it lasse than god, yet is it venial sinne ; / and deedly sinne, whan the love of any thing weyeth in the herte of man as muchel as the love of god, or more. / 'Deedly sinne,' as seith seint Augustin, 'is, whan a man turneth his herte fro god, which that is verray sovereyn bountee, that may nat chaunge, and yeveth his herte to thing that may chaunge and flitte'; / and certes, that is every thing, save god of hevene. For sooth is, that if a man yeve his love, the which that he oweth al to god with al his herte, un-to a creature, certes, as muche of his love as he yeveth to thilke creature, so muche he bireveth fro god; / and therfore doth he sinne. For he, that is dettour to god, ne yeldeth nat to god al his dette, 370 that is to seyn, al the love of his herte. / § 22. Now sith man understondeth generally, which is venial sinne, thanne is it covenable to tellen specially of sinnes whiche that many a man per-aventure ne demeth hem nat sinnes, and ne shryveth him nat of the same thinges; and yet nathelees they been sinnes. Soothly, as thise clerkes wryten, this is to seyn, that at every tyme that a man eteth or drinketh more than suffyseth to the sustenaunce of his body, in certein he dooth sinne. And eek whan he speketh more than nedeth, it is sinne. Eke whan he herkneth nat benignely the compleint of the povre. / Eke whan he is in hele of body and wol nat faste, whan othere folk faste, withouten cause resonable. Eke whan he slepeth more than nedeth, or whan he comth by thilke enchesoun to late to chirche, or to othere werkes of charite. / Eke whan he useth his wyf, withouten sovereyn desyr of engendrure, to the honour of god, or for 375 the entente to yelde to his wyf the dette of his body. / Eke whan he wol nat visite the sike and the prisoner, if he may. Eke if he love wyf or child, or other worldly thing, more than resoun requyreth. Eke if he flatere or blandishe more than him oghte for any necessitee. / Eke if he amenuse or withdrawe the almesse of the povre. Eke if he apparailleth his mete more deliciously than nede is, or ete it to hastily by likerousnesse. / Eke if he tale vanitees at chirche or at goddes service, or that he be a talker of ydel wordes of folye or of vileinye; for he shal yelden acountes of it at the day of dome. / Eke whan he biheteth or assureth to do 369. E. as he yeueth of his loue. 367. E. wexeth (for weyeth). E. Cp. Pt. Ln. hem (for him). E. Hn. blandise. talke of (for tale). 371. 376. 378. HI. thinges that he may nat perfourne. Eke whan that he, by lightnesse or folie, misseyeth or scorneth his neighebore./ Eke whan he hath any wikked suspecion of thing, ther he ne woot of it no soothfastnesse. / Thise thinges and mo with-oute nombre been sinnes, 385 as seith seint Augustin./ Now shal men understonde, that al-be-it so that noon erthely man may eschue alle venial sinnes, yet may he refreyne him by the brenninge love that he hath to oure lord Iesu Crist, and by preyeres and confession and othere gode werkes, so that it shal but litel greve. For, as seith seint Augustin: 'if a man love god in swiche manere, that al that evere he doth is in the love of god, and for the love of god verraily, for he brenneth in the love of god:/ loke, how muche that a drope of water that falleth in a fourneys ful of fyr anoyeth or greveth, so muche anoyeth a venial sinne un-to a man that is parfit in the love of Iesu Crist.' / Men may also refreyne venial sinne by receyvinge worthily of the precious body of Iesu Crist ; / by receyving eek of holy water; by almesdede; 385 by general confession of Confiteor at masse and at complin; and by blessinge of bisshopes and of preestes, and by othere gode werkes. / Explicit secunda pars Penitentie. Sequitur de Septem Peccatis Mortalibus et eorum dependenciis circumstanciis et speciebus. § 23. Now is it bihovely thing to telle whiche been the deedly sinnes, this is to seyn, chieftaines of sinnes; alle they renne in o lees, but in diverse maneres. Now been they cleped chieftaines for-as-muche as they been chief, and springers of alle othere sinnes. Of the roote of thise sevene sinnes thanne is Pryde, the general rote of alle harmes; for of this rote springen certein braunches, as Ire, Envye, Accidie or Slewthe, Avarice or Coveitise (to commune understondinge), Glotonye, and Lecherye. / And everich of thise chief sinnes hath hise braunches and hise twigges, as shal be declared in hir chapitres folwinge. / De Superbia. § 24. And thogh so be that no man can outrely telle the 382. E. restreyne (for refreyne); see 385. 386. E. om. by before othere. HEADING. So in E.; but E. adds De Superbia, which should come at the head of § 24, as in Hn. 387. Hl. springers; Hn. sprynge; E. Pt. Ln. spryngen. nombre of the twigges and of the harmes that cometh of Pryde, yet 390 wol I shewe a partie of hem, as ye shul understonde. / Ther is Inobedience, Avauntinge, Ipocrisie, Despyt, Arrogance, Impudence, Swellinge of herte, Insolence, Elacion, Impacience, Strif, Contumacie, Presumpcion, Irreverence, Pertinacie, Veyne Glorie; and many another twig that I can nat declare. / Inobedient, is he that disobeyeth for despyt to the comandements of god and to hise sovereyns, and to his goostly fader. / Avauntour, is he that bosteth of the harm or of the bountee that he hath doon. / Ipocrite, is he that hydeth to shewe him swiche as he is, and sheweth him swiche as he noght is. / Despitous, is he that hath desdeyn of his neighebore, that is to seyn, of his evene-cristene, or 395 hath despyt to doon that him oghte to do. / Arrogant, is he that thinketh that he hath thilke bountees in him that he hath noght, or weneth that he sholde have hem by hise desertes; or elles he demeth that he be that he nis nat. / Impudent, is he that for his pride hath no shame of hise sinnes. / a man reioyseth him of harm that he hath doon. / Insolent, is he that despyseth in his Iugement alle othere folk as to regard of his value, and of his conning, and of his speking, and of his bering. / Elacion, is whan he ne may neither suffre to have maister ne 400 felawe. Impacient, is he that wol nat been y-taught ne undernome of his vyce, and by stryf werreieth trouthe witingly, and deffendeth his folye. / Contumax, is he that thurgh his indignacion is agayns everich auctoritee or power of hem that been hise sovereyns. Presumpcion, is whan a man undertaketh an empryse that him oghte nat do, or elles that he may nat do; and that is called Surquidrie. Irreverence, is whan men do nat honour thereas hem oghte to doon, and waiten to be reverenced. / Pertinacie, is whan man deffendeth his folye, and trusteth to muchel in his owene wit. Veyne glorie, is for to have pompe and delyt in his tem405 porel hynesse, and glorifie him in this worldly estaat. / Ianglinge, is whan men speken to muche biforn folk, and clappen as a mille, and taken no kepe what they seye. / Swellinge of herte, is whan § 25. And yet is ther a privee spece of Pryde, that waiteth first to be salewed er he wole salewe, al be he lasse worth than that 401. 390. E. Hn. om, and the. 391. Pt. Hl. Imprudence; E. Hn. Inpudence. E. Hn. Pt. Inpatience; rest imperfect here. 395. E. om. 2nd his. Ln. HI. Impacient; rest Inpatient (or imperfect). Pt. Hl. vices. and this is. E. Hn. surquidie. 404. E. hise folies. 403. E. 405. E. temporeel. other is, per-aventure; and eek he waiteth or desyreth to sitte, or elles to goon above him in the wey, or kisse pax, or been encensed, or goon to offring biforn his neighebore, and swiche semblable thinges; agayns his duetee, per-aventure, but that he hath his herte and his entente in swich a proud desyr to be magnifyed and honoured biforn the peple. / § 26. Now been ther two maneres of Pryde; that oon of hem is with-inne the herte of man, and that other is with-oute. / Of whiche soothly thise forseyde thinges, and mo than I have seyd, apertenen to pryde that is in the herte of man; and that othere speces of pryde been with-oute. / But natheles that oon of thise 410 speces of pryde is signe of that other, right as the gaye leefsel atte taverne is signe of the wyn that is in the celer. / And this is in manye thinges as in speche and contenaunce, and in outrageous array of clothing; for certes, if ther ne hadde be no sinne in clothing, Crist wolde nat have noted and spoken of the clothing of thilke riche man in the gospel. / And, as seith Seint Gregorie, that precious clothing is coupable for the derthe of it, and for his softenesse, and for his strangenesse and degysinesse, and for the superfluitee, or for the inordinat scantnesse of it. / Allas! may men nat seen, as in oure dayes, the sinful costlewe array of clothinge, and namely in to muche superfluitee, or elles in to desordinat scantnesse ? / § 27. As to the firste sinne, that is in superfluitee of clothinge, which that maketh it so dere, to harm of the peple; / nat only the cost of embroudinge, the degyse endentinge or barringe, oundinge, palinge, windinge, or bendinge, and semblable wast of clooth in vanitee; / but ther is also costlewe furringe in hir gounes, so muche pounsoninge of chisels to maken holes, so muche dagginge of sheres ; / forth-with the superfluitee in lengthe of the forseide gounes, trailinge in the dong and in the myre, on horse and eek on fote, as wel of man as of womman, that al thilke trailing is verraily as in effect wasted, consumed, thredbare, and roten with donge, rather than it is yeven to the povre; to greet 410. So È. Hn. Hl.; perhaps read and that other spece of pryde is; Pt. Ln. and ther-to other spices of pride bene. 411. Pt. Ln. Hl. spices. Hn. leuesel; HI. leuesselle; Pt. leeuesell; Ln. leuesal. 414. Pt. disgisenesse ; Ln. Hl. disgisinesse. or] E. and. 416. E. om. that is. 417. Hn. Pt. enbrawdynge. E. om. or bef. barringe. E. owndynge. 418. E. powsonynge; Hn. pownsonynge; Ln. pounseinge; Hl. pounsyng. Pt. chisels; E. Hn. chisel; rest chiseles (cheseles). 419. E. men; wommen. 415 damage of the forseyde povre folk. / And that in sondry wyse; this is to seyn, that the more that clooth is wasted, the more it 420 costeth to the peple for the scantnesse ;/ and forther-over, if so be that they wolde yeven swich pounsoned and dagged clothing to the povre folk, it is nat convenient to were for hir estaat, ne suffisant to bete hir necessitee, to kepe hem fro the distemperance of the firmament. / Upon that other syde, to speken of the horrible disordinat scantnesse of clothing, as been thise cutted sloppes or hainselins, that thurgh hir shortnesse ne covere nat the shameful membres of man, to wikked entente. / Allas! somme of hem shewen the boce of hir shap, and the horrible swollen membres, that semeth lyk the maladie of hirnia, in the wrappinge of hir hoses; and eek the buttokes of hem faren as it were the hindre part of a she-ape in the fulle of the mone. / And more-over, the wrecched swollen membres that they shewe thurgh the degysinge, in departinge of hir hoses in whyt and reed, semeth that half hir 425 shameful privee membres weren flayn. / And if so be that they departen hire hoses in othere colours, as is whyt and blak, or whyt and blew, or blak and reed, and so forth; / thanne semeth it, as by variance of colour, that half the partie of hir privee membres were corrupt by the fyr of seint Antony, or by cancre, or by other swich meschaunce. / Of the hindre part of hir buttokes, it is ful horrible for to see. For certes, in that partie of hir body ther-as they purgen hir stinkinge ordure, / that foule partie shewe they to the peple proudly in despyt of honestetee, the which honestetee that Iesu Crist and hise freendes observede to shewen in hir lyve. Now as of the outrageous array of wommen, god woot, that though the visages of somme of hem seme ful chaast and debonaire, 430 yet notifie they in hir array of atyr likerousnesse and pryde. / I sey nat that honestetee in clothinge of man or womman is uncovenable, but certes the superfluitee or disordinat scantitee of clothinge is reprevable. / Also the sinne of aornement or of apparaille is in thinges that apertenen to rydinge, as in to manye delicat horses that been holden for delyt, that been so faire, fatte, and costlewe; / and also to many a vicious knave that is sustened 421. E. powsoned; Hn. pownsonyd; Pt. pounsoned; Ln. Hl. pounsed, 422. E. haynselyns; Hn. hanselyns; Ln. hanslynes; Pt. hanselynes; HI anslets; Harl. 1758, haunseleynys. 425. All but E. om. the bef. degysinge. E. flayne. 429. E. honestitee (twice); Hn. honestetee; rest honeste; so in 431, 436. 430. E. om. as. 432. Pt. anornement; Hl. here ornament. |