Canterbury Tales (Middle English) — The Parson's Tale - Part 5
=Sequitur de Luxuria.
= § 74. After Glotonye, thanne comth Lecherie; for thise two sinnes been so ny cosins, that ofte tyme they wol nat departe.
/ God woot, this sinne is ful displesaunt thing to god; for he seyde himself, ‘do no lecherie.
’ And therfore he putte grete peynes agayns this sinne in the olde lawe.
/ If womman thral were taken in this sinne, she sholde be beten with staves to the deeth.
And if she were a gentil womman, she sholde be slayn with stones.
And if she were a bisshoppes doghter, she sholde been brent, by goddes comandement.
/ Forther over, by the sinne of Lecherie, god dreynte al the world at the diluge.
And after that, he brente fyve citees with thonder-leyt, and sank hem in-to helle.
/ 838. Cm.
stonys; Ln.
stones; Hl.
stoones (_for_ staues).
839. Pt.
Ln.
diluve; Hl.
diluue (_for_ diluge).
E.
thonder-leyt; Hl.
-layt; _rest_ -light.
§ 75. Now lat us speke thanne of thilke stinkinge sinne of Lecherie that men clepe Avoutrie of wedded folk, that is to seyn, if that oon of hem be wedded, or elles bothe.
/840 Seint Iohn seith, that avoutiers shullen been in helle in a stank brenninge of fyr and of brimston; in fyr, for the lecherie; in brimston, for the stink of hir ordure.
/ Certes, the brekinge of this sacrement is an horrible thing; it was maked of god him-self in paradys, and confermed by Iesu Crist, as witnesseth seint Mathew in the gospel: ‘A man shal lete fader and moder, and taken him to his wyf, and they shullen be two in o flesh.
’ / This sacrement bitokneth the knittinge togidre of Crist and of holy chirche.
/ And nat only that god forbad avoutrie in dede, but eek he comanded that thou sholdest nat coveite thy neighebores wyf.
/ In this heeste, seith seint Augustin, is forboden alle manere coveitise to doon lecherie.
Lo what seith seint Mathew in the gospel: that ‘who-so seeth a womman to coveitise of his lust, he hath doon lecherie with hir in his herte.
’ /845 Here may ye seen that nat only the dede of this sinne is forboden, but eek the desyr to doon that sinne.
/ This cursed sinne anoyeth grevousliche [626] hem that it haunten.
And first, to hir soule; for he oblygeth it to sinne and to peyne of deeth that is perdurable.
/ Un-to the body anoyeth it grevously also, for it dreyeth him, and wasteth, and shent him, and of his blood he maketh sacrifyce to the feend of helle; it wasteth his catel and his substaunce.
/ And certes, if it be a foul thing, a man to waste his catel on wommen, yet is it a fouler thing whan that, for swich ordure, wommen dispenden up-on men hir catel and substaunce.
/ This sinne, as seith the prophete, bireveth man and womman hir gode fame, and al hir honour; and it is ful pleasaunt to the devel; for ther-by winneth he the moste partie of this world.
/850 And right as a marchant delyteth him most in chaffare that he hath most avantage of, right so delyteth the feend in this ordure.
/ 841. Pt.
in fuyre for lechery in bremstone; Hl.
In fuyr for the leccherie in brimston; Ln.
for licherye in brimstone (_om.
_ in fyr); E. Cm.
_omit_.
848. Pt.
Ln.
drieth.
§ 76. This is that other hand of the devel, with fyve fingres, to cacche the peple to his vileinye.
/ The firste finger is the fool lookinge of the fool womman and of the fool man, that sleeth, right as the basilicok sleeth folk by the venim of his sighte; for the coveitise of eyen folweth the coveitise of the herte.
/ The seconde finger is the vileyns touchinge in wikkede manere; and ther-fore seith Salomon, that who-so toucheth and handleth a womman, he fareth lyk him that handleth the scorpioun that stingeth and sodeynly sleeth thurgh his enveniminge; as who-so toucheth warm pich, it shent hise fingres.
/ The thridde, is foule wordes, that fareth lyk fyr, that right anon brenneth the herte.
/855 The fourthe finger is the kissinge; and trewely he were a greet fool that wolde kisse the mouth of a brenninge ovene or of a fourneys.
/ And more fooles been they that kissen in vileinye; for that mouth is the mouth of helle: and namely, thise olde dotardes holours, yet wol they kisse, though they may nat do, and smatre hem.
/ Certes, they been lyk to houndes; for an hound, whan he comth by the roser or by othere [busshes], though he may nat pisse, yet wole he heve up his leg and make a contenaunce to pisse.
/ And for that many man weneth that he may nat sinne, for no likerousnesse that he doth with his wyf; certes, that opinion is fals.
God woot, a man may sleen him-self with his owene knyf, and make him-selven dronken of his owene tonne.
/ Certes, be it wyf, be it child, or any worldly thing that he loveth [627] biforn god, it is his maumet, and he is an ydolastre.
/860 Man sholde loven his wyf by discrecioun, paciently and atemprely; and thanne is she as though it were his suster.
/ The fifthe finger of the develes hand is the stinkinge dede of Lecherie.
/ Certes, the fyve fingres of Glotonie the feend put in the wombe of a man, and with hise fyve fyngres of Lecherie he gripeth him by the reynes, for to throwen him in-to the fourneys of helle; / ther-as they shul han the fyr and the wormes that evere shul lasten, and wepinge and wailinge, sharp hunger and thurst, and grimnesse of develes that shullen al to-trede hem, with-outen respit and withouten ende.
/ Of Lecherie, as I seyde, sourden diverse speces; as fornicacioun, that is bitwixe man and womman that been nat maried; and this is deedly sinne and agayns nature.
/865 Al that is enemy and destruccioun to nature is agayns nature.
/ Parfay, the resoun of a man telleth eek him wel that it is deedly sinne, for-as-muche as god forbad Lecherie.
And seint Paul yeveth hem the regne, that nis dewe to no wight but to hem that doon deedly sinne.
/ Another sinne of Lecherie is to bireve a mayden of hir maydenhede; for he that so dooth, certes, he casteth a mayden out of the hyeste degree that is in this present lyf, / and bireveth hir thilke precious fruit that the book clepeth ‘the hundred fruit.
’ I ne can seye it noon other weyes in English, but in Latin it highte _Centesimus fructus_.
/ Certes, he that so dooth is cause of manye damages and vileinyes, mo than any man can rekene; right as he som-tyme is cause of alle damages that bestes don in the feeld, that breketh the hegge or the closure; thurgh which he destroyeth that may nat been restored.
/870 For certes, na-more may maydenhede be restored than an arm that is smiten fro the body may retourne agayn to wexe.
/ She may have mercy, this woot I wel, if she do penitence; but nevere shal it be that she nas corrupt.
/ And al-be-it so that I have spoken somwhat of Avoutrie, it is good to shewen mo perils that longen to Avoutrie, for to eschue that foule sinne.
/ Avoutrie in Latin is for to seyn, approchinge of other mannes bed, thurgh which tho that whylom weren o flessh abaundone hir bodyes to othere persones.
/ Of this sinne, as seith the wyse man, folwen manye harmes.
First, brekinge of feith; and certes, in feith is the keye of Cristendom.
/875 And whan that feith is broken and lorn, soothly Cristendom stant [628] veyn and with-outen fruit.
/ This sinne is eek a thefte; for thefte generally is for to reve a wight his thing agayns his wille.
/ Certes, this is the fouleste thefte that may be, whan a womman steleth hir body from hir housbonde and yeveth it to hire holour to defoulen hir; and steleth hir soule fro Crist, and yeveth it to the devel.
/ This is a fouler thefte, than for to breke a chirche and stele the chalice; for thise Avoutiers breken the temple of god spiritually, and stelen the vessel of grace, that is, the body and the soule, for which Crist shal destroyen hem, as seith Seint Paul.
/ Soothly of this thefte douted gretly Joseph, whan that his lordes wyf preyed him of vileinye, whan he seyde, ‘lo, my lady, how my lord hath take to me under my warde al that he hath in this world;
ne no-thing of hise thinges is out of my power, but only ye that been his wyf.
/880 And how sholde I thanne do this wikkednesse, and sinne so horribly agayns god, and agayns my lord?
God it forbede.
’ Allas!
al to litel is swich trouthe now y-founde!
/ The thridde harm is the filthe thurgh which they breken the comandement of god, and defoulen the auctour of matrimoine, that is Crist.
/ For certes, in-so-muche as the sacrement of mariage is so noble and so digne, so muche is it gretter sinne for to breken it; for god made mariage in paradys, in the estaat of Innocence, to multiplye man-kinde to the service of god.
/ And therfore is the brekinge ther-of more grevous.
Of which brekinge comen false heires ofte tyme, that wrongfully occupyen folkes heritages.
And therfore wol Crist putte hem out of the regne of hevene, that is heritage to gode folk.
/ Of this brekinge comth eek ofte tyme, that folk unwar wedden or sinnen with hir owene kinrede; and namely thilke harlottes that haunten bordels of thise fool wommen, that mowe be lykned to a commune gonge, where-as men purgen hir ordure.
/885 What seye we eek of putours that liven by the horrible sinne of putrie, and constreyne wommen to yelden to hem a certeyn rente of hir bodily puterie, ye, somtyme of his owene wyf or his child; as doon this baudes?
Certes, thise been cursede sinnes.
/ Understond eek, that avoutrie is set gladly in the ten comandements bitwixe thefte and manslaughtre; for it is the gretteste thefte that may be; for it is thefte of body and of soule.
/ And it is lyk to homicyde; for it kerveth a-two and [629] breketh a-two hem that first were maked o flesh, and therfore, by the olde lawe of god, they sholde be slayn.
/ But nathelees, by the lawe of Iesu Crist, that is lawe of pitee, whan he seyde to the womman that was founden in avoutrie, and sholde han been slayn with stones, after the wil of the Iewes, as was hir lawe: ‘Go,’ quod Iesu Crist, ‘and have na-more wil to sinne’; or, ‘wille na-more to do sinne.
’ / Soothly, the vengeaunce of avoutrie is awarded to the peynes of helle, but-if so be that it be destourbed by penitence.
/890 Yet been ther mo speces of this cursed sinne; as whan that oon of hem is religious, or elles bothe; or of folk that been entred in-to ordre, as subdekne or dekne, or preest, or hospitaliers.
And evere the hyer that he is in ordre, the gretter is the sinne.
/ The thinges that gretly agreggen hir sinne is the brekinge of hir avow of chastitee, whan they receyved the ordre.
/ And forther-over, sooth is, that holy ordre is chief of al the tresorie of god, and his especial signe and mark of chastitee; to shewe that they been ioyned to chastitee, which that is most precious lyf that is.
/ And thise ordred folk been specially tytled to god, and of the special meynee of god; for which, whan they doon deedly sinne, they been the special traytours of god and of his peple; for they liven of the peple, to preye for the peple, and whyle they been suche traitours, hir preyers availen nat to the peple.
/ Preestes been aungeles, as by the dignitee of hir misterye; but for sothe, seint Paul seith, that ‘Sathanas transformeth him in an aungel of light.
’ /895 Soothly, the preest that haunteth deedly sinne, he may be lykned to the aungel of derknesse transformed in the aungel of light; he semeth aungel of light, but for sothe he is aungel of derknesse.
/ Swiche preestes been the sones of Helie, as sheweth in the book of Kinges, that they weren the sones of Belial, that is, the devel.
/ Belial is to seyn ‘with-outen Iuge’; and so faren they; hem thinketh they been free, and han no Iuge, na-more than hath a free bole that taketh which cow that him lyketh in the toun.
/ So faren they by wommen.
For right as a free bole is y-nough for al a toun, right so is a wikked preest corrupcioun y-nough for al a parisshe, or for al a contree.
/ Thise preestes, as seith the book, ne conne nat the misterie of preesthode to the peple, ne god ne knowe they nat; they ne helde hem nat apayd, as seith the book, [630] of soden flesh that was to hem offred, but they toke by force the flesh that is rawe.
/900 Certes, so thise shrewes ne holden hem nat apayed of rosted flesh and sode flesh, with which the peple fedden hem in greet reverence, but they wole have raw flesh of folkes wyves and hir doghtres.
/ And certes, thise wommen that consenten to hir harlotrie doon greet wrong to Crist and to holy chirche and alle halwes, and to alle soules; for they bireven alle thise him that sholde worshipe Crist and holy chirche, and preye for cristene soules.
/ And therfore han swiche preestes, and hir lemmanes eek that consenten to hir lecherie, the malisoun of al the court cristen, till they come to amendement.
/ The thridde spece of avoutrie is som-tyme bitwixe a man and his wyf; and that is whan they take no reward in hir assemblinge, but only to hire fleshly delyt, as seith seint Ierome; / and ne rekken of nothing but that they been assembled; by-cause that they been maried, al is good y-nough, as thinketh to hem.
/905 But in swich folk hath the devel power, as seyde the aungel Raphael to Thobie; for in hir assemblinge they putten Iesu Crist out of hir herte, and yeven hem-self to alle ordure.
/ The fourthe spece is, the assemblee of hem that been of hire kinrede, or of hem that been of oon affinitee, or elles with hem with whiche hir fadres or hir kinrede han deled in the sinne of lecherie; this sinne maketh hem lyk to houndes, that taken no kepe to kinrede.
/ And certes, parentele is in two maneres, outher goostly or fleshly; goostly, as for to delen with hise godsibbes.
/ For right so as he that engendreth a child is his fleshly fader, right so is his godfader his fader espirituel.
For which a womman may in no lasse sinne assemblen with hir godsib than with hir owene fleshly brother.
/ The fifthe spece is thilke abhominable sinne, of which that no man unnethe oghte speke ne wryte, nathelees it is openly reherced in holy writ.
/910 This cursednesse doon men and wommen in diverse entente and in diverse manere; but though that holy writ speke of horrible sinne, certes, holy writ may nat been defouled, na-more than the sonne that shyneth on the mixen.
/ Another sinne aperteneth to lecherie, that comth in slepinge; and this sinne cometh ofte to hem that been maydenes, and eek to hem that been corrupt; and this sinne men clepen pollucioun, that [631] comth in foure maneres.
/ Somtyme, of languissinge of body; for the humours been to ranke and habundaunt in the body of man.
Somtyme of infermetee; for the feblesse of the vertu retentif, as phisik maketh mencioun.
Som-tyme, for surfeet of mete and drinke.
/ And somtyme of vileyns thoghtes, that been enclosed in mannes minde whan he goth to slepe;
which may nat been with-oute sinne.
For which men moste kepen hem wysely, or elles may men sinnen ful grevously.
/ 853. Hl.
as a basiliskoc.
857. Hl.
dotard fooles holours.
C m. and smatere hem thow they may nat doon.
858. Tyrwhitt _has_ bushes; E. Seld.
Ln.
beauteis; Cm.
beauteis; Hl.
beautes; Pt.
bewtees.
869. After _fructus_, Hl.
_adds_ secundum Ieronimum contra Iouinianum.
881. Hl.
Pt.
horribly; E. Cm.
horrible.
882. E.
Actour (_error for_ Auctour).
884. E.
Hl.
_om.
_ ther-of.
E.
ocupien.
887. E.
Vnderstoond.
E.
Pt.
Ln.
Hl.
Seld.
gladly; Cm.
_om.
_ E.
comandementz.
891. Pt.
Hl.
or deken; Ln.
& deken; Cm.
dekene; E. _om.
_ 894. E.
meignee; Ln.
Hl.
meyne.
E.
Cm.
_om.
_ to preye ...
to the peple; _the clause occurs in_ Pt.
Ln.
Selden, _and partly in_ Hl.
897. Seld.
Pt.
Ln.
Hl.
Belye (_for_ Helye); Cm.
Belyal.
900. Cm.
helde; _rest_ holde.
903. E.
cristiene; Hl.
cristian; Cm.
cristene;
_rest_ cristen.
908. Pt.
Ln.
Parentela; Hl.
parenteal.
909. E.
espiritueel.
911. Pt.
myxen; Cm.
myxene; E. Mixne; Seld.
Ln.
mexen;
Hl.
dongehul.
912. E.
Poluciou_n_.
912. E.
Cm.
iij; _rest_ iiij.
913. Pt.
feblesse; E. fieblesse; Cm.
febillesse; Ln.
Hl.
feblenesse.
914. Cm.
muste (_for_ moste).
E.
greously (!
).
=Remedium contra peccatum Luxurie.
= § 77. Now comth the remedie agayns Lecherie, and that is, generally, Chastitee and Continence, that restreyneth alle the desordeynee moevinges that comen of fleshly talentes.
/915 And evere the gretter merite shal he han, that most restreyneth the wikkede eschaufinges of the ordure of this sinne.
And this is in two maneres, that is to seyn, chastitee in mariage, and chastitee of widwehode.
/ Now shaltow understonde, that matrimoine is leefful assemblinge of man and of womman, that receyven by vertu of the sacrement the bond, thurgh which they may nat be departed in al hir lyf, that is to seyn, whyl that they liven bothe.
/ This, as seith the book, is a ful greet sacrement.
God maked it, as I have seyd, in paradys, and wolde him-self be born in mariage.
/ And for to halwen mariage, he was at a weddinge, where-as he turned water in-to wyn; which was the firste miracle that he wroghte in erthe biforn hise disciples.
/ Trewe effect of mariage clenseth fornicacioun and replenisseth holy chirche of good linage; for that is the ende of mariage; and it chaungeth deedly sinne in-to venial sinne bitwixe hem that been y-wedded, and maketh the hertes al oon of hem that been y-wedded, as wel as the bodies.
/920 This is verray mariage, that was establissed by god er that sinne bigan, whan naturel lawe was in his right point in paradys; and it was ordeyned that o man sholde have but o womman, and o womman but o man, as seith Seint Augustin, by manye resouns.
/ 917. E.
boond.
921. E.
Cm.
_om.
_ This is.
E.
natureel.
§ 78. First, for mariage is figured bitwixe Crist and holy chirche.
And that other is, for a man is heved of a womman; algate, by ordinaunce it sholde be so.
/ For if a womman had mo men [632] than oon, thanne sholde she have mo hevedes than oon, and that were an horrible thing biforn god;
and eek a womman ne mighte nat plese to many folk at ones.
And also ther ne sholde nevere be pees ne reste amonges hem; for everich wolde axen his owene thing.
/ And forther-over, no man ne sholde knowe his owene engendrure, ne who sholde have his heritage; and the womman sholde been the lasse biloved, fro the time that she were conioynt to many men.
/ 923. E.
no (_for_ mo) _before_ men.
§ 79. Now comth, how that a man sholde bere him with his wyf; and namely, in two thinges, that is to seyn in suffraunce and reverence, as shewed Crist whan he made first womman.
/925 For he ne made hir nat of the heved of Adam, for she sholde nat clayme to greet lordshipe.
/ For ther-as the womman hath the maistrie, she maketh to muche desray; ther neden none ensamples of this.
The experience of day by day oghte suffyse.
/ Also certes, god ne made nat womman of the foot of Adam, for she ne sholde nat been holden to lowe; for she can nat paciently suffre: but god made womman of the rib of Adam, for womman sholde be felawe un-to man.
/ Man sholde bere him to his wyf in feith, in trouthe, and in love, as seith seint Paul: that ‘a man sholde loven his wyf as Crist loved holy chirche, that loved it so wel that he deyde for it.
’ So sholde a man for his wyf, if it were nede.
/ 927. Hl.
disaray; Pt.
Ln.
disaraye.
§ 80. Now how that a womman sholde be subget to hir housbonde, that telleth seint Peter.
First, in obedience.
/930 And eek, as seith the decree, a womman that is a wyf, as longe as she is a wyf, she hath noon auctoritee to swere ne bere witnesse with-oute leve of hir housbonde, that is hir lord;
algate, he sholde be so by resoun.
/ She sholde eek serven him in alle honestee, and been attempree of hir array.
I wot wel that they sholde setten hir entente to plesen hir housbondes, but nat by hir queyntise of array.
/ Seint Ierome seith, that wyves that been apparailled in silk and in precious purpre ne mowe nat clothen hem in Iesu Crist.
What seith seint Iohn eek in this matere?
/ Seint Gregorie eek seith, that no wight seketh precious array but only for veyne glorie, to been honoured the more biforn the peple.
/ It is a greet folye, a womman to have a fair array outward and in hir-self be foul inward.
/935 [633] A wyf sholde eek be mesurable in lokinge and in beringe and in laughinge, and discreet in alle hir wordes and hir dedes.
/ And aboven alle worldly thing she sholde loven hir housbonde with al hir herte, and to him be trewe of hir body / so sholde an housbonde eek be to his wyf.
For sith that al the body is the housbondes, so sholde hir herte been, or elles ther is bitwixe hem two, as in that, no parfit mariage.
/ Thanne shal men understonde that for three thinges a man and his wyf fleshly mowen assemble.
The firste is in entente of engendrure of children to the service of god, for certes that is the cause fynal of matrimoine.
/ Another cause is, to yelden everich of hem to other the dette of hir bodies, for neither of hem hath power over his owene body.
The thridde is, for to eschewe lecherye and vileinye.
The ferthe is for sothe deadly sinne.
/940 As to the firste, it is meritorie; the seconde also;
for, as seith the decree, that she hath merite of chastitee that yeldeth to hir housbonde the dette of hir body, ye, though it be agayn hir lykinge and the lust of hir herte.
/ The thridde manere is venial sinne, and trewely scarsly may ther any of thise be with-oute venial sinne, for the corrupcion and for the delyt.
/ The fourthe manere is for to understonde, if they assemble only for amorous love and for noon of the forseyde causes, but for to accomplice thilke brenninge delyt, they rekke nevere how ofte, sothly it is deedly sinne; and yet, with sorwe, somme folk wol peynen hem more to doon than to hir appetyt suffyseth.
/ 931. E.
Cm.
that is wyf; Hl.
that is a wif.
935. Cm.
Pt.
be; Hl.
to ben; Ln.
bue; E. _om.
_ 941. E.
_om.
_ merite of chastitee.
942. E.
_om.
_ of.
§ 81. The seconde manere of chastitee is for to been a clene widewe, and eschue the embracinges of man, and desyren the embracinge of Iesu Crist.
/ Thise been tho that han been wyves and han forgoon hir housbondes, and eek wommen that han doon lecherie and been releeved by Penitence.
/945 And certes, if that a wyf coude kepen hir al chaast by licence of hir housbonde, so that she yeve nevere noon occasion that he agilte, it were to hire a greet merite.
/ Thise manere wommen that observen chastitee moste be clene in herte as well as in body and in thoght, and mesurable in clothinge and in contenaunce; and been abstinent in etinge and drinkinge, in spekinge, and in dede.
They been the vessel or the boyste of the blissed Magdelene, that fulfilleth holy chirche of good odour.
/ The thridde manere of chastitee is [634] virginitee, and it bihoveth that she be holy in herte and clene of body; thanne is she spouse to Iesu Crist, and she is the lyf of angeles.
/ She is the preisinge of this world, and she is as thise martirs in egalitee; she hath in hir that tonge may nat telle ne herte thinke.
/ Virginitee baar oure lord Iesu Crist, and virgin was him-selve.
/950 947. E.
_om.
_ moste be ...
mesurable.
