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| O HATEFUL harm! condicion of poverte! | |
| With thurst, with cold, with hunger so confounded! | |
| To asken help thee shameth in thyn herte; | |
| If thou noon aske, with nede artow so wounded, | |
| That verray nede unwrappeth al thy wounde hid! | 5 |
| Maugree thyn heed, thou most for indigence | |
| Or stele, or begge, or borwe thy despence! | |
| |
| Thou blamest Crist, and seyst ful bitterly, | |
| He misdeparteth richesse temporal; | |
| Thy neighebour thou wytest sinfully, | 10 |
| And seyst thou hast to lyte, and he hath al. | |
| ‘Parfay,’ seistow, ‘somtyme he rekne shal, | |
| Whan that his tayl shal brennen in the glede, | |
| For he noght helpeth needfulle in hir nede.’ | |
| |
| Herkne what is the sentence of the wyse:— | 15 |
| ‘Bet is to dyën than have indigence;’ | |
| ‘Thy selve neighebour wol thee despyse;’ | |
| If thou be povre, farwel thy reverence! | |
| Yet of the wyse man tak this sentence:— | |
| ‘Alle the dayes of povre men ben wikke;’ | 20 |
| Be war therfor, er thou come in that prikke! | |
| |
| ‘If thou be povre, thy brother hateth thee, | |
| And alle thy freendes fleen fro thee, alas!’ | |
| O riche marchaunts, ful of wele ben ye, | |
| O noble, o prudent folk, as in this cas! | 25 |
| Your bagges been nat filled with ambes as, | |
| But with sis cink, than renneth for your chaunce; | |
| At Cristemasse merie may ye daunce! | |
| |
| Ye seken lond and see for your winninges, | |
| As wyse folk ye knowen al thestaat | 30 |
| Of regnes; ye ben fadres of tydinges | |
| And tales, bothe of pees and of debat. | |
| I were right now of tales desolat, | |
| Nere that a marchaunt, goon is many a yere, | |
| Me taughte a tale, which that ye shal here. | 35 |
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