He wolde done his facrilegge, That many a man fhulde it abegge. Whan he to ship ayein was come, To him he hath his counfeil nome And all devised the matere
In fuch a wife, as thou fhalt here. Withinne night all prively
His men he warneth by and by, That they be redy armed fone
For certain thing, whiche is to done. And they anone ben redy alle And echone other gan to calle And went hem out upon the ftronde And toke a purpos there on londe Of what thing that they wolden do, Toward the temple and forth they go. So fell it of devocion
Heleine in contemplacion
With many an other worthy wight Was in the temple and woke all night To bid and pray unto thymage Of Venus, as was than ufage, So that Paris right as him list Into the temple er they it wist Came with his men all fodeinly. And all at ones set askry
In hem, which in the temple were, For tho was mochel people there, But of defence was no bote,
So fuffren they, that suffre mote.
Paris unto the quene wente
And her in both his armes hente With him and with his felafhip, And forth they bere her into fhip. Up goth the faile, and forth they went, And fuche a wind fortune hem fent, Till they the haven of Troie caught, Where out of ship anone they ftraught And gone hem forth toward the town, The which came with proceflion Ayein Paris to fene his
And every man began to fay To Paris and his felafhip
All that they couthen of worship, Was none fo litel man in Troy, That he ne made merthe and joy Of that Paris had wonne Heleine. But all that merthe is forwe and peine To Helenus and to Caffandre.
For they it tolden shame and sclaundre And lofs of all the comun grace, That Paris out of haly place
By stelth hath take a mannes wife, Wherof he shall lefe his life And many a worthy man therto And all the citee be fordo,
Which never shall be made ayein. And fo it fell, right as they sain, The facrilegge, which he wrought, Was cause, why the Gregois fought
Unto the town and it belay
And wolden never part away,
Till what by fleight, and what by strength They had it wonne in brede and length And brent and flain that was withinne. Now fe, my fone, which a finne Is facrilegge in haly stede.
Beware therfore and bid thy bede And do nothing in haly chirche, But that thou might by refon wirche. And eke take hede of Achilles,
Whan he unto his love chees Polixena, that was also
In haly temple of Apollo,
Which was the cause why he deide
And all his luft was laid aside. And Troilus upon Crefeide
Alfo his firfte love laide
In haly place, and how it ferde
As who faith all the world it herde. Forfake he was for Diomede,
Such was of love his lafte mede.
Forthy my fone, I wolde rede By this enfample as thou might rede Seche elles where thou wilt thy grace And ware the well in haly place, What thou to love do or speke In aunter if it fo be wreke, As thou haft herd me tell to-fore, And take good hede also therfore.
Upon the forme of avarice
More than of any other vice
I have devided in parties
The braunches, which of compaignies Through out the world in generall Be now the leders over all
Of covetife and of perjurie, Of fals brocage and of ufurie, Of scarseneffe and of unkindeship, Which never drough to felafhip, Of robberie and of prive stelth, Which done is for the worldes welth, Of ravine and of facrilegge,
Which maketh the confcience agregge, richeffe atteigne,
All though it may
It floureth but it shall not greine Unto the fruit of rightwisnesse. But who that wolde do largeffe Upon the reule, as it is yive, So might a man in trouthe live Toward his god and eke also
Toward the world, for bothe two
Largeffe awaiteth as belongeth
To neither part, that he ne wrongeth,
He kepeth him self, he kepeth his frendes, So ftant he fauf to both his endes,
That he excedeth no mesure,
So well he can him self mesure, Wherof, my fone, thou fhalt wite, So as the philofophre hath write.
Prodigus et parcus duo funt extremaque, largus Eft horum medius plebis in ore bonus.
Betwene the two extremites
tute largitatis, que Of vice ftont the
ricie inter duo ex- of vertue, and to prove it so
cimoniam et pro- Take avarice and take alfo digalitatem fpecia- liter confiftit.
The vice of prodegalite,
Betwene hem liberalite, Which is the vertue of largeffe, Stant and governeth his nobleffe. For tho two vices in difcorde Stond ever, as I find of recorde, So that betwene her two debate Largeffe reuleth his eftate, For in fuch wife as avarice,
As I to-fore have told the vice,
Through ftreit holding and through scarf- Stant contraire to largeffe,
Right so stant prodegalite
Revers, but nought in such degre.
For so as avarice spareth
And for to kepe his trefor careth,
That other all his own and more
Ayein the wife mannes lore
Yiveth and defpendeth here and there, So that him reccheth never where,
While he may borwe, he woll defpende Till ate laft he faith: I wende. But that is spoken all to late, For than is pouerte at the gate
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