| | Graunte me grace to lyue vertuously | |
| | Than am I gentil when I begynne | |
| | To lyue vertuously and do a wey synne | |
| 1150 | And there as ye of pouerte me repreue | |
| | That high god on whom hoolly we beleue | |
| | In ful hertis pouerte chees to lede his lyf | |
| | And syns euery man mayden or wyf | |
| | May vnderstonde that Ihesus our heuyn kyng | |
| 1155 | Ne wolde not chese a uicyous lynynge | |
| | Glad pouert is a ful honest thyng certeyn | |
| | This wol Senec and other clerkis sayn | |
| | Who so that holdith hym paid of his pouert | |
| | I holde hym riche and he had not a shert | |
| 1160 | He that coueytith he is a ful poure wight | |
| | For he wolde haue that is not in his myght | |
| | But he þt nought hath nought coueytith to haue | |
| | Is riche al though ye holde hym but a knaue | |
| | Verry pouerte is an high ioye properly | |
| | Iuuenal spekith therof ful merily | |
| | The poure man whan he goth be the wey | |
| | Before the theuys he may synge and pley | |
| | Pouert is hateful good as I ges | |
| | A ful gret brynger out of besynes | |
| 1170 | A greet amender eke of sapience | |
| | To hym that takith it in pacience | |
| | Pouerte is this al thogh it seme elenge | |
| | Possessioun that noman wolde gladly chalenge | |
| | Pouerte ful ofte whan a man is lowe | |
| 1175 | Makith his god and eke hym self to knowe | |
