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

to were a Schoo

       And sette upon the fot a Glove

       Acordeth noght to the behove

       Of resonable mannes us:

       If men behielden the vertus 360

       That Crist in Erthe taghte here,

       Thei scholden noght in such manere,

       Among hem that ben holden wise,

       The Papacie so desguise

       Upon diverse eleccioun,

       Which stant after thaffeccioun

       Of sondry londes al aboute:

       Bot whan god wole, it schal were oute,

       For trowthe mot stonde ate laste.

       Bot yet thei argumenten faste 370

       Upon the Pope and his astat,

       Wherof thei falle in gret debat;

       This clerk seith yee, that other nay,

       And thus thei dryve forth the day,

       And ech of hem himself amendeth

       Of worldes good, bot non entendeth

       To that which comun profit were.

       Thei sein that god is myhti there,

       And schal ordeine what he wile,

       Ther make thei non other skile 380

       Where is the peril of the feith,

       Bot every clerk his herte leith

       To kepe his world in special,

       And of the cause general,

       Which unto holy cherche longeth,

       Is non of hem that underfongeth

       To schapen eny resistence:

       And thus the riht hath no defence,

       Bot ther I love, ther I holde.

       Lo, thus tobroke is Cristes folde, 390

       Wherof the flock withoute guide

       Devoured is on every side,

       In lacke of hem that ben unware

       Schepherdes, whiche her wit beware

       Upon the world in other halve.

       The scharpe pricke in stede of salve

       Thei usen now, wherof the hele

       Thei hurte of that thei scholden hele;

       And what Schep that is full of wulle

       Upon his back, thei toose and pulle, 400

       Whil ther is eny thing to pile:

       And thogh ther be non other skile

       Bot only for thei wolden wynne,

       Thei leve noght, whan thei begynne,

       Upon her acte to procede,

       Which is no good schepherdes dede.

       And upon this also men sein,

       That fro the leese which is plein

       Into the breres thei forcacche

       Her Orf, for that thei wolden lacche 410

       With such duresce, and so bereve

       That schal upon the thornes leve

       Of wulle, which the brere hath tore;

       Wherof the Schep ben al totore

       Of that the hierdes make hem lese.

       Lo, how thei feignen chalk for chese,

       For though thei speke and teche wel,

       Thei don hemself therof no del:

       For if the wolf come in the weie,

       Her gostly Staf is thanne aweie, 420

       Wherof thei scholde her flock defende;

       Bot if the povere Schep offende

       In eny thing, thogh it be lyte,

       They ben al redy forto smyte;

       And thus, how evere that thei tale,

       The strokes falle upon the smale,

       And upon othre that ben grete

       Hem lacketh herte forto bete.

       So that under the clerkes lawe

       Men sen the Merel al mysdrawe, 430

       I wol noght seie in general,

       For ther ben somme in special

       In whom that alle vertu duelleth,

       And tho ben, as thapostel telleth,

       That god of his eleccioun

       Hath cleped to perfeccioun

       In the manere as Aaron was:

       Thei ben nothing in thilke cas

       Of Simon, which the foldes gate

       Hath lete, and goth in othergate, 440

       Bot thei gon in the rihte weie.

       Ther ben also somme, as men seie,

       That folwen Simon ate hieles,

       Whos carte goth upon the whieles

       Of coveitise and worldes Pride,

       And holy cherche goth beside,

       Which scheweth outward a visage

       Of that is noght in the corage.

       For if men loke in holy cherche,

       Betwen the word and that thei werche 450

       Ther is a full gret difference:

       Thei prechen ous in audience

       That noman schal his soule empeire,

       For al is bot a chirie feire

       This worldes good, so as thei telle;

       Also thei sein ther is an helle,

       Which unto mannes sinne is due,

       And bidden ous therfore eschue

       That wikkid is, and do the goode.

       Who that here wordes understode, 460

       It thenkth thei wolden do the same;

       Bot yet betwen ernest and game

       Ful ofte it torneth other wise.

       With holy tales thei devise

       How meritoire is thilke dede

       Of charite, to clothe and fede

       The povere folk and forto parte

       The worldes good, bot thei departe

       Ne thenken noght fro that thei have.

       Also thei sein, good is to save 470

       With penance and with abstinence

       Of chastite the continence;

       Bot pleinly forto speke of that,

       I not how thilke body fat,

       Which thei with deynte metes kepe

       And leyn it softe forto slepe,

       Whan it hath elles al his wille,

       With chastite schal stonde stille:

       And natheles I can noght seie,

       In aunter if that I misseye. 480

       Touchende of this, how evere it stonde,

       I here and wol noght understonde,

       For therof have I noght to done:

       Bot he that made ferst the Mone,

       The hyhe god, of his goodnesse,

       If ther be cause, he it redresce.

       Bot what as eny man accuse,

       This mai reson of trowthe