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

That he the sothe him hath confessed

       Of al that hath be spoke and do.

       Mor sori than the king was tho

       Was nevere man upon this Molde,

       And thoghte in certain that he wolde

       Vengance take upon this wrong.

       Bot thother parti was so strong, 1740

       That for the lawe of no statut

       Ther mai no riht ben execut;

       And upon this division

       The lond was torned up so doun:

       Wherof his herte is so distraght,

       That he for pure sorwe hath caght

       The maladie of which nature

       Is queint in every creature.

       And whan this king was passed thus,

       This false tunged Perse.s 1750

       The regiment hath underfonge.

       Bot ther mai nothing stonde longe

       Which is noght upon trowthe grounded;

       For god, which alle thing hath bounded

       And sih the falshod of his guile,

       Hath set him bot a litel while,

       That he schal regne upon depos;

       For sodeinliche as he aros

       So sodeinliche doun he fell.

       In thilke time it so befell, 1760

       This newe king of newe Pride

       With strengthe schop him forto ride,

       And seide he wolde Rome waste,

       Wherof he made a besi haste,

       And hath assembled him an host

       In al that evere he mihte most:

       What man that mihte wepne bere

       Of alle he wolde non forbere;

       So that it mihte noght be nombred,

       The folk which after was encombred 1770

       Thurgh him, that god wolde overthrowe.

       Anon it was at Rome knowe,

       The pompe which that Perse ladde;

       And the Romeins that time hadde

       A Consul, which was cleped thus

       Be name, Paul Emilius,

       A noble, a worthi kniht withalle;

       And he, which chief was of hem alle,

       This werre on honde hath undertake.

       And whanne he scholde his leve take 1780

       Of a yong dowhter which was his,

       Sche wepte, and he what cause it is

       Hire axeth, and sche him ansuerde

       That Perse is ded; and he it herde,

       And wondreth what sche meene wolde:

       And sche upon childhode him tolde

       That Perse hir litel hound is ded.

       With that he pulleth up his hed

       And made riht a glad visage,

       And seide how that was a presage 1790

       Touchende unto that other Perse,

       Of that fortune him scholde adverse,

       He seith, for such a prenostik

       Most of an hound was to him lik:

       For as it is an houndes kinde

       To berke upon a man behinde,

       Riht so behinde his brother bak

       With false wordes whiche he spak

       He hath do slain, and that is rowthe.

       "Bot he which hateth alle untrowthe, 1800

       The hihe god, it schal redresse;

       For so my dowhter prophetesse

       Forth with hir litel houndes deth

       Betokneth." And thus forth he geth

       Conforted of this evidence,

       With the Romeins in his defence

       Ayein the Greks that ben comende.

       This Perse.s, as noght seende

       This meschief which that him abod,

       With al his multitude rod, 1810

       And prided him upon the thing,

       Of that he was become a king,

       And how he hadde his regne gete;

       Bot he hath al the riht foryete

       Which longeth unto governance.

       Wherof thurgh goddes ordinance

       It fell, upon the wynter tide

       That with his host he scholde ride

       Over Danubie thilke flod,

       Which al befrose thanne stod 1820

       So harde, that he wende wel

       To passe: bot the blinde whiel,

       Which torneth ofte er men be war,

       Thilke ys which that the horsmen bar

       Tobrak, so that a gret partie

       Was dreint; of the chivalerie

       The rerewarde it tok aweie,

       Cam non of hem to londe dreie.

       Paulus the worthi kniht Romein

       Be his aspie it herde sein, 1830

       And hasteth him al that he may,

       So that upon that other day

       He cam wher he this host beheld,

       And that was in a large feld,

       Wher the Baneres ben desplaied.

       He hath anon hise men arraied,

       And whan that he was embatailled,

       He goth and hath the feld assailed,

       And slowh and tok al that he fond;

       Wherof the Macedoyne lond, 1840

       Which thurgh king Alisandre honoured

       Long time stod, was tho devoured.

       To Perse and al that infortune

       Thei wyte, so that the comune

       Of al the lond his heir exile;

       And he despeired for the while

       Desguised in a povere wede

       To Rome goth, and ther for nede

       The craft which thilke time was,

       To worche in latoun and in bras, 1850

       He lerneth for his sustienance.

       Such was the Sones pourveance,

       And of his fader it is seid,

       In strong prisoun that he was leid

       In Albe, wher that he was ded

       For hunger and defalte of bred.

       The hound was tokne and prophecie

       That lich an hound he scholde die,

       Which lich was of condicioun,

       Whan he with his detraccioun 1860

       Bark on his brother so behinde.

       Lo, what profit a man mai finde,

       Which hindre wole an other wiht.

       Forthi with al thin hole miht,

       Mi Sone, eschuie thilke vice.