Classic Poem

Good Counsel

Since through vertue encreaseth dignity,
And vertue flower and root is of noblay,
Of any weal or what estate thou be,
His steppis sew, and dread thee non effray:
Exile all vice, and follow truth alway:
Love most thy God, that first thy love began,
And for ilk inch he will thee quit a span.
Be not o'er proud in thy prosperity,
For, as it comes, so will it pass away;
Thy time to compt is short, thou may well see,
For of green grass soon cometh walowit hay.
Labour in truth while light is of the day.
Trust most in God, for he best guide thee can,
And for ilk inch he will thee quit a span.
Since word is thrall, and thought is only free,
Thou dant thy tongue that power has and may;
Thou steik thine een fra worldis vanity;
Refrain thy lust, and harken what I say;
Graip or thou slide, and creep forth on the way;
Keep thy behest unto thy God and man,
And for ilk inch he will thee quit a span.English