Canterbury Tales (Middle English) — The Parson's Tale - Part 4
659. E.
Ln.
it is a; _rest_ is a. § 51. The firste grevance is of wikkede wordes; thilke suffrede Iesu Crist with-outen grucching, ful paciently, whan the Iewes despysed and repreved him ful ofte.
/ Suffre thou therfore paciently; for the wyse man seith: ‘if thou stryve with a [612] fool, though the fool be wrooth or though he laughe, algate thou shalt have no reste.
’ / That other grevance outward is to have damage of thy catel.
Ther-agayns suffred Crist ful paciently, whan he was despoyled of al that he hadde in this lyf, and that nas but hise clothes.
/665 The thridde grevance is a man to have harm in his body.
That suffred Crist ful paciently in al his passioun.
/ The fourthe grevance is in outrageous labour in werkes.
Wherfore I seye, that folk that maken hir servants to travaillen to grevously, or out of tyme, as on halydayes, soothly they do greet sinne.
/ Heer-agayns suffred Crist ful paciently, and taughte us pacience, whan he bar up-on his blissed shulder the croys, up-on which he sholde suffren despitous deeth.
/ Heer may men lerne to be pacient; for certes, noght only Cristen men been pacient for love of Iesu Crist, and for guerdoun of the blisful lyf that is perdurable; but certes, the olde payens, that nevere were Cristene, commendeden and useden the vertu of pacience.
/ 668. E.
baar.
Cm.
Ln.
cros.
669. Hl.
Pt.
Ln.
guerdoun; E. Cm.
gerdoun; Hn.
gerdon.
E.
p_er_durale.
§ 52. A philosophre up-on a tyme, that wolde have beten his disciple for his grete trespas, for which he was greetly amoeved, and broghte a yerde to scourge the child; /670 and whan this child saugh the yerde, he seyde to his maister, ‘what thenke ye to do?
’ ‘I wol bete thee,’ quod the maister, ‘for thy correccion.
’ / ‘For sothe,’ quod the child, ‘ye oghten first correcte youre-self, that han lost al youre pacience for the gilt of a child.
’ / ‘For sothe,’ quod the maister al wepinge, ‘thou seyst sooth; have thou the yerde, my dere sone, and correcte me for myn inpacience.
’ / Of Pacience comth Obedience, thurgh which a man is obedient to Crist and to alle hem to whiche he oghte to been obedient in Crist.
/ And understond wel that obedience is perfit, whan that a man doth gladly and hastily, with good herte entierly, al that he sholde do.
/675 Obedience generally, is to perfourne the doctrine of god and of his sovereyns, to whiche him oghte to ben obeisaunt in alle rightwysnesse.
/ 670. Hn.
scourge; E. scoure with; _rest_ scoure(!
).
671. Cm.
Hl.
to do; E. do.
Pt.
Ln.
what wil ye do.
=Sequitur de Accidia.
= § 53. After the sinnes of Envie and of Ire, now wol I speken of the sinne of Accidie.
For Envye blindeth the herte of a man, [613] and Ire troubleth a man; and Accidie maketh him hevy, thoghtful, and wrawe.
/ Envye and Ire maken bitternesse in herte; which bitternesse is moder of Accidie, and binimeth him the love of alle goodnesse.
Thanne is Accidie the anguissh of a trouble herte; and seint Augustin seith: ‘it is anoy of goodnesse and Ioye of harm.
’ / Certes, this is a dampnable sinne; for it doth wrong to Iesu Crist, in-as-muche as it binimeth the service that men oghte doon to Crist with alle diligence, as seith Salomon.
/ But Accidie dooth no swich diligence; he dooth alle thing with anoy, and with wrawnesse, slaknesse, and excusacioun, and with ydelnesse and unlust; for which the book seith: ‘acursed be he that doth the service of god necligently.
’ /680 Thanne is Accidie enemy to everich estaat of man; for certes, the estaat of man is in three maneres.
/ Outher it is thestaat of innocence, as was thestaat of Adam biforn that he fil into sinne; in which estaat he was holden to wirche, as in heryinge and adouringe of god.
/ Another estaat is the estaat of sinful men, in which estaat men been holden to laboure in preyinge to god for amendement of hir sinnes, and that he wole graunte hem to arysen out of hir sinnes.
/ Another estaat is thestaat of grace, in which estaat he is holden to werkes of penitence; and certes, to alle thise thinges is Accidie enemy and contrarie.
For he loveth no bisinesse at al. / Now certes, this foule sinne Accidie is eek a ful greet enemy to the lyflode of the body; for it ne hath no purveaunce agayn temporel necessitee; for it forsleweth and forsluggeth, and destroyeth alle goodes temporeles by reccheleesnesse.
/685 677. Selden, Pt.
Ln.
sinnes; _rest_ synne.
E.
_om.
_ a _after_ herte of.
E.
wrawful; Pt.
wrowe; _rest_ wrawe.
678. E.
Hl.
_om.
_ a. E.
troubled.
683. E.
_om.
_ the.
685. sinne] E. swyn.
E.
temporeel (for temporel).
§ 54. The fourthe thinge is, that Accidie is lyk to hem that been in the peyne of helle, by-cause of hir slouthe and of hir hevinesse; for they that been dampned been so bounde, that they ne may neither wel do ne wel thinke.
/ Of Accidie comth first, that a man is anoyed and encombred for to doon any goodnesse, and maketh that god hath abhominacion of swich Accidie, as seith seint Iohan.
/ 687. E.
_om.
_ as ...
Iohan.
§ 55. Now comth Slouthe, that wol nat suffre noon hardnesse ne no penaunce.
For soothly, Slouthe is so tendre, and so delicat, as seith Salomon, that he wol nat suffre noon hardnesse ne penaunce, and therfore he shendeth al that he dooth.
/ Agayns [614] this roten-herted sinne of Accidie and Slouthe sholde men exercise hem-self to doon gode werkes, and manly and vertuously cacchen corage wel to doon; thinkinge that oure lord Iesu Crist quyteth every good dede, be it never so lyte.
/ Usage of labour is a greet thing; for it maketh, as seith seint Bernard, the laborer to have stronge armes and harde sinwes; and Slouthe maketh hem feble and tendre.
/690 Thanne comth drede to biginne to werke any gode werkes; for certes, he that is enclyned to sinne, him thinketh it is so greet an empryse for to undertake to doon werkes of goodnesse, / and casteth in his herte that the circumstaunces of goodnesse been so grevouse and so chargeaunt for to suffre, that he dar nat undertake to do werkes of goodnesse, as seith seint Gregorie.
/ 688. E.
delicaat.
691. E.
anye.
§ 56. Now comth wanhope, that is despeir of the mercy of god, that comth somtyme of to muche outrageous sorwe, and somtyme of to muche drede;
imagininge that he hath doon so muche sinne, that it wol nat availlen him, though he wolde repenten him and forsake sinne: / thurgh which despeir or drede he abaundoneth al his herte to every maner sinne, as seith seint Augustin.
/ Which dampnable sinne, if that it continue un-to his ende, it is cleped sinning in the holy gost.
/695 This horrible sinne is so perilous, that he that is despeired, ther nis no felonye ne no sinne that he douteth for to do; as shewed wel by Iudas.
/ Certes, aboven alle sinnes thanne is this sinne most displesant to Crist, and most adversarie.
/ Soothly, he that despeireth him is lyk the coward champioun recreant, that seith creant withoute nede.
Allas!
allas!
nedeles is he recreant and nedeles despeired.
/ Certes, the mercy of god is evere redy to every penitent, and is aboven alle hise werkes.
/ Allas!
can nat a man bithinke him on the gospel of seint Luk, 15. , where-as Crist seith that ‘as wel shal ther be Ioye in hevene upon a sinful man that doth penitence, as up-on nynety and nyne rightful men that neden no penitence?
’ /700 Loke forther, in the same gospel, the Ioye and the feste of the gode man that hadde lost his sone, whan his sone with repentaunce was retourned to his fader.
/ Can they nat remembren hem eek, that, as seith seint Luk _xxiii_º _capitulo_, how that the theef that was hanged [615] bisyde Iesu Crist, seyde: ‘Lord, remembre of me, whan thou comest in-to thy regne?
’ / ‘For sothe,’ seyde Crist, ‘I seye to thee, to-day shaltow been with me in Paradys.
’ / Certes, ther is noon so horrible sinne of man, that it ne may, in his lyf, be destroyed by penitence, thurgh vertu of the passion and of the deeth of Crist.
/ Allas!
what nedeth man thanne to been despeired, sith that his mercy so redy is and large?
Axe and have.
/705 Thanne cometh Sompnolence, that is, sluggy slombringe, which maketh a man be hevy and dul, in body and in soule; and this sinne comth of Slouthe.
/ And certes, the tyme that, by wey of resoun, men sholde nat slepe, that is by the morwe; but-if ther were cause resonable.
/ For soothly, the morwe-tyde is most covenable, a man to seye his preyeres, and for to thinken on god, and for to honoure god, and to yeven almesse to the povre, that first cometh in the name of Crist.
/ Lo!
what seith Salomon: ‘who-so wolde by the morwe awaken and seke me, he shal finde.
’ / Thanne cometh Necligence, or recchelesnesse, that rekketh of no-thing.
And how that ignoraunce be moder of alle harm, certes, Necligence is the norice.
/710 Necligence ne doth no fors, whan he shal doon a thing, whether he do it weel or baddely.
/ 696. E.
sheweth.
698. E.
_om.
_ that seith ...
recreant.
Hl.
recreaunt (_for_ creant).
700. E.
a man nat; Pt.
a man not.
Hl.
as vp-on; _rest_ than vp-on.
Hl.
Selden, nynety and nyne; _rest_ 90 and 19(!
).
702. _All but_ Seld.
Ln.
_om.
_ capitulo.
Seld.
Pt.
Ln.
on me.
706. E.
Seld.
sloggy; Ln.
slogge.
707. E.
_om.
_ the morwe.
711. E.
wheither.
§ 57. Of the remedie of thise two sinnes, as seith the wyse man, that ‘he that dredeth god, he spareth nat to doon that him oghte doon.
’ / And he that loveth god, he wol doon diligence to plese god by his werkes, and abaundone him-self, with al his might, wel for to doon.
/ Thanne comth ydelnesse, that is the yate of alle harmes.
An ydel man is lyk to a place that hath no walles; the develes may entre on every syde and sheten at him at discovert, by temptacion on every syde.
/ This ydelnesse is the thurrok of alle wikked and vileyns thoghtes, and of alle Iangles, trufles, and of alle ordure.
/715 Certes, the hevene is yeven to hem that wol labouren, and nat to ydel folk.
Eek David seith: that ‘they ne been nat in the labour of men, ne they shul nat been whipped with men,’ that is to seyn, in purgatorie.
/ Certes, thanne semeth it, they shul be tormented with the devel in helle, but-if they doon penitence.
/ 715. Hl.
tryfles; Seld.
triflis.
§ 58. Thanne comth the sinne that men clepen _Tarditas_, as whan a man is to latrede or taryinge, er he wole turne to god; and [616] certes, that is a greet folye.
He is lyk to him that falleth in the dich, and wol nat aryse.
/ And this vyce comth of a fals hope, that he thinketh that he shal live longe; but that hope faileth ful ofte.
/ 718. Cm.
Pt.
Ln.
Hl.
so (_for_ to).
E.
Cm.
laterede; Hl.
Seld.
latrede; Pt.
lattred; Ln.
latred.
§ 59. Thanne comth Lachesse; that is he, that whan he biginneth any good werk, anon he shal forleten it and stinten; as doon they that han any wight to governe, and ne taken of him na-more kepe, anon as they finden any contrarie or any anoy.
/720 Thise been the newe shepherdes, that leten hir sheep witingly go renne to the wolf that is in the breres, or do no fors of hir owene governaunce.
/ Of this comth poverte and destruccioun, bothe of spirituel and temporel thinges.
Thanne comth a manere coldnesse, that freseth al the herte of man.
/ Thanne comth undevocioun, thurgh which a man is so blent, as seith Seint Bernard, and hath swiche langour in soule, that he may neither rede ne singe in holy chirche, ne here ne thinke of no devocioun, ne travaille with hise handes in no good werk, that it nis him unsavory and al apalled.
/ Thanne wexeth he slow and slombry, and sone wol be wrooth, and sone is enclyned to hate and to envye.
/ Thanne comth the sinne of worldly sorwe, swich as is cleped _tristicia_, that sleeth man, as seint Paul seith.
/725 For certes, swich sorwe werketh to the deeth of the soule and of the body also; for ther-of comth, that a man is anoyed of his owene lyf.
/ Wherfore swich sorwe shorteth ful ofte the lyf of a man, er that his tyme be come by wey of kinde.
/ 722. E.
spiritueel; temporeel.
E.
Pt.
of a man.
723. E.
_om.
_ so.
blent] Ln.
blonte; Hl.
blunt.
724. E.
slough (for slow).
725. Cm.
swich as; Hl.
such as; E. which as.
=Remedium contra peccatum Accidie.
= § 60. Agayns this horrible sinne of Accidie, and the branches of the same, ther is a vertu that is called _Fortitudo_ or Strengthe; that is, an affeccioun thurgh which a man despyseth anoyous thinges.
/ This vertu is so mighty and so vigorous, that it dar withstonde mightily and wysely kepen him-self fro perils that been wikked, and wrastle agayn the assautes of the devel.
/ For it enhaunceth and enforceth the soule, right as Accidie abateth it and maketh it feble.
For this _Fortitudo_ may endure by long suffraunce the travailles that been covenable.
/730 727. E.
Cm.
of man; Seld.
of men; _rest_ of a man.
728. E.
anoyouse;
Cm.
noyouse; _rest_ noyous.
729. E.
Cm.
vigerous.
730. E.
fieble.
Hl.
conuenables.
[617] § 61. This vertu hath manye speces; and the firste is cleped Magnanimitee, that is to seyn, greet corage.
For certes, ther bihoveth greet corage agains Accidie, lest that it ne swolwe the soule by the sinne of sorwe, or destroye it by wanhope.
/ This vertu maketh folk to undertake harde thinges and grevouse thinges, by hir owene wil, wysely and resonably.
/ And for as muchel as the devel fighteth agayns a man more by queyntise and by sleighte than by strengthe, therfore men shal withstonden him by wit and by resoun and by discrecioun.
/ Thanne arn ther the vertues of feith, and hope in god and in hise seintes, to acheve and acomplice the gode werkes in the whiche he purposeth fermely to continue.
/ Thanne comth seuretee or sikernesse;
and that is, whan a man ne douteth no travaille in tyme cominge of the gode werkes that a man hath bigonne.
/735 Thanne comth Magnificence, that is to seyn, whan a man dooth and perfourneth grete werkes of goodnesse that he hath bigonne; and that is the ende why that men sholde do gode werkes; for in the acomplissinge of grete goode werkes lyth the grete guerdoun.
/ Thanne is ther Constaunce, that is, stablenesse of corage; and this sholde been in herte by stedefast feith, and in mouth, and in beringe, and in chere and in dede.
/ Eke ther been mo speciale remedies agains Accidie, in diverse werkes, and in consideracioun of the peynes of helle, and of the Ioyes of hevene, and in trust of the grace of the holy goost, that wole yeve him might to perfourne his gode entente.
/ 731. E.
Magnificence (_by error; with_ Of Magnanimitee _in the margin_).
732. E.
wesely (_for_ wysely).
736. E.
_om.
_ that he hath bigonne.
E.
gerdo_u_n.
737. E.
chiere.
=Sequitur de Auaricia.
= § 62. After Accidie wol I speke of Avarice and of Coveitise, of which sinne seith seint Paule, that ‘the rote of alle harmes is Coveitise’: _Ad Timotheum, sexto capitulo_.
/ For soothly, whan the herte of a man is confounded in it-self and troubled, and that the soule hath lost the confort of god, thanne seketh he an ydel solas of worldly thinges.
/740 739. Pt.
_Capitulo_; _rest om.
_ § 63. Avarice, after the descripcion of seint Augustin, is likerousnesse in herte to have erthely thinges.
/ Som other folk seyn, that Avarice is, for to purchacen manye erthely thinges, and nothing yeve to hem that han nede.
/ And understond, that Avarice ne stant nat only in lond ne catel, but somtyme in science [618] and in glorie, and in every manere of outrageous thing is Avarice and Coveitise.
/ And the difference bitwixe Avarice and Coveitise is this.
Coveitise is for to coveite swiche thinges as thou hast nat; and Avarice is for to withholde and kepe swiche thinges as thou hast, with-oute rightful nede.
/ Soothly, this Avarice is a sinne that is ful dampnable; for al holy writ curseth it, and speketh agayns that vyce; for it dooth wrong to Iesu Crist.
/745 For it bireveth him the love that men to him owen, and turneth it bakward agayns alle resoun; / and maketh that the avaricious man hath more hope in his catel than in Iesu Crist, and dooth more observance in kepinge of his tresor than he dooth to service of Iesu Crist.
/ And therfore seith seint Paul _ad Ephesios, quinto_, that ‘an avaricious man is in the thraldom of ydolatrie.
’ / 743. E.
vnderstoond.
748. E.
Hl.
_om.
_ in _after_ is; Pt.
hath more hope in his thraldome; Ln.
is thral.
_No_ MS. _has the precise reading given; but it is clear that_ in _has been dropped_.
§ 64. What difference is bitwixe an ydolastre and an avaricious man, but that an ydolastre, per aventure, ne hath but o mawmet or two, and the avaricious man hath manye?
For certes, every florin in his cofre is his mawmet.
/ And certes, the sinne of Mawmetrye is the firste thing that God deffended in the ten comaundments, as bereth witnesse _Exodi, capitulo xx_º: /750 ‘Thou shall have no false goddes bifore me, ne thou shall make to thee no grave thing.
’ Thus is an avaricious man, that loveth his tresor biforn god, an ydolastre, / thurgh this cursed sinne of Avarice.
Of Coveitise comen thise harde lordshipes, thurgh whiche men been distreyned by tailages, custumes, and cariages, more than hir duetee or resoun is.
And eek they taken of hir bonde-men amerciments, whiche mighten more resonably ben cleped extorcions than amerciments.
/ Of whiche amerciments and raunsoninge of bondemen, somme lordes stywardes seyn, that it is rightful;
for-as-muche as a cherl hath no temporel thing that it ne is his lordes, as they seyn.
/ But certes, thise lordshipes doon wrong, that bireven hir bonde-folk thinges that they nevere yave hem: _Augustinus de Civitate, libro nono_.
/ Sooth is, that the condicioun of thraldom and the firste cause of thraldom is for sinne; _Genesis, quinto_.
/755 752. E.
Am_er_cimentz (_twice_); whice (_sic_).
753. E.
temporeel.
§ 65. Thus may ye seen that the gilt disserveth thraldom, but nat nature.
/ Wherfore thise lordes ne sholde nat muche glorifyen hem in hir lordshipes, sith that by naturel condicion they been nat [619] lordes of thralles; but for that thraldom comth first by the desert of sinne.
/ And forther-over, ther-as the lawe seith, that temporel godes of bonde-folk been the godes of hir lordshipes, ye, that is for to understonde, the godes of the emperour, to deffenden hem in hir right, but nat for to robben hem ne reven hem.
/ And therfore seith Seneca: ‘thy prudence sholde live benignely with thy thralles.
’ / Thilke that thou clepest thy thralles been goddes peple; for humble folk been Cristes freendes; they been contubernial with the lord.
/760 757. E.
natureel; _om.
_ for.
758. E.
temporeel.
§ 66. Think eek, that of swich seed as cherles springeth, of swich seed springen lordes.
As wel may the cherl be saved as the lord.
/ The same deeth that taketh the cherl, swich deeth taketh the lord.
Wherfore I rede, do right so with thy cherl, as thou woldest that thy lord dide with thee, if thou were in his plyt.
/ Every sinful man is a cherl to sinne.
I rede thee, certes, that thou, lord, werke in swiche wyse with thy cherles, that they rather love thee than drede.
/ I woot wel ther is degree above degree, as reson is; and skile it is, that men do hir devoir ther-as it is due; but certes, extorcions and despit of youre underlinges is dampnable.
/ § 67. And forther-over understand wel, that thise conquerours or tiraunts maken ful ofte thralles of hem, that been born of as royal blood as been they that hem conqueren.
/765 This name of thraldom was nevere erst couth, til that Noe seyde, that his sone Canaan sholde be thral to hise bretheren for his sinne.
/ What seye we thanne of hem that pilen and doon extorcions to holy chirche?
Certes, the swerd, that men yeven first to a knight whan he is newe dubbed, signifyeth that he sholde deffenden holy chirche, and nat robben it ne pilen it; and who so dooth, is traitour to Crist.
/ And, as seith seint Augustin, ‘they been the develes wolves, that stranglen the sheep of Iesu Crist’; and doon worse than wolves.
/ For soothly, whan the wolf hath ful his wombe, he stinteth to strangle sheep.
But soothly, the pilours and destroyours of goddes holy chirche ne do nat so; for they ne stinte nevere to pile.
