The fifth head of the beast before mentioned is the sin of avarice and
of covetousness, which is the root of all evil, as says St. Paul. That
is the mistress who has so large a school that all go therein to learn,
as says the Scripture. For all manner of folk study in avarice, both
great and small: kings, prelates, clerks, both lay and religious.
Avarice is inordinate love, so inordinate it shows itself in three ways
generally, in winning boldly, in withholding straitly, in spending
niggardly. These are the three principal boughs which grow from this
root.
But specially and properly from the root of avarice go out many small
roots, which are very great, deadly sins. The first is usury, the second
theft, the third robbery, the fourth false claim, the fifth sacrilege,
the sixth simony, the seventh wickedness, the eighth is in chaffer, the
ninth is wicked craft, the tenth is in evil folk, and each of these
small roots divides in many ways.
Then the first root, which is usury, divides into seven outcastings. For
there are seven kinds of usurers: lending, who lend silver for others,
and, above the principal, take the profits, either in pence, or in
horses, or in corn, or in wine, or in fruit of the ground, which they
take in mortgage, without reckoning the fruit in payment, and what is
worse, they will reckon twice or thrice (in) the year in order to make
the usury increase, and will yet have gifts over and above for each
term, and often make of the usury a principal debt. These are usurers
evil and foul. But there is another lender, courteous, who lends without
bargain-making, always for profit, either in pence, or in horses, or in
cups of gold or of silver, or robes, or tuns with wine, or in fat swine,
material services of horses, of carts, or food, to them or to their
children, or in other things, and everywhere for usury, when one takes
it by reason of the loan. The second kind of usury is in those that lend
not to their parson, but what their fathers and the fathers of their
wives or their elders have obtained by usury they withhold, and will not
give it up. The third kind of usury is in them that have shame to lend
with their own hand; but they cause their servants or other men to lend
of their pence. These are the master usurers. Of the same sin the great
men are not quit, who support and sustain Jews and the Saracens, who
lend and destroy the country, and they take payments and great gifts,
and sometimes the ransoms that are for the goods of the poor. The fourth
kind is in them that lend of other men’s silver, or take in pledge at
little cost in order to lend at greater cost. These are like usurers
that learn such foul craft. The fifth kind is in unfair dealing: when
one sells the thing, whatever it be, for more than it is worth at the
time, and what is worse, the dishonest time-setter, when he sees the
folk most necessitous, then will he sell twice as dear as the thing is
worth. Such folk do too much evil. By means of their time-setting they
destroy and make beggars the knights and the nobles that follow the
tournaments, who assign their lands and their heritage in pledge of
mortgage, which is not paid. Another sins in buying things, as corn or
wine or other thing(s for) less by half than it is worth, for the pence
which he pays at first, and then sells it them again twice or thrice as
dear. Another buys things when they are worth least (and) very abundant
(_or_ a great bargain), corn in harvest, wine in vintage (vendage _in
Glossary_), or wares, in order to sell again, (and keeps them) until
they are most dear, and desires the dear time in order to sell the
dearer. Another (buys) corn in grass, vines in bloom, when they are of
fair appearance, by such a bargain that they may have, whatever chance
befall, their property safe. The sixth kind is of those that take their
pence to merchants, so that they may be partakers in the winning and not
in the loss, or who entrust their beasts, as many as half, (to them,) so
that they may be of high price; that is to say, that if they die in the
meantime [they have to] put others in their stead worth as much. The
seventh kind is in those that do [this] to their poor neighbours in
their needs—(and) because they have lent them a little silver or corn,
or done some kindness, (and) when they see them poor and needy, then
make they a bargain with them to do their jobs, and the pence that they
delivered before to the poor man, or lent him a little corn, they have
three pennyworths of work for one penny.