THE BOKE OF HVSBANDRY. 



0^ The aucthors prologne. 



St'f ista questio. This is the questyon, whervnto is ^^^^"* 

 euerye manne ordejued ? And as Job saythe. Homo 

 nascitur ad laloreniy sicut auis ad volandum : That is 



4 to saye, a man is ordeyned and borne to do labour, as 

 a bird is ordejTied to flyp. And the Apostle saythe. 

 Qui non laborat, non manducet : Debet entm in obsequio det 

 laborare, qui de bonis eius vult manducare : That is to saye, 



8 he that laboureth not, shulde not eate, and he ought to He that 



laboureth 



labour and doo goddes warke, that wyll eate of his goodes n°t ^t."^^ 

 or g}'ftes. The whiche is an harde texte after the lyterall 

 sence. For by the letter, the kynge, the quene, nor all 

 1 2 other lordes spirituall and temporal shuld not eate, with- 

 out they shuld labour, the whiche were vncomely, and 

 not conuenyente for suche estates to labour. But who The Book of 



the Chess 



that redeth in the boke of the moralytes of the chesse, 

 1 6 shal therby perceyue, that euerye man, from the hyest 

 degree to the lowest, is set and ordeyned to haue labour 

 and occupation ; and that boke is deuyded in vi. degrees, j» divided 



into six 

 degrees, 



1 



