8. How to plough. 17 



est regno dei. The spirytuall constructyon of this texte, I Luke ix. 62. 

 remytte to the doctours of dyuynitie, and to the greate 

 clarkes ; but to reduce and brynge the same texte to my 

 16 purpose, I take it thus. There is noo man, puttynge his No man, 



r r ^ •■ -I ^ putting his 



hande to the plough, lokyng backewarde, is worthy to hand w^the 

 haue that thynge that he oughte to haue. For if he 

 goo to the ploughe, and loke backewarde, he seeth not 



20 whether the plough go in rydge or rayne, make a balke, 

 or go ouerthwarte. And if it do so, there wyll be lyttell 

 corne. And so if a man attende not his husbandrye, but Be not idle, 

 goo to sporte or playe, tauerne or ale-house, or slepynge 



24 at home, and suche other ydle warkes, he is not than 



worthy to haue any corne. And therfore, Fac quod venisti. Do what you 



•' •' came to do. 



Do that thou comest fore, and thou shalte fynde that thou 

 sekest fore, &c. 



8. ^ Howe a man shulde plowe all maner of landes all tymes 

 of tlie yere. 



Nowe these plowes be made and tempered, it is toJJ™^°f'i"® 

 be knowen howe a man shoulde plowe all tymes of 

 the yere. In the begynnynge of the yere, after the 

 4 feast of the Epiphany, it is tyme for a husbande to [FoI. 73.] 

 go to the ploughe. And if thou haue any leys, to plough leas 



111 early. 



falowe or to sowe otes vpon, fyrste plowe them, that 

 the grasse and the mosse may rotte, and plowe them 

 8 a depe square forowe. And in all maner of plowynge, 

 se that thy eye, thy hande, and thy fote do agree, 

 and be alwaye redy one to serue a-nother, and to tume 

 vp moche molde, and to lay it flat, that it rere not Lay the 



^ » y ' mould flat. 



12 on edge. For if it rere on edge, the grasse and mosse 

 wyll not rotte. And if thou sowe it with winter-corne, 

 as whete or ry, as moche corne as toucheth the mosse 

 wyll be drowned, the mosse dothe kepe such wete in 



16 it self. And in some countreys, if a man plowe depe. 



