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Bot for men sein, and soth it is,
That who that al of wisdom writ
It dulleth ofte a mannes wit
To him that schal it aldai rede,
For thilke cause, if that ye rede,
I wolde go the middel weie
And wryte a bok betwen the tweie,
Somwhat of lust, somewhat of lore.

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More quotes by John Gower

He that well his warke beginneth
The rather a good ende he winneth.

A king may spille, a king may save;
A king may make of lorde a knave;
And of a knave a lorde also.

The beauté faye upon her face
Non erthly thing it may desface.

He that woll maister be,
He mot [must] be servant to pite.

Confessio Amantis (1390)

But in proverbe I have herde say,
That who that wel his werk beginneth,
The rather a good end he winneth.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: John Gower (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.