WHen Phebꝰ reluysāt / most ardēt was & shene
In the hote sommer season / for my solace
Vnder the vmbre of a tre / bothe fayre & grene
I lay downe to rest me / where in this case.
¶As after ye shall here / a stryfe there began
Whiche longe dyd endure / with great argument
Bytwyxte the woman / and also the man
Whiche of them coulde proue / to be moost excellent.
The man.
¶The fyrst whiche I herde: was the mā that sayde
Adam our forfather / by womans shrewde councell
To ete of an apple / was pyteously betrayde
Well happy is he / that with you dothe not mell.
The woman.
¶Ihesu of a mayden / and vyrgyn his mother
Was incarnated / to redeme that man had loste
Set thou this one / now agaynst the other
And woman is more excellent / in euery coste.
The man.
¶No women in to aungels / neuer was transformed
But women in to deuyls / full ofte hath ben fygurate
For theyr pryde in hell / cruelly to be burned
Vnhappy is he / that hath one to his make.
The woman.
¶Many aungels to women / haue ben transported
More than to men / for theyr chastyte
Fyrst our dere lady / thaungell exorted
Sayenge the son of god / in her conceyued shold be.
The man.
¶Ioseph by woman / was put in pryson
And Vrye was slayne / by treason cruell
Dauyd an adulterer / with woman was become
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell.
The woman.
Mankynde to delyuer / out of this worldly payne
And brynge hym to the ioye / of the celestyall place
God in his mother / toke nature humayne
Who dysprayseth women / god sende hym no grace.
The man.
For woman was slayne / the worthy prynce Amon
The loue of them causeth moche dyspleasure
By women was dysceyued / the sage Salomon
Whiche by the meane of them / false ydols dyd adoure
The woman.
That woman / is moost replete with grace
By good reason / I shall proue playne
For god in woman / fyrst toke his place
Whan into this worlde / he came certayne.
The man.
Vyrgyll the sage clerke / of great intellygence
Betrayed was by woman / as wryten ye may fynde
Trustynge in her grace / in euery mannes presence
Was tyed at a wyndowe / tyll men dyd hym vnbynde
The woman.
God to vs by woman / paradyse hath restored
That before was loste / by our great neglygence
And aboue all sayntes / hyghly hath honored
Mary his mother / woman of moost excellence.
The man.
Townes haue be destroyed / and cytes many one
Dyuers men for women / be dampned depe in hell
More ioyfull vnto man / than woman hath be none
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell.
The woman.
¶By ye meane of Hester / the iudgemēt was respyted
Of Assuerus her husband / for the Iewes all
Whiche sholde haue dyed / had nat he delyted
In her hye beautye / and wordes peticyonall.
The man.
¶Pryam / Paris and Deiphebus
Fyrst by thoccasyon / of women was slayne
Also Troylus / Hector and Helenus
And all Troye / hath ben confounded playne.
The woman.
¶Iudyth. C. M. men and mo
Made for to flye / and yelde in confusyon
After that Holefernus heed / she had cut in two
Whiche wolde haue dystroyed all the regyon.
The man.
¶Women theyr face / and foreheed doth paynt
For to deceyue / both yonge and olde
The stronge Sampson / Dalyda dyd attaynt
And hym betrayed / his heed whē she had polde.
The woman.
¶Woman is honored / in euery place
For quene of erth / and of heuen hye
Whiche is petycioner / for mannes trespace
To good on theyr soules to haue mercye.
The man.
Some women can flatter / and moost can lye
To optayne mannes loue / they can fayne well
They wyll neuer leue it / vntyll they dye
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell.
The woman.
¶Woman is called / treasure of grace
In heuen our lady / it is full suer
For she for mannes soule / doth so purchase
That thousandes / she saued by her prayer.
The man.
¶Some that hath be taken / for very sage
By womans loue / dyd so hym indeuer
That for it he solde / all his herytage
And after hath he dyed / a myserable begger.
The woman.
¶Many hath offyces / and good wages
By women to lyue / ryght prosperately
Benefyces / and auauntages
To mayntayne men / accordyngly.
The man.
¶When a yonge pegeon / a woman hath gotyn
She wyll make hym / at length as stronge as a crane
For surely / she wyll neuer forsake hym
Tyll that his croper bone wax very lame
The woman.
¶Then loke a cawdell / you do gyt
And soone ye loke you / a better norce
For I harde say / god gaue man wyt
To knowe the better / from the worse.
The man
¶Women wyll speke / and contrary say
They wyll nat shame / a lye to tell
To scolde and brawle / is all theyr play
Well happy is he / that with them doth not mell.
The woman.
¶The commynge / of our lorde Ihesu
Many deuout woman / dyd prophecye
Sybellys they were / that it best knewe
For to dysprayse women / ye do now vnwyslye.
The man.
¶One must them gyue / that they desyre
To bete or correcte them / they waxen worse
They neuer wyll stynt / for to requyre
As longe as a peny / is in ones purse.
The woman.
¶When all thappostles / from our lorde flyed
Women tyll his deth / styll dyd hym ensue
Neuer woman / our lorde denyed
As Peter dyd / but euer was true.
The man.
¶When ye of ony man / knowe the intencyon
Whiche coulde be secrete / ye publysshe it by and by
Vnto your gosseppys / ye make therof mencyon
As soone as ye togyther byb / charryng lyke a pye.
The woman.
¶Chryste after his deth / for our consolacyon
Fyrst shewed / vnto woman personally
To Mary magdaleyn / after his resurreccyon
Whiche for his deth / be wayled greuously.
The man.
¶A Wyfe of her husbande / Wyll haue the audyence
As chyef maystres / her tale to tell
She wyll crye & wepe / except she haue the p̄emynēce
Wyll happy is he / that with them doth not mell.
¶The woman.
¶That a man shold a woman / or his wyfe byleue
By Abraham / is sygnyfyed playne
For god vnto Sara / fyrst knowlege dyd gyue
That a chyld shold be procreat: bytwyxt thē twayne
The man.
¶Many cauteloustrastes / now women they haue
To make them proper / and coynte to seme
For proude apparell / euer styll they craue
Yet be they moost stynkynge / and fylthy within.
The woman.
¶Of good women / haue be founde many one
Whiche haue ben chast / and holy vyrgyns pure
And that out of goddes lawes / neuer hath gone
Wherfore in heuen / now sayntys be they sure.
The man.
¶But now of euyll / there be so many
Theyr kynde encreaseth / styll euery day
From euyl in to worse / so fast they multyplye
That wolde the deuyll: had one to cary thother away
The woman.
One vyrgyn another for goddis loue hath martyred
By compulsyon of man / as scrypture hath exprest
That in a day .xi. thousand dyed
Wherfore to dysprayse women / ye do not best.
The man.
¶Consyderyng the euyll / which of women haue com
How false they be / how cursed and cruell
One ought to flye them / and from them to ronne
For well happy is he / that with them doth not mell
The woman.
¶All the nobles / of cyme passed
And all the sayntes / of paradyse
Fyrst all from women / they haue proceded
For to dysprayse women / in fayth ye be not wyse.
The man.
¶Do weye your blame / and laude in balaunce
To se of them / whiche twayne weye moste
And when that ye se / there the dyfferaunce
I trowe of your laude / ye wyll make small boste.
The woman.
¶For all the blames / and offence
That agaynst vs women / ye can laye
Consyder the bounte / of our ladyes excellence
And all our euylles / her goodnes dothe delaye.
La femme replique.
¶Now the conclusyon / the woman thus began
These infamous men / with all theyr polecy
All noble women / wolde gladly defame
Were not our goodnes / excedynge theyr glory.
¶For Caym kylled Abell / his gentyll brother
And Iudas / Ruben his father dyd slay
Nero made open / his owne mother
To se the place / where that he lay
¶The men of Iury / made god to dye
Iudas scaryot hym solde / by false treason
And after hym selfe hanged / this is no lye
Wherfore styll in payne / his soule it doth won.
¶Chrystes Apostles / dyd hym denye
Men dyd hym crucefye / by great vyolence
And tyrans enraged / dyspyte fullye
Ten thousande / slewe of Innocence.
¶Also in a day / they dyd confounde
A .xi. thousande vyrgyns / vnto theyr deth
Some they heedyd / and some they drownde
Some they smolthered / and stopped theyr breth.
¶Men they had / peruerse courage
As ye may se / now euydently
To do vnto sayntes / suche oultrage
Without offence / and no cause why.
¶Men make warres / and dyscencyons
In euery place / as ye may se
Theftes / mordres / and traysons
Replete with all / iniquyte.
¶More men / there be in pryson
In chaynes bounde / for theyr offence
More women / come vnto sermon
To lerne goddys lawes / with dylygence.
¶Of euery man / in all degre
Mother and norces / women hath ben
Of all that are / and euer shalbe
Women haue fyrst thautorite clen.
¶Wherfore of vs / ye ought say well
For to myssay / ye can not wyn
And ye that hath no grace / goodnes to tell
To holde his peace / is best for hym.
¶Do ye say / of vs the best
Syns we ye kept / When ye were small
For of lytell medlynge / cometh moche rest
And god amende / the worst of vs all.
¶The auctor.
¶Of this argument / the hole entent
I marked it / effectually
And after I had herde / them at this discent
I presed towardes them / incontynently
But when they sawe me / aproche them to
Lest I wolde repreue / theyr argument
Full fast they fledde / then bothe me fro
That I ne wyst / whyther they went
Wherfore now to iudge / whiche is moost excellent
I admyt it / vnto this reders prudence
Whyther to man or woman / is more conuenyent
The laude to be gyuen / and wordly magnyfycence.
¶Finis.