And geten gold with hire glee, Giltles, I leeve.

Ac japeres and jangeleres, Judas children, Feynen hem fantasies, And fooles hem maketh, And han hire wit at wille To werken, if thei wolde. That Poul precheth of hem 75 I wol nat preve it here; But Qui loquitur turpiloquium Is Luciferes hyne.

Bidderes and beggeres Faste aboute yede,

With hire belies and hire

In glotonye, God woot,
Go thei to bedde,
And risen with ribaudie,
Tho Roberdes knaves;
Sleep and sory sleuthe
Seweth hem evere.

8

94

Pilgrymes and palmeres Plighten hem togidere, For to seken seint Jame, And seintes at Rome. They wenten forth in hire wey, With many wise tales, And hadden leve to lyen Al hire lif after.

I seigh somme that seiden Thei hadde y-sought seintes ; To ech a tale that thei tolde Hire tonge was tempred to lye, Moore than to seye sooth, It semed bi hire speche.

Heremytes on an heep With hoked staves Wenten to Walsyngham, And hire wenches after, Grete lobies and longe That lothe were to swynke; Clothed hem in copes, To ben knowen from othere; And shopen hem heremytes, Hire ese to have.

I fond there freres, Alle the foure ordres, Prechynge the peple For profit of hemselve; Glosed the gospel, As hem good liked; For coveitise of copes, Construwed it as thei wolde Many of thise maistre freres Now clothen hem at likyng,

104

114

124

He

145

180

Of wardes and of wardemotes,

Weyves and streyves.

And somme serven as ser

vauntz

Lordes and ladies,

And in stede of stywardes
Sitten and demen;

Hire messe and hire matyns
And many of hire houres
Arn doon un-devoutliche;
Drede is at the laste,
Lest Crist in consistorie
A-corse ful manye.

I perceyved of the power That Peter hadde to kepe,

190

200

201

To bynden and unbynden,
As the book telleth ;
How he it lefte with love,
As oure Lord highte,
Amonges foure vertues,
The beste of alle vertues,
That cardinals ben called,
And closynge yates.
There is Crist in his kingdom
To close and to shette,
And to opene it to hem,
And hevene blisse shewe.
Ac of the cardinals at court
That kaughte of that name,
And power presumed in hem
A pope to make,

211

To han that power that Peter hadde,

Impugnen I nelle;

220

For in love and in lettrure
The election bilongeth,
For-thi I kan and kan naught
Of court speke moore.

Thanne kam ther a kyng,
Knyghthod hym ladde,
Might of the communes
Made hym to regne.

And thanne cam kynde wit,

And clerkes he made,
For to counseillen the kyng,
And the commune save.

The kyng and knyghthod,
And clergie bothe,
Casten that the commune
Sholde hemself fynde.

The commune contreved

Of kynde wit craftes,

And for profit of al the peple
Plowmen ordeyned,

To tilie and to travaille,
As trewe lif asketh.

280

240

The kyng and the commune, And kynde wit the thridde, 242 Shopen lawe and leauté, Ech man to knowe his owene. Thanne looked up a lunatik, A leene thyng with-alle, And, knelynge to the kyng, Clergially he seide:

250

"Crist kepe thee, sire kyng!
And thi kyng-ryche,
And lene thee lede thi lond,
So leauté thee lovye,
And for thi rightful rulyng
Be rewarded in hevene."
And sithen in the eyr an
heigh

An aungel of hevene
Lowed to speke in Latyn,
For lewed men ne koude
Jangle ne jugge,
That justifie hem sholde,
But suffren and serven;
For-thi seide the aungel:
Sum rex, sum princeps,
Neutrum fortasse deinceps;
O qui jura regis,
Christi specialia regis,
Hoc quod agas melius,
Justus es, esto pius.
Nudum jus a te
Vestiri vult pietate;
Qualia vis metere,

Talia grana sere.
Si jus nudatur,

Nudo de jure metatur;
Si seritur pietas,
De pietate metas.

270

260

Thanne greved hym a goliardeis,

A gloton of wordes,

And to the aungel an heigh 279

Of ratons at ones,
And smale mees myd hem
Mo than a thousand,
And comen to a counseil
For the commune profit;
For a cat of a contree
Cam whan hym liked,
And overleep hem lightliche,
And laughte hem at his wille,
And pleide with hem perill-
ousli,

And possed aboute.

801

"For doute of diverse dredes,
We dar noght wel loke;
And if we grucche of his gamen,
He wol greven us alle,
Cracchen us or clawen us,
And in hise clouches holde,
That us lotheth the lif

Er he late us passe.
Mighte we with any wit
His wille withstonde,
We mighte be lordes o-lofte,
And lyven at oure ese."

A raton of renoun,

Moost renable of tonge,
Seide for a sovereyn

810

817

Help to hymselve: [quod he

"I have y-seyen

840

To bugge a belle of bras,
Or of bright silver,
And knytten it on a coler
For oure commune profit,
Wher he ryt or rest,
Or renneth to pleye;
And if hym list for to laike,
Thanne loke we mowen,
And peeren in his presence
The while him pleye liketh :
And, if hym wratheth, be war,
And his way shonye."

Al this route of ratons
To this reson thei assented.
Ac tho the belle was y-brought,
And on the beighe hanged,
Ther ne was raton in al the

850

route,

For al the reaume of Fraunce,

854

"Though we killen the cat, Yet sholde ther come another To cacchen us and al oure kynde,

Though we cropen under

benches.

Thorugh carpynge of this coler That costed me nevere

405

And though it hadde costned

me catel,

Bi-knowen it I nolde

But suffren, as hymself wolde,
To doon as hym liketh,
Coupled and uncoupled
To cacche what thei mowe.
For-thi ech a wis wight I

warne,

Wite wel his owene."

What this metels by-meneth, Ye men that ben murye

CO

nyngnes,

[oyne,

He coveiteth noght your car

Devyne ye, for I ne dar, By deere God in hevene.

417