And therupon he toke a route
Of men of armés and rode oute,
So longe and 1 in awaite he lay,
That he aspied upon a day
The Popé was at Avinon
And shuldé ride out of the town
Unto Pontsorgé, the whiche is
A castell in Provence of his.
Upon the way and as he rode,
This knight, whiche hovéd and
abode

Embuisshéd upon horsébake,
All sodeinlich upon him brake
And hath him by the bridell sesed
And said: 'O thou, which hast
disesed

Of whome the writinge is yet now Registred as a man may here, Which speketh and saith in this

maner:

'Thin entré lich a fox was sligh, Thy regne also with pride on high Was lich the leon in his rage, But atté laste of thy passage Thy deth was to the houndés like.' "Suche is the letter of his cronique

Proclaméd in the court of Rome,
Wherof the wise ensample nome.1
And yet as ferforth as I dare,

I rede all other men beware
And that they loké well algate,

wronge,

Of holy chirche in no degre

songe.

Thin enterdite and thy senténce
Ayein thin owné conscience

Hereafter thou shalt fele and grope.
We pleigné nought ayein the Pope,
For thilké name is honourable,
But thou, whiche hast be deceivable
And trecherous in all thy werke,
Thou Boneface, and proudé clerke,
Misleder of the papacie,
Thy falsé body shall abie 2
And suffre, that it hath deserved.'
"Lo, thus this supplantór was
served.

For they him ladden into Fraunce
And setten him to his penáunce
Within a toure in hardé bondes,
Where he for hunger both his
hondes

Ete of and diéd, God wote how.

For thilke honoúr whiche Aaron

toke

Shall none receive as saith the boke,
But he be clepéd,2 as he was.
What shall I thenken in this cas
Of that I heré nowe a day?

I not, but he which can and may
By reson both and by natúre
The helpe of every mannés cure
He kepé Simon fro the folde.

"For Joachim, thilke abbot tolde,
How suché daiés shulden falle,
That comunlich in places alle
The chapmen of such mercerie
With fraude and `with supplantarie
So many shulden beie and selle,
That he ne may for shamé telle
So foule a sinne in mannés ere.
But God forbedé that it were
In ouré daiés, that he saith.
For if the clerk beware 4 his faith
In chapmanhode at suche a faire
The remenaunt mot nede empeire 5

1 Nome, took.

2 But he be clepéd, unless he be called. 3 Not, know not. 4 Beware, barter. 5 Empeire, grow worse.

Of all that to the world belongeth. For whan that holy chirché wrongeth,

I not what other thing shall righte.
And nethéles at mannés sighte
Envíe for to be preferred
Hath consciëncé so differred,
That no man loketh to the Vice
Whiche is the moder of malíce,
And that is thilké fals Envie,
Which causeth many a trecherie.
For where he may another se
That is more gracious than he,
It shall nought stonden in his might
But if he hinder suche a wight.
And that is well nigh over all
This Vice is now so generall.

"Envíe thilke unhap indrough, Whan Joab by deceipté slough Abner, for drede he shuldé be With king David such as was he. "And through Envíe also it felle Of thilké fals Achitofelle,

And that by wordés but a fewe
I shall by reson prove and shewe.
"Envie if that I shall descrive,
He is nought shaply for to wive
In erth among the women here.
For there is in him no matere
Wherof he mighté do plesaunce.
First for his hevy contenaunce
Of that he semeth ever unglad
He is nought able to be hadde,
And eke he brenneth so withinne,
That kindé may no profit winne,
Wherof he shulde his lové plese.
For thilké blood, which shuld have

ese

To regne among the moisté veines,
Is drie of thilke unkindly peines
Through which Envie is firéd ay.
And this by reson prove I may,
That toward Love Envie is nought;
And other wise if it be sought,
Upon what side as ever it falle
It is the wersté Vice of alle,

For understond that every Vice
Some causé hath wherof it groweth.
But of Envíë no man knoweth
Fro whenne he cam, but out of
helle.

1

For thus the wisé clerkés telle,
That no spirít but of malíce
By way of kinde upon a Vice
Is tempted, and by such a way
Envíe hath kindé 1 put away
And of malíce hath his stering,
Wherof he maketh his bákbitíng,
And is him self therof disesed;
So may there be no kindé plesed.
For ay the more that he envieth,
The more ayein him self he plieth.
Thus stant Envíe in good espeire
To ben him self the divels heire
As he whiche is his nexté liche
And furthest from the heven riche.
1 Kindé, nature.

There is phisiqué for the seke
And Vertues for the Vices eke.
Who that the Vices wolde escheue,
He mot by reson thanné sue 2
The Vertues. For by thilké way
He may the Vices done away;
For they to-gider may nought dwelle.
For as the water of the welle
Of fire abateth the malíce,
Right so Vertu fordoth the Vice.

"Ayein Envíe is Charité,
Whiche is the moder of pité,
That maketha mannés herté tender,
That it may no malíce engender
In him that is inclined therto.
For his coráge is tempred so,
That though he might him self
releve

Yet wolde he nought another greve,
But rather for to do plesaúnce
He bereth him selven the gre-
vaúnce,

So fain he wolde another ese.
Wherof, my soné, for thin ese
Now herken a talé, whiche I rede,3
And understonde it well I rede.1

Whan he was in his lusty age,
The lepre caught in his viságe
And so forth over all aboute
That he ne mighté riden oute.
So left he bothé shield and spere,
As he that might him nought be-
stere,

And helde him in his chamber close.
Through all the world the fame

arose.

The greté clerkés ben assent
And com at his commaundémént
To tret upon this lordés hele.
So longé they to-gider dele,
That they upon this medicíne
Appointen hem and determíne,
That in the maner as it stood
They wolde him bath in childés
blood

Withinné seven winter age.
For as they sain, that shulde assuage
The leper and all the violénce,
Which that they knewe of accidence
And nought by way of kinde is falle.
And therto they accorden alle
As for fináll conclusion,
And tolden her opiniön

To themperoúr. And he anone
His counseil toke, and therupon
With letters and with sealés out
They send in every londe about
The yongé children for to seche,
Whose blood, they said, shuldé be
leche

For themperoúrés maladie.

"There was inough to wepe and

crie Among the moders, whan they herde How wofully this causé ferde. But nethéles they moten bowe, And thus womén there come inowe, With children soukend on the tete; Tho was there many terés lete.

"But were hem liefe or were hem

loth,

The women and the children both
Into the paleis forth be brought
With many a sory hertés thought
Of hem whiche of her 1 body bore
The children hadde, and so forlore
Within a whilé shulden se.
The moders wepe in her degre
And many of hem a swouné falle,
The yongé babies crieden alle.
This noise arose, this lorde it herde
And lokéd out, and how it ferde
He sigh, and as who saith abraide
Out of his slepe and thus he saide:
'O thou diviné purveaúnce,
Which every man in the balaúnce
Of kinde hast forméd to be liche,-
The pouer is bore as is the riche
And dieth in the same wise;
Upon the fole, upon the wise,
Siknésse and hele entér comune;
May none escheué that fortúne
Which kinde hath in her lawé sette;
Her strengthe and beauté ben be-

sette

To every man aliché free;

That she preferreth no degree
As in the disposiciön
Of bodely complexiön.
And eke, of soulé resonable,
The pouer childe is bore as able
To vertue as the kingés sone.
For every man his owné wone 2
After the lust of his assay
The Vice or Vertue chesé may.
Thus stonden allé men fraunchísed,
But in estate they ben devísed;
To some worship and richésse,
To somé pouérte and distresse ;
One lordeth and an other serveth :
But yet as every man deserveth
The world yeveth nought his yeftés
here.

And certés he hath great matere

To ben of good condiciön,
Whiche hath in his subjectiön
The men that ben of his sem-
blaúnce.'

And eke he toke his remembraúnce,
How he that madé lawe of kinde
Wolde every man to lawé binde,
And bad a man, suche as he wolde
Toward him self, right such he
sholde

Toward an other done also.

"And thus this worthy lord as tho1 Set in balaúnce his owne estate And with him self stood in debate And thoughté, howe it was nought

good

To se so mochel mannés blood
Be spilt by cause of him alone.

"He sigh also the greté mone
Of that the moders were unglad,
And of the wo the children made
Wherof that all his herté tendreth,
And such pité within engendreth
That him was lever for to chese
His owné body for to lese,
Than se so great a mordre wrought
Upon the blood which gilteth
nought.

Thus for the pité whiche he toke,
All other lechés he forsoke
And put him out of aventúre
Al only into Goddés cure

And saith: 'Who that woll maister

be

He mot be servaunt to pité.'
So ferforth he was overcome
With charité, that he hath nome
His counseil and his officers,
And badde unto his tresorérs,
That they his tresour all about
Departe 2 among the pouer route
Of women and of children bothe,
Wherof they might hem fede and
clothe

1 As tho, as then. 2 Departe, part out, divide.

And saufly tornen home ayein Withoute loss of any grein. Through Charité thus he dispendeth His good, wherof that he amendeth The pouer people and countrevaileth The harm that he hem sotravaileth. And thus the wofull nightés sorwe To joie is tornéd on the morwe. All was thanking, all was blessing, Whiche erst was wepinge and cursing.

Thou shalt ben hole of bothé two. And for thou shalt the nought despeire,

Thy lepré shall no more empeire
Till thou wolt sendé therupon
Unto the mount of Celión,
Where that Silvéster and his clergie
To-gider dwelle in compaignie
For drede of the, which many a day
Hast ben a fo to Cristés lay1
And hast destruied to mochel shame

inough,

Echone for joie on other lough
And praiden for this lordés hele,
Whiche hath releséd the quaréle
And hath his owné will forsake
In Charite for Goddés sake.
But now hereafter thou shalte here
What God hath wrought in this
matére,

As he that doth all equité.
To him that wroughté Charité
He was ayeinward charitoús
And to pité he was pitoús.
For it was never knowé yit,
That Charité goth unaquit.

The night whan he was laid to

slepe,

The highé God, which wold him kepe,

Saint Peter and saint Poule him sende,

But now thou hast somdele appesed Thy God and with good dedé plesed,

That thou thy pité hast bewared Upon the blood which thou hast spared.

Forthý to thy salvaciön
Thou shalt have informaciön,
Such as Silvéster shall the teche,
The nedeth of none other leche.'
This emperour, whiche all this
herde:

'Graunt mercy Lorde, he answerde,
I woll do so as ye me say.
But of o thing I woldé pray,
What shall I telle unto Silvestre
Or of your name or of your estre ?" 2
And they him tolden what they
hight

And forth with all oute of his sight They passen up into the heven.

amende.

They two to him slepénd appere

Fro God, and said in this manére : 'O Constantin, for thou hast served

Pité, thou hast pité deserved.
Forthý thou shalt such pité have,
That God through pité woll the save.
So shalt thou double helé finde,
First for thy bodeliché kinde,
And for thy wofull soule also.

3