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

And with his host the weie take

       Over the Montz of Lombardie;

       Of Rome and al the tirandie

       With blodi swerd he overcom,

       And the Cite with strengthe nom;

       In such a wise and there he wroghte,

       That holy cherche ayein he broghte 760

       Into franchise, and doth restore

       The Popes lost, and yaf him more:

       And thus whan he his god hath served,

       He tok, as he wel hath deserved,

       The Diademe and was coroned.

       Of Rome and thus was abandoned

       Thempire, which cam nevere ayein

       Into the hond of no Romein;

       Bot a long time it stod so stille

       Under the Frensche kynges wille, 770

       Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,

       That afterward Lombardz it hadde,

       Noght be the swerd, bot be soffrance

       Of him that tho was kyng of France,

       Which Karle Calvus cleped was;

       And he resigneth in this cas

       Thempire of Rome unto Lowis

       His Cousin, which a Lombard is.

       And so hit laste into the yeer

       Of Albert and of Berenger; 780

       Bot thanne upon dissencioun

       Thei felle, and in divisioun

       Among hemself that were grete,

       So that thei loste the beyete

       Of worschipe and of worldes pes.

       Bot in proverbe natheles

       Men sein, ful selden is that welthe

       Can soffre his oghne astat in helthe;

       And that was on the Lombardz sene,

       Such comun strif was hem betwene 790

       Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,

       That every man drowh his partie,

       Which myhte leden eny route,

       Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:

       The comun ryht hath no felawe,

       So that the governance of lawe

       Was lost, and for necessite,

       Of that thei stode in such degre

       Al only thurgh divisioun,

       Hem nedeth in conclusioun 800

       Of strange londes help beside.

       And thus for thei hemself divide

       And stonden out of reule unevene,

       Of Alemaine Princes sevene

       Thei chose in this condicioun,

       That upon here eleccioun

       Thempire of Rome scholde stonde.

       And thus thei lefte it out of honde

       For lacke of grace, and it forsoke,

       That Alemans upon hem toke: 810

       And to confermen here astat,

       Of that thei founden in debat

       Thei token the possessioun

       After the composicioun

       Among hemself, and therupon

       Thei made an Emperour anon,

       Whos name as the Cronique telleth

       Was Othes; and so forth it duelleth,

       Fro thilke day yit unto this

       Thempire of Rome hath ben and is 820

       To thalemans. And in this wise,

       As ye tofore have herd divise

       How Daniel the swevene expondeth

       Of that ymage, on whom he foundeth

       The world which after scholde falle,

       Come is the laste tokne of alle;

       Upon the feet of Erthe and Stiel

       So stant this world now everydiel

       Departed; which began riht tho,

       Whan Rome was divided so: 830

       And that is forto rewe sore,

       For alway siththe more and more

       The world empeireth every day.

       Wherof the sothe schewe may,

       At Rome ferst if we beginne:

       The wall and al the Cit withinne

       Stant in ruine and in decas,

       The feld is wher the Paleis was,

       The toun is wast; and overthat,

       If we beholde thilke astat 840

       Which whilom was of the Romeins,

       Of knyhthode and of Citezeins,

       To peise now with that beforn,

       The chaf is take for the corn,

       As forto speke of Romes myht:

       Unethes stant ther oght upryht

       Of worschipe or of worldes good,

       As it before tyme stod.

       And why the worschipe is aweie,

       If that a man the sothe seie, 850

       The cause hath ben divisioun,

       Which moder of confusioun

       Is wher sche cometh overal,

       Noght only of the temporal

       Bot of the spirital also.

       The dede proeveth it is so,

       And hath do many day er this,

       Thurgh venym which that medled is

       In holy cherche of erthly thing:

       For Crist himself makth knowleching 860

       That noman may togedre serve

       God and the world, bot if he swerve

       Froward that on and stonde unstable;

       And Cristes word may noght be fable.

       The thing so open is at ije,

       It nedeth noght to specefie

       Or speke oght more in this matiere;

       Bot in this wise a man mai lere

       Hou that the world is gon aboute,

       The which welnyh is wered oute, 870

       After the forme of that figure

       Which Daniel in his scripture

       Expondeth, as tofore is told.

       Of Bras, of Selver and of Gold

       The world is passed and agon,

       And now upon his olde ton

       It stant of brutel Erthe and Stiel,

       The whiche acorden nevere a diel;

       So mot it nedes swerve aside

       As thing the which men sen divide. 880

       Thapostel writ unto ous alle

       And seith that upon ous is falle

       Thende of the world; so may we knowe,

       This ymage is nyh overthrowe,

       Be which this world was signified,

       That whilom was so magnefied,

       And now is old