Passus sextus de Dowel
Allas þat rychesse shal reue and robbe mannes soule
Fro þe loue of oure lord · at his laste ende
Aren euere-more pore / and selde deyeth oute of dette
To dyne ar he deserue hit / when his dyuer LX is doen and his dayes iourne
Thenne may men wyte what he is worth and what he hath deserued
A{n}c nat to fonge byfore for drede dessallowynge
So y sey by ȝow ryche hit semeth nat þat ȝe sholle
Haue two heuenes / for ȝoure here beynge
Muche murthe is in may / amonge wilde bestes
And so forth whiles somur laste here solace duyreth
And moche murthe among ryche men is / þat han meble ynow and hele
And ȝut is wynter for hem worse for weet-shoed þey gone
A-furste and a-fyngered / and foule rebuked
Of this world ryche men þat reuthe is to here
Now lord sende hem somur som-tyme to solace and to ioye
That al here lyf leden in lownesse and in pouerte
For al myhtest þou haue y-mad / men of grete welthe
And yliche witty and wys / and lyue with-oute nede
Ac for þe beste as y hope aren som pore and ryche
And make vs alle meke lowe and lele and louynge and of herte pore
And sende vs contricion / to clanse with oure soules
And confessioun to kulle / alle kyne synnes
And satisfaccioun þe whiche / folfilleth þe fader will of heuene
And these ben dowel and dobet C / and dobest of alle
And oris confessio / þat cometh of shrifte of mouthe
And satisfaccion þat for soules paieth / and for alle synnes quyteth
¶ Cordis contricio / Oris confessio / Operis satisfaccio
Thise thre with-oute doute / tholieth alle pouerte
And lereth lewed and lered / hey and lowe to knowe
Ho doth wel or bet / or beste aboue alle
And holy churche and charite / her-of a chartre made
And bote these thre þat y spak of / at domes-day vs defende
Elles is al an ydel / al oure lyuynge here
Oure preyeres and oure penances / And pilgrimages to Rome
Bote oure spensis and oure spendyng sprynge of atrewe / a trewe welle
In fenestres at þe freres / yf fals be þe fondement
For-thy cristene sholde be in comune ryche noon coueytous for hym-sulue
For seuene synnes þat þer ben / þat assoilen vs euere
The fend folleweth hem alle / and fondeth hem to helpe
Ac with rychesse tho rybaudes / rathest men bigileth
For þat rychesses regneth / reuerences folleweth
And þat is plesant to pruyde / in pore and in ryche
And þe ryche is reuerenced by resoun of his rychesse
There þe pore is potte by-hynde / and parauntur can more
Of wit and of wisdoem þat ferway is bettere
Then rychesse or ryalte / and rather y-herde in heuene
For þe ryche hath moche to rykene / and riht softe walketh
The hey way to heueneward / he halt hit nat fol euene
There þe pore preseth byfore / with a pak at his rugge
¶ Opera eorum sequntur / seq[u]untur illos
Batauntliche as beggares doen / and baldeliche he craueth
For his pouerte and his pacience / perpetuel ioye
And pruyde in rychesse regneth rather then in pouerte
Or in þe mayster or in þe man / som mansion he haueth
Ac in pouerte þer pacience is / pruyde hath no myhte
Ne none of þe seuene synnes / sitte ne may þer longe
Ne haue power in pouerte / yf pacience hym folewe
For þe pore is ay prest / to plese þe ryche
And buxum at his biddyng / for his breed and his drynke
And ayther hateth oþer and may nat wone to-gyderes
Yf wrathe wrastle with þe pore / he hath þe worse ende
For yf they bothe pleyne / the pore is bote feble
And yf he chyde or chattere / hym cheueth þe worse
For louelyche he loketh / and lowe is his speche
That mete or moneye of straunge men moet begge
And yf glotonye greue pouerte / ho gadereth þe lasse
For his rentes wol nat reche / ryche metes to bugge
And thogh his glotonye be of gode ale / he goth to acolde / a colde beddynge
For when he streyneth hym to strecche / the strawe is his shetes
So for his glotonye / and his grete synne
He hath a greuous penaunce / þat is welowo
When he awaketh and wepeth for colde
So he is neuere merye / so meschief hym folleweth
And thogh coueytyse wolde with þe pore w{a}rastle / they may nat come to-gyderes
And by þe nekke namelyche / here noen may henten other
¶ For men knowen wel þat coueytise / is of a kene will
And hath hondes and Armes / of a longe lenthe
And pouerte is bote a pety thyng / appereth nat to his nauele
And louely layk was hit neuere / bytwene alonge / a longe and a short one
And thogh Auaryce wolde Angry pouerte / he hath bote lytel myhte
For pouerte hath bote pokes / to potten in his godes
There Auaryce hath almaries / and yrebounden coffres
And where be bettere to breke / lasse boest hit maketh
To breke abeggares / a beggares bagge / then an yrebounden coffre
¶ And lecherye loueth no pore / for he hath bote litel siluer
Ne doth men dyne delitcatlyche / ne drynke wyne ofte
A straw for the stuyues hit stoed nat / hadde they noen haunt bote of pore
And thow sleuthe sewe pouerte / and serue nat god to paye
Myschief is ay amene / a mene / and maketh hym to thenke
That god is his gretteste helpe / and no gome elles
And in þat secte oure saueour saued al mankynde
For-thy alle pore þat pacient is / of puyr rihte may claymen
Aftur here endynge here heueneryche blisse
Moche hardyore may he aske / þat here myhte haue his wille
In lond and in lordschipe in lykynge of body
And for goddes loue leueth al / and lyueth as a beggare
As a mayde for amannes / a mannes loue / here moder forsoke
Here fader and alle here frendes / and goth forth with here paramours
Moche is suche amayde / a mayde to louye / of aman / a man þat such oen taketh
More then þat mayde is / þat is maried by brocage
As by assente of sondry persones / and suluer to bote
More for coueytise of catel / then kynde loue of þe mariage
So hit fareth by vch aperson / a person þat possession forsaketh
And potte hym to be pacient / and pouerte weddeth
The whiche is syb to crist sulue / and semblable bothe
Quod Actyf tho al Angryliche / and Arguinge As hit were
What is pouerte pacience quod he / y preye þat thow telle hit
Remocio curarum posessio sine calumpnia
donum dei sanitatis mater / absque solitudine semita
Sapiencie temporatrix / temp[e]ratrix / negocium sine dampno
Incerta fortuna absque solicitudine felicitas
Y can nat construe al this quod Actiua vita
Parfay quod pacience propreliche to telle hit
Al this in engelysch hit is ful hard / Ac sumdel y shal telle the
Pouerte is the furste poynte þat pruyde moest hateth
Thenne is pouerte goed by goed skill thouh hit greue alitel / a litel
Al þat may potte of pruyde / in eny place þer he regneth
¶ Remocio curarum selde syt pouerte þe soth to declare
Or a iustice to iuge men / me enioyneth þerto no pore
Ne to be amair / a mair ouer men / ne mynistre vnder kynges
Selde is eny pore y-pot / to penesche eny peple
¶ Nolite iudicare quemquam / possessio sine calumpnia
Selde is þe pore rihte ryche / but of his rihtfole eritage
Ne boreweth of his neyhebore / but þat he may wel {may wel} paye
And me leneth lyhtly fewe men / and me wene hem pore
The furthe hit is A fortune þat florischeth þe soule
With sobrete fro alle synnes / and also ȝut more
Hit defendeth þe flesche fram folies ful monye
A collateral confort / crists oune sonde
¶ donum dei ȝut is hit moder of myhte / and of mannes helthe
And frende in alle fondynges / and of foule eueles leche sanitatis mater
The sixte hit is apath / a path of pees / ȝe thorwe þe pase of Aultoun
Pouerte myhte passe / with-oute perel of robbynge
For þer as pouerte passeth / pes folleweth comunely
And euere þe lasse þat on lede / þe lihtere his herte is there
As he þat woet neuere with wham / on nyhtes tyme to mete
Seneca pauper est absque solicitudine semita
The seuethe is a welle of wysdoem / and fewe wordes sheweth
For lordes alloueth hym litel / or leggeth ere to his resoun
A LX tempreth þe tonge to treuthward / þat no tresor coueyteth
The eyȝte hit is alel / a lel labour / and loeth to take more
Then he may sothly deserue in somur or in wynter
And thogh he chaffare he chargeth no loes / may he carite wynne
¶ Negocium sine dampno
The nythe hit is swete to soules / ne no sucre swettore
For pacience is his paniter and pouerte payn here fyndeth
And sobrete ȝeueth here swete drynke / and solaceth here in all angrys
Thus lered me alered / a lered man / for oure lordes loue seynt Austyn
That puyre pouerte and pacience / was alouh / a louh lyuynge on erthe
A blessed lyf withoute bisinesse / bote onelyche for þe soule
¶ Absque solicitudine felicitas
Now god þat al gyueth / graunte his soule reste
That wroet th{o}us to wisse men / what pouerte was to mene
A LX knewe Consience ful wel / and clergie bothe
He þat hath lond and lordschipe quod he / at þe laste ende
Shal be porest of power / at his partynge hennes
Thenne hadde y wonder what he was þat leberum / l[i]berum Arbitrium
And preyde pacience þat y apose hym moste
And he soffrede me and saide / assay his oþer name
Leue liberum arbitrium quod y / of what lond ar ȝe
And yf thow be cristes creature / for cristes loue telle me
Y am cristes creature quod he / and cristene in mony aplace / a place
And in cristes court y-knowe wel / and of his kynne aparty / a party
Is noþer Peter the porter ne poul with the fauchen
That wol defende me heuene dore / dynge y neuere so late
At mydnyhte at myday / my vois is so y-knowe
That vch a creature þat loueth crist / welcometh me faire
Whare-of serue ȝe y saide sir liberum arbitrium
Of som tyme to fihte quod he / falsnesse to destruye
And som tyme to soffre / bothe tene and sorwe
Layk or leue / at my lykyng chese
To do wel or wykke / a will with aresoun / a resoun
And may nat be with-oute a body / to bere me where {ly}hym liketh
Bote as wode were a-fuyre / thenne worcheth bothe
And ayther is otheres hete / and also of o will
And so is man þat hath his mynde myd liberum Arbitrium
And whiles y quyke þe cors / y-cald am y Anima
And when y wilne and wolde Animus y hatte
And when y make mone to god / Memoria y hatte
And when y deme domes / and do as treuthe techeth
Thenne ys racio my rihte name / reson an englische
And when y fele þat folke telleth / my furste name is sensus
And þat is wit and wysdoem the welle of alle craftes
And when y chalenge nat / chepe or refuse
Thenne am y Concience y-cald / goddes Clerk and his notarie
And when y wol do or do nat / gode dedes or ille
Thenne am y liberum Arbitrium / As lered men telleth
And when y louye lelly / oure lord and alle oþere
Thenne is lele loue my name / and in latyn Amor
And when y fle fro þe body / and feye leue þe caroyne
Thenne am y spirit speche-lees / and spiritus then y hote
Austyn and ysodorus either of hem bothe
Nempned me thus to name / now þou myhte chese
dum sinificat / si[g]nificat corpus / Anima est / dum vult / animus est
dum recolit memoria est / dum / iudicat racio est
dum sentit sensus est / dum Amat / Amor est
dum declina / declina[t] de malo ad bonum / liberum Arbitrium est
dum negat vel consentit / consiencia est / dum sperat spiritus est
Ȝe beth as abischop / a bischop quod y / al bourdynge þat tyme
For biss{p}hopes y-blessed / they bereth many names
Presul and Pontifex / and metropolanus / metropol[it]anus
And oþere names an heep / Episcopus and pastor
That is soth he sayde / now y se thy wille
Thow woldest knowe and conne / þe cause of all here names
And of myn yf thow myhteste me thynketh by thy speche
Ȝe sire y sayde by so no man were y-greued
Alle þe sciences vnder sonne / and alle þe sotil craftes
Y wolde y knewe and couthe kyndeliche in yn herte
Thenne artow in{f}parfit quod he / and oen of pruydes knyhtes
For such a lust and lykynge / lucifer ful fram heuene
¶ Ponam pedem meum in Aquilone & cetera
Hit were aȝeyns kynde quod he / and alle kyne resoun
That eny creature sholde conne al / excepte crist one
Aȝenes alle suche salamon speketh / and despiseth here wittes
And sayth sicut qui mel comedit multum / non est ei bonum
¶ Sic scrutator est magestatis / opprimatur a gloria
To engelische men this is to mene / þat mowen speke and here
The man þat moche hony eet / his mawe hit engleymeth
The wittore / witt[i]ore þat eny wihte is / but yf he worche þeraftur
The bittorere he shal a-bugge / but yf he wel worche
Beatus saith seynt Bernard / qui scripturas legit
¶ et verba vertit in opera / emforth his power
Coueytyse to conne / and to knowe sciences
Potte out of paradys / Adam and Eue
Sciencie appetitus hominem in-mortalitatis gloriam spoliauit
And riht as hony / is euel to defie
Riht so sothly sciences / swelleth amannes / a mannes soule
And doth hym to be deynous / and deme þat beth nat lered
Laste synne of pruyde wexe
Freres fele tymes / to þe folk þer they prechen
Mouen motyues mony tymes insolibles and falaes
That bothe lewed and lered / of here beleue douten
To teche þe ten comaundementz / tensythe / ten sythe were bettere
And thorw that folk folliche / here fyue wittes myspenenen / myspene[n]
As wel freres as oþere folk / foliliche spenden
In housynge in helynge in holy clergie schewynge
More for pompe and pruyde / as þe peple woet wel
That y lye nat / loo for lordes ȝe plese
And reuerence þe ryche þe rather for here suluer
Aȝen þe consayl of crist / as holy clergie witnesseth
¶ Ne sitis Acceptores / personarum
Lo what holy writ wittnesseth / of wikkede techares
As holinesse and honestee / out of holy churche
Thorw parfit preest-hoed and prelates of of / [of] holychurche / holy churche
Riht oute of holychurche / holy churche al euel spredeth
There inparfit preest-hoed is / prechares and techares
And so hit by ensample / In somur-tyme on trees
Þere som bowes bereth leues / and som bereth none
Tho bowes þat bereth nat / and beth nat grene y-leued
There is a meschief in þe more / of suche manere stokkes
Riht so persones and prestes / and prechours of holy churche
Is þe rote of rihte fayth / to reule þe peple
Ac þer þe rote is roton / resoun woet þe sothe
Shal neuere flour ne fruyt wexe / ne fayre leue be grene
And be corteys and kynde / of holy kyrke godes
Parte with þe pore / and ȝoure pruyde leue
And þerto trewe of ȝoure tonge / and of ȝoure tayl also
And hatien harlotrie / and to vnderfonge þe tythes
Of vsererus of hores / of alle euel wynnynges
And amenden of here mysdedes more for ensaumples
Then for to prechen and preue hit nat / ypocrisye hit semeth
Ypocrisye is abraunche / a braunche of pruyde / and most amonges clerkes
And is y-likned in latyn / to alothly / a lothly donghep
Or to a wal y-whitlymed / and were blak with-ynne
Riht so many prestes / prechours and prelates
That ben enblaunched / with bele paroles and with bele clothes
And as lambes they loke / and ly{.}uen as wolues
Sicut de templo omne bonum progreditur / sic de templo omne malum procedit
Si sacerdocium integrum fuerit / tota floret ecclesia
Si Autem corupta fuerit / omnium fedes / f[i]des marcida est
Si sacerdocium fuerit in peccatis / totus populus conuertitur ad peccandum
Sicut cum viderit / videri[s] Arborem pallidam & marcidam / intelligis quod vicium habet in radice
Ita cum videris populum indissiplinatum & irreligiosum sine dubio sacerdocium eius non est sanum
Allas lewed men moche lese ȝe þat fynde
Vnkunnynge curatours / to be kepares of ȝoure soules
Ac thyng þat wykkedliche is wonne / and with fals sleythes
Wolde neuere oþerwyse god / but wikkede men hit hadde
As inparfiteprestesinparfite prestes / and prechours afur suluer
Seketours and sodenes C / somnours and here lemmanes
And þat with gyle was gete vngraciousliche be y-spened
Curatours of holychurche / holy churche / and clerkes þat ben Auerous
Lihtliche þat they leue / loseles hit deuoureth
Leueth hit wel lordes / both / lewed and lered
That thus goth here godes / at þe laste ende
That lyuen aȝen holy lore / and þe loue of charite
¶ Charite quod y tho þat is a thyng for-sothe
That maistres commenden moche / where may hit be yfounde
Ich haue yleued in londone / monye longe ȝeres
And fonde y neuere in faith / as freres hit precheth
Charite þat chargeth nauht / ne chyt thow me greue hym
As poul in his pistul / of hym bereth wittenesse
¶ Non inflatur non est Ambiciosa
I · knewe neuere by Crist / clerk noþer lewed
That he ne askede aftur his / and oþere-whiles coueytede
For thogh me souhte alle þe sektes / of susturne and of brethurne
And fynde hym but fuguratyfly / f[i]guratyfly / a ferly me thynketh
¶ Hic in enigmate / tunc facie ad faciem
And so y trowe treuly / by þat me telleth of charite
Charite is a childische thyng / as holy churche witnesseth
¶ Nisi efficiamini sicut & paruuli & cetera
As proud of a peny / as of a pounde of golde
And as glad of a goune / of a gray russet
As of a cote of cannaca / ca[mm]aca / or of clene scarlet
He is glad with alle glade / as gurles þat lawhen alle
And sory when he seth men sory / as thow seest childerne
Lawhe þer men lawheth / and loure þer oþere louren
And when aman / a man swereth for soth / for sooth he hit troweth
Weneth he þat no wyhte / wolde lye and swerie
Ne þat eny gome wolde / gyle oþere ne greue
For drede of god þat so goed is / And thus gates vs techeth
¶ Quodcumque vultis vt faci{c}ant P vobis homines facite eis
Hath he no lykynge to lawhe / ne to likene men to scorne
Alle seknesses and sorwes / for solaces he hit taketh
And alle manere meschiefs / as munstracie of heuene
Of deth ne of derthe drad he neuere
Ne mysliked thogh he lore / or leued þat ilke
That neuere payed peny aȝeyn in places þer he borwede
Of rentes ne of oþere rychesse / ne reccheth he neuere
A frende he hath þat fynd hym / þat faylede hym neuere
Oen aperis tu manum / alle thynges hym fyndeth
¶ Fiat voluntas tua / festeth hym vch a daye
And also a LX can clergie credo in deum patrem
And purtraye wel þe pater noster / and peynten hit with Auees
There pore men and prisones ben and paye for here fode
Clotheth hem and conforteth hem / and of Crist precheth hem
What sorwe he soffrede / in ensaumple of vs alle
That pouerte and penaunce pacientlyche y-take
Worth moche meryte to þat man / þat hit may P soffre
And when he hath visited thus fetured folk and oþer folke pore
Thenne ȝerneth he in-to ȝouthe / and ȝeepliche he secheth
pruyde with alle purtinaunces / and pakketh hem to-gyderes
And laueth hem in þe lauendrie / laboraui in gemitu meo T
Bouketh hem at his breste / and beteth hit ofte
And with warm water of his yes / woketh hit til he white
¶ Lauabis me & super niuem dealbabor
¶ Cor contritum & humiliatum deus non despicies
Were y with hym {c}by Criest / Cr[i]st quod y / y wolde neuere fro hym
Thogh y my byliue sholde begge / a-boute at menne hacches
Where clerkes knowe hym nat quod y / þat kepen holy churche
Peres the plouhman quod he moste parfitlyche hym knoweth
¶ Et vidit deus cogitaciones eorum
By clothyng ne by carpynge / knowe shaltow hym neuere
Ac thorw werkes thow myhte wyte / wherforth he walketh
¶ Operibus credite
He {n}is þe murieste of mouthe at mete þer he sitteth
And compenable in companye as Crist hym-sulue techeth
¶ Nolite tristes fieri sicut ypocrite
Bothe in gray and in grys / and in gult harneys
And also gladliche he hit gaf / to gomes þat hit nedede
Edmond and Edward / ayþer were seyntes
¶ Ich haue y-seye charite also / syngen and rede
Ryden and rennen in raggede clothes
Ac biddyng als a beggare / by-helde y hym neuere
Ac in riche robes rathest he walketh
Y-called and y-crimyled and his croune y-shaue
And in a frere flokke T he was founde ones
Ac hit is fer and fele ȝer in franceys tyme
In sekte sethe / to selde hath he be founde
Riche men a LX recomendeth / and of robes taketh
Of tho that lelelyche lyuen / and louen and by-leuen
Beatus est diues sine macula
For braulyng and bacbitynge / and berynge of fals witnesse
For ouer-long is here lawe / but yf þay lacche suluer
Ac auaris oþer-whiles / halt hym with-oute þe gate
Kyngels / Kynge[s] and Cardynals / knewen hym sum-tyme
Ac thorw Coueytyse and his consaile / y-congeyed is he ofte
And ho-so coueyteth to knowe / such a kynde hym foloweth
As y tolde þe with tonge / alitel / a litel tyme y-passed
For noþer he ne beggeth ne biddeth / ne borweth to ȝelde
He halt hit for a vyce / and a foule shame
To begge or to borwe / but of god one
Panem nostrum cotidianum P / & cetera
// notate ȝe ry-
che men
che men
+ C
nota
notate bene
// What is liberum
arbitrium
arbitrium
nota bene
// beth war of
þis lered &
lewed
þis lered &
lewed
Charyte
passus
// Charyte was
wyth freres
wyth freres
de
corrigitur
// Hyere ȝe may se
it is god to be
pouere
it is god to be
pouere
corrigitur
corrigitur
// lo how freris
prechen fallas
& cetera
prechen fallas
& cetera
// notate de wikkyde
techeres
techeres
notate omnes C
And as glad of a goune
corrigitur
· 6tus ·
do-wel