Part 11

"Ac now is Religion a rydere, A romere aboute, A ledere of love-dayes, And a lond-buggere, 6220 A prikere on a palfrey Fro manere to manere, An heepe of houndes at his ers As he a lord were. And but if his knave knele That shal his coppe brynge, He loureth on hym, and asketh hym Who taughte hym curteisie.

"Litel hadde lordes to doon, {192} To gyve lond from hire heires 6230 To religiouse, that han no routhe, Though it reyne on hir auters.

"In many places ther thei ben persons, By hemself at ese Of the povere have thei no pité; And that is hir charité. Ac thei leten hem as lordes Hire londes lyen so brode.

"Ac ther shal come a kyng, And confesse yow religiouses, 6240 And bete yow as the Bible telleth For brekynge of youre rule; And amende monyals, Monkes and chanons, And puten to hir penaunce _Ad pristinum statum ire_; And barons with erles beten hem, Thorugh _Beatus-virres_ techyng, That hir barnes claymen And blame yow foule. 6250 _Hi in curribus et hi in equis ipsi obligati sunt, etc._

"And thanne freres in hir fraytour Shul fynden a keye Of Costantyns cofres, In which is the catel That Gregories god-children Han yvele despended.

"And thanne shal the abbot of Abyngdone = And al his issue for evere, 6261 Have a knok of a kyng, And incurable the wounde. {193}

"That this worth sooth, seke ye That ofte over-se the Bible: _Quomodo cessavit exactor, quievit tributum, contrivit Dominus baculum impiorum et virgam dominantium cædentium plaga insanabili._ 6270

"Ac er that kyng come, Caym shal awake. But Do-wel shal dyngen hym adoun, And destruye his myghte."

"Thanne is Do-wel and Do-bet," quod I, "_Dominus_ and knyghthode."

"I nel noght scorne," quod Scripture, "But if scryveynes lye; Kynghod ne knyghthod, By noght I kan a-wayte, 6280 Helpeth noght to hevene-ward Oone heris ende; Ne richesse right noght, Ne reautee of lordes. Poul preveth it impossible Riche men to have hevene. Salomon seith also That silver is worst to lovye: _Nihil iniquius quam amare pecuniam._ 6290 And Caton kenneth us to coveiten it Naught but as nede techeth, _Dilige denarium, sed parce dilige formam._ = And patriarkes and prophetes, And poetes bothe, Writen to wissen us {194} To wilne no richesse, And preiseden poverte with pacience; The apostles bereth witnesse 6300 That thei han eritage in hevene, And by trewe righte; Ther riche men no right may cleyme, But of ruthe and grace."

"_Contra_," quod I, "by Crist! That kan I repreve, And preven it by Peter, And by Poul bothe, That is baptized beth saaf, Be he riche or povere." 6310

"That is _in extremis_," quod Scripture, "Amonges Sarzens and Jewes, They mowen be saved so, And that is oure bileve, That an un-cristene in that caas May cristen an hethen; And for his lele bileve, Whan he the lif tyneth, Have the heritage of hevene As any man cristene. 6320

"Ac cristene men withoute moore Maye noght come to hevene; For that Crist for cristene men Deide and confermed the lawe, That who so wolde and wilneth With Crist to arise, _Si cum Christo surexistis, etc._ He sholde lovye and leve, And the lawe fulfille. That is, love thi lord God 6330 Levest aboven alle; {195} And after, alle cristene creatures In commune, ech man oother; And thus bi-longeth to lovye, That leveth be saved. And but we do thus in dede, At the day of dome It shal bi-sitten us ful soure The silver that we kepen; And oure bakkes that mothe-eten be, 6340 And seen beggeris go naked; Or delit in wyn and wilde fowel, And wite any in defaute. For every cristene creature Sholde be kynde til oother, And sithen hethen to helpe, In hope of amendement.

"God hoteth heighe and lowe That no man hurte oother; And seith, 'Slee noght that semblable is 6350 To myn owene liknesse, But if I sende thee som tokene;' And seith '_Non moechaberis_. Is slee noght, but suffre, And al for the beste; For I shal punysshe hem in purgatorie Or in the put of helle, Ech man for hise mysdedes, But mercy it lette.'"

"This is a long lesson," quod I, 6360 "And litel am I the wiser; Where Do-wel is or Do-bet, Derkliche ye shewen. Manye tales ye tellen {196} That Theologie lerneth; And that I man maad was, And my name y-entred In the legende of lif Longe er I were, Or ellis un-writen for som wikkednesse, 6370 As Holy Writ witnesseth: _Nemo ascendit ad coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit._

"I leve it wel," quod I, "by oure Lord! And on no lettrure bettre. For Salomon the sage, That Sapience taughte, God gat hym grace of wit, And alle hise goodes after; He demed wel and wisely, 6380 As Holy Writ telleth. Aristotle and he, Who wissed men bettre? Maistres that of Goddes mercy Techen men and prechen, Of hir wordes thei wissen us For wisest as in hir tyme, And al holy chirche Holdeth hem bothe y-dampned.

"And if I sholde werche by hir werkes 6390 To wynne me hevene, That for hir werkes and wit Now wonyeth in pyne, Thanne wroughe I un-wisly, What so evere ye preche.

"Ac of fele witty, in feith, Litel ferly I have, Though hir goost be un-gracious {197} God for to plese. For many men on this moolde 6400 Moore setten hir hertes In good than in God; For-thi hem grace failleth At hir mooste meschief, Whan thei shal lif lete. As Salomon dide, and swiche othere That shewed grete wittes; Ac hir werkes, as holy writ seith, Were evere the contrarie. For-thi wise witted men, 6410 And wel y-lettrede clerkes, As thei seyen hemself, Selde doon therafter. _Super cathedra Moysi, etc._

"Ac I wene it worth of manye, As was in Noes tyme, Tho he shoop that shipe Of shides and of bordes; Was nevere wrighte saved that wroghte theron, = Ne oothir werkman ellis, 6421 But briddes, and beestes, And the blissed Noe, And his wif with hise sones, And also hire wyves; Of wightes that it wroghte Was noon of hem y-saved.

"God leve it fare noght so bi folk That the feith techeth Of holi chirche, that herberwe is, 6430 And Goddes hous to save, And shilden us from shame therinne, {198} As Noes ship dide beestes; And men that maden it A-mydde the flood a-dreynten. The culorum of this clause Curatours is to mene, That ben carpenters holy kirk to make For Cristes owene beestes: _Homines et jumenta salvabis, Domine, etc._ =

"On Good Friday I fynde 6442 A felon was y-saved, That hadde lyved al his lif With lesynges and with thefte; And for he beknede to the cros, And to Crist shrof him, He was sonner y-saved Than seint Johan the Baptist; And or Adam or Ysaye, 6450 Or any of the prophetes, That hadde y-leyen with Lucifer Many longe yeres, A robbere was y-raunsoned Rather than thei alle, Withouten any penaunce of purgatorie, To perpetuel blisse.

"Than Marie Maudeleyne What womman dide werse? Or who worse than David, 6460 That Uries deeth conspired? Or Poul the apostle, That no pité hadde Muche cristene kynde To kille to dethe? And now ben thise as sovereyns With seintes in hevene, {199} Tho that wroughte wikkedlokest In world tho thei were. And tho that wisely wordeden, 6470 And writen manye bokes Of wit and of wisedom, With dampned soules wonye. That Salomon seith, I trowe be sooth And certein of us alle: _Sunt justi atque sapientes et opera eorum in manu Dei sunt, etc._

"Ther are witty and wel libbynge, Ac hire werkes ben y-hudde In the hondes of almyghty God, 6480 And he woot the sothe, Wherfore a man worth allowed there, And hise lele werkes, Or ellis for his yvel wille, And for envye of herte, And be allowed as he lyved so; For by the luthere men knoweth the goode.

"And wherby wiste men which were whit, If alle thyng blak were? And who were a good man, 6490 But if ther were som sherewe? For-thi lyve we forth with othere men, I leve fewe ben goode; For _quant_ oportet _vient en place_, _Il n'y ad que_ pati. And he that may al amende, Have mercy on us alle! For sothest word that ever God seide Was tho he seide _Nemo bonus_.

"Clergie tho of Cristes mouth 6500 Comended was it litel; {200} For he seide to seint Peter, And to swiche as he lovede, _Cum steteritis ante reges et præsides, etc._ = Though ye come bifore kynges And clerkes of the lawe, Beth noght abasshed, For I shal be in youre mouthes, And gyve yow wit and wille, 6510 And konnyng to conclude Hem alle that ayeins yow Of Cristendom disputen.

"David maketh mencion, He spak amonges kynges, And myghte no kyng over-comen hym As by konnynge of speche, But wit and wisedom Wan nevere the maistrie, Whan man was at meschief, 6520 Withoute the moore grace.

"The doughtieste doctour And devinour of the Trinitee Was Austyn the olde, And heighest of the foure, Seide thus in a sermon, I seigh it writen ones: _Ecce ipsi idiotæ vi rapiunt coelum, ubi nos sapientes in inferno mergimur._ 6530

"And is to mene to men, Moore ne lesse, Arn none rather y-ravysshed Fro the righte bileve, Than are thise konnynge clerkes That konne manye bokes. {201}

"Ne none sonner saved, Ne sadder of bileve, Than plowmen and pastours, And othere commune laborers; 6540 Souteres and shepherdes, And othere lewed juttes, Percen with a pater-noster The paleys of hevene, And passen purgatorie penaunce-lees At her hennes partyng Into the blisse of paradis, For hir pure bileve, That imparfitly here knewe, And ek lyvede. 6550

"Ye men knowe clerkes, That han corsed the tyme That evere thei kouthe or knewe moore Than _Credo in Deum patrem_; And principally hir pater-noster Many a persone hath wisshed.

"I se ensamples myself, And so may manye othere, That servauntz that serven lordes Selde fallen in arerage, 6560 And tho that kepen the lordes catel, Clerkes and reves.

"Right so lewed men, And of litel knowyng, Selden falle thei so foule And so fer in synne, As clerkes of holy chirche That kepen Cristes tresor, The which is mannes soule to save, As God seith in the Gospel: _Ite vos in vineam meam._" 6571

* * * * *

{202}

_Passus Undecimus._

Thanne Scripture scorned me 6572 And a skile tolde, And lakked me in Latyn, And light by me she sette, And seide "_Multi multa sciunt Et seipsos nesciunt._"

Tho wepte I for wo And wrathe of hir speche; And in a wynkynge wrathe 6580 Weex I a-slepe. A merveillous metels Mette me thanne, That I was ravysshed right there, And Fortune me fette, And into the lond of longynge Allone she me broughte, And in a mirour that highte middel-erthe She made me to biholde. "Sone," she seide to me, 6590 "Here myghtow se wondres, And knowe that thow coveitest, And come therto, peraunter."

Thanne hadde Fortune folwynge hire Two faire damyseles; {203} _Concupiscentia-carnis_ Men called the elder mayde, And Coveitise-of-eighes Y-called was that oother. Pride-of-parfit-lyvynge 6600 Pursued hem bothe, And bad me for my contenaunce Acounten Clergie lighte.

_Concupiscentia-carnis_ Colled me aboute the nekke, And seide, "Thow art yong and yeepe, And hast yeres y-nowe For to lyve longe, And ladies to lovye; And in this mirour thow myght se 6610 Myghtes ful manye, That leden thee wole to likynge Al thi lif tyme."

The secounde seide the same, "I shal sewe thi wille; Til thow be a lord and have lond, Leten thee I nelle, That I ne shal folwe thi felawshipe, If Fortune it like." "He shal fynde me his frend," 6620 Quod Fortune therafter; "The freke that folwede my wille Failled nevere blisse."

Thanne was ther oon that highte Elde, That hevy was of chere; "Man," quod he, "if I mete with thee, By Marie of hevene! Thow shalt fynde Fortune thee faille At thi mooste nede, {204} And _Concupiscentia-carnis_ 6630 Clene thee forsake. Bittrely shaltow banne thanne Bothe dayes and nyghtes Coveitise-of-eighe, That evere thow hir knewe, And Pride-of-parfit-lyvynge To muche peril thee brynge."

"Ye, recche thee nevere," quod Rechelesnesse, Stood forthe in raggede clothes, "Folwe forth that Fortune wole, 6640 Thow hast wel fer til Elde; A man may stoupe tyme y-nogh, Whan he shal tyne the crowne.

"_Homo proponit_ quod a poete, And Plato he highte, And _Deus disponit_ quod he, Lat God doon his wille. If Truthe wol witnesse it be wel do Fortune to folwe, _Concupiscentia-carnis_, 6650 Ne Coveitise-of-eighes, Ne shal noght greve thee gretly, Ne bigile, but if thow wolt thiselve."

"Ye, fare wel Phippe and Faunteltee," And forth gan me drawe, Til _Concupiscentia-carnis_ Acorded alle my werkes.

"Alas! eighe," quod Elde And Holynesse bothe, "That wit shal torne to wrecchednesse, 6660 For wil to have his likyng."

Coveitise-of-eighes {205} Conforted me anoon after, And folwed me fourty wynter And a fifte moore, That of Do-wel ne Do-bet Ne deyntee me thoughte. I hadde no likyng, leve me if thee list, Of hem ought to knowe. Coveitise-of-eighes 6670 Com ofter in mynde Than Do-wel or Do-bet, Among my dedes alle.

Coveitise-of-eighes Conforted me ofte, And seide, "Have no conscience How thow come to goode. Go confesse thee to som frere, And shewe hym thi synnes; For whiles Fortune is thi frend 6680 Freres wol thee lovye, And fecche thee to hir fraternitee, And for the biseke To hir priour provincial A pardon for to have, And preien for thee pol by pol, If thow be _pecuniosus_." _Sed poena pecuniaria non sufficit pro spiritualibus delictis._

By wissynge of this wenche I wroughte, 6690 Hir wordes were so swete, Til I for-yat youthe, And yarn into elde.

And thanne was Fortune my foo, For al hir faire speche; {206} And poverte pursued me, And putte me lowe.

And tho fond I the frere a-fered, And flittynge bothe Ayeins oure firste for-warde; 6700 For I seide I nolde Be buried at hire hous, But at my parisshe chirche. For I herde ones How Conscience it tolde, That there a man were cristned Be kynde he sholde be buryed; Or where he were parisshen, Right there he sholde be graven. And for I seide thus to freres, 6710 A fool thei me helden, And loved me the lasse For my lele speche.

Ac yet I cryde on my confessour, That heeld hymself so konnyng; "By my feith! frere," quod I, "Ye faren lik thise woweris That wedde none widwes But for to welden hir goodes. Right so, by the roode! 6720 Roughte ye nevere Where my body were buryed, By so ye hadde my silver.

"Ich have muche merveille of yow, And so hath many another, Whi youre covent coveiteth To confesse and to burye, Rather than to baptize barnes That ben catecumelynges. {207} Baptizynge and buryinge 6730 Bothe beth ful nedefulle; Ac muche moore meritorie, Me thynketh it is to baptize. For a baptized man may, As thise maistres telleth, Thorugh contricion come To the heighe hevene. _Sola contritio, etc._ Ac barn withouten bapteme May noght so be saved. 6740 _Nisi quis renatus fuerit._ Loke ye, lettred men, Wheither I lye or do noght." And Lewté loked on me, And I loured after.

"Wherfore lourestow?" quod Lewtee, And loked on me harde.

"If I dorste," quod I, "amonges men This metels avowe!"

"Yis, by Peter and by Poul!" quod he, 6750 And took hem bothe to witnesse. "_Non oderis fratres secrete in corde tuo, sed publice argue illos._"

"They wole aleggen also," quod I, "And by the Gospel preven: _Nolite judicare quemquam._"

"And wherof serveth lawe?" quod Lewtee, "If no lif undertoke it, Falsnesse ne faiterie, For som what the apostle seide, 6760 _Non oderis fratrem._ {208} And in the Sauter also Seith David the prophete, _Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis, etc._ =

"It is _licitum_ for lewed men To sigge the sothe, If hem liketh and lest, Ech a lawe it graunteth; Excepte persons and preestes, 6770 And prelates of holy chirche, It falleth noght for that folk No tales to telle, Though the tale be trewe, And it touche synne.

"Thyng that al the world woot, Wherfore sholdestow spare To reden it in retorik To a-rate dedly synne? Ac be nevere moore the firste 6780 Defaute to blame; Though thow se yvel, seye it noght first, Be sory it nere amended. No thyng that is pryvé, Publice thow it nevere; Neither for love preise it noght, Ne lakke it for envye. _Parum lauda, vitupera parcius._"

"He seith sooth," quod Scripture tho, And skipte an heigh, and preched. 6790 Ac the matere that she meved, If lewed men it knewe, The lasse, as I leve, Lovyen it thei wolde. {209}

This was hir teme and hir text, I took ful good hede; _Multi_ to a mangerie And to the mete were sompned; And whan the peple was plener comen, The porter unpynned the yate, 6800 And plukked in _Pauci_ pryveliche, And leet the remenaunt go rome.

Al for tene of hir text Trembled myn herte; And in a weer gan I wexe, And with myself to dispute Wheither I were chosen or noght chosen. On holi chirche I thoughte, That under-fonged me atte font For oon of Goddes chosene. 6810 For Crist cleped us alle, Come if we wolde, Sarzens and scismatikes, And so he dide the Jewes. _O vos omnes sitientes, venite, etc._ And bad hem souke for synne Safly at his breste, And drynke boote for bale, Brouke it who so myghte.

"Thanne may alle cristene come, quod I," = "And cleyme there entree 6822 By the blood that he boughte us with And thorugh bapteme after. _Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit, etc._ = {210} For though a cristen man coveited His cristendom to reneye, Rightfully to reneye No reson it wolde. 6830

"For may no cherl chartre make, Ne his catel selle, Withouten leve of his lord; No lawe wol it graunte. Ac he may renne in arerage, And rome so fro home, And as a reneyed caytif Recchelesly rennen aboute. And Reson shal rekene with hym, And casten hym in arerage, 6840 And putten hym after in a prison In purgatorie to brenne, For hise arerages rewarden hym there To the day of dome; But if Contricion wol come, And crye, by his lyve, Mercy for hise mysdedes, With mouthe and with herte,"

"That is sooth," seide Scripture; "May no synne lette 6850 Mercy al to amende, And mekenesse hir folwe. For thei beth, as oure bokes telleth, Above Goddes werkes." _Misericordia ejus super omnia opera ejus._ =

"Ye, baw for bokes," quod oon Was broken out of helle, Highte Trojanus, hadde ben a trewe knyght, Took witnesse at a pope, 6860 {211} How he was ded and dampned To dwellen in pyne, For an uncristene creature; "Clerkes wite the sothe, That al the clergie under Crist Ne myghte me cracche fro helle, But oonliche love and leautee, And my laweful domes.

"Gregorie wiste this wel, And wilned to my soule 6870 Savacion for soothnesse That he seigh in my werkes; And after that he wepte, And wilned me were graunted Grace; withouten any bene biddyng His boone was under-fongen, And I saved, as ye see, Withouten syngynge of masses. By love and by lernyng Of my lyvynge, in truthe, 6880 Broughte me fro bitter peyne Ther no biddyng myghte."

Lo! ye lordes, what leautee dide By an emperour of Rome, That was an uncristene creature, As clerkes fyndeth in bokes. Nought thorugh preiere of a pope, But for his pure truthe, Was that Sarsen saved. As seint Gregorie bereth witnesse. 6890

Wel oughte ye, lordes, that lawes kepe, This lesson to have in mynde, And on Trojanus truthe to thenke, {212} And do truthe to the peple. "Lawe, withouten love," quod Trojanus, "Ley ther a bene, Or any science under sonne, The sevene artz and alle, But thei ben lerned for oure Lordes love, Lost is al the tyme;" 6900 For no cause to cacche silver therby, Ne to be called a maister, But al for love of oure Lord, And the bet to love the peple, For seint Johan seide it, And sothe arn hise wordes. _Qui non diligit, manet in morte._

Who so loveth noght, leve me, He lyveth in deep deyinge; And that alle manere men, 6910 Enemyes and frendes, Love hir eyther oother, And leve hem, as hemselve, Who so leveth noght, he loveth noght, God woot the sothe! Crist comaundeth ech a creature To conformen hym to lovye, And sovereynly the povere peple, And hir enemyes after. For hem that haten us 6920 Is oure merite to lovye, And povere peple to plese, Hir preieres maye us helpe. And oure joye and oure heele Jhesu Crist of hevene In a povere mannes apparaille Pursued us evere; {213} And loketh on us in hir liknesse, And that with lovely chere, To knowen us by oure kynde herte 6930 And castynge of oure eighen, Wheither we love the lordes here Bifore the Lord of blisse; And exciteth us by the Euvangelie That whan we maken festes, We sholde noght clepe oure kyn therto, Ne none kynnes riche. _Cum facitis convivia, nolite invitare amicos._ = "Ac calleth the carefulle therto, 6940 The croked and the povere. For youre frendes wol feden yow, And fonde yow to quyte Youre festynge and youre faire gifte; Ech frend quyteth so oother.

"Ac for the povere I shal paie, And pure wel quyte hir travaille, That gyveth hem mete or moneie, Or loveth hem for my sake." For the beste ben som riche, 6950 And some beggeres and povere. For alle are we Cristes creatures, And of his cofres riche, And bretheren as of oo blood, As wel beggeres as erles. For on Calvarie of Cristes blood Cristendom gan sprynge, And blody bretheren we bicomen there Of o body y-wonne, As _quasi modo geniti_, 6960 And gentil-men echone; {214} No beggere ne boye amonges us, But if it synne made. _Qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati._

"In the olde lawe, As holy lettre telleth, Mennes sones Men callen us echone, Of Adames issue and Eve, Ay til God man deide; 6970 And after his resurexcion _Redemptor_ was his name, And we hise bretheren thorugh hym y-brought, Bothe riche and povere.

"For-thi love we as leve bretheren, And ech man laughe of oother; And of that ech man may forbere Amende there it nedeth; And every man helpe oother, For hennes shul we alle. 6980 _Alter alterius onera portate._

"And be we noght un-kynde of oure catel, = Ne of oure konnyng neither. For woot no man how neigh it is To ben y-nome fro bothe. For-thi lakke no lif oother, Though he moore Latyn knowe; Ne under-nyme noght foule; For is noon withoute defaute. 6990 For what evere clerkes carpe Of cristendom or ellis, Crist to a commune womman seide, In commune at a feste, {215} That _fides sua_ sholde saven hire, And salven hire of synnes.

"Thanne is bileve a lele help, Above logyk or lawe. Of logyk or of lawe In _Legenda Sanctorum_ 7000 Is litel alowaunce maad, But if bileve hem helpe. For it is over longe er logyk Any lesson assoille; And lawe is looth to lovye, But if he lacche silver. Bothe logyk and lawe, That loveth noght to lye, I conseille alle cristene Clyve noght theron to soore; 7010 For some wordes I fynde writen, That were of feithes techyng, That saved synful men, As seint Johan bereth witnesse. _Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis._

"For-thi lerne we the lawe of love, As oure Lord taughte, And as seint Gregorie seide For mannes soule helthe: 7020 _Melius est scrutari scelera nostra, quam naturas rerum._