|
[1]Mi sone, kepe thou my wordis; and kepe myn heestis to thee. Sone, onoure thou the Lord, and thou schalt be `myyti; but outakun hym drede thou not an alien.
[2]Kepe thou myn heestis, and thou schalt lyue; and my lawe as the appil of thin iyen.
[3]Bynde thou it in thi fyngris; write thou it in the tablis of thin herte.
[4]Seie thou to wisdom, Thou art my sistir; and clepe thou prudence thi frendesse.
[5]That it kepe thee fro a straunge womman; and fro an alien womman, that makith hir wordis swete.
[6]For whi fro the wyndow of myn hous bi the latijs Y bihelde; and Y se litle children.
[7]I biholde a yong man coward,
[8]that passith bi the stretis, bisidis the corner; and he
[9]goith niy the weie of hir hous in derk tyme, whanne the dai drawith to niyt, in the derknessis and myst of the nyyt.
[10]And lo! a womman, maad redi with ournement of an hoore to disseyue soulis, meetith hym, and sche is a ianglere, and goynge about,
[11]and vnpacient of reste, and mai not stonde in the hous with hir feet;
[12]and now without forth, now in stretis, now bisidis corneris sche `aspieth.
[13]And sche takith, and kissith the yong man; and flaterith with wowynge cheer, and seith, Y ouyte sacrifices for heelthe;
[14]to dai Y haue yolde my vowis.
[15]Therfor Y yede out in to thi meetyng, and Y desiride to se thee; and Y haue founde thee.
[16]Y haue maad my bed with coordis, Y haue arayed with tapetis peyntid of Egipt;
[17]Y haue bispreynt my bed with myrre, and aloes, and canel.
[18]Come thou, be we fillid with tetis, and vse we collyngis that ben coueitid; til the dai bigynne to be cleer.
[19]For myn hosebonde is not in his hows; he is goon a ful long weie.
[20]He took with hym a bagge of money; he schal turne ayen in to his hous in the dai of ful moone.
[21]Sche boonde hym with many wordis; and sche drow forth hym with flateryngis of lippis.
[22]Anoon he as an oxe led to slayn sacrifice sueth hir, and as a ioli lomb and vnkunnynge; and the fool woot not, that he is drawun to bondys,
[23]til an arowe perse his mawe. As if a brid hastith to the snare; and woot not, that it is don of the perel of his lijf.
[24]Now therfor, my sone, here thou me; and perseyue the wordis of my mouth.
[25]Lest thi soule be drawun awei in the weies of hir; nether be thou disseyued in the pathis of hir.
[26]For sche castide doun many woundid men; and alle strongeste men weren slayn of hir.
[27]The weies of helle is hir hous; and persen in to ynnere thingis of deeth.
|