþe." F then omits the following
line from Bx: "Or richesse or rentes and reste at hir wille." Cf. 5.1180 where F alone substitutes here for on þis erþe.
Quare ergo Impij viuunt sulleuati sunt diuicijs.F.7.25: F has changed the Latin text, quoting more of Job 21:7 than appears in the archetype and ignoring Bx's conflation of the passage from Job with Jeremiah 12:1. Bx reads as follows: "Quare impij viuunt? Bene est omnibus qui preuaricantur & inique agunt?"
Ecce ipsi peccatores habundantes in seculoF.7.27: F abbreviates the Latin quotation, omitting obtinuerunt diuicias. Alpha is responsible for the omission of diuicias.
Þo þat god moost greve mest good he hem deleþ.F.7.29: A space was left for a medial solidus after greve, but it was not written. F's gap may indicate some other dissatisfaction with his exemplar, for his line is unique. Bx probably reads "Thilke þat god moost gyueþ leest good þei deleþ," though manuscript C agrees with alpha in reading "most
greueth" in place of "moost gyueþ."
fol. 34vI
Er deyntely drawe forþ / y do it on ȝoure-selue.F.7.39: F alone reads ȝoure-selue. Other witnesses have god hymselue.
Þan Munde þe Mellere / on of multa fecit deusF.7.46: The remainder of the line was left blank by the rubricator. The reading of Bx is "of Multa fecit deus."
F.7.48KD.10.47
Sholde neyþir kyng ne knyght / ne þe comoun peple.F.7.48: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "ne chanon of Seint Poules."
F.7.49: A marginal pointing finger is drawn by a later hand in the left margin. Ȝeve hem / to here ȝirysȝeveF.7.49: The black underlining is by a later scribe. / þe worþF.7.49: Alpha is responsible for worþ. Some beta manuscripts have correctly alliterating ȝifte, while others read value. of a groote.
F.7.68KD.10.67
God is mychil in here gorgisF.7.68: Alpha is responsible for the plural form. / of þese grete Maystris.
Ecce audiuimus eum in effrata inuenimus eumF.7.71: Alpha is responsible for eum in both occurrences in this line, though the reading is shared by Cr. Beta manuscripts have eam. in campis silue.
To plese with prouhde men / sytthe þe pestylence.F.7.75: Alpha and most C manuscripts omit beta's and the A version's tyme after pestylence.
fol. 35rI
In Relygyon & in þis rewme / amongis ryche & pore.F.7.79: The scribe has written a large "VII" with flourishes in the top right margin to indicate the passus number.
Euere as heF.7.90: Alpha is responsible for "Euere as he." Beta manuscripts have And. loondiþF.7.90: loondiþ is a nonce-word, apparently meaning "come into possession of land." Cf. OE (ge)landod and MED, s. v. londed ppl. adj. (1). The change began with a homeographic error in which <r> and <n> were confused. Bx reads "And lordeþ in londes ...." of londe / þe lasse good he deliþ.
& leyȝd defawte on þe fadir / þat formedF.7.111: The <d> is perhaps a figment of my imagination (HND), for whatever the scribe attempted to squeeze in before the hole in
the manuscript is unclear. vs alle.
They lyen in here loore / þat þese wordis meven.F.7.117: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "Here lyeþ youre lore þise lordes gynneþ dispute."
fol. 35vI
Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris . nec pater iniquitatem filij.F.7.119: F alone completes the quotation. Bx ends with "patris &c."
Vnusquisque . onus suum portabitF.7.122: Alpha has the word order "onus suum portabit." Beta manuscripts have "portabit onus suum &c."
Swiche mocyonysF.7.123: The scribe may have intended motyonys. Bx reads motyues. þei meve / þo maistris in here glorie.
F.7.140KD.10.134
& þus with swiche Auelonys / to blynde men þey axeF.7.140: F's reading is unique. Bx reads as follows: "And þo þat vseþ þise hauylons to blende mennes wittes."
If he lyve in þe lyȝueF.7.143: Kane-Donaldson read lyȝne. / þat longeþ to DowelF.7.143: The rubricating scribe here and in the immediately following lines in the words "Dowel ... Dobet ... Dobest" wrote over
the original black ink so as almost to cover it entirely. We have treated these as rubrications rather than as touched in
red.
F.7.144KD.10.138
I dar been his borwhȝF.7.144: Alpha is responsible for the omission of bolde before borwhȝ. / in Dobet komeþ he neuere.
ANd whan wit was war / howF.7.146: Alpha is responsible for how. Beta manuscripts and C manuscripts have what. dame Stodye tolde.
F.7.156KD.10.150
&F.7.156: Alpha and nearly all C manuscripts have &. Beta and A manuscripts lack it. for to wirche ȝoure wille / whil my lyf endureþ.
fol. 36rI
& gladdere þan a gleman / þat gold gadred at festis.F.7.165: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "þat gold haþ to ȝifte."
F.7.168KD.10.162
¶ Aske þe wey quod she þo / hens vnto Suffre.F.7.168: The rubricating scribe wrote over the original black ink so as almost to cover it entirely. We have treated it as rubrication
rather than as touched in red.
For if þou be cumbred þer-with / to cristF.7.171: F's reading is unique. Bx reads clergie. The error may lie in alpha, since R has cherche. comest þou neuere.
F.7.172KD.10.166
¶ Be war of þe Lycourous lawnde / þat Leccherye is hote.F.7.172: Alpha is responsible for is hote. Beta manuscripts have hatte.
F.7.176KD.10.170
Þere shalt þou see / Sobrete / ful symple of berynge.F.7.176: Alpha is responsible for berynge. Beta manuscripts have speche.
& Aristotle & oþireF.7.185: Beta manuscripts have mo after oþire, but alpha and nearly all C manuscripts omit it. / to Argue / hem y tawhte.
& þe deppereF.7.193: The comparative form here reflects normal shortening of the vowel before a doubled consonant. y delue / þe derkere me þynkeþ.
It is no sciense for-soþe / for to sawhtleF.7.194: Alpha is responsible for sawhtle "make peace, reconcile." Beta manuscripts and the A version have sotile "reflect upon, contemplate." The b-verse is revised in C. Inne.
þerfore love þou leelly / love / if þou þynke to dowel.F.7.198: F's reading is unique. Beta reads "Loke þow loue lelly if þee likeþ dowel." Alpha may have been corrupt, for R has "Loue
þow loue lelly if þow thenke dowel."
fol. 36vI
F.7.200KD.10.194
& to þis same sentence / y seyȝ in Catoun onys.F.7.200: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "In ooþer Science it seiþ I seiȝ it in Catoun."
& love hem / þat lyȝen on vs / & lene hemF.7.209: The scribe initially wrote leem, but overwrote the first two characters to make an <h>. whan hem nedeth.
Dum tempus estF.7.211: Alpha is responsible for est. Beta manuscripts have habemus. operemur bonum ad omnes / maxime autem ad domesticos fidei
& namely to swiche men / þat shewethF.7.214: Alpha is responsible for sheweth. Beta manuscripts have suwen. oure beleve.
& alle þat lakkeF.7.215: Alpha lacks beta's vs after lakke, an omission shared by Cr. or lyȝe on vs / oure lord biddis vs love hem.
F.7.216KD.10.209
& not to greve hem þat greveþ vs / It is not goddis wille.F.7.216: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "god hymself forbad it."
Michi vindictam . & ego retribuam / god seide hym-selue.F.7.217: F smooths the inclusion of this tag by adding a b-verse not found in Bx which is a relict of the entirely revised b-verse in the preceding line.
An otiose curl appears over the <u> in selue.
An otiose curl appears over the <u> in selue.
For þere isis [no] salueF.7.219: F's salue is unique. Bx reads science. vndir sunne / so souereyn for þe soule.
Þat þey conseyle þe kendely / for to knowe Dowel.F.7.230: The b-verse is owed to alpha. Beta manuscripts have "to knowe what is dowel."
¶ Grant mercy quod y Madame / & Meekly hire grette.F.7.231: F omits the following line from Bx: "And wente wightly my (or a-) wey wiþoute moore lettyng."
& grete þe goode man / as þe Ientil ladyF.7.233: F's reading is unique. Bx probably read with R "þe gode wif." Beta witnesses have Studie. me tawhte.
fol. 37rI
F.7.252KD.10.246α.1
Non tres dij sed vnus est deus.F.7.252: This line appears only in F, supplementing the preceding line from the Athanasian creed.
¶ Seynt Austyn þat holy man / here-of heF.7.255: Alpha and L have he, which is lacking in other beta witnesses and in C. made bokis
Ego in patre / & pater in meF.7.259: Alpha lacks beta's est after me. & quiF.7.259: Alpha by eyeskip lacks beta's videt after qui. me videt & patrem meum videt.F.7.259: F uniquely reads videt after meum. However, note that a number of C manuscripts read: "Ego in patre & pater in me est; Et qui me vidit patrem meum vidit qui in celis est &c."
Looke þou werche þy werk / as þe woord shewiþ.F.7.269: F omits the following line from Bx: "Swich as þow semest in siȝte be in assay yfounde."
Apare quod es autF.7.270: Alpha is responsible for aut. Beta manuscripts have vel. esto quod apares.
fol. 37vI
Boþe prelatis & prioures / sholde punshe here sogettis.F.7.286: F substitutes this line in place of the following line from Bx: "For Abbotes and for Priours and for alle manere prelates."
/ [¶] But it semeþ notF.7.293: Alpha is responsible for the negative. Beta manuscripts have now. soþly / to þe worldis syghte.
Fram alle manere men / þorhȝ manshede preestis.F.7.299: F omits the following lines from Bx:
The bible bereþ witnesse þat al þe folk of Israel
Bittre abouȝte þe giltes of two badde preestes.
The bible bereþ witnesse þat al þe folk of Israel
Bittre abouȝte þe giltes of two badde preestes.
F.7.305: The odd mark consisting of a semi-circle with three radiating lines above it appears here as well as on fol. 1v and 27r. ¶ & þanne shulle borel clerkis / be a-basshid ȝou to blame.F.7.305: Alpha is responsible for this line. Beta manuscripts have "And thanne shul burel clerkes ben abasshed to blame yow or to
greue."
& carpen not as þei carpe nou / to calle ȝou cowardes.F.7.306: F's revision of "doumbe houndes" to cowardes probably reflects the loss of the following Latin line from his exemplar: "Canes non valentes latrare."
fol. 38rI
/ [¶] In skole is a-noþir skyle / for skorn but he leerne.F.7.323: F has extensively revised the line, perhaps in response to problems he perceived in the text of alpha. Beta manuscripts
read: "In scole þere is scorn but if a clerk wol lerne." R has "In scole þere is skile and scorne but ȝif he lerne."
On poore haue þey no pyte / & þat ys here pure charge.F.7.334: F uniquely reads charge. Bx reads charite. Alpha is responsible for pure, which is absent in beta. C has "puyre chartre (or charite)."
For þey letyn hem-selue lordis / here londis lyȝn so brode.F.7.335: The pointing hand in the left margin is drawn in the same ink as the bracket from 7.331-348.
Hij in curribus & hij inequisin equis . ipsi obligati sunt & ceciderunt.F.7.342: F alone among B witnesses supplies the last two words in this quotation from Psalms 19:8-9. They also appear in Cx.
Þat Gregories goodegodF.7.345: R's gode suggests that the substitution of go(o)de for god occurred in alpha, though it appears, probably coincidentally, in G and Hm as well. Note that alliteration fails in the
b-verse in all B manuscripts. children / have evele dispendid.
ÞanF.7.346: The scribe, influenced by the preceding line, initially wrote a superscript <t> and corrected it to make a tilde. shal þe Abbot of Abyndoun / & al his isseu for euere.
Quomodo cessauit exactor quieuit tributum . Contriuit dominus baculum impiorum & virgam dominancium . cedencium plaga insanabili.
But Dowel shal dynge hym doun / & distroye his powher.F.7.351: A later hand provides a pointing hand and decorative drawings in the bottom margin.
fol. 38vI
F.7.352KD.10.336
¶ Þanne is Dowel / & Dobet quod y Dominus & knyght yholdeknyght-ho[d]eF.7.352:Other B witnesses read "Dominus and knyȝthode." The error could have occurred at any point in the transmission from alpha, but as an apparent attempt to
restore sense, it is probably the work of the immediate scribe or of another scribe between him and the F-Redactor.
Kynghod & knyghthod / be not in þese dayes.F.7.354: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "by noȝt I kan awayte."
For þey helpe no man to heuene-warde / so realte ouer-renneþ.F.7.355: F makes one line of two, perhaps intentionally. Bx reads
Helpeþ noȝt to heueneward oone heris ende
Ne richesse riȝt noȝt ne Reautee of lordes.
Helpeþ noȝt to heueneward oone heris ende
Ne richesse riȝt noȝt ne Reautee of lordes.
Salomon seiþ also / þat syluer god most hateþ.F.7.357: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "þat siluer is worst to louye."
For þere may no man ryght cleyme / but of goddis grace.F.7.365: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "Ther riche men [(beta) or man (alpha)] no riȝt may cleyme but of ruþe and grace."
Þat a cristeneF.7.371: F's reading is unique. Other B manuscripts have vncristene. man in þat caas / may cristne an heþene.
He sholde love hym leelly / & þe lawe fulfylle.F.7.377: F omits the following line from Bx: "That is loue þi lord god leuest aboue alle."
For oure bak mote be betyn / we cloþe no beggere nakyd.F.7.382: The scribe misunderstood his exemplar. Bx reads "And our bakkes þat moþeeten be and seen beggeris go naked." We can see in R's "mote eten ben" the origins of F's error.
& delyȝte vs in wyȝnys strongeF.7.383: F's reading is unique. Other B witnesses have "Or delit vs in wyn and wildefowel." / & whot hem in defauhte.
God byddis hyȝe & lowe / no man sholde hurte oþir.F.7.386: F omits the following line from Bx: "And seiþ slee noȝt þat semblable is to myn owene liknesse."
For Michi vindictam & ego retribuam.F.7.389: This line is not attested in beta manuscripts, but it appears in A.
fol. 39rI
Manye talys ȝee telle / þat Theologye lyȝeþ.F.7.394: F's reading is unique. Other B manuscripts have lerneþ.
Or ellis y-wrytyn for wikkydnesse / as holy writ telliþ.F.7.397: Alpha reads telliþ. Beta manuscripts have the unmetrical witnesseþ.
To rewle his rewme wel / & hym ryche make.F.7.402: This line appears only in alpha in the B tradition, but versions of it appear in both A and C.
Þat for here werkis & hereF.7.409: Alpha is responsible for the second here. Beta manuscripts lack it. wit / þey wone nou in peyȝne.
On erlyF.7.414: erly, "earthly." This spelling appears also at 11.190 and 16.151. The scribe elsewhere writes erthely (4.201, 15.96), and his usual form is erthe (38 instances to 3 of erþe). Though F alone among B witnesses has a form of erþly at this point, several C manuscripts read worldliche. See A. V. C. Schmidt, Piers Plowman: A Parallel-Text Edition .... C.xi.232. good / þan on god / for-þy grace hem fayleþ.
F.7.416KD.10.401
As salomon & oþireF.7.416: Alpha is responsible for the omission of the alliterating word swiche before oþire as well as for the change in word order. Beta witnesses have "As Salomon dide and swiche oþere." dede / þat sheweden grete wisdom
As þey seyn hem-selue / ful selde do þei þere-after.F.7.419: F omits the following line from Bx: "Super cathedram Moysi &c."
¶ God leve it fare not so nou / be folk þe feyþ techiþ.F.7.427: F's reading is unique. Bx reads "God lene (or leue) it fare noȝt so bi folk þat þe feiþ techeþ."
F.7.432KD.10.416
Þey be clepid Carpenteres / to saven cristis beestis.F.7.432: F omits the following line from Bx: "Homines & iumenta saluabis domine &c."
fol. 39vI
¶ For-þy y conseyle ȝou klerkis / of holy chircheF.7.434: Alpha is responsible for chirche. Beta has correctly alliterating kirke. wryghtis.
F.7.436KD.10.420
¶ ForF.7.436: Alpha is responsible for For. Beta manuscripts and both A and C omit it. on good fryday / y fyȝnde / a feloun was y-savid.
Or Poul þe apostle / þat no pyte hadde.F.7.446: Alpha omits the following line from Bx: "Muche cristene kynde to kille to deþe."
F.7.448KD.10.433
& oþire þat wrouhtyn werst here / be heyest nou in hevene.F.7.448: F's reading is unique. Other B witnesses have "Tho þat wrouȝte wikkedlokest in world þo þei were."
& hadde wit & wisdom / with dampned soulis dwelle.F.7.450: F omits the following line from Bx: "That Salomon seiþ I trowe be sooþ and certein of vs alle."
F.7.456KD.10.441
He worþ a-lowid of his lyf / fro lyþirnesse is knowe þe goode.F.7.456: F omits the following line from Bx: "And wherby wiste men which is whit if alle þyng blak were."
For quantz oporetopor[t]et vinF.7.459: Alpha is responsible for the form vin. Beta manuscripts have vient. en place . yl ne ad que pati.
For he seyde to seynt Peter . / & to hise postlis alle.F.7.463: F's b-verse is unique. Bx has the unmetrical reading "and to swiche as he louede."
& gyve ȝow wit atF.7.467: Alpha and L read at. Beta manuscripts have and. wille / & konynge to concluden.
But wit & wisdom / whan euere[n]euereF.7.471: Misinterpretation of elision appears to have caused this error. Whan, "won." Cf. Wan, "when" in the following line. / þe Mayȝstryȝe.
fol. 40rI
Þe dowtyest doctour / & dyvynour of dyvinite.F.7.473: The scribe has written VII in red with red flourishes in the top right margin to indicate the passus number.
Þan are þese konynge Clerkys / þat knowF.7.479: Alpha is responsible for knowe. Beta manuscripts have konne. F alone has fele for Bx's manye. fele bookys.
& principaly þeF.7.489: Alpha is responsible for þe. Beta manuscripts have hir. pater noster / manye have þis dysyred.
F.7.492KD.10.477
ButBut [þo] þat kepyn here catel / by here a-countys þey falle.F.7.492: F's b-verse is unique. Bx reads "clerkes and Reues."
Ryght so Lewed men / of a lytyl conynge.F.7.493: Alpha reads conynge. Beta manuscripts have knowyng.
Ite vos in vineam meam & quod iustum fuerit . dabitur vobis.F.7.497: F alone completes the quotation. Bx's text ends with "vineam meam."
For me lakkede latyn / lyght by me heF.7.499: he: Manuscripts WHmCrLM read she; others omit the pronoun as do Kane and Donaldson. An unlikely form of the feminine nominative singular in this scribe's
dialect, it is here a relict from alpha which in turn reflects Langland's own usage. See F14.156 for an instance in which
RF have he for "she" and where alliteration shows that the reading with an "h-" form of the pronoun is original. Cf. F8.104, where
F uses he to refer to Scripture. See also M. L. Samuels, "Dialect and Grammar," in A Companion to Piers Plowman, ed. John A. Alford (Berkeley and Los Angeles: U of California P, 1988), p. 109. sette.
Explicit Passus Septimus de Dowel.