A wonder will I tell thee now,

Thou hardest neuer such one I trow;
I not where thou me leuen shall,
Though soothfastnesse it be all,
As it is written, and is sooth
That vnto men more profite dooth
The froward Fortune and contraire,
Than the swote and debonaire:
And if they thinke it is doutable,
It is through argument provable,
For the debonaire and soft
Falseth and beguileth oft,

For lich a mother she can cherish
And milken as doth a norice,
And of her good to him deles
And yeueth him part of her ieweles,
With great riches and dignitie,
And hem she hoteth stabilitie,
In state that is not stable,
But changing aie and variable,
And feedeth him with glorie vaine,
And worldly blisse none certaine,
Whan she him setteth on her whele,
Than wene they to be right wele,
And in so stable state withall
That neuer they wene for to fall,
And when they set so high to be,
They wene to have in certainte
Of heartly friendes to great numbre,
That nothing might hir state encombre,
They trust hem so on euerie side,
Wening with hem they would abide,
In euerie perill and mischaunce
Without chaunge or variaunce,
Both of cattell and of good,
And also for to spend hir blood,
And all hir members for to spill
Onely to fulfill hir will,

They maken it whole in many wise
And hoten hem hir full servise
How sore that it doe hem smert,
Into hir very naked shert,
Herte and also hole they yeve,
For the time that they may live,
So that with bir flatterie,
They maken fooles glorifie
Of hir wordes speaking,
And han chere of a rejoysing,
And trow them as the Evangile,
And it is all falshede and gile,
As they shall afterward see,
Whan they arne full in poverte,
And ben of good and cattell bare,

Than should they seene who friendes ware,
For of an hundred certainly,
Nor of a thousand full scarcely,
Ne shall they finde unnethes one,
Whan povertie is commen upon.
"For thus Fortune that I of tell,
With men whan her lust to dwell,
Maketh hem to lese hir conisaunce,
And nourisheth hem in ignoraunce.

"But froward Fortune and perverse,
When high estates she doth reverse,
And maketh hem to tumble doune
Off her whele with sodaine tourne,
And from her richesse doth hem flic,
And plungeth hem in povertie,
As a stepmother envious,
And layeth a plaister dolorous,

Unto hir hertes wounded egre,
Which is not tempered with vinegre,
But with povertie and indigence,
For to shew by experience,
That she is Fortune verilie

In whome no man should affie,'
Nor in her yeftes have fiaunce,
She is so full of variaunce.

"Thus can she maken hye and lowe,
Whan they from richesse arne throwe,
Fully to knowen without were
Friend of effect, and friend of chere,
And which in love weren true and stable,
And which also weren variable,
After Fortune hir goddesse,

In povertie, either in richesse,

For all that yeveth here out of drede,
Unhappe beareth it indeede,
For infortune let not one

Of friendes, whan Fortune is gone,

I meane tho friendes that woll fle

Anone as eutreth poverte,

And yet they woll not leave hem so,

But in each place where they go

They call hem wretch, scorne and blame,
And of hir mishappe hem diffame,
And namely such as in richesse,
Pretendeth most of stablenesse

Whan that they saw hem set on loft,

And weren of hem succoured oft,
And most iholpe in all hir need:
But now they take no maner heed,
But saine in voice of flatterie,
That now appeareth hir follie,
Over all where so they fare,
And sing, Go farewell felde fare.
"All such friendes I beshrew,
For of true there be too few,
But soothfast friendes, what so betide,
In every fortune wollen abide,
They han hir hertes in such noblesse
That they nill love for no richesse,
Nor for that Fortune may hem send
They wollen hem succour and defend,
And chaunge for softe ne for sore;
For who his friend loveth evermore
Though men draw sword him to slo,
He may not hew hir love a two:
But in case that I shall say,
For pride and ire lese it he may,
And for reproove by nicete,
And discovering of privite,
With tongue wounding, as felon,
Through venemous detraction.

"Friend in this case will gone his way,
For nothing grieve him more ne may,
And for nought else woll he fle,
If that he love in stabilitie.
And certaine he is well begone
Among a thousand that findeth one:
For there may be no richesse,
Ayenst friendship of worthinesse,
For it ne may so high attaine,
As may the valour, sooth to saine,
Of him that loveth true and well,
Friendship is more than is cattell,
For friend in court aie better is
Than penny in purse certis,
And Fortune mishaping,
Whan upon men she is fabling,

Through misturning of her chaunce, And cast hem out of balaunce.

"She maketh through her adversite Men full clerely for to see

Him that is friend in existence
From him that is by appearence:
For infortune maketh anone,

To know thy friendes fro thy fone,
By experience, right as it is,
The which is more to praise iwis,
Than in much richesse and treasour,
For more deepe profite and valour,
Povertie, and such adversitie
Before, than doth prosperitie,
For that one yeveth conisaunce,
And the tother ignoraunce.

"And thus in povertie is indeed
Trouth declared fro falshede,
For faint friendes it woll declare,
And true also, what way they fare.
For whan he was in his richesse,
These friendes full of doublenesse
Offred him in many wise

Herte and body, and service,

What wold he than have you to have bought,
To knowen openly hir thought,
That he now hath so clerely seen?
The lasse beguiled he should have been,
And he had than perceived it,
But richesse 'nolde not let him wit:
Well more avauntage doeth him than,
Sith that he maketh him a wise man,
The great mischief that he perceiveth
Than doeth richesse that him deceiveth:
Richesse rich ne maketh nought
Him that on treasour set his thought,
For richesse stont in suffisaunce,
And nothing in aboundaunce:

For suffisaunce all onely

Maketh menne to live richly.

Liveth more át ease, and more is rich,
Than doeth he that is chich,

And in his barne hath sooth to saine,
An hundred mavis of wheat graine,
Though he be chapman or marchaunt,
And have of gold many besaunt:
For in getting he hath such wo,
And in the keeping drede also,
And set evermore his businesse

For to encrease, and not to lesse,
For to augment and multiply,

And though on heapes that lye him by,
Yet never shall make his richesse,
Asseth unto his greedinesse:
But the poore that retcheth nought,
Save of his livelode in his thought,
Which that he getteth with his travaile,
He dredeth nought that it shall faile,
Though he have little worldes good,
Meate and drinke, and easie food,
Upon his travaile and living,
And also suffisaunt clothing,
Or if in sickenessé that he fall,
And loath meat and drinke withall,

Though he have not his meat to buy,
He shall bethinke him hastely,

To put him out of all daungere,
That he of meat hath ro mistere,
Or that he may with little eke
Be founden, while that he is seke,
Or that men shull him berne in hast,
To live till his sickenesse be past,

To some maisondewe beside,

He cast nought what shall him betide, He thinketh nought that ever he shall Into any sickenesse fall.

AND though it fall, as it may be,
That all betime spare shall he
As mokell as shall to him suffice,
While he is sicke in any wise,
He doeth for that he woll be
Content with his poverte
Without neede of any man,
So much in little have he can,
He is apaide with his fortune,
And for he nill be importune
Unto no wight, ne onerous,
Nor of hir goodnesse covetous:
Therefore he spareth, it may well been,
His poore estate for to susteen.

Or if him lust not for to spare,

But suffereth forth, as not yet ware, At last it happeneth, as it may Right unto his laste day,

And take the world as it would be:
For ever in herte thinketh he
The sooner that Death him slo,
To paradise the sooner go
He shall, there for to live in blisse
Where that he shall no good misse :
Thider he hopeth God shall him send
After this wretched liues end.
Pythagoras himselfe rehearses

In a booke that the Golde Verses

Is cleped, for the nobilite

Of the honourable dite :

'Than whan thou goest thy body fro,
Free in the ayre thou shalt up go
And leaven all humanitie,

And purely live in deitie,

He is a foole withouten were

That troweth have his countrey here.'

"In yearth is not our countrey,
That may these clarkes seine and sey
In Boece of Consolation
Where it is maked mention

Of our countrey plaine at the eie,
By teaching of philosophie,
Where lewd men might lere wit,
Who so that would translaten it.
If he be such that can well live
After his rent, may him yeve,
And not desireth more to have,
Than may fro povertie him save.
A wise man saied, as we may seen,
Is no man wretched, but he it ween,

Be he king, knight, or ribaude,

And many a ribaud is merrie and baude,

That swinketh, and beareth both day and night Many a burthen of great might,

The which doeth him lasse offence,

For he suffreth in patience :

They laugh and daunce, trippe and sing,
And lay nought up for hir living,
But in the taverne all dispendeth
The winning that God hem sendeth;
Than goeth he fardels for to beare,
With as good chere as he did care;
To swinke and travaile he not faineth,
For to robben he disdaineth,
But right anon, after his swinke,
He goeth to taverne for to drinke:
All these are rich in aboundance,
That can thus have suffisance
Well more than can an usurere,
As God well knoweth, without were.
For an usurer, so God me see,
Shall never for richesse riche bee,
But evermore poore and indigent,
Scarce, and greedy in his entent.

"For sooth it is, whom it displease,
There may no marchaunt live at ease,
His herte in such a where is set
That it quicke brenneth to get,
Ne never shall, though he hath getten,
Though he have gould in garners yetén,
For to be needy he dredeth sore:
Wherefore to getten more and more
He set his herte and his desire;
So hote he brenneth in the fire
Of covetise, that maketh him wood
To purchase other mennes good;
He vnderfongeth a great paine,
That vndertaketh to drinke vp Saine:
For the more he drinketh aie

The more he leaveth, the sooth to say:
Thus is thurst of false getting,
That last ever in coveting,
And the anguish and distresse
With the fire of greedinesse;

She fighteth with him aie, and striveth,
That his herte asunder riveth,
Such greedinesse him assaileth,

That when he most hath, most he faileth.
"Phisitious and advocates
Gone right by the same yates,
They sell hir science for winning,

And haunt hir craft for great getting:
Hir winning is of such sweetnesse,
That if a man fall in sicknesse,
They are full glad, for hir encrease:
For by hir will, without lease,
Everich man shoulde be seeke,

And though they die, they set not a leeke;
After whan they the gould have take,
Full little care of hem they make;
They would that fortie were sicke at ones,
Yea two hundred, in flesh and bones,
And yet two thousand, as I gesse,
For to encreasen hir richesse.

"They woll not worchen in no wise,
But for lucre and couetise,
For phisicke ginneth first by (phi)
The phisition also soothly,
And sithen it goeth fro fie to fie,
To trust on hem it is follie,
For they nill in no manuer gree,
Doe right nought for charitee.
Eke in the same sect are set
All tho that preachen for to get
Worships, honour, and richesse.
Hir hertes arne in great distresse,

That folke live not holyly,

But aboven all specially,
Such as preachen vaine glorie
And toward God have no memorie,
But forth as ipocrites trace,
And to hir soules death purchace
And outward shewing holynesse,
Though they be full of cursednesse,
Nor lich to the apostles twelve,
They deceiue other and hem selve:
Beguiled is the guiler than,
For preaching of a cursed man
Though to other may profite
Himself it availeth not a mite:
For oft good predicatioun
Commeth of evil ententioun:
To him not vaileth his preaching
All helpe he other with his teaching,
For where they good example take,
There is he with raine glory shake.

"But let us leaven these preachours,
And speake of hem which in bir tours
Heape vp hir gould, and fast eshet,
And sore thereon their herte set:
They neither love God ne drede,
They keepe more than it is nede,
And in hir bagges sore it bind
Out of the sunne, and of the wind:
They put vp more than need ware,
Whan they seen poore folke forfare,
For hunger die, and for cold quake;
God can wel vengeance therof take;
The great mischiefes hem assaileth,
And thus in gadering ay travaileth;
With muche paine they winne richesse,
And drede hem holdeth in distresse,
To keepe that they gather fast,
With sorrow they leave it at the last
With sorrow they both die and live,
That unto richesse her hertes yeve.
And in defaute of love it is,

As it sheweth full well iwis:

For if these greedy, the sooth to saine,
Loveden, and were loved againe,
And good love raigned over all,
Such wickednesse ne should fall,

But he should yeve, that most good had
To hem that weren in neede bestad,,
And live without false vsure,
For charitie, full cleane and pure:
If they hem yeve to goodnesse,
Defending hem from idlenesse,
In all this world than poore none
We should finde, I trow not one:
But chaunged is this world vnstable,
For love is over all vendable.

"We see that no man loveth now
But for winning and for prow,
And love is thralled in servage
Whan it is sold for advantage;
Yet women woll hir bodies sell :
Such soules goeth to the Divell of Hell."
When Love bad told hem his entent,
The baronage to counsaile went,
In many sentences they fill,
And diversly they said hir will:
But after discord they accorded,
And hir accord to Love recorded:
"Sir," sayden they, "we been at one,
By even accord of everichone,

Out take Richesse all onely
That sworne hath full hauteinly,
That she the castle nill not assaile,
Ne smite a stroke in this battaile,
With dart, ne mace, speare, ne kuife,

For man that speaketh and beareth the life,
And blameth your emprise iwis,
And from our host departed is,
At least waie, as in this plite,
So hath she this man in dispite :
For she sayth he ne loved her never,
And therefore she woll hate him ever;
For he woll gather no treasore,
He hath her wrathe for evermore;
He agilte her never in other caas,
Lo here all holly his trespas.

She sayeth well, that this other day
He asked her leave to gone the way
That is cleped too much yeving,
And spake full faire in his praying:
But whan he prayed her, poore was he,
Therefore she warned him the entre,
Ne yet is he uot thriven so

That he hath getten a pennie or two,
That quietly is his owne in hold:
Thus hath Richesse us all told,
And whan Richesse us this recorded,
Withouten her we been accorded.

"And we finde in our accordaunce,
That False Semblaunt and Abstinaunce,
With all the folke of hir battaile
Shull at the hinder gate assaile,
That Wicked Tongue hath in keeping,
With his Normans full of jangling,
And with hem Courtesie and Largesse,
That shull shew hir hardynesse,
To the old wife that kept so hard
Faire Welcomming within her ward:
Than shall Delight and Well Heling
Fond Shame adoune to bring,
With all her host early and late,
They shull assaylen that ilke gate,
Against Drede shall Hardynesse
Assaile, and also Sikernesse,
With all the folke of hir leading
That never wist what wast slaying.

FRAUNCHISE shall fight and eke Pite,
With Daunger full of cruelte,
Thus is your host ordained weale;
Downe shall the castle every deale,
If everiche doe his entent,
So that Venus be present,
Your mother full of vesselage
That can inough of such usage;
Withouten her may no wight speed
This worke, neither for word ne deed:
Therefore is good ye for her send,
For through her may this worke ameud."

"LORDINGES, my mother, the gooddes,
That is my ladie, and my mistres,
Nis nat all at my willing,
Ne doth all my desiring.

Yet can she sometime doen labour,
Whan that her lust, in my succour.
As my neede is for to atchieve:
But now I thinke her not to grieve,

My mother is she, and of childbede
I both worship her, and eke drede,
For who that dredeth sire ne dame,
Shall it abie in bodie or name.
And nathelesse, yet can we
Send after her if need be,

And were she nigh, she commen would,
I trow that nothing might her hold.
"My mother is of great prowesse,
She hath tane many a forteresse,
That cost hath many a pound er this,
There I nas not present iwis,
And yet men sayd it was my deede,
But I come never in that steede,
Ne me ne liketh so mote I thee,
That such towers been take with mee,
For why? Me thinketh that in no wise,
It may be cleped but marchaundise.

Go by a courser blacke or white,
And pay therefore, than art thou quite,
The marchaunt oweth thee right nought,
Ne thou him whan thou it bought.

I woll not selling clepe yeving,
For selling asketh no guerdoning,
Here lithe no thanke, ne no merite,
That one goeth from that other all quite,
But this selling is not semblable:

"For when his horse is in the stable
He may it sell againe parde,
And winnen on it, such happe may be,
All may the manne not lese iwis,
For at the least the skinne is his.

"Or else, if it so betide
That he woll keepe his horse to ride,
Yet is he lord aie of his horse:
But thilke chafare is well worse,
There Venus entermeteth ought,
For who so such chaffare hath bought,
He shall not worchen so wisely,
That he ne shall lese utterly
Both his monney and his chaffare;
But the seller of the ware,
The prise and profite have shall,
Certaine the buyer shall lese all,
For he ne can so dere it buy
To have lordship and full maistry,
Ne have power to make letting,
Neither for yeft ne for preaching,
That of his chaffare maugre his,
Another shall have as much iwis,
If he woll yeve as much as he,
Of what countrey so that he be,
Or for right nought, so happe may,
If he can flatter her to her pay.

"Been then suche marchauntes wise?
No, but fooles in every wise,
Whan they buy such thing wilfully,
There as they lese hir good follily.
But nathelesse, this dare I say,
My mother is not wont to pay,
For she is neither so foole ne nice,
To entremete her of such vice,
But trust well, he shall paie all,
That repent of his bargaine shall,
Whan Poverte put him in distresse,
All were he schooller to Richesse,
That is for me in great yerning,
Whan she assenteth to my willing.

BUT by my mother saint Venus,
And by her father Saturnus,
That her engendred by his life,
But pat upon his wedded wife,
Yet woll I more unto you swere,
To make this thing the surere.

"Now by that faith, and that beautee
That I owe to all my brethren free,
Of which there nis wight under Hevin
That can hir fathers names nevin,
So divers and so many there be,
That with my mother have be prive,
Yet woll I sweare for sikernesse,
The pole of Hell to my witnesse,
Now drinke I not this yeare clarre,
If that I lye, or forsworne be,
For of the goddes the usage is,
That who so him forsweareth amis,
Shall that yeere drinke no clarre.

"Now have I sworne inough parde,
If I forsweare me than am I lorne,
But I woll never be forsworne:
Sith Richesse hath me failed here,
She shall abie that trespasse dere,
At least way but I her harme
With sweard, or sparth, or gisarme.
"For certes sith she loveth not me,
Fro thilke time that she may see
The castle and the tower to shake,
In sorrie time she shall awake;

If I may gripe a rich man

I shall so pull him, if I can,
That he shall in a fewe stoundes,
Lese all his markes, and his poundes.

"I shall him make his pence out sling,
But they in his garner spring,
Our maidens shall eke plucke him so,
That him shall needen feathers mo,
And make him sell his lond to spend,
But he the bet can him defend.

POORE men han made hir lord of me;
Although they not so mightie be,
That they may feede me in delite,
I woll not have them in dispite :
No good man hateth hem, as I gesse,
For chinch and feloun is Richesse,
That so can chase hem and dispise,
And hem defoule in sundrie wise:
They loven full bette, so God me spede,
Than doeth the rich chinchy grede,
And been (in good faith) more stable
And truer, and more serviable:
And therefore it suffiseth me
Hir good herte, and hir beaute;
They han on me set all their thought,
And therefore I foryete hem nought.
"I woll hem bring in great noblesse,
If that I were god of richesse,
As I am god of love soothly,
Such ruth upon hir plaint have I:
Therefore I must his succour be,
That paineth him to serven me,
For if he dyed for love of this,
Than seemeth in me no love there is."
"Sir," sayd they," sooth is everie dele
That ye rehearse, and we wote wele
Thilke oath to hold is reasonable,
For it is good and covenable,

That ye on riche men han sworne:
For, sir, this wote we well beforne,
If rich men doen you homage,
That is as fooles doen outrage,
But ye shull not forsworne be,
Ne let therefore to drinke clarre,
Or piment maked fresh and new,
Ladies shull hem such pepir brew,
If that they fall into hir laas,
That they for woe mow saine Alas!
Ladies shullen ever so courteous be,
That they shall quite your oath all free;
Ne seeketh never other vicaire,
For they shall speake with hem so faire
That ye shall hold you payd full well,
Though ye you meddle never a deale,
Let ladies worch with hir thinges,
They shall hem tell so fele tidinges,
And moove hem eke so many requestes
By flatterie, that not honest is,
And thereto yeve hem such thankinges,
What with kissing, and with talkinges,
That certes if they trowed be,
Shall never leave hem lond ne fee
That it nill as the moeble fare,
Of which they first delivered are:
Now may you tell us all your will,
And we your hestes shall fulfill.

BUT False Semblaunt dare not for drede
Of you, sir, meddle him of this dede,
For he sayth that ye been his foe,
He not, if ye will worch him woe:
Wherefore we pray you all, beau sire,
That ye foryeve him now your ire,
And that he may dwell as your man
With Abstinence his deere lemman,
This our accord and our will now."

"Parfey," said Love, "I graunt it you,
I woll well hold him for my man,
Now led him come:" and he forth ran.
"False semblant," (quod Love) "in this wise
I take thee here to my service,
That thou our friendes helpe alwaie,
And hindreth hem neither night ne daie,
But doe thy might hem to relieve,
And eke our enemies that thou grieve,
Thine be this might, I graunt it thee,
My king of harlotes shalt thou bee:
We woll that thou have such honour,
Certaine thou art a false traitour,
And eke a theefe; sith thou were borne,
A thousand times thou art forsworne:
But nathelesse in our hearing,
To put our folke out of doubting,

I bidde thee teach hem, wost thou how?
By some generall signe now,

In what place thou shalt founden be,
If that men had mister of thee,
And how men shall thee best espie,
For thee to know is great maistrie,
Tell in what place is thine haunting."
"Sir I have full divers wonning,
That I keepe not rehearsed be,
So that ye would respiten me,
For if that I tell you the sooth,

I may have harme and shame both,

If that my fellowes wisten it,
My tales shoulden me be quit,