Hadde I nat doon a freendes torn to thee?'

That oother answerde, 'I n'oot how that may be; He woot how that the gold is with us tweye;

What shal we doon, what shal we to hym seye?'

Shal it be conseil ?' seyde the firste shrewe, 'And I shal tellen in a wordes fewe

5

What we shal doon, and brynge it wel aboute.' 'I graunte,' quod that oother,' out of doute,

That by my trouthe I shal thee nat biwreye.'

(360)

'Now,' quod the firstę,' thou woost wel we be tweye, 10

And two of us shul strenger be than oon.

Look whan that he is set, and right anoon

Arys, as though thou woldest with hym pleye,
And I shal ryve hym thurgh the sydes tweye,
Whil that thou strogęlest with hym as in game,
And with thy daggerę look thou do the same;
And than shal al this gold departed be,
My dere freend, bitwixen me and thee.
Than may we bothe ourę lustes all fulfille,
And pleye at dees right at oure owene wille.'
And thus acorded been thisę shrewes tweye,
To sleen the thridde, as ye han herd me seye.
This yongestę, which that wente unto the toun,
Ful ofte in herte he rolleth up and doun
The beautee of thisę floryns newe and brighte;
'O Lord,' quod he, 'if so were that I myghte
Have al this tresor to myself allone,
Ther is no man that lyveth under the trone
Of God, that sholde lyve so murye as I!'
And at te laste the feend, oure enemy,

15

(370)

20

25

(380)

30

Putte in his thought that he sholdę poyson beye,
With which he myghte sleen his felawęs tweye;
Forwhy the feend fond hym in swich lyvynge,
That he hadde levẻ hym to sorwe brynge,
For this was outrely his fulle entente
To sleen hem bothe and never to repente.

5

And forth he gooth, no lenger wolde he tarie,
Into the toun, unto a pothecarie,

And preydė hym that he hym wolde selle
Som poysoun, that he myghte his rattes quelle;
And eek ther was a polcat in his hawe,
That, as he seyde, his capouns hadde y-slawe,
And fayn he wolde wreke hym, if he myghte,

On vermyn, that destroyed hym by nyghte.

The pothecarie answerde, ' And thou shalt have

A thyng that, al so God my soule save,

In al this world ther n'is no creäture,
That eten or dronke hath of this confiture,
Noght but the mountance of a corn of whete,
That he ne shal his lif anon forlete;

Ye, sterve he shal, and that in lasse while
Than thou wolt goon a-paas nat but a mile;
This poysoun is so strong and violent.'

This cursed man hath in his hond y-hent
This poysoun in a box, and sith he ran
Into the nexte strete unto a man,
And borwed of hym large botellęs thre,

And in the two his poyson poured he;
The thridde he keptę clene for his owene drynke;
For al the nyght he shoope hym for to swynke

(390)

10

15

(400)

20

25

(410)

30

In caryinge of the gold out of that place.
And whan this riotour with sory grace
Hadde filled with wyn his grete botels thre,
To his felawęs agayn repaireth he.

What nedeth it to sermone of it more?
For right as they hadde cast his deeth bifore,
Right so they han hym slayn, and that anon.

5

And whan that this was doon thus spak that oon, (420)

'Now lat us sitte and drynke, and make us merie,

And afterward we wol his body berie.'

And with that word it happed hym, par cas,

To take the botel ther the poysoun was,
And drank and yaf his felawę drynke al-so,
For which anon they storven bothe two.

But certes, I suppose that Avycen
Wroot never in no ' Canon,' ne in no fen,
Mo wonder signes of empoisonyng

Than hadde thisę wrecches two, er hir endyng.
Thus ended been thise homycides two,
And eek the false empoysonere al-so.

O cursed synne of alle cursednesse !

O traytorous homycide, O wikkednesse!
O glotonyę, luxurie, and hasardrye!
Thou blasphemour of Crist with vileynye,
And othes grete, of usage and of pride!
Allas, mankyndė, how may it bitide

ΙΟ

15

(430)

20

25

That to thy Creätour which that thee wroghte,

And with his precious herte-blood thee boghte,
Thou art so fals and so unkynde, allas!

(440)

LACK OF STEADFASTNESS

Som tyme this world was so stedfast and stable
That mannes word was obligacioun,

And now hit is so fals and deceivable
That word and deed, as in conclusioun,
Ben no-thyng oon, for turned up-so-doun
Is al this world through mede and wilfulnesse
That al is lost for lak of stedfastnesse.

What made this world to be so variable

But lust that folk have in dissensioun ?

5

For now-adayes a man is holde unable

(10) 10

But if he can, by som collusioun,

Don his neighbour wrong or oppressioun.

What causeth this, but wilful wrecchednesse
That al is lost, for lak of stedfastnesse?

Trouthe is put doun, resoun is holden fable,

15

Vertu hath now no dominacioun,

Pitee exylęd, no wyght is merciable.

Through covetyse is blent discrecioun ;
The world hath mad a permutacioun

Fro right to wrong, fro trouthę to fikelnesse,
That al is lost, for lak of stedfastnesse.

(20)

LENVOY TO KING RICHARD

O prince, desire for to be honourable,
Cherish thy folk and hate extorcioun !

Suffre no thyng that may be reprevable

To thyn estat don in thy regioun.

Shew forth thy swerd of castigacioun,

Dred God, do law, lovę trouthe and worthynesse,
And dryve thy folk ageyn to stedfastnesse.

TO HENRY SCOGAN

To-broken been the statutes hye in hevene,
That creät were eternally to dure,

Sith that I see the bryghte goddes sevene
Mowę wepe and wayle, and passioun endure,
As may in erthe a mortal creäture.

5

ΙΟ

Allas! fro whennes may this thing procede?
Of whiche errour I deye almost for drede.

15