¶ The vision of Pierce Ploughman, now the second time imprinted by Roberte Crowlye dwelling in Elye rents in Holborn Whereunto are added certain notes and cotations in the mergyne, giving light to the Reader. And in the beginning is set a brief sum of all the principal matters spoken of in the book. And as the book is divided into twenty parts called Passus: so is the Summary divided, for every part his summary, rehearsing the matters spoken of in every part. even in such order as they stand there. ¶ Imprinted at London by Roberte Crowley, dwelling in Elye rents in Holborn, The year of our Lord, M.D.L, ¶ Come privilegio ad imprimendum solum. ❧ The printer to the Reader. Being desirous to know the name of the author of this most worthy work. (gentle reader) and the time of the writing of the same: I did not only gather together such ancient compies as I could come by, but also consult such men as I knew to be more exercised in the study of antiquities, than I myself have been. And by some of them I have learned that the Autour was named Roberte langelande, a Shropshere man borne in Cleybirie, about viii. miles from Maluerne hills For the time when it was written, it chanced me to see an ancient copy, in the later end whereof was noted, that the same copy was written in the year of our Lord. M.iiii. C. and nine, which was before this present year, an hundred & xii, years. And in the second side of the lxviii leaf of this printed copy, I find mention of a dear year, that was in the year of our Lord M.iii hundred and. L. john Chichester than being mayre of London. So that this I may be bold to report, that it was first made and written after the year of our lord. M.iii C.L. and before the year. M, iiii. C. and. i● which mean space was lix years. We may justly con●ect therefore. the it was first written about two hundred years paste in the time of King Edward the third. In whose time it pleased God to open the eyes of many to see his truth, giving them boldness of heart, to open their mouths and cry out against the works of darkness, as did john Wickly●e, who also in those days translated the holy Bible into the English tongue, and this writer who in reporting certain visions and dreams, that he feigned himself to have dreamt, doth most christianly instruct the weak, and sharply rebuke the obstinate blind. There is no manner of vice, that reigneth in any estate of men, which this writer hath not godly, learnedly, and wittily, rebuked, He wrote altogether in mitre▪ but not after the manner of our rhymers that write now adays (for his verses end not alike) but the nature of his mitre is, to have three words at the least in every verse which begin with some one letter, As for ensample, the first two verses of the book run upon. ●. as thus. In a summer season when set was the Sun I shope me into shrobbes, as I a sheep were The next runnet upon. H. as thus. The Prologue Inhabit as an Hermit unholy of werekes. etc. This thing noted the metre shall be very pleasant to read. The English is according to the time it was written in, and the sense somewhat dark, but not so hard, but that it may be understand of such as will not stick to break the shell of the nut for the kernels sake. As for that is written in the xxxvi, leaf of this book concerning a dearth them to come, is spoken by the knowledge of astronomy as may well be gathered by that he saith, Saturn sent him to tell, And that which followeth and giveth it the face of a prophecy, is like to be a thing added by some other man than the first autour, For diverse copies have it diversly. For where the copy that I follow hath thus. And when you see the sun amiss, & three monks heads And a maid have the mastery, and multiply by eight, Some other have Three ships and a sheaf, with an eight following Shall bring bale and battle, on both half the moan Now for that which is written in the l, leaf, concernyngthe suppresson of abbeys, the Scripture there alleged, declareth it to be gathered of the just judgement of God, who-wyll not suffer abomination to reign unpunished. Look not upon this book therefore, to talk of wonders passed or to come but to emend thine own miss, which thou shalt find here most charitably rebuked The spirit of god give the grace to walk in the way of truth to God's glory, & thine own soul's health So be it, ¶ A brief sum of the principal points that be spoken of in this book. ⚜ The vision of Pierce Ploughman THe vision beginneth the first leaf, and continueth to the fourth, declaring first the diverse studies that men follow. Some give themselves to tillage. Some to be gallant Some to contemplation and straight life, Some to solitary life, Some to merchandise and all kind of buying and selling, Some to jesting, Some to begging, Some to wandering, as pilgrim, Hermit's, Friars, and Pardoners. Than it declareth the great wickedness of the bishops, that spareth not to hang their seals at every Pardoners proxes, and what shameful Simony reigneth in the church. next it declareth some what of the power and office of Kings and Princes, and than secretly in latin verses it rebuketh their cruelness and tyranny. Than under the parable of Rattons' and mice, it rebuketh the folly of the common people that cluster togethers in conspiracies against such as god hath called to office under their Prince, And here in it lamenteth the state of that realm, wherein the king is childish, & so every wicked man getteth rule under him. Finally it rebuketh the faults of men of law, and bishops, Barons, and burgesses, and to conclude of all artificers, And this part is as an argument to the whole book. ☞ The first part of this book, called Passus primus THe first part beginneth in the second side of the fourth leaf, and endeth in the last side of the seventh. And in the person of a woman whom it calleth holy church: it openeth the meaning of the Turret mentioned in the first leaf, Commands measure in all things. Forbiddeth excess by the example of Loath, willeth all men to pay tribute to their princes, and labour diligently for their living, Expoundeth the meaning of the dungeon, Declareth truth to be the best treasure, Praiseth charity, Telleth knights office, Telleth of Lucifer's fall, Exhorteth men to love and do as they would be done by, Declareth that works must spring out of our faith: and that if we be liberal to the poor, God will be liberal to us ¶ The second part called Passus secundus. The second part beginneth in the first side of the viii leaf, and endeth in the last side of the eleventh, And still under the name of holy church openeth abuses, And first it describeth Mede, and declareth her progeny. Telleth how she is married unto False, rehearseth the charter granted to that marriage, Telleth how the true preacher rebukith this marriage, telleth how Mede worketh all by bribes, Describeth the train that Mede rideth withal towards Westmynster, How Truth ran before secretly, & told the king of all, How False fleede for fear: and how he was received and entertained of merchants and many other sorts of men. ☞ The third part called Passus tertius, The third part beginneth in the last side of the eleventh leaf, and endeth in the first fyde of the xvii leaf. first it declareth how all estates do embrace Mede, What abuse was in Auricular confession The office of a Mayre, What harm ill vitelers do, What vengeance shall fall on them that take bribes, How the king goeth about to mary Mede to Conscience, For what cause Conscience refuseth her, How Mede maketh answer for herself, and rehearseth what she hath done and may do: how needful she is, so that no estate can be without her, How Conscience telleth the king of an other Mede, which Conscience alloweth What mischief the wicked meed hath wrought, What perfit state the world shall be in, in the time of renovation, and how scripture must be read whole. ¶ The fourth part, called Passus quartus, The fourth part beginneth in the first side of the xvii. leaf, and endeth in the first side of the twentieth, It declareth how the king willed Conscience to kiss Mede, How Conscience would have Reasons advise, How Conscience was sent in haste to fetch Reason, The manner of Reasons riding, What company followed him, How the king received Reason, How Peace complaineth upon Wrong, How Wit and Wisdom went about to bribe the king, How the king committed Wrong to prison, How Mede stopped pieces mouth, Reasons advise in punishing Wrong That lawyers should lead a field dung, How the king cheketh men of law, for taking bribes, And how reason taketh upon him to rule the realm. ☞ The fift part, called Passus quintus. The fift part beginneth in the last side of the twentieth leaf, and endeth in the last side of the xxx It declareth how Reason proveth that Pestilences come for sin, That due correction must be had, That abbeys should be suppressed, What is true Pilgrimage, What satisfaction men were wont to make, The works of Envy, How Envy repenteth How Wrath teacheth the Friars, That Gregory would not suffer women to hear confession, What manner of thing Covetise is, What restitution Covetous men use, That ill gotten goods, should be wickedly spent. That such as be Patteners in the ill gotten gods: shall also be partners in making restitution, What true repentance is, What a bishops charge is, What manner of men be common drounckardes What manner a thing, a drunken man is, And how he repenteth, What Sloth is, and how he repenteth How theft repenteth, How Repentance comforteth them all, That a great multitude went to seek Truth, That the ploughman is truths servant, That Pierce teacheth the way to truths house, Who is Truths portar, and what maidens Truth hath. ☞ The sext part called Passus sextus. The sixth part beginneth the first side of the xxxi leaf, and endeth in the first side of the xxxvi It declareth how women should be occupied, Who should defend the church of Christ, How knights should behave themselves, Who is Pierces wife, How Pierce maketh his testament. How sturdy beggars must be answered, How the wastoure fought with Pierce, How Pierce plained him to a knight, How Pierce prayed hunger to revenge him, What maketh loiterers work, How beggars may be made work Who suffer hunger, How hunger teacheth Pierce ploughman a diet, How poor folk feed hunger, And that there should shortly come an other dearth to punish such as were not content with enough. The seventh part called Passus septimus The seventh part beginneth in the first side of the xxxvi leaf, and endeth in the second side of the xxxix. It declareth what pardon is granted to the ploughman and his helpers, What Merchants should do, That men of law should take no money, how men should give alms, That patient Poverty hath like pardon with the plowmanne, How Pierce reasoned with a blind priest, How Daniel expoundeth the dreams, of Nabugodonosor, How jacob expounded joseph's dream, And that to trust for salvation in works, is but a vain thing The eight part, called Passus Octauus. The eight part beginneth in the last side of the xxxix. leaf, and endeth in the second side of the xli It declareth how Pierce went to seek Dowel, How he reproveth the Friars for saying that dowel dwelt with them, How the Friar proveth by a similitude, that a just man sinneth seven times a day, and saith his mind of free-will, How thought instructeth him of dowel, dobet, and dobest, And how wit (who will none excess) met with Pierce, Of whom Pierce desired to learn what Dowel, Dobet, and Dobest were. ¶ The ninth part, called Passus nonus The ninth part beginneth in the last side of the xli. leaf, and endeth in the first side of the xlv. It declareth that dowel dwelleth in man, whom he calleth a castle. That dowel is keeper thereof, and In wit Constable, That Inwyt hath five sons, What kind is, That God's might must work with his word, That the succurles should live upon the tithes. That marriage is an holy life, and aught to be between the godly, What great plagues fell on the world for that the godly married with the ungodly, What fruits spring of unmet marriages. That married folks should keep themselves clean, And that bastards prove wicked. ¶ The tenth part called Passus decimus. The tenth part beginneth in the first side of the xlv. leaf, and endeth in the second side of the lii It declareth what wife Wit hath, That men love riches better than wisdom, That counterfeit fools and jesters be rewarned, when true preachers go without reward, That clerks and noble men have God much in their mouths, but mean men have him in heart, That every man should give alms according to that he hath, That no man ought to search why god hath done or suffered things to be done, How men that be in office do use themselves, That Study teacheth the way to Clergy, and telleth what sciences she hath taught, That we should do good whylse we have time, How vain sciences be, What dowel, dobet, and dobest be, How Clergy rebuketh unlearned priests, The suppression of abbeys, That high degree nor riches helpeth not to heaven ward, but the biliefe in Christ, That according to the example of them that built noah's ship, many of the preachers shall not be saved, That penitent sinners be soneste saved, And that none do sonnet ere, than great clerks ¶ The eleventh part called Passus undecimus. The eleventh part beginneth in the first side of he liii leaf, and endeth in the second side of the lix It declareth that scripture would all men should first seek to know themselves, That Fortune with her damosels persuade man to live licentiously, That Age will cause them all to forsake him, That Friars covet to bury men for their goods, That many be called and few chosen, That the observation of the commandments of god is of value before god so it springe of love, How we should feast, That faith joined with charity, is most sovereign salve, That each man should bear with other, and search his own faults, That poverty is the best and surest life, That Priests neglect knowledge, How Nature teacheth man by the natural creatures, That man ought not to search why god doth or suffereth things, That all the lords Creatures be good, That our own fantisie deceiveth us, & shame is the thing that soonest driveth a drunkard from his vice. The twelve part, called Passus duodecimus. The twelve part beginneth in the last side of the lix. leaf, and endeth in the last side of thee, lxiiii. leaf. It declareth that GOD chastisith such as he loveth, That charity is dowel, That many talk well, but do the contrary, That true clergy is merciful, and aught to be loved, that the holy ghost is the author of books, That learned men may through their knowledge better eschew sin, than the unlearned men may That god only knoweth the causes of things, That rich men be like Pecockis, And that there be three sorts of Baptism. The thirteenth part, called Passus decimus tertius. The thirteenth part beginneth on the last side of the lxiiii leaf, and endeth in the first side of the lxxi leaf. It rehearseth much that was spoken before, declareth the excess of the Clergy. That Clergy hath vii sons, That Clergy hath neither conscience nor Patience, That Patience passeth a pack of books, That the Ploughman findeth us bread, What faults reign in labouring men, And what a wordling is. The fourteenth part, called Passus decimus quartus. The fourteenth part beginneth in the first side of the lxxi, and endeth in the first side of the leaf lxxvii It declareth how the labouring man, excuseth himself of his sin, That god provideth food for all his creatures, That Idleness is cause of sin, That satisfaction killeth sin, that all men have joy here or else where, That the merciful rich shall have heaven What a christian man's patent is, How blessed a life poverty is, And that Patience feedeth poverty. ☞ The fifteenth part, called Passus decimus quintus. The xu part beginneth in the first side of the leaf lxxvii. and endeth in the last side of the leaf lxxxvi It declareth what the soul is, And how of diverse offices it hath diverse names, That we should not search gods secrets, The preachers duty, What shall become of evil gotten goods, The true pilgrimage, What compeny charity haunteth, That we should take no gifts of wicked men, That it is sacrilege to spend the tithes otherwise than upon the poor. That no course is certain, When and how Makometes law began, That the Apostles turned all the world to the faith, That children differ not from wild beasts, till they be instructed in Christ, That covetise of the clergy will destroy the church, That possession poisoned the church, What the bishop's duty is, And that Christ was declared by his miracles to be Messiah. ¶ The syxtenth part called Passus decimus sextus. The xvi part beginneth in the last side of the leaf lxxxvi. & endeth in the first side of the leaf. lxxxxi. It describeth charity, Declareth the Christ delivered man out of the thralled me of sin, The manner of the betraying of Christ, What the Trinity is, and the faith of Abraham. The seventeenth part, called Passus decimus septimus. The seventeenth part beginneth in the first side of the leaf. lxxxxi. and endeth in the last side of the leaf. lxxxxvi. It declareth the old law to be abrogate That Christ the Samaritan hath delivered us, and given us a new law, Christ's resurrection, That the Trinity is like an hand, The holy ghost by similitudes, That a good man is like a torch, And three things that drive a man out of his house. The eyghtenthe part, called Passus decimus octauus. The xviii part beginneth in the last side of the leaf. lxxxxvi. and endeth in the last side of the leaf, Ciii. It declareth Christ's coming into jerusalem His judgement and death, That god curseth usurers That Christ triumphed ever death and hell, That wealth is known by woe, and like of all other contraries, How Christ vanquiseth Lucifer, How Christ satisfied the law, And that god is merciful. ☞ The nyntenthe part called Passus decimus nonus. The nintenth part beginneth in the last side of the leaf. Ciii. and endeth in the last side of the leaf Cxi. It declareth Christ's victory, The gifts that the three kings gave him, That Christ is showed to be god by his miracles, Why Christ appeared first to a woman, What Pierces pardon is, The gifts of the holy ghost, Pierces office, his oxen & his seed that he soweth, That justice leaveth no sin unpunished The foundation of the church, That pride envieth the church, How to withstand pride, Who they be that never repent, How lucre causeth men to forsake the truth The answer of a blind curate, How the ploughman followeth the example of god, And what Land lords and kings may take of their tenants & subjects The twentieth part, called Passus visecimus. The twentieth part beginneth in the last side of the leaf. Cxi. and endeth in the last leaf of the book It declareth what a man may do when need compelleth him, That temperance is the chief virtue, Who received Antichrist first, How Antichrist doth seduce many good men, The manner of god's visitation The manner of men when plagues cease That covetise and simony make prelates, That Life & Fortune beget Sloth, That Sloth marrieth despair, That Age killeth both physician & surgeon, That Nature would have us to love, That the vii capital sins besieged Conscience. The answer of an irish priest, That Curates ought to have a compotent living certain That Friars have no numbered, That such as went to the Friars to shrift, be like sanctuary men, That Hypocrisy woundeth many preachers, The negligence of patrons and bishops. And what penauce ghostly fathers were wont to enjoy their ghostly children Finis. IN a summer season, when set was the sun I shope me into shroubs, as I a sheep were In habit as an harmet, unholy of works Went wide in this world, wonders to here And on a May morning, on Maluerne hills Me befell a ferly, of fairy me thought, I was weary of wandering, and went me to rest Under a broad bank by a bourn side And as I lay and leanid, and looked on the water I slumbered into a sleeping, it swyzed so merry. Than 'gan I to meeten, a marvelous swiven That I was in a wilderness, I wist never where. As I beheld into theast, on high to the sun I saw a tower on a toft, trychlych ymaked A deep dale beneath, a dungeon therein With deep ditches and dark, and dreaful of sight A fair field full of folk, found I there between Of all manner men, the mean and the rich Werking and wandering, as the world asketh Some put 'em to the plough, pleiden full seld In setting and sowing, swonken full hard And wonnen that wasters, with gluttony destroyen And some put 'em to pride, apparelled thereafter In countenance of clothing, commonly disgisid In prayers and penance, putten hem many In hope to have after, heaventich bliss And for the love of our lord, livyden full hard As Ankers and Hermit's, that hold 'em in her sells And coveten nought in contrei, to carien about For no liquorous livelihood, her likam to please And some chosen chaffer, they cheveden the better As it seemeth to our sight, that such do thriven And some mirths to make, as minstrels cunneth And gotten gold with her glee, sinless I leave As japers and janglers judas children Feigneth 'em fantasies, Common jestas. and fool's hem maketh And han her wit at will, to work if they should That Paul preacheth of 'em I nil not prove it here Qu● loqiurut turpiloqutum etc. Is Lucifer's knave Bydders and beggars, fast about go With her bealies & her bags, of bread full crammed Faitenden for her food, fought at the ale In gluttony Godwote, gone they to bed And rise with rebaudry, as Rebertes knaves sleep and sorry sloth, sueeth 'em ever Pylgraimes & Palmers, pilgrims. plight 'em togethers For to seek. S. james, and saints at Rome They went forth their way, with many wise tales And had leave to lie all her life after. I see some that said, they had sought saints To each a tale that they told, her tongue was tempered to lie More then to say sooth, it seemed by her speech. Hermit's on a heap, Hermes. with hooked staves Wenten to Walsingham, & her wenches after. Great loubies and long, that loath were to swink Clothed 'em in copes, to be known from other And shopen him hermit's, her ease to have, Friars. I found there fryres, all the four orders Preached to the people, for profit of themselves Glossed the gospel, as hem good liked For covetous of copes, construe it as they would Many of these master f●iers, might clothe hem at liking For her money & her merchandise marchen togethers. For sith charity was chap man, & chief to shrive lords Many ferleiss have fallen, in few years, But holy church and they, hold better together The most mischief on mould, is mounting well fast There preached a pardoner, as he a priest were Brought forth a bull with many bishop's seals And said that himself, Pardonars. might absolve 'em all Of falsehood and of fasting, and of vows broken. Lewd men lived him well: and liked his words comen up kneeling, to kiss his bulls He bouched 'em with his brevet, and bleared her eyes And reached with his ragman, both rings & broochs Thus they give their gold, g●otons to keep And leaneth it to such losels, as lichery haunteth Were the bishop blessed, and worth both his ears His seal should not be sent, to deceive the people And it is nought by the bishop, that the boy preacheth For the parish priest & the pardoner, part the silver. That the poverti of the parish, should have if they ne were People & her priests: plained hem to the bishop That her parishes were poor, sithen the pestilence time To have a licence and leave, at London to dwell To sing there for Simony for silver is sweet, Bishops and Bachelors, both masters and doctors That have cure under Christ, and crowning in token And sign that they should shrive her parishinges Preach and pray for 'em, and the poor fede, Lie at London, in lenten and else Some serven the king and his silver tell In chekec and in chancery, challenge his debts. Of wards & warmottes of wayves and statues: And some serven as seraunes, to lords and to ladies And in stead of stewerdes, sit and demen. Her masses and her matins, and many of her hours Are done undevoutly, dread is at the last Lest Christ in consistory, accursse full many I perceived of the power, that Peter had to keep To binden and unbinden, as the book telleth: How he left it with love, as our lord height amongs four vertuis, the best of all virtues That Cardinals been called, and closing yates There Christ is in kingdom, to close and to shit And to open it to him, and heavens bliss show And of Cardinals at court, that caught of that name And power presumid, in 'em a Pope to make To have that power that Peter had, impugn Inel For in love and in lecture, the election belongeth Forty I can, and cannot, of court speak more. Then came there a king, knighthood him led: Might of the commons, made him to reign And than came kind wit, and clerks he made For to council the king, and the commons save The king and knighthood, and clergy both Casten that the commons, should hem selves find The commons contrived, of kind wit crafts And for profit of all the people plowmen ordained To till and to travel, as true life asketh. The king and the commons, and kind wit the third Shopen law & leauti, every man to know his own. Then looked up a Lunatic, a leave thing with all And kneeling to the king, clergially he said Christ keep the sir king, and thy king rich And leave the lead thy loud, so lenty the loveth And for thy rightful ruling, be rewarded in heaven And sithen in the air on height, an angel of heaven Loud to speak in latin, for lewd men ne could jangle ne judge, that justify 'em should But suffren and serven, forty said the angel. Sum Rex, sum Princeps, neutrum fortasse demceps. O qui jura regis, Christi specialia regis, Hoc quo agas melius, justus es, esto Pius. Nudum Ius a te, vestiri vult Pietate. Qualia vis metere, talia gra●a sear. Si Ius undatur, undo de jure metatur Si seritur Pietas, de Pietate metas. Than grieved him a Goliardes a gloten of words And to the angel, on high answered after Dum Rex a regere, dicatur nomen habere, Nomen habet sine re, visistudet Iura tenere. Than 'gan all the commons cry, in versis of latin To the kings counsel, construe who so would. Precepta Regis, sunt nobis vincula Legis, With that ran there a rout, of rattons at once And small mice with hem, The tal● of the ra●●tons. more than a thousand And comen to counsel, for the common profit. For a Cat of a court, came when him liked And overleapte 'em lightly, & caught 'em at his will And played with 'em perilously, and possed about For doubt of diverse dreads, we dare not well look And if we grudge at his game, he will greven us all scratching us & clawing us, & in his claws hold That we loath the life, or he let us pass. Might we with any wit, his will withstand We might be lords aloft, and live at ease. A rotten of renown, most renable of tongue Said for a sovereign, help to himself, I have seen sedges quoth he, in the City of London Bear byghes full bright, about their necks And some colers of crafty work, uncoupted they went Both in waren and in waist, where hem leave liketh And other while they are else where, as I here tell Were there a bell on her bite, by jesus as me thinketh, Men might wit where they went, and away run And right so ꝙ that ratton, reason me showeth To bug a vel of brass, or of bright silver And knit on his collar, for our comen profit And hangen it about the cats half, then here we. Whether he rit or rest, or run to play And if him list for to lake, than look we might moune And peer in his presence, the while him play liketh And if he wrath, beware, and his way shun. All this rout of rattons, to this reason they assented And though the bell was bought & on the byght hanged There ne was ratten in all the rout, for all the realm of France That durst bind the bell about the ca●s nek Ne hang it about the cats half, all England to win And held 'em unhardy, and her council feeble And let her labour lost, and all her long study. A mouse that much good could, as me thought Struck forth sternly, and stood before him all And to the rout of rattons, rehearsed these words Though we kill this cat, yet should there come an other To catch us & all our kind, though we creep under ●enches And be we never so bold the bell him to show For I heard my sire say, seven year passed Where the Cat is a kitling, the court is full clang That witnesseth holy writing, who so will it read * Omnium doctisumorum suffragio dicuntur Hec de lassivis, fatuis, aut ineptis principibus, non de etate tenellis Quasi dicat, ubi rex puerilis est. We terre, ubi puet rex est. For may no reuke there rest have, for rattons by night The while he catcheth comes, he coveteth not our carien But feedeth him with venison, defame we him never Eccles. x. For better is a little loss, than a long sorrow. The maze among us all, though we miss a shrew For many men's mait, we mice would destroy And also ye rout of cattons, rend men's clothes Ne'er the cat of that court, that can us overleap For had you rats your will, you could not rule yourself I say for me, ꝙ the mouse, I see so mekel after Shall neither the cat ne the kitling, by mi council be grieved Ne carping of this collar, that costed me never And though it had cost me cattle, be known it I nold But suffer as himself would, to done as him liketh Coupled and uncoupled, to catch what they may. Forty each a wise wight I warn, wit well his own What this metels by meaneth, ye men that be merry Divine ye for I dare not, by dear God of heaven. Yet hoved there an hundred, in hownes of silk sergeants it beseemed that serven at the bar Pieten for penies, and pounds, the law. Sergeants of the law And not for the love of our lord, unclosen her lips once Thou mightest better meet the mist, on maluerne hills Than get a mum of her mouth, till money be showed I saw Bishops bold, bishops and Bachelors of divine Become clarks of accounts, the king for to serve Arch deacons and deans, that dignities have To preach to the people, and poor men to feed Ben lope to London by leave of her bishop And been clerks of the kings bench, the country to shend Barons and burgesis, and bond men also I see in this assemble, as ye shall hear after. Bakesters' and bruesters, and bouchers many websters, and weavers of linen Tailors and tinkers, and tollers in markets Masons and minors, and many other crafts Of all kin lybbing labourers, lopen forth some As dikers and deluers, that done their deeds ill And drive forth the long day with dieu vous save dame Eme Coke and her knaves criden hot pies hot Good geese and gris, go we dine go we Taverners until them, told the same Whit wine of Osay, and red wine of Gascoyone Of the run and of the rochel, the roast to defy This saw I sleeping, and seven scythes more. ¶ Passus primus de visione WHat this mountein bemeineth, & the merk dale And the field full of folk, I shall you fair show A lovely lady of lere, in linen iclothed Came down from a castle, & called me fair And said son sleepest thou, seest thou this people? How busy they be, all about the maze The tour The most part of this pupil, the passeth on this earth Have they worship in this world, they will no better Of other heaven then here, hold they no tale I was afraid of her face, though she fair were And said mercy madame, what is this to mean? The tour upon the toft, truth is therein And would that ye wrought, as his word teacheth For he is father of faith, and former of you all Both with and with face, and gave you five wits For to worship him their with, the while you been here Of of linen, and of livelihood at need In measurable manner to make you at ease And comma unded of his courtesy, in comen three things Arne none needful but tho, and nempen hem I think And reckon hem by reason, rehearse ye hem after. That one is vesture, from cheyle to save And meat at meal, for disease of thyself And drink when thou driest, & do nought out of reason That thou worth the worse, when thou work shouldest. For Loath in his days, for liking of drink Did with his daughters, Loth that the Devil liketh delighted in drink, as the devil would And lechery him laughed, and lay by hem both, And all he wit the wine, that wicked deed Inebriamus eum vino, dormiamusque cum eo, Gen. nineteen. ut servare possimus de patre nostro semen. Through wive & women, there was Loath accumbered And there got in gluttony, girls that were cherels Forty, dread delectable drink, & thou shalt do the better Measure is medicine, though you michel yearn It is not all for the ghost, that the gut asketh Leave not thy likam, for a liar him teacheth That is the wretched world, would the betray For the fiend and the flesh, followeth the togethers This & that saith thy soul, and seeth it in thine heart. And for thou shouldest beware, I wish the the best. Madame mercy ꝙ I, me liketh well your words And the money of this mould, that men so fast holdeth Tell me to whom madame that treasure appendeth. Go to the gospel ꝙ she, that god said himself. though the people him opposed, with a penny in the temple Whether they should therewith, worship the king Cesar And god asketh 'em, of whom speaketh the letter And the image i like, that therein standeth Caesar's they said, we seen here well eachone Red Cessari, quod god, that Cesary belongeth Et que sunt dei deo, or else ye done ill For rightful reason, Luke. xx. should rule you all And kind wit be warden your wealth to keep And tutor of your treasure, and take you at need For husbandry and he, holden together. Than I frayned her fair, for him that me made Dungeon That dungeon in the dale, that dreadful is of sight What may it bemeane, madame I you beseech. That is the castle of care, who so cometh therein May ban that be borne was, to body or to soul, Therein wonneth a wight, that wrong is I hot Cain Father of falsehood, and founded it himself Adam and Eve, he egged to ill, judas counseled Cain, to kill his brother judas he iaped, with jews' silver And sithen on an elder, hanged him after He is lettar of love, and lieth 'em all That trust in his treasure, betrayeth he soneste Than had I wonder in my wit, what woman it were That such wise words, of holy write showed And I asked her on the height name, or she thence go What she were wisely, that wished me so fair. Holy church I am ꝙ she, thou oughtest me to know I underfenge the first, and the faith taught Thou broughtest me borrows, my byddings to fulfil And to love me lelly, that while the life dureth Than I courbed on my knees, and cried her of grace And prayed her pituosly, pray for my sins And also ken me kindly, on Christ to believe That I might work his will, that wrought me to man Truth is the best treasure. Teach me to no treasure, but tell me this ilke How I may save my soul, that saint art holden, When all treasures are tried ꝙ she, truth is the best I do it on Deus Charitas to dame the sooth It is as dear worth a drury, as dear God himself, Who is true of his tongue, and telleth no other And doth the works therewith, and willeth no man ill He is a god by the gospel, a ground and a loft And like to our Lord, by saint Luke's words. The clerks that know this, should ken it about For christian and unchristen, claimeth it eachone Kings and knights, should keep it by reason riden and rapen down, Knygtes' office. in realms about And taken traungressours, and tie 'em fast Till truth termined, her trespate to the end And that is the profession a partly, the appendeth to knights And not to fast one Friday, in five score winter But hold with him & with her, that wolden all truth And never leave 'em for love, ne for laking of silver. For David in his days, dubbed knights And did 'em swear on her sword, David to serve truth ever And who so passed the point, was apostata in the order. But Christ king of kings, made knights ten, cherubin and Seraphyn, such seven and another. And gave hem might in his majesty, the mirier hem thought And over his mean meinie, made hem archangel's Taught by the trinity, Truth to know To be buxume at his bidding, he bade hem noughtels Lucifer with legions, learned it in heaven But for he broke buxumnes, his bliss can he tine And fell from that fellowship, in a fiends likeness Into a deep dark hell, to dwell there for ever And more thousands with him, than man could numbered Loppen out with Lucifer, in lothlyche form For these leveden upon him, that lied on this manner Ponam pedem in aquilone, et similis ero altissimo. isaiah. xiiii And all the hoped it might be so, no heaven might hem hold But fell out in finds likeness, nine days together Till god of his goodness, 'gan stable and stint And guard the heaven to stick, and stand in quiet When the wicked went out, in wonder wise they fell Some in air some in earth, and some in hell deep. And Lucifer lowest lieth, yet of 'em all For pride that he pult out, his pain had no end And all that work with wrong, wend they shall After their death day, and dwell with that shrew And though that work well, as holy writ telleth And end as I ere said, in truth that is the beast May be siker that their souls, shall wend to heaven There truth is in trinity, and troweth 'em all, Forty I say as I said ere, by sight of these texts, When all treasures are tried, Truth is the greatest treasure, truth is the best Learn on this lewd men, for letterd men it knoweth That truth is treasure, the triedest on earth. I have no kind knowing ꝙ I, ye moat me ken better By what craft in my crops, it comseth & where. Thou dotest daffe, quoth she dull are thy wittis' To tell latin thou learnedst leode in thy youth. Heu mihi, qui a ste rilem duxi, vitam iwenilem. It is a kind knowing ꝙ he, that knoweth in thy heart For to love the lord, liefer then thyself. No deadly sin to do, die though thou shouldest. This I trow be truth, who can teach the better, Look thou suffer him to say, and sith learn it after For truth telleth that love, is treacle for sin May no sin be on him seen, that useth that spice And all his works he wrought, with love as him list And learned it Moses, for the leviest thing of all And also the plant of peace most precious of virtues For heaven might not hold it, it was so heavy of himself Till it had of the earth, yoten it selue And when it had of this fold, flesh and blood taken Was never leaf upon lined, lighter thereafter And portative & persante, as the point of a needle That might none armour it let, ne none heigh walls Forty love is the leader, of the lords love of heaven And a mean as the maire is, between the king & the commons Right so is love a leader, & the law shapeth Upon man for his misdeeds, the mercement he taxeth And for to know it kindly, it cometh by might And in the heart there is the head, and the height will For of kind knowing in heart, there a might beginneth. And that falleth to the father, that formid you all He looked on us with love, and let his sone die Meekly for our misdeds, to amend us all: And yet would he hem no woe, that wrought him the pain But meekly with mouth, mercy he besought To have pity on that people, that pained him to death Here might you see in example, in self one That he was mightful and meek, the mercy can grant. To hem that hanged on height him, & his heart thirled Forthie I read you Rich, have ruth on the poor Though ye be mighty to mote, be meek in your works For the same measure that ye meet, amiss other else Ye shall be weine there with, when ye wenden hence Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis. For though ye be true of your tongue, Mar. iiii. & trulieh worch And as chaste as a child, that in church weepeth But if ye love lelie, and leave the poor Such good as god you sent, godliche part You have no more merit, in mass nor in hours Than Malkin of her maidenhead, that no man desireth▪ For james the jentle, judged in his books That faith without the feat, is right nothing worth And as dead as door tree, but if the deeds follow jacob. two. Fides sine operibus mortna est. Forthi chastity without charity, worthy chains in hell: It is as lewd as a lamp, that no light is in Many chaplains are chaste, and charity is away Are no men avarisiouser than they, when they be advanced Unkind to their kin, and to all christian Chewen their charity, and chiden after more Many curatours keep 'em, clean of her bodies They be accumbred with covetise, they can not do it from them So hard hath avarice, hasped them togethers And that is no truth of the trinity, but tricheri of hell And learning to lewd men, the latter for to deal Forty these words be written in the gospel Luke vi. Date et dabitur vobis. for I deal you all. That is the lock of love, that letteth out my grace To comforten the careful accumbered with sin Love is leech of life, and nexe our lord self And also the gate, that goeth into heaven Forty I say as I said er, by the texts When all treasures be tried, truth is the best So have I told you what truth is, that no treasure is better I may no lunger leng ye with, now look ye our lord Passus secundus de visione YEt I corbed on miknes, & tried her of grace And said merci madam, for maris love of heaven That bore the blissful barn, that bought us on the Ken me by some craft, to know the fals. road Look upon thy left half, and lo where he standeth Both false and Favel, and her feeris many I looked on my left half, as the lady me taught And was ware of a woman, worthylich clothed Purfiled with pelure, the finest upon earth Crowned with a crown, the king hath no better Fetislych her fingers, were fretted with gold wire And there on red rubies, as red as any gleed And diamonds of dearest price, & double manner sapphires Orientales and Ewages, venemis to destroy Her rob was full rich, of red scarlet engrayned With rybandes of red gold, and of rich stones Her array me ravished, such riches saw I never. I had wonder what she was. & whose wife she were. What is this woman ꝙ I, so worthily attired? That is meed the maid quod she, hath noied me full oft And lacked my leman, that leautie is ihote And below her to lords, that laws have to kepen In the pope's palace, she is privy as myself But sothenes would not so, for she is a bastard For false was her father, that hath a fickle tongue, And never soothe said, sithen he came to earth And meed is married after him, right as kind askith. Qualis pater talis filius, bona arbor bonum fructum facit. Mar. iiii I ought be higher than she: I came of a better My father the great God is: and ground of all grace One God without beginning, & I his good daughter And hath given me mercy, to marry with myself And what man be merciful, and lelly me loveth Shall be my lord and I his life, in the high heaven And what man taketh meed, my head dare I lay That he shall lease for her love, a lip of Charitatis How construeth David the king, of men the take meed? And men on this mould, that mainteneth truth And how ye should save yourself, the psalter beareth: Psa. xv. Do mine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo etc. And now worth this Mede, married unto a mauzed witness To one Falls fikell tongue, a fiends bezet Favel by his fair speech, hath this folk enchanted shrew And all is liars leading, that she is thus wedded The morrow was made, the maidens bridal And there might thou wit if thou wilt, which they been all That longen to that lordship, the less and the more Know 'em there if thou canst, & keep thou thy tongue. And lake hem not but let hem worch, till leauty be justice. And have power to punish hem than put forth thy reason For I beken the Christ ꝙ she, & his clean mother And let no conscience accumber thee, for covetise of meed, Thus left me that Lady, ligging a sleep And how meed was married, in metals me thought That all the rich reteinaunce, the raineth with the false Were bounden to the bridal, on both two sides Of all manner of men, the mean and the rich To marry the maid, was many a man assembled As of knights & of clarks, & other common people. As sisours and somoners, shrives and their clerks. Bedelles and bailiffs, and brokers of chaffer Forgoers and vitellers, and advocates of tharches I can not reckon the rout, that can about Mede. And Simony and Ciny●e, and Sisours of couries Were most privy with meed, of any men me thought And Favel was the first, that fet her out of bower And as a broker brought her, to be with false enjoined When Simony and civil, see her both will They assented for silver, to say as both would Than leapt Liar forth, Medes charter. and said lo here a Charter That guile with his great oaths, gave 'em togethers And prayed Civil to see, and Simony to read it, Than Simony & Civil, stonden forth both together And unfold the feoffment, that False hath maked And thus beginneth these gomes, to gredenful height Sciant presentes et futuri. Maritagium pranum cum feoffemento in malo feodo, et de perversa tenu●a. etc. Witteth & witnesseth, all that wonneth upon this earth That Mede is married, more for her goods Than for any virtue or fairness, or any free kind Falseness is fain of her, for he woteth her rich And Favell with his fickle speech, feffeth her by this charter To be princes in pride, & poverty to despise To backbite and to bosten &, to bear false witness. To scorn and to scold, and slander to make Vnbuxome and bold, to break the ten hests And the earldom of Envy, and wrath togethers With the Chastilet of Chest, and chattering out of reason The county of covetise, & all the costs about That is usury and Auarise, all I him grant In bargains & brocages, with all the borough of theft, And all the lordship of lechery, in length & in breed As in works & in words, & in waytinge with eyes And in weds & wishings, & with idle thoughts. There as will would, & the workmanship faileth. gluttony he gave 'em eke, and great oaths together And all day to drink, at divers tabernes. And there to jangle & to jape, & judge her even christian And in fasting days to frete, ere full time were And than to sit and soup, till sleep 'em assail And breed forth as borough swine, & bedden hem easily Till sloth and sleep, slyken her sides And than Manhope to awaken 'em so, with no will to amend For they liven by lust, that is her last end And they to have and to hold, and her heirs after A dwelling with the devil, and damned be for ever With all the appertinauncis of purgatory, into the pain of hell Yielding for this thing, at one years end, Their souls to Satan, to suffer with him pains And with him to won in woe, while god is in heaven In witness of which thing, Wrong was the first And Pierce the pardoner, of Paulinus doctrine Bet the beadle, of Buckyngham shire raynold the reave, of Rutland soaken Munde the mylner, with many more other In the date of the devil, this deed I enseale By sight of sir Simony, and Civils leave The true preacher. Than tened him Theology, when he this tale heard And said to Civil, now sorrow might you have Such weddings to worch, to wrath with Truth And ere this wedding be wrought, woe the betide For Mede is mulier, of amends engendered And God grauntethe, to give Mede to Truth And thou hast given her to a gilor, now god give the sorrow Thy te●te telleth the not so, Truth wot the sooth. For Dignus est opetatius. Luke x. Who it is that shameth holy church. his hire to have And thou hast fastened her to False, fie on thy law For all by leasing thou livest, & lecherous works simony and thyself, shenden holy church The notaries and ye, no ye the people Ye shall abye it both, by God that made me Well ye wit wernardes, but if your wit fail That False is faithless, and fykil in his works And was a bastard borne, of Belsabu us kin And Mede is a mulier, a maiden of good And might kiss the king, for cousin if shewold. Therefore work by wisdom, and by my wit also And lead her to London, there it is showed If any law will look, they liggen together And though justices judge her, to be joined to False Yet beware of wedding, for witty is truth And conscience is of his counsel, & knoweth you eachone And if he find you in default, and with false hold It shall be set your souls, full sore at the last Here to assented Cyull, and Simony ne would Till he had silver, for his service, & also the notaries Than fet Favell forth, florence's enough And bade guile go give, Bribes gold about And namely to the Notaries, that hem none fail And feoff False witness with florences enough For they may Mede amaistry, and maken at my wil though this gold was given, great was the thanking To False and to Favell, for her great gifts And come to conforten, fro care the False And sithen said certes sir, ceasen shall we never Till meed be wedded thy wife, through wits of us all For we have Mede amastrid, with our merry speech. That she granted to gone, with a good will To London to look, if the law would judge you jointly, in joy for ever Than was Falseness fain, and Favell as blithe, And let summon all seges, in shyers' about And bad hem all to be bown, beggars and other To wend with him to westminster, to witness this deed. What horses they yt●ed with meed had And than carried they forth caples, to carry 'em thither. And Favel setforth then, fools in owe And set meed upon a Shireve, should all new And False sat on a Sisour, that softlych troted And Favell on a slatterrer, feetly attired though had Notaries none, anoied they were For Simony and Civil, should on their feet gang And then swore Simony, and civil both That sumner's should be saddled, & serve 'em eachone. And let apparel these provisors, in palfreys wise Sir Simony himself, shall sit on their backs Deans, and subdeanes, draw you together Archedecons and officials, and all your registers Let saddle 'em with silver, our sin to suffer As adultery and divorces, and darn usury To bear bishops about, abroad in visiting Paulinus primus, for pleyntis in consistory Shall serve myself, that Civil is inempned And cartsaddle the comisary, our cart shall he lead, And fetch us victuals, at fornicatores And maketh of Liar a long cart, to lead all these other As friars and faitors, that on their feet runnen, And thus False and Favel, faren forth together And Mede in the mides, and all these men after. I have no time to tell, the tail that here followeth Of many manner men, that on this mould lybbeth Truth maketh haste to the king. And guile was foregoer, and guided 'em all Sothenes seeth 'em well, and saith but little And pricked his palfrey, and passed 'em all: And came to the kings court, & Consciente it told And Conscience to the king, carped it after. Now by Christ ꝙ the king, and I catch might false or favel, or any of their feeris I would be work of though wretches, that worken this ill And done hem hang by the hals, & all that hem meinteyneth Shall never man on this mould, mainprize the least But right as the law will look, let fall on 'em all And commanded a constable, that can at the first To attach though tyrants, for any thing I hot And fetter fast Falseness, for any kins gifts And gird of Gyles head, and let him go no ferther And if ye latch Liar, let him not escaped, Or he be put on the pillery, for any prayers I hot And bring meed to me, in maugre them all, dread at the door stood, and the doom hard How the king commanded, dread maketh the guilty flee. Constables & sergeants Falseness and his fellowship, to fetter and to binden Than dread went wightely and warned the false, And bade him i'll for fear, and his fellows al. Falseness for fear then, fled to the friars And Gyle doth him to go, aghast for to die And marchauntis meeten with him, & made him to bide And shit him in her shops, to shown her ware Apparelled him as a prentice, the people to serve. lightly Liar leapt, and away ran Lurking through lanes, tolugged of many. He was no where welcome, fore his many tales Over all thonted, False can lack no master and I hot truss Till Pardoners had petty, and pulled him into house. They wash him & wipe him, & wounden him in clouts And sent him with seals, on sundays to churches And gave him pardon for pence, pound meal about Than loured leeches, and letters they sent That he should won with 'em, waters to look Spicers speaken with him, to spy their ware For he could of their craft, & knew many gums And minstrels and messengers, met with him once And held him half a year, and a leaven days Fryres with fair speech, fet him thence And for knowing of comers, coped him as a friar And he hath leave to leap out, as oft as hem liketh And welcome when he will, & wonneth with them oft All fledden for fear, and flooens into hernes Save meed the maid, no more durst abide And truly to tell, she trembled for dread And eke wept and wrong, when she was atached Passus textius de visione. The king wi●● now of Mede whom she loveth be●. Now is meed the maid, & no more of 'em all, with Bedels' & balifs, borough before the king The king called a clerk, can I not his name. To take meed the maid, & make her at ease I shall assay her myself, and sothelych appose What man of this mould, that her were liefest And if she work by wit, and my will follow I will forgive her this guilt, so me God help Courtesy the clerk than, as the king hight Took meed by the middle, & brought her into chamber, And there was mirth and minstrelsy, Mede to please They that won in westminster, worshipped her all Gently with joy, the justices came Busked hem to the bower, there the bird dwelled To comfort her kindlye, by clergies leave And said morn not Mede, ne make ye no sorrow For we will wish the king, and thy way shape To be wedded at thy will, and where the lief liketh. For all conscience cast and craft, as I trow. Mildly Mede than, mercied them all Of her great goodness, and gave 'em eachone Copes of clean gold, and Cups of silver rings with rubies, and riches many The lest man of their menie, a moton of gold. Than laugh they leave, these lord is at meed. With that common clerks, to comfort her the same And bidden her be blithe, for we be thine own For to work thy will, the while we moune last Hendliche she than, bihight them the same To loven 'em lellie, and lords to make To beg 'em benefices, pluralities to have And in consistory at court, do call her names Shall no lewdness let, the clerk that I love That he ne worth first advanced, for I am beknown There cunning clerks, sholen cloak behind. Than came there a confessor, copid as a Friar To meed the maid, he mellud thes words And said full softly, in shrift as it were Though lewd men & learned men, had lain by the both And falseness had yfouled thee, all this fifty winter I shall assoil the myself, for a seem of wheat, And also be thy bedman, and bear well thy message. Amongst knights & clerks, conscience to turn Then Mede for her myssedes, to that man kneeled And shrove her of her shroudnes, shameless I trow Told him a tale, and took him a noble For to be her bedman, and her broker also Than he assoiled her son and sithen he said We have a witdow in working, will set us full high. wouldest thou glaze that gable, & grave therein thy name Seker should thy soul be, heaven to have. Wist I that quoth the woman, I would not spare The fruits of Popish penance. For to be your friend Friar, and fail you never While you love Lords, that lechery haunten And lake not Ladies, that love well the same. It is frailness of the flesh, ye find it in books And a course of kind, whereof we comen all Who so may escape the slander, the scathe is soon amended It is sin of the seven, soonest released Have mercy quod meed, of men that it haunten And I shall cover your kirk, your cloisture do maken Walls do whyten, and windows do glasen Do paynten and portray, and pay for the making That every segge shall say, I am sister of your house. And god to all good folk, such graving defend To write in windows, of her well deeds On aventer pride be painted there, & pomp of the world For Christ knoweth thy conscience, & thy kind will: And thy cost and thy covetise, & who thy cattle ought Therefore I learn you lords, leave such works To written in windows, of your well deeds Or to gredden after goddesmen, when ye delen doles Math. vi. On aventer you have your hire here, & your haven also. Nesciat sinistra tua quid facit dextra Let not thy left half, late ne rathe Wit what thou worckeste, with thy right side For thus biddeth the gospel, good men done her alms. The mayor's office Mayres and masters, that means be between The King and the common, to keep the laws To punish on pylaries, and pynning stoles Bruster's and bakesters, bouchers and cooks. For these are men on this mould, What harm y● vitiliers do & what abuse is in regrat●g. the most harm worketh To the poor people, that parcel meal byghe For they poison the people, privily and oft They richen through regratry, & ●en●es 'em bighen, With that the poor people, should put in her wombs For took they all truly, they timbered not so high Ne bought no burgages, be ye full certain. And Mede the maid, the Mayre hath besought Of all such Sellers, silver to take Or presents without pence, as pieces of silver Kings or other riches, the regrators to maintain For my love ꝙ that Lady, love 'em eachone And suffer 'em to sell, some deal against reason. Solomon the sage, a sermon he made For amend Mayres, and men that keep laws And told 'em this teme, that I tell think. I guis devorabit tabernacula cotum, job. xv. qui libenter accipiunt mwera. Among these lettred leodes this latin is to mean That fire shall fall, and burn all to blo ashes The houses and homes, of hem that desires Gifts or years gifts, because of her offices. The king from the counsel came, & called after meed, And sent for her a swyth, with sergeants many That brought her to bower, with bliss & with joy Curtesly the king than, comsed to tell To meed the maid, melleth these words. Vnwittely woman, wrought hast thou oft And worse wroughtest ● never, than though thou falls took But I forgive the that gilt, and grant the my grace Hence to thy death day do so no more. I have knight conscience, came late from beyond If he willeth the to wife, wilt thou him have? Yea lord ꝙ that lady, God for bydels, But I be wholly at your hest, hang me soon. And than was Conscience called, to come and appear Before the king and his counsel, as clerks & other kneeling Conscience, to the king louted To wit what his will were, and what he do should. Wilt thou wed this woman ꝙ the king, if I will assent? For she is fain of thy fellowship, for to be thy make Conscience forsaketh Mede for her evil condition. Quod conscience to the king, Christ it me for bid Or I wed such a wife, woe me betide For she is frail of her faith, fykell of her speech And maketh men misdo, many score times Trust of her treasure, betrayeth full many wives and widows, wantonness she teacheth And learneth 'em lechery, that love her gifts Your father she felled, through false behest And hath poisoned Popes, and peyred holy church Is not a better band, by him that me made Between heaven and hell, in earth though men sought For she is tykel of her tail, taylewise of her tongue As comen as a cart way, to each a knave that walketh To monks and to minstrels: to mesels in hedges Sisours and somnours, such men her praiseth Shrives' of shires, were shent if she were not For she doth men lose her land, and her life both. She letteth pass prisoners, and payeth for them oft And giveth the Gailors, gold and groats togethers To unfetterens the false, i'll where him liketh And taketh the true by the top, and tieth 'em fast And hangeth 'em for hatred, that harm did never To be cursed in consistory, she counteth not a bean For she copith the commissary, and coteth his clerks She is assoiled as soon, as herself liketh And may nigh as much do, in a month one As may your secret Seal, in sixscore days For she is privy with the pope, provisors it knoweth For sir Simony and herself, sealeth the bulls She blesseth the bishops, though they be lewd Provendreth persons, and priests maintaineth To have lemans and lottebies, all her live days And bringeth forth barns, again forbade laws There she is well with the king, woe is the Realm For she is favourable to false, and fouleth truth oft By jesus with her Iwels, your justices she shendith And lieth again the laws, and letteth 'em the ga●e That faith may not be of force, her florins fly to thick She leadeth the law as her list, & lovedaies maketh And doth men lose through her love, the law might win The maze of a mean man, though he more her ever Law is so lordleche, and loath to make end Withouten prsentes or pence, she pleaseth full few By good reason the is great ruth, rehearse men what hem liketh Barons and burgesies, she bringeth in sorrow And all the common in care, that covetith lice in truth For Clergy and covetis, she coupleth together This is the life of that lady, now lord give her sorrow And all that maintaineth her men, meschaunce hem betide For poor men may have no power, to plain hem when they smart Such master is meed, among men of good, Than mourned Mede, and men her to the king To have space to speak, speed if she might The king granted her grace: with a good will Excuse the if thou canst: I can no more sayne For conscience accuseth thee: Mede hath leave t● speak to congayne the for ever Nay lord quoth that lady: leave him the worse When ye witteh witterly, where the wrong lieth There that mischief is great, meed may help. And thou knowest conscience, I came not to chide Ne deprave thy person, with a proud heart well thou wottest warnard, but if thou wilt gabbe Thou hast hanged on me, half a leaven times And also gripped my gold, give it where the liked And why thou wrathest the now, wonder me thinketh Yet I may as I might, menske the with gifts And maintain thy manhood, more than thou knowest And thou hast famed me foul, before the king here For killed I never no king, ne counseled thereafter Ne did as thou deemest, I do it on the king Mede rehearseth what she hath done In Normandy was he not, noyed for my sake And thou thyself soothly, shamedst him oft Crope into a Chabane, for cold of thy nails Wendest that winter, would have lasted ever And dreadest to be dead, for a dim cloud And hidest upward, for hunger of thy womb. Without pity pylore, poor men thou robbedst And bare her bras at thy back, to caleis to sell There I last with my lord, his life for to save. I made his man merry and mourning let I battered 'em on her back, and bolded her hearts I did 'em hop for hope, to have me at will Had I been mershall of his men, by Mary of heaven I durst have laid my life, and no less wed He should have be lord of that land, in length & breadth And also king of that kith, his kin for to help The brol of his blood, a barons pere. Cowardly thou conscience, councelledst him thence To leaven his lordship, for a little silver That is the richest realm, that rain over hoveth. It becometh to a king, that keepeth a realm To give meed to men, that meekly him serveth To aliens and to all men, Mede telleth how needful she is to all men. to honerne hem with gifts Mede maketh him beloved, and for a man holden. Emperors and Earls, and all manner of Lords For gifts have young men, to go and to ride The Pope & all the prelate's, presents underfoggen And medeth men hem selves, to maintain her laws. Servants for their service, we see well the sooth Taken meed for her maistries, as they may accord. Beggars for their bidding, bidden me Mede Mynstrels for their mirth, Mede they ask. The king hath meed of his men, to make peace in land Men that teachen children, craven after meed. Priests that preachen the people to good, asken meed And mass pence and her meat, at the meal time. All kin crafts men, craven Mede for her prentices Merchants and meed, must needs go togethers No wight as I ween, withouten meed may live. Quod the king to Conscience, by Christ as me thinketh Mede is well worthy, the mastery to have. Nay ꝙ Conscience to the king, & kneeled on the earth There are ii manner of Medes, Conscience telleth the king of ii manner of Medes. my lord with your leave That one god of his grace, granteth in his bliss To hem that well worchen, while they liven here The prophet preacheth thereof, & put it in the psalter. Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo. etc. Psal. xv. Lord who shall won in thy wonnes, & with thy holy saints Or rest in thy holy hills? this asketh David. And David assoileth it himself, as the psalter telleth. Qui ingreditur sine macula, et operatur justiciam. They that entren of one colour, and of one will And have wrought works, with right & with reason And he that useth not, the life of usury And informeth poor men, and preserveth truth Psal. xv. Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram Et munera super innocentem non accipit. And all that help the innocent, and holden with the rightful Without Mede doth 'em good, & the truth helpeth Such manner men my Lord, shall have the first meed Of god at her great need, when they gone hence There is an other meed mesureles, that masters desireth To maintain misdoers, meed they take. And thereof speaketh the psalter, in a psalms end. In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt Psa. xxvi Dextera eorum, repleta est muneribus. And he that gripeth her gold, so me god help Shall abye it bitter, or the book lieth Priests and persons, that pleasynges desieren That taken meed and money, for masses that they sing Taken her meed here, as Matthew us teacheth Mat. vi. Amen amen, recipiebant mercedem suam. That labourers and poor folk, taken of her masters It is no manner meed, but a measurable hire In merchandise is no meed, I may it well avow It is a permutation apertly, a pennyworth for another And reddest thou never Regum, thou recraed meed When the vengeance fell on Saul, & on his children God sent to Saul, by Samuel the prophet That Agag of Amelec, and all his people after Should die for a deed, that done had her elders Therefore said Samuel to Saul, god himself hoteth The be buxume at his bidding, his will to fulfil Wend to Amelec with thine host, & what thou findest there slay it Burns and Beasts, brenne hem to death Widows and wives, women and children Movable & unmovable, and all that thou might find burn it bear not away, be it never so rich For meed nor for money, look thou destroy it Spill it and spare it not, thou shalt speed the better And for he coveted her cattle, and the king spared For bare him & his beasts both, as the bible witnesseth Otherwise than he was, warned of the prophet God said to Samuel, that Saul should die And his seed for that sin, shamefully end Such a mischief meed made, Saul the king to have That god hated him forever, & all his heirs after The colour of this case, ne keep I not to tell On adventure it noyed men, no end will I make For so is this world wont, with him that have power That who so sayeth sooth, is soonest iblamed I Conscience know this, for kind wit, This is no prophecy, but a reasonable gathering. me it taught That reason shall rain, and realms govern And right as Agag had, hap shall come Samuel shall slay him, and Saul shall be blamed And David shall be diademed, & daunten hem all And one christian king, keep 'em echeone Shall no more meed be mastery, as she is now And love and lownes, and leauty togethers Shall be masters on mould, Truth to save And who so trespasseth against truth, or taketh again his will Leauty shall done him law, & no life else Shall no sergeant for his service, wear no silk howne Ne no Pelure in his cloak, for pleading at the bar Mede of misdoers, maketh many Lords, ●●●ouer lords allows, ruleth the realms 〈◊〉 ●nd love shall come yet, and conscience together This is no prophecy, but a 〈◊〉 adhered of the scriptures. And make of law a labourer, such love shall arise And such a peace among the people, & a perfit truth, That jews shall ween in their wit, & wax wonders glad That Moses & Messia, be come into this earth And have wonder in her hearts, that men be so true. All that beareth bastard, broad sword or lance Axe, or yet hatchet, or any weapon else shallbe deemed to death, but if he do it smithy. isaiah. two. Into sickle or into sith, to share or to coulter. Conflabunt gladios suos in vomeres. Every man to play with a plough, pikeaxe, or spade, spin or spread dung, or spill himself with s●oughe, Priests or persons, with placebo to hunt And ding upon David, every day till even Hunting or hawking, if any of them use His boast of benefice, worth by nome him after Shall neither king ne knight, constable ne mayre Ouerleade the common, ne to the court sommone Ne put 'em in panel, to done 'em plight her truth But after the deed is done, one doom shall reward Mercy or no mercy, as truth will accord. kings court, common court, consistory and chapter All shallbe but one court, and one Baron by justice Than worth true tongue, a tidy man the tened me never Battles shall none be, ne no man bear weapon And what smith that any smithed, be smitten therewith to death isaiah. two. Non levable gens contra gentem gladium, etc. And or this fortune fall, find men shall the werste By six suns and a ship, and half a sheaf of arrows▪ And the middle of a moan, shall make the jews to turn, And Sarasines for that sight shall sing Gloria in excelsis Deo For Makometh and Mede, mishap shall that time For Melius est bonum nomen quam diuitie multe Also wroth as the wind, Pro. xxii. wax Mede in a while I can latin ꝙ she, clerks wot the sooth See what Solomon saith, in Sapience books That he that giveth gifts, the victory winneth And most worship hath therewith, as holy writ telleth. Honorem acquiret, qui dat munera. I leave well Lady ꝙ conscience, That scripture should be read whole. i. Tess. v. that latin be true And thou art like a lady: that rad a lesson once Was Omnia, probate and that pleased her well For that was no longer, at the leaves end Had she looked that other half, and the leaf turned She should have found words following thereafter Quod bonum est tenete. Truth that text made And so fared ye Madam, ye could no more find though you looked on Sapience, sitting in your study This text that ye have told, were good for lords And you failed a cunning clerk, that could the leaf have turned And if ye seek Sapience oft, find ye shall the followeth. A full teneful text, to hem that take meed And that is, Animam autem aufert accipientium. etc. And that is the tail of the text: of that that ye showed That though we win worship, & with meed have victory The soul that the taketh, by so much is bound. Passus quartus de visione CEase said the king, I suffer you no longer Ye shall sangtle forsooth, & serve me both Kiss her quoth the king, conscience I hot Conscience will have reasons advice. Nay by Christ quoth Conscience, congay me rather But Reason read me thereto, rather will I die. And I command you ꝙ the king, to Conscience than Rape the to ride, and Reason thou fetch Command him that he come, my counsel to hear For he shall rule the realm, and read me the best Of Mede and of other, and what man shall her wed And accounten with the Conscience, so me Christ help How thou lernest the people, the learned & the lewd. I am fain of that forward, said the freke than And ryt right to Reason, & rowndeth in his ear And said as the king bade, and sith took his leave. I shall array me to ride quod Reason, rest the while And called Caton his knave: curtise of speech And also Thomme true tongue, tell me no tales Reason rideth on sufferance. Ne leasing to laughen of, for I loved 'em never And set my saddle upon Sufferance, till I see my time And let waroken it well, with witty words girths And hang on him the heavy bridle, to hold his head low For he will make we●e, twice ere he come there Than Conscience upon his caple carried forth fast And reason with him rit, rowning togethers Waren wisdom & witty followed Reason Which maistris Mede, maketh on this earth One Waren wisdom, and witty his fere Followed him fast, for they had to done In the Escheker & at the chancery, to be discharged of things And ridden fast, for Reason should read 'em the best For to save 'em for silver, from shame and from harms. And Conscience knew 'em well, they loved covetise And bade Reason ride fast, and reck of 'em neither Theridamas be wiles in her words, & with meed they dwell: There as wrath & wrangeling is, there get they silver And where is love & leauty, they will not come there. Contricio et infelicitas in v●is corum. Psa. xiii. etc., They ne give not of God, one goose wing. Non est timor domini ante oculos eorum. Psa. xiii. etc. For God wots they will do more, for a doson chikins Or as many copons, or for a seam of Oats Than for love of our lord, or all his leave saints. Therefore reason let 'em tide, the rich by 'em self For Conscience knoweth hem not, ne christ as I trow. And than Reason road fast, the right high ga●e And Conscience him kenned, till they came to the king, Curtesly the king than, came against Reason And between himself and his son, set him on bench And wordeden well wisely, a great while togethers. And than came Peace into parliament, Peace complaineth upon wrong & put forth a bill How Wrong against his will, had his wife taken: And how he ravished Rose, Rainoldes love And Margaret of her maydenhed, maugre her cheeks Both my geese and my gris, his gadlinges fetcheth, I dare not for fear of him, fight ne chide He borrowed my bayard, & brought him never home Ne no fertinge therefore, for aught I could plead He maintaineth his men, to murder mine ewen For stalleth my fairs, & fighteth in my cheping. And breaketh up my barn doors, & stealeth away my wheat And taketh me but a tail, for ten quarter oaths Yet he beateth me thereto, and lieth by my maid I am not hardy for him, uneath to look The king knew he said sooth, for Conscience him told That Wrong was a wicked lusk, & wrought much sorrow Wrong was afraid then: & wisdom he sought To make peace with his pence, and proffered him many And said, had I love of the king: little would I reach If Wrong might obtain the king is favour, he passeth for no more, Though Peace and his power, plained 'em ever though went Wisdom, and sir Warren the witty For that Wrong had wrought, so wicked a deed And warned Wrong though, with such a tale. Who so worketh by will, wrath maketh oft I say it by myself, you shall it well find But if Mede it make, thy mischief is up For both thy life and thy land, lieth in her grace. Than wooed Wrong, wisdom full yern To make his peace with his pence, handy dandy paid Wisdom and Wit than, went both togethers And took Mede mid hem, mercy to win. Peace put forth his head, and his pan bloody Wythouten guilt god wots, gate I this scathe Conscience and the common, known the sooth And wisdom and wit weren about fast To overcome the King, with cattle if they might: The king swore by Christ, and by his crown both That wrong for his works, should woe thoroughly Wrong is committed to prison, And commanded a constable, to cast him in irous And let him not these seven years, see his feet once God wots quod Wisdom, that were not the best And he amends might make, let main price him have And be borrow for his bale, and byggen him boot. And so amend that is misdo, & evermore the better Wit accorded therewith, and said the same Better is that boat, bale adown bring Than bale be ibeate, and boat never the better Than 'gan Mede to moven her, & mercy she besought And proffered Peace a present, all of pure gold Have this man of me quoth she to amend thy scathe For I will wage for Wrong, he will do so no more Pituouslye Peace than, prayed to the king To have mercy on the man, that misdyd him so oft For he hath waged me well, Mede stoppeth pieces mouth as wisdom him taught And I forgive him that guilt, with a good will So that the king assent, I can say no better. For meed hath me amends made, I may no more ask Nay quoth the king tho, so Christ me help Wrong wendeth not so away, erst I will wit more For lope he so lightly, laughen he would And eft be the bolder, to beat mine hewn But Reason have ruth on him, he shall sit in my stocks And that as long as he liveth, but lownes him borrow Some men rad Reason tho, have ruth on that shrew And to council the king, and conscience after That meed might be meinperner, Reason they bisought Reed me nought ꝙ Reason, no ruth to have Till Lords and ladies, love all Truth And haten all harlotry, Reason's advice in the punishing of Wrong. to hear or to mouth it Till Pernels purfill, be put in her hutch And children's cherishing, be chastising with yards And harlots holiness, be holden for an hind Till clerks covetise, be to cloth the poor and feed And religious Romers, recordars in her cloisters As saint Benet hem bade, Bernard and Francis And till preachers preaching, be proved on 'em self Till the kings counsel, be the common profit Till bishop's barns, be beggars chambers Her hawks & her hounds, help to poor religious And till saint james be sought, there I shall asigne That no man go to Galice, but if he go for ever And all Rome runners, for robbers of beyond Bore no silver over sea, that sign of king showeth Neither graven nor ungraven: gold neither silver upon forfeiture of that fee, who so find it at Dover But if he be merchant or his man: or messenger with letters Provisor or priest: or penant for his sins And yet ꝙ Reason by the rood: I shall no ruth have While Mede hath the mastery: in this mouth hall And I may show examples, as I see other while I say it by myself quoth he: and it so were That I were a king with crown, to keep a realm Should never wrong in this world: that I wit might Be unpunished in my power: for peril of my soul Ne get my grace for gifts, so me God save Ne for no Mede have mercy but if meekness it made Mat. xvi, For Nullum malum the man met with Impunitum And bad that Nullum bonum be Irremuneratum Let thy confessor sir king, construe this unglozed And if ye work it in work: I dare wed mine ears That law shall be a labourer: and lead a field dung And love shall lead the land, as the lief liketh. Law shall lead afeld dung. Clerks that were Confessors, coupled 'em togethers All to construe this clause, for the kings profit And not for the comfort of the poor common: ne kings soul For I see Mede in the mouth hall: on men of law wink And they laughing lope to her: and left reason many Waren wisdom, winked upon Mede And said madam I am your man: what so mi mouth jangleth I fail florins ꝙ the freke, & fail speech oft: All rightful recorden, that Reason truth told And wit accorded therewith, and commended his words And the most people in the hall: & many of the great And let meekness a master, & meed a manzed shrew. love let of her light: and leautie yet lass And said it so high: that all the hall it heard Who so wilneth her to wife: for wealth of her goods But he be known for a cokeolde, cut of my nose. Mede mourned sore tho, and made heavy cheer For the most common of that court, called her an hore And a Sisoure and a somnour. sued her fast And a shrives' clerk, beshrewed all the rout For oft have I quoth he, helped you at the bar And yet gave ye me never, the worth of a ryshe. The king called Conscience, and afterward Reason And recorded that Reason, had rightfully showed And Moodlych upon Mede, with might the king looked And 'gan wax wroth with law, The lawyers keep the king from his right, for meed had it near shent And said, by your law as I leave, I lose may eschets Mede overemastreth law, and much truth letteth And Reason shall reckon with you, if I reign any while And dame you by this day, as ye have deserved Mede shall not mainprize you, by Mary of heaven, I will have Leauty in law, & let be your jangling And as most folk witnesseth, Wrong shall be deemed. Quod Conscience to the king, but the common will assent It is full hard by mine head, here to to bring it All your league lords, to leden thus even. By him that reached on the road, ꝙ Reason to the king But if I rule this your realm, Reason taketh upon him to rule the realm. rent out my guts If ye bidden buxumnes, be of mine assent. And I assent said the king, by, S. Marry my lady By my counsel commune, of clerks & of earls And reddily reason, thou shalt not ride from me For as long as I live, leave the I nel I am ready quod Reason, to rest with you ever So Conscience be of our counsel, I keep no better And I grant quod the king, god forbidden it fail As long as our lives lasteth, live we together Passus quintus de visione, THe King and his knights, to the kirk went To here matins of the day, and the mass after Than waked I of my wiking, & woe was with all That I ne had slept sadder, & sighen more And ere I had faren a furlong, Fentise me hent That I ne might farther a foot, for default of sleeping And far softly adoune, and said my believe And so I babbled on mi beads, they brought me aslep And than I saw much more, than I before of told For I see the field full of folk, that I before of said And how reason 'gan araien him, all the realm to preach And with a Cros afore the king, comsed thus to techen He proved that this pestilences: were for pure sin And the south westorne wind, pestilences come for sin, on saturday at even Was partly for pure pride, and for no point else. Piries and plumtres, were puffed to th'earth In ensample though sedges, ye should done the better Beeches and broad oaks, were blown to the ground Turned upwards the tails, in tokening of dread That deadly sin erdomes day, shall fordone 'em all Of this matter I might, mamelie full long And I shall say as I saw, so me god help How partly before the people, reason began to preach He bad waist or go work, that he best could And win his was●ing, with some manner craft He prayed Pernell her putfyles to let And keep it in her coffer, for cattle at her need Tomme Stowne he taught, to taken two staves And fech Felicie home, from the winen ●ine And he warried Wat his wife was to blame That hirked was worth half a mark, & his hod not worth a grot And he had Bet, cut a bow or twain And beat Beton therewith, One correction must be had but if she will work And then he charged chapmen, to chasten her children Let no winning 'em forwany, while they be young Ne for no poust of pestilence, please 'em not out of reason My sire said to me, and so did my dame, That the lever child, the more lore behoveth And Solomon said the same, that Sapience made, Qui parcit virge, Pro xiii odit filium The English of this latin, who so will know Who so spareth the spring, spylleth his children And sithen he prayed prelate's, and priests together That ye preach to the people, prove on yourself And do it in deed, it shall drive you to good, If ye live as ye learn us, we shall leave you the better. And sithen he radde religion, her rule to hold Lest the king and his council, The suppression of abbeys. Good counsel. your commons apere And be stewards of your steeds, till ye be ruled better. And sithen he counseled the king, his commons to love It is thy treasure if treason ne were, & treacle at thy need And sithen he prayed the Pope, have pity on holy church And ere he gave any grace, govern first himself. And ye the have laws to keep, let truth be your covetise More than gold or gifts, if ye will god please For who so cotrarieth truth, he teleth in the gospel, That god knoweth 'em not, ne no saint in heaven. Mat xxv. Amen dico vobis, nescio vos. And ye that seek saint james, True pilgrimage. & saints at Rome Seek saint truth, for he may save you all, Qui cum patre et filio that fair hem befall, That sueth my sermon, and thus said Reason. Than ran Repentance, and rehearsed his ●eme And gart Will weep, water with his eyes Pernell proud heart, plate her to the earth And lay along or she looked, and lord mercy cried And behyght to him, that us all made She should unsow her serke, and set thereon here Shall never high heart me hent: but hold me low To affaynten her flesh, that firrce was to sin, And suffer me to be missayd, and so did I never But now will I meek me, and mercy beseech For all this I have hated in my heart. lecher. The old satisfation Than lecher said alas, & on our lady he cried, To make mercy for his misdeeds, between god & his soul With that he should the saturday, for seven year after Drink but mid the day, and dine but once Envy. Envy with heavy heart, asked after shrift And carefully Mea culpa, he comsed to show And was as pale as a pellet, in the palsy he seemed And clothed in Caurymaury, I can it not deceive, In kyrtel and curtepy, and a knife by his side Of a friars frock, were the foresleves And as a leek that hath lied long in the sun So looked he with lean cheeks, louring soul His body was to bull for wrath, that he boat his lips And wring with that first, to wreak himself he thought, With works or with words, when he see his time Each word that he warped, was of an edders tongue Of chiding and of challenging, was his chief livelihood With backbiting & bismer, & bearing false witness This was all his courtesy, where that ever he showed him I would be shriven ꝙ this shrew, if I for shame durst. I would be gladder by god, that Gyb had mischance Envious works. Than if I had won this week, a weigh of Essexe cheese I have a neighbour nigh me, I have noyed him oft, And lowen on him to lords, to done him lose his silver And make his friend be his foe, through my false tongue His grace and his good haps, grieveth me fulsore Between many and many, I make debate oft That both life and lime, is lost through my speech. And when I meet him in market, that I most hate I halse him hendlech, as I his friend were For he is doughtier than I, I dare do none other, And had I mastery and might, god wots my will And when I come to the kirk, & should kneel to the road And pray for the people, as the priest teacheth For pilgrims & for palmers, & for all the people after Than I cry on my knees, thou Christ give him sorrow That bore away my bull, and my broken sheet Away from the altar, then turn I mine eyen And behold how Elen, hath a new coat I wish that it were mine, with all the web after And at men's losing I laugh, that mine herteaketh And for their winning I weep, and weal the time And dame that they do ill, though I do well worse Who so undermineth me hereof, I hate him deadly after I would that each a wight, were my knave For who so hath more than I, the angreth me sore. And thus I live loveles, like a lyther dog That all my body bolneth, for bitter of my gall I might not eaten many years: as a man ought For envy and evil will, is evil to defy May no sugar ne no swetething, suage the swelling Ne no Diapenidion, drive it from my heart Nether shrift neither shame, but shraping of mi maw This I read ꝙ repentance, & read him to the best Sorrow for sins, salvation is of souls. See how● Envy repenteth. A am sorry quoth that segge, I am but seld other And the maketh methus' megre, for I ne may me veng amongs Burgesis have I be, dwelling at London And guard backbiting be a broker, to blame men's ware When he sold and I not, than was I ready To lie & lour on my neighbour, & to lak his chaffer I will amend this if I may, through might of god almighty Now awaketh Wrath, Wrath. with two white eien And niveling with the nose, and his neck hanging. I am Wrath quoth he, I was sometime a Friar And the covents gardener, for to graften Imps On Limitours and Legisters, leasings I imped Till they bear leaves of smooth speech, lords to please And sithen they blosomed abroad, in bour to hear shrift And now is fallen thereof a fruit, the folk han well liefer Show her shrifts to hem, than shrive hem to her people And persons have perceived, the friars part with 'em These possessors preach, and deprave Friars And Friars findeth hem in default, as folk bear witness And when they preach the people, in many places about I Wrath walk with him, A good schoolmaster. and wish 'em of my books Thus they speaken of mi spirituality, & despiseech other Till they be both beggars, & by my spiritualty lib been Or else all rich and ridden about, I Wrath rest never That I ne most follow this wicked folk, for such is my grace I have an aunt to Nun, Nuns. & an Abbes both Her had liefer swoon or swelled, than suffer any pain I have been coke in her kitchen, and her covent served Many months with hem, & with Monks both I was the Priores potager, and other poor ladies And made hem jowts of jangling, the dame I one was a bastard And dame Clarence a knights daughter, a cokolde was her sire. And dame Pernel a prests' file, priores was she never For she had child in cherry time, all our chapter it wist Of wicked words (I Wrath) her wortes made Till thou liest and thou liest, lopen out at once And either it other, under the cheek Had they had knives by Christ, either had killed other Saint Gregory was a good pope, Gregory would not suffer woe men to hear confession. & had a good forewit That no priores were priest, for the he provided Lest haply they had had no grace, to hold harlotry in For they are ●icle of her tongues, & must all secrets tell. Among monks I might be, and many times ishamen For they be many fell frekes, my fetis to espy Both Prior and subprior, and our Pater abbess And if I tell any tales, they taken 'em togethers And do me fast fridays, to bread and to water I am challenged in Chapter house, as I a child were And balaced on the bare arse, and no breach between Therefore have I no liking, with though leodes to won I eat there unhende fish, and feeble ale drink Other while when wine cometh, & I drink it at even I have a flux of a foul mouth, well five days after All the wickedness that I wots, by any of our brethren I know'th it in our cloister, that all our covent wots it Now repent the ꝙ Repentance, and rehearse thou never Council that thou knowest, by countenance ne by sight. And drink not over delicately, ne to deep neither That thy will because thereof, to Wrath might turn Esto sobrius he said, and assoiled him after And bade him will to weep, his wickenes to amend. And than came Covetis, can I him not descrive So hungerly and hollow: Covetits. so sternly he looked He was victual browed, and baberlypped also With two bleared eyen, as a blind hag And as a leathern purse, lolled his cheeks Well cider than his chin they shivered for old And as a bound man of his bacon, his beard was bidrauled With a hood on his head, The image of covetise. & a lousy hat above And in a tawny teberd, of twelve winter age All totorne and bawdy, and full of lice creeping But if that a louse, could have lopen the better She had not walked on the welte, so was it threadbare I have been covetise quod this caitiff, I beknow it here For sometime I served, Symme at style And was his apprentice plight, his profit to wait first I learned to lie, a leaf other twain wickedly to weigh, was my first lesson To Why and to Winchester, I went to the fair With many manner merchandise, as mi master me hight Ne had the grace of guile, igo amongst my chaffer. It had been unsold this seven year, so me God help Than drove I me among drapers, my donet to learn To draw the lyser a long, the longer it seemed Among the rich rays: I rendered a lesson To broach hem with a pacnedel, & spiyt 'em to gythers, And put 'em in a press, and pynnen them therein Tylten yards or twelve, had tolled out. xiii My wife was a webster, and wolloncloth made She spoke to spinsters to spynen it out And the pound that she paid by, passed a quartern more Than mine own auncer, who so weighed truth I bought her berly malt, she brewed it to sell Penyale and puddingale, she poured togethers For labourars and low folk, that lay by itself. The best ale lay in my bour, or else in my chamber And who so bummed thereof, bought it thereafter. A gallon for a groat, god wot no less And yet it came in cupemele, this craft she used. Rose the Regrater, was her right name She hath holden huksterye, all her life time And I swear now sothelich, that sin would I let And never wickedly weigh, ne wicked chaffer use But wend to Walsingham, and my wife also. And bid the road of bronholme, bring me out of debt Repentest thou ever (quod repentance) or restitution madest? Yes once I was he●berd ꝙ he, with an heap of chapmen. The restitution that now is used. I rose when they were at rest, & rifled their males. That was not restitution, ꝙ repentance but robbers theft Thou hadst been better worthy, to be hanged therefore Than for all that, thou hast here showed. I took rifling for restitution ꝙ he, for I never red book I can no french in faith, but of the far end of Norfolk Used thou ever usury ꝙ repentance, in all thy life time? Nay soothly he said, save in my youth I learned among Lumberdes, and jews a lesson To weigh pence with a pays, and pair the heaviest And leanly it for love of crese, to lay a wed and lesen it, Such deeds I did write, if he his day broke I have more manners by rearages, than through, Miseriatur & commodat I have lent lords & ladies, my chaffer And been her broker after, and bought it myself exchanges and chevisauncis, with such chaffer Idle And lend folk that lose will, a lip at every noble And with lombards letters, I lad gold to Rome And took it by tale here, and told 'em there less Lendest thou ever lords, for love of her maintenance? Yea I have lent lords, that loved me never after And hath made many a knight, both mercer & draper That paid not for his prentishod, one pair of glovis Hast thou pit on poor men, that must needs borrow? I have as much pity on the poor, as peddler hath of cats That kylth hem if he can hem catch, for covet of her skin's Art thou manlich among thineibours, of thimete & drink? I am holden quoth he as hind, as is hound in kitchen Amongst my neighbours namely, such a name I have God leave that never ꝙ repentance, but thou repent that rather Grace on this ground, thy good well to beset Ne thine heirs after that, have joy of that thou wynnest To thine executors well biset, Ill gotten goods muslebe il spent, the silver that thou hem leave. And that was won with wrong, with wicked men be dispendid For were I friar of the house, there good faith & charity is I nold cope us with thy cattle, ne our kirk amend. Ne have a penny to my pittaunce, so god my soul help For the best book in our house, bright gold if it were And I witted witterly thou were such as thou tellest. Or else that I could know it by any kinds wit Seruuses alterius cum fercula pinguia queris. pane tuo potius vescere liber eris. Thou art an unkind creature, I can the not assoil Till thou make restitution, and reckoning with them all, And sith that reason roll it, in the register of heaven That thou hast made each man good, I may that not assoil Forget not that the last date will surely come. Psal. li Non dimit tur peccatum nisi restituatur ablatum. For all that have of thy good, have God my troth Been held at the high doom, to help the to restitute Who so leaveth not this be sooth, look in the psalter clause In Miserere mei deus whether I mean truth Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti. &. etc. Psal. xvii Shall never workman in this world, thrive with that thou wineste Cum sancto sanctus eris. Construe me that in english Than waxed that shrew in wanhope, & would hung himself Ne had repentance that rather, True repentance hath hope of mercy. recomforted him in this manner Have merci in thy mind, & with mouth beseech it For God's mercy is more, than all his other works And all wikidnes in the world, the man may work or think Is no more, to the mercy of God, than in the sea a glied. O muis iniquitas quantum ad misericordiam dei Est quasi scintilla, in medio maris. Therefore have thou mercy in mind, & merchandise leave it For thou hast no good ground, to get their with wastel But if it were with thy tongue, or else with thy two hands For the good that thou hast gotten, began all with falsehood And as long as thou livest with it, thou pa●st not but borowst And if thou wit never to which, ne to whom to restore Bear it to the bishop, and bid him of his grace Biset it himself, The Bishop shall answer for many as best is for thy soul For he shall answer for thee, at the high doom For that & for many more, that man shall give a reckoning What he learned you in lente, leave you none other And lente you of our lords good, to keep you from sin Now biginneth glutton, for to go to shrift And carrieth him to the kirkeward, his cop to show And Beton the bruster, bade him god morrow And asked him with that, whetherward he would To holy kirk said he, for to hear mass And sithen I would be shriven, and sin no more I have goodale goship said he, glutton would thou assai Haste thou ought in thy purse, any hot spices? I have pepper & pienes' ꝙ he, & a pound of garlic And a ferding worth of fenel seed, for fasting days Than goeth glutton in, and great oaths after Cisse thee souteres, sat on the bench Common drunkards Wat the warner, and his wife both Tymme the tyncker, and twain of his prentices Hycke the Hackeney man, and Hugh the nedler Clarise of cockelane, and the clerk of the church Davie the diker, and a dozen other. Sir Pierce of Prydy, and Pernell of Flaunders A Ribiboure, a ratener, a rakier of cheap A Roper, a reading king, and Rose the disheresse Godfray of garlic hive, and Gryffin the walshe And upholders an heap, early by the morrow Given glutton with glad cheer, good ale to handsel Clement the Cobbler, cast of his cloak And at the new fair, he nempned it to sell Hycke the hackeney man, hit his hood after And bade beat the butcher, be on his side There were chapmen ichose, this wa●e to praise Who so hath the hood, should have amends of the cloak Two risen up in ●ape, and rouned togethers And praised these pennyworths, apart by themself They could not by their conscience, accorden in truth Till Roben the roper, arose by the South And named him for an umpire, that no debate near For to try this chaffer, betwixt 'em there Hycke the Hosteler, had the cloak In covenant that Clement, should the cup fill And have Hickes hood the hosteler, & held him served And who so repented rathest, should arise after And greten sir glutton, with a gallon of ale There was laughing & louring, & let go the cup And so sitten they to evensong, and sungen other while Till glutton had igalped, a gallon and a gill His guts began to gothlen, as two greedy sows He pissed a pottle in, a Pater noster while And blue his round rewet, at his rudge bones end That all that hard that horn, held her nose after And wished it had been wiped, with a wyspe of firses He might neither step nor stand, or he a staff had And than 'gan he to go, like a glemans' bitch Sometime a side, The descripsion of a drunken man. and sometime a rear As who so layeth lines, for to latch fowls And when he drough to the door, them dimned his eyen He stumbled on the threshold, and threw to the earth Clement the cobbler, caught him by the middle For to life him aloft, and laid him on his knees And glutton was a great churl, and a grime in lifting And kought up a caudel, in Clementes lap There is none so hungry hound, in Herforte shear Durst lap of the leving, so unlovely they smaught● With all the woe of this world, his wife & his wench Bore him home to his bede, and brought him therein And after all this excess, he had an accidie That he slept saturday & sunday, till sun went to rest Than waked he of his wynking, & wiped his eyes The first word that he warped was, where is the bull? His wit 'gan edwite him tho, how wickedly he lived And Repentance right tho, rebuked him that time. As with words & works, thou wroughtest ill in thy life shrive the & be ashamed thereof, & show it with mougth. I glutton quoth the gome, guilty me yield That I have trespassed with tongue, I can not tell how oft Sworn gods soul, so god me help & holidome There no need was, nine hundred times And over see me at my soup, and sometime at nonce That I glutton gyrte up, ere I had gone a mile. And I spilled that might be spared, & spent on some hungry Over delicatli on fasting days, drunk and eaten both And sat sometime so long there, that I slept & eat at once For love of tales in taberns, to drink the more I dined And hied to the meat oer none, when fasting days were. This shoeing shrift ꝙ repentance, shall be merit to the And than 'gan gloten , and great dole make For his lewd life, that he lived had Pretty vows. And vowed to fast, for hunger and for thirst Shall never fish on friday, diffien in my womb Till abstinence mine aunt, have given me leave And yet have I hated her, all my life time Than came Sloth all beslaberd, with two slimy eyen I must sit said the Segge, or else I must needs nap I may not stand ne stoop, ne with out mi stole kneel Were I brought a bed, but if my talende it made Should no ringing do me rise, or I were ripe to dine He begun Benedicite with a belike, and his breast knoked And raskled and roared, and rut at the last. Awake reuke quoth repentance, & rape that to shrift. If I should die by this day, me list not to look I can not perfitli my Pater nost, as the priest it singith, But I can rhymes of Robenhod, & randal of Chester But of our lord or our lady, I learn nothing at all. I have made vows xl. & forgotten them on the morrow I performed never penance, as the priest me height Ne right sorry for my sins, yet was I never And if I bid any beads, but if it be of wrath That I tell with my tongue, is two mile from my heart I am occupied every day, holy day, and other With Idle tales at the ale, & other while in churches God's pain & his passion, full seld think I thereon I visited never feblemen, ne fettered folk in pits I have liefer here an harlotry, or a summer's game Or leasings to laugh at, and bilye my neighbours Then all that ever mark made, Math, John, & Lucas. And vigiles and fasting days, all these let I pass And lie in bed in lent, & mi leman in mine arms. Till matins & mass be done, & than go I to the friars Come I to Ite missa est I hold me served, I am not shriven sometime, but if sickness it make Not twice in two year, and than up guess I shrive me I have been priest & person, passing thirty winter Yet can I neither self ne sing, ne saints lives read But I can find in a field, or in a furlong an ha●e Better than in Beatus ●ir or in Beati omnes. Construe one clause, and ken it to my parishens I can hold love days, and hear a reves reckoning And in Cannon & in decretals, I can not read a line If I bug and borrow aught, but if it be tailed I forget it as soon, and if men me it ask Syxe scythes or seven, I forsake it with oaths And thus tene I true men, ten hundred times And my servants salary, sometimes is behind Ruth is to hear the rekning, when we shall make account So with wicked will & with wrath, my workmen I pay If any man do me benefit, or help me at need I am unkind against his courtesy, & can not understand it For I have & have had, somdeal hawks manners I am not lured with love, but if ought be under the thomb That kindness that mine even christian, kid me ferther Syxe scythes I Sloth, have forgotten it sith In speech & in sparing of expense, I spilled many a time Both flesh and fish and many other victuals Both bread and ale, butter, milk and cheese. For slouthed in my service, till it might serve no man I ran about in youth, and gave me not to learning And ever sith have been a beggar, for my foul sloth Hon mihi quia steril●m duxi, vitam iwenilem. Repentist thou ꝙ Repentance, & right with he swoned Till Vigilate, An admonition to beware of despair in repentance the veil, fet water at his eyes And flapte it on his face, and fast on him cried And said ware thee, for wanhope will the batraye I am sorry for my sins, say to thyself And beat thyself on the breast, bid god of grace For is no guilt here so great, but that his goodness is more Than sat Sloth up, & seyned him Swyth And made a vow tofore god, for his foul Sloth Shall no sunday be this seven year, but sickness it let That I ne shall do me or day, to the dear church And hear matteus and mass, as I a monk were Shall no ale after meat, hold me thence Till I have evensong heard, I behote to the road And yet will I yield again, if I so much have All that I wickedly wan, sithen I wit had And though my livelihood lack, let I nel That each man ne shall have his, or I hence wend And with the residue and the remnant, by the road of Chester I shall seek Truth erst, or I see Rome Robert the robber, on Reddite looked And for there was not whereof, he wept swith sore And yet the sinful shrew, said to himself Christ that on calvary, upon the cross diddest though Dismas my brother besought you of grace And hadst mercy on that man, for Memento sake So rue on this robber, that Reddere ne haveth Ne never ween to win, with craft that I know But for thy mikle mercy, mitigation I beseech Ne damp me not at domisday, for that I did ill What befell of this fellow, I can not fair show Well I wot he wept fast, water with his eyen And knowledged his guilt, to Christ yet eft sons That Penitentia his pick, he should polish new And leap with him over land, all his life time For he had lain by Latro Lucifer's aunt And than had Repentance ruth, & rad hem all to kneel For I shall beseech for all sinful, our saviour of grace To amend us of our misdeeds, & do mercy to us all Now god ꝙ he, that of thy goodness, 'gan the world make And of nought madest ought, & man most like thy lelf And sithen suffcedest for sin, a sickness to us all And all for the best as I leave, what ever the book telleth O felir culpa O necessarium peccatum Ade. For through the sin thy son, sent was to the earth And became man of a maid, mankind to save And makest thyself with thy son, and us sinful ilyche. Genes. i i. Io. iiii. Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Et alibi. Qui manet in charitate, in deo manet, et deus in eo. And sith with thyself son, in our suit dyedest On good Friday for man's sake, at full time of the day There thyself ne thy son, no sorrow in death feeled But in our sect was the sorrow, & thy son it lad, Captivam duxit captivitatem. Ephe. iiii. The sun for sorrow thereof, lost light for a time At midday when most light is, and mealtyme of saints Feddest with thy fresh blood, our forefathers in darkness Populus qui ambulat in tenebris, vidit lucem magnam And by the light that leapt out of thee, Lucifer was blended And blew all thy blessed, into the bliss of Paradise The third day after, thou yedesie into our suit A sinful Mary the saw, ere saint Mary thy dame And all to solace sinful, thou sufferedest it sooner. Mat. ix. Non veni vocare justos, sed peccatores ad penitentiam And all the Mark made, Matthew john & Lucas Of thy doughty deeds, were done in our arms. john. i. Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. And by so much me seemeth, the sikerer we may Bid and beseech, if it be thy will That art our father & our brother, be merciful to us And have ruth on these ribaudes, that repent 'em selves sore That ever they wrathed thee, in this world in word, thought, and deed. Then hent Hope an horn of Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos And blew it with Beati quotum remiss sunt iniquitates. That all Saints in heaven, sungen at once Homines et iumenta saluabis quemadmodum multiplicasti, misericordiam tuam deus. Psal, 36. A thousand of men tho, throngen togethers Criden up ward to Christ, and to his clean mother To have Grace to go with 'em, Truth to seken. And there was none so wise, the way thither could But blustering forth as beasts, over banks & hills Till late was and long, ere they a leode met Apparelled as a paynim, in pylgraimes wise He bore a burden bounden, with a broad lift In a with wands wise, wounden about A bull and a bag, he bore by his side An hundred amples, on his hat set Signs of Sinai, and shells of Galice And mady a crouch on his cloak, & keys of Rome And the vernicle before, for men should know And see by his signs, whom he so sought had. This folk trained him first, from whence he came From Snai he said, and from our Lord's sepulchre. In Bethlem and in Babylon, I have been in both, In Ermonie and Alexander, and many other placis. Ye may see by my signis, that be set in my hat That I have walked full wide, in wet and in dry And sought many good Seints, for my soulis help knowest thou not a crossent, that men call truth? Coudst thou not wish us the way, where the wight wonnith Nay so me God help, said that gome than I saw never Palmer, with poke nor with scrip Ask after him ere, till now in this place. Peter, quoth a ploughman, and put forth his head I know him as kindly, The ploughman is Truths servant. as clerk doth his book Conscience and kind wit, kenned me to his place, And did me sweren sickerly, to serve him for ever Both to sow and to set, the while I swink might. I have been his follower, all this fifty winter Both so when his seed and sued his beasts Within and without, I waited his profit. I dyke and delve, and do that truth hoteth Sometime I sow, and sometime I thrash In Tailars and tinker's craft, what truth can devise I weave and I wind, and do what truth hoteth For though I say it myself, I serve him to pay. Iche have mine hire well, and other whiles more. He is prestiste payar that poor men knoweth, Hene with halt none helk his hire, that he ne hath it at even He is as low as a lamb, and lovely of speech. And if ye will wit where he wonnith: I shall wish you witterly, the high way to his place Yea leave Piers ꝙ these pilgrims, & proffered him hire For to wend with him, to truths dwelling place Nay by my soul health ꝙ Piers, & 'gan for to swear I nolde fang a ferthinge, for saint Thomas shrine Truth would love me the less, longtime therefore after And if ye will to wend well, this is the way thither Ye must go thorough meekness, both men and wives Till ye come into conscience, the Christ wit the sooth That ye loven our lord God, How Piers teacheth the way to truth. leavest of all things And that your neighbours next, in no wise appeire Other wise than thou wouldest, he wrought to thyself And so bowith forth by a broke, beeth buxon of speech Till you finden a ford, your fathers ye honoureth Honora patrem et matrem. etc. Exod. xx. Wade in that water, and wash you well there And you shall leap the lighter, all your life after And so shalt thou see swear not, but if it be for need And namely on idle, the name of god almighty Than shalt thou come by a croft, but come thou not therein That croft height covet not, men's cattle nor her wines Ne none of her servants, that noyen hem might Look ye break no bows there, but if they be your own Two stocks there standen, and flynte you not there They hight steel not ne slay not, strick forth by both And leave 'em on the left hand, & look not thereafter And hold well thy holy day, heighe till even Than shalt thou blensh at a berch, bear no false witness He is frithed in with florence, and other foes many Look thou pluck no plant there, for perals of thy soul Than shall ye see Saysoth, so it be to done In no manner else not, for no man's bidding Than shalt thou come to a court, as clear as the sun The mote is of mercy, that manner about And all the walls been of wit, to holden will out And kerneled with christendom, mankind to save Botrased with believe so, or thou be'st not saved And all the houses been hiled, hales and chambres With no lead but with love, & low speech as brethren The bridge is of bidewel, the better may thou speed Every pillar is of penance, of prayers of saints Of alms deeds are the hokes, that the gates hangen on Grace height the Gatewarde, Truth● Portar a good man forsooth His man hight Amend you, for many men him knoweth Telleth him this token, that truth wit the sooth I performed the penance, that the priest me enjoined And am full sort for my sins, & so shall I ever When I think thereon, though I were a pope Beddeth amend you meken him, till his master once To wain up the wyket, that the woman shoot though Adam and Eve, eaten apples unroasted Paradisi porta per Euam cutictis clausa est, et per vitginem Mariam patefacta est. For he hath the key & the clicket, though the King slept And if grace grant to thee, to come in this wise Thou shalt see in thy self, Truth sit in thine heart In a cheyre of charity, as thou a child were To suffer him and say not, against thy Siers will And beware than of Wrath, that is a wicked shrew He hath Ewye to him, that in thy heart sitteth And paketh forth pride, to praise thyself The boldness of the benefits, maketh the blind than And than wast thou driven out as dew, & the door closed Keyed and clyketted, to keep the with out Happily an hundred winter, ere thou eft entre Thus mightest thou lesen his love, to let well by the self And never happily eft enter, but grace if thou have And there are seven sistern, that serven Truth ever And are porters to the posterus, Truths maidens that to the place belong That one of 'em hight Abstinence, Humility an other Chartie and Chastity, been the chief maidens there Patience and Peace, do much people help Largeness the Lady, letteth in full many She hath holpen an hundred out of the devils pinfold And who is sib to these seven, so me god help He is wondrously welcome, and fair underfoggen And but ye be sib, to some of these sisters seven It is full hard by my head ꝙ Piers, for any of you all To get in gong at any gate there, but grace be the more Now by Christ ꝙ a cutpurse them, I have no kin there Nor I ꝙ an apeward, by aught that I can know Wit God quoth a wafrester, witted I this for sooth Should I never further a foot, for any friars preaching Yis quod Piers the plough man, & poked 'em all to good Mercy is a maiden there, hath might over 'em all And she is syb be to all sinful, and her son also And through the help of 'em two, hope ye none other Thou might get grace thereby, so thou go bytyme Bi. s. Paul ꝙ a pardoner, on adventure I be not known there I will go fetch my boxke, with my brevets all And also a bull, with a bishops letters. By Christ ꝙ a common woman, thy company will I follow Thou shalt say I am thy sister, I ne wot whether they be gone. Passus sextus de visione: THis were a wicked way, but if we had a guide That would wend with us each a foot, & the way tell Quoth perkin the ploughman, vi. s. Peter of rome I have an half acre to erie, by the high way Had I eryed this half acre, and sown it after I would wend with you, How Peers assigneth women to work. and the way teach This were a long letting, ꝙ a lady in a Skleire What should we women work, in the mean while Some shall sow the sack ꝙ Piers, for shedding of the wheat And ye see lovely ladies, with your long fingers That ye have silk and sandell, to sow when time is Chesibles for chaplains, churches to honour wives and widows, wool and flax spinneth Make cloth I counsel you, & ken so your daughters The needy and the naked, nimith heed how they liggen And cast 'em clothes, for so commandeth truth For I shall leanly hem livelihood, but if the land fail Flesh and bread both, to rich and to poor As long as I live, for the lords love of heaven And all manner of men, that through meat & dringe libbeth Help him to work wightlye, that winneth your food By Christ quoth a knight tho, he kenneth us the best And on the teme truly, taught was I never And ken me quod the knight, & by Christ I will assay. By saint Paul quod Perken, ye proffer me fair That I shall swink and sweet, Pierce prayeth a knight to help to keep holy church. & sow for us both And other labours do for thy love, all my life time In covenant that thou keep, holy kirk and myself From wastours & from wicked men, that this world destroyeth And go hunt hardly, to hares and to Foxes To doors & to brocks, the breken adown my hedges And go affayte the Falcons, wild fowls to kill For such cometh to my croft, and cropeth mi whet● Curtessy the knight then, comsed these words By my power Pers quoth he, I plight the my troth To fulfil this forward, though I fight should As long as I live, I shall the maintain Pierce counseleth the knight wisely Yea and yet a point quod Piers, I pray you of more Look ye tene no tenant, but truth will assent And though ye may amarcye him, let merci be taxour And meekness thy master, manger Medes cheeks And though poor men proffre you, presents and gifts Nym it not on a venture, ye may it not deserve For ye shall yelden it again, at one years end In a full parilous place, Purgatory it high And misved not thy bond men, the better might thou speed Though he be thy underling here, well it may happen That he were worthelier set, & with more bliss in heaven Than thou, but thou do bet, and live as thou should Amice asccude superius. Luke xiiii For in charnel & in church, cherls be full evil to know Or a knight from a knave there, know this in thy heart And that thou be true of thy tongue, & tales that thou hate But if they be of wisdom or wit, thy workmen to chasten Hold with no harlots, ne here not her tales And namely at thy meat, such meneschew For it be the devils dyssours, I do the to understand I assent be saint Jame, the knight said than For to work by thy words, the while my life endureth And I shall apparel me quod Parken, in pilgrims wise And wend with you I will, till we find truth And cast on my clothes, clouted and hold Micokers and mi cuffs, for cold on my nails And hang mi hoper at mi hals, in slede of a scripe A bushel of bread corn, bring me therein For I will sow it myself, and sith will I wend To pilgrimages as palmers do, pardon for to have And whoso helpeth me to erye, and sour I wend Shall have leave by our lord, to glene here in harvest And maken hem merry thermid, maugre who so grudge it And all kin crafty men, that can live in truth I shall find 'em food, that faithfully lybbeth Save jake the iudgeler, and jenet of the stews And Daniel the displeyer, and Benot the bawd And Friar faytoure, and folk of his order And Robin the ribauder, for his rusty words Truth told me it once, and bade me tell it after. Deleantur de libro viventium. I should not deal with hem For holy church is hot, Psal. 69. of 'em no tithes to take Quia cum tustis non scribantur. They be escaped good adventure, Pierces wife God hem amend Dame werche when time is, Pierce wife height His daughtir high do right so, or thy dame shall the beat His son hight Suffer thy soverains, to have her will deem hem not for if thou dost, thou shalt it dear abye Let God work withal, for so his word teacheth For now I am old and door, and have of mean own To penance & to pilgrimage, I will pass with thes other Therefore I will ere I wend, do write my bequest, How Piers maketh his testament, In dei nomine amen, I make it myself He shall have my soul, that best hath deserved it And from the fiend it defend, for so I believe Till I come to my counts, as my Crede me telleth To have a release and a remission, on that rental I leave The kirk shall have my carrion, and keep my bones For of my corn and cattle, she craved my tithes I paid it him priestly, for the peril of my soul Therefore is he held I hope, to mind me in his mass And mengen in his memori, among all christian My wife shall have of that I won, with Truth & no more, And deal among my daughters, and mi dear children For though I buy to day, my debts are quite I bore home that I borrowed, or I to bed go And with the residue & the remnant by the road of Luke's I will worship therewith, Truth by my life And been his Pilgraime at the plough, for poor men's sake Mi plough foot shall be mi pikstaf, & pitch ato the tootes And help my coulter to kern, and cleanse the forowes. Now is Perkin & his pilgraymes, to the plough faren To erie this half acre, helpen him many Dikers and deluers, digged up the balks Therewith was Perkin apaied, & praised 'em fast Other workmen there were, that wrought full yearn Every man in his manner, made himself to done And some to please Perkin, picked up the weeds. At high prime Pierce, let the blow stand. To over see 'em himself, and who so best wrought He should be hired thereafter, when harvest time came And than satin some, and song at the nail, jolly workmen And helped erie his half acre, with hay trolly lolly Now by the peril of mi soul ꝙ Pierce, all in pure tene. But ye arise the rather, and rape you to work Shall no grain that groweth, glad you atende And though ye die for dole, the devil have that retch. though were faytors afeard, and feigned 'em blind Some laid her legs a lyrye, as such losels can And made her moan to Pierce, & prayed him of grace For we have no limbs to labour with lord, graced be ye And we pray for you Pierce, & for your plough both That god of his grace, your grain multiply And yield you for your alms, that you give us here For we can neither swink ne sweat, such sickness us ailith If it be soothe ꝙ Pierce that ye sayne, Learn to answer counterfeit beggars I shall it soon espy Ye be wasters I wot well, and truth wots the sooth And I am his old hine, and hight him to warn Which they were in this world, his workmen appeared Ye waste the men winnen, with travail and with tene And truth shall teach you, his teme to drive Or ye shall eat barley bread, and of the broke drink. but if ye be blind or broken leggid, or bolted with irons Ye shall eat wheat bread, and drink with myself Till God of his goodness, amendment you send, And ye might travel as truth would, & take meat & hire To keep kine in the field, the corn from the beasts Dyken or deluen, or dingine upon sheaves Or help make mortar, or bear muck a field In licherie and in losengery ye, live and in sloth And all is through sufferance, that vengeance you ne taketh And Ankers and hermits, the eat but at nonce And no more or morrow, my alms shall not they have And cattles to keep 'em with, that have cloisters and churches And Robert runabout, shall not have of mine Ne apostles but they preach can, & have bishops power They shall have pane & pottage, & make herself at ease No reasonable religion, hath right nought of certain. And than 'gan a wastoure to wrath him, & would have fought And to Piers the ploman, he proffered his glove A britoner a bragger, The waster will fight and bofeted Pierce also And bade him go piss with his plough, forpyned shrew Wilt thou or nilt thou, we will have our will Of thy flower and of thy flesh, fetch when us liketh, And maken us merry there mid, maugre thy cheeks Pierce plaineth to the knight. Than Pierce the ploughman, plained him to the knight To keep him as covenant was, fro cursed shrews And from these wastors' wolueskins, that make the world dear For tho wasten & win nought, & that ilke while Worth never plenty among the paple, the while my plough liggeth Curtesly the knight than, as his kind would Warned waster, and wished him the better, Or thou shalt abye by the law, by thorder that I bear. I was not wont to work ꝙ waster, & now I nill begin And let light of the law, & less of the knight, And set Pierce at a peses, and his plough both And menaced Piers and his men, if they met eft soon Pierce prcied hunger to revenge him. Now by the peril of mi soul ꝙ piers, I shall apeir you all And whouped after hunger, that heard him at the first. A wreak me of these waftours' ꝙ he, the this world shendeth Hunger in haste tho, hent waster by the maw And wrong him so by the womb, that both his eien watered He buffeted the breton, about the cheeks, That he looked like a lantern, all his life after He beat 'em so both, he broke near her guts Ne had Pierce with a peses lof, prayed hunger to cease They had been doluen, ne dame thou none other faitors work for fear of hunger Suffer hem live he said, & let hem eat with hogs, Or else beans and bran, i baken togethers Or else milk or mean ale, thus prayed Pierce for hem. Faitours for fear thereof, flown into barns And flapped on with flails, from morrow till even That hunger was not so hardy, on hem for to look. For a pot full of peses, that Pierce had ymaked An heap of hermits, henten hem spades And kit her copes, and courtebies hem made And wenten as workmen with, spades & with shovels And doluen and diggen, to drive away hunger, What need can do. Blind and bedridden, were botened a thousand That sitten to beg silver, soon were they healed For bred baken for baierds, was boat for many hongri And many beggars for beans, buxum were to swink And each poor man well apaid, to have pesen for his hire And what Pierce prayed hem to do, as pressed as a hawk And thereof was Pierce proud, & put 'em to work And gave hem meat as he might ford, & reasonable hire Than had Pierce pity, & prayed hunger to wend, Home unto his own yarth, and held him there For I am well a wroke of wasters, by thy might now And I pray the ere thou pass, quod Pierce to hunger Of beggars and bidders, what best to be done? For I wot well be thou went, they will worch full ill For mischief it maketh, they be so meek now And for default of her food, this folk is at my will. They are mi bloody brother ꝙ pierce, for god bought us all Truth taught me once, to love 'em each one And helpen 'em of all thing, aye as hem needeth And now would I wit of thee, what were the best And how I might mastrens hem, & make 'em work. How beggars may be made to work. Hear now quoth hunger, and hold it for wisdom, Bold beggars & big, that may her bread swink With hounds bread & horsebread, hold up her hearts Abate 'em with beans, for bollinge of her womb And if the gums grudge then, bid 'em go swink And he shall soup sweeter, when he hath it deserved And if thou find any freke, the fortune hath apaired Or any manner falty man, fond thou such to know comfort hem with thy cattle, for Christ'S love of heaven Love 'em, and lean hem, for so the law teacheth Gal vi a. Alter alterius onera portate And all manner of men, that thou might espy, That needy been and naughty, help 'em of thy goods Love & lack hem nought, lest god take the vengeance Though they do evil, let god work Mihi vindictam, er ego distribuam, Hebr. xii. Rom. xii. De. xxxii. Luk. xvi. If thou wilt be gracious to go, do as the gospel teacheth And bylove the among low men, so shalt thou latch grace. Facite vobis amicos de maminone iniquitatis, I nold grieve god ꝙ Pierce, for all the good on ground Might I synles do as thou sayest, said Pierce then Yea I behote the ꝙ hunger, or else the bible lieth. Go to Genesis the giant, the engendrour of us all. In Sudore and in swink, thou shalt thy meattilye And labour for thy livelihood, for so our lord height And Sapience saith the same, I saw it in the bible Piger pre frigore, no field would tilye, Prou xx. The slothful suffer hunger Mat xxv And therefore he shall beg & bid, & no man bate his hunger Matthew with man's face, mouthed these words That servus nequam had a mnan, & for he nold chaffer He had inaugre of his master, for evermore after And biname him his Mnam, for he ne would worch And gafe that Mnam to him, that ten Mnams had And with that he said, that holy kirk it heard He that hath shall have, and help there it needeth And he thou hath not shall not have, ne no man him help And that he weeneth well to have, I will it him bereave Kind wit would, that each a wight wrought. Or in digging or in delving, or travail of prayers Contemplative life, or active life, Christ would they worught The psalter saith in the psalms of beati omnes, The freke that feedeth himself, with his faithful labour He is blessed by the book in body and in soul. Lobores manuum tuarum, Psal. 128 How● piers prayeth hunger to teach● him a 〈◊〉 craft for him and for his servants quoniam manducabis Yet I pray you ꝙ Pierce, pur charity & ye can Any lief leech craft, lere it me my dear For some of my servants, and myself both Of all a week work not, so our womb acheth I wot well ꝙ hunger, what sickness the aileth, Ye have manged over much, & that maketh you groan And I hot the ꝙ hunger, as thou thy hele wilneste, That thou drink no day, ere thou dine some what, Eat not I hot thee, ere hunger, the taketh And send the of his sauce, to savour with thy lips, And keep some till souper time, and sit not to long, And rise up ere appetite, have eaten his fill: Let not sir Surfyte, sit at thy board, Leave him not for he is licherous, & liquorous of tongue And after many manner of meat, his maw is a hungered And if thou diet the thus, I dare lay my ears That Physic shall his furred hood, for his food sell, And his cloak of Calabrie, with all the knaps of gold And be fain by my faith, his physic to let And learn to labour with hand, for livelihood is sweet For murderers are many leeches, lord 'em amend, They do men die by their drinks, yet destiny it would By. S. Paul ꝙ Pierce, these are profitable words Wend now hunger when thou wilt, the well be thou ever For this is a lovely lesson, the lord it the foryelde, By hot god quoth hunger, hence ne will I wend Till I have dined by this day, and drunken both I have no penny ꝙ Pierce, polettes for to buy Ne neither goose ne gries, but two green chesis, A few curds and cream, and an haver cake. And two loves of beans & dran, bake for my folk, And yet I say by my soul, I have no salt bacon Ne no cokeny by Christ, colopes for to make And I have percely and porets, & many coal plants, And eke a cow and a calf, and a cart mare To draw a field my dung, the while the draft lasteth. And by this livelihood, I must live to Lammas time By that I hope to have, harvest in my croft And then I may dight thy dinner, as me dear liketh And all the poor people tho, pescoddes fetten, Beans and baken apples, they brought in her lappis Poor folk feed hunger. Chiboles and chernell, and ripe cherries many And proffered Piers the present, to please with his hunger All hunger eat in haste, and asked after more Than poor folk for fear, fed hunger yearn With green poret & pesen, to poison him they thought By that it neghed to harvest, new corn came to cheping Than was folk fain, and fed hunger with the best With good ale as glutton taught, & gart hunger to sleep And though would waster no work, but wandrens about, Ne no beggar eat bread, that beans in were But of Coket and Clermatine, or else of clean wheat Ne no halfpenny ale, in no wise drink But of best & of that brownest, that in borough is to sell labourers that have no land to live on, but her hands deigned to dine a day, with night old wortes May no penyale 'em pay, ne no piece of bacon But if it be fresh flesh, other fish fried other baked And that chanud, or plus chaud, for chilling of her maw Provender pricketh them And but if he be highly hired, else will he chide And that he was workman wrought, wail the time Against Cafons counsel, comseth he to jangle, Paupertatis onus patienter ferre memento He greu●●h him against god, Cato, & grudgeth again reason And than curseth he the king, and all his counsel after Such laws to look, labourers to grieve. While hunger gafe 'em hire, not one of hem would chide. Ne striven against his statute, so sternly he looked And I warn you workmen, win while ye may For hunger hither ward, hasteth himself He shall awake with water, wastours to chaste. Ere five year be fulfilled, such famine shall arise Through floods and foul weather, This is no prophecy but a prognostication fruit shall fail And so said Saturn and sent you to warn. And when ye see the sun amiss, & two monks heads And a maid have the mastery, and multiply by height. Than shall death withdraw, and dearth be justice And Davie the dyker, shall die for hunger But if God of his goodness grant us a true Passus septimus de visione. TRuth heard tell hereof, and to Pierce sent. To taken his teme, and tilen the earth And purchased a pardon A pena et a culpa For him & for his heirs, Piercis Paxdon. for evermore after And bade him hold him at home, and erye his lays And all that help him to erye, to set, and to sow Or any other mystery, that might Pierce avail: Pardon with Pierce ploughman, Truth hath granted, Knights and kings, that keepeth holy kirk, And rightfully in realms, ruleth the people Have pardon through purgatory, to pass full lightli With patriarchs & prophets, in Paradise to be fellow Bishops iblessed, if they been as they should, Legisters of both laws, the lewd therewith to preach, And in as much as they may, amend all sinful Are peers with th'apostles, such pardon Pierce showeth And at the day of doom, at the high deyse to sit Merchants in the mergen, had many years And none Apena et culpa, the Pope will 'em grant For they hold not her holidays, as holy church teacheth And for they swear by her soul, & so god must hem help Again clean conscience her cattle to sell What merchants should do. And under his secret seal, truth sent 'em a letter That they should bug boldly, that them best liked And sithen sell it again, and save the winning And amend mesondiux, their meed, & misease folk help And wicked ways, wightely amend And do boot to bridges, that to broke were Marien maidens, or maken hem Nuns. Poor people and prisonars, finden 'em her food And set scholars to school, or to some other crafts relieve religion, and renten hem better. And I shall send you myself, s. Mihel mine afchanhel That no devil shall you dear, ne fear you in your doing And witten you from wanhope, if ye will this work And send your souls in safety, to my saints in joy Than were merchants merry, many wept for joy And praised pierce the ploughman that purchased the bull Men of law lest pardon had, that pleden for meed For the psalter saveth 'em not, such as taken gifts Psal. xv. Men of law should take nought but their fee. And namely of Innocentes, that no evil ne camneth. Super innocentem munera non accipies. pleaders should pain hem to plead, for such in health Princes and prelate's should pay for her travel, A regibus et principibus erit merces corum And many a justice and juror would for john do more Than for Dei pietate, Law●ars should take no money leave you no other And he that spendeth his speech, & speaketh for the poor That is innocent & needy, and no man appeyreth comforteth him in that case, without covetise of gifts, And speaketh law for our lords love, as he hath learned Shall no devil at his deaths day, dern him a mite That he ne worth false & his soul, the psalter beareth witness Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo? Psal. xv. And to bug water ne wind, ne wit, ne fire the fourth These four the father of heaven made, to this fold in comen These be Truths treasures, truefolk to help That never shall wax ne wane, without God himself. When they drawn on to die, & indulgence would have Their pardon is full petit, at their parting hence That any meed of mean men, for their mooting take Ye Legisters and lawyers, hold this for Truth That if I lie▪ matthew is to blame, For he bade me tell you this, & this proverb me told Quod cumque vultis ut faciant vobis homines facite eyes. All living labourers, Luke. vi. that libben with her hands That truly taken, and truly winnen, And liven in love and in law, for their low hearts Haveth the same absolution that sent was to Pierce Beggars & bidders, Of giving of alms. ne be not in the bull But if the suggestion be south, that shapeth hem to beg For he that beggeth one bit, but if he have need He is false with the fiend, and defraudeth the needy And also he beguileth the giver, against his will For if he were not needy, he would give that to an other, That were more needy than he, so the needest should be helped Caton kenneth me thus, & the clerk of Stories Cui des dideto, is Catons' teaching And in the stories, he teacheth to bestow your alms Sat elimosina tua in manu tua donec studes cui des And Gregory was a good man, Gregory & bade us given all That asketh for his love, that us all leaneth Non eligas cui miserearis, ne forte pretereas illum qui meretur accipere. Quia incertum est pro quo deo magis placeas. For ye wit not who is worthy, & god wots the needy. In him that taketh is the treachery, if any treason walk For he that giveth yieldeth, and yarketh him to rest And he the biddeth borroweth, & bridgeth himself in det For beggars borowen ever, & their borrow is god almighty To yield hem that giveth hem, & yet usury more Quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam, ut ego veniens meum cum usuris exigerem? Luke nineteen Therefore bid not ye beggars, but if ye have great need For he that hath to bug high bread, the bow beareth witness He hath enough that hath bred, though he have nought else Satis dives est qui non indiget pane Let usage be your solace of saints lives reading The book bamneth begeri, & blameth hem in this manner junior fui et iam senui, et non vidi justum derelictum nec semen eius querens panem. Psal. 37 For ye live in no love, ne no law hold Mani of you ye wed not, the women that ye with deal But as wild beasts with wehe, worthen up & worchen And bringen forth barns, that bastards men callen. Or the back or some bone, he breaketh in his youth: And sith gone faiten with your fauntes, for ever after There is more mishap pupil, among these beggars Than of all manner of men that on this mould walketh And they that live thus her life, may loath the time That ever they were men wrought, when they shall hence far And old men & hoar, that helpless be of strength And women with child, patient poverty. that work ne may Blind and bedriden, and broke their membres That taken the mischiefs meekly, as mesels & other Have as plain pardon as the ploughman himself For love of her low hearts, our lord hath hem granted Their penance & their purgatory, here on this earth Pierce quoth a priest tho, thy pardon must I read For I will construe each a clause, & ken it the in english And Pierce at his prayer, his pardon unfolded And I behinden hem both, beheld all the bull All in two lines it lay, and not a lief more And was written right thus, in witness of Truth, Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam etexnam. Qui vero mala in ignem eternam. Mat. xxv Peter quoth the priest tho, I can no pardon find But dowel and have well, & god shall have thy soul And do Ill and have Ill, hope thou none other But after thy deaths day, the devil shall have thy soul And Pierce for pure tene, pulled it in twain. And said. Si ambulavero in medio vmbre mortis Non timebo malum quoniam, tu mecum es. Psal. xxiii I shall cease of my sowing quoth Pierce, & swink not so hard Ne about my belly joy, so busy be no more Of prayers & of penance, my plough shall be hereafter And weep when I should sleep, though wheat bread me fail The prophet his pain ate, in penance, & sorrow By that the psalter sayeth, so did other many That loveth god lelly, his livelihood is full easy, Fuerunt mihi sachrime me, panes die ac nocte. And but if Luke lie, Psal. lii. he learneth us by fowls We should not be busy, about the worlds bliss Math. vi. Ne soliciti sitis he saith in the gospel And showeth in examples ourselves to wish The fowls in the field, who findeth hem meat in winter Have they no garner to go to, but god feeds 'em all: What ꝙ the priest to Parkin, Peter as me thinketh Thou art lettered a little who learned the on book? Abstinence the Abbes ꝙ Pierce, mine. a.b.c. me taught And conscience came afterward, & kenned me much more. Were thou a priest ꝙ he, A blind. priests taunt thou might preach where that should As divinor in divinity with Dirit insipiens to thy teme. Lewd Lorel ꝙ Pierce, little lookest thou on the bible On salomon's saws, seldom thou beholdest. Ecce derisiones et iurgia cum eis ne crescant. The priest and Perkin, Pro. xxii. opposed either other And I through her words awoke, & waited about And saw the sun, in the south sit that time Meatelesse and moneilesse, on Maluerne hills musing on these metales, and my way ich go. Many times these metals, hath made me study Of that I see sleeping, if that so be might And also for Pierce the ploughman, full pensive in heart And what a pardon Pierce had, all the people to comfort And how the priest impungned it, with ii proper words And I have no savoury in songwary, for I seit oft fail Caton and canonisters, counsel us to leave To set sadness in songwary, for Somnia ne cures And for the bible book beareth witness How Daniel deemed, How Daniel deemed the dreams of Nabuchodonosor. the dreams of a king That was Nabugodonosor, named of clerks Daniel said sir king, thy dreams betoken That unkought knights shall come, thy kingdom to claim Amongst lower Lords, thy land shall be departed And as Daniel deemed, in deed it fell after The king lost his lordship, and lower men it had And joseph met marvelously, Of the dreams of joseph how the moan and the sun And the. xi stars, halsed him all Than jacob judged, josephes' swyven Beau fitz quod his father, for defante we shall I myself and my sons, seek the for need It befell as his father said, in Pharaos' time That joseph was justice, egypt to looken It befell as his father told, his friends there him sought And all this maketh me, on this metals to think And how the priest proved, no pardon to do well And deemed that dowel, in dulgence passed Biennales and triennales, and bishops letters And how dowel at the day of doom, is dignely underfongen And passed all the pardon, Note how hescorneth the authority of Popes Math. vi. of. s. Peter's church Now hath the pope power, pardon to grant the people Without any penance, to pass into heaven This is our belief, as lettered men do us teach Quod cumque ligaveritis super terram, erit ligatum et in celis And so leave lellye Lords, forbade else That pardon and penance, & prayers done save Souls that have sinned, seven scythes deadly And to trust to these trentals, truly me thinketh Is not so siker for the soul, as to do well Therefore I read you reukes, that rich be on this earth upon trust of treasure, trientales to have Be ye never the holder, to break the ten hests And namely ye masters, mayors and judges That have the wealth of this world,, & for wise men be held To purchase you pardons, & the pope's bulls At the dreadful doom, when the dead shall arise And comen all tofore Christ, accounts for to go How thou leadest thy life here, and his laws keepest And how thou diddest day by day, the doom will rehearse A poke full of pardon there, ne provincial letters Though ye be founden in the fraternity, of the four orders And have indulgence an. C. fold, but if do well you help I beset your patents & your pardons, at a pies he'll Therefore I counsel all christian, to cry god mercy And make Christ our mean, that hath made emends That and give us grace here, or we go hence Such wockes to work, while we been here That after our deaths day, dowel rehearse At the day of doom, we did as he height. Passus octauus de visione. Et hic incipit inquisitio prima de dowel. THus robed in russet, I roamed about All a Summer season, for to seek dowel And freyned full oft, of folk that I met If any wight wist, where dowel was at inn And what man he might be, of many man I asked Was never wight as I went, that me wish could Where this lad lenged, less or more. Till it befell on a Friday, two Friars I met Masters of the Minours, men of great wit I halsed 'em hendelye, as I had learned And prayed 'em for charity, or they passed further If they knew any court, or country as they went Where that do well dwelleth, do me to wit For they be men on this mould, that most wide walken And known countries & courts, & many kins places Both prince's palaces, and poor men's coats And dowel & do evil, where they dwell both. Amongst us ꝙ the minours, that man is dwelling And ever hath as I hope, and ever shall hereafter, Contra quod I, as a clerk, and cumsed to of sputen And said him soothly, Septies in die cadit justus. Prou. 24. Seven scythes sayeth the book, sinneth the rightful. And who so sinneth I say, doth evil as me thinketh And do well and doevyl, may not dwell together, Ergo he is not alway, among you Friars He is other while else where, to wyshen the people. I shall say the my son, said the Friar than, How seven scythes the sad man, on a day sinneth. By a forbisue quod the Friar, I shall the fair show Let bring a man in a boat, amid the broad water The wind and the water, and the boat wagging Make a man many time, to fall and to stand For stand he never so stiff, he stumbleth if he move And yet is he safe and sound, and so him behoveth, For if he ne arise the rather, and raght to the steer, The wind would with the water, the boot overthrow And than were his life lost, through latches of himself And thus it falleth quod the Friar, by folk here on earth The water is likened to the world, that waneth & waxeth The goods of this world, are likened to the great waves That was wynds and wethers, walken about. The boot is likened to our body, the brytil is of kind That through the flesh, and the frail world sinneth the sad man, a day seven times And deadly sin doth he not, for do well him keepeth And that is charity the champion, chief help again sin For he strengtheth man to stand, & stirreth man's soul And though thy body bow, as boat doth in water, Ay is thy soul safe, but if thou wilt thyself Do a deadly sin, and drench so thy soul His opinion of free-will. God will suffer well thy sloth, if thyself liketh For he gafe the two yeresgifts, to teme well thyself And that is Witte & Frewil, to every wight a portion To flying fowls, to fishes, and to beasts And man hath most thereof, and most is to blame But if he worth well therewith, as dowel him teacheth. I have no kind knoing ꝙ I, to conceive all your words And if I may live & look, I shall go learn better I bikenne the Christ, that on the cross died And I said the same, save you from mischance And give you grace on this ground good men to worth And thus I went wide, where walking mine one By a wide weldernes, and by a woods side Bliss of the birds brought me on sleep, And under a lined on a land, leaned I a stound To lieth the lays, though lovely fowls made Mirth of her mouths, made me there to sleep The maruelousest metelles, met me than That ever dreamed wight, in world as I ween. A much man as me thought, and like to myself Came and called me, by my kind name What art thou quoth I tho, thou that my name knowest That thou wottest well quoth he, and no wight better Wots I what thou art? Thought said he than, I have sued the this seven years, se thou me no rather? Art thou Thought ꝙ I tho, thou couldst me wish Where the Dowel dwelleth, & do me that to know Dowel, & Dobetter, & Dobest the third, quoth he Are three fair virtues, and be not far to find. Who so is true of his tongue, & of his two hands And through his labour or his land, his livelihood winneth And is trusty of his tayling, taketh but his own And is no drunklewe ne de digious, dowel him followeth Dobet doth right thus, & he doth much more He is as low as a lamb, and lovely of speech And helpeth all men, after that hem needeth The bags & the bigirdles, he hath to broke 'em all, That the Earl Auarous, held and his heirs And thus with mammons money, he hath made him friends And is run to religion, and hath rendered the Bible And preacheth to the people, saint Paul's words Libenter suffertis insipientis cum siits ipsi sapintes. two. Cor. xi. And suffereth the unwise, with you for to live And with glad will doth hem good, for so god you hoteth Dobest is above both, and beareth a bishop's cross Is hooked on that one end, to halye men from hell A pike is on the potent, to pull down the wicked That waiten any wickedness, do well to tene And dowel and dobet, amongst hem have ordained To crown one to be king, to rule 'em both That if dowel and dobet, be against dobeste Than shall the king come, and cast 'em in irons And but if do best bid for 'em, they be there for ever Thus dowel and dobet, and dobeste the third Crowned one to be king, to keepen 'em all And to rule the realm, by her three wits And none other wise, but as they three assented, I thanked Thought tho, that he me thus taught And yet savoureth me not thy suging, I covet to learn How dowel dobest & do better, done among the people But wit can wish the ꝙ thought, where though iii dwell Else wots I none that can tell, that now is alive. Thought and I thus, three days we yeden Disputing upon dowel, day after other And ere we were ware, with wit 'gan we meet Wit will have none excess. He was long and lean, like to none other Was no pride on his apparel, ne poverty neither Sad of his semblance, and of soft cheer I durst not move no matter, to make him to jangle But as I bade thought tho, be mean between And pur forth some purpose, to preven his wits What was dowel fro dobet, & dobest from 'em both Than thought in that time, said these words Whether dowel dobet, and dobest been in land Here is will would wit, if Wit could teach him And whether he be man or woman, this man feign would espy And worch as they three would, this is his intent Passus nonus de visione. Et primus de dowel. HEre dowel dwelleth ꝙ wit, not a day hence In a castle that kind made, of four kins things Of earth & air is it mad, mingled togethers With wind & with water, witterly enjoined Kind hath closed therein, craftily withal A Leman that he loveth, like to himself Anima she height, and Envy her hateth A proud pricker of France, Princeps huius mundi Dowel is keeper of the soul. And would win her away, with wiles & he might And kind knoweth this well, & keepeth her the better And doth her with sir dowel, is duke of this marches Dobet is her damosel, sir dowels daughter To serve this lady lelly, both late and rathe. Dobest is above both, a bishops peer That he bid moot be do, he ruleth 'em all Anima that lady, is led by his learning. And the constable of the castle, that keepeth all the watch, In wit hath five sons. Is a wise knight withal, sir In wit he hight And hath five fair sons, by his first wife Sir Seewell and Saywel, and hearwell the end Sir worchwel with thy hand, a wight man of strength And sir Godfray gowell, great lords forsooth These five been set, to save this lady Anima Till kind come or send, to save her for ever What kins thing is kind ꝙ I, canst thou me tell? Kind ꝙ wit is a creator, of all kinnis things Father and former of all, that ever was makyd And that is the great god, that gynning had never Lord of life and of light, of bliss and of pain Angels and all thing, be at his will, And man is him most like, of mark and of shape, For through the word that he spoke, Ps. xxxiii wexen forth beasts Dirit et facta sunt. And made Adam, likest to himself one And Eve of his rib bone, without any mean For he was singular himself, and said faciamus As who say more must hereto, Gods might must help his word. than my word one My might must help, now with my speech Even as a lord should make letters, & he lackid perchmen Though he could write never so well, if he had no pen The letters for all his lordship, I leave were never imaked And so it seemeth by him, as the bible telleth. There he said. Dirit et facta sunt, He must worch with his word, and his wit show And in this manner was man made, by might of God almighty With his word & his workmanship, and with life to last And thus god gave him a ghost, of the godhead of heaven And of his great grace, granted him bliss And that is life that aye shall last, to all our lineage after And that is the castle the kind made, Caro it hight And is as much to mean, as man with a soul And that he wrought with work, & with word both Through might of the majesty, man was imaked In wit and all wits, closed been therein For love of the lady Anima that life is nempned Over all in man's body, she walketh and wandereth And in the heart is her home, and her most rest And Inwit is in the head, and to the heart looketh What Anima is leef or loath, he leadeth her at his will For after the grace of god, the greatest is Inwyt Much woe worth the man that misruleth his Inwytte And that been gluttons glob beris, her god is her womb Phili. iii. Quorum deus benter est. For serven they Satan, their souls shall he have They live in sinful life here, her souls is like the devil And all that liven good life, are like to God almighty i Io. iiii. Qui manet in charitate, in deo manet. Alas that drink shall for do, that god dear bought And doth god forsake him, that he shope to his likeness? Mat. xxv Amen dico vobis, nescio vos. Et alibi Et dimisi eos secundum desiderata corum. Fools that fauten Inwyt, I find that holy church Woe be to you that turn the tithes to private use. Should finden 'em that fauten, & fatherless children And widows that have nought, wherewith to win hem her food Hand men and maidens that helpless were All these lack In wit, and lore behoveth. Of this matter I might, make a long tale And finden fell witnesses, among the four doctors That I lie not on that I learn thee, Luke beareth witness Godfathers & godmothers, that seen her god children At misease and at mischief, and moune 'em amend Shall have penance in purgatory, but they him help For more belongeth to the little barn, or he the law know Than nempning of a name, and he never the wiser Should no christian creature, cry at the gate Ne fail pain ne pottage, Bestow your tithes as you are bound to do. & prelates did as they should A jew will not see a jew, go jangling for default For all the movables on this mould, & he amend it might Alas the a christian creature, shallbe unkind to an other sithen jews that we judge, judas fellows Each of 'em help other of that that hem needeth Why will not we christian, of Christ's good be as kind As jews that be our lores men, shame to us all. The Commune for her unkindness I dread me shall abye Bishops shallbe blamed, for beggars sake He is worse than judas, that giveth japers silver, And biddeth the beggar go, for his broken clothes. Proditor est prelatus cum Iuda qui patrimonium Christi minus distribuit. Et alibi, Perniciosus dispensator est qui res pauperum Christi in utiliter consumit. He doth not well that doth so, ne dreadeth God of might He loveth not salomon's saws that sapience taught Initium Sapientie timor domini. Eccle. i. That dreadeth god he doth well, the dreadeth him for love And not for dread of vengeance, doth therefore the bet He doth best that withdraweth him, by day & by night To spill any speech, or any, space of time. Qui offendit in uno, jaco. two. in omnibus est reus losing of time, truth wots the sooth Is moste hated upon earth, of hem that be in heaven And sithen to spill sheach, that inspired is of grace And gods gleman, and a game of heaven, Would never the faithful father, his fydle were untemperd Ne his gleman a gadlinge, a goer to tavern, To all true tidy men, that travel desyren Our lord loveth hem & lente (loud other still) Grace to go to 'em, and agone her lyfelode Inquirentes autem dominum, non minuentur omni bono. Psa. 34. Marriage is praised True wedded living folk, in this world is do well, For they moot work and win, & the world sustain For of her kind they come, that confessoures be nempned Kings and knights, Caysers and cheerless Maidens and martyrs, out of one man come The wife was made the way, to help to worch And thus was wedlock iwrought with a mean person First by the father's will and the friends counsel, And sithen by the assent of hem self, as they might accord And thus was wedlock iwrought, & god himself it made In earth & in heaven, himself was the witness And false folk faythtles, thieves and liars, Wastours and wretches, out of wedlock I trow Conceived been in ill time, as Cain was of Eve, Of such sinful shrews, the psalter maketh mind Concepit in dolore et peperit iniquitatem, Psal. seven. And all that come of that Cain: come to evil end For god sent to Sem, and said by an angel Learn to choose the a wife. Thine issue in thine issue, I will that they be joined, And not thy kind in Cain's kind, coupled nor spoused Yet Sem again the sound, of our saviour of heaven Cain's kind and his kind, coupled togethers Till god wrothed for her works, & such a word said That I made man, now it me forethinketh, Penitet me, fecisse hominem, And came to No anon, Gene. v● and bade him not let swith go shape a ship, of shydes and of boards Thyself, & thy sons three, & sithen your wives Busk you to that boat, and bide you therein, Till forty days be fulfilled, that the flood have iwashed Clean away the cursed blood, that Cain hath made, Brastes that now been, shall ban the time That ever that cursed Cain, came on this earth All shall die for his deeds, by dales and by downs And the fowls that flow forth, with other beasts Except only, of every kind a couple, That in thy shingled ship, shall be isaved Here bought the barn, the belsyres guilts And all for her forefathers, fareden the worse The gospel is here again, in one degree I find, Filiuns non portabit iniquitatem patris, Eze, xviii Et pater non portabit iniquitatem filii. And I find if the father, be false and a shrew That some deal the son, shall have the sirs tutches Imp on an eldern, and if thine apple be sweet Much marvel me thinketh, and more of a shrew That bringeth forth any barn, but if it be the same And have a savour after the sire, seld seest thou other Nunquam colligitur de spinis vua, nec de tribulis ficus. Luke. vi. And thus through cursed Cain, came care upon earth And all for they wrought, wedlock against gods will Forty have they inaugre of her mariges, that mary so her children For some as I see, now soothe for to tell For covetise of cattle, unkindlich be wedded And careful conception, cometh of such marriages As befell of the folk, that I before told For good should wed good, though they no good had joh. xiiii I am Via et veritas, saith Christ, I may advance all It is an uncomely couple, by Christ as me thinketh To give a young wench, to an old feeble Or wedden any widow for wealth of her goods That shall never barn hear, but if it be in arms Many a pair sithen the pestilence, hath plight hem together The fruit that they bring forth, are foul words In jealousy ioyeles, The fruits of wicked marriage. and ianglen a bed Have they no children but chests, & clapping them between And though they do hem to dommow, but if the devil help To follow after the fliche, fetch they it never And but they both be forsworn that, bacon they tyne Forty I council all christian, cover not to beweddid For covetis of cattle, ne of kindred rich And maidens and maidens, match you togethers Widows and widows work the same For no lands but for love, look ye be wedded And than get ye the grace of god, & good enough to live with And every man secular, that may not contain Wisely go wed, and ware him from sin For lechery in looking, is lime yard of hell Whiles thou art young, and thy wheapon keen Wreak the with wyveing, if thou wilt be excused Dum sis vir fortis, ne des tua robora scortis Scribitur in portis meretrir est janua mortis- When ye have wyved, be ware and werch in time The married couple must keep themselves clean. Not as Adam & Eve, when Cain was Engendered For in one time truly between, man and woman Ne should no board on bed be, but if they both were clean Both of life & of soul, and in perfect charity That ilk darn deed, do no man ne should And if they lead thus their life, it liketh god almighty For he made wedlock first, and himself said Bonum est ut unusquisque urorem suam habeat propter fornicationem. i Cori. seven And they the other gates been geten, Bastards. for gedlings been hold As false folk, fundlinges, faitors and liars Ungracious to get good, or love of the people Wandren and walien, what they catch may A gain dowel they do evil, & the devil serve, And after their deaths day, shall dwell with the same But god give 'em grace here, him selves to amend. Do well my friend is to done, as laws teachen To love thy friend and thy foe, leave me the is do bet. To give unto men both, young and old To healen and to helpen, is do best of all, And do well is to dread god, and do bet to suffer And so cometh do best of both, & bringeth adown the modie And the is wicked will, the many work shendeth And driveth away dowel, through deadly sins. Passus decimus de visione, Et secundus de dowel. THan had Wit a wife, was hot dame study, wits wife That leave was of lere, and of liche both She was wonderli wrought wit me so teched And all staring dame study farnely said Well art thou wise ꝙ she to wit, any wisdom's to tell To Flatterers or to fools, that frentyke be of wits And blamed him and banned him, & bade him be still With such wise words, to wish any sots And said, Noli mittere man Margaryre Pearls, Among hogs, that have haws at will. They do but drivel thereon, drate were him liefer, Than all precious Pearls that in Paradise waxeth. I say it by such quoth she, the show it by her works That hem were liefer land, By theit works know them and lordship on earth Or ryches or rents, and rest at her will Than all the soothe saws, that Solomon said ever Wisdom and wit, now is not worth a kerse But if it be carded with covetis, as clothers comb her woule Who so can contrive deceits, & conspire wrongs And lead forth a love day, to let with truth He that such crafts can, is oft cleped to counsel They lead Lords with leasing es, and belieth truth job the gentle in his gests, greatly witnesseth That wicked men welden, the wealth of this world And the they be lords of each land, the out of law liveth Psal. xxii Quare impeuruunt, be ne est omnibus qui prevaricantur et inique agunt. The Psalter sayeth the same, by such as done evil. Ecce ipsi peccatores habundantes in seculo obtinuerunt divitias Psal. xi Lo saith holy lecture, which lords be these shrews Thilk that god giveth most, lest good they dealeth And most unkind be to the comen, that most cattle weldeth. Psal. xi Que perfecisti destrurerunt, justus au tem. etc. Harlots for her harlotry, may have of her goods And iapers and iudgelers, and iangelers of jests And he that hath holy write, aye in his mouth And can tell of Toby, and of the twelve Apostles Or preachen of the penance, Only divinity hath no reward the Pilate falsely wrought To jesus the gentle, that jews to draw: little is he loved, that such a lesson showeth Or daunten or draw forth, I do it on god himself But though that feign hem fools, and with faiting liveth Again the law of our lord, and lain on hem self Spitten and spuen, and speak foul words drinken and drivelen, and do men for to gape Liken men, & lie on 'em, that leaveth 'em no gifts They can no more minstrelsy, ne music men to glad Than Mundie the milner, of Multa fecit deus Ne were her vile harlotry, have god my troth Should never king ne knight, ne canon of Paul's give hem to her new years gift, gift of a groat, And mirth & minstrelsy, All men love bandrye, amongst men is nought Lechery, losenchery, and losols tales, gluttony and great oaths, this mirth they loveth, And if they carp of Christ, these clerks & these lewd. And they meet in her mirth, when minstrels been still Than telleth they of the trinity, a tale or twain And bringeth forth a blade reason, & taken Bernard to witness And put forth a presumption, to prove that soothe Thus they drevell at her days, the dretie to scorn And gnawn god with her gorge, when her guts fallen And the careful may cry, and carpen at the gate Both a fyngerd and a first, and for chel quake Is none to nymen hem near, his noye to amend But hunten him as a hound, & hoten him go hence, Little loveth he that Lord, that lent him all the bliss, That thus parteth, with the poor, apercel when him needeth Ne were mercy in mean men, more than in rich Mendynauntes' meatles, might go to bed. God is much in the gorge, of these great masters, And amongs mean men, his mercy & his works And so sayeth the psalter, Psal. 3●. I have seen it oft Ecce audivimus eum in effrata, inveniemus cum in campis silue. Clerks and other kins men, carpen of god fast And have him much in the mouth, & mean men in heart Friars and saytors, have fouden such questions To please with the proud men, sith the pestilence time And preachen at. S. Paul's, for pure enui of clarks That folk is not firmed in the faith, ne free of her goods Ne sorry for her sins, so is pride waxed, In religion, & in all the team, amongst rich & poor That prayers have no power, the pestilence to let And yet the wretches of this world, are none ware by other Ne for dread of the death, withdraw not her pride Ne been plenteous to the poor, as pure charity would But in gains & i gluttony, forgloten her goods hem self And breaketh not to the beggar, as the book teacheth. Frange esurienti panem tuum. isaiah. lviii etc. And the more he winneth, & waxeth wealthy in riches And lordeth in lands, the less good he dealeth To buy telleth you not so, take heed ye rich How the bible book, of him beareth witness Si tibi sit copia habundanter tribue Si autem eriguum, Tobi. iiii illud impertiri stude libenter Who so hath much spend manly, so meaneth Toby And who so little weldeth, rule him thereafter, For we have no letter of our life, how long it shall endure Such lessons lords, should love to hear And how he might most meinie, manlych find Not to far as a fideler, or a friar to seek feasts Homely at other men's houses, and haten her own. Elenge is the hall, every day in the week There the Lord ne the lady, liketh not to sit Now hath each rich a rule, to eaten by 'em self In a privi parler, for poor men's sake Or in chamber with a chimney, and leave the chief hall That was made for meals, men to feat in And all to spare to spend, that spill shall an other I have heard heigh men, eating at the table Carpen as they clerks were, of Christ & of his might And leiden saut upon the father, that formed us all And carpen again clerks, crad bed words Why would our saviour suffer, such a worm in his bliss That beguiled the woman, & the man after Through which wiles & words, they went to Hell And all her seed for her sin, the same death suffered Here lieth your lore, these lords beginneth to dispute Of the ye clackes us kenneth, of Christ by the gospel. Filias non port abit iniquitatem patris. Eze. xviii Why should we that now be, for the works of Adam Rotten and torente, reason would it never Vuusquispue portabit onus suum Such motives they move, Galat. by these masters in her glory And make men to misbelieve, that musen on her words Imaginative here afterward, shall answer to your purpose Austen to such arguers, telleth this teme. Now plus sapere, quam oporter Wylneth never to wit, Rom. xii. why that God would Suffer Satan, his seed to beguile, And believe lelly, in the loore of holy kirk And pray him of pardon, and penance in thy life And for his much mercy, to amend you here For who the willeth to wit. the ways of god almight I would his eye were in his arse, & his finger after That ever willeth to wit, why that god would Suffer Satan, his seed to beguile Or judas to the jews, jesus betray Al was as thou woudest lord, worship be thou And all worth as thou would, what so we dispate And though the use these hanylowes, to blidden men's wit What is do well fro dobet, now deaf mote he worth Sith he willeth to wit, which they be both But it he live in the life, that longeth to dowel For I dare be his bold borrow, that dobet will he never though do best draw on him, day after other And when thou wit was ware, what dame study told He became so confuse, he cunneth not look And as doom as death, and drew him arere And for no carping I could after, ne kneeling to th'earth I might get no grain, of his great wyttis But all laughing he louted, and looked upon study In sign that I should, The manner of them the be in office. beseechen her of grace And when I was ware of his will, to his wife I loutid And said mercy madame, your man shall I worth As long as I live, both late and rathe For to worchen your will, the while mi life endureth With the that ye ken me kindly, to know what is dowel For thy meekness man ꝙ she, & for thy mild speech I shall ken the to my cozen, that clergy is hoten He hath wedded a wife, within these six months Is syb to the seved arts, Scripture is her name They two as I hope, after my teaching Shall wishen the dowel, I dare under take Than was I as fain, as foul of fair morrow And glader than the gleman, that gold hath to gift And asked her the high way, where that clergi, dwelled And tell me some token ꝙ I, for time is that I wend Ask the high way quoth she, hence to suffer Both well and we, if that thou wyllt learn And ride forth by riches, and rest thou not therein For if thou couplest the therewith to clergy comest thou never And also the lycores land that lechery hight Leave it on thy left half, a large mile and more, Till thou come to a court, keep well thy tongue From leasings & lyther speech, & licorus drinckes Than shalt thou see so brietie, and simplicity of speech That each wight be in his will, his wit to show And thus shalt thou come to clergy, that can many things Say him this sign, I set him to school And that I well his wife, Study teacheth, all things for I wrote her many books And set her to Sapience, & to the psalter gloze Logic I learned her, and many other laws And all the unisons in music, I made her to know Plato the poet, I put him first to book Aristotle and other more, to argue I taught Grammar for girls, I guard first to write And beat hem with a bales, but if they would learn Of all kins crafts, I contrived tools Of carpenters of carvers, and compassed Masons And learned hem level and line, though I look dim And Theology hath tened me, seven score times The more I muse therein, the mistier it seemeth And the deeper I divine, the darker me it thinketh A full lethye thing it were, if that love near And for it let best by love, I love it the better For there as love is Leader, ne lacketh never grace Look thou love lellie, if the liketh dowel For Dobet and Dobest, been of loves kin In other science it saith, I saw it in Caton Qui similat verbis, Cato. nec cord est fidus amicus tu quoque fac simile, sic ars deluditur arte. Who so gloseth as Gylours done, go me to the same And so shalt thou false folk, and faiethles beguile This is Catons' kenning, to clerks that he lernethe And Theologye teacheth not so, who so taketh heed He kenneth the contrary, again Catones words For he biddeth us be as brethren, & bid for our enemies And love hem that lie on us, & lend 'em when they need And do good again evil god himself hoteth Galat. vi ●um tempus habemur operemus bonum ad omnes, O arime autem ad domesticos fidoi. Pavia preached the people, that perfectness loved To do good for gods love, and give men that asken And namely to such, that sueth out believe And aly us lack or lie, our Lord teacheth us to love And not to grieve hem the grieve us, god himself forbade it Mihi vindictam, et ego distribuam. Therefore look thou love, as long as thou durest For is no science under the sun, so sovereign for thy soul And astronomis is a hard thing and evil for to know Geometry and geomansye, so gylfull of speech The vaniti of science Who so thinkith worch with though two, thriveth but late For Sorcery is the soverainst book, that to science belongith Ye are their febichers in forcers, of men's making Experiments of alkinamie, the people to deceiven If thou think to do well, deal therewith never All these sciences I myself, soteled & ordained And founded him formest, folk to deceive Tell Clergy these tokens, and scripture after To council the kindly, to known what is dowel. I said grand mercy madame, & meekly her grate And went wightlie away, without more letinge And till I came to clergy I could never stint And grate well the good man as study me taught And afterward the wife, and worshipped hem both And told 'em the tekeres, that me taught were Was never g●m on this ground sith god mad the world Fairer underfongen, ne frendlier at ease Than myself soothly, soon so he wist That I was of wits house, and with his wife dame Study I said to hem soothly, the scent was I thither Do well and Dobet, and Dobest to learn It is comen life ꝙ Clergy, on holy church to believe With all the articles of the faith, that falleth to be known And that is to believe lelly, both learned and lewd On the great God, that ginning had never And on the soothfast Son, that saved mankind From the deadly death and from the devils power Through the help of the holy ghost, that which ghost is of both Three persons, and not in plural numbered For all is but one god, and each is god himself Deus pater, Deus filius, Deus spiritus sanetus God the father god the son, god the holy ghost of both Maker of mankind, and of beasts both Austen the old, hereof made books And himself ordained, to save us in believe. Who was his author all the four evangelists And Christ cleped himself so, the evangelists beareth witness All the clarks under Christ, ne could this assoil But this belongith to believe, to lewd the would do well For had never froke five wits, the faith to dispute Ne man had no merit, might it be proved. Fides non habet meritum, ubi humana ratio prebet experimentum. Than is do bet to suffer, for thy soul's sake All that the holy book bit, by holy kirkes teaching And that is man by thy might, for mercy's sake Look thou work it in work, that thy word showeth Such as thou seemest in sight, be in assay found, Appare quoe es, vel esto quod appares. And let no body be, by thy bearing beglied But be such in thy soul, as thou seemest with out Than is dobest to be bold, to blame the guilty Sithen thou seest thyself, as in soul clean And blame thou never body, and that be blame worthy Si culpare velis, culpabilis esse cavebis Dogma tuum sordet, cum te tua culpa remordet. God in the gospel, grievously reproveth All that lacken any life, and lacks have 'em self Luke. vi. Quid consider as festucam inoculo fratris tui, trabem in orulo tuo. etc. why mevest that thy mode, for a more in thy brother's eye Sithen a beam in thin own, blindeth thyself Elice primo trabem in oculo tuo. Which letteth the to look, less or more I read each a blind buzzard, do boot to himself For Abbots & for priers, and for all manner prelate's As persons & parish priests, the preach should & teach All manner men, to amend, by her might This text was told you, to beware ere ye taught That ye were such as ye said, to salve with other For gods word would not be lost, for that worcheth ever If it availed not the comen, it might avail yourself And it seemeth now soothly, to the world's sight That god's word worketh not, on learned ne on lewd But in such manner, as Matthew meaneth in the gospel Dum cecus ducit cecum, ambo in foveam cadunt. Math xv. Against lewd oriestes Lewed men may liken you thus, that the beam lieth in your eye And the festue is fallen, for your default In all manner of men, through mauzed priests The bible beareth witness, that all the folk of Israel Vytterly bought the guilts, of two had priests Offyn and Finces, for her covetise Arch adei misshaped, and Eli broke his neck For thy ye correctors claw here, & correct first yourself And then may ye safely say, as David thou made the psalter. Existimasti inique quod cro tui similis, arguam te, Psalm. l. et statuam contra faciem tuam. Then shall burel clarks be bashed, you to blame or grieve And carpen not as they carp now, & call you dumb Canes muti non valentes satrare. isaiah. l●● And to lack you with a word, your workmanshyp to let bounds But be prester at your prayer, them for a pound of no bills And all for your holiness, have you this in heart In school there is skorke, but if a clerk will learn And great love & liking, for each of hem loveth other And now is religion a rider, a romer by street A leader of love days, Read this and a loud beggar A pricker on a palfrey, from Manner to Manner An heap of hounds at his arse, as he a lord were And but if his knave kneel, that shall his cope bring He loured on him & asked, who taught him courtesy Little had lords to done, to give lands from her heirs To religious that have no ruth, if it rain on her altars In many places there they people be, by hem self at ease Of the poor have they no pity, and that is her charity And they let 'em as lords, her lands lie so broad And there shall come a king, The suppression of abbeys. and confess you religious And beat you as the bible telleth, for breaking of your rule And amend moniales, monks, and canons And put 'em to her penance, Ad pristinum statum ite And barons with earls, beat 'em through, Beatus virs teaching That her barns claimen, & blame you foul Hii in curribus, et hii in equis ipsi obligati sunt. etc. Psal. xxii And than friars in he fecytor, shall find a key Of constantines coffers, in which is the cattle That Gregory's god children, had Ill dispended The Abbot of Abington And than shall the Abot of Abington, & all his issue for ever Have a knock of a king, and incurable the wound That this worth sooth seek ye, that oft oversee the bible Esa. xiiii. Quomodo cessavit eractor quievit tributum contrivit dominus baculum timpi orun virgan dominantium, cedentium plaga insanabili And ere that king come, Cain shall awake And Dowel shall ding 'em down, & distroi his might Then is Dowel & dobet ꝙ I, dominus & kinghthod High degree helpeth nothing to heavenward. I will not scorn quod scripture, but if seriviners lie Kynghode ne knighthood, by aught I can a wait Helpeth not to heaven ward, one heres end Ne riches right nought ne ryaltie of lords Paul proveth it impossible, rich men to have heaven Solomon saith also, that silver is worst to love. Nihil iniquitus quam amare pecuniam. And Caton kenneth us to coveten it nought, but as need teacheth Dilige devarium sed parce dilige formam And patriarchs and prophets, and poets both Written to wish us, to will no riches And praise poverti with pacienre, thapostles bear witness That they have heritage in heaven, and by true right There rich men no right may claim, but of ruth & grate Contra quod I, by Christ that can I reprove And proven it by Peter, and by Paul both That been baptized be saved, be he rich or poor. That is in extremis quod Scripture, among saracens & jews They mow be saved so, & that is our believe That an unchrysten in that case, may christian an heathen And for his lely believe, when he the life tyneth Have the heritage of heaven, as any man christian And christian men without more, may not come to haven For the Christ for christian men died, & confirmed the law, That who so would and willeth, with Christ to arilse Si cum Christo surreristis: etc. He should love and leave, Col iii. and the law fulfil That is love thy lord god, leavest above all thing, And after all christian creatures, in comen each man other. And thus him longeth to love, that leaveth to be saved And but we do thus in deed, ere the day of doom, It shall besitten us full sore, the silver that we keep And our bocks the moteaten been, & see beggars go naked Or delight us in wine & wild foul, & wots any in defaute For every christian creature, should be kind to other, And sithen heathen to help, in hope of amendment God hoteth both height & low, that no man hurt other And saith slay not the semblable is, to mine own likeness But if I send the some token and say, Non necaberis I slay not but suffer, and all for the best For I shall punish 'em in purgatory, or in the pit of hell Every man for his misdeeds, but if mercy it let, This is along lesson ꝙ I, and little I the wiser Where do well is or dobet, darkly ye shown, Many tales ye tell, that Theology learneth, And that I man made was, and my name entered In the legend of life, long ere I were, Or else written for some wickedness, as holy write menaceth Nemo ascendit ad celum, nisi qui de celo descendit, joh. iii I leave it well by our lord quoth I, and no letter better For Solomon the sage, that Sapience taught God gave him grace of wit, and all his goods after He deemed well and wisely as, holy writ telleth. Aristotle and he, who wished men better? Masters that of god's mercy, teachen men & preachen Of her words they wish us, for wisest as in her time And all holy kirk, holdeth 'em both dampened And if I should work, by her works, to win me heaven That for her works and wit, wonneth in pain Than wrought I unwisely, what so ever ye preach And of fell witty in faith, little farly I have Though her ghost be ungracious, god for to please For many men on this mould, more setten her hearts, In good than in god, therefore him grace faileth At her most mischief, when they shall life let, As Solemon did & such other, the showed great wits And her works as holy write saith, were ever the contrary Therefore wise witted men, & well lettered clerks As they say 'em selves, seld done thereafter. Supra cathedram Moysi. Math. 23. etc. And I ween it worths of many, as was in noah's time They that made No a ship were unsaved though he shoope that ship, of shides & of boards No wight the wrought thereon was self, ne any workman else But birds and beasses, and the blessed Noah, And his wife with his sons, & also her wives, Of wights that it wrought, was none of hem saved God leave it far not so by folk, that the faith teacheth, Of holy kirk the hat borrow is, & gods house to save And shilden us from shame therein, as noah's ship did beasts And men that made it, amid that stood he drowned The Culor of this clause, curate is to mean, That been carpenters, holy kirk to make, for Christ's own beasts Psalm. 36 Homines et iumenta saluabis domine On good Friday I find, a fellow was saved, That had lived all his life, with leasing & with theft, And for he beknew on the cross, & to Christ shrove him He was sooner saved, The the● was saved before any of the prophets than saint john the baptist And or Adam or Isai, or any of the prophetis. That had lain with Lucifer, many long years, A robber was ransomed, rather than they all, Withouten any penance of purgatory, to perpetual bliss Than Mari Magdelen, what woman did worse? Or who worse than David, that Urias death conspired Or Paul the Apostle, that no pity had, Much christian kind, to put to death And now be these as sovereins, & saints in heaven Tho the wrought wickedlest, in world though they were And though that wisely word, and written many books Of wit & of wisdom, with dampted souls wonneth, That Solomon saith I trow be sooth, Eccles. ix & certain of us all Sunt justi atque sapientes, et opera eorum in manu dei sunt There are witty & wellearned, & her works been hid In the hands of almighty god, and he wots the sooth Wherefore a man worth allowed there, & his lelie works Or else for his ill will, and for envy of heart, And be allowed as he lived, for by ill, men know god For how witted men what is white, if all thing black were And who were a goodman, but if there were some shrew Therefore live we forth, with other men, I leave few been good For Qant oportet vient emplace, ill nyad que pati. And he that may all amend, have mercy on us all For thou sothist word that ever god said, was Nemo bonus clergy though of Christ's mouth, commended was little, For he said to saint Peter, and to such as he loved. Cum steteritis ante reges et precides. etc. Mat. vi Though ye come before kings, & clerk, of the law, Be not abashed, for I shall be in your mouths And give you wit & will, and cunning to conclude Him all that against you, of christendom disputen David maketh mention, he spoke amongst kings And might no king overcome him, as bicunning speech But wit and wisdom, won never the mastery When man was at mischief, without the more grace The douties' doctor, and diumour of divinity Was Austen the old, and highest of the four Said thus in a sermon, I see it written once. Ecce ipsi idiot rapiunt celum, ubi nos sapientes in inferno mergimur. And is to mean to English men, to more and to less Are none rather ravished, from the right believe Than are these cunning clerks, that can many books Ne none sooner saved, ne sadder of believe Than plowmen and pastors, & poor comen labourers souters and shepherds, & such lewd juties Percen with a Pater noster, the palace of heaven And passen Purgatori penaunceles, at her hence parting Into the bliss of Paradise, for her pure believe That unperfitelye here knew, and eke lived Yea men know clerks, that cursed the time That ever they could or knew more than Credo in deum And principalli her Pater noster. many a person hath wished I see examples myself, & so may many other That servants the serven lords, seldom fall in artrages But though that keep the lords cattles, clerks & reves, Right so lewd men, and of little knowing, seld fall they so foul, and so far in sin, As clerks of holy church, the keep Christ's treasure, The which is man's soul to save, as god saith in the go spell Math. xx Ite vos in vineam meam. Passus undecimus de visione. THan Scripture scorned me, & askile looked And lacked me in latin, & light by me she set And said, Multi multa sciunt, et seipsos nesciunt, though wept I for woe, & wrath of her speech. And in a wynkinge wrath, waxed I asleep. And marvelous metals, met me than That I was ravished right there, & fortune me set And into the land of Longing, alone she me brought In a mirror hight Middle earth, she made me to look Sithen she said to me, here mightest thou see wonders And know that thou covetest, & come thereto peradventure Than had Fortune following her, two fair damosels Concupiscentia carnis, The damosels of 〈◊〉 Fortun● men called the elder maid And Covetis of eyes, called was the other Pride of perfit living, pursued 'em both And bade me for my countenance, accounted clergy light Concupiscentia carnis, coled me about the neck And said thou art young & yemp, & haste years enough For to live long, and Ladies to love And in this mirror thou might see, mirth's full many That leaden the wily wise, to liking all thy life time The second said the same, I shall sue thy will Till thou be a lord and have land, let the I nel That I ne shall follow thy fellowship, if Fortune it like He shall find me his friend, quod Fortune thereafter The freke that followeth my will, failed never bliss. Than was there one that hight Eld, that heavy was of cheer Man quoth he if I meet with thee, by Mary of heaven Thou shalt find Fortune the fail, Age. at thy most need And Concupiscentia carnis clean theforsake Bitterly shalt thou ban 'em, both day and night Covetise of eye, that ever thou her knew And pride of perfit living, to much peril the bring The counsel of Reebles Yea reach the not ꝙ reckless, & stood forth in raged Follow forth the Fortune will, thou hast well far till Eld A man may stoop time enough, when Eld shall tine thy crown Homo proponit quam a poet, & Plato he hight And Deus disponit, quoth he, let god do his will If Truth do witness it is well done, fortune to follow Concupiscentia carnis, ne Covetis of eyes Ne shall grieve the greatly, ne but thou wilt beguile the. Yea far well Phip quam Fanteltie, & forth 'gan me draw Till Concupiscentia carnis, accorded all my works Alas Eighe quod Eld, and holiness both That wit shall turn to wretchedness, for will to have his liking Covetise of eyes, comforted me anon after And followed me forty winter, or fifty and more That of dowel ne do bet, no dainty me thought I had no liking ne no lust, of hem ought to know Covetise of eyes, came after in my mind Than dowel or dobet, among my deeds all Covetise of eyes, comforted me oft And said have no conscience, how thou come to good Go confess the to some Friar, & show him thy sins For while Fortune is thy friend Friars will the love And fetch the to their fraternity, and for the beseech To her Prior provincial, a pardon to have And pray for the pole by pole, if thou be pecuniosus. Sed pena pecuniaria non sufficit, pro spiritualibus delictis By wishing of this wench I wrought, her words were so sweet Till I forgot youth, & yarn into Eld And than was Fortune my foe, for all her fair behest And poverty pursued me, and and put me low And tho found I the Friar afeard, and flytting both Against our first forward, for I said I nolde Be buried at her house, but at my parish church For I heard once, how conscience it told That kind would men be buried, there they were christenid Or where that he were parishen, that there he should be graven And for I said thus to Friars, a fool they me helden And loved me the less, for my lely speech And yet I cried on my confessor, that held himself cunning By mi faith, Friars did not seek that body but the money, friar ꝙ I ye faren like these wowers That wed none wedows, but for to wield her goods Right so by the road, wrought you never Where my body were buried, by so ye had my silver I have much marvel of you, & so hath many other Why your covent coveteth, to confess and bury Rather than to baptize barns, that be catechislinges baptizing and burying, both be needful And much more meritory me thinketh, it is to baptize For a baptized man may, as these masters telleth Through contrition come to the high heaven, sola contricione And barn without baptism, may not be saved Nisi quis renatus fuerit, look ye lettered men, john. iii. where I lie or do not And leauti looked on me, & I loured after Wherefore lourest thou ꝙ leauty, & looked on me hard If I durst ꝙ I amongst men, these metels avow Yes by Peter & by Poule ꝙ he, & took hem both to witness Non oderis fratres in cord tuo secret. levit. xii sed publice argue illos. They will allege also quoth I, & by the gospel proven Nolite judicare quemquam. Rom. two. And whereof serveth law ꝙ Leautie, if no life undertook it Falseness ne flattery, for some what th'apostle said. Non odoris fratrem, & in the psalter also, saith David the prophet. Psal. 115. Eristimasti inique, quod ero tui similis. It is leeful for lewd men, to say the sooth If hem liketh and lust, each a law it granteth Except persons and priests, & prelate's of holy kirk It falleth not for that folk, no tales to tell Though the tale were true, and it touched sin Thing that all the world wots, wherefore shouldest thou spare And reden it in Rhetoric, to arate deadly sin And be nevermore first, the default to blame Though thou see I●, say it not first, be sorry it near amendid No thing that is privy, publish thou it never Neither for love laud it not, ne lack it for envy Parum lauda vitupera percius He sayeth sooth ꝙ scripture tho, & skipte up & preached And the matter that she meaned, if lewd men it knew The less as I leave, loven it they would. This was her theme, & her text, I took full good heed Math. xx and xxii Multi to a mangery, and to the meat were sumpted When the people were plener come, the orpter unpenned the gate And plucked in Pauci, privily, & let the remnant go And for tene of her text, trembled my heart And in a were 'gan I wax, & with myself to dispute Whether I were chose or not, on holy kirk I thought That underfonged me at the font, for one of gods choose For Christ cleped us all, come if we would Saracyns & Schismatics, and so he did the jews isaiah. lv. O bos omnes sitientes venite. etc. And bad 'em sunk for sin, safely at his breast And drink boat for bale, brook it who so might Than may all christian come quod I, & claim her enter By the blood that he bought us with, & through baptism after Qui crediderit, Mat xvi. et baptisatus fuerit For though a christian man coveted, his christendom to rent Ryghtfullye to reney, no reason it would, For may no cherle charter make, ne his cattles sell Without leave of his Lord, no law will it grant And he may run in arerages, and run so from home And as a reneyed kayeyfe, reckless runnen about And reason shall reckon with him, & cast him in arrearage And put him after in a prison, in purgatory to burn For his arerages rewarden him there, till domes day But if contrition will come, and cry by his live Mercy for his mysdeades, with mouth or with heart That is so the said scripture, may no sin let Mercy all amend, and meekness her fellow For they been as our books telleth, above gods werks Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius. Psal. 4. Yea bawe for books ꝙ one, was broken out of hell, I Troianus a true knight, took witness at a pope How I was dead, & dampened to dwell in pain For an unchristen creature, clerks witten the sooth That all the clargi under Christ, ne might me cratch from hell But only love & leauty, & my lawful domes Gregory wist well that, and wylned to my soul Salvation for soothness, that he see in my works And after that he wept, & wylned me were granted Grace without any bedebydding, his bone was underfogen And I saved as ye see, without singing of masses By love and by leading, of my living in truth Brought me from bitter pain, there no bidding might Lo ye lords what leuty did, by an emperor of Rome That was an unchristen creature, as clerks find in Gregory Not through prayer of a pope, but for his pure truth Was the sarazin saved, as. s. Gregory beareth witness Well oughten lords the laws keep, that lesson hold in mind And on Troianus truth to think, & do truth to the pupil Law without love quod Troianus, ley there a bean Or any science under the sun, the seven arts and all But they be learned for our lords love, lost is thy time For no cause to catch silver by, or be called a master But all for love of our lord, & the bet to love the people For saint john said it, and sooth are his words. i joh. iii Qui non diligit, manet in morte. Who so ever loveth me not, liveth in death dying And that all manner of men, enemies and friends Love either other, and lean hem as hem self Who so leaneth not he leaveth not, god wots the sooth And cummaundeth each creature, to conform him to love And soverainely the poor people, & her enemies after For 'em that haten us, is our merit to love And poor people to please, her prayers may us help Christ was poor And our joy, and our health, jesus Christ of heaven In a poor man's apparel, pursued us after And looked on us in her likeness, & that with lovely cheer To know us by our kind heart, & casting of our eien Whether we love the lords here, before the lord of bliss And exciteth us by the evamgelie, that when we make feasts We should not clepe our kin thereto, ne no kins rich Luk. xiiii Cum facitis convivia, nolite invitare amicos. And call the careful thereto, the crooked & the poor. For your friends will feden you, & found you to quite Your festing & your fair gift, each friend quiteth so other And for the poor I shall pay, & well quite her travail That give hem meat or money, and love hem for mi sake For the best been some rich, & some beggars & poor For we all are Christ's creatures, & of his coffers rich And brethren as of one blood, as well beggars as Earls For on Calueri of christis blood, christendom 'gan spring And bloody brethren we became thee, of one body woe As Quasi modo geniti, and gentlimen each one No beggar nor no boy among us, joh. viii. but if sin it make Qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati, In the old law, as holy letter telleth men's sons, men called us each one Of Adames issue and Eve, aye till god man died And after his resurrection, redemptor was his name And we his brethren by him bought, both rich & poor Forty love we as leave brethren, & each man lean other And of the each man may forbore, amend there it needeth And every man help other, for hence shall we all Alter alterius onera portate. Galat, v● And be we not unkind of our cattle, ne of our cunning For wots no man how nigh it is, to be binome from both Therefore lack no others life, though he more latin know Ne undernime not fowl, for is non without faut For what ever clerks carp, of christendom or else Christ to a comen woman said, in common at the feast That Fides sua should save her, & saluen her of all sins Then is believe a lelly help, above logic or law Of logic or law in Legend a sanctorum, Is little allowance made, but if believe 'em help For it is over long or logic, any lesson assoil And law is loath to love, but if he lack silver Both logic and law, that loveth not to lie I counsel all christian, cleave not thereon to sore For some words I find writ, were of faiths teaching That saved sinful men, saint john beareth witness Mat. seven. Eadem mensura qua mensi fucritis remetretur vobis. Therefore learn we the law of love, as out lord taught And as saint Gregory said, for man's souls health. Melius scrutari scelera nostra, quam naturas retum. Why I mean this matter, is most for the poor For in her likeness our Lord, oft hath been known, witness in Paske week, when he go to Emaus Cleophas ne knew him not, that he Christ were For his poor apparel, and pilgrames weeds Till he blessed and broke, the bread that they eaten So by these works, they witted that he was jesus And by clothing they knew him not, ne by carping of tongue And all was in example, to us sinful here That we should be low, and lovely of speech And apparel us not proudly, for pilgrims are we all And in the apparel of a poor man, & pilgrims likeness Many times god hath been met, among needy people There never segge him see, in set of the rich S. john & other saints, were seen in poor clothing And as poor pilgrims, prayden men's goods jesus Christ on a jews daughter light, gentle though she were Was a poor maid, & on a poor man wedded Martha on Mary Magdalen, an huge playnet she made And to our saviour self, said these words Domine non est tibi cure quod soror mea reliquit me solam ministrare? Luk. xi. And hastily God answered, and either's will followed Both Marthaas & Maries, as Mat. beareth witness And poverty god put before and praised that better Maria optimam partem elegit que non. etc. And all the wise that ever were, by aught I can espy praisen poverty for best life, if patience follow And both better & blesseder, by many fold than riches And though it be sour to suffer, yet after cometh sweat As on a walnut without, is a bitter bark And after that bitter bark, be the shell away Is a kernel of comfort, life to restore So is after poverty and penance, patiently taken For it maketh a man to have mind in god, & a great will To weep and to well bid, whereof waxeth mercy Of which Christ is a kernel, to comfort the soul And well siker he sleepeth, the man that is poor And less he dreadeth death, and dark to be rob Than he that is right rich, reason beareth witness Pauper ego ludo, dum tu dives meditaris. All though Solomon saith, as folk seth n the bible Divitias vec paupertates. Wiser than Solomon was, Prou. xx● beareth witness & taught That perfit poverty was no possession to have And life most liking to god, as Luke beareth witness Si vis perfectus esse, vade et vend. etc. And is to mean to men, Mat. nineteen. that on this mould liven Who so will be pure perfit, must possessions forsake Or sell it as sayeth the book, and the silver deal To beggars that gone & beg, & bidden good for gods love For failed never man meat, that mightful god served As David saith in the psalter, to such as been in will. To serve god goodlich, ne greth hem in penance Nihil impossiblie volenti. Ne lacketh never livelihood, linen ne . Inqui rentes autem dominum non minuentur omni bono If priests were perfit, Psal. 34. they would no silver take For masses ne for matins, ne her meats of usurers Ne neither kirtle ne cote, though thy for cold should die And they her devour did, as David saith in the psalter. Psa. xliii judica me deus, et decerne causam meam. Spera in deo speaketh of priests, the have no spending silver Than if they travel truly, & trusten in god almighty Him should lack no livelihood, neither nor linen And the title they took orders by, telleth they be advanced Than need not you to take silver, for masses that ye sing For he the tok you your title, should pay you your wage Or the bishop that blessed you, if that ye be worthy For made never kig a knight, but he had cattle to spend As befell for a knight, or found him for his strength It is a careful knight, & of a kaytife kings making That hath no land ne lineage rich, ne good loose of his hands The same I say forsooth, by all such priests That have neither cunning ne kin, but a crown one And a title a tale of nought, to live by at his mischief Priesting was an occupation. to live by He hath more believe I leave, to latch by his crown Cure than for kenning, or knowing, or for clean bearing I have wonder why, and wherefore the bishop Maketh such priests, that lewd men betrayen A charter is chalengeable, before achiefe justice If false latin be in that letter, the law it impungeth Or painted pentrelniarie, or parcel overskipped The gome the gloseth so charts, for a gokis is holden So it is a goky by god, that in his gospel faileth Or in mass or matins, maketh any defaute Qui offendit in buo, in omnibus est reus jacob. two. Also in the psalter, saith David to overskippes Psalite deo nostro psalite, quoniam rex terre deus Israel, Psa. xlvii psalite sapienter. The bishop shall be blamed, before god as I leave That crowneth such gods knights, that can not sapienter Sing ne psalm read, ne say a mass of the day And never neither is blameless, the bishop or the chaplain For ever either is indicted, & that is ignorantia Non excusat episcopos, necidiotes priests This looking on lewe priests, I am leapt from poverti Which I praise, her patience is more perfect than riches And much more in meeting thus, with me 'gan one disput And sleeping I see all this, and sithen came kind And named me by my name, and bade me nimen heed. Nature teacheth man And through the wonders of this world, wit to take And on a mountain the middle earth hight, as me though I was fet forth, by ensamples to know Through each a creature & kind, my creator to love. I see the sun & the sea, and the sonde after And where that brides & beasts by her makes they yeden wild worms in woods, & wondered fowls With fleked ferthers, and of fell colours Man and his make, I might both behold poverty and plenty, both peace and war bliss and bale both, I see all at once And how men took meed, and mercy refused Reason I see soothly, sewen all beasts In eating & drinking, & in engendering of kind And after course of conception, none took keep of other As when they had riden in rote time, right anon after Males draw hem to males, on morning by hem self And in evenings also the males been from the females There ne was cow ne cowekinde, the conceived had That would a bellow after boles, ne bore after sow Both horse and hounds, & all other beasts Meddled not with her makes, that with fool were Birds I beheld, that in bushes made nests Had never wright wit, to work the lest I had wonder at whom, and where the Pie learned To lig the sticks in which, she layeth & breadeth Nis write as I ween, could worch her nest to pay If any mason made a mould thereto, much wonder it were And yet me marveled more, how many other birds Hidden and hylden, her eggs full darn In maryes and moors, for men should hem not find And hidden her eggs, when they therefro went, For fear of other fowls, and for wild beasts And some treden her marks, and on trees breden And broughten forth her birds so, all above the ground And some birds at the bill, through breathing conceived And some cauked I took keep, how peacocks breaden Much marveled me, what master they had And who taught 'em, on trees to tymbrens so high That neither barn ne beast, may her birds rechen And sithen I looked on the sea, & so forth upon the stars Many selkougthes I see, be not to see now I see flowers, in the Frith, and her fair colours And how among the green grass, growed so many huis And some sour, & some sweet, selkougth me thought Of her kinds & of her colours, to carp it were to long And that most moved me, and my mode changed That reason rewarded, and ruled all beasts Save man and his make, many time and oft No reason hem followed, and than I rebuked Reason and right, till himself I said I have wonder of the quoth I, that witty art held why thou ne suiste man & his make, that no myffeat hem follow And reason arated me, and said retch the never Why I suffer or not suffer, thyself hast not to do amend that it if thou might, for my time is to abide suffrance is a suffrain virtue, and a swift vengeance Who suffereth more than god ꝙ he, no gome as I leave He might amend in a minute while, all that amiss standeth And he suffereth for some man's good, & so is our better The wise and the witty, wrote thus in the bible De re que te non molestat, noli certare. Eccle. xi. For be a man fair or foul, it falleth not for to lack The shampe ne the shape, that god shope himself For all that he did was well do, as holy writ witnesseth Et vidit deus cuncta que fecerat, et crant valde bona. And bade every creature, Gene.. i. in his kind increase All to mirth with man, that most worth holy In founding of the flesh, and of the fiend both For man was made of such a matter, he may not well a start That ne sometime him bited, to followen his kind Caton accordeth there with, Nemo sine crimine vivit. though caught I colour anon, & consed to be, ashamed And a waked therewith, woe was me than That I in metelis ne might, more have known And than said I to myself, and chide that time Now do I ken dowel ꝙ I, by dear god as me think And as I cast up my eyen, one looked on me & asked Of me what thing it were I wish, sir I said. To see much and suffer more, certes quoth I, is dowel Hadst thou suffered he said, sleeping though thou were Then hadst the kende that Clergy can, & kend more by reason For reason would have rehearsed thee, right as cleargi said And for thy inter mitting, here art thou forsake. Philosophus esses, si tacuisses. etc. Adam while he spoke not, had paradise at will But when he man blid about meat, & entermittid to know The wisdom & the wit of god, he was put from bliss And right so fared reason with thee, thou with thy rude speech lookedst & losedst, thing that longed not to be done though had he no liking, for to learn the more Pride now & presumption, peradventure will me appeal That clergy thy company, ne keepeth not to show Shall never challenging ne chiding, chaste a man so soon As shall shame and shenden him, & shape him to amend Shame is the best remedy for drunkards. For let a drunken daffe, in a dyke fall Let him lig look not on him, till him list to arise For though reason rebuked him than, it were but pure sin And when need nimeth him up, for doubt lest he starve And shame shraketh his clothes, & his skin washeth Than wots the drunken daffe, wherefore he is to blame. Ye say sooth quoth I, iche have isene it oft. There smiteth nought so smart, ne smelleth so sour. As shame there he she with him, for each man him shonith Why ye wish me thus ꝙ I, was for I rebuked reason Certes ꝙ he that is sooth, and shope him for to walk And I arose upright with that, and followed him after And prayed him of his courtesy, to tell me his name Passus duodecimus de visione. I Am Imaginative quoth he, idle was I never Though I sit by myself, in sickness & in health I have followed the in faith, this xlv winter And oftimes have moved thee, to think on thine end And how fell ferniers are faren, & so few to comen And of thy wild wantonness, though thou young were To amend it in thy middle age, lest might the failed In thine old Eld, that evil can suffer poverty or penance, or prayer bid Si non in prima vigilia, nec in secunda Amend the while thou may, thou hast been warned oft With pousties of pestilences, with poverty and with angers And with these bitter baleises, god beateth his dear children Quem diligo castigo. Apoc. iii. And David in the psalter saith, of such the loveth jesus Virga tua et baculus tuus, Psa. xxiii ipsa ne consolati sunt Although thou strike with thy staff, with stick or with yard It is our mirth as for me, to amend my soul And thou medlist with makings, & mightst go sai thy psalter And bid for him the give the bread, for there are books enough To tell me what do well is, & do bet do best both And preachers to preven what it is, of many a peir friars Ice well he said the sooth, & some what me to excuse I said Caton comforted his son, that clerk though he were To solace him some time, as I do when I make Interpone tuis, interdum gaudia curis And of holy men I heard ꝙ I, how they other while Pleyden, the perfitter to be in many places. Holy m● used recreation. And if there were any wight, that would me tell What were do well and do bet, and do best at the last Would I never do work, but wend to holy kirk And there bid my beads, but when I eat or sleep Paul in his pistle quoth he, proveth what is dowel Fides spes charitas, maior horum. i Cor. xiii etc. faith hope and charity, and all been good And saven men sundry times, & none so soon as charity For he doth well withouten doubt, that doth as leuti teacheth That is if thou be man married, thy make thou love And live forth as law will, while you liven both Right so if thou be religious, ren thou never further To Rome ne Roch mad or, but as thy rule teacheth And hold the under obedience, the high way is to heaven And if thou be maiden to marry, & might well continued Seek never no saint further, for thy soul's health For what made Lucifer, to lose the high heaven? Or Solomon his sapience, or Samson his strength? job the jew his joy, dear he it bought? Aristotle and other more, Hypocrates and Virgil? Alexander that all wan, elengelych ended Cattles and kind wit, was cumbrance to hem all Felice her fairness, fell 'em all to slander And Rosamonde right so, ruefully to believe The beauty of her body, in badness she dispended Of many such I may read, of men and women That wise words would show, and work the contrary Sunt homines nequam, bene de virtute loquentes. And rich reukes' right so, gaderen and sparen And tho men that they most haten, minister it at the last And for they suffren and see, so many needy folks Luke. vi. And love not as our lord bid, lesen her souls. Date et dabitur vobis. And riches right so, but if the rote be true And grace is a graff thereof, though grevaunces to abate And grace ne groweth, not, but amongs low Patience and poverty, the place is there it groweth And in lelly living men, and in life holy And through the gift of the holy ghost, as the gospel telleth john. iii. Spiritus ubi vult spirat. Clergy and kind wit, cometh of sight & teaching As the book beareth witness, to barns the can read. Quod scimus loquimur, quod vidimus testamur. Of quod scimus, cometh clergy, & cunning of heaven And of quod vidimus, cometh kind wit of sight of diverse people And grace a gift of god, & of great love springeth Knew never clerk how it cometh, ne kind wit the ways Nescit aliquis unde venit, joh. iii. True clergy is merciful. aut quo vadit And yet is clergy tocommend, and kind wit both And namely clergy for christs love, that of clergy is rote For Moses witnesseth the god wrote, the pupil to wish In thold law as the letter telleth, that was the law of jews That what woman were taken in avoutri, rich or poor With stones men should strike her, & stone her to death A woman as we finden, was guilty that death And Christ of his courtesy, through clergy her saved And through characts that Christ wrote, the jews knew hem self Giltier as afore god, & greater in sin Than the woman that theridamas was, & went away for shame The clergy that there was, consorted the woman Holy kyrk knoweth this, the Christ's writing saved her So clergy is comfort, to creatures that repenten And to mansede men, mischief at her end For bread of gods body, might not be without clergy The which bread is, both boot to the rightful And death and damnation, to hem that die evil. And christis characts comforted, & both culpable showed The woman that the jews brought, the jesus thought to save. Nolite judicare, et non iudicabimini. Right so god's body brethren, Luke. vi. but it be worthily take Damnith us at the day of doom, as the caraces did the juis Therefore I counsel the for Christ's sake, clergy that thou love For kind wit is of his kin, & nigh cousins both, To our Lord leave me, therefore love 'em I read For both been as myrours, to amend our defaults And leaders for lewd men, and for lettred both Therefore lack thou never logic, law ne his customs Ne counterplede clerks, I counsel the for ever For as a man may not see, that misseth his eyen No more can no clerk, but if he caught it first by books Although men made books, god was the master The holy ghost is the author of books And. s. spirit the samplare, & said what men should write Right so leadeth letture, lewd men to reason And as a blind man in battle, beareth weapon to fight And hath no hap with his axe, his enemy to hit No more can a kind witty man, but clerks him teach Come for all his kind wit, to christendom & be saved Which is the coffer of Christ's treasure, & clarks keep the keys To unlock it at her liking, & to the lewd pupil give mercy for her misdeades, if men will it ask Buxomely and benignly, and bidden it of grace Archa dei in the old law, levites it kepten Had never lewd man leave, to liggen hand on that chest But he were priest or priests son, patriarch or prophet For clergy is keeper, under Christ of heaven Was there never knight, but clergy him made And kind wit cometh, of all kinds sights Of bird & of beasts, of tastes of truth & of deceits livers aforne us, useden to make Selden that they seen, her sons for to teach And helden it an high science, her wits to know And through her science sothli, was never no soul saved Ne brought by her books, to bliss ne to joy, For all her kind knowings, come but of diverse sights patriarchs and prophets, repreveden her science And said her words ne her counsel, was but folly As to the Clergy of Christ, counted it but a trifle. Sapientia huius mundi, stulticia est apud deum. For the high holy ghost, heaven shall to cleave, And love shall lepen out after, into this low earth And cleanness shall catch it, & clerks shall it find pastors loquebantur ad invicem. Luke. ●●. He speaketh nought there of rich men, ne of right witty Ne of lords that were lewd men, but of the hyeste lettred Abant Magi ab oriente. If any friar were found there, Math. i● I give you five shillings Ne in no beggars cote, was that barn borne But in burghers place, in Bethleem the best. Sed non erat ci locus in diversorio, et pauper non habet diversorium. To pastors and to poets, Luke. two. appeared the angel And bad hem go to Bethleem, gods birth to honour And sungen a song of solace, Gloria in excelsis deo. Clerks knew it well, & comen with her presents And did homage honorabli, to him that was almighty Why I have told all this, I took full good head How thou contrivedest Clergy with crabbed words How that lewd men light lucker, than lettered were saved Than clerks or kind witted men, of christian people And thou saidest sooth of some, & see in what manner. Take two strong men, Two me●● cast into Lemmes. and in Thames cast hem And both naked as a needle, there none sikerer than other The one hath cunning, and can swim and dive The other is lewd of that labour, learned never to swim Which trowest thou of those two, in Temese is most in dread He the never divid, ne nought can of swimming Or the swymer that is safe, be so himself like? There his fellow fleet forth, as the flowed liketh And is in dread to drench, that never did swim? That swim can not I said, it seemeth to my wits Right so quoth the reuke, Reason showeth That he that knoweth clergy, can sooner arise Out of sin and he be safe, though he sin oft If him liketh and lust, than any lewd lelly For if the clerk be cunning, he knoweth what is sin And how contrition without confession, comforteth the soul As thou seest in the psalter, in psalms one or twain How contrition is commended, for it catcheth away sin Psal. 32. Beati quorum remiss sunt iniquitates, et quorum recta sunt. etc. And this comforteth each a clerk, & covereth high from wanhope In which flood the fend, foundeth a man hardest There the lewd lieth still, and looketh after lente And repenteth not before shrift, & than can he little tell And as his sores man learneth high, believeth & troweth And that is person & parish priest, & peradventure he is Uncunning to learn lewd men, as Luke beareth witness Luke. vi. Dum cecus ducit cecum. etc. Woe was him marked, that wade must with the lewd Well may the barn him bless, that him to book set That living after letture, saveth high both life & soul Dominus pars hereditatis me, is a merry verse That hath taken from Tibunre twenty strong thieves There lewd thieves be lolled up, look how they be saved The thef the had gods grace on good friday, as thou spoke Was for he knew Christ on the cross, & knowledged his sin And grace asked of god, & he is ever ready That buxomlych biddeth it, & been in will to amend hem And though the thief had heaven, he had no high bliss As saint john & other saints, that deserved had better Right as if a man give me meat, & set me amid the floor I have meat more than enough, & not so much worship As they the sit at side tables, or with sovereigns' of the hall But sit as a beggar bourdles, by myself on that ground So it fareth by the felon, that on good friday was saved He sitteth neither with saint john, Simon ne Jude Ne with maidens, ne with martyrs, confessors ne widows But by himself as a solayne, and served upon earth For he that is once a thief, is evermore in danger And as law liketh, to live or die De peccato propitiato noli osse sine meta. And forto serven a saint, and such a thief togethers It were neither resonne right, to reward hem both ilike And as Troianus the true knight, dwelled not so dep in hell But our lord had high lightly out, so leave I the thef be in heaven For he is in the lowest heaven, if our believe be true And well losellych he lolleth there, by law of holy kirk Qui reddit unicuique iurta opera sua. Mat. xvi. And why the one thief on the cross, creant 'gan him yield Rather than the other thef, though thou wouldst appose All the clerks under Christ, ne could the skill assoil. Quare placuit? quia voluit. And so I say by thee, that seekest after the ways And reasonest reason, a rebuking as it were And of the flowers in the frith, and of her fair hews Whereof they catch her colours, so fair & so bright And wollest of birds & beasts, & her breeding to know Why some be allow & some aloft, thy liking it were And of the stones & of the sters, thou studiest as I leave How every beast & bird, Onli god knoweth the causes of things hath so her wits Clergy nekind wit, ne knew never the cause And kind knoweth the cause himself, no creature else He is the Pies patron, and put it in her ear That there the thorns it thickest, to build & bread And kind keneth the peacock, to canken in such a kind And kenned Adam to know his privy membres And taught him and Eve, to heal 'em with leaves Lewed men many times, masters they apposen Why Adam ne hilled not first, his mouth that eat the apple Rather than his likan allow, lewd axen thus clerks. Kind knoweth why he did so, and no clerks else And of birds and of beasts, men by old time Ensamples token and terms, as tell the poets And that the fairest foul, foulest engendereth And feblst fowl of flight is, the flieth or swimmeth Rich men be compared to the Peacock. And the peacock & the pehen, proud rich men they betoken For the peacock & men pursue him, he may not fly high For the trailing of his tail, overtake is he soon And his flesh is foul flesh, and his feet both And unlovely of leden, and layeth for to hear Right so the rich, if he his riches keep And dealeth it not till his deths' day, the tail of all sorrow Right as the pense in the peacock, paineth him in his flight So is possession pain of pence, and of nobles To all hem that it holdeth, till her tail be plucked And though the rich repent than, and birue the time That ever he gathered so great, & gave thereof so little Though he cry to Christ than, with keen will I leave. His leden be in our lords ear, like a pies chattering And when his carrion shall come, in cave to be buried I leave it flowme full fowl, the fold all about And all the other there it lieth, envenomed through his By the posere is understand, as I have learned in Auenet Executors, false friends, that fulfil not his will That was written & they witness, to work all the it would And thus the poet proveth, the the peacock for feathers is reverenced Right so the rich, by reason of his goods The lark that is a less fowl, is more lovely of leaden And will away of wing, swifter than the peacock And of flesh by fell fold, fatter and sweeter To low lyveinge men, is resembled the lark Aristotle the great clerk, such tales he telleth Thus he likeneth in his logic, the lest foul out And whether he be safe or not, the sooth wots no clergy Ne of Sorts ne of Solomon, no Scripture can tell And god is so good I hope, that sith he gave hem wits To wishen us ways there with that wishen us to be saved And the better for her books, to bidden we be holden That god of his grace, give her soul's rest For lettred men were lewd yet, ne were lore of her books And these clerks ꝙ I tho, that on Christ leaven Seithen in her sermons, the neither Saracens ne jews Ne creature of Christ's likeness, worth safe unchristenid Contra quod Imaginative tho, & comsed for to louvre And said Saluabitur vir justus in die judicii. i Pet. iiii Ergo saluabitur quod he, and said no more latin Troianus was a true knight, Troianus & took never christendone And he is safe saith the book, and his soul in heaven For there is fulling in font, & falling in blood shedding And through fire is fulling, that is firm believe Aduenit ignis divinus non combutens sed illuminans. etc. And truth that trespassed never, ne transuersed aghast his law But liveth as the teacheth, & leaveth there be no better And if there were, he would amend, and in such will die Ne would never true god, but truth were allowed And were it worth or worth not, the belief of it is great And an hope hanging therein, Psa. xxiii to have meed for his truth For Deus dicitur, quasi dans vitam eternam sais, hoc est fidelibus Et alibi, si ambulavero in medio vmbre mortis: The gloze granteth upon the verse, a meed to truth And wit & wisdom ꝙ the wight, was sometime treasure To keep with a common, no cattle was hold better And much mirth & manhood, & right with that he vanyshed Passus xiii de visiove: ANd I awaked there with, wities near hand And as a freke that tree were, forth 'gan I walk In manner of a mendinaunt, many a year after And of this meeting many time, much thought I had first how Fortune me failed, at my most need And how that Eld menaced me, might we ever meeten And how the Friars followed, folk that was rich And folk that was poor, at little price they set And no cors in her kyrkeyard, nor kirk was buried But quik he bequeath hem ought, or quit part of her dets And how that covetise evercame, clerks & priests And how that lewd men be lad, but our lord hem help Through vucunning creatures, to incurable pains And how that imaginative, in dreams me told Of kind & of his cunning, & how curtise he is to beasts And how loving he is to beasts, on land & on water Leaveth he no life, less ne more. The creatures that crepen, of kind they be engendered And sithen how imaginative said, Vix saluabitur justus. And when he had said so, how suddenly he passed I lay long in this thought, and at the last I slept And as Christ would conscience came, to comfort me that time And bade me come to his curt, with clergy should I dine And for conscience of clergy spoke, I came well the rather And there I see a master, what man he was I nist That low he lowted, and lovely to scripture Conscience knew him well, and welcomed him fair They washen and wypen, and went to the dinner And patience in the palace, stood in pilgrims clothes And prayed meat for charity, for a poor hermit Conscience called him in, and curteslie said Welcome wight go and wash, thou shalt sit soon This master was made sit, as for the most worthy And than Clergy & Conscience, & Patience came after Patience and I, were put to be matches And sitten by ourselves, at the side board Conscience called after meat, & than came scripture And served 'em thus soon, of sundry meats many Of Austen of Ambrose, and of the four Evangelists. Edentes et bibentes: que apud illos sunt. Luke. x, And this master & his man, no manner flesh eaten And they ate meat of more cost, mortreulx & pottage Of that men miswonne, they made 'em well at ease And their sauce was over sour, and unsavourly ground In a mortar Post mortem, of many bitter pains But if they sing for though souls, and weep salt tears Vos qui peccata hominum commeditis, nisi pro eis lachrimas et orationes effunderitis, ea que in delitus comeditis, in tormentis evometis. Conscience full curteslye tho, commanded scripture Before patience bread to bring, & me that was his match He set a sour loaf before us & said, Agite penitentiam, And sith he brought us drink, diaperseveraunce As long quoth I as I live, and likam man endure. Here is preti service ꝙ Patience, no price can far better Then brought he forth a mes of meat, of Miserere mei And he brought us of Beati quorum, of Beatus virs making Et quorum tectasunt peccata in a dish Of dernes shrift Dixi, and Confitebor tibi, Psal, 23, Bring Patience some pitaunce privily ꝙ Conscience Psa. 32 And than had Patience a pittaunce, Pro hac orabit ad te. etc. And Conscience comforted us, and carped us merry tales Psal. li. Cor contritum et humiliatum deus non despicies Patience was proud, of that proper service And made high merry with his meat, & I mourned ever For this doctor on the high deise, drank wine so fast. isaiah. v. We vobis qui potentes estis, ad bibendum vinum. He eat many sundry meats, mortrix & puddings Womb be clouts & wild drawn, & eggs fried with grese Than said I to myself, so Patience it hard It is not four days that this freke, before the dean of Paul'S preached of penance, that Paul th'apostle suffered In fame et frigore, and flaps of scourges two. Cor. xi. Ter Cesus sum et a judeis quinquies quadragintes. And one word they overhipped, at each time that they preach That Poule in his pistle, to all the pupil told Periculum est, in falsis fratribus. Holy write bid men beware, I will not write it here In English on adventure, it should be rehearsed to oft And grieve their with good men, & grammarians should read unusquisque a fratre se custodiat, quia ut dicitur periculum est in falsis fratribus. two. Th. iii And I witted never freke, that as a friar yead before men in english Take it for her theme, & tell it without leasyngs They preach that penance, is profitable to the soul And what mischief & male ease, Christ for man tholed And this god's glutton quoth I, with his great cheeks Hath no pity on us poor, he performeth evil That he preacheth he proveth not, to Patience I told And wished full wytterlye, with will full eager That dishes and doublers, before this ilke doctor Were melted lead in his maw, & Mahu amidst I shall jangle to this jurdan, with his just womb To tell me what penance is, of which he preached rath Patience perceived what I thought, & winked on me And said thou shalt see this sone, A good divine. when he may no more He shall have a penance in his paunch, & pufatech word And then shall his guts gottilen, & he shall gulpen after For now he hath drunk so deep, he will divine soon And proven it by her pocalips, & passion of. S. Avarice That neither bacon ne brawn, black manger ne mortreulx Is neither fish ne flesh, but food for a penaunt And then shall he testify of the trinity, & take his fellow to witness What he found in a frail, after a friars living And but he first live by leasings, leave me never after And than is time to take, and to appose this doctor Of dowel and of dobet, and if dobest be any penance And I sat still as Patience said, & thus soon this doctor As ruddy as a rose, rubbed his cheeks Coughed and carped, and Conscience him heard And told 'em of the Trinity, and toward us he looked What is dowel sir doctor ꝙ I, is dowel any penance Dowel quoth this doctor, & took the cup & drank Is do no evil to thine evenchristen, not to thy power By this day sir doctor ꝙ I then, ye be not in dowel For ye have harmed us two, in that ye have eaten the Pudding Mortreulx & other meat, & we no morsel had And if ye far so in your farmarye, ferly me thinketh But chest be their charity should be, & children durst plain I would permute mi penance with you, for I am in poit to do well Then●onscience courteously a countenance made And preynt upon Patience, to pray me to be still And said himself sir doctor, and it be your will What is dowel and dobet, ye diviners know dowel quoth this doctor, is do as clerks teach And dobet is he the teacheth, & traveleth to teeth other And do best doth himself so, as he saith & preacheth Math. v. clergy hath seven sons, that is the. seven sciences. Qui facit et docuerit, magnus vocabitur in regno celorum Now the Conscience ꝙ Clergy, carpest what is dowel I have seven sons he said, serven in a castle There the lord of life wonneth, to learn what is dowel Till I see the seven, and myself accorden I am unhardy quoth he, to any wight to prove it For one Pierce the Ploughman, hath impungned us all And set all sciences at a Soup, save love only And no text ne taketh, to maintain his cause But Dilige deum, And Domine quis habitabit Psa. xv. And sayeth that dowel and dobet, are two infinites Which infinites with faith, find out dobest Which shall save man's soul, thus saith Pierce ploughman I can not here one ꝙ Conscience, & I know well Pierce He will not gainsay holy writ, I dare well undertake Than pass we over till Pierce come, & prove it in deed Patience hath been in many places, & peradventure mouthed That no clerk ne can, as Christ beareth witness Patientes vincunt. And your prayer ꝙ Patience tho, so no man displease him Disce quod he, Doce and Dilige inimicos. Disce and dowel, Doce and dobet, Dilige and do best thus taught me once. Alemman that I loved, love was her name With words & with works ꝙ she, & will of thy heart Thou love lelly thy soul, all thy life time And so thou learn the to love, for the lords love of heaven Thine enemies in all wise, even forth with thyself Cast coals on his head, and all kind of speech Both with works & with words, found his love to win And lay on him thus with love, till he laugh on the And but he bow for this bearing, blind might he be And for to far thus with thy friend, folly it were For he that loveth the lellye, little of thine coveteth Kind love coveteth not no cattle, but speech With half a lampeline in latin Ex vi transitionis. I bore therein about, fast bound dowel In a sign of the saturday, that set first the Calendar And all the wit of the wenisday, of the next week after The middle of the moan, is the might of both And there with I am welcome, there I have it with me Under it let this doctor dame, if dowel be their i For by him that me made, might never poverty misease ne mischief, ne man with his tongue Cold ne care, ne company of thieves Ne neither heat ne hail, ne none hell Powke Ne neither fire ne flood, ne fear of thine enemy Tene the any time, and thou take it with the Charitas nihil timet. i Cor. xi It is but a Dido quoth this doctor, a disertes tale All the wit of this world, and wight men's strength Can not confirm a peace, between the pope & his enemies Ne between ii christian kings, can no wight peace make Profitable to either people, & put the table from him And took clergy and conscience, to counsel as it were That patience though must pass, for pilgrims can well lie And Conscience carped loud, and curteslye said Friends far well, and fair spoke to Clergy For I will go with this gum, clergy is loath the Conscience should go with patience if god will give me grace And be pilgraime with Patience till I have proved more What ꝙ clergy to conscience, are ye covetous no we? After yeresegyft or gifts, or yernen to read riddles? I shall bring you a bible, a book of the old law And learn you if you like, the least point to know That Patience the pilgrim, perfectly knew never Nay by Christ ꝙ Conscience to Clergy, god the for yield For all that Patience me proffereth, proud am I little And the will of the weigh, and the will of folk here Hath moved my mode, to mourn for my sins The good will of a wight, was never bought to the full For there is no treasure thereto, to a true will Luke. nineteen. Had not Magdalen more, for a box of salve Than zecheus for he said, Dimidium bonorum meorsi do pau peribus. And the poor widow, for a payr of mites Luke. xxi. Than all though that offered into Gaz ophilacium? Thus curteslye Conscience, congeed first the friar And sithen softly he said, in Clergies ear Me were liefer by our lord, and I live should Have Patience perfecli, then half thy pack of books Patience passeth a pack of books Clergy of Conscience, no congee would take But said full soberly, thou shalt see the time When thou art weary for walking, will me to counsel That is sooth said Conscience, so me god help If Patience be our parting fellow, & privy with us both There nis woe in this world, that we ne should amend And confirmen kings to peace, and all kins lands Sarazens & Surrey, & so forth all the jews Turn into the true faith, and into one believe That is sooth ꝙ clergy, I see what thou mean I shall dwell as I do, my devour to shown And confyrmen fauntekyns, and other folk learned Till Patience have proved thee, and perfect the maked Conscience though with patience, passed pilgrims as it were Than had patience as pilgrims have, in his poke vital Sobriety and simple speech, and soothfast believe. To comfort him and Conscience, if they come in place There unkindness & covetise is, hungry country's both And as they went by the way, of dowel they carped They met with a minstrel, A loiterers life as me though thought Patience posed him first, and prayed he should tell To conscience what craft he could, & whether he would I am a minstrel quod that man, mi name is Activa vita All idle I hate, for of active is my name A waferer will ye wit, and serve many Lords And few robes I fonge, or furred gowns Can I lie to do men laugh, than lachen I ne should Other mantle or money, amongs lords minstrels And for I can neither taber ne trump, ne tell no gests Farten ne fisten at feasts, ne harpen jape ne iuggele, ne gentyllye pipe Ne neither saylen ne saute, ne sing to the gittern I have no good gifts, of these great Lords For no bred that I bring forth, save a benison on the sunday When the priest prayeth the people, the Pater no. to say For Pierce the ploughman, and that him profit waiten And that am I active, that idleness hate For all true travelers, and tillers of the earth From Mighelmas to Mighelmas, I find 'em with my wafer's Beggars and bidders, of my bread craven faitors and Friars and folk with broad crowns I find pane for the Pope, & provender for his palfrey And I had never of him, have god my truth Nether provender ne parsonage, yet of the Pope's gift Save a pardon with a piece of lead, & two poles amids Had I a clerk that could write, I would cast him a bill That he sent me under his seal, a salve for the pestilence And that his blessing & his bulls, botches might destroy Mar. xvi. In nomine meo demonia eiicient, et super egroes manus imponent, et bene habebunt And than would I be priest, to the pupil past to make And buxom and busy, about bread and drink For him and for all his, found I that his pardon Might lechen a man, as I believe it should For sith he hath the power, that Peter had himself. He hath the pot with the salve, truly as me thinketh. Argentum et aurum non est mihi, quod habeo tibi do. In nomine domini surge et ambula. Act. iii. And if might of miracle him fail, it is for men be not worth To have grace of god, & no gilt of the Pope For may no blessing done us boat, but if we will amend There may no man make peace, among christian people Till pride be purely fordo, & through pain de faute For ere I have bread, a meal of mote I sweet And ere the comen have corn enough, many cold morning So ere my wafars been wrought, much woe I tholy All London I leave, liketh well my wafers And louvre when they lack 'em, it is not long passed There was a careful common, when no cart came to town With bread from Stratford, though 'gan beggars weep And workmen were aghast a little, this will be thought long A dear year, In date of our dryght, in a dry Apriell A thousand and three hundred, twice twenty & ten My wafers there were geisen, when Chicester was Mair I took good keep by Christ, and Conscience both Of Hankin the active man, and how he was clothed He had a cote of christendom, as holy kirk believeth And it was moled in many places with many sundry plots Of pride here a plot, & there a plot of unbuxom speech Of scorning & of scoffing, & of unskilful bearing. As in apparel & in port, proud among the pupil Other wise than he hath with heart, hypocrisy. or sight shewing Him willing that all men wend, he were that he is not For why, he boasteth & braggeth, with many bold oaths And is unobedient to be undernom, of any life living And none so singular by himself, nor so pope holy In habit as an hermit, an order by himself Religion sans rule, and unreasonable obedience Lacked lettred men, and lewd men both In liking of lely life, and a liar in Soul With inwyt and outwyt, imaginen and study As best for his body be, to have a bad name And entermeten him over all, there he hath not to do Wylning that men wend, his wit were the best And if he give aught to poor goms, tell what he delith Poor of possession in purse, and in coffer both And as a Lion on to look, and Lordly of speech Boldest of beggars, a boster that nought hath In town and in taverns, tales to tell And say thing that he never see, and forsooth swear it Of deeds that he never did, domen and bosten And of work that he well did, witness and siggen Lo if ye leave me not, or that I lie wenen Ask at him or at him, and he the can tell What I suffered and see, and sometimes had And what I could and knew, & what kin I came of All he would that men wist of works and of words Which might please the people, Gala, i. & praise himself Si hominibus placerem Christi servus non essem, Et alibi. Nemo potest duobus dominis scruire. By Christ quoth Conscience tho, thy best cote Hankin Hath many moles and spots, it must be washed Yea, who so took heed ꝙ Hankin, bihinde & bifore What on back & what on body half, & by the two sides Hankins garment is foul. Men should find many frownces, & many foul plots And he turned him as Tit, and than took I heed It was fouler by fell fold, than it first seemed It was bydropped with wrath, and wicked will With Envy and evil speech, enticing to fight lying and laughing, and leaf tongue to chide All that he wist wicked by any wight, tell it And blame men behind her back, & bidden hem mischance And that he wist by Will, tell it to Watte And that Watte wist, Will wist it after And made of friends foes, through a false tongue Or with might of mouth, or through man's strength Avenge me fell times, other feet myself Psal. x. Within as a shepsters shear, I shrewd men & cursed Cuius maledictione os plenum est, et amaritudine, sublingua eius labor et dolour. et alibi. Filii hominum dentes eorum arma et sagitte, et lingua eorum gladius acutus. There is no life that me loveth, lasting any while For tales that I tell, no man trusteth to me And when I may not have the mastery, such melancholy I take That I catch the cramp, the cardiacle sometime Or an ague in such an anger, and sometime a fever That taketh me all a twelve month, till the I despice Lechcrafte of our lord, and leave of a witch And say that no clerk ne can, ne Christ as I leave To the sortry of Southwark, or of short dieth dame Eme And seg that no gods word gave me never boat But through a charm had I chance, & many chief heal I waited wisloker, and than was it soiled With liking of lechery, as by looking of his eight For each amaid that he met, he made her to sign Seeming to synnewarde, and sometime he 'gan taste About the mouth or beneath, beginneth to groppe Till either's will waxeth keen, & to the work yeden As well in fastingdays & fridays, Young lecher old bawd. & for boden nights And as well in lent as out of lent, all times ylyke Such works with hem, were never out of season Till they might no more, and then merry tales And how that lechers loveth, laughen and iapen And of her harlotry and whoredom, The spots of Haukins cote. in her age tell Than Patience perceived, of points of this cote Was culmy through covetise, & unkind desiring More to good than to god, the gomme his love cast And imagined how he it might have, With false measures and meet, and with false weights leve for love of the wed, and loath to do troth And await by which way, he might beguile And menged his machandise, & made a good mastery The worst within was, a great wit I leete it And if my neighbour had any hind, or any beast else More profitable than mine, many sleights I made How I might have it, all my wit I cast And but if I had by other way, at last I stole it Or privily his purse shaken, unpiked his locks Or by night or by day, about was iche ever Through guile to gatheren, the goods that ich have If I go to the plough, I pinched so narrow That a foot land or a surrowe, fetchen I would Of my next neighbour, nimen of his earth And if I reap over reachen, or gave hem read the reapen And cese to me with her sycle, that I fowed never And who so borrowed of me, about the time With presents privily, or pay some certain So would he or would he not, winnen I would And both to kith & to kin, unkind of that ich had The Image of a worldling And who so cheped my chaffer, chiden I would But he proffered to pay, a penny or twain More than it was worth, and yet would I swear That it cost me much more, swore many oaths In holy days at holy kirk, when ich hard mass Had I never will wots god, witterly to beseech Mercy of my misdeades, that I ne mourned sore For loss of good leave me, than for my lykam guilts And if I had deadly sin done, I dread not that so sore As when I lended & lived it lost, or long ere it were paid So if I kid any kindness, mine evenchristen to help upon a cruel covetise, mine heart 'gan hang And if I sent over sea, my servants to Bryges Or into Prucelande my apprentice, my profit to waiten To marchaunden with money, & make her exchanges Might never me conforten, in the mean while Neither mass ne matins, ne no manner sights Ne neither penance performed, ne Pater nost. said That my mind ne was more, on mi good in a doubt Than in the grace of god, and in his great help Math. vi Vbi the saurus tuus, ibi et cor tuum. Which been the branches, that bring a man to sloth He the mournith not for his miss, ne maketh no sorrow And penance that the priest enjoineth, performeth ill Doth no almsdeeds, dread him of no sin liveth again the believe, and no law holdeth Each day is holy day with him, or an high ferry And if he aught will hear, it is an harlot's tongue When men carpen of Christ, or of cleanness of souls He waxeth wroth & will not here, but words of mirth Penance and poor men, and the passion of saints He hateth to hear thereof, and all that he telleth These been branches beware, that bringeth a man to wan. hope The lords & thou ladies, and legates of holy church That feden fools sages, flatterers and liars And have liking to lithen 'em, to do you to laugh. We vobis qui ridetis. etc. Luke. vi. And give 'em meat & meed, and poor men to refuse In your death dying, I fear me full sore Lest though three manner of men, to much sorrow you bring Consentientes et agentes pari pena punientur. patriarchs & prophets, and preachers of gods word saven through her sermons, man's soul from hell Right so flatterers & fools, be the fiends disciples To entice men through her tales, to sin & harlotry And clerks that known holy write, should ken lords What David said of such men, as the psalter telleth Non habitabit in medio domus me, Psal. C● qui facit superbiam et qui loquitur iniqua. Should no harlot have audience, in hall ne in chamber There wisemen were, witnessen gods words Ne no misproud man, among lords be allowed And flatterers and fools, through her lewd words Leden though that love him, to Lucifer's feast With Turpiloquio. a lay of sorrow, & Lucifer's fiddle Thus Hankin the active man, had soiled his cote Till Conscience acouped him thereof, in a curteis manner Why he had ne washed it, or wiped it with a brush Passus xiiii de visione. I Have but one hole hattir quod Hankin, I am the less to blame Though it be soiled and field clean, I sleep therein on nights, And also I have an housewife, hewn and children Luk. xiiii Vxoxem duxi et ideo non possum venire. That bymollen it many times, maugry my cheeks, Hankins cote will not be clean. It hath been laved in lente, and out of lent both With the soup of sickness, that seeketh wonders deep. And with the loss of cattle, loath for to agyle God or any good man, by aught that I wist And was shriven of a priest, that gafe me for my sins To penance Patience, and poor men to feed All for covetise of mi christendom, in cleanness to keep it And could I never by Christ, keep it clean an hour That I ne soiled it with sight, or with some idle speech Or through work or word, or will of my heart That I ne slober it foul, from morrow till even And I shall ken the quod Conscience, of contrition to make That shall claw thy cote, of all kinds of filth Cordis contricio. etc. Dowel shall wash it and wring it, through a wise confessor. Oris confessio. Dobet shall beat it & bonke it, as bright as any scarlet And engraven it with good will, & gods grace to amend thee And sithen sand the to satisfaction, for to sown it after Satisfactio dobesse. Shall never chest bymollen it, ne mought after bite it Ne fiend ne false man, defoulen it in thy life Shall no herald ne harper, have a fairer garment Than Hankin the active man, & thou do by my teaching Ne no minstrel be more worth, among poor & rich Than Hankins wife show ●●ere●, with his activa vita And I shall purvey the past & patience though no plough And flower to feed folk withal, as best be for the soul Though never grieve growed, ne grape upon vine All that lived and looked, livelihood would I find And that enough shall none fail, of thing that hem needeth We should not be to busy, about our livelihood Ne soliciti sitis. etc. Volucres celi deus pascit. Mat. vi. etc. patientes vincunt. Than laughed Hankin a little, and lightly 'gan swear Who so leaveth you by our lord, I leave not he be blessed No ꝙ Conscience patiently, God giveth not life, but he provideth food, and out of his poke hent victuals of great virtues, for all manner beasts And said lo here livelihood enough, if our belief be true For lent never was life, but livelihood were shapen Whereof or wherefore, or whereby to live first the wild worm, under wit earth Fish to live in the flood, and in the fire the creket The kurlew by kind of 'em, are cleanest flesh of birds And beasts by graze & by green, and by green roots In meaning that all men, might the same do Live through lelly believe, & love as god witnesseth Quodcunque petieritis a patre in nomine meo. &c: Et alibi Non solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore dei. And I looked what livelod it was, that patience so praised And it was a piece of the Pater nost. Fiat voluntas tua. Have Hankin ꝙ Patience, & eat this when thou hungrest Or when thou clumsest for cold, or clyngest for dry Shall never gives the grieve, ne great lords wrath Prison ne pain, for Patientes vincunt, By so that thou be sober, of sight and of tongue In eating and in handling, and in all thy five wits darest thou never care for corn, nelinen cloth ne wolen Ne for drink ne deaths dread, but die as god liketh Or through hunger or through heat, at his will be it For if thou live after his lore, the shorter life the better Si quis amat Christum, mundum non diligit istum. For through his breath beasts waxed, & abroad yeden Dixit et facta sunt. Ergo through his breath, may men & beasts liven. As holy write witnesseth, when men see in her graces Aperis tu manum tuam et imples omne animal benedictione It is found that forti winter, folk lived without tilling Forty years without tillage. And out of the flint sprung the flood, that folk and beasts drunk And in Helies' time, heaven was closed That no rain ne run, thus read men in books That many winter men lived, & no meat ne tiliden Seven slept as saith the book, seven hundred winter And lived without livelihood, and at the last they woken If men livid as measure would, should no more be default Lack of measure is cause of scarcity. Among christian creatures, if Christ's words be true And unkindness Caristian. maketh among christian pupil And over plenty maketh pride, amongs poor & rich Therefore measure is so mich worth, it can not be to dear For the mischief & the mischance amongs men of Sodom Wext through plenty of pane, and of pure Sloth. O ciositas et habundantia panis, peccatum turpissimum nutrivit. For they measured not hem self, of that they ate & drank They did deadly sin, that the devil liked. So vengeance fell upon him, for her vile sins They sunken into hell, the cities each one Therefore measure we us well, & make faith our feltron And through faith cometh contrition, conscience wots well Which driveth away deadly sin, & doth it to venial And though a man might not speak, contrition might save And bring his soul to blish, by so the faith were witness That while he lived he believed, in the law of holy kirk Ergo contrition, faith & conscience, is kindly dowel And surgeons for dedli sin, when shrift of mouth faileth And shrift of mouth more worthy is, if man be contrite For shrift of mouth slayeth sin, be it never so deadly Per confessionem to a priest, peccata occiduntur, There contrition doth drive down, into venial sin And David saith in the psalter, Psal. 32. Satisfaction killeth sin Et quorum recta sunt peccata And satisfaction seeketh out the rote, and both slayeth and voideth. And as it never had been, to nought bringeth deadly sin That eft it is not seen no sore, but seemeth a wound helid Where wonnith charity ꝙ Hankin, I witted never in mi life Man that with him spoke, as wide as I have passed That perfit troth & poor heart is, & Patient of tongue There is charity that chief chamberer, for god himself Where patient porti ꝙ Hankin, be mor pleasant to our dright Than riches rightfully won, & reasonably dispended? Yea Quis est ille quod Patience, quick laudabimus eum though men read of riches, right to the world's end I witted never reuke the rich was, the when he reckon should When he drough to his deaths day, that hene dread him sore And that at the reckoning in arrearage fell, rather than out of debt Theridamas the poor dare pleat, & prove by pure reason To have allowance of his lord, by the law he it claimeth joy that never joy had, of rightful judge he asketh And seeth so birds and beasts, that no bliss ne knoweth And wild worms in woods, by winter's hem grieveth And maketh 'em well-nigh meek, & mild for default And after thou sendest hem summer, that is her sovereign joy And blyshe to hem that been, both wild and tame Then may beggars as beasts, after boat waiten Never treasure was with out joy here and hence to. That all her life have lived, in languor and in default But god sent 'em sometime, some manner joy Or here or else where, kind would it never For to overmuch woe was he wrought, that never was joy shapen Angels that in hell now been, had joy sometime And Dives in deyntis lived, and in Douce vie Right so reason showeth, that the men that were rich And her makes also, lived her lives in mirth And god is of a wondrous will, by that kind wit showeth To give many man mercimony, ere he it hath deserved Right so fareth god by some rich, ruth me it thinketh For they have her hire here, and heaven as it were And great liking to live, without labour of the body And when he dieth is disallowed, as David said in the psalter Psal. 76. Dormierunt, et nihil invenerunt. And in an other stead also, Velunt sompnum surgentium. domine. In civitate tua, et ad nichillum rediges. Alas that riches shall reave, and rob man's soul From the love of our Lord at his last end Newen that have her hire before, are evermore needy And seld dieth he out of det, that dineth or he deserve it And till he have done his devour, & his days journey For when a workman hath wrought, them men say the sooth What he were worthy for his work, & what he hath deserved And not to fig before for dread of disannulling So I say by you rich, it seemeth not that ye should Have heaven in your here being, and heaven hereafter Right as a servant taketh his salari before, & sith would claim more As he that none had, & hath hire at the last It may not be ye rich men, or Matthew on god lieth. Mat. nineteen. De delictis ad delicias, difficile est transite. And if ye rich have ruth, and reward well the poor And like as law teacheth, done leauty to hem all Christ of his courtesy, shall comfort you at the last And reward you all double riches, The rich that be merciful shall have heaven. the rueful heart have And as an hyne that had his hire, ere he began When he hath done his devour well men do him ovirbount Give him a tote above his covenant, right so Christ giveth heaven Both to rich & not rich, that ruefully liveth And all that done her devour well, han double hire for her travel Here forgiveness for her sins, & heaven bliss after And it is but seld seen, as by saints books That god rewarded double rest, to any rich man For much mirth is among rich, as in meat & clothes And much mirth in May, is amongst wild beasts And so forth the while summer lasteth, her solace dureth And beggars about midsummer, breadles they soup And yet is winter for hem worse, for wet-shod they go A furst sore, and a fyngred, and fowl rebuked And rated of rich men, that ruth is to hear Now Lord send 'em summer, and some manner joy Heaven after her hence going, that here have such default For all mightest thou have made, none meaner than other And like witty and wise, if the well had liked And save ruth of these rich men, that reward not thy prisoners Of the good that thou hem givest, ingrati been many And god of thy goodness, give 'em grace to amend For may no dearth hem dear, drough ne were he give Ne neither heat ne hail, have they her health Of that they will and would, wanteth 'em not here And poor pupil thy prisoner's lord, in the pit of mischief comfort the creatures, that much care sufferen Through dearth & through drough, all her days here Woe in winter times, for wanting of clothes And in summer time seld, soupen to the full comfort thy careful, Christ in thy riches For how thou comfortest all creatures, clerks beareth witness isaiah. xlv. Conuertimini ad me, et salui eritis Thus in general of gentryes jesus Christ said To robbers and to reverses, to rich and to poor Thou taughtest 'em in the trinity, to take baptism And be clean through the christening, of all kins sins And if us fell through folly, to fall in sin after Confession and knowledging, and craving thy mercy Should amend us as many scythes, as man would desire And if the Pope would plead here again, and punish us in conscience He should take the acquittance as quick and to the A christian man's patent. queed show it, Pateat. etc. per passionem domini And put of so the pouke, and proven us under borrow And the parchmin of the patent, of poverty be must And of pure patience, and perfect believe Of pomp and of pride, the parcemyn declareth And principality of all people, but they be poor of heart Else is all idle, and all that ever we written Pater noster and penance, & pilgrimages to Rome But our spenses and spending, spring of true will Else is all our labour lost, lo how men writeth In fenestres at the Friars, if false be the fundament Therefore christian should be in comen rich, none covetise for himself For seven sins that there be, assailem us ever The fend followeth 'em all, and foundeth 'em to help And with riches that rybaunde, he rathest men beguileth For there that riches reigneth, reverence followeth And that is pleasant to pride, in poor and in rich And the rich is reverenced, by reason of his riches And the poor is put behind, & peradventure can more Of wit and of wisdom, that far away is better Than riches or rialtye, and rather hard in heaven For the rich hath much to reckon, & right oft him the walketh The high way to hevenward, riches him letteth It a possibile diviti. etc. There the poor preiseth before the rich, Apo. xiiii with a pake at his ridge Opera enim illorum sequntur illos, Batauntly, as beggars done, & boldly he craveth For his poverty and his patience, a pertual bliss. Beati pauperis, Luke. v● quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum And pride in riches reigneth, rather than in poverty Erst in the master or in the man, some mansion he haveth And in poverty there patience is, pride hath no might Ne none of the seven sins, sit ne may there long For the poor is aye pressed, to please the rich And buxom at his bidding, for his broken loves And buxomness and boast, are evermore at war And either hateth other, in all manner works If wrath wrestle with the poor, he hath the worse end And if they both plain, the poor is but feeble And if he chide or chatter, him cheveth the worse And if covetise catch the poor, they may not come togethers And by the neke nameli, there non may hent other For men known well that covetous is of keen will And hath hands and arms, of a long length Poverttis but a petit thing, appeareth not to his navel And lovelike was yet never between, the long & the short Though avarice will angry the poor, he hath but little might For poreti hath but pokis, to put in his good Theridamas avarice hath almaries, and iron bound coffers And whether be lighter to break, & lass boast maketh A beggars bag, than an iron bound coffer Lechery and gluttony reign not much in poverty. Lechery loveth him not, for he giveth but little silver Ne doth him not dine delecatlye, ne drink wine oft A straw for the Stews, it stood not I trow Had they nothing but of poremen, her house stood untild And though swuth sue poverti, & serve not god to pay Mischief is his master, and maketh him to think That god is his greatest help, and no gome else And he his servant as he saith, and of his foot both And whether he be or not, he beareth the sign of poverty And in the sect our saviour, saved all mankind Therefore all poverty that patient is, may claim and asken After her ending here, hevenlyche bliss. Much hardy may he ask, that here might have his will wilful poverty. In land and in lordship, and in liking of body And for gods love leaveth all, and liveth as a beggar And as a maid for man's love, her mother forsaketh Her father and all her friends, & followeth her make Much more is the love of him, that such one taketh Than a maiden is, that is married through brocage As by assent of sundry parties, and silver to beat More for covetous of good, than kind love of both So it fareth by each parson, that possession for saketh And put him to be patient, and poverty weddeth Such is sib to god himself, and so ●●●chis saints Have god mitrougth ꝙ Hankin, ye praise f●st poverty What is poverty with Patience, ꝙ he properly to mene● Paupertas quod Patience, est odibile bonum Remotio curarum, possessio sive calumpnia, Ponum dei, Sanitatis matter, Absque solicitudine semita, sapienty temperatrir, negotium sine dalimo, incerta fortuna, absque solicitudine felicitas. I can not constine all this ꝙ Hankin, ye must ken this in english In engish ꝙ patience, it is well hard to expound And some deal I shall say it, by so thou understand Poverty is the first point, that pride most hateth Than it is good by good skill, all that agasteth pride Right & conttition is a comfortable thing, Conscience wots it well And sorrow of himself, & solace to the soul So poverty properly, The p●●●se of poverty penance and joy Is the bodies pure, spiritual leech. Ergo Paupertas est odibile bonum. And contrition comforteth, & Cura anima animarum, the second seld sitteth poverty, the sooth to declare Or as justice to judge men, enjoined is no poor Ne to be mayre above men, ne minister under kings seld is any poor put, to punish any people. Remotio curarum, Ergo poverty & poor men, perfourmen the commandments Nolite iudicate quemquam, the third seld is any poor man rich, of unrightful heritage Wineth he not with false weight ne with unseled measures Ne borroweth of his neighbours, but that he may well pai Possessio sine calampnia. The fourth is a fortune, that flourisheth the soul With sobriety from all sin, and also yet more It afayteth the flesh, from soles full many A collateral comfort, Christ's own gift, Donum dei. The fift is mother of health, a friend in all fondynges And for the la●●de 〈◊〉 lech, alemman of all cleanness. Sanitatis 〈◊〉 The sixth is a path of peace, ye through the pace of Alton Poverty myghe pass, wont peril of robbing For there that poverty passeth, peace followeth after And ever the less that he beareth, the hardy he is of heart Therefore saith Seneca, Paupertas est absque solicitudine And an hardi man of heart, among an heap of of thieves Cantabat paupertas, coram latrone biatore. The vii is well of wisdom, & few words showeth Therefore Lords allow him little, or listen to his reason For he tempereth his tongue to truthward, & no treasure coveteth sapiency temperatrix. The eight is a lellye labourer, and loath to take more Than he well deserveth, in summer or in winter And if he chaffreth he chargeth no loss, may he charity win Negocium sine damno. Patience feedeth poverty. The ninth is sweet to the soul, no sugar is sweeter For Patience is pane, for poverty himself And sobrity sweet drink, and good lethe in sickness Thus learned me a lettered man, for our lords love of heaven S. Austen a blessed life, without business led For body and for soul, Absque solicitudine felicitas. Now god that all good giveth, grant his soul rest That this first wrote to wissen men what poverti was Alas ꝙ Hankin that active man tho, the after mi christendom I ne had be dead and doluel, for dowels sake So hard it is for Hankin to live, & to do no sin Sin sueth us ever quoth he, and sorry 'gan weep And wept water with his eyen, & wailed the time That ever he did deed, that dear God dispeased Sworned and sobbed, and sighed full oft That ever he had land, lord shynne less or more Or mastery over any man, more than of himself I were not worthy wots god ꝙ Hankin, to wear any clothes He neither shirt ne , save for shame oneli To cover my caroen quod he, and cried mercy fast And wept and wailed, and therewith I waked. Passus xu de dowel, et incipit dobet. ANd after my waking, it was wonders long Ere I could kindly know, what was dowel And so my wit wax & waned, till I a folewer And some lacked mi self, allowed it few And let me for a lorell, and loath to reverencen Lords or ladies, or any life else As persons in pelure, with pendantes of silver To sergeants ne to such, said I not once God look you lords, ne louted fair That folk helden me a f●le, & in that folly I reigned Till reason had ruth on me, & rocked me a sleep Till I see as it sorcery were a soot thing withal One wythouten tongue or teeth, told me whither I should And whereof he came and of what kin, I conjured him at the last If he were Christ's creature, anon me to tell I am christes creature ꝙ he, & christian in many a place In christes court I know well, & of his kin a party Is neither Peter the porter, ne Poule with his falchion That will defend me the door, ding I never so late At midnight, at midday, my voice is so know That each a creature of his court, welcometh me fair. What are ye called ꝙ I in that court, among christs pupil The whiles I quicken the course ꝙ he, Divers offices of the soul, called am I Anima And when I will and would, Animus iche hight And for that I can and know, called am I men's And when I make moan to god, Memoria is mi name And when I dame domes, & do as truth teacheth Than is Rasio my right name, reason in English And when I feel that folk telleth, mi first name is sensus And that is wit and wisdom, the well of all crafts And when I challenge or challenge not, cheap or refuse Than am I conscience called, gods clerk & his notary And when I love lelly, our lord and all other: Than is Leli love my name, and in latin Amor And when I flee from the flesh, and forsake the carrion Than am I spirit speechless, spiritus than iche hyte Austin and Isodorus, either of them both Named me thus to name, now thou might cheese How thou covetest to call me, now thou know'st all mi names Anima pro diversis actionibus, diversa nomina sortitur, dum vivificat corpus, anima est, dum vult animus est, dum scit mens est, dum recolit me noria est, dum judicat ratio est, dum sentit sensus est, dum amat amor est, dum negat, vel consentit, conscientia est, dum spirat spiritus est. Ye been as a bishop quod I, all boarding that time For bishops iblessed, Bishops have many names they bear many names Presal and Pontifex, and metro politanus And other names an heap, Episcopus and Pastor. That is sooth said he, now I sethy will Thou wouldest know & ken, the cause of all their names And of mine if thou mightest, me think by thy speech Yea sir I said, by so no man were grieved All the sciences under sun, and all the subtle craft I would I knew and could, kindly in mine heart Than arte thou imperfect ꝙ he, and one of prids knights For such a lust and liking, lucifer fell from heaven ●sal. xiiii Ponan pedem in aquilone, et similis ero altissimo. It were against kind quoth he, and kins reason That any creature should ken all, except Christ one Again such Solomon speaketh, & despiseth her wis And saith Sicut qui mel comedet multum, non est ei bonum. Pro. xxv. Sic qui scrutator est maiestatis opprimitur a gloria That is to mean to english men, that mown speak & hear The man that much honey eateth, his maw is englemed And the more that a man, of good matter heareth But he do therefore, it doth him double scathe Beatus est sayeth saint barnard, qui scripturam legit. Et verba vertit in opera, fully to his power Covetise to ken, and to know science Put out of Paradise, Adam and Eue. scienty appetitus hominem immortalitatis gloria spoliavit. And right as honi is evil to defy, & englimeth the maw Right so he that through reason, would that rote know Of God & of his great mights, his graces it letteth For in the liking lieth a pride, and likames covetise Against Christ's counsel, and all clerks teaching That is. Non plus sapere quam oportet, Rom. xii. Friars & fell other masters, that to the lewd men preachen Moven matters immeasurable, to tell of the trinity That oftimes the lewd people, of their belief douten Better to leave were many doctors, preachers duty. such teaching And tell men of x. commandments, & touchen the seven synis And of the branches that bud of them, & bringen men to Hell And how that folk in follies, misspend their five wits As well friars as other folk, foolish spenen In housing in hatering, & in to high clergy showing More for pomp them for pure charity, the people wot the sooth That I lie not so, for lords they pleasen And reverencen the rich, the rather for their silver. Confundantur omnes qui adorant sculptilia. Et alibi, Psal. 117. ut quid diligitis vanitatem et queritis mendatium? Go to the gloze of the verse, ye great Clerks If I lie on you to mi lewd wit, lead me to burning For as it seemeth ye forsake, no man's alms Of usurers of whores, of avarous chapmen And louten to these lords, that may lean you nobles, Again your rule and religion, I take record at jesus Mat. xx. That said to his disciples Ne sitis personatum acceptores Of this matter I might, make a long bible And of curates of christian people, as clerks bear witness I shall tellen it for truth's sake, take heed who so lykith As holiness & honesty, out of holy church spredith, Through lelly leving men, that God's law teachen Right so out of holy church, all evils spredith There imperfect priesthood is, preachers must do as they preach preachers and teachers I see it by ensample, in summer time on trees There some bows been leaved, and some beat none There is a mischief in the more, of such manner bows Right so of parsons & priests, & preachers of holy kirk That are root of the right faith, to rule the people And there the rote is rotten, reason wot the sooth Shall never flower ne fruit, ne fair lief be green Therefore would ye letred men, leave that lechert of clothing And be kind as befell for clerks, & curteis of Christ's goods True of your tongue, and of your tail both And hate to hear harlotry, and not to underfonge Tithes but of true thing, tilied or chaffered Loath were lewd men, but they your lore followed And amenden hem that misdone, more for your ensamples Then to preach and prove it not, hypocrisy it seemeth For hypocrisy in latin, is likened to a dunghill That were beshewed with snow, and snakes within Or to a wall that were whitlimed without, & foul within Right so money priests, preachers and prelate's Are enblaunched with Belperopis, & with clothes also And your works & your words, therunder are full unlovely john Chrisostome of clarks spekth & priests Sicat de templo omne bonum progreditur sic de templo omne masum procedit. Si sacerdotium incorruptum fuerit: Chrysostomus tota sloret ecclesia. Si autem corruptum fuerit: omnium fides marci dae●. Si sacerdotrun fuerit in peccatis: tot●s populus convertetat a● peccatum. Sicat cum videris arborem pa●dam et marridam intelliges quod vicium hader, in radice: Ita cum videris populum in disciplinatum et irreligiosum, sine dubio sacerdotium eius non est samum. If lewd men witted, what this latin meaneth And who was mine author, much wonder me think But if many priests bear for her bastards & her brochis A pair of beads in their hands, & a book under their arm Sir john & sir jeffery, hath a girdle of silver A baselard or a ballocke knife, with buttons overgilt And a portus that should be his plough, Place vo to sing Had he never service to save silver thereto, saith it with idle will Alas ye lewd men, much lose ye on priests And a thing that wickedly is won, Evil gotten evil spent & with false sleights Would never wit of witty God, but wickid men it had The which are priests imperfect, & preachers after silver That with guile is gotten, ungraciously is spended Executors & sodemes, samoners & their lemans, So harlots and hoores, are helped with such goods And Gods folks for default thereof, for faren & spill Curatours of holy kirk, as clerks that been avarous Lightly that they leaven, losels it habbeth Or dieth intestat, and the bishop entereth And maketh mirth thermidde, and his men both And siggen he was an niggard, that no good might spare To friend ne to fremid, the fiend have his soul For a wretched house he hyled, all his life time And that he sparid and bisperid, spend we in mirth By learned and by lewd, that loath is to spend Thus gone their goods, be the ghost faren And for good men God wots, great dole men maken And be meaneth good meatgevers, & in mind haveth In prayers, and in penance, and in perfect charity. What is charity ꝙ I tho? A childish thing he said. Mata. 18, Nisi efficiamini sicut paruuli non intrabitis regnum celorum Without fauteltie or tolie, free liberal will, Where should men find such a friend, with so free a heart? I have lived in land ꝙ I, my name is long Will And found I never full charity, before ne behind Men be merciable to mendinauntes, and to poor And lean there they leave, lelly to be paid charity that Paul praisith best, Rom. xiii most plesing to our God Is Non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non querit que sua sunt. I see never such a man, so god me help That he ne would ask after his, & other while covet Thing that needed him not, & nyme it if he might, Clerks ken me that Christ, is in all places And I see high never soothly, but as myself in a mirror In enigmate, i Cor. xiii tunc farie ad faciem. And so I trow truly, by that men sell of charity It is not champions sight, ne chaffer as I trow Charity ꝙ he chaffreth not, ne challengeth ne craveth As proud of a penny, as of a pound of gold And is as glade, of a gown of grey russet As of a tunicle of tars, or of tried scarlet He is glad with all glade, and good to all wicked And leaveth and loveth, all that our lord made Curseth no creature, ne he can bear no wrath Ne no liking hath to lie, ne laugh men to scorn All that men same he let it soothe, & in solace taketh And all manner mischief, in mildness he suffeeth Coveteth he no earthly good, but heaven lich bliss Hath he any rents or riches, ne retcheth he never For a friend that findeth him, faileth him never at need Fiat voluntas tua, findeth him evermore And if he soup, he eateth but a soup of Spera in deo, He can portrey well the Pater noster, Goyn●● on pilgrimage & paint it with pity And other while he is won, to wead on pilgimage There poor men & prisoners liggen, her pardon to have Though he bear hem no bread, he beareth sweeter food loveth hem as our Lord bade, & looketh how they far And when he is weary of the work, than will he sometime Labour in lavendrye, well the length of a mile And yarn into youth, and yepely speak Pride with all thappertenauncesappurtenances, pake 'em togethers And boken 'em at his breast, and beat 'em clean And liggen on long, with Laboravi in gemitu meo, And with warn water at his eyen, washen 'em after And than he singeth, when he doth so And sometime sayeth weeping Cor contritum et humiliatum deus non despicies By Christ I would I knew him ꝙ I, Psal. two no creature liefer Without the help of Pierce plough man quoth he, his person seest thou never. Where clerks know him ꝙ I, that keepen holy kirk? Clarks have no knowing ꝙ he, but vi works & word And Pierce the ploughman, perceiveth more deeply What is the will & wherefore that many wight suffereth Et vidit cogitationes eorum. Luke. ●● For there are full proud hearted men, patiented of tongue And buxom as of bearing, to burgesis & to lords And to poor people, have pepper in the nose And as a Lion he looketh, there men lack his works Former are veggers & bidders, bedemen as it were Loken as lambrens, and semen live holy, And it is more to have her meat, with such a easi manner Then for penance or perfectness, that poverty that such taketh Therefore by colour ne by clergy, know shalt thou never Nether through works or words, but through will one And that knoweth no clerk, ne creature on earth But Pierce the ploughman Petrus id est Christus For he is not with lesels, ne with landlippers hermit's Ne with anchors there a box hangeth, all such they faiten Fie on Faytors, and Infautores suos, For charity is god's champion, Of charity. & as a good child hende And the merriest of mouth, at meat where he setteth The love that lieth in his heart, maketh him light of speech And is compaignable and comfortative, as Christ bid himself Nolite fieri sicut hypocrite tristes. For I have seen him in silk, Mat. vi. & sometime in russet Both in grey and in gryse, and in a guilt harness And as gladly he it gave, to gums that it needed Edmund and Edward, either were kings And famies set, for charity hem followed I have seen charity also singing and reading Riding and running, in ragged weeds And bidden as beggars, beheld I him never And in rich robes, rachest he walketh Called and Crimised, and his crown shaven And in a friars froke, he was found once And it is fern ago, in saint Frances time In that seet sith, to seld hath he be known rich men he recommendeth, & of their robes taketh That withouten wiles, leadeth her lives Beatus est dives qui. etc. In king's court he cometh oft, there the counsel is true And if covetis be of counsel, What company charity haunteth, he will not come therein In court amongs tapers, he cometh not but seld For brawling & backbiting, and bearing false witness In the consistori before the comissari, he cometh not full oft For their law dureth overlong, but if they lachen silver And matrimony for money, maken and unmaken And that conscience and Christ, hath knit fast They undone it unworthily, the doctors of law And I ne lack no live, but lord amend us all And give us grace good God, charity to follow For who so might meet with him such manners him aileth Neither he blameth ne banneth, boasteth ne praiseth Lacketh he ne loseth, ne looketh up stern Craveth ne covetith, ne crieth after more In pace in idipsum dormiam et requiescam. The most livelihood he liveth by, Psal. xii●, is love in gods passion Nether he biddeth ne beggeth, ne borroweth to yield, Misdoth he no man, ne with his mouth grieveth Amongst christian men, this mildness should last In all manner angers, have this in heart That though he suffered all this, God suffered for us more In example we should do so, & taken no vengeance Of our foes that done us falseness, that is our father's will For well may every man wit, if god had would himself Should never judas ne jew, have jesus done on road Ne have martrid Peter ne Paul, ne in prison holden And he suffered in example, that we should suffer also And said to such that suffer would, that Patientes vincunt Verbi gracia, quod he, and very examples many The Legend of say rites, believe it if ye lust. In Legenda sanctorum, the life of holy saints What penance and poverty, & passion they suffered In hunger in heat, in all manner angers antony and Egedye, and other holy father's Wending in wilderness, among wild beasts Monks and mendinauntes, men by 'em self In spekes and spelunkes, seldom speaken togethers And neither Antony nor Egedi, ne hermit that time Of Lions ne of Leopards, no livelihood to take But of fowls that flieth, this finden men in books Except that Egedi, after an hind cried And through the milk of that mild beast, the man was sustained. And day by day had never nought, his hunger to slake But seld & sundry times, as saith the book & teacheth antony each a day, about none time Had a bird that brought him bread, that he by lived And though the gome had a gest, God found 'em both Poule primus heremita, had proroked himself That no man might him see, for moss and for leaves Fowls hem fed, fell winters withal Till he founded Friars, of Austin's order Poule after his preaching, paniers he made And won with his hands, that his womb needed Peter fyshed for his food, and his fellow Andrew Some they sold & some they soothe, & so they lived both And also Mary magdalen, by moors lived & dews And most through devotion, & mind of god almighty I should not these seven days, seggen 'em all That lived thus for our lords love, many long years And there ne was Lion ne Leopard, that on lands went Neither bear ne boar, ne other beasts wild That ne fell to their feet, & fawned with their tales And if they could have carped, by Christ as I trow They would have fed that folk, before wild fowls And God sent them food by fowls, & by no fierce beasts In meaning that meek thing, mild thing should feed As who say religious, A leson for them that take be●●tices at wicked men hand. rightful men should find And lawful men to life holy men, livelihood bring And than would Lords and ladies, be loath to a guilt And to take of her tenants, more than truth would Found they that Friars would, forsake her alms And bidden hem bear it, there it was borrowed For we been gods fools, and abiden alway Till birds bring us, that we should live by For had ye pottage & pane enough, & peniale to drink And a mes there a mid, of one manner kind Ye had right enough ye religious, so your rule me told Nunquid (dicit job) rugit Onager cum herbam habuerit. Aut mugiet bos, cum ante plenum presepe steterit. job. v●. Brutorun animalium natura te condempnat, quia cum eis pabulum commune sufficit, ex adipe prodiit iniquitas tua. If lewd men knew this latin, they would look whom they give And advice hem before, a five days or six Ere they amortised to monks, or canons her rents Alas Lords and Ladies, lewd counsel have ye To give from your heirs, that your elders you left And give it to bid for you, to such as been rich And been founden and fed eke, to bid for other Who performeth this prophecy, of the people that now liveth? Dispersit dedit pauperibus. Psal. iii If any people perform the text, it are these poor friars For that they beg about, in building they spend it And on him self some, and such as been her labourers And of hem that have not they take, & giveth hem that hath And clerks & knights, and commoners that been rich Fell of you fareth, as if I a forest had That were full of fair trees, and I found a cast How I might more therein, among hem set Right so ye rich, ye rob that been rich And helpeth hem that help you, & giveth there no need is As who so filleth a tun, of a fresh river Cast water into temes. And went forth with that water, to work with Camise Right so ye rich, ye rob and feed Him that have as ye have, hem ye make at ease And religious that rich been, should rather fest beggars Then Burgesis that rich been, as the book telleth. Quia sacrilegium est tes pauperum non pauperibus dare Item peccatoribus dare est demonibus immolare Item Monache, si indiges et accipis potius das quam accipis Si autem non indiges et accipis, rapis. Porro non Indiget Monachus, si habeat quod nature sufficit. Therefore I counsel all christian, to confirm hem to charity For charity without challenging, unchargeth the soul And many prisoners by his prayer, he pulleth from pain And there is a default in the folk, that the faith keepeth Wherefore folk is the feebler, and not firm of believe As in Lushburth is a luther allay, yet looketh like sterling The mark of the money is good, & the metel feeble So fareth it by some folk now, they have a fair speech Crown and christendom, the kings mark of heaven And the metel that is man's soul, with sin is foul allayed Both lettered and lewd, been arrayed now with sin That no life loveth other, ne our Lord as it seemeth For by war & wicked works, & weders unseasonable Weather wyshyppers, and witty clerks also Have no believe to the list, ne to the lore of Philosopher's Astronomers all day, in her art failen That whilom warned before, what should fall after Shipmen & shepherds, that with ship & sheep wenten Wyshen by the welkin, what should betide As of weders and winds, All is our of frame they warned men oft tillers that tilled the earth, told her masters By the seed that they sew, what they sell might And what to leave & what to live by, the land was so true Now faileth the folk of the flood, & of the land both Sepeheardes and shipmen, and so do these tillers Nether they camneth ne knoweth, one course before another Astronomers also, are at her wits end Of that was calculed of th'element, the contrary they find Grammar the ground of all, beguileth now the children For it is none of these new clarks, who so nimeth heed Not one among an hundred, that an altar can construe Ne read a letter in ani language, but in latin or english Go now to any degree, and but if guile be master And flatterer his fellow, under him to fourmen Mache wonder me thinketh, among us all Doctors of degrees, and of divinity masters That should ken and know, all kynnes clergy And answer to arguments, and also to a Quod libet. I dare not say it for shame, if such were opposed They should fail of her philosophy, & physic both Therefore I am afraid, of folk of holy kirk Lest they overhipen as other done, in officis & in hours And if they overhip as I hope not, our belief suffereth As clerks in Corpus Christi feast, singen and readen That Sola fides sufficit, to save with lewd people And so may Saracines be saved, scribes and jews Alas than but our lores men, lived as they serve us And for her living the lewd men be, the loather god agylt For Saracines have somewhat, seeming to our believe For they love and believe, one god almighty And we learned and lewd, in one god believe. The beginning of Mahomet's law And one Mahomet a man, in misbelieve brought Saracines of Surrey, and see in what manner. At the first he was christian, & for he might not be pope Into Surrey he sought, & through his sottle wits Daunted a dove, and day and night her fed The corn that she cropped, he cast in his ear And if he among the pupil preached, or in places come Than would the Culuer come, to the clerks ear Meaning as after meat, thus Mahomet her enchanted Than did folk fall on knees, for he swore in his preaching That the Culuer that came so, came from god of heaven As messenger to Mahomet, men for to teach And thus through wiles of his wit, & a whit dove Mahomet in misbelieve, men and women brought That lived tho there and lyven yet, leving on his laws And sith our saviour suffered, the Saracenes so beguiled Through a christian clerk, accursed in his soul For dread of death, I dare not tell truth How english clerks a Culuer fede, the covetise hyte And been mannered of Mahomet, that no man useth truth Anchors and hermit's, monks and friars Perens to Apostles, through her perfect living Would never the faithful father, that his ministers should Of tyrants that teneth true men, take any alms But done as Anthony did, Dominike & Francis Benet and barnard, the which hem first taught To live by little & in low houses, by lelly men's alms Grass should grow and be green, through her good living And folks should find that been in divers sickness The better for her biddings, in body and in soul Their prayers & their penances, to peace should bring All that been at debate, and bedmen were true. Petite et accipietis. etc. Luke. ●●. Salt saveth cattle, sayeth these wives. Vos estis shall terre. Math. ●●. The heads of holy church, and they holy were Christ calleth 'em salt, for Christian souls. Et si sal evanuerit in quo salietur. For fresh flesh other fish, when it salt faileth It is unsavoury forsooth, sod or baked So is man's soul soothly, that seeth no good example Of hem of holy kirk, that the high way should teach And be guide and go before, as a good ravener And harden 'em that behind been, & give hem good evidence A leaven holy men, all the world turned Into lellye believe, The Apostles turned all the world to the faith, the lyghtloker me thinketh Should all manner of men, we have so many masters Priests and preachers, and a Pope above That God's salt should be, to save man's soul All was Heathennesses sometime, England & Wales Till Gregory guard clerks, to go here and preach Austen at canterbury, christened the king And by miracles as men may read, all the marsh he returned To Christ and to christendom, & cross to honour And fulled folk fast, and the faith taught More through miracles, than through much preaching As well through works, as through his holy words And said 'em what fulling, and faith was to mean Cloth that cometh from the weving, is not comely to wear Till it be fulled under foot, or in fulling stocks Washen well with water, and with tasels cratched Touked and teynted, and under tailors hand And so it fareth by a barn, that borne is of a womb Till the child be instructed in Christ it is but as a wild beast Till it be christened in christs name, confirmed of bishop It is heathen as to hevenward, & helpless to the soul heathen is to mean, after heath and untilled earth As in wild wilderness, waxeth wild beasts Rude and unreasonable, running without cropers Ye menen well how Matthew saith, how a man made a feast He fed hem with no venison, ne fesauntes baked But with fowls that from him nold, but followed his whistling Math. xx Ecce altilia mea, et omnia parata sunt. And with calves flesh he fed, the folk that he loved The calf betokeneth cleanness, in hem that keepeth laws For as the cow through kind milk, the calf nourisheth till an ox So love & leauty, lelly men sustaineth And maidens and mild men, mercy desieren. Right as the cow calf, coveteth sweet milk So done rightful men, mercy and truth And who so that excuseth 'em, that are people & priests That heneds of holy kirk been, that have her will here Without travel the tith deal, that true men biswinken They would wroth for I writ this, & to witness take Both Matthew & Mark, and Memento domine david What pope or prelate now, performeth the christ hight Ire in universum mundum, et predicate evangelium. Mat. xvi Alas that men so long, on Makometh should believe So many prelate's to preach, as the Pope maketh Of Nazareth of Ninive, of Nepthalim & Damascus That they ne went as Christ wisheth, sithen they will have name To be pastor and preach, the passion of jesus And as hem self said, so to live and die. Bonus pastor animam suam ponit. etc. john. x. And said it in salvation, to Saracines and other For christian and unchristen, Christ said to preachers Ite vos in vineam meam. Math. xx And sith that these Saracines, scribes and jews Have a lip of our believe, the lyghlier me thinketh They should turn who so travailed, to teach 'em of the trinity Querite et invenietis. Mat. seven etc. It is ruth to read, how rightwise men lived How they defouled her flesh, forsook her own will far fro kith and from kin ill clothed yeden Badlye bedded, no book but Conscience. Ne no riches but the road, to rejoice 'em therein Absit vos gloriari nisi in cruce domini nostri. etc. Galat. vi And though was plenty and peace, among poor and rich And now is ruth to read, how the red noble Is reverenced ere the road, How covetise of the clergy will destroy the church. & received for the worthier Than Christ's cross, that overcame death & deadly sin And now is war and woe, and who so why asketh For covetise after cross, the crown stands in gold Both rich and religious, that road they honour That in groats is graven, and in nobles For covetous of that cross, men of holy kirk Shall turn as templars did, the time approacheth near Wit ye not ye wise men, how tho men honoured More treasure than troth, I dare not tell the sooth Reason and rightful doom, the religious deemed Right so you clerks, for your covetise ere long Shall they dame Does ecclesie, and your pride depose. De posuit potentes de sede. Luke. ●. etc. If knighthood and kyndwyt, An admonition to the clergy & commune by conscience together love lelly, leaveth it well ye bishops The lordship's of lands, for ever shall ye lose And live as Lovitiei, as our Lord you teacheth Per primitias et decimas. etc. When Constantyne of courtesy, Deut. 18. Nun. v. holy kirk dowed With lands, and leads, lordship's and rents An angel men harden on high at Rome cry Does ecclesie, this day hath drunk venom And they that have Peter's power, are poisoned all A medicine must thereto, that may amend prelate's That should pray for peace, possession hem letteth Take her lands ye lords, A medicine for the clergy & let 'em live by decimus If possession be poison, and imperfect hem make Good were it to discharge 'em, for holy kirk sake And purge 'em of poison, ere more peril fall. If priesthood were perfect, the people should amend That contrarien Christ's law, & christendom despise For all paynims prayeth, and perfectly believeth In the holy great god, and his grace they asken And make her moan to Makomet, her message to she we Thus in faith live that folk, & in a false mean And that is ruth of rightful men, that in realm wonneth And a peril of the Pope, and prelate's that he maketh That bear bishops names, of Bethlem, & of Babylon That hip about in England, to hollow men's altars And crepen among curatours, confessen again the law Nolite mittere falcem, in messem alienam. Mani a man for Christ's love, Bishops. duty. was martyred in Rome Ere any christendom was known there, or any cross honoured Every bishop that beareth cross, by the he is held Through his province to pass, & to his pupil to show Tellen hem and teachen hem, on the trinity to believe And feeden hem with ghostly food, & give there it neadeth. In domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum. isaiah. iii. Et ideo nolite, constituere me regem. Malachias saith for such, as sick be and feeble. Inferte omnes decimas in horreum meum, Mal. iii. ut sit cibus in domo mea. And we christian creatures, that on the cross beleven Are firm in the faith, god forbade else And have clerks to keep us therein, & hem the come after And jews liuen in lelly love, our lord wrote it himself In stone for it steadfast was, and stand shall ever Dilige deum et prorimum, is perfit jews' law And took it to Moses to teach men, till Messiah came And on that law they leave yet, and letten it the best And yet knew they Christ, that christendom taught For a perfit prophet, that much people saved Of selkougth sores, they saw it oft Both of miracles & marvels, & how he men feasted With two fishes & five loves, five thousand people And by the mangerye men might see, the Messiah he seemed And when he lift up Lazar, that laid was in grave And under stone & stank, with stiff voice him called. Lazare veni foras. john. xi. Did him rise and room, right before the jews And they said and swore, with sorcery he wrought And studied to destroy him, and stroyed 'em selves And through his patience, her power to naught he brought. Vincunt patientes. Daniel of her doing, divined and said. Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat, cessabit unctio bestra. And wenen the wretches, the he were pseudo propheta And that his lore be leasings, and lacken it all And hopen that he be to come, that shall hem relieve Moses eft or Messie, her masters yet divineth And Phariseis and Saracens, Scribes & Greeks Are folk of one faith, the father god they honouren And sithen that the Sarasines, and also the jews can the first clause of our believe Credo in deum Prelates of christian provincis, should prove if they might To learn 'em little & little, Et in jesum christum filium, Till they could speak and spell, Et in spiritum sanctum And read it and record it with remissionem peccatorum. Carnis resurrectionem et vitam eternam amen. Passus xvi et primus de dobet. Now fair fall you ꝙ I tho, for your fair showing: For Hankins love the active man, ever I shall you love. And yet I am in a were, what charity is to mean It is a full tried tree quoth he, truly to tell Mercy is the more thereof, the middle stock is ruth The leaves been lelly words, A description of charity. the law of holy kirk The blossoms been buxom speech, & vening looking Patience hight the pure tree, and pure simple of heart And so through god & good men, groweth the fruit charity I would travel ꝙ I this tree to see twenty C. mile And to have my fill of the fruit, forsake all other salve Lord ꝙ I if any wight wit, whither out it groweth It groweth in a garden ꝙ he, the god made himself. Amids man's body, the moor is of that stock heart height the herboure, that it in groweth And Liberum arbitrium, hath the land to farm Under Piers the ploughman, to pick it & to weed it Pierce the Ploughman ꝙ I tho, & all for pure joy That I hard nempe his name, a on I swoned after And lay long in a love dream, & at last me thought That Pierce the Ploughman, all the place me showed And vade me to totre on the tree, on top & on rote With iii piles was it underpight, I perceived it soon Pierce ꝙ I, I pray thee, why stand these piles here? For winds, wilt thou wit ꝙ he, to wyten it from falling Cum reciderit justus, non collidetur, quia dominus supponit manum suam. Psal. 37. In blowing run bite the flowers, but if thes piles help The world is a wicked wind, to hem that will troth Covetise cometh of the wind, & creepeth among the leaves And forfretith nigh the fruit, through many fair sights Than with the first pile, I pale him down, the is Potentia Dei Patris The flesh is a wind & in flowering time Through liking and lusts, so loud ginneth to blow That it nourisheth nigh sights, & sometime words And wicked works thereof, worms of sin And forbyteth the blosomes, even to the bare leaves Than set I to the second pile, Sapientia dei patris. That is the passion and the power, of our prince jesus Through prayers & through penance, god's passion in mind I save it till I see it ripen, & some deal fruted And than fondeth the fend, my fruit to destroy With all the wiles that he can, & waggeth the rote And casteth up the crompe, unkind neighbours backbiters break the chest, brawlers & chiders And layeth a ladder thereto, of leasings are the rounds And fetch away my flowers, sometime afore both mine eyes And Liberum arbitrium, letteth 'em sometime, That is lieutenant to loken it well, bileave of myself Vidiatis qui peccat in spiritum sanctum numquam remitterur. Hoc est idem qui peccat per liberum arbitrium non repurgatur And when the fend & the flesh, Mat. xii. forth with the world Manacen behind me, Pierces defence my fruit for to fetch Than liberum arbitrium, latcheth the first plant And palleth adoune the pouke, purely through grace And help of the holy ghost, & thus have I the mastery Now fair fall you Piers ꝙ I, so fair ye descriven The power of these posts, and their proper might And I have thought a threw, of thes three poles In what wood they wopen, & where that they growed For all are they a like long, none less than other And to mimid as me thinketh, on a more they growed And of one greatness, and green of greyne they semen That is so the quod Pierce, so it may befall I shall tell the as tyte, what this tree height The ground there it groweth, goodness it height And I have told the what hight the tree, The tree & the fruits thereof. the trinity it meaneth And eagerly he looked on me, & therefore I spared To ask him any more therefore, & bade him full fair To descrive the fruit, that so fair hangeth Here now beneath quod he tho, if I need had matrimony I may name, a moist fruit withal Then continence is here the crop, as caile way bastard Then beareth the crop kind fruit, and clennest of all maidenhead angels peer, and rathest will be ripe And sweet without swelling, sour worth it never I prayed Pierce to pull down, an apple if he would And suffer me to assay, what savour it had And Piers cast to the crop, & than comsed it to cry And wagged widowhood, and it wept after And when it moved Matrimony, it made a full noise I had ruth when Piers ragged, it grad of ruthfullye For ever as they dropped down, the devil was ready And gathered them altogether, both great and small Adam and Abraham, and isaiah the prophet Samson Samuel, and saint john Baptist Bore 'em forth boldly, no body him let And made of holy men his hoard, In limbo inferm. There is darkness and dread, and the devil master And Pierce of pure tene, of that apple caught He hit oft at him, hit if he might Filius, by the father's will, & frenes of Spiritus sancti, To go rob that ragman, & reave the fruit from him And speak Spiritus sanctus, in Gabriels' mouth To a maid that hight Mary, a meek thing withal That one jesus a justice son, must tonken in her womb Till Plenitudo temporis, full ye comen were That Pierces fruit flowered, and fill to ripe And jesus should just therefore, by judgement of arms Whether should fonge the fruit, the fiend or himself The maid myldelye tho, the messenger greeted Add said hendelye to him, lo me his handmaiden For to work his will, without any sin. Ecce ancilla domini, fiat mihi. Luke. ●. etc. And in the womb of the wench, was he forty weeks Till he wext a faunt through her flesh, & of fighting could To have fought with the fend, ere full time came And Pierce the Ploughman, perceived plener time And learned him lechcrafte, his life for to save That wounded with his enemy, he might warish himself And did him assay his surgery, on hem that sick were Till he was perfit practiser, if any danger fell And sought out the sick and sinful both And salved sick and sinful, doth blind and crooked And comen women converted, and to good turned Non est sanis opus medico. etc. Both mesels and mute, and in the menison bloody Oft he healed such, he ne held it for no mastery Save though he healed Lazar, that had lay in grave john. xi. Quatriduanas, Quelte quick did him wake And as he made the mastery, Messus cepit esse. And wept water with his eyen, there seighen it many Some that the sight sighen, said that time That he was leech of life, and lord of high heaven jews' jangled there again, and judged laws And said he wrought through witchcraft, & with the devils might joh. viii Demonium habes. Then are ye cherls quoth I, and your children both And Satan your saviour, yourself now ye witness For I have saved yourself saith Christ, & your sons after Your bodies, your beasts, & blind men helped And fed you with two fishes, and with five loves And left baskets full of broken meat, bear away that would And missayd the jews manly, & menaced hem to beat And knocked on hem with a cord, & cast down her stalls That in church chafferden, or change den any money And said it in sight of 'em all, so that all hearden I shall overturn this temple, and down throw And in three days after, edify it new And make it as much or more, in all manner points As ever it was and as wide, & therefore I hot you Of prayers and of perfectness, this place that ye call. Mat. xxi. Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur. Envy and evil will, was in the jews They casten & contriveden, to kill him when they might Each day after other, her time they awaited Till it befell on a friday, a little before paske The thursedaye before, there he made his maundy sitting at the supper, he said these words I am sold through one of you, he shall the time rue That ever he his saviour sold, for silver or else. judas jangled thereagainst, and jesus him told It was himself soothly, and said judicis, Than went forth that wicked man, The manner of judas ●●trayng 〈◊〉 used & with the jews met And told them a token, how to know jesus And which token to this day, to much is used That is kissing & fair countenance, and unkind will And so was with judas tho, that jesus betrayed ave rav by quoth that ribaude, & right to him he go And kiss him to be caught thereby, killed of the jews Than jesus to judas, and to the jews said Falseness I find, in thy fair speech And guile in thy glad cheer, and gall in thy laughing Thou shalt be mirror to many, men to deceive And thy work & wickedness, shall worth upon thy self. Necesse est ut veniant scandala, Mat. ●●. ve tamen homini illi per quem scandalum venit. Though I by treason, be at your own will Suffer mine apostles, in peace and in poise gauge On a thursedaye in the sterns, thus was he take Through judas and jews, jesus was his name That on the Friday following, for mankind's sake jousted in jerusalem, a joy to us all On cross upon caluerye, Christ took the battle Against death & the devil, destroyed both her mights died and death fordid, and day of night made And I awaked therewith, and wiped mine eyen And after Pierce the ploughman, pried and stared Eastward and westward, I waited after fast And go forth as an Idiot, in country to espy After Pierce the ploughman, many a place I sought And than met I with a man, on Mydlenten sunday As door as an Hauthorne, and Abraham he height I frayned him first, from whence he came And from whence he were, & whither that he thought I am Faith quoth that freke, it falleth not to lie And of Abraham's house, an herald of arms I seek after a segge, that I see once A full bold bachelor, I know him by his blazon What beareth that burn ꝙ I tho, so blishe the betide A description of the trinitiei. Three leodes on a lieth, none longer than other Of one mikell and one might, in measure & in length That one doth all doth, and each doth by his own The first hath might & majesty, maker of all things Pater is his proper name, a person by himself The second of that sire is, soothfastness Filius Warden of that wit hath, was ever without gynninge. The third height the holy ghost, a person by himself The light of all that life hath, on land and on water Confortour of creatures, of him cometh all blyshe So three belongeth for a lord, that lordship claimeth Might, and a mean, to know his might Of him & of his servant, and what they suffer both So God that ginning had never, but though him good thought Scent forth his son, as for servant the time To occupy him here, till issue were sprung That is children of charity, & holy kirk the mother patriarchs & prophets, & apostles were the children And Christ and christendom, and christian holy kirk In meaning that man must, in one God believe And there him liked & loved, in iii people him showed Wedlock and widowhood, with virginity nempned In to kenning of the trinity, was out of man taken Adam our old father, Eve was of himself And the issue that they had, it was of hem both And either is others joy, in three sundry parsons And in heaven and in earth, one singular name And thus is mankind or manhood, of matrimony sprung And betokeneth the trinity, and true believe. Mighty is matrimony, and multyplieth the earth And betokeneth truly, tell if I durst Him that first formed all, father of heaven The son if I durst say, resembleth well the widow Deus meus deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me. Psal. xxii That is creator was creature, to know what was both As widow without wedlock, was never yet see No more might god be man, but if he mother had So widow without wedlock, may not well stand Ne matrimony without moylerie, is not much to praise Maledictus homo qui non reliquit semen in Israel. Thus in three persons, is perfectly manhood That is man and his make, and moiler children And is not but gender of generation, bifore jesu Christ So is the father forth with the son, & free will of hem both Spiritus procedens a patre et filio. Which is the holy ghost of all, and all is but one god Thus in a summer I him see, as I sat in my porch I rose up and reverenced him, & right fair him Three men to my sight, I made well at ease Washed her feet & wiped 'em, & afterward they eaten calves flesh & cake bread, & knew what I thought Full true tokens between us been, to tell when me liketh first he fonded me, whether I loved better Him or Isaac mine heir, which he hight me to kill He wist my will by him, he will me it allow I am full siker in soul thereof, and my son both Abraham is circumcised. I circumcised my son, sithen for his sake Myself and my meinie, and all that male were Bled blood for the lords love, & hope to bliss the time Mine affiance and my faith, is farm in this believe For himself behyght to me, & to mine issue both Land and lordship, and life without end To me and to mine issue, more yet he me granted Mercy of our misdeeds, many times as we ask, Quam olim Abrahe promisisti, et semini eius. And sith he sent me to say, I should do sacrifice And done him worship with bread, & with wine both And called me foot of his faith, his folk for to save And defend 'em from the fiend, folk that on me lived Thus have I been his herald, here and in hell And comforted many a careful, that after his coming waiten And thus I seek him he said, for I hear say late Of a barn that bapsid him, I. baptist was his name That to patriarchs & to prophets, & to other people in darkness Said that he see here, that should save us al. john. i. Ecce agnus dei. etc. I had wonder of his words, and of his wide clothes For in his bosom he bore a thing, that he blessed ever And I looked in his lap, a Lazare lay therein Among patriarchs and prophets, pleyinge togethers What awaitest thou ꝙ he, & what wouldst thou have I would wit ꝙ I tho, what is in your lap Lo quoth he and let me see, lord mercy I said This is a present of mich price, what price shall it have It is a precious present ꝙ he, & the pouk hath it atachid And me thermid ꝙ that man, there may no wed me quite Ne no barn be our borrow, ne bring us from his danger Out of the powkes pinfold, no mainprice may us fetch Till he come that I carp of, Christ is his name That shall deliver us some day, out of the devils power And better wed for us lig, than we be all worthy That is life for life, or lig thus ever Lollinge in my lap, till such a lord us fetch Alas I said that sin, so long shall let The might of god's mercy, that might us well amend I wept for his words, with that I saw an other Rapelich run forth, the right way he went I frained him first, from whence he came And what he hight, & whether he would, & wightly he told Passus. xvii. de visione. I Am Spes ꝙ he, and spy after a knight That took me a mandment, upon that mont Sinai To rule all realms with, I bear the write here It is ensealed I said, may men see the letters? Nay he said I seek him that hath the seal to keep And that is cross & christendom, & Christ thereon to hung And when it is ensealed so, I wots well the sooth Than Lucifer's lordship, shall last no longer Let us see the letters ꝙ I, we might the law know Than pulled he forth, a piece of a hard roche Wherein were written these words, on this wise iglosed Dilige deum, et proximum. etc. Mat. xxii This the text truly, I took full good yeme The gloze was glorious, written with a guilt pen. In hiis duobus mandatis, tota lex peudet et prophet. Be here all the lords laws ꝙ I, yea leave me he said And who so worcheth after this writ, I will undertake Shall never devil him dear, ne death in soul grieve For though I say it myself, I have saved with this charm Of men & women, many score thousands He saith sooth said this herald, I have it found oft Lo here in my lap, that lived on that charm joshua and judith, and judas Machabeus Yea and vi thousand beside forth, that been not seen here Your words are wondered ꝙ I tho, which of you is truest? And lelest to leave on, for life and for soul Abraham saith, that he see wholly the trinity Abraham saw three distinct persons in trinity Three persons in parcels, each departable from other And all three but one god, thus Abraham me taught And hath saved that believed so, & sorry for her sins. I can not suggest, ●●nme, and some are in mi lap What needed it than, a new law to begin? Sith the first sufficeth, to a saluasion and bliss And now cometh Spes, & speaketh that hath espied the law And telleth not of the triniti, that took him his letters To believe and love, in our Lord almighty. And sith right as myself, so love all the people The gome the goth with a staff, he seemeth in greater heal Than he that goth with two slaves, to sight of us all And right so by the road, reason me showeth It is lighter to lewd men, one lesson to know Than for to teach hem two, & to hard to learn the lest It is full hard for any man, on Abraham believe And well away worse yet, for to love a shrew It is lighter to leave, in three lovely persons Than for to love and leave, as well lorels as lelly Go thy gate quoth I to Spes, for so me god help though that learn thy law well, little while usen it And as we wenten in the way, thus wording togethers Than sew a Samaritan, sitting on a mule Riding well rapelye, the right way we yeden Cumming from a country, men call jericho To a justis at jerusalem, he chaseth away fast Both the herald and hope, The man wounded of thieves and he met at once Where a man was wounded, and with thieves taken He might neither step ne stand, ne stir foot ne hand Ne help himself soothly, for Semivife he seemed And as naked as a needle, & no help about him Faith had first sight of him, and he i'll a side And would not nyghen him, by nine lands length Hope came hipping after, that had so boasted How he with Moses mandment, had many men holpen And when he had sight of the segge, a side he 'gan him draw Dreadfully by this day, as duck doth from falcon And so soon this Samaritan, had sight of this leode He light down of liard, lad him in his hand And to the weigh he went, his wounds to behold And perceived by his pulse, he was in peril to die And but he had recover the rather, that rise should he never With wine & with oil, his wounds he washed Enbaumid him & bound his head, & in his lap him laid And led him so forth on liard, to Ler Christi, a grange Well two miles or seven, beside the new market Herberde him at an hostry, and to the ostler called And said have keep this man, till I come from the justis And lo here silver he said, for salve for his wounds And he took him two pence, for livelihood as it were And said who so spend more, I make it good heraftir For I may not let ꝙ that leode, & liarde he bestrideth And raped him to jerusalem, the right way to ride Faith followed after fast, and fonded to meeten him And Spes spaklich him sped, speed if he might To overtake him & talk to him, ere he to town come And when I see this I sojourned not, but shope me to rem And sewed that Samaritan, that was so full of pity And granted him to be his groom, gramercy he said And thy friend and thy fellow, thou findest me at need Pierce proffereth Christ to be come his servant And I thanked him tho, and sith. I him told How that faith i'll away, and Spes his fellow both For sight of the sorrowful man, the robbed was with thieves Have 'em excused ꝙ he, her help may little avail Ma●●● medicine on mould, the man to heal bring Neither faith ne fine hope, so festered be his wounds Without the blood of a barn, bore of a maiden And he bathed in that blood, baptized as it were Than plastered with penance, & passion of that baby He should stand and step, and stalworth he never Till he have eaten all the barn, & his blood drunken For went never weigh in this world through the wilderness That he ne was rob or rifled, road he or go Save Faith and his fellow Spes, and myself And thyself now, and stitch as suen our works For an outlaw in the wood, & under bank louteth And may each man see, and good mark take Who is behind & who before, & who so been on horse For he halt him hardy on horse, then him that is on foot For he seeth me that am Samaritan, sue faith & his fellow On my caple that height Caro, of mankind I took it He was unhardy that harlot, and hid him in inferno And ere this day three days, I dare undertaken That he worth fettered that fellow, fast with chains And never eft grieve gome, that goeth this ilke gate And then shall faith be foster here, & in this frith walk And kennen out comen men, that known not the country Which is the way that I went, & where forth to jerusalem And Hope the hostylers man, shall be their the manlyeth in healing And all the feeble & faint be, the faith may not tech Hope shall lead 'em forth with love, as his lore teach And hostell 'em & heal, through holy kirkes believe Till I have salve for all sick, Of Christ's resurrection. & than shall I return And come again by this country, & comforten all sick That craveth it or coveteth it, and crieth thereafter For the barn was borne in Bethlen, that with his blood shall save All the liuen in faith, & followen his fewlowes teaching A sweet sir said I tho, whether shall I believe As Faith and his fellow, informed me both In three persons departable, that perpetual were ever And all three but one god, thus Abraham me taught And hope afterward, he bade me to love One god with all my good, and all gomes after Love hem like myself, and our lord above al. After Abraham quoth he, that heraud of arms Set fast thy faith, and firm believe And as hope high thee, I boat the that thou love Thine even christian evermore, even forth with thyself And if conscience carp there again, or kind wit other Or heretics with arguments, thine hand thou him show For god is after an hand, The triniti like an hand here now and know it The father was first as a fist, with one finger folding Till him loved and lust, to unlosen his finger And put it forth as with a paum, to what place it should The paume is pureli the hand, & proferith forth the figers To minister & to make, the might of hand known And betokeneth truly, tell who so liketh The holy ghost of heaven, he is as the pawme The fingers that free be, to fold, and to serve Betokeneth soothly the son, the scent was to the earth That touched and tasted, at teaching of the pawn saint mary a maid, and mankind laughed. Qui conceptus est de spiritu sancto. The father is then as a fist, with fingers to touch Quia omnia traham ad me ipsum. 〈◊〉. ●ii. All that the pawme perceiveth, profitable to feel Than are they all but one, as it a hand were And three sundry sights, in one showing The pawme, for he putteth out fingers & fist both Right so reddilye, reason it showeth How he that is holy ghost, sire and son proveth And as the hand holds hard, and all things fast Through four figers & a thumb, forth with the pawme Right so the father & the son, &. s. spirit the third Within 'em three, the wide world holden Both the welkin and the wind, water and earth Heaven and hell, and all that therein is Thus it is, needeth no man trow none other That three things belongeth, in our lord of heaven And are Serples by hem self, a sunder were they never No more than my hand, may move without my fingers And as my fist is full hand, folden togethers So is the father a full God, former and maker. Tu fabricator omnium. etc. The Trinity like an hand. And all the might mid him is, in making of all things The fingers framen a full hand, to purtrey & to payntem Carving and compassing, is craft of the fingers Right so is the son, the science of the father And full god as is the father, no feebler nor no better The paume that is puteli the hand, hath power by himself Other wise than the wrethen fist, or workmanshyp of fingers For the pawme hath power, to put out all the joints And to unfold the folden fist, at the fingers will So is the holy ghost god, neither greater ne less Than is the sire and the son, & in the same might And all three but one god, as is mi hand & mi fingers Vnfolden or folden, my fest and my pawme Al is but one hand, how so ever I turn it And who so is hurt on the hand, even in the mids He may receive right nought, reason it showeth For the fingers that fold should, and the fist make For pain of the pawme, power hem faileth To cratch or to claw, to clype or to hold Were the middle of my hand, maimed or pershed I should receive right nought, of that I reach might And though my thumb & my fingers, both were to swollen And the middle of my hand, without malease In many kins manners, I might myself help Both move and amend, though all my finger's oak By this skill me thinketh, I see an evidence That who so sinneth in the. s. Spirit, assoiled worth he never Nether here ne else where, as I hear tell. Qui peccat in spiritum sanctum. etc. For he the pricketh god as in the pawme, Mat. xii. Qui peccat in spi For god the father is as a fist, the son is as a finger The holy ghost of heaven, is as it were the pawme And who so sineth in. s. spirit, it seemeth that he grieveth God that he gripeth with, & would his grace quench And to a torch or a tapoure, the trinity is likened As wax and a week, were twined together And than a fire flaming, forth out of both And as wax and week, and hot fire together Fostren forth a flame, and a fair lay. So done the sire and the son, & also Spiritus sanctus, The holy ghost show to by similitudes Fostrens forth amongs folk, love and believe And all kin christian, cleanseth of sins And as thou feast sometime, suddenly a torch The blasse thereof blown out, yet burneth the week Without lay or light, that the match burneth So is the holy ghost god, and grace without mercy To all unkind creatures, that covet to destroy Lellye love or life, that our Lord shaped And as glowing gleden, gladeth not these workmen That waken and worken, in winter nights As doth a kex or a candle, that caught hath fire & blazeth No more doth siren son, ne saint spirit togethers Grant no grace, ne forgiveness of sins Till the holy ghost gynne, to glow and to blaze So that the holy ghost gloweth, but as a gleed Till that lellye love, lygge on him and blow And than flameth he as fire, on father and on Filius And melteth her might into mercy, as men may see in winter Icicles & eves, through heat of the sun Melt in a minute while, to mist and to water So grace of the holy ghost, the great might of the trinity Melteth mercy to merciable, and to no other And as wax without more, and a warm gleed Will brennen and blazon, all togethers And solacen hem that may see, that sytre in darkness So the father forgiveth folk, that have mild hearts That rufullye repenten, and restitution make In as much as they may, amend and pay And if it suffice not for a seth, that in such will dieth Mercy for his meekness, will make good the remnant And as the week and fire, will make a warm flame For to mirth men with, that in merke sitten So will Christ of his courtesy, & men cry him mercy Both forgive and forget, and yet bid for us To the father of heaven, forgiveness to have And new fire at the flint, four hundred winter But thou have to we to take it with, tinder or broochs All thy labour is lost, and thy long travel For may no fire flame make, fail it his kind So is the holy ghost god, and grace without mercy. To all unkind creatures, Christ himself witnesseth. Amen dico vobis, nescio vos. Mat. xxv Be unkind to thine evenchristen, & all that the canst bid deal and do penance, day and night ever And purchase all the pardon, of Pampilon and Rome Add indulgences enough, & be ungrateful to thy kin The holy ghost heareth the not, ne help may the by reason For unkindness quencheth him, that he can not shine Ne burn ne blasse clear, for blowing of unkindness Poule the Apostle, proveth, i Cor. xiii whether I lie Si linguis hominum loquar. etc. Forty beware ye wise men, that with the world deal That rich been & reason knoweth, rule well yourselves Be not unkind I counsel you, to your even christian For many of you rich men, by my soul men telleth Ye burn but ye blaze not, that is a blind beacon Non omnis qui dicit domine domine, intrabit. etc. Mat. seven. Dives died dampened, for his unkindness Of his meat and of his money to men, that it needed Each a rich I read, regard at him take And give your good to that god, that grace of riseth For they that be unkind to his, hope I none other But they dwell there Dives is, day without end Thus is unkindness the contrary, that quencheth as it were The grace of the holy ghost, gods own kind For that kind doth, unkind fordoth, as done these cursed thieves Unkind christian men, for covetise & envy Sleeth a man for his movables, with mouth or with hands For that the holy ghost hath to keep, though harlots destroyeth The which is life & love, the leye of man's body A good man is like a torch or a tapoure. For every manner good man, may be likened to a torch Or else to a taper, to reverence the trinity And who the murdereth a good man, me thinketh by my in wit He fordoth the levest light, that our lord loveth And yet in many more manners, men offend the holy ghost And this is the worst wise, that any wight might Sin against. s. Spirit, assenten to destroyen For covetise any kins thing, the Christ dear bought How might he ask mercy, or any mercy him help That wicked and wilfully, would mercy amentyce Innocence is next god, & night and day crieth Vengeance vengeance, forgiven be it never That shent us & shed our blood, forshapt us as it were Apoca. vi Vindica domine sanguinem nostrum. Thus vengeance vengeance, very charity asketh And sith holy kirk and charity, chargeth this so sore Leave I never that our lord will love, that charity lacketh Ne have pity for any prayer, there that he pleynyth I pose I had sinned so, and should now die And am sorry that I did so, the saint spirit agylt Confesseme and cry his grace, god that all made And mildly his mercy ask, might I not be saved? Yes said the Samaritan, so well thou might repent That right witness by repentance, to ruth might turn And it is but seldom seen, the soothness beareth witness Any creature that is culpable, before a kings justice Be ransomed before his repentance, there all reason him damneth For their the party pursueth, the plea is so huge That the king may do no mercy, till both men accord And either have equity, as holy writ telleth Nunquam dimittitur peccatum. etc. Thus it fareth by such folk, that falsely all her lives Evil live and let not, till life hem forsake Good hope that help should, to wanhope turneth Not of the no unpower of god, that he ne is mightful To amend all that amise is, and his mercy greater Than all our wicked works, as holy write telleth. Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius. And ere righteousness to ruth turn, Psal. ●●●. some restitution behoveth His sorrow is satisfaction, for him that may not pay Three things there be, Three things drive a man out of his house. that done a man by strength. For to fly his own house, as holy write showeth That one is a wicked wife, that will not be chastised Her fere flieth from her, for fear of her tongue And if his house be unhiled, and rain on his head He seeketh all about, till he sleep dry And when smolke and smoulder, smite in his sight It doth him worse than his wife, or weet to sleep For smolke and smoulder, smiteth in his eyen Till he be bleared or blind, or hoorse in the throat Cougheth and curseth, that Christ give 'em sorrow That should bring in better wood, or blow it till it bren These three that I tell of, been thus to understand The wife is our wicked flesh, that will not be chasted For kind cleaveth on him ever, to contrary the soul And though it fall it fynt skiles, that freilty is made And that is lightly forgiven, and forgotten both To man that mercy asketh, and amend thinketh The rain that reigneth, there we rest should By sickness and sorrows, that we suffren oft As Poule the apostle, to the people taught two. Cor. xii Virtus infirmitate perficitur. And though that men make, much dole in her anger And been impatient in her penance, pure reason knoweth That they have cause to contrary, by kind of her sickness And lightly our Lord, at her lives end Hath merci on such men, that so evil may suffer And the smolke & the smolder, that smite in our eien That is covetise & unkindness that quencheth gods mercy For unkindness is the contrary, of all kins reason For there nis sick ne sorry, ne none so much wretch That he ne may love if him like, & leave of his heart Good will and good word, both wishen and willen All manner of mercy, and of forgiveness And love hem like himself, and his life amend I may no longer let quoth he, and lyard he pricked And went away as wind, & therewith I waked. Passus. xviii. de visione. WOlward & wetshode, went I forth after As a reckless reuke, that of no woe retcheth And go forth like a lorel, all my life time Till I waxed weary of the world, & willed eft to sleep And leaned me to a lenten, & long time I slept And of Christ's passion & penance, the people of taught Rest me there and rut fast, till Ramis palmarum, Of girls and of Gloria laus, grealye me dreamt And how Osanna by Organye, old folk sungen One semblable to the Samaritan, & sondeale to Piers the ploughman Barefote on an ass back, boteles came pricking Without spore or spear, spackly he looked As is the kind of a knight, that cometh to be dubbed To get him gilt spurs, and galoches cooped Than was faith in a fenester, and cried O fili David, As doth an heraud of arms, when aventrous cometh to justis Old jews of jerusalem, for joy they songen Benedictus qui venit in nomine demini. Mat. xxi. Than I frained at faith, what all that far byment Who should just in jerusalem, jesus he said And fetch that the fend claimeth, Pyerce fruit the ploughman Is Piers in this place quoth I, & he preint on me This jesus of his gentry, will just in Pierces arms In his helm & in his herbergeon, Humana natura. That Christ be not known here, for consummatus deus In Pyerce paltock the ploughman, this pryker shall ride For no dint shall him dear, as in Deitate patris, Who shall just with jesus ꝙ I, jews or scribes? Nay quoth he the fold fiend, & false doom & death. Death saith he shall for do, and adown bring All that liveth or looketh, in land or in water Life saith that he liveth, and layeth his life to wed That for all that death can do, within three days To walk & fetch from the fend, Pierce fruit the ploughman And lay it there him liketh, and Lucifer bind And for to beat and down bring, bale death for ever O Mors, ero mors tua. Than came Pilate with mich pupil, Sedens pro tribunali. Ozce. xiii To see how douty death should do, & dame her brothers right The jews & justices, again jesus they were And all the court on him cried, Crucifige sharp Tho put him forth a pylour, before pilate and said This jesus upon jews' temple, iaped & despised To for do it on one day, and in three days after Edify it eft new, here he stands that said it And yet make it as much, in all manner of points Both as long and as large, by fit and by ground Crucifige quod a catchpole, I warrant him a witch john. nineteen Tolle Tolle quoth another, and took of kent thorns And began of keen thorns, a garland to make And set it sore on his head; and said in envy ave Rabbi said that ribald, and threw reeds at him Nailed him with three nails, naked on the road And poison on a pole, they put up to his lips And bid him drink his deaths evil, his days were done And if that thou soot be, help now they self If thou be Christ & kings son, come down of the road Than should we leave that life the loveth, & will not let the die Consummatum est, ꝙ Christ, and comseth for to swoon piteously and pale, as a prisoner doth that dieth The Lord of life & of light though, laid his eyes together The day for dread withdrew, & dark became the son The wall wagged and cleft, & all the world quaved Dead men for that dine, came out of deep graves And told why that tempest, so long time endured For a bitter battle, the dead body said Life & death in this darkness, here one fordoth the other Shall no wight wit witterly, who shall have mastery Ereson day about sun rising, & sank with that till earth Some said that he was gods son, the so fair died Mar. xv Vere filius dei erat iste And some said he was a witch, good is that we assay Whether he be dead or not dead, down ere he be taken Two thieves also, tholed death that time Besides Christ upon a cross, so was the common law A catchpole came forth, and cragged both the legs And the arms after, of either of though thieves And was no boy so bold, gods body to touch For he was knight & king's son, kind forgave that time That no harlot were so hardy, to lay hand upon him And there came forth a knight, with a keen spear ground height Longis as the letter telleth, He citeth a lie out of the Legendauris. & long had lost his sight Before Pilate and other pupil, in the place he hoved Maugre his many teeth, he was made that time To take his spear in his hand, & iusten with jesus For all they were unhardy, that hoved on horse or stood To touch or to taste him, or taken down of road But this blind bachelor, bore him through the heart The blood sprung down by the spear, & unspared his eyen Then fell the knight upon his knees, & cried him mercy Against my will it was Lord, to wound you so sore He sighed and said, fore it me for thinketh For the deed that I have done, I do me in your grace Have on me ruth rightful jesus, & right with that he wept Than 'gan faith felly, the false jews despise Called 'em caitiffs, accursed for ever For this foul villainy, vengeance to you all To do the blind beat him bound, it was a boys counsel Cursed caitiffs, knighthood was it never To misdo a dead body, by day nor by night The gre yet hath he gotten● for all his great wound For your champion c●●ualer, chief knight of you all Yield him recreant, renning right at jesus will For be this darkness ido, his death worth avenged And ye lurdens have lost, for life shall have the mastery And your franches that fire was, fallen is in thraldom And ye cheerless & your children, chiven shall you never Ne have lordship in land, ne no land till The lord accurseth usurers But all barren be, and usury usen Which is life that our Lord, in all laws accurseth Now your good days are done, as Dani. prophesied When Christ come, her kingdom & crown should cease Dani. ix. Cum venerit sanctus sanctorum, tunc cessabit unctio vestra. What for fear of the farlye, and of the false jews I drowe me in that darkness, to Descendit ad inferna. And there I saw soothly, Secundum scripturas, Out of the west cost, a wench as me thought Came walking in the way, to helward she looked Mercy height that maid, a meek thing withal A full benign bird, and boxome of speech Her sister as it seemed, came worthily walking Even out of the east, and westward she looked A full comely creature, Truth she height. For the virtue that her followed, afered was she never When these maidens met, mercy and truth Either asked other, of this great marvel Of the din and of the darkness, & how the day renned And what a sight and a leme, lay before hell I have farly of this fare, in faith said truth And am wendinge to wit, what this wonder meaneth Have no marvel quoth mercy, mirth it betokeneth A maid that hight mary, and mother without feeling Of any kins creature, conceived through speech And grace of the holy ghost, we●t great with child Without wembe into this world, she brought him And that my tale be true, I take God to witness Sith this barn was borne, be thirty winter passed Which died & death tholed, this day about midday And that is cause of this eclipse, the closed now the sun In meaning that man shall, from merkenes be drawn The which this light & this leem, shall Lucifer ablind For patriarchs & Prophets, have preached it often That man shall man save, through a maidens help And that was tyne through tree, tree shall it win And that death down brought, death shall relieve That thou tellest quod truth, is but a tale of waltrot For Adam and Eve, Abraham and other patriarchs and Prophets, that in pain lyggen Leave thou never that yond light, hem may aloft bring Ne have 'em out of hell, hold thy tongue mercy It is but a trifle that thou tellest, I truth wot the sooth For that is once in hell, out cometh he never job the prophet patriarch, repungneth thy saws. Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio. job. seven. Than mercy full meekly, mouthed these words Through experience ꝙ she, I hope I shall be saved For venine for doth venine, & that I prove by reason For of all venoms, foulest is the Scorpion May no medicine help the place, there he stingeth Till he be dead and do thereto, the evil he destroyeth The first venom moist, Poison expelleth poison, through venom of himself So shall this death for do, I dare my life lig All that death did first, through the devils enticing And as through guile, man was beguiled So shall grace that began, make a good sleight. Ars ut artem falleret. Now suffer we said truth, I see as me thinketh Out of the nip of the north, not full far hence rightwiseness come running, rest we the while For he wotteth more than we, he was ere we both That is sooth said mercy, and I see here by south Where peace cometh playing, in patience clothed Love hath coveted her long, leave I none other But he sent her some letter, what this light bemeneth That overhoveth hell thus, she us shall tell When peace in patience clothed, thus approached nigh hem twain Rightfulness her reverenced, for her rich clothing And prayed peace to tell her, to what place she would And in her gay garment, whom she thought The talk between justice etc. Peace. My will is to wend ꝙ she, and to welcome 'em all That many a day might not see, for merknes of sin Adam and Eve, and other more in hell Moses and many more, mercy shall have And I shall dance the reto, do thou so sister For jesus jousteth well, joy beginneth to daw. Psal. thirty. Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus, et ad matutinum leticia. Love that is my leman, such letters me sent That mercy my sister and I, mankind should save And that god hath forgiven, & granted me peace & mercy To be man's meinpernour, for evermore after Lo here the patent quoth Peace, In pace in idipsum, And that this deed shall dure, Dormiam et requiescam. What ravest thou ꝙ rightwiseness, or the art right drunk leavest thou that yond light, unlock might hell And save man's soul? sister ween it never At the beginning God gave the doom himself That Adam and Eve, and all that hem sewed Should die down right, and dwell in pain after If that they touched a tree, and the fruit eaten Adam afterward, against his defence Frete of that fruit, and forsook as it were The love of our Lord, and his lore both And followed that the fiend taught, & his fellows will Against reason & rightwis●es, record thus with truth That their pain be perpetual, & no prayer than help Therefore let them cheve as they chose, & chide we not sisters For it is boteles bale, the bit that they eaten. And I shall prove ꝙ peace, their pain must have end And we into weal, must wend at last For had they wist of no woe, weal had they not know For no wight wots what weal is, Contraries are known by t●● contrary that never woe suffered Ne what is hot hunger, that never had default If no night near, no man as I leave Should wite witerly, what day is to mean Should never right rychman, the liveth in rest and ease Wit what woe is, ne were the death of kind So God that began all, of his good will Became man of a maid, mankind to save And suffer to be sold, to see the sorrow of dying The which unknytteth all care, and comsing is of rest For till modicum met with him, I may it well avow Wot no wight as I ween, what is enough to mean Therefore God of his goodness, the first gome Adam Set him in solace and in sovereign mirth, And sith he suffered him sin, sorrow to feel To wit what weal was, kindly to know it And after God adventured himself, & took Adam's kind To wit what he had suffered, in three sundry places Both in heaven and in earth, and to hell he thinketh To wit what all woe is, that wot of all joy So it shall far by this folk, their folly & their sin Shall learn 'em what langor is, & life without end Wot no wight what war is, there the peace reineth Ne what is witerly weal, till welaweye him teach Books be bold. Than was there a wight, with two broad eyen Book height that beaupier, a bold man of speech By gods body, quoth this book, I will bear witness That though this barn was borne, there blazed a star That all the wisemen of this world, in one wit accorden That such a barn was borne, in Bethlems' city That man's soul should save, and sin destroy And all the elements saith the book, hereof beareth witness That he was god the all wrought, the welkin first showed though that were in heaven, tooken Stella cometa, And tind den her as a torch, to reverence his birth The light followed the lord, into the low earth The water witnessed he was god, for that he went on it Peter the apostle perceived his gate And as he went on the water, well him knew and said Mat. xiiii jube me venire ad te super aquas. And lo how the sun 'gan lack, her light in herself When she see him suffer, that sun and sea made The earth for heevines, that he would suffer Quaked as quick thing, and all to quassed the roch Lo hell might not hold, but opened though God tholed And let out Simons sons, to see him hang on road And now shall Lucifer leave it, though him loath think For Gygas the giant, with a gynne engined To brake and to beat down, that been again jesus And I book wolbe brent, but jesus rise to live In all mights of man, and his mother glad And conforten all his kin, & out of care bring And all the jews joy, unjoine and unloken And but if they reverence his road, and his resurrection And believe on a new law, be lost life and soul. Suffer we said Truth, I hear and I see both How a spirit speaked to hell, & bid unspar the gates Attollite porta. etc. Ps. xxiiii. A voice loud in that light, to Lucifer said Princes in this place, unpinneth and unlocketh For here cometh with crown, that king is of glory Than sighed Satan, and said to hem all Such a light against our leave, Lazar out fet Care and cumbrance, is comen to us all If this king come in, mankind will he fetch And lead it there him liketh, and lightly me bind patriarchs and prophets, have parled hereof long That such a Lord & a light, should lead hem all hence Listeneth quod Lucifer, for I this lord know Both this Lord & this light, is long ago I knew it May no death him dear, ne no devils quentise And where he will is his wai, & warn him of the perils If he reave me of my right, he robbeth me by mastery For by right and by reason, the reukes that been here Body and soul be mine, both good and evil For himself said, Lucifer reasone●● the mate●● that sire is of heaven If Adam eat the apple, all should die And dwell with us devils, this threatening he made And he that soothness is, said these words And sithen he seized, seven hundred winter I leave that law nill not, leave him the least. That is sooth quod Satan, but I me sore dread For thou gate 'em with guile, and his garden broke And in semblance of a serpent, sat upon the apple tree And eggedest hem to eat, Eve by her name And toldst her a tale, of treason were thy words And so thou hadst 'em out, and hider at the last It is not graithlye gayten, there guile is the rote For God will not be beguiled ꝙ Gobelyn, ne iaped We have no true title to hem, for by treason were they damned Certes I dread ꝙ this devil, lest truth will hem fetch Out of our postye, and leaden hem hence These xxx winter as I ween, he hath gone & preached I have assailed him with sin, and sometime asked Where he were god or god's son, he gave me short answer And thus he hath trolid forth, this xxxii witer And when I see it was so, sleeping I went To warn Pilatus wife, what done man was jesus For jews hated him, and have done him to death pilate's wife. I would have lengthened his life, for I lived if he died That his soul should suffer, no sin in his sight For the body while it on bones go, about was ever To save man from sin, if himself would And now I see where a soul cometh hitherward sailig With glory and with great light, god it is I wot well I red we flee quoth he, fast all hence For us were better not be, than abide his sight For thy leasings Lucifer, lost is all our pray first through the we fell, from heaven so high For we believed on thy leasings, ilorne we have Adam And all our Lordship I leave, on land and on water Luke. xii. Nunc princeps huius mundi, eiicietur foras. Eft the light bade unlock, and Lucifer answered What lord art thou quoth Lucifer, Quis est iste? Ker glory, the light soon said, And lord of might and of main, & all manner virtues Dominus virtutum. Dukes of this dim place, anon undo these gates That Christ may come in, the kings son of heaven And with that breath hell broke, with belials bars For any weigh or ward, wide open the gates patriarchs and prophets, Populus in tenebris Songen saint john's song, Ecce agnus dei Lucifer look ne might, so light him ablent And though that our lord loved, into his light he laughed And said to Satan, lo here my soul to amends For all sinful souls, to save though that been worthy Mine they be and of me, I may the better hem claim Although reason record, and might of myself That if they ate the apple, all should die I behyght them not here, hell for ever For the deed that they did, thy disobeyed it made With guile thou hem got, against all reason For in my palace Paradise, in parson of an adder Falsely thou fettest there, thing that I loved Thus like a lysard, with a ladies visage Thefely thou me robbeste, the old law granteth That gilers be beguiled, and that is good reason Dentem pro dente, et oculum pro oculo. Deut. ● Soul for soul. Ergo soul shall soul quite, and sin to sin wend And all that man hath misdo, I may well amend Member for member, in the old law was amends And life for life also, and by that law I claim it Adam and all his issue, at my will hereafter And that death in hem fordid, my death shall relieve And both quicken & quite, that quaint was thorough sin And that grace guile destroyeth, good faith it asketh So leave I not Lucifer, again the law I fetch 'em But by right and by reason, ransom here my liges Non beni solvere legem, sed adimplere. Mat. ●● Thou fettedste mine in my place, against all reason Falsely and felonly, good faith me it taught To recover 'em by ransom, and by no reason else. So that through guile thou gate, through grace it is won Thou Lucifer in likeness of a luther edder Gatiste by guile, though that God loved And in likeness of a leode, that Lord am of heaven Graciously thy guile have quite, go guile against guile And as Adam and all, through a tree died Adam & althrough a tree, should turn again to life And guile is guiled, and in his guile fallen. Psal. seven. Et cecidit in foveam quam fecit. Now beginneth thy guile, again the to turn And my grace to grow aye, greater and wider The bitterness that thou hast brewed, broke it thyself Thou art doctor of death, drink that thou madest For I that am Lord of life, love is my drink And for that drink to day, I died upon earth If ought so me thirsteth, yet for man's souls sake May no drink me moist, ne my thirst stake Till the vendage fall, in the vale of josaphat That I drink right ripe must, Resurrectio mortuoruns And then shall I come as a king, crowned with angels And have out of hell, all men's souls fiends and fiend kynnes, before me shall stand And been at my bidding, wheresoever me liketh And to be merciable to man, that my kind it asketh For we been brethren of blood, but not of baptism all And all that been my hole brethren, in blood & baptism Shall not be damned to death, that is without end. Psai. li. Tibi soli peccavi. etc. It is not used in earth, to hangen a fellow Ofter than once, though he were a traitor And if the king of that kingdom, come in that time There the fellow thole should, death other else The law would have give him life, if he looked on him And I that am king of kings, shall on such a time come There doom to the death, damneth all wicked And if law will I look on 'em, it lieth in my grace Whether they die or die not, for that they did ill Be it any thing, about the boldness of their sins I do mercy through rightwi●nes, & all mi words true And though holy write will, that I be wroke of hem thai did evil Nullum malum impunitum. etc. They should be cleansed clearly, & washen of her sins In my prison Purgatory, till Parce it hot And mi mercy shall be showed, to many of my brethren For blood may suffer blood, both hunger and cold And blood may not see blood bleed, but him rue. Audivi arcana verba, qui non licet homini loqui. two. Cor. ●●● And my righteousness and right, shall rule all hell And mercy all mankind, before me in heaven For I were an unkind king, but I my kind help And namely at such a need, there needs help behoveth Non intres in judicium cum servo tuo. Psal. ●●● Thus by law ꝙ this Lord, lead I will from hence though that me loved, and lived in my coming And for thy leasing Lucifer, that thou liedst to Eve Thou shalt a buy it better, & bound him with chains Astaroth and all the rout, hid 'em in hernes They durst not looken on our lord, the boldest of hem all But let him lead forth what him liked, & let what him list Many hundred of angels, harpen & sang. Culpat caro, purgat caro, regnat deus dei caro. Than piped Peace, of poesy a note. Clarior est solito post marima nebula phebus, post inimicitlas After sharp showers ꝙ peace, most sheen is the sun Is no weader warmer, than after watery clouds Ne no love liefer, no better friends Than after war & woe, when love & peace be masters Was never war in this world, ne wickedness so keen That ne love and him lust, to laughing ne brought And Peace through patience, all peril stopped. truce quod Truth, thou tellest us sooth by jesus Clype we in covenant, and each of us kiss other And let no people quoth Peace, perceive that we chid For impossible is nothing, to him that is almighty Thou sayst sooth ꝙ righteousness, & reverently him kissed Peace and peace here, Per omnia secula seculorum. Psai. 85. Misericordia et veritas obuiaverunt sibi. justicia et par osculate sunt. Truth trumped tho, and song Te deum laudamus. And than luted Love, in a loud note. Psal. 133. Ecce quam bonum, et quam iocundum. etc. Till the day dawed, these damsels danced That men rang to the resurrection, & right with the I waked And called Kit my wife, and Colet my daughter Arise and reverence, God's resurrection And creep to the cross on knees, & kiss it for a jewel For God's blessed body, it bore for our boat And it afereth the fiend, for such is the might May no gryslye ghost glide, there it shadoweth Passus xix de visione. THus I waked, & wrote what I had dreamed And dight me dearly, and did me to kirk To here holy the mass, & to be housled after In mids of the mass, men went to offering I fell eft sons a sleep, and suddenly me met That Pierce the ploughman, was painted all bloody And came in with a cross, before the comen people And right like in all limbs, to our lord jesus Than called I Conscience, to ken me the sooth Is this jesus the juster ꝙ I, that jews did to death Or is it Pierce Ploughman, who painted him so red? Quod Conscience & kneeled tho, Pier●● cote armour. these are Peers arms His colour & cote armour, & he that cometh so bloody Is Christ with his cross, conqueror of christendom Why call ye him Christ ꝙ I, sith jews call him jesus patriarchs and prophets, prophesied before That all kins creatures, should kneel and bow Anon as men named, this high name of jesus Ergo is no name, to the name of jesus Ne none so needful to name, by night nor by day For all the dark devils, are a dread to hear it And sinful are solaced, and saved by that name And ye call him Christ, for what cause tell me Is Christ more of might, and more worthy name Than jesus or jesus, that all our joy came of? Thou knowest well quoth conscience, and thou can reason That knight, king, conqueror, may be one person To be called a knight is fair, for men shall kneel to him To be called king is fairer, for he may knights make And to be conqueror called, that cometh of special grace And of hardiness of heart, and of hendines both To make Lords or ladies, of land that he winneth And free men foul thralls, that follow not his laws The jews that were gentlemen, jesus they despised Both his lore & his law, now are they low cheerless As wide as the world is, wonneth none therein But under tribute or tallage, as tikes and cheerless And tho that became christian, by counsel of the baptism Christ crowned king. Are frankelens fremen, through fulling that they took And gentlemen with jesus, for jesus was ifulled And upon calvary on cross, crowned king of jews It becometh to a king, to keep and to defend As conqueror of conquest, his laws & his large And so did jesus the jews, he justified & taught hem The law of life, that last shall ever And defend from foul evils, fevers and fluxes And from fiends that in them were, & false believe though was he jesus of jews, called gentle prophet And king of her kingdom, & crown bare of thorns And though conquered he on cross, as conqueror noble Might no death him fordo, ne adown bring That he naroos and reigned and ravished hell, And though was he conqueror called, of quick & of dead For he gave Adam and Eve, and othermoe blessed That long had lain before, as Lucifer's cheerless And sithen he gave largely, all his lelly lieges Places in paradise, at her parting hence He may well be called conqueror, & that is Christ to mean And the cause that he cometh thus, with cross of passion Is to wishen us therewith, that when that we be tempted Therw ᵗ to fight & fend us, from falling into sin And see by his sorrow, that who so loveth joy To penance and to poverty, he must put himself And much woe in this world, willen and suffren And for to carp more of Christ, & how he came to the name Faithly to speak, his first name was jesus though he was borne in Bethlem, as the book telleth And came to take mankind, kings and angels Reverenced him fair, with riches of this earth Angels out of heaven came, kneeling and song Gloria in excelsis deo. The gifts that the iii. king offered. Kings comen after, kneeling and offered, Myrrh and much gold, without meed asking Or any kins' cattle, but knowledging him sovereign Both of sonde, sun, and sea, & sithen they wenten Into their kingdom kith, by counsel of angels And there was the word fulfilled, the which thou of spoke. Omnia celestia terrestria flectantur, in hec nomine jesu. Phili. two For all the angels of heaven, at his birth kneeled And all the wit of the world, was in though three kings Reason & righteousness, and ●uthe they offered Wherefore and why, wise men that time Masters and lettred men, Magi hem called. That one king came with reason, covered undersence The second king soothly, sithence he offered righteousness under red gold, reason's fellow Gold is likened to leauty, that last shall ever And reason to rich gold, to right and to truth. The third king tho, came kneeling to jesus And presented him with pity, appearing to myrrh For myrrh is mercy to mean, & mild speech of tongue Three in like honest things, were offered thus at once Through three kin kings, kneeling to jesus And for all these precious presents, our lord prince jesus Was neither king ne conqueror, till he 'gan to w●xe In the manner of a man, and that by much sleght As becometh a conqueror, to konne many slights And many wills and wit, that will be a leader And so did jesus in those days, who so had time to tell it Sometime he suffered, & sometime he hide him And sometime he fought fast, and i'll other while And sometime he gave good, & granted heal both Life and lime, as he list he wrought As kind is of a conqueror, so comsed jesus Till he had all them, that he for bled In his invent, this jesus at the jewen feast Christ worketh miracles Water into wine turned, as holy write telleth And there began God of his grace to dowel For wine is likened to law, and life of holiness And law lacked tho, for men loved not her enemies And Christ counceleth thus, & commandeth also Both to learned & to lewd, to love our enemies So at the feast fi●ste, as I before said Began god of his grace, & of his goodness to dowel And though was he cleped & called not only Christ but jesus A faunt fine full of wit, Filius Marie, Before his mother Mary, made he that wonder That she first and foremost, farm should believe That he through grace was get, & no gome else He wrought that by no wit, but by word only After the kind that he came of, there consed he to dowel And when he was wexen more, in his mother's absence He made lame to leap, and gave light to blind And fed with two fishes, and with five loves Sore afingered folk, more than five thousand Thus he comforted the careful, and caught a great name The which was dober, where that we went For deaf through his doings to hear, & dumb to speak he made And all he healed & helped, that him of grace asked And though was he called in country, of the common people For the deeds that he did. Fili David jesus. For David was doutiest of deeds in his time The birds though song Saul interfecit mill. ●. Ke●. 1● & David. x. mi. Therefore the country theridamas jesus came, called him fili David And named him of Nazareth, & no man so worthy To be Cayser or king, of the kingdom of juda Ne over jews' justice, as jesus was 'em thought Whereof Cayphas had envy, & other of the jews And for to do him to death, day & night they casten Killed him on crosswise, at calvary on a friday And sithen buried his body, & beden that men should Keep it from night comers, with knight armed For no friends should him fetch, for prophet's hem told That, that blessed body, of buriels should arise And gone into Galilee, and gladden his apostles And his mother mary, thus men before deemed The knights that kept it, beknewe it hem selves That angels and archangel's, ere the day sprung Came kneeling to the corpse & song, Christus resurgens, Very man before hem all, & forth with hem he go The jews prayden peace, & besought the knights Tell the comen, that theridamas came a company of his apostles And bewiched 'em as they woken, & away stolen him And mary Magdalen, met him by the way Going toward Galilee, in godhead and manhood A live and looking, and she a loud cried In each a company there she came, Christus resurgens, Thus came it out the Christ overcame, recovered, and lived Sic oportet Christum pati et intrare. Luke. 24 Why Christ appeared first to a woman. For that women witteth, may not well be counsel Peter perceived this, and pursued after Both james and john, jesus for to seek Thade and ten more, with Thomas of Ind And as these wise wyes, weren togethers In an house all be shut, and the doors barred Christ came in and all closed, both doors and gates To Peter and to his apostles, said Pax vobis, And took Thomas by the hand, & taught him to grope And feel with his fingers, his fleshy heart Thomas Didimus john. xx Thomas touched it, and with his tongue said. Dominus m●us, et deus meus. Thou art my Lord I believe, god lord jesus Thou diedst and death tholedst, and dame shall us all And now art living and looking, & last shalt ever Christ carped then, and curteslye said Thomas for thou trowest it, and truly believest it Blessed might thou be, and be shalt for ever And blessed might they all be, in body and in soul That never shall see me, in sight as thou dost now And lelly believe all this, I love 'em and bless 'em. john. xx Beati qui non viderunt. etc. And when this deed was done, Dobest he taught And gave Pierce power, and pardon he granted To all manner of men, mercy and forgiveness Him might to assoil men, of all manner of sins In covenant that they come, and knowledge to pay Pierces pardon is pay that yu●weste. To Pierces pardon the ploughman, Red quod debes, Thus hath Pierce power, be his pardon paid To bind and unbind, both here and else where And assoylen men of all sins, save of debt only Anon after, an high into heaven He went and wonneth there, and will come at last And reward him right well, that Reddit quod debet. And payeth perfitelye, as pure truth would And what person payeth it not, punish he thinketh And demen hem at domes day, both quick & dead The good to the godhead, and to great joy The wicked to won, in woe without end. Thus Conscience of Christ, and of the cross carped And counceled me to kneel, & than came as me thought One Spiritus paracletus, The holy Ghost. to Pierce and to his fellows In likeness of a lightening, he light upon 'em all And made 'em kon and know, all kin languages I wondered what that was, and wagged Conscience And was afeard of the light, for in fierce likeness Spiritus paracletus, over spread 'em all Quod Conscience & kneeled, this is Christ's messenger And cometh from the great god, and grace is his name kneel now quoth Conscience, and if thou can sing Welcome him & worship him, with Veni creator spiri. Than sang I that song, and so did many hundred And cried with Conscience, help us god of grace Than began grace, to go with Pierce ploughman And counseled him & Conscience, the common to summon For I will deal to day, and divide grace To all kin creatures, that han her fine wits Treasure to live by, to her lives end And weapon to fight with, that shall never fail For antichrist and his, all the world shall grieve And accumbre the conscience, but if Christ help And false prophets, fell flatterers and glosers Shall come & be curatours, over kings & Earls And pride shall be Pope, and prince of holy kirk Covetise and unkindness, cardinals hem to lead Therefore ꝙ grace ere I go, I will give you treasure And weapon to fight with, when Antichrist you assaileth And give each man grace, to guide with himself That idleness encumbre him not, envy nor pride. Divisiones graciarum sunt. To some he gave wit, with words to show The gifts of the holy ghost. Wit to win her livelihood with, as the world asketh As preachers and priests, and prentices of law They lellye to live, by labour of tongue And by wit to wishen other, as grace 'em would teach And some he kenned crafty, and cunning of sight With selling and bigging, their livelihoods to win And learned some to labour, a lelly life and a true And some he taught to tilly, ditch and to hedge To win with their livelihood, by lore of his teaching Some to divine and divide, numbers to ken And some to see and to say, what should befall Astronomers. Both of well and of woe, till it or it fell As astronomers by astronomy, & philosophers wise And some to ride & recover, the unrightfully was w●n He wished hem wi● it again, through wightnes of hand And fetch it from false men, with soul evil laws And some he learned to live, in longing to be hence In poverty and in penance, to pray for all christian And all he learned to be ●elly, and each a craft love other And forbade 'em all debate, that none were among 'em Though some be cleaner than some, ye see well ꝙ grace That men of the fairest craft, to the foulist I could have put Think all ꝙ grace, that grace cometh of my gift Look that none lack other, but love all as brethren And who the most masteries can, the mildest of bearing And crown conscience king, & make craft your steward And after crafts counsel, cloth you and feed Pierces offices. For I make Pierce ploughman, my procurator & my reave And register to receive, Red quod debes, My provisor & my ploughman, Pierce shall be on earth And for to tell truth, a teme shall he have Grace gave Pierce a t●me, four great oxen, That one was Luke, Pierce Plowemannes ox. 1. a large beast & a low chered And Mark & Matthew the third, mighty blasts both And joined to hem one john, most gentle of all The price net of Pierces blow, and passing all other And grace gave pierce, of his goodness four stottes All that his oxen cried, they to harrow it after One height Austen, and Ambrose an other Gregory the great clerk, and Jerome the good These four the faith to teach, followeth Pierces teme And harowed in an hand while, all holy scripture With two harrows that they had, an old & a new. Id est vetus testamentum et nowm. And Grace gave grains, the cardinal virtues And sew it in man's soul, & sithen told her names Spiritus prudency, the first sede height And who so eateth that, The sede the Pierce soweth. imagine he should Ere he did any deed, devise well the end And learned men a lady bug, with a long steel, That cast for to keep a croak, to save the fat above The second sede height, Spiritus temperantie He that eat of that seed, had such a kind Should never meat ne much drink, make him to swell Ne should no scorner ne scold, out of skill him bring Ne winning ne wealth, of worldly riches Waste word of idleness, ne wicked speech move Should no curious cloth, come on his ridge Ne no meat in his mouth, the master john spiced. The third sede the piers sew was, Spiritus fortitudinis And who so eat of that seed, hardy was ever To suffer all that God sent, sickness or angers Might no leasings ne liar, ne loss of worldly cattle Make him for any mourning, that he has merry in soul And bold and abiding bismeres to suffer And playeth all with patience, and Parce mihi domine And covereth him under counsel, of Caton the wise Esto forti animo, cum sis damnatus inique. The fourth sede the Pierce s●w, was spiritus justice And he that eateth of that seed, shall be ever true With god and not agaiste, but of guile one For Gile goth so privily, the good faith other while May not be espied, fro spiritus justice. Spiritus justice, spareth not to spill, justice leaveth no sin unpunished. Them that been guilty, and for to correct The king if he fall in guilt or in trespass For counteth he no kings wrath, when he court sitteth To demen as a demes man, adread was he never Neither of Duke ne of death, that he ne did law For presents ne for prayers, or any prince's letters He did equity to all, even forth to his power These four sedes piers sew, & sith he did hem hard we With theld law and new, that love might wax Among the four virtues, and vices to destroy For commonly in countries, cammokes & weeds Fouleth the fruit in the field, there they grow togethers And so done vices, virtues worthy And Piers harroweth all, the konneth kind wit By counsel of thief doctors And tilleth after her teaching, the cardinal virtues Again these grains ꝙ grace, groaneth for to ripe Ordain the an house Piets, to hather in the corn By god Grace quoth Piets, ye moot give timber And ordain that house, or ye hence wind And Grace gave him the cross, with the crown of thorns That Christ upon calvary, for mankind on pined And of his baptism and blood, The foundation of the church. that he bled on road He made a manner mortare, and mercy it hight And therewith grace begun, to make a good fundament And walled it & wattled it, with his pains & his passion And of all holy write, he made a roof after And called that house unity, holy church in english And when this deed was done, grace devised A cart hight christendom, to carry Pierces sheaves And gave him caples to his cart, contrition & confession And made priesthood hayward, while himself went As wide as the world is, with Pierce to tilly truth. Now is Pierce to the plough, Pride envieth the church. and pride it spied And gathered him a great host, to grieve him he thinketh Conscience & all christian, and cardinal virtues Blow hem down & break 'em, & bite at woe the mores And sent forth Surquidous, his sergeant of arms And his spy spill love, one speak evil behind These two comen to conscience, and to christian people And told 'em tidings, that tine they should the sedes That Pierce there had sown, the cardinal virtues And Pierce barn were broken, & they that be in unity Should come out, & conscience and your two caples Confession and contrition, and your cart the believe Shall be coloured so quaintly, & covered under our sophistry That conscience shall not know, by contrition Ne by confession, who is christian ne heathen Ne no manner merchant, that with money dealeth Whether he win with right, or with wrong, or with usury With such colour and queintise, cometh pride armed With the lord that liveth, after the lust of his body To wasten on welfare, and on wicked keeping All the world in a while, through our wit ꝙ Pride Quod conscience to all christian tho, my counsel is to wend The way to withstand pride. Hastily into unity, and hold we us there And pray we the a peace were, in Pierces barn the plough man For witterly I wots well, that we be not of strength To gone again pride, but grace were with us And than came kind wit, conscience to teach And cried and commanded, to all christian people For to deluen and dig, deep about unity That holy kirk stood in unity, as it a pile were Conscience commanded tho, all christian to delve And maken a much mote, that might be a strength To help holy kirk, and hem that it keepeth Than all kin christian, save comen women Who they be that never repent. Repent and refused sin, save they only And false men flatterers, usurers and thieves Liars and questmongers, that were forsworn oft wittingly and wilfully, with the false holden And for silver were forsworn, soothly they witted it There nas no christian creature, that kind wit had Save shrews only, such as I speak of That he ne holp a quantity, holiness to wax Some by beads biding, and some by pilgrimage. And other privi pains, & some through pens delinge And than welled water, for wicked works eagerly rening, out of men's eyen cleanness of the common, and clerks clean living Made unity holy kirk, in holiness to stand I care not quod Conscience, though pride come now The lord of lust shall be letted, all this lent I hope Come quod Conscience, ye christian and dine That have laboured lelly, all this lent time Here is bread blessed, and gods body therunder Grace through God's word, gave Pierce power And might to make it, and men to eat it after In help of their heal, once in a month Or as oft as they had need, though that had paid To Pierces pardon the ploughman, Red quod debts, How quoth all the common, thou councelest us to yield All that we own any wight, ere we go to housel That is my counsel ꝙ conscience, & cardinal virtues That each man forgive other, & that will the Pa. no. Et dimit nobis debita nostra. Math. vi etc. And so to be assoiled, and sithen houseled Yea bawe quoth a brewer, What lucre may do. I will not be ruled By jesus for your jangling, with Spiritus justice Ne after Conscience by Christ, while I can sell Both drags and draff, and draw it at one hole Thick ale and thine ale, for that is my kind And not hack after holiness, hold thy tongue Conscience Of Spiritus justice, thou speakest much on idle Caitiff quoth Conscience, cursed wretch Vnblessed art thou brewer, but if the God help But if thou live by lore, of Spiritus justice, The chief seed that Pierce sew, saved worth never But Conscience the common fede, & cardinal virtues Leave well they be lost, both life and soul Than is many a man lost, quoth a lewd vicory I am a curator of holy kirk, A blind curate. & came never in my time Men to me that could tell, of cardinal virtues Or that counted Conscience, at a cocks feather or an hens I ne knew never cardinal, that he ne come fro the Pope And we clarks when they come, for her commons payen For her pelures & palfreys meat, & pilors the hem follow The common Clamat quotidie, each a man to other The praise of cardinals. The country is the curseder, that Cardinals comen in And there they lyg & leng, most lechery there reigneth Therefore quoth this vicory, by very god I would That no cardinal ne come, among the comen people But in her holiness, helden 'em still At Auion among the jews, Cum sancto sanctus eris. Or in Rome as their rule will, the relics to keep And thou Conscience in kings court, and shouldest never come thence. And Grace that thou gredest so of, gider of all clerks And Pierce with his new plough, & eke with his old Emperor of all the world, that all men were christian imperfect is the Pope, that all the world should help Pierce followeth the example of God Math. v. And sendeth 'em that slayeth, such as he should have And well worth Pierce ploughman, that pursueth god in doing Qui pluit super justos et iniustos attonce And sent the son to save, a cursed man's tilth As bright as to the best man, or the best woman Right so Pierce the ploughman, paineth him to till As well for a wastor, and wenches of the stews As for himself & his servants, save he is first served And traveleth and tilleth, for a traitor also sore As for the true tidye men, all times ylyke And worshipped be he the wrought all, both good & ill And suffereth the sinful be, till sometime that they repent Of the Pope And God amend the pope, that pilleth holy kirk And claimeth before the king, to be kept of christian And counteth not though christian, be killed & rob And find folk to fight, and christian folk to spill Again thold law & new law, as Paul thereof witnesseth. Hebru. x. Non occides mihi vindictam. etc. It seemeth by so himself had his will That he ne retcheth right nought, of all the rennaunte And Christ of his courtesy, mend the cardinals frame And turn her wit to wisdom, & weal of her soul For the common ꝙ this curatour, counten full little The counsel of Conscience, or cardinal virtues But if they see as by sight, somewhat to winning Of guile ne of gabing, give thou never tale For Spiritus prudentie, among the pupil is guile And all the foul vices, as virtues they semen Each man sutteleth a slight, sin for to hide And colereth it with cunning, and a clean living Then laughed there a Lord, Of land-lorde●. and by the light said I hold it right and reason, of my reeve to take All that mine auditors, or else my steward Counceleth me by their account, & by clerks writing With Spiritus intellectus, they seek the reves rolls And with Spiritus fortitudinis, fetchen it I will And than came there a king, and by his crown said I am a king with crown, Of kings the common to rule And holy kirk and clergy, from cursed men to defend And if me lacketh to live, by the law will I take it There I may most hastily it have, for I am head of law For ye be but membres, and I above all And sith I am your allerhed, I am your allerhele And holy kyrkes chief help, & chiefest am of the common And what I take of you two, I take it of the teaching Of Spiritus justice, for I judge you all So may I boldly be houseled, for I borrow never Ne crave of my common, but as my kind asketh In condition quoth conscience, that thou can defend And rule thy realm by reason, as right will & truth Take thou might in reason, as the law asketh Omnia tua sunt ad defendendum sed non ad depredandum. The vicar had far home, and fair took his leave And I awaked therewith, and wrought as me met. Passus. xx. et primus de dobest. THan I went by the way, when I was thus awaked Heavy cheered I go, and eleng in heart I ne witted where to eat, ne at what place And it nighed nigh the none, and with need I me That afrowned me foul, and faytour me called Canst thou not excuse thee, as did the king and other That thou took to thy believe, to clothes & to sustenance As by teaching and by telling, of spiritus temperancy, And thou nome no more, then need the taught And need hath no law, ne never shall fall in debt For three things he taketh, his life for to save That is meat when men him warn, & he no monis weldeth Ne wight that will be his borrow, & hath no wed to lig What liberti need giveth. And he caught in that case, & came thereto by sleights He sinneth not soothly, that so winneth his food And though he can so to a cloth, & can no better chevisance need anon right, winneth him under maynprice And if him list for to lap, the law of kind would That he drunk at each ditch, ere he for thirst died So need at great need, may nimen as for his own Without counsel of Conscience, or cardinal virtues So that he sew and serve, Spiritus temperancy, For is no virtue by far, to Spiritus temperancy, Neither spiritus justice, ne spiritus fortitudinis Temperance is the chief virtue. For spiritus fortitudinis, forfeteth full oft He shall do more than measure, many a time and oft And beat men over bitter, and some of 'em to little And grieve men greater, then good faith it would And Spiritus justice shall judge, will he nill he After the kings counsel, and the comen like And spiritus prudency, in many points shall fail Of that he weeneth would fail, if his wit ne were weening is no wisdom, ne wise imagination Homo proponit, deus disponet & governeth all good virtues And need is next him, for anon he maketh him And as low as a lamb, for lacking of that him endeth Wise men forsook weal, for they would be needy And weneden in wilderness, and would not be rich And God all his great joy, ghostly he left And came and took mankind, and became needy So needy he was as saith the book, in many sundry places That he said in his sorrow, on the self road Both fox and foul mayst, and to hole creep And the fish hath fin, to fleet with to rest There need hath innomed me, the I must needs abide And suffer sorrows full sour, that shall to joy turn Therefore be nought a bashed, to bide and to be needy Sith he the wrought all the world, was wilfully needy Ne never none so needy, ne poor died When need had undone me, thus anon I fell a sleep And met full marvelously, in a man's form Antichrist came than, and all the crop of truth Turned upsidoune, and over tilt the rote And false sprang and spread, and sped men's needs In each a country there he came, he cut away truth And gart guile grow there, as he a God were Friars followed that fiend, Who received antichrist first. for he gave 'em copes And religious reverenced him, and range their bells And all the covent forth came, to welcome that tyrant And all his as well as him, save only fools Which fools were well liefer, to die than to live Longer than Leten, to be so rebuked And a false fiend Antechriste, over all folk reigned How antichrist doth seduce many good men And that were mild men & holy men, that no mischief dread Defieden all falseness, and folk that it used And what king that hem comforted, knowing hem any while They cursed & her counsel, were it clerks or lewd Antichrist had thus soon, hundreds at his banner And pride it bore boldly, about where he go With a Lord that liveth, after the liking of his body That came again Conscience, the keeper was & gydour Over kind christian, and cardinal virtues I counsel quod Conscience, come with mefoles Into unity holy church, and hold we us there And cry we to kind, that he come and defend us Foles from these fiends limbs, for Piers love the ploughman And cry we to all the common, that they come to unity And there abide and biker, against Belials children Kind Conscience though heard, & came out of the planets And sent forth his forriours, fevers and fluxes Coughs and cardiacles, cramps and tooth aches rheums and radgondes, and raynous scales boils and botches, and burning agues Freneses and foul evil, foragers of kind Hadden pricked and prayed, poles of the people That largely a legion, losten their lives soon There was harow and help, here cometh kind A great sign of infidelity With death that is dreadful, to undone us all The lord that liveth after lust, though aloud cried After comfort a knight, to come and bear his banner A alarm a alarm quod the Lord, each life keep his own And than met these men, their minstrels might pipe And their heraudes of arms, had descrived lords Age the hoore, he was in the vaward And bare the banner before death, by right he it claimed Kind came after, with many keen sores As pocks and pestilences, and much pupil shent So kind through corruptions, The manner of god's visitation. killed full many Death came driving after, and all to dust pashed Kings and Kaysers, knights and Pope's Learned ne lewd, he ne let no man stand That he hit even, he never stood after Many a lovely Lady, and lemans of knights Swoned and swelted, for sorrow of deaths dints Conscience of his courtesy, to kind he besought To cease and suffer, and see where they would Leave pride privily, and be perfit christian And kind ceased tho, to see the people amend Fortune 'gan flatteren then, The manner of men when plagues cease though few that were a live And height 'em long life, and lechery she sent Among all manner of men, wedded and unwedded And gathered a great host, all against Conscience This Lechery laid on, with a laughing cheer And with a privy speech, and painted words And armed him in idleness, and in high bearing He bore a bow in his hand, & many bloody arrows Were feathered with fair behest, & many a false truth With his untidye tales, he tened full often Conscience & his company, of holy kirk the teachers Than came Covetise, and cast how he might Overcome Conscience, and cardinal virtues And armed him in avarice, and hongrichly lived His weepen was all wiles, to winnen and to hiden With glossings & with gabbinges, he guiled the people Covetise and Simony make prelate's. Simony him seem, to assail Conscience And preached to the people, and prelate's they maden To hold with antichrist, their temporalties to save And came to kings counsel, as a keen barren And kneeled to Conscience, in court before hem all And guard good faith flee, and false to abide And boldly bore adown, with many a bright noble Much of the wit and wisdom, of Westminster hall He justled to a justice, and jousted in his ear And overtilt all his truth, well take this on amendment And to the arches, he go anon after And turned civil into simony, & sith he took thofficial For a mantle of miniver, he made lelly matrimony Departed ere death came, and divorce shaped Alas ꝙ Conscience tho, would Christ of his grace That covetise were a christian, that is so keen a fighter And bold and abiding, while his bag lasteth And then laughed life, and let dag his clothes And armed him in haste, in harlots words And held holiness a jape, and hendnes a waster And let leautye a cherle, and liar a freeman Conscience and counsel, he counted it folly Thus railed life, for a little fortune And pricked forth with pride, praised he no virtue He careth not how kind slow, & shall come at last And kill all earthily creatures, save conscience only Life leapt aside, and laughed him a leman Health and I ꝙ he, and heaviness of heart Shall do the no dread, neither death ne Eld Life and Fortune beget Sloth. And to forget sorrow, and give nought of sin This liked life, and his leman fortune And got in their glory, a gadlinge at the last One that much woe wrought, sloth was his name Sloth wax wonder yearn, and soon was of age And wedded one wanhope, sloth marrieth despair a wench of the stews Her sire was a sysor, that never swore truth One Tomme two tongue, attaint of each a quest This Sloth was ware of war, and a fling made And threw dread of despair, adozen miles about For care conscience tho, cried upon age And bade him fond to fight, and afere wanhope And age hent good hope, and hastily he shift him And wamed away wanhop, & with life he fighteth And life fleeth for fear, to physic after help And besought him of his succour, & of his salve had And gave him gold good won, the gladded his heart And they gave him again, a glasen howne Life lived that lechecraft, let should Eld And drive away death, with dias and drags And Eld adventured him on life, and at last he hit A physician with a furred hood, Age killeth both Physician & Surgi● that he fell in the palsy And there died that doctor, ere three days after Now I see said life, that surgery ne physic May not a mite avail, to meddle again Eld And in hope of his heal, good heart he hent And road so to revel, a rich place and a merry The company of court, m●n cleped it sometime And Eld anon after, and over my head he go And made me bald before, and bare on my crown So hard he go over my head, that it will be seen ever Sir evil taught Eld ꝙ I, unheende go with she Sith when was the way, over men's heads? Hadst thou bene heard ꝙ I, thou would have asked leave Yea leave lurden ꝙ he, and laid on me with age And hit me under the ear, uneath may ich hear He buffeted me about the mouth, and bet out mi teeth And gyved me in gouts, I may not go at large And of the woe that I was in, my wife had ruth And wished full witterly, that I were in heaven For the lime that she loved me for, & leef was to feel On nights namely, when we naked were I ne might in no manner, make it at her will So Eld and she soothly, had forbeaten it And as I sat in this sorrow, I see kind passed And death drew near me, for dread 'gan I quake And cried to kind, out of care me bring Lo Eld the hore, hath me beset A wreak me if your will be, for I would be hence If thou would be wroken, wend into unity And hold the there ever, till I send for the And look thou konne some craft, ere thou come thence Nature would we should learn to love. Counsel me kind ꝙ I, what craft is best to learn Learn to love ꝙ kind, and leave of all other How shall I come to cattle so, to clothe me & to food? And thou love lelly ꝙ he, lack shall thou never Meat ne worldly weed, while thy life lasteth. And there by counsel of kind, I comsed to run Through contrition & cofession, till I came to unity And there was conscience constable, christian to save The seven capital sins besieged conscience. And besieged sothelie, with seven great Giants That with antichrist holden, hard again conscience Sloth was his sling, and hard assault made Proud priests come with him, more than a thousand In paltokes and piked shoes, and pissers long knives Comen again conscience, with coveryse they helden By Mary ꝙ a mansed priest, of the march of Ireland I count no more conscience, Would god there were no such priests in england. by so I catch silver Than I do to drink, a draft of good ale And so said sixty, of the same country And shotten again with shoot, many a sheaf of oaths And broad hooked arrows, God's heart and his nails And had almost unity, and holiness adown Conscience cried help clergy, or else I fall Through imperfect priests, & prelate's of holy church fries heard him cry, and came him to help And for they could not well her craft, conscience hem for soak Need neighed tho near, and conscience he told That they came for covetise, Curates ought to have a competent living certain to have cure of soul And for they are poor peraventer, for patrimony hem failith They flatter to far well, folk that been rich, And sith they chosen chele, and cheitif poverty Let them chew as they choose, & charge them with no cure For Lomer he lieth, that live load must beg Then he that laboureth for livelihood, & leaveth it beggars And sith friars forsook, the felicity of the earth Let them be as beggars, or live by Angel's food Conscience of this counsel though, comsed to laugh And courteously comforted him, and called in all friars And said sirs soothly, welcome be you all To unity and holy church, one thing I you pray Hold you in unity, and have no envy To learned men to lewd, but live after your rule And I will be your borrow, ye shall have bred & cloth And other necessaries enough, ye shall nothing fail With that ye leave lodgike, and learn to love For love lost the lordship, both land and school Friar Frances and dominyke, for love to be holy And if ye covet cure, kind will you teach. That in measure God made, all manner things And set 'em at a certain, and a seker number And nempned names new, and numbered the sterrs Psal. 147 Qui numerat multitudinem stellarum & omnibus. etc. Kings and knights, that keepen and defenden Have officers under hem, and each of 'em certain And if they wage men to war, they writ 'em in number Or they will no treasure 'em pay, travail they never so sore For all other in battle, been holden brybors Pylors and pikeharneis, in each a place accursed Monks and moniales, and all men of religion Their order & their rule would, to have a certain number Of learned and of lewd, the law will and asked A certain for a certain, save only of Friars The Friars are without numbered Therefore ꝙ conscience by Christ, kind wit me telleth It is wickid to wage you, ye wax without number Heaven hath even number, & hell is without numbered Therefore I would witterly, the ye were in the registers And your number under notaries sign, & neither more ne less Envy hard this, and bad friars go to school And learn logic and law, and eke contemplation And preach men of Plato, and prive it by Seneca That all things under heaven, aught to be in common And yet he lieth as I leave, that to the lewd so preacheth For God made men a law, and Moses it taught Exod. xx. Non concuptsces rem prorimi tu●. And evil is this hold, in parishes of England For persons & parish priests, that should the people shrive Been Curatours called, to know and to heal All that been their parishers, penance to enjoin And should be ashamed in their shrift, that hem wend maketh And flee to the Friars, as false folk to Westmynster That borroweth & beareth thither, They that went to the Friars is shrift were like sanctuary men. & then biddeth friends Yearn of forgiveness, or longer years love And while he is in Westminster, he will be before And make him merry, with other men's goods And so it fareth with much folk, that to friars shriveth As sisours & executors, they will give the friars A parcel to pray for 'em, and make 'em self merry With the residue & the remnant, the other men beswonken And suffer the dead in det, to the day of doom Envy therefore hated Conscience, And Friars to philosophy, he found 'em to school The while covetise & unkindness, Conscience assailed In unity holy kirk, Conscience held him And made peace porter, to pin the gates To all tale tellers, and tutelers idle hypocrisy and he, and hard assault they made hypocrisy at the gate, hard 'gan to fight And wounded well wickedly, many wise teachers That with Conscience accorded, Hypocrisy woundeth preachers and cardinal virtues Conscience called a leech, that could well shrive Go salve though the sick been, and through sin wounded Shrift shope sharp salve, and made 'em do penance For her misdeeds, that they wrought had And that Pierce were paid, Red quod debes. Some liked not this leech, and letters they sent If any surgeon were in the siege, that softer could plaster Sir life to live in lechery, lay there and groaned For fasting of a Friday, he fared as he would die There is a surgeon in this siege, that soft can handle And more of physic he can, and fairer he plastereth One Friar flatterer, is physician and surgeon Quod contrition to conscience, do him come to unity For here is many a man hurt through Hypocrisse, We have no need ꝙ Conscience, I wots no better lech Than Person or parish priest, penitauncer or bishop Save Pyerce the ploughman, that hath power over hem all And indulgence may do, but if that debt let it I may well suffer quod conscience, seeing ye desieren That Friar flatterer be fet, and physic you seek The Friar here of hard, and hied full fast Nother patron nor bishop, regardeth his duty To a lord for a letter, leave to have curens As a curatour he were, and came with his letters Boldly to the bishop, and his brief had In country's there he came in, confession to here And came their Conscience was, & knocked at the gate Peace unpinnen it, was porter of unity And in haste asked, what his will were In faith quoth this Friar, for profit and for health carp I would with contrytion, & therefore I came hither He is sick said Peace, and so is many an other Hypocrisy hath hurt him, full hard is he to cover I am a surgeon said the segge, and salves can make conscience knoweth me well, and what I can do both I pray the quod Peace tho, ere thou pass further What hightest thou I pray thee, heyle not thy name Certes said this fellow, sir Penetrans domos. Go thy gates quoth Peace, by god for all thy physic But thou ken some craft, thou comest not herein I knew such one once, not eight winters passed Came in thus coped, at a court where I dwelled And was my lords leech, and my ladies both And at last this limitour, though my lord was out He salved so out women, till some were with child. Heende speech haete Peace, to open the gates Let in the friar and his fellow, & make him fair there He may see and here, so it may befall That life through his lore, shall leave covetise And be a drade of death, and with draw him from pride And accord with conscience, and kiss either other Thus through hende speech, entered the friar And came to Conscience, and courteously him Thou art welcome ꝙ Conscience, canst thou hele the sick? Here is contrition quoth conscience, my cousin wounded Comfort him quoth conscience, & take keep to his sores The plasters of the person, and powders beaten to sore He letteth 'em lig over long, & ioth is to change 'em From lenten to lenten, his plasters bitten. That is overlong ꝙ this Limitor, I leave I shall amend it And goth & geopeth contrition, & gave him a plaster Of a privy payment, & I shall pray for you And for all that ye been holden to all my life long And make you my Lady, The old manner of cares shr●fre made sinners negligent in masses and in matins As Friars of our fraternity, for a little silver Thus he goth & gathereth, & gloseth there he shriveth Till contrition had clean forgotten, to cry & to weep And wake for his works, as he was wont to do For comfort of his confessor, Contrition he lost That is the sovereynest salve, for all kins sins sloth see that, and so did pride And comen with a keen will, conscience to assail Conscience cried out, and bade clergy help him And also contrition, for to keep the gate Helleth & dreameth said Peace, & so doth many other The friar with his physic, this folk hath enchanted And plastred hem so easily, they dread no sin By Christ ꝙ Conscience tho, I will become a pilgrim And walken as wide, as the world lasteth To seek Pierce the ploughman, that pride may destroy And that Friars had a finding the for no need flatteren And contrepledeth me Conscience, now kind me avenge And send me hap & heal, till I have Pyers the ploughman And sith he grad after grace, till I 'gan awake. Finis. ¶ Imprinted at London by Roberte Crowley, dwelling in Elye rents in Holborn. The year of our Lord. M. O. L. ❧ Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum