The seventh bough of avarice is wickedness. I call wickedness, when the
man is so wicked and such a devil, that he dreads not to do a great sin,
deadly and horrible, or great harm to others, for a little gain or for
advantage to himself. This bough has many twigs. The first is when any
for dread of poverty or for covetousness, in order to make gain,
forsakes (denies) God and the Christian belief, and becomes a Bulgar, or
Jew, or Saracen. To this sin belongs the sin of them that for pence have
the devil summoned, and make enchantments, and cause to look into a
sword or into the nail of the thumb, in order to overtake thieves or for
other things. And of them also that cause or obtain by charms or by
witchcraft or by evil, whatever it be, that folk that are in wedlock
together hate one another, or cannot have fellowship the one with the
other in wedlock; or that folk, that are not in wedlock, love one
another foolishly and in sin. The second is the sin of grudging and of
treason (fraud), when the man for gain or for reward doth thing(s)
whereby they lead others to death, either by sword, or by poison, or in
other way, whatever it may be. The third is the sin of them that for
gain burn houses, towns, castles, cities, or churches, or destroy the
vines, or corn, or do other harm for reward. The fourth is the sin of
them that sow discord, and obtain strife and wars in cities, or in
capitals, or between the nobles, because they think to gain more with
strife in war than in peace. The fifth is the sin of reeves, of
provosts, of beadles, of servants, that accuse and challenge poor folk,
and cause them to be charged, and use them ill, for a little gain that
they have besides.
To this sin belongs the sin of false judges, and of false advocates, and
of false witnesses, of whom we have spoken above. In many other ways the
sin of wickedness is done. But it were a long business to tell, and
better may each man read the same sin and the others in the book of his
conscience, than in any sheepskin.