The apostel weping seith ful pitously,
‘Ther walken many of whiche yow told have I, 530
I seye it now weping with pitous voys,
That they been enemys of Cristes croys,
Of whiche the ende is deeth, wombe is her god.’
O wombe! O bely! O stinking cod,
Fulfild of donge and of corrupcioun! 535
At either ende of thee foul is the soun.
How greet labour and cost is thee to finde!
Thise cokes, how they stampe, and streyne, and grinde, (210)
And turnen substaunce in-to accident,
To fulfille al thy likerous talent! 540
Out of the harde bones knokke they
The mary, for they caste noght a-wey
That may go thurgh the golet softe and swote;
Of spicerye, of leef, and bark, and rote
Shal been his sauce y-maked by delyt, 545
To make him yet a newer appetyt.
But certes, he that haunteth swich delyces
Is deed, whyl that he liveth in tho vyces. (220)
532. That they _is_ Tyrwhitt’s _reading_; Hl. Thay; _but the rest have_
Ther, _probably repeated by mistake from_ l. 530. 534. Hl. o stynking
is thi cod.
A lecherous thing is wyn, and dronkenesse
Is ful of stryving and of wrecchednesse. 550
O dronke man, disfigured is thy face,
Sour is thy breeth, foul artow to embrace,
And thurgh thy dronke nose semeth the soun
As though thou seydest ay ‘Sampsoun, Sampsoun’;
And yet, god wot, Sampsoun drank never no wyn. 555
Thou fallest, as it were a stiked swyn;
Thy tonge is lost, and al thyn honest cure;
For dronkenesse is verray sepulture (230)
Of mannes wit and his discrecioun.
In whom that drinke hath dominacioun, 560
He can no conseil kepe, it is no drede.
Now kepe yow fro the whyte and fro the rede,
[308: T. 12497-12533.]
And namely fro the whyte wyn of Lepe,
That is to selle in Fish-strete or in Chepe.
This wyn of Spayne crepeth subtilly 565
In othere wynes, growing faste by,
Of which ther ryseth swich fumositee,
That whan a man hath dronken draughtes three, (240)
And weneth that he be at hoom in Chepe,
He is in Spayne, right at the toune of Lepe, 570
Nat at the Rochel, ne at Burdeux toun;
And thanne wol he seye, ‘Sampsoun, Sampsoun.’
But herkneth, lordings, o word, I yow preye,
That alle the sovereyn actes, dar I seye,
Of victories in the olde testament, 575
Thurgh verray god, that is omnipotent,
Were doon in abstinence and in preyere;
Loketh the Bible, and ther ye may it lere. (250)