the geldyng saide: 'Thy Maister saide that thow etist no hony thowgh
thow haddest bien here.' And he was stil and thought how that he
myght recompense and quite his Maister. And this don Nedwy in
his Maister absence secretly saide to the geldyng: 'Sir, my Maister
is frentik and while he suffrith that he leesith his wit and vndiscretly
betith and hurtith theym that bien aboute hym.' To whom the
geldyng: 'If I knewe the tyme whan this to hym fallith, nat vnwarly
don, I shuld bynde hym and with whippes correcte hym.' Than
Nedwy saide: 'Whan thow seest hym bihold and looke hider and
thider and betyng the grounde with his handis and risyng from his
seete and castyng awey the stoole that he sat on with his hand, than
thow maist knowe that he is out of his wit; and but if thow and
thyne[1] provide with a staf he wil hurte or breke yowr (f. 129b)
hedis.' To this the Geldyng: 'Blessid be thow; forwhi from hensfurth
I shal purvey for me and myn.' Suche thynges saide, Nedwy
the next suyng [day] secretly hid his Maister sheeris; and he[2] nat
fyndyng hem bigan to smyte the grounde with his handis and to
biholde here and there, arisyng from his seete and the stoole that he
sat vpon to overterve. The geldyng seeyng this anon cald felawship
and saide: 'Bynde yee the tailour that he ne bete ne smyte nonother
and grevously bete ye hym.' But the tailour cried so and saide:
'What have I forfeted, or what or wherfor bete yee me thus?'
But thei the more sharply betyn hym and wern stil forsoth. Whan
they wern wery of betyng and scourgyng hym, thei leften and
loosed hym only with the lif. The whiche respityng but a long while
bitwene, asked of the geldyng what he had forfeted. To this the
geldyng saide: 'Thi disciple Nedwy told me that whan thow art out
of thi wit and woode that neither but in bondis and betynges thow
be corrected, thow canst nat ceese; and therf or I bond the and bete
the.' The tailour heryng this cald Nedwy his disciple and saide:
'Friend, whan knewistow me out of wit?' To this[3] the disciple:
'Whan knewistow me nat to ete hony?' The geldyng and other
heryng this lawghed and demed ever either worthi his penaunce that
he had taken." To this the fader saide: "Meritorily this fil, forwhi
if he had kept that Moyses comaunded as to love his brother as hymsilf,
this had nat[4] happed or come vnto hym."[5]
The link contains the following: The wise man reproved his
son saying: "Be careful to make no charges against thy companion
- ↑ Lat. nisi tibi et tuis provideris; 'with a staf' not in Lat.
- ↑ English omits At incisor quaerens forfices, I, 29, l. 2.
- ↑ 'This', repeated in Ms.
- ↑ 'hadde nat' repeated in Ms.
- ↑ The rest of the link and the immediately following tale of the original version (The Two Jesters—De doubus ioculatoribus) are omitted in the English translation.
