<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=538534" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 11</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thanne Scriptare scorned me and a skile tolde, <br>And lakked me in Latyn and light by me sette, <br>And seide, ' Multi multa sciunt et seipsos nesciunt.' <br>Tho wepte I for wo andwrathe of hir speche <br>And in a wynkynge w[o]rth til I [weex] aslepe. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">A merveillous metels mette me thanne. <br>For I was ravysshed right there - for Fortune me fette <br>And into the lond of longynge and love she me broughte, <br>And in a mirour that highte Middelerthe she made me to biholde. <br>Sithen she seide to me,-Here myghtow se wondres, <br>And knowe that thow coveitest, and come therto, peraunter.' <br>Thanne hadde Fortune folwynge hire two faire damyseles<br>Concupiscencia Carnis men called the elder mayde, <br>And Coveitise of Eighes ycalled was that oother. <br>Pride of Parfit Lyvynge pursued hem bothe, <br>And bad me for my contenaunce acounten Clergie lighte. <br>Concupiscencia Carnis colled me aboute the nekke <br>And seide, 'Thow art yong and yeep and hast yeres ynowe <br>For to lyve longe and ladies to lovye; <br>And in this mirour thow might se myrthes ful manye <br>That leden thee wole to likynge al thi lif tyme.' <br>The secounde seide the same' I shal sewe thi wille; <br>Til thow be a lord and have lond, leten thee I nelle <br>That I ne shal folwe thi felawship, if Fortune it like.' <br>' He shal fynde me his frend,' quod Fortune therafter; <br>'The freke that folwede my wille failled nevere blisse.' <br>Thanne was ther oon that highte Elde, that hevy was of chere, <br>' Man,' quod he, 'if I mete with thee, by Marie of hevene <br>Thow shalt fynde Fortune thee faille at thi mooste nede, <br>And Concupiscencia Carnis clene thee forsake. <br>Bittrely shaltow banne thanne, bothe dayes and nyghtes, <br>Coveitise of Eighe, that evere thow hir knewe; <br>And Pride of Parfit Lyvynge to muche peril thee brynge.' <br>' Ye? Recche thee nevere!' quod Rechelesnesse, stood forth in raggede clothes <br>' Folwe forth that Fortune wole - thow has wel fer til Elde. <br>A man may stoupe tyme ynogh whan he shal tyne the crowne. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">''Homo proponit,'' quod a poete, and Plato he highte, <br>''And Deus disponit'' quod he, 'lat God doon his wille.'' <br>If Truthe wol witnesse it be wel do, Fortune to folwe, <br>Concupiscencia Carnis ne Coveitise of Eighes <br>Ne shal noght greve thee graithly, ne bigile thee but thow wolt.' <br>' Ye, farewel Phippe! ' quod Faunteltee, and forth gan me drawe, <br>Til Concupiscencia Carnis acorded til alle my werkes. <br>'Allas, eighe!' quod Elde and Holynesse bothe, <br>'That wit shal torne to wrecchednesse for wil to have his likyng!' <br>Coveitise of Eighes conforted me anoon after <br>And folwed me fourty wynter and a fifte moore, <br>That of Dowel ne Dobet no deyntee me thoughte. <br>I hadde no likyng, leve me, [o]f the leste of hem ought to knowe. <br>Coveitise of Eighes com ofter in mynde <br>Than Dowel or Dobet among my dedes alle. <br>Coveitise of Eighes conforted me ofte, <br>And seide, ' Have no conscience how thow come to goode. <br>Go confesse thee to som frere and shewe hym thi synnes. <br>For whiles Fortune is thi frend freres wol thee lovye, <br>And fe[stn]e thee in hir fraternitee and for thee biseke <br>To hir Priour Provincial a pardon for to have, <br>And preien for thee pol by pol if thow be pecuniosus. <br>Pena pecuniaria non sufficit pro spiritualibus delictis. <br>By wissynge of this wenche I dide, hir wordes were so swete, <br>Til I foryat youthe and yarn into elde. <br>And thanne was Fortune my foo, for al hir faire biheste, <br>And poverte pursued me and putte me lowe. <br>And tho fond I the frere afered and flittynge bothe <br>Ayeins oure firste forward, for I seide I nolde </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Be buried at hire hous but at my parisshe chirche <br>(For I herde ones how Conscience it tolde <br>That there a man were cristned, by kynde he sholde be buryed). <br>And for I seide thus to freres, a fool thei me helden, <br>And loved me the lasse for my lele speche. <br>Ac yet I cryde on my confessour that [so konnyng heeld hymself]. <br>'By my feith, frere!' quod I, ' ye faren lik thise woweris <br>That wedde none widwes but for to welden hir goodes. <br>Right so, by the roode, roughte ye nevere ' <br>Where my body were buryed, by so ye hadde my silver! <br>Ich have muche merveille of yow, and so hath many another, <br>Whi youre covent coveiteth to confesse and to burye <br>Rather than to baptize barnes that ben catecumelynges. <br>Baptizynge and buryinge bothe beth ful nedefulle; <br>Ac muche moore meritorie me thynketh it is to baptize; -<br>For a baptized man may, as maistres telleth, . <br>Thorugh contricion come to the heighe hevene - <br>Sola contricio delet peccatum - <br>Ac a barn withouten bapteme may noght so be saved - <br>Nisi quis renatus fuerit. <br>Loke, ye lettred men, wheither I lye or do noght.' <br>And Lewte tho lo[ugh] on me, for I loured after. <br>'Wherfore lourestow?' quod Lewtee and loked on me harde. <br>'If I dorste [amonges men,' quod I], 'this metels avowe!' <br>' Yis, by Peter and by Poul!' quod he, ' and take hem bothe to witnesse<br>Non oderis fratres secrete in corde tuo set publice argue illos.' <br>'They wole aleggen also,' quod I, ' and by the Gospel preven<br>Nolite iudicure quemquam. <br>'And wherof serveth lawe,' quod Lewtee, if no lif undertoke it - <br>Falsnesse ne faiterie? For somwhat the Apostle seide <br>Non oderis fratrem. <br>And in the Sauter also seith David the prophete <br>Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis &c. <br>It is licitum for lewed men to [l]egge the sothe <br>If hem liketh and lest - ech a lawe it graunteth'. <br>Except persons and preestes and prelates of Holy Chirche<br>It falleth noght for that folk no tales to telle - <br>Though the tale were trewe - and it touched synne. <br>'Thyng that al the world woot, wherfore sholdestow spare <br>To reden it in retorik to arate dedly synne? <br>Ac be neveremoore the firste the defaute to blame; <br>Though thow se yvel, seye it noght first - be sory it nere amended. <br>No thyng that is pryve, publice thow it nevere;-<br>Neither for love laude it noght, ne lakke it For envye<br>Parum lauda; vitupera parcius.' <br>' He seith sooth,' quod Scripture tho, and skipte an heigh and preched; <br>Ac the matere that she meved, if lewed men it knewe, <br>The lasse, as I leve, lovyen thei wolde <br>The bileve o[f Oure] Lord that lettred men techeth. <br>This was hir teme and hir text - I took ful good hede<br>'Multi to a mangerie and to the mete were sompned; <br>And whan the peple was plener comen, the porter unpynned the yate <br>And plukked in Pauci pryveliche and leet the remenaunt go rome.' <br>Al for tene of hir text trembled myn herte, <br>And in a weer gan I wexe, and with myself to dispute <br>Wheither I were chose or noght chose; on Holy Chirche I thoughte, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">That underfeng me atte font for oon of Goddes chosene. <br>For Crist cleped us alle, come if we wolde - <br>Sarsens and scismatikes, and so he dide the Jewes<br>O vos omnes sicientes, venite &c; <br>And bad hem souke for synne sa[l]ve at his breste. <br>And drynke boote for bale, brouke it whoso myghte. <br>'Thanne may alle Cristene come,' quod I,-and cleyme there entree <br>By the blood that he boughte us with and thorugh bapteme after<br>Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit &c. <br>For though a Cristen man coveited his Cristendom to reneye, <br>Rightfully to reneye no reson it wolde. <br>' For may no cherl chartre make, ne his c[h]atel selle <br>Withouten leve of his lord - no lawe wol it graunte. <br>Ac he may renne in arerage and rome fro home, <br>And as a reneyed caytif recchelesly aboute. <br>Ac Reson shal rekene with hym and rebuken hym at the laste, <br>And Conscience acounte with hym and casten hym in arerage, <br>And putten hym after in prison in purgatorie to brenne, <br>For his arerages rewarden hym there right to the day of dome, <br>But if Contricion wol come and crye by his lyve <br>Mercy for hise mysdedes with mouthe or with herte.' <br>' That is sooth,' seide Scripture; ' may no synne lette <br>Mercy al to amende, and mekenesse hir folwe; <br>For thei beth, as oure bokes telleth, above Goddes werkes:-<br>Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius.' <br>'Ye, baw for bokes!' quod oon was broken out ofhelle. <br>' I Troianus, a trewe knyght, take witnesse at a pope <br>How I was ded and dampned to dwellen in pyne ' </div><div style="margin:10px 0">For an uncristene creature; clerkes wite the sothe - <br>That al the clergie under Crist ne myghte me cracche fro helle <br>But oonliche love and leautee and my laweful domes. <br>'Gregorie wiste this wel, and wilned to my soule <br>Savacion for soothnesse that he seigh in my werkes. <br>And after that he wepte and wilned me were graunted grace, <br>Withouten any bede biddyng his boone was underfongen, <br>And I saved, as ye may see, withouten syngynge of masses, <br>By love and by lernyng of my lyvynge in truthe, <br>Broughte me fro bitter peyne ther no biddyng myghte <br>' Lo! ye lordes, what leautee dide by an Emperour of Home <br>That was an uncristene creature, as clerkes fyndeth in bokes. <br>Nought thorugh preiere of a pope but for his pure truthe <br>Was that Sarsen saved, as Seint Gregorie bereth witnesse. <br>Wel oughte ye lordes that lawes kepe this lesson to have in mynde, <br>And on Troianus truthe to thenke; and do truthe to the peple. <br>'This matere is merk for many of yow - ac, men of Holy Chirche, <br>The Legend[a] Sanctorum yow lereth more largere than I yow telle. <br>Ac thus leel love and lyvyng in truthe <br>Pulte out of pyne a paynym of Rome. <br>Yblissed be truthe that so brak helle yates <br>And saved the Sarsyn from Sathanas and his power, <br>Ther no clergie ne kouthe, ne konnyng of lawes! <br>Love and leautee is a lell science, <br>For that is the book blissed of blisse and of joye<br>God wroughte it and wroot it with his owene fynger <br>And took it to Moises upon the mount, alle men to lere. <br>'Lawe withouten love,' quod Troianus, 'ley ther a bene - <br>Or any science under sonne, the seven arts and alle! </div><div style="margin:10px 0">- But thei ben lerned for Oure Lordes love, lost is al the tyme, <br>For no cause to cacche silver therby, ne to be called a maister, <br>But al for love of Oure Lord and the bet to love the peple. <br>'For Seint Johan seide it, and sothe arn hise wordes<br>Qui non diligit manet in morte. <br>Whoso loveth noght, leve me, he lyveth in deeth deyinge; <br>And that alle manere men, enemyes and frendes, <br>Love hir eyther oother, and lene hem as hemselve. <br>Whoso leneth noght, he loveth noght, Oure Lord woot the sothe <br>And comaundeth ech creature to conformen hym to lovye -<br>His neighebour as hymselve and hise enemyes after. <br>For hem that haten us is oure merite to lovye, <br>And sovereynly povere peple to plese - hir preieres maye us helpe. <br>For oure joy and oure [ju]ele, Jesu Crist of hevene, <br>In a povere mannes apparaille pursueth us evere, <br>And loketh on us in hir liknesse and that with lovely chere, <br>To knowen us by oure kynde herte and castynge of oure eighen, <br>Wheither we love the lordes here bifore the Lord of blis <br>And exciteth us by the Evangelie that whan we maken festes, <br>We sholde noght clepe oure kyn therto, ne none kynnes riche<br>Cum facitis conviva, nolite invitare amicos. <br>''Ac calleth the carefulle therto, the croked and the povere; <br>For youre frendes wol feden yow, and founde yow to quyte <br>Youre festynge and youre faire yifte - ech frend quyteth so oother. <br>Ac for the povere I shal paie, and pure wel quyte hir travaille <br>That yyveth hem mete or moneie and loveth hem for my sake.' </div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Almighty God myghte ha[ve] maad riche alle men, if he wolde, <br>Ac for the beste ben som riche and some beggeres and povere. <br>For alle arc we Cristes creatures, and of his cofres riche, <br>And bretheren as of oo blood, as wel beggeres as erles. <br>For at Calvarie of Cristes blood Cristendom gan sprynge, <br>And blody bretheren we bicome there, of o body ywonne, <br>As quasi modo geniti gentil men echone - <br>No beggere ne boye amonges us but if it synne made. <br>Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati. <br>In the olde lawe, as the lettre telleth, 'mennes sones'' men called us, <br>Of Adames issue and Eve, ay til God-Man deide; <br>And after his resurexcion Redemptor was his name. <br>And we hise bretheren thorugh hym ybought, bothe riche and povere. <br>Forthi love we as leve children shal, and ech man laughe of oother, <br>And of that ech man may forbere, amende there it neaeth, <br>And every man helpe oother - for hennes shul we alle<br>Alter alterius onera portate. <br>And be we noght unkynde of oure catel, ne of oure konnyng neither, <br>For woot no man how neigh it is to ben ynome fro bothe. <br>Forthi lakke no lif oother, though he moore Latyn knowe, <br>Ne undernyme noght foule, for is noon withoute defaute. <br>For whatevere clerkes carpe of Cristendom or ellis, <br>Crist to a commune womman seide in commune at a feste <br>That Fides sua sholde saven hire and salven hire of synnes. <br>'Thanne is bileve a lele help, above logyk or lawe. <br>Of logyk ne of lawe in Legendo Sanctorum <br>Is litel alowaunce maad, but if bileve hem helpe; <br>For it is overlonge er logyk any lesson assoille, <br>And lawe is looth to lovye but if he lacche silver. <br>Bothe logyk and lawe, that loveth noght to lye, <br>I conseille alle Cristene, clyve noght theron to soore, <br>For some wordes I fynde writen, were of Feithes techyng, <br>That saved synful men, as Seint Johan bereth witnesse<br>Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis remecietur vobis. <br>Forthi lerne we the lawe of love as Oure Lord taughte; <br>And as Seint Gregorie seide, for mannes soule helthe, <br>Melius est scrutari scelera nostra quam naturas rerum. <br>'Why I meve this matere is moost for the povere; <br>For in hir liknesse Oure Lord ofte hath ben yknowe. <br>Witnesse in the Pask wyke whan he yede to Emaus - <br>Cleophas ne knew hym noght, that he Crist were, <br>For his povere apparaille and pilgrymes wedes, <br>Til he blessede and brak the breed that thei eten. <br>So bi hise werkes thei wisten that he was Jesus, <br>Ac by clothyng thei knewe hym noght, ne by carpynge of tonge. <br>And al was ensample, for sooth, to us synfulle here, <br>That we sholde be lowe and loveliche of speche, <br>And apparaille us noght over proudly - for pilgrymes are we alle. <br>And in the apparaille of a povere man and pilgrymes liknesse <br>Many tyme God hath ben met among nedy peple, <br>Ther nevere segge hym seigh in secte of the riche. <br>'Seint Johan and othere seintes were seyen in poore clothyng, <br>And as povere pilgrymes preyed mennes goodes. <br>Jesu Crist on a Jewes doghter lightegentil womman though she were, <br>Was a pure povere maide and to a povere man ywedded. <br>'Martha on Marie Maudelayne an huge pleynt she made, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And to Oure Saveour self seide thise wordes<br>Domine, non est tibi cure quod soror mea reliquit me solam ministrare ? <br>And hastily God answerde, and eitheres wille ful [wel lo]wed, <br>Bothe Marthaes and Maries, as Mathew bereth witnesse; <br>Ac poverte God putte bifore, and preised it the bettre<br>Maria optimam partem elegit, que non auferetur ab ea. <br>'And alle the wise that evere were, by aught I kan aspye, <br>Preisen poverte for best Iif. if Facience it folwe, <br>And bothe bettre and blesseder by many fold than Richesse. <br>Although it be sour to suffre, ther cometh swete after; <br>As on a walnote - withoute is a bitter barke, <br>And after that bitter bark, be the shelle aweye, <br>is a kernel of confort kynde to restore. <br>So is after poverte or penaunce paciently ytake, <br>Maketh a man to have mynde in God and a gret wille <br>To wepe and to wel bidde, wherof wexeth mercy, <br>Of which Crist is a kernell to conforte the soule. <br>And wel sikerer he slepeth, the segge that is povere, <br>And lasse he dredeth deeth and in derke to ben yrobbed <br>Than he that is right riche - Reson bereth witnesse<br>Pauper ego ludo dum tu dives meditaris. <br>'Although Salomon seide, as folk seeth in the Bible, <br>Divicias nec paupertates &c, <br>Wiser than Salomon was bereth witnesse and taughte <br>That parfit poverte was no possession to have, <br>And lif moost likynge to God, as Luc bereth witnesse<br>Si vis perfectus esse, vade et vende &c - </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And is to mene to men that on this moolde lyven, <br>Whoso wole he pure parfit moot possession forsake. <br>Or selle it, as seith the Book. and the silver dele <br>To beggeris that goon and begge and bidden good for Goddes love. <br>For failed nevere man mete that myghtful God serveth, <br>As David seith in the Sauter; to swiche that ben in wille <br>To serve God goodliche, ne greveth hym no penaunce - <br>Nichil inpossibile volenti - <br>Ne lakketh nevere liflode, lynnen ne wollen<br>*Iuquirentes autem Dominum non minuentur omni bono. <br>'If preestes weren wise, thei wolde no silver take <br>For masses ne for matyns, noght hir mete of usureres, <br>Ne neither kirtel ne cote, theigh thei for cold sholde deye, <br>And thei hir devoir dide, as David seith in the Sauter<br>Iudica me, Deus, et discerne causam meam. <br>'Spera in Deo speketh of preestes that have no spendyng silver <br>That if thei travaille truweliche and truste in God almyghty, <br>Hem sholde lakke no liflode, neyther lynnen ne wollen. <br>And the title that ye take ordres by telleth ye ben avaunced; <br>Thanne nedeth yow noght to [nyme] silver for masses that ye syngen. <br>For he that took yow youre title sholde take yow youre wages, <br>Or the bisshop that blessed yow, if that ye ben worthi. <br>'For made nevere kyng no knyght but he hadde catel to spende <br>As bifel for a knyght, or foond hym for his strengthe. <br>It is a careful knyght, and of a caytif kynges makyng, <br>That hath no lond ne lynage riche ne good loos of hise handes. <br>The same I segge for sothe by alle swiche preestes <br>That han neither konnynge ne kyn, but a crowne one <br>And a title, a tale of noght, to his liflode at meschief. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">He hath moore bileve, as I leve, to lacche thorugh his croune <br>Cure than for konnynge or 'knowen for clene of berynge.' <br>I Have wonder for why and wherfore the bisshop <br>Maketh swiche preestes, that lewed men bitrayen ! <br>'A chartre is chalangeable bifore a chief justice<br>If fals Latyn be in that lettre, the lawe it impugneth, <br>Or peynted parentrelynarie, parcelles overskipped. <br>The gome that gloseth so chartres for a goky is holden. <br>'So is it a goky, by God! that in his gospel failleth <br>Or in masse or in matyns maketh any defaute<br>Qui offendit in uno, in omnibus est reus. <br>And also in the Sauter seith David to overskipperis, <br>Psallite Deo nostro, psallite; quoniamrex terrae Deus Israel, psallite sapienter. <br>'The bisshop shal be blamed bifore God, as I leve, <br>That crouneth swiche Goddes knyghtes that konneth noght sapienter <br>Synge, ne psalmes rede, ne seye a masse of the day. <br>Ac never neither is blamelees, the bisshop ne the chapeleyn; <br>For hir either is endited, and that of 'Ignorancia <br>Non excusat episcopos nec ydiotes preestes.' <br>'This lokynge on lewed preestes hath doon me lepe from poverte - <br>The which I preise, ther pacience is, moore parfit than richesse.' <br>Ac muche moore in metynge thus with me gan oon dispute - <br>And slepynge I seigh al this; and sithen cam Kynde <br>And nempned me by my name, and bad me nymen hede, <br>And thorugh the wondres of this world wit for to take. <br>And en a mountaigne that Myddelerthe highte, as me tho thoughte, <br>I was fet forth by ensaumples to knowe, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thorugh ech a creature, Kynde my creatour to lovye. <br>I seigh the sonne and the see and the sond after, <br>And where that briddes and beestes by hir make thei yeden, <br>Wilde wormes in wodes, and wonderful foweles <br>With fleckede fetheres and of fele colours. <br>Man and his make I myghte se bothe; <br>Pverte and plentee, both pees and werre, <br>Blisse and bale - bothe I seigh at ones, <br>And how men token Mede and Mercy refused. <br>Reson I seigh soothly sewen all beestes <br>In etynge, in drynkynge and in engendrynge of kynde. <br>And after cours of concepcion noon toke kepe of oother <br>As whan thei hadde ryde in rotey tume; anoonright therafter <br>Males drowen hem to males amornynge by hemselve, <br>And [femelles to femelles ferded and drowe]. <br>Ther ne was cow ne cowkynde that conceyved hadde <br>That wolde belwe after bole, ne boor after sowe. <br>Both hors and houndes and alle othere beestes <br>Medled noght with hir makes that [mid] fole were. <br>Briddes I biheld that in buskes made nestes; <br>Hadde nevere wye wit to werche the leese. <br>I hadde wonder at whom and wher the pye <br>Lerned to legge the stikkes in which she leyeth and bredeth. <br>Ther nys wrighte, as I wene, sholde werche hir nest to paye; <br>If any mason made a molde therto, muche wonder it were. <br>And yet me merveilled mooremany othere briddes <br>Hidden and hileden hir egges ful derne <br>In mareys and moores for men sholde hem noght fynde, <br>And hidden hir egges whan thei therfro wente, <br>For fere of othere foweles and for wilde beestes. <br>And some troden hir makes and on trees bredden </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And broughten forth hir briddes so al above the grounde. <br>And some briddes at the bile thorugh brethyng conceyved, <br>And some caukede; I took kepe how pecokkes bredden. <br>Muche merveilled me what maister thei hadde, <br>And who taughte hem on trees to tymbre so heighe <br>That neither burn ne beest may hir briddes rechen. <br>And sithen I loked on the see and so forth on the sterres; <br>Manye selkouthes I seigh, ben noght to seye nouthe. <br>I seigh floures in the fryth and hir faire colours, <br>And how among the grene gras growed so manye hewes, <br>And some soure and some swete - selkouth me thoughte. <br>Of hir kynde and hir colour to carpe it were to longe. <br>Ac that moost meved me and my mood chaunged - <br>That Reson rewarded and ruled alle beestes <br>Save man and his makemany tyme and ofte <br>No Reson hem folwede, [neither riche ne povere]. <br>And thanne I rebukede Reson, and right til hymselven I seyde. <br>'I have wonder of thee, that witty art holden, <br>Why thow ne sewest man and his make, that no mysfeet hem folwe.' <br>And Reson arated me, and seide, 'Recche thee nevere <br>Why I suffre or noght suffre - thiself hast noght to doone. <br>Amende thow it if thow myght, for my tyme is to abide. <br>Suffraunce is a soverayn vertue, and a swift vengeaunce. <br>Who suffreth moore than God?' quod he; 'no gome, as I leeve. <br>He myghte amende in a minute while al that mysstandeth, <br>Ac he suffreth for som mannes goode, ad so is oure bettre. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">' Holy Writ,' quod that wye, 'wisseth men to suffre<br>Propter Deum subiecti estote omni creature. <br>Frenche men and fre men affaiteth thus hire children<br>Bele vertue est suffraunce; mal dire est petite vengeance. <br>Bien dire et bien suffrir fait lui suffrant a bien venir. <br>Forthi I rede,' quod Reson, 'thow rule thi tonge bettre, <br>And er thow lakke my lif, loke if thow be to preise. <br>For is no creature under Crist can formen hymselven, <br>And if a man myghte make hymself good, <br>Ech a lif wolde be laklees - leeve thow non other. <br>Ne thow shalt fynde but fewe fayne for to here <br>Of here defautes foule bifore hem reherced. <br>'The wise and the witty wroot thus in the Bible:-<br>De re que te non molestat noli certare. <br>For be a man fair or foul. it falleth noght to lakke <br>The shap ne the shaft that God shoop hymselve; <br>For al that he wrought was wel ydo, as Holy Writ witnesseth<br>Et vidit Deus cuncta que fecerat, et erant valde bona. <br>And bad every creature in his kynde encreesse, <br>Al to murthe with man that moste wo tholie <br>In fondynge of the flessh and of the fend bothe. <br>For man was maad of swich a matere he may noght wel asterte <br>That som tyme hym bitit to folwen his kynde. <br>Caton acordeth therwith - Nemo sine crimine vivit!' <br>Tho caughte I colour anoon and comsed to ben ashamed, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And awaked therwith. Wo was me thanne <br>That I in metels ne myghte moore have yknowen. <br>And thanne seide I to myself, and [sherewe]de that tyme, <br>'Now I woot what Dowel is,' quod I, ' by deere God, as me thynketh!' <br>And as I caste up myne eighen, oon loked on me and asked <br>Of me, what thyng it were? ' Ywis, sire,' I seyde, <br>'To se muche and suffre moore, certes,' quod I, 'is Dowel.' <br>'Haddestow suffred,' he seide, 'slepynge tho thow were. <br>Thow sholdest have knowen that Clergie kan and conceyved moore thorugh Reson-<br>For Reson wolde have reherced thee right as Clergie seide. <br>Ac for thyn entremetynge here artow forsake<br>Philosophus esses, si tacuisses. <br>'Adam, whiles he spak noght, hadde paradis at wille; <br>Ac whan he mamelede aboute mete and entremeted to knowe <br>The wisedom and the wit of God, he was put fram blisse. <br>And right so ferde Reson bi thee - thow with thi rude spec <br>Lakkedest and losedest thyng that longed noght to doone. <br>Tho hadde he no likyng for to lere the moore. <br>' Pryde now and presumpcion paraventure wol thee appele, <br>That Clergie thi compaignye ne kepeth noght to suwe. <br>For shal nevere chalangynge ne chidynge chaste a man so soone <br>As shal shame, and shenden hym, and shape hym to amende. <br>For lat a dronken daffe in a dyk falle, <br>Lat hym ligge, loke noght on hym til hym liste aryse. <br>For though Reson rebuked hym thanne, reccheth he nevere; <br>Of Clergie ne of his counseil he counteth noght a risshe. <br>[To blame] or for to bete hym thanne, it were but pure synne. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ac whan nede nymeth hym up, for doute leste he [ne] sterve, <br>And shame shrapeth hise clothes and hise shynes wassheth, <br>Thanne woot the dronken daffe wherfore he is to blame.' <br>'Ye siggen sooth, by my soule,' quod I, 'lch have yseyen it ofte. <br>Ther smyt no thyng so smerte, ne smelleth so foule <br>As shame, there he sheweth hym - for ech man shonyeth his felaweshipe. <br>Why ye wisse me thus,' quod I, 'was for I rebuked Reson.' <br>'Certes,' quod he, 'that is sooth,' and shoop hym for to wal n. <br>And I aroos up right with that and [raughte] hym after, <br>And preyde hym [if his wille were, he wolde] telle me his name.</div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><br />poem by <a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/by.php?a=William+Langland">William Langland</a><div class=q> <img src="https://www.citatepedia.ro/g/32share.png" style="float:left" alt="Share"> <script type="text/javascript" src="//s7.addthis.com/js/300/addthis_widget.js#pubid=citatepedia" async="async"></script><div style="display:inline-block" class="addthis_sharing_toolbox" data-url="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=538534" data-title="The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 11 de William Langland" data-description="Thanne Scriptare scorned me and a skile tolde, And lakked me in Latyn and light by me sette, And seide, ' Multi multa sciunt et seipsos nesciunt.' Tho wepte I for wo andwrathe of hir speche And in a wynkynge w[o]rth til I [weex] aslepe. A me..."></div> </div> </div>

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