B.—De Conjuge non ducenda. (P. 77.)

page 295 note * The same English version as that here given was printed in a separate tract by Wynkyn de Worde, under the title, “The Payne and Sorowe of Evyll Maryage.” It has been lately reprinted for the Percy Society by my esteemed friend, Mr. Payne Collier. Wynkyn de Worde's edition begins with the following stanza:—

Take hede and lerne, thou lytell chylde, and se

That tyme passed wyl not agayne retourne,

And in thy youthe unto vertues use the:

Lette in thy brest no maner vyce sojourne,

That in thyne age thou have no cause to mourne

For tyme lost, nor for defaute of wytte:

Thynke on this lesson, and in thy mynde it shytte.

It may be observed that this English version is written much in the style of John Lydgate.

page 298 note * The parts included in brackets [ ] are only found in the printed edition.