2. Carmen super multiplici viciorum pestilencia		2. A Poem on the Manifold Plague of Vices	(see note)
Nota consequenter carmen super multiplici viciorum pestilencia, unde tempore Ricardi Secundi partes nostre specialius inficiebantur.		Attend to the following poem on the manifold plague of vices, by which our realms were especially infected during the reign of Richard II.
5 10	Non excusatur qui verum non fateatur, Ut sic ponatur modus unde fides recolatur. Qui magis ornatur sensu sua verba loquatur, Ne lex frangatur qua Cristus sanctificatur. Hoc res testatur: virtus ita nunc viciatur Quod vix firmatur aliquis quin transgrediatur. Hinc contristatur mea mens que sepe gravatur, Dum contemplatur vicium quod continuatur; Set quia speratur quod vera fides operatur, Quod Deus hortatur, michi scribere penna paratur, Ut describatur cur mundus sic variatur:    Ecce, malignatur que modo causa datur.	He who does not confess the truth is not excused From finding a way to act in good faith. Let the man more gifted with reason speak in his own words, That no law be broken by which Christ is sanctified. Fact bears witness to this: virtue is now so turned to vice That scarcely anyone is protected from trespass. At this my mind is saddened and is often weighed down, While it contemplates the vice that is ongoing; But because I hope that the good faith is still efficacious, That God enjoins, my pen is prepared to write, To describe why the world is so plague-spotted.    Behold, the cause that is now given is shown to be evil.	(see note) (see note)
Putruerunt et corrupte sunt cicatrices a facie insipiencie,1 set priusquam mors ex morbo finem repente concludat, sapiencie medicinam detectis plagis cum omni diligencia sapienter investigare debemus. Unde ego, non medicus set medicine procurator,2 qui tanti periculi gravitatem deplangens intime contristor; quedam vulnera maiori corrupcione putrida euidenti distinccione, ut inde medicos pro salute interpellam consequenter declarare propono. Anno regni Regis Ricardi Secundi vicesimo.3 Contra demonis astuciam in causa Lollardie.4		The wounds have rotted and been aggravated in the face of stupidity, but before the disease ends in sudden death, we ought to investigate the medicine of wisdom once we have uncovered all the injuries wisely with all diligence. Whence I, not a doctor but a dispenser of medicine, am deeply saddened in my heart, lamenting the seriousness of such great danger; and I propose to identify by clear distinction the wounds that are seriously diseased with rottenness in order to direct the doctors to cure them. In the twentieth year of King Richard. Against the subtlety of the devil in the case of Lollardy.
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90	Quod patet ad limen instanti tempore crimen Describam primo, quo pallent alta sub ymo. Nescio quid signat: plebs celica iura resignat Dum laicus clausas fidei vult solvere causas: Que Deus incepit et homo servanda recepit: Iam magis enervant populi quam scripta reservant,    Unde magis clarum scribere tendo parum. Lollia messis habens granum perturbat et ips    Talia qui patitur horrea sepe gravat. Semina perfidie sacros dispersa per agros    Ecclesie, turbant subdola, sicque fidem. Inventor sceleris, sceleratus apostata primus    Angelicas turmas polluit ipse prius; Postque ruit nostros paradisi sede parentes    Morteque vitales fecerat esse reos. Callidus hic serpens nec adhuc desistit in orbe,    Quin magis in Cristi lollia messe serit. Ecce novam sectam mittit, que plebis in aures    Ad fidei dampnum scandala plura canit. Sic vetus insurgit heresis quasi Ioviniani,    Unde moderna fides commaculata dolet. Usurpando fidem, vultum mentitur honestum    Caucius ut fraudem palleat inde suam. Sub grossa lana linum subtile tenetur,    Simplicitas vultus corda dolosa tegit. Fermento veteri talis corrumpit acervum    Qui nova conspergit et dubitanda movet; Dum magis incantat, obtura tu magis aures    Forcius et cordis ostia claude tui. Simplicitate tua ne credas omne quod audis;    Que docet ambiguus auctor aborta cave. Nil novitatis habens tua mens fantastica cedat;    Ut pater ante tuus credidit, acta cole. Vera fides Cristi non hesitat, immo fideles    Efficit ut credant cordis amore sui: Nil valet illa fides ubi res dabit experimentum,    Spes tamen in Cristo sola requirit eum: Recta fides quicquid rectum petit, omne meretur,    Quicquid possibile creditur, ipsa potest. Argumenta fides dat rerum que neque sciri,    Nec possunt verbo nec racione capi. Subde tuam fidei mentem, quia mortis ymago    Iudicis eterni mistica scire nequit: Ut solus facere voluit, sic scire volebat    Solus, et hoc nulli participavit opus. Una quid ad solem sintilla valet, vel ad equor    Gutta, vel ad celum quid cinis esse potest? Leticiam luctus, mors vitam, gaudia fletus    Non norunt, nec que sunt Deitatis homo. Non tenebre solem capiunt, non lumina cecus,    Infima mens hominis nec capit alta Dei: Nempe, sacri flatus archanum nobile nunquam    Scrutari debes, quod penetrare nequis. Cum non sit nostrum vel mundi tempora nosse,    Unde creaturas nosse laborat homo? Nos sentire fidem nostra racione probatam    Non foret humanis viribus illud opus; Humanum non est opus ut transcendat ad astra,    Quod mortalis homo non racione capit. Ingenium tante transit virtutis in altum,    Transcurrit superos, in Deitate manet. Qui sapienter agit sapiat moderanter in istis;    Postulet ut rectam possit habere fidem: Committat fidei quod non poterit racioni,    Quod non dat racio, det tibi firma fides. Quod docet ecclesia tu tantum crede, nec ultra    Quam tibi scire datur quomodocumque stude. Sufficit ut credas, est ars ubi nulla sciendi;    Quanta potest Dominus scire nec ullus habet. Est Deus omnipotens, et qui negat omnipotenti    Credere posse suum denegat esse Deum. Sic incarnatum tu debes credere Cristum    Virginis ex utero, qui Deus est et homo. Vis salvus fieri? Pete, crede, stude, revereri;    Absque magis queri, lex iubet ista geri. Has fantasias aliter que dant heresias    Dampnat Messias, sobrius ergo scias. Tempore Ricardi, super hiis que fata tulerunt,    Scismata Lollardi de novitate serunt: Obstet principiis tribulos purgareque vadat    Cultor in ecclesiis, ne rosa forte cadat.	I will first describe the crime that appears at the threshold today By which the heights, subject to the Deep, grow pale. I know not what it signifies: the common folk revoke Heaven's laws While the layman wants to reopen the settled grounds of faith. The written laws that God instituted and man received to be kept Now the peoples weaken more than follow,    And thus I will strive to make more clear what is not clear enough. The harvest with tares harms the grain itself,    And when it suffers such things it often burdens the granaries. The seeds of faithlessness, scattered across the holy fields    Of the Church, subtly deceptive, disturb it and thus the faith. The inventor of wickedness, that wicked first apostate,    Previously polluted the angelic throngs; And then he cast down our first parents from their seat in Paradise    And made those children of life guilty under sentence of death. Nor does this sly serpent rest in the world even now,    Rather all the more he sows tares in the harvest of Christ. Behold, he sends a new sect, which into the ears of the people    Sings many scandals to the detriment of their faith. Thus the old heresy arises like that of Jovinian,    By which our stained modern faith grieves. In usurping the faith, it feigns an honest countenance    To then cloak its fraud more cautiously. Beneath coarse wool fine linen is worn,    Simplicity of face hides deceptive hearts. Such a guise corrupts the lump with old yeast,    Scattering novelties and raising doubts. The more he sings, the more you must stop up your ears    And close more forcefully the doors of your heart. In your simplicity do not believe everything you hear;    Beware the maimed doctrines that the author of ambiguity teaches. Your mind should hold no novelties, and let fantasies fade;    As your father believed before you, take up his deeds. The true faith of Christ does not doubt: rather,    It makes the faithful believe in the love of their heart. That faith is worth nothing when experience will supply the facts,    For hope in Christ seeks only Him: Correct faith seeks whatever is correct, and merits every such thing,    And whatever is believed to be possible, this very faith can do it. Faith gives proofs of facts that cannot be known,    Nor grasped, not by word nor by reasoning. Surrender your mind to this faith, because in the image of death    One cannot know the mysteries of the eternal Judge: As He alone willed to act, so He was willing to know    Alone, and He shared this work with no one. What does the spark add to the sun, what to the sea    One drop, or what can an ash be against the sky? Grief does not know happiness, death does not know life, joys    Do not know tears, nor do humans know the things of God. Shadows do not comprehend the sun, nor a blind man the light,    And the lowly mind of man does not receive the heights of God: For the noble mystery of the sacred breath    You ought never examine, because you cannot penetrate it. Since it is not for us to know the times of the world or of ourselves,    Why does man toil to understand creation? To experience a faith approved by our reason    Would not be a task for human strength; It is not human to work to cross over to the stars,    Because a mortal man cannot grasp it with his reason. An intellect of such great power,    It surpasses the angels, it rests in divinity. Let the man who lives wisely moderate his knowledge in these matters;    Let him pray that he can have true faith; Let him entrust to faith what he cannot entrust to reason.    What reason does not give you, let a solid faith give. Believe only what the Church teaches, and do not be eager    In any way at all for what is beyond what is granted you to know. It is sufficient that you believe, when there is no art of knowledge;    No one knows such great things as the Lord can know. God is omnipotent, and whoever says that he cannot    Believe in His omnipotence denies that He is God. Thus you ought to believe that Christ was born incarnate    From a virgin's womb, He who is God and man. Do you want to be saved? Pray, believe, be zealous, reverent:    Without more being asked, the Law bids such things be done. These fantasies that otherwise produce heresies    The Messiah condemns, therefore understand soberly. In the time of Richard, concerning the things the fates have brought,    The Lollards sow schisms of novelty: Let the gardener obstruct their beginnings and come    To purge the thistles in the churches, so that the rose will not die.	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Contra mentis seuiciam in causa Superbie.		Against harshness of mind in matters of Pride.
95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140	Deficit in verbo sensus, quo cuncta superbo Scribere delicta nequeo, que sunt michi dicta. Radix peccati fuit ille prius scelerati, Ex quo dampnati perierunt prevaricati: Desuper a celis deiecit eum Michaelis Ensis ad inferni tenebras de luce superni; Nec paradisus ei prebere locum requiei Spondet ubi vere sibi gaudia posset habere. Sic, quia deceptus alibi nequit esse receptus, Mundum deposcit, ut in illo vivere possit. Sic adhibendo moram venit ille superbus ad horam, Quem mea mens tristis in partibus asserit istis. Hunc ubi ponemus, hostem quem semper habemus? Nam magis infecta veniens facit omnia tecta. Laus ibi non lucet ubi vana superbia ducet, Regna superborum; docet hoc vestitus eorum: Cum valet ornatum sibi vanus habere paratum Non quasi mortalis, set ut angelus evolat alis. Militis ad formam modo pauper habet sibi normam, Vana sit ut vestis erit inde superbia testis, Exterius signum cor signat habere malignum, Cordis et errore fortuna carebit honore. Nos igitur talem non consociare sodalem Expedit, ut tuti reddamur in orbe saluti. Quod Deus odivit reprobos David hoc bene scivit, Ipseque psalmista scripsit de talibus ista: "Elatas mentes posuit de sede potentes, Et sublimauit humiles, quos semper amavit." Vanus non durat, quem vana superbia curat, Hec set eum ducit ubi gracia nulla reducit. Culpa quidem fontis latices dabit hec Acherontis, Unde bibunt vani mortem quasi cotidiani. Omne quod est natum stat ab hoc vicio viciatum, Quo magis inmundum vir vanus habet sibi mundum. Set qui mentali de pondere iudiciali Istud libraret, puto quod meliora pararet. Hoc nam mortale vicium stat sic generale Quod mundum fregit, ubi singula regna subegit; Hec etenim cedes nostras, ut dicitur, edes Vertit, et insana dat tempora cotidiana. O Deus eterne, culpe miserere moderne, Facque pias mentes sub lege tua penitentes! Corpus, opes, vires sapiens non sic stabilires, Dumque superbires, subita quin sorte perires. Sunt que maiores humilis paciencia mores Nutrit et errores vicii facit esse minores: Ergo tuam vera mentem moderare statera;    Sit laus vel labes, pectore pondus habes.	Words are inadequate to describe all the failings Of the proud man that have been related to me. Pride was the root of the sin of the first wicked person, On whose account those who went astray were condemned and perished: The sword of Michael hurled him down from the heavens To the darkness infernal, from the light supernal; Nor did the Garden give him assurance of a place to rest Where he could truly have joys for himself. Thus, because he was deceived and could not elsewhere be received, He demanded the world, in order to live in it. By taking up residence, that proud one has lasted to this hour, And my mind grieves to assert that he is present in these realms. Where will we put him, whom we hold as our constant enemy? For by his coming he makes all dwellings more infected. Praise does not shine where vain pride is at the head, The kingdoms of the proud; their clothing demonstrates this: When the vain man esteems his apparel as having been furnished For him not as a mortal, but as an angel who flies with wings. Sometimes the poor man makes his measure the image of the soldier, And pride will serve as witness how vainglorious a costume can be, As his outward appearance signals that he has a wicked heart, And by the sin of his heart his lot will lack honor. Therefore it serves us well not to associate with such a companion, That we may be restored safely to health in this world. David knew well that God hates those who are false, And the psalmist wrote these things about such men: "He has cast down the lofty minds from the seats of power, And He has raised up the humble, whom He has always loved." The vain man will not endure, whom vain pride oversees, But his pride will lead him to a place from which no grace can return him. Indeed, this sin will give him the waters of the fountain of Acheron, From which the vain drink death almost daily. Everything born has been vitiated by this vice, And by it the vain man pollutes his world all the more. But if one in his mind with a judicious weight Were to weigh this vice, I think he would act for the better. For this mortal vice is so pervasive That it has shattered the world, brought kingdoms down one after another; It even causes our deaths, as is said, overturns our homes, And gives rise to seasons of madness day after day. O eternal God, pity our sin of these times, And make our minds devout and penitent under Your law! Although wise, you cannot make your health, wealth, and strength so stable, To keep you from meeting a swift fate, as long as you are proud. The character that humble patience nurtures is a greater one And humble patience makes the errors of pride lesser: Therefore balance your mind with the scales of truth,    And you have a counterbalance in your heart, be it praise or blame.	(see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note)
Contra carnis lasciviam in causa Concupiscencie.		Against the wantonness of the flesh in the case of Lust.
145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 205 210 215 220	O sexus fragilis, ex quo natura virilis Carnea procedit, anime que robora ledit! O natura viri carnalis, que stabiliri Non valet, ut pura carnalia sint sibi iura! Federa sponsorum que sunt sacrata virorum, Heu! caro dissoluit, nec ibi sua debita soluit. Tempore presenti de carne quasi furienti, Turpia sunt plura, que signant dampna futura: Hec desponsatis sunt metuenda satis. Philosophus quidam, carnis de labe remorsus,    Plebis in exemplum talia verba refert: "Unam de variis penam sortitur adulter,    Eius ut amplexus omnis in orbe luat; Aut membrum perdet, aut carceris antra subibit,    Aut cadet insanus non reputandus homo, Aut sibi pauperies infortunata resistet,    Aut moriens subito transit ab orbe reus." Et sic luxuries fatuis sua dona refundit,    Vertit et econtra quicquid ab ante tulit. Quod prius est dulce, demonstrat finis amarum,    Quo caro non tantum, spiritus immo cadit. Sic oculus cordis, carnis caligine cecus,    Errat, et in dampnum decidit ipse suum. Sic iubar humani sensus fuscatur in umbra    Carnis, et in carnem mens racionis abit. Dum carnalis amor animum tenet illaqueatum,    Sensati racio fit racionis egens; Stans hominis racio, calcata per omnia, carni    Servit, et ancille vix tenet ipsa locum. Non locus est in quo maneant consueta libido    Et racio pariter; quin magis una vacat. Bella libido movet, favet et vecordia carnis,    Et sua dat fedo colla premenda iugo; Libera set racio mentem de morte remordet    Carnis in obsequio, statque pudica Deo. Nil commune gerunt luxus sibi cum racione;    Ista Deum retinet, illa cadaver habet: Sic patet ut nichil est quicquid peritura voluptas    Appetit in carne, que velut umbra fugit. Pluribus exemplis tibi luxus erit fugiendus:    Biblea que docuit, respice facta David: Consilio Balaam luxus decepit Hebreos,    Quos caro commaculat; carnea culpa premit. Discat homo iuvenis celeri pede labitur etas,    Nuncia dum mortis curua senecta venit: Ecce, senilis yemps tremulo venit horrida passu,    Et rapit a iuvene quod reparare nequit: Vir sapiens igitur sua tempora mente revoluat,    Erigat et currum, quam prius inde cadat. Heu, set in hoc vicio plebis quasi tota propago    Carnis in obsequio stat viciata modo: Ex causa fragili causatur fictilis etas,    Quo nunc de facili frangitur omnis homo. Carnis enim vicia sunt sic communiter acta,    Quod de continuis vix pudet usus eis; Cecus amor fatuos cecos sic ducit amantes,    Quod sibi quid deceat non videt ullus amans. Pendula res amor est, subito collapsa dolore,    Ordine precipiti miraque facta parat; Sique tuam velles flammam compescere tutus,    Artem prevideas, quam prius inde cadas. Cum viciis aliis pugna, iubet hec tibi Paulus,    Carnis et a bello tu fuge, solus homo; Et quia vulnifico fixurus pectora telo    Vibrat amor, caute longius inde fuge. Vinces si fugias, vinceris sique resistas;    Ne leo vincaris, tu lepus ergo fuge. Mente tui cordis memorare novissima carnis.    Et speculo mortis respice qualis eris: Oscula fetor erunt, amplexus vermis, et omne    Quod fuerat placidum, pena resolvet opus. Occupat extrema stultorum gaudia luctus,    Et risum lacrima plena dolore madet: Vana salus hominis; quam terminat egra voluptas,    Tollit et eternum vivere vita brevis. Crede, satis tutum tenet hoc natura statutum:    Quo caro pollutum reddet ad yma lutum; Cum fera mors stabit et terram terra vorabit,    Tunc homo gustabit quid sibi culpa dabit. Est ubi mundicia carnis sine labe reatus,    Casta pudicicia gaudet ad omne latus: Stat nota bina solo quo luxus non dominatur;    Pax manet absque dolo, longaque vita datur.	O fragile sex, from which man's fleshly nature Proceeds, which wounds his soul's strength! O carnal nature of man, which lacks the strength Of stability, so that its laws are sheer fleshliness! The consecrated unions of spouses, Alas! the flesh has dissolved, and does not pay its debts there. Nowadays the flesh is raging With much foulness that bodes harm to come:    Married folk must be on the alert against it. A certain philosopher, remorseful over a carnal fault,    Gives the people this exemplum with these words: "The adulterer draws as his lot one punishment from many,    So that he may atone for all his embraces in the world; Either he will lose his member, or he will enter a prison cell,    Or die insane without repute, Or encounter poverty and ill fortune    Or die suddenly and pass guiltily from the world." And thus lechery pours out its gifts on the foolish,    Then turns and takes away whatever it gave before. What is sweet at first proves bitter in the end,    When not only the flesh, but even the spirit lapses. Thus the eye of the heart, blinded by the haze of the flesh,    Goes astray, and falls to its harm. Thus the piercing light of human sense is dimmed in the shade    Of the flesh, and the rational mind sinks into the flesh. While fleshly love holds the mind in its webs,    Sensible reason turns into the lack of reason; Man's standing reason, downtrodden by everything, serves    The flesh, and scarcely holds its place as a handmaiden. There is no place in which ingrained lust    And reason can remain on equal terms without one yielding place. Lust moves wars, and the madness of the flesh favors them,    And bows its neck beneath the foul yoke; But reason when free stings the conscience with thoughts of death    In the service of the flesh, and reason stands chaste before God. Lechery shares no common ground with reason:    Reason holds on to God, lechery to a cadaver: Thus is it clear that whatever perishable desire    Hungers for in the flesh is nothing, and flees like a shadow. You can see from many examples that lust should be fled:    Regard the deeds of David, which the Bible has taught: By the counsel of Balaam wantonness deceived the Hebrews,    Flesh stained them; fleshly guilt weighed them down. Let the young man learn that life slips by at a swift pace,    While bent old age comes as a harbinger of death: Behold, old shaggy winter comes in with a trembling step,    And steals from the young what they cannot regain: Therefore let the wise man meditate on his life and times,    And let him direct his chariot on high, before he falls from it. But alas, in this vice nearly the entire human race    Now stands vitiated, in the service of the flesh: Our age of clay is grounded on a fragile foundation,    So that now every man is easily broken. For the crimes of the flesh are so commonly committed    That scarcely does their continuous use cause any shame: Blind love so leads stupid blind lovers    That no lover sees what is decent for him. The business of love is a pendulum, now crumpled in sudden grief,    Now in headlong preparation it marshals miraculous deeds; And if you want to be safe and temper the flame of your love,    Consider the methods in advance, before you fall. Wage war with the other vices, as Paul bids you,    And flee from a war with the flesh, you who are only human; Since love is brandishing a deadly weapon    Fixed on your heart, be cautious, flee far away. You will win if you flee, and you will be conquered if you resist;    Lest you be conquered like a lion, be a hare and flee. In the mind of your heart remember flesh's fate,    And regard in death's mirror what you will be: Your kisses will be a stench, your embraces worms, and every    Task that was pleasing will turn painful. Mourning overtakes the final joys of fools,    Tears of sorrow drown out laughter: A man's welfare is worthless if sick pleasure ends it,    A short life that precludes eternal life. Take heed: nature maintains this law quite securely:    Flesh will return its polluted clay to the earth below; When savage death looms, and dust consumes dust,    Then man will taste what sin gives him. And where there is purity of flesh without stain of guilt,    There modest chastity rejoices on every side. This dual distinction belongs to him alone over whom lechery holds no sway:    Peace without deceit and a long life.	(see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note)
Contra mundi fallaciam in causa Periurii et Avaricie.		Against the falseness of the world in the matters of Perjury and Greed.
225 230 235 240 245 250 255 260 265 270 275 280 285 290 295 300 L L 306 310 315 320	Sunt duo cognati viciorum consociati Orbem qui ledunt pariter, nec ab orbe recedunt: Iste fidem raram periurat, et alter avarum Causam custodit. Socios tales Deus odit. Primo periurum describam, postque futurum, Est ubi ius rarum, scriptura remordet avaram: Ex vicio tali fertur origo mali. Nemo Dei nomen assumere debet inane,    Falsa nec ut iuret, os perhibere malo: Lex vetus hoc statuit, set, prothdolor, ecce modernus    Munere corruptos iam novus error agit. Nil nisi dona videt dum se periurat Avarus,    Eius enim sensum census ubique regit. Sic non liber homo librum sine pondere librat,    Servit et ad libras quas sua libra trahit. Set quia periurus defraudat iura superni,    Iurat eum dominus iure perire suo. Sic lucrum siciens laqueos incurrit, et eius    Lingua prius mendax premia mortis habet; Sic vendens et emens vacuus non transiet, immo    Munera que capiet sulphur et ignis erunt. Vendere iusticiam nichil est nisi vendere Cristum,    Expectat dampnum qui facit inde forum. Testis erit Iudas quid erit sibi fine doloris;    Dum crepuit medius, culpa subibat onus. Penituit culpam, que semel nisi fecerat illam,    Quod tulit et lucrum reddidit ipse statim; Set nec eo veniam meruit nec habere salutem;    Iam valet exemplum tale movere virum. Vendidit ipse semel iustum, nos cotidianum    Ob lucri precium vendimus omne malum; Ille restauravit, set nos restringimus aurum;    Penituit, set nos absque pavore sumus. Sic et avaricia, tanta feritate, perurget    Corda viri, quod ab hoc vix homo liber abit. Cessat iusticia, cessatque fides sociata,    Fraus dolus atque suum iam subiere locum. Plebs sine iure manet, non est qui iura tuetur;    Non est qui dicat, "Iura tenere decet." Omnibus in causis, ubi gentes commoda querunt,    Nunc modus est que fides non habuisse fidem. Vox levis illa Iacob, Esau manus hispida nuper,    Que foret ista dies, signa futura dabant: Alterius casu stat supplantator, et eius    Qui fuerat socius fraude subintrat opes. Ex dampno fratris frater sua commoda querit;    Unus si presit, invidet alter ei. Filius ante diem patruos iam spectat in annos,    Nec videt ex oculis ceca cupido suis. Nunc amor est solus, nec sentit habere secundum,    Stans odioque tibi diligit ipse tua. Quid modo, cumque manus mentitur dextra sinistre,    Dicam? Set caveat qui sapienter agit. Vivitur ex velle, non amplius est via tuta;    Cuncta licent cupido, dum vacat ipse lucro. Arma, rapina, dolus, amor ambiciosus habendi,    Amplius ad proprium velle sequntur iter. Lex silet et nummus loquitur; ius dormit et aurum    Pervigil insidiis vincit ubique suis. Hasta nocet ferri, gladius set plus nocet auri;    Regna terit mundi, nilque resistit ei. Set quia mors dubium concludit ad omnia finem,    Est nichil hic certum preter amare Deum. Rebus in humanis semper quid deficit, et sic    Ista nichil plenum fertile vita tenet. Quod tibi dat proprium mundus, tibi tollit id ipsum,    Deridensque tuum linquit inane forum. Quam prius in finem mundi devenerit huius,    Nulla potest certo munere vita frui. Heu, quid opes opibus cumulas, qui propria queris,    Cum se nemo queat appropriare sibi? Hunc igitur mundum quia perdes, quere futurum;    Est aliter vacuum tempus utrumque tuum. Mammona transibit, et avara cupido peribit,    In cineres ibit, mors tua fata bibit. Pauper ab hac vita, sic princeps, sic heremita,    Mortuus, ad merita transiet omnis ita. Quicquid homo volvit, mors mundi cuncta revolvit, Nemoque dissolvit quin morti debita solvit.    Hec qui mente capit gaudia raro sapit, Set sibi viventi qui consilio sapienti Prouidet ingenti merito placet omnipotenti. Tempore presenti que sunt mala proxima genti, Ex oculo flenti, Gower canit ista legenti: Quisque sue menti qui concipit aure patenti Mittat, et argenti det munera largus egenti.    Stat nam mortalis terra repleta malis. Hoc ego bis deno Ricardi regis in anno, Compaciens, animo carmen lacrimabile scribo. Vox sonat in populo, fidei iam deficit ordo, Unde magis solito cessat laus debita Cristo, Quem peperit virgo, genitum de flamine sacro. Hic Deus est et homo, perfecta salus manet in quo; Eius ab imperio processit pacis origo, Que dabitur iusto paciens qui credit in ipso. Vir qui vult ideo pacem componere mundo:    Pacificet primo iura tenenda Deo.	There are two vicious cousins and companions Who savage the world together and never leave it: One perjures precious truth, and the other the cause Of greed upholds. God hates allies of such a kind. First I will describe the perjurer, and afterwards, Scripture with its fine law rebukes the miser, Saying that this vice is the origin of evil. No one ought to take the Lord's name in vain,    Nor to apply his mouth to evil, in order to swear false oaths: The Old Law established this, but, I'm sorry to say, today    A new error drives men corrupted by gain. The greedy man sees nothing but rewards while he perjures himself,    His census everywhere rules his sense, Unfree and unbalanced he balances the free man,    And slaves for the pounds his poundage weighs down. But because the perjurer defrauds the laws of the Almighty,    The Lord swears that he will perish by his own law. In his thirst for profit he rushes into the snares, and    His lying tongue will the sooner reap the rewards of death; Thus buying and selling he will not pass empty-handed,    But his rewards will be fire and brimstone. Selling justice is nothing other than selling Christ.    Who does such business can expect to lose. Witness Judas, whose sorrow is without end;    When his body broke in two, his guilt assumed its burden. He regretted his fault as soon as he had done it,    And the money that he took he returned immediately; But in so doing he did not merit forgiveness nor salvation;    Now he serves as a warning example. Judas only once sold a just man; we daily    Sell every evil for monetary gain; He gave back his gold, but we hold it tighter;    He was contrite, we feel no fear. This is how greed, with so much ferocity, goads    The heart of man, so that one can scarcely be free of it. Justice ceases, and the bonds of faith give way,    And fraud and deception have now taken their place. The people remain without laws, and there is no one who oversees the laws;    There is no one who says, "It is right to keep the laws." In all cases, where peoples seek their own advantages,    Our current mode is that trust is not to have had trust. Not long ago that smooth voice of Jacob, the hairy hand of Esau,    Gave signs of the future, what such a day would be: The supplantor stands in the stead of another, and he wriggles    Into the wealth of him whose partner he had been. One brother seeks his profits from his brother's loss;    If one is advanced, the other envies him. Now a son looks to his father's years before their end,    And blind desire does not see from its own eyes. Now love is solitary, and desires no other:    It hates you, but loves what is yours. Since the right hand lies to the left, what now    Can I say? Let the wise man beware. Desire now drives men's lives, and there is no longer a safe path;    All things are permitted to the greedy man, as long as he wants for money. Arms, plunder, deceit, ambitious love of gain    More and more plot a path to their own desire. The law is silent and money speaks; justice sleeps and ever-vigilant gold    Is victorious everywhere with its treachery. A spear of iron does harm, but a sword of gold does more;    It wears down the kingdoms of this world, and nothing can resist it. But because death brings a doubtful end to all things,    There is nothing certain here except loving God. There is lack in all human affairs, and thus    This life holds nothing full and fertile. Everything worldly the world gives you it takes away.    And mocking you it leaves your office empty. Until it comes to its end in this world,    No life can enjoy any sure reward. Alas, why do you heap wealth on wealth, seeking property,    When no one is able to own even himself? Therefore, since you will lose this world, seek the next;    Otherwise the time you spend in both will be wasted. Mammon will pass, and desire for gain will perish,    It will proceed into the ashes, and death will drink your fate. Like the pauper, so the prince, so the hermit, from this life,    Once dead, all will pass in the same way to their rewards. Whatever man sets in motion, death unwinds everything in the world, And no one discharges his debts without paying those he owes to death.    Whoever understands this rarely enjoys delights, But he who provides for himself while alive with wise counsel Is deservedly pleasing to the great Almighty. At the present time there are evils that threaten the people: With weeping eyes, Gower sings them to his reader; And let each reader who receives these words with open ear Commit them to his mind, and let him give generously to those lacking silver.    For the mortal earth teems with evils. In the twentieth year of King Richard, With compassion, I write this poem, with a woeful heart. A voice sounds among the people. The rule of fidelity gives way, And praise owed to Christ is sounded less often, Whom the Virgin bore, conceived from the Holy Breath. He is God and man, and perfect salvation remains in Him; From His kingdom peace began to arise, Which will be granted to the just man who patiently believes in Him. Let the man who wants to, have peace in the world in this way:    First make peace by keeping God's laws.	(see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note) (see note)