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This fifth chapitre of the thirde book treteh of phisiciens spicers and Apotyquarys.
The paw[=o]n that is sette to fore the quene signefyeth the phisicyen/ spicer and Apotyquaire/ and is formed in the figure of a man/ And he is sette in a chayer as a maystre and holdeth in his right hand a book/ And an ample or a boxe wyth oynementis in his lyft hand/ And at his gurdell his Instrumentis of yron and of siluer for to make Incysions and to serche woundes and hurtes/ and to cutte apostumes/ And by thyse thynges ben knowen the cyrurgyens/ By the book ben vnderstanden the phisicyens/ and alle gramaryens. logicyens/ maistres of lawe. of Geometrye. Arismetryque. musique and of astronomye/ And by the ampole/ ben signefyed the makers of pigmentaries spicers and apotiquayres/ and they that make confections and confytes and medecynes made wyth precyous spyces And by the ferremens and Intrumentis that hangen on the gurdell ben signefied the cyrurgyens & the maistres And knowe y’e for certain that a maystre & phisicyen ought to knowe the proporcions of lettres of gramayre/ the monemens the conclusions and the sophyms of logyque. the gracio’9 speche and vtterance of rethorique/ the mesures of the houres and dayes/ and of the cours and astronomye/ the nombre of arsmetryk/ & the Ioyous songes of musyque And of all thyse tofore named/ the maistres of rethorique ben the chyef maistres in speculatyf/ And the two laste that ben practisiens and werkers ben callyd phisicyens and cyrurgyens/ how well they ben sage and curyous in thyse sciences/ And how well that mannes lyf is otherwhile put in thordonance of the phisicyen or cyrurgyen/ yf he haue not sagesse and wysedom in hym self of dyuerce wrytynges and is not expert/ And medlyth hym in the craft of phisique/ He ought better be callyd a slear of peple than a phisicyen or cyrurgyen. For he may not be a maystre but yf he be seure and expert in the craft of phisike that he sle not moo than he cureth and maketh hoole/ And therfore sayth Auycenne in an Enphormye/ yf thou curest the seke man. And knowest not the cause/ wherof the maladye ought to be cured/ Hit ought to be sayd that thou hast cured hym by fortune and happe more than by ony comynge. And in alle thyse maner of peple/ Ther ought to be meurte of good maners/ Curtoysie of wordes/ Chastite of the body promysse of helthe/ And as to them that ben seke contynuell visitacion of them/ And they ought to enquere the cause of theyr sekenessis and the sygnes and tokens of theyr maladyes/ As is rehercid in the bookes of the au[ct]ours by ryght grete diligence/ And specially in the bookes of ypocras galyene and of Auycene And whan many maysters and phisicyens ben assemblid to fore the pacyent or seke man/ They ought not there to argue and dispute one agaynst an other/ But they ought to make good and symple colacion to geder. In suche wyse as they be not seen in theyr desputynge one agaynst an other/ for to encroche and gete more glorye of the world