The fourth bough of avarice is false claiming; that is, running upon
others wrongfully: to this sin belong all the fraud, all falsehoods, and
all guile(s) that come in pleading. In this learning Dame Avarice has
many scholars, both of clerks and of laymen, and especially seven kinds
of folk that all study thus. The first is the false plaintiffs, that
make false pleas, and seek false judges, and long time, and false
witnesses, false advocates, false letters, in order to grieve others and
oppress the people wrongfully, either in a Christian court or in a
secular court. The second are the false fugitives that flee and [do] not
what is right, and seek exceptions and respites, in order to deprive
others of their own. The third is the false witnesses; these make the
false marriages; these steal the heritages, (and) thus do so much evil
and harm as none can amend; and all this they do through their great
covetousness. The fourth is the false pleaders, that receive and sustain
wittingly false causes, and plead them for hire and for gifts, which
they take on the right hand and on the left, and often lose good suits
by their sin, or because of ignorance or through sloth turn aside the
rights and do all the wrongs on account of their covetousness, as those
that are masters of guile and of dispute and of false accusation. The
fifth is the false notaries that make false letters and forge the seals,
make wicked libels and too many other falsehoods. The next is the false
judges, that incline more to one side than another through gifts or
through promises or through entreaties, or for love or for anger or for
dread, and unbind suits wrongfully; and have great costs made, and take
great gifts, sometimes from the one, sometimes from the other, sometimes
from both, and sell their judgments, or let them come to nothing; and do
poor men great harm, which they cannot amend. The last are the evil
assessors, that give evil advice to the judges, and cause suits to be
lost on account of the services that they give. All the persons before
mentioned are bound to give up what they have had wrongfully of others,
and the harm that others have had by them.