| 205 | Lordingis by this ensampyl I wol you pray | |
| | Bewar and take kepe what I say | |
| | Ne tellith neuer noman in your lif | |
| | How that anothir man hath dight his wyf | |
| | He wyl you haten mortally certeyn | |
| 210 | Salamon as wyse clerkis sayn | |
| | Techith a man to kepe his tunge wel | |
| | But natheles thus taughte me my dame | |
| | My sone think on the crowe a goddis name | |
| 215 | My sone keep wel thy tunge and kep thy frend | |
| | A wickid tunge is worse than a fend | |
| | My sone from a fend men may hem blisse | |
| | My sone god of his endles godnesse | |
| | Wallid a tonge with teth and lippis eek | |
| 220 | For man sholde hym auyse what he speek | |
| | My sone ful ofte forto mykyl speche | |
| | Hath many a man be spilt as clerkis teche | |
| | But for litil speche spoken auysedly | |
| | Is noman shent to speke generally | |
| 225 | My sone thy tonge sholdist thou restreyne | |
| | At al tyme but whan thou dost thy peyne | |
| | To speke of god in honour here | |
| | The firste vertu sone yf thou wolt lere | |
| | Is to restreyne and kepe wel thy tunge | |
| 230 | Thus lerne childryn when they be yong | |
| | My sone of mykyl spekyng vn auysid | |
| | There lasse spekyng hadde I now suffisid | |
| | Comyth mykyl harm thus was me taught | |
| | In mykyl speche synne wantith nought | |
