<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://en.citatepedia.ro/comments.php?id=538538" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 15</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ac after my wakynge it was wonder longe <br>Er I koude kyndely knowe what was Dowel. <br>And so my wit weex and wanyed til I a fool weere; <br>And some lakked my lif - allowed it fewe - <br>And leten me for a lorel and looth to reverencen <br>Lordes or ladies or any lif ellis - <br>As persons in pelure with pendaunts of silver; <br>To sergeaunts ne to swiche seide noght ones, <br>' God loke yow, lordes!' - ne loutede faire, <br>That folk helden me a fool; and in that folie I raved, <br>Til reson hadde ruthe on me and rokked me aslepe, <br>Til I seigh, as it sorcerie were, a sotil thyng withalle - <br>Oon withouten tonge and teeth, tolde me whider I sholde <br>And wherof I cam and of what kynde. I conjured hym at the laste, <br>If he were Cristes creature for Cristes love me to tellen. <br>' I am Cristes creature,' quod he, 'and Cristene in many a place, <br>In Cristes court yknowe wel, and of his kyn a party. <br>Is neither Peter the Porter, ne Poul with the fauchon, <br>That wole defende me the dore, dynge I never so late. <br>At mydnyght, at mydday, my vois is so yknowe <br>That ech a creature of his court welcometh me faire.' <br>'What are ye called?' quod I, 'in that court among Cristes peple?' <br>'The whiles I quykne the cors,' quod he, 'called am I Anima; <br>And whan I wilne and wolde, Animus ich hatte; <br>And for that I kan and knowe, called am I Mens; <br>And whan I make mone to God, Memoria is my name; <br>And whan I deme domes and do as truthe techeth, <br>Thanne is Racio my righte name - ''reson'' on Englissh; <br>And whan I feele that folk telleth, my firste name is Sensus - <br>And that is wit and wisdom, the welle of alle craftes; <br>And whan I chalange or chalange noght, chepe or refuse, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Thanne am I Conseience ycalled, Goddes clerk and his notarie; <br>And whan I love leelly Oure Lord and alle othere, <br>Thanne is ''lele Love'' my name, and in Latyn Amor; <br>And whan I flee fro the flessh and forsake the careyne, <br>Thanne am I spirit spechelees - and Spiritus thanne ich hatte. <br>Austyn and Ysodorus, either of hem bothe <br>Nempnede me thus to name - now thow myght chese <br>How thow coveitest to calle me, now thow knowest alle my names. <br>Anima pro diversis accionibus diversa nomina sortiturdum <br>vivificat corpus, anima est; dum vult, animus est; dum scit, <br>mens est; dum recolit, memoria est; dum iudicat, racio est; <br>dum sentit, sensus est; dum amat, Amor est ; dum negat vel <br>consentit, consciencia est; dum spirat, spiritus est.' <br>'Ye ben as a bisshop,' quod I, al bourdynge that tyme, <br>' For bisshopes yblessed, thei bereth manye names - <br>Presul and Pontifex and Metropolitanus, <br>And othere names an heep, Episcopus and Pastor.' <br>'That is sooth,' seide he, 'now I se thi wille! <br>Thow woldest knowe and konne the cause of alle hire names, <br>And of myne, if thow myghtest, me thynketh by thi speche!' <br>' Ye, sire,' I seide, 'by so no man were greved, <br>Alle the sciences under sonne and alle the sotile craftes <br>I wolde I knewe and kouthe kyndely in myn herte!' <br>'Thanne artow inparfit,' quod he, 'and oon of Prides knyghtes! <br>For swich a lust and likyng Lucifer fel from hevene<br>Ponam pedem meum in aquilone et similis ero Altissimo. <br>'It were ayeins kynde,' quod he, 'and alle kynnes reson <br>That any creature sholde konne al, except Crist oone. <br>Ayein swiche Salomon speketh, and despiseth hir wittes, <br>And seith, Sicut qui mel comedit multum non est ei bonum, <br>Sic qui scrutator est maiestatis opprimitur a gloria. <br>'To Englisshe men this is to mene, that mowen speke and here, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">The man that muche hony eteth his mawe it engleymeth, <br>And the moore that a man of good matere hereth, <br>But he do therafter it dooth hym doubie scathe. <br>'' Beatus est,' seith Seint Bernard, '' qui scripturas iegit <br>Et verba vertit in opera fulliche to his power.' <br>Coveitise to konne and to knowe science <br>Putte out of Paridis Adam and Eve<br>Sciencie appetitus hominem inmortalitatis gloriam spoliavit. <br>'And right as hony is yvel to defie and engleymeth the mawe, <br>Right so that thorugh reson wolde the roote knowe <br>Of God and of hise grete myghtes - hise graces it letteth. <br>For in the likynge lith a pride and licames coveitise <br>Ayein Cristes counseil and alle clerkes techynge - <br>That is Non plus sapere quam oportet sapere. <br>' Freres and fele othere maistres that to the lewed men prechen, <br>Ye moeven materes unmesurable to tellen of the Trinite, <br>That oftetymes the lewed peple of hir bileve doute. <br>Bettre it were by many doctours to bileven swich techyng <br>And tellen men of the ten comaundements, and touchen the sevene synnes, <br>And of the braunches that burjoneth of hem and bryngen men to helle, <br>And how that folk in folies mysspenden hir fyve wittes - <br>As wel freres as oother folk, foliliche spenden <br>In housynge, in haterynge, in to heigh clergie shewynge <br>Moore for pompe than for pure charite - the peple woot the sothe! <br>That I lye noght, loo! - for lordes ye plesen, <br>And reverencen the riche the rather for hir silver<br>Confundantur omnes qui adorant sculptilia. Et alibi, <br>Ut quid diligitis vanitatem, et queritis mendacium? <br>'Goeth to the glose of the vers, ye grete clerkes; </div><div style="margin:10px 0">If I lye on yow to my lewed wit, ledeth me to brennyng! <br>For as it semeth ye forsaketh no mannes almesse - <br>Of usurers, of hoores, of varouse chapmen - <br>And louten to thise lordes that mowen lene yow nobles <br>Aye in youre rule and religion - I take record at Jesus, <br>That seide to hise disciples, '' Ne sitis acceptores personarum.'' <br>Of this matere I myghte make a long bible; <br>Ac of curatours of Cristen peple, as clerkes bereth witnesse, <br>I shal tellen it for truthes sake - take hede whoso liketh! <br>'As holynesse and honeste out of Holy Chirche spredeth <br>Thorugh lele libbynge men that Goddes lawe techen, <br>Right so out of Holy Chirche alle yveles spredeth <br>There inparfit preesthode is, prechours and techeris. <br>And se it by ensaumple in somer tyme on trowes<br>Ther some bowes ben leved and some bereth none, <br>Ther is a meschief in the more of swiche manere bowes. <br>Right so persons and preestes and prechours of Holi Chirche <br>Is the roote of the right feith to rule the peple; <br>Ac ther the roote is roten, reson woot the sothe, <br>Shal nevere fiour ne fruyt, ne fair leef be grene. <br>'Forthi wolde ye lettrede leve the lecherie of clothyng, <br>And be kynde as bifel for clerkes and curteise of Cristes goodes, <br>Trewe of youre tonge and of youre tail bothe, <br>And hatien to here harlotrie, and aught to underfonge <br>Tithes of untrewe thyng ytilied or chaffared - <br>Lothe were lewed men but thei youre loore folwede <br>And amenden hem that thei mysdoon, moore for youre ensaumples <br>Than for to prechen and to preven it noght - ypocrisie it semeth! <br>For ypocrisie in Latyn is likned to a dongehill <br>That were bisnewed with snow, and snakes withinne, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Or to a wal that were whitlymed and were foul withinne. <br>Right so manye preestes, prechours and prelates - <br>Ye [b]en enblaunched with bele paroles and with clothes, <br>Ac youre werkes and wordes therunder aren ful w[o]lveliche. <br>Johannes Crisostomus of clerkes speketh and preestes<br>Sicut de templo omne bonum progreditur, sic de templo omne <br>malum procedit. Si sacerdocium integrum fuerit, tota floret <br>ecclesia; si autem corruptum fuerit, omnium fides marcida est. <br>Si sacerdocium fuerit in peccatis, totus populus convertitur <br>ad peccandum. Sicut cum videris arborem pallidam et marcidam <br>intelligis quod vicium habet in radice, ita cum videris <br>populum indisciplinatum et irreligiosum, sine dubio <br>sacerdocium eius non est sanum. <br>'If lewed men wiste what this Latyn meneth, <br>And who was myn auctour, muche wonder me thinketh <br>But if many preest beere, for hir baselardes and hir broches, <br>A peire of bedes in hir hand and a book under hir arme. <br>Sire Johan and Sire Geffrey hath a girdel of silver, <br>A baselard or a ballok-knyf with botons overgilte. <br>Ac a porthors that sholde be his plow, Placebo to sigge, <br>Hadde he nevere, [his] service to [h]ave, <br>[And save he have] silver therto, seith it with ydel wille. <br>'Allas, ye lewed men, muche lese ye on preestes! <br>Ac thing that wikkedly is wonne, and with false sleightes, <br>Wolde nevere the wit of witty God but wikkede men it hadde - </div><div style="margin:10px 0">The whiche arn preestes inparfite and prechours after silver, <br>Executours and sodenes, somonours and hir lemmannes. <br>This that with gile was geten, ungraciousliche is spended. <br>So harlotes and hores arn holpe with swiche goodes, <br>Ac Goddes folk for defaute therof forfaren and spillen. <br>'Curatours of Holy Kirke, and clerkes that ben avarouse, <br>Lightliche that thei leven, losels it habbeth, <br>Or deieth intestate, and thanne [entreth the bisshop] <br>And maketh murthe therwith, and hise meyne both, <br>And seyen, ''He was a nygard, that no good myghte aspare <br>To frend ne to fremmed - the fend have his soule! <br>For a wrecehede hous he held al his lif tyme, <br>And that he spared and bispered, spende we in murthe!'' <br>'By lered, by lewed, that looth is to spende - <br>Thus goon hire goodes, be the goost faren. <br>Ac for goode men, God woot, greet doel men maken, <br>And bymeneth goode meteyyveres, and in mynde haveth <br>In preieres and in penaunces and in parfit charite.' <br>' What is charite?' quod I tho. 'A childissh thyng,' he seide - <br>' Nisi efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum celorum - <br>Withouten fauntelte or folie a fre liberal wille.' <br>'Where sholde men fynde swich a frend with so fre an herte? <br>I have lyved in londe,' quod I, 'my name is Longe Wille - <br>And fond I nevere ful charite, bifore ne bihynde. <br>Men beth merciable to mendinaunts and to poore, <br>And wollen lenc ther thei leve lelly to ben paied. <br>Ac charite that Poul preiseth best and moost plesaunt to Oure Saveour - <br>As Non inflatur, non est ambiciosa, non querit que sua sunt - <br>I seigh nevere swich a man, so me God helpe, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">That he ne wolde aske after his, and outherwhile coveite <br>Thyng that neded hym noght - and nyme it, if he myghte! <br>'Clerkes kenne me that Crist is in alle places; <br>Ac I seigh hym nevere soothly but as myself in a mirour<br>Hic in enigmate, tunc facie ad faciem. <br>And so I trowe trewely, by that men telleth of charite, <br>It is noght chaumpions fight, ne chaffare, as I trowe.' <br>'Charite,' quod he, 'ne chaffareth noght, ne chalangeth, ne craveth; <br>As proud of a peny as of a pound of golde, <br>And is as glad of a gowne of a gray russet <br>As of a tunycle of Tarse of of trie scarlet. <br>He is glad with alle glade and good til alle wikkede, <br>And leneth and loveth alle that Oure Lord made. <br>Corseth he no creature, ne he kan bere no wrathe, <br>Ne no likynge hath to lye ne laughe men to scorne. <br>Al that men seyn, he leet it sooth, and in solace taketh, <br>And alle manere meschiefs in myldenesse he suffreth. <br>Coveiteth he noon erthely good but heveneriche blisse.' <br>'Hath he any rentes or richesse, or any riche frendes?' <br>'Of rentes ne of richesse rekketh he nevere, <br>For a frend that fyndeth hym, failed hym nevere at nede<br>Fiat voluntas tua fynt hym everemoore, <br>And if he soupeth, eteth but a sop of Spera in Deo. <br>He kan portreye wel the Paternoster and peynte it with Aves, <br>And outherwhile he is woned to wenden on pilgrymages <br>Ther poore men and prisons liggeth, hir pardon to have; <br>Though he bere hem no breed, he bereth hem swetter liflode, <br>Loveth hem as Oure Lord biddeth and loketh how thei fare. <br>'And whan he is wery of that werk than wole he som tyme <br>Labouren in a lavendrye wel the lengthe of a mile, <br>And yerne into youthe, and yepeliche seche <br>Pride, with al the appurtenaunces, and pakken hem togideres, <br>And bouken hem at his brest and beten hern clene, <br>And leggen on longe with Laboravi in gemitu meo, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And with warm water at hise eighen wasshen hem after. <br>Thanne he syngeth whan he doth so, and som tyme seith wepynge, <br>Cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.' <br>'By Crist! I wolde that I knewe hym,' quod I, 'no creature levere!' <br>'Withouten help of Piers Plowman,' quod he, 'his persone sestow nevere.' <br>'Wheither clerkes knowen hym,' quod I, 'that kepen Holi Kirke?' <br>'Clerkes have no knowyng,' quod he, 'but by werkes and by wordes. <br>Ac Piers the Plowman parceyveth moore depper <br>What is the wille, and wherfore that many wight suffreth<br>Et vidit Deus cogitaciones eorum. <br>For ther are ful proude herted men, pacient of tonge <br>And buxome as of berynge to burgeises and to lordes, <br>And to poore peple han pepir in the nose, <br>And as a lyoun he loketh ther men lakken hise werkes. <br>' For ther are beggeris and bidderis, bedemen as it were, <br>Loken as lambren and semen lif-holy - <br>Ac it is moore to have hir mete on swich an esy manere <br>Than for penaunce and parfitnesse, the poverte that swiche taketh. <br>'Therfore by colour ne by clergie knowe shaltow hym nevere, <br>Neither thorugh wordes ne werkes, but thorugh wil oone, <br>And that knoweth no clerk ne creature on erthe <br>But Piers the Plowman - Petrus, id est, Christus. <br>For he nys noght in lolleris ne in londleperis heremytes, <br>Ne at ancres there a box hangeth - alle swiche thei faiten. <br>Fy on faitours and infautores suos! <br>For Charite is Goddes champion, and as a good child hende, <br>And the murieste of mouth at mete where he sitteth. <br>The love that lith in his herte maketh hym light of speche, <br>And is compaignable and confortatif, as Crist bit hymselve<br>Nolite fieri sicut ypocrite tristes . <br>For I have seyen hym in silk and som tyme in russet, <br>Bothe in grey, and in grys, and in gilt harneis - <br>And as gladliche he it gaf to gomes that it neded. <br>'Edmund and Edward, either were kynges </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And seintes yset - [s]til[le] charite hem folwede. <br>'I have yseyen charite also syngen and reden, <br>Riden, and rennen in raggede wedes; <br>Ac biddynge as beggeris biheld I hym nevere. <br>Ac in riche robes rathest he walketh, <br>Ycalled and ycrymyled and his crowne yshave. <br>And in a freres frokke he was yfounden ones - <br>Ac it is fern ago, in Seint Fraunceis tyme; <br>In that secte siththe to selde hath he ben knowen. <br>'Riche men he recomendeth, and of hir robes taketh <br>That withouten wiles ledeth hir lyves<br>Beatus est dives qui, . <br>'In kynges court he cometh ofte, ther the counseil is trewe; <br>Ac if coveitise be of the counseil he wol noght come therinne. <br>In court amonges japeris he cometh but selde, <br>For braulynge and bakbitynge and berynge of fals witnesse. <br>'In the consistorie bifore the commissarie he corneth noght ful ofte, <br>For hir lawe dureth overlonge but if thei lacchen silver, <br>And matrimoyne for moneie maken and unmaken, <br>And that conseience and Crist hath yknyt faste, <br>Thei undoon it un[digne]ly, tho doctours of lawe. <br>'Amonges erchebisshopes and other bisshopes and prelates of Holy Chirche, <br>For to wonye with hem his wone was som tyme, <br>And Cristes patrimonye to the poore parcelmele dele. <br>Ac avarice hath the keyes now and kepeth for his kynnesmen <br>And for his seketoures and his servaunts, and som for hir children. <br>'Ac I ne lakke no lif, but, Lord, amende us alle. <br>And gyve us grace, goode God, charite to folwe! <br>For whoso myghte meete with hym, swiche maneres hym eileth - </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Neither he blameth ne banneth, bosteth ne preiseth, <br>Lakketh, ne loseth, ne loketh up sterne, <br>Craveth, ne coveiteth, ne crieth after moore<br>In pace in idipsum dormiam . <br>The mooste liflode that he lyveth by is love in Goddes passion; <br>Neither he biddeth, ne beggeth, ne borweth to yelde; <br>Misdooth he no man, ne with his mouth greveth. <br>'Amonges Cristene men this myldenesse sholde laste, <br>In alle manere angres have this at herte - <br>That theigh thei suffrede al this, God suffrede for us moore <br>In ensample we sholde do so, and take no vengeaunce <br>Of oure foes that dooth us falsnesse - that is oure fadres wille. <br>For wel may every man wite, if God hadde wold hymselve, <br>Sholde nevere Judas ne Jew have Jesu doon on roode, <br>Ne han martired Peter ne Poul, ne in prison holden. <br>Ac he suffre in ensample that we sholde suffren also, <br>And seide to swiche that suffre wolde that Pacientes vincunt. <br>' Verbi gratia,' quod he - and verred ensamples manye. <br>'In Legenda Sanctorum, the lif of holy seintes, <br>What penaunce and poverte and passion thei suffrede - <br>In hunger, in hete, in alle manere angres. <br>'Antony and Egidie and othere holy fadres <br>Woneden in wildernesse among wilde beestes; <br>Monkes and mendinaunts. men by hemselve <br>In spekes and in spelonkes, selde speken togideres. <br>Ac neither Antony ne Egidie ne heremyte that tyme <br>Of leons ne of leopardes no liflode ne toke, <br>But of foweles that fleeth - thus fyndeth men in bokes - <br>Except that Egidie after an hynde cride, <br>And thorugh the mylk of that mylde beest the man was sustened; <br>And day bi day hadde he hire noght his hunger for to slake, <br>But selden and sondry tymes, as seith the book and techeth. <br>Antony adayes aboute noon tyme <br>Hadde a brid that broughte hym breed that he by lyvede; <br>And though the gome hadde a gest, God fond hem bothe. <br>'Poul primus heremita hadde parroked hymselve, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">That no man myghte hym se for mosse and for leves. <br>Foweles hym fedde fele wyntres with alle <br>Til he foundede freres of Austynes ordre. <br>Poul, after his prechyng, paniers he made, <br>And wan with hise hondes that his wornbe neded. <br>Peter fisshed for his foode, and his felawe Andrew<br>Som thei solde and som thei soden, and so thei lyved bothe. <br>And also Marie Maudeleyne by mores lyvede and dewes, <br>Ac moost thorugh devocion and mynde of God Almyghty. <br>I sholde noght thise seven daies siggen hem alle <br>That lyveden thus for Oure Lordes love many longe yeres. <br>'Ac ther ne was leoun ne leopard that on laundes wenten, <br>Neither bere, ne boor, ne oother beest wilde <br>That ne fil to hir feet and fawned with the tailles; <br>And if thei kouthe han ycarped, by Crist, as I trowe, <br>Thei wolde have yfed that folk bifore wilde foweles. <br>For al the curteisie that beestes konne, thei kidde that folk ofte, <br>In likkyng and in lowynge, there thei on laundes yede. <br>Ac God sente hem foode by foweles, and by no fierse beestes, <br>In menynge that meke thyng mylde thyng sholde fede. <br>As who seith religious rightfulle men sholde fynde, <br>And lawefulle men to lif-holy rnen liflode brynge; <br>And thanne wolde lordes and ladies be looth to agulte, <br>And to taken of hir tenaunts more than trouthe wolde, <br>Founde thei that freres wolde forsake hir almesses, <br>And bidden hem bere it there it was yborwed. <br>For we ben Goddes foles and abiden alwey, <br>Til briddes brynge us that we sholde [by lyve]. <br>For hadde ye potage and payn ynogh, and peny ale to drynke, <br>And a mees thermyd of o maner kynde, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ye hadde right ynogh ye religiouse - and so youre rule me tolde. <br>Numquid, dicit Job rugiet onager cum habuerit herbam ? <br>Aut mugiet bos cum ante plenum presepe steterit ? Brutorum <br>animalium natura te condempnat, quia cum eis pabulum commune <br>sufficiat; ex adipe prodiit iniquitas tua. <br>'If lewed men knewe this Latyn, thei wolde loke whom thei yeve, <br>And avisen hem bifore a fyve dayes or sixe <br>Er thei amortisede [moore] to monkes or chanons hir rentes. <br>Allas! lordes and ladies, lewed counseil have ye <br>To yyve from youre heires that youre aiels you lefte, <br>And yyveth to bidde for yow to swiche that ben riche, <br>And ben founded and feffed ek to bidde for othere! <br>'Who parfourneth this prophecie, of the peple that now libbeth - <br>Dispersit, dedit pauperibus ? <br>If any peple parfourne that tent, it are thise poore freres<br>For that thei beggen aboute, in buyldynge thei spende, <br>And on hemself som, and swiche as ben hir laborers; <br>And of hem that habbeth thei taken, and yyveth hem that ne habbeth! <br>'Ac clerkes and knyghtes, and communers that ben riche, <br>Fele of yow fareth as if I a forest hadde <br>That were ful of faire trees, and I fondede and caste <br>How I myghte mo therinne amonges hem sette. <br>Right so ye riche - ye robeth that ben riche, <br>And helpeth hem that helpeth yow, and yyveth ther no nede is; <br>As whoso filled a tonne ful of a fressh ryver, <br>And wente forth with that water to woke with Themese. <br>Right so ye riche, ye robeth and fedeth </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Hem that han as ye han - hem ye make at ese. <br>'Ac religiouse that riche ben sholde rather feeste beggeris <br>Than burgeises that riche ben, as the book techeth<br>Quia sacrilegium est res pauperum non pauperibus dare. <br>Itempeccatoribus dare est demonibus immolare. <br>Itemmonache, si indiges et accipis, pocius das quam accipis; <br>Si autem non eges et accipis, rapis. <br>Porro non indiget monachus, si habeat quod nature sufficit. <br>' Forthi I counseille alle Cristene to conformen hem to charite - <br>For charite withouten chalangynge unchargeth the soule, <br>And many a prison fram purgatorie thorugh hise preieres he delivereth. <br>Ac ther is a defaute in the folk that the feith kepeth, <br>Wherfore folk is the febler, and noght ferm of bileve. <br>As in lussheburwes is a luther alay, and yet loketh he lik a sterlyng<br>The merk of that monee is good, ac the metal is feble. <br>And so it fareth by som folk nowthci han a fair speche, <br>Crowne and Cristendom, the kynges mark of hevene, <br>Ac the metal, that is mannes soule, with [many] synne is foule[d]. <br>Bothe lettred and lewed beth alayed now with synne, <br>That no lif loveth oother, ne Oure Lord, as it semeth. <br>For what thorugh werre and wikkede werkes and wederes unresonable, <br>Wederwise shipmen and witty clerkes also <br>Have no bileve to the lifte, ne to the loore of philosophres. <br>'Astronomiens alday in hir art faillen <br>That whilom warned bifore what sholde falle after; <br>Shipmen and shepherdes, that with ship and sheep wenten, <br>Wisten by the walkne what sholde bitide, <br>Tilieris that tiled the erthe tolden hir maistres <br>By the seed that thei sewe whit thei selle myghte, <br>And what to leve and to lyve by, the lond was so trewe; </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Now failleth the folk of the flood and of the lond bothe - <br>Shepherdes and shipmen, and so do thise tilieris<br>Neither thei konneth ne knoweth oon cours bifore another. <br>'Astronomyens also aren at hir wittes ende<br>Of that was calculed of the clem[a]t, the contrarie thei fynde. <br>Grammer, the ground of al, bigileth now children<br>For is noon of thise newe clerkes - whoso nymeth hede - <br>That kan versifye faire ne formaliche enditen, <br>Ne naught oon among an hundred that an auctour kan construwe, <br>Ne rede a lettre in any langage but in Latyn or in Englissh. <br>'Go now to any degree, and but if gile be maister, <br>And flaterere his felawe [to fourmen under hym], <br>Muche wonder me thynketh amonges us alle! <br>Doctours of decrees and of divinite maistres, <br>That sholde konne and knowe alle kynnes clergie, <br>And answere to arguments and also to a quodlibet - <br>I dar noght siggen it for shame - if swiche were apposed, <br>Thei sholde faillen of hir Philosophie, and in Phisik bothe. <br>'Wherfore I am afered of folk of Holy Kirke, <br>Lest thei overhuppen, as oothere doon, in Office and in Houres. <br>Ac if thei overhuppe - as I hope noght - oure bileve suffiseth; <br>As clerkes in Corpus Christi feeste syngen and reden <br>That sola fides sufficit to save with lewed peple - <br>And so may Sarsens be saved, scribes and Jewes. <br>'Allas thanne! but oure looresmen lyve as thei leren us, <br>And for hir lyvynge that lewed men be the lother God agulten. <br>For Sarsens han somwhat semynge to oure bileve, <br>For thei love and bileve in o [Lede] almyghty, <br>And we, lered and lewed, [bileveth in oon God] - <br>Cristene and uncristene on oon [creatour] bileveth. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Ac oon Makometh, a man, in mysbileve <br>Broughte Sarsens of Surree - and see in what manere. <br>'This Makometh was a Cristene man and for he moste noght ben a pope, <br>Into Surrie he soughte. and thorugh hise sotile wittes <br>Daunted a dowve, and day and nyght hire fedde. <br>The corn that she croppede, he caste it in his ere; <br>And if he among the peple preched, or in places come, <br>Thanne wolde the colvere come to the clerkes ere <br>Menynge as after mete - thus Makometh hire enchauntede, <br>And dide folk thanne falle on knees, for he swoor in his prechyng <br>That the colvere that com so com from God of hevene <br>As messager to Makometh, men for to teche. <br>And thus thorugh wiles of his wit and a whit dowve <br>Makometh in mysbileve men and wommen broughte, <br>That lered there and lewed yit leeven on hise lawes. <br>'And siththe Oure Saveour suffred the Sarsens so bigiled <br>Thorugh a Cristene clerk acorsed in his soule - <br>Ac for drede of the deeth I dar noght telle truthe, <br>How Englisshe clerkes a colvere fede that Coveitise highte, <br>And ben manered after Makometh, that no man useth trouthe. <br>'Ancres and heremytes, and monkes and freres <br>Peeren to Apostles thorugh hire parfit lyvynge. <br>Wolde nevere the feithful Fader that hise ministres sholde <br>Of tiraunts that teneth trewe men taken any almesse, <br>But doon as Antony dide, Dominyk and Fraunceys, <br>Beneit and Bernard [bo]the, whiche hem first taughte <br>To lyve by litel and in lowe houses by lele mennes almesse. <br>Grace sholde growe and be grene thorugh hir goode lyvynge, <br>And folkes sholden fynde, that ben in diverse siknesse, <br>The bettre for hir biddynges in body and in soule. <br>Hir preieres and hir penaunces to pees sholde brynge <br>Alle that ben at debaat, and bedemen were trewe<br>Petite et accipietis . </div><div style="margin:10px 0">' Salt saveth catel,' siggen thise wyves ; <br>Vos estis sal terre . <br>The hevedes of Holy Chirche - and thei holy were - <br>Crist calleth hem salt for Cristene soules, <br>Et si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur ? <br>Ac fressh flessh outher fissh, whan it salt failleth, <br>It is unsavory, for sothe, ysoden or ybake; <br>So is mannes soule, soothly, that seeth no good ensample <br>Of hem of Holi Chirche that the heighe wey sholde teche <br>And be gide, and go bifore as a good banyer, <br>And hardie hem that bihynde ben, and yyve hem good evidence. <br>' Ellevene holy men al the world tornede <br>Into lele bileve; the lightloker, me thynketh. <br>Sholde alle maner men, we han so manye maistres-<br>Preestes and prechours, and a pope above, <br>That Goddes salt sholde be, to save mannes soule. <br>'Al was hethynesse som tyme Engelond and Walis, <br>Til Gregory garte clerkes to go here and preche. <br>Austyn [cristnede the kyng at Caunterbury], <br>And thorugh miracles, as men mow rede, al that marche he tornede <br>To Crist and to Cristendom, and cros to honoure, <br>And follede folk faste, and the feith taughte <br>Moore thorugh miracles than thorugh muche prechyng, <br>As wel thorugh hise werkes as with hise holy wordes, <br>And [fourmed] what fullynge and feith was to mene. <br>'Clooth that cometh fro the wevyng is noght comly to were <br>Til it be fulled under foot or in fullyng stokkes, <br>Wasshen wel with water and with taseles cracched, <br>Ytouked and yteynted and under taillours hande; <br>And so it fareth by a barn that born is of wombe<br>Til it be cristned in Cristes name and confermed of the bisshop, <br>It is hethene as to heveneward, and helplees to the soule. <br>' Hethen' is to mene after heeth and untiled erthe - <br>As In wilde wildernesse wexeth wilde beess, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Rude and unresonable, rennynge withouten keperes. <br>'Ye mynnen wel how Mathew seith, how a man made a feste<br>He fedde hem with no venyson, ne fesaunts ybake, <br>But with foweles that fram hym nolde, but folwede his whistlyng<br>Ecce altilia mea et omnia parata sunt - <br>And with calves flessh he fedde the folk that he lovede. <br>'The calf bitokneth clennesse in hem that kepeth lawes; <br>For as the cow thorugh kynde mylk the calf norisseth til an oxe, <br>So love and leaute lele men susteneth; <br>And maidenes and mylde men mercy desiren <br>Right as the cow-calf coveiteth swete melk - <br>So [muche] don rightfulle men mercy and truthe. <br>And by the hond-fedde foweles his folk understonde <br>That looth ben to lovye withouten lernynge of ensaumples. <br>Right as capons in a court cometh to mennes whistlynge - <br>In menynge after mete folweth men that whistlen - <br>Right so rude men that litel reson konneth <br>Loven and bileven by lettred mennes doynges, <br>And by hire wordes and werkes wenen and trowen<br>And as tho foweles to fynde foode after whistlynge, <br>So hope thei to have hevene thorugh hir [wiss]ynge. <br>And the man that made the feste the mageste bymeneth - <br>That is God, of his grace gyveth alle men blisse. <br>With wederes and with wondres he warneth us with a whistlere <br>Where that his wil is, to worshipen us alle, <br>And feden us and festen us for everemoore at oones. <br>'Ac who beth that excuseth hem that arn persons and preestes <br>(That hevedes of Holy Chirche ben) that han hir wil here <br>Withouten travaille the tithe deel that trewe men biswynken - <br>Thei wol be wrooth for I write thus-ac to witnesse I take </div><div style="margin:10px 0">Bothe Mathew and Mark and Memento Domine David<br>Ecce audivimus e[a]m in Effrata . <br>What pope or prelate now parfourneth that Crist highte-<br>Ite in universum mundum et predicate ? <br>'Allas, that men so longe on Makometh sholde bileve! <br>So manye prelates to preche as the Pope maketh - <br>Of Nazareth, of Nynyve, of Neptalym and Damaske. <br>That thei ne wente as Crist wisseth - sithen thei wilne a name - <br>To be pastours and preche the passion of Jesus, <br>And as hymself seide, so to lyve and dye<br>Bonus pastor animam suam ponit , <br>And seide it in salvacion of Sarsens and othere - <br>For Cristene and uncristene, Crist seide to prechours, <br>Ite vos in vineam meam . <br>'And sith that thise Sarsens, scribes and Jewes <br>Han a lippe of oure bileve, the lightloker, me thynketh, . <br>Thei sholde turne, whoso travaile wolde to teche hem of the Trinite<br>Querite et invenietis . <br>For alle paynymes preieth and parfitly bileweth <br>In the [grete holy] God, and his grace asken, <br>And make hir mone to Makometh, hir message to shewe. <br>Thus in a feith leveth that folk, and in a fals mene, <br>And that is routhe for rightful men that in the reawme wonyen, <br>And a peril to the Pope and prelates that he maketh, <br>That bere bisshopes names of Bethleem and Babiloigne. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">'Whan the hye kyng of hevene sente his sone to erthe, <br>Many miracles he wroughte man for to turne, <br>In ensaumple that men sholde se by sadde reson <br>Men myghte noght be saved but thorugh mercy and grace, <br>And thorugh penaunce, and passion, and parfit byleve; <br>And bicam man of a mayde, and metropolitanus, <br>And baptised and bishined with the blode of his herte <br>Alle that wilned and wolde with inwit bileve it. <br>Many a seynt siththen hath suffred to deye, <br>Al for to enforme the feith in fele contrees deyeden - <br>In Inde, and in Alisaundre, in Ermonye and in Spayne, <br>In doelful deth deyeden for hir feith sake. <br>In savacion of the feith Seint Thomas was ymartired<br>Amonges unkynde Cristene for Cristes love he deyede, <br>And for the right of al this reume and alle reumes Cristene. <br>Holy Chirche is honoured heighliche thorugh his deying; <br>He is a forbisene to alle bisshopes and a bright myrour, <br>And sovereynliche to swiche that of Surrye bereth the name, <br>And naught to huppe aboute in Engelond to halwe mennes auteres, <br>And crepe in amonges curatours and confessen ageyn the lawe<br>Nolite mittere falsem in messem alienam . <br>Many man for Cristes love was martired amonges Romaynes <br>Er Cristendom were knowe ther or any cros honoured. <br>'It is ruthe to rede how rihtwise men lyved - </div><div style="margin:10px 0">How thei defouled hir flessh, forsoke hir owene wille, <br>Fer fro kyth and fro kyn yvele yclothed yeden, <br>Baddely ybedded, no book but conscience, <br>Ne no richesse but the roode to rejoisse hem inne<br>Absit nobis gloriari nisi in cruce Domini nostri . <br>'And tho was plentee and pees amonges poore and riche; <br>And now is routhe to rede how the rede noble <br>Is reverenced er the roode, receyved for the worthier <br>Than Cristes cros that overcam deeth and dedly synne. <br>And now is werre and wo, and whoso why asketh - <br>For coveitise after cros; the croune stant in golde. <br>Bothe richc and religious, that roode thei honoure <br>That in grotes is ygrave and in gold nobles. <br>For coveitise of that cros [clerkes] of Holy Kirke <br>Shul torne as Templers dide - the tyme approcheth faste. <br>' [Mynne] ye noght, wise men, how tho men honoured <br>Moore tresor than trouthe? I dar noght telle the sothe; <br>Reson and rightful doom tho religious demede. <br>Right so, ye clerkes, for youre coveitise, er [come aught] longe, <br>Shal thei demen dos ecclesie, and [depose youre pride]<br>Deposuit potentes de sede . <br>'If knyghthod and kynde wit, and the commune and conscience <br>Togideres love leelly, leveth it wel, ye bisshopes - <br>The lordshipe of londes [lese ye shul for evere], <br>And lyven as Levitici, as Oure Lord yow techeth<br>Per primicias et decimas . <br>'Whan Costantyn of curteisie Holy Kirke dowed <br>With londes and ledes, lordshipes and rentes, <br>An aungel men herden an heigh at Rome crye, </div><div style="margin:10px 0">' Dos ecclesie this day hath ydronke venym, <br>And tho that han Petres power arn apoisoned alle!' <br>A medicyne moot therto that may amende prelates, <br>That sholden preie for the pees; possession hem letteth. <br>Taketh hire landes, ye lordes, and leteth hem lyve by dymes; <br>If possession be poison, and inparfite hem make, <br>Good were to deschargen hem for Holy Chirehes sake, <br>And purgen hem of poison, er moore peril falle. <br>If preesthode were parfit, the peple sholde amende, <br>That contrarien Cristes lawe, and Cristendom dispise. <br>'Every bisshop that bereth cros, by that he is holden <br>Thorugh his province to passe, and to his peple to shewe hym, <br>Tellen hem and techen hem on the Trinite to bileve, <br>And feden hem with goostly foode, and nedy folk to fynden. <br>Ac Ysaie of yow speketh and Osias bothe, <br>That no man sholde be bisshop but if he hadde bothe <br>Bodily foode and goostly foode to gyve there it nedeth<br>In domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum, et ideo nolite constituere me regem <br>Osias seith for swiche that sike ben and feble, <br>Inferte omnes decimas in orreum meum, ut sit cibus in domo mea. <br>'Ac we Cristene creatures, that on the cros bileven, <br>Arn ferme as in the feith-Goddes forbode ellis! - <br>And han clerkes to kepen us therinne, and hem that shul come after us. <br>And Jewes lyven in lele lawe-Oure Lord wroot it hymselve <br>In stoon, for it stedefast was, and stonde sholde evere - <br>Dilige Deum et proximum, is parfit Jewen lawe - <br>And teok it Moyses to teche men, til Messie coom <br>And on that lawe thei leve, and leten it for the beste. </div><div style="margin:10px 0">And yit knewe thei Crist, that Cristendom taughte, <br>And for a parfit prophete that muche peple savede <br>Of selkouthe sores; thei seighen it ofte - <br>Bothe of miracles and merveilles, and how he men festede, <br>With two fisshes and fyve loves fyve thousand peple - <br>And by that mangerie thei myghte wel se that Messie he semede; <br>And whan he lifte up Lazar, that leid was in grave, <br>And under stoon deed and stank, with stif vois hym callede, <br>Lazare, veni foras, <br>Dide hym rise and rome right bifore the Jewes. <br>Ac thei seiden and sworen, with sorcerie he wroughte, <br>And studieden to struyen hym - and struyden hemselve, <br>And thorugh his pacience hir power to pure noght he broughte<br>Pacientes vincunt. <br>'Daniel of hire undoynge devyned and seide, <br>Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat cessabit unxio vestra. <br>And yit wenen tho wrecches that he were pseudo-propheta <br>And that his loore be lesynges, and lakken it alle, <br>And hopen that he be to come that shal hem releve - <br>Moyses eft or Messie hir maistres devyneth. <br>'Ac pharisees and sarsens, scribes and Jewes <br>Arn folk of oon feith - the fader God thei honouren. <br>And sithen that the Sarsens and also the Jewes <br>Konne the firste clause of oure bileve, Credo in Deum patrem omnipotentem, <br>Prelates of Cristene provinces sholde preve, if thei myghte, <br>Lere hem litlum and litlum Et in Jesum Chrisium filium, <br>Til thei kouthe speke and spelle Et in Spiritum santum, <br>And rendren it and recorden it with remissionem peccatorum, <br>Carnis resurreccionem et vitam eternam. Amen.'</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=538538" data-title="The Vision Of Piers Plowman - Part 15 de William Langland" data-description="Ac after my wakynge it was wonder longe Er I koude kyndely knowe what was Dowel. And so my wit weex and wanyed til I a fool weere; And some lakked my lif - allowed it fewe - And leten me for a lorel and looth to reverencen Lordes or ladies or..."></div> </div> </div>

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