Opening the chapter…
He that wole go a wei fro a frend, sekith occasiouns; in al tyme he schal be dispisable.
A fool resseyueth not the wordis of prudence; `no but thou seie tho thingis, that ben turned in his herte.
A wickid man, whanne he cometh in to depthe of synnes, dispisith; but sclaundre and schenschipe sueth hym.
Deep watir is the wordis of the mouth of a man; and a stronde fletinge ouer is the welle of wisdom.
It is not good to take the persoone of a wickid man in doom, that thou bowe awei fro the treuthe of dom.
The lippis of a fool medlen hem silf with chidyngis; and his mouth excitith stryues.
The mouth of a fool is defoulyng of hym; and hise lippis ben the fallynge of his soule.
The wordis of a double tungid man ben as symple; and tho comen `til to the ynnere thingis of the wombe. Drede castith doun a slowe man; forsothe the soulis of men turned in to wymmens condicioun schulen haue hungur.
He that is neisch, and vnstidfast in his werk, is the brother of a man distriynge hise werkis.
A strongeste tour is the name of the Lord; a iust man renneth to hym, and schal be enhaunsid.
The catel of a riche man is the citee of his strengthe; and as a stronge wal cumpassinge hym.
The herte of man is enhaunsid, bifor that it be brokun; and it is maad meke, bifore that it be glorified.
He that answerith bifore that he herith, shewith hym silf to be a fool; and worthi of schenschipe.
The spirit of a man susteyneth his feblenesse; but who may susteyne a spirit liyt to be wrooth?
The herte of a prudent man schal holde stidfastli kunnyng; and the eere of wise men sekith techyng.
The yift of a man alargith his weie; and makith space to hym bifore princes.
A iust man is the first accusere of hym silf; his frend cometh, and schal serche hym.
Lot ceessith ayenseiyngis; and demeth also among miyti men.
A brother that is helpid of a brothir, is as a stidfast citee; and domes ben as the barris of citees.
A mannus wombe schal be fillid of the fruit of his mouth; and the seedis of hise lippis schulen fille hym.
Deth and lijf ben in the werkis of tunge; thei that louen it, schulen ete the fruytis therof.
He that fyndith a good womman, fyndith a good thing; and of the Lord he schal drawe vp myrthe. He that puttith a wey a good womman, puttith awei a good thing; but he that holdith auowtresse, is a fool and vnwijs.
A pore man schal speke with bisechingis; and a riche man schal speke sterneli.
A man freendli to felouschipe schal more be a frend, than a brothir.
Source
Wycliffe Bible (c.1395). Digital text: CrossWire SWORD module (from Wikisource / Wesley Center Online transcriptions). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: CrossWire SWORD module Wycliffe (converted to USFM; no wording changed). Changes: reformatted for display (USFM to verses); no wording changed. Audio (including text-to-speech) and other adaptations are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Middle English (c.1395).
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