Speke we now of such cursyng as cometh of irous hert. Malisoun generally may be said every maner power of harm; such cursyng bireveth man fro the regne of God, as saith seint Poule. And ofte tyme such cursyng wrongfully retourneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a birde retourneth agayn to his owne nest. And over alle thinges men ought to eschewe to cursen there oune children, and give to the devel there offspring, as ferforth as in them is; certis it is gret peril and gret synne.

Let us thanne speke of chydynge and reproche, whiche be ful grete woundes in mannes hert, for they unsew the semes of frendshipe in mannes herte; for certis, scarcely may a man plainly be accordid with him that him openly revyled, reproved, and slandered; this is a ful grisly synne, as Crist saith in the Gospel. And tak keep now, that he that reproveth his neighbor, either he reproveth him by som harm of peyne, that he hath on his body, as leper, croked, harlotte; or by somme sinne that he doth. Nowe if he repreve him by harme of peyne, thanne tornith the reproef to Jhesu Crist; for peyne is sent by the righteous sending of God, and by his suffraunce, be it leprosy, or many other maladies; and if he repreve him uncharitably of sinne, as thou whoremonger, thou dronke harlot, and so forth, thanne aperteyneth that to the rejoysing of the devel, that ever hath joye that men doon synne. And certis, chidyng may nought come but out of a vileins herte, for after the abundaunce of the herte speketh the mouth ful ofte. And ye shal understonde, that loke by any way, whan any man shal chastise another, that he be war of chidyng or reprevyng; for trewely, save he be war, he may ful lightly quicken the fyr of anger and of wraththe, which that he shulde quenchen; and paraventure sleth, that he mighte chasten with benignité. For, as sayth Salamon, the amiable tonge is the tree of lif; that is to sayn, of life spirituel. And sothely, a bitter tonge sleth the spirit of him that repreveth, and also of him which is repreved. Lo, what saith seint Augustyn, ther is no thing so lik the fendes child, as he that ofte chideth. Seint Poule seith eek, a servaunt of God bihoveth nought to chide. And though that chidyng be a vileins thing bitwixe alle maner folk, yit is it certes more uncovenable bitwix a man and his wif, for ther is never rest. And therfore saith Salamon, an hous that is uncovered in rayn and droppyng, and a chidyng wyf, be alike. A man, that is in a dropping hous in many partes, though he eschewe the dropping in oon place, it droppeth on him in another place; so farith it by a chydinge wyf, but she chide him in oon place, she wol chide him in another. And therfore better is a morsel of bred with joye, than an hous ful of delices with chyding, seith Salamon. Seint Poul saith, o ye wommen, be ye sugettis to youre housbondes as bihovith in God; and ye men, loveth youre wyves. Epistle to the Colossians, iij°.

After-ward speke we of scornyng, which is a wikked thing, and sinful, and namely whan he scornith a man for his goode workes; for certes, suche scorners faren lik the foule toode, that may nought endure the soote smel of the vine roote, whan it florishith. These scorners ben partyng felawes with the devel, for thay have joye whan the devel wynneth, and sorwe whan he loseth. Thay be adversaries of Jhesu Crist, for thay haten that he loveth, that is to saye, salvacioun of soule.

Speke we now of wikked counseil; for he that wickid counseil giveth he is a traytour, for he deceyveth him that trusteth in him, as Achitofel to Absalom. But natheles, yet is his wikkid counseil first against himself. For, as saith the wise man, every fals lyvyng hath his propreté in himself, that he that wil annoye another man, he annoyeth first himself. And men shul understonde, that men shulde nought take his counseil of fals folk, nor of angry folk, nor of grevous folk, nor of folk that loven specially too moche their oune profyt, nor in too moche worldly folk, namely, in counselyng of mannes soule.

Now cometh the synne of them that sowen and maken discord amonges folk, which is a synne that Crist hateth utterly; and no wonder is, for God diede for to make concord. And more shame do thay to Crist, than dede thay that him crucifiede. For God loveth bettre, that frendshipe be amonges folk, thanne he dide his owne body, which that ye gaf for unité. Therfore ben thay likned to the develes, that ever ben aboute to make discord.

Now comith the sinne of double tonge, suche as speken faire biforn folk, and wikkedly bihynde; or elles they make semblaunt as though thay speke of good entencioun, or ellis in game and play, and yit thay speke in wikked entent.