'Wel,' quod she, 'thou knowest that every thing is a cause,
wherthrough any thing hath being that is cleped "caused."
Than, if richesse +causeth knot in herte, thilke richesse +is cause
of thilke precious thinge being. But after the sentence of
Aristotle, every cause is more in dignitè than his thinge caused; 5
wherthrough it foloweth richesse to ben more in dignitè than
thilke knot. But richesses arn kyndely naughty, badde, and
nedy; and thilke knotte is thing kyndely good, most praysed
and desyred. _Ergo_, thing naughty, badde, and nedy in kyndely
understandinge is more worthy than thing kyndely good, most 10
desyred and praysed! The consequence is fals; nedes, the
antecedent mot ben of the same condicion. But that richesses
ben bad, naughty, and nedy, that wol I prove; wherfore they
mowe cause no suche thing that is so glorious and good. The
more richesse thou hast, the more nede hast thou of helpe hem 15
to kepe. _Ergo_, thou nedest in richesse, whiche nede thou
shuldest not have, if thou hem wantest. Than muste richesse
ben nedy, that in their having maken thee nedy to helpes, in
suretee thy richesse to kepen; wherthrough foloweth, richesse to
ben nedy. Everything causinge yvels is badde and naughty; but 20
richesse in one causen misese, in another they mowen not evenly
strecchen al about. Wherof cometh plee, debat, thefte, begylinges,
but richesse to winne; whiche thinges ben badde, and by richesse
arn caused. _Ergo_, thilke richesse[s] ben badde; whiche badnesse
and nede ben knit in-to richesse by a maner of kyndely propertee; 25
and every cause and caused accorden; so that it foloweth, thilke
richesse[s] to have the same accordaunce with badnesse and nede,
that their cause asketh. Also, every thing hath his being by his
cause; than, if the cause be distroyed, the being of caused is
vanisshed. And, so, if richesse[s] causen love, and richesse[s] 30
weren distroyed, the love shulde vanisshe; but thilke knotte, and
it be trewe, may not vanisshe, for no going of richesse. _Ergo_,
richesse is no cause of the knot. And many men, as I sayd,
setten the cause of the knotte in richesse; thilke knitten the
richesse, and nothing the yvel; thilke persons, what-ever they 35
ben, wenen that riches is most worthy to be had; and that make
they the cause; and so wene they thilke riches be better than the
person. Commenly, suche asken rather after the quantitè than
after the qualitè; and suche wenen, as wel by hem-selfe as by
other, that conjunccion of his lyfe and of his soule is no more 40
precious, but in as mikel as he hath of richesse. Alas! how may
he holden suche thinges precious or noble, that neither han lyf ne
soule, ne ordinaunce of werchinge limmes! Suche richesse[s]
ben more worthy whan they ben in +gadering; in departing,
ginneth his love of other mennes praysing. And avarice +gadering 45
maketh be hated, and nedy to many out-helpes; and whan leveth
the possession of such goodes, and they ginne vanissh, than
entreth sorowe and tene in their hertes. O! badde and strayte
ben thilke, that at their departinge maketh men teneful and sory,
and in the +gadering of hem make men nedy! Moche folk at 50
ones mowen not togider moche therof have. A good gest gladdeth
his hoste and al his meyny; but he is a badde gest that maketh
his hoste nedy and to be aferd of his gestes going.'
'Certes,' quod I, 'me wondreth therfore that the comune
opinion is thus: "He is worth no more than that he hath in 55
catel."'
'O!' quod she, 'loke thou be not of that opinion; for if gold or
money, or other maner of riches shynen in thy sight, whos is that?
Nat thyn. And tho[ugh] they have a litel beautee, they be nothing
in comparison of our kynde; and therfore, ye shulde nat sette 60
your worthinesse in thing lower than your-selfe. For the riches,
the fairnesse, the worthinesse of thilke goodes, if ther be any
suche preciousnesse in hem, are nat thyne; thou madest hem
so never; from other they come to thee, and to other they shul
from thee. Wherfore enbracest thou other wightes good, as 65
tho[ugh] they were thyn? Kynde hath drawe hem by hem-selfe.
It is sothe, the goodes of the erth ben ordayned in your fode
and norisshinge; but if thou wolt holde thee apayd with that
suffyseth to thy kynde, thou shalt nat be in daunger of no suche
riches; to kynde suffyseth litel thing, who that taketh hede. 70
And if thou wolt algates with superfluitè of riches be a-throted,
thou shalt hastelich be anoyed, or els yvel at ese. And fairnesse
of feldes ne of habitacions, ne multitude of meynè, may nat be
rekened as riches that are thyn owne. For if they be badde, it is
greet sclaunder and villany to the occupyer; and if they be good 75
or faire, the mater of the workman that hem made is to prayse.
How shulde other-wyse bountee be compted for thyne? Thilke
goodnesse and fairnesse be proper to tho thinges hem-selfe; than,
if they be nat thyne, sorow nat whan they wende, ne glad thee
nat in pompe and in pride whan thou hem hast. For their 80
bountee and their beautees cometh out of their owne kynde, and
nat of thyne owne person. As faire ben they in their not having
as whan thou hast hem. They be nat faire for thou hast hem;
but thou hast geten hem for the fairnesse of them-selfe. And
there the vaylance of men is demed in richesse outforth, wenen 85
me[n] to have no proper good in them-selfe, but seche it in
straunge thinges. Trewly, the condicion of good wening is to
thee mistourned, to wene, your noblesse be not in your-selfe, but
in the goodes and beautee of other thinges. Pardy, the beestes
that han but feling soules, have suffisaunce in their owne selfe; 90
and ye, that ben lyke to god, seken encrese of suffisaunce from so
excellent a kynde of so lowe thinges; ye do greet wrong to him
that you made lordes over al erthly thinges; and ye putte your
worthinesse under the nombre of the fete of lower thinges and
foule. Whan ye juge thilke riches to be your worthinesse, than 95
putte ye your-selfe, by estimacion, under thilke foule thinges;
and than leve ye the knowing of your-selfe; so be ye viler than
any dombe beest; that cometh of shrewde vice. Right so thilke
persons that loven non yvel for dereworthinesse of the persone,
but for straunge goodes, and saith, the adornement in the knot 100
lyth in such thing; his errour is perilous and shrewd, and he
wryeth moche venim with moche welth; and that knot may
nat be good whan he hath it getten.
Certes, thus hath riches with flickering sight anoyed many;
and often, whan there is a throw-out shrewe, he coyneth al the 105
gold, al the precious stones that mowen be founden, to have in
his bandon; he weneth no wight be worthy to have suche thinges
but he alone. How many hast thou knowe, now in late tyme,
that in their richesse supposed suffisance have folowed, and now
it is al fayled!' 110
'Ye, lady,' quod I, 'that is for mis medling; and otherwyse
governed [they] thilke richesse than they shulde.'
'Ye,' quod she tho, 'had not the flood greetly areysed, and
throwe to-hemward both gravel and sand, he had mad no medlinge.
And right as see yeveth flood, so draweth see ebbe, and 115
pulleth ayen under wawe al the firste out-throwe, but-if good pyles
of noble governaunce in love, in wel-meninge maner, ben sadly
grounded; +the whiche holde thilke gravel as for a tyme, that
ayen lightly mowe not it turne; and if the pyles ben trewe, the
gravel and sand wol abyde. And certes, ful warning in love shalt 120
thou never thorow hem get ne cover, that lightly with an ebbe, er
thou be ware, it [ne] wol ayen meve. In richesse many men
have had tenes and diseses, whiche they shulde not have had, if
therof they had fayled. Thorow whiche, now declared, partly it is
shewed, that for richesse shulde the knotte in herte neither ben 125
caused in one ne in other; trewly, knotte may ben knit, and
I trowe more stedfast, in love, though richesse fayled; and els,
in richesse is the knotte, and not in herte. And than suche
a knotte is fals; whan the see ebbeth and withdraweth the
gravel, that such richesse voydeth, thilke knotte wol unknitte. 130
Wherfore no trust, no way, no cause, no parfit being is in
richesse, of no suche knotte. Therfore another way muste we
have.
CH. V. 1. thynge. 2. -throughe. 3. causen; _read_ causeth. arne; _read_ is.
7. arne. 8, 9. thynge (_twice_). moste.
10. thynge. moste. 11. false. 12. mote. 15. haste. 18. the. 19. suretie.
21. misease. 22. stretchen. debate. 24. arne. richesse; _read_ richesses.
25. propertie. 27-30. richesse; _read_ richesses (_thrice_). 35. nothynge.
40. coniunction. 41. howe maye. 42. lyfe. 43. richesse; _read_ richesses.
44-5. gatheryng.
50. gatheryng. folke. 53. aferde. 55. worthe. 57. golde. 58. whose. 59.
beautie. 60. set. 64-5. the (_twice_). 68. wolte. the apayde. 72. ease. 73.
maye. 75. great. 76. workeman. 77. Howe. bountie. 79. the. 81. bountie.
beautes. 83-4. haste (_thrice_).
86. me; _read_ men. 87. co_n_dytion. 88. the. 89. beautie. 91. encrease.
92. great. 93-6. put (_twice_). 101. shreude. 102. maye. 105. throwe out.
106. golde. 108. Howe. haste. 108-9. nowe. 111. misse medlyng. 112.
_Supply_ they. 113. floode greatly. 114. hemwarde. sande. made. 115.
floode. 116. out throw. 117. meanynge. 118. to; _read_ the. 120. sande.
121. shalte. thorowe.
122. beware. _I supply_ ne. 123. diseases. 124. Thorowe. nowe. partely.
126. maye. knytte. 129. false. 131. parfyte.