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¹ The parablis of Salomon, the sone of Dauid, king of Israel;² to kunne wisdom and kunnyng;³ to vndurstonde the wordis of prudence; and to take the lernyng of teching; to take riytfulnesse, and dom, and equyte;⁴ that felnesse be youun to litle children, and kunnyng, and vndurstonding to a yong wexynge man.⁵ A wise man heringe schal be wisere; and a man vndurstondinge schal holde gouernails.⁶ He schal perseyue a parable, and expownyng; the wordis of wise men, and the derk figuratif spechis of hem.

⁷ The drede of the Lord is the bigynning of wisdom; foolis dispisen wisdom and teching.⁸ My sone, here thou the teching of thi fadir, and forsake thou not the lawe of thi modir;⁹ that grace be addid, ethir encreessid, to thin heed, and a bie to thi necke.

¹⁰ Mi sone, if synneris flateren thee, assente thou not to hem.¹¹ If thei seien, Come thou with vs, sette we aspies to blood, hide we snaris of disseitis ayens an innocent without cause;¹² swolowe we him, as helle swolowith a man lyuynge; and al hool, as goynge doun in to a lake; we schulen fynde al preciouse catel,¹³ we schulen fille oure housis with spuylis; sende thou lot with vs,¹⁴ o purs be of vs alle;¹⁵ my sone, go thou not with hem; forbede thi foot fro the pathis of hem.¹⁶ For the feet of hem rennen to yuel; and thei hasten to schede out blood.¹⁷ But a net is leid in veyn bifore the iyen of briddis, that han wengis.¹⁸ Also `thilke wickid disseyueris setten aspies ayens her owne blood; and maken redi fraudis ayens her soulis.¹⁹ So the pathis of ech auerouse man rauyschen the soulis of hem that welden.

²⁰ Wisdom prechith with outforth; in stretis it yyueth his vois.²¹ It crieth ofte in the heed of cumpenyes; in the leeues of yatis of the citee it bringith forth hise wordis,²² and seith, Hou long, ye litle men in wit, louen yong childhod, and foolis schulen coueyte tho thingis, that ben harmful to hem silf, and vnprudent men schulen hate kunnyng?²³ Be ye conuertid at my repreuyng; lo, Y schal profre forth to you my spirit, and Y schal schewe my wordis.²⁴ For Y clepide, and ye forsoken; Y helde forth myn hond, and noon was that bihelde.²⁵ Ye dispisiden al my councel; and chargiden not my blamyngis.²⁶ And Y schal leiye in youre perisching; and Y schal scorne you, whanne that, that ye dreden, cometh to you.²⁷ Whanne sodeyne wretchidnesse fallith in, and perisching bifallith as tempest; whanne tribulacioun and angwisch cometh on you.²⁸ Thanne thei schulen clepe me, and Y schal not here; thei schulen rise eerli, and thei schulen not fynde me.²⁹ For thei hatiden teching, and thei token not the drede of the Lord,³⁰ nether assentiden to my councel, and depraueden al myn amendyng.³¹ Therfor thei schulen ete the fruytis of her weie; and thei schulen be fillid with her counseils.³² The turnyng awei of litle men in wit schal sle hem; and the prosperite of foolis schal leese hem.³³ But he that herith me, schal reste with outen drede; and he schal vse abundaunce, whanne the drede of yuels is takun awei.