Confessio Amantis; Or, Tales of the Seven Deadly Sins. John Gower

With hol trust and with hol believe;

       God grante I mot it wel achieve.

       If I schal drawe in to my mynde

       The tyme passed, thanne I fynde

       The world stod thanne in al his welthe:

       Tho was the lif of man in helthe,

       Tho was plente, tho was richesse,

       Tho was the fortune of prouesse,

       Tho was knyhthode in pris be name,

       Wherof the wyde worldes fame 100

       Write in Cronique is yit withholde;

       Justice of lawe tho was holde,

       The privilege of regalie

       Was sauf, and al the baronie

       Worschiped was in his astat;

       The citees knewen no debat,

       The poeple stod in obeissance

       Under the reule of governance,

       And pes, which ryhtwisnesse keste,

       With charite tho stod in reste: 110

       Of mannes herte the corage

       Was schewed thanne in the visage;

       The word was lich to the conceite

       Withoute semblant of deceite:

       Tho was ther unenvied love,

       Tho was the vertu sett above

       And vice was put under fote.

       Now stant the crop under the rote,

       The world is changed overal,

       And therof most in special 120

       That love is falle into discord.

       And that I take to record

       Of every lond for his partie

       The comun vois, which mai noght lie;

       Noght upon on, bot upon alle

       It is that men now clepe and calle,

       And sein the regnes ben divided,

       In stede of love is hate guided,

       The werre wol no pes purchace,

       And lawe hath take hire double face, 130

       So that justice out of the weie

       With ryhtwisnesse is gon aweie:

       And thus to loke on every halve,

       Men sen the sor withoute salve,

       Which al the world hath overtake.

       Ther is no regne of alle outtake,

       For every climat hath his diel

       After the tornynge of the whiel,

       Which blinde fortune overthroweth;

       Wherof the certain noman knoweth: 140

       The hevene wot what is to done,

       Bot we that duelle under the mone

       Stonde in this world upon a weer,

       And namely bot the pouer

       Of hem that ben the worldes guides

       With good consail on alle sides

       Be kept upriht in such a wyse,

       That hate breke noght thassise

       Of love, which is al the chief

       To kepe a regne out of meschief. 150

       For alle resoun wolde this,

       That unto him which the heved is

       The membres buxom scholden bowe,

       And he scholde ek her trowthe allowe,

       With al his herte and make hem chiere,

       For good consail is good to hiere.

       Althogh a man be wys himselve,

       Yit is the wisdom more of tuelve;

       And if thei stoden bothe in on,

       To hope it were thanne anon 160

       That god his grace wolde sende

       To make of thilke werre an ende,

       Which every day now groweth newe:

       And that is gretly forto rewe

       In special for Cristes sake,

       Which wolde his oghne lif forsake

       Among the men to yeve pes.

       But now men tellen natheles

       That love is fro the world departed,

       So stant the pes unevene parted 170

       With hem that liven now adaies.

       Bot forto loke at alle assaies,

       To him that wolde resoun seche

       After the comun worldes speche

       It is to wondre of thilke werre,

       In which non wot who hath the werre;

       For every lond himself deceyveth

       And of desese his part receyveth,

       And yet ne take men no kepe.

       Bot thilke lord which al may kepe, 180

       To whom no consail may ben hid,

       Upon the world which is betid,

       Amende that wherof men pleigne

       With trewe hertes and with pleine,

       And reconcile love ayeyn,

       As he which is king sovereign

       Of al the worldes governaunce,

       And of his hyhe porveaunce

       Afferme pes betwen the londes

       And take her cause into hise hondes, 190

       So that the world may stonde apppesed

       And his godhede also be plesed.

       To thenke upon the daies olde,

       The lif of clerkes to beholde,

       Men sein how that thei weren tho

       Ensample and reule of alle tho

       Whiche of wisdom the vertu soughten.

       Unto the god ferst thei besoughten

       As to the substaunce of her Scole,

       That thei ne scholden noght befole 200

       Her wit upon none erthly werkes,

       Which were ayein thestat of clerkes,

       And that thei myhten fle the vice

       Which Simon hath in his office,

       Wherof he takth the gold in honde.

       For thilke tyme I understonde

       The Lumbard made non eschange

       The bisschopriches forto change,

       Ne yet a lettre for to sende

       For dignite ne for Provende, 210

       Or cured or withoute cure.

       The cherche keye in aventure

       Of armes and of brygantaille

       Stod nothing thanne upon bataille;

       To fyhte or for to make cheste

       It thoghte hem thanne noght honeste;

       Bot of simplesce and pacience

       Thei maden thanne no defence:

       The Court of worldly regalie

       To hem was thanne no baillie; 220

       The vein honour was noght desired,

       Which hath the proude herte fyred;

       Humilite was tho withholde,