Part 13 (2/2)

W{i}tt my?the[16], Thorow helpe Jh{e}su Cryst {a}t was our{e} lad{is} byrthe. 72 Do for iself.

[Footnote 1: Cf. Halliwell, Early Eng. Misc. in Prose and Verse, printed for the Warton Club, _1855, p. 39_, Fiedler, Mod. Lang.

Review, _III. iii. 225_.]

[Footnote 2, 4: MS. _ou?te_.]

[Footnote 3: MS. _bo_.]

[Footnote 5: MS. _on_, _on~_, throughout.]

[Footnote 6: MS. _in i gold{e}_.]

[Footnote 7: These two lines are transposed in the MS.]

[Footnote 8: MS. _soe_, Halliwell _soe_, Fiedler _goe_.]

[Footnote 9: MS. _sen_.]

[Footnote 10: H. _setal_.]

[Footnote 11: H. F. _schedhis_.]

[Footnote 12: MS. _mu_.]

[Footnote 13: MS. _^{r}for_, H. F. _therefor_.]

[Footnote 14: MS. only _nov_ now legible.]

[Footnote 15: MS. _bov?te_, Halliwell _bou?t_, Fiedler _brou?t_.]

[Footnote 16: MS. Halliwell _my?the_, probably erroneous for _myrthe_.]

15.

MS. BALLIOL 354. Before 1504. [fol. 207, v^o.]

(Richard Hill's Commonplace-Book.)

1 Erth owt of erth is worldly wrowght, Erth hath gote{n} oppo{n} erth a dygnite of nowght, Erth vpon erth hath[1] set all his thowght, How {a}t erth vpon erth myght be hye browght. 4

2 Erth vpon erth wold be a kyng, But how {a}t erth shall to erth, he thy{n}kith no thyng; Whe{n} erth biddith erth his rent{es}[2] home bryng, The{n} shall erth for erth haue a hard p{ar}tyng. 8

3 Erth vpon erth wy{n}neth castl{les}[2] & towres, The{n} seyth erth vnto erth: 'is is all owres'; But whe{n} erth vpo{n} erth hath bildyd his bowres, Tha{n} shall erth for erth suffre hard showres. 12

4 Erth vpon erth hath welth vpon molde, Erth goth vpon erth glydryng all i{n} golde, Like as he vnto erth neu{er} torn shuld; & yet shal erth vnto erth son{er} tha{n} he wold. 16

5 Why {a}t erth loweth erth, wonder[3] I thynk; Or why {a}t erth will for erth swet or swynk; For wha{n} erth vpon erth is browght w{i}t{h}in e brynk, Than shall erth for erth suffre a fowle stynk. 20

6 As erth vpon erth were e worthyes ix, & as erth vpon erth i{n} honour dide shyne; But erthe liste not to know how ei shuld enclyn, & {er} crow{n}nys leyd i{n} erth, wha{n} deth hath made hys fyne. 24

7 As erth vpon erth, full{e} worthy was Josue, [fol. 208, r^o.]

Dauyd e worthy kyng, Judas Machabe; They were but erth vpon erth, no{n} of the{m} thre, And so fro{m} erth vnto erth ei loste {er} dignite. 28

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